South Africa: President urges black business to seize 4IR opportunities President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on black business to seize the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution. The technological changes of the 4th industrial revolution, alongside the effects of demographic shifts and climate change, are having a profound and increasingly uncertain impact on production, employment and social relations. We need to develop a coherent national strategy that mitigates the risks and seizes the opportunities of the 4th industrial revolution, said the President. This, he said, means business and society need to embrace lifelong learning, enabling working people to skill, reskill and upskill throughout their lives. It is for this reason that we are establishing the Presidential Commission on the 4IR, which will identify relevant policies, strategies and action plans that will position South Africa as a competitive global player, said the President. The President was addressing the Black Business Summit Gala Dinner convened by the Black Business Council (BBC), which wrapped up its two-day summit on Friday. The summit kicked-off on Thursday under the theme Economic Transformation within the Context of the 4th Industrial Revolution a Catalyst for Inclusive Growth in the SA Economy. Government, labour, civil society and business converged at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand to discuss matters relating to the countrys economy. Amongst the issues the summit discussed was land reform, South Africas readiness for 4IR, comprehensive socio-economic transformation as well as mechanisms to increase the number of new entrants into the economy, thus creating much needed jobs and reducing unemployment. Black Industrialists Programme In addition, the President urged black business to make use of the government programmes such as the Black Industrialists Programme, which seeks to empower black business. Since the programme began in 2016, over 130 black industrialists have been supported. As these black-owned companies succeed, there is an expectation that they will support the emergence of new black companies, create employment, contribute their due to the public fiscus, and that they will be good corporate citizens, said the President. Uplift women, youth and the disabled Addressing the gala dinner, the President urged delegates to ensure that in their course of business, they aim to build an inclusive economy. Growth will not be inclusive for as long as women have fewer opportunities for employment, skills development and advancement; for as long as they are less likely to start a business, access finance or own assets, he said. The President made a further plea for the empowerment and employment of youth and the disabled. Concluding his keynote address, the President made a final call to business to work in unity. The call for unity, comes amid a fall out between Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the BBC. In an open letter on Wednesday, BUSA President Sipho Pityana accused BBC President Sandile Zungu of contributing to the crisis that afflicts State-owned companies (SOCs) and State institutions in general. The President said without unity, South Africa would struggle to establish a social compact. South Africa will not achieve the inclusive growth we seek, unless we are able to forge a durable social compact that brings together all social partners behind a shared economic programme. Unless business is able to speak with one coherent voice, we will struggle to build that social compact, appealed the President. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-03-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Man of Peace Gabriel Moshe. ( Mindy Belz) QAMESHLI, Syria -- Gabriel Moshe is the sort of gentleman whose coat and tie look morning-fresh though it's nearing midnight, and we are talking by the last light and heat before the electricity shuts down. Rationing the power grid is just one routine part of life in a war zone. Moshe's dignified profile shouldn't fool anyone: He's actually an enemy of the state. President Bashar al-Assad's regime arrested him in 2013 and held him for 2A years, a man of peace caught in the politics of war. Moshe heads the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), a prominent party founded in the 1950s. ADO draws support from Syriac, Chaldean, and Assyrian Christians who dream of a day when they will have truly representative government and equal rights under the law. His stature--and threat to the state--grew as the plight of Christians and other minorities in Syria worsened. The 56-year-old in many ways is a man without a country. Born in Qameshli and arrested by its state security bureau, Moshe returned to live here. He grew up among Arabs and Kurds in this city with churches on nearly every corner. His father owned a shop in the Jewish quarter. Such diversity served Moshe in building a wide political base, though today Qameshli is divided, with war driving out perhaps half its population. In an uneasy truce, the Syrian army controls some sectors and opposition Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) others. Offices for anti-Assad groups like ADO and the Syriac Military Council actually sit inside a government-controlled area. Moshe operates now on the periphery, and under the watchful eye of the state. Though a long-standing partner in the opposition, Moshe's ADO opposes taking up arms, making it an uneasy ally with militias governing northeast Syria. If that's not enough, he and other Christians find themselves at odds with their Christian brethren. The patriarchs and most leaders in Syria's established churches continue to support Assad, seeing him as despotic enough to control jihadists and other enemies of the church. It was a political disagreement with Barnabas that sent the Apostle Paul back to Syria, so we shouldn't be surprised that eight years into the Syrian War, Christians find themselves divided. Yet the breach has consequences, especially as Assad retakes most of the country and appears stronger than ever. A long record of injustices starting with Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, has taught Moshe and democracy advocates like him to yearn for something altogether new. He and others formed the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change in 2006 as a secular coalition calling for gradual and peaceful transition. When 2011 Arab Spring protests ignited in Syria, the coalition evolved into the leading voice for political change--democratic, non-Islamist change--all the while struggling to win deserved recognition and support from the West. The jihadist armies that hijacked Syria's anti-Assad revolt confined the democrats' gains to this enclave east of the Euphrates. Moshe endured setbacks from the Assads and from the terrorists. Like many in the opposition, he thinks the two are linked. With war underway in 2011, Assad without explanation released Islamist fighters from Sednaya Prison. Many went on to head the al-Qaeda--linked forces fighting in Syria--raising speculation that Assad actually contrived to use jihadist groups as a justification for all-out attacks, which have included chemical weapons and barrel bombs. All opposition groups became "terrorists," justifying Assad calling in Hezbollah and beckoning Russian intervention. The Assad regime has notoriously not protected some Christian populations in the war. That includes Damascus and Aleppo with their loyal church bases, where church leaders were kidnapped under government-held areas, raising suspicions. But in historically Christian Hasakah, the region that includes Qameshli, populations that also opposed Assad were left particularly vulnerable to attack by jihadists. U.S. strategists have been slow to understand the complex battlefield, allowing Russia and Assad to gain the upper hand, perhaps only putting off a coming cataclysm for people who most deserve support. "It's the peaceful people who are attacked and suffer most here," he said. Khalil received the Cairo Opera House Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to enriching musical life in Egypt a few months ago Egyptian jazz musician Yehya Khalil will perform live at the Cairo Opera House on Thursday 14 March, and at the Alexandrian Opera House the next day. One of the pioneers of the jazz movement in Egypt, Khalil has been keen to perform at least once a month since he received the Cairo Opera House-bestowed Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to enriching musical life in Egypt last year. The King of Jazz, as his fans label him, lived in Chicago in the 1960s and 70s, after joining the American Music Conservatory for two years. He played with many well-known international musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Ginger Baker, Jeff Bush and Eric Clapton, before returning to Egypt. Programme: Thursday 14 March, 8pm Small Hall, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek Friday 15 March, 8pm Sayed Darwich Hall, Alexandria Opera House 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 Search Keywords: Short link: Why is the welfare of terrorists and murderers the apparent priority of many foreign human-rights organisations Once again and in a little less than a month the US organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has placed itself on a collision course with the Egyptian government and judiciary over capital punishment for convicted terrorists. The US-based organisation has criticised the death sentences passed on nine members of the Muslim Brotherhood, carried out in February, as a result of their conviction for the assassination of late Egyptian attorney-general Hisham Barakat in June 2015. Barakat was the highest-profile official to be assassinated since speaker of parliament Refaat Al-Mahgoub was assassinated in 1990 by the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. The horrific explosion that rocked the peaceful Cairo neighbourhood of Heliopolis, killing the attorney-general and injuring nine others, left much destruction behind it. The imprint of the Muslim Brotherhood was on the crime, with the group wishing to send a message of terror to the government. During his own trial at the same time, ousted former president Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Brotherhood, was seen gesturing with his hands as if giving an order to slaughter. The death penalty is a controversial subject that has been widely debated in many modern societies. On the one hand, some believe that it delivers justice to the victims family as well as upholding the rule of law, while others view it as an act of vengeance and prefer lifetime prison sentences instead. The debate about the viability of the death penalty may continue indefinitely, but the fact remains that it is practised in some 55 countries in the world today, including the United States and Japan, both of which are regarded as liberal democracies. The US applies the death penalty extensively, and even liberal US states such as California still apply the death penalty for murder. Some 30 US states currently apply the death penalty. During times of national emergency or warfare, stricter laws and harsher penalties are often introduced to protect society from those threatening its security or carrying out terrorist crimes. In 1996, former US president Bill Clinton enacted an anti-terrorism and effective death penalty act to facilitate the work of US law-enforcement officials in identifying and prosecuting domestic and international terrorists. Evidently, this act was not sufficient to protect the US from the horrific acts on 9/11 that took place five years later. President George W Bush then signed the controversial patriot act into law in 2001 that provided unprecedented powers to the US security apparatus to fight terrorism. In the same year, Bush declared a war on terrorism and launched a massive war in Afghanistan that is still going on over 17 years later. Similar harsher laws were introduced in France in 2017 following a wave of deadly attacks by the Islamic State (IS) group on French soil that left dozens of people dead and stirred fear in the hearts of the French people. These laws are so strict that even an Internet post supporting IS can render its account holder liable to a lengthy jail sentence in France. Like in the US, capital punishment has always been part of the criminal law in Egypt to punish premeditated murder, terrorism and acts of high treason. The nine executed terrorists came from a total of 28 people convicted for plotting and executing the bombing that led to Barakats death. Six had their sentences reduced from the death penalty to life in prison and 17 others were sentenced to long prison terms. A further two dozen other suspects were released after the court found them not guilty. Yet, even with written and video confessions of the convicted Muslim Brotherhood assassins to hand and photographs of them wearing jihadist attire and carrying explosive belts and assault rifles, HRW is still apparently not convinced that justice is being done in the handling of terrorism cases in Egypt. It has condemned the death sentences that were passed and issued its traditional message of demanding that the government stop the use of capital punishment. HRW has hardly issued any condemnations of those carrying out terrorist crimes in Egypt over the past seven years, and instead it has dedicated its efforts to tainting Egypts efforts to counter the harshest wave of terrorist activities that has been seen in the countrys long history. Obviously, HRWs role as the terrorists attorney does not serve justice in any shape or form. While it is important to stress the importance of applying due process in all trials, including counter-terrorism ones, it is not up to HRW to decide the course of action and penalties that another country should follow if that country applies due process and fair trials. HRW and the London-based organisation Amnesty International treat Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist statements alleging victimisation and torture and protesting innocence as if they were true, despite the fact that these reports depend upon unverified testimonials and broadly false statements from these jihadist groups. They seem not to understand that this has been the strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood since its first confrontation with the Egyptian state in the 1940s and the assassinations it carried out at that time, including of former prime minister Mahmoud Al-Nokrashi in 1948. The howling voices of the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies neglect the fact that the law in Egypt, mainly based on French law, allows for several degrees of litigation, indictment and appeal. It is a far cry from the strict Sharia Law that the Muslim Brotherhood group and other jihadists are demanding. Ironically, if the Egyptian state decided to apply the laws the terrorists are demanding and fighting for, those terrorists would cease to exist within a few months. Luckily for them, the secular laws are the ones that are applicable for terrorist crimes in Egypt. All this leads to the question of why the lives and welfare of terrorists and the murderers of the innocent should remain the priority of many foreign human-rights organisations along with various foreign governments over those of the victims. Western governments and organisations are free to apply their own set of rules within their own countries, even if this means that they prioritise the welfare and the lives of convicted terrorists over those of their own citizens. This is entirely the prerogative of such governments, and it should not concern Egyptian decision-makers who have sworn an oath to protect the lives and welfare of Egyptian citizens. However, Egyptian decision-makers should be urged to present the facts to Western public opinion nonetheless, using all the means necessary in order not to leave the ground wide open for Islamist propaganda machines such as the Aljazeera TV network and human-rights organisations with questionable track records such as HRW. The eradication of terrorism, the upholding of the law and the serving of justice for all Egyptians must remain the top priority of the Egyptian government so that its people can survive todays unprecedented waves of terrorism. * The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy. Search Keywords: Short link: Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. The quest for American hegemony in the late 20th century was one where America leads and others willingly follow. Now, under Trump, America must lead despite all others After the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces on 25 February 1991, former and late US president George H W Bush co-authored a book with his national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, titled A World Transformed. The theme of the book was that a new world order was in creation that broke with the Cold War, a world order that would be shaped and governed by the new hyper superpower, the United States, backed by its traditional Western allies and regional partners in various parts of the world. The Middle East was one of these regions where American might and influence would be greatly felt. Gone were the Cold War days when the former Soviet Union competed for influence in the Middle East with the United States. The military campaign that emancipated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation was the prelude to almost two decades and a half of American hegemony in the Middle East and elsewhere. American power was uncontested and the swift liberation of Kuwait was interpreted, some would argue wrongly, as meaning that Americas might had no limits. After all, the Soviet Union had fallen and was dismembered. Eastern Europe, that had been under Soviet domination before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, became free of communist rule. China, on the other hand, had not reached the power and influence that it currently wields on the world stage. Not only was American military might unchallenged, but also the capitalist system itself was triumphant everywhere in the world after the collapse of communist rule in Moscow and all other capitals that had been ruled by communist parties in Eastern Europe. The stage was set for the universal adoption of capitalism as the only viable option for economic prosperity. Add to this mix of unparallelled military power and the lure of capitalism the growing appeal of democracy, Western style, to be copied in authoritarian systems. The world transformed was one of certainties and absolutes. The Middle East has been one of the geographic regions that most felt the weight of these certainties. There were developments that promised that the new world order would finally work hard to find permanent solutions to intractable historic conflicts like the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian problem as well. A case in point was the Madrid Peace Conference of October 1991, convened by Washington and Moscow and attended by a number of Arab states. The Palestinians were also represented in a joint delegation with the Jordanians. Peace between the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Israelis had never appeared to be closer to hand. However, the Arabs had not realised, at the time, that there was a hidden agenda behind the grand affair; namely, the integration of Israel in the Middle Eastern system without linking such integration to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 22 November 1967. In other words, regional normalisation with Israel prior to Israeli withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in June 1967. Arab trust in American intentions was quite high at the time. This trust was the momentum that kept negotiations running and gave an indirect boost to secret talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis in 1993 that ended with the signing of the Oslo Accords at the White House 13 September 1993. The signing ceremony will always be remembered for the historic handshake between two sworn enemies of the past chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and late Israeli prime minister Yitzak Rabin. One year later, the Jordanians and the Israelis signed a peace treaty in October 1994. Ever since, peace has proven to be elusive as ever. In A World Transformed, peace seemed to be at hand because of the trust the Arab side put in American diplomacy and Americas capacity to bring Israel to negotiate an ultimate peace deal with the Arabs and the Palestinians. However, this new world order was not static. By the beginning of the third millennia, Russia became more assertive, particularly after Vladimir Putin became its president. China also grew more powerful and more confident as an emerging super power. Both Moscow and Beijing took the American debacle in Iraq of 2003 as a warning. The two powers began ambitious weapons modernisation programmes, in both conventional and nuclear armaments. Last Thursday, President Putin talked about using nuclear weapons, reminding everyone of the showdown between the United States and the former Soviet Union in the Cuban Crisis in 1962. He pointed out that Russia has succeeded in developing a supersonic missile with a speed nine times greater than the speed of sound. As for China, its military strength today bears no comparison to its limited military capabilities at the end of last century. On the other hand, the new world order gave rise to non-state actors in the form of transnational terrorist groups that are bent on replacing the nation-state, especially in Arab and Muslim countries and anywhere there is a Muslim majority, by religious entities that do not recognise existing geographic boundaries, nor do they abide by international law. These groups are challenging the world order like never before. Fragile states in the Third World are not in a position to deal with such existential threats on their own. A case in point, the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from 2013 till today, as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. Not only do these groups repudiate the international order, they also question the legitimacy of Arab and Muslim governments. Their threat to the established order is made more ominous and dangerous by the fact that some international and regional powers use them as an instrument of their foreign policies for the sake of coercing rival and enemy powers. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Middle East. The so-called Islamic State could never have been able to control Syrian and Iraqi territories the size of Great Britain without the help, direct or indirect, of some governments. If the past new world order held the promise of peace in the Holy Land and in the Middle East for a brief moment, the world today is almost the complete opposite. Prospects of peace are currently non-existent. Similarly, the chances of implementing the two-state solution, a viable Palestinian state side-by-side a secure Israel, seem a faraway dream. Israel, under successive extreme right governments, has made sure to put the world before a fait accompli of annexing the West Bank. Some observers think it is only a question of when. Lately, the world has seen the convening of three simultaneous summits and conferences to deal with the explosive situation in the Middle East and North Africa. In chronological order, the American-sponsored Warsaw Ministerial on the future of security and peace in the Middle East on 13-14 February; the Sochi Summit that brought together Russia, Turkey and Iran on 14 February; and the first Arab-European Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 24-25 February. If there is a common denominator among the three, it is undoubtedly the search for peace and security in the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean. It is a tall order, but the fact of the matter is that under present conditions it will not be a surprise if peace and security will elude the governments that participated in the three conferences. The last seven years have formed a demarcation line between the new world order of the last decade of the 20th century and a world transformed without certainties today. In these hard times, the international system is looking for moorings. Alliances have been weakened, loyalties have become blurred, national interests of international and regional powers are hard to define, there is an absence of leadership in the international system, the globalisation process is being questioned, a lack of consensus exists on the shape of the world order that would serve the interests of all nations, and last but not least, the radicalisation of Islam and use as source of legitimacy as well as a political instrument. The necessary alternative is a world order that would rest on a certain strategic equilibrium among the super powers, an equilibrium that would encourage them to cooperate while respecting the red lines that each one of these powers deems necessary for defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity. It goes without saying that the Trumpian motto of Make America Great Again, while reinventing the quest for American hegemony that was inherent to A World Transformed, comes as a direct challenge to reaching such a strategic equilibrium that would serve international peace and security. * The writer is former assistant foreign minister. Search Keywords: Short link: Glory Ministries was established as an evangelistic organization in February 2001 by Apostle Pride Sibiya with its first church service, as Glory Tabernacles church, held on Wednesday 27 February 2002 and was attended by one person - Apostle Pride Sibiya. A Brief History Of Glory Ministries with Apostle P. Sibiya The first Sunday service was held on 3 March 2002. Apostle Sibiya got converted in 1987 at a gospel crusade held at Rufaro stadium by German Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. It was an experience while travelling in a Tenda bus to Harare from Mutare in 1995 where the voice of God spoke to him sayingwhich became a Damascene experience for him propelling him to begin preaching about the end times in classrooms, hospitals, and open spaces and in buses.Apostle Sibiya says, What initially moved me to give my whole life to ministering is the appearance of Jesus to me in a night vision on the seventh of February 1997 where Jesus told me that ''I want you to do what I did.'' After a short experience of what hell was like in a vision and Gods subsequent charge that Dawn has come, call my people, Glory Ministries was started.The name Glory Ministries was derived from a prophetic word given to Apostle Sibiya in 1997, You shall no longer be called Pride but you are Kabod. Kabod is a Hebrew term for Glory. Glory Ministries opened its doors to the public initially at Timber villa located at corner Manda Street and Tilcor road in Zengeza 3 before moving to Gogo Sibiyasresidence at 13 Choto in Zengeza3 Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe.The first member was Shiloh Masenyama, now the International Overseer, followed by his young brother Johannes Masenyama, now Overseer for Domboshava Province. Other early members, commonly called The First Pillars include Evangelist Albert NjaguEvangelist Elrichard DenhereMinister Vengayi ZanoEvangelist Archibolt Makumbiand Pastor Gilbert MakoreServices were held on Sundays between 0900 and1200 hours and though flexible, mainly consisted of a morning prayer between 0900 and 0930 hours, Praise and Worship between 0930 to 1015, items and testimonies between 1015 to 1045, announcements and offerings between 1045 and 1100, preaching of the Word between 1100 and 1200.Evening intercessions were held between 1600 and1800hours. Mid-week services were held every Wednesday between1830 and 2000hours with Bible Studies every Friday between 1830 and 2000hours.Saturdays were reserved for visitations.The first contact details for Glory Ministries was a postal address, Box A391 Avondale in Harare followed in later years by box 34, Seke Chitungwiza.First contact telephone numbers were 070-30162 and cell number 023 518 722, the former belonging to Gogo Sibiya while the latter was owned by Apostle Sibiya.In April 2004 Glory Ministries held one of its first gatherings to resemble a conference with the theme A thousand times more derived from Deuteronomy 1:11. Held at UCCZ Church in Chiwenga Street Zengeza 3 from 19 to 25 April the event, hosted by Apostle Sibiya was graced by speakers who included Apostle Chisango, Bishop Kandemiri, Apostle Jaka and Apostle Mapiko.Posters to advertise the event were done on a black and white A4 bond paper with instruments notably two speakers,3 microphones and a keyboard been hired from Pastor Sunguro and ferried in a wheelbarrow from Gatsi Road in Zengeza3.In January 2005 Glory Ministries attempted its first expansion strategy by sending Evangelist Njagu to plant a church in Bulawayo. Although the initiative failed to be sustainable it laid the seed for the future sprouting of Glory Ministries. To train ministers, Glory Ministries established a Bible School on 02 August 2005 with lessons being done at the then lodgings of the International Overseer at 14 Gobvu Road in Zengeza 3. Subjects included Introduction to the Old Testament and Charismata, taught by then Elder (now Minister) Vengayi Zano, Leadership, African Traditional Religions and Introduction to the New Testament by Apostle Sibiya.The pioneering students included Michael Zvimba (now SG OF Glory Ministries), the late Elder Antonneta Kutama among few others.On the leadership structure, the predecessor to the International Church Council was an Executive board comprising Apostle Sibiya as Chairperson, Apostle Shiloh Masenyama as the Vice-Chairperson, Minister Vengayi Zano as secretary and Evangelist Albert Njagu as treasurer.- Jesus is Lord,- Our king is coming,- The Lame shall take the spoil,- Joseph had a dream,- My sleeping master,- Takadanirwa basa,- Wedding of the lamb,- Jabez and- Mukwasha chimboteramai1. Facebook - www.facebook.com/ApostleP.Sibiya 2. Twitter - www.twitter.com/apostlepsibiya We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Review: Greta is Silly and Scary and Satisfying and Suddenly Im Using Alliteration and Im Not Sure Why? But Seriously! Its Enjoyable! By Roxana Hadadi | Film | March 2, 2019 | I hesitate to call Greta good, but is this movie that basically serves as a warning about being nice to older people effective? Yes! My friend and I grabbed each other and shrieked, and we were at a crowded theater in which more than once a fellow audience member yelled, Kill the bitch! So, yeah. Greta gets people riled up, and thats entirely thanks to Isabelle Hupperts bonkers energy. Youll recognize the broad strokes of this story from director Neil Jordan (whose previous works include The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, The Brave One, and Byzantium), who also co-wrote the script; the thriller overlaps with others in this genre like Single White Female, and if you squint a little bit, Get Out. (They share the same Old white people are evil! mentality). But the familiarity is balanced out by Huppert, who just fucking goes for it. She is feisty and fiery and fantastic, playing her character with self-awareness and verve, and she gets the tone of Greta exactly right. If she played it more seriously, the movie wouldnt be as fun, and if she played it more goofily, the movie wouldnt be as scary. And, in some scenes, it is legitimately horrifying, tapping into fears about crossed boundaries and claustrophobic spaces, about motherhood as a smothering force instead of a supportive one, about the possibility of being one forgotten person in a city full of other people who dont care whether you disappear. Maybe thats giving Greta more credit than it deservesthis is still a movie in which Huppert spits a piece of chewing gum into Chloe Grace Moretzs hair!but I think that subtext is there, if you look for it. via GIPHY Greta focuses on fresh college graduate Frances (Moretz), who lives with her best friend Erica (Maika Monroe) in a gorgeous loft Ericas father bought her. (It looks like a place where Urban Outfitters would stage photoshoots, and I was very jealous the whole time.) Frances is living a quiet life as a server at a fancy restaurant, mourning the death of her mother the year before, and taking the subway to and from work every day. (First point of suspicion: How clean the subway cars are!) Because shes from Boston, Frances cares about doing the right thing (I dont understand why Boston was assigned this philosophy? The same people who root for Tom Brady? Im side-eyeing the hell out of this), and so when she comes across a handbag left on a seat, she digs into it, finds the owner, and rides her bike to Brooklyn to return it. (Second point of suspicion: Frances never wears a bike helmet. Not even once! WHY ARE YOU INVITING SUCH DANGER INTO YOUR LIFE?) The owner of the purse, Greta (Huppert), is a petite French woman, chic and polite, friendly and lonely, and Frances is drawn to her immediately. Greta says that her daughter lives in Paris, and Frances shares that her mother recently passed away, and so the two of them offer support to each other. They adopt a dog, they go on walks, they cook dinner, they see a movie. Erica thinks the whole dynamic is weird, and it all happens quickly, but doesnt everyone need a friend? As you know from the trailers for Greta, this relationship unravels, and Jordan offers a variety of unexpected and creepy moments to help us get there. The film frames Huppert excellently, focusing on her array of raised eyebrows and knowing grins, and uses sound quite well too, cueing some jump scares while leaving others to be total surprises. And although Moretz doesnt quite match Hupperts energy, between this film and Suspiria, shes building a nice career for herself in roles that explore the fragility of young adulthood. Youll yell at her for being overly trusting, but thats a narrative function of the character, and Moretz sells motivations that make sense throughout. via GIPHY Stepping outside of the narrative, though, Greta is one of those movies in which most everyone who lives in New York City is white; the only character I remember who is a person of color is a clueless police officer whose shrugging reaction to Gretas behavior is mocked in the film. So thats not great! But at the same time, if you want to read into Greta that this character is able to exist because of social norms that ignore the concerns of women suffering from domestic abuse while also turning a blind eye to the evils of older white women, then I suppose an environment that doesnt allow people of color inside its boundaries would make sense. (But theres also a moment when Greta yells at someone in defense of her actions, Im a naturalized citizen!, and yeah, that was weird and also not great.) You wouldnt lie to me, would you? asks Greta, and when a matriarchal figure tries to guilt-trip you with that shit, run. Run away! And do something nice for a senior citizen after you see Greta, to even out the universes karmic balance. [I normally embed trailers here, but I personally think the Greta trailers give too much away. Yall know how to YouTube it if you desire!] We Know The Truth About Johnny Depp's 50 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against Amber Heard | SNL' Highlights: Bodega Bathroom, What's That Name, and To Have and Have Not Roxana Hadadi is a Senior Editor for Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter. Image sources (in order of posting): Focus Features, Focus Features, Focus Features, Focus Features Log on if you are already subscribed or Subscribe... New York, United States (PANA) - The New York daily, ''New York Times'', revealed on Saturday, the details, kept secret for two years, of a military operation conducted by the U Experience the Largest Nowruz Celebration in the USA: March 10 at UCLA 03/02/19 Press Release by Farhang Foundation, Los Angeles Experience the Largest Nowruz Celebration in the United States Celebrate the Iranian New Year and The First Day of Spring at the 11th Annual Farhang Foundation Nowruz Celebrations on March 10th The Farhang Nowruz Celebrations is a free to all, public, daylong festival located at UCLA, including a colorful festive Spring Walk parade, a large-scale Haft-Sin display (a symbolic and traditional Iranian Tablescape celebrating the spring solstice), traditional dance performances, an Iranian Tea House, children activities, puppet shows, authentic musical performances, and a ticketed concert at Royce Hall by the grande dame of Iranian classical music, Parisa. LOS ANGELES, CA --The most colorful and lively festival of the year marking the arrival of spring, The Farhang Foundation Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) is back. This event has become the largest Nowruz festival in the United States. The special celebration brings together a variety of programming and excitement for all ages to enjoy. The daylong festival is free and open to the public for the 11th Annual Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) celebration at UCLA's Dickson Court, taking place on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Visitors can take part in this festival exploring Iranian culture, one of the oldest in the world, while also embracing the first day of spring-that universal time of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated on the vernal equinox in Iran, Afghanistan, China, the U.S., India, Tajikistan, and Turkey, the New Year, called Nowruz ("new day"), is welcomed with vibrant displays of culture by more than 75 million people around the world. The event is also nonreligious and universal to all by celebrating the arrival of spring. Anticipation for the event grows with the inclusion of Farhang Foundation's annual Banner Design Contest. Farhang Foundation's annual Nowruz Banner Competition began in 2011, and it has become a tradition that preludes Farhang's signature event, returning to UCLA for the third year in a row on March 10, 2019. The Nowruz Banner Competition reaches out to a global community of artists, illustrators, and graphic designers, enlisting their talents to create and submit original designs that capture the essence of Nowruz. This year's winning design is awarded to Iranian artist Sharareh Khosravani from Cincinnati, Ohio. Sharareh highlighted hyacinths in her design, often a symbol of rebirth at the Haft Sin table, the centerpiece of Nowruz, a table display in the homes who celebrate the New Year. As Khosravani puts it, hyacinths are the "joy of colors and life." The design is featured on hundreds of large street banners throughout the streets of Los Angeles announcing the arrival of spring and the Farhang Foundation Nowruz festival. The celebration showcases the same authentic programming as last year as well as a number of new exciting events all over campus. Experience varied musical acts, children's arts & crafts, a colorful Iranian spring walk, a modern take on the traditional Iranian Haft Sin display, Iranian dance, and much more. Farhang Foundation is honored to announce that this year's headlining concert at Royce Hall will be performed by the grande dame of Iranian classical music, Parisa. Parisa will be accompanied by an acclaimed group of musicians including Pejman Hadadi, Ali Pajooheshgar, Amir Pourjavady and Saeed Kamjoo. All outdoor activities are free and open to the public without tickets, and will take place in Dickson Court North and South, which are adjacent to each other and to Royce Hall. The Musical Program, inside Royce Hall starring Parisa begins at 6 p.m and is a ticketed event. Here's the day's robust schedule: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of programming will repeat throughout the day on two stages outdoors on Dickson Court North and South. Farhang's Annual Nowruz Spring Walk Dickson Court & Royce Hall Lawn - 3 p.m. Children and adults alike are invited to join in this year's 5th Annual Spring Walk. Join in on the fun! Wear your favorite traditional or colorful costumes. The parade will proceed through Dickson Court and the adjacent areas. Djanbazian Dance Company Dickson Court North Stage The Djanbazian Dance Company has toured nationally and internationally. For Nowruz, the group will delight audiences with a series of Iranian dances incorporating both traditional and modern themes. Melody Children's Ensemble Dickson Court North Stage The Melody Children's Ensemble led by Vandad Massahzadeh will perform a special Nowruz program by the young group of musicians. Grand Haft Sin Display Center of Dickson Court North In the center of Dickson Court, all can enjoy a Haft Sin display. The stunning exhibit features an eye-catching centerpiece of Nowruz displayed in Iranian households to ring in the New Year. Families gather around a detailed fabric-draped table, laden with items that represent fertility, evolution, rebirth, prosperity, love, health and beauty. Iranian Tea House Dickson Court North Festival goers will experience a Persian style decorated tent. Inside the tent, purchase tea and Persian sweets and snacks to welcome the New Year. Musicians and Dancers Throughout the campus area, dancers from Robyn Friend's Firuze Dance Company dressed in Iranian folk costumes and musicians playing traditional instruments will be performing, bringing a happy sound and blur of colorful excitement to the proceedings. Stilt Walkers Various Persian mythological and Nowruz character will be walking around the grounds on stilts, greeting guests. Children's Puppet Show Dickson Court South An actress, designer, and puppeteer, Negar Estakhr is best known for her "Kolah Ghermezi" fame, as the show is Iran's most popular children's program, similar to "Sesame Street." She will be debuting a new puppet show specifically created for Farhang's Nowruz in collaboration with her talented daughter Nargol Rashidian. L.A. Daf Ensemble Dickson Court North Stage Daf literally translates as a 'large Middle Eastern frame drum used in popular and classical music.' At the Nowruz festival, experience not one - but an entire group of women play Daf together in traditional outfits as an all female ensemble lead by artist Arezoo Koochakan, and featuring folks songs from all regions of Iran. Children's Programming Dickson Court South There will be a dedicated area for children, with music, arts and crafts, photo-booth, games, tournaments, as well as a storytelling by author Sheila Salamat featuring her celebrated book, NIKO'S NIFTY NOWRUZ. Parisa 6 p.m. Exclusive Headlining Musical Program Starring the Grande Dame of Iranian Classical Music, Parisa, at Royce Hall The day's festivities conclude with a finale closing concert by the grand dame of traditional Iranian music Parisa who will be accompanied by her masterful ensemble of musicians. "It is such an honor for us at Farhang to be able to collaborate with such a legend of Iranian music at this year's Nowruz celebrations," says Alireza Ardekani, Executive Director of Farhang Foundation. "We have been admirers of the great Parisa for decades, and it is such a delight to finally be able to have her grace the Farhang stage at Royce Hall for this year's celebration of Nowruz." In addition to the Nowruz concert, Parisa has also been invited to teach at the prestigious UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as part of the brand new Iranian Music Program established by Farhang Foundation. Students at UCLA will have the great privilege to learn from maestra Parisa throughout the winter and spring quarters, as she will be in Los Angeles preparing for her upcoming concert. Tickets to the Parisa concert are $25 and up, and available exclusively through Ticketmaster or in person at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. UCLA's Royce Hall & Dickson Court are located at 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA Please join us, and Nowruz Shoma Piruz, or Happy New Year! Ghana, currently the 11 biggest economy in Africa, is expected to become the fourth fastest-growing economy in Africa this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The West African country is expected to hit 7.6 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, from the projected 6.3 per cent GDP in 2018, the IMF said, adding Ghana is an economic powerhouse in West Africa with a GDP size of approximately $51 billion. Oil-rich Libya is expected to become the fastest growing economy in Africa with a GDP growth rate of 10.8 per cent this year. The North African country currently has a GDP of over $50.95 billion. Ethiopia and Rwanda, which was the first and second fastest-growing economies in Africa in 2018, are expected to grow at 8.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively this year, making them the second and third fastest-growing economies for 2019. The IMF in its recent global report projected a 7.6 per cent GDP growth rate for Ghana in 2019, 6.3 per cent in 2020 and 6.1 per cent in 2021 respectively. Last week, the IMF Board set March 2019 for Ghanas final programme preview before exit following a week assessment of the Ghanaian economy. According to the IMF staff mission led by Annalisa Fedelino, the government has made good progress implementing the Extended Credit Facility-supported program, which will end on April 3, 2019, as envisaged. It pointed out that six out of nine end-December 2018 quantitative targets under the programme were met and structural reforms are advancing. The Ivory Coast also known as Cote dIvoire with a GDP size of about $41 billion is projected by the IMF to grow by 7 per cent in 2019, making the fifth fastest-growing economy. It is followed by Senegal, Tanzania and Benin in 6th, 7th and 8th respectively. Whilst French-speaking Senegal with a GDP size of approximately US$17 billion is projected to grow by 6.7 per cent in 2019 by the IMF, Anglophone Tanzania a country located in East-Africa with a GDP size of about US$52.09 billion is estimated to grow by 6.6 per cent in 2019. Neighbouring Benin is projected to grow by 6.3 per cent in 2019, an improvement from 6 per cent in 2018. In 9th and 10th position are Uganda and Kenya. The two east African countries are projected to grow by 6.2 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively this year. The GDP size of Uganda is over US$26 billion and Kenya is US$74.94 billion. Ghanas economy hit 7.4 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2018 compared to 8.7 per cent the same period in 2017. According to the figures, the non-oil provisional 2018 quarter three year-on-year real GDP growth rate was 8.5 per cent versus 4.9 per cent recorded during the same period last year. The Bank of Ghana earlier said Ghanas economic growth has been firm and is expected to remain steady over the medium-term as shown in its leading indicator of economic activity. According to its Monetary Policy Report released in December 2018, this is on top of the expected increase in activity in the real sector of the economy after the bank recapitalization exercise. It, however, said some risks however remain, relating essentially to uncertainty about the impact of global developments on domestic economic growth with higher fuel prices and exchange rate depreciation. Source: The Finder Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has presented awards to 24 students who emerged as the overall best students in the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination. Presenting the awards to the students at the Presidents Independence Day Awards ceremony, on Friday, 1st March, 2019, President Akufo-Addo noted that they have brought considerable joy and pride to their families, schools, communities and to themselves, and it is only appropriate that they receive the plaudits of the nation. Addressing the event at the Accra International Conference Centre, the President noted he has been working, over the course of the last two years, to ensure that knowledge and skill become the backbone of the Ghanaian economy. That is why I am delighted that two years of Governments hard work has ensured that all of you, including your colleagues and seniors in senior high schools across the country, in SHS 1 and SHS 2, are beneficiaries of the Free Senior High School policy, he said. President Akufo-Addo reiterated the belief of his Government to ensuring that free education widens the gates of opportunities to every child, especially those whose talents are arrested because of poverty. At this point in our history, we are determined to complete the transformation of the country into a modern, 21st century nation that remains distinctly and uniquely Ghanaian. It is for this reason that investments in our educational system are a key priority for my government, the President added. The investments being made, he explained, also require the usage of a school curriculum that provides students with an education to make them competitive on both the national and global stage. A new standards-based curriculum is to be rolled out from kindergarten to Class 6 in primary schools, a curriculum which has drawn upon best practices from across the world and will focus on making Ghanaian students confident, innovative, creative-thinking, digitally-literate, well-rounded, patriotic citizens. Mathematics, Science, Reading, Writing and Creativity are at the heart of this new curriculum. In all of these, Government, according to President Akufo-Addo, recognises the important role of the teacher, and that is why all Colleges of Education are being upgraded to University colleges affiliated to five of the nations public universities. In September last year, we introduced a 4-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree programme to replace the Diploma in Basic Education. Ultimately, this means that a first degree will be the minimum requirement for teaching at any level of our education system. We have also conducted the maiden teacher licensure examination, to ensure that potential teachers acquire a professional license and meet national teaching standards of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes required to deliver quality education in our schools, he added. The President continued, These policies and programmes we are implementing today, are geared towards the growth and development of Ghana. We are preparing you for the birth of a prosperous society a society which creates opportunities for all its citizens, rewards creativity and enterprise, honesty and hard work. He challenged the award winners to take advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities being afforded them in the years ahead, imploring that as you accept these awards, I urge you to remain grounded, honest and modest, as you strive for excellence. Let the Almighty be your guide at all times. Source: Graphic.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Friday, 1st March, 2019, joined Muslim worshippers at the Abossey Okai Central Mosque in Accra, to offer prayers and thanks-giving to Allah for his goodness to Ghana in its 62 years of Independence. Dr. Bawumia used the occasion to give thanks to Allah for giving Ghana peace and unity. "I thank Almighty Allah for allowing Ghanaians to enjoy peace, unity in our 62 years as an independent country," he said. The Vice President urged Ghanaians to cherish the peace we enjoy and eschew any words or deeds that could negatively impact on the nation's harmonious forward march. "We are one people despite our cultural differences. Ghana is a place where everybody feels a sense of belonging. Let us continue to co-exist to develop our homeland Ghanam," Dr. Bawumia added. "President Akufo-Addo is building an inclusive society. That is why we have introduced free SHS, planting for foods and jobs, Nation Builder's Corps (NaBCo) so that every citizen regardless of where you are coming from will benefit from government's policies," Vice President Bawumia explained. "The establishment of the Zongo Development Fund shows how passionate President Akufo-Addo is when it comes to developments in the zongos." In his sermon, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharabu, commended the government for its tremendous performance and pro-poor policies introduced. The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr.Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, asked all Muslims to pray for President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia and other government appointees to enable them serve the people of Ghana with dedication. Alhaji Dr. Bawumia was accompanied by Hon. Abu-Bakar Saddique Boniface, Minister of State at the Office of the Vice President; Hon. Alhaji Habib Saad, MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro; Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, Nasara Coordinator of the ruling New Patriotic Party, (NPP), Sheik I.C Quaye,Chairman of Hajj Board and other officials. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government is seeking legal advice to take over the Ayensu Starch Company Limited (ASCO) and revamp its operations. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, told Parliament Friday that in anticipation of a smooth takeover by government,the Ministry was negotiating a financial package under the One District One Factory (IDIF) programme to resuscitate the company "to ensure that it achieves its intended purpose of job creation, reducing rural-urban migration and producing an important raw material for the food and beverage sectors and other related industries." He was answering a question by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu-Senya West, Mr George Andah, kn steps being taken by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to revamp the operations of the ASCO. The ASCO was established in 2002 with the capacity to process over 22,000 metric tonnes of cassava starch per annum. To meet its objective, the company assisted various farmer-based organisations within its catchment area to produce cassava by providing them with resources (both financial and technical) to ensure a sustainable supply of its raw material needs. It also entered into a two-year off-taker agreement with Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited (GGBL) to supply 14,000 metric tonnes of industrial starch until June, 2015. Under the agreement, GGBL provided the company with financial and technical support. Government's support Mr. Kyerematen said the government in August 2016 offered 70 percent of its shares in the company to Tiberias Company Limited, a company affiliated to the Jospong Group. He said Tiberias Company accepted and made an initial payment of $2,269,500 representing 51 percent of its $4,450,000 obligation as the purchaser, and had made no further payment thereafter. "The Company has failed or refused to fulfill its obligations under the agreement and has defaulted on all other revised payment schedules. Furthermore, the company has abandoned the factory and left the workers idle and without compensation", he said. Mr. Kyerematen said in the light of the developments, the Ministry through the transaction advisors informed the company of its decision to take over the company in a letter dated December 20, 2018. However, he said, in a letter dated January 14, 2019, indicated its refusal to hand over possession to the Ministry although the company had abandoned the factory putting the plant and machinery at risk. "We are seeking legal advice on the next line of action, to take to restore the company to government ownership", he said. Source: Graphic.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia Friday joined Muslim worshippers at the Abossey Okai Central Mosque in Accra to offer prayers and thanksgiving to Allah for His goodness on the nation ahead of the 62nd Independence Anniversary next week. Dr Bawumia used the occasion to give thanks to Allah for giving Ghana peace and unity. "I thank Almighty Allah for allowing Ghanaians to enjoy peace and unity in our 62 years as an independent country," he said. The Vice President urged Ghanaians to cherish the peace the nation is enjoying and called on them to eschew any deed that could negatively impact on the nation's harmonious forward march. "We are one people despite our cultural differences. Ghana is a place where everybody feels a sense of belonging. Let us continue to co-exist to develop our homeland Ghana" Dr Bawumia added. "President Akufo-Addo is building an inclusive society. That is why we have introduced Free SHS, Planting for Foods and Jobs, and Nation Builder's Corps (NaBCo) so that every citizen, regardless of where you are coming from, will benefit from government's policies," Vice President Bawumia said. "The establishment of the Zongo Development Fund shows how passionate President Akufo-Addo is when it comes to developments in the zongos." In his sermon, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharabu, commended the Government for the tremendous performance and pro-poor policies introduced. He asked all Muslims to pray for President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia and other government appointees to enable them to serve the people with dedication. The Vice President was accompanied by Mr Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Minister of State at the Office of the Vice President; Alhaji Habib Saad, MP for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro; Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, Nasara Coordinator of the New Patriotic Party and Sheik I.C. Quaye, Chairman of Hajj Board among other officials. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ministry of Energy would insist that the Power Distribution Service Ghana Limited (PDS) delivers in accordance with the Key Performance Indicators stipulated in the transaction agreement for the restructuring of the operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Mr John Peter Amewu, the Sector Minister, said this in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday. The statement said the Ministry said the Government was committed to ensuring that the energy sector was efficiently and effectively run in order to push forward the socio-economic agenda of the country. It said ECG has over the years been faced with numerous challenges including electricity theft, overloading of equipment and lines due to capacity constraints, weak feeders and obsolete equipment. These bottlenecks in the power sector, the statement said, have led to the need to introduce the private sector in the management and operations of ECG, adding that the transaction agreement has met the expectations of all parties involved. The minister commended the hard work done by previous Energy Minister and successive government for their contributions towards the transfer process. The Energy Ministry also commended the United States Government and the Millennium Development Authority for their contribution and support towards improvement in the electricity distribution sector. The statement said the Government of Ghana on August 5, 2014 executed the 2nd Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States Government. It said the Compact aims to increase private sector investment and the productivity and profitability of the micro, small, medium and the large-scale businesses. The statement said among the six projects within the second Compact is the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project (EFOT), which seeks to introduce a Private Sector Participant in the Management and Operations of the ECG. Meralco-led Consortium, including A Energia SA, an Angolan Company, and three other Ghanaian Companies: TG Energy Solutions Ghana Limited, Santa Power Limited and GTS Power Limited which formed the PDS was eventually declared the winner after a competitive procurement process. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The meeting between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman, Samuel Ofosu -Ampofo, and CID officials at the Police Headquarters has been postponed again. Lawyer for the opposition party Chair, Abraham Amaliba who was at the Police CID office on Friday, says his client is bereaved and that he could not meet with the Police as planned. We require some more time to honour the invitation, he said. It is the second time the meeting has been rescheduled after Mr. Ampofo failed to show up on Thursday as was widely reported. Earlier, his counsel Victor Kwadwo Adawudu had disclosed on Okay FM's Ade Akye Abia programme that his client will appear before the police CID today (Friday) However, the opposition party chair did not show up again on Friday as agreed with the police compelling his lawyers to enter another negotiation with the police officers to reschedule the meeting. Due to some circumstances our chairman could not make it so we came in here to plead with the police to give us some time to be able to come with our client, Mr. Amaliba told the media. He added that the police have reschedule another meeting, however, they will get back to us with the [new] date and time, he added. Background Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo had been invited by the CID over leaked taped in which a voice believed to be his, was heard making very damning comments in an alleged meeting with party members. Mr Ofosu Ampofo in the tape revealed that party militia groups were brought to the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election by both parties NPP and NDC. Contrary to earlier claims, the Chairman is heard saying that members of NDC-aligned militia group, Azorka Boys, were brought from Tamale to the constituency. These and the many other comments heard on the tape sparked outrage and the Police proceeded to request the presence of the Chairman. Subsequently, a letter dated February 27, invited the Chairman to the CID office on Thursday at 10:00 am but he never showed up. Source: Isaac kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Chairman of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, is reportedly playing continuous hide-and-seek with the Ghana Police Service following a leaked audio recording that has set tongues wagging in the country. The audio recording contains chilling strategies the NDC intends using for the 2020 elections one of them being the kidnappings of family members of political opponents. Two days after his lawyers visited the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters to authenticate an invitation letter served on the NDC Chairman, he is yet to personally report to the police. As at 5 pm yesterday, there was no sign at the CID Headquarters that Mr. Ofosu-Ampofu was coming to them. DAILY GUIDEs sources say the police are determined to arrest him wherever he might be if he does not honour their invitation by the close of Friday. As a result, the police are believed to have secured a warrant of arrest to pursue the NDC Chairman. Reports said he was scheduled to go to the CID headquarters at 10 am yesterday but cancelled the plan with the excuse that he was travelling to Jomoro in the Western Region for the one-week observation of the late Lee Ocran. A day before the same Ofosu-Ampofo reportedly said he was attending the same programme in Accra, which he did. A February 27, 2019 correspondence signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Tweneboah, Deputy Director of CID had directed Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo to report at 10am the following day. Earlier invitation The police even had a hectic time getting Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo to serve him and eventually had to serve him through his Whatsapp number. Sources said he was not at home when the police visited his Spintex Road residence in Accra to serve him with the invitation letter. Interestingly, when the team asked his security man at the gate to deliver the letter to his boss, Mr Ofosu-Ampofu allegedly asked his gateman via the telephone not to collect the letter and asked the police to take it to the NDC headquarters at Adabraka, Accra. At the party headquarters, the police source said Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo was not in the office and nobody was ready to receive the letter on his behalf. The sources said a scanned copy of the letter was personally sent to Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo through his Whatsapp line around 5:00 pm that same day, but surprisingly within 30 minutes of the action, the letter went viral on social media and the mainstream media started discussing it. NDC Crisis The leaked tape has expectedly stoked fire in the opposition NDC and generally changed the political conversation in the country. It took the party unawares, rendering the ad-hoc responses ineffective and even exposing the fault lines in the partys organization. With the initial responses pointing at a mole within the party failing to help the cause of the party, it did, however, indicate that some members at the executive level were under suspicion. A situation whereby the party managers are not singing from the same hymn book obviously suggests a political grouping in disarray occasioned by the leaked tape. Even as the police await the arrival of the National Chairman at the CID headquarters, the party itself is hunting for the source of the leakage. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Three heavily-built men believed to be members of The Hawks, a vigilante group of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have been arrested by the police in Kumasi. Dauda Ibrahim, aka Wayo, 40; Samuel Agyin, aka Rock, 32, and Abdul Ganiyu, alias Petit, 37, are being held in connection with the murder of Abdul Wasihu, 35, a member of the Taskforce, a vigilante group of the same NDC, at the partys Ashanti regional office at Amakom, Kumasi. They were among 12 persons declared wanted by the Ashanti Regional Police Command for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Wasihu on Monday, February 18, 2019, at the NDCs regional office in Kumasi. Apart from Wasihu, a top member of the NDC Taskforce, who was shot multiple times and killed instantly, another Taskforce member, identified as Abdul Rahman, aka West, was also hit by bullets and is said to be receiving treatment at the hospital. Ashanti Regional Police Spokesperson ASP Godwin Ahianyo told the media at a press briefing yesterday that the trio turned themselves in on Thursday evening after a manhunt. According to him, the suspects were being taken through investigation processes. He stated that the police are on the heels of the remaining suspects, Abdul Bari Mohammed, alias Warrior; Midjima; Abu Taliban; Saani Mohammed, aka Commando; Gyafaru alias Element; Fuseini, aka Jah Rule; Demos, Fayiz and Suleiman, aka Akon. ASP Ahinyo entreated the public to volunteer information that would lead to the arrest of the other suspects. On February 18, the NDC Ashanti regional office in Kumasi was turned into a war zone, as the two rival vigilante groups engaged in a fierce shootout, resulting in the death of Wasihu. The Hawks, according to the police, openly shot two members of the NDC Taskforce in Hollywood fashion in the full glare of the public. Window Escape At the time of the shooting, NDC national executives, including Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Johnson Asiedu Nketia and Barbara Serwah Asamoah were meeting the Ashanti regional executives to restore peace. They were holding the meeting to address the numerous problems facing the party in the various constituencies in the region when hell broke loose suddenly. The national executives reportedly had to flee through windows to save their lives. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video View this post on Instagram Shout out to My Brothers and Sisters in GHANA....Your AIRPORT is BEAUTIFULLLLL and a Testimony to AFRICAN POLITICIANS and LEADERS that we have enough RESOURCES to make some STANDARDS AMENITIES POSSIBLE....Naija Leaders Take note o If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close After the news that Benchmade helped the Oregon City Police Department cut some firearms down to fit into smaller boxes to be destroyed, there was understandable outrage from the Second Amendment community. It seemed that everywhere you looked on social media, there were posts that said something like Benchmade Anti-Gun or Bitchmade memes with little real information. We covered the incident as thoroughly as possible at the time of publication, but even then there were some inaccuracies in the original post due to some missing information. When the information was curated for our original coverage, unfortunately, Benchmade didn't respond at that time. Since then they have done some investigating into the incident and responded to our request for comment with an invitation to interview Benchmades director of marketing, Matt Elliott, about not only the cutting of firearms to size but also the widely shared coverage of the company's political donations. RECOIL: Before we get into the interview, is there anything that you would like to say to the RECOIL readership and the Second Amendment community about a Benchmade employee cutting up firearms with Benchmade equipment? MATT ELLIOTT: Yeah sure, I think the story, and the consistent story here is that while this particular event is as its come to light for all of us is weve realized it's something that people take high amounts of offense to, especially from the symbolism of it. In fact, especially with that post going out with no real context behind it, I can understand the strong reaction from the market on it. The fact of the matter is that we've supported law enforcement, people's right to carry, be it knives or guns, and the Second Amendment. We also have supported military from the beginning of the company until now, none of that's going to change moving forward. We're still going to work with law enforcement; were still going to support our local police department, the Oregon City PD. I also want people that know that moving forward we will not be engaging in helping the police with those activities [cutting firearms], especially now understanding the way that people feel about it. R: There have been two main topics that have been the focus of comments on RECOILs original coverage of the incident. The conversation has become centered around political contributions, which we can get into in a bit, but more so the commitment of Benchmade to the Second Amendment and the Second Amendment community, which we imagine makes up a large part of your customer base. Can you share Benchmades stance on Second Amendment issues clearly for our readers? ME: Benchmade from the beginning has been fully in support of Second Amendment rights. That's not just a Benchmade thing as a brand; it's a cultural thing as an organization. I can't speak to every single person in the business but I myself, I'm a big supporter. I happen to be a life member of the NRA. I'm not alone in that at Benchmade, and moreover, I also think it's important to make the point that it's about carry for us and people's right to carry state to state. And that isn't just about guns for us. At the end of the day, we're a knife company. I think it's important for us to be authentically who we are, and were a knife manufacturer. Now we are also the knife manufacturer that has really spearheaded and led the charge for as long as Ive been working here, which is more than a decade. Long before that with the manufacturer of automatic knives and helping to break down doors around antiquated or outdated legislation that has been very restrictive. When I started at Benchmade, I believe there were really only three states that allowed for carry of automatic [knives], and to date, that number has grown to 30 plus. I can't speak to the exact numbers because I'm not an expert on the laws in every state. I've watched that number grow and grow primarily over the course of the last five to six years right. R: After the video statement from your CEO, Les de Asis was uploaded to YouTube yesterday, it appears that someone turned the comments off shortly after it was published and some negative comments were left. Commenting remained off for approximately 15 hours before the comments were turned back on. Why was this decision made and was the person that made the decision authorized to do so? ME: The video was originally intended to be shared via Facebook and Instagram only, with YouTube serving for an unlisted hosting for internal resources to view it. After realizing the IG length allowed became an issue, the link was shared on that platform. The comment toggling was simply an omission in the hustle to get the full video up and out, with the team heading home after a long day once it was posted. It was not done as a response to anything. Once Benchmade became aware that the comments were turned off, they were immediately turned back on. There never was an intention to reduce the ability for the community to share their thoughts, but was just an oversight in the efforts to figure out how to cross post the content. R: How does Benchmade show their Second Amendment support? ME: You can see through our participation and memberships in national organizations that advocate for gun rights, to the tune of millions. These are pro-Second Amendment organizations that support our industry, host the biggest gun and knife and hunting equipment show in the world, and actively advocate for the rights that we believe in. We have had co-branded products that have directly funded their efforts to fight for Second Amendment rights, we attend shows that support this cause, we sponsor athletes that promote and engage in advocacy. This is an organization full of American workers who support the liberties granted to us and it is ingrained into who we are. R: Can you expand on how Benchmade supports organizations like the NRA? ME: We have been members of organizations, the NRA included, for decades and are very proud of that fact. We will continue to support their efforts to support gun owners rights and the Second Amendment. We participate in programs that give discounts to members of these organization along with our long-running history of financial support, along with the other actions we have taken through our direct relationships with them and the community. R: Can you explain the political contributions listed on OpenSecrets.org that have been circulating social media? ME: Oregon is a hotbed of knife makers, but also is a heavily Democrat-leaning state making most of the politicians with an interest in introducing legislation that is pro-knife often Democratic. When the donations were made to pro-knife politicians, it was about knife rights. Gun owners are protected when traveling through states by the Firearm Owners Protection act; knife owners dont enjoy that kind of protection. The Interstate Transport Act was a very important piece of legislation that Benchmade has been working to get passed for over five years, alongside the American Knife and Tool Institute. This bill had co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. The effort requires bi-partisan support and we need to ensure we are reaching across the aisle and bringing both parties to the table. I dont think most people are aware of how serious the penalties can be for certain types of knives in certain states, though less now than in the past, and it is the knife companies that have to carry the torch, as these issues generally have very low visibility. R: Was this the first time that the Oregon City Police Department has asked Benchmade for this type of assistance? ME: No, they have asked Benchmade two or three times a year over the last few years to assist them in cutting the firearms to be destroyed according to their policy to the correct size for the special destruction box. Since Benchmade has assisted law enforcement since day one, we agreed to render assistance in the past. R: What will be the answer to the Oregon City Police Department if they ask Benchmade to assist in cutting firearms into smaller pieces that fit inside of an incineration box? ME: Benchmade now has a policy to politely decline to assist Law Enforcement in the cutting up of firearms regardless of reason. If the local law enforcement request assistance with other matters, we will be happy to accommodate them as long as doesnt involve cutting firearms. R: Was it known that the police department was taking photos of the firearms being cut up by a Benchmade employee? ME: The police department was given permission to take the photos even though the Benchmade policy is that there is no photographs allowed in the facility. We have launched an investigation internally to ensure that this type of incident never happens again. R: Can you comment on whether or not the Benchmade employees that were photographed cutting up the firearms are facing disciplinary actions? ME: I am not able to say anything in regards to the status of those. What I can share is that Benchmade is currently investigating the incident and will take the proper actions to prevent a similar incident from occurring when that investigation comes to a conclusion. R: How long was the post live on the Oregon City Police Facebook page before Benchmade was aware of it? ME: We were made aware of the post within minutes of it going up on the police departments Facebook page. When the post was made, I was flying back to Atlanta and personally wasnt aware of it until the plane landed and my phone was turned back on. The post was not approved by us and we did not know it was going to be made. R: What was Benchmades reaction after learning about the post? ME: It surprised us, to say the least. The post was not sanctioned by Benchmade in any way. It was not approved by the company and wasnt a planned post. We didnt expect that they would post a photo of the activity, but they did and we have to own it. And owning it means changing our behaviors in this area. R: Does Benchmade have any thoughts about the internal OCPD policy that mandated that firearms which were unable to be returned to their owner for whatever reason, be it legal or otherwise? ME: Since OCPDs post went viral we have conducted an investigation into the entire event. We are hoping this can be an opportunity to have a more open discussion about the intricacies of such an important subject. We have learned a lot and as I said earlier, we will not be allowing this practice to happen in our facilities again. R: Is there anything that we didnt cover in the original article or this interview that you feel is important to address? ME: I just want to take a moment to reiterate that Benchmade has heard the feedback from our community and will be changing its stance on the cutting of firearms. We always will support individual rights, whether that is gun ownership, keeping and carrying knives as well as supporting the law enforcement community. We have to lead the charge on breaking down restrictive, antiquated and significant laws with regards to knives. We hope that this situation can bring awareness to the ITA. I hope that this provides some visibility to the issues surrounding knife rights as they are just as important to us as firearm rights. We appreciate the opportunity to directly address our community as we know this has been a confusing few days that have upset quite a few people. We know this is the most critical issue for many of the readers and public in general that support Second Amendment rights. This was never our intention and we hope this can bring clarity to areas of question about our beliefs and what we stand for. Back in the early 1980s as a budding young student of martial arts, I discovered the balisong knife. More commonly known as a butterfly knife, this blade design originated in the Philippines and the knives featured an opening method that required a bit of skill and in my opinion were flashier than using an auto-opening blade. There were no special bearing systems like IKBS (Ikoma-Korth Bearing System), handle materials were brass, steel, aluminum or some zinc alloy (titanium was literally unobtainium back then unless you had connections to the US Military's Aerospace programs), some sported wood, bone or plastic inlays and the blade steel was usually 440 C or some other stainless steel that was branded as surgical. Most of these knives were made in Japan, the Philippines or Taiwan (we didn't even have trade relations with China at the time). A few had been made in Europe, but they were not commonly seen in my part of the City. The only one at this time that was made in America was Ernest Emerson's personally built bali that he made in 1979. All I knew was that I had to learn how to manipulate one because I saw this superseding the nunchaku as THE martial arts weapon of the 1980s! Opening a balisong is a simple three-step move. The important thing to do is to evaluate the knife and see which side the edge is on with relation to the latch on the handle. In most instances, the latch is on the handle with the same side as the edge of the blade. This is known as the Batangas handle as that is the region in the Philippines where the knives originated. If the latch is on the non-edge side of the blade, it is known as a Manilla handle for the city where balisongs were made in that fashion. The handle that corresponds to the edge of the blade is known as the bite handle as you will eventually get cut if you accidentally hold this handle during a manipulation. Holding the knife closed with the bite handle on top and facing outward, you flip it open and let it drop all the way down. Next, you rotate the handle that you are holding 180 degrees so that the back of the bite handle is now facing outboard. Then you simply flip it back into your hand and you are holding a balisong at the ready. The following video shows this in action: I own two knives from this period. The first had one of the catchiest names of all time. It was Taylor Cutlery's Manila Folder. If memory serves correctly, there were a number of variants of this model when it first reached American shores from Japan in the early 1980s. All of them featured a brass frame, but inlays could be had in various hardwoods, bone, stag, buffalo horn, and other materials. Unlike the majority of these knives at the time, it featured the Manila style latch on the handle corresponding to the unsharpened side of the blade. It might seem a bit heavy to modern balisong aficionadoes, but these knives were a solid and well-made knife and probably represented the top of the line until balisongs began production in the U.S. and manufacturers took advantage of better materials. This knife lives on today. A decade or so later, Taylor Cutlery was purchased by Smith & Wesson in order to produce, among other things, Smith & Wesson branded knives and tools. Smith & Wesson purchased Schrade Cutlery in 2016 and the knife holdings somewhat merged. Schrade is now manufacturing a balisong with stainless steel handles known as the Manila Folder. In fact, it is the only knife that Schrade (or Taylor, Imperial, Uncle Henry, Old Timer, etc.) manufactures in the United States. That was one tragedy of the balisong knife. Lawmakers and bureaucrats who had seen too many martial arts movies banned these knives from importation in the 1990s. The good news is that all modern day balisongs in America are made here and not overseas. Which brings us to our second knife pictured and one that has many memories attached to it. Valor Cutlery's Singapore model. At the time Valor made some very nice knives on par with Gerber Knives of the same time period. Today they are mostly trash knives imported from Pakistan and certainly not a balisong among them, but at one time they were a good manufacturer. I first discovered this knife in 1984, while a Freshman in High School. I learned how to flip on this one and carried it constantly. That came to a screeching halt two years later while giving an impromptu lesson on the beach during the Summer. A police officer asked to see it and wanted to charge me with carrying a switchblade. When he could not find a button on the handle or figure out how to open it, he made me drop it down a storm sewer, along with the other one with which I was performing. Gotta love the NYPD. I replaced it soon after with another one. These knives cost $30 or so at the time and I used it to teach manipulation of the balisong to countless others until the day before I shipped out to Parris Island for USMC Boot Camp. I didn't have much of a family life and at 17 had few worldly possessions, but I knew the knife would get confiscated by the Marines. I gave it to my best friend, who in turn gave it to a girl who was having problems with a stalker a few years later. I sourced this knife fairly recently after a nearly 30-year search! Although I did carry a balisong as a pocket knife in the Corps, it was a different brand and I had a hard time running down a version of the Singapore for nearly 30 years. As flashy as they were at the time, they were really nothing new. The design had been around for several hundred years. The steels were nothing special, nor were the handle materials. Most of the time the pins were not heat treated and this lead to parts breakage, likewise the Batangas handle often meant the latch would contact and ding the edges of these knives. Most modern designs have addressed these issues by using spring-loaded latches, properly made parts and more use of modern materials. We will take a closer look at the balisong in an upcoming print issue of the RECOIL, today I just wanted to share a taste of why these knives matter to me and the path that they set me down. [Updated at end of Article] It started with a Black Friday sale. Stag Arms of New Britain, Connecticut offered up a charging handle suspiciously similar to the AXTS/Radian RAPTOR (MSRP from $64.95 to $199.95) for a mere $14.99. That probably should have started the alarm bells in your head, because while Black Friday is known for great deals, rarely would you be able to buy an item at such a pittance. In late December of 2018, AXTS sued Stag Arms for patent infringement (you can read the full suit here). But recently, the case has been settled for an undisclosed amount of money. Redmond, OR AXTS, INC (dba Radian Weapons) has entered into an agreement to settle an existing lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Stag Arms LLC relating to product configuration trade dress, as well at infringement of Radians U.S. patents D694,354, D705,304, and D738,452. Stag Arms admits its infringement of Radians trade dress and patents in the sale of a charging handle designated the Stag Ambi Charging Handle. As part of the settlement, Stag Arms has paid Radian an amount the parties agreed to keep confidential. Stag Arms has agreed not to sell either the Stag Ambi Charging Handle or any other product that infringes Radians trade dress or patents, and has provided Radian with the names of its suppliers of the infringing charging handles. Radian Weapons CEO Josh Underwood We are happy to have settled this matter with Stag Arms LLC. There is a flood of Chinese knockoffs of the Raptor charging handle being illegally imported into the U.S. market. The manufacturer(s) of these items and the U.S. re-sellers who are looking to capitalize off our innovation and manufacturing expertise are placed on notice that we will continue to enforce our patents and vigorously protect our intellectual property. As of the time of this writing, no longer can you purchase a Stag Ambi Charging Handle from their site. [UPDATE] Yesterday Stag Arms released a statement that federal judge dismissed the intellectual property lawsuit. Here's the wording: New Britain, CT 1 March 2019 Today, Stag Arms, LLC commenced litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut asserting claims that the charging handles Tactical Superiority, Inc. supplied to Stag knowingly were mispresented as American-made. Stag also asserts that Tactical promised its charging handles did not infringe on intellectual property of Radian Weapons' charging handles or any others but Radian sued Stag for selling the charging handles alleging they did infringe. On February 25th, Judge Janet C. Hall of the Connecticut District Court entered an order dismissing that infringement lawsuit filed by AXTS, INC (d/b/a Radian Weapons) against Stag with prejudice, thereby precluding further litigation, and without award of fees or costs to any party. Radian's misdirected lawsuit was merely the result of Tactical's wrongdoing and Stag resolved it solely to avoid the expense and distraction. Stag did not admit the validity or enforceability of Radian's intellectual property. Subsequently, Radian has represented to the public that Stag paid Radian to resolve its lawsuit for a confidential amount. In the interest of complete transparency, Stag invites Radian to disclose the actual settlement amount to avoid any confusion concerning the merits of its lawsuit against Stag. Stag has always been, and will always be, unwavering in its commitment to deliver 100% American-made firearms and related merchandise to its customers. You can visit Stag Arms here and Radian here. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Spacecraft separation during VS21 mission as seen by onboard camera No. 2 (top) and No. 1 (middle) and camera No. 4 (bottom). Credit: Arianespace An artist rendering illustrating the release of the first pair of OneWeb satellites during the VS21 mission. Credit: Arianespace The payload section of the Soyuz rocket with six OneWeb satellites. Click to enlarge. Credit: Arianespace Army : As our forces began implementing deployment plan, coalition commits 644 violations [02/March/2019] ANAA, Marche 2 (Saba) - The armed forces spokesman said on Thursday, "As our forces began implementing the first phase of the redeployment plan in Hodeidah, the aggression and its mercenaries continue to delay the implementation of the Sweden agreement and intensify their violations by targeting the homes and farms of citizens. Brigadier General Yahya Sarie said in a statement to the Saba news agency that there were 644 violations by the enemy recorded in the last 48 hours . He affirmed the violations of the aggression and its mercenaries were distributed on firing 29 rockets, 387 shells, 198 firing operations using heavy and medium arms , 12 reinforcements acts, while the coalition's warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft carried out 14 violations on the town of Hodeidah and other districts. He pointed out that the aviation aggression continued to commit more crimes and targeting civilians and public and private property by launching 43 raids on a number of provinces. The spokesman for the armed forces that the army and the Popular forces repulsed the infiltration of mercenaries towards their positions in Tibab Alalm of Al-Rabwa and in Tala Boka, and foiled three attempts to infiltrate by the mercenaries in Hayes and in Harib Qaramish. He pointed out that the heroes of the army carried out two attacks on the sites and gatherings of the mercenaries of the aggression, one took place in Bakkam and another in Qaniya, Bayda province, during which Artab Asir and Wata Abdullah hilltop were secured. The army and the Popular forces carried out four raids on the enemy positions off Najran, east of Sabreen in Jawf, Nehm and in Taiz, in addition to a qualitative operation which took place in Sabreen. Sarie confirmed that the army fighters and the popular forces have inflicted on the mercenaries' forces heavy losses in lives and gear. AA Saba President discusses comprehensive strategy for Yemen's infrastructure, services needs [02/March/2019] ANAA, Mars 2 (Saba) Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Supreme Political Council, met on Saturday with Deputy Prime Minister for Services Mahmoud al-Junaid, Minister of Public Works and Roads Ghaleb Mutlaq, Water and Environment Minister Nabil Abdullah al-Wazir and Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Abdul Ghani al-Madani. The meeting discussed aspects related to the comprehensive strategy of Yemen's infrastructure and services projects. It touched upon the progress of service projects in the sectors of water, environment, public works, roads, electricity and the plans of the relevant ministries for the coming period. The meeting also touched upon aspects related to the humanitarian work progress and the importance of expanding the humanitarian activities of the organizations to meet the increasing needs of the displaced and poor families due to the current situation in the country. AA Saba Saudi-led coalition's mercenaries open fire at convoy of head of Int'l Monitoring Committee in Hodeidah [02/March/2019] ODEIDAH, March 2 (Saba) - The convoy of the head of the international ceasefire monitoring committee in the province of Hodeidah, General Michael Lollesgaard was exposed this afternoon to fire from the positions of the mercenaries of aggression in the street of fifty, Hodeidah city. The source said in a statement to the Yemeni news agency (Saba) that the procession of Major General Lollesgaard was exposed at two O'clock in the afternoon to ab opening fire which continued after the fourth hour in the humanitarian corridor, which was opened to the mills of the Red Sea. The source pointed out that Lollesgaard asked the team of the national delegation to open the way to the passage of the motorcade on the fiftieth street and facilitate access to the mills of the Red Sea, which was done by the army, supported by popular forces, and when his convoy returned, the US-saudi-backed coalition's mercenaries opened at it the fire. The source confirmed that the mercenaries destroyed two bulldozers belonging to the army and popular forces while they were working to open the way and facilitate the transit of the international team. The source condemned the attack by the mercenaries of the forces of aggression on the convoy of the head of the international monitoring committee of the cease-fire agreement in Hodeidah. The source called on the United Nations to take a clear stand condemning the party that is clearly involved in the humanitarian crisis in Yemen through preventing UN organizations from reaching the Red Sea mills in Hodeidah and the policy of starving conducted against the Yemeni people by the coalition. AA Saba In an obvious reference to the courage of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the word "abhinandan" has assumed a new meaning. "The strength of our country is that it changes the meaning of words in dictionary. 'Abhinandan' in English until now meant 'congratulations', but it will be different from now on," Modi said towards the end of his speech at an event here, speaking partly in English and partly in Hindi. Modi's remarks came a day after the Wing Commander was released by Islamabad after over 60 hours in captivity. Varthaman was captured after a dogfight in the sky when his plane was hit and it crashed in Pakistani territory on February 27. The 35-year-old IAF officer showed calm during his questioning in Pakistan, a video released by his captors showed. Addressing private firms linked to the housing construction sector, Modi sought help to take India to the top in the field so as to ensure homes for the "poorest of poor". Giving example of construction technology used in tents in Kumbh in Prayagraj, Modi said: "If makeshift arrangements can be made so good, permanent arrangement will be expectedly extremely much better." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (File photo) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan and asked both countries to keep up the "positive momentum". A statement issued by his spokesperson's office shortly after Varthaman returned to India said: "We welcome the news of the Pakistani authorities releasing the captive Indian pilot today. The Secretary-General calls on both parties to sustain this positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue". Guterres reiterated his offer good offices to facilitate a dialogue should both countries agree. Varthaman was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday after his MiG was shot down and crashed in Pakistani territory during an Indian Air Force operation to repel Pakistani planes intruding into Indian territory. The hearing of a $700,000 lawsuit brought by Reverend Opapo Soanai Oeti and his daughter, Toaipupuaga Patrick, against the Samoa Observer was held in the Supreme Court yesterday. Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mata Tuatagaloa, presided. Rev. Opapo and his daughter, who maintained she is carrying the marks of Jesus Christs crucifixion, also commonly referred to as the stigmata, were represented by lawyer, Muriel Lui. The Samoa Observer was represented by Sua Hellene Wallwork, of Wallwork Lamb Lawyers. The lawsuit targets the publication by the Samoa Observer of a letter to the editor titled Stop this madness written by pseudonym M.R. in the Samoa Observers edition of 29th March 2017. The letter in question was an online comment, in response to a story titled Church stigmata row deepens. The plaintiffs claim the letter was defamatory, and that by the Samoa Observer publishing it, it printed a similar piece that had been posted on the Ole Palemia blog. Rev. Opapo and his daughter are asking for general damages of $400,000, aggravated damages of $200,000, punitive damages of $100,000 and costs. In his evidence yesterday, Rev. Opapo told the Court the letter in question and what had been posted on Ole Palemia - harmed his reputation and caused hurt to his family. He said the allegations played a big part in the decision by the Elders of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa to remove his Ministerial responsibilities in 2017. Rev. Opapo also revealed that last year; the Church Elders reinstated his Ministerial duties so that he is now working as an Assistant Church Minister (Faifeau Fesoasoani) in Savaii. His daughter Toa filed an affidavit but was not questioned during the proceedings. The Samoa Observer Editor, Mataafa Keni Lesa, was the respondents only witness. He strongly denied the allegations made by the plaintiff, saying the Samoa Observer cannot and must not be held accountable for the hurt caused by Ole Palemia. He told the Court that the opinions section of the Samoa Observer offers readers and members of the public an opportunity to express their opinions about matters of public interest and feedback to stories that are relevant and topical at the time. The matter has been adjourned until 20 March 2019 for final submissions. Leauvaa Primary School has joined a growing list of schools to receive funding from Japans Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project. Yesterday, a signing ceremony to formalize Japans grant assistance took place at the Embassy office in Apia between Ambassador Maugaoleatuolo Shinya Aoki and the Chairman of the school committee, Tuala Puletini Tuala. The committee received a grant of $245,000 to fund the reconstruction of eight new classrooms, a staff room and a library or computer room and to carry out renovations for two additional classrooms. The occasion was the most evident manifestation of Japans continuous support and firm commitment towards the education sector, realizing that improving basic education facilities at grassroots level is very vital in the learning process of young children of Samoa, a statement from the Japanese Embassy in Samoa said. It is expected that upon completion of the project, 300 plus students and 9 teachers with parents and other generations will directly benefit from the reconstructed and improved facility. Japan has been working in partnership with the Samoan Government since 1991 to further develop such grassroots and human security projects. Photo: EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Mr Neven Mimica; Director General of the Pacific Community (SPC), Dr Colin Tukuitonga; Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, Prof. Pal Ahluwalia; and Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Mr Kosi Latu signing the GCCA+ SUPA Agreement. Two programmes amounting to almost EUR 32 million (T$95million) were signed by the European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica on the occasion of his visit to the Pacific. The programmes will seek to promote sustainable waste management and support adaptation efforts to the effects of climate change. They underline the EUs strong commitment to the Pacific region, as well as reinforcing the strong cooperation between the Pacific region and the EU. Commissioner Mimica, signed the PacificEuropean Union Waste Management Programme, worth EUR 16.5 million, with the Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), Leota Kosi Latu. In addition, Commissioner Mimica signed the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling-up Pacific Adaptation programme (GCCA+ SUPA), worth EUR 14.89 million, jointly with the Director General of Pacific Community (SPC), Dr. Colin Tukuitonga, the Director General of SPREP, Mr Kosi Latu, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Pacific (USP), Professor Pal Ahluwalia. The signature of these programmes reinforces once again the excellent partnership between the European Union and the Pacific. The EU has been continuously scaling up funds available for green investments in the Pacific region and across the globe, said Commissioner Mimica. The signing of these two programmes marks another step in the efforts of addressing the challenges of sustainable development and adapting to the effects of climate change, which affect all Pacific Island Countries. The People of the Pacific appreciate the cooperation and support provided by the EU, said Leota. The PacificEuropean Union Waste Management Programme will provide EUR 16.5 million to manage waste in the region. This will aid the Pacific region to address issues relating to health and well-being, marine litter and biodiversity conservation. It will be implemented in partnership with the SPREP with other key regional partner agencies. The Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling-up Pacific Adaptation programme (GCCA+ SUPA), the EU will allocate EUR 14.89 million to help the region adapt its plans and strategies towards climate change. It will be implemented in partnership with SPC, SPREP and USP. The Pacific Community (SPC), Director-General, Dr. Colin Tukuitonga said: Continuity of development support is essential for long term sustainable change in the Pacific and SPC together with our partners are especially grateful to the European Union for entering into this second phase of the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Action, so that the Pacific islands can continue to build resilience to climate change. The University of the South Pacific (USP), Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia said: research and development support adds value to USPs continuous effort to build and enhance capacity at the national, sub-national and community levels in Pacific Island Countries to address climate change and its impact. Within a framework of close collaboration with our implementation partners, USP is grateful to the European Union for the project funding that will surely have a positive impact on the lives of Pacific Island communities. New Zealand-based couple Leslie Aguas and Andrew Green have just flown into Samoa and are looking forward to enjoying the sights and sounds of the country. Originally from the Philippines, 34-year-old Leslie is seeing Samoa with fresh eyes as a first time visitor. Theres so much potential, I told my partner because its my first time here with all the road works, and easier way to the airport but its good. Its good that you guys want to improve and want to know more, because were from the outside and we see it as opposed to you guys who are always here, she said. The pair are here for a couple of days and cannot wait to discover Samoa, even in the unpredictable weather. Its still good because its still warm. Its all part of the experience, said Andrew. When asked about their interaction thus far with the locals, Leslie said: Theyre very warm, always smiling, such happy people, and I love the dancing and singing. Currently, they are staying at the Taumeasina Island Resort, which is where they met the Dear Tourist team. Yeah theres a lot of potential here (and) because Im from the Philippines so Im very much into resorts and stuff, and I was just telling my partner that your shore, you could have started with that. Because youre mainly a tourist spot, so you have to clean up the shore, remove all those rocks and stuff so its nice for your customers and they would definitely come back. They enjoy it because tourists like the beach more than the pool, so thats something you can improve on, because thats what we do in the Philippines, she added. Leslie urged the resort to make use of Samoas natural resources and build from there while also maintaining it. Basically just cleaning it up and maintaining it because youve got it, New Zealand doesnt have it and youre close to us so thats something you could do. They dont have the type of sand and the weather is so different we have beautiful beach, but the water is cold so thats why people still come to tropical country like this and thats a plus, she added. Clearing the rocks on the beach will enable guests, added Leslie, to enjoy the experience. On the other hand, Leslie complimented the hospitality of hotel staff and she described as beautifully cooked dishes at the resort. I like the fish the seafood the tuna, sashimi fish, that was very nice. People are very kind, nice and warm so I really like it, she added. And while the resort is beautiful, Leslie is of the view that they have to improve on their breakfast menu, though. Andrew, 42, said they will head to Seabreeze Resort soon as they want to check out the other side of Samoa. Were going out soon to the other side which I havent been to yet, and I wanted to get to the more natural sort of stuff because this is quite resort and stuff. He said they are excited to check out more beaches on the south coast while visiting the rural community. Even though well be staying in a resort but check out some of the beaches and things. And when we drive over to the other side, most of it is kind of untouched like there are not huge amounts of development with homes everywhere and thats going to be very interesting to drive around to see. The couple will not visit Savaii on this trip and have vowed to: Just going to hang out and see what we can find. The beauty of Samoas natural environment has left Japanese tourist Momoko Nagatani mesmerised. She spent a week in the country and told the Samoa Observer that the beauty of its natural environment struck her. I love the nature, its so beautiful here. If anything, I would not want Samoa to over-develop, and I think Samoa should stay the same and not change from what they have right now, she said in an interview. Ms. Nagatani first heard of Samoa from her friend, who works here in the country, and consequently flew over for a visit. I have a friend who works here in Apia so I thought its a really good opportunity to come visit. Because Samoa is a bit far from my country and its not very popular country to spend the holidays for us thats why I visit, Thanks to her seven-day adventure in paradise, she plans to return to Samoa, and is also determined to get a traditional Samoan tattoo when she returns. Before coming to Samoa, I wanted to get a tattoo because of how pretty and its just that it looks really nice. If I come back again, I will definitely get that tattoo, she said. The Samoan way of life from tasting the traditional cooked food of taro and palusami to sleeping in a fale has been a new kind of experience, which she says she will cherish. I saw how they cooked food the traditional way and then I tasted taro and palusami, it was a great experience, she said, after observing and participating in the Samoa Tourism Authority cultural show. A trip to the famous Lalomanu beach was also on the cards for the Japanese. We also drove to the beach at Lalomanu and we spent a night in an open fale, which was a great thing, because I heard it was a big (thing) for Samoans. And with her departure from Samoa not far away, she enjoyed the comforts of the Taumeasina Island Resort, while going through the numerous photos she has taken of her Samoan adventure. I am a photographer back home and I will be taking a lot of photos here, which I love so much, she added. In her first visit to Samoa, she has tried to make the best of each experience, even during the rain! Its been so great, the only thing about it was the rain, but it was still great even with the rain, Samoa is still so pretty in the rain, said the 39-year-old who lives in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. The Public Service Commission has been busy. That much is undeniable, if we are to judge from the string of stories featured on the pages of this newspaper in recent days, about the outcome of its investigation into the conduct or misconduct at the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. Judging from the P.S.C. charges against senior officials at the Ministry reported thus far, it appears the Commission Delegate, Maiavatele Timothy Fesili, and his team of investigators have their work cut out. One gets the feeling though, that there will be a lot more to come, so we await with very keen interest. What we do want to point out is that all this started sometime last year, when Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration employee Tualima Pio, spilled the beans about what was allegedly happening in the Ministry. During an interview with the Samoa Observer at the time, he said he and the Secretary of Chief Executive Officer, Papalii John Taimalelagi, moved files in relation to the Ainuu title of Sapapalii and one other about the boundaries of Atua from the vicinity of the Court to the Office of the Minister in 2016. I took the boxes of files to the Ministers Office; I was escorted by the C.E.O.s Secretary, Mr. Pio told the Samoa Observer then. When I reported this matter to the Chief Justice; I told him that I was instructed by the C.E.O. to take these boxes of files. I followed orders, even though I know deep down that this was wrong. I dont care what the outcome of this is, but at least I came clean and reported the matter to the Chief Justice. At the time when he was asked for a comment, Minister Faaolesa said: That is not true. I cannot respond to the questions, if you will not tell me who said these things to you. Well when the story was first published on the front page of the Samoa Observer on Friday 27 April 2018, he would have known right away. But where did Mr. Pio find so much courage to speak out against his superiors? The Head of State; the Prime Minister and all Cabinet Ministers come down to the Court to view the Court files; because we all know the Court files are not allowed to leave the Court. It is prohibited, he said. So imagine then what must have been going through his mind on that particular day in 2016, when he was doing something he was not supposed to do, following alleged instructions from his superiors? We can imagine him thinking about all those elderly people from Savaii, Manono, Apolima and far away places in Upolu lining up outside the Land and Titles Court office everyday, having to wait for hours to see their files? Getting back to the Minister, when he was queried, he referred all questions to C.E.O. Papalii who strongly denied the allegations. This type of allegation questions the integrity of the Ministry and that is why I want to make it clear that these are not true, Papalii said at the time. There was never a time that Court documents have left the Court house. He did not stop there. Instead, he went on to explain that there is a long-standing policy, which prohibits the removal of any Court records from the Courthouse. There is no law or a regulation specifically on the removal of Court records. But it has been a long-standing policy since the establishment of the Court, this is not allowed, he said. Everyone and I mean everyone has to go through the process. Even his Highness the Head of State, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers or Members of Parliament, C.E.O.s if they want to conduct research on any Court filings, they have to file a request form to me. And keep in mind these records are not public records and so if you want to see these files, you have to prove in your request form your eligibility to view any file. These are different from court rulings, which are public. But Court filings and in this case the Land and Titles Court; they have to be a party in order to view the files. The request form is vetted thoroughly and we do not grant any request without going through the proper procedures. Okay then. That was in 2018 and we did take Papaliis word for it. After all, he was and still is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Justice, where the truth is paramount. Interestingly, Mr. Pio had more on his mind, also raising concerns about some of the activities at the Ministry. Said he: I have picked up family members (of senior officials) and drive them around for grocery shopping; run errands yet this was not my job in the first place. I am not being paid by the Government to run errands for the A.C.E.Os and their family members. Fast-forward to this week, it emerged that two Assistant Chief Executive Officers of the Ministry faced Public Service Commission (P.S.C.) charges, in relation to the Inquiry launched following Mr. Pios complaint. One of them has been sacked by the Cabinet and is likely to face a full Police investigation. Whats more, it has also emerged that the Public Service Commission (P.S.C.) has filed misconduct charges against Chief Executive Officer Papalii which we understand is connected to Mr. Pios allegations Court files allegations among other things? Will they stop there? Or are we likely to see more people charged whether theyd be P.S.C. or Police? Now, on the front page of the Sunday Samoan you are reading is a letter from the P.S.C. Chairman Aiono Mose Sua. The letter is self-explanatory. In the meantime, we await with bated breath the next developments of this most fascinating saga. Stay tuned! Have a peaceful Sunday Samoa, God bless! The former Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, celebrated his birthday on Friday, receiving a letter from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Written by Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Sally Mapstone, the letter informed His Highness Tui Atua the University had unanimously agreed to confer on him an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt). The honorary degree issued on the basis of high achievement in the respective field or a long record of research and publication. It is often awarded to candidates whose record of published work and research shows conspicuous ability and originality and constitutes a distinguished and sustained achievement. In the United Kingdom, Australia, India and the Republic of Ireland, the Doctor of Letters is regarded as a higher doctorate, above the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Education (Ed.D.). In the letter, Professor Mapstone congratulates Tui Atua. It is my pleasant duty to advise you formally that the Honorary Degree Committee, as representatives of the academic staff and students of the University of St. Andrews, has unanimously agreed that it wishes to confer on you the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters, she writes. We should very much like the opportunity to recognise publicly your time as Head of the States of Samoa and your role as a leading Pacific scholar and public intellectual. The former Head of State and his Masiofo, Her Highness Filifilia Tamasese, are scheduled to travel to Scotland in June for the official conferral of the award. The University would be pleased to offer you and a guest accommodation during your time at St. Andrews as well as help with travels and logistics. Honorary Graduands normally are present in St Andrews for 1-2 days and attend a dinner in their honour as well as other graduation-related festivities." We look forward to hearing from you and, we hope, to welcoming you to St. Andrews in June. According to St. Andrews website, the University was founded in the early 15th century, Scotlands first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Ranked 92nd in the world, it is particularly competitive in Theology, divinity and religious studies where it is ranked 18th in the QS World University Rankings. It ranks 19th in Philosophy and 61st in Arts and Humanities. An investigation into the financial irregularities and poor management of the University of the South Pacifics Alafua Campus is underway. This was confirmed by the Universitys Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, during an interview with the Sunday Samoan. Prof. Pal also confirmed this is why Mohammed Umar who was taking on the role of Campus Director and Head of School was placed on leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Professor Siaka Diarra is the acting Head of School. Dean Faculty of Business and Economic, Professor Arvind Patel, said there are no allegations, but just two internal audit reports that have come out on the campus. We have seen some evidence of poor management, irregularities and that we have been making heavy losses every year for the last five years and we want to actually investigate that further, Prof. Arvind said. To do that, it is very important that the person who is charged is put on suspension or goes on leave with pay. He hasnt done anything wrong; its only about the management of IRETA, and the Campus. We have some evidence that money was not banked at the right time and all that, but we look at the management. Prof. Pal said at the conclusion of the investigation, Mr. Umar will have the opportunity to respond to those allegations, which the investigation team will put formally to him before the university makes the final decision. And as I said these are allegations, they are neither proved, and neither not proved. So the question is for them to come up with some concrete allegations and then allow Mr. Umar to make a response to them. The investigation is now a couple of weeks and maybe a bit longer. The investigators, we have an internal quality and risk team that does the investigation, and they will be flying to Samoa shortly. But currently they are doing a desk audit, as much as they can do, then they will come here to conclude their stuff. Im hoping theyll be finishing their investigation within the next six-eight weeks but you cant always tell. In an earlier report, Mr. Mohammed said he was notified by the management team at the Suva Campus in Fiji of the allegations against him. I asked them what were the allegations and they said they did an audit review, I asked where the report is and they said they cannot give it any time soon. That was not a very good thing," Mr. Mohammed said. Prof. Pal said the duration of Mr. Umars leave depends on the investigation. He can be completely exonerated, he would return to work, or the allegations that were directly made, whatever the outcome of that will tell the university what to do next. Whether he will resume his two positions after the investigations is a decision we cannot make at this stage, because I dont know what the outcome of the investigation will be. And really, these decisions are generally not made by me, they are made by me ultimately, but they are made via first our vice president for regional campuses, secondly they are made by the Dean of the Faculty which the School of Agriculture reports to. Prof. Pal said he is unsure whether Prof. Diarra will take over the role permanently as investigations will determine the next step for the university. He has been put in place because we need somebody to act to make sure things are going well, and I have full confidence in Prof. Diara because of course he is the senior most academic in our USP in Samoa. He is an Associate Professor and has a very good research record so you know, I have full confidence in his acting position, but no decision can be made until that final report comes. He can only be in an acting position. The Fagalii Airport will be handed over to the Samoa Airport Authority (S.A.A.) to operate. It is currently owned and run by the Polynesian Airlines (Investment). But the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Papalii Niko Lee Hang, said the Government has finalised the decision for the airports handover. The Government believes that a private airline company should not run the airport, because other (aviation) companies are also using it which is a conflict of interest for them." So the decision to return it to Airport Authority is because it would be more secure, as they have fire trucks in case of any emergency, and at the moment Polynesian doesnt have those vehicles for emergency." If something does happen they dont have fire trucks, only the Airport Authority does, and also in terms of terrorist coming in we need authority to manage those operations, and especially it is an international airport and needs to stick to international laws, he told the Sunday Samoan. The Polynesian Airline has been given 16 months to make the appropriate preparations for the airport to be handed over to the authority. The return of Fagalii to the authority will mean it will have full control of all airports including the new Tiavea airport currently being built. When he was asked what will happen to Fagalii when Tiavea airport is in operation, Papalii said it will stay open. Tiavea airport will be on standby for incoming flights. The idea is if its cheaper to operate, the one at Tiavea then we will run it and have just the last flights coming in to Fagalii. The airport at Tiavea is to avoid incident like the plane that crashed at Moamoa in the past. If the weather is bad, then the flights can use there than flying all the way to Fagalii. On the question of affordability by the Government to simultaneously operate three airports, the Minister was optimistic saying we will have to wait and see. The Tiavea airport will cost about $5.1million and is funded by the authority. The total cost includes $900,000 for terminal, $1.4million for runway of 900 meters long, $200,000 for car-park and $3.6million on earthworks and clearing of the land. Papalii said the airport will be much bigger than the one at Fagalii, which has a runway of just 700 meters, and is expected to be in operation by November this year. When the Minister was asked how the Tiavea airport will be funded, Papalii pointed out it will come from funds put aside for capital use development. It is funded under main budget. The money will come straight from the Faleolo landing fees, parking fees and rents from businesses and companies at the airport. The Minister who is also responsible for the Samoa Shipping Corporation that owns the Satitoa wharf said he is aware of public concerns at projects where a lot of funding is poured into and had poor returns. On Satitoa wharf, Papalii said the corporation tried its best to generate revenue from the wharf but did not make profit. (The end of the day vaai atu le corporation e gau) He blamed the cost of transporting people back to Apia and businesses preference for easy pickup in town for the corporations bad performance. There was a risk of people that wanted to go Savaii or overseas and weighed all the options and the boats benefit when it is docked here (at Matautu). If it docks at Aleipata the people had to go all the way to Aleipata do pick up and same with taro sellers so the disadvantage is bigger than the advantage. The only advantage was that it is the shorter time of sailing (from Am. Samoa to Upolu). The Minister was also asked if he was concerned at Tiavea facing similar problems to Satitoa airport due to its distance from town. In response, Papalii said the project is a trial and the Government will have Plan B if things dont work out. Things like this I believe are all challenges that Government leaders go through. It is to be there for an emergency, but that is the concern of the public, because of these big developments it might be abandoned and that is all our concern as taxpayers and the Government does try to do what is best for people." If it doesnt work then we can have something else planned there but the idea is to have another development out there near the rural villages on that side of the island. The ride-hailing company Lyft filed paperwork Friday with Securities and Exchange Commission, closing in on its highly anticipated initial public offering. And, in an usual move, it had a little something for its drivers. Lyft said it earned $2.2 billion in revenue last year, doubling what it made in 2017, according to the regulatory filing. But it said its losses also have grown, reporting a net loss of $911.3 million in 2018, compared with $688.3 million a year earlier. The companys history of losing money was listed as a risk factor, along with intense competition, and Lyft said there would be consequences if the work status of its nearly 2 million contract drivers is challenged by regulators or the courts. As part of the IPO, Lyft is giving its drivers an opportunity to cash in. Those who have completed more than 10,000 rides are eligible for a cash bonus of $1,000, which can be used to purchase stock at the IPO price. Drivers with more rides will qualify for larger payouts, according to the filing. Advertisement The bonus program is notable because ordinary investors are typically excluded from purchasing a companys stock at the IPO price before shares trade on the open market. So the plan elevates drivers above the general public. But it also highlights the ongoing tension between the ride-hailing companies and their millions of drivers. The people who shuttle customers around are not employees. And while the companies are valued in the tens of billions of dollars, they dont grant contracted drivers the full benefits of employment. Its chief rival, Uber, also is planning to offer a bonus and stock purchase plan to qualifying drivers with its IPO, which is expected later this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Lyft said it has completed more than 1 billion trips in the more than 300 markets in which it operates. But it warned investors that its expenses are likely to grow as it continues to expand and refines its mobile platform. The company is among several high-flying technology companies expected to go public this year. Lyft casts its business in revolutionary terms pitching its app at the forefront of a technological transformation and shifting ideas about transportation in America. We believe that the world is at the beginning of a shift away from car ownership to Transportation-as-a-Service, the company said in its regulatory filing. Lyft is at the forefront of this massive societal change. Our ridesharing marketplace connects drivers with riders and we estimate it is available to over 95% of the U.S. population. Lyft said it is only at the very early stages of tapping into the trillion dollars spent every year on transportation in the U.S. Key to the companys strategy for growth is expanding its pool of riders. The company aims to attract new customers through discounts and referral programs, and is banking on demographic shifts in which a growing percentage of the population relies on on-demand apps. To entice existing riders to use the service more often, Lyft will offer subscription plans and commuter services, according to the filing. Lyft highlighted the companys investment in technology as another crucial aspect to its growth strategy. The companys app generates troves of consumer data, and the service has poured funds into mapping, in-app navigation, and payments to improve its efficiency and safety. But Lyft warned investors that the company may suffer if other tech initiatives fail to pan out. The company listed an inability to develop its own autonomous vehicle technology, or to partner with firms who can, as a risk factor to the business. Another point of concern: the nascent market for shared scooters and bikes, which may not take hold. This story was first published by The Washington Post. Follow @ChiTribBusiness on Facebook and @ChiTribBiz on Twitter. Q:After my HOA approved my drought-tolerant design, they asked me to add more & bigger plants, which violates Civil section 4735(e). Are the regulations still in place after May 2017? And if they are in effect, who do I get in touch with to help me enforce them? I.D., Vista A:Associations cannot ban drought-tolerant landscaping, as Civil Code 4735 still is in force. The part of that statute that no longer applies is part (c), which bars associations from penalizing members who let their yards go brown during a Drought Emergency. Furthermore, under section 4735(e) associations may not force removal of artificial turf or other drought-resistant landscaping once it is in place. The bottom line is that homeowners choosing xeriscapes are still protected by Civil 4735. The yard must of course be presentable and maintained, but it does not have to be a traditional lush lawn. Advertisement Q: During the drought our front lawn went brown, like all others in our community. After the drought, we had a difficult time resurrecting the green lawn in several spots. We were assessed several large monthly penalties, one after another, a couple of years back, the homeowners association stating the CC&Rs required a green lawn. The penalty is now [thousands of dollars]. Im not sure what options we have to push the HOA to eliminate the penalty. Any assistance is appreciated. M.T., Rocklin. A:Until April 7, 2017, the day Gov. Jerry Brown declared an end to the Drought Emergency, associations could not fine members for underwatering yards, as such penalties violated Civil Code 4735(c). However, once the Drought Emergency ended, so did the ban on penalties for brown lawns. If your fines were imposed prior to that date, they were in error. If the discipline addressed events after April 7, 2017, the HOA may have a point. Q:My community is implementing a drought-tolerant landscape project. The project includes the removal of all turf to be replaced by drought-tolerant plantings and removal of hundreds of mature healthy trees. Many have written letters of protest, but the board attorneys say the board canimplement any landscaping plan without homeowner approval. Do they have the right to cut down a tree that is healthy and not a danger? K.V., Oceanside A:Technically, unless there is limiting language in the CC&Rs (there probably isnt), the board can implement major changes in the common area landscaping as long as it is within its spending authority. However, this may be a classic example of a board and lawyer asking can we? but missing the question should we? Boards can never go wrong by consulting and informing their communities on major projects greatly affecting the members, even when they are not legally required to do so. At a town hall meeting, the board might discover they were completely misreading the association membership or it is also possible you could discover that not that many neighbors are in opposition. Boards: Look for opportunities to show the community you are concerned about their input. The alternative could be upheaval in the community but that will not bring the trees back. Kelly G. Richardson CCAL is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Senior Partner of Richardson Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association advice. Send questions to Kelly@richardsonober.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com. Mario Torero is a huge presence in visual art, activism and Chicano culture, and his large-scale murals are certainly a significant part of that presence. Hes one of the founders of Chicano Park (a National Historic Landmark) and the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park, highlighting Chicano, Latino and indigenous art and culture. An artist and activist who created the term artivist for himself and his work, Torero has traveled all over the world, painting murals and installing the work that reflects the beauty and richness of his heritage, while also criticizing a history of oppression that marginalized people have been subjected to. When we placed the first, colorful brush strokes on the (San Diego-Coronado Bay) bridge, we knew we were destroying and creating at the same time, he says of the movement to establish Chicano Park in the early 1970s. Destroying myths and lies with our newfound facts and truths about who we really were. Our murals not only tell, scream about our greatness and glorious past, but expresses our present struggle and calls to action as the political climates heat up at our borders. Torero, 72, lives in University Heights and has five children and tons of grandkids. Over the years, hes managed a number of art galleries with his father, artist Guillermo Acevedo, and currently runs Mundo Gallery & Healing Center. He took some time to talk about the legacy of his years of artivism and his latest exhibit, Mario Torero: Artivismo Loko, on display at the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery through March 21 (including a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday). Advertisement Q: What can people expect to see at your exhibit, Mario Torero: Artivismo Loko? A: My work from the early 1960s to the present, including many large paintings on canvas and vinyl and some fragments of the feelings I was going through at the time, projected onto my art. Some of these pieces are extra attractive because of the influence that the chicha music artists of the Amazons have on me, and use fluorescent paints. There will be different topics, some related to artivist projects like the Pilgrimage to Machu Picchu cultural exchange with Peru. And the gallery has multiple projectors that we will use with videos of artivists public art in San Diego. Ive also invited other artists (including my son, Pablo Acevedo) who were part of these Pilgrimage tours, and they will have pieces in the show. Q: Your father taught you to draw and paint? A: I was born with his talent, and he was a master draftsman and fine drawer. I started drawing as a 1-year-old and from 3 on, I accompanied him to work at his office downtown, until I was 10. I met all the active artists of the 50s bohemia de Lima. I watched them create and they taught me tricks and styles of how to make it work, because the majority of them were hustlers who tried hard to make a living. They were a tight group. Q: And what was your initial draw to visual art? A: It was fun and was about being able to produce works of art that could be admired and valued. I saw what the others were doing, and I knew that I could do better. I saw some fantastic art, and I thought that I could do it, too. I was part of papas public projects. I was connected to him and saw and felt his moves, and I admired him. We were similar, and now, long after his death, he is me (or I am him). Q: When you first combined the words artist and activist to refer to yourself as an artivist, what did you want to convey through identifying in this way? A: To be an artivist is to carry, with honor and pride, the human responsibility to see a more humane and caring Earth become a reality. And this reality will happen through any creative actions we take in community with students, other artists and art lovers. Artivism is a school of art that serves the development of truth and love through expressions of art. It is the way to give a silent majority voice and presence. Q: Youre a founding member of Centro Cultural de la Raza and of Chicano Park. Can you tell us about why you wanted to be involved with both of these spaces at that time? A: My father prepared me to take on the world of art and I ran hard as an artist/shaman-in-progress alone until January of 1970, when I merged with a group of Chicano artists who had convened in front of the Ford building (which became the aerospace museum). We took over the building, occupied it, to create a Centro Cultural de la Raza. We started the Chicano Movement as most of the Mexican-Americans shed the labels placed on us, and we created this new culture. We were our own heroes, inspired by our great history and the example of our ancestors to become alive again, united in the spirit of Chicano culture. Q: What was your hope for what they would become? A: Just look at how we have grown in our first 49 years. In 1970, we were segregated. There were no Chicanos anywhere in San Diego, except in the barrios. Now, we are everywhere, except on television and the movies. The school system is overwhelmingly brown everywhere in the city and state. Chicano Park, which in the beginning was ignored and rejected by the city, we adore what we have there with all the growing visitors coming to see the vibrant arts district of San Diego in Barrio Logan. Q: Ive read that part of what you want to do is highlight the work of Barrio Logan artists who are often overlooked. Can you name a couple of these artists and tell us a little about them and their work? A: Chicanos have been overlooked, like non-existent, in the mainstream, but our art and culture have been changing that. It has taken years and a new generation of artists and followers that have created new waves of young artists, such as Cesar Castaneda. A homegrown graffiti artist who was raised with the art of the park and with the maestros that painted them, he came to me one day, years ago. He volunteered to work with me while I was working on beautifying Logan Avenue by painting the electrical boxes. He painted one with younger students, and today, for more than three years now, Cesar has been consistently developing our local talent by promoting their works through his Chicano Art Gallery at 2117 Logan Ave. I was discovered recently by the Library of Congress, which bought 20 pieces of mine for their new collection of Chicano art. I visited them last year and became a kind of ambassador when I suggested a great artist they didnt know about, but needed to include in their collection: our Chicano Park co-founder, Salvador R. Torres, who is a pillar in the Chicano Movement. Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @lisadeaderick I will stay in a store the exact amount of time it takes for a salesperson to ask how Im doing. Jordan Coburn on Twitter In honor of International Womens Day, PACIFIC is spotlighting San Diego women making waves in traditionally male-dominated fields. One such woman is Jordan Coburn, a local comedian who regularly performs at Mad House Comedy Club in Horton Plaza. Coburn also co-hosts the popular podcast Mueller, She Wrote, which, each week, offers wry insight into the ongoing Special Counsel investigation of our commander in chief. Hailing from Henderson, Nevada, Coburn has been in San Diego since 2011. She enrolled in a stand-up comedy class in college, and a couple of years later got hired as a server at Mad House, where she soon started entertaining audiences during open-mic nights. Coburn now regularly performs at several venues around the city. PACIFIC recently chatted with the comedian and heres what she had to say: On her comedic inspirations I admire Maria Bamford and Janeane Garofalo the most. They both set examples for female comics on and off stage that are appealing to me. Theyre smart, honest and true to their own identity, which can be difficult in a historically male-dominated industry. On being one of San Diegos few female comedians I generally feel very supported by my male peers because comedy here is, for the most part, a meritocracy. If youre funny, people will respect you. Granted, I think women have a steeper hill to climb in terms of being treated with respect by audience members. For example I had an audience member yell at me while on stage to get on the pole, which, given the absence of a pole onstage in the first place, is a non sequitur at best and, in reality, an aggressive and sexually charged expression of discontentment with a woman using her brain and mouth at the same time. On her favorite comedy specials The first time I ever saw stand-up was when Ellen DeGeneres released Here and Now, so that will always have a special place in my heart. Comedically, Doug Stanhopes Beer Hall Putsch is one of my favorites. Its so dark and hilarious; it encourages me to lean into horrifying things and make them funny. Catch Jordan onstage Wednesday nights at the Comedy Store in La Jolla and on Saturday, March 9 at the Comedy Palace in Kearny Mesa. And use your favorite podcatcher to subscribe to new episodes of Mueller, She Wrote, which drop every Sunday. Twitter: @jordansconfused Instagram: @jordanjustine Podcast: @muellershewrote More shining stars in San Diegos comedy scene Vicki Barbolak Tatiana Cwiklinski Allison Gill Pallavi Gunalan Jaleesa Johnson Carla Morales Lauren OBrien More... Laughing stock: March comedy shows Two investigations into the death of a civilian contractor on board a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier last September determined the mans death was not the result of a workplace mishap, despite the presence of electrical burns across the mans chest and on his arm. Gerald Laner, an electrician, was working near an aircraft elevator aboard the Theodore Roosevelt at Naval Air Station North Island when he collapsed. Military personnel quickly responded and tried to revive him, but Laner died. For the record: Correction: This story has been amended to reflect new information. An OSHA investigation into the death of a civilian Navy contractor on board the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt was closed on Feb. 13. It found no evidence the contractors death was work related. He was 80 years old. The Navys investigation and the medical examiners report raise questions about what caused his death, and his son is asking for an investigation. Advertisement The Navy says he suffered a heart attack. The San Diego County Medical Examiner was unable to determine a cause of death; an autopsy found Laner had heart disease but it also found electrical burns on his chest and his left arm. Laners son, Jeff Williams, said he is convinced his father was injured on the job. The man worked himself to death, Williams said, adding that his father had a 10-year Navy career, which included service in Vietnam, and 20 more in the Army Reserve before working for military contracts. Altogether, Williams said, Laner had 60 years experience as an electrician. (He) worked his whole career defending this country. Williams lives in Martinez, California. According to the Navys investigation, Laner began work on the Roosevelt in July. A master tradesman employed by Huntington Ingalls Industries for 11 years, Laner was working near a cable container, ripping out cable boxes. A few minutes later a coworker found him lying motionless. He tried to awaken him. Three nearby sailors called for emergency medical treatment and began CPR. Ships medical personnel soon arrived, followed by paramedics from the base fire department. Laner was transported to UCSD Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. According to the Navys investigation, the ships safety officer directed the leading chief petty officer of the electrical division to check all the electrical circuits in the vicinity..to ensure that (Laners) cardiac arrest was not caused by an electric shock. The Navy says a communication circuit, power circuit, dead-end cables and temporary power outlets were all inspected and found de-energized. A petty officer from the engineering department found that all equipment Mr. Laner was scheduled to be working on had been properly tagged out, meaning they were turned off and the associated power switches were marked with tags, so no one would switch them on. The ships doctor who led the medical team that day said in an after-action report that Laner showed no indications of external injuries and ... his death was caused by age and/or prior medical history. The investigation concluded that because all the equipment was tagged out and de-energized, Mr. Laner suffered a heart attack that happened to occur at work, but which likely would have happened regardless of where he was that day. The commanding officer of the Roosevelt, Capt. Carlos Sardiello, agreed with the findings of the investigation. The County Medical Examiners Department was not so sure. An autopsy performed two days later said Laner was possibly electrocuted. The deputy medical examiner conducting the procedure found multiple lesions consistent with with electrical burns on both sides of Laners chest, as well as on the inside of his left arm. The report also noted evidence of the emergency medical treatment Laner received, including defibrillator treatments, but said they were not listed as the source of the electrical burns. The medical examiner also found evidence of potentially lethal natural disease including severe narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the heart, as well as evidence of prior heart attacks and enlargement of the heart. Laners cause of death is officially undetermined. A spokeswoman for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Beci Brenton, confirmed Laner worked for the company for 11 years, but did not comment on the nature of his death. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time of loss, she said. Cmdr. Ronald Flanders, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces, said the Navys investigation was conclusive. No factors related to the ship could have contributed to his passing, he said. The sailors who responded to Laners collapse were recommended for Navy Achievement Medals. Williams said he reported the discrepancies between the investigation and the autopsy to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. A spokesman for the Department of Labor said Friday its investigation was ongoing, however, on Monday, told the Union-Tribune it had been closed in February. After reviewing the incident reports and related programs, OSHA investigators determined there was no evidence that supported a work-related fatality, said Leo Kay, a spokesman for the Labor Department. No further details on OSHAs investigation were available Monday. The Union-Tribune has requested a copy of the agencys investigation under the Freedom of Information Act. Contact Andrew Dyer via email or Twitter. When Ani Hovanesian raises her three fingers and recites the Scout Oath, sometimes she gets the words mixed up. But its not because the 13-year-old is new to the Scouting world she started as a Brownie with Girl Scouts in kindergarten and participated in activities with a Boy Scouts Cub pack before that. Nowadays, she just has to remember whether to pledge to be a sister to every Girl Scout or to be physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight for the Boy Scouts. Ani is a founding member of Laguna Beach Boy Scouts first girls troop, which was chartered last month with 10 members. Ani joins 106 other girls in 13 troops across Orange County in blazing the trail. Advertisement I feel really important and like my name will be on a plaque one day, said Ani, an eighth-grader at Thurston Middle School. It has this historical feeling to it, going to each meeting. The national Boy Scouts of America organization opened its program to youths of all genders Feb. 1 and renamed it Scouts BSA. Now girls can go on monthly camping trips and participate in all outdoor activities. BSA began accepting transgender youths recognizing the gender on a Scouts application in 2017. Ani said she loves hanging out with her friends in Girl Scouts and has already posted good sales from this years cookie drive. But as a member of Scouts BSA, shes excited to learn how to make a campfire and set up a tent by herself. I think Im getting a lot more experience in Boy Scouts than I would have had in Girl Scouts like camping-wise and outdoor ethics and stuff like that, she said. As well as getting other knowledge that I wouldnt have gotten if I just stuck with Girl Scouts. The BSA website says the major reason for opening the program to girls was to accommodate families busy schedules. Jane Heath, Laguna Beachs BSA girls troop Scoutmaster, said she thinks the reason involves both logistics and programming. Families are a lot busier than they used to be, she said. This gives them an opportunity for their sons and daughters to participate in ongoing activities with the family, where they dont have to deliver kids to different locations on different nights. Also because girls also like things like rifle shooting and rock climbing and a lot of the activities the Boy Scouts do that arent readily available for girls. The Hovanesian family can attest to that. In addition to being in Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts, Ani does drama and dance. Her older brother Joe, a sophomore at Laguna Beach High School who recently achieved the Boy Scouts highest ranking, Eagle Scout, participates in musical theater. Joe wasnt too happy when he learned his sister would be joining Lagunas BSA Troop 35. After 10 years with the Boy Scouts, he saw the organization as a place where boys will be boys. When other people or girls are introduced to Boy Scouts, guys really feel uncomfortable and feel the need to censor themselves, he said. We all want to be ourselves, and introducing girls to that is going to change that. He said doesnt mind the shift as much anymore, though. After all, the boys and girls troops in Laguna are only semi-linked meaning girls gather in the upstairs hall of Laguna Presbyterian Church while the boys continue to meet in the basement. On BSAs almost monthly camping trips, the groups will travel to the same campgrounds, but boys and girls sleep in different facilities and do most activities separately. The girls will be kind of a parallel troop, Heath said. Sometimes, the two groups come together for announcements or ceremonies, such as last months court of honor, when Ani earned her first Scouts BSA ranking. She already holds the Girl Scouts Silver Award, the organizations second-highest achievement. Now, shes shooting for both the Girl Scouts Gold Award and the Eagle Scout rank. Theyre both equally important, but its just different organizations, she said. Her father, John, who serves as assistant Scoutmaster for her BSA troop, said theres another reason his daughter is working toward Eagle Scout. The public doesnt know much about the Gold Award and they dont acknowledge it in the way the Eagle name is acknowledged, he said. Vikki Shepp, chief executive of Girl Scouts of Orange County, said the Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls and the most difficult to earn. We believe that Girl Scouts offers the best leadership development experience for girls in the world one developed with, by and for girls, Shepp said in a statement. The inclusive, all-female environment of a Girl Scout troop creates a safe space where girls can try new things, develop skills, take on leadership roles and be themselves. In November, Girl Scouts of the United States of America sued Boy Scouts of America, alleging trademark infringement. The Girl Scouts claimed the Boy Scouts didnt have the right to use the terms Scouts and Scouting by themselves or to rebrand itself as the Scouts. The case is ongoing in U.S. District Court in New York. Ani said shes happy to be part of both groups and is proud to be one of the first members of Lagunas BSA girls troop. And she doesnt mind that the national organization is named for boys. You dont want to forget what Boys Scouts is originally, she said. I think its good keeping the name because its original and thats the history of it. Pinho writes for Times Community News. faith.pinho@latimes.com Calls for changes to Californias police use-of-force policies echoed throughout the state capital Saturday after the district attorney announced that two local officers who fatally shot a black man after mistaking his cellphone for a gun will not face criminal charges. Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert said Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet acted legally when they fired 20 rounds at Stephon Clark, 22, last March after chasing him into his grandmothers backyard and confusing his iPhone for a weapon. Schubert said the officers acted reasonably because they saw a flash of light near Clarks hand seconds before Clark advanced toward the officers. Both officers believed Clark had a gun and had taken a shooting stance, she said, and they responded by opening fire. Schubert also released detailed text messages and other information on Clarks cellphone, outlining what she described as a domestic violence incident between Clark and Salena Manni, the mother of his two children, two days before the shooting. Schubert said Clark indicated that he was thinking about suicide, may have ingested pharmaceuticals with the intent of taking his own life and feared being arrested. Advertisement The district attorney said she was presenting the personal information because a jury might have found it relevant had she decided to charge the officers. You can see there were many things weighing heavily on his mind, she said. Asked if she was suggesting Clark enticed officers to shoot him by pretending to have a weapon, Schubert said it was not my job to say that, but a consultants report released as part of her investigation contained a section on suicide by cop. SeQuette Clark, the mother of Stephon Clark, said that what her son went through in the days before his death was not relevant. She wants to go on a smear campaign on his character and his actions, she said at a news conference after Schuberts announcement. Whatever happened before the shooting, she said, that is not justification. That is not a permit to kill him. It was homicide and they should be charged, Clark said of the officers. The justice system, she said, its not for us. Its not for the black community. I feel, shame on the D.A. Stephon Clarks family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city seeking up to $35 million in damages. Raj Manni, the father of Salena Manni, said his daughter was not informed that her private texts would be released and believed Schubert was attempting to paint Clark in a negative light. We are just outraged, frustrated and very angry, Manni said. For her to do what she did is outrageous. This was supposed to be a murder investigation. Saturday afternoon, Salena Manni flew from Los Angeles to Sacramento with her sons, Aiden, 4 and Cairo, 2, to address the district attorneys findings. My familys world was turned upside down, she said of Clarks death. Manni did not address the district attorneys accusations of domestic abuse but said what happened before the shooting was not relevant. Many in the black community had previously said they did not expect Schubert to charge the officers but were angered by Schuberts focus on Clarks mental state. We expected the decision she gave, but what I didnt expect was for her to be so dirty, said Sonia Lewis, a Black Lives Matter activist. Clarks shooting prompted large protests last year and fueled statewide police reform legislation that allowed greater public access to law enforcement records. On Saturday, much of the conversation centered on more legislation that would create greater accountability and further restrict when officers can use deadly force. Two bills dealing with use of force are working their way through the Legislature. Assembly Bill 392, supported by activists including Clarks brother, Stevante Clark, would make it easier to prosecute police involved in shootings. Law enforcement unions have put forward their own bill, Senate Bill 230, which would address use of force through various policies and training. The Rev. Shane Harris, a spokesman for Manni, said that she was proposing a state law that would require an independent review of police shootings by the attorney general, but that she also supported AB 392. Please dont stop advocating for legislation and policies that could protect other families from suffering this overwhelming pain, she said. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Saturday saying we need to acknowledge the hard truth our criminal justice system treats young black and Latino men and women differently than their white counterparts. That must change. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he would support AB 392. The standard needs to change, said Steinberg, a former leader of the state Senate. The question must be, Was the shooting preventable? Clark was shot March 18, 2018, after police answered a 911 call about vandalism. Schubert said DNA from blood found at the scene confirmed that Clark had broken the windows on three vehicles before a witness saw him jump a fence into a backyard. Mercadal and Robinet responded and were directed to Clark by a deputy in a Sheriffs Department helicopter who spotted Clark breaking a sliding glass door in a nearby backyard, then jumping a fence into his grandmothers property. The two officers pursued him, firing 10 shots each over 4.5 seconds after Mercadal yelled that Clark had a gun, according to the district attorneys report. Clark was hit at least seven times. A second review of the incident by state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra will probably be released soon, his spokeswoman said. The Sacramento Police Department requested the state Department of Justice assessment to allay community concerns about the impartiality of the investigation. Ed Obayashi, a lawyer and Plumas County sheriffs deputy who consults statewide on use of force, said that Schuberts analysis was a reflection of current case law and that the decision against filing charges was legally sound. It would be a complete abuse of prosecutorial powers if she did, he said. There is no way they can prosecute this beyond a reasonable doubt. Obayashi also said the inclusion of the personal information was necessary. They cant withhold that as evidence, he said. Shes obligated under law. You cant withhold evidence under any circumstances. Small protests took place outside Sacramento City Hall and at the main police station Saturday afternoon, but Lewis said she expected larger actions in coming days. Right now people are in a moment of mourning, Lewis said. It will probably ignite. Times staff writer John Myers contributed to this report. A Congolese father who lost his asylum case after being separated from his family at the border received another temporary reprieve from his pending deportation on Friday. Constantin Bakala, 48, will be allowed to remain in the U.S. while the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to reopen his case. That is expected to take a few months, according to his attorney. Bakalas wife Annie Bwetu Kapongo said shes grateful to everyone who helped stop Bakalas deportation. I want to tell Constantin that I love him and that we are grateful for everything he has sacrificed for our family, she said. My children and I have hope that we will be together with Constantin again and hope the community will continue to stand by our side. Advertisement Bakala and his family believe that he will be murdered by the Congolese government if he is deported. Bakala fled his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo with his wife and seven children, saying he was being targeted for his participation in an opposition party that was pushing for more democracy in the country. Bakala said he was kidnapped, beaten and tortured, and his wife said she was beaten and raped by police. They began a long and dangerous journey, flying first to Brazil and then traveling north along a common migrant path. On their way to the U.S. border, the family almost drowned in a shipwreck, they said. When they arrived in Tijuana, they thought they were on the verge of safety. Instead, they were separated at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after asking the U.S. for protection. Bakala went to an immigration detention facility in Georgia while his family was released and settled in southeast San Diego. He tried to represent himself in immigration court and lost. He filed his own appeal and lost that as well. The familys case is still pending. Meanwhile, members of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in North Park learned what was happening and found an attorney to represent the family for free. She, with the help of other attorneys, began trying to prevent Bakalas seemingly imminent deportation. Last week, the 11th Circuit Court placed an emergency order to keep Bakala in the country for a week. When asked about Bakalas situation, Bryan Cox, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Bakala is in custody awaiting deportation. Mr. Bakala has received all appropriate legal process under federal law, to include multiple appeals, and he has no lawful basis to remain in the U.S., Cox said. On Thursday, supporters of the family gathered with wife Annie Bwetu Kapongo and their children to protest outside of the federal building in downtown San Diego and call on ICE to keep Bakala in the U.S. Kristen Maher, who befriended the family after meeting them at church, said shes been impressed with the kindness and caring shown by the children. It points to the way they were raised, she said. Each one of these kids is funny and sweet and resilient, Maher said. Each one has become dear to me. The Board of Immigration Appeals put the new stay of removal in place the day that the emergency block on his deportation set by the 11th Circuit Court ended. ICE had already transferred Bakala to a facility near the airport that would send him back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rev. Colin Mathewson of St. Lukes said he and other church members are relieved that Bakala wont be deported in the coming days and grateful for the support that the family has received. Now is the time to celebrate, and then rest and reflect on where we go from here, Mathewson said. Our community of faith has been changed by this experience of working to save Constantin from deportation, and well need some time to figure out just what that means. But we have certainly just lived through the truth that God is good! Bakala will likely remain in immigration custody while he waits to find out if he will get another chance to present his case, this time with an attorney. Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter Moving to a new city can be full of anxiety and excitement. When you feel scared, you cant enjoy the... Most real estate agents have an obligation to market their business to potential clients. You have to make sure that... Were sure you already know, but lets repeat: Burlington is a city located in the Halton, Ontario area. It is... A personal injury occurs when a person's body, mind, or emotions are injured due to the negligence, carelessness, or wrongful... I Agree This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy A possibly gang-related attack left a 29-year-old man injured Friday evening in Barrio Logan after someone in a small group of men stabbed the victim through a door that he was trying to hold shut with his back, police said. It happened about 4:45 p.m. near Logan Avenue and Beardsley Street, about a block northwest of Chicano Park, San Diego police Officer Robert Heims said. A group of three to five men chased the victim into a business in the area. The victim ran into the back room and shut the door using his back to hold the door shut, Heims said in a statement. One of the suspects stabbed through the door with a knife. He was able to stab the victim through the door one time. The victim was stabbed in his left upper back, but after a few minutes, the group of men on the other side of the door left, Heims said. The victim then got a ride with a friend to a hospital for treatment of the injury that was not considered life-threatening. Advertisement San Diego gang detectives were handling the investigation. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com A San Diego Superior Court judge on Friday turned down a bid by eight labor unions representing law enforcement officers in agencies around the county that sought to block release of records detailing peace officer misconduct and use of force that occurred before this year. The ruling by Judge Eddie Sturgeon follows similar rulings in other counties around the state, where police labor unions have gone to court to block release of the records that cover incidents from before 2019. Sturgeon, however, kept in place a stay preventing release of records from the eight departments until March 29. He did so to allow time for an appeal. Sturgeon ruled at the conclusion of an afternoon hearing, where a lawyer for the labor unions tried to convince the judge to draw a distinction among the types of records required to be disclosed under the law. Attorney Rick Pinckard argued that records involving the use of force and officer-involved shootings could be released without objection from the unions. Advertisement But he contended that disciplinary records of officers those involving sustained findings of dishonesty or sexual misconduct should be considered differently and are protected from disclosure by privacy protections in the state constitution. He also argued that peace officers who were disciplined years or even decades ago, perhaps for a modest violation of rules, would now have that transgression publicized. The officers may have elected not to appeal the discipline peace officers have an extensive administrative discipline process believing that the records would never become public. James Chadwick, a lawyer for a group of media organizations including The San Diego Union-Tribune that have sought release of the records, argued the plan language of the law shows the Legislature intended it to apply to all records of shootings, use of force, lying and sexual misconduct. It was also clear the Legislature meant it to be retroactive. He said the law raises vital questions of public policy, including the right of citizens to information about the conduct of peace officers, and also how their agency handled it. The ability to learn about such situations is an important part of building public trust, he said, and limiting the law to only records from 2019 and forward would undermine that goal. In the end, Sturgeon rejected the labor union arguments. He said officers had no constitutional privacy right but instead only the confidentiality under the police privacy law and that was not absolute and the Legislature had decided the publics right to know about some of the records in the files trumped the privacy rights. He said he appreciated the implications of years-ago discipline becoming public but in the end said it was not a hard call: It is clear this law applies retroactively, he said. After the hearing, Pinckard said he was unsure if his clients would appeal. He represents officers from Carlsbad, Coronado, El Cajon, San Diego Harbor Police, National City, Oceanside, the city of San Diego and San Diego Unified School District officers. The records at issue detail use-of-force investigations, including police shootings, as well as cases where peace officers were found to have lied or had a sustained finding of sexual assault or misconduct. The records have been secret for decades. A law passed last year, SB 1421, however lifted the veil of secrecy and said such records were open. Labor unions are not challenging the substance of the law, though that kind of a challenge may be forthcoming. Instead, they have gone to court to argue the law was not retroactive that any records from before Jan. 1 of this year, when the law went into effect, cant be released. On Thursday, a judge in Orange County reached similar conclusions, and in February so did a judge in Los Angeles County. A ruling by a judge in Contra Costa County that said pre-2019 records can be released is being appealed by police unions there. Twitter: @gregmoran greg.moran@sduniontribune.com A standoff in a Santee field between sheriffs deputies and an armed, suicidal man ended Friday night with the man in custody without harming himself, sheriffs officials said. No deputies were injured, and the man didnt hurt himself, sheriffs Lt. Dave Perkins said. It was unclear if the man sustained any injuries when deputies took him into custody just before 11:10 p.m. The incident began when a woman, whose relationship to the man was unclear, called law enforcement just before 6:40 p.m., Perkins said. Advertisement Deputies responded to Graves Avenue south of Prospect Avenue an area just east of the state Route 52 and state Route 67 junction where they found the man armed with a handgun and surrounded him in a field. Watch Commander: Update, the suicidal subject armed with a handgun in the area of 8400 Graves Ave. in Santee was safely taken into custody. Thank you for your patience during this incident. San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) March 2, 2019 The lieutenant said he believed the man may be hiding behind some brush, and around 9 p.m. deputies were trying to make contact with him. Details from the scene regarding the end of the standoff were not immediately available, but over the radio, deputies reported the man took off running before he was disarmed and detained at 11:08 p.m.. Earlier in the evening, the Sheriffs Department tweeted that nearby residents should shelter in place, and others should avoid the area. Scanner traffic indicated some residents of nearby homes were also evacuated. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com UPDATES: 11:40 p.m.: This article was updated to show the suspect was in custody. This article was originally published at 9:15 p.m. Sheriffs deputies searching for possibly armed suspects who robbed a person outside a Spring Valley pizzeria on Friday detained a 20-year-old man and 17-year-old boy who were hiding in a nearby garage. No one was injured in the holdup just outside the Giant Pizza King in the giant T strip mall on Elkelton Boulevard at Jamacha Road, a sheriffs official said. The robbery was reported just before 1:20 p.m., sheriffs Sgt. Kurt Cartie said in a statement. One of the suspects was reportedly armed with a handgun, though authorities never found a weapon. The suspects used physical force to steal the victims cellphone and wallet, Cartie said. Both ran south on Elkelton Boulevard. Advertisement Deputies swarmed into the area to look for the pair, who were seen running south on Broadview Street behind Veterans Thrift Store, a local landmark with a giant letter T atop the roof. A San Diego police helicopter helped in the search. A crew aboard the police helicopter spotted two people matching the robbery suspects in front of a home on Broadview Street, Cartie said. They both discarded their sweatshirts, broke through a wooden fence/gate at the side of the residence and ran through the backyard, Cartie said in a statement. They jumped the back fence and entered the adjoining backyard at 737 Parkbrook Street. Deputies surrounded the home as the helicopter crew tracked the suspects going inside the home through an unlocked back door, Cartie said. The home was unoccupied at the time, as the resident just happened to be across the street with neighbors, the sergeant said. OnSceneTV video footage showed deputies, guns drawn, shouting orders at two people who were inside a garage at the home. The man and teen, both shirtless and in sweat pants, crawled out from under the partially raised garage door and were handcuffed. The 20-year-old man was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of felony robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime, and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, jail records showed. He was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. The 17-year-old was taken to Juvenile Hall, sheriffs officials said. They declined to comment on the weapon or say where it was discarded, Cartie said, adding that a National City police officer with his canine partner searched for a gun, but were unable to locate it. pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @pdrepard UPDATES: 9:55 p.m.: This article and its headline were updated with additional details. This article was originally published at 3 p.m. The Pentagon is permanently canceling the large-scale military exercises in South Korea usually held in the spring, U.S. officials said Friday, handing Pyongyang a long-sought concession only days after a summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke up without a deal. The timing of the decision raised questions about whether Trump was giving away a major piece of leverage over North Korea, which has long denounced the exercises as provocative, and failing to get anything in return. Why negotiate with the United States when it makes concessions for free? Abraham Denmark, a former top Pentagon official during the Obama administration, wrote in a tweet. He said the decision to halt the maneuvers would have major implications for readiness of U.S. and South Korean forces. Thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops had conducted the exercises, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, annually for more than a decade. But last year, Trump suspended several annual Korea exercises, citing the cost and the need to ease tensions with North Korea. Advertisement The spring maneuvers will be replaced by smaller-scale drills that dont call for major field maneuvers but still ensure that U.S. and South Korean forces can repel a North Korean invasion, said the officials, who did not want to speak on the record ahead of the formal announcement, expected Saturday. Trump has repeatedly complained about the large-scale exercises, saying theyre too costly and that the U.S. bears too much of the financial burden. But defenders say the training is relatively cheap, noting estimates that a separate Korea exercise staged by the Pentagon cost only $14 million a year. The president hinted at the decision to cancel them Thursday at a news conference in Hanoi. Those exercises are very expensive, Trump said. And I was telling the generals, I said: Look, you know, exercising is fun and its nice and they play the war games. And Im not saying its not necessary, because, at some levels, it is, but at other levels, its not. But its a very, very expensive thing. And, you know, we do have to think about that too. U.S. officials are expected to inform South Korea of the decision shortly, the officials said. The exercise halt was first reported by NBC News. In the past, U.S. conducted several major field exercises with South Korea each year, one in late summer or fall and one in the spring, as well as several other training events using computer simulations and tabletop war games. Pentagon officials and U.S. commanders in South Korea, where the U.S. keeps 28,500 troops, have been discussing changes to the exercises since they were suspended last year, officials said. It was initially expected that the cancellation announcement could be part of a summit agreement between Trump and Kim. Plans to announce the cancellation proceeded, despite the lack of a summit deal. Pentagon officials long have believed that maneuvers involving troops, warplanes, tanks and mock amphibious invasions help deter North Korean aggression and are essential to maintaining readiness because of high annual turnover of U.S. troops in South Korea. But last month the U.S. commander in Korea, Army Gen. Robert Abrams, played down the decision to halt the joint exercises, saying troops from both countries remained prepared to defend South Korea without sacrificing war-fighting readiness to unacceptable levels. Trump cut short the summit Thursday with no agreement on rolling back North Koreas nuclear program, a setback to his high-profile diplomatic outreach to the reclusive nation. Kim had sought the lifting of most economic sanctions in return for a promise to dismantle at least part of his Yongbyon nuclear facility, an offer the administration deemed inadequate, a senior State Department official said. The decision to proceed with the cancellation after the failed summit looks bad, but I suspect it was agreed separately and people did not consider how it would look if Hanoi failed, said Melissa Hanham, a nuclear weapons expert and North Korea specialist at One Earth Future, an anti-proliferation organization based in Colorado. Abrams alluded to the plans to cancel the spring drills last month, telling lawmakers that a new construct for training worked out with South Korean commanders had been forwarded up to the Department of Defense and received full support. North Korea had made little change to its threatening military posture since Trump and Kim first met last June in Singapore, he noted. Though its equipment is increasingly outdated, Pyongyang maintains one of the largest conventional militaries in the world, along with a stockpile of nuclear weapons. These capabilities continue to hold the United States, the Republic of Korea and our regional allies at risk. As such I believe it is necessary to maintain a postured and ready force to deter any possible aggressive actions, Abrams said. Other annual U.S.-South Korea exercises are not directly affected by the decision to cancel the large-scale spring drills but are also likely to be scaled back or canceled, the officials said. Last year, four separate exercises were conducted from early April to late May, including Foal Eagle, which involved 11,500 U.S. and 290,000 South Korean troops. It was followed by Key Resolve, which used a computer simulation of a possible attack by North Korea to improve headquarters command and control. Those were followed by Warrior Strike and Max Thunder, the latter an Air Force exercise that has in the past involved sending U.S. bombers from Guam to South Korean airspace. After last years Singapore summit, the Pentagon said it was canceling a major series of drills known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian, which were scheduled for two weeks in August and involved 17,500 U.S. forces. Jeffrey Lewis, an Asia expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., noted that Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises were themselves started in 1994 as a smaller-scale replacement for another set of major drills known as Team Spirit. The smaller drills were part of a Clinton administration diplomatic outreach to North Korea, but once that effort collapsed, the new maneuvers steadily grew and again became a sore point with Pyongyang. There isnt much downside to halting the spring maneuvers, provided it was done in close consultation with Seoul, Lewis said in a tweet. But unless Trump and Kim achieve a lasting rapprochement, Pyongyang may well come to hate whatever comes next just as much as it hated Team Spirit and then Key Resolve/Foal Eagle. The latest from Washington More stories from David S. Cloud The California Department of Justice paid more than $1.1 million to settle claims with employees who alleged they were sexually harassed or retaliated against by co-workers during the tenure of then-state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris from 2011 to 2017, according to documents obtained by The Times. The cases, which were disclosed this week in response to a California Public Records Act request, come weeks after Harris launched her presidential bid, bringing new scrutiny to her record. The incidents included allegations that DOJ employees sexually harassed and retaliated against co-workers, including claims involving inappropriate touching and cases in which workers felt uncomfortable with the comments and actions of others. Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 2016, did not know about the cases settled by the DOJ until they were brought to her attention by The Times, said her spokesman, Chris Harris. The senator said she takes responsibility for what happened in her office when she was Californias top cop. Advertisement As the chief executive of a department of nearly 5,000 employees, the buck stopped with me, Harris said in a statement. No one should face harassment or intimidation in the workplace, and victims of sexual misconduct should be listened to, believed and protected. Harris said that since her election to the Senate she has made it clear to her staff that she will be involved whenever there is an allegation of misconduct by an employee. In my Senate office, if a harassment complaint is made, it immediately comes to me, Harris said Thursday. No office is immune to misconduct, and there is much more work to do to ensure all are protected. As attorney general, Harris increased the investigative staff of the DOJs Equal Employment Rights and Resolution Office to speed up reviews of worker misconduct complaints, her representative said. Settlements were handled by administrators under Harris who were expected to follow strict policies against harassment, and training was required for all employees. Government experts including former state Finance Director Mike Genest said it is common practice in large agencies for claims to be investigated and settled by managers below the head of the agency. Claims against higher-level managers might be brought to the department heads attention, depending on how he or she wants to be kept informed, he said. If a director wasnt told about it, I would not be suspicious that that was an issue, said Genest, who spent 24 years as a manager in state agencies, including serving as finance director under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of the number of sexual harassment cases, Genest said that any allegations should be a concern but that statistically, that does not seem like a big number. In her first term in the Senate, Harris has been a leading advocate for the #MeToo movement, objecting to President Trumps appointment of Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds that included allegations of sexual misconduct. Her proposals include the Empower Act, which aims to reduce barriers preventing victims of harassment from speaking out by prohibiting nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses in legal settlements. The financial settlements paid by the state on claims filed during Harris tenure include a previously reported $400,000 payment to settle a 2016 lawsuit involving Larry Wallace, a longtime top aide to Harris who resigned from her Senate staff in December after media reports about the payment. Danielle Hartley, an executive assistant who worked for Wallace, alleged in the suit that he engaged in gender harassment and discriminated against her. A spokeswoman for Harris said in December that the senator was unaware of the allegations against Wallace. Mr. Wallace offered his resignation to the senator and she accepted it, the representative said. The resignation has intensified the focus on Harris time in state and local office. Wallace had been one of Harris closest aides for 14 years, starting in the San Francisco district attorneys office and later in roles at the state DOJ and U.S. Senate, but many of the settlements disclosed were paid out to rank-and-file employees in the DOJs sprawling organization. The largest settlement from Harris time as state attorney general was a $649,500 payment in 2013 to James Rodriguez, who was then a special agent with the DOJ. He claimed that the agency harassed and retaliated against him and failed to take corrective action when he filed complaints about the alleged treatment. Rodriguez said in a lawsuit that he was transferred from coveted jobs, denied pay for out-of-class assignments and faced a meritless internal affairs complaint, and that the department encouraged co-workers to file frivolous complaints against him. Jill Telfer, an attorney who represented Rodriguez, as well as Hartley in the separate case against Wallace, said Harris should have known about the issues. The Division of Law Enforcement for the AGs office always felt they were above the law and may have kept a lid on things, Telfer said. There has been a culture of retaliation against employees who raise concerns of discrimination or harassment. The settlement in the Rodriguez case notes that the DOJ denied all material allegations in the lawsuit, which included any alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and that in resolving the case none of the Parties admit any wrongdoing, liability or fault. Rodriguezs complaints of mistreatment and retaliation date to 2006, when former Gov. Jerry Brown was attorney general. In 2010, before Harris tenure, Rodriguez won $560,709 in damages after a jury determined that the DOJ had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent retaliation or harassment against him. He filed the second lawsuit in 2013, claiming that the DOJ continued to mistreat and retaliate against him for having won the jury award. The following year, office assistant Anacleto Alviar filed a lawsuit claiming he had been sexually harassed at work by a co-worker, legal assistant Dennis Asher. Asher allegedly pulled Alviar into an office in June 2013 and asked him if he was gay. When Alviar said yes, the lawsuit said, Asher allegedly blocked him from leaving, pulled down his pants and placed his penis on Alviars arm and shoulder, asking him to perform sex acts. Alviar said he refused. Alviar alleged in his lawsuit that the agency knew Asher had a propensity to and would engage in tortious behavior, such as sexual harassment but failed to take adequate, preventative action. After he reported the incident months later, Alviar said in the lawsuit, the DOJ told him not to work on holidays or weekends when others were not present and did not separate him from Asher in the workplace. In a November 2014 response to the lawsuit, the agency said that Alviar did not report the incident to anyone at DOJ until some three months after and asserted that an employer is not liable for a single incident of sexual harassment by a nonsupervisory employee. The state Department of Justice agreed to settle with Alviar for $90,000 in November 2015. Neither the agency nor Asher admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. Asher resigned voluntarily in August 2014 under unfavorable circumstances, according to a letter from the attorney generals office that was included in the settlement documents. The letter noted that Asher had been notified of disciplinary action related to, among other things, unlawful discrimination, including harassment. In January 2015, Asher received a $65,000 settlement after appealing a disciplinary action against him. An attorney who represented Asher in the settlement agreement declined to comment. Alviar is still employed by the DOJ. In 2016, office technician Charlene Corral filed a lawsuit claiming that she was subjected to unwanted touching, sexual comments and other advances by her supervisor, James Biscailuz, between May and July of 2014. Corral alleged that after she complained in August of that year, Biscailuz continued to intimidate her even after she transferred to another bureau at the DOJ. In March 2015, then-Deputy Atty. Gen. Nathan Barankin notified Corral that her allegations were founded and referred the matter to a human resources manager and Wallace, then director of the DOJs Division of Law Enforcement, for appropriate personnel action. The 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit against Wallace indicates that Hartley complained to one of her managers about Wallaces alleged discrimination of her before Corrals claims were forwarded to Wallace for review. Wallace could not be reached by The Times for comment. Barankin, who later became Harris chief of staff in the Senate and left in December to serve as a senior advisor for a political action committee supporting her presidential bid, did not respond to a request for comment. Hartleys lawsuit against Wallace included an allegation that he placed his office printer on the floor under his desk and ordered Hartley to replace the paper or ink frequently, forcing her to get down on her knees while wearing dresses and skirts. The lawsuit was settled after Harris was sworn in to the U.S. Senate and Wallace joined her district staff in Sacramento. Corral received a $7,500 settlement payment in 2017. She and Biscailuz still work for the DOJ in separate bureaus. Biscailuz and the DOJ denied any wrongdoing. Other settlements disclosed by the Department of Justice included $5,000 paid out to an employee who appealed a decision in a workplace issue and $13,650 paid to another person who made wage-related claims. Political experts say that in an era of increased attention to sexual harassment and misconduct, candidates for president will be put under a microscope over the issue, and any questions about handling complaints could become a political liability. So far, the allegations involving Wallace have not proved to be a major stumbling block for Harris, whose campaign rollout has been marked by packed rallies and robust media coverage. Democratic voters in the presidential race are likely to be primarily concerned with finding the candidate best able to unseat President Trump, said Charles Anthony Smith, political science professor at UC Irvine. If I am a voter, I may come to the conclusion that large organizations have people that do bad things in them and the best you can do is try to solve it once you are aware of it, and if you are not doing the bad behavior we may not hold you responsible for it, Smith said. As a concerned native San Diegan, professional and community member, I appreciated the space given recently to me, Herman Collins, Jason Shanley, and Genevieve Jones-Wright to have a dialogue of transparency with the staff and leadership of the Union-Tribune to address the insensitive and inflammatory Famous African-American Storytellers cartoon published Feb. 22. Further, I also acknowledge the prompt response to the backlash and the issued apology from the cartoonist (Steve Breen) and his editor (Matt Hall). Read other perspectives on this topic: When I saw the portrayal of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison legends in black literature and engineers of social justice who many in my generation and ones before hold in high regard next to Jussie Smollett who is accused of orchestrating an attack on himself, I was disgusted. No way, no how should an accused liar ever be depicted alongside literary (or otherwise) icons within black culture. Just as Breen attempted to paint a picture in a satirical sense, it was irresponsible to not think of the opposite effect. To make matters worse, it was done during the month of February, when we celebrate black excellence and the countless contributions made (and still being made) to our society. To sum up my feelings of the cartoon: It was ignorant, irresponsible and culturally insensitive. Being ignorant to the narrative is damaging. The power of narrative is deep. Representation and perspective matters. These phrases echoed in Thursdays dialogue. Your very own Editor and Publisher Jeff Light stated that he was offended and that it is not who we [The San Diego Union-Tribune] are and not who Steve is. How did we get here? Privilege. Privilege to think that this was OK and when backlash ensued, going to your black friend (as an afterthought) and ask if you were wrong. Quite frankly, if you feel you must ask a black friend if something is wrong or how it would be perceived by others, you already know the answer to your own inquiry. That notion is analogous to do and ask for forgiveness after. The black community is tired of being disrespected by ones ignorance and then the apology that follows. Where do we go from here? Accountability The apology issued by Breen personally resonated and I am of the belief that he does realize what he did should have never happened. But I would be remiss if I did not mention that through his own admission, Light advised that there had not been any training on diversity and cultural sensitivity since he started with the newspaper nine years ago. One training in nine years is not acceptable. While I appreciate the diversity and cultural sensitivity training that will be conducted in the coming weeks, such a session should be used as precaution, and not just in response to an incident. After the upcoming training, this should be consistently completed within a reasonable time frame. It should also be mandated for all staff, including leadership. Further, there needs to be more diversity within your staff. It would behoove you to connect with the San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ), a part of the NABJ, to assist with the recruitment of local student journalists. There are many programs within the college community but also at local high schools, like Lincoln and Morse, where students could use the mentorship of professionals to strengthen skills and their network. There are many historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the country that produce top journalists within their renowned mass media arts programs. There is also a need for more diversity within your Community Advisory Board. Members (not just names and titles) from the community who will attend and be actively engaged within the board meetings. The members should serve as active consultants. It is suggested that you also consider the inclusion of black women. Moving forward, an action plan needs to be made within the next 30 days, and there should be (at least) a regular quarterly meeting with trusted community members thereafter. I look forward to the invitation to the upcoming diversity and cultural sensitivity training and the newsroom walk-through that was offered during our meeting. I am available to the Union-Tribune in any capacity that I may assist, and at the very least I can point you all in the right direction of someone who can be of resource. With the feedback given from many, it is my hope that you take these steps to move forward so that this does not happen in the future. We were reminded of an explosive political fact last week: The investigations of President Donald Trumps activities wont end when special counsel Robert Mueller presents his report to the Justice Department. Theyll move into a new and potentially more divisive phase. The congressional investigative effort will be ongoing. It will continue through 2020, and beyond if Trump wins re-election and the Democrats retain the House, predicted Ty Cobb, a former White House lawyer under Trump, in an interview Thursday. The Mueller report isnt going to end everything. The prospect for continuing, and perhaps escalating, legal confrontation was clear from the jaw-dropping congressional testimony Wednesday by Michael Cohen, Trumps former fixer. Cohen said he is cooperating with a probe by the U.S. attorney in Manhattan into other potential criminal issues involving Trump, beyond Muellers inquiry. Its impossible to know the seriousness of those probes or the jeopardy they pose for Trump and his family, but they arent going away soon. Cohen, with his raspy voice and baggy-eyed face, spoke like a penitent mobster as he offered new evidence about what he alleged was Trumps role in both directing hush money payments to a porn star and massaging financial documents to gain more loans from Deutsche Bank. Cohen also claimed to have understood the code on what he asserted was Trumps record as a con man and cheat. Congressional committees are already drawing up witness lists to pursue those threads. Advertisement Even without Cohens headline-grabbing allegations, it became clear this month that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and other congressional investigators were crossing Trumps self-declared red line and beginning to investigate his personal and family finances, including his relationship with Deutsche Bank, perhaps his biggest lender. A Deutsche Bank spokesman told me two weeks ago that the company was cooperating with the investigations. Democrats will face a growing dilemma about how aggressively they should pursue Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders have seemed wary about moving quickly toward impeachment, sensing that the public doesnt want the intense polarization that would accompany an effort to remove Trump from office before 2021. But with Cohens new allegations of criminal behavior, and an imminent report from Mueller, more Democrats may consider the impeachment option. As November 2020 approaches, the argument will increase that the issue should be left to the public. The legal and political battlefields will be shaped by Muellers report, and how much of it is made public by Attorney General William Barr. Lawyers who have followed the Mueller investigation closely say they doubt he will present evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia beyond what he has already revealed in a string of indictments. Muellers findings about Trumps possible obstruction of justice are harder to predict. But even if he has evidence of obstruction, Mueller appears to favor a political adjudication, through the constitutional process of impeachment, rather than a legal one through indictment and trial. As the Democratic House moves deeper into legal combat with Trump, it seems increasingly likely that it will bring an epic Supreme Court decision on Congress ability to subpoena the Mueller report, or, later, Trump administration officials who could testify about the presidents activity. But this legal test will be difficult for Democrats, and not just because the Supreme Court has a conservative majority. House Democrats might have difficulty winning a case demanding that Barr release all of Muellers report. Thats because Congress in the late 1990s, frustrated by seemingly endless investigations by independent counsels, replaced that system with Justice Department regulations that are fairly narrow: A special counsel must provide the attorney general with a confidential report about who was or wasnt indicted, but public release must meet tight DOJ guidelines for disclosing information on criminal investigations. When Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017, some hoped that his investigation would bring a decisive resolution, one way or another, perhaps yielding a national sigh of relief akin to President Gerald Fords declaration after the Watergate scandal that our long national nightmare is over. But Fords accession, after the resignation of President Richard Nixon, was the result of a bipartisan consultative process, in which conservative Republicans such as Sen. Barry Goldwater played a key role. If the fracas surrounding Cohens testimony last week proved anything, its that theres nothing remotely like bipartisan consensus about how to deal with the allegations about Trump. Instead, this is a political war, and its probably heading into a more combative phase, just at the moment some expected it would be ending. Ignatius is on Twitter, @IgnatiusPost. For other views on Cohens testimony, read columns from The Washington Posts Marc A. Thiessen and Eugene Robinson in, respectively, Fridays and Saturdays opinion sections. Theres a lot of pent-up energy among California Democrats who want sweeping changes in health care. This was evident in 2017, when the Senate passed Senate Bill 562 to create a state-run single-payer health care system but did so without explaining how the annual cost of up to $400 billion would be covered. Given that this sum was more than double the states budget at the time, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, struck a blow for sanity by shelving the bill. Now there seems to be much more pragmatism in the Capitol. No single-payer bill was introduced before a key legislative deadline last month despite the urging of the California Nurses Association, which was the biggest supporter of Senate Bill 562. This common sense was also on display from Ann OLeary, new Gov. Gavin Newsoms chief of staff, who said this week, Its not possible to do single-payer in California without federal partnership. Thats reality. Unless the state government can somehow get approvals and a block grant encompassing all or nearly all federal spending on health care in California from the Trump administration and Congress, its hard to see how the state could adopt a single-payer program. California should by all means pursue its goal of making health care more accessible and affordable. But real progress is more achievable in Washington than Sacramento. The public has a right to see public records Re How City Attorney Mara Elliott, Sen. Ben Hueso would enable cover-ups (Feb. 27): Ben Huesos Senate Bill 615, if passed, would be a blow against government transparency. The many successes of journalists and citizens who have shed light on shady government agency actions illustrate the importance of the California Public Records Act, including recent exposure of undisclosed meetings with applicants before the California Public Utilities Committee and Coastal Commission. We wonder about Huesos motivation in keeping government agency activity hidden from public view. Kathryn Burton Advertisement President, Spotlight on Coastal Corruption As a public servant, I was disappointed to read SB 615, State Sen. Ben Huesos proposed amendments to the California Public Records Act (PRA). As the CEO of two public organizations that have received and responded to scores of public record requests, I believe strongly in the PRA process and the absolute necessity for the press and public to access public documents and information quickly and efficiently. While compliance with the PRA can be difficult, I always keep Hyman Roths comment to Michael Corleone in Godfather 2 in mind: Public service is the business weve chosen. As public servants, our responsibility is to serve the public with accountability and integrity; it is our business to make government open and transparent. As current political circumstances confirm, the public has never been more dependent on a strong and vigorous press. SB 615 undercuts this. The last thing Californians need now is to make access to public records more difficult. David B. Wescoe CEO, San Diego County Employees Retirement Association Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Source: The Cambodia Daily FILE PHOTO - A Cambodian army soldier looks at Chinese military vehicles displayed before a handover ceremony at a military airbase in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. FILE PHOTO - A Cambodian army soldier looks at Chinese military vehicles displayed before a handover ceremony at a military airbase in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Phnom Penh Cambodia held annual joint military exercises with China on Thursday amid increasingly tight-knit relations between the two countries. The Dragon Gold exercises were held in Kampot provinces Chumkiri district on land controlled by Infantry Brigade 70, an elite reserve force for Prime Minister Hun Sens bodyguard unit. The joint exercises included tanks, armored personnel carriers, combat helicopters, howitzers, surveillance technologies and methods of defending against biological weapons, according to the defense ministry. Disclaimer: This article was originally produced and published by The Cambodia Daily. View the original article at The Cambodia Daily. Lightly edited comments from our online coverage. Re Would San Diegans be willing to pay for better roads and mass transit? (Feb. 26): Im certainly willing to fund TransNet again, but not under SANDAGs current framework, which gives the City of San Diego essentially veto power over the other stakeholders in the region. What good is an Association of Governments if the SD City Council gets to override the regional vision? The trolley has its place. Buses have their place. Bus Rapid Transit has its place. But we dont need more of that; we need better roads and freeways. San Diegans drive. Always. Thats not going to change unless you import people and force them into a situation where they *cant* drive (such as building large apartment complexes and condos without parking spaces). Aphasial Joined May 9, 2017 Advertisement No, no, no! Not one dime! Were not allowed to have nice things in SD, remember? Were a little sleepy town in southern California that has no vision of the future, remember? Lets keep it that way! Yeahwhatevertransplant Joined Jan. 30, 2017 Maybe its time to recall the politicians who cant manage the peoples money. Tired of their answers is cutting service and adding taxes. Maybe they should take a budgeting course before they take office! San Diego 1st Joind Jan. 20, 2017 Re Election 2020: Ocasio-Cortez is a gift to conservative candidates (Feb. 20): AOC is the gift to the Republicans that keeps on giving. Her New Green Deal is the best example and any candidate attaching themselves to this deal will lose in the general election. tenhomas April 21, 2016 This letter helps to explain why Republicans continue to be a shrinking country club of old white voters, who are either rich, or poor with a high school education or less. You squeezed out one last national election because of the quirks in our presidential election laws, but you dont seem to realize that your party has drifted so far right that it is in a generational death spiral. So keep misreading the political tea leaves, and keep playing the new Republican game of pretending to find socialists hiding everywhere under Americas bed. You are going to find that Americans are no longer scared by such distractions, and this sort of nonsense is driving young voters away from the Republican party permanently. badcyclist Joined Aug. 5, 2016 Re Canceling of comic strip Non Sequitur draws reaction (Feb.15): I am not a Trump supporter and plan to vote no Trump again in 2020, but profane insults from the opposition make the problem much worse, not better. Even if the man has not earned your respect, show some respect for the presidency itself. j.eldon June 21, 2016 I, like all the other commentators, would have completely missed Willy Millers well-hidden comment in last Sundays paper until I read the announcement that you were cancelling his script. I, like everybody else who heard about it, immediately made an effort to find said comment, and after a dedicated search, I finally found it and could barely make it out. Miller was playing a poorly-thought-out joke, and although I, like others, think he went over the line, who doesnt, at least once in awhile? Our president says the equivalent of what Miller said, to us the public, every day of the week. I think a suspension of a month or two is enough punishment. Otherwise, I will miss one of the three or four comics in your paper that I find funny/worthwhile enough to read. Jean_too Joined Dec. 22, 2018 So Non Sequitur gets removed for something I think every day and now we have Mallard Filmore (a never funny strip) making a joke about late-term abortion. Not funny, sick if you try to understand the pain parents make to have such an abortion. sbralla Joined Jan. 2, 2017 Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. As a UC San Diego undergraduate, Leonard Rosenthal studied computers and pursued a budding passion for high-tech gadgetry. He was a tech geek, said David Ogul, a friend. He could have had a very successful career as an IT person. Others believe that Rosenthal, a skilled accordion player and violinist, could have been a professional musician. Instead, he became what his mother had urged him not to be: a rabbi. Why? Advertisement Because I loved Judaism and wanted to share it with others, Rabbi Rosenthal said in a 2017 interview. I ultimately decided you have to love Jews thats first and then Judaism. Rosenthal died suddenly on Feb. 14. He was 66. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, the son of observant Jews. His mother, seeing the stressful life of a family friend, a rabbi, warned her son against that calling. But Rosenthals faith led him to change his focus at UCSD, from computer science to Jewish studies. Later, he worked at temples in New Jersey, Florida and Orange County. Rosenthal returned to San Diego as the associate rabbi, then rabbi, of Tifereth Israel, a Conservative synagogue in San Carlos. He succeeded Rabbi Aaron Gold, one of the areas most beloved Jewish leaders. Stepping into those shoes and leading a large, varied congregation, Rosenthal once said, was not that easy to do. It took me a few years to find my own footing. Once he did, though, he was on solid ground. His long tenure as Tifereth Israels rabbi 29 years only ended with voluntary retirement in 2017. Rosenthal was admired by his peers, as well as his congregants. He served as president of the San Diego Rabbinical Association and as executive board member for the Rabbinical Associations Pacific Southwest Region. A teacher steeped in Judaism, he was also an incurable jokester whose humor struck many as not quite ready for prime time. Between the quirky, often less-than-funny dad and rabbi jokes, said son-in-law Jeremy Gerstle, was a man with real-life advice to give, always communicated without an ounce of condescension, who valued fairness, respect, and doing the right thing no matter what. He personally greeted newcomers to the synagogue, and supported charitable causes inside and outside the Jewish community. He was probably the most honest, hard-working person I knew, said his wife, Judy, and genuinely cared about the people he worked with and for. Many of those people, including his administrative assistant, Kandice Zelaskowski, were Gentiles. A few years ago, her adult son fell seriously ill in Missouri. The worried mother wanted to see her boy, but had already exhausted her vacation time for the year. No problem. The rabbi insisted Zelaskowski take his vacation days to visit the young man. Rosenthal also traded tips on jazz recordings and groups with a fellow jazz fan, Zelakowskis daughter. He was just so funny and so impish, Kandice Zelaskowski said. He was just a very lovely human being. He was healthy, too, or seemed to be. He chose to retire early his contract would have expired later this year so the temple could seek fresh, youthful leadership and he could spend more time with his children and grandchildren. He had almost two years of enjoying his family, the rabbis widow said. He made every day special in that period. On Jan. 16, he felt pain in his calf. Doctors discovered it was a blood clot. While hospitalized, he was found to have suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. He underwent more tests and treatments, but seemed to respond well. He came home Feb. 11. While going to bed two nights later, he collapsed. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead soon after midnight on Feb. 14. That was a Thursday. Under Jewish tradition, the dead are buried quickly and before Shabat begins at sundown Friday. Although Rosenthals memorial service was hastily scheduled for that Friday at 1 p.m., about 1,000 people attended. At least as many showed up for the week-long period of mourning, held at Tifereth Israel. Attendees recalled a wise, compassionate, outgoing, generous man with an ardent love for Judaism and a questionable sense of humor. . When we were sitting shiva, said Ogul, a former Union-Tribune reporter and Tifereth Israels current president, we would see who could remember the worst rabbi jokes. Asked to repeat one, Ogul declined. There was too much else he wanted to share about his rabbi and friend. Rosenthal is survived by his wife, Judy; their children, Adina and her husband, Jeremy; Adam and his wife, Sarah; and Margalit; plus six grandchildren. A Rabbi Rosenthal Memorial Fund has been established at the Jewish Community Foundation; donations may be made at jcfsandiego.org. A $120 million court settlement from the nations largest-known natural gas leak was approved by a California judge Monday despite objections from local residents and criticism from environmentalists. Judge Carolyn Kuhl in Los Angeles Superior Court signed a consent decree putting the settlement into effect after saying her role was limited in overseeing the deal between the state, the city of Los Angeles and Southern California Gas Co., owned by San Diego-based Sempra Energy. If I find, as I was supposed to find, that it didnt violate the law or public policy, thats the end of my determination, Kuhl said. The settlement was criticized by environmentalists for how it plans to mitigate the large amount of climate-changing methane that spewed for nearly four months from the 2015 blowout at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility. Advertisement Environmental groups complained the utility would get full credit for projects partly funded by state money to capture methane from a dozen dairy farms in the states farm belt more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the blowout occurred on the edge of Los Angeles. They get to count methane reduction that was already happening on the public dime, said attorney Nina Robertson of Earthjustice. More than a fifth of the settlement will go to funding mitigation of the 109,000 metric tons of methane released after the well blowout. The incident sent a sulfurous stench over the community of Porter Ranch, where residents complained of headaches, nausea, nose bleeds and other symptoms. The company has spent more than $1 billion related to the blowout with the majority of that going to temporarily relocate 8,000 families, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . The utility still faces more than 385 lawsuits on behalf of 48,000 people. Under the settlement, the utility agreed to pay up to $25 million to study long-term health consequences; reimburse city, county and state governments for responding to the incident; and monitor chemicals in the air near the facility for eight years. Costs of the settlement cant be passed along to ratepayers. The mitigation part of the deal calls for the utility to pay $26.5 million toward technology that captures methane from lagoons of cow manure and pipes it into the natural gas supply chain to be used to fuel trucks that run on compressed natural gas. A coalition of environmental groups criticized that decision as an inefficient way to absorb the methane and said it would lead to larger and more concentrated dairies and lead to smoggier air in the already heavily polluted San Joaquin Valley while also creating more natural gas infrastructure at a time when cleaner alternatives are needed. Hundreds of residents in the Porter Ranch area also signed a petition opposing the settlement. Several at the hearing complained about being deceived by public officials in allowing settlement funds diverted from the area where they identified other places where methane could be reduced. We were promised that money to be given to L.A. County for use in mitigation projects down here, said resident Patty Glueck. Thats what should have happened not given to capturing cow farts from these dairy farms. Its ridiculous. We were lied to. The California Air Resources Board said the settlement targeted dairies, which contribute 25 percent of the states methane, and by capturing greenhouse gases on farm, it would provide energy to fuel trucks that will eliminate pollution otherwise created by diesel big-rigs. This agreement will mitigate the methane leak itself, and will have a positive impact across California while providing long-term funding for air quality improvements in the parts of the LA basin most directly affected by what happened at Aliso Canyon, said CARB Chair Mary Nichols. Earthjustice criticized the deal because SoCalGas will receive full credit even though public funds are being used. It also said theres not enough information to determine what percentage of a project the gas company will fund. If SoCalGas contributes 10 percent of the funding to a dairy where 5,000 tons of methane is captured, it should only get credit for mitigating 500 tons not the full amount, Robertson said. Without such an adjustment, the mitigation agreement grossly overstates SoCalGas contribution in achieving methane reductions and fails to constitute full mitigation for the Aliso disaster, Robertson wrote. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Score: Padres 5, Dodgers 4 Batters box: San Diego State alum Ty France, among the leading candidates to start at third base before Manny Machado was signed, hit his second home run and second double of the spring. Jose Pirela, battling for a utility infield spot, hit a home run. Manuel Margot is 4-for-11 after hitting his second double of the spring. ... Luis Urias, who was 0-for-7 before hitting a home run Thursday, was 3-for-3 Friday. Balls and strikes: Jacob Nix, who struck out just 21 batters in his 41 2/3 innings and had an 85.2 percent contact rate in the majors last season, got two swinging strikeouts in a hitless first inning and another one in the second. He allowed his first hit of the spring (4 2/3 innings) on a lead-off triple by Errol Robinson in the third. Robinson scored on a wild pitch, the only run in Nixs 2 2/3 innings. Craig Stammen threw a perfect inning in his spring debut. Trey Wingenter struck out two and walked two in his second scoreless inning of the spring. Extra bases: Travis Jankowski stole his third base in three attempts. This was the Padres first night game of the spring and their final game before the Machado eras soft launch. Machado is scheduled to start Saturday. Advertisement On Deck: Left-hander Nick Margevicius, who despite having pitched in Single-A all last season thrust himself into the starting rotation competition with two hitless innings against the Cubs on Tuesday, will start against the Giants in Glendale, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. PT. The first of three moderate rain storms spread out across San Diego County Saturday, where it dropped up to a half-inch of rain at the coast, according to the National Weather Service. As of 4 p.m., the fairly warm system from the central Pacific had soaked Solana Beach with 0.52 inches, Fallbrook with 0.72 inches and Palomar Mountain with 1.48 inches. Other areas saw much less precipitation, such as the San Diego International Airport with only 0.17 inches. A wind advisory is in effect until midnight in the mountains. Forecasters say isolated showers could last into Sunday. Advertisement A second storm will blow through the county on Tuesday and Wednesday, dropping between one-third and two-thirds of an inch of rain west of the mountains, and roughly twice that amount in the mountains. That system will be followed by a third storm on Friday and Saturday. Forecasters arent yet sure how much rain it will produce. Were in a pattern that will bring us rain over the next week to 10 days, said Phil Gonsalves, a weather service forecaster. Some of it will percolate into the soil. But the water table is getting higher because of all the rain weve had, so there will be lots of runoff. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. But beyond the specific allegations made by Cohen, he also painted a broader portrait of the man he worked for as a key associate for many years. "I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat." Cohen unloaded on his former boss, describing incidents where Trump either allegedly lied or may have broken the law. These included allegedly being directed to lie about the president's knowledge of hush money payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. She has said that Trump bought her silence to cover up an affair, which the president has denied. Cohen, the former longtime personal attorney and fixer for Donald Trump, submitted to hours of public testimony that hinted at possibly ominous consequences for the president. But the events in Hanoi were largely eclipsed by another drama half a world away that played out in a congressional hearing room Wednesday in Washington. There was disappointment in Hanoi after the Trump-Kim summit failed to live up to expectations for a comprehensive agreement on North Korea's nuclear program. "He [Kim] has a certain vision and it is not exactly our vision, but it is a lot closer than it was a year ago," Trump told reporters at a post-summit news conference. "And I think, you know, eventually we will get there. But for this particular visit we decided that we had to walk." Trump's efforts in Vietnam were largely overshadowed, though, by the riveting testimony before Congress of his once trusted personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. It was another glaring example of the split-screen nature of the Trump presidency. By any measure, it has been another extraordinary week in the presidency of Donald Trump. The president came up short in hopes of striking a major nuclear deal in his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Cohen as Target Trump has denied Cohen's allegations. At his post-summit news conference, the president said Cohen's testimony was "incorrect" and he blasted Democrats for holding the hearing while he was negotiating with the North Koreans. "I think having a fake hearing like that and having it in the middle of this very important summit is really a terrible thing," the president said. During the hearing, Republicans did little to challenge Cohen on his specific allegations regarding the president. They did slam him as an admitted liar and unreliable witness, however, who was being used by Democrats to go after the president. "This is an attempt to injure our president and lay some sort of soft cornerstone for future impeachment proceedings," said Republican Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana. On Thursday, Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio underscored this view, slamming the Democrats. "I do think they are going to pursue this crazy course toward impeachment," he said in a brief interview with VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson. He went on to describe Trump's tenure in office so far as "an amazing two years," citing tax cuts, economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years. Cohen's Journey During hours of testimony, Cohen documented his journey with Trump from ardent defender to disenchanted adversary. "I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong," Cohen said at one point, adding that being around Trump was "intoxicating." But Cohen also apologized for previously lying to Congress, and he lamented that he was loyal to Trump for so long. "So many things that I thought he can do that are just great, and he can and he is doing things that are great," he told Democratic Representative Jim Cooper of Tennessee. "But this destruction of our civility to one another is just out of control." Despite Republican efforts to pummel Cohen as an untrustworthy witness, the political and legal damage wrought by his testimony could turn out to be substantial. "Michael Cohen is not a good witness, not a great witness. He is the ultimate witness because he was there. He lived it. He breathed it," said former prosecutor Randy Zelin in an interview with Associated Press Television. 2020 Looms Beset by weak polls and investigations at home, Trump was hoping for more success with North Korea to boost him domestically. "Because he wants a win. This is the only diplomatic achievement that he can claim right now," said Stimson Center research analyst David Kim. "We are pulling out of Syria. We are pulling out of Afghanistan. We have bad relations with our friends in NATO." As other presidents before him, Trump is looking abroad for a foreign policy success that he could tout in time for his re-election campaign. "For Donald Trump, he loves the pomp, he loves the circumstance, and he is not the first, nor will he be the last president, who turns across the ocean when their approval ratings are low, and his are low," said California political analyst Sherry Betich Jeffe via Skype. The lack of a breakthrough on North Korea combined with the public spectacle of Cohen's riveting testimony come at a time when the president is preparing to face a daunting political landscape for next year's campaign. "Look, he is still at 43 or 44 percent of public thinking he is doing a good job. That is not a terrible number, but it is probably not a high enough number that he would want to go into the election [with]" said John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. The Cohen testimony also serves as a reminder of the challenges for President Trump in the weeks and months to come. They include the long-anticipated report on the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, and a growing list of investigations from congressional committees headed by Democrats after they won back control of the House of Representatives in last year's congressional midterm elections. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Acetochlor is an organic herbicide belonging to the chloracetanilide group of chemicals. Acetochlor herbicide, also known as Azetochlor, is utilized as a pre-emergent selective herbicide employed against grasses, especially on corn crops. It is a systemic herbicide that acts as a protein synthesis inhibitor (inhibits elongase and geranyl geranyl pyrophosphate enzyme in the Gibberellin Pathway in grasses) and leads to metabolic dysfunction in the targeted weeds. Acetochlor herbicide is primarily absorbed by germinating stem shoots and secondarily through roots in weeds growing on the pre-planted arable crop land. Acetochlor herbicide is most used on maize (corn) crops across the world. It can also be used for controlling weeds in sunflower, soybean and sugarcane crops among others. Acetochlor herbicide is an amber colored odorless liquid with syrup like viscosity. It is soluble in water in low quantities and has low volatility. Acetochlor herbicide is toxic to aquatic life forms and has low bio-accumulation potential. It is a hazardous chemical and brief exposure may cause skin burns and irritation. It has been identified as a potent carcinogen and exposure may occur in the factory setting during manufacturing or during application on crop. Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/acetochlor-market.html Acetochlor herbicides are primarily used as selective herbicides against grasses sedges and some broadleaved weeds. They are extensively used by the U.S. corn farmers and sugarcane and soybean farmers in other parts of the world. Acetochlor herbicide has been recognized as a substitute for environmentally harmful herbicides by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) when used in regulated quantities. It is the key active ingredient in a variety of herbicide formulations. The acetochlor herbicide market is driven by rising food security concerns for the rapidly increasing global population and decreasing area of arable land. This is putting pressure on farmers to increase yields to meet the global demand. However, rising awareness about the harmful effects of herbicides and other toxic agrochemical products and strict environmental regulations, especially in the developed nations of North America and Western Europe is expected to be the major restraining factor for the acetochlor herbicide market. In terms of geography, Asia Pacific is the largest consumer of acetochlor herbicide riding on high sales of herbicide products to its large population base. Major agricultural economies including China, India and Indonesia are the major consumers of acetochlor herbicide for application in a variety of crops. Populous countries including China and India are growing rapidly and there is a general increase in prosperity of the resident population. This in turn is expected to drive demand for food grains and further for acetochlor herbicide. Request to view Sample Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18473 Major market players have established their production facilities in Asia owing to the availability of cheap labor and land and comparatively lenient norms and regulations against chemicals. Another key consumer for acetochlor herbicide is North America especially in the well irrigated southern land in the Mississippi, Missouri and other corn planting areas of the U.S. In Rest of the World, Brazil, South Africa and Central Africa contribute to major demand for the market. Brazil is one of the world's largest suppliers of corn and sugarcane, which makes it an attractive market for acetochlor herbicide suppliers. Europe is expected grow comparatively slower than other parts of the world due to stern government control over potentially harmful agrochemicals and general tendency of farmers towards sustainable organic farming techniques. Some of the key market players include Monsanto, Syngenta AG, Dow AgroSciences, Bayer CropScience, Shanghai Mingdou Agrochemical Company Limited, and SinoHarvest Corporation among others. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Adhesive resins incorporate several applications and objects as an adhesive layer to enhance the durability and optimize the integrity of the structure. It joins the surface of diverse materials, efficiently distributing the stress at the junction. The application of adhesive resin forms a strong bond very quickly to aid the adhesion process. Application of high performance adhesive resin improves the cohesive strength. Adhesive resins available in emulsion form offer the advantage of elasticity and resistance to moisture. In addition to the long term adhesiveness, application of resins provide toughness and resistance to aging, temperature, and chemicals. Adhesive resin is available in several forms: solvent-based, water-based, and hot melt. The major components used in adhesive resin include: vinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyvinyl acetate, and polymerized acrylic resin emulsion. Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/adhesive-resin-market.html Adhesive resin finds extensive application in numerous industries such as: packaging, oil and gas, plastic, construction, automotive, and transportation. Adhesive resin is most widely used in the packaging of food and beverages, consumer goods, sea foods and meat, tubes, and bottles. In the oil and gas industry, it is used to create linkage between pipelines and coating of pipes. In the plastic industry, the application of adhesive resin is recommended to act as a binding agent in order to enhance the tensile strength of plastic. In the automotive industry, adhesive resin is applied in automotive body parts such as door modules and front-end modules. In the building and construction industry, adhesive resins are applied as contact adhesives, flooring adhesives, and sealants. Due to the efficient sealing feature, adhesive resins find potential use in the transportation industry in manufacturing of abrasive and aerospace components. The broad commercial application of adhesive resins in several industries builds a rapidly growing global market. The market for adhesive resins has exhibited an enormous rise in the last few years and a similar positive trend is anticipated to be witnessed during the forecast period. The market of adhesive resin is currently dominated by the Asia Pacific region. The huge growth of end-user industries such as automotive, construction, packaging, and consumer goods in developing countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India is propelling the demand of adhesive resins. In the next few years, the advancement of emerging technologies and rising demand of adhesive resin is estimated to fuel the market growth in the developing region of Asia Pacific. North America and Europe also possess a large share of the global market. Improved economy observed in these developed countries is a key factor for the market growth. The rising trend is predicted to continue during the forecast period. A prospective market for adhesive resin is expected to build up in the MEA region. Growing economy of this region is predicted to develop an emerging market of adhesive resins in the next few years. Request Report Brochure @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18527 Increasing awareness of ecofriendly materials is likely to drive the demand for bio-based adhesive which will enable the end-user industries to minimize their environmental concern. Specially-engineered adhesive resins are being developed for the assembly of aircraft and automotive bodies. Epoxy resin holds a large share of the global adhesive resin market currently due to improved functionalities such as corrosion protection, mechanical strength etc. Increased demand from end-user industries is influencing the higher growth rate of adhesive resin in the global market. The major players that manufacture adhesive resin are companies such as: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, LD Davis Industries, Inc., Exxon Mobil Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Mitsui Chemicals America, Inc., Resinall Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, and Ashland Inc. etc. 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. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- This research report titled "Aircraft Cleaning Chemical Market Inclined to Deliver Positive Growth till 2028" focuses on the aircraft cleaning chemical market, published to the vast repository managed by FactMR. The analysis focuses on the prime geographical regions based on their market size, revenue and attractiveness factors. Furthermore, the research discusses various segments from the aircraft cleaning chemical market to examine future lucrativeness and spot growth prospects during 2018-2028. Readers can even access information such as key developments, technologies, innovations, etc., concerned to the aircraft cleaning chemical market. Request for Report Sample Here - https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2990 Airlines are adopting aircraft cleaning chemicals to keep aircrafts' surface clean, and free from dust and other unwanted particles. Aircraft cleaning chemicals are widely available in the market today, in the form of specialty solvents, detergents, surfactants, degreaser, aircraft washes, polishes, and varied paint strippers, and have gained traction in recent time, owing to the growing awareness about the importance of cleaner surroundings. Green Product Development & Operation Cost-Cutting - Core Strategy Adopted By Manufacturers To capitalize on the growing demand for aircraft cleaning chemicals, companies are expanding their manufacturing facilities, while collaborating with local companies to gain a competitive edge. The participants in the aircraft cleaning chemical market are also investing heavily in the development of innovative products that meet the stringent regulations. Development of greener cleaning chemicals has gained traction as the core strategy being followed by companies to diversify business capabilities and increase market share. Manufacturers are offering novel and greener chemicals, including a range of VOC-free, safe aircraft cleaning chemicals, while providing an increased cleaning value to the end users. Market participants are also focused on enhancing operations to curtail operational costs and thereby, increase profit margins. The constant tussle to offer eco-friendly chemicals at competitive prices is allowing manufacturers at all levels to attract extensive consumer base, which is constantly seeking greener products. Also, aircraft cleaning chemical manufacturers are diversifying business capabilities to get a hold on increased market share, while they focus on enhancing operations to cut operational expenses and increase profit margins. Several companies are investing globally to diversify their presence, particularly in the developing countries, including China, Middle East, India, and ASEAN, which are brimming with potential opportunities. Read Complete Factors about Global Market Report from Here - https://www.factmr.com/report/2990/aircraft-cleaning-chemical-market Some of the leading manufacturers mentioned in the FactMR study on the global aircraft cleaning chemical market, include Velocity Chemicals Ltd., Frasers Aerospace, Callington Haven Pty Ltd., Aero-Sense, Chempace Corporation, NUVITE Chemical Compounds, Chemco Industries, Inc., Sil-Mid Limited, Socomore, W.W. Grainger, Chemetall GmbH, Wesco Aircraft Hardware Corp., PPG Industries, Inc., Mcgean-Rohco Inc., Rx Marine International, Arrow Solutions, Roovel Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Alglas UK, and Ecosterile Environmental Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Rising Incomes in Tandem with Attractive Air Travel Offers Remain Significant For Market Growth Air passenger traffic is increasing on the back of rising disposable income and rapidly accelerating middle class population. This is further pushed by several other factors, including the growing affordability, increasing per capita income, and tendency to travel, which will thereby fuel the need for more aircrafts, which in turn will augment the sales of aircraft cleaning chemicals. Further, several other factors, such as flourishing tourism industry, growing international travel, competitive air travel pricing by airline carriers and lucrative amenities offered during air travel, will significantly contribute to increasing consumer preference for air travel, positively impacting the demand for aircraft cleaning chemical market during the foreseeable period. Adoption of Greener Chemicals Remains A Paramount Trend Amid the growing green revolution to curtail impact of hazardous chemicals on environment, end users are gravitating towards greener alternatives to VOC emitting degreaser and cleaning products, prompting manufacturers to bring changes in chemical production processes. Mughal manufacturers in the aircraft cleaning chemical market have shifted their focus on the development of greener, safe, durable, affordable and non-hazardous bio-based and water based aircraft cleaning chemicals. Production of non-hazardous and non-toxic aircraft cleaning products, which are free from substances, including Perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene (TCE), and other chemicals, remain a key strategy to widen consumer base, while driving sales. Browse Full Report - https://www.factmr.com/checkout/2918/S About FactMR FactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Banaba leaf extract is still being used as a folk remedy for the treatment of diabetes in India, Philippines and other South East Asian countries. The anti-diabetic effect of banaba leaf extract is due to the presence of corosolic acid as found in clinical studies. With no adverse drug effects being reported, this extract has proven to be of immense potential, providing an alternate and safe method for the treatment of diabetes. The banaba leaf extract has shown a moderate decrease in weight and therefore it is also used in many weight loss formulations. In addition to this banaba leaf extract also helps maintain normal levels of antioxidants. This natural herbal extract has gained significant attraction from diabetic population who are looking for a better and safe diabetes medicine and thus creating a huge demand globally. Banaba tree (Lagerstroemia speciosa), the tropical flowering tree also known as pride of India has been used for making tea by brewing the dried leaves. Request For Report Brochure For Latest Industry Insights @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27596 Banaba leaf extract market Global Market Trends and Market Drivers: The growth of herbal healthcare market remains persistent due to its appeal as healthy and safe to use products. The sedentary lifestyle among people is creating an ever increasing demand for health and wellness promoting supplements. Banaba leaf extract with its natural no side effect USP has gained attention from the diabetic population, furthermore the consumer centric approach in treatment of disease has led to a boom in the herbal product market; consumers looking for a safer alternative to pharmaceutical medicines have approached herbal products. The high valued trust on Ayurvedic preparation in western countries has attracted the Ayurvedic manufacturers to sell their products worldwide. The cemented faith among consumers of Ayurvedic products backed by the information available globally is expected to fuel the market growth of banaba leaf extract. Further innovations like use of nanotechnology by EastGate Biotech Corp. to boost the blood glucose lowering ability of banaba leaf extract is expected to drive the market growth. Banaba Leaf Extract Market Segmentation Banaba leaf extract is segmented on the basis of dosage form, distribution channel and region. On the basis of dosage form it is segmented as powder, capsules and tinctures. The capsule formulation being more popular in use, is expected to endure its steady growth rate. However factors like increasing health awareness and availability of quick information online are expected to supplement the growth in sales of capsules formulation. Obtain Report Details @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/banaba-leaf-extract-market.html On the basis of region the banaba leaf extract is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Japan Western Europe and Middle East. Japan with its high share in demand attributed to the vast popularity of traditional medicine and its benefits has attracted exporters worldwide and the wide acceptance of herbal health products in other developed countries like United States, Canada, France and U.K. has created a powering demand and thus it is expected to show an accelerated growth during the forecast period. . 1 2021 . , - , . , ... Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- In a recent report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the vendor landscape of the global beacon market is anticipated to witness a significant growth owing to the long life duration and surge in cost efficiency. Beacon based technology is gaining popularity with time especially in terms of retail applications and is expected to hold a noteworthy share in the overall market. Major players are focusing on understanding customer preferences and likewise making improvisations in their products so as to gain more popularity and earn more revenue share. Some of the leading players of the global beacon market are Estimote Inc., Aruba Networks Inc., Gimbal, Estimote Inc., and Radius Networks, Inc. major players are looking for innovative business strategies so as to increase demand for beacon technology in the market. This is being done by new merger and acquisition plans in order to enhance their beacon market to other parts of the world as well. New ideas like that of location based marketing solutions are also being initiated in order to draw more end users to the beacon market in the years to come. Browse The Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/beacon-market.html As per the TMR report, the global beacon market is estimated to reach a 565 million units by the end of 2021 which was counted to be 8.2 million as per the 2016 reports. On the basis of end-use, the retail segment is presumed to gain more revenue as compared to the rest of them. Apart from that, the advertising industry is also estimated to expand with a higher CAGR during the forecast period of 2018 to 2026.On the basis of geography, the beacon market is foreseen to outshine in Asia Pacific, as compared to the other regions of the world. Asia Pacific to Register Faster Growth with Increasing Population The global beacon market is subjugated by the regions of South America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Among these, the region registering more growth revenue, that too, at a faster speed, in the upcoming years is Asia Pacific. This is due to the rising population in the developing nations of China, Japan and India and their constant efforts to step into the new era of modernization and urbanization. Owing to the increasing population comes the emergence of smartphones, and this new smartphone trend is attracting many end users to draw their attention towards the beacon market. Get PDF Sample for this Research Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=45903 Apart from that, the multiple benefits that beacon technology offers is a major fact drawing more attention towards this market. There are many advantages of adopting beacon like getting customized offers, or prompts, or providing navigation and getting reviews. Malls in China are quickly adopting iBeacons on a large scale in order to utilize them for advertising. Thus, China is likely to add a large amount of revenue to the Asia Pacific Market. These features will help the global beacon market to gain more revenue with the advent of time. Online-Offline Exchange Terms to Hinder Market Growth Although there are lot of scopes for the beacon market to emerge as a powerful market, there may be one or two factors that may act as a hindrance to the overall growth of the market. One such factor may be the growing trend of offline stores to choose online platforms in the retail sectors. However, the rise in trend for spatial data to be used in analytics and the increase in focus of business intelligence organizations to get the competitive advantage are important factors that are likely to fuel up the global beacon market in the years to come. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Cell characterization assays kits are used for quantitative and qualitative analysis of cell cultures and cell line by differentiating cell populations, which work as a biomarkers for particular cell population subgroups. The cell characterization assays kits empower analytical research in respective domains, including cancer, immune response biology and autoimmune disorders using murine and human samples. Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the widely known problems in oncology. The cell characterization assays kits comprise specific comprehensive media and tri-layer-based protocols for analyzing in-vitro focused distinction experiment in every germ layer, reproducibly and evidently stating trilineage differentiation. The spontaneous cell separation and differentiation offers advantage in immunohistochemistry and plays an important role in cell characterization assays kits. The cell characterization assays kits offer primitive benefit in selection of biomarkers for further analysis according to the nature of cell sample. Request For Sample @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2804 Cell Characterization Assays Kits Market: Drivers and Restraints The primary factor expected to drive the growth of the cell characterization assays kits market is increasing number of research activities related to stem cell, owning to larger implication of stem cell research in providing diagnostic and treatment solutions for various genetic disorders and conditions. As per the American Association of Medical Colleges, approximately 76% of funding for cell research is by the federal government. But, stem cell research is a controversial topic, as several litigations and obligations are raised, which consequently is expected to limit the sale of cell characterization assays kits. According to the American Lung Association, nearly 13% of all cancer cases are of lung cancer, comprising approximately 240,000 people in the U.S. alone. The growing burden of cancer, particularly lung and breast, has increased the healthcare spending, which consequently is expected to boost the demand for cell characterization assays kits. However, strict regulatory guidelines for cell-based research in many countries and high cost of cell characterization assays kits are factors projected to restrain the growth of the cell characterization assays kits market during the forecast period. Cell Characterization Assays Kits Market: Overview The global cell characterization assays kits market is into initial stages of introduction attributed to focus on regenerative cell research. Subsequently, it is expected to demonstrate exponential growth potential for the sale of cell characterization assays kits. The federal government funding for stem cell research is favoring the cell characterization assays kits manufacturers for introduction of advanced kits employing latest recombinant technology. Request For Brochure @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2804 Application of Monoclonal antibody (MaB) therapeutics section is thriving and standout amongst the most dynamic and promising pipelines in the biopharmaceutical market. By efficiently utilizing a streamlined efficient facility, cell characterization assays kits providers are assisting biopharmaceutical companies in creating a flexible infrastructure in order to improve their research capabilities, and also efficiently use in-house resources to meet critical project demands in cell characterization assays kits market. Most of the standard cell banking service providers offer cell bank characterization services in addi tion to cell bank preparation, which include identification, microbial QC services, separation, and cell line stability. Cell Characterization Assays Kits Market: Regional Outlook Geographically, the global cell characterization assays kits market is segmented into regions, namely North America, Latin America, CIS & Russia, Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America is projected to emerge as the dominant regional market for cell characterization assays kits market due to technological advancement and dedicated healthcare research. The cell characterization assays kits market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan is expected to grow substantially due to the increasing number of manufacturers of cell characterization assays kits and recent rise in outsourcing of research to China and India. Europe is expected to hold prominent share in the global cell characterization assays kits market throughout the study period. Cell Characterization Assays Kits Market: Key Players The global market for cell characterization assays kits is fragmented with large presence of key players. Examples of some of the key players operating in the global cell characterization assays kits market are AYOXXA Biosystems GmbH, Merck KGaA, STEMCELL Technologies Inc., Enzo Life Science, HemoGenix, Thermo Fisher Scientific, PELO Biotech GmbH, R&D Systems, BD Biosciences, and Menarini Silicon Biosystems Inc, etc. Report Analysis @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2804/cell-characterization-assays-kits-market The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- The computer aided dispatch market is expected to close in on revenues worth over US$ 1,500 Mn in 2019, according to a recent research of FactMR. Growth of the computer aided dispatch market remains influenced by innovations and advancements in technology aiding in widening the scope of application of CAD systems. The report opines that although on-premise computer aided dispatch systems will continue to hold a significant share of the market, demand for cloud-based CAD systems will increase in the near future. The competition in the logistics and e-commerce sectors is intensifying, as companies shift their focus toward streamlining their dispatch solutions and call centers, to expand their customer base. Setting up cloud-based CAD systems is relatively straightforward and deprives the requirement of additional hardware, which in turn provides companies with an economic alternative. Additionally, leading cloud service-providers are continuously fortifying their security to create an enhanced infrastructure for supporting the systems. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3060 Companies and public safety institutions are finding cloud-based computer aided dispatch systems increasingly useful owing to the systems' ability to allow seamless information exchange between departments. The study estimates the cloud-based CAD systems to register a Y-o-Y growth of 11.3% in 2019. Growing Investments by Public Safety Institutions to Underpin Growth As modern computer aided dispatch systems enable public safety and law enforcement institutions to gain real-time information on contemporary incidences, state administrations and public safety institutions are investments into upgrading their existing call management systems. For instance, Calgary's government recently collaborated with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure to upgrade its 911 response systems. On similar lines, the Scotts Bluff County in Nebraska, USA also deployed computer aided dispatch systems across different public safety verticals to shorten response times and serve citizens better. Sophisticated computer aided dispatch systems, integrated with artificial intelligence and navigation technologies, recommend efficient routes, monitor resources, and streamline the complete dispatching process, which in turn aids in curtailing the response times. The study opines widespread adoption of computer aided dispatch systems in governmental organizations to bolster market growth, with revenues estimated at nearly US$ 600 Mn in 2018. Browse Full Report on Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Market with TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/3060/computer-aided-dispatch-cad-market Computer aided dispatch services are finding robust demand in law enforcement agencies, as enhanced sophisticated computer aided dispatch systems continue to benefit these in managing calls on the basis of their priority to keep radio channels free for higher priority incidences. Features such as silent dispatching which allows law enforcement agencies to respond quickly are further adding to the growing popularity of the computer aided dispatch systems. Innovations in the field are upholding the demand with new systems, such as Garda, being developed to overcome the shortcomings of the existing systems. Garda has been designed to allow central monitoring of incidences and calls, which will enable public safety organizations to dispatch the nearest responders circumventing the current problems that divisional response units face. Have Any Query? Ask Our Industry Experts- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=3060 CAD Systems Integrated with AVL Gain Ground Computer aided dispatch systems are finding increasing usage in the transportation industry. Taxi and cab services are innovating constantly to tailor the system to their requirements. Moreover, computer aided dispatch systems coupled with automatic vehicle location (AVL) is being leveraged by multiple local authorities to revamp the existing public mass transit systems to serve citizens better. AVL reports the location of the vehicle, and CAD systems help municipal corporations keep a track of the fleet and dispatch buses on time. Additionally, these systems help in scheduling public transport system efficiently while providing drivers precise rerouting instructions in case of incidences. Rochester's Regional Transit Service (RTS) decided to upgrade its CAD and AVL systems along similar lines in 2018 to make public transportation more efficient and attractive for riders. To Buy Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Market Report, Check- https://www.factmr.com/checkout/3060/S About FactMR FactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Read Industry News at - https://insiderstribune.com/ Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- HTF MI recently introduced new title on "Global Folding Bicycles Market Status and Future Forecast 2015-2024" from its database. The report provides study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2025. The Report gives you competition analysis of top manufacturer with sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share, the top players including Giant Bicycle, Dahon, A-bike, GOGOBIKE, Montague Bike, Brompton Bicycle, Helix, Bike Friday, Birdy Bike, Phoenix Bike & FOREVER Bicycle Get the inside scoop of the Sample report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1561580-global-folding-bicycles-market-11 Summary Key Content of Chapters (Including and can be customized) Part 1: Market Overview, Development, and Segment by Type, Application & Region Part 2: Global Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 3-4: Asia-Pacific Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 5-6: Europe Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 7-8: North America Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 9-10: South America Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 11-12: Middle East & Africa Market by company, Type, Application & Geography Part 13: Company information, Sales, Cost, Margin etc. Part 14: Conclusion In this report Global Folding Bicycles market classified on the basis of product, end-user, and geographical regions. The report includes in-depth data related to revenue generation region wise and major market players in the Folding Bicycles market. In order to get a deeper view of Global Folding Bicycles 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. Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1561580-global-folding-bicycles-market-11 Prominent top manufacturers Included In Global Folding Bicycles Market with sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players including Giant Bicycle, Dahon, A-bike, GOGOBIKE, Montague Bike, Brompton Bicycle, Helix, Bike Friday, Birdy Bike, Phoenix Bike & FOREVER Bicycle The Global Folding Bicycles Market Is Classified On The Basis Of User/Application: Adult & Children The Global Folding Bicycles Market Is Classified On The Basis Of Product Type: , 20 Inch, 24 Inch, 26 Inch & Other size The Global Folding Bicycles is classified on The basis Of Region such as: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific etc Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports. Enquire for customization or Global version of this report with geographical classification such as - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) - Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Spain and Benelux) - Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia and Australia) - Latin America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia) - Middle East and Africa Key questions answered in this comprehensive study Global Folding Bicycles Market Status and Future Forecast 2015-2024 - What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate be? - What are the key market trends? - What is driving Global Folding Bicycles Market? - What are the challenges to market growth? - Who are the key vendors in Folding Bicycles Market space? - What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Folding Bicycles Market? - What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Folding Bicycles Market? - What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Folding Bicycles market? Get in-depth details about factors influencing the market? Acquire Single User PDF license of this research report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1561580 Table of Contents - Introduction of Global Folding Bicycles - Product Overview and Scope of Folding Bicycles - Classification of Folding Bicycles by Product Category - Global Folding Bicycles Market by Application/End Users - Global Folding Bicycles Market by Region - Global Folding Bicycles Market Competition by Players/Suppliers - Global Folding Bicycles Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018) - Global Folding Bicycles Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type [, 20 Inch, 24 Inch, 26 Inch & Other size] (Product Category) (2013-2018) - Global Folding Bicycles Sales (Volume) by Application i.e. Adult & Children (2013-2018) - Global Folding Bicycles Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data - Folding Bicycles Manufacturing Cost Analysis - Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers - Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders - Market Effect Factors Analysis - Market Size (Value and Volume) Forecast (2018-2025) - Research Findings and Conclusion - Appendix Complete report on Folding Bicycles market report spread across 100+ pages, list of tables & figures, profiling 10+ companies. Enquire more @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1561580-global-folding-bicycles-market-11 Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. About HTF Market Report HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the "Accurate Forecast" in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their "Goals & Objectives". Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- With the swift rise in disposable incomes across many parts of the world and changing lifestyle, the demand for specialty food ingredients such as dairy blends is on the rise. Apart from this, the low fat content of dairy blends is also leading to their rising uptake among health savvy consumers. The low cost factor of dairy blends and their easy refrigeration and storage in comparison to dairy products is also having a positive bearing on the market's growth. On the flip side, preference of food manufacturers to use conventional dairy products instead of dairy blends, and concerns among food manufacturers as well as consumers that dairy blends deteriorate the taste of food are acting as roadblocks to the market's growth. Get PDF Sample For More Information @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=16562 According to a report by Transparency Market Research, the global dairy blends market is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 5.8% for the forecast period between 2017 and 2022. At this pace, the market's valuation of US$2,853.7 mn in 2017 will become worth US$3,789.3 mn by the end of 2022. Dairy Mixtures Product Segment Expected to Stay Dominant through 2022 The global dairy blends market is studied in terms of product type, form, and region. The segments of the market depending upon product type are dairy mixtures, dairy/non-dairy ingredients, functional ingredients, carrier, and others. Of them, the segment of dairy mixtures holds dominance with the segment expected to represent 35.4% of the market in 2017. Expanding at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2017 and 2022, the dairy mixtures segment is expected to be worth US$1,367.7 mn by the end of 2022. The segment is displaying a year on year growth of US$71.5 mn surpassing the growth exhibited by any other product type segment. Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/dairy-blends-market.html In terms of form, the segments into which the global dairy blends market is divided are powder, spreadable, and liquid. Backed by Economic Growth Asia Pacific to Emerge as Attractive Regional Market The report studies the global dairy blends market across the regional segments of North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific except Japan, Japan, and the Middle East and Africa. Powered by the U.S., the North America dairy blends market is expected to dominate in 2017 amongst other key regional markets for dairy blends. Going forward too, the region is expected to maintain its lead position expanding at a CAGR of 6.9% for the forecast period between 2017 and 2022. In absolute value, the North America dairy blends market is expected to increase from US$1,161.8 mn in 2017 to US$1,623.5 mn by the end of 2022. Asia Pacific except Japan is another significant market for dairy blends. The region is expected to display an attractive 5.6% CAGR between 2017 and 2022 backed by the rising disposable income and increasing spending on specialty food ingredients. The presence of an established dairy industry in Australia and New Zealand is also expected to have a positive bearing on the growth of this regional market. Europe dairy blends market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 5% between 2017 and 2022 and become worth US$1,104.7 mn by the end of 2022. Prominent participants in the global dairy blends market profiled in this report are Cargill Inc., Koninklijke Viv Buisman B.V., Dohler GmbH, Advanced Food products LLC, Agri-Mark Inc., Kerry Group plc, Agropur Cooperative, Hormel Foods Corp., Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., and All American Foods Inc. The presence of a large number of players of varying sized renders high competition in the global dairy blends market. Keen players in the market are hard focused on introducing novel products and have resorted to acquisitions and expansions to gain competitive advantage. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- Structural adhesive is used to produce a load-bearing joint. It is often used for engineering and industrial applications to bond the product that may undergo vibration, shock, or chemical exposure. Some of the common examples of structural adhesives are cyanoacrylates, epoxies, and various acrylic and urethanes adhesives. Structural adhesive is formulated from thermosetting resins that need chemical crosslinking with hardener, by heat or catalyst. Structural adhesives are also widely used in the automotive sector providing better adhesion between plastic and steel. It is also largely used in window glass attachment, doors, clutch plates, brakes, etc. There has been a rise in the use of structural adhesive than conventional fastening techniques. Request 100 Page Sample Report Now: https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=470 Growing Investment in Infrastructure Development: A Key Driver for Structural Adhesive Demand Growth in infrastructure and increasing government spending in construction and commercial buildings is expected to drive the demand for structural adhesive in the construction sector. Moreover, changing trends in furniture designs are likely to boost the demand further. In recent years, the use of advanced adhesive technologies has become prominent in the construction sector. Development of processes and technologies for easy heal, recycle, and self-heal of the bonded structure is also gaining traction across the globe with a rise in modern infrastructure. The demand for polyurethane adhesive is growing owing to the increasing demand for bonding of sheet molding compounds, plastics, and cryogenic application. Meanwhile, the growth in marine and transportation industry is driving the demand for methacrylate adhesives. The structural adhesives sales in the transportation industry is likely to increase owing to its ability to reduce weight, enhance composites structural integrity and increase fuel efficiency. Stringent environmental regulation by governments are likely to hamper the growth of structural adhesives. There has been a rise in standards related to the VOC emission and solvent-based formulations. Owing to the harmful effects of VOC, countries including Canada, the US, and European Union have imposed strict regulations on VOC emissions. Regulations on the solvent-based adhesives including VOC are driving the demand for water-based structural adhesives. This has also led to the increase in the development of new structural adhesives using eco-friendly formulations. Get Access To TOC Covering 200+ Topics: https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=470 Asia Pacific Key to Structural Adhesive Market Growth Asia Pacific and Japan are likely to continue dominance in the structural adhesive market. The demand for structural adhesive is growing in India and China owing to the significant rise in the infrastructure and construction sector. India is likely to spend billions on development of infrastructure. Meanwhile, countries across the globe are showing significant interest in investing in India, with a special focus on renewable energy, real estate, textile and automotive sector. The major demand for structural adhesive in Asia Pacific is likely to come from automotive, infrastructure, marine, and truck and bus application. North America and Europe are also expected to witness significant growth in the structural adhesive market. Increasing use of lightweight and small components in various sectors in the US is driving the demand for structural adhesives in the country. Structural Adhesive Market - Competitive Landscape With stringent government regulations on coatings and adhesives, manufacturers in the structural adhesive market are focusing on developing new eco-friendly structural adhesives. Moreover, the latest trend towards lightweight design and high productivity is increasing the use of structural adhesives providing an opportunity for product innovation. The manufacturers are focusing on new product development. For instance, Arkema has introduced new UV-curable resins. The new resins offer various benefits including flexibility, durability, and impact resistance. Some of the leading players in the structural adhesive market are Henkel AG 3M Hubei Huitian Adhesive Enterprise Co. Scott Bader SIKA AG Lord Corporation Dow Chemical Company Ashland ITW Speak To Research Analyst For Detailed Insights: https://www.factmr.com/report/470/structural-adhesive-market The structural adhesive market research report provides analysis and key insights on the market along with the facts. Historical data and forecast on the structural adhesive market are also included in the report. The study includes details on important factors influencing growth in the structural adhesive market. Unique research methodology is used including both primary and secondary research on the structural adhesive market. About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- HTF MI released a new market study on Global Drug Eluting Stents Market with 100+ market data Tables, Pie Chat, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed analysis. At present, the market is developing its presence. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Drug Eluting Stents Forecast till 2025*. Some are the key players taken under coverage for this study are Abbott Laboratories (United States) , Boston Scientific Corporation (United States) , Terumo Corporation (Japan) , Medtronic (Ireland) , Biosensors International (Singapore) , Cook Medical (United States) , Envision Scientific (India) , Biotronik (Germany) , Lepu Medical (China) and Stentsys (France). Click to get Global Drug Eluting Stents Market Research Sample PDF Copy Here @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1567597-global-drug-eluting-stents-market-8 Scope of the Study A drug-eluting stent is small expandable tubes made of wire placed into narrowed, diseased coronary arteries that slowly release a drug to block cell proliferation. Stent helps to hold the artery open to release a drug that stops blockage occurring in artery and increases the blood flow. The stent is generally placed within the coronary artery by an Interventional Cardiologist during an angioplasty procedure. The constantly rising geriatric population across the globe is primarily driving the growth of the market. The market study is being classified, by Application (Coronary Artery Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease) and major geographies with country level break-up that includes South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America) , Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) , Europe (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Rest of Europe) , MEA (Middle East, Africa) , North America (United States, Canada, Mexico) . Competitive Landscape Abbott Laboratories (United States) , Boston Scientific Corporation (United States) , Terumo Corporation (Japan) , Medtronic (Ireland) , Biosensors International (Singapore) , Cook Medical (United States) , Envision Scientific (India) , Biotronik (Germany) , Lepu Medical (China) and Stentsys (France) are some of the key players profiled in the study. On 24 Sept, 2018, Boston Scientific announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Premarket Approval (PMA) application to market the Eluvia Drug-Eluting Vascular Stent System, specifically developed for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1567597-global-drug-eluting-stents-market-8 Market Drivers The rising geriatric population worldwide The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiac arrest Market Trend The reimbursement coverage along with a high incidence rate of artery diseases Restraints Rising risk of developing late-stage thrombosis Opportunities Increasing demand from emerging economies The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that the FDA should issue warnings to doctors and patients about drug eluting coronary stents. The safety of such stents is unclear except in low risk patients. Furthermore, patients with drug eluting stents should take antiplatelet therapy for at least one year after insertion Key Target Audience Manufacturers of drug eluting stents Suppliers of drug eluting stents parts Wholesalers, distributers and retailers of drug eluting stents Healthcare industry Governmental bodies Research organizations Buy Full Copy Global Drug Eluting Stents Report 2018 @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1567597 Table of Contents 1 Market Overview 1.1 Drug Eluting Stents Introduction 1.2 Market Analysis by Type 1.3 Market Analysis by Applications 1.4 Market Analysis by Regions 1.4.1 North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) 1.4.1.1 United States Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) 1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) 1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa 1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2013-2023) 1.5 Market Dynamics 1.5.1 Market Opportunities 1.5.2 Market Risk 1.5.3 Market Driving Force 2 Manufacturers Profiles 2.1.1 Business Overview 2.1.2 Drug Eluting Stents Type and Applications 2.1.3 Drug Eluting Stents Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017) 3 Global Drug Eluting Stents Market Competition, by Manufacturer 3.1 Global Drug Eluting Stents Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017) 3.2 Global Drug Eluting Stents Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017) 3.3 Global Drug Eluting Stents Price by Manufacturer (2016-2017) 3.4 Market Concentration Rate 3.4.1 Top 3 Drug Eluting Stents Manufacturer Market Share in 2017 3.4.2 Top 5 Drug Eluting Stents Manufacturer Market Share in 2017 3.5 Market Competition Trend Continued Browse for Full Report at @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1567597-global-drug-eluting-stents-market-8 Actual Numbers & In-Depth Analysis, Business opportunities, Market Size Estimation Available in Full Report. Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Duodenoscope is a side viewing endoscope primarily designed for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to diagnose diseases associated with pancreas and bile ducts with the help of fluoroscopic imaging procedure. Duodenoscopes are flexible, light weighted tubes that are relieved through the mouth, throat, and stomach till the duodenum portion. Duodenoscopes are being used in more than 500,000 gastrointestinal procedures in the U.S each year as a minimally invasive way than traditional surgery to drain fluids from biliary and pancreatic ducts which are blocked by cancerous tumors, gallstones or other gastrointestinal conditions. The Duodenoscope is a more complex device than other endoscopes and more tough to clean and disinfect. While these devices play an essential role in the treatment of patients, there is an evidence that some patients have been transmitted with hospital born and other infectious agents, including antibiotic drug-resistant infections. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerted the FDA regarding possible association of multidrug resistant bacterial infections and duodenoscopes. Even before FDA was reported of the infections by the CDC, FDA was working to reinforce cleaning and disinfection protocols of complex duodenoscopes devices to maximize patient benefit and reduce safety risks. Recently American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) brought together experts in epidemiology, infection control and endoscopy, FDA and CDC representatives, hospitals that practiced epidemics, and device manufacturers. The purposes of these organizations to confirm current FDA and industry guidelines for cleaning duodenoscopes and identify gaps in knowledge and issues to address going onward. Request Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1667 Based on product type, global duodenoscopes market is classified as follows: Flexible Video Dueodenoscopes Flexible Non- Video Dueodenoscopes Based on End User type, global duodenoscopes market is classified as follows: Hospitals Pediatric Centers Clinics Ambulatory Surgical Centers Currently, owing to extremely spread of infection of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria, through duodenoscopes, the procedure is probably not performing in an outpatient facility such as clinics and ambulatory surgical centers. Increasing incidences of pancreatic, bile duct cancer tumors and various gastrointestinal conditions are the major origins contributing to the growth of the global duodenoscopes market. In addition, increasing FDA activities and CDC and manufactures collaboration is in identifying the causes and risk factors for transmission of infectious agents with duodenoscopes and developing new solutions to minimize patient exposure is another major driver, fueling the global duodenoscopes market growth over the forecast period. However, increasing FDA recalls for duodenoscopes owing to challenging cleaning and high-level disinfection procedures associated with complex designed duodenoscopes and rising multidrug-resistant bacterial infections caused by Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) such as Klebsiella species and Escherichia coli are major factors are expected to hamper the growth of global duodenoscopes market over the forecast period. Geographically global duodenoscopes market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific & Japan, Middle East Africa regions. North America region has been estimated as most dominant region in the global duodenoscopes market owing highly developed healthcare infrastructure and high rates of awareness regarding duodenoscopes and its associated infections among physicians. Asia-Pacific & Japan is a lucrative market for global duodenoscopes. Countries in the Asia Pacific regions include, greater China and India together account for largest population pool in the world and thereby have large pool of geriatric population are expected to fuel the growth of duodenoscopes market in the region. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1667 Some of the key companies contributing to global duodenoscopes market are Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG., Olympus Corporation, PENTAX Medical Company, and Hoya Corporation. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- The recent report, Electric Overblankets market fundamentally discovers insights that enable stakeholders, business owners and field marketing executives to make effective investment decisions driven by facts rather than guesswork. The study aims at listening, analyzing and delivering actionable data on the competitive landscape to meet the unique requirements of the companies and individuals operating in the Electric Overblankets market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026. Request for Sample Copy of Electric Overblankets Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/13568 Scope of the Report: The research methodologies used for evaluating the Electric Overblankets market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations. Market Segment by manufacturers, the report covers the following companies: Sunbeam, Beurer, Shanghai Xiaomianyang Electric, Qingdao Qindao Electric, Perfect Fit Industries, LLC., Morphy Richards, Slumberdown, Biddeford, Dreamland Market split by Type, can be divided into: - Double Size - Kingsize - Single Size Market split by Application, can be divided into: - Commercial Use - Home Use Major Regions play vital role in Electric Overblankets market are: - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) - Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) - Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) - South America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile etc.) - Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia etc.) Buy Electric Overblankets Market Research Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/13568 Estimating the potential size of the Electric Overblankets industry: Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Electric Overblankets industry. Such information is important for firms looking to launch an innovative service or product on the market. Industry experts have measured the total volume of the given market. Researchers have calculated the industry in terms of sales by the competitors and end-user customers. Data on the entire size of the Electric Overblankets market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Electric Overblankets industry for a specific product or service. Market share: The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Electric Overblankets industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Electric Overblankets market The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What is the estimated growth rate of the Electric Overblankets market for the forecast period 2019 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period? - What are prime factors expected to drive the Electric Overblankets industry for the estimated period? - What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far? - What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Electric Overblankets market? - What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? - What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits? Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/electric-overblankets-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: https://www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- Future Market Insights (FMI) has recently published a report titled"Aircraft Exterior Lighting Market: Global Industry Analysis 20122016 and Opportunity Assessment 20172027." The report states that a progress in the aircraft industry and the growing aviation industry are the core factors impacting the growth of the global aircraft exterior lighting market. According to the analysis, the market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 3.7% over the course of the forecast period and reach a valuation of around US$ 624 Mn by the end of 2027. Get Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-4702 Manufacturers are concentrating on the introduction of new application-specific products in order to better address the requirements of specific aircraft. Furthermore, market players are found to be channelizing efforts towards consolidating their delivery channels while keeping focus centred on direct sales. Companies like Rockwell Collins cater to the demands of both domestic and international customers by maintaining a steady focus on R&D. However, backlog projects remain a threat for several companies. Some of the other leading companies operating in the market are United Technologies Corp., Honeywell International Inc., Zodiac Aerospace S.A., Diehl Aerospace Gmbh, Aveo Engineering Group, s.r.o., Whelen Engineering Co., Inc., Astronics Corporation, and Cobham plc. Expanding Fleet Sizes to Boost Demand for Aircraft Exterior Lighting The number of air passengers has risen extensively in Asia Pacific owing to the liberalisation of markets and development in the wealth and size of the middle class. In current decades, Asia has emerged as a chief region in aviation traffic and is anticipated to remain resilient in the coming decade. The economic and monetary growth in large emerging markets such as China and India has been a primary driver for global GDP growth and further for the aviation industry as well. Over the years, China has contributed significantly to world traffic growth as its passenger growth has increased at a noteworthy rate. India's emergence as a high-growth economy is expected to give rise to one of the largest commercial aviation markets in the coming decade. As a result, the fleet size of airline owners especially those following a low cost business model is expected to surge significantly leading to a rise in the demand for aircraft components worldwide. Consequently, the demand for aircraft exterior lighting is anticipated to intensify over the coming years. Customized Research Report As per your Requirements @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-4702 However, stringent regulations are likely to act as a roadblock in the growth of the market in the near future. Regulations concerning pollution produced by aeroplanes will become more stringent in the coming years as most of the countries have agreed to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases. The number of aeroplanes coming to the refurbishing point will significantly decline if aircraft owners choose to retire their aircraft and buy a new fleet instead of opting for refurbishing the old aircraft, to clear regulations listed by authorities. This may negatively impact the aircraft exterior lighting market. Original Equipment Manufacturers to Benefit from a Growing Demand from Single-aisle Aircraft The market penetration of low-cost carriers is expected to remain high in the coming years. There are new growth opportunities via the low-cost and long-haul business mode. Liberalisation in intra-regional traffic and open skies with China would also contribute to market growth. As a result, OEMs will find a plethora of opportunities arising from this sector. Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-4702 New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) Market Insights,Forecast to 2025 to its huge collection of research reports. This report researches the worldwide Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like United States, Europe, China, Japan and other regions. This study categorizes the global Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Aluminum fluoride (AlF3) is a white powder, which is mainly used as an additive for the production of primary Aluminum metal. It essentially lowers the melting point of the alumina feed and together with cryolite; it increases the electrolyte's conductivity of the solution, reducing the electric power consumption. Aluminum fluoride is also used as catalyst of organic synthesis and materials of synthetic cryolite. Get A Free access TO Report Sample : https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1928885&type=S The production of Aluminum is the largest application of aluminum fluoride. As essential additives, nearly 20 kg aluminum fluoride is required for the production of 1 MT Aluminum. Market competition is intense. Do-Fluoride, Hunan Nonferrous, Fluorsid and Hongyuan Chemical are the leaders of the industry. With the stricter environment protect policies, many factories from China facing the risk of stopping production and technology improvement. On the other hand, due to the higher price, some Europe Companies like UC RUSAL are also planning to build new production line. Global Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) market size will increase to 1710 Million US$ by 2025, from 1550 Million US$ in 2017, at a CAGR of 1.3% during the forecast period. In this study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride). This report focuses on the top manufacturers' Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) capacity, production, value, price and market share of Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) in global market. The following manufacturers are covered in this report: Do-Fluoride Hunan Nonferrous Fluorsid Hongyuan Chemical Rio Tinto Alcan Gulf Fluor Shandong Zhaohe Mexichem PhosAgro I.C.F Jinyang Hi-tech Henan Weilai Henan Shaoxing Lifosa Tanfac Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) Breakdown Data by Type Dry AlF3 Anhydrous AlF3 Wet AlF3 Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) Breakdown Data by Application Aluminum Industry Ceramic Industry Others Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) Production Breakdown Data by Region United States Europe China Japan Other Regions To Browse a Full Report Click Here: https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-aluminium-fluoride-aluminum-fluoride-market-insightsforecast-to-2025.htm Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) Consumption Breakdown Data by Region North America United States Canada Mexico Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Australia Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Europe Germany France UK Italy Russia Rest of Europe Central & South America Brazil Rest of South America Middle East & Africa GCC Countries Turkey Egypt South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa The study objectives are: To analyze and research the global Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast; To focus on the key Aluminium Fluoride (Aluminum Fluoride) manufacturers and study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in next few years. To focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered. Complete table of content is available @ https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-aluminium-fluoride-aluminum-fluoride-market-insightsforecast-to-2025.htm/toc About QYResearchReports.com QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market. Contact Us: Brooklyn, NY 11230 United States Toll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA) Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/qyresearchreports-com Web: https://www.qyresearchreports.com Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Maharashtra, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Proximity Sensor is the distance measurement products based on the principle of optical or acoustic. Its compact, low-profile package enables you to build the sensor into your products, such as smart phones, with high flexibility. The Proximity Sensor used in the Mobil phone is called Handset Proximity Sensor, when user answer the phone, the Handset Proximity Sensor work, and when user's face close to the screen; it will turn off the screen light and lock screen automatically to avoiding the accidental input and saving power of batteries. When user's face away from the screen, the screen light will automatically turn on and unlock automatically. A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request_sample/348376 Leading Vendors AMS-TAOS, Sharp, Vishay (Capella), Avago, Heptagon, Maxim, ST Microelectronics, Intersil, Panasonic, Epticore, Sitronix (Sensortek), Everlight, Liteon and More The worldwide market for Handset Proximity Sensor is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 5.2% over the next five years, will reach 750 million US$ in 2024, from 550 million US$ in 2019, according to a new Research Report. Scope of the Report: Handset proximity sensor is an important part of smart phone parts. It makes the use of smart phones more convenient. It is not difficult to see that handset proximity sensor industry is attached to the smart phone industry. The raw materials of handset proximity sensor are very common. The prices of these raw materials are stable. Due to the high added value of handset proximity sensor, raw-material prices had little effect on prices. From the production side, Major manufacturers are concentrated in the manufacturing industry developed areas. Worth noting is that major manufacturers due to cost considerations, transferring their manufacturing bases to Southeast Asia. As the Smartphone industry for a part of integration to higher and higher, the integration of the sensor will become increasingly high. Market Segment by Type, covers Optical Displacement Sensor Ultrasonic Displacement Sensor Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into High-end Smartphones Mid-range Smartphones Low-end Smartphones Market segmentation by Zone: North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.) Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran etc.) Africa (Egypt, South Africa, etc.) Read Full Report with TOC @ https://www.reportsmonitor.com/report/348376/Handset-Proximity-Sensor-Market The report consists of a detailed analysis of substantial returns that has been expected to be gathered at the end of the forecasted period of time. The report also underlines the evaluation of materials and markets, technological advancements, unpredictable industry structure, and capacities of the Handset Proximity Sensor market. Furthermore, the report provides the core knowledge of the market by analyzing end user's consumption tendency, Handset Proximity Sensor market driving factors, ever-changing market dynamics, and rising development patterns in the market. Besides, the report focuses on the leading contenders in the Handset Proximity Sensor industry and delivers an all-inclusive analysis considering their market share, production capacity, value chain analysis, size, sales and distribution network, import/export activities, cost structure, and product specification. Due to the changes in world business policies, it is recommended to be always aware of the facts and data about this market. The objectives of the Market Research Explore report on the Global Handset Proximity Sensor Market are: To study, analyze and forecast the Global Handset Proximity Sensor Market by segmenting it based on types, application, inventions, time-based performance, and end user. The report by Market Research Explore analyzes various macro and microeconomic factors impacting the Global Handset Proximity Sensor Market. To come up with insights into the major factors affecting the global Handset Proximity Sensor Market around the world such as Its drivers, hurdles, opportunities, and challenges. To notify about the dominant players along with their strategies, products/services, research, and development plans. Conclusively, the report helps a reader to get an absolute understanding of the Handset Proximity Sensor industry through details about the market projection, competitive scenario, industry environment, growth constraining factors, limitations, entry barriers, the provincial regulatory framework as well as upcoming market investment and opportunities, challenges and other growth promoting factors. This report will provide you a clear view of each and every fact of the market without a need to refer any other research report or a data source. Our report will provide you with all the facts about the past, present, and future of the concerned Market. For more information regarding Handset Proximity Sensor market, Contact Us @ sales@reportsmonitor.com About Reports Monitor Reports Monitor is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics-driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Prime focus is to get reliable data, Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- Health & wellness is a broad terminology which covers various techniques, services, and product offerings provided for maintaining fitness, health, and wellbeing of individuals around the world. Health includes various parameters such as mental, social, emotional, and others. Wellness is a form of quality of life, which includes mental and physical wellness, emotional, and socio-economic wellness, along with fitness, nutritional, and other important forms of wellness. Health & wellness service providers offer different types of wellness and fitness services to improve efficiency of employees, and reduce overall health care costs. Health & wellness service providers offer customized solutions and service offerings, tailor-made to suit individual needs to promote workplace and individual health & wellness. View Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/health-wellness-services-market.html Increase in indirect health care costs associated with lack of productivity of employees, absenteeism, loss of work days, and other factors have led employers in various organization across the world to indulge in health & wellness service offerings at their workplace. This helps them reduce healthcare costs and increase productivity and efficiency of employees. This is projected to drive the global health & wellness services market. Rise in awareness about health and wellness services among employers, increase in health care costs, and surge in incidence of chronic diseases are driving demand for health and wellness services in the corporate segment and increasing investments in corporate wellness programs. These factors are expected to drive the global health & wellness services market during the forecast period. Various clinical studies conducted to monitor efficiency of health and wellness services suggest that participation of employees in health and wellness programs over a five-year period reduces health care costs and reduces absenteeism. However, reluctance of employers and employees to implement and engage in health and wellness services are some major restrains of the global health & wellness services market. The global health & wellness services market is segmented based on service type, end-user, and region. Based on service type, the global health & wellness services market is segmented into health risk assessment, weight management services, nutrition services, health screenings, fitness services, smoking cessation, stress management services, and others such as disease and conditions management and employee engagement. The health risk assessment segment dominated the global market in 2017, owing to increase in awareness regarding health and wellness and rise in participation by employers and employees in this service offering. Increase in percentage of people indulging in smoking, especially in emerging countries, is expected to drive the demand for smoking cessation services and drive the segment at a comparatively higher CAGR from 2018 to 2026. Based on end-user, the global health & wellness services market is divided into consumers/employees, employers, and others. Request a Brochure of the Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=45129 In terms of geography, the global health and wellness services market is segregated into five region: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the global health and wellness services market in 2017, owing to increase in adoption of health and wellness services in the U.S. and Canada. This expansion can be attributed to higher awareness about these services, combined with growing efforts of employers to reduce health care costs in the region. Europe accounted for the second largest share of the market in 2017, followed by Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand at a high CAGR during the forecast period, owing to increasing healthcare per capita expenditure and rise in awareness in emerging economies such as India and China. Key players operating in the health & wellness services market include Kinema Fitness, Premise Health Inc., TotalWellness, Provant Health, Marino Wellness, Wellness Corporate Solutions, LLC, Vitality, Virgin Pulse, and Corporate Fitness Works. Request TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=45129 About Transparency Market Research Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. Contact Us Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- The latest market research report titled Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market offers a detailed evaluation of the market situation within a specific geographic region. This Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market study contains vital data on market shifts owing to social, economic, cultural and technological changes worldwide. Explaining market opportunities remains the key focus of the study. Industry experts analysing the business environment also take a closer look at the organizational alignment as well as the capital structure. Request for Sample Copy of Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/31273 Scope of the Report: The research methodologies used for evaluating the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations. Major Players in Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market are: Cordis, Bard, Cook Medical, Boston Scientific, B. Braun, Volcano, ALN, OPTOMIC, MedGyn, Ecleris, DYSIS Medical, Lutech Market split by Type, can be divided into: - Permanent IVC Filters - Retrievable IVC Filters Market split by Application, can be divided into: - Treatment VTE - Prevent PE - Other Major Regions play vital role in Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market are: - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) - Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) - Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) - South America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile etc.) - Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia etc.) Buy Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/31273 The market intelligence study for the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market further provides an inside-out overview of necessary aspects associated with the product classification, important definitions, major orders and other industry-centric parameters. An underlying part of the study also maps the important factors associated with the recent events such as mergers and acquisition, collaboration and new product launches. Understanding the market size: The size of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters report. Market share: The report discovers market's total sale that is generated by a particular firms over a time period. Industry experts calculate share by taking into account the product sales over a period and then dividing it by the overall sales of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters industry over a defined period. Subject matter experts further use this metric to offer a general idea of the share and size of a firm and its immediate rivals. By providing an in-depth knowledge of the position a company as well as an entrepreneur holds in the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market Attracting the target audience: First, the comprehensive report finds out why customers need a certain product or service. The study focuses on what problems a certain product and service can solve. Apart from target demographics industry experts weigh up on the factors including audience type, as well as others vital attributes about the target customer segment. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What is the estimated size of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? What will be the growth rate of the industry during the estimated period? - What are the prominent driving forces likely to impact the progress of the industry across different regions? - Who are the major market players occupying a strong foothold in the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market? What are the winning strategies adopted by them to stay ahead in the competition? - What are the potential opportunities for the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026? Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/inferior-vena-cava-ivc-filters-market There are 12 Chapters to deeply display the global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters market. - 1 Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market Overview - 2 Global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market Competition by Manufacturers - 3 Global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2019) - 4 Global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2019) - 5 Global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type - 6 Global Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filters Market Analysis by Application Continue About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: https://www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- HTF MI released a new market study on Global Traffic Cameras Market with 100+ market data Tables, Pie Chat, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand detailed analysis. At present, the market is developing its presence. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Traffic Cameras Forecast till 2025. Some are the key players taken under coverage for this study are JAI, FLIR Systems, Allied Vision Technologies, IDS Imaging Development Systems, Basler, HORIBA Scientific, Lumenera, QImaging, Xenics, Photonfocus, Infrared Cameras Inc. & Traffic Control Corporation. Click to get Global Traffic Cameras Market Research Sample PDF Copy Here @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1561722-global-traffic-cameras-sales-market-2 An intelligent traffic camera is a video camera that observes vehicular traffic on a road by using artificial intelligence. Increased adoption of intelligent traffic cameras for traffic control and monitoring is due to the significant advances in the field of computer vision. These systems improve traffic safety and mobility while enhancing productivity. Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report: 1) What all companies are currently profiled in the report? Following are list of players that are currently profiled in the the report "JAI, FLIR Systems, Allied Vision Technologies, IDS Imaging Development Systems, Basler, HORIBA Scientific, Lumenera, QImaging, Xenics, Photonfocus, Infrared Cameras Inc. & Traffic Control Corporation" ** List of companies mentioned may vary in the final report subject to Name Change / Merger etc. 2) Can we add or profiled new company as per our need? Yes, we can add or profile new company as per client need in the report. Final confirmation to be provided by research team depending upon the difficulty of survey. ** Data availability will be confirmed by research in case of privately held company. Upto 3 players can be added at no added cost. 3) What all regional segmentation covered? Can specific country of interest be added? Currently, research report gives special attention and focus on following regions: United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea & Taiwan ** One country of specific interest can be included at no added cost. For inclusion of more regional segment quote may vary. 4) Can inclusion of additional Segmentation / Market breakdown is possible? Yes, inclusion of additional segmentation / Market breakdown is possible subject to data availability and difficulty of survey. However a detailed requirement needs to be shared with our research before giving final confirmation to client. ** Depending upon the requirement the deliverable time and quote will vary. Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1561722-global-traffic-cameras-sales-market-2 To comprehend Global Traffic Cameras market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide Traffic Cameras market is analyzed across major global regions. HTF MI also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas. - North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico. - South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. - Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa. - Europe: UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Russia. - Asia-Pacific: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia. 2-Page profiles for 10+ leading manufacturers and 10+ leading retailers is included, along with 3 years financial history to illustrate the recent performance of the market. Revised and updated discussion for 2018 of key macro and micro market influences impacting the sector are provided with a thought-provoking qualitative comment on future opportunities and threats. This report combines the best of both statistically relevant quantitative data from the industry, coupled with relevant and insightful qualitative comment and analysis. Global Traffic Cameras Product Types In-Depth: , Sweep Series, XIIMUS Serise & Others Global Traffic Cameras Major Applications/End users: Industry, Measurement & Detection & Others Geographical Analysis: United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea & Taiwan In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future. Competitive Analysis: The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as JAI, FLIR Systems, Allied Vision Technologies, IDS Imaging Development Systems, Basler, HORIBA Scientific, Lumenera, QImaging, Xenics, Photonfocus, Infrared Cameras Inc. & Traffic Control Corporation includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc. Buy Full Copy Global Traffic Cameras Report 2018 @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1561722 In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Global Traffic Cameras are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025 Key Stakeholders/Global Reports: Traffic Cameras Manufacturers Traffic Cameras Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Traffic Cameras Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream Vendors Browse for Full Report at @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1561722-global-traffic-cameras-sales-market-2 Actual Numbers & In-Depth Analysis, Business opportunities, Market Size Estimation Available in Full Report. Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 80 pages on title 'Europe Medical Robot Market (2018-2023)' with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions and important players such as Omnicell, Ossur, Accuray, Mazor Robotics, Rewalk Robotics, Ekso Bionics, Elekta, Varian, etc. Request a sample report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1390948-europe-medical-robot-market-1 Summary Europe medical robot market The value of the global medical robot market is expected to reach a value of USD 11.36 Bn by 2023, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.58% during 2018-2023. Robots which are used for medical purposes are broadly known as medical robots. Medical robotics can be considered as the application of robotics technology to healthcare to diagnose and treat diseases, or to correct, restore or modify a body function or a body part. The market definition for the medical robot market would be the one which take into consideration products for assisting medical practitioners during surgery, for monitoring status of patients, and for increasing accuracy and precision. It also considers products useful for patients with disabilities The products from this market are used extensively across all age groups. These products are generally mechanical/electronic equipment used by doctors and patients. The medical robot market can be classified into three primary segments based on product (surgical robot, rehabilitation robot, non-invasive radiosurgery robot and others), application (neurology, orthopedic, cardiology, laparoscopy and others) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa). Furthermore surgical robots consist of neurological surgery robotic systems, cardiology surgery robotic systems, laparoscopic surgical robotic systems, orthopedic surgical robotic systems and steerable robotics. Rehabilitation robots comprise therapeutic robots, prosthetic robots, assistive robots and exoskeleton robots. Hospital and pharmacy automation robots includes pharmacy automation robots, IV robots. The European medical robot market is expected to grow to a value of USD 1.90 Bn by 2023 at a CAGR of 6.07%. Key growth factors The major factor contributing to the growth of the market in this region is that many governments in the region have various healthcare reimbursement plans for its citizens. There is also a facility of cross-border healthcare in the region which implies that a person who belongs to a country which is part of the European Union (EU), can seek medical help in any of the countries belonging to the EU. The person will get reimbursed by their home country including the cost of prescription and delivery of medicines. This region has advanced Health Technology Assessment plans which measure the value added by a new technology to the sector. Threats and key players The major impact would be from the United Kingdom's (U.K.) Brexit decision. The decision would make it difficult for the country to control diseases due to financial constraints and exclusion from various policies applicable to countries belonging only to the EU. Also, the recent dispute between Italy and the EU, and the trade dispute between the EU and the United States (U.S.) have made the market highly unstable. The key competitors in the European medical robot market are Omnicell, Ossur, Accuray, Mazor Robotics, Rewalk Robotics, Ekso Bionics, Elekta, Varian, etc. What is covered in the report? 1. Overview of the European medical robot market. 2. Market drivers and challenges of the European medical robot market. 3. Market trends in the European medical robot market. 4. Historical, current and forecasted market size data for the segment based on vehicles. 5. Historical, current and forecasted market size data for the segment based on sensors. 6. Historical, current and forecasted market size data for the segment based on components. 7. Historical, current and forecasted market size data for country-wise segments. 8. Analysis of company profiles of major competitors operating in the market. Why buy? o Understand the demand for medical robot to determine the viability of the market. o Identify the challenge areas and address them. o Develop strategies based on the drivers, trends and highlights. o Evaluate the value chain to determine the workflow and to get an idea of the current position where you are placed. o Recognize the key competitors of this market and respond accordingly. o Knowledge of the initiatives and growth strategies taken by the major companies and decide the direction of further growth. o Define the competitive positioning by comparing the products and services compared with the key players in the market. Customizations available Make an enquiry before buying this Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1390948-europe-medical-robot-market-1 Chapter 1: Executive summary 1.1. Market scope and segmentation 1.2. Key questions answered in this study 1.3. Executive summary Europe Chapter 2: Europe medical robot market market overview 2.1. Europe market overview by revenue 2.2. Europe market overv View Detailed Table of Content @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1390948-europe-medical-robot-market-1 Buy this report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1390948 About HTF Market Report HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the "Accurate Forecast" in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their "Goals & Objectives". Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- The global Pain Management Therapeutics Market is anticipated to rise at a steady pace in the upcoming years on the back of improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing economic stability globally, and increasing penetration of established players in emerging economies that are brimming with growth opportunities. Besides this, growing geriatric population globally, changing lifestyles, and high prevalence of chronic pain are acting in favor of the market's growth. As per statistics of the National Health Interview Survey, in 2016, almost 20% of the world's population was reported to be suffering from chronic pain. As per a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global market for pain management therapeutics is likely to clock a CAGR of 4.0% for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Progressing at this rate, the market's valuation of US$62,246.8 mn in 2016 will become worth US$88,253.4 mn by the end of 2025. The report studies the pain management therapeutics market based on a few parameters, viz. indication, therapeutics, and geography. By therapeutics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, anesthetics, opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), antimigraine agents, and other non-narcotic analgesics are the segments into which the pain management therapeutics market is segmented in this report. Of them, opioids and NSAIDS account for leading revenue contribution to the overall market. In 2016, NSAIDS and opioids held almost 22% and 26.7% share respectively in the overall market. Increasing prescription of opioids for pain management is one of the key growth drivers of this segment; the opioids segment is likely to exhibit a CAGR of 4.4% from 2017 to 2025. On the other hand, other non-narcotic analgesics is likely to emerge as a lucrative segment during the forecast period. Request to View Sample of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1059 Based on disease indication, the pain management therapeutics market has been categorized into neuropathic pain, arthritic pain, fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, migraine, cancer pain, and post-operative pain. The cancer pain management segment is likely to lead the market vis-a-vis revenue over the report's forecast period. The growth of this segment is attributed to increasing prevalence of cancer along with rising awareness for cancer pain therapeutics. As per a report published by International Association of Study Pain, over 10 million individuals globally are diagnosed with cancer every year. However, the segment of chronic back pain is likely to surpass in terms of growth rate; the segment is likely to exhibit a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. This is mainly because of rising incidence of lower back pain problems among individuals with long desk jobs and increasing incidence of other chronic conditions. Geography-wise, the global pain management therapeutics market has been classified into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. Of them, North America held the leading share of 56.1% in the pain management therapeutics market in 2016. The growth of this regional market is mainly because of favorable reimbursement policies for prescription drugs used for pain management and availability of a spectrum of over-the-counter drugs for pain management in the U.S., and Canada. Powered by the U.S., the North America pain management therapeutics market will likely display a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Europe stood second holding 25.9% of the overall market in terms of revenue in 2016. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is anticipated to witness the leading growth rate of 4.6% from 2017 to 2025 due to a growing geriatric population, rising awareness to address health problems in a timely manner, and increased focus of leading companies to tap into growth opportunities in China and India. Request to View Brochure of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1059 Prominent names in the global pain management therapeutics market include Abbott Laboratories, AstraZenecal plc, Mallinckrodt plc, Eli Lilly & Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Endo Health Solutions, Novartis AG, Purdue Pharma LP, Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2019 -- The latest report on the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin market closely surveys, examines and offers vital statistics on the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin market for the forecast period 2018 - 2025. This market intelligence assessment report weighs up on the potential region that reserves greater opportunities for this industry. Importantly, subject matter experts have taken into account every critical aspect right from the market size, share, and growth to the dramatic shift in the consumer behaviour and their growing spending capacity. The industry assessment study depicts a perfectly clear picture of both the past and the future trends to offer the stakeholders, business owners, and marketing executives an opportunity to zero in on an effective marketing strategy and boost sales. Request for free sample Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin report in PDF format available @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/26589 The major players covered in this Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin report are KUREHA, SOLVAY, TP Composites, 3M, Sinochem Lantian, Dongyue, ARKEMA Understanding the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin market size The size of the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin market is viewed in terms of the Share of Market, Total Available Market as well as Served Available Market. Not only does the study present the combined revenue for a particular market but also the market size for a specific geographic region. Analysis of percentage or the size of the Total Available Market based on the type of product, technology, regional constraints and others form an important part of the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin report. Knowing the trends influencing the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin industry performance Stakeholders, marketing executives and business owners planning to refer a market research report can use this study to design their offerings and understand how competitors attract their potential customers and manage their supply and distribution channels. When tracking the trends researchers have made a conscious effort to analyze and interpret the consumer behaviour. Besides, the research helps product owners to understand the changes in culture, target market as well as brands so they can draw the attention of the potential customers more effectively. Our trend analysts look for the crucial connection between consumer trends, behaviour and values, to provide context for the sectors, demographics and global themes that matter to you. Buy Complete Report on Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin (customization available) @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/26589 Researcher's visibility engagement approach when evaluating data such as key driving forces, threats, challenges, opportunities empowers product owners to meet their strategic goals through accelerated returns. The intelligent market survey that blends in both new and old study techniques brings to light more information pertaining to various product types, applications, end-use and important industry definition. The research on the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin market further validates other prime factors including investment feasibility, production capability, product pricing, production volume, demand and supply, import and export status to help business evangelists make the multi-dimensional marketing strategy more robust. Comprehensive data on the current and future business environment is showcased through self-explanatory infographics, charts, and tables and can be integrated with any business presentation. The study objectives of this Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin report are: # To analyze and study the global Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin sales, value, status (2018-2025) and forecast (2018-2025); # To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, # to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions. #Focuses on the key Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future. #Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. #To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. #To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. #To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. #To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. # To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market # To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market # To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. Browse complete Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin report description @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/polyvinylidene-fluoride-resin-market Key elements from table of content: 8 Competitive Landscape 8.1 Competitive Profile 8.2 KUREHA 8.2.1 Company Profiles 8.2.2 Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin Product Introduction 8.2.3 KUREHA Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2018-2025 8.2.4 KUREHA Market Share of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin Segmented by Region in 2017 8.3 SOLVAY 8.3.1 Company Profiles 8.3.2 Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin Product Introduction 8.3.3 SOLVAY Production, Value ($), Price, Gross Margin 2018-2025 8.3.4 SOLVAY Market Share of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin Segmented by Region in 2017 8.4 TP Composites Continued About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/02/2019 -- The first commercially successful micro inverter was launched by Enphase in 2008, which played a key role in popularising solar micro inverters globally. Currently, the global market comprises numerous domestic as well as international players supplying quality micro inverters. Modularity, safety, and maximum energy harvest will continue to drive the market at a considerable pace through 2020. Till recent years, the demand for micro inverters was highly restricted to North America. However, the market is gradually shifting toward commercial applications, and witnessing expansion in most of the developed as well as developing regions outside the U.S. Adoption of solar micro inverters has gained momentum in the recent past, resulting in a growing market in developing nations, including Asia Pacific. Improved device features and enhanced efficiency are currently pushing the market in APAC, which is projected to continue in the near future as well, creating a lucrative market for micro inverters on a global level. APAC Solar Micro Inverters Market: Key Drivers Declining Prices to Push Demand The market is currently growing at a considerable pace. Persistent advances in R&D of solar micro inverters and substantial reduction in costs of micro inverters are estimated to boost the market during the forecast period. Size and Modularity to Impact Maximum Applications Compact size and high modularity of solar micro inverters make them ideal for residential applications. These two are the key drivers why micro inverters are currently gaining an impetus at a global level. Superiority over Conventional Inverters is a Key Driver Solar micro inverters are superior over conventional centralised or string inverters in various ways. Unlike string inverters, micro inverters are tolerant to shade and do not let the power generation performance of individual solar panels drop, even if the area surrounding them is shady. This character is identified as one of the key factors positively influencing the demand for micro inverters when it comes to their efficiency. Contrary to centralised inverters, solar micro inverters are compact in size and do not need separate air cooling, resulting in lesser heat loss. This is another factor fuelling the demand for micro inverters in the market. Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ap-278 Moreover, a broken string or centralised inverter faces halted performance merely due to a defect in one panel, whereas a defective panel in a micro inverter does not degrade the performance of the entire system because the system architecture allows individual panel monitoring. The maximum power is generated through MPPT. This has been an important driver in popularising micro inverters over the years. Higher Costs Can Create Challenges However, relatively higher initial costs associated with installation and replacement of micro inverts may continue to create a major roadblock for solar micro inverters from becoming a widely commonplace device across Asia Pacific. Furthermore, installation of micro inverters requires the installation of another extra monitoring device - a communication bus, in addition to the basic common monitoring system. This in turn adds up to the final costs. APAC Solar Micro Inverters Market Segmentation FMI's research offers a six-year forecast, segmenting the APAC market for solar micro inverters based on the type, consumer, and application. Based on the type, the market is segmented into standalone solar micro inverter market and grid tied solar micro inverter market. On the basis of consumers, the solar micro inverter market in Asia Pacific is segmented as urban and rural. The urban segment dominates the market owing to rising awareness about alternate energy usage and growing population density in urban areas. According to the application, the solar micro inverters market in APAC is segmented as residential and commercial. As micro inverters are economically lesser affordable compared to other traditional inverters, their residential applications find a lower market share in economically sensitive regions in Asia Pacific. However, the commercial solar micro inverter market application currently dominates the market. Market to Explore Untapped Growth Opportunities in APAC Although the U.S. is a leading market for solar micro inverters, adoption of solar micro inverters is expected to gain traction in Asia Pacific, especially in India, Japan, and Australia. Soaring fuel prices, burgeoning demand for power supply, and favourable government policies are currently driving the market in APAC. Regional Analysis: APAC Solar Micro Inverters Market India, owing to the availability of ample renewable energy sources, captures a prominent position in the APAC market for micro inverters. Growing awareness about benefits of micro inverters and widespread adoption of renewable energy sources for agriculture are expected to fuel the demand for solar micro inverters across India. The Union Budget of India for 2014-15 has clearly indicated emphasis on using solar for electricity generation. This is a key factor, anticipated to provide momentum to the market for micro inverters in and post-2016. Japan, despite representing a key residential market potential, has been facing limited micro inverter shipments. Stringent certification norms are anticipated to govern the Japanese market but domestic suppliers are expected to encounter growing opportunities. Australia is a relatively emerging market for photovoltaics, which makes it an unestablished market for string and centralised inverters. The Australian market, since the past few years, has been reflecting growing demand for micro inverters and FMI's research indicates string growth prospects for micro inverter suppliers. Recently, Enphase announced to commercially launch their AC battery first in Australia, later this year. ARENA Australia, through ample of renewable energy funds, will continue to provide an additional thrust to the market. In addition, there are other expanding market, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. Malaysia hosts several off-grid projects, whereas Indonesia is up for a thousand islands project. Philippines is also continually initiating multiple rural electrification projects. Utility companies located in all the three countries are currently prioritising rural electrification. Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-ap-278 Key Players in APAC Solar Micro Inverters Market Key participants in the Asia Pacific market for solar micro inverters, include Enphase Energy, Solar Bridge Technologies, SolarEdge, Green Ray Solar, and Enecsys. "We are looking at a 10 per cent growth in our balance sheet to touch Rs one lakh crore by March 2019. This has been supported by a growth in overseas project finance business," bank's Managing Director David Rasquinha said. Kolkata: Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank), which has been bullish on Africa continent and south Asian countries, is expecting 10 per cent growth in balance sheet this fiscal, an official said on Friday.A Under overseas project finance business, the bank has the largest single country exposure in Bangladesh at close to $9 billion to be used over a period of five-to-six yearsAfor various social and infra projects,Ahe said on the sidelines of a programme, organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The lender finances for railway lines and rolling stock among others and is focusing on renewable energy, power transmission, agriculture, textiles and sugar, he said.A Exim Bank has now in place 236 lines of credit covering 62 countries in Africa , Asia, Latin America and the CIS with credit commitments of aroundA$23 billion, available for financing exports from India. "In terms of exports, we need geographical diversification. There is need to look at other parts of the world. Among fastest economies in the world, 7 are in Africa. In terms of ease of doing business Rwanda and Mauritius fares better than India. Africa looks very promising for us in terms of land area and resources," he said. According to him, at present exports to Africa are around 8 per cent and he wished to see it reach 20 per cent in ten years time. New Delhi: The Centre on Friday appointed former Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia as the Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda for a period of three years. Adhia would also be the part-time Non-Official Director of the public sector lender, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). In a post market hour regulatory filing, the airline said it is "committed to make appropriate disclosures in accordance with applicable regulations to avoid any speculative activities..." Mumbai: Jet Airways scrip closed over 5 per cent higher on Friday following reports that company's Chairman Naresh Goyal has agreed to step down from his post, though the company is yet yet to confirm. "The company is, however, unable to comment on the reasons for the increase in its share price on the stock exchanges." The surge in stock prices comes despite the fact that the financially struggling airline has been continuously grounding aircraft over non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements. On Thursday, some reports suggested that Goyal will step down as Chairman of the company. But the company's filing said: "There is no discussion or decision in the Board which would require a disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015." Analysts said that stocks have surged as Goyal's exit would make way for fresh investment. "Stocks are gaining as Goyal's stepping down will open up the opportunity for new investors which the company is in dire need of," Saurabh Jain, AVP, SMC Global, told IANS. Earlier some reports said that Goyal will pump in over Rs 500 crore but even that would not fix things for Jet Airways, he added. Lately, lending major State Bank of India (SBI) met key stakeholders of the beleaguered Jet Airways to take the proposal to convert a part of the company's loans into shares and iron out any differences over the plan. Sources had said that the lending major had met Goyal and Tony Douglas, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, which is another key stakeholder in the airline, on Wednesday to reach an agreement over the implementation of the Bank-led Provisional Resolution Plan (BLPRP). The proposal, an attempt to relieve the financial strain on the passenger carrier, was put forth to the shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting held here last Thursday. He said that ONGC Tripura has recorded its highest ever production at 4.96 MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day) on Saturday. Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Saturday, said that Tripura is country's number one gas producing point and every poor household in the state will have LPG connection in 2019. "Not only 5 MMSCMD but we can produce 10 MMCMD from here for the upcoming 15-20 years," said Dharmendra Pradhan. "We will try that in 2019 itself none of the poor households in Tripura is without an LPG connection," said Pradhan. "The ONCG will fulfil all the energy requirement of the state with regard to power plants, domestic industries, transportation and domestic fuel," said Pradhan. He said that ONGC Tripura can be the largest contributor in realising the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "New India". During a programme at the ONGC Tripura Asset headquarter in Badharghat, the Union Minister along with the Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb digitally inaugurated and laid foundation for four projects including ONGC Sonamura Gas Collecting Station, first PNG Connection in West Tripura district, first CNG Station in Gomati and National Skill Training Institute for Women at Agartala. Pradhan said that Northeast is the energy storehouse in the form of a huge quantity of crude oil or natural gas found in this region. The Union Minister said that an LPG bottling centre is coming up in the outskirts of capital Agartala and to avoid the uncertain hilly route from Guwahati, the Government of India has got it cleared from the Bangladesh government to bring LPG through the Chittagong port so that there is a steady supply of LPG to Tripura round the year. He said, in addition to this, 40 more LPG distribution centers and 150 fuel filling centers are going to come up in Tripura. The Union Minister also declared the setting up of National Institute of Skill Trainer in Tripura at the cost of Rs 16 crores for enhancing the income of the women, especially in the SHG and household bamboo handicraft sector through advanced training. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb thanked the Union Minister for announcing various new projects for the development of the state through collaborative efforts of both the central and the state governments for better facilities and utilising of the available resources including human resource For the Week of March 4, 2019 All signs point to a treacherous journey as the teens set out on an adventurous road trip to Niagara Falls, Ryan and Ava decide to elope -- unless Carly can throw up a roadblock, and several begin to unravel a deadly mystery. Will tragedy strike before the travelers reach their final destination, or are there a few more slick turns ahead? People driving are one of the top three causes of deaths on soap operas, right behind serial killers and evil twins with guns. Currently, we have all three in Port Charles, which means a crash is imminent, and heartbreak is soon to follow. But who will die? Will it be Trina, who has suddenly popped up out of nowhere and seems to be everywhere that the teens are these days? Or will Ryan, evil twin/serial killer/man on the lam, meet a just and gruesome end to his tyranny of terror when he whisks his lady love away to marry him before the law -- and Carly -- expose his deadly secret? Then there is Chase, who finally appears to be putting all of the pieces together now that Franco has revealed that Ryan Chamberlain is the true killer. Chase is on his way to the hospital with Franco, while Curtis is about to check his wife's voicemail message from someone named "Urgent." Pretty subtle, those writers. Once Mac and Felicia reveal that Ryan took off with Ava to elope, there's a strong possibility that Chase is going to head to Niagara Falls, as well. Three cars on the same road, driven by people from Port Charles, are destined to collide, with the Grim Reaper riding shotgun in one of the ill-fated vehicles. If I was a writer, I would choose Oscar. Not because he's terminally ill, but rather because it would be completely unexpected for his loved ones. Everyone had been preparing themselves for the worst and waiting for a sign that the end was near when, in truth, no one really knows when that time will come. We are all destined to die, but we have little control over when that will be. Honestly, I have no desire to watch a young kid slowly fade away. I'd much rather think of Oscar enjoying life when he met his end rather than struggling to hold onto the last vestiges of it. Drew and Kim are the type of people who might find a bit of comfort in knowing that Oscar was having a grand adventure when he took his last breath and that it spared him the agonizing death that he was promised as the cancer ravaged his body. It would be like the ultimate life lesson to his loved ones on how to live. Live as if every moment could be your last because it just might be. However, it's probably going to be Trina. She has all the earmarks of the random Star Trek crew member who beams down to dangerous planets with the captain and his friends then promptly gets eaten by space monsters. Jax is going to have a lot of explaining to do when Carly finds out that their daughter financed the trip with a secret "adventure fund" that he set up with the money that Lady Jane left to Josslyn. Somehow, I don't think that Jax had a rebellious road trip in mind when he encouraged Josslyn to follow her dream and embrace adventures. The biggest indicator that tragedy is about to strike, though, is Jordan's sudden dire need for a life-saving kidney transplant. It likely means that whoever perishes will give Jordan the gift of life. Granted, people can live long, healthy lives with just one kidney, and there are countless people who rely on dialysis to stay alive, but the reality of long-term disability is not very glamorous, which means Jordan will be getting a new kidney much sooner than later. Jordan will be delighted when she starts feeling better and learns that her plan to flush out a killer worked like a charm, but she's also going to owe Franco a great big apology for making him a sitting duck without any defenses or protection. Did she honestly think that the killer would show up for a visit, confess to Franco, then wait for him to call Jordan? Sure, Franco taking credit for the murders was a great idea, but the rest of the plan was completely cockeyed and left Franco fighting for his life. Jordan needs to answer for that because the police are there to protect and to serve, not to use innocent people as bait for serial killers. What I find most alarming is that Lulu and Maxie are figuring things out faster than the police have -- and with far less information than the police had. Heck, even Carly is onto Todd Wilson, a.k.a. Ryan Chamberlain, and she's wasn't even looking for the killer. Sadly, I suspect that her unwitting discovery is going to cost her, because even if Ryan knocks Carly out and shoves her into the trunk, the stress of something like that can't bode well for her or the baby. My gut tells me that the events about to unfold are going to be a catalyst for something big in Carly's life that will have a profound effect on her relationship with Sonny. Soap opera couples don't live happily ever after. That's boring. They must always be tested, challenged, and pushed beyond their limits because that's where the drama is, and drama is what pays the bills. There have already been cracks in the marriage because of Nelle then Margaux, and Sonny was not exactly thrilled when Carly announced that she was pregnant, because he was concerned about her health. It's been my experience that things are seldom random on a soap opera, so I believe Sonny's reservations about the pregnancy will return to haunt him. I'm intrigued with where things are going between Sonny and Carly, so the writers definitely did a good job baiting the hook. I haven't been this interested in Sonny and Carly's story since Nelle drugged him. Folks, the wait is over. Ryan is about to be unmasked. Finally. Ava will know the horrible truth about her daughter's murder and that she'd been sleeping with the enemy all along. Ava's wrath is going to be epic, and I can't wait to see Maura West unleash Ava's fury. I've been anticipating Ryan's downfall since the day he knocked on Kiki's door. In real life, I would never wish for someone's death, but fictional characters are an entirely different matter. I want Ryan dead! Truly dead, not soap opera dead. I don't want there to be any possibility that he will ever rise again. Ava is the only person that can mete out the justice that Ryan so richly deserves, so I consider it poetic justice for the mother of one of his victims to snuff out his life. I just hopes she makes him suffer for a while. Ava isn't just a grieving mother. She killed an innocent woman in cold blood, framed an innocent man then orchestrated his murder, and ran a mob organization with her brother for years. She is a skilled killer in her own right, and she has a cruel streak that probably rivals Ryan's. It's probably what drew him to her in the first place. Things are also starting to heat up with the Dawn of Day storyline, as Sam spins her web, hoping to snare the sinister cult leader. Shiloh's carefully crafted veneer of enlightened guru slowly begins to slip as his confidence grows, but Shiloh is overplaying his hand by threatening Jason. I mean, does Shiloh not realize that Jason is a mob enforcer who kills people for a living? Why would you poke a bear like that? And what is with the creepy way that Shank (Shiloh/Hank) touches women? It makes my skin crawl. A word of advice, fellas. If you put your hands on the small of a woman's back, squeeze her thigh, stroke her hand/arm in an intimate way, or otherwise invade her personal space without her permission, then you have a very high likelihood of getting a face full of mace and the police knocking on your door. Keep your hands to yourself unless you are given permission or you are saving a life. That goes for the ladies, too. Shank's lecherous touches aside, I honestly don't know how he's not onto Sam. She genuinely sucks at subterfuge. It's not how she handled the situation with Jason when he was struck blind and collapsed in the lighthouse or even the kiss. She covered their tracks well enough on that front. No, her issue is her inability to stay away from Jason. Sam says all the right words, but she's constantly in Jason's orbit. That should be raising red flags big time, but it's not, because Sam is supposed to be a con woman extraordinaire and because Shank is full of himself. He truly believes that he's the smartest person in the room, and that kind of arrogance inevitably leads to mistakes. I do believe that Carly was right, though; Sam appears to be playing right into Shiloh's hands. If she's not careful, the player is going to get played, which I suppose is the point. Jason needs a damsel in distress to rescue. It's what he lives for. It surprised me that Sam didn't recognize the truth in what she told Kristina when she insisted that Jason would never put Sam first. I wondered if it occurred to Sam that the reason that Kristina so easily believed the "lies" was because they were, in fact, little truth bombs. Everything that Sam said about having to live by Jason's terms, his lack of dependability when she needs him most, and the way that he always puts Sonny and Carly first are things that I've read over the years from those who view Jason and Sam's relationship as fundamentally dysfunctional, especially for Sam. I must confess, though, that I thought the Dawn of Day storyline had much more potential when Shiloh's intentions were far less transparent. I had really hoped that Shiloh was going to be a more complex guy with less clear-cut motives for being in town beyond spreading his message of enlightenment. It would have been fascinating if Jason and Sam had faced a situation a bit more challenging. Even if Shiloh had ultimately been proven to be a bad guy, it would have been a much more interesting story if Jason and Sam had been sucked in like everyone else for a little while. It makes the twist all that more shocking. Speaking of shocking, did anyone else find Peter's reaction to Robert and Anna's questioning about the DVX and Dr. Cabot experiments a little over the top? I understand being defensive, but that somehow seemed more than that. I can't help but wonder if he knows something, even on a subconscious level, that he doesn't want to acknowledge. It's pretty clear that the writers are playing with the idea of having it revealed that Anna's memory of giving birth to Peter was actually her twin sister's implanted memory. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I admit that I wasn't happy when it was revealed that Anna had seduced Faison and borne him a son. Faison had spent decades stalking and tormenting Anna, and I resented the writers giving him, rather than Duke, a son with Anna. Duke was the love of her life, and I always believed that Griffin should have been revealed to be their son, but the writers had other ideas. I didn't agree with them, but I've grown to accept them. What's the point of changing things now? Are we about to trade in one evil twin (Ryan) in for another (Alex), or is there something else at work here? If not, then leave it alone. Despite how it was put together, it's not broken. I like Peter, and I like Anna having a child around. If the writers want to fix something, then change Griffin's maternity and give Peter a brother. Finally, I do not trust Alexis' new doctor. Not one bit. He's super shady, and not for a minute do I believe that he didn't know about Alexis' infamous past. Asking Alexis if she was dangerous was rather insightful, but I'm certain that he posed the question for nefarious reasons. I'm definitely liking where this is going. Will Julian have to rescue Alexis from her dastardly doctor? Fingers crossed. Random observations You would think that someone like Stella, who works at the hospital, would know that it's far more expedient to notify the nurses' station of a medical emergency by using the intercom in the room rather than stepping into the hallway and yelling, "Nurse!" Wow, Nina is bold. I couldn't believe that Curtis let her paw through his wife's purse. In this house, it's, "Mitts off of Mom's purse or else!" "Or else" is code for "Mom will go nuclear." Curtis has a lot to learn about being a husband. Miracle Hospital strikes again. Jason and Drew each were struck blind at the end of one episode then were suddenly cured at the beginning of the next one. They weren't even sporting so much as a Band-Aid, and if they hadn't been sitting in hospital beds, I wouldn't have known that they'd recently had the corrective eye surgery. I don't know how far away Ferncliff is from Liz's house, but I'm impressed that Franco was able to walk that far while stanching the bleeding long enough to get there. Do I think he will die? Not for a minute. Friz (Franco/Liz) fans are owed a proper wedding. Reader feedback If Carly had a risk of stroke, what doctor would have prescribed the pill to her anyway? Sonny needs to put a sock on it, not expect his partners to take care of it. -- Kim LaSota Last week, I noticed there was no peephole in Kim's door, and then on Monday, I noticed the same thing about Jason's door. Don't they know there's a serial killer on the loose? You'd think at the very least, Spinelli would've set up one of those doorbell cams for Jason, so he could see on his phone who was at his door. Something like that would come in handy the next time the cops show up to arrest Jason, and there WILL be a next time. -- Scrimmage Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to email me or leave a comment below. Take care and happy viewing, Liz Masters Pentagon submits Space Force proposal to Congress Washington, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2019 The Pentagon has submitted a proposal to Congress that, if approved, would see the creation of a new "Space Force," officials said Friday. The move comes at the request of President Donald Trump, who has insisted that a separate branch of military is needed to focus on protecting satellites and tackling vulnerabilities in space. "Our approach follows President Trump's bold vision for space and commits resources to deliver more capability faster, ensuring the United States can compete, deter, and, if needed, win in a complex domain," Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said. In its current form, the Space Force would be established as its own branch of the military but would fall under the Air Force, similar to how the Navy oversees the Marine Corps. Not since the Air Force was stood up in 1947 has the Pentagon created a new military branch. Space Force would be the sixth, with the others being the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. But the creation of Space Force is by no means a done deal, as it must be vetted and approved by Congress. Lawmakers and defense officials have reacted with skepticism -- they are wary of the cost, added bureaucracy and duplication of work currently done by the Air Force. Space plays a vital role in just about every aspect of modern warfare, with many military technologies reliant on a network of orbiting sensors and satellites, and the Pentagon has warned that countries such as Russia and China are working to build anti-satellite capabilities. Countdown as SpaceX, NASA prepare to test new astronaut capsule Cape Canaveral, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2019 NASA and SpaceX were counting down the hours Friday to the launch of a new astronaut capsule on a week-long return flight to the International Space Station, a key step towards resuming manned space flights from US soil after an eight-year break. This time around, the only occupant will be a dummy named Ripley. But if the test goes smoothly, NASA plans to put two astronauts on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule by the end of the year. The new capsule will blast off on board a rocket built by SpaceX -- the space company of billionaire Elon Musk -- at 0249 (0749 GMT) on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is scheduled to reach the ISS by Sunday, with a return to Earth next Friday. The excitement was palpable at Cape Canaveral, from the space-fan volunteers guiding media on site, to the tourists come to watch the launch light up the Florida coastline, to the Kennedy Space Center's director, former astronaut Bob Cabana. "It's been a long eight years," Cabana said, as SpaceX employees milled around the rocket, staged vertically on the legendary launch pad where the Apollo Moon missions took off. "It's exciting to see a crewed vehicle, the SpaceX Dragon, up there on a Falcon 9 on pad 39A," said Cabana, who witnessed the last space shuttle flight return to Cape Canaveral on July 21, 2011. The sky over the launch site was clear Friday, with meteorologists saying there was an 80 percent chance of conditions being favorable overnight. After the shuttle program was shuttered in 2011 after a 30-year run, NASA began outsourcing the logistics of its space missions. It pays Russia to get its people up to the ISS orbiting research facility at a cost of $82 million a head, for a round trip. In 2014, the US space agency awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing for them to take over this task. But the program has suffered delays as safety requirements are much more stringent for manned flights than for unmanned missions to deploy satellites. "When you're here, right, there's a pride in the country. It's different," said Mark Geyer, director of the Johnson Space Center, where US astronauts are based. "There's a pride in what the United States and its teams can accomplish." - Boeing next - Boeing also received a contract in 2014 to develop a space vessel, the Starliner. It will not be tested until April, in a mission similar to SpaceX's. NASA did not want to rely on just one single vehicle, in case of accidents. Planning has been delayed by around three years, with the first manned SpaceX flight still penciled in for July, though officials frequently refer to the end of 2019 as a more realistic deadline. Saturday's flight aims to test the vessel's reliability and safety in real-life conditions. The dummy that will ride in the capsule -- which SpaceX's Hans Koenigsmann prefers to call a "smartie" -- has been nicknamed Ripley in honor of the character played by Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" movies. It will be fitted with monitors to test the forces that future astronauts will be subjected to on take-off and when they return to the Earth's atmosphere and then splash down in the Atlantic, slowed down by giant parachutes. Everything will have to function according to a strict plan: the separation of the capsule and the rocket, the 27 hours orbiting towards the space station and then docking with it. "We instrumented the crap out of that vehicle," said Kathy Lueders, the manager of NASA's Commercial Crew program. "We're going to learn a ton from this mission." For SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002, sending an astronaut into orbit would be a culmination of years of hard work and high-risk investment. "Every mission is important, but this is even more important, said Koenigsmann, the firm's vice-president for build and flight reliability. "Early on, our goal was human spaceflight," he said. "Human spaceflight is a core value of business of SpaceX." In less than a decade, SpaceX has become a key partner for NASA, in addition to dominating the market for private satellite launches. Its Falcon 9 rockets have resupplied the space station 15 times in seven years, even though one of them blew up in 2015. US, S. Korea to 'discontinue' major military exercise: US official Washington, March 2 (AFP) Mar 02, 2019 The US military and South Korea are planning to "discontinue" annual large-scale military exercises as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to improve ties with North Korea, a US official told AFP Friday. The comment from the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came shortly after the conclusion of Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, which ended without a formal agreement but with both sides suggesting they will keep talking. NBC News first reported that the Foal Eagle drills -- which usually take place in the spring -- would be scrapped, citing two unnamed US defense officials. Foal Eagle is the biggest of the regular joint exercises held by the allies, and has always infuriated Pyongyang, which condemned it as preparations for invasion. In the past, it has involved 200,000 South Korean forces and some 30,000 US soldiers. It overlaps with the Key Resolve exercise. Since Trump's first summit with Kim last year in Singapore, the US and Seoul have scaled back or scrapped several joint military drills, and US bombers are no longer flying over South Korea. Trump has repeatedly complained that the exercises are too costly. NBC reported that the annual exercises would be replaced with "smaller, mission-specific training." The Republican president however has ruled out withdrawing any of the 28,500 US forces based in South Korea to defend it from its nuclear-armed neighbor, which invaded in 1950. Any such drawdown would face strong pushback from the US Congress and Japan, whose conservative government is deeply wary of North Korea's intentions. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement On the 23rd of May, 2009, the petitioner (Karannagoda) informed the then secretary, ministry of defence, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of the allegations and recommended that the police investigate the matter Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda, who is wanted in connection with the abduction and killing of 11 young men has for the first time involved former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the case, court records showed. Filing a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the prevention of his imminent arrest by the Criminal Investigations Department, Karannagoda has said that Rajapaksa was also aware of the case. One of the key allegations against the war-time navy chief is that he did nothing to prevent the killing of the 11 men when the illegal incarcerations by the navy was brought to his attention in 2009. The most chilling evidence against Karannagoda is that he knew about the abductions and the killings, but took no action to prevent them or secure justice for the victims. Involving Gotabhaya Rajapaksa adds a new dimension to the case. Setting out the sequence of events according to him, Karannagoda for the first time brought Rajapaksa into the case in an apparent bid to shift responsibility to the then defence ministry chief who was also in charge of the police. Karannagoda, in his 12-page petition said he had been informed of the allegations against his own security officer Sampath Munasinghe who was accused of abducting several men who were illegally held at a navy facility in Trincomalee in 2009. In those circumstances, on the 23rd of May, 2009, the petitioner (Karannagoda) informed the then secretary, ministry of defence, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of the allegations and recommended that the police investigate the matter, according to the petition filed by Karannagodas lawyers. However, Karannagodas then naval secretary Shamal Fernando had in his testimony to the police made it clear that Karannagoda took no action when the then minister Felix Perera brought the matter to his attention. Had Karannagoda taken action promptly, the lives of at least five of the victims could have been saved, Fernando had said. Karannagodas fundamental rights application seeking an order preventing the CID arresting him -- after he was named the 14th in a list of 14 suspects accused of conspiracy to murder -- was put off for March 7 for support by his lawyers. The state prosecutors refused to give an undertaking that he will not be arrested until the Supreme Court case was disposed of. This was despite Justice Priyantha Jayawardena, one of the judges from the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera, repeatedly asking Senior Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne for that assurance. Justice Jayawardena recused himself from the case. Late last month, Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake impounded Karannagodas passport and informed immigration authorities to prevent him from leaving the island. He is now on the run and police have not been able to track him down. The CID informed the magistrate that Karannagoda had aided and abetted the illegal confinement of the 11 young men by navy personnel directly under him. He was also accused of concealing information as well as trying to mislead investigators. CID detectives have uncovered shocking details of how men directly linked to Karannagoda carried on a lucrative white van operation abducting children of wealthy business families and killing them after extorting money from them. Karannagodas security officer was known to be a lavish spender despite his modest income as a navy officer. One of the naval officers implicated in murder had used a car from a victim and given it as a birthday gift to his wife. While investigating the abduction of the young men, the CID stumbled on another double murder of businessmen carried out by a naval unit which operated from the Welisara camp. A van stolen from those two victims had been cannibalised, but police were able to trace some of the parts. There were reports of some navy personnel meeting with mothers of the victims and forcing them to part with their gold jewellery in exchange for the return of their children, a promise never kept. An internal naval investigation had revealed sordid details of the organised criminal activities of navy officers and men under Karannagoda who had kept silent when he was told about the plight of five out of the 11 men. The crimes of the navy men under Karannagoda were not made public till the change of government in 2015. Had Admiral Karannagoda taken steps at the time he was told about the five children (out of the 11 young men) who had been illegally incarcerated by the navy, they could have been saved, an investigator told the Colombo Fort magistrate last month. One of the victims, Rajiv Naaganathan, while in navy custody had been able to communicate with his parents using mobile phones of his captors till May 21, 2009. The CID found evidence that the young men had been detained in locations controlled by the then navy spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayake and Commander Sumith Ranasinghe. Police have found evidence in respect of the abduction and murder of 11 children belonging to Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities, but the authorities believe many more would have been killed in similar fashion at a time when white van abductions were common. Eight suspects all navy personnel are currently on bail and four are in remand custody. Karannagoda is most likely to join the four in remand custody, but police have failed to track him down. Although his lawyers filed a petition in the Supreme Court, he himself did not show up. The 14 accused are; 1) Sampath Nilantha Munasinghe 2) Ranasinghe Pedige Sumith Ranasinghe 3) Thilakarathnage Lakshman Udayakumara 4) Nalin Prasanna Wickremasuriya 5) Thammita Ihalaghedara Dharmadasa 6) D. K. P. Dassanayake 7) Kithsiri 8) Muthuwa Hennadige Mendis 9) Kasthuriarachchige Gamini 10) Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi 11) Sanjeeva Prasad Dilanka Senaratne 12) Imbulana Liyanage Upul Chaminda 13) Anton Fernando 14) Wasantha Karannagoda Courtesy: Economy Next English01/03/2019 INTERSTATE AGREEMENT WILL SPEED UP PROJECTS AND FACILITATE FINANCING BANJALUKA, March 1/SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Minister of Transport and Communications, Nedjo Trninic, told SRNA today that a procedure has been launched regarding the signing of the BiH - China agreement that will be of great importance in the implementation of projects in infrastructure, energy, health and other sectors in Srpska, which Chinese companies are interested in. "We do not have the opportunity to talk directly and reach agreements on the implementation of infrastructure projects because there is no signed interstate agreement between BiH and China," he said. According to him, this agreement would enable direct negotiations, speed up all procedures, and enable the Chinese State Bank to become more actively involved in project financing. After the meeting with Ambassador of China to BiH, Ji Ping, in Sarajevo that was also attended by Head of the "Republika Srpska Motorways Company" Dusan Topic, Trninic said that the ambassador already informed them that a procedure related to the signing of the interstate agreement had already been initiated. "This agreement is very important not only for infrastructure projects, but also for energy, health and all other sectors that involve Chinese companies. I am satisfied with the ambassador's willingness to get involved in solving these problems," Trninic added. He noted that they requested a meeting with the ambassador who had recently taken office in order to inform him about infrastructure projects in Srpska, which Chinese companies are interested in. Trninic recalled that they signed contracts with a Chinese company for the implementation of certain projects such as the construction of the Banjaluka - Prijedor motorway and the reconstruction of the Banjaluka-Novi Grad railway line. "The negotiations with another company concerning the construction of the Corridor Vc section from Vukosavlje to Brcko are in the advanced stage. There are two Chinese companies interested in the construction of the motorway Brcko - Bijeljina and further towards the border with Serbia, and for a long time, we have been discussing with a Chinese company the building of motorway that would be beltway around Banjaluka towards Mliniste," Trninic said. He stressed that the Chinese ambassador had showed interest in further cooperation with Srpska in other sectors, too. /end/vos A STRATFORD teenager is flying to Singapore in April for sight saving treatment which is not yet available in the UK. It will be the second year in succession that Charlie Beech, aged 13, has made the trip with his mum Carla because Singapore is one of the few countries where he can get the vital eye drops he needs to save his sight. He has to be there in person to undergo tests as the medication cant be sent in the post or collected by anyone else. Charlie has reached an important chapter in his life as his body changes so the medication he requires now will help correct the deficiencies in his eyesight but he can only get a years supply if the drops each time. Charlie was experiencing cupping of his optic discs, along with fast progressing myopia, due to complications at the back of eyes, caused by being born prematurely weighing 1 pound 8 ounces. His glasses were getting stronger by 0.25 every three months and we were warned about the risks of retinal detachment and complete sight loss during Charlies puberty growth spurt, his mum Carla said. For the full story see this week's Stratford Herald. Amidst challenging year RIL to consolidate business lines By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s): Commercial space developers, RIL Property PLC (RIL) will be consolidating its businesses this year while drawing up plans for some of their lands in Colombo for the long term. The downturn in the economy has had an impact on the companys sales. The demand was dull for sales in Parkland I, which is the new building. However 65 per cent of the space has been leased, Hiroshini Fernando, CEO/Executive Director told the Business Times in an interview. She noted that the new building started rentals into the last quarter of the financial year. So from January to March this year we will get revenue from the rentals in to the balance sheet. For the quarter ended 31 December 2018, RIL Property PLC recorded a Revenue and Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) of Rs.182.33 million and Rs.16. 80 million, respectively. For the cumulative nine months ended 31 December 2018 it achieved Revenue and NPAT of Rs. 554.80 million and Rs.115.56 million, respectively. Parkland 1 cost the company Rs.695 million as from the initial three stories they added two more floors. UML has lands in Orugodawatte and Vauxhall Street. We need to draw plans and decide how we are able to utilise this land bank. It will be a long-term plan, Ms. Fernando added. She noted the currency depreciation witnessed last year will impact them. When most things are expensive, people will scale down their fixed costs. As a result they will change the location. This has not happened. But it will very much be the case, she added. She noted that RILs strategy in this instance is to give their clients the best service in a bid to counter this. FoodBuzz (Pvt) Ltd, RILs subsidiary which runs BreadTalk franchise, contributed marginally to Group Revenue and Net Profit with Rs. 332.75 million and Rs.9.15 million, respectively, during the said period. FoodBuzz is making profits from the second quarter of last year, Ms. Fernando said noting that the decline in disposable income has affected its sales. Also the currency depreciation has affected the sales of BreadTalk, she said. The company has plans to launch in mega malls. Our newest outlet will be at Shangri-La, Mrs. Fernando noted. To contain the impact of term loans substantially constituted of acquisition financing relating to UML, RIL raised Rs.1.6 billion in a Rights Issue during April 2018. As a result, the company and group level gearing has been contained at 18.91 per cent and 21.55 per cent, respectively. Also amongst its achievements, RIL despite being a young company received the bronze award for its maiden annual report in the Annual Report Awards held recently. Dimbula season down on Kenyan surplus View(s): Sri Lanka has hit a low this Dimbula season with the world market more interested in low priced surplus teas from Kenya as opposed to Ceylon Tea. Brokers point out that Japanese buying during this Dimbula season, a high period usually for Sri Lankan stocks, has been relatively careful and selective. The level of price achieved is not as high as expected since the demand is not as great, brokers said adding that it was a sign of a slow recovery inspite of gains in the rupee. Surplus tea from Kenya had lowered their prices as a result even Wednesdays prices at the Colombo auctions were weaker, down by about Rs.20-40. Another reason attributed to the lower prices is due to the poor quality of leaf compared to the previous week as a result the depth of demand this year is lower than last year, it was noted. The inconsistent weather pattern has created a setback to planters as the cooler climate expected was not noticeable. Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Roshan Rajadurai told the Business Times that in addition to losing out on the Japanese market some of the other markets were also following the standards set out by Japan. He noted that now all the other countries were making reference to the Japanese standard due to the high residue levels found in teas exported from Sri Lanka. In the absence of glyphosate use on the plantations during the past few years there has been a growing use of a number of other banned products to combat weeds on the estates. As a result a number of the plantations have been subject to issues by Japan that has set high standards in the purchase of teas. In this context Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena said that they were likely to get back to exporting Ceylon Tea to Japan. He noted that since glyphosate is back in use on the plantations they were likely to resume their previous export orders. Mr. Wijewardena pointed out that they were currently in contact with the Japanese authorities on the research information. They want us to do testing in the laboratory and field testing through the TRI (Tea Research Institute), he said adding that it was currently in progress.(SD) ECT at seashore of proposals By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s): Ports and Shipping Minister Sagala Ratnayake is likely to seek cabinet approval to procure equipment for the East Container Terminal (ECT) amidst another pending proposal for a Japan-India-Sri Lanka consortium to run it. It is learnt that Indian and Japanese involvement with a minority shareholding by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), proposed about four months back, is also under review. The Japanese government had submitted an MOU with the said proposal stating that they were willing to provide equipment free of charge on the condition that it would be managed by a consortium comprised of Japan and India with SLPA as a minority stakeholder. Minister Ratnayakes proposal is similar to the proposal made by his predecessor, former Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe submitted about three months back to the cabinet for approval to purchase equipment for the commissioning of the ECT. The equipment stated was to procure five ship-to-shore cranes, 15 RTGs using SLPA funds. However informed sources raised the issue as to how such procurements could be made by the state agency when it is already a debt-ridden entity. Purchasing of the container handling cranes was estimated to cost around US$80 million and a further cost of construction of the full terminal of 1200 metres at over $400 million. This would be highly insensitive in respect of its commitments in investments made for the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), the Kankesanthurai (KKS) and Oluvil ports at over US$150 million. The previous cabinet paper submitted by Mr. Samarasinghe was rejected by the Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera who had then proposed the establishment of the said consortium. The government is learnt to have made commitments to run the terminal as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. At the time it was noted that the viability of the SLPA could improve if ECT is carried out as a PPP with a larger minority stake of at least 40 per cent by capitalizing the existing asset compared to the 15 per cent shares it obtained from CICT and SAGT. Minister Samaraweera had then proposed that based on the commitments made to the two states they need to allow the governments of India and Japan to identify strategic partners who will own a controlling stake in the PP Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will lease the ECT and operate on a BOT basis for a 35-year period, similar to existing PPPs in the Port of Colombo. Moreover, SLPA requires ownership of a deep-water terminal to handle ultra-large-container vessels (ULCV). At present less than 10 per cent of the total ships handled in Colombo are UCLVs. In the meantime the 2016 Expression of Interest (EOI) calling for tenders to procure the equipment during former Minister Arjuna Ranatungas tenure is likely to face closure once the new proposals gain approval from the government. European tomato and American water View(s): One of my students Shalini did her undergraduate research work a few years ago under my supervision. As she had an interesting research topic and findings with policy relevance, I thought of discussing that today. Shalinis research was about food and beverages served in tourist hotels in Colombo. She had surveyed 20 hotels falling under star categories and found that a significant portion of food and beverages served in tourist hotels was import-based! This might be shocking news at least to some of us. We want our tourist hotels to buy our own produce and serve at their restaurants as it would lead to many good things which we think as good economics. We would argue that it would promote our domestic production. It would improve our farmers incomes. It is good to feed tourists with our own food and drinks when they are here, and they may find it tasty. After all, it would save our hard-earned dollars why would we waste it to import food and drinks, when we have such delicious tropical food and drinks? Despite all good things about serving local food and drinks at tourist hotels, to a great extent they continue to depend on imports why? Shalini also had the same question, when she started her research work. Increased tourist arrivals The research shows that the import content of food and beverages was higher in the hotels with higher star-grade so that the five-star hotels had the highest import content, while the lower star grade hotels had lower import content. It was a time when foreign tourist arrivals were rising fast. During war-time, about less than half a million tourists a year came to Sri Lanka. And they were also mostly from our neighbouring countries. Tourism sector including the hotels business was doing so badly. A few years later, it was a totally different story: Tourist arrivals have increased more than four times. And the tourists from Europe have increased rapidly again. Over 1 million tourists from Western Europe are same as 1 million tourists from Asia. As a result hotels started doing well. They had to increase their meals at restaurants to serve increased tourist arrivals, which means increasing demand for food and drinks. And it generated more imports from other countries and more spending of foreign exchange to buy this. Better quality Food and beverages analysed in the research were categorised as follows: Meat (such as beef, pork, and mutton), poultry (such as chicken, duck, and turkey), fish varieties, fruits (fresh and canned), vegetables (fresh and processed), cereal grains (including rice), dairy products (such as cheese and butter), and drinks (such as water, soft drinks and liquor). There was no single, common reason to depend on imports rather than local supply to meet the food and drinks requirement in the hotels. The reasons are different among various food categories, while there were both supply-side and demand-side reasons. The quality difference has been one of the major reasons that apply to a wide range of food and drink varieties. If it is meat, poultry or dairy products, it is not just the processing, packaging and preserving, but also the inputs including animal feed have been the multiple sources of quality that determines their international quality. Even though there are local substitutes, they are not perfectly matching substitutes, while the international customers know the difference. As the tourism industry has to maintain its international competitiveness, it is safe for hotels to depend on imports from reliable suppliers from abroad. Price and quantity For some of the food and drink, the price of imports is more competitive and more consistent than the price prevalent in the local market. The point is that price is not only cheaper, but also in comparison with quality it is competitive. Local prices fluctuate frequently so that it is difficult for hotels to adjust their meal prices frequently, which is anyway not a good strategy. The quantity matters too. A regular supply of the required quantity of food and drinks is necessary to run the business smoothly. It is not possible to disappoint the guests due to non-availability of their favourite dishes in the hotel industry. It is questionable as to what extent a regular supply at a constant price can be guaranteed, when you depend on local supply sources. Competitive local supplies Sea food has a different story as hotels depend on domestic supply due to freshness and the availability of tropical varieties. However, there is another factor: Most of the seafood varieties are from the ocean so that there is no need to worry much about human intervention in feeding fish wherever the supply comes from. Hotels do import some seafood varieties due to non-availability in the local market as well as better processing abroad. Another area where hotels do purchase from the local suppliers or directly from producers is the fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, there are some local products which are better than their imported substitutes: For instance, local potatoes, if regularly available, are better than imported potatoes as they last longer and are soft in texture. But some of the vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are better to buy from abroad. It might be surprising news to find that even leafy vegetables like kankun sometimes come from abroad. Consumer preference Some of the international consumers seek their own brands and the products that they are used to eat and drink, including water. Hotels always prefer to meet the needs of their guests so that they are ready to serve them as much as possible taking note of their own demand. Some customers are brand-conscious so that they always seek their particular brand of food and drinks. It may not be possible for a hotel to satisfy all what they need, but hotels prefer to serve the guests better. It is interesting to find that even foreign mineral water varieties like Perrier, Volvic and Evian are imported from the US and France, mainly because of the demand from some of the tourists. Sauce from imported tomato The source of food and drinks at hotels, whether local or imported or both and to which extent mainly depend on the clientele the hotels serve. Because higher grade hotels such as five-star or four-star cater to a high-spending international clientele, these hotels mostly provide a wide range of international dishes which require imported food and beverage. Inclusion of large quantities of imported items in the hotel restaurants results in high pricing, but these prices are affordable to the high-spending clientele they serve. For such hotels it is risky to depend on local supplies without ensuring the quality, variety, price and availability as well as convenience of preparation. I remembered a valid question that a politician raised at a conference in Kandy some years ago, blaming a company that used to import tomato from Europe to make tomato sauce: Tomato produced by our farmers is rotten and thrown away sometimes without buyers, while we import tomato from Europe to make tomato sauce! I had to answer the question: A company that makes tomato sauce needs a tomato of standard quality same variety and same size, mature and ripe to the same level, same quantity supplied regularly throughout a year at a given price and, delivered at the doorstep of the company; how many farmers are there in Sri Lanka to enter into a forward agreement with the company to supply tomato as such? This sector is a policy issue for any government to get involved in. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk) IMF agrees to extend Sri Lanka Fund Facility View(s): The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a gesture allowing more time to Sri Lanka for the completion of the economic reform agenda, has reached a staff level agreement with the government to extend the existing fund arrangement for an additional year. The remaining disbursements of the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be evenly spread over further one year period subjected to the presentation of the 2019 budget in Parliament consistent with the EFF-supported programme, the IMF said in a media release on Friday. The Board is expected to consider Sri Lankas request for completion of the fifth review in May 2019. Government authorities are taking steps to complete all the pending actions and structural benchmarks for this review over the next few weeks. The economy is gradually stabilising after the weak economic performance in 2018, in the context of external shocks and domestic political uncertainty IMF said. Highlighting the delay in the disbursement of the sixth the tranche of the EFF, the Business Times reported on January 6 that Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of getting an extension to IMF economic reform programme as the 3-year US$1.5 billion EFF is scheduled to end in the first half of this year. The need to extend this facility arose owing to balance of payment issues along with the challenge of early refinancing of the countrys medium term debt settlements and economic repercussions of the political impasse instigated by the president. Another reason was the delay in releasing the sixth tranche of about $250 million which was due in November or December last year. Liberal economy the way forward, says Razeen Sally By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s): International economist and expert Razeen Sally highlighted the countrys dire situation where the Sri Lankas leaders are liberally spending money that the country cannot afford. He blamed leaders on both sides of Parliament insisting that they were all responsible for the current situation noting that there was not a single politician in Sri Lanka that represents a liberal way forward. Mr. Sally was making these observations at the opening of the two-day 2019 Asia Liberty Forum organised by Atlas Network together with Advocata at the Hilton Hotel in Colombo on Thursday. Mr. Sally said that President Maithripala Sirisena is a lifelong socialist and believes in collectivism and identified him as a disastrous head of state. He noted that under the Rajapaksa government collectivism and illiberal democracy dominated the economy with an increasing dependency on China and Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism. Mr. Sally observed that unlike the President, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have spoken about liberalism in Sri Lanka but pointed out that these leaders did not seem interested in pursuing their promises on this front. The political leaders have continued to act like populists spending more than what the country could afford noting that: Its a comprehensive failure of the political elite. Four years on it just has not happened, Mr. Sally complained pointing out that the Prime Minister and President were appointed with the objective of bringing about some change with a leniency to the West and an improvement in India relations and with the hope that liberalism would flower in the country. Going forward towards the upcoming elections this year, he noted that Sri Lanka would be facing something bad or even worse as options to choose from. In this sense, Mr. Sally who is also an advisor to Advocata pointed out that such institutions were a magnet for young professionals who wanted to do something for the country by changing public thinking. Also addressing the opening of the event was Brad Lips of Atlas Network, US who said that the Atlas Network was involved in spreading freedom through education, research and advocacy in its capacity as an independent think tank. One of the original partners of the forum, the Centre for Civil Society has been carrying out work on behalf of low budget independent schools across India endangered by bad regulation, he said. In addition another aspect of their work involves liberalising trade policy to lower costs of food, and this aspect also could be a huge boon to poor families in Indonesia. In Sri Lanka, Mr. Lips pointed out Advocata has been protecting the rights of women and most recently helping to bring about a lifting of the tax on sanitary napkins. Atlas does not accept government funding and thrives on support from donors that invest in the entity since they invest in pro-liberty projects. Smallholders eye million rupee subsidy View(s): The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) will recommend doubling the subsidy granted to tea smallholders in a bid to encourage replanting and infilling. SLTB Chairman Lucille Wijewardena said they would be recommending a further increase in the subsidy granted to the smallholders. At present smallholders receive Rs.500,000 per hectare and this is likely to be increased to Rs.1 million recommended for a period of about four years aimed at accelerating replanting on the estates. With income levels of smallholders relatively limited due to the fact that they own very small acreages of tea the government believes it is necessary to assist them as replanting causes their income levels to drop drastically, he explained. Mr. Wijewardena pointed out that ideally they should be working on 1000 hectares per year for a period of four years. He pointed out that there is a need to arrest the situation on the plantations as the number of bushes required per acre has dropped due to age and various other factors. Plantations require at least 5000 bushes per acre whereas the current average is 2500 per acre, the SLTB chairman noted. Meanwhile, Mr. Wijewardena noted that the baseline figures for ascertaining irregularities in the factories were worked out and they would be conducting an analysis of these samples. He pointed out that should factories be found to tamper with the teas they would be asked to stop their marketing of teas or close or suspend operations of the factories. Currently, authorities have initiated action against two small factories in Deniyaya and Galle areas with closure and suspension of sale of tea, Mr. Wijewardena said. (SD) Crimes a crime in Diyawanna House or in Wanathamullas ghetto grime Rajapaksa and his MP gang raise the extraordinary defence that the Penal Code holds no sway in Parliaments sanctum View(s): View(s): If clear evidence was wanting, if further proof was required, as to the impudent manner Lankas members of parliament hold themselves as sacred cows above the law of the land, it came this month in unambiguous clamour when some UPFA members called upon the Speaker to turn a blind eye to the violent scenes that occurred on November 15 last year: when some fifty-odd members went berserk and held violence to be the sole means to give expression to their views in a chamber once famed for its eloquence in speech. It came the day after the Supreme Court had salvaged Democracys moribund corpus from the flames the Executive had engulfed it in, with a seven-judge bench unanimously holding President Sirisena guilty of violating the Constitution by dissolving Parliament 16 months before its due expiry date, transgressing the 19th Amendment he himself had claimed credit as architect. The Supreme Court decision, of course, spoilt the best laid plans of the Rajapaksa Pohottuwa party which had banked on a different and more favourable verdict to flow from Hulftsdorp Hill. Already Sirisena had sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe from his constitutionally guaranteed and rightful position as Prime Minister and Rajapaksa had usurped his seat all done with a view to dissolve parliament and force elections before its shelf life had ended. With hopes thus dashed, thus began the two-day siege on Parliament. But if the scene had been horrid on Thursday November 15, Parliament was plunged into hell fire on Friday when a violent Joint Opposition Pohottuwa Parliamentary mob turned the bleak House to a house of bedlam, in their attempt to gain, through mayhem and brute force, what had been denied to them unequivocally by the apex court of the land. Their ambitious plan to wrest control had been foiled. And if the Supreme Court had ruled that dissolution was illegal and thus by that landmark judgment opened Parliaments doors for the voice of the people to be heard in its inner sanctum this brigand of JO thugs seemed determined to foil the ruling by making it impossible for Parliament to function again. Their actions may have not only been in contempt of Parliament but the question is whether by preventing the desired results the supreme law lords hoped would flow from their considered sagacious judgment, did it tantamount to contempt of the Supreme Court as well? And on that ugliest day in the annals of Lankas Parliamentary history when violence became the means of expression, what were the criminal offences the Pohottuwa Platoon seem to have committed? The offence of assault which is to create an apprehension of fear in the victim The offence of battery which is the actual injury The offence of intimidation The offence of obstructing the police in the lawful course of their duties police who had been invited by the Speaker, considering the violence that was already taking place in the House over which he lorded supreme, to afford him protection as he made his way to occupy the Speakers chair and conduct the business of the House. The offence of causing damage to public property in the chamber when some MPs engaged in destroying parliamentary electronic equipment The offence of voluntarily causing deleterious hurt to the human body by means of a corrosive substance as specified in section 315 of the Penal Code when they threw chili powder mixed in water upon two senior UNP front ranking members which hit their eyes And all of these despicable criminal acts captured on Parliamentary CCTV cameras as well on television news footage, providing the law enforcement authorities with not only eyewitness accounts but compelling video evidence of the criminal acts committed that day evidence not even the Attorney General can afford not to take into account when considering criminal prosecution. Thirteen days later, the Speaker of the House Karu Jayasuriya who himself had been a victim of assault announced in Parliament on November 29 that the police were already investigating the incidents that had taken place on the floor of the House on 14th, 15th and 16th November 2018. And added that in addition to the police investigations, I have also appointed a committee to conduct a broad internal investigation into the disorderly conduct in the House. Perhaps that was unnecessary. It was like gilding refined gold, adding another hue to the rainbow, but given the circumstances of the prevailing political situation, he proffered to demonstrate his own nonpartisanship in the whole violent affair to add extra caution for comfort by seeking refuge in establishing a committee to forward to his office a report on the matter. The committee was chaired by the Deputy Speaker MP Ananda Kumarasiri and comprised former Speaker MP Chamal Rajapaksa, MPs Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Chandrasiri Gajadheera, Bimal Ratnayake, and Mavai Senathirajah. The Speaker did the wise thing to show his neutrality in the matter, to be ennobled to take action against the culprits that had dared violate with violence the august sanctity of the House of the peoples representatives. The matter was a criminal one and the jurisdiction lay beyond the banks of the Diyawanna. In the province of the criminal law of the land. The committee forwarded its findings to the Hon Speaker on 22 January. While the police dragged their feet and the Attorney General stood inert, perhaps overawed by the majesty of Parliament, the Speakers Committee charged with the task of probing the event submitted its findings to the Speakers office on January 22nd. Four weeks passed after the submissions when the Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri let out a squeak and commented on the report on February 19. He told the media that the Speaker would then refer the report to the Parliament Ethics and Privileges Committee headed by Minister Thilak Marapana. He added that the report has not yet been forwarded to the Attorney General and that the Speaker awaits the recommendations of the Ethics and Privileges Committee in that regard. What? Criminal offences, collaborated by both eyewitness accounts and video footage, had been committed in Parliament, violence had wreaked the peace of the august House and the whole sordid ugly affair that had blackened the Parliamentary Hansard and rendered impotent the Parliamentary Mace, were to be held in limbo while the parliamentary Committees report was to be tabled before the special parliamentary Committee. And, thereafter, as the Deputy Speaker announced, the Speaker would then refer the report to the Parliament Ethics and Privileges Committee headed by Thilak Marapana. He further said the report has not yet been forwarded to the Attorney General and that the Speaker awaited the recommendations of the Ethics and Privileges Committee in that regard. The 10-member Ethics and Privileges Committee has scheduled a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to take up the report. The Deputy Speaker also said the CID investigation into the incident has also been expedited and is being carried out independently. Expedited? Whats the delay then three months after the incident? Is it to keep the nations heart palpitating in suspense for the result? To send on furlough the verdict? Was the CID made a scapegoat accused of tarrying when the evidence was available to all on a platter to at least form the base of a prima facie case against the thugs in Parliament? And what did the Parliamentary Committee find? They recommended action against 59 MPs guilty of various offences. In their report they stated: the committee which probed the unruly incidents that occurred in Parliament on November 14, 15 and 16, had recommended taking action against 59 MPs (54 UPFA MPs, four UNP MPs and 1 JVP MP) for acts of misbehaviour inside the Chambers. The report of the six-member committee chaired by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri also observed that the immunities and privileges of MPs do not obstruct taking legal action against MPs misbehaviour in the House. That same day, addressing a news briefing at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) office, MP Chandrasena said the Speaker was wrong for attempting to take legal action against their MPs. He said: We saw how the Speaker himself behaved when these incidents were taking place, violating parliamentary traditions as well as the constitution. We heard that our names are also among the list of wrongdoers. The Speaker should look at what takes place in parliaments in other countries as well. In Brazil, MPs once smashed heads but no one was taken to court. Such incidents had occurred in our old parliament too. It is not like we attacked each other with chairs. Therefore, taking these aspects into consideration, we request the Speaker to consider if its justifiable to take our MPs to court. If that was the first charge of the light brigade in the defence of its wrongdoers, on Friday, UPFA saw the heavies spring into action. Leading the charge was veteran politician, the cub of the famed Boralugoda lion, Dinesh Gunawardena who mouse-like roared in defence of his colleagues and claimed the acts of violence committed in the House were covered by Parliamentary privilege. He said: Matters of Parliament should remain within the House and the police should not be allowed. Highlighting the provisions of the Parliament. We are interested in the privileges of the MPs. We are under the Privileges Act and the rights of the MPs should be protected. If the police can summon the MPs for an incident that took place inside the Chamber, then there is no meaning in our privileges. To his credit, displaying once again his stubborn will not to be swayed by partisan speech, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya stood his ground and upholding the honour of the Speakers chair and embracing the mace, rejected the UPFA lawmakers request to stop police investigations into the brawl that took place on the Chamber floor in mid-November 2018 during the sittings of Parliament and the conduct of lawmakers. He said: A separate investigation was conducted by the police. I am unable to get involved in the investigations on MPs attacking the police. I cant be responsible if somebody gets killed here in Parliament. So, the police will continue their own independent investigations. How true. Karu Jayasuriya is only the Speaker of the House. He is not the Sheriff. Then it was the turn of the Grandmaster and now Master Puppeteer, the then fake Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who, on that dramatic November day calmly sat in his seat watching his minions making a criminal ruckus without saying a word. One shrill whistle from him would have shooed his hounds and prevented them from mangling Parliaments respect but he stayed silent, he stayed aloof making no woof or bark and made a swift exit after the Speaker, under heavy police guard, managed to take a vote and adjourn Parliament thereafter. In the best traditions of Medamulana chivalry, Mahinda Rajapaksa rose from his seat in Parliament that same day to defend his troops he had sent to battle; cadres who were willing to sacrifice their repute and risk a prison sentence to restore power to the Mahinda Rajapaksa clan and thus ensure that the sceptre, the crown will one day pass smoothly to the still unannounced heir when he assumes the throne as papas fond dreams hold. What he had to say on the matter was that it was not appropriate to allow an external body such as the police to investigate the incident that occurred in parliament last November as it happened inside the chamber. He told Parliament the Speaker had powers to take action against the MPs involved in the incident and added that it was not proper to allow the police to intervene. Not proper for the Hon. Speaker to allow the police to intervene and probe criminal offences within the chamber of the House of Parliament? There was worse to come. Mahinda Rajapaksa went on to say: This happened in the chamber. If it happened outside, I will have a different opinion. This was a shocking statement coming from a former president, twice elected, that two laws existed in the land: one for the people they represented who will be summoned to the dock and be sentenced and jailed; and another law which made immune him and his parliamentary ilk who represented the people who could commit the most heinous crime and escape the consequences of their criminal acts. Parliament, according to him, was an oasis where crime never meted punishment. Perhaps it was another privilege members of Parliament enjoyed. What if there was murder in the House? What if on that squalid day that blackened the pages of Lankas Parliamentary history which no chemical can bleach, resulted in the killing of an MP, a stenographer, a parliamentary clerk, the sergeant at arms, a member of the public, a journalist, a peon: then n WOULD UPFA member Chandrasena still say The Speaker should look at what takes place in parliaments in other countries as well. In Brazil, MPs once smashed heads but no one was taken to court. Such incidents had occurred in our old parliament too. It is not like we attacked each other with chairs. Therefore, taking these aspects into consideration, we request the Speaker to consider if its justifiable to take our MPs to court, or n WOULD, to go a notch higher, UPFA senior spokesman Dinesh Gunawardena say: Our members are being called by police and have been asked to come in relation to this report. We are under the Privileges Act and the rights of the MPs should be protected. If the police can summon the MPs for an incident that took place inside the Chamber, then there is no meaning in our privileges. or n WOULD, upon reaching the summit, one find the former twice elected president Mahinda Rajapaksa saying: it was not appropriate to allow an external body such as the police to investigate the incident that occurred in parliament last November as it happened inside the chamber. The Speaker has powers to take action against the MPs involved in the incident and it is not proper to allow the police to intervene The folly they seem to make is not out of ignorance of the infinite ambit of the criminal jurisdiction but in the relentless pursuit of political power. Exploiting the extravaganza of a peoples ignorance and make the masses believe that anything they say from their pulpits is nothing but the gospel truth. The only law that does not apply to parliamentarians is the law of defamation, provided the slander is hurled within the chamber of the House. The person defamed has to bear the robbing of his character worth far more than the stealing of his purse and can do naught to reclaim and seek recompense in a court of law for the damage suffered to him is irrevocable damage to his good name and standing. The freedom of the wild ass to libel anyone is done in the name of free speech and is covered by the doctrine of absolute parliamentary privilege. But no such luck when it comes to violating the criminal law of the land. While the civil branch of the law imposes time limitations in bringing a suit to court, the criminal branch has none, no time frame and its jurisdiction sweeps through every nook and cranny in the land and even the Pagoda set in a lake is not inviolate of its intrusive arm and reach as it makes its way through mud and water to reach slime. Instead of trying to safeguard the blackguards of his brigand who brought violence into the House on November 15th, Mahinda Rajapaksa should have condemned the incident, even though it was staged for his benefit: a pipe dream that did not materialise. For him and his kin to maintain the position that the criminal law does not apply within the hallowed chamber of the peoples House of Representative is a blatant attempt to fool the masses. To put it its bluntly: If the chair that Pohottuwa member Johnston Fernando threw at the police cordon surrounding the Speaker Jayasuriya had hit the Speaker on his head and killed him, would Rajapaksa and his cronies still cling to the notion that a select committee would suffice to find out who was responsible? That the Ethics and Privileges Committee could be dependent upon to ban the member from attending Parliament for a month whilst the gallows awaited his neck? Such thinking must surely rank as an example set at the zenith, how Lankas MPs think no end of themselves and consider themselves as sacred cows above the law, when in the publics perception they are no more than unholy bulls running amok in a porcelain shop, not even fit to furrow the land and muddy the ground. Sorry, dear Ranjan, but blood testsdont prove a damn cocaine thing Experts say hes dialled the wrong number Film actor turned politician Ranjan Ramanayake is one of a kind, the kind of which the nation needs a whole army of. Though sporting the green hue on his lapel he has been able to transcend party loyalties and expose injustice wherever he found it no matter where the dustbin lay, be it at Sirikotha in Kotte or at the SLFP headquarters down Darley Road in Colombo. He has arrogated unto himself the mantle of being the self-appointed ombudsman of the nation, the FCID, the CID and even the Bureau of Narcotics all pumped to his muscled bound physic. Despite being the watchdog of his own party and ever alert to snarl, growl, bark and even snap at his own master whenever he felt him stray, he has not been kenneled, sent to the dog house but kept housed at home in a state ministerial position by the party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who had long realised that what the party needed was not a pet poodle or a lapdog but a Rottweiler to guard the party gates and even bite party friends. With film star looks and silver tongue with his acting skills and fame preceding his political appearance on the Lankan political stage, he has charmed both the electronic and print media and captivated the social media as well; and with his savviness has been able not only to emerge as a one-man crusade against crime and corruption but also to survive the dangers that lurk in the political jungle and escape unscathed. Good job and well done. The nation needs, as said before, a whole army of guys like him to checkmate without fear the errors of his peers and the follies of his superiors. And, come what may, though the heavens may fall on him and his party, boldly reveal to the nation the errors of their ways whenever they step out of line. His latest admirable crusade has been to wage war on drugs and to expose in the open the long known fact that there were many in politics walking, talking, working, sleeping, living on a high after sniffing coke: that narcotics had taken hold and warped their political judgment. In the wake of drug lord Madushs arrest in Dubai, he made the startling revelation of mass drug taking by members of Parliament and threatened to expose their names. While all cried The list, the list, show us the list, he was summoned by the political high command to appear before a committee appointed by Ranil Wickremesinghe comprising State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Presidents Counsel Nissanka Nanayakkara while the head of the committee is Public Enterprise and Kandyan Heritage Minister Lakshman Kiriella. Ranjan insisted, My claim about certain lawmakers consuming cocaine is true. There was no need for me to make false statements to gain attention. Some ministers whom I used to associate with very closely may now be angry with me. No matter what happens, I will reveal all the names I have with me to the committee. At the meeting he volunteered to reveal names. The four-member committee, however, declined his offer and instead asked him to reveal it to the police for necessary action. But before casting the first stone at those who were stoned already, he took a blood test to prove he was in the clear and dared his fellow members of Parliament to do the same and confirm they had taken nothing but mothers milk since childhood. The only one to follow suit was UNP member Budlike Pathirana who, like Ranjan, flaunted a blood test report to TV cameras proving his purity. Aye, theres the rub. For, according to leading medical experts, theres no lab in Lanka which can test blood for narcotic drugs. So where did Ranjan and Buddhika get their blood tested? Did they both fly to Singapore to get the results confirming negative for drugs? Speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday, the leading expert in the field of toxicology Dr. Ravindra Fernando, Professor of Forensic Medicine said: There is no laboratory in Lanka that tests blood for drugs. The samples will have to be sent abroad. There are only urine tests done here. And heres the clincher. Professor Fernando further said: Even a urine test will only confirm positive for drugs if one has taken drugs within a week. There will be no trace left either in blood or urine if a narcotic had been taken five or six days before the tests. A hair test can show whether one has taken drugs within six months but such a test is not available here. Confirming the same was Professor of Pathology Dr. Ranjith Amaresekera who told Sunday Punch: No blood test facilities for drugs are available in Lanka. Only a urine test can be done. The urine test will show whether one has taken narcotic drugs cocaine, marijuana, or sleeping and pain killers Methadone, barbiturates, and other anti-depression drugs but even then no trace will be left in either blood or urine if taken after four or five days before the test is done. Sorry, to say Ranjan, but your blood test report must be a fake. Same with Buddhikas And your clarion call for other politicians bloodsuckers, not blood givers to take a blood test to prove their cocaine virginity rings hollow in the face of expert opinion. And even a hair test which may show evidence of drug taking within a period of six months what does it prove, anyway. Far better to concentrate your energies to prove not whether politicians are drug takers but whether they walk hand in hand with drug peddlers. SUNDAY PUNCH ODEBy Don Manu Within My Heart In the depthless caverns low The strongest winds with fury blow; In the deepest ocean floor The purest pearl seeks light to glow In the thickest forest gloom The sweetest rose awaits to bloom; In the darkest vaulted tomb The phantom breathes to rise from doom, The windn pearl, the rosen ghost To all of them my heart plays host; Till that day when I can boast The true love that I hunger most Within my heart theyll stay enclosed: Unspent, unseen, unblushed, unmourned. ICJ ruling on Diego Garcia: Boost for Lankas Indian Ocean Peace Zone plan View(s): Last week Sri Lankas longstanding, much-touted UN proposal for an Indian Ocean Zone of Peace (IOPZ) got a much-needed boost as Mauritiuss claims over the decolonisation of the strategically important Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, was upheld by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. The ICJ said Britain must hand over to Mauritius the future control of the Chagos Archipelago, where a US military base is located on its Diego Garcia island. The proposed Zone of Peace rules out any military bases in the Indian Ocean. The opinion issued in The Hague by the courts majority that included Judge Dalveer Bhandari of India said that the decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when it attained independence because Britain carved away the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and retained control of it. The opinion handed down by the majority of 13 judges said Britain is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The sole dissenter was American Judge Joan E. Donoghue. The court gave the opinion, which is non-binding, following a request by the United Nations General Assembly through a 2017 resolution. Vehemently opposed by the US and Britain, the resolution received the vote of 94 countries while 15 voted against it and 65 abstained, according to an Inter Press Service (IPS) report from the United Nations. Britain opposed the referral to the court saying it was a bilateral matter with Mauritius and indicated it would reject it. The people living on Diego Garcia were forcibly removed from there by the colonial administration and it was leased to the US, which set up its strategic Indian Ocean military base on the island. In the 1970s and 1980s India had vehemently opposed the US base in Diego Garcia. Indias then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called the base, 2,000 kilometres from India, a threat to India. FCID chief quits Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and Senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara relinquished office on Wednesday, a month ahead of his extended one-year contract which was due to end on March 30. This follows a decision by President Maithripala Sirisena, under whose purview the Police Department comes. The President has decided not to extend his term and terminate it this week. The decision was conveyed by the Ministry of Defence to the National Police Commission (NPC) which in turn implemented the decision. The FCID was set up four years ago this week and investigated high profile cases involving those in the previous administration. Ravi Seneviratne, Senior DIG in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, (CID), is to overlook the FCID until a new appointment is made. A Police source said that Mr Waidyalankara, a lawyer, will join the private bar. Top class food outlets like petti kadeys In some of the oldest and new food outlets, hygiene has turned out to be a public hazard. An elderly couple, now Canadian citizens, habitually visited Sri Lanka every year to avoid the biting winter there. They relived the older days. One was to savour lamprais from a known older food outlet. They opened the banana leaf in which the delicacy made from a Dutch recipe and found a wire nail. The management later made good by providing a free service for a party. In two other instances, videos went viral on mobile phones. In one, men were busy with finger food as a rat was devouring some on top of an aluminum trolley. Talk of quality short eats? In the other video, there is the photo of a fungus laden eclair. It claims that a pregnant mother fell ill after consuming it. The tea, however, was okay since it was from good leaves. Health officials do have a lot of work to do cleaning up top class food outlets. Some have turned out to be as bad as the so-called petti kadeys or wooden kiosks. Light-hearted banter at Mangala bash The occasion was a ceremony to mark thirty years in politics by Mangala Samaraweera, now Minister of Finance. There was some light-hearted banter when a few distinguished guests gathered around Samantha Power, the United States envoy to the UN during the Barrack Obama presidency and a key player in his administration. Former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were present when Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, in humour, introduced publisher Nimal Welgama as the common (Presidential) candidate. Realising he had not qualified from which side, he added from their side meaning the Opposition. All this was a bit too much for Ms Power. Unwittingly she declared I know Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe will take the correct decision. There were disconnects all round. Though there was laughter all round, no one really took any of the remarks seriously. And that brings us to Mr Samaraweeras thirty years in politics. There was one occasion when he was at a public rally. Seated on the stage next to him was Mr Wickremesinghe, the then Leader of the Opposition. They would make face contact but avoid speaking to each other. Not that they were angry. There was little to speak. When he got down from the stage after the event, some of those present turned to Mr Samaraweera and asked are you angry with the boss. He broke into laughter and declared there is no such thing at all. Then he told a confidant, who had asked him the same question, When I used to sit on such occasions with Mahinda Rajapaksa (when he was in his party), if he had nothing to say, he would crack a smutty joke. People would think we are discussing something serious even when we laughed. SPC, JEDB shifted from Navin to Kiriella President Maithripala Sirisena has placed the State Plantation Corporation (SPC) and the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB) under the purview of Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Public Enterprise, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development. These two state enterprises were earlier under Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake. SriLankan reacts to our story SriLankan Airlines has responded to last weeks story headlined Plain-sailing powers for SriLankan bosses. It says it wants to clarify and place on record the facts. The article states that the decision to pay compensation to Aercap as penalty has been made by the then Chief Executive Officer, Kapila Chandrasena, without approval either by the Cabinet of Ministers or the Attorney General. SriLankan Airlines clarifies that the termination of A350-900 leases was part of the restructuring plan which was approved by the Cabinet in June 2015, and the cancellation of leases was subsequently approved by the Cabinet, by which time Mr. Chandrasena was no longer with the company. The letter quoted in the article sent by the Secretary to Public Enterprise Development Ministry Mr. R. Hewawitharana to Chairman Mr. Ajith Dias states the Cabinet and the CCEM had requested his involvement in the transaction leading to the entering of Agreement and that he was never requested to be a member This letter was duly replied to by CEO Captain Suren Ratwatte with copies of Cabinet approval on the termination of aircraft leases. In his letter he has elaborated that the final discussions with Aercap were held by the Ministry of Finance with the Concurrence of Ministry of Public Enterprise Development. As such, inclusion of representatives was at the discretion of the two entities concerned and was beyond the matters of the Airline. The article erroneously reports that Mr. Hewawitharanas letter promoted (sic) four directors of the Airline to write to Chairman Mr. Ajith Dias claiming that the management has unnecessarily risked placing the company to legal claims. Jamis Banda adds: Interesting indeed. This order, it has now transpired, cost double the assets owned by SriLankan, according to testimony before the Commission of Inquiry. And the Cabinet of Ministers, too, according to SriLankan Airlines, has been a party. That political hot potato of the CTA View(s): Verbal gymnastics indulged in by Sri Lankan politicians in respect of the draft Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), now before Parliament awaiting amendments from the sectoral oversight committee, are vastly entertaining in truth. The political hot potato Unlikely champions of constitutional rights are emerging from the Rajapaksa-led opposition. This week, the de jure head of the Pohottuwa party GL Peiris held forth in full flood on the danger that the Bill poses to the rights of students, trade unionists and journalists (SLPP tears into Government over new Counter Terrorism Bill, The Island, 26.02.2019). He was holding a difficult brief in terms of simultaneously arguing two distinctly paradoxical positions; both that the Bill would facilitate terrorists and that it would hurt the rights regime. From the Government side, head of the sectoral oversight committee, Mayantha Dissanayake, son of assassinated United National Party (UNP) heavyweight Gamini Dissanayake presented an equally difficult though more consistent defence of the Bill (The case for the Counter Terrorism Bill, Sunday Observer, 24.02.2019). Peppered with references to what his family had undergone as a result of terrorism, this political hot potato under his watch will be amended, he declared, to ensure that we get it right. Both these views are not greatly reassuring. Battered by damage done to the nation as a result of quarrelling politicians, beaten by the virtually impossible business of economic survival while political fat cats feed off the public purse regardless of whatever party they belong to, is the CTA to make lives of ordinary citizens even more horrible? What will be its impact on a corrupt and politicised police force in the context of enhanced powers? What about the greater discretion afforded to the office of the Attorney General, again no less susceptible to political pressure apart from a few exceptions? Getting it just right The Governments commitment on getting the CTA just right would have been attended with far better credibility if the entire process of getting this legislation off the ground had not been so secretive and clearly mala fide in the first instance. It is not possible for the Government (by this, I mean the UNP), to shelter behind the argument that this draft had been amended due to a desire to get it right. Far from it. The amendments took place because the earlier drafts inconveniently leaked to the media were so bad that public agitation led to their withdrawal. Newer drafts attempted to smuggle the same archaic offences such as espionage back in different language. So to impute naive innocence to this constant dance to lead the nation astray is idiotic at best and subversive at worst. And for those who would argue from the safe corners of overseas academia with virtually little practical knowledge of how the criminal law operates in this country, that the CTA should be welcomed by Sri Lankas citizens with open arms, given that it replaces the highly problematic Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA, 1979), a tad more caution is well advised. The amendments proposed to the Bill are still to be put into the public domain and remain to be analysed at that time. But the Bill as gazetted remains obnoxious in various respects that were not canvassed before the Supreme Court when it was challenged or were pointed to but were ignored by the judges in the Determination handed down as pointed to, previously in these column spaces. Diverting attention from the task at hand Indeed, this is not to lend credence to the well meaning but thoroughly impractical contention that Sri Lanka should not have anti-terrorism legislation at all. This may well form a good basis for conference discussions. But in the current political reality, it is a counter-productive position to take. It diverts attention from the task in hand; namely the crafting of a narrowly tailored anti-terror law with tightly drafted clauses limiting themselves to few acts that are not captured by the ordinary law enforcement regime and subject to constant civil and judicial safeguards. And again, this point must be reiterated. The Chair of the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee shepherding the Bill must realise that it is not possible to equate the implementation of such legislation with jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom or even the United States of the Donald Trump era which have strong in-built Rule of Law safeguards. Therefore to argue that this Bill has fewer offences as compared to those jurisdictions (see Counter Terrorism Bill nears finishing line, 24. 02. 2019) is nonsensical in the extreme and ignores the reality right in front of our noses as it were. The gazetted Bill is deficient in that respect, most certainly in terms of the excessive powers that it affords to the Minister to issue proscription orders against any organisation where (Clause 81(1)) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that any organization is engaged in any act amounting to an offence under this Act, or is acting in a manner prejudicial to the national security of Sri Lanka or any other country. The problems in this over-broad definition are evident, quite apart from the fact that the reason of the Minister may be in question given that Ministers very frequently lack reason altogether. Timelines in Geneva should not dictate the process But hilarity apart, this power to issue proscription orders is linked to this still over-broad definition of the offence of terrorism. This includes the following as set out in Clause 3 (1); (a) intimidating a population; (b) wrongfully or unlawfully compelling the government of Sri Lanka, or any other government, or an international organization, to do or to abstain from doing any act; (c) preventing any such government from functioning; The fourth limb of this definition may concievably be tolerated since it directly relates to causing harm to the territorial integrity or sovereignty of Sri Lanka or any other sovereign country. But the same cannot be said in respect of the preceding parts of this definition. Read together with Clause 3(2), causing serious damage to property for example (sub-clause c) immediately catches up a range of actions that are perfectly legitimate in form and indeed, permitted and protected by the Constitution as it now stands. Consequently, the fears of trade unions, (apart from the Pohottuwa posturing), that this Bill may rebound negatively on them is grounded in fact. The same objection applies to other clauses in this section which categorises robbery, extortion or theft, in respect of State or private property and causing serious risk to the health and safety of the public or a section of the public as terrorist acts when read in the context of the preceding clauses. These are all highly problematic. This Bill needs to be comprehensively overhauled, not just tugged a little here or pushed a little there as suggested by some who know very little about the way that even the current criminal process operates. Timelines set in Geneva should not dictate the process. That much is clear. The terrible mess that politics makes View(s): Somebody I cannot quite remember who once said that hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption. The more I read the evidence presented before the Presidential Commission inquiring into SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka and connected issues, the more I am reminded of the words quoted above by whoever had the prescience to foretell the disgraceful conduct of some of our leaders and their cohorts. A couple of days ago, the Commission was told that SriLankan had ordered a VIP kit that was to be fitted to aircraft during the refleeting stage somewhere in 2013. SriLankan Airline officials had made out that this US$ 15 million VIP kit was a gift from Airbus the manufacturer. It was supposedly a gift from Airbus as a tribute to the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was not stated whether the then president was aware of this supposed gift. But evidence that emerged last week indicated that it was SriLankan that ordered the kit. This is but a microcosm of the shady goings-on at the airline which at the time was headed by a brother-in-law of Mahinda Rajapaksa and one whose name has cropped up time and again with acts and activities that seemed to have bypassed rules and regulations and brought discredit to an airline that was already struggling to stay afloat. The fact that nobody in the then government took the trouble to censure the management and take up the numerous issues at Cabinet meetings is a further sign that the closer one is to the seats of power the more skullduggery one can engage in without fear of retribution. Take for instance, the evidence that emerged, also last week, that senior management of the airline signed an MoU in May 2013 with Airbus without Cabinet approval. Strangely, though, the Board of Directors of the Airline had only a couple months earlier decided that such a step should be taken only with Cabinet approval. So it appears that the Cabinet did not move a whisker to take whatever action was possible to cancel that MoU despite the obvious irregularity of the act. It would be sheer nonsense to say in defence that nobody in the Cabinet had any knowledge of what had happened, unless, of course, the Cabinet was full of dolts. How was it possible for the chairman to go ahead and break rules and regulations with impunity including diverting planes on scheduled flights which presumably he does not have the powers to do? Was it because of his close connections to the then President? If that is so, as knowledgeable people in official and professional circles believe, then it is further proof that our own post-Einstein version of the theory of relativity is one of the most noxious elements that spread in the body politic with cancerous effect. One other thing: While Maithripala Sirisena, as a Cabinet minister in the Rajapaksa government would surely have been aware of some of the goings on at the airline and the subject of SriLankan Airlines had been mentioned at pre-presidential and parliamentary election platforms, why did he wait three years and more to appoint a commission to look into the unpardonable actions of the airlines chairman and some of its senior management such as its CEO, not to mention Mihin Lankas solo flight with Sajin Vaas Gunawardena at the controls with joystick in hand, flying virtually at will? Was the delay in appointing a belated commission because President Sirisena was more intent on trying to pin the new management under Ajith Dias and Suren Ratwatte to trap the UNP when his relations with his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, began to sour and reach a stage of intolerance? But once he had set the process in motion the more unpalatable evidence came from the period when Nishantha Wickramasinghe chaired SriLankan Airlines. At the time when Sirisena was making overtures to the Rajapaksa clan trying to find an ally that would support him in his quest for a second fling at the presidency, which he had rejected even before he was elected, the presidential hopeful was more intent on nailing the Wickremesinghe cronies. He had an opportunity of doing so earlier when the new UNP-appointed board of directors discarded Attorney-at-Law Weliamunas initial inquiry into the workings of SriLankan Airlines. He did not, and that report which had elicited curious information, such as that a female cabin staffer had been assigned to do political work for Namal Rajapaksa and was paid by the airline although she did not work for it. But now President Sirisena went for the new board of management under the Wickremesinghe administration but the timing was atrocious. Much of what is emerging as evidence pertains to the Nishantha Wickramasinghe days. So now Sirisena has turned on the Constitutional Council (CC), not so much because it had faltered on the way but rather because Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, who is head of the CC, had stood firm in parliament against the Presidents constitutional antics. Jayasuriya was the target not only because he did not relent under opposition thuggery and violence but equally because he was of the UNP. What is worse is that the Sirisena-Rajapaksa nexus suddenly forged suffered the ignominy of being unceremoniously rejected by the Supreme Court, which found the interpretation of the constitution by two persons that some thought were experts, was seriously flawed. So, now, Sirisena has turned on the CC using every opportunity such as statements to parliament to try and save his reputation and argument. One argument the President has adduced as a criticism of the CC is that the Council does not provide the reasons why a particular nominee recommended by Sirisena is rejected. The more I listen to or read the outpourings of Sirisena wisdom, the more I am reminded of the bumbling and fumbling of the mad Don at the White House. He has sacked or edged out enough officials that he himself brought into the place that would fill a ballroom in the White House. For a person preaching morality and transparency we are still to hear Sirisena provide a reason for appointing his brother who was GM of the Timber Corporation to head the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. And so shortly after he was elected president and had pledged to stop nepotism and family clannishness. I am sure there are many who would like to hear the reason for that appointment. Or for that appointment of some Liyanage chap as ambassador to Qatar and his conduct there. It was difficult to believe at first the stories one heard of Sirisenas incompetence, his tendency to weaponise political naivete and to take arms against those who are not ready to accept every uniformed individual as a war hero worthy of the Victoria Cross for gallantry. When we see the number of uniformed personnel from different services arrested for alleged crimes, some very serious ones said to have been committed during and after the war, one begins to question some of the accolades offered by politicians. It is not surprising seeing the attempt of high-powered parliamentarians trying to exonerate their colleagues for the vulgar behaviour they so clearly displayed during three days in the chamber of the House last November. Some have pleaded that they are covered by parliamentary privilege. That seems a strange kind of privilege. I have never heard of any parliament where privilege extends to physical violence, damage to property, injury to person etc. I believe it was Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa that came up with that defence. Maybe he would enlighten us all by citing which parliament provides liberal privileges that allow MPs to clobber others and throw chilli powder and furniture at MPs, police and staff. If I remember correctly Parliament, including members of the current opposition, approved a Code of Conduct for MPs that particularly banned physical violence against MPs and others. So what has happened to that Code of Conduct approved just two years or so ago? The attempt to stop a police inquiry is surely because most of those named in report of an internal inquiry are members of the opposition. This is an attempt to prevent the opposition members named from being hauled up before the police. Law and order is vulgarised when politicians intervene and let slip the dogs of war, as Mark Anthony said. One wonders what Gotabaya has to say about the conduct of the elected representatives who has just torn, metaphorically speaking, the Code of Conduct for MPs and drawn up their own privileges acts. AX Teachers transferred without consent of Transfer Board: CTU View(s): The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), last week, charged that around 200 teachers serving in schools in the Hatton educational zone (HEZ) have been transferred without the consent of the Transfer Board. CTU Secretary, Nuwara Eliya district V Indraselvan said that HEZ Director, P Sridharan had acted in violation of the teacher transfer board Circular 2007/20 where it has been stated that only the Teacher Transfer Board has powers to transfer teachers. Mr Indraselvan said that although a complaint has been made to the Provincial Education Ministry, Nuwara Eliya, no action had been taken. The Zonal Director had reportedly said that 184 teachers who were transferred were extra teachers in the schools. Previously Mr Sirdharan had also been charged with transferring 31 principals and vice principals in violation of Circular 2014/16/14 which gives only the Provincial Education Ministry the right to transfer principals in schools. With no action being taken by the Provincial Ministry, the copy of the letter has been sent to the Governor Central Province. The Provincial Education Ministry, however, said that they have not received any official complaints from the teachers or the CTU. (CC) High Court trial-at-bar for former Navy Commander By Ranjith Padmasiri View(s): View(s): Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and other navy officers are to face a High Court trial-at-bar over the alleged abduction and disappearance of 11 youths, the Attorney Generals Department has decided. The case is to be taken up without a jury in view of the public controversy it has created. In terms of the Criminal Procedure Code clause 450, the High Court trial-at-bar could sit without a jury. The AGs Department is to convey its decision shortly to the Chief Justice, who, in turn, will select the judges for the trial-at-bar. Criminal Investigations Department (CID) sources said they would record a statement from Admiral Karannagoda shortly and hoped to produce him in court. Earlier this week, a fundamental rights petition filed by Admiral Karannagoda, seeking a Supreme court order preventing his arrest was taken up. Additional Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne said that an undertaking could not be given that Admiral Karannagoda would not be arrested by the CID. He said the investigations related to the abduction and disappearance of 11 youths had been completed and the AGs Department hoped to proceed with the case. The admirals lawyer, Romesh de Silva, said they had no objection to filing charges, but were seeking an order preventing his arrest. The petition was taken up before a bench comprising Chief Justice Nalin Perea, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena and Justice Murdhu Fernando. However Justice Priyantha Jayawardena said he was withdrawing from the bench for personal reasons. The petition will be considered on Friday. The CID alleges that the former navy commander Karannagoda was aware that a group of navy personnel had abducted and murdered five of the youths after keeping them in two underground prisons in Colombo and Trincomalee. The CID charges that despite having strong evidence, Admiral Karannagoda had concealed the crime and only lodged a complaint with the former Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Colombo Crimes Division Anura Senanayake on May 28, 2009. In his complaint, the admiral had claimed that the first accused, Lt. Cdr. Sampath Munasinghe, was suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and asked the DIG to conduct an investigation on items and documents found during a search of the Navy officers room. The CID notes that its probe has revealed that the lives of these five abducted youths could have been saved, if Admiral Karannagoda had acted soon after receiving information about them. Police had gone to Admiral Karannagodas residential address at Polhengoda in Kirulapone on February 20 to deliver notice to him to appear before the CID to give a statement. However, they had been informed by one of his brothers that he now resides at an address at Beddagana in Pitakotte. However, officers who visited that address on February 21 had not been able to find anyone there. Into the Beast they went, to shine a light on its treasures By Kumudini Hettiarachchi As Sri Lanka marks World Wildlife Day, 10 cavers reveal the exotic beauty and fauna of 14 dark caves where few have ventured View(s): View(s): Perpetual darkness and absolute stillness! Into these big voids under the earth, never-ever speared by sunlight, has a small group ventured through very narrow openings, to bring to the more faint-hearted Sri Lankans like us, the wonders of dark caves. We are entering the Beast, says one as the Sunday Times views a short video and it is not just for the thrill of a daredevil adventure or to experience the adrenaline-rush that a 10-member team from the Lanka Institute of Cave Sciences (LICAS) lowered themselves into these caverns. It is to shine a powerful light on a treasure-trove of subterranean biodiversity that has been thriving most probably for millennia that these cavers headed by Biologist Dr. W.S. Weliange underwent arduous stumbling-along walks or sometimes belly-crawls in moist environments, which left them soaking wet. Hardly able to breathe they were, for lack of oxygen down there, exacerbated by the strong stench of bat guano (dung), with insects filling up all exposed cavities such as their ears and nostrils. They were the 4th Biospeleology Expedition from September 2017 to August 2018 into 18 caves of which 14 were dark caves believed to have been formed millions of years ago, to collect photographic documentation on the faunal (animal) biodiversity within. As the world including Sri Lanka, celebrates World Wildlife Day today (March 3), even though the theme is Life below Water: for people and planet for 2019, it is Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) which gently nudges the Sunday Times in the direction of this exotic study carried out by LICAS, supported by BSLs initiating partner, Dilmah Conservation and coordinated by BSL. BSL is a national platform of members, owned and driven by the private sector, established in 2015 as a not-for-profit organisation under the Companys Ordinance. Currently, BSL has over 80 corporate entities as its members and they represent a wide range of industry sectors including agribusiness and plantations, banking and finance, engineering and construction, information and communications technology and manufacturing and service sectors. The enthralling and oft scary details of the LICAS teams biospeleology sojourns to study living organisms in the very bowels of the earth are revealed by Dr. Weliange. The other LICAS members were Archaeologist Prageeth Algiriya; Geologists Dr. Pathmakumara Jayasinghe & Prof. Osborn Armstrong; Cave Mapping Interior Designers Saman Senanayake & Mahesh Champika; Cave Mapping Architect A.S. Dandeniya; and Photographers Ayoma Weliange, Nayomi Sayanara & Sahan Jayasuriya. Dr. Weliange stresses that dark caves are threatened by improper landscape management and disturbance due to unregulated cave tourism. As almost no dark caves in Sri Lanka have been surveyed and none are legally protected for their biodiversity yet, there is an urgent need to identify and safeguard key sites for cave biodiversity nationally. Strong echoes come from the driving force behind Dilmah Conservation, Dilhan Fernando when he says that as we confront the consequences of our actions in destroying 50% of fauna over the past half century, we have a shared and critical obligation to protect the earths remaining biodiversity. The biodiversity in Sri Lanka is unique and intricately connects human cultural, culinary, social, economic and health dimensions. We must all as individuals, businesses and government integrate conservation and sustainable interaction with nature to protect biodiversity for our own survival, says Mr. Fernando. He stresses that our efforts in understanding the biodiversity in caves in Sri Lanka departs from the popular and more charismatic areas as our business is established on a unique philosophy which demands a sincere commitment to positive environmental interventions. The more we understand the richness of the biodiversity that surrounds us, the more we can protect that diversity and benefit from it in the form of food, medicine and quality of life and the better we can conserve it for future generations, reiterates Mr. Fernando. And it is Charles Darwin of the Theory of Evolution fame who dubbed cave animals as wrecks of ancient life while others have described cave ecosystems as natural ecological and evolutionary laboratories because of their relative simplicity and isolation. The Beast, the LICAS teams pet name for the Ravana dark cave, named by villagers as the Nil-diya Pokuna in Karandagolla, Ella, has lots of blue water. Containing an aquifer, this cave which is reported to be the largest in the country is surrounded by its very own myths and legends linked to King Ravana. In contrast, the Beauty or the Cave of Images as the villagers call it is Roopagallena in Rathganga, Ratnapura and the team waxes eloquent about these images of speleothem formations (by the deposition of minerals from water) which include cave curtains, columns, stalagmites, stalactites, flow stones and more. The Periyamandapai cave in Kerudavil, Jaffna, meanwhile, formed of limestone with deposits of shells and corals, has a passage with a low-slung roof. We crossed it only by crawling and ducking, says Dr. Weliange. These are just three of the dark caves the team surveyed for species richness, food chains and food webs. The other earthly voids dark caves were: In Ratnapura Endirilena in Pelendakanda; Malena in Siripagama; Vavulguhawa in Pelpola; & Vavullena in Kosgala.In Kuruvita Sthreepura cave. In Pallebedda Vavulpane cave. In Ella Ravana tunnel.In Welimada Sthreepura tunnels in Loonuwatta. In Meemure Nitre cave (nitre is the mineral form of potassium nitrate).In Attanagalle Tunnel cave in Alavala In Jaffna Vavulpuram cave in Keeramalei. The surface caves were: In Kuruvita BatadombalenaIn Kitulgala Belilena & Belilena tunnelMaradankadawala Rock Shelter. Explaining that Sri Lanka has a great range of cave types, with karst and karst-like features occurring in rocks, Dr. Weliange says that some are rock shelters on the ground surface like Batadombalena and others are dark caverns under the earth. Dark caves are what they picked and ventured into, donning helmets and headlamps and carrying powerful batteries, compasses and cameras, where the darkness swallows the beam of the torch and getting lost is so very easy. Caves are largely unchartered and unexplored territory. It is risky and dangerous, as anything can happen, he says. As they crawl or climb down small openings, foremost on their minds is the possibility of rock-falls which can occur anytime, closing shut their doorway back to civilization. The terrain, with different angles and planes is not flat and difficult to negotiate. There is no difference between night and day and these dark caves are the quietest places. You dont see anything, you dont hear anything and your basic senses of sight and hearing seem to have been shut down, says Dr. Weliange. As the headlamps illuminate the thick blackness, everything begins to glow and glimmer, a sight seared into their minds even as they chat to the Sunday Times in Colombo. Taxed to their limits, it is an endurance test few would undertake but the LICAS team has carried out with enthusiasm and is still raring to go for more. No days, no nights and adventure knows no boundaries, smiles Dr. Weliange. Lanka to co-sponsor fresh resolution at UNHRC By Namini Wijedasa Britain-led core group replaces US as a co-sponsor View(s): View(s): Sri Lanka, along with the Britain-led core group, will co-sponsor a fresh resolution at the UN Human Rights Council on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in the country, authoritative sources said. The Zero Draft Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka is already in circulation. Among other things, it envisages continued involvement of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and special procedure mandate holders in advising and providing technical assistance on the promotion and protection of human rights and truth, justice, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. Only last week, President Maithripala Sirisena told the Sunday Times Political Editor that Sri Lanka was considering withdrawing co-sponsorship of the resolution. He maintained that Sri Lankas armed forces have not committed war crimes and that the worst crimes were carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The resolution also requests the OHCHR to continue to assess progress on the implementation of its recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights. It bears upon the OHCHR to present a further written update on Sri Lankas progress to the HRC at its 43rd session and a comprehensive report at its 46th session. The first open informal consultation on the zero draft resolution is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the Palais de Nations in Geneva. At the UNHRC, informal consultations on proposals convened by main sponsors are the primary means for the negotiation of draft resolutions and decisions. They are convened by the sponsors and at least one should be held on each draft resolution before it is considered for action by the Council. The core group on Sri Lanka also comprises Canada, Germany, Macedonia and Montenegro. Britain has taken a lead role after the United States left the HRC last year. Till then, the US was the main force behind resolutions on Sri Lanka. Earlier, Britain announced that it will work in partnership with Sri Lanka and look to continue the cooperation which began in 2015 to implement the commitments in HRC Resolution 30/1. The five-page HRC/RES/30/1, adopted on October 1, 2015, ties Sri Lanka to a set of commitments including the establishment of a commission for truth, justice, reconciliation and non-recurrence, an office of missing persons and an office for reparations. The Government also undertook to set up a judicial mechanism with a special counsel to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, as applicable and affirmed that the process should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality. This years zero draft resolution recognises the strong role played by Sri Lankas democratic institutions in the peaceful resolution of the political situation that arose from October to December 2018. It welcomes the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons and appointment of Commissioners. The draft also welcomes the visits to the country of various special procedure mandate holders (special rapporteurs, working groups and independent experts). It notes with appreciation the return of some private land previously held by the military to civilians but recalls the Governments repeated public commitments to release all such lands. The others steps taken note of by the resolution include progress towards establishing an Office on Reparations and the submission to Cabinet of a concept paper on a Bill to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the proposed repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1978 and the preparation of a draft Counter Terrorism Act. It underscores the need for further significant progress and encourages the adoption of a time-bound implementation strategy. Meanwhile, the latest OHCHR report on Sri Lanka is also expected to be released soon. NJC urges President to withdraw from UNHRC Resolution View(s): The National Joint Committee (NJC) has written to President Maithripala Sirisena requesting that the Government withdraw from being a co-sponsor of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution 30/1. The said resolution is being made use of by the treacherous politicians in the government for a witchhunt to not only discredit the security forces but also to prosecute war heroes. The latest effort being to arrest the wartime Sri Lanka Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda (Retd), asserts the letter, signed by NJC Co-President Lt Col Anil Amarasekara (Retd). It also points out that the United States, which is the main backer of the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka, has pulled out of the UNHRC calling it a cesspool of political bias. The NJC has further called upon the President to table the second mandate of the Maxwell Paranagama Presidential Commission Report at the ongoing UNHRC sessions in Geneva. The letter opines that the second mandate of the commission report will counter unsubstantiated allegations made against the Government of Sri Lanka and its security forces, including those mentioned by the Darusman Panel. It has also called on the President to make use of revelations on the final stages of the war made by Lord Naseby in the British Parliament. PET scanner brings peace building award for Hilir By Minnath Azeez View(s): View(s): The first ever Award for Volunteering for Peace Building was presented to Hilir Mohamed for his efforts in creating racial harmony through the initiative of raising funds to donate a PET scanner to the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama. The presentation was made at the annual National Volunteer Awards ceremony (V- Awards) 2019, jointly organised by the United Nations Volunteers Sri Lanka and the Social Welfare and Primary Industries Ministry. With 14 finalists in three award categories, including Youth Volunteer of the Year and National Volunteer of the Year, the event at the Nelum Pokuna theatre on February 20 was held to recognise and appreciate those who serve society selflessly. I saw such a project going beyond simply donating a machine to fight cancer. It built a bond between communities in the country, said Mr. Mohamed who initiated this project in 2016 to fulfil his sons dying wish. His son Humaid died in 2017 aged just 18. Mr. Mohamed raised Rs. 252 million through public donations in three months and handed over the machine to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital in April last year. The PET scanner can do up to 100 scans a month. The scans, conducted free of charge, enable doctors to detect different kinds of cancers and save lives. Mr. Mohamed, who is the chairman of N.M Travels, has also established the Fight Cancer Team, with 150 members from all communities, with the aim of upgrading the Apeksha Cancer Hospital to be one of the best in the South Asian region by 2025. Nominated for the V award by a member of his team, he said that his biggest strength in this journey had been his trust in God, himself and his team members. The Fight Cancer Team will launch the next phase of its project this month to raise funds to donate two radiotherapy machines (Linac and Tomo), an MRI scanner and a CT scanner to the Cancer Hospital. PM: Maha Sivaratri offers hope of peace and unity View(s): Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a Maha Sivaratri message has said the night celebrated with lights reflects light of unity among all people and the hope of peace. He said in his message: Mahashivaratri is celebrated by Hindus across the globe to venerate Lord Shiva with great enthusiasm and with a hope for spiritual freedom attained through wisdom. Lord Shiva is the symbol of nature according to Hindus and veneration on his behalf is among their most important rituals. The Hindus consider Sivaratri as the night when Lord Shiva performed the Tandava Nritya the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. The devotees often fast on the night, offer night long prayers and sing verses and hymns in praise of the Lord. The night celebrated with lights and full of decorations with pure hope for good luck reflects the light of unity within cultural, religious and ethnic diversity experienced by all Sri Lankans. It is with immense pleasure I convey best wishes on everyone following Hinduism for blissful celebrations and peace achieved through spiritual wellbeing Rathgama custodial killings: No show by five cops after transfers to Colombo View(s): The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is looking for five Southern Special Crimes Unit (SSCU) members who have not reported for duty after they were transferred to Colombo following the Rathgama custodial killings last month. Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said all ports and airports had been alerted to prevent the officers from leaving the country. According to the Establishment Code, the five policemen who have not reported for duty needs to be given more time to report for work, before they are considered to have vacated post, he said. CID detectives investigating the abduction and murder of 31-year-old Rasin Lasith Chinthaka and 33-year-old Manjula Asela Kumara on January 23, have interviewed 40 witnesses and persons of interest. Investigators took a vehicle into custody last week. They believe it was used to move the remains of the deceased. Girl power vision of Lankan whiz kid In this email interview, Kumudini Hettiarachchi catches up with the family of 12-year-old Nishi Amanda Uggalle, the first Lankan to be in the top 20 of Britains Child Genius contest View(s): View(s): A Child Genius with an IQ above both the famous physicists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking! Who is this 12-year-old mathematics whiz kid called the human calculator who has stunned audiences not only in Britain but across the world? It is Nishi Amanda Uggalle of Sri Lankan heritage who is vying for the coveted title of Child Genius Winner & Britains Brightest Child. She is the first-ever Sri Lankan to be part of the final 20 in this contest and as audiences both television and on social media await with bated breath for the final result of this years contest held by Channel 4 due on March 2 (yesterday evening British time), many are of the view that the winner is a foregone conclusion. And it is Nishi who is on their minds and in their hearts. For, she has impressed all with her mathematics prowess and warmed their hearts with a simple quote about girl power. Id like to prove that girls are just as good and girls can win too! declared Nishi during the contest and the Sunday Times learns in an email interview that she is very keen on getting more girls into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, as they are often stereotypically boys only subjects. The only daughter of Neelanga Uggalle and Shiromi Jayasinghe, Nishis Dad works in IT security and is a Vice President in Barclays Bank, while her Mum is an Accountant. The family of three lives in Manchester and Nishi attends a top school, the Altrincham Girls Grammar School. The origins though are very Sri Lankan, as both Neelanga and Shiromi are from Padukka. They had attended Nalanda College and Lumbini Vidyalaya respectively. It was when Neelanga was attached to the British Council in Colombo that he got a promotion to its head office in Manchester, moving there in 2001. Nishi had been born in the UK. The realization that Nishi was very special came early, when she was still a toddler. I would read a book to her a few times and she could remember it word for word. She was able to count to 100 by around 2. When she started nursery around 2, the staff found that Nishi liked to do activities that older kids did like puzzles and drawing, says Neelanga, adding that when she went into primary school at 4, within two weeks her teacher nominated her for the National Gifted and Talented Register. Nishi received global attention through her MENSA success at the tender age of 10, but is firmly grounded, humble and modest. I dont really feel different, she has repeatedly said, and had set up a maths club for her age group and up to 4 years older, to help those with maths problems. She is still very much a little girl, engrossed in reading, dabbling in computer programming, baking with her Mum, walking about in the countryside and playing with cats. She really loves doing homework and sometimes I have to ask her to stop, says Neelanga. Getting down to the contest to find the Brightest Child in Britain, he explains that schools and organisations run tests at local level to find the best children (between 9-12 years of age). Channel 4, a British public-service TV broadcaster, and MENSA, the High IQ Society also invite child-achievers to take part. From thousands, the best 100 children are invited for a full day of tests, with the list being narrowed down to 30, followed by another round of testing, a discussion with the family and first visit to the home by a camera crew, to whittle down the number to 20. The final six-day competition has two rounds each day, with low-scorers leaving daily. Its the hardest competition a child could compete in academically. Its very difficult to guess who will win, but I have always been in the top 2 of the leaderboard and hope that momentum will continue, says Nishi, adding that some mental maths could be 354, add 752, add 527, add 329. Or calculate 59 times 6, subtract 34, divide by 8 and multiply by 9. Or spell eleemosynary. Nishis IQ (Intelligence Quotient) of 162 is reported to be over that of Einstein and Hawking which was 160. In the final round on Friday were eight contestants and yesterday five. Will self-motivated, hungry-for-knowledge and curious Nishi carry the large trophy home on March 2? Her numerous fans hope so! Letters to the Editor View(s): More white elephants for whose benefit? A foundation stone laying ceremony to construct an International Conference Hall in Galle was reported in the papers last week. How many international conferences are held in Sri Lanka for a year? Hardly any. All these years we have been using the BMICH. Whats wrong with it now? We have the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Conference Centre in Hambantota and it is closed, because we have no international conferences. During the last election and after that everyone was talking about the no ship harbour, no flights airport and no conference international conference centre in Hambantota. We have built those white elephants after borrowing and dumping valuable foreign exchange. The cost of maintaining these places is far more than the income they produce, but the people who are responsible for such foolish decisions call them development work. What is development if no employment is created and no income is generated? The only income are the commissions they received, with no benefits to the country. Now why is the present government thinking of building another white elephant in Galle? If the members of Parliament for Galle district think that they can proudly tell the voters in their district that they have got this conference centre for their district, please go ahead and do these nonsensical ventures using your own money, not the tax payers money. The Minister of Education is hellbent on giving tabs to Advanced Level students and teachers. When this was questioned in the Cabinet meeting he has said that it is an election promise. Did not the UNP candidates tell the villagers that the dilapidated school buildings would be repaired; that sufficient desks and chairs will be given to the village schools etc? Are not those election promises too? They are. It is a matter of allocating smaller amounts for this type of small but important projects. When the required fund is small, there is no room for big commissions. They want to fulfil the promises involving millions if not billions, but not small projects that require no millions. Mr. Minister, please provide basic needs to the poor village children to get a basic education. How can the Langama pasala be hondama pasala when some of those schools have many shortcomings. You cannot fool the people with slogans. You are due to open some school buildings in the near future and all of them are in your electorate. There is nothing wrong with this, but please keep in mind that Kuliyapitiya is only a part of Sri Lanka and you are the Minister in charge of Education for the whole country. H. de Silva Via email Do our teachers need lessons on the importance of being hydrated? Just ask any alien in the kidnapping game, for teachers and aliens well they all look the same! This is the last stanza in a poem titled, An Alien Education. When I hear some of the stories about some teachers in our schools these days, I am convinced that they dont just look like aliens but they may be behaving like them too! The latest complaint is that some teachers do not allow students to drink water or go to the toilet except during the interval. Children are in school for about six hours during weekdays. In a warm country like ours drinking water is essential. It is not only a basic human right but also a medical necessity. It is essential for our health. It is also very natural to want to go to the toilet and pee after drinking water. Our bodies are made up of sixty to seventy per cent water. Fluid loss takes place continuously from skin evaporation, breathing and other bodily functions such as urinating and passing stools. These losses must be replaced daily for good health. Drinking adequate water helps us to maintain the balance of body fluids. Bodily fluids help in the proper functioning of digestion, absorption and transportation of nutrients, circulation, and maintenance of body temperature. When ones water intake does not equal the output, it results in dehydration. When muscles do not have adequate fluids, their performance can suffer. Lack of water results in poor performance of the kidneys functions. Kidneys cleanse the body of toxins and when the body does not have enough water, urine concentration, colour and odour increase. When this happens for a long time, it could result in kidney stones. It can also result in constipation as the body pulls water from stools to maintain hydration in the body. Water is known to be the best and most natural hydrating liquid. The body produces urine as a way to get rid of waste and any excess water. When one drinks water, it is natural to want to urinate. Holding too long before going to the toilet is not good for the urinary tract and could result in urinary tract infections and other long term complications. So why is it that some teachers do not allow students to drink water when they are thirsty? Do they not know that the brain sends a message and tells children when their bodies need more water? Do they not know that children need to drink water to get rid of their thirst? Do they not know the benefits of drinking water and the side effects of not drinking water? Do they not know that it is a very natural thing to want to urinate after drinking water? Is this why students are not allowed to drink water and go to the toilet when they feel the need to do so? Worried parent Via email Be cautious about opening greater links with South India Sri Lanka has the advantage of being an island. When it comes to communicable diseases medical history has it that many a disease, eg. cholera, smallpox, some say even parangi (yaws) came with the South Indian labour and soldiers, brought by our then colonial masters , the British. Epidemics are on record with multiple deaths. Our public health services must be thanked for the absence of such scourges in our midst at present. South India has a significant problem with HIV Aids, occasional outbreaks of cholera and even drugs. All the problems too of not being an island. Our monitoring of the greater access to India envisaged by improved sea and rail links must be cautiously implemented to ensure proper quarantine procedures for humans, plants and animals. Dr. Channa Ratnatunga Via email What happens to all the drugs that are seized? Not a single day passes without us hearing that someone was caught with some ganja or narcotics. If it gets to the wrong hands again how many lives, how many families would be destroyed? The news appears and it is soon forgotten. What happens to the narcotics that are seized? Are we sure they are not re-circulated to the sellers again? Shouldnt there be a rule that these drugs are burnt publicly so that everyone is sure they are not sold again? And what happens to the criminals who are caught? Do they stay as the governments guests for the rest of their lives eating, drinking and sleeping safely in prison? Do they continue their trade from inside the cell? Any guesses? Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai Dehiwala Tapping a sweet heritage By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Chanchala Gunewardenes gourmet enterprise, Kimbula Kithul, with treacle from Matara, is proving to be quite a hit View(s): View(s): If Matara has a mascot, it would be the crocodile- the gentle, playful kimbula of old kavi who teased the ferrymen in the river but would never dream of harming anyone. When Chanchala Gunewardene wanted an icon for her new gourmet kithul treacle brand, it was the friendly reptile she chose. With the delicious, satisfying alliteration in the newly coined name- Kimbula Kithul- they were ready to take Matara treacle to the world. Chanchalas mother was from Matara, and some of her most cherished food memories are of breakfasting on banana fritters ladled thickly with local kithul pani- her grandmothers special recipe. Much later, Chanchala would realise that the treacle bought from the supermarket was a much inferior saccharine version of the pure treacle she had tasted. The mass product, she discovered, is heavily diluted and involves refined sugar. This happens, of course, because kithul treacle is a precious commodity. It takes 8 to 10 litres of kitul sap (called thelijja) to make 1 litre of kitul treacle. Making this treacle is a sweet secret that Sri Lanka alone is privy to. Although the tree, Caryota urens, fans out with its flamboyant frond all across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, few uses have been evolved for the tree and the flower. The story begins in the lush landscapes of the south and central heartlands, where the magnificent ostrich feather-like fronds spill out among the thick greenery. The breadwinner of the family does the perilous climb to tap the product and the whole family gets involved in the production. Working as a communications specialist for Bates Strategic Alliance, Chanchala was inspired to do this project by the enthusiasm and talent that was beginning to shine forth in home-based entrepreneurship in and around Colombo. Eager to come up with a brand of pure kithul, Chanchala liaised with tappers- smallholders who work on the trees in their backyards- and Kimbula Kithul made its first appearance at the Saturday pop-up at Good Market in December 2017. In a little over one year, Kimbula has made waves. Even people from Matara, the homeland of treacle, have been asking for the brand, and consumers in Matale and Kalpitiya have been requesting consignments. With natural kithul, the most fascinating factor is that the flavour profile can range from the sweet floral to the woody and smoky- depending on the maturity of the flower and the infusion by firewood. Each bottle however comes sealed with Chanchalas approval- as she tastes what goes into every one of them. While the young children and the sweet toothed prefer floral flavours, chefs go for the more woody or smoky, with their exotic tang perfect for inventive dishes- from meat marinades to sushi. Indeed select Colombo restaurants Nihonbashi, Kaema Sutra, Ministry of Crab, Cafe Kumbuk and Ceylan Creperie among them now depend on Kimbula kithul. With a low glycaemic index (meaning less increase in the level of glucose in the blood) of 27, Kithul treacle is also a healthier substitute for sugar. Chanchala, with a first degree in English and a Masters in communication, took to the branding of Kimbula with natural alacrity. Storytelling is very much part of the brand. In Facebook and Instagram, they have been running quirky, humorous and compellingly fun-pun campaigns. With only Facebook and Instagram marketing they reached over 500 bottles as of December. Festive occasions are celebrated with special bottles. For Christmas the kimbula dons a Santa hat, for Valentine he gets all amorous and come Pride he will proudly sport a rainbow of colours. Bespoke mini bottles are also done- for example wedding editions with two kimbulas dressed in the suit and trousseau sported by the couple. The brand has built an affectionate bond with the customers- who send over photos of what they confect using the treacle. Bates too has been wonderfully supportive of their kithul kella as Chanchala has been fondly monikered. The crocodile and his jaunty get-ups are designed in-house and with their support Kimbula Kithul has entered the final round of Venture Engine, the annual entrepreneurship program, where they are the only non-tech startup. Chanchala looks forward to Kimbula growing bigger- for the taste of this unique treacle to seep into the palates of sophisticated connoisseurs around the world. Kimbula Kithul is available at Good Market, Barefoot, Milk & Honey and other stores listed in their Facebook page and on Instagram (@kimbulakithul). Island-wide online deliveries are handled by justgoodness.co. Ambitious bid to save Lankas remaining untouched reefs By Randima Attygalle Kayankerni and several other coastal zones to be declared Marine Protection Areas View(s): View(s): It was no different to a fish tank clean and colourful, is how Oceanographer Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara reflects upon the Hikkaduwa coral reef in the 70s and 80s. When the area started attracting tourists, residents of the area set up their own businesses from small scale hotels to glass-bottom boat rides, and by the time government realised Hikkaduwas potential as a tourist hot spot, the resident-centric tourism industry of the area had gone a long way to a large extent, unregulated and unplanned, notes Dr. Kumara, the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and Senior Lecturer at the Ruhuna Universitys Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology. The same scenario, as he says, was replicated in Unawatuna. This happened at a huge cost; both socially and environmentally, he adds. The unplanned ad hoc tourism industry which abetted environmental hazards and drug abuse was furthering its reach to the other coastal hot spots, including Mirissa, which is notable not only for unauthorised constructions on the beach but also for illegal fishing methods. So much so, endangered species such Tomato Hind or locally called thambuwa (Cephalopholis sonnerati) and Juvenile Lobsters are sold in the open market with no heed to the laws governing protected species, says Dr. Kumara. In an ambitious move to regulate the remaining untouched coastal areas including reefs and declare them as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), MEPA has spearheaded an Inter-Agency Coordinated Mechanism to protect marine ecosystems. For this purpose, it has teamed up with multiple stakeholders such as NARA, NAQDA, the Wildlife Conservation Department, the Fisheries Department, the Forestry Department, the Coast Conservation Department, the Central Environmental Authority, the Tourism Ministry, the SL Coast Guard, the SL Navy, UNDP, IUCN, local councils and the Blue Resources Trust. This initiative will zone and regulate marine attractions including coral reefs and fishing. The pilot project as the Sunday Times learns is already off the ground at Kayankerni, off Kalkudah in the Batticaloa District. As Dr. Kumara points out, the Kayankerni reef, with a host of diverse corals and other vibrant marine and plant and animal life, is a rich tourist attraction. It is also home to 207 fish species and invertebrates and sea grass. Kayankerni is also of particular importance due to the historic shipwreck sites located adjacent to the reef. The British Sergeant, a merchant vessel that sank after coming under fire when it altered its course to help a carrier in 1942 and SS Lady McCallum, a cargo ship which ran aground in 1926, are located on the sea bottom off the Kayankerni reef. The potential for shipwreck tourism the area offers is enormous. Several threats to the reef have been identified as Dr. Kumara explains. These include unregulated and illegal fishing activities, ornamental fishing, recent developments in the tourism sector, setting up of aquacultural farms and a lack of community support and awareness at community level about the importance of coral reefs. The reef area has already been mapped out and zoned. Moreover, a survey on land-used patterns has also been completed, points out Dr. Kumara, assuring that by the end of this year, Kayankerni reef area would be declared a protected area following gazette procedures and biodiversity assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Department. A survey on the users of this area, especially the reef region and procedures to register the fishermen and their fishing gear are also in the pipeline, he notes. The MPA concept will operate on the cornerstones of managing and conserving and engage the local communities. Once people are managed, the environment will naturally be managed in a sustainable manner, says the MEPA GM, adding that community participation for the protection of Kayankerni reef is a top priority of the project. He adds that the experience in the Kayankerni will be replicated in other similar zones in Mannar (Viduthalaithivu) and Mullaitivu. Ideally the exercise should be translated to inland potential tourist attractions as well, says Dr. Kumara who urges the responsible authorities to take a cue from MEPAs brainchild. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Marine Biologist and Co-Founder of Blue Resources Trust, (based in Kalkudah) Nishan Perera, a partner in the Kayankerni project, notes that Kayankerni reef is one of the last remaining healthy coral reefs in the country with relatively lower human impact compared to many other reefs and has had less impact from the 2016 coral bleaching event. It is, therefore, potentially an important source of coral and fish larvae to repopulate other reefs along the East Coast. The reef may also provide important information on reef resilience in Sri Lanka to coral bleaching. Management efforts should, therefore, be focused towards conserving such important habitats as biodiversity refuges. It is also important to ensure that management actions are taken early, rather than once major degradation has occurred or human impact has increased. High population density, over-reliance on marine resources and poor management are responsible for reef degradation in Sri Lanka, says the marine biologist. His organisations research findings on the Kayankerni reef, as Mr. Perera explains, has revealed more resilience to coral bleaching and its ability to recover from events of disturbance. This may be impacted by local biological and physical factors such as availability of coral larvae, wind and current patterns and temperature fluctuations. However, more research is needed to better understand this, he says. Commenting on the importance of engaging host communities in managing reef resources, he surmises: Community-based management and ownership is vital for management of reef resources. However, this requires community empowerment and more collaborative management. Many innovative solutions used in other developing countries have not yet been adopted here. They include joint patrolling and disbursement of income to local communities. It is important that local people have ownership, rights and also benefit from income derived from a protected area. Mr. Perera remarks that community-based management is more likely to succeed in areas with lower human pressure and less outside influence, as it enables to structure a management system before the situation becomes complicated. The East Coast and certain parts of the North are ideal for this. It may also be possible to develop specific fishery management plans with local communities for some target fisheries, he adds. * Photo Credit (Kayankerni reef): Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara Anne Frank touring exhibition in Jaffna for peace building View(s): Anne Frank a History for Today forms part of a joint initiative of the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands and War Child Holland. The two organisations are working together to contribute to the peace-building process in Sri Lanka. The exhibition places the story of Anne Frank against the background of the Holocaust, with extracts from the diary of Anne Frank and photos of the Frank family forming a unifying theme. This touring exhibition has been seen by more than 10 million people in 3500 cities worldwide. Students, teachers and the general public can visit the exhibition in Jaffna until March 15. The worldwide tour is coordinated by the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam. The exhibition has previously been staged in Sri Lanka at venues in Colombo, Jaffna and Baddegama and at Plantation schools in the Dickoya Nuwara Eliya District, Deniyaya Galle district and the Kotagala Nuwara Eliya District. The Netherlands Ambassador Joanne Doornewaard will open the exhibition together with Jaffnas District Secretary Nagalingam Vethanayagam on March 7 at 5.30 p.m. at Angel International School, Mathers Lane, Manipay, Jaffna. The project also explores issues surrounding tolerance and social cohesion in Sri Lanka today. All exhibition materials have been translated into Sinhala and Tamil. The local exhibition content has been designed by children and youth taking part in War Childs projects in Sri Lanka. War Child works in the Northern Province to support young people to build up their confidence and self-esteem. The exhibits detail War Child programme activities and serve to contribute to the construction of the historical memory of the country. The project has been made possible with the financial support of the Netherlands Embassy in Colombo and in partnership with War Child Holland. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Were kicking off March with a tiara that puts the months birthstone in the spotlight: the Swedish Aquamarine Bandeau. Sion Touhig/Getty Images As the name of the tiara suggests, the piece resides in the Swedish royal vaults. Its been there for at least two generations. Photographs show the present kings sister, Princess Desiree, wearing the tiara in the 1960s, and it is now worn by his younger daughter, Princess Madeleine. Its possible that the tiaras history goes back even further: sources suggest that it once belonged to Queen Louise, the wife of Madeleines great-grandfather, King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images The design of the sparkler is incredibly simple two slender, sleek rows of diamonds hugging a single, large pale-green aquamarine. If the tiara did indeed belong to Queen Louise, its plausible that the piece is from the Art Deco period, given its design. Michel Porro/Getty Images Madeleine received the aquamarine tiara as an eighteenth-birthday gift from her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. She wore it often in the years after she received it, including appearances at prominent Scandinavian royal weddings. Above, she wears the tiara for the wedding of Princess Martha Louise of Norway in 2002. Sean Gallup/Getty Images And here, she wears the bandeau for the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in 2004. Here, she pairs the tiara with the necklace version of the Modern Fringe Tiara (which she eventually wore for her own royal wedding, and which now belongs to her). MAJA SUSLIN/AFP/Getty Images Madeleine has experimented with the placement of the tiara throughout the years. For a state banquet held in Stockholm in honor of the President of China in June 2007, she positioned the tiara further back on her head, as you can see above. kungahuset.se Like her sisters birthday tiara, this was something of a starter piece, and Madeleine has since graduated mainly to larger and grander tiaras. She does, however, occasionally bring out the tiara at white-tie events. One of her most recent appearances came in February 2015, when she wore the tiara low across her forehead for a diplomatic gala in Stockholm. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Letter to the editor: Green New Deal is a bad deal for the United States Letter to the editor: Trump is doing what's best for America One of the most challenging issues we face today is that many people, especially the youth, are struggling to find jobs. Not only because jobs are scarce, but also because the job seeking exercise itself requires money. While entrepreneurship is encouraged as one way out of unemployment, the reality is there can only be so many entrepreneurs in a country. Besides, the Ease of Doing Business of a country needs to encourage people to venture into business. So far our ratings are not so convincing but to our credit, each month we do see progress locally in that aspect. In the meantime though, many jobless people are still stuck in the desire for going the trusted route for economic freedom by seeking employment. application Recently, Forbes Africa magazine ran a feature looking into the costs of seeking a job. The analyst or writer correctly noted that when you are looking for a job you first need money to pay for typing, printing and packaging in an envelope your job application. The second cost is that of transport to the potential employer where you are to deliver the application. The next is that of having to attend an interview (which you may not pass) with hundreds of other people. All this costs money. And as an unemployed graduate with no allowance to help you fund all this, it all becomes an uphill battle. Director at The Centre For Social Development In Africa, Leila Patel told radio 702 that research shows that the cost for one young person to look for work amounts to R938 a month in neighbours South Africa. The costs may almost be similar locally. These experts are calling for more support for young people looking for jobs. The support suggested is empowerment programmes from government, and also direct support in the form of helping with those CVs and transport costs from those closest to the job seekers. For example, if you have a printer, help print out someones CV for free and if you can drop off someone for a job interview, do so. We are afterall blessed to be blessings. Two weeks ago we read about the Ministry of Labours plans to create a sort of register for all unemployed people in the country. This is a brilliant idea. But like all ideas it needs to be executed well and have a sustainable implementation strategy. information For one, they should consider having this database online so that people anywhere in the country can upload their details without having to go to the capital city with hard copies of their information. Making the process digital would also enable it to be manually updated so that if someone has obtained a job, he or she can delete their profile from the database. Also, by making it digital it would cut the transport expenses as aforementioned, there is little if any money to fund the job seeking exercise. And by being digital it will also be open to the private sector seeking certain skills. Most job seekers are saved by short loans from friends and family. However, people usually loan people money if there is a possibility of repayment. So again that is a challenge. For graduates perhaps, their final year allowance can have a provision to help them fund this job seeking exercise. A provision that will enable them to survive the first two months of unemployment as they try to integrate into the job world. combination Last week the country hosted the Fourth Industrial Revolution Leadership Seminar in Ezulwini. I was amused by one of the comments on social media when someone asked what the summit is all about. The comment responded, It is VUCA. Well thanks to data bundles, I then googled what this VUCA is. The definition I got was VUCA is Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. This is a combination of qualities that when taken together, characterise the nature of some difficult conditions and situations. From that definition, the comment suggests the seminar was much ado about nothing. Which is quite a misleading notion really. As aforementioned in previous articles being a nation facing economic challenges, it is essential to be looking out at any possible solutions that may enable us to do things at a lesser cost than we did yesterday. And it is also essential that we have a mindset shift and resist having phobia against technologies that can help us cut costs. During one of the sessions, the Eswatini National Youth Council (ENYC) Chief Executive Officer Makhosami Dlamini, once noted that if adopted well, technology would ensure more things are done in less time. interaction He made the example of having to drive to various constituencies to make a presentation, yet one could simply schedule a SKYPE video call that would beam to all the constituencies at once from an office, have interaction and also the same results, therefore cutting travel costs. This was just one simple example of how technology really is not VUCA as some people think. There is a famous quote that if you want to hide something from someone put it in a book because reading culture is not so popular. Indeed these days, looking at rapidly advancing economies, you can see its those that have overcome their red tape and challenges by embracing technologies. The costs of being unemployed have been cut drastically in these nations because most of these job interviews are done online including aptitude tests. You also send your CV and application online instead of travelling and only the shortlisted candidates have to come for the final interview. As the nation continues to look for ways to ensure that the quality of life is better for all, we trust that the jobless are also not left behind and so too must cutting the costs of job seeking. MBABANE He sees a budget meant to frustrate citizens with high taxes that will never solve the current problem. This is a local economist who preferred to remain anonymous, did all he could to put himself in the shoes of all individuals as he analysed the budget presented by Minister of Finance, Senator Neal Rijkenberg on Wednesday. Below is how he took the consumer through. This was a much anticipated budget speech considering the change of government and the state at which government coffers are. Due to socialisation some of us believe that the national budget is supposed to be for the people. By that, one simply means that it is expected to help improve the lives of the citizens of the country rather than to frustrate us. Well, I suppose that all those who had the opportunity to listen to the minister will fully concur with me that this budget is not for the people, but it is for government interesting enough by government. This budget is aimed at frustrating the citizens of this country in an effort to increase government coffers. Interesting enough, once the proposed items are adopted; theres no turning back, ever. This year the Minister of finance presented a budget that had a deficit of E2.98 billion. In short, the minister presented a budget that will need an excess funding of E2.98 billion. As to where this money will come from, one wonders, but I suppose some of the proposed measures will be the ones to cater for such. Also, understanding the current financial position of the country, I suppose it is safe to assume that the minister presented a budget that was on paper and no finances to back it up. The main reason it is easy to assume this is because government is still broke and the situation is dire. For instance, hospitals still do not have some of the much needed medicines, including the famous drip that is given to patients when they are admitted. The question that remains is where would the expected E19 billion come from if the situation is this dire? Economic growth One of the things that the minister mentions is the fact that the countrys economy has not been growing at the expected rate. In fact, it has been suborn, such that during the 2018/2019 financial year it is projected to have recorded a growth rate of -4 per cent. MANZINI Members of the public were treated to a rare scene as three men forcefully dragged an acting judge from his office and walked him for a kilometre to the police. The incident took place during broad daylight yesterday in Manzini and it started at Enguleni House, where the Acting Judge of the Industrial Court, Luke Malinga, who is also a lawyer, has his offices. According to an impeccable source, two men came into Malingas office and while they were talking to him, another man arrived and demanded an audience with him. The source said it was then that the third man found that his issue was similar to that of the men he found in the acting judges office, thus they teamed up. Monies The source said the issue was related to monies which were allegedly paid to the acting judge for land which was reportedly advertised in the print media. The men demanded that he refund them immediately as they still had not procured the land, alleged the source. The complainants said while they were arguing with Malinga inside his office, some men emerged from nowhere to try and calm the situation. However, they alleged that because of their tempers, which were high, it was difficult for the intervening men to stop them from escorting him out of his office. We had no other choice but to go to the police station so that the law enforcers would intervene, they said. They said as they walked through the jam-packed city of Manzini to the police station, the men who came to his office in a bid to ensure that tempers did not flare up, followed them until they reached the Manzini Police Regional Headquarters. Upon arrival, the complainants said they were directed to the fraud department where the matter was deliberated at a round table. Confirmed Meanwhile, Acting Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the matter. She said since the matter was not new to them, they decided to open a round table for the parties. She said it was agreed that Malinga and the complainants would meet back at the police station on March 15, to hopefully resolve the matter. It is worth noting that Malinga was one of the four acting judges, whom the Law Society of Eswatini (LSS) had issues over his appointment. MANZINI - The use of advanced proactive security system at KFC II in Manzini has seen the police foiling a robbery and instantly arresting a suspect. The attempted robbery took place at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) II, near the Manzini Bus Rank on Thursday at around 8:35pm. The alleged robber was arrested while trying to jump from the roof top of the building, which is about six metres from the ground. Abel Hlatshwayo, the Services Manager of Chakaza Security Services, a company which is manning the outlet, said it was 8:35pm when they picked up in their offices that the alarm security system at KFC was being tempered with. During that time, operations were going on as usual since the security guard, staff members and customers never heard or saw anything suspicious. He said they responded by calling their emergency response, technical team and police from the Manzini Bus Rank Police Post to the scene. Upon arriving at the scene, Hlatshwayo said without disturbing operations of the outlet inside, the security companys Superintendent Luke Dlamini and his team guarded the entry point to the roof, which is near the First National Bank (FNB) automated teller machine (ATM). Alarm Meanwhile, he said the police went inside to check the alarm system and indeed it was discovered that it had been tempered with. Thereafter, the services manager said the police and some members of their emergency response team climbed to the roof top of the shop and that was when they discovered that there was an opening. However, he said they did not find any suspect and they went back inside to search in the ceiling, but again did not find anyone. One officer, who was armed decided to go back to the roof and that was when he found a suspect running towards the edge of the building with the aim of jumping from the roof top, he said. However, he said the police officer drew his gun and ordered him to stop. When they searched around the shop, Hlatshwayo said they found a bag with a consignment of tools including gloves. balaclava When this publication arrived at the scene yesterday morning, it found Hlatshwayo and Dlamini inspecting the area and found a balaclava on the roof and a harness which was used to climb to the roof top of the building. On another note, Hlatshwayo said there were suspicions that the suspect was not working alone as there was a car which was parked by the shop and it sped off while they were searching the area. Meanwhile, Acting Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the matter. She said the police were still investigating the matter but one suspect had been arrested and charged with attempted robbery. It is worth noting that towards the end of December 2018, the same strategy of opening the roof to gain entry to a shop was used during a robbery, the suspects went away with slightly over E6 000 cash. It was gathered that even during that robbery, the suspect entered through the roof while operations were ongoing inside the store and they waited in the ceiling and eventually jumped down to the store and managed to break into one of two safes. MANZINI Have the striking Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) workers literally pulled the power plug? This is one of the questions which a number of EEC customers are asking themselves as the number of areas facing power outages are increasing despite the fact that the weather was not bad to cause such. The EEC workers strike started on Thursday and it was reliably gathered that following the industrial action, some areas around Mbabane experienced constant power cuts. Well-placed sources within the organisation, who, however, preferred to speak to this publication on condition of anonymity, revealed that yesterday, which was the second day of the workers strike action, the number of areas which experienced power outages increased rapidly. Blackout They said in some areas, the power was on and off while in others, there was a total electricity blackout. According to the insiders, the problem started in the capital city in areas including Thembelihle, Sandla and Eveni among others. However, they said during the day yesterday, the challenge spread across the country as the companys toll free line was flooded with calls reporting power outages. This is despite the fact that the weather is not that bad to cause so many power cuts across the country, they said. The sources maintained that even though it was raining in most parts of the country, there were no strong winds, lightning or thunder, which often resulted in many power cuts. Cuts In fact, the insiders were clear that the causes of the power cuts were still unknown. They said the organisation was left with unanswered questions regarding the power outages. It is worth noting that the insiders mentioned that it was somehow a coincidence that such unplanned power cuts were taking place when some workers were on strike. Meanwhile, some of the striking workers said they were aware that there were power cuts across the country and, according to their analysis; it was caused by the conventional rains. They argued that whenever there were rains, probabilities of having power cuts would be high and if not monitored, it would increase. In fact, in the morning (yesterday), we checked the system and learnt that already there were over 2 000 cases of power cuts across the country, said some of the striking workers. Attempts They claimed that the situation could get worse as the staff members who were reporting for duty could not deal with it on time, judging from their numbers. In fact, they alleged that their numbers were too small to make successful attempts in reconnecting the so many cases across the country. The striking EEC workers are organised under the banner of Swaziland Electricity Supply Maintenance and Allied Workers Union (SESMAWU). Their main grievance, which resulted to the industrial action, is the non implementation of Circular No.3, which was allegedly approved by government and the consultant. Enjoying They said the implementation of the circular was going to address issues of their salary alignment and bonuses, among other things. In fact, the workers alleged that management was allegedly enjoying the benefits of the circular, something which was supposed to happen to all the company structures. SESMAWU national executive committee (NEC) members asked not to comment about the matter. They claimed that they were only implementing what was resolved by the general membership. They also alleged that later yesterday, the workers allegedly asked to have their own meeting without the NEC and they took resolutions which the union leaders were not aware of. It is worth noting that the EEC strike is going on despite an interim court order stopping it. Urgent The order was issued by the Industrial Court of Eswatini after EEC filed an urgent application seeking an order to interdict the workers from congregating at the companys head office. A new interline agreement between Southern Airways and Condor will allow travelers from the area to purchase one low-fare ticket for travel from Franklin through Pittsburgh and into Frankfurt, Germany. By Trend The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan reacted to the statements made by Artur Vanetsyan, director of the National Security Service of Armenia, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Foreign Ministry. The Ministry noted that the fact that a high-ranking Armenian official spoke in this vein is a blatant attack against a years-long negotiating process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, contrary to its essence and logic, especially in light of the results of the last meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Paris. In essence, what we have here is an audacious attempt to undermine the negotiation process and challenge the activities of the co-chairs. On the other hand, this statement is another clear evidence of Armenias direct involvement in the occupation of Azerbaijani lands and a desire to somehow "justify" its plans of annexing these lands, including via an illegal immigration policy, which fundamentally contradicts the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols to them." "In connection with this, we would like to remind the aggressor country that it is precisely Armenia who is responsible for all possible negative consequences of such provocative statements. Azerbaijan, for its part, will raise this issue at the leading international organizations, including the UN, the OSCE, etc. At the same time, we urge the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to make a decisive statement principally condemning such steps by the representatives of the senior political leadership of Armenia," the Foreign Ministry said. 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. Kuwait is planning to create a $10-billion fund with China to invest in the two countries, reported Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Gulf state is discussing the creation of a Kuwait-China Silk Road Fund that would invest in Kuwaiti projects related to the Silk City and islands development, it stated. It could also be used for strategic investments in China and other areas under the Asian countrys One Belt, One Road initiative, said the report. China and Kuwait would each be responsible for raising around $5 billion for the fund, the people said. The Asian country would also work with Chinese strategic partners to arrange debt financing for projects, which could give the fund an investment capacity of as much as $30 billion, they added. Under the proposal, the funds Chinese backers could introduce strategic partners to work on its investment projects as contractors, said the Bloomberg report. Deliberations about the fund are at an early stage, and details like the size and investment targets could change, it stated. Kuwait is developing its northern region as it seeks to boost non-oil revenue and transform itself into a regional business hub by 2035, said the report. The multibillion-dollar Silk City project, which has been planned for more than a decade, is part of this goal, it added. Avivo Group, one of the fastest growing healthcare organisations in the GCC, is planning to expand its presence in the Gulf countries and North Africa amid growing opportunities and strong demand for healthcare services in these countries, said its top official. The group includes two highly reputed hospitals, 29 clinics including 10 high-end dental centres attached with sophisticated dental labs, six pharmacies and distribution centres besides two training centres and state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities across the UAE. It already has a strong presence in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Kuwait, but is still open to expanding in the region in months to come, said CEO Dr Dilshaad Ali during a media roundtable recently. "We are always on the growth path and keep looking to expand. We see the Middle East itself is growing, so our geographical expansion looks at Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman to a large extent and also looking into North Africa for the existing facilities and other new opportunities that come our way," Dr Ali said. According to him, the Avivo Group is also in discussion on some private-public partnerships in some countries. The group is also expanding its speciality line, which will include neuro-spinal, anti-ageing and some other key areas such as urology and advanced gastroenterology. Dr Dilshaad said the growth would come from hospital segment of the healthcare delivery system as the current state of the platform will have a robust referral network to fill-up future in-patient occupancies. We have launched a Centre of Excellence in Plastic Surgery run by resident and visiting doctors from the US and Europe. We also have plans to launch a global Rhinoplasty Centre of Excellence soon comprising with five best nose surgeons from around the world, noted Dr Ali. We have segmented our assets into low-end and mid-to-high end clinics. Some of our clinics are currently being transformed into speciality clinics offering surgical services that will help us in increasing our revenue base significantly, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), in its effort to enable subscribers who have not registered their prepaid SIM-cards, has extended the deadline by three more months to June 2. TRA warned that the failure to register within the specified period will result in suspension of the service on a temporary basis and further delay on the part of the customer will lead to final deactivation. This initiative is part of the Authoritys on-ongoing efforts to protect and safeguard subscribers from fraud and identity theft. TRA also called upon subscribers to visit their service providers and present verification documents to complete registration and avoid deactivation.-TradeArabia News Service Geneva/New York - High-level representatives from UN member states and international organizations gathered today at the United Nations Headquarters to celebrate the UN World Wildlife Day under the theme 'Life below water: for people and planet.' The benefits of marine and coastal resources are enormous. Over 3 billion people depend on these resources for their livelihoods globally. The market value of marine and coastal resources and related industries is estimated at US$3 trillion per year, about 5% of global GDP. Alarmingly, despite its critical importance, life below water faces many threats, amongst them an area of primary concern for CITES, which is their unsustainable exploitation for international trade. Over 30% of commercially exploited marine fish stocks are overfished. Jointly organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the event was attended by senior government officials, international organizations dealing with fisheries such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), conservation leaders, the private sector, celebrity advocates and youth representatives. The UN Secretary-General provided a message for World Wildlife Day 2019. The speakers and expert panelists shared with the audience their experiences and views on the crucial contributions of life below water to sustainable development as well as the challenges faced in ensuring its conservation and sustainable use, while highlighting solutions to address them. World Wildlife Day 2019, which falls on 3 March, focuses on marine species and aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 Life below water. It is an opportunity to raise awareness about the breathtaking diversity of marine wildlife, the benefits it brings to our everyday lives as well as ways to ensure that it can continue to do so for generations to come. CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero, said: This is the first World Wildlife Day that focuses on life below water. We are all striving to achieve the same objective of sustainability: for people and planet where wildlife, be it terrestrial or marine, can thrive in the wild while also benefiting people. We, here at CITES, will continue to work tirelessly to ensure international trade in CITES-listed marine species is legal, sustainable and traceable for people, planet and prosperity. 5 to 12 million tonnes of plastic now enter the ocean every year, threatening the health of countless species - from the smallest zooplankton to the largest whales. 90% of large predators have already been taken out of the ocean by overfishing, some 30% of fish stocks are overexploited, and over 500 hypoxic areas have become dead zones uninhabitable for most species, said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. To reverse this, a literal sea change is required in how we manage both ocean and land-based activities, across sectors ranging from fisheries to agriculture to waste management. FAO Assistant-Director General, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Arni M. Mathiesen, said: FAO welcomes the decision to focus on marine species at this years World Wildlife Day, as it builds on international recognition of the importance of conserving and sustainably using life under water. FAO and CITES continue to work jointly on CITES species listings, supporting countries and ensuring that decisions complement established fisheries management approaches worldwide. As part of the World Wildlife Day activities, the CITES Secretariat and UNDP partnered with the Jackson Hole WILD to organize the Living Oceans Film Showcase focusing on marine species. The Film Showcase aims is to galvanize the power of media to inspire wonder, catalyze change and move the dial on the conservation and sustainable use of marine species and highlight inspiring solutions. CITES and UNDP also partnered with the International Fund for Animal Welfare to organize an international youth art contest as an effort to engage school-aged children and help them build a sense of connection with the marine world. Winners of the Living Oceans Film Showcase and the youth art contest were announced during the high-level event at the UN Headquarters. For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact: CITES: Liu Yuan at +41 22 917 8130 or yuan.liu@cites.org FAO: Bryce Seockhwan Hwang, FAO-UN Liaison Office (New York), tel: (+1 917) 367-8242 e-mail: Seockhwan.hwang@un.org UNDP: Sangita Khadka at +1 212 906 5043 or sangita.khadka@undp.org About CITES With 183 Parties (182 countries + the European Union), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) remains one of the world's most powerful tools for wildlife conservation through the regulation of trade. Thousands of species are internationally traded and used by people in their daily lives for food, health care, housing, tourist souvenirs, cosmetics or fashion. CITES regulates international trade in over 36,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, to ensure their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment. The CITES permit system seeks to ensure that international trade in listed species is sustainable, legal and traceable. CITES was signed in Washington D.C. on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975. About UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, UNDP offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org. About FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all through productive and sustainable food production that makes sure that people have regular and sustained access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. Two killed in shooting incident in Moscow 08 Dec 2021 | 12:21 AM Moscow, Dec 7 (UNI/Xinhua) A man killed two people and injured three others in southeast Moscow on Tuesday before he was detained. see more.. 38 inmates died in prison fire in central Burundi 08 Dec 2021 | 12:20 AM Gitega, Dec 7 (UNI/Xinhua) At least 38 inmates died and 69 others were injured in a fire that happened at dawn on Tuesday in Gitega prison, in Gitega province, central Burundi, Burundian Vice President Prosper Bazombanza said at a press conference after a visit to the prison. see more.. Covid pandemic in human population ends, virus looking for new host among animals: Expert 08 Dec 2021 | 12:17 AM Moscow, Dec 7 (UNI/Sputnik) The coronavirus pandemic in the human population is ending, the virus is looking for a new "host" among animals, immunologist Vladislav Zhemchugov, an expert in especially dangerous infections, told Sputnik. see more.. Myanmar reports 367 new Covid 19 infections, tally rises to 525,005 08 Dec 2021 | 12:16 AM Yangon, Dec 7 (UNI/Xinhua) The number of Covid 19 cases has risen to 525,005 in Myanmar after 367 new Covid 19 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to a release from the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. see more.. Kathmandu, Mar 2 (UNI) At least 11 persons were killed and one person injured when a jeep in which they were traveling skidded off the highway and plunged onto Mahakali River bank in Duhu Rural Municipality in Darchula district of Western Nepal. "We recovered 11 dead bodies from the crash site and the rescue operation is underway in coordination with local authorities and residents," the police officer said from the crash site on Friday evening. The deceased include seven women, three men and a girl child, according to the police officer. The jeep driver, who was seriously injured in the incident, has been brought to India for further treatment, xinhua quoted the Nepali authorities as saying. The crash site is around 526 km west of Nepal's Capital Kathmandu. The ill-fated jeep was heading towards Duhu Rural Municipality from the Darchula district headquarters. The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained, authorities said. Over-speed, drunk-driving and ill maintained roads and vehicles are often taken as major causes of frequent road accidents in the Himalayan country. UNI XC JAL 0803 American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence as well as a slaveholder, was a man of many contradictions. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence as well as a slaveholder, was a man of many contradictions. The harsh public antagonism of the 1790s largely came to an end with the victory of the Democratic- Republicans in the 1800 election. "The Revolution of 1800," as Jefferson described his party's successful election many years later, was "as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 1776 was in its form." To Jefferson and his supporters, the defeat of the Federalists ended their attempt to lead America on a more conservative and less democratic course. Since the Federalists never again played a national political role after the defeat in 1800, it seems that most American voters of the era shared Jefferson's view. James Madison continued the line of Virginian presidents by succeeding Thomas Jefferson. James Madison continued the line of Virginian presidents by succeeding Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's election inaugurated a "Virginia dynasty" that held the presidency from 1801 to 1825. After Jefferson's two terms as president, he was followed by two other two-term Democratic-Republicans from Virginia, James Madison and James Monroe. Regular Democratic-Republican majorities in Congress supported their long rule. Political leaders and parties played a pivotal role shaping the new nation because they could serve as outlets for large numbers of people to express their opinions about issues of public significance. For Jefferson, the election of 1800 stands as a second revolution that protected and extended the gains achieved in the Revolution of 1776. Jefferson and his values serve as a useful organizing tool to think about the changes that America experienced in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Jeffersonian Democracy refers to an American ideal as well as to a remarkably successful political movement. At the heart of both meanings of the term lies the household farm worked by ordinary families. Jeffersonian America marked a victory for common farmers as both the ideal embodiment of the American citizen and as a practical reality of who voted. As a result Jeffersonian America required that new western farmlands be cultivated as an absolute necessity for the future of the republic. "Time indeed changes manners and notions, and so far we must expect institutions to bend to them. But time produces also corruption of principles, and against this it is the duty of good citizens to be ever on the watch, and if the gangrene is to prevail at last, let the day be kept off as long as possible." -Thomas Jefferson, 1821 "Time indeed changes manners and notions, and so far we must expect institutions to bend to them. But time produces also corruption of principles, and against this it is the duty of good citizens to be ever on the watch, and if the gangrene is to prevail at last, let the day be kept off as long as possible." -Thomas Jefferson, 1821 Although Jeffersonian Democracy remains a greatly celebrated American ideal, it is important to recall that in its own day, as well as today, it drew intense criticism. Federalists never again controlled national politics like they had in the 1790s, but they remained an important force in American life and offered deep criticism of many Jeffersonian developments. The federal government itself embraced this ongoing disagreement. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court throughout the Jeffersonian Era, John Marshall, was an ardent Federalist. Even while his political opponents controlled elected national office, Marshall consistently supported the supremacy of national power over the states. He led the court in establishing legal precedents to support this view. The most serious flaw in the "second revolution" of Jeffersonian America, however, came from its embrace of slavery. The party's national leaders were slave-owning elites who had no intention of including African-Americans in their broadened commitment to democracy. Jefferson probed the fundamental contradiction between slavery and democracy more eloquently than any American of the day. This led him to conclusions that were far less than revolutionary. Jefferson repeatedly acknowledged that slavery was wrong, but he never saw a way to eliminate the institution. To Jefferson, slavery meant holding "a wolf by the ears." It was a danger that could never be released. Most disturbingly of all, Jefferson could not imagine America as a place where free blacks and whites could live together. To him, a biracial society of equality would "produce convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of one or the other race." Jeffersonian America is a term that helps us enter the contested and deeply contradictory nature of the United States at the start of the 19th century. Grappling fully with its meaning requires the use of sophisticated analytical skills that assess both its strengths and its weaknesses. To merely celebrate or condemn, seeing one side, but not the other, is to judge without attempting to understand. Seeing how the best and the worst of Jeffersonian America were deeply intermixed, and continue to inform American life in our transformed circumstances of the 21st century, is among the most important purposes of historical inquiry. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 21a. The Importance of the West Sculpture by Rusty Talbot The presence of Sacajawea and her baby helped the Corps of Discovery prove during potentially hostile encounters with Native Americans that they were not a war party. The presence of Sacajawea and her baby helped the Corps of Discovery prove during potentially hostile encounters with Native Americans that they were not a war party. Land. Lots of land. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 intensified American migration to the west that was already well underway. Anglo-American settlement in the 18th century had largely been confined to the eastern seaboard. It made its boldest inroads where rivers allowed easy internal transportation. As a result the chief population centers of early North America were clustered on the coast or along its major inland waterways. In 1790 the fast-growing population of the United States was 3.9 million, but only 5% of Americans lived west of the Appalachian Mountains that run from Maine to Georgia. By 1820, however, the total U.S. population had already reached 9.6 million and fully 25 percent of them lived west of the Appalachians in nine new states and three territories. Cincinnati, in present-day southwest Ohio, provides a good example of the speed of western expansion during the early republic. Founded in 1788 as a fort to repel Shawnee and Miami Indian attacks, it served a chiefly military purpose until the major Indian defeat at Fallen Timbers in 1794. Soon thereafter, however, its location 450 miles downriver from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made it a strategic trade location for agricultural products from newly settled farm lands. Although its population was a modest 750 in 1800, by 1810 that figure had tripled and vastly larger numbers passed through Cincinnati on their way to settle the "Old Northwest" of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Conestoga wagons, most commonly found during a 100-year-span starting in 1750, carried everything from flour to furs, and became the symbol of settlers' journeys to the western frontier. Conestoga wagons, most commonly found during a 100-year-span starting in 1750, carried everything from flour to furs, and became the symbol of settlers' journeys to the western frontier. Western migration had become central to the American way of life and as much as two-thirds of all western families moved every decade. Interestingly, Cincinnati's most important trade connection was not with relatively nearby (but upriver) Pittsburgh, but instead lay 1500 miles south along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at the great port of New Orleans. The most efficient route to market remained along waterways and access to New Orleans remained crucial for the western economy and its settlement. This rapid population growth and geographic expansion caused a great deal of conflict. Native Americans in the west resisted American intrusion and fought renewed wars in the early 19th century. Furthermore, the expansion of plantation slavery beyond the coastal southeast meant that huge numbers of slaves were forcibly moved to new territories. In spite of these enormous human costs, the overwhelming majority of white Americans saw western expansion as a major opportunity. To them, access to western land offered the promise of independence and prosperity to anyone willing to meet the hardships of frontier life. U.S. Geological Survey By 1820, the United States had more than doubled in area to become one of the largest nations in the world. By 1820, the United States had more than doubled in area to become one of the largest nations in the world. Most politicians of the era believed that the health of the republic depended upon providing affordable land to ordinary white Americans. Among Jeffersonian Republicans most popular policies was an expansionist agenda that encouraged western development. This played an important part in cementing the Democratic-Republican party's strength in the south and west. Even among white settlers who benefited most from western migration, the expansion of the nation caused major alterations in American life. For instance, getting crops to market required improved transportation. States responded by giving charters to private companies to build roads (called turnpikes since they charged a fee), bridges, canals, or to operate ferry services. The state gave these companies special legal privileges because they provided a service that could benefit a wide segment of the population. The Pennsylvania turnpike started out as a 62-mile long log-paved road in the 1790s. The establishment of roads and canals, and later, railroads, was a critical factor in the settlement of the West. The Pennsylvania turnpike started out as a 62-mile long log-paved road in the 1790s. The establishment of roads and canals, and later, railroads, was a critical factor in the settlement of the West. Nevertheless, many people opposed these special benefits as contradicting republican notions of equal opportunity for all. These new transportation projects reshaped the American landscape, but the larger economic promise for most of the new western lands lay in the massive inland rivers of the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi, all of which ultimately flowed south to New Orleans. Long before newspaper editors such as John Soule and Horace Greeley were urging readers to "Go West, young man," Americans were doing exactly that. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 29. Manifest Destiny Library of Congress In the 1850s trains were leaving Washington for the West twice daily. In the 1850s trains were leaving Washington for the West twice daily. Expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century. Like the Massachusetts Puritans who hoped to build a "city upon a hill, "courageous pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean. Independence had been won in the Revolution and reaffirmed in the War of 1812. The spirit of nationalism that swept the nation in the next two decades demanded more territory. The "every man is equal" mentality of the Jacksonian Era fueled this optimism. Now, with territory up to the Mississippi River claimed and settled and the Louisiana Purchase explored, Americans headed west in droves. Newspaper editor John O'Sullivan coined the term "manifest destiny" in 1845 to describe the essence of this mindset. A symbol of Manifest Destiny, the figure "Columbia" moves across the land in advance of settlers, replacing darkness with light and ignorance with civilization. A symbol of Manifest Destiny, the figure "Columbia" moves across the land in advance of settlers, replacing darkness with light and ignorance with civilization. The religious fervor spawned by the Second Great Awakening created another incentive for the drive west. Indeed, many settlers believed that God himself blessed the growth of the American nation. The Native Americans were considered heathens. By Christianizing the tribes, American missionaries believed they could save souls and they became among the first to cross the Mississippi River. Economic motives were paramount for others. The fur trade had been dominated by European trading companies since colonial times. German immigrant John Jacob Astor was one of the first American entrepreneurs to challenge the Europeans. He became a millionaire in the process. The desire for more land brought aspiring homesteaders to the frontier. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the number of migrants increased even more. At the heart of manifest destiny was the pervasive belief in American cultural and racial superiority. Native Americans had long been perceived as inferior, and efforts to "civilize" them had been widespread since the days of John Smith and Miles Standish. The Hispanics who ruled Texas and the lucrative ports of California were also seen as "backward." In 1840, the entire southwestern corner of the United States was controlled by foreign powers (shown in orange), and the territorial dispute over the Oregon Territory (light green) had not been settled. By 1850 the U.S. had control of lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific, covering almost all of today's continental United States. In 1840, the entire southwestern corner of the United States was controlled by foreign powers (shown in orange), and the territorial dispute over the Oregon Territory (light green) had not been settled. By 1850 the U.S. had control of lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific, covering almost all of today's continental United States. Expanding the boundaries of the United States was in many ways a cultural war as well. The desire of southerners to find more lands suitable for cotton cultivation would eventually spread slavery to these regions. North of the Mason-Dixon line, many citizens were deeply concerned about adding any more slave states. Manifest destiny touched on issues of religion, money, race, patriotism, and morality. These clashed in the 1840s as a truly great drama of regional conflict began to unfold. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 2f. The House of Burgesses After his arrival in Jamestown in 1619, Governor George Yeardley immediately gave notice that the Virginia colony would establish a legislative assembly. This assembly, the General Assembly, first met on July 30, 1619. After his arrival in Jamestown in 1619, Governor George Yeardley immediately gave notice that the Virginia colony would establish a legislative assembly. This assembly, the General Assembly, first met on July 30, 1619. Although many differences separated Spain and France from England, perhaps the factor that contributed most to distinct paths of colonization was the form of their government. Spain and France had absolute monarchies, but Britain had a limited monarchy. In New France and New Spain, all authority flowed from the Crown to the settlers, with no input from below. More Information ... representative assembly Anis a state in which the monarch has sovereign power and controls all aspects of government without being checked by any representative assemblies.oris a state in which the power of the monarch is checked by other constitutionally sanctioned institutions, such as a(e.g., the British Parliament). The English kings who ruled the 13 original colonies reserved the right to decide the fate of their colonies as well, but not alone. The colonists drew upon their claims to traditional English rights and insisted on raising their own representative assemblies. Such was the case with the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first popularly elected legislative body in the New World. But forasmuch as men's affaires doe litle prosper where God's service is neglected, all the Burgesses tooke their places in the Quire till a prayer was said by Mr. Bucke, the Minister, that it would please God to guide and sanctifie all our proceedings to his own glory and the good of this Plantation ... The Speaker ... delivered in briefe to the whole assembly the occasions of their meeting. Which done he read unto them the commission for establishing the Counsell of Estate and the general Assembly, wherein their duties were described to the life ... And forasmuch as our intente is to establish one equall and uniforme kinde of government over all Virginia &c. John Pory, "A Reporte of the Manner of Proceeding in the General Assembly Convented at James City" (July 30, 1619) The Magna Carta The General Assembly (which later established the House of Burgesses), the first legislative assembly in the American colonies, held its first meeting in the choir at Jamestown Church in the summer of 1619. Its first order of business: setting a minimum price for the sale of tobacco. The General Assembly (which later established the House of Burgesses), the first legislative assembly in the American colonies, held its first meeting in the choir at Jamestown Church in the summer of 1619. Its first order of business: setting a minimum price for the sale of tobacco. English landowners had insisted on meeting with their leaders for consultation in local matters ever since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. Virginia settlers expected that same right. Modeled after the English Parliament, the General Assembly was established in 1619. In 1643 it became a bicameral body, establishing the House of Burgesses as one of its two chambers. Members would meet at least once a year with their royal governor to decide local laws and determine local taxation. House of Burgesses In April, 1619, Governor George Yeardley arrived in Virginia from England and announced that the Virginia Company had voted to abolish martial law and create a legislative assembly, known as the General Assembly the first legislative assembly in the American colonies. The General Assembly first met on July 30, 1619, in the church at Jamestown. Present were Governor Yeardley, Council, and 22 burgesses representing 11 plantations (or settlements) Burgesses were elected representatives. Only white men who owned a specific amount of property were eligible to vote for Burgesses. In 1643, the General Assembly became a bicameral body, establishing the democratically-elected House of Burgesses as its lower house, while the royally-appointed Council of State served as the upper house of the legislature. King James I, a believer in the divine right of monarchs, attempted to dissolve the assembly, but the Virginians would have none of it. They continued to meet on a yearly basis to decide local matters. Democracy in Practice What is the importance of a small legislative body formed so long ago? The tradition established by the House of Burgesses was extremely important to colonial development. Each new English colony demanded its own legislature in turn. Historians often ponder why the American Revolution was successful. The French, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions each ended with a rise to power of a leader more autocratic than the pre-revolutionary monarch. Famous Burgesses There have been hundreds of members of Virginia's House of Burgesses. Among the most famous are: Peyton Randolph, William Byrd, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Pendleton, and Patrick Henry. But starting with the Virginia General Assembly, Americans had 157 years to practice democracy. By the time of the Declaration of Independence, they were quite good at it. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 36a. Binding the Nation by Rail The transcontinental railway was completed with a jubilant celebration on May 10, 1869, when the rails connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads were joined at Promontory, Utah. The transcontinental railway was completed with a jubilant celebration on May 10, 1869, when the rails connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads were joined at Promontory, Utah. The locomotive was not an invention of the Gilded Age. Indeed Americans had traveled by rail in the decades that preceded the Civil War. But such travel was risky. Carlos Callejo This mural in El Paso County, TX, honors the thousands of Chinese workers who helped build the Southern Pacific Railroad and other transcontinental railroad systems. This mural in El Paso County, TX, honors the thousands of Chinese workers who helped build the Southern Pacific Railroad and other transcontinental railroad systems. Passengers often sat in the same room as a wood burner and had to be watchful of wayward sparks landing on their clothing. Braking systems were not always trustworthy. Several engines even exploded while trying to reach a destination. Traveling also represented a tremendous investment in time. Rail passengers often had to change trains frequently because the width between tracks varied from company to company. Such a journey could be uncomfortable, boring, and dangerous. Give Me a Brake After the Civil War many rail problems were solved. George Westinghouse invented the air brake and trains could stop more reliably as a result. Railroad firms agreed on a standard width between tracks to reduce transfers. The Pullman Car Company produced sleeper cars and dining cars to make travel more comfortable. The Transcontinental Railroad Soon after the railroad made its appearance in the U.S. in the 1830s, Americans dreamed of linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by rail. A transcontinental railroad would allow for settlement of the west, open new markets for eastern manufacturers, and bring relief to overcrowded eastern cities. Some even believed that it was divinely intended that Americans should control the whole of the continental U.S. In 1845, a Democratic journalist named John L. O'Sullivan coined the phrase "manifest destiny." Manifest Destiny "... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federaltive development of self government entrusted to us.... Steaming locomotives would hasten western settlement, spread democratic values, and increase the size of the United States (Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico etc., were not yet states, only territories). Western settlement was a paramount national interest. As such, the federal government awarded the contract to link the coasts by rail to two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. I've Been Working on the Railroad Union Pacific workers, many of whom were Irish and Chinese immigrants, started at Omaha, Nebraska, and hammered their way westward. From Sacramento, California, the Central Pacific made its way eastward with the assistance of thousands of Chinese immigrants. Those working on the railroad gave their sweat and sometimes their lives blasting through the often unforgiving terrain. Other dangers that workers faced were disease, searing summer heat, freezing temperatures in the mountains, Native American raids and the lawlessness and violence of pioneer towns. The Golden Spike The government declared that the two lines would merge at Promontory Summit near Ogden, Utah. On May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford, representing the Central Pacific Railroad, was provided the honor to hammer a golden spike into the ground that marked the completion of the coast-to-coast line. Celebrations erupted across the land. Even the Liberty Bell tolled once again to commemorate the occasion. Soon, other transcontinental lines were constructed and travel across the continent became worlds simpler, less expensive, and much faster, than by the old Conestoga wagon. On the Right Track The engineering achievement was monumental. The costs of the operation to railroads were enormous. Tens of thousands of workers had to be paid, sheltered, and fed. Tons of steel and wood were required. However, the economic incentives to railroads were enormus. The government offered generous loans to companies who were willing to assume the risk. The greatest reward was land. For each mile of track laid by the Central and Union Pacific Railroads, the companies received 640 acres of public land. In other rail projects, state governments often kicked in additional acres for a growing number of rail companies. The Interstate Commerce Commission All in all, the railroads received nearly 200 million acres of land from the U.S. government for fulfilling contracts. Directors of some railroads made fortunes. Foremost among the railroad tycoons were Cornelius Vanderbilt, James J. Hill, and Jay Gould. But freight railroad abuses grew rampant. Money lined the pockets of greedy public officials who awarded generous terms to the railroads. Railroad companies set their own shipping rates. Sometimes it was more expensive for a small farmer to ship goods to a nearby town than to a faraway city. Because the companies kept their rates secret, one farmer could be charged more than another for the same freight transport. To reduce competition, railroad companies established pools. These were informal arrangements between companies to keep rates above a certain level. Consequently, the public suffered. Finally, in 1887, Congress responded to public outcry by creating the Interstate Commerce Commission to watch over the rail industry. This was the nation's first regulatory agency. Due to inconcise wording in its enabling legislation, the ICC was largely ignored until the early 20th century. But the public also reaped great benefits. Eastern businessmen could now sell their goods to California citizens. As a result of improved transportation all Americans had access to more goods at a cheaper price. The westward movement was greatly accelerated. Those seeking a new start in life could much more easily "go west.". No industrial revolution can occur without a transport web. The nation was now bound together by this enormous network and its citizens were ready to reap the rewards. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 36b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller "What a Funny Little Government!" Cartoonist Horace Taylor pokes fun at John D. Rockefeller in this cartoon which appeared in The Verdict, a partisan magazine of the day. "What a Funny Little Government!" Cartoonist Horace Taylor pokes fun at John D. Rockefeller in this cartoon which appeared in, a partisan magazine of the day. He was America's first billionaire. In a pure sense, the goal of any capitalist is to make money. And John D. Rockefeller could serve as the poster child for capitalism. Overcoming humble beginnings, Rockefeller had the vision and the drive to become the richest person in America. At the turn of the century, when the average worker earned $8 to $10 per week, Rockefeller was worth millions. Robber Baron or Captain of Industry? John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) What was his secret? Is he to be placed on a pedestal for others as a "captain of industry?" Or should he be demonized as a "robber baron." A robber baron, by definition, was an American capitalist at the turn of the 19th century who enriched himself upon the sweat of others, exploited natural resources, or possessed unfair government influence. Whatever conclusions can be drawn, Rockefeller's impact on the American economy demands recognition. Rockefeller was born in 1839 in Moravia, a small town in western New York. His father practiced herbal medicine, professing to cure patients with remedies he had created from plants in the area. John's mother instilled a devout Baptist faith in the boy, a belief system he took to his grave. After being graduated from high school in 1855, the family sent him to a Cleveland business school. Young John Rockefeller entered the workforce on the bottom rung of the ladder as a clerk in a Cleveland shipping firm. Always thrifty, he saved enough money to start his own business in produce sales. When the Civil War came, the demand for his goods increased dramatically, and Rockefeller found himself amassing a small fortune. He took advantage of the loophole in the Union draft law by purchasing a substitute to avoid military service. When Edwin Drake discovered oil in 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Rockefeller saw the future. He slowly sold off his other interests and became convinced that refining oil would bring him great wealth. Waste Not... Rockefeller introduced techniques that totally reshaped the oil industry. In the mid-19th century, the chief demand was for kerosene. In the refining process, there are many by-products when crude oil is converted to kerosene. What others saw as waste, Rockefeller saw as gold. He sold one byproduct paraffin to candlemakers and another byproduct petroleum jelly to medical supply companies. He even sold off other "waste" as paving materials for roads. He shipped so many goods that railroad companies drooled over the prospect of getting his business. Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroads. He used all these methods to reduce the price of oil to his consumers. His profits soared and his competitors were crushed one by one. Rockefeller forced smaller companies to surrender their stock to his control. Standard Oil a Trust-worthy Company? John D. Rockefeller had to perform a delicate balancing act to maintain his reputation as a philanthropist while living the live of a wealthy businessman. John D. Rockefeller had to perform a delicate balancing act to maintain his reputation as a philanthropist while living the live of a wealthy businessman. This sort of arrangement is called a trust. A trust is a combination of firms formed by legal agreement. Trusts often reduce fair business competition. As a result of Rockefeller's shrewd business practices, his large corporation, the Standard Oil Company, became the largest business in the land. As the new century dawned, Rockefeller's investments mushroomed. With the advent of the automobile, gasoline replaced kerosene as the number one petroleum product. Rockefeller was a bona fide billionaire. Critics charged that his labor practices were unfair. Employees pointed out that he could have paid his workers a fairer wage and settled for being a half-billionaire. Before his death in 1937, Rockefeller gave away nearly half of his fortune. Churches, medical foundations, universities, and centers for the arts received hefty sums of oil money. Whether he was driven by good will, conscience, or his devout faith in God is unknown. Regardless, he became a hero to many enterprising Americans. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 47c. Intolerance As people from other nations began to pour into the United States, some Americans began to resent their presence and blame them for economic and social problems As people from other nations began to pour into the United States, some Americans began to resent their presence and blame them for economic and social problems Sometimes the battle got ugly. Old versus new was not a conscious topic to be discussed calmly at the nation's dinner tables. In an effort to preserve so-called true American values, the forces against change sometimes displayed intolerance ranging from restrictive legislation to outright violence. Immigrants from areas outside Northern and Western Europe became targets of narrow-mindedness. African Americans faced new threats from a resurgent Ku Klux Klan. Socialists, anarchists, and atheists beware! The message was simple and clear. Conform or else. Restricting Immigration Since the 1880s, America's shores were flooded with immigrants primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe. The old nativist arguments grew louder in the first two decades of the 20th century. Critics of an open immigration policy cried that America's racial stock was being overrun by undesirable ethnicities. Protestant fundamentalists worried as the numbers of Jewish and Catholic Americans grew larger. Labor leaders claimed that immigration lowered wages. As a result, Congress slowly built walls against the newcomers. The first line of defense was a literacy test, passed in 1917. The results were not as encouraging as the nativists had hoped. About 1.25 million immigrants still entered America in the first two years of the twenties. An outright cap on immigrant numbers was enacted in 1921. Ethnic nationalists claimed that these conditions favored Southern and Eastern immigrants too favorably. The result was the National Origins Act of 1924. This law based admission to America on nationality. Immigrants from Northern and Western Europe were granted higher quotas than from other parts of the world. Asian immigration was banned completely. As a sign of pan-Americanism, there were no restrictions placed on immigrants from the western hemisphere. Resurgence of the KKK By 1915, the Ku Klux Klan was almost dead. William Simmons of Atlanta, a history teacher at Lanier College, summoned a secret gathering on Stone Mountain on Thanksgiving Day. As the sun set, the participants massed around a burning cross and pledged once again to reassert white supremacy. The Klan grew slowly, boasting only about five thousand members in 1920. That year, Elizabeth Tyler and Edward Y. Clarke used their professional fundraising experience to boost the Klan's numbers. They raised membership dues and sold a great variety of Klan merchandise, including the infamous hoods and robes. Simmons is credited with much of the Klan terminology. Local chapters were called Klaverns, songs were called Klodes, and the leader was called the Imperial Wizard. By the middle of the decade there were an estimated 5 million Klansmen, with a significant women's auxiliary. This new Klan was national, particularly strong in the Midwest and South but powerful as far west as Oregon. The targets of this group went beyond African Americans. Catholics, Jews, and "non-Nordic" immigrants were victimized by the new reign of terror. Toward the end of the decade, corruption and sex scandals among the national leadership discredited the high and mighty message the Klan was trying to promote, and membership numbers sharply dropped. Membership in the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan peaked in 1924. Here, the Klan holds a rally in Williamson, West Virginia Membership in the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan peaked in 1924. Here, the Klan holds a rally in Williamson, West Virginia "Back to Africa" Movement The environment of intolerance and a new KKK prompted a drastic response by Marcus Garvey. Garvey believed that equality for African Americans could never be achieved in the United States. He formed the United Negro Improvement Association to promote economic cooperation among black businesses. Garvey made fiery speeches and created uniforms and flags to symbolize a new black pride. The ultimate goal for blacks across the world should be to return to the "Motherland." Only in Africa could a strong nation dedicated to promotion of black culture flourish. After amassing about 80,000 followers, Garvey founded the Black Star Steamship Company to begin transporting African Americans "back to Africa." Closely watched by government officials, Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 and deported to Jamaica. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial The intolerance of the decade is embodied in the murder trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These two self-avowed anarchists and atheists were arrested in April 1920 for two Massachusetts murders. From the start, it was clear their trial was not about the murders, but about their backgrounds and beliefs. The judge violated all semblance of impartiality by criticizing their political views in court. Their guilt or innocence remains uncertain, and the circumstantial evidence on which they were convicted was murky. The jury found them guilty, and after six years of delay, Sacco and Vanzetti were silenced permanently by the electric chair. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 55b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 Along with Agent Orange, the substance known as napalm was used to clear forest growth as well as inflict heavy damages upon North Vietnamese forces. Essentially gasoline in gel form, napalm was extremely flammable and resulted in devastating fires. Along with Agent Orange, the substance known as napalm was used to clear forest growth as well as inflict heavy damages upon North Vietnamese forces. Essentially gasoline in gel form, napalm was extremely flammable and resulted in devastating fires. It was David vs. Goliath, with U.S. playing Goliath. On August 2, 1964, gunboats of North Vietnam allegedly fired on ships of the United States Navy stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin. They had been sailing 10 miles off the coast of North Vietnam in support of the South Vietnamese navy. When reports that further firing occurred on August 4, President Johnson quickly asked Congress to respond. With nearly unanimous consent, members of the Senate and House empowered Johnson to "take all necessary measures" to repel North Vietnamese aggression. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave the President a "blank check" to wage the war in Vietnam as he saw fit. After Lyndon Johnson was elected President in his own right that November, he chose escalate the conflict. Operation Rolling Thunder In February 1965, the United States began a long program of sustained bombing of North Vietnamese targets known as Operation Rolling Thunder. At first only military targets were hit, but as months turned into years, civilian targets were pummeled as well. The United States also bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail, a supply line used by the North Vietnamese to aid the Vietcong. The trail meandered through Laos and Cambodia, so the bombing was kept secret from the Congress and the American people. More bombs rained down on Vietnam than the Allies used on the Axis powers during the whole of World War II. Additional sorties delivered defoliating agents such as Agent Orange and napalm to remove the jungle cover utilized by the Vietcong. The intense bombardment did little to deter the communists. They continued to use the Ho Chi Minh trail despite the grave risk. The burrowed underground, building 30,000 miles of tunnel networks to keep supply lines open. Ground Troops Often unable to see the enemy through the dense growth of Vietnam's jungles, the U.S. military sprayed a chemical herbicide known as "Agent Orange" in an attempt to destroy the trees. Currently, debate rages on whether or not exposure to this compound is responsible for disease and disability in many Vietnam veterans. Often unable to see the enemy through the dense growth of Vietnam's jungles, the U.S. military sprayed a chemical herbicide known as "Agent Orange" in an attempt to destroy the trees. Currently, debate rages on whether or not exposure to this compound is responsible for disease and disability in many Vietnam veterans. It soon became clear to General William Westmoreland, the American military commander, that combat troops would be necessary to root out the enemy. Beginning in March 1965, when the first American combat troops waded ashore at Danang, the United States began "search and destroy" missions. One of the most confounding problems faced by U.S. military personnel in Vietnam was identifying the enemy. The same Vietnamese peasant who waved hello in the daytime might be a VC guerrilla fighter by night. The United States could not indiscriminately kill South Vietnamese peasants. Any mistake resulted in a dead ally and an angrier population. Search and destroy missions were conducted by moving into a village and inspecting for any signs of Vietcong support. If any evidence was found, the troops would conduct a "Zippo raid" by torching the village to the ground and confiscating discovered munitions. Most efforts were fruitless, as the VC proved adept at covering their tracks. The enemy surrounded and confounded the Americans but direct confrontation was rare. The media played an important part in shaping the public's opinion towards the conflict in Vietnam. Television brought the horrors of war into millions of homes, as did photos like this one of a young Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm bombing. The media played an important part in shaping the public's opinion towards the conflict in Vietnam. Television brought the horrors of war into millions of homes, as did photos like this one of a young Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm bombing. By the end of 1965, there were American 189,000 troops stationed in Vietnam. At the end of the following year, that number doubled. Casualty reports steadily increased. Unlike World War II, there few major ground battles. Most Vietnamese attacks were by ambush or night skirmishes. Many Americans died by stepping on landmines or by triggering booby traps. Although Vietnamese body counts were higher, Americans were dying at rate of approximately 100 per week through 1967. By the end of that year there were nearly 500,000 American combat troops stationed in Vietnam. General Westmoreland promised a settlement soon, but the end was not in sight. American History 1. Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization a. Diversity of Native American Groups b. The Anasazi c. The Algonkian Tribes d. The Iroquois Tribes 2. Britain in the New World a. Early Ventures Fail b. Joint-Stock Companies c. Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time" d. The Growth of the Tobacco Trade e. War and Peace with Powhatan's People f. The House of Burgesses 3. The New England Colonies a. The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony b. William Bradford and the First Thanksgiving c. Massachusetts Bay "The City Upon a Hill" d. Puritan Life e. Dissent in Massachusetts Bay f. Reaching to Connecticut g. Witchcraft in Salem 4. The Middle Colonies a. New Netherland to New York b. Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey c. City of Brotherly Love Philadelphia d. The Ideas of Benjamin Franklin 5. The Southern Colonies a. Maryland The Catholic Experiment b. Indentured Servants c. Creating the Carolinas d. Debtors in Georgia e. Life in the Plantation South 6. African Americans in the British New World a. West African Society at the Point of European Contact b. "The Middle Passage" c. The Growth of Slavery d. Slave Life on the Farm and in the Town e. Free African Americans in the Colonial Era f. "Slave Codes" g. A New African-American Culture 7. The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking a. The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe b. The Great Awakening c. The Trial of John Peter Zenger d. Smuggling e. A Tradition of Rebellion f. "What Is the American?" 8. America's Place in the Global Struggle a. New France b. The French and Indian War c. George Washington's Background and Experience d. The Treaty of Paris (1763) and Its Impact 9. The Events Leading to Independence a. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 b. The Stamp Act Controversy c. The Boston Patriots d. The Townshend Acts e. The Boston Massacre f. The Tea Act and Tea Parties g. The Intolerable Acts 10. E Pluribus Unum a. Stamp Act Congress b. Sons and Daughters of Liberty c. Committees of Correspondence d. First Continental Congress e. Second Continental Congress f. Thomas Paine's Common Sense g. The Declaration of Independence 11. The American Revolution a. American and British Strengths and Weaknesses b. Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots c. Lexington and Concord d. Bunker Hill e. The Revolution on the Home Front f. Washington at Valley Forge g. The Battle of Saratoga h. The French Alliance i. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris 12. Societal Impacts of the American Revolution a. The Impact of Slavery b. A Revolution in Social Law c. Political Experience d. "Republican Motherhood" 13. When Does the Revolution End? a. The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy b. The War Experience: Soldiers, Officers, and Civilians c. The Loyalists d. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Slavery e. Revolutionary Changes and Limitations: Women f. Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans g. Revolutionary Achievement: Yeomen and Artisans h. The Age of Atlantic Revolutions 14. Making Rules a. State Constitutions b. Articles of Confederation c. Evaluating the Congress d. The Economic Crisis of the 1780s 15. Drafting the Constitution a. Shays' Rebellion b. A Cast of National Superstars c. The Tough Issues d. Constitution Through Compromise 16. Ratifying the Constitution a. Federalists b. Antifederalists c. The Ratification Process: State by State d. After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" e. The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat 17. George Washington a. Growing up in Colonial Virginia b. The Force of Personality and Military Command c. The First Administration d. Farewell Address e. Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder 18. Unsettled Domestic Issues a. The Bill of Rights b. Hamilton's Financial Plan c. Growing Opposition d. U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West e. Native American Resilience and Violence in the West 19. Politics in Transition: Public Conflict in the 1790s a. Trans-Atlantic Crisis: The French Revolution b. Negotiating with the Superpowers c. Two Parties Emerge d. The Adams Presidency e. The Alien and Sedition Acts f. The Life and Times of John Adams 20. Jeffersonian America: A Second Revolution? a. The Election of 1800 b. Jeffersonian Ideology c. Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase d. A New National Capital: Washington, D.C. e. A Federalist Stronghold: John Marshall's Supreme Court f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800 21. The Expanding Republic and the War of 1812 a. The Importance of the West b. Exploration: Lewis and Clark c. Diplomatic Challenges in an Age of European War d. Native American Resistance in the Trans-Appalachian West e. The Second War for American Independence f. Claiming Victory from Defeat 22. Social Change and National Development a. Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution b. Cotton and African-American Life c. Religious Transformation and the Second Great Awakening d. Institutionalizing Religious Belief: The Benevolent Empire e. New Roles for White Women f. Early National Arts and Cultural Independence 23. Politics and the New Nation a. The Era of Good Feelings and the Two-Party System b. The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy c. The Missouri Compromise d. The 1824 Election and the "Corrupt Bargain" e. John Quincy Adams f. Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America 24. The Age of Jackson a. The Rise of the Common Man b. A Strong Presidency c. The South Carolina Nullification Controversy d. The War Against the Bank e. Jackson vs. Clay and Calhoun f. The Trail of Tears The Indian Removals 25. The Rise of American Industry a. The Canal Era b. Early American Railroads c. Inventors and Inventions d. The First American Factories e. The Emergence of "Women's Sphere" f. Irish and German Immigration 26. An Explosion of New Thought a. Religious Revival b. Experiments with Utopia c. Women's Rights d. Prison and Asylum Reform e. Hudson River School Artists f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy 27. The Peculiar Institution a. The Crowning of King Cotton b. Slave Life and Slave Codes c. The Plantation & Chivalry d. Free(?) African-Americans e. Rebellions on and off the Plantation f. The Southern Argument for Slavery 28. Abolitionist Sentiment Grows a. William Lloyd Garrison and The Liberator b. African-American Abolitionists c. The Underground Railroad d. Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin 29. Manifest Destiny a. The Lone Star Republic b. 54 40' or Fight c. "American Blood on American Soil" d. The Mexican-American War e. Gold in California 30. An Uneasy Peace a. Wilmot's Proviso b. Popular Sovereignty c. Three Senatorial Giants: Clay, Calhoun and Webster d. The Compromise of 1850 31. "Bloody Kansas" a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act b. Border Ruffians c. The Sack of Lawrence d. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre e. Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner 32. From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict a. The Dred Scott Decision b. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates c. John Brown's Raid d. The Election of 1860 e. The South Secedes 33. A House Divided a. Fort Sumter b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South c. First Blood and Its Aftermath d. Sacred Beliefs e. Bloody Antietam f. Of Generals and Soldiers g. Gettysburg: High Watermark of the Confederacy h. Northern Plans to End the War i. The Road to Appomattox 34. The War Behind the Lines a. The Emancipation Proclamation b. Wartime Diplomacy c. The Northern Homefront d. The Southern Homefront e. The Election of 1864 f. The Assassination of the President 35. Reconstruction a. Presidential Reconstruction b. Radical Reconstruction c. A President Impeached d. Rebuilding the Old Order 36. The Gilded Age a. Binding the Nation by Rail b. The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller c. The New Tycoons: Andrew Carnegie d. The New Tycoons: J. Pierpont Morgan e. New Attitudes Toward Wealth f. Politics of the Gilded Age 37. Organized Labor a. The Great Upheaval b. Labor vs. Management c. Early National Organizations d. American Federation of Labor e. Eugene V. Debs and American Socialism 38. From the Countryside to the City a. The Glamour of American Cities b. The Underside of Urban Life c. The Rush of Immigrants d. Corruption Runs Wild e. Religious Revival: The "Social Gospel" f. Artistic and Literary Trends 39. New Dimensions in Everyday Life a. Education b. Sports and Leisure c. Women in the Gilded Age d. Victorian Values in a New Age e. The Print Revolution 40. Closing the Frontier a. The Massacre at Sand Creek b. Custer's Last Stand c. The End of Resistance d. Life on the Reservations e. The Wounded Knee Massacre 41. Western Folkways a. The Mining Boom b. The Ways of the Cowboy c. Life on the Farm d. The Growth of Populism e. The Election of 1896 42. Progressivism Sweeps the Nation a. Roots of the Movement b. Muckrakers c. Women's Suffrage at Last d. Booker T. Washington e. W. E. B. DuBois 43. Progressives in the White House a. Teddy Roosevelt: The Rough Rider in the White House b. The Trust Buster c. A Helping Hand for Labor d. Preserving the Wilderness e. Passing the Torch f. The Election of 1912 g. Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom 44. Seeking Empire a. Early Stirrings b. Hawaiian Annexation c. "Remember the Maine!" d. The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences e. The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America f. Reaching to Asia g. The Panama Canal 45. America in the First World War a. Farewell to Isolation b. Over There c. Over Here d. The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations 46. The Decade That Roared a. The Age of the Automobile b. The Fight Against "Demon Rum" c. The Invention of the Teenager d. Flappers e. The Harlem Renaissance f. A Consumer Economy g. Radio Fever h. Fads and Heroes 47. Old Values vs. New Values a. The Red Scare b. The Monkey Trial c. Intolerance d. Books and Movies e. Domestic and International Politics 48. The Great Depression a. The Market Crashes b. Sinking Deeper and Deeper: 1929-33 c. The Bonus March d. Hoover's Last Stand e. Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression 49. The New Deal a. A Bank Holiday b. Putting People Back to Work c. The Farming Problem d. Social Security e. FDR's Alphabet Soup f. Roosevelt's Critics g. An Evaluation of the New Deal 50. The Road to Pearl Harbor a. 1930s Isolationism b. Reactions to a Troubled World c. War Breaks Out d. The Arsenal of Democracy e. Pearl Harbor 51. America in the Second World War a. Wartime Strategy b. The American Homefront c. D-Day and the German Surrender d. War in the Pacific e. Japanese-American Internment f. The Manhattan Project g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb 52. Postwar Challenges a. The Cold War Erupts b. The United Nations c. Containment and the Marshall Plan d. The Berlin Airlift and NATO e. The Korean War f. Domestic Challenges 53. The 1950s: Happy Days a. McCarthyism b. Suburban Growth c. Land of Television d. America Rocks and Rolls e. The Cold War Continues f. Voices against Conformity 54. A New Civil Rights Movement a. Separate No Longer? b. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott c. Showdown in Little Rock d. The Sit-In Movement e. Gains and Pains f. Martin Luther King Jr. g. The Long, Hot Summers h. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam i. Black Power 55. The Vietnam War a. Early Involvement b. Years of Escalation: 1965-68 c. The Tet Offensive d. The Antiwar Movement e. Years of Withdrawal 56. Politics from Camelot to Watergate a. The Election of 1960 b. Kennedy's New Frontier c. Kennedy's Global Challenges d. Kennedy Assassination e. Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" f. 1968: Year of Unraveling g. Triangular Diplomacy: U.S., USSR, and China 57. Shaping a New America a. Modern Feminism b. The Fight for Reproductive Rights c. The Equal Rights Amendment d. Roe v. Wade and Its Impact e. Environmental Reform f. Others Demand Equality g. Student Activism h. Flower Power 58. A Time of Malaise a. Undoing a President b. The Sickened Economy c. Foreign Woes d. Finding Oneself e. The New Right 59. The Reagan Years a. "Morning in America" b. Reaganomics c. Foreign and Domestic Entanglements d. Life in the 1980s e. The End of the Cold War 60. Toward a New Millennium a. Operation Desert Storm b. A Baby Boomer in the White House c. Republicans vs. Democrats d. Living in the Information Age e. The End of the American Century 55e. Years of Withdrawal The unspeakable horror of the 1968 My Lai massacre was not revealed to the American public until investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published his findings in November, 1969. According to troops who either witnessed or took part in the massacre, orders had been given "to destroy My Lai and everything in it." Over 300 civilians were killed and the village itself was burned to the ground. The unspeakable horror of the 1968 My Lai massacre was not revealed to the American public until investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published his findings in November, 1969. According to troops who either witnessed or took part in the massacre, orders had been given "to destroy My Lai and everything in it." Over 300 civilians were killed and the village itself was burned to the ground. President Nixon had a plan to end American involvement in Vietnam. By the time he entered the White House in 1969, he knew the American war effort was failing. Greater military power may have brought a favorable outcome, but there were no guarantees. And the American people were less and less willing to support any sort of escalation with each passing day. Immediate American withdrawal would amount to a defeat of the noncommunist South Vietnamese allies. Nixon announced a plan later known as Vietnamization. The United States would gradually withdraw troops from Southeast Asia as American military personnel turned more and more of the fighting over to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In theory, as the South Vietnamese became more able to defend themselves, United States soldiers could go home without a communist takeover of Saigon. Troop withdrawals did little to placate the antiwar movement. Demonstrators wanted an immediate and complete departure. Events in Vietnam and at home gave greater strength to the protesters. In the spring of 1970, President Nixon announced a temporary invasion of neighboring Cambodia. Although Cambodia was technically neutral, the Ho Chi Minh trail stretched through its territory. Nixon ordered the Viet Cong bases located along the trail to be bombed. Kent State and My Lai Massacres Peace advocates were enraged. They claimed that Nixon was expanding the war, not reducing it as promised. Protests were mounted across America. At Kent State University, students rioted in protest. The burned down the ROTC building located on campus, and destroyed local property. The governor of Ohio sent the National Guard to maintain order. A state of high tension and confusion hung between the Guard and the students. Several soldiers fired their rifles, leading to deaths of four students and the wounding of several others. This became known as the Kent State massacre. This B-52 bomber in the background of this photo downed during bombing in 1968 sits in a small pond in Hanoi. Busy markets surround the fallen plane and the site has become a popular tourist destination. This B-52 bomber in the background of this photo downed during bombing in 1968 sits in a small pond in Hanoi. Busy markets surround the fallen plane and the site has become a popular tourist destination. The following year the American public learned about the My Lai massacre. In 1968, American soldiers opened fire on several hundred women and children in the tiny hamlet of My Lai. How could this happen? It was not unusual for Viet Cong guerilla activity to be initiated from small villages. Further, U.S. troops were tired, scared, and confused. At first the Lieutenant who had given the order, William L. Calley, Jr., was declared guilty of murder, but the ruling was later overturned. Moral outrage swept through the antiwar movement. They cited My Lai as an example of how American soldiers were killing innocent peasants. The Pentagon Papers In 1971, the New York Times published excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret overview of the history of government involvement in Vietnam. A participant in the study named Daniel Ellsberg believed the American public needed to know some of the secrets, so he leaked information to the press. The Pentagon Papers revealed a high-level deception of the American public by the Johnson Administration. The North Vietnamese Army captured Saigon in April, 1975, and renamed the capital Ho Chi Minh City. It was at this time that the last remaining American personnel in Vietnam were forced to flee. The North Vietnamese Army captured Saigon in April, 1975, and renamed the capital Ho Chi Minh City. It was at this time that the last remaining American personnel in Vietnam were forced to flee. Many statements released about the military situation in Vietnam were simply untrue, including the possibility that even the bombing of American naval boats in the Gulf of Tonkin might never have happened. A growing credibility gap between the truth and what the government said was true caused many Americans to grow even more cynical about the war. By December 1972, Nixon decided to escalate the bombing of North Vietnamese cities, including Hanoi. He hoped this initiative would push North Vietnam to the peace table. In January 1973, a ceasefire was reached, and the remaining American combat troops were withdrawn. Nixon called the agreement "peace with honor," but he knew the South Vietnamese Army would have difficulty maintaining control. The North soon attacked the South and in April 1975 they captured Saigon. Vietnam was united into one communist nation. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Cambodia and Laos soon followed with communist regimes of their own. The United States was finally out of Vietnam. But every single one of its political objectives for the region met with failure. Over 55,000 Americans perished fighting the Vietnam War. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Bertha Dupre, then 87, shares a laugh with a classmate at UNC Charlotte in 2008. Dupre died in December but will get a military veterans funeral at Salisbury National Cemetery in March. Chinas artificial intelligence industry has reportedly created a robot wife thanks to support from the Chinese Community Party (CCP). While some say that the AI wife might provide much-needed companionship to the excess male population of the country, there are those who see the development as a moral decline of Chinese society. AI wife The robot wife is said to have five unique features. These include an exquisite appearance, skin that looks life-like, body temperature consistent with normal human beings, the ability to help with housework, and the ability to hold intelligent conversations. The AI wife will cost around US$3,000 and can be customized as per the needs of the buyer. The robot is currently in development, with researchers adding in new features. In the future, it is hoped that the machine will not only be a tool to fulfill physiological needs of the buyer but also provide true companionship. Some Chinese scholars are of the view that the AI wife will help in solving the problem of single, unmarried males in the country. Since China followed a one-child policy for several decades, most couples had chosen to give birth to male children while aborting females. This created an imbalance in the male-female ratio in China, with the country having a surplus of millions of men. Plus, the fact that many modern women choose to live unmarried seems to exacerbate the issue. The AI wife is seen as a way out of the problem. Moral complications Many are concerned about the AI wife project and argue that replacing human-human relationships with human-machine relationships will only cause degeneration of Chinese society. Some netizens have termed the robot as a beautiful zombie. Moral complications arising from the machine will have some serious consequences. If the CCP were to mass manufacture AI wives and men were to buy them in large numbers, what would happen to real women and more importantly, the perception of women? There is a risk that the use of the robot might make men see women only as objects that are replaceable. Religious adherents also abhor the idea of a robot being given the same status as a human female. They perceive the technology as a violation of the natural order. Some warn that the CCP must abandon its mindless pursuit of gaining technological dominance at the cost of human morality. Any scientific invention that violates the moral base of human beings is tantamount to bringing catastrophic destruction to humans, Li Yuanhua, an associate professor at the School of Education and Science at Capital Normal University, said to The Epoch Times. There are also those who are wary of the robot since it is being supported by the CCP. Given that the Chinese regime has always sought to gain absolute control over peoples lives, this is not surprising. After all, installing such robots in homes would allow the CCP to monitor people 247. If the robot is equipped with any defense or attack mechanisms, it might also help the Chinese regime keep people under control when required, turning China into a nightmarish techno-prison. Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly email The state of California might soon be devastated by a mega-storm that produces precipitation at levels only experienced once every 500 to 1,000 years. Experts have named it the ARkStorm, short for Atmospheric River 1000, to signify that it is a one in a thousand-year mega event. Mega-storm According to a report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, floods resulting from the storm could displace more than 1.5 million people in Los Angeles. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the ARkStorm could end up causing damage to the tune of US$725 billion statewide. Thousands of square miles of agricultural and urban land could be flooded. This would result in numerous landslides and a complete disruption of lifelines throughout the entire state for several weeks. The historical data suggests that such a storm would be fueled by an atmospheric river thats what the AR in ARkStorm stands for a huge stream of water vapor that floats a mile above the Earths surface. After these rivers of water vapor are generated over the warm, moist Pacific Ocean, they travel across the globe, causing severe flooding and especially so on Americas West Coast, according to Inverse. The ARkStorm need not be a single storm. Instead, it could be a series of storms that could have a cumulatively destructive effect on the region. The last time a storm of this magnitude hit California was in December 1861. Intense storms lashed the state for a period of 45 days. Hundreds of people and tens of thousands of cattle were killed in the storms. Los Angeles received a record 36 inches of rain. Sacramento essentially became an inland sea, while the Central Valley could only be crossed by boat. The government of California had to temporarily shift to San Francisco. Neighboring states like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah also saw massive flooding. Though it cannot be predicted exactly when the storm will hit California, experts confirm that it is plausible, perhaps inevitable. A newer study suggests the chances of seeing another flood of that magnitude over the next 40 years are about 50-50, Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, said to the Los Angeles Times. Research into geologic records of the region has shown that six storms with the same intensity as the 1861 one have occurred in California over the past 1,800 years. The USGS has warned the state to update its infrastructure. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called for US$600 million from the federal government to upgrade the Whittier Narrows Dam since the structure could fail if hit by an ARkStorm. Storm preparation Fresno County has already begun work to ensure that they are in a position to deal with the mega-storm when it hits. Friant Dam, Millerton Lake, and the canal systems are said to be in good enough condition to take care of serious storms. Weve checked all records, the one hundred years, and it says the largest 48-hour storm on record, a two-day storm, is about three inches of rain. So if we have that capacity in the basin, we think we are at least prepared for the largest 48-hour storm. If it continues to rain, then yeah, we might look to have some problems, Alan Hofmann, General Manager of the Metropolitan Flood Control District, said to ABC 30. Since the district has extensive ponding basins and pumps, they provide an excellent margin of safety for the residents in the region. Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our weekly email Is Saudis crown prince looking for new allies with his latest tour of Asia? Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received some very warm welcomings on his most recent trip to Asia, while the West, according to mass media statements, is still shunning him. In Pakistan, the kingdoms de facto leader was met by a 21-gun salute and fighter jet escort, and gifted a golden submachine gun. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke protocol by greeting the 33-year-old prince on the tarmac and giving him a giant bear hug. In China, he was able to pose for a photograph with President Xi Jinping, one of the most powerful leaders in the world. Many who follow the currently very lively stage play geopolitical theatrics are wondering what the so intimate embrace of Saudi Arabias crown prince is supposed to tell the world. Could this be a fragmental foreshadowing of the future major players in the silk road initiative planning to open shop in the near future? Or does it have to do more with the Saudi Princes hope to nurture alliances in Asia, as the murder of a Saudi dissident and the Saudi-led war in Yemen continue to rattle the kingdoms relations with the U.S. and European powers? According to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was angered by Western criticism, he will seek diplomatic support from Asian powers, including China and India, his senior Saudi government advisors told the media. According to analysts, relations with the Asian countries on his recent trip could reduce his international isolation and allow him to reassert his influence abroad. Each country on the tour offers strategic and investment opportunities for Saudi Arabia. A change of color Before the falling-out with the West over the killing by Saudi operatives of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, which U.S. intelligence assumed was probably ordered by Prince Mohammed, the Saudi Royal toured through the U.S. in March and April 2018 on what some call an introductory roadshow in which the Saudi royal spent some time with Trump and dignitaries like Oprah Winfrey and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. U.S. lawmakers later held up sanctions against the Saudi-Royals Kingdom, regarding the Saudi-led war in Yemen, whereby they ordered the removal of U.S. armed forces that had been deployed to aid in the conflict. The strategic purpose of the trip Pakistan and India Visits by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince- Analysed: https://t.co/z7pBWgLOHw IndianDefenceReview (@DefenceReview) February 26, 2019 The tour kicked off in Pakistan on Sunday where hopes are big that the Saudi Prince will leave a few billion dollars to mend the growing economic crisis. Of course, oil will also be a part of the negotiations. Along the way, he may also have a chance to foster an atomic energy deal. In China, Prince Mohammed is scheduled to meet some of the regime leaders, as the country is also a large customer for oil and gas. As Beijing invests more into its infrastructure and trade to further grow its influence throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, Saudi Arabia remains one of Chinas biggest supplier of crude oil behind Russia, according to Worldstpexports. Sudi Crown Prince Concludes Asia tour in Beijing https://youtu.be/Q8C4YVIGtmo India imports 20 percent of its oil from the kingdom and has already sent 2.7 million expatriates to live and work in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Prince is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia to inaugurate a petrochemical refinery and complex built in the southern state of Johor, according to Malaysian officials. If all goes well for Indonesia, the nation may finally see its push for larger investment ties with Saudi Arabia grow fruit. Though Saudi Arabia has pledged to invest billions of dollars to upgrade and expand the Indonesian refinery, the deals have yet to show any sight of progress. Follow us on Twitter, or sign up to our weekly email Inauguration of the Mark Dellipiani Palliative Care Unit The Minister for Health, Care and Justice, Neil F. Costa MP officially inaugurated the new Mark Dellipiani Palliative Care Unit at St Bernards Hospital, together with the family of the late Major Dellipiani and in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia MP. The expansion and relocation of the Unit, now based on the second floor at St Bernards Hospital, follows the Government's recent agreement with Cancer Relief Gibraltar for the provision of additional hospice care at home and palliative care support for terminally ill cancer patients. Since Mark lost his battle to cancer in 2017, members of his family have met with the Health Minister and GHA officials, forming a constructive relationship, whereby they have offered their experiences with the GHA during Marks illness. Marks sister, Ms Gillaine Dellipiani has represented his family during the collaboration, whilst also engaging with other patients, with the aim of highlighting areas for improvement and development within the GHA. In recognition of the appreciation of the GHA of Ms Dellipianis efforts to collaborate with the GHA, and, to honour the life of Mark, the GHA decided it would be fitting to name the expanded palliative care unit after him. Following the inauguration, Director of Nursing Services, Ms Sandie Gracia said: I am glad we will now enhance a co-ordinated holistic approach to cater to individual patient care needs that will support patients both in the community as well as in a hospital setting. The GHAs Medical Director, Dr Daniel Cassaglia commented I am extremely proud that the GHA has the opportunity to honour Major Mark Dellipiani in this way. We are very grateful for the contribution Mark and his family have made to improvements in care at the GHA which will undoubtedly benefit many other patients. Marks role in advocating for the expansion of palliative care services will be long remembered. Minister Costa added: The feedback that Marks family have expressed of their experiences with the GHA, as well as those of other members of our community, provides a valuable personal and intimate perspective of our services. Marks experiences of the GHA, as well as those of his family, have formed the basis of various improvements and reforms throughout our health services. I wish to sincerely thank Ms Dellipiani and Marks family for engaging my Ministry and different GHA teams and sharing their experiences through such difficult times. As I never tire of saying, the GHA belongs to all of us and must serve our community with excellence, compassion and safety. It is a real pleasure to officially inaugurate the new Palliative Care Unit in memory of their dearly loved, and my friend, Mark. The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said that it was a genuine privilege to be present for the opening of the unit in honour of Marks memory both as a member of the Government and as a family friend. Technical Notice No Deal Brexit Unilateral Spanish contingency measures In November, the European Union and the United Kingdom concluded the terms of an agreement for the orderly departure of the UK from the European Union. Gibraltar was part of that agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement includes a transitional phase until the end of 2020, which also covers Gibraltar. This agreement is subject to ratification by the UK Parliament and by the European Parliament. In the meantime, planning continues for the eventuality that the UK and Gibraltar leave the European Union without this agreement on 29 March 2019. Contingency measures announced in Spain The Government of the Kingdom of Spain announced a series of unilateral contingency measures yesterday which will take effect in the event of a no deal Brexit in respect of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. The legislation is expected to be approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers and by the Parliament. The statement issued by the Spanish Presidency makes it clear that these measures will apply to British nationals and economic operators established in Gibraltar. This will serve to protect the close economic relationship between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar. It will serve to provide a degree of reassurance to citizens and businesses in Gibraltar and in Spain. The legislation will be unilateral and of a temporary nature, given that the future relationship will be defined once the United Kingdom becomes a third country. It covers a number of different areas. 1. RESIDENCY The residency rights acquired by British nationals and their families who live in Spain prior to the date of withdrawal will be safeguarded. 2. FRONTIER WORKERS British frontier workers who work in Spain but live elsewhere will have their rights protected. 3. RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS There will be continued recognition of professional qualifications obtained in the UK by British and Spanish nationals who are in Spain prior to the date of withdrawal. 4. EXEMPTION FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT UK nationals will continue to be exempt from nationality requirements in the field of public employment, provided that they are already practicing a profession in Spain at the date of withdrawal. 5. SOCIAL SECURITY COORDINATION Measures dealing with social security coordination will be applied to complement those adopted at EU level. 6. ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE This will continue as at present for British nationals who live in Spain or who travel to Spain, including holidaymakers, until the end of 2020. 7. ACCESS TO SPANISH UNIVERSITIES There will be continued access to Spanish universities for students from the education system in the UK and Gibraltar on the same basis as before EU exit for the academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. 8. ECOMONIC MEASURES (a) Financial Services Financial services measures aimed to support those already adopted at EU level providing for contracts to remain in force. (b) Customs Measures relevant to the UKs departure from the Customs Union. Possibility of bringing forward certain Customs procedures in order to avoid congestion in the first few days after the UKs EU exit. A simplified procedure for goods that would require to go through a Border Inspection point or Phytosanitary inspection point. (c) Continued application of EU public procurement rules for British bidders participating in Spanish procurement procedures initiated before the date of withdrawal. 9. DRIVING LICENCES Matters related to authorisations and licenses. Specifically in relation to driving licences these will continue to be recognised as valid in Spain for a period of 9 months. For those touring on holiday in Spain after that period, licenses will be recognised in accordance with applicable international conventions. 10. ROAD TRANSPORT Measures concerning road transport to complement those that the EU proposes to adopt. 11. AIR TRANSPORT Maintaining for one year rules concerning public services and catering services applicable in the EEA for flights to the UK. 12. JUDICIAL AND POLICE COOPERATION Measures facilitating the handling of ongoing procedures in respect of European Arrest Warrants, the surrender and transfer of prisoners. 13. GIBRALTAR In general terms, these measures will apply also to British nationals and established economic operators based in Gibraltar. It is expected that the full text and detail of the measures covered by the announcement will be published shortly. Deputy Chief Minister Briefs MEP Assistants The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia has told a visiting group of MEP Assistants that the European Union has let people in Gibraltar down even though 96% voted to remain in the referendum of June 2016. The Assistants are here as part of the regular visits organised by the Government to increase the knowledge and awareness of Gibraltar in Brussels. He explained that the issues in Gibraltar were very different to the issues that faced the United Kingdom. We have the additional complication of a next door neighbour that often chooses to be difficult, he added. Dr Garcia addressed the latest group of assistants to visit Gibraltar on the details of our departure from the European Union. He explained that an orderly departure had been secured through the Withdrawal Agreement that was concluded in November last year. This package provided for a Gibraltar Protocol and four memoranda of understanding and secured Gibraltars position within the transitional period until the end of 2020. This needed the approval of the UK Parliament and of the European Parliament. However, in the event of a no deal Brexit, he said that detailed contingency planning was underway to prepare for Gibraltar leaving with no agreement. The Spanish Government had nonetheless included Gibraltar in their own contingency plans for British nationals and for the United Kingdom which covered a number of different areas. The visitors asked a number of questions about Brexit but also wanted to know about the international status of Gibraltar. Dr Garcia explained that the people of Gibraltar have lived here for over three hundred years, which is longer than the United States, Germany or Italy have existed. He maintained that the future of Gibraltar must be freely and democratically decided by the people of Gibraltar in exercise of their right to self-determination. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2019 | PADUCAH By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2019 | 05:21 PM | PADUCAH McCracken County Sheriff Matt Carter is praising two employees at McCracken County 911 Dispatch and a deputy who quickly reacted to a life-threatening situation involving an infant. At 1:45 pm on Wednesday, E911 Shift Supervisor Ashley Burrow got a call from a woman who said an infant in her care had no pulse and wasn't breathing. Burrow immediately began instructing the woman on how to do CPR. Burrow said, " My training kicked in and my only goal was to get that baby breathing again. As a mother to two small children, I know how scary emergencies with kids can be." Meanwhile, telecommunicator Stephanie McGuins overheard the conversation, recognized the address, and dispatched McCracken County Sheriff's Deputy DeWayne Pickett to the scene. A press release says Pickett arrived within two minutes, took over CPR, and established a pulse and breathing by the time medical personnel arrived. McGuins said, "I overheard Ashley taking the call for the baby not breathing, knew where my deputies were at and knew the callers needed help fast. Timing was everything and I think Deputy Pickett was in the right place at the right time to save that child." Sheriff Carter praised all three for their response that he believes saved the life of the infant. "Supervisor Burrow is to be commended for keeping the caller calm and successfully walking her through the process of administering CPR to an infant," Carter said. "Telecommunicator McGuins is also to be commended for recognizing the totality of circumstances and not waiting for a CAD card to be created and the call being electronically routed before dispatching the call. Deputy Pickett is to be commended for his fast response and effectively applying his training." When the press release was issued Friday evening, Carter said he had spoken with the family, and the infant is doing well. He said they plan on bringing the baby to the sheriffs office to meet the dispatchers and deputy, once they are released from the hospital. Advertisement By Representative Randy Bridges Mar. 01, 2019 | PADUCAH By Representative Randy Bridges Mar. 01, 2019 | 03:57 PM | PADUCAH The 2019 session is nearing its ending point, and I am proud to say that the General Assembly accomplished our top legislative priority. Senate Bill 1 also known as the School Safety and Resiliency Act is heading to the Governors desk after passing both the House and Senate. This is a personal issue for me, as I stood on the House Floor and shared how our community was affected by school violence just over two decades ago. For the first time since session convened in January, the entire floor was quiet as I introduced Christina Hadley Ellegood. Those of us here at home know her as an incredible person and survivor of the shooting at Heath, which took the life of her sister Nicole. We all know she has had an impact on this community, particularly through the monument across from Heath that will serve for generations as a reminder of what we lost that day. But, her presence made the vote we cast to approve SB 1 even more meaningful. SB 1 is a profound step toward both securing our schools and strengthening our students. This legislation is a bold step forward in tackling an issue brought to light by last years shooting at Marshall County High School, a tragedy that rocked our commonwealth and this region in particular. The death of two young children highlighted the need for action, and the General Assembly delivered with passage of this transformative measure. This bill stemmed from the excellent work of the School Safety Working Group in 2018, addressing two major challenges of securing our schools and strengthening our students. This proactive approach to combatting violence in our schools focuses on increasing physical security, promoting an increased culture of student connection, and increasing oversight and accountability of school safety efforts. This framework sets a state goal of placing more trained law enforcement officers and school counselors in Kentucky schools, steps that will both harden the targets of our school buildings while better addressing the mental health needs of our youth. The legislation also requires school districts to appoint a school safety coordinator, which many districts already do, while also calling for the creation of a new state school security marshal. This new statewide marshal would be charged with working to keep schools compliant with safety requirements. The bill also stiffens penalties making false threats against schools, and requires both active shooter training and more suicide prevention training for certain school employees. A significant point of discussion has been just how new school safety initiatives will be funded. While the exact amount of costs associated with SB 1 will not be known until administrators begin to implement the bill, I am committed to prioritizing increased funding to support the major initiative we just passed. We will craft the new state budget next year, and it is critical that we appropriate enough funding to bring our school safety efforts to fruition. When 2020 comes, we will have a better idea of what kind of funding will be necessary to support the School Safety and Resiliency Act. The best part of the 2019 school safety effort was the bipartisanship at hand. Republicans and Democrats, in both the House and Senate, came together in order to do what is best for the Commonwealths children something we can all be proud of. Without a doubt, the passage of the School Safety and Resiliency Act is my proudest moment of this session. While previous legislatures have addressed the issue, this bill goes further and finally recognizes that our school children need the support of a community, that their mental health is key to protecting everyone. With school safety issues behind us for this session, I am now looking ahead to other potential issues as this session begins to wind down. Please reach out to me with your thoughts and ideas on the critical issues remaining before us this session, as I would like to represent each of you in Frankfort to the best of my ability. Rep. Bridges represents the 3rd House District, located entirely within McCracken County. Contact him with any questions, concerns, or advice. He can be reached through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181, or via e-mail at randy.bridges@lrc.ky.gov. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2019 | 11:58 AM | MURRAY The Murray State University Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Robert L. Bob Jackson as president of Murray State University, effective Friday.I am honored to serve as the 14th president of Murray State University and greatly appreciate the support and confidence of the Board of Regents, Jackson said. We have an important duty to this region and state and I look forward to the work ahead. The students and families of this region are counting on us to make a positive difference in their lives and to enhance the economic well-being of this area.Today is an important day in the history of Murray State University and this Board has determined that Dr. Jackson is the person we need at this time, said Murray State Board of Regents Chair Susan Guess. We have many challenges before us and we believe in him and his ability to lead us.MSU said in a press release that during his 6-month tenure as interim president, Jacksons institutional leadership and support has been seen through consistent meetings, collaborations and interactions with various groups both within and outside the University including students, faculty and staff as well as alumni, elected officials, industry leaders, community partners and others who hold relationships with Murray State.Jackson has served Murray State in several capacities over the last decade, including as co-chair of the Universitys 2015-22 Strategic Plan, and assumed the role of president of the Murray State University Foundation in 2013. Prior to that, he was the associate vice president for institutional advancement and government relations, where he successfully led the Universitys Hold Thy Banner High capital campaign, which raised more than $70 million.From 1997 to 2004, Jackson served the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a state senator and in Senate leadership. He has served on numerous committees and task forces during his tenure, including education, appropriations and revenue, economic development, capital projects and bond oversight, among others. Jackson has worked successfully on many state and federal governmental projects and has been recognized at the state and national levels for his public service. In addition, he has worked in corporate finance and as a senior executive in investment banking, municipal finance and investment management.Jackson has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Murray State. He has completed graduate courses in finance at Murray State and doctoral courses at the University of Leicester (UK). He holds a Master of Arts degree in higher education administration from Antioch University and a doctorate in educational leadership from Western Kentucky University.He has served as president of the Murray State University Alumni Association Board of Governors, a member of the Murray State University Foundation Board of Trustees and he regularly teaches finance and other courses.Jackson is married to the former Karen Miller, a Murray State alumna and registered nurse; they are the parents of two children, Nolan and Mariel. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2019 | GRAVES COUNTY By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2019 | 02:29 PM | GRAVES COUNTY Traffic was restricted on US 45 in Folsomdale for several hours Friday after a crash involving two large trucks. The Graves County Sheriff's Department said deputies responded to the intersection of US 45 North and KY 1241 to find a garbage truck on its side, and a semi with severe front end damage. Deputies said 31-year-old Johnny Mealer of Martin, TN was driving the garbage truck and had failed to yield right of way to 59-year-old Anthony Thomas of Paducah, who was driving the semi. Mealer told deputies fog had caused him not to see the semi until he was already crossing the southbound lanes, and he could not stop in time. No one was injured in the crash. One lane of US 45 was blocked for about three hours until the scene was cleared. While working the accident scene, deputies cited 74-year-old William McGee of Paducah for disregarding signals from officers directing traffic after they say he ignored traffic directing signals, and drove through the grass around a fire truck that was blocking both lanes of KY 1241. By National Weather Service Mar. 02, 2019 | 06:56 AM | PADUCAH The National Weather Service in Paducah says some accumulating snows appear likely, mainly on Sunday and mainly north of the Ohio River. Areas with the best chance for snow include southeast Missouri into southern Illinois.No winter watches or warnings are posted for our immediate area.Rain is expected to transition to snow late tonight across southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and southwest Indiana. The transition will continue south into western Kentucky on Sunday.The best chance of snow that may cause travel impacts is expected to be north of a Poplar Bluff to Cairo to Owensboro line. Only minor accumulations of snow are forecast from the Missouri Bootheel into western Kentucky, with a lower likelihood of travel impacts as surface temperatures near or slightly above freezing are forecast.The precipitation will diminish from west to east Sunday afternoon, with dry and colder weather for Sunday night.Arctic air is expected to overspread the area Sunday night after the rain and snow has left the area. North winds will gust 15 to 25 mph at times and lead to wind chills near or below zero over much of the area by sunrise Monday.The snow is not likely to melt much through at least Tuesday as we will remain in the deep freeze. Most of the area will climb above freezing on Wednesday. On the Net: Grosvenor Road Mosque holding open day on Sunday This article is old - Published: Saturday, Mar 2nd, 2019 The Wrexham Mosque on Grosvenor Road will be open to everyone tomorrow as part of Visit My Mosque day. Between 11am and 3pm therell be tours throughout (except for a short period between 1pm and 1.15pm). Trustees and members will be there to answer questions and there will be drinks and homemade snacks available. Dr Jishi from Wrexham Mosque said: Im looking forward to once again catching up with old friends and new, who want to find out a little more about our Mosque and our faith, and how we are all part of the Wrexham community. The invite is there to come along and see how new life has been breathed into the Miners Institute. Visit My Mosque day is a national initiative facilitated by the Muslim Council of Britain encouraging 250+ mosques across the UK to hold open days to welcome their neighbours from all faiths and none, building bridges across communities. While mosque open days in Britain have been taking place for decades, Visit My Mosque allows mosques to be a part of a nationwide event where mosques are able to open their doors together on the same day. For 2019, the open days will be supporting Keep Britain Tidy. Cllr Andrew Atkinson, Diversity Champion for the Council, said: I want to thank Wrexham Mosque for taking part in Visit My Mosque day, and would encourage anyone who is curious about the mosque and the role it plays to visit. Ive been a number of times myself, and always found a great welcome and the visit has always been very informative. Wrexhams Assembly Member also has tweeted to say she is looking forward to the day Looking forward to seeing everyone at #Wrexham Mosque this Sunday (3 March) as part of #VisitMyMosqueDay all members of the community are welcome to attend the open day event between 11am-3pm. pic.twitter.com/LuaWJZpNyE Lesley Griffiths (@lesley4wrexham) February 27, 2019 The leaflet that you may have seen circulating is below: (Click for large) Wrexham Leader circulation drops to 3,825 copies NWN Media Ltd dissolves just short of 100th birthday This article is old - Published: Saturday, Mar 2nd, 2019 The Leader newspaper has returned to publicly reporting their circulations for the first time in years, and much like print figures around the world, the numbers are grim reading. Last year the Leader publishers NWN was sold off for millions by the then family owners to Newsquest, a company ultimately owned by Gannett Company Inc an american multi billion dollar megacorp. The Leader always made much of its family owned and local presence tags in its commercial activities, with both now gone from Wrexham. This week saw the first ABC certificate for a few years covering recent circulation figures from August to December and gives an overall 6,271 average circulation, and details the split between Wrexham and Flintshire editions. 61% of copies are the Wrexham edition and the remaining 39% are Flintshire. Of the overall figure 4,304 copies are listed as paid single copies with 1,967 being to subscribers. That means the overall average circulation figure is just 3,825 for Wrexham, and 2,445 for Flintshire. Previously there was a Chester Leader edition, however that title was quietly binned just over a year ago. Back in 2012 when we did our first stats piece the Leader had dropped 12% to an overall circulation of 16,131 so to date has tumbled -61%. In recent years the paper had de-registered from ABC auditing of circulation figures meaning it was hard to discover the circulation. Readers now see a note on the papers masthead giving a hybrid stats figure of trusted news read by 32,114 every day with mention that the figure is print and online combined. Inside the paper runs house ads that point to their digital progress, almost averaging a million pageviews every month, although the origins of such online readers could be less straightforward than you would think for a local publication. Traffic is no doubt being given some form of boost by the mass inclusion of non-local stories via various UK and worldwide feeds, heralded to us when we saw a story pop up about a man arrested for threats to President Donald Trump but it turned out to be a Press Association report about a chap in Texas rather than a local incident, as could be expected from a local website. Such Trump stories are a good example of the generic feeds attracting worldwide traffic from the internet, such as Artist appeals for help after losing irreplaceable Donald Trump wig (London) or even answering the question on everyones lips in Rhostyllen, What was on the menu for Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Hanoi?. Other odd content has also started appearing on the Leaders website since Newsquest took over, some appearing to be leakage from other titles (The best fry-ups in SE London and North Kent according to customers) through to the searchbait traffic generator stalwarts of newsgroups large and small such as When is the Bank Holiday and what is the weather going to be like bylined to a reporter from the not-so-local Basildon Echo and Canvey Echo. The new UK wide ABC figures are given in full on trade website HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk, broken down to weekly circulations and daily papers (as always the comments section is worth a read). Trinity Mirror now rebranded as Reach PLCs Daily Post title is down 9% and is at the 18,007 mark however looking at the certificate detail just 27% of those are for the East edition that covers / sold in Wrexham area or 4,861 copies again back in the early days of noting circulations that figure was 9,562 alone for the east, a drop of 50% in just over five years. Other nearby publications such as the Chester Chronicle are listed, showing they have a circulation of just 6,001 which is down 15% year on year while the traditionally lower circulation Denbighshire Free Press is now at 3,727 copies. In related news January also saw the voluntary strike-off and dissolving of NWN Media Ltd, a company that was known as North Wales Newspapers from 1920 through 2007, and had been rebranded as NWN until it ceased to exist this year. With the company being formally dissolved on the 15th of January, it means it did not quite make the 100th year birthday milestone next year. As we noted in 2016, NWN was placed under a holding company called MOJO Holdings, effectively owned and operated by the same people. Newsquest took over NWN in 2017, with MOJO appearing to retain various assets. Accounts lodged up to March 2017, apparently prior to the sale to Newsquest, stated that the net worth of NWN had reduced by 4m due to a dividend in specie to MOJO Holdings. Companies House records now shows Mojo Holdings as under members voluntary liquidation, with a liquidator being appointed voluntarily by the company. The declaration of solvency document from September notes property assets of 3.6m and cash in the bank of 4.2m , which looks likely to be shared out between the shareholders of the company. On August 3rd a new company was formed imaginatively called MOJO 2 with the exact same directors as of MOJO Holdings. The new MOJO 2 Ltd states the nature of business being Buying and selling of own real estate and Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate. In June 2018 we reported how NWNs flagship HQ building in Mold was up for sale or lease. Land Registry records now show a change of ownership took place in September 2018 with the property value stated at 1,280,000 and the new registered owner being MOJO 2 Limited. This week a planning application has been lodged with Flintshire Council by a Director of MOJO 2 for that building, that is described as ,Re-clad of existing building, subdivision into 5 separate units with class uses of B1 & B8 (Office accommodation, Light Industrial and Storage & Distribution). Just before Christmas the Leaders Wrexham office was sharply closed, and trade publication HoldTheFrontPage picked up on the story getting quotes from Newsquest that said a new lease had been agreed for the Mold office, and that The company is proposing to retain a presence in Wrexham town centre from the New Year. As of yet no new office has been opened. Top pic: The former Leader office in Wrexham. (End of an era, Final Gazette dissolved via voluntary strike-off notice, Companies House 15 Jan 2019.) (Click for large) It's been over four months since Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle, but driving around some parts of Panama City, many would think it had just been four days since the storm made landfall. Especially if you saw Shelly Summers' backyard, which is now a tent community of 24 displaced strangers. And we have more coming, says Summers. Summers has been helping those whose homes were destroyed. "That's just what you're supposed to do, she says. How can you go home and shut your door and know that there are people sleeping in the woods? How can you be OK with that? That's not right." The tents have power, heat and even mattresses. Summers and her husband even built an extra shower. Summers and her husband wont accept payment. She wont take it! says one tent occupant Brittany Pitts. Instead, residents have found small ways to show their gratitude, like carving a fairy house into what was Summers favorite tree before the storm. But Pitts still can't help but think that no one should be living like this, especially this long after the storm. She feels the rest of the country has forgotten the victims of Hurricane Michael. "You really see just how much people don't care, Pitts says. Summers agrees, "I feel like the day after, we were forgotten about. It doesn't make me mad. It makes me sad, because that's not how it should be." TJ Dargan with FEMAs Hurricane Michael Response Team says if residents feel forgotten, its through no fault of FEMA, which to date has contributed $136 million in rental assistance. Well, FEMA is certainly focused here, Dargan says. We have a lot of people, and we're pouring a lot of money into this community. So no, FEMA certainly hasn't forgotten about this. The federal government hasn't forgotten about this. But the fact that Congress has yet to fund any emergency relief for Hurricane Michael frustrates local residents, as well as local politicians. Until theres more help, Summers believes the tents in her backyard will be her new normal for years to come, but its a challenge she says she'll gladly accept. A Chinese teacher gives a lecture to Ugandan officials in Kampala, capital of Uganda, Feb. 2, 2019. (Zhang Gaiping/Xinhua) KAMPALA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese training institute in Uganda on Thursday trained legislators on the oil and gas industry as the east African country gears up for commercial production. Sunmaker Oil and Gas Training Institute trained about 25 members of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, introducing them to the legal components of the sector. The legislators were also given a lecture on the introduction of the oil and gas sector, comparing the industry to others across the world. "This helps us so much as a committee in terms of engaging with the different players. This is more than an eye opener," Thomas Tayebwa, one of the legislators told Xinhua. "We need to do it for all the parliament and some government officials who are in decision making." "We are going to push government to give us more training because we are the ones who decide on the laws, policies, the budget regarding this sector but we are ill equipped in terms of doing our oversight role," Tayebwa added. Jerry Bo Ma, executive director of the institute, told the legislators that although there are renewable energy sources, the oil sector still plays a critical role in the development of countries. He said the institution continues to train more Ugandans in the sector. Uganda is expected to start commercial production of oil by 2022. The country plans to build a crude oil pipeline to the Tanzania seaport of Tanga and also a refinery in the oil wells in the Albertine Graben in western Uganda. Ministry of energy and mineral development statistics show that Uganda has so far discovered about 6.5 billion barrels of oil. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-01 20:47:08|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 215 people have died from measles in the Philippines and more than 13,000 people had contracted the airborne disease since Jan. 1 this year, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday. Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26, 2019, the DOH said 13,723 measles cases including 215 deaths were officially reported nationwide through routine surveillance of the DOH's Epidemiology Bureau. Most measles cases are from the northern and central Philippines. According to the report from the DOH, most affected age group was between 1 and 4 years old with 4,190 cases or 31 percent of the total cases, followed by patients less than 9 months old with 3,555 cases or 26 percent. DOH also said that 176 persons or 79 percent of those who died from measles as well as 8,549 people or 62 percent of those who contracted the disease were not vaccinated. On Feb. 6, the DOH declared a "measles outbreak" in Metro Manila. On Feb. 7, the DOH announced that the measles outbreak had spread to more areas in the Philippine main Luzon island, Western Visayas and Central Visayas in the central Philippines. Achyut Shrestha, a medical officer at the World Health Organization Office Philippines, blamed the outbreak on the low coverage of routine measles immunization in the Philippines in the last two years causing a buildup of people susceptible to the disease. The low immunization coverage is due to many factors, he added, including accessibility to some villages making it difficult for health workers to administer the vaccination. "Parents are still not entirely convinced of the immunization services. They are not going to the clinic enough so they are not availing the services that are there for free. The Dengue vaccine controversy that happened last year compounded the issue," Shrestha told Xinhua, adding "it created even more hesitancy from the parents' side." Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It is transferred from person-to-person by sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact. Its signs and symptoms include cough, runny nose, red eyes or conjunctivitis, fever, skin rashes lasting for more than three days. The disease's complications included diarrhea, middle ear infection, pneumonia or infection of the lungs, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), malnutrition, the blindness which may lead to death. The Philippine government is advising the public, especially the mothers, to bring their children at the first sign of fever to the nearest health facility for prompt treatment and proper case management. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-01 20:52:13|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China called on all parties concerned to take a constructive attitude and play an active role in resolving the Korean Peninsula issue together, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here Friday. In responding to a question about the fact that no agreement was reached during the second summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam, between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, Lu Kang, the spokesperson, said at a daily news briefing that it is a positive sign that both sides showed their willingness to maintain contact and continue dialogue. It represents the general trend as well as the wide aspiration and consensus of the international community to realize the denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, Lu said. "Thanks to concerted efforts of all parties concerned, seeking a political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue has been recognized as a general direction, which is to realize the denuclearization and establish a peace mechanism on the peninsula," Lu noted. "We hope the DPRK and the United States will continue talks, meet each other halfway, accommodate each other's legitimate concerns on the basis of mutual respect and advance the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue." China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the process, the spokesperson stressed. On early Friday morning, DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told a news conference in Hanoi that his country only asked for a partial lifting of sanctions that may impede the livelihood of its people at the meeting with the United States, not what the U.S. side said the DPRK asked for -- lifting sanctions against Pyongyang "in their entirety." In commenting on that, Lu said although the two countries had contradictions on the issue, both of them agreed the lifting of sanctions represented an important part of realizing the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. China has always proposed that the Security Council of the United Nations needs to consider modifying sanctions based on the positive development of the Korean Peninsula situation, Lu said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-01 22:02:37|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BUDAPEST, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Janos Ader has appointed Gyorgy Matolcsy to another six-year term as governor of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), according to official sources here on Friday. The appointment enters into effect on March 4, and Matolcsy took his ceremonial oath on Friday, broadcasted by Hungarian news television HIR TV. In Hungary, the governor of the central bank is appointed by the president, upon proposal of the prime minister, after a hearing before a parliamentary committee. This term is the last of Matolcsy, as there is a two-term limit for the post. Before becoming MNB governor, Matolcsy, a trusty and loyal confidant of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had been Minister of Economy. He is known for his so-called unorthodox, albeit effective policies, that drove the central bank's base rate to a historic low. He has also overseen a reversal in corporate lending trends supported by the MNB's Funding for Growth Scheme, and helped coordinate the conversion of retail FX mortgages into forints, reducing household debt. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-01 22:02:37|Editor: zh Video Player Close Yang Jiechi (R), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Philippe Etienne, a diplomatic adviser to French President, in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday met with Philippe Etienne, a diplomatic adviser to French President in Beijing. Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 55 years ago, bilateral relations have achieved rapid development. He said the two sides should strengthen exchanges at all levels, consolidate political mutual trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation, jointly safeguard multilateralism, improve global governance and further develop the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership under the guidance of the two heads of state. Etienne said the French side is willing to make closer high-level exchanges with China, strengthen exchanges and cooperation, jointly safeguard multilateralism, and push bilateral ties to a higher level. Hu Chunhua, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, also met with Etienne Friday. The current China-French relations enjoy a sound momentum of development. The cooperation between the two sides in civil nuclear energy, aerospace and other fields is progressing smoothly and has yielded fruitful results, said Hu. China is ready to work with the French side to implement the agreement reached in the sixth High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue, deepen cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road and expand cooperation in fields including agriculture, science and technology innovation, Hu said. For his part, Etienne said France attaches great importance on the joint construction of the Belt and Road and is willing to actively participate in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-01 23:28:14|Editor: zh Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng (C), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presides over a meeting on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday urged efforts to promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a meeting in Beijing. All regions and government departments should conscientiously implement the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said. The plan, an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area, covers the period from now to 2022 in the immediate term and extends to 2035 in the long term. The plan was issued on Feb. 18. Efforts should be made to promote cooperation in technology and innovation between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, said Han, adding that a series of measures would be adopted to facilitate customs clearance of personnel and goods in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the exit and entry of samples for scientific research, laboratory reagents and genetic resources. National laboratories, scientific centers, and key scientific infrastructures should be further opened to universities and research institutes in Hong Kong and Macao, Han said. He also pledged support to scientists and research institutes in the two special administrative regions to participate in international science programs and projects. Han said more favorable tax policies would be given to Hong Kong and Macao residents. Young people in Hong Kong and Macao should be encouraged to work and start businesses in the Greater Bay Area, he said, adding that a batch of innovative and venture bases should be established for them. The government will provide grants and subsidies for young people from Hong Kong and Macao who start businesses in Guangdong, and will also select and fund a batch of promising startup projects, he added. The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. Covering 56,000 square kilometers, the bay area had a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and its GDP reached around 10 trillion yuan in 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 00:28:31|Editor: WX Video Player Close Demonstrators confront policemen during an anti-government protest in Algiers, Algeria, on March 1, 2019. Hundreds of thousands of Algerians on Friday took to the street for the largest ever anti-government protest in the North African nation. (Xinhua) ALGIERS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of Algerians on Friday took to the street for the largest ever anti-government protest in the North African nation. In the capital Algiers, the protest was peaceful as anti-riot forces did not resort to repression, Xinhua reporter noticed. The demonstrators of different ages waved the national flags and chanted slogans calling for political change. The protesters came from different neighborhoods of Algiers, as they met in 1 Mai square, where they staged sit-in for several hours. According to the latest developments, the demonstrators were marching towards the President Office in El Mouradia neighborhood in upper Algiers. However, anti-riot forces already anticipated the situation as they had set cordons and blocked all roads and streets leading to El Mouradia. According to TSA news website, law and order troops dispersed the marchers with shots of tear gas grenades. Meanwhile, wide scale marches were staged in major cities of Algeria. The demonstrators expressed their rejection to the candidacy of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for a fifth term in office, and called for peaceful political change. More protests are due to be staged in the upcoming days, activists pledged via social media platforms. Presidential election in Algeria is due to be held on April 18, but some observers believe that the vote may be postponed regarding the current situation characterized by massive anti-government protests. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia on Thursday insisted that the polls are maintained on the preset date, calling on the people to vote to make the aspired change. Some 190 candidates started submitting their candidacy files to the Constitutional Council for examination. All files meeting standards would be given green light for election campaign. Bouteflika is currently in Geneva for medical examinations, according to a presidential statement. Bouteflika, 81, suffered a stroke in 2013, and he was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth term until 2019. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C, front) takes part in a meeting with the high command of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces in Caracas Feb. 21, 2019. (Xinhua) MOSCOW, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned about possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and hopes its plans will fail amid international opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. "Everything is possible and I do not exclude that the U.S. administration may decide on actions that will once again violate all conceivable norms of international law," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with visiting Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. According to Lavrov, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams is busy creating a scenario, which could provoke bloodshed in Venezuela to justify an armed invasion. Lavrov said Russia is concerned about reports that the United States plans to purchase weapons in Eastern Europe to arm militants to destabilize the situation in Venezuela. However, there is not a single country "with the possible exception of one or two closest U.S. allies" that would support the option of military intervention in Venezuela, Lavrov said. He said Brazil and Colombia have ruled out supporting an armed invasion, and any U.S. plan would fail without their backing. Lavrov said Russia will keep persuading the United States to respect international law and the UN Charter, and hopes that "reason will prevail in the U.S. leadership." Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 01:13:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close KAMPALA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has banned the packaging and sale of alcohol in sachets following warnings from the ministry of health and public outcry. The ministry of trade, in a statement issued on Friday, said starting March 31, factories must stop the production of alcohol in sachets. "All packaging of alcohol must be done in plastic and glass bottles, 200 ml minimum," the statement said. From May 30, the sale or trade of alcohol in sachets will be prohibited. The ministry said a committee comprising of government agencies and alcohol manufacturers has been set up to manage the transition. "Noncompliance with the ban will culminate into closure of business," the statement said. The ministry said since 2017, when the government decided to ban the packaging and sale of such products, factories have had ample time to procure, install and commission new bottling packaging and production equipment. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 01:23:43|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, and Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un, inspect the guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. Kim paid an official visit to Vietnam on Friday and Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Shen) HANOI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The top leaders of Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed on Friday to facilitate high-level visits, and expand the exchange of all-level delegations via the party, state and mass organization channels, Vietnam News Agency reported. The consensus was reached during talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong Un, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam on Friday and Saturday. They will effectively maintain regular dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, including the deputy ministerial-level political consultation and the Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Scientific-Technological Cooperation; explore the possibility of mutually-beneficial collaboration in fields suitable to each side; and expand cultural, arts, sports, and people-to-people exchanges. Vietnam always treasures the traditional friendship with the DPRK and want to further intensify ties between the two parties and two countries, Trong said. Kim, for his part, hoped to share experience in national construction and socio-economic development with Vietnam. Also on Friday, Kim met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, respectively. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 02:13:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close HONG KONG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the Commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) lodged solemn representations with the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong Friday over its top diplomat's recent remarks on Hong Kong affairs. The Commissioner's Office said in a statement that China expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the erroneous remarks on Hong Kong affairs made by U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong Kurt Tong. Firstly, the Commissioner's Office emphasized that since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the principles of "one country, two systems" and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy have been successfully implemented in Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents enjoy unprecedented rights and freedom in accordance with the law. Over the past year, Hong Kong's situation has been steadily moving towards better, which is an obvious fact for all to see and cannot be distorted, the office said. Secondly, the Commissioner's Office said the central government has acted in strict compliance with the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR, and supported the government of the Hong Kong SAR in administering Hong Kong in accordance with the law. The Hong Kong SAR government has taken a series of necessary measures to safeguard the principle of "one country, two systems" and Hong Kong's constitutional order, and consolidate the foundation for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, it said. Thirdly, the Commissioner's Office said that since Hong Kong's return to the mainland, Hong Kong has cemented its leading positions in its advantage areas and become more active in its external relations, and its business environment and international competitiveness are widely acknowledged by the international community. Currently, Hong Kong is embracing new opportunities for its further integration into the national development strategy and new momentum for growth, with the international community's growing willingness to cooperate with Hong Kong. The office said Hong Kong is an SAR of China and China will never allow any foreign government to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. The Commissioner's Office urged related foreign institutions to respect the fact, abandon discrimination, abide by international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and respect China's sovereignty, security and development. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 03:13:57|Editor: yan Video Player Close RIGA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Rigas Satiksme, the municipal transport company of the Latvian capital, will be granted a 130 million euros(147.8 million U.S. dollars) subsidy this year to keep it afloat, Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs announced on Friday. The municipal transport company's 2019 budget was approved after its acting head Anrijs Matiss warned earlier this week that he considered resignation because Rigas Satiksme might soon face solvency issues. Matiss called for increasing the municipal subsidy from 122.7 million euros in 2018 to 136 million euros this year. Usakovs said, however, that the 130 million euros would be enough to finance the transport company's discount system and raise salaries for Rigas Satiksme employees as planned. The Riga mayor also tasked the Rigas Satiksme management with seeking ways to make the company more cost effective and streamline its operations. Also, two members of the Rigas Satiksme management board were replaced Friday. Opposition members of the Riga city council have constantly been raising alarm over the large subsidies allocated to Rigas Satiksme each year, but the situation in the transport company has grown really serious in recent months after the Corruption Prevention Bureau started investigating an allegedly corruptive deal concluded between Rigas Satiksme former managers, the city council's officials and Polish and Czech companies supplying passenger vehicles to the Riga transport company. Six suspects in Latvia and two in Poland have been detained and anti-graft operatives have searched the Riga mayor's office and residence as part of the ongoing probe. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 03:28:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close KIEV, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine saw the world's largest increase in measles cases in 2018, followed by the Philippines and Brazil, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Friday. A total of 35,120 cases of measles were recorded in Ukraine last year compared with 4,782 cases confirmed in 2017. In the Philippines, 15,599 people were infected by measles in 2018, while 10,262 were diagnosed with the illness in Brazil. According to the Ukrainian authorities, in the first two months of 2019 alone, 24,042 people were infected by measles in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Health Ministry said earlier that 30 Ukrainians have died of measles since the start of the outbreak of the disease in 2017, including nine people so far this year. The health authorities blamed the low level of immunization for the outbreak of the disease. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted by respiratory droplets and direct contact. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 03:59:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Food-tech innovators and entrepreneurs from the United States and China are calling for a greater government role in helping innovate food technologies. The representatives from the food industry gathered on Thursday in San Francisco to explore the opportunities of food technologies. The event, with the theme of "The Future of Food," was organized by GlobalSF, an organization committed to facilitate investment in San Francisco, in partnership with RocketSpace, a San Francisco-based tech startup accelerator. The speakers shared their opinions on the future of food, new investment opportunities, and the disruptive food innovation emerging from the San Francisco Bay Area and globally. They agreed that government can play a big role in transforming the global food ecosystem and addressing food challenges. Both public and private sectors can work together to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the food industry, said Daniel Kurzrock, co-founder of ReGrained. His company works to reduce food waste by taking spent grain from beermaking that would typically be thrown out and turns it into flour. "The reality is markets fail all the time, and in my opinion, market-based solutions alone are not sufficient," he said. One of the things that are "pivotal" in their development is that they got in touch with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) -- an in-house research agency of the department, according to Kurzrock. "The facility has food scientists and engineers and provide funding," he said. "We actually entered into a subsidized research and development agreement with the USDA." "We invented technology together. We patented together," he added. "There's a lot more you can do, pretty much every area. There are many positive things happening, to really solve some big problems." LiLy Ng, CEO of a Hong Kong-based Foodie Group Ltd., said the government should play a big role in providing better infrastructure to help drive the transportation cost down and make better food available to more people. "From the prospect of public service, the government should also promote the better eating habits and the better food choices," she said. The government also plays an important role in promoting and deploying food technologies, Ng added. Her company has been an organizer for Food Future Summit for two years in Hong Kong, which drew innovators and experts to join efforts toward "changing our global food destiny," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 05:24:27|Editor: zh Video Player Close By Marcela Ganea BUCHAREST, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The apparently lower achievements of the Chinese team at the 11th edition of Romanian Master of Mathematics either betrayed their deficiency of graph theory knowledge or the bad luck, Professor Radu Gologan, president of the Romanian Society of Mathematical Sciences explained to Xinhua on Friday. "This year's Chinese team couldn't solve problem No. 3 which I suspect either betrayed lack of knowledge of the graph theory, or they may have had what we call a bad day," said Gologan, professor with the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and organizer of the current edition of Romanian Master of Mathematics which took place in Bucharest between Feb. 20-25. Even though, Gologan considered the Chinese to be the best in the world in mathematics. "Let us not forget that. This year, almost all the Chinese scored 0 for problem No 3, but 2 of them scored 7, the maximum score, in all the other 5 problems and another 2 scored 7 in 4 problems," said the professor, reminding that "China did very well in medals, four silvers, although they could not get the gold medal." Gologan said that it is not at all a disaster that China didn't win a gold medal this year because China remains a force in mathematics on the global stage. First, the Chinese have won the annual Romanian Master of Mathematics several times and they have already proved their abilities. Second, there seems to be a Chinese mathematical gene that drives on the first places the contestants of Chinese origin in international mathematical competitions. "Definitely, at present, in international mathematical contests, the first 4 countries will be: China, the U.S., South Korea and Russia. History shows that over the last 20 years, China has had the best rankings. I've met their leaders for many years in international mathematical competitions. I know how they select the teams and what their results are," he said. Gologan emphasized that actually the other countries with high rankings have their teams composed of contestants of Chinese origin. His overall impression about the Chinese team is extremely appreciative. The young contestants were accompanied by the best teachers possible; their attitude has been dutifully disciplined while organization and communication have been perfect. Gologan also revealed secrets of the performances of national teams of teenagers who take part every year in this prestigious competition. According to him, each year, all teams competing in the Romanian Master of Mathematics vary significantly in terms of value and performance. For this year's edition, it seemed that most of the 24 participating countries haven't sent their best teams. "Teams are always in a process of development. Russia, for instance, has 25 teenagers undergoing permanent formation. This year they sent 6 representatives, but the team changes every year in an attempt to reach the best composition and this is the case for most countries," said Gologan. Britain ranked the 2nd last year and among the last this year. Israel took part for the first time in this competition and had excellent results. Gologan also told Xinhua that there are two major international mathematical contests for high-schools in the world and Romania is closely linked to the history of the two contests. The International Mathematical Olympiad was first held in Romania and currently held annually in a different country. The other one is the annual Romanian Master of Mathematics, which is considered to be the most difficult mathematical contest in the world, tougher than the Olympiad. Saudi Arabia revokes the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, son of late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. (Web photo) RIYADH, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia revoked the nationality of Hamza bin Laden, son of late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Al Arabiya TV reported on Friday. The Saudi Interior Ministry announced the issuance of a royal decree, granting approval of stripping the nationality of Hamza. The United States offered a 1-million-U.S.-dollar reward for information on Hamza, seeing him as an emerging face of extremism. He is believed to have spent years with his mother in Iran, where his wedding is thought to take place, and he is suspected to still live there. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 06:54:55|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close ALGIERS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- As many as 56 police officers and seven citizens were injured during Friday's massive anti-government protest in Algeria, local police department said in a statement. Despite peaceful marches, the demonstrators were intruded by groups of troublemakers and rubbers, who stole money from a fuel station in downtown Algiers. They also set fire on two vehicles and vandalized facades of a state-run bank and Djazair Hotel, near the neighborhood of El Mouradia, where the presidency's headquarters were located. These incidents occurred late in the evening, after the majority of protesters returned home. At least 45 people were arrested, including those who vandalized public and private properties. Meanwhile, Echorouk TV channel alleged that a man died of an epileptic after anti-riot forces shot tear gas to disperse protesters who were trying to head to the neighborhood of El Mouradia. Friday's anti-government marches were the largest ever in the last three decades in Morocco, as hundreds of thousands of people took to the street. The marches were peaceful, as anti-riot forces did not resort to repression, Xinhua reporter noticed. Presidential election in Algeria is due to be held on April 18, but some observers believe that the vote may be postponed regarding the current situation characterized by massive anti-regime protests. Some 190 candidates started submitting their candidacy files to the Constitutional Council for examination. All files meeting standards would be given green light for election campaign. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia on Thursday insisted that the polls are maintained on the preset date, calling on the people to vote to make the aspired change. Incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is currently in Geneva for medical examinations, according to a presidential statement. Bouteflika, 81-year-old, suffered a stroke in 2013, and he was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth term until 2019. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 06:54:56|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close ATHENS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Rating agency Moody's announced on Friday it has upgraded Greece's sovereign credit rating by two notches to "B1" with a stable outlook, from the "B3" rating with a positive outlook it had granted Greece just over a year earlier. Economists expected this upgrade to assist Greece in its next foray in the markets, probably with a 10-year bond. In a statement, Moody's explained that its upgrade reflected the strengthening of Greece's economy thanks to the implementation of reforms, the likelihood of a sustained strong fiscal performance, and the enhancement of public debt sustainability. Greek bond yields in the secondary market have already dropped to a decade-low, with the 10-year note's rate standing at 3.65 percent on Friday. "Greece benefits from the fact it has no open fronts at this stage and the international juncture is favorable, with the Italian crisis out of the way," University of Athens Associate Professor of Economics Dimitris Kenourgios told Xinhua. He added that the upgrade by Moody's is set to benefit the Greek government's plans for a full return to the markets, even if the country's sovereign rating remains well below investment grade by all rating agencies. In this context economists expect Greece to tap the markets with a benchmark 10-year bond soon, the first since March 2010, albeit for only a small amount of money. "Tapping the markets with a 10-year note for just 2.5 billion to 3 billion euros (2.8 to 3.4 billion U.S. dollars) does not really make much of a difference for the economy. It is all to be done for appearances," commented Giorgos Stratopoulos, a financial analyst at think tank E-Kyklos in Athens. He stressed that the Greek government has built a large cash buffer, estimated at over 30 billion euros, so it does not need to borrow to serve its obligations, but only to show the country has reverted to normality. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 07:10:01|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close NICOSIA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus' parliament enacted legislation on Friday, paving the way to set up a National Investment Fund to manage future revenues from the sale of natural gas discovered in its exclusive economic zone. Though the first sales of natural gas are not expected to start before 2020, the setting up of the fund was turned into an urgent measure to counter claims by Turkey that the government, ran by the Greek Cypriot community, is trying to deprive the estranged Turkish Cypriots of their rights. The setting up of the fund came just one day after an Exxon-Mobil and Qatar petroleum consortium announced the discovery of a natural gas field containing an estimated 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the discovery has definitely placed Cyprus on the world energy map. In a statement anticipating Turkish reaction, Anastasiades said the government is interested in promoting the rights of the entire population and urged parliament not to delay any further the passing of the hydrocarbons fund. The leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mustafa Akinci, in a television interview insisted on his suggestions that the two communities should cooperate on energy issues and demanded that the gas be sent to Europe via a pipe passing through Turkey. He even threatened that if Cyprus continues with gas exploration there may be rival drillings by Turkey in Cypriot offshore areas. The government of Cyprus has time and again said that energy issues are within the competence of the government and not the communities, stressing that it would not be possible Turkish Cypriot to participate in decisions by the government they do not even recognize. It has also said that building a pipe through Turkey would be unimaginable as long as Ankara does not recognize Cyprus as a state and tries to destroy it. Parliament passed the legislation with a large majority. It struck out a provision that part of the revenues would go towards repaying the public debt, which currently stands at over 100 percent of GDP as a result of the 2013 near melt-down of the economy. The amendment makes it clear that natural gas revenues will be divided equitably between the communities and will be spend on social projects, such as education and health, rather than on financing government operations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 07:10:02|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close CHICAGO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures closed moderately higher on Friday, recovering from early losses in the morning. CBOT crop futures, including soybeans, have seen a bearish week for most of the trading days. AgResource, a Chicago-based agricultural research firm, wrote in a Friday morning commentary that surprisingly CBOT futures were not stronger relative to the optimism from the administration regarding U.S.-China trade progress. The ups and downs of the U.S.-China trade disputes frustrated traders and producers, which is leading to market apathy and disbelief, said the commentary. CBOT soybean and corn futures, which suffered losses during the morning trading, reversed the downturn toward the end of the session, and managed to settle in the positive territory. "This wild volatility will continue if we don't get any kind of real action coming out of this deal and get things rolling," said Virginia McGathey, a market analyst with McGathey Commodities. At the end of the session, the most active soybean contract for May delivery was up 1.25 cents, or 0.14 percent to close at 9.115 dollars per bushel. May corn was up 2.25 cents, or 0.61 percent, to settle at 3.73 dollars per bushel. May wheat went down 2.25 cents, or 0.49 percent, to close at 4.5725 dollars per bushel. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 07:15:02|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close The photo taken on Feb. 28, 2019 shows the construction site of Yuhuang's methanol project in St. James Parish, Louisiana, the United States. Yuhuang's methanol project, the largest greenfield investment in methanol by a Chinese company in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, is making significant progress in its construction, according to China's Yuhuang Chemical Inc. (YCI) on Friday. (Xinhua) BATON ROUGE, the United States, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Yuhuang's methanol project, the largest greenfield investment in methanol by a Chinese company in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, is making significant progress in its construction, according to China's Yuhuang Chemical Inc. (YCI) on Friday. "Starting from the year 2019, we're in a critical stage called moving from the below ground, which is the foundation stage, into the above ground," said Charlie Yao, CEO of YCI in an interview with Xinhua. All the major equipment that has been delivered to the site will be erected in the first half of this year, he said. YCI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yuhuang Chemical Company in east China's Shandong Province, is constructing a 1.85-billion-U.S.-dollar methanol production facility in St. James Parish, Louisiana. This methanol project was announced in 2014. After selecting Louisiana for its site, Yuhuang Chemical began building the production complex in January 2017. The plant facility, to be wholly constructed in three phases, is expected to start commercial production in mid-2020, following the completion of the first-phase YCI Methanol One. According to Yao, the project is expected to achieve the major milestone of construction delivery this year. "Early next year, the contractor will start to turn the unit over to YCI ownership, ready for commission, and we will train operators ready to start the production by mid of next year," he added. YCI Methanol One will include 100 permanent direct jobs after creating more than 1,000 construction jobs, said the company. Koch Methanol, an affiliate of Koch Industries, agreed to buy into the new facility last year. As part of its investment, affiliates of Koch Methanol will receive the exclusive methanol offtake rights from the new facility, as well as construct, own and operate the methanol terminal assets for the outbound flow of methanol. Methanol is used in the manufacturing of many everyday products, including plywood, carpet, fuel and plastics. The plant will have a capacity of producing approximately 1.7 million metric tons of methanol per year. "We plan to have 70 percent of the product sold in the U.S. domestic market and about 30 percent export. And our large export country would be China," said Yao. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 08:01:23|Editor: zh Video Player Close Zhuang Lifen, an award-winning Nanyin artist, attends a rehearsal at a Nanyin heritage center in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 1, 2019. Originating in Quanzhou, Nanyin is a musical performing art sung in the Minnan dialect mainly spoken by residents in the southern part of Fujian Province. Dubbed "a living fossil in the Chinese musical history," Nanyin is deemed one of the country's oldest music styles and was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. In recent years, Quanzhou authorities have taken enhanced measures to protect and hand down this musical art. A series of measures such as building professional Nanyin performance bands and academic research institutions, launching a Nanyin recording project, holding international Nanyin concert and promoting Nanyin in schools and communities have all proved effective and rewarding. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan) Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 07:34:54|Editor: WX Video Player Close A 3D zebra crossing is seen in St. John's Wood High Street in London, Britain, on March 1, 2019. According to BBC, the UK's first 3D zebra crossing has been painted on a north-west London road in a bid to slow down the traffic. The optical illusion, which creates a floating effect, has been introduced in St John's Wood by Westminster City Council as part of a 12-month trial. (Xinhua/Han Yan) Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 07:40:06|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than two million boys and girls are currently out of school in Syria, people's resources are depleting, and more than eight in ten people live below the poverty line, the UN Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria said on Friday. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters at a regular briefing that the 2019 overview is a reminder that the crisis is far from over for millions of people in Syria who have lived through eight years of war. More than 11 million people remain in need of some form of assistance, including for food, health care, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and even their livelihood, Dujarric said. "The UN and its partners are appealing for continued donor support to support the critical life-saving, protection and livelihood needs of over 11 million people," Dujarric said. "Displacement continues to be a defining feature of the crisis, with an estimated 6.2 million people who are internally displaced," Dujarric said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 08:20:13|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close Indian paramilitary troopers carry the coffins during a wreath laying ceremony in the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 2, 2019. Two paramilitary troopers and two policemen were killed Friday in a fierce gunfight with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Two paramilitary troopers and two policemen were killed Friday in a fierce gunfight with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. A civilian was also killed during the clashes with government forces near the gunfight site. The gunfight broke out early Friday at Khanan Babagund in Langate of frontier Kupwara district, about 71 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Today two policemen and two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed while fighting militants in Langate-Handwara," a senior police official posted in Srinagar told Xinhua. Reports said eight paramilitary troopers were also wounded in the stand-off. So far no confirmation was available about militant casualties in the gunfight. Meanwhile, while the gunfight was underway in the village, locals especially youth took to streets and threw stones and brickbats on government forces in a bid to help holed up militants break cordon and escape. However, police fired tear smoke shells and opened fire to disperse the irate protesters. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the psyche of majority of Kashmiris. Irate residents often took to roads and clash with police. The youth throw stones and brickbats on contingents of government forces, who respond by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and bullets, which often proves fatal. Last week a senior police officer, a trooper and three militants were killed in a fierce gunfight in the region. Militant groups opposing New Delhi's rule are engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 08:25:14|Editor: WX Video Player Close KATHMANDU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 persons were killed and one person injured when a jeep met with an accident in Darchula district of Far Western Nepal on Friday evening, local police authorities said. The incident occurred when the jeep skidded off the highway and plunged onto Mahakali River bank in Duhu Rural Municipality in Darchula district, according to local police officer Rabindra Kadayat. "We recovered 11 dead bodies from the crash site and the rescue operation is underway in coordination with local authorities and residents," the police officer told Xinhua from the crash site on Friday evening. The deceased include seven women, three men and a girl child, according to the police officer. The jeep driver, who was seriously injured in the incident, has been taken to neighboring India for further treatment, according to authorities. The crash site is around 526 km west of Nepal's Capital Kathmandu. The ill-fated jeep was heading towards Duhu Rural Municipality from the Darchula district headquarters. The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained, authorities said. Over-speed, drunk-driving and ill maintained roads and vehicles are often taken as major causes of frequent road accidents in the Himalayan country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 09:21:12|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close Director Xie Fei speaks during a conversation in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 28, 2019. The Song of Tibet (2000) Screening and Conversation with Director Xie Fei was held in Cairo on Thursday. The development of Chinese filmmaking is satisfactory over the past 15 years thanks to government's reform policies, but it still has a long way to go to attract more audience in China, Chinese renowned filmmaker Xie Fei told Xinhua in an interview in Cairo. His film Song of Tibet, a production screened on China in year of 2000, was shown in the Chinese Cultural Center in Cairo on Thursday in the presence of dozens of audiences, including Egyptian students learning Chinese language, journalists and other visitors. Xie has been chosen as the chief juror of Egypt's 2019 Sharm el-Sheikh Asian Film Festival that will kick off on Saturday with China as the guest of honor. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo) Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 09:15:20|Editor: WX Video Player Close SYDNEY, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Wine grape growers in South Australia are using sunscreen on their crops, as part of a multifaceted approach to cope with record heat and other extreme weather conditions in the area, local media reported on Saturday. "We're dealing with extreme temperature and it's having an effect on the vine, not only in terms of decreased yield, but it can have impact on quality," wine grower and agronomist Warren Burgess, from the southern state's Langhorne Creek area, was quoted by the ABC news channel as saying. Extreme weather, including South Australia's hottest day on record earlier this year as well as two hailstorm events and severe frost, has wiped out parts of the state's grape crops, the channel reported. The combination of practices, including a trial of the kaolin-based clay sunscreen used on his grapes, was helping his vineyard cope with the weather, Burgess said. The sunscreen helps "reflect the direct sunlight or UV light ... it's helping limit the extent of berry sunburn and also leaf burn," Burgess told the channel. "We've seen a difference here on our cabernet sauvignon, where we've applied the sunscreen product twice," he said. Misting fans, soil-wetting products, mushroom mulch and other plant stress management products are also being used to limit weather damage to the crops, the channel reported. The grapes that had survived were still high quality, according to Bennier. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 09:25:22|Editor: zh Video Player Close Vice President of China's Huaxin Cement Xu Gang addresses the foundation stone laying ceremony of Huaxin Cement plant, a Chinese-Nepali joint venture, at Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading, Nepal, March 1, 2019. The construction of another new advanced cement plant, the second Chinese-Nepali joint venture in domestic cement industry after Hongshi-Shivam Cement, has started formally in central Nepal. According to plan, the cement plant, with the investment of 15 billion Nepali Rupees (around 140 million U.S. dollars) and a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes of cement per day, will be constructed within one year. China's Huaxin Company informed that the industry would provide employment to 300 local people directly and to 1,000 people indirectly. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma) DHADING, Nepal, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The construction of another new advanced cement plant, the second Chinese-Nepali joint venture in domestic cement industry after Hongshi-Shivam Cement, has started formally in central Nepal. Laying the foundation stone for the investment of 15 billion Nepali Rupees (around 140 million U.S. dollars) with representatives from China's Huaxin Cement and its Nepali partner, Speaker of House of Representatives Krishna Bahadur Mahara expressed hope that Huaxin Cement plant would be an exemplary industry, benefiting the country's economy. "The plant is one of the largest foreign investment projects in Nepal, I believe that the reliable Chinese company will develop it into a model factory, encouraging other industries," Mahara told Xinhua on the project site in Dhading district after the ceremony. After obtaining the foreign direct investment approval from the Investment Board Nepal in December 2015, Huaxin Cement and its local partner acquired a limestone mine from the Department of Mines and Geology through a global tender. According to their plan, the cement plan, with a production capacity of 3,000 tonnes of cement per day, will be constructed within one year. Xu Gang, Vice President of Huaxin Cement told Xinhua, "We will bring highly efficient modern equipments from China to make sure that our products are both high quality and eco-friendly." Xu's Nepali partner Suraj Vaidya,Chairman of Vaidya Group of Industries, and former president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said "The joint venture sends a very strong signal to our Chinese friends -- Chinese investors are welcome to invest in Nepal where the potential is tremendous and projects are profitable." Along with Provincial Ministers, members of parliament, political leaders, few hundreds of locals also attended the foundation stone laying ceremony and most of them brimmed with joy like enjoying a festival. Hari Dullakoti, Chairman of the Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality, said, "We believe that the construction of cement plant in our area would be beneficial to the locals in terms of employment, infrastructures and other facilities. It would also help our district get identified in international scale." Huaxin Company informed that the industry would provide employment to 300 local people directly and to 1,000 people indirectly. Besides, it has also planned to support in building a hospital and a school in the village in future. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 10:30:32|Editor: WX Video Player Close CANBERRA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Australia's two top Defence Ministers have announced their retirement from politics with fewer than 90 days before the general election. Christopher Pyne, Australia's Minister for Defence, and Steven Ciobo, the Minister for Defence Industries, on Saturday announced they would not contest May's election, with the latter stepping down as a minister immediately. It is a challenge for Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison and the governing Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP) having already been rocked by the announced departures of Jobs Minister Kelly O'Dwyer, Human Services Minister Michael Keenan, Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Pyne has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sturt in South Australia since 1993 and as a Minister under three LNP PMs since the party won power in 2013. Along with Bishop he was one of the party's leading moderates and a strong supporter of former PM Malcolm Turnbull who was deposed as leader in August 2018, paving the way for Scott Morrison to be installed as his successor. "It's time to retire while people are asking me to stay, rather than continue and end up later with people telling me to go," he said in a statement on Saturday. "Twenty seven years ago I was preselected as the Liberal candidate on a platform of renewal in 2019, it is time to renew again. "At fifty one, I still have the opportunity to have a second career beyond politics." In a statement sent to reporters, Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment who is also from South Australia, said that Pyne "will retire from the Australian Parliament as the longest-serving South Australian non-Labor member in history." "Christopher is renowned for his sharp wit, amazing sense of humour, and incredible verve. He can disarm a tense situation with a wicked observation, while maintaining a laser like focus on securing the desired outcome. He is indefatigable when under attack but has always believed that attack is the best form of defence," said Birmingham. Ciobo was elected as the MP for Moncrieff in Queensland in 2001 and was sworn-in as a Minister when Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as PM in 2015. He ran for the deputy leadership of the Liberal Party after Turnbull's downfall but was defeated in a ballot by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. In addition to announcing his retirement from politics in May, Ciobo also stood down as the Minister for Defence Industries effective immediately, a decision he said he informed Morrison of weeks ago, with Senator Linda Reynolds to take his place in the lead-up to the election. "This will ensure a consistency in our approach and the opportunity for a seamless handover to minister Reynolds, should we be successful at the election," Morrison said in a statement. "As a cabinet minister in the defence portfolio minister Reynolds will also have a unique opportunity to transfer into the role in the event the government is re-elected." The retirements come at a time when the government is trying to present a united front having been plagued by August's leadership crisis. According to opinion polls the Opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) is on track for a possible win at the election, which will be held in May. However, both Pyne and Ciobo said that they were confident the LNP would be re-elected. Bill Shorten, leader of the ALP, said that the series of high-profile resignations represented a loss of faith in the government. "The Morrison government is divided, it's unstable and now we see people just simply giving up on the government," he told reporters on Saturday. "I say to Australians, if the ministers in the government are giving up on the government then you should too. Labor, by contrast, is united and stable." Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 10:30:32|Editor: zh Video Player Close Zhaluo (C), a consultant with China Society for Human Rights Studies and also a research fellow with China Tibetology Research Center, attends a sideline meeting, titled "Development and Progress of Human Rights in Tibet", during the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 1, 2019. The rapid social and economic development of China's Tibet Autonomous Region and the tremendous changes in the lives of residents there are attributed to the all-time supportive government policies, strong fiscal aid from the central government, and assistance from other provinces and enterprises, the senior Tibetan researcher said on Friday. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) GENEVA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The rapid social and economic development of China's Tibet Autonomous Region and the tremendous changes in the lives of residents there are attributed to the all-time supportive government policies, strong fiscal aid from the central government, and assistance from other provinces and enterprises, a senior Tibetan researcher said on Friday. Zhaluo, a consultant with China Society for Human Rights Studies and also a research fellow with China Tibetology Research Center, made the remarks at a sideline meeting, titled "Development and Progress of Human Rights in Tibet", during the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In recent years, he said, Tibet has witnessed a rapid economic and social development, in which its macroeconomy has transformed from over-dependence on agriculture and animal husbandry to a fairly diversified structure comprising agriculture, animal husbandry, processing industry, and various cultural sectors, including the Thangka, a Tibetan Buddhist painting art. In order to further narrow the income gap between urban and rural residents, Tibet has also stepped up the effort to build a new socialist countryside, and is planning to implement the strategy of rural vitalization, he added. Speaking of the consumption structure of Tibetan residents, Zhaluo said that the consumption hotspots in the 1980s were watches, bicycles and radios, while in 2018, they turned into cars, houses and mobile phones. Such changes reflect the improvement of the Tibetans' living standards. The development of Tibet, he said, first of all benefited from the fact that local governments at all levels have always put the improvement of the living standards of local peasants and herdsmen at the core and formulated a number of preferential policies. In addition, the central government has increased financial aid to Tibet, while developed provinces and large state-owned enterprises from East China have offered extensive partner assistance in infrastructure construction and management talents. Tibet is committed to green development today, welcoming international cooperation teams to conduct ecological research there, he said. While downsizing the mining industry, Tibet is also promoting cultural tourism and striving to reduce damage to the environment, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 10:35:33|Editor: WX Video Player Close WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A number of rivers in the southeast of the United States are flooding following recent heavy rains while forecasts say more rain is on the way, local media reported Friday. Widespread rain is expected from Friday into the weekend for portions of U.S. states of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Carolinas, forecasters say. The Mississippi River was already at flood stage in areas from Missouri south into the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, according to a CNN report on Friday. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Friday due to the threat of more rain and flooding along the lower Mississippi region, said the report. The declaration allows the state to coordinate help needed in dealing with possible river flooding. The U.S. National Weather Service said in the state's capital city, Baton Rouge, the river water already was 1 foot (0.3 meter) above major flood stage and could rise another 2 feet (0.6 meter) over the next two weeks. In the state of Mississippi, north of Vicksburg, farmers were using bulldozers and other equipment to build levees to protect homes from rising waters this week, CNN affiliate WLBT reported. In Memphis, a major city in the state of Tennessee, the weather service has issued a flood warning until March 15. The Tennessee Valley Authority warned Thursday that though the river levels had begun to recede in northern Alabama and western Tennessee, local residents should not let their guard down with more rain expected this weekend. The Ohio River is also predicted to crest this weekend at Cairo, Illinois, at the third-highest level ever, the national weather service said. Earlier this week, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for affected counties, while Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin declared an emergency for the entire Bluegrass State. As many as 14 Tennessee counties remain under a state of emergency, reported WSMV-TV in Nashville, the capital of the state of Tennessee. On Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway so as to divert rising water away from New Orleans to sparsely populated areas. Local media said it is the first time in the spillway's 88-years of existence that it needed to be opened in consecutive years, and only the 13th time it has been opened at all. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 10:35:33|Editor: WX Video Player Close YANGON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is offering zone-wise tax exemption to entrepreneurs investing in a New Yangon City Project, aimed at attracting more investors to the city expansion project being implemented on lands to the west of Yangon River, according to the Myanmar Investment Commission Saturday. Those investing in Zone-1, which is least developed, can get a seven years' tax break, while those investing in Zone-2, which is moderately developed, will have five year's, and for Zone-3, which is developed, will enjoy three-years'. The new Yangon city project is being implemented by the New Yangon Development Company (NYDC), which is fully owned by the Yangon region government. The NYDC was launched on March 31, 2018 to invite investment to facilitate infrastructure development through public-private partnership. According to the Yangon regional government, the project of the NYDC is expected to create jobs for some 2 million people. Phase-1 of the project dealing with infrastructural development and costing over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, will cover construction of five townships, two bridges, a 26-km-long arterial road, 10 square-kilometer industrial zone , electric power generation factory and facilities, and water treatment plants. At present, the YNDC has invited expression of interest for Phase-1 infrastructural development projects for power supply and distribution, public transport, cyber connectivity infrastructure, municipal waste disposal, natural gas supply and distribution and setting up of a convention center. The new Yangon development project is based on recommendations from urban development plan drawn up by international and foreign entities, said the Yangon region government. The project began during the tenure of the previous government but was re-assessed under the incumbent government of the National League for Democracy (NLD). Yangon region currently has about 7.4 million population, which is projected to reach 10 million in the next 10 years. The region accounts for 26 percent of the country's gross domestic product in 2016 as estimated. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 12:20:54|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The issuance of Belt and Road bonds grew in the Chinese market after the country launched a pilot scheme to support the initiative. Eleven companies have issued a combined 23.5 billion yuan (3.5 billion U.S. dollars) in such bonds since the new financing channel was introduced last year, according to data from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. China allowed domestic and overseas companies as well as government-backed institutions in countries along the Belt and Road to issue such bonds via the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges early last year. Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, based on ancient land and maritime trade routes. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 13:16:08|Editor: WX Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian judge on Friday allowed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to attend the funeral of his grandson who died from meningitis. Seven-year-old Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva died Friday morning. Former President Lula was allowed to attend the wake and funeral, which will be held on Saturday in Brazil's southern state of Sao Paulo, where the majority of Lula's family resides. Lula will travel by plane and be escorted to the funeral ceremonies. Lawyers for the former president promised "not to share any information relating to the travel path," and said they will provide the location of the burial "directly to police." Under Brazil's law, a person serving a prison sentence may be allowed to temporarily leave prison to attend the funeral of a close relative, such as a parent, sibling, child or grandchild. During Brazil's military dictatorship, when Lula was imprisoned for his trade union activities, he was allowed to leave prison to attend the funeral of his mother. However, last year, judge Carolina Lebbos denied Lula's request to leave prison to attend the funeral of one of his brothers. Lula's lawyers appealed to a superior court, which allowed him to attend the funeral, but by that time, Lula's brother had already been buried. This time, Judge Lebbos decided to allow Lula to attend his grandson's funeral. The former president is serving a 12-year-and-one-month prison sentence in Curitiba for passive corruption and money laundering. His defense has maintained his innocence and insists that the former head of state is a victim of political persecution. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 13:31:11|Editor: WX Video Player Close WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department on Friday announced that the United States had imposed additional visa restrictions on the officials and their families aligned with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The United States revoked the visas of 49 Maduro-aligned individuals on Thursday, according to a statement issued by the State Department on Friday. The statement said Washington would continue to take measures against Maduro and his supporters, while also urging other countries to step up economic pressure on Maduro and his associates. In a parallel move on the same day, U.S. Treasury Department slapped fresh sanctions on six Venezuelan security officials aligned with Maduro. According to a statement issued by the Treasury, the six sanctioned officials "control many of the groups that prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela on February 23." Some of the targeted officials oversee Venezuelan security units in regions bordering Colombia and Brazil, according to the statement. The United States has piled up a large amount of "humanitarian aid" in the Colombian border city of Cucuta and Brazilian city Boa Vista, near Brazil's border with Venezuela. The Venezuelan government refused to let the aid cross the borders and called the aid operation a U.S.-orchestrated show designed to lead to an eventual invasion. At a press briefing on Friday, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams reaffirmed U.S. support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, and called on other governments to exert further pressure on the Maduro government. The United States has been pursuing a policy of economic, financial, political, diplomatic pressure towards Venezuela in support of Guaido, he said. Abrams also said that he had a "nice conversation" with the Russian ambassador to the United Nations (UN) on Thursday before the UN Security Council meeting, which failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on Venezuela, sponsored by the United States and Russia respectively. The U.S. draft received nine votes in favor, three against, and three abstentions in the 15-member council. The Security Council then voted on the Russian draft, which received four votes in favor, seven against and four abstentions. The Trump administration recognized Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on Jan. 23, days after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as president. In response to Washington's support for Guaido, Maduro announced he was severing "diplomatic and political" ties with the United States, ordering all the U.S. diplomatic and consular personnel to leave Venezuela in 72 hours. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 13:36:12|Editor: zh Video Player Close OTTAWA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa Friday expressed its dissatisfaction with and opposition to the issuance of Authority to Proceed by the Canadian Justice Ministry on the case of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. "The Chinese side is utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the issuance of Authority to Proceed by the Department of Justice Canada on the case of Meng Wanzhou," said a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy. "This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. The so-called 'rule of law' and 'judicial independence' asserted by Canada can not cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case of Meng Wanzhou," said the spokesperson. "Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the United States and immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Act of Canada," the spokesperson said. "The final result of the Canadian court to handle this case will be a touchstone for testing whether Canada adheres to the judicial independence or not. We will wait and see," the spokesperson added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 13:51:15|Editor: WX Video Player Close SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 2 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 30 others injured after a bus carrying them skidded off a mountainous road and fell into gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday. The accident took place late Friday night at Majalta in Udhampur district, about 204 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Last night a bus on its way from Surinsar to Srinagar rolled down into a deep gorge at Majalta here," a senior police official posted at Udhampur told Xinhua. "In the accident six passengers were killed, while as 30 others injured, of whom some are stated to be critical." Reports said soon after the news about accident spread, some locals as well as police officials rushed to the spot to carry out rescue work. The injured have been rushed to Government Medical College hospital Jammu for treatment, the officials said. According to police the bus was carrying local passengers. Police officials have registered a case and ordered investigations to ascertain the reason behind the deadly accident. Eyewitnesses said the wreckage of the bus was lying scattered in the gorge. Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. Officials say on an average over 400 deaths take place every day in India due to road accidents. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 13:51:16|Editor: WX Video Player Close OTTAWA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his Liberal government on Friday as he attempts to fend off the flames surrounding allegations that his senior staff interfered in a criminal prosecution case against Montreal-based construction and engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. Veteran parliamentarian Lawrence MacAulay was moved from the agriculture post to the veterans affairs ministry, two weeks after Jody Wilson-Raybould, who held the post after Trudeau dropped her as justice minister and attorney general, resigned from cabinet. Her future as a Liberal Member of Parliament remains in doubt following explosive testimony she presented to the House of Commons justice committee on Wednesday in which she accused Trudeau and his top advisors of pressuring her to offer SNC-Lavalin a remediation agreement that would allow the multinational corporation pay a fine rather than face a criminal trial on fraud and corruption charges. Canada's major opposition parties have called for a criminal investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a public inquiry on the allegations. Trudeau's focus was on tinkering with his cabinet as his majority three-year-old government now faces its most serious threat to remaining in office when Canadians vote in a general election this October. Marie-Claude Bibeau, who was previously the minister for international development, succeeds MacAulay and becomes the first woman to serve as Canada's agriculture minister. Maryam Monsef - the minister for women and gender equality who made international headlines in 2016 when it was revealed that she was born in Iran and was not Canada's first Afghan-born MP as the Liberals touted when she was elected to the House of Commons the year before - also had the international development portfolio added to her responsibilities. Canada's two major opposition parties - the Conservative Party and left-of-center New Democrat Party(NDP) - called on Trudeau to recall the House of Commons next week and cancel a scheduled two-week break for MPs to pursue constituency work. "Given the severity and credibility of the allegations against Justin Trudeau, and the cloud of scandal they have cast over his government, Trudeau must recall the House of Commons to sit next week so Members of Parliament can continue to hold him to account," Official opposition and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who won a House seat earlier this week in a by-election, echoed Scheer's statement by saying that Wilson-Raybould's revelations this week illustrated "just how far the Liberal government has gone to prioritize the interests of corporate elites over those of Canadians." Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 14:16:19|Editor: WX Video Player Close PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban commander and his bodyguard were killed after security forces stormed his hideout outside Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province on Saturday, a security official Safiullah Mohammadi said. The special operation was launched early Saturday in Bagh-e-Shamal area outside provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri, killing the commander and one of his bodyguards on the spot, the official said. Taliban militants haven't commented. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 14:21:19|Editor: zh Video Player Close ZHENGZHOU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Yan Chunguang, a hen farmer, is constantly checking an app on his phone that tells him the real-time changes in egg futures prices. "I never imagined that my ten thousand hens would be associated with all these numbers," said Yan, who owns the largest hen house in Zhangzhuang Village, Lankao County in central China's Henan Province. China approved the trading of egg futures in 2013 in the hope that futures trading can help stabilize egg prices by increasing liquidity in the market and offer companies more hedging tools to promote the healthy development of the egg industry. In January this year, an "insurance plus futures plus banking" project, an upgrade from the former "insurance plus futures" project was started in the village to bring loan services to extend the reach of financial services into the rural area and protect egg farmers from the volatility of the market and help them expand their operations. The "insurance plus futures" hedging project came as China launched the world's first apple futures in December 2017 to help growers hedge against risks amid price fluctuations. In late January, Yan's cooperative insured 176.4 tonnes of eggs for one month under the hedging project. During that period, egg sales were met with an abysmal season, and the price dipped below the target price at which the eggs were insured. Yan's cooperative will receive a reimbursement of 118,000 yuan (17,650 U.S. dollars) for its losses from the insurance company next week. "The new project will be effective in neutralizing risks during the hen rearing period and tackling the issue that farmers are unable to obtain a loan for want of collaterals," said Qiao Jianghong, general manager of Capital Jingdu Futures. With the price having been shielded from fluctuations, banks are now more than willing to give out loans to those who have their eyes set on expansion. "The agricultural sector is particularly susceptible to the swings of natural and market conditions," said Zhang Angang, deputy head of the Lankao county branch of Postal Savings Bank of China. "But the advent of 'insurance plus futures' project has insulated farmers from those risks and enabled them to earn a steady income." Through the upgraded version of the hedging project, the bank has lent more than two million yuan to egg farmers in the village. Zhang Heping, an egg farmer in the village waiting for his loan application of 50,000 yuan to come through, also considers himself a beneficiary of the project. China has been stressing the role that financial services play in the real economy and issued futures contracts for commodities including white sugar, soybeans and cotton. The "insurance plus futures" project was included in the "No. 1 Central Document," the first policy statement released by central authorities each year and seen as an indicator of policy priorities, for four consecutive years. "All the products of hen rearing households in the village are 'gold plated' by the financial instrument", Yan said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 14:31:20|Editor: zh Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Education has called for regulations on postgraduate student enrollment, academic essays evaluation and degree-awarding to be strictly observed by higher education institutions. The enrollment of students in postgraduate programs must be conducted in accord with the country's policies and regulations, admitting only candidates who stand out and setting no limits as to from which organization, which sector, which region, which school he or she comes, according to a directive issued by the ministry recently. Channels should be available for students to register their inquiries or appeals, and appeals or reports about enrollment results should be handled and investigated in a timely manner in accordance with regulations, the directive notes. Calling for greater attention to ensure strict compliance of regulations governing the evaluation of academic essays and the awarding of degrees to postgraduate students, the official document says arrangements should be in place to ensure students deemed not suitable to continue their degree drop out of the program in a timely manner. The ministry called for improving mechanisms for preventing and punishing academic misconduct and vowed "zero tolerance" for academic misconduct and paper plagiarism. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 16:11:36|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Guo Weimin, spokesman of the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attends a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2019. The CPPCC National Committee held a press conference on Saturday afternoon, one day ahead of its annual session. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The positive progress in the latest round of China-U.S. economic and trade consultations is welcome, a spokesperson for the national political advisory body said Saturday. Reaching a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible will not only benefit both countries, but also be good news for the world economy, Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said at a press conference. The latest round of consultations in Washington was held under the guidance of the important consensus reached by the presidents of the two countries during their Argentina meeting, and both sides have focused on issues of mutual concern, Guo said. "Substantial progress has been made on such specific issues as technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers, service industry, agriculture and exchange rates," he added. Both sides have vowed to enhance communication following the principle and direction set by the two heads of state and continue their work for the next stage, Guo said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 16:16:36|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Jose Aguiar LIMA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Peru's former ambassador to China Luis Chang Reyes said what impressed him most while traveling in China was seeing even remote areas of the vast country enjoy high living standards. China's development has succeeded where many other countries fail, benefiting all classes in the society, according to the China expert. "It was always surprising, because for me what was interesting was to see how China was developing outside its central zone, which is Beijing," Chang told Xinhua in an interview. Chang was Peru's ambassador to China from 2002 to 2006. Recalling his trips to China, he said, in 1980s many Chinese cities were undergoing development, with new steel-and-glass buildings popping up. "At the same time, you could see many people from the country, with their own customs, amid an urban setting trying to modernize itself. Almost the entire world rode bicycles, which was the means of mass transit in China. That lasted a long time," he said. In 2002 when he returned to China to work as an ambassador, the progress that "such a large country" had made in such a short time was a "shock." As the Chinese "continued to use bicycles" as a means of transport, they had "jumped from the bicycle to motorized vehicles," Chang said. On a personal journey, he traveled to Zhongshan in Guangdong province to visit the ancestral home of his father, who emigrated to Peru in 1933. The long trip gave him the opportunity to see much of the Chinese countryside and its evolution. "I went there perhaps four times from 2002" and each time it was surprising to see that development in China was not limited to Beijing and other business and financial centers, he said. Economic links between China and Peru are "splendid" and complementary, according to the former ambassador. Peru has what China needs and the Asian giant supplies Peru with technology and industrial goods, including vehicles and telephones, he said. "There's a very good relationship," Chang said, noting the extent of trade between the two countries. "I think there is still a lot of room to advance." Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 16:46:45|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- As the annual sessions of China's top legislative and advisory bodies approach, world experts look forward to a greater role of China in improving global governance. William Jones, Washington bureau chief of the U.S. publication Executive Intelligence Review, praised China's contribution to tackling global issues and believed China's wisdom as well as its philosophy will further benefit the whole world. "The world is now at a point where if we want to really resolve the problems that we have, we have to look for a different philosophy," said Jones. After 40 years of reform and opening-up, China has now become a major factor in world politics and a major player in the world economy, and "humanity can benefit very much from the Chinese way of doing things," he said. Mentioning China's emphasis on shared interests, Jones said it is something "that is worthwhile for the world to attempt to implement as a working hypothesis for how we resolve our differences" and that will help create "a situation of great benefit not only for ourselves but also for future generations." Sotiris Petropoulos, assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese in Greece, said in an emailed interview that next week can be seen as another opportunity to highlight China's role as a responsible major country. The two sessions will "discuss and take decision on further steps of China both on the national and the international arenas," Petropoulos said. "By further opening up its economy, in an era of economic uncertainty, China can stress its constructive stance towards global economic governance issues," he said. "Like in the past when the global agenda was focusing on trade and later on environmental issues, momentum is again building up for China ... in a multipolar world of diverse national interests," the expert said. China is undergoing great internal transformations while playing a significant role in the world, said Krzysztof Gawlikowski, an expert from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Poland. "On the international arena, China, as one of the great leaders, should present her vision which could attract attention of other nations," said Gawlikowski. The expert expected more contributions from China on global economic development and global environmental protection. "China could be a world leader in this respect," the expert said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 17:11:49|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and tech professionals from China and the United States will convene in May in Silicon Valley to explore possible areas for collaboration, an organizer said on Friday. The Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Festival, which has entered the fourth year since it was launched in 2016, is scheduled for May 2 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the Bay Area, about 72 km southeast of San Francisco. The event will be organized by Ding Ding TV, a local Internet TV station, and the China-U.S. Business Summit, in partnership with Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce. This year's conference will focus on digital transformation opportunities in artificial intelligence. Big data, the internet of things, digital marketing trends and content evolution as well as venture capital are the areas of focus, said chief executive officer of the festival and founder of Ding Ding TV Diana Ding at a press conference held on Friday in Santa Clara County, California. "This year's festival will welcome world-leading investors and entrepreneurs in the United States and Asia and showcase innovative ideas and breakthroughs in investment and entrepreneurship," said mayor of Santa Clara Lisa Gillmor at the press conference. "It's going to bring together economists, investors, innovators to talk about the future of technology," said Gillmor. "Last year, the festival attracted about 1,800 individuals. This year, we expect more." During the festival, Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and a Chinese-American U.S. presidential candidate for 2020, will deliver a speech on the future of artificial intelligence, Ding said. Michael Condry, former chief technical officer for Intel Corporation, will talk about his own experience in entrepreneurship, she added. More than 5,000 people attended the past three gatherings, including more than 300 speakers and nearly 1,000 investors and industry leaders. The past three events also featured hundreds of projects on frontier technologies. The event is aimed at establishing a platform to facilitate engagement between investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world, and to showcase brand influence on a global stage, said Ding. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 17:11:49|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close Guo Weimin, spokesman of the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attends a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2019. The CPPCC National Committee held a press conference on Saturday afternoon, one day ahead of its annual session. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan) BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China will hold a series of activities this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's political advisory body, a spokesperson said Saturday. The activities include holding related conferences and exhibitions, enhancing theoretical research on the CPPCC, and producing CPPCC-themed publications and documentaries, said Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the second session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, at a press conference. As a distinctively Chinese political institution, the CPPCC is an important organ for multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China. It is a major channel for socialist consultative democracy and a specialist consultative body. The CPPCC system has grown more mature over the past 70 years, Guo said. "Focusing on the Party and country's key tasks, the CPPCC is playing an increasingly important role in political consultation, democratic oversight, and participation in and deliberation of state affairs," he noted. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 17:36:54|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir/ISLAMABAD, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Three civilians were killed while three others wounded in cross-border shelling between Indian and Pakistani troops on Line of Control (LoC) dividing the disputed Kashmir region, Indian police said Saturday. The skirmish broke out Friday evening and continued for several hours in frontier Poonch district, about 180 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to a senior police official posted in Poonch. The heavy shelling triggered panic in nearby villages, according to locals. Meanwhile, the Pakistani army said Saturday that two civilians were killed and two others injured along the LoC in the past 24 hours. An army statement said Indian troops undertook to fire along the LoC in Hotspring, Tatta Pani and Jandrot Sectors where India also "deliberately targeted civil population." "Pakistan Army troops gave a befitting response by targeting Indian posts," the statement from the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said, adding Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy "continue to be alert and vigilant." Tensions escalated between Islamabad and New Delhi following a suicide attack on Indian security personnel in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14, which killed over 40 paramilitary troopers. On Tuesday India claimed its warplanes struck a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group in northwest Pakistan, which is blamed by New Delhi for the deadly attack. In what to be seen a tit-for-tat action, Pakistan army said its air force bombed Indian targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. On Wednesday, Pakistan army said it shot down two Indian fighter jets along the LoC and captured an Indian pilot. The pilot was released and handed over to Indian authorities late Friday. The international community is making efforts to defuse tensions between the two neighbors. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered dialogue to the Indian government over the ongoing tense situation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 17:41:57|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close MACAO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Macao's total merchandise export in January amounted to 1.53 billion patacas (about 189.31 million U.S. dollars), up 24.6 percent year-on-year, and export rose 7.2 percent to 8.97 billion patacas (about 1.11 billion dollars), the special administrative region's statistic service said on Saturday. The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) showed the value of re-exports increased 28.3 percent to 1.39 billion patacas (about 171.99 million dollars), with that of beauty and cosmetic products, diamond and jewelry surging 274.5 percent and 175.0 percent. The report added the imports of motor cars and motorcycles, garments and footwear expanded 72.2 percent and 57.5 percent respectively, but that of construction materials and mobile phones fell 45.5 percent and 32.8 percent respectively. Analyzed by destination, merchandise export to the mainland decreased 21.9 percent year-on-year to 167 million patacas (about 20.66 million dollars). Meanwhile, exports to Hong Kong SAR (1.12 billion patacas or 138.58 million dollars), the United States (27 million patacas or 3.34 million dollars) and the European Union (16 million patacas or 1.98 million dollars) grew 38.6 percent, 74.9 percent and 27.9 percent respectively. By place of origin, merchandise import from the mainland (3.17 billion patacas or 392.23 million dollars) and the European Union (2.49 billion patacas or 308.09 million dollars) increased 3.6 percent and 30.7 percent respectively year-on-year. Merchandise trade deficit in January amounted to 7.44 billion patacas (about 920.56 million dollars), while external merchandise trade totaled 10.50 billion patacas (about 1.30 billion dollars). Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 18:57:18|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MAIMANA, Afghanistan, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Some 15 militants were killed after the Afghan forces repelled a Taliban attack to capture a district in northern Faryab province, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Saturday. A group of Taliban fighters launched a well-coordinated offensive on security checkpoints to overrun Qaisar district early Saturday but faced resistance and finally retreated after losing 15 fighters on the spot, said the spokesman. Over a dozen more insurgents sustained injuries, Rezai added. Six security personnel were also killed in the firefight which lasted for three hours, the spokesman said. The Taliban militants have not commented on the clashes. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 19:57:27|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are the key moves taken by policymakers in the past week to enhance China's economic strength and sustainability. -- MORE DETAILS ABOUT NEW TECH BOARD China's top securities regulator on Wednesday unveiled more details about the new science and technology innovation board designed to boost financial reform and development of the high-tech sector. The tech board will ease the listing criteria, such as allowing firms that have yet to make a profit to list, but adopt higher requirements for information disclosure, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The new board will follow a market-based approach to determine the prices, scale, market value and pace of new initial public offerings. Most of the potential firms are located in regions with clusters of technology firms, including Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, and are in such industries as new-generation information technology, biopharmaceuticals, high-end manufacturing and new materials. -- IRON ORE FUTURES TRADING China will allow overseas individual investors to participate in the trading of iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange starting Wednesday, the exchange said in an online statement Tuesday. The announcement came after the country opened iron ore futures to foreign institutional investors in May last year as part of the financial opening-up efforts. Iron ore contracts were launched in 2013 and broadly traded among producers and traders, with futures prices closely correlated to spot prices. -- AUTONOMOUS DRIVING China encourages exploration and opposes monopoly in developing autonomous driving technologies and products, the country's top transport regulator said Thursday. Failure can be tolerated but safety should be ensured during the development process, according to the Ministry of Transport. Last year, China issued a guideline to regulate road tests of autonomous driving and another on closed testing ground development. Three sites, located in Beijing, Chongqing and Xi'an, have earned the official nod for such testing. -- EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO WORK SAFETY ACCIDENTS China has issued regulations to improve emergency response to work safety accidents. The State Council will be in charge of the overall national task, while local governments at county-level and above are responsible for local emergency response to work safety accidents, according to the regulations issued by the State Council made public Friday. The regulations also emphasized emergency rescue, requiring production and business units to initiate emergency response plans immediately, taking rescue actions and reporting related information to regulators in case of safety accidents. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 20:02:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOGADISHU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union top envoy in Somalia on Saturday condemned Thursday's terrorist attack on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that left at least 36 people dead and more than 60 others injured. Francisco Madeira, special representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia said the attack on Hotel Makkah Al-Mukaramah and other nearby businesses by al-Shabab is another proof that the militants have no respect for human rights or regard for the sanctity of human life. "Their selfish aim is to scuttle the progress so far achieved by the federal and state governments and their development partners in stabilizing Somalia," Madeira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. The AU envoy expressed solidarity with the government and sent his condolences to the bereaved families. He prayed for the quick recovery of those who sustained injuries. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 20:17:32|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close JAKARTA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from collapse of an illegal gold mine in central Indonesia has reached nine as unstable soil condition vulnerable to another mine slide hampered efforts to rescue the trapped miners, a disaster agency official said on Saturday. Over 60 miners were working underground on Tuesday when the incident hit the unlicensed mine in Bakan village of Bolaang Mongondow district in North Sulawesi province, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. So far, 19 miners have been rescued, most of whom sustained injuries and were receiving medical treatment at a nearby hospital, said Abdul Muin Peputungan, head of the emergency unit of the Disaster Management Agency in Bolaang Mongondow district. At least three survivors have been shifted to a bigger hospital for their serious injuries, such as broken backbone, which require an immediate surgery. The official revealed that the threat of further landslide aborted a plan to operate three excavators at the scene to remove the rubble and open access to the tunnel. "Another landslide in the mine was occurring. When we were trying to enter the mine, we could hear the sounds of falling soil and rocks," he told Xinhua. "This endangers the rescuers and the excavator could also be plunged downward or buried by the rubble should a landslide take place," he added. However, the official said the search and rescue efforts persisted. "We set up three rescue teams working alternately every day," Abdul said. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said that poor geographical condition of the mine, which is situated in steep slopes, has also slowed the rescue operation. Poor mine infrastructure and too many holes dug by miners amid unstable soil condition were blamed for the incident, according to the agency. The government has prohibited operation of illegal gold mines, which are often situated in remote areas. With lacking of safety standard, such activities have often triggered mine incidents in Indonesia, a natural resources-rich nation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 20:22:34|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close KAMPALA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China National Offshore Oil Corporation has said it seeks to reach the Final Investment Decision (FID) in Uganda's oil sector by mid this year. Cui Yujun, vice president of CNOOC Uganda Limited told reporters late on Friday that they are in the process of ensuring that the FID is reached. FID is the detailed plan which an oil company will follow to develop an oil field. "A lot of work is being undertaken both in Uganda and at headquarter in Beijing to ensure we can achieve this. We are trying to get first oil as soon as possible. We are working with the government side," Cui said. Cui said once the FID is concluded, contracts will be awarded to a service provider and the first oil out of the ground will be in 36 months. He said CNOOC is interested in acquiring a bigger stake in Uganda's oil sector. CNOOC, Total and Tullow have an equal stake in Uganda's so far discovered oil wells in the Albertine Graben, in the western part of the country. Uganda expects to start commercial production of oil by 2022. The country will build a crude oil pipeline to the Tanzania seaport of Tanga and also a refinery in the oil wells. Ministry of energy and mineral development figures show that Uganda has so far discovered over 6.5 billion barrels of oil. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 21:07:43|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KABUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Both the Afghan security forces and the Taliban outfit have intensified attacks against each other as scores have been reported killed in showdowns over the past two days in Afghanistan. Taliban militants, in an offensive against an army base in the southern Helmand province on Friday which lasted for several hours, killed more than 20 security personnel and injured over a dozen others, defense ministry has confirmed. However, a local official on the condition of anonymity, has disputed the number of casualties reported by the defense ministry, saying about 40 military personnel including garrison commander were killed and several others injured. A group of Taliban militants including three suicide bombers stormed the garrison in Shorab area of the poppy-growing Helmand province at 02:00 a.m. local time on Friday, triggering fierce fighting which lasted until 07:00 p.m. local time the same day. Meanwhile, another official who declined to be identified said that sporadic fighting was continuing until Saturday afternoon. Zabihullah Mujahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media, has claimed that the militants' attack on Shorab base was continuing until Saturday and scores of Afghans and American service members were killed or injured. However, spokesman for Helmand's provincial governor Omar Zawak has rejected Taliban spokesman's claim, saying no foreigner was hurt. Meanwhile, the 205th Atal Corps in the southern region said in a statement on Saturday that 51 militants had been killed and dozens of others injured in the southern Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces over the past 48 hours. Afghan observers believe that both the Taliban and government forces would continue to increase military activities amid ongoing peace talks between the Taliban outfit and the U.S. delegation to have upper hand at possible direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban delegation expected in coming months. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 21:27:45|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAMASCUS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led coalition on Saturday fired white phosphorus munitions on an Islamic State (IS)-held area in eastern Syria, state news agency SANA reported. The shelling targeted the farmlands of the town of Baghouz, the last IS-held area in the eastern Euphrates River region in eastern Deir al-Zour province. The report spelled no details on losses. A day earlier, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) started its last push against remnants of IS militants in the Baghouz area, the SDF spokesman said. After securing the evacuation of civilians and kidnapped SDF fighters, the SDF launched the final push against the IS-held area in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province, said Mustafa Bali, the SDF spokesman. He said only terrorists are remaining in Baghouz. The SDF fighters had been waiting for the civilians to fully evacuate Baghouz to launch the final stage of battle to eliminate IS completely from the few areas they control in farmlands of Baghouz. The U.S.-led coalition has been backing the SDF in their push against IS in that area since September of last year. The Syrian government repeatedly accused the U.S.-led coalition of targeting civilians in their fight against IS, calling on the international community to dissolve the U.S.-led coalition in Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 22:17:55|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A new comprehensive bonded zone has been established in Hunchun city, northeast China's Jilin Province, which borders Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Formerly known as the Hunchun Export Processing Zone (EPZ), which was one of the 15 pilot EPZs approved by the State Council in April 2000, the bonded zone is the second in Jilin, following the Xinglong Bonded Zone in the provincial capital of Changchun. Changchun Customs expects to develop Hunchun into a regional logistic hub in northeast Asia for high-end warehousing, supply chain management, smart logistics distribution and transaction settlement. Hunchun has four road and railway ports at the national leval, surrounded by a dozen Russian and DPRK ports. The border city is opening wider as China and Russia agreed to carry out the Northern Sea Route cooperation and jointly build the Polar Silk Road in 2017. Trade volume between Hunchun and Russia was 4.61 billion yuan (688 million U.S. dollars) last year, up by 90.1 percent year on year. The import volume has been more than doubled to 4.46 billion yuan annually. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 22:32:58|Editor: yan Video Player Close RIYADH, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Air Force will take part in Red Flag 2019, an international military drill held from March 3 to 16 in the United States. The Saudi Air Force, along with the air forces from the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Belgium, the Netherlands, and Singapore, will take part in the exercise, the second of its kind in 2019, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Red Flag exercise, launched in 1975, is a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise held several times a year by the U.S. Air Force. The purpose of the exercise is to give pilots from the United States, NATO and other allied countries an opportunity to practice and refine skills for real combat situations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 22:38:00|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABUJA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Scores of local residents have been reported missing in southern Nigeria following a gas explosion at a trunk line at the Niger Delta area, local authorities confirmed on Saturday. The incident since Friday has caused panic in the Nembe area of the southern state of Bayelsa, as many residents, including women and children, fled for safety, the local Nembe Chiefs Council said. Nengi James-Eriworio, a spokesman for the Nembe Chiefs Council, told Xinhua that at least six communities were affected by the disaster. Fishing is the source of livelihood of the local Nembe people. "This incident has caused massive destruction of the area with air and water heavily polluted," James-Eriworio said. The cause of Friday's explosion is not known. And no injuries or other casualties have been confirmed so far. However, almost 60 or more people have also been reported missing, a top security officer in Bayelsa told Xinhua by telephone on Saturday. "It is not clear whether those missing, including women and children, are dead or alive," the security source said. The creek trunk line is operated by Aiteo Group, based in Nigeria's oil hub Port-Harcourt. The trunk line carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. The pipeline is also jointly owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company, Oando, and Agip. For many years, communities around Nigeria's onshore Niger Delta had complained of large spills from oil pipelines. Local and foreign oil firms operating in the area had also blamed the oil spills on sabotage, illegal refining, and theft by the local people. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Regulus Resources Inc. ("Regulus" or the "Company", REG TSX.V) is pleased to report an updated mineral resource estimate for its AntaKori copper-gold project in northern Peru. This is the first mineral resource estimate prepared for Regulus at the project and supercedes a previous estimate prepared for Southern Legacy Minerals Inc. (SLM), (see press release by SLM dated July 3, 2012). Regulus engaged Wood (formerly AMEC Foster Wheeler) to independently estimate the mineral resources at AntaKori. The estimate relies on new data from drilling completed by Regulus through November 2018 and drilling data provided through a collaborative agreement established in 2017 with the adjoining property holder (see press release by Regulus dated Jan 24, 2017). Highlights from the updated resource estimate AntaKori copper-gold project Additional drilling data has allowed significant conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to the Indicated Mineral Resource category as well as the definition of additional Inferred Mineral Resources Reasonable long term metal prices used compared to the historical resource Updated cost, NSR, and arsenic penalties considered A collaborative exploration agreement with the operator of the immediately adjoining Tantahuatay Mine, allows for modeling of a large open pit with layback onto adjoining property to more completely capture mineral resources All mineral resources reported are on Regulus concessions with no reporting of mineralization from adjoining concessions The amount of drilling data available has more than doubled from that available for the previous resource estimate with Regulus completing more than 20,000m of drilling in its initial 2017-18 drilling campaign This is an interim resource estimate to provide an update on progress at the project - the resource remains open to the north with potential for significant expansion with additional drilling A summary of the Mineral Resource estimate is presented in Table 1 below: Table 1. Summary of AntaKori Mineral Resource Estimate at a 0.3% CuEq Cut-off Resource Million Cu Grade Au Grade Ag Grade CuEq Grade AuEq Grade Cu Au Ag CuEq AuEq Category Tonnes (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) B lbs M oz M oz B lbs M oz Indicated 250 0.48 0.29 7.5 0.74 1.09 2.6 2.3 61 4.1 8.8 Inferred 267 0.41 0.26 7.8 0.66 0.96 2.4 2.2 67 3.9 8.2 Please note that the CuEq and AuEq grades and metal contents in this table are mutually exclusive and are not additive. See Table 3 for additional notes. John Black, Chief Executive Officer of Regulus, commented as follows: We are very pleased to provide an updated interim resource estimate for the AntaKori project that shows a substantial increase in size from the previous report. This new estimate not only takes into account approximately 20,000 m of drilling completed by Regulus in 2017-2018, but also uses assumptions and methodologies that we believe are better supported for the project in order to generate a higher level of confidence in the reported estimate. While this report is a significant milestone for the project, it is important to understand that it only represents a marker along the path and not the final destination. We expect that there will be several more increases to the size of the mineral resource at the AntaKori project as we continue to define the full extent of the mineralized system. We look forward to an exciting year of drilling activity in 2019 as we plan to complete 20-25,000m of drilling. Dr. Kevin B. Heather, Chief Geological Officer of Regulus, commented as follows: This interim resource estimate is a substantial increase in both tonnage and contained metals over the historical estimate for the project, however, we have yet to find the limits of the mineralization and additional drilling is clearly warranted to extend the known mineralization. It is remarkable to note that hole AK-18-026, (see press release by Regulus on Jan 30, 2019) which intersected 473.2 metres with 1.16% Cu, 0.21 g/t Au and 8.4 g/t Ag (1.39% CuEq), falls outside the new mineral resource estimate due to lack of supporting drill holes in that area. This provides tangible evidence of the potential to grow the currently reported resource. Mineralization at the AntaKori copper-gold project The AntaKori system hosts two principal styles of copper-gold-silver sulphide mineralization: 1) mineralized skarn and breccias (Cu-Au-Ag) within Cretaceous calcareous sedimentary rocks, likely associated with as-yet undiscovered porphyry mineralization; and 2) younger, epithermal high-sulphidation (HS) mineralization (Cu-Au-Ag-As) in overlying Miocene volcanic rocks and breccias that host the adjacent Tantahuatay heap-leach gold mine to the south. The younger high-sulphidation mineralization is characterized by pyrite-enargite and locally overprints the earlier skarn mineralization (pyrite-chalcopyrite-magnetite), particularly along the southern part of the AntaKori system. Drill holes at AntaKori typically encounter the overlying Miocene volcanic rocks and high-sulphidation style mineralization prior to entering the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence and skarn at depth. As the drilling progresses to the north, the volcanic rocks terminate, and drill holes will commence directly in the skarn/porphyry environment within the Cretaceous sedimentary sequence. Regulus mineral concessions and agreements with adjoining property holders The Regulus AntaKori project consists of 20 mineral concessions totalling 289 ha in area that are located immediately to the north of the Tantahuatay gold-silver mine in northern Peru. The concessions are adjoining to and interfingered with mining and exploration concessions held by Compania Minera Coimolache S.A. (Coimolache or CMC), the owner and operator of the Tantahuatay Mine, and mineralization extends across property boundaries. Regulus has entered into a collaborative exploration agreement with Coimolache that allows for mutual access, mutual rights of expansion and collaborative exploration with a principal objective of determining the size and nature of copper-gold sulphide mineralization on both parties concessions and with a secondary objective of allowing the expansion of Coimolaches Tantahuatay oxide gold-silver mine by way of lay-back onto Regulus mining concessions (see press release by Regulus dated Jan 24, 2017). The collaborative agreement allows Coimolache and Regulus to model a conceptual pit shell that lays back onto the AOI to provide for more complete capture of resources on Regulus concessions. Regulus may only report information and mineral resources from Regulus concessions. The AntaKori property also adjoins and interfingers with mineral exploration concessions to the north that belong to Compania Minera Colquirrumi S.A. (Colquirrumi), a wholly owned subsidiary of Buenaventura. Regulus has an agreement with Colquirrumi that allows Regulus an option to earn up to a 70% interest in a large area (2,571 hectares) of Colquirrumi mining concessions located immediately to the north and east of Regulus mining concession by completing 7,500m of drilling. The Colquirrumi agreement provides for similar mutual access and mutual rights of expansion terms as the Coimolache agreement and thereby allows the development of a conceptual pit design to extend onto this ground to allow for more complete definition of resources on Regulus concessions. No mineral resources have been defined on the Colquirrumi ground in this report. Mineral Resource Estimate This Antakori Mineral Resource estimate has an effective date of February 22, 2019 and was prepared by Mr. Douglas Reid, Principal Geological Engineer, Wood. The Mineral Resource estimate is prepared and reported in accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. Mr. Reid is the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate. A technical report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Regulus website at www.regulusresources.com within 45 days of the issuance of this news release. The following tables show the Mineral Resource estimate with sensitivity to varying CuEq grade cut-offs. Table 2 AntaKori Indicated Mineral Resources AntaKori Inferred Mineral Resource Contained Metals CuEq Cut-off Tonnes CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag As CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag (%) (millions) (%) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (ppm) (B lbs) (M oz) (B lbs) (M oz) (M oz) 0.2 296 0.66 0.98 0.42 0.26 6.9 793 4.3 9.3 2.7 2.5 66 0.3 250 0.74 1.09 0.48 0.29 7.5 857 4.1 8.8 2.6 2.3 61 0.4 201 0.84 1.23 0.54 0.32 8.3 969 3.7 7.9 2.4 2.1 54 0.5 152 0.96 1.41 0.63 0.37 9.2 1137 3.2 6.9 2.1 1.8 45 0.6 118 1.08 1.59 0.71 0.42 10.1 1304 2.8 6.0 1.9 1.6 38 0.7 93 1.20 1.76 0.79 0.46 10.9 1480 2.5 5.3 1.6 1.4 33 0.8 73 1.32 1.94 0.87 0.51 11.7 1669 2.1 4.6 1.4 1.2 28 0.9 57 1.45 2.13 0.96 0.56 12.5 1874 1.8 3.9 1.2 1.0 23 1 45 1.59 2.33 1.05 0.62 13.2 2086 1.6 3.4 1.0 0.9 19 See Table 3 for notes Table 3 AntaKori Inferred Mineral Resources AntaKori Inferred Mineral Resource Contained Metals CuEq Cut-off Tonnes CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag As CuEq AuEq Cu Au Ag (%) (millions) (%) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (ppm) (B lbs) (M oz) (B lbs) (M oz) (M oz) 0.2 320 0.59 0.86 0.36 0.24 7.2 484 4.2 8.9 2.6 2.5 74 0.3 267 0.66 0.96 0.41 0.26 7.8 518 3.9 8.2 2.4 2.2 67 0.4 199 0.76 1.12 0.48 0.30 8.7 597 3.3 7.2 2.1 1.9 56 0.5 146 0.87 1.28 0.56 0.34 9.6 702 2.8 6.0 1.8 1.6 45 0.6 112 0.98 1.43 0.63 0.38 10.3 808 2.4 5.1 1.6 1.4 37 0.7 89 1.06 1.56 0.69 0.41 10.8 910 2.1 4.4 1.3 1.2 31 0.8 69 1.15 1.69 0.75 0.45 11.4 1005 1.8 3.8 1.1 1.0 25 0.9 53 1.24 1.82 0.80 0.48 12.0 1096 1.5 3.1 0.9 0.8 21 1 40 1.34 1.96 0.87 0.53 12.5 1169 1.2 2.5 0.8 0.7 16 Notes to accompany Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource tables (Tables 1-3) assuming open pit mining methods for AntaKori Project: Mineral Resources have an effective date of 22 February 2019; Douglas Reid, P. Eng., a Wood employee, is the Qualified Person responsible for the Mineral Resource estimate. Inputs to costs for cut-off grade assumes a conventional truck and shovel open pit mine handling and feeding a 60,000 t/d concentrator and producing a copper-gold concentrate with arsenic for sale to specialists in concentrate trading, third-party smelters and refineries. Mineral Resources are reported based on a CuEq cut-off of 0.30% constrained within a pit shell. Mineral Resources are only reported within Regulus concessions. CuEq and AuEq grades and metal contents in this table are mutually exclusive and are not additive. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Copper price used is US$6,614/t (US$3.00/lb), gold price is US$1,400/oz, silver price is US$18.00/oz. Assumed metallurgical recoveries: copper 85%, gold 55%, silver 50%. Assumed pit slope of 45 degrees. Assumed open pit mining cost of US$1.85/t plus lift charge to average US$2.00/t, processing cost of US$7.18/t, G&A cost US$1.00/t. Copper equivalent formula: CuEq = Cu + 0.6805561*Au + 0.008750*Ag (no use of Pb, Zn or Mo and no metallurgical recovery was applied to the copper equivalent formula. Gold equivalent formula: AuEq = Au + 1.469387*Cu + 0.012857*Ag (no use of Pb, Zn or Mo and no metallurgical recovery was applied to the gold equivalent formula). Mineral Resources are reported on a 100% basis. Tonnages are reported as metric tonnes rounded to million tonnes; copper, gold grades and equivalent grades are rounded to two decimal places, silver is rounded to one decimal place. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences. Based on the economic criteria listed in Table 4, a reasonable cut-off grade was determined to be 0.30% CuEq according to similar projects in the industry of copper arsenical concentrate. This cut-off grade was based on a range of As concentrate grades and associated penalties. At the metal prices used the cut-off was determined to be 0.25% CuEq for low As concentrates and 0.32% CuEq for high As concentrates and with the prospect of blending the 0.3% CuEq cut-off grade was considered reasonable. The close-out date for the AntaKori database is December 18, 2018 and all drilling up to Regulus drill hole AK-18-027 was included in the database. Mineral Resource Estimation Methods Leapfrog was used to construct a model of lithological domains which were used to constrain resource estimation. Five metre composites were created within each domain. Separate variograms for copper, gold and silver were constructed for the main lithological domains supported by sufficient number of composites to produce a robust variogram. Metal grades were capped using outlier restriction prior to estimation. Ordinary kriging (OK) and Inverse Distance Squared (ID) were selected to estimate the copper, gold and silver grades within the block model. OK estimation was used in the major domains and ID was used to estimate in the minor domains. Multiple pass estimation strategies were used. Generally, a minimum of 5 and maximum of 20 samples were allowed for estimation purposes. Model validation checks included a global bias check where the OK estimate was compared to the nearest-neighbour (NN) grades at a zero cutoff, local bias checks using swath plots, change of support checks using Herco plots, and visual data inspection. Based on internal confidence limit guidelines, Wood conducted a drill hole spacing study. This study determined the drill hole spacing required for classification of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources. Currently there are no Measured Resources within the AntaKori project. Resource blocks with sufficient drill spacing to allow Indicated classification were downgraded to the Inferred category if the supporting legacy drill holes lacked sufficient QA-QC documentation. The final limits for the Indicated and Inferred classifications were smoothed to remove isolated blocks of one classification in areas where most of the blocks were classified to another category. Conceptual Pit Shell To demonstrate reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE), Wood constructed a conceptual pit shell for the AntaKori project using the Whittle software and based on Indicated and Inferred mineralized material. The mineralization considered in the conceptual pit shell was limited to sulphide material, the minor amount of oxide material was treated as waste for this exercise. Parameters for the conceptual pit shell assumed the deposit would be developed as a long-life operation consisting of a conventional truck and shovel open pit mine feeding a 60,000 t/d concentrator, producing a copper-gold concentrate containing arsenic on-site for sale to third-party refineries. Processing costs assumed a sulphide concentrate would be produced using flotation methods to recover copper, gold, and silver. Parameters are listed in Table 4. Table 4: Parameters for Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction Parameter Value Units Copper Price 6,614 US$/t Gold Price 1,400 US$/oz Silver Price 18.00 US$/oz Treatment Charge Cu (average) See footnote 300 $/DMT Conc Copper Refining Charge (US$0.25/lb) 148.81 $/DMT Conc Gold Refining Charge (US$5/oz) 1.52 $/DMT Conc Silver Refining Charge (US$0.3/oz) 2.43 $/DMT Conc Freight and shipping 120 $/DMT Conc Copper Recovery (Rec Cu ) 85 % Gold Recovery (Rec Au ) 55 % Silver Recovery (Rec Ag ) 50 % Arsenic Recovery (Rec As ) 80 % Overall Pit Slope 45 Mining Cost 1.85 US$/t Material Moved Processing Cost 7.18 US$/t Material Treated G&A Cost 1.00 US$/t Material Treated Note: For treatment charges depending on the arsenic content the following rule was used: US$ 500/DMT, if As conc >5%; US$ 300/DMT, if As conc >3%; US$ 250/DMT, if As conc >0.5% and As conc <=3%; US$ 100/DMT, if As conc <0.5%. and additionally, an Arsenic penalty was applied based on: if As conc<0.5% and As conc>0.3%, 5 US$/dmt each 0.1% Metal prices net selling cost including concentrate refining. Bench-marked mining, processing and general and administrative (G&A) costs based on estimates and current costs for similar sized and similar types of operations in the region. Metallurgical recoveries are based on testing benchmarks. To date, only preliminary metallurgical studies have been completed at AntaKori. A 5% NSR was applied to mineralized material from the CMC AOI as per the Coimolache agreement. The pit shell was determined by evaluation of a Net Smelter Return (NSR) with NSR block cut-off grade (BCOG) = 10.03 $/t. The NSR of each block has been calculated using the following formula: NSR= 45.07* Cu + 24.10 * Au + 0.30 * Ag The conceptual pit shell was restricted to CuAuAg mineralization that occurs on AntaKori permits, the CMC AOI and the CMC permits outside and south of the AOI as shown in Figure 1. CMC Data was not accessible for the CMC concessions outside the AOI so this area was assumed to be waste material. Based upon precedent agreements and a demonstrated working relation between Regulus and CMC, an assumption is made that Regulus will be able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with respect to CMC concessions to the south of the AOI similar to the existing agreement. It is anticipated that a new agreement would provide for the removal of CMC owned material under the same terms of the current collaborative agreement. The impact of not reaching such an agreement would be to reduce the stated Regulus owned resources by approximately 10% in tonnage with the grade remaining essentially the same. Additional risks to the mineral resource estimate include assumptions regarding geological continuity being different from what has been interpreted, unrecognized bias in the assay results from legacy drilling where there was limited documentation of the QA-QC procedures, metallurgical recoveries being different from what was assumed, inability to achieve smelter agreements for the concentrate at reasonable rates, and changes to the forecast economic parameters used in the estimates. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0259c450-ddbd-46d4-9ef4-95a782799381 The conceptual resource constraining pit shell reaches a depth of approximately 600m at the deepest point. The ratio of waste to total in-pit resource (Regulus and CMC) at a cut-off of 0.3% CuEQ is approximately 0.85. Although the conceptual pit shell captures much of the material classified with an Inferred or Indicated level of confidence, there is significant mineralized material that falls outside of the conceptual pit shell and additional drilling will likely convert more mineralization to resource status in the future. Data verification and QAQC Collar surveys, downhole surveys, assays, and lithology data for Regulus holes drilled in 2017 to 2018 were validated in the database by comparison of the database values to original documents. No discrepancies were discovered. For holes drilled prior to 2017, no original data were available or collar or downhole surveys. Collars for 47 holes (67% of historical collars) were re-surveyed by a contractor and compared to the database. A small number of minor discrepancies were corrected. Assay data for historical drilling were compared to original documents and no significant discrepancies were identified. Most of the available core was relogged by Regulus in 2017 and 2018 so there is no need to verify against original records. Density data from 2007-2008 and 2017-2018 were compared to original documents and a very small number of discrepancies in the 2007-2008 data were identified and corrected. Documentation of the QA-QC data for the 1997-1998 drilling program was not available. Documentation of the QA-QC data for 2007-2008 program was not available, but the QC data (duplicate samples, standard reference materials, and blank samples) from the laboratory were available and evaluated. QA-QC for 2017-2018 consisted of insertion of standard reference materials, duplicate samples, blank samples, and submission of check assays to an umpire laboratory. Those data were continuously evaluated during the drilling program and possible problems identified and evaluated. Insertion rates were consistent with industry best practices. As a result of these evaluations, Wood considers the data to be reliable as follows: 1997-1998 data are not supported by documented QA-QC and are thus able to support only Inferred Mineral Resources; 2007-2008 data are supported by documented QA-QC data from the laboratory only. We consider these data adequate to support Indicated Mineral Resources and preliminary mine planning; 2017-2018 data are thoroughly supported by documented QA-QC data and are adequate to support Measured Mineral Resources and mine planning. CMC data provided to Regulus were audited before they were used. Approximately 6% of the collar data were audited. Downhole survey reports for 35% of the 2016-2018 drill program were audited. Data from prior drill programs were not available. Assay certificates for 1% of the historical (pre-2016) data were available and 75% of the 2016-2018 data. Density data (178 determinations) were compared to original documents. No discrepancies were identified in any of the audited data. Regulus did not receive any raw QA-QC data. Wood reviewed QC reports for May, June, and July 2018 which indicate that the 2018 drill program was supported by adequate QC. Without any documented QC data, any block that relies on these drill holes for more than 50% of the data used to estimate a block was limited to Inferred Mineral Resources. This report relies on information provided by CMC, not to be publicly disclosed, that has been reviewed by Wood and found to be valid and appropriate for use in the support of the resource estimate. Next Steps - Metallurgical Investigations Regulus will undertake a geometallurgical modelling program at AntaKori commencing in 2019. The objective will be to integrate the geological understanding of the deposit with metallurgical characterization of the various mineralization styles. This will involve, among other activities, bench scale flotation testing, ore microscopy, and comminution tests. Regulus has taken a significant step in understanding the whole rock mineralogy with the implementation of hyperspectral scanning of all drill core from the project. It is expected that the eventual level of understanding of the minerals and their behavior in processing will be among the most complete of any project in the world today. These investigations will also include a very high degree of focus on the deleterious elements found in the AntaKori project resource, most notably, arsenic. Characterization of the occurrence of Arsenic from geological observations and laboratory studies will help in the development of future metallurgical test work programs developed jointly with Wood and others. Generally, copper ores around the world are showing increased levels of arsenic as cleaner ores are depleted. There is a considerable amount of research effort taking place funded by many of the producers in the industry. Regulus strives to stay informed on the potential treatment pathways forward and the associated capital and operating costs. Next Steps - Continued Drilling Program Regulus will continue resource definition drilling at the AntaKori project with plans for 20,000 to 25,000m to be completed in 2019. This second phase drilling campaign will focus on determining the full extent of the mineralized system on Regulus concessions and concessions where Regulus can earn-in to an interest such as the Colquirrumi ground to the north. The AntaKori copper-gold sulphide system remains open in several directions, most notably to the north. To date, drilling permits have only allowed drilling to the south, closer to the Tantahuatay Mine. Regulus anticipates that additional drill permits will be approved about mid-2019 that will allow drilling to progress farther to the north. Sampling and Analytical Procedures Regulus follows systematic and rigorous sampling and analytical protocols which meet and exceed industry standards. These protocols are summarized below and are available on the Regulus website at www.regulusresources.com . All drill holes are diamond core holes with PQ, HQ or NQ core diameters. Drill core is collected at the drill site where recovery and RQD (Rock Quality Designation) measurements are taken before the core is transported by truck to the Regulus core logging facility in Cajamarca, where it is photographed and geologically logged. The core is then cut in half with a diamond saw blade with half the sample retained in the core box for future reference and the other half placed into a pre-labelled plastic bag, sealed with a plastic zip tie, and identified with a unique sample number. The core is typically sampled over a 1 to 2 metre sample interval unless the geologist determines the presence of an important geological contact. The bagged samples are then stored in a secure area pending shipment to a certified laboratory sample preparation facility. Samples are sent by batch to the ALS laboratory in Lima for assay. Regulus independently inserts certified control standards, coarse field blanks, and duplicates into the sample stream to monitor data quality. These standards are inserted blindly to the laboratory in the sample sequence prior to departure from the Regulus core storage facilities. At the laboratory samples are dried, crushed, and pulverized and then analyzed using a fire assay AA finish analysis for gold and a full multi-acid digestion with ICP-AES analysis for other elements. Samples with results that exceed maximum detection values for gold are re-analyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish and other elements of interest are re-analyzed using precise ore-grade ICP analytical techniques. For Further Information, please contact: Regulus Resources Inc. John E. Black, CEO / Director Phone: +1 303 618-7797 mobile +1 720 514-9036 office Email: john.black@regulusresources.com About Regulus Resources Inc. and the AntaKori Project Regulus Resources Inc. is an international mineral exploration company run by an experienced technical and management team, with a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration properties located in North and South America. The principal project held by Regulus is the AntaKori copper-gold-silver project in northern Peru. Mineralization remains open in most directions and drilling is currently underway to confirm and increase the size of the resource. For further information on Regulus Resources Inc., please consult our website at www.regulusresources.com . Qualified Persons The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the AntaKori project has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Kevin B. Heather, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc, Ph.D, FAusIMM, Chief Geological Officer of Regulus Resources Inc. who serves as the qualified person (QP) for the AntaKori Project under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Douglas Reid. P. Eng., and Dr. Ted Eggleston Ph.D., P. Geo, RM SME of Wood (formerly Amec Foster Wheeler) are Independent Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (43-101) and are independent consultants to Regulus. Mr. Reid prepared the Mineral Resource estimate and has reviewed and considers it to fairly and accurately summarize the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Eggleston has reviewed the press release and considers it to fairly and accurately summarize the geological other technical data for the AntaKori project that forms the basis for the Mineral Resource estimate. 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. Forward Looking Information Certain statements regarding Regulus, including management's assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond Regulus' control. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Specifically, and without limitation, all statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Regulus expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including the proposed exploration and development of the AntaKori project described herein, the completion of the anticipated drilling program, the completion of an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate and management's assessment of future plans and operations and statements with respect to the completion of the anticipated exploration and development programs, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond Regulus' control. These risks may cause actual financial and operating results, performance, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Although Regulus 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. The forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Regulus does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities law. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 22:48:07|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of national lawmakers and political advisors are gathering in Beijing for the annual "two sessions," a key event in China's political calendar. The second sessions of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will convene on March 5 and March 3 respectively. The year 2019 is crucial for the country's bid to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the Communist Party of China (CPC) marks its centenary. The lawmakers and political advisors are upbeat on the prospects. "I'm keeping a close eye on poverty relief in extremely poor areas," said He Yanzheng, a political advisor from southwest China's Sichuan Province. "Medical care is the key, especially the training of health professionals in rural areas. We must prevent people from falling back into poverty due to illness." China is aiming to eliminate extreme poverty by 2020, considered a basic requirement for the centenary goal. According to government figures, rural residents living below the national poverty line dropped to 16.6 million as of the end of 2018, down by 13.86 million year on year. "Chinese authorities have been addressing the issue of unbalanced and inadequate development with a series of measures," said Wei Houkai, head of the Rural Development Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also a national lawmaker. "People who benefit from these measures feel gratified." More than 80 million people have been lifted out of poverty over the past six years, said Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, at a press conference Saturday, describing the feat as nothing less than a miracle. Guo acknowledged some weak points in the anti-poverty work but was overall confident on reaching the goal. His confidence was shared by lawmakers and political advisors. And not without reason. China achieved a medium-high GDP growth rate of 6.6 percent in 2018, defying economic difficulties and downward pressure. The growth forecast for 2019, to be announced by the government work report, is now a focus of interest from home and abroad. The unveiling of the report is a fixture of the two sessions. "Major economic indicators are expected to be kept within an appropriate range, and more space and condition will be created for structural adjustment," Zhang Zhanbin, head of the School of Marxism at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said in his capacity as a political advisor. Zhang said he and fellow advisors should pool their wisdom on issues such as innovation, deepening reform and opening up, building a market environment for fair competition to help the economy achieve high-quality development. Last year, China broke records on both foreign trade and foreign direct investment. This was achieved on the backdrop of lackluster global growth and showed growing overseas confidence on Chinese economy, lawmakers and political advisors said. In its latest business climate survey published in late February, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said 62 percent of its members viewed China as a top three global priority for investment. The optimism is widely expected to get a boost at the two sessions as lawmakers will deliberate a key piece of legislation to be submitted for a third reading. Once adopted, the draft law will replace three existing laws related to foreign investment. Zhou Mi, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the unified legislation would strengthen promotion and protection of foreign investment, sending a strong message of China's new round of high-level opening-up. "The longer a person watches China and the broader he looks, the more confident he will be about the country," said Tu Xinquan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics. But tough challenges remain to be overcome. Issues concerning people's well-being have always been hot topics at the two sessions. These include education, medical care, food and drug safety and social security. Last year, more than 13.61 million urban jobs were created; personal income tax threshold raised, tax benefits granted; and 17 types of cancer drugs included in the national basic medical insurance program. "I think jobs will be at the spotlight this year," said Xu Xing, a professor at Nankai University. "More measures are likely to be rolled out to primarily address the employment of university graduates, migrant workers and veterans." Xu also expects more government spending on education, more drugs to be included in the medical insurance programs, policies to boost the provision of senior care, and measures to stabilize the housing market. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 22:58:09|Editor: yan Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Ministers or representatives from the 16 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) participating countries on Saturday reiterated their commitment to conclude negotiations on the RCEP trade pact by the end of this year, said a joint statement. "The ministers recalled the Leaders' determination to conclude a modern, comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial RCEP in 2019, and resolved to exert utmost effort to achieve this target," said the statement released after the 7th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting (7th RCEP ISSL MM) in Cambodia's Siem Reap province. The one-day meeting was opened by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, it said. The ministers commended the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) for the good progress made to date on both market access and text-based negotiations, but at the same time recognized that more work still needs to be done to advance both aspects of the negotiations, the statement said. It added that the ministers urged all RCEP participating countries to address specific sensitivities while working towards achieving commercially meaningful and balanced outcomes. "The ministers remained confident that with collective commitment and pragmatism, the chapters and annexes that would comprise the RCEP Agreement can be concluded soon," the statement said. It added that the ministers reiterated that it is the collective responsibility of all RCEP participating countries to ensure progress by overcoming negotiation challenges and finding solutions to the remaining issues through constructive engagement. "To ensure that progress is made towards meeting the Leaders' mandate for conclusion in 2019, the ministers agreed to intensify engagement for the remainder of the year, including by convening more intersessional meetings," the statement said. The ministers agreed to meet next at the 8th RCEP ISSL MM to be held in August after the 27th RCEP TNC meeting and related meetings, it said. The RCEP, a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 ASEAN member states and six of their FTA partners -- China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, is expected to be one of the world's largest trading blocs, accounting for 45 percent of the world population, 40 percent of global trade and one third of the world's GDP. The talks on RCEP was launched in 2012. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 23:08:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- One more of China's most wanted graft fugitives has returned to China and turned himself in 17 years after fleeing overseas, China's top anti-graft authority announced Saturday. Li Jianxiong, a former real estate transaction official at Nanhai District of Foshan City in Guangdong Province, is suspected of graft crime. The procuratorate in Nanhai District started investigating his case in July 2002, two months after he fled. Li was listed on an Interpol Red Notice in May 2003. Through work by an office in charge of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery under the central anti-corruption coordination group, he turned himself in Friday and expressed his willingness to return his illegal gains. An official with the office said fugitive repatriation and asset recovery is a journey to which there is no end. "No room or illusion (of being unpunished) will be left for corrupt officials." Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 23:23:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close SHENZHEN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Xiaoyong was once called "China's Van Gogh," as the farmer turned oil painter made over 100,000 replicas of Van Gogh's work over the past 20 years. However, he never saw a single authentic piece of the Dutch post-impressionist painter until 2014 when he finally saved enough for a trip to the Netherlands. The trip inspired him to think over his business and create his own works. "The masterpieces that I saw at the European museums made me realize that I have to develop my own style." Zhao is from Dafen, a village known for oil paintings in southern China's Shenzhen City. Home to 1,200 studios and 8,000 painters, the village produces millions of replicas of Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso that are sold at home and abroad. According to statistics, 80 percent of oil paintings exported from China come from Dafen. While the market demand for replicas is shrinking, Zhao and other painters in the village are creating their own art styles and attracting tourists. Neighboring Hong Kong, Shenzhen is one of China's first special economic zones for the country's reform and opening drive. The painting industry started in Dafen Village in 1989 when Hong Kong purchasers sought to establish an oil painting base nearby. Zhao, who quit his job at a craft factory, started learning how to paint from scratch in 1996. He imitated Van Gogh's works via a painting album, including "sunflowers" and "almond blossoms." He sold his first works in 1999 when an American buyer ordered 20 paintings. More orders later came from abroad, prompting Zhao to recruit apprentices. "My wife and my younger brothers are all my students," he said with a smile. "I was even called 'China's Van Gogh' in a documentary." Zhao and his team worked from 1 p.m. to 3 a.m. painting eight pieces per person every day at most. Prices for the replicas ranged from 200 yuan (30 U.S. dollars) to 3,000 yuan per piece, depending on the size. In 2008, when the economic recession hit most parts of the world, a drastic reduction of foreign orders forced Zhao to explore the domestic market. Profits kept shrinking after 2012 due to consumers' diversifying tastes and rising costs. Since then, many painters in the village have given up making replicas and turned to innovation and creation. Chen Qiuzhi, who used to paint copies of masterpieces like Zhao, has worked hard to develop his own style, combining Chinese calligraphy with painting. To support him, his wife sold two apartments and had an art center built. The center, located at the far end of Dafen village, covers an exhibition area of over 3,000 square meters and has become a landmark of Dafen. Some 100 calligraphy works are exhibited at the center with other craftwork. Ten years of hard work has won him fame, with his works popular in the auction market. Now, one piece of his calligraphy is worth tens of thousands of yuan, almost 100 times the value of replicas he painted in the past. The art center also draws visitors. "Only by creation can one's works be remembered," said Chen. Today, Dafen has gathered nearly 300 art creators. In 2017, the annual output value of Dafen reached 4.15 billion yuan, among which the original works have accounted for 20 to 30 percent. From imitation to creation, Dafen Village has been making the transition from a low-end oil painting workshop cluster to an art center, said Liu Yajing, director of the village's oil painting office. She said an oil painting museum, a performance theater, a training center and a hotel are being built to develop the village into a tourist resort featuring oil painting production, trade, training and exhibition. Compared with his Van Gogh replicas, painter Zhao finds his own works hard to sell. But he believes that he will finally be recognized someday in the future. "Imitation leads me nowhere. I will continue to concentrate on creation for the market and also for my dream as a real artist," Zhao said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 23:23:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday agreed with his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman that the two countries need to strengthen their joint work on fighting terrorism and in military-technical fields, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "During the telephone conversation, defense minsters of the two countries noted the importance to step up cooperation in combating terrorist threats," a ministry statement said. They also discussed prospects of advancing collaboration in the military and military-technical fields, it added. Shoigu also offered condolences on the death of Indian servicemen as a result of a terrorist attack earlier last month. On Feb. 14, a suicide attack in the Pulwama district of the Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel, which triggered a new wave of armed clashes between the two countries. Militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad, which is outlawed in Pakistan, claimed the responsibility for the attack. India blamed Pakistan of links with the attack but Pakistan rejected the allegations. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he hopes that the current crisis between India and Pakistan will be settled soon. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 23:23:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close DEBRE BIRHAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday inaugurated the Chinese-built Debre Birhan industrial park, constructed in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state. The Debre Birhan industrial park constructed by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) at a cost of more than 71 million U.S. dollars is expected to create job opportunities to more than 1,000 Ethiopians. Stretched on 75 hectares of land, Debre Birhan industrial park has eight industrial sheds ready to accommodate prospective investors. The Kenyan president applauded the Ethiopian prime minister for spearheading Ethiopia's economic change that has seen Ethiopia inaugurate several development projects including the Debre Birhan industrial park, according to the Office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office. Speaking to Xinhua recently, Lelise Neme, CEO of Ethiopia Industrial Park Development Corporation (IPDC), said Ethiopia aims to commission six industrial parks, including Debre Birhan industrial park, before the end of the current fiscal year 2018/19, in July. "Ethiopia has invested around 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in the construction of around a dozen industrial parks, which it sees as a key strategy of achieving Ethiopia's industrial ambitions," said Neme. "Ethiopia has so far built and commissioned five industrial parks and with the anticipated commissioning of six more industrial parks in 2018/19, Ethiopia's industrialization ambitions will receive a massive boost," Neme told Xinhua. With Ethiopia attracting large-scale investment in the export-import-oriented manufacturing sector, especially from Chinese firms, the country sees improving the efficiency and speed of the logistics sector as key to meet national manufacturing revenue goals. Ethiopia plans to increase the number of operational industrial parks from the current five to around 30 by 2025, as part of its efforts to make the country a light manufacturing hub and lower-middle-income economy in the same period. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-02 23:28:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close ADWA, Ethiopia, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia on Saturday colorfully celebrated the 123rd anniversary of Ethiopia's victory of Adwa with calls to intensify anti-poverty efforts. The battle of Adwa in March 2, 1896, which is also referred to as the first Ethiopian-Italian war, marks the first black victory against a colonizer force in the African continent. The war is believed to have initiated other freedom fighters in the African continent to struggle towards independence. Speaking at the ceremony in the northern Ethiopian city of Adwa where the battle occurred, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, said the Adwa victory showed nothing is impossible when fighting against a colonial force, a courage that should be repeated in Ethiopia's anti-poverty efforts. "Adwa victory shows despite our internal problems, there is no challenge that can't be overcome if we have unity. The Adwa victory should be repeated in our anti-poverty struggle to create a prosperous Ethiopia," said Zewde. "Our ancestors' heroism shown in the Adwa victory was heard all around the world for others who were fighting colonial forces," said the Ethiopian president. "The Adwa victory happened at a time when it was unthinkable to fight off white colonial forces and was an inspiration for colonized people in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia," she further said. Debretsion Gebremichael, Deputy President of Ethiopia's Tigray regional state, where Adwa city is located said the Adwa victory should be repeated in Ethiopia's anti-poverty efforts. "The Adwa victory should be honored with sustained anti-poverty efforts as well as efforts to fight any foreign interference in Ethiopia's sovereignty," said Gebremichael. Gebremichael also said Ethiopia should construct permanent memorials, to help the Adwa victory tales be told to future generations to serve as an inspiration. "The place where the Adwa victory occurred should be converted to a memorial place including a museum that can attract tourists, as well as those on educational trips," he said. "There are efforts to create a Pan-African University in Adwa, a university of scholarly research and education especially for African researchers. Tigray regional state will give logistical and financial support to the tune of 150 million Ethiopian birr (5.2 million U.S. dollars) to realize the university," said Gebremichael. The Ethiopian government has already allocated some 150 hectares of land for the construction of the Adwa Pan-African University. The Battle of Adwa victory ceremony also saw young Ethiopians who travelled for months on foot to reach the battle site to honor their heroic ancestors. One such individual is 24-year-old Michael Daniel, who travelled 720 kilometers on foot for close to two months from central Ethiopia to Adwa city to honor the Adwa victory. "Adwa victory is an inspiration for Ethiopia and Africa in general. It's a great victory that should be honored, as it was an inspiration for other anti-colonial fights," Daniel told Xinhua. I want to extend my deep gratitude to the Ethiopian people who extended support to me, during my road trip honoring the Adwa victory," he further said. File Photo: Workers install batterries for an electric vehicle at the Rugao base of auto maker Green Wheel EV in Rugao City, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Cungen) SAN FRANCISCO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China is capable of building world-class electric vehicles thanks to the proactive engagement on the part of its tech companies, an auto industry expert has said. "I do see the possibility for China to build world-class (electric) vehicles because of the entrance of these really smart tech companies," said Michael Dunne, CEO of ZoZo Go, a Hong Kong-based global auto advisory firm with expertise in China and auto tech, in a recent interview with Xinhua in Silicon Valley. The tech companies he referred to include Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, the three Chinese internet giants collectively known as BAT in the tech industry, which have invested heavily in developing autonomous driving technologies. Dunne reaffirms the industry expectation that the first wave of Chinese cars is expected to hit the U.S. roads in 2020. "It's not low-end, affordable and small cars like Japanese or Korean cars. It's high-end, premium cars," said Dunne. He cited the NIO ES8, what he called "China's 65,000-U.S. dollar Tesla," as an example. "It's very much like the Tesla I drive," he said. The smart voice assistance system also enables the driver to turn on air conditioning or open sunroof, he said. Founded in 2014, the Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO is building a "sophisticated, connected, world-class" car, said Dunne, who has worked at General Motors to run its Indonesian operations. "The dynamic is changed," said Dunne, noting that Chinese government, welcoming electric vehicles as a more environmentally-friendly option, encourages these tech companies to engage in auto tech innovation. "It's the first time that NIO, Byton and others, which are pure tech ... and privately-owned, moving very fast with ambition," said Dunne. At the same time, he cautioned that Chinese auto companies need to overcome some challenges in order to be successful in the United States. The Chinese companies should first have good communication with local governments and officials, he said. "We want to be a good citizen, we want to be visible, we want to communicate openly," he said. Secondly, they need to work hard to win over the American consumers who have many choices, said Dunne. "The American consumers are spoiled," he said. Dunne added: "I think the U.S. automakers are aware of how powerful the Chinese automakers can be and they would prepare accordingly. They have an eye on that: how do we compete with the Chinese when they come to the U.S.?" Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-03 00:38:29|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday that issues between Pakistan and India should be resolved through dialogue and diplomatic channels. Qureshi made the remarks while addressing a press conference in the country's eastern city of Lahore. He said that being a democratic country, Pakistan believed in resolving issues with India through dialogue and diplomatic channel as diplomacy should be the first line of defense rather than the use of military. "Peace is our priority and we do not desire war with India," said Qureshi, adding that Pakistan is actively taking steps to de-escalate and defuse the situation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-03 01:38:35|Editor: yan Video Player Close NICOSIA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus President Nicos Anasasiades has flown to London for a three-day "guest of government" visit to the UK, it was announced on Saturday. The visit, from March 3 to 6, will be the first ever in the 59 years of statehood of Cyprus after its independence from British colonial rule. The British High Commission in Cyprus explained that the main difference of a 'guest of government' visit from a state visit is that during a state visit Anastasiades would stay at Buckingham Palace - which he is not going to do. "We are delighted to welcome President Anastasiades to London as a guest of the UK government from March 3 to 6 - the highest level visit ever by a Cypriot President to the UK," said the British High Commission in a statement. It added that the invitation to Anastasiades has been extended as he has not been in the UK for some time, and the British government believes relations between the two countries have never been better. Britain has retained two areas in Cyprus, constituting 3 percent of its territory, which are used as Sovereign Bases, while tens of thousands of Britons have set up their residence in Cyprus. An estimated 300,000 Cypriots of first, second and third generation are living in Britain, which is the main source of tourism for Cyprus. An estimated 40,000 Cypriots have studied in British universities. Though the presence of the bases on Cypriot soil is at times a vexing factor, Cyprus and Britain work very closely together and have extensive commercial and economic relations. "This visit reflects the importance the UK attaches to our bilateral relationship, and our confidence that those relations will continue to develop and expand in the future, particularly in areas such as education and defence and security," the High Commission noted. Anastasiades will have audiences with the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cambridge, during a "Celebrating for Cyprus" event at the Buckingham Palace on Sunday. The event will be hosted by the Prince of Wales, who has an interest in Cyprus. It will focus on the Cyprus diaspora to British society and Cypriot cultural heritage and will be addressed by Anastasiades. On the political side, Anastasiades will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss issues of mutual interest including Brexit, the Cyprus issue, expanding bilateral links in education and defence and security, and the Commonwealth. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novoheart Holdings Inc. (Novoheart or the Company) reports financial results for the three and six months ended December 31, 2018. Amounts, unless specified otherwise, are expressed in Canadian dollars and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Q2 2019 Highlights: Entered into a multi-phase partnership with another top-15 Pharmaceutical Company (the Global Pharma Partner ) to develop high-throughput contractility assays ) to develop high-throughput contractility assays Entered into a third project with Pfizer Inc. ( Pfizer ) extending disease modeling work on Friedreichs Ataxia ) extending disease modeling work on Friedreichs Ataxia Published a research paper with Pfizer on the predictive capabilities of the MyHeart Platform Appointed Chief Operating Officer as the Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2019 The Company recorded net loss of $1,945,459 (loss per share of $0.02) for the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to a net loss of $1,660,675 (loss per share of $0.02) for the three months ended December 31, 2017. On a year-to-date basis, the Company recorded a net loss of $3,895,260(loss per share of $0.04) for the six months ended December 31, 2018 compared to a net loss of $7,933,244 (loss per share of $0.15) for the six months ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in the net loss on a year-to-date basis was due primarily to the completion of the reverse takeover transaction that occurred in Q1 2018, for which the Company incurred a non-cash loss on completion of reverse takeover of $5,213,597. The decrease is offset by the increase in operating expenses including costs in marketing, share-based compensation and research and development,compared to the six months ended December 31, 2017. For the second quarter of 2019, the Company recorded revenue of $5,255 and cost of sales of $1,744, achieving a gross margin of 67%. The revenue was from a contract with the Global Pharma Partner. The contract with the Global Pharma Partner requires the Company to design and fabricate reliable multi-well plates for high-throughput generation, culture and contractility measurements of miniature engineered human cardiac tissue strips. Services commenced in December 2018. Operating expenses for the second quarter of 2019 was $1,999,010 compared to the operating expenses of $1,737,289 for the second quarter of 2018. Operating expenses for the six months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were $3,974,694 and $2,829,756, respectively. The increase in operating expenses is primarily due to the increase in marketing expenses, shared-based compensation expenses and research and development expenses. The increase in marketing expenses is primarily due to expansion of the commercialization of its MyHeartTM platform, along with the hiring of the Senior Vice President commercial development in August 2018 to lead the effort. For share-based compensation expenses, such expenses were only incurred upon the Company being listed on September 27, 2017. The increase in research and development expenses is primarily due to the expansion of Novohearts scientific team resulting in an increase in personnel costs, the completion of the ITF project and the commencement of a sponsored research agreement signed with the Regents of the University of California, Irvine Campus. Liquidity and Outstanding Share Capital As at December 31, 2018, the Company had cash of $666,494. From the service agreement with XT, the Company received proceeds of $1,1811,680 in Q2 2019 and received the remaining balance of $452,920 in February 2019. As at March 1, 2019, there were 94,634,025 common shares issued and outstanding, and 5,018,555 common shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options (of which none are exercisable) at an exercise price ranging from $0.32 to $0.50 per share and 1,183,000 of the issuance of vested restricted share units. The Company also has 972,037 purchase warrants outstanding with an exercise price of C$0.50, expiring in September 2019. Results of Annual General Meeting Novoheart is pleased to announce the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders held on February 11, 2019. Shareholders elected six directors to the Companys board, being Dr. Ronald Li, Dr. Camie Chan, Victor Chang, Ricky Chiu, Allen Ma and James Topham. The shareholders also approved all other matters proposed, including the re-appointment of KPMG LLP, Chartered Accountants as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and the re-approval of the Companys stock option plan. All share compensation arrangements of the Company, including the RSU Plan, will not exceed 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. ABOUT NOVOHEART HOLDINGS INC. Novoheart is a global stem cell biotechnology company dedicated to human heart engineering with offices and laboratories in the United States, Canada and Hong Kong. Novohearts scientific team has pioneered a range of bioengineering technologies collectively known as the MyHeartTM platform, including the worlds first human mini-heart novoHeartTM (otherwise known as a human heart-in-a-jar) that is fully capable of pumping and ejecting fluid. Novoheart believes that its proprietary platform uniquely positions the Company to enter into commercial partnerships with leading pharmaceuticals and research institutions to deliver pre-clinical cardiotoxicity screening and to develop custom-tailored engineered heart constructs for disease modeling and drug discovery. Novoheart also believes that the MyHeartTM platform is well-positioned for the potential development of cell-based cardiac regenerative therapies with superior safety and efficacy. Common shares of Novoheart is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NVH. For further information please contact: Novoheart Holdings Inc. Suite 1430, 800 West Pender Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2V6 Ronald Li Chief Executive Officer info@novoheart.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation; statements about the Companys future plans, its goals and expectations, and the potential applications its MyHeartTM platform are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risks identified in the management discussion and analysis section of Novoheart Holdings Inc.s interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the respective companies undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. NOVOHEART HOLDINGS INC. (Formerly Novoheart Holdings Limited) Condensed Consolidated Interim Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) (Expressed in Canadian dollars) December 31, 2018 June 30, 2018 ASSETS Current Cash and cash equivalents $ 666,494 $ 1,595,094 Accounts and other receivables 538,818 615,332 Prepaid expenses and deposits 281,177 312,161 1,486,489 2,522,587 Property and equipment, net 1,081,384 1,245,981 Intangible assets, net 246,815 277,948 $ 2,814,688 $ 4,046,516 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,272,828 $ 1,357,713 Contract liabilities 1,811,680 - Due to related parties 41,180 60,684 3,125,688 1,418,397 Deferred government grants 31,976 40,648 Long-term license payable 81,003 75,424 3,238,667 1,534,469 Shareholders' Equity Share capital 17,426,693 17,426,693 Contributed surplus 2,411,981 1,493,175 Accumulated other comprehensive income 343,689 303,261 Accumulated deficit (20,606,342 ) (16,711,082 ) (423,979 ) 2,512,047 $ 2,814,688 $ 4,046,516 NOVOHEART HOLDINGS INC. (Formerly Novoheart Holdings Limited) Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss (unaudited) (Expressed in Canadian dollars, except number of common shares) Three months ended Six months ended December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Revenue $ 5,255 - $ 5,255 - Cost of sales 1,744 - 1,744 - 3,511 - 3,511 - OPERATING EXPENSES Research and development $ 575,277 $ 427,475 $ 935,554 $ 691,135 Intellectual property and patent 27,240 103,781 68,809 361,339 General and administrative 734,200 842,718 1,281,404 1,382,112 Marketing 199,428 13,015 439,893 13,015 Share-based compensation 295,483 295,500 918,806 300,222 Depreciation and amortization 167,382 54,800 331,228 72,933 1,999,010 1,737,289 3,974,694 2,820,756 LOSS FROM OPERATIONS (1,995,499 ) (1,737,289 ) (3,971,183 ) (2,820,756 ) Government grants 49,469 16,310 73,338 21,687 Other (loss) / income - 53,856 (344 ) 110,665 Interest income / (finance expense) 101 (1,263 ) 1,798 (1,768 ) Foreign exchange gain / (loss) 470 7,711 1,131 (29,475 ) Non-cash loss on completion of reverse takeover - - - (5,213,597 ) 50,040 76,614 75,923 (5,112,488 ) NET LOSS FOR THE PERIOD $ (1,945,459 ) $ (1,660,675 ) $ (3,895,260 ) $ (7,933,244 ) OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) Foreign currency translation adjustment 12,701 (17,215 ) 40,428 (58,041 ) COMPREHENSIVE LOSS FOR THE PERIOD $ (1,932,758 ) $ (1,677,890 ) $ (3,854,832 ) $ (7,991,285 ) Loss per share Basic and Diluted $ (0.02 ) $ (0.02 ) $ (0.04 ) $ (0.15 ) Weighted average number of shares outstanding basic and diluted 93,462,025 93,462,025 93,462,025 52,110,915 NOVOHEART HOLDINGS INC. (Formerly Novoheart Holdings Limited) Condensed Consolidated Interim Statements of Cash Flow (unaudited) (Expressed in Canadian dollars) For the six months ended December 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net loss for the period $ (3,895,260 ) $ (7,933,244 ) Items not affecting cash: Non-cash loss on completion of reverse takeover - 5,213,597 Share-based compensation 918,806 300,222 Depreciation and amortization 331,228 72,933 (2,645,226 ) (2,346,492 ) Changes in non-cash working capital items: Increase/(decrease) in accounts and other receivables 112,399 (12,817 ) Decrease/(increase) in prepaid expenses 64,004 (321,664 ) Decrease / (increase) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities (153,606 ) 599,886 Decrease in due to related parties (31,037 ) (11,686 ) Increase in contract liabilities 1,755,520 - Decrease in deferred government grants (11,241 ) (10,830 ) 1,621,318 242,889 Net cash used in operating activities (909,187 ) (2,103,603 ) CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES Acquisition of equipment and payment of leasehold improvements (34,341 ) (42,428 ) Prepayment for equipment - (1,213,048 ) Net cash used in investing activities (34,341 ) (1,255,476 ) CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES Proceeds from share issuance, net - 6,663,982 Cash acquired in RTO - 112,662 Net cash provided by financing activities - 6,776,644 Change in cash during the period (943,528 ) 3,417,565 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash held in a foreign currency 14,928 (13,387 ) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 1,595,094 1,319,748 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 666,494 $ 4,723,926 Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-03 01:43:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Apple Inc. recent crackdown on the misuse of its enterprise developer certificates has taken a toll on Iranian startups offering services through iOS apps, Eghtesadonline news website reported on Saturday. Apple suspended iOS distribution certificates of numerous Iranian app developers on Thursday. Following the move, access to over 20 locally-developed iOS apps were blocked, including mobile banking, shopping, and ride-hailing services. This is not the first time that Iranian iOS apps are aborted due to the sudden decisions made by Apple. In previous cases, online Iranian companies were singled out by Apple to enforce the U.S. sanctions against Iran. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-03 02:03:38|Editor: yan Video Player Close ZAGREB, March 2 (Xinhua) -- More than 350 Croatian journalists protested here on Saturday over increasing lawsuits against them. The reason for the protest is the increasing number of lawsuits against journalists. Currently there are 1,163 court proceedings against Croatian journalists and media. "There is enough persecution of journalists and destruction of the public profession. It has been going on for decades," said Hrvoje Zovko, president of the Croatian Journalists' Association. Protestors later submitted requests to the Ministry of Culture and the government against censorship. Among the eight requests sent to the government is the demand for the abolition of the misdemeanor lawsuits against journalists, for the legal protection of journalists, for amendments to the Law on Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) and the dismissal of its leadership, and the de-politicization of the Electronic Media Council. Croatian journalists particularly condemn the leadership of HRT public service, which has initiated several court proceedings against journalists of their own house. Journalists from Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina also attended the rally. The Croatian Journalists' Association has 2,500 members of professional journalists. However, it is estimated that in Croatia there are about 5,000 professional journalists, who have repeatedly asked for better working and professional conditions. Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-03 02:18:40|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani during their meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, March 2, 2019. Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani started Saturday a two-day official visit to Tunisia, Tunisian government said in a statement. (Xinhua/Adele Ezzine) TUNIS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani started Saturday a two-day official visit to Tunisia, Tunisian government said in a statement. "Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed will co-chair with his Qatari guest the meeting of Tunisian-Qatari High Joint Commission," said the statement. The meeting will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields including investment, finance and security. "During his visit, the Qatari minister will meet Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. On the sidelines of the Qatari minister's visit, many agreements in various fields would be signed between Tunisia and Qatar," said the statement. Liderii coalitiei merg la Iohannis dupa tensiunile recente Liderii coalitiei sunt marti seara cu presedintele Klaus Iohannis la Palatul Cotroceni. Intalnirea a inceput de la ora 18.30. Este prima discutie intre seful statului si liderii noii coalitii de guvernare de la momentul in care a fost investit in functie guvenul condus de Nicolae [citeste mai departe] Over the day, March 2, pro-Russian militants shelled positions of the Joint Forces in Donbas five times, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded. This is stated by the press center of the JFO on Facebook. During the current day, March 2, the enemy fired at the positions of our troops five times, one of them they used heavy weapons, it was reported. Militants fired at the positions of JFO units from mortars of 120 mm caliber near Vodyane, from automatic grenade launchers in the Verkhnyotoretske area, from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms - near Pisky settlement. Illegal armed formations also carried out shelling from heavy antitank grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms in the Lebedynske area, and Ukrainian defenders were fired from grenade launchers near Travneve. As a result, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded. Earlier president Petro Poroshenko announced the decision to raise the monetary support for the servicemen on the frontline while being in one of the main spots of the Joint Forces operation. The press service of the President of Ukraine reports this. "I made a decision and instruct the minister to raise the level of monetary support for those fighters who are on the frontline. From April 1, I order to increase the additional payment on the first line by $75. The minimum additional payment should be $500 for each soldier," Poroshenko stated. Besides, the President added that the additional payment on the second line must be increased by $37 and its level must be $205. We have to confirm that my top priority as the President and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," - Petro Poroshenko outlined. Poroshenko also emphasized the importance of providing monetary support for the Ukrainian military sailors defending the Azov coast. "The sailors during combat operations at sea should receive additional payment similar to the one the soldiers on the first line get," the Head of State said. The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko assured that the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin does not want the escalation of the Donbas conflict. The president stated this on the press conference in Minsk, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine. I told both presidents: You two decide in what direction to go with the agreement, and we will go this way if it is acceptable for the both of you. But if they both do not reach an agreement, it will be no use to interfere. It will be in vain. Thats why its crucial for them to come to an agreement. Everything depends on both presidents, maybe, on the Ukrainian one a little bit more, - Lukashenko said. At the same time, the president of Belarus believes that the first steps in order to settle the conflict down should be made by the Ukrainian president. I think the current Ukrainian president could be less ambitious, after the presidential elections, maybe. President Putin, I know for sure, does not want an escalation of the conflict. He needs, it is rather understood from the current situation, everything to be settled down on good terms for both parties. However, the first steps should be made by the president of Ukraine. Either Zelenskyi or Poroshenko, I have already told that Poroshenko should do something because the fire is in his house, - Lukashenko added. As we reported earlier, The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that the progress of the negotiations between the Normandy format on settling down the Donbas conflict could be reached provided the USA take part in the negotiations. The president of Belarus added that Belarus is ready for more active participation in negotiations. If you need our more active participation in the negotiations - just tell. I hate mediocrity and to meddle myself in, where it is not needed. You just tell us what to do and we will, I dont want to be blamed for interfering in another country's business with my peacekeeping presence. I cant stand this. But if there is something we can do, we will do our best, - Lukashenko added. The enemy used the Minsk-banned weaponry three times over 24 hours Open source The Russian militants violate the ceasefire regime four times, as a result, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded in Donbas conflict zone. The Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ reported this on Facebook. On March 1, the Russian militants attacked the Armed Forces of Ukraine four times, they also used the Minsk-banned weaponry three times. As a result of the attack, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded, - the report said. Besides, in the East operational group action zone, the enemy fired with the 82 mm mortar near Pisky settlement. In the North group area, the enemy attacked our positions three times with 120 mm mortar near Novoluhanske village, with 82 mm mortar and heavy machine guns near Novotoshkivske settlement, and with grenade launchers of various system and small arms near Shymy settlement. According to the surveillance, one fighter of the Russian army was killed. According to the clarified information of the surveillance, two Russian soldiers were killed and five more wounded. Also the enemys UAV was shot down yesterday, is added in the report. The attacked subdivisions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were stopping the fire by opening fire as well. From the beginning of this day, the Russian militants attacked our positions with automatic easel grenade launchers near Verkhnyotoretske settlement, which is under in the East operational group action zone, - the report said. No casualties among the Joint Forces operation spotted. Perceptions Versus Reality One of the main divergences between reality and perception that has come to dominate relations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between the Kremlin and the West in general, is the stance toward the acceptance of Russian rule over Crimea. The reality is that, regardless of Kiev's claims or international law, Russia exercises de facto control over the peninsula. Moscow's opponents can quibble over the illegality of the Russian military's covert actions and the questionable validity of the referendum, but Russian military strength has, at the end of the day, guaranteed direct Russian territorial control over Crimea. As it is, a majority of Crimeans already harbored decidedly pro-Russian views before the annexation, meaning Russia enjoyed a great deal of political support in the region regardless of the suspect nature of the vote. Political demands that Russia return control of Crimea to Ukraine, as well as Kiev's vague threats of future military action, don't go much beyond symbolism, as they have little chance of altering physical realities, even if they do provide an opportunity for Western states to rally and shore up Ukraine's position. This focus on symbolic action, however, could result in an escalation between the West and Russia beyond the comparatively small matter of Crimea. The sanctions that the United States and European Union have imposed on Russia, for example, have had a much larger effect on Russia-Western relations than a mere dispute about who physical owns Crimea. The current strain in the relationship between the West and Russia is marked by more than just the contestation of Moscow's control over Crimea, as it has also become a lightning rod in the larger standoff between the West and Russia over the latter's alleged activities, including threats of "hybrid warfare" in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, election meddling, military posturing and more. The fact that the sanctions have failed to dislodge Moscow from the peninsula (and likely won't either) raises the question as to whether the West's tough line is still pragmatically linked to the issue of Crimea or even Ukraine as a whole or whether it has become part of a self-perpetuating dynamic in the larger standoff. Exacerbating the Standoff There's a similar dynamic in the military developments, both in Crimea and in Russia's clandestine military operations in support of separatist groups in Donbas. Such Russian military activity has not only prompted the West to offer material and advisory support to Ukraine but has also stoked disproportionate fears about hybrid warfare. Separate from Moscow's direct involvement in Ukraine following euromaidan, Russia's activities have convinced the West to place a renewed emphasis on bolstering its military capabilities against the Kremlin. This stance has introduced a degree of uncertainty for both NATO and its allies, as well as Russia. In turn, this uncertainty makes it difficult for either side to extract itself from the repeated cycle of bolstering military capabilities, thereby perpetuating the impasse. One particular area where both military and economic concerns continue to play out between Ukraine and Russia is the Sea of Azov. Crimea's annexation has effectively voided the previous agreement between Ukraine and Russia over freedom of navigation in these waters, as the deal rested on the premise that the Kerch Strait the only access to the sea was split between them. Now that Russia controls Crimea, however, it also controls all access in and out of the Sea of Azov. This, naturally, complicates Ukraine's operation of the Azov port of Mariupol, causing that issue to grow in prominence. The truth is, however, that deploying Ukrainian naval vessels to the Sea of Azov or more NATO ships to the Black Sea will have no notable impact on the naval balance in this area. Russia's strength is dominant here even as the symbolic resistance against Moscow's de facto control is inflaming the sides' troubled relations. At the core of the divergence between pragmatism and symbolism lies the difficult issue of accepting new realities. Heeding "facts on the ground" is a tall order in international relations and can even cost policymakers their jobs. Russia, for one, need not look very far back in the past for an example: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev acknowledged the perilous state of the Soviet Union and initiated reform, only to generate much controversy and even incite an attempted coup. In the five years since Russia's annexation of Crimea, however, the trajectory of ties between Moscow and the West has demonstrated that any attempt to maintain a position without regard for new realities can also come with a cost. After all, continued sanctions, crises and military posturing have eaten up a great deal of resources on both sides, fueling a standoff that may have become self-perpetuating. According to the Minister, all the law enforcement officers are under great pressure from the politicians Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, stated that on the day of the presidential elections, March 31, more than 130,000 law enforcement officers will be on duty to keep the public order. The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported this. 131 thousand officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will secure public order during the elections. I hope that the Security Service of Ukraine will help us. Of course, in 2014 the police officers were in 30,000 more than this year. Despite this fact, however, we are ready to protect the electoral process, - Avakov said. According to the Minister, all the law enforcement system is under great pressure, because the legitimacy of the election of the president depends on the transparency of the elections. The officers of all National police units will start to be on duty at the polling stations from March 21. Earlier, the representatives of the National Police Department will be on duty at the polling stations from March 21. Serhiy Kniaziev, the Head of National Police of Ukraine. The fighters of the riot police units and tactical and operational patrol police units will not be on duty at the polling stations. They will work only as a part of the mobile reserve and will react to the violations of the public order and violations connected with the electoral process. The election campaign has officially started on December 31, 2018. Registration of the candidates was closed on February 4, 2019, and on February 9, the final list of presidential candidates is expected to appear. The candidates would be able to withdraw their candidacy until March 7, 2019. CALGARY, Alberta, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eguana Technologies Inc. ("Eguana" or the "Company") (TSX-V: EGT, OTCQB: EGTYF) today announced results for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2018. Highlights Approved for both the South Australia Home Battery Scheme and the Australian governments Clean Energy Finance Corporation home battery financing, providing direct access to $200 million in subsidies and low interest loans for residential battery storage Increased Australian channel partners to eleven, hired sales and technical sales team, initiated channel partner training, shipped initial volume shipments Completed product and installation training for +150 channel and installation partners in Puerto Rico along with initial volume shipments Increased European sales and marketing team, opened Eguana GmbH Signed additional distributors in Denmark, Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands $854,904 in revenue with an additional $446,000 in transit to South Australia at the end of the quarter Commenced transition to contract manufacturing to manage global growth with a completion target of April 2019 Eguana continued its global expansion efforts through the first quarter, adding distribution and solar dealer direct partners in key target markets including Australia, North America, and Europe. Gross margins fell slightly to 11.4%. Gross margins are expected to steadily increase with higher volume sales and the transition to contract manufacturing. We continued building out our global channel plan in the first quarter by adding both partners and sales and marketing personnel in all markets, stated Justin Holland, Eguana CEO. Volume shipments have commenced to Puerto Rico and South Australia, with additional shipments to Hawaii and Europe planned in the second quarter. The Company expects to see significant revenue growth over the next two quarters across all product lines. The technical sales team has now trained over +300 partner personnel in our three key markets and we expect to see a significant ramp in installations as a result, Holland added. About Eguana Technologies Inc. Based in Calgary, Alberta Canada, Eguana Technologies Inc. (EGT: TSX.V) (OTCQB: EGTYF) designs and manufactures high performance residential and commercial energy storage systems. Eguana has two decades of experience delivering grid edge power electronics for fuel cell, photovoltaic and battery applications, and delivers proven, durable, high quality solutions from its high capacity manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America. With thousands of its proprietary energy storage inverters deployed in the European and North American markets, Eguana is one of the leading suppliers of power controls for solar self-consumption, grid services and demand charge applications at the grid edge. To learn more, visit www.EguanaTech.com or follow us on Twitter @EguanaTech Company Inquiries Justin Holland CEO, Eguana Technologies Inc. +1.416.728.7635 Justin.Holland@EguanaTech.com Forward Looking Information The reader is advised that some of the information herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning assigned by National Instruments 51-102 and other relevant securities legislation. In particular, we include: statements pertaining to the value of our power controls to the energy storage market and statements concerning the use of proceeds and the Company's ability to obtain necessary approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and involves a number of risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or future events or developments, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date hereof. Readers are also directed to the Risk Factors section of the Companys most recent audited Financial Statements which may be found on its website or at sedar.com. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained herein to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Open source A rally in support of Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin, called "Empty Chairs", took place in front of the Russian Embassy in Latvia On March 1. It was jointly organized by Latvian and Ukrainian organizations, reports Ukrinform. "Dozens of empty chairs with names of Ukrainian political prisoners on them were put in front of the windows of the Russian diplomatic mission. The names of political prisoners, as well as 24 Ukrainian sailors-prisoners of war, were read out by the famous Ukrainian writer Andriy Kurkov," the report said. Everyone had the opportunity to speak, after which the participants sang the anthems of Ukraine and Latvia. The call for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of war was supported by MEP from Latvia Sandra Kalniete, members of the Seim Juta Strike, Yuri Yurass and others. Earlier we reported that far-right Svoboda Party held a rally outside the Ukrainian parliament's building in the center of Kyiv to campaign for the change of power in the country. Open source As a result of the road accident near Moscow, four citizens of Ukraine got injuries. This is reported by the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Twitter. "The Consul of Ukraine in Moscow: four citizens of Ukraine suffered as a result of an accident near Moscow. The injured were hospitalized, there is no threat to their lives," the report said. In this case, it is added that the victims are provided with consular support and the necessary assistance. Earlier we reported that the truck collided with a bus in which Ukrainians were traveling. As a result of the accident eight passengers got injuries, reports Apostrof. A large-scale accident occurred in the village of Kurilovo near Moscow. As a result of the collision of a multi-ton truck and a bus on the Warsaw highway, the cars turned so that they almost completely blocked the entire route. According to media reports, 8 people suffered in the accident. In Moscow, the traffic police report on two victims. It is known that the bus passengers and drivers did not receive serious injuries. A helicopter with doctors landed at the scene of the accident. A traffic jam occurred on the highway because of the collision. The U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions against the National Guard and police of Venezuela for obstructing the humanitarian aid delivery. The department reported this on its website. All accounts that are owned in the United States or in the possession or control of the U.S. of those persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. OFACs regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States, - the report said. In the sanction list are Richard Vargas, the Major General and the Commanding General of the Venezuelan National Guard, Cristhiam Zambrano, the Director of the PNB and a Colonel within GNB and four more members of the law enforcement, located on the border with Columbia and Brazil. According to the report, following clashes with Venezuelan security forces the violent actions of the Maduro regime had left at least five people dead and 285 people injured. As we reported earlier, January 23, Juan Guaido, the opposition leader and the head of the National Assembly of Venezuela declared himself interim president of Venezuela and took the oath before thousands of opposition supporters at a mass protest rally. U.S. President Donald Trump has recognized Juan Guaido as a temporary leader of the country. Canada, the EU, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Costa-Rika, Paraguay, and Guatemala did the same. Mexico and Bolivia refused to recognize the coup detat. This claim is reported by British The Guardian Open source 11 Ministers of Foreign Affairs from different countries made a common claim on non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea. The Guardian reports this. The illegal annexation of Crimea an act condemned by the international community has jeopardized the international rules-based system. The illegitimate referendum in Crimea on 16 March 2014 was judged illegal and invalid by the international community, - the report said. According to the report, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission and other international organizations have reported grave human rights violations in Crimea against the Crimean Tatar ethnic minority, ethnic Ukrainians, and civil society activists. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs from 11 countries pointed out that sentence by the Russian court the director Oleg Sentsov has become a symbol of the struggle for the release of political prisoners held in Russia and around the world. President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision of the heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs on non-recognition of the Crimean annexation. The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that the progress of the negotiations between the Normandy format on settling down the Donbas conflict could be reached provided the USA take part in the negotiations. The president stated this on the press conference in Minsk, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine. Concerning the Normandy format, I already told that till the American authorities do not take part in this process and do not support the existing format and negotiations that have already taken place - nothing will change. Exactly this happened. What role do Americans play? Well, I think you know better. I am afraid this role to be the aggressive one. Very afraid. Thats why I openly urged to invite Americans to the negotiations to the meeting of Normandy contact group. Im sure that, if they supported this process, the progress would be seen much faster. However, now its far from being successful, actually, its quite the opposite, as for me, - Lukashenko said. The president of Belarus added that Belarus is ready for more active participation in negotiations. If you need our more active participation in the negotiations - just tell. I hate mediocrity and to meddle myself in, where it is not needed. You just tell us what to do and we will, I dont want to be blamed for interfering in another country's business with my peacekeeping presence. I cant stand this. But if there is something we can do, we will do our best, - Lukashenko added. Mining App Data Americans continue to fall victim to fatal opioid overdoses with alarming frequency. The use of cannabis as an analgesic substitute for prescription opioidssans side effects, drug interactions and fatality riskcontinues to grow. US cannabis policy barriers at the federal level have kept American scientists from collecting relevant patient data via cannabis administration studies. University of New Mexico researchers recently found a forward-thinking way around that prohibition by mining cannabis patient data collected by a mobile app. With data sourced from Releaf Appan open, non-incentivized cannabis education and symptom relief-tracking appUNM research scientists looked for correlations between dosage, product type, combustion method, cannabis subspecies (indica, sativa, hybrid) and constituent cannabinoids (THC, CBD) and overall clinical outcomes, especially symptom relief and side effects. Associate professors Sarah See Stith, of the Department of Economics, and Jacob Miguel Vigil, of the Department of Psychology, published their findings, The Association Between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief on Feb. 25 in peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. Amid Releaf App user feedback on health status, medication choice and overall clinical outcome, Stith and Vigil found the most important factor for optimal symptom relief in a variety of conditions is a cannabis products tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, makeup. Here in New Mexico, the amount of THC and CBD in medical cannabis products is expressed on packaging as a percentage, such as 21.9% THC or 8% CBD. By addressing a dearth of practical knowledgelike available cannabis products and characteristics that influence consumer choices or affect symptom intensitythis study offers an alternative path to cannabis patient data for other American research scientists. In the Ballpark Writing for Forbes, KushCo CEO Nick Kovacevich advises cautious optimism about the emergence of a national cannabis brand. As the author notes, Cannabis branding is at the national anthem stage, meaning theres a lot of activity and anticipation, and all the players are suited up and ready to go, but the real game hasnt startedyet. Kovacevich breaks down barriers to national cannabis brand-building, such as restricted access to digital and televised advertising and social media promotion tools, state-by-state packaging, logo and branding requirements and interstate transport constraints and a resulting inability to establish a nationwide distribution system. All of these problems are intimately tied to the federal prohibition of cannabis; although three-quarters of US states now allow medical or recreational cannabis use, its federal prohibition continues to stymy the American cannabis industrys potential for exponential growth. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) TORONTO, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EEStor Corporation (TSXV: ESU; the Company or EEStor) announced its unaudited financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2018. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars. Financial Results The net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2018, with the comparative results for the comparable period in the prior year, are summarized as follows: Three months ended December 31, 2018 Three months ended December 31, 2017 Net loss $ 514,496 $ 899,892 Non-controlling interest $ 447,485 $ 407,905 Total loss $ 961,981 $ 1,307,797 Net loss per share $ 0.00 $ 0.01 Additional details are contained in the Companys unaudited interim financial statements and related managements discussion and analysis (quarterly highlights) which have been filed and are available for viewing and download at www.sedar.com . Company Update In order to address the Companys limited resources, EEStor continues to pursue additional capital through the issuance equity, equity-like or debt securities. Ian Clifford, Founder and CEO of the Company commented: In anticipation of our ongoing joint venture due diligence requirements, the team spent the Fall of 2018 ensuring that we produced ample inventory of our most advanced CMBT formulations. As a result, the Company has implemented cost saving initiatives which have significantly reduced ongoing operating costs. The Companys primary focus is to conclude its commercialization discussions with potential industrial joint venture partners. Clifford continued: Finally, some very important shareholders have continued to support the Company by way of bridge loans. These funds continue to support our critical work today. The Company would like to thank all shareholders of EEStor for your continuing support of our efforts. About EEStor Corporation EEStor is a developer of high energy density solid-state capacitor technology utilizing the companys patented Composition Modified Barium Titanate (CMBT) material. The company is focused on licensing opportunities for its technology across a broad spectrum of industries and applications. The Companys success depends on the commercialization of its technology. There is no assurance that EEStor will be successful in the completion of the various enhancement phases underway to warrant the anticipated licensing opportunities in the technology. Readers are directed to the "Risk Factors" disclosed in the Companys public filings. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements and documents referred to in this release, other than statements of historical fact, may include forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties that face the Company; such statements may contain such words as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, and may be based on management's current assumptions and expectations related to all aspects of the automotive industry, consumer demand for zero emission transportation solutions and the global economy. Risks and uncertainties that may face the Company include, but are not restricted to: EEStor may not be able to replicate test results in mass produced commercial products; the EEStor capacitor and energy storage technology may not be successfully commercialized at all, in a manner providing the features and benefits expected while under development, or on a timely basis or the Company may not be able to successfully incorporate this technology into its current or proposed products or the products of others; steps taken by the Company to protect its proprietary rights may not be adequate or third parties may infringe or misappropriate the Company's proprietary rights; the Company has a history of losses from operations and may not be able to obtain financing, if and when required or on acceptable terms due to market conditions or other factors, to fund future expenditures for general administrative activities, including sales and marketing and research and development, expansion, strategic acquisitions or investment opportunities or to respond to competitive pressures; competitors may develop products which offer greater benefits to consumers, have greater market appeal or are more competitively priced than those offered by the Company; the Company may be exposed to product liability claims which exceed insurance policy limits; the Company is dependent on the ability and experience of a relatively small number of key personnel; new products introduced by the Company may not be accepted in the market or to the extent projected; new laws and regulations may be enacted or existing ones may be applied or governmental action may be taken in a manner which could limit or curtail the production or sale of the Company's products; and the Company may be negatively affected by reduced consumer spending due to the uncertainty of economic and geopolitical conditions. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ from information contained in this release, when estimates and assumptions have been used to measure and report results. There can be no assurance that any statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any statements of forward looking information that speak only as of the date of this release. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's filings with the various Canadian securities regulators which are available online at www.sedar.com. For additional information please contact: Ian Clifford Chief Executive Officer EEStor Corporation Tel. 416-535-8395 ext. 3 Ian.Clifford@EEStorCorp.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NEW ORLEANS, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until March 11, 2019 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W), if they purchased the Companys Class A shares between August 2, 2018 and October 31, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Get Help Wayfair investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-wayfair-inc-securities-litigation-1 or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit On November 1, 2018, pre-market, the Company disclosed shocking financial results for Q3 2018 including a staggering GAAP net loss of $151.7 million (compared to loss of $76.4 million in Q3 2017), and a 43% increase in advertising expenses of more than $202.5 million. On this news, the price of Wayfairs shares plummeted more than $14 per share, or nearly 13%, to close at $96.16 per share on November 1, 2018. The case is Goodstein v. Wayfair Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-10062. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Joint Venture of Canada Lands Company (CLC) and Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (MST) Partnership, with the City of Vancouver, officially launched at an event in Vancouver today the Jericho Lands policy planning program to create a new vision for the Jericho Lands. The Jericho Lands policy planning program is the start of a process to create a policy statement which, if approved by City Council, will set out a comprehensive plan for the full 90 acres of the Jericho Lands (52 acres owned by a joint venture of CLC and the MST Partnership, and 38 acres owned by the MST Partnership). The property is bounded on the north by West 4th Avenue, Highbury Street to the east, 8th Avenue to the south and Trimble Park to the west. This is the start of a multi-year, multi-phase process and we hope members of the nearby community will be inspired to get involved, said Deana Grinnell from Canada Lands Company. This is a special parcel of land and we hope the process ahead will encourage members of the nearby community to participate in this historic opportunity to create a new vision for the Jericho Lands. This project is a great example of the growing role of First Nations in Vancouver and as key drivers in advancing the economy of British Columbia, said Chief Wayne Sparrow, Musqueam Indian Band. We are excited to work alongside the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, the Federal and Provincial Governments, as well as the City of Vancouver to create a legacy that will benefit the city and our members for generations. The Citys policy statement will establish principles, objectives and policy on: reconciliation, affordable housing, land use, density, height, public benefits, transportation, built form, character, sustainability, infrastructure and phases of development. The Jericho Lands project is a way for our Nations to rebuild from the decades of harm done to our communities; our work with the MST Partnership, Canada Lands and the Jericho community is encouraging for the future, said Khelsilem, Councillor and Spokesperson, Squamish Nation. We look forward to seeing the opportunities that are created in terms of housing, jobs, cultural revitalization, and community-building not only for our community, but for all communities. Were excited about the prospect of what these lands hold for future generations, not only for our Tsleil-Waututh people, but also for the Squamish, Musqueam, and all Canadians, added Chief Maureen Thomas, Tsleil-Waututh Nation. We look forward to working with our partners, the City of Vancouver, and the local community to outline a vision and contribute to the dynamic growth of our city. On Friday, Therese Patricia Okoumou, an immigrant rights activist who scaled the Statue of Liberty base last summer in protest of the Trump Administration's separation of immigrant families, appeared in a new bail hearing. The court appearance came on the heels of her arrest last week in Austin, Texas, for scaling another building in protest, an action that prosecutors say violated the terms of her bail. A magistrate judge ruled that he wouldn't be jailing Okoumou ahead of her March 19th sentencing, instead ordering that she be confined to her home with electronic monitoring. On the Fourth of July, Okoumou, who lives in Staten Island, participated in a protest at the Statue of Liberty along with the activist group Rise and Resist. There, she and her fellow protesters unveiled a banner reading "Abolish ICE," which they placed at the statue's pedestal. Okoumou then climbed the statue's pedestal alone, remaining there for several hours as Liberty Island was evacuated and officials intervened. Okoumou, who immigrated from the Republic of Congo in 1994, railed against President Donald Trump at a press conference back in July, saying that "only a stupid, unintelligent coward and insecure maniac would rip a tender-aged child from its mother." In December, a federal magistrate court found Okoumou guilty of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and interference with agency functions, three misdemeanors in all. She was released on bail until her March 19th. sentencing date. Last week, Okoumou was arrested in Austin, Texas for climbing the Southwest Key building, also in protest of immigration policies (The nonprofit owns a string of shelters that house undocumented minors, and its headquarters is located in Austin). She spent roughly eight hours atop the building, and is said to have yelled "free the children!" before climbing down, then jumping off. She was charged with criminal trespassing, and was released on $15,000 bail from Travis County Jail. Following her Austin protest, prosecutor Assistant US Attorney Brett Kalikow wrote a letter to a Manhattan federal magistrate judge, stating that Okoumou had violated the terms of her bail and that "there is a presumption that no condition or combination of conditions will assure that Okoumou will not pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community." Okoumou's legal team countered that "one protest episode over the past seven months of pre-trial release, taking place in a remote jurisdiction, resulting in the possibility of a B-Misdemeanor charge, does not establish that Ms. Okoumou is unlikely to comply with her release conditions until her March 19th sentencing." Judge Gorenstein went with Okoumou to the Statue of Liberty earlier this week, so as to better appreciate the risks or hazards created by defendants conduct. In an order, Judge Gorenstein had also requested a ladder in order to survey "the surface of the area where the defendant was situated on July 4, 2018." (It does not appear the judge used it.) Ahead of her Friday bail hearing, Okoumou invited her supporters to come out and rally in front of the Southern District Court of Manhattan. People began lining up outside the courthouse several hours before the hearing, holding up signs reading the likes of "Return the Children." "That's how I do my activism; I climb things," Okomou said on Democracy Now! on Friday. "It's innate in me." Okoumou's attorney could not be immediately be reached for comment. "Perhaps the sentiments put forth here are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor. A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason." --Thomas Paine YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. During the period from February 24 to March 2 the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 200 times by firing more than 3000 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions. The Artsakh defense ministry told Armenpress that the Defense Army forces fully control the situation in the frontline and continue confidently conducting the military service. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian signed a decree on bestowing diplomatic ranks on the Diplomats Day, his Office told Armenpress. According to the Presidential decree, the following diplomats have been bestowed with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary: Dzyunik Aghajanyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Indonesia Grigor Arakelyan advisor to the foreign minister Gagik Ghalachyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Kazakhstan Samvel Mkrtchyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Poland Armen Bayburdyan Consul General of Armenia to Los Angeles According to the Presidential decree, the following diplomats have been bestowed with the rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary: Tigran Gevorgyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria Hasmik Dashtoyan Head of the Second Division for Bilateral Relations at the European Department of the Foreign ministry Lilit Tutkhalyan advisor at the European Department of the Foreign ministry Mher K. Mkrtumyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the UAE Hasmik Sahakyan Head of the Migration Division at the Consular Department of the Foreign ministry Armen Sargsyan Consul General of Armenia in Aleppo Karine Sujayan Head of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues Division at the Department of International Organizations of the Foreign ministry Hrachya Poladyan - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iraq Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium on March 3-5, his Office told Armenpress. During the visit Pashinyan will have high-level meetings with the EU leaders, including President of the European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini. After the meetings Pashinyan and Donald Tusk will make a statement for the media representatives. Pashinyan and the President of the European Commission will hold a joint press conference. The Armenian PM will also visit the European Parliament and will deliver remarks at the foreign affairs committee. Pashinyan is also expected to visit the Leuven city of the Flemish Region of Belgium. He will get acquainted with the activities and programs of the citys educational and scientific-research institutions, including the Catholic university, the Research and Development Technology Transfer Office, IMEC Research Center, Healthcare Center. On the sidelines of Pashinyans visit, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between Armenias ministry of education and science and the Department of Foreign Affairs of Flanders, as well as between the IMEC and the Enterprise Incubator Foundation. During the visit PM Pashinyan will also meet with the business representatives of the Armenian community. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan on March 1 met with Indias Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma, the EEC said, reports Armenpress. Indias economic development is really impressive. We suppose that the stable growth will change the countrys positions in the world economy in qualitative terms. Moreover, India is a big market. Our enterprises would like to have a broader representation there. We are also interested for the Indian entrepreneurs to be more active in the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the EEC Board Chairman said. During the meeting the Ambassador stated that the Indian side is interested in signing an agreement with the EAEU in the near future. He stated that India has a dynamic and positive partnership with all countries of the Union. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan addressed a congratulatory message on Diplomats Day, his Office told Armenpress. The message runs as follows: Dear diplomats, I congratulate you on the Day of Diplomat of Armenia. Its noteworthy that your professional day is linked with the one of the most important events in the history of the Armenian people and the development stage of the Armenian statehood when Armenias flag was raised at the UN headquarters by fulfilling the centuries-old dream of our people, that is the legal and symbolic fixation of Armenias place and position in the big family of sovereign states. Armenias foreign policy priorities, the firmness of the security of Armenia and Artsakh, the dignity of our citizens and the will to see our country better are the values that lie in the core of your activities and should guide you towards new achievements. There are serious issues in the Armenian foreign policy agenda which are vital for our state. Armenias natural development, security and international reputation are linked with our position and stance towards these issues. Currently Armenia is on the path of courageous and irreversible reforms in different spheres of public life. You, the diplomats, also have an important mission in these processes, in terms of materializing the whole potential in the foreign political field which has been coordinated by the recent peaceful, velvet and democratic revolution in our country. Following the velvet revolution we faced new challenges on the one hand, but on the other hand we have unprecedented opportunities. Today Armenia has reached the highest rating in the international arena. The proofs of this are all the visits and meetings. Till now the recent and ongoing changes in Armenia have deserved and continue deserving the highest appreciation of the international community. We must be able to materialize this with foreign political and economic achievements. Dear diplomats, Our joint mission is to make Armenia a country of law and justice, truthfulness and the most important values, such as freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights protection, and we will not deviate from this mission by a millimeter. At this point, our most important priority is to turn the political revolution into an economic one. Strengthening Armenias foreign policys economic component is one of our urgent tasks of today, and the foreign ministry plays a key role in this matter. We also need to comprehensively and thoroughly introduce all opportunities for the improvement of the business climate in our country at the international arena. Dear diplomats, Today we have an exceptional unity to promote our pan-national agenda the goal of which is to implement the goals and dreams aimed at strengthening our statehood. In this regard I expect from you consistent and dedicated work. Once again congratulations on your professional day. I wish you new courageous ideas and full energy on the path of implementing them for the benefit of our state and welfare of our people. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. The Police of Armenia neither deny nor confirm the reports on detaining former finance minister Gagik Khachatryan and his bodyguards. Edgar Janoyan head of the department of media at the Police, told Armenpress that the Police always carry out operations related to bodyguards. According to certain media reports the Police detained Gagik Khachatryan and his bodyguards for touring with an escort. Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to prison on Saturday after being allowed to attend the funeral of a grandson who died suddenly at age seven. Early in the day, the popular leftist leader stepped out of his cell in Curitiba -- where he is serving two concurrent 12-year sentences for corruption -- and then flew in a small plane to Sao Paulo, some 250 miles (400 kilometers) to the northeast. A crowd at the Sao Bernardo do Campo cemetery in a Sao Paulo suburb greeted Lula warmly upon his arrival for the service, shouting "Free Lula" and "Lula, warrior for the Brazilian people." Young Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva, whose father Sandro is one of Lula's five sons, was felled by a sudden bout of meningitis. As dozens of armed military police surrounded the area, the crowd of supporters at the cemetery numbered perhaps 500, including Lula's successor Dilma Rousseff and Fernando Haddad, the Workers' Party candidate for president in 2018. Hundreds of supporters wore the red color of Lula's Workers' Party. At the crematorium room where close friends gathered before Arthur's open coffin -- and where Lula made brief remarks -- there were flower wreaths from Lula's political and trade union allies, even one from Venezuela's embattled socialist president Nicolas Maduro, the daily Folha de S. Paulo reported. As Lula left two hours later, a grim expression on his face, he waved briefly to supporters and somberly shook a few hands before being hustled away by military police for the return back to jail, where he arrived some nine hours after his departure. A federal court had ruled late Friday that the 73-year-old Lula could attend the funeral service. - 'A high-profile thug' - Arthur, who had twice visited his grandfather in his cell in Curitiba, died Friday in a Sao Paulo hospital. Gleisi Hoffmann, the Workers' Party leader, visited Lula in prison after he learned of Arthur's death and said the aging leftist was "downcast." "He cried several times and we tried to console him," she said. While news of Arthur's death provoked sympathetic messages on social media -- including from a former political foe of Lula, the head of the National Assembly Rodrigo Maia -- a son of President Jair Bolsonaro sparked a controversy by criticizing Lula's release. "Lula is an ordinary prisoner," Eduardo Bolsonaro, a lawmaker in his father's Social Liberal Party, said on Twitter. "When a relative of another prisoner dies, is he escorted by the federal police to go to the services?" He called the temporary release "absurd," adding, "It only allows a high-profile thug to pass himself off as a victim." That remark prompted an angry social media backlash, which prompted a more conciliatory tweet from the younger Bolsonaro. Politics aside, he said, the death of a child is "dreadful." His father, the president, has made no comment on the matter. During his electoral campaign in 2018, he said he hoped Lula would "rot in prison." Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, has consistently denied the corruption charges for which he was jailed, saying he was the victim of political machinations. Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva prepares to board an airplane in Curitiba after being allowed to leave prison briefly to attend the funeral of a grandson in Sao Paulo Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seen leaving prison in Curitiba to travel to Sao Paulo for the funeral of a grandson A cyclist has filmed the bizarre moment a woman blocked a footpath before claiming she didnt have to move because she owned the street. Rider Su Yin Khoo shared the clip filmed in Auckland, New Zealand, to Twitter after confronting the woman on Thursday along Viaduct Harbour Avenue. When asking the woman to move her white Mercedes, she refuses to do so, telling Ms Khoo the path belonged to her. The woman refuses to move her car. Source: Twitter/ Su Yin Khoo You know what, I actually am legally allowed to park here, I own the whole Viaduct, the driver says. As Ms Khoo tries to remonstrate with the woman, she is labelled rude before the woman pulls out her phone to start filming the interaction. Ms Khoo backs down from the escalating encounter and cycles around the womans vehicle as she claims shes waiting for the bollards to be lowered. According to Auckland Transport, motorists in the city who park a motor vehicle on a footpath or cycle path can face a fine of $40. Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. Josh Bowen, the owner of Long Island City restaurant John Brown Smokehouse, was furious with Queens Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer after Amazon announced they would no longer build their campus in the neighborhood. Earlier this week he traveled to Seattle to plead with an Amazon executive to reconsider. And on Friday, Bowen sent a series of text messages telling Van Bramer to apologize to an Amazon executive, or face repercussions. "You will call John Schoettler and apologize," Bowen says, referring to Amazon's head of real estate. "You can be at the back of the parade or the front of the firing squad." Josh Bowen, who recently went to Seattle to meet with Amazon sent this text today. It is several threats rolled into one. Demanding an elected official make a call to Amazon by a certain time - or else. This is disgusting. did others get this too? I dont respond to threats. pic.twitter.com/Txtf53aaiN Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) March 1, 2019 Not everyone in Queens is happy to see #Amazon pull out of #LIC. Lets just say this is the clean version. Local business owner Josh Bowen just shouted city officials right away from their own victory speech. Stay tuned. Such a bitter debate, on both sides. #LongIslandCity pic.twitter.com/lJKgBh2Uvu Stacey Sager (@staceysager7) February 14, 2019 Van Bramer's office says the incident has been reported to the NYPD and the New York City Council security officials, and declined to comment beyond the councilman's tweets. Bowen tells Gothamist that he meant no physical harm to Van Bramer, who represents Long Island City, but that he is "enraged by his stupidity." "The firing squad are his constituents and his career, that's the firing squad, it's not an actual thing, I am not actually getting people together with rifles and getting a blindfold," Bowen said. "It's just Jimmy being a victim." Bowen continued, "I was reaching out to this guy to get him on the welcome wagon when Amazon comes back, which could be a possibility from the knowledge that I have from doing his job for him." And the threat that he will say bad things about Van Bramer on cable news tonight? "That's a political threat yeah, and it's true. I don't have anything good to say about Jimmy Van Bramer." Amazon aside, Josh Bowen (owner of John Brown Smokehouse in LIC) is giving non-industry folks a good glimpse into how toxic [usually white/male] chefs and restauranteurs behave ON THE REGULAR. My worlds collide! https://t.co/mEQMjOSaIG Tia Keenan (@kasekaiserina) March 1, 2019 Governor Andrew Cuomo told WNYC's Brian Lehrer on Friday morning that he had also been lobbying Amazon to reconsider, but that he had seen no sign that they would do so. "Reconsidering? I can't really speak to that, but do they want to be here? Yes, yes, and yes," Bowen said of his meeting with Amazon. We asked Bowen to respond to criticism that the owner of a restaurant named after the militant abolitionist John Brown is beseeching a trillion-dollar company to come to New York City. "John Brown was all about economic opportunity, I think that's pretty damn obvious, and he was about economic opportunity for African Americans, like, who wanted [Amazon] more than anybody," Bowen replied. "So I don't understand why they're like, 'John Brown hated billionaires.' No he didn't." A rep from Amazon did not respond to our request for comment. Hungary's government announced Saturday that it would end a controversial poster campaign accusing US philanthropist George Soros and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker of supporting illegal migration. Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on Twitter that "the information campaign" would end on March 15, as had been planned. Earlier this week the European Commission issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the claims made in the campaign, calling them "at worst downright factually incorrect, or at best highly misleading". The campaign has also outraged other parties in the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping that Fidesz sits with in Brussels -- and from which Juncker also hails. Kovacs' message was posted in response to an interview given to the German Der Spiegel magazine by Manfred Weber, the EPP's lead candidate for May's European elections. In it Weber said the poster campaign had "damaged" the EPP. "For this reason I expect him (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban) to apologise and stop this action," Weber said. Several other parties within the EPP have indicated that they would support Fidesz's expulsion from the grouping. However, in his tweets Saturday, Kovacs said that "the Hungarian government is prepared to listen to any criticism, but the decision of the Hungarian people is more important to us than party discipline". In an interview published late-Saturday on the German weekly Welt am Sonntag's website, Orban indicated that the Juncker posters would be replaced after March 15 by new ones displaying European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans alongside Soros. "Soros' role in European politics cannot be ignored and everyone has the right to know that Timmermans is openly his ally," he told the newspaper. "In the next phase of the election campaign... you will see another actor on the posters: Mr Timmermans," he said. The remarks followed accusations made by Orban during a speech last month that the Dutch politician who heads the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) list for the May election was "pro-immigration" and "Soros's candidate" to succeed Juncker. Asked about the efforts to expel Fidesz from the EPP, Orban said that "in reality the attack is coming from the left, not to weaken us but to weaken the EPP". Describing his critics within the EPP as "naive" he accused them of "serving the interests of others, namely those of our opponents". Hungary will end a controversial poster campaign, which the European Commission called "at worst downright factually incorrect, or at best highly misleading" A man has been charged for allegedly posing as an 11-year-old girl on Instagram to trick an eight-year-old Australian girl to take nude photos of herself. Shaun Douglas Dickson, 22, was on home detention at his mothers house in Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky, awaiting trial for similar online child sex offences involving a girl in Greece when he went online and contacted Australian girls, according to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear. The terms of Dicksons home detention meant he was prohibited from going online. Dickson allegedly directed the eight-year-old Australian girl to create and send nude images of herself and threatened her when she would not send more. Shaun Douglas Dickson was accused of tricking the young girl. Source: Louiseville Metro Corrections Authorities allege Dickson sent the images to other people. Computers, cell phones, tablets and game apps can be the conduit for sexual predators to communicate with and quite possibly harm our children, Beshear said. This individual was prohibited from having the devices our cyber investigators found at his home as part of his home incarceration. US authorities worked with Queensland Police to arrest Dickson and charge him with counts including the use of a minor under 16-years-old in a sexual performance. The 22-year-old was banned from using mobile devices at the time of the alleged offence. Source: Getty, file. He is being held in Louisville Metro Corrections on $US250,000 (AU$353,000) bail. Dickson was arrested in 2017 after a tip from police in Athens he allegedly had sexually explicit conversations and requested images from a Greek child. Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. Rights groups denounced Saudi Arabia Saturday over its decision to put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge. The public prosecution said Friday that the activists had been referred to court, as its investigation is complete. Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners. "The Saudi authorities have done nothing to investigate serious allegations of torture," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Now, it's the women's rights activists, not any torturers, who face criminal charges and trials." More than a dozen activists were arrested just a month before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on women drivers. Most were accused of undermining security and aiding enemies of the state. Some were later released. Amnesty International called Friday's announcement a "shocking sign of the kingdom's escalating crackdown on activists" and demanded "the immediate release of prisoners of conscience." Trials in the ultra-conservative kingdom are often shrouded in secrecy. The prosecutor did not specify the charges nor give a date for their trial. But the announcement sparked speculation that the activists could be released under the cover of a judicial process, after the crackdown prompted scathing criticism against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "There is a legal process moving forward and I think it will end well," Ali Shihabi, founder of pro-Saudi government think tank Arabia Foundation, said on Twitter. "Let us see the end result and then judge, not jump to conclusions." Those still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University. Another is Loujain al-Hathloul, who was held for more than 70 days in 2014 for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia. Following their arrest, state-backed newspapers published front-page pictures of some of the activists with the word "traitor" stamped across them in red. Loujain was one of the activists who faced sexual harassment and torture during interrogation, her family and rights groups said. The Saudi government has rejected the allegation. The activists still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University Rwandan director Joel Karekezi's "The Mercy of the Jungle" on Saturday scooped best film at Africa's top film festival, following a fierce debate about gender equality and sexual aggression in the continent's movie industry. The film was among 20 vying for the top Golden Stallion of Yennenga award at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco). A road movie focusing on the wars in Democratic Republic of Congo through the eyes of two soldiers lost in the jungle, it also picked up the best actor award for Belgian Marc Zinga. Egyptian director Khaled Youssef won second prize for his drama "Karma", while third prize went to Tunisia's Ben Hohmound for "Fatwa" about a father who discovers that his dead son had been a jihadist. In the half century since it was established, Fespaco has never awarded its top prize to a female director -- a fact that faced uncomfortable scrutiny during the week-long event. Only four of the films in competition at the festival were directed by women. "Where are the women?" asked South African actress Xolile Tshabalala, who starred in "Miraculous Weapons" made by Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo. "Can it be that in 50 years, there hasn't been a single woman capable of telling a great story to win the Fespaco?" Burkinabe director Apolline Traore whose film "Desrances" won a special prize on Friday said recognition had to be on merit, not a token gesture in the fight against discrimination. But she added: "Of course there's a problem" in gender equality for directors. "There's no equality for the craft of a woman director, not just in Africa, but in the world," she said. Encouraged by the #MeToo movement, some took the opportunity to use the festival to also highlight alleged sexual abuse within the African film industry. "It's time to speak out," said French actress Nadege Beausson-Diagne, who told AFP that she was setting up the movement called #Memepaspeur ("Not even scared") to help women speak out in Africa. Violence "is everywhere -- against actresses but also directors, scriptwriters and technicians, who live with harassment, sexual aggression and rape," she said, adding that she had twice been assaulted during film shoots in Africa. An online petition was launched urging Fespaco to exclude a TV series from the competition after an actress accused its director of assault. The director, reached by AFP, refused to comment. Joel Karekezi's road movie focuses on the wars in Congo through the eyes of two soldiers lost in the jungle Of the 20 full-length films showing at the festival, just four have been directed by women, one of which was made by Burkina Faso's Apolline Traore Actress Azata Soro from Burkina Faso is comforted by France's Nadege Beausson Diagne after denouncing sexual harassment in Africa's film industry Tourism Australia has spent the night frantically correcting an advertisement after an embarrassing blunder was spotted. The shot which features in an UnDiscovered Australia advertisement campaign shows a happy couple perched on a hill in Kings Park, overlooking Perths CBD with the caption catch the sunset. The only problem? The couple are looking east and as most people know, the sun sets in the west meaning it would be a sunrise that the couple are watching. So when reporters at the West Australian pointed out the error to those at Tourism Australia, a spokesperson promised the ad would be corrected before its impending release on Friday morning. The UnDiscover Australia post featured an embarrassing blunder. Source: 7 News via The West Australian An edited video of the ad has since been released, showing a selection of WAs hidden gems. The image, which is part of a tourism campaign by Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham to spruik lesser-known Aussie tourist destinations to Brits, is already copping flak on social media, who have said it shows how little Canberra boffins know or care about our state. A spokesperson for Mr Birminghams office downplayed the error to Yahoo7 News, saying the post had already been tweaked to replace the word sunset with sunrise, while rejecting suggestions that WA had been neglected by the Federal government. Mr Birmingham said each year they see more than 149,000 British travellers head to WA each year, injecting more than $277 million into the local economy. This campaign is about showing prospective travellers that Australia has even more to offer than the Reef, the Rock and the Bridge, he said The sunrise from Kings Park in Perth. Source: Getty Do you know more or have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. The United States and Russia clashed Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. - Russia steps up - More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." - Warnings of force - President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. After meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Guaido said: "The only step backwards in this process we have begun in Venezuela will be when many Venezuelans are able to return home." Abrams said the United States was "very concerned" about Guaido's ability to return home safely and warned of a "very large reaction" if he is arrested. A demonstrator throws stones at Venezuelan National Guard troops on the border with Brazil at Pacaraima, Roraima state, on February 24, 2019 Troops with Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard were out in force on the border with Colombia to prevent foreign aid from coming into the country Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a rally as the US increases its efforts to bolster his opposition rival, Juan Guaido US Special Representative on Venezuela Elliott Abrams addresses reporters at the State Department Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez (R), welcomes Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared acting president Juan Guaido Repairs are made at St. Michael's Church in Union Springs after a stained-glass window above the main entrance was blown out by high winds tha AVN Hall of Fame performer Alana Evans appeared at rally in downtown San Diego on Thursday, where she spoke in favor of a proposed California state law that would require strippers to give up their independent contractor status and be reclassified as employees of the clubs where they perform. Evans accompanied the bills author, San Diego Democratic Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez, as they confronted a group of exotic dancers who were protesting in opposition to the bill, as KSWB-TV reported. Evans position on the employee vs. independent contractor bill puts her on the opposite side of the debate from another AVN Hall of Famer, Stormy Daniels, who recently published an op-ed essay in The Los Angeles Times, as AVN.com reported, in which Daniels called employee status for strippers highly undesirable. That was also the position taken by protesters in San Diego, who chanted Strip my clothes, not my rights, and held placards reading, Strippers rights are human rights. I dont want to be told what to do, when and where, said one protester to KSWB. Thats why Im an independent contractor, not an employee. But Evans told the protesters that the bill was intended to protect them from exploitation by club owners. "Whether it is on your feet and in your heels or on your back, I have the right just as much as you to be protected," she said at the rally. They dont want to pay workers comp. They dont want to pay into social security. Or if you get hurt, or we need disability, none of those things exist for us as workers, Evans told the protesters. The Gonzalez bill would formalize as California law a state Supreme Court decision from last year, which restricted the ability of businesses to classify workers as contractors rather than employees. The decision affects such businesses as the ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft, which rely on workers who remain independent, but also had a direct impact on strippers, causing an exodus of exotic dancers from from clubs in the state, as AVN.com reported. The question of whether strippers are independent contractors or actually employees of the clubs in which they dance has been litigated in various states for at least two decades. Disrobing for money is an unconventional way to earn a living, and there are unique aspects of the job that make employee status for the stripper highly undesirable, Daniels wrote in her Times op-ed. Employers might require us to give free nude performances for customers we dont feel comfortable with. These are highly personal decisions and the power to make them should be exclusively in the hands of dancers. Photo By Baldwin Saintilus/Wikimedia Commons The Civilian Complaint Review Board says they've opened an investigation into the death of Delrawn Small, nearly three years after the 37-year-old Brooklyn father was killed by an off-duty police officer in an apparent road rage incident. The existence of an inquiry was revealed on Thursday, as advocatesincluding Small's sister Victoria Davis and Eric Garner's mother Gwen Carrvisited with CCRB officials to demand justice for victims of police killings. A spokesperson for the NYPD oversight board would not say when the investigation into Isaacs first began, citing department policy. NYPD Wayne Isaacs shot my brother 3 times in front of his daughter and partner. He should have been charged and fired 3 years ago. - Victoria Davis, sister of #DelrawnSmall pic.twitter.com/A1HhCFhmQl CPR Change the NYPD (@changethenypd) February 28, 2019 Small, who would've turned 40 years old today, was fatally shot in July of 2016 after approaching an unmarked car belonging to Officer Wayne Isaacs, who allegedly cut him off. The NYPD initially said that Small, who was unarmed, punched Isaacs repeatedly before the officer fired his weapon. The account was later contradicted by surveillance footage, which showed Small falling back nearly instantly after approaching the vehicle. Nonetheless, Isaacs was acquitted of all charges in November of 2017the first and only case overseen by disgraced Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in his role as special prosecutor of police killings. If the review board determines misconduct on the part of the officer, they could recommend disciplinary charges, potentially leading to a departmental trial. An administrative judge could then rule that Isaacs, currently an active duty police officer, should be docked vacation days or even terminated. But Police Commissioner James O'Neill has the authority to overrule the judge's findingsand indeed has done so in the past. Reform advocates have long complained that the NYPDs internal review process drags on unnecessarily long, allowing police officers to evade discipline for a range of misconduct, including fatal shootings. The CCRB first recommended disciplinary charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in September of 2017, three years after he put Eric Garner in a chokehold leading to his death. Pantaleo remains on the force, and will face a departmental trial in May. In order to maintain this blog I have to pay for its upkeep including a hosting company, support services, virus and other malicious hackers. If you appreciate what I write please make a donation. Author Appearance and Kids Story Time at Oregon Coast's Lincoln City Published 03/01/2019 at 3:23 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) Lincoln City provides many distractions during spring break, and this March is chock full of them. One Oregon coast author shows up to discuss his latest book at the library, while a story time event for kids brightens things up at the local history museum. Spring break in the central Oregon coast town starts off with a fun take on history for kids and those a tad older. Kids of all ages are invited to Story Time at the Museum with storyteller, Doug Force, at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum on Saturday, March 16, from 2 - 3 pm. This Story Time at the Museums theme will be Water of Life. Doug Force takes everyone on a journey through Water of Life themed books. Force has decades of teaching, educational, and storytelling experience and makes the stories come alive. Get out of the rain and cozy up in the Mildred and Marie Childrens Room for this event. Driftwood Public Library in Lincoln City has just announced that C.D. Harper will be returning to visit the library from on Sunday, March 31 at 3 p.m., to talk about his new book of short stories titled Is It Always Tomorrow? Slavery existed in the United States for nearly 300 years. While the institution was abolished following the terminus of the Civil War in 1865, the aftermath of this atrocious practice is still felt to this day in American society. Harpers new collection was written to demonstrate the contradiction of this aftermath in American society. CD Harper Each of these short stories is a mere peek into what this most basic contradiction demanded of its people during the 1850s and 1860s prior to the Civil War. Most Americans think slavery ended with the Civil War, and it did. But its impact on the way Americans think about themselves and the way they think about others is so strongly embedded into the American psyche that John F. Kennedy said this country was willing to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. Harper decided to write this collection as an attempt to further educate people about American diversity and why it makes America great: If one looks at the total of American literature or read about the history of this very diverse country, very little had been written about the experience of those diverse people. Slavery is central to that diversity. So, I write about it. Hoping they will enhance someones understanding of American, land of the free. A gripping collection that will leave readers flipping back to the beginning to make sure they didnt miss any details, Is It Always Tomorrow? is an astounding social commentary on one of the most prevalent issues in our society today. C. D. Harper is a retired Professor of Theatre Arts and Dance, California State University, Los Angeles, where he served as Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, Founding Executive Director of the Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Founder of the Luckman Jazz Orchestra. He also served as Executive Assistant to the President of the University. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, and a Master and Ph.D. from St. Louis University. Dr. Harper has published two novels: Covenant and Face the Unknown. He resides in Gleneden Beach. Harpers appearance is a free event and open to the public. Any questions may be directed to Ken Hobson by phone (541-996-1242) or via e-mail (khobson@lincolncity.org). Driftwood Public Library is located on the 2nd floor of Lincoln Citys City Hall building at 801 SW Highway 101 in Lincoln City, adjacent to McKays Market. Lodgings in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours Sea Horse Oceanfront Lodging . Oceanfront rooms may start at special prices, depending on month. Vacation Rentals and Romance Suites. Fireplaces, and your pet is welcome.1301 NW 21st Street. Lincoln City, Oregon. 800-662-2101. 541-994-2101. www.SeaHorseMotel.com s More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted It was a Department of City Planning event that had the unexpected feel of a reunion. Billed as a workshop for community stakeholders to envision the future of Soho and Noho, Thursday's event drew a crowd of roughly 200 participants, including dozens of artists who over the decades have been covered by the loft law, which granted them legal rights to live in self-converted manufacturing spaces as well as rent-stabilization. Dividing participants into groups, city planning organizers stressed that this was a collaborative exercise, designed to elicit feedback from a neighborhood that over the decades has transformed from a dying manufacturing district to one of the most valuable real estate pockets in New York, studded with luxury condominiums and high-end retail. Sprinkled across tables, many of the area's longtime artists, however, weren't buying it. We are doing feel-good crap while the lambs are being led to the slaughter, said Ralph Lewis, one of the founders of Peculiar Works Project, a theater organization founded in 1993 inside a Broadway loft, during a break. Like his fellow artists, he wore a sticker saying I live work in Soho. He added: I think this is pretty much a done deal. This is how some of the residents view this process. pic.twitter.com/elh08YkQg0 Elizabeth Kim (@lizkimtweets) March 1, 2019 As city officials embark on a planning process that could lead to the first comprehensive rezoning of Soho and Noho in decades, downtown loft artists have emerged as one of the most vociferous opponents, arguing that their legal status rests on the areas designation as manufacturing. I live under the Loft Law, said Lewis, who has lived in the area for 30 years. The law, he said, applies to buildings that are in manufacturing-zoned areas. Which leads to the question hanging over him and other artists: What happens if that zoning changes? The question has gone unanswered, in part because the city has refused to describe the planning process as a rezoning, although they have conceded that rezonings could occur as a result. Organized by the city Department of Planning, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and City Council Member Margaret Chin, Thursdays event was in many ways designed to assuage concerns raised during the first meeting on February 6th. That proceeding, which had a looser format without presentations, quickly devolved into chaos as residents barked questions at city officials and loudly objected to any rezoning of the area. Brewer was quick to acknowledge that the citys first effort to roll out the planning process had failed. The first public event sucked, she told the crowd. But while the second meeting was more tempered, there were still flashes of anxiety. During a slide show presentation giving a snapshot of the neighborhoods industries, several in the crowd angrily asked why artists were not represented. Soho and Noho, they said, were built by artists. City planning officials said a fuller demographic report would be presented at the next meeting. Underscoring the artists concerns is a push by the real estate industry to overturn a more-than-four-decade-old zoning law that requires some former manufacturing buildings in SoHo to be reserved for working artists certified by the city. Landlords and brokers have argued that the zoning restriction has hurt property values. But loft advocates say the law has not in practice been used to exclude non-artist residents, and remains an important protection for existing artists, known officially as "artists-in-residence," who otherwise may face eviction pressures. You have had situations where artists have been bought out by real estate developers who want to convert buildings into condominiums, said Tom ONeill, a photographer and artist-in-residence who lives in a loft on Greene Street. Thats kind of changed the spirit of the neighborhood. After initially issuing a statement last month that said Soho and Nohos zoning needed to be fixed, Brewer and Chin have backed off that statement. In her opening remarks, Brewer told the audience, There are no preordained plans. Later, asked about the high anxiety over the plan, Chin said residents were simply not used to a community-based planning process. Theyre used to fighting against things, she said. So I guess we have to make them feel comfortable, and through these sessions, hopefully they will understand that they do have a stake. Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. He called for Medicaid expansion. He predicted climate change will increase the severity of storms, requiring new infrastructure spending in vulnerable areas. He said tax cuts had reduced money available for public education. He called for higher teacher and principal pay, promising a budget that "will put our schools and our teachers first." He urged more spending on pre-K slots and the NC Teaching Fellows program, which covers college costs for graduates who teach for at least four years in North Carolina. He called on lawmakers to place a school construction bond on the ballot for voter approval. He defended taxpayer incentives to attract businesses. He repeated his call to provide community college, tuition-free, for "high-demand jobs." He urged expansion of rural broadband service using public-private partnerships. He reiterated his call to extend the ban on offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Gov. Roy Cooper's second State of the State address included plenty of proposals liberals and Democrats cheered. But Republicans and conservatives, who dominate the General Assembly that would put these policies into effect, aren't likely to embrace many of them.The governor's speech focused on rural economic development, along with higher spending for traditional public schools, job training, and infrastructure. The applause for expanded state government largely fell along party lines, with Democratic lawmakers giving the governor regular standing ovations while Republicans remained seated.Cooper also called for better communication, engagement, and collaboration between Democrats and Republicans, the administration and the legislature.He opened the address recounting the resilience of a victim of Hurricane Florence who lost her home and was living in a Wilmington shelter. Noting her gratitude, Cooper said, "the state of our state is determined."The governor highlighted several themes:In response, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he learned from the 2018 election that North Carolinians want the governor and the General Assembly to come together and solve problems. He said government should set reasonable rules that apply to everyone and then largely get of the way.He contrasted Republicans and Democrats, saying the GOP's insistence onhave led to record job growth, tax collections, and yearly teacher pay increases.Then he rejected what he called Democrats'Berger also promoted policies to promote opportunities for disadvantaged residents, led by school choice, both opportunity scholarships and charter school growth. He noted NC Promise, the program allowing in-state students to attend UNC Pembroke, Elizabeth City State University, and Western Carolina University for tuition rates of $500 a semester.And Berger highlighted the recent decision by Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins, which struck down two constitutional amendments approved by voters in November. Collins ruled the amendments were placed on the ballot by "usurpers" elected from unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts.Berger said.Berger also indirectly challenged Cooper to fill the vacancy on the state Supreme Court resulting from the resignation of Republican Chief Justice Mark Martin and the elevation of Democratic Justice Cheri Beasley with a Republican.Cooper hasn't named a successor. Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the character of Islam has changed for the worse, the Muslim author of this commentary piece argues. "From 750 AD," writes Yasmin Alibhai Brown, "Islamic lands and civilizations were diverse and creative. Sure, there were bad epochs when obscurantists took charge or when European colonisation grabbed power, crushed the will and self-respect of Muslims in the Middle East, far East and Subcontinent. But through all this most Muslims remained open minded, curious, flexible, adaptable, tolerant and internationalist. "Forty years ago 1979 is when all that changed. First came the Iranian revolution, when the Shah was toppled by the pietistic, fundamentalist Shia cleric the Ayatollah Khomeini, who believed as did millions of Iranians back then that God had sent him to rescue Iranians from godlessness and western debauchery." Well, 1979 certainly was an important turning point for Islam, but fundamentalist streaks have been part of religion, including Islam, almost from the beginning. In Christianity the term fundamentalism became widespread in the early 1900s when a movement began seeking to reject modernism and cling to certain essential fundamentals of the faith -- at least fundamentals as defined by the movement's leaders. Other religions, too, have suffered from the fundamentalist plague, which in some ways has its understandable roots in a desire to keep a faith tradition on the right path but that then shuts the door to any interpretation beyond its own. In Islam, the roots of a rigid approach certainly appear well before 1979. Indeed, one of the godfathers of modern Islamism's radical tendencies, as I reported from Cairo in 2002 for The Kansas City Star, is "native Egyptian Sayyid Qutb (pronounced kuh-TAHB) (he's pictured here), born in 1906 and executed as a political prisoner here (Cairo) in 1966 by the Nasser regime, who probably deserves to be called the primary thinker behind the radical version of Islam to which Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and other fanatics have pledged allegiance. Here's more of what I wrote about him: Qutb -- sometimes with 20th century Muslim theorist Abul Ala Mawdudi -- often is seen as the one who most inspires bin Laden and his violent ilk. Qutb's own journey into extremist Islam (which religious scholars sometimes call Islamic revivalism) included a two-year stop in the United States that started in 1948. As an inspector of schools in Egypt, he came to study education in America. But while there, he saw what he believed was cultural decadence, racism and liberty run amok -- however quaint and innocent the late 1940s seems to Americans now. Even American churches, he concluded, were just sexual playgrounds. He noted that Americans seemed to go to church more than any other people, but he wrote that "there is no one as removed from feeling the spirituality, respect and sacredness of religion than the Americans." When he returned to Egypt, he was determined to live according to strict Islamic law and to oppose what he had seen in the West. In effect, he envisioned an Islamic utopia in which church and state never would be separated. As the capitalism-communism debate of the 20th century raged, Qutb argued that Islam offered a third, competing and better world view. Qutb's form of Islamic revivalism came after similar efforts the previous century led by Jamal Eddin al-Afghani and his disciple Mohammed Abdu. Qutb joined a radical movement called the Muslim Brotherhood (now outlawed here in Egypt but still influential; indeed, the group nowadays is considered almost moderate) and fought for the rest of his life against "jahiliyyah." It's a term from the Qur'an meaning "period of ignorance" and refers to pre-Islamic conditions in Arabia. It has come to include disdain for Western ideals and their influence on Islamic culture. "The jahiliyyah order," he wrote, "has to be exterminated root and branch." His book Milestones describes how Muslims can do that and establish a society based on Islamic law. That law is called Shari'a, though Shari'a extends beyond just Qur'anic law and includes all of religious, political, social, economic and private life. It's based not just on the Qur'an but also on the Prophet Muhammad's life and teachings and on the thinking of Islamic scholars. Qutb's enemy was not just Western culture and values. He also battled -- even more fiercely -- Muslims whom he blamed for not living by the Shari'a. In that way, he set a pattern for bin Laden, who has attacked the West as degenerate but also has flailed the royal family that rules his native Saudi Arabia, site of Islam's holiest shrines.(Members of the royal family have been close friends of many bin Laden relatives.) Qutb was a prolific writer. His major work was a 30-volume commentary on the Qur'an, in which he emphasized the unrelenting requirements that Islam places on believers. He continues to be revered for that scholarship. To Qutb, Islam was an all-sufficient system for every aspect of life. In the end, he had no use for Christians, Jews or anyone shaped by Western values. His influence didn't end with death. As his writings spread through the Islamic world, they became especially popular in Afghanistan in the 1960s and '70s. Bin Laden's own writing reflects his debt to Qutb as well as to 20th century militant Abd al-Salam Faraj. In turn, Faraj drew heavily on Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, who lived from 1262 to 1328 and who sought to justify militancy. Taymiyyah said it was permissible to fight against Muslim rulers who don't live by the Sharia. Sometimes the radical bin Laden version of Islam is called Salafism. The term refers to the pious early generations of Muslims. Not everyone interprets Qutb the same way, but his works have provided an intellectual foundation for violent radicals. Early in his career, Qutb did not advocate violence, arguing instead that establishing an Islamic order must be willed by the people. But eventually he moved toward violence as a necessity. In the end, he believed jahiliyyah had to be destroyed by any means necessary. Many Islamic scholars have opposed Qutb's views, but his work still is read and his continuing influence among today's extremists is unquestioned. So when we search for the roots of today's religious movements, it's necessary to understand not just current times and sources, but also what has come before. Roots, after all, grow trees and plants that bear today's fruit, however bitter. * * * GRADING THE VATICAN SEX SUMMIT Analyses of the recent Vatican meeting on sex abuse in the church continue to pour in. This one, from respected scholar Mark Silk, says he wouldn't give the church a grade of F on the gathering but, rather, a grade of "Incomplete." I think that's fair, though everyone would have been much happier even with a grade of C. Interview with Paul Eschmann, Director Asia at BaselArea.swiss, the official economic promotion organization of the Basel Area. He speaks about the strong life sciences cluster in the Basel Area and how Indian companies can benefit from the unique ecosystem and the growth potential for their business in Europe. What is the role of BaselArea.swiss and how do you support Indian companies? Paul Eschmann: BaselArea.swiss is north-western Switzerlands joint initiative for innovation and economic promotion. I am a part of the International Markets & Business Affairs team and our mandate is to support Indian companies that are interested in growing their business by expanding to Europe and advise them on the unique benefits that the Basel Area has to offer them. With our strong network and longstanding expertise, we advise companies during each stage of their expansion process, starting with: Evaluation & Preparation: We provide current data on market conditions, business environment, industry knowledge, taxes and legal issues customized to each project requirements. Location search & Site visit: We facilitate contacts to the right experts like our government authorities, industry and legal experts, and provide professional support during real estate search. Setting-up operations: We arrange meetings with local partners and institutions, thereby helping companies in building relationships to local authorities, experts and organizations. Settled-in: We help companies in growing their network through our events and technology experts as well as in facilitating connections with the cantons. Since we are a government-funded body, we provide our services completely free of charge. Today we are very active in India and considering the fact that Indias FDI outflows have more than doubled in 2017, we see a strong increase in the interest of Indian companies to expand their global footprint to Europe and also to diversify their risk by investing in a politically very stable country like Switzerland. Switzerland and Basel in particular, with its top notch life sciences cluster, is a perfect launchpad for business activities in Europe. You mentioned that the Basel Area has one of the best suited life sciences ecosystems in Europe. What makes it so? Paul Eschmann: Nestled right at the border of France and Germany, and with unique position of the Rhine river passing through, the Basel Area has always been the major economic hub of the region. As long ago as the Middle Ages, the region had already grown to become an important centre for trade, and to this day it remains a major centre for science and research. Today only the pharmaceutical products export out of the Basel Area accounts for more than 52 bn USD. Home to major multinational corporations like Roche, Novartis, Actelion, Syngenta, Abbott, Bachem, Lonza and more than 700 other life sciences companies, Basel boasts of a huge life sciences workforce with top global talent across the value chain - from basic research to commercialization, easy access and flight connections throughout Europe, one of the most liberal labour laws in Europe and a very competitive corporate tax model. Due to the superb business environment, many Indian companies have set up operations in Basel, like Dr. Reddys, Dishman Group, Biocon, Jupiter Bioscience, Bilcare Research, Naari, Divis Laboratories, and many successful biotechnology start-ups. Amongst other factors, having a competitive corporate tax is one of the key aspects for site selection. How does Basel fare with respect to its other European counterparts? Paul Eschmann: Yes, you are right in a way. But apart from very attractive taxes, the size and specialization of the industry ecosystem, financing availability, general business environment, political stability, infrastructure support & quality of life also play a significant role in the decision-making process. If we compare the innovation strength of life sciences clusters by the percentage of therapeutic companies, we find that the Basel Area is much above other European regions. Also, Basel employs the highest number of people in the life sciences industry. This talent is well provided for by world-class biomedical research institutes, like the ETH Zurich Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, University of Basel with its renowned Department of Biomedicine, Pharma and Bio Center, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, the Swiss Nanotech Institute (SNI), the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics or the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. Infrastructure-wise Basel Area offers a wide choice of real estate options from large development plots, to production and warehousing facilities, right through to office space and units suitable for light industrial and laboratory purposes. Our Infrapark and Technology Park are most active in this purpose. The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area offers academic, seed stage and spin-out R&D groups access to an independent biomedicine and biotechnology research environment, a dynamic peer community, and a first-class ecosystem. Now, coming to your question about the corporate tax rate, let me mention that Basel offers one of the most attractive tax rates in Switzerland. E.g. based on the adopted cantonal tax reform in the Canton of Basel-Stadt, companies will benefit from an overall effective corporate tax rate (incl. federal tax) of 13% or 11% if the benefits of the IP box and other advantages can be leveraged. Under certain circumstances, new companies can benefit from a tax holiday of up to ten years, with no risk of claw back, which is quite unique in Switzerland. Apart from life sciences, do you see any other strong sectors in Basel? Paul Eschmann: Yes, the Basel Area is also an attractive location for companies in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Adobe, for example, operates a development centre here for its content management software. A special field of local ICT cluster is digital healthcare, esp. bioinformatics. In recent years, complementary start-ups such as Genedata, a world leader in bioinformatics, and Magnolia, a global leader in content management software, have emerged. Since the life science industry is highly data-intensive, technologies like AI, machine learning, big data & IOT are very much in demand. Apart from ICT, Basel also offers great potential for companies in medtech and precision goods. Many companies in the watch industry have expanded beyond their specific know-how and diversified into the medtech industry as outfitters, manufacturers of assembled products and suppliers. Medtech giants such as Straumann and DePuy Synthes as well as small and medium-sized enterprises such as Medartis, Composites Busch and BienAir are well established in the region. Cosmetics and Nutraceuticals have also gained momentum in the recent years with giants like Colgate Palmolive, Henkel, Nivea and many others operating out of the Basel Area. Also, the Logistics cluster is extremely strong owing to its rail, road and sea accessibility. The 990 logistics companies in the Basel Area handle almost 20 million tonnes of economic goods every year. Basel has one of Europes largest switch yards and 28% of Swiss exports, 32% of Swiss imports are handled in this region per year. What does the future hold for Basel? Paul Eschmann: It looks very promising and we have seen a lot of interest from Asia, particularly China and India. Being 36% of the population non-Swiss, Basel is an international city with English as a standard business language. Foreign companies esteem this international and multicultural environment and there has been a constant increase in the number of companies coming to Basel over the past few years. Also, the innovation ecosystem of Basel has been developing at an increased pace. The number of 33 patent applications per 100000 inhabitants is the highest in Switzerland. The commitment to the region of global players such as Novartis and Roche are further proof of the Basel Areas excellent economic development potential. Novartis, for example, will complete an extension to its campus in 2020, and Roche is investing three billion in real estate during this same period. A total of over CHF 7 billion is being spent by companies and public institutions on new research, development, and production infrastructures in the next few years. I would say the future is very bright. Credit: Basel Tourismus. According to a recent study by Mercer, Basel is ranked the worlds top 10 city to live. News UAE Rulers witness the launch of new 50-dirham banknote as part of Golden Jubilee celebrations Sheikh Mansour added, "We see in this issuance that the UAE has entered a new phase in its history and a renewed pledge to continue the process of economic and social growth. This occasion also allowed us to express our appreciation and gratitude to our founding fathers, by issuing a new 50 dirham banknote to celebrate the passing of Fifty years since the establishment of the UAE. BLACK REPUBLICAN BLOG - The Republican Party is the party of civil rights and the four Fs: faith, family, freedom and fairness. The Democratic Party is the party of the four Ss: slavery, secession, segregation and socialism (Quote By Author Michael Scheuer). Well, that didn't take long: after seven days on strike, the Oakland teacher's union has received an offer that they say capitulates on every major point at issue in the strike, including the stealth privatization of Oakland schools through vouchers and charter schools. The rank-and-file still have to ratify the settlement, but after that formality, they're good to go. It's another moment of brightness and hope, as teachers across America continue their one-year-plus streak of victories for quality public education for every child in the nation. A LIVING WAGE: 11% salary increase over 4 years. PLUS a 3% bonus upon ratification. We FORCED OUSD to invest in keeping teachers in Oakland which will give our kids experienced teachers in their classrooms. Dramatic increases for subs, and tying sub pay to the wage scale, so our substitutes never fall behind again. MORE STUDENT SUPPORTS: More counselors, RSPs, psychologists, speech pathologists and Newcomer support staff for our students! Bonuses and a new salary schedule to support nurse recruitment. LOWER CLASS SIZES: A one student reduction in class size at high needs schools next year. A one student reduction in class sizes across all schools in 2021-22. We FORCED OUSD to take this step to improve student learning conditions, especially at our highest-needs schools. SCHOOL CLOSURE MORATORIUM: Board President Aimee Eng has committed to introduce a resolution calling for a 5 month pause on school closures and consolidations, and more community input into the process. The power of our strike will help us organize against future closures! CHARTER SCHOOL MORATORIUM: Board President Aimee Eng has committed to introduce a resolution calling for a charter school moratorium, similar to the one passed by the LAUSD Board as a result of UTLA's historic strike. Next step: Sacramento! WHEN WE STRIKE, WE WIN! [Oakland Education Association] (Image: Oakland Education Association) GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana's president on Friday dismissed a report that the country had offered Zimbabwe a $600 million diamond-backed loan and said his government had only offered to guarantee a $100 million private credit line for Botswana companies to invest in their troubled neighbor. Zimbabwe's secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs was quoted in the state-owned Herald newspaper on Tuesday saying Botswana had offered to lend Zimbabwe $500 million to support its diamond industry and another $100 million for the local private firms. "I want to clarify these reports that we are giving Zimbabwe hundreds of millions in loans. That is totally untrue," Mokgweetsi Masisi told reporters in Gaborone, a day after visiting Zimbabwe for business and trade mission. "We are not giving them a single loan. The only thing we gave them yesterday were medical supplies made in Botswana and supplementary feeding worth 2.1 million pula ($197,600)." There is $100 million credit from private banks in Botswana and Zimbabwe to help Botswana private companies, Masisi added. "What we have demanded, which we are waiting for, is a letter of guarantee from the Zimbabweans to counter our own guarantee," he said. Masisi also said Botswana, which is the largest producer of diamonds by value, would help Zimbabwe with its diamond trade because "it would be useful and strategic for Botswana" as it aims to become a global center of diamond trading. Zimbabwe's diamond sector has struggled since the government kicked out private companies from the eastern Marange fields in early 2016 after they declined to merge under the state-owned mining company. Relations between Zimbabwe and Botswana have improved following a strained period when Botswana's ex-President Ian Khama, who stepped down in 2018, routinely criticized Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe for holding on to power for too long. A military coup in 2017 forced Mugabe to resign, ending his 37-year rule. (Reporting by Brian Benza; Editing by Alison Williams) The Canadian navy's stock of survival suits, which allow submariners to escape in an emergency from a sunken boat, has been thrown a lifeline after much of the equipment had reached its expiry date, federal documents reveal. The critical safety suits give stranded crew members the ability to ascend from a depth of 183 metres and protect against hypothermia. They even inflate into a single-seat life raft once on the surface. The orange whole-body suits were part of the original equipment aboard the Victoria-class submarines, diesel-electric boats originally built for the Royal Navy and purchased from Britain in the late 1990s. Documents obtained by CBC News show there was concern among naval engineers, in late 2016, that many of the suits had passed or were about to pass their best-before, safety dates. A spokeswoman for the Defence Department said a decision was made to extend the life of suits while the federal government procures new ones a process that is ongoing. There is no threat to safety, said Jessica Lamirande. "The service life extension was approved based on successful, rigorous testing at the Naval Engineering Test Establishment on a representative sample of suits that had passed their intended service lives," said Lamirande, in a recent email. "Testing consisted of detailed visual inspection, leakage tests, and functional testing." Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press Fleet sailing until 2040 But defence experts say it is a small project that speaks volumes about the Liberal government's plan to modernize and keep operating the four submarines until 2040, a proposal that was articulated in the latest defence policy. Retired commander Peter Haydon, who also taught defence policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax for years, said keeping submarine replacement parts and equipment in the system has been an ongoing headache for the navy, dating back to the 1980s. However, the bigger concern is: As the boats age, the strength of their pressure hulls declines. Story continues The government plans to modernize the boats, but Haydon said that's fine for the electronic and other components. "You can modernize most things, but you can't modernize the hull, unless you build a new hull," he said. Pressure to buy new The Senate and House of Commons defence committees have recommended the government begin exploring options now for the replacement of the submarines, which took years to formally bring into service after they were purchased. The government, in its response to a committee report last fall, argued it is already fully engaged building Arctic patrol ships and replacements for frigates and supply ships. Buying new submarines is a topic that has been debated behind the scenes for a long time at National Defence with one former top commander, retired general Walt Natynczyk ordering in 2012 a study that looked at the possible replacements. They're running a risk with the lives of sailors, the older these vessels get in an extremely dangerous environment, especially when they're submerged. Michael Byers, University of British Columbia University of British Columbia defence expert Michael Byers has been quoted as saying he's worried Canada "will lose its submarine capability through negligence rather than design," noting that it is politically more palatable to refurbish the underwater fleet rather than endure a painful procurement process. "They're running a risk with the lives of sailors, the older these vessels get in an extremely dangerous environment, especially when they're submerged," said Byers, who pointed to the loss of the Argentine submarine San Juan and its crew of 44 in 2017. "I would be more comfortable with a decision to buy a new fleet submarines than the current path that we're on. I have been skeptical as to whether we need submarines, but better a new fleet than send our sailors to sea in these old vessels." Since Canada does not have the technology, nor has it ever constructed its own submarines, the federal government would be required to go overseas to countries such as Germany or Sweden to get them built. Restricted diving In the meantime, Haydon said he's confident ongoing maintenance and the stringent safety standards among Western allies will keep the Victoria-class submarines in the water and operating safely. He cautions, however, like Canada's previous submarines retired in the 1990s, the Oberon class, the older the current fleet gets, the more their diving depth will eventually have to be restricted. As the hull and its valves weaken, the less pressure they can sustain. Lamirande said the navy has enough escape submarine suits whenever it deploys, and she emphasized it never goes to sea with "expired" equipment. Many words have been tossed around to describe the allegations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in the SNC-Lavalin affair: bombshell, shocking, explosive, inappropriate. But one word could take this scandal from a House of Commons committee room to a courtroom: illegal. In the mad dash following Wilson-Raybould's dazzling testimony before the House of Commons justice committee Wednesday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer held a news conference calling for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to launch a criminal investigation into the government's actions. "I was sickened and appalled by her story of inappropriate and, frankly, illegal pressure brought to bear on her by the highest officials of Justin Trudeau's government," he told reporters Wednesday night. Scheer followed up Thursday with a letter to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, citing sections of the Criminal Code related to provoking fear in an attorney general and obstructing or defeating the course of justice. "She confirmed veiled threats of consequences if she did not bend to the political wishes of the Liberal Party and the financial interests of the shareholders of SNC-Lavalin. It was also clear that these actions rose to the highest ranks of the government," he wrote. While clearly upset by her government's handling of the file, Wilson-Raybould, who was at one point Canada's most senior lawyer, clearly disagrees something criminal occurred. In front of the committee she was asked multiple times if the pressure exerted on her broke the law. "In my opinion, it's not illegal," she told the committee. For legal animals in Ottawa, it's been a neck-aching round of whiplash trying to figure out who is right. "Neither opinion settles the matter," said Ottawa-based defence lawyer Michael Spratt. "It's not clearly not obstruction." Story continues According to the Criminal Code, obstructing justice covers "everyone who wilfully attempts in any manner to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice." In her testimony, Wilson-Raybould said she faced intense political pressure and veiled threats related to the SNC-Lavalin affair, and was warned directly by Trudeau about the negative consequences if the company faced prosecution. SNC-Lavalin was facing corruption charges for contracts in Libya and was lobbying for a remediation agreement as an alternative to criminal prosecution. Examine the case, Conservative MacKay says Former Conservative justice minister Peter MacKay said there's enough from Wilson-Raybould's testimony to warrant further examination either through a public inquiry or a criminal investigation. "What's happened here is that somebody in the office gave her the impression there would be consequences if she was not to follow the instructions, and when that didn't happen we know that she did lose her job," he said. "I come back to the definition of the Criminal Code section which speaks of perverting justice, it speaks of interference, it speaks of in some way trying to shape the outcome of a prosecution, and the elements appear to be there." Criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger said an obstruction of justice charge wouldn't be hard to prove in court. He pointed to a meeting Gerry Butts, the prime minister's former principal secretary, had with Wilson-Raybould's trusted chief of staff Jessica Prince where he allegedly said, "There is no solution here that doesn't involve some interference." "If that is not a smoking gun when it comes to actual interference and obstruction, I don't know what is," said Neuberger. "This has stepped over the bounds of inappropriate; it has certainly crossed into the realm of criminal conduct." Spratt said he doesn't think the case is a "slam dunk," for police and prosecutors, but "it's starting to sound a lot like obstruction." Canadian Civil Liberties Association executive director Michael Bryant, who in the first few days of the scandal called for a police investigation, now says this issue isn't as clear cut. "The evidence for obstruction of justice requires evidence of intent. So you need to have evidence of the prime minister intended to obstruct justice, and we didn't hear any of that," he said Thursday. "I don't think that we should politicize a criminal investigation by the RCMP any more than we should criminalize a prosecutorial decision against SNC-Lavalin. I don't think it's for Parliament to be telling the police what to do." Nothing criminal, Liberal Cotler says It's a view shared, in part, by Irwin Cotler, another former justice minister. "I don't see anything criminal going on," the former Liberal cabinet minister said. "I do think that what's been happening here is really a reflection of the ongoing dynamics between the offices of the minister of justice, the other members of cabinet and her responsibilities as attorney general." Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images Cotler, who has advocated for the roles of attorney general and justice minister be separated, said it's possible officials with the Prime Minister's Office, Privy Council Office and minister of finance didn't intend to exert inappropriate direction on Wilson-Raybould, but over time it felt like concentrated and sustained pressure. During her testimony, Wilson-Raybould referred to it as "a barrage of people hounding me and my staff." "I know this may sound somewhat, perhaps, speaking paradoxically when I say that both sides may be telling the truth, but that was my feeling that she was really telling it as she saw it, as she experienced it," said Cotler. Watch the explainer below on the key players in the SNC-Lavalin controversy: The RCMP, as expected, won't comment on the calls for an investigation, but the force did acknowledge it's reviewing Scheer's letter. "The RCMP does not confirm or deny the existence of a criminal investigation unless charges would be laid," said a spokesperson. For his part, Trudeau said no one from his team has been questioned by RCMP officers. "We have confidence in the processes in place. The justice committee is pursuing its study, and we will of course respect the independence and indeed the work of the committee" he told reporters Thursday. "We will also look very closely and participate fully in the ethics commissioner's investigation into this." Former AGs weigh in Meanwhile, late Thursday, two former federal attorneys general MacKay, who served in the role under former prime minister Stephen Harper, and Douglas Grinslade Lewis, who served under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney penned a letter to the RCMP asking for a police investigation into the matter. The letter was also signed by three former provincial attorneys general: Jonathan Denis, Progressive Conservative, from Alberta; Cecil Clarke, Progressive Conservative, from Nova Scotia; and Colin Gableman, NDP, from British Columbia. "We write today to urge you to ensure that you use all resources at your disposal to fully and fairly investigate any potential criminality and provide Canadians with the truth in this crucial matter, as it strikes at the core of the rule of law and independence of our justice system," the letter said. A group advocating for Canada's Prairie provinces to secede has put up three billboards in Regina and one in Saskatoon bearing the question, "Should Saskatchewan leave Canada?" The Prairie Freedom Movement has a list of beefs, mostly as it relates to Ontario and Quebec. "For a very long time we have been bribing the East by ripping off the West," the group's spokesperson Peter Downing told Leisha Grebinski on CBC's Saskatoon Morning. Downing, who lives in Leduc, Alta., also heads up a similar group called Alberta Fights Back, a third-party advertiser registered with Elections Alberta. Monty Kruger/CBC Downing's LinkedIn page shows he was an officer with the RCMP for nearly a decade. Downing says his group is upset with equalization payments, taxation, the Trudeau government, the lack of pipelines and even the Canada Food Guide suggesting people eat less meat which hurt the livestock industry. "Oil and gas in Alberta has already been rocked and we're seeing the same thing going toward agriculture and meat production in Saskatchewan." Downing said he can't see the West getting a fair shake within Canada because of the electoral map. "[There are] 14 seats in Saskatchewan compared to to the 121 in Ontario and 78 in Quebec and we are just not seeing the representation we need," he said. "We recognize the electoral realities that favour Eastern Canada in terms of Confederation and it's a bad equation." Joe Garcea, a professor in political studies at the University of Saskatchewan, said this latest form of Western separatist movement will have trouble gaining traction with the vast majority of the population. "It's a real radical movement that it's potential for growth is not that great given the spirit of the times,despite the discontent that there is in the west," Garcea said. He said that while some of the economic grievances could have broad consensus, "this radical option, this radical agenda, I'm not sure there is that much support for it." Story continues "It's all about economics. People want greater economic security," Garcea said. "I don't think they want to necessarily engage in something that could potentially compromise the economic security even more." Downing said the group is in the process of commissioning a third-party study from an as-yet named public policy school to study the pros and cons of separation. "We want to be able to present the strengths and weaknesses to voters so that they can make a fully informed decision and we are going to release that at a later time," he said. He said they have had a "fantastic" response to the billboards. "It is time to start having this conversation and discussion now." After years of failed applications, desperate letters and in-person pleas, Hassan Mursal believed the end could be in sight. The Edmonton father thought last Friday was the day he was finally getting his daughters back. Saabiriin, 14, and Zuhur, 9, were supposed to arrive on a flight from Nairobi after a treacherous journey fleeing a deadly conflict in southwest Somali region of Ethiopia. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued emergency travel documents to facilitate the girls' return. But Kenyan authorities wouldn't allow his daughters, who are Canadian citizens, to board the plane. Global Affairs Canada said it is in contact with Kenyan authorities about the girls' case. "I'm very, very stressed," Mursal told CBC after receiving news of the latest roadblock. It's a sharp contrast to how Mursal felt just days earlier, bubbling with excitement after Global Affairs sent his daughters' flight itinerary from Nairobi to Edmonton. "Maybe God gave me the number one paradise in the world," Mursal had said with a relieved chuckle at the time. The family's story first came to light six weeks ago when a fearful Mursal spoke to CBC News about the plight of his daughters who had been living in Ethiopia with their Ethiopian mother until she died. To bring them to Canada, Mursal had to replace his older daughter's lost Canadian passport. But Canadian investigators accused Mursal of submitting a photo of a female who wasn't Saabiriin. Hassan Mursal Mursal agreed the female was not his daughter. He said he didn't know who she was but insisted it's not the photo he submitted. Paperwork shows years of efforts as Mursal tried to convince officials at the Canadian embassy in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and the federal government to change their minds. Eventually, Mursal believed his family's only hope was to fly back home to make his case on Canadian soil. Mursal flew back to Edmonton last summer, leaving his daughters in the care of a family friend, thinking they would be safe. Story continues But within months, deadly clashes forced thousands of people including the girls to flee southwest Ethiopia to Kenya. The sisters traveled in the dead of night to try to avoid the violence as they crossed the border into Kenya and arrived in Nairobi where they've been ever since. Rally for support In Edmonton, the Coalition for Human Rights and Justice took up their case. They argued that regardless of the passport issue, the well-being of two Canadian children should be the priority. CBC/Trevor Wilson The group joined forces with another grassroots group, the Edmonton Black Caucus. They worked with officials in Minister Amarjeet Sohi's constituency office, Global Affairs and Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada to complete paperwork to have the necessary documents issued. "It just really showed to me how effective and how much empathy our government has towards vulnerable Canadian children," said Mark Cherrington, a volunteer with the coalition. Cherrington commended the family for their ongoing resiliency which will continue to be required in the face of new challenges when the girls finally arrive. Mursal's income is limited due to health issues and he lives in a small home with roommates so housing will be needed, said Cherrington. With no other relatives or fluency in English, the girls will also require supports around education, healthcare, recreation and transportation. andrea.huncar@cbc.ca @andreahuncar By Maria Vasilyeva MOSCOW (Reuters) - In pre-war Syria, Safaa Al-Kurdi sold wedding dresses. Fed up with the conflict, the mother-of-three fled Damascus four years ago and sought asylum in Moscow. Now, Russia is saying she must go home. Safaa is one of thousands of Syrian refugees that Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, is urging to return. Large parts of Syria are safe, Russian officials say, and there is no reason for asylum seekers like Safaa, 55, to remain. The Russian stance is creating problems for Syrians here who are seeing their asylum requests rejected. Banned from working, they face the threat of arrest and deportation. "Since my children are there and Syria is my country, I would naturally like to return," Safaa, whose two eldest sons were drafted into the Syrian army, said through tears. "But it's not possible for anyone to return in this situation. People know that there is poverty, that people are dying of cold or from hunger, or from bombing." According to the U.N. refugee agency, nearly 5.5 million Syrians have fled a war that has raged over seven years. In 2015, when Moscow launched a military operation in Syria, Russia granted temporary asylum to 1,924 Syrians. That number has fallen every year since, according to statistics agency Rosstat, hitting a low of 823 asylum applications in 2018. The Civil Assistance Committee, an NGO working with refugees, says Russia wants the Syrians out. "DON'T COME BACK" "Most of them get rejected, and the ones that don't are told: We warn you, this is the last time we will extend your documents, next year don't come back," said Yevgeny Yastrebov, a co-ordinator with the committee. Some Syrians have already left, he said, adding that others are forced to bribe the police to stay. "It's a constant game of hide-and-seek you have to play with the government, which is not a fun thing to do if you have kids and you need to feed them," he said. When Safaa left Damascus in 2015, she had a little money from selling her garments workshop. Her youngest son, Al-Amir, 23, followed her to Russia afterwards. Their asylum applications have been repeatedly rejected and so far their appeals have also been refused. With her savings gone, Safaa makes ends meet by selling jewelry at a Moscow market. Her son declines to talk about his employment situation for fear of official reprisals. Their joint income is just enough to rent a small apartment in a village some 50 km (31 miles) east of Moscow. "I want to stay for a while before returning, I want to try to save a little bit of money to be able to open a little venture, to be able to live off of it in Syria," said Safaa. When her asylum appeal process is exhausted, she says she will return home, but wants her son to stay away from Syria. "Life is not possible there. It's like the war is over but it's not over at the same time." (Additional reporting by Ahmad El-Katib in Moscow; Editing by Andrew Osborn and William Maclean) ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan's military dispatched two helicopters Thursday despite closure of its airspace amid tensions with neighboring India to find a pair of climbers from Italy and Britain who went missing on a Himalayan peak, a mountaineering official said. Karrar Haidri, secretary of Alpine Club of Pakistan, told The Associated Press that the search for the climbers will continue on Friday despite bad weather. The climbers, Italian Daniele Nardi and Briton Tom Ballard, whose mother died on K2 in 1995, last made contact Sunday from around an elevation of some 6,300 meters (nearly 20,700 feet) on Nanga Parbat, slightly more than one-third up the 8,126-meter peak nicknamed Killer Mountain because of the dangerous conditions. A Pakistani climber, Ali Sadpara, who joined the search team, saw a snow-covered tent of the climbers on Thursday, Haidri said. Nardi's team said in a Facebook post that traces of an avalanche were evident in the area. A Facebook post by Nardi's team said Pakistan authorities sent a helicopter to search the Mummery Spur of Nanga Parbat for the climbers without result on Thursday. On Wednesday, the search was temporarily suspended after Pakistan said its military shot down two Indian warplanes and captured a pilot, escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. Since then the country's air space is closed, but the military helicopters will continue the search for the climbers despite snowfall and strong winds, Haidri said. Despite being known as "killer mountain" the Nanga Parbat peak has been an attraction for climbers from around the world who try to scale it. Nardi, 42, from near Rome, has attempted the Nanga Parbat in winter several times in the past. Ballard, 30, is the son of British climber Alison Hargreaves, the first woman to scale Mount Everest alone who died at age 33 while descending the summit of K2. Ballard in 2015 became the first person ever to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter. Nardi's team said that the alarm for the pair grew on Thursday after having no contact either by satellite phone or by base camp radio since Sunday. "The weather conditions are not good, there was fog, sleet and gusts of wind," Nardi's team wrote on Facebook Sunday. The pair set out on the climb of Mummery Spur last Friday, making it to the fourth base camp, at about 6,000 meters, by Saturday. By Wednesday, the team speculated in a post that they were unable to communicate due to cloudy skies, which also blocked the view of the higher altitudes from base camp. By Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand on Friday detailed plans for the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, beginning next month with the gathering of holy waters in preparation for three days of ceremonies in May expected to cost about $31.5 million. Thais are invited to wear yellow to show support for the king starting in April and for nearly four months until his birthday in late July, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters. Vajiralongkorn, also known by the title King Rama X, became constitutional monarch following the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016. The coronation was delayed until after a mourning period for Bhumibol, who was cremated in October 2017 in a grand royal funeral in Bangkok. "April 6 will mark the beginning of the coronation ceremonies. It is Chakri Day, which fortune tellers say is an auspicious day to collect holy waters," Wissanu said. Chakri Day commemorates the 1782 founding of the Chakri Dynasty by King Rama I, whose descendents have since reigned over Thailand. The official coronation will be a mix of Buddhist religious ceremonies and Hindu Brahmin rituals. The king will be crowned on May 4, followed the next day by a celebration procession. He will meet the public and foreign dignitaries on May 6. "The king will be showered with holy waters and crowned before noon on May 4," Wissanu said. Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the king is regarded as the spiritual protector of its people and culture. The coronation will be a first for most Thais, after King Bhumibol reigned for seven decades. King Bhumibol was revered by Thais and the deep relationship between the monarchy and the military helped facilitate a smooth royal transition following his death. Since then, Vajiralongkorn has overseen sweeping changes to royal affairs, including the running of palace finances, which were formerly managed by the government. Wissanu said the military-run government has set aside 1 billion baht for the coronation ceremomies, about one-third the cost of King Bhumibol's funeral. The kingdom will hold elections on March 24 meant to restore democracy after a 2014 military coup ousted an elected prime minister, though changes to the constitution in the interim ensure the military will retain a great deal of control. (Writing by Kay Johnson; editing by Darren Schuettler) CBC Trudy Morgan-Cole is this year's winner of NL Reads 2019. The title was bestowed upon her Thursday night in front of a packed house and a live panel of advocates at the A.C. Hunter Library in St. John's. Most Anything You Please marks Morgan-Cole's 16th novel, covering three generations of women from the Holloway family who own a corner store in Rabbittown a community to which she has a special connection. Living in Rabbittown for most of her adult life, Morgan-Cole told CBC News in November that she loves how the neighbourhood has avoided the flip-for-profit routine, maintaining its lower cost of living and allowing it to be affordable for lower-income, working-class people, their families and new Canadians settling into St. John's. Stephanie Tobin/CBC NL Public Libraries/Twitter "A changing family, and a changing city; Trudy Morgan-Cole takes you through the decades of the Holloway family, from Bonavista Bay, to Rabbittown, to Louisiana and back again, as the matriarchs and their community adjust to the changing modern face of St. John's," said CBC's Stephanie Tobin, who was selected to argue in favour of Morgan-Cole's title during the live event Thursday night. All told, four new titles were entered into the NL Reads competition. Morgan-Cole's novel was released in November, and a new book by other authors were revealed each month through February. Novels from Jamie Fitzpatrick (The End of Music), Sharon Bala (Boat People) and Lisa Moore (Something for Everyone) challenged for the top prize, along with Morgan-Cole, for the $1,000 Margaret Duley Award. Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh. blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..Algemeiner..28 February '19..In movies involving fraternities, there is usually a hazing scene where pledges are repeatedly and willingly paddled from behind. Listening to people who routinely claim that Israel is solely responsible for the absence of peace and could solve the problem by being nice to the Palestinians reminds me of those pledges.I am not referring in this article to blatant antisemites. Im talking about the Tom Friedmans, Roger Cohens, and Peter Beinarts of the world, who proclaim their love for Israel while myopically casting blame for the conflict there solely on Israel. I am not sure if the blame-Israel-first crowd is terminally naive, ignorant of history, oblivious or all three. Question: Regarding my posts about the terrible perversion of Torah and halacha that Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky has engineered with his prod... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59138213 In the US, people can justify their use of deadly force against another when it reasona... lt is clear that no one in the world has the authority to establish guilt anyone without both [the accuser and accused] coming ... Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com In the five years since flight MH370 vanished, 60 Minutes has been investigating aviation's greatest mystery.Flight MH370 was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it vanished over the South China Sea in the early hours of March 8, 2014.The Malaysian Airlines flight departed from Kuala Lumpur International airport but never reached its destination of Beijing, China and investigators have never been able to confirm the plane's fate.60 Minutes airs tonight at 8.30pm after Married at First Sight on Channel Nine. For more on 60 Minutes visit the officialwebsiteBut now in a world first, what's inside the Malaysian investigation team's secret vault may provide much needed answers.No other media Australian or international has ever been granted access to the vault, which houses one of the most important confirmed fragments of MH370's wreckage.Exclusive access to the wreckage was granted to 60 Minutes' newest reporter Sarah Abo following her unprecedented interview with Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad the first in which he has ever spoken with a relative of a victim of MH370, Australian Mrs Danica Weeks.Mrs Weeks lost her husband Paul when MH370 vanished, and her crusade for justice has taken into the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad.Here, thanks to 60 Minutes, she was permitted to plead her case to Malaysia's strongman to reopen the search for the missing plane.Mr Mohamad's decision to meet with Mrs Weeks stunned even his closest advisors, and Mrs Weeks hopes that her personal, emotional plea to the Prime Minister will reignite interest in continuing the search.'This isn't just about 239 people on a Boeing 777, this is about eight million people every day that get on a flight: wives, husbands, family members that get on a plane,' she told Abo.60 Minutes also spoke exclusively to Peter Chong, close friend of MH370's commanding pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah.Abo discussed the suspicion by many international air-crash investigators that Captain Shah deliberately crashed his Boeing 777 after flying it on a course he'd previously mapped on his home flight simulator program into the southern Indian Ocean.Mr Chong is a fierce defender of his friend Captain Shah.'Anybody that knows captain would immediately tell you that he's not this kind of person that would do such a thing,' he said.Did Captain Shah deliberately ditch MH370 into the Southern Indian Ocean, killing everyone on board?And could the precious remnants of the wreckage kept inside Malaysia's secret vault finally reveal the plane's ultimate resting place? Embattled Chinese smartphone maker Huawei capped another week full of a steady stream of negative headlines targeting the company by continuing a massive, weeks-long PR campaign an effort that included running prominent advertisements in several major US newspapers essentially offering Huawei's side of its story and speaking directly to consumers.Huawei took out prominent and full-page ad space in publications ranging from The Washington Postto The New York Times, The Wall Street Journaland USA Today, as well as Politicoand The Los Angeles Times. Readers who came across the ads were encouraged not to take for granted that 'everything you hear' about the company is correct and that 'We would like the US public to get to know us better.'It's a bit of a defensive move from the company that eventually is hoping to box out Samsung as the top smartphone maker in the world, an ascension that's made a bit difficult given the open hostility against the company from US officials who believe it's essentially a de facto arm of the repressive Chinese government. US officials have also levied a number of criminal charges against the tech giant.To counter that, Huawei has been executing a multi-faceted charm initiative that included a rare, nearly half-hour-long interview with Huawei's billionaire founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei that aired recently on state-controlled China Central Television. The executive also participated in interviews with UK and American reporters, another rarity.As Bloombergnotes in a piece today, Zhengfei in the CCTV interview tried to appear unrattled by all the negative scrutiny his company has garnered in recent months. Smiling, he acknowledged that Huawei's public relations department asked him to do this and that 'I must make our clients understand us, make our 180,000 employees understand us, come together and get through this tough time.'In the US newspaper ads that ran in recent days, Huawei spotlights a variety of humanitarian efforts the company pursues like disaster relief in countries such as Indonesia. Again, as a pushback against US-led opposition that includes messaging that criticizes the security of Huawei products in addition to a series of criminal charges leveled in January against the company related in part to US sanctions against Iran.Huawei is also apparently reaching out to select US journalists offering an all-expenses-paid trip to the company's facilities in China:INBOX: #Huaweiis inviting me on an all-expenses-paid junket to China? That's gonna be a hard pass. Any American journalist who takes Huawei money should be ashamed and shamed. pic.twitter.com/F6ihsSXObk Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) March 1, 2019For its part, Huawei is at the same time trying to put on an air of business as usual in spite of developments like these and the arrest of its CFO in Canada in December who the US is attempting to get extradited here. Huawei, for example, put on a high-profile showing at Mobile World Congress in recent days, including an eyes-only unveiling of its impressive-looking Mate X smartphone. Having pushed himself on the bike, in the gym and in the pool, Neymarput his injury rehabilitation to one side on Friday night as he partied at a carnival.The Paris Saint-Germainstar has spent his time out injured back in his home country and felt he deserved some time to enjoy himself as he partied with former Voice Brazil contestant Rafaela Porto at the famous Bahian Carnival.It is considered by many to be the biggest carnival in the world and with his close friends, including surfer Gabriel Medina, alongside him, Neymar was all smiles.Wearing a black cap and a white vest top, which reads 'Viva O Inexplicavel' (Live The Inexplicable), Neymar looked care-free as he looked down on the thousands who gathered for the carnival below.Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Neymar and former partner Bruna Marquezine were both in Salvador at the event although the PSG attacker was pictured instead speaking to Porto for large parts of the evening.Neymar and Porto previously spent time together when she attended his 27th birthday celebrations in Paris earlier this month.Porto is 19 and rose to prominence in Brazil when she entered onto The Voice Brazil.While his party antics in the state of Bahia came as a rare treat amid his gruelling rehabilitation programme, it does not look set to be the last of his celebrations with the Rio Carnival on the horizon.That carnival in the capital is considered to be one of the most cultural events in Brazil and Neymar is planning on attending, according to reports in the country.That would clash with PSG's Champions League second-leg with Manchester United on March 6 with boss Thomas Tuchel keen to see his prized asset back in the French capital to complete his return to fitness.The Brazilian has been forced to watch from the sidelines since breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot in January in a French Cup game against Strasbourg. "I'm Jay Inslee; I'm running for president because I'm the only only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation's number one priority." So who is he? H was elected governor of Washington in 2012. He was elected to the state legislature in 1988 and then to Congress in 1992 where he was defeated after serving one term. He was reelected though in 1998 in a bluer district and was reelected 6 times (as a New Dem) before being elected governor. He was a Green New Deal proponent before anyone came up with the name Green New Deal. He announced his candidacy, just as Hart Research announced the results of a new poll they had done of likely Democratic primary voters in California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina for the Environmental Defense Action Fund, the League of Conservation Voters and the Center for American Progress. Their survey shows that only universal health care coverage is more important to these voters than address the climate crisis. A key finding seems tailor-made for Inslee: "Taking action on climate change is a key motivating issue for Democratic primary voters in early states. Having a plan to address the climate crisis is seen as essential and is a driver of vote choice... [C]limate change is a top tier issue in four of the five early states, including 55% of voters in Iowa naming as important to deciding which candidate to support, 54% in New Hampshire, 49% in California and 46% in Nevada. Only in South Carolina does climate change fall out of the top tier of issues and even then, 27% still say it is important in their decision-making." When asked about seven different issues, 84% say it is very important" that a Democratic candidate for President have a clear plan on taking action on climate change crisis and moving the United States to 100% clean energy including 42% saying it is essential. This is on par with ensuring equal rights for women (91% very important; 43% essential) and combating racism and promoting racial justice (87% very important, 42% essential). A plan for acting on climate change was tied with achieving universal health care (84%) and was closely followed by raising wages and incomes for working families (83%), passing stronger policies to prevent gun violence (81%), and providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and other immigrants (74%). Moreover, having a presidential candidate who has a clear plan to address the climate crisis is slightly more important to Latinx voters (87%) and voters under age 35 (87%). The profile of early primary voters who say that having a plan to address climate change is essential for a presidential candidate (42% percent of the voters in early primary states) is reflective of the broad Democratic universe, rather than being some niche group. The likelihood of rating addressing climate change as essential for a Democratic presidential candidate increases the more liberal the voter and the higher their educational attainment. That is, the most liberal and best educated voters are the most likely to say that it is essential that a presidential candidate have a plan for addressing the climate crisis. Importantly, these voters are largely up for grabs as 73% say they have not really narrowed down their choice for president even though 80% are previous primary voters/caucus-goers. Sizeable majorities view the Green New Deal favorably (74% favorable; 54% very favorable) as well as Moving to 100% clean energy by 2050 (82% favorable; 62% very favorable). This chart shows the breakdown of how important it is to voters that a candidate support the Green New Deal (which Pelosi is still making fun of and probably feels as alienated from as Trump and other septuagenarian and octogenarian DC insiders): Referring to the book he co-authored with Bracken Hendricks in 2007, Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy, he likes telling people he "wrote the Green New Deal ten years ago. Welcome to the party. I'm very happy that some other candidates are talking about climate change. It's a good thing." Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, Tulsi Gabbard, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Eric Swalwell and even Amy Klobuchar are co-sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution in Congress. This promotional clip for Apollo's Fire was made in 2007: Kim Jong-un waves goodbye, before stepping into his train in Dong Dang station in northern Vietnam, to travel back to Pyongyang, March 2, 2019. Photo by Huu Khoa After attending the second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and paying his first official visit to Vietnam, the North Korean leader boarded his armored train at a railway station in Lang Son Province, close to the Chinese border. In talks that he held with leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party, the government and the legislature on Friday, Kim said he was impressed with Vietnams socio-economic achievements and expressed his wish to take bilateral ties with the country to greater heights. Among the people he met were Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. On Saturday morning, he paid his respects at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before traveling nearly three hours with a car convoy to the Dong Dang Railway to take his train home. Kim was the first North Korean leader to visit Vietnam in 55 years. His grandfather Kim Il-sung had visited Vietnam in 1964. In 1950 North Korea became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, after China and the Soviet Union. Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam Tuesday morning after traveling for more than 60 hours in his armored train from Pyongyang. North Korea Chairman Kim Jong-un received a grand welcome ceremony on his first official visit to Hanoi Friday, when he met with Vietnam's Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. This is the first visit by a North Korean leader to Vietnam in 55 years since Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-uns grandfather, visited in 1964. In 1950 North Korea became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, after China and the Soviet Union. Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam Tuesday morning after traveling for more than 60 hours in an armored train from Pyongyang. He met with U.S. President Donald Trump for the next two days, but the second summit between the two leaders ended without a deal, following disagreements over lifting of the sanctions imposed on North Korea. State-owned chemical group Vinachem is trying to retrieve investment and minimize losses from a half-built Lao potassium mine. "The goal is to recover as much capital invested as possible. If possible, the Lao Potassium Mine project will be sold," Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said at a press conference Friday afternoon. "While implementing it, we realized that the project's effectiveness was not as calculated in the feasibility study. The Party Politburos of Vietnam and Laos then took a decision to terminate the project," he said. Hai added that his ministry was coordinating with relevant agencies, the state capital management committee and Vinachem to take steps to recover capital invested in the mine. The project cancellation has come two years after work was halted in 2017. Situated in the central Lao province of Khammouane, it had a total investment of $522 million, of which $105 million was to be contributed by Vinachem. The remaining money was to be raised from state-run banks VDB, BIDV and Vietinbank. In a report sent to ministries by Vinachem on the project after beginning construction in early 2015, the corporation said it had faced unforeseen difficulties. It said the project had many complicated procedures and complex technologies not yet fully understood, so contractors were not able to meet construction schedules. At stoppage time, Vinachem had already spent VND940 billion ($40.32 million) on the project. The potassium mine, covering an area of 10 square kilometers, was to be built in five years. Extraction was to begin in 2020 with an expected output of 320,000 tons a year. However, Vinachem stopped construction halfway through 2017 to obtain "further guidance from authorities in implementing the project". Da Nang City has approved major foreign direct investment projects in 2019. Photo by Shutterstock/Vietnam Stock Images American and Japanese businesses will invest almost $490 million in eight new projects in Da Nang, city authorities announced Friday. US-based Universal Alloy Corporation Asia Pte. Ltd. (UAC) plans to invest $170 million in a new factory to manufacture aircraft components and parts in the central citys high-tech park. When operational, the factory will produce 4,000 of five million parts used in all types of aircraft. These will be exported to North America and EU markets. Japanese company Mikazuki is to invest $100 million in building the Xuan Thieu tourism complex. The project, spanning an area of 11.5 hectares (28.41 acres), includes a five-star hotel, a waterpark, a theme park and restaurants. At a meeting with enterprises Friday, city authorities also announced they have approved six other projects, including a car manufacturing and assembling factory by Japanese automaker Nissan and an electronics factory by American firm Key Tronic EMS. Da Nang Chairman Huynh Duc Tho said policy priority is given to hi-tech agriculture, supporting industries and tourism. The city has also approved in principle another 11 projects with a total investment of almost $3.5 billion. These projects include a $2-billion financial center invested in by a Singaporean company and a $200-million horse arena by a Hong Kong company. But businesses also claimed they are facing challenges. Takizawa Satoru, chairman of the Japanese Business Association in Da Nang, said that firms were struggling to acquire enough land for their projects. The lack of human resources in the city is also a challenge, and the citys infrastructure needs to develop faster to match business expansion, he said. Pham Bac Binh, chairman of the Da Nang Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, proposed that Da Nang speeds up construction of industrial areas in the suburb to allow more supporting industry projects to develop. Da Nang last year licensed 135 foreign direct investment projects worth almost $286 million. Vietnamese employees welding at an FDI automotive plant in the northern province of Hai Duong in Vietnam. Photo by AFP Half of all foreign-owned businesses are making losses yet aggressively expanding, and so the government needs to reconsider its incentives, experts said. A report by the Ministry of Finance released at a recent meeting said 52 percent of FDI businesses reported losses for the last three years, indicating signs of transfer pricing abuse. Transfer pricing refers to the prices reported by a company when transacting intra-company business, an obvious way to show lower profits to evade taxes. Nguyen Thi Hong, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said at the conference that there are 140 firms in the country with loans of at least four times their equity, and all of them are foreign-owned. Some of them have loans 100 times their equity such as Samsung Display and Singapores CapitaLand Tower, she said. Vietnam offers incentives to attract foreign investment like income tax and export-import tariff breaks and land incentives. Some only have to pay income tax of 10 percent, while local companies could be taxed at 20 percent, the report pointed out. Vietnam has been seeking FDI in the central region since it was underdeveloped compared to the north and south. But in recent years development in the region has picked up pace thanks to new airports, seaports and highways, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said at the conference. Therefore, the government needs to reconsider its incentives to FDI firms, he said. But he admitted the country needs investment in places like the Central Highlands and the northern mountains. Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said Vietnam needs a tax system to curb transfer pricing abuse. The country has been focusing on FDI for over 30 years, but the downside of FDI such as transfer pricing fraud, pollution and failure to transfer technology to local businesses is causing local authorities to consider new policies for FDI attraction over the next decade. There are some 21,400 foreign firms in the country, or 3 percent of the total number of businesses, according to the Ministry of Finance. They account for over 70 percent of Vietnams exports. Not many people know that the famous Kim Lien complex in Hanoi carries a distinct North Korean influence. Living in the Kim Lien apartment complex was once a dream for most Hanoians, since its conveniences were among the best during the last century. In the 1954-1965 period, the Kim Lien apartment complex was among the highest-quality constructions in Hanoi, erected with the help of foreign experts from communist countries, mainly North Korea. The apartment complex was constructed with the support of North Korean experts between 1959 and 1965, according to Dao Ngoc Nghiem, architect and former director of Hanoi's Department of Planning and Architecture. The Kim Lien apartment complex is now fully included in the central district of Dong Da. The old complex includes three zones. Zone A is now the Kim Lien Hotel, Zone B is now the Kim Lien apartment building and zone C is the Vietnam North Korea friendship kindergarten. The apartment complex used to have 38 four-storeyed buildings and several public constructions. It used to accommodate 2,600 households with a standard area of eight square meters per person. It was a spacious and high-quality living place. A corner of the B5 Building in the Kim Lien Apartment Complex. Kim Lien complex was built in a closed sub-zone structure, with all functions including houses, cafeterias, department stores, schools and zones, Nghiem said. "The design has shown its advantages. Zone A, which was completely built by North Korean experts, has a spacious structure and a lot of green space. This helped us to later build the Kim Lien Hotel as we see today. The Vietnam-North Korea kindergarten also has a special structure with wide, open spaces," said Nghiem. Stamped for posterity The image of the Kim Lien apartment complex has been printed on a stamp, said photographer and painter Nguyen The Son. "As we compare, we can see that the Kim Lien apartment complex resembles the original structure of a North Korean apartment complex," Son said. Similar features include the rows of houses that run in parallel, and the wide yard between the buildings. Usually, the yards width was 1.5 times the houses height. "They calculated that if Hanoi happens to suffer an earthquake and the building collapses, there will still be space on the yard. People standing there can survive," said Son. The structure of the complex also makes it very convenient for the residents. It only takes three minutes to reach the department store and 10 minutes to take children to the kindergarten. A stamp commemorating the Kim Lien Apartment Complex (above); and a North Korean apartment building (below). Photo courtesy by Nguyen The Son "A North Korean standard apartment, with an area of 50 square meters, has two rooms. To meet the demand of our country at that time, an apartment was used by two families who shared the kitchen and bathroom," said Do Van Yen, 76, security team leader in Kim Lien Ward. Yen and his family have been living in the apartment for 50 years. "At that time our life was hard, but all the families here were united. We took turns to cook and take a bath," said Yen. "We ate and drank with each other, because we bought everything from the nearby department store. On a day when the store sold just fish, the whole area would smell," he said. The department store that Yen mentions has become a two-storeyed building on Luong Dinh Cua Street today. After 1990, the residents started to change the original apartments, building walls to separate kitchens and bathrooms. Along with the fast-paced urbanization of Hanoi, the Kim Lien complex became dense, prompting people to expand their living space. The residents put "tiger cages", metal fences, on their balcony to create more space. The original architectural features have been changed drastically, but Yen still finds the houses structure solid. The wall has almost never cracked, metal window bars and wooden doors remain intact. Stairs leading to an apartment building are still intact. Photo by VnExpress/P.D Uncle Ho wanted it The intention to build the Kim Lien complex originated during President Ho Chi Minhs visit to North Korea in 1957, said Nguyen Manh Hong, 73. Hong is the custodian at the memorial dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh's visits to the complex. Seeing the complexes in North Korea with houses, department stores, kindergartens, playgrounds and clinics, Ho Chi Minh wanted Vietnam to have a housing model for Vietnamese officers. So he requested that North Korea supports the construction. Seven members of Hongs family currently live in a 50 square meter apartment here. He is proud to live in one of Vietnam's first apartment complexes. "Even now the house is still durable, the campus is still beautiful, just a bit outdated," he said. After 60 years, the city administration has approved a renovation plan for the Kim Lien complex. However, people who have spent a lifetime in this place like Hong, regret the loss of a way of life and are loath to bade farewell to the place. A Vietnamese woman was denied entry into Taiwan on Wednesday after she was unable to pay a $6,500 fine for illegally carrying two sticky rice dumplings filled with nuggets of pork. Photo by Shutterstock/andinh A Vietnamese woman fined $6,500 for not declaring a pork snack returned from Taiwan Wednesday without entering the territory. The 56-year-old passenger, whose name has not been revealed, was intercepted at the Taichung Airport in central Taiwan Wednesday after custom officers discovered her carrying two sticky rice dumplings filled with nuggets of pork as gifts for her relatives, Taiwan News reported. A fine of NT$200,000 ($6,488) was levied for undeclared pork imports, but she said she could not pay such a fine and left Taiwan the same day. The woman is the first Vietnamese citizen to be denied entry since Taiwanese authorities announced a NT$200,000 fine on travelers from Vietnam if they brought pork products into Taiwan and a NT$ 1 million ($32,400) fine for repeat offenders, beginning February 20. Following China and Mongolia, Vietnam has become the third Asian country hit by the incurable African swine fever, which has been detected in five provinces and cities across the country: Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam and Hai Phong. The flu is a viral disease that infects all pig species through bodily fluids such as blood and mucus. It causes hemorrhagic fever with a 100 percent mortality rate. There is currently no cure for it. However, humans are not affected by the disease. Since the first confirmed case of African swine fever was reported in Chinas Liaoning Province last August, Taiwan has been on high alert, worried that the spread of the virus could wipe out the territorys pig farming industry. The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) revealed that 127 violations of illegal port imports have been reported in Taiwan so far, of which 126 came on flights from China and one from Vietnam. President Nguyen Phu Trong (L) introduces Chairman Kim Jong-un to senior Vietnamese officials at a welcome ceremony in Hanoi, March 1, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy North Korea and Vietnam should build on their traditional friendly relations and take bilateral ties to new heights, Kim Jong-un says. In talks held with Vietnamese leaders during his first official visit to Vietnam, North Korean Chairman Kim affirmed his desire to step up bilateral cooperation in all fields. Kim, who left Vietnam Saturday, met with senior Party and State officials during his visit, including Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. In his meeting with PM Phuc, Kim said Pyongyang wanted to continue developing the traditional friendly relations that the two countries have enjoyed towards taking bilateral ties to new heights, Vietnams Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Saturday. "Through active party-to-party and country-to-country contacts, we should normalize cooperation and exchanges in all areas ranging from economy, science and technology, defense, sports, culture, arts and publication and news media and upgrade relations to a new level," Kim was quoted as saying by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He said it was the "unwavering position of our country and our party" to strengthen the friendly, cooperative relations between the two countries and parties inherited through generations, "based on blood," referring to North Korean pilots having sacrificed their lives fighting in the Vietnam War. During his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, Kim said he was impressed with Vietnams socio-economic achievements over the past years and hoped that the two countries would increase exchanges and cooperation, enhancing the long-standing friendship established by Kim Il-sung, founding father of North Korea, and Vietnam's President Ho Chi Minh. Party leader and State President Trong said Kims visit was an important milestone in the history of the two countries. Kim officially invited Trong to visit North Korea at a convenient time. Kims visit was the first by a North Korean leader to Vietnam in 55 years since Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-uns grandfather, visited in 1964. In 1950 North Korea became one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, after China and the Soviet Union. Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam Tuesday morning after traveling for more than 60 hours in an armored train from Pyongyang. He met with U.S. President Donald Trump for the next two days, but the second summit between the two leaders ended without a deal, following disagreements over lifting of the sanctions imposed on North Korea. U.S. President Donald Trump met with Vietnamese leaders during his trip for the second summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un in Hanoi Wednesday, when he called Vietnam a "good example" for North Korea. Trump held talks with Vietnam's Party chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, praising the "tremendous progress" Vietnam has made since his last visit in late 2017. He thanked Vietnam for hosting the second summit between him and North Korean leader Kim. "It's a very important summit in Vietnam because you're really are an example of what can happen with good thinking," he said, suggesting that North Korea can enjoy the same growth as Vietnam if it denuclearizes and achieves peace with the United States. Both sides also witnessed the signing of major aviation deals. President Trump arrived in Hanoi Tuesday night for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who came in Vietnam after a more than 60-hour train journey in the morning. He is set to have a one-on-one conversation and dinner with Chairman Kim later on Wednesday. This is Trump's second visit to Vietnam after November 2017, when he attended the APEC Summit in Da Nang and paid a state visit to Hanoi. The president is convinced that Ukraine can be a leader in metallurgy, agro-complex, and tourism. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said today's investment is an investment in the economic power of Ukraine. "Today's investment is an investment in the economic power of Ukraine. The economic power of Ukraine is the level of security in Ukraine, a strong army. And the level of security and a strong army are a new and important step toward peace," he said during a working trip to Donetsk region, according to the president's press service. Read alsoUkraine slides to 13th place in WSA's steelmakers rating in Jan Poroshenko also took part in the launch of continuous casting machine No. 4 of the Mariupol Metallurgical Works. "I was pleased to hear today that the company had a sharp increase in wages in the second half of 2018. And the average salary at the enterprise is UAH 18,000 (US$670). That Ukrainians return from the metallurgical plants of Slovakia and work here," he said. Poroshenko said that besides protecting the territory of Ukraine, the frontline of struggle against poverty was also important. The president is convinced that Ukraine can be a leader in metallurgy, agro-complex, and tourism. "Today I am glad to see Ukraine rising in the ranking of steel producing countries. Over the last year, we have risen from the 14th to the 12th place. I dream of Ukraine being a leader. A regional leader, industrial leader, leader of metallurgy, leader of engineering industry through investments. I believe that this is quite possible. And today, at the production in these workshops, I had an opportunity to see it for myself," Poroshenko said. "Again and again, I want to thank the strong people of Donbas, who create the future of Ukraine together with us. Many thanks to everyone who worked on the project. Due to such projects we will turn our Ukraine into a country of free, happy and prosperous people," he added. EU to allocate EUR 50 mln to support Ukraine's Azov coast security Poroshenko There will be also enough money for the Black Sea coast, Poroshenko said. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Pashinyan: Armenia and Iran should work towards the realization of unused potential. Armenpress.am Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Iran on an official visit today. Upon his arrival Pashinyan gave an interview to IRNA, speaking about bilateral relations. Below is the full interview as reported by IRNA: -This year marks the 28th anniversary of establishment of Iran-Armenia diplomatic relations. How do you assess the current level of relationship between the two friendly countries? -Definitely positive. Moreover, the centuries-old friendship between our peoples is a good example of intercultural dialogue and coexistence between different religions and civilizations, which is also an important factor promoting peace and stability in the region. Our centuries-old strong ties are based on mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation. The strong ties of friendship and partnership with Iran are part of our foreign policy, and we are committed to further developing our good-neighborly relations. At the same time, it should be noted that there is still huge untapped potential, especially as regards our trade and economic exchanges. I am convinced that contacts and dialogue at different levels will help outline the steps to take ahead in order to tap the existing opportunities. -What is the most important issue on the agenda of your upcoming visit to Tehran? Will there be any memorandum signed between the two countries during the visit? -The Armenian-Iranian relations boast a comprehensive and hectic agenda, and the purpose of my visit is to promote it. The upcoming visit can be considered as another round of regular dialogue between our two countries during which we will discuss the whole range of issues of mutual interest. Concerning the keynote agenda items, I should state that a new component has emerged in our relations. I mean the EAEU-Iran free trade agreement, which will open up new prospects for trade and investment between participating countries. As you may know, it has reached the stage of ratification. I hope that the legal formalities will be completed in the near future, and the practical results will not keep us waiting for a long time. As regards the documents to be signed, the parties are currently working on a number of documents in order to prepare them for signing during my visit. At the same time I would like to mention that the Armenian-Iranian multi-dimensional relations are governed by more than 180 instruments already signed. That is, we boast a solid legal framework as a platform for developing bilateral cooperation. -What are the main spheres where even stronger and more comprehensive ties (economic, cultural, industrial, political, etc) can be built between Armenia and Iran? -I see great potential in all spheres of cooperation that should be used with maximum efficiency. In particular, we need to take steps to develop trade and economic interaction, increase the volume of commodity turnover, and in general, tap the opportunities available in that sphere. Indeed, the energy sector, too, has a great potential for development. In this area we have serious joint projects, such as gas / electricity exchange, construction of the third high-voltage power transmission line Armenia-Iran. Negotiations are underway on the Meghri HPP project, which has recently been ratified by the Iranian [Parliament]. A number of other projects are also being discussed. As I already mentioned, the EAEU-Iran Free Trade Agreement creates new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation. In the coming months, serious preparations are needed. As an important area, I would like to highlight the cooperation in the cultural sphere. Relevant ministries of both countries are focusing on issues such as publishing, film production, restoration and preservation of historical and cultural monuments, museum and library work. We are also cooperating in the framework of UNESCO. As you may know, due to Irans efforts, the St. Thaddeus and St. Stephen monastic complexes have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Armenia has prepared a complete package to submit the Yerevan Blue Mosque for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Joint work is underway with the Iranian side, and it will be properly presented after some adjustments. Another key cultural event was the Iranian National Museum-hosted exhibition, entitled Armenia and Iran: Land Memory, where unique exhibits from the History Museum of Armenia were exhibited. You know that the Golden Apricot International Film Festival is held in Armenia, and I am pleased to note that films by Iranian filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami, Asghar Farhad and others are represented on a regular basis. By the way, the latter chaired the refereeing group of the 15th Golden Apricot Festival and his film Divorce Naderi and Simin was recognized as the winner in the International Feature Film nomination. The aforementioned and similar programs are a good opportunity for Armenian and Iranian peoples to get acquainted and interact with each others cultures. -Iran is exporting machinery, engineering services and other industrial products to some countries in the region. Similarly, there are several machine-building joint projects with some countries in the region. Do you think Iran and Armenia can cooperate in mechanical engineering or other industries? -I must state that the Government of Armenia appreciates the implementation of foreign investment projects, including the Iranian investment programs. Armenia has the necessary technical, economic and professional potential for cooperation in these areas. Recently, in December, 2018, an Armenian-Iranian joint venture for the production of gas cylinders on plastic basis was opened in Vanadzor, Armenia. The founders of the plant assure that the production will start in the near future. Iranian investors can discuss their future plans with their Armenian counterparts and relevant organizations, and Armenias state agencies stand ready to provide assistance, if necessary. -How do you assess the future of bilateral cooperation in tourism? -You know, each country is represented by its history, culture, traditions. Obviously, tourism helps our peoples to get acquainted with each others history, culture, traditions, spiritual and religious values, scientific and technological achievements. Tourism development is one of our countrys priorities, and we are making great efforts to make our country attractive to tourists. Following the visa abolition arrangement in 2016, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has considerably increased, especially in the days of the Iranian New Year - Novruz. Special events are being held in these days for ensuring the security of Iranian tourists; 911 services are available in Persian. I think that tourism is a promising field, and the indicators tend to grow in that area. -A large number of Armenians live in different cities in Iran and enjoy equal rights as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran. How do you assess the attitude of the Government of the Islamic Republic towards the Armenian community? -You know, a strong and vibrant Diaspora is one of the pillars of Armenias development. Armenian communities living in different parts of the world and becoming an indivisible part of countrys life are a kind of bridge for the strengthening of bilateral relations. The centuries-old Iranian-Armenian community is not an exception in this regard. It has made a practical contribution in terms of developing Irans social, economic and cultural wealth. It has been a serious factor in promoting our bilateral relations from the very beginning of restoration of Armenias independence. We highly appreciate the warm and caring attitude of the Iranian authorities towards the Iranian-Armenian community. I want to emphasize the Iranian authorities caring attitude towards Armenian cultural values. -What is the Armenian governments position on US sanctions against Iran? -Iran is one of Armenias important partners. We, of course, are following all the developments around Iran. As you may know, Armenia was among the first countries to welcome the adoption of Irans nuclear program in 2015, because Armenia proceeded from the vision of the opportunities that might open up in terms of regional stabilization and regional cooperation. Naturally, we are worried about the recent developments around Iran. Under these conditions, Armenia continues to work closely with the Iranian side and other parties involved in this process based on open dialogue. We clearly represent all issues of concern and our stance on them. We are convinced that Armenias constructive approach can be a positive factor in finding solutions to emerging issues. LIVE International Court of Justice will deliver its decision on the request for provisional measures in the case of ARMENIA v AZERBAIJAN Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia OPEC Fund Partners Ameriabank to Address Problems and Help to Improve the Life of People in Armenia. T. Alnassar. Generation A: Edition 14. Exclusive Chance to Begin Your Professional Career with Ameriabank Google Ad Katna Armenian cheeses enter the market: the new project of Galaxy Group of Companies US$30m OPEC Fund loan to Ameriabank to promote sustainable energy and support small businesses in Armenia Black Friday at ucom: up to 70% discount for smart home devices, gadgets and smartphones 116 million AMD assistance to minors with disabilities in Shirak Province from Mikayel Vardanyan Discussion on the topic IT infrastructure as the basis of the digital economy with the participation of the heads of telecommunication companies in Armenia Statement nn the ongoing Aggression by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia "We condemn any attempts at borderisation, as observed since the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into Armenian territory on 12 May" Joint statement The United States is deeply concerned about reports of intensive fighting today between Armenia and Azerbaijan.ANTONY J. BLINKEN Statement of the MFA of Armenia Ookla has awarded Ucom with The fastest fixedline network in Armenia award UCOM keeps on supporting the 42 YEREVAN programming school Recognizing the One-Year Anniversary of the Ceasefire Declaration Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Google Ad They should not be positioned near civilian communities neither in Armenia nor in Artsakh Humanitarian and human rights protection needed following the 2020 outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh Galaxy Group of Companies expands its activities in Belarus: a new TIME and Pandora store launched I think its a good moment to invest in Armenia. Head of Markets at Symbiotics Vincent Lehner Ameriabank has Raised USD 17.5M Tier 2 Capital UNIGHT TO UNITE. UCOM CELEBRATED ITS REBIRTH Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees Ameriabank. 62.5% Growth in Taxes YOY Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans have provided 300 million AMD to overcome the infertility in Armenia UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13 Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to Positive Ararat Mirzoyan to visit to Minsk Nikol Pashinyan meets with Chairman of Iranian Majlis Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is in Tehran on an official visit, met with Chairman of the Iranian Majlis Ali Larijani. As the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia reports, Ali Larijani welcomed the visit of the delegation led by Pashinyan to Iran and expressed confidence that it will foster the future development of economic and political relations between the two states. Nikol Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception and noted that the last time he visited the Iranian Majlis was when he was part of an Armenian parliamentary delegation and maintains warm and pleasant memories from that visit. The interlocutors highly assessed the bilateral friendly relations, which continue to develop in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. The sides considered the necessity of continuous strengthening of economic cooperation and highlighted the expansion of ties between the parliaments of the two countries for that. In this regard, the interlocutors underlined the necessity of the development of relations between the parliaments friendship groups, mutual visits, and noted that the cooperation of the legislative bodies also contributes to the further strengthening of Armenian-Iranian relations. Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, underlining that the Armenian side is interested in implementing the agreements reached, in particular, in the economic sphere, which will give new impetus to bilateral relations. Ali Larijani stressed that the Iranian parliament is inclined towards expanding relations. According to him, there are great opportunities for developing cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral formats. In this context, the importance of the free trade agreement between EAEU and Iran and the ratification of the document by the parliaments were touched upon. The parties also attached importance to the promotion of cooperation in tourism and culture. Issues related to regional issues were also discussed during the meeting. Law enforcement and legal authorities of Ukraine are ready to jointly counteract possible cyberattacks on the Central Election Commission's (CEC) server, the voters' register and other databases during the presidential elections in Ukraine. "First of all, based on the tasks of the Security Service, we strengthened the counter-intelligence regime throughout the territory of Ukraine in order to detect early signs of preparation for committing a crime," Vasyl Hrytsak said on the air of the Ukraina TV Channel. He stressed that the Security Service of Ukraine together with the relevant services will make every effort "to ensure the resilience of the CEC information system." "To date, I believe that the "Election" system is quite stable, we are in principle confident in our capabilities, we have good cooperation," the SBU head said. According to him, at the end of February, the CEC server suffered a powerful attack, which was successfully repulsed. Poroshenko: Odesa will be among leaders of tourism industry in Eastern Europe Odesa will be among the leaders of tourist routes in Eastern Europe, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko believes. "I am sure that Odesa will be in the top of the leaders of the Eastern European tourism industry," Poroshenko said during a visit to the fair in Odesa. The head of state noted that modern road and transport infrastructure will contribute to the development of tourism, in particular in Odesa region. He noted that the construction of the Odesa-Reni road was completed in the region, and also announced the construction of new roads. "We are now proceeding with the construction of a number of roads that make Odesa a logistics center," Poroshenko said. He also drew attention to the need to complete the construction of the runway at Odesa airport. "The completion of construction of the runway at Odesa airport is an extremely ambitious task that will significantly increase the flow of tourists to our Odesa," he stressed. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko promises every citizen of the country a monthly improvement of life over the next five years. "Over the next five years, every citizen of Ukraine will feel on his own pocket not only economic growth, but an increase in his financial capabilities. Each of us, starting this year, will feel that every Ukrainian's life is changing for the better every month," Poroshenko said at a meeting of the Regional Development Council of Odesa region. The head of state noted that three or four years ago he could not promise this, since the country's economy "was hit hard by the war, due to which Ukraine lost almost a quarter of its industrial potential." President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a law granting the natural areas of Kuyalnik Estuary in Odesa region the status of a resort of national importance. "Despite the fact that the presidential administration received a certain number of objections, comments, proposals for a veto, I think it will be a very good sign that we are launching the law of Ukraine on declaring the natural territories of Kuyalnik Estuary of Odesa region a resort of national importance," Poroshenko said at a meeting of the Regional Development Council of Odesa region. As reported, on December 5, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada recognized the natural areas of Kuyalnik Estuary as a resort of national importance (bill No. 8502). The movement of Ukraine towards Europe will help increase the implementation of joint Ukrainian-European projects, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has stated. "If we continue our movement to Europe, the number of European projects will only grow. And this is not only technical assistance but also access to huge financial resources," Poroshenko said at a meeting of the Regional Development Council of Odesa region. He stressed there is not a single meeting with the leadership of the European Union without discussing the issue of finance. The president noted the "special project in connection with Russia's aggression in the Sea of Azov aimed at the Azov coast, support of Mariupol, Berdiansk" and promised that there would be enough money for the Black Sea coast and the Danube. The head of state also counts on a consultative center for access to international financial resources, which is being created under the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Services, which will help find funds for the development of Ukrainian regions. An Oslo-based human rights organization monitoring the death penalty in Iran has disclosed that the country has executed nearly 6,000 people over the past decade. In its annual report published on February 26, Iran Human Rights (IRH) announced it had evidence showing that almost 6,000 people were executed in the fourth decade since the establishment of the so-called Islamic Republic in Iran. The report, which focused on executions over the past year, maintained that in 2018 at least 273 people were executed in Iran. This is the lowest number since 2007 and represents a 47 percent drop from the previous year. IHR also noted that the reduction is mainly due to a decline in the number of drug-related executions, following the enforcement of amendments to the anti-narcotics law, which aims to restrict the use of the death penalty for such offenses. The number of drug-related executions declined from 230 in 2017 to 24 in 2018, according to the report. This is probably the most significant step toward limitation in the use of the death penalty in the history of the Islamic Republic and probably 2018s most significant change in death penalty trends worldwide. We hope it is the first step of many that the Iranian authorities must take in order to improve their dark human rights record, IHR spokesman Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said. IHR insisted that due to a lack of transparency it is not known how many death sentences have been commuted thanks to the new legislation but the execution of 20 drug offenders in the last three months of the year gives "one reason to fear" that the reduction of drug-related death sentences might have come to an end. IHR criticized the legal procedures behind the death penalty in Iran. "Lack of due process, legal provisions contrary to international human rights treaties, public executions, juvenile executions, harassment of human rights defenders, and a lack of transparency on use of the death penalty remain major issues [in Iran]," it said in the report. In violation of international obligations, IHR noted, Iranian authorities continue to execute juvenile offenders. At least six juvenile offenders were executed in 2018, one more than the previous year, and several juveniles are in danger of execution, it reported. Amnesty International and UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of the Human Rights in Iran Javaid Rehman have also recently raised deep concern over the execution of juvenile offenders in Iran. In his latest report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on February 27, British-Pakistani legal scholar and professor of Islamic law and international law at Brunel University Javaid Rehman said children as young as 9 years old can still be executed in Iran, noting that at least 33 minors have been executed in the country since 2013. Despite its commitment to the international conventions, Iran is the only country in the world that still executes underage offenders. IHR reported that only 34 percent of the executions in Iran were publicly announced by the ruling establishment, and the rest were divulged by IHR sources in the country. Seventy percent of executions in 2018 were related to murder charges. "In 2018, the Iranian authorities once again displayed their systematic violations of due process and the rule of law. Televised confessions, unfair trials, and reports of torture are reminders of the fact that sustainable improvements in the status of human rights and serious steps towards abolition of the death penalty are not possible without fundamental changes in Irans judicial system," IHR said. IHR said that the Iranian authorities have demonstrated their willingness to use the death penalty as a means to intimidate civil society and counteract public protests. Referring to the brutal suppression of Sufi dervishes of the Gonabadi denomination, IHR highlighted the execution of dervish Mohammad Salas, who was executed for allegedly running a bus over the security forces and killing three. Salas and his lawyer, prominent Iranian legal counsel, Zeinab Taheri, had argued that he had not even been present at the scene of the crime. IHR also noted the execution of three members of another minority group, saying that Iran used the execution of Kurdish political prisoners as a means of intimidating growing Kurdish civil movements while threatening striking truck drivers and shopkeepers with the death penalty. "These are just a few examples of how the Iranian authorities use the death penalty as an instrument of oppression of the people," IHR said. The Iranian Criminal Code allows for several execution methods, including hanging, firing squad, crucifixion, and stoning. However, hanging has been the only method used since 2010. The 11th Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran by IHR and ECPM coincides with the 40th anniversary of Irans 1979 revolution and the downfall of the monarchy. IHR's report does not include extrajudicial killings at Iranian prisons. Iran is believed to execute the most people per capita and ranks second worldwide for the number of executions. The extensive list of crimes punishable by death in Iran includes alcohol consumption, sexual relations, and drug trafficking as well as plotting against the regime, spreading corruption on Earth, and waging war against God. The head prosecutor in the city of Shush has rejected calls to have imprisoned journalist and civil rights activist Sepideh Qolian (Gholian) taken to a hospital. Citing an "informed source, the New York-based Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) reported that at a meeting with her relatives last week, Qolian was in extremely alarming mental and physical condition. "Qolian had lost weight, could not keep her balance while walking, and was reciting melancholic verses," the source told CHRI. According to the Telegram app channel of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane mill workers union, Qolian, who is currently in solitary confinement, has been denied crucial medical treatment. Her condition has become so bad that she needs to be quickly taken to a medical center. But the prosecutor and Intelligence Ministry authorities in Shush are keeping her in solitary confinement in order to put more pressure on her and her family. They are putting her under the maximum amount of physical and mental pressure while she is sick and weak, the union said. Qolians relatives had asked the Shush prosecutor to allow her to be taken to a hospital, but they were told she would be visited by the prison's physician if needed. Previously, the union had disclosed that Qolian, along with Haft Tapeh workers' spokesman Esmail Bakhshi, had been pressured to make "forced confessions" and written apologies. My client is under such intense pressure that he lost consciousness in front of his family during a visit today [February 24], and for a moment they thought he had died. Fortunately, he regained consciousness, Bakhshi's attorney, Farzaneh Zilabi, told the union. Bakhshi is the spokesman for the independent trade union of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane industrial complex, which has seen repeated strikes and protests in recent months, with workers demanding back pay and better conditions. Qolian and Bakhshi were first arrested on November 18 during protests at the complex along with more than a dozen other activists and workers. Bakhshi and Qolian were released on December 12 after 80 international labor organizations signed a letter addressed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for the release of all peacefully protesting workers. After alleging abusive treatment while in detention and challenging the intelligence minister to a live television debate, Bakhshi, along with Qolian, was arrested again on January 20. "I was beaten and tortured almost to death for no reason," Bakhshi said before he was re-arrested. "I was so badly battered that I could not move for 72 hours in my solitary confinement cell. The pain was so unbearable that it made sleeping impossible. Backing up Bakhshi's remarks, Qolian said she was also beaten and showered with sexualized insults while in custody. In response, state television aired a documentary aiming to discredit the labor rights movement in which the activists said they were forced to confess to being part of an international Marxist cabal. Aired on primetime national TV on January 19, the program attempted to connect the recent strikes and protest rallies at the Haft Tapeh Sugarcane plant to an Iranian exiled dissident group, the Worker-Communist Party of Iran (WCPI) Marxist, as well as to the United States and Israel. Speaking exclusively to Radio Farda, WCPI's spokesman categorically denied any relation with Bakhshi. The Haft Tapeh trade union also issued a statement calling the program a desperate attempt to suppress the righteous voice of the workers, toilers, and oppressed. Amnesty International (AI) has launched a campaign for the unconditional and immediate release of Bakhshi and Qolian. In a written letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, AI Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Philip Luther said, "I urge you to ensure that Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qolian are released immediately and unconditionally as they are prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedoms of expression, association, and assembly; pending their release, they are protected from further torture and other ill-treatment; their allegations of torture are investigated and those responsible are brought to justice in fair trials." According to AI, There are real fears that Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Qolian could be facing a second round of torture after their re-arrest. The timing of their arrest strongly suggests it is part of a sinister attempt to silence and punish them for speaking out about the horrific abuse they suffered in custody." CHRI, Human Rights Watch, independent trade unions, and more than 800 civil rights activists have also called for the unconditional and immediate release of Qolian and Bakhshi. Vice President Mike Pence in remarks delivered to the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 1 in Maryland called the Islamic Republic of Iran the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Speaking about President Donald Trumps efforts to make the United States safe, the vice president called Irans nuclear program the greatest threat to peace and security in the Middle East and argued that by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement Trump has confronted that danger. Pence also spoke about anti-Semitism and drew attention to the Islamic Republics calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. He added, anti-Semitism is not just wrong; its evil. Iran supports terrorist proxies, fuels conflicts in the region, plots terrorist attacks on European soil, and openly advocates the destruction of the State of Israel, Pence told the audience. Many top Iranian officials have called for the destruction of the Jewish state, using varying vocabulary over the years. Last year, Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that no Iranian official has ever called for Israels destruction, eliciting sharp responses from the public and media. Pence in his remarks warned of the danger of Holocaust when referring to Iranian statements and its nuclear ambitions. The Iranian regime openly advocates another holocaust and seeks the means to achieve it.But I can assure you, under President Donald Trumps leadershipWe will continue to oppose Iran, its malign influence. And I promise you: Under this President, America will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, Pence reiterated. In an analysis pegged to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent resignation and his subsequent return to his office last week, Iranian analyst Reza Haghighatnejad presented a profile of President Hassan Rouhani's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi, as the man to be blamed for the "lack of coordination" in the Iranian President's office. Presidential Adviser Hesamoddin Ashna has also mentioned lack of coordination as the underlying reason for Zarif's resignation; a reason that seems to have been widely accepted by the Iranian press as the driving force behind the controversy. Haghighatnejad characterized the Rouhani administration as a cabinet marked by discords. The focal point of discord in Rouhani's first term as President was his -then- chief of staff Mohammad Nahavandian, says Haghighatnejad, adding that in the second term, the focal point shifted to the new chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi. The Iranian press noticed Vaezi's influence when he appointed Majid Takhtravanchi, a former aide of Zarif's and a former nuclear negotiator as his political deputy in October 2017. Nevertheless, Takhtravanchi, better known to U.S. negotiators in 2014 and 2015 during the nuclear talks with Iran as "Ravanchi", continued to be present in diplomatic negotiations, although now he got his mandate from Vaezi rather than Zarif. A few months later, when circumventing U.S. sanctions turned into a priority for the Iranian government, Vaezi went to Turkey to discuss a way out with Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In December 2018, once again Vaezi led a high ranking delegation to Turkey, met with Erdogan and paved the way for a bilateral summit. In January 2019, Vaezi put himself in charge of the joint economic committee of Iran and Turkey, a position he had delegated to others for some time, says Haghighatnejad. "This was an example of Vaezi boosting his diplomatic power. His previous career included the position of deputy foreign mister for economic affairs, and this put him in a better position to lead Iran's economic diplomacy," he continued. During over 200 days that the Rouhani administration has been without a spokesperson, Vaezi as his chief of staff has been his most prominent spokesman talking to the media on diverse topics from FATF to a long-awaited meeting between Trump and Rouhani that has not materialized so far. Vaezi is the man who disseminates news and warnings on behalf of Rouhani. Meanwhile, the post of vice-president for executive affairs has been eliminated in Rouhani's second term as President and Vaezi has put himself in charge of the most important domestic political affairs, also consolidating his influence over the Interior Ministry. On the other hand, thanks to links to his brother Ahmad Vaezi, a prominent administrative figure at the Qom Seminary, Mahmoud Vaezi has become the liaison between the administration and top clerics in Qom in Rouhani's second cabinet. Vaezi is known for his political differences with reformists who support Rouhani, and instead, he support Rouhani's alliance with Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and the politicians around him. Vaezi has repeatedly denied reformists' role in Rouhani's election victory in 2013 and 2017. That also explains Vaezi's sharp differences with Vice-President Es'haq Jahangiri, who represents reformists in the administration. Reformists have been complaining about Vaezi's increasing power in running the affairs of the state. In late September, reformist figure Abdollah Naseri predicted that "this could bring the administration face to face with major problems as Vaezi ignores protocols regarding the visits of foreign officials to Iran." Zarif's resignation could have been one of those major problems, although it is evident that during the past week, attacks by reformists on Vaezi were not completely devoid of opportunism to harness his power. But the main question is whether Rouhani is willing to harness his chief of staff's power and influence. As long as Vaezi's sway remains intact, it is unlikely that Zarif's gestures to defend his turf or reformists' complaints would bring about any change in the situation and have an impact on Vaezi's power, says Haghighatnejad. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said March 2, Trend reports. The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 Trend: The term of imprisonment of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov has ended, and he has been released, Trend reports March 2. On March 3, 2017, Huseynov was sentenced to two years in prison by the decision of the Surakhani District Court. The police chief wanted Mehman Huseynov to be prosecuted under article 147.2 (slander, equal to charging a person with a serious or especially serious crime). The state prosecutor demanded punishment in the form of imprisonment for three years for Mehman, and the court decided to imprison him for a term of two years. Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2 Trend: On the sidelines of the 46th session of the Council of Ministers of the OIC in Abu-Dhabi, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Suriname Yldiz PollacK-Beighle, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry told Trend Mar. 2. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov touching upon the issue of establishing the European and other states Group within the OIC, had an exchange with his counterpart on inclusion of the Republic of Suriname to this Group. Underlining the importance of strengthening the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Suriname Minister Mammadyarov noted that the draft of the Agreement on abolishing visa requirements for diplomatic and service passport holders between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Suriname is ready for signature. Minister also spoke on the existing potential for cooperation in the field of education between the two states. Suriname Minister for Foreign Affairs expressed that her country is interested in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan and in that regard she emphasized the importance of exchanges of visits between the sides. Madame Minister invited her counterpart from Azerbaijan to visit Suriname in the capacity of chair of the Non-Aligned Movement. At the meeting also the economic cooperation perspectives between the sides were discussed. Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2 Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Hazim Al-Yousifi, The Foreign Ministry Undersecretaryof the Republic of Iraq in the margins of the 46th session of the Foreign Ministers Council of the OIC, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry told Trend Mar. 2. The Foreign Ministry Undersecretaryof the Republic of Iraq conveyed the sincere greetings of the Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim and stressed his appreciation over development of the relations between Azerbaijan and Iraq. Iraqi undersecretary for foreign affairssaid that they notice serious development in Azerbaijan, implementation of critical infrastructure projects, as well as ensuring security and stability in the country. Stressing the importance of exchange of visits between the states, Hazim Al-Yousifi invited Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to Iraq. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov noted the existence of historical friendship relations between two nations. He emphasized the achievements in the development of bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of tourism and education. At the meeting there was an exchange between the sides on perspectives of bilateral cooperation, as well as regional issues. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: The Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) continues to expand cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of a joint project aimed at public-private partnership, Natig Hasanov, first deputy chairman of the board of the Agency, told Trend. According to the deputy chairman, the implementation of the new project is connected with the construction of hostels at 2 universities in Azerbaijan. "We are actively cooperating with ADB and are planning to further expand our relations. Bilateral negotiations are currently underway at the level of experts. After their completion, we are planning to move on to the hostel construction project. The project will be financed by the state and the private sector, as well as international organizations and financial institutions," Hasanov said. According to the deputy chairman, the implementation of such a project should demonstrate the effectiveness of cooperation between the state and the private sector. The Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan was established by decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated December 28, 2017. The presidential decree of June 26, 2018 approved the statute and structure of the Agency. The main activities of the Agency are supporting the development of small- and medium-sized businesses in the country, participate in regulating the activities of small and medium-sized businesses, to strengthen the role of small and medium-sized businesses in the country's economy, to increase their competitiveness, to expand their opportunities and access to financial resources and to improve institutional mechanisms. support, coordination of public and private sector activities in this area. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova Tehran, Iran, March 2 Trend: Iran is to host the 7th coordination council and the North South Corridor ministerial meeting on March 4 -5 in Tehran. "The meeting is to be hosted by Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Representatives of 13 member countries of International North South Corridor (INSTC) have been invited," Amin Tarafo the head of commercialization department at the Ministry, told Trend. The official indicated the aim of the meeting is to facilitate the transportation procedures in the INSTC. "Considering the coincidence of QazvinRasht railway inauguration with the meeting, it is a good event for both domestic and international transportation," he said. "The secretariat of the international corridor has been transferred to the deputy department of Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to follow the activities more coherently," Tarafo added. He also noted that the secretariat has established a mechanism to follow past and new agendas by cooperating with the member countries. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 By Fakhri Vakilov Trend: Uzbek State Committee for Competition terminated an agreement with the American United Investment Healthcare Group on the trust management of 71 percent of the state-owned shares in AK Dori-Darmon, a big pharmaceutical retailer in Uzbekistan, Trend reports citing the retailers press service. However, no reasons for the agreement termination are reported. About a month after AK Dori-Darmon was transferred to trust management, the UIHG offered a new experienced team of managers along with the implementation of best practices to ensure transparency and accountability, said the United Investment Healthcare Group, adding these initiatives have not been undertaken. In early December 2018, the Uzbek State Committee for Competition and the United Investment Healthcare Group signed an agreement on transferring the trust management of 71 percent of state-owned shares in AK Dori-Darmon. The contract was signed for five years with a possible extension for five more years. Currently, AK Dori-Darmon includes 8 joint stock companies and 6 limited liability companies. The companys chain has about 2,000 pharmacies and their branches, including 717 at rural medical stations and rural family clinics. In recent years, the company's financial position has deteriorated sharply. The results of activities for 11 months of 2018 show that debts to partners and banks reached 125.4 billion soums and 54 billion soums, respectively. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @vakilovfaxri Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 2 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: The Turkmen company Aga Gurlushik has begun construction of a plant for the manufacture of reinforced concrete products in the Gokdepe district of Ahal region of Turkmenistan, Trend reports with reference to the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIET). The design capacity of the plant is 500,000 meters of concrete pipes with a diameter of 300-1,200 millimeters. The high-tech equipment, which is planned to be installed at the plant, will make it possible to manufacture products based on environmentally friendly technologies, the report said. Production of cement is the priority direction of the building materials industry in Turkmenistan. The countrys plants produce Portland cement, grouting and sulphate resistant cement. Besides, the metallurgical and gas concrete plants in Owadandepe town in the Ahal region, also contribute to the diversification of the national economy. Turkmen plants produce reinforced blocks, expanded clay, precast reinforced concrete products, ceramic bricks, facing slabs. Plants of large-panel housing construction designed for the production of reinforced concrete structures for the construction of multi-storey residential buildings and cottage-type houses have significantly increased their potential. The output of ceramic bricks, fittings, metal profiles, plastic and fiberglass pipes increased. Tehran, Iran, March 2 Trend: Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati has indicated the necessity of promoting and preserving the country's limited ties with foreign banks. The official has posted a comment on his Instagram account over the issue: "The Expediency Council is to decide over Iran's accession to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes (Palermo Protocols) on Saturday," Trend reports citing IRNA. "The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a part of international banking standards," he said. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend: Epsilon Development, a US investment company, plans to invest over $2 billion in the development of five large investment blocks with gas fields in Uzbekistan, reports Trend with reference to Forbes.kz. Epsilon specializes in the development of hard-to-recover gas reserves, and leads projects ranging from exploration to operation. Cooperation with Uzbekistan is carried out on the basis of a special government decree. Epsilon attracts industry leaders such as Schlumberger, the largest oilfield services company, founded in 1926 and operating in 85 countries. Two investment blocks Surkhandarya and Fergana are particularly complicated. In the first of these, gas deposits are located at a depth of almost 7,000 meters, with an increased risk of accidents. In the next two years, these deposits will require about $2 billion of investment. Epsilon Development LLC has been cooperating with Uzbek government since 2002 and has extensive experience in financing and developing projects in the oil and gas industry. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @vakilovfaxri Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 2 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Serdarmammet Garajaev has been appointed as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan in Kuwait, according to the Turkmen presidential decree, Trend reports March 2. The diplomat will also remain the head of the diplomatic mission of Turkmenistan in the UAE. During the official visit of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Kuwait in March 2018, a solid package of bilateral documents was signed. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Turkmengas State Concern and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. In addition, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the government of Turkmenistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development was signed. At the summit talks in Kuwait, the parties considered the possibility of establishing joint ventures in the manufacturing sector based on mutual investments, and partnerships in such spheres as metallurgy. Energy, trade, investment, transport and communication, chemical industry, textile industry and agriculture, health care and high technology are areas of cooperation among the two states designed for long-term prospects. Turkmenistan is also interested in discussing issues related to the participation of large financial and investment structures of the Middle East in the implementation of TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia gas pipeline (TAPI) project. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: A positive point regarding the upcoming meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia is that Azerbaijan managed to break the Pashinyan stereotype about attracting a third party, that is, representatives of the separatist regime, to the negotiation process on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Fikrat Sadikhov, a well-known Azerbaijani political analyst, former diplomat, told Trend. On March 1, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia accepted the proposal by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to meet under their auspices in the near future. Sadikhov said that even despite that Pashinyan makes some whimsical statements, like We agree to negotiations not because we are discussing the Karabakh problem, but so far we are preparing for the negotiation process and so on, all these words are far from the real picture. Pashinyan understands that Armenia and Azerbaijan are the main players, because they are parties to the conflict, and the resolution of the whole complex of issues related to this problem depends on them, Sadikhov noted. It is clear that all this time he has been saying that he wont speak on behalf of the Nagorno-Karabakh, and, in practice, he doesnt do it. I think Pashinyan realizes that Armenias well-being, its way out of isolation and its further existence depend on their concessions and the final settlement the conflict, the liberation of Azerbaijani lands, but apparently so far he isnt confident enough. He looks back at those who subject him to sharp criticism and periodically demand a report from him on the negotiations with Azerbaijan. Sadikhov added that Pashinyan understands the destructiveness of the situation in which Armenia found itself. I suppose that the current Armenian leadership should ultimately realize that their future is connected with the final settlement of the conflict and the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories, he said. In my opinion, this is the main condition of the negotiation process at this stage when it comes to the Madrid Principles, which imply a phased settlement, which means initially liberation of the occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, and then negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh. The former diplomat believes that Azerbaijan should exert political, diplomatic and even military pressure on Pashinyan. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the US) met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan Feb. 20 and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku Feb. 21 to discuss preparations for a meeting of the leaders in the near future, including possible topics for discussion. Following their visit to the region, the Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office travelled to Vienna and Bratislava from Feb. 28 to March 1 to brief the Permanent Representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, according to the statement. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 2 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: Azerbaijan can count on the support of Islamic countries in the issue of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh, director of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies of Pakistan, chairman of the Pakistan Shanghai Cooperation Organization Friendship Forum(PSCOFF), well-known Pakistani political analyst Muhammad Asif Noor told Trend. On March 1, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, speaking at the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called on the OIC countries not to work with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, stating that Azerbaijan, doing everything possible to ensure international peace and security, is still facing Armenian military aggression. The minister added that despite all these calls, despite all the efforts of Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict by peaceful means, Armenia, in order to solidify the results of its occupation, continues the policy of plundering natural resources and destroying the historical and Islamic heritage in the occupied territories. Every day, the Armenian armed forces violate the ceasefire regime, killing and injuring Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians, the minister said. Pakistan was one of the first countries that recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in the 1990s, as well as the first country to adopt a resolution strongly condemning the genocide against the peaceful population of Azerbaijans Khojaly town, committed by Armenian band formations, and urging the international community to force Armenia to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, Muhammad Asif Noor said. We strongly support Armenias implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, according to which it must withdraw its military formations from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, he added. Political analyst noted that Pakistan will continue to support Azerbaijans position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and to advocate its national interests for the restoration of territorial integrity and the inviolability of Azerbaijani borders. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. The United States has refused to let bus convoys, set to evacuate refugees from the Rukban camp, enter the US-controlled zone in Syria's At-Tanf, where the camp is located, Russian Defense Ministry Center for Syrian Reconciliation head, Lt. Gen. Sergei Solomatin, said Saturday, Trend reports with reference to Sputnik. "The US side has rejected the demand of the joint Russia-Syria coordination center on refugee repatriation to allow the transport convoys enter the territory of the At-Tanf zone", Solomatin said at a news briefing. The Rukban camp, which houses about 40,000 displaced people, is located in the southern part of Syria, close to Jordan. The area that became a refugee camp for Syrian residents 2014 is now in the US-controlled zone. Alexander Marchenko, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Friday that Washington was delaying the relocation of refugees from the Rukban camp, as it aspires to organize convoys with international humanitarian assistance that will enable the further existence of the camp. US Department of State deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino on Friday called for for coordinated efforts on refugee evacuation. "The United States supports the UN call for a durable solution for Rukban in line with protection standards and coordinated with all parties", Palladino tweeted on Friday. "Unilateral Russian initiatives, not coordinated with the UN and regional parties, do not meet these standards. The US and UN are ready for coordinated efforts on safe, voluntary, informed departures for those who wish to leave". The Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation noted, however, that all information on the evacuation has been communicated only to Ayaki Ito, the UN Refugee Agencys envoy to Syria. The Rukban camp is located within the US-controlled zone surrounding the Pentagon's military base in Syrias At-Tanf. In February, media reported - citing a UN survey - that most Syrian refugees from Rukban wanted to return to their homeland but feared detention and forced military conscription, among other issues, and sought information and guarantees of safety. According to the Russian military, the total number of refugees living in the Rukban camp is estimated to be about 42,000. According to an earlier UN and Red Crescent survey, 85 percent of refugees in Rukban would like to return home. In January, the World Health Organization (WHO) described those residing in the camp as "trapped," adding that they live "in deplorable conditions." Limited water supply, bitterly cold weather and poorly-functioning health care facilities contribute to the rise of diseases, including influenza, measles, tuberculosis and chronic respiratory diseases, the WHO stated. Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani started Saturday a two-day official visit to Tunisia, Tunisian government said in a statement, Trend reports citing Xinhua. "Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed will co-chair with his Qatari guest the meeting of Tunisian-Qatari High Joint Commission," said the statement. The meeting will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields including investment, finance and security. "During his visit, the Qatari minister will meet Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. On the sidelines of the Qatari minister's visit, many agreements in various fields would be signed between Tunisia and Qatar," said the statement. The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the Irish backstop is only intended to be temporary, the blocs chief Brexit negotiator said on Friday, Trend reported citing Reuters. We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU, Michel Barnier said in an interview with Germanys Die Welt newspaper to be published on Saturday. This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary. Yellow Vests are to take to the streets of France for the sixteenth consecutive week of demonstrations on Saturday, while several prominent activists have called for the protests to ramp up again, Trend reports citing France 24. For more than three months, Yellow Vest protesters have been demonstrating against French President Emmanuel Macrons government. For Act 16 of the protests, the Paris local government has authorised a route from the Arc de Triomphe to Place Denfert-Rochereau in the south of the city. However, the Facebook group Yellow Vests Act 16: Insurrection is calling on demonstrators to go back to the movements roots with the spontaneous approach that scared the government with undeclared protests at unauthorised sites in November and December. Demonstrations are also planned in cities throughout France, including Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Nantes and Toulouse. In the northeastern city of Lille, protest organisers have called on Yellow Vests throughout the region as well as in neighbouring countries such as Belgium and Germany to converge on the city. The fight is international, says a statement on the Facebook event page for the Lille demonstrations. In Lyon, protest conveners are planning a black march, in which demonstrators will turn up dressed in black as a symbol of mourning for the movement, to warn against a hypothetical future in which it is destined to become obscurantist and the object of contempt because of activists not acting together. Act 16 comes after Eric Drouet, Priscilla Ludosky and Maxime Nicolle, Yellow Vest activists who captured public attention with viral social media posts in November, have called for the mass mobilisation of protesters on the following Saturdays, March 9 and especially March 16, the date when Macrons grand debate finishes. For his part, Macron repeated his requests for a return to calm on Friday, lamenting the demonstrations intolerable violence. He launched the grand debate on January 15 in which every French person is supposed to be able to air their grievances as a response to the popular uprising that emerged in opposition to proposed fuel tax hikes in November, before becoming a more amorphous movement calling for a wide variety of policy changes. Barcelona handed Real Madrid another demoralizing loss on Saturday, beating its arch rival at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the second time in a week and taking full control of the Spanish league, Trend reports citing The Associated Press. Ivan Rakitic scored in the first half and Barcelona held on for a 1-0 victory that virtually ends Madrids title hopes. It was the third straight win by Barcelona at the Bernabeu, coming three days after a 3-0 result that eliminated Madrid from the Copa del Rey semifinals. Barcelona has opened a 12-point lead over Madrid with 12 matches left. The defending champions are 10 points ahead of second-place Atletico Madrid, which visits Real Sociedad on Sunday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong on Friday during his official visit to Hanoi, Trend reported citing Sputnik. Kim is paying a visit to Vietnam on 1-2 March, shortly after the second US-North Korea summit on denuclearization that concluded in Hanoi on Thursday without any agreements. Following the bilateral negotiations, Kim praised friendly relations between the two nations, as well as a warm welcome and hospitality on the part of the Vietnamese side, according to the Yonhap news agency. The North Korean leader also expressed gratitude to Vietnam for its assistance in organizing recent Pyongyang's denuclearization talks with the United States. The Vietnamese president stressed that Kim's visit was a good opportunity for the leaders to exchange views on prospects for further development of bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest. Also on Friday, Kim held talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Nguyen Hong Thach, a member of the ruling Communist Party's Commission for External Relations, told Sputnik Wednesday that Hanoi hopes to host other meetings that are of the same magnitude as the recent denuclearization summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Nguyen also recalled that the country had previously acted as host for many international high-level multilateral meetings such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which Vietnam hosted in 2006 and in 2017. The second summit between the United States and North Korea abruptly came to an end earlier on Thursday after Trump chose to walk away from the negotiating table following disagreements with Kim on the outline of a deal. Trump said afterward that he decided to leave the talks because Kim had demanded full sanctions relief. North Korean and US State Department officials said that Kim had only asked for partial sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling North Korea's main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. At the historic Singapore summit, held in June 2018, Trump and Kim pledged to make effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees for North Korea and the suspension of US-South Korean military drills. At least 11 persons were killed and one person injured when a jeep met with an accident in Darchula district of Far Western Nepal on Friday evening, local police authorities said, Trend reported citing Xinhua. The incident occurred when the jeep skidded off the highway and plunged onto Mahakali River bank in Duhu Rural Municipality in Darchula district, according to local police officer Rabindra Kadayat. "We recovered 11 dead bodies from the crash site and the rescue operation is underway in coordination with local authorities and residents," the police officer told Xinhua from the crash site on Friday evening. The deceased include seven women, three men and a girl child, according to the police officer. The jeep driver, who was seriously injured in the incident, has been taken to neighboring India for further treatment, according to authorities. The crash site is around 526 km west of Nepal's Capital Kathmandu. The ill-fated jeep was heading towards Duhu Rural Municipality from the Darchula district headquarters. The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained, authorities said. Over-speed, drunk-driving and ill maintained roads and vehicles are often taken as major causes of frequent road accidents in the Himalayan country. The attack on 215 Maiwand Corps in southern Helmand province ended after almost 20 hours, the provincial governor's media office said in a statement, Trend reported citing TOLO News. At least 20 militants were killed in the attack, the statement said. Governors media office also said five security force members were killed and 12 others wounded in the attack. The attack started at 2am on early on Friday morning, sources said. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. Police in Norway arrested two men for stealing a van that transported poisonous cyanide to University of Oslo for research, public broadcaster NRK reported Saturday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. The vehicle transported medications as well as 25 grams of potassium cyanide, which was to be used by the university in cell research, the report said. The dose is large enough to kill up to 125 people, NRK reported. "The van has been missing since Feb. 20. It is very gratifying that the cyanide is now found. This is a potentially harmful substance and we have had high priority on finding it," police attorney Camilla Granstrom was quoted as saying. Gisle Sveen from Oslo's Eastern Police District said that the two men were first stopped in a routine check on Friday evening, but managed to escape. The van was finally found after a car chase that involved helicopters, several police patrols and police dogs who tracked the suspects, he added. The two men, aged 52 and 33, were now formally charged with serious theft. Both of them are Polish citizens and known to the police, the report said. A small banner plane crashed into a building along a Florida beach Friday, killing the pilot in a heavily trafficked tourist area, Trend reported citing AP. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephan Gollan told reporters the plane hit an 18-story condominium building just before noon and then fell several floors onto an outdoor pool deck. He said the pilot was killed, but no other injuries were reported. The building's residents were evacuated. Television shots show the yellow, single-engine Piper PA-25 crumpled with its wings snapped off. The pilot's name was not released. The plane's markings show it is owned by Aerial Banners Inc. The company's website says it has more than 50 planes at locations around the country, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, and Alaska. The company's Fort Lauderdale office declined comment. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating. Vacationer Jim McHugh of New York City told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he was on the beach with his wife when the plane flew past heading north. He said the engine was not sputtering, but the plane banked hard to the left toward the tall buildings that line the area. He said he realized the plane was too low and told his wife it was going to crash just before it did. "It's a shame the poor guy didn't bank to the right and to the water," he told the paper. The U.S. President Donald Trump administration renewed on Friday the designation of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation, Trend reported citing The National. The US State Department issued a statement announcing that it has reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) designation of the PKK. The militant group was first designated in October 1997 and the US has offered financial rewards for information on three of its leaders. The United States maintains a strong commitment to our partnership with our NATO ally Turkey, including fighting PKK fundraising operations in Europe and elsewhere, the statement read. While the move reiterates a longstanding US position on the PKK, its timing comes as a US inter-agency delegation is visiting Ankara and negotiating a range of issues between the two NATO allies including Syria, the sale of Patriot missiles, trade and counter terrorism. The meetings were the second this month between Washington and Ankara. The talks began on Wednesday and were due to conclude Friday, but it is unclear if they reached a breakthrough. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that the discussions entailed the sale of a US Patriot missile defence system to Ankara. The United States said they could sell Patriots, and the delegations are negotiating," Mr Cavusoglu said on Friday, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported. However, issues relating to the time frame of delivering the $3.5 billion and Turkeys purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia are complicating the talks, and remain unresolved. US officials have insisted that if Ankara goes ahead with its purchase from Russia, then the Patriots deal will be withdrawn. "The S-400 will be delivered towards the end of this year in autumn. We bought S-400s because we could not purchase Patriots," Mr Cavusoglu was quoted as saying. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefed the foreign ministers of China, South Korea and Japan on President Donald Trumps Hanoi summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a press release, Trend reported citing Sputnik. "Secretary Michael Pompeo spoke with Director of the Chinese Communist Party Foreign Affairs Office Yang Jiechi", Palladino said on Friday. "Pompeo provided Politburo Member Yang insights into the discussions in Hanoi between President Trump and Chairman Kim". Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa, during a phone conversation, agreed to closely coordinate on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Palladino said in a separate statement. In another phone call, Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono discussed the next steps related to the process of denuclearizing North Korea. The two-day US-DPRK summit ended abruptly on Thursday. Trump said he had to walk away because North Korea wanted all sanctions lifted prior to the promised complete denuclearization. The two leaders have repeatedly said they expected the talks in Hanoi to bring good results. However, the sides failed to agree on concessions in order to reach a deal. KYODO NEWS - Mar 2, 2019 - 14:36 | All, Japan Japan's top convenience store chain has decided to review its longtime policy of keeping almost all its stores open 24 hours a day amid growing calls from store owners for measures to cope with a dire labor shortage in the graying country. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. officials said March 1 that the Tokyo-based company will launch a pilot project from mid-March in which it will keep 10 stores it directly operates open for only 16 hours a day, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. The plan came after a group of convenience store owners called on Seven-Eleven Japan on Feb. 27 to review the practice of asking all owners to keep their stores open around the clock because they have difficulties securing store clerks, including foreign students who work as part-timers. The chain operates some 21,000 stores, the largest number in Japan, and 96 percent of the total are open 24-7, except for those located in office buildings and train stations, according to the company. A Seven-Eleven Japan official said the company has yet to decide how long the company will continue with the pilot program and that whether it applies the new business hours to a large number of other stores will depend on the result of the trial. Mitoshi Matsumoto, who owns a Seven-Eleven store in Higashiosaka, western Japan, welcomed the move, saying, "It's a small step forward." Matsumoto started closing his store overnight from Feb. 1, leading the chain operator to ask him to cancel his contract and pay a penalty unless he gets back to 24-hour operations. Japan had 55,743 convenience stores as of the end of 2018, according to the Japan Franchise Association. Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said that an interim application will be filed in the apex court on Wednesday. Chennai: A bad attitude. That is what Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman said in an eight-year-old video when asked what it takes to make a good fighting pilot. A brave mother too, should perhaps be added to that list of attributes, going by the accounts of those who know the pilots family well. Retired Group Captain Tarun K Singha, who has known the family for decades, said that the image of a calm, composed Abhinandan that many saw after his capture by the Pakistani Army just shows the genes that Abhinandan inherited from his mother, Dr Shobha Varthaman, who has worked in many conflict zones all through her career as a doctor with Medicine Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders). Gp Capt Singha told about Dr Shobha She epitomises the quintessential woman of substance. She has served humanity amidst cataclysmic violence, healed the wounded in some of the worst conflict zones around the world, ensured mothers and their newborn survive post-delivery complications in Haiti,. He emailed Dr Shobha to offer solidarity, but did not expect an answer in these stressful times. Singha says about the mother of this braveheart soldier who found himself in enemy territory on Wednesday But she replied with such composure within 15 minutes, even so late in the night. It just shows her character, her mental strength and tenacity,. also read Daily Horoscope: Taureans, You should remain extremely cautious today A woman toughened by serving in war-ravaged countries, Dr Shobha has also been an activist for healthcare and education. More recently, she launched an online campaign to increase punishment for child sexual abuse convicts two years ago. She was very bold from her childhood days. Both father and mother are bold, but she in particular, perhaps because she has faced tough times. She and her siblings grew up losing their father early, said her cousin C Kundanadhan. What Singha writes in an earlier article about her, however, is something that gives a closer look at the dangerous places her work at Doctors Without Borders took her to. In the northern terriroty of Ivory Coast in 2005, only AK-47s and machetes ruled. She went into rebel country, 300 km from the peace-keeping corridor of the UN, Singha recounted in the article. Liberia and Nigeria, post-civil wars in both places, were other places she was deployed in, amidst perennial conflicts between the villages and the oil companies, government and the villages, oil thefts, intra and inter-tribal fights. However, She has encountered life-threatening experiences during the second Gulf War, in Iraq, where she was the only anaesthesiologist serving at the time. For security reasons, those outside the blast area were radioed to remain indoors. But since I was the only anaesthesiologist, somehow or the other, they thought utilising me for work is more important than security. Even the surgeons were inside their hotels, she told Singha about her experience. also read NIA opens a research cell on ISIS: Union Home Minister She has seen the worst of the Iran-Iraq stand-off, and later served in Papua New Guinea in 2009 where she treated tribals who were injured with arrow heads and primitive weapons. Her mercy mission in Haiti, after more than 300,000 people died in an earthquake, saw her running an orthopaedic hospital, a paediatric hospital in one of the most dangerous areas wrought by crime groups, Dr Singha recounts. Which books have been translated for print? Curbstone Press is a small publisher but its books are in bookstores throughout the United States and on amazon.com, and have stirred public opinion in prestigious American newspapers. In the past 20 years, this publisher has been building a series of books on Vietnamese literature called Voices from Vietnam (Nhung tieng noi tu Viet Nam) and has published books including Phia ben kia goc troi (The Other Side of Heaven); Tinh yeu sau chien tranh (Love After War); Nhung ngoi sao, Trai at, Dong song (The Stars, the Earth, the River) by Le Minh Khue; Sang Song (Crossing the River) by Nguyen Huy Thiep; Trong Suong Hong Hien Ra (Behind the Red Mist) by Ho Anh Thai, Nghia ia xom Chua (The Cemetery of Chua Village) by oan Le; Nguoc dong nuoc lu (Against the Flood) by Ma Van Khang; Thoi gian cua Nguoi (Past Continuous) by Nguyen Khai; Gia inh be mon (An Insignificant Family) by Da Ngan; Cay thoi gian (The Time Tree) by Huu Thinh; and uong xa (Distant Road) by Nguyen Duy. Universities also occasionally publish Vietnamese literature in English for reference: Oxford University published Anh sang kinh thanh (The Light of the Capital), a reportage by Tam Lang, Vu Trong Phung and Nguyen Hong; the University of Michigan printed So o (Dumb luck) by Vu Trong Phung; the University of Massachusetts published Thoi xa vang (A Time Far Past) by Le Luu, Nhung nguoi an ba ganh nuoc song (The Women Carry River Water) by Nguyen Quang Thieu, Noi buon chien tranh (The Sorrow of War) by Bao Ninh; the University of Washington translated Nguoi an ba tren ao (The Woman on the Island) by Ho Anh Thai. LAube publishing house in France is more interested in Vietnamese literature, has had problems with royalties for reprinting books with some Vietnamese writers: Tuong ve huu and Trai tim ho by Nguyen Huy Thiep; Nguoi vai linh hon by Vu Bao; ao an ba va Tieng tho dai qua rung kim tuoc by Ho Anh Thai; Manh at lam nguoi nhieu ma by Nguyen Khac Truong and An may di vang by Chu Lai. The Tranan publishing house in Sweden also printed a Vietnamese book set thanks to support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency: Tuyen tap truyen ngan Viet Nam, De men phieu luu ky by To Hoai; Con mua cuoi mua by Le Minh Khue; Muoi cua rung by Nguyen Huy Thiep; Tuyen tap truyen by Ho Anh Thai; Khi nguoi ta tre by Phan Thi Vang Anh; Vua nham mat vua mo cua so by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan; and a poetry collection by 12 Vietnamese poets. In South Korea a few Vietnamese books have been translated but mostly from English, but recently some have been translated directly from Vietnamese into Korean. One of the most recently translated books is Ao trang by Nguyen Van Bong. In the past several years, more books have been translated into Korean such as Tuyen tap truyen ngan Viet Nam and Noi buon chien tranh by Bao Ninh; Bi kich nho by Le Minh Khue; Nguoi an ba tren ao and Coi nguoi rung chuong tan the by Ho Anh Thai; and Canh ong bat tan by Nguyen Ngoc Tu. In addition, in others countries, some works are also quite popular such as Tho Ho Xuan Huong translated by John Balaban (Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong); Truyen Kieu (The Kim Van Kieu of Nguyen Du) a new translation by Vladislav Zhukov, not focusing on meaning but on an ancient poetry style; em qua toi mo thay hoa binh, a diary by ang Thuy Tram. Collected by Quang Toan Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. As a capstone to its 50th annual SIGCSE Technical Symposium, leaders of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) are celebrating the ideas that have shaped the field by recognizing a select group of publications with a "Top Ten Symposium Papers of All Time Award." The top ten papers were chosen from among the best papers that were presented at the SIGCSE Technical Symposium over the last 49 years. As part of the Top Ten announcement today in Minneapolis, the coauthors of each top paper will receive a plaque, free conference registration for one co-author to accept the award and up to a total of $2,000 that can be used toward travel for all authors of the top ranked paper. "In 1969, the year of our first SIGCSE symposium, computing education was a niche specialty" explains SIGCSE Board Chair Amber Settle of DePaul University, of Chicago, USA. "Today, it is an essential skill students need to prepare for the workforce. Computing has become one of the most popular majors in higher education, and more and more students are being introduced to computing in K-12 settings. The Top Ten Symposium Papers of All Time Award will emphasize the outstanding research that underpins and informs how students of all ages learn computing. We also believe that highlighting excellent research will inspire others to enter the computing education field and make their own contributions." The Top Ten Symposium Papers are: "Identifying student misconceptions of programming" (2010) Lisa C. Kaczmarczyk, Elizabeth R. Petrick, University of California, San Diego; Philip East, University of Northern Iowa; Geoffrey L. Herman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Computing educators are often baffled by the misconceptions that their CS1 students hold. We need to understand these misconceptions more clearly in order to help students form correct conceptions. This paper describes one stage in the development of a concept inventory for Computing Fundamentals: investigation of student misconceptions in a series of core CS1 topics previously identified as both important and difficult. Formal interviews with students revealed four distinct themes, each containing many interesting misconceptions. "Improving the CS1 experience with pair programming" (2003) Nachiappan Nagappan, Laurie Williams, Miriam Ferzli, Eric Wiebe, Kai Yang, Carol Miller, Suzanne Balik, North Carolina State University Pair programming is a practice in which two programmers work collaboratively at one computer, on the same design, algorithm, or code. Prior research indicates that pair programmers produce higher quality code in essentially half the time taken by solo programmers. The authors organized an experiment to assess the efficacy of pair programming in an introductory Computer Science course. Their results indicate that pair programming creates a laboratory environment conducive to more advanced, active learning than traditional labs; students and lab instructors report labs to be more productive and less frustrating. "Undergraduate women in computer science: experience, motivation and culture" (1997) Allan Fisher, Jane Margolis, Faye Miller, Carnegie Mellon University During a year-long study, the authors examined the experiences of undergraduate women studying computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, with a specific eye toward understanding the influences and processes whereby they attach themselves to or detach themselves from the field. This report, midway through the two-year project, recaps the goals and methods of the study, reports on their progress and preliminary conclusions, and sketches their plans for the final year and the future beyond this particular project. "A Multi-institutional Study of Peer Instruction in Introductory Computing" (2016) Leo Porter, Beth Simon, University of California, San Diego; Dennis Bouvier, Southern Illinois University; Quintin Cutts, University of Glasgow; Scott Grissom, Grand Valley State University; Cynthia Lee, Stanford University; Robert McCartney, University of Connecticut; Daniel Zingaro, University of Toronto Peer Instruction (PI) is a student-centric pedagogy in which students move from the role of passive listeners to active participants in the classroom. This paper adds to this body of knowledge by examining outcomes from seven introductory programming instructors: three novices to PI and four with a range of PI experience. Through common measurements of student perceptions, the authors provide evidence that introductory computing instructors can successfully implement PI in their classrooms. "The introductory programming course in computer science: ten principles" (1978) G. Michael Schneider, University of Minnesota Schneider describes the crucial goals of any introductory programming course while leaving to the reader the design of a specific course to meet these goals. This paper presents ten essential objectives of an initial programming course in Computer Science, regardless of who is teaching or where it is being taught. Schneider attempts to provide an in-depth, philosophical framework for the course called CSI -- Computer Programming I -- as described by the ACM Curriculum Committee on Computer Science. "Constructivism in computer science education" (1998) Mordechai Ben-Ari, Weizmann Institute of Science Constructivism is a theory of learning which claims that students construct knowledge rather than merely receive and store knowledge transmitted by the teacher. Constructivism has been extremely influential in science and mathematics education, but not in computer science education (CSE). This paper surveys constructivism in the context of CSE, and shows how the theory can supply a theoretical basis for debating issues and evaluating proposals. "Using software testing to move students from trial-and-error to reflection-in-action" (2004) Stephen H. Edwards, Virginia Tech Introductory computer science students have relied on a trial and error approach to fixing errors and debugging for too long. Moving to a reflection in action strategy can help students become more successful. Traditional programming assignments are usually assessed in a way that ignores the skills needed for reflection in action, but software testing promotes the hypothesis-forming and experimental validation that are central to this mode of learning. By changing the way assignments are assessed--where students are responsible for demonstrating correctness through testing, and then assessed on how well they achieve this goal--it is possible to reinforce desired skills. Automated feedback can also play a valuable role in encouraging students while also showing them where they can improve. "What should we teach in an introductory programming course" (1974) David Gries, Cornell University Gries argues that an introductory course (and its successor) in programming should be concerned with three aspects of programming: 1. How to solve problems, 2. How to describe an algorithmic solution to a problem, and 3. How to verify that an algorithm is correct. In this paper he discusses mainly the first two aspects. He notes that the third is just as important, but if the first two are carried out in a systematic fashion, the third is much easier than commonly supposed. "Contributing to success in an introductory computer science course: a study of twelve factors" (2001) Brenda Cantwell Wilson, Murray State University; Sharon Shrock, Southern Illinois University This study was conducted to determine factors that promote success in an introductory college computer science course. The model included twelve possible predictive factors including math background, attribution for success/failure (luck, effort, difficulty of task, and ability), domain specific self-efficacy, encouragement, comfort level in the course, work style preference, previous programming experience, previous non-programming computer experience, and gender. Subjects included 105 students enrolled in a CS1 introductory computer science course at a midwestern university. The study revealed three predictive factors in the following order of importance: comfort level, math, and attribution to luck for success/failure. "Teaching objects-first in introductory computer science" (2003) Stephen Cooper, Saint Joseph's University; Wanda Dann, Ithaca College; Randy Pausch Carnegie Mellon University An objects-first strategy for teaching introductory computer science courses is receiving increased attention from CS educators. In this paper, the authors discuss the challenge of the objects-first strategy and present a new approach that attempts to meet this challenge. The approach is centered on the visualization of objects and their behaviors using a 3D animation environment. Statistical data as well as informal observations are summarized to show evidence of student performance as a result of this approach. A comparison is made of the pedagogical aspects of this new approach with that of other relevant work. Annual Best Paper Award Announced Today SIGCSE officers also announced the inauguration of an annual SIGCSE Test of Time Award. The first award will be presented at the 2020 SIGCSE Symposium and recognize research publications that have had wide-ranging impact on the field. ### About SIGCSE The Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM SIGCSE) is a community of approximately 2,600 people who, in addition to their specialization within computing, have a strong interest in quality computing education. SIGCSE provides a forum for educators to discuss the problems concerned with the development, implementation, and/or evaluation of computing programs, curricula, and courses, as well as syllabi, laboratories, and other elements of teaching and pedagogy. About ACM ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. LAKE FOREST, Ill., March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akorn, Inc. (AKRX) announced today that the Delaware Court of Chancery has denied a request by Fresenius Kabi AG to bring a fraud claim against Akorn. On February 20, Fresenius filed a proposed amended counterclaim seeking to add a new claim for fraud to its existing request for contract damages associated with the termination of the merger agreement with Akorn last year. The Court of Chancery denied Fresenius's motion on February 28, noting that "Fresenius did not previously assert a claim for fraud, and the liability phase of the case has concluded. Fresenius could have asserted a claim for fraud at the outset of the case, or amended its pleadings during discovery or before trial. The parties chose to litigate breach of contract claims. It is too late now to introduce a new theory of liability." Akorn believes Freseniuss remaining request for contractual damages is without merit, and we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves against it, President and CEO Douglas Boothe said. We are pleased that the Court has ruled in our favor on this motion. This is an important development for us, as we focus on our future and on strengthening the business to enhance shareholder value. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward looking statements", including expectations regarding financial performance, rebuilding shareholder value, capital expenditures, growth, and other Akorn plans and strategy. When used in this document, the words will, expect, continue," believe, estimate, intend, could, strives and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. A number of important factors could cause actual results of Akorn and its subsidiaries to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (i) the effect of the Delaware courts recent decision against Akorn on Akorns ability to retain and hire key personnel, its ability to maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, or its operating results and business generally, (ii) the risk that ongoing or future litigation related to the courts decision may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and/or liability, (iii) the outcome of the investigation conducted by Akorn with the assistance of outside consultants, into alleged breaches of FDA data integrity requirements relating to product development at Akorn and any actions taken by Akorn, third parties or the FDA as a result of such investigations, (iv) the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of product development efforts, including FDA and other regulatory agency approvals and actions, if any, (v) the timing and success of product launches, (vi) difficulties or delays in manufacturing, and (vii) such other risks and uncertainties outlined in the risk factors detailed in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, of Akorns Annual Report on Form 10-K and other risk factors identified from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Readers should carefully review these risk factors, and should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information, plans and estimates at the date of this report. Akorn undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes. Story continues About Akorn Akorn, Inc. is a specialty generic pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of multisource and branded pharmaceuticals. Akorn has manufacturing facilities located in Decatur, Illinois; Somerset, New Jersey; Amityville, New York; Hettlingen, Switzerland and Paonta Sahib, India that manufacture ophthalmic, injectable and specialty sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals. Additional information is available on Akorns website at www.akorn.com. Investors: (847) 279-6162 Investor.relations@akorn.com Media: Robert Stanislaro / Camilla White 212-850-5600 Robert.Stanislaro@fticonsulting.com / Camilla.White@fticonsulting.com Though the ratings were sky-high for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohens Congressional committee appearance, he wasnt the only person whose words made an impact. New Yorks freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned Cohen about how Trump allegedly deliberatively deflated the value of his assets in order to lower his real estate tax bill. Hers were some of the most direct questions of the entire proceedings, and they may have yielded the most useful answers. Cohens responses, including the names of several members of Trumps inner circle familiar with his financials, ma lay the groundwork for possible subpoenas of his long-withheld tax returns. Putting aside the complication of calling for winners and losers in a procedural hearing, one reason Ocasio-Cortez won the day is fairly obvious if youve been paying attention to how the first-term rep has been running her office. According to HuffPost, the youngest woman to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives can commit more time on her actual jobas HuffPost put it, she consistently attends even the most mundane committee hearingsbecause she doesnt have to spend time calling donors to fundraise. In the days after the hearing, Ocasio-Cortez even mentioned this specifically, noting that calling constituents, not donors, is among her top priorities. Spending a few hours today doing calltime. But instead of calling donors, Im calling constituents to personally follow up on casework theyve brought to our office, and give them progress updates myself. Getting big money out of politics means your Reps can do more of this. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 1, 2019 In the run-up to the Cohen hearing, Ocasio-Cortezs staffers spent days working closely with the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to draft the questions she ended up askingwith her own expert ad-libbing, of course. Because she was among the last committee members to ask questions during the hearing, she also followed up on questions from other committee members in order to compel Cohen to give direct, useful answers the committee can use in the future. Canadian Association of Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) has expanded their recommendations for public reimbursement for SMA patients The recommendation, however, continues to limit access to treatment for many patients with SMA Provincial jurisdictions are the final decision makers on public reimbursement MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, CADTH publicly released updated recommendations that could inform provincial jurisdictions decisions on the public reimbursement of SPINRAZA (nusinersen), the first and only approved treatment shown to be effective in the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The updated recommendation has been expanded to include patients with: Genetic documentation of 5q SMA homozygous gene deletion, homozygous mutation, or compound heterozygote. Are pre-symptomatic with two or three copies of SMN2, or Have had disease duration of less than six months, two copies of SMN2, and symptom onset after the first week after birth and on or before seven months of age, or Are 12 years of age or younger with symptom onset after six months of age, and never achieved the ability to walk independently. Patient is not currently requiring permanent invasive ventilation. SMA is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition and the leading genetic cause of death among infants. Children with the most severe form of SMA rarely live to see their second birthday. SMA is a rare disease and it is estimated that 1 in 10000 live births are affected by it. While the expanded CADTH recommendation will provide access to treatment for a larger subset of patients with SMA, it is disappointing that the clinical criteria in the recommendation continue to limit access to treatment for many patients with SMA who could potentially benefit from SPINRAZA, the only life-changing drug therapy available. Notably all patients over 12 years of age and all those who have reached the ability to walk independently (Type 3) are denied treatment. Story continues Biogen recognizes that CADTH has acknowledged the urgent need to provide greater access to SPINRAZA to Canadian patients, however, we continue to be extremely concerned for those patients with SMA who fall outside of CADTHs updated, yet limiting, criteria, said Marina Vasiliou, Managing Director of Biogen Canada. CADTH has provided its recommendation and now the ultimate decision for public reimbursement lies with the provincial jurisdictions. We remain committed to partnering with provincial governments to ensure they can exercise their role and provide broad, sustainable coverage for all patients with SMA in Canada. Through Biogens extensive clinical development program, SPINRAZA has shown significant improvements in survival rates and motor function across a broad range of types and ages of SMA patients. Health Canada approved SPINRAZA in June 2017. CADTH and INESSS received the same clinical data as part of Biogens resubmission and, in December 2018, the Institut national dexcellence en sante et en services sociaux (INESSS) in Quebec released its updated recommendations to expand coverage to patients of all ages and with all types of SMA. The Government of Quebec on Dec 18th, 2018 stated in its press release This announcement follows an agreement reached by members of the Pan-Canadian pharmaceutical Alliance, to which Quebec participated actively. This agreement allowed the provinces to obtain economic conditions favouring the inclusion of the drug. Biogen believes that the benefits of SPINRAZA are clear for patients across the spectrum of the disease. Governments, regulators, payors and medical communities in more than 45 other countries and jurisdictions around the world, have recognized the broad benefit of SPINRAZA," added Vasiliou. We hope that the provincial jurisdictions will follow Quebec in providing broad access to all Canadian SMA patients and ensure equity of access to treatment across Canada. Statement from Cure SMA Canada: We at Cure SMA Canada are happy to hear that more of our patients will have the ability to access treatment. For these patients and their families, there is hope for a better future with improved health and a longer life. We are very disappointed, however, that we have left some of our patients with no treatment options. This was their only hope. Imagine what it is like for these patients and their families, to know some patients are able to access this life changing and lifesaving treatment, but are not able to themselves. We grieve with them, but we also promise that we will not give up our fight. We do not accept this response. - Susi Vander Wyk, Executive Director, Cure SMA Canada Statement from Lawrence Korngut, MD: "The criteria recommended by CADTH will be concerning for many teenage and adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy, in particular, those who are or were able to walk independently at some point (i.e. type 3 SMA). In my experience, it is the priority of most patients with SMA, due to the inherent weakness and functional limitations, to preserve their mobility and independence as much as possible. It is unfortunate that Spinraza will now only be available to this important group of patients only if they live in Quebec but not elsewhere in Canada. Lawrence Korngut MD MSc FRCPC Associate Professor (Neurology) Director, Calgary Neuromuscular Program and EMG (Calgary Zone) Clinical Neurosciences, South Health Campus Statement from Craig Campbell, MD: Based on the current CADTH criteria, the group of type 3 SMA patients who are still ambulatory has been excluded from having access to treatment. Clinical judgement and Emerging evidence suggests that these patients may benefit significantly with nusinersen treatment to maintain their independent ambulation, and many Canadian clinicians feel it is imperative to treat this group of patients with Spinraza. Craig Campbell MD MSc FRCPC Head Division of Pediatric Neurology Deputy Chair Research, Paediatrics Children's Hospital LHSC Associate Professor, Western University For more information contact: Therese Gagnon-Kugler therese.gagnonkugler@biogen.com About Biogen At Biogen, our mission is clear: we are pioneers in neuroscience. Biogen discovers, develops, and delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. One of the worlds first global biotechnology companies, Biogen was founded in 1978 by Charles Weissmann, Heinz Schaller, Kenneth Murray and Nobel Prize winners Walter Gilbert and Phillip Sharp, and today has the leading portfolio of medicines to treat multiple sclerosis; has introduced the first and only approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy; and is focused on advancing neuroscience research programs in Alzheimers disease and dementia, multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, pain, ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry, and acute neurology. Biogen also manufactures and commercializes biosimilars of advanced biologics. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.biogen.com. To learn more, please visit www.biogen.com and follow us on social media Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube. Boise, Idaho, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For Immediate Release: Boise Cascade closes on previously announced sale to Southern Veneer Boise Cascade Company (Boise Cascade) (BCC) entered into an agreement with Southern Veneer on January 28 to sell its plywood facility in Moncure, NC. The sale officially closed on February 28, 2019. The company would like to thank the Boise Cascade employees who have transferred to the Southern Veneer operation. About Boise Cascade Boise Cascade is one of the largest producers of engineered wood products and plywood in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products. For more information, please visit our website at www.bc.com. Investor contact: Wayne Rancourt, 208-384-6073 Media contact: Lisa Chapman, 208-384-6552 It's the first step in what's likely to be a lengthy and revealing legal process. Meng will appear in Canadian court for an extradition hearing on March 6. The process to extradite Meng extends a saga that has captivated markets and fueled tensions between the U.S. and China. The Canadian government has decided to allow the U.S. extradition process of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to proceed, the country's Department of Justice announced Friday. It's the first step in what's likely to be a lengthy and revealing legal process. Meng will sit for an extradition hearing in Canada on March 6, during which evidence will be entered into the public record. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia, in December over allegations that the company defrauded several banks, including HSBC HSBA-GB and Standard Chartered STAN-GB , by concealing payments from Iran in violations of sanctions against that country. The process to extradite Meng extends a saga that has captivated markets and fueled tensions between the U.S. and China. "Canada is a country governed by the rule of law. Extradition in Canada is guided by the Extradition Act, international treaties and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which enshrines constitutional principles of fairness and due process," the Canadian agency said in a statement. "Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou." Meng will remain under house arrest during the extradition proceedings, as a stipulation of her bail . She must also continue to wear a GPS tracking device and be accompanied by a security detail whenever she leaves her residence. "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the U.S. charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng's case if he thought it would assist the U.S negotiations with China over a trade deal," a spokesperson for Meng's defense team said in a statement to CNBC. Story continues Huawei is one of China's biggest companies, and U.S. officials have been accusing the hardware giant which recently surpassed Apple AAPL in number of mobile phones shipped of a wide range of sanctions violations, cybercrimes and intellectual property theft for the better part of a decade. "Our client maintains that she is innocent of any wrongdoing and that the U.S. prosecution and extradition constitutes an abuse of the processes of law," Meng's defense spokesperson said. Here's the government's announcement: News release March 1, 2019 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Department of Justice Canada is a country governed by the rule of law. Extradition in Canada is guided by the Extradition Act, international treaties and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which enshrines constitutional principles of fairness and due process. Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou. The decision follows a thorough and diligent review of the evidence in this case. The Department is satisfied that the requirements set out by the Extradition Act for the issuance of an Authority to Proceed have been met and there is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision. The next step in the case is as follows: The British Columbia Supreme Court has scheduled an appearance date for March 6, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (PST) to confirm that an Authority to Proceed has been issued and to schedule the date for the extradition hearing. During the extradition hearing, the Crown will make its detailed arguments in its submissions to the Court, where evidence will be filed and become part of the public record. An extradition hearing is not a trial nor does it render a verdict of guilt or innocence. If a person is ultimately extradited from Canada to face prosecution in another country, the individual will have a trial in that country. While court proceedings are underway, Ms. Meng will remain on bail subject to her existing conditions, as set by the court. Quick facts The Authority to Proceed is the first step in the extradition process. The decision on whether to issue an Authority to Proceed was made by Department of Justice Canada officials, who are part of a non-partisan public service. The next step is the judicial phase where a judge hears the case. If the judge decides a person should be committed for extradition, then the Minister of Justice must decide if the person should be surrendered (extradited) to the requesting country. The Minister of Justice will not comment on the facts of this case given he may need to make a decision later in this process. Under the Extradition Act and the Treaty, Canada must review the alleged conduct and determine whether it could have resulted in a jail sentence of 1 year of more if it had taken place in Canada. The conduct for which extradition is sought must also be considered criminal in both the United States of America and in Canada. This is known as "dual criminality". Canada's extradition process protects the rights of the person sought by ensuring that extradition will not be granted if, among other things, it is contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the principles of fundamental justice. CNBC's Kate Fazzini contributed to this report. WATCH: The US thinks Huawei has been a massive national security threat for years Here's why More From CNBC By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government, as expected, on Friday approved extradition proceedings against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, prompting a furious reaction from China. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was detained in Vancouver last December and is under house arrest. In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Meng and Huawei with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meng is due to appear in a Vancouver court at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1800 GMT) on March 6, when a date will be set for her extradition hearing. "Today, department of Justice Canada officials issued an authority to proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou," the government said in a statement. China, whose relations with Canada have deteriorated badly over the affair, denounced the decision and repeated previous demands for Meng's release. U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said Washington thanked the Canadian government for its assistance. "We greatly appreciate Canada's steadfast commitment to the rule of law," she said in a statement. Legal experts had predicted the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would give the go-ahead for extradition proceedings, given the close judicial relationship between Canada and the United States. But it could be years before Meng is sent to the United States, since Canada's slow-moving justice system allows many decisions to be appealed. A final decision will likely come down to the federal justice minister, who will face the choice of angering the United States by rejecting the extradition bid, or China by accepting it. Professor Wesley Wark of the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs said "the Canadians will take a beating throughout this whole process" from China. "I suspect the Trudeau government is desperately hoping that the Americans reach a deal with the Chinese," he said by phone. Story continues U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in December he would intervene if it served national security interests or helped close a trade deal with China, prompting Ottawa to stress the extradition process should not be politicized. Last week Trump played down the idea of dropping the charges. After Meng's detention, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling. Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who served two postings in China, said Beijing was likely to retaliate further. "They're not going to take this lying down ... one shudders to think what the consequences could be," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, saying Beijing might crack down on Canadian canola shipments or stop Chinese students from going to Canada. Ottawa rejects Chinese calls to release Meng, saying it cannot interfere with the judiciary. "The Chinese side is utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the issuance of (the) authority to proceed," the embassy in Ottawa said in a statement. Beijing had earlier questioned the state of judicial independence in Canada, noting the government faces accusations that it tried to intervene to stop a corruption trial. Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti declined to comment. Huawei was not immediately available for comment. Meng's lawyers said they were disappointed and described the U.S. charges as politically motivated. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown and Daniel Wallis) (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Greetings from Illinois, a state that never tops the rankings of places to retire. We have one of the great American cities, but also polar vortexes and an enormous state budget deficit - and now there is renewed talk about taxing retirement income to help close the gap. Illinois is one of the few states that have an income tax but do not tax any retirement income. Two leading business groups recently renewed their calls to change that as part of broader, desperately needed fiscal reforms. The ensuing debate casts a spotlight on an important national conversation about how states should tax retirement income, if at all. The federal government taxes income from tax-deferred retirement accounts, but Social Security benefits for lower-income retirees are exempt. And taxpayers over age 65 also can take an extra deduction of $1,300 (joint filers) or $1,600 (single filers). But the policies of various states are all over the map. Data provided by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that 11 states tax some portion of Social Security benefits, usually mirroring the federal formula. Many others tax pensions and tax-deferred accounts, although some have exemptions that protect lower-income, public sector workers and military personnel. Aside from Illinois, just two other states that levy income taxes exempt all retirement income: Mississippi and Pennsylvania. PRESSING ISSUE The policy of exempting retirement income dates to a time when elderly poverty rates were much higher than they are today. As recently as 1970, almost 25 percent of Americans older than 65 lived in poverty, according to the Census Bureau; now it is around 9 percent. The federal government did not tax Social Security until the 1980s. Protecting vulnerable low- and moderate-income retirees remains an important goal, but blanket exemptions make no sense from a tax policy standpoint. Almost any economist will tell you that we should treat all income equally, said Don Boyd, co-director of the State and Local Government Finance Project at Rockefeller College at the University at Albany, State University of New York. If you have $50,000 of income, it doesnt matter if it is from a pension, dividends or wages - tax law generally doesnt make too many distinctions. Story continues Taxing retirement income will be a more pressing issue as the country ages, Boyd notes. The composition of income will change nationally as we age - there will be less wage income and more from retirement savings. And retirement income is growing much more quickly than wages. Analysis by Boyd of Internal Revenue Service data found that aggregate retirement income rose 50.3 percent from 2009 to 2016, compared with 25.9 percent growth in wage income. That means the cost of funding government will fall increasingly on a smaller share of households in states that forego taxation of retirement income. And it means that some affluent households enjoy an exemption on retirement income. According to the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, 51 percent of excluded retirement income in 2016 was associated with taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more. THE COST IN ILLINOIS In Illinois, the retirement exemption is the most expensive tax break in the state, costing $2.3 billion in fiscal 2015, according to the state Comptroller. And Illinois is on the financial ropes. The state ran budget deficits in seven of the last 11 years, and will do so again this year, according to the Civic Federation, a government watchdog group. Illinois ran up a huge mountain of unpaid bills that peaked at $16.7 billion in November 2017 and stands now at $8 billion. Then there is the Illinois pension mess. The state had five defined benefit pension systems with unfunded liabilities totaling $133.7 billion at the end of fiscal 2018, the Civic Federation reports. The funds combined funded ratio stood at 40.1 percent. The Civic Federation renewed its call this month for the state to apply the same taxation of retirement income used by the federal government. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, which represents the corporate community in the region, reiterated a similar recommendation. It called for taxing retirement income but exempting the first $15,000 in income. Illinois taxes income at a flat 4.95 percent rate, and there is a growing movement to amend the state constitution to permit graduated rates. That is the preferred approach of the states new Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, who opposes taxing retirement income. Other opponents of taxing retirement income argue that the graduated tax should come first, along with higher taxes on businesses. Lets put it all on the table, and be fair to everyone, said Bob Gallo, state director for AARP. Another argument against taxing seniors is that they will flee to lower-tax states. Anecdotal evidence aside, research on this topic analyzing actual moving patterns shows that the elderly are less likely to move than younger people, and that very few move solely because of tax burdens, Boyd said. Older people tend to be more settled in the communities where they live - that doesnt mean someone with the wherewithal to go anywhere in the country wont do that, but taxes dont affect mobility all that much. Polar vortexes are another matter entirely. (Reporting and writing by Mark Miller in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis) By Aaron Saldanha March 1 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies weakened against a firmer U.S. dollar on Friday, as traders sold Brazil's real to trim exposure ahead of market holidays next week. Brazil markets are shut Monday and Tuesday for the Carnival holidays, with trade resuming late on Ash Wednesday. The long holiday break prompted Brazilian market participants to curb their exposure while watching to see how much lawmakers may water down President Jair Bolsonaro's proposed pension system overhaul. "President Bolsonaro said at a gathering with journalists yesterday that he is willing to negotiate on pension reform," Citi Research Head of Emerging Market strategy Dirk Willer and Emerging Markets FX Strategist Kenneth Lam wrote in a note. "While concessions may increase the likelihood of passing pension reform, it is surprising that the president is signaling flexibility publicly at such an early stage of negotiations." The real was 1 percent lower, set for its biggest daily decline in more than a week. Brazilian stocks dipped 0.3 percent, as losses in financials and consumer staple shares outweighed gains among materials stocks. Latin America's biggest beverages firm, Ambev SA slid toward its lowest close in more than seven weeks, a day after flagging higher production costs in Brazil during 2019. Mexico's peso dipped 0.1 percent and was on course to post a weekly loss of about 0.8 percent. The high yield of Mexican assets has made them attractive to Japanese retail investors. Still, the peso is not without its risks, said Kota Hirayama, senior emerging markets economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, pointing to Mexico's growing fiscal deficit and concerns about state-owned oil company Pemex. Chile's peso slipped 0.1 percent, weighed on by lower prices of copper, the country's top export. Chilean shares retraced a sliver of their weekly loss but remained on track for the biggest weekly decline in a year, 3.4 percent. The local stock index has been pressured by preferred shares of lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile , which reported a disappointing fourth-quarter profit. Argentina's stocks benchmark rose 1.4 percent on broad-based gains, while the country's peso softened. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1425 GMT Stock indexes daily % Latest change MSCI Emerging Markets 1052.47 0.14 MSCI LatAm 2794.91 -0.93 Brazil Bovespa 95302.42 -0.29 Mexico IPC - - Chile IPSA 5298.77 0.21 Argentina MerVal 34974.10 1.42 Colombia IGBC - - Currencies daily % change Latest Brazil real 3.7867 -0.91 Mexico peso 19.2908 -0.07 Chile peso 656.66 -0.18 Colombia peso 3089.32 -0.29 Peru sol 3.305 -0.21 Argentina peso (interbank) 39.2400 -0.15 (Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by David Gregorio) Facebook is stepping up its emphasis on blockchain technology by posting five blockchain job listings on LinkedIn. The social media titan now has a total of 25 job listings for blockchain specialists, with the new advert requesting a production manager, business operations manager, data scientist, software engineer, and growth product manager. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shown a keen interest in blockchain technology since the turn of the year, discussing it at length in a video interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain. A use of blockchain that Ive been thinking about, though I havent figured out a way to make this work out, is around authentication and granting access to your information to different services, he said. So, replacing the notion of what we have The New York Times recently reported that Facebook is talking to cryptocurrency exchanges about the possibility of listing its own cryptocurrency. The news that one of the largest companies in the world is looking into this possibility is huge, but at the same time, it has been met with an underwhelming reaction from the cryptocurrency community. Lets look at how Facebook Coin could work and what it means. Facebook is the kind of company that cryptocurrency enthusiasts are not fond of. The mass collection of data from its users, the details of which is often hidden in the trough of terms and conditions, provides plenty of ammunition for Facebooks detractors. The centralised nature of the company is a risk for the user if Facebook is ever hacked or if it chooses to sell on your data. The rumours suggest that the Facebook Coin will be used on its WhatsApp service and could well be a stablecoin. Users will be able to send each other money much in the same way as with PayPal. Much like the recent JPM Coin announcement, it remains to be seen whether this will technically be a cryptocurrency at all, or some kind of variation. Facebook has been hiring blockchain developers at an increased rate over the past six months, so the recent update hasnt shocked the industry. How the Facebook Coin is going to work has yet to be officially announced, so this is still speculation. If you are searching for positives, then the main one to pin your hopes on is the idea that Facebooks two billion-plus customer base will be exposed to cryptocurrencies. The dark side of this notion is that they will essentially be purchasing a cryptocurrency from one of the largest corporations in the world, an idea that goes against the original Bitcoin philosophy. Many have called this announcement a game changer. Such talk is too early. Facebook Coin will not necessarily be a competitor of Bitcoin in that they will be attempting to go after two different markets. Decentralisation is the key difference here. Facebooks new coin would be akin to XRP, a centralised digital protocol that can be controlled. Ultimately, no one controls Bitcoin. Story continues If the coin does indeed come to fruition, it will most definitely cause a stir. Whilst many Bitcoiners will be agitated by the announcement, the move could end up playing into Bitcoins hands by increasing knowledge and adoption in the cryptocurrency space. The post Is the Facebook Coin on its way? appeared first on Coin Rivet. (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV on Friday reported a 2 percent fall in total February auto sales in Canada. The company, which is among the top four carmakers in the country, sold 18,461 vehicles in the month, with its Jeep brand posting about an 11 percent drop in sales. Sales in the United States also dropped 2 percent, hurt by weak demand for its Fiat 500 small city cars and Jeep Compass sport utility vehicles. (Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel) Amazon should take the HQ2 money that New York didn't want and invest it where locals do: the rural US. | Source: AP Photo / Mark Lennihan By CCN.com: The small town of Toomsboro, Georgia has been on sale for a while now and is attracting some attention after an article noted that its $1.7 million list price was comparable to the cost of a single-family home in Californias San Francisco Bay area. Given that Amazon shelved its plans for the other half of HQ2 after being kicked out of New York City, Jeff Bezos and company should take the opportunity to put their dollars to work where development is needed most: rural America. Single House in San Francisco Costs as Much as Entire Town in Rural Georgia First things first, the average price of a home in San Francisco is not $1.7 million, its $1.3 million according to Zillow. So we are talking about a house that costs more than 20% more than the mean in one of the most expensive areas in the world. Still, the minor difference between the average price of a single home in California and an entire 34-acre town in Georgia is striking. This is a perfect example of how the US has become increasingly urbanized. With all the money and investment flowing into the big cities, and young, educated workers leaving their smaller hometowns in search of a better life, rural areas have stagnated. Income and home prices relative to big cities have clearly dropped off. The change is not only in the US, as a report recently compared the regional salaries in the UK as differing by an astounding 25%. New York Exodus Gives Amazon Second Chance to Get HQ2 Right amazon hq2 alexandria ocasio-cortez If New Yorks willing to snub 25,000 well-paying jobs, Amazon should invest its money in communities that actually want it there places like rural Georgia. | Source: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP Amazons decision to put HQ2 in New York was never the right one, but not for the reasons that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other local politicians argued. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were given tax breaks or anything along those lines. Instead, it was more to do with the fact that Jeff Bezos dangled this incredible carrot in front of many cities around the US and then snatched it away. The influx of jobs and revenue would have permanently altered the economic landscape for those regions for the better. Even in a mid-sized city like Tulsa, Oklahoma the impact would have been considerable. Read the full story on CCN.com. Stanley Brand, with Akin Gump. Stanley Brand once played a pivotal role in modernizing the office of general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives. When Brand took the general counsel post in 1976 at age 28, he reported to the House clerk, and the work primarily involved reviewing contracts. But with the support of House Speaker Thomas Tip ONeill, Brand soon took the job to new levels, advising House leadership on legal issues and, when necessary, becoming a litigator. Corporate Counsel recently interviewed Brand on the role he played in the evolution of the House general counsel from contract reviewer to activist lawyer. The job helped pave the way for him to open his own boutique firm in 1984, representing defendants in some of Washingtons high-profile cases, including former White House aide George Stephanopoulos, former Rep. Tony Coelho, former House Majority Whip William Gray and former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski. Since 2015, he is senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C. Here are excerpts from the interview, edited for brevity and clarity. Corporate Counsel: How did you come to land the general counsel job at such a young age? Stanley Brand: I came to Washington in 1971 and got a job with then-Majority Whip Tip ONeill in his congressional office. I dealt with district and legislative issues, and did some speech writing. I went to law school at night, and after I graduated I went to work for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for two years as a line attorney. I was planning to join a company as an in-house lawyer or a K Street law firm that does securities work when I received a call from Tip ONeills administrative assistant, who said Tip was going to be Speaker, and hed like you to come back and work with us. Hed like you to check into the general counsels job in the clerks office. I ran into the Speaker at a party a little later and he asked if I checked the job out. I said I did, but it sounded like pretty mundane stuff. And he looked at me in that style of his, and said, Well, thats what he does. You might do more. I was intrigued, so I took the job. CC: So how did it change? SB: Lo and behold, I discovered that the clerk was at the vortex of all these legal issues in Congress that no one was paying attention to or interested in taking on. So I began doing that. There were a lot of lawyers in the House, but most worked with committees writing legislation. No one was attending to institutional legal problems of the House. CC: Can you give us some examples of the kind of issues you tackled? SB: Well, for instance, members of Congress would get subpoenas to produce records. Were those records protected by privilege? Or one committee issued a subpoena to the Department of Commerce, and I had to oppose the White House raising executive privilege to try and block it. In another case, I initiated a lawsuit through the Department of Justice to contest the state of Maryland levying income tax against members of Congress whose homes werent there, but who resided in Maryland for purposes of attending sessions. There were just a host of issues that needed lawyering. It became in a sense the attorney general of the House of Representatives, because of the role that I took and developed in litigation. I represented the House and its members in the U.S. Supreme Court several times, and in various federal districts and courts of appeal. It became a litigation office. When my deputy, Steven Ross now a partner at Akin Gump took over when I left, they recognized that the role had expanded significantly, and they formalized the change. They moved it out of the clerks office and created a separate office of general counsel under the joint leadership groupthe speaker of the House, the majority and minority leaders and the majority and minority whips. CC: Looking back, what do you think were the most significant cases you handled? SB: The most significant criminal case might have involved Henry Helstoski, a member of Congress from New Jersey who was indicted for allegedly taking bribes for introducing private immigration bills. Back then you could become a citizen, in effect, by getting someone to introduce a private bill. The question was whether using his introduction of the bills as evidence contravened the U.S. Constitutions speech and debate clause, which said senators and representatives shall not be questioned in any other forum about their speech and debates. The Supreme Court upheld the speech and debate clause, saying prosecutors couldnt use those legislative acts against him. We went in with his lawyer and moved to dismiss the case. He walked away a free man, but lost his election in the interim. CC: Were there any others? SB: One of the most momentous civil cases for the House was one involving what was called the legislative veto. Congress had increasingly relied on the legislative veto provision in certain statutes to check the bureaucracy and to stop presidential actions the majority didnt like. I was arguing for it, but the Supreme Court held in 1983 that the legislative vetoes were unconstitutional. In another significant case I defended the House chaplain against a suit by atheist Madalyn Murray OHair, who you might recall had won a Supreme Court case banning prayer in public schools. She thought the mere existence of the office of chaplain was a violation of the Constitutions Establishment Clause. I lost in front of a panel of The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that included Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the time. But I petitioned and got an en banc rehearing. Meanwhile the Supreme Court considered a parallel case in which it approved a chaplain in the state of Nebraska. The court said the framers of the Constitution themselves had a chaplain who gave an invocation just prior to adopting the First Amendment. That mooted our case. CC: Overall, were you glad you took the job? SB: It was the best job I ever had. And the most fun I ever had. It was a tremendous opportunity for me. And what made it all the more special was working for Tip ONeill. I remember I sometimes asked him what he wanted me to do, and hed say, Youre the lawyer; you tell me. His personality and demeanor and his treatment of people were so wonderful across all spectrums. He was a unique figure in history. A Bank of Ireland branch in the centre of Dublin. Pic: PA In its push to compete with newer digitally oriented competitors, Irelands largest bank this week said that it would be removing several traditional ATM services, as it works on a new version of its mobile app. Bank of Ireland said in an email to customers on Wednesday that they would no longer be able to top-up their mobile phones, pay bills, or request bank statements at ATMs. The bank said it would provide different ways for customers to access these services. It will also be cancelling some ATM-only bank cards, it said in the email. New entrants to the banking industry, such as Revolut and Germanys N26, threaten the more-established players, many of which have been slow to innovate and develop their mobile applications. Just last month, N26 became Europes most valuable fin-tech start-up when it raised $300m (230m) to fund its global expansion. Irish banks have recognised the threat and have made moves to update their digital offerings. We are working on a new Bank of Ireland App which will have more features and better security, the email to customers said. Statistics published alongside in its annual report, which said that technology was critical to Bank of Irelands growth strategy, showed that the banks existing app had more than 10 million monthly engagements in 2018, a 25% increase on 2017. It described almost 80% of its current account users as digitally active. We are replacing our core banking systems to improve efficiency and to enhance customer experience, the report said. (Bloomberg) -- Two years ago, Uber Technologies Inc. was facing the chaos of sexual harassment allegations from employees and politically fueled outrage from customers. Lyft Inc., the second-largest ride-hailing operator, took the opportunity to remind the public of its longtime marketing angle: Its a kinder and more empathetic company. Were woke, co-founder John Zimmer declared in a widely mocked interview with Time magazine in 2017. Were a better boyfriend. Now that its preparing for an initial public offering, Lyft is trying to sell new investors on a similar narrative. Its prospectus, filed Friday, doesnt include the phrases woke or better boyfriend, but it explains how cultivating an image of being attuned to social issuesor at least, more so than Uberis a business advantage. We believe many users are loyal to Lyft because of our values, brand and commitment to social responsibility, Lyft wrote in the filing. Lyfts attempt to stand out next to its much larger competitor has always involved branding and marketing. In its early days, Lyft cars sported large, fuzzy, hot-pink mustaches on the front grill, and the company encouraged riders to sit up front with the driver and exchange fist bumps. The carstaches and cheesy greetings didnt last long, but the company has held on to its pink and friendly image. In early 2017, Uber was practically drowning in bad news: employee misconduct, privacy controversies, the #DeleteUber campaign and investor lawsuits, all of which led to the resignation of its chief executive officer, Travis Kalanick. For many Americans, that meant spending more of their money with Lyft. In the first half of 2017, Lyfts revenue per active rider grew 36 percent to $25. The companys explanation for that boost points a not-so-subtle finger at Ubers near-meltdown. The growth rate in revenue per active rider increased significantly in the first and second quarters of 2017 as our brand and values continued to resonate with riders and they increased their usage of Lyft instead of competing offerings, according to the filing. The document also said Lyfts share of the U.S. ride-hailing market grew to 39 percent, from 22 percent, in the last two years. Story continues Lyft used the IPO stage as a moment to emphasize its many woke offerings: According to the filing, Lyft allows customers to round up their fares to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to charity, an effort it said has raised $10 million so far. Lyft also purchases carbon offsets to make all its rides carbon neutral. Lyft said its brand has an advantage because its authentic and would be a key driver for attracting and retaining customers going forward. As Lyft positions itself as Ubers near-equal, customers will inevitably be forced to reckon with whether the two companies are really all that different. Uber and Lyft have been subject to similar attacks on their business model, which classifies drivers as contractors and not employees. Lyft has even challenged rules that would ensure a $17 hourly minimum for drivers. The two companies are often locked in a price battle for riders and drivers who dont care about a companys brand but want the cheapest and quickest ride. If you buy Lyfts pitch, these business risks dont matter as much to an ascending generation of consumers its going after. The word millennial shows up eight times in the filing, often not far from some variation of the phrase social responsibility, which appears two dozen times. Consumers, especially millennials, are gravitating towards brands that value community engagement and embrace social and environmental responsibility, the company wrote. We believe that our brand represents freedom at your fingertips. To contact the author of this story: Ellen Huet in San Francisco at ehuet4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Emily Biuso For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Investing.com - Global index giant MSCI shares moved higher Friday, propping up financials, after raising the weight of Chinese stocks in key indexes. The company said it would raise the inclusion of China A-shares in its indexes to 20% from 5%, a move which will likely attract funds that had ignored stocks on the mainland market because of its limited weighting. MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) rose nearly 3% on the news; the shares are up nearly 29% so far in 2019. The cap will be lifted in three stages from May through August, rising to 10% in May to 15% in August and to 20% in November, the company said. Traders cheered the news as it marked another significant step to further open the mainland's equity markets to foreign investors. It comes just months after a rule change in September allowed foreign investors working on the Chinese mainland to trade in the country's A-share market. Before the reform, only foreigners with permanent residency in China had been allowed to trade freely in the A-share market. For years, China has been taking to the road to win support from the investment community to get more of its mainland shares into global stock indexes, which usually attracts billions in capital inflows. MSCI said the "strong commitment" by Chinese regulators to continue to improve market accessibility, including the "significant reduction in trading suspensions in recent months," was one of the factors that had won the support of international institutional investors. The increased weighting has led some to speculate that this is far from a one-and-done move, but MSCI said in a statement that further increases beyond the 20% cap would require Chinese authorities to address key issues of market accessibility. Related Articles KLM boss seeks to ease airline row under mocking gaze of Ryanair Former Barclays executive felt sick over 2008 Qatar deal, court hears Israel stocks lower at close of trade; TA 35 down 0.30% (Adds detail) LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said the substance of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal with the European Union needs to change, particularly on the issue of the Northern Irish backstop, though the means to achieve that is less important. With just 28 days until Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, May is still seeking changes to her Brexit deal in order to win the backing of parliament. Under pressure from pro-EU ministers, earlier this week she promised lawmakers they would get a say over whether to seek an extension to the Article 50 exit negotiation period if her Brexit deal and a 'no deal' were rejected this month. "The reality is the substance, rather than the vehicle or the means or the label, is what matters and we need to see substantial, substantive, legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement," Raab told BBC radio on Friday. "The most obvious specific change is the ability to exit the backstop, whether through a sunset or a time frame or a mechanism, that allows us to be confident that we go into the end of 2021 knowing we're free of the backstop," he said referring to an insurance policy which aims to avoid the return of a physical border on the island of Ireland. Raab, who resigned in November, said delaying Brexit would weaken the UK's leverage in negotiations with the EU. He said 'no deal' was preferable to a delay, though he added: "There might be a case...(for) a short delay of a couple of weeks if we needed to get the legislation through." On Wednesday Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Brexiteer in Britains parliament said he could support the government's divorce deal if there was a time limit on the backstop. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alistair Smout) (Adds details, context) By Adriana Barrera and Dave Graham MEXICO CITY, March 1 (Reuters) - Mexico's government on Friday threatened to slap duties on new U.S. products in retaliation for the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs as it seeks to turn up pressure on Washington to exempt it from the measures. U.S. President Donald Trump set tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum in June, causing Mexico and other trade partners to hit back. One of the United States' three biggest trading partners, Mexico has consistently argued that the tariffs only damage commerce in North America and should be withdrawn. Mexican Deputy Economy Minister Luz Maria de la Mora told Reuters in an interview that if the U.S. government did not repeal the tariffs, her government would have a revamped list in its "carousel" of U.S. targets ready in about two months. "We're carrying out an evaluation, and there are products from the agricultural sector, we're probably going to bring in some new ones and take some others out, as well as in the industrial sector and the steel industry," de la Mora said. The value of the goods targeted under the list would remain equivalent to the impact of the Trump tariffs, de la Mora said, estimating the damage they caused at $2.7 billion. Mexico's previous government wasted little time in retaliating against the metal tariffs, slapping measures on products ranging from pork legs and apples to cheese and bourbon as well as various steel products. Even if the value of the goods targeted by Mexico would remain the same, swapping in new products could encourage more U.S. businesses to lobby Washington against Trump's tariffs. The new Mexican government of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December, and de la Mora said the country would continue to reject Trump's measures. "We should not fall into this protectionist trap," said de la Mora, who brought years of experience working in international trade for the Mexican government to the post. Noting that Trump had tried to use the metal tariffs as leverage during the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), de la Mora said that given that a new deal had been reached last year, the argument was now void. "Mexico is not a national security threat for the United States," she said. "This is really important; it really needs to be understood that Mexico is a partner, Mexico is an ally." (Reporting by Dave Graham and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and James Dalgleish) MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), one of the largest providers of indexes used by issuers of exchange traded funds, said Thursday it will increase the weight of China A-shares stocks in its indexes from 5 percent to 20 percent in a three-step process. By the end of this year, the widely followed MSCI Emerging Markets Index could see its A-shares exposure increase from 0.7 percent to 3.3 percent. What Happened Last year, MSCI made the decision to include A-shares the stocks trading on mainland China exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen in its international benchmarks. MSCI's decision follows an extensive global consultation with a large number of international institutional investors, including asset owners, asset managers, broker-dealers and other market participants worldwide, said MSCI. The proposal to increase the weight of China A shares garnered overwhelming support from investors. Why It's Important MSCI's decision could spark up to $80 billion of inflows from foreign investors' A-shares stocks, according to Reuters. Active fund managers that benchmark to MSCI indexes will also need to buy more A-shares as the asset class's profile increases in those indexes. Several A-shares ETFs trading in New York could benefit from those themes, but perhaps none more than the KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A Share ETF (NYSE: KBA). KBA follows the MSCI China A Inclusion Index, a benchmark specifically designed for the MSCI A-shares inclusion process. Investors are catching on. In late December 2018, KBA had $304 million in assets under management, a total that has swelled to $405.21 million as of Feb. 27. KBA is home to many of the stocks that are already or will be included in MSCI's A-shares inclusion process. What's Next On completion of this three-step implementation, there will be 253 large- and 168 mid-cap China A shares, including 27 ChiNext shares,on a pro forma basis in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, representing a weight of 3.3 percent in the pro forma index, according to MSCI. Story continues As of the end of 2018, about 98 percent of KBA's holdings were large- and mid-cap stocks. KBA is up 24.61 percent this year. Related Links: A Marvelous Mobile Payments ETF An Aging Population ETF Idea See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that North Korea had a bright economic future if the two countries made a deal, but did not have any economic future with nuclear weapons. "North Korea has an incredible, brilliant economic future if they make a deal, but they don't have any economic future if they have nuclear weapons," Trump said at a Conservative Political Action Conference. He added that the relationship with North Korea seemed to be "very, very strong." (Reporting by Steve Holland and Katanga Johnson; Editing by David Gregorio) (Recasts with Indian minister's comments) By Abu Arqam Naqash and Fayaz Bukhari MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan/SRINAGAR, India March 2 (Reuters) - A top Indian minister said on Saturday the government would not share proof that "a very large number" of militants were killed in air strikes inside Pakistan this week, after doubts were raised there were any casualties in the attack that stoked tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. The flare up appeared to be easing on Saturday after Pakistan handed back a captured Indian fighter pilot on Friday night, amid efforts by global powers to prevent another war between the arch enemies. However shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) that acts as a de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, a frequent feature in recent weeks, continued, said military officials on both sides. Hostilities escalated rapidly following a suicide car bombing on Feb. 14 that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of harbouring the Jaish-e Mohammad Islamist group that claimed the bombing. Indian warplanes carried out air strikes on Tuesday inside northeast Pakistan's Balakot on what New Delhi called militant camps. Islamabad denied any such camps existed, as did local villagers in the area when Reuters visited. [nL3N20N5E6 Nevertheless, Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday with its own aerial mission. Pakistan said the Indian bombs hit a largely empty hillside without hurting anyone. Some Indian opposition leaders have asked the government to share evidence of the strikes. But India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's top lieutenants, said "no security agencies ever share operational details". "It's a very irresponsible stand," Jaitley said at a conference organised by the India Today media group. "The armed forces must have, and our security and intelligence agencies must have, a full leeway in dealing with situations, and if anybody wants operational details to be made public ... he certainly does not understand the system." Indian Air Force officials said earlier it was up to the political leaders to decide when and how to release evidence of the Balakot strike. Story continues Jaitley dismissed suggestions that the rapid escalation in tensions with Pakistan had anything to do with India's domestic politics ahead of a general election due by May. Pollsters expect the ruling party to benefit from the nationalistic passion sweeping the country. PILOT WALKS ACROSS THE BORDER Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who became the face and symbol of the biggest clash between India and Pakistan in many years, walked across the border just before 9 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Friday in a high-profile handover shown on live television. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met him at a New Delhi defence hospital on Saturday, where he was seen in his air force jumpsuit. He will undergo medical checks before re-joining active duty, officials said. Pakistan's military said on Saturday its air force and navy "continue to be alert and vigilant", while two of its soldiers were killed after exchanging fire with Indian troops along the LoC. India's military said that Pakistan was firing mortar shells across the LoC. Pakistan touted Abhinandan's return as "as a goodwill gesture aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India" after weeks of unease that threatened to spiral into war. Global powers, including China and the United States, have urged restraint to prevent another conflict between the neighbours who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistani leaders say the ball is now in India's court to de-escalate the tensions, though the Pakistani army chief told top military leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia on Friday that his country would "surely respond to any aggression in self-defence". On a visit to Jammu and Kashmir state on Saturday, India's army chief asked soldiers to remain vigilant to "counter the nefarious designs of the enemy and anti-national elements". (Additional reporting by Saad Sayeed; Writing by Drazen Jorgic and Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ros Russell) (Adds details on re-routed flights, disruption) ISLAMABAD, March 1 (Reuters) - Four Pakistani airports were beginning partial operations on Friday and they will fully resume commercial flights on Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority said, after airports were closed when military tensions with India erupted earlier this week. Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta airports were resuming some flights on Friday, with the remainder opening next week, a spokeswoman said. Airspace for all commercial flights would be re-opened on Monday at 1:00 p.m. (0800 GMT), she said. The re-opening of Pakistani airspace came amid signs the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours was cooling. On Friday, Pakistan handed back to India a pilot who was captured after his MiG-21 jet was shot down by a Pakistani fighter during an aerial clash over the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday. The airspace closure disrupted not just Pakistan's air transport but flights worldwide as airlines were forced to cancel or reroute flights to other destinations that pass over Pakistan. Flights between Asia and Europe were severely affected, with thousands of passengers stranded, although airlines were later able to reroute many flights through China that normally pass over Pakistan. Flights from Singapore to Europe that usually cross Pakistan and Afghanistan, for example, were re-routed westwards over Oman, adding over an hour's flying time and higher fuel costs. Iran also saw heavier use of its airspace, officials said. Pan-European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said a total of 400 flights had been affected, with especially severe impact on Georgia and Azerbaijan and some effect on Poland. (Reporting by Asif Shahzad Additional reporting by Tim Hepher Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Frances Kerry) Events The School of Law of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), is pleased to announce that Second IP Researchers Europe Conference (IPRE), which will take place in Geneva onat WIPO and onat WTO. IPRE is an initiative created in 2018 to bring together IP researchers to discuss their scholarship in Geneva, the home of many international institutions. IPRE seeks to feature primarily European-focused or Europe-based IP research, but all researchers writing on IP law-related issues in European, International, and Comparative law are welcome to apply to present. As in 2018, the Second IPRE will be linked to theand the will offer a limited number of scholarships to cover parts of the costs of selected presenters, with particular attention to presenters from countries from the European region (non-EU) with economies in transition. Instructions to the Second IPRE are specified on the Conference website here Interested in injunctions in patent cases? Then you may want to attend organised by LMU and to be held in Munich on 4 and 5 April 2019 . According to the traditional doctrine in many continental European jurisdictions, the patent owner has an unqualified right to an injunction in the case of an infringement. In US law, on the contrary, in the aftermath of Men monitor stock prices during a trading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in Islamabad, Pakistan December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Pakistan's dollar-denominated sovereign bonds fell on Wednesday after Pakistan said it shot down two Indian jets, escalating conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Bonds maturing in 2027 and 2036 dropped, with the 2036 issue down 2.4 cents according to Tradeweb data. (Reporting By Tom Arnold; editing by Marc Jones) Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran is dead-set against rent control. The Shark Tank investor recently railed against a new law that is set to pass in Oregon, which would impose mandatory rent controls on the entire state. Let me tell you, they're out of their mind, Corcoran told Yahoo Finances On The Move. Theyre nuts to even contemplate it, and to pass it. I couldn't believe when I heard that news. The legislation will prohibit landlords from ending month-to-month leases without cause after 12 months of occupancy and limit rent increases to once a year. Rent increases are confined to 7% above the annual change in the consumer price index. Also, Landlords can only terminate agreements after giving a written notice to the tenant 90 days in advance, and paying the tenant back for one months rent. Corcoran said the law wont incentivize landlords to keep their property in good shape which could lead to the neighborhoods decline. Portland, Oregon is one of the most expensive metro areas if you're buying a home. (Graphic: David Foster) I moved into New York City when rent control first came out the first year, Corcoran recalled, and I watched good decent middle class neighborhoods decay at the core, because they overlooked one little detail. What landlord wants to continue to put money into his properties and I know, I'm a landlord when you can't meet your expenses? She said everyone has an ideal scenario of how rent control would play out, but give it five years, and the detrimental effects would start to show. The rent control rules have been proposed to address a worsening housing shortage in Oregon. In the map below, Oregons largest city of Portland is facing a shortage in all of its counties, particularly for people below the median income range. Oregon is facing a shortage of affordable housing. (Source: Oregon's Urban Land Institute) They're short sighted. I'm sure everybody's feeling really good about protecting everybody on that, said Corcoran. But wait five years. She also said of the states additional idea of converting areas that are permitted to only have single-family homes to now be allowed multi-family housing and duplexes, predicting that it wont go over. No matter how you look at it, makes no common sense, said Corcoran. Landlords are going to sell their property for less. The value is going to top off on investment in the state. They're silly to even think about it. Story continues Aarthi is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami. Read more: Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. Photo credit: Michael Stillwell From Popular Mechanics A new year means new sci-fi, and there's lots to be excited about. Whether you're into superheroes, kaiju, evil robots, or a galaxy far, far away, 2019 has a little bit of everything. Here are all the films for every sci-fi fan to keep in mind, along with some preliminary expectations for the film. We'll update this list with our thoughts when films release and when more are announced for the 2019 calendar year. Get ready to spend some time at the movies. Replicas Release: January 11, 2019 Verdict: Skip Seems like there was something behind those numerous delays. This latest sci-fi flick starring Keanu Reeves comes with an interesting premise that dissolves into a lackluster story. Unless you have a love for bad films, this one is definitely worth avoiding. IO Release: January 18, 2019 (on Netflix only) Verdict: Skip It's a familiar story. Earth is toxic because of humanity's inability to save its celestial home, now surviving humans, living after near-complete environmental collapse, are going to try their luck on IO, Jupiter's fifth moon. Sadly, the film doesn't deliver on its interesting central theme, leaving behind a film that feels half-baked at best. Glass Release: January 18, 2019 Verdict: Maybe In 2016, M. Night Shyamalan released Split, an unassuming psychological thriller starring James McAvoy as a recluse suffering from split personality disorder. But what appeared to be a solid horror film doubled as a surprise sequel to Shyamalan's Unbreakable, a film made 16 years prior. Shyamalan, true to form, makes some surprising twists and turns for a horror film that keeps you engaged. If you haven't seen the first two films, this one won't offer you much, but it's a fitting ending to one of Hollywood's weirdest superhero franchises. Alita: Battle Angel Release: February 14, 2018 Verdict: Maybe Based on a manga of the same name (sort of), Alita: Battle Angel is unlike anything we've seen before. Weirdly huge eyes aside, this Robert Rodriguez feature is chock-full of emotion and action in equal measure. Hollywood isn't the best at adapting manga, and Alita is a valiant effort, but much like sci-fi films Valerian and Ghost in the Shell, Alita seems to be more interested in selling dazzling special effects than a deeply engaging story. Story continues Captain Marvel Release: March 8, 2019 Verdict: Maybe Caught in a Kree explosion, Carol Danvers is bestowed awesome powers, transforming into Ms. Marvel but known in today's comic circles as Captain Marvel. Brie Larson plays the role of this souped-up superhuman in the character's first Marvel appearance, though she's already slated to joined the cast in Avengers: Endgame. As with so, so, so many Marvel films before, you can be confident this one will be interesting but you have to be fully onboard the Marvel train to get the most out of it. Captive State Release: March 29, 2019 Verdict: Skip Most alien invasion movies focus on the invasion part, but what happens after humans have been subjugated? Captive State answers the question by setting up a world already a decade deep into its otherworldly occupation. While the film's premise is interesting (and John Goodman is great), the film doesn't nail the execution and comes off as a low-budget sci-fi flick that doesn't have enough fun with the material. Shazam! Release: April 5, 2019 Verdict: Must Watch Also known as Captain Marvel but from an entirely separate publishing company, Billy Batson's alter ego, summoned by the word "Shazam!" isn't your standard DC film fare. Where Superman and Batman are dark and brooding (and don't get us started on the Justice League), Shazam! is the exact opposite. Billed more like a coming-of-age story than your typical superhero yarn, Shazam! breaks the DC molda mold that's definitely worth breaking. High Life Release: April 12, 2019 Verdict: Must Watch It's worth watching almost anything made by A24, including High Life. In this creepy sci-fi adventure, prisoners are sent adrift into deep space and are also experimented on in...interesting...ways. Just the amazing atmosphere and acting in this film makes it worthwhile. Hellboy Release: April 12, 2019 Verdict: Skip It's not a reboot anyone asked for, but Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic is more than worth the revisit. This film was originally conceived as a sequel to Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy: The Golden Army, but creative differences morphed into a reboot with a new director (Neil Marshall) and a new Hellboy (David Harbour). But this reboot fails to live up to the original, missing a lot of the greatness that made the original so wonderful to watch. We'll stick del Toro's version. Avengers: Endgame Release: April 26, 2019 Verdict: Must watch Well, it's all come down to this. After the stunning events of Avengers: Infinity War, our heroes continue the fight against Thanos. Will they be successful? (Comics history would suggest yes). This one is worth the watch just for the spectacle of it alleven if you're not partial to drawn-out displays of superheroics. Detective Pikachu Release: May 10, 2019 Verdict: Must watch It's just weird enough to be good. Godzilla: King of Monsters Release: May 31, 2019 Verdict: Skip Five years after Gareth Edwards's Godzilla, the King of Monsters returns. While the original reboot film had some bright spots, it ultimately collapsed under a sloppy script and a weak connection to its more human elements. King of Monsters doesn't help things with some eye-rolling plot details and poor acting. Hollywood just can't seem to get this irradiated lizard right. X-Men: Dark Phoenix Release: June 7, 2019 Verdict: Skip X-Men: Dark Phoenix is a follow-up to 2016s X-Men: Apocalypse, which was a rare miss for the mutant franchise. Phoenix deals with Jean Greys cosmic dark side while trying to avoid the shortcomings that doomed X-Men: The Last Standit doesn't succeed. Men in Black: International Release date: June 14, 2019 Verdict: Skip A fourth MiB film isn't exactly what the world needs right now, but 2012's Men in Black 3 was just good enough (thanks Josh Brolin) to keep us interested in the franchise. Considering this one stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Liam Neeson, MiB: International looks like a worthwhile watch but really it just reminded us that MiB might be running out of good ideas. Spider-Man: Far From Home Release: July 5, 2019 Verdict: Must watch Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of our favorite superhero movies in recent memory. Tom Holland finally delivers a pitch-perfect Peter Parker, and its follow up measures up to the original. It doesn't quite have the newness of Homecoming that made it so exciting, but Far From Home continues to make the case that this is the very best Spider-Man franchise. Ad Astra Photo credit: 20th Century Fox Release: September 20, 2019 Preliminary verdict: Must Watch Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) wants to figure out why his father's mission to find extra-terrestrial life on Neptune failed, setting the stage for the main events of Ad Astra. With not a lot of hard science fiction coming out this year, we'd recommend this film on just that alone. Luckily, it's also pretty good. Joker Release: October 4, 2019 Verdict: Maybe Finding a replacement for Heath Ledger's Joker is an impossible task, but if you had to find someone to match Ledger's impressive creep factor, Joaquin Phoenix would be at the top of our list. Following in the footsteps of superhero films like Logan, Joker doesn't really seem like a "superhero film" as it deals with much more realistic issues (i.e. the importance of mental health care). But despite Phoenix's great performance, the storytelling is a bit sloppy. It's likely worth a good Netflix stream in a few months. Gemini Man Photo credit: Skydance Release: October 4, 2019 Verdict: Skip With a bit of Looper tossed in, Gemini Man follows Henry Brogen (Will Smith) as an aging assassin who must survive an encounter with his most deadly enemyhimself. While it has some interesting ideas, Gemini Man doesn't quite live up to its interesting premise. Terminator: Dark Fate Photo credit: Orion Pictures Release: November 1, 2019 Preliminary verdict: Here we go again ... We have absolutely no idea what's going with this franchise anymore, but Terminator 6 has going for it what other sequels post-T2 don'tJames Cameron is involved. With director Tim Miller, Cameron helped develop the story and will be on board as producer. Hopefully Cameron and Miller can help clean up this mess. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Photo credit: Lucasfilm Release: December 20, 2019 Preliminary verdict: Must watch Saving the big boy for last. After a tumultuous year with The Last Jedi (which we loved) and Solo (which we didn't love), Disney has given the franchise back to J. J. Abrams in hopes of righting the ship. This new era of Star Wars doesn't quite live up to its original trilogy, but new Star Wars is new Star Wars. We're in theater opening night. Delayed Until 2020 Chaos Walking Photo credit: Lionsgate Release: 2020 Preliminary Verdict: Looks promising Based on Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go, Chaos Walking has the trappings of other YA novels that have been less than enthusiastically received (i.e. Divergent and Maze Runner). But with producers like Robert Zemeckis and leads like Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, this one just might turn out differently. A post-apocalyptic tale where only men have survived a deadly disease, the hero Tom Hewitt discovers that things aren't what they seem when he stumbles upon Viola Eade (Daisy Ridley). We're intrigued. The New Mutants Release: August 2, 2019 Preliminary Verdict: Looks promising Not that we need another superhero movie or anything, but The New Mutants at least looks like a refreshing take on the genre, mostly taking place inside an insane asylum (from what we can tell from the trailer). In the world of comic films, the X-Men have always been slightly more competent at making something worth watching, especially when compared to DC films. Fingers crossed that the mutants can strike gold again with The New Mutants. Sonic the Hedgehog Release: 2020 Preliminary verdict: Looks promising If you, like us, grew up playing your Sega Genesis every day between the hours of 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., then you likely have an affinity for the consoles flagship character and his friends, and so will happily see how they translate to the big screen despite your evolution into adulthood, and theirs into CG, when Sonic the Hedgehog hits theaters on November 8. But if youre still wavering, dont let the snark kings on your social feed sway you into skipping Sonic just yet. Here are five reasons why this strange, possibly misguided movie could be much better than everyone thinks. You Might Also Like TULSA, Okla., March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SemGroup Corporation (SEMG) is scheduled to attend the Barclays Midstream Corporate Access Day in New York City on Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 6. SemGroup Chief Financial Officer Bob Fitzgerald will participate in one-on-one meetings with members of the investment community. The presentation materials will be accessible the day of the event in the investor relations section of the SemGroup website at www.semgroup.com . About SemGroup SemGroup Corporation (SEMG) moves energy across North America through a network of pipelines, processing plants, refinery-connected storage facilities and deep-water marine terminals with import and export capabilities. SemGroup serves as a versatile connection between upstream oil and gas producers and downstream refiners and end users. Key areas of operation and growth include western Canada, the Mid-Continent and the Gulf Coast. SemGroup is committed to safe, environmentally sound operations. Headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., the company has additional offices in Calgary, Alberta; Denver, Colo.; and Houston, Texas. SemGroup uses its Investor Relations website and social media outlets as channels of distribution of material company information. Such information is routinely posted and accessible on our Investor Relations website at www.semgroup.com , our Twitter account and LinkedIn account. Investor Relations: Kevin Greenwell 918-524-8081 investor.relations@semgroupcorp.com Torrevieja beach in Valencia region of Spain. Photo: NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images Spain has confirmed it will grant British people the right to live permanently in the country even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. A Spanish draft decree published on Friday gives UK passport holders the right to stay under a no-deal scenario if they hold a certificate of residency or are seeking to obtain one, according to Reuters. British nationals would be given until the end of 2020 to apply for an identity card giving them a permanent right to stay in Spain. This process will be nearly automatic for those with permanent residency already. The estimated 400,000 Brits living in Spain will be relieved at the news, with considerable uncertainty for the past two years as Britains departure from the EU edges closer. READ MORE: How the rest of Europe is bracing itself for no-deal Spain has one of the largest British-born populations anywhere in the world. More than 300,000 British citizens are registered in the country, and many more are unregistered. The measures would only be offered if the UK gave the same rights to Spanish nationals currently in the UK. Our main objective is that no British or Spanish citizen is left unprotected, neither they nor their relatives, said foreign Minister Josep Borrell, Reuters reports. But Spanish migration statistics suggest some British residents have packed their bags since the Brexit vote. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reports that a drop-off in numbers of registered Brits in the country has been particularly severe in Valencia over the past five years, a longstanding popular location for British migrants. Many Brits may be grappling with their identity as they decide whether to stay and apply for residency or citizenship, according to Katy Hall, an academic at Birmingham University who has researched British migration to Spain. Brexit has fragmented a previously strong and cohesive British community in Spain, she wrote last year. The majority of older British people in Spain retain a close allegiance with their British identity and are left reeling from the results of a vote that many of them had no say in. President Donald Trump had "the absolute right" to order that his son-in-law Jared Kushner be given top-secret security clearance over White House concerns if that happened Trump's senior advisor Kellyanne Conway said. The New York Times reported that Trump last May ordered his then-chief of staff John Kelly to give his senior advisor Kushner a top-secret security clearance. Kushner's clearance was objected to by White House counsel Donald McGahn, and was the subject of concern among intelligence agencies. President Donald Trump had "the absolute right" to order that his son-in-law Jared Kushner be given a top-secret security clearance over White House concerns if that is in fact what happened Trump's senior advisor Kellyanne Conway said Friday. Also Friday, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sent a letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone demanding "full and immediate compliance" with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee 's pending request for document and witness interviews about the circumstances of Kushner's security clearance. "Today, I am writing in light of grave new reports thatjust eight days after the Committee launched this investigationPresident Trump may have falsely claimed that he played no role in the security clearance process," wrote Cummings, the committee's chairman. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Trump last May ordered his then-chief of staff John Kelly to give Kushner, himself a senior Trump advisor, a top-secret security clearance despite objections from White House counsel Donald McGahn and worries about Kushner from the CIA. The Times report contradicts repeated denials by Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump Kushner's wife that the president did not order aides to give Kushner that level of security clearance after sustained concerns about him from intelligence agencies. In his letter to Cipollone, Cummings wrote, "If true, these new reports raise grave questions about what derogatory information career officials obtained about Mr. Kushner to recommend denying him access to our nation's most sensitive secrets, why President Trump concealed his role in overruling that recommendation, why General Kelly and Mr. McGahn both felt compelled to document these actions, and why your office is continuing to withhold key documents and witnesses from this Committee." Story continues Kushner's clearance was delayed for more than a year because of questions about his "foreign and business contacts, including those related to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Russia," the Times reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the situation. Conway on Friday would not address whether the Times report was accurate. "We don't discuss security clearances," she said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, echoing Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, despite Trump and Ivanka Trump's own comments on Kushner's clearance. "But the president has the absolute right to do what was described," Conway said. Conway added, "We don't as a White House generally comment on security clearances ... If Ivanka chose to comment she probably has knowledge that we don't have so she has the right to do that." A spokesman for Kushner's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told NBC News that in 2018 White House and officials responsible for security clearances said "that Mr. Kushner's security clearance was handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone." "That was conveyed to the media at the time," said spokesman Peter Mirijanian. "And new stories, if accurate, do not change what was affirmed at the time," referring to what the White House and security officials had claimed. More From CNBC The Mythical Cycle of Violence By David Stolinsky. February 28th, 2019 Original Source Leftists and pacifists who oppose Americas efforts to stop terrorism endlessly proclaim, Stop the cycle of violence. They say the same thing when police arrest known gang members. And they say the same thing when a kid confronts a bully in the schoolyard. This is a control fantasy: We are in control, so if we do nothing, the violence will end. There is no evidence for this illogical notion, which implies that violence is caused equally by both sides. If we are as guilty as terrorists and criminals, we have no reason to be angry, and no justification to react. In other words, blame the victims. The end result of Stop the cycle of violence is that we do nothing, while our enemies continue to slaughter innocent men, women, and children. This result will surely please our enemies. But is there really a cycle of violence? Consider: ....... David Stolinsky takes a look at violence in its various forms, particularly focusing on terrorism but also including aspects of self defense. Pacifism - doing nothing - does little to appease those intent on violence but sometimes it would seem lessons are not learned, over and over. Back to Top Trump Should Worry About the Southern District of New York More Than Mueller, Christie Says Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the Southern District of New York presents more of a problem and a threat to President Donald Trump than special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. While Mueller can only investigate potential collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, the SDNY has no limit to the scope of what they can investigate. I always said that Bob Mueller is not what should concern the President or the White House. Thats the Southern District of New York, said Christie, speaking to CNNs Chris Cuomo Thursday night. Aside from the lack of limitations, Christie said the SDNY could benefit from Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Trumps deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, both of whom could act as tour guides through Trumps business and personal life. When testifying before Congress this week, Cohen said he couldnt discuss certain subjects in regards to Trumps alleged wrongdoing due to ongoing SDNY investigations. He added that hes in constant contact with the office regarding these investigations. Christie said that while he doesnt believe the SDNY has a case against Trump at the moment, theyre very likely building a case against those around him. They could also be building a case against Trump for when he leaves office, but the statute of limitations is likely to be up for many of these charges, said Christie. The fight thats going to happen now, I think, is between Congress and the Southern District of New York, said Christie, arguing that Congress is going to want to interrogate more of Trumps associates, including his children and Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of The Trump Organization. These people could negotiate for immunity in exchange for speaking to Congress. The Southern District of New York, I can guarantee, is not going to want that, said Christie. Theyre trying to build a case. Guaido has met with several Latin American leaders over the past week, in an attempt to shore up diplomatic pressure against Maduro's embattled administration. Venezuela is in the midst of the Western Hemisphere's worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory. Guaido said on Thursday that he and his family had recently received threats of imprisonment. Venezuela 's opposition leader Juan Guaido has promised to return to Caracas over the coming days, despite threats from the government of President Nicolas Maduro . Speaking alongside Brazil 's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro at a press conference in Brasilia on Thursday, Venezuela's Guaido urged the international community to enforce economic sanctions against Maduro "so that everything is not robbed in Venezuela." Guaido has met with several Latin American leaders over the past week, in an attempt to shore up diplomatic pressure against Maduro's embattled administration. The leader of the country's National Assembly said the purpose of his regional tour was to discuss the best course of action to defeat Maduro's regime and to prepare for the country's reconstruction. When asked whether he was worried about his safety on returning to Venezuela, Guaido told reporters at the press conference in Brasilia: "Of course, it is a risk even life threatening." 'Peaceful restoration' Venezuela is in the midst of the Western Hemisphere's worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory . On Saturday, at least three people were killed and hundreds more were left injured, Reuters reported, as opposition activists tried to defy a government ban to bring food supplies, hygiene kits and nutritional supplements into the country. The aid showdown between opposition activists and security forces loyal to Maduro took place exactly one month to the day after Guaido invoked constitutional provisions to declare himself as the country's rightful interim president . Story continues More than 50 countries, including the U.S. and most Latin American and European countries, have since recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader. It has thrust the oil-rich, but cash-poor, country into uncharted territory whereby it now has an internationally-recognized government, with no control over state functions, running parallel to Maduro. Guaido said on Thursday that he and his family had recently received threats of imprisonment. It follows an order from Venezuela's Supreme Court that he should not leave the country pending an investigation. However, Guaido insisted he would to return to Caracas over the weekend. The United States has said it is still working on plans to get humanitarian aid delivered to Venezuela, as the crisis-stricken country continues to suffer from chronic shortages of basic products such as food and medicine. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that Washington would "take action against those who oppose the peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela." Tweet 1 More From CNBC (Adds remarks by Guaido) ASUNCION, March 1 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, visiting Paraguay on Friday to raise support for a change of government in his country, said that 600 members of the military have abandoned the government of Nicolas Maduro in recent days. Guaido, head of Venezuela's National Assembly, has invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent. Guaido has since been recognized by most Western nations as the rightful leader of Venezuela. "In the next few hours we will announce new protest marches," Guaido said at a news conference after meeting with Paraguayan leader Mario Abdo, who received the opposition figure as a head of state. "We have spoken clearly to the Armed Forces of Venezuela. They have seen more than 600 officers in recent days switch to side with the Constitution," he added. "There is a very clear process of transition to democracy." (Reporting by Daniela Desantis in Asuncion Writing by Hugh Bronstein Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew Lewis) Rose Blumkin was a retail legend but she was probably more famous as the entrepreneur who billionaire investor Warren Buffett still likes to refer to as a model for aspiring business managers everywhere to follow. The Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A chief recalls the late Blumkin as a "marvelous, marvelous woman." She was born on Dec. 3, 1893, in a Russian village near Minsk and immigrated to America when she was in her 20s. "She couldn't speak a word of English" when she arrived in Omaha, Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick this week. But Blumkin took a modest investment "and turned it into the largest home furnishings store" in the country, he added. Blumkin, known as "Mrs. B.," was in her mid-40s when started Nebraska Furniture Mart in the basement of her husband's shop in downtown Omaha in 1937 with $500. Over the next four-plus decades, she turned NFM into a juggernaut that drew Buffett's attention. In 1983, he bought Blumkin's store in a $60 million deal that made it part of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett said the transaction was sealed with a simple handshake. "We did not get an audit. We did not look at the property records. I just said, 'Mrs. B. do you owe any money' and she says 'no' and that was it." "I felt like I had the Bank of England on the other side," the 88-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" said in testament to her hard-driving nature. After selling to Berkshire, Blumkin continued to work at NFM. But, according to her obituary in The New York Times , she left six years later when she was 95 because she felt frozen out as her grandchildren became more involved in the business. She then started a rival store, Mrs. B.'s Clearance and Factory Outlet, across the street from the Furniture Mart, the Times reported. The family rift was later mended and Berkshire bought the Outlet in 1992, the paper said, adding Buffett later joked that it had been a mistake to let Blumkin leave without signing a noncompete agreement. Story continues Blumkin retired from NFM when she was 103. "That's sort of a yardstick we use now on retirement," Buffett quipped. She died in 1998 at age 104. 'Absorb Mrs. B's lessons' Buffett has referred to Blumkin throughout the years as someone others should try to emulate. In a letter to Berkshire shareholders in 2013, Buffett wrote, "Aspiring business managers should look hard at the plain, but rare, attributes that produced Mrs. B.'s incredible success. Students from 40 universities visit me every year, and I have them start the day with a visit to NFM. If they absorb Mrs. B.'s lessons, they need none from me." Blumkin "never went to school a day in her life," Buffett said with awe on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this week. "[And] when the family sat down for dinner, they sang 'God Bless America' before eating. It's an incredible story." According to the Times, shortly after the acquisition, Buffett said in 1984: ''Put her up against the top graduates of the top business schools or chief executives of the Fortune 500 and, assuming an even start with the same resources, she'd run rings around them." That's high praise from the world's third-richest man, with a net worth of $83.1 billion, according to Forbes . Nebraska Furniture Mart is a part of Berkshire Hathaway's larger retail portfolio. While Berkshire does not separate out the performance of specific businesses, its retailing group saw revenues of $15.6 billion in 2018, a 3.6 percent increase from 2017. NFM now operates its business from three large retail complexes in Omaha, Kansas City, Kansas, and a suburb of Dallas totaling about 1.5 million square feet of retail space. The company also owns Des Moines, Iowa-based Homemakers Furniture, a chain with about 215,000 square feet of retail space and 4,633 employees at multiple locations, according to Berkshire's 2018 annual report . More From CNBC Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday he's entering the 2020 presidential race as a climate change crusader, joining a crowded field of other Democratic contenders. "I'm running for president because I'm the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation's number one priority," Inslee said in a video released Friday. But he faces risk as recent polls show the climate issue ranks near the bottom as a priority for adult Americans. Inslee is expected to make the White House bid official during an event Friday morning at a Seattle-area solar installation company. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday he's entering the 2020 presidential race as a climate change crusader but he's facing risk given polls show the issue ranks near the bottom as an issue priority for adult Americans. "I'm running for president because I'm the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation's number one priority," Inslee said in a video released Friday. Inslee, 68, joins a crowded field of Democratic contenders who have announced or are considering running for president. He is the first governor enter the 2020 Democratic presidential contest while another Western governor also is considering a run Montana Gov. Steve Bullock . In a Morning Consult survey last month, Inslee ranked 21st among Democratic primary voters. He was below Bullock and another potential contender, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Inslee has openly discussed his interest in a White House run for many months and from the start focused on climate change. The Democrat has already visited key early states, including Iowa and New Hampshire. "We're the first generation to feel the sting of climate change," Inslee said in Friday's video. "And we're the last that can do something about it." The Washington governor is expected to make the White House bid official during an event Friday morning at a Seattle-area solar installation company. In a release, his campaign said Inslee's policies have helped "grow Washington's clean energy economy" and include signing a solar incentive jobs bill in 2017. Story continues But not everyone considers climate change a top priority issue, according to Pew Research Center . A Pew survey conducted in January found only 44 percent view climate change as a top priority of President Donald Trump and Congress, ranking it second lowest after global trade (39 percent). By comparison, 70 percent of those surveyed felt the economy should rank top as a policy priority and 69 percent identified health care costs. Climate policies In November, Inslee visited California after the Camp Fire destroyed most of the town of Paradise and later spoke about how climate change is contributing to more dangerous wildfires. Some of images in the launch video released Friday appear to show devastation from the Camp Fire, which destroyed more than 10,000 homes and killed 86 people. Inslee, a two-term governor who applauds the Green New Deal, has been outspoken on the environmental issues and the need for clean energy for more than a decade. Prior to becoming governor, he served in Congress and authored "Apollo's Fire," a 2007 book about how to reduce greenhouse gases and gain energy independence. Yet several other Democratic presidential contenders are also talking about climate change themes and a mix of ways to combat greenhouse gas emissions, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. Also, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has weighed in on climate change as a human rights issue. Carbon tax defeat Inslee's climate agenda suffered a setback last year when the oil industry funded a campaign to defeat a carbon emissions fee initiative the governor backed. The measure was seen as a way to raise revenue as well as to help the state achieve ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals. One way around the voter setback is a pending clean energy bill that would require the state's utilities to be carbon-free by 2045. The state already gets the majority of its power from hydroelectricity sources. He also is a former criminal prosecutor and was a state legislator in Olympia before getting elected Washington's 23rd governor in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. He could seek a third term if his presidential run isn't successful. The Washington governor also has strong views on other issues, including gun control, health care, immigration and labor issues. Gun Control Inslee is an advocate for stricter gun control laws and in 1994 while in Congress voted for the 10-year assault weapons ban. He also challenged Trump at a White House event last year on the issue of arming teachers with firearms. Last year, Washington voters approved Initiative 1639, a measure Inslee supported that raised the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles to 21, from 18. The initiative also expanded background checks for rifles and added other new regulations, including firearm education and new standards for secured gun storage. Health Care Inslee backs a public health care option for the state that would compete with private insurers. The plan was proposed in January and promises that patients will spend no more than 10 percent of their income on premiums. The Democrat has criticized the "instability" in the health care system that was caused by undermining Obamacare. His plan would expand subsidies to private insurers but has generated criticism due to concerns about costs from some critics. Immigration Inslee has been critical of Trump's immigration policies and signed an executive order in 2017 that limited the state's role in enforcing immigration enforcement laws. He also pushed to increase the state's emergency funding to support civil legal aid services for immigrant families. The governor also recently called Trump's emergency declaration over the border wall "illegal" and last year slammed the administration's "zero tolerance" policy of separating families as "an intentional infliction, abusive behavior to punish innocent children." Labor While he's been governor, Washington state's minimum wage has increased and currently stands at $12 an hour and is scheduled to jump to $13.50 in 2020. Seattle's minimum wage last year jumped to $15 for those employers offering paid medical benefits while smaller employers have a wage floor of $14 an hour. Inslee also has talked up progressive policies in the Evergreen State, including what he's called one of nation's "best paid family and medical leave" programs. More From CNBC A report that tech behemoth Amazon is unlikely to pay federal income tax for 2018 recently set off a firestorm. How could a company with record U.S. profits for the year avoid paying up while most Americans cant? The answer is a combination of existing tax rules that have enabled Amazon, and companies like it, to avoid paying well below the standard corporate tax rate for years. And the company is also getting a little help from new provisions in Trump administrations tax reform bill, which became law in 2017. While nobody is disputing that these methods are legal, Amazons tax holiday highlights what critics claim are flaws in an unbalanced, loophole-ridden corporate tax system. Pro-business observers, on the other hand, describe the situation as the tax code working as intendedto provide companies with incentives to invest in their own operations, which in turn creates jobs and grows the economy. Amazons expected tax avoidance comes despite earning $11.16 billion in U.S. profits in 2018, nearly double the amount from the year prior, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonpartisan tax policy-focused think tank. In fact, instead of paying any federal income taxes, the company received a $129 million tax rebate from the government. The data is based on Amazons public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and does not, as ITEP senior fellow Matthew Gardner tells Fortune, necessarily reflect what the company will actually report to the Internal Revenue Service. The groups conclusion represents the best approximation, he says. The Washington, D.C.-based think tanks calculations have triggered a back-and-forth about the U.S. corporate tax code, which the Trump administration revamped as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. And in the case of Amazon, its brought further scrutiny following the companys recent high-profile reversal on creating a new regional office, or HQ2, in New York City. Story continues The company faced fierce opposition over its arrival, partly because of nearly $3 billion in promised state and local tax breaks. Critics called the incentives a textbook example of corporate welfare. Gardner says that Amazons federal income tax avoidance is not at all surprising, citing years of his organizations research that shows how major corporations have used legal tax breaks to sharply reduce their income tax liabilities. For example, the 258 Fortune 500 companies that reported profits in all years between 2008 and 2015 had an average federal effective tax rate of 21.2% over the eight-year period versus the 35% corporate tax rate at the time, according to a ITEP study. Meanwhile, 48 corporations had a 10% tax rate over that period while 18 paid no federal income taxes at all. For the record, Amazons effective federal income tax rate over the eight-year period was 10.8%. Those sorts of figures have only been exacerbated by the Trump Administrations tax overhaul, according to Gardner. The new tax law slashed the 35% corporate tax rate to 21% and expanded incentives such as accelerated depreciation, which lets companies immediately and fully expense the cost of new equipment and machinery rather than write them off over their useful life, as was previously the case. For a company like Amazon, which continuously invests in its business by building new facilities and buying equipment, the new, super-charged accelerated depreciation deductions come in handy. According to Amazons own SEC filings, such expenses likely fall within the $419 million in income tax credits that the company disclosed for the 2018 fiscal year, which it says it is utiliz[ing] to reduce our U.S. taxable income and which allows the full expensing of qualified property, primarily equipment, through 2022. This is where there is significant disagreement among the tax policy experts in D.C.s think tanks. One the one hand, Gardner claims that companies like Amazon were going to engage in widespread capital investment no matter what tax incentives were available. For every occasion in which these [tax] breaks actually encourage more research, capital investment and job creation, there is another case in which its simply giving companies tax breaks for what they were going to do anyway, he says. Amazon was going to engage in widespread capital investment no matter what. They have to. But there are others who believe that such incentives are simply a case of good tax policy at workthat theyre functioning as intended, and encourage companies to reinvest profits to create jobs and stimulate growth. Adam Michel, a senior policy analyst at conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, describes the immediate expensing provision as a good piece of tax policy that encourages [corporations] to reinvest in their businesses in the form of capital investments. He calls it flatly incorrect that Amazon and others would reinvest their profits as much as they currently do without the aid of such incentives. If you lower the cost of making an investment, you cant unanimously say that even a large, profitable company like Amazon wont change their behavior, Michel says. All businesses make investment decisions based on sophisticated calculations. If you add in provisions like expensing, you will get more investment from both small and large businesses. That sentiment was echoed by Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst at the independent Tax Foundation. A company that is plowing most of their profits into new investments and expansion doesnt have a lot of profits to tax, according to Walczak. This is the tax code working as intended; the company is doing what you generically want companies to do, which is to create more jobs, grow and invest. For years, Amazon burned through cash with the goal of growing its business at the expense of profitability. Having established itself as one of the largest companies in the worldand now a significantly profitable one at thatthe Jeff Bezos-led giant is now benefiting from its scale as far as reaping the tax rewards of its sizable expenditures. The bigger you are and the more capital intensive you are, the bigger the benefit, John Barrie, a partner at law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, says of the expense deduction provisions in Trumps tax overhaul. In addition to income tax credits, the other major line item (and by far the biggest) in Amazons SEC filings that explain its limited federal income tax liabilities are the more than $1 billion in deductions for stock-based employee compensation. These deductions pre-date the 2017 tax reform bill, as do Amazons roughly $1.4 billion in federal tax credit carryforwards (past incentives that it can claim in future years) that consist primarily of research and development tax credits and that are available to offset future tax liabilities, according to its SEC filings. The company also has around $627 million in net operating loss carryforwards, which are losses from previous years that it can use to offset future taxes. Amazon says that as it uses up both the operating losses and tax credit carryforwards, we expect cash paid for taxes to increase. And it also reports $565 million in deferred federal income taxes from last year that likely also helped reduce its 2018 billthough the company will, presumably, have to pay those taxes at some point. In a statement on the ITEP report, an Amazon spokesperson says the company pays all the taxes we are required to pay in the U.S. and every country where we operate, including $2.6 billion in corporate tax and reporting $3.4 billion in tax expense over the last three years. Amazon notes that its profits remain modest given the highly competitive, low-margin nature of its core retail business, and adds that it has invested more than $160 billion in the U.S. since 2011 in scaling out its business. Tax policy wonks on both sides of the ideological divide acknowledge that it would be unwise to read too much into any one years worth of financial reports in assessing a companys tax burden. But while one side continue to point to the merits of a pro-growth corporate tax policyCorporations dont ever pay any tax; the tax is always passed on, whether its to consumers or workers, the Heritage Foundations Michel notesthose like Gardner suggest that there is years worth of evidence pointing to a system that is more loophole than law, as he put it. Nobody dreamed up these tax breaks with malicious intent; every break is in the code because somebody though it was a good idea, Gardner says. But on balance, the net effect of these objectives is a pernicious one. (Adds Chinese diplomat speaks with Pakistani FM) * Pakistan says it has captured Indian pilots, struck targets * India says one plane lost, pilot missing * Pakistan retaliates with air strikes * U.S., China urge both sides to exercise restraint * Flights cancelled as both countries shut airports and airspace By James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - India and Pakistan both said they shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, prompting world powers to urge restraint. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said 300 militants were killed in Tuesday's strike. Pakistan says no one died. The White House condemned the intensifying conflict and urged "both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation." "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbors and the international community," a National Security Council official said on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon added to U.S. pressure for restraint by the foes, issuing a statement that said Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is focused "on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action." Pakistan's envoy to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis. Story continues "We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States," he told reporters. At the same time, he said the lack of U.S. condemnation of India's strike on Pakistan is "construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped both sides could de-escalate. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation," Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. "We should sit down and talk." The Pakistan government's official Twitter account released a video of a man it claimed was an Indian pilot who had been shot down. The man, whom Pakistan has named as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan and whose face was bloodied and blindfolded, gives his name and service number before telling a man questioning him: "I'm sorry sir, that's all I'm supposed to tell you." India's foreign ministry demanded the pilot's immediate release and said his treatment was a "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention"India has not yet named the pilot. In a second video circulating on social media, a screenshot of which was shared by the same Pakistan government account, the pilot was seen sipping tea while praising his treatment by the Pakistani military. Reuters could not independently verify the second video's authenticity. POLITICAL PRESSURE Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden deterioration in relations between the two countries, both of which claim Kashmir in full, but only rule in part. As recently as November, Pakistan's Khan spoke of "mending ties" with India. The conflict also comes at a critical time for Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in a matter of months. Modi's decision to order air strikes could benefit him politically, according to analysts and pollsters, but he was accused on Wednesday by opposition parties of capitalising on conflict. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the "blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces," in a joint statement by 21 opposition parties, the first time they have broken ranks with the government over the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's air strike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. China and the European Union have also called for restraint. China's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, spoke by telephone with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and expressed "deep concern" over the escalation in tensions, China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday. AERIAL BATTLE Many of the facts in the latest series of engagements are disputed by the two sides. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said two Indian jets had been shot down after they entered Pakistani airspace while responding to a Pakistani aerial mission on targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. One of the jets crashed on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, and the other on the Pakistani side. Ghafoor said the Pakistani aircraft had carried out the strikes in response to India's air strike the day before but had taken deliberate action to ensure no casualties were caused. The Pakistani jets had locked on to six targets, in a demonstration of their capacity to hit strategic installations, but deliberately fired into open spaces where there would be no casualties. "This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don't want an escalation, we don't want a war," Ghafoor told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with two pilots captured, he added. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, gave a different account, telling a news briefing that the Pakistan air strikes on military targets had been "foiled." India shot down one Pakistani plane that landed in Pakistani territory, Kumar said, adding that it had lost one of its own planes, not two, with the pilot "missing in action." "Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar said. Pakistan denies it lost a plane in the encounter. At the Pakistani briefing, Ghafoor produced photographs of weapons and identity documents he said were carried by Indian pilots. Pakistan initially said that two Indian pilots had been captured, before clarifying it only had one in its custody. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighbouring states to close, an official said. Pakistan shut its airspace, with commercial flights in the country cancelled. Flights from the Middle East and India were also affected. Air Canada said on Wednesday it has temporarily suspended service to India, following a decision by the Pakistani government to close its airspace. In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that four passengers and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. A partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be an Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash was unknown. GROUND FIRE The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and a number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. Indian security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle on Wednesday, police said. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal; additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, Devjyot Ghoshal, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Drazen Jorgic, Rupam Jain, Abu Arqam Naqash, Eric Beech, Jonathan Landay and Praveen Menon; editing by James Dalgleish and Stephen Coates) The Mythical Cycle of Violence By David Stolinsky. February 28th, 2019 Original Source Leftists and pacifists who oppose Americas efforts to stop terrorism endlessly proclaim, Stop the cycle of violence. They say the same thing when police arrest known gang members. And they say the same thing when a kid confronts a bully in the schoolyard. This is a control fantasy: We are in control, so if we do nothing, the violence will end. There is no evidence for this illogical notion, which implies that violence is caused equally by both sides. If we are as guilty as terrorists and criminals, we have no reason to be angry, and no justification to react. In other words, blame the victims. The end result of Stop the cycle of violence is that we do nothing, while our enemies continue to slaughter innocent men, women, and children. This result will surely please our enemies. But is there really a cycle of violence? Consider: Our embassy in Iran was seized in 1979, legally an act of war. Our diplomats were imprisoned and mistreated for 444 days. Our response was a pitifully inadequate rescue attempt. The USS Stark was hit by two missiles fired by an Iraqi plane in 1987, killing 37 crew members and wounding 21 others. Saddams response was to promote the pilot and reward him with a Mercedes. Our response was to launch an inquiry. Our Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed in 1983, killing 241 Americans. Our response was to lob a few shells into the hills and withdraw. The lesson was clear kill some Americans and the rest will run away. The first World Trade Center attack occurred in 1993, when six died and over 1000 were injured, but the buildings did not collapse as planned. Those directly responsible were arrested, but the attack was treated as a domestic crime. Terrorists bombed the Khobar Towers barracks in 1996, killing 19 Americans and injuring many more. Our response was to indict low-level suspects. This attack on our military was treated as a crime, not an act of war. Our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998 again acts of war causing hundreds of deaths. Our response was launch cruise missiles at a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan. We bounced some rocks in the desert. Suicide bombers attacked the USS Cole in October 2000 as it docked in Yemen. The ship almost sank, 17 sailors were killed, and many more wounded. FBI bomb experts were called and a reward was offered. An attack on a U.S. warship in foreign waters was treated as if it were a bank robbery in Fargo, not an act of war. A suicide bomber destroyed New York-based Sbarros pizzeria in Jerusalem in August 2001, killing 16 and injuring over 90. Among the dead was a visiting American. She was pregnant, so two Americans were killed. Terrorists attacked an American business known to be frequented by Americans, and Americans were killed. Our government did nothing to show that it takes a dim view of the murder of its citizens. We didnt even pretend to do anything. Then came 9/11 a coincidence? Our feeble response to the prior attacks succeeded only in making us look weak to our enemies. Hatred plus contempt is an explosive mixture. But we went out of our way to produce it. It is best to be loved. Next best is to be feared. But to be neither is dangerous, especially for a rich and powerful nation. Our lack of response emboldened the most violent elements in the Middle East. It told friends and foes alike, America is a paper tiger. You can kill all the Americans you want. They dont deserve their power, because they have forgotten how to use it. With some reason, the terrorists may have been surprised and angry at our reaction to 9/11. Why should we have reacted now, when we did little or nothing all the times before? There was no cycle of violence. There was a cycle of violence answered by nonviolence. There was violence by one side, and ineffective reactions or no reaction by the other side. There were mass murderers on one side, and well-meaning but naive pacifists on the other. There were fanatics convinced of their rightness on one side, and people who could see both sides on the other. It takes two to be friends, but only one to start a fight. Leftists seem unable to grasp this fact. Just as leftists try to appease terrorists abroad, they coddle criminals at home: They let muggers go free but arrest 80-year-olds who defend themselves. They jail fathers who protect their children from burglars with 14-page rap sheets. Leftists feel no guilt for letting career criminals roam free to beat the elderly bloody for their Social Security checks, or break into childrens bedrooms to do who-knows-what. They feel no anger at criminals, whom they justify and excuse. They feel anger only at those who defend themselves and their families. They are no more successful against domestic criminals than they are against foreign terrorists, but their failures dont deter them. They believe, Violence never settles anything. Oh no? Who stopped Ted Bundy from killing women radical feminists, or Old Sparky (the Florida electric chair)? Who liberated Nazi death camps Gandhi leading a flock of pacifists, or the Allied armies? Who destroyed Iraqi torture chambers and childrens prisons a herd of European intellectuals, or the U.S. and British military? Who prevented new terrorist attacks on America since 9/11 the Green Party, or constant vigilance? Who stopped two drug-seeking criminals from killing Sarah McKinley and her baby son gun control advocates, or Sarahs Remington shotgun? But who stopped a five-time deportee and repeat drug offender from killing Kathryn Michelle Steinle at a San Francisco tourist attraction? No one stopped him. After all, it is a sanctuary city. Those who believe violence never settles anything know little about violence. Those who claim war isnt the answer know little about history. If two groups disagree, mediation may help. But if one group believes it has the right to brutalize and kill the other group, what is there to discuss? We couldnt explain to the Nazis that it really isnt nice to slaughter millions. We had to kill as many of the Nazis as we could and destroy their power. Only then did the slaughter stop. What is our real goal? Is it to make the world safe for ordinary people to go to their offices or eat pizza? Then we must stop terrorism by eliminating terrorists insofar as possible. Or is our goal merely to feel self-righteous? Then we can babble endlessly about how we should give peace a chance. We can repeat ad nauseam that we should see their point of view. We can blabber about the terrorists legitimate grievances. Who doesnt have legitimate grievances? I do. But somehow I refrain from mass murder. We can mouth high-sounding phrases. We can pretend that doing nothing to stop evil is the moral position. We can forget that the Bible tells us not stand by idly while our neighbors life is at risk. We can jabber about the cycle of violence. But if we want to stop terrorists and criminals from harming innocent people, we have to do a lot more. And if we want to see a real cycle of violence, we can visit a Harley-Davidson dealer. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net. Website www.stolinsky.com. Back to Top FILE - In this June 28, 2017, file photo, marijuana plants grow at the Desert Grown Farms cultivation facility in Las Vegas. Many employers across the country are quietly taking what once would have been a radical step: Theyare dropping marijuana from the drug tests they require of prospective employees. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) After minor corrections, Nepal and China all set to sign transit protocol Nepal and China have agreed on the text of the Protocol to Transit and Transportation following a round of recent negotiations, six months after the two countries agreed on the final text of the protocol in Kathmandu. A half-million dollar donation a nonprofit organization earmarked two years ago is finally on its way to fulfilling its intended purpose a new building for School District 49s Careers in Construction program. This is a project thats been years in the making, said Kevin Walker, president of Walker Schooler District Managers. The Colorado Springs company manages the Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms, which, through voluntary donations from homebuilders, funds capital improvement projects in School District 49. The $500,000 grant is paying for a building for training high school students to work in the construction industry after graduation. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday on the Falcon Legacy Campus, 11990 Swingline Road in Peyton. The property also contains Patriot High School, an alternative blended learning school in D-49. The 4,800-square-foot building will have classrooms and an open-area shop, said David Nancarrow, D-49 spokesman. Students from around the region will study carpentry, electrical and plumbing trades and learn components such as developing work site safety skills, using math in construction and reading print schematics. The education prepares students to receive Home Building Institute certification to immediately work in the industry after earning a high school diploma. The Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs initiated the Careers in Construction program in 2015 to provide pre-apprenticeship training for ninth- through 12th-grade students. It was the nations first construction trades certificate program for high school students thats funded by those working in the industry. The curriculum is adapted from the Home Builders Institute and certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its been popular in the Pikes Peak region, growing from fewer than 30 students in one high school four years ago to hundreds of students across several school districts. D-49s new building is expected to help expand the program in its district. This is the result of years of hard work and collaboration with our community partners at Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms and the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, Nancarrow said. We share a commitment and vision to serve our students and are excited about the opportunity this space will provide. Aside from staff time and associated costs for utilities, for example, there are no significant D-49 dollars going into the project at this point, Nancarrow said. Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms has donated more than $7 million to D-49 since 2008, Walker said. The money for the new construction classrooms and shop is one of the largest contributions, he said. Most of the things are relatively small, such as buses or other support vehicles, Walker said. Most of the builders who build in D-49 understand the value and contribute. The building will be ready for students by the start of the fall semester in August, Nancarrow said. Contact the writer: 719-476-1656 Colorado Politics senior political reporter Joey Bunch is the senior correspondent and deputy managing editor of Colorado Politics. His 32-year career includes the last 16 in Colorado. He was part of the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and he is a two-time finalist. The Dab Lounge, which Colorado Springs police suspect of running an illegal retail marijuana operation, has been shut down until a slew of fire violations are resolved. A search warrant was executed Thursday at the business at 1532 N. Circle Drive by detectives from the Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Division's Regulatory Team and members of the Colorado Springs police Impact Team, police said. The warrant was "part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the owner of the illegal retail marijuana operation," police said. Police said they seized refined pot, marijuana concentrate, pot-infused edibles and cash from the business. While investigators were there, a fire inspector from the Colorado Springs Fire Department inspected the business and ordered the owner "to cease operations until all identified fire violations can been resolved," police said. "Based on this investigation, criminal charges are forthcoming for the owner of the business along with the employees," police said. The Dab Lounge posted on Facebook on Thursday: "The Lounge will be closed for a day or so while we make some upgrades to keep the Fire Department happy. Safety first!" The Facebook page describes the business as "a private social club." Police said that "additional illegal retail marijuana stores have been identified" and encouraged owners of any businesses operating illegally "to cease operations immediately." A man accused of raping and killing a woman in Old Colorado City in 1988 was ordered to undergo an evaluation to determine if hes mentally fit to stand trial. James Edward Papol, who authorities say has been tied by DNA to the murder of Mary Lynn Vialpando, experienced a significant decline in his mental functioning after going eight days without his anti-psychotic medication at the El Paso County jail, one of his defense attorneys told 4th Judicial District Judge Robin Chittum during a pretrial hearing. After testimony from investigators and forensic experts, Chittum ruled Friday that the prosecution has enough evidence for Papol to stand trial on charges including three counts of first-degree murder, each for a different theory of how the crime unfolded. But the competency evaluation, which Chittum ordered be done at Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, could put his case on hold for months or longer. This is going to come up again, said Chittum, who set another hearing for April 5 to discuss progress on the evaluation. This is a case that he needs to be actively participating in, down the line. Such mental competency evaluations examine whether defendants can understand court proceedings and aid in their defense. If found mentally incompetent, Papol will have to be treated by state psychologists until a judge rules that his mental fitness is restored. Inmates treatment cant extend beyond the maximum sentence they face. Papol, 46, was 15 when Vialpando was beaten, raped and stabbed to death. His mother has told police he was staying with his family at a motel that was within feet of an alley near 26th Street where Vialpandos body was found on July 5, 1988, Colorado Springs police detective James Isham told the court. The slaying was a mystery for decades, until a routine search by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation matched the DNA found on her body with Papols profile in a law enforcement database. An updated profile from another sample from Vialpandos body had been added to the system in 2016, testified Rebecca Strub, a DNA technician leader for a crime lab that works with Colorado Springs police. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Papol trembled in his chair at the defense table, bouncing up and down slightly. The judge denied a motion by defense attorney Richard Bednarski to delay his preliminary hearing due to his mental state, but allowed Papol to leave before witnesses were called after Bednarski said he was too disturbed to understand whats going on. When Chittum asked if he wanted to stay for the hearing, Papol quietly replied that he preferred to go back to jail. A defendant may waive their right to be present at a preliminary hearing, but listening to the proceedings can offer the accused insight and some advantages, such as the opportunity to suggest questions to his or her attorney, said Phil Dubois, a Colorado Springs defense attorney who is unaffiliated with the case. Potential issues with Papols competency, however, raise questions about whether was mentally stable enough to make the decision to not attend the hearing, Dubois told The Gazette. Is he competent to give up that right? Incompetence typically means, no, hes not, Dubois said. Papol is prescribed Latuda, an anti-psychotic drug, to ease his symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Bednarski said. The County Attorneys Office said in a report filed Thursday that the Sheriffs Office and the jails health care provider have said Papol is receiving necessary medical care, said Deputy District Attorney Austin Lux. However, patient confidentiality rules barred the Sheriffs Office from providing specifics, Lux said. But officials have since learned that some of the information provided in the status report was inaccurate, sheriffs Spokeswoman Jackie Kirby told The Gazette after the hearing. The County Attorneys Office will file additional paperwork with the court Monday to correct the misinformation, she said. She declined to provide further details about the inaccuracies, citing confidentiality requirements. Armor Correctional Health Services, the jails for-profit health care provider, has been criticized for allegedly subpar care at the county jail and other correctional health facilities across the country. After the Miami-based company took over health care for inmates in 2017, an audit found that a backlog of inmate sick calls, lapses in documentation of staff training and other problems. The Sheriffs Office and the health care provider have said that the issues were corrected in a timely manner. The company declined to comment on Papols case. What we can say is Armors behavioral health caregivers have genuine concern for their patients, and are committed to ensure appropriate care is provided, Armor COO Ken Palombo said in an email. Papols case appears to be another instance of a criminal defendant languishing in a county jail amid a shortage in psychiatric beds at the state hospital in Pueblo. At the time of his arrest in September, Papol had been held in a maximum security wing at the Pueblo hospital for 16 years, his attorneys previously said in court. He had been receiving care there after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in a pair of robberies committed in 2002. People acquitted under such circumstances can be confined until doctors determine they no longer suffer from a mental illness or are no longer a threat to themselves or others. He was transferred to the El Paso County jail upon his arrest in the 21-year-old cold case, where he has been held without bond. Papols attorneys complained in January that he hadnt consistently received his psychiatric medications at the jail. Chittum then ordered that he be transferred to the Pueblo hospital. But the state responded in a motion in February that there were not enough beds to admit him, according to his defense team. Boulders liberal politicians claim to respect public opinion. They care so much about majority will they support subverting the Constitution A dozen years ago, Maj. Thomas G. Tommy Bostick put his body between enemy bullets and his retreating troops during a firefight in Afghanistan. The final, fatal act of heroism by the father of two was honored Friday at Fort Carson with the nations second-highest medal for combat valor, the Distinguished Service Cross. When you boil it down, it is love, said Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, who flew in from Texas to hand the medal to Bosticks brother, Bobby, of Colorado Springs, as his widow, children and three grandchildren looked on. Bostick is the 17th soldier to earn the Distinguished Service Cross after more than 17 years of fighting in Afghanistan. His heroism was originally honored with the Silver Star Medal, a lesser decoration. In a review that followed accounts from his comrades, Bostick was selected for the more uncommon award. A gifted high school athlete from Llano, Texas, Bostick joined the Army Reserve in 1986 and endured the services grueling Ranger training before taking part in the December 1989 invasion of Panama. He wound up in Afghanistan in 2007 as the commander of Bulldog troop from the Germany-based 1st Squadron of the 91st Cavalry Regiment, part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. On July 27, 2007, Bosticks unit was probing Taliban and al-Qaida forces in mountainous terrain along the Pakistan border when fighting erupted. Part of Bosticks unit was ambushed, Army records show. The major charged to the rescue. Shortly after Bostick died, his commander, now retired Col. Christopher Kolenda recalled the majors confidence as he headed to the fight. He even managed to crack a few jokes to keep everyone steady in the heat of the moment, Kolenda told Stars and Stripes. Bostick quickly took control of the battle, calling in Air Force bombs and Army artillery on the swarming enemy troops, giving his soldiers time to climb to safety. But the enemy fighters kept coming. Bostick stayed out front in the fight as his troops sought cover. He faced fire from three directions as the enemy rained down bullets and rocket-propelled grenades, Army records say. In this moment, when others would seek safety, Bostick stood up with his M-4 rifle. As the fire on his position intensified, Maj. Bostick positioned himself between the enemy and his own exposed soldiers, who were navigating mountainous terrain, and engaged the enemy with accurate fire, a citation accompanying Bosticks new medal says. Awarding the Distinguished Service Cross requires commanders to find that, The act or acts of heroism must be so notable and involve risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from his or her comrades. Funk said medals like the one awarded to Bostick are a reminder for the rest of America. In every conflict in our nations history, incredible heroes step forward, he said. Family members filled the first three rows of the ceremony at which Funk awarded the medal. They didnt want to talk. A few of them wiped their eyes. A Fort Carson spokesman said theyre still mourning that terrible day even as they celebrate Bosticks heroism. Funk said they remember the Bostick before he proved his valor that day, an amazing soldier, commander, husband, son, father, brother and friend. Even as America seeks to end its role in the Afghanistan war, Bosticks memory lingers in the Army. Hes buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Before the Distinguished Service Cross was announced, his cavalry squadron held annual events to remember Bostick. The best soldiers in the squadron earn the Bostick Award, Funk said. Bostick represents the kind of sacrifice that amazes even soldiers like Funk, a general who was raised in the Army as the son of a general. What makes them lay down their lives? Funk asked. Indian government approves proposal to build transmission line in Nepal The Indian government has approved an investment proposal to build a transmission line in eastern Nepal to evacuate the electricity generated by Arun-3 Hydropower Project being developed by an Indian state-owned company. TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crosswinds Holdings Inc. (Crosswinds or the Company) (TSX: CWI) announced today that it has received notification from the Continued Listings Committee (the Committee) of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX) that the Committee intends to delist the Companys securities effective at the close of market on March 28, 2019. This action was taken by the TSX due to the Company not meeting the continued listing requirements of the TSX. The TSX notification does not affect the Companys applicable Canadian reporting requirements. More information J. Roy Pottle Tel: 1-508-344-2640 info@crosswindsinc.com www.crosswindsinc.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This release includes certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as may, will, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe, should, plans or continue or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Reference should be made to the risk factors in the Companys most recent Annual Information Form, in the Managements Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in our other filings with Canadian securities regulators. Additional important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, settlement of the terms of definitive documentation, successful fulfillment of the conditions outlined in the letter of intent, unforeseen circumstances that could condition or delay progress with the proposed transaction, general economic and market factors, tax related matters, the ability of the Company to execute its strategies from time to time, and the receipt of any regulatory approvals or consents required from time to time. OISTE.ORG to address the 40th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Right to Privacy Geneva, 01 March 2019 Foundation OISTE, whose acronym is given by its original name in French: Organisation Internationale pour la Securite des Transactions Electroniques, organises a panel during the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council, right after the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy delivers his report to the Council on Friday the 1st March 2019. OISTE holds special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) and is an accredited member of the Non-commercial Users Stakeholders Group (NCSG) of ICANN as part of the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns (NPOC) constituency. The panel will dwell on critical issues underlined by the Special Rapporteur: "more than a third of United Nations Member States have no privacy laws at all while most of the other 125 states have laws which cover some of the contexts where privacy may be threatened but not all. Some important threats to privacy especially those arising on the context of national security, intelligence and surveillance are inadequately regulated in most countries of the world" (A/HRC/37/62) This comes at a moment when the general public starts to realise the reach of "Surveillance Capitalism" in our daily lives. As pointed out by the Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff. "We are trapped in an involuntary merger of personal necessity and economic extraction, as the same channels that we rely upon for daily logistics, social interaction, work, education, healthcare, access to products and services, and much more, now double as supply chain operations for surveillance capitalism's surplus flows. The result is that the choice mechanisms we have traditionally associated with the private realm are eroded or vitiated." (The Guardian, 20.01.2019) It is our free-will that is increasingly challenged by the information and communication technologies that we carry on our pockets. Our moral condition as human beings will be confronted to more and more dilemmas arising from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and we need to be prepared for it. The raw material is our personal data, our digital identity that is not yet completely protected by the law, although the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) marks a milestone on balancing the fundamental right to privacy with economic priorities concerning the free flow of personal data considered as a "resource". Do we need more of that? In its "Declaration of the independence of Cyberspace", John Perry Barlow claimed in 1996 that Cyberspace had to remain independent of State regulation. However, the panel will raise the question. are governments still unwelcome in cyberspace? To what extent is State regulation welcome, where is it dangerous, and how do we draw the line? The OISTE Foundation signed The International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance right after they were launched at the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2013. About OISTE FOUNDATION Founded in Switzerland in 1998, OISTE was created with the objectives of promoting the use and adoption of international standards to secure electronic transactions, expand the use of digital certification and ensure the interoperability of certification authorities' e-transaction systems. The OISTE Foundation is a not for profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, regulated by article 80 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code. OISTE is an organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and belongs to the Not-for-Profit constituency (NPOC) of the ICANN. http://www.oiste.org/ . Mission: transfer the control and management of technologies dealing with digital identities to neutral authorities working for the public interest. Vision: an Internet where users engage in online transactions and communications under systems of digital identity management that offer robust protection against fraud and theft, while protecting the fundamental right to privacy. Company Contact : Dourgam Kummer Foundation Council Member dourgam.kummer@oiste.org Attends PDAC, Booth 3145 Provides Corporate Update NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: VLC) (Velocity or the Company) announces that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kibela Minerals AD, it has entered into a shareholders agreement (the Agreement) with Gorubso-Kardzhali AD (Gorubso). The Agreement governs the operation and management of Tintyava Exploration EAD (Tintyava Exploration), the corporate joint venture company that holds the Prospecting and Exploration Licence for the Tintyava property (the Tintyava Property). The Tintyava Property hosts the Rozino gold deposit (see news release dated October 29, 2018), as well as a number of untested exploration targets. Velocity now holds a 70% interest in Tintyava Exploration, with Gorubso holding the remaining 30%. The execution of the Agreement and the acquisition of a 70% interest in Tintyava Exploration are important milestones for Velocity as we continue to explore the Rozino deposit with our partner Gorubso, stated Keith Henderson, Velocitys President & CEO. Next steps include the advancement of Rozino towards feasibility utilizing proceeds from the recently announced $9 million strategic investment by Atlantic Gold. Planned Exploration at Rozino and Regional The 2019 drill program at Rozino is now fully permitted and drilling is expected to begin in March 2019. A total of 12,000m to 14,000m of drilling is planned to be completed at Rozino, which will include exploration drilling to expand the resource base as well as resource definition and infill drilling. Through the drill program, the Company aims to convert the existing Inferred Resources to Measured and Indicated Resources, as such terms are defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). The drill program is also intended to support additional metallurgical and comminution studies as well as hydrogeological and geotechnical work, all of which will be carried out in parallel. Environmental data collection is ongoing and will continue. The Company plans to complete an additional 1,000m of drilling regionally to begin testing structural targets, located close to the Rozino deposit. It is anticipated that discoveries within several kilometers of the Rozino deposit could potentially add value by utilizing common infrastructure. PDAC The Company will be attending the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto from March 3 to March 6, 2019. Interested parties are encouraged to visit Booth 3145 at the Investors Exchange where Velocitys management will be happy to answer questions and discuss the Companys long-term strategy and goals. Strategic Investment Update Velocity entered into an investment agreement on January 16, 2019 (see news release dated January 17, 2019) with Atlantic Gold Corporation (TSXV: AGB) (Atlantic Gold) for a C$9,000,000 strategic investment (the Strategic Investment), comprised of a $3,906,000 equity investment for 18,600,000 units of Velocity and a C$5,094,000 principal amount of secured convertible debentures of Velocity (the Convertible Debentures). Upon closing of the Strategic Investment, Atlantic Gold will own approximately 19.9% of the outstanding common shares of Velocity on a non-diluted basis and approximately 39.2% on a partially-diluted basis. The Strategic Investment is expected to close in early March 2019 and the Company has obtained TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) approval to extend the closing of the Strategic Investment by up to 30 days. The securities issued under the Strategic Investment will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. The closing of the Strategic Investment is subject to customary items including, among other things, final approval from the TSXV and the delivery of certain closing documents. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Qualified Person The technical content of this release has been approved for disclosure by Stuart A. Mills, BSc, MSc, CGeol, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and the Companys Vice President Exploration. Mr. Mills is not independent of the Company. About Velocity Minerals Ltd. Velocity is a gold exploration and development company focused on Bulgaria. The Company envisions staged open pit mining of satellite deposits and processing in a central, currently operating CIL plant. The Companys management and board includes mining industry professionals with combined experience spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas as employees of major mining companies as well as founders and senior executives of junior to mid-tier public companies. The team's experience includes all aspects of mineral exploration, resource definition, feasibility, finance, mine construction and mine operation as well as a track record in managing publicly listed companies. About Rozino The Rozino gold deposit is located within in the Tintyava Property which is one of six exploration projects located within an Exploration and Mining Alliance between Velocity and Gorubso. Velocity began exploring and drilling at Rozino in August 2017 and completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment in September 2018 (the PEA). The PEA provides a base case assessment of developing Rozino by open pit mining and on-site crushing, milling and simple flotation to produce a 30 g/t gold concentrate. The concentrate would then be trucked 85km on existing roads to the currently operating carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant where saleable gold dore would be produced. Mineralization remains open for expansion. The Company holds a 70% interest in the Tintyava Property. About Bulgaria Bulgaria is a member of NATO (2004) and a member of the European Union (2007). The local currency (BGN) has been tied to the Euro since 1999 (1.956 BGN/EUR). The country is served by modern European infrastructure including an extensive network of paved roads. Bulgaria boasts an exceptionally low corporate tax rate of only 10%. The countrys education system is excellent with good availability of experienced mining professionals in a favourable cost environment. Foreign mining companies are successfully operating in Bulgaria. The countrys mining law was established in 1999 and updated in 2011. Mining royalties are low and compare favourably with more established mining countries. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Keith Henderson President & CEO For further information, please contact: Keith Henderson Phone: +1-604-484-1233 E-mail: info@velocityminerals.com Web: www.velocityminerals.com 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. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the closing of the Strategic Investment, the conversion by Atlantic Gold of all or some of the Convertible Debentures, future exploration and testing carried out on the Tintyava Property, including the planned drilling at the Rozino project; use of funds; and the future business and operations of Velocity and Tintyava Exploration. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by words such as pro forma, plans, expects, may, should, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes, potential or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities for the Tintyava Property (including the Rozino project) and the Companys projects generally, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling programs for the projects, actual results of exploration activities, including the program, estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital to fund the Companys business plan, future prices of precious metals, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSX in respect of the Strategic Investment), the failure of Atlantic Gold to proceed with the Strategic Investment as a result of the inability of the Company to meet the conditions precedent to the closing of the Strategic Investment, issues rising from Atlantic Golds due diligence or otherwise, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations (including the Tintyava Exploration), and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading. Risk Factors in the Companys annual managements discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. Aurora, CO, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The entrepreneurial spirit is alive at the Community College of Aurora. Jugbeh Doe-Smith, who recently completed CCAs new Entrepreneurship program and currently works as an accountant in the colleges Fiscal Affairs department, was recently named the winner of the statewide Leading Edge Best Creative Business Plan competition. Doe-Smith received the prestigious award at the Leading Edge graduation ceremony at the Governors Mansion on Feb. 21. Born and raised in Liberia, Doe-Smith immigrated to Aurora in search of a new life, leaving behind many of her friends and family. She earned an associates degree from CCA in 2013 and a bachelors degree from the University of Colorado Denver four years later. During her schooling, Doe-Smith often visited her homeland and it was during one of these trips that she felt compelled to make a difference. She found children in the marketplaces selling crafts, trinkets and household staples in an effort to earn some extra money for their families. Doe-Smith knew dozens of women who were industrious, hardworking, creative and willing but needed a helping hand to create better lives for themselves in Liberia. This experience, paired with her love for fashion, helped give rise to her business idea. Doe-Smith purchases handmade clothing and other textiles from these Liberian craftswomen at fair prices, then imports and sells the goods in the U.S. at market prices to generate a profit. She went into CCAs Entrepreneurship program with a number of business ideas but settled on this one because she wanted to make a difference in the world. Jugbeh is charismatic, bold and thoughtful, and the Entrepreneurship program here at CCA is so much better for having her as an alumna, said Neil Pollard, a business instructor at CCA. I can't think of a person more deserving of this recognition and I hope that the awareness that comes to her business as a result helps her to continue to serve her home country. The Entrepreneurship program at CCA is designed to give students the business knowledge, skills and resources needed to plan and start their own business. While going through the two-semester program, students receive step-by-step business guidance from professors and local entrepreneurs, spend time generating revenue for their business in the colleges on-site business incubator and receive seed and acceleration funding if needed. The program launched in 2017. That year, five new businesses were started as part of the program and those businesses generated $145,000 in revenue. This is a great program because you learn by doing, Doe-Smith said. Students go through the program in cohorts, so theres friendly competition and tons of shared knowledge among the aspiring entrepreneurs. To learn more about the program, visit ccaurora.edu/enp. ### About the Community College of Aurora (CCA) The Community College of Aurora (CCA) provides high-quality instruction and student support services to Aurora and Denver, Colorado. The college offers courses on two campuses, online and through its high school concurrent-enrollment program, helping students prepare for employment or transfer to a four-year institution. For more information, visit www.ccaurora.edu. Attachments Topic Scope: Paragraph 1's function Paragraph 2's function: POV: Purpose: Question 1 Rephrase: -finds the relationship between happiness/success complex -thinks the researchers are probably right (happiness can help cause success) -we have some control over our happiness (habits, etc.) -accepting some stress is a good thing (supported from the passage, habits have an impact) (not supported from the passage. In fact, success is described as a "moving" target. The passage does not say that the ONLY way to be happy is if success is fixed. This is too extreme.) (supported, author says happiness matters) (The wording of this answer choice makes no sense, but I *think* it is trying to say that happiness is impacted by outside factors, and this IS supported by the passage.) (supported, researchers found strong evidence, but not 100% confirmed evidence.) Vivian Kerr | GMAT/GRE Tutor @ Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor. I've freelanced with Veritas Prep, Magoosh, and most of the bigger test prep companies. Now offering Skype-based private tutoring for the GMAT and GRE. Reading Comprehension is my jam! | GMAT/GRE Tutor @ http://www.gmatrockstar.com | gmatrockstar[at]gmail.com | solid 5-star reviews on Yelp!Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor. I've freelanced with Veritas Prep, Magoosh, and most of the bigger test prep companies. Now offering Skype-based private tutoring for the GMAT and GRE.Reading Comprehension is my jam! Signature Read More This is an unusual passage (source?). It doesn't "feel" like a GMAT passage to me, but here's how I would break it down:: performancerelationship between it and happiness: to introduce X and Y, and describe possibility X --> Yto show nuance in the relationshiptone is informational; author presents researcher's findingsto describe relationship between performance/happiness-- This is an Inference question because of the keyword "would."Which of these is contradicted by an opinion from the passage?This means that 4 of the 5 answer choices WILL be supported by the passage.We don't have TOO much of the author's own opinions. If I had to summarize them, I would say he:Even though this is a difficult question to predict for, since there were really only these 4 opinions in the passage, I expect 4 of the answer choices to be some rephrase of these, and then 1 of the answer choices will be too extreme or completely unsupported.Let's move on to the choices. (And I know no one asked, but I find the wording of these suspect.)A. Two people with the same genetic make-up and environment can have different happiness quotients.B. For happiness to result from success, the latter needs to be a stationary target.C. Increment in remuneration is not the only important factor responsible for improving the performance of employees.D. Some factors beyond that we have little control over impact how happy we are.E. The order in which success and happiness occur is not necessarily fixed._________________ Kathmandu police collaborate with local governments to add CCTV cameras Following the Community-Police Partnership Campaign, the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Office has entered a collaboration with the local level governments of the Kathmandu Valley on increasing CCTV security surveillance. Bunuel wrote: Since 11Y = Even therefore Y has to be EVEN since 11 is a odd integer (Even * Odd = Even) Similarly, Y is the product of all integers in set X But all integers in Set X are odd except the unknown K and since X contains only prime numbers, K has to equal to 2... ( 2 is the only even prime number and the product of all prime numbers in set X has to be Even, Even * Odd = Even) Since you know value of K you can calculate the range = Largest integer in the set minus Smallest integer in the set = 19-2 = 17 Answer is C A Tidal Wave of Mud A mining dam collapsed and buried more than 150 people. Now Brazil is casting an anxious eye on dozens of dams like it. This article is by Shasta Darlington, James Glanz, Manuela Andreoni, Matthew Bloch, Sergio Pecanha, Anjali Singhvi and Troy Griggs. The Solidity of Mud A Looming Threat A Company Town Says Enough He never found his sister. Hooked on Mining For Washington, the ambiguity is at least partly deliberate. When the pact was signed in 1951, it argues, the Philippines did not yet control the nine features in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago that it does today. The U.S. is officially neutral on the territorial dispute, which began in earnest in the late 1980s, emphasizing instead that such matters should be resolved in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on a case brought by Manila invalidated Beijings claims that its Spratly holdings were entitled to territorial seas, but it did not rule on the rightful ownership of any of the reclaimed islands. So if the U.S. were to formally include the South China Sea in the treaty, it would ostensibly abandon a policy it applies in disputed hot spots around the world one that serves the broader U.S. interest of bolstering a rules-based international order . But this argument rings hollow to Manila for several reasons. For one, in 2015, the Obama administration agreed to updated guidelines in its Mutual Defense Treaty with Japan that, in no uncertain terms, included the disputed Senkaku Islands , which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan in the East China Sea. Washington can point to minor differences in the language of the two treaties to defend its position, but its the kind of legalistic rationale you invoke only if youre looking to keep a pact weak. (The U.S. hasnt always been so circumspect. The Clinton administration twice confirmed that the treaty covered the South China Sea, even though the Philippine Senate voted to boot the U.S. Navy from its strategically invaluable base at Subic Bay in 1991.) Perhaps most telling, the legal case for covering the Scarborough Shoal, just 130 miles (210 kilometers) from Luzon, is more straightforward. The U.S. formally took administrative control of the resource-rich reef from Spain in 1900 following its victory in the Spanish-American War, and the Philippines acquired formal control upon gaining independence in 1946. The Philippines established a U.S. naval operating area covering a 20-mile radius around Scarborough Shoal in the 1960s, and the two allies used the reef as bombing range into the early 1980s. Yet, when Chinese forces seized the shoal in 2012, the U.S. declined to forcefully intervene. The Obama administration reportedly warned China in 2016 that it would consider an attempt to turn Scarborough Shoal into yet another artificial island a red line. But neither the Obama nor the Trump administration has moved to stop China from exercising effective control over the surrounding waters. Nor has the U.S. expressed any willingness to defend Manilas right to drill for oil in waters the U.N. tribunal determined were Philippine . From Manilas viewpoint, in other words, the U.S. is going out of its way to keep the Philippines at arms length. Words on Paper Unfair as it may appear, the U.S. has strategic reasons to keep its options open. It doesnt want to get dragged into a war with China, at least not one that wasnt started on its terms, and so it doesnt want to give the Philippines reason to think the U.S. will automatically have its back if it picks a fight it cant win on its own. The U.S. is basically content with the status quo in the South China Sea. It doesnt really need to escalate matters there to contain China on other fronts. So long as the Chinese navy cant challenge the U.S. Navy directly, the U.S. is happy to cripple China by choking its maritime traffic along the first island chain and around the Strait of Malacca. The problem for the U.S. is that this strategy gives the Philippines little choice but to do whatever it deems necessary to remain friendly with China. Over the past two years, this has meant limiting the scale of cooperation with the U.S., presumably at Beijings behest, while allowing China to gradually expand its commercial and political influence in the country in ways that could come back to haunt the U.S. For example, Manila has dramatically slowed implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a 2014 deal providing U.S. forces with rotational access to five Philippine bases . Construction on U.S. facilities was delayed by more than two years before finally breaking ground earlier this month. Two bases, including the one closest to the Spratlys, may now be excluded, and any hope that the deal would expand in scope, which Dutertes predecessors administration assumed was inevitable, has been quashed. US-China conflict echoes Europes past Markets are much too sanguine about the possibility of de-globalisation Rana Foroohar Here is a story that should seem familiar. A great power, unsurpassed in military might and technological prowess, exports its free-trade economic model throughout the globe. Borders collapse, distance shrinks and the world seems smaller. But market excesses and political dysfunction eventually lead other nations to question the wisdom of its approach, and another power rises one whose dominance is built on a system of economic nationalism and industrial policy. As it flourishes, the first stagnates, sparking a conflict that leads not only to war, but to a decade-long decline in global trade and financial assets. Im referring of course to the last wave of globalisation involving Great Britain and Germany, which eventually died with the first world war and the Great Depression. It was a boom that lasted nearly eight decades, during which global trade and financial openness nearly doubled. Yet as the Bank for International Settlements put it in their 2017 annual report, the collapse of the first wave was as remarkable as its build-up, resulting in an almost complete unwinding of cross-border trade and financial flows. Markets did not see it coming. And at the risk of being a Cassandra, I wonder if they arent just as oblivious to what is happening today with the US and China. The conflict between these great powers has obvious similarities to the earlier story, not just in terms of opposing economic models and rising nationalism, but also in the boom-bust timeline. It has, after all, been more than seven decades since the current wave of postwar globalisation began. Stock markets, which took fright late last year, have recovered much of their losses. This happened, even though every day seems to bring a new harbinger of conflict that is much bigger than soyabeans, or steel, or tariff rates. Two recent events have, for me, moved the market worry dial from yellow to red. First was the US request that Canada arrest and extradite Huaweis chief financial officer followed by its decision to charge the Chinese chipmaker with espionage and sanctions violations. As investor Luke Gromen put it in his recent newsletter, the FBI has effectively declared the official time of death of globalisation. The US also stepped up pressure on its allies to limit Huaweis ability to do business in their markets something that mirrors sentiment already brewing in places including Germany, which is once again pushing industrial policy and national champions. This underscores the reality that the political impetus for deglobalisation does not begin and end with the Trump administration. It is no longer limited to the far-right or far-left. Most of the announced Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2020 Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Sherrod Brown appear to be coming around to the view that the economic relationship between the US and China will have to substantially change. There are already a number of bipartisan legislative efforts around things like Chinese intellectual property theft and the spread of Chinese influence in the US. Curbing economic ties between the US and the Middle Kingdom is no longer considered China bashing, but has become a mainstream view. The second thing markets should fear is the recent warning from a committee of Wall Street luminaries that advises the US Treasury. They estimated that the federal government is going to have to sell $12tn worth of bonds in the coming decade to fund its burgeoning national debt at a time when Chinese purchases of treasuries are falling. Analysts have long speculated about what would happen if China stopped funding US debt. But now the question is coming to the fore at a time when there is more debt in the world than ever before. Global sovereign debt levels are far higher today than they were after the last round of deglobalisation following the first world war. Financial products have grown so much faster than the real economy that financial assets are now more than three times global gross domestic product, which of course amplifies the impact of any correction. Deglobalisation is a complex, slow-burn process and not yet a done deal. But already, companies are under increasing pressure to choose whether they want to do business in the US, or in China, particularly in highly contentious areas like 5G networks. I recently asked Cisco chief executive Chuck Robbins whether he worried about the political implications of being a US company wiring up smart cities in China. China owns the data, we just provide the infrastructure, he answered, attempting to distinguish between the role of a private company and a state actor. But that line is becoming tougher to draw. Over the next few months, as the US-China trade talks continue and the 2020 presidential race gets into gear, we may see shifts in cross-border supply chains and investment flows that once seemed impossible. What will this mean for markets? Mr Gromen argues that US corporate margins as a percentage of GDP could easily fall by 30-60 per cent just to return to the long-term range that existed before China entered the World Trade Organization and sparked a trade boom. Time to rethink investment choices and re-read history. Alisha Sijapati is an arts and culture reporter at The Kathmandu Post, primarily covering human interest stories. She is intrigued by history, culture and films. Before joining the Post in 2015, she worked as a journalist for The Himalayan Times and ECS Media. The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Secretary Brad Pfaff tonight applauded Gov. Tony Evers for measures in his proposed state budget that will help Wisconsins family farmers, support rural communities, and protect the states environmental resources. Pfaff, of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said, Im grateful for the Governors attention to the needs of the agricultural community and his understanding of the importance of that community to our state as a whole. As Gov. Evers noted in his address, we are all connected and agriculture is one of the things that connects us most strongly. Our farmers provide food and fiber, our rural residents and urban dwellers create a market, and our transportation system serves us all. We all share the same environment and want to protect our land and water. Gov. Evers introduced his budget to the Legislature during an address this evening. We cant forget that agriculture contributes $88 billion annually to Wisconsins economy. We are one of the top three economic engines in the state, Pfaff said. Gov. Evers budget recognizes that reality. Among the budget items Pfaff commended are: Substantial investments in our transportation system Investments in rural broadband to enhance connectivity Support for our farmers through increased mental health assistance and grants for small dairy processors Increased funding for water quality initiatives Additional resources for Wisconsins developing hemp industry Our farmers have struggled under some difficult circumstances recently, but we also have so many opportunities, Pfaff said. The Governor has continued the work of Dairy Task Force 2.0 to help promote and enhance the cornerstone of Wisconsin agriculture. But we also have a strong organic sector, growing interest in grazing as an alternative, the promise of industrial hemp, even a developing wine and grape industry. The additional funding and new programs the Governor is proposing would support those efforts for years to come. All 11 passengers dead, driver injured in Darchula jeep accident Eleven people died on the spot and another sustained serious injuries in a jeep accident in Darchula on Friday. The incident occurred at Ratakatha Bhir of Duhu Rural Municipality-3 at around 8pm yesterday. 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 Schools in Nepal need to teach sexuality in a comprehensive way and set up mechanisms to address sexual abuse in the community While the prevalence of sexual abuse is not new, the investigation of the LMV case by this paper exposed the depth and magnitude of the problem. Pashupati Area Development Trust completes preparations for Shivaratri The Pashupati Area Development Trust has completed all celebratory preparations for Maha Shivaratri, the biggest annual Hindu festival that is celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva The festival falls on Monday this year Enrico Bonadio on The Conversation, a few weeks ago the Milan Court of First Instance issued an interim ruling in favour of mysterious artist Banksy or, rather, the company that manages his IP rights (Pest Control Office). The application sought to repress the unauthorized use of Banksy's registered trade marks and reproductions of his/her artworks in the context of an art exhibition in Milan. As thoroughly discussed byon, a few weeks ago the Milan Court of First Instance issued an interim ruling in favour of mysterious artist Banksy or, rather, the company that manages his IP rights (). The application sought to repress the unauthorized use of Banksy's registered trade marks and reproductions of his/her artworks in the context of an art exhibition in Milan. Pest Control Office Limited v 24 Ore Cultura s.r.l. is available here. The text of the decision in RG 52442/2018is available Let's see what happened. Background Girl with Balloon (also included in 'derivative' artwork Love is in the Bin) and Rage, the Flower Thrower: The applicant, Pest Control Office, is responsible for issuing certificates of authenticity re Banksy's artworks, and for selling his artworks and organizing exhibitions on his/her works. It has also registered a number of EU trade marks, including the word mark 'BANKSY' and the following figurative trade marks representing two of his/her best-known works, these being(also included in 'derivative' artwork) and In summer 2018 Pest Control Office, upon being informed that a Banksy exhibition would be organized in Milan, refused permission to use the name "and likeness" [good luck with that] of the artist [yes, this is what the decision says], and threatened the exhibition organizers to rely on its trade mark registrations to prevent, inter alia, the making and selling of Banksy-related merchandising. The art of Banksy. A visual protest, featuring 70 artworks attributed to Banksy, was announced. The website of the exhibition contains a disclaimer that no authorization from the artist has been obtained: Despite all this, last October the opening of the exhibition, featuring 70 artworks attributed to Banksy, was announced. Theof the exhibition contains a disclaimer that no authorization from the artist has been obtained: Despite all this, Pest Control Office applied to the Milan Court of First Instance to obtain an injunction against the exhibition organizer, 24 Ore Cultura, as well as the withdrawal from commerce of all relevant merchandising. It claimed that 24 Ore Cultura had infringed its own trade mark rights and copyrights (the latter infringement would be also criminally relevant), as well as committing acts of unfair competition which would be also contrary to the rules on advertising as set out in the Code of Marketing Communication Self-Regulation Italy . infringement The response of 24 Ore Cultura was quite interesting [more on this in what follows] . Its line was that: The applicant had provided no proof that it would be able to enforce rights (if any) on behalf of the artist. [the translation from Italian is mine] "the activity of artist BANKSY would stand as a demonstration of the intention to renounce any copyrights on his/her works, in that such works are permanently located on display in public places". As such, displaying copies of these works and making and selling related merchandising would not be an infringement because these "would reproduce works of the artist that are in the public domain or have been assigned by relevant owners". As regards the publication of the exhibition catalogue, no copyright infringement would subsist also because of the availability of the Italian defence for quotation, criticism or review within Article 70 of the Italian Copyright Act . No copyright infringement could have occurred because"the activity of artist BANKSY would stand as a demonstration of the intention to renounce any copyrights on his/her works, in that such works are permanently located on display in public places". As such, displaying copies of these works and making and selling related merchandising would not be an infringement because these "would reproduce works of the artist that are in the public domain or have been assigned by relevant owners". As regards the publication of the exhibition catalogue, no copyright infringement would subsistbecause of the availability of the Italian defence for quotation, criticism or review within The trade mark registrations would be invalid because those signs were registered in bad faith: "said trade marks would have been applied for for reasons other than that of distinguishing products: indeed, PEST CONTROL OFFICE Ltd does not undertake any of the activities for which it has registered its trade marks (exhibitions, editorial products, merchandising), but rather uses those registration to prevent third-party lawful activities". The decision Invalidity of trade mark registrations due to bad faith: full proof is required CJEU Lindt decision), including: With regard to the latter point, the judge deemed that invalidity of the trade mark registrations could not be established in the context of interim proceedings. In any event, bad faith needs to be clearly demonstrated by taking into account all relevant factors (as per the), including: That the trade mark applicant knew or ought to know that a third party employed, in at least one Member State, an identical or similar sign for an identical or similar good/service which would be likely confused with the sign for which registration was sought; That the applicant intended to prevent third parties from continuing using that sign; and The degree of protection enjoyed by the third-party sign and the sign for which registration was sought. Trade mark infringement i) Communication of the content of the exhibition Turning to the issue of infringement, the judge ruled that use of the word sign 'BANKSY' and the figurative signs in the context of communicating the content of the exhibition was a descriptive use of those trade marks and, as such, he found it non-infringing: In the context of such communication - which in itself is not unrelated to the the power of attraction of a trade mark, its function to guarantee quality, as specified in the categories 'communication', 'investment, and 'advertising' (as per the indications of the Court of Justice [in] Interflora) - it is not even possible to detect any parasitism [...], derogatory or in any case prejudicial behaviour that would damage the applicant, also taking into account that the marketing communication realized by [the respondent] expressly indicates the lack of any authorization from the artist and, therefore, the lack of any connection between this and his/her successors in title and such organization." CJEU Gillette decision, the judge concluded that the behaviour of the respondent was not contrary to the principles of professional fairness. Referring to the, the judge concluded that the behaviour of the respondent was not contrary to the principles of professional fairness. ii) Merchandising A different conclusion was however reached as regards the respondent's merchandising. The use of the name 'BANKSY' in connection to merchandising "without any specific relation to the exhibition" made it apparent how the intention would be purely commercial and such as to conflict with the scope of the trade mark registrations, which also cover goods in Class 16. Hence, infringement was likely to subsist. Trade mark and copyright infringement Turning to the catalogue (which also contains reproductions of Girl with Balloon and Rage, the Flower Thrower), the judge excluded that peculiar copyright status of street art would require consideration: [T]he exhibition in progress in Milan consists of copies of works by the artist acquired by private parties and which have been commercialized with the authorization of the artist himself/herself: this means, as a matter of fact, that the peculiar issues of copyright in street art are not relevant to the present case [...] In this context, what applies is Article 109 [of the Italian Copyright Act], which provides that the transfer of a copy of a work does not imply, save for any agreement to the contrary, the transfer of any economic rights vesting in the [underlying] work. The judge also excluded the application of the defence for quotation , criticism or review, in that Article 70(1) of the Copyright Act only applies to reproductions of 'fragments or parts' of a work, and not to to reproductions of a work in its entirety [also my translation] : The abridgement, quotation or reproduction of fragments or parts of a work and their communication to the public are allowed insofar as they are made for the purpose of criticism or discussion, within the limits justified for such purposes, and do not conflict with the commercial exploitation of the work; if undertaken for teaching or research purposes, the use shall only occur for illustrative purposes and not for commercial purposes. In all this, however, the judge found that he did not have sufficient elements to determine whether the applicant was the holder of the relevant economic rights, or whether - instead - the artist had reserved them to him/herself. Unfair competition: claim dismissed With regard to the unfair competition claim, the judge rejected it in that for unfair competition to be established what is required is the ascertainment that the behaviour objected to is objectively contrary to the principles of professional fairness and is also likely to cause damage to the subject that advances such claim. In the present case it was not clear whether Banksy had transferred his/her right of reproduction to Pest Control Office: as such, the applicant could not demonstrate that the unauthorized reproduction of Banksy's images by the respondent would be likely to cause damage. Conclusion The judge granted the injunction as requested by the applicant in relation to the merchandising. However, at least at this stage, he was not able to accept the claims based on copyright and unfair competition, due to the fact that the applicant had not demonstrated unequivocally that it would be entitled to enforce Banksy's economic rights. In any event, he found that the behaviour of the respondent would substantially amount to copyright infringement. Comment This interim decision raises a number of important questions, which would be interesting to see developed further in a full judgment on the merits. Trade mark law meets copyright ... or vice versa As far as trade mark law is concerned, this cases raises the issue of bad faith registrations and, if one wishes, also broader reflections relating to overlapping IP rights. ruled against trade mark registration of public domain artworks [Katposts here and here . While in the case of Banksy the issue is not, of course, one of public domain [though the respondent in the Milan proceedings questioned the copyright status of street art] , it is important to recall how the EFTA Court also noted how a trade mark based entirely on copyright-protected work presents a certain risk of monopolisation of the sign for a specific purpose, as it grants the marks proprietor such exclusivity and permanence of exploitation" [para 70] . Readers might remember that not long time ago the EFTA Courtagainst trade mark registration of public domain artworks. While in the case of Banksy the issue is not, of course, one of public domain, it is important to recall how the EFTA Court also noted how a trade mark based entirely on copyright-protected work presents a certain risk of monopolisation of the sign for a specific purpose, as it grants the marks proprietor such exclusivity and permanence of exploitation" The Italian defence for quotation, criticism, or review: an out-of-sync interpretation? Turning to copyright, the decision highlights once again the importance of identifying what the work actually being reproduced is: in this case it was not the actual graffitis, so the issue of street art protection was not relevant. In addition, the decision also calls for caution when considering the availability of potential copyright exceptions. In this case, it is true that Italian law has a quotation, criticism, or review defence; however, its application does not appear to encompass reproductions of works in their entirety. InfoSoc Directive. This said, a more modern interpretation of this provision might be not to exclude a priori the reproduction of a work in its entirety, eg, a photograph, from the scope of the exception. This approach would have the merit of being more in synch with what is required under the Berne Convention and the Article 10 of the Berne Convention appears to mandate the recognition of a quotation 'right' by stating that it shall be permissible to make quotations from a work, as long as the work in question has been lawfully made available to the public, and provided that the making of quotations is compatible with fair practice, and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose. Use of the modal verb "shall" would arguably impose on members of the Berne Union (which include Italy) an obligation to acknowledge a right of quotation, which is not necessarily limited to parts or fragments of works. of the Berne Convention appears to mandate the recognition of a quotation 'right' by stating that it shall be permissible to make quotations from a work, as long as the work in question has been lawfully made available to the public, and provided that the making of quotations is compatible with fair practice, and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose. Use of the modal verb "shall" would arguably impose on members of the Berne Union (which include Italy) an obligation to acknowledge a right of quotation, which is not necessarily limited to parts or fragments of works. Painer, the CJEU held that the quotation exception within the InfoSoc Directive in principle encompasses photographs. In addition, in its relatively recent (2011) decision in, the CJEU held that the quotation exception within the InfoSoc Directive in principle encompasses photographs. In light of international and EU law provisions, as well as the principle of non-discrimination, more recent Italian scholarship has indeed held the view that Article 70 of the Italian Copyright Act should not be read as excluding at the outset reproductions of works in their entirety. This was, however, not the view adopted in this recent Milan decision. Zarif withdrew his resignation less that two days after the announcement, following Rouhanis refusal to accept it. The brief crisis seemingly ended with some sort of resolution between the two feuding factions, with Rouhanis letter to Zarif citing an effusive expression of support by the supreme leader. According to some observers, this represents a victory for the moderate faction over the hardliners. But others dispute this notion, suggesting either that the incident was little more than political theater or that the resolution was based in large part on Khameneis acknowledgement of the administrations deference to his will. The Bloomberg report took no explicit position on this matter, but it did seem to underscore some of the ways in which the relationship between the competing factions is more nuanced and perhaps less combative than some would think. The report points to the fact that when Zarif made his announcement on Monday, he used Instagram to do it. Instagram is the last major social media platform to avoid a ban in the Islamic Republic even though the Rouhani administration promised to pursue an expansion in internet and press freedoms. But once the controversy over the foreign ministers announcement began, it played out on both Instagram and Twitter, which was banned in 2009, following the Green Movement protests. Tweets and Instagram posts came from both sides of Irans political divide, underlining the fact that while few officials have seriously challenged the governments control over social media, fewer still have determined that it applies to them in their positions. Bloomberg noted that Supreme Leader Khamenei has decried social media as a tool used to propagate the immoral ideologies of foreign enemies, but the report then went on to argue that the Zarif resignation saga is testament to the impossibility of dictating limits to online access in a country where social media has become a fact of life in spite of the persistence of government restrictions. So while it may be tempting for those who are optimistic about internal moderation of the Iranian regime to regard Zarifs Instagram announcement as a sign of support for the last remaining legal social media platform, it may be more accurate to say that this is just a reflection of mundane reality in Iranian society. By extension, it would perhaps be overly optimistic to conclude that Zarifs victory in the resignation saga is a precursor to progress in the area of moderate defenses of online access. Up until now, all efforts by officials in the Rouhani administration to promote free usage of internet platforms have met with condemnation and obstruction by hardline figures. Perhaps just as important is the fact that such efforts have been few and far between, and have not come from the most prominent officials, such as Zarif or Rouhani himself. As EA Worldview reported on Monday, the administrations natural leader point man on the issue of internet restrictions, Communications and Information Technology Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, is currently facing criminal charges in retaliation for his failure to follow judicial orders regarding tighter controls. EA Worldview describes the charge of internet espionage as the latest shot in an ongoing battle between the Rouhani Government, which wants to open up Irans communications and cultural space, and hardliners who blame dissident Iranians and foreign actors with attempts to undermine the regime. But neither this report nor others on the same topic provide much evidence of the Rouhani administration as a whole defending Azari Jahromi or his efforts to, for instance, develop 5G communications throughout the Islamic Republic. The communication ministers potential ouster therefore stands in direct contrast to the retention of the foreign minister in his position. The presidents vigorous defense of Javad Zarif, along with the supreme leaders acceptance of that defense, raises questions about why he would be persuaded to withdraw his resignation at the same time that another official with more openly reformist goals is being pressured to submit his. One likely answer to this question is that Zarifs actions have not actually abutted against those of hardline authorities, who are similarly willing to accept things like social media access when they serve the interests of the regime, and to reject them on the same basis. In the case of an ongoing trial against eight environmental activists and members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, the judiciary has been credibly accused of relying solely on false confessions that were elicited through torture and were later withdrawn. One of the co-defendants vocally objected to the use of this disputed evidence in the first trial session and was banned from attending subsequent sessions. Despite the resulting international outcry, including a recent letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by 26 members of the European Parliament, each of the defendants continues to face multi-year sentences. The seriousness of their potential punishment is amplified by the fact that their case is being handled in Revolutionary Court by Judge Abdolqasem Salavati, who is notorious for issuing harsh sentences in cases that are politically high profile, or are characterized as being related to national security, or are sensitive to the hardline Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Fortunately for the eight conservationists, however, few if any of reports regarding their case indicate that the charges levied against them could carry the death penalty. But this may not be the case with the latest group to apparently be targeted as part of the regimes crackdown. On Wednesday, IranWire reported that the Iranian judiciary had effectively invented an entirely new charge, circumventing the legislative process as part of an emerging effort to take aim at advocates for the rights of homophiles. The report notes that on February 17, the activist and gender studies student Rezvaneh Mohammadi was charged with acting against national security by normalizing homophile relationships. IranWire goes on to suggest that the Iranian judiciary is trying to set a precedent homophile activists and for human rights activists in general who take on homophile causes. It quotes another expert to suggest that this precedent could be especially dangerous in the cases of organized activism involving groups, even if such groups consist of as few as three people. The report describes Iranian laws regarding national security as being defective, flawed, and vague. And along those lines, Article 498 of the Islamic Penal Code states that anyone who aims to perturb the security of the country as a member of any group, with any ideology, is considered a warrior against God. This designation also makes a person eligible for capital sentencing. Of course, this provision of the law could theoretically be deployed against the environmentalists who are currently on trial, or against any other group that is now or may yet be detained together in Iranian institutions. None of the above information clearly demonstrates that the precedent the judiciary is attempting to set in cases of homophile rights activism is the pursuit of the death penalty. But in addition to being the subject of a new law that does not exist in the penal code, these sorts of activists are at elevated risk because they defend a group that is already subject to capital punishment. Indeed, the Islamic Republic exposed itself to renewed international condemnation in January when it carried out the public execution of a 31-year-old man for the crime of homophile activity. In response to the incident on February 1, Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, proclaimed that it should serve as a wake-up call for anyone who supports basic human rights. Grenell harshly criticized the perceived silence of European governments in the face of such issues and said that he was committed to a more aggressive coordination with our European allies to make clear that criminalizing homophileity or publicly hanging someone for being homophile is incompatible with the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As well as conveying Grenells criticisms, Fox News referred to remarks by Navid Mohebbi, a homophile human rights activist who fled the Islamic Republic for the US after being put on trial at the age of only 18. I believe that the Iranian regime is a gender apartheid state, he said, and given its systematic harassment of the HOMOPHILEQI community [and] religious minorities, and systematic discrimination against women, it should be treated the same way that the apartheid regime was treated in South Africa. The reference to apartheid no doubt stems from the fact that the laws of the Islamic Republic include provisions that mandate the separation of men and women in various public places, as well as requiring women to wear traditional Islamic head coverings. Unrelated and unmarried men and women can be charged with criminal offenses for physical contact as innocent as shaking hands, and mixed-gender gatherings of young people in recent years have resulted in a number of raids, which have almost invariably led to the summary flogging of arrestees. All of this speaks to the Iranian regimes institutionalized sexism, which is naturally very closely related to the regimes views on homophile relations. And given the extent of government control over Iranian media, these features can have an impact on Iranian society, even beyond the direct reach of regime authorities. Although Iran is widely understood to have one of the most highly educated and pro-Western populations in the Middle East, the theocratic government has made concerted efforts to reassert its hardline identity, and these efforts seemingly underlie the simultaneous efforts to crack down on multiple groups. As an example of the regime using its control over the media to promote its vision of gender apartheid, Iran Human Rights Monitor highlighted an interview that aired on state television, featuring an abusive husband and the wife who has tried unsuccessfully to divorce him on more than two dozen occasions. Iranian law gives nearly exclusive power over divorce to the man, as well as privileging male testimony over female and otherwise maintaining an imbalance in the legal status of the two genders. As IHRM described the program, an episode of a show called Formula One, the moderator openly praised the couple, in the presence of two young daughters, for staying together in spite of recurring physical abuse. The broadcast even drew condemnation from some members of the presidential cabinet in a country where at least two-thirds of women have experience violence at the hands of a spouse. But IHRM gives no indication that the critical public comments were accompanied by real action to counteract the state medias promotion of gender inequality. By the same token, there is still no indication of the Rouhani administration taking action to counter the ongoing escalation in the regimes crackdown on dissent, or to provide a clear alternative to hardline ideology that is still being espoused in the law and in state media. LAKE VICTORIA BASIC COMMISSION Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat, Kisumu, Kenya,1 March, 2019: The Republic of Uganda, which has been chairing the Joint Regional Policy Steering Committee Meetings (JRPSC) for Lake Victoria Basin, has handed over the chairmanship to the Republic of Rwanda on February, 28th 2019 in Kisumu, Kenya. Handing the instruments of chairmanship, Alfred Okot Okidi the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environment, Republic of Uganda outlined to participating delegates to JRPSC, the key achievements registered during his chairmanship. These included, but not limited to, successful completion of two mega flagship projectsLake Victoria Water Sanitation Project phase two (LVWATSAN II) and Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP II). The two regional projects have been coordinated by Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and implemented by five East African Community Partner States. Reports from LVBC indicate that the two projects registered tangible outcomes at community levels through improved livelihoods and environmental conservation in East African Community Partner States. Acknowledging challenges still hampering the Lake Victoria Basin, the outgoing chairperson of the JRPSC observed that consensus and moving forward with a purpose would contribute in advancing East Africa Community integration agenda through programmes and projects. The incoming chairperson, Fatina Mukarubibi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment Republic of Rwanda commended the good leadership of the outgoing chairperson and committed to keep the pace set by members of JRPSC and LVBCthe latter is the implementer of the decisions and directives of the former. Mukarubibi called for adoption of innovation, effective regional coordination and working extra harder by EAC Partner States as a way of unlocking existent development challengesclimate change, water hyacinth, among others. On climate change, we need to embrace climate adaptation measures in our long term development plans and work together, Fatina Mukarubibi, the chairperson of RJPSC said. LVBC Executive Secretary, Dr. Ally-Said Matano also applauded the able leadership of the outgoing chairperson and congratulated the in-coming chairperson for assuming new responsibilities of steering the policy-making forum (JRPSC) for programmes and projects in the Lake Victoria. Dr. Matano expressed gratitude for the policy and strategic support from Principal and Permanent Secretaries and Ministers of the East Africa Community Partner States to the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. He lauded the ongoing support from development partners, specifically, World Bank, African Development Bank, KfW, EU, and USAID among others. LVBC Executive Secretary cited Lake Victoria Bill as one of the legal and policy instruments which if enacted into law by the EALA Members of Parliament will reinforce LVBCs resource mobilization efforts. The host of JRPSC, Ali Noor, the Principal Secretary for Environment and Forestry, Republic of Kenya welcomed delegates to one of Kenyas Lake Cities, Kisumu. He commended LVBCs use of common approaches in sustainable management of shared resources in the five EAC Partner States. He urged delegates to generate recommendations aimed at realizing the shared vision of Lake Victoria Basin. The Kenyas representative called for delegates to observe one minute of silence in remembrance of marine victims from two sister EAC countriesRepublic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. The 8th JRPSC considered, among other things, the status of implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the previous JRPSC for Lake Victoria Basin held in April 2018 in Entebbe Uganda and other subsequent policy related meetings. There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have. - Don Herold Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane. - Phillip K. Dick In the fight between you and the world, back the world.- Frank Zappa President, Prime Minister offer tributes to chopper crash victims President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli offered tributes to the seven victims of Wednesdays helicopter crash, including Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari. Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years. Seven rhino calves found dead in past six months in CNP Conservationists are worried about the alarming death rate of rhino calves in the Chitwan National Park (CNP). Seven one-horned rhino calves, aged between two weeks and two years, were found dead in the park in the past six months. 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Mined from the notebooks, Sunday, February 24, 2019. Posted Saturday morning, March 2. The Angel on his Shoulder: Donald Trump in the Oval Office with the portrait of Andrew Jackson he had hung to advertise himself in photo ops as Jackson reincarnate. February 2017. Donald Trump in the Oval Office with the portrait of Andrew Jackson he had hung to advertise himself in photo ops as Jackson reincarnate. February 2017. Photo by Al Drago/New York Times via the Anchorage Daily News. [Editors Note: This is Part 2 of a three part series. Part 1 is here.] Yeah. Shithole countries. From Fear, heres Bob Woodwards account of the meeting Lindsey Graham and Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, with whom Graham had worked out a compromise bill on immigration reform they thought Trump was going to sign, had with Trump. The meeting didnt work out the way they expected: So Graham and Durbin showed up at the White House, thinking they would meet alone with Trump. Instead there was a group of anti-immigrant [Republican] Senators, Congressman and staffers, including [Trumps Chief of Staff John Kelly] and [senior advisor and speechwriter] Stephen Miller. Graham thought it looked like a lynch mob lined up on chairs in the Oval Office. Graham began walking through the plan, which included the money Trump had asked for on border security. It was not enough, Trump said, condescending. Graham said he was sure they could do more but this where they had started, and he mentioned 25,000 visas from mostly African countries. He turned to the visas for places such as Haiti and El Salvador because of earthquakes, famine and violence. Haitians, Trump said. We dont need more Haitians.. At that and the mention of immigrants from African countries, Trump said, Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? He had just met with the prime minister of Norway. Why not more Norwegians? Or Asians who could help the economy. Durbin was sickened. Graham was floored. Time out, Graham said, signaling for a halt with his hands. I dont like where this things going. America is an ideal, he said. I want merit-based immigration from every corner of the globe, not just Europeans. A lot of us come from shitholes. Trump snapped back to reasonable, but the damage was done... Before he tweet-tantrum-threatened NBC with retribution for the un-American act of airing a comedy show that dares to satirize everybodys favorite President of the United States, Trumps most recent verbal outrage was to tweet-tantrum-taunt-mock Elizabeth Warren for the upcoming defeat he would inflict on her on the 2020 presidential campaign trail. Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz! Boy, is he proud of that Pocahontas jab. Like its the height of wit. Of course what hes really proud of is how well it plays with his mobs of hideous men. Detail from The Trail of Tears by Robert Lindneux. 1942. Courtesy of the Granger Collection via PBS. The immediate reaction of the online commentary to the tweet was that there was a double-meaning in TRAIL. Actually, to some there wasnt a double-meaning at all. Rolling Stones Jamil Smith, for one, knew what one specific TRAIL he was twittering about: I try to never dignify this mans tweets, but there is little doubt here that he uses TRAIL to evoke the genocidal Trail of Tears, and does so to land a political jab. Warren has taken justifiable heat on this issuebut he used the murders of Indigenous people as a punchline. What Smith and many others saw him doing was using the deaths of 4000 people to make a joke at Warrens expense. He was finding it funny to picture her slogging through the snow while hungry, ill, and frostbitten men, women, and children dropped in their tracks around her and froze to death. Im not so sure. That is, Im sure hed find the image funny because thats the kind of fun-loving, sadistic, heartless, and racist bastard he is. What Im not sure of is that he meant the reference. Im not sure that he wrote the tweet. Or wrote it all on his own. I think he might have had help. And if TRAIL was a cruel and vicious double-entendre, it was that cruel and vicious helps suggestion. Fox News pundit and Trump apologist---but I repeat myself---came to Trumps defense with a tweet in which he seemed to be arguing that Trump was too stupid to have meant what most folks thought he meant. Hes racist, Hume seemed to be acknowledging, but hes not that racist hed find genocide funny. So he must not have meant TRAIL to mean that particular Trail. And the proof of that, Hume went on, is that he doesnt know enough history to make such an on the nose historical reference. History is largely missing from not only his tweets but all his public statements and, as far as we can tell, from his thinking entirely. Hume didnt say it but whenever the word history appears in Trumps statements, its advertising. Just words that are the equivalent of Nine out of ten dentists recommend or Nobody beats our low prices! When he calls himself your favorite President he doesnt intend a comparison to any other President in history. He simply means We serve the best Presidenting around! Oh, he knows what the Trail of Tears was, the commentators countered, because he knows all about that President. Andrew Jackson, hes claimed, is his favorite president. Not really. Jackson is the president Steve Bannon thought Trump should model himself on. It was Bannons idea to hang the portrait of Jackson in the Oval Office where it would appear in photo ops looking over Trumps shoulder, like an angel on his shoulder. What Trump knows about Jackson is the (probably) little that sank in from what Bannon taught him. Before Bannon held class, its a good bet all Trump knew about Jackson was his face was on the twenty-dollar bill. And Trump is a poor student. He cant be bothered to study. He doesnt need to, being a genius and all. All hes taken away from Bannons teaching is that Jackson is useful as an advertising gimmick for selling the Trump brand and everything Trump slaps his label on is a con. Andrew Jackson is a essentially a slogan, just words Trump can use to sell lies about himself to his mobs of suckers. If you can bear it, watch the speech he gave when, to emphasize he was Jacksons avatar, he made his photo-op pilgrimage to the Hermitage, Jacksons slave-dependent plantation, in March of 2017. The speech, supposedly honoring Jackson, was an advertisement for himself---I like Jenna Johnsons lede on her story: Others may think of history as a lens. Donald Trump regards it as a mirror.--- in which he claimed implicitly and explicitly all manner of similarities between himself and Jackson that were manifestly untrue. But, again, if you can stomach it, youll notice something else about Trumps way with words. Its colloquial. Like I said in Part 1 of this post: Trump's use of words is careless, impulsive, emotional, ignorant, profligate, and lunatic. He often doesn't mean anything more than he's mad about something, happy about something---happy in his mean-spirited, malicious, and self-serving way---has something he wants to boast about, or is simply feeling neglected and wants attention, and he spouts off using whatever words are within easiest reach. But he also uses whatever words are within easiest reach to express any emotion and every thought, using them for effect and without worrying about their exact dictionary definitions, counting on whoever hes talking to know what I meant. In otherumwords (Ha ha, Lance. It wasnt funny the first time.), he uses words the way most people do in their daily conversation. Its part of his appeal to the supporters he calls (with fake affection) the uneducated. They hear themselves talking whenever he opens his mouth and because they flatter themselves theyre honest and intelligent and therefore mean what they say and assume what they say has meaning and means what they meant to say they assume the same things about him. But colloquial speech can be intelligent, nuanced, eloquent, and even poetic. Im a poet and dont even know it is a truism. Thats because we use words for their connotations and associations as well as for their exact meaning. Emigrants Crossing the Plains or The Oregon Trail by Albert Bierstadt. 1869. Via Wikimedia. So...trail might just refer to the campaign trail, if you ignore the capitalization, but given that its associated with Pocahontas its almost certainly a reference to Indians. But not specifically to the Cherokees, although Warren herself brings the association with the Cherokees into it and consequently the allusion to the Trail of Tears with it. Trails are a feature of the landscapes of clashes between cowboys and Indians. Cowboys and Indians being about as sophisticated as most white people get in their thinking about the European conquest of whats become the United States. The Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Chisholm Trail, cattle trails, buffalo trails, Indian trails all figure in the stories we---white, bronze, brown, and black---tell ourselves about the settling of the West. James Earle Frasers sculpture End of the Trail provides one of the most iconic and moving images of the closing of the frontier. The Trail of Tears stands apart from that list as a specific event and when people use it even colloquially they say the whole name and intend their listeners to picture that event, that is, the people driven from their homes dying in the snow. Its not unlikely that someone as lazy and ignorant in his thinking and habits of speech---not mention as racist---as Trump would casually make the association between the fake Indian Warren and the campaign trail with generic frontier trails. He very well not have intended to refer to the specific event that was an act of genocide. Not to forget, of course, that the settling of the continent was an centuries-long act of genocide. But most people dont think of it that way. The historical actuality hasnt permeated the popular imagination yet. People---who arent Native American---can be expected to use trail in association with the winning of the West in casual conversation without consciously invoking images of genocide. And remember Trump sees himself as being in constant casual conversation with his base who, like I said, hear themselves when he talks and tweets because in his way with words, at least, hes one of them. At any rate, Id be inclined to give Trump the benefit of the doubt here and agree with Hume. Not that Trump isnt that racist or that hes too ignorant to know the history of the Trail of Tears. But it just doesnt seem like his style. History doesnt figure bigly in his rhetoric. Id be inclined if it wasnt for the capitalization. But notice something about that capitalization. Its the only word he capitalized. Thats not like him. Trump capitalizes words for their marketing appeal. He wants certain words to jump out at you like in newspaper ads, store window signs, and labels on cereal boxes. He uses capitals to sell not simply for emphasis. He doesnt want his audience to think about what the words mean. He wants them to react by applauding or reaching for their wallets. Notice something else thats not like him? The sentences parse. Trump has never written all his tweets. Hes had other people tweet for him when hes too busy or lazy to do it himself. But it seems to me that hes delegated more of his twittering lately or at least let them be subjected to editing. And I suspect he didnt write this one. I even think I know who wrote it for him. If you go back to that passage from Fear at the top of the post, youll notice who else Woodward reports was in the shithole meeting beside Graham and Durbin and Trump and John Kelly. Stephen Miller. End of Part 2. Follow the link to jump back to Part 1, Just Words. Part 3 is in the works. End of the Trail by James Earle Fraser. Photo by Shawn Conrad. Via Wikipedia. End of Part Two. Follow the link to Part Three: Putting "just words" in his mouth. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Related Mannion Re-run: "Anybody can be President, even Andrew Jackson" . ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Fear: Trump in the White House" by Bob Woodward is available in hardcover and for kindle at Amazon and as an audiobook from Audible. Filed under The President Checks In and First as tragedy, then as farce. California Legislature Passes Joint Resolution in Support of a Bayard Rustin Commemorative Postage Stamp On February 26, the California Legislature passed a joint resolution in support of the national Bayard Rustin Stamp campaign. Spearheaded by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (AD 51), the concurrent resolution ACR-27 honors the legacy of Bayard Rustin, who stood at the confluence of the greatest struggles for civil, legal, and human rights by African Americans, as well as the LGBTQ community, and whose focus on civil and economic rights and belief in peace and the dignity of all people remains as relevant today as ever. Rustin, who died in 1987, was the openly gay man that counseled Martin Luther King, Jr. on non-violent resistance and orchestrated the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the seminal event of the Civil Rights Movement. The campaign to commemorate Rustins work with a USPS stamp is a joint initiative of the International Court System and The National LGBTQ Task Force to highlight the overlooked contributions of a man too long confined to the shadows of history solely due to his sexual orientation. ADVERTISEMENT Mahershala Ali Wins Supporting Oscar for Green Book Speaking backstage after winning an Oscar win for his supporting role in Green Book, Mahershala Ali said tonight it was the first time he felt such responsibility for a film. As a central character in a two-man story, Ali was required to be on set nearly every day throughout the shoot. ADVERTISEMENT It was the first time I had that kind of responsibility, Ali said, telling reporters at the Dolby Theatre he usually contribute(s) to stories in a more limited way. This was the first time I got to stretch my legs. And the man he portrayed, classical jazz concert pianist Don Shirley, was very different than Ali. I had to let certain things go that were in my personality, the actor said. It was constantly sort of negotiating and finding my way to finding his essence. Though Ali won two years ago for his supporting role in another best- picture winner, Moonlight, he said he doesnt take the statuette for granted. It makes me more aware of all the people who have really contributed to my life, the actor said, from his childhood to the team now working on his behalf. The first one (Oscar) helped me get Green Book, he said. It changes your profile. It gets you in other rooms. ADVERTISEMENT He said there have been many other milestones since his first win. My life has changed tremendously in two years. My daughter just had her 2nd birthday two days ago, Ali said. His goal now is just to be as productive as possible. I try not to be too hard on myself, but I gotta just go for it and take chances and commit and see how things work out, all with the goal of learning and growing and being stretched. New Study: Racism Drives Black Homelessness Structural racism, discrimination, and unconscious bias drive an overrepresentation of Blacks experiencing homelessness, according to a new report by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Report and Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness was formed at the direction of the LAHSA Commission. We all know that the local data shows that in Los Angeles County, 1 out of every 10 residents are African American, and yet, 1 out of every 3 homeless persons are African American, said Ridley-Thomas. ADVERTISEMENT According to the report, it is an over-representation consistent demographically across the United States. The stark disparities that are the product of vicious and entrenched structural discrimination in all of its forms in our society: the justice system, our schools, our safety net, our workplaces and our halls of power, he said. He spoke to more than 100 L.A. County leaders homeless advocates, and activists who gathered for launch of the report at the California African American Museum on February 25. Researchers found that discrimination in housing, employment, criminal justice, and child welfare policies have led to disproportionate numbers in Black homelessness. Lasting change requires a dismantling of institutions barriers across agencies and mainstream systems, they found. The document cites 2017 Homeless Count estimates, which indicate that over 53 percent of Blacks experiencing homelessness were between the ages of 25 and 54. Individuals age 55 and older comprised 26 percent of the total population. The report indicates, The mounting affordable housing crisis across the state, especially in the Los Angeles region, paired with persistently low, stagnant, and declining wages, exacerbates homelessness and particularly for Black people. In addition, it went on, the plight of homelessness is made more complex and challenging by its link to incarceration. Embedding care and empathy in outreach and case management services, as well as policy and program design will effect change, according to researchers. ADVERTISEMENT While we make up only nine percent of the population, we make up nearly 40 percent of the homeless population, so giving some focus to what solutions could be to help people exit homelessness was paramount to this work, said Jacqueline Waggoner, LAHSA Commissioner and chair of its 26-member Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness. She, along with Kelli Bernard, Chair, LAHSA Commission, and Peter Lynn, LAHSA Executive Director, extended sincere thanks to partners and community members, particularly individuals with lived experience of homelessness, for contributing to the study. Sixty-seven recommendations out of the nine-month study include improving data collection, analysis and collaborative research to better understand and track issues affecting Blacks experiencing homelessness; and, advance racial equitable policies, programs, and funding across institutions. After invocation by civil rights leader Reverend Cecil Chip Murray, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, L.A. City Council Members Curren Priceand Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Reba Stevens, an Ad Hoc Committee member and advocate who has experienced homelessness, and Glenn Harris, president, Race Forward, which advocates for racial justice, also gave opening remarks. Following the launch and a brief press availability, advocates and stakeholders held a symposium to highlight the data and next steps. Price called the day exciting because of the call for action with documented proof of whats needed to eradicate homelessness. He shared a personal testimony of how homelessness had touched his own family and many others in the same way. Harris-Dawson, explained that the new study is follow up to a 2016 report on homelessness in South L.A., compiled by his office. He urged leaders and advocates to follow up to the data gathered in the new study with a scientific approach. He used his time to sound a sobering note, saying its not the first time people have seen such a study or passed recommendations. Well go all the way, all the way, all the way back to the end of the Civil War. There as a recommendation about 40 acres and a mule, and we didnt quite get that done, said Harris-Dawson. He noted other landmark reports, bills and recommendations through the Civil Rights era to the early 90s that produced little change. We should be here and rightfully celebrate this report and celebrate the work that is done and all that weve accomplished, but we must all hold our fee to the fire and this time, we get it done, and we get it done in the right way, said Harris-Dawson. NNPA President Moderates Inspirational CBCF Avoice Heritage Celebration A program to commemorate the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations 10th annual Avoice Heritage Celebration concluded in much the same way it began: lively and inspiring. Held on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Eaton Hotel in Washington, D.C., the program, entitled Roots, Return, Remembrance: The Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Agenda, reflected on the many diverse stories of migration by African Americans and how theyve shaped the mission of the CBC. It kicked off with the Washington Performing Arts Men & Women of the Gospel Choir performing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, under conductor Stanley Thurston. ADVERTISEMENT After a welcome address and statements, Neema Bickersteth, Jessie Montgomery and Jannina Norpoth the cast of Scott Joplins Opera, Treemonisha performed We Will Trust You As Our Leader. CBC Chair, California Rep. Karen Bass received the Distinguished Champion for Global Black Empowerment Award while Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.); Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas); Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.); Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.); and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.); each received the Distinguished Leader of Black Legislative Empowerment awards. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) the trade organization that represents the 215 African American-owned newspapers and media companies around the country live-streamed the event to viewers on various social media platforms. There are millions of young people in particular who are searching and thirsting for knowledge and information, so we thought this would be a great program for them to see, said NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who moderated an energetic panel discussion featuring the awardees. Because of special hearings planned with President Donald Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen, Representative Cummings could not attend the event. However, Cummings was featured in a video of the honorees that spoke about the importance of the Avoice Virtual Library, the CBCFs award-winning digital archive that counts as a valuable tool for researchers, educators, students and anyone interested in African American legislative history. ADVERTISEMENT Avoice was developed in 2005 following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that revealed the fragility of preserving physical, historical artifacts. As part of the virtual library project, the CBCF collects, preserves and disseminates historical information cataloging the rich history of African Americans in Congress and the library offers a section for educators with lesson units and detailed classroom activities to help teachers incorporate African American legislative history into their curricula. Chavis noted that members of the Black Press, which marks 192 years in business, continue to publish daily in print and on digital platforms. In moderating the panel of awardees, Chavis began with the ultra-popular Waters, the first black woman to chair the House Committee on Financial Services. He asked Waters what could be expected from her committee in terms of improving the quality of life in black communities. What Ive said to [businesses] is to not come to my committee to try to carry on your de-regulation. No more of that, Waters said. We want you to go figure out how you will fix all the wrongs you created that did not allow Black people to credibly own their own homes and businesses. Waters vowed to change the direction of America and the way weve been discriminated against. She said, Im ready. Johnson, the chair of the House Committee on Science, Technology and Space, said her committee isnt sexy or exciting for a lot of people, but its terribly important. We will continue to stress that we need our young people to see opportunities in STEM fields, Johnson said, adding that she ensures that historically black colleges and universities are included in all grant and other funding that passes through her committee. Before turning to Scott, Chavis drew laughter and applause when he remarked, Lord have mercy on Virginia a reference to the blackface and other scandals engulfing top officials there. Scott agreed, but cautioned against distraction. We can spend all the time talking about that and not talk about equity and education, said Scott, who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor. We have a lot of work to do. With all the distractions going on, nobody notices what were doing, he said. A couple of days ago, we gave a presentation to a higher education group and left there for a hearing on minimum wage and the reporters who staked me out didnt want to talk about all the great things were doing for higher education or labor, they wanted to talk about whats up with the governor What I did today, $100 billion legislation in school construction and we passed the Fair Pay Act, and [The Black Press] is the only place you will hear that it happened because of all the news on distractions. Meanwhile, we have to do what we need to do, Scott said. Thompson, the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said his committee does everything from airport security to maritime security. You name it. In America, we provide security. However, I dont want in the name of security, to have people targeted because of their color or religion, Thompson said. My job is not only to secure America, but to make America uphold its values as a country for people who live here, he said. Waters capped the night encouraging her colleagues to embrace millennials and not shield them from the realities of racism and other problems. They dont want to be shielded. They want to be told the truth, she said. I am honored and so pleased that Ive been adopted by the millennials I am everybodys Auntie. There were several major announcements yesterday regarding the TCM Classic Film Festival A number of additions to the film schedule were announced, including this year's slate of four nitrate films. The nitrate movies which will be shown are THE DOLLY SISTERS (1946), THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER (1947), ROAD HOUSE (1948), and SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949).I saw the nitrate ROAD HOUSE print at UCLA in 2017 , so this year I'm especially looking forward to THE DOLLY SISTERS (Fox Technicolor in nitrate!) and THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER. I love Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr but am not sure about seeing SAMSON AND DELILAH as I'm not typically a big fan of Biblical epics.The festival will be paying tribute to 20th Century-Fox by showing a number of films from that studio. Among the Fox films on the schedule, I'm very excited about Shirley Temple in THE LITTLE COLONEL (1935) and Will Rogers in LIFE BEGINS AT 40 (1935). I'd also like to see GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953), which I saw at the L.A. County Museum of Art when I was growing up in the '70s; last year I really enjoyed HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953), released by 20th Century-Fox the same year.More recent Fox films on the schedule include a 70mm screening of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965), a print I was able to see at the Egyptian in 2012 , and the "Special Edition" cut of the original STAR WARS (1977).The previously announced screening of INDISCREET (1958) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman should now be a wonderful opportunity to honor the film's late director, Stanley Donen Based on past history, the full schedule, typically around 80 films, should be released in about a month. I'm already crossing my fingers that the films I most want to see won't be scheduled in the same time slots! In other important festival news, last week it was announced that film preservationist Kevin Brownlow will be the second recipient of the Robert Osborne Award, created to honor those "whose work has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive and thriving for future generations." Brownlow, particularly known for his work preserving silent films, is a wonderful choice for this honor, which last year was awarded to Martin Scorsese.The TCM Classic Film Festival will take place in Hollywood, California, from April 11th through 14th. All pass levels are currently listed on the website as sold out ; there is a wait list available for those interested in purchasing a Classic pass.More information on this year's festival may be found in the links at the end of this post.Finally, on a sad note, I want to mention the recent passing of #TCMParty member Andrea Rosen. I didn't know Andrea well but have seen her many times at the TCM Classic Film Festival, including last year, when a big group of us had breakfast together at Mel's on the festival's opening day . Andrea was known for Tweeting cocktail recipes themed to each week's Noir Alley titles; Eddie Muller even mentioned her on the air one week. (He posted a moving Tweet today.) We'll all be remembering Andrea at this year's festival. Those who wish to honor her may contribute to Broadway Cares . Sincere condolences to her husband, family, and friends.Previously: TCM Announces 2019 Festival Dates and Theme Update: The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Schedule Friday, March 1, 2019 Like its federal counterpart, Delaware Rule of Evidence 106 provides that If a party introduces all or part of a writing or recorded statement, an adverse party may require the introduction, at that time, of any other part or any other writing or recorded statement that in fairness ought to be considered at the same time. There's a split among states as to whether this "rule of completeness" is simply a rule of timing or also a rule of admissibility. In other words, does it merely regulate when otherwise admissible evidence can be admitted or can it be used to transform otherwise inadmissible evidence into admissible evidence. As the recent opinion of the Supreme Court of Delaware in Thompson v. State, 2019 WL 845674 (De. 2019), makes clear, Delaware's rule of completeness is a rule of admissibility. In Thompson, Aaron Thompson was charged with murder and related crimes, and Joshua Bey testified against him as a witness for the prosecution. Thereafter, [o]n cross-examination, Thompson confronted Bey with several statements from his prior statements to the police that were inconsistent with his testimony at trial. A substantial portion of Bey's cross-examination involved Thompson's counsel confronting Bey with several statements he made in the August 14 proffer that were inconsistent with his trial testimony. He also questioned Bey about two discrete points in the September 5 statement that were inconsistent with his trial testimony. Subsequently, the prosecution successfully argued that the entirety of Bey's September 5th statement was admissible as a prior consistent statement under Delaware Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(B). After he was convicted, Thompson appealed, claiming that the September 5th statement was not admissible as a prior consistent statement. The Supreme Court of Delaware rejected this argument, concluding that Where, as here, the cross-examiner's goal is to impeach the credibility of the testifying witness by arguing that the witness's whole story is made up and does this by bringing up isolated examples of inconsistencies with a prior statement that are insignificant to the whole story, it is appropriate under Rule 106 for the jury to hear the entire prior statement to properly assess the witness's credibility. Thompson's line of attack was that since Bey could not keep his story straight (or consistent), he must have made the whole thing up. The recorded statement, however, was largely consistent with Bey's trial testimony. Therefore, playing the entire statement countered Thompson's argument that Bey was making everything up. Finally, the court concluded that "[s]ince we find that Bey's September 5 statement was admissible under Rule 106, we need not consider its admissibility under Rule 801(d)(1)(B)." Therefore, Delaware Rule of Evidence 106 clearly allows for the admissibility of evidence that is not admissible under any other rule of evidence. -CM https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/evidenceprof/2019/03/like-its-federal-counterpart-delaware-rule-of-evidence-106-provides-that-if-a-party-introduces-all-or-part-of-a-writing-o.html Saturday, March 2, 2019 From CNN: Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio has declared rape and sexual violence a "national emergency," following a series of cases involving minors in the country. Bio said those found guilty of raping minors could face life imprisonment and directed all public hospitals to provide free medical services for victims of sexual assault. "As a nation, we must address this scourge. Sexual penetration of minors is punishable by life imprisonment," Bio said on Thursday while speaking at the State House in the capital, Freetown. The announcement comes amid calls by activists and Sierra Leone's First Lady Fatima Bio for stricter punishment for perpetrators of sexual violence. Read more here. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family_law/2019/03/sierra-leone-president-declares-rape-a-national-emergency.html Thirty years ago, Icelanders drank beer legally for the first time in more than a generation. On Friday, the country celebrated the anniversary of the end of a long ban on beer. Fittingly, the celebration is called Beer Day. The drink was outlawed in Iceland for 74 years. All other alcohol remained legal, however. The beer ban finally ended on March 1, 1989. The ban was left over from the countrys prohibition days, which began in 1915 after the population voted in a referendum to outlaw all alcohol. The ban partly ended just seven years later out of economic need. Spain refused to buy Icelands largest export, fish, unless Iceland bought Spanish wines. Prohibition ended in another national referendum in 1933, by a very small majority. In an effort to keep the peace, Icelands parliament decided to continue to ban beer. Historian Stefan Palsson is a beer lover who works part-time at a brewery-based School of Beer. He said that back in 1933, Icelanders did not care much about beer. They drank in order to become drunk and beer wasnt really efficient for that, Palsson said. Alcohol abuse remains a problem in Iceland. One in 10 Icelandic men over the age of 15 have been to alcoholism treatment at least once, the countrys leading addiction treatment center, SAA, says. Most Icelanders agree with strong government restrictions on alcohol sales to reduce alcoholism. All alcohol including beer is only sold at government-run stores that have high taxes. A drinker can also, of course, just go to a bar, where a pint of beer usually costs about 1,100 krona ($9). Icelanders opinions of beer began changing in the 1970s, when more of them started traveling to sunny European beach communities and enjoying the drink. The call for beer of their own became strong. Yet even by 1988, many people were against ending the beer ban, including some politicians. Steingrimur Sigfusson is parliamentary speaker. He recalls that, at the time, there was a real fear of change. Many thought hundreds of bars would open for beer-drinkers and change society for the worse. Sigfusson himself voted against ending the ban. He still defends the countrys restrictive alcohol policies that aim to limit alcohol abuse or under-age drinking. The worst-case predictions never came true, but underage drinking did increase, he said. When the ban finally ended exactly 30 years ago, all four bars in Icelands capital, Reykjavik, were full of happy drinkers. In one day, Icelands 260,000 people bought 340,000 cans of beer at government-run alcohol stores. Hreindis Ylva was born the day the ban ended. She celebrated her 30th birthday Friday with friends in Reykjavik. But she was not drinking any beer. The taste is not for me, Ylva said. I'm Susan Shand. The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted the AP reports for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story beer n. an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops brewery n. a place where beer is made prohibition n. the act of not permitting something to be used or done wine n. an alcoholic drink made from the juice of grapes efficient adj. capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy addiction n. a strong and harmful need to regularly have something such as a drug or alcohol pint n. a unit for measuring liquids that is equal to 0.473 liters, a glass of beer bar n. a building or room where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served beach n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake Pakistan returned a captured Indian pilot to his country on Friday. Pakistani officials described the move as a gesture of peace. The action temporarily reduced tensions between the two sides over the disputed Kashmir area. The pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, was seen walking across the border near the town of Wagah just before 1600 Universal Time (UTC). Indian officials then confirmed he had been returned. His return to India came after a series of cross-border attacks in Kashmir this week. On Tuesday, Indian aircraft entered Pakistan air space to attack what India described as a camp of the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad. The group had claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir on February 14. The explosion killed at least 40 paramilitary troops. Both India and Pakistan claim they shot down enemy airplanes on Wednesday. Varthaman was captured when his plane crashed in a Pakistan-controlled area. The two countries have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Two of the wars were fought over Kashmir. About Kashmir Located high in the Himalayan Mountains, Kashmir borders China to the northeast, India to the south and Pakistan to the west. The area is about 222,000 square kilometers in size. But its exact border has always been poorly defined. Over the years, a series of rulers introduced Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh cultures to Kashmir. When the British withdrew in 1947, Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler over Kashmir, delayed a decision to join Muslim Pakistan or Hindu-majority India. The move was part of an effort to remain independent. As the majority Muslim population of Kashmir rebelled, Singh chose to join India. This led to the first Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. A year later, the two nations agreed to a ceasefire. The agreement called for Pakistan to withdraw its troops and for India to keep a small military presence. It also called for a popular vote for Kashmiris to decide their future. But Pakistan did not pull back its troops and a vote was never held. In 1962, China overpowered Indian forces to capture a small area along its border with Kashmir. Heavy fighting between India and Pakistan broke out in 1965 and again in 1971. With Pakistans defeat, the two nations signed an agreement to establish East Pakistan as the independent nation of Bangladesh. The agreement also established a Line of Control, effectively dividing Kashmir into two areas. Tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers have since faced off along the Line of Control and, at times, exchanged gunfire. Behind the line, militants continue their attacks like the one that brought the two nuclear-powered countries closer to another war. I'm Ashley Thompson. Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story gesture - n. something done to show a particular feeling or attitude paramilitary - adj. related to a group that is organized like an army locate - v. to be in a specific place introduce - v. to bring something to a place for the first time Tika R Pradhan is a senior political correspondent for the Post, covering politics, parliament, judiciary and social affairs. Pradhan joined the Post in 2016 after working at The Himalayan Times for more than a decade. This is What's Trending Today... Much of the talk in Washington this week has centered on what Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, told lawmakers during his appearance before Congress. But lots of Washingtonians are talking about something else, too. It involves liberty and justice for all. Actually, just Liberty and Justice. Those are the names of two bald eagles who have called Americas capital home for many years. The pair have a nest in southwest D.C. The group Earth Conservation Corps put up video cameras near their nest. This so-called Eagle Cam is a hit on the internet. Liberty and Justice have been together for an estimated 14 years. During that time, Liberty, the female, has laid more than 20 eggs. She and Justice have taken turns keeping the eggs warm until they open. But last month, Justice disappeared. You might say he flew the coop . This means to leave ones longtime home. Justice went missing on February 9. His absence left Liberty to catch her own fish from the nearby river, keep her eggs warm by herself and fight off interested male eagles. Several male birds made appearances on Eagle Cam over the next couple of weeks. The cast of characters even received names from Earth Conservation Corps employees and Eagle Cam watchers. There was Aaron Burrd, whose name is a play on Americas third vice president, Aaron Burr. He was not at all successful in gaining Libertys approval. A male eagle named M2 had better luck. In fact, he was seen earlier this week helping Liberty keep her eggs warm. Later, the two were seen, well, being lovebirds. Liberty even left her nest for a long period of time, leaving her eggs unviable. In other words, they will not produce baby eagles. Then on Wednesday, Justice suddenly returned. It was a shocking turn of events. As one Eagle Cam fan wrote, This is better than watching soap operas. Even though Justice is back, no one is saying the eagle has landed just yet. This expression is used to describe a successful arrival or completion of a mission. If Justice wants to get Liberty back from M2, he will have to work for it. It was not until Friday morning that Justice and Liberty were both seen at the nest together. As Liberty was enjoying some fresh-caught fish, Justice flew in from behind. It was a tense few moments. Justice hung his head away from Liberty. He then slowly and carefully walked toward her. He could be heard making high-pitched noises. But Liberty continued to ignore her longtime partner, turning her head away from him. Then, Justice decided to try to get himself a piece of Libertys fish. That was a bad idea. Liberty reacted in an aggressive way and then moved closer to her meal to protect it. Moments later, she started eating her fish again. Justice began moving around some small pieces of wood, as if trying to win Libertys favor by being helpful. Eagle Cam watchers are now waiting to see what happens next. Although Justice is back in the birds nest, he is clearly going to be in the doghouse for some time. And thats Whats Trending Today I'm Ashley Thompson. Ashley Thompson wrote this report, with information from the Earth Conservation Corps and DCist. Hai Do was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story nest - n. the place where a bird lays its eggs and takes care of its young character - n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show lovebirds - n. people who are lovers :people who have a romantic relationship soap opera - n. a television or radio program that has continuing stories about the daily lives and problems of a group of people moment - n. a very short period of time in the doghouse - expression. in a bad situation because someone is angry at you : in trouble As per FCC Guidelines , every movie I review I personally bought or rented. Every book or music CD I review I personally bought and own. 1. Yes. The Schlueter Group has extensive experience and contacts. Its a good investment. 2. Yes. The firms namesake has a background as a legislator and knows Killeen well. 3. No. The expenditure is a waste of money. Our lawmakers should be doing that work. 4. No. The contract should be shorter, incentivized and based on performance benchmarks. 5. Unsure. Its not always easy to quantify the outcomes of lobbying efforts. Vote View Results (HealthDay)A large Canadian drug distributor sells unapproved and mislabeled medicines to Americans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday. The distributor disputes the claim, however. CanaRx sells common prescription medicines at a lower cost to hundreds of public and private employer programs in the United States, including city and county governments trying to save money, The New York Times reported. The company says it provides high-quality medications from Canada, Australia, and Britain, but the FDA says that is not always the case. "Operations like CanaRx use their names to imply that patients are receiving medicines approved in Canada, when it's likely that some of those drugs are from other countries with lax standards," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., told the Times. "Such operations take advantage of unsuspecting Americans, by purporting to distribute safe and effective imported drugs, at least some of which are instead expired, mislabeled, subject to recalls, or potentially counterfeit." A statement on the FDA website urges consumers not to use any medicines obtained from CanaRx, but the agency does not offer any evidence that medicines sold by CanaRx come from countries other than those advertised, the Times reported. "Every prescription that is dispensed through a CanaRx program is dispensed directly to the patient from a licensed, regulated, brick-and-mortar pharmacy in Canada, Britain, or Australia, and the patient can be sure that medicine she receives is the medicine that her doctor ordered," Joseph Morris, general counsel for CanaRx, told the Times. Morris said that the company would cooperate with the FDA, but added that "many of the websites listed in the FDA letter belong to other entities completely unconnected to CanaRx." Of the websites listed in the letter, 123 were active CanaRx websites, 27 were CanaRx programs that have been terminated, and 15 were not affiliated with the company, Morris told the Times. An FDA spokesman told the newspaper that the agency stood by its findings. Explore further FDA warns websites marketing unapproved opioids Copyright 2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)The number of measles cases in the New York City outbreak that began last October in the Orthodox Jewish community has reached 121, the city's health department said Thursday. Most of the cases (108) are in children younger than 18, with 13 cases in adults. No deaths have occurred, but eight people have been hospitalized and one child ended up in the intensive care unit. Of the 121 cases, five were diagnosed in the past week and 26 were identified after symptoms subsided. Most of the cases have occurred in Borough Park and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, according to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Four cases, including the first case, were acquired on visits to Israel, where there is a large measles outbreak. One case was acquired in the United Kingdom and one was acquired in the Ukraine. A city health department-led campaign to encourage vaccination has resulted in more than 7,000 people receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. "As a pediatrician, I can't stress enough how critical it is to vaccinate children against measles," Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot, M.D., said in a city news release. "Measles is a serious, highly contagious, and potentially deadly infection. Complications and fatalities are rare but do happen. I urge parents not to take any risks that may jeopardize their children or other children in their community." Explore further Measles outbreak in New York state largest in recent history More information: More Information Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Mustek is one of the largest assemblers and distributors of personal computers and ICT products in South Africa. The company owns well-known local businesses Mecer and Rectron, commanding a significant share of the local market. At its head office in Midrand, Gauteng, Mustek assembles thousands of PCs and other hardware, and dispatches them to clients around the country. These systems are assembled to order, and the company accomplishes this impressive feat by implementing a highly-efficient and versatile assembly floor capable of building multiple units quickly and reliably. The hardware assembled on the line includes everything from mass shipments of office desktop PCs, Raspberry Pi-powered mini computers, and high-end gaming rigs. Mustek also takes pride in its ability to hire and train South Africans with the skills required to progress through the company structure, enabling them to improve their qualifications. The company sources labour from its training centre, taking in students who are placed on the assembly line and taught the skills required to build a range of systems. Following this learnership, these students then apply for internships at the company where they can select which skills they would like to focus on and improve. Through this initiative, Mustek retains a dedicated and talented workforce while providing education and opportunity to hundreds of South Africans. Assembly line The assembly line comprises multiple phases, from initial hardware selection and hard drive imaging to chassis assembly and barcoding for unit tracking. Mustek currently builds and dispatches around 300-400 complete systems from its assembly floor every day, although the line has the potential to push out about 1,500 systems a day when operating at maximum capacity. There is a selection of impressive hardware on the Mustek assembly line, from hard drive duplicators and mass system imaging systems to automatic wrapping machines for packaged units. Mustek was kind enough to invite MyBroadband on a tour of its facility photos of which are posted below. Now read: The most reliable hard drives in the world Your talent can bring you more ... The week ended with a total of three wrongful death lawsuits filed by relatives of the three employees of The Pathway Home who were killed by a former client a year ago on the grounds of the Veterans Home in Yountville. In addition to the lawsuit by relatives of Jennifer Golick first reported by The Register on Thursday, lawsuits have also been filed by relatives of Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba and Christine Loeber. The three lawsuits target different agencies but contain similar allegations. Attorneys argue that the state, local agencies or Pathway could have reacted differently on the day of the attack or done more to have prevented the shootings especially because the gunman was discharged from the program for threatening the lives of the three women. The state, county and Pathway declined to comment, citing pending litigation. All three lawsuits referenced a Sacramento Bee report that said the California Highway Patrol determined in a site assessment that the campus should have a security checkpoint, front gate, fencing, working locks and intercoms. CHP has previously denied the Registers public records request for this report, claiming exemptions that apply to investigatory records of law enforcement agencies, and to documents that assess an agencys vulnerability to terrorist attacks or criminal acts. Attorneys for Theodore Joseph Shushereba, husband of the late Gonzales Shushereba, filed the lawsuit in Napa County Superior Court Wednesday, arguing that the state and nonprofit The Pathway Home could have done more to prevent Shusherebas death. Shushereba, 32, was seven months pregnant with daughter Cecilia Rose when she was killed by a former client alongside two coworkers Loeber, 48, and Golick, 42 in a shooting at the Pathway Home facility. Shushereba was employed by the federal San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, but worked at the Pathway Home, which served Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The facility was housed in a building at the Veterans Home that has since closed. Attorneys for Shusherebas spouse argue that Pathway had access to 36-year-old gunman Albert Wongs medical records and knew that he had a history of homicidal and suicidal thoughts. Pathway knew that Wong was a skilled shooter and threatened Shusherebas life, but did not contact police or law enforcement about the threats, the lawsuit said. Noting that other veterans with PTSD have gone on shooting sprees, the lawsuit said the state failed to implement basic security measures. A lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of Loebers parents, Donald and Marie Loeber, was similar to the Golicks lawsuit. The Loebers took aim at the county, Sheriffs Office, the state Veterans Affairs Department, Veterans Homes of California, the Yountville Veterans campus and the state Department of General Services. Loeber was Pathways executive director. Residents on the campus included veterans who were aggressive or violent, struggled to control their impulses, and possibly had access to weapons, the lawsuit said. The state veterans department, known as CalVet, should have installed security cameras, silent alarm distress signals, working door locks and a surveillance system that alerted someone to the gunmans entry, the lawsuit said. There were too many doors to the building that housed the Pathway Home for a facility dedicated to treating veterans with PTSD, the lawsuit said. The Napa County Sheriffs Office, which was responsible for law enforcement services to the campus, had also recognized the possibility of an active shooter at the Veterans Home, the lawsuit said. It referenced a Register article about an active shooter training conducted by the FBI for the Napa County Sheriffs Office, two months earlier. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Here is the most glaring takeaway from the collapse of the North Korea summit in Hanoi: You cant negotiate with a wily dictator as if he were a real-estate mogul in New York. President Donald Trump has famously touted his personal relationships with autocrats as the prelude to great deals. We fell in love, he said of the half-dozen or so beautiful letters he received from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Clearly, love was insufficient. The president and his team appeared blindsided by the gap between the U.S. and North Korean positions at his second summit with Kim. Trump stated at a news conference that Kim wanted all sanctions removed against his country in return for dismantling a key nuclear complex at Yongbyon. But that deal would have left North Koreas nuclear arsenal, missiles, and other production facilities still standing. North Koreas foreign minister later claimed that North Korea only sought partial sanctions relief, but the gap was still clearly unbridgeable. With all or most sanctions lifted, U.S. leverage to eliminate Pyongyangs arsenal would have shrunk. So, no matter how much Trump may have wanted to distract attention from the Michael Cohen hearings in Washington, he had no choice but to walk away from Kims offer. The gulf between him and the North Korean leader was wider than the 6,800 miles that separate Washington and Pyongyang. How could Trump have gotten his expectations so wrong? The answer clearly revolves around Trumps deep belief that his personal relationships and brilliance are sufficient to outwit tough autocrats. The president was reportedly warned about Kims insistence on major sanctions relief, but believed he could persuade the dictator to shift positions. This entire diplomatic process is distinctive because of President Trump and North Koreas decision-making at the top level, says Scott Snyder, the Council on Foreign Relations expert on North Korea. The North Koreans (hoped) to go to the top and get what they want from Trump. As the Hanoi debacle displayed with such drama, personal diplomacy couldnt budge the North Korean. Less clear is whether Trump grasps the need to revamp his negotiating approach. That approach had already proved lacking at Trumps first summit with Kim, in Singapore in June 2018. Despite the hoopla, that summit failed to produce any concrete results on or road map toward denuclearization. The two sides have not even agreed yet on the meaning of that term, or whether it requires the elimination of all of Pyongyangs nuclear weapons. As recently as the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President Mike Pence claimed that Kim had committed to complete denuclearization of North Korea. That statement was false. Yet, even with lowered expectations for the Hanoi summit, the White House assumed some kind of deal would be reached. The U.S. side had already scheduled a goodbye lunch and signing ceremony. (Both were canceled.) U.S. officials had leaked reports to the media that Pyongyang would pledge to close the Yongbyon complex in return for a modest relaxation of some economic sanctions and the signing of a peace declaration between the U.S. and North Korea. Even that deal would have involved large concessions to Kim, since a peace declaration would have relaxed pressure on Pyongyang to make further moves toward denuclearization. However, in Hanoi, Kims demand for lifting of all or most sanctions in return for inadequate concessions revealed that the two sides were operating in totally different worlds. Under any previous presidency, a U.S. negotiating team would at least have worked out a basic framework before a president traveled all the way to Asia. But Trump devalues experts and detailed preparation. As hes said, I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody elses brain can ever tell me. The limits to that approach became painfully clear in Hanoi. Perhaps the North Korean leader thought Trumps yen for a deal would impel him to accept a wildly insufficient offer. Kim made clear he preferred dealing with Trump than meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Moreover, Trumps chief North Korea negotiator, Stephen Biegun, is a businessman who had no prior experience with complex North Korea dealings. The North Koreans, on the other hand, have been running rings around U.S. leaders for years. The question now is whether Trump will revise his approach, broaden his team, and recognize the difference between geopolitical deals and real-estate manipulations. The presidents effusive praise of Kim has already lowered global pressure on Pyongyang for nuclear concessions. Having expended enormous political capital on two summits, the president now faces a long slog of U.S.-North Korea talks that may never lead to full denuclearization of that country. His personal relationship with Kim may help keep those talks alive. But unless he realizes the limits of personal diplomacy, he will continue to get played. Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. "North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned," President Donald Trump bluntly informed Kim Jong Un. "It is a hell that no person deserves." No, the president did not deliver that scolding in Hanoi, Vietnam. Instead, he heaped praise on Kim, calling him "a great leader." He went so far as to absolve the dictator of responsibility for the unspeakable treatment of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died shortly after his release from a North Korean prison. Yet, just nearly 16 months ago, in a speech to the South Korean parliament, Trump told an entirely different story. "An estimated 100,000 North Koreans suffer in gulags, toiling in forced labor and enduring torture, starvation, rape, and murder on a constant basis," he said. "The horror of life in North Korea is so complete that citizens pay bribes to government officials to have themselves exported abroad as slaves. They would rather be slaves than live in North Korea." Unlike much of what Trump says, every word of that indictment is true. It is backed up by in-depth investigations by the United Nations, the International Bar Association and numerous human-rights groups. But in his zeal to embrace Kim and bolster his delusional bid for a Nobel Peace Prize, Trump has forgotten it all. In 2017, his administration waged an aggressive campaign to call attention to North Korea's record on human rights, including camps that have been described as worse than Nazi Germany's and such crimes against humanity as extermination, enslavement and sexual violence. In addition to Trump's speech, the United States convened a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the Kim regime's offenses. Now, the administration has veered to the other extreme. For the first time since 2014, there was no U.S.-sponsored Security Council meeting on North Korean human rights last year. Vice President Mike Pence canceled a speech on the subject in December. Human rights did not figure on this last week's agenda in Hanoi, and neither Trump nor any other senior official said a word about it - apart from the president's shameful statement concerning Warmbier. By now, Trump's shallow strategy for dealing with adversaries such as Kim has become painfully obvious: First hit them with sanctions and insults, then shower them with praise, excuse their abuses and hope that presidential charm will prompt them to make concessions their regimes have rejected for decades. The diplomatic disaster in Hanoi ought to make clear once and for all that the gambit won't work - not even on the 35-year-old ruler of one of the world's most isolated states. The only apparent effect of Trump's wooing of Kim was to make the dictator believe he could sell the president on a grossly one-sided bargain that would have lifted most sanctions on North Korea while allowing it to keep its nuclear arsenal. The failure goes beyond Trump's gross overestimation of his dealmaking ability. The administration's abrupt reversal on North Korean human rights shows that it fundamentally misunderstands the challenge presented by the world's last Stalinist regime. The president's theory is that Kim will trade his nuclear arsenal for the prospect of transforming North Korea's economy so that it produces the prosperity seen in the South. As U.S. intelligence professionals have tried to explain to Trump, Kim prefers holding nukes to feeding his people. He knows that his regime would not exist without them; nor could the totalitarian system survive economic modernization. Let's imagine that Kim was tempted by Trump's offer. How would it be possible to open his country to foreign investors and normal trade while maintaining four huge concentration camps where, according to a U.N. report, tens of thousands of people, including entire families, are held incommunicado for life? What about the estimated 400,000 forced laborers, including children, working in construction and agriculture? The simple truth is that the North Korean regime, its nuclear arsenal and its system of repression are intricately linked. If Kim were serious about denuclearization, there would be signs of an internal easing. There aren't. Consider the report last month by the Seoul-based North Korean Strategy Center, which said it had confirmed accounts of 421 officials murdered or otherwise purged by Kim since 2010. Methods included hanging, using antiaircraft guns or flamethrowers for executions, and feeding naked victims to dogs. The U.N. rapporteur on North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, reported late last year that "the human rights situation at the moment has not changed on the ground in North Korea despite the important progress on security, peace and prosperity." Trump's diplomacy with North Korea has been revealed as a fantasy. Real progress would require a restart based on patient diplomacy, ramped-uppressure, and a recognition that the problem entails not just nuclear reactors and missile factories, but torture chambers and concentration camps. Jackson Diehl is deputy editorial page editor of The Washington Post. He is an editorial writer specializing in foreign affairs. The Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) has proposed a flagship programme in five identified dzongkhags (districts) in the 12th Five-Year Plan with an aim to promote balanced tourism in the country, according to reports. The council has forwarded a proposal to the government to focus more in identified dzongkhags of Dagana, Gasa, Lhuentse, Zhemgang and Samtse. However, the council is yet to present the proposal to the Cabinet. The council said the first presentation for the proposed flagship programme was made to the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC). Under the programme, the other 15 districts will also have specific projects. Building infrastructures, developing more products and hosting events such as black-necked crane and highland festivals are some of the strategies to promote balanced tourism. At present due to the lack of infrastructure, the tourists arrival to some districts are minimal. The tourism sector with around 27,000 people is one of the highest employers and second highest revenue contributor in the country. Over 270,000 tourists visited Bhutan last year. The Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum (AITF) has called upon the state government to institute an enquiry committee headed by a sitting/retired High Court judge within 15 days to unearth the truth behind incidents that occurred during the recent anti-PRC agitation in Itanagar. Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum is a conglomerate of several community-based organizations (CBO) of the state. Also read: Arunachal: PRC will never be taken up again; beleaguered CM assures people Executive members of AITF, who sat for a meeting here on Saturday to discuss the incidents that took place during the anti-Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) agitation, strongly condemned the state government for its intelligence failure and incompetent and late handling of the situation. Expressing displeasure over the loss of innocent lives and damages to properties worth crores during the bandh, the meeting demanded that the government identify the instigators and initiate strict action against them. The forum also condemned the security forces for allegedly handling the bandh callers like terrorists. The AITF demanded that the government should immediately transfer the Chief Secretary and Capital Complex Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police while alleging that all the mishandling happened due to them. The government should immediately replace the DC and SP by officers from the state, a statement from the forum said while adding that the government should also issue a gazette notification immediately stating that the PRC issue has been closed once for all. Further in view of the CBSE examinations, the AITF has appealed to all the organizations of the state to stay away from calling bandhs and urged the political parties and individuals not to politicise the PRC issue and the incidents related to it. The issue should not be politicized and the AITF urges the entire apex CBOs to control the umbrella organizations under them so that there is no further escalation of violence and unrest in this matter, the statement added. The AITF members on the day also paid their respect to Risso Tari, Biki Ruja and Tsering Wangdi who lost their lives in the PRC agitation by observing a minute of silence and praying for the departed souls. The AITF consists of Nyishi Elite Society, Tanw Supun Dukun, Galo Welfare Society, Adi Bane Kebang, Tagin Cultural Society, Sajong Elite Society, Aka-Hrusso Elite Society and Monpa Mimang Tshokpa. NEWS.am daily digest: 07.12.21 Kazakhstan First President notes Russias role in resolving Karabakh conflict Armenia opposition MP: We are launching legal process of National Assembly speaker's resignation Fight occurs in Armenia legislature Armenia legislature deputy speaker from opposition: We are at preparatory phase for rallies Armenia parliament speaker claims video with his remarks on captive Armenian soldiers was edited MFA: Armenia urges Azerbaijan to refrain from provocative rhetoric and actions Legislature speaker: Criminal case will be launched against Armenian soldiers who laid down their weapons, surrendered 4 more die of coronavirus in Artsakh Dejavu: Parliament speaker says Armenian captive soldiers no longer exist for him National Assembly holding urgent discussion on Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan Armenia legislature majority blocks opposition draft statement on border delimitation Armenia ex-defense minister on border delimitation: Authorities say 'we negotiate whatever we want' US embassy of Armenia on local elections: We note reports of pressure against opposition candidates Ombudsman in Paris, briefs France colleague on Armenian captives in, war crimes of Azerbaijan Opposition Armenia Faction plans to launch urgent parliamentary debates on POWs in Azerbaijan Karabakh President pays tribute to 1988 Spitak earthquake victims Pentagon discusses situation on Russia-Ukraine border 240 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia US Air Force plans to develop 2 new secret combat drones Wreath laid in Gyumri on behalf of Armenia ex-President Kocharyan Ombudsman provides details from Azerbaijan shooting at Karmir Shuka village of Artsakh Armenia parliament session kicks off with minute of silence Newspaper: As always Armenia citizens chose individuals over ideas in elections Armenia remembers victims of 1988 earthquake Newspaper: Armenia gets more than $11M from international organizations, several countries for Covid prevention Seven die in Zanzibar after eating exotic food Turkey and Qatar discuss possibility of joint operation of airport in Afghanistan Development of warm relations between Abu Dhabi and Tehran is one of UAE priorities Israel tries to convince US to strike Iranian targets Bayramov and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan NEWS.am daily digest: 06.12.21 Armenia legislature majority to block opposition draft statement on border delimitation Vahe Hakobyan underscores effective cooperation with UNDP Modern Parliament for a Modern Armenia project Armenia prosecutor's office files lawsuit demanding confiscation of ex-Police chief, his familys illegal property One dollar passes AMD 491 threshold in Armenia Armenia parliament to set up friendship group with Montenegro India-Eurasian Union free trade zone talks to begin early 2022 Armenia Supreme Judicial Council members receive ECHR judgments execution department delegation Armenia President, UK envoy discuss regional security Armenia premier chairs Security Council meeting Man found dead in downtown Yerevan near garbage cans Opposition Armenia Faction MP: Premier Pashinyan gave best assessment of local elections Armenia opposition lawmaker on local election results: Authorities rigged, pressured but still did not win Kopirkin: Russian-Armenian Center for Humanitarian Response has highly qualified specialists Russia official: 1988 Armenia earthquakes tragic experience gave impetus to creation of effective warning system Opposition MP: Nothing officially announced in Armenia about negotiations over return of 10 POWs Young Russia air force crew kicks off night flights over Armenia mountains 2 people killed in single-engine plane crash in Canada 95 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Yerevan hosting international conference with participation of Armenia, Russia emergency ministries representatives World oil prices on the rise Friend of Armenian people, former US Senator, presidential candidate Bob Dole dies aged 98 PM: Practice of election-rigging undermined state resistance system emerging in early 1990s in Armenia World gold prices going down Armenia local elections: Ruling party loses by more than 13.5% in Vanadzor Artsakh soldier, 19, dies from gunshot wound Armenia local elections: Ruling party suffers crushing defeat in Aparan Armenia local elections: Lack of alternative, record low voter turnout ensure ruling partys win in Armavir Armenia local elections: PAP beats ruling party in Abovyan Armenia local elections: Bloc named after incumbent mayor wins in Sevan The body of a young man found under a bridge in Yerevan UAE National Security Advisor to visit Iran Artsakh registered 31 new coronavirus cases Voter turnout in local elections in Armenia 3 hours before the end of voting was 33.8% Naftali Bennett calls on world powers to take a tough stance on Iran COVID-19 in Armenia: 327 new cases OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs regret that it was not possible to hold a joint meeting of Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs Aravot: Special police forces are in Aparan Head of Ayntap village of Ararat province and his brother apprehended 10 Armenian captives are returned from Azerbaijan Azerbaijan transfers 10 soldiers to Armenia, media report Armenia PM attends meeting of Consultative Assembly on Cooperation with Extra-Parliamentary Political Forces Armenia FM meets with OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Identity of Azerbaijani who killed Artsakh resident is known Turkey intelligence took part in 2020 war against Karabakh, says Turkish vice president Baku explains why it declined from Stockholm meeting of Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs FM: Any status within Azerbaijan is unacceptable for Artsakh people, authorities Opportunities for expanding Armenia-Belarus cooperation in high tech are discussed Quake hits Armenia-Georgia border zone A Fresno Armenian wrote an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump asking whether he plans to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In her open letter published on Fresno Bee , Nazik Kotcholosian Messerlian says she listened to Trump's 2019 State of the Union speech, and at first was speechless. In the audience, during your speech, were honorees among whom were survivors of the Jewish Holocaust. As a young girl, I remember our labor camp Flaschenhals, near Stuttgart, was targeted to be relocated to a concentration camp. My impressions are still vivid. My sympathy and respect go to all of those who had perished and survived. Hitlers madness during World War II resulted in the loss of millions of lives. Soon after, the crime was officially recognized and condemned. Germany took responsibility of retribution. Eventually, a Jewish state and homeland was granted for the homeless people, she wrote. However, the first genocide of the century the Armenian Genocide was a calculated whitewash for the unpunished, criminal Ottoman Turks, and a coverup for present-day Turkeys denialists, she said. Mr. President, you proudly talked about your heroic and resolute stance with North Korea, which according to you, has possibly changed the course of history. Yet, Mr. President, you and your predecessors, for years have allowed Turkey to volley ridiculous threats of consequences, and flow of recycled bribed moneys. The powerful USA has been playing a shameful game. Well knowing the truth, the USA is yet, as a moral obligation, to acknowledge the 1915 Genocide. Ironically, Israel, whose people well know the pain of slaughter, but as a yo-yo friend of Turkey, is also silent, she wrote. On April 24, 2019, genocide victims will be remembered and survivors, if any, honored, just like you honored the 81-year-old Holocaust survivor during your State of the Union speech. Come April 24, I hope we will see a new leadership of moral civility, fearlessness, even-handedness, and just spirit from you and your administration. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shake hands at the Government Office in Hanoi on March 1, 2019. AFP North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed hope for stepped-up cooperation and exchanges with Vietnam in all areas, and for improving bilateral relations to a new level, Pyongyang's official news agency said Saturday. The Korean Central News Agency reported on Kim's official visit to Hanoi this week that started right after his fruitless nuclear summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. "Through active party-to-party and country-to-country contacts, we should normalize cooperation and exchanges in all areas ranging from the economy, science and technology, defense, sports, culture, arts and publication and news media and upgrade the relations to a new level," Kim was quoted as saying. "It is the unwavering position of our country and our party to inherit through generations the friendly cooperative relations between the two countries and the two parties based on blood," Kim added. 10:33 The United Nations Security Council has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, subjecting him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo as it described him as being seen as the "most probable successor" of the group's current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden on Thursday, the day the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him. Saudi Arabia also announced Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. A Security Council press release said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an official member of Al Qaida. Hamza bin Laden has called for followers of Al-Qaida to commit terror attacks. Is seen as the most probable successor of al-Zawahiri, the powerful 15-member Council said. An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by designated individuals. Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types, spare parts, and technical advice, assistance, or training related to military activities, to designated individuals and entities. Just hours before the UNSC Sanctions Committee designated Hamza bin Laden, the US State Department's Rewards for Justice Program announced a reward for up to USD 1 million for information leading to his identification or location in any country, saying he is emerging as a leader in the Al Qaida franchise. "Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. service members, the State Department said. In January 2017, the State Department had listed Hamza bin Laden as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, freezing all of his assets based in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons. The designation also prohibited US persons from engaging in transactions with him. -- PTI Oxygen An Illinois man has been accused of gunning down his ex-girlfriend on Thanksgiving while she was on a date with another man. Robert Bobby J. Tarr, 48, is now facing three counts of first-degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend Leslie Reeveswho had taught self-defense courses in the community and was an outspoken advocate against domestic violence. Tarr is also facing one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Christopher J. Smith, 48, who had been on Beverage stocks have a mixed outlook. In a difficult market, finding the best stocks to buy becomes even harder. UBS analyst Sean King recently initiated coverage on a range of beverage stocks, and he has a mixed 2019 outlook for the beverage business. King says UBS likes beverage stocks with positive near-term catalysts, superior growth trajectories, and track records of management execution. He also says the beverage business is undergoing critical transitions in consumer tastes, demographics, regulations and other areas. Here are nine beverage stocks to buy, hold and sell in 2019. Buy: Molson Coors Brewing Co. (ticker: TAP) Of all the beverage stocks under UBS coverage, King says Molson Coors has the highest upside. King says Molson Coors stock is approaching an inflection point in investor sentiment once management can stabilize volumes via targeted investing, adjusting the product portfolio and capitalizing on category momentum. He says once volumes stabilize, investors will shift focus to the company's group-leading 10 percent free cash flow yield. King says Molson's focus on hard seltzers and premium imports will drive 0.9 percent volume growth through 2021. UBS has a "buy" rating and $80 price target for TAP stock. Buy: Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) The only other beverage stock that King says has at least 20 percent upside is Keurig Dr. Pepper. According to King, KDP stock is currently priced for zero terminal revenue growth, an outlook that he says is overly pessimistic. Once Keurig and Dr. Pepper fully integrate, King says the pair will benefit from investor JAB Holding's international coffee assets, as well as Dr. Pepper's impressive elasticity. UBS is forecasting long-term revenue growth in the mid-single digits. UBS has a "buy" rating and $32 price target for KDP stock. Hold: Constellation Brands (STZ) King says Constellation has a number of near-term issues creating uncertainty for investors, including dilution related to its Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC) cannabis investment, inventory rebalancing, management turnover and a potential reduction of its wine portfolio. King says consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street are between 1 and 2 percent too high through fiscal 2021. However, he says Constellation may surprise the market with its beer growth and margin expansion. UBS is predicting a 1 percent annual slowdown in beer revenue growth in the near term. UBS has a "neutral" rating and $209 price target for STZ stock. Story continues Hold: Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) Coca-Cola European Partners stock was a top performer in the beverage group in 2018, gaining more than 17 percent despite uncertainty about sugar taxes in Europe. King says weather effects have obscured the true impact of the British sugar tax implemented back in April 2018, and Brexit could also pose an earnings risk as well. Despite a relatively steep valuation and geopolitical hurdles, King says CCEP should have no problem maintaining revenue growth in the low single digits and expanding its business to adjacent markets and categories. UBS has a "neutral" rating and $62 price target for CCEP stock. Hold: PepsiCo (PEP) King says PepsiCo investors need to keep expectations tempered heading into a new year with a new CEO. The company's product diversification and consistent track record make it a good defensive play in a shaky market, but King says PEP stock has little upside given its full valuation. Recent weakness in the North American beverage segment has been offset by strength in the Frito-Lay North America segment, but UBS is forecasting a return to sustainable annual revenue growth of 1.6 percent for North America through 2021. UBS has a "neutral" rating and $123 price target for PEP stock. Hold: Coca-Cola Co. (KO) Like PepsiCo, King says Coca-Cola is a solid defensive bet thanks to its global presence and its stable earnings. The company's refranchising project is nearing completion. However, King says Coca-Cola doesn't have much wiggle room in hitting its global growth targets, and the stock is currently trading above its historical valuation premium after a strong 2018. King says Coca-Cola may continue to outperform in the near term given the recent market rotation to defensive stocks, but its valuation will limit its upside. UBS had a "neutral" rating and $51 price target for KO stock. Sell: National Beverage Corp. (FIZZ) King says National Beverage stock is overvalued, trading at a forward earnings multiple of around 25. King says National Beverage must grow into its valuation, but UBS is projecting LaCroix revenue growth to decelerate to 14 percent in 2019, 11 percent in 2020 and 9 percent in 2021. In the meantime, King says Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other competitors are aggressively investing in sparkling water. King says National Beverage deserves a "scarcity premium" for its unique products, but that premium is waning as competitors continue to innovate. UBS has a "sell" rating and $80 price target for FIZZ stock. Sell: Boston Beer Company (SAM) King says recent success in Boston Beer Company's business strategy will be easy for larger competitors to replicate. UBS is forecasting annual earnings per share declines of between 3 and 6 percent over the next three years as margins contract. King is expecting revenue growth to drop from 17 percent in 2018 to just 6 percent in 2020. Twisted Tea will be a reliable growth source in coming years, but King says Sam Adams revenue growth will decline by 1.4 percent annually. UBS has a "sell" rating and $228 price target for SAM stock. Sell: Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) King says consensus earnings expectations for Monster are 3 percent too high in fiscal 2019 and 6 percent too high in fiscal 2020. He says margin headwinds will lead to consistent earnings misses over the next two years. As growth drops below the double-digit level in 2019 to the mid-single digits by fiscal 2021, King says the stock's earnings multiple will also contract. Despite Monster's relatively strong product elasticity, King says it will be difficult for the stock to maintain its current valuation. UBS has a "sell" rating and $48 price target for MNST stock. The outlook for nine beverage stocks. Here are buy, hold and sell recommendations from UBS on nine popular beverage stocks. -- Buy: Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) -- Buy: Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) -- Hold: Constellation Brands (STZ) -- Hold: Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) -- Hold: PepsiCo (PEP) -- Hold: Coca-Cola Co. (KO) -- Sell: National Beverage Corp. (FIZZ) -- Sell: Boston Beer Company (SAM) -- Sell: Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) In testimony before Congress this week, Michael Cohen cast himself as a central figure in schemes that could threaten the presidency of Donald Trump. But Cohen said he didnt work alone, unexpectedly mentioning by name the involvement of another member of Trumps inner circle, Allen Weisselberg, more than 20 times. The revelations are set to intensify the scrutiny on Weisselberg, Trumps unassuming 71-year-old chief financial officer, who already is a focus for federal prosecutors in New York. On Wednesday, Cohen specifically identified Weisselberg as helping mastermind a strategy to mask reimbursements to Cohen for his payment to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Trump. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said after Wednesdays hearing that he probably will want to call additional witnesses, including Weisselberg, to gather additional evidence about the hush-money payment. A Democratic official said the House Intelligence Committee anticipates calling Weisselberg to testify, as well. [[gallery-0]] Cohen said in the hearing that the payment was ordered by Trump, which violated campaign finance laws because it was intended to buy Daniels silence so that she could not hurt Trumps prospects right before the election. Cohen said he had paid Daniels with his own money, and then was repaid by the Trump Organisation. Allen Weisselberg made the decision that it should be paid over the 12 months so that it would look like a retainer, Cohen told lawmakers, describing how reimbursements were made monthly. Cohen submitted to Congress a copy of a $35,000 check labelled exhibit 5b that he said was one of those monthly payments. It was signed by Weisselberg and Donald Trump Jr. Weisselberg declined to comment through his lawyers. But it is clear why lawmakers and investigators might home in on him as they examine the Trump Organisations finances. Story continues After Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud and other crimes in August, federal prosecutors in Manhattan began focusing on what role the Trump Organisation and its executives, including Weisselberg, played in the campaign finance scheme, according to people briefed on the matter. As part of the investigation, Weisselberg was granted limited immunity to testify before a federal grand jury last year. But there has been no indication that he has cooperated with prosecutors. Weisselberg, an accountant, began his career doing the books for Trumps father in a dingy building in Brooklyn. For decades, he has represented Trump on paperwork for everything from complex real estate deals to the operations of the antique carousel in Central Park, which the Trump Organisation runs. In 2015, a lawyer representing students who alleged they were defrauded by Trumps education venture, Trump University, questioned Weisselberg during a deposition, describing him as Mr. Trumps eyes and ears for his investments. Weisselberg replied, Am I his eyes and ears? From an economic standpoint, court records show. In 2016, Trump settled the case for $25m. Corey Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign official, wrote in a book that he co-authored, Let Trump be Trump that Weisselberg knows of every dime that leaves the building. Aside from Weisselberg, several other Trump associates may now be asked to testify before the House in the wake of Cohens hearing, including three executives at the Trump Organisation: Matthew Calamari, Alan Garten and Ronald C. Lieberman. But Cummings said the committee would have to proceed carefully to avoid interfering with the investigation by federal prosecutors in the special counsels office and the U.S. attorneys office in Manhattan. Still in an indication of what may come, Cummings has sent letters to two lawyers he said were involved in preparing Trumps federal financial disclosure filing, which originally omitted payments he made to reimburse Cohen for the payment to Daniels. The letters requested that the lawyers, Sheri A. Dillon and Stefan C. Passantino, appear for interviews with the committee in March. Dillon is a tax lawyer who represents Trump. Passantino was a deputy White House counsel at the time focused on ethics, but has since left and now advises the Trump Organisation on how to deal with House investigations. Weisselberg has previously been questioned under oath, in a lawsuit filed last year by the New York attorney general against the Trump Foundation, Trumps charitable organisation, where he served as treasurer. In late December, the foundation was dissolved after the attorney general accused it of fraud. The US attorneys office in Manhattan and the New York attorney generals office declined to comment. Weisselbergs involvement in the hush money payment to Daniels first surfaced last year, when federal prosecutors seized recordings from Cohens office. On one of the recordings, Cohen was heard saying, Ive spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up. For his part, Trump has expressed confidence that Weisselberg will not turn on the president. 100 percent he didnt, Trump told reporters for Bloomberg when asked last year whether Weisselberg had betrayed him. Hes a wonderful guy. Others are not so certain. I am sure Allen does not want to hurt Donald, I am sure there is an affection there, said Barbara Res, a former executive with the Trump Organisation who is a critic of the president. But hes in a terrible position and Donald put him there. Aside from an awkward cameo on the second season of Trumps television show, The Apprentice, Weisselberg has until recently stayed out of the limelight, focusing on serving his boss. In his books and in interviews, the president has described Weisselberg as his go-to man, whether it was to help pick carpet swatches for a development, or to strong-arm firms with which he contracted. In Cohens testimony Wednesday, Trumps reliance on his CFO was on display. When it came to paying back his fixer for the hush money, Cohen said the president turned to Weisselberg. He acknowledged to Allen that he was going to pay the $130,000, Cohen said, And that Allen and I should go back to his office and figure out how to do it. The New York Times ISLAMABAD (AP) When a suicide bomber blew himself up in India's insurgency-wracked Kashmir region on Feb. 14, killing more than 40 soldiers, the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad was quick to take responsibility. The Pakistan-based group's attack sent tensions soaring between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. The disputed region, divided between the two countries and claimed by both in its entirety, has been the cause of two past wars between India and Pakistan. Although the bomber was from Indian Kashmir, the claim by the militant group caused India to launch what it called a pre-emptive strike against Jaish-e-Mohammad inside Pakistan, saying they killed a "very large number" of militants. Pakistan retaliated with a strike of its own that hit six positions inside India on Wednesday, downing two Indian planes and taking one pilot into custody. Here's an explanation of the militant organization, its origins and agenda: THE GROUP's FOUNDATION Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed in 2000 by Masood Azhar, originally a member of an al-Qaida affiliate. Azhar was arrested by Indian authorities in the late 1990s when he returned to Indian controlled Kashmir after reportedly fighting with the al-Qaida affiliate in Somalia. His militant compatriots tried unsuccessfully to free him from jail until they hijacked an Indian Airline aircraft with 176 passengers on board in December 1999. They held the aircraft and its passengers hostage in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar during the rule of the Taliban, which lasted for five years until 2001. On Dec. 31, 1999 India agreed to free Azhar and two other prisoners who would also become members of Jaish-e-Mohammad. They are Omer Saeed Sheikh, a British national who is now on death row in Pakistan for his part in the killing in 2002 of American journalist Daniel Pearl in southern Pakistan, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zarghar who was released in exchange for the hijacked plane but was killed later in Indian Kashmir by Indian troops. Story continues THE GROUP'S AGENDA Jaish-e-Mohammad's activities are focused almost exclusively on Indian Kashmir and the group has been linked to Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency, known as InterServices Intelligence, or ISI. Following the Sept, 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. and the decision of Pakistan's president and military dictator at the time, Pervez Musharraf, to join with the United States in it anti-terrorism war, the ISI outwardly distanced itself from the militant group, although they were accused of providing covert assistance. Jaish-e-Mohammad was declared a terrorist group by the United Nations and outlawed in 2002 but Azhar remained untouched. After 2002, the organization's leadership became unclear and some elements turned against Pakistan, with the group taking credit for two assassination attempts against Musharraf. ATTACKS BLAMED ON JAISH-E-MOHAMMAD The militant group was involved in a 2000 suicide bombing at an Indian army camp outside Srinigar, the capital of Indian Kashmir and in December 2001 was blamed for an attack on India's Parliament in New Delhi that also resulted in a tense standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors. In 2002, Jaish members were blamed for trying to assassinate Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Attacks in 2013 and 2014 in Indian ruled Kashmir were blamed on members of Jaish-e-Mohammad, including a 2013 attack on an Indian military base. Members of the organization have also been implicated in assassinations and attempted assassinations of Indian Kashmiri leaders. The parents of Otto Warmbier, the U.S. citizen who died in 2017 after being imprisoned by North Korea, issued a stinging rebuke Friday after President Donald Trumps defense of dictator Kim Jong Un. We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto, Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Their statement came one day after Trumps summit with Kim in Vietnam. In response to a question at a press conference, Trump said he believed Kim when the North Korean leader said he knew nothing about Warmbiers imprisonment. He tells me that he didnt know about it and I will take him at his word, Trump said. Kim felt badly about it, he added. He felt very badly. Warmbier was arrested in 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda banner while on a trip to North Korea. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, but entered a coma in unspecified circumstances shortly afterwards. He was released in 2017 and sent back to the U.S., but died just days later. Fred Warmbier described his sons condition upon his return to the U.S. He was blind, he was deaf, he said. He was jerking violently making these inhuman sounds. Trump suggested at the summit that Warmbiers fate could have been due to North Koreas prison conditions, rather than the personal fault of Kim. Those prisons are rough theyre rough places, and bad things happen, he said. Human rights groups have criticized Trumps failure criticize Kim on his countrys abuse of its population, with Amnesty International saying Trump gave Kim a platform on the world stage only to showcase his own disdain for human rights. A 4-year-old boy in Minnesota underwent surgery to restore movement to his right arm after he was diagnosed with a rare, polio-like condition. Orville Young of Minneapolis is recovering after undergoing the invasive nerve transfer surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children Philadelphia just months after contracting acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which affects a persons nervous system and causes weakness in the arms or legs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Orvilles mother, Elaine Young, spoke to local news station KSTP ahead of the surgery, admitting that she was feeling anxious. Hes going to be under general anesthesia for a long time, and thats kind of terrifying, Elaine said. While it will likely take months for Orville to recover completely, Elaine was relieved when the procedure was over. Its over. Thats the best part. Its done with, Elaine said after the surgery. Just gonna go snuggle my baby. Orville came down with what appeared to be a simple cold last July, according to Minnesotas Star Tribune. Soon he lost the use of his right arm, suffered immobility in his legs, and even experienced trouble breathing. Doctors at University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital quickly diagnosed the boy with AFM. RELATED STORY: Six Minnesota Children Under 10 Have Contracted a Rare Polio-Like Illness Over the next few months, Orville went through physical rehabilitation at Gillette Childrens Specialty Services in St. Paul and regained most of his leg function, the Star Tribune reported. Now with the surgery behind him, Orville is expected to get his cast off in a few weeks and return to the Philadelphia hospital for a check-up in six months, according to KSTP. I hope that he can put a cup in a cupboard; that he can put his own shirt on easily and he can open doors without struggling, Elaine told the station. The little things that in your day to day life are important. Less than one in a million people are diagnosed with AFM in the United States each year, according to the CDC. From August 2014 to August 2018, a total of 362 cases of AFM from across the U.S. have been identified. In rare cases, AFM can result in death. The majority of those affected are children under the age of 10, and there is no clear cause behind the spread since 2014, the CDC reported. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, symptoms include sudden muscle weakness in the arms or legs, sometimes following a respiratory illness, neck weakness or stiffness, drooping eyelids or a facial droop, and difficulty swallowing or slurred speech. Brasilia (AFP) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will pay his first official visits to the United States, Chile and Israel this month, in a clear sign of the alliances the far-right leader wants to shore up, official sources said Friday. The former Army captain, who took office on January 1, will be in the United States on March 18-22 and in Chile on March 23, said Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, quoted by state-owned Agencia Brasil. At the end of March, Bolsonaro will travel to Israel, Araujo added. The Israeli foreign ministry said Wednesday that the Brazilian leader would be in that country from March 31 to April 4. These will be Bolsonaro's first official visits as president. In January, he went to Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos. Recent Brazilian presidents traditionally have made their first trips to neighboring Argentina. But Bolsonaro's itinerary represents the political and economic shifts he highlighted during his successful election campaign. Bolsonaro, like US President Donald Trump, largely rejects multilateralism, and both want to oust embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and see opposition leader Juan Guaido in his place. In Chile, seen by Brazil's new economy minister Paulo Guedes as an economic success story, Bolsonaro will take part in the launch of the Prosur forum, which aims to promote development projects in South America. In Israel, Bolsonaro will repay the visit made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Brazil for his inauguration. BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is serving a 12-year prison term for corruption, proclaimed his innocence again on Saturday at the funeral of his 7-year-old grandson, saying he will prove he did no wrong by the time the two meet "in heaven." According to the former president's press office, Lula's grandson, Arthur, who succumbed to meningitis during the week, was bullied in school after his grandfather's arrest on charges of accepting a bribe from a construction firm while in office. On Friday, a judge granted Lula the right to leave prison in the southern city of Curitiba to attend his grandson's funeral, in a suburb of Sao Paulo, about 250 miles to the northeast. Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2011, was among Brazil's most popular presidents ever while in office, but his image was tarnished among many segments of the population as he become ensnared in several graft probes. The 12-year sentence relates to a luxury apartment he was gifted by construction firm Odebrecht. He has vigorously denied all charges against him and has portrayed them as part of a judicial coup. Lula stayed at the cemetery in the suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo for two hours, though did not speak publicly outside of the funeral ceremony, his press office said. It is the second loss of a family member for the former president this year. In January, Lula's brother, Genival Inacio da Silva, known as "Vava," died. At that time, lawyers also sought the former president's temporary release so he could attend the funeral. Lower courts rejected the request, but the Supreme Court allowed it. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by David Gregorio) Hong Kong: CE visits Palace Museum in Beijing Chief Executive Carrie Lam attended the signing ceremony for the donation by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation to the Palace Museum and visited China Media Group in Beijing today. Mrs Lam, accompanied by Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip and the Chief Executive's Office Director Chan Kwok-ki, attended the signing ceremony at the Palace Museum. Addressing the ceremony, Mrs Lam said the foundation upholds the fine tradition of Hong Kong entrepreneurs fully supporting the museum's work on heritage conservation. She said Hong Kong has long been a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and the world. The donation will fund the repair of the Palace of Prolonging Happiness and the establishment of a gallery of foreign artefacts. Mrs Lam thanked the museum for its long-standing support for the set-up of the Hong Kong Palace Museum. She was pleased to note that the Palace Museum will provide training to the professionals of the Hong Kong Palace Museum on areas including the repair of ancient architectural structures, artefact restoration and management, design of exhibition halls and display of exhibits when carrying out the Palace of Prolonging Happiness project. Before the ceremony, the Chief Executive toured the Palace of Prolonging Happiness as well as an exhibition showing the palaces Lunar New Year decorations and activities in the past. In the morning, Mrs Lam had a working meeting with Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council Director Zhang Xiaoming, and gave an interview to China Media Group. This story has been published on: 2019-03-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. We listen to local police and fire departments scanner traffic, but sometimes miss crimes, wrecks, fires or other incidents, especially if they happen overnight. If you know of something were not covering yet, please let Managing Editor Jeff Pownall know by emailing him at jpownall@lufkindailynews.com , or submit a news tip online by visiting lufkindailynews.com/tips. Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi went missing on Nanga Parbat, dubbed Killer Mountain (Picture: Getty) The father of a British climber missing in the Himalayas has described how his disappearance has taken him back to when his wife went missing on the same peaks 24 years ago. Tom Ballard, 30, was reported missing on Nanga Parbat dubbed Killer Mountain earlier this week with Italian Daniele Nardi. The pair last made contact on Sunday but have not been heard from since. Toms mother Alison Hargreaves, who was the first woman to scale Everest solo, died on K2 in 1995. Jim Ballard, Toms father, told The Times that his sons disappearance: takes me back to those days, saying the feelings were similar to those he had while waiting to hear for news about his wife. Toms mother Alison Hargreaves died on K2 in 1995 (Picture: PA) Mr Ballard told the newspaper that he knew that finding his son alive would be like finding a green beer mat on the pitch at Twickenham. Earlier, Italian ambassador Sefano Pontecorvo said rescuers searching the the missing climbers are hoping for a miracle. Mr Pontecorvo said Tom and Daniele had initially been joined by two Pakistani climbers who reached Camp 3 on the 8,126-metre (26,660ft) mountain before turning back. READ MORE Officers befriend seven-year-old boy to help cure him of his fear of police Claims that Meghan Markle wants to raise Royal baby as gender fluid are totally false, says Kensington Palace Anger after disgusting mums deface World War One Memorial in front of children He said: Of course Im hopeful of finding them, of course I might also realise its been since the 24th til the 1st of March, there have been avalanches, there have been three days of very bad weather. Both Daniele and Tom are tough guys. We hope for a miracle and just try our best to find them. Temperatures on the mountain are said to be at least minus 40C, with winds ranging from 120mph to 200mph. TORONTO (AP) Canada said it will allow a U.S. extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said Friday officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wangzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd., the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Meng's Dec. 1 arrest at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furor and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to U.S. technology vendors. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions. She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the U.S. request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. "There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision," the statement said. The Chinese government on Saturday criticized the decision as a "serious violation" of Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. "The U.S. and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement," said a Foreign Ministry statement. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Story continues Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the U.S. charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng's case if he thought it would assist the U.S negotiations with China over a trade deal," said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticized the case in a statement as "a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise." Huawei is a focus of U.S. security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. The U.S. and China have tried to keep Meng's case separate from their wider trade dispute, but President Donald Trump has undercut that. Trump said he would consider intervening in the case against Meng if it would be in the interest of U.S. national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing. The Chinese embassy statement that due to "obvious political interference," Canada should refuse the U.S. extradition request and release Meng. U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department pursues cases "free of any political interference" and follows evidence and the law. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Chinese authorities are not interested in hearing about how Canada is bound by its extradition case with the U.S. Saint-Jacques said China might apply further pressure on Canada. Montreal (AFP) - Quebec's appeals court on Friday upheld a historic ruling ordering three tobacco firms to pay Can$15.5 billion (US$11.6 billion) to smokers in the Canadian province who claimed they were never warned about the health risks associated with smoking. Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald have one month to launch an eventual appeal before Canada's Supreme Court. In June 2015, the Superior Court of Quebec ruled that the three companies should pay the whopping amount to tens of thousands of smokers suffering from emphysema, lung cancer or throat cancer. According to media reports, accruing interest will bring the final amount to more than Can$17 billion. The two class action lawsuits behind the award, which were originally filed in 1998, affected nearly one million smokers or ex-smokers, some of whom had been consuming tobacco since the 1960s. The trial only began in March 2012. "We are disappointed with today's decision," Imperial Tobacco Canada spokesman Eric Gagnon told reporters. "As the ruling in the lower court showed, Canadian consumers know the risks associated with tobacco use. We should not be held responsible." Lawyers for the plaintiffs meanwhile celebrated the "historic" ruling, going so far as to call it a "masterpiece." "The ruling reached the same conclusions as did the lower court, solidifies them and confirms that the companies conspired for 50 years to lie to the public," one of the attorneys, Andre L'Esperance, told journalists. "This is a total victory, on all fronts," added his colleague Philippe Trudel. The lower court had ruled that the companies failed in their general duty "not to cause injury to another person" and to inform their customers of the risks associated with their products. Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's justice department on Friday began the process of extraditing Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to the United States to face criminal charges related to alleged Iran sanctions violations. The Huawei chief financial officer was arrested at Washington's request on December 1 as she changed planes in Vancouver. "Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou," said a statement. The decision, it said, "follows a thorough and diligent review of the evidence in this case," which was found to be "sufficient" to warrant putting the matter before an extradition judge to decide. Meng is expected to appear in court on March 6 when prosecutors will present the evidence against her and lay out "detailed arguments" for her extradition. At the end of the process, if a judge orders an extradition, the attorney general would have the final say on whether or not to hand her over to US authorities. By Nathan Layne and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen was "fully cooperative" during closed-door testimony before a congressional committee investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S election, the panel's chairman said on Thursday. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a Democrat, said Cohen would return for further questioning on March 6 to give lawmakers another chance to follow up on allegations of wrongdoing that Cohen leveled at his former boss this week. "I think we all feel it was a very productive interview today where he was able to shed light on a lot of issues that are very important to our investigation. We were able to drill down in great detail," Schiff told reporters. Schiff said the panel also will talk to Felix Sater, a Russian-born property developer and former business associate of Trump, in a public session on March 14 to talk about efforts to build a Trump tower in Moscow. Sater, who worked with Cohen on the project while Trump was running for president, has said he and Cohen at one point talked about giving a $50 million penthouse to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a way to justify raising the prices of other units in the envisioned tower. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress about the Moscow project, but Schiff said he answered all of the panel's questions. The testimony will eventually be made public, he said. Cohen spoke before three congressional panels this week that are examining Russian election meddling and any collusion with the Trump campaign. In dramatic public testimony on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, Trump's one-time "fixer" accused the president of breaking the law while in office and said for the first time that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails that hurt his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton. Committee chairman Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, said his panel would further investigate issues raised by Cohen's testimony and may try to get the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former accountant, Allen Weisselberg, to testify. 'A LOT MORE EFFICIENT' WITHOUT CAMERAS Other Democrats said they would try to verify whether Trump manipulated financial statements to reduce taxes and secure bank loans, as Cohen alleged. Democratic Representative Jim Himes said Thursday's closed-door format allowed lawmakers to explore in depth some of the issues Cohen raised on Wednesday, as well as other subjects. "We covered a bunch of topics that didnt get covered yesterday, so I think todays hearing was complementary and a lot more efficient because there werent cameras in the room," Himes said. Two of Cohen's most prominent antagonists in the Wednesday hearing, Republicans Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, asked the Justice Department to investigate Cohen for perjury, saying he lied during his appearance about his efforts to land a White House job and his work for foreign companies, among other topics. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, called the Republicans' request baseless and a "sad misuse of the criminal justice system." Cohen is due to begin serving a three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress about the Moscow tower project, along with other charges. He submitted a statement in 2017 saying efforts to build the tower had ceased by January 2016, when those talks in fact continued until June of that year, after Trump had clinched the Republican presidential nomination. At Wednesday's hearing, Cohen said Trump never explicitly told him to lie to Congress about the Moscow skyscraper negotiations. But Cohen said he believed he was following implicit directions to minimize their efforts on the tower. Cohen said he had no direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Moscow during the election campaign, but that he had suspicions that something untoward had occurred. Cohen also testified privately before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Possible collusion is a key theme of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which has dogged the president during his first two years in office. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation, as has the Kremlin. (The story is refiled to fix typo in 12th paragraph.) (Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, David Morgan, Makini Brice and Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Alistair Bell, James Dalgleish and Bill Berkrot) NEW YORK (AP) Michael Cohen gave Congress a who's who of President Donald Trump's allies and business associates during his testimony on Wednesday. Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer rattled off more than a dozen names, giving the House Oversight and Reform Committee a potential roadmap for future hearings. Here's a look at Cohen and the key people he mentioned. MICHAEL COHEN For more than a decade, Cohen was a loyal Trump aide . He spoke to the press on Trump's behalf, wrangled business deals, threatened detractors and occasionally helped suppress unfavorable news stories for him. Cohen broke with Trump last year and pleaded guilty to charges including that he lied to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia and made prohibited campaign contributions in the form of payments to two women who say they had affairs with Trump. Cohen spoke to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and is scheduled for another closed-door session on March 6. He's due to start a three-year prison sentence in May. ___ DAVID PECKER The chief executive of the National Enquirer's parent company and a longtime Trump ally , helped kill potentially embarrassing stories about Trump over the years by paying hush money in a practice known as "catch-and-kill." In 2015, Pecker agreed to assist Trump's run for president by squelching damaging stories, federal prosecutors say. The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan agreed not to prosecute Pecker's company, American Media Inc., for its secret assistance to the campaign. That promise is now under review after the company was accused of threatening to publish revealing photos of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unless he stopped investigating how the company obtained them. ___ DYLAN HOWARD Cohen said Howard, the executive editor of the Enquirer, was personally involved in coordinating "catch-and-kill" payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump. Howard has come under fresh scrutiny for an email he sent threatening to publish the Bezos photos. Story continues ___ KAREN MCDOUGAL The ex-Playboy model said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007 . American Media Inc. paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story in August 2016 three months before the election. Cohen made a secret recording of Trump talking about how he wanted to buy the story from the media company to make sure it remained secret. ___ STORMY DANIELS The porn actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had a one-night-stand with Trump in 2006 . Days before the 2016 election, Cohen said Trump instructed him to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep her from talking about it. ___ KEITH DAVIDSON The Los Angeles attorney who initially represented Daniels and McDougal in their dealings with Cohen and American Media Inc. and negotiated their payments. ___ ALLEN WEISSELBERG The chief financial officer of Trump's business empire, Weisselberg began working for the company as an accountant for Trump's late father, Fred. Cohen said Weisselberg helped him "figure out how to" pay off Daniels after Trump allegedly instructed him to do so. Cohen testified that Weisselberg told him he'd be reimbursed for the payment in 12 monthly installments totaling $420,000, which included a bonus and covered some of Cohen's taxes and other work he'd done for Trump. Weisselberg received limited immunity last year related to his grand jury testimony he gave in the Cohen case about the hush money allegations. ___ MATTHEW CALAMARI Cohen mentioned the longtime Trump security chief turned Trump Organization's chief operating officer while alleging Trump inflated the value of his assets on financial reports provided to an insurance company. Cohen named Calamari, Weisselberg and the company's executive vice president, Ron Lieberman, when asked who might know more about that alleged practice. ___ FELIX SATER Sater, a Russian-born former Mafia informant and stock fraud scheme convict, was a business adviser to Trump off-and-on for several years. Cohen said Sater once had an office on the same floor as Trump in Trump Tower. Sater was involved in trying to jump start a Trump Tower project in Moscow . Cohen pleaded guilty to telling Congress that the Moscow venture was dead by January 2016 when, in reality, work on it persisted deep into the presidential campaign. Cohen said Sater also talked with him about having Trump visit Russia during the campaign. Sater was also involved in trying to get the White House to look at a Ukrainian peace proposal that favored Russia. The House Intelligence Committee plans to have Sater testify at a public hearing March 14 to talk about Trump's effort to build a Moscow skyscraper. ___ JAY SEKULOW One of Trump's lawyers . Cohen said Sekulow reviewed his false congressional testimony and made changes pertaining to what he was going to say, "about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations." The testimony was also reviewed by Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, Cohen said. Sekulow said the allegations that he "edited or changed" Cohen's testimony to alter the duration of the Moscow negotiations "is completely false." By John Tilak and Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) - Conflicting cultures and management styles are overshadowing Barrick Gold Corp's $18 billion bid for rival Newmont Mining Corp, becoming factors just as important to the deal's success as whether or not the pair's lucrative assets in Nevada and elsewhere fit well together. Mudslinging started almost as soon as the hostile all-stock, no-premium bid was announced on Monday. One rival executive compared the tension between Barrick Chief Executive Mark Bristow and Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg to the Hatfields and McCoys, two 19th Century U.S. families whose members held a grudge for generations. "Newmont shareholders shouldn't risk what they have and need for what they don't have and don't need," Goldberg told Reuters on Friday. Newmont's board continues to evaluate Barrick's offer, Goldberg said. He reiterated what he had said earlier in the week that all options were on the table, including a Newmont bid for Barrick. Bristow was not available for an interview on Friday. At the heart of the debate is Nevada, where Barrick and Newmont have owned neighboring mines since the 1980s. Newmont said it prefers a joint venture in the state, a plan which Barrick says would be too complicated and not financially beneficial to all shareholders. The logic of combining the company's Nevada assets seems clear to both sides, but the sticking point is control. "If those fences and armed guards were removed, you'd have trucks from Barrick's mine not drive hours to get to the crusher and roaster, but they would have to go two miles to Newmont's," said an person familiar with Barrick's thinking. Bristow and Goldberg were emailing each other as recently as late January about a potential Nevada venture before Bristow stopped responding, Goldberg said. "I was hopeful that Mark, as another miner, would be able to sit down and do a (Nevada joint venture) deal as a point of logic," said Goldberg. "But then he dropped a hostile, no-premium bid." Story continues Bristow, for his part, said in an interview earlier this week that Goldberg did not show up for recently planned meetings to discuss Nevada. 'FIGHT TO THE DEATH' Barrick, which two months ago closed a $6.1 billion buyout of Randgold Resources, has encouraged Newmont to ditch a previously announced $10 billion takeover of Canada's Goldcorp Inc. Barrick has historically relied on acquisitions for growth, amassing billions of dollars of debt that it has been working to pay down. Newmont in recent years has focused on organic growth and financial discipline, although the Goldcorp bid breaks with past practice. Those divergent strategies would be hard to meld even in a friendly proposal, but become that much more difficult amid the culture clash, according to multiple investors and bankers, with the acrimony threatening to scuttle the deal as it did when the companies last tried to combine in 2014. "Newmont will fight to the death to stay independent," a banking source said. Newmont's shares have gained 39 percent in the past five years, compared to a 26 percent drop for Barrick's stock and a 3 percent drop in gold prices. Some Newmont shareholders question Barrick's claim that the deal will generate more than $7 billion in synergies. "We have no reason to have confidence in (Bristow's) ability to manage such a vastly more-complicated company," said James Rasteh of Coast Capital Management LP, which said it holds more than 100,000 Newmont shares. Bristow said in an interview earlier this week that his record at Africa-focused Randgold speaks for itself. Some investors agree. "Newmont is a company in need of a shakeup," said John Ing of Maison Placements, which declined to say how many Barrick shares it holds. BlackRock, a top-three investor in both companies, declined to comment. Flossbach Von Storch, a large investor in both companies, has said it supports a friendly deal but could not be reached for comment on Friday. Newmont would have to pay Goldcorp a $650 million break-up fee if it pulls its offer. Ironically, that would be the only cash that would change hands were the Barrick-Newmont deal to move forward, irking some Newmont shareholders. Antitrust experts do not expect any deal to face regulatory pressure. (Additional reporting by Liana Baker in New York, Diane Bartz in Washington and Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Tom Brown) Over the years, there have been many innovative technologies and products that have thrived, emerged slowly or ultimately died as a result of how they were adopted by the wider market. Bitcoin has made significant inroads to changing the way the world thinks about finance and technology, along with other coins that have also made a valid contribution. However, most see Bitcoin and other blockchain-based technologies as individual currencies when, in fact, they should be thought of as open finance platforms. As the Bitcoin expert Andreas Antonopoulos aptly put it, This is not just money for the Internet. This is a new Internet of money. Currently, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy and early adoption phase, even after 10 years of Bitcoins existence. In order for crypto to really take off adoption is going to be key and this means four key areas need to be satiated in order to do this: education, application, security and regulation. Education The simple fact is the majority of the world still has no idea what Bitcoin or blockchain-based technologies actually are, and this represents a real problem, particularly when many live by the adage of dont invest in what you dont understand. When conducting a search for Bitcoin or blockchain on the internet, youre likely to find the following definition: Bitcoin is a digital currency thats not backed by any countrys central bank or government. Bitcoins can be traded for goods or services with select vendors. Whilst succinct hardly the most comprehensive answer! Additionally, while blockchain technology and crypto may appear simple to those within the sector or with a tech knowledge-base, for many the market is seen to be rather opaque, difficult to understand and full of technical jargon. All of which make it a tough alternative to challenging existing embedded processes and norms. Essentially, education is an easy and palatable manner and ensuring market understanding is vital to assure future adoption. Story continues Its important this becomes a key personal responsibility for those of us already within the sector. Application The quote that Bitcoin can be traded for goods and services is true, but perhaps not as widely accepted as it suggests. Essentially, adoption will be in part driven by an understanding of real-world application for blockchain and cryptocurrency relative to each individuals needs and the benefits that it will bring. There are some technology platforms, like Wirex and Cryptopay, that let clients use a debit card against held crypto holdings offering a number of currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple. These are good solutions for now, but the prices offered on such platforms can sometimes be some way off the real underlying token/coin price. Additionally, these platforms can pay for goods and services with these cards but they are some way off being fully-fledged platforms where you can pay direct debits or buy larger priced items like cars or houses. The application question will also be helped by solving the ongoing topic of scaling which so far seems to be holding back broader adoption. Its hoped that advances like the Lightning Network will help solve this issue. For it to be able to be used within the mainstream the number of transactions per second needs to be addressed and improved. Bitcoin stands at seven per second, other currencies like Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple allow far more than this but all are far lower than Visas 24,000 per second, which is a very widely used platform. Its estimated that the Lightning Network for Bitcoin will have the potential to process 1 million transactions per second, however this is still theoretical at this stage as the network requires adoption for it to process transactions at that speed. Security There have been a number of well-publicised stories of theft within the sector since its inception which have resulted in negative outcomes for those involved along with some pretty crucial learning. These scenarios, along with the all too easy regurgitation of negative connotations about the sector such as it being rife with money launderers and criminals has meant a huge amount of caution is being taken from potential investors before they enter the sector to be assured that their funds are secure. A key point to note is that while there have been many cases of cryptocurrency exchanges hacked and private keys stolen, the actual blockchains of the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum have never been hacked. The best analogy for this would be leaving your wallet at a cash point with your bank card and pin code inside. The actual cryptocurrencies themselves are near impossible to hack, but stealing them from exchanges or wallets is another thing altogether The interesting thing here is that when time is taken to explain how much analysis can be done on individual assets to trace their chain of transactions and thereby effectively ensure they are clean [something thats almost impossible to do with fiat currency] and when theres a rational realisation that money laundering has been around well before the blockchain, then you find the softening of preconceived notions. Regulation The final strand towards adoption, would be improved regulation within the sector. After the last major move down in crypto prices, it was a commonly-held notion that the catalyst for the next move back higher would come from institutional activity. It was recognised for this to happen, more regulation would provide that comfort. Theres been much speculation surrounding the approval of an ETF by the SEC, which would bring inevitable mass interest in crypto. Separately, the FCA in the UK will be producing its first set of guidelines on the sector in the second half of 2019. With these measures, blockchain and crypto immediately gains legitimacy in the wider market and will then result in better protections for the retail part of the market. If these four bases are covered and adoption picks up, what will happen to prices? One would assume as demand outstrips supply, prices will increase which is great news for early investors. However, the tricky part is ensuring the infrastructure is there to support it. Either way, adoption is going to be critical for how successfully this market develops in the future and its important existing market participants dont lose sight of this. By David Thomas March 2, 2019 The post David Thomas: Adoption should not be underestimated appeared first on Coin Rivet. The countdown has begun for Congress to raise the debt limit before the government runs out of money to pay its bills. The limit went back into effect on Saturday, after Congress voted last year to suspend the debt limit until March 2nd. But that doesnt mean there is a crisis yet. Last month, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin wrote a letter to Congress saying Treasury plans to use extraordinary measures to keep the government from defaulting on its obligations. Honoring the full faith and credit of the United States is a critical commitment. I encourage Congress to raise the debt limit, said Mnuchin in the letter. (Source: Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget) Exactly where we should be six months out We dont know exactly when Treasury could run out of cash. The Congressional Budget Office said it expects Treasury to run out of money this fall near the end of this fiscal year or early in the next one. If Congress does not act by then, the U.S. could default on its debts. Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry told Yahoo Finance lawmakers are exactly where we should be six months out. Lawmakers will have their hands full at the end of September when Congress also must fund the government avoid a shutdown and strike a deal to avoid automatic spending cuts. Im modestly optimistic that well be able to wrestle this with less drama than what weve experienced politically over the last couple months, said McHenry, ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee. Interior of the Dome of the Capitol, 1865, seat of the United States Congress, Washington DC, District of Columbia. United States of America, 19th century. (Photo: DeAgostini/Getty Images) Jessica is a D.C.-based reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter. READ MORE: Sen. Grassley: The president is 'a little bit wrong' on national emergency Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 4 Vote(s) - 2 Average 1 2 3 4 5 How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Prince Vegeta Knowledge and Power User ID: 456214 03-02-2019 04:13 AM Posts: 2,726 Post: #1 How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Advertisement The leaders of two major Islamist groups, Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham and Zahran Alloush of Jaysh al-Islam, were also both in Assads prisons in early 2011. Additionally, as the Islamic State began to take root in Syria and spread into Iraq, Assad let the group grow. Phillips wrote in The Atlantic in August that this was partly pragmatic, as ISIS was in the peripheral east while other rebels threatened the western heartlands, but it was also strategic. The regime did not just open the door to the prisons and let these extremists out, it facilitated them in their work, in their creation of armed brigades, a former member of Syrias Military Intelligence Directorate, one of more than a dozen of Syrias secretive intelligence agencies, told Abu Dhabi-based The National in 2014. Assad concocted a legitimizing narrative: It portrayed the oppositionists as violent, foreign, sectarian Islamists, Phillips wrote, in the hope that only jihadists and his regime would be left for Syrians and the world to choose from. https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news...-1.6462751 This is in response to the Putin tells everyone exactly who created ISIS thread. Read the real story here for yourself. Putin is full of sh*t. I have no time for weaklings. In 2011, the majority of the current ISIS leadership was released from jail" by Assad, Mohammed Al-Saud, a Syrian dissident with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, told Newsweek in 2014. No one in the regime has ever admitted this, or explained why.The leaders of two major Islamist groups, Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham and Zahran Alloush of Jaysh al-Islam, were also both in Assads prisons in early 2011. Additionally, as the Islamic State began to take root in Syria and spread into Iraq, Assad let the group grow. Phillips wrote in The Atlantic in August that this was partly pragmatic, as ISIS was in the peripheral east while other rebels threatened the western heartlands, but it was also strategic.The regime did not just open the door to the prisons and let these extremists out, it facilitated them in their work, in their creation of armed brigades, a former member of Syrias Military Intelligence Directorate, one of more than a dozen of Syrias secretive intelligence agencies, told Abu Dhabi-based The National in 2014.Assad concocted a legitimizing narrative: It portrayed the oppositionists as violent, foreign, sectarian Islamists, Phillips wrote, in the hope that only jihadists and his regime would be left for Syrians and the world to choose from.This is in response to the Putin tells everyone exactly who created ISIS thread. Read the real story here for yourself. Putin is full of sh*t.I have no time for weaklings. HPNLI lop guest User ID: 451621 03-02-2019 04:21 AM Post: #2 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Were these the same guys in the photo opt with John McCain? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 302106 03-02-2019 04:21 AM Post: #3 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Fight the Power Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:13 AM) In 2011, the majority of the current ISIS leadership was released from jail" by Assad, Mohammed Al-Saud, a Syrian dissident with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, told Newsweek in 2014. No one in the regime has ever admitted this, or explained why. The leaders of two major Islamist groups, Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham and Zahran Alloush of Jaysh al-Islam, were also both in Assads prisons in early 2011. Additionally, as the Islamic State began to take root in Syria and spread into Iraq, Assad let the group grow. Phillips wrote in The Atlantic in August that this was partly pragmatic, as ISIS was in the peripheral east while other rebels threatened the western heartlands, but it was also strategic. The regime did not just open the door to the prisons and let these extremists out, it facilitated them in their work, in their creation of armed brigades, a former member of Syrias Military Intelligence Directorate, one of more than a dozen of Syrias secretive intelligence agencies, told Abu Dhabi-based The National in 2014. Assad concocted a legitimizing narrative: It portrayed the oppositionists as violent, foreign, sectarian Islamists, Phillips wrote, in the hope that only jihadists and his regime would be left for Syrians and the world to choose from. https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news...-1.6462751 This is in response to the Putin tells everyone exactly who created ISIS thread. Read the real story here for yourself. Putin is full of sh*t. Not just that but Not just that but http://lunaticoutpost.com/thread-111594.html LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 302106 03-02-2019 04:22 AM Post: #4 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It HPNLI Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:21 AM) Were these the same guys in the photo opt with John McCain? We all played a part. http://lunaticoutpost.com/thread-111594.html We all played a part. Prince Vegeta Knowledge and Power User ID: 456214 03-02-2019 04:31 AM Posts: 2,726 Post: #5 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It HPNLI Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:21 AM) Were these the same guys in the photo opt with John McCain? Nope. He was posing with Syrian rebels that were fighting Assads brutal dictatorship. Russian/Assadist propaganda will call them ISIS though and fools will believe it. Nope. He was posing with Syrian rebels that were fighting Assads brutal dictatorship. Russian/Assadist propaganda will call them ISIS though and fools will believe it. I have no time for weaklings. Natura Naturans Registered User User ID: 480998 03-02-2019 04:47 AM Posts: 13,155 Post: #6 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It How could anyone buy the idea Assad created ISIS when Assad and Russia were the only ones to actually defeat ISIS. Only someone who ardently wants to push US and Israeli propaganda could advance such a ridiculous notion. The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free. --Baruch Spinoza Prince Vegeta Knowledge and Power User ID: 456214 03-02-2019 08:48 AM Posts: 2,726 Post: #7 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Natura Naturans Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:47 AM) How could anyone buy the idea Assad created ISIS when Assad and Russia were the only ones to actually defeat ISIS. Only someone who ardently wants to push US and Israeli propaganda could advance such a ridiculous notion. Come on man it's not that hard to figure out. They used ISIS as a tool to put pressure on the rebels and make Assad's opposition look bad. Come on man it's not that hard to figure out. They used ISIS as a tool to put pressure on the rebels and make Assad's opposition look bad. I have no time for weaklings. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 443451 03-02-2019 09:51 AM Post: #8 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It That idea does not stand up to any logical reason. BTW I've got a 9v battery that's looking for a fight. HPnLI lop guest User ID: 451621 03-02-2019 09:53 AM Post: #9 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Fight the Power Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:31 AM) HPNLI Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:21 AM) Were these the same guys in the photo opt with John McCain? Nope. He was posing with Syrian rebels that were fighting Assads brutal dictatorship. Russian/Assadist propaganda will call them ISIS though and fools will believe it. Well, this response tells me just about what I need to know. Let's go everyone. (lol) Well, this response tells me just about what I need to know. Let's go everyone. (lol) LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 481500 03-02-2019 09:54 AM Post: #10 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Fight the Power Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:13 AM) In 2011, the majority of the current ISIS leadership was released from jail" by Assad, Mohammed Al-Saud, a Syrian dissident with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, told Newsweek in 2014. No one in the regime has ever admitted this, or explained why. The leaders of two major Islamist groups, Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham and Zahran Alloush of Jaysh al-Islam, were also both in Assads prisons in early 2011. Additionally, as the Islamic State began to take root in Syria and spread into Iraq, Assad let the group grow. Phillips wrote in The Atlantic in August that this was partly pragmatic, as ISIS was in the peripheral east while other rebels threatened the western heartlands, but it was also strategic. The regime did not just open the door to the prisons and let these extremists out, it facilitated them in their work, in their creation of armed brigades, a former member of Syrias Military Intelligence Directorate, one of more than a dozen of Syrias secretive intelligence agencies, told Abu Dhabi-based The National in 2014. Assad concocted a legitimizing narrative: It portrayed the oppositionists as violent, foreign, sectarian Islamists, Phillips wrote, in the hope that only jihadists and his regime would be left for Syrians and the world to choose from. https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news...-1.6462751 This is in response to the Putin tells everyone exactly who created ISIS thread. Read the real story here for yourself. Putin is full of sh*t. COMPLETE HORSESHIT LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 491412 03-02-2019 12:43 PM Post: #11 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It In 2011, the majority of the current ISIS leadership was released from jail in Saudi Arabia not Syria LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 442089 03-02-2019 12:54 PM Post: #12 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It If Assad did that, I wonder if John Kerry told him to do so over dinner. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 412093 03-02-2019 03:26 PM Post: #13 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It the c_a, dnc, and globalist money, created & trained isis. Follow the money. the c_a, dnc, and globalist money, created & trained isis.Follow the money. spo snouou Vocem sine nomine audivit! User ID: 350320 03-02-2019 03:31 PM Posts: 67,593 Post: #14 RE: How Putins Buddy Assad Helped Create ISIS to Win in Syria and Got Away With It Fight the Power Wrote: (03-02-2019 08:48 AM) Natura Naturans Wrote: (03-02-2019 04:47 AM) How could anyone buy the idea Assad created ISIS when Assad and Russia were the only ones to actually defeat ISIS. Only someone who ardently wants to push US and Israeli propaganda could advance such a ridiculous notion. Come on man it's not that hard to figure out. They used ISIS as a tool to put pressure on the rebels and make Assad's opposition look bad. Code: This is an operational unit of information terrorists helping to transform the way Americans consume news in the age of Trumpsome of the central nodes that give order to the information deluge and around which bot armies and human amplification networks can be organized, wiped out, reconstituted, and armed for attack. Because that is what they do: attack. Many reporters who cover this phenomenon have themselves been swarmed by attacks and harassment from the digital insurgency that these information terroristscall them the cadrecommand. Information terrorism is not a term I apply lightly. But if you accept the core definition of terrorism as "the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims," then there are few terms more apt to describe what this group has unleashed against their fellow Americans. The cadre coalesced and sharpened its edge starting in 2014 with Gamergate before throwing in with then-candidate Trump. It has promoted toxic conspiracies like Pizzagate and QAnon, and was ever-present around movements from Unite the Right to #releasethememo. This same information architecture was used to attack Blasey Ford and exonerate Kavanaugh. The attacks on Blasey Ford aimed to discredit and silence her using the same tactics that have been deployed to discredit and silence others over the past few years. As others have come forward to accuse Kavanaugh of wrongdoingincluding Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnickthey have been similarly harassed and smeared by the same machinery and themes. Some call this trolling, but that term is far too mild. These are not the proverbial hoodied losers in some basement, engaging with other humans only via videogames and 8chan. This cadre has hundreds of thousands of followers and devotees on Twitter, Instagram, Gab, and other social media, many of whom will post and amplify their views even after the personalities themselves are kicked off the platforms for threats and rules violations. The network also takes advantage of affiliations with increasingly mainstream partisan media outlets that will subscribe to any argument that suits their current agenda. Ultimately, the followerswho are real people, not botsare cultivated and activated: They dont need be told to threaten or harass whoever the new enemy is because they already know their part in the play. https://www.wired.com/story/information-...e-america/ The illustrated triangles above, perhaps the best known in psychology (with emotions well identified) may furnish a better idea of how the game is played. They clearly show how each party uses negative emotions to create a situation with no resolution, a catch-22, switching roles and a thankless, pointless nonsensical cycle. more: https://cornerstone.ac.za/article-of-the...opolitics/ more:The illustrated triangles above, perhaps the best known in psychology (with emotions well identified) may furnish a better idea of how the game is played. They clearly show how each party uses negative emotions to create a situation with no resolution, a catch-22, switching roles and a thankless, pointless nonsensical cycle.more: Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread By Linda Carroll (Reuters Health) - When multiple doctors are on the job, there's a higher likelihood that a correct diagnosis will be made, a new study suggests. Researchers found that diagnoses were far more accurate if they were the result of online physician crowdsourcing, according to a report in JAMA Network Open. "We are saying, what if you crowdsourced a case?" said lead author Dr. Michael Barnett, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "You get a bunch of doctors together solving the case and put the answers together as if they were in the same room and come up with a ranked list. If you pick the diagnosis at the top of the list, you do way better than individual doctors do." For the new study, Barnett and his colleagues turned to The Human Diagnosis Project (Human Dx), an international online project in which physicians and fellows, residents and medical students practice authoring and diagnosing teaching cases. Users create teaching cases from their own clinical practice with key elements of the history, physical and diagnostic tests (for example, laboratory and imaging studies). Once other doctors put their answers in - they are allowed five guesses - they are told what the real diagnosis is. Ultimately the researchers concentrated on 1,572 cases from the dataset that 2,069 users had offered diagnoses for. Among the users were 1,228 residents or fellows, 431 attending physicians and 410 medical students. On their own, doctors and doctors-in-training didn't do so well, arriving at the correct diagnosis just 62.5 percent of the time. That would be a "D" grade, Barnett said. But when the researchers put groups of nine physicians per case together and looked at the diagnosis chosen most often by the nine, they found the odds of getting the correct answer were vastly improved at 85.6 percent. "When you add people in groups you get up to a C and a B+," Barnett said. "And you can get all the way up to an A." Barnett isn't sure how a similar process could be implemented in real world situations. That's a subject for further research, he said. The new paper is looking at ways to improve diagnosis, said Dr. Allen Kachalia, senior vice president for patient safety and quality and director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine. "There's no question that diagnostic error is a big problem in medicine," Kachalia said. "It's something we're still trying to address. In the past, that's been done by giving clinicians guidelines and pathways to follow to help them in decision making. This study helps us think about different solutions to that problem. It puts in our minds the question: how do we get two or three minds together to help solve diagnostic issues." There are two messages you can take from this study, said Dr. Ben Miller, clinical services director at the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. First, "even though this is simulated, it shows that the collaborative process of multiple physicians thinking about a patient probably leads to better diagnostic accuracy," said Miller, who was not involved in the new research. "The other takeaway is the inherent uncertainty of medicine." Many patients assume that if they are seen by a doctor, diagnosis is simply a black or white issue, and "if you're a doctor you should know the right answer, "Miller said. "But even with the collective wisdom of multiple doctors, one in 10 times they will miss the mark." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2Uby11m JAMA Network Open, online March 1, 2019. Were definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Imagine if you held Reliance Communications Limited (NSE:RCOM) for half a decade as the share price tanked 95%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 77% over the last twelve months. Furthermore, its down 54% in about a quarter. Thats not much fun for holders. We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you dont have to lose the lesson. See our latest analysis for Reliance Communications To quote Buffett, Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. During five years of share price growth, Reliance Communications moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so its counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics may better explain the share price move. It could be that the revenue decline of 22% per year is viewed as evidence that Reliance Communications is shrinking. This has probably encouraged some shareholders to sell down the stock. You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow). NSEI:RCOM Income Statement, March 2nd 2019 If you are thinking of buying or selling Reliance Communications stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet. A Different Perspective We regret to report that Reliance Communications shareholders are down 77% for the year. Unfortunately, thats worse than the broader market decline of 6.5%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case theres a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last years performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 44% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should buy when there is blood on the streets, but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Story continues If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on IN exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, wed be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So well take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (NSE:HDFCLIFE). What Is Insider Selling? Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We dont think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise. See our latest analysis for HDFC Life Insurance HDFC Life Insurance Insider Transactions Over The Last Year Subrat Mohanty made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for 276m worth of shares at a price of 395 each. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of 352. They could have a variety of motivations for selling, but its still not particularly encouraging to see. Arguably, insider selling at around current prices should give us reason to reflect on whether the stock is fully valued at the moment. Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 130.41k shares worth 35m. But insiders sold 8.22m shares worth 3.6b. In total, HDFC Life Insurance insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. The sellers received a price of around 437, on average. We are not joyful about insider selling. However, we do note that the average sale price was significantly higher than the current share price (which is 352). You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Story continues NSEI:HDFCLIFE Recent Insider Trading, March 2nd 2019 If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Insiders at HDFC Life Insurance Have Sold Stock Recently Over the last three months, weve seen significant insider selling at HDFC Life Insurance. In total, insiders dumped 1.1b worth of shares in that time, and we didnt record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this its hard to argue that all the directors think that the shares are a bargain. Insider Ownership of HDFC Life Insurance I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Its great to see that HDFC Life Insurance insiders own 1.2% of the company, worth about 8.7b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders. So What Does This Data Suggest About HDFC Life Insurance Insiders? Insiders havent bought HDFC Life Insurance stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesnt give us much comfort. On the plus side, HDFC Life Insurance makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesnt make us feel confident about the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for HDFC Life Insurance. If you would prefer to check out another company one with potentially superior financials then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. Well use ROE to examine dotdigital Group Plc (LON:DOTD), by way of a worked example. dotdigital Group has a ROE of 23%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every 1 worth of shareholders equity, it generated 0.23 in profit. View our latest analysis for dotdigital Group How Do I Calculate ROE? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit Shareholders Equity Or for dotdigital Group: 23% = 8.846 UK38m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Its easy to understand the net profit part of that equation, but shareholders equity requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. The easiest way to calculate shareholders equity is to subtract the companys total liabilities from the total assets. What Does Return On Equity Mean? ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The return is the yearly profit. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. Clearly, then, one can use ROE to compare different companies. Does dotdigital Group Have A Good ROE? Arguably the easiest way to assess companys ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, dotdigital Group has a better ROE than the average (14%) in the Software industry. AIM:DOTD Past Revenue and Net Income, March 2nd 2019 Thats clearly a positive. We think a high ROE, alone, is usually enough to justify further research into a company. For example, I often check if insiders have been buying shares . Story continues The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity Most companies need money from somewhere to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but wont affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. dotdigital Groups Debt And Its 23% ROE dotdigital Group is free of net debt, which is a positive for shareholders. Its high ROE already points to a high quality business, but the lack of debt is a cherry on top. After all, with cash on the balance sheet, a company has a lot more optionality in good times and bad. In Summary Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth and how much investment is required going forward. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. By Marion Giraldo EASTER ISLAND, Chile (Reuters) - In just 100 years, the emblematic stone sculptures that guard the coastline of Easter Island could be little more than simple rectangular blocks, conservation experts are warning. The giant heads, carved centuries ago by the island's inhabitants, represent the living ancestors of Easter Island's Polynesian people - the Rapa Nui - and have brought it UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Dozens of giant "Moai" statues dominate the hillsides surrounding the island's Rano Raraku wetland, but they are facing the threat of what locals describe as a kind of leprosy, white spots that are appearing on their iconic facades. Caused by lichens, a marriage of fungi and algae, the patches eat away at the sculptures, softening them to a clay-like consistency and deforming their features. The statues must also contend with coastal erosion, rising sea levels, high winds and damage from freely roaming livestock. "I imagine that in a century more these Moai will basically be rectangular figures," Tahira Edmunds, adviser to Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) who has worked on cleaning the sculptures to remove the lichen, told Reuters during a visit to the island last month. Sonia Haoa, an archaeologist and Easter Island native, is compiling an inventory of its heritage, including the Moai. She estimates that about 70 percent of the more than 1,000 statues are affected by lichens. While the deterioration can appear shocking to visitors who flock to the remote volcanic island, located some 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) from mainland Chile, Haoa said it was still possible to save them, through laborious cleaning and coating with sealant chemicals to curb moisture and prevent the porous volcanic rock from collapsing. The most famous Moai groupings, such as the Ahu Tongariki, 15 statues arranged along a platform by the sea, and those scattered around the Ranu Raraku quarry, the source of the stone, are already being cared for by heritage experts and the indigenous community's administrators of the Rapa Nui National Park. Story continues But the island has at least 30,000 archaeological sites spread across its 166 square kilometers (64.1 square miles), most of which are exposed to the environment. To protect all the statues could cost as much as $500 million, and international help will be needed, according to local authorities and experts. "You will never be able to entirely prevent the impact of time or the weather, but you can hold it back, so that more people can see them first," Haoa told Reuters. A BRITISH SOLUTION? With no government fund specifically dedicated to preserving the island's heritage, the community allocates a large part of its income from tourism to repair and protection measures. Nonetheless, they say, resources are scarce. The mayor of Easter Island has come up with an innovative solution: seeking royalty payments from nations whose explorers took some of Easter Island's statues into their possession centuries ago. Among them is the Hoa Hakananai'a, a seven-foot (2.13 m) tall basalt statue that has become one of the British Museum's most popular exhibits since it was removed from the island by British sailors more than 150 years ago. The Easter Island authorities and the Chilean government sent a delegation to London in November to request the return of the four-ton statue. The museum responded that it was happy to consider a long-term loan of the Moai. Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa instead suggested the Hoa Hakananai'a could act as an "ambassador" for Easter Island, and Britain could keep it in return for regular payments to ensure the upkeep of its Easter Island counterparts. "We would win much more," he said. Sonia Paoa agreed, saying that while Easter Island's heritage was more than just statues, their celebrity could be the key to sustaining it all. "What do you leave to a 10-year-old boy, what will there be in Easter Island for the European or Chilean tourist to come see if we don't save them?" He asks. "It's the only oil well we have." The British Museum said it was looking forward to continuing the "warm, friendly and open" conversation begun in London with a potential visit to Easter Island. "The museum is keen to work collaboratively with partners and communities across the globe and welcomes these proposed discussions around future joint projects with Rapa Nui," it said in a statement sent to Reuters. (Reporting by Marion Giraldo; writing by Aislinn Laing, editing by Steve Orlofsky and G Crosse) London (AFP) - Eight people suffered minor injuries during an aborted take-off at London Stansted Airport, causing flights to be suspended for around three hours. Crew on the Laudamotion flight to Vienna suspected engine problems on the runway shortly after 8:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Friday. Passengers reported a bang rocking the cabin. Thomas Steer said there was a "big bang on the side of the aircraft which skidded to a stop". The estate agent, 24, from Essex, eastern England, said: "It was scary. And then staff shouting 'evacuate evacuate'. "My friend opened the emergency exit and we slid down the slides, a few old people fell over and the fire brigade treated them. "No-one was seriously injured, just minor things." An airport spokesman said it had received reports that eight people suffered minor injuries in the incident. Laudamotion tweeted that the crew "decided to abort the take-off due to engine issues and to disembark the passengers on the runway as a precautionary measure." Stansted is Britain's fourth-busiest airport. The airport tweeted around 11:00 pm (2300 GMT) that the runway had re-opened and was fully operational again. FORT POLK, La. A Louisiana family says a trip to Fort Polk on Friday was likely the last major event they will attend with their 8-year-old son, who is in hospice care as he battles cancer. During the outing, Drake Quibodeaux was inducted an honorary soldier. The Vinton, Louisiana, boy was diagnosed in March 2018 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a tumor that originates in the middle of the brain stem. Literature describes the childhood cancer as "terminal on diagnosis," and mother Danielle Quibodeaux touched on that as she spoke to the media. "We need these days to get us through the hard days," said Danielle. She said there were "no words to describe how thankful we are for the experience and the memories that are gonna be made today." During the special day at Fort Polk, Drake and his family were treated to tours, demonstrations and loud explosions. Lt. Col. Sonja Whitehead with the 519th Military Police Battalion administered the oath to Drake. His father, Christopher Quibodeaux, spoke for him and held up his right hand. Whitehead said the battalion played a big part of making the day memorable for Drake, including a demonstration from its Special Reaction Team. "It just makes me so proud to see these soldiers really come together and make this special for Drake," she said. She called it an honor to administer the oath to the boy. Before he became sick, Drake loved the outdoors and liked to blow stuff up. They still try to live that outdoor life, said Christopher. The family had been boating on the day Drake began having seizures. Less than a day later, he'd been airlifted to a New Orleans hospital. After his diagnosis, a doctor told them to go home and make memories. There is no cure for DIPG. Outlooks are brutal, according to Danielle. Only 5 percent of patients survive a year, and fewer than 1 percent make it two years. Drake is 10 days away from one year with the disease. Story continues Drake Quibodeaux is inducted as an honorary soldier Friday as his father, Christopher Quibodeaux (left) holds his hand up. Lt. Col. Sonja Whitehead (right) administered the oath to the Vinton boy, who has a brain tumor. In January, the family was told Drake's tumor had started to grow again. He didn't respond to treatment, said Danielle, so the family "is just home, and we're gonna make the best of every day and enjoy everything God gives us." Christopher served in the Army and at Fort Polk. When his son's small uniform was delivered on Thursday, he said it brought back a lot of memories. The uniform had the insignia of a four-star general, but Drake had said he wanted to be a command sergeant major, the senior non-commissioned officer at a command. So that's what soldiers called him Friday. Danielle spoke about the hardships and heartaches of Drake's illness. The family copes differently she won't cry in front of her son, but Christopher cries "all the time," she said. Christopher said he doesn't hold back in front of his son, whom he called "strong." If Drake has questions about his illness, they talk about them. Just days ago, Drake told her he couldn't see out of his left eye. He's now wearing a patch to minimize the damage to his right eye. The experience left the boy in tears. Drake Quibodeaux (right), 8, looks at a plaque given to him by members of the 519th Military Police Battalion as his father, Christopher Quibodeaux, holds it. The cancer is taking away Drake's physical abilities, while leaving his mind functional, she said. Because of that, sometimes his family can't understand him. "And he gets so mad, and we just all cry because it's hard." Christopher said the family has come to be close to other families dealing with the cancer. Support from their hometown and social media has been amazing, he said. Danielle said it's all about spreading awareness of DIPG. They've relied on their faith, family and friends, and she said Drake has been an inspiration. "He was like, why are y'all crying? God's got me. I'm OK. I will get through this," she said. "When we're weak, somebody's always there to lift us up. Always." The Quibodeaux family has a Facebook page with updates on Drake: "Drake's Battle with DIPG." Follow Melissa Gregory on Twitter at: @MGreg_TownTalk This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Eight-year-old boy in hospice care for cancer made honorary soldier An 11-year-old girl has been charged with first-degree child abuse of a one-year-old boy who died after suffering serious injuries in her care. The girl, who is not related to the victim, was left babysitting Paxton Davis at her home in Maryland near Washington DC while her mother went out on an errand. Her family members called 911 after returning home to find the baby unresponsive. Paxton was taken to hospital with severe injuries to his upper body and died four days later, on Thursday 28 February. The girl was arrested following his death and admitted the assault, according to Prince Georges County Police. Major Brian Reilly, commander of the criminal investigation division, told a press conference the motive remains under investigation. I dont know what motive there would be in a situation like this for an 11-year-old to intentionally inflict injuries on a one-year-old, he said. There are no words. There is no reason for this to take place. Major Reilly said the two families were friends and Paxton was left there in the care of the girls mother on the previous Saturday. The girl had not looked after the baby before. It was an innocent friendly agreement that turned absolutely tragic, he said. There was a short time where the 11-year-old was left in the house where there was no parental supervision. Police were alerted by medical staff at 3.25pm following the babys arrival at hospital. When hospital staff took a look at our one-year-old victim, they immediately called child abuse detectives due to the severity of his injuries, said Major Reilly. It was clear from the beginning that the injuries Paxton suffered were not consistent with the normal play of a one-year-old. Police said that they would consult with the Prince Georges County states attorneys office to determine any further charges in the case. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State looks about to lose its last foothold - on the banks of the Euphrates near the Iraq border - but while its era of territorial rule may be over for now, there is near universal agreement that IS remains a threat. WHAT HAS ITS TERRITORIAL DEFEAT ACCOMPLISHED? Islamic State's possession of land in Iraq and Syria set it apart from other like-minded groups such as al Qaeda and became central to its mission when it declared a caliphate in 2014, claiming sovereignty over all Muslim lands and peoples. The destruction of the quasi-state it built there has denied the group its most potent propaganda and recruiting tool as well as a logistical base from which it could train fighters and plan coordinated attacks overseas. It also freed its former subjects from summary executions and draconian punishment for breaking its strict laws or, for some minorities, sexual slavery and slaughter. Warfare wiped out thousands of its fighters. And, financially, its defeat deprives it of greater resources than any modern jihadist movement has enjoyed, including taxes on its inhabitants and the proceeds of oil sales. WHAT THREAT DOES ISLAMIC STATE STILL POSE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA? In its previous guise as an al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq a decade ago, IS navigated adversity by going underground, biding its time to rise suddenly again. Since suffering devastating territorial losses in 2017, IS has steadily turned again to such tactics. Sleeper cells in Iraq have staged a scatter-gun campaign of kidnappings and killings to undermine the Baghdad government. The group has also carried out many bombings in northeast Syria, which is controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, including one that killed four Americans in January. Kurdish and U.S. officials say it remains a menace there. In Syria, IS fighters are on the brink of losing their last foothold of Baghouz at the Iraqi border. But they still have a presence in sparsely populated territory west of the Euphrates River in an area otherwise held by the Syrian government. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ITS LEADERS, FIGHTERS AND FOLLOWERS? The fate of the IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains a mystery. The U.S. government's top experts strongly believe he is alive and possibly hiding in Iraq, U.S. sources recently said. Other top-echelon leaders have been killed in air strikes. Thousands of Islamic State insurgents and civilian followers have also been killed and thousands more captured. An unknown number remain at large in both Syria and Iraq. Iraq is putting on trial, imprisoning and often executing IS detainees. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds many hundreds of Islamic State fighters and followers. Ahead of the final assault on Baghouz, the SDF said it had 800 foreign fighters and more than 2,000 IS wives and children in its hands. The SDF has evacuated a large number of IS followers from Baghouz, so these numbers are now higher. Many low-level local operatives have been released in Syria. The SDF complains that Western states are reluctant to take back the foreign fighters, who are widely seen as a security threat at home but who might be hard to legally prosecute. CAN IT STILL ORGANIZE OR INSPIRE ATTACKS OVERSEAS? As Islamic State clung to its last scrap of land, the head of Britain's spy agency MI6 warned that the group would return to "asymmetric" attacks. Even after it began losing ground militarily, IS still claimed responsibility for attacks made in different countries, though often these have been blamed on "lone wolves" without its direction. It started years ago to call on followers abroad to plan their own attacks, rather than focusing purely on ones staged by trained operatives supported by the group's hierarchy. In early 2018 the head of U.S. military central command said Islamic State was resilient and remained capable of "inspiring attacks throughout the region and outside of the Middle East". WHAT DOES ITS FALL MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL JIHAD? Although Islamic State's core territory was in Iraq and Syria, jihadists fighting in other countries, notably Nigeria, Yemen and Afghanistan, pledged their allegiance to it. Whether those groups will still wear its mantle, especially if Baghdadi is captured or killed, is an open question, but there seems little chance they will soon end their campaigns. Al Qaeda also retains numerous franchises around the world, and other militant Islamist groups operate in countries where normal governance has broken down. Jihadist ideology has long proven itself able to mutate as circumstances change, and there is no shortage of warfare, injustice, oppression, poverty, sectarianism and naked religious hatred for Islamist militants to exploit. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Tom Perry and Mark Heinrich) 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. 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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/ By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Special Counsel Robert Mueller has pursued his investigation into Moscow's role in the 2016 U.S. election, legal experts have debated what sort of contacts between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia may have violated U.S. criminal law. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia used a scheme of hacking and propaganda to cause discord in the United States and harm Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Mueller's probe, with several Trump campaign figures already pleading guilty or being convicted, has documented numerous contacts between Russians and people close to the president. Mueller, who has sought to determine whether Trump's campaign coordinated with Moscow, is preparing to submit a report on his investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Trump and Russia have denied collusion and Moscow has denied election interference. Here is a look at potential crimes Mueller may examine relating to these contacts and other matters. IS THERE A U.S. FEDERAL CRIME CALLED COLLUSION? Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in July 2018 said, "I have been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime. Collusion is not a crime." Trump wrote on Twitter the next day, "Collusion is not a crime, but that doesn't matter because there was No Collusion." There indeed is no federal crime called "collusion." But collusion is a non-legal way of saying conspiracy, which is one of the most commonly asserted crimes in U.S. federal courts. Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act. A conspiracy does not need to have been successful, but the individuals must have taken some action to further it. Because computer hacking is clearly a federal crime, any Trump campaign official who assented to and encouraged the hacking of Democratic National Committee computers in 2016 could be liable for the crime of conspiracy. U.S. officials have said Russia hacked the Democratic computers to steal emails that were later released by the WikiLeaks website to hurt Clinton. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said during a June 2016 news conference, referring to Clinton emails. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press." The federal conspiracy statute also prohibits agreements aimed at "impairing, obstructing, or defeating the lawful function of any department of government," under a 1910 U.S. Supreme Court precedent. This notion of criminal liability, known as conspiracy to defraud the United States, was raised by Mueller in a February 2018 indictment of 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies, including St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, known for its trolling on social media. According to the special counsel, their "information warfare against the United States" impaired the functioning of the U.S. Federal Election Commission and other government agencies. Mueller in July 2018 also indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers accused of hacking the Democratic computers. COULD TRUMP CAMPAIGN LINKS TO RUSSIA VIOLATE OTHER LAWS? Yes. Campaign finance laws prohibit foreigners from influencing U.S. elections, and presidential candidates cannot legally solicit campaign contributions from foreign nationals. Campaign contributions are defined broadly as anything of value intended to influence the election. The hacked Democratic emails potentially could fall into that category, if Mueller finds coordination between the Russians and Trump's campaign. If Trump campaign officials knowingly solicited valuable information from Russians, they may be liable under campaign finance laws, legal experts said. But Trump campaign officials would have a strong defense if they could show they did not know soliciting such help violated campaign finance laws. While ignorance of the law often is not an excuse, criminal violations of campaign finance law are unusual in that they require a showing of willfulness, or knowledge of the law being broken. WHAT OTHER CHARGES MIGHT MUELLER CONSIDER? Mueller also is looking into whether Trump engaged in obstruction of justice by trying to impede or shut down the Russia investigation, first when it was conducted by the FBI and later after the special counsel was appointed in May 2017. There are several federal laws that make it a crime to interfere with a court case or government proceeding. One broadly worded federal law prohibits efforts to "influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice." The effort can be unsuccessful and still be obstruction. Obstruction of justice cases are often difficult to prove because they hinge on an individual's mental state. Prosecutors would need to show that Trump acted with a "corrupt" intent, or an intent to impede an investigation. According to some lawyers, Trump engaged in obstruction of justice by asking former FBI director James Comey in February 2017 to back off an investigation into U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn over Flynn's contacts with Russia. Trump eventually fired Comey in May 2017. Other lawyers have said the obstruction of justice case against Trump is weak because the president could credibly argue he did not actually pressure Comey and that he fired him for reasons unrelated to the Flynn investigation. Trump himself has given differing explanations for the firing, including citing "this Russia thing" as the reason. Some legal scholars have also argued that the president cannot obstruct of justice by exercising his constitutional authority to fire a subordinate. Under current Justice Department policy first devised in 1973 and reaffirmed in 2000, a sitting president cannot face criminal charges, a view some legal experts dispute. But any accusation against Trump of conspiracy, obstruction or justice or other crime could prompt an impeachment effort in the U.S. Congress to remove him from office. The U.S. Constitution states, "The president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham) WASHINGTON (AP) As the White House gears up for the 2020 campaign, it's pressing the case that Democrats are rallying behind what it's calling the policies of "socialism." Trying to portray Democrats as out of step with ordinary Americans, Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the choice in the next election is "between freedom and socialism, between personal responsibility and government dependence." It was the latest step in a coordinated effort by President Donald Trump and his allies to drive up enthusiasm among the GOP base by sowing fears about the policies pushed by Democrats. "The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment America ceases to be America," Pence told the crowd of conservative activists. Pence also took aim at "Medicare-for-all" and the Green New Deal, policy proposals prominent in the crowded Democratic contest for the presidential nomination. The Medicare proposal really means "quality health care for none," Pence said. And "the only thing green" about the Democrats' environmental framework to combat climate change, the vice president said, "is how much green it's going to cost taxpayers if we do it: $90 trillion." The American Action Forum, a Republican-linked think tank, has estimated that the Green New Deal could cost $51 trillion to $93 trillion over 10 years. Democrats have not specified a price tag, though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who introduced the plan along with Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, said it would be "the same way we paid for the original New Deal, World War II, the bank bailouts, tax cuts for the rich and decades of war with public money appropriated by Congress." The health care and climate proposals have become litmus tests in the race for the Democratic nomination, with many liberals embracing the ideas even as some pragmatists raise questions about cost and feasibility. Story continues White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said at the conference Thursday that Americans should "put socialism on trial and then convict it." Trump was expected to deliver a similar message when he addresses the conference on Saturday. A Trump campaign official said the campaign was exploring ways to use the "socialism" message to drive a wedge between Democratic voters and independents. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal planning. The campaign also believes that the attacks will activate Trump's base, which may have lost some motivation because the president has run into congressional opposition as he tries to fulfill his U.S.-Mexico border wall promise. The head of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, told the conference on Thursday that the GOP would look to "go out and educate" voters about socialism. Responding to Pence's socialism accusation, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said: "This is no surprise. It's nonsense, but Donald Trump and Donald Trump's minions will do whatever they think helps Donald Trump. That's all that's going on here." Pence called Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who is making a second run for the Democratic presidential nomination, an "avowed socialist," though Sanders identifies as a "democratic socialist," calling for sweeping social programs to help reduce income inequality. Pence added Sanders that epitomized Democratic candidates and officials who "have papered over the failed policies of socialism with bumper-sticker slogans and slick social media campaigns." Sanders fired back in a missive to his vast small-dollar donor list, encouraging them to give to his campaign in Pence's "honor" and saying Pence was targeting them because his "campaign is the strongest and most powerful challenge to Trump's re-election." The White House has tried to cite the political chaos in Venezuela, where moderates backed by the Trump administration are challenging the socialist government of Nicholas Maduro after years of economic collapse, as a warning sign about the consequences of Democratic policies in the United States. A Gallup poll from last August found that 37 percent of Americans feel positive about socialism, a share little changed over the past decade. Nearly 6 in 10 Democrats (57 percent) reported having a positive view of socialism, more than three times the share of Republicans (16 percent). According to Gallup, young adults are especially likely to view socialism positively. About half of Americans under 30 (51 percent) and 41 percent of those age 30 to 49 reported feeling positive on that topic, compared with about 3 in 10 of those 50 and older. ___ Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Hannah Fingerhut in Washington and Tom Beaumont in Dubuque, Iowa, contributed to this report. Paris (AFP) - "Yellow vest" protesters marched in cities across France for a 16th straight week on Saturday in a bid to keep up pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron in demonstrations again marred by vandalism and violence. In Paris, a man was reportedly hit in the face by a rubber bullet fired by a controversial riot control weapon, while in the southwestern city of Bordeaux an MP accused police of assaulting him. About 39,300 people protested nationwide, including 4,000 in Paris, according to the interior ministry -- down on the 46,600 turnout announced the previous weekend. The official figures are regularly disputed by protest organisers, who argue the government is trying to portray the movement as losing support. But at least one demonstrator in the capital appeared to acknowledge their numbers were falling. "We are less numerous than usual, but we are there anyway and that's essential," said pensioner Murielle, adding: "We won't give up because the situation is not going to improve, that's for sure." Regarding the possible police shooting of a man with a so-called defence ball launcher, known by the French abbreviation LBDs, Paris police chief Michel Delpuech said "an internal administrative investigation has been opened". The weapons fire 40-millimetre rubber projectiles, considered non-lethal, but have been blamed for serious injuries to a number of demonstrators. Macron last week rejected a call from rights watchdog the Council of Europe to suspend their use. - The 'hard core' - Elsewhere in the country, in Bordeaux, an MP from the far-left France Unbowed party, Loic Prud'homme, said police had assaulted him with batons on the edges of a march and that he had filed a formal complaint. The local regional governor insisted police had intervened to stop protesters taking an unauthorised route and had done their job correctly. In the western city of Nantes, police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators, some of whom hurled projectiles including petrol bombs and bottles containing acid. Story continues "There has been a lot of damage... bus shelters, a bank branch, a travel agency, a business," said Claude d'Harcourt, a regional governor for the Nantes area. There was also trouble in Nice, Strasbourg and Lille, where protesters marched carrying signs and banners, including "Macron accomplice of the worst scum, finance" and "stop capitalist militias". Police used teargas elsewhere in the country, including at protests in Bordeaux, Morlaix, Arles and Lyon. "Those who are still in the street today will never give up, it's the hard core," said one demonstrator at the Lyon protest, a farmer from the region. - 'We are still here' - On Friday, Macron had repeated a call for calm after weeks of "unacceptable" outbreaks of violence. The protests have also seen spates of vandalism with monuments defaced, businesses damaged and cars set alight. Macron has pledged 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) in response to anger over the high cost of living, including tax cuts for some pensioners and measures to boost low wages. He has also spearheaded a "grand national debate" by way of the internet and town hall meetings to gather opinions on how the country could be reformed. This week's demonstrations had been billed by organisers as a prelude to a "big month" of protests to mark four months of the "yellow vest" movement and the end of the debates championed by Macron. Many yellow vest activists dismissed the debates as a platform for Macron rather than a forum for real discussion. The protests, which have no organised leadership and are named after the fluorescent vests that French drivers must keep in vehicles, began on November 17 over increasing fuel taxes -- later reversed by the government. They quickly grew into a broader anti-government rebellion over anger towards Macron. Eleven people have died in events linked to the protests since they began. The number of those attending the weekly rallies has dropped since 282,000 turned out on November 17. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German utility EnBW plans to expand further in energy trading and solar power to replace falling profit contributions from conventional energy sources, its chief financial officer Thomas Kusterer said in an interview published on Saturday. "The cost of solar modules has fallen drastically over the last few years," he told the Boersenzeitung in an interview. "Therefore, solar energy next to wind energy is becoming more interesting to us." The company operates 100 megawatts (MW) of solar power and has built up a project development pipeline of 800 MW, he said. Last month, EnBW signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a subsidy-free solar park to be commissioned by the end of 2020 east of Rostock with developer and operator Energiekontor It also announced plans to build a 175 MW solar park in Weesow-Willmersdorf. Kusterer said that among renewable producers no longer eligible for fixed subsidies under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), there was a need to find partners taking on the output volumes over a longer time horizon. This is where EnBW's trading arm could add to its core business, offering its expertise with fossil fuels and carbon wholesaling and drawing on a large customer base, he said. Kusterer also said he wanted the trading unit to engage in wider geographical areas such as the Nordic countries, where EnBW had bought onshore wind plants, and marketing more liquefied natural gas (LNG). PPAs were important long-term positions that could compensate the loss of coal and nuclear production at EnBW, which would halve its production portfolio from 70 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2010 to 35 TWh in coming years, he said. Kusterer said the trading unit was expected to contribute an extra 100 million euros to net profit over the next three to five years, compared with 150-200 million euros now. He reiterated forecasts last November for 2018 group adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to grow between zero and plus five percent. He also reiterated EnBW could exceed an earnings target of 2.4 billion euros for 2020. Unlike larger rivals RWE and E.ON, which have embarked on major corporate restructuring, EnBW has decided against a drastic upheaval, instead focusing on renewables and power and gas grids. (Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by David Evans) Near Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - Guns, laptops, gold coins and baby formula: when Syrian fighters search women emerging from the ruins of the jihadist "caliphate", what they find is not the contents of your average handbag. Women arrive in droves at a screening point controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the Islamic State group's last redoubt in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. Veiled from head to toe, they conceal weapons under their clothes or in their bags, tucked between their children's scant belongings, says Nawal Kobani, an 18-year-old SDF fighter. "The men don't carry anything, these things we only find with the women," the blonde, green-eyed fighter tells AFP at the SDF outpost. On Monday, the SDF evacuated over 46 truckloads of people from the last scrap of the jihadist proto-state, adding to the 5,000 men, women and children evacuated last week. The SDF say they are seeking to clear civilians from the IS pocket before a final push to crush jihadists now trapped in less than half a square kilometre in Baghouz. - 'No pictures or memories'- The latest batch of evacuees arrive at the SDF screening point at sunset on Monday, dust covering their clothes from the rough journey out of Baghouz. Clad in black in the fading light, a group of women huddle in a circle on the rocky, arid ground, waiting to receive food handouts from the SDF. Carrying a bag in his hand, a young child trudges through the crowded screening point, searching for his mother, Wardah. Behind him, one woman tends to her child, another takes out a bottle of milk for her newborn, and a third sits still in silence, as though in shock. Abeer Mohammad, a 35-year-old Syrian evacuee originally from the northern province of Aleppo, opens her tiny bag and pulls out a dirty plastic box containing pinches of powdered milk. "I didn't bring anything with me except some clothes and some milk for the young one," she says, her three children sitting beside her. Story continues "We didn't have anything left anyway," she says, her eyes covered by a full face veil. The women's black veils make it hard to differentiate between them. Another Syrian woman from Aleppo, who asked not to be named, said: "No pictures or memories or anything. We didn't bring anything but clothes". - 'They have surrendered'- Around 50,000 people -- mostly women and children -- have streamed out of the Baghouz pocket since early December, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The early groups carried large suitcases and blankets with them as they left the IS redoubt. Some women stacked gold bracelets on their arms. But the latest arrivals came out carrying nothing more than small backpacks. Umm Mohammad, a 45 year-old Syrian from Aleppo, sits beside a pair of crutches. She was wounded six months ago when a shell crashed into her home in Al-Shaafa, one of the last jihadist bastions taken by the SDF. "Today, we carried the clothes that we could gather and we brought them with us here," she said. The men nearby don't speak. Unlike the women, who launch a barrage of questions as soon as they get a hold of an SDF fighter, or yell out for food and water, the men stand silently in queues, or sit quietly on the ground. They don't chat among themselves or ask questions. "It is impossible for the men to ask for anything," says Mazloum, a 29 year-old SDF fighter. "They have already surrendered." Khawlah Hama, a 53 year-old Iraqi woman, walks past a group of women sitting on the ground. She twists left and right, looking for her 14 year-old son, hoping to find him among a group of men. "He gets very scared, he is only 14," she says. When asked what she left behind in Baghouz, she says: "Many are still inside". "There are many fighters, and everyone is ready to leave." Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Friday condemned Britain's decision to outlaw its political wing, describing the move as an "insult" to the Lebanese people. Britain said Monday it would seek to make membership of the Shiite movement or inviting support for it a crime. The decision follows outrage last year over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London. "The British government has insulted the sentiments and the will of the Lebanese people by adopting this decision," the group said in a statement. "The Lebanese consider Hezbollah to be a big political and popular force and they have granted it wide representation in parliament and government," it said. Beyond Lebanon, the group warned Britain the move would "invite hostility from the people of the region," and would harm its role in the Middle East. Hezbollah was established in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war and is now a major political party in the country, holding three cabinet posts. But British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement on Monday any distinction between its military and political wings "does not exist". "This (decision) does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship," he added. Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said senior British officials had agreed the issue should not "impact on bilateral relationships between Lebanon and Britain". Bassil, whose Free Patriotic Movement party is allied with Hezbollah in government, added it "will not have direct negative consequences on Lebanon because we are already used to this situation with other countries". The move earned swift praise from the United States and Israel. Oversight chair aims to speak with Donald Jr and Ivanka Trump as intelligence chair announces appearance by Felix Sater The House oversight committee chairman is seeking interviews with Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images The House oversight committee chairman, Elijah Cummings, has said he will seek interviews with Donald Trumps children and some of his closest allies after public testimony by the presidents former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Among those the committee will call in for testimony are Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, as well as the Trump Organizations chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. All you have to do is follow the transcript. If there are names that were mentioned or records that were mentioned during the hearing, we want to take a look at all of that, Cummings told reporters. Im going to follow the facts and then whatever comes out of it, fine, he added. But what were about is just making sure that government is accountable, and this administration, this branch is accountable. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, separately announced on Thursday that the former Trump associate Felix Sater will come before his panel on 14 March. Schiffs comments came after Cohen testified before the intelligence committee behind closed doors for eight hours. Sater, a Russia-born business executive who has a past as an American spy tracking terrorists and members of the mob, worked with Cohen on negotiations around the construction of a Trump Tower Moscow project during the 2016 election. In his public testimony before the oversight committee on Wednesday, Cohen said it was Sater who suggested giving the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, a $50m penthouse at the top of the potential building. Although the plan did not come to fruition, Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes that included lying to Congress about the duration and timeline of discussions over the Trump Tower Moscow project. Those negotiations are now a central focus for Democrats in Congress, who have vowed to use their newly minted House majority to more aggressively pursue investigations against the president and his inner circle. Story continues Cohen also told lawmakers on Wednesday that he had briefed Ivanka and Trump Jr on the Trump Tower project approximately 10 times, contradicting the Trump family members earlier claims. Trump Jr testified to the Senate intelligence committee that he was only peripherally aware of the project, while Ivanka said in an interview earlier this month she knew literally almost nothing about it. Lawmakers are further interested in following up on Cohens testimony around the hush money payment made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her from speaking out about her alleged affair with Trump. Appearing before the oversight committee on Wednesday, Cohen publicly entered as evidence two $35,000 checks from Trumps personal bank account that he said were reimbursement for the money he paid to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. One of the checks was signed by the president himself, while the other was signed by Trump Jr and Weisselberg. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO, is widely known to be the gatekeeper to Trumps finances. Having worked for the family for more than 40 years, he is said to have intimate and perhaps unparalleled knowledge of Trumps financial arrangements. Under questioning from Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday, Cohen acknowledged that Trump inflated his assets to insurance companies. He further noted that Weisselberg was aware that Trump had potentially committed insurance and tax fraud. Weisselberg was granted immunity last year to testify before a federal grand jury in New York relating to the investigation into the hush money payments. Gabrielle Canon contributed to this article Budapest (AFP) - Hungary's government announced Saturday that it would end a controversial poster campaign accusing US philanthropist George Soros and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker of supporting illegal migration. Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on Twitter that "the information campaign" would end on March 15, as had been planned. Earlier this week the European Commission issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the claims made in the campaign, calling them "at worst downright factually incorrect, or at best highly misleading". The campaign has also outraged other parties in the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping that Fidesz sits with in Brussels -- and from which Juncker also hails. Kovacs' message was posted in response to an interview given to the German Der Spiegel magazine by Manfred Weber, the EPP's lead candidate for May's European elections. In it Weber said the poster campaign had "damaged" the EPP. "For this reason I expect him (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban) to apologise and stop this action," Weber said. Several other parties within the EPP have indicated that they would support Fidesz's expulsion from the grouping. However, in his tweets Saturday, Kovacs said that "the Hungarian government is prepared to listen to any criticism, but the decision of the Hungarian people is more important to us than party discipline". In an interview published late-Saturday on the German weekly Welt am Sonntag's website, Orban indicated that the Juncker posters would be replaced after March 15 by new ones displaying European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans alongside Soros. "Soros' role in European politics cannot be ignored and everyone has the right to know that Timmermans is openly his ally," he told the newspaper. "In the next phase of the election campaign... you will see another actor on the posters: Mr Timmermans," he said. Story continues The remarks followed accusations made by Orban during a speech last month that the Dutch politician who heads the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) list for the May election was "pro-immigration" and "Soros's candidate" to succeed Juncker. Asked about the efforts to expel Fidesz from the EPP, Orban said that "in reality the attack is coming from the left, not to weaken us but to weaken the EPP". Describing his critics within the EPP as "naive" he accused them of "serving the interests of others, namely those of our opponents". TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's foreign ministry has strongly condemned the British government's move to ban Lebanon's Hezbollah calling it "irresponsible." A Saturday report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Bahram Ghasemi, the ministry's spokesman, as saying the "wrong move" will not serve stability and security in Lebanon and ignores the will of a "large portion" of the Lebanese people. Ghasemi said the Lebanese people support Hezbollah, which "defends the territorial integrity of Lebanon and fights terrorism." Iran is a key supporter of Hezbollah. Britain's move will make being a member of, or inviting support for, Hezbollah a criminal offense in the U.K., carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Until now, only the military wing of the Lebanon-based group has been outlawed in Britain, but not it's political arm. The U.S. also accuses the group of destabilizing the region. Today we are going to look at New Jersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, well consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. Firstly, well go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, well look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Then well determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE. Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar. How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets Current Liabilities) Or for New Jersey Resources: 0.062 = US$202m (US$4.5b US$999m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Therefore, New Jersey Resources has an ROCE of 6.2%. Check out our latest analysis for New Jersey Resources Is New Jersey Resourcess ROCE Good? One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. We can see New Jersey Resourcess ROCE is around the 6.2% average reported by the Gas Utilities industry. Separate from how New Jersey Resources stacks up against its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is mediocre; relative to the returns on government bonds. Readers may find more attractive investment prospects elsewhere. Our data shows that New Jersey Resources currently has an ROCE of 6.2%, compared to its ROCE of 4.8% 3 years ago. This makes us think about whether the company has been reinvesting shrewdly. Story continues NYSE:NJR Past Revenue and Net Income, March 2nd 2019 Remember that this metric is backwards looking it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company. What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect New Jersey Resourcess ROCE? Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. New Jersey Resources has total liabilities of US$999m and total assets of US$4.5b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 22% of its total assets. This very reasonable level of current liabilities would not boost the ROCE by much. What We Can Learn From New Jersey Resourcess ROCE That said, New Jersey Resourcess ROCE is mediocre, there may be more attractive investments around. You might be able to find a better buy than New Jersey Resources. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. JetBlue is giving three flyers (and their travel companions) the chance to win unlimited flights for a whole year if they delete or archive their Instagram posts. The airline's "All You Can Jet" sweepstakes, which began Wednesday and runs through March 8, asks passengers to upload a photo on JetBlue's website, customize it via their tool and upload it to an otherwise photo-less Instagram account. More: Love Southwest Airlines? You could fly for free as a 'Storyteller' "Entrants are required to have an Instagram account..." according to the contest rules. "To enter, visit www.jetblue.com/aycj any time during the Sweepstakes Period and upload to the site a photo image taken by you. Using the customization tool on the site, customize the image by completing the 'All You Can _________' caption and download the image. "Then, delete or archive all your Instagram images and upload the customized promotion image to Instagram, tagged with #AllYouCanJetSweepstakes and with the mention @jetblue," the rules explain. Contestants have to "keep their Instagram feeds clear" past 11:59 p.m. EST on March 8. Three winners and their travel companions will receive an "All You Can Jet Pass" giving them unlimited air travel, pending flight availability, for a year on JetBlue flights. Travelers should pay attention to dates, however: Pass holders can only fly for free beginning April 1 through March 31, 2020. A complete breakdown of the rules is available here. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JetBlue asks flyers to wipe their Instagram accounts for chance to win unlimited flights Canada has said it will allow a US extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said on Friday that officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wangzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd, the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Ms Meng's arrest on 1 December at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furore and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to US technology vendors. Ms Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of US trade sanctions. She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court on Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the US request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision, the statement said. The Chinese government criticised the decision as a serious violation of Ms Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. The US and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement, said a Foreign Ministry statement. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on 10 December in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Ms Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Story continues Ms Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the president of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms Meng's case if he thought it would assist the US negotiations with China over a trade deal, said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Ms Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticised the case in a statement as a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. Huawei is a focus of US security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. The US and China have tried to keep Ms Meng's case separate from their wider trade dispute, but Donald Trump has undercut that. Mr Trump said he would consider intervening in the case against Ms Meng if it would be in the interest of US national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing. The Chinese embassy statement that due to obvious political interference, Canada should refuse the US extradition request and release Ms Meng. US Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department pursues cases free of any political interference and follows evidence and the law. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Chinese authorities are not interested in hearing about how Canada is bound by its extradition case with the US. Saint-Jacques said China might apply further pressure on Canada. AP By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is investigating a fatal Tesla Inc Model S crash in Davie, Florida last Sunday that killed the driver and resulted in a massive vehicle fire, the second fatal crash this week the agency is probing. The agency and the National Transportation Safety Board said late on Friday they are sending teams to investigate the other fatal crash Friday in Delray Beach, Florida of a 2018 Model 3 that crashed into a semi-trailer. A NHTSA spokesman confirmed Saturday the agency has an "ongoing investigation" into the earlier Tesla crash in Davie and "will take additional actions if appropriate." Tesla did not immediately comment Saturday. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Monday the 2016 Tesla Model S caught fire and burned the 48-year-old driver beyond recognition. The newspaper said the Tesla battery repeatedly caught fire after being transported to a towing facility. NHTSA, the auto safety regulator, can demand a recall if it believes a defect poses an unreasonable safety risk, while the NTSB makes safety recommendations. NHTSA and NTSB have been investigating a number of crashes since 2017 that focus on two primary issues: the role of Tesla's driver assistance technology Autopilot in accidents and some significant battery fires in the electric vehicles after crashes, including cases of batteries reigniting after accidents. A report on Friday's crash released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department did not indicate if Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash that killed the 50-year-old Tesla Model 3 owner. The report said the Tesla struck a tractor trailer and the roof was sheared off as it passed underneath the trailer and stopped three-tenths of a mile south of the collision. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. NTSB said it is sending a team of three to conduct a safety investigation, while NHTSA said Saturday it is sending a field team. Story continues Some Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid putting their hands on the wheel for extended periods when using Autopilot, while Tesla advises drivers that they must keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention at all times while using Autopilot. NHTSA is also probing the January 2018 crash of a Tesla vehicle apparently traveling in Autopilot that struck a fire truck in Culver City, California, a May 2018 crash in Utah of a Tesla in Autopilot mode and a May 2018 Tesla accident in Florida that killed two teenagers and injured another but was not in Autopilot mode. The NTSB is investigating three earlier Tesla incidents being reviewed by NHTSA, as well as an August 2017 Tesla battery fire in California, in which an owner ran the vehicle into his garage. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) The parents of Otto Warmbier have rebuked Donald Trump for saying he did not think Kim Jong-un was involved in the mistreatment of the US student who died after being detained in North Korea - an admonishment the president later responded to by saying his remarks had been minsinterpreted. Speaking after a summit with Mr Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday, Mr Trump said: He tells me that he didnt know about it, and I will take him at his word. But in response, Fred and Cindy Warmbier said: We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Mr Trump has taken credit for freeing American prisoners abroad and used Mr Warmbiers death as a rallying cry against the Norths human rights abuses before softening his rhetoric in advance of talks with Mr Kim. After the family issued its statement, the president said on Twitter his comments had been misinterpreted. A White House advisor also issued a statement saying Mr Trump agreed with the family that North Korea was responsbile for the young mans death. I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible, he wrote. He added: Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often. Mr Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Ohio, was visiting North Korea with a tour group when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2016 on suspicion of stealing a propaganda poster. He died in June 2017, shortly after he returned to the US in a coma. Story continues The US and North Korea offered contradicting accounts of why the summit between the two leaders broke down. Mr Trump claimed it failed because North Korea insisted all US sanctions be lifted. Sometimes you have to walk, he said. Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. North Korea challenged the US presidents account, insisting it had only asked for partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down its main nuclear complex. By Abu Arqam Naqash and Fayaz Bukhari MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan/SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - A top Indian minister said on Saturday the government would not share proof that "a very large number" of militants were killed in air strikes inside Pakistan this week, after doubts were raised there were any casualties in the attack that stoked tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. The flare up appeared to be easing on Saturday after Pakistan handed back a captured Indian fighter pilot on Friday night, amid efforts by global powers to prevent another war between the arch enemies. However shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) that acts as a de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, a frequent feature in recent weeks, continued, said military officials on both sides. Hostilities escalated rapidly following a suicide car bombing on Feb. 14 that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of harboring the Jaish-e Mohammad Islamist group that claimed the bombing. Indian warplanes carried out air strikes on Tuesday inside northeast Pakistan's Balakot on what New Delhi called militant camps. Islamabad denied any such camps existed, as did local villagers in the area when Reuters visited. Nevertheless, Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday with its own aerial mission. Pakistan said the Indian bombs hit a largely empty hillside without hurting anyone. Some Indian opposition leaders have asked the government to share evidence of the strikes. But India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's top lieutenants, said "no security agencies ever share operational details". "It's a very irresponsible stand," Jaitley said at a conference organized by the India Today media group. "The armed forces must have, and our security and intelligence agencies must have, a full leeway in dealing with situations, and if anybody wants operational details to be made public ... he certainly does not understand the system." Indian Air Force officials said earlier it was up to the political leaders to decide when and how to release evidence of the Balakot strike. Jaitley dismissed suggestions that the rapid escalation in tensions with Pakistan had anything to do with India's domestic politics ahead of a general election due by May. Pollsters expect the ruling party to benefit from the nationalistic passion sweeping the country. PILOT WALKS ACROSS THE BORDER Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who became the face and symbol of the biggest clash between India and Pakistan in many years, walked across the border just before 9 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Friday in a high-profile handover shown on live television. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met him at a New Delhi defence hospital on Saturday, where he was seen in his air force jumpsuit. He will undergo medical checks before re-joining active duty, officials said. Pakistan's military said on Saturday its air force and navy "continue to be alert and vigilant", while two of its soldiers were killed after exchanging fire with Indian troops along the LoC. India's military said that Pakistan was firing mortar shells across the LoC. Pakistan touted Abhinandan's return as "as a goodwill gesture aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India" after weeks of unease that threatened to spiral into war. Global powers, including China and the United States, have urged restraint to prevent another conflict between the neighbors who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistani leaders say the ball is now in India's court to de-escalate the tensions, though the Pakistani army chief told top military leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia on Friday that his country would "surely respond to any aggression in self-defence". On a visit to Jammu and Kashmir state on Saturday, India's army chief asked soldiers to remain vigilant to "counter the nefarious designs of the enemy and anti-national elements". (Additional reporting by Saad Sayeed; Writing by Drazen Jorgic and Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kim Coghill, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ros Russell) President Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant Jared Kushner Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser a top-secret security clearance, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In doing this, Trump was effectively quashing concerns raised by the White Houses top lawyer and intelligence officials that Kushner should perhaps not be granted the clearance, the report says. Security clearances allow government officials and contractors to access classified information necessary in their line of work. In order to obtain one, the government must first determine that the person is loyal, trustworthy and honest, and that they have freedom from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion, according to the Department of States protocol. In January, Trump told the Times that he did not participate in the decision to grant Kushner a clearance. Asked on Thursday about the new report, obtained through conversations with multiple anonymous sources, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the Times they dont comment on security clearances. Heres how they work. Who is granted security clearances? Security clearances are not all that uncommon. More than 4 million people had security clearances as of October 2017, according to a report done by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. About 1.3 million people held a top secret clearance at that time, and 2.7 million more were eligible for confidential or secret access. People who work for intelligence communities, such as the CIA or NSA; federal law enforcement groups, such as the FBI or DEA; or diplomatic groups, like the State Department, are often required to be vetted for them. How do you get a security clearance? In most cases, employees that need security clearances to do their jobs must first fill out a security questionnaire, which is usually a Standard Form 86. Then the employee will often undergo a background investigation, which includes fingerprints and face-to-face interviews with investigators from the agency they work under. After extreme vetting, which includes contacting law enforcement officials stationed around where the applicant has lived, worked and gone to school, trained security clearance adjudicators review all of the available information before coming to a final decision. Falsifying information on the questionnaire is a felony that can result in up to five years in prison. Story continues Not all White House employees are vetted for security clearances. Some do not need them. For those that do, the White House personnel security office will generally decide whether to grant security clearances after the FBI conducts a background check. If there are concerns about the clearance, the White House counsel will weigh in. Presidents do not usually participate in the final decision to grant clearances, though it is not against the law for them to do so. Laura Terrell, an attorney who served as Clearance Counsel in the White House Counsels office during the George W. Bush Administration previously told TIME that during the Bush Administration, decisions to grant clearances were often deputized to top aides, like the chief of staff, White House counsel or national security adviser. But ultimately, it is the President who makes the call whether someone should be granted clearance, she said. Why would Trump have weighed in on Kushners security clearance? Special Counsel Robert Muellers team has reportedly asked witnesses about Kushners involvement in securing financing for Trump real estate properties during Trumps transition into the White House. Last year, NBC reported that federal investigators were inquiring whether Kushners conversations with foreigners could have in any way shaped U.S. foreign policy. If his relations with foreigners had then shaped official policy, that would almost certainly qualify as a violation of general security clearance protocol, which states that those who have them should be free from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion. According to experts interviewed by TIME, if there were concerns about Kushners clearance, they would likely stem from his relations to foreign governments. While it is unclear what the specific issue was with Mr. Kushners security clearance when it was granted, typically close business and personal ties to foreigners are an issue because of the potential for inappropriate influence leading to the disclosure of classified information, said Jamil N. Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason Universitys Scalia Law School. In this case, some have claimed that the inappropriate influence could go in other direction, where Mr. Kushners business interests could benefit from access to such information; this is more of an ethics or legal issue, because it goes to how any government official deals with existing business interests in that sense, the concerns raised might be analogized to concerns about insider trading, where individuals use non-public information to benefit their own economic interests such issues are typically dealt with by putting financial assets in a blind trust, said Jaffer, who also previously served in the White House Counsels office and the Justice Department under President George W. Bush. Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents individuals in security clearance matters, says that Trump has the authority to grant clearances regardless of what we think about it, regardless of whether it endangers national security. But that doesnt mean it doesnt raise concerns, he says. There are without a doubt significant red flags. Trumps close familial relation to Jared likely played a role in his ability to get a security clearance, given his previous interactions with foreign entities. In addition to handling real estate finances during the Trump transition, Kushner has also reportedly taken out loans from foreign banks in the past. This would bar most anyone from easily obtaining a security clearance, Zaid says. I certainly would say that who you know obviously makes a difference in Washington, D.C. It is far more likely that a non-connected individual will have greater problems on lesser matters than someone with high level connections, Zaid says. And there are, without a doubt, serious, legitimate concerns with respect to Jared Kushner because of his foreign financial dealings and foreign connections that for most people would be very difficult to overcome, said Zaid, referencing clients who merely have family members working for foreign governments that preclude them from obtaining security clearances, despite having no contact with them. Alana Abramson contributed to this report from Washington On the 29 March 2019, Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE:IR) will be paying shareholders an upcoming dividend amount of US$0.53 per share. However, investors must have bought the companys stock before 07 March 2019 in order to qualify for the payment. That means you have only 4 days left! Should you diversify into Ingersoll-Rand and boost your portfolio income stream? Well, keep on reading because today, Im going to look at the latest data and analyze the stock and its dividend property in further detail. Check out our latest analysis for Ingersoll-Rand 5 checks you should do on a dividend stock When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria: Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers? Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout? Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past? Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings? Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate? NYSE:IR Historical Dividend Yield, March 2nd 2019 Does Ingersoll-Rand pass our checks? Ingersoll-Rand has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 36%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect IRs payout to remain around the same level at 33% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of around 2.2%. In addition to this, EPS should increase to $6. If you want to dive deeper into the sustainability of a certain payout ratio, you may wish to consider the cash flow of the business. A company with strong cash flow, relative to earnings, can sometimes sustain a high pay out ratio. If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock youre eyeing out is reliable in its payments. In the case of IR it has increased its DPS from $0.72 to $2.12 in the past 10 years. It has also been paying out dividend consistently during this time, as youd expect for a company increasing its dividend levels. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock. Story continues In terms of its peers, Ingersoll-Rand produces a yield of 2.0%, which is high for Machinery stocks but still below the markets top dividend payers. Next Steps: With these dividend metrics in mind, I definitely rank Ingersoll-Rand as a strong income stock, and is worth further research for anyone who considers dividends an important part of their portfolio strategy. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. Below, Ive compiled three pertinent factors you should further research: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for IRs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for IRs outlook. Valuation: What is IR worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, its not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether IR is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. National Harbor (United States) (AFP) - Twenty months before Americans vote on re-electing Donald Trump, conservative supporters are already slapping many of his progressive 2020 challengers with a resurgent political taint: socialism. The word has been in heavy rotation since Democratic candidates began openly embracing liberal platforms including a sweeping plan to fight climate change, known as the Green New Deal, and expanding health care coverage. "Socialism" circulated this week like a lurid rumor through the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the gathering of core conservatives that has become an annual fixture near Washington. It was the overriding theme of a sleek but ominous five-minute video shown Thursday at CPAC, featuring biting attacks on the most famous democratic socialists in America: senator and repeat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and 29-year-old first-term congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hot button issues like debt-free college, "once thought to be radical, appear to be the starting line in this Democratic primary," a narrator says as the word "socialism" flashes on the screen above images of unrest. The video highlights the left-wing activism sweeping across some US campuses, and warns of the leftward lean of presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand. The alarm was not just on screen. Vice President Mike Pence made the political pilgrimage to CPAC Friday to warn the faithful that Democrats are taking a "hard left turn" ahead of 2020. "Under the guise of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions over the last century. That system is socialism," he said. Voters must choose "between freedom and socialism, between personal responsibility and government dependence," Pence said in grave tones, as he highlighted the ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela under its socialist rule. Story continues "This is the choice we face in the next 20 months," he added. - 'Counter-attack' to socialism - Amid the "Make America Great Again" caps and "Trump 2020" rhinestone pins, a button on many attendees' lapels reflected what may well become the next GOP campaign theme: "Socialism SUCKS." Elaine Ervin, a Trump supporter from Tennessee, was wearing the button, in the baby blue color and font reminiscent of Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign. "I think socialism is the platform that Democrats have put up, and the Republicans will counter-attack it," Ervin, 71, told AFP Friday. CPAC has helped put the red scare front and center for Republicans, perhaps to a degree not seen since the era of Ronald Reagan, chief adversary of the Soviet Union. Matt Schlapp, the activist who runs CPAC, expressed confidence that it is more than fair game to paint Trump challengers as radical leftists. "I think it's very appropriate for conservatives to stand up against socialism, absolutely," Schlapp told AFP. CPAC attendees agreed. "Socialism is rising with millennials... so I am super worried about my generation," said 27-year-old Vish Burra, a conservative activist from New York. "This fight doesn't stop at 2020, or 2024. This is something that's going to be generational." But the video could also serve as a possible diversion to the discomfort facing Trump. The investigation of the Trump team's possible collusion with Russia could wrap up soon, and his former lawyer Michael Cohen has implicated the president in illegal activity. College student James Stevens, 20, doubts Cohen's explosive testimony before Congress this week will have much impact. "Nothing that has challenged Trump before has actually brought him down," said Stevens, another "Socialism SUCKS" button wearer. He said he would be thrilled if the progressive candidates kept moving leftward, a move that would help Trump -- but acknowledged establishment Democrats may well win out. "They're looking for somebody to come in who has those more democratic views than socialist views, because socialism as a whole isn't really appealing to a lot of people," Steven said. That candidate, he and others at CPAC fear, could be Joe Biden. - 'Further left' - The former vice president is widely believed to be preparing to jump into the crowded race. As a moderate with impeccable credibility with the white working-class, he could be the non-socialist that Trump's conservatives fear most. "He has that appeal," Burra acknowledged. "Midwestern working-class people won't really get the sense that Joe Biden is out to get them." Former congressman Tim Huelskamp, who now heads the free-market think tank The Heartland Institute, said the 2020 race "absolutely" comes down to a capitalism-socialism battle. "I hope they go even further left," Huelskamp said of Democrats. "We're going to beat them all." CPAC went so far as to recruit outsider Nigel Farage, controversial founder of Britain's Brexit movement, to hammer the message home. "Does socialism work?" the British politician teased the crowd, prompting raucous boos. "Make the Democrats look like hard-left socialists, and you'll be in with a massive electoral college win." Dubai (AFP) - Rights groups denounced Saudi Arabia Saturday over its decision to put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge. The public prosecution said Friday that the activists had been referred to court, as its investigation is complete. Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners. "The Saudi authorities have done nothing to investigate serious allegations of torture," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Now, it's the women's rights activists, not any torturers, who face criminal charges and trials." More than a dozen activists were arrested just a month before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on women drivers. Most were accused of undermining security and aiding enemies of the state. Some were later released. Amnesty International called Friday's announcement a "shocking sign of the kingdom's escalating crackdown on activists" and demanded "the immediate release of prisoners of conscience." Trials in the ultra-conservative kingdom are often shrouded in secrecy. The prosecutor did not specify the charges nor give a date for their trial. But the announcement sparked speculation that the activists could be released under the cover of a judicial process, after the crackdown prompted scathing criticism against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "There is a legal process moving forward and I think it will end well," Ali Shihabi, founder of pro-Saudi government think tank Arabia Foundation, said on Twitter. "Let us see the end result and then judge, not jump to conclusions." Those still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University. Another is Loujain al-Hathloul, who was held for more than 70 days in 2014 for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia. Story continues Following their arrest, state-backed newspapers published front-page pictures of some of the activists with the word "traitor" stamped across them in red. Loujain was one of the activists who faced sexual harassment and torture during interrogation, her family and rights groups said. The Saudi government has rejected the allegation. Tel Aviv (AFP) - Opponents and supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the streets Saturday evening after the country's attorney general said he intended to file graft charges against him. In central Tel Aviv, Netanyahu loyalists waved blue and white Israel flags and carried placards reading "Netanyahu, the people are with you" and "Netanyahu, my prime minister". Separated from them by a police cordon, opponents waved signs proclaiming "Crime Minister" and "Time for Netanyahu to Go", an AFP photographer said. Police declined to give an estimate of numbers. Under Israeli law the premier is not obliged to resign unless he is charged, convicted and loses all appeals, a lengthy process. Netanyahu is running for a fifth term in an April general election. He said after the attorney general's Thursday announcement that he planned on being prime minister for a long time to come despite the allegations. In Ramle, near Tel Aviv, opposition Labour activists projected onto a wall of the Maasiyahu prison a giant message reading "Netanyahu, Israel is ashamed", a party statement said. The facility is where former prime minister Ehud Olmert served time for corruption and ex-president Moshe Katsav was incarcerated for rape and other sexual offences. Traffic in Jerusalem was diverted from sidestreets adjacent to Netanyahu's official residence, where another group was demonstrating, a police statement said. They were protesting a deal he has brokered to improve the election chances of a party widely condemned as racist. Netanyahu last week mentored an agreement for an electoral alliance between Jewish Power and two other far-right groupings which would make it easier for the controversial party to cross the vote threshhold for a parliamentary seat. This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, well show how Saga plcs (LON:SAGA) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Based on the last twelve months, Sagas P/E ratio is 9.34. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 11%. See our latest analysis for Saga How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Saga: P/E of 9.34 = 1.23 0.13 (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2018.) Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. That isnt necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the E increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others and that may attract buyers. Saga saw earnings per share decrease by 5.2% last year. But EPS is up 2.7% over the last 5 years. How Does Sagas P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers? The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. The image below shows that Saga has a lower P/E than the average (16.1) P/E for companies in the insurance industry. LSE:SAGA Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 2nd 2019 Sagas P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Saga, its quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling. Story continues Remember: P/E Ratios Dont Consider The Balance Sheet The Price in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth. Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. Is Debt Impacting Sagas P/E? Saga has net debt worth 31% of its market capitalization. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you should absolutely keep in mind it has significant borrowings. The Bottom Line On Sagas P/E Ratio Saga has a P/E of 9.3. Thats below the average in the GB market, which is 16.1. Since it only carries a modest debt load, its likely the low expectations implied by the P/E ratio arise from the lack of recent earnings growth. Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. Dividends play a key role in compounding returns over time and can form a large part of our portfolio return. Historically, Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 2.8%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Lets take a look at Pitney Bowes in more detail. Check out our latest analysis for Pitney Bowes How I analyze a dividend stock When assessing a stock as a potential addition to my dividend Portfolio, I look at these five areas: Is it paying an annual yield above 75% of dividend payers? Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout? Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past? Is its earnings sufficient to payout dividend at the current rate? Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth? NYSE:PBI Historical Dividend Yield, March 2nd 2019 How does Pitney Bowes fare? The company currently pays out 70% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, meaning the dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward. When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios. If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock youre eyeing out is reliable in its payments. Not only have dividend payouts from Pitney Bowes fallen over the past 10 years, it has also been highly volatile during this time, with drops of over 25% in some years. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends. Relative to peers, Pitney Bowes produces a yield of 2.8%, which is high for Commercial Services stocks but still below the markets top dividend payers. Story continues Next Steps: Now you know to keep in mind the reason why investors should be careful investing in Pitney Bowes for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three key aspects you should look at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PBIs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for PBIs outlook. Valuation: What is PBI worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, its not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether PBI is currently mispriced by the market. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. By Joyce Lee and Hyonhee Shin SEOUL/HANOI (Reuters) - South Korea will work with the United States and North Korea to help them reach a denuclearization deal, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Friday, a day after a U.S.-North Korean summit collapsed over a disagreement on sanctions. The second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Vietnam, was cut short after they failed to reach a deal on the extent of sanctions relief North Korea would get in exchange for steps to give up its nuclear program. Moon has been active in efforts to end confrontation on the Korean peninsula, meeting Kim three times last year and trying to facilitate his nuclear negotiations with the United States. "My administration will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means," Moon said in a speech in Seoul. Moon also said Seoul would consult Washington on ways to resume joint projects with North Korea, including tourism development at Mount Kumgang and the Kaesong industrial complex, both in North Korea. Both the United States and North Korea have said they intend to continue talks, but have not said when a next round might take place. In a move that could encourage more talks, U.S. officials said on Friday the United States and South Korea are expected to announce that they will not carry out large-scale spring joint military exercises, replacing them with smaller-scale drills. The allies suspended a number of military drills before and after the first Trump-Kim summit last year to encourage talks with North Korea, which denounced the exercises as training for invasion. Trump has repeatedly complained about the expense of the exercises and did so again after the Hanoi summit. Trump and Kim first met in Singapore last June and agreed to establish new relations and peace in exchange for a North Korean pledge to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Trump said two days of talks in Hanoi made good progress but it was important not to rush into a bad deal. He said he had walked away because of unacceptable North Korean demands. "Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn't do that," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a phone call with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi on Friday, reiterated Washington's support for keeping in place U.N. sanctions on North Korea, saying they "remain a central pillar" of efforts to pressure Pyongyang to denuclearize, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. On Friday, Trump tweeted that the negotiations with Kim were "very substantive" and that "we know what they want and they know what we must have," but he gave no other details about any next steps. "Relationship very good, lets see what happens!" the post said. 'BIGGEST STEP' North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said after Trump left Hanoi that North Korea had sought only a partial lifting of sanctions "related to people's livelihoods and unrelated to military sanctions." He said it offered a realistic proposal involving the dismantling of all of its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, including plutonium and uranium facilities, by engineers from both countries. While North Korea's official media said Kim and Trump had decided to continue talks, its Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has struck a more negative tone, telling reporters Kim "might lose his willingness to pursue a deal". "It occurs to us that there may not be a need to continue," she said, adding that North Korea had taken "many steps" to try to reach a deal. "We're doing a lot of thinking," she said while adding that the situation would change "if our demands can be resolved." Pompeo told a news conference in Manila the U.S. side was "anxious to get back to the table so we can continue that conversation that will ultimately lead to peace and stability, better life for the North Korean people, and a lower threat, a denuclearized North Korea." And North Korea's state news agency was conciliatory, quoting Kim as expressing gratitude to Trump for putting in efforts to get results and calling their exchanges constructive. It made no mention of the breakdown of the summit. Failure to reach an agreement marks a setback for Trump, a self-styled dealmaker under pressure at home over his ties to Russia and testimony from Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who accused him of breaking the law while in office. While some credited Trump for refusing to be drawn into a bad deal, he was criticized for praising Kim's leadership and saying he accepted his assertion that he had not been aware of how an American student who died after 17 months a North Korean prison had been treated. On Friday, the parents of Otto Warmbier blamed Kim's "evil regime" for his death. The collapse of the summit leaves Kim in possession of what analysts say could be an arsenal of 20 to 60 nuclear warheads, which, if fitted to its intercontinental ballistic missiles, could threaten the U.S. mainland. Trump stressed that the North Korean leader had agreed to maintain his moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests. A U.S. State Department official said the North Korean media coverage had been constructive, indicating both sides felt there was "ample opportunity" to continue talks. The U.S. official said North Korea had proposed closing part of its Yongbyon nuclear complex in exchange for lifting "basically all" U.N. sanctions except those directly targeting its weapons programs. The U.S. side said "that wouldnt work", he said, adding that North Korea was unwilling to completely freeze its weapons programs. "So to give many, many billions of dollars in sanctions relief would in effect put us in a position of subsidizing the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The United Nations and the United States ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea when it conducted repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in 2017. Washington has demanded North Korea's complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization before sanctions can be lifted, a position Pyongyang has denounced as "gangster like." (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Eric Beech, Matt Spetalnick, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali in WASHINGTON; Jeff Mason, Soyoung Kim, James Pearson, Josh Smith, Ju-min Park, Mai Nyugen, Khanh Vu, Jack Kim in HANOI; Martin Petty and Karen Lema in MANILA; editing by Robert Birsel, Lincoln Feast and Grant McCool) By Tracy Rucinski (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co will soon begin flying to Hawaii from California, as part of the budget-friendly carrier's push to boost leisure travel from the West Coast, an executive said on Friday. Southwest's new service will include inner-island travel in direct competition to Hawaiian Airlines, as well as a combination of flights from Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose to four destinations in Hawaii. Southwest, already a go-to airline for many travelers within California with over 60-percent market share, has been trying to expand its West Coast leisure portfolio under a growth drive that has also included new flights to Mexico. "Hawaii allows us to give more leisure options to our customers on the West Coast, which has been heavy on the business side," Andrew Watterson, chief revenue officer for Southwest, said in a phone interview. That contrasts with Southwest's portfolio on the East Coast of the United States, where it has built a reputation as a low-cost carrier for leisure destinations in Florida from cities in the U.S. Northeast. The Hawaii launch comes later than Southwest had hoped after a partial U.S. government shutdown earlier in the year delayed the certification process needed for new over-ocean flights. As a result, the Dallas-based carrier missed a key booking window for travel to the Hawaiian islands, which Watterson said passengers tend to reserve months in advance, rather than days or weeks. This means Southwest will have to offer lower-than-average introductory fares through mid-June to stimulate passenger traffic. "After that we'll have the traditional Southwest low fares in the subsequent booking period," Watterson said. While the government over-water certification opens the door for other long-haul flights for Southwest, Watterson said the plan is to focus on Hawaii for the time being, noting that there is no extra aircraft right now to service new routes. Story continues Southwest will begin flying to Hawaii with its Boeing 737-800 NG planes and plans to switch to 737-MAX 8 aircraft later this year, he said. The launch comes as Southwest grapples with a bitter labor dispute with its mechanics union that has led to a spike in out-of-service aircraft, forcing flight cancellations and delays. Southwest's shares closed 3 percent lower on Friday, giving up gains booked a day earlier which were fueled by speculation that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, the carrier's second largest shareholder, could be looking to acquire the airline. Southwest and Berkshire declined to comment on the rumor. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, editing by G Crosse) - Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Elon Musk's SpaceX has successfully launched a rocket out of the Earth's atmosphere, heralding the rebirth of American manned spaceflight later this year. The unmanned crew capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Florida bound for the International Space Station at 7.49am GMT on Saturday. Nasa and SpaceX successfully launched the new astronaut capsule on a week-long trip to the International Space Station and back - a key step towards resuming manned space flights from US soil after an eight-year break. This time around, the only occupant on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule is a dummy named Ripley, named after the character in Alien played by Sigourney Weaver. But if the test goes smoothly, Nasa plans to put two astronauts aboard by the end of the year. Musk, the SpaceX founder, said the launch had left him emotionally exhausted. That was super stressful - but it worked, so far, he said. Before lift off Musk tweeted a photo of the inside of the Crew Dragon capsule with the Ripley mannequin strapped in it. The new capsule, carrying 400 pounds of supplies and test equipment, is scheduled to reach the ISS by Sunday, with a return to Earth next Friday. "This is a critically important event in American history," the head of the US space agency, Jim Bridenstine, told reporters, with the rocket and capsule visible behind him on the legendary launch pad where the Apollo missions to the Moon began. "We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011." SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off to ISS from Kennedy Space Center Credit: REUTERS The excitement was palpable at Cape Canaveral, from the space-fan volunteers guiding media on site, to the tourists who came to watch the launch light up the overcast skies. Story continues "It's been a long eight years," the Kennedy Space Center's director Bob Cabana, a former astronaut himself, said as SpaceX employees milled around the rocket. Falcon 9 rocket, with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on board, as it was rolled out to the launch pad Credit: NASA/JOEL KOWSKY/AFP/Getty Images After the shuttle program was shuttered in July 2011 after a 30-year run, Nasa began outsourcing the logistics of its space missions. It pays Russia to get its people up to the ISS orbiting research facility at a cost of $82 million a head, for a round trip. In 2014, the US space agency awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing for them to take over this task. But the program has suffered delays as safety requirements are much more stringent for manned flights than for unmanned missions to deploy satellites. "We're going to have more access to space at a better cost than at any point in human history," said Bridenstine, adding he was "100 percent confident" that a manned flight would happen by year's end. What will be learned Saturday's flight aims to test the vessel's reliability and safety in real-life conditions. The dummy that will ride in the capsule - which SpaceX's Hans Koenigsmann prefers to call a "smartie" - has been nicknamed Ripley in honor of the character played by Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" movies. It will be fitted with monitors to test the forces that future astronauts will be subjected to on takeoff and when they return to the Earth's atmosphere and then splash down in the Atlantic, slowed down by giant parachutes. Blast off Credit: AP Photo/Terry Renna "We're going to learn a ton from this mission," said Kathy Lueders, the manager of Nasa's Commercial Crew program. For SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002, sending an astronaut into orbit would be a culmination of years of hard work and high-risk investment. "Every mission is important, but this is even more important, said Koenigsmann, the firm's vice-president for build and flight reliability. "Early on, our goal was human spaceflight," he said. "Human spaceflight is a core value of business of SpaceX." In less than a decade, SpaceX has become a key partner for Nasa, in addition to dominating the market for private satellite launches. Its Falcon 9 rockets have resupplied the space station 15 times in seven years, even though one of them blew up in 2015. Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - A memorial marking the site of Strasbourg's Old Synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, was apparently vandalised overnight, local officials said Saturday -- 11 days after a nearby Jewish cemetery was desecrated. Police have opened a probe, and a source said investigators would consult surveillance video and interview witnesses "to determine the origin of the incident, whether intentional or accidental". Strasbourg deputy mayor Alain Fontanel told journalists in the eastern French city the incident was an "act of vandalism" that bore "all the signs of anti-Semitism". Earlier on Facebook, he said it was "very probably, unfortunately, a new act of anti-Semitism in our city". The region has witnessed a rise in anti-Semitic acts, the latest on February 19 when 96 graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, northwest of Strasbourg. Before heading to the memorial for an inspection on Saturday, mayor Roland Ries wrote on Facebook: "Once again, enough is enough." The site, he underlined, was itself "a response to such repulsive acts, simultaneously symbolising the exactions and horrors of the Nazi regime and the French people's power of resistance," he said. The 1.6-tonne memorial stone stands next to the Avenue of the Righteous, dedicated to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, Ries noted. It has been moved back into place. The synagogue, which was built in 1898 and was the Strasbourg Jewish community's main place of worship, was ransacked and burnt to the ground by Hitler Youth on September 30, 1940. Fontanel said video surveillance showed that shortly before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday, a car was seen near the heavy monument, and added: "We have to see now if it was this car that committed the act." Thierry Roos, spokesman for the Israelite Consistory of the Lower Rhine region, told AFP the religious council "is distressed by the damage to this stone... whether it was intentional or not". Story continues The main Islamic mosque in Strasbourg in a statement said the incident had provoked "sadness, disgust, anger and revulsion" among its members. It quoted the mosque's president Said Aalla as condemning "this new anti-Semitic act with the greatest firmness". Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, which has a seat in Strasbourg, also condemned the damage done, and called for a "stop in the increase of anti-Semitism". Israel's foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted: "Shocking images from Strasbourg. Anti Semitic hatred and vandalism are on the rise in France and throughout Europe." On December 11, the day of a deadly jihadist attack on Strasbourg's Christmas market, 37 Jewish graves and a monument were desecrated in Herrlisheim, northeast of the city. In February 2015, around 300 graves were vandalised in a Jewish cemetery in nearby Sarre-Union, an act for which five adolescents were given suspended prison terms of eight to 18 months in 2017. Tokyo (AFP) - Subaru announced Thursday a global recall of 2.2 million SUVs, the biggest ever for the company, over a brake light glitch that could affect how the vehicle engines start. The company said it was recalling 306,728 units of Impreza and Forester in Japan, while the remaining 1.96 million vehicles will be recalled in North American and other regions. "It is the biggest (recall) as far as the number goes," a Subaru spokesman told AFP. No accident has been reported in connection with the problem. The company said silicone gases that can come from cleaning products or cosmetics could coat part of the switch for the brake lights, interfering with the lights turning on properly and also engine ignition, the company said in a document filed with the transport ministry. The company did not disclose the cost of the recall, but the Nikkei newspaper said the company expects it to be around 10 billion yen ($90 million). Subaru's reputation, built partly on it touting the safety of its vehicles, has been dented by various scandals in recent years. It has had to admit to a mileage-data cheating scandal as well as acknowledging it allowed factory staff without proper authorisation to conducted final inspections on some vehicles. Near Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - Kurdish-led forces battled jihadists defending their last village on Saturday as operations were relaunched to flush out the Islamic State group from eastern Syria after several days of humanitarian evacuations. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces pushed into Baghouz, a tiny hamlet near the Iraqi border where IS fighters have been making a desperate last stand. An official for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the SDF, on Saturday said they had breached the jihadists' perimeter. "The assault is underway -- the forces have started to enter the last (IS) pocket," said Aram Kojeir, a YPG official on the ground. "The advance on the ground is taking place on three axes," he said, adding that the SDF had also taken control of a hill overlooking the last redoubt. AFP reporters near the front line could see thick black smoke rising above the heart of the village, which SDF units approached through outlying farms. "The intense fighting continues," spokesman Adnan Afrin told reporters, adding that eight SDF fighters had been seriously wounded in the first few hours of the battle. "It's closer combat now, the distance between us and the jihadists is gone," he said, explaining that a one-kilometre (half-mile) buffer had been maintained in recent days. An AFP journalist near Baghouz saw military planes in the sky. The SDF launched the assault late on Friday after a week-long exodus that saw thousands of people flee the enclave. While IS fighters, who have been besieged for weeks in an ever-shrinking pocket, are vastly outgunned, their use of tunnels, booby-traps and suicide bombers is hampering the SDF advance. - 'Surprises' - "We can't put a timeframe on this battle -- two weeks, three weeks or a week -- it will depend on the surprises we get along the way," Afrin said. "Those who have not surrendered by now will meet their fate there," he said. Story continues Most of the more than 50,000 people who left the very last rump of the IS "caliphate" in recent weeks were women and children. Some of the evacuees, however, were suspected fighters either surrendering to the SDF or attempting to slip back into civilian life. The jihadists are cornered in a bend of the Euphrates, with Syrian government forces and their allies on the west bank of the Euphrates blocking any escape across the river and Iraqi government forces blocking any move downstream. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said seven IS fighters were shot dead by Syrian government forces and allied Iranian militiamen. Only a few dozen people were evacuated by the SDF on Friday in the smallest convoy in days, prompting the Kurdish-led force to close the humanitarian window and resume their offensive. The assault will deal a final death blow to the "caliphate" which IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in mid-2014 and which once covered territory larger than Britain. At its peak, the proto-state covered large parts of Iraq and Syria, administered millions of people, minted its own currency, levied taxes and produced its own textbooks. - Yazidis - It effectively collapsed in 2017 when IS lost major cities such as Mosul in northern Iraq and Syria's Raqa following massive offensives by government armies and their respective international allies in both countries. While the last remains of IS' statehood experiment are about to disappear, the group remains a potent force in both Syria and Iraq, where it carries out deadly attacks. Its brutal legacy is still raw and the scope of the atrocities committed under its rule continues to emerge, even in areas where its fighters were defeated long ago. The SDF this week announced that yet another mass grave was discovered, this time near Baghouz, and that the severed heads of women were found in it. While the victims were not immediately identified, local fighters believe the executed women are likely to be members of the Yazidi minority. Members of the mostly Iraq-based religious minority are considered heretics by IS, which tried to exterminate them in 2014. Many of the thousands of women abducted and enslaved by IS in the early years of the "caliphate" are still missing today and it is feared some may be held captive in Baghouz. Nadia Murad, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and herself an Iraqi Yazidi who was kidnapped and raped, urged the US-led coalition backing the SDF to help secure their safe return. "The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS must have a plan to help rescue Yazidis that are still missing," she said in a statement Friday, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Some Yazidis managed to slip out with the thousands of civilians evacuated over the past 10 days. Omar Oil Field (Syria) (AFP) - Kurdish-led forces launched a final assault Friday on the last pocket held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, their spokesman said. The Syrian Democratic Forces have been closing in on the holdout jihadists since September last year and a few hundred surviving IS members are now boxed into an area of around less than half a square kilometre. The "operation to clear the last remaining pocket of ISIS has just started", SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali, said in a statement using another acronym for the jihadist group. The SDF evacuated six truckloads of people on Friday from Baghouz, a hamlet by the Euphrates where the "caliphate" looks set to peter out. It was the final batch, according to Bali, who said only jihadists remained holed-up inside the shrinking redoubt. "The people we evacuated today told us that no civilians were inside and that those still inside did not want to leave," Bali told AFP at the Al-Omar oil field. "If during the advance we discover that there are still civilians we will isolate them from the fighting but we are forced to push ahead," he said. When asked about a timeline for operations, the spokesman said the battles "will end when we have killed the last IS fighter". The capture of Baghouz and nearby areas would mark the end of a devastating four-year global campaign to end the extremist group's hold on territory in Syria and Iraq, their so-called "caliphate" that at the height of the militant groups power in 2014 ruled over an area the size of the United Kingdom. The final push comes a day after US President Donald Trump again jumped the gun on declaring victory over the jihadists. "We just took over you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent the caliphate in Syria. Now it's 100 percent. We just took over," Trump said Thursday in remarks to US service members in Alaska on his way back from Vietnam. IS still has thousands of fighters and sleeper cells scattered across several countries, but that speck of terrain is all that's left of the group's self-declared "caliphate". In Syria, it maintains a presence in the vast Badiya desert and it has claimed attacks on SDF-held territories. AL-OMAR OIL FIELD (Syria) (AFP) - Kurdish-led fighters vowed Thursday to crush the last remnant of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in Syria within a week, after saying they have evacuated hundreds of people from the jihadist holdout. The Syrian Democratic Forces are poised to storm the pocket held by jihadists on the edge of the village of Baghouz, the last patch of the organisation's once sprawling "caliphate". Thousands of men, women and children, have poured out of the riverside hamlet in recent days, posing a huge humanitarian challenge for the US-backed Kurdish fighters leading the operation. "In around one week, we will declare complete victory over IS," Mazloum Kobani, the general commander of the SDF said in a video released by the group's media office on Thursday. His comments came as SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said that hundreds of men, women and children were plucked from the crumbling proto-state on Thursday, as the epilogue of the nearly six-month-old operation against the jihadists' last scrap of territory dragged on. "Many foreigners from various nationalities were among them," he told AFP, without specifying. "We checked the identification cards of all the men, so if there were any jihadists among them they were surely arrested," he said. Earlier on Thursday, SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin said his force was waiting to complete evacuations from Baghouz before launching a final push to defeat jihadists. "We want the evacuation operations to finish as soon as possible so we can move to the next phase: an assault or the surrender" of the jihadists still inside, Afrin told AFP. The SDF estimates the number of people inside the last IS redoubt, a patch of half a square kilometre on the banks of the Euphrates River, at anything from a few hundred to several thousand. "We're not sure about the number of civilians still inside but everyday we're astonished by the number of people coming out. We didn't expect that," Afrin said. Story continues - Hostages - The SDF announced Thursday its forces had secured the release of 24 of their comrades who had been captured by the jihadists but did not specify how. Their fate was is one reason the operation to flush out the jihadists has been slow moving, Kobani told the released hostages. "We stopped military operations for your safety and now we have stopped the war for the safety of the rest of the comrades," he said. It was unclear how many members of the SDF, an alliance of Kurdish troops and fighters from local Arab tribes, are still held in Baghouz. There has been little fighting recently, with the use of human shields by the jihadists preventing major air raids to prepare for a ground assault. The US-backed SDF is ready to move from the west and north of Baghouz while the Syrian regime fighters and Iraqi paramilitaries sealing the siege are stationed across the river and border. Accounts from women who have left the enclave in recent days suggest IS is allowing many families to go, sending them to a hill from which they can walk to an assembly point and hand themselves over. "We have been waiting here a long time for the vehicles that will take us out," said Nadia al-Hamid, a woman from the nearby city of Mayadin. "Some of the Islamic State fighters say they want to die there," she said, claiming only foreign jihadists are left inside. Thousands of women like Nadia, have been trucked to the camp of Al-Hol in recent days. The droves of famished and often wounded women and children filling the Al-Hol camp, a six-hour drive to the north, has raised fears of an outbreak of dysentery. - Sleeping rough - Many of the civilians who spent months holed up in the last dreg of the "caliphate" proclaimed almost five years ago are in bad physical and mental health. "There have been more than 100 cases of diarrhoea among new arrivals and efforts are ongoing to prevent an outbreak of dysentery," the International Rescue Committee said. "We are now seeing thousands of people sleeping rough in the arrivals area at the camp, where they are exposed to the cold, wind and rain," said Misty Buswell, the IRC's Middle East advocacy director. "Many of the children are having to cope without shoes or coats," she added. Save the Children has also said much more should be done to treat the trauma suffered by the hundreds of children emerging from the ruins of the IS "caliphate". The SDF said Thursday it had discovered a mass grave containing the severed heads of women near Baghouz. SDF spokesman Afrin said it was not yet clear who the victims were or how many bodies the grave held. On the 15 March 2019, Telecom Service One Holdings Limited (HKG:3997) will be paying shareholders an upcoming dividend amount of HK$0.01 per share. However, investors must have bought the companys stock before 05 March 2019 in order to qualify for the payment. That means you have only 2 days left! Is this future income stream a compelling catalyst for dividend investors to think about the stock as an investment today? Lets take a look at Telecom Service One Holdingss most recent financial data to examine its dividend characteristics in more detail. View our latest analysis for Telecom Service One Holdings 5 questions I ask before picking a dividend stock When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria: Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers? Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past? Has dividend per share amount increased over the past? Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings? Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward? SEHK:3997 Historical Dividend Yield, March 2nd 2019 How does Telecom Service One Holdings fare? The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 81%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward. When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios. If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock youre eyeing out is reliable in its payments. The reality is that it is too early to consider Telecom Service One Holdings as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 5 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record. Story continues In terms of its peers, Telecom Service One Holdings generates a yield of 3.8%, which is high for Commercial Services stocks but still below the markets top dividend payers. Next Steps: After digging a little deeper into Telecom Service One Holdingss yield, its easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three relevant aspects you should look at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 3997s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 3997s outlook. Valuation: What is 3997 worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, its not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 3997 is currently mispriced by the market. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Ten members of Islamic State were summarily executed in Syria's Idlib province on Saturday by Tahrir al-Sham, according to Ebaa News Agency, a news outlet that supports the rival jihadist alliance. Ebaa said the executions were in response to an Islamic State suicide bomb attack at a restaurant in Idlib a day earlier. Although Islamic State and the groups that make up Tahrir al-Sham, including al Qaeda's former affiliate the Nusra Front, subscribe to hardline jihadist ideology, they have opposed each other for years. Islamic State has lost virtually all its territory to the Syrian army, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite Muslim militias, and a rival campaign by Kurdish and Arab groups in the north supported by the United States. Ebaa quoted Anis al-Shami, a security official from Tahrir al-Sham, saying that the executions "today at the scene of the crime are fair punishment which might deter them and wake them from their stupor". It published images showing masked gunmen in fatigues firing handguns at the heads of 10 bearded men who sat in front of them on the pavement. Reuters could not independently verify the agency's report. Tahrir al-Sham is the main jihadist group in northwest Syria, with a large armed presence throughout Idlib including along the Turkish border. Islamic State, which seized large swathes of territory in Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, now faces final territorial defeat in a tiny enclave in eastern Syria. (Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Catherine Evans) Omar Oil Field (Syria) (AFP) - The journey out of the Islamic State group's last holdout in eastern Syria begins with a steep climb eastwards, towards a position manned by US-backed forces. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has plucked thousands of people out of the enclave in five batches since February 20. Here's a detailed look at the complex process, part anti-terrorist operation and part humanitarian evacuation: - Baghouz - Holdout IS fighters and civilians, mostly relatives of jihadists, are trapped in less than half a square kilometre in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. They are besieged and crammed in a makeshift riverside camp. To the north and west of the settlement, jihadists and their relatives are surrounded by the SDF. Iraqi forces are positioned across the border, to the east of the shrinking pocket. Syrian government forces are based across the river, on the western banks of the Euphrates, in the towns of Mayadin and Albu Kamal. - Civilian collection point- In the past week, jihadists have allowed men, women and children, especially the wounded, to leave, several evacuees have told AFP. Those wanting to escape walk up a steep incline towards a hilltop on the eastern outskirts of the village, where the SDF has opened a corridor for civilians. At the civilian collection point, they are taken in double-trailer trucks to a screening outpost 20 kilometres north (12 miles). - Screening point - The SDF screening point is an open-air position located in a rocky and arid plain. Only a handful of tents are erected in the area. Members of the US-led international coalition backing the SDF stroll around the area, but it is not immediately clear what their role is in the screening process. They are often seen displaying pictures of wanted foreigners to evacuees. An AFP correspondant also saw them using retina scans to identify potential jihadists. SDF fighters start sorting new arrivals as soon as they disembark from evacuation trucks. Story continues The men and women are shuffled into separate queues, where they wait to be searched by SDF fighters. The Kurdish-led force scrupulously inspects baggages and belongings carried by all new arrivals, confiscating weapons, phones and other electronic devices. The women who are usually veiled from head to toe are required to reveal their faces to female SDF fighters. The men are all required to record their fingerprints with a small digital reader. The SDF also take their photo, and jot down their name and nationality. Suspected fighters among them are then singled out for further interrogation. The SDF only takes pictures and fingerprints of foreign women, not Syrians and Iraqis. Following initial search and registration procedures, the SDF then separate the foreigners from the rest of the arrivals. - Camps and detention centres - After being vetted, women, children, and men not suspected of belonging to the extremist group are transported north to Kurdish-run camps for the displaced. Most are trucked to the Al-Hol camp in Syria's Hasakeh province, which hosts more than 50,000 displaced persons. The overpopulated settlement contains a special section designated for foreigners, mainly wives of suspected jihadists and their children. Unlike the rest of the displaced population in the camp, these women are not allowed to exit the shelter. A smaller number of civilians are trucked to the Roj camp, also in Hasakeh province, which hosts more than 1,500 people and the Ain Issa camp, which hosts more than 12,000. Meanwhile, suspected combattants are sent to SDF detention centres, also located in northeastern Syria. Their exact locations are not all known. The Kurds say their prisons are overflowing. Beyond routine interrogation procedures, SDF fighters inspect suspects for a callus on a trigger finger or marks on the shoulder from carrying a cartridge pouch. They also cross-reference names and nationalities with a list of wanted jihadists. Members of Donald Trumps inner circle have publicly and privately expressed worries that federal investigations underway in the Southern District of New York could spell the beginning of the end for his presidency. Chris Christie, the former Republican governor of New Jersey and a friend of the president, said in an interview with Fox News on Friday morning the SDNY probes have no restriction in what they can look at and have been provided a tour guide in Michael Cohen. Cohen said he was in constant contact with the Southern District of New York, and that he believes the president committed other crimes but he cant talk about it because hes working with the Southern District of New York, the governor said about Cohens explosive public testimony on Capitol Hill earlier this week. This is why Ive said all along that the Southern District is much more worrisome than Mueller, he continued. Because they have no restriction in what they can look at. The comments arrived after Mr Trumps former lawyer turned against him in recent months, working with investigators probing the presidents financial dealings and alleged criminal misconduct. During his testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Cohen revealed additional actions and conversations involving Mr Trump were subject to ongoing SDNY probes, and that he was not allowed to discuss his final conversation with the president. He also submitted a check with Mr Trumps signature allegedly signed after he took office and meant as reimbursement for hush money payments made to his supposed mistresses along the 2016 presidential campaign trail. Mueller has to look at Russia and thats it, these guys in the Southern District can look at anything and they have two tour guides there, guys, they have Michael Cohen and Rick Gates, Mr Christie added. The comments also arrived after Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer at the Trump Organisation, was offered immunity to testify against the president and reveal what he knows to SDNY investigators about MR Trumps alleged crimes. Story continues His testimony would be the ultimate nightmare scenario for Trump, an anonymous employee of the presidents organisation told CNN. Allen knows where all the financial bodies are buried, they said. Allen knows every deal, he knows every dealership, he knows every sale, anything and everything thats been done he knows every membership. Anything you can think of. Washington (AFP) - The parents of a US man tortured and left in a coma in North Korea strongly rebuked President Donald Trump Friday for accepting Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un's claim that he did not know about the case. Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of 22 year old Otto Warmbier -- who died days after being sent back to the United States from North Korea in a coma in 2017 -- condemned the US leader's "lavish praise" of Kim this week following their summit in Hanoi. "We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out," they said in a statement. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity," they said. "No excuses or lavish praise can change that." Trump sparked a firestorm in Washington when he told reporters at the summit's conclusion that he believed Kim's claim that he didn't know what happened to Otto Warmbier during his detention. "He knew the case very well, but he knew it later," Trump said. Kim "tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." Politicians in Washington quickly reminded the president that in 2017 he took credit for obtaining Warmbier's release. "Otto was tortured beyond belief by North Korea," Trump said at the time. "I do not see the leader of North Korea as somebody who's a friend. We know what happened to Otto, we know what this country has done," said House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. "I support the president's effort to denuclearize them, but I do not have a misbelief of who this leader is," he said, speaking of Kim. The US government supported the Warmbier parents in their lawsuit against Pyongyang. On December 24 a US judge ordered North Korea to pay $501 million over Warmbier's death from apparent torture. "North Korea is liable for the torture, hostage-taking, and extrajudicial killing of Otto Warmbier," the judge said, adding that he had been used "as a pawn in that totalitarian state's global shenanigans and face-off with the United States." President Trump responded to criticism Friday over his apparent acceptance of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Uns denial he had any knowledge of his regimes ill treatment of American student Otto Warmbier that led to his death. I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family, the president wrote in a pair of tweets Friday afternoon. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Ottos mistreatment and death, he continued. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often! I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019 Trump and Kim met this week in Hanoi, Vietnam for their second summit to discuss the dismantling of the Norths nuclear weapons, which ended abruptly when Trump left early, In those prisons and camps, you have a lot of people, and some really bad things happened to Otto, Trump said, adding that Kim felt very badly about Warmbiers fate. Some really, really bad things. But [Kim] tells me that he didnt know about it, and I will take him at his word. The presidents comments regarding Kims denial drew bipartisan criticism, including from former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who represents Warmbiers parents Ohio district. Story continues Americans know the cruelty that was placed on Otto Warmbier by the North Korean regime, Haley said in a tweet. Our hearts are with the Warmbier family for their strength and courage. We will never forget Otto. Brown said Trumps remark sends a message to dictators. Ottos parents reacted critically to the presidents comments earlier on Friday, blaming Kim himself for their sons death. We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out, read a statement from Fred and Cindy Warmbier. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or lavish praise can change that. Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was returned home from North Korea in a coma with severe injuries in June, 2017 after being arrested and detained for a year and a half for allegedly tried to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel. More from National Review US President Donald Trump on Friday urged China to abolish tariffs on agricultural products imported from the United States -- adding that trade talks between the rival powers were going well. "I have asked China to immediately remove all Tariffs on our agricultural products (including beef, pork, etc.)," the president wrote on Twitter. He said his request was based on the fact that negotiations with China were "moving along nicely" -- and his delay last week of a planned tariff increase on Chinese exports. "This is very important for our great farmers - and me!" he added. After months of trade war, the US and China agreed to a 90-day truce to work out their differences. It was scheduled to end Friday, but Trump eventually lifted the ultimatum to increase tariffs, satisfied by progress made in several rounds of talks in Beijing and Washington. Top White House economic official Larry Kudlow said Thursday the two countries were on the brink of a "historic" trade agreement. A meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is also expected this month. After the latest round of talks in February, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tweeted that China had committed to buying "an additional" 10 million metric tons of soybeans as a "show of good faith." US farmers rely greatly on such trade with China: in 2017, around a third of US soybean production -- worth $14 billion -- was exported there, where it is used to feed pigs. Those exports plummeted last summer, when China imposed tariffs on US soybeans and other agricultural products. Previously, in a gesture of goodwill at the start of the countries' truce, China in December resumed soybean purchases. But Chinese tariffs had already hit America's farming regions hard -- areas where Trump has enjoyed plentiful support. BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an operation on Friday to clear the last remaining pocket of Islamic State fighters from the besieged eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, an SDF official said on Twitter. "After our forces completed the evacuation of civilians from Baghouz and the freeing of our fighters who were kidnapped by Daesh, nothing remains in Baghouz except for terrorists," said SDF media office head Mustafa Bali, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "Therefore our forces have begun military action and engagement with the terrorists to complete its final liberation," he added. (Reporting By Stephen Kalin; Editing by Kevin Liffey) By Ellen Francis DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - A mass grave containing the bodies of dozens of people who may be Yazidis enslaved by Islamic State has been found in territory recently seized by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an SDF official said on Thursday. Many of the bodies found in the Baghouz area were those of women. "They were slaughtered," SDF commander Adnan Afrin said. Most had been decapitated, he added. The SDF was still trying to confirm if the bodies belonged to members of the Yazidi sect. Thousands of members of the minority sect from Iraq were forced into sexual slavery by the jihadists when they surged across the border in 2014 and seized swathes of territory. More than 3,000 other Yazidis were killed in an onslaught the United Nations later described as genocidal, which prompted the first U.S. air strikes against Islamic State. Thousands more fled on foot and many of them remain displaced more than four years later. The SDF, the main Kurdish led-partner of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria, has been trying to evacuate thousands of civilians in Baghouz before storming it or forcing the surrender of the remaining jihadists, who the SDF has said are mostly foreigners. It said earlier on Thursday that it had freed 24 of its fighters held by Islamic State in Baghouz but gave no details about how they were recovered. Thousands of people of many nationalities have streamed out of the final shred of land in recent weeks, an exodus of both its supporters and victims, surpassing initial estimates and delaying an end to the battle. Residents say hundreds of Arab civilians have been killed in U.S.-led coalition air raids since the campaign began several months ago with many of their homes in villages and towns east of the Euphrates River leveled to the ground. The United Nations on Thursday expressed concern about the plight of thousands whom residents say are tribal Arabs in a camp in al Hol in northeastern Hasaka province. Many of those fleeing, nearly all of them women and children, were being taken into custody by the SDF. Those fleeing described a desperate situation for civilians, with widespread reports of civilians killed and injured, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and shortages of food, a U.N statement issued in Damascus said. The United Nations said more than 78 deaths had been reported, two-thirds of them children under one-year-old who lost their lives either en route or shortly after arriving at the SDF-run camp. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva, Writing by Stephen Kalin/Tom Perry/Suleiman Khalidi; Editing by Peter Graff and Hugh Lawson) UK authorities have submitted an official request to extradite Jack Shepherd, who went on the run after killing Charlotte Brown on a speedboat (Picture: PA) UK authorities have put the wheels in motion to extradite speedboat killer Jack Shepherd from Georgia, it has emerged. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed it had prepared an official request which was submitted to Georgian authorities by the Home Office. His extradition hearing is expected to start next week. Shepherd is currently in prison in Tbilisi after handing himself in to Georgian authorities last month. Charlotte Brown died when the speedboat she was in with Shepherd overturned in the Thames (Picture: PA) The 31-year-old went on the run and was convicted in his absence last year of killing Charlotte Brown, 24, on a Champagne-laden first date when the speedboat they were in overturned in the Thames. Ms Brown, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, died after plunging into the water in December 2015. Shepherd, originally from Exeter, was convicted of manslaughter at the Old Bailey, and sentenced to six years in jail. READ MORE Anger after disgusting mums deface World War One Memorial in front of children The web designer has reportedly written to Ms Browns family requesting a meeting to explain everything that happened that tragic evening. The note, obtained by The Sun, said: I want more than anything to talk to Charlottes family. I wish that I had ignored the police and lawyers and spoken to you three years ago. But Ms Browns father Graham Brown told the newspaper: We dont intend to dignify Shepherds comments with a response until the extradition process has been completed and he is finally held accountable for his actions. Riyadh (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he held talks Saturday with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh that focused on human rights issues, including journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder and the jailing of women activists in the kingdom. Hunt also discussed a fragile truce in the flashpoint Yemeni city of Hodeida with the Saudi foreign minister of state Adel al-Jubeir and Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is based in Riyadh. Hunt's visit came after he failed last month to convince Germany to end its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, which he said was hurting Europe's defence industry and diminishing its influence in efforts to end the Yemen conflict. "Important discussion with @AdelAljubeir about human rights reforms and current issues including Khashoggi, women activists," Hunt said on Twitter, without offering any details. The murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October sparked global uproar and tarnished the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The killing has weakened the kingdom's diplomatic position and hurt its strategic relations with Western allies, even though it strongly denies that the crown prince was involved. Hunt arrived just a day after Saudi Arabia announced that it will put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge, prompting strong condemnation from rights groups. Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners. - 'Lack of trust' - Hunt also met Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf on his Gulf tour, which includes stopovers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. "Our strategic partnership (with) Saudi Arabia helps us to keep the UK safe, to make progress on diplomatic priorities like Yemen, and to discuss frankly issues of concern," Hunt said. Story continues Hunt complained, however, about slow implementation of a ceasefire deal in rebel-held Hodeida, which was agreed in Sweden in December between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels. The deal was hailed as Yemen's best chance so far to end the four-year conflict, but it appears to be hanging by a thread with breaches reported by both warring parties. "There is a lack of trust and it is taking too long to implement the Stockholm (deal) but no one has a better plan so we need to get going and end the crisis," Hunt tweeted after meeting President Hadi. "Progress on Stockholm overdue and it is vital for Hodeida to be cleared of militia urgently to allow humanitarian corridor," he added later. It was unclear whether Berlin's decision to suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi's murder - which cast a fresh spotlight on the kingdom's bombing campaign in Yemen - was discussed during Hunt's visit. Hunt reportedly urged Germany last month to exempt major European defence projects like Eurofighter or Tornado jets, which contain German parts, from its Saudi weapons embargo. But Berlin stood firm on its decision to uphold the embargo. GENEVA (AP) Israeli soldiers intentionally fired on civilians and could have committed crimes against humanity during a string of crackdowns against Palestinian demonstrators last year in Gaza that left 189 people dead, U.N.-backed investigators said Thursday. The independent Commission of Inquiry, mandated by Human Rights Council, said more than 6,000 people were shot by military snipers using live ammunition to repel protesters near the separation fence. The panel showed video of grisly shootings of protesters as it issued a report on the violence that began in March. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the council for "setting new records for hypocrisy and mendacity, out of an obsessive hatred of Israel." The three-person panel said civilians who did not pose an "imminent threat" were among those killed and injured. It acknowledged significant violence linked to the demonstrations, but said they did not amount to combat campaigns, essentially rejecting an Israeli claim of "terror activities" by Palestinian armed groups. "Between the 30th of March and the 31st of December, we found that 189 Palestinians were killed 183 of them with live ammunition," said Bangladeshi lawyer and commission member Sara Hossain. Alluding to Israeli soldiers, she said, "we are saying that they have intentionally shot children, they have intentionally shot people with disabilities, they have intentionally shot journalists." The panel said Israel needed to do more to allow the injured, even today, to gain access to proper medical care, and urged Israel's government to authorize a "meaningful" investigation into the events. The commission also faulted Hamas, which runs Gaza, for not preventing use of incendiary kites low-tech weapons with flaming tails designed to ignite fires during the protests. The Hamas-led protests were fueled initially by calls for the "right of return" of Palestinian refugees to go back to long-lost properties in what is now Israel. They later turned into a weekly demonstration aimed at easing a painful blockade imposed on Gaza. Story continues Israel imposed the blockade after Hamas, a militant group sworn to its destruction, seized control of Gaza in 2007. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since then. Commission Chairman Santiago decried a "failure" of the international community to respond. "The only way that we will find the solution to all the killings taking place is if the international community takes the responsibility of taking this issue more seriously, and finding a peaceful solution to this conflict," he said. Israel says its army is defending the country's border against violent infiltration attempts and accuses Hamas of using the large crowds as cover to carry out attacks. Protesters have hurled flaming tires, grenades and firebombs at soldiers and attempted to cut through the fence with wire cutters. One soldier was killed by a Palestinian sniper last July. Critics say Israel has repeatedly used disproportionate force in non-life-threatening situations. They point to the large numbers of unarmed people who have been shot, including women, minors and medics, often while standing hundreds of meters away from the fence. Netanyahu, in a statement, stressed Israel's right to self-defense and blamed the Gaza border violence on Hamas, which he accused of firing missiles at Israeli citizens and throwing explosive devices at soldiers. "Israel will not allow Hamas to attack Israel's sovereignty and its people, and will maintain the right of self-defense," he said. There was no immediate reaction from Hamas. The rival Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank, welcomed the findings. "The findings and demands to open an immediate investigation by Israel, the occupying power, is a step in the right direction, yet is not enough for establishing comprehensive accountability," said Ahmad Shami, a spokesman for the Palestinian prime minister. "The international community must take its responsibility and provide international protection for the Palestinian citizens in every inch of Occupied Palestine." The report was based on 325 interviews and meetings with victims, witnesses, government officials and members of civil society from all sides, and more than 8,000 documents. The commission said it heard from 15 contributors from the Israeli side, including non-governmental organizations, but got no cooperation from the Israel government. The panel said its mandate was to identify those it believed responsible for the violations, and it planned to hand over a confidential file with such information to U.N. human rights chief Michele Bachelet, who could hand it over the International Criminal Court and national authorities. The Israeli government has repeatedly lambasted alleged bias against Israel by the 47-member Human Rights Council. The Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the council last year, citing in part such alleged bias. __ Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report. OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) The ground assault into the last area held by the Islamic State group intensified Saturday as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters made "remarkable progress" amid heavy clashes, including the capture of a hill overlooking a tent encampment for the extremists, officials with the Kurdish-led forces said. The capture of the last pocket still held by IS fighters in Baghouz village would mark the end of a devastating four-year global campaign to end the extremist group's hold on territory in Syria and Iraq their so-called "caliphate" that at the height of the group's power in 2014 controlled nearly a third of both Iraq and Syria. Since the last push by the Syrian Democratic Forces began Friday night, the Kurdish-led force has been advancing slowly on two fronts as the extremists used snipers and booby traps to slow the push on the last area they control, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said. He added that IS tried to detonate a suicide car bomb against advancing fighters but the attempt failed. Bali tweeted that "heavy clashes" were taking place in the area on the east bank of the Euphrates River. Later in the day, he tweeted that heavy fighting continued at outskirts of Baghouz, adding that "SDF made a remarkable progress since yesterday evening (and) recaptured many positions from ISIS." Zana Amedi, an SDF commander, told The Associated Press that "an active ground force" is advancing into IS-held territories as the extremists resort to sniper fire and booby-traps. Another SDF commander who goes by his nom de guerre, Aram, said the assault into the last IS sliver of land intensified later Saturday. Two helicopters for the U.S.-led coalition were seen circling the area of fighting around noon Saturday. A loud explosion later was heard from a distance and thick black smoke billowed into the sky, apparently a coalition airstrike. The SDF on Friday evening resumed military operations to liberate the last piece of territory held by IS in the province of Deir el-Zour after evacuating thousands of civilians and hostages who had been besieged inside. Story continues The military campaign to uproot the militants from the eastern banks of the Euphrates began in September, pushing them down toward this last corner in the village of Baghouz, near the Iraqi border. The military operation was halted on Feb. 12 as the SDF said a large number of civilians and hostages were holed up in the territory, which sits atop caves and tunnels where they had been hiding. By Friday, more than 10,000 civilians had left the IS held area and the extremists released some SDF fighters they had taken prisoner in earlier battles. "We expect it to be over soon," Bali said. Another SDF commander, Adnan Afrin, said "there are fierce battles" with IS fighters firing thermal missiles at advancing troops and using drones. Afrin said eight SDF fighters were wounded, some critically. Afrin said the buffer area between IS and SDF had been closed after the SDF's advance. He said there have been no suicide attacks but that some land mines went off. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said 10 IS gunmen were killed in fighting in the Baghouz area. It added that Syrian government forces and their allies clashed with IS gunmen who tried to cross to the west bank of the Euphrates river leaving seven IS members dead. Amedi, the SDF commander, said the Kurdish-led force cannot rely on airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition because IS gunmen are trapped everywhere "so if you just rely on airstrikes and then advance on the ground that will cause heavy casualties." "At least now, we are trying to advance on the ground with rare airstrikes," he said. "Now it's mostly clashes. There are almost no airstrikes this morning. There were few airstrikes in the morning and nothing else after that." Washington (AFP) - The US military and South Korea are planning to "discontinue" annual large-scale military exercises as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to improve ties with North Korea, a US official told AFP Friday. The comment from the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came shortly after the conclusion of Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, which ended without a formal agreement but with both sides suggesting they will keep talking. In South Korea, a government official suggested the drills would be downgraded rather than scrapped entirely. "If we define the size of the drills solely by the number of the soldiers, then yes, the exercises will likely be smaller," the official told AFP. The two sides are still discussing the wording of a joint statement that is expected to be released in the coming days, the official added. NBC News first reported that the Foal Eagle drills -- which usually take place in the spring -- would be scrapped, citing two unnamed US defense officials. Foal Eagle is the biggest of the regular joint exercises held by the allies, and has always infuriated Pyongyang, which condemned it as preparations for invasion. In the past, it has involved 200,000 South Korean forces and some 30,000 US soldiers. It overlaps with the Key Resolve exercise. Since Trump's first summit with Kim last year in Singapore, the US and Seoul have scaled back or scrapped several joint military drills, and US bombers are no longer flying over South Korea. President Trump has complained repeatedly over the cost of the drills, describing them at the Hanoi summit as "very, very expensive". NBC reported that the annual exercises would be replaced with "smaller, mission-specific training." The Republican president however has ruled out withdrawing any of the 28,500 US forces based in South Korea to defend it from its nuclear-armed neighbor, which invaded in 1950. Any such drawdown would face strong pushback from the US Congress and Japan, whose conservative government is deeply wary of North Korea's intentions. Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - A memorial stone marking the site of Strasbourg's Old Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, was vandalised overnight, leaders of the eastern French city said Saturday. "Once again, enough is enough," Mayor Roland Ries wrote on his Facebook page before heading to the site for an inspection. "The site is itself a response to whoever did this repulsive act because it symbolises both the exactions and horrors of the Nazi regime and the French people's power of resistance," he added. The stone lies next to the Avenue of the Righteous, dedicated to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, Ries noted. "A new incident of anti-Semitism in our town," deputy mayor Alain Fontanel added on Twitter, posting a picture of a large black marble slab that had been knocked off its plinth. "Quai Kleber synagogue was burnt down by the Nazis nearly 80 years ago. The memorial stone which marked this tragedy was vandalised overnight." The town hall was working with the police to track down those responsible, Fontanel said. The synagogue, which was the Jewish community's main place of worship in the city, was ransacked and burnt to the ground by Hitler Youth on September 30, 1940. "Sadly, history repeats itself," Fontanel wrote on his Facebook page. The region was already shaken on February 19 when 96 graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, northwest of Strasbourg. "There is no doubt this was an intentional act," Thierry Roos, spokesman for the Israelite Consistory of the Lower Rhine region, was quoted as saying by local newspaper Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace. "They wanted to erase the memory of the synagogue on quai Kleber by destroying it twice," Roos said. A statement issued by the regional prefecture said that "anti-Semitism strikes at values of the Republic shared by all French citizens. No display of intolerence must threaten our ability to live together." The week of March 1 in photos A lightning bolt strikes the sea near Fort St Elmo during a storm in Valletta, Malta Feb. 27, 2019. (Photo from Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters) This week saw tensions continue to escalate in Venezuela, where protesters clashed with security forces, and along the India-Pakistan border. On Feb. 27, testimonies in Canada and the U.S. by former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould and former lawyer for Donald Trump Michael Cohen challenged the credibility of both countries leaders. But it wasnt all bad news. Nigerian voters headed to the polls to settle a tight presidential race in Africas biggest democracy, and people in Haikou, China were treated to a unique sight: the controlled demolition of an eight-storey building. From democracy in action to a nation in upheaval and more, here are some of the most compelling images from this week. Home | News | General | Prophet who prophesied Atikus presidential victory rejects result - An Anambra based pastor, Prophet Okechukwu who prophesied that Atiku Abubakar would win the 2019 presidential election has rejected the result - Okechukwu alleged that presidential election was rigged and as a result, the outcome was not the will of God - The cleric also warned those that rigged the election should be expecting the judgment of God soon Prophet Udoka Daniel Okechukwu, an Anambra based pastor, who prophesied that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would win the 2019 presidential election has rejected the result of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). According to Tribune, he alleged that presidential election was rigged and as a result, the outcome was not the will of God. READ ALSO: Why I met with members of National Peace Committee - Atiku The cleric also warned those that rigged the election should be expecting the judgment of God soon. We thank God for what has happened but the result by INEC is not the will of God. It is clear that Atiku is the chosen one. Buhari is not the chosen one. What I know too well is that God is in control. It is very clear to me that Buhari never won the election, he said. Going further, he said: I also said that Buhari will live to see the 2019 election and that if he died before the election, people should take me as a false prophet, he said. If God can show me the outcome of so many elections and it comes to pass but in the case of Nigeria, the contrary happened, that shows that Nigeria is a hopeless country. Nigeria is a country that does not obey rules and regulations. An election that was completed on Saturday, the result did not come out until three days after, coupled with the inconsistency in figures here and there. All these are evidence that the election was rigged." Okechukwu also claimed that regardless of what INEC does, Atiku is the chosen one. If my prophecy is followed step by step, one would see that I mentioned that there would be conflict and that Buhari has all the powers which is what he used to rig the election. Heaven is at work. Heaven is interested in 2019 Nigerian presidential election, he said. He also called out Vice Presidential Yemi Osinbajo: I wonder how he and his congregation will make heaven, he said. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that women under the aegis of Two Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria, on Friday, March 1, staged a street rally to urge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to concede defeat. The women are asking the PDP candidate to call and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the recently concluded presidential election. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Just in: I'll work for APC's Adelabu despite being ADC guber candidate - Alao-Akala says after meeting presidency - Alao-Akala said he still remained the candidate of Action Democratic Party despite rumour that he decamped to APC - The former Oyo governor, who admitted he met presidency, vowed to work for the candidate of APC, Bayo Adelabu, in the March 9 election - Akala said he pitched his tent with the ruling party following agreement by both parties in which presidency was a witness The gubernatorial candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Oyo state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, has vowed to work for the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Bayo Adelabu in the March 9 governorship election. Akala, a former governor of Oyo state, said despite being the candidate of ADp, he would work against the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Seyi Makinde, Tribune reports. Speaking on Thursday, February 28, at his Bodija residence, Alao-Akala stated that the alliance was necessary to pull crowd and grassroots voters for the APC candidate across the regions of the state. Legit.ng notes that Akala's U-turn with days to election was an outcome of a purported meeting with the national leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed in his Lagos residence. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda He said: ''I remain in ADP and all our candidates for the House of Assembly seats will stand the March 9th elections on the platform of the ADP with my full support but I will work for the victory of Bayo Adelabu. ''Our core values and philosophies as indicated in our ADP manifestos, Rescue Mission Agenda, has been adopted by Bayo Adelabu with the presidency as a witness. I have therefore as a candidate of ADP, accepted to support Adelabu of APC for victory and therefore form a coalition government. My solemn gratitude goes to our members, state and national leaders of ADP for the ample opportunity given to me to lead and fly the flag of the party. Though my decision is a very tough one, it is for the progress of Oyo State.'' Itis widely known that I initiated alliance talks with the main opposition parties in Oyo state vis-a-vis my great party the Action Democratic Party ((ADP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) with my boss, the former governor of Oyo state and Osi Olubadan, Senator Rashid Adewolu Ladoja as mediator. Meanwhile, during the alliance process, I received an emergency call from the presidency. In the meeting with the presidency, I was prevailed upon to work for APC. "My response was that I should be given 48hrs to consult with my people, the opposition parties alliance committee as well as the teeming members, the leaders and the stakeholders of my great party, ADP. On resumption of the alliance meeting, my boss (High Chief Rashid Adewolu Ladoja) told me point blank in the presence of other governorship candidates that I was not in consideration for governorship due to my place of birth Ogbomoso. ''According to him, we need an Ibadan man to slug it out with another Ibadan man, which is Bayo Adelabu, With the statement, my geographical place of birth is the only crime I committed. Since Ive been unfairly and technically booted out of the alliance talks, I consulted with my party stakeholders and supporters whose supports have brought me this far. ''Having realised that my 2019 governorship agenda cannot be realised in isolation based on the present situation, the only option remaining for me is to form an alliance with Mr Bayo Adelabu of APC. I, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala the Oyo state 2019 Action Democratic Party (ADP), have decided to form an alliance with the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adebayo Adekola Adelabu ahead of the March 9 governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state. ''However, all the ADP candidates for the House of Assembly seats will go to the elections with my maximum supports.'' PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the former governor of Oyo state, Adebayo Alao-Akala, had reportedly returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) after meeting with ex-governor of Lagos and national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu. The former governor dumped APC in October 2018 after the party's governorship primaries in Oyo state, Alao-Akala's wife, Oluwakemi Alao-Akala, his son, Olamiju, and the director general of his campaign, Wale Ohu, accompanied him to Tinubu's residence on Thursday, February 28. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better 2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Suspension of Amosun, Okorocha, will not affect our victory on March 9 election - APC - APC says suspension of governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibekunle Amosun will not affect the partys victory in governorship and state house of assembly election - National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had on Friday, March 1, suspended Okorocha and Amosun, alongside two others - According to the party, the suspension of the governors would not have come to the public as a surprise following their anti party activities over a period of time The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the suspension of governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibekunle Amosun of Imo and Ogun respectively, will not affect the partys victory in the March 9, governorship and state house of assembly election. Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC National Publicity Secretary, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the development on Friday in Abuja. NAN recalls that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) at its Friday meeting, suspended Okorocha and Amosun, alongside the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) Osita Okechukwu and the Minister of Niger Delta Usani Usani. READ ALSO: Why I met with members of National Peace Committee - Atiku As to the effect it will have in the coming Governorship and State House of Assembly elections, the real negative effect will come when we allow our members who are in position of influence to undermine our candidates. We need to get it clear to every member who supports such actions that the party is watching them, and similar fate may befall them, Issa-Onilu said. He added that the suspension of the governors would not have come to the public as a surprise following their anti party activities over a period of time. He recalled that the two governors had been sponsoring candidates against those recognised by the party. This, he said, had been ongoing and so the party had to follow the right procedures; taking steps to first get them to see reason why they needed to retract their steps. NAN recalls that in Ogun, Amosun is said to be backing AbdulKadir Akinlade, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against APCs Prince Dapo Abiodun. In Imo, Okorocha is supporting his son-in-law Uche Nwosu, the candidate of the Action Alliance, against Senator Hope Uzodinma, the APC candidate. They occupy the position they are in today, courtesy of the ticket given to them by this party, to now use that opportunity to work against the interest of the party, you do not expect the party to look the other way. More so when you realise that APC is a party of discipline that has come to establish the fact that to deepen democracy, you must subject everybody to the rule of law, and that there must be equality for all before the law, he said. Issa-Onilu stressed that as far as the APC was concerned, no matter what position an individual held, the party would not give him any leverage when he flaunted the rules or the Constitution of the party. He added that the partys leadership had at a point, issued queries to the two governors and cautioned them against their anti party activities. He recalled that when the APC presidential campaign train was led by President Muhammadu Buhari to Ogun, they were thoroughly embarrassed by a different party. Issa-Onilu said this was done with the support of the governor, who he said, brought in certain elements who were not APC members to the campaign venue to create problems. This actually embarrassed our President, but we thought at that period, we were facing the Presidential and National Assembly Election and that it was not the appropriate time for us to do anything that might be destructive to our course, so we waited, he said. He added that though there was a window for the governors to show remorse and act appropriately to convince the partys leadership that they would play by the rules, they never did. He said rather Okorocha and Amosun came out openly to endorse their choice candidates against the partys candidates. Which ever way you look at it, that is anti-party activity, it is beyond the limit, and tolerating such, will mean that our change mantra is just a mantra without meaning, the APC spokesman said. He further explained that the VON DG was suspended also, because of his anti party activities in the recent past, which he said had been documented. The APC spokesman said that Okechukwu had also engaged in actions that undermined the partys performance in Enugu, his home state. He also explained that the Minister of Niger Delta was also found to have committed the same offence as the others. He maintained that it would be injurious for the party to allow such actions to continue, adding that the suspension still stood. He, however, said that the duration of their suspension would be determined by the time the report of the investigative committee on the matter was submitted to the partys National Executive Committee (NEC). I have forwarded the report to NEC, recommending their expulsion, the limit of the powers of the partys NWC is to suspend; it does not have the power to expel. It is only NEC that can take that action, so we have exercised what the Constitution of the party allows us to do, the report of our investigation will be put in place and passed on to NEC for further action, he said. He added that the APC NWC had also decided to issue a query to Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State for anti party activities, adding that the party already had video evidence against him. NAN reports that Akeredolu had earlier been accused by the Ondo Mandate Group, an APC support group, of working against the party and the presidency. On the minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu, Issa-Onilu said the party had noted his comments, but had not seen him working against the party. He said the minister had his grievance and had the right to express same within the law, but added that the APC, for now, did not have any evidence that Shittu was involved in any anti-party activity. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha described his suspension as a plot to bring into destruction the chance of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the southeast region by some selfish people ahead of 2023. PAY ATTENTION:Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Reacting to his suspension, the Imo governor said the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, was heavily blinded by 2023 presidency, thus making attempt to ruin the region's chances. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Vice President Yemi Osinbajo casts his vote, boasts of APC victory | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Senior pilot who used forged licence for over 20 years gets exposed (photo) - William Chandler, a senior South African Airways pilot, has reportedly been forced to step down - This comes after the South African Airways discovered the pilot had been operating for 20 years with a forged license - The discovery was made after an incident over Swiss air space had caused an investigation into the matter William Chandler, a veteran South African pilot, has reportedly been forced to step down after being caught with his forged licence. According to Eyewitness News, the pilot had worked for South African Airways for 20 years before an incident had caused an investigation. While not much is known about what happened, the airline will now move to recover funds paid to Chandler as a result of his fraudulent licence. READ ALSO: Author Stephen King and wife Tabitha react to news headlines omitting her name after a donation Tlali Tlali, spokesperson for the airline, responded to the situation, saying that: SAAs robust safety procedures dictate that the crew involved in reportable incidents during our operations be grounded and subjected to thorough and comprehensive assessment and re-evaluations. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app This extends to health records, training profiles and revalidation of certificates that form part of personnel records. It was that comprehensive exercise that established that the ATPL of the SFO had discrepancies. We acted on our own and were never prompted by the German authorities. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Sources close to the incident say it has now become clear why Chandler had reportedly turned down a position as captain, which would have required him to resubmit his documentation. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a South African pastor, Alph Lukau, claimed to have resurrected a man who had been dead for three days and he even shared video evidence of the alleged resurrection. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Nigeria Latest News: I Was Arrested As a Soldier, the Uniform Belongs to My Roommate - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Why Atiku must go to court - Secondus, PDP chieftains speak as party set for legal redress - Prince Uche Secondus and other chieftains of PDP have expressed their support for Atiku - In separate interviews, the PDP chieftains said the decision of Atiku to seek legal action against the presidential poll results was a necessary step - The PDP official called on security agencies to live up to expectation to protect not only votes, but also lives during the March 9 elections The southwest zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, March 1, said it was fully in support of the partys presidential candidate in the February 23 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on his decision to challenge the polls result in court. The national vice chairman of the party (southwest), Eddy Olafeso, gave the position at a news conference in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Wednesday, February 27, declared President Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the election. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, while announcing the results in Abuja, said Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 15, 191, 847 votes to defeat his main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 11, 225, 978 votes. Atiku has since rejected the results as declared by INEC, vowing to challenge it in court. Some prominent Nigerians and groups including a former minister of information, Chief Tony Momoh and Arewa Consultative Forun(ACF) have appealed to Atiku to concede defeat to Buhari and congratulate him. Olafeso, however, said the decision of Atiku to seek legal action against the results was a necessary step. He claimed that the February 23 was one of the worst elections in the countrys history, being characterised by irregularities and malpractice. Olafeso said there were many cases of violence and intimidation of voters across the country, apart from the cases of card reader failure which he claimed disenfranchised many. He said that INEC employed double standards in the different geographical zones of the country to favour the APC. The PDP chieftain said it was the right of Atiku to challenge what he called a sham, adding that all believers in true democracy should encourage the candidate to fight the fraud. He said: We are all witnesses to the abuses that characterized the general elections of Saturday 23rd February and the double standards which ensured that electoral guidelines adopted for the election guaranteed different approaches to its conduct both in the northern and southern parts of our nation. ''While it was compulsory that card reader be employed in the south and absolute requisite for ballot casting, it was put in abeyance in the north. Yet, the election was meant to produce the president of the Federal Republic; this is double standard and totally unacceptable. This clearly confirms that INEC was obviously ill-prepared and equally did not set out to conduct a credible election. In this respect, we query whatever rationale that will make it accept mutilated results from states like Nasarawa, Kano, Yobe and Bornu amongst many others. We are particularly amazed when due credence is given to the fact that the number of votes surpassed accredited voters, even more surprising is the many vote cancellations in places where the PDP won. ''Borno state, the main centre of strife, acrimony and war, put to lie every demographic principle and returned more votes than Lagos, a state at peace, in this election. We also note the violence that characterized the elections across the southwest, particularly in Lagos, Oyo and Osun states. ''It is important to state loud and clear that those crises were perpetrated by members of the APC who were so scared of the defeat they would have suffered in those places where they prosecuted their violent agenda. ''The recourse to violence was dictated by the reality that they were set to lose the elections to the PDP and quickly resorted to hooliganism and thuggery in those states to abort the will of the people. It is a great disservice to the nation that security agencies mobilised and deployed for elections in those places remained lethargic and failed to protect the ballot, this is disappointing. We also condemn the prosecution of violence elsewhere across the nation, particularly the fact that the military descended massively into the partisan fray; we find this absurd.'' According to him, the military and indeed the security agencies should not be politicised. He said: They remain crucial and critical institutions of state that must continue to command respect, trust and confidence of all Nigerians. ''Sadly, their current outlook will deny them all the aforementioned and that portends great danger for our democracy and country. The party leadership in the south west thus firmly declare that his excellency, Atiku Abubakar and the national working committee of the party must immediately commence diligent prosecution of actions to expose the fraudulent elections with a serious view to reclaim the stolen mandate. We cannot be taken serious as a people when leadership does not give due credence to the electoral desires of the people and respect their franchise. Olafeso said the gains recorded in the conduct of the 2015 elections had been eroded by what he called the poor conduct of the Feb. 23 election. He warned that the PDP, particularly in the southwest, would resist any form of violence on voters in the next round of gubernatorial and state assembly elections. The PDP official called on security agencies to live up to expectation to protect not only votes, but also lives during the March 9 elections. Olafeso commended the people of southwest for the massive votes they gave to the PDP in the region. The party chieftain added: We therefore call on our people across the region to vote massively for the PDP in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states. This election also presents an opportunity for the people of the three states, particularly Lagos, to get freedom from the vicious grip of those who have held them hostage.'' Olafeso promised the party would not disappoint the people of the southwest if given the opportunity to govern states in the zone. Also speaking, a former deputy national chairman of PDP, Chief Olabode George, decried what he called the massive irregularities of the February 23 elections. George said the results of the elections did not reflect the will of the people as supporters of PDP were intimidated through violence, while others were disenfranchised. He, however, called on supporters not to be discouraged by incidents of February 23, but come out en masse to vote the party s governorship candidate, Jimi Agbaje, and state assembly candidates of the PDP. George expressed the optimism that the PDP would become victorious in the March 9 elections and that the state would be free from bondage. Meanwhile, the national chairman of DPD, Prince Uche Secondus, said the party would continue with its plan to contest the outcome of the February 23 presidential election. Addressing a press conference, Secondus said his party can only get justice through a legal redress. He said: ''We will go to court. Nobody will stop us from going to court and bring out all of the facts both the international observers and some people have not seen. We will unearth them at the court and I believe that justice will be done at the court. Because, if we continue to suppress injustice and go sentimental, the country will continue to pile on gun powder that will explode one day. So much injustice has been done in this country and if we allow it and it continues to pile, nobody knows what will happen.'' PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar had offered insights into why he met with members of the National Peace Committee (NPC) on Thursday, February 28, in Abuja. He said he met with the committee to demand unconditional release of party members illegally arrested and detained for political reasons in the just-concluded presidential election. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Crisis deepens in APC as VON DG reacts to suspension - Voice of Nigeria's Director General, Osita Okechukwu has reacted to his suspension by the APC - Okechukwu said he is yet to receive a letter of suspension from the leadership of the party - The VON's director said he is not to blame for APC losing senatorial seats in the recently concluded election The director general of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has reacted to his suspension from the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the National Working Committee (NWC). Okechukwu, on a press statement published on the Voice of Nigeria website, said that he had worked diligently for the APC campaigning the length and breath of the southeast for the success of the party. He said: One has not gotten a letter of suspension from my great party. If actually a press statement was issued, it may not be unconnected with those who want to sideline their enemies in this season of contestation. Remember that Femi Adesina, spokesman for Mr President had opened window for gruesome struggle. READ ALSO: Failed prophecies: 5 prophets who predicted Atiku will defeat Buhari and what they said Otherwise, one had taken time and resources to campaign vigorously for my great party and even set up the Zikist-Buharist-Movement (ZBM), an offshoot of Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) of which am a foundation member. It is on record that with ZBM, we toured the nooks and crannies of Enugu and indeed the South East, canvassing for votes for our great party. Am also instrumental to the most consistent advert placed in several media in the South East, on behalf of our great party. Accordingly, one should not be blamed for the triumph of Bigotry in Enugu state and south East in general. Our Comrade Chairman should not blame me for hoisting some unpopular National Assembly candidates for the APC in our zone. For am at loss how one contributed to the failure of his darling candidate, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku Nwagu in Egede, her home town and Udi local government her primary local council in the five that make up the senatorial district. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, described his suspension as a plot to bring into destruction the chance of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the southeast region by some selfish people ahead of 2023. Reacting to his suspension, the Imo governor said the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, was heavily blinded by 2023 presidency, thus making attempt to ruin the region's chances. Okorocha berated Oshiomhole for ruling the party with high-handedness. In a statement by his chief press secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, the Imo governor vowed that all attempts by Oshiomhole and the APC working committee to destroy the region's chance will be resisted. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Vice President Yemi Osinbajo casts his vote, boasts of APC victory | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | 52-year-old man reveals herbal remedy that improves eyesight, reverses glaucoma and cataract without surgery If you're tired of struggling with poor eyesight, specifically someone who wants to improve their vision, reverse glaucoma, cataract, nearsightedness and wants to stop using glasses, then here is good news. 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Immediately, I started it using it as prescribed (serving size of 1 tea bag in morning, and 1 tea bag in the evening). To my surprise, in less than 2 weeks of using it, it was almost like a miracle cure to my eyesight problem and it helped improve my vision. My eyes became crystal clear, my vision was never blurry again, and I started to feel that my glaucoma was gone. Click here to get access to the herbal remedy that helps you cure glaucoma, cataract, near-nearsightedness in few weeks! Visit >> http://bit.ly/restore-eyesightnow To ensure it was really effective, I had to give the same herbal tea to about 2 of my colleagues in a different branch office, and some of my relatives using spectacles... just to confirm if it could help them improve their eye health and cure eye problems. Within 30 days or less of using it, all of them came back to testify that this herbal tea helped them improve their eyesight and cure eye problems like cataracts, glaucoma, nearsightedness, hyperopia, and blurry vision, and they didn't have to continue wearing glasses anymore. To ensure that this solution really works, I went to my eye doctor, just to be completely sure be about it. After several eye exams, he confirmed that my eye was much better than before, and that the herbal tea also contained some ingredients that are very rare to find, but are highly effective in improving eyesight naturally. Without wasting time, let me introduce you to the Herbal Remedy that Has Helped me and over 642 Nigerian men and women Improve Eyesight, vision and PROVEN to cure Severe Eye Problems... "Eye Restore Tea" Eye Restore Tea is a herbal remedy formulated to treat and permanently cure all kinds of eye problems such as glaucoma, myopia, hyperopia, cataracts and lot more. It helps restore your eyesight, promotes eye health and improves vision. Eye Restore Tea is made up of finely blended plant herbal extracts such as bilberry extract, chrysanthemum, Chinese wolfberry, cassia seed and green tea. A pack of eye restore tea contains 20 tea bags, which you use daily, morning and evening. The best part is that the Eye Restore tea is purely herbal, comes without any side effect and curative for the treatment of most eye problems. And within few days of taking this herbal tea, you can start seeing improvement in your vision and eye health. Eye Restore Tea has the highest standard of approval by International FDA bodies. It's produced in the best, biggest and professional tea manufacturing factory with certificate of GMP - Good Manufacturing Practice, HACCP, Food Production License, QS etc. So you can be sure that, Eye Restore Tea is safe, 100% herbal and healthy, no side effects. Do you want to dump your glasses, and also put an end to using expensive eye drugs that takes almost forever to work? Then pay attention to this. Eye Restore Tea is made of herbal extracts, that after several years of research, scientist prove that these herbs help eliminate any form of eye problems, gives a crystal clear eye, improves eye sight and vision naturally. Here's how this special herbal tea works... - When you order for the Eye Restore Tea, each pack contains 20 tea bags. - Put 1 tea bag in the cup, add boiled water, you can add honey or lemon (depending on your taste). - Drink the tea in the morning when you wake up, and in the night before bed. Within 3 weeks or less, I can guarantee that it will cure whatever eyesight problem you are experiencing at the moment. It will improve and perfect your eyesight, you will be able to read better anytime of the day. It will help you see comfortably without your glasses. That's how powerful it is. Right now, my eyes are crystal clear, no more blurry vision, I see clearly without my eye glasses, glaucoma has gone, and no more cataracts. And after this worked for me, I've gone to share this amazing eye restore secret with almost everyone (family, friends and collegues) that I know that uses spectacles, or have severe eye problems for many years. And once they started using Eye Restore Tea, they experienced similar results, their joy knew no bounds and they were able to dump their glasses, save money on expensive drugs and eye drops. While it has also helped them to have a much improved vision, eyesight and totally natural cure to glaucoma, cataracts, myopia, hyperopia, eyestrain and other eye problems. And to prove it, here are what people who have used the eye restore tea are saying about it, and how they've seen great results using it... "For over 3 years of having glaucoma in my right eye, I've been eye drops that my eye doctors prescribed. After using it for a long time, I noticed that the eye was becoming useless, and I only had my left eye for all purpose. Until I came across Eye restore tea, I decided to use it instead. Within few weeks, I began to see better. I went to the Eye center, and after the examination doctor say that my eye has improved and the IOP has dropped. Thanks so much for this wonderful solution that saved my eyes." From James - Gwarimpa, Abuja. "I suffered from Glaucoma for about 2 years now, and I had to use eye drops to control it. But the eye drops have serious side effects that made me uncomfortable so I had to keep changing them and used 5 types of eye drop. Luckily, a friend introduced me to Eye restore tea, so I decided to give it a trial. My vision now have improved up to the extent that I no longer need spectacles or any eye drop again." From Mrs Tolulope - Ketu, Lagos. "Immediately after my cataract surgery, I used to have a foggy or cloudy vision and colors are not vivid as they were. I got corrective sight vision lens, and after many months I still get this blurry vision sometimes which is frustrating. My wife helped me order for the Eye Restore tea, and I decided to use it, within 6weeks, my eyesight is clear and has corrected itself with time. I've gone on to recommend this for my elder brother with similar eye problems. Thanks so much for this miracle tea." From Mr Victor - Onitsha, Anambra state. "After seeing an opthalmologist for an eye exam, it was revealed an eye pressure of 25 in both eyes, and my right eyes looked suspicious for glaucoma. I continued using eye drops. I stumbled upon your eye restore tea product, and decided to go for it. Within few weeks of using the tea, am seeing obvious changes, and finally stopped using eye drops. i will keep you updated on my progress, really appreciate this"! From Olawale -Warri, Delta state. Truth is, I could load more and more testimonials from these people who have used the Eye Restore tea but it will only be saying the same thing... this product works like crazy! As you have seen, these people were once like you suffering from similar eye conditions that were a threat to their vision, but they took action got the Eye Restore tea and cured severe eye problems. As we speak lots of people are raving about this natural miracle eye treatment solution. I wonder what happens when people begin to post experiences and testimonials on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.) Customers will continue telling friends, and the news keeps on spreading like wildfire. By word of mouth, there's so much huge demand, supplies are going off the shelf fast... even my colleagues and inner circle friends picked up 143 packs of the Eye Restore Herbal tea. So, there are just 257 packs remaining. The miracle eye treatment solution is spreading like wildfire... and demand is so heavy much of the stocks are running out fast. Right now, thousands of people are on this website... and stocks are extremely limited. We have no idea when the next stocks will arrive, so get your supplies now while you can.... The best part is, you can get it at an affordable discount price when you place order right away. I cannot assure you will get it at the same discount price if you procrastinate. So what's it cost? Let me ask you... what's something like this worth? What would it be worth to be able to see clearly again, without spending lots of money on prescription pills, eye drops or expensive surgery? What would it be worth to improve all aspects of your vision using a natural solution that completely reverses glaucoma, cataract, shortsightedness and other eye problems? A natural solution that makes you never scared again about having dry itchy eyes, blurred vision, or even worse going blind. So that, you will be able to enjoy your eyes, watch tv, read newspapers, reports, documents without depending on your glasses ever again. Eye restore tea, is like giving you a brand new set of perfect eyeballs faster, more safer, and more easily. Go here next to get access to eye restore tea at the special discount price and start using it to cure glaucoma, cataract, myopia etc. Visit http://bit.ly/restore-eyesightnow What would that be worth? You see, you won't pay a lot for this miracle herbal tea. And if you go ahead and get it now, you will enjoy... => the discount introductory price => 100% FREE Shipping to every state in Nigeria => Payment at the point of delivery (or at your doorstep) This means you will pay for the products only when it has been brought down to you face to face by our courier company or delivery man. Here's a breakdown of the price (depending on the supply you are ordering for)... Discount Price N24,000 Discount Price N45,000 Plus special bouns Yes, at this affordable price you'll get access to this miracle tea that improves your vision, reverses glaucoma, cataract, shortsightedness and other severe eye problems. The specially recommended option is for 2months supply, so you get perfect results from it, and you'll never have to spend money again on this. Also, the 2months supply is for a severe Glaucoma, cataract, shortsightedness, etc. and also for people who have done (or considering) eye surgery, but still experience eye pains, blurred vision and other eye complications. However, both the 1month supply and 2months supply options will give tremendous results when you make use of them. But to make it even better, when you order for the 2months supply of eye restore tea, you will also get a free bonus enclosed to your parcel *not available anywhere else Here's how to get it: When you order for 2months supply of the Eye Restore tea at N45,000... you will get your own free bonus of the "Nature Tea" that helps in the treatment of high blood pressure etc. FREE BONUS: NATURE HERBAL TEA Nature tea is effective for treatment of hypertension and heart related cases. The tea is also excellent for the circulatory system. It is not only effective in the case of hypertension but also promote the flow of blood to the brain and heart. NATURE TEA contains 40 tea bags NAFDAC Reg. No. A7-2168L The Nature Tea is very effective, with no side effects at all. Its role in the cases of coronary arteries and angina pectories produces wonderful result. It is a reliable preparation for heart and brain related cases. Nature Tea is also effective for the treatment of heart and brain related cases, chronic fatigue, chest pain etc. It also works for eliminating body pains, relaxing muscles and improves blood circulation. When you order today, you will get the Nature herbal tea for free. Remember, the free bonus is only available to those that place their order right away. Don't procrastinate; else you may not get it. So the deal is, place your order for the Eye Restore Tea 2months supply pack today, and you get access to the extra BONUS, absolutely free! Works tremendously for men and women Works tremendously for children too But there's one thing you must know - this offer will not be available for a long time. There are also extremely limited stocks. So it's on a first come, first serve basis. When we go out of stock, you may have to wait until the next stock shipment arrives, and this might be at a much increased price. So go ahead, order for it right away and start using it to improve your vision, restore your eyesight and say goodbye to your glasses, pills and eye drops! Best part is, there's absolutely no risk on your part. Here's what I mean: You don't have to pay first before you get this product. We have payment on delivery option for you get the items. Once you place your order, my company sends the item to your state through our courier delivery service. Once it get to your state, our delivery man picks up item and bring it to your provided address. Next, you collect your item and pay the money to the delivery man that brings it for you. No extra cost, no risk whatsoever! Depending on your location in your state, delivery takes within 2 - 4 business days after you've placed an order. Follow the instructions below to place order, and get the products delivered to your doorstep (payment on delivery) This means you will pay for the products only when it has been brought down to you face to face by our courier service agent Pay on delivery option available to all states in Nigeria Here's how to order for your eye restore tea today at the special discount price Depending on the option that you are ordering for... *If you are ordering for "1month supply"... indicate the code "EYE RESTORE TEA 1month Supply" in your text message... *If you are ordering for "2months supply"... indicate it "EYE RESTORE TEA 2months supply" in your text message... Eye restore tea 1month supply - N24,000 Eye restore tea 2months supply - N45,000 Here's what to send to us... Text (the option you are ordering for) with the following information below...that is, eye restore tea 1month supply or 2months supply 1. Your full name 2. Your phone number 3. Delivery address (home or office address) Send this Information as a text message to 08179478879 Please note: Your delivery address must include (your street name, town, local govt and state). Detailed enough to make it traceable by our courier delivery man that will come around to deliver to you. You will get a SMS and Call from us within 24 hours to confirm your order before we parcel it across to You. Delivery time Once we received your order, and your details are correct, you will receive an sms or call confirmation from us. Your products will then be sent to our courier delivery and the items should get to you within 2-4 Days for nationwide delivery to other state, and 1-2 days for orders within Lagos state. Note: The product will be packaged discreetly and no one else will know what's inside, and every other information will be kept private and 100% confidential. Option 2 If you live in Lagos, or nearby, you can also walk into our marketing department office to pick up the products. You will meet our team ready to give you these products at same price... That is you Pay at our office, and get it instantly Vantagesoft Marketing Enterprises Block B, Suite 9, Primal Tek Plaza, Beside ECO centre, by Mokola Bus stop, opposite Gowon Estate Market, Egbeda-Idimu road, Egbeda, Lagos. Or Suite 3B, First Floor, Shopping plaza beside NNPC Filling station, opposite LHS school, Ilo awela road, by Toll Gate Bus stop, Ota off Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway Or Abuja office Hub: EFAB MALL Extension, suite A-75, 4th Floor, Garki, Area 11, Abuja, Fct. (Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm) Customer support line: 08179478879 That is all you have to do to get access to the Eye Restore Tea. Remember, the Eye Restore Tea helps reverse glaucoma, cataracts, myopia, hyperopia, blurred vision and other eye conditions that are threatening to your vision. Do not waste money on over-the-counter drugs and eye drops, that comes with side effects, very expensive and do not give permanent results to your eye problem. Doctors will keep on recommending drugs and eye drops. They will never tell you the solution that will totally cure you and stop you from going blind. Eye restore tea have helped lots of Nigerian men, women and children to eliminate severe eye problems, of course it will work for you. It's 100% herbal, healthy and no side effects. Here's how to order for your eye restore tea today at the special discount price Depending on the option that you are ordering for... *If you are ordering for "1 Month supply"... indicate the code "EYE RESTORE TEA 1month Supply" in your text message... *If you are ordering for "2 Months supply"... indicate it "EYE RESTORE TEA 2months supply" in your text message... Eye restore tea 1month supply - N24,000 Eye restore tea 2months supply - N45,000 Here's what to send to us... Text (the option you are ordering for) with the following information below... that is, eye restore tea 1month supply or 2months supply 1. Your full name 2. Your phone number 3. Delivery address (home or office address) Send this information as a text message to 08179478879 Please note: Your delivery address must include (your street name, town, local govt and state). Detailed Enough to make it traceable by our courier delivery man that will come around to deliver to you. You will get a SMS and Call from us within 24 hours to confirm your Order Before we Parcel It Across to You. Delivery time Once we received your order, and your details are correct, you will receive an sms or call confirmation from us. Your products will then be sent to our courier delivery and the items should get to you within 2-4 Days for nationwide delivery to other state, and 1-2 days for orders within Lagos state. Go ahead, place order now to get the Eye Restore Tea and start using them. Click here to get the Eye Restore tea and get it delivered to your doorstep within few day>> http://bit.ly/restore-eyesightnow Remember, when the limited supplies are sold out, you may have to pay a much higher price to access this product. Make no mistake, Eye restore tea will help improve your eyesight, improve vision and cure any form of eye problem that you have been struggling with for months or years. Drink eye restore tea daily, 1 tea bag morning and evening, send in your testimonials. Yours, Emmanuel - 08179478879 [Sponsored] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Adorable! Maths professor becomes internet sensation after carrying student's baby during class A mathematics professor, Nathan Alexander, has warmed the hearts of numerous social media users after photos of him helping one of his students to babysit went viral. The beautiful scenario played out at Morehouse College, a historically black all male school in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, March 1, 2019. Adorable! Maths professor becomes internet sensation after carrying student's baby during class Source: Twitter PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group According to the student who shared the images on Twitter, the college professor comforted the baby who was in a carrier strapped to his chest. While at it, he also went on to take his maths lesson with a marker pen in the other hand. The professor was said to have told the student dad: Ill hold her so you can take good notes! READ ALSO: Ghanaian school of law lecturers threaten to resign over mass failure See photos and tweets below: Just recently, a kindhearted lecturer proved that some men are not afraid to do chores or help out women who need their help even though it has to do with taking care of babies. The lecturer was seen backing the baby of one of his students while she went on to write her exams. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Adetutu Alabi Story: 'I Gave Up on Education Because I Was Bullied for My Tribal Marks' | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | 32 killed as bandits reportedly attack Zamfara community - About 32 people have reportedly been killed by suspected armed bandits in Zamfara state - Residents of Shinkafi LGA of the state disclosed the account of the incident on Friday, March 1 - One of the residents said the suspects in large number stormed a market in Shinkafi where the incident took place on Thursday, February 28 Emerging reports have claimed that suspected armed bandits on Thursday, February 28, killed at least 32 people, mainly local vigilantes in Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara state. Reports by Daily Trust stated that the news of the attack emerged on Friday, March 1, two days after 13 people were killed in similar circumstances in Kawaye village in Anka LGA. Legit.ng gathered that residents that disclosed the account of the incident said the armed men invaded a checkpoint mounted by the local vigilantes near Kware, a village located 18 km east of Shinkafi town, and shot them. READ ALSO: Corps members reveal how thugs threatened them to rig elections in Rivers state A resident, Ali Sani, said: The market in Shinkafi holds on Thursdays, and the local vigilantes man the road leading to the market from the village to facilitate security for traders. ''However, the armed men, in large number and on motorbikes, stormed the spot, firing. They killed about 32, and some are missing. The states police spokesman could not be reached for comment at press time. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the air component of operation Sharan Daji carried out several air strikes around Dumburum forest rescuing 80 abductees, the acting force information officer, Major Clement Abiade has disclosed. Abiade made this known in a press statement in Gusau on Saturday, February 16. Legit.ng gathers that he said the abductees consisted of men, women and children from some communities in Zamfara. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app He said the operation was carried out last week through a simultaneous action with land soldiers keeping vigil on all exits, which frustrated the bandits. The spokesman also said six persons suspected to be bandits, cattle rustlers and kidnappers were arrested while several weapons, ammunition and rustled animals were also recovered during the operation. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. Robbers Return Firearms to Nigerian Police (Crime News in Nigeria) | Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | 2 bullion vans: Why Tinubu must be prosecuted - Bode George - Chief Olabode George says the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, must be brought to book - George, who is an ex-deputy national chairman of PDP, says the former Lagos state governor must be brought to book for bringing two bullion vans loaded with cash to his house - The former deputy chairman of PDP says if Tinubu is not prosecuted, the campaign against corruption will be baseless and useless The former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has called for the prosecution of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu. George is reacting to report of two bullion vans loaded with cash which were taken to the residence of Tinubu recently, Nigerian Tribune reports. Legit.ng gathers that George expressed displeasure that Tinubu brought bullion vans loaded with cash into his house and still went ahead to confirm that the money contained in the bullion vans belonged to him. READ ALSO: Abdulsalami committee meets Buhari, presents Atikus grievances He said: Then someone will ask, who should be number one to be prosecuted for money laundering? It is unfortunate when someone is going off track and the system is not their to check mate, what guarantees that the people will continue to respect that system? Is it one sided policy we have in this country? People dont even know that they were loaded with cash until he confirmed it himself, do you have right to carry such cash around? Is your house a Central Bank? "These are things the pages of history will not forget, and our children will ask question whether its acceptable in a civilized society like Nigeria. Bola Tinubu must be brought to book, otherwise the campaign against corruption will be baseless and useless." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, February 27, urged Nigerians to look forward to the next four years with hope and hands ready to work. Tinubu made the call in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos by his media officer, Tunde Rahman. He was reacting to the outcome of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections. INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday, February 27, declared President Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election held nationwide. Tinubu said that the presidential election was a fair and honest exercise that permitted the full expression of the sovereign will of the Nigerian people. He said: In a decisive manner, the electorate have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to serve a second term. Thus, we should look forward to the next four years with hearts filled with hope and hands ready to work. Only God can create the Promised Land. Yet, with Gods help, we endeavour to make of Nigeria a land of greater promise and prosperity for all her children." NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better 2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Ink, a leading travel media company, announced the appointment of Kristine Fonacier as editor-in-chief of Smile magazine for Cebu Pacific Air. Fonacier joins Smile magazine from Esquire Philippines where she was editor-in-chief. She is also one of the founding editors of the travel magazine Grid. Prior to that, she has led teams in a wide range of magazines, including Entrepreneur Philippines, Pulp, MTV Ink and Pen & Ink. Cebu Pacific has been part of my traveling life from the very beginning. As an eager young traveller on a budget, their promise to be the airline where Every Juan Flies broke open new horizons for me. Over the years, Ive known Cebu Pacific as a passenger, and then as a reader and contributor to Smile magazine, so its an honor for me to join the talented team now as editor, Fonacier said. Fonacier replaces Tara FT Sering, who is departing after seven years in the role and 17 years in the publishing industry. Its been a wonderful journey with Smile through the years. Weve grown as a brand, ventured out into digital, and have picked up some awards along the way, said Sering.Ric Stockfis, managing director of Ink in Asia Pacific, said: I am delighted that Kristine has joined Smile magazine as she brings with her a wealth of experience in the media world and a passion for travel. Kristine is perfectly placed to lead our award-winning team as we continue to take the magazine to new heights as more and more people fly with Cebu Pacific each year. Cebu Pacific Air vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said: We are grateful to Tara for the great collaboration and wish her well on her new journey. We look forward to continuing the fruitful relationship with Ink and Smile magazine now with Kristine at the helm. Segun Sowunmi, the spokesman of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has slammed the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, for saying his principal was not destined to be president. Sowunmi described Oshiomhole as a maladjusted individual whose rants does not deserve to be dignified with a response. Oshiomhole while responding to Atikus threat to contest his presidential election loss in court said the PDP presidential candidate was a political rolling stone that is not destined to be Nigerias president. Oshiomhole said, Leadership is about character, Atikus desperation is so obvious, he is so desperate, and it is on record that he challenged his own boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to do a second term. He is such a political rolling stone. Does he think Nigerians are so insane? Atiku is a man who is not stable, and has no conviction, Oshiomhole added. But reacting in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle on Friday, Sowunmi said, Atiku has no business responding to APCs Adams Oshiomhole, a maladjusted individual who is clearly a recruiting error of the janjaweed contraption called APC. A party that claims to be progressive but clearly misunderstands the meaning of the word. That Atiku Abubakar can meet his obligations is worthy of commendation, not the snide comment attributed to Oshiomhole who seeks to play to the gallery. Rather than gloat on the obvious mistake of reactionary elements which has pushed Nigeria into a dictatorship under the guise of change, Oshiomhole should have informed the public that in 2014, Atiku funded the campaign of General Buhari. Yet, 4 years after, the only achievements the APC could serve Nigerians was misery, heightened insecurity, extreme poverty, joblessness and a sham of an election the worse Nigeria has ever had. On our good people of Nigeria, Adams needs to know that the charade of the recently concluded presidential elections will not stand and Nigeria will be great again under the leadership of a progressive Atiku Abubakar. KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BELOW Home | News | General | 2019 election: INEC reacts to corruption allegations in Zamfara - INEC head of voter education and publicity in the state, Garba Galadima, has dismissed corruption allegations levelled against the commission in Zamfara state - Galadima explained that the security agencies should be commended for securing the elections in the state - According to him, any candidate or political party that fails in an election can manufacture all manner of tales to discredit the umpire The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Zamfara state has advised aggrieved politicians to seek redress at the Elections Petitions Tribunal. The call was made by the commissions head of voter education and publicity in the state, Garba Galadima in a statement in Gusau on Saturday, March 2, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. In its defence, Galadima said the delay experienced in the distribution of sensitive election materials was caused by the late instruction and court order that the APC, which was initially removed from the ballot paper, should be included. READ ALSO: IBB congratulates President Buhari over his re-election for fresh 4 years He said: We had to retrieve all the ballot papers initially loaded without APC Candidates and load the trucks with the ones carrying APC Candidates. The last truck left CBN on Friday to Tsafe LGA around 12.00 noon. That affected early commencement of the elections. You should know that the commission rescheduled the elections of about 77 polling cnits that could not conduct the polls on Feb. 23. ''Apart from the reason for late arrival of materials, we noted the issue of polling without the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) in some polling units where polls were cancelled in that regard and the issue of insecurity, especially in Mada Registration Area and violence in some polling units. The commission decided to hold polls for the affected polling units on Feb. 24 to give the electorate their rights to vote. The issue of malpractices enumerated were tabled by the complainants to the collation and returning officers at the various Senatorial and Federal constituencies. They took decisions bearing in mind the rules, regulations, guidelines as well as what the Electoral Act 2010 (As amended) stipulated. You should know that the decision of the returning officer on the polls can only be upturned by the election tribunal, not INEC. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The elections were secured by the security agencies. We are all aware of the security challenges in Zamfara state. We should be thankful to Allah for the conduct of the elections without the security threats envisaged. The security agencies should be commended for securing the elections, especially INEC staff. The commission wishes to advise any candidate who participated in the national assembly elections that were conducted on February 23, 2019, to go to the Election Tribunal set up to dispose all the election related cases. The commission does not have a political party or candidate. We know that any candidate or political party that fails in an election can manufacture all manner of tales to discredit the umpire. ''The Resident Electoral Commissioner Zamfara, Asmau Maikudi, should be left alone to face her duties which she took oath to conduct transparently. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Mike Igini, Akwa Ibom Resident Electoral Commissioner, denied manipulating the presidential and National Assembly election results in the state. He said that the allegation was not true and that the election was not manipulated. Igini said that elections were won and lost at the polling units, saying the REC would not be at the polling units from the beginning to the close of the polls. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better 2019 Election: Presidential candidate, party leaders react to announced results| Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Protest in Imo over Governor Okorocha's suspension by APC national leadership - APC women in Imo state have held a street protest to demand reversal of the suspension of state governor Rochas Okorocha from party activities - The protesting women were led by APC Imo state women leader Theresa Ohanuha - The women threatened to sue the national leadership of the party if the suspension is not reversed, arguing that the NWC's action would only worsen APC's crisis in the state Hundreds of female members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo state on Saturday, March 2 held a street protest to express their unhappiness at the suspension of Governor Rochas Okorocha by the APC National Working Committee. The Nation reports that the protesting women were led by the APC state party women leader, Theresa Ohanuha. According to the report, the women insisted that the suspension must be reversed immediately or they sue the national leadership of the party led by Adams Oshiomhole. READ ALSO: IBB congratulates President Buhari over his re-election for fresh 4 years Speaking with pressmen, some of the protesting women Gertrude Oduka, Henrietta Jacobs and Josephine Udorji said the suspension should be reversed because it would cause more trouble for the party in the state rather than resolve its crisis. They said, We feel aggrieved because of the injustice meted on our leader, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha. We demand that APC National Working Committee should revisit it and resist Oshiomholes confusion that he has been visiting on the party across the country. He should resign because he is not worthy to be a leader of our party. We have plans of making sure the APC that Okorocha brought in Imo State must remain strong. We are going to resist attempts to destroy APC in Imo. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda They added that we may be forced to go to court to challenge this injustice. We are not going to relent. We are going all out to make sure that this suspension is reversed. Legit.ng had reported earlier on Friday, March 1 that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC suspended Governor Ibikunle Amosu of Ogun state and his counterpart, Rochas Okorocha of Imo state from the party. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The NWC also recommended to the National Executive Committee of the party that both governors be expelled from the APC. The decision was taken on Friday afternoon in Abuja, by the NWC based on allegations of anti-party activities levelled against the governors. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better Why Governors Steal? Rochas Okorocha of Imo State- on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Atiku should congratulate Buhari over victory, not waste resources in court - APC chieftain - Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has been advised to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari - A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former deputy governorship candidate in Anambra, Dozie Ikedife Jnr, gave the advice to Atiku - Recall that President Buhari defeated Atiku in the Saturday, February 23 presidential election Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has been advised to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari rather than wasting resources to contest the 2019 presidential election results in court. The advice was given by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former deputy governorship candidate in Anambra, Dozie Ikedife Jnr, Daily Trust reports. Legit.ng gathers that the APC chieftain advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate to join hands with the APC-led federal government to Nigeria to the next level. READ ALSO: Youth NGO urges Buhari to ensure release of N-Power workers in DSS custody Ikedife said President Muhammadu Buharis emergence as winner of the election was expected as well as deserving because of his track record in the concluding first tenure. He said: If you look at the Presidents acceptance across the nation, it has increased tremendously. So, that is something to celebrate. Im very happy that Nigerians have given President Buhari new political capital to govern us for another four years. This is what we expected because we told our people to support APC so that in 2023 an Igbo man can lay claim to the presidency under the APC platform. And it has happened. According to the APC chieftain, he expects more Nigerians of Igbo extraction to show presence in the APC because they are the people at the gate now, hanging around the periphery waiting to take over from President Buhari in four years time". Ikedife added: It is tough to lose an election. It is tough to lose in a very competitive race like this. I think with time the shock to the opposition will sink in and the emotion will die down and they will make that important phone call expected of them, that is, to congratulate President Buhari on his well-deserved victory. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the national chairman of Igbo Reawakening Forum (IRF), Uchenna Ufearoh, asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept the outcome of the Saturday, February 23 presidential election in the spirit of sportsmanship. Ufearoh said the party should not sink the ship of the state because it lost the presidential election. Ufearoh advised the opposition party to join hands with President Buhari to move the nation forward. He said: I call on the President to be magnanimous with his victory, while the losers should accept defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app They should not sink the ship of the state because of their loss. Let them join hands with Buhari to rebuild and move Nigeria forward. Buhari fulfilled his 2015 campaign promises to a reasonable extent. You know when youre building a house, the foundation doesnt appear fanciful." NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react | Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | I supported Buharis re-election because I foresaw his victory - Obiano - Governor Willie Obiano said he supported President Buhari's second term bid in office because he has foreseen his victory in the 2019 election - According to Obiano, it was impossible for any party's presidential candidate to beat President Buhari in the poll - The governor, however, cautioned against any excessively emotive opposition that would rub Ndigbo's opportunities in the country Anambra state governor, Willie Obiano, said he threw weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari's second term bid in office because he had foreseen his victory in 2019 presidential election that was held on Saturday February 23. In a statement issued by his chief press secretary, James Eze, Obiano said he knew that it was impossible for any party's presidential candidate to beat President Buhari in the poll He, however, caution against any excessively emotive opposition that would rub Ndigbo the wrong way for the umpteenth time. READ ALSO: IBB congratulates President Buhari over his re-election for fresh 4 years The statement read: And now that the chickens have come home to roost, it has become clear to Governor Obiano that foresight comes at a price. foresight is a lonely path to tread. ''It breeds unexpected resentment and hate. Having foresight could turn you into a sudden object of anger and unwise attacks. ''But on the long run, it never leaves you without the enduring sheen of grace and glory. And that happens only when the people finally wake up to smell the coffee. Sadly, in the case of many farsighted leaders, this happens after they are out of office or after they are gone!'' It is easy to understand why this is so though. In a land that has suffered for so long from a biting scarcity of bold and perceptive leadership, it is not common to see a leader who has enough courage to point his people towards an unpopular direction. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda '' It is, in fact, hard to see a leader who has enough conviction to the consequences and swim against the current towards a hostile direction that he alone has seen as the only realistic choice left. And so, for those who still deride and mock governor Obiano for his foresight in the last presidential election, those who wilfully seek cheap opportunities to laugh at him, it might be worthwhile to always remember; that even the Scriptures warned us in First Corinthians chapter one verse twenty-seven, that sometimes, God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the INEC officially declared President Buhari of the APC as the winner of the 2019 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party with over three million votes. The chairman of the INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said that the duty of the commission is to conclude and collate the presidential result for final declaration. On the problem of accredited voters not adding up to number of voters, Yakubu revealed that the problem affected less than 2% of voters and thus did not affect the general conclusion. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV: [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | News | General | Keep your promise to my people - Northern governor tells Buhari after re-election - Governor Bello says people of Nigeria state are waiting for President Buhari to fulfill his campaign promises to them - One of the promises, he said, is construction of grazing reserves for the Niger state herders community - The governor is confident that President Buhari-led federal government would resolve the farmer-herders crisis in the northern state The Governor of Niger state Abubakar Bello has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the northern state who voted massively for him to ensure his re-election in the Saturday, February 23 president elections. According to Channels TV, Governor Bello said this during an interview in which he identified grazing reserves for the large population of cattle herders in the state. READ ALSO: IBB congratulates President Buhari over his re-election for fresh 4 years He said: There are so many activities which we have lined up in the next level, partnering with the federal government to ensure that we do it. One of such interventions would be the flagging off of the Bobi Grazing Reserve. Niger governor Abubakar Bello says President Buhari should fulfill those campaign promises he made to his people. Source: File Source: UGC As you are aware, the herdsmen/farmers crisis has been on the front burner for a while now. We have invested some money to see that we start off a very functional grazing reserve, hoping that it would reduce some of these conflicts between farmers and herdsmen. He added: He has made promises, with regard to Niger State, especially with regard to the rail line between Minna and Abuja which is very important to the economic activity of the state, and so many other interventions that the federal government, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has extended to us here in Niger State. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The governor's words came around the same time Legit.ng reported that President Buhari, on Friday, March 1, gave a hint into what his second term in government would look like. The president declared that he would be tougher this time around. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The president, who won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke when members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) paid him a congratulatory visit, saying the last lap of his administration would be tough. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react -on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa heads to Mat North PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is set to address Zanu-PF members at a 'Meet the People' Rally at Somhlolo Stadium in Lupane on March 9. The President is meeting party members in the provinces to thank them for voting for him and the party's candidates in last year's harmonised elections that ushered in the country's Second Republic. Zanu-PF Matabeleland North Provincial Secretary for Administration Douglas Khoza confirmed the visit by the President and said preparations are already underway. "It has been confirmed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa will be holding a 'Meet the People' rally at Somhlolo Stadium, Matabeleland North Province on Saturday, March 9. All roads lead to Lupane where we will welcome our President," he said. "All committees are now on the ground and are planning for this event. As we intensify preparations, this Saturday we will hold two meetings with the Provincial Co-ordinating Committee and the Provincial Executive Committee to work on outstanding works that have to be done so that this event can be a success." Khoza said the province was eager to host its icon, President Mnangagwa. He urged members to attend the rally in their numbers as the province wanted to send a clear message to detractors that President Mnangagwa's support base was strong. "We urge our people to throng Somhlolo Stadium grounds. We want to send a clear message to our detractors that the party and President Mnangagwa have strong support, especially here in Matabeleland North," said Khoza. "Matabeleland North is behind the President and will do anything in its power to protect him and the party." Announcing his plans to hold the Meet the People rallies last year, the President said the countrywide tour would enable him to show his appreciation to the people for voting him and Zanu-PF in the July 30 harmonised elections. He said he would also take the opportunity to outline Government's programmes. Two weeks ago, President Mnangagwa addressed a rally at Rutenga Primary School in Mwenezi East where scores of Zanu-PF supporters attended. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Home | World | Africa | Basic freedoms diminish under Mnangagwa reign IDI Amin Dada Oumee (1923-2003), the late Ugandan dictator whose seven-year iron-fist rule gained notoriety for its sheer buffonery, brutality and repression, is infamous for coining the saying: "There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech." By this, he meant that even though the constitution and the law might provide for freedom of expression, he could not guarantee anyone's safety after exercising that right. Amin may have openly said those words and followed them through as an overt dictator, but the practice has often been replicated in many parts of Africa, where despots masquerading as democrats brutally deny citizens, especially their civil and political liberties conveniently disregarding the constitution. And in the most tragic cases, some citizens have had to pay the ultimate price death. In Zimbabwe, in particular, exercising one's freedom of expression has unofficially become a punishable offence, condemning civil society activists, unionists and opposition campaigners to abductions, disappearances and even death. This is precisely the reason why the search is still on for human rights activist Itai Dzamara, four years after his alleged abduction by state security agents when Robert Mugabe was still president. Dzamara, a journalist-turned-activist, had at the time been carrying out one-man protests on the streets of central Harare, demanding Mugabe's ouster, when he disappeared in 2015. He has not been accounted for. Dzamara is one of countless people who disappeared from the face of the earth after publicly criticising Mugabe, who in a highly tyrannical tone soon after Independence in 1980, declared in a television interview: "I am not going to have anybody advocating the overthrowing of government and remain in the country. He is not one of us if he does that. The alternative is to put him in detention and I don't want to do that." Mugabe was referring to Zimbabwe's liberation struggle pioneer Joshua Nkomo who later escaped an assassination plot by the Zanu-PF regime to Britain via Botswana at the height of Gukurahundi massacres. Mugabe did not only issue these spine-chilling statements, he also follow them through. Gukurahundi massacres and other killings testify to that. Mugabe's authoritarian project, which ironically inherited colonial repressive structures and laws, was to ruin Zimbabwe and reduce it to a virtual failed state. Mugabe used laws like the colonial relic Law and Order Maintenance Act (later Posa), Aippa and the draconian Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act 33(1) section to suffocate critics. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is doing the same. Non-conformist cleric Evan Mawarire whose #ThisFlag movement took the world by storm in 2016 before he was arrested for subversion, may also bear testimony to Mugabe's lack of tolerance for dissent. Mugabe would also show no mercy even to his wartime comrades after he had them beaten and teargassed before being arrested in 2016 for being highly critical of his rule. The ushering in of a "new dispensation" under the leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa saw cosmetic reform to this freedom. Mnangagwa toppled his former long-time mentor, Mugabe, in a military coup in November 2017. Upon assuming office, Mnangagwa promised a clean break with Mugabe's discredited modus operandi. In his first months in power, he cultivated the aura of a leader who would usher in far-reaching political and economic reforms, taking the country to the Promised Land. As the economy worsened on his watch, the nation became edgy and the potential for social unrest heightened. Dissenting voices grew louder. "Insulting" the office of the president, one of the signature "crimes" in Mugabe's political playbook, found a new lease of life under the Mnangagwa regime. The biggest letdown came soon after the 2018 general elections when dozens of MDC Alliance supporters stormed the city centre, demanding the expeditious release of the presidential result by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, two days after voting. Soldiers opened fire on the protesters, killing seven and injuring dozens. Thereafter, events came thick and fast. On August 2 2018, a Harare man, Munyaradzi Shoko, was arrested over a Facebook post in which he said Mnangagwa's name was "generally associated with evil and devilish deeds". In October that year, two students at the Midlands State University were arrested in connection with the duo's WhatsApp group chat expressing resentment for the president. Prince Kamutsamba and Lloyd Zata were arrested under Section 33(1b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, for undermining the authority of the President. In the same month, one Wisdom Mkwananzi was arrested in Bulawayo for pointing at Mnangagwa's portrait pasted on a wall and loudly shouting "I am an orphan because that man killed my parents." He was arrested and charged under the same law. But by far the worst violation of the freedom of expression right was witnessed in mid-January when soldiers and police officers viciously clamped down on people demonstrating against the worsening economic hardships. The crackdown, which torched a global firestorm, left at least 17 dead, scores injured and over 1 000 detained. Mnangagwa, at a recent rally in Mwenezi, threatened to deploy soldiers on civilians, should they dare compromise the peace: "Violent protestors burnt down buses and police stations and police cars so we said we do not want violence so we told soldiers to go and quell protests and the madness stopped, now the country is at peace." At the same event, Mnangagwa also threatened action against medical doctors who treated injured patients and lawyers giving free legal advice to those arrested. Analysts say what has been witnessed of the Mnangagwa regime so far is testimony a continuation of Mugabe repression. Constitutional law expert Greg Linington said even though free expression is not an absolute right, political leaders must not be overly sensitive to criticism. "This right is guaranteed by Section 61 of the constitution. It lies at the heart of a functioning democracy. But it is not an absolute right. In a functioning democracy, leaders must expect to be subject to strong criticism. That is the price public figures have to pay," said Linington. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Home | World | Africa | Towards the National Transitional Authority Introduction In 2016, the Platform for Concerned Citizens (PCC) warned that the country was heading into deep trouble and a possible coup. This was the only possible outcome for the disintegrating securocrat state. In 2019, we now have a dysfunctional state, made worse by a crisis of illegitimacy, and in desperate need for re-engagement with the international community. This re-engagement grows more remote by the day with reports of gross human rights proliferating, prompting some to term these crimes against humanity. Underpinning all of this is infighting within the state and party that seems without end, going on since 2013. It is now common cause that the state and party has completely lost the consensus and confidence of the citizenry, and is incapable of either political or economic reform. We now have the hard landing that the PCC tried to avoid in 2016 by calling for a soft landing and a National Transitional Authority (NTA). Why the NTA? This state of affairs is the reason for the calls for a national dialogue and a NTA. Accordingly, the NTA is urgent because of the following factors: A dysfunctional party or state conflation: this is incapable of reform (except at the risk of involuntary abdication), neither politically nor economically; The burden of an incurable illegitimacy: this is exacerbated not only by the absence of a constitutional order, but also a heavily disputed presidential election. There is consequently continuing political and social unrest in which, since August 1, 2018 to the present, at least 23 citizens killed, scores injured, many abducted, a number of women raped, and the apparent sense of permanent siege against the opposition and civil society; The compelling evidence, therefore, that there is a party or state conflation that has lost the people, with little or no hope of recovery in the foreseeable future; and The compelling and urgent need for an agency (the NTA): This will provide the basis through which constitutional rule and the requisite separation of powers restored, characterised by an accountable executive, a vibrant legislature and a fiercely independent judiciary. Thus, confidence, at home and in the Diaspora, will be restored and re-engagement with the global community can take place, without which the economic recovery programme cannot succeed. It seems obvious in all the discussion about a national dialogue that there must be an end goal. In the current crisis, a national dialogue cannot be merely a talk shop. All who are talking about the national dialogue clearly are thinking about a process that resolves the legitimacy crisis, initiates a substantial process of reforms, and takes the country through to an undisputed election. There are two important points to bear in mind here. Firstly, neither of the political parties wants to give up political power. Zanu-PF claims political power by virtue of the disputed 2018 elections. The MDC Alliance claims political power by virtue of being the majority party in reality. Secondly, the Zimbabwean NTA does not have to produce a constitution as part of its work. Zimbabwe has a highly operable constitution, a sitting parliament, and a functioning judicial system. Since all these are in place, there will be no need for complex negotiations about a constitution and the nature of the state. Constitutional arrangements: Since the constitution remains in force, and, remembering the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the constitutional basis for the NTA is relatively simple. The legal basis for the NTA will require the suspension of Chapter 5 (Parts 1 & 2) and its replacement by a schedule outlining the powers of a Transitional Executive Council (TEC). This TEC would be time-limited, but, given the depth of the problems facing Zimbabwe, would probably need at least two years in order to implement the reforms, and a "rescue package" to take effect. There will undoubtedly be those that will object, as they have done in the past, to any suggestion of amending the constitution, but the point here is that the only amendment envisaged will be to the clauses on the executive. This will be temporary, for the duration of the NTA, and will be necessary. We can all remember the problems of the GPA and the manner in which the executive was able to block all reforms. Legislative arrangements Parliament remains in place as currently constituted, since its role of oversight and legislative powers will be critical for the implementing of the constitution, amending past laws and instituting new law, and authorising policies. Parliament will have such an important role during the transition in its general oversight function, most particularly if it can demonstrate to the citizenry that parliamentarians can work together in the national interest. This is another reason to replace the executive by a more inclusive body, the TEC. TEC composition The schedule to the constitution will define the TEC's structure and competence. Since this body will be the de jure political power, it is very important that it will have protection from narrow political party interests, and the current distribution of political party power within parliament. Hence, the suggestion is that the TEC operate according to "consensus", and be inclusive of all national interests. A possible structure for the TEC would involve 18 members drawn from Zimbabweans, from both home and abroad, with familiarity of the Zimbabwean political and economic process. More particularly, they should be persons about whom there is wide consensus across the political spectrum about their competence and suitability for the difficult task they will face. The TEC (and parliament) will be responsible for designing the policies and reforms that are so necessary to move the country forward. Here it will be critical to ensure separation of powers. The TEC, as the Executive, will be accountable to parliament, and the legislature will have the very important role of holding the Executive to account. Additionally, there should be support from an advisory body. This should have a chair from the UN, and have members drawn from the AU, Sadc, the EU, the Commonwealth and Brics. This will provide the crucial "scaffolding" that all transitions need, and Zimbabwe, especially, needs with the recent history of international incoherence about how to deal with the country. Administrative arrangements The administrative arrangements will be very important, need streamlining in order to efficiently and effectively undertake the many needed reforms. These reforms will be guided by an overall "reform and rescue" policy. In order to overcome the present cumbersome and conflicting arrangements, we need to reduce the number of ministries: many countries have far fewer ministries and are able efficiently to run the affairs of the state. All ministers should be "technocrats", with no political party affiliation, and assigned to a ministry because of proven competence in the area with which the ministry is concerned. One TEC member can be assigned as liaison for each ministry, and there should be monitoring bodies, one per ministry, with members each chosen from civil society and the churches. The aim behind monitoring is to ensure that there is the greatest possible confidence in the NTA from a citizenry that is both deeply divided as well as distrustful of government. A critical step for building confidence will be the disbanding of Joint Operations Command, and its replacement by the National Security Council (NSC), as already required by the Constitution. The two TEC leaders, with church, business and civil society representation, should chair the NSC. Finally, there needs to be the setting up of a policy unit under the TEC. Guiding principles for policy: We have stated the guiding principles many times before in the past three years, and most are currently included in the common demands by civil society to the 2019 crisis. They are relatively straightforward: Political principles Adherence to the constitution and institutionalising the principles of constitutionalism; Reform of key institutions that impede the above; and Reform of the electoral process, to create conditions for genuinely free and fair elections, and devoid of all controversy. Economic principles Stabilising of the economy and the setting in place of an economic reform agenda aimed at the following: Debt management, and recovery of misappropriated assets, nationally and internationally; Comprehensive macro-economic fundamentals; Policy consistency; Land policy and property rights; Revival of productive sectors; and Mobilising the diaspora into the economic life of the country. International scaffolding Few transitions are successful in the absence of strong international support, what we term "scaffolding". We use this term in order to point out that Zimbabweans do have the capacity to resolve our own problems, if the international community unites as a whole to support this, and avoids any sectarian interest. The crisis over the past two decades has seen differences between the West, Sadc and the AU, and these differences must be put aside for the betterment of the citizenry. As an incentive for reform, the international community needs to create a substantial "rescue fund". This should aim to provide an international (and integrated) monitoring group; emergency assistance for the many problems currently faced by Zimbabwean citizens; and provide re-structuring cost support (the "rescue package"). This "rescue package", raised internationally, can be allied to the development of a US$5 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund, in particular repaid and replenished by receipts from mineral exports. This will provide security for the national currency and guarantee a stable national economy. Of course, these ideas of the small group under the PCC cannot be definitive much more discussion is needed but the discussion needs to begin in earnest if dialogue is to have any purpose. Ibbo Mandaza and Tony Reeler are co-convenors of the Platform for the Concerned Citizens. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Home | World | Africa | Zimbabwe seeks regional alliances WHILST Zimbabwe is increasingly becoming isolated on the international stage, with the United States of America expected to tighten sanctions against Harare in the coming week, the southern African country is now closing ranks with its neighbours and other regional nations. This week, Zimbabwe hosted bi-national commission meetings with Botswana in the capital where the two countries signed several agreements and committed to stronger relations, which had soured during former president Robert Mugabe's rule. President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi chaired the last leg of the three-day meetings. Zimbabwean officials were, however, left with egg on the face after the Botswana government denied it would provide a US$600 million credit facility to Harare after state media had reported a breakthrough in securing an economic rescue package. Botswana's permanent secretary in the president's office Carter Morupisi issued a statement denying that Gaborone had committed to such a facility, describing reports quoting Foreign Affairs permanent secretary James Manzou on the loan facility as "unfounded". Botswana said this was a private sector facility not a bailout. This follows another rebuff by South Africa of a request for a US$1,2 billion emergency credit bailout. However, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team will be jetting into Zimbabwe on March 12 for another bi-national commission meeting with Mnangagwa and representatives from government, state enterprises as well as business. The commission will cover a number of sectors, among them health, transport and trade. Sadc has also thrown its weight behind Zimbabwe with its chairperson, Namibia President Hage Geingob, saying in a statement the regional bloc was in support of Mnangagwa and his government. Geingob's statement came at a time the Mnangagwa administration was under fire for sanctioning a military-led crackdown which human rights organisations say left at least 17 people dead, scores injured and numerous women raped. The killings came after the August 1, 2018 shootings, where the army killed at least six people a few days after the elections. Less than a week after the Sadc statement, the European Parliament published a statement condemning the human rights violations, which included an internet shutdown, a violent crackdown on dissent and the breakdown in the rule of law. The EU Parliament also called on the European Council to slap more restrictive measures on Mnangagwa's government. The EU resolved mid-February to maintain sanctions on Zimbabwe, with the bloc's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, saying there was dissatisfaction with the slow pace at which promised reforms were taking place. The international isolation is also being worsened by the tightening of sanctions by US President Donald Trump, who is due to review executive orders on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) on Zimbabwe this coming week. "Since 2003, the President of the United States has maintained targeted sanctions on individuals and entities in Zimbabwe for undermining democratic processes and violating human rights, implemented under Executive Orders 13288, 13391, and 13469 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That basis for the targeted sanctions must be reviewed annually, and at the President's discretion, he can sign a notice of continuation of the national emergency with respect to Zimbabwe," US embassy spokesperson Stacy Lomba said this week. The Independent understands the sanctions will be extended in view of the gross human rights violations blamed on the Mnangagwa administration. The Ofac list is targeted at companies, entities or individuals linked to undermining democratic processes and institutions in Zimbabwe. US targeted sanctions currently apply to 85 Zimbabwean individuals and 56 entities (mostly farms and legal entities owned by the 85 individuals). Mnangagwa has been criticised for failing to implement far-reaching economic and political reforms. This week, the German ambassador to Zimbabwe, Thorsten Hutter, told the Independent this week that his country was willing to engage with Zimbabwe provided that political and economic reforms were implemented. "In terms of political reforms, this includes among other things a commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting human rights. The government has on numerous occasions pledged its commitment to political and economic reforms. Let me underline that these reforms are not to be implemented for Germany's sake, but for the sake of Zimbabwe. Recent events have cast a shadow over the government's willingness to implement reforms. I hope that this commitment will be upheld. "The Zimbabwean government has been arguing that its reaction to the protests was necessary in order to protect rights of citizens, including their property, and to restore law and order. I want to underline that governments have the responsibility to do that. However, the crackdown has resulted in deplorable deaths and numerous human rights violations have been reported. These incidents obviously raise the question, if the reaction by the government was proportionate. The President has announced that incidents of abuses and human rights violations will be investigated. We will follow this investigation process closely," said Hutter. Mnangagwa's government has also lost the support of Britain, which was warming up to it and backing Harare's bid to re-join the Commonwealth. London is now demanding reforms, sending signals that the Mnangagwa administration is no different from Mugabe's ousted government, with heated debates on Zimbabwe taking place in the British parliament. Although China has remained largely silent, it has spurned overtures by Harare for a bailout package, preferring commercial arrangements. Russia has been supportive in commercial arrangements, but its support has been solely driven by its demand for platinum and other natural resources. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa 16 PH companies to showcase food products in Japan posted March 02, 2019 at 07:35 pm by Manila Standard Business March 02, 2019 at 07:35 pm Sixteen Philippine companies are set to showcase the best of Filipino food products in the 44th edition of International Food & Beverage Exhibition, or FoodEx Japan. The event will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on March 5 to 8. Led by the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the Philippine delegation will showcase the countrys premier fruit selections and tropical products as well as its processed derivatives and by-products. Japan is one of our leading importers of Philippine fruits and other tropical products. As such, we are bringing 16 Philippine companies to showcase these finest selections in Japans biggest food show, said DTI-CITEM executive director Pauline Suaco-Juan.Japan is the Philippines largest export destination for fresh food and the second largest market for processed food next to the United States in 2018. The tropical fruits to be showcased in Japan include banana, coconut, durian, papaya, pineapple and mango. The Philippine delegation will also highlight organic food, cakes and confectionary, tuna, shrimps and crabs, as well as powdered juice drinks of other herbs. COMMENT DISCLAIMER: Reader comments posted on this Web site are not in any way endorsed by Manila Standard. Comments are views by manilastandard.net readers who exercise their right to free expression and they do not necessarily represent or reflect the position or viewpoint of manilastandard.net. While reserving this publications right to delete comments that are deemed offensive, indecent or inconsistent with Manila Standard editorial standards, Manila Standard may not be held liable for any false information posted by readers in this comments section. COPYRIGHT NZCIVAIR All information and photographs used on this blog are copyright to NZCIVAIR. MadHouse Design Studio and MadCafe owner Gila Salvador Rice meals and pasta at MadCafe She earned her first million at 18, established an interior design company employing engineers and architects at 20 and recently put up a 300-square-meter cafe at a busy nook of Quezon City. Now at 24, Gila Salvador employs more than 100 people in construction, design and restaurant operations and plans to venture into hotel and property development soon. I plan to retire and settle down at 27, she says in an interview at the stylish MadCafe along Congressional Ave. near Visayas Ave. I want to build, build and build so that whoever I get to marry, I would not have to rely on him and my family would have a comfortable life because of me, says Salvador, the founder and chief executive of MadHouse Design Studio and the owner of MadCafe. Her first venture was PaperPlanes Manila, an online shop of notebooks and customized gifts.Salvador is also a popular vlogger with thousands of followers on Facebook. Her video on how to redesign a 22-square-meter studio unit for a family of five has more than 2 million views. Her biggest project thus far is the interior design of a 42-story building in Manila owned by a Filipino-Chinese family. She also designed the interiors of OneOkada International, the network marketing company established in Quezon City by Alexander Salvador, her 50-year-old father. She considers her parents as her inspiration. Her father is an architect and businessman who expanded Cut & Fix International Salon into a 47-branch chain. Her mother Michelle Salvador loves cooking and helped her prepare the recipe for MadCafe. My dad is good in construction, while my mom loves cooking. Both my parents are my inspiration, says Salvador, who funded her businesses on her own. She was taking Information Design, Minor in Management at Ateneo de Manila University when she got hooked on selling notebooks online. With a capital of P4,000, she started an online shop called PaperPlanes Manila. I started in business when I was 18. I sold notebooks. When I raised a seven-figure income from that online shop, I stopped going to school and bought a P400,000 printer for tarpaulin and wallpaper, she says. She established a graphic design studio called Graphic Factory. Salvador took advantage of the power of social media to reach out to potential clientsfirst fellow millennials and then their parents. It became popular on Facebook. When I earned seven figures, I stopped going to school and bought a printer. I didnt finish college. It is not that I dont need a degree. It is just that I was too busy to go to school, she says. I dont say it out loud that you dont have to finish college. I respect the people who finish college. When you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, obviously you have to go to school. But in my case, being a businesswoman, it worked out. For other people, I recommend that they finish college, says Salvador, who now leads a team of professionals with college degrees. Now, I have architects, engineers and interior designers in my team. I conceptualize a project and they put it together for me, she says. Salvador used the large printer she bought to print stickers, tarpaulin and wallpaper. When I started with a room makeover for kids, their parents loved what I have done and they asked if I could also design their house. I tried and enjoyed doing it. From creating notebooks, I now design houses, she says.MadHouse Design Studio handles interior design and fit-out, including the installation of tiles, bathroom fixtures, kitchen, walls, glass, lights, cabinets and furniture. The company handles 10 projects per quarter and is fully booked until the second quarter. When I look at a space, I imagine how it will look at its best. Although I did not finish college, I know what to do and I know how to execute. I also know how to manage a team of construction workers, says Salvador, who considers herself somewhat boyish. Salvador leads a team of 80 workers at MadHouse Design Studio and 25 at MadCafe. She says MadCafe provides a quirky, whimsical and interactive space for multiple types of customers. It is the first cafe in the Philippines with a concept of bringing people together from different walks of life. We are trying to target families, friends, children, millennials and professionals. We designed it in a way that there are certain areas for study, dining, gaming lounge and happy hour, she says. Inside the cafe, customers are greeted by a bright bike-accent sculpture, wood pallet ceiling, brick walls, murals and neon lights. The cafe, which opens 11 a.m. to 12 midnight, serves coffee, milk tea, fruit tea and rice meals. At night, it transforms with dimmer lighting to serve liquor mixes and flavored beer.I want it to look nice and Instagram worthy while we are serving affordable meals, says Salvador. It is industrial, rustic with a side of quirkiness, Salvador says, in describing the look of the cafe. She says this also reflects her personality. I am very out of the box. I dont conform with other people. I dont fit the same way. I am quite different. This place reflects who I amslightly reserved and rustic, and I have crazy and quirk sides. The cafe officially opened on Feb. 3 and quickly became a crowd drawer in the area. We were overwhelmed so we hired more staff, she says. Salvador says she invested seven figures in the cafe and was originally expecting to post an ROI in two years. But with the sales that we are having, it looks like we can achieve it in two months, she says. I get a lot of support from people. But I would not push my luck as I want to study more about this business. This early, Salvador received five requests to franchise MadCafe. A secret door at the cafe leads to MadHouse Design Studio. She wakes up at 7 a.m. and works until 1 a.m. to oversee her businesses. I have like 10 projects per quarter. Every day, I go to Wilcon, purchase items, talk to my construction workers. One reason we have so many clients is because of social media, she says. Salvador says she could only accommodate requests for condo unit fit-out in the third quarter because the jobs for the second quarter were already fully booked. I feel that may hair becomes thinner as if I support five families. But it is okay. It makes me happy. I want to retire at 27. I want to reach the point that even if I dont work, money will still come in, she says. Salvador says her goal this year is to put up a resort called MadHostel in Siargao. So I would have MadHouse, MadCafe and MadHostel. By 27, I dont want to travel everyday and suffer the traffic of Metro Manila just to survive, she says. On how she manages her finances, Salvador says she has an accountant to do just that. She does not spend much on material things such as clothes, bags or shoes, she says, although she plans to travel more this year. My last rest day was in 2015, so I told myself that I should have more time to travel this year to Siargao and Palawan, she says. Monthly revenues from MadHouse Studio and MadCafe are now in seven to eight figures. Aside from the future MadHostel, she plans to form a property development company to put up townhouses and subdivisions. I noticed that there are a lot of townhouses that are too costly for their quality. I know their actual construction cost. They should look nice. I want to give Filipinos affordable, but world-class houses, says Salvador. On her advice to fellow millennials, Salvador says her father taught her that nothing is impossible if one really wants to accomplish it. I have been instilled with the mindset that nothing is impossible. Whatever I think, I feel that it is possible and that I can do it. It is all in the mind. People say you need a lot of money or resources. Do you know that I started in business with just P4,000? And it became seven figures after a year. It is all about marketing and recirculating your money. It does not matter how big it is, she says. You have to create something unique. Some people have money, but they just franchise. They just copy other businesses. It has to be something unique for you to really earn. If it is not, it is just mediocre, she says. The most important thing, she says, is the will to execute ones dream. You just have to make it happen. Anything you want in your life, make it happen, says Salvador. this seems really elitist Reply Thread Link it is. he's rll salty Reply Parent Thread Link a film is a film is a film is a film. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It is. Hes just mad that theyre are other mediums for people to enjoy besides paying a ticket to sit in a theater full of people who now mostly text throughout the movie. Reply Parent Thread Link It is. Reply Parent Thread Link It is. Plus he's trying to say that Netflix movies only screen on TV/streaming platforms but that's not true. "Some theaters showed Roma for as long as 13 weeks. (IndieWire box-office editor Tom Brueggemann estimated a $3.8 million total.)" He's pissed off that it won Oscars and sees Netflix as a threat to his films in theaters. But the Academy has always had a rule that says films only need to screen in NY and LA for one week. There's never been any kind of rule that says they have to be in theaters longer than that in order to compete. So as long as Netflix screens in those 2 cities for a week, they should be eligible. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link And extra. Reply Parent Thread Link This is really elitist. Reply Parent Thread Link Edited at 2019-03-02 02:28 am (UTC) In 1982 the mpaa went to the supreme court to ban the fist vcr, and blank vhs , video stores faced the same fights at first. We should learn from the past and evolve. This is the wrong movie and wrong time to do this Spielberg. https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2013/12/27/how-the-content-industry-almost-killed-blockbuster-and-netflix/amp/ Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It definitely is. Reply Parent Thread Link It is. Plus streaming makes movies more accessible to a wider audience. Arent the purpose of movies supposed to be celebrating the art of storytelling, Ste-VEN? Reply Parent Thread Link it is Reply Parent Thread Link He feels threatened, water is wet, etc. If Netflix wants to compete, I'm sure they will impose some rules on future noms. Reply Thread Link a Netflix movie kicked ass is all I'm hearing Reply Thread Link old man yells at cloud.jpg Reply Thread Link Would love to hear him explain this to Scorcese when The Irishman is doing its awards campaign. Reply Thread Link Right lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmao mte Reply Parent Thread Link Scorsese seems like the kind of dude who doesn't care how people see movies as long as they see them. One of the reasons I got interested in movies when I was young was because I saw him on a talk show and his enthusiasm was infectious. Reply Parent Thread Link Then Netflix came with the cha-ching. https://www.indiewire.com/2017/02/martin-scorsese-netflix-irishman-robert-de-niro-1201786022/ Scorsese didn't want his film on streaming sites, but then he started making "The Irishman" and the budget increased and Paramount dropped the film. Moreover, no other studio would pick it up.Then Netflix came with the cha-ching. Reply Parent Thread Link Money talks. I would love to see a streaming service come to Spielberg with the readies, and make him look like a hypocrite. Reply Parent Thread Link mte lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Fuck off, grandpa Reply Thread Link salty bitch. Reply Thread Link oh plz, a movie's a movie. he seems to not want more competition. Reply Thread Link sounds like someone is jealous Reply Thread Link Considering Cuaron shouldve won BP and now he says this - honestly fuck you dude! Reply Thread Link lmao I cant believe hes still on this. Edited at 2019-03-01 11:37 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I never liked him. Reply Thread Link Someone is being a salty bitch lmao Reply Thread Link This isn't a huge thing but what is it with every person I looked up to growing up turning into a loser? I don't know how Spielberg can look at a movie like Roma and think "yeah that shouldn't be eligible for an Oscar". He did so much to further filmmaking but now he's trying to hold it back because he's old and doesn't like change. Reply Thread Link Wow, honestly this though? So many of my heroes have turned out to be horrible. Reply Parent Thread Link Prime reason not to idealize ANYONE. Reply Parent Thread Link mte Reply Parent Thread Link According to Shell, global demand for LNG will grow by 11 percent in 2019. Primarily, it will be consumers in China and India that will drive the expanding LNG industry. In the context of increasing demand, risks are emerging on the supply side that could negatively impact the transition to cleaner sources of energy. These supply fears are driving 2019 to be a record year for LNG projects across the globe. Historically, Russia has produced and exported massive volumes of gas to Europe through pipeline infrastructure built during the Cold War. However, since the Ukraine conflict, an awareness of Europes overdependence on Russia has become prevalent within the EU. As a result of this anti-Russian sentiment, Moscows reliance on European customers has become a security issue for the country. Diversification, therefore, has become increasingly important for energy security in the country. In order to achieve this diversification, Russia is aiming to create a domestic LNG sector that can rival the biggest producers in the Middle East and Australia. Novateks Yamal LNG facility was finished in December 2017, completed both within budget and on time despite the extreme environment in the Arctic region. For Russia to become an LNG superpower, significant expansion of capacity is required. Novatek, therefore, has been planning for another project in the Arctic region called Arctic LNG 2. (Click to enlarge) French energy giant Total is Novateks partner in the Yamal LNG facility and owns 20 percent of the shares. The decision has been made to continue the successful cooperation into an agreement concerning Arctic LNG 2 where the French company will take a working interest of 10 percent in the project. Furthermore, Total also has an overall stake of 19 percent in Novatek itself. Originally, Arctic LNG 2 was planned to be based around the Utrenneye gas field. However, Novatek recently discovered a significant deposit of gas in the near vicinity of the facility called the North Obskoye gas field which was the largest discovery in the world in 2018. The original deposit contains two billion cubic meters of natural gas and 100 million tons of natural gas liquids while the most recent discovery adds the equivalent of another 960 million barrels of oil. The North Obskoye gas field would improve the projects profitability as more gas can be exported over a more extended period. Related: Saudi Aramco CEO Rebukes Peak Oil Demand Hype Recently, the consortium has been awarding preliminary contracts worth billion to subcontractors for the construction of the facility. Among these companies are Saipem and Renaissance Heavy Industries who have signed a $2.5 billion agreement to supply the engineering, materials, construction, towing, and installation of several platforms. According to Alexander Fridman, a senior member of Novateks board, Arctic LNG 2 will utilize new technological solutions and employ domestic manufacturers. The supply contract envisages new prospects for localizing the compressor equipment fabrication for the LNG industry, which is consistent with our strategic aim of creating and developing an LNG Centre of Excellence in Russia." Also, Siemens has joined the ranks of potential suppliers. The German engineering firm was also involved during the Yamal project. The contract includes three feed gas compressors and six boil-off gas compressors. The equipment will be manufactured locally to create domestic knowhow to support an independent Russian LNG sector. Although the FID has not been made yet, the ever-increasing ecosystem of subcontractors increases the likelihood of an announcement. Also, interest from global investors such as Korean KOGAS and Saudi Aramcos intention to buy 30 percent of the multi-billion facility boosts the likeliness that the project will materialize. By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: China has found massive shale oil reserves in its northern Tianjin municipality, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Friday. Two wells at a field have been flowing for more than 260 days, according to Dagang Oilfield, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The newly found shale reserves will help boost Chinas national energy security and economic development, Xinhua quoted CNPC as saying. According to EIA estimates, China ranks third in the world in terms of technically recoverable shale oil resources, behind Russia and the United States. Over the past year, Chinas biggest energy producers have started to tap more tight oil and gas wells, aiming to increase domestic oil and natural gas production at the worlds largest crude oil importer. A PetroChina test oil well at a shale field in western China could finally mean a strong commercial potential for shale oil for the first time in the worlds top crude importer, Morgan Stanley said last month. PetroChina achieved a daily production rate of 100 tons of oil, or 733 barrels, from the Jimsar oil field in the western Xinjiang province, which suggests that shale drilling could finally have a true commercial potential in China, Morgan Stanley said in a note. We believe the Jimsar shale oil discovery is likely to trigger Chinas shale oil revolution, Morgan Stanley analyst Andy Meng wrote in the report. The shale boom in China, however, would be just a fraction of the U.S. shale revolutionMorgan Stanley expects Chinese shale oil production could be 100,000 bpd-200,000 bpd by 2025, which is nothing compared to the millions of barrels of oil pumped in the U.S. every day. According to EIA estimates, the seven key shale regions in the U.S. produced 8.314 million bpd of oil in February, and an 84,000-bpd increase is expected for March, with the Permian crossing the 4-million-bpd mark for the first time ever. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Lithium miners have set their eyes on Portugal, a country that doesnt scream mining like other jurisdictions, but which already is Europe's biggest producer of the commodity, thanks to the surge in popularity of electric vehicles (EVs). One of those companies is Savannah Resources, currently advancing its Mina do Barroso project in the north of the country, arguably one of the most advanced lithium mining concessions in Europe. According to company officials, the mine is on track be the continent's first significant producer of spodumene, a hard-rock form of lithium. Were in a unique position in Europe, chief executive David Archer tells MINING.com. Mina do Barroso contains the largest spodumene lithium mineral Resource in Europe at 20.1Mt at 1.04 percent Li?O and is akin to the successful Australian spodumene mine developments. Archer notes that the project is well served with local infrastructure including the nearby Leixoes port, Portugals second largest. (Click to enlarge) Mina do Barroso lithium project location. (Courtesy of Savannah Resources. ) Savannah, which is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchanges international market for smaller firms, acquired a 75 percent interest in Mina do Barroso in May 2017, and has maintained a fast paced development approach since. The company is currently moving forward with a definitive feasibility study (DFS) led by Primero, an Australian consultancy with deep experience in the lithium field. Archer expects the study to be completed by mid-year. Related: Goldman: Brent Oil To Reach $70-$75 Soon While much of the recent drilling has been focused on increasing the mineral resource categories for the DFS, the program continues to deliver expansions to the mineralized zone at the Grandao area, extensions in depth at Reservatorio and further encouraging results from the Pinheiro deposit. Savannah is close to making a decision on developing Mina do Barroso mine, which could become the first European supplier of spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral. Savannah Resources estimates the whole project holds a resource estimate of 20 million tonnes with over 200,000 tonnes contained Li20. Additionally, metallurgical test-work results have produced an excellent 6 percent Li20 low impurity concentrate, which according to Archer is ideal for the EV battery industry , further validating the project. One hiccup is that based on experts estimations, it is 2.5 times more expensive to produce lithium extracted from Portugal's granite rocks than from the brine fields of Chile, which hosts some of the planets largest known reserves of the white metal. Related: Will Trump Take Action Against OPEC? Mina do Barroso is in the lower quartile of spodumene lithium costs internationally and is the best European analogue of the successful Australian producers, Archer argues. Australia is now the dominant producer of lithium illustrating the superior competitive position of hard rock producers of lithium, which is preferred for producing lithium hydroxide and has cost advantages over brines, he says. Mina do Barroso is set to initially produce 6 percent Li2O spodumene concentrates destined to China. The open pit mine will also yield a feldspar and quartz co-product to be sold to ceramics industry customers locally and in neighbouring and Spain. Archer says the company will soon make a decision on developing the mine, for which it has a 30-year mining lease to 2036. Portugal produces about 11 percent of the global lithium market, but its output is entirely used to make ceramics and glassware. Thats why Europe relies on lithium imports from Latin Americas Lithium Triangle , as well from Australia and China. (Click to enlarge) By Mining.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: European scientists have announced plans to start mining the moon as early as 2025, though what theyll be extracting is neither gold nor diamonds, but waste-free nuclear energy thought to be worth trillions of dollars. The goal is to place a lander on the lunar surface to mine and process regolith for useful materials such as water, oxygen, metals and an isotope called helium-3, which may prove useful for fueling future fusion reactors. Regolith, Universe Today reported, is a dust-like material that covers the lunar surface and is the result of billions of years of meteor and comet impacts. If anyone ever lives on the moon, they could use the regolith to build habitats for a base. Europe isnt the only one getting on board of the lunar mining train. Both India and China have floated ideas about extracting Helium-3 from the Earths natural satellite. The mission will be in charge of the European Space Agency in partnership with ArianeGroup, Popular Mechanics reported. It will also count with the participation of Part-Time Scientists, a German group and former Google Lunar XPrize contestant. Europe isnt the only one getting on board of the lunar mining train. Both India and China have floated ideas about extracting Helium-3 from the Earths natural satellite. Beijing has already landed on the moon twice in the 21st century, with more missions to follow. There are an estimated one million tonnes of helium-3 in the moon, though only 25 percent of that could be brought to Earth, Gerald Kulcinski, director of the Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former member of the NASA Advisory Council told Bloomberg last year. Related: Buffett Still Not Sold On Bitcoin But thats enough to meet the worlds current energy demands for at least two, and maybe as many as five, centuries, said the expert said, who estimates that helium-3 is worth almost $5 billion a tonne. No longer science fiction After being considered mostly a science-fiction tale, governments are now rushing to implement programs and legislations that allow them to join the race for mining in the space. In 2015, former U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law that grants U.S. citizens rights to own resources mined in space. The ground-breaking rule was touted as a major boost to asteroid mining because it encourages the commercial exploration and utilization of resources from asteroids obtained by U.S. firms. Geologists believe asteroids are packed with iron ore, nickel and precious metals at much higher concentrations than those found on Earth, making up a market valued in the trillions of dollars. Shortly after, Luxembourg launched an official initiative to promote the mining of asteroids for minerals. The tiny European country, which has been studying possible involvement in the sector since 2013, aims to become Europes centre for space mining. Related: Wall Street Loses Faith In Shale Canada is also eying the moon. Last year, Northern Ontario-based Deltion Innovations partnered with Moon Express, the first American private space exploration firm to have been granted government permission to travel beyond Earth's orbit, on future opportunities in outer space. Some of the space ventures in the works include plans to mine asteroids, track space debris, build the first human settlement in Mars, and billionaire Elon Musk's own plan for an unmanned mission to the red planet. Geologists as well as emerging companies, such as US-based Planetary Resources, a firm pioneering the space mining industry, believe asteroids are packed with iron ore, nickel and precious metals at much higher concentrations than those found on Earth, making up a market valued in the trillions of dollars. By Mining.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Not that the Philippines current President Rodrigo Duterte necessarily wanted to hear it give his recent Beijing pivot - but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered it anyway, saying on Friday that the U.S. would come to the defense of the Philippines if it was attacked in the South China Sea. Pompeo made his remarks during a stopover in Manila after the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi the day before. He said that a 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty would be adhered to if its ally was a victim of aggression and called out China as a threat to stability. Chinas island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and therefore economic livelihood as well as that of the United States, the secretary told a news conference in Manila. Any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations. He said those countries (the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia) that have overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea were responsible for ensuring these incredibly vital sea lanes are open, and China does not pose a threat to closing them down. An estimated $3.4 trillion worth of goods traverse the South China Sea each year, including crude oil and LNG shipments to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - all heavily dependent on hydrocarbon imports to keep their economies thriving. Falling on deaf ears However, Pompeos assurances may be falling on deaf ears. Since becoming president of the Philippines nearly three years ago, Rodrigo Duterte has all be eschewed U.S. support, including the mutual defense treaty, in his pivot toward Beijing. At the end of the day, that pivot can arguably be called squandering the Philippines UN-mandated claims to areas that Beijing also claims in exchange for economic pledges and support - a point of contention for many Filipinos that see the president selling out to Beijing. China claims over 90 percent of the South China Sea, in what is now known as its nine-dash line, based on what Beijing calls historic rights. Yet, Beijing has yet to offer concrete evidence to support its claims to the body of water. In fact, three years ago Vietnam offered newly discovered historical maps that allow Hanoi to also claim part of the South China Sea. At stake however, isnt just control of one of the most important maritime choke points in the world, but Chinas regional hegemony aspirations as well as it continues to build artificial islands on reefs and islands, including military infrastructure and equipment though Chinese President Xi Jinping shortly after taking office in 2012 pledged to not militarize the South China Sea. Plenty of gas at stake Also at stake are hydrocarbons, and depending on whose date you use, likely plenty of gas. One older Chinese estimate places potential oil resources in the South China Sea as high as 213 billion barrels, though many Western analysts have repeatedly claimed that this estimate seems extremely high. A conservative 1993/1994 US Geological Survey (USGS) report estimated the sum total of discovered reserves and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea at 28 billion barrels yet, this estimate, for its part, seems particularly low. Moreover, the 1993/1994 USGS estimate states that natural gas is actually more abundant in the area than oil. According to the USGS, about 60 percent-70 percent of the areas hydrocarbon resources are gas while the sum total of discovered reserves and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea is estimated at 266 trillion cubic feet (tcf). State-owned oil major China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), responsible for most of Chinas offshore oil and gas production, claims that the area holds around 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 tcf of gas in undiscovered areas, although the figures have not been confirmed by independent studies. By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Food and Drug Administration agents on Wednesday simultaneously swooped down on two establishments of the Misumi Direct Sales cosmetics distribution company in Antipolo City and Matina, Davao City for selling or offering for sale unregistered beauty and skin-whitening products. FDA Director General Nela Charade G. Puno said the two Misumi Direct Sales branches, owned by one Donnah Mae Martinez-Miranda, faces consequential administrative sanctions if found guilty of violating rules and regulations on FDA-issued license to operate (LTO) and Certificate of Product Registration (CPR). The Misumi branch in Davao City was ordered padlocked by the FDA after the respondents failed to present a valid FDA-issued License to Operate during the implementation of the agencys Summons. The establishment was also found to be selling unregistered Bihaku Aha Blue Booster with Blueberry Fruit Extract 50ml skin-whitening products. In the Antipolo City raid, FDA agents seized P220,560.00 worth of unregistered Bihaku Whitening Lotion with SPF 60 200 ml; Bihaku Aha Blue Booster with Blueberry Fruit Extract 50 ml; and Seoul Beauty Pore-Fect Powder Infuse with Snail SPF45 30 ml. FDA agents initially conducted surveillance and test-buys at the Misumi Direct Sales branch at #25 Maya Avenue, Okinari Bldg., Marville Park Subdivision, San Roque, Antipolo City while another group of agents conducted same strategy at same stores branch at Unit 11, 2nd Flr., Vastland Bldg., McArthur Highway Cor. Topaz St., Matina, Davao City before simultaneously implementing the FDA-issued legal orders at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Puno said the seized products were part of the 34 unregistered and potentially hazardous cosmetic products that are subject of the FDAs public advisory (No. 2018-167) issued on May 3, 2018.In the FDAs public advisory, all concerned establishments were warned not to distribute or sell such products while all local government units (LGEs) and law enforcement units were requested to ensure that said products are not sold or made available in their localities or areas of jurisdiction. Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9711, otherwise known as the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion, advertising or sponsorship of health products without proper authorization from FDA is prohibited. Accordingly, the seized unregistered health products from Misumi Direct Sales have not gone through the verification process of the FDA, and the agency cannot guarantee their quality, efficacy and safety. The use of such violative products may pose potential health hazards to the consuming public, Puno said. She said potential hazards on cosmetics products come from heavy metal ingredients such as mercury that may result to adverse reactions like skin irritation, itchiness, anaphylactic shock and organ failure. From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their AT LEAST 3,549 scholars from Liloan town received their scholarship grants for the second semester during ceremonies held on Friday, March 1. Liloan Mayor Christina Frasco said the Municipal Government had allocated P20 million this year for the scholarshap program initiated in 2008 by her husband, then mayor Duke Frasco. In last Fridays distribution, Sean, a senior high school student, was thankful for the releasing on that day. For two days, I was really worried because I didnt have my transportation and food allowance. And then the announcement came. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways and in this case, He worked through the Municipal Government, Sean said. Over the years, the scholarship program has produced teachers, engineers, doctors, accountants and other professional workers, who now contribute to Liloans growing economy and populace of skilled professionals. The scholarship program started with a budget of P400,000 and with 48 scholars. We started this scholarship program with the belief that education is the best way out of poverty. In Liloan, education has been and will always be on top of our priorities, said Duke Frasco, former commissioner of the Cebu Port Authority. His accomplishments in the scholarship program, which grew to serve more than 6,000 scholars and a budget of P15 million three years ago, was one of the reasons Frasco was the only Cebuano who received the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines award in 2014 for the field of public administration. Many of the scholars are enrolled in various private colleges and universities in Cebu. The mother of one of the scholars publicly thanked the Frasco couple for the program, which she said is very helpful to her, considering that her eldest child is taking up medicine in one of the private universities in Cebu. (PR) More than 300,000 people have signed online petitions calling for Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to receive a Nobel Peace Prize after he freed an Indian pilot in a bid to defuse tensions with his country's arch-rival neighbour. The capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had become the focus of renewed hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals which have alarmed the international community. Tensions have soared since a suicide bombing in Kashmir last month claimed by Pakistan-based militants killed 40 Indian paramilitaries. The hashtag #NobelPeaceForImranKhan began trending on Twitter on Thursday after Khan unexpectedly announced that the captured pilot would be released as a "peace gesture". Abhinandan -- whose MiG fighter was shot down a day earlier as he chased Pakistani jets over disputed Kashmir -- was returned to India late Friday. Two similarly-worded campaigns on the change.org platform launched by users in the UK and Pakistan called for Imran Khan to be nominated for next year's prize "for his peace efforts and dialogues in the Asian region on diverse conflicts". They have gained more than 240,000 and 60,000 digital signatures respectively. Pakistan's information minister Fawad Chaudhry Saturday also submitted a resolution in the country's parliament demanding Khan be given the award for his contribution to peace in the region. "Imran Khan played a sagacious role in de-escalating tension between Pakistan and India," the resolution said. In his speech announcing Abhinandan's release, Khan referred to the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war as he called for talks with New Delhi. Thousands of people around the world are allowed to make nominations for the Peace Prize, including members of parliament and government ministers, former laureates and some university professors. THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their THE wheels of justice has started grinding now that the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted former Health Secretary Janette Garin and several others for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide over deaths allegedly caused by controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia. In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo expressed hope that the indictment would bring true justice and peace to families of children who supposedly died because of the inoculation of Dengvaxia. The wheels of justice have begun to grind for the victims and families of children who died allegedly because of the Dengvaxia vaccine with the Department of Justice finding probable cause to charge former officials responsible for the failed immunization program initiated during their time, he said. In a statement on Friday, March 1, state prosecutors found that Garin and other respondents exhibited inexcusable lack of precaution and foresight when they facilitated, with undue haste, the registration and purchase of Dengvaxia and used the vaccine in implementing a school-based dengue mass immunization program. The state prosecutors also found evidence that Garin and other respondents circumvented various regulations in the purchase of P3.5 worth of Dengvaxia vaccine, which constituted proof of their reckless imprudence. Dengvaxia was administered to over 800,000 individuals during Garins stint at the Department of Health (DOH) under the watch of then president Benigno Aquino III. The DOH suspended the mass anti-dengue immunization program on December 1, 2017, a day after Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur admitted that the vaccine may cause greater risks among recipients who had not previously been afflicted with dengue. Panelo urged critics to refrain from politicizing the Dengvaxia issue, following Garin's indictment, saying that doing so would just cause unnecessary fear. Now that the legal process has taken its course, we wish everyone would finally stop politicizing the issue in the court of public opinion, noting that such exercise has only caused an unnecessary fear on the part of parents for good and creditworthy health programs of the government to the detriment of innocent children, he said. Story continues Following the latest development, Panelo assured Garin and other respondents that the executive branch would not meddle in the court proceedings concerning the Dengvaxia controversy. He said the Palace would allow the former Health chief and others facing charges to refute the allegations hurled against them. As for the defendants, they should welcome this latest development as an opportunity to clear their names and raise whatever defense they have in relation to the matter before a court of law, he said. As always, we will not interfere in the proceedings save for the DOJ which is mandated by law to prosecute accused felons, Panelo added. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines) THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their THE air-conditioning inside Cine Adarna contrasted with the campus grounds, which already had more than a dry-as-summer whiff. Inside the cavernous Film Center of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Diliman, I was in the audience, watching a silent film, A Filipino in America. I had stayed up late writing, feeling an ant nest roiling behind each eye. The film was narrated in an unfamiliar language: silent scenes of two Filipino friends trying to make it in America, flashing a caption or two that expressed in English what the characters thought or said. I dozed, woke up, nodded off again while the film rolled. And yet, despite missing scenes during the movies approximately 30 minutes of playing time and patching sound quirks, scratched images, and disjointed storytelling, I found that Doroteo Iness 1938 pioneering silent film spoke volumes not just of the Filipino shuttling in the 1930s from being colonized to going independent but also of our peoples eternal suspension in the colonial, post-colonial, and neocolonial purgatory. How does the colonial subject negotiate identity? That was the tantalizing question raised by UP Film Institute professor Rolando B. Tolentino in the second part of the Pelikula Lectura 2019 at the Cine Adarna last Feb. 28. Entitled A Filipino in America: 1930s Filipino Films, American Colonialism, and the Negotiation of Coloniality, a revised title was presented by Tolentino that morning: Lagi na kayong buntot sa kanilang pagsulong (you are always tailing their progress). What do the centuries of being ruled by the missionaries and then Hollywood produce? Is it the colonized clinging to the hem of the colonizers robes? Or is it the independent and modern trajectory of a former colony thats still shadowed by its master, who keeps the satellite within its sphere of influence no longer through military occupation but cultural domination and manipulation? Tolentino discussed how film scholarship is challenged by limited extant materials. Poring over the same data because no other records survived or have surfaced, scholars must also contend with dwindling budgets and space that result in precious materials culled or junked. We cant learn from history if we dont save it, Jacqui Banaszynski posted in Nieman Storyboard. As great a threat is the pop culture we stay awake for and avidly consume without criticism and self-reflection. According to legend, Tantalus is a king condemned in Hades to stand neck-deep in a pool of water under boughs heavy with fruit. Whenever he tried to eat or drink, the fruits and water receded, leaving him eternally empty. As fraught as our search for identity. The House of Representatives led by Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has expressed optimism that the proposed Sagip Saka Act will soon get enacted. This came after the Senate adopted House Bill HB 8857 which institutes the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program to be under the Department of Agriculture, as an amendment to Senate Bill 1281. The House unanimously approved on third and final reading HB 8857 with 185 votes last Jan. 31. It requested last Feb. 6 for the formation of a conference committee with the Senate. However, the Senate adopted on the same day HB 8857 as an amendment to SB 1281. House Bill 8857, principally authored by Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairman Rep. Jose Panganiban Jr. of party-list ANAC-IP, states that it is the declared policy of the State to achieve sustainable modern agriculture and food security by helping the agricultural and fishing communities to reach their full potential, increasing farmers and fishermens incomes, and bridging gaps through public-private partnerships, thereby improving the quality of their life. Pursuant to this, the State shall strengthen the farmers and fisherfolk enterprise development program by 1) establishing a comprehensive and holistic approach in the formulation, coordination and implementation of enterprise development initiatives; 2) consolidating the roles of different government agencies involved in farmers and fisherfolk development enterprise development, and 3) intensifying the building of entrepreneurship culture among farmers and fisherfolk. The bill provides for the establishment of the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program which shall refer to the comprehensive set of objectives, targets and holistic approach in promoting the creation of enterprises involving agricultural and fishery products. The program shall be integrated and be made consistent with the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Plan, and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Program. The Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program shall make use of science-based technologies in the identification and prioritization of agricultural and fishery products that will be covered. The forms of assistance under the program are: 1) improvement of production and productivity, including agricultural extension services, skills development, provision of production inputs, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure for production and post-production activities; 2)improvement of producers and enterprises access to financing in the form of credit grants and crop insurance; 3) provision of access to improved technologies through research and development; and 4) provision of business support and development services, particularly in the areas of access to markets, marketing, and networking.Areas covered by the program shall include, among others: a) agricultural and fisheries production, including processing of fisheries and agri-based products and farm inputs; b) acquisition of work animals, farm and fishery equipment and machinery; c) acquisition of seeds, fertilizer, poultry, livestock, feeds and other similar items d) working capitals for agriculture and fisheries graduates to enable them to engage in agricultural and fisheries related economic activities; e) working capital for long gestating projects; and f) agribusiness activities which support soil and water conservation and ecology enhancing activities. Possible proponent groups and beneficiaries of the program are existing producer groups whose products are included in the priority commodity value chains and have the potential to raise their marketable surplus. Other possible beneficiaries are farmers and fisherfolk who have the potential to produce marketable surplus and demonstrate willingness to voluntarily adopt, clustering with other groups and forge contracts or formal marketing arrangements with buyers or public intermediaries. Other possible beneficiaries are 1) producer groups or cluster growers who are either operational and/or show a willingness to undergo capacity building on enterprise development and management; and 2) micro, small and medium scale processors, consolidators, exporters, and other enterprises who are willing to assist producer groups in vertical clustering or joint business planning, and forge contracts and formal marketing agreements with such groups. Farmers and fisherfolk should be members of any organization operating in the priority commodity value chain for them to be eligible as members of the proponent group or as suppliers to the enterprise. The Department of Agriculture shall be the implementing agency of the program. It shall tap the assistance, expertise and resources of the Philippine Coconut Authority, National Dairy Authority (NDA), Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC), and the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR). To oversee proper implementation of the program, the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Council shall be created to be headed by the DA Secretary. Its members shall include authorized representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Finance (DOF), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), a national organization of farmers cooperatives or associations, a national organization of fisherfolk cooperatives or associations, and the agriculture, food, restaurant and business sectors. 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 Commission on Elections on Saturday said the release of the names of the nominees of over 130 party-list organizations will give voters a chance to know the personalities behind the organizations. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez noted that in party-list elections, voters must evaluate not just the sectoral organization but also the nominees. While the Comelec maintains that, in a party-list elections, it is the party-list organization as a whole that should be evaluated by the electorate, it cannot be denied that the identity of the nominees remains a significant reference for voters, he said. This is especially true in view of the large number of party-list organizations currently participating in the #NLE2019 elections, Jimenez added. On Friday, the Comelec released the list of nominees on its Twitter account. The release of the names of party-list nominees was effected to enhance the transparency of the electoral process and to enable voters to make an informed choice, Jimenez said.Meanwhile, the Comelec Employees Union lauded the poll bodys stance in enforcing campaign rules in the runup to the May 13 midterm elections. The Comelec leaderships serious effort to ensure a level playing field for candidates in the forthcoming elections and its tough stance on enforcing campaign rules is commendable, the group said. On the ground, we commit to tear down all oversized and illegally placed campaign posters, it added. Last week, the Comelec began its nationwide removal of illegal campaign posters, starting in Metro Manila. Senator Richard Gordon Former President Benigno Aquino III and former Budget chief Florencio Abad should have been included in the criminal charges to be lodged by the Department of Justice over the Dengvaxia mess, a senator said on Saturday. Quite frankly, I am a bit disappointed because I figured they should have studied closely the involvement of President Aquino, Abad and company because they revisited the case, said Senator Richard Gordon in a radio interview.Gordon, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that looked into the controversy, was referring to a DOJ resolution finding probable cause to indict former Health Secretary Janette Garin and several others for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide over the deaths of eight kids allegedly due to the vaccine. If you look at our investigation, you will see that the procurement of Dengvaxia is hastened whenever President Aquino is present, he said. Gordon noted that following Aquinos meeting with officials of Dengvaxia distributor Sanofi in Paris, the Special Allotment Release Order for the vaccines were immediately released. How can you explain that the President met with a drug dealer from Sanofi three times? And if you take into account the time it took for Senfori to dialog with government, that was really fast! the senator said. In its resolution, the Justice department said state prosecutors found Garin and the other respondents exhibited inexcusable lack of precaution and foresight when they facilitated, with undue haste, the registration and purchase of Dengvaxia and used the vaccine in implementing a school-based dengue mass immunization program.Malacanang, for its part, appealed to all stakeholders, including the public, to stop politicizing the Dengvaxia controversy as it has already affected the countrys health programs. We wish everyone would finally stop politicizing the issue in the court of public opinion, noting that such exercise has only caused an unnecessary fear on the part of parents for good and creditworthy health programs of the government to the detriment of innocent children, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said. As for the defendants, they should welcome this latest development as an opportunity to clear their names and raise whatever defense they have in relation to the matter before a court of law, the Palace official said. According to the DOJ, Garin and the other respondents have exhibited inexcusable lack of precaution and foresight when they facilitated with undue haste, the registration and purchase of Dengvaxia and used the vaccine in implementing a school-based dengue mass immunization program. The DOJ added that Garin and the others totally disregarded the identified risks and adverse effects of the vaccine. Privacy Policy RealChoice is a BlogSpot blog. You get whatever privacy you get when you post on a blog. As Blogmistress of RealChoice, I do not collect information on my users or those who post comments. I will delete spam and offensive comments, and thoroughly cooperate with law enforcement, as I did in the case of Ted "Operation Counterstrike" Schulman, if people make terroristic threats on my blog. So fight nice, kids. If you're feeling generous and just can't pass up the opportunity to get me a present, some suggestions are listed here In 2018, trade tensions between the worlds two largest economies escalated to unprecedented levels after the U.S. imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, equal to about two-thirds of bilateral goods deficit in 2017. Beijing returned fire by imposing levies on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods before the two countries reached a temporary ceasefire on new escalations. But finally, there are indications that hostilities between the two countries could come to an amicable end. U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, has said that the U.S. will abandon plans to increase further tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Lighthizer made the revelation following testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in what could signal that ongoing trade talks by the two nations are going well. Lighthizer, however, added that the lifting of the proposed tariffs would be incumbent on, among other things, China keeping its end of the deal adding that consultations on potential violations would be frequently held and tariffs could be reimposed if Beijing failed to live up to its pledges. Fantastic progress More and more positive signs on the talks are beginning to emerge. On Thursday, the U.S. National Economic Council Director, Larry Kudlow, revealed that the two countries are making fantastic progress in their recent meeting: Last week was fantastic, Kudlow told CNBC. Were making great headway on nontariff barriers and tariffs regarding various commodities such as soybeans and energy and beef. We have mechanisms with regard to enforcement, which is I think unparalleled, before adding we have to hear from the Chinese side. We have to hear from President Xi Jinping, of course. I think were headed for a remarkable, historic deal. But perhaps more importantly, Kudlow revealed that Beijing had expressed a willingness to make key structural changes to curb intellectual property theft, a key tenet of the talks. Kudlows comments follow Lighthizers testimony after he told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that China needed to do more than just buy more U.S. goods for the two countries to strike a permanent trade deal. Related: Walmarts $20 Billion Buyback Spree Sparks Outrage From Senate And, he is right. Trump has repeatedly said that the most contentious issue in the trade spat is not the huge trade surplus between the two protagonists but rather Chinas decades-old practice of forcing American companies to hand over trade secrets so as to gain entry to the Chinese market. In theory, tariffs should raise prices for U.S. consumers and lower demand for Chinese-made products thus hitting on an already slowing economy. The US imports more products from China than any other country in the world. In 2017, the US imported Chinese goods worth $505 billion while only exporting goods worth $130 billion thus leaving a hefty trade deficit of $375 billion. In other words, China should be the biggest loser in a trade spat between the two. Interestingly, Chinese exports to the U.S. did actually record a significant uptick after growing 14.4 percent year over year in September and 15.6 percent in October due to what experts attribute to frontloading before dipping to just 5.4 percent in November. Still, Chinas trade surplus with the US reached record levels in November mainly due to weak demand in China. A big reason for the curious trend could be down to nationalistic furor. There average Chinese buyer believes that the US is jealous of Chinas rapid rise to the top of the economic ladder. So, what better way to hit back than to stop buying US goods? No winners Trump has said in the past that tariffs are making the U.S. richer than ever before. But thats a misrepresentation of facts. The tariffs imposed on Chinese goods come from U.S. consumers. A November 2018 study by Econpol found that Washingtons first round of tariffs increased prices paid by U.S. buyers of Chinese goods by about 4.5 percent while decreasing the prices received by Chinese sellers by 20.5 percent. (Click to enlarge) But the real damage could go far deeper. According to OECD estimates, an escalation of trade tensions could shave off nearly 25 percent of global growth by 2021with the European Commissions latest forecast for the region providing a nice blueprint. This is basically a war with no real winners so even a stalemate is better than the status quo. By Alex Kimani for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: A ranking New Peoples Army guerilla leader believed by authorities to be behind burning heavy equipment in Mindoro was killed in an encounter after security forces heightened their hunt against rebel fighters, the military said Saturday. This coincided with reports that soldiers discovered a cave used as hideout and hospital by rebel fighters in the hinterlands of Agusan del Norte farther south. Sr. Supt. Socrates Faltado, spokesperson of MIMAROPA, said Rustom Simbulan, alias Bobby/Silang and Bayani, platoon leader of KLG Central, was killed during an encounter with security troops in Sitio Uraray, Barangay Waygan, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro at about 5 a.m. Friday. Faltado said Simbulan had a standing bounty of P500,000 and was listed in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police Joint Order 14-2012. Prior to Simbulans death, he was the object of a warrant of arrest for multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder issued by RTC 4th Judicial Region, Branch 40 in Calapan City. Faltado said that Simbulan was involved in torching heavy equipment of Sta. Clara Hyrdo Electric Power Plant in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 26 and the failed raid of the PMI Aggregates in Gloria, Oriental, Mindoro last Feb. 28 that resulted in the death of a policeman. Faltado said troops recovered a cal .45 pistol from Simbulans possession along with two magazines, one cellular phone, medicines, backpack, sling bag, and hammock. Our countrys peacekeepers will push forward in eradicating these terrorists, with the help of the people, we can do it, Faltado said.The NPAs operating in Oriental and Occidental Mindoro have several times attacked government forces and private business firms. Meanwhile, soldiers hunting down communist terrorists led to the discovery of a cave and bunker and hospital used by the CPP-NPA in Sitio Bulak, Brgy Lower Olave, Buenavista Agusan del Norte last Thursday, the military said. The clandestine NPA hideout was detected following a tipped-off from concerned civilians relating to the presence of armed elements within the community. Reports said the troops were moving towards the terrorists location, when they discovered a cave measuring 40x30 meters that could accommodate 15 persons. The scouring inside the cave led to the recovery of two Garand Rifles, 90 pieces of medicine (Atropine Sulfate) and documents. Lt. Col. Francisco Molina Jr., commander of the 23rd Infantry Battalion, said the cave was believed used as hospital where the terrorists performed surgical operations. John Lindseys is Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s Diablo Canyon marine meteorologist and a media relations representative. Email him at pgeweather@pge.com or follow him on Twitter: @PGE_John for storm updates. Students in Santa Maria celebrated Read Across America/Dr. Seuss Day with a variety of activities, including a costumed parade and a visit by a popular author of children's books. 030119 Read Across America 03.jpg 030119 Read Across America 02.jpg 030119 Read Across America 04.jpg 030119 Read Across America 05.jpg 030119 Read Across America 06.jpg 030119 Read Across America 01.jpg 030119 Read Across America 07.jpg 030119 Read Across America 08.jpg 030119 Read Across America 09.jpg 030119 Read Across America 10.jpg 030119 Read Across America 11.jpg 030119 Read Across America 14.jpg 030119 Read Across America 12.jpg 030119 Read Across America 13.jpg Most people think that Bukit Batok lacks good food. Not, based on our research. Theyre quite a number of delectable stalls for residents of Bukit Batok to enjoy. Here is a list of things you can try in Bukit Batok ranging from hawker stalls to cafes. HAWKER 1. Xiang Mei Roasted Meat Charcoal Grilled Roasted Duck. Source: Miss Tam Chiak Xiang Mei Roasted Meat stall serves different types of meat from charcoal grilled roasted duck, soy chicken and roasted pork. It is located in S11 Foodhouse, Blk 640 Bukit Batok Central, 450m away from Bukit Batok MRT station. They're open from 10.30 am to 9.30 pm daily. 2. Ah Lipp Famous Penang Prawn Noodles & Assam Laksa Penang Big Prawn Noodle. Source: Seth Liu Penang Asam Laksa. Source: Seth Liu A fan of Penang food? The residents of Bukit Batok may enjoy these 2 amazing Penang authentic dishes, Penang Prawn Noodle and Asam Laksa. The Big Prawn Noodle is $10 and the Penang Asam Laksa is $3.50. The prawn noodle may be on the more expensive side for a hawker stall but in this case, you truly pay for the quality of the food. Just a fun fact, the name Ah Lipp is inspired by the name of their Penang born head chef Wong Thin Lipp. The stall is located at 155 Bukit Batok Street 11, 650155 and its 1.3 km from Bukit Batok MRT station. They're open from 7.30 am to 8 pm daily. 4. Bukit Batok Teochew Porridge This pic is for illustration purpose only. Looking for comfort food within Bukit Batok? Head down to gobble up a bowl of Teochew Porridge located in Foodclique Coffee Shop, 347 Bt Batok St. 34. It is 400m away from Bukit Batok MRT station. They are open until 2 am daily thus it's a good place to get your supper fix. 5. Xin Kou Wei Braised Duck Rice This pic is for illustration purposes only. Xing Kou Wei braised duck rice stall offers delicious varieties of charred and succulent meat. The stall is located in Hong Kah Food Place, 376 Bukit Batok St.31, 550m away from Bukit Batok MRT Station. It is open from 5 am to 2 pm. Story continues CAFE 6. Reach Community Cafe Reach Community Cafe. Source: Seth Liu Reach Community Cafe's volunteers. Source: Seth Liu Reach Cafe is a cafe run by seniors for seniors located in Reach Youth Powerhouse, Blk 417 Bukit Batok West Ave 4. Volunteers come to cook and sell their food. As volunteers are doing this for good purposes the food served doesn't have a fixed price as they implement the pay-as-you-wish system. The menu changes according to the team that is in charge that day. However, do note they only serve breakfast from 9 am to 12 pm every Friday. 7. Cuppafield Cafe Source: insta @cuppafield Source: insta @cuppafield Source: insta @cuppafield Cuppafield offers fusion food, suitable for both young and mature crowds. Located at Blk 466 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, it is 1.6 km away from Bukit Batok MRT station. It is open from 11 am to 10 pm daily. 8. My Grandfather Cafe Source: insta @mygrandfathercafe Source: insta @mygrandfathercafe Source: insta @mygrandfathercafe My Grandfather Cafe is located in #01-146, 164 Bukit Batok Street 11, 1.5 km away from Bukit Batok MRT station. They offer a wide selection of beverages and cakes which is suitable for tea-time meals. According to Grandfather Cafe, theyre dedicated to serving you with the finest blend of coffee, where each cup has its own grandfather story to tell. They are open from 11 am to 9 pm daily. 8. Milk and Honey Gelato Cafe Source: Milk & Honey Gelato Source: Milk & Honey Gelato Milk and Honey Gelato is located in 2 Bukit Batok West Avenue 7, HomeTeamNS and has a modern industrial theme. The nearest MRT to the cafe is Bukit Gombak MRT station which 1 km away from the cafe. Their food and beverages are very affordable where the ice-creams price starts from $3.50. Milk and Honey Gelato also offers gelato buffet with free flow of waffles for $15.90 per person and have a brunch menu with foods such as egg royale and chicken bechamel pie on their menu. They are open from 11 am to 10 pm daily. This post is not sponsored. See Also: An Algerian opposition party said Wednesday 81-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika would be unable to handle the demands of a fifth term in office, due to his ill health. "Bouteflika is not able to continue to govern because of the nature of his illness," said the Movement for the Society of Peace, the Islamist party whose leader Abderrazak Makri has said he will stand in the April 18 presidential poll. Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, has yet to announce whether or not he will run in the election. But the country's ruling coalition at the weekend named the president, who has been in power since 1999, as its candidate. "His candidacy for a fifth mandate is not in his interest, but in the interests of those who benefit from this situation," the MSP statement said. "They will take full responsibility for what will come... and dangers that threaten the country," the party added, without elaborating. For the last presidential election in 2014, Bouteflika only declared his intention to run a few days ahead of the deadline. Presidential candidates have until March 3 at midnight (2300 GMT) to submit their applications. Once a part of the coalition that supports Bouteflika, the MSP, which describes itself as moderate, withdrew from the alliance in 2012. Supporters wave signs ahead of a rally by U.S. Presidential Candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in New York Supporters wave signs ahead of a rally by U.S. Presidential Candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in New York, United States March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By John Whitesides (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders showed a more personal side as he hit the 2020 campaign trail for the first time on Saturday, describing the struggles of his working class youth and how it helped shape his progressive politics. At a rally in Brooklyn, near the New York City neighborhood where he grew up in a small, rent-controlled apartment, Sanders contrasted his spare upbringing with Republican President Donald Trump's privileged youth as the son of a New York real estate developer. "My experience as a kid, living in a family that struggled economically, powerfully influenced my life and my values," Sanders said at a campaign kickoff rally at Brooklyn College, where he once attended classes. "Unlike Donald Trump, who shut down the government and left 800,000 federal employees without income to pay the bills, I know what it's like to be in a family that lives paycheck to paycheck," he said. The U.S. senator from Vermont rarely talked about his personal history during his first run for the White House in 2016 against eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, focusing almost exclusively on his policy plans to rein in Wall Street and reduce income inequality. But the new approach for Sanders, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Poland, was a recognition of the need to find a way to stand out in a crowded and diverse field of 2020 Democratic contenders, including five of his fellow senators. Sanders also did not highlight his Jewish faith during his 2016 run. But in Brooklyn he described his father's journey to escape poverty and anti-Semitism, and said his father's family eventually was "wiped out" by the Nazis. "As we launch this campaign for president, you deserve to know where I come from because family history heavily influences the values that we adopt as adults," Sanders told cheering supporters in Brooklyn. "Today, I want to welcome you to a campaign which says, loudly and clearly, that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies," he said. Story continues The first weekend on the campaign trail also signaled Sanders' emphasis on expanding his support among minority voters, who he struggled to connect with during his 2016 campaign. On Sunday morning, he will make a quick stop in Selma, Alabama, for events commemorating the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march. Later, he will hold a rally at Navy Pier in Chicago, where he graduated from the University of Chicago at the height of the civil rights movement and helped lead student protests against segregated campus housing and schools. "I did not come from a family that taught me to build a corporate empire through housing discrimination," he said. "I protested housing discrimination." The twin rallies over the weekend also served as a reminder to Democrats of his ability to generate grassroots enthusiasm. During his 2016 campaign, Sanders frequently held big rallies with thousands of supporters, matching Trump's ability to capture attention and generate large crowds. Sanders already has shown his fundraising ability this time around, as the campaign said on Tuesday he had raised about $10 million in the first week. But he also has faced new challenges - three of his top media strategists during the 2016 campaign split with Sanders this week over creative differences. Over the next few weeks, his campaign said, Sanders will travel to states with early nominating contests, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada before returning to his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, for a formal campaign launch. (Reporting by John Whitesides in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Diane Craft) The funding will be focussed towards tech investments in the country Worldbridge Group, one of Cambodias largest logistics companies, has backed Ooctane, a local venture capital (VC) firm, by investing a total of US$55 million, as told by Deal Street Asia. Also Read: This startup connects people with hawker comfort food Ooctane was freshly launched in June last year and the Worldbridge Groups founding chairman Okhna Rithy Sear contributed US$5 million as the part of the funding round. This first investment then opened the door to additional funding that closed the fund at a total of US$55 million. Ooctane will make a game-changing contribution as it seeks to propel Cambodia into its digital future, an Ooctane representative told DealStreetAsia. Ooctane noted that being in a nascent stage like its fellow Southeast Asian countries, Cambodias private sector now experiences a spike in interest of launching corporate venture capital arms as well as starting incubator programs. Also Read: BlinQ raises $2M for upcoming AR-driven e-commerce play It is reported that other investors are looking at investment opportunities in Cambodia include Mekong-focused Belt Road Capital Management and Emerging Markets Investment Advisers. Image Credit: Ooctane The post Cambodia-grown VC firm Ooctane secures US$55M from countrys logistic giant appeared first on e27. The Philippines has improved its ranking but remains to be among the lowest in a global index on the rule of law, placing 90th out of 126 in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2019 released recently. Observers said the ranking was an improvement from 88th place out of 113 countries in the 2017 to 2018 index. Reacting to the report, Malacanang said it was pleased with the latest ranking, which is three notches up from its ranking in 2018. The Washington-based World Justice Project defines effective rule of law as reducing corruption, combating poverty and disease and protecting people from injustice large and small, which are all embodied in the Duterte administrations numerous programs, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. Under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 , Panelo said the Duterte administration had enhanced the social fabric; reduced inequality transformation and increased growth potential. The Duterte administration has been tirelessly working on these since Day One and we are pleased of (sic) the Philippines improved global rank in 2019, from 88 out of 113 countries in 2017-2018 to 90 out of 126 countries in 2018-2019, as a result of our initiatives. We will not rest and [will] continue exerting efforts on this aspect, Panelo said in a statement. But the Philippines also placed at the bottom of the roster for East Asia and the Pacific region, ranking 13th out of 15, ahead only of Myanmar and Cambodia, and ranked 14th out of 30 among lower middle income countries.Overall, ranked at the top of the WJP Rule of Law Index 2019 were Denmark (1), Norway (2), and Finland (3). The bottom three were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (124), Cambodia (125), and Venezuela (126). Meanwhile, East Asia and Pacifics top performer was New Zealand (8th out of 126 countries globally), followed by Australia and Singapore. Effective rule of law is the foundation for communities of justice, opportunity, and peace, William Neukom, WJP founder and CEO, said in the report. He added: No country has achieved a perfect realization of the rule of law. The WJP Rule of Law Index is intended to be a first step in setting benchmarks, informing reforms, stimulating programs, and deepening appreciation and understanding for the foundational importance of the rule of law. Panelo admitted the Executive Branch could not do it alone, and acknowledged the support of Congress for the enactment of laws, as well as the cooperation of the Judicial Branch for the timely delivery of justice under accessible and impartial dispute resolution. The four universal principles of the World Justice Project rule of law framework, which include accountability, just laws, open government, and accessible and impartial dispute resolution require the support of all branches of the government, Panelo said. Good news to those who regularly commute along the Cebu South Roads (CSR) stretch: Congress is looking for alternative roads to solve the traffic congestion within the area, specifically in Talisay City and Minglanilla town. According to Cebu First District Representative Gerald Anthony Samsam Gullas, they have been discussing the matter in Congress to build new roads to divert traffic from the Cebu South Road. They plan to include the Linao-Cantabaco road as part of this enhancement. The DPWH-7 (Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas) is continuously studying how to solve the traffic (problem) in that area, according to Gullas in a press conference yesterday, March 1. Also present at the conference was House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and CebuVice Governor Agnes Magpale at the newly opened Blu-pool Waterpark in Guanzon Beach, Langtad, Naga City. CebuDailyNews reported that traffic congestion in CSR usually peaks around the early morning and late afternoon rush hours. Currently, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is also doing a feasibility study into the Minglanilla-Naga bypass, which is expected to be completed by the second quarter of the year. We believe that this can help the traffic congestion already experienced in the Cebu South main road, said Paylado. He also added that implementing the feasibility study will take longer, since the budget will have to be approved by the Congress since the road will be considered a national road. The post Congress Looking into Alternative Roads to Lessen Traffic along Cebu South Road appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to prison on Saturday after being allowed to attend the funeral of a grandson who died suddenly at age seven. Early in the day, the popular leftist leader stepped out of his cell in Curitiba -- where he is serving two concurrent 12-year sentences for corruption -- and then flew in a small plane to Sao Paulo, some 250 miles (400 kilometers) to the northeast. A crowd at the Sao Bernardo do Campo cemetery in a Sao Paulo suburb greeted Lula warmly upon his arrival for the service, shouting "Free Lula" and "Lula, warrior for the Brazilian people." Young Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva, whose father Sandro is one of Lula's five sons, was felled by a sudden bout of meningitis. As dozens of armed military police surrounded the area, the crowd of supporters at the cemetery numbered perhaps 500, including Lula's successor Dilma Rousseff and Fernando Haddad, the Workers' Party candidate for president in 2018. Hundreds of supporters wore the red color of Lula's Workers' Party. At the crematorium room where close friends gathered before Arthur's open coffin -- and where Lula made brief remarks -- there were flower wreaths from Lula's political and trade union allies, even one from Venezuela's embattled socialist president Nicolas Maduro, the daily Folha de S. Paulo reported. As Lula left two hours later, a grim expression on his face, he waved briefly to supporters and somberly shook a few hands before being hustled away by military police for the return back to jail, where he arrived some nine hours after his departure. A federal court had ruled late Friday that the 73-year-old Lula could attend the funeral service. - 'A high-profile thug' - Arthur, who had twice visited his grandfather in his cell in Curitiba, died Friday in a Sao Paulo hospital. Gleisi Hoffmann, the Workers' Party leader, visited Lula in prison after he learned of Arthur's death and said the aging leftist was "downcast." "He cried several times and we tried to console him," she said. While news of Arthur's death provoked sympathetic messages on social media -- including from a former political foe of Lula, the head of the National Assembly Rodrigo Maia -- a son of President Jair Bolsonaro sparked a controversy by criticizing Lula's release. "Lula is an ordinary prisoner," Eduardo Bolsonaro, a lawmaker in his father's Social Liberal Party, said on Twitter. "When a relative of another prisoner dies, is he escorted by the federal police to go to the services?" He called the temporary release "absurd," adding, "It only allows a high-profile thug to pass himself off as a victim." That remark prompted an angry social media backlash, which prompted a more conciliatory tweet from the younger Bolsonaro. Politics aside, he said, the death of a child is "dreadful." His father, the president, has made no comment on the matter. During his electoral campaign in 2018, he said he hoped Lula would "rot in prison." Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, has consistently denied the corruption charges for which he was jailed, saying he was the victim of political machinations. Johor chief minister Osman Sapian said on Friday that his state plans to stop relying on Singapores supply of treated water and intends for the state to be self-sufficient in terms of water, according to local Malaysian media. His comments come on the heels of comments made by Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad calling a decades-long water trade agreement between Malaysia and Singapore as morally wrong, likening it to a rich country (in this case, Singapore) allegedly exploiting a poor country (in this case, Malaysia). The PM here is referring to a deal made in 1962 which is tied to Singapores independence from Malaysia, where Singapore buys untreated water from Malaysia at three cents per 1,000 gallons and sells it back to Malaysia at 50 cents per 1,000 gallons a small part of the cost it takes to treat the water. In a report by The Star Online, Osman said that the discussion to no longer buy water from Singapore is still in planning stages. There is no current date as to when this plan might be put in place. I cannot share the details at this moment until this plan can be executed in the shortest time possible, he said to Utusan Online. The matter was discussed at a retreat in Malaysias federal administrative center Putrajaya, which was attended by Mahathir himself along with Malaysian cabinet members. In response to Mahathirs speech to encourage the Johor government to seek redress from Singapore regarding the water deal, Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan cautioned against Mahathirs strong, emotive words, no doubt intended to rouse public opinion. The 1962 water agreement is not about who is richer or poorer, he said in Singapore parliament on Friday. It is about the fundamental principle of respecting the sanctity of agreements. Balakrishnan reminded Singapores parliament that Malaysia lost the right to review the price of water under the 1962 water agreement after Malaysia did not want to seek a price review in 1987. Story continues As the water contract was also guaranteed by both governments when Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, a breach of the water deal would call into question the separation agreement, said the foreign minister. This separation agreement is the basis for our existence of an independent sovereign state, he said. Therefore, Malaysia and Singapore must fully honor the terms of the 1962 water agreement, including the price of water that is stipulated in it. Neither Malaysia nor Singapore can unilaterally change the terms of this agreement between our two countries, insisted Balakrishnan. This article, Johor plans to stop buying treated water from Singapore, as Mahathirs emotive speech rubs Singapore the wrong way, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump smile during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump smile during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in this photo released on March 1, 2019 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS By Joyce Lee and Hyonhee Shin SEOUL/HANOI (Reuters) - South Korea will work with the United States and North Korea to help them reach a denuclearisation deal, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Friday, a day after a U.S.-North Korean summit collapsed over a disagreement on sanctions. The second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Vietnam, was cut short after they failed to reach a deal on the extent of sanctions relief North Korea would get in exchange for steps to give up its nuclear programme. Moon has been active in efforts to end confrontation on the Korean peninsula, meeting Kim three times last year and trying to facilitate his nuclear negotiations with the United States. "My administration will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means," Moon said in a speech in Seoul. Moon also said Seoul would consult Washington on ways to resume joint projects with North Korea, including tourism development at Mount Kumgang and the Kaesong industrial complex, both in North Korea. Both the United States and North Korea have said they intend to continue talks, but have not said when a next round might take place. In a move that could encourage more talks, U.S. officials said on Friday the United States and South Korea are expected to announce that they will not carry out large-scale spring joint military exercises, replacing them with smaller-scale drills. The allies suspended a number of military drills before and after the first Trump-Kim summit last year to encourage talks with North Korea, which denounced the exercises as training for invasion. Trump has repeatedly complained about the expense of the exercises and did so again after the Hanoi summit. Trump and Kim first met in Singapore last June and agreed to establish new relations and peace in exchange for a North Korean pledge to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Story continues Trump said two days of talks in Hanoi made good progress but it was important not to rush into a bad deal. He said he had walked away because of unacceptable North Korean demands. "Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn't do that," he said. On Friday, Trump tweeted that the negotiations with Kim were "very substantive" and that "we know what they want and they know what we must have," but he gave no other details about any next steps. "Relationship very good, lets see what happens!" the post said. 'BIGGEST STEP' North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said after Trump left Hanoi that North Korea had sought only a partial lifting of sanctions "related to people's livelihoods and unrelated to military sanctions." He said it offered a realistic proposal involving the dismantling of all of its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, including plutonium and uranium facilities, by engineers from both countries. While North Korea's official media said Kim and Trump had decided to continue talks, its Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has struck a more negative tone, telling reporters Kim "might lose his willingness to pursue a deal". "It occurs to us that there may not be a need to continue," she said, adding that North Korea had taken "many steps" to try to reach a deal. "We're doing a lot of thinking," she said while adding that the situation would change "if our demands can be resolved." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference in Manila the U.S. side was "anxious to get back to the table so we can continue that conversation that will ultimately lead to peace and stability, better life for the North Korean people, and a lower threat, a denuclearised North Korea." And North Korea's state news agency was conciliatory, quoting Kim as expressing gratitude to Trump for putting in efforts to get results and calling their exchanges constructive. It made no mention of the breakdown of the summit. Failure to reach an agreement marks a setback for Trump, a self-styled dealmaker under pressure at home over his ties to Russia and testimony from Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who accused him of breaking the law while in office. While some credited Trump for refusing to be drawn into a bad deal, he was criticized for praising Kim's leadership and saying he accepted his assertion that he had not been aware of how an American student who died after 17 months a North Korean prison had been treated. On Friday, the parents of Otto Warmbier blamed Kim's "evil regime" for his death. The collapse of the summit leaves Kim in possession of what analysts say could be an arsenal of 20 to 60 nuclear warheads, which, if fitted to its intercontinental ballistic missiles, could threaten the U.S. mainland. Trump stressed that the North Korean leader had agreed to maintain his moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests. A U.S. State Department official said the North Korean media coverage had been constructive, indicating both sides felt there was "ample opportunity" to continue talks. The U.S. official said North Korea had proposed closing part of its Yongbyon nuclear complex in exchange for lifting "basically all" U.N. sanctions except those directly targeting its weapons programmes. The U.S. side said "that wouldnt work", he said, adding that North Korea was unwilling to completely freeze its weapons programmes. "So to give many, many billions of dollars in sanctions relief would in effect put us in a position of subsidising the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The United Nations and the United States ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea when it conducted repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in 2017. Washington has demanded North Korea's complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation before sanctions can be lifted, a position Pyongyang has denounced as "gangster like." (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Eric Beech, Matt Spetalnick, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali in WASHINGTON; Jeff Mason, Soyoung Kim, James Pearson, Josh Smith, Ju-min Park, Mai Nyugen, Khanh Vu, Jack Kim in HANOI; Martin Petty and Karen Lema in MANILA; editing by Robert Birsel, Lincoln Feast and Grant McCool) Drag queens, police, surf lifesavers and "Dykes on Bikes" were among the colourful mix of thousands parading through Sydney Saturday at the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Organisers estimated some 500,000 party-goers turned out to watch the spectacle, with about 200 floats making their way down Sydney's Oxford street. Some 12,500 participants -- including armed forces, politicians and celebrities -- made their presence known with sparkling costumes, dancing their way through the city's gay hub. People from all around Australia came together on this glittering night to witness a colourful spectacle of protest and celebration," said Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras chief executive Terese Casu. The theme for this year's Mardi Gras was "fearless", with a number of grassroots organisations working across a range of LGBTQI issues highlighted for their dedication to the community. The 2019 Mardi Gras Parade was a moment for LGBTQI people, young and old, to come together and move fearlessly into the future," Casu added. The roar of dozens of motorbikes carrying women and rainbow flags, or "Dykes on Bikes", kicked off the parade. This annual opening tradition was followed by the long stream of flamboyant floats, including a giant dancing yak and a sparkling display of rainbow superheros, or "super-queeroes", defending gay rights. "You can expect... my Naomi Campbell strut down Oxford street," drag queen Felcia Foxx, from the First Nations float, told AFP ahead of the event. "It is such an honour to have tonight, and to celebrate and be celebrated, for who we are -- our charismatic, unique selves." Australia's pop princess Kylie Minogue made a brief appearance, with a dance troupe lead by drag queens donning some of her iconic costumes performing a medley of her songs in tribute. Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras grew out of a brutal police crackdown on political protesters in 1978 and is now one of the biggest street parties in the world. In 2017, after more than a decade of political wrangling, Australia legalised gay marriage. But many at the parade on Saturday said much more is needed to change attitudes in Australia. "It (Australian society) just needs to be more open and accepting," first time Mardi Gras attendee Josh Williams told AFP. "Love is about hearts not parts, and everyone should be able to love who they want to," the 28-year-old added. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has insisted the Philippines and the United States must review the Mutual Defense Treaty the two allies signed in 1951 andseen by political analysts as the strongest warning thus far against Chinese claims to most of the strategic waterway. According to Merriam-Webster, attack is the act of attacking with physical force or unfriendly words or a belligerent or antagonistic action launched against ones opponent. Lorenzana, citing the MDT, said in Filipino the. They (the Chinese) just got an island. Where will that fall under? Those are the ambiguities that must be reviewed. Political observers said Pompeos statement was the first time a US government official from the Trump administration clarified that the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are locked in years-long territorial row, is covered by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any attack on Philippine forces, aircraft, republic vessels, in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under article 4 of our MDT, Pompeo told a joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin in Manila. Article IV of the MT states: Each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes. As an island nation, the Philippines depends on freedom and unrestricted access to the seas. Chinas island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, your security and, therefore, economic livelihood as well as that of the United States, Pompeo said. But Lorenzana said the treaty was not ratified by the US Congress. It was only signed by their executive so." You read the MDT. It is said there according to constitutional processes (still). I dont know why it was never revisited and I still believe that the best time to have reviewed the MDT was when the bases of the Americans left the Philippines in the 1990s, Lorenzana said. Speaking after meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, Pompeo said Beijings artificial islands in waters also claimed by the Southeast Asian nation and other neighbors was a threat. Chinas island-building and military activities in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and therefore economic livelihood, as well as that of the United States, he said at a joint news conference with Locsin. As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack of Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article 4 of our Mutual Defence Treaty. Pompeos comments marked the first time any US official had publicly stated Washingtons intent to defend the Philippines specifically in the strategic waterway, a potential flashpoint, according to observers. A 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty committed Manila and its former colonial ally to come to each others aid in case of an armed attack in the Pacific area on either party. Senior Duterte officials have called for a review of the pact because they were unsure whether it applied to the maritime row. Troops and fishermen have frequently complained about harassment by Chinese maritime security forces around some of the islands and reefs Manila occupies. The United States has said it is not taking sides in the dispute over waters claimed by China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.However, Washington has asserted its right to freely sail over waters through which trillions of dollars in global trade pass through each year and which reputedly contain vast mineral and oil reserves. The Philippines used to be the staunchest critics of Chinas expansive claims over the sea. But after his election in 2016, Duterte put the dispute on the back burner in favor of courting Chinese trade and investment. He threatened a split with the United States and called then President Barack Obama a son of a bitch. Relations are being rebuilt under US President Donald Trump, who has hailed Dutertes actions including a drugs crackdown that has claimed thousands of lives as a sign of toughness. Locsin on Friday downplayed his governments suggestions for a review of the defense pact, saying in its vagueness lies the best deterrence. We are very assured, we are very confident that United States has, in the words of Secretary Pompeo and words of President Trump to our President: We have your back, Locsin said. But Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty still needed to be reviewed to clarify some kinks and to make the terms of the pact more clear-cut. Lorenzana also said the defense treaty needed to be reviewed. That view was the opposite of Locsins. My own view, it is a dynamic exchange thats going on in government, my own view is no. I believe in the old theory of deterrence. I have been an old man, Ive engaged in the Cold War for longer than you. In vagueness lies the best deterrence, Locsin said during a press briefing. How do you flesh out that vagueness? In the repeated assurances by the US that in the event of an act of aggression committed against the Philippines. I dont believe going down into the details is the way the sincerity of the American commitment can be shown, he said. Pompeo and Locsin also discussed the US support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program as well as the governments campaign against all forms of criminality especially terrorism and its connection with illegal drugs trade. READ: Americas state secretary likens Duterte to Trump Ideally mutual defense should cover a partners back as well as its front. Secretary Pompeo and I agreed that it was in both our countries interest to ensure that the alliance effectively address other non-traditional security issues such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; and, above all, the fight against human trafficking, Locsin said. Pompeo, for his part, raised the importance of a free press during his talks with Locsin. I raised with my counterpart the importance of protecting the rights and liberties of all Filipinos including free speech, a free press, and due process under the law, Pompeo said in his opening remarks during his joint press conference with Locsin. READ: Pompeo: US to defend PH Dozens of police officers were hurt in clashes between protesters and police in the Algerian capital Friday, as tens of thousands rallied against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. According to a police toll, 56 police and seven demonstrators were hurt and 45 arrests made in Algiers. AFP saw a number of people wounded after being hit by batons, tear gas grenades and stones thrown by police back at demonstrators who had intially hurled them at officers. A car was seen on fire as violence broke out on the margins of a demonstration which security sources said drew "several tens of thousands of people" to the streets. Riot police fired tear gas to disperse a group of around 200 young people, around 1.5 kilometres (less than a mile) from the presidential palace. Other sporadic clashes were reported by security sources in central Algiers, but most people appeared to have left the protest sites by 8:00 pm (1900 GMT). Crowds of men and women of all ages had defied a ban to march along one of the city's main avenues, waving Algerian flags as they rallied against 81-year-old Bouteflika's decision to stand in the April 18 election. "The people want the fall of the regime," some of those gathered cried, in an echo of the Arab Spring uprisings of eight years ago, while others shouted that the demonstrations were peaceful. Riot police also used tear gas to prevent protesters from penetrating key central locations in Algiers, blocking demonstrators from reaching the Government Palace which houses the prime minister's offices. Earlier on Friday a photographer and journalist from local media were briefly detained by police and removed from the protest area before being released, an AFP journalist reported. Shop windows were broken, while a bank branch was set alight, an AFP journalist said. Other rallies were held in Algeria's second and third cities, Oran and Constantine, as well as numerous other towns and cities, security sources said. In Oran, one of the protesters told AFP the demonstration was larger than one held last Friday. The scale of the protests has surprised many in Algeria and represents the biggest challenge in years to the authorities. Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999, has used a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 2013 and is rarely seen in public. Despite the demonstrations, Bouteflika's campaign director said the president will meet a Sunday deadline to formally submit his candidacy. - Disgruntled youth - Protesters have been mobilised by calls on social media and say the latest demonstrations are aimed not only at Bouteflika's bid to extend his 20-year tenure, but also against the ruling elite as a whole. The head-of-state flew to Switzerland on Sunday for what the presidency called "routine medical checks" and has not yet returned. Officials have warned that the protests risk dragging Algeria into instability, after Bouteflika helped foster peace in the wake of a civil war in the 1990s. Calls to demonstrate have resonated with young Algerians, many of whom struggle for employment in a country where half the population is under 30. Reporters at state radio have complained that their bosses have imposed a blackout on coverage of the protests. Known for wearing a three-piece suit even in the north African nation's stifling heat, Bouteflika gained respect from many for his role in ending the war, which official data indicates killed nearly 200,000 people. When the Arab Spring erupted in January 2011, he rode out the storm by lifting a 19-year state of emergency and by using oil revenues to grant pay rises. After his stroke, Bouteflika consolidated power in a country where the shadowy intelligence service has long been viewed as a "state within a state". In early 2016, he dissolved the all-powerful DRS intelligence agency after dismissing its leader General Mohamed Mediene, known as "Toufik", who had clung to the post for a quarter of a century. BraziliaBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will pay his first official visits to the United States, Chile and Israel this month, in a clear sign of the alliances the far-right leader wants to shore up, official sources said Friday. The former Army captain, who took office on January 1, will be in the United States on March 18-22 and in Chile on March 23, said Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, quoted by state-owned Agencia Brasil. At the end of March, Bolsonaro will travel to Israel, Araujo added. The Israeli foreign ministry said Wednesday that the Brazilian leader would be in that country from March 31 to April 4. These will be Bolsonaros first official visits as president. In January, he went to Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos. Recent Brazilian presidents traditionally have made their first trips to neighboring Argentina.But Bolsonaros itinerary represents the political and economic shifts he highlighted during his successful election campaign. Bolsonaro, like US President Donald Trump, largely rejects multilateralism, and both want to oust embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and see opposition leader Juan Guaido in his place. In Chile, seen by Brazils new economy minister Paulo Guedes as an economic success story, Bolsonaro will take part in the launch of the Prosur forum, which aims to promote development projects in South America. In Israel, Bolsonaro will repay the visit made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Brazil for his inauguration. Chronicling the arts of my life Bodil Eriksson is a longtime Volvo executive charged with finding a way to get people to buy fewer cars. The new subsidiary she leads, M, is the latest attempt by a carmaker to enter the car-sharing space dominated by startups like Car2go (owned by Daimler) and Zipcar (owned by Avis). This spring, M will roll out hundreds of subscription-accessible cars in a to-be-announced American city, making Volvo the latest automaker to challenge the model of personal car ownership that has defined the American way of life for nearly a century. Advertisement Eriksson walked the walk: She gave up her car when Volvo announced M last summer. Super frustrating. Im not getting a car until weve solved it, was how she described navigating the carless life, before adding: And theres also a little bit of liberation in there. I was so strangely attached to my car; I started all the planning with my car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Say hello to a 21st-century auto exec. Youd think those two goalsselling people cars, and renting people cars so they dont have to buy themwould be at odds. And they might be. But you wont hear the automakers say so. In any case, they feel the wind is blowing toward a subscription modelone estimate has sales dropping by 40 percent in 25 yearsand they dont want to be left behind. Advertisement Advertisement So a modern city dweller who wants to get behind the wheel will find herself with a bewildering array of services that aim, in various ways, to improve on traditional rental car contracts and lease agreements. General Motors has Maven. Cadillac tried (and says it will relaunch) a lease-style service called Book. Last week, Car2go merged with BMWs DriveNow, cementing its place as the industry leader with the promise of a $1.4 billion investment. There are many, many more companies trying a version of the same thing, with titles straight out of a Silicon Valley name generator: Flexdrive, OpenWheel, Free2Move, Car4U. So many that you wont know which two of those names I made up. For many of these outfits, car-sharing is probably not profitable, but this is a unique time, observes Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at Edmunds. The auto industry is in its biggest shift since the internal combustion engine. You cannot not chase down a direction, because if it turns out thats the way and youre not on it, you find yourself out of business and irrelevant. Advertisement Advertisement The fundamental idea hereimproving on the irritating and lugubrious ritual of renting a caris not new. Zipcar is older than the iPhone; Car2go is older than Uber. But several recent trends have given the industry a boost. Advertisement Advertisement First, the digital infrastructure that made this business possible a decade ago has advanced rapidly. Smartphones are better, faster, and much more widespread now than they were then. Its not just that car keys are obsolete, but that short-term rentals can be coordinated on the fly. Information about complementary services like train or bus arrivals is also newly accessible. Second, the rise of the ride-hailing companies has reduced the burden of being stranded without a carand increased the distance customers can easily travel to access a rental. Would it be nice to just call a car and have it delivered by a concierge? Yes. But theres not a lot of friction to move yourself to a vehicle within a five- to eight-mile radius, argues David Liniado, a vice president at Cox Automotive who has invested in Getaround and Ridecell. For decades, people kept a car at home and drove to get everything. Now that everything gets delivered to your home, getting the car could become the errand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Third, the auto industry (inspired by Uber) is contemplating various ways to market its vehicles as a service. Many of the new services hew closer to traditional lease agreements than to rental car contracts, with customers taking possession of vehicles for months at a time. Views on the arrival of commercial autonomous vehicles differ, but nearly everyone agrees they will arrive in a subscription or fleet model before theyre available for purchase. Elon Musk wants to enable future autonomous Tesla owners to rent out their own cars when theyre not using them themselves. Fourth, cities and customers are changing their views. Car2go, which permits users to leave cars in any legal parking space, depends on deals with cities to avoid accruing millions in parking tickets. And cities are overriding parking-hoarding residents to cut deals. Over the past 24 months, youve really seen municipalities understand the benefits of taking away street parking spaces, says Michael Mikos, who leads Car2go in the U.S. and Canada. Today, cities are knocking on our door. Vancouver, the companys biggest market, has an astounding 200,000 Car2go usersa market, but also a political coalition. (The city also doesnt permit ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft to operatefor now.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A more fundamental arbitrage is at work than just innovating the Hertz model. Americans love cars on a deep level, which has blinded us to the fact that the personal car has always been a bit of a pain in the ass. It depreciates rapidly, costs a lot to use ($8,800 a year for a new vehicle, according to AAA), and spends 95 percent of its life sitting around doing nothing. But in the great industrial coup of the 20th century, Detroit got America remodeled so that the automakers product became a prerequisite for working (or doing virtually anything else). No country has a higher ownership rate. Given all that, most starry-eyed car-sharers believe their product will not just enable carless urbanites in San Francisco to go vineyard hopping on the weekend, but convince red-blooded grease monkeys to give up their rides too. Advertisement There are limits, but no one is sure where they lie. It all comes back to this question of whether you need a car to get to work, observes Robin Chase, co-founder of Zipcar and organizer of a shared-mobility, anti-traffic manifesto to which various companies (including Uber and Zipcar) have tied their mission. That is the one use case that if you need it, you will own one, and all the other use of that vehicle follows because of convenience and sunk costs. In nearly all U.S. cities, the vast majority of people drive to work alone. Advertisement Advertisement Still, there are a lot of people in that partial car use bracket: transit commuters with night-and-weekend car needs, to start with. But then, industry figures think, a whole lot of multicar households where both cars are rarely used at the same time. The average U.S. household has two cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some users may decide whether to own a car or use an app based on whether they love their vehicle more than they hate parking it, but for most, itll come down to money. The startups believe they save people money, and rapid growth suggests users agree: U.S. car-share membership was at 1.5 million in 2017, according to Susan Shaheen at the University of California, Berkeley; Car2gos user base alone grew by 20 percent between 2018 and 2019 to 1.2 million users. The companies, as companies are wont to do, say that the business model is a good one. If it is, it will depend on utilization rates. Volvo is basing M off a Swedish program called Sunfleet which operates a 1,700-car fleet in Sweden. Eriksson believes that M can put its cars in use (meaning rented, not necessarily in gear) 40 percent of the time. In part, she said, that would be achieved by getting a diverse user base to spread demand around different times of day and week, including while most users are asleep. That is also part of the charm for cities turning parking spaces over to these companies. Some of Shaheens research suggests Car2gos vehicles are so efficiently used that each one can take 11 private cars off the street. That doesnt necessarily mean less congestion, but it would create more room on the streets. Well, Actually is a weekly column by Slates Shannon Palus. Each week, shell test health and wellness products to help readers figure out what they should try, what they should skip, and why. When I saw two burnt sticks available for sale from Goop, I scoffed. Sixteen dollars! These sticks seemed to be the height of ridiculousness in the charcoal trend. Charcoal masks, charcoal supplements, charcoal toothpaste, charcoal foodand now, charcoal sticks. In principle, charcoal is not actually bullshit. Its the plant matter that remains when everything wet and fibrous has dried up and burnt out, leaving behind a porous and mostly empty carbon ghost structure. This skeleton has a tremendous surface area, according to the medical literature: The porous material contains lots of little docking spots for molecules, sort of like a sponge. This setup is so good at absorbing bad stuff that in the early 1800s, a French chemist and a French pharmacologist swallowed lethal doses of arsenic and strychnine (respectively) and then followed that with activated charcoal (activated means its been processed at high temperatures to be extra spongelike); the charcoal soaked up the bad chemicals, which then passed through their systems; and both men lived to tell the tale. Thus, charcoal became a routine implement of poison control, even hailed as a universal antidote. Some argue thats too extreme a label, as charcoal needs to be administered shortly following ingestion of a poison to do much good. But still, charcoal is an effective toolfor specific circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the modern wellness industry, which is built in large part on the idea that we need to rid our bodies of mysterious toxic stuff, it has become a wildly common ingredient based on its removal properties. If youre the type of person who has a stash of self-care products, chances are you have something containing activated charcoal in there. Most of the time, it doesnt do much of anything. While charcoal face masks could theoretically absorb oil, theres no scientific evidence that it actually works to purify the skin, dermatologist Yunyoung Claire Chang told the Outline in an article from Angela Lashbrook debunking activated charcoals station in the wellness industry. Lashbrook found charcoal lacking in other arenas too; in toothpaste and whiteners, it can even scrape off enamel and damage your teeth. In food, it is at best not going to hurt you, but it may prevent you from getting some of the nutrients in whatever you were eating it with by absorbing those nutrients itself. Advertisement Advertisement The Goop sticksactually made by a small distributor of Japanese goods, Morihataarent for scrubbing teeth or eating or otherwise cleansing your body. Theyre for purifying water, which, startlingly, is one of the handful of things that charcoal can do. The concept of charcoal as water filter is, like charcoal itself, hardly proprietary. Morihata marketing director Sam Gean happily tells me that charcoal is also how Brita filters work: The design uses gravity to draw water through a plastic container full of charcoal, which successfully removes contaminants like copper and chlorine, as an experiment conducted by a chemist and some skeptical journalists found. Charcoal filters are used on a large scale in wastewater treatment too, which makes sense: Its genuinely good at sucking up poison, whether in stomachs or communal water systems. (A related charcoal trick: It can remove smells from your fridge.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sticks have sold out of Goop, so I ordered the same ones from Free People, which sells a variety of Morihata goods, including charcoal towels and charcoal toothbrushes. With shipping, it came to almost $20. They come in a white paper bag, with instructions to rinse the charcoal sticks (I actually got three for my money, instead of two!), boil them in tap water for 10 minutes, and then place them in a container of water. I do this and then, as instructed, let them sit for several hours. Price-wise, these sticks are objectively worse than Brita filters, which sell for about $5 a pop (the container can cost between $20 and $30, depending on the size). Convenience-wise, the Brita filters are also better; they do not require boiling every so often, nor do you have to wait several hours for the charcoal to work its magic. Im also skeptical that sticks soaking in water could be as successful at removing contaminants as a filter that all water is forced to pass through. Gean tells me that the charcoal sticks are not proven to be more or less effective than other charcoal on the market. He also explains that the charcoal is typically used in modern Japan not for water purification, but for grilling. He tells me that the sticks are well-suited to high-end hotels because, lacking any kind of plastic, they connote greenness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My tap water doesnt pose any sort of health threat already, so the sticks effectiveness doesnt really matter. What does matter is how it tastes. I taste test my charcoal stick water. It does not taste remarkably different from tap water. Maybe a little less metallic? I dont know. I offer a glass to a guest; he says he cannot articulate a differenceuntil I tell him that it was charcoal water. Then he concludes that maybe it was a little chalky? Advertisement In fairness, New York has pretty good water. I polled my fellow New York Slatesters who use Britas, and they all said that they cant tell a difference between filtered water and tap, but they nonetheless keep using their Britas. I think its a placebo thing for me, one said. While the sticks are advertised to remove toxins, their actual use is, at best, to make safe drinking water a little more palatable, rather than to remove anything truly dangerous. If its the apocalypse and these sticks are your only recourse, I guess, try it? But remember that charcoal cant remove all bad stuff, like harmful bacteria. Whether its a placebo effect, actual filtering, or a little bit of both, a lot of people who buy these sticks note that they really like them, according to the reviews. Reviewers are also frequently unable to articulate exactly what the change in water taste is. I am not completely sure that this is purifying the water further, but I definitely can taste the improvement of taste, writes one person who gave the sticks five stars. In this way, the sticks are a perfect mascot for the charcoal trend: rooted in some truth, but primarily for show. I kept them in a pitcher on my kitchen counter for a while; I imagine in a minimalist space, with the right container, theyd look quite pretty. But in my small, cluttered kitchen, they looked less eco chic and more unnecessary clutter. 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. This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission. To make roasted chicken-wing garum, like they do in Nomas fermentation lab, you need to make a fermentation chamber, cook for hours, and then let your mixture sit for four weeks. Their miso with Danish rye bread, also called ryeso, takes up to four months to develop the right flavors. But according to David Zilber, head of fermentation at Noma and co-author of The Noma Guide to Fermentation, theres no reason that your own fermentation experiments have to be that intensive to be just as delicious. It really is something you can very quickly understand, he assures me on the phone, especially if youre starting with some good, old-fashioned lacto-fermentation. Advertisement Youve enjoyed this style of fermentation if youve eaten a dill pickle. All you have to do is take a piece of produce, add a lot of salt, and let it sit in an airtight container for a while. The basic technique lets you ferment a lot of things and if you have a mostly stocked kitchen, theres a good chance that you have pretty much everything you already need. To find which containers and alts are going to yield the most reliable results (without accidentally making you sick), Zilber walked us through all of the essentials to start lacto-fermenting vegetables and fruits, along with some gadgets that will make the process a little bit easier. Your container can be as simple as a Mason jar. In fact, Zilber tells me that he recommends a glass jar with a screw-top for lacto-fermentation, especially for beginners. That way, you can clearly see the fermentation process unfold, while also guaranteeing that no air or moisture will leak in while your veggies or fruits are starting to transform. Just make sure that whatever jar you use has got a wide enough opening, so you can easily put in and take out your fermented foodstuffs. If you want to get really technical and do things really well, get a metal lid, punch a hole out, unscrew the metal lid, and stick an airlock in there so that gas can get out. Its not crucial, Zilber notes, but it does help the fermentation work better. Thats because the airlock lets out the gas that builds up in an airtight jar without letting new bacteria or microbes in. For a slightly less surgically invasive way to install an airlock, you can also get screw-top lids with built-in airlocks, designed specifically for this purpose. Grub Street staff writer Nikita Richardson, whos been embarking on her own at-home fermentation projects (and who profiled Zilber), has been using these silicone fermentation lids for her own experiments. If youre looking for something thats perhaps a bit more elegant on your kitchen counter than a Mason jar with a hole cut out of the lid for an airlock, You dont need to ferment in glass, notes Zilber. You could use a ceramic jar, like one of these specialized fermentation crocks. Instead of a screw-top to keep out unwanted bacteria and pests, this container has a shallow moat around the opening, which you fill with water in order to create that all-important airtight seal. However, this is probably a better option for a more advanced home fermenter, since you cant see the fermenting foods progress easily. No matter what container youre using, its good to have some fermentation weights on hand. Their purpose is to keep all the food youre trying to ferment beneath the water line, Zilber says. If theyre not packed down nicely in the jar, therell be lots of air, and that oxygen will prevent the bacteria from doing their good fermenting work. So you keep your vegetables out of contact with air just by weighing them down. A good weight thats heavy enough and fits the jar nicely without getting stuck on the sides is very important, and dont be afraid to add more than one, says Zilber. If its not heavy enough and there are still pockets of air, add another weight on top. Whether youre lacto-fermenting something sweet like plums or making sauerkraut, youll want to use salt. Its got just enough antimicrobial properties to help stave off some dangerous bacteria, like one that causes botulism, without stopping the process entirely. It also adds flavor to your fermented goods, shifting from sweet to sour. Thats why Zilber recommends using any natural dried sea salt, because it contains a lot of other minerals besides just sodium chloride that can actually help add a richer flavor profile. And though there are any number of high-end sea salts that you could use in your ferments, if youre looking to maximize flavor and quality with availability and price, flaky Maldon which has been harvested on the southeast coast of England for over a century is a solid choice. No matter which brand of sea salt or kosher salt you choose to use, I do stress that you should avoid iodized salt, notes Zilber, because iodine is slightly antimicrobial. In other words, itll kill off the microbes you actually want to keep around for fermentations sake, not the bad ones. A quick note about safety: You want to make sure that youre fermenting your food, not just letting it rot, when its attacked by any and all microbes, safe or not. So to ferment properly means that youre only letting in the good, safe microbes and keeping out the bad, disease-causing ones (like E. coli or C. botulinum, which causes botulism). Thats why its so important to make sure that your gear is sanitized before you use it. So once you get your gear ready, wash your fermentation vessels and lids with Star San or a solution of diluted, liquid bleach. If you have a dishwasher, Zilber notes, you can also run your equipment in a hot cycle before you use them. 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. A thing some people do is send mass emails to as many members of the media as possible to promote their personal takes on the news. Slate recently got one such email about Michael Cohens congressional testimony that was also addressed to general mailboxes or individual writers at [deep breath] Media Matters, Law Newz, BuzzFeed, the Federalist, Fox News, the Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Hill, the U.K.s Spectator, Axios, Business Insider, Just Security, the Washingtonian, Politico, the Washington Examiner, Mediaite*, the Center for Public Integrity, the Daily Dot, and Syracuse Universitys student newspaper. The writer of the email, who refers to him/herself only by the handle disqus one, asserted that Cohens testimony was a road map to impeachment, noting in particular that Cohen had presented evidence that Donald Trump reimbursed him personally for part of the hush money he paid to Stormy Daniels. (Cohen has pleaded guilty to making the payment to Daniels, who says she had an extramarital affair with Trump, in secret in order to circumvent campaign-finance disclosure laws.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to all those media outlets, disqus one had also sent his/her theory to law professor Alan Dershowitz, who has been critical of the Department of Justices investigations into Trump. And Dershowitz responded! And ccd everyone. Heres what he said: The fact that Trump paid by personal check is exculpatory under the law since a candidate can contribute unlimited amounts to his own campaign. Now, while it is true that contributions to your own campaign are unlimited, it is perhaps dubious to argue that the lack of a spending limit is exculpatory in this specific context. Cohen has attested under oath that Trump coordinated and approved the entire hush money scheme in October 2016 in order to prevent Daniels story from becoming public before that years election*, and coordinating such an operation is arguably a crime regardless of who did the reimbursing. Even if Trump repaid the entire $130,000 to Cohen personally, moreover, he would have still been obligated to disclose that at the time, which he did not. (For the record, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani says Trump did not know about the Daniels payment before it was made, and there is of yet not any public evidence that corroborates Cohens timeline of events.) Still, it is good for society, overall, that Alan Dershowitz is replying to random emailers about Donald Trump and copying Syracuses student newspaper on the chain. Michael Cohens congressional testimony on Wednesday was met largely with skepticism that he had much new to offer on the possible crimes of his former boss, Donald Trump. One potentially significant legal development from Cohens congressional testimony has gone overlooked, though. It relates to an obscure legal principal, typically reserved for drug cartels and price-fixing cases, that could hold the key to proving allegations of Russian collusion. It is a concept known as a hub-and-spoke conspiracy, and if Cohens testimony is to be believed, it could provide a path for prosecutors to implicate Trump in a foreign conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Advertisement Its relevance to the Russia investigation became clearer on Wednesday, when Cohen provided the strongest public evidence to date linking Trump to foreign election meddling. Cohen testified that during a phone call on July 18 or 19, 2016, Roger Stone told Trump that Julian Assange had given him advanced warning that WikiLeaks would be releasing a trove of hacked Democratic National Committee emails in the next few days. According to Cohen, Trump responded to the effect of wouldnt that be great. WikiLeaks began releasing the emails soon after on July 22. Cohen further testified that Stone frequently reached out to Trump by phone and that Trump was happy to take his calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On its face, nothing in this testimony implicates Trump in an illegal conspiracy. Cohen did not allege that Trump spoke with WikiLeaks himself, and even if he did, learning ahead of time about the release of stolen emails is unlikely to form the basis of an illegal conspiracy. For this reason, most of the analysis of Cohens testimony has focused on other areas of legal exposure, like campaign finance violations and obstruction of justice, while reserving judgment on the more complicated question of conspiracy. Advertisement Advertisement That caution is warranted. Proving a conspiracy is difficult. It requires showing that Trump and others reached an agreement to pursue an illegal objective, something that a single conversation between Trump and Stone about WikiLeaks publication schedule is unlikely to establish. Yet if Cohens testimony was truthful, it adds one critical piece of evidence to what is publicly known about a potential conspiracy: It establishes a direct line of communication between Trump and Stone regarding hacked Democratic emails. When considered alongside what has already been reported about Stones similar communications with WikiLeaks and Russian hackers, it begins to outline a broader web of collusionone with Stone at the center, Trump at one end, and WikiLeaks and Russian hackers on the others. Advertisement Advertisement When courts are presented with such allegations, they tend to describe them not as a web but as a wheel, with a hub at the center and multiple spokes extending outward toward a rim. This is where the term hub-and-spoke conspiracy gets its name. It is a conceptual framework developed by courts to help judges and attorneys evaluate complex conspiracies where individual conspirators often have no mutual contacts other than through a central intermediary. Herein lies the benefit of a hub-and-spoke conspiracy to prosecutors like Robert Mueller. Unlike in a traditional conspiracy, where prosecutors must show that each co-conspirator reached an agreement with the others, a hub-and-spoke conspiracy allows prosecutors to hold various co-conspirators liable for a single conspiracy, even when individual conspirators may have never communicated with one another or known about all aspects of the plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While not yet proven, one plausible hub-and-spoke structure appears to be taking shape. Under this framework, courts hold that [t]here is no requirement that each conspirator participated in every transaction, knew the other conspirators, or knew the details of each venture making up the conspiracy. All that is required, according to precedent, is that a given co-conspirator be aware of the existence of some of the other participants and do something in furtherance of the broader, illegal goal. Stated differently, case law says that a hub-and-spoke conspiracy may be established when a central actor (or group) helps direct illegal activities while various combinations of other people exert individual efforts towards the common goal. Advertisement Advertisement When coupled with the new revelations about Trumps conversations with Stone, this hub-and-spoke framework provides the clearest road map yet for how Trump personally could be implicated in a foreign conspiracy to influence the electioneven if Trump only communicated about the hacked emails with Stone, and even if the impetus for the hacking originated elsewhere. Advertisement While not yet proven, one plausible hub-and-spoke structure appears to be taking shape. At the center, or hub, was Stone, who allegedly communicated about stolen Democratic emails with at least three so-called spokes: (1) Trump, (2) WikiLeaks, and (3) Russian hackers posing as Guccifer 2.0. As to WikiLeaks, the special counsel office has alleged that Stone maintained a back channel to Julian Assange through which he repeatedly discussed the release of stolen Democratic emails. The special counsel has also alleged that Stone communicated with Russian hackers, including by sending a message to Guccifer 2.0 on Sept. 9, 2016, stating that he thought stolen Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee turnout data was pretty standard. As Marcy Wheeler has pointed out, Stones claims that he only communicated with Russian hackers after they stopped hacking Democratic information is doubtful. According to the DNCs civil lawsuit, Russian hackers continued breaching the DNCs servers up through Sept. 22, 2016, two weeks after Stone messaged with Guccifer 2.0 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For these connections to implicate Trump, prosecutors will need to establish two things. First, prosecutors will need to show that Trump reached some form of agreement with Stone relating to the hacked emails. Cohens congressional testimony helps lay the groundwork for such an agreement insofar as it shows that Trump and Stone communicated frequently and Trump approved of Stones WikiLeaks contacts. But prosecutors will likely need more evidence regarding the nature of their communications for any charges to stick. The second task for prosecutors is to show that any agreement Trump and Stone may have reached related to something illegal and not just something unethical or unpatriotic. An agreement to merely solicit updates from WikiLeaks is likely not illegal. A borderline scenario would be if Trump and Stone agreed to actively coordinate with WikiLeaks about when and how hacked information should be released. That may or may not be illegalthe relevant analysis is complex. A third scenario, which would almost certainly be illegal, is if Trump and Stone agreed to coordinate in some way with Russian hackers. If Trump had any involvement in Stones alleged communications with Guccifer 2.0, that would likely implicate him in a broader foreign conspiracy, even if he carefully avoided communicating with anyone other than Stone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The special counsels office has closely guarded what it knows about Stone and Trumps potential connections to WikiLeaks and Russian hacking. Cohens testimony offered little more than one mans glimpse into one of the deepest and most secretive investigations in U.S. history. Yet it would be a mistake to minimize the legal significance of what Cohen revealed on Wednesday. Cohen advanced the publics understanding of the collusion investigation in one critical way: He illustrated that the thread connecting Stone to WikiLeaks and WikiLeaks to Russian hackers made its way into the highest offices of Trump Tower. As Mueller likely recognized long ago, this could be the first step in implicating Trump in a hub-and-spoke conspiracy. WashingtonThe United States and Russia clashed Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekends US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduros forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. We are sanctioning members of Maduros security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. - Russia steps up - More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuelas rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena, Lavrov said. This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs, he said.Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduros forces would turn Russian aid into a political weapon by providing it only to supporters. Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime, Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would cool hotheads in Washington who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an Eastern European country and station them close to Venezuela. - Warnings of force - President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduros ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home at the latest on Monday despite threats to arrest him. After meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Guaido said: The only step backwards in this process we have begun in Venezuela will be when many Venezuelans are able to return home. Abrams said the United States was very concerned about Guaidos ability to return home safely and warned of a very large reaction if he is arrested. The First Step Act of 2018 is a small step toward ending mass incarceration. This bipartisan legislation reduced certain mandatory-minimum sentences, prevents federal prison guards from shackling pregnant detainees, and will help federal prisoners earn early release. These reforms are long-overdue, but they will not dent Americas staggering incarceration rate. This is because less than 10 percent of the U.S. incarcerated population is in federal prisons. More ambitious change must occur on the state and local levels. To pursue this goal, Democrats must continue to work with Republicans, who control 27 governors mansions and 30 state legislatures. Although bipartisan proposals are not always good proposals, consensus does not necessarily mean compromise. Many conservatives agree with progressives on important policies despite philosophical differences. Since the 2000s, red states such as Texas have begun to reduce incarceration, enhance in-prison rehabilitation programs, expand aid to former prisoners re-entering society, and even close prisons. The First Step Actwhich received 87 votes in the GOP-controlled Senateshould provide Republican governors and state legislators with political cover to build on past success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interviews with experts from across the ideological spectrum about criminal justice reform strategy revealed four action steps to advance progressive initiatives in conservative states. 1. Encourage white conservatives who have been harmed by mass incarceration to tell their stories. Most influential works about mass incarceration, such as Locking Up Our Own and The New Jim Crow, focus on the experiences of black people in this country. People on the left correctly emphasize the prison booms devastating impact on people of color, who are policed, prosecuted, and sentenced more aggressively than white people. Transformational change requires fighting institutional racism. But excessive incarceration also occurs in predominantly white, Republican states. Professional relationships reduce the risk that conservatives will feel defensive when progressives bring up systemic racism. To expand the reform movements ranks, professor James Forman Jr., the author of Locking Up Our Own, suggested that progressives should recruit white conservatives to speak about their experiences with the criminal legal system. Activists should highlight these perspectives without downplaying the systems disproportionate impact on minorities or neglecting nonwhite perspectives in policy negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, championed the First Step Act because his father, Charles, suffered in federal prison. In addition, a 2017 poll revealed that 54 percent of Trump voters know someone who is or has been behind bars. That statistic illustrates the prison booms oppressive reach, but it also reveals an opportunity to assemble a broad reform coalition. A race-conscious movement amplifying diverse messengers would encourage all Americans to identify with people harmed by the carceral state. Advertisement 2. Build trust through collaboration and by recognizing conservatives good intentions. Some progressives doubt that bipartisan criminal justice initiatives can combat racism in the legal system. Advocating reform in racial terms is a nonstarter for many conservatives, who consider racial-justice claims exaggerated or unnecessarily polarizing. This is a real obstacle. Still, people on the left can make progress by building rapport with conservatives through collaboration on shared policy goals. Once people across the aisle form connections, it is easier to have difficult conversations about race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Professional relationships reduce the risk that conservatives will feel defensive when progressives bring up systemic racism. Vikrant Reddy, a senior research fellow at the Charles Koch Institute, told MTV that conservatives are really sympathetic to this notion that we have passed legislation that has had unintended consequences for racial minorities. At the same time, people on the right recoil at the notion that a shadowy cabal of Republicans attacked minority communities intentionally. Progressives should not hesitate to confront racismintentional, unconscious, and institutionalin frank terms. But when trying to persuade Republicans to adopt reform, activists should treat them as potential partners in the solution. 3. Appeal to the shared value of public safety. Advertisement Advertisement A common misconception is that conservative reformers care primarily about cutting prison spending. While cost is important, public safety is critical to conservative reform advocates and opponents. Mass incarceration would never have happened if fiscal restraint trumped tragically misguided arguments about security. According to the influential Right on Crime initiative, public safety is a core responsibility of government, and todays policymakers must deliver a better return on taxpayers investments in public safety. Appealing to this shared value makes it easier for progressives to persuade conservatives. Advertisement Advertisement Framing reform in terms of public safety means changing minds about what keeps communities safe. Though almost all prisoners will be released eventually, our awful prison conditions leave many people damaged physically and psychologically. Moreover, housing and employment discrimination increase recidivism by preventing people with criminal records from earning a lawful living. A progressive public safety narrative explains that security depends on rehabilitation, re-entry, and dramatically reducing incarceration. Conservatives generally disfavor government interventions to remedy the conditions that cause crime, but they may support improving safety through criminal justice reform. 4. Use civil forfeiture to demonstrate the need for police accountability. Advertisement Some criminal justice topics are more contentious than others, and perhaps none is more divisive than policing. But even in this context there is potential for bipartisan change. According to Chuck DeVore and Randy Petersen of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (home to Right on Crime), civil forfeiture is a gateway issue for getting conservatives to back police reform. Civil forfeiture laws allow police to take and keep citizens property if officers suspect that the item is involved in a crime. For instance, during a traffic stop, an officer could confiscate money found inside the drivers car, claiming that it was going to be used to buy drugs. Police can do this even if the property owner has not been convicted or even charged with wrongdoing. To recover the property, a citizen must prove in a civil proceeding that the property was not involved in a crimethere is no presumption of innocence. People across the political spectrum oppose this practice. Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court just ruled that forfeitures to state police can be unconstitutional excessive fines. However, officers can still take property from innocent people if the forfeiture is not deemed excessive. While civil forfeiture is a narrow slice of Americas police misconduct problem, challenging it has broader benefits. A campaign against civil forfeiture may undermine blind faith in law enforcement and enlarge the pool of people interested in combatting police abuses. Expanding support for reform is vital in states where progressives cannot enact policy on their own. With strategic bipartisanship, activists can slowly but surely improve the criminal legal system. Change is coming: Almost five years after the uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri, the area is now a central player in battle for criminal justice reform, thanks to the efforts of Wesley Bell, who became St. Louis Countys first black prosecuting attorney this year. Maura Ewing explains the important changes he has already madeand the hurdles he is still overcoming. And at the national level, James Mooney explains how powerful criminal justice reform measures can pass even with conservatives in charge. Advertisement Wild men of Chicago: Why was the Rev. James MacDonald recently ousted by Harvest Bible Chapels all-male elder board? Ruth Graham explains the controversys backgroundand how a journalist and a Chicagoland shock jock finally tipped the scales against the infamous motorcycle-riding pastor. Middlebrow: Maria Popova, creator of the website Brain Pickings, has made a living out of scavenging for inspiration in the writings and personal lives of famous artists and intellectuals. Now shes written a book in the same vein, Figuring, thats little more than a grab bag of mildly cool factoids. Read Laura Millers review of the book. Liar, liar: In the latest entry for our Rabbit Holes series, Joy Lanzendorfer explains the joy of watching YouTube videos featuring lies. And its not the untruths themselves that are the draw: Oddly, it doesnt matter to me what the lie is about. It could be as frivolous as a celebrity romance or as serious as murder, I just like recognizing the behavior. For fun: Lets talk about sexts, baby. Yes, I sometimes write things that are not newsletters, Nitish On Thursday, Tesla delivered at last on CEO Elon Musks ultimate promise: a $35,000 electric car. But the company managed to achieve this triumph in just about the least inspiring way possiblewith a special announcement that included layoffs, store closures, and financial red flags. By Friday morning, the companys stock had dropped 8 percent. The new base Model 3 will come with less range and a less fancy interior than previous versions, and it will be available only in black. A supercar it isnt, though the performance remains impressive for a vehicle of its price. Regardless, it meets the minimum requirements of Teslas longtime pledge to build an all-electric family sedan with good range at a price thats affordable to people who arent wealthy. You can order one right now on Tesla.com, and it will arrive in two to four weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of all the concrete ambitions Musk has set for Tesla, this one proved elusive even as it shattered expectations in other respects. Ive been badgering the company about the goal ever since the Model S launched in 2012. Back then, a Tesla rep told me the affordable sedan would probably come in 2015. Over the years, that date got pushed back again and again. Tesla started taking orders for the Model 3 in 2016, but only for more expensive versions, which began limited production the following year. Asked again about the $35,000 version in May, Musk said that lowering the price at that time would cause Tesla to lose money and die. Until this week, the cheapest Model 3 cost $42,900. Advertisement Now, four years after it was announced, the $35,000 Model 3 is finally here. (Whether thats truly affordable is another debate, but its the benchmark the company set for itself long ago.) Yet, if the cost to consumers is reasonable, the price point has taken a toll on Tesla, its workers, and its shareholdersnot to mention Musks mental health. The company already went through production hell to meet milestones, raising questions about worker safety and the cars reliability. Now, to make ends meet, Musk said that Tesla will have to close physical stores around the country, laying off many sales workers, as it begins selling cars only online. It will keep a relatively small number of showrooms in high-profile locations. At the same time, Musk shifted from predicting a profitable quarter to another loss, spooking investors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a call with reporters Thursday, Musk did not even try to dress up the shift to all-online sales as some kind of strategic masterstroke. He said that there was no way around it and that it would save the company 6 percent on the cost of each car. Its excruciatingly difficult to make this car for $35,000, Musk said, according to the Verge. Advertisement Advertisement As the Drives Edward Niedermeyer pointed out, its a dramatic shift: As recently as December, Tesla had boasted about opening 11 new retail stores, and it was still lobbying New Jersey in January to open more. Now Tesla will be scaling back its physical presence at a time when its under fire for reliability problems, which recently cost the Model 3 its coveted Consumer Reports recommendation. Despite the store closures, Tesla said Thursday that it will increase investment in service, with most service now done by sending Tesla representatives to drivers, rather than having them bring their cars in to the shop. And with fewer stores offering test drives, the company will now allow drivers to return a vehicle within seven days or 1,000 miles for a full refund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To investors, these moves carry a whiff of desperation. In addition to the base Model 3, Tesla dropped prices on other versions and models Thursday. CNBCs roundup of analyst responses suggests that many are concerned the cuts are a sign of reduced demand, which would be ominous: For all of Teslas other problems, wildly strong demand has been the constant that has kept the company afloat. Musk didnt exactly soothe those fears on Thursday: He said his gut feel was that the company could sell 500,000 Model 3s per year, which would be quite strong, but he added, I dont know what demand is. Well see. Its hard for me to imagine demand will falter. Plenty of would-be Tesla buyers over the years have told me they dearly wanted one but were holding out for the $35,000 version. A bigger worry might be profit margins: Musk flatly refused to answer a question about how much profit Tesla would make on each Model 3. Advertisement Advertisement The disappointment surrounding Thursdays news would have been hard to imagine until recently. If you had told Tesla supporters a decade ago, a half-decade ago, or even three years ago that the company would indeed eventually deliver an all-electric, four-door family sedan with 220 miles of range, sports-car acceleration, and a charging network that spans much of the country, they would have been amazed and thrilled. Instead, the news comes cloaked in grim trade-offs and shadowed by Musks run-ins with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Advertisement But the companys turmoil and financial straits shouldnt entirely obscure what it has accomplished here. Musk, for all his warts, showed once again that he cares more about Teslas original mission of making electric cars mainstream than he cares about making money or mollifying investors. While blown deadlines and not-quite-kept promises have become par for the course over Teslas history, Musk and his company have stayed remarkably true to the long-term master plan he laid out back in 2006. And the fact that other companies beat Tesla to its goal of building an electric car for the masses is a testament to the power of Musks vision: Those companies had no such plans until Tesla showed that it could be done. In other words: Even if the $35,000 Model 3 turns out to be a Pyrrhic victory for Tesla, the victory for electric vehiclesand, potentially, the environmentis real. We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies , click here. Services recently took place for James 'Jimmy' Walter MacDonald of Halifax, N.S., who passed away peacefully at home with his family at his side on February 19, 2019 at the age of 41. Jimmy was a lifelong horseman who was known and loved by everyone whose path he crossed. He was known by many in the harness racing industry in Ontario, from his days working in the Bill Cass Stable, as well as almost everyone in Atlantic Canada. Jimmy was always the friendliest guy in the barn, and always carried a big smile on his face. A man with a huge heart who fought a long and brave battle, always with hope, courage, love, dignity and his wicked sense of humor. Jimmy (second from L) with Hall of Famers John Campbell (L) and Bill O'Donnell (R) at the 2017 Little Brown Jug. Jimmy (second from L) with Hall of Famers John Campbell (L) and Bill O'Donnell (R) at the 2017 Little Brown Jug. Dearly loved husband and best friend of Jane, treasured father of Xavier and McKenzie, dearly loved son of Mary Catherine and the late Wayne, much loved brother and brother-in-law of JJ & Noelle, loved son-in-law of Rose and the late Neil Pilcher, loved brother-in-law and mate of Mark & Dee, Leanne & Stephen and Brett, much loved and respected uncle to all his nieces and nephews, loved by his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Sincere thanks to the medical team, especially Dawn, Dr. Cortney Smith and the many nurses from VON for their care and compassion throughout Jimmy's illness. A tribute video to Jimmy MacDonald is available on the funeral home's website. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Jimmy MacDonald. OttawaCanada on Friday launched the extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to the United Statesthe latest move in a case that has roiled relations between the North American neighbors and China. The 47-year-old businesswoman was changing planes in Vancouver in December when she was detained at Washingtons request on suspicion of violating US sanctions on Iransparking arrests of Canadians in China that were seen as retaliatory. Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou, the government said in a statement. Meng, Huaweis chief financial officer and the daughter of the companys founder Ren Zhengfei, is due in court on March 6, when prosecutors will present the evidence against her and lay out detailed arguments for her extradition. The decision, the statement said, followed a thorough and diligent review which found sufficient evidence to warrant putting the matter before a judge. At the end of the processwhich could last months, or even yearsCanadas attorney general will have the final say on whether or not to hand Meng over. Chinas embassy in Canada said it was utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the decision to proceed with the extradition, calling it political persecution and asking for Mengs unconditional release. Meng has been released on bail pending the outcome of the hearings. China is furious over the US charges against Meng, saying they are the product of strong political motivations and an attempt to undermine its flagship telecoms company. Huawei has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Nine days after Mengs arrest, Chinese authorities detained two Canadiansformer diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavorin what was widely seen as an act of retaliation.A third Canadian, meanwhile, had his sentence for drug trafficking upped from 15 years in prison to death row. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has insisted on a strict hands-off approach to the issue, with his justice department stressing on Friday that Canada is a country governed by the rule of law. Trudeau sacked his ambassador to China for undermining that position by saying Meng had a strong case against extradition, and later adding that it would be great for Canada if the US dropped the case. In January, the US announced 13 charges against Meng, Huawei and two affiliates. Officials separately filed 10 charges against two Huawei affiliates for allegedly stealing technology from T-Mobile. Prosecutors say that between 2007 and 2017, Meng, Huawei and subsidiaries sought to mask their business with Iran in violation of US and UN sanctions on the Islamic republic. Meng in particular repeatedly lied to bankers about the relationships between the companies, especially with Skycom, a Huawei affiliate in Iran, according to the charges. That broke the law, justice officials in Washington said, because the Iran business involved US dollar transactions processed by banks through the United States. Huawei and the affiliates lied to US authorities and obstructed the investigation, court documents say. The company is also accused of a concerted effort to steal technology related to a phone-testing robot dubbed Tappy from a T-Mobile USA lab in Washington state, and of rewarding staff for stealing competitors technology secrets. The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. 10 hours ago Three Techs To Buy Before Santa Comes To Town These Tech IPOs Are A Buy Before Christmas This year has been a busy one for IPOs and the activity is staying strong right through the end of the year. Often times the best time to buy a newly IPOd stock is after the initial quiet period ends and that is no different with the three we have today. Read Article WashingtonPresident Donald Trump on Friday sought to quell a firestorm sparked by his comments on the case of an American student tortured and left in a coma in North Korea, saying his words had been misinterpreted. Trump sparked widespread criticism when he told reporters at this weeks summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam that he believed the North Korean leaders claim that he didnt know what happened to Otto Warmbier during his detention. The 22-year-old Warmbier died days after being sent back to the United States in 2017. After a stern rebuke from Warmbiers parents, Trump took to Twitter, insisting he held North Korea responsible for the students death -- but without directly blaming Kim or even mentioning him. I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family, Trump said. Of course, I hold North Korea responsible for Ottos mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. Earlier Friday, Warmbiers parents Fred and Cindy condemned the US leaders lavish praise of Kim this week following their summit in Hanoi. We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out, they said in a statement. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity, they said. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. In his response, Trump noted: I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. He concluded: I love Otto and think of him often! Warmbier, an Ohio native who studied at the University of Virginia, had traveled to North Korea on a tour. He was pulled away at the Pyongyang airport and charged with crimes against the state for allegedly taking down a propaganda poster in his hotel.He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. After lengthy negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, Warmbier was released but died a few days later on American soil. After the Hanoi summit, Trump said of Kim: He knew the case very well, but he knew it later. Kim tells me that he didnt know about it, and I will take him at his word, Trump said. Washington politicians reminded the president that in 2017, he took credit for obtaining Warmbiers release. Otto was tortured beyond belief by North Korea, Trump said at the time. That year, he also labelled Kim Jong Un a madman who doesnt mind starving or killing his people. Warmbiers parents were then invited to attend Trumps State of the Union address in Congress in January 2018 and were hailed as incredible people in his speech. In a tweet earlier Friday, before the Warmbier statement, Trump sought to put a good spin on his abortive nuclear talks with Kim. Great to be back from Vietnam, an amazing place. We had very substantive negotiations with Kim Jong Un - we know what they want, and they know what we must have. Relationship very good, lets see what happens! After Warmbiers death, the US government supported his parents in a lawsuit against Pyongyang. On December 24, a US judge ordered North Korea to pay $501 million over Warmbiers death from apparent torture. A judge said that Warmbier had been used as a pawn in that totalitarian states global shenanigans and face-off with the United States. When I migrated to the US a couple of years ago, one of the first things I did there was try to recreate a sense of home by joining a writers community. It was Philippine letters elder statesman Krip Yuson who got me in touch with Eileen Tabios, and she connected me with Aileen Cassinetto. In October 2017, my sister and I had dinner with the two ladies, their husbands, and other friends including writer and diversity studies professor Melinda de Jesus at a quaint eatery in San Francisco. From there we went on a lit crawl to the Dovre Club on Valencia street, where they read poems amid the din of people chattering and a TV at full blast. I still have the photographs from that night. Eileen and Aileen were born in the Philippines and later moved to the US. Tabios is a poet and anthologist who has published many books. Cassinetto is the first Asian-American poet laureate of San Mateo County. The year before we met, Cassinetto founded Paloma Press, a San Franciso Bay Area-based independent literary press publishing poetry, prose, and limited edition books. Shebelieves in the power of the literary arts, how it can create empathy, bridge divides, change the world. Paloma has released fundraising chapbooks such as Marawi, in support of relief efforts in the Southern Philippines; and After Irma After Harvey, in support of hurricane-displaced animals in Texas, Florida, and Puerto RicoIn 2018, the fundraising anthology Humanity was released in support of UNICEFs Emergency Relief campaigns on the borders of the United States and in Syria. Edited by Tabios, Humanity is a collection of essays and poetry conceived by Cassinetto, inspired by Annie Dillards For the Time Being which, in a large part, contemplates humanity in a world of almost 7 billion individuals and presents humanitys explorations, often struggles, with itself in a variety of contexts. (from Tabios introduction) One of the essays, Holy Tunganga: Meditations on Becoming an Ancestor, traces retired university professor Leny Mendoza Strobels journey to deepen my spiritual practice that is rooted in my Filipino indigenous spirituality. She migrated to the US in 1983, and needed to be uprooted from the Philippines, she said, to find Home. We wanted to recuperate the ancient babaylan tradition, she wrote, that is still alive and well today even though still relatively unknown to many of us in the diaspora and even in the homeland.Mendoza-Strobel related the questions that young Fil-Ams often ask: What does it mean to be urban and indigenous? What does it mean to be a Filipino in the diaspora? What does it mean to heal communities of color and their colonial trauma and historical amnesia? Other essays in Humanity tell of experiences in other countries, other cultures. Swiss-French-Filipino Christine Amour-Levar writes about the Nenets reindeer herders of Siberia and their harsh life in temperatures that dip to 36 degrees below zero. In Desert Castles, JA Bernstein, of Jewish heritage, recounts a friendship with the Palestinian Samir. S. Lily Mendoza, a professor of culture and communication in Michigan, tells of her childhood in Pampanga and her separation through the years from her indigenous soul, and reconnecting with it again. Paloma Press most recent title is The Good Mother of Marseille by Christopher X. Shade, a novel of Americans abroad. The first chapter starts with Chinelo the dog getting cut on shards from bottles being flung from a fourth-floor window. It gets more interesting from there. As a publisher, Cassinettos mission to bring voices out of the silence, to make heard those who are ignored and disregarded. She champions the beauty and magic of poetry. She brings to the page the words of POC (people of color), those of the Philippine diaspora, those of mixed heritage who are struggling with issues of race, self, and nation. In her own book The Pink House of Purple Yam Preserves and Other Poems (Our Own Voice and Little Dove Books, 2018), Cassinetto reveals her yearning for her home country, for Inang Bayan. In her essay Traveling With Tsinelas she says: Tokens aside, nothing, of course, beats the real thingmy homeland in all her sultry, jangling, ragged, luscious, cerulean, burnt amber, ironic, contradictory, heartbreakingly proud, and heartbreakingly lovely glory. In the most hushed hours of my day, I think of her. Then I am home, more often than she knows. Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship. Global innovation leader and number one PC developer Lenovo inaugurated its first Legion Concept Store in the Philippines as part of efforts to bring game-changing devices closer to Filipino gamers in the companys bid to own the local gaming segment. Located at the 4th floor of the Annex Building of SM City North EDSA, the Legion store features a wide range of products from Lenovos Legion gaming lineup, which visitors can personally test and play games on. Launched in the Philippines in 2017, the Lenovo Legion line has established significant foothold in the country and is expected to continuously increase in sales and popularity among the gaming community. As the gaming market grows exponentially every year, we at Lenovo would like to maintain our commitment in providing best performing and top of the line devices to the Philippines, which includes the Legion line of gaming notebooks. The exclusive Legion store was conceptualized to support the local gaming culture and provide virtually everything that a gamer needs, said Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Michael Ngan. In addition to showcasing Legion products, the store will occasionally hold mini gaming tournaments to further engage the local gaming community. The Legion store at SM City North EDSA is just the first of many planned Legion Concept Stores set to open all over the country.At the inauguration of the first Legion Concept Store, Lenovo also showcased the Legion Y740 gaming laptop, Lenovos first device to have NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card.Geared towards eSports professionals and mainstream gamers who mostly play the latest AAA games, the Philippine release of the Legion Y740 boasts of having the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060. Powered by NVIDIAs Turing architecture and its new RTX platform, the GeForce RTX 2060 has up to 6X faster performance than the previous generation of graphics cards. With new and upcoming PC games being increasingly demanding in terms of graphics, NVIDIAs RTX graphics cards are what mainstream gamers need if they want to fully immerse themselves into these worlds, as it allows everyone to play at maximum settings while providing crisp and clear quality like never before, said Ngan. Combined with the Intel Core i7-8750H processor, the Legion Y740 easily handles graphics-intensive games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Battlefield V, and Anthem at either 1080p or 1440p resolution. The Legion Y740 prides itself as the thinnest and lightest among similarly specced and priced NVIDIA RTX-powered devices, being only 19.95 mm thin and 2.2 kg (4.9 lbs.) light. Other unique features are its RGB Keyboard powered by Corsair iCue and USB-C Thunderbolt 3 support. The Legion Y740 comes with 16GB RAM, 1TB + 256GB SSD memory, and a 15.6 FHD IPS 144HZ (slim bezel) panel size. The device is available for P119,995 at the Legion Concept Store, Lenovo Concept Stores, and at major electronics stores nationwide. Buyers can enjoy two-year onsite warranty, and those who purchase up to March 31 can avail of a free JBL Clip 2 and Lenovo Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) support worth as much as P9,000 as part of an ongoing promo. Film and VR enthusiasts rejoice! Luxembourg Film Fund and Digital Luxembourg have joined efforts to bring to life the third edition of the Virtual Reality Pavilion. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Film Fund director Guy Daleiden unveiled the ambitious programme on Thursday. "By creating synergies between the initiatives of Film Fund Luxembourg and Digital Luxembourg, the government is supporting projects in the field of new technologies," Bettel explained during the press conference. Forming part of the Luxembourg City Film Festival, the Virtual Reality Pavilion will open its doors on 6 March at 6.30pm. After the success of the first two editions, this year's event shapes up to be a highlight in Luxembourg's cinematic agenda. The third edition is completely dedicated to Virtual Reality and its programme promises to be more original and ambitious than ever before. Until 17 March, 10 VR installations will turn Casino Luxembourg into a cinematic playground of superlatives: expect immersive experiences and award-winning content. Also good to know: on the second day of the event, national and international experts will discuss the challenges faced by the VR industry today. Interested? The event will be free of charge and open to the public from 7 March to 17 March (daily opening times from 11am-7pm). Just walk in, no bookings required. On Thursday morning at 1am, a police patrol took notice when they spotted a woman chasing a man down the street in Luxembourg City. The police officers noticed the woman running from Avenue de la Gare towards Rue de Bonnevoie. Once the woman saw the officers, she told them that the man she was chasing had attacked her with a knife. The police officers then chased the man and managed to arrest him. After taking him to the police station, the public prosecutor's office informed the officers that he should be taken to the Schrassig penitentiary centre. It has yet to be determined whether the attacker knew the victim. The woman was taken to hospital due to cuts on her face. She was able to leave after quick treatment. Wonder Caves: Ideal Spot for Hikers and Cave Explorers Amazon is cooperating with a Vietnamese agency to select 100 Vietnamese businesses to sell their products on the network of the U.S. e-commerce giant. Through the Amazon Global Selling program, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and Amazon experts will guide the firms on how to complete export-import and customs procedures, and to study the U.S. market. The selected Vietnamese businesses will also learn how to build online shops on Amazon.com, develop their products and brands, and receive training on e-commerce and selling skills on Amazon, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. Amazon Global Selling is a program that enables merchants to list and sell their products across the world on Amazon's global marketplaces. More than 98 percent of Vietnams businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the General Statistics Office. In 2018, 60 percent of Vietnams SMEs could not access loans from official sources, the World Bank has reported. The lack of capital prevents the SMEs from making appropriate investments to upgrade the quality of products for both domestic consumption and exports. The Amazon program is a chance for local businesses to reach global consumers. Previously, Walmart carried out a campaign to seek Vietnamese suppliers, according to the Vietnam News Agency report. This enabled products of Vinamit, Vietnams leading maker of fruit chips, to be available at Walmart China, while the countrys famous coffee brand Trung Nguyen is sold at Walmarts in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and China. Vietnams e-commerce has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, with value jumping from about $4 billion in 2015 to $5.1 billion and $6.2 billion in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Revenue from online retail in the Southeast Asian country is forecast to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for five percent of the countrys retail market, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A successful British startup founder shares his view on the attitude Vietnamese startups take on understanding other cultures and why that may be holding back their dreams of international expansion. Mark Gilligan, founder and CEO of Blacktrace Holdings Ltd., sat down with Tuoi Tre News to share his views on the fortunes and follies of Vietnamese startups, as well as offer up advice to Vietnamese youth with entrepreneurial ambitions. Gilligan, a British national with more than 12 years of experience engaging with Vietnams startup community, says a habit amongst Vietnamese businesses of assuming their understanding of Vietnamese consumers translates to an understanding of foreign markets is hindering their ability to expand beyond Vietnam. Different mindsets Gilligan believes in global sales, a strategy which protects businesses in case of economic downturns in any one country. If you focus all your attention on one country, and things change in the economy of that country, your sales can die, Gilligan said. His approach, instead, is to keep all his eggs in separate baskets. If you sell things all over the world, something going wrong in one country does not matter. You can still be successful if one country is not. According to Gilligan, one of the main roadblocks preventing Vietnamese startups from earning global recognition is their lack of understanding of the outside world and foreign consumers. The main difference between Vietnamese and Western consumers, he says, is the prioritization of cheap and reasonable prices. While most developed markets tend to value quality over price, Vietnamese customers gravitate towards low prices despite compromised quality and safety standards. On the other hand, in most global markets product quality and safety often trump cost. Choose a market where customers have money, Gilligan advised students during a recent discussion on national vesus international expansion. Gilligan highlighted fashion brand Bo Sua, coffeehouse chain Cong, and Marou, a luxury chocolate brand founded in Vietnam that now exports to 20 different countries, as some of the few Vietnamese businesses that are enjoying tremendous success. However, Marou, for example, despite being founded and based in Vietnam, was founded by two Frenchmen and serves as supporting evidence for Gilligans s hypothesis that Western entrepreneurs have a heighted understanding of the world compared to Vietnamese. There are very few companies in Vietnam that are proudly Vietnamese and are famous outside Vietnam, Gilligan noted in response to questioning about why Vietnamese businesses rarely set their sights on reaching across borders. Unlike Vietnamese, people from the UK live in a multi-cultural society and enjoy the freedom to travel freely to dozens of countries which provides them with a greater understanding of different cultures and mindsets, explained the British startup owner. He stressed that if Vietnamese startup owners want to succeed on an international scale, they need to invest in broadening their horizons by traveling and experiencing other cultures. Mark Gilligan is Blacktrace Holdings Inc. CEO and founder. Photo: Supplied Innovation is key To Gilligan, freedom to innovate is the secret to driving a startup forward. Whats most important is that people are free to fight for the best idea, he shared, adding that Vietnamese culture sometimes puts restraints on creativity and innovation due to the importance society places on hierarchical roles. In Vietnam, this hierarchy is typically seen in the pronouns people use to address each other, which represent a respect for age. This norm often keeps younger Vietnamese, particularly those fresh out of school, from opposing or voicing disagreement with management and senior employees at their company. In return, management often misses out new ideas or different viewpoints regarding potential risks. How can you have the best ideas in the world if you dont have freedom to fight because nobody is always right, Gilligan added, indicating that older does not always mean wiser. On the other hand, the Briton also remarked that starting a company in Vietnam has advantages as well. With costs in Vietnam being cheaper than in developed countries, Vietnamese startups are able to avoid hefty overheads, meaning a smaller amount of money is at stake and less capital is needed to turn the ideas into reality. Moreover, Vietnams traditional values call on many to live with their parents into adulthood so there is often little fear of not having a place to stay, according to the CEO. Lastly, having a long history of war, perseverance seems to be ingrained in the Vietnamese mentality and serves as a great advantage. Many are able to withstand harsh conditions and low living standards for long periods of time, while most Western countries have had it too easy, says Gilligan. Issues in Vietnams definition of startup While many Vietnamese think startup means tech company, many fail to recognize that any new company fits the title. Gilligan defines startup as a new company with a completely different idea but that has the potential to be scaled. While a pho stand on the street may not be a startup, there is high-end Pho restaurant chain in England that is considered a startup because it is scalable, he shared. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. Pham Minh Duyen is the epitome of hard work pays off. From his small cottage in Vietnam, Duyen has managed to successfully fill his resume with an impressive slew of academic achievements, including a PhD from a highly acclaimed overseas institution. Duyens academic journey began in 2008 when he was awarded with a college scholarship by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. He has spent the decade since earning his doctoral degree from a Japanese University. The Tuoi Tre journalist who wrote about him 2008 was among the first with whom he shared the news that, after a decade of studying, he had earned his PhD on February 27. Light at the end of the tunnel Duyen is no stranger to poverty. His upbringing was humble, to say the least. He grew up in a small bamboo cottage in District 9, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. His mother was a housekeeper who moonlighted as drink seller and his father worked as a bricklayer in the neighboring province of Dong Nai, heading to work each morning before dawn and returning home long after dusk. The familys cottage offered little protection against southern Vietnams unforgiving rainy season and their kitchen, an open space set up outside the house spent half the year inundated with flood water, forcing the family to eat undercooked rice more often than not. But Duyen never let hardship serve as an excuse to abandon his pursuit of knowledge. At night, he would study under the stars, doing his best to not disturb his parents as he used candlelight to illuminate his books from his perch outside the cottage. I struggled to concentrate on the lessons while battling hordes of mosquitoes, Duyen recalled. I only studied inside when it rained. But all those hardships paid off. In 2008, he achieved a high enough score on the countrys university entrance examination and was accepted to both the prestigious Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Science. Unfortunately, his family could afford neither. It was only because of a Tuoi Tre-funded scholarship meant for needy to students to attend college that Duyen was able to follow his academic dreams. From the pond into the sea Duyen admits that studying might be his greatest pleasure in life In 2013, he received a Masters scholarship from the Royalty of Thailand for his outstanding performance while earning his undergraduate degree in Water and Wastewater Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology. Duyen finished his coursework with honors and went on to earn a PhD scholarship from the Japanese Nagoya University to study Natural Biomaterials. His doctoral thesis, Chemical and electrical characteristics supporting external electron mediating function of soil humin was well-received and described as having high practicability. According to Professor Katayama Arata, Duyens doctoral dissertation is very crucial in its scientific context despite the immense amount of difficulty it took to research due to the various fields the subject incorporates. I am very delighted to have him in my lab. I wholly believe he will become a well-acclaimed scientist in the future, Prof. Katayama Arata said. For Duyen, all of his achievements are in honor of his parents desire and hope for their son. Every time he thinks about how hard it was for them to raise him, Duyen presses on so that their efforts will not have been in vain. He now plans to continue his postdoctoral studies at a lab in Japan so that he can pursue some of his unfinished research works. Hes also set his sights on working in Western, English-speaking countries in order to expand his pool of knowledge and enhance his English skills. I truly yearn to help to impoverished youths like I once was, but Im aware that in order to do that I must first become a giant. Im still in the process of refining myself by the day, Duyen said. A bright example According to Vo Le Phu, dean of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Duyen served as a bright example to his peers during his undergraduate years. Aside from his innate hardworking nature, Duyen excelled in almost every course. Phu definitely was not surprised by each scholarship Duyen earned. I could sense right away the he was attuned to writing theses because of his exceptional observation skills, Phu said in an interview. Even when he went abroad, he still kept in touch with the facultys instructors, to exchange academic information with us a truly bright example to all, I must say. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. A hospital in Vietnam is turning to music in order to bring a new tune to the lives of its patients. The 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi is amongst the most prestigious medical facilities in Vietnam, with capabilities spanning nearly the entire medical spectrum. Though the hospital is open to everybody, its particular speciality lies in treating soldiers and war veterans. Now, in a bid to enhance the quality of life its patients, the 108 Military Central Hospital has put a piano in its main lobby, attracting the attention of good-willed Hanoi musicians who hope to use their melodies as medicine. Tune up self with melodies Hieu, a military veteran from the northern province of Phu Tho, makes regular visits to the 108 Military Central Hospital to treat a chronic illness. But his most recent ten-day hospital stint was different than usual he had the lovely melodies from the hospitals piano to keep him company. Though the man said that he himself has no musical talent, he admitted that listening to the newly installed piano brought him a joy he didnt think was possible to achieve in a hospital lobby. Each day at either 10:30 am or 4:30 pm, as the artists were preparing to perform, Hieu made sure to put in a request for his favorite piece. I can stand 45 minutes straight just to listen to this. There are times I forget to eat my meal, but it is worth it, Hieu shared. Though there is no substitute for missing ones family or military unity, Hieu admitted that the sound of piano does wonders to ease his longing. Hieus roommate, Duong Van Loi, feels the same way. The duo can often be seen standing in a trance as they take in the tunes. Im fully recovered thanks to the music. From morning to afternoon Im able to listen to patriotic and traditional songs. It makes me feel so proud, Loi said. Despite gloomy vibe often found at hospitals, especially in the main lobby, the sound of the piano seems to cut through even the thickest heavy air. Patients, regardless of military ranks or injuries, are magnetized by the music. The source of liveliness The idea to bring a piano to the hospital first started in August 2018, when music teacher Bui Phuong Van first saw a need to bring music to the patients lives. Though she was often extremely busy with her teaching schedule, Van was convinced that medicine wasnt enough to heal patients and sought to offer them her own musical talents by performing at the hospital each morning at 10:30 am sharp. In a controlled setting, indoor piano sessions require absolutely silence to be fully appreciated. Thus, performing amidst a crowded hospital was quite a challenge for Van. I perform here out of charity because I want to make a social contribution, so the challenges dont matter, Van stated. I just yearn for the patients welfare and recovery. I just want to help, she added. On days when Van performs in the morning session, undergraduate student Vu Ngoc Linh takes up the post in the afternoon. For the 20-year-old, this is her grandest stage yet, so the initial nervousness wasnt easy to shake. Still shes spent the last three months enduring the performance anxiety. There are so many people here, with different musical tastes. I was so afraid my performance wouldnt please them all, expressed Linh, honestly. In the first few sessions, she had to switch place with a fellow musician every 30 minutes just to calm down. Now, the two perform separately with ease. Musician Bui Phuong Van at one of her piano sessions at 108 Military Central Hospital. Photo: Duong Lieu / Tuoi Tre Potential usage Few of the hospitals patients claim to have a decent knowledge of music. Nevertheless, they continue to flock to the lobby to enjoy the relaxing melodies of the piano sessions. What moved me most is their affection. There were times I just couldnt fight back my streaming tears, Van admitted. According to military doctor Pham Nguyen Son, the practice has yielded positive results. He revealed that each doctor, patient, and hospital visitor seems to support performances. Son also believes that the performances help distract the patients from their painful medical situations. The 108 Military Central Hospital now has speakers placed throughout the facilities which play soothing tunes in every room for patients who are unable to make it to the lobby. Unlike the cajon or guitar, the piano is much mellower. It fits perfectly with our atmosphere at the hospital, Son shared. The patients say it eases their loneliness and relaxes their tension. Patients unknowingly burst into laughter every time the piano is played. Photo: Ha Thanh / Tuoi Tre Additionally, the soothing effects also seem to rub off on the medical personnel also, who seem to be much less stressed about their daily duties. Music not only promotes a civilized atmosphere in the hospital, but also relieves our accumulating stress, Son stated. I hope more medical facilities turn to music in the near future. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. In a bid to meet the lofty goal of a 95 percent nationwide vaccination rate, Vietnamese preventive medicine specialists are venturing deep into the countrys most remote areas to educate locals on the advantages of vaccinations and the important role they play in building a healthy, protected community. Vietnams Ministry of Health has made it its mission to overcome one the biggest challenges facing to the countrys public health: vaccinating the population against dangerous diseases that threaten the stability of the community, particularly in rural and isolated areas. To reach such a lofty goal, preventative medicine specialists have been deployed across the country to focus on the specific needs of each and every region. From the countrys southernmost province of Ca Mau, to Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands, these duties have been assigned to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, which specializes in vaccination and virology. Ho Vinh Thang, a veteran doctor and deputy director of the institutes Department of Preventive Medicine and Disease Control, is leading the crew charged with traversing southern Vietnam to identify at risk areas and ensuring that those who havent been vaccinated are given access to the shot. Amidst the wilderness The Central Highlands of Vietnam is known for its rough dry season, but the preventative medicine crew sent by the Pasteur Institute to ensure the regions residents are vaccinated refuse to let scorching heat stand in the way of their mission to make contact with the 400 or so households scattered throughout the mountainous terrain. Transportation is limited in these parts of Vietnam roads are dangerous and often in need of maintenance. Vehicles must be chosen with care and the crew cant afford to carry dead weight. An eagles view of one of the more rural, remote areas that requires the attention of the preventive medicine crew. Photo: Tuoi Tre The rough conditions mean Thang must choose his crew with care. A nurse, a doctor, himself, and, on occasion, the head of the local medical center are all that make up the humble team. Nguyen Van Nhuan, a 56-year-old farmer in a remote village in Lam Dong Province, was surprised when the Thangs crew appeared along the path to his farm one sweltering afternoon. Nhuans two grandchildren, Nguyen Phuc Loc and Nguyen Ngoc Phuc An, had just turned three and one, respectively, and the medical team immediately began explaining the importance of vaccinating such small children and the risks posed by deadly outbreaks and diseases. The teams exchange with Nhuan was a repeat of the dozens of other conversations the team has had over the years with the countrys rural population. In these areas people focus more on the hardships in front of them than some invisible bacteria. Its is the education aspect of their job that the vaccination crew finds the most taxing. Exhausting journeys are easy to overcome. Stubborn mindsets are not. But they do admit that change seems to be on the horizon. Thanks to their efforts, as younger locals become more and more educated, they realize the importance of protecting themselves and their children. Nguyen Thi Hong Lien, the 25-year-old mother of Loc and An, is especially grateful for the initiative. Each time the crew makes a visit to her home, she comes rushing from the field to great them and offer her assistance as a voluntary liaison between the team and her neighbors. Nguyen Thi Huyen and crew explains the vaccination procedure and retrieve medical information on the locals. Photo: Tuoi Tre Nguyen Thi Huyen, a member of Thangs team, was shocked the first time she realized how difficult it is for locals in rural areas to access proper medical treatments and has since vowed to do her best to close the gap. But even with her determination, she still admits that the often apathetic outlook of rural residents towards modern medicine is extremely discouraging. Huyen shared the story of Kkhem, a 22-year-old member of a local ethnic minority group, as an example of a particularly hard case. According to Huyen, Kkhem wasnt even aware of where she had put her childs medical records, explaining that she had lost it somewhere. The fact that weve been able to make these people aware that vaccinations even exist is a tremendous feat in itself, explained Kaes, an ethnic minority nurse accompanying the crew. As about 30 percent of the population in Lam Dong has ethnic origins, tracking their nomadic lifestyles to educate and offer vaccinations creates a whole separate slew of population health management issues. Learning from past mistakes, the crew now only approaches these populations on weekends and readies itself for belligerent responses to their mission. Once, after an infant had a bad reaction to a vaccine the crew was threatened by the childs family. Of course, the crew stuck around to ensure the babys safety, but the fear of the familys threats still sticks with them. Nguyen Thi Huyen and crew explains the vaccination procedure and retrieve medical information on the locals. Photo: Tuoi Tre A rough journey Though having worked as a doctor for 18 years, Thang doesnt expect to leave his post as leader of the vaccination crew anytime soon. Every time I come face to face with the ethnic minority children, there is just this drive within me to press on and help eradicate some of the diseases they could suffer from! Thang expressed. Thang shared the story of his first assignment back in 2000, shortly after he finished medical school. While working in the outskirts of Binh Phuoc Province, at the time an area covered in jungle, a local ethnic community was refusing to accept that a tetanus outbreak was taking hold of the region. Eventually, we were able to carry out the vaccination procedure, Thang recalled. Recently, Thangs crew was faced with a diphtheria epidemic in Lam Dong in August 2018. It was the middle of the rainy season and the crew was forced to trek for dozens of hours just cover a few miles of forest because of the flooded paths. Ho Vinh Thang shows his photos of the trip to a local. Photo: Tuoi Tre Hoang Anh Thang, head of the expanded program on immunization at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, had initially wanted to become a general physician, but quickly realized that that helping those without access to proper medical treatment was his true calling. I know my current path is way less lucrative, but I wholly embrace it and am very happy with my decision, Thang said. Similarly, Huyen, 29, was also charmed into the line of work while she was still an undergraduate student when she realized the gigantic effect she could have on small communities. The trips are a constant reminder of the scarcity of proper medical service in remote areas, Huyen stated. The gap with their urban counterparts is so large that you need to see it first-hand in order to believe it. Promising statistics The expanded program on immunization is one of the most highly acclaimed public medical programs in Vietnam, credited with preventing millions of women and infants from contracting deadly diseases. Currently, more than 1.6 million Vietnamese children are vaccinated annually against ten common fatal diseases. Likewise, the tetanus vaccine is administered to 1.6 million women during pregnancy every year. Though the countrys Ministry of Health achieved an all-time high vaccination coverage figure of 95 percent, they are unrelenting in their mission. Aside from a lack of education and nomadic lifestyles in rural areas, an anti-vaxxer trend is slowly emerging in Vietnam, creating an added challenge for the initiative. Epidemics brought from outside the country also create added stress for the program. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Hanoi on Saturday morning, wrapping up his official friendship visit to Vietnam and his stay to attend his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Vietnamese capital. Vietnam held a welcome ceremony for Kim, who is chairman of the Workers Party and the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, on Friday afternoon. Following the ceremony, Chairman Kim held talks with Vietnam's Party chief and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, before having meetings Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and chairwoman of the lawmaking National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. During their talks, President Trong affirmed that Kims visit is an important new milestone in the history of the two countries relations, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The March 1-2 visit also offers a good chance for the leaders to inform each other of their respective countrys situation and exchange notes on how to develop the bilateral ties, as well as on regional and international issues of shared concern. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pays tribute to late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi, March 2, 2019. Photo: Quang Minh / Tuoi Tre Prior to his departure, the North Korean leader on Saturday morning paid tribute to late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid a wreath at the Monument to Heroic Martyrs. He was scheduled to leave Vietnam on train at Dong Dang station in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son to return home. The second U.S.-North Korea Summit took place in Hanoi on February 27-28, during which a number of issues were discussed, but no deal was reached. Kim is the first North Korean leader to have paid an official visit to Vietnam after 55 years. North Koreas founder Kim Il Sung visited Vietnam in 1958 and 1964. Vietnam and North Korea established diplomatic ties on January 31, 1950. Their traditional friendship, nurtured by late President Ho Chi Minh and leader Kim Il Sung, has been continuously consolidated and grown over the decades, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Hosting the summit between North Korea and the United States was a big success for Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said as he chaired a regular government meeting in Hanoi on Friday. The position of Vietnam as well as the countrys careful organization of the event were recognized and appreciated by the two leaders and the international community, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the premier as saying. The government meeting was held one day after the two-day summit between the U.S. and North Korean leaders ended, with no deal reached. The second U.S.-North Korea Summit was held in Hanoi, eight months after President Trump and Chairman Kim first met in Singapore. While Hanoi only had a short period of time for preparation, Vietnam did its best to organize the summit and ensured absolute security and safety, PM Phuc stressed. Vietnam promoted its image as a peace-loving country with various accomplishments in reform and international integration, he said. The Southeast Asian country also used the occasion to introduce its local food and friendly and hospitable people to international friends, he added. The two leaders wave national flags along with a group of Vietnamese children. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Some 2,600 foreign reporters from the worlds leading news agencies were present in Hanoi and their reports helped promote the image of Hanoi and Vietnam, according to the head of government. In a separate statement, Vietnams foreign ministry said the second U.S.-North Korea Summit in Hanoi was an important step in the development of dialogue between the two sides. Vietnam has been consistent in its support of peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, and as the host of the summit, spared no efforts to make careful and comprehensive preparations and ensure absolute safety and security for the event, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters on Thursday. According to Hang, Vietnams role in the summit shows that it was becoming more widely recognized as a responsible member in the international community. Vietnams role and position in organizing the event were recognized and highly appreciated by leaders of the U.S. and North Korea, as well as by other nations, Hang said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Read whats in the news today, March 2. Politics -- Hosting the summit between North Korea and the United States was a big success for Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said as he chaired a regular government meeting in Hanoi on Friday. -- Vietnamese Party chief and State President Nguyen Phu Trong welcomed visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi on Friday, hailing the visit as a new and important milestone in the history of the two Parties and countries. -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter on Friday that his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi had been substantive, while saying that he felt great to be back from Vietnam, an amazing place. Society -- The administration of the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Giang held a ceremony on Friday to receive 100 cherry blossom trees presented by the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association of Chukyo region. -- A traffic police officer of the northern province of Bac Giang was crushed to death by a speeding train as he was moderating traffic at a level crossing on the Hanoi - Dong Dang route on Friday. -- Police in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa said on Friday they are detaining 36 suspects for their role in a large-scale gambling ring that was busted two days earlier, when officers seized more than VND1 billion ($43,000) in cash and a loaded improvised gun. -- The high-level Peoples Court in Hanoi has announced that it will open the appeal trial on an online gambling case involving huge amount of money mounting to trillions of dong and two former generals in the public security sector on March 5. (VND1 trillion = $43 million) Business -- The Blue Whale gas field project, the largest of its kind in Vietnam and which is located off the central province of Quang Nam, is expected to be launched this year with the first flow of gas brought ashore by late 2023, Tran Sy Thanh, chairman of the member council of the state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, said Friday. -- Hong Kong was Vietnams biggest foreign investor in the January-February period with a total investment of $4.3 billion USD, making up 51 percent of the new foreign direct investment inflow into the country, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Lifestyle -- The sixth Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) Festival in Ho Chi Minh City is slated to begin tonight, March 2, with a number of activities set to run in various tourist spots of the southern metropolis through March 17. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! This week on Travel Guides the reviewers spend seven days touring Indias Royal State of Rajasthan. Arriving in Rajasthans capital, Jaipur our guides take an exhilarating journey through The Pink City (Jaipur). Twins Stack and Mel are stupefied when they learn locals worship cows for them this is inconceivable. Our guides are treated to a royal welcoming ceremony at the Taj Rambagh Palace. This jewel of Jaipur has played gracious host to many illustrious guests, including Prince Charles, Diana and Jackie O, once home to the Maharaja (King) of Jaipur even natives Deepesh and Sage are spellbound by this architectural masterpiece with its elegance personified. In the evening the guides trawl through the crowded food markets for some authentic street grub. The Target Boys discover Rajasthani dishes are rich and spicy, they entertain the locals with their King Kong attempts trying the eye-wateringly hot delicacies. Our guides leave the hustle and bustle behind and head 6 hours west, arriving in Bishnoi village. Imagine their shock when theyre asked to participate in whats introduced as an opium tasting ceremony. On the fringe of the great Thar Desert is Jodhpur the Blue City. Amazed by its beauty, our guides check in to one of the worlds best and most opulent hotels the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace, which is still home to the local King and a famously extravagant celebrity wedding hot spot. From there its a chaotic tuk-tuk ride downtown to a local favourite, the Sardar market. This market sells more than just fruit and veg. Cathy and Victoria Fren soak up the vibe and celebrate with a spiritual henna tattoo, startled by what wanders by. On their last day in India our Travel Guides get a farewell dose of the royal treatment at the palace. But will regal Rajasthan get the thumbs up? 9pm Tuesday on Nine. FILE PHOTO: Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne speaks to the media at the Australian embassy in Beijing, China January 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee By Alison Bevege SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two more ministers in Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's cabinet said on Saturday they will not contest elections due in May, adding to a flurry of high-profile resignations as opinion polls suggest the centre-right government faces a heavy defeat. Morrison will need to retain all the parliamentary seats held by his coalition government, but his chances are weakened by a wave of incumbent lawmakers in marginal seats set to retire. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and Defence Industry Minister Steven Ciobo both announced on Saturday morning that they would not stand in the coming election. Senator Linda Reynolds, Australia's first female brigadier in the Army Reserve, was appointed the new Minister for Defence Industry. Morrison said Reynolds would become Defence Minister should his government be returned to power. "We have two members of the Cabinet who have decided not to re-contest the next election. That's true," Morrison said in a televised news conference from Canberra. "What has also changed today is we have elevated Senator Reynolds into the Cabinet, which means there will now be seven women in Cabinet." Morrison said it was important for Pyne, who was responsible for a $200 billion (151 billion pounds) build-up of Australia's military capability, to retain his portfolio until the election. "In Christopher Pyne's portfolio, we are dealing with some quite sensitive issues," he said. The prime minister said he intended to fill any other vacancies after the next election. Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion announced his retirement last week after Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said he was stepping down. Minister for Jobs Kelly ODwyer also resigned, and former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month she would not stand for re-election. Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who replaced Julie Bishop, announced six new foreign diplomatic appointments on Saturday including High Commissioners to South Africa, Nigeria and New Zealand; and Consuls-General to Shenyang, China, and Bali, Indonesia. She also announced a new ambassador to Qatar. A Newspoll for The Australian newspaper showed the opposition Labor party retained a lead of 53 percent to 47 percent over the Liberal-National government last month, unchanged from the poll in December. (Additional reporting by Swati Pandey and Colin Packham; Editing by Tom Brown, Daniel Wallis & Kim Coghill) The investigative journalists at Russian news site The Insider are aiming to uncover more Russian military intelligence operations after identifying the GRU agency officers behind the Salisbury chemical weapon attack. "We're not very focused on Salisbury. We know this will be covered by British authorities," said Roman Dobrokhotov, The Insider's chief editor. "They have all the CCTV and from the beginning they knew [the GRU operatives'] real names," he added. But it isn't clear if these details will ever be released by the UK government. The more significant releases to date have come from journalists. The Insider, alongside UK-based investigative organisation Bellingcat, recently revealed the identity of a third GRU operative, Denis Sergeev. They believe Sergeev called the shots during the Salisbury operation, and may have been involved in at least one other poisoning in Bulgaria. "What we are interested in is finding other operations of Sergeev or other GRU agents in Europe, trying to piece together their travels with other strange events happening in those countries," he says. He thinks there are more GRU operations that have yet to come to light. "The authorities actually helped us with our investigation," Mr Dobrokhotov said. "At first we saw documents of Sergeev on different databases - traffic police and all sorts of other databases, but then suddenly they disappeared. This was another proof for us this person was the right person." It takes guts to expose Russian military intelligence from the centre of Moscow. The Insider is a team of just 13 but they are giving the GRU a run for their money - uncovering their trace in the coup in Montenegro, the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 and most recently in Salisbury, through meticulous cross-referencing of names, databases, and travel itineraries. Mr Dobrokhotov said that the journalists who work for The Insider "have no real choice" when it comes to avoiding topics that might be considered dangerous, such as uncovering the work of the GRU. Story continues "If we want to be journalists and investigate real important topics in our country, we have to touch these stories of MH17, the Salisbury attack, Russian hackers," he said. "We just follow the interesting stories and suddenly at the end we always see GRU there - we don't hunt GRU, it just happens like this. "Because they're super active, it's a new Russian foreign strategy, when they use their military to interfere in politics in other countries, and they are not very good at conspiracy. That's why we always find them." The Russian government's line on Bellingcat is that it is an arm of the British government, drip-feeding false information to slur Russia's name. The Insider is never mentioned. The GRU operatives who are believed to have conducted the chemical weapon attack in Salisbury have gone to ground since their infamous if unconvincing interview on Russian state broadcaster RT. The constant refrain from Russian officials, if one is identifiable in amongst the chorus of conspiracy, is that nothing they've seen so far constitutes proof. They argue that if the UK has more convincing evidence than CCTV of two Russian men making return trips to Salisbury out of love for its cathedral spire whilst leaving traces of novichok in their wake, then it should be made public. The British ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, told me: "I think the Russian government knows perfectly well what happened in Salisbury. They're using disinformation techniques to obscure what actually happened." But there is a problem in just acknowledging this. Mr Bristow said that the British government will not reveal evidence that must be tested in court. "We have put quite a lot of information out to the public but essentially the administration of justice in the UK takes absolute priority here. "We need to be able to bring those suspects to trial, a fair trial in a court to look at what actually happened and decide whether they were guilty." That's wishful thinking. Russia won't extradite its citizens for trial in the UK. The UK sees no reason to offer up further evidence to Russia. That was entirely clear in the days after Salisbury and nothing has changed since. Once the police investigation into Salisbury and Amesbury has wrapped up, the British public has a right to know as much as police are able to tell, whether or not they ever get to see Russia's spire-loving military intelligence officers in the dock. Until then, Bellingcat and The Insider are all we've got shining light on this chemical weapon attack on British soil. This leaves us in a hard place. It is hard to move on after a foreign state uses chemical weapons for attacks on British soil. It is hard to move on after the apparent carelessness of foreign intelligence agents in a plot to assassinate one of their own ends up killing a British citizen. It is hard to move on when this has happened before - the last time with a radiological agent, polonium, which left highly radioactive traces across London. It is hard to move on when the foreign state in question professes to be the injured party, unfairly maligned. "We need to be realistic. Nothing fundamental has changed in Russia", Mr Bristow told me. "It's not going to be possible to create a normal relationship with a country that does this kind of thing, but as the prime minister has said a number of times now that's not the relationship that we want." Kensington Palace has dismissed reports that the Duchess of Sussex wants to raise her child gender fluid (Picture: Jon Bond/The Sun/PA Wire) Kensington Palace has dismissed reports that the Duchess of Sussex wants to raise her child gender fluid, branding them totally false. Vanity Fair reported that Meghan told friends that she wants to her baby, who is due next month, to be raised in a gender neutral way. The magazine quoted a source as saying: Meghan has been talking to some of her friends about the birth and how she and Harry plan to raise their baby. Her exact word was fluid. The source added: She said they plan to raise their child with a fluid approach to gender and they wont be imposing any stereotypes. But the claims have been rubbished by Kensington Palace, which said in a statement: This story is totally false. Meghan is a regular campaigner on social issues, including gender. On her recent trip to Morocco with husband Prince Harry she told a group of female business executives and entrepreneurs that women have to challenge everywhere in the world. READ MORE UK authorities submit official request to extradite speedboat killer Jack Shepherd from Georgia In January she also raised concerns about the stigma associated with periods faced by young girls and women in developing countries. Next week she is set to join leading feminists and national figures including singer Annie Lennox and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to mark International Womens Day with a panel discussion on gender issues. Pauline and Colin have been together for 43 years. [Photo: Caters] A pensioner has finally agreed to marry her partner of 43 years after turning down his annual proposal for more than four decades. Colin Jones, 74, and Pauline Young, 72, first met in 1976. From that year onwards, Colin asked Pauline to marry him annually, only to be refused again and again. But Colins fortunes took a turn for the better late last year, when Pauline proposed to Colin and he of course agreed. When Pauline asked me, I almost fell off the bed. Id been asking her all this time so now she was asking me, I said of course I will. READ MORE: Best wedding photos of 2018 The couple, who are now husband and wife, lived and worked together throughout their relationship. Pauline proposed to Colin after rejecting his proposals for 43 years. [Photo: Caters] Both married before, the pair have five children between them from their previous marriages, and met through a playgroup their children both attended. For 30 years, they ran a cabinet-making business called Young Jones, which was based in Powys, Wales, and later moved to Gozo, Malta, 14 years ago to run a bed and breakfast together. Colin revealed he has been floating on air ever since he first met Pauline. People say theyve been together years but really they have maybe an hour before work and then they see each other in the evenings we were always together, he said. READ MORE: Pet names make your relationship stronger When we saw each other it was instant, we fell in love hook, line and sinker. The magic of life allows you to meet people like Pauline, our marriage was a combination of our 43 years together. Colin and Pauline had their wedding reception in Paulines care home. [Photo: Caters] While their story is a touching one, it is not without difficulties. The pair have lived apart for the past three years, after Pauline who suffers from rare neurological condition Corticobasal Degeneration, which causes slower movements and tremors moved to a care home in Telford, UK, after her health worsened. Colin, meanwhile, has remained in Malta to run the pairs business, and returns to the UK to visit Pauline every fortnight. Story continues It was during one of these visits last December when Pauline finally proposed to him, while the pair were relaxing together at the home. READ MORE: Older couples from around the world They married in a blessing ceremony, which is not legally recognised, at the St Georges Methodist Church in Telford on Valentines Day this year. They dressed in their best clothes, and Paulines wheelchair was decorated with flowers. Colin and Pauline ran a cabinet making business together for 30 years. [Photo: Caters] The pair then celebrated with aa wedding cake and celebratory drinks at Paulines care home. Colin said: I had given up all hope of us getting married, I thought it would never ever happen. It was a real mix of emotions, I was surprised, I was worried. But we gradually worked through it and now here we are. The service was a blessing ceremony, but as far as were concerned its a marriage, its a show of love. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo The US imposed sanctions on Maduro's government, while Russia reiterated support for the embattled leader. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy.The blocked UN resolution was calling for unimpeded aid deliveries, after aid trucks from Colombia and Brazil that tried to get through last weekend were blocked.The US has imposed new visa restrictions on individuals responsible for undermining Venezuelas democracy, US Special Envoy Elliott Abrams said on Friday. He said that numerous Maduro officials and their families would not be welcome in the US.US locks horns with Russia and ChinaThe US and many other countries, including those of the European Union, have recognised opposition politician and National Assembly head Juan Guaido.But Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas.Guaido claims that he is backed by Venezuelas constitution because Maduros re-election was fraudulent.Maduro, however, refuses to step down.Confrontation feared as Guaido set to re-enter VenezuelaDefying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence.The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina.Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him.After meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Guaido said: "The only step backwards in this process we have begun in Venezuela will be when many Venezuelans are able to return home."Abrams said the United States was "very concerned" about Guaido's ability to return home safely and warned of a "very large reaction" if he is arrested.President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. The US imposed sanctions on Maduro's government, while Russia reiterated support for the embattled leader. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. The blocked UN resolution was calling for unimpeded aid deliveries, after aid trucks from Colombia and Brazil that tried to get through last weekend were blocked. The US has imposed new visa restrictions on individuals responsible for undermining Venezuelas democracy, US Special Envoy Elliott Abrams said on Friday. He said that numerous Maduro officials and their families would not be welcome in the US. US locks horns with Russia and China The US and many other countries, including those of the European Union, have recognised opposition politician and National Assembly head Juan Guaido. But Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Guaido claims that he is backed by Venezuelas constitution because Maduros re-election was fraudulent. Maduro, however, refuses to step down. Confrontation feared as Guaido set to re-enter Venezuela Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. After meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Guaido said: "The only step backwards in this process we have begun in Venezuela will be when many Venezuelans are able to return home." Abrams said the United States was "very concerned" about Guaido's ability to return home safely and warned of a "very large reaction" if he is arrested. President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. In the past few years, wealthy Instagrammers from the Gulf countries have been filling social media with photos and videos of their pet cheetahs doing everything from playing like domestic cats to hunting gazelles in the desert. These posts are incredibly popular and viewers who want to get in on this fad dont have to look far to find ads for cheetahs for sale. To fulfil the demand, a business has cropped up trafficking cheetahs from the Horn of Africa into the Gulf states, which is endangering the survival of this species. In the past century, the number of cheetahs in the world has dropped from 100,000 to just 7,100. The number of illegal sales has exploded and at least 1,500 cheetahs have been sold online since 2012. Despite these numbers, there has been little coverage of this growing illegal trade in wild animals. Yet all you have to do is spend a bit of time on social media from Gulf countries to see just how widespread this market is. This Saudi Instagrammer, who seems to have a menagerie of exotic animals, has around 28,000 followers. His account is plastered with endless photos of his animals, including several cheetahs. While some people use social media to post about their own domestic (or semi-domesticated) cheetahs, other people use these platforms to advertise the sale of these creatures in total impunity. A cheetah usually goes for between 25,000 and 35,000 Saudi riyals (6,000-8,000), but the prices are often negotiated on WhatsApp. Baby cheetahs, who are often just a few weeks old, fetch the highest prices. Females are also more expensive as they are generally better hunters than the males. This person is selling a six-month-old male cheetah for 25,000 Saudi riyals. This post is an ad for a three-year-old male cheetah who is up for sale in Riyadh. According to the seller, the cheetah is domesticated but trained to hunt. On the same forum, theres an ad for four two-month-old cheetah cubs. Each cub costs 30,000 Saudi riyals, a price that the seller says is non-negotiable. 'Most baby cheetahs who are born in the Horn of Africa are kidnapped'Patricia Tricorache is the an assistant director at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which was set up in Namibia in 1990. Tricorache works on combating illegal wildlife trade for the organisation. > We estimate that there are about 300 baby cheetahs who are taken each year from the Horn of Africa to be sold as pets in the Gulf states. This number might seem small compared with the thousands of tons of ivory that is poached each year but it is important to remember that there are only a few hundred cheetahs left in the wild in the Horn of Africa. Most baby cheetahs who are born in the Horn of Africa are taken and sold. > > The region most affected by this illegal trade is Somaliland [Editors note: an autonomous region in eastern Somalia that declared its independence in 1991 but, so far, has not been recognised by the international community] because of its close proximity with the Arabian peninsula. > > Cheetahs from Ethiopia, northern Kenya and other regions in Somalia are trafficked from Somaliland into the gulf of Aden. The war in Yemen doesnt seem to have slowed down this illegal trade. > > From there, most of the baby cheetahs are brought to Saudi Arabia, with a smaller number going to Oman. Most of them will end up being sold within Saudi Arabia, though others are brought to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. > > All different people are involved in this illegal industry. Some are incredibly poor farmers living in zones affected by desertification. If they are lucky enough to find and capture a baby cheetah, they can sell it for several hundred US dollars, which will feed their families for months. > > This trade is all the more appealing because the laws are so lax. Even if they are caught in the act, people who capture wild cheetah cubs run practically no risk of being tried or sent to prison. All of these factors make it a lucrative trade where the punishment in no way reflects the seriousness of the crime. > > Some of these people may not even know that what they are doing is illegal. However, there are definitely opportunistic hunters who know that what they are doing is wrong but do it anyway to make money. Perhaps most surprisingly, there are quite a few videos posted on YouTube showing pet cheetahs hunting and catching gazelles. There are also video tutorials where some owners explain how to tame these wild animals and turn them into real domesticated pets. This cheetah hunts down a gazelle but doesnt kill it. Instead, he pins it down while waiting for his owner This Saudi vlogger created an entire YouTube channel dedicated to wild animals. In this 'tutorial', he explains to his viewers how to domesticate a cheetah and get it to eat out of your hands. "For every cheetah that gets bought, there are three or four who die> Cheetahs have always been symbols of wealth and power for noble and royal families that use them as pets or hunting companions. They are beautiful creatures and they are also much lighter in weight than lions or leopards usually cheetahs weigh around 50 kilos, which allow many people to compare them to large cats. They are also less aggressive than many big cats because their bodies were built for speed not fighting. This tradition of keeping cheetahs continues even today. > > Owning a cheetah is a symbol of prestige among the wealthy or the slightly less wealthy who aspire to a higher status. Some of these less wealthy owners buy cheetahs even if they dont have the space or means to care for them for instance, in the UAE, we came across a cheetah that was being kept in a bathroom. > > Other people falsely believe that by buying cheetahs, they are helping to preserve a species that is endangered in the wild. In general, people are clearly attracted to wild animals, as evidenced by the parks set up across Asia and Africa where people pay to take a photo with a baby lion or tiger cub. > > The difference is that, in the Gulf countries, there are people who are wealthy enough to buy these animals for themselves. But what they dont always realise is that these animals were brought into the country illegally and this illegal trade has disastrous consequences for wildlife. They dont realise that for every cheetah that is purchased, three or four die. > > Indeed, the path of illegal trade leaves large numbers of corpses in its wake. Sometimes cheetah cubs are taken when they are as young as two weeks old. In those cases, the cubs either die during the journey or suffer health consequences after being deprived of their mothers milk. > > In any case, these animals are at risk from the moment they are stolen from the wild because they will no longer be living in their natural habitat or getting the food that they need. > > Cheetahs are incredibly fragile creatures and they can get sick and die within a matter of hours. Even if they survive the journey, when they are very often not given enough food or water, their health, wellbeing and lifespan depends on the person who buys them. Many cheetahs die after a few months. Those who reach adulthood are often sold at high prices because people think that they run less risk of dying. But the average lifespan of a cheetah in captivity is one year. Many end up with bone deformities or degenerative brain diseases. Others die from viruses that they catch from domestic cats. Social media helps maintain this illegal trade Even though people have always tried to domesticate cheetahs, Tricorache says that social media has increased this illegal trade: > Weve worked hard to raise awareness among owners and veterinarians, especially in the UAE. Unfortunately, most of the owners dont want to come and see us because they know that having these animals is illegal. > > I met an owner in the UAE who was giving his cheetah salt water to drink. I had to explain to him that just as salt water wouldnt quench the thirst of a human being, it also wouldnt for animals. People have no idea how to care for these animals. > > Social media is extremely problematic in this regard. We have no control over what people post. I have seen hundreds of ads for cheetahs for sale on social media. > > In the same vein, the photos that people post of their cheetahs make other people want to get them. All of the likes and the comments help to fuel this illegal trade. It would be helpful if people understood that they should stop applauding this kind of publication and stop going to places that use wild animals as attractions, thus contributing to this fad. This article was written by Sarra Grira. The US is pushing negotiations with the Taliban in a bid to cut its losses and leave Afghanistan. But the recent India-Pakistan conflagration over Kashmir has exposed the treacherous fault lines in one of the worlds most dangerous regions. On Wednesday, February 27, shortly after Pakistan announced that it had captured an Indian Air Force pilot following an aerial dogfight over Kashmir, the Taliban issued a statement warning that India-Pakistan clashes would affect Afghan peace negotiations."The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process," Reuters quoted Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid as saying.The warning came as US diplomats and representatives of the Pakistan-backed Taliban were meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks aimed at ending the US military engagement in Afghanistan.But hours later, Mujahid made an uncharacteristic clarification in English on Twitter. @Reuters has published a fake report citing the spokesman of Islamic Emirate regarding Pakistan-India tensions, we have not talked to any media outlet regarding this issue at all, he said.The fake news machine had apparently struck the Talibans communications system, forcing the militant Islamist group to issue the uncharacteristic disclaimer on Twitter. But the retraction laid bare the knotty links and fissures threatening one of the worlds most dangerous regions.The Taliban often takes liberties with the truth, falsely claiming attacks, exaggerating death tolls and slamming reports in the Western media. But in its rush to distance itself from the tensions between India and Pakistan, the Taliban inadvertently exposed an element of truth that did not escape the notice of seasoned analysts.Its difficult of course to decode the dynamics of the messaging, but its not unlikely that the Taliban might make a statement like this. There has always been a concern that Pakistan could leverage the Afghanistan theatre as a bargaining position -- not just with India, but also the world community, said Avinash Paliwal, a lecturer at SOAS University of London and author of the book, My Enemys Enemy, in an interview with FRANCE 24.Three countries with entwined fatesPakistan has long used militant groups as tool to influence or destabilise its neighbours, Afghanistan and India. The policy has entwined the fates of the three countries, locking them across disputed colonial borders in a historical mistrust that has periodically boiled over into covert and conventional wars.With the Trump administration eyeing an end to Americas 18-year engagement in Afghanistan, the pieces of the geopolitical chess game are moving fast, leaving the international community scrambling to keep up with the likely impact on the region and beyond.No ceasefire preconditionsThe latest round of talks in Doha was supposed to end on February 28, with a final communique. But following Wednesdays closed-door sessions, delegates announced a two-day break, with negotiations set to resume over the weekend.They said the break was to allow representatives to conduct further consultations with leadership on both sides as they discuss technical matters. I believe the talks could spill into next week, said veteran Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai said earlier this week in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Doha.There are numerous problems dogging the US-Taliban talks, notably the absence of the Afghan government, which the militant group considers illegitimate. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad failed to make a Taliban ceasefire a precondition for the talks. Meanwhile, attacks including a deadly Friday assault on an Afghan military base in Helmand, home to some US military advisers continue.When Afghanistan stops burning, Kashmir burnsGiven the myriad challenges to be tackled during the talks, India-Pakistan tensions did not appear to be the reason for the break, Yousafzai explained. I think if that was the case, they would have simply canceled the talks. He added, however, that fallout from the India-Pakistan tensions could not be completely ruled out. By Friday, tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad appeared to have eased.The escalation was sparked by a deadly February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary police officers. A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Muhammed, claimed the attack, prompting Indian aerial strikes in Pakistani territory and tit-for-tat attacks by the two arch enemies.Amid mounting international pressure on both sides, Pakistans release of the captured Indian pilot on Friday helped deescalate the crisis for the moment.But the longstanding Kashmir crisis is far from resolved and conflagrations between India and Pakistan are likely to erupt again in the future.Thats where the dynamics of the links between Afghanistan and Kashmir come in.As the US military role and the NATO presence in Afghanistan starts winding down, a lot of Pakistan-based militant groups have an incentive to redirect their focus to India. Groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba that were operating in Afghanistan no longer have Western troops to target, giving them the motivation to refocus their attention on India-administeredKashmir and their handlers in Pakistan would see things the same way, said Michael Kugelman from the Washington DC-based Wilson Center in an interview with FRANCE 24.Its a linkage Paliwal sums up with the adage, When Afghanistan stops burning, Kashmir starts burning.The maxim dates back to 1989, the year Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Kashmir insurgency kicked off. When Moscow withdrew its troops from Afghanistan 30 years ago, thousands of mujahideen from Pakistan and beyond redirected their fight to Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in Hindu- dominated India.Paliwal, however, is not so sure the Afghanistan-Kashmir adage still holds. The model may not work today. Since 2013, the situation has worsened simultaneously in Afghanistan and Kashmir, he noted.Local grievances fuel Kashmir insurgencyThe situation has also deteriorated for Kashmiris bearing the brunt of brutal crackdowns by the Indian security forces, creating the perfect recruitment grounds for Pakistan-based militant groups.The suicide bomber in the recent attack against Indian security forces, for instance, was a local Kashmiri youth. Neighbours in his southern Kashmiri village told Indian media the 22-year-old high school dropout joined the insurgency after his cousin was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces.Encounter is a term frequently used by security officials in South Asia to describe killings allegedly in self-defence. Human rights activists say the term is often a euphemism for extrajudicial killings or a disproportionate use of force by security officials to finish off potentially troublesome individuals without the bother of arresting and charging them.The heavy-handed security tactics that animate Kashmiris have also led to angry denunciations from Islamabad and calls for the international community to focus more attention on Kashmir a plea that has not been received well in New Delhi, wrote Kugelman in a recent Foreign Policy column.The enemy of my enemyWhile Indias failure to address the human rights violations are not serving its security interests, experts warn that New Delhi may be missing the boat on the Afghan peace process which could impact the situation in Kashmir.India has officially maintained its position that the peace process should be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. New Delhi wants the Kabul government to be the key player in the negotiations and supports parties that are not supported by Pakistan, said Paliwal, referring to Indias my enemys enemy is my friend policy in Afghanistan.But the Taliban has so far refused to engage in any dialogue with Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis administration in Kabul, constraining Indias room to maneuver.New Delhi has historically sought to contain Islamabads influence in Afghanistan, aligning itself with proxies and powers opposed to Pakistan or Pakistan-backed groups. Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan for instance, India along with Iran and Russia supported the Northern Alliance in the 1990s against the Pakistani-backed Taliban.The alliance, however, failed to contain the Taliban or stop it from seizing control of Kabul and much of Afghanistan by 1996.More than two decades later, the Taliban are once again on the winning side with a military superpower focused on cutting its losses in Afghanistan and calling it quits.Russia and Iran two old Taliban foes have also been making overtures to their historic enemy, complicating the power chess game in Afghanistan. With no winning strategy in sight, India has been attempting to reach out to the Taliban via backdoor channels, according to Paliwal. Its been a very low level outreach and nothing much came from it. It was more an exercise in getting a sense of the other side, he explained.At stake are massive Afghanistan-based development projects, estimated at around $2 billion, in which India has invested since the 2001 US-led military operation. But the Taliban remain unable to guarantee the protection of Indian interests and installations after a US withdrawal, wrote Paliwal in a Foreign Policy column co-written with Harsh Pant, a lecturer at Kings College London and with the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.Giving peace no chanceOne of the channels to make inroads with all parties in Afghanistan would be for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis government to engage with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khans administration.While the powerful Pakistani military has a history of using jihadist groups as proxies in regional power games, there are growing signs that the Pakistani populace along with democratically-elected civilian governments are growing weary of their country being used (and abused) by militant Islamist groups.But Indias right-wing, Hindu nationalist government lacks the imagination, flexibility or will to exploit the situation.In a scathing rebuke of Modis lack of foreign policy initiative, Bharat Karnad, a professor at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, noted, Common sense, which is generally missing in our foreign policy, would suggest that talks, any kind of formal or even back-channel dialogue, [are] more likely to incentivize Islamabadto clamp down on the jihadis. But, Karnad added, the Modi administration has failed to work with Islamabad to put a lid on potential Islamist troublemakers that the Imran [Khan] regime is wary about.The recent tensions between India and Pakistan sparked by the February 14 suicide bombing could provide an incentive to New Delhi to restart stalled Kashmir peace talks with Islamabad.During the latest conflagration, Pakistans Khan issued a call to his Indian counterpart to re-open peace negotiations. But Modi has failed to respond. With critical general elections just weeks away, the Indian prime minister has been in campaign mode, playing to his right-wing Hindu nationalist base by vowing to punish Pakistan.But if negotiations between India and Pakistan are not restarted, a peace process on Pakistans other border with Afghanistan is likely to escalate tensions once again in Kashmir.The Indian governments hardline position during the latest Kashmir conflagration is unlikely to sway Pakistans generals from abandoning their use of jihadist groups as proxy tools.For the Pakistani military, the calculus is very simple these [jihadist] groups are assets that help Pakistan push back against unfriendly forces in the region, explained Kugelman. Pakistans conventional military forces are inferior to Indias, and it looks to asymmetrical means. It will take a lot to get Pakistan to change the calculus. The US is pushing negotiations with the Taliban in a bid to cut its losses and leave Afghanistan. But the recent India-Pakistan conflagration over Kashmir has exposed the treacherous fault lines in one of the worlds most dangerous regions. On Wednesday, February 27, shortly after Pakistan announced that it had captured an Indian Air Force pilot following an aerial dogfight over Kashmir, the Taliban issued a statement warning that India-Pakistan clashes would affect Afghan peace negotiations. "The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process," Reuters quoted Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid as saying. The warning came as US diplomats and representatives of the Pakistan-backed Taliban were meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks aimed at ending the US military engagement in Afghanistan. But hours later, Mujahid made an uncharacteristic clarification in English on Twitter. @Reuters has published a fake report citing the spokesman of Islamic Emirate regarding #Pakistan-#India tensions, we have not talked to any media outlet regarding this issue at all, he said. The fake news machine had apparently struck the Talibans communications system, forcing the militant Islamist group to issue the uncharacteristic disclaimer on Twitter. But the retraction laid bare the knotty links and fissures threatening one of the worlds most dangerous regions. The Taliban often takes liberties with the truth, falsely claiming attacks, exaggerating death tolls and slamming reports in the Western media. But in its rush to distance itself from the tensions between India and Pakistan, the Taliban inadvertently exposed an element of truth that did not escape the notice of seasoned analysts. Its difficult of course to decode the dynamics of the messaging, but its not unlikely that the Taliban might make a statement like this. There has always been a concern that Pakistan could leverage the Afghanistan theatre as a bargaining position -- not just with India, but also the world community, said Avinash Paliwal, a lecturer at SOAS University of London and author of the book, My Enemys Enemy, in an interview with FRANCE 24. Story continues Three countries with entwined fates Pakistan has long used militant groups as tool to influence or destabilise its neighbours, Afghanistan and India. The policy has entwined the fates of the three countries, locking them across disputed colonial borders in a historical mistrust that has periodically boiled over into covert and conventional wars. With the Trump administration eyeing an end to Americas 18-year engagement in Afghanistan, the pieces of the geopolitical chess game are moving fast, leaving the international community scrambling to keep up with the likely impact on the region and beyond. No ceasefire preconditions The latest round of talks in Doha was supposed to end on February 28, with a final communique. But following Wednesdays closed-door sessions, delegates announced a two-day break, with negotiations set to resume over the weekend. They said the break was to allow representatives to conduct further consultations with leadership on both sides as they discuss technical matters. I believe the talks could spill into next week, said veteran Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai said earlier this week in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Doha. There are numerous problems dogging the US-Taliban talks, notably the absence of the Afghan government, which the militant group considers illegitimate. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad failed to make a Taliban ceasefire a precondition for the talks. Meanwhile, attacks including a deadly Friday assault on an Afghan military base in Helmand, home to some US military advisers continue. When Afghanistan stops burning, Kashmir burns Given the myriad challenges to be tackled during the talks, India-Pakistan tensions did not appear to be the reason for the break, Yousafzai explained. I think if that was the case, they would have simply canceled the talks. He added, however, that fallout from the India-Pakistan tensions could not be completely ruled out. By Friday, tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad appeared to have eased. The escalation was sparked by a deadly February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary police officers. A Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Muhammed, claimed the attack, prompting Indian aerial strikes in Pakistani territory and tit-for-tat attacks by the two arch enemies. Amid mounting international pressure on both sides, Pakistans release of the captured Indian pilot on Friday helped deescalate the crisis for the moment. But the longstanding Kashmir crisis is far from resolved and conflagrations between India and Pakistan are likely to erupt again in the future. Thats where the dynamics of the links between Afghanistan and Kashmir come in. As the US military role and the NATO presence in Afghanistan starts winding down, a lot of Pakistan-based militant groups have an incentive to redirect their focus to India. Groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba that were operating in Afghanistan no longer have Western troops to target, giving them the motivation to refocus their attention on India-administeredKashmir and their handlers in Pakistan would see things the same way, said Michael Kugelman from the Washington DC-based Wilson Center in an interview with FRANCE 24. Its a linkage Paliwal sums up with the adage, When Afghanistan stops burning, Kashmir starts burning. The maxim dates back to 1989, the year Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Kashmir insurgency kicked off. When Moscow withdrew its troops from Afghanistan 30 years ago, thousands of mujahideen from Pakistan and beyond redirected their fight to Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in Hindu- dominated India. Paliwal, however, is not so sure the Afghanistan-Kashmir adage still holds. The model may not work today. Since 2013, the situation has worsened simultaneously in Afghanistan and Kashmir, he noted. Local grievances fuel Kashmir insurgency The situation has also deteriorated for Kashmiris bearing the brunt of brutal crackdowns by the Indian security forces, creating the perfect recruitment grounds for Pakistan-based militant groups. The suicide bomber in the recent attack against Indian security forces, for instance, was a local Kashmiri youth. Neighbours in his southern Kashmiri village told Indian media the 22-year-old high school dropout joined the insurgency after his cousin was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces. Encounter is a term frequently used by security officials in South Asia to describe killings allegedly in self-defence. Human rights activists say the term is often a euphemism for extrajudicial killings or a disproportionate use of force by security officials to finish off potentially troublesome individuals without the bother of arresting and charging them. The heavy-handed security tactics that animate Kashmiris have also led to angry denunciations from Islamabad and calls for the international community to focus more attention on Kashmir a plea that has not been received well in New Delhi, wrote Kugelman in a recent Foreign Policy column. The enemy of my enemy While Indias failure to address the human rights violations are not serving its security interests, experts warn that New Delhi may be missing the boat on the Afghan peace process which could impact the situation in Kashmir. India has officially maintained its position that the peace process should be Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. New Delhi wants the Kabul government to be the key player in the negotiations and supports parties that are not supported by Pakistan, said Paliwal, referring to Indias my enemys enemy is my friend policy in Afghanistan. But the Taliban has so far refused to engage in any dialogue with Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis administration in Kabul, constraining Indias room to maneuver. New Delhi has historically sought to contain Islamabads influence in Afghanistan, aligning itself with proxies and powers opposed to Pakistan or Pakistan-backed groups. Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan for instance, India along with Iran and Russia supported the Northern Alliance in the 1990s against the Pakistani-backed Taliban. The alliance, however, failed to contain the Taliban or stop it from seizing control of Kabul and much of Afghanistan by 1996. More than two decades later, the Taliban are once again on the winning side with a military superpower focused on cutting its losses in Afghanistan and calling it quits. Russia and Iran two old Taliban foes have also been making overtures to their historic enemy, complicating the power chess game in Afghanistan. With no winning strategy in sight, India has been attempting to reach out to the Taliban via backdoor channels, according to Paliwal. Its been a very low level outreach and nothing much came from it. It was more an exercise in getting a sense of the other side, he explained. At stake are massive Afghanistan-based development projects, estimated at around $2 billion, in which India has invested since the 2001 US-led military operation. But the Taliban remain unable to guarantee the protection of Indian interests and installations after a US withdrawal, wrote Paliwal in a Foreign Policy column co-written with Harsh Pant, a lecturer at Kings College London and with the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. Giving peace no chance One of the channels to make inroads with all parties in Afghanistan would be for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis government to engage with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khans administration. While the powerful Pakistani military has a history of using jihadist groups as proxies in regional power games, there are growing signs that the Pakistani populace along with democratically-elected civilian governments are growing weary of their country being used (and abused) by militant Islamist groups. But Indias right-wing, Hindu nationalist government lacks the imagination, flexibility or will to exploit the situation. In a scathing rebuke of Modis lack of foreign policy initiative, Bharat Karnad, a professor at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, noted, Common sense, which is generally missing in our foreign policy, would suggest that talks, any kind of formal or even back-channel dialogue, [are] more likely to incentivize Islamabadto clamp down on the jihadis. But, Karnad added, the Modi administration has failed to work with Islamabad to put a lid on potential Islamist troublemakers that the Imran [Khan] regime is wary about. The recent tensions between India and Pakistan sparked by the February 14 suicide bombing could provide an incentive to New Delhi to restart stalled Kashmir peace talks with Islamabad. During the latest conflagration, Pakistans Khan issued a call to his Indian counterpart to re-open peace negotiations. But Modi has failed to respond. With critical general elections just weeks away, the Indian prime minister has been in campaign mode, playing to his right-wing Hindu nationalist base by vowing to punish Pakistan. But if negotiations between India and Pakistan are not restarted, a peace process on Pakistans other border with Afghanistan is likely to escalate tensions once again in Kashmir. The Indian governments hardline position during the latest Kashmir conflagration is unlikely to sway Pakistans generals from abandoning their use of jihadist groups as proxy tools. For the Pakistani military, the calculus is very simple these [jihadist] groups are assets that help Pakistan push back against unfriendly forces in the region, explained Kugelman. Pakistans conventional military forces are inferior to Indias, and it looks to asymmetrical means. It will take a lot to get Pakistan to change the calculus. By Ellen Francis OUTSKIRTS OF BAGHOUZ, Syria (Reuters) - Islamic State faces final territorial defeat as the U.S.-backed Syrian force battling the jihadists said on Saturday it was closing in on the jihadists' last bastion near the Iraqi border, capping four years of efforts to roll back the group. While the fall of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village on the bank of the Euphrates River, would mark a milestone in a global campaign against Islamic State (IS), they remain a threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate land further west. An array of enemies, both local and international, confronted IS after it declared a modern-day "caliphate" in 2014 across large swathes of territory it had seized in lightning offensives in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. IS lost its twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa in 2017. As its territory shrunk, thousands of fighters, followers and civilians retreated to Baghouz. Over the last few weeks, they have poured out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmlands in Deir al-Zor province, holding up the final assault. On Friday evening, the SDF said the remaining civilians had been removed and it was resuming its assault until the jihadists were defeated. "We expect it to be over soon," Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told Reuters shortly after sunrise as the SDF advanced on two fronts using medium and heavy weaponry. Yet clashes continued past sunset, with occasional heavy bombing from warplanes that hovered in the sky, the SDF media office said. IS responded with drones and rockets, and seven SDF fighters have been wounded so far, said commander Adnan Afrin. The SDF has previously estimated several hundred IS insurgents - believed mostly to be foreigners - to be still in Baghouz, and the U.S.-led international coalition has described them as the "most hardened" militants. The SDF's final advance was slowed for weeks by the jihadists' extensive use of tunnels and human shields. It has not ruled out the possibility that some militants have crept out, hidden among civilians. Story continues "COMPLICATED SITUATION" A spokesman for the coalition, which supports the Kurdish-led SDF, said it was too early to assess the battle's progress "as it is a complicated situation with many variables". The SDF commander-in-chief said on Thursday that his force would declare victory within a week. He was later contradicted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the SDF had retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by IS. Washington has about 2,000 troops in Syria, mainly to support the SDF in fighting IS. Trump announced in December he would withdraw all of them, but the White House partially reversed itself last month, saying some 400 troops would stay. Some 40,000 people bearing various nationalities have left the jihadists' diminishing territory in the last three months as the SDF sought to oust the militants from remaining pockets. The number of evacuees streaming out of Baghouz surpassed initial estimates of how many were inside. Afrin told Reuters on Thursday that many of the people leaving the enclave had been sheltering underground in caves and tunnels. Among the civilians were scores of children. Some had been conscripted or enslaved by the jihadists, while others were foreigners brought by their parents to be raised under IS rule. A 27-year-old Indonesian widow who emerged on Friday said she would have liked to stay in IS territory but conceded that conditions had become untenable. "I have no money, I have no food for my baby, no medicine, nothing for my baby, so I must go out," she told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Issam Abdullah; Writing by Stephen Kalin and Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Heinrich and David Evans) 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. Few issues in American politics are more propagandized than Immigration. On one side, we have people shouting "Abolish ICE." On the other, "Build the wall." As the border becomes more militarized and the conflict escalates, it's more difficult to get the truth about immigration-related issues. Therefore, I decided to go to federal immigration court in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, to witness it myself. Torture victims in Africa have become detainees in the US Before heading to the federal courthouse in downtown Cleveland, I met up with Lynn Tramonte, Director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. We walked to the courthouse together. Our original plan was to sit in on a bond hearing for a Mauritanian man being held in an ICE detention center near Cincinnati, Ohio. This man fled Mauritania for the United States almost twenty years ago and is filing for asylum. He's been checking in with ICE on a regular basis, but thanks to new Trump-era policies, the last time he checked in, they arrested him and transported him to an ICE detention center. This isn't much of a surprise since Tramonte says the regional ICE branch, headquartered in Detroit, is one of the most aggressive in the nation. The Trump administration changed the rules for Mauritanian immigrants The Mauritanian man whose bond hearing was scheduled that afternoon didn't get his day in court. At the last minute, the detention center, located in Cincinnati, "accidentally" transported him to a different facility in Morrow County, Ohio. He'll have to wait in detention for several more weeks. It's no secret that the Trump administration has been more hostile to immigrants than past administrations. But for many Black Mauritanians seeking asylum in the United States, the wait is worth it, even in the grim conditions of ICE detention centers, which are prison-like facilities. Discuss this news on Eunomia According to America's Voice, "In Mauritania, the ruling Arab Moors view Black Mauritanians as property, members of the slave caste. Black Mauritanians have been arrested for specious reasons; tortured and killed, expelled from the country, forced to work as slaves (even as children), purged from the nations census rolls, and had their land stolen." In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many Mauritanians were granted asylum in the U.S., but others were denied asylum--often because they missed the filing deadline or had poor legal representation. The Mauritanians who lost their cases became eligible for deportation--but, because of the well-documented torture and oppression of Black Mauritanians by the ruling Moors, the U.S. government declined to deport them. Instead, the Mauritanians agreed to be monitored by ICE and check in with them on a regular basis. However, the Trump administration suddenly changed the check-ins to "check-ins for deportation," and immigrants who followed the rules and showed up to check in with ICE were promptly apprehended and sent to detention centers. I'll be back in court in two weeks to see whether this Mauritanian man will be granted bond. So far, it's hard to say whether it will go well for him: I also observed the bond hearing for a Honduran immigrant, brought here at age five by his mother, whose bond was set at $12,000--a high price for low-wage-earning immigrants. A partnership agreement between Angolas national fuel company, Sonangol, and Italian multinational oil company, Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI), will augment the Luanda Refinerys gasoline output by four times its current production, Sonaref Chairman, Joaquim de Sousa Fernandes said at a press conference. The Luanda Refinery currently operates at 95 percent of its production capacity and is managed by Sonaref, a subsidiary of Sonangol. According to Fernandes, the partnership with ENI will help produce 1,200 tons of gasoline by the end of 2021, quadrupling its current production of 300 tons. The increase is expected to reduce the current market deficit by 20 percent. The planning phase for the new production unit has already commenced, and the contract is expected to be awarded and construction initiated within the next few years, Sousa Fernandes said. The United Shine consortium, which will operate the future Cabinda refinery, is currently in negotiations with a banking syndicate to secure financing for the project. Completion of the Cabinda refinery project is expected by the end of 2021, with United Shine (90%) and Sonaref (10%) forming the consortium to which Sonangol awarded the contract for the construction of the project. Sousa Fernandes said that a negotiation process was underway with a number of companies for the constitution of a partnership and respective stakes. Angola remains the second largest oil producer in Africa. En espanol | If your ideal national park experience involves sipping a Huckleberry Smash cocktail while gazing at a deep-blue mountain lake, book a room at Glacier National Parks Many Glacier Hotel in Montana, one of the nations most majestic national park lodges. The cocktail which features whiskey, lemon juice, ice and huckleberry syrup is a specialty of the place. The hotel is a classic among the many park lodges built from the Rockies to the Pacific in the early 20th century by railroad companies trying (successfully) to lure well-heeled Eastern tourists across the country for nature-filled getaways. They're hugely popular, so make reservations as early as possible even a year in advance at the hottest lodges, including El Tovar at the Grand Canyon especially if you want to stay during the peak summer season. Yellowstones lodges, such as Old Faithful Inn, can be booked beginning in May for the following summer (so you can make reservations for the summer of 2020 in May 2019). Check for cancellations if you can't immediately get a reservation. The rooms arent always cheap, but even if you dont spend the night, these grand lodges are fun spots to grab a drink or a meal or just to explore. Here are five of our top picks: Several Aberdeen-area schools are excelling in robotics competitions Several local schools have made it to state, regional, and even national competitions. SANTA FE Two of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams legislative priorities passed the state House on Friday one that would create centers of excellence at state colleges and another to promote the manufacturing of hemp grown in New Mexico. Both bills now head to the Senate for consideration. House Bill 7, co-sponsored by Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, would establish centers of excellence at four New Mexico colleges and universities to promote innovation in bioscience, agriculture and other subject areas. It passed 50-14. House Bill 581, sponsored by Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, would regulate the production, testing, research, manufacturing and transportation of hemp and similar products. It passed 62-2. The hemp industry is a natural fit for New Mexico, Lujan Grisham said. Its about time we help our farmers and manufacturers get into the business, and this landmark legislation helps us establish the framework through which it will grow and, ultimately, flourish SANTA FE A bill that would allocate $100,000 for circus arts education flew through the Senate Education Committee with relative ease Friday, passing after only about 15 minutes of discussion on a 7-2 vote. Senate Bill 412 calls for the money to be taken out of the general fund and given to the state Public Education Department to distribute to school districts or charter schools to teach such things as juggling, stilt-walking, clowning, acrobatics and trapeze. It has nothing to do with elephants and animals, said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, the bills sponsor. It has to do with youth development. During the public input period, supporters of the bill most of them employees of Wise Fool New Mexico, a Santa Fe nonprofit group that already goes into 17 schools in the Santa Fe and Pojoaque school districts to teach circus arts said circus arts help students learn self-confidence, discipline and teamwork. Alanna Herrera, youth programs director at Wise Fool, said the students learning to stilt-walk learn more than just the skill. Its not about them being able to stilt-walk through the rest of their life; its about the skills they develop in learning it, she said. Alliyah Noor, development director for Wise Fool, said circus arts are nothing new and are taught in a lot of schools in Europe. I just want to make sure you all understand that this isnt some weird thing were doing over on the south side of town, she said. This is something real, and it works. Leaders of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation and NEA-New Mexico also spoke in favor of the bill. Susanne Mulholland was the only person to speak against the proposal. While she said she thought circus arts were wonderful, Could that $100,000 purchase thousands and thousands of books for children in other parts of the state? She also wondered if students in rural parts of the state, like Jal and Logan, would have as much access to circus arts education as students in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Amy Christian, artistic director at Wise Fool, said she knows of six organizations around the state that teach circus arts and her group has gone to schools in rural areas before. Republican senators Gregg Fulfer of Jal and Craig Brandt of Rio Rancho, who brought a stuffed circus elephant to the meeting, cast the lone votes against the bill. Brandt asked questions about liability and how the funding would be distributed. Christian said Wise Fool carries its own liability insurance and safety is always emphasized during what are usually eight sessions held during art or physical education periods. Committee chairman William Soules, D-Las Cruces, said his biggest concern was over how the funding would be distributed. He said it was unclear whether PED would distribute funding directly to groups that teach circus arts, such as Wise Fool, or to school districts or charter schools, who could then contract with those groups. The bill has also been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee but has not yet been scheduled to be heard. The state Attorney Generals Office is investigating two Catholic priests in connection with the repeated rape of a boy over several years in the 1980s while they served as church leaders in Albuquerque and as Boy Scout leaders while on outings in wilderness areas of New Mexico. Agents say Robert Malloy and Ronald Bruckner former priests at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Albuquerque sexually assaulted the boy from ages 9 through 11, beginning in 1984. Neither man has been charged in the crimes. The allegations come nearly a month after the former Santa Fe priest Marvin Archuleta, 81, was charged with criminal sexual penetration and kidnapping in the rape of a 6-year-old boy as part of the AGs Office investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests across the state. Both Malloy and Bruckner are named in an ongoing lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and have been listed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe as priests credibly accused of sexual abuse. Details of the priests alleged abuse came out after the AGs Office searched the Catholic Center in Northwest Albuquerque on Thursday for records pertaining to alleged abuse by Bruckner and Malloy. According to the search warrant affidavit filed in 2nd Judicial District Court, the victim sat down with the AGs Office on Feb. 15 and told them the abuse began in 1984 when he was 9. Agents say the victim attended elementary school at Our Lady of the Assumption and his family was actively involved in the church. The victim told agents that at that time he was repeatedly penetrated by Bruckner. Two years later, agents say, the same thing happened with Malloy. According to the affidavit, Bruckner and Malloy continued to sexually assault the boy multiple times over the next several years. The victim told agents the abuse occurred in a variety of places, including Our Lady of the Assumption church, Albuquerque hotel rooms, state parks and various wilderness areas as Bruckner and Malloy acted as Boy Scout leaders. Agents say the Boy Scouts of America destroys records 7 to 10 years after an event or trip but the AGs Office was able to confirm that Bruckner and Malloy were both priests at Our Lady of the Assumption during the alleged abuse. The Journal was unable to reach Bruckner or Malloy for comment; its unclear where they are. A bill that would increase the cost of vehicle registration has opponents concerned that it may raise the price of goods and services by placing unnecessary fees on local businesses. House Bill 321, sponsored by Reps. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe; Roberto Bobby Gonzales, D-Taos; and Rudy Martinez, D-Bayard, was introduced in the state legislature earlier this month to improve highways and meet other transit goals by using higher vehicle registration fees as the funding source. For vehicles weighing less than 2,000 pounds, owners would see an added surcharge of $15 a year, according to the bill. According to the Motor Trend website, a 2016 Smart ForTwo and 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage weigh just less than 2,000 pounds. Vehicles between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds such as Kia Rio or Toyota Corolla, according to Motor Trend would have a surcharge of $20 per year. Passenger vehicles weighing more than 3,000 pounds, such as pickups, would require a surcharge of $57 a year, according to the bill. Surcharges for large hauling vehicles such as buses and truck tractors would be based on weight and range from $56 to $400 a year. The legislation states that a vehicle weighing 48,000 pounds or more would see a surcharge of $400 per year, making the registration cost around $572. For example, a business with thirty 48,000-pound trucks would see an increase in fees from $5,160 a year to more than $17,000. Mark Bludworth, dispatch manager for Roadrunner Redi-Mix Inc., a family-owned business in Rio Rancho, said an increase could be huge blow for the local business. There are 30 vehicles here. We already pay a lot a more because of the weight, he said. Bludworth added that because of the weight of the trucks, the company is charged a road tax based on how many miles they travel every day. He said he could not comment on whether or not there would an increase in fees for customers if HB 321 passed. Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, said there are better ways to put money toward roads and an increase in fees of 167 percent could be a detriment to local businesses. We are not using our revenue strains very wisely. The motor vehicle excise tax generates $150 million every year, he said. This tax is a 3 percent tax that consumers pay when they purchase a vehicle in the state. Harper said this revenue should be moved from the general fund, which contributes to the $6 billion budget for the states Medicaid, public safety and higher education costs. It makes sense that these fees should go to roads, he said. Currently, each year, the state generates about $100 million in registration fees, $400 million from the gas tax and $400 million in federal dollars, all for transportation, according to Harper. Ninety percent is marked for road improvement, while the remaining 10 percent contributes to public transit. The vehicle excise tax would add 15 percent to that total, Harper said. Residents do not deny the need for road improvements. Melanie Montoya, a manager for MVD Express in Rio Rancho, said the roads in the City of Vision are in desperate need of repair. The roads here are awful. Worse than Albuquerque, she said. But if Im going to pay more, there better not be a pothole in the road. Montoya said she often hears remarks about how much cheaper the cost of registering the average vehicle in New Mexico is as opposed to other states. Rep. Damon Ely, D-Corrales, said he couldnt comment on the bill because his committee hadnt seen it yet. Trujillo and Gonzales didnt respond to requests for comment. House Bill 321 received a do pass recommendation from the House Transportation and Public Works Committee and was set to considered by the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Friday. Results were not available by press time. The bill would have to pass in the House and Senate, including all assigned committees, and be signed by the governor in order to become law. SANTA FE A bill that would make drug possession a misdemeanor offense in New Mexico is headed to the Senate floor. The measure, Senate Bill 408, would cover all types of drugs, including heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. While marijuana possession is currently a misdemeanor offense, those convicted of possessing some other degrees can face a fourth-degree felony. Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, the bills sponsor, said individuals convicted of felony drug possession, often end up in prison and face future barriers in getting a job once they are released. He argued Friday the law should treat drug possession as a health condition, not a criminal behavior, and said prosecutors could still charge individuals arrested with large amounts of drugs with the felony offense of trafficking. The bill is also backed by the Law Office of the Public Defender, which claims it could reduce expenses for the states judicial system. But critics questioned why repeat offenders would not face stiffer penalties under the legislation. In addition, Sen. Ron Griggs, R-Alamogordo, cited the perceived dangers of synthetic marijuana. The bill ultimately passed the Senate Judiciary on a 6-2 vote. One Republican, Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque, voted for the measure while Democratic Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces voted against it. A homicide detective spent more than half an hour in state District Court laying out the details of the torture and killing of two Albuquerque teens whose bodies were dug up in Sandoval County late last year all to implicate a suspect in an unrelated case in the crimes. The testimony unfolded in front of Judge Charles Brown on Friday morning during a preventative detention hearing for 19-year-old Stephen Goldman Jr. Goldman who will stay behind bars until trial is charged in two nonfatal shootings from November: a drive-by and armed robbery. But prosecutors and police say he played a role in the killings of Ahmed Lateef, 14, and Collin Romero, 15. The bodies of Lateef and Romero were found Dec. 29 in shallow graves on a mesa west of Rio Rancho by a cadaver dog and Sandoval County deputies, after the two had been missing for nearly two weeks. Goldman, also known as Calypso, has not been charged in the slayings. One man, Anthony Aragon, 36, faces two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with the case. He is behind bars in Las Vegas, Nev., for armed robbery. In an attempt to solidify Goldmans dangerousness and keep him behind bars, Albuquerque police homicide detective Jessie Carter took the stand to delve into the evidence against Goldman in the teens deaths. The reason why detective Carters information is relevant is because it goes toward this investigation, which does lead to the defendant as a suspect, prosecutor Natalie Strub said. The reason why formal charges have not been brought is because of the local rule we are still gathering all the evidence. Prosecutors say that evidence involves numerous interviews, search warrants on social media and bullet casings connected to an unrelated drive-by shooting that Goldman is charged in. Carter said the homicide case started with a drug deal in Albuquerque. Mr. Goldman was involved in a drug purchase of marijuana and, at some point during that drug purchase, it went bad, he testified. Carter said Goldman, along with two others, forcefully took Lateef and Romero to the West Mesa where the boys were tortured and eventually shot to death. He said there were large cuts, severe bruising and multiple gunshot wounds to both bodies, including to the feet and legs that wouldve been for torture purposes. Carter said Goldman contacted Aragon, who helped take the bodies into Sandoval County and dump them out of the vehicle. At some point, after they had been dumped, Mr. Goldman had reportedly become upset that they were just tossed off to the side of this road, Carter said. There were ongoing searches going on at this time, set up by the families. They were getting very close. Carter said Goldman had Aragon and another person get the bodies off the roadside and bury them nearby. Laguna Pueblo police later found the vehicle used to dispose of the bodies on tribal land. It was torched extremely well, he said. Mr. Goldmans father has been implicated in that. Carter said Goldman fled to his sisters home in Gresham, Ore., once a warrant was issued for him in the drive-by shooting case. A SWAT standoff ensued with local police there before he was arrested. He said that while Goldman was in custody in Oregon, police found him with a journal that contained rap music lyrics referencing the double homicide. Hes asking for forgiveness at what he had done, Carter said. Throughout the testimony, Collin Romeros mother looked on tearfully as Goldmans father and family some of them also crying watched intently from the courtroom gallery. After the detectives testimony, Goldmans public defender called into question the credibility of witnesses, the apparent lack of a murder weapon and the journal containing the rap lyrics, which she said were done as a response to media attention to the case and to Goldman himself. Brown said that even without the evidence in the murder cases, Goldmans current charges were enough to hold him until trial, and he ruled to keep him behind bars. Because of the amount of violence in both of the charged cases I do find that the defendant is a danger to the community, Brown said. Because he was arrested in Oregon I find that he is a flight risk. Because of the amount of tampering with evidence in the uncharged case, as well as the others, I have no reason to believe the defendant will comply with any conditions of release. Is America really full of hate? Are we truly a nation teeming with victims? Outsiders could certainly come to that conclusion after digesting the steady stream of agitated comments from activists and politicians and media reports about the divisive state of our interpersonal relationships. Hate speech, hate crimes, violence perpetrated by hate groups all topics the media has made a near-daily staple of their coverage. Headlines scream that hate is on the rise! Facts reveal a very different picture. We are a nation of more than 327 million people. According to the latest FBI statistics, from 2017, there were 7,175 hate crimes reported. That was a bit higher than the year before, but there were also more law enforcement agencies reporting in. Not all hate crime complaints were found to be legitimate, but even if they were, 7,175 reports in a nation with a population of more than 327 million? Using these statistics, the only conclusion to be reached is that hate crimes are rare. To be fair, there are those who maintain there has been a massive underreporting in the FBIs voluntary database because local police agencies fail to train officers in hate crime detection. They point to Bureau of Justice Statistics estimate that Americans dont report more than 50 percent of hate crime but still experience an average of 250,000 hate crime victimizations each year from 2004 through 2015. Two-hundred-and-fifty thousand reports, again, not all substantiated, from a population as large as the United States is hardly an epidemic. Many reports point to an analysis of 2017 data by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The report declares hate crimes in 10 major U.S. cities have risen to the highest level in over a decade. Sounds scary, but adding up all the reported hate crimes in those 10 cities equaled 1,038 a teensy fraction of the U.S. population. None of this is to downplay hate. It is only to put all the statistics floating around in perspective. Admittedly, there are far-right and far-left extremist groups in America that make it their mission to target specific racial, sexual or religious groups. There are seething individuals fueled by anger, hate and perhaps mental illness who want to harm those who dont look like, act like or believe in the same ideology. None of this should be tolerated. And it is not. White Nationalist Christopher Paul Hasson, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant, was recently arrested for planning the mass murder of Democratic politicians and journalists. He wrote his career of hate started as a skinhead 30-plus years ago before he joined the military. Hasson was caught after making too many extensive searches for extremist websites while at work. James Hodgkinson, a man reported to be strongly anti-Trump, cased a Virginia ballfield for weeks in his hunt for Republican lawmakers. In June 2017, he opened fire, nearly killing Congressman Steve Scalise. In an intense shootout, four others were hurt; Hodgkinson was killed. And we should never forget Octobers attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh where 11 parishioners were murdered and another six injured by Robert Bowers, a man who proclaimed Jews are the enemy of white people. Hate certainly poured from Bowers, but labelling his action as hate murder achieves what? Murder is already punishable by life in prison or even death. And for the sake of LGBT Americans it is beyond a shame actor Jussie Smollett reportedly made false claims of a racist, homophobic attack because countless members of the LGBT community live with the very real fear of just such an assault. Unfortunately, being suspicious of and attacking strangers is as old as the Bible, folks. There is no way to stamp out hate in every soul. But there is more societal acceptance about our differences now. Our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces are more diverse than ever. Interfaith and interracial marriage have been steadily increasing, proving love can beat out tribal loyalty. Gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states. Voter turnout reached record levels in 2016, indicating more Americans are coming together to involve themselves in the political process. The economy is stronger, employment is at an all-time high. I see so much more tolerance and acceptance of those who look different, love differently, worship in an unfamiliar way. This should be our take-away these days and not the continuous outcry about how hate-filled things are. Are there still pockets of hatred in America? Yes and, sadly, there always will be. Hate is as old as time itself. Get used to the idea that life will never be perfect or as President Jimmy Carter once famously said. Life isnt fair. The outlier to all this improvement in relations, of course, is the confirmation bias so many of us practice, shutting out others political views when they dont match ours. We really need to work on that. www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com. WASHINGTON We were reminded of an explosive political fact this week: The investigations of President Donald Trumps activities wont end when special counsel Robert Mueller presents his report to the Justice Department. Theyll move into a new and potentially more divisive phase. The congressional investigative effort will be ongoing. It will continue through 2020, and beyond if Trump wins re-election and the Democrats retain the House, predicted Ty Cobb, a former White House lawyer under Trump, in an interview Thursday. The Mueller report isnt going to end everything. The prospect for continuing, and perhaps escalating, legal confrontation was clear from the jaw-dropping congressional testimony Wednesday by Michael Cohen, Trumps former fixer. Cohen said he is cooperating with a probe by the U.S. attorney in Manhattan into other potential criminal issues involving Trump, beyond Muellers inquiry. Its impossible to know the seriousness of those probes or the jeopardy they pose for Trump and his family, but they arent going away soon. Cohen, with his raspy voice and baggy-eyed face, spoke like a penitent mobster as he offered new evidence about what he alleged was Trumps role in both directing hush money payments to a porn star and massaging financial documents to gain more loans from Deutsche Bank. Cohen also claimed to have understood the code on what he asserted was Trumps record as a con man and cheat. Congressional committees are already drawing up witness lists to pursue those threads. Even without Cohens headline-grabbing allegations, it became clear this month that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and other congressional investigators were crossing Trumps self-declared red line and beginning to investigate his personal and family finances, including his relationship with Deutsche Bank, perhaps his biggest lender. A Deutsche Bank spokesman told me two weeks ago the company was cooperating with the investigations. Democrats will face a growing dilemma about how aggressively they should pursue Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders have seemed wary about moving quickly toward impeachment, sensing the public doesnt want the intense polarization that would accompany an effort to remove Trump from office before 2021. But with Cohens new allegations of criminal behavior, and an imminent report from Mueller, more Democrats may consider the impeachment option. As November 2020 approaches, the argument will increase that the issue should be left to the public. The legal and political battlefields will be shaped by Muellers report, and how much of it is made public by Attorney General William Barr. Lawyers who have followed the Mueller investigation closely say they doubt he will present evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia beyond what he has already revealed in a string of indictments. Muellers findings about Trumps possible obstruction of justice are harder to predict. But even if he has evidence of obstruction, Mueller appears to favor a political adjudication, through the constitutional process of impeachment, rather than a legal one through indictment and trial. As the Democratic House moves deeper into legal combat with Trump, it seems increasingly likely that it will bring an epic Supreme Court decision on Congress ability to subpoena the Mueller report, or, later, Trump administration officials who could testify about the presidents activity. But this legal test will be difficult for Democrats, and not just because the Supreme Court has a conservative majority. House Democrats might have difficulty winning a case demanding that Barr release all of Muellers report. Thats because Congress in the late 1990s, frustrated by seemingly endless investigations by independent counsels, replaced that system with Justice Department regulations that are fairly narrow: A special counsel must provide the attorney general with a confidential report about who was or wasnt indicted, but public release must meet tight DOJ guidelines for disclosing information on criminal investigations. When Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017, some hoped his investigation would bring a decisive resolution, one way or another, perhaps yielding a national sigh of relief akin to President Gerald Fords declaration after the Watergate scandal that our long national nightmare is over. But Fords accession, after the resignation of President Richard Nixon, was the result of a bipartisan consultative process, in which conservative Republicans such as Sen. Barry Goldwater played a key role. If the fracas surrounding Cohens testimony this week proved anything, its that theres nothing remotely like bipartisan consensus about how to deal with the allegations about Trump. Instead, this is a political war, and its probably heading into a more combative phase, just at the moment some expected it would be ending. Email davidignatius@washpost.com. 2019, Washington Post Writers Group. Its admirable to see how hard our legislators are working. Whether I agree with them or not, they are focused on moving their agendas. The question is whether or not those agendas are best for our state. As the founder of a nonpartisan, statewide, pro-business association, it is disheartening to watch what is happening. We have many elected officials creating laws they say will be good for the state and beneficial to businesses. Neither could be further from the truth. With majority control of both chambers and the Governors Office, Democrats have carte blanche. Many in the House have stated they are operating under a mandate to fulfill New Mexicans wishes. The Senate, unchanged from the last election, remains tempered. While the election results for the House were no surprise, its dangerous to think there is a mandate. Weve seen more people actively engaged than ever before on issues like border security and restricted gun rights. Many arent happy. But how much do New Mexicans know about the attack on good tax policy and business practices? The governor and many legislators are saying they need a steady source of revenue to alleviate the cyclical nature of the extractive industries. My suggestion would be tax reform and policy that makes our state attractive for businesses while not expanding government beyond our means. But I digress into wishful thinking. People who are in business understand the need to pay taxes for the common good. But there are limits to what they can tolerate before seeking higher ground with fewer taxes. Choices abound as we see Texas, with no income tax, flourish and become a model for other states. North Dakota is now working on legislation to make that state income-tax-free as well. With a budget surplus, many states, including New Mexico under Gov. Bill Richardson, gave refunds to taxpayers. This sessions House Republican budget provided for refunds, but it was the Democrats budget that passed the House, with greatly expanded government and the need to fund it. House Bill 6, Tax Changes, is a comprehensive tax bill that will be painful for all New Mexicans. While some of the tax increases target business owners and the wealthy, numerous other increases hit the average citizen with gasoline, car registration and internet sales tax increases to name a few. Its important to note that most business income is taxed at the owners personal income tax rate. Increase that rate, and youre impacting jobs, which hurts everyone. There are legislators betting that oil and gas companies wont leave because of our expansive reserves. These companies have choices about how and where they invest, so while they may not walk away from current operations, they can certainly choose to invest additional resources elsewhere. We must also consider sound business policy. Unfortunately, HB 85, Union Security Agreements, is an anti-business measure that thwarts workers rights. It states, An employer or labor organization may require membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment. Elected officials in 10 counties and the Village of Ruidoso adopted right-to-work ordinances so that over 655,000 residents had a choice about union membership. This bill takes away that right and allows forcing people, as a condition of employment, to join a union. Besides HB 6, there are a multitude of other tax bills that increase specific taxes, fees or regulatory costs. And, like HB 85, there is a plethora of attacks on good business practices and our extractive industries, which are the lifeblood of this state. No one will go unscathed by this legislative session unless there is an awakening to the need for better tax and business policy. I strongly urge New Mexicans to pay close attention to the final days, ending on March 16. Much will happen that can be greatly influenced by constituents expressing their views to legislators. Please get involved, or well all be living with the consequences. The New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC) is the state affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturing. More information is at www.nmbizcoalition.org. My sister deserves better. My family deserves better. My friends deserve better. All of us deserve better. Serina Serna, who lost her sister last summer to Xanax laced with fentanyl Its the kind of event thats so important in what it offers and so awful that its needed here. Its the National Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness. On March 6 it will take over Rio Ranchos Santa Ana Star Center. The City of Vision joins Salt Lake City, Louisville, Ky., Charleston, W.Va., and Philadelphia as host sites because of how hard their states have been hit by the opioid crisis. New Mexico ranks 15th in the nation for opioid overdose deaths, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The summit is targeted at middle and high school students, who must register through their schools to attend. It is not open to the public. Jennifer Weiss-Burke, whose son Cameron, 18, died of a heroin overdose in 2011, explains its a national presentation specifically aimed at the age group that has been especially affected by the opioid crisis. Weiss-Burke founded the Serenity Mesa Youth Recovery Center after Camerons death. Serina Serna says she is in anguish as my sisters death certificate says accidental overdose. She did not know she was taking fentanyl. She would have never taken it knowingly. She was a teenager doing what teenagers do experimenting and it cost her life. The summit will feature such hard realities. It is sponsored by the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and DEA 360 Strategy in conjunction with community partners Walmart and the Gavin Foundation. If teens have any doubt the opioid crisis cuts across society, they need look no further than Jim Wahlberg brother of movie star Mark, executive director of the foundation and a recovering addict who will be there. So will Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who will speak to the group, and The Voice winner Chevel Shepherd, who will share her talent. Weiss-Burke is also scheduled to speak briefly, along with a youth now in recovery at Serenity Mesa. The summit will end with family members who have lost loved ones to opioid overdose gathered on stage with photos of their lost loved ones. The summit promises to be a powerful, terrifying, tearful morning. It is awful that it is so needed in New Mexico. And it is so important that those who can benefit by hearing its message do. Youth Opioid Summit From 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. March 6, Santa Ana Star Center, 3001 Civic Center Circle, Rio Rancho. Doors open 8:30 a.m. Registration is through schools and on a first-come, first-served basis. Go to drugfreeisuptome.org.Parents and other family members can join to honor a loved one lost to opioid overdose in a presentation at the end. Contact Jennifer Weiss-Burke at jenweissburke@serenitymesa.com. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Two major education bills that aim to turn around parts of New Mexicos public school system are on the move at the Roundhouse. Both bills House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1 advanced out of committees this week and are now awaiting votes on their respective chamber floors. The two measures, which are similar but not identical, have been pitched as curative efforts in response to a watershed education lawsuit against the state. District Judge Sarah Singleton ruled last year that New Mexico is not meeting the educational needs of at-risk students, a right guaranteed in the state constitution. In response, both bills would boost funding for at-risk students, rural populations and extended learning programs that would fund additional school days and professional development hours. The bills also would ramp up K-3 Plus, an optional summer school program for schools with high numbers of low-income students, expanding it to K-5 Plus. And both measures would raise teacher salaries by thousands of dollars. The House bill would phase in raises to base pay rates under the states three-tiered system for educators to $46,000, $56,000 and $66,000, and the Senate bill would set them at $40,000, $50,000 and $60,000. The existing salaries for Level 1, 2 and 3 teachers are at $36,000, $44,000 and $54,000, respectively. Districts have noted that although there is extra education funding in the budget, it is allocated for new measures such as these creating parameters around what schools can use the money for. Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia told the Journal that preliminary estimates show the district would be roughly $600,000 in the black after proposed education changes. She said enrollment drops, unknown ripple effects from legislation and the funding formulas unit value subject that number to change. We may go up and down, she said. Much is still up in the air. Albuquerque Public Schools has also said certain bills would result in a multimillion-dollar hit. For instance, APS is keeping an eye on class-size waivers expiring and changes to how federal funds are treated in the funding formula, which could cost the district more than $27 million. The changes in HB 5 and SB 1 are not exclusively financial. They would also establish reporting requirements, including making charter schools and school districts submit educational plans to explain where the at-risk and special education funding is going on top of submitting their budgets to the state Public Education Department. At least some of the proposed changes have drawn criticism. Charter leaders have rallied against language that would restrict a funding component for extra dollars toward smaller schools, which opponents have said would particularly affect charter schools. And nearly two dozen people showed up to speak at a House Appropriations and Finance Committee hearing to fight an age cap that would curb funding for adult students who are older than 22 at the start of the school year. Students and staffers from Gordon Bernell Charter School in Albuquerque said this would target schools like theirs that cater to adult learners. The school serves students at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center or recently released inmates in the Bernalillo County Community Custody Program. But the committee ultimately passed the measure 11-3, sending it on to the full House. In all, the bill would direct roughly $450 million to public education, said Rep. G. Andres Romero, D-Albuquerque, one of its sponsors. This is the largest single education bill in New Mexico history, I believe, certainly with the most financial backing, he told representatives. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the other bill, sponsored by Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, and Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, who described it as the result of months of work by legislative staffers. That bill would put roughly $330 million into public schools. If both bills are ultimately approved by the Legislature, it will be up to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to decide which proposal to sign into law. President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration to address security issues along the Mexican border has been called unconstitutional, an abuse of power and a political ploy by members of the New Mexico congressional delegation. And most members dont believe there is a national emergency at all. New Mexicos three U.S. House members Assistant Speaker of the House Ben Ray Lujan, and Reps. Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small, all Democrats took action against the declaration this week. They voted in favor of a resolution that would block the presidents declaration. The issue is now before the Senate, where U.S. Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the companion resolution later in the week. The resolution is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate before Congress goes into recess on March 15. Lujan calls Trumps declaration unconstitutional. We will continue to do everything within our power to end this craven power grab by the president, and I sincerely hope that the Republican-held Senate will rise to their constitutional duty and do the same, Lujan said. Haaland labeled the declaration a political ploy. This is about upholding the Constitution and maintaining the systems of checks and balances, Haaland added. New Mexico families deserve leaders in Washington who will respect the Constitution, and fight to defend our national security. The president failed to do that when he decided to raid this funding to play politics. Torres Small called for a smart initiative in border security, but said there wasnt a national emergency along the border. I grew up on the border and the border is my home. Over the last several months I have spent significant time with (Customs and Border Protection) agents and officers visiting more than a half dozen times, Torres Small said. I have been to all three ports of entry in New Mexico, the wall, highway border check points, and border patrol stations across my district. While there is work to be done to more effectively secure our border, there is not a national emergency, which is why I voted to terminate the presidents national emergency declaration. Udall said there was no legal basis to justify the declaration. But regardless how you feel about the president or his wall proposal, this declaration is an end run around the Constitution, designed to raid critical military funding for money that Congress did not provide, after a long and difficult debate just a few weeks ago, Udall said. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., indicated he would support the resolution when it comes to a vote in the Senate. There is no national emergency on our southern border, Heinrich said on Twitter. The Senate must now take action to stand up against President Trumps abuse of power. Haaland said New Mexico military bases stand to lose as much as $132 million in funding if the Trump administration is allowed to divert funding appropriated for military construction projects. Total funding that could be diverted may be as high as $3.6 billion. A list of project funding that may be diverted has not been determined, but Haaland and Heinrichs office said $85 million for an MQ-9 Formal Training Unit Ops Facility at Holloman Air Force Base, $40 million for an information systems facility at White Sands Missile Range and $7 million for the Wyoming Gate security upgrade at Kirtland Air Force Base could be in jeopardy. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal RIO ARRIBA COUNTY John Villareal, an electrician whose family has owned ranchland in Alcalde for a century, pops into La Cocina New Mexican restaurant in downtown Espanola on a recent day to catch up with his cousin a regular at the restaurant who always sits in the same corner table. Villareal isnt shy about how he feels about the gun bills making their way through the Roundhouse. He said he has called his county commissioner and his state senator to express his worries that the bills would pave the way for the government to take his guns which he counts by ticking off his fingers. Anytime we go camping or we go fishing, you just never know what youre going to encounter, Villareal said. I like to have the option of having (a gun) without any restrictions. If Im going down the road and I have it and I get pulled over, I dont want to be questioned about why I have a weapon. Its a common sentiment in Espanola and Rio Arriba County. Despite having one of the highest percentages of registered Democrats for counties in New Mexico, Rio Arriba has joined more than 20 counties and municipalities throughout the state in recent weeks in passing resolutions opposing proposed gun legislation and declaring themselves a Second Amendment Sanctuary. Gun legislation is being pushed by Democratic lawmakers both here in New Mexico and across the country, emerging as one of the central tenets of the partys platform. Rogue sheriffs This year a bill to require background checks on nearly all gun sales, even those done privately, has passed the New Mexico Senate and is moving forward in the House, where a similar bill has already passed. It was sponsored by Sen. Richard Martinez, a Democrat who represents District 5 which includes much of Rio Arriba County. Lawmakers have also introduced a bill to allow a judge to order guns removed from someone who presents a serious emergency risk to themselves or others, and another to bar people who have been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from owning a gun. The state has 33 counties, and sheriffs from 29 of them have stood up in opposition to the legislation. We felt that our stance was falling on deaf ears, it wasnt making any momentum and people were not paying attention, said Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace, the chairman of the New Mexico Sheriffs Association. So what we decided is lets get counties to draft a resolution to say Hey, our sheriffs support peoples Second Amendment rights. This week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded to the sanctuary county movement by saying the background checks are constitutional and law enforcement cannot pick and choose which bills to enforce. She called the sheriffs lobbying against the legislation rogue sheriffs. Opponents of firearm safety measures cant debate on the factual merits of these bills, so they turn to hyperbole, falsehood and fear-mongering, Lujan Grisham wrote on Twitter. Thus, we now have a few sanctuary counties political posturing & dangerous, cynical pandering. In response, Mace and others throughout the state have embraced the label rogue sheriff, by plastering it across photos and social media. Commissions from urban counties, like Bernalillo, Dona Ana and Santa Fe, are not opposing the bills. Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales has expressed his support for the Second Amendment Sanctuary counties but acknowledged the decision will be up to the commission. Just symbolic Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan is a Democrat. He voted for Lujan Grisham for governor and for Hillary Clinton for president. He grew up in Santa Cruz and served 11 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement. Lately, Lujan said, hes been joining the Sheriffs Association in Santa Fe to voice his opposition to some of the firearm legislation championed by Democratic lawmakers. Up in Chama or Lindrith, somewhere out in the sticks, something happens out in that house and they need protection, so they call the police, Lujan said. Its going to take an hour and a half for us to get from here to there a lot can happen in an hour and a half before State Police, or sheriffs deputies or tribal police are going to make it out there. These people have to have their weapons to protect themselves, their family and their property. Nevertheless, if the firearms bills do pass, Lujan said hell enforce them. Its pretty much just symbolic if you think about it, he said. I have an oath that says Im going to enforce the laws in New Mexico even if its a law that I dont agree with. At a packed meeting in Espanola last week the city council also voted to declare itself a Second Amendment Sanctuary City. Espanola Mayor Javier Sanchez, who co-owns La Cocina, spent Thursday at the restaurant dealing with a water leak. He greets diners at almost every table often addressing them by name in between helping his staff prepare for the water department to come fix the leak. He said hes been fielding calls from constituents on both sides of the firearm legislation. I think this is more than simply recognizing the Second Amendment issue, said Sanchez, a Republican. This is recognizing that we dont all believe what youre saying at the Capitol. Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, said guns like many of the contentious issues at the Legislature are testing how people identify themselves and how they will vote in the future. You have two identities in conflict with one another, she said. You have the identity of party and the identity of rural, and those are in conflict with each other with this particular issue. A gun society By the side of the road, on a small crest dotted with trees next to U.S. 64 on the outskirts of Tierra Amarilla, is a sign that proclaims Tierra O Muerte, land or death. Its a reference to the 1967 courthouse raid in which a group led by activist Reies Lopez Tijerina shot and wounded a State Police officer and jailer, beat a deputy and took the sheriff and a reporter hostage. The group believed that land grants given to the communities had been wrongfully taken away by the government after the region became part of the United States. Desiderio Sanchez, the quartermaster at the VFW in Tierra Amarilla, referenced the raid in describing the mindset of many of his friends and neighbors. We have been a gun society forever. And yet were not violent with each other, he said. The idea of protecting oneself is very, very strong here, and the idea that somebody might take something away from us. That goes back to our forefathers when they lost the land. A pretty deep anti-government feeling. Sanchez, from Cebolla, owns a gun, for hunting and protection, but he agrees with the proposed firearm legislation and even wishes it could go further. He said hes an outlier in northern Rio Arriba County an environmentalist who supported Bernie Sanders and doesnt agree with the counties declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. They think Im crazy, he said. I went to Vietnam so they think I came back crazy. Salomon Ulibarri, a life-long hunter and a Vietnam veteran, lives with his long-time companion Sylvia Casados south of Los Ojos. Deer skulls with antlers hang over his garage and are lined up in front of a fireplace inside. A wood stove crackles and pops on a snowy day. Neither Ulibarri nor Casados were concerned about authorities taking Ulibarris guns away. The couple said they have been following some of the legislation on the news and both worry about children getting ahold of guns and bringing them to school. Thats the only thing that I worry about, Casados said. All the hunters have their guns already. Up the road, Henrys Liquors sells a little bit of everything, including groceries, rifles and ammunition. Rico DeYapps grandparents opened the store about 30 years ago, and he works there with his mother. Both describe themselves as pro gun and own firearms for hunting and protection. But, they say, since theyve been selling firearms at the store theyve seen the benefit of background checks. I dont know if its something that crossed my mind, DeYapp said. It seems like its a bigger issue now, its such an epidemic, the shootings, the things like that are so bad. There are unconfirmed reports that popular Ghanian actor, Majid Michel, was flown out of Ghana on a medical trip abroad. The reports says that Majid was jetting out to undergo throat surgery in an unnamed country. In 2018 the actor reportedly complained about losing his voice, in an interview granted a news medium. Despite undergoing medical checkups at different hospitals within the past two years, Majid claimed the doctors had told him there was nothing wrong with his voice. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, Calif. - We have had higher than normal snowpack and flooding across the state. The question is, has this rain and snow put a dent in the drought? We do not consider California to be in drought-like conditions right now, says the Department of Water Resources (DWR). DWR looks at drought conditions based off precipitation, snow pack and resevoir levels. "All of those are healthy right now," says DWR's Chris Orrack. "They're all above average," he continued. He shared some details about reservoir levels in Northern California. Shasta Lake is at 119 percent above historical average, he said. The state's biggest resevoir rose 39 feet in February alone and is now only 24 feet from it's rim. Folsom Lake Reservoir near Sacramento is at 110 percent of its historical average. The Don Pedro Reservoir near Yosemite is at 115 percent. The Sierra snowpack has more than doubled in the last month alone. "We'll find out how much water it's holding when officials take that measurment in April," said Orrack. "Still - conservation is a must," he emphasized, saying that we need to be ready for when those drought conditions come back. NORTH STATE, Calif. - Here is a round-up of stories from Friday's noon newscast with anchor Linda Watkins-Bennett concerning local flooding, rescues, reactions and concerns. Includes levee work by the California Conservation Corps at Keefer Slough in Butte County, increases in water releases from Keswick Dam into the Sacramento River, a talk with a North State farmer/consultant, and information on weather/flooding-related emergency declaration.s FLOODING RESCUE CAL FIRE Butte County made another successful rescue on Thursday night. A motorist who drove around road closure signs got stranded in high water. This time it happened on Ord Ferry Road, which was the same area where a semi truck got swept away last week. This time the person got out of their car and was waiting in a tree until the Swift Water Rescue Team arrived, rescuing them in a boat. There is no word yet on whether the person who had to be rescued was cited. Thursday night we reported there had been 17 similar rescues over the past two weeks. CCC WORKS TO SHORE UP KEEFER SLOUGH Crews with the the California Conservation Corps were working Friday to shore up Keefer Slough in north Chico. There has been significant flooding along the slough during the past two storms, with water flowing into the Autumn Creek Subdivision. They will be working all day until they get all of the lower parts of the slough covered. BIG INCREASE IN RELEASES AT KESWICK DAM Releases out of Keswick Dam and into the Sacramento River have more than tripled. and there could be more increases ahead. The Bureau of Reclamation plans to increase releases to 35,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) over the weekend and possibly up to 55,000 cfs. FLOODING IMPACT ON LOCAL ORCHARDS While the rain has let up for now, we are still seeing a lot of standing water, especially in area orchards. Local longtime farmer and consultant Steve Gruenwald says this weather is par for the course, but says the standing water does take a toll on the trees. "When we have this much rain the water just can't get out of fields fast enough, and so we have this kind of saturated soil conditions," he said. "When we have standing water on orchards like this it takes the available oxygen out of the soil, so the roots get water logged," he added. He says the almond trees are in bloom already, which is typical for this time of year. Another frost could kill some of those blooms, he said. Gruenwald described the current situation as something farmers just have to deal with in the North State. WEATHER-RELATED EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in five more counties due to all the storms and floods. The order now includes Glenn, Amador, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties. Butte, Tehama and Shasta were covered in an earlier declaration. These declarations allows the state to request federal relief funds to help impacted counties with repairs. Butte County's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) has issued a local emergency proclamation because of the storm damage to roads and other storm-related problems. County supervisors are expected meet to ratify the action during a special meeting. The date of this upcoming special meeting has not been announced yet. ACT Fibernet, Indias largest fiber broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider), today launched its high-speed fiber broadband services in Jaipur. Aligning with the companys new brand strategy Feel the Advantage, ACT Fibernet has introduced broadband plans that will enable residents of Jaipur to experience the advantage of futuristic internet speed and next-gen technology every day. As part of this move, ACT Fibernet broadband plans will be available to customers beginning 1st March 2019. ACT Silver plan will offer 100 Mbps speed with 500 GB FUP limit, Likewise, ACT Gold plan will offer 150 Mbps with 1000 GB FUP limit. In addition to this, customers subscribing to any of the broadband plans for a period of 6 months will get 1-month complimentary broadband internet connectivity along with 300 GB additional data over the subscription tenure. Similarly, on subscribing any of the broadband plans for a period of 12 months customers will get 2-month complimentary broadband internet connectivity along with 1200 GB additional data over the subscription tenure. Further, as an introductory offer, installation charges for ACT Fibernets broadband connection will be waived for the first 30 days of launch. Speaking on the launch Bala Malladi, CEO, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. said, Jaipur being one of the fastest-growing and most progressive cities, with its young population, requires cutting edge & futuristic internet technology. We are happy to launch our services in the city. We believe with our pioneering speed and next generation fiber broadband technology, we will help our customers feel the advantage of speed and explore new possibilities in the virtual space. Our goal is to enable them to have an enhanced home internet broadband experience with streaming, gaming, video calling, and much more in real time with uninterrupted connectivity. In India 80% of data consumption happens through fixed line broadband, in homes, offices, schools and other enterprises. According to recent reports, the number of broadband subscribers increased by 6.5 million between November 2018 and December 2018 alone. With the governments constant and fervent efforts to internet-enabled cities, initiatives such as ACT Fibernets will boost the countrys digital adoption. by Ginger Taylor, MS THE STATE OF MAINE HAS FINALLY CONTACTED US! WE ARE SO EXCITED! AFTER A DECADE OF ASKING FOR HELP FOR OUR KIDS, AND VACCINE SAFETY REFORM, THE MAINE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE HAS FINALLY RECOGNIZED OUR EXISTENCE!!!! Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2019 21:01:31 +0000 From: Dunlap, Matthew To: Mail@MaineVaxChoice.org CC: Canelli, Dorothy , Supica, Laura To whom it may concern; In the state house this week it was brought to my attention by way of a complaint about an informational distribution that Maine Vax Choice has incorporated into its brand logo the state seal. Use of the state seal for non-official purposes is regulated by state law; for non-commercial uses of the seal (commercial uses are prohibited), clearance from the Office of the Governor must first be obtained before the seal can be used in a non-governmental capacity. You should contact the Governors Office at 287-3531 to obtain permission to use the seal. Please let me know if you have any questions. Matt Dunlap Secretary of State" OUR RESPONSE: "Subject: Re: Use of the State Seal Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2019 18:04:50 -0500 From: Ginger Taylor To: Dunlap, Matthew , Mail@MaineVaxChoice.org CC: Canelli, Dorothy , Supica, Laura Mr. Dunlap, Thank you for your caution. For a decade now, The Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice has been attempting to garner an official response from the State of Maine from our hundreds of attempts at contact regarding the Maine Immunization Program's permanent injuries to our children, some terminal, while leaving us without assessment, treatment, compensation or even recognition of our loss. It is truly crushing for that official response to finally come in the form of a cease and desist for use of the state seal. Please consider this an official request to meet with the Governor about her concerns of our use of the state seal. We are eager to discuss the matter with her. Ginger Taylor, MS Director Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice 207-200-8469" We are thrilled at this new era of glasnost in Maine governance, and we can't wait to see what healing it will bring to our children and all Maine children! Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. WASHINGTON It is a mainstay of Cory Bookers presidential stump speech: After watching voting-rights protesters beaten up at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Alabama, a New Jersey lawyer called a local group and volunteered his services. That lawyer later helped Bookers parents integrate a Bergen County community. That event, known as Bloody Sunday, is commemorated annually in Selma, where the bridge is located. Booker, D-N.J., will be this years keynote speaker at services at the Brown Chapel AME Church, where hundreds of marchers originally gathered on March 7, 1965, to try to begin the march to Montgomery that was broken up by billy club-wielding state troopers. Before services, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will be honored at a separate breakfast. Bookers visit Sunday will follow two days of campaigning in South Carolina, a crucial state for Bookers presidential hopes with its large black population. I was just profoundly moved by the invitation, Booker told NJ Advance Media. I can almost say literally I would not be standing here right now if it wasnt for that chain reaction of marchers on the bridge changing the mind of one man on the couch in New Jersey who then went on to represent my family." Booker was the lead Democratic sponsor of the resolution that gave the Congressional Gold Medal to the voting rights marchers, who included Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Bloody Sunday led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. But after it last was renewed in 2006 by votes of 98-0 in the Senate and 390-33 in the House, five Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices in 2013 struck down its provision requiring states and localities with a history of racial discrimination to obtain federal approval before changing their voting laws. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia called the section a perpetuation of racial entitlement." Since then, Republican-controlled legislatures have sought to enact voter identification laws, claiming they were needed to address in-person voter fraud, which studies have shown is virtually non-existent. In North Carolina, such a voter-ID bill was struck down by a federal appeals court for targeting blacks with almost surgical precision. Booker and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., were among the Democratic senators who introduced legislation to restore the pre-clearance provision. Efforts to roll back and undermine the Voting Rights Act have inevitably led to voter discrimination and disenfranchisement, especially among minorities and vulnerable populations," Menendez said. President Donald Trump, who praised Scalia and endorsed the North Carolina bill, has made unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, and even formed a commission to investigate the issue. Trump later disbanded the heavily criticized panel. Booker was a leading critic of Trumps commission, saying it was based on lie and a sham, and introduced legislation to do away with it. The right to vote is the right from which all others flow," Booker said. We cannot go back to a time when millions of people most of them people of color and low-income individuals were silenced and disenfranchised through voter intimidation." Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. While New Delhi and Islamabad de-escalate tensions, Kashmir, the epicentre of the conflict, finds itself on tenterhooks. Srinagar, India-administered Kashmir There is a running joke in Kashmir about Indias differing statements regarding its rule in the disputed region. The joke, a part of Kashmiri dark humor, always elicits a smile for its truth, and goes like this: While responding on Kashmir internationally, India maintains that Kashmir a bilateral issue, between India and Pakistan. But while speaking to Pakistan, India says Kashmir is its internal problem. And whenever it engages in talk to the Kashmiris, India says there is no problem at all. But Indias problems in the Indian-administered Kashmir appear to be steadily increasing, despite and may be because of trying to force a military solution to a political problem, experts say. And with the present crisis, as nuclear-armed South Asian rivals are almost at war and major world powers reportedly mediating for calm, Kashmir has again dominated the world news, reminding everyone that the oldest unresolved conflict of the modern world can trigger a nuclear war. What if tomorrow another 20-year-old Kashmiri blows himself up again? Firdous Syed Baba, a former rebel commander turned political columnist The stage for the present crisis between India and Pakistan was set by a 20-year-old Kashmiri armed rebel, Adil Ahamd Dar, on February 14 when he rammed an explosive laden vehicle into an Indian paramilitary convoy, blowing up at least 42 soldiers in a rare suicide bomb attack. While more and more young people are joining the armed rebellion the region, Indian blamed Pakistan for its problems in Kashmir. 190227190606136 Over 190 Kashmiris joined the armed movement in 2018 as compared to 126 the previous year. According to police, the number of fighters active in Kashmir right now is around 250. While for now the war seems to have been averted with Pakistans peace gesture of returning the Indian air force pilot in their custody, the centre of this war, the Kashmir region, continues to remain on the dangerous edge, and its youth pushed into the abyss of a consuming uncertainty move perilously close to exploding. What if tomorrow another 20-year-old Kashmiri blows himself up again? asks Firdous Syed Baba, a former rebel commander-turned-political columnist. Wont we be back in the middle of a crisis and a possible war? Baba says that the Indian policymakers must understand that the war and peace in the larger region has come to depend on the actions of a young Kashmiri boy from a village. And the way India is dealing with Kashmir, with violence and by creating a pressure cooker situation, such actions will only increase in number, Baba says. A demonstrator throws a piece of brick towards Indian police during a protest following a raid at the residence of Yasin Malik, chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front [Danish Ismail/Reuters] More violence Since the February 14 suicide bombing attack, India has responded in Kashmir with more violence and intense psychological warfare. New Delhi airlifted more than 10,000 paramilitary men into the disputed region, adding to the over half a million troops it maintains here in one of the most militarised zones in the world. 190228200217590 At the same time, India cracked down on the regions pro-independence resistance leaders and activists, arresting over more than 300 in the past two weeks. Government orders were passed to stock up drugs and surgical instruments in the hospitals, ration depots were asked to stay open on a holiday to allow people to stock up food grains, creating the sense that a major offensive was going to be launched against Kashmiris. India cannot wish away the Kashmir conflict. Nor can it suppress it by force. With every killing by India, there are going to be more militants, said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the Himalayan valleys top Muslim leader and one of the senior resistance leaders. The Indian violence has only increased the resilience of the Kashmiris. Farooq said that instead of trying to address the sentiment of independence in Kashmir, India was trying to further hollow out the regions autonomous privileges within the Indian Union and paving way for demographic changes in Kashmir. Only Thursday evening, the Indian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to bring in an ordinance that makes amendments to Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which establishes the autonomous relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Union. While the amendments themselves may sound minor, they are being seen as a breach, especially at a time when the state of Jammu and Kashmir is under the direct rule of the Indian President. Kashmiris believe that the amendments are aimed at changing the demography of the disputed region, where the Muslims are the majority. 190227150855681 There will be massive protests in every way if India acts on that course, Farooq said. There will possibly be many more acts like the one Dar did two weeks ago. Protecting the demography The present government has maintained that it wants to scrap the Article 35A enshrined in Indias constitution that bars Indians from buying land in the disputed region. A case to scrap the Article aimed at protecting the demography of the Muslim-majority region is also being heard in Indias Supreme Court. Each time the hearing comes up at the Indian top court, there is a shutdown in Kashmir and people wait in silence and complete attention to hear the outcome, for it is perceived in Kashmir that the scrapping of the Article would be a landmark moment in the region, that will only increase the confrontation between New Delhi and Kashmir, setting course for a stronger resistance and deadlier violence. India kills the militants, blinds the protesters, jails the Hurriyat (pro-Independence) leaders, and humiliates us Waheed Parra, the People's Democratic Party leader In Kashmir, it is not only the pro-independence Kashmiri leaders and activists that are being targeted by the Indian government. As it fails to win any real ground, New Delhi seems to have turned on its own people too. After the February 14 bombing, the Indian government also removed the security cover of several leaders, including some pro-India politicians as well.. Waheed Parra, a young Kashmiri politician with the Peoples Democratic Party, is one of them. Parras party shared power with the Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ruled Kashmir between 2015 and 2018, till BJP pulled out of the alliance, bringing the disputed region under direct rule from New Delhi. 190227130808599 Parra, like all other Kashmiri pro-India politicians, is seen in Kashmir as a collaborator who gives some semblance of legitimacy and a handle to the axe to Indias rule in the region. Always at threat from the rebels and often even from people, Parra had six security guards and a bulletproof vehicle till last week. Now he has none. It was criminal on part of India to leave me like this at the mercy of the militants, it was almost like telling me to find out how many hours I would last, Parra told Al Jazeera. Only because I speak of dignified peace and human rights of Kashmiris. Even that is unacceptable to them, even when I speak within the Indian constitution. Parra is from Pulwama in the south of Kashmir, the same district where Dar, the suicide bomber came from, and where the worst bombing on Indian armed forces also took place. He says he is vulnerable without the security cover considering the kind of work he did, like arranging 6,000 Kashmiris for a visit of the Indian Home Minister [Rajnath Singh] to Kashmir, a no small feat considering the anti-India sentiment in the region. India kills the militants, blinds the protesters, jails the Hurriyat (pro-independence) leaders, and humiliates us, Parra says. It [India] has only vindicated the stand of those leaders and people who refused to engage in its electoral process and boycotted their elections. We [pro-India politicians] have been used and discarded. Parra and the politics his party and other pro-India parties in the region espoused of getting a few concessions from the Indian government, a healing touch policy to show the humane face of India, and of a dialogue with India even when the dialogue was an end in itself lie in dust on the trampled ground in Kashmir. Parra too sees the writing on the wall, which is more violence from the Indian state and a violent resistance from Kashmir, and the fact is not lost on him that what happens in Kashmir may no longer stay in Kashmir. War hangs on the horizon perpetually, till the oldest running conflict in the world is not resolved. In El Estor, Guatemala, women lead fight for land rights despite added risk of sexual violence and stigma. El Estor, Guatemala Since her teen years, Maria Magdalena Cuc Choc, now 39, has defended the natural resources of El Estor, a predominantly Mayan Qeqchi community on the western edge of Lake Izabal. The calm, blue water surrounded by lush forest cover is home to hundreds of species of freshwater fish, lizards, crocodiles, manatees and more. The natural beauty of El Estor makes it an area of intense conflict in Guatemala, with petroleum and mining companies frequently clashing with local communities over rights to resources. Cuc Choc started attending activist meetings in El Estor at age 13 with her brother Ramiro, another prominent activist, but their experiences quickly diverged. While both have been subject of threats and smear campaigns, Cuc Choc has been threatened with sexual violence, physically abused by her father and ex-husband because of her work, and received vulgar and explicit gender-related insults. Its hard to find women who are well-organised in this work, because there always exists machismo behind us, said Cuc Choc. Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries worldwide for natural resource conflicts, with 26 land rights defenders murdered in 2018, more than double than the year before, according to Frontline Defenders annual report. Of the 321 rights defenders killed worldwide that same year, Frontline Defenders found that 75 percent were in Latin America, where relaxed regulations, corruption and weak protections for defenders often mean such murders go unpunished. Saturday marks three years since the murder of prominent Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres, who was a vocal opponent of a hydroelectric dam project in an indigenous community and a feminist leader who believed that land and environmental rights are inextricably linked to womens rights. A protester holds up a picture of slain environmental rights activist Berta Caceres [File: Jorge Cabrera/Reuters] Although seven men were recently convicted and Honduran prosecutors have indicated the mastermind of the murder will be charged, rights groups say the Honduran government has a responsibility to punish all those involved and send a clear message to Honduran society and the entire world that there will be no impunity for this type of crime against defenders of the land and the environment. Only 12 percent of the land rights defenders killed in 2018 were women, but female land defenders are exposed to additional violence and intimidation. Pressure to stop pursuing their work comes both from their critics and their own community. We as women are even more affected, said Genoveva Marroquin Chavez of the National Union of Guatemalan Women (UNAMG), an organisation that supports female activists and feminist social movements, including women land rights defenders in El Estor. Male human rights defenders are criminalised, but they dont say he is out looking for wife, or that he is a prostitute, or so many other things. There is another form of criminalisation women face, which is more extreme, just for being a woman, she said. 181130044309206 Campaigns to criminalise these women and delegitimise their work often attack them on the basis of gender. Sexual violence against female land rights defenders and their daughters is used as an intimidation technique. When these women return home, they often lack the support of their fathers, brothers and husbands for their work, and may even suffer physical violence at the hands of their male family members. Plus, women face the added burden of carrying out their activism on top of household and childcare responsibilities. Women are an indispensable part of the fight for human rights worldwide, but without specialised networks to protect them, they can end up vulnerable and excluded. Mens work From a young age, Cuc Choc realised defending the land was designated for men. Her father was involved in community activism, but disapproved of her getting involved, even beating her on at least three occasions that Cuc Choc could remember. 190226215024185 He had the mentality that women shouldnt leave the house, she said. At meetings with Ramiro, men always spoke up, while women sat quietly in the back. Yet women have brilliant ideas, Cuc Choc said. So often, we are threatened by own fathers, brothers, or husbands, she said. A woman may be shy, quiet and silent, but you dont know why. I always made sure the women claimed their space and participated, she added. I broke this tradition even though it annoyed my brother sometimes. Women in El Estor lead the fight for their communitys land right despite the added risks [Anna-Cat Brigida/Al Jazeera] Cuc Choc soon became a well-respected activist in her community, organising key actions against the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN for the Spanish acronym), a local subsidiary of Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals, over a controversial nickel mining project in El Estor. But along with her growing profile as an activist came threats, intimidation and the delegitimisation of her work by critics. Arbitrary arrests On January 17, 2018, Cuc Choc was arrested on charges of aggravated usurpation, threats and illegal detention, one year after authorities issued a warrant. 190122160154738 Activists working in the region claim detaining human rights defenders on these grounds is a common criminalisation tactic. These are crimes they accuse all human rights defenders of in all of the judicial processes, said Marroquin Chavez of UNAMG. Since the charges are always the same, [the government] often cant sustain the arguments for these crimes, because they dont exist. Authorities often wait for key moments in land conflicts to arrest defenders, she added. Cuc Choc was let out on provisional release after two days of detention. She now has to report monthly to officials and she cannot travel outside the department of Izabal. Threats against her and her family, including threats of rape, have increased. We as women are not only being attacked by a system that is against human rights defenders, said Marroquin Chavez. They also threaten your body and your integrity. Dozens of land rights defenders in Guatemala have gone through the same process of arbitrary detention, according to UNAMG. When male land rights defenders are detained, the entire family is affected, particularly their wives. On June 29, 2018, vice president of El Estors fishers union Eduardo Bin was detained for illegal usurpation of a protected area. His wife Alicia Caal Pop, 50, now struggles to support their eight children without him. Its difficult for me now. My kids are still studying and the only work I have is doing my neighbours laundry, she said in Qeqchi through a translator. Without the additional food and income from her husbands fishing, the family scrapes by with barely enough corn and beans to eat. Alicia Caal Pops husband was arrested in 2018, and now must carry the weight of supporting her family as she continues to fight for her communitys land [Anna-Cat Brigida/Al Jazeera] With the extra burden of caring for the family without her husbands support, maintaining her role protecting the lake has been difficult. But she sees activism as a way to set an example for her children. Its my responsibility as a mother to take care of my kids, but also to educate them, Caal Pop said. We as women also have to participate in the meetings. I have to show this to my kids, that they shouldnt just stay behind. Sexual violence On January 17, 2007, police, military and private security guards forcibly evicted the residents of Lote 8, El Estor, to clear the land for nickel mining, at that time for Canadian company Hudbay Minerals. The men of the community were in the fields, and the women at home. Eleven women, including Margarita Caal Caal, have now come forward to say they were raped during the forced eviction. Its the women who end up being affected the most because the woman is the one who is there fighting for these lands, said Caal Caal in Qeqchi through a translator. We as women are always in this work, staying active, even though many want to put out the flame that we have inside us. But we are always giving a little bit more firewood so that the flame stays active. Despite the struggles, there is always a woman there supporting the cause. Maria Magdalena Cuc Choc In 2013, the 11 women filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court for their rape during the eviction, despite fear of repression. They often say that whoever files a lawsuit against these people is threatened with assassination, so thats a fear that we carried, she said. The women still await a verdict in the case, but believe the sheer act of coming forward can help shed light on the violence that women face defending their land in Guatemala. Searching for justice is more about bringing public attention to what is happening to people, Caal Caal said. When you decide to seek justice, you are also thinking about leaving something for your kids so they can see the benefits of your fight. Continuing the fight Efforts to support women like Cuc Choc, Caal Pop and Caal Caal have increased in recent years. 181206094334223 In 2010, a group of women formed the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Defenders of Human Rights, a coalition of human rights organisations that focuses specifically on gender threats against women working in Mexico and Central America. Other regional initiatives exist in the Middle East and Africa. In December 2013, the UN General Assembly issued a resolution recognising the unique challenges that female human rights defenders face and calling on countries to ensure these womens right to carry out their activism in peaceful ways and to provide specialised protections, including legal, medical and social services. We as women are always in this work, staying active, even though many want to put out the flame that we have inside us, said Cuc Choc. But we are always giving a little bit more firewood so that the flame stays active. Despite the struggles, there is always a woman there supporting the cause. Scores of refugees have refused to be housed in Saudi-funded units over the kingdoms military campaign in Yemen. Markazi refugee camp, Djibouti Khalid Muhammad and his young family were enjoying their first good nights sleep in days when a troop of baboons attacked their tent last August. At first, they thought the loud grunts and barks would pass. But when the baboons broke through the thin plastic sheets that make up their home, they knew they had only seconds to escape. As he grabbed his family and ran for cover, the pots and pans which still had leftovers from the previous nights dinner were flung into the air. As the smell of food wafted through the tent, every trace of it from their kitchen was taken away by the invading animals. They took everything we had, Muhammad, a father of three, told Al Jazeera. Bags of rice, flour, vegetables everything was gone. It was supposed to last us until the end of the month. Al Jazeera observed a troop of around 40 baboons waiting just metres away from the camps main entrance [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Around 190,000 Yemenis and foreign nationals like Muhammad have fled Yemens war after Saudi Arabia entered the countrys civil war in March 2015. At least 37,000 Yemenis arrived in Djibouti, an impoverished country which sits just 100km west of Muhammads hometown of Taiz. 190301121224205 According to the United Nations, some 2,200 Yemenis are currently registered at the Markazi refugee camp, but more than 10,000 have sought refuge elsewhere, either opening restaurants and cafes with friends and relatives in the capital city, Djibouti, or opting to return home. When I first arrived here, there was no fence around the camp, there were no toilets, there was nothing, Muhammad said. I asked the UNHCR for more protection, I said Id help erect a bigger fence, I asked them for help, I even got a petition together. But until now theres been no response. Khalid Muhammad hopes to gain asylum in Europe for the betterment of his wife and three children [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Refugees refuse to be relocated Markazi, a sprawling tent city in the heart of the Djiboutian desert, is filled with similar stories of trauma and despair. 190219123323990 While the camps surroundings are made of stunning landscapes of sand and volcanic rock, the former French colony is poor and excruciatingly hot, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in the summer. According to the refugees and medical officials, the cries of hyenas and wolves echo late into the night, while snakes and scorpions are known to frequently attack the inhabitants. On top of all that, there are the baboons. Just metres away from the camps main entrance, Al Jazeera observed a troop of around 40 baboons waiting in the sun-parched dirt for rubbish and waste to be thrown out. When it isnt, they throng the camp. Most of Markazis residents have either moved on to the capital or returned home to war-ravaged Yemen [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] In November, more than three and a half years after it entered Yemens war, Saudi Arabia inaugurated 300 shipping-container style housing units to accommodate some 1,200 refugees. Built at a cost of $6.5m, each of the 300 air-conditioned units included a toilet, bedroom, living room and kitchen, along with cooking facilities. While the development was welcomed by many, a sizeable number of Markazis inhabitants refused to be relocated. Several of them said the units were too small to hold their large families, while others said they couldnt stomach living in units donated by the kingdom while it continued its aerial bombardment of Yemen. While the majority of the refugees are living in prefabricated houses, there are around 10-15 percent of them who are still in the tents, said Vanessa Panaligan, the UNs media relations officer in Djibouti. Theyve either refused to move citing political reasons, or their families are too big to fit into the units. Muhammad, who refused to relocate, said while the units represented an improvement in peoples conditions, they were not the solution to our underlying problem. There is no major difference between the units and the tents, he said. In contrast, the tents are much better, especially in the summer. The units turn into an oven, theyre incredibly hot. In the tents, the air is open, but in the units, you cant get any air, you cant breathe, or even feel the breeze, he said. The UN has described conditions at the Markazi refugee camp as primitive [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Worst place for a child The aerial campaign in Yemen, now entering its fourth year, has devastated the country, with data collected by Al Jazeera and the Yemen Data Project revealing that weddings, funerals, schools and hospitals have frequently been targeted. Under the leadership of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the alleged architect of the war, the alliance has also imposed a raft of punitive economic measures on Yemen, aimed at undercutting the Houthi rebels grip on power, including a debilitating blockade on the port city of Hodeidah, a vital gateway for food, fuel, medicine and other goods into the country. Hemmed in by the fighting, more than 18 million civilians are currently living under Houthi control, with the remaining 10 million forced to live in areas contested by armed groups, including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), and fighters backed by the UAE. 180319102515240 The humanitarian situation has also taken a scarier turn, with at least 10 million Yemenis requiring immediate humanitarian assistance. Today, Yemen is the worst place on earth for a child, Geert Cappelaere, UNICEFs regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al Jazeera earlier this week. With a child dying every 10 minutes due to preventable diseases, Cappelaere urged the warring parties to think of their own children when they sit at the negotiating table next time. Sleeping on blankets donated by the UK and eating from tins marked USAID, Muhammad said his hopes had been dashed after fighting resurfaced following last years Stockholm agreement. All the conferences, all the negotiations, theyre useless, a waste of time and money, he said. Were all fed up. I just want to go to a third country, where I can get healthcare, a good education for my children, something which we cant get here. Amid all the talks of India-Pakistan war, the issue at the very heart of present tensions has been completely ignored. What are they saying about jung [war] over there? Does it look like it will happen? For days now our families in Kashmir have been asking us the same questions, hoping that here in New Delhi, we would have some answers. Uncertainty and fear took over our home region on February 14, when a suicide attack in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 40 Indian soldiers. We were quickly and collectively denounced as national traitors, harassed and attacked across Indian cities. The Indian media and political elite called for revenge and started beating the drums of war. The Indian government imposed a curfew, cut down the speed of the internet and deployed more troops in Kashmir. The police and security agencies carried out hundreds of overnight raids, arresting political leaders and activists. Jamaate-Islami, a political and religious organisation, was banned. Meanwhile, the Indian military was put on high alert and raids were launched on targets in Pakistan, which prompted a Pakistani response. Heavy shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) which separates Indian- from Pakistan-administered Kashmir began. Many Kashmiris were forced to flee, others started to stock up on food and other basic goods, fearing an escalation. Big red crosses were painted on rooftops of hospitals in the hope that the fighter jets constantly circling above would not hit them. The Kashmiri people, who have already lived through decades of daily aggression against their bodies, homes, psyches, and memories, are now facing the real possibility of an all-out war. It is in such circumstances that our families have been calling and messaging us from miles away, hoping to hear from us some soothing words. Every day, they have been recounting how their nights are spent counting the number of jets in the sky. Every day, we have been wondering if we should go home and face the war together with our loved ones. Meanwhile, headlines about an India-Pakistan confrontation, escalation and an impending war have been dominating local and international media. News broadcasts have followed every detail of the Indian and Pakistani military actions, the attacks and the counter-attacks, the claims and the counter-claims. Reporters have documented every statement, every new development. Pundits have dissected every aspect of the conflict from war capabilities to army structure, to weaponry and from military strategies to geopolitical realities. Yet somewhere in all this noise about conflict and war, a simple fact has been left out: that Kashmir is the place where it is all being fought out. The Kashmir issue and the plight of Kashmiri people have been somehow rendered irrelevant, even though the current conflict between India and Pakistan has everything to do with the disputed region. When international media talks of the history of India-Pakistan antagonism, it fails to recognise the fact that Kashmiris have borne the brunt of it. When Indian media talks about terrorism, it fails to mention the fact that Kashmir is one of the most heavily militarised zones in the world. There was a certain irony in calls by Indian officials and public figures calling for Pakistan to uphold the Geneva Convention in its treatment of the captured Indian pilot. In Kashmir, India has failed to apply not just the Geneva Convention, but much of international law for that matter. Kashmiris are still being jailed on political charges and used as human shields, while the United Nations resolution which mandates a referendum on self-determination to be conducted in Kashmir is yet to be implemented. The current anti-war activism in India is limited to small demonstrations and #NoToWar posts on social media. The elephant in the room is once again being ignored. No one is talking about what true peace would actually entail. Dominant narratives propagated by the Indian state and the mainstream media are muffling Kashmiri voices. At this moment, it is important to hear them speak and tell their stories of war. The killings, torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, mass blinding through the use of pellet shotguns, and everyday harassment in Kashmir cannot be swept under the carpet and ignored. This violence needs to be made visible because continuing or escalating the current security policies of the Indian government will only result in disaster. Indians have to realise that there will be no peace until the Kashmir issue is resolved. If they truly want no war, then they have to push first and foremost for the demilitarisation of Kashmir. And if they want international law respected, they should do so as well and hold the plebiscite mandated by the UN. Kashmiris should be allowed to decide their own fate. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. The last three weeks have witnessed a strange diplomatic spat between Kenya and Somalia. The Kenyan government summoned back its ambassador from Mogadishu and kicked out the Somali ambassador, claiming that Somali leadership had attempted to sell off parts of Kenyan territory. The two neighbours have been locked in a dispute over their maritime boundary, with both claiming a narrow 100,000-sq km triangle of sea shelf thought to contain significant deposits of oil and gas. After five years of attempts by both to negotiate a compromise, Somalia eventually filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2014, which is still to be adjudicated. However, Kenya has continued to operate as if there was no dispute and has already sold mining licences to international companies in the triangle. The latest flare-up centres, at least nominally, on proceedings at a controversial public meeting organised in London by Somalias Federal Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Spectrum Geo, a Norwegian seismic data processing company. The agenda for the meeting was somewhat unclear, with government officials initially suggesting it would be inviting bids for exploration, and only later clarifying that the meeting would present seismic data collected by Spectrum and offer for sale more detailed information about offshore blocks. This confusion led to Somali citizens living in London storming the meeting to protest against the presumed auctioning of the offshore blocks to foreign investors, a boycott of the meeting by opposition parties and members of Somalias Upper House, and then the bust-up with Kenya. The tone of the statement issued by Kenya on February 16 regarding the summoning of its ambassador in Mogadishu was startling. It fell short of declaring Somalia an enemy state, claiming the latter had indeed auctioned off oil and gas blocks in Kenyas maritime territorial area. It thundered about a map that had apparently been displayed at the conference showing the disputed territory as part of Somalia, and indirectly threatened to use as leverage four hundred thousand Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya. It also reminded the Government of Somalia and the international community of the fact that it had troops serving in the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is helping battle the al-Qaeda-linked armed group, al-Shabab. The patience of the people of Kenya is not infinite, it warned. Somalis are a more patient lot it seems. In a measured rejoinder a day later, the Somali government averred that no auction had taken place, explained that the map in question mirrored Somalias long-standing position, and reiterated that the country has no intentions to undertake any unilateral actions (of the type Kenya has) in the disputed area until the ICJ renders its verdict. What accounts for such an overreaction by Kenya? Well, perhaps it could be panic over the possibility of actually losing the case at the ICJ. Clearly, Somalia seems the more confident of the two about its prospects at the court, which is expected to hand down a verdict sometime this year. Somalia has already won the first round after the court in 2017 dismissed Kenyas challenge to the proceedings on the basis that the two countries had previously agreed to settle the matter out of court. Further, this is a strategy Kenya has deployed before. The perceived success of its obnoxious and hardnosed campaign against the International Criminal Courts indictments for crimes against humanity against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, may have emboldened Kenya to think it can similarly bully its northeastern neighbour. Kenya is not new to playing the bull in Somalias china shop. The Somali government was not consulted in October 2011 when Kenya sent forces across the border, nor when the objectives of the invasion morphed from pursuing kidnappers to taking southern Somalias second-largest port, Kismayo. Against Mogadishus wishes, Kenyan troops brought former al-Shabab ally, Ahmed Madobe, to power as president of the newly created Jubaland State administration. The country ignored a resolution of the Somali Parliament calling for its troops to leave. Moreover, the Kenyan forces in Somalia have been accused of engaging in illegal trade in charcoal and sugar, which enriches the very terror group they are meant to be fighting. According to an article in the Standard newspaper, one of Kenyas demands for restoring diplomatic ties was that Somalia withdraw its case at the ICJ. This insistence is perhaps most telling of Kenyas true intentions. It thus appears that having already sold prospecting rights within the disputed zones to companies such as ENI, Total, Anadarko and others, and facing huge claims for compensation should the ICJ rule in Somalias favour, Kenya has fabricated a diplomatic incident to pre-empt that judgment and force Somalia to agree to a negotiated solution. The Mogadishu is already in a weaker diplomatic position having already angered its international partners at the beginning of the year by kicking out the top United Nations official in the country, Nicholas Haysom. Perhaps Kenya smelt blood. Such tactics are, however, a double-edged sword. A serious rift with Somalia would have repercussions on Kenyas participation in AMISOM as well as risk radicalising border communities and legitimising Somalia-based terrorists targeting Kenya. It would also harm the regional cooperation that AMISOM depends on, weakening the fight against al-Shabab and endangering people across the region. It is thus in everyones interest that Kenya dials down its rhetoric and, as The Star editorialised, commits to abide by the decision of the ICJ. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Struggling Beirut businesses are hopeful that Saudi tourists will return after Riyadh lifted travel warning for Lebanon. Beirut, Lebanon Tucked in a market square in downtown Beirut, the Paname Cafe caters to those with a taste for luxury. A large modern art sculpture sits in the centre of the square, with benches around the sides where customers can relax in the sunshine. But the cafe, and much of the upscale neighbourhood, which was resurrected under a multibillion-dollar project for high-end tourism and residences after the civil war in Lebanon ended, often feels deserted. A sharp decline in tourist traffic triggered by the war in neighbouring Syria and the travel warnings by Gulf countries that came with it has weighed on businesses in downtown Beirut and across the country for years. But a new era may be dawning. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia announced it is lifting its eight year travel warning for Lebanon. The decision has brought a renewed sense of optimism to downtown Beirut. I worked at Phoenicia hotel earlier and I know Saudis like to stay there because they like gold-plated decor, Wissam Merhi, operations manager for the Paname Cafe, told Al Jazeera. Downtown is perfect for those who seek luxury. I am sure they will come here too and enable many shops to start and others to reopen, he added. In another block of the capitals downtown area, around the famed Al-Abed clock tower and among several shuttered shops, Shireen Aabdi and her friend Nancy Abou Tarek puff on an argeelah; a flavoured water pipe. Nancy, left, and Shireen enjoying an argeelah in downtown Beirut [Anchal Vohra/Al Jazeera] Aabdi said that whatever the Saudis might be trying to achieve by lifting the travel warning, there was no harm in them coming to Lebanon for a bit of fun. They can neither drink alcohol, nor visit night clubs in their country, Aabdi told Al Jazeera. And no girls, she giggled. They come here to have a good time. Tarek approves of it because of the prospect of Saudi money supporting Lebanese businessmen. It will help tourism, that is good news for all of Lebanon, she said. Spending big bucks Lebanon suffered a precipitous drop in the number of Saudi tourists over the last eight years, with visitor numbers falling from 190,000 in 2010 to a quarter of that by 2018, according to Lebanons tourism ministry. Jean Beyrouthi, secretary general of the federation of touristic unions in Lebanon, said the trend was a blow to tourist-dependent businesses because Saudis take relatively longer vacations, opt for expensive hotels and restaurants, and spend big bucks. The Saudis come for the summers and lavishly spend which is great for the tourism industry, Beyrouthi told Al Jazeera. They own massive properties at the seaside and in the mountains, and that helps real estate. When they stopped coming, many people lost livelihoods. Al-Abed clock tower in downtown Beirut is surrounded by shuttered shops [Anchal Vohra/Al Jazeera] Beyrouthi added that the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other Gulf states may follow Saudi Arabias lead and lift travel warnings on Lebanon, in place since 2012. Travel and tourism is a mainstay of Lebanons economy, accounting for 18.4 percent of economic growth in 2017, and supporting 365,500 jobs. The country recorded 1.8 million tourist arrivals in 2017, still shy of the record 2 million in 2010, before the war in Syria and travel advisories started taking a toll on the sector. While some are hopeful the Saudi decision could bring more deep-pocketed tourists and investment to reinvigorate Lebanons slumping real estate sector, others are more circumspect. Naseeb Ghobril, head of the economic research and analysis department at Byblos Bank, warned that Saudi tourists have found other holiday destinations over the past eight years, such as Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and Morocco, and may not flock back to Lebanon en masse. The return of foreign investment to the tourism sector is also not a given. According to World Banks 2019 Ease of Doing Business survey, Lebanon is ranked at the 75th place. Credible and concrete reforms to improve the investment climate are the only way to attract investments from GCC countries and from other sources, Ghobril told Al Jazeera. Resetting relations? Walid Al Bukhari, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, said that the kingdom had received the required security assurances from the Lebanese government and no longer saw the travel warning as a necessity. Saudi officials cited improved security and assurances from the Lebanese government as reasons for its policy change. But experts said that it was taken to undo the damage of its previous policies in Lebanon. They said Saudi Arabia was changing tack more than a year after it strong-armed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign whilst in Riyadh. Purportedly, that was an attempt to contain the growth of Hezbollah, a dominant political and armed group backed by regional rival Iran. The move backfired. Not only did the Saudis receive widespread condemnation for what many in Lebanon termed the high-handedness of the newly anointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it also turned the public mood in Lebanon against the Saudis. The Lebanese hung posters across their cities accusing the Saudis of holding their prime minister captive. Hariri returned to Lebanon after French mediation and rescinded his resignation. However, it was not he, Lebanons leading Sunni politician who is also a Saudi citizen, but Hezbollah which emerged stronger and gained a majority in the parliament along with its allies in the elections held in May. A different approach Thanassis Cambanis, the author of a book on Hezbollah and a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, said that the Saudi leadership seemed to be acknowledging that they could not simply order regional allies around. It seems that Saudi Arabia has decided not to cut ties with Lebanon and with the Sunni politicians that it sponsors, a break that seemed a very real possibility after Mohammed bin Salmans attempt to fire Saad Hariri as prime minister of Lebanon. The new generation of Saudi leadership is learning, slowly, that other nations have sovereignty and that it cant deal with other countries in the region simply as enemies or vassals, Cambanis said. The Saudi announcement, made a few days after Irans Foreign Minister Javed Zarif met Hezbollahs chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and a few weeks after Qatar pledged aid worth $500m. As tensions between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran intensified, Lebanon became a concourse for their rivalry. Lebanese do not typically like to talk about the sectarian differences strengthened by regional powers. But even among friends enjoying the Argeelah, they dont stay concealed for long. Minutes after Aabdi and Tarek hailed the Saudi decision, the clash was evident. Aabdi, a Sunni, did not see a negative side to the return of Saudi tourists. Tarek, a Shia, said that many people in her community opposed their presence as that would mean eventually politically conceding space to Saudi demands. Many Shia do not want Saudis in Lebanon because they support Israel, are against us and want Hezbollah to give up its weapons, Tarek said. Meanwhile, cafe manager Wissam Merhi sees no reason to place politics above business. Lebanon is safe for tourists. It is the media and political groups who make it unwelcoming but everything is fine here, he said. As the US and the Taliban negotiate peace, the Afghan women are refusing to be left behind. Thousands of women have met in provinces across Afghanistan to ensure their rights are protected during the ongoing peace negotiations. As the Taliban and the United States hold talks to end the Afghanistan war, hundreds of women gathered at a conference in the capital, Kabul, expressing their concerns in the wake of any possible deal. Al Jazeeras Charlotte Bellis reports. More than 70 percent of people in Cambridge voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. Britains looming exit from the European Union is worrying the United Kingdoms science community, who say its scaring off students and academics whod normally come to study and teach. Many at the University of Cambridge remain hopeful that Brexit can somehow still be avoided. With less than a month to go, they know that time is running out. Al Jazeeras Emma Hayward reports from the city of Cambridge. Click the photo to write a caption and have a chance to win a free subscription to the Norfolk Daily News. Investigators have documented systematic use of the banned nerve agent sarin and chlorine in Syrias civil war. The global chemical weapons watchdog has concluded that chlorine was likely used in an attack on the Syrian town of Douma last April. Inspectors at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Friday that a toxic chemical containing chlorine was used in the attack on the town, at the time held by rebels but besieged by pro-government forces. The attack on April 7, 2018, killed dozens of civilians and prompted air raids against the Syrian government by Britain, France, and the United States. Washington blamed the Syrian government and said it had used chemical weapons. Damascus denies having ever used chemical weapons. During an investigation in mid-April, inspectors from the OPCW visited two sites in Douma to interview witnesses and take samples, which have been analysed in OPCW-affiliated national laboratories. The investigation did not assign blame, but the information gathered provided reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine, the OPCW said in a statement. Scores of attacks Weaponising chlorine is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified by Syria in 2013, and is prohibited under customary international humanitarian law. The OPCW has documented systematic use of the banned nerve agent sarin and chlorine in Syrias civil war, now nearing its eighth year. From 2015 to 2017 a joint UN-OPCW team had been appointed to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria. It found that Syrian government troops had used the nerve agent sarin and chlorine barrel bombs on several occasions, while the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) fighters were found to have used sulphur mustard. In June, the OPCWs member states granted the organisation new powers to assign blame for chemical weapons attacks, but that was not the mandate of the team that carried out the Douma inquiry. The latest OPCW report adds one more case to the scores of illegal chemical weapons attacks confirmed since 2013, said Lou Charbonneau of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Its clear that the organisations new unit for attributing blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria has its work cut out. Those responsible for the use of these banned weapons should be unmasked and held to account. The OPCW is also looking into an alleged gas attack last November in Aleppo that reportedly made up to 100 people ill. The Syrian government and its ally Russia blamed that attack on rebels. How successful have these debates been so far and what do inmates have to say? Support for the anti-government rallies has fallen recently, as French President Emmanuel Macron has engaged the country, including prison facilities, in a national conversation known as the Great Debate. The strategy is to gather ideas to form a more inclusive government and it is gaining support from one of the toughest crowds. The debate allows the detained population to be recognised as French citizens. But radicalisation is flourishing in French prisons and the debate about how to tackle that has barely begun. Al Jazeeras David Chater reports from the city of Rance. Last year, 98 nations reported a major increase in measles cases compared with the previous year. A global surge in cases of measles is posing a growing threat to children worldwide, according to a new report from the United Nations. It reveals that 98 nations reported a major increase in measles cases in 2018 compared with the previous year. Nearly 16,000 cases of the disease were reported last year, killing at least 260 children. So why is a disease thats highly preventable on the way back? Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna reports from the United Nations. Temperatures in Hobart hit a new March record of 39.1C on Saturday, the day after official figures released by Australias Bureau of Meteorology showed that Australia had just suffered its hottest summer on record. As heat continued to grip the continent, the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) said the conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday were equal to the worst we have seen this bushfire season. As of 8:30 GMT on Saturday, 39 wildfires were still burning in Tasmania, and 23 in Victoria. According to the TFS and VicEmergency, a number of the fires remained out of control, with more than 300 firefighters battling out-of-control blazes in Victoria. The majority of the fires were sparked by lightning on Friday, and firefighting attempts are being hampered by the dry conditions and the strong gusty winds. The winds on Tasmania were gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour, ensuring the fires were fast-moving and dangerous. Tasmania usually enjoys cooler weather than the mainland, but an area of high pressure in the Tasman Sea is dragging a mass of hot air from Victoria down across Tasmania. The heat follows on from an extremely hot summer for the whole country. For the period of December, January and February, both the mean and the maximum temperature broke the previous record set in 2012-2013 by almost a whole degree. In New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory the summer was the warmest on record. For Tasmania, it was the second-hottest summer on record. Climatologist Ian Barnes-Keoghan said rising temperatures were part of a broader trend happening nationwide and across the globe. Tasmania is a degree warmer than it was 100 years ago and a lot of that warming has happened in the past 50 years, so this is certainly part of a trend, he said. As well as being hot, it was also very dry for many places. Darwin suffered its driest summer period for 80 years. The feeble monsoon, with its delayed onset, delivered less than 60 percent of the long-term average. The exception to the dry spell was northeastern Queensland which suffered some of its worst flooding in decades. Detainees enjoy all rights preserved by the laws, prosecutors office says, after reports of torture in custody. Saudi Arabias public prosecution office has referred detained womens rights activists to trial, saying those charged enjoy all rights preserved by the laws in the kingdom after they were reportedly tortured in custody. The detainees, who include activists in their 20s as well as mothers, grandmothers and retired professors, have been accused of undermining the kingdoms security, stability and national unity, according to the prosecutors. The prosecution office issued the statement late on Friday night, referring to an earlier statement in June that marked the arrest of five men and four women just before Saudi Arabia granted women the right to drive. At the time, international rights groups reported the detention of at least 11 prominent activists, mostly women. Some were later released. Fridays statement did not give a date for court proceedings. Several people with knowledge of their arrest have told AP news agency that some of the women detained have been subjected to caning, electrocution and others were also sexually assaulted. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal and to protect personal details about the detainees. The Saudi government has rejected the allegation with Fridays statement saying all detainees in this case enjoy all rights preserved by the laws in the kingdom. Those still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadhs King Saud University, and Loujain al-Hathloul who was held in 2014 for more than 70 days for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Saudi Arabia. Following their arrest, state-backed newspapers published front-page pictures of some of the activists with the word traitor stamped across them in red. Dozens of other activists, intellectuals and clerics have been arrested separately in an apparent bid to stamp out opposition to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated power with a sweeping anti-corruption campaign. Signature repression Human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia for the arrests. The Saudi prosecution is bringing charges against the womens rights activists instead of releasing them unconditionally, said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. The Saudi authorities have done nothing to investigate serious allegations of torture, and now, its the womens rights activists, not any torturers, who face criminal charges and trials. Samah Hadid, the Amnesty Internationals Middle East campaigns director, said: These womens rights activists should be released from detention for their peaceful activism not referred to trial. The Saudi Arabian authorities continue their signature repression. Canadian criticism of the arrests saw Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties to Ottawa. The kingdom also faces widespread international criticism over the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October, allegedly by members of Prince Mohammeds entourage, as well as over its years-long war in Yemen. Indian and Pakistani artillery fire near the Line of Control kills seven in the disputed region, officials say. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each others posts and villages along their volatile frontier in the disputed region of Kashmir, killing at least five civilians and two soldiers, and wounding several others, officials on both sides said. The nuclear-armed rivals fired mortars and artillery at each other despite the release of an Indian pilot who was shot down by Pakistan, but then sent back as a peace gesture. Fighting resumed overnight into dawn on Saturday, leaving two siblings and their mother dead in Indian-administered Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals, police said. At 6pm, Pakistan started shelling, which went on for three hours. One of the shells hit by Pakistan hit the house, in which three members of a family were killed, including two innocent children, Poonch resident Mohammad Saleem told Al Jazeera. The childrens father was critically wounded and has been admitted to hospital. Reporting from New Delhi, Al Jazeeras Sohail Rahman said residents in Uri, 50km from Poonch, were moved to safer areas due to the heavy shelling from Pakistan along the LoC. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a man and a boy were killed by Indian shelling in Nakiyal, said Nasrullah Khan, a hospital official. Khan said a man was also wounded in the Tatta Pani area. The Pakistani army said in a statement that two of its soldiers were killed in Nakiyal in an exchange of fire while targeting Indian posts undertaking firing on civilian population. Separately, a police official in Rawalakot, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said that a man had been wounded and three homes destroyed in the Indian shelling overnight. Also in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said the Indian troops with heavy weapons indiscriminately targeted border villagers along the LoC. Both countries officials used the routine description for the military confrontations, saying their soldiers retaliated befittingly and blamed the other for unprovoked violation of a 2003 ceasefire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier, targeting both army posts as well as villages. India refuses to share proof of strikes A top Indian minister said on Saturday the government would not share proof that a very large number of armed fighters were killed in air strikes inside Pakistan this week. 190227063414443 While Pakistan has denied any casualties in the attack, some Indian opposition leaders also asked the government to share evidence of the strikes. Indias Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modis top lieutenants, said no security agencies ever share operational details. Its a very irresponsible stand, Jaitley said at a conference organised by an Indian media group. The armed forces must have, and our security and intelligence agencies must have, a full leeway in dealing with situations, and if anybody wants operational details to be made public he certainly does not understand the system. Indian warplanes carried out air strikes on Tuesday inside northeast Pakistans Balakot on what New Delhi called camps belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group. Islamabad denied any such camps existed. JeM claimed a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed at least 40 Indian troops last month, triggering the current standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Al Jazeera visited the site of the Indian strikes and found that bombs hit a forest and a field in a remote area in northern Pakistans town of Jaba, about 100km away from capital, Islamabad. Pakistan retaliated to the Indian air attacks by shooting down a MiG-21 fighter jet on Wednesday and detained its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was returned to India on Friday night in a peace gesture. School children celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a ceremony inside a school in Ahmedabad [Amit Dave/Reuters] 190228115747005 Al Jazeeras Sohail Rahman said the India-Pakistan standoff is likely to be a major issue in the Indian general election, due in April and May. In 2014, the issue of relations with Pakistan was not high on the election campaign agenda. Now with another election coming up, Indian politicians are trying to internationally isolate Pakistan, while domestically build consensus that will help them win the election, he said. OIC criticises India Meanwhile, the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticised India for indiscriminate use of force against innocent Kashmiris at a meeting in the United Arab Emirates. In a strongly-worded statement, the worlds largest body of Muslim-majority nations hit out at what it called intensified Indian barbarities and illegal detentions and disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistans foreign ministry said the OIC adopted a resolution urging India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and resolve their issues through peaceful means. Islamabad said the OIC expressed concern over the past weeks Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistans right to self-defense; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force. The OIC resolution came a day after Pakistans foreign minister skipped the meeting to protest the decision to invite India, a non-member. On Friday, Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the OIC meeting as a guest of honour and urged the Muslim body to act together to combat global terrorism. 190301115237414 If you want to save that humanity, then we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to the terrorists to dismantle the infrastructure of [those] terrorist camps and stop providing funding and shelter to the terror organisations based in that country, she said, without naming Pakistan. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the region, and most people support the rebels cause against Indian rule while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control. While US says merger of its offices is meant to improve efficiency, Palestinians see it as another move against them. The United States is expected to move ahead with a downgrade of its mission to the Palestinians on Monday by merging its Jerusalem consulate with the embassy to Israel, a US official has said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said the announcement to merge the two offices in October was intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness and did not constitute a change in policy. But Palestinian leaders have seen the decision as yet another move against them by US President Donald Trumps administration, which they froze contact with after his 2017 decision recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital. A date for the merger of the consulate into the embassy had not been announced, but a State Department official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that it is expected to take place on March 4. The Jerusalem consulate general, which has acted independently as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians since the Oslo accords of the 1990s, will be replaced by a new Palestinian affairs unit within the embassy. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said at the time of the announcement last year: It [the merger] has nothing to do with efficiency and a lot to do with pleasing an ideological US team that is willing to disband the foundations of the international system. Placing the consulate under the authority of the embassy could be seen as an American recognition of Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The controversial US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has been a supporter of Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Friedman previously expressed doubt over a potential two-state solution, which has traditionally been the bedrock of US diplomacy, and had long called for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The State Department official could not confirm reports that the consul generals residence in Jerusalem would eventually become the home for the US ambassador as part of the embassys move to the disputed city, which occurred last May. Located near occupied East Jerusalems Old City, it has been the home of the consul general since 1912, while the US permanent diplomatic presence in the city was established in 1857. Trump, who is expected to release his long-awaited peace plan in the coming months, has also cut more than $500m in Palestinian aid in a bid to force its leaders to negotiate. Palestinian leaders call it an attempt to blackmail them into accepting a plan aimed at wiping out their cause, and have labelled the US as a dishonest broker. The status of Jerusalem home to sites holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Though Israel claims Jerusalem is the capital of its state, its jurisdiction over the city is not recognised internationally. After occupying the citys eastern part in the 1967 war, Israel unilaterally annexed the territory and proclaimed it as its capital. The Palestinians, however, see the city as the capital of their future state. Trumps decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem broke with decades of international consensus that the status of the city must first be decided upon through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Guaidos international backers are using a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to put pressure on Maduro. The United States has ramped up its attempt to dislodge Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, imposing new sanctions and revoking visas, while opposition leader Juan Guaido said Maduros support among the military was cracking. Venezuelan military officials last weekend blocked an opposition-backed effort to bring food into the country via its borders with Colombia and Brazil, leaving two aid trucks in flames and five people dead. Guaido, who is recognised by most Western nations as Venezuelas rightful leader, visited Paraguay and Argentina on Friday to shore up Latin American support for a transition government for the crisis-stricken nation. 190228213304862 But Maduro retains control of state institutions and the loyalty of senior figures in the armed forces. Following a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires, Guaido said, without providing evidence, that 80 percent of Venezuelas military nonetheless supported a change in leadership and that he would continue to seek the support of officers. Earlier on Friday in Paraguay, he said 600 members of Venezuelas armed forces had already abandoned Maduros government following the clashes over the aid. Some analysts agree with Guaidos assessment. The impoverishment and the crisis in Venezuela is so acute, that there is a rejection within the armed forces towards the government, particularly in the middle and lower ranks, Sebastiana Barraez, a journalist and an expert on Venezuelas military forces told Al Jazeera. Foreign military intervention is seen as unlikely and Guaidos international backers are instead using a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to put pressure to bear on Maduro. We are sanctioning members of Maduros security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement on Friday. The US will continue to target Maduro loyalists prolonging the suffering of the victims of this man-made humanitarian crisis, he said. US sanctions block any assets the individuals control in the US and bars US entities from doing any business or financial transactions with them. The US State Department also said it had revoked the travel visas of 49 people as it cracked down on individuals responsible for undermining Venezuelas democracy. Maduro says the US is trying to destabilise his country and that efforts by the US-backed opposition to bring aid into the country are a political theatre. [For our] Dignity, we will fight harder than ever, the president said during a rally. [The] days will go by, weeks will go by and Nicolas Maduro the workers president will continue at the head of the motherland. Maduro gestures during a pro-government march in Caracas [File: Yuri Cortez /AFP] Face justice Guaido slipped out of Venezuela last week, in violation of a Supreme Court order not to leave the country, to join the aid convoys in Colombia. There, he met US Vice President Mike Pence and other regional leaders and later travelled to Brazil. 190123205835912 He has promised to return to Venezuela by Monday, seen as a form of direct defiance to Maduro, who has said Guaido will eventually face justice. The Argentine foreign ministry said in a statement that it expects the peaceful and safe return of the opposition leader to Venezuela, without risk to him, his family or his supporters. Paraguayan President Mario Abdo tweeted on Friday evening that he authorised expired Venezuelan passports to be valid in Paraguay, a gesture of support for Venezuelans who have fled their home country. Acabo de autorizar que los pasaportes vencidos de ciudadanos venezolanos tengan validez en territorio paraguayo. Marito Abdo (@MaritoAbdo) March 1, 2019 Guaido also called for further protests upon his return. We cant allow a regime that openly violates human rights and blocks international aid, to feel that it can go unpunished, he said after meeting Argentinian President Macri in Buenos Aires. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido during a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters] PDVSA office to be relocated to Moscow Meanwhile, Maduro has ordered state oil company PDVSAs office in Lisbon to be relocated to Moscow. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, explained the decision to move PDVSAs office at a joint news conference in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said Europe had shown it was no longer able to guarantee the safety of Venezuelas assets. She cited the Bank of Englands reluctance to hand over her countrys gold supplies as an example, and said Caracas was now determined to expand cooperation with Russia. The PDVSA office move corresponded with plans to expand technical cooperation in extracting oil with Russian oil companies Rosneft and Gazprom, she added on Friday. We are going to make industrial investments to produce everything we need in our country with the Russian Federations help, said Rodriguez. We (Venezuela and Russia) are strategic partners. Nearly 150 detainees broke out of their cell in Tripolis Triq al Sikka earlier this week to protest against abuse. As many as 30 refugees and migrants, including minors, are believed to have been brought to an underground cell and allegedly tortured in Libya for breaking out and holding a protest earlier this week. An estimated 150 male detainees escaped on Tuesday from the main cell in Tripolis Triq al Sikka detention centre, where some of them have been held for more than a year, to lodge their protest with Libyas Department of Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM). They protested against the conditions under which they have been detained, and demanded a visit from an official from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), according to witnesses. An estimated 150 detainees broke out of the main cell on Tuesday [Al Jazeera] The majority of those detained in the past 18 months were returned to Libya by the European Union-funded Libyan coastguard after they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. Three witnesses told Al Jazeera how Libyan guards surrounded the male refugees and migrants before beginning to beat them with sticks and metal bars. They alleged that as many as four people lost consciousness as a result of the beatings. Women, who were being held in a separate area, screamed throughout the ordeal, they said. The International Rescue Committee, which provides medical care in the detention centre, confirmed that two detainees were taken to hospital on Tuesday, though a spokesperson said they couldnt confirm why. Witnesses said dozens of detainees were then put in buses and moved to other detention centres, while two of them said those suspected of leading the protest were rounded up and brought to an underground cell, where they were allegedly tortured. As many as six of those taken underground are believed to be minors, they said. They locked them up because they want to frighten them not to talk and to make the others frightened, a refugee said. Those who remained in Triq al Sikka were injured and in need of help, according to detainees who were moved elsewhere. Witnesses said Tuesdays protest started after a visit to the detention centre by diplomats from the Netherlands. They started to beat [us] the moment the embassy staff left the detention centre Policemen came, about 100 of them from other places and started beating us with metal, plastic and wood, a witness said. 181001072826305 One refugee, who knew others held in the same underground cell for trying to escape, said, People earlier were released after months. That place is so bad. Theres no place to walk, its dark, its so small. Refugees and migrants formerly held in Triq al Sikka have said they were kept in the dark all day, regularly abused, given little food and denied medical help. In October, a 28-year-old Somali man returned to Libya by the coastguard, burned himself to death in Triq al Sikka after saying he felt hopeless about his chances of getting out. Detention centres must be closed An EU spokesperson said they were aware of the report and following the situation closely. As repeatedly said, the detention centres in Libya must be closed, the spokesperson said. The situation in these centres is unacceptable. The EU raises the unacceptable condition in detention centres in all of its meetings with relevant Libyan authorities at both political and technical level, in Tripoli and elsewhere. Rights group Amnesty Internationals Matteo De Bellis said of the report of abuse, if confirmed, constitutes yet another case of brutal violence against people arbitrarily held in Libyas notoriously abusive detention centres. European governments and institutions keep saying that they advocate the end of arbitrary detention of refugees and migrants, but they have not taken any decisive action to ensure this would happen, De Bellis said. 190201055408850 Libyas DCIM, the UNHCR and the Dutch foreign ministry did not respond to Al Jazeeras requests for comment. Migrants and refugees in Libya are brought to detention centres that are formally under the authority of the countrys interior ministry but in reality are controlled by armed groups, the real power in the country. Thousands of refugees and migrants are currently being held in indefinite detention by DCIM. Among them are people from Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan countries where the security or political situations are unstable and serve as a push factor for those seeking safety and freedoms. Around 15,000 refugees and migrants were returned to Libya last year under a 2017 deal in which the EU supports the Libyan coastguard to carry out interceptions at sea by supplying funds, ships and training. The New York Times reports that American citizen Walid Fitaihi has been held and allegedly tortured by Saudi Arabia. An American citizen was allegedly tortured while in custody in Saudi Arabia, according to a report by the New York Times. Walid Fitaihi described being dragged from his room in Riyadhs Ritz Carlton hotel, where he was being detained, then told a friend he was blindfolded, stripped of his underwear and bound to a chair, the report said. The Harvard-trained doctor was then reportedly shocked with electricity in what appears to have been a single session of torture that lasted about an hour, the daily reported. It also said he was whipped so severely, he could not sleep on his back for days. Mass arrests Fitaihi, who holds dual American-Saudi citizenship, was one of several hundred prominent Saudis rounded up in mass arrests in November 2017 in an anti-corruption crackdown ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). As with many others, the charges against Fitaihi have not been disclosed and there has been no known trial. He remains in detention. A number of those who were caught up in the round-up also alleged torture, including electric shocks, charges the kingdom has denied. Fitaihis American citizenship could further complicate relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. In December, the US Senate voted unanimously on a non-binding resolution that blamed the MBS for the brutal murder of prominent Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was murdered on October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a group of Saudi agents. US intelligence agencies reportedly believe MBS ordered the murder, an allegation the kingdom denies. 190131062458260 A group of US Senators introduced a legislation on Tuesday that would require the US Director of National Intelligence to submit a public report on the assassination. Khashoggi had protested Fitaihis detention in Saudi Arabia in a tweet in January 2018. What has happened to us? Khashoggi wrote in Arabic. How can someone like Dr Walid Fitaihi be arrested and what are the justifications for it? .@Walidfitaihi pic.twitter.com/hFzmRm5xVQ (@JKhashoggi) January 29, 2018 The NYT report says Dr Fitaihis American friends are stepping up a campaign to press Washington to take up his case. US President Donald Trump has defended MBS in the wake of the Khashoggi murder and continued relations with the kingdom. On Tuesday, senior White House adviser and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner met MBS for the first time since Khashoggis murder. It was not mentioned in the White House statement on Kushners meeting. Trump distanced himself from the Khashoggi murder in part, he said, because the journalist was not a US citizen. End of anti-corruption campaign MBS has defended the 2017 anti-corruption campaign as shock therapy to overhaul the Saudi economy. When the campaign ended in January, a royal court said authorities had summoned 381 people, some as witnesses, but it provided no names. It said 87 people confessed to charges against them and reached settlements that included the forfeiture of real estate, companies, cash and other assets. The public prosecutor refused to settle the cases of 56 people due to existing criminal charges against them. Eight more who declined settlement offers stand accused of corruption, the court said. Thousands took to the streets of Algeria on Friday to vent their anger at the perceived disrespect shown to them by the ruling elites as they prepare for a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The wall of fear was shattered when thousands marched last Friday, said Moustapha Bouchachi, a prominent rights lawyer. Algerian society is in ferment since February 10, following the announcement of Bouteflikas controversial bid for a fifth term. The peak of this popular anger was recorded Friday, March 2, when hundreds of thousands of Algerians took to the Algerian streets, including and especially down town Algiers, despite the ban on demonstrations in the capital city, to demand not only the departure of Bouteflika but of all the symbols of the Algerian bedridden and corrupt regime. Algerian intellectuals, writers, and businessmen, including Rachid Nekkaz and billionaire Issad Rebrab took part in the demonstrations. In response to the growing momentum, authorities used tear gas to disperse thousands in the capital. Many were arrested and a demonstrator was killed. Ironically, this first victim of the brutal intervention of the riot police against demonstrators in Algiers, is none other than the son of the second president of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA), during the Algerian independence war, Benyoucef Benkhedda. All a symbol! The sad news was announced this Saturday morning by the brother of the victim, Hassan Benkhadda. This is how my brother Hassan, a martyr of the revolt of freedom and dignity, was killed after performing Al Asr prayer on one of the alleyways in the center of Algiers, near the palace of the government, said the brother of the deceased. Hassan Benkhadda is to be buried this Saturday afternoon at the Martyrs Cemetery in Algiers, at the side of his late father, one of the heroic fighters for the Algerian peoples freedom and dignity. Protests will continue said writer Kamel Daoud. People are no longer afraid. However, authorities invoked the Syrian chaos and the bloody decade suffered by Algeria during the civil war in the 1990s in a bid to thwart protesters from taking to the streets. Officials are toughening rhetoric with chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah warning in televised remarks that some Algerians have pushed towards the unknown through dubious appeals manifested in a mockery of democracy. Analysts see that it will be difficult for the regime to buy social peace as it did in 2011 through wage hikes and increase in subsidies to basic goods to quell protests. Economic prospects are dim with dwindling oil revenues, high spending, soaring trade deficit and surging unemployment rate pushing thousands to take the risky sea route to Europe. The United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have advanced into the final territorial enclave held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) where heavy fighting is under way. The Kurdish-led SDF expect the battle to be over soon, the head of the SDF media office, Mustafa Bali, said on Saturday. The SDF were advancing on two fronts into the tiny enclave at Baghouz in Syrias Deir Az Zor province at the Iraq border. Three SDF fighters had been wounded so far, the media office said in an update circulated to reporters. The SDF began a final assault to capture the enclave at Baghouz on Thursday, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of the territorial rule that once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. Civilians evacuated The SDF clashed with the ISIL fighters on Friday after the last batch of civilians left the territory, Bali said in a statement. Those left inside are fighters who do not wish to surrender, he told the AP news agency. The smallest batch of evacuees, just over 200, came out of the pocket in around six trucks used to transport sheep. About 10 trucks sent to the perimeter of the ISIL pocket came back empty, and drivers said no more evacuees came out after hours of waiting. The evacuees on Friday included wounded men but were mostly women and children. There were Russians, Indonesians, Bosnians, Daghestani, Kazakhs, Egyptians, Syrians, and Iraqis. They dragged along a few belongings and distraught children. Umm Mohammed, a 38-year-old Syrian, left Baghouz with her three children on Friday but her husband stayed behind in support of ISIL There are many fighters and families inside, she told AP. ISIL is weak only in Baghouz but elsewhere it is expanding and growing. The military campaign to uproot the fighters from the eastern banks of the Euphrates River began in September, pushing them down towards this last corner in the village of Baghouz, near the Iraqi border. The military operation was halted on February 12 as the SDF said a large number of civilians and hostages were holed up in the territory, which sits atop caves and tunnels where they had been hiding. The remaining speck of ISIL-controlled land in Baghouz village is also along the Euphrates from one side and the desert near the Iraqi border from the other. Thousands of civilians were living in a tent encampment and houses along the riverside. Desperate conditions Over the last two weeks, thousands of civilians have been evacuated, many of them women and children in desperate conditions. The only aid group at the evacuation site, the Free Burma Rangers, estimated that at least 10,000 civilians have left the ISIL pocket since February 20, in trips organised by the SDF. The evacuees, who included ISIL family members, said the food was running low and clean water and medicine were scarce. Despite its demise, many defended what remained of the groups territorial hold, which once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria. As they trickled out, SDF and coalition officials screened them. Women and children were transferred to camps miles away. Men suspected of links to the armed group were taken into custody at other facilities. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that ISIL has lost 100 percent of the territory it once controlled in Syria, but officials estimate there are hundreds of ISIL fighters left in the small patch of territory in Baghouz, and that they will likely fight till the end. The battle to finish off what is left Daesh has started, SDF commander Adnan Afrin said on Friday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL. Afrin said he expected resistance from the remaining fighters who are likely to deploy all their weapons, including suicide bombers. Milestone The capture of the last pocket still held by the ISIL fighters in Baghouz would mark the end of a devastating four-year global campaign to end the groups hold on territory in Syria and Iraq their so-called caliphate that at the height of the groups power in 2014 controlled nearly a third of both Iraq and Syria. It would allow President Trump to begin withdrawing the estimated 2,000 US troops from Syria, as he declared in December he would do. Though last week he partially reversed course and agreed to keep a residual force of perhaps a few hundred troops as part of an international effort to stabilise northeastern Syria. The resumption of military operations against ISIL breaks a days-long standoff while the civilians were being evacuated. In the last week alone, 13,000 people, most of them women and children, arrived at the al-Hol camp in Hassakeh province which now houses approximately 45,000 people, according to the United Nations. In a statement on Friday, the UN cited reports that more than 84 people, two-thirds of them young children under five years of age, have died since December on their way to al-Hol camp after fleeing the group. Many of the arrivals are exhausted, hungry and sick, according to Jens Laerke, spokesman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at a news briefing in Geneva. Brother of Hassan Benkhedda says Algerian authorities and thugs are responsible for his death. The son of Algerias first prime minister has died while taking part in a protest against President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas bid for a fifth term in office, a government official and a family member said on Saturday. Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui identified the man as Hassan Benkhedda, a son of the late Benyoucef Benkhedda, who took power after the country gained independence from France in 1962. The forensic medical investigations will clarify causes and circumstances of his death, the minister said in a tweet. Benkhedda, believed to be in his 50s, was killed in a clash between police and thugs unrelated to the protesters, the minister said in a separate statement online. Family members, however, dispute that explanation. In a Facebook post, Salim Benkhedda said that his brother Hassan had participated in the mass protests near the presidential palace in central Algiers on Friday and blamed what he called the ruling gang and its thugs for the death. The death is the first to happen in protests that erupted more than a week ago against Bouteflikas plan to run in next months presidential election. Many Algerians believe Bouteflika is unfit to hold the presidency. The 81-year-old suffered a stroke in 2013 and is rarely seen in public. Nevertheless, his campaign manager said this week that Bouteflika would submit his candidacy documents for the April 18 election on Sunday, the final day for registration. On Friday, tens of thousands of Algerians took to the streets in several parts of the country against Bouteflikas re-election plan. Some 56 policemen were injured during the protests and around 45 protesters were arrested, according to a security agency. In a statement carried by the Algerian state television, the security general directorate said that seven people were also injured. Algerian authorities have said they will be making a major announcement concerning the protests on Saturday evening. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is active in trying to facilitate Kim Jong Uns nuclear negotiations with the US. The South Korean president said he will help Washington and Pyongyang reach a deal on denuclearisation, after talks failed in Hanoi. Moon Jae-in was speaking in Seoul, on the countrys 100th independence movement day. South Koreans had hoped there would be additional celebrations after the Vietnam summit, but the results of the talks, or lack thereof, left little to cheer. Al Jazeeras Rob McBride reports. Taliban and US officials are discussing US troop withdrawal, a ceasefire as well as security guarantees in Afghanistan. Taliban and officials from the United States resume Afghanistan peace talks in Doha on Saturday after a two-day break in a bid to end the 17-year war. These talks mark the highest level negotiations between the two sides since the US ramped up peace efforts last year. Cofounder of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has joined the talks as the new head of the Taliban team. He met the US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad for the first time on Monday. Since then, the two men and their respective delegations have been working to hammer out details of a framework agreement reached in six days of negotiations in Doha in January. We have two core issues. The withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan is a core issue for us. And a core issue for the American side is that the soil of Afghanistan should not be used against the Americans and against its allies, said Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen as talks entered a second day on Tuesday. The US has also been asking for a Taliban ceasefire. If we do not reach a solution in this round of talks, then we will in the next round of talks, but that is our target, Shaheen said. This round of talks, now in their fourth day, after a two-day recess, have working groups trying to find formulas that work for both sides. One major sticking point is the US wants the Taliban to negotiate any final deal with the Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani, something the Taliban has repeatedly refused to do, calling the government a puppet of the West. Ghani has expressed frustration at being excluded from the negotiations. Taliban members met Afghan representatives, including Ghanis political opponents in Moscow last month. Continuing violence The Taliban continue their military offensives in Afghanistan, despite the talks. Taliban fighters killed at least 23 Afghan security forces in an attack on Friday on Camp Shorab, a sprawling military base in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. In northern Sari Pul province, Taliban ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces, killing nine, said Zabihullah Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor. The heavy fighting has been costly for Afghan security forces. While the Afghan Ministry of Defence stopped publicly releasing casualty figures, Ghani said 45,000 Afghan security forces have been killed since September 2014. Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Afghanistan according to the United Nations with 3,804 civilian deaths in 2018. The UN says at least 32,000 civilians have been killed and another 60,000 wounded in the past decade, when the organisation began compiling the data. The US president tells the audience at CPAC he will win re-election by a bigger margin than his 2016 victory. US President Donald Trump has told an audience of conservatives that he will win re-election in 2020 by a bigger margin than his 2016 victory. In a wide-ranging speech on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, he mocked Democrats for their framework to combat climate change and said the House members pushing to expand their investigations of him are sick. Trump rehashed his outsider campaign from 2016 that overcame long odds and a crowded field of established politicians to claim the White House over Democrat Hillary Clinton. What weve done together has never been done in the history, may be of beyond our country. Maybe in the history of the world And what we did in 2016, the election we call it with a capital E. Its never been done before and were going to do it. I think again in 2020. And the numbers are going to be even bigger, he said. Trump praised the conservative movement, saying, Our movement and our future in our country is unlimited. Al Jazeeras Andy Gallacher, reporting from Oxon Hill, Maryland said the conference is really about Donald Trump energising his base. Hes been talking for almost two hours, one of the longest speeches Ive ever heard the president make, certainly longer than the rallies I have been to, Gallacher said. Hes talked about his relationship with China, the economy, immigration. [But] very little has been said about that meeting in Vietnam over North Korea or what Michael Cohen, his former fixer, was saying in Congress last week. On Thursday, Trump said North Koreas demand that the US lift economic sanctions in their entirety forced the US to walk away from reaching an agreement at a summit in Vietnam. Speaking at the CPAC, Trump commented that North Korea had a bright economic future if the two countries made a deal, but did not have any economic future with nuclear weapons. He added that the relationship with North Korea seemed to be very, very strong. Collusion delusion With special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation seemingly approaching its end, Trump spoke of the collusion delusion and lashed out at newly empowered House Democrats, who are opening new inquiries involving him. This phoney thing, Trump said of the Russia probe, looks like its dying, so they dont have anything with Russia there, no collusion. So now they go in and morph into Lets inspect every deal hes ever done. Were going to go into his finances. Were going to check his deals. Were going to check these people are sick. House Democrats are undertaking several broad investigations that reach far beyond Muellers focus on Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. So far, Mueller has not brought any public charges alleging a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russia. Their efforts increased in the past week after Trumps former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, appeared before two House committees and a Senate committee. In his public testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cohen called the president a conman and a cheat and gave Democrats several new leads for inquiry. Green New Deal Trump also took aim at the Democrats Green New Deal, a policy proposal floated by some liberal Democrats in Congress and backed to varying degrees by several of the partys 2020 presidential candidates. I think the New Green Deal or whatever the hell they call it the Green New Deal I encourage it, Trump said mockingly as he wound up for a round of exaggeration. I think its really something that they should promote. They should work hard on it No planes, no energy. When the wind stops blowing, thats the end of your electric. Lets hurry up. Darling, is the wind blowing today? Id like to watch television, darling. The Democratic plan calls for a drastic drop in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, but in no way grounds aeroplanes or pivots the country to renewable energy only. Ian Kershaw is considered the most important reference on Hitler and his rising. He is brilliant in portraying the environment that allowed said rise to happen, as in his masterpiece Making friends with Hitler, Lord Londonderry and Britain's Road to War. The book centers on "Lord Londonderry." Perhaps more crucial in paving "Britain's Road to War" was the public opinion Kershaw analyzes in Section I of Chapter I (pp. 2736). I recommend its reading for those who seek to understand how the Western citizenry and, in particular, its political establishment were led into Hitler's beliefs, which made war inevitable: The Times, the most important newspaper for the British political class, agreed that Hitler was a 'moderate' compared with some of the more radical figures in the Nazi Party, and thought that he was gaining a sense of responsibility. ... 'The Times, for instance, had already indicated on 29 January [1933], the day following the fall of the government of General von Schleicher, that a government headed by Hitler commanding majority support in the Reichstag was 'held to be the least dangerous solution of a problem bristling with dangers. (pp. 2930) Public opinionmakers, however, have yet to make a critical assessment on their own responsibility in establishing fantasies as realities. The real issue at stake concerns whether we are sensibly looking into the sources of these problems or confusing issues and priorities instead, as we did in the '30s. Several works recently published focus on the danger of going back to the '30s. Yet some repeat old mistakes, the best example being Madeleine Albright's recent book, Fascism: A Warning. The introduction of Albright's book starts with her and her parents escaping the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 and ends with the fall of the Iron Curtain understandably for her better symbolized in Prague. It leads us toward the present erosion of democracy for which she sees "the first reason" being President Donald Trump. The discussion on fascism has been endless. She perceives the "popular" character of fascism as a distinct feature from traditional forms of despotic regimes, but she fails to establish a distinction between fascism and communism, even using these concepts interchangeably in the expression "Soviet-style fascism" (p. 4; Chapter 7). Ms. Albright flits on diverse leaders from Viktor Orban to the Korean Kim dynasty, calling none fascist but describing all with some diverse fascist tones, apparently only in order to attack Trump and indirectly suggest his link to a present fascist danger. Her book sheds no light on what was intrinsically distinctive about "fascism" as it emerged in the '30s and, in particular, the distinct signs of a reborn fascism today. What is striking is Ms. Albright's silence on the modern regime that most resembles old-era fascism the Iranian theocracy. Ms Albright's silence on Iran, Pakistan, and China is understandable if we consider her responsibilities in the failure to confront these regimes while working at the top of the U.S. administration. Otherwise, the twisting of concepts to target Trump is typical of the partisanship dominating most modern political analysis, hers included. Albright's book is important mainly for presenting a good summary of the distorted picture of political reality of our "mainstream media" and how they serve to conceal the real threats to democracy which they see as coming exclusively from "populism" and "nationalism" (code names for Trump). What we today call democracy is a complex structure based on the rule of law, containing both democratic and aristocratic features. Strong democratic structures can be found within the U.S., which couples traditional representative structures for both executive and legislative branches with direct rule through referenda, some democratic control on the judiciary, and lesser power capabilities for civil servants. The E.U. is on the other side of the "liberal-democratic" spectrum. So-called "populist" rebellions against the "aristocratic" or "elitist" features of the political system have happened in the U.S., Andrew Jackson being the best historic example, Trump being a present one. In the U.S., such developments never transformed democracy into demagogy and therefore never facilitated the overall system's degradation into a tyranny. The same democratic "populist" manifestations might have different results elsewhere. In my view, this is exactly what happened in Venezuela, perhaps the clearest example of political decay. To see populism as the problem is to see the events upside-down. People wanting to take control of their own destinies is a good thing. The problem lies with the fragility or even nonexistence of lawful institutions or sufficient forces to defend them and with the oligarchic, incompetent, or authoritarian rule that provoked populist reactions in the first place. The criticism of "populism" and "nationalism" tends to become a criticism of "democracy" or even a corporatist protection of an institutionalised oligarchy. Thus, mainstream media's reporting that populism and nationalism are a threat is misdirecting the people from the issues that really matter. Many of us strongly disagree with some of President Trump's views, me included. Churchill was wrong on a variety of issues, and some of his declarations were unacceptable even by the standards of his own time, let alone now. Yet he was far-sighted in understanding where the main danger was. When we witness a confrontation between Trump and Khamenei, exactly as when we witnessed a confrontation between Churchill and Hitler, no one can doubt where the fascism threat lies and on which side we shall stand. Whoever tries to confuse this reality is doing a great disservice to the struggle freedom-lovers have to be engaged in. That is the struggle against the Iranian theocracy, the totalitarian threat of our day. Paulo Casaca was a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2009. He is an author and analyst on the Middle East and South Asia. He currently heads the Brussels-based NGOs Archhumankind and SADF. I learned that the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson, MO closed its doors forever. Roy Rogers was a bit before my time. Still, the closing of his museum triggered something in me. My late black dad, Dr. Rev. Lloyd E. Marcus was a big Roy Rogers fan. I remember Roy Rogers as a good guy cowboy on TV who always did the right thing. Roy's character was very much like my dad's. No, I am not going to get sappy, reminiscing about a time when TV role models taught kids right from wrong. Suggest that some behaviors are right and some behaviors are wrong -- how corny, judgmental, intolerant and old fashion is that? America has moved on. Democrats, Hollywood, and fake news media say America no longer wants white guys like Roy Rogers on TV, infecting our kids with Christian morals and family values. America has moved on from the biblical teaching that there are only two genders. NYC recognizes 31 different genders. Facebook gives customers 56 gender options. Leftists believe they are far more sophisticated and intelligent than Bible believers and Americans living in flyover country. Leftists say determining a baby's gender by its genitalia at birth is idiotic. They say we must allow the child to evolve into the gender it wants to be. This insane child abuse has led to hundreds of kids as young as four years old identifying as transgender and changing their sex. American College of Pediatricians president Dr. Michelle Cretella wrote, Transgender Ideology Has Infiltrated My Field and Produced Large-Scale Child Abuse. Dr. Cretella also stated, No one is born transgender. America has moved on from children respecting their father and their elders. There I go sounding like an old guy. My sister, three brothers and I were raised respecting our dad, answering him with yes or no sir. Dad was fun and easy to talk to. But we understood that he was not our peer. Hollywood routinely portrays fathers as idiots whose kids give them zero respect. America has moved on from TV heroes like Superman who stood for truth, justice and the America way. Leftist indoctrination in public school has our kids believing the American way and patriotism are racist. Singing the song Proud to be an American has been banned in public schools. Wearing an America flag t-shirt to school on a Mexican holiday has been banned in America. Unfortunately, many of our youths believe it is racist to expect immigrants to learn English, respect our flag, and enter our country legally. Superman on TV has been replaced with America's first lesbian superhero. LGBTQ indoctrination dominates kid's TV programming. Public education beginning in pre-k promotes same-sex parents and encourages little boys to wear dresses to school. When Roy Rogers was popular on TV, students still began their school day with a simple prayer for themselves, their parents, teachers and country. In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that prayer and Bible reading in public school was unconstitutional which removed prayer from public school. The consequences have been devastating. Behavior and academic performance plummeted. Pregnancies for girls 10-14 shot up 553%; student STDs up 226%. Since removing biblical principles from public policy, divorce rates skyrocketed up 117%; single-parent households up 140%. Since removing prayer, SAT scores declined for 18 consecutive years. SAT scores for students in Christian private schools are almost 80% higher than public school. Democrats successfully caused America to move on, rescuing students from the horror of beginning their day by humbly acknowledging their creator with a prayer. Once again, Democrats are intensely working to deceive Americans into moving on, away from valuing the life of human babies. Democrats seek to pass a law to execute babies even after they are born. Absurdly, Democrats claim they desire only to protect a woman's health. How on earth does a baby threaten its mother's health after it is born? Democratic women rant that fathers should not have any say in a mother's decision to murder their babies. Senate Democrats, many of them running for president, voted against saving the life of babies who survive abortions. Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans could never imagine a time when an entire American political party would become so overtaken by evil; claiming moral authority to pass legislation to murder living breathing crying babies. Welcome to modern America. Folks, I am extremely excited about the Heartbeat bill that makes abortion illegal as soon as the baby's heartbeat can be detected. The Heartbeat bill is gaining momentum in several states. Praise God. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, America has aborted nearly 60 million babies. I pray that the Heartbeat bill will mark the beginning of the end of America mass murdering babies. I also pray that the bill will end the effort by Democrats, Hollywood, and leftists to cause Americans to move on, away from Godly principles and values which have made America great. For America to be great again, we must honor God again. Founding Father John Adams said, Our constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people. My fellow Americans, did I mention that the Roy Rogers Museum in Branson, MO closed its doors forever? Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American Help Lloyd spread the Truth: http://bit.ly/2kZqmUk Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images Chicagos pending mega-development, Lincoln Yards, sounds like a dream come true for people who wish their college dormitories had come with indoor climbing walls. If you can afford a unit, you can someday avail yourself of a bespoke sledding hill and recreation fields. Your dog, too, will prosper. The puppy princelings of Lincoln Yard will enjoy a splash pool and something CityLab calls a pug-mug video installation, presumably for the benefit of their human Instagram followers. Despite the developers assurances that Lincoln Yards is the product of a progressive and inclusive vision, the mixed-use development is controversial, as it benefits from tax breaks while the city continues to become less and less affordable for low-income people. This prospective canine utopia is in fact a symptom of widespread gentrification which is not an uncommon trait for dog parks, especially in urban areas. Consider New York Citys infamous Tribeca Dog Run. Though the dog park has always been located on public property, affluent local residents took it over in 2008, and began charging dog owners $120 a year for use of the space, ostensibly for its upkeep. A 22-rule guidebook required members to chase non-members off the property, the New York Post claimed. In 2018, the city returned the dog park to public use, over the lamentations of its overlords. In the case of the Tribeca Dog Run, a sharp class divide is immediately visible. All dogs may go to heaven, but not all dogs get to use a park that charges a fee for entry. Similarly, many neighborhoods dont have access to dog parks at all. According to CityLab, there are only two dog parks located outside of the citys wealthy North Side area; its lower-income neighborhoods are dog park deserts. The same Chicago neighborhoods that struggle for access to trauma centers and grocery stores also tend not to have safe places for people to exercise their dogs and their residents are disproportionately more likely to be cited for leash law violations. Chicagos dog park deserts are, as Axios observed in its write-up, an example of stark inequality. Theyre also emblematic of other, national problems. North Side dogs dont just have better lives in contrast with their canine peers on the South Side. Chances are good that they live better than many human beings, too. Cities with higher median incomes and lower percentages of black and Latino residents tend to have better access to public parks overall, according to one study from 2018. Dog parks dont have to be built in public parks, but lack of free, green space can indicate a lack of space for dogs and people alike. Its a problem with concrete public policy solutions; cities could set aside funding for dog parks, for example, so residents are less reliant on fundraising efforts that are likelier to succeed in higher-income areas. But that wouldnt entirely protect public space for either dogs or people from developers hungry for urban property. In Chicagos South Side, developers competing for space may replace an existing dog park with their own, revamped version, which could create more problems than it would solve. With private land, there comes more opportunities for the enactment of racism, Anjulie Rao, editor of Chicago Architect, told CityLab. People of color tend to be less welcome in private-public spaces like [private] plazas and dog parks on private property. Theyre looked at with more scrutiny. Consider racist stereotypes about certain dog breeds, like pit bulls, and the risks for black and brown dog owners become especially clear. Pet ownership is an expense, but structural inequality makes it a luxury. Lincoln Yards dog park dreams arent for everyone and increasingly, neither are cities themselves. Last week, Robert Kraft, New England Patriots owner, was charged with soliciting prostitution from Asian Massage Parlor in Florida. It seems as though the mainstream media want to slaughter Kraft because he is rich and famous, while many average Joes have gone unnoticed. In the meantime, the liberalism widespread in the U.S. has propelled misconceptions of Asian sex-trafficking issues. This is hindering U.S. authorities from addressing the problem more effectively. Robert Kraft would not be the only wealthy and influential buyer to benefit from Asian sex-trafficking in the U.S. Many other prestigious, otherwise known as respectful members of society have been frequent visitors to Asian massage parlors. Last week, the police officer in Florida arrested John Childs, a billionaire equity firm owner, along with Mr. Kraft. In 2017, Houston police officers performed a sting at a former Asian parlor location. They arrested 139 johns, including an undercover Houston police officer, two attorneys, and a Homeland Security employee working with FEMA. In 2012, Susan Lee Gross was convicted of running Asian parlors providing commercial sex in Virginia. Her sex buyers included military personnel, a local pastor, and a gynecologist. Liberal media also like to impose their political agenda by describing many Asian women's experience in U.S. prostitution. They often portray these Asian women as willing participants describing themselves as "sex workers." Asian sex-trafficking victims in the U.S., however, have diverse backgrounds depending on their cultures. For instance, some Chinese victims were poor and disenfranchised in their countries, whereas many Korean victims are from a middle-class family with a four-year college degree. In 2009, a survey study by the Korean government stated that 80% of Korean sex-trafficking victims have a two-year college degree or higher. Seventy percent of the women in prostitution are high school graduates. Many young Korean women are lured into prostitution wanting to finance their college tuition and end up being coerced into the sex trade. There is no worse racism toward a sex-trafficking victim than silencing her voice by imposing cultural values and assumptions on her identity. Both Chinese and Korean women often face socio-economic barriers gainful employment in their countries. These social barriers leave many Asian women vulnerable to sex trafficking around the world. For instance, in 2018, Radio Korea reported a surge of Korean sex-trafficking victims who are lured into the U.S. through a false promise of high-paying job opportunities. In another case in 2018, a Chinese couple forced a young Chinese woman into prostitution after luring her into the U.S. with a tourist visa. They took her passport to ensure her cooperation. In 2016, a Korean nonprofit, E-room, reported interviews with many victims. The women were forced into prostitution around the world, including the U.S. after being lured into a broker's offer of plastic surgery in exchange for an easy part-time job at a cafe. In 2015, one 26-year-old woman was coerced into prostitution in the Los Angeles area after entering the U.S. with the promise of a Hollywood actress job. These Asian women cannot be considered as the same as those Western women who desperately want to legalize prostitution as legitimate work. As such, Asian victims can't be the reason behind the legalization of prostitution in the U.S. Whereas many liberals like to use wealthy sex buyers as the scapegoat behind sex-trafficking, the lack of political will and resources behind many law enforcement officers is equally, if not more, to be blamed for the thriving sex-trafficking market for Asian women in the U.S. Many in law enforcement often focus on investigating massage parlors to fight sex-trafficking of Asian women due to the limited understanding of the Asian sex-trafficking market. However, traffickers have used various brothel models to prostitute young women from Asian countries. In Florida, where Mr. Kraft was charged, young Asian women in their 20s are sold for Girl Friend Experience (GFE) at a residential brothel, a service that prohibits a young woman from using contraceptives during commercial sex. Whereas the average age of women in parlors ranges between the 30s and 50s, young women prostituted in GFE brothels are in their 20s. Hence, the criminals running GFE brothels often profit much more than those running massage parlors. In 2018, police in Oakland, California arrested multiple individuals for prostitution and drug-related charges in a Chinese karaoke bar. One woman in her early 20s was found and charged with prostitution-related activities during the investigation. In 2012, Chang Young Kim was indicted after prostituting multiple young Korean women in his Room Salon in Seattle. According to the indictment, he encouraged his friend to open a room salon business to profit over $10,000 a month selling each girl for sex. Whereas many of these brothels advertise themselves online, law enforcement officers rarely investigate these criminals. Even after the arrest, many criminals rarely receive conviction because of the inadequate training available to law enforcement in the U.S. U.S. lawmakers recently passed a law to spend $430 million to support trafficking victims abroad. In the meantime, many local law enforcement officers continue to face challenges, with limited resources available. While fighting global trafficking is vital, combating trafficking on U.S. soil needs more support from lawmakers than ever. A Korean government study estimated that a parlor-owner in the U.S. profited approximately $500,000 to $1 million a year in 2009. Asian traffickers often have resources to hire lawyers, accountants, and brokers to stay under the radar. On the other hand, law enforcement officers and nonprofits in the U.S. struggle to counter the traffickers' tactics because of limited resources. It's time to take back what we have lost to the criminals. Scott Adams, the "Dilbert" creator, says our side is greatly underestimating Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that she is by no means a dummy, and that at this point, she is the second most persuasive American political figure, after Trump. She is hugely popular among the young, the Left, and Hispanics. She would have very high poll numbers if she ran for president: a young good-looking Hispanic woman with moxie, unafraid to take on the powers that be. My son told me the same thing this week that she had effectively seized leadership of a national movement. Of course, she may be used by others as a vehicle to advance causes, but ultimately, the elected official has the power. I think it helps our side in the short term if she and her colleagues on the Left try to purge moderate elements in the Democratic Party in the name of purity and saving the planet. That will help the GOP win back seats in swing districts if more radical nominees emerge. But I think the Left is, as always, playing a long game, relying on support from the media, Hollywood, the public schools and college indoctrination, and the changing demography of the country. In time, leftists believe that a pure leftist-controlled America can emerge, and I am not sure they are wrong. Minority groups would have to swing away from their voting patterns for this not to occur. So far, I see no evidence of this. (I would not put much credence in a single poll of a subgroup with maybe 100 phone interviews.) I think the continued provocation by Ilhan Omar is part of the same process of moving the Overton Window the range of subjects that are acceptable for discussion. Eventually Pelosi and the supposed more mainstream Dems get tired of disciplining her. Then her message and that of those who think like her will only come from more places and more obnoxiously. Expect that support for Israel will be a major debate at the 2020 Democratic convention, especially if Sanders is the nominee. Maybe Omar or Tlaib or Ocasio-Cortez speaks, and the roof gets blown away by thunderous enthusiastic cheering as one of them blasts Israel. Graphic credit: Donkey Hotey. Amid a lot of other stories in the press, a good one from Connecticut got a lost in the shuffle: the state held a special election of five state legislative slots, and Republicans unexpectedly won two of them. Here's the Washington Examiner's report, with links to two very good local press stories: Republican candidates in Connecticut flipped two state legislative seats in a five-race special election held Tuesday. Gennaro Bizzarro pulled off the biggest upset of the night. He defeated Democratic Rep. Rick Lopes in the 6th District Senate race with 53 percent of the vote, the CT Mirror reports. The seat was vacated after the incumbent was appointed to a state role by newly elected Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont's administration. All five vacancies were a result of Lamont appointing legislators to state roles. Now, this state is deep blue. So what a result like this suggests is that the press "narrative" about Republicans and President Trump being "unpopular" is downright phony. Conventional wisdom on midterms is that those elections are referendums on the president. These special elections look as though they're referendums on the Democrats, who took a large swath of power in the last midterm. So this "unexpected" result in Connecticut sounds like a harbinger of things to come in the 2020 election. Now, it is part of a known trend. New England has shown some buck-the-orthodoxy electoral results in recent years, as described by Salena Zito, who cited Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine electing Republican governors in 2017. The addition of Connecticut to the GOP pickup list via state offices falls in line on that front. But it's also of a piece with a different metric: that the tiny little special elections, which got so much press in 2017 and 2018 because they yielded Democratic upsets in traditionally Republican enclaves such as Alabama inevitably led to the Democratic Party's retaking of the House by 2018. It was true enough then, and now we are seeing the trend reverse this time toward Republicans. If a lot of these little special elections keep yielding "unexpected" Republican results, it's likely a sign the Democrats are going to be out on their ear in the House in 2020. Here's another thing: Connecticut has been run by Democrats for a long, long time. That's led to the inevitable result of liberal Democratic rule: high taxes and unbearable regulation. The Patch, in January, reported that Connecticut is the third-highest state for residential flight: Undoubtedly there is a lot to love about our home state, but the negatives are well-chronicled, beginning with the fact that taxes are through the roof, and then there is the state's crippling debt and the never-ending talk of tolls being resurrected. Other local news accounts say that the Republicans won based on voter anger over high toll taxes, too, and that's a yellow-vest issue if there ever was one. The GOP tried in the earlier election cycle to run against these kinds of taxes and failed, but this time, the GOP argument won. Apparently, Connecticut's voters were sick of the state's nickeling-and-diming them just for the "privilege" of driving to their jobs to pay those taxes. One of the Republicans who won in the special election, Gennaro Bizzarro, had this to say: "I told everybody that this was a special opportunity that voters of the sixth district had to be heard on the governor's budget," Bizzarro told a crowded room of supporters in The Avenue, a Berlin restaurant. "I told you this was a referendum on tolls and taxes and we did not disappoint." When you consider that there are plenty of other high-tax one-party solid blue states (I'm looking at you, Illinois and California), it suggests that there is a breaking point among voters, they have their limits. California isn't precisely like Connecticut, owing to its Silicon Valley plutocrats and its gargantuan illegal immigrant population, but it suggests there's an "enough" factor somewhere. Maybe Californians will have limits at some point, too. Victor Davis Hanson argues that there will be a breaking point here because California only needs to lose a couple billionaires to other states to see its tax base collapse. Here's another thing that's good news for Republicans in this electoral result: the local Connecticut Mirror reports that the districts that flipped were blue collar districts, the very voters Democrats have lately been trying to write off, even as the election of President Trump in 2016 showed their power. Kind of stupid of them, in light of Connecticut. Because if they can lose parts of Connecticut in a low-turnout special election, think what they can lose in a purple state, or a red state. Lastly, the Democrats do seem to be in denial about why this is happening. Get a load of this Democrat comment from the Mirror, dismissing the whole loss as a nothingburger: Nancy Wyman, the Democratic state chair, said special elections waged in the cold as a six-week sprint do not lend themselves to broad analysis. A strong personality, combined with a good organization, can lead to upsets, she said. "We knew East Haven was going to be a difficult race," said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford. Actually, Bizzarro wasn't a pretty face, and it's significant that he won with a last name that's probably hard to campaign on, I'm going to argue that's a solid win. And it's not hard to understand why. Extremism in taxes and blue-state shenanigans, combined with the dismissal of whole classes of voters can only come up good for Republicans. The GOP needs to take this Connecticut model and engage in hot pursuit with it, because it looks like they can win on it. Even the blue state voters are coming over. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. When I see any article by a journalist talking about lessons learned from Michael Cohen, my first thought is, why would I care what he says? He's a convicted perjurer, tax cheat, and bank fraudster who shook down multiple corporations pretending he could get favors for them from Trump. Isn't it true that once you have a liar, a cheat, and a thief, that is all you have? The biggest lessons I learned from Michael Cohen's testimony are that Trump didn't tell him to lie to Congress, he never saw any collusion with Russia, and the dossier funded by the DNC and Hillary and used as an excuse to spy on the Trump campaign was false. A significant number of us have known that those were false stories from the beginning and that most of the media were spewing forth these false stories because they wanted Hillary to win and they will do whatever they have to in order to dispose of Trump. Are journalists and other Democrats who willingly spread false stories with no evidence to destroy someone they don't want as president any better than Cohen? Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post says she learned that the IRS doesn't have enough money because that is what the Democrat solution is for everything: taking our hard-earned money and giving it to the greedy bureaucrats and politicians in the District of Columbia, which is already one of the wealthiest areas of the country, is supposed to make things better for us. Maybe the IRS could audit the bad guys more if it weren't so busy stifling the free speech of Tea Party members just because they opposed the president. Maybe if they focused on collecting taxes instead of destroying computers and documents connected to the targeting of people who just wanted smaller government and lower taxes, IRS agents could operate more efficiently. It might also help if analysts at the IRS weren't busy searching and leaking confidential information on people who happened to hang around Trump. How many other people at the IRS and throughout government spend time searching records of people or companies they don't like? Rampell, other journalists, and prosecutors have been very interested in the small Trump Foundation but always showed much less interest in the much larger Clinton Foundation (which collected billions of dollars) that filed numerous false reports with IRS, was used as a piggy bank for friends and family, and gathered huge donations from foreign countries seeking favors while Hillary was wielding her power. "There is probable cause that the Clinton Foundation has run afoul of IRS rules regarding tax-exempt charitable organizations and has acted inconsistently with its stated purpose," MDA Analytics alleged in its submission. "The Foundation should be investigated for all of the above-mentioned improprieties. The tax rules, codes, statutes and the rule of law should and must be applied in this case." The Justice Department and FBI also might be more productive with our tax dollars if they focused on actual criminals instead of believing that it was their job to protect from prosecution a politician who had committed multiple crimes so she could be president, while targeting a candidate and those surrounding him because they didn't like him. Maybe they should prosecute those at the FBI and Justice who committed perjury and abused their power. They could also spend some of their time and money going after illegal aliens who commit serious crimes. How many armed agents went to Roger Stone's house to arrest him? Somehow, it was a coincidence that CNN was there to film the arrest. Maybe the government should have asked Stone and his attorney to come in. That may have saved some tax dollars. It would also have been a more productive and efficient use of our tax dollars if John Brennan, James Clapper, and their intelligence agencies spent their time and money doing their jobs protecting America instead of protecting Hillary and targeting Trump. It is too bad journalists didn't learn those lessons and never cared that there was never any evidence that those stories were true before they endlessly ran them to destroy Trump in the mind of the public. The agenda was all that mattered. Facts weren't important. It is truly a shame that journalists, just like bureaucrats at Justice, the FBI, the IRS, and elsewhere, have come to believe they have the job to decide who is elected to office instead of we the people. Graphic credit: Max Pixel. A fascinating article by Joel Kotkin in The Tablet describes the precipitous decline in membership to organized churches and synagogues, with a primary reason being the growing influence in these religious organizations of leftists and leftist dogma. The numbers are shocking. It's not just the decline of members that's concerning; it's the aging of the church-going population that jumps out at you. For example, attendance at conservative and reformed synagogues is declining at a time when the average age of Reform congregations is 54, and only 17 percent of members say they attend religious services even once a month. It's just as bad for Christians. But Jews, and their religious institutions, should not feel singled out. The share of Americans who belong to the Catholic Church has declined from 24 percent in 2007 to 21 percent in 2014, a more rapid decline according to Pew, then any other religious organization in memory. There are 6.5 former Catholics in the U.S. for every new convert to the faith, not a number suggesting a very sunny future. The mainstream Protestant churches are not exactly filling the sanctuaries either. Some, like the internally conflicted Methodists have seen their number of North American congregants drop from 15 million in 1970 to barely half that today. Since 2007 alone, America's mainstream churches have lost 5 million members, and even the once vibrant evangelical movement is losing adherents outside of the developing world. Ever more churches, particularly in urban areas, are being abandoned, turned into bars, restaurants, and luxury condos. And nothing augurs worse for the future than the fact that American millennials are leaving religious institutions at a rate four times that of their counterparts three decades ago; almost 40 percent of people 18 to 29 are not unaffiliated. It's not that the young consider themselves less "spiritual" than their elders. Millenials have eschewed traditional, mainstream faiths and, according to one author, are constantly searching for a spiritual outlet: For one thing, young Americans have different habits. Rather than join institutions, millennials, argued Wade Clark Roof, author of the book Spiritual Marketplace, are indulging in a kind of "grazing," finding their spiritual fixes in various different places rather than any one organized church. As sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell explained, those in this age group "reject conventional religious affiliation, while not entirely giving up their religious feelings." But there is plenty of evidence that the turn by mainstream religions away from traditional beliefs toward "social justice" causes is driving away more traditionally-minded members. In this difficult environment, many religious movements Reform Judaism, mainstream Protestantism, and increasingly the Catholic Church under Pope Francis have sought to redefine themselves largely as instruments of social justice. Although doing good deeds, or mitzvot, long has constituted a strong element in most religions, the primary motivation of the faith community traditionally focused on heritage, spirituality, and family. In their haste to be politically correct, even Catholic private schools such as Notre Dame are rushing to cover up murals of Columbus, and, in one California case, a private Catholic grammar school has gone as far as hiding statues of saints. Yet rebranding themselves as progressive often brings religious activists into alliances with people who reject their core values. The Catholic left, for example, allying itself with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, implicitly embraces the advocates of the most extreme abortion liberalization. Sometimes, these linkages are ironic: Faith in Public Life, for example, a strident "religious" group advocating a progressive anti-Trump line, gets much of its funding from George Soros, arguably the world's most well-heeled and active promoter of atheism. The Catholic Church has other problems besides embracing progressive thought. And mainstream protestant denominations are feeling it the most. Splits between conservatives and liberals among Methodists on LGBT issues has split the church. Some denominations embrace redefining marriage and gay clergy while others push back against the tide. What seems clear is that churches that embrace progressive causes risk alienating many of their members. There are almost certainly leaders in these denominations who sincerely believe that these causes are based in faith. "What would Jesus do" is a popular question on the left because, in secular terms, Jesus was a revolutionary who cared deeply about inequality of wealth and the poor. An argument can be made that Christ's divine mission on Earth had nothing to do with progressive causes or even secular concerns. But as a man, Jesus fought for those who were less fortunate, which is how leftists have always seen themselves. The Left doesn't care about traditional faith, largely because there are too many strictures against doing what feels good and a demand to treat others even your political opponents as you yourself would want to be treated. Churchmen who embrace social justice causes at the expense of traditional faith are either too stupid or too naive to accept the Left's disinterest in them. They are simply used as tools to further the radical agenda. On the surface, conflicting reports on the intentions of Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle in raising their new baby look confusing, but it's really not complicated at all. Vanity Fair wrote yesterday: With rumors swirling that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby boy Meghan Markle is said to have told friends at her recent baby shower that they are having a son there's a chance the public might know the sex of Baby Sussex before too long. But it might not be a case of blue for a boy and pink for a girl according to a source close to the couple. The duchess is understood to have told at least one friend that they want to raise their baby without gender-stereotyping, which means the nursery might not be filled with toy trains and cars if it is a boy. The Sussexes have already planned a gender-neutral nursery and opted for whites and grays over conventional blue and pink color ways, and this seems to be in line with Meghan's ideas about how to raise children. Of course, the sourcing is about as weak as it possibly could get: "understood to have told at least one friend[.]" Meghan Markle in 2018 (source). The denial from a spokesman at Kensington Palace was unequivocal: Kensington Palace has dismissed reports that the Duchess of Sussex wants to raise her child gender fluid, branding them "totally false". ... [T]he claims have been rubbished by Kensington Palace, which said in a statement: "This story is totally false." Whatever the underlying facts turn out to be, and whether or not we ever learn them, the entire incident is part of the top-down effort to impose a radical agenda of denying the scientific differences between the two (and only two) sexes. I have never seen a poll on popular opinion on the scientific validity or personal acceptance of claims of gender fluidity. There is a strong reason why: my guess is that most people recognize that it is fantasy, but they have been bullied into keeping their mouths shut because people get into trouble, being denounced as "transphobic" or "haters." (See the example of Joe Biden denouncing his old friend Mike Pence on exactly those grounds.) Consider the possible scenarios: 1. Markle really did tell friends, because that's what her Hollywood friends all think is cool. 2. Or, Vanity Fair, or more likely its sources, made it up. Either way, the British monarchy has been associated with the concept of "gender fluidity." In England in particular but worldwide as well, the royals are considered taste-makers. Even if the baby is raised as Joe Macho (at least until the queen dies), the possibility of future "transition" is out there as a possibility. Two other alternatives need to be considered, if the first scenario is true: 3. Perhaps the palace was not consulted. In that case, Markle was deliberately provoking her in-laws. That worked out really well, at least in publicity terms, for Princess Diana. Someone who went into the acting (and therefore the celebrity) business should really love that. Or: 4. The palace was consulted and refused, but she went ahead and planted the rumor. The rebel, standing up for modern P.C. positions, earns even more credit from the media. Under all these alternatives, the cause of mainstreaming and sanctifying unscientific nonsense utilizing major, prestige-heavy institutions has advanced. It really is that simple. When the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were unearthed from under volcanic ash at the foothills of Mount Vesuvius, in the mid-18th century, the materials that emerged from the digs brought to light a certain aspect of the ancient world that caused great deal of embarrassment the cities fascination with erotica. This was not the odd nude sculpture, but phallic shaped oils lamps and items of jewelry, frescoes of couples engaging in sex, scenes of fornications, and the most scandalous of them all a statue depicting the half-man, half-goat Greek god Pan penetrating a female goat. Today, it is well known that the ancient Romans had a very liberal view on sexuality, and that Pompeii boasted a large sex industry with dozens of brothels whose walls were adorned with erotic frescoes. Artistic depiction of sex was also found on the walls of bedrooms in private villas. Phallic-shaped amulets hung from the neck of Pompeii residents to ward of evil spirits, and an assortment of sex-themed artworks embellished every home. The candid display of sexually explicit materials caused such great embarrassment and consternation among the 18th century public, that King Charles III of Bourbon ordered the obscene antiquities to be locked away in a secret cabinet, away from public view. The secret cabinet or gabinetto segreto was originally located at Museum Herculanense in Portici, and only those with express written permission from the King were allowed to view it. But the censorship only fueled the desire to see the erotic art. Illustrations of the frescoes and copies of the banned exhibits were clandestinely reproduced and circulated among the French elites. After the transfer of the museum from Portici to what is today the Naples National Archaeological Museum, a short period followed during which the collection could be seen without special restrictions, until King Francis I of Naples paid a visit in 1819 with his wife and daughter. The embarrassed king hastily ushered away his wife and daughter and ordered the museum to lock away the collection inside a special chamber, where only gentleman of mature age and respected morals could get access to. Women and children were barred from entering. For the next two hundred years, the Secret Museum remained mostly closed, opening briefly for only a few number of times. When it opened during the 1960s, the restrictions were still in place. Finally in 2000, the collection was brought out and made publicly available for both men and women. Sources: www.naplesldm.com / Wikipedia / holeinthedonut.com / Feast on History In south West Virginia, near the border with Kentucky, the United States, is a small unincorporated community named Vulcan. Vulcan was once a thriving coal mining town, but in the early 1960s, the mines dried up and many residents moved away in search of employment elsewhere. No longer a productive community, Vulcans infrastructure deteriorated and even the state government forgot the town existed. The town of Vulcan was built on a fork of the Big Sandy River near the main line of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. There was no road connecting Vulcan to Kentucky across the river, only a suspension foot bridge. The swing bridge itself was on the verge of collapse with many footboards missing. Yet, every morning children had to walk across it to catch the school bus on the Kentucky side. Sometimes they had to crawl under parked rail cars to get to the bridge, which was a dangerous practice. The alternative route was a gravel road maintained by the Railroad company. This road ran parallel to the tracks, passed through Vulcan, and continued north to the community of Delmore, located five miles away. The road, however, was legally not accessible to the public, and the Railroad company hung No Trespassing signs on either ends. The company explained their actions saying that the road was dangerous to use, and in any case, it was not the companys responsibility to provide transportation in and out of the impoverished community. In 1975, the suspension bridge collapsed, leaving the community of about fifty families with no other option but to trespass on the Railroads gravel road. Vulcans residents appealed to the West Virginia government to build them a new bridge, but officials were reluctant to spend money on a project they thought few people would use. Feeling forsaken by their own government, John Robinette, a 42-year-old bartender and resident of Vulcan, wrote to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, as well as to communist officials in East Germany, explaining their plight and requesting foreign aid from the nations. Robinette figured the Soviets might like to grab the opportunity to humiliate the Americans. While the Kremlin officials never replied to Robinettes plea, a New York-based Russian journalist, Iona Andronov, got wind of the story and travelled to Vulcan to interview the people and assess the situation. The news of a small West Virginia community seeking the help of the communists to finance a bridge was already setting newspaper headlines on fire across the nation. Embarrassed by the attention the governments apathy was receiving, the state immediately committed $1.3 million to build a bridge for the community. Coincidentally, the announcement came the same day Iona Andronov decided to pay Vulcan a visit. The states official response was that the bridge had long been planned, and that such things require months to get done. But everybody knew itthe state was embarrassed into it. Two years later Vulcan got their own one-lane bridge connecting to the outside world. The Mate X is the definitive proof Huawei is not a one-trick pony in the flagship space and that its recent success with mobile photography can and will be transpo If Huaweis 2018 had to be described with a single word, that one would probably be oscillating. For every commercial milestone, the firm managed to endure a scandal or five, but even as some of its officials demonstrated a remarkable ability to get into trouble, the Shenzen-based juggernaut continued to grow and didnt fail to keep reminding industry watchers of that fact on a regular basis. So, with its CFO now facing extradition to the U.S. and up to three decades in federal prison, historic precedent dictates Huawei is about to deliver something amazing, right? Actually, thats exactly what happened this week. Advertisement We actually dont mind this wild ride None of the other companies that Android Headlines is honoring with a Best Of MWC award this year had to endure such an intro but Huawei is truly like no other company for better or worse. Today, were definitely focusing on the better. Significantly better, in fact. This weeks energetic debut of the Mate X was truly a fantastic thing to witness; around this time last year Huawei was preparing to announce it not only beat Samsung and every other phone maker to a triple-camera setup it managed the best mobile photography setup in the world that has yet to be objectively surpassed, according to numerous critics and even some benchmarking specialists. No, not even the Galaxy S10+ has a better camera, its just on par with the year-old P20 Pro, DxOMark said earlier this month. Advertisement What does any of this have to do with the Mate X? Plenty because the majority of mobile innovations Samsung pursued in the last twelve or so months was meant to help it regain the status of an undisputed mobile photography king. At the same time, Samsung accelerated the debut of its Galaxy Fold on at least two occasions in recent times so as to have it ready in advance of Mobile World Congress, therefore being able to claim a win in the bendable handset race, knowing full well Huawei had something in the works for Barcelona. A pretty clean three-pointer Advertisement Cue Huawei indeed holding a Sunday product keynote whereat it announced the Mate X, unveiling a phone that not only has a foldable screen like previous rumors suggested but lacks a display notch or hole of any kind, in addition to offering support for the fifth generation of mobile networks and using the latest and greatest hardware, including a mysterious front-facing camera suspected to be a time-of-flight sensor and three familiar-looking units on the back. Thats quite a three-pointer for Huawei, so to speak; by most accounts, Samsung was expecting to outshine the Mate X in the design department, yet its the South Korean company that ended up with a device sporting a sizeable corner notch of some sort, whereas the Mate X looks much cleaner. The Galaxy S10+ doesnt really offer many other obvious advantages either, except for being some $300 cheaper, though the folks looking at $2,000+ Android handsets this spring probably wont be too concerned with those price tags. Why talk so much about other manufacturers in a piece meant to explain why the Huawei Mate X is worthy of a best-of descriptor? Because no product exists in a vacuum or those titles and rankings would otherwise be pretty meaningless, naturally. And its hard to deny it was the Mate X that debuted with better tech, a cleaner look, and timeslots for actual hands-on sessions. All while its fierce Samsung-made rival was sitting in a fireproof box flanked by a security guard. Advertisement So, while it remains to be seen whether the Mate X ends up being the trend-setter in the bendable handset space that Huaweis hoping for, its surely already much closer to that goal than most dared to even predict. Between last years triple cameras, reverse wireless charging, and a software-only phone-to-PC service, and this years bezel-less, foldable design shielding an in-house modem competing with Qualcomms latest and greatest portfolio in an entirely new wireless arena, the Mate X represents the culmination of Huaweis recent tech milestones and shows that Samsungs leadership in mobile displays, storage, and memory may not last forever. Not bad for a prototype phone? No, but best-of-MWC-worthy? Absolutely. In the last 24 hours HBO CEO, Richard Plepler has stepped down. The news of the stepping down first emerged late on Thursday with The New York Times citing two people familiar with his thinking as explaining one of the key reasons was a loss of autonomy in recent months. Specifically, since the acquisition of HBOs parent organization, Time Warner. In 2018 AT&T purchased Time Warner and in doing so created the new media entity, WarnerMedia. That deal spent a good degree of time going through oversight and only within the last few days overcame the last of its main hurdles. Therefore, the timing of this stepping down is significant. Advertisement Equally interesting is terms of the timing is how David Levy, the president of Turner (also now owned by AT&T since the Time Warner acquisition) has also now announced plans to step down. When taken together, intentionally or otherwise, it now seems AT&T is in the middle of a major shakeup at the top of more than one of its newly-collected networks. These changes are unlikely to just be symbolic changes either as the two high-ranking execs had been in their respective positions for what is effectively an era Plepler had spent 27 years at HBO, Levy almost 33 years at Turner. Advertisement Of course, this is likely to be all part of a much wider plan as AT&T has taken no issue with declaring how it expects HBO to become one of its breadwinners going forward and even if that means a change in direction for the service. Under Pleplers tenure HBO became a service known for its emphasis on quality over quantity and that approach resulted in some of todays most popular shows, including Game of Thrones, helping HBO to gain a healthy user-base, as well as garner critical acclaim. Although Netflix overtook HBO last year on the overall HBO number of Emmy nominations, two out of the top three most-nominated shows were both HBO shows. More importantly, while Netflix had more nominations overall, the competing services tied when it came to actual awards with 23 apiece while HBOs Game of Thrones nabbed the highly-coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series. Advertisement As part of the AT&T media empire, however, indications have started to emerge and point to HBO as a Netflix rival and part of that will likely include the upping of the quantity of content. AT&Ts John Stankey had previously suggested that upping wont come at the cost of quality although at present that remains to be seen. Some of the bigger picture aspects of the new WarnerMedia plan have already started to take shape. Late last year AT&T announced its plans to launch yet another streaming service with its differentiator being a focus on content owned by WarnerMedia. It is expected HBO will play a central role in that streaming service. Besides the companys more traditional TV solutions, this will see the WarnerMedia-fueled solution joining the ranks of the budget-friendly WatchTV service and the more mainstream DIRECTV NOW solution. Advertisement In January, AT&T confirmed DIRECTV NOW had seen a drop in subscribers and even more recently, reports have begun to emerge that Hulu, with its +Live TV service has now overtaken DIRECTV NOW in terms of the number of subscribers. Highlighting the pressure AT&T is now feeling within the streaming space. As a result of the declining users of the companys mainstream solution, as well as the significant investment made when picking up Time Warner, it would seem a lot is now riding on the new WarnerMedia service, and now its clear at least two of the networks associated with that service will be under new management going forward. Penn has been heading toward a rendezvous with the man who wanted to imprison Hillary Clinton for a good while. Photo: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images I first encountered pollster and political strategist Mark Penn in 1995, when I was running a training program for members of Congress for the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. Penn had recently been brought into the Clinton orbit by Dick Morris (himself brought into the White House by Hillary Clinton); together they were orchestrating the presidents 1996 reelection campaign. Fittingly, Penn accompanied Morris to the DLC session, though for the most part he sat on the dusty floor in his suit while Morris regaled the Members with an intensely cynical rapid-fire presentation on what they should embrace and avoid in the world of policy (Medicaid managed care goooood; Medicare managed care baaaad!). When Morris left with Penn in tow, I turned to the person next to me and said: Do you smell the brimstone? And I was one of the duos political allies. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Morris was famously ejected from ClintonWorld right as the 1996 general election was getting underway after a prostitute disclosed he was giving her access to confidential White House information, and even letting her listen in to conversations with the Big Dog. Penn got to stick around for the campaign and the rest of the Clinton presidency, where he often battled with liberals and counseled his boss on how to appeal to culturally conservative voters without compromising his Democratic support. I also recall attending a 1997 House Democratic Caucus retreat in which Penn showed up conspicuously late for a panel and performed diffidently at best. He clearly didnt care; his only client was in the White House. His polling (for major corporations before he got into politics) was sometimes innovative and insightful, but wasnt very transparent, and often seemed aimed at getting politicians to focus obsessively on narrow categories of swing voters and promote equally narrow policies to appeal to them. Indeed, in a mixed but somewhat positive review I wrote in 2007 about a book he published, I called him the strategist of small things, which probably wasnt the best reputation for someone seeking to guide a party looking for a bold progressive challenge to the Bush presidency and Karl Roves GOP. Soon afterward, Penn was the chief strategist and often the public face of Hillary Clintons unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. The Guardian subsequently made this assessment of the job he did: As the Clinton bandwagon shudders to a halt and the blaming begins, Penn has been blamed more than anyone: for being arrogant and complacent, for urging Hillary to run as the inevitable winner, for failing to see the electorates hunger for change, for devising a victory plan based on elementary misunderstandings of the voting system, and for hubris in refusing to give up his lucrative lobbying work while masterminding her candidacy. When the New Republic magazine asked Clinton staffers to explain, off the record, why her campaign went so wrong, one responded with a list: 1. Mark Penn, 2. Mark Penn, 3. Mark Penn. Returning to his very lucrative polling for the corporate world, Penn probably laughed all the way to the bank. But even before he was barred from participation in HRCs 2016 campaign, his tenuous ties to the Democratic Party seemed to steadily fray. As my colleague Jonathan Chait noted in 2011, Penn almost parodied the Clintonian triangulation strategy Morris promoted back in 1996: Penns idee fixe is that the Democratic Partys fate hinges upon currying favor with the rich. His latest column consists of him, naturally, expressing deep horror at Obamas proposals to raise taxes on the affluent as part of a long-term deficit-reduction plan, which he decries as class warfare. Penn uses the column to set out his version of modern political history, in which the Democratic Partys political fortunes rise in direct proportion to their disavowal of the horrors of class warfare. In addition to his drumbeat of attacks on class warfare, Penn offered an increasingly more conservative revisionist history of the Clinton presidency as a guideline to latter-day Democrats. Its hard to know if this was a conscious preparation for his later defection to the other side, though as I noted (also in 2011) the path to apostasy was clear enough: How many Clintonistas like Penn and Doug Schoen or Fox Democrats like Pat Caddell will be able to bring themselves to stop attacking todays Democratic Party as an aberration from its proud past, and start attacking their own heritage and their own former bosses? Penn did manage to avoid any real public criticism of Hillary Clinton in 2016. But once she was defeated, his movement into friendship toward and then advocacy of Donald Trump was steady and unmistakable. In a column for The Hill and then on Fox News, Penn quickly became a sycophant, as (again) Jonathan Chait tartly noted just before the 2018 midterms: Penns latest paean to the greatness of Trump offers a disturbing window into the vacuous mind of one of the worst people to work in Democratic politics in the last generation . Penns thesis is that, despite the predicted wave election he faces Tuesday, Trump has brilliantly outmaneuvered all his enemies. His political survival after two years in office, gushes Penn, is a modern-day miracle. After the midterm, Penns mendacity reached new lows when he co-wrote a column predicting flatly that his former boss Hillary Clinton would run for president again in 2020, as a leftist, and would easily win the Democratic nomination, presumably before succumbing again to the brilliant and successful Trump. Its as though Penn had to deny even Hillary Clintons claim to Clintonism so that he could deem it ruined and abandoned. Well, now Penn seems to have reached his inevitable destination. After repeatedly attacking all of Trumps foes, including the threat represented by the Mueller investigation, Penn got to visit the White House once again, as the New York Times reports: Mark J. Penn, one of the primary architects of President Bill Clintons 1996 re-election campaign, met briefly with President Trump in the Oval Office last week, according to two people in attendance. The face-to-face meeting, the first between Mr. Trump and a onetime loyal adviser to the Clintons, marked what some saw as the inevitable conclusion of Mr. Penns long-running political metamorphosis. So far as we can tell, Trump didnt offer Penn a job, and Penn didnt ask for one. But hes now so clearly a former Democrat that he may have trouble trading on his service to the Clintons any longer. In his journey to Trumpland, Penn has again followed his mentor Dick Morris, who became a fixture on Fox News before making such a fool of himself in predicting a massive 2012 Romney landslide that even that precinct of conservative spin got rid of him in embarrassment. Morris billed himself as a regular adviser to Donald Trump in 2016, though his day job was as chief political commentator for Trumps friends at National Enquirer. Both Morris and Penn have validated all the negative leftist stereotypes of Clintonism being a cynical corporate-serving, poll-driven scam aimed at moving the political system to the right. These two men should be struck by lightning for any further boasting of their association with the 42nd president and his first lady. And wherever they go, we can still smell the brimstone. Representative Pramila Jayapal, the bills lead sponsor. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call,Inc. Medicare for All is getting another day in the sun. Nearly four years after Senator Bernie Sanders launched an unlikely presidential campaign and pushed the notion of Medicare for everyone irrevocably into public view, progressive House Democrats unveiled their own comprehensive Medicare for All bill this week. While, of course, it has no immediate chance of passing, the legislation is likely to shape the ongoing debate among Democrats about what reforming the U.S. health-care system should look like in practice. The Medicare for All Act of 2019 already has 107 co-sponsors, which seems to confirm that a partywide shift on health care is underway. Former Michigan representative John Conyers had introduced a Medicare for All bill every year since 2003, but in 2017, a record number of House Democrats signed on to co-sponsor the legislation. (Conyers later resigned over sexual harassment allegations and was replaced in office by Representative Rashida Tlaib, a democratic socialist who supports Medicare for All.) The Conyers bill which was vaguer than this years likely owed its sudden popularity to the Republican Partys failed attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with legislation that didnt protect people with preexisting conditions. In 2018, Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Debbie Dingell, and Keith Ellison launched the Medicare for All Caucus with 70 initial members. When Democrats took back control of the House in the midterms, the partys newly flush ranks included a number of freshmen who, like Tlaib, supported Medicare for All and they arent all from deep-blue districts. For instance, former Marine Jared Golden flipped Maines rural Second Congressional District from red to blue by running on a platform that included Medicare for All. Heres a closer look at what the bill entails, and the role its likely to play in the ongoing health care debate. Whats in the Bill? The legislation Jayapal introduced this week is more expansive than Sanderss vision, as Jeff Stein reported for the Washington Post. Jayapals bill would move every American onto a single public insurance provider within two years, while Sanders has proposed a four-year transition process. Both would leave only a small role for private insurance. Under the Jayapal bill, employers would be banned from offering their own private plans to compete with Medicare. There would be no out-of-pocket cost for medical care, though there would be some subsidized charges for prescription drugs. Other features include coverage for long-term home nursing care and abortion care. Existing Medicare and Medicaid enrollees would be transitioned onto the new plan along with everyone else. The Veterans Health Administration and the Indian Health Service would, as Sarah Kliff reported for Vox, continue to operate separately from this new Medicare system. The Jayapal bill doesnt explain how the U.S. government would pay for Medicare for All. That omission isnt necessarily unusual for policy proposals and as Stein noted, other, similar plans have been estimated to cost around $30 trillion. The U.S., it should be noted, already spends more on health care than any other developed nation, with lower life expectancies and higher infant mortality rates to show for it. Advocates say that by eliminating premiums and co-pays, Medicare for All would boost the economy by leaving more money in a persons bank account. Though Jayapals version of Medicare for All is more expansive than most single-payer systems in other countries, countries with single-payer systems tend to spend less on health care over all. Who Supports It? Jayapal is a left-wing Democrat, and she the co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. But the CPC is more ideologically diverse than its name suggests, and the Medicare for All bill, similarly, has a list of co-sponsors that dont fit perfectly into the partys left flank. For instance, Representative Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts, a moderate who had expressed some reservations about 2017s Medicare for All bill, co-sponsored Jayapals legislation. Im proud to join over 100 of my colleagues in co-sponsoring the new #MedicareForAll bill. I'm deeply appreciative to @PramilaJayapal for her leadership. It's long past time we guarantee health care in this country is a right -- not a privilege. https://t.co/F1hHRt6Yqp Joe Kennedy (@joekennedy) February 26, 2019 Outside the House, a broad coalition of unions and advocacy groups has endorsed the bill. Some groups the American Federation of Teachers, SEIU, and MoveOn might be familiar. The Association of American Flight Attendants, which made headlines recently when its president, Sara Nelson, called for a general strike in response to the government shutdown, has endorsed the bill, too. Thats a lot of firepower, and Democrats who want the partys nomination in 2020 will likely face pressure to run on a version of Medicare for All that at least resembles the bill. Still, Jayapals bill faces opposition even from some members of her own party. Some have suggested less radical alternatives, like a Medicare buy-in for Americans ages 50 to 64, and on Wednesday a group of 101 centrist Democrats urged Congress to focus on improving the Affordable Care Act and expanding private health coverage. Its also notable that a number of influential groups have declined to comment on the bill, including the Center for American Progress, AARP, and Protect Our Care. Is It Socialism? The GOP will say it is. Some conservative Democrats might, too. (Conservatives deployed the same line of attack against the Affordable Care Act.) Like the ACA, M4A responds to our heavily privatized systems general failure to provide care that everyone can afford. But where the ACA tried to work within the private market, M4A undercuts that market and creates a larger role for government intervention. While democratic socialists like Tlaib and organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America have embraced Medicare for All, the bills list of co-sponsors indicates that this an area where the partys democratic socialists and members of its more nebulously defined progressive wing can agree. For Americans facing rising drug prices, high premiums, and medical debt, these ideological alliances may be welcome news. Polling steadily indicates that Americans broadly support an expanded version of Medicare, and are concerned about health-care costs, though they remain divided on specific solutions. With more backing from voters and politicians, and more concrete policy proposals, it might not be so easy for the GOP to dismiss M4A as evidence of nefarious Bolshevik creep. Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman returned home after three days of extreme political, diplomatic, and military confrontation between India and Pakistan. He was handed over to the Indian authorities around 9.30 pm at the Attari-Wagah border from where he was flown to the Palam airport in Delhi. Country's citizens gave a rousing welcome to their national hero as he set foot on the Indian soil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage." Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will now undergo debriefing on Saturday. He will also undergo physiological and physical check-up in the presence of military and intelligence officials. Catch all the latest news on India-Pakistan tension on BusinessToday.In Live blog. 4.25pm: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets Wing Commander at a hospital in Delhi #Visual: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman at a hospital in Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/WD927TQHOV - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 4.15pm: Resolution submitted in Pakistan's parliament to support Prime Minister Imran Khan for prestigious Nobel Peace Prize due to his efforts to de-escalate recent tension with India. 4.05pm: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), has not claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and there's confusion if it was behind the strike. He told, "The confusion is that the leadership, when contacted, they said no. (The leadership has been contacted) by people over here. They deny that they claimed no responsibility there's confusion. There are conflicting reports on it," reports BBC. 3.50pm: Samjhauta Express services restored; Train to run from India to Pakistan on March 3, after the two neighbours agreed to operationalise services at their ends 3.38pm: For the BJP, the security of this nation is on the top of priority not elections, says BJP chief Amit Shah. BJP President Amit Shah addressing a rally in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh: Humare liye chunaav priority nahi hai, desh ki suraksha priority hai. Pulwama hua, humare jawanon ne Pakistan mein ghus kar unke sainkdon atankwadiyon ka khatma kar safalta purvak wapas aaye. pic.twitter.com/rFGh8qK67j - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.33pm: Entire world stands together against terrorism, says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh: Entire world stands together against terrorism. No representative of India used to be invited to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but India's image has become such, that OIC invited India for the first time. It is a diplomatic victory. pic.twitter.com/KkaUcxfRzu - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.32pm: Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar to visit Srinagar today to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar to visit Srinagar today to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. He will also review the recent aerial engagement b/w the Indian & Pakistani combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/O3t4WmYdsC - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.31pm: According to IAF officials, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has met IAF Chief BS Dhanoa and explained his detention in Pakistan. The Wing Commander will stay at Air Force Officer's Mess for now, reports ANI. 3.30pm: Indian Air Force protects the country, Air force pilots sacrifice their lives but our Prime Minister steals money from the Air Force, and puts it in Anil Ambani's pockets, it is a shame, says Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Congress President Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Ranchi, Jharkhand: Indian Air Force protects the country, Air force pilots sacrifice their lives but our Prime Minister steals money from the Air Force, and puts it in Anil Ambani's pockets, it is a shame. pic.twitter.com/FnnZOtUYP2 - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.28pm: What is 'debriefing' that Wing Commander will go through? Debriefing is a counselling session that assesses a soldier's psychological thinking and the state of mind. It is done to analyse the overall impact a particular incident on him. During debriefing of Wing Commander Abhinandan, officers from India Air Force and intelligence agencies will sit through informal chat sessions, during which the Wing Commander will reveal each and every detail since the day he ejected out of his MiG 21 and landed on the Pakistani soil. 2.57pm: Rajasthan family names newborn after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman: A baby born on Friday evening, when IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was about to be released by Pakistan, was named after him by a family in Rajasthan's Alwar district. "My daughter-in-law delivered baby boy last evening and we named him Abhinandan in honour of the IAF pilot. We are proud of the pilot and therefore we named him (the baby) Abhinandan," Janesh Bhutani, grandfather of the chid, told reporters, reported PTI. 2.55pm: Paksitan violates ceasefire violation: Pakistani troops on Saturday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said, reported PTI. The shelling from across the border started in Nowshera sector around 12.30 pm, ending over 12-hour-long lull in the border skirmishes which intensified after India's pre-emptive strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Tuesday. A young woman and her two children were killed and several others, including two Army personnel, were injured in heavy shelling along the LoC in lower Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Friday night, raising the death toll in the exchange of firing on the Indian side to four. 12.45pm: Masood Azhar, the founder of the terrorist organisation JeM, is suspected to be troubled with renal failure. He is under dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, reports PTI. 12.30pm: FM Arun Jaitley said, that when our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any info some people, whom I call compulsive contrarians, found a new Balakot and started saying Balakot is along LoC. FM Jaitley:When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any info some ppl started saying Balakot is along LoC.Some ppl whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot&didn't check that, that Bala Kote is in our Poonch.Why'd our forces attack our territory? pic.twitter.com/hRINtQS9so - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 12.15pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a public function in New Delhi, said that the world watches every move of our country closely. He added that the Sanskrit word 'Abhinandan' would now get a new meaning due to what has happened over the past couple of days. PM Modi at 'Construction Techonolgy India'19' in Delhi: Hindustan jo bhi karega, duniya use gaur se dekhti hai. Is desh ki takat hai ki dictionary ke shabdon ke arth badal deta hai. Kabhi '#Abhinandan' ka angrezi hota tha 'Congratulation', ab 'Abhinandan' ka arth badal jaayega. pic.twitter.com/vit3RTCXBS - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 11.45am: United Nations' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of IAF's pilot Abhinandan Varthman from captivity in Pakistan. 11.14am: IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was released by Pakistan on Friday, spent the night at the Indian Air Force central medical establishment, reports News18. He also met his family members for a brief period of time. Today, he will debrief the military and Intelligence agencies. 10.42am: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman along with Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border on the Pakistani side on March 1 (Photo: PTI). 10.30am: The chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, reported PTI. The decision was taken after a thorough review of the threat perception of IAF chief Air Marshal B S Dhanoa and chief of Naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan. The chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff will be given the Z-plus security, a government official said. Army chief General Bipin Rawat has already been given the Z-plus security. 10.24am: UK on terrorism: Former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, during India Today Conclave 2019, says the core values of both India and the UK are superior to those of terrorists and those who are harbouring them. This is why, he says, it is important that both the countries succeed in defeating terror. Live stream here. 10.01am: Ranveer Singh says Varthaman's bravery in the face of adversity was admirable and something that the country would never forget. Welcome home Abhinandan! ! Inspiration to our whole nation . Jai Hind - Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) March 1, 2019 10.00am: Director-producer Karan Johar tweeted, "We salute your bravery and valour....we applaud your strength in the face of adversity." We salute your bravery and valour....we applaud your strength in the face of adversity....#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan - Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 1, 2019 9.57am: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, "Happy that Wing Co Abhinandan comes home." T 3105 - From Anamika Ef : "One of my closest friend says "A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him" ~ her husband (a close friend again) is in Air Force..." ABHINANDAN ... , pic.twitter.com/2uPrGOPwOE - Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 1, 2019 9.55am: Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and a host of other Bollywood celebrities hailed "true hero" Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's return to India. There is no better feeling than Coming back Home, for home is the place of love, hope & dreams. Ur bravery makes us stronger. Eternally grateful. #WelcomeBackAbhinandanpic.twitter.com/NFTRINu6Mw - Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 1, 2019 9.46am: Three villagers were killed, another injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, reported PTI. 9.30am: BCCI on the return of brave Wing Commander: "You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come." #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come #TeamIndiapic.twitter.com/PbG385LUsE - BCCI (@BCCI) March 1, 2019 8.50am: "India is proud of your courage and sense of duty, and above all your dignity," says President Ram Nath Kovind. Welcome home Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman! India is proud of your courage and sense of duty, and above all your dignity. Wishing you and our entire Air Force every success in the future #PresidentKovind - President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 1, 2019 8.48am: "Your dignity, poise and bravery made us all proud," says Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Wing Cdr. Abhinandan, your dignity, poise and bravery made us all proud. Welcome back and much love. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 1, 2019 8.47am: The entire Nation is proud of Wing Commander Abhinandan. Welcome Home! The entire Nation is proud of Wing Commander Abhinandan. - Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 1, 2019 8.30am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes home Wing Commander Abhinandan! "The nation is proud of your exemplary courage." Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram! - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2019 8.29am: "May you continue to serve the nation and IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication. Best wishes for your bright future," says BJP Chief Amit Shah. Dear Wing Commander Abhinandan, entire nation is proud of your courage and valour. India is glad to have you back. May you continue to serve the nation and IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication. Best wishes for your bright future. - Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 1, 2019 8.27am: "The entire nation appreciates your valour and grit. You held your calm in the face of adversity," says Defenece Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Proud of you Wing Commander #AbhinandanVarthaman. The entire nation appreciates your valour and grit. You held your calm in the face of adversity. You are an inspiration to our youth. Salute. Vande Mataram. - Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) March 1, 2019 8.25am: Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday those who challenged the country's pride and dignity were "biting the dust". "Those who challenged India's self respect, pride and dignity were defeated and are biting the dust now. Many people raised questions and criticised (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, but now everything is being proved," he said, reported PTI. #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan Your courage, grit and calmness in the face of adversity is an inspiration for all of us. Salute to your courage! May you continue to serve our country and the @IAF_MCC with unparalleled valour & unflinching vigil. Jai Hind ! - Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) March 1, 2019 8.20am: The Indian Air Force (IAF) says "Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior Abhinandan." The IAF lost one MiG-21 in the aerial engagement & the Pilot ejected safely, his parachute drifted into POJ&K where he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army. (4/5) - Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 8.18am: Union Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore's welcome message to Wing Commander Abhinandan Verthaman. 8.17am: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who set foot on the Indian soil on Friday evening said "It is good to be back in my country", reported India Today. The Indian Air Force pilot captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Baker McKenzie was the legal adviser of Mediland Pharm on its IPO and listing on the ASX. The cosmetics and health products retailer, which services the Chinese inbound tourism sector in Australia, achieved an initial market capitalisation of $62.5m. Founded in 2002, the company is owned and operated by a first-generation Australian family with Chinese heritage. With stores in Sydney, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast and partnerships with major Chinese travel agencies that direct large groups of tourists to those shops, the company has become a leading retailer in its sector, Baker McKenzie said. Image: Jet Shades This week, AVwebsnews roundup uncovered reports on a sun shade package for Cirrus owners, a new digital audio controller, an acquisition for Southern Airlines and CEFAs first office outside of Europe. The roundup also found announcements about new FAA PMA approvals for Airforms and 2019 goals for the U.K.s All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation. Jet Shades has announced that it is now offering a sun shade package for Cirrus aircraft. The companys Total Cirrus Solution includes removable sun-protecting panels for two Cirrus cockpit doors, one windshield, two passenger windows and the rear storage area skylight. Also in the product arena, PS Engineering has introduced a new digital audio controller. The PAC45A accommodates up to four individual control heads, interfaces to eight com radios and eight switched receiver inputs, includes a recording system that allows up to nine customizable audio alerts, and incorporates two built-in speaker amplifiers. Southern Airways has acquired Hawaii-based Mokulele Airlines. Following the integration of the two airlines, Southern says the combined entity will operate 1,380 weekly flights. Also expanding, flight data animation software company CEFA Aviation will be opening a new office in China. Located in Regus Shanghai Maxdo Center in the Hongqiao development zone, the office will be CEFAs first outside of Europe. Airforms Inc. has announced that it has received FAA PMA approval for door hinge halves for Cessna 208 and 208B aircraft. The hinges are approved in two configurations: standard hinge halves and hinge halves with replaceable bushings installed. Finally, the U.K.s All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation (APPG-GA) has launched a list of updated programs including policy objectives to be pursued in 2019. Objectives include campaigning for improved safeguarding of airfields, working toward greater tax relief on flight training, improving the fairness of lower airspace management, opening clearer pathways through education to aviation jobs and lobbying for realignment of the policy on military disposals to support museums and heritage organizations. Facebook and Instagram filed a lawsuit late Friday in U.S. federal court against 4 companies and 3 people based in the People's Republic of China for the production and promotion of fake accounts, likes and followers on both platforms. Details: The company's lawsuit also aims to prevent trademark infringement on its sites, and the use of Facebook branded domain names to operate on their websites a practice called cyber squatting. Ultimately, the motivation for the suit is to stress that such fraudulent actions are unacceptable. Go deeper: Facebook removes fake accounts linked to Russian news outlet Sputnik Alec Burlakoff, the former sales executive for Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, admitted in federal court on Friday that he was directed to enlist and bribe physicians to boost sales of the company's fentanyl-based pain drug, reports NBC. Driving the news: In wrapping up the fifth week of the nation's first federal trial spotlighting Big Pharma leadership, founder John Kapoor and the 4 other former Insys executives on trial continue to claim their innocence. Evidence included a music video Burkaloff who pleaded guilty in November made, featured employees pitching doctors to prescribe their drug, Subsys. Go deeper: The implications of the opioid lawsuits Fiery confrontations erupted in the West Virginia statehouse on Friday after the state Republican Party reportedly assembled an "anti-Muslim" display as part of the inaugural WVGOP Day, featuring a photo of freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar with a Sept. 11 image, per NBC News. Details: Omar recently came under fire for her critical remarks perceived as "anti-Semitic," which, she contended, diverted attention from a rational debate on Israel. West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw said his office will investigate the events, adding that an unidentified staffer was injured during Friday's dispute. "We have allowed national level politics to become a cancer on our state ... to invade our chamber in a way that makes me ashamed," Hanshaw said. 1 big thing: Bowling and belonging A seam running through the last three years of political turbulence is a loss of a sense of belonging swaths of disoriented Americans and Europeans feel betrayed and under personal attack, and they are lashing out at institutions and leaders who they believe are responsible, or at least failing to do anything about it. But that's only if you look at the public feeling toward the establishment "out there." If you ask about their own community, people are a lot more content. And what's making them so? In a lot of cases, bowling. What's happening: Public anger has been the most uniform signal from the raft of U.S. and European elections won by anti-establishment figures since 2016. As sociologists and other researchers have sought reasons why, a common answer has been a sense of loss of accustomed community and stature a rising number of immigrants, a cratering of jobs from automation and the movement of factories abroad, and a feeling of siege by menacing outside forces. As we've reported, a number of experts call this tribalism, a feeling of attack on a person's elemental identity. Now, CEOs and academics are looking for how to restore the lost sense of security: As Erica wrote, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said earlier this month, "When someone walks into Walmart, I want them to feel, 'I belong here.'" In "The Future of Capitalism," British economist Paul Collier writes that people need a renewed sense of purpose. They lost the one many felt from World War II through the 1970s. Instead, the economic system has beaten them down. The problem, Collier argues, is that the advanced economies have truncated the lessons of Adam Smith, the father of capitalism. They have focused on the invisible hand self-interest and neglected their need to belong to a job or community. Capitalism fails, he writes, when it is "tainted by relying on the single drive of greed." The upside of bowling: While McMillon suggests the answer is more trips to Walmart and Collier a rehabilitated sense of purpose, Samuel Abrams, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, calls for more visits to traditional local hangouts. Abrams spent three years conducting a survey of 2,411 people along with the American Enterprise Institute and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. A major finding: If you want to create a sense of belonging, a bowling alley is a great place to start. "In bowling alleys, there is real interaction," Abrams says. "There is not texting. You are standing around doing something together." This may sound superficial, but it's not, says Abrams. A study found a correlation between the presence of libraries or bowling alleys close to people's homes and their sense of community. And when they had that feeling, they tended to speak positively about their neighborhood. This is full circle from Robert Putnam's classic "Bowling Alone," which, as a metaphor for lost community, bemoaned a shrinkage in the number of bowling leagues. But, but, but: A lot of people perhaps lacking a nearby bowling alley are still finding their anchor in partisan politics, according to Bruce Mehlman, a political lobbyist in Washington, D.C. "Politics increasingly fills the void previously served by rotary clubs and bowling leagues," he says, "with partisan tribalism replacing communitarianism." President Trump asked Friday for China to immediately remove tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, which China issued as a retaliation for tariffs Trump placed on Chinese goods, tweeting "we are moving along nicely with Trade discussions." Between the lines: The Trump administration announced this week that they will not move forward with increasing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, a measure that would have gone into effect Friday. Trump indicated he hoped China would ease off agricultural tariffs in reciprocation. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 21 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said March 2, Trend reports. The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) continues to expand cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of a joint project aimed at public-private partnership, Natig Hasanov, first deputy chairman of the board of the Agency, told Trend. According to the deputy chairman, the implementation of the new project is connected with the construction of hostels at 2 universities in Azerbaijan. "We are actively cooperating with ADB and are planning to further expand our relations. Bilateral negotiations are currently underway at the level of experts. After their completion, we are planning to move on to the hostel construction project. The project will be financed by the state and the private sector, as well as international organizations and financial institutions," Hasanov said. According to the deputy chairman, the implementation of such a project should demonstrate the effectiveness of cooperation between the state and the private sector. The Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan was established by decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated December 28, 2017. The presidential decree of June 26, 2018 approved the statute and structure of the Agency. The main activities of the Agency are supporting the development of small- and medium-sized businesses in the country, participate in regulating the activities of small and medium-sized businesses, to strengthen the role of small and medium-sized businesses in the country's economy, to increase their competitiveness, to expand their opportunities and access to financial resources and to improve institutional mechanisms. support, coordination of public and private sector activities in this area. ---- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend With the decree of President Ilham Aliyev on additional measures for addressing problem loans of natural persons in Azerbaijan, questions arose among citizens about the application of benefits and the compensation mechanism, along with a number of other aspects. Economist Vugar Bayramov brought some clarity to a number of issues, Trend reports. 1. Will the compensation be provided to the citizens who took loans before the devaluation and paid them off without delays? The compensations are meant to be provided for exemplary borrowers. For example, a citizen took out a $10,000 loan before February 21, 2015 and, despite two devaluations, could not repay the loan. According to the decree, the resulting difference will be calculated in accordance with the approved mechanism, and this amount will be paid to the person who has already repaid their loan. 2. Are the persons currently paying a loan on a monthly basis obliged to continue their payments? Once the decree is passed, loan payments will also be calculated and a compensation will be provided. From this point of view, there are no problems in continuing the payment of loans: citizens will receive compensation for these funds. 3. Do the benefits apply only to loans taken in US dollars? Benefits apply to loans taken both in dollars and in manats, the national currency. A citizen of Azerbaijan who has taken a loan of up to 17,000 manats will also be able to enjoy this benefit. 4. If the amount of compensation paid on a loan is several times larger than the size of the loan after devaluation, how will a citizen be compensated? In this case, a bank account will be opened for the citizen, and funds will be transferred to the account, from which the citizen will be able to withdraw their money. 5. In which cases will the funds be paid to the bank, and in which cases to the citizen? The compensation will be calculated, and additional funds remaining after the repayment of the debt will be paid to the citizen. For example, the compensation that will be paid to a citizen after the assessment of the debt is $4,000. The citizen has a debt in the amount of $1,000. In this case, $3,000 are paid out of the citizens bank account, and the citizen is to repay their loan with the remaining $1,000. 6. Will the benefits apply to loans taken in euros or rubles? Benefits will apply to any foreign currency in an amount not exceeding $10,000. Thus, persons who have taken a loan in rubles will be able to enjoy the benefit as well. 7. Will compensation be paid to citizens of Azerbaijan who have taken a loan from non-bank credit organizations? Citizens of Azerbaijan who receive loans from all types of credit institutions will be able to enjoy these benefits. 8. Will persons with remaining credit debts be able to repay them after payment of compensation? For example, the balance on a citizens loan after the assessment is $6,000, and the compensation is $4,000. In this case, the remaining loan debt is $2,000. This debt is changed to manats - in this case, the remaining debt amounts to 3,400 manats. An interest-free loan for 1 year is provided to the citizen for the payment of this debt, along with another loan for 5 years at a 1 percent rate. A new payment schedule is drawn up, and monthly payments are significantly reduced. This basically means that the interest on the remaining debt is not calculated, and the loan period is extended so that the citizen can make the payment. 9. What is the time frame for preparing a list of citizens and defining the size of compensations? According to the decree, the list of natural persons and the amount of funds provided, which will be paid to each natural person, will be defined within 45 days. This means that all citizens will be informed of the amount of compensations they receive by late April at most. 10. When will citizens be able to get compensations? According to the decree, the latest date for payment of compensations is May 28. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend A positive point regarding the upcoming meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia is that Azerbaijan managed to break the Pashinyan stereotype about attracting a third party, that is, representatives of the separatist regime, to the negotiation process on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Fikrat Sadikhov, a well-known Azerbaijani political analyst, former diplomat, told Trend. On March 1, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia accepted the proposal by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to meet under their auspices in the near future. Sadikhov said that even despite that Pashinyan makes some whimsical statements, like We agree to negotiations not because we are discussing the Karabakh problem, but so far we are preparing for the negotiation process and so on, all these words are far from the real picture. Pashinyan understands that Armenia and Azerbaijan are the main players, because they are parties to the conflict, and the resolution of the whole complex of issues related to this problem depends on them, Sadikhov noted. It is clear that all this time he has been saying that he wont speak on behalf of the Nagorno-Karabakh, and, in practice, he doesnt do it. I think Pashinyan realizes that Armenias well-being, its way out of isolation and its further existence depend on their concessions and the final settlement the conflict, the liberation of Azerbaijani lands, but apparently so far he isnt confident enough. He looks back at those who subject him to sharp criticism and periodically demand a report from him on the negotiations with Azerbaijan. Sadikhov added that Pashinyan understands the destructiveness of the situation in which Armenia found itself. I suppose that the current Armenian leadership should ultimately realize that their future is connected with the final settlement of the conflict and the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories, he said. In my opinion, this is the main condition of the negotiation process at this stage when it comes to the Madrid Principles, which imply a phased settlement, which means initially liberation of the occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, and then negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh. The former diplomat believes that Azerbaijan should exert political, diplomatic and even military pressure on Pashinyan. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the US) met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan Feb. 20 and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku Feb. 21 to discuss preparations for a meeting of the leaders in the near future, including possible topics for discussion. Following their visit to the region, the Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office travelled to Vienna and Bratislava from Feb. 28 to March 1 to brief the Permanent Representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, according to the statement. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijan can count on the support of Islamic countries in the issue of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh, director of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies of Pakistan, chairman of the Pakistan Shanghai Cooperation Organization Friendship Forum(PSCOFF), well-known Pakistani political analyst Muhammad Asif Noor told Trend. On March 1, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, speaking at the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called on the OIC countries not to work with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, stating that Azerbaijan, doing everything possible to ensure international peace and security, is still facing Armenian military aggression. The minister added that despite all these calls, despite all the efforts of Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict by peaceful means, Armenia, in order to solidify the results of its occupation, continues the policy of plundering natural resources and destroying the historical and Islamic heritage in the occupied territories. Every day, the Armenian armed forces violate the ceasefire regime, killing and injuring Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians, the minister said. Pakistan was one of the first countries that recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in the 1990s, as well as the first country to adopt a resolution strongly condemning the genocide against the peaceful population of Azerbaijans Khojaly town, committed by Armenian band formations, and urging the international community to force Armenia to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, Muhammad Asif Noor said. We strongly support Armenias implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, according to which it must withdraw its military formations from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, he added. Political analyst noted that Pakistan will continue to support Azerbaijans position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and to advocate its national interests for the restoration of territorial integrity and the inviolability of Azerbaijani borders. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Next week, Swiss ambassadors to 5 regional countries will gather in the Azerbaijani capital. Swiss ambassadors to Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia will come to Baku, which is a very good opportunity to demonstrate the country's tourism potential, Philipp Stalder, Ambassador of Switzerland to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, said this during a press conference, Trend reports. The ambassador said that political, economic and cultural ties are developing between Switzerland and Azerbaijan, and noted that there is a good potential for developing ties between the two countries. Recalling the meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Switzerland in Davos in January 2019, the ambassador noted that political consultations will be held in Baku at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the two countries next week. The diplomat added that this year also marks 20 years of technical cooperation between Switzerland and Azerbaijan: "Over the years, cooperation has been carried out in various sectors of the economy. There is also a fruitful cooperation in the energy sector between Switzerland and Azerbaijan. Thus, in terms of energy security, the Southern Gas Corridor is of great importance, and a Swiss company owns a stake in the project." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Russia and Azerbaijan are actively building up the potential in bilateral trade and economic cooperation, in military cooperation, as well as in cultural, humanitarian and political areas. Mikhail Bocharnikov, Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan, shared his opinions on bilateral cooperation, the barriers impeding the effective development of relations, and other issues of international importance in an exclusive interview with Trend. On barriers in bilateral trade The simplification of mutual trade between Azerbaijan and Russia could be facilitated by the removal of unnecessary barriers impeding trade perhaps some heavy, customs-related, bureaucratic barriers, and even infrastructural ones. The parties are currently working to this end. One such example may be the bilateral efforts made for the soon completion of the construction of an automobile bridge over the Samur River on the Azerbaijan-Russia border. The new bridge may contribute to a freer movement of cargo flow, as well as the possibility of opening additional checkpoints in the same place, next to the existing bridge thanks to which it would be possible to set various other trade flows. Let us say, to direct cars through one point, trucks through another, buses through the third one, thereby expanding the capacity of border crossing points. Why am I talking about this? Because quite recently, the construction of this bridge was inspected jointly by the Azerbaijani and Russian ministers of economy, both of whom also happen to be the co-chairmen of our intergovernmental commission. It was thus decided to accelerate work in this direction. Digitalization as a mega trend in Russia and Azerbaijan Azerbaijan and Russia can use the digitalization process to expand bilateral economic relations. In terms of joint actions for the development of priority areas of economic cooperation, there are several roadmaps, one of which is dedicated specifically to digitalization. It is about the possibility of using mutual experience in digitalization. For example, in taxation, customs payments, electronic tracking of goods passing through certain trade corridors between our countries this will significantly reduce the time of transportation of such goods. As such, work is currently underway in this direction, and this issue is a subject of serious discussions and studies on both sides. Benefits of humanitarian cooperation As part of the expansion of humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan, the opening of branches of three more Russian universities in Baku is expected. These are branches of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the Higher School of Economics, and the Moscow State University of Humanities and Economics. By the end of 2019, it is planned to open a branch of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in Baku, and presently this issue is being worked out in detail. Advantages of economic interaction Russia and Azerbaijan aim to open joint ventures, and this is also in the center of attention of the state policy of our countries. As an example of this, I can mention the recent groundbreaking ceremony to open an enterprise for the production of Gazel cars of the Russian factory Gaz together with an Azerbaijani partner. The ceremony took place in Hajigabul, and I took part in the ceremony together with the ministers of economy of both countries. Russian interest in SGC Russia is considering the possibility of connecting to the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) for the supply of Russian gas to Europe. Recently, statements were made by the Russian Ministry of Energy that, if agreements are reached, it is possible to send gas from Russia through the final stage of the SGC. Presently, this idea is being worked out by the Russian side. On the benefits of the Caspian Convention The signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea by the five Caspian states opens up broad opportunities for the rational use of the resources available in the sea. The convention opens up the broadest opportunities because the five Caspian countries get the opportunity to establish direct economic relations within a single basin, to make decisions that would regulate the rules of conduct in the Caspian Sea in nature conservation, fishing and tourism. If we talk about the benefits of this document, then the development of tourism is important for the citizens of Azerbaijan and Russia, and, by the way, such goals are set, and they are being realized. Particular attention is paid to the development of sea tourism in the Caspian; work is underway on the concept of the Caspian Sea tourism and cruise communication. Today, sections of the Caspian Sea are more or less defined where states can carry out their economic activities, although, of course, some issues are still not fully resolved. And today a high-level working group deals with these issues, the first meeting of which was recently held in Baku. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The relationship between Azerbaijan and Belarus is a model of relationship between a Christian state and a Muslim one, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on March 1 answering a question from Trend at a meeting with representatives of public and expert community, Belarusian and foreign media. Lukashenko noted that there are no problems between the two countries. One phone call from Ilham Heydarovich to me, one phone call from me to him and all the issues are solved, said the head of the Belarusian state. Lukashenko further spoke about his good, friendly relations with the national leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. I was a young president, while he was venerable, experienced. When I was delivering lectures, I cited Heydar Aliyev as an example. He was the most honest of the leaders of the Soviet Union. And we somehow formed very friendly relations, said the president. Ilham Aliyev and I have absolutely no problems, although he was in GUAM. He had obligations when the EU and America imposed sanctions on us. We were under sanctions. He did not keep silent anywhere and defended Belarus, supporting exactly like Georgias Saakashvili. I dont know if you like it or not, but he was downright battling for Belarus. He persuaded everyone in the EU, in America: You dont know Belarus; you dont know the president of Belarus. Why do you put pressure on them, roll them, and so on and so forth. Well, such are our relations on diplomatic, political issues, he said. As for the economy, Lukashenko expressed regret that Belarus cannot buy oil from Azerbaijan, as there is no corresponding logistics. "But Azerbaijan has something to trade with us. Azerbaijan is a very rich country," he added. Lukashenko noted that Belarus is creating a joint production in Azerbaijan, helping the country in petrochemistry and oil refining. The Belarus president also added that the two countries are cooperating in the military-industrial complex, despite criticism from Armenia. "I know the attitude of Azerbaijanis towards Belarusians. Cant ask for anything better. Our relations will live on as such, God willing. They treat us like brothers, even though we are Orthodox Christians and you are Muslims. It doesnt bother us. This is a model of a relationship between a Christian state and a Muslim one. And, generally speaking, I consider myself lucky: Muslims treat both me and Belarus all over the world as very, very dear people, and help very often," Lukashenko concluded. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The term of imprisonment of Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov has ended, and he has been released, Trend reports March 2. On March 3, 2017, Huseynov was sentenced to two years in prison by the decision of the Surakhani District Court. The police chief wanted Mehman Huseynov to be prosecuted under article 147.2 (slander, equal to charging a person with a serious or especially serious crime). The state prosecutor demanded punishment in the form of imprisonment for three years for Mehman, and the court decided to imprison him for a term of two years. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Britain could face an EU legal challenge if it seeks to delay Brexit because of the impact on EU legislative elections, a legal opinion produced for Germanys Bundestag said, potentially making it difficult for Berlin to back anything but a short extension, Trend reports referring to Reuters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that if Britain needed more time to sort out its departure from the European Union, she would not refuse. But a non-binding legal opinion, written by experts in the German lower houses Europe department as an aid for lawmakers, may raise doubts about whether Berlin could back the longer delay which pro-EU campaigners would need to stage a referendum on halting Brexit. In all scenarios, legal provisions appear worth considering to protect the legitimacy of the European Parliament and its decisions from the political and legal risks that may be associated with an extended deadline, the opinion read. The next European Parliament will be elected on May 23-26. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but Prime Minister Theresa May has so far failed to convince parliament to back her withdrawal deal, risking a disorderly departure from the bloc. May for the first time this week raised the prospect of a short delay to avoid such a no deal scenario, which some British lawmakers hope will open the way to stopping Brexit altogether. Should Brexit negotiations be extended up to the formation of the next European Parliament and Britain not take part in the elections, the Bundestag report said rights of its citizens and those from other EU member states resident in Britain would likely be violated. Therefore, it would seem possible to initiate infringement proceedings against the UK by the (European) Commission or a member state in the event of such an extension, the report added. If Britain takes part in the elections, the question of (elected British representatives) losing the mandate arises if the UK withdraws during the legislature, it said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend China said on Saturday that it welcomed the release of language from the United State Trade Representatives office (USTR) delaying a scheduled hike in U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, Trend reports referring to Reuters. In a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Commerce, citing an unidentified official at Chinas State Council Tariff Commission, China said that it was aware of the USTRs announcement to maintain tariffs at 10 percent until further notice, and welcomed the step. The USTR released language to delay a scheduled hike in tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent on Friday, ahead of the publication of a notice next Tuesday. President Donald Trump had announced the delay on Sunday as trade talks between the two sides had made progress. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz After 54 hours,Pakistan opened four of its airports RAWALPINDI: After some 54 hours, Pakistan partially opened four of its airports for flight operations on March 1. The facilities were made available at 6pm on Friday for international and domestic routes, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) directed its staff to ensure maximum presence. However, other airports including Lahore, Sialkot, and Multan are slated to be opened for flight operations on March 4 at 1pm. On Friday, the CAA issued a fresh notice to airmen (NOTAM) stating that the countrys airspace will remain closed till March 4, except for Karachi International Airport, Peshawar International Airport, Quetta International Airport and Islamabad International Airport with restricted entry and exit. Following the CAAs fresh NOTAM, the managers of the four international airports referred to a circular saying that flight operations had become operational on March 1. It is expected that there will be a backlog of passengers, says the circular. To smoothly manage operations, the management would require the presence of the staff and officers. Soon after flight operations were resumed, a Serene Air flight, which is a privately owned airline, took off from Islamabad airport with 156 passengers on board, at about 6:10pm. However, sources say that due to the confusion, the number of passengers was lower that the seating capacity of the plane. Pakistan closed its airspace at 12.30 pm on Wednesday due to the prevailing security situation with India, leaving thousands of air travellers affected due to the cancellation of their flights. In line with the instructions of federal aviation minister Mian Soomro, Mr Tajwar explained, airline CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik has been supervising flight operations. Though it is a daunting task to accommodate stranded passengers, PIA management will facilitate all its passengers and will take care of them, he said. ANAHUAC One of the data recorders that could shed light on Saturdays crash of a jet in Anahuacs Trinity Bay was recovered Friday, according to federal officials, but a flight data recorder and the identifiable remains of one of the crew are yet to be found. The National Transportation Safety Board announced publicly at around noon that divers had recovered the cockpit recording device that contains the communications between the pilots and ground control during the flight. The agency said the device was being transported to Washington, D.C., to be evaluated. Just before the discovery was announced, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne was with local media reviewing the debris field left by the Atlas jet carrying cargo for Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service. Weve recovered very little of the actual plane so far, Hawthorne said. We have one of the engines on a barge, but it is really spread everywhere due to the impact. The storms we had on Tuesday didnt help. Since recovery efforts began, the remains of Capt. Sean Archuleta and First Officer Conrad Jules Aska were identified. Hawthorne said dive teams have recovered body parts in the last few days, but have still been unable to make a DNA match with Capt. Ricky Blakely, who is believed to be dead. In the middle of Trinity Bay, barges were set up periodically around the scattered crash zone to help teams load debris for later review. Some officers waded through the knee-deep water, feeling around in the silt for items. Hawthorne said dive teams from three different agencies were pulling 12-hour shifts rummaging through brackish water with zero visibility. A piece of landing gear and one of the Boeing 767s engines were yards away near an abandoned duck blind, but most of the debris field was concentrated around a muddy bar pocked with trails from airboats. A piece of the planes exterior was dug into the mud, displaying a portion of Amazons logo to the foggy bay. A video of the crash released by Anahuac ISD Friday shows the plane making an apparent nose dive into the bay, killing all three people aboard. The Federal Aviation Administration lost radar and radio contact with the plane when it was about 30 miles southeast of Bush airport, the agency said. Soon after, the aircraft plummeted 11,750 feet in about 30 seconds, data from FlightAware.com show. NTSB requires most aircraft to have two devices, also referred to as block boxes, to help reconstruct accidents. The still missing flight data recorder from the crash would give investigators data on the planes functions, altitude and other measures to create a digital reenactment. At least one of the families of the victims was still on the scene Friday, waiting for more information. Hawthorne said he had taken two trips to the site with families via airboat to help give them a sense of closure. Ive never really had to do something like that before, but Im glad I did, Hawthorne said. Once you get out there and see it, you get the idea of how it happened. You realize there was no way someone could survive that. While the federal investigation into why the jet crashed could go on for over a year, Hawthorne said his office expects to be here for at least another month. He said the extent of their presence here could be pulled back depending on how long it takes to find the other black box and the remains of Blakely. I feel very good about where we are headed, and I think we could make some more progress soon, Hawthorne said Friday afternoon. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com Twitter.com/jdickjournalism The friends and family of a 35-year-old man killed in an officer-involved shooting late last year are asking the community to join them calling on Port Arthur Police to release body cam footage of the shooting. Shayne Lyons was killed Dec. 28 after he refused to drop a large weapon and advanced toward an officer despite repeated commands from police, officials said at the time. Bystanders at the scene said Lyons had a machete and they heard six or seven shots, but officials havent confirmed those details. Andrew Molo, Lyons brother, said he doesnt believe the city has given the shooting its full attention and hopes Thursdays peaceful protest will change that. I think theyre just trying to hush me and shut me down, he said. Family members claim the police department has refused to release body cam footage, despite previously telling the family they could see it after a grand jury makes a decision. A Jefferson County grand jury earlier this week declined to take action against the police officer, whose name still has not been released. Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso could not be reached for comment. Molo said copies of the video have been requested by the family, as well as at least one news station and several residents; but theyve been told the attorney general will have to rule on whether to release the footage. Molo isnt optimistic. Lyons sister-in-law, Alicia Valentine-Molo, said the refusal to release the footage makes it hard for them to trust the city. Thats why were holding the protest on Thursday, she said. Theres a lot of mixed feelings but we just want closure. We want to see the body camera. We want closure. Its nothing else. The protest will take place Thursday at Port Arthur City Hall, 444 Fourth Street, starting at 5 p.m. We hope the peaceful protest will apply pressure on (the city) to release the tape that was owed to us and promised to us, Valentine-Molo said. kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/KaitlinBain Indian pilot returned back safely to its homeland LAHORE: A pilot shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani aircraft returned to India on Friday, after being freed in what Islamabad called a peace gesture following the biggest standoff between the two countries in years. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, captured on Wednesday after his jet was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force, crossed into India at the famed Wagah crossing point. He was filmed walking across the Wagah pavilion in civilian clothes and was received by Indian military officials on their side. Thousands of Indians, waving flags, singing and dancing with patriotic fervour, had gathered at the crossing point on Friday afternoon but the crowd dwindled after his release was delayed by hours due to procedural issues. A group of schoolchildren brandished a painting of the pilot, along with saffron, white and green Indian flags and placards reading, Hope for peace between India and Pakistan and Thank you Imran Khan. Pakistan is releasing our pilot, I thank them for that, said Kulwant Singh, who has run a food stall at the crossing for 20 years. Indias junior foreign minister and former army chief, Vijay Kumar Singh, tweeted, Welcome release of pilot is the first of many steps that #Pakistan must take to reinforce their commitment to peace. Before the pilot was released, Pakistani television stations broadcast a video of him, looking cleaned up, and thanking the Pakistani Army for treating him well. My name is Wing Commander Abhinandan, he stated for the record in the statement. I am a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. I was in search of the target when your [Pakistan] Air Force shot me down. I had to eject the plane which had sustained damage. As soon as I ejected and when my parachute opened and when I fell down, I had a pistol with me, he continued. There were many people. I had only one way to save myself: I dropped my pistol and tried to run, he was heard saying in the video. People chased me, their emotions were running high. Just then, two Pakistan Army officials came and saved me. Pakistan Army captains saved from the people and did not let any harm come to me. They took me to their unit where I was administered first aid and then I was taken to the hospital where I further underwent a medical exam and received more aid, he said. The Pakistan Army is a very professional service. I see peace in it. I have spent time with the Pakistan Army [and] I am very impressed, he said. Indian media always stretches the truth, he regretted. The smallest of things are presented in a very incendiary manner and people get misled, he concluded. Earlier in the day, Acting Indian High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad to fulfill formalities ahead of the Indian pilots repatriation. Separately, Indian Air Attache Group Captain JT Krain travelled to Lahore with the pilots travel documents and escorted him back to India. Matters escalated alarmingly after a massive suicide bombing killed 40 Indian troops on February 14 in Indian-held Kashmir, with the attack claimed by Jaish-e-Muhammad. Twelve days later Indian warplanes launched a strike inside Pakistani territory, claiming to have hit a militant camp. An infuriated Islamabad denied casualties or damage, and a day later launched its own incursion across the LoC. That sparked the dogfight which ended in Pakistan shooting down two of Indias warplanes, and Abhinandans capture. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Thursday that the pilot would be released on Friday, in the first sign of a potential thaw. Khan alluded to the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war and called for talks even as he warned India should not take the announcement as a sign of weakness. Pakistan armed forces know how to protect their borders: Shah Mahmood LAHORE : Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that Pakistans armed forces know how to protect their borders. Speaking after the release of captured Indian Air Force pilot, he said that Abhinandan was kept in Pakistan respectfully, adding that there are many people in Indian who want peace. We have asked India to provide actable intelligence and we would investigate, he added. The foreign minister paid tribute to Pakistan Air Force pilot Hassan Siddiqui for his bravery, adding that Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate in case of any aggression from India. Shah went on to say that Pakistan is a peaceful country. The only good thing about the recent court ruling that weakens the states Open Meetings Act is that it occurred during our biennial legislative session. House and Senate members must act quickly to amend the portion of this time-tested law that has suddenly been found to be unconstitutionally vague. As Kelly Shannon, the executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and many other defenders of openness know, this vital law is not as vague as some make it out to be. If its public businesses, dont be talking about it in secret. Yet in a ruling that defies common sense, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 7-2 that public officials do have more freedom to meet in secret and discuss public business, which then could be rubber-stamped at a public meeting without taxpayers knowing the context of what is being voted on. The ruling came from the indictment of Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal, who met privately with a fellow commissioner and political consultant about the structure of a county road bond in 2015. There is absolutely no reason why that discussion shouldnt have occurred in the open session of a commissioners court meeting. This is exactly why these meetings are held periodically (every Monday afternoon in most counties) with an agenda that is posted beforehand so taxpayers know what will be discussed or voted on. And since their tax dollars are paying for all of it, they should have a right to know all the details about what their elected officials are doing on their behalf. By law, only a few items can be discussed in closed session, such as a potential real estate purchase or certain legal matters. The unfortunate secret about public meetings in Texas is that many a city council member, school board trustee or county commissioner discusses public business with their counterparts informally when they shouldnt. Its not right, and the last thing the Court of Criminals Appeals needs to do is bless this subterfuge and give unethical public officials another excuse to evade public scrutiny. Their law-abiding colleagues should not play along with any fellow board members who want to discuss public business outside of meetings. Texas has a good Public Information Act. But it is not always followed in letter and spirit, and court rulings like this chip away at its fundamental principles. This latest affront must be reversed. The Legislature must not adjourn in May until this loophole has been closed. Pakistan to lodge complaint against India for eco-terrorism after air strikes ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations, accusing it of eco-terrorism over air strikes that damaged pine trees and brought the nuclear-armed nations to blows, a government minister said on Friday. India and Pakistan are amidst their biggest stand-off in many years, with the United States and other global powers mediating to de-escalate tensions between arch-foes who have fought three wars since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Indian warplanes on Tuesday bombed a hilly forest area near the northern Pakistani town of Balakot, about 40 km (25 miles) from Indias border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir. New Delhi said it had destroyed a militant training camp and killed hundreds of terrorists. Pakistan denied there were any such camps in the area and locals said only one elderly villager was hurt. Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam said Indian jets bombed a forest reserve and the government was undertaking an environmental impact assessment, which will be the basis a complaint at the United Nations and other forums. What happened over there is environmental terrorism, Aslam told Reuters, adding that dozens of pine trees had been felled. There has been serious environmental damage. Two Reuters reporters who visited the site of the bombings, where four large craters could be seen, said up to 15 pine trees had been brought down by the blasts. Villagers dismissed Indian claims that hundreds of militants were killed. The United Nations states that destruction of the environment, not justified by military necessity and carried out wantonly, is clearly contrary to existing international law, according to the U.N. General Assembly resolution 47/37. Here are four ASCs searching for new leaders in 2019: Edina, Minn.-based Centennial Lakes Surgery Center is looking for an administrator. The ASC is affiliated with Deerfield, Ill.-based Surgical Care Affiliates. Tri-Cities, Wash.-based Kadlec Regional Medical Center is recruiting an ASC director to work at Kadlec Clinic in Richland, Wash. Greenbrae, Calif.-based Marin Specialty Surgery Center is looking for an administrator to serve as the multispecialty facility's CEO. Summit Surgery Center in Santa Clarita, Calif., is seeking an ASC administrator with three years of healthcare management experience. Numerous privacy incidents at hospitals, IT suppliers and other healthcare organizations captured public attention last month. While media outlets reported on the following breaches in February 2019, some of the breaches date back to May 2018. Thirteen healthcare privacy incidents reported by Becker's Hospital Review in February: Editor's note: Incidents are presented in order of the number of patients or organizations affected. Seattle-based UW Medicine sent letters to 974,000 patients notifying them of a Dec. 4, 2018, data error that allowed patient information to come up in internet searches. Farmington-based University of Connecticut Health sent letters to up to 326,000 patients notifying them of a recent data security incident. UConn Health discovered several employee email accounts were attacked on Dec. 24, 2018. Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth notified 42,161 patients about an August 2017 data breach that may have exposed personal information. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport (Miss.) sent letters to roughly 30,000 patients Feb. 15 notifying them of a data breach. The hospital discovered an employee's email account was victim to a phishing attack Dec. 17, 2018. Nearly 24,000 patients may have had their protected health information breached in a recent hacking incident at Dr. DeLuca & Dr. Marciano Eye Associates, the Prospect, Conn.-based optometry practice. Pawnee City, Neb.-based Pawnee Country Memorial Hospital notified 7,175 patients that some of their protected health information may have been exposed when a hospital employee was tricked by a phishing email in November 2018. Blue Earth, Minn.-based United Hospital District notified 2,143 patients about a June 2018 phishing scheme. A hospital employee's email account was compromised in a phishing attack June 10-27, 2018. Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Health Care Services sent letters to 971 patients alerting them that an employee's laptop was stolen May 15, 2018. Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center inadvertently exposed the names of 908 patients in a paper mailing announcing the retirement of a certified nurse practitioner at its Epilepsy Center. Rutland (Vt.) Regional Medical Center said it plans to mail letters to an undisclosed number of affected patients notifying them of a recent data breach. The hospital discovered the breach after an employee noticed an increased number of spam emails being sent from his or her account Dec. 21, 2018. Box Elder, Mont.-based Rocky Boy Health Center posted a security breach notice on its website, alerting patients of a Jan. 14 incident that may have put medical records at risk. Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, S.C., posted a notice to its website Jan. 29, warning patients about a potential compromise of their protected health information that resulted from a November 2018 data breach. Attleboro, Mass.-based Sturdy Memorial Hospital signed a seven-year agreement to transition to Cerner's EHR. The 132-bed hospital will use Cerner's cloud-based deployment model, which is designed to securely manage patient health history, including clinical and financial data. Sturdy Memorial plans to install Cerner's EHR across the acute and ambulatory settings. The install will upgrade its revenue cycle operations and patient portal. "For more than 100 years, Sturdy Memorial Hospital has remained dedicated to serving patients in this community, and providing the best quality care," SMH President and CEO Joseph Casey said in a news release. "Through a shared strategic vision with Cerner, we are confident their software solutions will help us continue to grow, meeting patient needs both now and in the future." Eureka Springs (Ark.) Hospital CEO Vicki Andert resigned, effective Feb. 18, according to Lovely County Citizen. Three takeaways: 1. Ms. Andert became CEO in June 2018. 2. Prior to that, she was director of nursing for 10 years, 3. Eureka Springs Hospital is a critical access hospital. Here are five spine and neurosurgeons making headlines. Be The Match selected neurosurgeon Robert L. Masson, MD, as its principal investigator in a new initiative to reimagine traditional blood stem cell collection. Tampa, Fla.-based Joseph Spine's Samuel Joseph, MD, and Andrew Moulton, MD, traveled to the Dominican Republic to perform several spinal surgeries. In March, neurosurgeons Carolyn Quinsey, MD, and Eldad Hadar, MD, will travel to Malawi in Africa to improve neurosurgical care Rufus Jones new comedy is broadcast in the month the UK is set to leave the EU The plight of refugees has been recorded many times by documentary-makers, but Home - a brand new sitcom commissioned by Channel 4 - explores the issue in an entirely new light. Following last year's successful Comedy Blap of the same name, the six-part series, written by and starring Rufus Jones, follows couple Peter (Jones) and Katy (Rebekah Staton), who wind up with an unexpected souvenir from a recent family holiday to France. That 'souvenir' comes in the form of Sami (played by Youssef Kerkour), a Syrian refugee who enters Britain illegally via the family's chock-full car boot to claim asylum. It's a narrative Jones (43) has been working on for over three years. "You do things in a comedy that you possibly can't do in a drama," says the W1A actor. "I got writing on this in late-2015 when the refugee crisis, particularly for the Syrian refugees, felt like it was at its apex. "I started reading some interviews about British families who had opened their doors to Syrian refugees who had made it here under the Refugees Welcome Here project and Refugees at Home initiative. "The interviews were very moving. But within them were these shiny moments of comedy, humorous moments, that were about culture clash, but were also about what we expected of refugees, as opposed to who they actually were as individuals." Jones adds: "The thing about comedy is detail, when it works well, and what we weren't getting were detailed stories of refugees. What we did have was this shocking footage of refugees in the Greek ports and it was a sort of abstract intensity. It was numbing people and these individual stories were very important." He remembers an announcement by then-prime minister David Cameron, which stated 20,000 refugees would be allowed into the UK by 2020. "It didn't seem like a big number then and doesn't now; 20,000 doesn't sound like social responsibility. It's not a big number. "And, so, I wanted to inquire what had happened, because, as a nation, we prided ourselves on our emergency aid in moments of international crisis, but we were coming up short." Described as "warm and touching", the modern sitcom essentially taps into the heart of the home. And living with the family, while he waits for his application to be processed, asylum-seeker Sami learns more than he expected about the people he's staying with, himself and his own family. While Katy and her son John (Oaklee Pendergast) quickly warm to their new house guest, it's fair to say Peter - a Brexit-supporting anti-immigrant - takes a little longer to accept him. "I like playing frustrated men. It's always a delight," quips Jones, whose credits also include award-winning dark comedy Hunderby and, more recently, hit film Stan & Ollie. "Peter's a complicated character. He should know better, he's smart enough to know better, but he says things about immigration and about a lot of aspects of life which probably, 10 years ago, he wouldn't have said. "But we're in a climate now where Peter can get on his high horse and say these things and so he does and he suffers the consequences. "I think I concluded with Peter, whatever he does think about immigration, it's all transference and it's all projection of his own feelings of inadequacy, because he feels like a refugee in his family." Is he channelling anyone in particular? "If I'm honest, no," Jones responds with a laugh. "I'm possibly channelling myself to an extent - not politically, but I have twin three-year-old girls and sleep deprivation can make a man do some ugly things. Being at the end of one's tether is something I sort of relate to." He adds: "Also, I was looking back at the writing and I wrote the first draft of this just before my kids were born and my character's fraught relationship with my stepson, John, I'm sure, is some sort of Freudian fear of the relationship I was about to have with my unborn children. The fear of where you fit in as a father. So, maybe there was a touch of that." As to why the 'hero house' is situated in Dorking - a Surrey town 21 miles from London - he says: "I may be entirely wrong about this, but it strikes me as a sort of white, suburban area, where middle-classes retreat to get away from 'it all' in London. "And it felt nice to kind of drop our hero in the middle of this culture, where he would possibly feel a little more adrift than somewhere like Camberwell, for instance, or central London, or south-east London, where the connections and communities for someone like Sami would be possibly more available. "In somewhere like Dorking, he would be out on a limb and in sitcoms you always want to imprison your characters a little bit, because you get better results." Does he hope the show will challenge people's opinions? "There's always a danger, if you announce you're writing a state-of-the-nation piece," adds Jones, who admits a story is already in place for a second series. "I don't want to sound too grand in my ambitions for this thing, but the words that kept coming up through the production were 'tolerance' and 'empathy'. They were the two words we kept returning to. "And I think, in the month where we possibly leave Europe, it's a reminder that those two aspects are important in life. "If the show can remind people that we have international responsibilities, just as we're about to up anchor and drift into the great unknown, then, yes, that would be my ambition." As for the response? "It's a comedy and we want people to wallow in it," Jones says simply. "It's taking on some possibly lofty subjects for 24 minutes, but I think a lot of people are trying that at the moment." Home, Channel 4, Tuesday, 9.45pm It was August 13, 1969, a hot, steamy Wednesday night; tensions had been building throughout the course of the summer. Demonstrations, mass riots and confrontation between Catholic youths and the RUC had left two people dead: on July 14, Francis McCloskey (67), a retired Catholic farmer, had been struck on the head by an RUC officer during a baton charge against rioters close to Dungiven Orange hall in Co Londonderry; two days later, Samuel Devenney (42), a Catholic father of nine, had been killed when several RUC officers broke into his house and, in a fit of unprovoked violence, had beaten several members of his family, during the course of which he was fatally injured. Eight days earlier, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had planted their first explosive device in the Irish Republic, which badly damaged the state-run RTE centre in Dublin. Stormont, the Northern Ireland seat of government, was failing and its police force was rapidly losing control, being unable to safely enter nationalist areas of both Belfast and Londonderry. The scene was set. As the minutes of August 13 ticked towards midnight, Shankill Road resident Herbert Roy (26), a Protestant father of a young child, made his way to the end of Dover Street, close to where it joined Divis Street. Dover Street was then mixed, although predominantly Protestant, whereas Divis Street, which housed the Divis Flats and the Divis complex (known to later generations of soldiers as the 'Zanussi') was 100% Catholic. It is not certain if Mr Roy was a rioter, or had simply walked down to observe what was later classified as a 'loyalist/'B' Specials incursion' into Catholic territory. The clock ticked down to midnight and passed; suddenly, it was Thursday. Crowds of aggressive Protestants began to congregate at the entrance to Divis Street. A short time later, the word 'interface' would be etched irrevocably into the lexicon of the Troubles. Anger was showing on their faces, with murder and mayhem almost certainly in the minds of many. An RUC spokesman later stated that chaos was "... reigning supreme in Dover Street". What was happening on the streets of west Belfast was the personification of what US psychologist Philip Zimbardo referred to as 'deindividualisation', the process where people in a crowd are pressurised, or encouraged, to lose their sense of socialised individual behaviour, which in turn manifests itself as aggressive, antisocial attitudes and actions. The crowds spilling down from the loyalist areas towards the interface with the Falls and Divis Street had one attitude in common: they were sectarian bigots who were apparently unable to escape the influence of the crowd in which they found anonymity. Freed of remorse, they were able to attack the homes of fellow working-class people, albeit people from across the sectarian divide. It was now what the Belfast people refer to as the 'wee hours' of Thursday morning; the violence known as the Troubles was ready to commence its 30-year orgy of blood-letting. Mr Roy's life was about to end; another orphan of Ireland was about to be created. The Troubles had 'officially' started. Adapted from Torn Apart: Fifty Years of the Troubles, 1969-2019 by Ken Wharton, published by The History Press, priced 25 Pakistan will respond in self-defence to any act of unprovoked aggression: COAS Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Friday said that his country will respond in self-defence to any act of unprovoked aggression by the Indian military. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief had telephonic communication with the commanders of the United States Central Command (US CENTCOM), UK Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and the Australian Chief of Defence Force (CDF), as well as the ambassadors of the US, UK and China in Pakistan. ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor said the prevailing standoff between Pakistan and India and its impact on peace and stability in the region and beyond was discussed in the telephonic communication. Pakistan shall surely respond to any aggression in self defence, he quoted the chief of army staff as saying. COAS had tel comm with Comd USCENTCOM, CDS UK, CDF Australia and Ambs of US, UK & China in Pak. Prevailing standoff between Pakistan & India & its impact on peace & stability in the region & beyond discussed. Pak shall surely respond to any aggression in self defence, COAS, the ISPR DG posted on his Twitter handle. A former British soldier-turned-bestselling-author has accused Sinn Fein of trying to rewrite the history of the Troubles and to whitewash the IRA's role in the conflict. Yorkshireman Ken Wharton, who served in Northern Ireland for three years in the early-1970s, says he's on a mission with his books to stop republicans giving a one-sided account of the violence. Wharton (68), who now lives in Australia, has also used his publications to condemn the "hounding" of elderly Army veterans over legacy killings and he's claimed that a so-called "shoot-to-kill" policy by the security forces here was a "shoot-to-survive" necessity. Wharton says he still cries whenever he thinks of the 50 soldiers from his Royal Green Jackets regiment who died in Northern Ireland. In his new book, Torn Apart, chronicling decades of the Troubles, Wharton refuses to criticise any actions by his ex-colleagues, or the police, though he does say Bloody Sunday was the result of the wrong Army regiment - the Paras - being in the wrong place - Londonderry - at the wrong time. Wharton, whose first book was published in 2008, the year after he was made redundant from a job in sales, admits he's not a neutral observer and he makes no apologies for that. The ex-squaddie from Leeds says: "I'd always wanted to write a book about the Troubles from the perspective of the security forces. And, after my redundancy, that's precisely what I did." But he didn't stop with just one book. Torn Apart is his 10th tome about Northern Ireland and another one is the pipeline, with a contribution from double agent Martin McGartland, who infiltrated the IRA to act as a spy for Special Branch and who, in 1999, was shot and wounded in the English town where he had been resettled. Wharton says he believes it's important to challenge the republican narrative, adding: "Sinn Fein have been trying to whitewash the IRA role in the Troubles in recent years and I take that as my base point. "I want to remind everyone that there were some horrific things that went on, yet they are being erased from people's memories. And I condemn the activities of loyalist killers too. "The families of victims of atrocities such as Shankill, Greysteel and Kingsmill will never forget the reality of what went on, but we have a new generation coming through now who are romanticising a lot of what happened on both sides in the Troubles. "I want to combat what Sinn Fein are saying, so that people know there's more than one version of what happened in Northern Ireland over those years." Wharton says, however, that Torn Apart is a departure from his normal style of writing. "The other books have been like a diary, if you like. I've covered every year in detail, from 1972 right up to the ceasefires in the 1990s. "But, with Torn Apart, what the publishers asked me to do, bearing in mind that I have been fairly partisan in my dealings with the Troubles, was for me to be a little more objective. "And, to be taken seriously as a military historian, I felt I needed to rein in my emotions and write from a more dispassionate point of view. "Given the subject matter, that wasn't an easy task." Dealing with Bloody Sunday in Derry in January 1972, when a total of 14 civilians died as a result of shootings by the Parachute Regiment during a civil rights march, Wharton says: "I regret every single death in Londonderry, as I grieve for every innocent life that was lost. It's easy to be wise after the event and, while I won't be drawn into any criticisms of the Paras, I have always maintained that they were probably the wrong regiment in the wrong place at the wrong time." On claims of collusion between the security forces and loyalists, Wharton says: "If there was collusion, it was certainly on both sides. There has been enough evidence now that the Provisionals had people inside the Garda Siochana and inside the Irish defence forces. "I don't believe that collusion was as widespread in the north as has been made out by some people." Wharton also says he's "not convinced" by claims that the Army and the RUC operated a "shoot-to-kill" policy in the 1980s to "eliminate" prominent republicans, like the eight Provisional IRA men shot dead, along with a civilian, by the SAS at Loughgall in 1987. Republicans have always alleged that the police and Army killed a large number of suspected terrorists without making any attempt to arrest them. But Wharton says: "I look upon the killings as 'shoot-to-survive'. And, if there was anything untoward, I think it was just human nature taking over and the security forces wanting to give the IRA and INLA a bloody nose. "At the end of the day, I don't think there was a deep-rooted conspiracy - and I'm not being naive. "If there really was a shoot-to-kill policy, then how was it that so many former terrorists were released from the Maze as part of the Good Friday Agreement? "If these claims had any substance, then surely they would have all been shot, thus obviating the need for HMP Maze?" So, is Wharton suggesting that the security forces here were totally blameless throughout the Troubles - even on Bloody Sunday? "No, I don't think that at all," he replies. "And that's why, when I write about Bloody Sunday, I dont condone what happened. I believe the soldiers officers lost control. I have listened to some of the recordings and watched the videos and I genuinely think they did lose control. I believe, however, that it was all sparked off by elements of the Official IRA, or the Provisional IRA, who knew what it would lead to. It was almost as if the Provisionals were acting as agents provocateurs. They knew, if they sparked a gun battle, that innocents would die and they could turn round to the community and say that they were now their legitimate defence force. If Wharton is loath to find fault with his former Army colleagues, hes just as reluctant to say a bad word about the RUC. I think they were a very professional force who were in a very difficult position, he says. I cant say I would have wanted to swap places with them. They were beleaguered and very much put upon and I believe the vast majority of the RUC did their damnedest to be fair and impartial and combat terrorism. You will get rotten apples in any barrel. And that goes without saying for every police force in the world. But, on the whole, my admiration for what the RUC withstood and achieved is immense. I will never, ever, be critical of them. Hes not so taciturn, however, when it comes to modern-day policing and Government policies, especially in relation to investigations into shootings carried out by the Army during the Troubles. Several ex-soldiers have been charged in connection with killings in Northern Ireland and Wharton says: That dismays, disappoints and angers me. We have a situation where more than 200 former, or maybe serving, members of the Provisional IRA were given comfort letters, which were effectively get-out-of-jail-free cards, by Tony Blair. Yet, we now see former soldiers being arrested and questioned by the PSNI about alleged crimes. It vexes me greatly that some republicans, who received these letters, are living normal lives, or are now politicians, but former members of the security forces are being investigated, while the propagators of terrorism are being allowed to get away scot-free. Wharton did two tours of Northern Ireland with the Royal Green Jackets before leaving the Army in 1973 to study politics at the University of Warwick. He says he wasnt involved in any major incidents here, though he recalls a fierce gun-battle between colleagues in his regiment and the IRA in Belfasts Leeson Street in September 1971, when one soldier was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for outstanding bravery. Wharton says his regiment lost 50 soldiers in Northern Ireland, through terrorism, suicides and accidents and he adds that he cant write down any of the names of the men who died without shedding a tear. I dont care if people think that Im soft, but when I look at the names of the lads who died, I cry. That will never change. Wharton says living Down Under hasnt stopped his zeal for writing books about the Troubles using a variety of methods for his research from afar. I have between 1,000 and 1,500 contacts of people who did tours during Operation Banner in Northern Ireland. I also use the internet extensively to carry out research and I have access to newspaper archives too, he says. And among the publications that I read is An Phoblacht, the republican newspaper, because it publishes details that you wont necessarily find in mainstream papers. And once you take away the bile and the bias, its a very useful source of information. Wharton insists that people who accuse him of similar bile and bias against people here are wrong, adding: Im not anti-Irish, or anti-Catholic, and I like to believe that, in my writing, people will see I abhor the loyalist killer gangs that were operated by the likes of Johnny Adair. I do not restrict my opprobrium, my loathing and contempt to just the IRA and the INLA. Throughout all my books, you will see a very vivid condemnation of the UFF, the UVF, the Red Hand Commando and the LVF. My heart goes out to all the innocent people who died during the Troubles. Oh Olivia! As I watched her standing on that stage, Oscar in hand, holding back the tears, not quite able to believe her good fortune, I wanted to punch the air - for her, for me, for all working mothers and modern women. Why? Because we can identify with her. Yes, Glenn Close is a wonderful actress, and Lady Gaga surprised us all with just how good she was in A Star Is Born. But Olivia? Olivia is one of us. A working mother of three, she has spent years quietly grafting away, slowly and carefully climbing up that ladder. From her early years working as a cleaner, a secretary and a school teacher, she held on to her dream of acting, having fallen in love with it when she was cast in the lead role of a school play at 16. She then worked her way up the ranks with small theatre, TV and film parts, gaining respect and knowledge along the way. We didn't know her name back then, but we began to recognise her face and her talent. While I never wanted to be an actress myself, I can relate. I always wanted to be a writer. I wrote primary school projects on my chosen career - a journalist - and at 16 (an impressionable age, it seems) was mentored into writing my very first article for an evening newspaper by my mother's generous friend. I wrote a terrible first-person piece on doing a student exchange to France which was subsequently published, much to my French teacher's delight. Seeing my name in print was a defining moment for me. While I took other career paths over the years, I came back to my first love, writing, when I became a mother - first with a blog, then freelance writing, before finally becoming a published author. It was a dream I wasn't sure I would ever attain but one I may never have followed had it not been for that first newspaper article. So that's lesson number one to all of us - don't give up on your little-girl dreams, and don't forget to help other little girls with theirs. The other thing that struck me watching Olivia on stage was her genuine disbelief. Here she was, a middle-aged mum from Norfolk, who's been grinding away in niche roles in comedy shows and TV dramas for years, suddenly standing in front of the biggest names in Hollywood, having swiped the greatest prize imaginable from under their noses. You could see her wondering: 'How did this happen?' And don't we all know the feeling - female insecurities run deep. Almost all working women suffer from a terrible affliction called imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome can strike any woman at any moment, but mothers are particularly susceptible. It's a deep, irrational fear that you will one day wake up and be 'found out'. You can never accept that what you've achieved is actually down to your own ability. As blogger and writer Andrea Mara describes it: "Sufferers don't attribute promotions and achievements to ability; they assume somebody somewhere has made a mistake and, sooner or later, there will be a hand on the shoulder and a voice saying it was all a mix-up." Sound familiar? I, for one, know what she's talking about. Every job offer, promotion or opportunity I get, I question it. Since I wrote my first book, I've had the most wonderful media interest and lots of truly heart-warming messages and reviews. However, I still think that people are just being nice. Recently, I've also been asked to speak at not one, but two International Women's Day events, and all I can think of is: 'Me? But why?' As Andrea points out, though, even Jodie Foster felt like a fraud when she won an Oscar for The Accused, saying to CBS News: "I thought it was a big fluke ... I thought everybody would find out, and then they'd take the Oscar back." We all look at the likes of Olivia and Jodie and think, well of course they deserved the awards. And I know that others would look at me and say, well, why wouldn't they want you to speak at those events? So, there's another lesson - we are capable, we are qualified, and we need to start believing in ourselves, because the fact is, everybody else does. Not that any of it is easy - the self-belief or the actual labour involved. Whether you are an actress or a cleaner, being a working mother comes with its own set of challenges. We juggle work, children, money, childcare, homes, career progression and the ever-present guilt on a daily basis. In a working mums' survey on parenting website everymum.ie, 62% agreed that, as a mother, they have fewer career prospects, and 54% agreed that they earn less as a mother, leading to even further financial worries. And in a further survey, 79% said that being a working parent is particularly difficult in terms of career and parenting responsibilities. While Olivia may now have all the support she needs, the early days would not have been as easy for her. Personally, I know the trials only too well. I've been everything from full-time corporate employee to part-time working juggler to self-employed freelancer, and all of them brought their own challenges. When I worked full-time, I missed my babies desperately and the guilt was crippling. When I worked part-time, I felt like I was doing two full jobs in half the time and neither one of them particularly well. When I was self-employed, I struggled to pay the bills. Finally, I now have something that resembles a balance, working school hours for a company that understands the modern issues facing working mums, and also writing in my 'spare' (ha!) time. However, my kids still give out to me on a daily basis for spending more hours on my computer than with them, so who knows if I'll ever get it right. It's a never-ending battle, but one that we need to continue to highlight so that society at large takes note and begins to help us navigate the many challenges. One way we can help ourselves in this regard is to know our worth. When Colman was cast in the excellent The Night Manager, her character was not originally pregnant. However, the team rewrote the script for her given her new situation - including lots of scenes with chairs - because they didn't want to lose her. There are always ways to work around mothers so that we can still do our job as productively and professionally as ever. And we will repay you for it with our dedication and work ethic. I bet The Night Manager producers are pretty pleased they stuck by Colman. So what does Olivia Colman's Oscar success say about modern women, and especially mothers? It says stay real, keep grafting, dream big, grab every opportunity with both hands, and always, always believe in yourself and your worth. And if we can all help others to do the same along the way, then the future looks bright for modern mums. Untying The Knot, by Kate Gunn, is out now The first artwork Tiffany Zabludowicz acquired was a small drawing by Grayson Perry: she was given it for her bat mitzvah. This tells us two things. First, that she has long been destined for her current occupation, as collector and curator. Second: it was a really, really nice bat mitzvah. Zabludowicz is a strong enough name in the first place, but if you're an art lover at least, it's getting harder and harder to ignore. You should know it already thanks to the efforts of Tiffany's parents, Poju and Anita, who are notable collectors themselves: it helps that they're regularly ranked among the top 10 wealthiest couples in Britain, with a fortune of around 1.5bn. Tiffany, now 26, is the second of their four children. She has pretty much always been surrounded by their host of Chapmans, Emins and Hirsts, and for the past 10 years or so has been discreetly adding to it herself. We're here then, at the Zabludowicz Collection gallery near Kentish Town, to discuss her new curated show, which features a mixture of established artists like Cindy Sherman and Isa Genzken, and edgy young Instagram-friendly ones like Chloe Wise and Signe Pierce. It looks properly credible and has an enjoyably feminist edge. So collector, yes, curator, yes. One label she's less keen on is 'heiress'. "Heiress? Eugh! I mean, help," she says. "I'm not Paris Hilton." In fact she's almost the anti-Paris - brunette and petite and discreetly dressed, mostly in black and a modish check blazer. The only thing they have in common is a soft nasal voice, but she is absolutely not Valley Girl - rather, her nice north London vowels have been moulded by years spent living in New York. Actually, maybe two things in common: Zabludowicz isn't short of ambition either. Curating is her passion, she tells me, over a very civilised tea. "I feel like if I get really good at it, I can impact the field. And I really do wanna get very good at it. I want to become a master." Let's be honest, when you're in line to inherit gazillions of pounds, you kind of are an heiress. But Zabludowicz does a pretty good job of pushing that to the bottom of her CV. "I'm not living a spoiled life," she promises. "I'm spending my time working really hard with artists who are the most down to earth people. I'm someone who's willing to be packing up boxes of art for six hours. It just doesn't quite fit with the term 'heiress', you know? But then," she sighs in her deadpan way, "I also don't care. Whatever." And to be fair, the only time she sounds a bit 1% is when she sighs about one of the main problems of being a young collector today. "I would like to be on a plane a bit less," she says sweetly. How often is that? "It varies, but sometimes too often." Is it your plane? "No, no, no, 100% not," she laughs. "Economy BA. But I am an airmiles holder, so that's good." Zabludowicz's show, World Receivers, does sound fun. It's themed around 'identity', and since that's a pretty mad and fragmented concept these days, it sounds pretty mad and fragmented, too. A portrait of the transgender actress Hari Nef, by Chloe Wise, will sit alongside works made of gel, or cowhide, or a tapestry that asks: "What would the mermaids think about Christopher Columbus?" There is also a performance devised by someone called Puppies Puppies, inspired by the 'existential plight' of Olaf the Snowman of Frozen fame. Once a week, a performer will don an Olaf costume and dance until they collapse, exhausted. "A cacophony of very relevant but also quite entertainingly presented statements," is how Zabludowicz puts it. When she is helping pull all this together, does she ever think: this is a bit mad? "That's what's fun, is if it's a bit mad. If you're pushing yourself to do things differently, you have to be open to the craziness of it. I think that's the point," she goes on. "It's never work, it's always playtime, which is amazing." It was Anita who first introduced her young daughter to art, dragging her around galleries as a child. Tiffany recalls being taken to see Michael Landy's Break Down, in 2001, when the artist infamously pulverised everything he'd ever owned. It made quite an impression on the eight-year-old. "I remember watching his entire life's possessions placed on a conveyor belt and systematically turned into sawdust," she smiles. "I was horrified, mildly. But also inspired by how wide-reaching art could be." Anita sounds like quite a force of nature herself, a Geordie who was working in Harrods when she met Poju in a Chelsea nightclub. When I suggest to Zabludowicz that maybe she collects the younger artists, and her mother the older ones, she quickly sets me straight. "It's not quite so simple, because my mum's so cool and so on the pulse of my generation. She's sometimes more millennial than me, which is a little... frightening. Like, 'Mum, get off Instagram!'" Zabludowicz stresses that her childhood was 'normal' (let's assume it was as normal as they could make it). She got the bus every day to the local school, but that school was the prestigious all-girls Channing in Highgate. It's clear that both parents, each gritty northerners of a sort (Poju is Finnish), wanted their kids to stay down to earth. "It's upbringing, but it's also a choice," says their eldest daughter. "You can choose to be a brat, or you can choose to be a productive human." Zabludowicz duly studied well at Channing, and then went to the prestigious Brown University, on the east coast of America, to pursue art history. After that she moved to New York, which is home, although both London and Finland are too. Zabludowicz struggles to define the differences between London and New York (possibly because there are fewer and fewer, particularly at a globetrotting art market level). But she does think that London is more 'experimental' and offers a better quality of life. What she is much more decisive on is the identity politics that have defined this decade. Trump's shock election galvanised her and she finds the art world's lack of gender equality - still far fewer female artists represented by London galleries, still fewer female solo shows - 'terrifying'. Her own show, in contrast, only has four males among its 16 artists, and it's no coincidence, she admits. "I don't understand why the (art) world hasn't caught up with the movements that have been taking place," she says, "but maybe that takes time. My generation is very thoughtful. We're more aware of issues like that; people are constantly checking themselves and contemplating the morality of their actions, because we have to. Because the world is at stake." Perhaps a better comparison than Paris Hilton is Peggy Guggenheim, though the obviousness of it would make Zabludowicz wince. Like Guggenheim, she comes from a phenomenally wealthy, prestigious Jewish family, and has a deep passion for her field. Unlike the naughty Guggenheim, she is "generally well behaved", and being lined up to do something Guggenheim never quite nailed. "I mean, my mum just wants me to get married," she jokes - and then retracts - and then doesn't. "She says that, but the minute I stop working, she goes nuts and pushes and pushes me. Which is amazing," she adds. Whether she finds the right boy or not, you do sense she'll stick to the art. She plans to keep curating, obviously, and she is tantalisingly vague as to whether she'd set up her own Guggenheim-style foundation. "Who knows what the future will bring?" By the way, does what she buys end up in the family collection? "There's no secret Tiffany store," she laughs. "Unless you're talking about jewellery." World Receivers is at the Zabludowicz Collection from March 21 to July 7 (www.zabludowiczcollection.com) EVENING STANDARD My life as the daughter of billionaire art collectors Courts must deal with attacks on nurses in the "most robust way possible" after more than 6,000 attacks on Northern Ireland nurses last year. The figures from the five health trusts show 6,651 attacks on health care staff. The majority (6,138) were attacks on nurses, 97 were on doctors and there were 416 on other health and social care staff. In the Belfast Trust area alone there were almost 4,000 attacks on nurses, almost 800 in the Western Trust, 542 in South Eastern Trust, 452 in Northern Trust and 395 in the Southern Trust. There were 14,900 full-time nurses and midwives here as of September 2017. Most attacks were by people with mental health and learning disability and not malicious, a senior nurse said. Chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle said: "These experiences have a hugely negative impact on their performance at work as well as physical and mental health of healthcare staff, and their personal and family relationships. "Healthcare workers often express an understanding as to why some people they work with may behave in certain ways, sometimes that's due to illness but often it's just unacceptable behaviour. "People tend to think the majority of these attacks occur in A&E departments where alcohol or drug abuse appear to be causal factors. The majority of recorded incidents across the trusts are linked to persons with mental health and learning disability rather than any malicious intent. "Whilst many of these incidents are a direct result of illness employers need to understand how to meet their responsibilities to employees to fulfil their duty of care and to do that they have to understand particular issues associated with providing care in challenging and complex situations." Rita Devlin, acting deputy director of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Health service employers have a fundamental duty to provide a safe environment of care for all staff and need to ensure that appropriate action is taken against those who attack nurses and other health care staff. The criminal justice system also has a responsibility to send a clear message that attacks of this nature will not be tolerated and will be dealt with by the courts in the most robust way possible. "RCN members in Northern Ireland are appalled at these statistics and it is ultimately the responsibility of the Department of Health and health service organisations to deal with the issue ." Alliance party leader Naomi Long has accused the Northern Ireland Secretary of an appalling dereliction of duty over Stormonts powersharing crisis. Addressing her party conference two years on from the implosion of the devolved institutions, Mrs Long was scathing of Karen Bradleys handling of efforts to restore the Assembly. Restating her demand for the appointment of an independent mediator to chair talks to revive the process, Mrs Long said people had become accustomed to the failure of the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein to strike a their own deal to re-enter government. Following our governance paper, we're continuing to focus on reform and restoration of devolved institutions. Reforming the #petitionofconcern to end its abuse would unlock better government anf incentivise cooperation.https://t.co/1Y9WLaCRqo pic.twitter.com/sWKvtAASfW Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) February 20, 2019 She said the public had also become accustomed to the equally appalling dereliction of duty by the Secretary of State, who has made no concerted effort to end this interminable drift despite it allegedly being her top priority. I havent seen Karen Bradleys to do list, but if restoration of the devolved institutions is indeed her number one issue, heaven help those who find their concerns further down the list, she added. Her claim to the House of Commons that she has approached resolving the impasse with laser-like focus is evidence only that we can now add lasers to the list of things the Secretary of State knows nothing about. The Secretary of State has today published a draft budget for Northern Ireland, including 140m of new funding to support stable public finances. https://t.co/OIXhqqq0Gh pic.twitter.com/OhLSNU4Qve Northern Ireland Office (@NIOgov) February 28, 2019 It is over two years since the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded amid a row over a botched green energy scheme. The wrangle over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was soon overtaken by disputes over the Irish language, the regions ban on same sex marriage and the toxic legacy of the Troubles. A number of attempts to find a negotiated deal to restore the institutions have ended in failure. The cross community Alliance party is the smallest of the five main Stormont parties. It does not have the electoral strength to enter a new powersharing executive by right though it was invited to take up the sensitive justice portfolio in a previous incarnation of the executive. Along with the DUP, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Ulster Unionist Party, Alliance has been involved in various failed initiatives, involving the UK and Irish governments, to restore the institutions in the last two years. Taking to the stage at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast to the Elvis song A little Less Conversation, A Little More Action, Mrs Long reiterated her call for MLAs pay to be cut completely if powersharing is not restored in the short term. Noting examples of bad governance highlighted by a public inquiry into the RHI scheme, the Alliance leader told party faithful devolution could only survive in the long term if there were major structural reforms. Expand Close Alliance Party leader Naomi Long addresses her party conference (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alliance Party leader Naomi Long addresses her party conference (Niall Carson/PA) Talks to do so must start now, she said. We need an independent chair to convene them someone with the impartiality to command respect, with the focus to drive the process and with the authority to call it if parties fail to agree or engage seriously. And, if parties refuse to come, then they should not be paid. And if it becomes clear that there is no will to restore the Assembly, then it needs to be shelved and alternative arrangements put in place to make decisions as we cannot continue in a state of suspended animation forever. On Brexit, Mrs Long said if the current Withdrawal Agreement could not gain parliamentary support, another referendum had to be called. Our membership of the EU is a racehorse, which we are trading for the promise of a unicorn and so whatever donkey Theresa May brings home from Brussels will never and can never satisfy the expectations either of those who voted for a unicorn or those who were happy with the racehorse, she said. We have been clear from the outset there can be no good Brexit, but if this is going to happen, a no-deal Brexit would be the worst possible outcome. Parliament has failed over the last two-and-a-half years to articulate clearly what it wants. Another 21 months of an extension to this process would merely prolong the damaging and paralysing uncertainty. If, as the votes suggest, a majority of MPs actually oppose no deal then they need to back the Withdrawal Agreement which is the only basis for a deal. And if Parliament are not up to the task then put it to the people. Lets have a Peoples Vote but this time one based on the real choice between the donkey and the racehorse not the unicorn Brexit which never existed. A doctor criticised in the Hyponatraemia Inquiry has been allowed to remove himself from the medical register. Robert Quinn has been successful in his application for voluntary erasure from the General Medical Council (GMC) register, a move that means he no longer faces professional misconduct proceedings. Families of children from the inquiry have expressed their anger at the latest development, coming more than a year after the publication of the damning Hyponatraemia Inquiry report. The General Medical Council has also said it is disappointed at the ruling by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS). The Hyponatraemia Inquiry was set up to examine the deaths of five children after treatment at hospitals here. Marie Ferguson, the mum of one of the children, last night said she was stunned and devastated by the MPTS decision. "I can't believe it," she said. Her daughter Raychel was nine when she died at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in June 2001 a day after undergoing an appendix operation at Altnagelvin Hospital. Dr Quinn had no involvement in Raychel's case. However, he was criticised by the chair of the Hyponatraemia Inquiry for his involvement in the investigation into the death of Lucy Crawford in April 2000. John O'Hara said Mr Quinn "did not approach his task with the necessary degree of professional detachment". He also said Mr Quinn was influenced by the fact that he knew some of the doctors involved in Lucy's care professionally and socially. Mr O'Hara referred to a cover-up by medics and said that "the opportunity to learn lessons was disregarded". As a result, when Raychel was admitted to Altnagelvin 14 months later, appropriate precautions were still not in place to reduce the risk of patients developing hyponatraemia, he said. The MPTS has put its decision regarding Mr Quinn's registration down to a number of factors, including the passage of time since the allegations are said to have occurred. It referred to a letter written by the GMC which said that "there is a realistic prospect of proving that Dr Quinn tried to assist" health officials "by deliberately providing a report which covered up the true circumstances of Patient A's death". It continued: "If proved, such a serious lack of probity would indicate that Dr Quinn's fitness to practise is impaired to a degree justifying action on his registration." However, as more than eight years have passed since the letter was written, the MPTS ruled that "the passage of time impacts on the likelihood of the finding of impairment of fitness to practise". It said Mr Quinn, who retired in 2006, does not pose a risk to the public and that medical practice has changed over the years so as to reduce the risk of hyponatraemia. It continued: "The tribunal considered that the public interest could be best served by granting Dr Quinn's application and determined that this would address the public interest and confidence in the profession and the regulator." Alan Roberts also hit out at the decision. His daughter Claire was nine when she died as a result of hyponatraemia in 1996, and Mr O'Hara ruled there had been a cover-up following her death. Mr Roberts said: "It is truly shocking that where serious criticisms have been made against a doctor, that the doctor can apply for voluntary erasure from the GMC register before known allegations are formally and openly heard about their fitness to practise." Mr Roberts said the MPTS decision is the latest blow for his family, coming after he discovered that Peter Walby, a doctor criticised with regards to Claire's case, is no longer on the medical register. This means he cannot be investigated by the General Medical Council. A Belfast councillor has warned that someone could be killed if organised fights between groups of youths in an interface area do not stop A Belfast councillor has warned that someone could be killed if organised fights between groups of youths in an interface area do not stop. The SDLP's Paul McCusker revealed yesterday he received calls from frightened residents in Ardoyne on Thursday evening. The calls were made around 8.30pm after groups of Protestant and Catholic youths met near Alliance Avenue for an arranged fight. A number of parked cars were damaged during the incident. Mr McCusker told the Belfast Telegraph that around 40 youths were involved in the large-scale fight. He added video footage of the incident circulating on social media showed some of those involved carrying bats and other weapons. The Oldpark councillor said no arrests were made. "This has been an issue for the last year but the violence has been escalating over the last couple of months," he added. "The behaviour is becoming more violent. Last weekend we had two youths fist-fighting in the middle of the street. It is becoming more consistent and more concerning for the local community." Mr McCusker said he was concerned that young people involved in these fights may be seriously injured or even killed if more is not done to prevent the violence. "In one fight a young lad received a really bad head injury and another lad got three of his teeth knocked out," he revealed. "We have seen the damage that these arranged fights can cause, but if it doesn't stop and they are carrying weapons we are fearful that someone is going to be seriously hurt or even killed." Mr McCusker called for a greater police presence in the area to prevent further fighting from taking place at weekends. He said he and other youth workers will be out on the streets to deter youths from taking part in the violence. "At the minute we are just responding when it is happening. What we need to do is get police in the area during the early part of the evening to identify groups of youths before fights begin," he added. "Police need to be more proactive and more visible." PSNI Inspector McCullough said: "Just after 7.50pm on Thursday evening, police received a number of calls about groups of young people throwing items at each other in the Deerpark Road/Alliance Avenue and surrounding areas of North Belfast. Police officers attended and while dispersing the young people, came under attack with a number of stones and bottles thrown at police vehicles. "It is critical that the young people who choose to engage in anti-social behaviour understand that it is unacceptable and it must stop. We dont want anyone injured or worse. We want people to take responsibility. We want residents to feel safe in their own homes. We will continue to deploy resources, from local officers, supported by our tactical support group and evidence gathering colleagues patrolling North Belfast to prevent anti-social behaviour and detect those involved." Inspector McCullough also urged parents and guardians to prevent their children from becoming involved in anti-social behaviour by being aware of where they are, what they are doing and their social media activity. Emmerdales Mark Charnock as Marlon with Dominic Brunt as Paddy Kirk filming in Newcastle, Co Down If Northern Ireland tourism chiefs are looking for new ambassadors to promote the region across the water, they could ask Emmerdale actors Dominic Brunt and Mark Charnock. The soap stars fell in love with the "magical" Mournes in particular, during a filming stint which also included scenes shot in Belfast. Cast and crew from the popular ITV soap last month came to Northern Ireland to film in the city as well as Newcastle, Co Down, with a press pack from national newspapers and magazines in tow. And Mark - familiar to fans as lovable chef Marlon Dingle - gave them plenty to write home about with effusive praise for the scenic beauty and friendly welcome they enjoyed. "This place is just magical," he said. "They film Game of Thrones up in the mountains here and it's Narnia in the CS Lewis books. "We arrived here really early, just as the mist was falling off the mountain. I looked at it and it was hard to believe it was my place of work for the day." The Strand cafe baked the cast and crew a special Emmerdale cake as well as providing a steady stream of cups of tea and other treats while filming took place on Newcastle's promenade. And Mark admitted they were humbled by the reception they received. "They've been so lovely to us. There are some real Emmerdale superfans in Northern Ireland. When we finish filming, we're going to be proper tourists," he said. "We've talked about hiring a car and going to see the Giant's Causeway." For Dominic, a permanent fixture in the soap opera for years as vet Paddy Kirk, the opportunity to shoot on location here was more of a homecoming due to family links. The 48-year-old explained: "It is like a school trip, we've had such a good time. My dad and his family are from east Belfast, where we were filming, so I know all the local slang. "After the famine, a lot of my family settled in Salford. My great-grandmother Minnie, who I met, lived there. She was from Cork and swore like mad. "It's so nice to be doing some of the lighter stuff with Mark. We were sitting eating our breakfast and he said, 'I don't think I've been this happy at work for a long time'." The storyline, which will air from next Wednesday, follows Marlon on honeymoon with new wife Jessie (Sandra Marvin). The trip is gatecrashed by Paddy, who goes in search of his biological dad, and Kerry (Laura Norton) trying to find her daughter Amy. Mark said: "They are there because Marlon remembered that Jessie's favourite film is Titanic and he takes her to the Titanic Museum in Belfast. "We even did some filming in front of City Hall in Belfast, which felt very special. "Jessie and Marlon love each other and want to have a good time, but they can't until the very end of their trip. Jessie has to police Kerry, while Marlon is left looking after Paddy. They even end up sharing a bed!" And Dominic added that Paddy doesn't think twice about hijacking the honeymoon because he is desperate to find his real dad, a wrestler called Bear Wolf played by Joshua Richards. He said: "He really doesn't care. He is just desperate to try and get to know his dad, a wrestler who is a bit past it. "He keeps getting battered by much younger men for 25 a night. "I used to like wrestlers myself when I was a boy, and Bear Wolf feels really authentic." DUP leader Arlene Foster has called for a clear distinction to be made between a "terrorist perpetrator and their innocent victims" after new legacy proposals were announced. Mrs Foster was speaking after she and DUP MEP Diane Dodds met Secretary of State Karen Bradley yesterday morning. It was announced this week that the Department of Justice would release 55m to fund a unit to speed up the process of hearing inquests into 93 Troubles deaths The DUP leader said that to fully tackle the legacy issues there was a need to change the way a victim is defined across the UK. She said that she had urged Secretary of State Karen Bradley to address the issue. "The Victims Strategy published in 2001 by the then OFMDFM used a victim definition that made no distinction between innocent victim and terrorist. "This definition was then placed in law in the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The DUP opposed this," Mrs Foster said. "The 2006 definition of a victim and survivor is indefensible. There is a clear distinction in law between a terrorist perpetrator and their innocent victim. "To equate the two is morally indefensible. A perpetrator of an unlawful act cannot at the same time be a victim of the act they have perpetrated." The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said that she opposed the Good Friday Agreement due to the way "victims were ignored and terrorist prisoners were placated". A number of prisoners convicted of Troubles-related crimes were released under the terms of the Agreement. "Innocent victims universally oppose the current definition of a victim and place it as a top priority to change. "It is an incredible hurt and insult to victims' families for their loved one to be placed in the same category as terrorist perpetrators," Mrs Foster said. "The Government should bring forward plans now for a new UK-wide definition of a victim with a clear distinction between perpetrator and victim. "We believe this could improve the existing climate and context and offer the best prospect of new legacy bodies proving successful." Also meeting the Secretary of State yesterday was Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill. Mrs O'Neill told Mrs Bradley that the continued absence of the Assembly and Executive at Stormont is "untenable" and cannot continue. "I am fully committed to Sinn Fein playing our full part in any serious and meaningful talks process which remove obstacles to proper power-sharing, deliver a successful outcome and restore the Assembly. "However, we have yet to see Karen Bradley prioritise such a process, and I have told her it is time she did," the Mid Ulster MLA said after her meeting with the Secretary of State. Mrs O'Neill said that the lack of a local forum helps the Conservative Party and its DUP allies in pursuing their commitment to Brexit. "It therefore appears to us that neither the British Government nor the DUP want an Assembly and Executive at this time, which would impede their Brexit ambitions," she said. Four Senior High School (SHS) students with special needs on Friday joined 20 other students to receive the Presidents Independence Day Awards for their outstanding performance in the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Anita Badu, and Theophilus Elorm Dzirakor, both visually impaired, and Freda Owusuaa Yeboah and Prosper Adjei, with hearing impairment, were all given a medal and GH1,000.00. The 24 award winners were selected from the 10 regions of Ghana and would enjoy a one-year supply of products from Nestle, stationery from Kingdom Books, Samsung computer tablets and the Presidential Scholarship. They were honoured at an impressive ceremony, which brought together people including traditional rulers, parents, teachers, members of the diplomatic corps and directors of the Ministry of Education. Nana Ama Adjei-Twum and Seth Aduhene came tops in the Greater Accra Region, Christabel Akwaah Asante and George Kofi Adu, from the Ashanti Region, Sandra Asraa Agyapong and Albert Afriyie from the Brong Ahafo Region, and Esi Ndou Adjei and Perry Aborah Frempong from the Central Region. Richeal Nkrumah Arthur and Edmund Afreh-Opoku were selected from the Eastern Region, Huda Adam and Kesson Abdul-Quddus Nyankpani from the Northern Region, and Assibi Comfort Awaafo and Peter Alahari Akurugu, from the Upper East Region. Benedicta Afia Owusu and James Jorkpietey came tops in the Upper West Region, Roselena Afia Quainoo and Prince Korsi Awutey for the Volta Region and Winifred Korankye Amoah and Edwin Baidoo for the Western Region. Out of the 500,000 pupils that sat for the 2018 BECE, the 20 were selected as the overall best public-school students; male and female, in the regions based on raw score obtained from the West African Examination Council. The four students with additional educational needs comprising the overall national best male and female students with visual challenges and the overall national best male and female with hearing challenges were selected also based on their raw score from the BECE. The Presidents Independence Day Award started in 1993 to provide scholarships, annually, to 20 young brilliant students aged from 14 and 19, male and female, across the country. The students with special needs were added to the list of awardees in 2018 to ensure a fair and equal balance of the award scheme. It is to recognise, promote and encourage the exceptional performance of students across board, including those with additional educational needs. Awardees should be exceptionally good academically in the BECE as well as in the extracurricular activities. This years independence celebration, the 62nd, would be on the theme: Celebrating Peace and Unity. Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education, said government would continue to reform the educational system to perform better. Madam Philomena Tan, the Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, sponsor of the award, pledged the support of her organisation to provide nutritional products to promote the childrens growth. The Childrens Independence Day message appealed to the President to strengthen security in the country to prevent chaos, fear and panic. They appealed to Ghanaians to show tolerance, forgiveness and respect for one another. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The father of a road racer killed in a four-bike crash while competing at the Ulster Grand Prix said his family is holding on to the memory that he died doing what he loved. Jamie Hodson (35) died in the accident which also involved his younger brother Rob at Dundrod on August 10, 2017. At the inquest into his death in Belfast yesterday, the court heard how Mr Hodson, from Wigan, England, had struck a telephone pole after coming off his bike at up to 120mph. It caused a fracture to the base of his skull which resulted in a brain stem bleed, leading to cardiac arrest. Family members, including Jamie's mother Carole, heard other injuries described including rib fractures, a pelvic fracture, thoracic spinal cord damage, a lacerated liver and damage to his left lung. Ruling Mr Hodson died as a result of a severe head injury and other injuries, coroner Joe McCrisken said no motorsport can ever be completely safe. He said no one would ask for the sport to be sanitised in any way. The inquest heard the race was into the third lap when tragedy struck. Jamie Hodson's father James, who had also been a successful motorbike racer, remembered being in the pit lane when he heard of an accident. "You hope for the best when you hear there's been an accident," he said. "I didn't see anything from where I was but knew the race had been stopped. It was about 20 minutes later when I was told both Jamie and Rob were involved. "The next hour was a living nightmare. "When Rob came back he could hardly walk. He told me Jamie didn't look good." Jamie was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. "I was met there by police and after Rob arrived for X-rays we knew things weren't good for Jamie," James recalled. "He only had about half an hour left. It was hugely traumatic. "I've loved motorbikes all my life and sometimes you wish your children hadn't followed in your footsteps, that they'd found their own passions in life, but motorbikes were their passion too. "The one thing to hold on to is that Jamie died doing what he loved. He wouldn't have wanted to do anything differently." Rob Hodson (31) said the past 18 months had been difficult. "It's all still very raw, particularly for my mum," he said. "We're still trying to get over what happened as a family and it will always be with us. "Jamie was excited to get racing and had flown back from holiday in Cyprus with his girlfriend straight to Belfast to compete. "We'd had a really good morning in practice. We were both feeling good. We didn't speak just before the race, we were concentrating on our bikes and making sure everything was ready to go in our own ways." After lining up alongside his older brother, Rob recalled the moment tragedy struck for the family racing team. "It happened in five or six seconds. That's all it took from everything being fine to everything going wrong. But that's racing. "I slid out wide on the corner and I think I hit a lump of soil on the grass verge." That sent Rob off his bike, his Yamaha 600 Supersport machine sliding across the road into the path of three more racers following closely behind at the tricky Joey's Windmill section. One of the racers was his brother Jamie. "The aftermath was terrible. Jamie took the force of the injury. When the medical teams were working with him I wanted to go to him but had to step aside. It was hard to watch. I could see he wasn't moving and they had put up a sheet to cover the scene." Rob returned to racing in the Isle of Man last summer after recovering from his injuries. "We can choose to sit and play chess in the house or carry on. We'll carry on," he said. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Chris Johnson determined that the head injury was ultimately what cost Mr Hodson his life, though he said other injuries would also have been life-threatening. He added that Mr Hodson would have been unconscious at point of impact and said no alternative safety measures could have saved Mr Hodson's life. "Given the speed involved, even a crash helmet is not a great deal of protection," he said. Mr McCrisken, the coroner, said he was satisfied that all appropriate safety measures had been taken by race organisers. "He was a young man of 35, an experienced motorcycle rider with no medical history. He took evasive action at a speed of 100-120mph," he said. "I have no doubt he received the best medical care, indeed when CPR was attempted after his cardiac arrest he began taking air. "He died as a result of a severe head injury, with other injuries, laceration to the liver and a spinal injury, also enough to be a threat to life. "This is not an inquiry into road racing. Riders know the risks involved and no motorsport can ever be completely safe. No one would ask for the sport to be sanitised in any way. This was a racing incident and no one could have done any more." The incident happened at a business on the Ormeau Road on Friday evening A 38-year-old man has been arrested following an attempted armed robbery in Belfast. The incident happened at a business on the Ormeau Road on Friday evening. PSNI Detective Sergeant Gill said: "The man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and handling stolen goods following the incident reported to police shortly before 6.55pm. "He was also arrested on suspicion of another attempted robbery which took place around 9:40pm last night at another commercial premises on the Ormeau Road area. "The man is currently in police custody assisting with our enquiries." The man was taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical but stable A man is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following a one-vehicle crash in Co Tyrone. Police said they received a report at around 11.50am on Saturday that a man was trapped under a blue Vauxhall Vectra in the Coolnagard Upper area of Omagh. The man, who is in his 30s, was taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical but stable. A 37-year-old man arrested on suspicion of a number of motoring offences following the crash has since been released on bail pending further enquiries. Hazem Ahmed Ghreir was stabbed in the heart on the night of June 4, 2017 A 20-year-old man who stabbed a "quiet and calm gentleman" through the heart may never be released from prison, a court has heard. Callin Wilson, who medical experts agreed has a deep-seated mental abnormality, admitted murdering Hazem Ahmed Ghreir in the centre of Belfast in June 2017, and has already been handed a life sentence. A hearing was held at Belfast Crown Court yesterday to determine how long Wilson will spend in prison before he is considered eligible for release. After listening to submissions, Judge Patricia Smyth adjourned the tariff hearing until March 14. Prior to this, Judge Smyth was told by defence barrister Patrick Lyttle QC that due to Wilson's complex medical history "there is a real possibility in this case that this man may never be released". The court heard in the aftermath of the fatal stabbing Wilson told lies, and that in the two years since the murder has given inconsistent and different versions of what occurred. Setting out the Crown case, Neil Connor QC said that on June 4, 2017, Wilson was living at Flax Foyer in Belfast. He was seen on CCTV leaving his accommodation just before 8pm and walking into the city centre. On the same night Mr Ghreir, a Syrian national, was working as a delivery driver for a fast food outlet on the Dublin Road. Wilson was seen again on CCTV in the Etap Hotel on the Dublin Road at 10.27pm, and three minutes later he is seen appearing to tamper with bikes down the side of the hotel. He walks off at 10.40pm, with a camera picking up Mr Ghreir in the area around 30 seconds later. It is the Crown case a witness then saw "an encounter" between Wilson and Mr Ghreir, where Mr Ghreir grabbed Wilson's shoulder. The deceased had a phone in his hand, while Wilson's hands were in the front pocket of his hoodie. Wilson then moved his right hand in a quick movement to Mr Ghreir's chest which caused Mr Ghreir to "appear shocked... and his eyes opened wide". Wilson walked off in the direction of Little Victoria Street and Mr Ghreir, clutching his chest, stumbled forward but followed Wilson. While Mr Ghreir was rushed to the RVH, where he was pronounced dead from a single stab wound to his chest at 11.15pm, Wilson walked to a Tesco Express where he was arrested, telling police: "I didn't do anything." Mr Connor said that due to inconsistencies, it was impossible to determine why Wilson stabbed Mr Ghreir - but said it was the Crown's case the deceased had seen Wilson engaging in criminal activity, such as tampering with the bikes, and "in a public-spirited way" intervened. Judge Patricia Smyth was told of the devastating effect the death Mr Ghreir has had on his family in Syria and his brother Rami. She was told the brothers travelled to Europe together and settled in Northern Ireland. Rami Ghreir said his brother had a "magnetic personality", was always helping others and was always smiling, while a colleague described him as "a very quiet and calm gentleman". Following his arrest, Wilson's accommodation was searched and 426 indecent images of children, mostly teenage boys, were found on his laptop. Defence barrister Patrick Lyttle said the fact that only moderate force was used indicated a lack of intent to kill, as did his lack of criminal record. Mr Lyttle spoke of his client's long-standing mental issues, saying he "fell between the cracks between child and adolescent care and adult care", and in the period leading to the stabbing Wilson was living an isolated life. A survivor of the 1974 Birmingham IRA pub bombings has told an inquest into the deaths of the 21 victims how "all" wristwatches worn by those present had stopped at the same time. Paul Murphy was left with 33% burns after a 30lb (15kg) bomb went off just feet away from where he was drinking inside the basement Tavern In The Town pub on the night of November 21. Minutes earlier, a bomb had blown up the nearby Mulberry Bush pub in the base of the landmark Rotunda building, off New Street, a few hundred yards away. Inquests have started this week in Birmingham into the bombings, which also left 220 people injured, many of them with serious burns. The then 17-year-old Mr Murphy likened the experience of being blown across the pub to "somebody clamping electrodes on your back". He said: "You instantly know you're in trouble. "But you're not in any pain, you're floating, you're senseless, then these thoughts come to you, your dad's going to kill you because you shouldn't have been there at 17. "Then your senses come back slowly; smell, you smell burning; hear, you can hear screaming; sight, you're looking at somebody underneath you. "It gets more and more and more and you begin to realise something dreadful has happened. "Bits of bodies, people screaming, people not moving. "It is just getting louder but it is dark, so dark in there. "You go to the light - somebody says come here." He described seeing rescue workers "in yellow jackets" amid the rubble, and told how his friend helped get him out. Many casualties in the pub managed to get out through a hole the bomb had blown in the wall, through to a neighbouring shop. Mr Murphy recalled seeing barman Tom Chaytor lying badly injured. Mr Chaytor would die about a week after the blast. He also recalled seeing a young colleague of his from the city's Lewis' department store, Jane Davis, sitting in an alcove of the pub very near where the bomb was planted. She also died in the blast. By the time he got to street-level, Mr Murphy said there were "people everywhere", and he was moved to a nearby hotel to await transport to hospital. He said: "We just sat there waiting to be taken to hospital. "A couple of women were screaming, a fella was waiting. "The blast had blown most of your clothes off, no hair, no eyebrows, your private parts are covered, because you're wearing three layers. "Your socks were blown off to the level of your shoes. "You've lost that much blood, it's like when you step in a river, you're squelching in your own blood." He was asked what time he believed the bomb in the Tavern went off, and he gave an account of a conversation he had with his father as he lay in hospital. Mr Murphy said: "I did have a watch on. At hospital they took everything off you and sent it all to Digbeth police station and then relatives, or yourself, went and collected them. "My father picked it up for me. It had stopped. It wasn't broken. "It was 8.20pm. Bang on. That was about the time of the explosion and the watch obviously confirmed it and my father confirmed it. "He'd noticed that other watches had stopped at 8.20pm. "He said when he picked the watch up he noticed other watches had stopped at 8.20pm. All of them." The inquest also heard a written account from a survivor of the Mulberry Bush bomb, which went off minutes before that at the Tavern, describing how his watch was lost in that blast. The wristwatch was returned to Raymond McVeighty, from Digbeth police station, and it was in good order "other than it had stopped at 8.20pm", he said. The bombs went off between 8.15pm and 8.20pm, following a coded warning at 8.11pm. The inquest continues. DUP leader Arlene Foster said there is no need for checkpoints on the Irish border (Liam McBurney/PA) There is no need for checkpoints on the Irish border and no need for Irish warships impounding Northern Ireland fishing boats, DUP leader Arlene Foster said. Mrs Foster also reiterated her partys concerns over the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, saying it will not work. Speaking to DUP members and supporters in Mid Ulster on Friday evening, Mrs Foster said her party will work with Prime Minister Theresa May to ensure Brexit is implemented. The Brady amendment demonstrated what will work, she said. The Prime Minister must deliver on the commitments she made to the House of Commons. Referring to two Northern Ireland-registered fishing vessels that were seized by the Irish navy on Tuesday, Mrs Foster said there cannot be a hard border in the Irish Sea. The fishing boats were detained amid an ongoing dispute over the right to fish in Irelands waters. The two fishermen were reunited with their boats on Friday after pleading guilty to breaching fishing regulations. Lets be clear, there is no need for checkpoints on the border, and there is no need for Irish warships impounding Northern Ireland fishing boatsArlene Foster We do not want to see a so-called hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, she added. In the last few days though, weve seen the Republic of Ireland policing its own hard border. Lets be clear, there is no need for checkpoints on the border, and there is no need for Irish warships impounding Northern Ireland fishing boats. It was announced on Thursday that Northern Ireland will receive 140 million of additional Government funding in the next budget. Mrs Foster said the Government funding will help tackle waiting lists, assist areas of deprivation and improve mental health services. Whilst the DUP are delivering for households and businesses across every corner of Northern Ireland, where are Sinn Fein? Mrs Foster asked. They are on the sidelines criticising the priorities in a budget which is only being set at Westminster because Sinn Fein walked away from Stormont. Whilst Sinn Feins demands are holding Northern Ireland to ransom, the DUP is delivering on the demands from ordinary people across every part of Northern Ireland who want to see progress in their schools, roads and hospitals. Sinn Fein may have a list of demands about the Irish language which they need to satisfy a section of their support base, but I have a growing list of demands from all over the country from people who want to see progress in their schools, roads and hospitals. Those people are nationalists, republicans, unionists and those of no constitutional view. The writings of the late peacemaker Dr Maurice Hayes will shine a light on his extraordinary career and legacy. The extensive collection includes more than 60 boxes of documents including speeches, records and correspondence, which relate to high-ranking public servant's membership of various organisations including the GAA. The documents, soon to be included in the public archive of NUI Galway, also include government records in addition to source material used to compile his exhaustive three-volume autobiography. Representatives of the university have expressed pride that the James Hardiman Library will host the writings of such "an eminent public servant who played a vital role in the search for peace and reconciliation" in Northern Ireland. NUI Galway president Professor Ciaran O hOgartaigh said the university was honoured to hold the papers of a "great Irishman and great European". "A scholar, a public servant, a peacemaker, Maurice was respected by all communities across the island of Ireland and his papers offer researchers and students a unique perspective on Ireland at a time of great social and political change," he said. Dr Hayes rose to the top ranks of the Civil Service, becoming permanent secretary of the Department of Health and was the first Catholic to be appointed Northern Ireland Ombudsman. The Queen's University graduate, who was involved in the 1974 Sunningdale Agreement and was a major contributor to the Patten Report that transformed policing here, passed away in December aged 90. NUI Galway said Dr Hayes applied his "particular ability to work with and engage people and parties of all persuasions" when he served as chairman of the Irish Government's National Forum on Europe, which operated from 2001 to 2009. The Killough, native, who demonstrated a strong commitment to the Irish language and was also a vital figure in Down's GAA successes in the 1960s, when the county won three All-Irelands, received the European of the Year award in 2004. The archive will be officially opened by Lord Patten, who will deliver 'A European Identity: Some Reflections On The Career Of Maurice Hayes' at the university on March 12. The former UK Environment Secretary and Governor of Hong Kong chaired the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, of which Hayes was a member. Other NUI Galway archives relating to here include those of civil rights activist and human rights lawyer Kevin Boyle and intermediary businessman Brendan Duddy. NUI Galway said there are "powerful direct connections" between the collections, with parallel accounts of public peace talks in 1975 from Mr Hayes's diary and secret talks between the IRA and the British Government, for which Mr Duddy acted as a go-between. Ireland's 175 million euro (153 million) EuroMillions jackpot winners went by bus to take their ticket to lottery headquarters after the family syndicate struck gold last month. Gerry Brown, whose wife is a member of the winning group, said they have had a "hectic" time meeting financial advisers as they decide what to do with the largest jackpot in Ireland's history. The family, from Naul, Co Dublin, were presented with their cheque on Thursday. Mr Brown, who said he was keen to buy a bike, recalled the shock his wife felt when she checked her numbers. He said: "She could hardly talk, I was nearly going to get an ambulance for her." His wife placed the ticket in an Argos catalogue for safekeeping overnight before travelling by bus the next day to Ireland's National Lottery headquarters. Mr Brown added that the family, all of whom he said were retired, were keen to get back to normality after the massive win. He said: "I would be hoping to get back to it (normal life). I'd rather just go back to the way I was. Happy enough before I won it so I don't want it to change too much." The family celebrated with a low-key carvery dinner in the hotel where they were meeting the bank, which he said cost less than 12 (10) each. In terms of what else they may do with the money, Mr Brown said it is still early days. "I suppose a lot of them will get new cars or whatever," he said. Saudi Arabia announced that the counry has stripped Osama bin Laden's son Hamza of his citizenship, one day after the United States offered a $1 million reward for information that could lead to his capture. The son of the late al-Qaeda leader, who was killed in a U.S. military raid in Pakistan in 2011, has reportedly become an increasingly prominent figure in the terror network. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced that they had revoked his citizenship via a royal decree in November, however it is not known why it was only made public yesterday. Hamza bin Laden was named a 'specially designated global terrorist' in January 2017. The junior bin Laden has released audio and video messages on the internet calling for attacks against the West and has threatened revenge for his father's 2011 killing by U.S. forces, the department said in a statement. Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert operation carried out in Abbottabad, Pakistan at a compound where the al-Qaeda leader was holed up. In addition, Hamza allegedly married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the 'lead hijacker and a mastermind' of the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden and al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and other notorious actions. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Sinn Fein has threatened court action against Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in a bid to force it to disclose legal advice centring on the Raymond McCreesh Park controversy. Yesterday the party said the council is withholding the advice, which it claimed states that the council should consult with the community over the future of the park. Last autumn unionists and the SDLP backed plans to dispose of the park at Ballybot and build 200 homes along with a new park. The park has been the centre of a row since it was renamed in 2001 in honour of the IRA hunger striker, one of 10 republican prisoners who died in the Maze in 1981. Unionists had repeatedly called for the name of the park to be changed. IRA victims have also been critical, as McCreesh was in possession of a rifle used in the 1976 Kingsmill massacre in which 10 Protestant workmen were killed when he was arrested later that year. Council officials have been sent a solicitor's letter - which has been seen by the Belfast Telegraph - giving them until Monday afternoon to provide the relevant information. A motion calling for further consultation to take place if other expressions of interest are received for the park land is up for ratification at a full council meeting on Monday. Sinn Fein's Liz Kimmins said that committee motion does not go far enough, claiming it lacks "any detail on the nature or timing for this exercise". "Councillor Michael Ruane has asked that the legal advice be shared with councillors and that a clear proposition for community consultation be put before the council for decision," she said. "Despite repeated requests council officials have refused to do so, leaving us no option but to legally challenge this failure. "Councillors are entitled to access documents which will inform our decision-making and the community is entitled to know when and how they will be consulted on the future of a facility that has served them for generations." She added: "Sinn Fein will defend the rights of the residents of Ballybot and not allow them to be denied by the council." However, the UUP's David Taylor accused Sinn Fein of merely attempting to stall progress being made on the park's disposal - branding it a further attempt by the party to "frustrate and delay any progress on the issue". He defended the council, stressing that it has been "absolutely clear" in its position with the community. He said: "It has been very apparent... that Sinn Fein have absolutely no interest in addressing the genuine concerns that exist in respect of the naming of a play park after a convicted terrorist. "And this latest action by the party only serves to cement that opinion in my mind." The council told the Belfast Telegraph yesterday that it "did not comment on legal matters and therefore no further statement will be provided". A former student who filmed up the skirts of two of his teachers acted as an open night guide for prospective pupils transferring from primary school three weeks after returning from academic suspension, a teachers' union has said. The NASUWT said it is "flabbergasted" that Enniskillen Royal Grammar School allowed Timothy Boomer (18) to hold the position of responsibility at the event on February 1, 2017. It also claimed that, when the issue of the student being made a guide was raised, one of his victims was moved to another campus for the open evening. The union has also said that Boomer was made a prefect for moving image arts by the school. On Wednesday Boomer was found guilty of five charges of committing acts that outraged public decency. The images were taken on dates between February 2015 and September 2016, when the defendant was aged 14 and 15. Three of the five charges related to one woman, and the remainder to the second. "The school made him (Boomer) a guide for the open night three weeks after he returned from his suspension over the filming," said Justin McCamphill, NASUWT national official. "Timothy volunteered to be a guide and show the kids and their parents around. "And when the issue of him being made a guide was raised, the victim was moved to another campus for the evening. "It's as if the teacher was being punished. "The union believes that he should not have been appointed to that position; that in doing so the school rubbed salt into the wounds of the two members of staff. "It seems that the school was putting him in a position of honour that they shouldn't have been. We are flabbergasted that the school would decide to give this position to him, as well as making him a prefect for moving images. They were not showing due regard to the health and wellbeing of the two victims." In addition, the union said the school awarded Boomer prizes in music and moving image art, and claimed that the two teachers stayed away from the prize day event in 2017 in case they encountered him. Mr McCamphill called for the school to apologise to the teachers, adding that all schools should learn from the case. "This school and every school needs to learn from this experience," he said. "The use of technology in schools, and particularly mobile phones, has made all teachers vulnerable, so schools need to be robust in protecting employees from this type of abuse." The union official said that Boomer's victims feel vindicated by the guilty verdict, and plan to lobby for a law change here. Currently 'upskirting' is not an offence under criminal law here. Legislation states that an act of a lewd, obscene and disgusting nature must happen in a public place with the possibility persons might witness the activity. "The teachers are feeling happy that the experience that they went through has now been acknowledged by the court," Mr McCamphill added. "They have had to endure two and a half years to get to this stage. They want to use their experience to lobby for a change in legislation in Northern Ireland to make upskirting a specific offence in criminal law. "If this was to happen in a private place, or there had been a pupil and a teacher in a room by themselves, the law wouldn't protect them. "The members want Northern Ireland to have the same legal position as in Scotland, where non-consensual upskirting is an offence. It has also just come into law in England and Wales. "Our law is a bit behind the times. "Our members want to speak to MLAs about the law in Northern Ireland, which needs to change to protect women." Enniskillen Royal Grammar School declined to comment on any of the allegations yesterday. Principal Elizabeth Armstrong said: "As this matter is still subject to proceedings it is not appropriate to comment." Boomer is set to be sentenced on March 12. While the case was heard last month at Strabane Youth Court, judgment was reserved, with the ruling issued on Wednesday at Enniskillen Youth Court. The court heard the facts were not disputed, but Boomer denied his conduct amounted to criminal activity. He was not present in court on Wednesday, in contrast to both of his victims, who attended and were supported by the NASUWT. Handing down guilty verdicts on all counts, the judge said he and the panel held the images were "lewd, obscene and disgusting". In a statement Boomer said he was "deeply sorry for the distress, worry and pain I have brought about by my actions". He said: "I want to express my regret and remorse for the hurt I have caused to my teachers. It was a wrong, horrible thing to do and at that age I stupidly and wrongly thought it was a daredevil prank, which I genuinely meant no harm by. "I recognise how wrong I was and that my actions have had a devastating impact on my teachers and also my parents and family. "My regrets will be with me for the rest of my life." A woman allegedly spat on a three-year-old autistic boy in the street, a court has heard. Standing handcuffed in the dock of Belfast Magistrates Court, 36-year-old Inga Maksvityte confirmed through an interpreter that she understood the four charges against her. Lithuanian National Maksvityte, with an address at Zardininku Street in Klaipeda, is charged with using disorderly behaviour on Royal Avenue, indecently exposing her breasts "intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm". She is also charged with indecent behaviour and common assault. All offences are alleged to have occurred on February 28 this year. It is understood the charges arise following an incident in Royal Avenue when Maksvityte allegedly defecated in the street after spitting on the boy. Giving evidence to the court on Saturday, Constable Bloomer said he believed he could connect Maksvityte to each of the offences and that police were objecting to bail. He told the Court police feared that with Maksvityte giving an address in Lithuania with no ties to Northern Ireland, we believe there is a risk of flight. Regarding the facts of the case, prior to police arrival the defendant is alleged to have spat on a three-year-old autistic boy and there doesnt seem to be any justification for this so police believe there is a risk to the public from her behaviour, said the constable. Maksvityte was shouting in a mix of unintelligible English and Lithuanian, leading District Judge Liam McNally to warn defence counsel Stuart Magee she is not assisting her case for bail. With Maksvityte continuing to shout, Judge McNally declared I will not be granting bail - maybe she will have settled down by Wednesday. Remanding Maksvityte into custody, he ordered her to appear again on Wednesday via videolink. The incident happened at a house in the Summerhill Court area of north Belfast. Credit: Google Maps Two women have been threatened with a suspected firearm during an aggravated burglary in north Belfast. Police said two men, one armed with a suspected firearm, entered a house in the Summerhill Court area shortly before 12.30pm. "Two females who were inside the property were threatened but were not injured," PSNI Detective Sergeant Gill said. "It is not believed that anything was taken during the incident and enquiries are continuing. "We would appeal to anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 589 2/3/19." Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Authorities in the Republic have been accused of dragging their heels over the publication of a review of domestic homicides and failing to fast track new laws to stop killers or their estates benefiting from crimes. The criticism came in the wake of calls from relatives for a multi-agency review into the murders of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons at the hands of her husband Alan Hawe in 2016. The National Womens Council of Ireland said a review of domestic homicides had not been published despite assurances from then-Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and then-Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan after the Hawe murders. Meanwhile, there has also been criticism of the Governments failure to fast-track legislation aimed at closing off a loophole which means killers or their estates can inherit assets. The Private Members Bill, dubbed Celines Law after slain film production company owner Celine Cawley, was tabled by Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim OCallaghan two years ago. It came after Ms Cawleys husband Eamonn Lillis, despite being convicted of manslaughter, maintained he was entitled to ownership of assets he jointly held with his wife. He won the right to a 50% share of Irish assets after a High Court ruling. The Government has said it is not opposed to Mr OCallaghans Bill, which follows on from recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission. However, there are no plans to prioritise it. Their pleas came amid fears Mr Hawes estate stands to benefit after he transferred family funds to his own account. He took his own life after murdering Clodagh (39) and sons Liam (14), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) at their home near Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan in August 2016. A Garda spokesman would not comment on individual cases but said it had started a process where domestic homicides will be reviewed to establish what lessons can be learnt from a policing perspective. A search for the missing climbers has been hit by further delays (Sandy Allen/PA) Rescuers searching for a British climber missing on the worlds ninth highest mountain have been hit by further delays. Tom Ballard, who was born in Derbyshire but had moved to the Highlands, was reported missing on Nanga Parbat in Pakistan earlier this week with Italian Daniele Nardi. They had been climbing the 8,126-metre (26,660ft) peak, nicknamed the Killer Mountain, and lost contact last Sunday. A planned helicopter and drone search was called off due to adverse weather conditions on Saturday, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan tweeted. Weather also hampered search attempts on Friday. Stefano Pontecorvo said rescuers would try again on Sunday when the weather is expected to improve. He said he has spoken to Basque climber Alex Txikon, who is joining the rescue mission with a three-strong team, including a doctor. If weather permits, Mr Txikon is expected to fly drones over the area where the two climbers went missing. Weather conditions today do not allow the planned search and rescue op for @NardiDaniele and Tom Ballard. Tomorrow morning conditions should be better and will try again. Talked to @AlexTxikon always extremely helpful. @ItalyMFA pic.twitter.com/tyLoYiMkOt Stefano Pontecorvo (@pontecorvoste) March 2, 2019 Pakistani helicopter pilots were on standby from 5.30am local time on Saturday but were unable to fly due to snow, clouds and low visibility, according to an update on Mr Nardis Facebook page. Earlier, Mr Pontecorvo said Both Daniele and Tom are tough guys. We hope for a miracle and just try our best to find them. Not looking too promising today for rescue op on #Nangaparbat for @NardiDaniele and Tom Ballard. Snowing in Skardu and weather unclear at K2 BC. Hope weather improves so heli can fly. In close contact with all concerned. pic.twitter.com/r07XUyN8f1 Stefano Pontecorvo (@pontecorvoste) March 2, 2019 Initial search plans were prevented on Thursday when Pakistan closed its air space after it shot down two Indian military planes, but two army helicopters were eventually drafted in. Russian mountaineers on K2 offered to support the rescue mission on Friday, with flights scheduled after an agreement was reached with the Italian embassy and the Pakistani air force, but the weather was deemed too dangerous. Mr Ballard moved to Scotland in the same year his mother, Alison Hargreaves, died on K2 when she was 33, months after becoming the first woman to conquer Everest unaided. A fire at a Tesla car service centre which has damaged at least half of the premises is now under control, according to firefighters. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were called to the Gatwick service centre in Crawley at 10.29am on Saturday where they said the building was well alight. No-one has been reported hurt, according to Tesla. An eyewitness described hearing many small explosions coming from the premises. About 50 firefighters and eight fire engines, as well as an aerial ladder platform and an incident command unit, were initially scrambled to the scene in County Oak Way. The Tesla car dealership building in #Crawley is currently well alight. We were called at 10.29am, crews at scene. Please avoid this busy area. West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (@WestSussexFire) March 2, 2019 The fire service posted on Twitter: The Tesla car dealership building in #Crawley is currently well alight. We were called at 10.29am, crews at scene. Please avoid this busy area. It added: We are currently in attendance of a significant fire in Crawley, on County Oak Way. Six engines and an Aerial Ladder Platform at scene. Eyewitness Thomas Ferryman told GetSurrey that he had heard many small explosions, which he believed could be batteries for the electric vehicles. @Tesla building in Crawley is slightly on fire pic.twitter.com/wzgXho7pL4 Ant Heron (@RedAntH) March 2, 2019 A spokeswoman for the fire service said that the fire was now under control, and the firefighters were searching the building for any remaining hotspots. She said that approximately 50% of the single storey building, 50 metres by 30 metres in size, had been damaged by fire and heat and about 50 firefighters had attended the incident. Crawley Tesla fire update: Incident under control & being scaled back. Thanks @SurreyFRS for assisting. Four appliances remain at scene. West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (@WestSussexFire) March 2, 2019 She added: Four appliance are still at the scene with an aerial platform and an incident command unit. The incident is now being scaled down as we have put a stop message on it, meaning it wont get any bigger. They are now just locating any hotspots in the property to make sure it is extinguished and we will return later to ensure the fire is out. The spokeswoman added: The fire is believed to have started in a store room for parts and spread to the main building. It was an accidental ignition. A Tesla spokeswoman said: The fire at Teslas Gatwick Service Centre has stopped and we are working with the fire department to learn more about what caused this incident. We can confirm that no Tesla staff or customers were injured or hurt. The fire comes as the electric car manufacturer has announced plans to close its dealerships and to sell its vehicle online only, raising doubts about the future of its sites in the UK and Ireland. The Silicon Valley firm has not confirmed the number of store closures or job losses, but Tesla has 378 stores and locations worldwide including 18 stores in the UK and Ireland. Two senior Scottish Tories have issued a joint call to MPs from all parties to back the Prime Ministers Brexit deal. Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Conservative partys interim leader, described the deal to leave the EU as the right plan for Britain and Europe. The SNP described the pairs support for the deal as sickening, saying every Brexit outcome will see Scotland worse off. The Conservative politicians spoke out just days after Prime Minister Theresa May accepted that the UK may not leave the EU on March 29, offering MPs a chance to vote to delay Brexit if her deal is rejected again later this month. Expand Close Jackson Carlaw said the deal delivers on the UKs decision to leave (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jackson Carlaw said the deal delivers on the UKs decision to leave (Jane Barlow/PA) Mr Mundell and Mr Carlaw said: The time for debating and negotiating is nearly over. The time to decide is here. Our clear position is that, over the coming days, MPs should decide to back the Prime Ministers Brexit deal. It delivers on the decision the country made. It hands back control of our money, laws and borders. It gives us control over our waters, offering us the chance to revitalise our fishing sector. And, while we will be able to strike new trade deals around the world, the deal will also set the basis for a strong and abiding new friendship with our allies across the continent. Its the right plan for Britain and Europe. Supporting it will mean we can all move on to meet the pressing and urgent challenges we all face. Meanwhile, at Holyrood, a Scottish Government debate on the EU withdrawal negotiations is scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The senior Conservatives claimed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be making one last attempt to wring yet more grievance out of Brexit and boost support for Scottish independence. Mr Mundell and Mr Carlaw added: The best way now to stop the SNPs separatist games is to back the deal, leave the EU in a smooth and orderly fashion, so we can all get back to the real task of creating a fairer, more prosperous United Kingdom. Expand Close Stephen Gethins described it as a botched deal (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stephen Gethins described it as a botched deal (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/PA) The SNPs Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins responded: The Prime Ministers deal is bad for Scotland and the support from the Scottish Tories is sickening they are clearly rattled and saying anything to try and deflect from their shambolic handling of Brexit. They have no higher ambition for Scotland than meekly accepting whatever Brexit disaster awaits the UK. Or as one of Mr Mundells own Cabinet colleagues put it Once youve hit the iceberg, youre all on it together. Every single Brexit outcome will see Scotland worse off our nation overwhelmingly rejected Brexit at the ballot box and it beggars belief that Tory MPs and MSPs could advocate backing a botched deal that would see jobs, living standards and household incomes slashed and threatens the growth of our economy. There is a better future for Scotland, as an independent nation, and the fiasco of Brexit only serves to show how Scotlands interests are ignored by Westminster. Police have issued an appeal for information about Pin Yun Lin (David Cheskin/PA) Concern is growing for a missing woman who has not been seen for almost a fortnight, police have said. Pin Yun Lin, 37, was last seen on Stevenson Street, in the Calton area of Glasgow, at around 2pm on Sunday February 17. Officers say it is possible the missing woman, who does not speak much English, may have travelled north of the city. She is described as being Asian, around 5ft tall, with a slim build, black collar-length hair and brown eyes. Expand Close Pin Yun Lin has links to the Inverness area (Police Scotland/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pin Yun Lin has links to the Inverness area (Police Scotland/PA) When last seen, she was wearing a blue shirt but may now be wearing different clothing. Detective Sergeant Cheryl Gebbie said the missing woman has links to the Inverness area and may have travelled north. We are working with various transport companies in efforts to trace her. However, we would appeal to anyone who may have seen her to get in contact, she added. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Alliance Party conference last night with party leader Naomi Long and Michael Long, Alliance councillor for Belfast PA Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced that his party is setting up a Northern Ireland Engagement Group to work with nationalists and unionists to help find "new solutions to old problems". Mr Varadkar said he "deeply regretted" that Northern Ireland, which was once more liberal than the Republic, had not "kept up", and he said the vast majority of its citizens were "crying out for change". The Taoiseach was addressing the Alliance Party conference in Belfast last night after meeting business leaders earlier to discuss Brexit and the political stalemate at Stormont. He said it was very unlikely that the UK would crash out of the EU without a deal. In a keynote speech at the Alliance conference's opening dinner, he said: "When I grew up in Ireland, being bi-racial was unusual in what was a homogenous country. Divorce was not an option. Being gay was something you kept to yourself. "And a young woman facing a crisis pregnancy, faced it alone. Catholic social teaching had for too long had too great an influence on public policy. "The last 20 years have seen so much change - change for the better as we voted as a nation to legalise divorce, marriage equality and more recently the right to choose. "I regret that Northern Ireland, which for so long was more liberal than the South, has not kept up. And it's a real shame that these issues have got caught up in the tussle between unionism and nationalism, orange and green." The Taoiseach continued: "I believe the right to marry the person you love, the right of a woman to make choices about her own body, and the right to have your native language respected should not be about orange and green. "These are universal rights, these are personal freedoms and should apply everywhere without exception. "I believe the Northern Ireland of the future should embody the best of what is British and the best of what is Irish. So, any right or freedom that a British citizen has in Britain, or an Irish citizen has in Ireland, should be had here in Northern Ireland as well." Mr Varadkar praised the Alliance Party for "its strong and progressive position" on these issues. "I believe you stand with the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland who are crying out for change. And, I believe we are on the cusp of that change happening," he said. "We should never forget that the largest march that happens in Northern Ireland every year isn't orange or green. It's rainbow-coloured." The Taoiseach noted the new SDLP-Fianna Fail partnership and that Sinn Fein and the Greens organised on both sides of the border. He said Fine Gael was choosing a different approach in order "to be able speak with and work with all parties as an honest broker" and to talk to them in confidence "without fear or favour". Mr Varadkar didn't believe that was possible if "you have a privileged relationship with one party over the others". He said: "We've all witnessed the dynamic created by the Conservative Party's agreement with the DUP. We need to be wise to the possibility that a similar dynamic could arise were Fianna Fail to be in government in Dublin given its partnership with the SDLP. We want to be able to be fair and impartial when in government." Fine Gael was committed to working with all parties in Northern Ireland but particularly "individuals, groups, and parties in civic nationalism and civic unionism who seek new solutions to old problems". He said: "We will work with people who consider themselves to be British or Irish and the growing numbers who feel that they are and can be both. "For this reason, we have established and resourced a Northern Ireland Engagement Group, and I hope you will come to know them well. It's something I am committed to personally." The Taoiseach expressed optimism about a Brexit deal. "I don't want to say too much about it at this stage but I think that the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal on March 29 is unlikely," he said. "I think we either will have a deal or we will have an extension." He urged Alliance to "continue to make the case for Europe into the future". He said: "The majority of people in Northern Ireland are with you, especially the young. "The Brexiteers never gave up on leaving. !Had they lost the referendum, they would not have given up their firmly held beliefs. "I ask that you never give up either. Europe is your home too, you helped to build it, don't let anyone say otherwise. "You will always be welcome to return to that common European home we built together." The Taoiseach said he regretted the suspension of devolution and the absence of the North-South Ministerial Council which had ensured practical co-operation that made a difference to people's lives. "I would dearly love to see a resumption of that institution," he said. "I would love to see the Dublin-Belfast rail line upgraded to high speed, reducing journey times between the two cities to little more than an hour perhaps with stops at Dublin airport, Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry. Imagine that." Canada has said it will allow the US extradition case against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to proceed. Canadian Department of Justice officials issued a statement on Friday saying the case will begin after the completion of a diligent review of the evidence. Meng is due in court on March 6, at which time a date for her extradition hearing will be set. Canada arrested the daughter of Huaweis founder at the request of the US on December 1. Meng is wanted on fraud charges that she misled banks about the companys business dealings in Iran. There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision, the statement said. There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decisionCanadian Department of Justice The statement took pains to stress Canada is following its extradition laws. Ultimately, Canadas justice minister must decide if Meng is extradited. The case set off a diplomatic furore among the three countries, complicated high-stakes US-China trade talks and severely damaged Beijings relations with Ottawa. In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it firmly opposes the Canadian sides obstinately moving forward with the case against Meng. It called the case a severe political incident and said the United States and Canada were abusing their extradition treaty. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on December 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. Fact: the Authority to Proceed is the first step in the extradition process. The decision was made by Department of Justice Canada officials, who are part of a non-partisan public service. #MengWanzhou https://t.co/DekpRoG9rp pic.twitter.com/3hSO8DtUIR Justice Canada (@JusticeCanadaEN) March 1, 2019 A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor have not had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Meng is out on bail in Canada and living in one of her two Vancouver mansions awaiting extradition proceedings. David Martin, Mengs lawyer, said in a statement: We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms Mengs case if he thought it would assist the US negotiations with China over a trade deal. Mr Martin also said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. Chinas embassy said it was utterly dissatisfied. This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise, the embassy said in a statement. Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies, is a focus of US security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. The US and China have tried to keep Mengs case separate from their wider trade dispute, but President Donald Trump has undercut that intent, saying he would consider intervening in the case against Meng if it would be in the interest of US national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing. Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the United States and immediately release Ms Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese embassy added. US Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the Justice Department pursues cases free of any political interference and follows the evidence and rule of law in pursuing criminal charges. Pakistani soldiers patrol in the area where Indian planes were reportedly shot down by Pakistani forces earlier this week (Aqeel Ahmed/AP) Soldiers from India and Pakistan have targeted each other along the volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and wounding four others, officials said. Fighting resumed overnight into dawn, leaving two siblings and their mother dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals, police said. The childrens father was critically wounded and has been hospitalised. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons indiscriminately targeted border villagers along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three others. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling. A Pakistani military statement later said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. Both countries officials used the routine description for the military confrontations, saying their soldiers retaliated befittingly, and blamed the other for unprovoked violation of the 2003-ceasefire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier, targeting both army posts as well as villages. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a MiG-21 fighter jet on Wednesday and detained its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. The violence this week marked the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistans military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. On both sides of Kashmir, thousands of people have fled to government-run temporary shelters or relatives homes in safer areas to escape deadly and relentless shelling along the frontier. Many of these villages dot the rugged and mountainous frontier, which is marked by razor wire, watch towers and bunkers amid tangled bushes, forests and fields of rice and corn. Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training rebels and sending them into Indian-controlled Kashmir to launch attacks against government targets. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it provides moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris fighting for right to self-determination. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the region, and most people support the rebels cause against Indian rule while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown. Showing respect: Denis Bradley sees people of other faiths exactly as members of his own Denis Bradley (73) was born in Co Donegal. He was educated at St Columb's College in Londonderry, followed by six years at the Irish College in Rome. He served as a priest in the Bogside in Derry from 1970 to 1980. After leaving the priesthood, he worked as a counsellor, establishing two shelters and treatment centres for alcohol and drug addiction in the city. He is now married, with three grown-up children. He says: "It is an unwritten rule in my house to keep my public life and family as separate as possible." Q. Can you describe your early life? A. I was the youngest of seven, three boys and four girls. It was a house where aunts, uncles and friends "called", My mother ran a boarding house and, from May to October, we lived with a stream of visitors, mostly from Scotland. We had a small grocery shop attached to the house; its only drawback was its proximity to the house. It was not uncommon for children to knock on the door at 11pm, looking for a penny-worth of sweets. It sounds like it was a crazy and hectic place, but it was also very joyful and colourful. Q. What were your parents like? A. My mother was a good organiser and a hard worker and I inherited some of her organisational ability. I had an innate understanding of what would make an organisation work and sustain it. My father, a bus driver, was a gentle and likeable man. I was used to being told that if I grew up to be as good as him, I would be doing well. He and my mother had a very close relationship and they always took time out for themselves. In summer, they would drive somewhere for "high tea" and, in winter, they often went to the cinema in Derry. Being the youngest, I would, more than the others, be taken with them. Q. How and when did you come to faith? A. Religious practice was part of everyday life; at certain times of the year, daily Mass and/or evening devotions was the norm, as it was for many of our neighbours. Not to be an active participant in that religious community was more remarkable than to be fully active within it. I was an altar boy for five or six years. Religious practice was - and is - an expression of who I am and, while it may have changed, or matured, over the years, it remains large in my life. I left the priesthood to get married in 1980, but I never stopped participating in religious or Church life. I am still sometimes asked to talk at Church retreats and other such events. Q. Have you ever had a crisis of faith, or a gnawing doubt? A. I never had a crisis, but I have always believed that faith and doubt walk hand-in-hand. Sometimes, one aspect will be stronger than the other. Faith and non-faith in God and an afterlife are reluctant cousins, in that both can never prove, in this life, that the other is wrong. Q. Have you ever been angry with God? And, if so, why? A. God enters my consciousness mostly through my understanding of Christ. God is too big, or distant, for my anger. I do get annoyed sometimes that Christ, in revealing God, asks so much of us humans, who are pretty fragile and self-absorbed. And yet there is something wonderful and majestic in the radical demands that Christ makes; that we be as fully human and loving as He was. Q. Do you ever get criticised for your faith? And are you able to live with that criticism? A. I am sure that there are those who think that my understanding of Church and faith are not always orthodox. However, their confidence and their tongues have been restrained and curtailed in recent years. The Catholic Church, its clergy and its members are much more humble and tolerant than of old. The days of "we are the one, true and apostolic Church" are gone for good. Thank God. Q. Are you ever ashamed of your own Church or denomination? A. I am ashamed of the arrogance and corruption, the sexual and power abuse of the past and the near-past that has been exposed in recent years. But, within my own life and experience, I observed as many acts of kindness and generosity as I did of cruelty and crudeness. I have admired the one and been deeply saddened at the other. Q. Are you afraid to die? Or can you look beyond death? A. I attend many wakes and funerals of relatives and friends. My peers and I joke that we're quickly moving up the exit queue. "Afraid" is too strong a word. Certainly, apprehensive of the unknown and sad that I will leave loved ones. Comforted that, if there is no afterlife, then consciousness ceases, but assured by the irrepressible desire in the human spirit for life, meaning and continuance. But mostly consoled by the words of Christ that He goes before us to the Father and that we are to follow. Q. Are you ever worried about hell? A. It never enters my mind. I am not even sure I believe in it anymore, certainly not in the everlasting understanding of it. A merciful God will have found ways of dealing with justice and reparation that are out of, and beyond, our human imagination. I have no idea what the afterlife will look, or feel, like. Q. What do you think about people of other denominations and other faiths? A. I see them exactly as I see people of my own faith. Human, expressing their understanding of God and their relationship with Him/Her in their own way, traditions and cultures. Other denominations of Christianity are manifestations of historical divisions that are unfortunate and will become less-marked in areas of the world where religious expression is more and more a minority sector. That is happening already in Ireland, north and south. I do have some difficulty with fundamentalism in any Church - my own included. Fundamentalism kills faith, in that it asserts and hardens it into a certainty, the antithesis of faith. Q. Would you be comfortable stepping out from your own faith and trying to learn from other people? A. I hope I have done that throughout my life and hope I will continue to do it for whatever years I have yet to live. Q. Are the Churches here fulfilling their mission? A. That is a massive question. In ways, of course, they are. All Churches provide space and opportunity to many, or a few, people. All Christian Churches on this island are presently unsure and defensive. They see the empty seats in their churches and they consider secularism as the new virus that is killing religious belief. A period of time in the desert may be what Christ is demanding. Pope Francis is an important beacon in his teaching and in his person. He is reasserting the centrality of Christ's Sermon on the Mount, while trying to steer the Catholic Church away from its traditional obsession with sexual morality. He is also reasserting and recommitting the Catholic Church to what used to be described as Catholic social justice. I think the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, for whom I have a great regard, should follow his example, though I am not blind to the limitations of their system. I have Presbyterian friends and I find their spirituality and deep understanding of the Bible very uplifting. They have a number of outstanding women ministers, who are a great "grace" to any Church. It is unfortunate to hear stirrings that women ministers are less comfortable within their Church than they might have been in the past. Q. Has religion helped or hindered the people of Northern Ireland? A. The main Churches were less influential than they could - and should - have been during the Troubles. They were caught in the headlights and struggled to become part of a solution, rather than part of the problem. It was my personal experience that it was left to individual clergy to contribute pastorally and strategically to what was happening on the streets and in the parishes. Those who became deeply involved did so without any great support, or understanding, from their leadership. It should not have been like that. Q. What is your favourite film, book and music, and why? A. My wife and I are regular cinema goers, but I don't have one favourite film. I saw The Green Book recently and enjoyed it. My tastes in music and books are too eclectic to pick a favourite. In my early days, one of my sisters' boyfriends was a fan of Glenn Miller, so I was listening to big band music from an early age. Q. Where do you feel closest to God? A. At a Eucharist, or during a walk by the sea. Q. What inscription would you like on your gravestone? A. I have not made up my mind whether to be buried or to be cremated, but no inscription in any case. Q. Have you any major regrets? A. No. Sickening case: people protest with placards as Cardinal George Pell arrives at County Court in Melbourne earlier this week News of the conviction and remanding in custody of Cardinal George Pell, number three in the Vatican, for the rape of small boys in a sacristy came as a fitting end to a papal summit on child abuse which achieved nothing. It had begun with other cardinals attributing the problem to homosexuals in the priesthood. Of course, the reality is that priests abuse small boys, not because they are gay, but because they have the opportunity. Most are not even paedophiles, but rather sexually maladjusted, immature and lonely individuals, unable to resist the temptation to exploit their power over children who are taught to revere them as the agents of God. A Church which has tolerated the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children a crime against humanity in any definition needs to face unpalatable truths and to make drastic reforms. Cover-ups are no longer an option. The magnitude of the crimes is well-established and the evidence of how the Vatican and its bishops hushed them up in order to protect the reputation and finances of the Catholic Church is fully proven. By insisting upon its right to deal with allegations under medieval Canon Law, the Church itself became complicit. Obviously, there should be zero tolerance for clerics who confess or are convicted. They must be defrocked and certainly not allowed any appeal to the Vatican, which, in the past, has permitted many to remain in Holy Orders. Even in countries where local bishops have announced that public prosecutors will be told of sex abuse allegations, there is always the qualification only if the victim consents. It is all too easy for young victims and trusting parents to be counselled that their sons best interests lie in allowing the Church to deal with the matter in its own way. Abolishing the role of Canon Law in dealing with sex crimes will take some papal courage, but will be relatively easy beside the radical changes necessary to stop the abuse from happening in the first place. The reform most often suggested is to abandon celibacy. But marriage does not cure paedophilia. Abuse happens because priests are too weak, or emotionally immature, to resist the temptation to abuse their power. Why does that temptation arise? The Church indoctrinates children at the earliest age possible usually at seven that the priest is the agent of God. Communion is an awesome miracle performed by the God-priest and then the impressionable and nervous child is made to confess his sins and seek forgiveness from God, represented again by the priest. It follows that the only reform that could tackle the evil of clerical sexual abuse at its source would be to raise the age at which children are first given communion and confession from seven to, say, 13. Other churches, and the Jewish faith, leave indoctrination and spiritual commitment rituals until teenage-hood. By this stage, young people are much more capable of resisting sexual advances and have more courage to report them. Could the Pope ever contemplate this reform? The Jesuits say give me the boy at seven... and now we know what this has meant. But if such reforms are not implemented, there must be consequences. One consequence could be to reconsider, not the state, but the statehood of the Vatican. It is, after all, the only religion allowed this elevated status, with diplomatic immunities, expensive embassies and a role at the UN where it condemns programmes that help homosexuals, or propose family planning, or gender equality. Yet it is, in reality, no more than a religious enclave in Rome, without the attributes of sovereignty, or even an indigenous population (no one is born there, except by accident). If it continues as an organisation that facilitates the abuse of children, it should have no immunities at all. Geoffrey Robertson QC is a former UN appeal judge and the author of The Case of the Pope (Penguin) The Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice & Attorney General, has set up a creative arts mediation committee to deal with intellectual property rights and disputes involving creative artists. The committee is made up of representatives of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation, Audio-Visual Rights Society of Ghana (ASORG), Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) and the Ghana Actors Guild. A statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism said the committee is chaired by Justice Samuel Brobbey, a retired Supreme Court Judge, with Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, a lawyer and director of Ghana Folklore Board, as the secretary. The ministry expressed happiness that consultations with stakeholders, especially the Attorney Generals office, have yielded results. The setting up of the committee is the first step towards the establishment of the fully-fledged special court. The statement said the ministry would also collaborate with the Chief Justice to create a division of the High Court to focus on the creative arts, especially the intellectual property and rights, with a dedicated enforcement unit. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Antisemites from Gaza to Tehran threaten Israel with annihilation while the UN passes dozens of anti-Israel-resolutions each year and the German president sends his heartfelt wishes to the Mullah regimes anniversary. How is the Jewish state dealing with all this? BILD met with Israels ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff. BILD: The United Kingdom has this week classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety, following the US, Canada, the Netherlands and the Arab League. Is it time for the EU to take further action against Hezbollah? Jeremy Issacharoff: "Yes. The EU distinguishes between a political and a military arm, for which we believe there is no basis. Britain's classification of the entire Hezbollah is a correct and significant step. I believe that this position should be adopted by all EU countries. We never understood why this difference was ever made. Listening to the speeches of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, one can hear again and again blatant military threats against Israel. The distinction between a political and a military wing is artificial. We hope that the entire EU, including Germany, will now adopt Britains policy. " The argument of the EU and also of the Federal Government against a listing of the entire organization is that you do not want to destabilize Lebanon and want to talk to all the major players in the conversation. Do you see these dangers too? Jeremy Issacharoff: "The biggest threat to the stability of Lebanon is Hezbollah. It is an extremist organization whose goal is the unconditional fight against Israel. It has been massively arming itself for years and now has a considerable rocket arsenal, advanced air defense systems, drones, and cyber capabilities. In 2006, Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed others, igniting one of the most violent clashes between Israel and Lebanon. We hope that the Lebanese government realizes that it is responsible for curbing this organization. " Hezbollah has also made attacks in Germany in the past - would the classification of the entire group as a terrorist organization also increase security in this country? Jeremy Issacharoff: "Yes, Hezbollah is active not only in the Middle East, but also in Europe. We believe that all security services, including the German one, should keep a close eye on the Hezbollah threat. The organization is very calculated and is gradually expanding its infrastructure and capabilities that could enable possible future terrorist attacks like the one carried out in Burgas, Bulgaria, in 2012. " Lesen Sie auch Libanesisches Terrornetzwerk Iran liefert Raketen-GPS an Hisbollah Das islamistische Mullah-Regime rustet weiter Terroristen im Nahen Osten mit modernen Waffensystemen auf. Zur Bedrohung Israels. Neue Regierung im Libanon Ex-Leibarzt von Terror-Chef wird Gesundheitsminister Im Libanon wurde eine neue Regierung gebildet. Die Terrorgruppe Hisbollah und ihre Verbundeten ubernehmen nun mehrere Ministerien. What is the current danger at your northern border? Jeremy Issacharoff: "We have recently discovered six terror tunnels leading from South Lebanon into Israel. Nasrallah also bragged about those methods his organization could use to attack Israel and its civilians. We have no interest in an escalation of the situation in the North, but we will have no hesitation in vigorously defending our security. We want to neutralize the threat against us as much as possible and hope that all actors in the region understand the danger. It's not just an Israeli problem; it's a problem for Lebanon and the entire region. " The Bundestag will debate in March on an application by the FDP (Free Democratic Party), in which the party calls for an end to German support for the anti-Israel resolutions at the UN. Is that an important topic for Israel? Jeremy Issacharoff: "We have a close bilateral relationship with Germany, which is very important to us. But in recent years, I have felt that this relationship is not reflected in the multilateral arena. Following the votes in the UN last autumn, I looked at all the resolutions on Israel and the voting pattern of the EU and Germany. And I could not understand how these numerous resolutions corresponded to German policies. No other country is criticized as one-sidedly as Israel. Thus, a standard is created that one can do with Israel in the UN that you would not do with any other country. This is unacceptable." Lesen Sie auch Deutschland in der UNO FDP will Anti-Israel-Irrsinn stoppen Unfair: Im November stimmte Deutschland bei 21 Resolutionen gegen Israel 16 Mal zu, bei vier Enthaltungen. Der FDP reicht's. In which resolutions did you notice that in particular? Jeremy Issacharoff: "One particular resolution dealing with Syria criticized 'Israel's repressive measures on the Golan Heights'. I have spent a lot of time on the Golan Heights, I know the communities and their leaders very well, and their quality of life is of a very high standard compared to the lives of people on the Syrian side. But the resolution did not say anything about whats happening in Syria just half a mile away. It is no secret that we helped bring the White Helmets out of Syria and that we provided extensive humanitarian and medical help to Syrians. So, this resolution against Israel is particularly unfair and highly inaccurate. For such a close friend as Germany to vote in favor of this resolution is not the signal we expect from Germany. I have been talking to senior German government officials about this since last autumn and I hope this voting pattern will change. It is encouraging that this topic now gets wider attention, especially in the Bundestag. " The Federal Government emphasizes again and again its obligation to take action against anti-Semitism, no matter where it manifests itself. Does that have to include also the UN? Jeremy Issacharoff: "Germany and Israel have a special relationship and from a difficult past grew a strong relationship. I think everyone understands this special relationship and the political consequences of it. The deep connection between our countries should also be reflected on an international level. The Chancellor recently spoke on Israeli television about the link between anti-Israel criticism and anti-Semitism. The consideration of this relationship is urgently needed, at the UN and in the general public discourse." Israeli Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff and BILD-Reporter Antje Schippmann The Federal President has sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian regime - which repeatedly calls for the destruction of Israel - on its 40th anniversary. How do you feel about this? Jeremy Issacharoff: "President Steinmeier is a respected friend of Israel and maintains an excellent relationship with our President Reuven Rivlin. The friendship of our countries is unique and it is strong. It is possible that certain differences exist, but even these have narrowed in recent years. When we in Israel look at the 40th anniversary of the regime in Iran, we see a regime that systematically violates human rights; a regime that has spread instability in the region, pursued a military nuclear program and is currently driving an aggressive missile program. We see a regime that has denied the Holocaust and declares that it seeks to destroy Israel. We see no positive developments when we look at the last 40 years. We had friendly relations with Iran before the revolution and today we have no conflict with the people of Iran only with Iran's extremist regime. That's an important distinction. The time for congratulations to the people of Iran will come when the regime of the Ayatollahs and the terror it promotes both internally and externally, will come to an end. " Canada NewsWire MONTREAL, March 1, 2019 Plaintiffs' failure of proof requires reversal of the judgment MONTREAL, March 1, 2019 /CNW/ - Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (RBH) will seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada today's Court of Appeal decision that found in favour of plaintiffs in two class actions. In 2015, the trial court ruled in favour of plaintiffs and found that the class members' damages totaled approximately 15.6 billion CAD including interest. In today's decision, the Court of Appeal has largely affirmed the total amount of compensatory and punitive damages and the trial court's order for the defendants to deposit a portion of the damages, approximately 1.1 billion CAD, into trust accounts within 60 days. RBH's share of the deposit is approximately 250 million CAD. RBH previously deposited 226 million CAD as security with the Court of Appeal. RBH's parent company, Philip Morris International Inc., is not a party to the cases. Plaintiffs filed the two class actions against RBH, Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, and JTI-Macdonald Corp. in 1998one seeking damages for addiction and one for smoking-related diseases. It has long been settled law across Canada that in a class action, plaintiffs must not only prove that the defendants engaged in wrongdoing but also that this wrongdoing caused every member of the class injury. "Yet, during almost three years of trial, plaintiffs chose not to call a single smoker to testify, and otherwise produced no evidence that RBH misled anyonemuch less all of the Quebec smokers represented by these classes," said Peter Luongo, RBH Managing Director. "Today's decision by the Court of Appeal changes a fundamental principle of class action law and allows class-wide recovery of damages without proof from even a single class member. We believe this unprecedented change in the law warrants review and reversal by the Supreme Court of Canada," said Luongo. "The evidence at trial, including the Canadian government's own polling and statements, demonstrated that the Canadian public has been aware of the risks of smoking for well over half a century," added Luongo. "RBH should not be held liable to those who chose to smoke in light of these well-known risks." Class actions are not designed for personal injury cases like these, where each class member's experience is unique. Individuals begin smoking for different reasons, at different points in time, and have different experiences with smoking. "For precisely these reasons, courts in Canada and around the world have consistently rejected these types of class actions," said Luongo. For decades, RBH has operated under one of the most comprehensive sets of regulations in the world. Federal and provincial governments have long recognized the serious health risks of smoking and have strictly regulated the manufacture, sale, and marketing of the product. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that RBH marketed a legal product that complied with these strict laws and regulations. The trial court previously calculated the total amount of compensatory damages based on the assumption that all of the individuals estimated to be part of the disease class as defined will ultimately file a valid claim, while recognizing that in most large class actions only a small portion of eligible class members make a claim. The ultimate damages disposition will depend on further proceedings at the trial court level and an individual claims process for eligible class members. The cases are Letourneau v. Imperial Tobacco Limitee, et al. (the addiction class), and Conseil Quebecois sur le Tabac et le Sante (CQTS) et Blais v. JTI-Macdonald Corp., et al. (the disease class) before the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc., is one of Canada's leading tobacco companies and employs nearly 800 people across the country with its headquarters in Toronto and a factory in Quebec City. Philip Morris International Inc. is not a party to these cases. To receive more information on this case go to www.tobaccolitigation.ca. SOURCE Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. The Singaporean minister made the statement during a reception on March 1 for Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army, and Deputy Minister of National Defence. Giang is leading a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnam Peoples Army to pay an official visit to Singapore from February 28 to March 2. Minister Ng congratulated Vietnam on its hosting of the second DPRK-USA Summit, saying that this shows Vietnams role and position in the international community. While sharing current challenges in the region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including those related to the East Sea and strategic competition among big countries, the Singaporean minister he hoped that with its role as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam will have many initiatives to contribute to strengthening the regional security structure. Singapore will coordinate with and support Vietnam to successfully assume the role of ASEAN chair, he said. For his part, Giang congratulated Singapore on successfully taking on the role of ASEAN chair in 2018. He emphasised that during its time as the chair of ASEAN, Singapore put forth many practical initiatives and made important contributions to promoting unity within the bloc and improving the position of ASEAN in the region and the world. Giang expressed his hope that Singapore will share its experience with Vietnam as it assumes the ASEAN chair role in 2020. In the afternoon of the same day, an official welcoming ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation was chaired by Chief of the Defence Force of Singapore Lt. Gen. Melvyn Ong. During his talks with the Vietnamese delegation, Melvyn highlighted the fruitful friendship between the two countries, saying that the visit will contribute to further reinforcing the practical cooperation between the two armies, thus promoting bilateral relations. Giang affirmed that since 2013, Vietnam and Singapore have become strategic partners of each other and their defense cooperation has recorded positive development steps. Vietnam attaches importance to defence cooperation with Singapore, he stressed, adding that the visit aims to discuss specific measures to further bolster cooperation between the two armies in the time to come. The two officers agreed to enhance the exchange of delegations and visits, especially cooperation among the two countries forces at sea, effectively implement signed agreements, and work closely in humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The two sides will also maintain the mechanism of information exchange, and continue to consult with each other at multilateral forums, especially those within the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), ADMM Plus, and the ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces framework. Albert Voss was born November 6, 1956 in Laurel, Maryland at Prince George's General Hospital. He was one of four children born to the late Ellen Elizabeth Swimley Voss and Fred Henry Voss. In addition to his family, Albert was surrounded by a host of friends and staff before departing this life at home on February 26, 2019 at the age of 62. Albert has been a resident of Charles County HARC since September 30, 1986. He was an active member in the community. He had been attending Spring Dell Center's day program since October 1, 1986. He enjoyed going to Spring Dell Center and had made many special friends. He participated in numerous activities that brought him great joy. Albert loved people. It didn't matter if you were a familiar face or not. He loved to engage himself in the presence of others. He enjoyed hearing the latest news or juicy gossip among his close housemates Elise and Christene. He would giggle with laughter or make a deep long sigh to capture the ladies attention. Albert would become fussy if they made to much noise, which he didn't like so much. Albert did an excellent job of communicating and he had a great sense of humor. He would roll his eyes or smile and use vocal sounds to get his likes or dislikes known with his staff. Being outnumbered by two female housemates and the only man in the house, Albert quickly learned that if you can't beat them its best to join them. Albert enjoyed going everywhere with the ladies. He liked the Dallas Cowboys, listening to music and his favorite food was spaghetti. His favorite pass time was attending social events with his extended HARC family and going out to eat. Everyone enjoyed Albert's kind and gentle spirit. While Albert has returned to his heavenly home, he will be sadly missed. We thank you Albert for showing us your strength and courage. We know you are completely whole now. We will always cherish your memories in our heart, for you are one of a kind. A gathering on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 from 10AM until time of service 10:30AM at Raymond Funeral Service, P.A., 5635 Washington Avenue, La Plata, Maryland 20646. Interment will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to Spring Dell Center 6040 Radio Station Road, La Plata, Maryland 20646 or Charles County HARC 79 Industrial Park Drive Waldorf, Maryland 20602. WASHINGTON (March 01, 2019)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is awarded afirm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for production, repairs services and associated ancillary equipment for the systems for Naval Target Control Block II and III in support of Navy aerial targets. Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and is expected to be completed in February 2024. Fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,219,199 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code2304(c)(1). The, is the contracting activity (N0001919D0020)., is awarded ancost-plus-fixed-fee contract to procure non-recurring engineering efforts to analyze, define and document system and subsystem requirements for capability enhancements to integrate the adaptive radar countermeasures program on the F/A-18 aircraft. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (50 percent); Clifton, New Jersey (25 percent); Goleta, California (10 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (10 percent); Raleigh, North Carolina (3 percent); and Huntsville, Alabama (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,560,339 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-0051)., is awarded anfirm-fixed-price modification under previously-awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00174-17-D-0016 to exercise an option for development, product improvement and prototyping support of various aircrew escape systems managed under the Joint Program Office for Cartridge Actuated Device/Propellant Actuated Device Tri-Service Charter. This requirement is for engineering, technical, administrative and programmatic management support for total life cycle management of the various aircrew escape systems. Work will be performed in Chandler, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by January 2020. No additional funds will be obligated at time of award. The, is the contracting activity., is awardedfor firm-fixed-price modification P00033 to a previously awarded contract (N00019-17-C-0034). This modification provides for the procurement of Tomahawk Block IV All-Up-Round spares to support the recertification of Tomahawk Missiles. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (27.57 percent); Walled Lake, Michigan (15 percent); Tucson, Arizona (14.47 percent); Washington, Pennsylvania (11.66 percent); Hollister, California (4.25 percent); Midland, Ontario, Canada (4.18 percent); Glenrothes Fife, United Kingdom (3.2 percent); Vergennes, Vermont (2.9 percent); Orchard Park, New York (2.56 percent); Berryville, Arkansas (1.86 percent); South El Monte, California (1.46 percent); Merrimack, New Hampshire (1.28 percent); Fairfield, California (1.08 percent); Huntsville, Alabama (1.05 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (7.48 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2020. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $25,229,389 will be obligated at the time of award, $4,186,657 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awardedfor cost-plus-incentive-fee order N0001919F2693 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides for the development of the F-35 Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (AGCAS). The AGCAS is an on-board system that prevents controlled flight into terrain. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in March 2020. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $5,109,509 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($5,926,519; 42 percent); Navy ($2,110,071; 15 percent); Marine Corps ($1,378,177; 10 percent); and non-U.S. Department of Defense participants ($4,706,677; 33 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded aadvanced acquisition contract modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification provides for long-lead material and activities in support of 16 P-8A lot 11 aircraft to include six for the Navy, four for the government of New Zealand, and six for the Republic of Korea. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (97.04 percent); Huntington Beach, California (2.4 percent); and various locations within the continental U. S. (.56 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); and foreign military sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $428,896,674 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($180,000,000; 42 percent); the Republic of Korea ($160,944,226; 37 percent); and the government of New Zealand ($87,952,448; 21 percent) under the FMS program. The, is the contracting activity., is awardedfor modification P00006 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-17-C-0037). This modification exercises an option to procure 145 D(V)2 Processors, 434 D(V)2 Antenna Detectors; 253 D(V)2 Radar Receivers; 107 D(V)2 Low Band Arrays; 211 D(V)2 Battery Handle Assemblies; 8 D(V)2 Digital Receiver Processor Circuit Card Assemblies (CCAs); 10 D(V)2 Radio Frequency Distribution CCAs; 10 D(V)2 Dual Down Converter CCAs; 14 D(V)2 Quad Receiver Exciter CCAs; 6 D(V)2 Low Voltage Power Supply CCAs; 53 C(V)2 Processors; 160 C(V)2 Antenna Detectors; 132 C(V)2 Radar Receivers; 89 C(V)2 input/output Processor CCAs; 89 C(V)2 Signal Processor Unit CCAs; 7 Advanced Main Processor Unit CCAs; 7 C(V)2 Digital Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) Interface CCAs; 7 C(V)2 Analog YIG Interface CCAs, and 5 C(V)2 Upgrade Kits. In addition, this option exercise includes technical engineering, logistics and management services to fabricate, assemble, test and deliver AN/APR-39 C/D(V)2 Systems and associated hardware in support of Navy, Army, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (53 percent); Woburn, Massachusetts (12 percent); Lansdale, Pennsylvania (9 percent); Menlo Park, California (6 percent); Longmont, Colorado (6 percent) and various locations within the continental U.S. (14 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2021. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy and Army); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force); working capital (Navy and Army); and FMS funds in the amount of $117,368,080 will be obligated at time of award, $33,244,974 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This option combines purchase for the Navy ($94,650,099; 80 percent); Army ($15,949,693; 14 percent); FMS ($5,650,203; 5 percent); and Air Force ($1,118,085; 1 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is awardedfor cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order N0001919F2512 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides for program management, nonrecurring engineering, recurring engineering, site support and touch labor in support of modification and retrofit activities for delivered Air Systems for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense (DoD) Participant and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in February 2020. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force); non-DoD participant and FMS funds in the amount of $108,742,796 will be obligated at time of award, $8,357,457 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($40,792,324; 37 percent); Marine Corps ($20,450,619; 19 percent); Navy ($8,157,493; 8 percent); non DoD Participants ($31,490,977; 29 percent) and FMS customers ($7,851,383; 7 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afirm-fixed-price, cost- reimbursable contract to provide supply chain management for the military departments of the Ministry of Defense for the government of Kuwait. Services procured include product/program management support, logistics and supply support, packaging, handling, storage, and transportation, technical data management, training and training system support, computer resources, and design interface. Work will be performed in Kuwait, and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $41,762,131 will be obligated at time of award; none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(4). The, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-C-0006)., is awardedfor modification P00011 to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive firm contract (N0001918C1048) to provide for initial lay-in of repair material for ten F-35 Lightning II systems at various depots in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps; Navy; non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (48.4 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (24.8 percent); North Amityville, New York (13.2 percent); Grand Rapids, Michigan (4.7 percent); Cheltenham, United Kingdom (3.9 percent); Tempe, Arizona (2.9 percent); and Irvine, California (2.1 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Air Force and Navy); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps.); non-U.S. DoD Participant and FMS funds in the amount of $30,811,998 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($13,456,431; 43.7 percent); the Marine Corps ($6,649,044; 21.6 percent); Navy ($3,088,625; 10 percent); non-U.S. DoD Participants ($5,251,166; 17 percent); and FMS customers ($2,366,732; 7.7 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is awarded afirm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for 2.75-inch rocket launchers and subcomponents to support Navy, Army, Air Force and foreign military sales requirements. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $53,779,290. This contract involves sales to the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Arnold, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by March 2023. Foreign military sales (Australia); fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 weapon procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $15,036,600 will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2017 funding in the amount of $439,725 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The, is the contracting activity (N00174-19-D-0001)., is awarded aindefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide contractor-owned and operated propeller aircraft in support of airborne threat simulation training for shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew. Work will be performed at various locations inside and outside the continental U.S., and is expected to be completed in March 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic proposal; three offers were received. The, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-D-0030)., is awardedfor cost-plus-fixed-fee task order N0042119F0422 against a previously issued General Services Administration Alliant 2, government-wide acquisition contract (47QTCK18D007). This task order provides development, planning, execution, monitoring, and life cycle services for information technology/cybersecurity programs and associated activities in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Information Technology and Cyber Security Department. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in March 2020. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $6,602,419 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is awardedfor modification P00014 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract (N00421-18-C-0005). This modification provides for software application contractor support services for new and existing acquisition tools in support of the Naval Air Systems Command. This support consists of maintenance and associated upgrades to the Acquisition Management Systems tools, including the Procurement Management Tool. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in November 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The, is the contracting activity.Contracts For March 1, 2019, are each awarded multiple award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with firm-fixed-pricing arrangements for the procurement of M98 gas particulate filter sets. The maximum ceiling dollar value for both contracts combined is a possible. The two contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Work will be performed in Solon, Ohio, for the filters manufactured by HDT and Tustin, California, for the filters manufactured by DWT, and is expected to be complete by March 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,605 for HDT and 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) $1300 for DWT will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304, these contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The, is the contracting activity (N00178-18-R-5005)., is awarded afirm-fixed-price contract for the production and delivery of 132 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), Night Vision Cueing and Display Systems (NVCD); 56 in support of Navy, 55 in support of the government of Australia and 21 in support of the government of Switzerland. In addition, this contract provides technical data, non-recurring engineering and all other supplies and services necessary to perform installation and testing of the JHMCS/NVCD systems. Work will be performed in Merrimack, New Hampshire (79 percent); Wilsonville, Oregon (15 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (4 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2021. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $22,137,097 will be obligated at time of award, $292,060 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($9,312,361; 42 percent), the government of Australia ($9,108,738; 41 percent); and the government of Switzerland ($3,715,998; 17 percent). This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-C-0008)., is awarded asingle year firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract, in response to solicitation number N00174-18-R-0031, for the manufacture, assembly, test, and delivery of 57mm High Explosive Point Detonating cartridges. The 57mm HE-PD Cartridge is a 57mm/70, electrically-primed cartridge designed to function in the 57mm MK 110 Gun Mount (GM). The MK 110 GM is employed on the Navy Littoral Combat Ship class and the Coast Guard Legend-class National Security Cutters. This requirement is to develop and produce 57mm HE-PD cartridges intended for combating surface and ground targets. The cartridge consists of a high explosive projectile with the ability to point detonate, a brass cartridge case loaded with propellant charge, and an electric primer. Government First Article Testing will be required. Work will be performed in Perry, Florida, and is expected to be complete by February 2021. Fiscal 2019, 2018, 10`7 Procurement of Ammunition, Navy and Marine Corps funds in the amount of $10,406,730 will be obligated at award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with three offers received via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The, is the contracting activity (N00174-19-C-0006). CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - America's newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday toward the International Space Station on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, speaks at a news conference with astronauts, from second left, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover before Saturday's Falcon 9 SpaceX Crew Demo-1 rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2019. (AP Photo/John Raoux) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - America's newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday toward the International Space Station on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. The only passenger was a life-size test dummy, named Ripley after the lead character in the "Alien" movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year. A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket ready for launch sits on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2019. The rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft unmanned test flight is scheduled for launch early Saturday morning. (AP Photo/John Raoux) This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. It will spend five days docked to the orbiting outpost, before making a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Friday all vital training for the next space demo, possibly this summer, when two astronauts strap in. SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said the launch was "super stressful" to watch, but he's hopeful the capsule will be ready to carry people later this year. A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket, ready for launch, sits on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2019. The Crew Dragon spacecraft unmanned test flight is scheduled for launch early Saturday morning. (AP Photo/John Raoux) "To be frank, I'm a little emotionally exhausted," Musk told reporters barely an hour after liftoff. "We have to dock to the station. We have to come back, but so far it's worked ... we've passed the riskiest items." NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called it "a big night for the United States of America." "We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011," said Bridenstine, who got a special tour of the launch pad on the eve of launch, by Musk. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Demo 1 crew capsule lifts off from pad 39A, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) An estimated 5,000 NASA and contractor employees, tourists and journalists gathered in the wee hours at Kennedy Space Center with the SpaceX launch team, as the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off before dawn from the same spot where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles once soared. Across the country at SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, company employees went wild, cheering every step of the way until the capsule successfully reached orbit. Looking on from Kennedy's Launch Control were the two NASA astronauts who will strap in as early as July for the second space demo, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Shortly after liftoff, Musk asked them, "How do you feel about flying on it?" It's been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a demo Crew Dragon spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, March 2, 2019. (AP Photo/John Raoux) NASA turned to private companies, SpaceX and Boeing, and has provided them $8 billion to build and operate crew capsules to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Now Russian rockets are the only way to get astronauts to the 250-mile-high outpost. Soyuz tickets have skyrocketed over the years; NASA currently pays $82 million per seat. Boeing aims to conduct the first test flight of its Starliner capsule in April, with astronauts on board possibly in August. Bridenstine said he's confident that astronauts will soar on a Dragon or Starliner or both by year's end. But he stressed there's no rush. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference after the SpaceX Falcon 9 Demo-1 launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, March 2, 2019. (AP Photo/John Raoux) "We are not in a space race," he said. "That race is over. We went to the moon and we won. It's done. Now we're in a position where we can take our time and make sure we get it right." SpaceX already has made 16 trips to the space station using cargo Dragons. The white crew Dragon is slightly bigger 27 feet (8 metres) tip to tip and considerably fancier and safer. Musk said the redesigned capsule has "hardly a part in common" with its predecessor. It features four seats, three windows, touch-screen computer displays and life-support equipment, as well as eight abort engines to pull the capsule to safety in the event of a launch emergency. Solar cells are mounted on the spacecraft for electrical power, as opposed to the protruding solar wings on cargo Dragons. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken attend a news conference before the Falcon 9 SpaceX Crew Demo-1 rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 1, 2019. The astronauts are assigned to fly in the SpaceX Demo-2 flight test later this year. (AP Photo/John Raoux) "It's an incredibly sleek looking vehicle from the inside and it's very easy to operate," Hurley told reporters just hours before liftoff. He marvels at how the Dragon has just 30 buttons and touch screens, compared with the space shuttle cockpit's 2,000 switches and circuit breakers. For the test , the Ripley dummy was strapped into the far left seat, wearing the company's snappy white spacesuit. The other seats were empty, save for a small plush toy resembling Earth that was free to float upon reaching zero-gravity. "Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch!" Musk tweeted. True to his word, the toy rose weightlessly above the seat once the capsule was in orbit. As many as seven astronauts could squeeze in, although four will be the norm once flights get going, allowing for a little cargo room. About 450 pounds (200 kilograms) of supplies are going up on this flight. The capsule is designed to dock and undock automatically with the space station. Cargo Dragon must be manoeuvred with the station's robot arm. Like Ripley, the capsule is rigged with sensors. Engineers will be carefully watching sound, vibration and other stresses on the spacecraft, while monitoring the life-support, communication and propulsion systems. Some of the equipment needs more work possibly even redesign before serving human passengers. "We're going to learn a ton from this mission," said NASA's commercial crew program manager, Kathy Lueders. Flight operations team members some of them new to this also need the six-day trial run, according to Kennedy Space Center's director, Robert Cabana. The objective is to make the next demo flight, with Hurley and Behnken, as safe as possible. The more immediate goal is to avoid harming the space station and its three occupants: an American, Canadian and Russian. "Seeing a success like this definitely gives us a lot of confidence in the future," Behnken said. At Saturday's post-launch news conference, Musk said he'd be happy to fly on the revamped Dragon. "You guys think it's a good vehicle, right?" he asked Behnken and Hurley, seated alongside him. Musk jokingly said they better wait a week, until the Dragon returns, before responding. Despite SpaceX's success at recovering and reusing its rockets, NASA is insisting on brand new boosters from SpaceX for the crew capsule flights. The first-stage booster used Saturday landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic, following liftoff. SpaceX plans to recycle the newly flying capsule for a high-altitude abort test this spring, along with a booster launched and retrieved a week ago. Musk anticipates eventually selling Dragon rides to private citizens, much as the Russians have done, first to the space station and then perhaps beyond. "That would be pretty cool," he said. ___ 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. While the latest parental panic on social media is believed to be a hoax, Brandon School Division is using it as an opportunity to remind parents to be mindful of their childrens use of technology. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us While the latest parental panic on social media is believed to be a hoax, Brandon School Division is using it as an opportunity to remind parents to be mindful of their childrens use of technology. Warnings about the "Momo challenge" swept Facebook and other social media this past week, as parents worried about purported videos that encourage children to hurt themselves or do other harmful tasks such as turning on stoves without telling their parents. The warnings were accompanied by a disturbing image of a grinning creature with matted hair and bulging eyes. It is now believed the challenge is a hoax, and it remains unclear how many videos exist or to what extent they have circulated. Fact-checking website Snopes said the challenge first appeared in mid-2018 linked to suicide reports without actual evidence. YouTube also released a statement advising it hasnt received "any recent evidence of videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge" on its service. A spokesperson with the Brandon Police Service said they have had no complaints or incidents in relation to the challenge. Brandon School Division sent out an email on Thursday warning parents about the challenge, which a spokesperson from the division said through emailed correspondence was a precautionary measure, as no complaints or incidents have been reported. "Please be mindful of the amount of screen time on electronic devices, the sites and applications your child(ren) may use," the email said. "We ask that you consider age appropriateness for childrens use of technology, time spent on social media and overall reminders of family expectations for making good choices." The school division also urged parents to have discussions with their kids about safe Internet use, recommending protectkidsonline.ca, zoe&mollyonline.ca, and needhelpnow.ca as good resources. Experts also recommend taking advantage of parental settings built into many products and services. Most web browsers can block certain websites, limit what children can see and provide a report about what sites a child visited. Smartphones and tablets also have options to limit screen time and access to apps. YouTube Kids lets parents disable search and turn off "autoplay." Another option is to download apps from shows or channels directly rather than going through streaming services such as YouTube. PBS, Peppa Pig, Nick Jr. and other popular services for kids have their own apps, with pre-screened videos deemed appropriate for kids. edebooy@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press Twitter: @erindebooy EDMONTON - An Alberta mother found guilty of breaking the ankles of her two-year old daughter has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EDMONTON - An Alberta mother found guilty of breaking the ankles of her two-year old daughter has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. The woman, who can only be identified as S.N.A. due to a publication ban, was convicted in December of several offences aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessaries of life. Prior to sentencing Friday, defence lawyer Kiran Janda read a statement on behalf of the 26-year-old woman in court because she was "too intimidated" by the Crown to speak herself. "For as long as I can remember, I have had behavioural issues," the woman said in the statement. She said she was bullied at school and eventually dropped out around Grade 10. "I was lost in life at 18," said the woman. "At 20, I got pregnant with my daughter ... her father was emotionally abusive." Janda added that her client never meant to hurt her daughter. "She was extremely naive," she told Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench Justice Wayne Renke. The woman had testified at trial that her daughter fell off a toilet in March 2016, but she did not believe the child was in pain and thought she was just weak from a cold and flu. A few days later, the toddler was dropped off at her grandparents for the weekend. They noticed the child was in pain and took her to a hospital in Wetaskiwin, south of Edmonton, where X-rays confirmed fractures to both ankles. The girl was then transferred to Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. The Crown's medical experts who testified at trial said the girl would have had to fall from a balcony to sustain such injuries. Janda said the girl has recovered and the mother is not a risk to reoffend. "She does not have her daughter. She has no other kids," Janda said before asking for a six-month sentence with three years probation. Crown prosecutor Carole Godfrey had asked for five years in prison. The judge said he found the woman guilty of breaking both of the girl's ankles, manipulating her ankles and failing to seek medical attention. "In my opinion, (she) has a high degree of culpability," Renke said, noting that the broken ankles came within months of a broken left arm. Renke said the woman knew her daughter couldn't walk, knew she couldn't stand and knew she was in pain but didn't take her to a doctor. He added that he didn't hear any regret during the trial. "I don't find any evidence here of remorse," said Renke. Although he recognized her tough childhood, the judge said she still had a choice. OTTAWA - When he was named Friday as Canada's latest minister of veterans affairs, Lawrence MacAulay was given the difficult task of sweetening the Trudeau government's relations with embittered veterans and selling the Liberals' controversial pension plan for those injured in uniform. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Lawrence MacAulay speaks to reporters following a cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday, March 1, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - When he was named Friday as Canada's latest minister of veterans affairs, Lawrence MacAulay was given the difficult task of sweetening the Trudeau government's relations with embittered veterans and selling the Liberals' controversial pension plan for those injured in uniform. MacAulay's move to veterans affairs from the Agriculture Department, where he had been for the past three years, was part of a mini-cabinet shuffle prompted by Jody Wilson-Raybould's sudden resignation from the portfolio after only a few weeks in the job. The move comes at a critical time for veterans and the Liberals, who enjoyed strong support from former service members in the last election but are now facing widespread anger and frustration from the community ahead of this year's vote. That frustration is fed by the fact MacAulay is the fifth person to hold the veterans-affairs portfolio in less than four years under the Liberals, counting Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's temporary assignment after Wilson-Raybould's resignation. "What it has sent as a message is that the veterans portfolio hasn't been a priority, that our veterans themselves have not been a priority to the government," said Virginia Vaillancourt, national president of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees. "And he's going to have a lot of relationships to mend and fix due to the constant turnover that we've seen in the minister's role." MacAulay's appointment Friday was met with some extremely cautious optimism given his past role in the 1990s as secretary of state for veterans affairs under Jean Chretien and the fact the longtime MP is from P.E.I., where Veterans Affairs Canada is headquartered. Yet there were also questions about whether he is simply a placeholder given that the next election is only a few months away and whether he will actually be able to address the veteran community's numerous concerns and grievances. In an interview with The Canadian Press before he flew to P.E.I. Friday, MacAulay said his plan is to sit down and take a close look at "what's there, what's been done and what can be done better for veterans." Yet he also defended the Trudeau government's record, saying "it's kind of a shame" if veterans feel the Liberals have been ignoring them or have broken promises to the community since taking office. "My understanding is that what we indicated we would do we are doing or in the process of doing," MacAulay said, citing the re-opening of several Veterans Affairs offices closed by the Conservatives and the introduction of a new pension plan as examples. "I think you'd find there's a lot of veterans who are quite pleased with what's taken place." Yet that pension plan, in particular, has been anything but well received as MacAulay is likely to find out. The federal Liberals promised during the last election to reinstate a lifelong disability pension after many veterans complained the lump-sum payment and other benefits that replaced it in 2006 were far less generous. While the pledge was widely interpreted as a promise to bring back the pre-2006 pension system, the Trudeau government instead introduced its own version that will come into effect on April 1, which many veterans have described as a betrayal. An analysis by the parliamentary budget office last week found the Liberals' so-called Pension for Life plan is not only less generous than the pre-2006 pension, but will provide less financial compensation to the most severely injured veterans than even the current system does. "(MacAulay) has to do more than just verbiage. He has to come back with some specific proposals to address the inequity," said Brian Forbes, chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations, which represents more than 60 veteran groups across Canada. "I truly believe that if he doesn't do something along those lines, then the election has to be impacted at least to some extent by the fact that many veterans will either stay home or vote into another party. They're not going to get that grandiose support they got in 2015." There have also been concerns about the long delays and obstacles many veterans continue to face getting services and benefits, which Royal Canadian Legion national executive director Brad White said "has to be cleaned up." One of the key questions, however, is how much room and money MacAulay will have to manoeuvre before the writ is dropped given that the federal budget will be unveiled in less than three weeks and many of its measures have already been nailed down. "So things are pretty well set," White said. "I'm not going to say in stone. But I think it's pretty well set for the rollout of the budget." Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. It corrects Royal Canadian Legion national executive director Brad White's title. TORONTO - Rarely are Indigenous laws invoked on Parliament Hill, but that's exactly what happened this week when Jody Wilson-Raybould cited core values shaped by "a long line of matriarchs" in front a House of Commons justice committee. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Jody Wilson-Raybould speaks with the media after appearing infront of the Justice committee in Ottawa, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld TORONTO - Rarely are Indigenous laws invoked on Parliament Hill, but that's exactly what happened this week when Jody Wilson-Raybould cited core values shaped by "a long line of matriarchs" in front a House of Commons justice committee. Observers say it's resonating deeply in Indigenous communities, with some including legal scholar Christina Gray suggesting Wilson-Raybould's assertion of First Nation principles as her guidepost is a "pivotal" moment in Indigenous-Canadian relations. "All lawyers are talking about this right now and definitely Indigenous people are talking about this from all different walks of life," says the masters of law candidate at the University of Victoria, a Ts'msyen member of Lax Kw'alaams near Prince Rupert, B.C., who was born and raised in Vancouver. "There's not an Indigenous person that's not thinking about this issue right now." Wilson-Raybould's bombshell testimony Wednesday centred on statements that the prime minister's office employed "veiled threats" to pressure her to allow SNC-Lavalin to escape prosecution. For his part, Trudeau said later that day that he completely disagreed with her account and insisted he and his staff "always acted appropriately and professionally.'' Wilson-Raybould, the former attorney general, reminded the committee of her history as a Vancouver prosecutor and her professional training to preserve "our system of order." But she also outlined what the rule of law means to her as an Kwakwaka'wakw woman and leader, in which she "was taught to always hold true to your core values, principles and to act with integrity." "These are the teachings of my parents, grandparents and my community. I come from a long line of matriarchs and I am a truth teller in accordance with the laws and traditions of our Big House," said Wilson-Raybould, former British Columbia regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. "This is who I am and who I will always be." Chief Robert Joseph, a fellow member of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, says Wilson-Raybould's comments have "ignited" an important discussion that he believes will resonate beyond committee hearings. "Politicians are probably going to be the last to awaken to this possibility (but) ordinary Canadians have a real willingness to learn about their Indigenous neighbours," says Joseph, calling that key to the principles of reconciliation. He acknowledges that few non-Indigenous people likely know about the concept of a Big House, which were literally large structures that in the past sheltered up to four families of a clan. Today, they are a place for ceremonies, decision-making, discussion of economic development issues and protocols between nations and clans, says Colleen Hemphill, chief negotiator for the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations. Carved totems and crossbeams reflect Indigenous history and ancestral connections to the land. "Some people, including the band chiefs that I work for call it our Parliament building. It's very, very important, very sacred, it's the place where we come from and it shows our connections to our origins," says Hemphill, in the midst of raising funds to build a Big House in her community north of Port of Hardy, B.C. But when Wilson-Raybould speaks about the Big House, she does so metaphorically, because it also represents an entire worldview, says Chief Joseph. "When we talk about the Big House we're talking about all things Kwakwaka'wakw in an instant," he says. "All of them have genesis stories and from that genesis story we talk about all of the history ... we talk about the laws that evolve from that genesis and we talk about the spirituality that is inherent in all of the genesis. Chief Joseph also lauded Wilson-Raybould for living up to her Kwak'wala name of Puglaas, which he says literally translates as "someone who is a source of fulfillment." "If you hold that name it (means) to be able to live out your highest consciousness, to live out all of the teachings that you've been told and truth is fundamental to the teachings of the Kwakwaka'wakw," says Chief Joseph, noting this would have been ingrained in Wilson-Raybould throughout her upbringing. "If you are untruthful you bring dishonour not only to yourself but to your family, your tribe and the nation. So the honour of all, really, rests with you." Hemphill says she was very close to Wilson-Raybould's grandmother, who bestowed the name, and says it would have been chosen after careful consideration with the chief, the matriarchs and her parents. "And then oftentimes they would observe the child and they would make a determination that that child would have a certain name based on that child's behaviour. And then they're groomed accordingly." Women hold particular power in their communities, adds Hemphill, in preserving traditions while presiding over feasts and ceremonies to mark milestones such as births and coming-of-age. "Often it's the males who are the chiefs but it is the females, the matriarchs, that are behind those chiefs that make them really, really strong. The matriarchs have an extremely important role in a community to oversee things, to uphold the kind of rule of law and to remind the chiefs of their responsibilities," says Hemphill, whose First Nation is slightly north of Wilson-Raybould's and culturally similar. "The further north you go the more strongly matriarchal they are and the further south you come you move into a more patriarchal society." Wilson-Raybould's words also caught the attention of Victoria lawyer Murray Browne, who is not Indigenous but found the committee hearing "a really ironic and interesting situation historically for Canada." "I'm not sure if people understand the significance of this that we have somebody like Jody Wilson-Raybould coming from a culture (that) was actually outlawed, her nation was subject to the potlatch bans that were in force in Canada from 1927 to 1951," says Browne, a senior associate with Woodward & Company, which works exclusively for First Nations governments and organizations. "But that culture taught her to be a leader with integrity. She gets appointed to the government, who has a past of oppressing her people and trying to erase her culture and she's the one who's speaking for integrity in the government." Hemphill, too, says she hopes Wilson-Raybould's words hit home with all Canadians. "I would love to see a dialogue begin to happen and for people to admit that the Indigenous people know what the heck they're doing," says Hemphill. "They've been doing it for thousands of years so let's take a closer look at what is being said and what is exemplified by Jody at this time." The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has criticised Fianna Fail's recent partnership with the SDLP during a trip to Belfast. Speaking at an Alliance Party dinner last night, Mr Varadkar pointed to the dynamic created by the deal between the Conservative party and the DUP and said a similar dynamic could arise if Fianna Fail were in Government. He also spoke to journalists of the need to be an 'honest broker' when dealing with Northern Ireland politics: Mr Varadkar said: "The decision that Fine Gael, my party, has taken is that rather than aligning ourselves with any one political party in Northern Ireland, that we think it's better for Fine Gael as a party - but also as a party of Government - to try to work with all parties, to be an honest broker where there is a disagreement and also, in particular, reach out to the centre ground of people in politics but also people beyond politics who want a shared future." Also last night in Belfast, the Taoiseach said Ireland's defamation laws need to find the right balance between free speech and privacy. It comes in the wake of yesterday's verdict that Denis O'Brien had not been defamed by the Sunday Business Post. He told reporters that Ireland's defamation laws do need review, but that a review is currently underway. The Taoiseach said: "Defamation laws in Ireland do seem to be more restrictive than in other countries, but we also have to balance the need for free speech and the need for a free press, but we also need to protect people's privacy and people's reputations. "Where media organisations or journalists do publish things that are untrue and damaging, they can really hurt people, so we need to get that balance right." The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he regrets that Northern Ireland has not kept up with the South in introducing change around marriage equality and the right to choose. Speaking during a trip to Belfast, Mr Varadkar said it is a shame those issues have got caught up in a tussle between Unionism and Nationalism, Orange and Green. A travel agent found guilty of stealing money from a charity which sent terminally ill children to Lapland has lost an appeal against his conviction. John Murphy, 69, also known as Con Murphy, had pleaded not guilty to four counts of theft from The Children to Lapland Appeal between June and July 2010 totalling 18,643. Murphy, of Church Road, in Killiney, had founded the charity in 1987. It raised money from donations to bring terminally ill children on trips to see Santa Claus in Lapland. Murphy also operated United Travel, a travel agent based in Stillorgan, in Dublin, before it went out of business in 2012. His defence at trial was that the charity owed him money and it was normal for monies to travel back and forth between the accounts. The prosecution characterised his position as the Father Ted defence. To quote Dermot Morgan, they're trying to say 'the money was simply resting in my account', Garrett McCormack, for the DPP, contended. Murphy was found guilty by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after 42 minutes of deliberations and he was subsequently given a wholly suspended three-year sentence by Judge Pat McCartan on March 16, 2016. The Court of Appeal upheld his conviction today. Giving judgment in the three-judge court, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the evidence that Murphy held a genuine belief that he was entitled to the money was thin. The evidence went no further than an agreement by the prosecuting garda that Murphy's personal bank account was used on occasion to pay wages and expenses of United Travel. She said there was no reference to a belief on Murphy's part that he was entitled to the funds of the charity, during his Garda interviews. Therefore, there was no evidence sufficient to put in issue the question of honest belief. Furthermore, she said the trial judge told the jury that, while he did not think evidence of honest belief was in the case, he advised them it was a matter for them to assess as the judges of fact. She said the Court of Appeal was satisfied that the trial judge did not err in his instructions to the jury, and was right to refuse an application to direct the return of verdicts of not guilty. Ms Justice Kennedy, who sat with President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, said the appeal was dismissed. This article discusses three meetings. First, it reports on the Jan. 24 meeting of the HIV Planning Council (HIV-PC). Second, it reports on the Jan. 4 meeting of the South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN). Third, it reports on the Feb. 1 meeting of SFAN. The Broward HIV Planning Council (HIVPC) oversees the Ryan White Care (RWC) Program of Broward (RWC-Broward). The South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN) advises the RWC program of the Florida Department of Health in Broward (RWC-FL DOH Broward). HIV Planning Council The HIV PC meeting moved $250,000 from the Health Insurance Continuation Program. It also moved $36,000 from Mental Health Services and $25,989 from Medical Case Management. It moved all $321,989 to Ambulatory Health Services. The latter program saw a significant increase in its number of clients. January South Florida AIDS Network Election of its officers occupied most of this meeting. Joey Wynn announced that he could no longer be chair as his work load had increased. SFAN re-elected Gary Hensley and Trudy Love as vice chair and secretary respectively. SFAN elected Greg Beltran to succeed Wynn as chair. Wismy Cius, of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, reported changes to DOHs pharmacys policies. People who pick up their meds at the DOH pharmacy can now obtain a 90-day supply. Clients must first have their physicians approval. Arianna Lint requested an investigation about her removal from the HIV Planning Council. February South Florida AIDS Network Leonard Jones, RWC-Broward, discussed RWC Funding. RWC-Broward has three funding sources. One source is competitive. Complex formulas determine the other two awards. The formula for the RWC Base award uses the number of HIV cases detected in a given county. The number of people receiving HIV services does not determine RWC funding. Only those who first tested HIV-positive in that county are linked to that countys RWC funding. Jones estimated that 33 percent of RWC-Browards clients were not tested in Broward. For example, say Patient X receives his first HIV-positive test result in Chicago. He then moves to Broward and begins to receive RWC services in Broward. His positive HIV result in Chicago determines where "his" RWC dollars go. Those dollars will always go to Chicago regardless of where Patient X is receiving RWC services. Recently, Broward County received a reduction in HIV funding of $100,000. At the same time, its client load increased by 3 percent. Jones warned that RWC-Broward was heading to a mismatch between funds and services. RWC-Broward is now at maximum capacity according to Jones. Without more funding, Broward will have to streamline services, reduce services, or increase eligibility. Jones stressed that the continuum of services has worked for last five years. He does not want to see it break down. Jones said it was not sustainable over the long run. This potential short fall will not impact agencies immediately. Jones said there may be an impact in the second half of next fiscal year (October 2019 to February 2020). Tamika Johnson announced that Broward Health Medical Center is now offering oral and anal STD testing. Next SFAN Meeting: Thursday, March 7, at 6:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Healthplex, 1000 NE 56thSt., Fort Lauderdale. SFAN welcomes newcomers. Announcement The RWC-FL-DOH Broward announced that two RWC dental clinics will be closed effective Feb. 28, 2019. The two clinics are located at The South Regional location at 4105 Pembroke Rd., Hollywood and at the Paul Hughes location, 205 NW 6th Ave. Beginning March 1, RWC Dental patients should go to The Fort Lauderdale Clinic, 2421 SW 6th Avenue 954-467-4705. Its hours are Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Follow Sean McShee on Twitter @SeanMcShee An 18-year-old man arrested as part of an investigation in relation to a drugs seizure in the Limerick area yesterday has been released from Garda custody and is expected to appear before a sitting of Limerick District Court later this month charged in connection with the case. Investigating Gardai are continuing to detain a man (30) and woman (47) at Henry Street Garda Station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996. MELBOURNE MORNING MASTERS Young Melburnians bass-baritone Jeremy Kleeman and pianist Stefan Cassomenos join forces to introduce Musica Viva's 2019 Melbourne Morning Masters series in the Melbourne Recital Centre's Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on Tuesday, March 26. We have five doubles to enjoy morning tea from 10am in the foyer before joining them on a musical magic carpet ride through a set of songs by Ravel, Vaughan Williams and Schubert. The audience is invited to join the artists following the concert for an exclusive Meet the Artists session. Register your details on rsvpmelbourne@musicaviva.com.au before midnight tonight for the chance to win. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir will screen at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival. HEROES ROOFTOP BAR AND BASEMENT KARAOKE BAR Billed as Melbourne's newest and best karaoke room, Heroes, Bourke Street's Rooftop Bar and basement karaoke party house is offering M readers the chance to sing their heart out in one of three new private karaoke rooms. Decked out to enhance all of those hidden talents, the offer (worth $320) provides the winner and up to seven guests with a private basement room to belt out Top 40 oldies along with obscure numbers from another era along with a drinks package. For your chance to win, send your details to info@heroesbar.com.au. The winner will be notified but will need to book directly with Heroes. Id shelved any idea of dating for a while, content to stay at home with my cats and meals for one and MAFS on demand. (Note: I do not have cats.) A few years ago I tried a matchmaking service . The Third Wheel was set up by a local businesswoman Aerin, a company aimed at those over 35, looking to meet new people, perhaps potential partners. I tried three dates with Aerin, all interesting men, but they werent for me and probably vice versa. But I didnt. Instead I sought out some experts of my own to see if science could do a better job of finding me a mate than I could. Then Aerin called not long ago to tell me that she was putting the bike lock on The Third Wheel for a while. Shes back at work after a second baby, living a full and happy life, and she just didnt have time. She was referring some of her clients to a different match-making business hoping to move into the Canberra market if I was interested. Vital Partners started in Adelaide in 1986 and now has a large client base in Sydney, country NSW and hopefully, soon, the ACT. More than 25,000 men and women have been introduced since then and, via their testimonials page, many a relationship has formed. I met with manager Recel Tayor as part of the process. The service includes a very personal initial consultation where you chat about what you are looking for, who you are looking for, talk about your interests. It was like opening up to a complete stranger, and a good opportunity to think about what it is that I actually want. Companionship, she asked. Ahh, no. Am I allowed to say I want to meet someone who might like a bit of canoodling at half-time during the footy? Appears I was. Yes, I need companionship too, but Im not ready to sit on the couch with my cats and a crocheted rug just yet. Loading Tayor spoke about their typical clients. There are those ready to settle down, but not liking the online scene or going out to pubs and clubs. Busy people, professionals and even older people who might be ashamed to tell their families they want to get back into the dating scene. What most of them have in common is a need for privacy and discretion. Its a foggy afternoon in Portland, Oregon. I meet Will at the downtown art museum where a cabal of fine printmakers are gathered. He has served in Americorps and we knew each other from South Florida, where we worked in tandem for LGBT community service organizations. Will works in the field of public health. He is gay. He is also a survivor of conversion therapy. Im meeting Will to talk about the recent revelation by one of the industrys top therapists, David Matheson. A Mormon, Matheson said he is gay and sorry for the confusion and pain my choice may be causing others. Hes a dishonest tool, Will said when first asked about Matheson. The three sessions cost Wills parents quite a small fortune. Will described Mathesons approach a mind fuck. On Jan. 24, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City published the following headline: Popular Utah Conversion Therapist Comes Out: I Am Gay. In the piece, Matheson apologizes to his clients and said he is seeking a gay partner. I can no longer live without an intimate partnership with another man, Matheson told KSL-TV. Back in Portland, Will is pissed. As we dined on chicken drumsticks and dessert at the restaurant inside Hiltons new boutique hotel, Will condemned Mathesons nonchalant attitude. Now hes saying Im a white gay man and this doesnt apply to me anyone, Will said with a tone that suggests underlying anger. Will is 28 now. Hes been in Portland for almost two years, studying biology at Portland State University. Hes dated and had relationships with men and knows what awaits Matheson on the gay side. This guy is going to be a daddy now, Will said. Conversion therapy has become such an issue some states and municipalities have banned the practice on minors. Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting anti-gay prejudice. TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen said Matheson has undoubtedly caused harm. David Matheson has ruined a lot of lives in Utah, Besen said. He has harmed a lot of people. There are people who will want their money back. In a statement on Jan. 22, TWO blasted Matheson: David Matheson seems more invested in his own journey than the people whose lives hes ruined. May his growth bring him to a place where he can help his victims, as well as prevent future harm. Perhaps with time he will become a better human being. For his part, Matheson told NBC he planned to remain a Mormon and is still an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My core faith is unchanged. The core principles, the core concepts in the church, I believe them. I feel them as strongly as I ever did, Matheson said. Meanwhile, Will said he is having a hard time reconciling his religious views. I get really put off by Christian couples, he said. And the Mormons who he once sang in the choir with bring about sour feelings as well. Theyre always promoting and staying busy, he said. They believe an idle mind is the devils workshop. I think those type of people are pathetic. A lot of the judgment and guilt is still enacted. Will left the restaurant that night on foot back to his small apartment in the university district. Reached by telephone a week later and asked why his parents sent him to conversion therapy to begin with, Will struggled for an answer. They dont want to talk about it, he said. Its embarrassing to them. So, how is it? On the critical matters of food and service, this is a good restaurant. On the important matter of atmosphere, Pretty Boy doesn't nail it. It's not just that the lighting is chilly and the banquettes are too far from the tables, it's that there's a sterility to the room that makes it feel like fine dining ambition was an afterthought, not part of the vision from the outset. In short, I had a good meal, but it's hard to imagine Pretty Boy fighting to top of mind next time I wonder where to eat in the city. If you were visiting Melbourne and staying in a city hotel, would you also choose to eat in it? Most people don't or, if they do, they get a cheeseburger sent to the room. The "capture rate" for most hotel restaurants (the proportion of in-house guests filling their bellies on premises) is under 20 per cent. In Melbourne, that makes perfect sense: any stumble on a city street is likely to see you fall into a cool restaurant. Pretty Boy is thus wading into tricky territory, not only hoping to be a compelling offering for temporary residents of the Novotel and IBIS hotels upstairs, but also to attract locals who probably don't look for opportunities to hang out at CBD hotels. It's a shame because there's a lot to like. Chef Michael Smith brings varied experience to the central open kitchen: if you eat here as a single or couple, grab a spot at the counter. Smith has been head chef at Jacques Reymond, Tonka and Mamasita and ran his own place, Jorg, in North Fitzroy he knows his stuff. The menu is an easy-please array of antipasto, pasta and steak, nominally Italian but don't look for nonna. The service, though stretched on our visit, was good and I'm not just saying that because our waiter told us she loved reading Russian poetry in Russian, no less. Gnocchi at Pretty Boy. Credit:Justin McManus Bread is not complimentary but I'm happy to be complimentary about it anyway: airy slices of focaccia comes with exceptional prosciutto butter, made from the un-sliceable last bit of the haunch. Nice idea! Leftover bread is turned into crackers to serve with charcuterie. Cured kingfish is dressed with the no-fail combination of orange, fennel and chilli but I lucked onto a superb special of tuna with puffed pork crackling. Potato gnocchi petite and pan-fried are delicious, served with mixed mushrooms and (unnecessary) truffle oil. Grilled grass-fed steak comes with a choice of condiments; the sauces are properly made but seasoning was awry. Desserts ply New York-Italian lines and are unremittingly dairy: both the choc-malt and coffee-vanilla cheesecakes balance sweet with nicely judged hints of bitterness. There are actually three venues here. One floor up from the main restaurant is Floyd's, a bar with an alluring cheese and charcuterie cabinet but as much atmosphere as a Tigerair terminal. The ground-floor canteen, Goldie's, is the place I'd return for snackable bao (the crispy eggplant is ace), toasties with fillings like char siu pork and Peking duck and genius alcoholic bubble teas. It's right on Little Lonsdale Street so you could eat here and not realise you are in a hotel restaurant. In this case, that's for the better. I have a dilemma. Jack has been invited to a sixth birthday party and the invitation says No Presents but can I really turn up with nothing? I dont want to ignore the parents but I also dont want him to miss out. They bought Jack a gift for his birthday and were super generous. Can't I even just buy him a book? Help! This was a text I received from a friend recently and, like her, I was stumped. Do you turn up with a present and risk the hosts wrath for ignoring their wishes of "no presents", or turn up with nothing and risk the childs wrath or, worse, the disdain of other parents who ignored the request? Credit:Shutterstock While "no presents" might be commonly dictated on invitations to 50ths and the like, for kids' birthdays, its new terrain. Its something of a mini minefield: turn up with something and risk the hosts wrath for ignoring their wishes, turn up with nothing and risk the childs wrath or, worse, the disdain of other parents who ignored the request. A nightclub patron was knocked unconscious in a two-punch attack in Canberra last month, police say. ACT Policing has released CCTV footage of the man officers believe is responsible for the assault, which happened inside the 88mph nightclub on Hobart Place in the city. Police want to identify this man, who they believe punched a patron twice, knocking the victim unconscious, inside the 88mph nightclub. Credit:ACT Policing Police allege the man had "a verbal confrontation" with the victim at about 12.30am on February 17, before punching the victim twice and leaving the venue. The victim was treated by paramedics at the scene. Police have released face-fit images of two men they believe were behind a ram-raid in a Canberra suburb earlier this year. It is alleged the men were involved in a ram-raid at the Spanish Australia Club in Narrabundah on Monday, February 11. Police have released face-fit images of two men they believe were behind a ram-raid at the Spanish Australia Club in Narrabundah. Credit:ACT Policing About 5.20am, the two offenders used a white Ford ranger to force entry into the club, ACT Policing allege. A witness saw two men, fitting the description depicted in the face-fit images, at the rear of the club at the time of the crime and overheard one offender call the other Bailey, police say. This epic word-for-word enactment of F. Scott Fitzgeralds masterpiece The Great Gatsby has toured the world to sold-out houses for the past 13 years; in 2010, the New York Times hailed it the most remarkable achievement in theatre not only of this year, but also of this decade. Perth Festival has brought New York Theatre Company Elevator Repair Service to Perth for the first time to perform critically acclaimed and wildly popular Gatz; to me, far and away the most exciting page in a jam-packed 2019 program. Entering Perths Octagon Theatre on Friday night, I saw a warning: contains cigarette smoke, open flames and use of firearms. Perth Festival artistic director Wendy Martin says its the greatest piece of theatre she has ever seen and she has worked tirelessly to bring it to Australia for the second time, the first time having been to the Sydney Opera House. Coming to Perth direct from another season in New York, the production opens with a worker in a shabby 1980s office casually picking up a copy of The Great Gatsby, and starting to read it aloud at his desk. And he just cant put it down. Over the working day, Nick Carraways workmates are transformed into Tom, Daisy, Jordan and a host of other characters from the novel, their nondescript workplace becoming a hotbed of 1920s jazz-age hedonism. It was an eight-hour journey we went on with them (6 hours of performance time, with one long and two short breaks); youd think as a tired office worker myself, bleary-eyed by a Friday night, that by interval Id be exhausted and itching to go home. Kings and queens are common as muck at Mardi Gras, but among royalty there is none higher than Kylie. Kylie Minogue reigned supreme at Mardi Gras. Credit:James Brickwood Anticipation of the pop princess infused the streets as revellers kicked off the 41st Sydney Mardi Gras parade, with the First Nations float striding on to Oxford Street just after 7.30pm and following the traditional Dykes on Bikes out of the gates. Kylie Minogue, whose status as the countrys pre-eminent gay icon endures, made an appearance at Taylor Square before making her way to Fox Studios for a "surprise" performance at the official after party in the early hours. Wildlife rangers on Fraser Island have euthanised a second dingo after an attack on a nine-year-old boy and his mother. The boy was bitten on the face, arms and legs and his mother bitten on the leg on Eurong Beach as they attempted to run back to the safety of their car on Thursday afternoon. Two dingoes has been euthanised following an attack. The French tourists were airlifted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and on Saturday remained in a stable condition. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officers captured one of the dingoes identified as responsible and put the animal down on Saturday. A 50-year-old man has died in hospital after he was severely burnt while trying to put out a fire outside his home in Ipswich, Queensland. Police said the suspicious fire had started outside the Robertson Street home at Eastern Heights between 11pm and 11.30pm on February 22. Emergency services were called to the Robertson Road home about 11pm on Friday to find the front porch, patio and fence were on fire. Firefighters worked to control a fire in Ipswich. Credit:QFES Media The 50-year-old occupant tried to put it out when he saw the flames and ultimately received burns to his legs. The founder of legendary Brisbane gay nightclub The Beat Megaclub, John Hannay, has lost his fight against cancer. Hannay started The Beat in Fortitude Valley in 1983, and the club expanded over 35 years from a single bar and dance floor to a megaclub that was a safe place for Brisbane's LGBT community. Posting a tribute on its Facebook page, The Beat said Mr Hannay passed away at 8pm on Friday, and described him as an "iconic and illustrious leader". "The legacy that John leaves behind is the longest-running nightclub in the history of Australia, The Beat Megaclub," it read. "Through its many eras, The Beat has touched the lives of thousands upon thousands of people in a way that only John Hannay could make possible." Outside, a wide balcony features the stories of the great aviators and gives a broad view of the whole site. In 1920, Jack Treacy was the first person to land at Eagle Farm. It was little more than a cow paddock. His aircraft, the Queen of Sheba was bringing the popular silent film of that name to Queensland. A re-creation of a worker testing the Allison engines. Credit:Brismania Bert Hinkler, landed in Darwin in February 1928, after completing the first solo flight to Australia in 15 days and two hours. He flew home to Queensland to a heros welcome at Eagle Farm. Charles Ulm, in June 1928, completed the first flight across the Pacific from the US and landed at Eagle Farm to a heros welcome. From there, its down to wander the heritage site, which begins with the womens prison. The footings of the old cellblocks have been marked out and a path wanders across the lawn while scattered signs tell the story. The old Allison engine testing stands built in 1942 were home to the 'noisiest job in the war'. Credit:Brismania The old palisade gate, once made of pointed eucalypt stakes has been recreated in metal. This was the single gate that in the 1830s controlled all entry and exit from the prison yard. Inside was the prison barracks, hospital, wash house, needle room and cookhouse. Cells were in the northwest corner of the prison yard protected by an additional fence. Near the gates is the spot where, a century later, 26-year-old Amy Johnson came crashing in after her solo flight from England to Australia. Her heros welcome had been in Darwin five days earlier and fame preceded her arrival, so a crowd had gathered. Precisely where Amy crashed is unclear, but we know it was very close to this spot and if you had been standing here on May 29, 1930, you would have had an excellent view. It was a dramatic entrance. Her plane overshot the runway, tipped over a fence and somersaulted in the farm beyond. She emerged unhurt. The balcony where stories of great aviators are told. Credit:Brismania Continuing on, the path winds around to the old Allison engine testing stands where locally refurbished aircraft engines were tested during World War II. Its something of a miracle that the old engine testing stands were not torn down at some point. In fact, their floor level illustrates how much the rest of the area has been built up with fill from the Clem 7 tunnel as it turns out. These sheds, built in 1942, were home to the noisiest job in the war and operated 24/7, much to the chagrin of residents in nearby suburbs. There is a button to push to sample the noise of the engines which could be heard as far as Lutwyche Road. Two enclosed brick structures built in 1943 were used for indoor testing. They were decommissioned but never demolished. After the war, Eagle Farm again became Brisbanes main airport and the old buildings were used to house the airports fire engines. Hangar 7, the last remaining building from wartime Eagle Farm Airport, was home to a top secret unit. Credit:Brismania The path leads on back to the interpretive centre, and on through a tunnel to Hangar 7, the last remaining building from wartime Eagle Farm Airport. It was built to discourage prying eyes as it was the base for the Allied Technical Air Intelligence unit, a top-secret unit crucial to the war effort in the Pacific. Here Japanese aircraft salvaged from the islands in the north were pulled apart and rebuilt to learn their engineering secrets. A sign shows the view of the 19th century womens barracks. Credit:Brismania When the Americans went home, they left the best and most modern airport in Australia and the Commonwealth wasted no time in using the Eagle Farm site for Brisbane Airport, relegating Archerfield to light aircraft. ANA and TAA established their operations and Brisbane boomed. Around 10pm Saturday night a 'Prepare to Evacuate' message was issued to residents in Labertouche North. Photo taken by resident Therese Ross - from Tynong North on Saturday March 2, 2019. Credit:Therese Ross Residents in Maryknoll and Cornucopia have been told to shelter inside immediately as the fire is threatening properties in the area. There are around 300 personnel fighting the fire, along with 10 aircraft. Several warnings have been issued for fires further east one near Dargo in central Gippsland, and another south of Morwell in the Latrobe Valley. Campers at Wilson's Promontory were also advised to evacuate after fire broke out north of Tidal River. The CFA has declared a total fire ban across Victoria on Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach the 40s in parts of the state's north. The four-day heatweave is set to come to an end with a cool change predicted on Sunday afternoon. The smoke cloud over townships south-east of Melbourne, captured from a drone looking east from Pakenham. Credit:AAP Image/Hilton Stone Another bushfire remains out of control south of Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, and and could impact Yinnar South overnight. Residents in Boolarra, Budgeree, Churchill, Grand Ridge, Hazelwood, Jeeralang, Jumbuk and Yinnar have been warned that leaving is now the safest option. Crews were able to bring another 400-hectare fire at Dargo, 36 kilometres west of Omeo under control which has been downgraded to watch and act status. Bunyip fire An updated emergency warning was issued just before 6pm Saturday for Bunyip, Bunyip North, Cornucopia, Garfield, Garfield North, Maryknoll, Tonimbuk, Tynong, Tynong North, Gembrook, Gentle Annie, Labertouche, Longwarry, Longwarry North, Nar Nar Goon, Nar Nar Goon North Residents have been told it is too late to leave. The fire in Bunyip State Forest was still out of control and moving towards Princes Highway, Emergency Management Victoria said. The highway is closed in both directions between the Nar Nar Goon Interchange and Drouin. V/Line regional rail services between Melbourne's Southern Cross and Traralgon in the state's east have been affected by the Bunyip fire, with coaches replaces trains from Warragul. An emergency relief centre has been set up at Pakenham Hall, on the corner of John and Henry streets, for residents of Gembrook, Tonimbuk and Tynong North. Cars with trailers, horse floats and caravans were backed up for at least a kilometre down Longwarry Nar-Nar Goon Road late on Saturday afternoon as ash and burnt leaves started to drift down from the darkening sky. The bushfire burning through the Bunyip State forest as seen from Tynong North Road on Saturday afternoon. Credit:Chris Hopkins The fire is threatening areas highly populated with horses, including the Mill Valley Ranch in Tynong North, managed by Sue and Will Ellis. The ranch was meant to be hosting a community group camp over the weekend but had to evacuate visitors on Friday night when conditions worsened. Volunteers evacuated 30 of the 51 horses at the ranch by float on Friday night, as well as moving $100,000 worth of saddlery. "Volunteers came and helped us in the middle of the night, it was pretty impressive," Ms Ellis said. The rest of their horses have now been left to run loose on the 188 acre property. The Ellis' and their staff finally made the call to leave the property at 4pm on Saturday as the fire began bearing down on the property. "You could feel the heat, there were embers falling from the sky," said Ms Ellis. They are now in for a nerve-wracking wait to see if CFA teams can ward off the fire from their historic property. Tynong resident Vanessa Costello decided to evacuate her horses from her property after hearing that the fire could become catastrophic. Vanessa Costello leads her horses Duck and Fuzzy along Tynong North Road, out of the bushfire's path. Credit:Chris Hopkins By that time, the roads were closed and she couldn't get a car with a float in, so she started the 10 kilometre walk with her horses Duck and Fuzzy in scorching heat as ambers rained down. "I'm just going to walk them to my back yard in Tynong," she said. The trio cut a grim shape against the billowing black smoke behind. "Doesn't help that I have the slowest walking horse in history," Ms Costello laughed. "I don't think he's walked this far in his life". Budgeree bushfire An emergency message has also been issued for residents in Budgeree, Budgeree East, Jumbuk, Yinnar South, Grand Ridge and Jeeralang in eastern Victoria, due to a fire burning near Yinnar South, south of Morwell. Late on Saturday an easterly wind change shifted the direction of the fire and is expected to Yinnar South. The bushfire is spreading in a westerly direction towards the Monash Way. "Emergency Services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay," the CFA has warned. A relief centre has opened at Kernot Hall in Morwell. Dargo bushfire An emergency warning issued for the town of Dargo, at the foot of the Alpine National Park, has been downgraded to a watch and act. The bushfire is seven kilometres north-west of Dargo, on the boundary between the state forest and private property. It is travelling in a south-easterly direction towards Dargo and while the progress of the fire has slowed, there is still a risk it could impact the small township. On Saturday night the bushfire was travelling in a northerly direction, with fire activity has increasing due to a southerly wind change. A watch and act alert has been sent to residents of Dargo, as well as Black Snake Creek, Cowa, Crooked River, Gibbs, Hawkhurst, Maguires and Miowera. An emergency relief centre was opened at the Baptist Church on Cobains Road in Sale. Licola bushfire Dr Powell said these regional areas all hit the sweet spot of affordable prices within a manageable distance of the Melbourne CBD. "People come up for a weekend with a friend, and they're living somewhere where they can't see their neighbours, there are beautiful sunsets and all that sort of thing. They think, 'What are we doing in Melbourne?'" She said that despite the softening of property prices in Melbourne, "it's still unaffordable for some to enter the property market ... and it's pushing people further afield". "I think what buyers are looking for are those areas that are close to a city so that they can commute," DrPowell said. About 400,000 Australians have moved to regional areas in the past five years, according to a Regional Australia Institute report released last week. The institute called for infrastructure spending to make these centres even more attractive and for programs to support jobs. Ms Graham said her commute to Melbourne was generally good. "It would be under an hour and a half each way. Now the trains are busier, and there needs to be more frequent services," she said. "Going home is not so great. One day last week it was 2 hours before I got home." At least two homes and three other buildings have been destroyed as fires continue to rage across Victoria. A massive 6280-hectare blaze is tearing through the Bunyip State Park, near Tonumbik, about 65 kilometres east of Melbourne. It is the largest fire in Victoria and an evacuation alert remains in place for the town of Labertouche, with the blaze expected to reach the area by midday. There are currently 25 fires burning across the state. Aircraft will be sent up on Sunday to work out what type of buildings were destroyed by fires at Bunyip State Park. Phones are starting to get weird again, finally moving away from the standard iPhone-like silhouette to experiment with (somewhat) new shapes and forms. All the world's biggest smartphone makers that aren't Apple gathered together in Barcelona this week for MWC, the largest mobile-focused tech fair there is, and their various new devices are refreshingly diverse. The biggest spectacle of course was Huawei's Mate X foldable smartphone, which follows Samsung's own similar Galaxy Fold device, hastily unveiled just days ahead of the conference. Both companies have been hesitant to let too many people get their hands on the new flexible devices, which can be used as standard phones or unfurled to act as small tablets, but differences between the two approaches are clear. Samsung keeps the larger display tucked inside the fold of the device, presumably to keep its plastic surface safe from scratches. But this approach means it has had to put a much less impressive small screen on one of the outside covers, and dot cameras on all three surfaces to make sure the device is useable open or closed. By contrast Huawei folds the other way so that when closed you get a phone with screens on both sides, and a vertical hand grip with cameras on it makes the same lenses accessible no matter how you hold it (you just can't take selfies in tablet mode). It's certainly more impressive to look at, but time will tell if the screens hold up to scuffing. Both companies use mechanical hinges to stop the phones flopping around. Minneapolis: Ex-Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor formally has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges in the July 2017 shooting death of Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Noor did not speak during the 30-minute evidentiary hearing, but his lawyer Thomas Plunkett entered the plea on his behalf. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, left, and his lawyer, Thomas Plunkett, after a pretrial motions hearing on Friday. Credit:Star Tribune In July 2017, Noor was a passenger in a squad responding to Damond's 911 call about a possible rape behind her south Minneapolis home when he fired through the driver's side window, killing her. The case drew widespread attention. Judge Kathryn Quaintance ruled that prosecutors could not use Noor's "prior acts" as a police officer as evidence against him, including an incident in which he pointed a gun at a motorist during a traffic stop. All Our Children - 2019 - Off-Broadway Tickets, News, Info & More January 1941. A terrible crime is taking place in a German clinic for disabled children. The perpetrators argue that it will help struggling parents and lift the financial burden on the mighty Third Reich. One brave voice is raised in objection. But will anyone listen?Stephen Unwin's riveting new play is set against a forgotten chapter of the Holocaust, the murder of disabled children and young people, remembering those who died and those who fought against this injustice. Tony Award winner John Glover (Saint Joan, The Drowsy Chaperone, Love! Valour! Compassion! on Broadway; "Smallville") is featured in a company including Jennifer Dundas (The Little Foxes, Arcadia on Broadway), Karl Kenzler (Fiddler on the Roof, You Canat Take It With You on Broadway; "Law & Order," "House of Cards"), Tasha Lawrence (Good People and Wilder Wilder Wilder on Broadway; "The Looming Tower," "Royal Pains") and Sam Lilja (The Iceman Cometh on Broadway). Directed by Ethan McSweeny (Gore Vidalas The Best Man, A Time to Kill on Broadway).The persecution, sterilization and murder of hundreds of thousands of disabled people is one of the most overlooked chapters in the whole ghastly history of Nazi Germany. Between 1939 and 1945, it is estimated that well over 200,000 people with a wide range of disabilities were dismissed as Lebensunwertes Leben ('lives unworthy of life') and systematically killed in six converted psychiatric hospitals across Austria and Germany. Public opposition to the program was limited. The most striking intervention came from the Bishop of MAnster, Clemens von Galen, who will be played by John Glover.All Our Children is a timely work of historical fiction, but rooted firmly in the true evils of the past. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Firefighters pulled a man out of the Gowanus Canal after he jumped into the notoriously polluted waterway on Friday. The man leapt the short distance from the Third Street Bridge near Bond Street to the toxic bath below around 3:15 pm, before New Yorks Bravest quickly plucked him from the fetid Superfund site and rushed him to Methodist Hospital for treatment, according to a Fire Department spokesman. And although the Feds in charge of scrubbing the noxious canal recently declared part of it cleaner than it has been in 150 years, much of the channels floor is still covered by a thick layer of toxic sludge known as black mayonnaise, and its water is far from fully purged of such filth as feces and trace amounts of gonorrhoea. A local daredevil who over the years has slipped into a full-body wet suit to take laps through Brooklyns Nautical Purgatory to raise awareness of its tainted state said anyone who takes an unprotected plunge into the canal could risk exposure to a plethora of chemicals and pollutants, not to mention hypothermia. Hes going to make contact with sewage, coal-tar residue, and whatever is melting in there from the streets so dog s, gas, oil, copper, and asbestos dust from everybodys break pads, said Christopher Swain. I hope hes okay. Indeed, not all creatures that found their way into the canal survived the experience both a dolphin, and the beloved young Minke whale Sludgie, met their early ends after getting trapped in the channel. Young children are routinely on inhalers, water and electricity is at a premium especially in colonies under the Haryana Urban Development Authority administration, outbreak of viral diseases act as a natural check on its growing numbers by claiming lives every season, many internal roads are re-laid after every monsoon and no matter how wide the arterial roads become (there have been visible improvements in this regard), they appear inadequate and unreasonably clogged with traffic. In fact, every time I head from the ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The New York based non-profit parenting boot camp called Men Having Babies will host its first event in Asia, after an increased interest in surrogacy. Men Having Babies will provide assistance, advice, and support to gay couples wanting to become parents. The sessions will be in Taipai, Taiwan on March 9 and 10, according to Reuters. Our conferences are not meant to persuade to become parents ... they are meant for people who already want to become parents (and) to make the process more accessible and easier, founder and executive director, Ron Poole-Dayan told Reuters. People are starting to realize .. the fact that theyre gay doesnt mean that theyre not going to be able to have a full life including starting a family and having children. Men Having Babies holds around seven conferences a year in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Israel, and will now host annual conferences in Asia. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Serbias first female and gay Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and her partner welcomed a baby boy on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Brnabic, 43, was appointed to office in June 2017, according to the BBC. Gay marriage is illegal in Serbia and LGBT people are often harassed and attacked, so her appointment made history for the community. Now shes making history again. "Ana Brnabic is one of the first prime ministers whose partner has given birth while in office... and the first in the world in a same-sex couple," the AFP agency quoted her office as saying. Same-sex couples arent allowed to adopt in Serbia, even though single people can adopt. So Brnabic partner Milica Djurdjic had to conceive through artificial insemination. Lyft pulled back the curtain on its business for the first time on Friday as it prepared to go public, officially starting the countdown on a horde of technology offerings that are set to bring new wealth to Silicon Valley this year. By publicly unveiling the prospectus for its initial public offering, Lyft signaled its intention to meet investors in what is known as a roadshow in about two weeks, after which it will most likely start trading on the stock market in April. The ride-sharing company leads a stampede of other highly valued private tech companies that plan to go public this year, ... Two Pakistani Army soldiers were killed in exchange of fire with Indian Army along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, according to Pakistani media. Havaldar Abdul Rub and Naik Khuram were killed in Nakiyal Sector in exchange of fire while targeting Indian posts, the media said quoting Pakistan military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The Indian Army has been saying that Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked firing and shelling at military and civilian locations at various places in Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Contol (LoC). Three members of a family were killed Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday in such an action by the Pakistan Army. The Pakistan Army has violated ceasefire at Gawahalan, Chokas, Kiker and Kathi posts in the Uri sector and Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors of Rajouri and Poonch' Balakote yesterday. The Indian Army has been retaliating strongly and effectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A total of 16 ministers negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement on Saturday called for addressing specific sensitivities while working towards achieving commercially meaningful outcomes. The mega trade deal is being negotiated by 16 countries--the 10-member ASEAN group (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), besides their six free trade pact partners--Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 7th RCEP Inter-Sessional Ministerial Meeting held at Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was chaired by Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Acting Minister of Commerce of Thailand, and reviewed developments since the 2nd RCEP Summit held on November 14, 2018, in Singapore. About 25 rounds of talks have been concluded so far but the members are yet to finalise the number of goods on which customs duty will be eliminated. Issues are also pending in the services sector as India is demanding greater flexibility to promote trade in services. "The ministers recalled the leaders' determination to conclude a modern, comprehensive, high quality and mutually beneficial RCEP in 2019, and resolved to exert utmost effort to achieve this target," said a joint statement issued after the meeting. It said the ministers commended the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee for the progress on both market access and text-based negotiations, but at the same time recognised that more work needs to be done to advance both aspects of the negotiations. "The ministers urged all RPCs to address specific sensitivities while working towards achieving commercially meaningful outcomes. The ministers remained confident that with collective commitment and pragmatism, the chapters and annexes that would comprise the RCEP Agreement can be concluded soon." The ministers said it is the collective responsibility of all participating countries to ensure progress by overcoming negotiation challenges and finding a resolution to the remaining issues through constructive engagement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after he crossed into India through the Attari-Wagah border yesterday, met Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday morning and briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Varthaman, who underwent a medical checkup today at a military hospital here will stay at an Indian Air Force Officers Mess. Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours by Pakistan, Wing Commander Varthaman reached India at 9.20 pm on Friday. He was in the custody of the Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On Wednesday, Abhinandan, flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to the Pakistani side and was shot down. Abhinandan ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. On Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling it a "peace gesture". India used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources in New Delhi said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no compromises on the Pakistani proposal for holding talks, the sources added. India mounted pressure on Pakistan through the international community, with Security Adviser Ajit Doval holding talks with the US and other P-5 countries, the sources said. The External Affairs Ministry also exerted pressure on Pakistan through the Arab world, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after his return from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Saturday informed the top brass of Indian Air Force (IAF) that he was subjected to a lot of mental harassment, though he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities, said a source. The Wing Commander was also medically examined here, considering the fact that he had ejected after his MiG 21 was shot down in PoK air space while chasing Pakistani fighter planes which had transgressed into Indian air space on February 27. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa met Wing Commander Varthaman at the Army RR Hospital here. During a separate meeting with the Air Chief, Varthaman briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Wing Commander Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours, Varthaman stepped on the Indian soil through Wagah border, Amritsar in Punjab, on Friday night at 9.20 pm. He was in the custody of Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On Wednesday, Abhinandan was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his MiG 21 Bison crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon his landing. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling his move a "peace gesture." India also used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no compromises on Pakistan's proposal for holding talks, said sources. Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with the US and other P-5 countries, sources said. The External Affairs Ministry also exerted pressure on Pakistan through the Arab world, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Christian Michel, the 'middleman' in the VVIP chopper scam, on Saturday moved a fresh application before a Delhi court seeking judicial inquiry over being shifted to a solitary cell in Tihar Jail and an apparent violation of human rights. In the application, Michel also claimed that he was not given privacy to use the toilet. He was made to use open toilets and two guards accompanied him at all times, he claimed. The Patiala House Court has sought a reply from Tihar jail authorities on the application filed by the AgustaWestland accused. Michel had earlier filed a plea in the Delhi Court raising questions about putting him in a solitary cell, alleging that he was lodged in a cell with dreaded criminals like ChhotaRajan. In the last hearing, Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar had directed competent authority to appear before it on March 5 saying else it will summon Director General (DG) Prisons. Michel, who was extradited from the UAE in December last year, is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with the CBI and ED cases against him related to the AgustaWestland deal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Patiala House Court will on March 5 record statement of Rajiv Saxena who recently moved an application to be an approver in the AgustaWestland case. Saxena will record his statement before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal during an in-chamber hearing. These statements would be recorded under section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Saxena's statement holds importance as he may make startling revelations in the case. Counsels for both Enforcement Directorate and Saxena will not be allowed while the latter is recording the statement. ED is being represented by Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh and advocate Naveen Matta, while senior advocate Geeta Luthra and advocate Shivani Luthra are defending Saxena. On February 27, Saxena had moved an application in Delhi's Patiala House Court before Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar. Saxena himself had told the court that he was not under any pressure and assurance was neither given or sought from him. "(I have) no intention to not cooperate. Logical consequence is to give testimony in the case. (I am under) no pressure. It is on my free will completely and the complete understanding of the case. No assurances were given and none sought," Saxena told the court during the hearing on his plea seeking to turn an approver. In line with the recommendation put forth by the ED, Saxena was provided with round the clock security cover, as part of which he was provided with three armed personnel. The Dubai-based businessman was extradited to India on January 31 in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore deal for the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland. Saxena was allegedly operating a number of bank accounts in Switzerland in which huge amounts of money were deposited, according to a government dossier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He also described as a "joke" a proposal floated in Pakistan that its Prime Minister Imran Khan should be given the Nobel Peace Price and said the entire world knows how Pakistan is harbouring at least 20 terror groups. Sareen, who was the Chief of Air Staff between 1995 and 1998, told ANI that it should not bother anyone whether four buildings were hit or in the air raids by Indian jets at JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan on February 26 as the IAF had done what it was tasked to do. "We should not count how many buildings were brought down. Their own information is that 50 terrorists were killed. We know 200-300 terrorists were killed," he said, seeking to downplay a debate on whether Indian jets actually caused any significant damage. When referred to the remarks by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that he knows JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and that he was in touch with him, Sareen said he has spoken the truth unlike most of his compatriots. The former IAF chief expressed happiness over the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman yesterday from Pakistan after being in captivity of Pakistan army, saying, "we (defence forces) know what it means" coming back from the enemy territory as "others don't go there". He termed as a "fake" a video about Varthaman in which it is claimed that he praised the Pakistan Army. "The video was fake... There was no close up... Pakistan believes in fake news," he said and pointed out how Pakistani Army initially claimed that it had two Indian pilots in its custody while the truth was that only one was Indian. The former IAF Chief also said that India should have offered condolences to Pakistan "if we found out that their pilot also was killed" on February 27 during the air combat with Indian jets. When his attention was drawn to the reports that JeM chief Masood Azhar was going to write a book, Sareen said, "Why do we give unnecessary importance (to what he writes or not)? If these terrorist groups write books, we should not pay attention. They are not statesmen." Describing Azhar as "our enemy", he said, "We know what kind of a person he is. He was in jail earlier (in India). Now he has 10,000 terrorists under him." Sareen also endorsed the central government's decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir and said similar actions, like choking funds, should be taken against leaders of all separatist groups. Regarding former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti criticising the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, he said she is "keen to create problems" as she has always been "pro-Pakistan" and has never taken any step to show that she is pro-India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A vote to remove provisions under Kenyas penal code that criminalize gay sex wouldve happened Friday, but the court wasnt ready. They stalled the vote until May 24 because some judges were absent and they couldnt get through all the necessary files. If the judges change the code in May, theyd be the first country to decriminalize gay sex in East Africa, according to VOA News. Gay issues are very sensitive in this country, and I think even with the judges they cannot make these decisions by themselves. I think they need to consult from other government bodies and I think thats why they are still pushing it. They still need some time, Felix Kasanda, an LGBT rights activist told VOA. The sensitive sections of the code that criminalize gay sex could sentence those convicted to up to 14 years in prison. In the wake of soaring tensions between India and Pakistan, the Thar Express, which plies between Jodhpur and Munabao in Barmer, the last station of India and connects finally with Karachi in Pakistan through Khokhrapar, the first station in Pakistan departed on Friday on its usual time. The train leaves from Jodhpur's suburban station Bhagat ki Kothi every Friday night at 12.50 am. This Friday, with around 300 passengers, the train departed amid the prevailing tensions between the two neighbouring countries as there were speculations that just like Samjhauta Express, the Thar Express might get suspended. Speaking to ANI, Mohd Ismail, a resident from Pakistan's Karachi appealed both the neighbouring countries to maintain peace instead of resorting to war. "Citizens of both India and Pakistan want brotherhood. We felt very good here. We appeal to both nations to live with love and peace. War will only bring loss of lives and properties for both the nations. We felt safe in India. We did not face any issue here," Mohd Ismail said. A woman from Pakistan's Hyderabad, who came to India to meet her relatives said, "I came to India to meet my relatives. When I came here along with family the situation between the two countries was fine but unfortunately, the situation started to become tense. There should be peace and love between both the countries as our half of the people are residing that side of the border and half here." Few people have claimed that they are going back to their country Pakistan without spending the full duration of their visa keeping the prevailing situation in mind. But in the meantime, they are happy that they have not faced any problem in India. Keeping in view the current situation of both the countries, arrangements were made for security at Bhagat ki Kothi station in Jodhpur. Passengers travelling from Thar Express are being given admission only at the station after scrutiny. CPRO Northern Railways, on February 28, announced that the Samjhauta Express from India has been suspended with effect from March 3, till further notification. An official announcement highlighted the "cancellation" of the bi-weekly train Delhi-Attari-Delhi till further order. Tension spiralled between India and Pakistan after the Indian Air Force on February 26 carried out a strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Balakot. The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Pulwama in which about 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. JeM had claimed the responsibility of the attack. The situation between both nations became more tensed when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG -21 Bison fighter plane, was chasing Pakistani jets which transgressed into Jammu and Kashmir on February 27 and crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was shot down. He ejected safely and was taken to the custody by the Pakistani Army. However, after India mounted pressure on Pakistan through the international community, with Security Adviser Ajit Doval holding talks with the US and other P-5 countries, the Wing Commander was released by Pakistan on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An anti-tank guided missile detachment fired at a mock target during a field live firing training exercise undertaken for troops of the Army's Eastern Command on Saturday. This comes in the wake of the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. Less than two weeks after 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in a terror attack in Pulwama on February 14, the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot targetting terror launch pads. The targets included the control rooms of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack. Pulwama terror attack had led to nationwide outrage and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to punish those behind the attack. The international community, too, extended support to India in the wake of the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canada on Friday (local time) allowed the United States to initiate an extradition hearing for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Canada in December last year. CNN quoted Canada's Department of Justice confirming that Meng, who is currently under house arrest and will appear in the court once again on Wednesday (March 6) in Vancouver, will be scheduled the date of hearing that could result in her extradition to New York. Canadian officials said that the justice department's decision on Friday followed a "thorough and diligent review" of the evidence in the case, as the department was "satisfied" that there was "sufficient evidence" for the case to be put before a judge. If Meng is not found guilty and the judge approves her extradition then the country's minister of justice - its highest-ranking judicial official - will have the final decision in the case. In addition to this, if Meng is extradited to the US, she will face trial there. Meng was arrested on December 1 last year while transferring planes at Vancouver International Airport en route to Mexico from Hong Kong. She was held on alleged charges of violating the sanctions imposed by the US on Iran. Late in January, the US Department of Justice announced 13 criminal charges against Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, and its affiliates in the US and Hong Kong, following a formal extradition request from Washington. In a response to this, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the US to withdraw the request of Meng's extradition and warned that Beijing would take action if Washington went ahead with its measures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has lodged a "decisive" protest with Canada due to its "persistent promotion" of judicial procedures related to the extradition of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou. "The Chinese side has expressed its extreme discontent and decisive protest to the Canadian side due to its persistent promotion of the so-called judicial procedures on the extradition of Ms Meng Wanzhou. Beijing has already lodged stern representations (with Ottawa)," China's Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Lu Kang stated. The statement comes in the wake of Canada paving the way for a hearing to extradite Meng to the United States, where she is sought for allegedly violating sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran. Meanwhile, Huawei issued a note on March 2, labelling the allegations put forth by the United States as "politically motivated". "The allegations of the US side are politically-motivated. The US President (Donald Trump) has repeatedly said that if the case of Ms Meng Wanzhou helps reach a (trade) deal between the United States and China, he will intervene in this case. Despite that, the Canadian Justice Department still decided to issue the relevant order. We are very disappointed by these actions," Sputnik quoted the Chinese giant as saying. The telecom company, furthermore, claimed that Meng's actions were not offensive under Canadian law. Hence, the statement claims that Ottawa's authorisation of the extradition violates the dual criminality principle, which is the main requirement for extradition. "Ms Meng Wanzhou did nothing illegal. The United States abused judicial procedures by initiating criminal procedures and asking for her extradition," Huawei claims. Meng, who is currently under house arrest, will appear in court on March 6 in Vancouver. The extradition hearing will be scheduled during this appearance on Wednesday. The eventual hearing could lead to the CFO's extradition to New York. The US Department of Justice had previously announced 13 criminal charges against Huawei, Meng and its affiliates in the United States and Hong Kong. Meng will face trial if extradited to New York. However, if the Huawei CFO is not found guilty during her extradition hearing, then Canada's Minister of Justice will take the final decision regarding the case. There has been an ongoing diplomatic standoff between Beijing and Ottawa due to Meng's arrest, with China calling for Meng's return. Beijing has, furthermore, also detained Canadians in its country after the Huawei's CFO's arrest in Canada in December last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a day after he returned from Pakistan. Varthaman was medically examined particularly considering that he had ejected after his MiG 21 was shot down in the PoK air space while chasing Pakistani fighter planes which had transgressed into Indian air space on February 27. During a separate meeting with the Air Chief, Varthaman is believed to have briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours by Pakistan, Wing Commander Varthaman reached India at 9.20 pm on Friday. He was in the custody of the Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On Wednesday, Abhinandan, flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to the Pakistani side and was shot down. Abhinandan ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. On Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling it a "peace gesture". India used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources in New Delhi said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no compromises on the Pakistani proposal for holding talks, the sources added. India mounted pressure on Pakistan through the international community, with Security Adviser Ajit Doval holding talks with the US and other P-5 countries, the sources said. The External Affairs Ministry also exerted pressure on Pakistan through the Arab world, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The globally renowned American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has conferred DRDO Chief G Satheesh Reddy with the prestigious Missile Systems Award 2019 for his leadership role in the Indian missile programmes. The award recognizes excellence in developing or implementing missile systems technology, including significant technological accomplishments or for inspired leadership of missile systems programs, AIAA announced in a press release. "Reddy was selected for his over three decades of significant contributions toward indigenous design, development, and deployment of diversified strategic and tactical missile systems, guided weapons, advanced avionics, and navigation technologies in India," the society stated. Before being appointed as the DRDO Chief, Reddy was heading the entire Missiles division of the DRDO, including programmes such as strategic nuclear missiles of the Agni series. The DRDO Chief has also been credited for the development of tactical missile systems such as the Quick reaction surface-to-air missile, man portable anti-tank guided missile and the HELINA and NAG anti-tank weapons. He has also played important role in the development of Akash air defence systems which helped in saving foreign exchange, as a couple of projects to buy air defence systems from foreign vendors were scrapped after its development. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said that the entire nation is with the security forces and all political parties should set aside their differences and come in unison to fight and eradicate terrorism. "Congress' stand from the very first day is that we are against terrorism and it has to be eliminated. When all of us are fighting against terrorism, everyone should forget their political differences and come together to fight against terrorism," Nabi told reporters here. He emphasised that whatever decision or steps the armed forces take, Congress will always support it. Underlining that terrorism has affected Jammu and Kashmir for the last 30 years, Azad said, "Many people in our state have been affected by terrorism. This is a worrying and a sad thing. We have been behind in terms of education and development. If terrorism comes to an end, the people of Jammu and Kashmir will be happy and youth, who have been the most affected due to terrorism, will attain education in the state. Tourism will also flourish once again and the economic situation will improve." Criticising the BJP-led government for carrying out their political activities despite the ghastly terror attack in Pulwama, the senior Congress leader asserted that while his party had cancelled all high-level meetings and functions in the wake of the attack, the BJP did not cancel any public meetings. "When the Congress and the Opposition are respecting the martyrs (of Pulwama attack) and stand in solidarity with the security forces, the ruling party should not do in this situation. Our fight against terrorism should not be based on political interests," Azad said. Recalling the February 26 all-party meet, chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said that the Tuesday's airstrikes were neither against Pakistan nor its people, nor even against the country's military installations but against terror camps operating from Pakistan's soil. "It was against the terror camp of JeM (in Balakot). It is their (Pakistan's) responsibility to eliminate terrorism in their soil and ensure that this does not escalate into war. We are not in favour of war (with Pakistan) and talks are not possible (with Pakistan) in this situation," said Azad. He also welcomed the safe return of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan. On Wednesday, Wing Commander Abhinandan, while flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Wearing a blue blazer and grey 'khaki' trousers, he crossed over into India from Attari-Wagah border at 9:20 pm on Friday. He was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to the Border Security Force (BSF) following paperwork. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook and Instagram have sued four China-based companies for promoting the sale of fake accounts, likes, and followers. The measures arrive in light of the constant criticism faced by the social networking giants for not curbing the menace of fake accounts and misinformation on the platform. In its official blog, Facebook revealed that the companies engaged in the fraud with respect to other online companies as well, including Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In the lawsuit, the company has asked the court to bar the companies from creating and promoting the sale of fake accounts, like, and followers on Facebook and Instagram. It has also asked the court to restrict the companies from infringing on the trademarks and engaging in cybersquatting in which fraudulent companies use Facebook-branded domain names to operate their websites. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has demanded an FIR to be lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for raising "doubts" over the air strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at training camps of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at Balakot in Pakistan. Labelling Banerjee's comments as "pro-Pakistan remark", Vijayvargiya said: "It is saddening to hear West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remark that she needs proof (of operation by security forces). The BJP condemns this pro-Pakistan remark that raises questions on our security forces. An FIR must be lodged against her. Such people must be taught a lesson in upcoming polls." On Thursday, Banerjee had asked the government to spell out "details" of the exact place where the air raid was carried out and the casualties inflicted as the international media has claimed that there was no damage in the strike. "We, as the Opposition, want to know the details of the air strike. Where were the bombs dropped? How many people died? I was reading the New York Times and Washington Post and they said that there were no casualties. Some media houses said one died. We want to know the details," Banerjee had told reporters in Kolkata. Slamming the West Bengal Chief Minister, Union minister V K Singh on March 1 said there were many people in the country who did not have any work to do. Asked about the West Bengal Chief Minister's remarks, Singh, who is the Minister of State for External Affairs, said: "There are so many people in our nation who don't have any work to." Tension spiralled between India and Pakistan after the Indian Air Force on February 26 carried out a strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Balakot. The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Pulwama in which about 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. JeM had claimed the responsibility of the attack. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said the "pre-emptive" strike by India had become absolutely necessary as there was credible information that JeM was planning further attacks in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan opened its airspace in phases with commercial flight operations resuming on Saturday at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta airports, amid escalating tensions with India. Quoting sources, Geo News reported that Lahore and Multan airports will remain closed till March 4. Flights that were bound for Lahore are being diverted to Islamabad and Peshawar. Officials at Peshawar airport said that normal flight operations have resumed. They added that international flights to and from Dubai, Riyadh and Doha will arrive and depart on their stipulated times. On Friday, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson said that the airspace was "partially re-opened", adding that it would be fully restored for commercial flight operations from March 4. The spokesperson added that flights will take off and land at Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta airports beginning from Friday, and the remaining airspace will re-opened "gradually." Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan after around 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the responsibility of which has been claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Following this, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out anti-terror strikes at a large JeM terror training camp in Balakot on Tuesday, in which a large number of terrorists were killed, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. On Wednesday, India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which an IAF pilot named Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was "missing in action". Wing Commander Abhinandan, while flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters, which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Wearing a blue blazer and grey 'khaki' trousers, he crossed over into India from Attari-Wagah border at 9:20 pm on Friday. He was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to the Border Security Force (BSF) following paperwork. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yucatan, the only Mexican state that has yet to legalize gay marriage, has pushed off the decision because most of the representatives didnt show up to vote. Because of this, the inevitable legalization of gay marriage was tabled last Tuesday, and the Congress of Yucatan is in contempt of the high court. LGBT activists are saying the local reps, according to Yucatan Expat Life didnt show up on purpose, so theyd be forced to postpone the vote. They want to tire us to avoid the issue, but we will not take a step back,Alex Orue, director of the LGBT organization It Gets Better Mexico, told HuffPost Mexico. We already know how they spend to avoid the issue, there are always more important events or issues, and if they can get up early, they will do it. In 2015, the Court of Justice of the Nation ruled restricting marriage exclusively as between a man and a woman is discriminatory and illegal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed weekly strikes by school students against global warming, on Saturday. "I believe it is a very good initiative," Deutsche Welle quoted Merkel as stating in a video. The Chancellor said that she is very supportive of the fact that "students take to the street in the cause of climate protection and fight for it." However, she cautioned students against expecting rapid change. "I know that the students want many things to go faster, such as the exit from coal," Merkel said. "But as head of government, I must point out that we have to take a lot of things into consideration: We have to reconcile jobs and economic health with the goals of climate protection," she said, adding that the government has decided that Germany will cease its reliance on coal-fired energy by 2038. Merkel appealed to the students: "From the point of view of the students, that perhaps seems very long, but (the exit) will be a great challenge, and I appeal to them to understand that, too." However, other ministers have not taken a kind view towards the protests by pupils, with Minister Anja Karliczek telling a local newspaper that "even commitment that is worthy of support should be a matter for free time and is no justification for truancy." Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, has inspired students from all around the to take to the streets on Fridays, leading to the protests being known as "Fridays for Future". Earlier this week, Thunberg, who has been protesting outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday since August 2018, joined students in Hamburg for a demonstration. She has now called for a worldwide strike, called 'Global Strike for Future', which is scheduled for March 13. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian bowlers restricted Australia at the score of 236 in the first ODI of their ongoing five-match series here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday. Opting to bat first, Australia did not make best of the starts as their skipper and opening batsman Aaron Finch continued with his poor run of form and departed back to pavilion for a duck in the second over of the match. The Australian innings was, however, stabilised by Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis who built an 87-run partnership to get their side out of the troubled waters. At a time when the partnership started to look threatening for the Indians, skipper Virat Kohli brought in go-to man Kedar Jadhav into the attack. The right-arm spinner did not disappoint his captain and gave India the much needed breakthrough. Stoinis (37) misread the high release delivery of Jadhav and gave away an easy catch to Kohli at short midwicket. Looking determined on the crease, Khawaja also followed Stoinis to the pavilion after being caught by Vijay Shankar, in what was a brilliant catching effort. The next batting pair Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb built a small partnership of 36 runs off 37 balls to keep the score board ticking for Australia. Spinner Yadav striked again and lured Handscomb (19) with a tossed up delivery to pick his wicket. Australia got the biggest jolt when their last hope of achieving a big target got sunk with the wicket of Maxwell. Mohammed Shami flattened off Maxwell's stumps with a good length delivery when he was playing at the score of 40. Nathan-Coulter Nile and Alex Carey tried to take the Australian innings forward with a combined commendable effort of 62 runs but no other player could make any significant contribution. Khawaja remained the top-scorer for Australia with a knock of 50 runs. For India, Shami, Yadav and Bumrah scalped two wickets each while Kedar Jadhav contributed with one priced wicket of Stoinis. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency, will dedicate to India on Sunday a firm which will manufacture the latest series of AK assault rifles. This comes over two weeks after the Centre, on February 13, cleared a proposal to produce 7.47 lakh assault Kalashnikov rifles at a plant to be set up in Amethi commissioned by the Ordinance Factory Board and a Russian firm. At Kauhar in Amethi, the Prime Minister on Sunday will dedicate the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Limited to the nation - a joint venture between India's Ordinance factory and a Russian firm. The firm, which is in line with the Make in India mission of the Centre, will bolster the armed forces in the country and will strengthen the security. The factory will also generate employment opportunities in Amethi and nearby areas and give a tremendous boost to the UP Defence Corridor project. In Amethi, the Prime Minister will also unveil several development projects relating to power generation, education, health, and manufacturing sectors. These projects will be of direct benefit to Amethi region as well as Uttar Pradesh on the whole. Prime Minister Modi will also scheduled ga public gathering at Kauhar. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit to Amethi after assuming office in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) accused India of being a "high tariff nation" and threatened to impose "a reciprocal tax" to match the heavy duties that New Delhi imposes on goods imported from the United States. Addressing the last day of a four-day annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, the US President said, "India is a very high tariff nation. When we send a motorcycle to India, they charge 100 per cent tariff. When India sends a motorcycle to us, we charge nothing. I want a reciprocal tax, at least I want to charge a tax." A reciprocal tax is a form of tariff applied to imports from other countries that charge a similar duty on goods exported by the US.President Trump has repeatedly called out India for its high tariffs. "We cannot allow a country to charge 100 per cent and we get nothing for the same exact product. For one thing, they don't respect us. They think we are stupid," Trump said. "But let me tell you something. The respects our country. They respect us," the President added. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many times, has advocated foreign investments in the country as a part of his 'Make in India' campaign to transform India into a manufacturing hub and generate employment to the youth. However, President Trump has pressed US manufacturing companies to return home as part of his 'Make America Great Again' campaign. In a major disciplinary action against India's trade and investment policies, Washington on February 6, considered to withdraw the policy of zero tariffs on Indian exports to the US. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), under which India enjoys tariff concession costing to USD 5.6 billion of exports to the US, has been the world's largest beneficiary of a scheme that has been in force since the 1970s. The move to withdraw the GSP program marks a draconian action taken by Trump-led US government to reduce the US deficit with large economies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Saturday handed over the body of the prison inmate who died in a jail in Jaipur, to Pakistan. India handed over the mortal remains of the deceased prisoner to Pakistani authorities via the Wagah Border. Shakar Ullah, along with three other prisoners, was watching TV when a brawl broke out among them over volume. As the fight escalated, the three convicts allegedly bashed Ullah's head against a stone. A native of Sialkot district of Pakistan, Shakar was arrested in 2011 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In 2017, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Food ingredients, mostly spices, come from India, which makes the Emirati cuisine taste almost similar to the Indian cuisine, shared Khulood Atiq Saeed, the first female chef from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Attending an international food festival hosted by the Embassy of UAE in New Delhi in collaboration with multiple Embassies of other countries, including France, Tunisia, Czech Republic, Hungary and others, on Friday, Saeed told ANI, "We don't have any ingredients in our country. Most of the spices come from India. So you can see the Emirati food and Indian food is similar." "Few differences are however noted in the taste because we use less chilli in our food. But today it was a combination of both cuisines. I made the Emirati stew and used the Indian 'Rumali Roti' as the bread to go with it," Saeed added. The celebrity chef further went on stating that Indian food was one of her favourites in the list. "I am excited to see more recipes and spices in the food festival. In my country, we have some Indian food but it is not the same here because you have a huge number of recipes. I have time here and so, I went to the kitchen and saw the chef preparing few of the Indian dishes," Saeed said. When asked to elaborate on her journey of becoming the first female iconic chef from the UAE, Saeed remarked that her career started in 2006. "Initially many people had commented that how are you going to work with your abaya along with so many men around you. But now those people are proud of me because today I not only cook but also write the Emirati cookbooks. I do lots of episodes on the local television channels and visit around the world to promote the Emirati food," Saeed noted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Ambassador to Russia Venkatesh Varma stated that no intermediaries were needed in resolving the "conflict" between India and Pakistan, adding that New Delhi is "always" ready for dialogue with Islamabad in an atmosphere free of terrorism. "I want to emphasize that we did not receive a formal offer of mediation. And even if we do, we will not accept it. So far, no country has offered to mediate in resolving the conflict. And it is not a question of mediation, but whether Pakistan takes action that will create an atmosphere for the continuation of the dialogue. First of all, it must be actions against terrorist groups that are based on their territory," Varma told Russian state media, RIA Novosti. The Indian Envoy refuted the notion that Pakistan's withdrawal of support to terrorism is a precondition for the start of negotiations between New Delhi and Islamabad. "No, it is not a precondition. This creates a necessary atmosphere so that we can negotiate with Pakistan. India's position is very clear - we are always ready for a dialogue with Pakistan in an atmosphere free from terrorism," he said. Varma also outlined that Russia supported India's recent actions. "Russia supports, as a matter of principle, the actions of India to protect its interests when confronted with cross-border terrorism, which we face," he stated while shedding light on the fact that the question of mediation was not raised during the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The USA has expressed full support to India. Washington has clearly stated that India has all the rights for self-defence, and Pakistan must fight the terrorist groups based there. Russia's position is also very clear and unambiguous. In a conversation with the Prime Minister of India President Putin has expressed support for New Delhi, his strategic partner," Varma noted. The Ambassador further stated that Moscow's role "may also consist in influencing Pakistan so that it does not allow terrorist groups to use its territory." "India has clearly stated that it is not interested in an escalation of the situation," Varma stated, adding, "And the best way to achieve a normal state of affairs in the region resides in the actions of Pakistan in the fight against terrorist groups." Varma also highlighted that India did not have plans to continue air strikes "at the moment," while answering a question put forth by RIA Novosti. "India is not the only country that believes that Pakistan should stop supporting terrorist groups," the Indian Ambassador reinforced. "Speaking of the terror attack that happened on February 14, the investigation is not a key issue, because the group, which is based in Pakistan, has already claimed responsibility for the attack. What else can be investigated? We do not believe that this Pakistani offer should be considered seriously," Varma highlighted during the interview. Lastly, the Indian Ambassador welcomed Pakistan's move to release Indian Air Force (IAF) Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman but said that "India and Pakistan are not at war, so there are no reasons to detain our pilot in Pakistan and we are very happy that he returned home." The Indian diplomat's comments come in the wake of tense relations between India and Pakistan. On February 14, a terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), claimed responsibility for the attack which has been widely condemned by the international community. On February 26, the IAF carried out anti-terror strikes against a Jaish camp in Pakistan's Balakot, where a large number of JeM terrorists, including top commanders, were eliminated, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. Following this, India foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force on February 27, during which IAF pilot Varthaman was taken into custody by Pakistan Army when his MiG 21 fell in PoK while he was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace. India used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources said in New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday hailed Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) invite to India as a "diplomatic victory", asserting that the entire world stood together against the scourge of terrorism. "Entire world stands together against terrorism. No representative of India used to be invited to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but India's image has become such, that OIC invited India for the first time. It is a diplomatic victory," Rajnath said at a rally here. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was invited as a 'Guest of Honour' to attend a conclave of the OIC in Abu Dhabi. She addressed the plenary session of the conference, which was boycotted by Pakistan, as a protest against the invitation to India for the first time in the grouping's 50-year-old history. In her speech, Swaraj said the fight against terrorism is not against any religion but underlined that the countries providing shelter and funding to it, must be asked to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism based in their countries, in an apparent reference to Pakistan. The minister also underlined that those indulging in terrorism are resorting to "distortion of religion" and giving different names to the menace to justify it. Swaraj asserted that "senseless terrorist violence" was destroying lives, destabilising regions, and putting the world at great peril as its "lethality" was increasing and "toll rising". She also spoke about India's civilisational links and close partnership with the Muslim countries across the world. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday sanctioned additional 400 individual bunkers for Poonch and Rajouri districts in view of the heightened cross-border shelling from Pakistan The two districts will get 200 additional bunkers each. The Government has directed the concerned officials to ensure speedy construction of these bunkers. The funds for bunkers will be given to the District Collectors through the Rural Development Department. The bunkers will get built in the next one month as per the prescribed specifications. According to the locals, the bunkers have been proved to be an effective response to cross-border shelling. Mohinder Lal, a local told ANI, "Pakistan has been firing since the last 5-6 days, which has left a woman injured. Many houses have been destroyed because of this. Workers are having problems in building bunkers due to constant firing." Another local named Subhash said: "Schools have been shut as Pakistan has been firing since the last 5-6 days." Similar concerns were shared by another local Bhagat Singh, who said: "The development of bunkers should be done as soon as possible so that the students are safe." On Friday, Pakistan had violated ceasefire at various places along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, which affected nearby areas, such as Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors of Rajouri and Poonch' Balakot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 6.0 Ritcher magnitude earthquake hit Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido in the wee hours of Saturday, United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed. According to USGS, the earthquake hit 191km South-East of Nemuro, a city located on Hokkaido island, which has a total population of just over 31,000. The quake hit Hokkaido at 3:22 am (UTC) at a depth at 10 km. No casualties have been reported so far. The authorities are, however, assessing the damage caused by the tremors. This is the second time in less than a week that an earthquake with such intensity has hit the Island. On February 22, an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale had struck Hokkaido. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Expedition 58 crew continued filming in virtual reality onboard the International Space Station today. The orbital residents also conducted behavior tests and eye checks throughout Thursday while preparing for the first U.S. commercial crew vehicle mission. NASA astronaut Anne McClain logged into specialized software for a test session with the Behavioral Core Measures study. The neuropsychological test measures cognition as an astronaut conducts simulated robotic activities on a laptop computer. Afterward, she joined Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques for eye checks in the Harmony module at the end of the day. The two swapped Crew Medical Officer roles and scanned each other's eyes using optical tomography coherence gear. Both astronauts started the day with a standard vision test in the Destiny lab module reading characters from an eye chart. Saint-Jacques then set up a virtual reality camera in the cupola, the station's "window to the world." The high-tech space footage will be used to create a short cinematic, immersive film for audiences on Earth. The CSA astronaut also activated a camera to capture imagery for the Meteor space-based observation study. The astronauts are also counting down to Sunday's arrival of the first U.S. commercial crew vehicle on the SpaceX DM-1 mission. The uncrewed SpaceX Crew Dragon will launch from Kennedy Space Center at 2:49 a.m. EST Saturday. McClain and Saint-Jacques will greet the Crew Dragon after it docks to the Harmony module's International Docking Adapter Sunday around 6 a.m. On-Orbit Status Report Bio-Monitor: A crew conference was held between the Bio-Monitor Team and David Saint-Jacques to discuss his experience on the 48-hour recording session with the Bio-Monitor Instrument. Although the ISS is equipped with health and life sciences research tools, the existing instrumentation for continuous and simultaneous recording of several physiological parameters is lacking. To tackle this issue, the Bio-Monitor Commissioning activity tests the Bio-Monitor facility; a wearable garment capable of monitoring relevant physiological parameters for up to 48 hours in a non-invasive and non-interfering way. The physiological parameters which can be monitored consist of heart rate, respiration rate, ECG (Electrocardiogram), skin temperature, peripheral blood oxygen saturation, etc. Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) Fan Cable Swap: The crew attempted to perform troubleshooting on the right work volume fan in the LSG. The goal was to reconfigure the cables to allow the faulty unit to be narrowed to either the right fan itself or right fan inverter. Unfortunately, the LSG was not able to be powered up nominally during the later activities and the troubleshooting was not able to be completed. The ground teams are assessing a forward plan. The LSG is a sealed work area that accommodates life science and technology investigations in a "workbench" type environment. Due to its larger size design, two crew members can work in the LSG simultaneously. Node 2 Smoke Detector Repair Attempt: The crew attempted to repair a damaged wire associated with Node 2 Smoke Detector 1. The frayed wired was discovered during routine housekeeping in December. Further investigation determined that the frayed wire affected the Built-In Test (BIT) function of the Smoke Detector. After today's crew activity, Flight Controllers activated the Smoke Detector, however the BIT failure signature was still present. This redundant smoke detector has since been deactivated, while teams work on a forward plan. Completed Task List Activities: Equipment Lock Preparation Part 1A Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Nominal Ground Commanding Look Ahead: Friday, 03/01 (GMT 060): Payloads: EML Lens switch Plasma Kristal-4 fam PCG temp controller closeout Team Task Switching Systems: SpX-Demo1 Ingress Review and Conference Saturday, 03/02 (GMT 061): Payloads: No payload activities Systems: SpX Demo-1 Launch at 01:49 AM CT Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. In-Flight Maintenance Node 2 Area Smoke Detector Wire Repair Actiwatch Spectrum HRF Rack 1 Setup Actiwatch Spectrum HRF Rack 1 Stow Actiwatch Spectrum HRF Rack 1 Swap Behavioral Core Measures Cognition Testing HRF PC 1 Behavioral Core Measures Journals Entry Behavioral Core Measures ROBoT-r Testing Crew Handover Conference Health Maintenance System (HMS) - OCT2 Exam - Operator Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT2 Setup Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT2 Stow Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT2 Exam - Subject Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT2 Prep Health Maintenance System (HMS) Vision Questionnaire Health Maintenance System (HMS) Vision Test ISS Experience Cupola Setup ISS Experience Hardware Relocate ISS Experience Hardware Stow JEM System Laptop Terminal Reboot Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) Fan E-Box Cable Swap Part 1 Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) Fan E-Box Cable Swap Part 2 METEOR Hardware Check and Activation METEOR Laptop Reboot Team Task Switching Experiment Survey Installation of Wide Band Comm System () Equipment in the SM (Installation of Instrument Panels) TV System deactivation and closeout ops Camcorder setup and activation for TV broadcast Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Even after settling the divorce, it doesn't seem like Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's tumultuous clash is going to tone down anytime soon. Depp has now accused Heard of beginning a romantic relationship with Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, within one month into their marriage. The latest claims come from the actor's defamation lawsuit against Heard, via which he is seeking $50 million in damages after she wrote an op-ed in which she revealed that Depp domestically abused her. According to the lawsuit obtained by People, Depp claims that Heard used to receive "late night" visits from Musk at the L.A. penthouse, which Depp and Heard shared, while the 'Fantastic Beasts' actor was out of the country. Dismissing the domestic violence allegations as false, the actor also alleged that Musk visited Heard the same night she presented her battered face to the public. The former Hollywood couple settled their divorce in 2017 and Depp agreed to pay around 7 million USD, however, Heard ended up donating the money to a charity. They even issued a joint statement during the time of their divorce, saying, "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's main political backer in the UK, Lord Nazir Ahmed has been charged for sexually assaulting a boy and a girl in incidents that date back to the 1970s and is now expected to stand a trial. Ahmed was already facing serious allegations of an extra-marital sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman. It was widely reported in British media on Friday that 61-year-old has been charged with two attempted rapes and one indecent assault. The member of the House of Lords, Ahmed, has been charged with two counts of attempted rape and one count of indecent assault dating back to the 1970s and is due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on March 19. He is alleged to have committed the offences when he was a teenager in Rotherham in the 1970s and is one of three men facing linked criminal charges. Lord Ahmed joined the Labour party at age of 18 and became Rotherham's first Asian councillor and youngest magistrate. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed the father of three as a peer in 1998, making him one of the first Muslim to enter the Lords. He left Labour party in 2013 but remains a peer with no party affiliation. Lord Ahmed is alleged to have indecently assaulted the boy in 1971-72, when he was 14 or 15, The Times, Asian Lite, Daily Mail and BBC reported. He is also been accused of two attempted rapes in 1973-74 aged 16 or 17. Two others accused in connection with the assaults. Mohamed Farooq, 68, faces four charges of indecent assault and Mohammed Tariq, 63, two indecent assault charges. They are due before Sheffield magistrates on March 19. Notably, on February 14, Ahmed was accused of exploiting his position to have sex with a vulnerable woman who came to him for help. He was also alleged to have propositioned a second woman who sought assistance. Lord Ahmed was once convicted and jailed in 2009 for texting while driving before a crash that killed a man. In his initial comments last night, he denied all allegations. He spent some time in prison before getting a bail-out. According to a Newsnight report, Tahira Zaman, 43, told BBC's Newsnight that she was suffering from anxiety and depression when she approached the peer in 2017 through a friend. She hoped Lord Ahmed would help get the police to investigate a Muslim faith healer she felt was a danger to women. British print and electronic media are flashing the story prominently. Miss Zaman told Newsnight on Feb 14 that Lord Ahmed said he wrote a letter to Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick. The peer, who quit Labour after he was accused of anti-Semitism, went on to have sex with Miss Zaman on a number of occasions. She accepted the relationship was consensual but said: 'I was looking for help and he took advantage of me. He abused his power.' She claimed the relationship ended two months later when Lord Ahmed told her he would not leave his wife. Miss Zaman said: 'I genuinely did believe that he had feelings for me. I'm just so stupid I believed that he was going to help me.' Ahmed, a self-made champion of fundamental rights for Kashmiris, denied the charges of Tahira Zaman and his solicitor has written a letter to Richard Watson the host of BBC programme. So far no progress is reportedly made in connection with allegations and further proceedings. Ahmed has been backed by Islamabad for campaigning on the so-called Kashmir issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar today expressed his happiness over the safe return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman after two days in Pakistan and at the same time expressed his sorrow and displeasure of Pakistani artistes not condemning the Pulwama terror attack even in a 'lip-service tweet.' Speaking to ANI, Bhandarkar said, "We are all very happy that Abhinandan is back to our country. It is a proud moment for everybody. He put a very brave front and all of India was waiting for the last 48 hours for his return." However, referring to a derogatory video doing the rounds in Pakistan, the filmmaker said that the "shabby and badly edited" video looked like it was taken in "duress" and that it was a very "cheap" thing to do on Pakistan's part. Notably, Wing Commander Varthaman, flying a MiG -21 Bison fighter plane, was chasing Pakistani jets which transgressed into Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was shot down. He ejected safely and was taken to the custody by the Pakistani Army. Talking about no Pakistani artistes talking condemning the Pulwama terror attack, Bhandarkar said that he was disappointed at the lack of reaction from the Pakistani artistes' side. He said, "I felt very bad, when Pulwama happened, none of the stars who found fame-money working in Indian cinema spoke up against it. Even the PM has not condemned what happened over there. Forty soldiers died and they have nothing to say." The filmmaker further added, "When Peshawar happened, we all stood up and condemned the attack on the school over there. It is sad that when Pulwama happened we did not see those voices who made money in India and got fame globally from working here, even putting up a lip-service tweet condemning the terror attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thousands of protesters marched across streets of the capital city on Friday objecting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to run for Presidential elections, for a fifth term, scheduled to take place on April 18. Al Jazeera reported that numerous police helicopters hovered over the streets leading to the presidential headquarters, along with riot police deployed at the neighbourhood firing tear gas shells at the protestors gathered to display public discontentment regarding the leadership. Pictures viral on the social media also showed protestors setting pictures of Bouteflika on fire amid whistles and cheers and calling for his resignation. On January 18, President Bouteflika announced that the North African country would go for Presidential elections on April 18, however, without clearing whether the incumbent President will stand for the fifth consecutive term or not. The 81-year-old incumbent president had last addressed the nation more than six years ago and has been sick since he suffered a stroke in 2013. According to media reports, the Algerian President is largely considered to debilitate under the rule of the military and elites. However, Bouteflika is expected to submit a formal application to seek re-election on Sunday (March 3). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India after staying in custody in Pakistan for days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the meaning of 'Abhinandan' will now change. "The world keeps watching whatever India does. It is the strength of this country to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. The meaning of 'Abhinandan,' which used to be congratulations in English, will now change (Hindustan jo bhi karega, duniya use gaur se dekhti hai. Is desh ki takat hai ki dictionary ke shabdon ke arth badal deta hai. Kabhi 'Abhinandan' ka angrezi hota tha 'Congratulation', ab 'Abhinandan' ka arth badal jaayega)," Prime Minister Modi said at the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-Conference here. After a delay of over five hours by Pakistan, Wing Commander Varthaman touched down the Indian soil on Friday at 9.20 pm. He was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army when his MiG 21 was shot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. The Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-Conference will identify proven, innovative and globally established technologies for use in the Indian context. The expo-cum-Conference will provide avenues for interaction among stakeholders that can open up new areas for collaboration and will facilitate the conversion of ideas into market-ready products. Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister said, "India is amongst those nations where urbanisation is taking place fast... A house is not about just four walls, it is that place where the power to dream comes and aspirations are fulfilled. A home is as much about dignity and security as it is about the shelter. It always shocks and saddens me that in a nation like ours several people do not have their own home. We have been working to solve this situation in the form of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It is my dream that every Indian has a pukka house by 2022 and we are walking the talk." He added, "During our tenure, 1.3 crore houses have been built already. To give you the idea of the scale, the previous government made only 25 lakh houses. These numbers speak for themselves... . Looking at the enthusiasm of the people working in the construction sector, I feel this is the start of the construction revolution and we are going to make construction sector of global standard. India is among the few nations in the world where demand for houses is increasing fast. To fulfill this demand, I announce April 2019 to March 2020 as the 'Construction Technology Year'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Microsoft has announced that it is putting to rest its Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health Dashboard apps and services. The services will be defunct on May 31, 2019. Although Microsoft discontinued its Band fitness trackers more than two years ago, it kept the related apps active to support existing users. On May 31, the backend services will end and the apps will be removed from the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Apple's App Store, The Verge reported. If you are an existing Band user, you will be able to export your data before the end of May. Some of the Microsoft Band users will also be eligible for a refund. Active users who have synced data from a Band tracker to Health Dashboard between December 1st 2018 and March 1st 2019 can apply for a refund on their hardware. A refund of USD 79.99 will be available for Band 1 owners, and USD 175 for Band 2 owners. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a major step towards resuming manned space flights, NASA and SpaceX on Saturday morning (local time) launched a new astronaut capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) from US soil after an eight-year break, reported Al Jazeera. With no crew aboard but a mannequin named Ripley, the capsule is scheduled to reach the ISS by Sunday, with a scheduled return to Earth on Friday. If the test goes smoothly, NASA plans to put two astronauts on board by the end of the year. "We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011," Al Jazeera quoted the head of the US space agency, Jim Bridenstine, as saying. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hailing the Indian Air Force (IAF) over the recent airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot, BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday said that Pakistan has been isolated internationally and no country is willing to support it. The BJP president took part in the party's 'Vijay Sankalp Bike Rally' in Umaria. While addressing the party workers here, Shah slammed the Opposition leaders for questioning the air strike in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in which around 40 CRPF jawans were killed on February 14. "Today Pakistan has been isolated internationally; nobody is ready to support it. This kind of diplomatic victory can only be brought by the Narendra Modi government," Shah said. He later went on to question Congress president Rahul Gandhi about the steps his party took during the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. "All the Opposition party leaders are pointing fingers at the air strike (by IAF)... Rahul Gandhi, did you have the courage to give a reply to terrorists? The people of the country are asking you, ' Did you give a befitting reply to the terrorists after the 26/11 attack'? You all stayed mum at that time and didn't have the courage to take revenge for our soldiers' blood. You didn't have guts to give a reply to Pakistan. Now they are pointing fingers on us," Shah said. "The Pakistani media and its Parliament accepted it (IAF air strike). The terrorist outfit (Jaish-e-Mohammed), whose terrorists were killed, also accepted the fact. But Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi don't believe that air strike took place. They should be ashamed for pointing fingers at the jawans of our armed forces. Can an Opposition leader say anything that can make Pakistan happy during a tense situation? This is the height of doing vote bank politics," he added. Amit Shah's rally comes ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "The people of India should make a resolution that BJP will win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Narendra Modi will return as the Prime Minister. Over one crore workers of the BJP are taking this message forward to the people of the country through bike rallies at over 3,800 locations. The Opposition parties fight elections on the basis of caste, patriotism and money. BJP fights elections through public relations (jan sampark aur lok sampark)," Shah said. "Why should elections take place in the country? Should it happen because somebody is aging and he desires to be the Prime Minister? BJP believes that elections should be held to brighten the future of 50 crore poor people of the country. Elections should be held to make India a fast-growing economy in the world, it should be held to ensure security, to give Pakistan a befitting reply," he added. The BJP is taking out 3800 bike rallies across the country in which over one crore party workers are taking part. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A motion has been submitted in Pakistan's National Assembly Secretariat, seeking the Nobel Peace prize for Prime Minister Imran Khan for his role in de-escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, reports Pakistan Radio. The motion, which was submitted by Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary on Saturday, has lauded Prime Minister Khan's efforts for reducing the tension between two "nuclear-armed countries" which were on the "brink of a war" after the terror attack in Pulwama in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, and the subsequent strike by Indian Air Force (IAF) on JeM terror camp at Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The motion comes a day after Pakistan handed over IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman back to India on Friday night. The IAF pilot was captured on Thursday after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), while he was chasing the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) intruders. An online petition has also been filed, urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the nomination of Khan for the 'Nobel Peace Prize' for 2020 in recognition of his peace efforts. Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan after as many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the responsibility of which was claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). After 12 days of the terror attack, IAF carried out anti-terror strikes at the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, in which a large number of terrorists are believed to have been killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has found herself in the tight spot after she cheered for war in a recent tweet when tensions were running high between India and Pakistan, which has upset her fans in Pakistan. An online petition started by people in Pakistan tagging the UN and UNICEF, seeks the removal of global icon Priyanka Chopra as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, reported The News International. Pertaining to actor's tweet "Jai Hindi #IndianArmedForces" after the Indian Air Force conducted multiple air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot, the petition argues that the actor 'Cheered for war', despite being the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Priyanka Chopra was made the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 2016. On February 26, twelve days after the Pulwama attack, India had launched an anti-terror strike against a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot, in which a large number of terrorists were killed by the Indian Air Force, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Ahmad bin Khalifa Al Thani discussed steps to combat terrorism in a telephonic conversation on Saturday. Prime Minister Modi underscored that terrorism continues to pose a serious risk to peace and security in the region and beyond. He also stressed the importance of demonstrable and immediate action by the concerned for putting an end to all forms of terrorism and ending all support to it. Prime Minister Modi also mentioned that India attached great significance to further strengthening relations with Qatar, which, he said, is "our close friend and with which we share an extended neighbourhood." He went on to thank the Emir of Qatar for his leadership and guidance to the rapid strengthening of bilateral relations, especially in recent years. During the conversation, the two leaders also noted the historic significance of India's participation in the 46th Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on Friday. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the OIC meeting as the 'Guest of Honour,' making it the first time in OIC's 50-year history. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the backdrop of air strikes at JeM camps in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by IAF on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the entire nation has felt the absence of Rafale fighter planes after what has happened in the last few days. Prime Minister Modi, who was speaking at the India Today Conclave here, said: "Today, the entire nation has felt the absence of Rafale. Had we got Rafale, the result today could have been different. Initially, people were doing 'Swaarthneeti' on it. Today they are doing on the same. The country has suffered a lot because of this." The Prime Minister also alleged that the opposition is questioning India's security forces at a time when the entire world is with us. "When the entire country is with our forces, there are people who are questioning forces. The world is united to fight against terrorism, and at that crucial time people are questioning the forces," he said. Sharpening his attack on the opposition, Prime Minister said: "People in their quest to be anti-Modi have become anti-India." "I want to ask these people do you trust our forces or do you trust those who carry out attacks on our soil. Many Modis will come and go but India is going to be here forever," he said. He added: "If you want to oppose Modi, you are free to do so. But do not oppose what is in favour of the nation. They should be careful that in this stubbornness of being anti-Modi, they may end up giving support to terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and others." Hitting out at the opposition further, the Prime Minister claimed that the security forces had asked for 1.86 lakh bullet-proof jackets but till the time his government came to power, not one jacket had been purchased. "I would like to inform you that in 2009 the forces had asked for 1.83 lakh bullet-proof jackets but not one jacket was bought till the time we came to power. This is shameful. In our tenure, we have got 2.30 lakh bulletproof jackets," he said. Accusing the opposition of being corrupt, Prime Minister Modi said: "There many so many defence scams, which took place during their era. They began with Jeeps and later graduated to weapons, submarines, and so on. In the process, the defence sector suffered immensely." Elaborating on how India benefitted during his tenure, he said: "The entire world is trying to understand us. India today is fearless. There is a sense of fear among anti-nationals whether they are in India or outside India." "I think such a fear is good. We are committed to taking decisions in favour of the country. India is changed and transformed and no one can dare threaten us," said Prime Minister Modi. Alleging the previous governments were only interested in deals and dole, he said: "Our 55 months and their 55 years have had a different kind of approach. They believed in token approach, whereas we believe in a total approach. Those who ruled the nation for many years had an interest in only two things-doles and deals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's maiden visit to Iraq will be a "turning point" in the bilateral relations the two countries share, Iraq's deputy Foreign Minister Nazar al-Khairullah said on Saturday. Rouhani is slated to visit Iraq on March 11. "The visit is eagerly anticipated by Iraq's government and people. The two countries share many commonalities and there is much understanding between them, and the visit by Iran's president would be a turning point in their relations since a new cabinet has come to office in Iraq," IRNA quoted Khairullah as saying. In November last year, Iraq's President Barham Saleh had visited Iran while in January, Iran's then Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had visited Iraq. Iran, who has long-standing ties with the US-ally Iraq, had faced a dilemma after Washington levied sanctions on Tehran. Notably, Iraq is Iran's second-largest market after China and purchases everything from food and machinery to electricity and natural gas. Last year, United States President Donald Trump had announced "toughest sanctions" on Iran which has punctured the country's economy. Tehran has seen its oil exports plunge and its currency lose more than half its value. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court will on March 6 hear review petitions over its earlier verdict on the Rafale deal. The court, in its verdict, had refused to order a probe into the deal on the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice KM Joseph will hear the review petitions. On February 26, in an unusual course of action, the apex court decided to hear the review pleas in open court. According to the normal course of the court, the review petitions are usually heard in chambers. In its December 14 order, the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Rafale deal signed two years back, alleging irregularities and corruption in the pact. The court had said that it does not find any substantial material on record to show that this is a case of commercial favouritism to any party by the Government of India. The deal was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in April 2015 and the deal was concluded in 2016. On January 2, petitioners in Rafale fighter jet deal case - Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, both former Union Ministers, and Prashant Bhushan, a noted lawyer - had moved the apex court for review of its Rafale judgment of December 14. They had asked for recalling of the judgement and had also sought an oral hearing in the open court for their review plea. Their petition states that the December 14 verdict contained several errors and also it relied upon patently incorrect claims made by the Government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover to the court, which is a violation of the principle of natural justice. They also alleged that Prime Minister Modi had signed an agreement for 36 Rafale jets on April 10, 2015, without any such requirement of 36 jets being given by the Air Force Headquarters and without the approval of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which are the mandated first steps for any defence procurement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sentry at Dachoo camp of 44 Rashtriya Rifles noticed suspicious movement and fired shots in the air on Saturday. This comes as tensions between India and Pakistan have heightened following the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama, and cross-border firing that ensued subsequently on various posts along the Line of Control (LoC). A search operation is underway in the area. Earlier this week, two terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), including one from Pakistan, were killed in an encounter that took place between terrorists and security forces. The encounter had come a day after India carried out air strikes at a JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) argued that he was 'misinterpreted' regarding the death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student, who was arrested in North Korea last year for allegedly removing a political propaganda poster from a Pyongyang hotel. In a midnight tweet, President Trump wrote: "I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch." "Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto's mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often!" Trump added. The statement by the US President came after the parents of Otto, on Thursday, accused Trump of siding with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who denied knowledge of their son's maltreatment during his imprisonment. "We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Thank you," Fred and Cindy Warmbier, Otto's parents, was quoted as saying by CNN. After the second summit with the North Korean leader in Vietnam, the previous month, Trump said that he does not hold Kim to be responsible for Warmbier's death. "He tells me that he didn't know about it and I will take him at his word," Trump said during a news conference while adding that Kim "felt very badly. But he knew the case very well, but he knew it later." Apart from Otto, Trump, last year on May 3, announced the release of three other American hostages, who were detained in North Korea, namely Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul. They were accused of espionage or doing "hostile acts" against North Korea. Washington D.C. accused Pyongyang of Warmbier's "bad" condition, while the latter outwardly rejected it. Otto suffered severe brain damage during his captivity. The Trump administration placed intense pressure on Pyongyang to release Warmbier when they learned of his condition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The talks between the United States and Taliban representatives will resume on Saturday after the two-day break. According to Tolo News, the talks were called off for two days for consultation between working groups of the two sides. The talks are likely to further discuss the US forces' withdrawal from Afghanistan while ensuring the country's territory is not being used as a threat to any other country, a comprehensive ceasefire and direct talks with the Afghan government. Taliban at multiple occasions have denied direct talks with the government. However, the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani-led government has expressed a desire to directly hold talks with Taliban "for sustainable peace" in Afghanistan. "This has been decided that Afghans should make their future government by their own. There are issues such as elections, prisoners and the blacklist, which should be discussed," said Mohammad Daud Abidi, head of Afghan People Peace Jigra. The new round of talks was started on February 25 but after three days of "solid talks", both sides -- US and Taliban -- mutually decided to call off talks to further discuss. Recently, Ghani has also announced the grand consultative Jigra in the month of March in order to hear the views and opinions of people about peace talks with the Taliban. In February, Russia hosted peace talks in which various Taliban members were invited. However, the Afghan government was not invited. The government had expressed their reservation and said Moscow talks were held against the spirit of Afghan-led and owned peace process. The government also lodged a complaint with the United Nations over a recent trip by UN-blacklisted Taliban members to Moscow to attend talks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police on Saturday here arrested a Bulgarian for allegedly cloning ATMs. City Task Force Team led by ACP Mahendra Mathe came to know that some foreign was moving into ATM centres in a suspicious manner and was staying in Dolphin Hotel and suspected of doing ATM cloning in his room. Following which Cyber Crime staff apprehended him and a case was registered in the Cyber Crime Police Station. During the interrogation, he revealed that earlier he used to work as a bartender. When his friend introduced him to an unknown person who said that they will arrange travel tickets for him to Kolkata where he will receive one laptop and card cloner machine, Airtel SIM card and empty cards for card cloning and offered 20 per cent commission on total money withdrawn from ATMs in India. He reached Kolkata on January 31 and stayed in Howard Jhonson Hotel for two days and also collected one HP Laptop, card cloning slot machine, Airtel SIM and 160 blank ATM cards. On February 3, he came to Visakhapatnam by flight and stayed at Four Points Hotel for 6 days. He then moved to another hotel and then finally checked-in Dolphin Hotel. During his stay in Vizag, he used a telegram account with Indian SIM and received messages from unknown accounts as links photos of files which contained credit and debit card numbers of foreigners along with PIN Numbers and country name. Later, he used laptop and cloning device and copied one by one these card numbers onto empty cards and cloned 76 cards. He withdrew more than Rs 13 lakhs and also bought 2000 Dollars from different places in Vizag by exchange with Indian currency in Vizag area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress never had an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said the party's senior leader Shakeel Ahmed on Saturday, while the BJP claimed to retain all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the city-state. The two-party's reaction came after Delhi's Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday announced AAP's candidates for six Lok Sabha seats, thus bringing all speculations about the Congress-AAP alliance to an end. Ahmed told ANI: "AAP is a party, but we never had an alliance with them. They have declared their Lok Sabha candidates. We will fight on all seven Lok Sabha seats alone in Delhi. We will announce our candidates for Delhi when we announce our candidates for all other Lok Sabha seats." AAP has fielded Brajesh Goyal from New Delhi, Atishi from East Delhi, Dilip K Pandey from North East Delhi, Raghav Chadha from South Delhi, Pankaj Gupta from Chandani Chowk, and Gugan Singh from North West Delhi. AAP has not yet announced the candidate for West Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Congress leader from Delhi and former minister Haroon Yusuf said: "Whatever AAP is doing, it is completely their decision. We don't have anything to do with this." "In a meeting on Friday at the place of DPCC president Sheila Dixit, attended by all Congress leaders. Everyone was of the view that we should not form an alliance with the AAP as they did not do anything in the last four years other than fooling the people," he said. Rajya Sabha MP KTS Tulsi said: "All this is a part of hard bargaining and eventually they may fall in line." BJP MP from North West Delhi Udit Raj said: "AAP's candidate, who will contest from my seat is very weak. He will definitely lose the election. AAP candidates will lose their deposits." "Even if the AAP and the Congress would have been in an alliance, there wouldn't have been any change in our popularity, vote bank or support. The way we won all 7 seats in the last election, we will these seats this time as well," he said. BJP MP from East Delhi Mahesh Giri said: "AAP used to curse the Congress. AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that they tried hard but the Congress did not come to the alliance." "However, we will all seven LS seats in Delhi," he said. Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Prabhat Jha said: "Congress is doing alliance all over the nation. Their alliance will be made and broken because their alliance is meant for self-interest. They do alliance only for power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. "Prime Minister has conducted himself as a 'Lauh-Purush' (iron man) during the recent incidents with Pakistan. It has shown that India, today, has a Prime Minister with a strong will and determination, who can make impossible things possible. Modi hai toh mumkin hai (if Modi is in power, anything can happen)" he said at a rally here on Saturday. "You would have heard when the Pulwama attack happened, PM said that martyrdom of our soldiers won't go in vain. And valiant IAF pilots destroyed terrorist camps inside Pakistan even before 13 days. Our Wing Commander went to Pakistan and returned on Friday. This shows the determination of a strong government." he added. Adityanath also slammed the earlier governments for their inaction against terrorism. "There were Prime Ministers earlier too, there were governments earlier too but lack of determination to act against terrorists was clearly evident," he opined. "Earlier, Pakistani Army used to ingress into our territory. Now, our Army goes there and kills terrorists. Earlier, the Chinese Army used to ingress on our territory but in Doklam, you saw that our Army stopped the Chinese Army from undertaking construction activities in Bhutan," he added. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also praised the central government for its various pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes and claimed that its policies have made India one of the topmost economies in the world. "Who would have thought that Dalits will have a home of their own?" he asked. Adityanath urged the people of Bihar to gather in large numbers for the Prime Minister's rally in Patna tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Hume Pipe Company has received three Letters of Intent for the works aggregating to Rs.187.06 crore (excluding GST) from Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, Nagpur as under: (1)Construction of M. S. Feeder Pipeline from Kochi Barrage to Pench and allied Works of Kanhan River Projects (Kochi Barrage), Nagpur. The project is to be completed within 16 months with a maintenance period of 5 years. (2)Construction of Pipe Distribution Network on Kapsi Sub Branch of Asolamendha Project. The project is to be completed within 18 months and with a maintenance period of 5 years. (3)Pauni Lift Irrigation Scheme. The project is to be completed within 24 months with a maintenance period of 5 years. The Agreements will be signed in due course. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Held on 02 March 2019 The Board of Union Bank of India at its meeting held on 02 March 2019 has approved the following - 1.Issue price of Rs. 58.49 per equity share including a premium of Rs. 48.49 per equity share for new equity shares to be issued to the eligible employees of the Bank under Union Bank of India Employee Share Purchase Scheme (Union Bank - ESPS). 2.The offer will open for subscription by eligible employees on 07 March 2019 and will close on 16 March 2019. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an obvious reference to the courage of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the word "abhinandan" has assumed a new meaning. "The strength of our country is that it changes the meaning of words in dictionary. 'Abhinandan' in English until now meant 'congratulations', but it will be different from now on," Modi said towards the end of his speech at an event here, speaking partly in English and partly in Hindi. Modi's remarks came a day after the Wing Commander was released by Islamabad after over 60 hours in captivity. Varthaman was captured after a dogfight in the sky when his plane was hit and it crashed in Pakistani territory on February 27. The 35-year-old IAF officer showed calm during his questioning in Pakistan, a video released by his captors showed. Addressing private firms linked to the housing construction sector, Modi sought help to take India to the top in the field so as to ensure homes for the "poorest of poor". Giving example of construction technology used in tents in Kumbh in Prayagraj, Modi said: "If makeshift arrangements can be made so good, permanent arrangement will be expectedly extremely much better." --IANs pk-rak/mr (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 Delhi court on Saturday said the statement of Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena, who wants to become an approver in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case, will be recorded on March 5. Saxena appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, who has fixed March 5 for the recording of his statement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told the court that it will respond to Saxena's plea after taking note of his statement. Meanwhile, Saxena told the court that he was not under any pressure and wanted to become an approver willingly. In his application to the court, Saxena said he has cooperated in the investigation and disclosed the facts as known to him. He said he would make full disclosure of the case, if he was granted pardon. United Arab Emirates (UAE) security agencies picked up Saxena from his Dubai residence on January 30 and extradited him to India the same night. He was granted bail on medical grounds on Monday. The ED did not oppose his bail application. According to the ED, in connivance with lawyer Gautam Khaitan, Saxena provided a global corporate structure to launder money for payment to various political leaders, bureaucrats and Indian Air Force (IAF) officials to influence the contract for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland. --IANS akk/ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two more key Australian ministers on Saturday announced their retirement from politics, ahead of elections in May, amid exodus of leaders from Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal Party in recent weeks. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, considered one of the most moderate politicians in the Morrison administration, announced retirement after 26 years in He said he will not contest polls as he was planning to shift to the private sector. Minister of Defence Industry Steven Ciobo resigned on Saturday after 17 years in Parliament and said he, too, will not be contesting the election, Efe news reported. Morrison appointed Linda Reynolds, Australia's first female brigadier in the Army Reserve, as new Minister for Defence Industry, and said her appointment took the number of women ministers in his cabinet to seven, the highest number on record. "Our government has plans to make Australia even stronger, Linda is part of my team that'll make that happen," Morrison tweeted. Pyne, in charge of a $200 billion expansion of Australia's military capability, and Ciobo, join a growing number of Liberal ministers who have quit ahead of elections, including former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Minister for Jobs Kelly O'Dwyer, Human Services Minister Michael Keenan and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion. The centre-right government is not a favourite to win the May election and the retirement of senior cebinet members just ahead of polls has complicated its future even further, the report said. Morrison will need to retain all the parliamentary seats held by his coalition government, but with senior ministers jumping ship it seems a tough battle. Morrison confirmed the decision of the two ministers in a televised speech, while expressing confidence that public support will help them sail through elections. Although no dates have been confirmed, Australia must elect before May 19 half of the 76 members of the Senate and will hold elections before November to elect the 151 members of the next House of Representatives. --IANS soni/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As part of expansion of benches under the National Company Law Tribunals (NCLTs) in different cities, the Centre is considering to open a third court at the tribunal's Kolkata bench, an official said on Saturday. Under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), the Kolkata bench has approved 21 resolution plans involving Rs 21,596 crore, till January 31, 2019, the official said. "We are getting enquiries from the headquarters whether there is space to open the third bench. We are having a meeting for space in the existing building (that houses the tribunal in the city). Currently, there are two tenants - NCLT and SIB (Special Intelligence Bureau)- in the building. "We are negotiating if we could get the space (in the existing building). Otherwise, we have to look for an alternative," the bench's Deputy Registrar Chattopadhyay said at an interactive session at Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the proposed third bench was expected to be operational within the current calendar year. There are 1,319 cases, filed before the city bench under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code till January end, out of which 432 cases were disposed off, while 887 were pending, he said. The Kolkata bench, had till January end, had pronounced as many as 46 orders for liquidation, he added. --IANS bdc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath government for alleged failure on the law and order front in Uttar Pradesh. In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) said that with growing lawlessness, rapes, atrocities against Dalits and weaker sections, UP had come on top of the statistics of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). Girls are no longer safe in the state as rapes are growing by leaps and bounds and the government was looking the other way, dishing out stale statistics, state Congress spokesman Anoop Patel said. Demanding that the state government should immediately ensure that law and order is tightened, the Congress leader demanded that security be given to rape victims because they live under perpetual fear of being victimised and intimidated by the assailants, as has been the case in many such incidents. --IANS md/rs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a strong attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the results of air strikes on Pakistan "would have been different" had Rafale fighter jets been procured earlier and accused the opposition party of first worrying about "self-interest" and later doing over it. In wake of the bombing of the Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp at Balakot in Pakistan, Modi also said that no one can dare raise a finger against India and it is pursuing new policies and new traditions. Attacking the Congress which has been campaigning against the Modi government on the Rafale deal, he said "the country is feeling the absence of Rafale. If there was Rafale with us, the result probably would have been different". "First due to of self-interest and later due to per se, the country has suffered a lot," he said at the India Today conclave here, in a reference to the Congress-led UPA government's delay in acquiring the Rafale fighter jet. Lashing out at the opposition, he said that "their hatred for Modi has become a hatred for the nation". He said at a time when the entire world is with India on countering terrorism, some people were raising doubts about the armed forces. "Their remarks are being used as proof against India (in Pakistan). These people have come down to opposing the country in their opposition to Modi," he said, adding that many Modis would come and go but the nation remains. He asked the political parties not to weaken the country for their political gains. Modi said the country was decisive and bold due to hard work of 125 crore Indians and his government has ended the days of "deals and doles." He said "a sense of fear has been put in the hearts of enemies both inside and outside the country" because of his government's actions. "Today, the environment that has been created, this fear is good. If the enemies of the nation feel the fear of bravery of the nation, it is good. If the masters of terrorism feel the fear of the bravery of the armed forces, it is good. "If the fugitives have fear of their property being seized, it is good. If with Mamaji (alleged AgustaWestland deal middleman Christian Mitchel) speaking, big families get rattled, then this fear is good. If the corrupt have fear of going to jail, it is good. If the corrupt have fear of law, it is good," he said. Modi said the new India is forging ahead on the basis of its resources and confidence and his government was committed to take all decisions in the best interests of the country. --IANS ps-mak/vsc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested six people for involvement in illegal shipments to Bangladesh to avail undue export benefits, an official said here on Saturday. The accused had prepared false documents, like purchase orders, invoices and procurement papers, and used them for filing shipping bills in Petrapole land customs station. The forged shipping bills were processed for exports on paper only without presenting actual goods and vehicles supposed to be carrying the goods, the official said. Investigation revealed that the syndicate provided false vehicle numbers on the shipping documents and had forged the stamp of Bangladesh customs to show that consignment crossed the border. "Import Export Code of 10 such exporting firms were used in preparing 51 fraudulent shipping bills, wherein, goods like pan masala, two-wheeler and three-wheeler parts, motor parts and items eligible for higher GST refunds worth Rs 24 crore were shown to have been exported," a DRI official said. It involved around Rs 12 crore export benefits, the official added. "Sujit Swarnakar, Sajal Swarnakar, Dipankar Pal, Suvankar Pal, Arjun Adhikary and Prosenjit Das of Bongaon were arrested on Friday," the official said. The agency had arrested three members of the syndicate in December 2018 who got the fraud executed through different Bongaon-based crooks. The customs broker who had allowed his stamps to be used in the fraud was also arrested in January 2019. Apart from these syndicate members, five customs officers have also come under the scanner for facilitating the fraud. --IANS bdc/pg/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Film fraternity members from across the country have sent out a message saluting the courage displayed by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman after he was captured by Pakistan when his MiG-21 crashed in that country. Here's what the celebs said on Abhinandan, who returned to India on Friday. * Celina Jaitley: I am the fourth generation in a family dedicated to the armed forces... My family has given blood to our nation. I speak from my heart. While this sensible gesture of Mr. Imran Khan is truly appreciated, also expected certainly is a genuine commitment to hunt down all militant group heads for the benefit of both sides. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to soldiers who have paid the ultimate price for this cause, as well as for those who are blessed enough to return from the battlefield unscathed, they alone must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. Abhinandan brought us all together as Indians, we have to remember to be that and not turn into Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, Christian or Kashmiri. Our forces' sacrifice demands that we stand behind them as "one". * Swara Bhaskar: Abhinandan is a hero. His calm, dignified, gracious responses and courage in the face of capture are inspiring and his stoic, well-mannered conduct hark back to the best traditions of the armed forces. Very glad that he is back home safe. * Yash: Very happy that he is safe... Our country got to witness the bravery of our soldiers. I salute them because they showed that they bleed tricolor no matter which soil they are on. India is in safe hands. Jai Hind. * Nimrat Kaur: Extremely elated and completely in awe of his grit and unfathomable heroism. I salute him not only as an Indian but also as a fauji's daughter. It was gut-wrenching to imagine all that he went through. * Prosenjit Chatterjee: So, so happy and proud of him. He is a real hero. * Vani Tripathi Tikoo: Welcome back Abhinanadan. You held your own despite the odds. Jai hind. * R. Madhavan: I am so so relieved and glad. From the brink of death to a unforgettable national hero, his journey in the last three days is epic. I feel so happy for his family and grateful that all efforts bore fruit for his safe return. * Sundeep Kishan: Proud...the line 'I m not supposed to tell you that' is the most heroic line I have heard in the longest time...true blue heroism...salute his bravery. * Adivi Sesh: It means a lot for him to be able to come home. To actually be behind enemy lines while still showing the grace and poise he did, it's not just blind courage. If you think of it, its courage in the face of what might have been certain death. * Jaya Bachchan: He is a true hero. Makes us proud. * Ashoke Pandit: It's India's victory. It's the victory of good over evil. It's the victory of bravery, honesty and love towards your country. It's the victory of a strong and able leadership of Narendra Modi, Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj. Every soldier of India is Abhinandan. --IANS skj/rb/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It was a round trip to victory lane for Double A Mint, who used her rallying skills to post a sharp score in the $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Double A Mint got away fifth from Post 7 for reinsman Louis Philippe Roy, who watched Dont Stop Believen fire to the top an slice out panels of :27.3, :57.4 an 1:26.2. Roy went first over on the way to the half with Double A Mint, who then used a :26.3 losing quarter to win by three-quarters of a length over Tajmeallover in 1:53.3. Sandbetweenurtoes was third. Richard Moreau trains the four-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight-Double Creme for owner Adriano Sorella of Guelph, Ont. The win improves this years reor to 4-2-1 from eight attempts and it lifted her lifetime earnings to $420,231. It was a big Friday night at the office for trainer Rod Boyd, who sent out a trio of winners on the 10-race card. He clicked with My Teen Idol (1:54.4) in an $11,000 claiming contest and made a round trip to victory lane thanks to a front-stepping score with Batting Stats (1:56.2) in an $11,000 conditioned trot. A front-end triumph with Our Vacation (1:54.1) in a $17,000 conditioned event capped off the training triple for the Cambridge, Ont.-based trainer. Its been a terrific start to the 2019 season for Boyd, who has watched his barn go 23-for-90 while earning him a lofty UTR of .334 in the process. The winner in excess of $6.2 million has sent out 527 winners over the course of his career. To view results for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Results Woodbine Mohawk Park. A huge fire broke out at garment warehouse in the city on Saturday, a fire brigade official said. No injuries have been reported yet. "The blaze was reported at around 8.10 a.m. in the Chitpur area," he said. Dark clouds of smoke was coming out from the area. Ten fire tenders were at the spot trying to douse it and prevent any further spread to adjacent establishments. The reason of the fire is not yet known. --IANS bdc/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The carnival festivities kicked off in Goa with a colourfully-decorated float parade passing through the state capital on Saturday evening. Speaking to reporters after flagging off the parade, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar gave the celebrations a dash of patriotic flavour: "Viva Carnival! King Momo has given message -- eat, drink, be merry. Today, the country is also moving ahead. Our bravehearts have returned after demolishing Pakistan," he said. The Congress had criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government's decision to host carnival festivities amid the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in February 14 terror strike in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, and the subsequent tension along the India-Pakistan border. Carnival processions, symbolic of Goa's colonial Portuguese legacy, are held every year before the holy season of Lent, which begins on March 6 this year. The festival, which involves public celebration in form of long parades of colourful floats, with masqueraded dancers, is led by King Momo, the king of carnival. King Momo is usually a locally-chosen dignitary who is given a symbolic key to the city and formally announces the festivities open. Similar carnival float parades will be organised in other towns in the state in the coming days. --IANS maya/mag/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Even as speculations are rife about Jet Airways' founder Naresh Goyal's plans to quit as Chairman to save a rescue plan for the passenger airline, he said the situation should ease by March 18. In a letter to the airline's employees, he said: "I...personally appeal to each one of you for your continued support for just a little while longer so that we can cross the line together. Promising to keep the employees in the loop, he said, "when our CEO Vinay Dube and his team will ensure a fresh detailed update", it will be shared "by the 18th of this month, by which time I am confident of the situation gently easing up in our favour." In an emotional outreach, Goyal said: "The deep emotion this has evoked leads me to appeal to each of you from my heart, to bear with me through this difficult situation a little longer, till we emerge out of turbulence and fiscal challenges, into clear blue skies." On February 28, some media reports stated that Goyal has agreed to quit and scale down his stake in the company. Following that Jet Airways scrip closed over 5 per cent higher on Friday. However, in a post-market hour regulatory filing, the airline said it was "committed to make appropriate disclosures in accordance with applicable regulations to avoid any speculative activities..." "The company is, however, unable to comment on the reasons for the increase in its share price on the stock exchanges," it said. The surge in stock prices came despite the fact that the financially stretched airline has been grounding aircraft over non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements. On Thursday, the airline had informed the stock exchanges that it had grounded 19 aircraft. The additional grounding of 2 more that came on Friday, is likely to impact around 75 flights. --IANS rv/sn/vd/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A soldier from Gujarat died following injuries suffered in a landslide in Jammu and Kashmir, family sources said. Kushalsinh Ranchhodbhai Thakor got buried under the snow on Tuesday. He was rushed to an Army Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Friday. Hailing from Jharda village in Meghraj Taluka of Aravalli district, he served in the army for 15 years. Thakor is survived by his wife Bhartiben and two children. --IANS desai/pg/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Canadian government has given its go-ahead to begin the extradition of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou to the US, leading to China's dissatisfaction and Beijing even questioning Ottawa's authority. The extradition process of Meng's, who has been accused of helping the Chinese tech giant to dodge American sanctions on Iran by Washington, was given the "authority to proceed" by Canada on Friday. The daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, Meng was detained in Vancouver last December at Washington's behest. She is currently free on bail, reports Efe news. "Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Meng Wanzhou," the government said in a statement on Friday. Shortly after the order, China responded that it was "utterly dissatisfied" with the outcome of events and said Beijing "firmly opposes the issuance of authority to proceed", Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy here as saying. "This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. "The so-called 'rule of law' and 'judicial independence' asserted by Canada cannot cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case," the spokesperson said. The date of the extradition hearing has been scheduled for March 6 by the provincial Supreme Court of British Columbia. "Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the US and immediately release Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Act of Canada," it added. "The final result of the Canadian court to handle this case will be a touchstone for testing whether Canada adheres to the judicial independence or not. We will wait and see," the Chinese spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Earlier the Department of Justice Canada said: "During the extradition hearing, the Crown will make its detailed arguments in its submissions to the Court, where evidence will be filed and become part of the public record." In January, the US government presented a pair of federal indictments against Huawei and Meng personally on charges ranging from financial fraud to industrial espionage. The specific accusations against Meng involved alleged bank fraud, wire fraud and other financial misdeeds to evade unilateral US sanctions against Iran. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is the world's largest maker of telecommunications and China's flagship enterprise. Beijing has also reacted sharply to the US legal offensive against the company and its executives. Several Canadians have been detained in China since Meng's arrest and most of Beijing's public ire has been directed at Ottawa. In late January, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even fired his country's ambassador to China after the envoy suggested Canada might rule against extradition. It was then believed that Trump's suggestions that he could use the legal case against Huawei and Meng to pressure China on trade might be grounds for the Canadian judge to rebuff the extradition request. Meng's attorneys late on Friday cited that comment from Trump in the statement reacting to the announcement from the Canadian government. --IANS ksk-in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday demanded that India should release evidence of IAF air strike on a training camps of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pakistan's Balakot, like the US did after killing Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Speaking to reporters here, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said: "I am not raising any question over the IAF's operation. But this is the era of technology. It is possible to find out any picture of an open area via satellite. We should give evidence like America informed the whole world about Osama bin Laden." The Indian Air Force (IAF) had carried out a pre-dawn air strike on February 26. The air strike came in response after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed on February 14 and Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsibility. --IANS hindi-rs/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sini Mathews, the adoptive mother of three-year-old Indian girl Sherin Mathews who was found dead in a ditch in Texas in 2017, has been released from jail after the child endangerment charges filed against her were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. The Dallas County District Attorney's office said in a news release on Friday that prosecutors could not make a case against Sini Mathews - but left open the possibility of refilling the charge, reported WFAA, an ABC-affiliated television station. "After extensive investigation it has been determined that the state cannot prove this matter beyond a reasonable doubt at this time," read a motion filed by prosecutors and signed by state District Judge Amber Givens-Davis. Sini Mathews was released from jail on Friday afternoon while her husband, Wesley Mathews, still faces a capital murder charge in the child's death. He has been indicted on charges of capital murder, injury to a child and tampering with evidence. Wesley Mathews and his wife Sini adopted the girl in June 2016 from Bihar. Sherin Mathews disappeared on October 7, 2017, and her foster father initially told the police that he had sent her out in the wee hours of the morning as punishment for not drinking her milk. On October 22, Sherin Mathews' body was found in a culvert in Richardson under a road about one kilometre from her home in suburban Dallas. Wesley Mathews then admitted to the police that the child choked while he was making her drink milk and died in their home. He also said that the family had gone out to dinner and left Sherin behind, a day before she died. The man was later indicted for capital murder by a grand jury and for tampering with evidence. His wife Sini Mathews was charged with endangering a child. Dr Suzanne Dakil, a paediatrician and child abuse expert, had testified before a court earlier that the three-year-old had a series of broken bones and injuries and that the the pattern of injuries led her to believe that Sherin Mathews was abused on separate occasions. The Richardson police in a statement on Friday said they were "disappointed" with Sini Mathews' case dismissal but would continue working with the district attorney's office "to ensure justice is done". Talking to reporters after her release from the Dallas County Jail, Sini Mathews said she felt "blessed" to be released and that her time in jail was "challenging". She said she "absolutely" loved Sherin. Wesley Mathews remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. His trial is scheduled for May. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Britain's move to blacklist Lebanon's Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a statement that Hezbollah is a very popular group in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported. "Hezbollah has a number of parliamentary seats and is present in the Lebanese cabinet," Qasemi said, adding that in the meantime, "Hezbollah is supported by the Lebanese people for defending the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity against the Zionist regime (Israel) occupation and aggression." The move by Britain is turning a blind eye on a large section of the Lebanese people and legal position of Hezbollah in the Lebanon's political structure, he said. On Monday, Britain said that it planned to blacklist all wings of Hezbollah due to its "destabilising role in the Middle East." Hezbollah on Friday condemned the British decision to list it as a terrorist organisation, saying that Britain has "servile obedience to the US administration". --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Islamic State sympathisers were planning lone wolf attacks to target government employees, security forces, investigating agencies and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members, National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a chargesheet filed recently in a Delhi court. The NIA's revelations are mentioned in its supplementary chargesheet filed against Abdullah Basith and Abdul Qhadeer, both from Hyderabad who were involved in identifying, motivating, radicalizing the gullible Muslim youths to join hands with them in their attempt to carry out subversive activities in India. The NIA arrested both of them on August 12, 2018. They are currently in judicial custody in Delhi's Tihar Jail. The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet on July 20, 2016 against three accused -- Sheikh Azhar-Ul-Islam alias Abdul Sattar Sheikh, Mohammed Farhan alias Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh and Adnan Hassan alias Mohammad Hussain. Sheikh Azhar-Ul-Islam and Mohammed Farhan had pleaded guilty and were sentenced to seven years in jail while the trial against Hassan is still going on. In the supplementary chargesheet filed in February, it was revealed that Basith was in touch with Matin Azizi The US-based Matin Azizi Yarand was arrested by the FBI on May 2, 2018 for having links with IS and for planning to carry out a mass shooting at Suburban Dallas Mall. Azizi posted articles related to the "persecution" of Muslims in Kashmir, Assam and other parts of India. According to the NIA chargesheet, during November and December 2017, Azizi provided Basith the contact of one Huzaifa who is believed to be a Pakistani national and has migrated to Afghanistan. The NIA said in March and April 2018, Huzaifa asked Basith to procure weapons from Punjab, Delhi and Bihar. Huzaifa also advised Basith to plan for lone wolf attacks. Huzaifa assured Basith of arranging funds for buying vehicles to carry out the lone wolf attacks. Basith expressed his intention of targeting politicians, government employees, security agencies, RSS members and the Hindus, the agency said. Huzaifa instructed Basith to collect and keep ready some amount to fund the IS cadres in India and abroad. Basith was told that he would soon be assigned tasks. In June-July 2018 Basith deposited Rs 49,000 in a bank account provided by Huzaifa. Thereafter, Huzaifa directed two boys to collect weapons from a man to be handed to Kashmiri boys, the agency said. However, when the the two went to collect the weapons, they were intercepted by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. However, Delhi Police set them free after counselling them for a couple of days. After their brief detention, Basith feared of his arrest and contacted Huzaifa to give him some Kashmiri contacts to join Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), NIA said in the chargesheet. On July 28 2018, Basith reached Delhi in his second attempt and changed his looks. However, the Kashmiri boy who was supposed to provide him the weapons was arrested by Delhi Police. Basith went missing, but on August 12 2018, NIA arrested him in Hyderabad. (Amiya Kumar Kushwaha can be reached at amiya.k@ians.in) --IANS akk/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Karnataka government on Saturday launched here its pilot project to deliver citizen services at the home of the people. "Through this initiative, citizens can avail services like health card, income certificate, caste certificate and senior citizen card at home," said Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy unveiling the project at Dasarahalli in Bengaluru Rural district. The project named "Jana Sevaka" (people's servant) will have officials visiting the homes of citizens concerned in order to provide the required services. Flagging off the project, Kumaraswamy visited several homes in the constituency to deliver the citizen services at their residence. To avail the services at home, citizens, particularly senior citizens and the disabled, can call helpline number (080-44554455) and request the service needed by providing details of their address. After verification of the criteria required to avail the service, "mobile sevaka", an official who will travel to the homes on a motorbike, will fill up the application forms required for the citizen service digitally using a tablet and generate receipts using a thermal printer. "The initiative saves time in waiting in queues at government offices and saves transport costs for citizens," the Chief Minister said. The state has also appointed "women sevakas" to assist women in availing the services. --IANS bha/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Woodbine Mohawk Park would like to inform all horsepeople of a change to the qualifying schedule. Effective immediately, qualifiers will be held each Thursday morning at Mohawk Park beginning at 10:00 a.m. The entry box for qualifiers will close on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m. (Woodbine) With the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation adopting resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, India on Saturday said that the state is an integral part of India and its matters are strictly internal. Answering a query regarding India's participation at the OIC in Abu Dhabi and resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that India's stand on the issue was consistent and well-known. "As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well-known. We reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," he said. He said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had attended the OIC's plenary session at Abu Dhabi on Friday as the Guest of Honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting," the spokesperson said. It was the first time that India had attended the plenary as guest of honour. Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed that the OIC Ministerial expressed "support" for Pakistan's position on the Kashmir issue. It said the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia. The OIC resolution, it claimed, expressed concern over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. The Pakistan Foreign Office statement also said that in the context of the current volatile situation in the region, the OIC member states adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, which "expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace, affirmed Pakistan's right to self-defence and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force". It said the OIC resolution on regional peace and security in South Asia also welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's renewed offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian pilot. The resolution called for restraint and de-escalation as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means. It said the OIC adopted two other resolutions sponsored by Pakistan on international disarmament and non-proliferation issues and reform of the UN Security Council. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi did not attend the plenary OIC event due to the presence of his Indian counterpart at the event. Qureshi had told the Pakistan Parliament that he would skip the session due to the OIC's failure to rescind the invitation to India. --IANS ps/vd/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un left Hanoi on Saturday for Pyongyang by train, after concluding a historic state visit to Vietnam, following his failed summit with US President Donald Trump earlier in the week. Before leaving for his country, he visited the mausoleum of Vietnamese national hero Ho Chi Minh, with whom his grandfather Kim Il-Sung met in Hanoi in 1964. That marked the last official visit by a North Korean leader to Vietnam, reports Efe news. After the short stop, he travelled by car to the Dong Dang station on the border with China and boarded a high-security train to return to his country. A crowd waving Vietnamese and North Korean flags had gathered at the gates of the railway station to bid farewell to the leader of North Korea. Kim Jong-un waved to the gathered crowd and boarded the train, flanked by his security personnel. On Friday, Hanoi hosted a grand dinner for Kim Jong-un. Earlier in the day, he met Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong. During the meeting, both leaders pledged to reinforce ties between the two countries that share historical and ideological affinities owing to the communist root of their regimes. In recent months, North Korea has shown an interest in the economic transition undertaken by Vietnam since the mid-1980s. Kim Jong-un arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday to participate in his second summit with Trump which ended ahead of schedule on Thursday after the two sides failed to agree on the denuclearization of North Korea and the lifting of sanctions. The two countries had presented different versions of the meet, after it concluded, leading to confusion over its outcome. However, on Friday, the negotiating teams of both the countries underlined the progress achieved during the talks and made an appeal to continue with the talks and hoped to reach an agreement at a forthcoming summit. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed his willingness to intensify bilateral cooperation "in all areas", during his official visit to Vietnam, Pyongyang state media reported on Saturday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report is on Kim's official two-day state visit to Vietnam that began on Friday following his second summit with US President Donald Trump in Hnaoi that ended abruptly on Thursday and without any joint agreement, reports Efe news. During his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, Kim expressed his desire to "normalise cooperation and exchanges in all areas, such as the economy, science, technology, sports, culture, art and media", and to "raise bilateral relations to a new level", according to KCNA. The North Korean dictator stressed on "the friendly relations between the two countries and the two parties of the same blood", and pointed out that Pyongyang's "unwavering position" is to "extend (those relations) for generations to come". On Friday, Kim met Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, where they held talks, exchanged gifts and later attended an official state banquet in the evening, as well as with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. It is the first time in 55 years that a North Korean leader has visited Vietnam, after the last was made by Kim Jong-un's grandfather and founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un will culminate his trip on Saturday with a visit to the mausoleum of Vietnamese national hero Ho Chi Minh, who was a communist revolutionary leader and the first President and first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and with whom his grandfather met in Hanoi in 1964. He will then travel by his limousine to the Dong Dang train station near the Chinese border, a journey of some 140 km with roads closed to any other traffic, where he will board his armoured train for his 4,500-km journey back to Pyongyang. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Michael J. Fox has opened up about a new spinal cord problem he is facing in addition to his ongoing battle with Parkinsons disease. In 1991, the then 29-year-old Fox received the news that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The "Back to the Future" star went on to share his diagnosis with the public seven years later. In an interview with The New York Times, the actor, 57, spoke about the spinal surgery, unrelated to his Parkinson's disease, he underwent last April, reports foxnews.com. "I was having this recurring problem with my spinal cord," he said. Fox added: "I was told it was benign but if it stayed static I would have diminished feeling in my legs and difficulty moving. Then all of a sudden I started falling, a lot. It was getting ridiculous. I was trying to parse what was the Parkinson's and what was the spinal thing. But it came to the point where it was probably necessary to have surgery. So I had surgery, and an intense amount of physical therapy after. I did it all, and eventually people asked me to do some acting." However, Fox revealed that when he was supposed to return to work in August, he suffered another fall. "I woke up, walked into the kitchen to get breakfast, mis-stepped and I went down," he recalled. "I fractured the hell out of my arm. I ended up getting 19 pins and a plate. It was such a blow." Following the incident, Fox said he dealt with it by trying "not to get too New Age-y", reports foxnews.com. "I don't talk about things being 'for a reason,'" he noted. "But I do think the more unexpected something is, the more there is to learn from it. In my case, what was it that made me skip down the hallway to the kitchen thinking I was fine when I'd been in a wheelchair six months earlier? It's because I had certain optimistic expectations of myself, and I'd had results to bear out those expectations, but I'd had failures too. And I hadn't given the failures equal weight." As for finding a cure for Parkinson's, Fox, who started the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000, says he still believes in one. --IANS sug/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Ahmad bin Khalifa Al Thani, over telephone and discussed various matters of common interest. Modi mentioned that India attached great significance to further strengthening her relations with Qatar, while thanking the Emir for his leadership and guidance to the rapid strengthening of bilateral relations, especially in recent years, an official statement said. The two leaders also discussed the regional situation, with the Prime Minister underscoring that terrorism continues to pose serious risk to peace and security in the region and beyond. He stressed the importance of "demonstrable and immediate action" by all concerned for putting an end to all forms of terrorism and ending all support to it. The leaders noted the historic significance of participation of India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as Guest of Honour in the 46th Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on Friday. --IANS mak/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday where he will unveil an Indo-Russian ordnance factory that will produce the iconic Kalashnikov rifles, it was announced on Saturday. At Kauhar in Amethi district, the Prime Minister will open the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd - a joint venture between India's ordnance factory and a Russian firm - and also address a public gathering in Congress President Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha seat. "The Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd is a milestone in India-Russia cooperation. The latest series of the iconic Kalashnikov rifles will be made in the Korwa Ordnance Factory," an official statement said. "The joint venture will bolster the armed forces and strengthen the national security." The factory will generate employment opportunities in Amethi and nearby areas and give tremendous boost to the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor project, it said. The Prime Minister will also unveil several development projects related to power generation, education, health and manufacturing sectors. "These projects will be of direct benefit to Amethi region as well as Uttar Pradesh," added the statement. --IANS team-arm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A motion was submitted in Pakistan's National Assembly Secretariat on Saturday calling for Prime Minister Imran Khan to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in "de-escalating" tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. The motion, submitted by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, stated that the Indian leadership's "war hysteria" and "aggression" caused tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries and brought them on the brink of war, Geo News reported. Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan after the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers in Jammu and Kasmir's Pulwama on February 14. India, in retaliation, bombed the JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and claimed to have killed a large number of terrorists. This was followed by Pakistan capturing Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman after his MiG-21 fighter jet was shot down during a dogfight near the Line of Control (LoC) on Febuary 27. He was released by Islamabad on Friday night as a "peace gesture". The motion read that "Imran Khan expertly diverted the situation towards peace" and therefore he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On Friday, #NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan was the top trend on Twitter. An online petition was filed moving the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the nomination of Khan for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 for "his peace efforts and dialogues in the Asian region on diverse conflicts (Pakistan-India, Afghanistan-US, Middle East). "His (Khan's) contributions deserve the international recognition with the Nobel, his aims of ensuring lasting peace in the region and discouraging revival of militarism should be recognized and greatly appreciated," read the online petition on website Change.org. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to the private sector to help his government meet the goal of providing proper housing for every citizen by 2022. Addressing the Construction Technology India Event 2019, Modi emphasized the government's commitment to ensure that every family's dream of a home becomes a reality. Referring to 1.3 crore houses built in the last four-and-a-half-year compared to 25 lakh houses constructed by the previous UPA government, Modi said the Central government was also making things easier for people to buy houses through tax and other incentives. "A lot of emphasis has been placed on affordable housing, real estate sector, skill development and housing technology. My dream is that every Indian should have a proper house by 2022. I seek the support of private sector. Let us work together to help the poorest of poor." He said that elements from several schemes like PM Awas Yojana, HRIDAY and AMRUT were also oriented towards transforming the housing sector. The Prime Minister said that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) had improved consumers' confidence in developers and brought transparency in the real estate sector. Giving example of construction technology used in tents at the ongoing Kumbh in Prayagraj, Modi stressed the need for housing technology in the light of rapid urbanization. "If makeshift arrangements (at Kumbh) can be made so good, permanent arrangement will be expectedly extremely much better." The Prime Minister said a large pool of skilled human resource had been created, especially in the rural areas, and that there was much greater focus on disaster-resilience, energy efficiency and local innovation in the construction sector. He also declared that the period from April 2019 to March 2020 will be observed as the Construction Technology Year. --IANS pk-rak/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the country as to what action he took over the intelligence failure which led to the February 14 terror attack at Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers. The Hyderabad MP asked Modi to specify as to how many officials were sacked and how many of his Ministers resigned over the intelligence failure. Addressing a meeting to mark the 61st anniversary of the revival of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), Owaisi said Modi also owed an answer to the country on diplomatic and political failure. "How the RDX came? Where is the DNA of the suicide bombers? These are the questions whose answers the country wants to know from the Prime Minister," said Owaisi. Referring to the video of the suicide bomber, the MP said Modi should have also found out from where he got the two US-made firearms shown in the video. Owaisi cautioned the political parties against seeking votes on the sacrifices of brave soldiers. "If any party seeks votes on sacrifices of brave soldiers, I will expose you," he said. On return of the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan, he said MIM was happy that the son of India returned safely. "Country's enemies are our enemies. Terrorists are our enemies. Political differences are there and they will always be there but country comes first. There will be no compromise as long as the country's border, its territorial integrity and sovereignty are concerned." On Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's statement asking India to provide evidence of Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar's involvement in the terror attack, Owaisi pointed out that the UN had declared JeM a proscribed organization. "What more proof Pakistan needs>?" he asked. Owaisi demanded that Pakistan should jail Masood Azhar. He termed the JeM as a group of 'satans'. "He is not a Moulana but a disciple of shaitan. He (Hafiz Saeed) is not Hafiz but a murderer," he said and alleged that they were maligning Islam. Owaisi said they were not even distantly related to Islam and challenged them to have a debate with Islamic scholars of India who would prove that there was no room for terrorism in Islam. The MIM ridiculed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for referring to Tipu Sultan and Bahadur Shah Zafar in Pakistan's National Assembly. He reminded Khan that Tipu Sultan was not an enemy of Hindus. "He (Khan) is saying he has an atom bomb. We also have it." --IANS ms/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AIADMK has entered into an electoral pact with Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT), which will allow the latter to contest from one Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said on Saturday. Announcing the tie-up, he said the PT will also support the ruling party in the by-elections for 21 Assembly constituencies. PT leader K. Krishnasamy made it clear that his party will not contest under the AIADMK's two leaves symbol. --IANS vj/in/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan's system is undergoing a sea change with the new Congress government infusing fresh thoughts into the system. From taking initiatives to motivate teachers by felicitating them at the block, district and state levels to changing the course curriculum to remove the politicisation and saffronisation of done during the former BJP regime, the state government is trying to make a smooth process where students don't look at the world from a political prism, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara told IANS in an interview. "We are looking at things in a holistic manner and hence have decided that no student shall stand with flowers or bouquets to welcome any politician."This will end the torture of students, who keep standing for hours under the sun (waiting for the dignitary to arrive), wasting their time and energy which should otherwise be used for academics. Also, this practice symbolises that a politician is more like a God who needs to be offered flowers and bouquets," Dotasara added. He further informed that the education department has set up a committee to review the syllabus in government schools.""While 80 per cent of the syllabus shall remain the same, 20 per cent will undergo certain changes. The former BJP government brought in saffronisation and politicisation of education. Hence we are reviewing those aspects"" the minister added. "There is a picture of Sati in school textbooks. How can the picture be there when the practice has been long abolished," he asked. Dotasara further said that the former government had reduced the role of freedom fighters in textbooks and had presented the role of Veer Savarkar far more strongly. "This reflects saffronisation in textbooks and to review this, we have formed a special committee comprising educationists who are looking into all such aspects""Dotasara said that stories of martyrs will be included in textbooks. "The bravery of Jagdish Yadav from Rajasthan who combated terrorists during the Parliament attack on Dec 13, 2001 should be remembered by one and all. Hence we shall try to accommodate more such stories," Dotasara added. He further said he has made a policy of not accepting any bouquet or flowers at any felicitation. " "None of the people approaching me should present bouquets or flowers. I shall accept only pens or mement"s," he said. Dotasara also pointed out that teachers don't feel motivated. Out of around five lakh teachers, only 40-50 teachers are felicitated every year - and too only at the state level. " "Hence, we are planning to felicitate them at the block, district and state levels so that more teachers are rewarded for their exceptional w"rk." In the short period after the formation of the new governm"nt, "we have observed that transfers are hampering the work in our department. In fact, I have been hounded by people from morning to evening requesting for their transfers. Hence, I have decided to bring in a proper transfer policy in my department. We will study the transfer policy model of a few states who have implemented it successfully," he added. (Archana Sharma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in) --IANS arc/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian scientist Zhores I. Alferov who won the 2000 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in semi-conductor and laser technologies died at the age of 88 in St. Petersburg, the state news agency TASS reported on Saturday. The death was announced by the Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, according to the agency. Alferov was the first Russian to become a Nobel laureate since Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev won the Peace Prize in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall. "As a deputy, as a person he (Alferov) assumed endless efforts to fortify (the Russian) science and education. He was Ambassador for Peace from our country, he had a lot of friends from all over the world, including America," Zyuganov said. In 2000, Alferov received the Nobel Prize in physics together with US scientists Jack Kilby and Herbert Kroemer, "for developing semi-conductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and optoelectronics". The award recognised Alferov's research in information technology in the 1970s and much of his work led to advancements in computers, CD players and mobile telephones. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin offered deep condolences on Alferov's death. "The head of the state noted a huge contribution of the prominent Russian scientist in the development of the Russian and global science, noted his solid public stance and the role he played in the country's public life," Peskov said. At the time of the prize, he was Director of the A.F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg and later became Chairman of the Russian Academy of Science's nanotechnology committee. --IANS soni/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Even as the Aam Aadmi Party has declared candidates for six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the Congress leadership has not ruled out an alliance and a final decision is expected to be taken in the few days, notwithstanding the partys Delhi unit's opposition to any tieup. Delhi Congress chief and former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday told IANS there will be no alliance with the AAP, but did not say if the central party leadership will concur with her views. A senior party leader said the objective of both the AAP and the Congress is to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, and the possibility of an alliance is not over. "Statements of the AAP leadership show they are keen on an alliance with the Congress," he said. Dikshit, however, said there will be no alliance with the AAP. "The Delhi unit has taken a final call. No alliance with the AAP. No, not at all. From my side it is decided," she said. Asked if she was ruling out an alliance because it was not in party's long-term interests, she said "yes". Answering a query, she said party candidates will be declared once the election dates are announced. Asked if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were sending feelers that there should be a tieup between the AAP and the Congress in Delhi, she said, "I am not aware of it". Asked if the central leadership will go by the decision of the Delhi party unit, Dikshit said, "I don't know. I can't say. I have said what I need to say on my behalf," she said. To a further query whether the high command can take a call, she said, "the high command is high command, please remember that". Announcing the names of candidates, AAP's Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said the party was yet to take a call on the West Delhi seat. The party has decided to field Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Dilip Pandey from North East Delhi, Atishi from East Delhi, Brajesh Goel from New Delhi, Gugan Singh from North West Delhi and Raghav Chadha from South Delhi. --IANS ps/vsc/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that the strike against a terror camp in Pakistan had nothing to do with domestic and accused opposition parties of making statements that people in Pakistan were happy about. "It (the aerial strike) has nothing to do with domestic and it was taken purely in the interest of security," he told the India Today conclave here. Jaitley gave this answer when asked about Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa's statement that the party will sweep 22 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats because of the strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot. "It should not have been done and the party took a very categorical stand against his statement," he said. He took exception to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that there was a "mad rush" on the part of India and Pakistan to get into a conflagration, and wondered how Singh could equate the two countries on moral and other grounds. Jaitley also referred to a meeting of 22 opposition leaders who pretended to stand shoulder to shoulder with the government but said certain things which were immediately cited in Pakistan in their favour. Asked whether the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to India marks a de-escalation or whether there could be further action, Jaitley said he would not like to discuss military strategies but emphasise that India's position on terrorism will remain unchanged till such time Pakistan takes specific steps to address roots of terror emanating from its soil. Asked whether Balakot attack mark a new normal in India strategy, he said India, in the last few years, has emerged as an important country in the world with fastest-growing economy which would become the fifth-largest in a few years and third-largest in a decade. Asked about the message from the Balakot attack, Jaitley said India had suffered a huge cost from terrorism with a lot of resources being spent on security. "Therefore, India has to attack the roots of terror." To a question about the opposition charge that the Pulwama attack on the CRPF convoy was a massive intelligence failure, he said when he was recently in the US, he had a lot of time to read and write. He said he had written then that "India has a fair share of compulsive contrarians and Nawabs of negativity which is okay in the democracy but as far as India is concerned, there are ever so many instances when the security forces foil terror attacks. The terrorists choose their target and time." He said they could also ask the same about 26/11 Mumbai attack but "I don't want to". "The national mood is one of positivity. It is the miniscule minority which is asking, that is democracy," Jaitley said. Replying to a question about the BJP's approach to winning the hearts of Kashmiris and the coalition experience with the Peoples Democratic Party, the Minister admitted that the coalition experiment did not work. "There is only one answer... we have to carry the people of Kashmir are with us. Our stand is against the separatists and terrorists. People have to be with us. Some of the mainstream parties in the state have not lived up to what was expected in the last 15 days. Suddenly you feel the whole journey has been from Sufism to Wahabbism in the last two and two-and-half decades," he said. Asked about the coming Lok Sabha elections and the prospects of the BJP, Jaitley said he is not like to be psephologist but India has become an aspirational society and he doesn't think that it would commit a suicide. He said India has to have a powerful Central government and you cannot have a confederation of states on the basis of a vote bank game. "I don't want to sound immodest but what is the choice. We have had at least four or five experiences of the so-called Mahagathbandhan. There was the Chandrashekhar government, Charan Singh government, I.K. Gujral, Deve Gowda and V.P. Singh governments whose longevity was for just six months. "Our nation is going to choose a government for five years or six months. A coalition with a strong nucleus is understandable with like-minded parties or a common minimum programme. But their CMP is we have to remove one man and people don't know about their longevity," Jaitley said. --IANS rak-vsc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man suspected of alleged links with the terror outfit involved in the Pulwama attack was arrested from a village in Banka district on Saturday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sankalp rally in Patna. Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey said the police were looking into the alleged links between the arrested man, identified as Rehan, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Pakistan-based terror outfit that claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed on February 14. Banka Superintendent of Police Swapna T. Meshram said a police team arrested Rehan from Belari village under the Shambhuganj police station area. Another suspect escaped, he said. The police are questioning Rehan to get more information. --IANS ik/arm/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three civilians were killed in shelling by the Pakistani army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Saturday. Police said a woman and her two children were killed in Salotri village of Jhalas area in Krishna Ghati sector of the LoC when a shell fired by Pakistan army exploded inside a house on Friday night. "Besides, four others including two civilians and two army soldiers have been injured in Pakistani shelling and firing," a police officer said. Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been trading heavy fire on the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts since the last eight days. Local residents have described the hostilities on the LoC as 'war-like situation'. Authorities have closed all educational institutions within 5 km from the LoC in these two districts and asked people to remain indoors. --IANS sq/pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three civilians were killed in heavy shelling by the Pakistan Army along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Saturday, the clashes later spreading to Rajouri district. Police said a woman and her two children were killed in Salotri village in Jhalas area of Krishna Ghati sector of the Line of Control (LoC) when a shell fired by Pakistan Army exploded inside their house on Friday night. "Four others including two civilians and two soldiers have been injured in Pakistani shelling and firing," a police officer said. Later in the day, heavy firing exchanges started between the Indian and Pakistan armies on the LoC in Rajouri district. Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said the Pakistanis resorted to unprovoked firing in Rajouri's Nowshera sector at 12.30 p.m. "They used mortar shells and small arms. Indian positions have retaliated strongly and effectively," the spokesman said. Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been trading heavy fire along the winding LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan, in Poonch and Rajouri districts for the past eight days. Local residents have described the hostilities as a "war-like situation". Authorities have closed all educational institutions within 5 kilometres from the LoC in the two districts and asked people to remain indoors. --IANS sq/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syria on Saturday accused the US-led coalition of firing white phosphorus munitions on an Islamic State (IS) held area in the country, the media reported. The shelling targeted the farmlands of the town of Baghouz, the last IS-held area in the eastern Euphrates River region in eastern Deir al-Zour province, Xinhua news agency reported citing state news agency SANA. There were no details given about the losses. A day earlier, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces started the last push against remnants of IS militants in the Baghouz area, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said. After securing the evacuation of civilians and kidnapped SDF fighters, the SDF launched the final push against the IS-held area in Baghouz. The spokesman said only terrorists were remaining in the town. The SDF fighters had been waiting for the civilians to fully evacuate Baghouz to launch the final stage of battle to eliminate the IS completely from the few areas they control in farmlands of the town, the report said. The US-led coalition has been backing the SDF in their push against the IS in that area since September 2018. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused the US-led coalition of targeting civilians in their fight against the IS, calling on the international community to dissolve the alliance in Syria. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US and South Korea will suspend two large-scale joint military exercises this year, American officials said, as part of President Donald Trumps efforts to maintain the truce he struck with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A limited version of the training drills known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle however, are still expected to go forward, The New York Times quoted the officials as saying on Friday. The decision to scale back the military exercises follows nuclear talks in Hanoi this week between Trump and Kim that ended without an agreement on how or whether to shut down North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. As the Trump administration continues to seek a resolution, a Defence Department official said the high-profile missile exercises that Pyongyang views as provocative will be toned down. The official said the decision to formally suspend the large-scale drills was officially expected to be announced by the US and South Korea in the next few days. It is the latest in a series of planned military exercises that Washington and Seoul have cancelled in the past year in order to avoid roiling Pyongyang. Trump has also said that the war drills cost too much. Last June, without consulting the Pentagon, the President suspended major military exercises with South Korea following his first summit with Kim in Singapore. American and South Korean soldiers, airmen and sailors have continued to carry out joint training sessions. In addition, the two sides have staged so-called tabletop or virtual exercises. --IANS ksk/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 11 people, including seven women and a child, were killed as a jeep they were travelling in veered off the road and fell into a river in Nepal near the border with India. The jeep heading towards Hikila from Khalanga along Darchula-Tinkar road section plunged 500 metres into the Mahakali River on Friday night. . According to Police Inspector Rabindra Kathayat at Darchula District Police Office (DPO), seven women, three men and a girl child lost their lives in the accident. The identifications of the deceased are yet to be established. Deputy Superintendent of the Armed Police Force, Bhim Bahadur Chand was quoted in Rastriya Samachar Samiti as saying that jeep driver Dipak Singh Dhami, seriously injured in the incident, has been sent to Pithauragadh, India, for treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two students of IIT Kharagpur were killed and another one was critically injured after the motorbike carrying them collided head-on with a vehicle in West Midnapore district, police said on Saturday. The incident happened at Kharagpur town on Friday midnight, the police said. The students, identified as Abhinav, Harshit and Bhabani, were travelling on a motorbike when it collided head-on with a heavy vehicle, an officer of Kharagpur local police station said. While Abhinav and Harshit were declared brought dead at two local hospitals, Bhabani was referred to a hospital in Kolkata, the officer said, adding, his condition is stated to be serious. While Abhinab and Harshit hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana respectively, Bhabani's home is in Rajasthan, the officer said. An investigation has been initiated and efforts are on to trace the killer vehicle, the police officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army said Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control. The soldiers were killed in the Nakiyal Sector of the LoC, it said. "Reports of casualties of Indian troops and damage to post due to effective response by Pakistan Army," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, said in a statement. Separately, the army claimed that Indian firing was continuing across the LoC, which killed as two civilians and injured two others, including a woman. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir administration Saturday sanctioned additional 400 individual bunkers for the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri which witnessed intense shelling from Pakistani troops over the past five days. "In view of the heightened cross-border shelling, the government has sanctioned additional 200 individual bunkers each for Poonch and Rajouri districts," an official spokesman said. The administration has directed officials to ensure speedy construction of these bunkers and it said the funds would be placed with the deputy commissioners concerned through the Rural Development Department. "The bunkers will get built in the next one month as per the prescribed specifications," the spokesman said. According to locals, he said the bunkers have been found to be an effective response to cross-border shelling, providing border residents a safe place to shelter themselves during shelling incidents. Meanwhile, a prominent Gujjar leader Shamsher Hakla Poonchi expressed grief over the killing of four civilians over the past couple of days in the cross-border shelling by Pakistan in Poonch district and urged the government to set up safe colonies for the border residents. He condemned Pakistan for targeting civilian areas and said the people are facing a lot of problems due to heavy shelling from across the border. "The Centre should establish safe colonies for residents of the Line of Control (LoC) so that they can live a peaceful life and save themselves from the Pakistani shelling," he said, adding that the border residents have always played a special role for the country without caring for their lives and properties. "The people living near the borders are socially, educationally, economically and politically backward and lack even basic facilities like road communication, electricity, medical facilities, education and water supply," he said. Poonchi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately sanction special package for welfare and upliftment of the border residents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ending speculation of an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming general elections, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday announced names of its candidates for six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the party's seventh candidate will be announced soon. "Congratulations and best wishes. Seventh candidate will be announced soon. Delhiites will will have full statehood this time," he tweeted The six candidates were earlier appointed as the party's in-charge for the parliamentary constituencies in the national capital. Addressing a press conference here, Delhi AAP convener Gopal Rai said Atishi will contest from East Delhi, Guggan Singh from northwest Delhi, Raghav Chadha from south, Dilip Pandey from northeast, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk and Brijesh Goyal from New Delhi seats. Rai said the candidate for West Delhi will be announced soon. During a meeting of 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence last month, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had refused a proposal for a tie-up between his party and the AAP citing opposition from the grand old party's Delhi unit leaders, Rai claimed. The Delhi Congress, in it's meeting on Friday, which was attended by its president Sheila Dikshit, had decided to convey to the party high command that it was against any alliance with the AAP in Delhi. "We wanted an alliance. But the way Sheila Dikshit refused it we felt there is no more time to wait as elections are near," Rai said, but added that the AAP still believed that there should be only one candidate of the Opposition against the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. "We still feel that there should be one candidate of the opposition against the BJP in the elections, not only in Delhi but in other states also," he said. Earlier, Kejriwal had said that he wanted an alliance but was tired of convincing the Congress for it. He had warned that the BJP would again win all the seven seats in Delhi if there was no alliance between the AAP and the Congress in the national capital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Saturday briefly apprised Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his nearly 60-hour captivity in Pakistan after he was caught following an aerial combat with Pakistani fighters on Wednesday, official sources said. Sitharaman met Varthaman at the Army's Research and Referral hospital here, a day after Pakistan released him in its bid to scale down heightened tensions between the two countries. In a tweet, the defence minister said she met Varthaman and his family to "commend him on his valour, express the nation's gratitude for his selfless service, and wish him a speedy recovery". Varthaman's wife Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son, sister Aditi and a few senior military officials were present in the meeting, the sources said. The IAF pilot, who shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during a fierce dogfight on Wednesday, is undergoing a series of medical tests the hospital as part of a "cooling down" process. A defence ministry spokesperson said Sitharaman conveyed to the pilot the sentiment of the nation and appreciated his "impeccable combat skills as well as calmness in adversity". Official sources said Varthaman briefly mentioned to Sitharaman about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his captivity in Pakistan after he was caught in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He is mentally strong and remains in high spirits despite the harassment he suffered in Pakistan, they said. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa and several top officials of the IAF also met Varthaman separately. The sources said he told senior IAF brass that he was subjected to severe mental harassment though he was not tortured physically during the captivity. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight at around 11:45 PM Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. The IAF pilot was first taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. Later he was brought to the Army's Research and Referral hospital. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in handling the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and people in general. When Varthaman, son of an IAF veteran, crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. A video on social media showed that he was badly beaten up by a mob before being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi on Friday night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities in Kashmir have sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including residences of some of its activists, police said Saturday, days after the Centre banned the outfit on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant groups and was likely to "escalate secessionist movement". Several properties, including residential houses, belonging to various JeI leaders and activists were sealed in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley Friday night, a police official said. He said bank accounts of JeI leaders have also been freezed. Various district magistrates have also sought list of moveable and immovable properties of the Jamaat leaders, he said. However, it was not clear if the move was linked to the ban on JeI or was done by NIA in connection with its probe into money-laundering cases. The Centre Thursday banned Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and was expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ban follows a massive crackdown on the outfit in the Valley since last week. Around 150 leaders and activists of the outfit have been detained in raids at several places across Kashmir. According to central government officials, the Jamaat was responsible for the creation of the state's biggest terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen and the brain behind the formation of Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat, a conglomerate of separatists, has been ideologically supporting Pakistan-sponsored violent terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, they say. Kashmir-based political parties have criticized the ban on JeI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took on the opposition over the issue of air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan saying while the entire world stood behind India in its fight against terror, some parties in the country were questioning it. He also hit out at his detractors saying they are free to criticise him but their anti-Modi tirade should not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. Modi also said that the entire country is feeling the absence of Rafale fighter jet aircraft and wondered what could have happened if the IAF had the fighter planes. "The country is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, what all could have happened if we had Rafale. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said in his address at the India Today conclave. "One of the challenges before the country is some people opposing their own country. When the entire nation today is standing with the armed forces, some parties are casting doubts on them. "These are the parties whose statements and articles are being used by Pakistan against India. In their fixation with criticising Modi, they are opposing the country and comprising its interests," the PM said. "I want to ask these people whether they trust the capability of our armed forces or doubt it. "I want to tell such people that they are free to oppose Modi and point out shortcomings in government's working, but do not help those harbouring terrorism. "If you want to oppose Modi, do so, but but do not oppose national interests. They should take care that their anti-Modi obsession does not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed," he said at the gathering. He said that India's unity has scared many within the country and outside. Modi said, "I can say with full confidence that the 21st century belongs to India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Algerians on Saturday watched for the presidency's response to the biggest rallies yet against Abdelaziz Bouteflika's re-election bid, as the ailing and absent head of state turned 82. Driven by rising frustration, tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday. Many attempted to march on the seat of government and the presidential palace, but were repelled by police truncheons and volleys of tear gas. A day after the unrest, state- agency APS reported Saturday that Bouteflika had replaced his veteran campaign manager, but no immediate explanation was given for the dismissal. The president himself, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has remained invisible and mute on the demonstrations since they broke out last week. His declaration three weeks ago that he would stand for a fifth term came in the shape of a written statement published by state media, rather than a speech to the people. Adding fuel to concerns about his fitness for office, the president has been in Switzerland for nearly a week undergoing what his office describes as "routine medical checks". One 56-year-old protester died after being caught in a stampede by "rioters" seeking to confront police, his family said on social media. AFP journalists saw a number of others wounded, including some by police throwing stones back at demonstrators who had intially hurled them at officers. According to a police toll, 56 police and seven demonstrators were hurt and 45 arrests made in Algiers. Interior minister Noureddine Bedoui visited wounded officers on Friday night, saluting what he called "the professionalism of the forces of order". Bedoui did not mention a Sunday night deadline for presidential hopefuls to formally submit their candidacies for the April 18 election at the constitutional court. There is no legal requirement for a candidate to be physically present for the lodging of his or her bid for the poll. Ahead of Friday's demonstrations, the presidential camp had repeated all week that protests would not delay the election or prevent the formal submission of Bouteflika's candidacy. The authorities are looking "to hold on until Sunday, in the hope that once Bouteflika's candidacy is confirmed, the ballot box will prevail and protests will run out of steam", one observer told AFP. It is difficult to say whether Friday's events are a game changer. "It is not within the habit of the regime to give in to streets," added this observer, who did not want to be named. "If they withdraw the candidacy (of Bouteflika)... how much further would they then be forced to retreat?". The protests have unfolded peacefully across the country, aside from the clashes between police and young people late on Friday in Algiers. But there is a disconnect between the formal opposition parties -- which tried and failed to agree on a single candidate -- and the social media savvy of the street movement. So far, APS says only two little-known challengers have formally submitted their election bids: Ali Zeghdoud from the tiny Algerian Rally part and independent Abdelkrim Hamadi. Businessman Rachid Nekkaz is one figure to have cultivated a mass following among young people, including on social media. But he will likely fall foul of electoral laws on nationality, because he once held French citizenship. Bouteflika's main opponent in 2004 and 2014 was his former prime minister Ali Benflis, who is expected to confirm on Sunday whether he will attempt another run. Retired general Ali Ghediri threw his hat into the ring in January, but has gone quiet in recent weeks. Contacted by AFP on Saturday, his camp did not want to say whether he will formally submit his candidacy. The main Islamist party, the Movement for the Society of Peace, earlier said it will field its candidate Abderrazak Makri, but the candidacy has not been confirmed. Far-left Workers' Party announced Saturday that it would not field a candidate for the first time since 2004, saying the presidential election could not fulfil "the real desire for change". Once Sunday's midnight (2300 GMT) deadline passes, the court has ten days to rule on candidates' validity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Amanda Bynes has once again checked into a mental health facility after she suffered a relapse. A source close to the 32-year-old actor told People Magazine that Bynes checked into the rehabilitation facility in January. The actor had a "relapse" and is getting help and treatment from mental health professionals and addiction counsellors for drug addiction and mental health issues, the source added. In November last year, Bynes, who had taken a break from acting in 2012 to focus on her life, had said that she is ready to return to the spotlight after enduring a "dark, sad world" of drug abuse. The actor had revealed to Paper magazine that she first started smoking marijuana at the age of 16 but it was her dependence on Adderall that led to her spiralling out of control. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine students were injured as villagers pelted stones at a school bus after it ran over a goat in Indore district Saturday. The incident took place at Qazi Palasiya village. A goat was crushed under the bus' wheels as its brakes failed, said a police official. A group of angry villagers had a heated exchange with the driver and pelted stones. Nine students sustained minor injuries and were admitted to the Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital here, he said. They were discharged after treatment, said hospital superintendent P S Thakur. A case was registered against 13 persons and further probe was on, the police official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid heightened Indo-Pakistan tension, army chief General Bipin Rawat visited the Jammu-based White Knight Corps on Saturday to review the operational preparedness, and exhorted all soldiers to remain vigilant. This is the first visit of the army chief to the region after India's air strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror facility in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday in response to the February 14 strike in Pulwama, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Over the past five days, there has been 51 violations of the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) by Pakistani forces in Rajouri and Poonch districts, which left four civilians, including three members of a family, dead and 14 others, including eight security personnel, injured. "The army chief and general officer commanding-in-chief of northern command Lt. Gen Ranbir Singh visited the White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness of the forces...in view of the current situation along the LoC and the International Border," a defence spokesman said. During the visit, the Army chief was briefed and updated by White Knight Corps head Lt. Gen Paramjit Singh about the current operational situation, prevailing security scenario and the preparedness of the formation. The army chief was also briefed on the actions taken to meet the challenges of increased ceasefire violations and measures put in place to thwart the nefarious designs of the adversary, the spokesman said. General Rawat was also briefed on the measures reinforced in other areas of the formation's responsibility towards ensuring peace and stability. The army chief commended all soldiers for their unwavering dedication to duty, selfless devotion and high standard of professionalism, the spokesman said. He said the army chief was appreciative of the measures and standard operating procedures instituted by the units and formations to minimise the casualties due to ceasefire violations and infiltration bids. The army chief exhorted all soldiers to remain vigilant to counter the nefarious designs of the enemy and anti-national elements, the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 32 local vigilantes have been killed in northwestern Nigeria in the latest attack by criminal gangs that terrorise the region, witnesses told AFP on Friday. Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a group of militia manning an anti-bandit checkpoint late on Thursday near Kware village in Shinkafi district, Zamfara state. "We recovered 32 bodies of the vigilantes after the attack by the bandits," Sukaiman Shuaibu, a local chief in the area said. "The death toll may rise because many people are still unaccounted for and search teams are combing the bush for more bodies," Shuaibu added. The attack occurred days after 27 people were killed in raids on four villages in the region. The vigilantes who were killed on Thursday were part of a militia force providing security for traders in the area, Kware resident Alu Wadatau said. "The bandits came in large numbers around 3:30 pm (1430 GMT) and opened fire on the vigilantes," said Wadatau. "They killed 32 people on the spot and injured many others." Zamfara state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu confirmed the attack but declined to give details. Farming and herding communities in Zamfara state have long been terrorised by gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle and kidnapping residents for ransom. The repeat attacks prompted villages to form local vigilante groups for protection, but they have been accused of extrajudicial killings of suspected bandits, leading to reprisals. Last week, residents of Danjibga village in Zamfara killed 59 bandits who attempted to raid the village. Zamfara is a political stronghold for President Muhammadu Buhari, who carried the state in last week's presidential election that handed him a second four-year term. He has pledged to continue confronting Nigeria's many security crises, while giving few specifics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Saturday said the Centre should reconsider its decision of banning the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) as the move would serve no purpose except "to drive their activities underground". "The centre should reconsider its recent decision. The situation in J&K had improved drastically between 1996 and 2014/15 without having to resort to such bans. There is nothing to suggest that this ban will in any way contribute to any improvement on the ground," he wrote on Twitter. The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said after the outbreak of turmoil in the state, the organisation was banned for more than five years in 1990, but such a ban "served no purpose and achieved nothing". "In the battle of ideas & ideologies we in the @JKNC_ have always opposed the Jammat in the political space. The recent ban & crackdown against their leadership, members, schools & properties will serve no purpose except to drive their activities underground," he said. Omar said while his party always had a difficult relationship with the JeI, he cannot support the crackdown on its leaders and activists. "The @JKNC_ has always had a difficult relationship with the Jamaat in J&K & have often been on different sides of the ideological divide. In spite of these difference I can not support the recent crack down against them (sic)," he added. The Centre on Thursday banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and is expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP on Saturday blamed former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the continuing crisis in Jammu and Kashmir and charged the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime for its "inadequate response" after the 26/11 Mumbai attack. "(Vallabhbhai) Patel had been entrusted with integrating more than 500 princely states and he did that without creating any problems. Rulers of Hyderabad and Junagadh had tried to be defiant, but they fell in line and now we have no problems in these places," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said. "Compare that with what Nehru did in Jammu and Kashmir, which he handled on his own. Its ruler (Raja Hari Singh) acceded voluntarily. Yet, the region is plagued by problems after more than 70 years," Adityanath said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was speaking at a function in Bihar's East Champaran district after laying the foundation stone for an agricultural training institute named after Patel, the country's first home minister. The chief minister said things would be different under the "decisive leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The seemingly impossible was made possible when Wing Commander Abhinandan (Varthaman) was let off by Pakistan without India having to make the smallest compromise." "Earlier, the nation used to put up with the humiliation of terrorists harboured across the border striking here at will. Now, our forces punish them by carrying out surgical strikes," Adityanath said. At a function in Jamui district, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal lauded Modi for giving a free hand to the armed forces after the Pulwama attack. "Compare Modi's leadership with the weak-kneed response that the previous Congress-led UPA government had displayed when Mumbai was laid siege to for more than two days (in 2008) by a handful of terrorists from Pakistan, who killed more than 100 people, including some of our brave police officers," Goyal said. The Union minister laid the foundation stone for a new rail line, besides flagging off a weekly Humsafar Express that will connect Patna to Bengaluru. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Kangana Ranaut Saturday said the system in place in Bollywood helps people with privilege and repels when it is challenged. At the India Today Conclave 2019, she said her many fallouts in the industry happened because she was always presented do-or-die situations in which she always fought her survival. "I come from a situation where I really do not have a backup plan. I don't have a plan B. It's not like I wake up in the morning and think about 'Oh wait a minute. How many people can I offend today and how to make my life difficult?' That's not how it is. "... The kind of story I have I wasn't left with an option. I wish they did. I wish they let me do my thing and I wish there wasn't this do or die situation. I would have preferred it like that. But if one of us has to do die I will make sure that it is not me," Kangana said. A couple of her past few films have been plagued by controversies. Her 2017 film "Simran" was marred by a spat between her and screenwriter Apurva Asrani, who claimed that she poached his writing credit. Her latest release "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi" was also embroiled in multiple controversies. Kangana said the credit for her success is hers only as she is the only actor in the film industry "who has not worked with a big production house or a big hero". "We all know that Bollywood, the film industry is classist and so is the rest of the society. The system works for certain people the way it is. It is definitely going to resist when you are going to challenge it." The three-time National Award winner said after her debut film "Gangster", she struggled a lot for work. "When I came to the industry with a film like 'Gangster', I won the Best Actress award in entire Asia and then I did not have any work at all. They did not know what to do with an actor like that. "Item numbers were prevalent and so were the patriarchal and chauvinist sort of male depiction in films where actors and actresses are just showing up to get pinched in their butt or get mocked. So I did not had any work. So I like said if it is a do-or-die situation I'm going to ensure that I survive," Kangana said. She said the power players of Bollywood tried to suppress her voice but she fought every time. "When you question so many things, they will try to shut your voice because the system has been working for them. It is your prerogative as a person to see what you want to do. Of course they will do what they can to ensure that people like us who question the system do not survive," she said. On the topic of women empowerment, Kangana lamented that there are women actors in the industry who believe that they do not deserve pay on par with their male counterparts. "I think you are as empowered as you think you are. It's a very individual choice. I know some women who openly say that 'I don't think I deserve the kind of remuneration my male counterpart does.' It is an individual choice. If you believe that you are not an equal then of course nobody can change that," she said. Kangana also said that feminism is the most misused word in the current times. "Feminism is a word which is misused and especially in today's time and age. I know so many people who know nothing about equality and they wear these badges of feminism, pay parity and fighting cause...," she said. "I don't go by the book definition of feminism. I have made my own definition. Though the word is derived from feminine but why should there be only equalities which is influenced by or related to sex. There should be equality of life... I think with time we need to evolve the definition," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday said the valour and courage of new India is being recognised the world over and the bravery of Wing Commander Abhinandan will inspire the coming generations. "The country's valour is getting fame across the world and entire nation is welcoming Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. His brave act will inspire the coming generations," he told reporters after inaugurating a two-day Kisan Mela (agri fair) and exhibition here. "You all have seen how the (Central) government took decisions and how soldiers returned safely after destroying terrorist camps. Modi is the name which could turn impossible things possible," Adityanath said. Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned home from Pakistan Friday night to a hero's welcome, nearly three days after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. The chief minister, who flagged off the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' motorcycle rally in Campirganj Assembly constituency, also inaugurated the administrative building of Mahayogi Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Pipiganj. He launched a website of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and distributed soil test card and soil health card among some farmers. Adityanath said the government has approved 20 new Krishi Vigyan Kendra (agriculture science centres) to the state so that farmers could benefit from the schemes and avail technological know how. The government is determined to double the the income of farmers and these centres will be helpful in attaining the objective, the chief minister said. The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Radhamohan Singh, who was also present at the event said technology is required to double farmers' income and agriculture science centres will play a big role in it. He also urged agriculture scientists to build teams, adopt villages and create awareness about new technology among farmers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Brazil's jailed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday was granted leave from prison to attend the weekend funeral of his young grandson, who died at the age of seven. A federal court decided that Lula, who is serving two concurrent 12-year sentences for corruption, can attend Saturday's services in Sao Paulo for Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva, who succumbed to meningitis. "Lula has been authorised to take part in the funeral; to protect his family's privacy, and to guarantee public safety and his own, details on the transfer will remain secret," justice officials in Parana state said in a statement. Federal prosecutors had earlier issued a statement saying they supported Lula's request. Lula "is very sad -- no one expects like this", the head of his Workers Party, Gleisi Hoffmann, said after visiting him in prison. "He said no father should ever have to bury a son, no grandfather should bury his grandson." Arthur was the son of Sandro Luiz Lula da Silva, one of the former president's five sons. The boy had twice visited his grandfather in prison in the southern city of Curitiba, some 400 kilometres from Sao Paulo, the country's southeastern business hub. Lula's lawyers argued that by law, the former president -- who served two terms and became a global icon of the left -- was entitled to leave on compassionate grounds, having lost a close family member. But Lula missed the funeral of his 79-year-old brother Vava in late January, when he died of cancer. His request was initially denied by a lower court judge and by the time a Supreme Court justice approved it, his brother's funeral had already taken place. "They didn't let me say my goodbyes to Vava out of pure spite," the president said afterwards, quoted in a party statement. Police have spoken out against releasing the high-profile inmate, arguing they lacked the manpower to keep the highly divisive figure safe. Last April, Lula, 73, began serving a 12-year sentence for taking a bribe in the form of a seaside apartment and for money laundering. Last month, he received a separate sentence of almost 13 years for accepting renovation work by two construction companies on a farmhouse in exchange for ensuring they won contracts with the state-run oil company Petrobras. Petrobras is at the centre of a massive corruption scandal that has devastated the country's political and business elite. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canada said it will allow a U.S. extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said Friday officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wangzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd., the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Meng's Dec 1 arrest at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furor and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to U.S. technology vendors. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions. She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the U.S. request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. "There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision," the statement said. The Chinese government on Saturday criticized the decision as a "serious violation" of Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. "The U.S. and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement," said a Foreign Ministry statement. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the U.S. charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng's case if he thought it would assist the U.S negotiations with China over a trade deal," said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticized the case in a statement as "a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise." Huawei is a focus of U.S. security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A charge sheet was filed against former registrar of the Uttarakhand Ayurveda University, Mrityunjaya Mishra, who has been behind bars in a corruption case since December. The charge sheet running into 4,700 pages was filed against Mishra by the vigilance department in a special court on Friday, Superintendent of Police, Vigilance, Senthil Avoodai Krishnaraj S said. Charges have been framed against Mishra under different sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he said. Mishra was arrested by the vigilance department from his residence here on December 3.He is lodged at Shuddhowala district jail since December 4. PTI ALM http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg We bring the World to you"Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you. http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Saturday lauded the BJP-led Centre for making a determined effort to clean up River Ganga, about which he 'felt proud'. The top leader also credited the NDA government for "succeeding" in its National Highway building programme and further building on the initiatives of the UPA regime like the Aadhar. Every government took some initiatives, which are good and beneficial, he said, adding,"I mean even the most incompetent government will do a few things which are good for the country. How can you deny that.? any government will do some good things." Answering a question from the audience, at his "Undaunted: Saving the Idea of India," book release event here, he said he was very angry with the BJP-led government because they did "the largest evil to the largest number (of people) by demonetisation." Also, through the "flawed" implementation of the GST, he alleged the "largest evil" was done to business and trade. On the positive side, he said "I think the national highway programme has been a success, they are building more kilometers per day than we did, I think the next government will build more as the system is in place." The National Highway programme was "indeed a good programme," he said, adding,"we must give credit to them for the NH" initiative. The second positive aspect he found was that the NDA built on initiatives of the UPA regime like the zero balance, no frills bank accounts by calling it the "Jan Dhan" plan. "Jan Dhan is good. I compliment them. we started it, we opened 34 crore accounts and they have opened another 35 crore accounts, which is good." Likewise, the UPA regime launched the Aadhar initiative, and though BJP claimed that it would be scrapped, they did not 'mercifully' do that. The NDA government further built on it and facilitated cash transfer of subsidy for LPG through Aadhar, he said. Referring to the River Ganga clean up initiative by the Centre, he said though it has not borne results, "but at least they are making a determined effort to clean the Ganga.I think five times we have tried to clean the Ganga, we have failed... ...I hope this time we won't fail...they are making a determined effort to clean the Ganga, which I am quite proud about." However, barring such things, there are "huge monstrous failures" of the NDA government on the other side, he said. To a hypothetical question on what position he would assume if the Modi-led dispensation were to offer him one if the BJP retained power at the Centre, he said: "I would like to be the leader of the opposition." Earlier, during the panel discussion, he advocated devolving more powers to the states and added that "Puducherry in my view, this is Congress party's view, is eminently ready to be a full State." Delhi being the national capital region, the police department should necessarily be with the Centre and the State should be given other powers. On coalition governments at the Centre, he said the governments led by leaders, including Manmohan Singh and Vajpayee delivered, adding, "it is a distortion of history to say that only majority governments have". Coalitions stood a better chance of delivering in view of the checks and balances and demonetisation could have never happened in such a set up, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's BRI is not a debt trap or regional hegemony as the multi-billion dollar initiative has brought economic development and hope to its participants, a top Chinese official said on Saturday. Touted as Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. China's annual political season, which will include full sessions of its rubber-stamp Parliament -- the National People's Congress (NPC) and a consultative body of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) -- began on Saturday with CPPCC spokesman Guo Weimin taking questions from local and foreign reporters during a nationally-televised press conference. In the next 10 days, the two bodies comprising over 5,000 delegates would deliberate on a host of national and international issues besides announcing the national defence budget. The NPC begins its session on March 5. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang would present work report for the year. The NPC is set to pass several key legislations including a new law that would address the concerns of the US over the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), one of the key demands of US President Donald Trump, who last year declared a trade war with China by imposing additional tariffs on over USD 200 billion worth of Chinese products. Guo began his press meet emphasising on the core leader status of Chinese President Xi Jinping who emerged as the most powerful leader after Mao Zedong with prospects of continuing as leader for life following the constitutional amendment to remove the two-term limit for President. Xi, who heads the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), the military and the Presidency, emerged as the most powerful leader in recent times. He is currently in his second term which would continue till 2022. Guo put up a strong defence of Xi's pet project the BRI, which has raised concerns after China acquired Sri Lanka's Hambantota port for a 99-year lease as a debt swap. The US, India and several other countries raised concerns over the BRI as China doled out huge loans to smaller countries for infrastructure projects without taking into consideration their ability to pay back the money. The BRI includes USD 60-billion China, Pakistan Economic Corridor which India opposes as it traverses through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan has announced slashing some of the projects to reduce its debt burden. China is due to hold the second BRI Forum for International Cooperation next month in which several world leaders, specially from Pakistan, are expected to be present. India had boycotted the first forum last year and China is keen to rope in New Delhi to attend it this year in view of the improved ties between the two countries following last year's informal Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi. Replying to a question about concerns of debt traps and regional hegemony by China using the BRI projects, Gau said that the BRI has brought development and hope to participants. China's investments in related countries mainly went to infrastructure projects which will facilitate local development in the long term, Guo said. The debt problems of some developing countries were created by complicated historical reasons, he said. "It's totally ungrounded calling BRI a debt trap," Guo said. The initiative has promoted local economic development and over 100 countries and international organisations have actively supported and participated in it by the end of last year, he said. "The initiative has nothing to do with regional hegemonism. With the initiative progressing, China is winning more and more friends," he said. Guo also hailed the positive progress in China-US trade talks to end the trade war. Reaching a mutually-beneficial agreement as soon as possible will not only benefit both countries, but also be good for the world economy, he said. The latest round of consultations in Washington was held under the guidance of the important consensus reached by the presidents of the two countries, he said. "Substantial progress has been made on such specific issues like technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers, service industry, agriculture and exchange rates," Guo added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Vadra's interim bail was Saturday extended till March 19 in a money laundering case by a Delhi court, which asked him to join the probe whenever asked to after the (ED) said that he was not cooperating in the matter and it needed to question him further. Special judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Vadra, the brother-in-law of president Rahul Gandhi, and said the interim orders of protection from arrest will continue till the next date of hearing. The court also extended the protection from arrest granted to his close aide and co-accused in the case, Manoj Arora, till the next date of hearing i.e. March 19 and directed him to join investigation. The ED's Special Public Prosecutors D P Singh told the court that Vadra has not cooperating in the matter although he has joined the investigation. The agency submitted that further interrogation of the accused was needed and sought 15-16 days time so that the entire questioning could be completed. Senior advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for the businessman, however, denied the charge and said Vadra has already joined the investigation and cooperated during investigation. He said that Vadra will join investigation as and when directed by the investigating officer and was ready to cooperate during probe. "Counsel submitted that applicant has already joined the investigation and has cooperated during investigation. Counsel submitted that applicant will join investigation as and when directed by the Investigating Officer and is ready to cooperate during investigation. Under the facts and circumstances, applicant is directed to join the investigation as and when called by the IO," the court said. The ED submitted that Arora was also required to be further interrogated. "Both parties submitted that the matter may be listed after 15-16 days so that entire interrogation could be completed," the court said. Vadra had filed an anticipatory bail application in the case linked to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million pounds. The property is allegedly owned by him. The agency had earlier said it has received information about various new properties in London which allegedly belong to Vadra, including two houses of five and four million pounds, each, six other flats and more properties. In his anticipatory bail plea, Vadra had alleged that he was being subjected to "unwarranted, unjustified and malicious criminal prosecution which on the face of it is completely politically motivated and is being carried out for reasons other than those prescribed under law". The plea had said Vadra's office was raided by the ED on December 7, 2018 and, therefore, he seriously apprehends that his liberty may be curtailed by the investigating agency. "The petitioner (Vadra) is being subjected to a farce criminal prosecution which actually is beset with nothing else except political vendetta and most unfortunately the respondent (ED) being the law enforcement agency is a party to the unethical and illegal exercise. "It is stated that the petitioner's (Vadra's) firm through its authorised representative Manoj Arora has already joined investigation with the ED conducting investigation into the affairs of the firm in Rajasthan with their offices at Jaipur on many occasions and has supplied all the relevant documents to the satisfaction of the officials of the ED," the plea had said. Arora, an employee of Vadra's Skylight Hospitality LLP, was a key person in the case and he was aware of the latter's overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds, the ED had alleged. Vadra had alleged that he is being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. "It is stated the the petitioner has highest regard for the due process of law and is always willing to cooperate with the investigation. In the highly charged political atmosphere and political contours of the present investigation, he seriously apprehends arrest by the investigating authorities," his plea read. Arora had alleged before the court that the case was foisted on him by the NDA government out of "political vendetta". However, the ED had refuted the allegations, asking that "should no authority investigate any political bigwig because that will be called a political vendetta?" The agency had told the court that it lodged the money laundering case against Arora after his role came up during the probe of another case by the under the newly enacted Black Money Act and tax law against absconding arms dealer It had alleged that the London-based property was bought by Bhandari for GBP 1.9 million and sold in 2010 for the same amount despite incurring additional expenses of approximately GBP 65,900 on its renovation. "This gives credence to the fact that Bhandari was not the actual owner of the property but it was beneficially owned by Vadra who was incurring expenditure on the renovation of this property," the ED had told the court. A Delhi court Saturday summoned senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, The Caravan magazine's editor and its reporter as accused on April 25 in a defamation plea filed by NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek against the magazine. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal asked them to appear before the court on April 25. The Caravan had alleged in its article that Vivek Doval, "runs a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands" which is "an established tax haven". On January 30, Vivek had recorded his statement before the court, saying all the allegations levelled by the magazine and later repeated by Ramesh at a press conference were "baseless" and "false" and damaged his reputation in the eyes of family members and professional colleagues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bihar unit of CPI on Saturday told Mahagathbandhan leaders that it will not accept anything less than three-four Lok Sabha seats under the seat-sharing formula for the upcoming general elections in the state. It also stressed that the seat distribution process should be worked out within a week. CPIs Bihar unit secretary, Satya Narain Singh said categorically that the party will fight Begusarai seat, irrespective of whether or not it forms part of the mahagathbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, RLSP, HAM(S), Mukesh Sahni Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP). Bihar has a total 40 Lok Sabha seats. Singh said that the party has already taken a decision to field Kanhaiya Kumar,the former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president, from the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat. We are of the view that there should be alliance among left democratic secular forces in order to defeat the BJP which is trying its level best to harp on the peoples sentiments in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack, Singh told reporters here at the party office. We are of the firm view that if the alliance is sealed among left democratic secular forces in Bihar, we will defeat BJP convincinglyBut for that, there should be alliance among these forces and the issue of seat-sharing must be decided at the earliest preferably within a week, he added. The Bihar unit of CPI has identified six seats- Begusarai, Khagaria, Madhubani, Banka, Motihari and Gaya (SC)- which it wants to contest in the coming Lok Sabha polls, the party's state secretary said. He, however, said that the party may decide to forego one or two seats in favour of greater alliance but we will not at all accept one Lok Sabha seat (Begusarai) which is being discussed in the media, as it is not honourable seat sharing arrangement. Partys senior leader and Rajya Sabha member D Raja, who met RJD chief Lalu Prasad about a month ago in RIMS in Ranchi, made it clear to him (Prasad) that CPI will be contesting at least four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, he said. In the past, the party has won Begusarai seat nine times, Madhubani seven terms while Motihari on five occasions, he said adding that the party has not staked its claim on seats like Jehanabad and Patna which it has won seven and three times respectively in the past. Interestingly, CPI(ML-Liberation), which also want to be the part of the mahagathbandhan, has also sought six LS seats for itself while giving ample hint that it was not rigid on the numbers provided it is offered a respectful number of seats. Stating that CPI held a very impress rally at Gandhi Maidan on October 25, 2018, he said that Congress party is demanding 11-15 seats despite its February 3, 2019 rally at Gandhi Maidan "which was not impressive one". We had organized a bigger rally than the Congress at Gandhi Maidan. Our mass base is much more bigger and stronger than Congress in each and every Lok Sabha constituency but despite all these facts Congress is claiming 11-15 seats, Singh said. The CPI leader said I can understand that they (RJD) may be giving Congress more seats due to several reasons, but our genuine demand should also be looked into. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 26-year-old Dalit man was allegedly killed by his landlord at Lakhyan village here, police said Saturday. Popin's body was found lying in an agricultural field, with multiple stab injuries to his neck, said Circle Officer Hariram Yadav. The incident took place at Lakhyan village which comes under the jurisdiction of Titawi police station. According to a complaint lodged by the victim's family, Popin left home with his landlord Titu on Friday and did not return home till late in the night. A case was registered against Titu and one Ravinder, the circle officer said, adding that both of them are at large. Meanwhile, irate villagers protested against Popin's death and demanded immediate arrest of the accused persons. Yadav said security has been tightened in the village to avoid any untoward incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday called upon BJP workers to stand by the armed forces. She was addressing her party's workers at the flagging off ceremony of a bike rally from Gulabi Bagh. The rally was organised by the Chandni Chowk district unit of the BJP. The defence minister called upon BJP workers to stand by the armed forces and apprise the people about the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in protecting the sovereignty of the country and the government's other development works. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan also called upon party workers to contribute towards the Armed Forces Relief Fund and do all they can to strengthen the social fabric of the country. "We should concentrate on spreading the message of nationalism," he said. He said under Prime Minister Modi, people of the country are feeling a sense of pride as entire world stands by India in its fight against terrorism. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari flagged off the bike rally from Yamuna Vihar and rode a bike for some distance to encourage party workers. He saluted the bravery of the Indian Army and expressed happiness over the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. "It is the result of the free hand given to the armed forces that they have taught Pakistan a lesson. The persons dividing the country on the basis of caste and religion should know that these jawans do not come from one section of society. "Our Prime Minister is working for all the sections of the society hence he is certainly going to be elected again as the Prime Minister of the country," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, a day after Pakistan released him in its bid to scale down heightened tensions between the two countries. Official sources said Varthaman briefly mentioned to Sitharaman about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his nearly 60-hour captivity in Pakistan after he was caught in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. He is mentally strong and remains in high spirits despite the harassment he suffered in Pakistan, they said. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and several top officials of the IAF also met Varthaman, who shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during a fierce dogfight. The sources said he told senior IAF brass that he was subjected to severe mental trauma though he was not tortured physically in captivity. Sitharaman met the pilot at the Army's Research and Referral hospital here where he is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process. His wife Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son and sister Aditi were also present, the sources said. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight at around 11:45 PM Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. The IAF pilot was first taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. Later he was brought to the Army's Research and Referral hospital. In a tweet, the defence minister said she met Varthman and his family to "commend him on his valour, express the nation's gratitude for his selfless service, and wish him a speedy recovery". After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in handling the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and people in general. When Varthaman, son of an IAF veteran, crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. A video on social media showed that he was badly beaten up by a mob before being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi on Friday night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Arshad Warsi says he is clear that he will never be a part of an adult comedy as he is not only uncomfortable in that genre but also does not want his kids to see him do that. Arshad, who has featured in many hit comedies such as the "Golmaal" series and most recently "Total Dhamaal", says he is comfortable watching adult comedies but does not judge anyone who choose it. "I don't want to do a sex comedy because I'm not comfortable doing it. I've never been and can't even foresee myself doing it. I don't have a problem with other people doing adult comedy, I don't judge them. "Sometimes I can watch it too but I can't do it. Not only the fact that I'm uncomfortable doing it personally but I've also got kids. I don't want them see me doing that," Arshad told PTI. The actor said since his motivation of choosing a film is not money, he has no qualms of turning down projects which make him uncomfortable. "I'm not the kind of person who's greedy about money so it's not even on my nature that I'll do films for money. I was offered a lot of money for certain films which I wasn't comfortable being a part of and I said no." Though Arshad started his career with romance and drama in the 90s, he found his groove and fame with comedy, starting with "Munna Bhai MBBS". The actor says comedy as a genre is so strong that it will never be replaced by any trend. "Comedy is a genre that'll never go away. You'll have phases of everything, romance, action, but not of comedy. There's never going to be a moment or time where people stop seeing comedy. "No one will say 'we aren't going to watch comedy anymore we will watch only drama.' It might be the other way around but never that people don't turn up for a good comedy. Who doesn't to laugh. Comedy is a loyal friend. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Exemplary bravery and commitment to the nation displayed by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is a source of inspiration for the youth, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Saturday. The safe return of the brave pilot is a matter of happiness and relief for the country, he said on the sidelines of an event here. Captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets, the Wing Commander was brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him last night. Before his plane was hit, Varthaman had shot down an F-16 of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). "The safe return of our brave Wing Commander is a matter of much happiness and relief for India. The exemplary bravery and commitment to the nation shown by him will inspire our youth," Gadkari said. Extending his best wishes to Varthaman, Gadkari said what else could bring more happiness than his safe return with full pride. Varthaman was brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him through the Attari-Wagah border late Friday night. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. A video circulated on social media that he was badly beaten up by a group of people before getting rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four men were arrested for allegedly cheating people across the country, including two serving army officers, on the pretext of giving them high-end cars for winning a lucky draw, police said Saturday. The accused were identified as Narender Sharma (32), a resident of New Friends Colony, Rakesh Abrol (41), a resident of Noida, Sunil Kumar Yadav (31), a resident of Ghaziabad and Tanuj Talwar (32), a resident of Faridabad, they added. They have cheated over 500 people to the tune of around Rs 5 crore, police said, adding that they were earlier arrested in similar cases of cheating in Noida. Two serving army officers filed a case against the directors of an e-commerce venture, they said. The victims alleged that the accused persons cheated them of Rs 6 lakh by assuring them of winning high-end cars as lucky draw prizes. The victims made hefty purchases from the company but, the goods were never delivered, police said. During investigation, police received information that the accused persons were arrested in a similar case at Noida. They were on the run and police tried to nab them, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajiv Ranjan said. On Friday, police got a tip-off and laid a trap near Escorts Hospital, Sarai Julena, New Friends Colony and one of the accused Narender Sharma was apprehended, he said. Later, on the instance of Sharma, Abrol and Yadav were also apprehended. Talwar, who remained on run, was apprehended on Saturday, the officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German Armed Forces chief General Eberhard Zorn Saturday became the first foreign dignitary to pay respect to India's fallen heroes at the newly built National War Memorial here, officials said. Zorn, who is currently on a visit to India from March 2 to 4 paid tribute at the memorial, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 25. He became the first foreign dignitary to pay respect at the memorial, a senior official said. Earlier foreign dignitaries used to pay respect to India's fallen heroes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial beneath the iconic India Gate. With the inauguration of the National War Memorial, foreign dignitaries shall pay homage there now, officials said. Prime Minister Modi had dedicate the memorial to the nation, built in memory of soldiers killed in action since Independence near the India Gate complex here, by lighting a flame positioned at the bottom of the stone-made obelisk. Ahead of the inauguration, senior defence officers had said the Amar Jawan Jyoti, built in 1972 underneath the India Gate arch to commemorate the country's soldiers killed in the India-Pakistan War of 1971, "will continue to be there". Amar Jawan Jyoti is a memorial symbolised by an inverted bayonet and soldier's helmet over it with eternal flame burning beside it. The National War Memorial, spread over 40 acres behind the India Gate canopy, is dedicated to soldiers killed during the India-China war of 1962, India-Pakistan wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Sri Lanka and in the Kargil conflict of 1999, and also those in UN peacekeeping missions. The names of 25,942 battle casualties have been inscribed across 16 walls at the national memorial. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Poonam Mahajan Saturday made a strong pitch for a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as she exhorted the people to give a bigger mandate to the BJP in the upcoming general elections. She kick-started the party's bike rally from Ramlila Ground here. "You should give the BJP a bigger mandate than the 2014 Lok Sabha results," Mahajan told the audience. The BJYM chief also hit out at opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav for "practising negative politics". She said on one side, the opposition was extending support to deal with Pakistan, but on the other hand, they were asking proof for the surgical strike carried out by Indian armed forces. Mahajan alleged that BJP workers were not safe in West Bengal ruled by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. She also termed the social media site of Congress "fake". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thousands of people thronged the Miramar beach-front here Saturday to participate in a float parade which kicked off a four-day-long Goa Carnival festival. Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar flagged off the parade which proceeded along a road running parallel to the beach. 'King Momo', the 'king' of carnival, read out a decree, appealing people to be responsible while enjoying the festivities. William Annes, this year's King Momo, urged people not to litter public places and make Goa a better place. Ajgaonkar said King Momo's message was to "eat, drink and make merry". "We want to promote Goan culture. It will be on display on the floats," he said. More than 50 floats participated in the parade, including one by Goa Police which was about the importance of traffic discipline. The tourism department would be hosting similar float parades in all major towns over the next four days. The department has also come out with a special song, composed by musician Mukesh Ghatwal, which King Momo played on his float. For the first time, King Momo's crown features the national bird peacock, a senior tourism department official said. The carnival festival is celebrated before the start of observance of Lent by the Christians. In Goa it is being celebrated from the time it was a Portuguese colony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Abu Dhabi Airports has welcomed GoAir's launch of four new flights between Kannur International Airport (CNN) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), connecting the two cities with flights operating every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, a statement released here said. GoAir's inaugural flight from Kannur to Abu Dhabi was received with much fanfare on Saturday, as the Indian subcontinent remains one of the most popular destinations for travellers departing from Abu Dhabi. In addition, Kannur itself is a popular leisure and business destination within the state of Kerala. Bryan Thompson, CEO, Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "India is a key travel market for Abu Dhabi International Airport and we are always eager to strengthen our connectivity to the Indian subcontinent, enhancing further our services extended to our dear customers." Maarten De Groof, Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "As one of our most promising new partners, we are pleased to welcome GoAir's flights to Abu Dhabi. India has always been one of our largest and most important areas of operations and we look forward to ensuring GoAir's guests enjoy a comfortable and efficient experience throughout Abu Dhabi International Airport, where we continue to deploy world-class smart travel solutions, attractive retail offerings and relaxing lounge spaces." "This additional service to Abu Dhabi reflects the capital's status as a key destination and transit hub, and forms a part of our strategy to attract new airlines to our network," De Groof added. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said Abu Dhabi was the airline's fourth international destination after Phuket, Male and Muscat, and 28th destination sequentially. "GoAir is delighted to partner with Abu Dhabi Airports. It is heartening to note that both GoAir and Abu Dhabi Airports were established in 2006 and are celebrating 13th anniversaries this year," he said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Saturday issued an "alert" for all airports and airlines in the country, asking them to "enhance the existing security measures", as it has received intelligence inputs in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued the alert and marked it to senior police officials of all states, in-charges of security at all airlines and airports, and officers of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). "In view of the intelligence input in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments, it is imperative to enhance the existing security measures being taken at all the civil aviation installations like airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads, flying schools, aviation training institutes etc. so that no untoward incident takes place," the alert notification read. The BCAS has asked airlines and airports to take 20 specific enhanced security measures which will be "in operation till further orders". The security measures include "strict access control to regulate entry into terminal building, airside, all operational area and other aviation facilities". The BCAS has directed "enhanced screening of passengers, including 100 per cent full pat down search at pre-embarkation security checkpoint", and enhanced random screening of "staff and visitors" at the main gate to the terminal building. No vehicle should be parked in front of the terminal building and there should be "intensive checking of vehicles entering car parking area", according to the alert notification. Another measure is -- strict on ground monitoring of regulatory guidelines for operations of non-conventional aerial platform like microlight aircraft, aero models, paragliders, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drones, power hang gliders and hot air balloons. The BCAS has suggested enhanced screening of passengers, staff, and hand baggages and "strengthening of anti-terrorism/anti-sabotage measures and placement of quick response teams" at all airports. According to the alert notification, "QRT and perimeter patrolling" has to be strengthened too. QRTs are part of the CISF only, which is in-charge of security at various airports across the country. "Intensive checking of vehicles/persons at the approach to airport terminals/installations" has also been called for. Enhanced random check at the entry of terminal building, including utilization of bomb detection and disposal squads and dog squads at the entry point has been suggested. According to the alert notification, authorities have been asked to "enhance surveillance in and around the aviation installations" and specific monitoring of "flights/helicopters/UAV/ UAS/drones/gliders/hot air balloons from airports/helipads/airfield around Delhi National Capital region". Regarding catering, the alert notification said, "Inspection by the chief security officer of the airline concerned from the presetting stage to vehicle check and entry into airside. Airport Security Unit/Aviation Security Group to ensure thorough check of the vehicle through under view mirror, cabin search etc and checking of the driver and attendant and their ID matching of signatures". There would be "no issuance of visitor entry passes till further notice", it said and directed strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations including air ambulance. The BCAS also called for "thorough search and anti-sabotage check of the aircraft by the airline concerned and its guarding to ensure no unauthorized access to the aircraft... to ensure that no unauthorized person gains access to aero bridge". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh Saturday urged the Centre to present evidence of the air strike on terrorist camps in Balakot. He also "congratulated" Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for the release of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Speaking to reporters here, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "I am not questioning the recent IAF action against Pakistan-based terrorist camps. "But the pictures of any incident in open space can be accessed through satellite technology. So we should also give evidence, the way the United States government presented evidence before the world on (the killing of) Osama bin Laden," he said. Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the Indian Air Force (IAF) thwarted their plans. "I also congratulate the honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan that he showed a new way of being a good neighbour and returned the brave officer of Indian Air Force to us," the Congress leader said. "Now he should show courage by handing over (terrorists) Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to us," he added. Singh said Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, and leaders of Khan's own party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, wanted their government to "bargain" with India for releasing Abhinandan. Khan was criticised in Pakistan for releasing the Indian pilot without demanding anything in return, he said. The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh also refuted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim on Friday that after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) wanted to conduct a surgical strike against Pakistan, but the Congress-led UPA government nixed the idea. "I can only say that we have not seen a bigger liar than Narendra Modi," Singh said when asked about Modi's statement in Kanyakumari. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was arrested with fake notes with a face value of Rs 40,100 from Puna suburb of Surat in Gujarat, police said Saturday. Accused Bharat Vaghasiya was carrying 401 notes, of Rs 100 denomination, from Mumbai to Surat when he was caught late Friday night during routine checking, a Puna police station official said. Vaghasiya told police an acquaintance travelling with him in a bus had given him the packet containing fake notes, the official said. "He has been arrested section 489 (possession of forged or counterfeit currency notes) of the Indian Penal Code and further probe is underway," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Tuesday participate in a function to consecrate the idol of Goddess Annapurna at a newly-built temple at Adalaj in Gandhinagar, functionaries of the Sri Annapurnadham Trust said. Organisers said PM Modi would also lay the foundation stone of a Rs 15 crore training centre-cum-hostel for economically weak students to be housed in the temple complex, they said. The temple itself has been built at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore, trustees said. The Trust comprises Leuva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community. Giving details of Modi's participation in the "pran pratishtha" ceremony at the temple, former deputy chief minister and Trust head Narhari Amin said state Governor O P Kohli, Madhya Pradesh Governor and former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel would attend the event. Amin said the hostel-cum-training centre, which will help economically weak students, especially from rural areas, for competitive exams, will have accommodation facility for up to 600 students and is expected to be ready by June next year. "While priority will be given to students from the Patidar community, students from other communities can also apply. Training for competitive examination will be provided at a nominal fee and the process of shortlisting candidates will be determined by the trust in the coming months," he said. On March 4, PM Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for Vishv Umiya Dham, a mega temple complex coming up on the city's outskirts at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The temple will be dedicated to Maa Umiya, the reigning deity of Kadva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community. The temple complex will also have a skill university, students' hostels, counselling facilities and a community dispute-resolution centres, organisers said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Polls should be held to make India and its economy strong, to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil a family's wish to make its "prince" the prime minister, BJP chief Amit Shah said on Saturday in a veiled attack on Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi. Shah, while addressing the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' bike rally here, also slammed the opposition for raising doubts over the recent air strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan. "Elections should be held in the country to make the country and its economy stronger. To take the country's pride to the sky...to strengthen the security...to give a befitting reply to Pakistan...in the interests of 50 crore poor...and not just to fulfil the desires of ageing leaders who wish to become the prime minister or a family that wishes to make its prince the PM," Shah said. Amid the cheering crowd, he praised Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who returned from Pakistan on Friday, saying he came back to India after shooting down Pakistan's F-16 fighter plane. "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, maximum number of terrorists were eliminated in the country...Goli ka jawab goli se diya (We gave a bullet for a bullet), and answered the Uri terror attack by launching a surgical strike. "We have let the people know that the country is being ruled by the Narendra Modi government," he said. When Shah asked BJP workers present at the rally, who will make the country, its economy capable of giving a befitting reply to Pakistan, they chanted "Modi, Modi". The BJP chief criticised Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for raising doubts over India's air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan. "Desh ke jawano ke khoon ka badla lene ki himmat nahi thi...Yah Narendra Modiji hai jo yah kar rahe hai aur aap sawal utha rahe hai ki air strike hui ki nahi...Rahul Gandhi, Mamata aur Akhilesh sawal utha rahe hai aur ochhi rajneeti kar rahe hai. (You didn't have the courage to avenge our soldiers' blood. Modiji is doing that and you are questioning it! By doing so, Rahul, Mamata and Akhilesh are doing cheap politics)," he said. He criticised the Congress for "delaying" the implementation of the 'One Rank-One Pension' scheme for defence personnel, and also the construction of the National War Memorial. Modi recently inaugurated the National War Memorial, adjoining the iconic India Gate complex in New Delhi, nearly 60 years after it was mooted to honour the fallen soldiers after Independence. Shah said the BJP will create a record of sorts on Saturday with one crore of its workers taking out bike rallies from 3,800 locations across the country to reach out to voters. He later led the bike rally in the town by riding pillion on Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state unit president's Abhilash Pandey's bike. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Polls should be held to make India and its economy strong, to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desire of a 'prince' to become the prime minister, BJP chief Amit Shah said here on Saturday in a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Shah, addressing BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' bike rally here, slammed the opposition for raising doubts over the recent air strike on the terrorist camps in Pakistan. "Polls should be held to make the country and its economy strong and to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desires of ageing leaders and a family's prince to become the prime minister," he said. On the Indian Air Force's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp early Tuesday, Shah said, "The opposition is doing by raising doubts over the recent air strike on Pakistan-based terrorist camps." He criticised Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the issue. "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule, maximum number of terrorists were eliminated in the country," he said. Shah also blamed the Congress for the delay in the implementation of the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) for the ex-servicemen and creation of the National War Memorial. Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial, adjoining the iconic India Gate complex in New Delhi, on Monday, nearly 60 years after it was mooted to honour the fallen soldiers after Independence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body of one of the five Army jawans, missing for a fortnight after an avalanche in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, was recovered on Saturday, an official said. Rajesh Rishi (25) and five other jawans of the 7 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were buried under the avalanche at Shipki La near the China-India border on February 20. Rishi's body has been recovered in the morning. His body was sent Solan town in the evening after an autopsy, Kinnaur Superintendent of Police Sakshi Verma said. The body will be taken to his native village, Jagatpur, in Nalagarh area of Solan district on Sunday, the officer said. Rishi's last rites will be performed with full military honours on Sunday, official sources said. He got married last December and rejoined his duties on January 28, the sources added. The body of another jawan, Havaldar Rakesh Kumar, was recovered on the day of the avalanche. About 500 personnel are carrying out the operation to search the four other trapped soldiers on Saturday. Lt Gen. P M Bali, the chief of staff of the Western Command that is closely monitoring the rescue operations, had visited the site a few days ago and assured that all efforts were underway to find the missing soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Battling a wave of opposition to its 5G trials from the US and other countries, China's telecom technology giant, Huawei has installed three 5G stations in Tibet. The first three 5G base stations have been installed, with equipment provided by Huawei, the state-run Global Times reported on Saturday. The 5G stations are being installed in different parts of the China as part of Huawei's plans to lead the 5G trials despite the opposition. The US has been putting pressure on the countries, it has closer ties, to ban Huawei and other Chinese telecom firms from providing gear used to build 5G wireless networks. The 5G is the next generation of cellular technology with download speeds 10 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks. Huawei has denied official links with the Chinese government. China Mobile's Tibet branch announced on Friday that one of the 5G base stations, with a peak download speed of 530 megabytes per second (MBps), became operational in Lhasa on Wednesday, the report said. Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry site cctime.com, told the Global Times that construction of the 5G network in the remote areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau faces challenges from cold weather and high altitude. "Electricity supply alone is a complex process," Xiang said, adding that optical fiber tends to lack stability in cold weather. Xiang insists the obstacles will be overcome. "It is important to realise synchronous development of 5G service between Tibet and other regions in China, which is a move we've been talking about since 4G kicked in," Xiang said. The next step for China Mobile's Tibet office will be to accelerate the testing of the 5G application and promote the development of the big data industry and innovation of the Internet of Things based on 5G technology in Tibet, which will enable residents living in farming areas in Tibet to enjoy advanced modern communication services, the tibet.cn reported. "Transport, communications, and energy are equally important in driving a region's economic development," Xiang said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Saturday reported 1.6 per cent decline in total sales at 54,518 units in February. The company had sold 55,422 units in February last year, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales were at 43,110 units as against 44,505 units in the year-ago month, down 3.1 per cent, it added. Exports were, however, up 4.5 per cent at 11,408 units as compared to 10,917 units in February last year, the company said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying while the Indian Air Force (IAF) was defending the country, Modi stole Rs 30,000 crore from the force and put it in businessman Anil Ambani's pocket. He asked chowkidars (watchemen) not to get worried over the slogan "chowkidar chor hain" as the country knows that "it is meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi". Speaking at the party's Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morahbadi Ground here with leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, Gandhi reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was "wrongfully" given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes. Ulgulan is the term used for the movement of justice and independence launched by legendary tribal fighter Birsa Munda against the British in the 19th century. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and state's former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's former MLA Ram Chandra Singh were present at the rally. The Congress chief stuck to his rally schedule, and did not visit ailing RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, neither did he speak to Prasad over the phone. There was speculation on whether the Congress president would contact Prasad to break the logjam over seat-sharing among grand alliance partners in Bihar and Jharkhand ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prasad has been in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail since December 2017 after his conviction in Rs 900-crore fodder scam cases that broke out in the early 1990s in united Bihar. "Vaayu Sena desh ki raksha karti hain aur hamare PM uske paise chori kar ke Anil Ambani ko Rs 30,000 crore de dete hain (The IAF defends our country but the PM steals its money and gives Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani)," he said taking a jab at Modi, a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman returned home from Pakistan captivity. The AICC chief claimed that former France President (Franois Hollande) had said 'Modi had said if Rafale deal was to be sealed then Anil Ambani should be given the (offset) contract.' In his no holds barred attack on Modi, the Congress president further alleged that the prime minister had waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists, but not that of farmers, students and shopkeepers. He said if his party was voted to power, it would give minimum income guarantee to the poor by directly transferring money into their accounts. Focusing on tribals and farmers, Rahul said the Congress party had in 2013 brought the Land Acquisition Act to protect the jal, jungle, jameen (water, forest and land) of the tribals. "Jal, jungle and jameen are yours, and not of Ambanis or Adanis. Under the land act, until and unless 80 per cent of the farmers (land owners) say yes, the land cannot be sold, and if they say yes there will be social impact study and then land will be sold four times the market rate," he said. He said the Congress protested vociferously when the Modi government tried to amend the act. He said in Chhattisgarh the Congress government had returned unused land to original holders within ten days of forming the government as the land had not been used in the last five years. The AICC president said farm loans were waived in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan within 10 days of the Congress forming the government in those states. The Congress president, who is visiting Ranchi after nearly five years, said he joined in 2004 and had never spoke a lie. He said the Congress had given to the country MGNREGA, White Revolution, Green Revolution and Computer Revolution. Gandhi assured the JVM president and the JMM that the Congress would fight the polls in alliance with them. Jharkhand has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats. In his speech, Marandi said his party would be part of the grand alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. On his "chowkidar chor hain" slogan, Gandhi made it clear that it was directed at the prime minister and not other watchmen in the country. Gandhi said chowkidars (watchmen) come to him and complain about the slogan (chowkidar chor hain) saying they are not thieves but honest persons. "I tell them not to get worried, the entire country knows that when we say 'chowkidar chor hain' it is clearly meant that we are talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Gandhi said adding, "one chowkidar has defamed all chowkidars." Former Jharkhand police chief Rajeev Kumar joined the Congress in the presence of Gandhi. Kumar is the third IPS officer in Jharkhand Congress after its present president Ajoy Kumar and Rameshwar Oraon. State Congress spokesman Alok Dubey told PTI that Gandhi went straight to the airport after the rally and he neither had any schedule to meet the RJD president nor talked to him over telephone. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after the airstrike against terror camp in Pakistan and subsequent events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the country was feeling the absence of Rafale and results would have been different if India had the fighter jets as he attacked the Congress for its tirade against his government over the aircraft deal. "India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, that if we had Rafale, the results would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now over Rafale," he said at the India Today conclave. Modi said he wanted to tell all those opposing him that they were free to criticise him and point out shortcomings but they should not harm the country's security interests. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been attacking Modi over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and favourtism. The government has denied the charges. Tearing into the Congress, Modi alleged its rule saw many defence scams. "They began with jeeps and later graduated to weapons, submarines, helicopters. The defence sector suffered in the process," he said. "Those who ruled the country had interests in two things - doles and deals. The culture of doles and deals has harmed the country," he said targeting the Congress. "Why is it that those who ruled the nation for so many years have so many defence scams in their era? "If a deal could not happen, defence modernisation could not happen. Who is every middle-man close to," he asked, adding "the entire nation knows. And Lutyens Delhi, surely knows." Modi said during his tenure, 2.3 lakh bullet proof jackets were bought while previous Congress-led government ignored the proposal since 2009. "In our tenure, the corridors of power are also free from middlemen because they know, this government will not tolerate any corruption," he said. Modi said his government's 55 months in power and 55 years of others' rule had given two contrasting approaches to governance. Previous governments had a token approach', we have a total approach', he said. A day after the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Modi said the life of every jawan was valuable to us. He also said that there was fear in the neighbouring country of the bravery and valour of Indian armed forces and it was good. He also criticised the previous Congress governments for not doing anything to implement the OROP (One rank, one pension) scheme for armed forces and asked why there was no war memorial for the soldiers. Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. IAF pilot Varthaman shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during the fierce dogfight. The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir that killed 40 soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta has announced an Advanced Programme in FinTech and Financial Blockchain for the benefit of management and finance professionals. The new programme, to help candidates appreciate the explosive growth of FinTech and its increasingly disruptive impact on the banking and financial ecosystem, will be offered in association with TalentSprint starting May 2019. Professor (Finance & Control) Faculty-in-charge, The Financial Research and Trading Laboratory, IIM (C) Prof Ashok Banerjee said Friday, this IIM Calcutta FinTech programme will be delivered in a format which will consist of "on site visits to the IIM (C) campus and live online sessions via the TalentSprint digital platform." Financial technology, or FinTech, is the new technology and innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. Banerjee said working professionals from banking, financial services and technology sectors will be able to attend the programme. "The FinTech course is targeted for the working professionals. NASSCOM expects the Indian FinTech market to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 22 per cent in the next five years. The transaction value for the Indian FinTech sector is expected to reach $73 billion by 2020, as per a KPMG report," he said. In addition, the course will prepare the candidates to exploit the immense potential of FinTech to design and drive new product strategies for their organisations. Pointing out to achieve such phenomenal growth the industry would have huge training requirements, the senior professor said presently the FinTech industry faces a talent shortage. "The content of the programme is inter-disciplinary and we'll draw faculty resources from Finance, MIS (management information system) and operations management. We'll also involve industry experts as guest faculty to bring on board the industry perspective," the IIM (C) senior faculty member said. Santanu Paul, Co-Founder and CEO of TalentSprint said, "We are very pleased to partner with IIM Calcutta to bring this world-class programme to the market. It is our belief that this programme, with its innovative curriculum and networking opportunities, will serve as a major launchpad for the best FinTech professionals of tomorrow." TalentSprint is a new-age AI-powered digital platform. Its services have been utilised by some of the leading companies in banking and information technology industry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi which was part of the BJP-led front in Tamil Nadu during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections Saturday announced its support to the DMK. IJK chief Pari Vendhar, alongwith his party senior leaders called on DMK chief M K Stalin here and pledged his party's support to the Dravidian outfit for Lok Sabha polls. "As per the decision taken in our party's general council, I have apprised the DMK chief that we will support his party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Pari Vendhar said. "Given the situation in Tamil Nadu, a big change is needed and only Stalin can usher in such a change," he told reporters. It is, however, not known immediately if the IJK will be allotted seats in the DMK front. He said the IJK cannot have an electoral tie-up with the BJP-AIADMK combine since the PMK, which had allegedly troubled his party, was part of it. The IJK was part of the seven-party rainbow alliance formed by the BJP in Tamil Nadu in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Amethi, a hoarding stating that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will "fizzle out" in Uttar Pradesh has come up in neighbouring Rae Bareli, evoking sharp response from the party. Congress leaders and workers have demand that the poster be immediately removed and action be initiated against those behind it. While Rae Bareli is the parliamentary constituency of Priyanka's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and brother Rahul Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. "Toot jaega danka, fuss (fizzle out) ho jaengi Priyanka," stated the hoarding at Canal Road in Rae Bareli. It was allegedly put up by Arun Singh, who claims to be a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Singh has also mentioned his mobile number on the hoarding. Priyanka Gandhi, Congress's general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) and Sonia Gandhi's daughter,entered active recently. "This clearly spells the anti-women mindset of the BJP which is out to defame the Gandhi family at every given opportunity," Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said. "The sacrifices and contributions of the Gandhi family are well known... They have never deviated from their path of service towards the nation even in the most trying of times... "BJP leaders know that till the Gandhi family is active the main issues will remain communal amity, peace and development,' he said. People will give a befitting reply to "liars" in 2019, Awasthi said. Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting in the Congress stronghold on Sunday.He had visited Rae Bareli in December. Priyanka Gandhi recently took part in a grand roadshow in Lucknow along with Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia and party chief Rahul Gandhi in February. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian bowlers controlled the proceedings like seasoned puppeteers pulling strings at will to restrict Australia to a sub-par 236 for 7 in the first ODI here Saturday. It was a vastly different performance from the bowling unit which maintained discipline for the better part of the 50 overs with Mohammed Shami (2/44 in 10 overs) showing the way. Kuldeep Yadav (2/46 in 10 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (0/33 in 10 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (1/31) made up for a rare off-day by Jasprit Bumrah (2/60 in 10 overs), that too, by his standards. Even Usman Khawaja (50) and Glenn Maxwell (40) -- the top two contributors for Australia -- weren't exactly comfortable against an Indian attack that bowled as many as 169 dot balls. This effectively meant Australia couldn't score 28.1 overs out of the 50 overs during Indian innings. What the statistics won't reveal is the contribution of Kedar as the sixth bowler and Jadeja, who stifled the Aussies during the second Powerplay. This was after Shami bowled a brilliant wicketless first spell which was seen off by Marcus Stoinis (37, 53 balls) and Khawaja (50, 76 balls), who added 87 runs for the second wicket after early dismissal of Aaron Finch. It was Khawaja, who was first to break the shackles with a cover drive off Bumrah and a six off Kuldeep, introduced in the last over of the first Powerplay. With only 38 runs coming in the first Powerplay, the duo especially Stoinis decided to up the ante against Indian bowling's weakest link Vijay Shankar (0/22 in 3 overs), hitting him for a flurry of boundaries. In the next five overs, Australia scored 33 and looked like regaining ground when Jadhav (1/31 from 7 overs) got a lucky breakthrough with a rank half-tracker. Stoinis mistimed the pull shot to Virat Kohli at mid-wicket. Khawaja completed his sixth half-century in ODIs but couldn't get the elevation while giving Kuldeep the charge. Shankar took a well-judged catch at deep mid-wicket boundary running sideways. Maxwell joined Peter Handscomb at 97 for three and the duo farmed the strike well during their run-a-ball partnership. Handscomb was using his feet well but Kuldeep managed to produce a classical chinaman's delivery. Handscomb was deceived twice first in the air and then it broke back sharply for Dhoni to complete the easiest of glovework. Once Handscomb was out, India controlled the second Powerplay with Kedar and Jadeja choking the run-flow. Despite not getting wickets, Jadeja bowled two miserly spells 5-0-15-0 and 5-0-18-0. To top it, he was hit for only two boundaries and bowled 34 dot balls. It was a tough period to bat as Maxwell and debutant Ashton Turner (21) found out during their 36-run stand for the fifth wicket before Shami got his reward in his second spell, removing both of them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sini Mathews, the Indian-American foster mother of 3-year-old special needs girl Sherin Mathews who was found dead in a culvert in suburban Dallas in 2017, was freed from jail after 15 months as the child endangerment charges against her have been dropped in the US due to lack of evidence. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said Friday that there was not enough evidence to proceed, NBCDFW reported. Sherin, who was adopted by Wesley Mathews and Sini in 2016, was found dead in a culvert near the family's home in Richardson, Texas, on October 22, 2017, two weeks after her family reported her missing. Sini, who was 35 at the time of her arrest, was charged after prosecutors said she left her adopted daughter home alone while she and her husband Wesley went to dinner with their 4-year-old biological daughter on the night before the child was reported missing, the report said. Had she been convicted, she would have faced between two and 20 years behind bars, it said. The Indian-American couple from Kerala had adopted the girl from an orphanage in Bihar. The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it is possible the same or different charges could be leveled against her at any time, according to the report. Sini, while coming out of the jail Friday, told NBC5 that she felt "blessed" the charges were dismissed and that she's looking forward to being reunited with her biological daughter, who has been living with family members in Houston. She said that the past 15 months she spent in jail awaiting trial were "challenging". Asked if she loved Sherin, Sini responded: "Yes, absolutely. No doubt". Her husband Wesley, who was 38 at the time of his arrest, still faces a capital murder charge in connection with his daughter's death and he is being held on a USD 1 million bond. His trial is set for May. In a letter to the 282nd Criminal District Court, the Dallas County District Attorney wrote that "after extensive investigation, it has been determined that the state cannot prove this matter beyond a reasonable doubt at this time... the state respectfully requests that this case be dismissed without prejudice." Richardson police, which probed Sherin's death and charged Sini with child endangerment, said in a statement that they were disappointed. "While we are disappointed with this turn of events, we will continue to work with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office to ensure justice is done," Richardson police said. Wesley, who still faces a capital murder charge in connection with the case, initially told the police that his daughter had gone missing from outside the house. He had made her stand outside the house at 3 am as punishment for not finishing her milk. Sherin was missing when he went back for her, Wesley had contended. He is being held on a USD 1 million bond and his trial is scheduled for May. Wesley changed his story later and told investigators that Sherin died after choking on milk. He admitted to putting her body in the culvert near their home in Richardson in suburban Dallas. Accused of killing the Indian girl, he faces a sentence of up to life in prison. The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office which released Sherin' autopsy report listed the cause of death as homicide and the manner as homicidal violence. The story of Sherin's whereabouts and her tragic death in 2017 made headlines worldwide. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi. "As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said. Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC concluded with a resolution that "supported" Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. "In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia," it claimed. The resolution also "expressed deep concern" over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim-dominated. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting," the MEA spokesperson said. The OIC also called for "restraint and de-escalation" in South Asia as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, the Pakistan Foreign Office said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hollywood star Johnny Depp has filed a USD 50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife and actor Amber Heard for accusing him of domestic violence in an article. According to The Blast, the 55-year-old actor's lawsuit is his response to Heard's Washington Post op-ed that she wrote last year, in which she claimed to be a victim of abuse. "Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator," says the suit, while calling the allegations against Depp as "hoax". Heard "purported to write from the perspective of 'a public figure representing domestic abuse' and claimed that she 'felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out' when she 'spoke up against sexual violence'," Depp's lawyers stated in the lawsuit. In the op-ed, Heard, 32, had revealed that she lost out on a number of film roles as a result of the "full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out". She had also claimed that she received death threats after she accused Depp of domestic violence. In the lawsuit, Depp's lawyers insisted that he "never abused Ms Heard" and alleged that she used the claims in order to further her career in Hollywood. Depp also claimed he was dropped from a "Pirates of the Caribbean" film after the op-ed was published, causing him financial damage. He is seeking USD 50 million in damages. In response to the lawsuit, Heard's representative said, "This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depp's repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced. Mr. Depp's actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behaviour. "But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr. Depp and his legal team," the rep added. The couple's divorce was finalised in 2017, after two years of marriage. They had started dating after meeting on the sets of 2011 film "The Rum Diary". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has arrived here to offer prayers at the Lord Venkateswara shrine in Tirumala on Sunday, officials said. Wickremesinghe accompanied by his wife Maitree and other dignitaries landed at Renigunta airport, 20 km from here, by a special helicopter from Chennai and reached the holy hills by road. They would stay for the night at the heavily guarded Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) guest house, a temple official told PTI. The TTD administers the over 2000-year-old shrine. Wickremesinghe would offer prayers in the early hours of Sunday. He would participate in the Suprabhatha ritual (priests chanting Vedic hymns to wake up the Lord) conducted daily in the early hours, the official said. It will be Wickremesinghes fourth visit as prime minister to the sacred hills. Earlier he had offered prayers in 2018, 2016 and 2002, the official added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov on Saturday condemned what he called America's "flagrant interference" and "destructive influence" in Venezuela, in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo. "The provocation and external destructive influence, under the hypocritical pretext of humanitarian aid has nothing to do with the democratic process," said Lavrov, in comments cited by his foreign ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lawyers for President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge on Friday to impose a sentence "substantially below" the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud. Manafort, 69, is to be sentenced on March 7 by Judge T S Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia after being convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. Manafort's attorneys, in a filing with the judge, said the sentencing guidelines -- which call for a prison term of 235 to 293 months -- are "clearly disproportionate to the offence conduct for which Mr Manafort was convicted." "Mr Manafort acknowledges that he received a fair trial before this court, he accepts the jury's verdict, and is truly remorseful for his conduct," they said. His attorneys suggested a "sentence substantially below the range", arguing that Manafort is a first-time offender and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison. Manafort is one of seven former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Mueller's office said in their own sentencing memo that Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law but did not recommend a specific sentence. Mueller's office said that Manafort violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct", to deter both Manafort and anyone else who would commit similar crimes. "His criminal actions were bold," Mueller's office said, and included attempting to tamper with witnesses and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyers. Manafort's attorneys took issue with that characterisation. "The Special Counsel's attempt to vilify Mr Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this court," they said. "The cases that the Special Counsel has brought against Mr Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally and financially," they said. The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign but were for work he did for Russian-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014. Manafort was also charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch-hunt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The ruling AIADMK Saturday signed a poll pact with Puthiya Thamilagam by alloting one parliamentary constituency to it, party Coordinator O Panneerselvam said. Puthiya Thamilagam President K Krishnaswamy along with his supporters held discussions with the AIADMK seat sharing committee at its party office here. Emerging after signing an alliance with Krishnaswamy, Panneerselvam, also the Deputy Chief Minister, said a parliamentary constituency has been allotted to Puthiya Thamilagam for the coming Lok Sabha polls. "For the 21 seats that are lying vacant in Tamil Nadu, Puthiya Thamiliagam would extend its support for the AIADMK candidates", he told reporters. While 18 assembly seats are lying vacant following the disqualification of the dissident MLAs (who owe allegiance to rebel leader MLA TTV Dhinakaran) by the Speaker, three other seats fell vacant following the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2018, AIADMK MLA A K Bose (Thiruparankundram) and Hosur constitutency following disqualification of the MLA. In the 2016 assembly polls, Puthiya Thamilagam unsuccessfully contested four seats by forging an alliance with the DMK under the leadership of M Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan said she was happy that Puthiya Tamilagam has come into the AIADMK-BJP alliance. AIADMK concluded its poll deal with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) by allotting five and seven seats to them respectively. Soundararajan expressed hope that the DMDK, led by Vijayakanth, would also join the alliance soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons were arrested with 1,845 kilogrammes of red sandalwood, worth Rs 9.22 crore, that was to be exported illegally to China, a police official said Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, a tempo was intercepted Friday on Veera Desai Road in suburban Andheri, Inspector Daya Nayak of Amboli police station said. He said 500 kilogrammes of red sandalwood was seized from the tempo and its two occupants were placed under arrest, Nayak said. During interrogation, the duo revealed that a huge stock of red sandalwood was stored in a warehouse in Kurla, he said. A raid on the warehouse netted 1345 kilogrammes of the wood in 22 boxes, Nayak said, adding that it was to be sent to China through Dubai. The two have been charged under section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Forest Act, the official said. Further probe was underway and efforts were on track the main accused, Nayak said. Red sandalwood is an endangered plant species found predominantly in Andhra Pradesh and its export is mostly illegal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government has sanctioned several works in connection with development of airports in the state, said a statement from the chief minister's office. These include allotting land to Hindustan Petroleum for an aviation fuel station at the Shirdi Airport, and appointing a consultant for Pune's greenfield Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport, the CMO statement said. Additional land was also allotted at Shirdi Airport to the Indian Oil Corporation, it said. The decisions were taken at the 66th board meeting of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited which was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the statement informed. Shirdi International Airport, spread over 400 hectares in Kakadi village in Ahmednagar district, was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 2, 2017. Work at airports in Shirdi, Amravati, Purandar, Chandrapur, Karad, Solapur, Dhule and Phaltan were reviewed as well as the progress of the Centre's regional air connectivity scheme 'UDAN'. Fadnavis also approved various road and infrastructure works in Nagpur's MIHAN and allotted funds for them, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Saturday chaired a high-powered committee meeting on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and discussed various legal issues. A statement from the chief minister's office said state Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde attended the meeting. Speaking to reporters later, Munde said the meeting was held for the first time in two years after the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti and he followed up on it. "Positive discussion was held on many issues. The ekikaran samiti representatives and I demanded that Maratha youth residing in the 865 villages situated in Karnataka along the Maharashtra border, (claimed by the latter) be included in the 16 per cent Maratha quota for jobs and education," Munde said. He said there was also a demanded to provide benefits of schemes of the state's Annabhau Sathe Financial Development Corporation to these youth. Fees of lawyers representing the state in the border dispute being heard in the Supreme Court and presence of Maharashtra ministers and bureaucrats during the hearing in SC were also discussed, Munde said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Saturday chaired a high-powered committee meeting on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and discussed various legal issues. Fadnavis Saturday said a senior advocate will be appointed to represent the state in the Supreme Court in the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute. The CM said an additional legal hand will be necessary to assist senior lawyer Harish Salve representing Maharashtra in SC in the case. After the new lawyer is appointed, a meeting would be held in Delhi to chalk out future legal strategy, he said. It has been decided in the meeting to provide the state's Maratha quota in education and jobs to the youth living in the 865 villages, the CM said. A statement from the chief minister's office said state Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde attended the meeting. Speaking to reporters later, Munde said the meeting was held for the first time in two years after the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti and he followed up on it. "Positive discussion was held on many issues. The ekikaran samiti representatives and I demanded that Maratha youth residing in the 865 villages situated in Karnataka along the Maharashtra border, (claimed by the latter) be included in the 16 per cent Maratha quota for jobs and education," Munde said. Munde said there was also a demanded to provide benefits of schemes of the state's Annabhau Sathe Financial Development Corporation to these youth. Maharashtra claims 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani, and wants these areas to be ceded to it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government will appoint a lokpal in all universities in the state, except its agricultural universities, to resolve student grievances, state minister Vinod Tawde said Saturday. The Maharashtra Higher and Technical minister said the appointment of the students' ombudsman would be made in the "next two to three months". The lokpal shall be a person related to the university and someone not below the rank of retired district judge or a retired vice-chancellor, registrar, professor or principal, Tawde said. Tawde said Maharashtra would be the first state in the country to have such a lokpal for universities, adding that grievance cells would be set up in each degree college headed by the respective principals. "If a student lodges a complaint, the cell would take cognisance. If the decision of the cell is not accepted by the concerned student, the matter would be referred to the university grievance redressal cell (UGRC). If the students are not satisfied with UGRC, they can approach the lokpal," he said. The lokpal can hear 15 types of students' grievances including ones related to admissions, non-publication of an institution's prescribed brochure or misrepresentation in them, and fee refunds, the minister said. Tawde added that institutions with multiple colleges under them will also have an institutional grievance redressal cell (IGRC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the three militants killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district last week had plans to carry out a suicide attack similar to the February 14 Pulwama terror strike, according to a purported video of the ultra in which he spoke about such a plot. The three militants killed in the encounter in Turigam area of Kulgam district on February 24 belonged to the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and were identified as Raqib Ahmad, a resident of Shiganpora, and Waleed and Numan of Pakistan. A purported video of Ahmad, shot before he was killed, went viral on social media on Saturday. In the clip, he spoke about his plans to carry out a 'fidayeen' (suicide) attack on security forces. I will be in heaven by the time this video reaches you, Ahmad said in the over six-minute video in which he glorified terror attacks involving suicide bombers. The video is similar to the one that surfaced immediately after the Pulwama attack in which JeM suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar claimed responsibility for the terror strike. A police official said they were ascertaining the veracity of the video. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government Saturday made it clear officially that a Rs 3 lakh crore oil refinery project will not come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district. Shiv Sena leader and industry minister Subhash Desai said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis signed a proposal to denotify the land which was to be acquired. As the Sena was opposed to Nanar refinery citing local opposition, Fadnavis, while announcing a tie-up between the BJP and Sena for coming polls, had announced that the project would be shifted. "The Sena had promised the people of Konkan region that the project will not come up there as long as they were opposed to it. Today we have fulfilled our promise. Even the alliance with the BJP was sealed on the condition that the project at Nanar would be scrapped," Desai told reporters. The government had issued a notification in May 2017 to acquire 5,932 hectares of land across 14 villages in Ratnagiri district and two villages in Sindhudurg district. Due to opposition from the local people, the government had stayed the land acquisition process. "In April 2018, I sent a proposal to the chief minister seeking de-notification of the land that was to be acquired," said Desai. The file was pending with Fadnavis for long but the chief minister signed it Saturday, he said. "A gazette notification will be issued by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to cancel the notification of land acquisition in two days," Desai said. The Sena was not opposed to the project but to its location, he said. "If the people in any other part of the state welcome the project, we are open to reconsidering it. But we will have a referendum to find out what people want before the site is finalised," the minister said. State-run oil majors have tied up with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for the mega refinery project. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sunday NDA rally which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aimed at taking a resolve to make a new and secure India under the leadership of Modi, BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadsv said Saturday. The ruling coalition's Sankalp rally at Gandhi Maidan will be also addressed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Ramvilas Paswan. The three tall leaders of the NDA would blow the bugle for the upcoming LoK Sabha polls in the politically important Bihar having a total of 40 Parliamentary seats. Yadav, who is BJP's Bihar in-charge, claimed that Saturdays public meeting would be the biggest so far at the huge Gandhi Maidan in terms of presence of people. Tomorrows NDAs Sankalp rally is being organized to take a resolve to make a new, strong, prosperous, safe and secured India We are proud of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan who returned to India yesterday (from Pakistan). We thank government and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this, Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters here. The government is steadily moving ahead with its mantra of Sabka sath, sabka vikas, he said claimed there is a growing feeling among people to give another chance to Modi in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Yadav was accompanied by Bihar unit chief Nityanand Rai, former minister Nitish Mishra and MLC Sanjay Mayukh during the press meet organized here at the party office on the eve of the programme. Workers and leaders of all the three NDA constituents- BJP, JD(U) and LJP- have been working hard to make the rally a grand success, Yadav said. Asked whether PM is expected to announce some gifts for Bihar at the rally, Yadav said that the prime minister recently participated in a big public meeting at Barauni (in Begusarai) where he announced several schemes and projects. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Saturday called on the bereaved family members of CRPF Head Constable Sanjay Kumar Sinha, who had died in the Pulwama terror attack which claimed 40 lives. Kumar visited Sinhas native village in Masaurhi block of rural Patna, where he garlanded a portrait of Sinha and consoled his bereaved family members. Sinha and Ratan Kumar Thakur from Bhagalpur were two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Bihar who lost their lives in the suicide bomb explosion earlier this month. Meanwhile, an official release said Kumar has also expressed grief over the death of CRPF inspector Pintu Kumar Singh, who hailed from Begusarai district and was killed on Friday in an encounter with terrorists at Handwara. The release said the chief minister has assured all possible assistance to Singhs family members and announced that his last rites will be performed with full state honours. A report from Begusarai said residents of Singhs Dhyan Chakki village in Bakhri block took out a procession carrying a huge tricolor and raising anti-Pakistan slogans. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Asserting that there were no uncertainties regarding a tie-up with actor Vijayakanth-led DMDK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK Saturday said there would be good soon. The ruling AIADMK, which is in an alliance with the BJP and PMK, has been making all-out efforts to rope in the DMDK. "There are no such uncertainties. In one or two days we will be taking a good decision and will announce a happy (in this regard)," AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, who is also the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, told reporters after a meeting at the party headquarters here. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. BJP's Tamil Nadu in-charge and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had gone to DMDK chief Vijayakanth's house last month. Though the meeting between the two leaders was touted to be for an alliance to contest the upcoming general elections, Goyal denied it saying, "Everything in life is not about alliances and There are some personal relationships also." DMK president M K Stalin had also visited Vijayakanth's residence last month sparking speculation about attempts to forge an alliance with the DMDK. When reporters asked Stalin whether he would welcome DMDK into the DMK-led alliance, he had said, "I appreciate and thank you for your good intentions", but did not elaborate. The DMK chief had said he did not visit Vijayakanth to discuss but to enquire about his health. Top actor Rajinikanth too visited Vijayakanth at his residence to enquire about his health condition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav said Saturday that he was not in the race to become prime minister but wanted to make one. Uttar Pradesh has always given the country a prime minister and anybody wishing to be so has to come to the state,like Narendra Modi did, he said. Speaking at the India Today Conclave here, the former chief minister also played down the remarks of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav wishing Modi in Lok Sabha that he comes back as the prime minister again. "I do not wish to become the prime minister, I am not in the race, but I want to make one...We know how to make a PM," he said. "We will be glad if someone from Uttar Pradesh becomes the prime minister," he said when asked if he wanted BSP supremo Mayawati to become PM. Akhilesh claimed that the Congress was part of the 'mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)' in Uttar Pradesh, but could not give an answer on how the SP and the Congress were contesting the Lok Sabha polls alone and against each. It is not the "fear" of Modi that brought the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) together, but the fight to save the Constitution and the country, he said. The SP and BSP recently entered into an alliance in Uttar Pradesh. "The SP, BSP, Congress and other regional parties are with us and there is a 'mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh.... When the BSP, SP, Congress, RLD and Nishad Party are together... is it not a mahagathbandhan?" he asked. "There is a 'gathbandhan' and the Congress is with us. 'Uttar Pradesh ko haath bhi pasand hai, aur UP ko haathi bhi pasand hai'," he said, referring to the poll symbols of the Congress and the BSP. Terming the getting together of opposition parties a "sangam (confluence)" of thoughts, Akhilesh said that "it is a fight for saving the Constitution and to "free" the nation from those who have ruined it. On Mulayam Singh's comments wishing Modi returns for another term, he said, "Did Netaji (as Mulayam is popularly called) not wish Dr Manmohan Singh the same way ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections, and did he return back to power." "Who knows his blessings more than I do, that he wish, bless in such a way that we only know what will happen...Only I know about his blessings and that is why I will not talk about it," Akhilesh said. In an apparent dig at the Prime Minister Modi, he said, "Everyone has seen how big the chest is during the Kumbh bath". The SP leader said the Pulwama factor would not influence the elections and it is the issues on the ground that will still determine on who wins. He accused the the BJP of not having worked on the ground and said this is the reason why the BJP was set to lose the elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday called for "restraint and de-escalation" in South Asia as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, Pakistan's Foreign Office said. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC meeting on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. On Saturday, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session CFM concluded in Abu Dhabi with a resolution that "supported" Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. "In a resolution the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia," it claimed. The resolution also "expressed deep concern" over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the FO claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. The FO said that in the context of current volatile situation in the region, the OIC member states adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, "which expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistan's right to self-defence; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force." This OIC resolution on regional peace and security in South Asia also welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's renewed offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian pilot, the FO said. The resolution called for "restraint and de-escalation" as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, it added. The OIC adopted two other resolutions sponsored by Pakistan on international disarmament and non-proliferation issues and reform of the UN Security Council. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After remaining closed for the past five days, Kashmir-bound traffic from here was allowed on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway Saturday even as fresh snowfall and rains lashed parts of the state, officials said. Thousands of vehicles were stranded after the 270-km strategic highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed on Monday after multiple landslides and sinking of a portion of a road near Ramban town, they said. After restoring the road and clearing the stranded vehicles, including truck carrying essential commodities to Srinagar, authorities decided to allow Kashmir-bound traffic from Jammu on Saturday. "The traffic was allowed from Jammu to Srinagar this (Saturday) morning and the traffic was going on smoothly when last reports were received, despite snowfall in Jawahar Tunnel and Banihal areas and rains all along the highway," a traffic department official said. He said about three inches of fresh snowfall had accumulated on the ground around Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Jammu region, but failed to have any impact on the movement of the vehicles. However, the official directed drivers to be careful, especially in the landslide prone areas and the Jawahar Tunnel. The high altitude areas experienced fresh snowfall, while the plains were lashed by rains since Friday evening. The weatherman has predicted moderate rain or snow on higher reaches till Sunday evening. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hitting back at the opposition, BJP chief Amit Shah said here Saturday that those who did not have the courage to give a befitting response to terrorists and avenge the killing of soldiers when in power were raising doubts on the recent air strike for "cheap politics" and their statements have made Pakistan happy. "The armed forces are saying in a press conference that we have conducted an airstrike and eliminated scores of terrorists. Can anyone have doubts about it. You should desist from such cheap politics," he said addressing the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' motorbike rally. Elections should be about making India stronger in every sphere, uplift of the poor and giving Pakistan a strong response, and not about fulfilling the wish of a "family" to make its "prince" the prime minister, Shah said, targeting the Congress leadership. Amid cheers from the crowd, Shah praised Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Air Force, saying he came back to India after shooting down Pakistan's F-16 fighter plane, "All opposition leaders are raising questions over the recent air strike. You were in power for a long time. The country is suffering due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for the past 30 years. Rahul Baba and company is blaming us for politicisation of the air strike.... The people of the country want to know if you have the courage to give a befitting reply to terrorism. "Twenty-six bomb blasts took place in ten years of UPA rule, 26/11 (Mumbai terror) attack took place. Did Sonia -Manmohan government (the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh) ever show courage to respond to terrorists, to take revenge for the killing of our soldiers?" he asked. "They did not have the courage to give a befitting response to Pakistan. It is Narendra Modi who has fulfilled this aspiration of the country men." "And you are raising questions about the air strike which was affirmed by Pakistan's media, parliament and the terrorist organisations whose members were killed. Mamata Didi (West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee) and Rahul Gandhi did not accept that air strike took place," Shah alleged. The BJP chief also alleged that the language of the resolution passed by opposition parties at their Delhi meet after the air strike "made Pakistan happy". "We also spent most of our time in opposition but we never talked like this. We supported the government," he said. Taking pot-shots at Rahul Gandhi, Shah said, "What should be the issues in elections? Should elections be about someone growing up and wishing to become prime minister? Or some family wanting its prince to sit on the throne?" Exuding confidence that Modi would become prime minister again, Shah said, "The BJP clearly thinks that elections should be held for the welfare of 50 crore poor, to speed up and strengthen the economy, to make the country stronger and give a befitting reply to Pakistan." Claiming that Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee asked whether the air strike actually took place and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav "sought inquiry into Pulwama attack", Shah said, "There should be a limit to vote-bank " For his party, the country's security was more important than elections, Shah asserted. Referring to the crackdown on Kashmiri separatists, Shah said the Union government has taught them a lesson that "if they want to live in India, they have to speak India's language". He also accused the Congress of "delaying" implementation of 'One Rank-One Pension' scheme for defence personnel and construction of the National War Memorial which was inaugurated by the prime minister recently. The BJP will create a record on Saturday with one crore party workers taking out motorbike rallies at 3,800 places in the country to reach out to voters, he said. Shah later led a motorbike rally through the town, riding pillion with Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state unit president Abhilash Pandey. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) Saturday signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Community Initiative Trust and Cisco to strengthen the skill ecosystem in the state. While the OSDA pact with Tata Community Initiative Trust was to scale up the Nano Unicorn programme, the MoU with Cisco entails. Nano Unicorn is a OSDA programme where skilled youths are nurtured to become small entrepreneurs and future employers. Tata Community Initiative Trust will help OSDA to identify the youth with entrepreneurship potential and devise structured training programmes. The second MoU was signed between Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA), State Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training (SCTEVT) and Cisco Systems India Private Limited (Cisco) for skill development, IT education and workforce development for the youth of Odisha undergoing training at ITIs and Polytechnics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Saturday asked India to immediately share findings of the inquiry and post-mortem report of a Pakistani prisoner who was allegedly killed by fellow prisoners in an Indian jail last month. The prisoner, identified as Shakrullah, was allegedly killed last month in a brawl with other prisoners in the Jaipur Central Jail. The 50-year-old was serving life sentence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. His body was handed over to the Punjab Rangers at the Wagah-Attari border by the Border Security Force on Saturday. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said India "failed to discharge its duties" towards the Pakistani prisoner. "It is complete failure of India and in sharp contrast to what we did to its pilot," he said, referring to the release of an Indian pilot on Friday. "The Government of Pakistan condemned the incident (killing of Shakirullah) and requested India to immediately provide the details of inquiry of the murder and post-mortem report, which have not been provided so far," Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said. "Pakistan reiterates its demand that the culprits must be taken to task, findings of the inquiry and post mortem report may be shared urgently and to ensure safety of all Pakistanis, especially Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to prevent recurrence of such tragic and reprehensible incidents," he said in a statement. Shakirullah's family claimed he inadvertently crossed the border in 2003 and was arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. India on Wednesday handed over to a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the on as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. "India submitted its dossier..., if India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it," Qureshi said. He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in and its policies are very clear. "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC. Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said that there was "still confusion" over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. "The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no," he said. "They have denied that, that's the confusion." When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said, "people over here, and the people who are known to them." In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "very unwell", but said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi said. His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the "so-called nerve centre" of the JeM in Bahawalpur. He was referring to the provincial government's move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month. "India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds," he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case. "We had stated that India should give us actionable evidence so we could act, we had assured India that we would cooperate," he asserted. Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said Pakistan's new government has brought a new approach, conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He said that the "situation is critical still, both countries' armed forces are still on high alert. "We are nuclear-armed neighbours, can we afford a war? This is suicide," he said. He said that at this point of time, Islamabad want to bring the situation under control, adding that, "a section of the Indian media is behaving in very irresponsible manner by engaging in warmongering." Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a "peace gesture". Varthaman, who in Pakistan's custody since Wednesday, was released at the Wagah border on Friday. Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as he claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. "India submitted its dossier..., if India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it," Qureshi said. He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in Pakistan and its policies are very clear. "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC. Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said that there was "still confusion" over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. "The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no," he said. "They have denied that, that's the confusion." When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said, "people over here, and the people who are known to them." In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "very unwell", but said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi said. His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the "so-called nerve centre" of the JeM in Bahawalpur. He was referring to the provincial government's move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month. "India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds," he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case. "We had stated that India should give us actionable evidence so we could act, we had assured India that we would cooperate," he asserted. Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said Pakistan's new government has brought a new approach, conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He said that the "situation is critical still, both countries' armed forces are still on high alert. "We are nuclear-armed neighbours, can we afford a war? This is suicide," he said. He said that at this point of time, Islamabad want to bring the situation under control, adding that, "a section of the Indian media is behaving in very irresponsible manner by engaging in warmongering." Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a "peace gesture". Varthaman, who in Pakistan's custody since Wednesday, was released at the Wagah border on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BJP delegation visited shelling-hit villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera and Sunderbani sectors of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of the situation, a party spokesman said. The delegation led by state BJP president Ravinder Raina met the affected families and enquired about their well-being, the spokesman said. Raina, accompanied by former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, visited Ghagrote, Seri, Deing, Kalal, Ser Makdi, Ladoka, Dungi, Kangri, Kalsian, Bhawani and Lam to take stock of the situation in view of the indiscriminate firing and shelling by Pakistani forces. The BJP leaders held a meeting with the people and party workers to boost their morale and assured full cooperation to the affected people, the spokesman said. Over the past five days, there has been 51 violations of the ceasefire agreement along the LoC by Pakistani forces in Rajouri and Poonch districts, which left four civilians, including three members of a family, dead and 14 others, including eight security personnel, injured. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee Saturday urged the School Service Commission (SSC) candidates, who are on an indefinite sit-in since Thursday, to withdraw their stir and come for discussions with the government on the issue of filling up vacant posts. Chatterjee, who met the agitating SSC candidates, promised to look into their demands and facilitate a discussion with West Bengal School Service Commission on Tuesday where he will also be present. He said that the delay in filling up vacancies was due to filing of one petition after another in court, whenever the state issues a notification for recruitment. "Those deserving to get appointment will surely not be deprived. Give us a little more time. Come for talks on Tuesday," Chatterjee said. The agitating candidates, who alleged not being recruited as teachers in classes 9-12 despite having the requisite qualifications, said unless there was some concrete assurance they won't withdraw their stir. "This is a positive development, the minister came and talked to us and asked us to be present at Bikash Bhavan on Tuesday for a dialogue where SSC officials will also be there besides him. This is not enough, unless we get some concrete assurance in writing about updating (filling up) some of the vacancies we will not move from here," Amit Basu, a candidate, said, A group of SSC candidates went to Raj Bhavan on Friday and submitted a memorandum to Governor K N Tripathi for his intervention in the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday voiced support for Article 35A that gives special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. "The people of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir are united in favour of continuation of the constitutional provision.... Don't make it an issue of one region or Hindu versus Muslims. All the three regions are united," Azad told reporters here. The people are aware that given the situation in Kashmir, nobody from outside is going to settle in the Valley, the former chief minister said, when asked about the voices of concern over attempts to abrogate Article 35A. The provision, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, bars people from outside the state from acquiring any immovable property. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear soon a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the article. "The abrogation of the article will bring more harm to Jammu and Ladakh as people are ready to buy the land in the two peaceful regions," the Congress general secretary said. On the decision of the Centre to ban the Jaamat-e-Islami (JeI), Azad said action should be taken against any group, belonging to any religion, if it spreads hatred. "If it (government) has any proof that they (JEI activists) are involved in something wrong, the government is bound to take appropriate action. It will depend on the scrutiny of the material seized from their offices," the Congress leader said. The Centre had on Thursday banned the group for five years under the anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and is expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. Azad said his party would abide by the decision of the Election Commission on the timing of the assembly election in the state. "An individual person's view does not matter. Whatever will be the decision of the commission will be honoured." Asked about the recent statements of Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, especially related to Pakistan, Azad quipped: "He (Sidhu) is a sportsperson and sometimes he hits the ball outside the boundary for a six." He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to welcome new entrants into the party. Several prominent persons, including former deputy speaker Ghulam Haider Malik, Devinder Singh Bindu and former Air India officer Iqbal Dar, joined the Congress in presence of Azad, state Congress president G A Mir and other leaders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fresh plea was filed in a Delhi court on Saturday seeking a judicial inquiry into shifting of Christian Michel, arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, to a high-security cell, claiming it was done without recording any reasons. The plea, filed by advocate Aljo K Joseph, said Michel was shifted to the high-security cell suddenly without recording any reasons and was kept in isolation. The plea said that the British national, who was deported from Dubai, was inflicted with the punishment illegally. "Such act of jail authorities without the due process of law is illegal, arbitrary and highly condemnable... The accused (Michel) has not been provided with newspapers nor library access in the jail. In true sense he is spending his days just by watching the cells and the walls which itself is sufficient to destabilise his mental balance," it said. Earlier, the Delhi court had lashed out at the Tihar Jail authorities for failing to justify shifting of Michel and said that it will start an inquiry if it does not get a proper response. It had said Michel has been lodged in jail for last 70 days and asked what happened suddenly due to which he has now been shifted to the high-security ward. Deputy Superintendent of Tihar Jail had told the court that Michel was shifted to cell number 2 (high-security ward) keeping in mind his safety as it was a high-profile case. However, he failed to justify the sudden shifting before the court. "Why was there no threat to his security till now. He was kept with other prisoners for 70 days. This was always a high- profile case. If that was the case he should have been kept in a high-security ward since the beginning. Tell me why all of a sudden he was shifted to a ward where hardened criminals were kept," the judge had asked. The court had directed the Director General (DG) of Tihar to file a comprehensive reply by March 5 on the reasons of Michel's sudden shifting to the high-security cell and why he was kept with hard-core criminals. The Deputy Superintendent had also told the court that hard-core criminals, including Chhota Rajan and Shahbuddin have been kept in the same ward. The fresh plea said that cell number two was kept lodging offenders who were convicted above 10 years and charged for offences punishable under the National Security Act and the Public Safety Act. "Michel was is not coming under any of these category rather the jail authorities at the behest of 'External Pressure' shifted the applicant to the high security cell of Jail No 2 in the name of security which ultimately amounts to a punishment and mental torture," it said. The plea further said that the jail authorities, without recording any reasons, has shifted Michel and kept him in solitary confinement (isolation) which otherwise was not permissible under law. "He is not allowed to neither interact nor walk around in the prison. The liberty of the applicant is completely curtailed by the jail authority without any reason. The only reason which has been explain to him and also to the court is that due to the security concern he is being kept in isolated cell. "It is submitted that if any security threat is there for the applicant then it is the duty of jail authority to give sufficient protection to the life and liberty of the applicant. They ought not have curtailed his liberty and could not have lodged him in a isolated cell in the form of a solitary confinement. The entire contact of jail authority in keeping the applicant in the high security is itself a punishment," it said. The court had on February 27 sought a detailed report from the jail authorities on a similar plea of Michel which had claimed that he has been kept in solitary confinement in the prison and had asked the superintendent or a competent authority to appear before it to respond to the allegation that he was not allowed to interact with co-prisoners. The jail authority had denied the allegations that he was denied common facilities in the new cell like permission to meet visitors, make phone calls, newspapers and said that though he has been kept in isolation all facilities were provided to him. The similar plea has claimed that on February 18, the jail authorities conducted a search of Michel's cell to look for a laptop computer allegedly being used by him. It said no computer was found in the cell. However, the authorities shifted him to a high-security cell immediately after, it has said. It said when Michel asked for reasons for his "solitary confinement", the jail authorities told him it was the "decision from the top" and there was "serious threat" to his life. The plea has sought direction to the authorities to return his personal belongings, including a diary containing contact details of officers of the British High Commission and documents of the case, which were taken away after the search. Michel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 after his extradition from Dubai. On January 5, he was sent to judicial custody in connection with a money-laundering case being probed by ED. Later, he was arrested by CBI and is lodged in judicial custody in a CBI case related to the chopper deal scam. Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the scam by ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over declining growth in the third quarter of this fiscal, saying the "chowkidaar" has once again failed in the numbers of the quarter. Gandhi's comment came a day after his party alleged that despite "fudging" of data by the Modi government, India's economy continues to slide. "False promises, false games. The chowkidaar has failed again in this quarter's numbers," the Congress chief said on Twitter, citing a report that India's growth declined to 6.6 per cent in the quarter ending December 2018. On Friday the Congress had tweeted that "as PM Modi's disastrous tenure comes to an end, despite all the fudging, the economy continues to slow." "Less than two months to go before India sees a new dawn," the party said on its official Twitter handle. Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has said the latest quarterly growth rates "puncture" the government's claims on the economy. "Quarterly growth rates of 2018-19 puncture the claims of government. Q1 was 8 %, Q2 was 7 % and Q3 was 6.6 %. This is the swan song of the BJP government. If Q4 growth rate declines further, as is expected, that will expose the government completely," Chidambaram tweeted. In signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general elections, GDP growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand, government data showed on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Saturday said parties need to rise above their political interests and work unitedly to eliminate the menace of terrorism which has "swallowed a generation of youth" in the Kashmir Valley. He said peace talks between India and Pakistan cannot be held now in view of the heightened tension between the two neighbours, although nobody is in favour of war as "our government has made it clear that the IAF strike inside Pakistan was not aimed at the country, its civilians or military installations but at terrorist camps." "Our stand from day one is that the Congress is against terrorism and want its elimination. We will support whatever steps our security forces will take in this direction," the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told reporters here. Welcoming the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to India after being released by Pakistan, Azad said, "Peace talks cannot be held this time but appropriate steps need to be taken to avoid war between India and Pakistan." "Nobody is in favour of war... We (India) are not in favour of war which was evident from the briefing of the foreign minister and home minister to the opposition parties. Our (IAF) strike was not against Pakistan, its people or military installation, but was aimed at terrorist camps. It is the responsibility of the world to see that the fight is restricted to the elimination of terrorism alone.""Jammu and Kashmir is the worst sufferer of terrorism. A generation of our youth in the valley was finished by terrorism. If the menace is addressed, it will bring happiness to the state and the country," the former chief minister of the state said. He said terrorism not only caused loss of life in the state but also pushed it backward, both economically and educationally, compared to other parts of the country. Azad congratulated the security forces, state police and the people for their relentless efforts to end terrorism and said, "I am hopeful that the people and security forces will overcome terrorism and restore peace in the region which will help in revival of economy, tourism and open new vistas for our youth." Asserting that the Army does not belong to a particular party, like the entire country cannot belong to a single party, he said, "The nation belongs to every one and the credit for the good work of the Army goes to the nation." Alleging that a particular party was trying to take credit for the actions of the armed forces, the Congress leader said, "They should avoid dividing the nation and the Army." Azad said there are many issues for which the BJP-led NDA government at the centre can be criticised, but "today, Congress is of the opinion that in the prevailing situation and tension on the borders, we should forget political differences and stand united". "We are expecting the same from the ruling party," he said. He, however, said the Congress cancelled all its programmes, function and even meetings in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, unlike the BJP which "did not cancel even a single function or public meeting". "The Congress and other parties respect the martyrs and stand with the security forces and we expect the ruling party to follow suit and did not indulge in over the sacrifices of the jawans," he said. Azad appealed to people of Kashmir and Jammu divisions to stand united and avoid any type of tension in the present crisis. "The tension on the border is more compared to past several years which also witnessed manifold increase in the ceasefire violations and casualties. We need to restrict tension on the borders and not allow it to have any impact in the hinterland," he said. "Both Jammu and and Kashmir divisions are interdependent. The goods transported to Kashmir goes through Jammu while Jammu's economy is dependent on Kashmir. The functioning of government for six months each in the twin capitals, introduced by Maharaja (over a century ago) was a befitting move to cater to the needs of the people," Azad said. He said people of both the regions should fight terrorism together as hatred against each other is neither good for Jammu nor for Kashmir. Expressing concern over the intense shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri which left four people dead in the past few days and forced migration of many, Azad said, "Our party delegation is visiting the shelling-hit border villages to express solidarity with the people, lend support to them and also assess the damage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge Saturday claimed the pre-emptive air strike by the Indian Air Force on terror camps in Pakistan has raised doubts among masses about some "conspiracy." The BJP has strongly condemned his statement. "This (IAF air strike) raises doubts among masses that somewhere it is a conspiracy. It is like '44 for 22'.The statement (by BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa) should be presumed that the martyrdom of 44 soldiers were for 22 seats in Karnataka," the social welfare minister told reporters at Chamarajnagar when asked about the air strike carried out on terror camps by the IAF inside Pakistan. His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose MIG-21 was shot down following a dogfight between the two air forces on Wednesday, was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. Yeddyurappa had said on February 28 that India's pre-emptive strikes on terror camps in Pakistan had created a wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will help the party win over 22 of 28 seats in the state in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Under attack for linking India's air strike on terror camps in Pakistan with BJP's prospects in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP unit chief later rubbished media reports, saying his statement was taken out of context. He said there was no question of seeking electoral gains and the nation came first to him. Yeddyurappa's remarks amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan drew criticism from political leaders in Karnataka and disapproval from his own party colleague and Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh. Kharge said whatever was there in their (BJP) mind was now out in the open and they have made it clear to what extent they could go. When asked what he meant by the term 'conspiracy', Kharge said, "Wait for two-three days for the truth to come out see what the international and national media have been asking... The defence minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) has not yet come out (with any statement). Has she given any statement (on the air strike)?" Condemning his statement, Karnataka BJP spokesperson S Prakash said, "First of all, Kharge is not able to handle his own ministry. Speaking about an international affair is too much for him."Prakash said when Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition party in Lok Sabha, chose to remain silent on this issue, it was unfortunate that his son Priyank Kharge was speaking about the Pulwama deaths. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated the strike by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy at Pulwama in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab government on Saturday said it has decided to go in for a constitutional amendment in order to give preferential treatment to the economically weaker sections in the matter of reservation in government jobs. The decision in this regard was taken by the state cabinet-led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here. The proposed amendment relates to insertion of Clauses 15 (6) and 16 (6) in the Constitution of India, vide the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019, as per a government release here. Following the amendment, a 10 per cent reservation would be provided to the residents of Punjab belonging to EWS, who were not covered under the existing scheme of reservation for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, and whose families had gross annual income below Rs 8 lakh. The reservation will be provided in direct recruitment to group - A, B, C and D posts in the departments, boards, corporations, local bodies of the state, it said. Those persons whose family owns or possesses any of the assets five acres of agriculture land and above, residential flat of 1,000 square feet and above, residential plot of 100 square yards and above in notified municipalities and residential plot of 200 sq yards and above in areas other than the notified municipalities - will be excluded from being identified as EWS, irrespective of the family income, the release said. The income and assets of the family would be required to be certified after verifying all relevant documents as may be specified by the government. The cabinet also authorised the CM to approve framing, amendment and issue of any notification, as may be required, to give effect to this resolution. In another decision, the Punjab council of ministers gave nod for Rs 10,000 pension per month for the bereaved family of Constable Kulwinder Singh, who was killed in CRPF Pulwama terror attack. The chief minister had met the family of the constable at Anandpur Sahib village last month and promised all government support. The pension will be given in lieu of the job to the next of kin of the constable, and will be in addition to the Rs 7 lakh ex-gratia and Rs 5 lakh cash in lieu of land which the family is entitled to. To mark the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Punjab Cabinet approved upgradation of the historic towns of Batala, Kapurthala and Abohar as Municipal Corporations, thus fulfilling a long-pending demand of the residents of these border areas. The move is aimed at sprucing up the existing infrastructure in the historic towns of Batala and Kapurthala as part of the 550th 'Parkash Purb' of the first Sikh Guru and strengthening the urban infrastructure in Abohar. The decision would go a long way in ensuring the holistic development of these towns with best civic amenities, road connectivity and city transport services to the residents, thereby improving their quality of life, the official release said. With this, the number of existing MC across the state has now gone up to 13. The state cabinet also approved 'The Punjab Labour and Cartage Policy 2019-20' for labour work and cartage of food grains from mandis to the storage points at minimum rates through competitive tenders from various contractors. The decision is aimed at bringing further operational efficiency and transparency in procurement of food grains. A spokesperson said for the ensuing season, commencing from April 1, labour operations in godowns and cartage of food grains from mandis to various storage points, located up to eight km from such mandi, purchase centre(s), would be allowed through a competitive online tender process. The cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to entrusting the selection process of 75 posts of civil judge (junior division-cum-judicial magistrate) to the registrar general, Punjab and Haryana High Court, after taking them out from the purview of the Punjab Public Service Commission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Pakistan was under intense pressure from the US, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and release the Indian pilot. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. Qureshi dismissed the notion that the captured IAF pilot was released owing to pressure or as a compulsion. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Geo quoted him as saying. India has repeatedly told Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and recently handed over dossier containing "specific details" of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan. "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion," Qureshi told BBC Urdu. He said that Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over "Pakistan does not want to go in the past, but if it goes in the past, then we will have to see how the attack on Parliament, Pathankot and Uri took place and that is a long story," the foreign minister said. Qureshi reiterated that if evidence is shared against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), then action will be taken. On Friday he admitted that JeM's chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a tense situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invading Pakistan Air Force jets and shot down an F-16, according to Indian officials. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A baby born on Friday evening, when IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was about to be released by Pakistan, was named after him by a family in Rajasthan's Alwar district. "My daughter-in-law delivered baby boy last evening and we named him Abhinandan in honour of the IAF pilot. We are proud of the pilot and therefore we named him (the baby) Abhinandan," Janesh Bhutani, grandfather of the chid, told reporters. He said all family members, including his daughter-in-law, were watching the channel to keep up with the developments happening related with the wing commander and it was when the daughter-in-law went into labour. "By naming my son as Abhinandan, we will keep him reminding about the valour of the pilot and I would like him to become a brave soldier like him when he grows up," Sapna Devi, mother of the newborn, said. The family lives in Kishangarh bas in Alwar. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan after his MiG-21 Bison fighter plane crashed on the other side of LoC while on a mission on Wednesday. He returned India late on Friday evening. He has been hailed as a hero for his grit and courage in Pakistani custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 16 members of group including India and China on Saturday agreed to intensify the ongoing negotiations for a proposed mega trade agreement to resolve all issues and conclude the talks this year. The progress of negotiations were reviewed during a meeting of all the trade ministers of 16 countries in Cambodia, which concluded Saturday. "To ensure that progress is made towards meeting the Leaders' target for conclusion in 2019, the Ministers agreed to intensify engagement for the remaining of the year, including by convening more intersessional meetings," the said quoting a joint statement issued after the meeting. The meeting, which was chaired by Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Acting Minister of Commerce of Thailand, reviewed the developments since the 2nd Summit on 14 November 2018 in Singapore. Commerce and Industry Minister attended the meeting. The statement also said that all the ministers resolved to exert utmost effort to achieve the target of concluding the negotiations this year. The leaders commended the Trade Negotiating Committee for the good progress made to date on both market access and text-based negotiations but at the "same time recognized that more work still needs to be done to advance both aspects of the negotiations," it said. It also urged the member countries to address specific sensitivities, while working towards achieving commercially meaningful outcomes. The ministers reiterated that it is the collective responsibility of all the members to ensure progress by overcoming negotiation challenges and finding resolution to the remaining issues through constructive engagement. The 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc aims to cover among the issues related to goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. It includes 10 countries of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. The negotiations have entered the sixth year. The last round was held in February in Indonesia. RCEP members want India to eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on maximum number of goods it traded with them. India's huge domestic market provides immense opportunity of exports for RCEP countries. But, lower level of ambitions in services and investments, a key area of interest for India, does not augur well for the agreement that seeks to be comprehensive in nature. Controversial Gujarat BJP MLA Madhu Srivastava said Saturday that he was ready to carry out an attack in Pakistan to avenge the Pulwama terror strike by a JeM suicide bomber. Srivastava, the six-time MLA from Vaghodia in Vadodara district, said he was ready to sacrifice his life as legislators are "representatives of the country". "If they can kill 45, I have the courage to kill 500. If the government instructs me and gives me arms and ammunition, I am ready to take revenge. I will crash my plane (there)," the MLA told reporters in Vadodara. Srivastava has acted in a few Gujarati films. Forty CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus ferrying them in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday said the country was ready to extend support to Pakistan to deal with the menace of terrorism on the neighbour's soil. "Not only India, many other countries are hit by terrorism today but I want to tell you...have confidence...this will not go on forever...the prime minister has taken a decision that a decisive battle should be launched for its (terrorism) end and it has already begun," he said. Singh was on a visit here to lay the foundation stone of the Group Centre of CRPF in Chakia Tehsil to be built at the cost of Rs 850 crore. The facility will have residential houses, schools, hospitals, recruitment and training centres. "If Pakistan thinks it does not have the strength to deal with terrorism, it can seek the help of its neighbouring country India. "Pakistan will either have to wipe out terrorism from its soil on its own or else such a situation will be created that terror bases will be wiped out from Pakistan and no power will be able to stop this," the home minister asserted. "India has shown to the world that it has the strength to not only strike from its soil, if required, we can also strike on the soil of other country as we have this strength," he said. The senior BJP leader also termed India's invite to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a "diplomatic victory". It was for the first time that India was invited for the meet of the influential grouping of 57 countries. The minister remarked that a country which wins both on the battle ground and diplomacy is considered "successful". Addressing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chakia, he said the nation was proud of its brave soldiers like Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and others. Expressing happiness over the safe return of the IAF pilot from Pakistan's custody, Singh said, "India is proud of brave soldiers like you all." The home minister also paid tributes to the soldiers from the district who lost their lives in terror attacks, including the recent Pulwama attack. He also hailed the Army for its precision and accuracy for carrying out strikes on terror camps in Balakot after the Pulwama attack. Singh reiterated that the Union government was making all-out efforts to provide all sorts of facilities to the armed forces who guard the borders and protect the nation. Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for formulating policies for the upliftment of farmers and the poor, he said all the schemes of the BJP-led NDA government were made to benefit farmers, labourers and the downtrodden people of the country. Uttar Pradesh BJP unit president Mahendra Nath Pandey and MLA Sushil Singh were among others present at the function. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RIL-arm Reliance Industrial Investments has entered into agreements to acquire logistics services platform Grab and software firm C-Square Info Solutions. Reliance Industries, in a regulatory filing, said its wholly owned subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings has entered into an agreement for acquisition of equity shares of Grab A Grub Services Private Limited ('Grab') for a cash consideration not exceeding Rs 106 crore. "RIIHL will further invest an amount of up to Rs 40 crore and is likely to be completed by March 2021. The total investment will translate into 83 per cent of equity capital in Grab on a fully diluted basis," RIL said. Logistics services platform Grab was incorporated on 29 October, 2014. It provides technology enabled asset light logistics services for various verticals. "The aforesaid investment will further augment the group's digital commerce initiatives and strengthen its logistics services, catering to both B2B and B2C segments," RIL said, adding that no regulatory approvals are required for this investment. In a separate filing, RIL said RIIHL has entered into an agreement for acquisition of equity shares of C-Square Info Solutions Private Limited ('C-Square') for a cash consideration not exceeding around Rs 22.04 crore. "RIIHL will further invest an amount of up to Rs 60 crore and is likely to be completed by March 2021. The total investment will translate into 82 per cent of equity capital in C-Square on a fully diluted basis," RIL said. C-Square is a software company, incorporated on 18 July, 2002. It provides software solutions with specific focus on pharma sector for various stakeholders including C&F, distributors, retailers, online ecommerce, sales force automation, etc. "The aforesaid investment will further enable the group's digital commerce initiatives and solutions," RIL said, adding that no regulatory approvals are required for this investment. The investment does not fall within related party transactions and none of RIL's promoter/promoter group/group companies have any interest in the transaction, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) led by the National Peoples Party (NPP) Saturday won both the tribal council elections in the state. It is a good sign for the MDA since it won the tribal council elections just ahead of the general elections this year, sources said. The opposition Congress won only 14 seats - 10 out of a total of 29 seats in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and 4 out of 29 seats in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council. As many as 131 candidates contested the February 27 tribal autonomous council elections vying for a total of 58 seats - 29 seats in each of the two councils. The National People's Party (NPP) won 12 seats in Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and 7 seats in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. It emerged as the single largest party by bagging 19 seats out of the total 58 seats. The other members of the ruling alliance in the state such as the United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 16 seats, the Hill State People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 2 seats and the People's Democratic Front (PDF) won only 1 seat. UDP president Donkupar Roy congratulated the MDA alliance for its win. "I congratulate the people for bestowing their faith in the leaderships of the regional parties," Roy said. "We will do what is best for the people," Roy told PTI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu called up Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and emphasised on the determination to strengthen Indo-Ruassian military cooperation. He also expressed his condolences over the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. "Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoygu called Smt @nsitharaman. Over the telecon, he expressed condolences for the Pulwama attack and emphasized on the determination to strengthen Indo-Russian military cooperation (sic)," the defence minister's official Twitter handle posted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A French national, who is a trustee of a renowned school in suburban Andheri, accused of sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl student, was acquitted by a court here on Saturday. The 59-year-old was charged under IPC section 376 (rape) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Advocate Hitesh Buch, one of the defence lawyers, said the girl, a student of the same school, denied any wrongdoing on the part of the trustee. Medical evidence too did not support the police case, therefore special judge A D Deo acquitted him, the lawyer said. The girl's class teacher, made a co-accused for allegedly abetting the crime, was also acquitted. Ashok Gupte, the minor's lawyer, said the charges were baseless. "The victim's elder sister studied in the same class. She told the court that the girl was never taken out of the class," Gupte said. As per the prosecution's case, it was the teacher who took the girl to the trustee. The trustee was arrested in November 2017 after the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights directed the police to register a case, five months after the alleged crime took place. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cine star-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha Saturday called on jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here to enquire about his health. "I have come to make a courtesy call and enquire about the health of a family friend, Lalu Prasad," Sinha told reporters when asked about his visit. He chose to keep mum when he was asked whether he would contest the approaching parliamentary elections from the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar. "I am cool, calm, composed and relaxed," Sinha said when asked why there is a suspense over his candidature. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, officials said. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his nearly 60 hour stay in Pakistan. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight around 11:45 PM Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. Currently, he is undergoing medical tests at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming the BJP over its 'mera booth sabse mazbooth' programme, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Saturday said strengthening the country and its borders should be the priority. "BJP says 'mera booth-sabse mazboot' (my polling booth the strongest), but I say 'meri sarhad mazboot tho mera desh mazboot' (My country is strong if my borders are strong)," he said, addressing a gathering at AIMIM headquarters here on his party's 61st anniversary. Under the BJP's 'Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot' programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had interacted with about a crore BJP workers, volunteers and others through the "world's largest video conference" on Thursday. Pointing out that the polling booths would exist and the country would remain strong only if the borders were secure, he said, "This (BJP's campaign) is opposite.. How can this go on?..." Hailing the safe return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was captured by Pakistan following an aerial duel between the air forces of two countries, Owaisi said there should not be any on issues concerning soldiers, as the "country comes first." Varthaman was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. Referring to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's interview to a channel, in which he stated that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan and that evidence was needed to take action against him, Owaisi said JeM was a banned organisation and asked what more proof was needed. Condemning the JeM, ISIS and Lashkar-e-Taiba, Owaisi said, "You (terrorists) indulge in terrorism.. What contract on Islam have you taken? Come here and debate with 'ulema' (Islamic scholars) of India.. They will tell you that those carrying out suicide attacks have nothing to do with Islam." On reports that the suicide bomber involved in the Pulwama attack possessed American-made weapons, the AIMIM leader said the Prime Minister should get the matter inquired into. He sought to know how such a huge quantity of RDX was used in the attack. Flaying Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's reported comments on the erstwhile ruler of Mysore Kingdom, Tipu Sultan, he said Khan should instead act against terror outfits like JeM and LeT. Taking exception to the attack on him for leading a party of Razakars, the armed militia which supported the rule of Hyderabad Nizam, he said his party had rejected Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's 'Two Nation' theory. Razakars were organised by the then president of MIM, Qasim Razvi to support Nizam's rule over the Hyderabad State. He also supported ascension of Hyderabad to Pakistan Owaisi also said, "We rejected Muhammad Ali Jinnah's message.. Today, in the same Darussalam (AIMIM headquarters) tricolor is hoisted on August 15 and January 26. What more proof you need?." AIMIM has been working towards strengthening democracy in India and to realise the rights of Muslims, Dalits and others as per the Constitution, he said. Owaisi, whose party is an ally of the ruling TRS in Telangana claimed that Congress and BJP would be routed in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He also said he would go to Andhra Pradesh and canvass for YSR Congress headed by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. If TRS in Telangana and YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh can get 35 seats (out of 42 in AP and Telangana together), it would be a victory for the people of the two states, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There could be "strategic reasons" behind the Aam Aadmi Party announcing its candidates on six Lok Sabha seats in Delhi even though it spoke about an alliance to defeat the BJP, the Congress said Saturday. It was the AAP's theory that an alliance with the Congress will help in defeating the BJP in the general elections, but now they have declared candidates on six seats in Delhi, Congress general secretary and the party's in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko said. "If that theory has vanished now. There could be strategic reasons to announce candidates in Delhi while talking about the need for an alliance with the Congress to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls," he told PTI. The AAP's city convener Gopal Rai declared names of six candidates from Delhi having seven Lok Sabha seats. The candidate on West Delhi seat will be announced soon, he said. Rai claimed that the AAP took the decision to declare its candidates after it was communicated, first by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and then by the party's Delhi president Sheila Dikshit that they do not want an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. The Delhi Congress in a meeting chaired by Dikshit, on Friday, decided to convey to Congress high command that it doesn't want an alliance with the AAP in the national capital. Sources said a section in the Congress believed that an alliance with the AAP in Delhi will pave way for the BJP's defeat in the upcoming polls. The BJP, at present, holds all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had earlier claimed that if an alliance between the AAP and the Congress does not materialise, the BJP will again win all the seven seats in the upcoming elections. An AAP leader, privy to issues related to alliance, on Friday had said the party was ready to give one seat to the Congress in Delhi besides staking claims on four seats in Punjab won by it in 2014, and Chandigarh. In return, Congress would be given free hand in Haryana and Goa, he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government Saturday handed over the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' report on Dhangar reservation to state Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for advice and further action. A chief minister's office statement said the AG would advise the government regarding its recommendation to the Centre and on the case before the Bombay high court. The first cabinet sub-committee meeting on Dhangar reservation was Saturday chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who later announced many decisions for the welfare of the community. The cabinet sub-committee, to look into the demands of the Dhangar community, was constituted on Friday. Fadnavis told reporters that, till the AG's recommendation comes in, all schemes of the Tribal Welfare Department will be made applicable to Dhangars with separate financial provisions. He said government ashram schools will be constructed in vulnerable areas identified by TISS, dedicated hostels will be built in each region of the state for the community and a scheme for admission of tribals in renowned schools will be made applicable to Dhangar community students. Benefits of pre and post matriculation scholarship will be given to students from the Dhangar community, he added. The state's Ahilyabai Holkar Mahamandal would be strengthened and its scope expanded to to give skill training and self financing to Dhangar youth, the CM said, adding that 10,000 houses will be constructed for community members. He said a scheme like the state's 'Swayam' would be launched for the community. Solapur University will be named after Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar and the formalities for this will be completed by March 5, Fadnavis said. Saturday's meeting was attended by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, Industries Minister Subhash Desai, Water Conservation Minister Ram Shinde, Animal Husbandry Minister Mahadev Jankar, PWD Minister Eknath Shinde, Tribal Welfare Minister Vishnu Savra and Labour Minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, the CMO statement said. Dhangars, who form nine percent of the state's population, are currently included in the Vimukt Jati Nomadic Tribe (VJNT) category, but they have been demanding ST status. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Trinamool Congress Saturday accused BJP ministers of "leaking exaggerated numbers" to the media about the casualties in the air strike in Pakistan. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC also claimed that no statistics given by the central government can be taken "seriously". Security forces have not officially attributed any number to those eliminated in the strike, Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Derek O'Brien posted on Twitter. "IAF has been very consistent: "No number".So why did a BJP mantri or two leak exaggerated numbers? And Delhi media fell for the numbers. Can one take any statistics this govt gives out seriously? Journos? Or slaves to propaganda aka sources?," he tweeted along with screenshots of TV reports quoting sources as saying 200-300 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were eliminated in the strike. Later in a statement, O'Brien accused BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing "divisive politics" over the issue. "Look who has the gall to talk about 'vote bank politics'! Amit Shah and the BJP are the nastiest proponents of divisive and hatred "We will not listen to his lectures on patriotism. Our armed forces belong to India, not to Modi-Shah-BJP," he said. The comments from the TMC leader came a day after party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee demanded proof from the government of the impact of the strike on a JeM camp across the border. The strike came after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a setback to Congress in Telangana, two party MLAs Saturday announced their decision to join TRS in the interest of Adivasis and for the development of their constituencies. In a press statement, the two MLAs Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka) and Atram Sakku (Asifabad)- said they recently met Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and discussed the problems relating to education, health and 'Podu' farming, facing STs, especially Adivasis. Rao had assured that the issues would be addressed and that he would personally visit areas inhabited by Adivasis, they said. They also believed that the issues of Adivasis would be addressed under the leadership of Rao. Hence, they have decided to join TRS. They further said they would quit their Assembly memberships and contest as TRS candidates, if necessary. With the two MLAs quitting the party, the strength of Congress in the Assembly would be down to 17. In the December 7 assembly elections held last year, the Congress had won 19 seats. The TRS had returned to power in the elections, winning 88 out of the total 119 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fire officials say they've brought a fire at a Tesla service center near London's Gatwick Airport under control. No one was hurt. The West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were called to the service center on Saturday morning, finding the building "well alight." Some 50 firefighters and eight fire engines were scrambled to the scene in Crawley, about five kilometres south of Gatwick. The service says the fire was believed to have started in a store room and spread to the main building. It is being treated as an accident. The fire comes just days after the Silicon Valley electric car manufacturer announced plans to close most of its dealerships worldwide and to sell vehicles online only, raising doubts about the future of its sites in the U.K. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt held talks Saturday with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh that focused on journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder and the jailing of women activists in the kingdom. Hunt also discussed a fragile truce in the flashpoint Yemeni city of Hodeida with the Saudi foreign minister of state Adel al-Jubeir and Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is based in Riyadh. Hunt's visit came after he failed last month to convince Germany to end its ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, as Berlin shrugged off his warnings that the embargo was hurting the European defence industry and efforts to bring peace in Yemen. "Important discussion with @AdelAljubeir about human rights reforms and current issues including Khashoggi, women activists," Hunt said on Twitter, without offering any details. The murder of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October sparked global uproar and tarnished the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The killing has weakened the kingdom's diplomatic position and hurt its strategic relations with Western allies, even though it strongly denies that the crown prince was involved. Hunt's visit came just a day after Saudi Arabia announced that it will put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge, prompting strong condemnation from rights groups. Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners. Hunt also met Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf on his Gulf tour, which includes stopovers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. "Our strategic partnership (with) Saudi Arabia helps us to keep the UK safe, to make progress on diplomatic priorities like Yemen, and to discuss frankly issues of concern," Hunt said. Hunt complained, however, about slow implementation of a ceasefire deal in rebel-held Hodeida, which was agreed in Sweden in December between the Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels. The deal was hailed as Yemen's best chance so far to end the four-year conflict, but it appears to be hanging by a thread with breaches reported by both warring parties. "Progress fragile but within sight for UN-backed peace talks on Yemen, as I discussed with Yemeni President Hadi in Riyadh today," Hunt tweeted "There is a lack of trust and it is taking too long to implement the Stockholm (deal) but no one has a better plan so we need to get going and end the crisis." It was unclear whether Berlin's decision to freeze arms exports to Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi's murder -- which cast a fresh spotlight on the kingdom's bombing campaign in Yemen -- was discussed during Hunt's visit. Hunt reportedly urged Germany last month to exempt major European defence projects like Eurofighter or Tornado jets, which contain German parts, from its Saudi weapons embargo. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism that threatens both the countries, British MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said Saturday. Speaking at a India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Johnson said India and the United Kingdom would succeed in defeating terrorism, a common threat, for their values were superior to those of terrorists and their sponsors. "I'm sure I speak for millions of people in my own country when I say we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage at the killings in Pulwama, and in our determination to work with you to defeat the terrorist foe that threatens us both," Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London, said. "And we will succeed, and we will defeat them because in the end, it is our values that are superior to those of the terrorists, and those who sponsor them," he said. Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the security forces. On the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan's custody, Johnson said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation in dealing with terrorism. "Imran Khan behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation and I think all of us who worry about what is going on there has a real real duty to support the civilian side of the government in Pakistan against the deep state elements," he said. "We have a very important relationship with Pakistan but there is no doubt that the deep state in the country has been responsible chronically for association with sponsorship of terrorist groups. We have been trying to address it through task force, blacklisting and grey listing and we put a huge amount of pressure on Pakistan. But we can consider putting more pressure through our aid budget," he said. Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthman from captivity in Pakistan and called on the two countries to sustain the "positive momentum" and engage in further constructive dialogue. The IAF Wing Commander returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. "UN chief Guterres welcomes the of the release of the Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PTI when asked about the Secretary-General's response to the development. "The Secretary-General calls on both parties to sustain this positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue. His good offices remain available should both sides agree," Dujarric said. Varthaman's release was being watched with bated breath across India as the IAF pilot was accorded a hero's welcome as he crossed onto India through the Wagah Border. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a "peace gesture". However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Sonali Bendre on Saturday said she wanted to be in control of her life story and that is the reason why she decided to share her cancer battle with the people on social media. The 44-year-old actor was diagnosed with high-grade cancer last year and had to undergo treatment in New York. She returned home in December and has resumed work. Sonali had kept in loop her fans on social media about the various struggles she faced during her battle with the disease and she said it was important to be honest with people about what she went through, including the pain. "I wanted to be charge of my narrative from the start. When you are a public figure, there are so many narratives that it out there. And suddenly you lose hold of that narrative very quickly. It becomes a different thing all together," the actor said at the India Today Conclave 2019. "As I went through the process, I realised that there are so many others that would be going to through it. I wouldn't be honest that if I said, 'Everything was sunshine'. It was not, it was painful and you do have to go through it," she added. Sonali said like many others, she also encountered pain and had many low phases and she learned that one can do nothing but to deal with it. "Every time I kept thinking 'Why am I not being positive?' and then you start feeling 'Did I do something wrong?'. But there is pain and what can you do about it. "You have to go through that pain. And that's why I wanted it to be out that there is pain and it is hard. The point is to reduce that time to as minimum and prolong the good time for as long as you can," the actor said. Sonali, who ruled the '90s with movies such as "Diljale", "Sarfarosh", "Duplicate" and "Hum Saath Saath Hain", is married to filmmaker Goldie Behl. The couple has a 13-year-old son Ranveer. Goldie and her, Sonali said, were honest when it came to breaking the of her cancer to Ranveer and they never never concealed any part of that journey from their son. "Ranveer was on a school trip and I could have sent him back home but I needed to see him. I need to be able to talk to him. That's the way we have brought him up and we have always been very honest with him. "The only thing that we were hoping was that by not lying to him, one day he will not be lying to us. That he will be honest with us and that was the example we were trying to set. (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 sought to know why there were terror attacks now while it had never occurred when his father H D Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister. "Why were there no instance of terrorists carrying out blasts or killing anyone when Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister? Why are they happening now? You need to think over it," he said at a public meeting late Friday night at Mysuru. "Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) needs many layers of security to go to Kashmir, but if there was any Prime Minister who went to the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir in an open jeep, it was honourable Deve Gowda. You should not forget this fact." Speaking about the conflict between India and Pakistan, Kumaraswamy said he was no sure where it would lead to. Slamming the BJP for the manner in which they were celebrating the pre-emptive air strikes by hoisting victory flags, he alleged this was only creating an atmosphere of strife between two communities. "They are hoisting the victory flags as if they themselves flew the aircraft and carried out bombing inside Pakistan. It is misusing a situation for vested interests." Cautioning people against the saffron party, Kumaraswamy said cadres of that party were behaving as if they alone were the saviours of the nation and nobody else. "Beware. They are misusing innocent minds," he said. the BJP had lashed out at the chief minister for his remarks, tweeting "Indians bombing Pakistan & celebrating Indias victory will create rift between two religions in India." CM @hd_kumaraswamy avare just reminding, you are a CM of an Indian state & not Pakistan. This statement completely exposes the anti India mindset of #Mahaghatbandhan. The Chief Minister flayed the BJP for what he alleged was 'editing' of his speech and released the complete video of his speech. He also took to Twitter to hit out at at the saffron party. Kumaraswamy, in his rebuttal, tweeted "Shame on you @BJP4Karnataka for misleading the people by editing & twisting my statement against the BJP to suit your ulterior motives. In my original speech, I had said "BJP leaders are bragging as if they themselves did the attack and not our army." You edited out the term BJP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 32-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead accidentally while trying to save her husband during an altercation with two men at her nephew's wedding in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area, police said Saturday. The incident took place on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday in Ramlila Ground, police said. During the function, the altercation took place between Sajjan and two brothers Akash and Sandeep, following which they took out a pistol and fired at Sajjan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Seju Kuruvilla said. However, the gun shot hit Sajjan's wife Sunita while trying to save him, he said. Sunita was rushed to the Jaipur Golden Hospital, where she succumbed, the DCP added. Akash and Sandeep fled after the incident, the officer said. The accused are neighbours of the bride, who are residents of Mangolpuri, he added. Police said they are yet to ascertain the reason that led to an altercation between Sajjan and the the accused duo. A case has been registered and teams have been formed to nab the accused who are on the run, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman returned home after three days of extreme political, diplomatic, and military confrontation between India and Pakistan. He was handed over to the Indian authorities around 9.30 pm at the Attari-Wagah border from where he was flown to the Palam airport in Delhi. Country's citizens gave a rousing welcome to their national hero as he set foot on the Indian soil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage." Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will now undergo debriefing on Saturday. He will also undergo physiological and physical check-up in the presence of military and intelligence officials. Catch all the latest news on India-Pakistan tension on BusinessToday.In Live blog. 4.25pm: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets Wing Commander at a hospital in Delhi #Visual: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman at a hospital in Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/WD927TQHOV - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 4.15pm: Resolution submitted in Pakistan's parliament to support Prime Minister Imran Khan for prestigious Nobel Peace Prize due to his efforts to de-escalate recent tension with India. 4.05pm: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), has not claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and there's confusion if it was behind the strike. He told, "The confusion is that the leadership, when contacted, they said no. (The leadership has been contacted) by people over here. They deny that they claimed no responsibility there's confusion. There are conflicting reports on it," reports BBC. 3.50pm: Samjhauta Express services restored; Train to run from India to Pakistan on March 3, after the two neighbours agreed to operationalise services at their ends 3.38pm: For the BJP, the security of this nation is on the top of priority not elections, says BJP chief Amit Shah. BJP President Amit Shah addressing a rally in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh: Humare liye chunaav priority nahi hai, desh ki suraksha priority hai. Pulwama hua, humare jawanon ne Pakistan mein ghus kar unke sainkdon atankwadiyon ka khatma kar safalta purvak wapas aaye. pic.twitter.com/rFGh8qK67j - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.33pm: Entire world stands together against terrorism, says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh: Entire world stands together against terrorism. No representative of India used to be invited to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but India's image has become such, that OIC invited India for the first time. It is a diplomatic victory. pic.twitter.com/KkaUcxfRzu - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.32pm: Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar to visit Srinagar today to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar to visit Srinagar today to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. He will also review the recent aerial engagement b/w the Indian & Pakistani combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/O3t4WmYdsC - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.31pm: According to IAF officials, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has met IAF Chief BS Dhanoa and explained his detention in Pakistan. The Wing Commander will stay at Air Force Officer's Mess for now, reports ANI. 3.30pm: Indian Air Force protects the country, Air force pilots sacrifice their lives but our Prime Minister steals money from the Air Force, and puts it in Anil Ambani's pockets, it is a shame, says Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Congress President Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Ranchi, Jharkhand: Indian Air Force protects the country, Air force pilots sacrifice their lives but our Prime Minister steals money from the Air Force, and puts it in Anil Ambani's pockets, it is a shame. pic.twitter.com/FnnZOtUYP2 - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 3.28pm: What is 'debriefing' that Wing Commander will go through? Debriefing is a counselling session that assesses a soldier's psychological thinking and the state of mind. It is done to analyse the overall impact a particular incident on him. During debriefing of Wing Commander Abhinandan, officers from India Air Force and intelligence agencies will sit through informal chat sessions, during which the Wing Commander will reveal each and every detail since the day he ejected out of his MiG 21 and landed on the Pakistani soil. 2.57pm: Rajasthan family names newborn after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman: A baby born on Friday evening, when IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was about to be released by Pakistan, was named after him by a family in Rajasthan's Alwar district. "My daughter-in-law delivered baby boy last evening and we named him Abhinandan in honour of the IAF pilot. We are proud of the pilot and therefore we named him (the baby) Abhinandan," Janesh Bhutani, grandfather of the chid, told reporters, reported PTI. 2.55pm: Paksitan violates ceasefire violation: Pakistani troops on Saturday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said, reported PTI. The shelling from across the border started in Nowshera sector around 12.30 pm, ending over 12-hour-long lull in the border skirmishes which intensified after India's pre-emptive strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Tuesday. A young woman and her two children were killed and several others, including two Army personnel, were injured in heavy shelling along the LoC in lower Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Friday night, raising the death toll in the exchange of firing on the Indian side to four. 12.45pm: Masood Azhar, the founder of the terrorist organisation JeM, is suspected to be troubled with renal failure. He is under dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, reports PTI. 12.30pm: FM Arun Jaitley said, that when our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any info some people, whom I call compulsive contrarians, found a new Balakot and started saying Balakot is along LoC. FM Jaitley:When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any info some ppl started saying Balakot is along LoC.Some ppl whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot&didn't check that, that Bala Kote is in our Poonch.Why'd our forces attack our territory? pic.twitter.com/hRINtQS9so - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 12.15pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a public function in New Delhi, said that the world watches every move of our country closely. He added that the Sanskrit word 'Abhinandan' would now get a new meaning due to what has happened over the past couple of days. PM Modi at 'Construction Techonolgy India'19' in Delhi: Hindustan jo bhi karega, duniya use gaur se dekhti hai. Is desh ki takat hai ki dictionary ke shabdon ke arth badal deta hai. Kabhi '#Abhinandan' ka angrezi hota tha 'Congratulation', ab 'Abhinandan' ka arth badal jaayega. pic.twitter.com/vit3RTCXBS - ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 11.45am: United Nations' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of IAF's pilot Abhinandan Varthman from captivity in Pakistan. 11.14am: IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was released by Pakistan on Friday, spent the night at the Indian Air Force central medical establishment, reports News18. He also met his family members for a brief period of time. Today, he will debrief the military and Intelligence agencies. 10.42am: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman along with Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border on the Pakistani side on March 1 (Photo: PTI). 10.30am: The chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, reported PTI. The decision was taken after a thorough review of the threat perception of IAF chief Air Marshal B S Dhanoa and chief of Naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan. The chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff will be given the Z-plus security, a government official said. Army chief General Bipin Rawat has already been given the Z-plus security. 10.24am: UK on terrorism: Former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, during India Today Conclave 2019, says the core values of both India and the UK are superior to those of terrorists and those who are harbouring them. This is why, he says, it is important that both the countries succeed in defeating terror. Live stream here. 10.01am: Ranveer Singh says Varthaman's bravery in the face of adversity was admirable and something that the country would never forget. Welcome home Abhinandan! ! Inspiration to our whole nation . Jai Hind - Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) March 1, 2019 10.00am: Director-producer Karan Johar tweeted, "We salute your bravery and valour....we applaud your strength in the face of adversity." We salute your bravery and valour....we applaud your strength in the face of adversity....#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan - Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 1, 2019 9.57am: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, "Happy that Wing Co Abhinandan comes home." T 3105 - From Anamika Ef : "One of my closest friend says "A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him" ~ her husband (a close friend again) is in Air Force..." ABHINANDAN ... , pic.twitter.com/2uPrGOPwOE - Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) March 1, 2019 9.55am: Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and a host of other Bollywood celebrities hailed "true hero" Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's return to India. There is no better feeling than Coming back Home, for home is the place of love, hope & dreams. Ur bravery makes us stronger. Eternally grateful. #WelcomeBackAbhinandan pic.twitter.com/NFTRINu6Mw - Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 1, 2019 9.46am: Three villagers were killed, another injured in heavy shelling by Pakistani forces along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, reported PTI. 9.30am: BCCI on the return of brave Wing Commander: "You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come." #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan You rule the skies and you rule our hearts. Your courage and dignity will inspire generations to come #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/PbG385LUsE - BCCI (@BCCI) March 1, 2019 8.50am: "India is proud of your courage and sense of duty, and above all your dignity," says President Ram Nath Kovind. Welcome home Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman! India is proud of your courage and sense of duty, and above all your dignity. Wishing you and our entire Air Force every success in the future #PresidentKovind - President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 1, 2019 8.48am: "Your dignity, poise and bravery made us all proud," says Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Wing Cdr. Abhinandan, your dignity, poise and bravery made us all proud. Welcome back and much love. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 1, 2019 8.47am: The entire Nation is proud of Wing Commander Abhinandan. Welcome Home! The entire Nation is proud of Wing Commander Abhinandan. - Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 1, 2019 8.30am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes home Wing Commander Abhinandan! "The nation is proud of your exemplary courage." Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram! - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2019 8.29am: "May you continue to serve the nation and IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication. Best wishes for your bright future," says BJP Chief Amit Shah. Dear Wing Commander Abhinandan, entire nation is proud of your courage and valour. India is glad to have you back. May you continue to serve the nation and IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication. Best wishes for your bright future. - Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 1, 2019 8.27am: "The entire nation appreciates your valour and grit. You held your calm in the face of adversity," says Defenece Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Proud of you Wing Commander #AbhinandanVarthaman. The entire nation appreciates your valour and grit. You held your calm in the face of adversity. You are an inspiration to our youth. Salute. Vande Mataram. - Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) March 1, 2019 8.25am: Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday those who challenged the country's pride and dignity were "biting the dust". "Those who challenged India's self respect, pride and dignity were defeated and are biting the dust now. Many people raised questions and criticised (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, but now everything is being proved," he said, reported PTI. #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan Your courage, grit and calmness in the face of adversity is an inspiration for all of us. Salute to your courage! May you continue to serve our country and the @IAF_MCC with unparalleled valour & unflinching vigil. Jai Hind ! - Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) March 1, 2019 8.20am: The Indian Air Force (IAF) says "Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior Abhinandan." The IAF lost one MiG-21 in the aerial engagement & the Pilot ejected safely, his parachute drifted into POJ&K where he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army. (4/5) - Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 8.18am: Union Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore's welcome message to Wing Commander Abhinandan Verthaman. 8.17am: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who set foot on the Indian soil on Friday evening said "It is good to be back in my country", reported India Today. The Indian Air Force pilot captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. A day after the Supreme Court held that special allowance is part of basic wages for EPF dues computation, retirement fund body EPFO has decided to take a stringent action against those firms which will not take into account such component in PF contributions. The apex court in its judgement has ruled that special allowance is part of the basic wages for computing the employees provident fund (EPF). The employer as well as employee pay 12 per cent of basic wages each towards contribution for social security scheme run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). "Following the judgement, the EPFO will take stringent action against firms which would not factor in special allowance for computation of EPF contributions. The body is studying the judgement and would soon come out with a detailed plan to implement the judgement," a source privy to the development said. "The case of artificially lowering basic wages which become the basis for computation of EPF contributions, was pleaded by the EPFO in the apex court. Thus, it is imperative for the body to implement this in letter and spirit," the source said. An EPFO trustee Virjesh Upadhyay who is also General Secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) said, "We welcome the apex court decision. This is a long pending issue. In fact the EPFO's apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees had constituted a committee to give a detailed report and suggestions to deal with splitting of wages by employers for reducing EPF liability." He further informed, "The committee had given its recommendation to deal with the issue. But in the meantime, the matter went to court and recommendations given by the panel to include various allowance into basic wage could not be implemented." Earlier, the EPFO conducted a study and found out that a large number of firms were splitting their employees pay packages into numerous allowance to reduce their EPF liability convincing their workers that this would result in higher taken home pay. The apex court in its order has allowed the appeal of the EPFO, which sought to include allowance like special allowance in basic wages for computation of EPF contributions. Also read: PF deductions to include special allowances along with basic salary: Supreme Court Attacking the Narendra Modi government for taking credit for the Air Force strike on the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakote, Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) doesn't belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "IAF belongs to the country," P Chidambaram while speaking at India Today Conclave 2019. When asked if Prime Minister Modi's decision giving the Army a free hand in wake of the Pulwama attack was right, senior Congress leader said only time will tell if it was the right decision. On February 26, the Indian Air Force dropped bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC) in Balakote in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the life of 40 CRPF jawans. Earlier on Wednesday, the Congress-led opposition parties expressed 'deep anguish' over the 'blatant politicisation of sacrifices' made by the Indian military as it slammed the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party over the developments of the last few days. "National security must transcend narrow political considerations," the Opposition had said in a resolution passed at a meeting which was attended by twenty-one opposition parties. The resolution also lauded the Indian Air Force's airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan. When asked whether Army action is a better option than talks with beleaguered neighbour, Chidambaram said that only central government can answer this as they had full information on that. The former Finance Minister also claimed that all the economical data, including the growth figures, that the NDA government project does not add up with the reality of the situation. He also added that job growth during the UPA regime was not as much of an issue then as it is now and therefore comparing job growth during the UPA's time as compared to the NDA cannot be put on the same measuring scale. Also Read: India Today Conclave 2019 LIVE: No indications of de-escalation of tensions at border, says Former Air chief Fali Homi Major Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India has felt the absence of Rafale fighter jets. He said if previous governments had purchased the Rafale jet the result would have been different. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was referring to the mid-air duel between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets in which an Indian fighter jet crashed into Pakistan territory and the pilot was captured by the Pakistani rangers. Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there is a lot of talk in the country these days that India is missing Rafale fighter jets. "In dino bahut charcha chal rahi hai aur ek swar uth raha hai ki desh main Rafale ki kami khal rahi hai. Aaj Hindustan ek swar main keh raha hai ki aaj agar hamare paas Rafale hota toh shayad parinam kuch aur hota (Today there is talk that India is missing the Rafale jets. The entire nation is saying that if India had Rafale jets today, the outcome of the recent incidents would have been something different)," he said. Attacking the Opposition on the Rafale deal issue, PM Modi said he would like to make it very clear that in the past, the country "suffered" due to vested interest over the Rafale jets. PM Modi said if a deal could not happen,defence modernisation could not happen. "And at present, we continue to suffer due to the politicisation of the Rafale deal. The vested interests and politicisation has caused great harm to the nation's interest," PM Modi said. Slamming the opposition for opposing every act of the government, PM said they are welcome to criticise his government's policies and find faults in its working. "But I request you not to oppose matters related to the nation's security," he said. "Aap dhyan rakhiye ki Modi virodh ki jidh main aap Masood Azhar aur Haifz Saeed jaise aatankiyon ko sahara na dain (In your stubborn desire to oppose Modi, see that you don't end up strengthening terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed)," PM Modi said. Congress President Rahul Gandhi has constantly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged discrepancies in the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. Gandhi had raised several questions about the process, pricing and alleged patronage in procuring 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation. Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth was fastest under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Prime Minister Modi said you say you are 'sabse tez, so are we.' "If you see from 1991, we have increased GDP growth fastest in the last 5 years," he said. Listing out the achievements of his government, PM Modi said 18,000 villages have been electrified after 70 long years. This shows how his government is working with speed and scale, he added. Slamming the Opposition, PM said they had a 'token approach', we have a 'total approach'. "Our fifty-five months and the fifty-five years of the others have given two contrasting approaches to governance. Our government has been battling poverty, but they merely gave a token slogan. How to achieve that was not specified," Modi said. "It was known that India needed to work on financial inclusion. For that they gave a token- bank nationalisation. They did this in the name of the poor but none of them bothered to check if the doors of banks are open for the poor or not." Prime Minister Modi also said that if work has to be done, it has to be in totality, not with tokenism. "That is why, all our initiatives aim for 100 per cent, such as banking for all, housing for all and healthcare for all." PM Modi said he felt like an outsider after 2014 when he came to Delhi. "After 2014, when I came to Delhi, it took me time to figure out how things work here." Also Read: PM Narendra Modi Live at India Today Conclave: India has felt the loss of Rafale, the result would have been different, says Narendra Modi Edited by Chitranjan Kumar India Today Conclave 2019: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak on the Day 2 of the 18th India Today Conclave 2019 on Saturday. He is expected to speak on the theme 'My India Story: What leading a great country taught me'. Apart from PM Modi, several other dignitaries, including former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Congress leader Kapil Sibal, BCCI Chief and former CAG Vinod Rai, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, author Amitav Ghosh, among others, will also share ideas on the 2019 India Today Conclave theme 'Hard Choice'. India Today is organising the Eighteen Edition of India Today Conclave at Durbar Ballroom, Taj Palace, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi. Catch all the latest updates on the India Today Conclave 2019 at BusinessToday.In Live blog. 9:00pm: Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Prime Minister Modi said you say you are sabse tez, so we are. If you see from 1991, we have increased GDP growth fastest in the last 5 years, PM Modi said. "The rate of GDP growth was fastest under the NDA government." PM Modi said 18,000 villages have been electrified after 70 long years. He asked why there is no National War Memorial till now. If work has to be done, it has to be in totality, not with tokenism. That is why, all our initiatives aim for 100% Jan Dhan - financial inclusion and banking for all. Housing for All Healthcare for All: PM - PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 2, 2019 8:57pm: It was known that India needed to work on financial inclusion. For that they gave a token- bank nationalization. They did this in the name of the poor but none of them bothered to check if the doors of banks are open for the poor or not: PM - PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 2, 2019 8:55pm: They had a 'token approach', we have a 'total approach', says Narendra Modi. Our 55 months and the 55 years of the others have given 2 contrasting approaches to governance. They had a 'token approach', we have a 'total approach': PM India has been battling poverty but they gave a token slogan- . How to achieve that was not specified: PM - PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 2, 2019 8:52pm: We have bought 2.30 lakh bullet proof jackets in our tenure, says PM Modi. In our tenure, we bought two lakh thirty thousand bullet proof jackets! In our tenure, the corridors of power are also free from middlemen because they know, this Government will not tolerate any corruption: PM - PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 2, 2019 8:50pm: Speaking on Rafele deal, PM Modi said if a deal could not happen,defence moder-nisation could not happen. Why is it that those who ruled the nation for so many years have so many defence scams in their era? If a deal could not happen,defence moder-nisation could not happen. Who is every middle-man close to? The entire nation knows. And Lutyens Delhi, surely knows: PM - PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 2, 2019 8:45pm: Commenting on the Pulwama attacks, PM Modi said every drop of soldier's blood is precious and no nation can dare threaten India. "Terrorists are scared of India's strength. When fugitives are also scared the fear is good. When big leaders are scared of going to jail, fear is good. When corrupt are scared, fear is good," the PM said. 8:42pm: Narendra Modi said today's environment is such that fear among anti-India elements is good. 8:40pm: PM Modi said that no country can now take India for granted. Our life of every soldier was important. For us, blood of every soldier is precious. Now no one will dare raise their eyes against India. India is following new strategies. World is understanding India. Today's India is fearless and decisive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the India Today Conclave. 8:35pm: PM Narendra Modi said he felt like an outsider after 2014 when he came to Delhi. PM Modi said, "After 2014, when I came to Delhi, it took me time to figure out how things work here." 8:30pm: Speaking at the Conclave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the India Today Group for participating in the Swachh Bharat Mission. 8:25pm: India Today Group Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie congratulates Prime Minister Modi for getting back IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan. 8:22pm: India Today Group Vice-Chairperson Kalli Purie welcomed PM Modi and said history is always an uninvited and special guest at India Today Conclave. 8:15pm: PM Modi is expected to speak on the theme 'My India Story: What leading a great country taught me'. 8:00pm: PM Narendra Modi arrives at India Today Conclave. At 8 PM, will be addressing the @IndiaToday Conclave 2019. Watch my address on channels of the India Today group. #LetsConclave19 - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 2, 2019 7:14pm: Speaking on making evidence of Balakot public, Arun Jaitley said, "It's a very irresponsilble stand. Armed forces must have a full leeway in dealing with situations, If any person wants this evidence then they don't understand how the system works because this information is not for security agencies to divulge." 7:10pm: Replying to a question on the promise of jobs that the BJP had made, Arun Jitley said it was a fake campaign and the issue that topped fake campaigns was the Rafale. 7:08pm: Some of the "Nawabs of Negativity" manufactured another Balakot in PoK... we have a fair share of them, says Jaitley while talking about Indo-Pak tension. 7:05pm: Have no hesitation in saying Kashmir experiment didn't work, says Jaitley. 7:00pm: India has consistently had one policy that is that talks and terror can't go together: says FM while talking about Indo-Pak tension. 6:55pm: India's position on terrorism will remain unchanged, says Finance Minister. 6:50pm: He said it would be too naive for India to believe that an alternate discourse with Pakistan is possible. 6.45pm: Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted terror exists in his country, says Arun Jaitley. 6:10pm: Speaking at the India Today Conclave, S Gurumurthy, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board member, said if demonetisation was not done, economy would have collapsed. 3:40pm: Speaking at the India Today Conclave, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that his party's alliance with arch rival BSP was not purely conceived with an anti-Modi sentiment. He also clarified that the BSP-SP alliance was created not just out of a fear for PM Modi. Commenting on Mulayam Singh offering support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Akhilesh Yadav said Netaji gave his blessings to Manmohan Singh also but he did not become the PM again. 3:00pm: J&K worst sufferers of hostilities between India and Pakistan, says Former IAS officer Speaking at the India Today Conclave, former bureaucrat Shah Faesal has said last fortnight has been a nightmare for us with panic in Kashmir. People of Jammu and Kashmir are worst sufferers of hostilities between India and Pakistan. 2:40pm: 'Mowing the grass' method must be used to deal with terrorism: Former NSA advisor Shivshankar Menon Former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said that India need to use 'Mowing the grass' method to deal with terrorism. By this he meant snipping terror in the bud before it became a full blown problem. 2:15pm: No indications of de-escalation of tensions at border: There are no indications of any form of de-escalation of tensions at border, says former Air chief Fali Homi. He said the onus for de-escalation lay on Pakistan. 2:10pm: Need a long-term approach to deal with Pakistan. Lt General Deepender Singh Hooda, who headed the 2016 surgical strikes, said he doesn't see how celebrating a single strike will affect Pakistan. "We need to deter Pakistan from carrying out cross-border strikes in India." 2:05pm: If provoked, India has lucrative target to use: Former Air chief. "What happens next depends on a lot of other things. I feel if provoked,we have a lucrative target to use. We don't want to hit military or civilian targets," said Air Chief Marshal (retired) Fali Homi at the India Today Conclave. 2:00pm: Have learnt to be fearless, says Sonali Bendre on her battle with cancer. Speaking at the India Today Conclave on her battle with cancer, she said during her journey to defeat cancer, she has become fearless. "Every time I am fearful, I go on and do that thing. I have learnt to be fearless. We all learn to be fearless." 1:40pm: Becoming one with your creation a great feeling, says Prasoon Joshi at India Today Conclave 2019. 1:20pm: Lok Sabha elections at per schedule: Ram Madhav said that the Lok Sabha elections should take place as per schedule. When asked about poll schedule in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav said the answer is only with the Election Commission. 1.09pm: BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav during India Today Conclave 2019: "Jammu is leading a better life. The party has registered progress on the terrorism, development fronts in the state." Watch full video. BJP will not get together with Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP again in Jammu and Kashmir, says @rammadhavbjp #LetsConclave19 (@rahulkanwal) Live coverage - https://t.co/d03xPxVC10 pic.twitter.com/7xiZMa2856 - India Today (@IndiaToday) March 2, 2019 12.00pm: Sanjeev Sanyal on autonomy of the RBI: "The Central bank has been given unprecedented institutional powers under this government...for example one of the mandates of the central government is to control inflation. It is this government that created a framework under the monetary policy with clear targets of 4 per cent inflation with a band of 2 to 6 per cent, and it has been hugely successful experiment...inflation has not only come down by 5-6 basis point -- as we speak, inflation is at 2 per cent and the problem is now that may be too low. Similarly, we had problem with unregulated banking going on for several years. It is this government that reigned that in, forced them under government (under this governor that you just mentioned with full backing of the government) to recognise the NPAs. A new law, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was put in place to allow the cleaning up of the banks, which has put an end to the cronyism." 11.48am: Sanjeev Sanyal says powerful institutions like the RBI and the judiciary should also be held accountable. Live stream here. 11.38am: Principal economic advisor to the Finance Ministry Sanjeev Sanyal says this government has given far more autonomy to governors that any of the previous governors. 11.19am: Jagan Mohan Reddy on 2019 Lok Sabha elections: "Our interest is clear. We are not against Rahul Gandhi or any other leader, but we have lost trust. We now want to keep our options open." 11.10am: Jagan Mohan Reddy says his party will support anyone who will give special status on Andhra Pradesh. "We are sick and tired of trusting people. They promise but not deliver. We are keeping our options open." 11.03am: YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy says his padyatra transformed him to understand the people's problems, and that it has given people some sort of hope. 10.47am: After the Brexit, the UK aims to be more "more open, outward-looking" with India, says Boris Johnson. 10.45am: Boris Johnson, during India Today Conclave 2019, says Pakistan Prime Minister Imran did the sensible thing by releasing the Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a time of rising tensions between India and Pakistan. 10.41am: Boris opines that both India and Pakistan should work more closely together. He says Prime Minister Narendra Modi was right when he asked his Pakistan counterpart to work together to eradicate the poverty and illiteracy from the two nations. 10.36am: Boris Johnson says the hybrid culture inboth India and the UK brings the two countries together. He said popular RoyalEnfield motorbikes, which initially started off in the UK, are now so popularthat he also enjoyed a bike ride to the Khan Market in South Delhi on it. Borissaid from food, music to language and culture -- India and the UK share similarvalues. 10.28am: Boris Johnson on Brexit: Brexit has affected countries, including Greece, where over a third of population lives in poverty. 10.19am: Boris Johnson says both the countries are united by their joint belief in "common values of freedom, tolerance, law, and democracy". Live stream here. 10.18am: Boris says core values of both India and the UK are superior to those ofterrorists and those who are harbouring them. This is why, he says, it is important that both the countries succeed in defeating terror. 10.09am: UK parliamentarian and former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson says the UK stands with India in rage over the Pulwama attack. 9.51am: UK politician and historian Boris Johnson will speak at the 18th India Today Conclave in just a while from now. He will speak on the theme 'The Devil & the Deep: Bitter cocktails from Brexit'. 9.34am: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor today said the Hinduism and Hindutva were different from each other and they needed to be understood in their essential elements. Read more here. 9.32am: On the Day 1 of the India Today Conclave 2019, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be the prime minister after the elections and that he was party worker and his duty is to the nation. Read more here. 9.30am: On the Day 1 of the India Today Conclave 2019, BJP chief Amit Shah said India could not trust Imran Khan's soft diplomacy at a time when he did not even condemn the perpetrators of the suicide attack on CRPF convoy, which left over 40 jawans dead. Read more here. Billions of dollars of pre-election spending by the Indian government and political parties in the next two months is unlikely to stop the nation's economy from slowing further, economists said. Asia's third-largest economy lost momentum in the final quarter of 2018, as the annual rate of growth slipped to 6.6 percent, much lower than expected and the slowest pace in five quarters. But the worst may not be over. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be seeking a second term in elections due to be held by May, in an interim budget last month introduced populist spending measures worth Rs 1.8 lakh crore ($25.37 billion) and modest tax cuts in the current fiscal year ending March 31 in an attempt to win the votes of farmers and the urban middle class. That is on top of additional spending at state government level. The political parties are also likely to spend nearly Rs 50,000 crore during the election campaign, according to estimates of CMS, a Delhi-based think tank. But weakening global growth, rising oil prices in recent weeks, slowing growth in government spending on infrastructure and delays in investment decisions because of uncertainty about who will form the next government could more than offset the extra election-related spending. An expected deceleration in economic growth in major economies around the world, including China and the United States, is expected to hurt trade growth. "We don't expect any election-spend related upside to growth for the next two quarters," said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economist at State Bank of India, the country's largest state-run bank. He said there was an overall slowdown in consumption and government spending on infrastructure and that this could continue until the September quarter. Ghosh is forecasting economic growth could decline to 6.2 percent in the January-March quarter and below 6 percent in the June quarter. The government has played down the risks to the economy. Subhash Chandra Garg, one of the top officials in the finance ministry, said the downward revision of the government's annual GDP growth estimate to 7 percent in the current financial year was at least in part due to an upward revision of GDP growth for the previous year, to 7.2 percent. WEAKENING DEMAND Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of the economy, slowed to 8.4 percent in the October-December quarter, compared with a revised 9.9 percent increase in the previous quarter. Policy advisers are worried that the global slowdown could hurt the manufacturing sector - hitting auto, engineering, textile and some other labor intensive sectors. A senior government official said total federal government expenditure is set to slow down after the election as the bills for the stimulus earlier in the year have to be paid, creating a further drag on growth. The interim budget forecasts show government spending growth slowing to 13 percent in the next fiscal year beginning April 1, from an estimated 15 percent in the current fiscal year. Many private economists and brokerage firms, tracking other macro-economic indicators, have advised their clients about the risks of an economic slowdown persisting for next few quarters. "January data signals that the slowdown has spilled over into 2019," said Radhika Rao, economist at DBS Bank in Singapore. Sectors that are continuing to portray weakness include auto sales, likely on the back of tighter financing conditions, particularly in the non-banking finance sector, she said. Also read: Modi govt has given far more autonomy to governors than previous govts, says Sanjeev Sanyal Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday declared 'April 2019-March 2020' as Construction-Technology year and stressed on use of advanced technology to meet the increasing demand for housing in the country caused by rapid urbanisation. He also sought the support of the private sector in fulfilling the government's mission of providing a brick house to every Indian by 2022. Also Read: India Today Conclave 2019 LIVE: Modi govt has given far more autonomy to governors than previous govts, says Sanjeev Sanyal At the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference here, the prime minister said his government has given a major thrust on affordable housing, brought changes in laws governing the real estate sector, while developing skills and improving technology for it. The NDA government has built 1.3 crore houses as compared to "only 25 lakh" houses built during the previous dispensation, Modi said. "The numbers speak for themselves. This shows how serious we are about our commitment in fulfilling the poor and middle class people's dream of have a house of their own." "We are also ensuring that the houses have water, power and Ujjwala connections (LPG) along with other facilities. The quality of houses and spaces have also improved in the last four-and-half years but more is to be done. For that, I seek the support of the private sector... Let us work together... and do something that helps the poor," he said. Modi said his government has worked with a holistic approach keeping in mind the challenges of building houses in varied geographical conditions of the country and several key decisions were taken keeping in mind the problems faced by builders and buyers. "India is among the few countries where demand for houses is increasing at a rapid pace. To fulfil this demand using advanced technology in the construction sector, I announce April 2019-March 2022 as Construction-Technology year," he said. Asking the stakeholder to give the housing sector a new pace by using the latest technologies available in the world, Modi said the government was keen on engaging with all stakeholders to understand their suggestions and work towards making the housing sector more vibrant. "A house is not just about four walls. It is a place where one gets the power to dream and aspirations are fulfilled. A home is much about dignity and security as it is about shelter. "It always shocks and saddens me that in a nation like ours, several people do not have their own home. We have been working to solve this in the form of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It is my dream that every Indian has a brick house by 2022," the prime minister said. Stressing on the importance of local innovations in propagating eco-friendly disaster-resilient and energy-efficient constructions, he said the Global Housing Technology Challenge, aimed at introducing best technologies that seek to construct houses in a shorter period of time with lower cost, can help elevate India's construction ecosystem to international standards. Asserting that with the country's fast urbanisation, the need for more houses is being felt, he said to meet the demand and to transform the housing sector, his government has implemented programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, HRIDAY, AMRUT and Smart Cities. Modi said the government was focusing on systematic reforms to provide technical skills to the youth and making changes in engineering and technology curriculum. The government is making it easier for people to buy houses, by providing tax benefits and other incentives. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, (RERA), has improved consumers' confidence in developers and brought transparency in the real estate sector, he said. Changes were being made in tax laws so that the middle class can have more money to buy a house, the prime minister said, adding recently, GST on affordable housing has been reduced from 8 per cent to 1 per cent, while GST on under-construction projects has been reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. At the event, Modi launched the GHTC-India mobile application, an interactive platform for all stakeholders for the exchange of knowledge on innovation and alternative housing technologies. He also launched the third edition of the Vulnerability Atlas of India, a collation of the existing hazard scenario of the entire country, and asked the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry to follow it. Also Read: Bangalore, Hyderabad among top 20 global cities attracting FDI in ICT sectors, reports L&P Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Indian cities, which would contribute over 80 pc to the country's GDP by 2050, need to be receptive, innovative and productive to foster sustainable growth and ensure a better quality of living. Providing details of the progress made under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban), he said pursuing a validated housing demand of about 1 crore, PMAY (Urban) has already sanctioned 79 lakh houses, grounded 41 lakh and completed 16 lakh houses. "Looking at the scale of construction that needs to take place in the next three years, it becomes absolutely imperative that we get the technology right. It is important for us to adopt an integrated approach to provide a conducive and productive environment with better living conditions to every household in urban India," Puri said. Also Read: State Bank Of India reports frauds of Rs 7,951 cr in 9 months of FY'19 An MOU was signed Saturday between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Chinese paper manufacturing firm Nine Dragons in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state industries minister Subhash Desai. As per the Memorandum of Understanding, Nine Dragons will set up a unit in the state and invest Rs 4500 crore over five years to create 10,000 job opportunities, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said. Earlier, speaking at the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Challenge event organised by the state government's IT department, Fadnavis said AI can bring about sustainability in agriculture. "When we (Maharashtra) are aiming to become a trillion dollar economy by 2025, our prime focus is on agriculture and stress is on the use of technologies," he said. He added that technology was being used extensively to track environmental changes, use of pesticides, soil health and provide timely updates to farmers. Fadnavis cited the use of a single ticket system for multiple modes of transport as another area where technology is being used aggressively. He said education and rural health care were a challenge earlier but the use of technology was proving helpful. The member nations of RCEP bloc must empower their negotiators to adopt flexibility for resolving pending issues coming in the way of concluding the negotiations for the proposed mega trade agreement, Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said Saturday. The proposed mega trade deal, Regional Cooperation for Economic Partner (RCEP) agreement, is being negotiated by 16 countries -- 10-member Asian group and India, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Also Read: India Today Conclave 2019 LIVE: Modi govt has given far more autonomy to governors than previous govts, says Sanjeev Sanyal "We should empower our negotiators with a mandate to show flexibilities and accommodation on outstanding and pending issues," Prabhu said at the RCEP ministerial meeting at Siem Reap In Cambodia. He said that a lot of ground still needs to be covered this year. "We should be mindful of the limitations ahead, given that there are only three more rounds this year at the technical level," he said. So far 25 rounds of talks have been concluded but the members have yet to finalise the number of goods on which customs duty will be eliminated. Issues are also pending in the services sector as India is demanding greater flexibility to promote trade in services. The minister informed that India and the US constructively engaged in bilateral meetings with a number of countries with an aim to narrow gaps on 'requests and offers' to the mutual satisfaction. "With little more flexibility, we can accomplish a lot in services trade which holds immense potential for RCEP," he added. Also Read: Bangalore, Hyderabad among top 20 global cities attracting FDI in ICT sectors, reports L&P Further, he said that some countries of RCEP bloc including India will be going for elections this year, but the momentum of the negotiations should be continued. The 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc aims to cover among the issues related to goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. RCEP bloc includes 10 countries of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. The negotiations have entered the sixth year. The last round was held in February in Indonesia. RCEP members want India to eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on a maximum number of goods it traded with them. India's huge domestic market provides an immense opportunity for exports for RCEP countries. But the lower level of ambitions in services and investments, a key area of interest for India, does not augur well for the agreement that seeks to be comprehensive in nature. Also Read: State Bank Of India reports frauds of Rs 7,951 cr in 9 months of FY'19 Chinas coal producers notched a third consecutive year of profit gains in 2018, though growth rates slowed considerably as positive effects started to slow from an ongoing national campaign to reduce excess capacity. Over the past five years, the government has launched a number of similar campaigns in industries including coal, steel and aluminum to rationalize output and eliminate less-efficient smaller operations that thrived during the countrys rapid three-decade economic rise. The capacity-slimming has begun paying off even as regional governments worry over the loss of smaller outfits that were important to local economies. Within the coal sector, profits for large-scale producers rose 5.2% last year to 288.8 billion yuan ($43 billion), the China National Coal Association said Friday at its annual media briefing. Profits for 90 of the largest producers accounting for more than half of all profits rose an even more robust 26.7%, reflecting the governments drive to concentrate more output at the largest, most efficient operations. While profits continued to grow, the latest increases marked a sharp slowdown from the last three years. Profits more than tripled in 2016 as early effects of the campaign began to kick in after a period of contraction between 2013 and 2015. Profits nearly quadrupled in 2017. The capacity-reduction campaign kicked off in 2016 under orders from the State Council, Chinas cabinet, aimed at reducing annual capacity by 500 million tons over the next three to five years. Reductions under Chinas current five-year plan, which runs through 2020, are basically done, said Jiang Zhimin, the associations deputy chairman. Mining operations with 300,000 tons of annual capacity or less have eliminated 220 million tons of annual capacity, he said. The next step will involve removing systemic structural hurdles to the industrys efficiency, he added. China currently produces most of the coal it uses, though it also imports some. The nation is trying to lower its dependence on the dirty-burning fossil fuel, which is mostly used to generate power, in a broader campaign to clean up the nations air. China has embarked on a huge buildup of cleaner energy sources over the past five years, including renewables like wind and solar, as well as cleaner-burning natural gas and nuclear. Last year Chinas total domestic coal output reached 3.68 billion tons, up 4.5% from 2017, while imports rose 3.9% to 281 million tons. The nations total coal consumption rose by just 1% last year to 3.9 billion tons. Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) CAMEROUN :: Court Declares Deportation Of Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 46 others Cameroonians From Nigeria Illegal A key Cameroonian separatist leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 46 others were deported from Nigeria after their arrest in Abuja. However, in her judgment on Friday morning, Justice Anwuli Chikere, the presiding judge, agreed with Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) that the Nigerian government lacks the power to deport refugees and asylum seekers from the country. The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared as illegal and unconstitutional, the deportation of 47 Cameroonians from Nigeria on January 26, 2018. A key Cameroonian separatist leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 46 others were deported from Nigeria after their arrest in Abuja. Ayuk President of a self-declared breakaway state made up of the Anglophone regions of majority-Francophone Cameroon, was one of 15 people whom Cameroon issued an international arrest warrant for in November 2017. Cameroonian Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary liked the move, saying a group of 47 terrorists, among them Mr. Ayuk Tabe, has for some hours been in the hands of Cameroonian justice, before which they will answer for their crimes, and praising Nigeria for joining Camerron in never tolerating their respective territories serving as a base for activities that destabilise one or the other. However, in her judgment on Friday morning, Justice Anwuli Chikere, the presiding judge, agreed with Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) that the Nigerian government lacks the power to deport refugees and asylum seekers from the country. Apart from awarding N5 million in damages to each applicant, the trial judge ordered the Federal Government to ensure that the deportees are brought back to Nigeria forthwith. comment Your correspondent Brad Hinton promotes a number of misconceptions about Canberra-Eden rail (Letters, February 27). Mr Hinton focuses on passenger projections, however the primary rationale for the railway is not passengers but freight to connect the Port of Eden to the national rail network, and by so doing, relieve pressure on existing congested ports, as well as their feeder transport corridors. Alternative proposals to expand existing major ports (Kembla, Botany or Newcastle) would cost far more than the $3 billion (upper-limit) preliminary estimate for Canberra-Eden, and deliver no ancillary benefits of congestion reduction, provision of affordable housing or decentralisation. The proposed passenger service relies on a value capture strategy, predicated on affordable housing developments within easy commuting distance from Canberra (Michelago, Bredbo and Cooma, perhaps also Nimmitabel). The sale of development sites within existing township boundaries would offset a significant proportion of the up-front capital costs of the railway, and help drive regional development goals. I agree that the main priority for fast passenger rail in NSW should be Canberra-Sydney, but that has proved a much more challenging and highly politicised proposition, with more severe terrain, dense existing development, and a fully utilised rail and road corridor to contend with. Canberra-Eden could be completed at far lower difficulty, and would be a compelling proof-of-concept for medium-speed mixed-use rail in regional Australia. Considering the potential benefits to our region, the $1 million budget for the proposed feasibility study is in no way outlandish. Edwin Michell, author of concept plan for Canberra to Eden Railway, Bungendore It is heartening to see that Planning Minister Mick Gentleman has finally twigged that there is a problem with fire safety in Canberra buildings ("Safer buildings in Canberra: Minister supports changes to fire laws", February 24). It is a pity that he did not show as much interest when I wrote to him on February 1, 2018 to express my concern about the fire risk in a (now being constructed) high-rise tower in Woden. I pointed out that in the wake of the loss of life in the Grenfell Tower fire, all planning authorities should take the risk of fire in residential towers very seriously. I am still awaiting a reply. Mike Reddy, Curtin Ian Warden has completely lost the plot! He says the ACT government should award a $100,000 NIMBY prize for Bonython's drone-inflicted residents. This bizarre comment shows just how far Mr Warden has drifted from reality. Just to clarify, it's nothing to do with the award, but in what world would Andrew Barr ever spend $100,000 on Tuggeranong? J.Smith, Kambah As a former convenor of the ACT's Republican Movement I write to congratulate Ian Warden on his derision of knighthoods and other gongs installed on Australians by the Queen of England on Australia Day and other dates ("'Sir' no honour for Finney", February 24). Unlike the honourable Warden, I weakened when Government House offered me one of her baubles a gimmicky Centenary of Federation medal but did so for one reason. The citation which accompanied it said I'd been singled out for my "service to the community through the Australian Republican Movement". I wonder how many other Republicans so satisified the monarch. I will, of course, decline her invitation to become president when the day comes, suggesting instead she appoint the duumvirate of Warden/Cassidy to the position. I'd like to think the gong-shy Ian will join me in accepting that honour. Frank Cassidy, Kambah The Moritz interim report on the Menindee fish-kill was recently released to Bill Shorten and the public. I congratulate them on a sound foundation for further work. There are some incomplete perspectives, namely the hydrogeology and the flow relationships between river and aquifers. Both are critical to interventions, and are widely misunderstood. Some hydrologists know about this, because the region was studied in 2012 by Geoscience Australia the "Broken Hill Menindee Aquifer Recharge" or BHMAR project. Two rescue solutions outlined by Moritz offer little hope for the fish without widespread rain: Solution 1 a northern rescue flow, risks filling Lake Wetherell and its aquifers with salt, and Solution 2 (currently in progress) amounts to converting fish pool havens towards aquaria. If the drought is prolonged, both will fail. The Moritz report wrongly implied that there is no local fresh water. There is plenty of underground fresh water at Menindee, and some hydrologists know where it is and know how to get it: Table 10-1 of BHMAR Report 5, shows around 140 Gigalitres at 10 per cent drawdown for water 600 mg/Litre EC salinity. The BHMAR research deserves urgent reframing this time for a small number of freshwater production bores, with conjunctive management of the Darling and its aquifers, using free natural aquifer recharge. This ecology can be rescued, regardless of how long the drought lasts, with integrated use of surface and aquifer waters. Let's not wait until it's too late. Dr Peter Main, Higgins If the photo in the Sunday Canberra Times is any guide ("Canberrans turn out in droves...", February 24, p2), OH&S; hasn't yet penetrated the sport of woodchopping. One would have thought that, given contestants are wielding sharp axes with great gusto at logs beneath their feet, instead of wearing casual footwear, participants would be wearing steel-cap boots! Gordon Fyfe, Kambah Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published). /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/b97933e9-47d0-4bb4-a96b-c7e97a71bc6f/r2_0_618_348_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Last Thursday, a number of modest reforms to ACT rental laws passed the Assembly, following a debate of Shakespearean proportions. Most importantly, people who rent will no longer have to suffer as many slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The changes mean that renters can more easily modify their homes, or have pets. It will be harder for landlords to impose major rent increases, and unfair break lease fees will be dialled back. On modifications, it will now be easier for people who rent to make changes to their home: landlords will be able to refuse modifications only on reasonable grounds. Instead of being woken up by "what light over yonder window breaks", renters will have stronger rights to adapt their home to suit their needs, like installing curtains. Consent will still be required, and tenants can be required to make good at the end of their lease. Thus, landlords have nothing to fear here. Far from "whats done cannot be undone", landlords still have the right to make sure their property is returned in the same state they let it out. The changes are similar with pets. While landlords can still refuse a pet, they need reasonable grounds to do so. No more arbitrary discrimination against a potential pet owner just because they dont own a home. Of course, tenants remain liable for any damage caused by a pet, and landlords can impose reasonable conditions. So if a dog leaves any marks on the carpet, the landlord is still entitled to insist "out, damned spot". The context for these changes is that more people are renting, and renting for longer. Renting is no longer something you do in between moving out of home and buying a house. For a lot of people, it may be all they know until they shuffle off this "mortal coil". This growing cohort of long-term renters deserves to be able to make a home, to raise a family, to settle down in a community. Thats why these laws needed to change. Sadly though, these changes dont usher in a "brave new world" of rental perfection. The government voted against amendments from Caroline Le Couteur that would have ended unfair evictions. This means that a landlord can still terminate a lease without having to provide any reason. This will make people who rent afraid to ask for repairs, or oppose a rent increase, knowing that they could lose their home. The government also failed to act on minimum standards for rental properties. This means more delays on improving living conditions for a huge number of renters living in properties that are virtually uninhabitable in a summer heatwave or a cold Canberra winter. Something to keep in mind in a few months time when we renters face "the winter of our discontent". The changes that did pass are sensible, incremental changes that will bring a bit of balance to the Canberra rental market. But you wouldnt know that from the hyperbolic reaction. Opponents made prognostications of widespread homelessness and the collapse of the rental market, as if the only thing standing between a property investor and financial ruin is the ability to stop a tenant from owning a cat. Such claims are "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". Better Renting is proud to have worked with the Tenants Union ACT and others to make sure that the voices and experiences of people who rent were acknowledged as part of this process. These changes are a small step in the right direction. But theres more work to do. It seems that renters will have to go "once more unto the breach". In Shakespeares As You Like It, the traveller Touchstone laments: "when I was at home, I was in a better place". The Bard knew the importance of a home. And people renting in Canberra do too. Renting should be a genuine alternative to home ownership. These recent changes havent made this happen yet. But they bring us a little closer. Joel Dignam is the executive director of Better Renting, a member of the Make Renting Fair CBR Alliance. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/a6232829-2cef-4c35-ab9a-27849aaad205/r0_293_5760_3547_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news At least three stalls at the Night Noodle Markets have been advertising for workers offering rates of pay well below the award rate, with one also attempting to take on a kitchenhand as a contractor. Wage theft appears to be evident at the stalls, with online advertisements for staff blatantly advertising pay rates at least $4 an hour below the minimum casual rate. Elana McLachlan was offered $20 an hour to work at the Pokky Poklol market stall, provided she had an Australian business number (ABN) and invoiced the stall for the work she did. Ms McLachlan, 25, applied for an ABN and was refused because the type of employment did not qualify for an ABN. A representative of the stall, who did not give his name, said the business was looking for chefs, despite the advertisement for hospitality staff, kitchen hands and chefs. "Most of our chefs are self employed, they bring their own equipment," he said. "We use a company called Sidekicker and they provide front of house staff for us." Ms McLachlan was told in a Facebook message from the stall that "all chefs/cooks/kitchen staff are sole traders". Sidekicker is a platform run by online careers giant Seek, where workers create a profile and can be connected with employers needing temporary workers. Unlike the workers contracted through Facebook ads, workers contracted through Sidekicker are employed by that company instead of the stallholders, and paid award rates. Ms McLachlan said she was happy to be paid $20 an hour as a single parent looking for extra cash. She said she had struggled to find hospitality work in the last month and there would always be people prepared to work below minimum wage. "Once I found out it wasn't the right thing, I was pretty angry to be honest. It was unfair to people like me who are hard working," she said. "I think that [businesses] know that there are people out there like me who'll just do it." Ms McLachlan said she struggled to find work because businesses preferred to employ junior staff and pay them less. An advertisement posted to Gumtree for casual staff by Donburi Station offered an hourly rate of $20. A man who answered the phone number on the advertisement said the minimum wage was $18.50 an hour. He did not provide his name. While the minimum hourly rate for a full time worker in Australia is $18.93 an hour, workers in the stalls are likely to be covered under the fast food industry award or the restaurant industry award, and would be paid at casual rates. The level one hourly rate for an adult casual worker under the restaurant award is $24.34 an hour, up to $29.21 on weekends. Under the fast food award, the minimum rate of pay for a casual worker above the age of 21 is $25.99 an hour, and $31.19 on Saturdays and $33.26 on Sundays. Gavin Ooi said workers at his Malaysian stall were paid a flat rate for each shift in a bid to prevent "bleeding the clock", where workers work slowly or fudge start and finish times. He said chefs are paid around $200 a shift, while other staff are paid $100 a shift. The market is open for four hours a night on weekdays, and six and a half hours on weekends. "It works out to be about $20 an hour. So thats what we do," Mr Ooi said. The flat rate works out more than $20 an hour on weekdays, but well below on weekends. Not all stallholders are underpaying workers, with another business owner saying he paid his staff by the fast food award. The stallholder said it was hard to compete with stalls who don't pay the correct rates, as they can charge less for their product in a crowded market. Wage theft is rampant, said Lyndal Ryan, secretary of the ACT branch of United Voice, the union covering hospitality workers. While some people do know what they're entitled to, many do not, she said. "More frighteningly, people know they're being underpaid but the attiude is if you work in hospitality of course you're going to be underpaid," she said Workers being asked to work as contractors is increasing as cash is used less, Ms Ryan said. "It's certainly something that drives underpayment. The thing is cash is drying up somewhat in the system so paying people out of the till is harder than it used to be. So people are looking to other means of achieving the same end." A spokeswoman for the Night Noodle Markets said people who knew of stallholders breaking the law should contact the organisers. "All stallholders at the Canberra Night Noodle Markets are contractually obligated by Fairfax Events to operate in a proper and professional manner, and comply with all laws in connection to the operation of their stall at the event," the spokeswoman said. "We take this issue seriously and if anyone has concerns about stallholder breaching the law then we encourage them to get in touch with us so that the matter can be addressed." The Night Noodle Markets are owned and run by Fairfax Events as part of the company's sponsorship of the Enlighten Festival. Fairfax Events is owned by Nine, publisher of The Canberra Times. A spokeswoman for Events ACT, which is responsible for the Enlighten Festival, said the festival should be run in accordance with the law. "The Canberra Night Noodle Markets are coordinated and delivered wholly and solely by Fairfax Events and the sponsorship agreement between EventsACT and Fairfax Events stipulates that Canberra Night Noodle Markets are conducted in a safe and professional manner, in accordance with all applicable laws," the spokeswoman said. Update: This article has been updated to reflect the difference in workers paid through Sidekicker and those paid separately. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/b1303b89-0ffd-413a-9250-e5376583bf0a/r0_230_4256_2635_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Most people probably dont give much thought into what it would mean to be an organ donor. Apart from the fact that you likely wouldnt be around to make the decision in the first place, the idea that the process of donations leading to life-saving transplants is simple and seamless is far from the reality. Holly Northam has clocked up more than 40 years as a nurse, and has spent a good portion of that time campaigning for more awareness of organ donation. And that goes for the medical profession, as well as the wider community. "Most of our health professionals have a very poor understanding of organ and tissue donation themselves," she says. "There are a few, but the problem is it's seen as a specialty area of practice." From the point of view of families who would otherwise be on the receiving end of such medical expertise, the question should be made relatively simple. Northam agrees that medical dramas on television have a lot to answer for this misperception, but shes made it her lifes work to bring real life as close as possible to the fictionalised ideal. These days, shes committed to educating the next generation of nurses through her senior role at the University of Canberra Hospital. She has also worked as the ACTs organ donor coordinator at the Canberra Hospital, and this year received the medal of the Order of Australia for her work. Canberrans, she says, are extraordinarily generous when it comes to organ donation - on par with Spain, which has the worlds highest rate at 85 per cent. But it was an experience long ago, as a junior nurse, that has stayed with her in her quest to normalise organ donation. She was caring for a young woman with cystic fibrosis, who needed a lung transplant. "I was caring for her when she went off to her year 12 graduation. She died soon after," she says. The young woman may still have been alive today had she had an organ transplant. "That was back in the very early 80s, and it was at a time when in the ACT, they only had just started to get the legislation in place for organ donation. "Back then it was seen as a very, very novel thing, and of course this young woman, who could have benefited from a lung transplant, never got it, and we would never have even thought about it in those spaces. "It really touched me, because she was young, she was healthy, she was beautiful, she was a very similar age to myself." Born in Papua New Guinea, where her father was a senior government official, Northam spent most of her childhood there. After the country won self-government in 1973, the family moved to Australia, and settled in Darwin. Just one year later, they lost their home and possessions in Cyclone Tracy, and moved again - this time to Canberra. She finished her final years of school here - she was a member of the "last sixth form" of Canberra High - and went on to study nursing. Although she had many other career opportunities, its a decision she has never regretted; she maintains that the work is never, ever boring. "We are the eyes, ears, nose and touch of the healthcare system, we're right at the interface, we get to see and hear everything," she says. But its at the interface between life and death that she feels the most privileged. A trained midwife, she has worked in pediatrics and palliative care, and sees many spaces ripe for improvement. "I ended up in the critical care environment, and I guess good quality care was very much a passion of mine," she says. After stints in NSW, Perth and even Washington DC, where her husband was posted, the family, by now with three children, returned to Canberra. Northam was just in time to do the last intensive care shift at the old Canberra Hospital before it closed. It was later, at what is now the Canberra Hospital, that she was put in charge of the organ donor program, which led her to further study in the area. Her work led her to various countries - England, America and Spain - to examine how they dealt with the issue of organ donation and end of life care. Spain's high level of organ donation is largely due to their opt-out legislative framework, which means in essence that the system is geared towards a default assumption that a family will choose to have a loved ones organs donated. The option is put to the family as a matter of course, and while a coroners approval is generally required, the coroner is given only a very small timeframe to respond to a request. The donation will go ahead regardless. But in Australia, families and doctors can go for days waiting for approval. "It takes a lot of negotiating to get a framework of positive support from the coronial system," she says. "It's a bit better now than it used to be, but there is still no onus of responsibility upon those staff to actually support the donation going ahead." Slow wheels of bureaucracy aside, Northam says whats really needed is the right level of communication when it comes to helping grieving families in desperately sad situations. "I have worked really hard to try and normalise the idea of organ and tissue donation after death, but really its about good quality end of life care, because if a person and their family receive really good communication and care, they're much more likely to feel comfortable, or may even offer to donate organs and tissue," she says. "I think that's a lot of the issue that we're faced with in Australia. We currently have a 65 per cent consent rate, but if a family are asked at the time that their loved one is dying or has died, we should be getting around 85 per cent consent. "As an educator, I see it as absolutely critical that we teach our health professionals how to have empathy and compassion for a family going through the experience of the dying of a relative, and support them in making a decision." The trouble, she says, is that the process is not a given. Families are not automatically given the option, and even if a family instigates a conversation around donation, the doctors involved are not always in a position to respond. "It's usually because people assume when they're asked, they've got a relative who's lying deceased, and looks like they're dead, whereas that's never really the case for organ donation. Usually they're on a ventilator, they will be pink and warm and look as though they're alive," she says. "If that family doesn't trust the system, or the doctor, or can't understand what's gone before because there's been poor communication, this is where I say it's actually the health professionals' responsibility." And while Canberras community is overwhelmingly generous when it comes to making decisions, the system needs to better enable and celebrate this trait. "It's about how to give really beautiful, wraparound care for our families, and for the people that we are faced with caring," she says. "And its about how we educate our health professionals to make sure that they've got the empathy and the compassion to manage those conversations even if they don't know the answers." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/8ea5bb78-10f8-4680-8980-3fc3813c8387/r0_28_3728_2134_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Published On Mar 01, 2019 08:00 AM By Raunak for Skoda Kamiq Both the SUVs are slated to come to India under Volkswagen Groups India 2.0 business plan and will be launched in 2020-21 Both the SUVs are likely to be showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo in February. Both will compete in the same segment; will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia SP2i, Nissan Kicks and Renault Duster. Kamiq is expected to launch first, in the second half of 2020, followed by the T-Cross. Both the SUVs share the same platform and powertrains, but are completely different in terms of styling. Volkswagen Groups next set of localised, made-in-India products will be compact SUVs from its two mainstream brands: VW and Skoda. Christened the VW T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq, these SUVs are global models and will be launched in India too. Both the SUVs are based on VW Groups MQB A0 platform (pictured below), which will be localised in India. Without further ado, let's take a look at their international spec sheets to give you a fair idea of what to expect. Dimensions: Brazil-spec Volkswagen T-Cross Euro-spec Volkswagen T-Cross Dimensionally, there are two versions of the T-Cross Euro-spec (2,563mm wheelbase) and Brazil-/China-spec (2,651mm wheelbase) unlike the Skoda Kamiq (2,651mm wheelbase). Of the two, India is expected to get the T-Cross with the larger wheelbase, so well compare the Brazil-spec T-Cross and the recently revealed Kamiq. Skoda Kamiq VW T-Cross (Brazil-spec) Length 4,241 mm 4,199mm (-42mm) Width 1,793 mm N.A. Height 1,531mm 1,568mm (+37mm) Wheelbase 2,651mm 2,651mm (0) Underpinned by the same MQB A0 platform, both the SUVs have an identical wheelbase. But the Kamiq is slightly longer than the T-Cross. The T-Cross, on the other hand, is marginally taller. Irrespective of these minor differences, both SUVs should have a comparable road presence. Features: Since both the cars are positioned similarly, we don't expect there to be a drastic difference in terms of features. Here's what's on offer globally. Lights: Both SUVs offer full-LED headlamps and tail lamps with LED elements. The Skoda, however, comes with a split setup at the front and also features dynamic turn indicators. Wheels: Both SUVs offer upto 18-inch wheels globally. The India-spec models are expected to get 17-inch alloys, just like other cars in the segment. Infotainment system and instrument cluster: While the Kamiq can be had with upto 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment displays, the T-Cross is available with upto 8-inch units. The India-spec SUVs are expected to get an 8-inch system in their range-topping variants. Both the SUVs feature a 10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster and the India-spec model should get that too. The digital instrument cluster also displays full-screen navigation maps. Pictured: VW's 8-inch unit Comfort features: Both SUVs have nearly the same set of features. Some of the highlights expected on the India-spec models are sunroof, dual-zone climate control and wireless Qi charging. Volkswagen T-Cross Skoda Kamiq Boot space: The Kamiq has a 400-litre boot which can be expanded to 1395 litres with the rear seats folded down. The VW T-Cross, on the other hand, features variable boot space, thanks to the sliding second-row seats. Depending on the position of the second row, the boot space of the T-Cross varies between 373 and 420 litres. Moreover, like the Kamiq, the rear seats also fold flat to expand the space further. The Kamiq has a 400-litre boot which can be expanded to 1395 litres with the rear seats folded down. The VW T-Cross, on the other hand, features variable boot space, thanks to the sliding second-row seats. Depending on the position of the second row, the boot space of the T-Cross varies between 373 and 420 litres. Moreover, like the Kamiq, the rear seats also fold flat to expand the space further. Safety features: The India-spec SUVs are expected to pack multiple airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), hill hold control, tyre pressure monitoring system and fatigue detector. Features like dual front airbags, ABS and reverse parking sensors will be standard. Engines: So far, Volkswagen Group has confirmed that its MQB A0-based cars will be powered by an all-new, locally manufactured 1.0-litre TSI turbocharged petrol. Available in two states of tune (95PS and 115PS), these SUVs are expected to get only the more powerful version. The 1.0-litre turbocharged engine is also available with a CNG fuel option overseas, which VW might consider for India too. Theres no clarity on the diesel engine for India as Volkswagen is rumoured to ditch its 1.5-litre TDI engine once BSVI emission norms are implemented in April 2020. The Euro-spec SUVs, however, get the option of a 1.6-litre TDI engine. 115 TSI 1.0-litre TGI Fuel Type Petrol CNG/Petrol Displacement 999cc 999cc Power 115PS @ 5,000-5,500rpm 90PS @ 4,500-5,800rpm Torque 200Nm @ 2,000-3,500rpm 160Nm @ 1900-3,500rpm Transmission 6-speed MT/ 7-speed DSG 6-speed MT Expected India launch and competition: Both the Kamiq and T-Cross will be launched in India in 2020-21. Both are expected to feature minor cosmetic changes for the Indian market and might look more rugged. The Kamiq is expected to launch first, around Diwali 2020, followed by the T-Cross. Both SUVs will compete in the compact SUV space and will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kias upcoming SP2i SUV, Nissan Kicks, Renault Duster and Captur. The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today reiterated during a U.S. Senate hearing the need to restore the original intent of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is to be a second chance and not a way of life. Secretary Perdues comments come on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishing in the Federal Register a proposed rule to move more able-bodied recipients of SNAP benefits to self-sufficiency through the dignity of work. The rule aims to restore the system to what it was meant to be: assistance through difficult times, not lifelong dependency. This proposed rule focuses on work-related program requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) and would apply to non-disabled people, between the ages of 18 and 49, with no dependents. The rule would not apply to the elderly, the disabled, or pregnant women. Those who are eligible to receive SNAP including the underemployed would still qualify. "Despite the absence of any statutory changes to the welfare reform legislation of 1996, an abuse of administrative flexibility in SNAP has undermined the ideal of self-sufficiency," proponents said. When then President Bill Clinton signed the legislation that instituted work requirements for ABAWDs he said, First and foremost, it should be about moving people from welfare to work. It should impose time limits on welfare... It [work] gives structure, meaning and dignity to most of our lives. During todays hearing, Secretary Perdue was asked about work requirements and his proposed rule. He said: What was accepted by the U.S. Senate and passed was the same bill thats been there since the beginning of the Welfare Reform regarding the work requirements of 20 hours per week. And what you also passed was not a prohibition, it was no change to the fact that in one section it says that the Secretary may waive that applicability and we plan to do that for the ABAWDs. We think the purpose is to help people move to independency We should help people when they are down but that should not be interminably. You all also provided for a 12 percent cushion for states that they could use for any purpose. But, we do not believe in states where unemployment is 4 percent that ABAWDs should be able to stay on food assistance interminably. A memorandum was sent from Representative Colton Moore to Georgia educators, administrators and xchool resource officers on Thursday asking for House Bill 179 to be heard by the House Education Committee. Click here to see the memorandum. A local woman is charged with TennCare fraud in connection with using another persons identity in order to obtain controlled substances. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) with assistance from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of Angela Walton, 50, of Chattanooga. Shes charged in a Hamilton County indictment with TennCare fraud for allegedly filling a prescription for a deceased TennCare enrollee, receiving pharmacy benefits she was not entitled to receive. TennCare healthcare insurance benefits are reserved for Tennesseans who are truly in need and this type of abuse isnt tolerated, Inspector General Kim Harmon said. We appreciate the healthcare providers, law enforcement officers and citizens who provide information about TennCare fraud. District Attorney General Neal Pinkston is prosecuting. TennCare fraud, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and identity theft are all Class D felonies punishable by up to four years in prison per charge. The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 3,073 people have been charged with TennCare fraud. Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982, toll-free, from anywhere in Tennessee; or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read Report TennCare Fraud. Dale Buchanan, retired disability attorney, passed away on Thursday, February 28, 2019 after a long battle with a lung disease. Dale was a native of Washington state. He graduated from Washington State University and entered the Marine Corps after graduating. He then entered Walter F. George, Mercer University law school after leaving active duty; graduating in 1975. He met Laurie; a native of Virginia, on a blind date at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They married soon after Lauries graduation and were able to celebrate a very short honeymoon before Dale was ordered to Southeast Asia just at the start of the Viet Nam war. Upon his return to stateside after 14 months, he was ordered to Camp Lejeune NC. Dales oldest son Eric was born at Camp Lejuene Naval Hospital shortly before Dale left for active duty. Dale was the youngest of nine siblings, all who predeceased him, as did his parents: Grace Little Buchanan and Edgar Mountain Buchanan. Dale is survived by Laurie, wife of 55 years; son, Eric Lane Buchanan (Margaret, Meg) of Chattanooga, daughter, Tracy Buchanan Ferguson (Guy) of Yorktown, Virginia; son, Michael Robie Buchanan (Amanda), of Signal Mountain. Dale is also survived by three beloved Granddaughters, Mandalin Hennessee, Dalis Ann Buchanan and Charleston (Charlie) Lucille Buchanan, also surviving: numerous nephews and nieces in Washington state and other parts West. Laurie and Dale moved to Signal Mountain in 1977 after having moved more than 10 times, including four times across the country. Dale at that time was an attorney for the Social Security Administration, and an Officer in the United States Marine Corps reserve. Shortly after moving to Chattanooga, Dale was appointed Commanding Officer of Mike Battery, Chattanoogas Marines where he served two years before being transferred to other Reserve units in Birmingham and Atlanta. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1983 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After eight years as an attorney for SSA, Dale and Laurie launched Dale Buchanan and Associates LLC. After a few lean years, the firm grew to be one of the premier disability firms in the Southeast, with offices in five cities. Both Laurie and Dale expressed that they missed meeting the many needful persons that they were able to help during the 30+ years they represented disabled persons. A Celebration of Life services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 209 at St. Timothys Episcopal Church on Signal Mountain with Father Derrick Hill officiating. Lunch to follow. The family will receive friends from 10-11 a.m. at the church prior to the service. In lieu of flowers please donate to the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. Arrangements are by Cremation Center of Chattanooga, 1345 Hickory Valley Road. (423) 362-5999. While John and Abbies engagement is playing out on Counting On as we speak, the pair has already been married for nearly four months. The adorable couple who broke all of the courtship rules seem to be desperately in love and are busy setting up their life together, but that doesnt mean they dont have a little downtime to plan a vacation. Where in the world are John and Abbie Recent snapshots clued fans into their current location. John, a pilot, and Abbie, a nurse, arent hanging out in Arkansas with the rest of the Duggar clan, and they arent in Oklahoma with Abbies family. Currently, the couple is checking out the sights in Finland, according to Us Magazine. Abbie and John are enjoying their second honeymoon in four months. This one in Finland is being filmed for TLCs Counting On. There is no word on when the honeymoon will air; however, if the past is any indication, fans will have to wait until next season to see what Abbie and John got up to in Finland. Where did the couple spend the days after their wedding? In true Duggar fashion, a private honeymoon generally follows the wedding, and a filmed honeymoon comes months later if the couple opts for a more exotic locale. Abbie and John married in early November, but they did make time to get away just the two of them before the holidays. ICYMI: John and Abbie went far north for their honeymoon! Click here to see their message! https://t.co/haSRp2uIKS The Duggar Family (@duggarfam) March 1, 2019 Abbie and John did not disclose where they were heading on their honeymoon. In fact, we know that shortly after Christmas, John was hospitalized. He has since recovered from his illness, and it appears he was cleared to fly out to Finland for their planned vacation. Why did the couple pick Finland? Abbie noted that the couples first honeymoon was beachy and relaxing, and now she wanted to take in some cold weather. Abbie is a huge fan of winter and cold weather, so Finland was a perfect choice. The couple was most likely hoping to catch the northern lights during their time in Finland, but whether they caught a glimpse or not wont be revealed until their honeymoon episode airs. Their European pick is in line with several of the other Duggar children who recently wed. Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth visited Switzerland following their 2017 wedding. Brother Joseph and his wife Kendra jetted-off to Greece to celebrate their nuptials, and most recently Josiah and Lauren Duggar visited Austria on their Honeymoon. Big Sister Jessa started the trend in 2015 when she, along with her husband Ben Seewald, spent her honeymoon in Paris. Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo, always the rebels, decided to spend their time together in Australia, according to People. What is next for John and Abbie? John and Abbie might be spending some time away in Finland, but it will be back to business as soon as they return home to Arkansas. John, who was recently elected as constable, will be splitting his time between his official duties and his piloting duties, according to In Touch. Abbie recently transferred her nursing license from her home state of Oklahoma to Arkansas, leading fans to surmise the new bride plans on continuing her career. Abbie continuing to work would completely breach Duggar etiquette. Meghan Markle might be expecting her first born child in just a few weeks, but the Duchess of Sussex hasnt slowed down one bit. In fact, the former actress just returned to the U.K after two whirlwind trips. The first to New York City where her close friends threw her a lavish baby shower and the second to Morocco where she and Prince Harry were on an official royal tour on behalf of the British government. Since Markle is used to an intense schedule and extremely early wake up calls, we have no idea if shes going to be able to relax during her maternity leave. We suppose only time will tell. This is what Meghan Markle is going to do while shes on maternity leave Right nowMarkle and Prince Harry are in the process of moving into their 10-bedroom mansion at Frogmore House which is roughly 45-minutes away from London. For now, before Baby Sussex makes their grand debut, Markle will be taking the time to put the final touches on her new home. The duchess will also use this time to rest and bond with her mom, Doria Ragland who is rumored to be flying to the U.K. soon so that she can be on hand to help the duchess with her bundle of joy. Mostly, Markle will be enjoying some much-needed peace and quiet. A source told HELLO!, Harry and Meghan will have plenty of privacy as Frogmore Cottage is located in the Home Park, which is off limits to the public. This means they can enjoy country walks, with Meghan able to push her buggy around the park without being snapped by photographers or members of the public. Will Prince Harry take paternity leave? Were not sure if Prince Harry will take paternity leave, but we wouldnt be shocked if the red-headed royal did. For now, the prince will be traveling back and forth from Windsor to London where his office is still based. However, we think that once Baby Sussex arrives, hell be huddled up with his wife and new baby away from the cameras. Whats Meghan Markles schedule post-maternity leave? Markle and Prince Harry are already planning an American royal tour for the Fall of 2019. The royal newlyweds had planned on visiting the States in the Spring of 2019, but since Markle is expecting their first child, theyve had to alter their plans a bit. Vanity Fairs royal correspondent Katie Nicholl shared that the tour is definitely on for the fall and the duke and duchess are set to visit the U.S. and Markles adopted home, Canada. Though the exact locations of the royal tour have yet to be announced, an insider told US Weekly, They are thinking [about visiting] New York, Washington, D.C., and California. Theyre working to finalize locations and venues. For now we are all awaiting Baby Sussexs arrival. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Prince Albert II of Monaco. well documented for his hard-partying bachelorhood, has now settled down, but his romantic life has long been of interest to the public. In fact, he was so notoriously opposed to relationships, that rumors swirled that he might possibly be gay. The p rince of the small island nation ended rumors when he married Charlene Wittstock in 2011. In 2014 the pair welcomed twins and suddenly Monaco had an heir apparent. While Prince Jacques Is currently the first in line for the throne, he isnt the first child born to Prince Albert II, in fact, he isnt the first born by a longshot. How many children does Prince Albert II of Monaco have? Prince Albert IIs relationship with Charlene Wittstock was a much-awaited courtship. The longtime playboys sexual preferences were heavily speculated about, even as he dated model after model and even fathered several children. The prince has four confirmed children, however there are rumors that there are more children in the world that he has fathered. The princes first known child is Jazmine Grace Grimaldi. Grimaldi was born in 1992 to Tamara Rotolo, an American. Rotolo filed a paternity lawsuit against Prince Albert II in 1993, but the prince denied paternity. It wasnt until 2006 that the prince acknowledges the paternity of his first-born child. A DNA test confirmed the announcement. The royal family then extended an invitation to Grimaldi to live and study in Monaco. She, however, does not have a royal title, according to Harpers Bizarre. In 2005 the prince was once again in the news when an Air France flight attendant announced the birth of a son, who she alleged was Prince Albert IIs child. Alexandre Costes paternity was confirmed in July 2005, just as Prince Albert II ascended the throne. Prince Albert went on to sue several news outlets for invasion of privacy, according to BBC. In 2014 Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene announced the birth of their twins. Princess Gabriella arrived two minutes before her brother Prince Jacques. Both children have been fashioned with royal titles. Prince Jacques is the heir to the throne. Prince Albert IIs rumored children What would a royal family be without a little bit of scandal? Prince Albert II is also rumored to have fathered a child with a topless model, and several other women. The paternity claims, however, have never been confirmed. Blood tests have not been ordered or have been outright refused by judges. PARIS, FRANCE FEBRUARY 21: Prince Albert II De Monaco and Segolene Royal attend the Fondation Prince Albert II De Monaco Evening at Salle Gaveau on February 21, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images) The most famous rumor revolves around the paternity of Bea Fiedlers child. Fielder, now 61, filed a paternity suit against Prince Albert II in 1987. While the prince submitted DNA to be tested, he did not provide the sample in front of a witness, causing many to believe the prince enlisted a friend to provide DNA. The childs paternity could be neither confirmed nor denied. Fielder, a former Playmate model, and German actress has contended that her child belongs to Prince Albert, although hes never acknowledged the child. Many believe that Fielders story is likely correct. After all, the prince refused to acknowledge his daughter for the first 14 years of her life. Why Doesnt Alexandre have a right to the throne? Monaco gives precedence to male children in the line of succession. As it stands, Prince Jacques is the heir to the throne, although he is nine years younger than his older half-brother and 21 years younger than his older half-sister. He is also two minutes younger than his twin sister. Neither Jazmin nor Alexandre have royal title and will never receive royal titles because they were born out of wedlock. The lack of a marriage between Alexandres parents ensure hell never be a rightful heir, although the now 14-year-old youngster has a well-documented relationship with his father. Its tragic enough that Princess Diana passed away so young. But now people are feeling nostalgic over the beloved royal family member all over again as her sons Prince William and Prince Harry are expanding their families. One thing most people agree on? Princess Diana would have loved her daughters-in-law. There are plenty of reasons to believe that Princess Diana would have gotten along well with Meghan Markle specifically. The two women might hail from different places and have unique interests, but they have a surprising amount in common, too. Meghan Markle | Phil Noble Pool /Getty Images Prince Harry knows they would have gotten along Few people knew Princess Diana better than her beloved sons. Thanks to his mothers influence, it wasnt likely that the Duke of Sussex would ever consider settling down with someone his mother wouldnt approve of. And Prince Harry knows she would have given Meghan Markle a vote of approval. Who could forget the touching moment when Prince Harry admitted that his mother would have been best friends with Meghan? Oh, theyd be thick as thieves, without question, Harry said during the BBC interview. I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, you know so excited for me, he said right after his engagement. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images Princess Diana and Meghan Markle have a lot in common Princess Diana grew up as a member of the aristocracy while Markle was born in Los Angeles under more humble circumstances. But Diana and Meghan went through the same difficult situation as children both women had parents who split up when they were young. Meghan Markle was two and Princess Diana was six when their families went through divorces. Diana, Princess of Wales | Bettman/Getty Images One other less-than-fortunate thing that Princess Diana and Meghan Markle have in common? They public is obsessed with them. Diana would surely be sympathetic to the way her daughter-in-law (and son) are being hounded by the media. It seems like every day theres another shocking rumor revealed about the Duchess of Sussex, her family, or her future. Princess Diana knew that life all too well. They are both fashion inspirations Princess Diana | Kypros/Getty Images) Even decades after her death, Dianas effect on the fashion world is still prevalent. Princess Dianas wardrobe will go down in history as one of the most timeless, classic, and copied ever. From her wedding gown to all those elegant, colorful suits, she was a true fashion icon. Meanwhile, Meghan Markle appears to be paving her own way through the fashion ranks. With a look thats slightly un-royal, Markle always looks elegant but also makes her own distinctive choices. Bold color combinations, off-the-shoulder tops, and sky high heels are all signature looks for Markle. Shes also known for wearing chic flats when the mood strikes. Meanwhile, everything she wears in public tends to sell out the next day. The same thing happened during Princess Dianas time. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage Both women are devoted to causes they care about Royal family members arent allowed to make public statements on political issues. But they can send subtle messages through their choice of charities. Meghan Markle is an ardent feminist and also believes in supporting environmental causes. Specifically, Meghan Markle is involved with Canadas World Vision Clean Water campaign, One Young World Summit, and UN Women. Meghan Markle | Ben Stansall WPA Pool/Getty Images) Theyre both proud to be mothers One thing so many people loved about Princess Diana was her deep love for her children. Meghan Markle is due with her first baby in early spring, and while she doesnt technically have experience yet, its clear shes thrilled to be expecting. Watching how Meghan Markle glows and her obvious excitement about becoming a mother indicates shell be just as enamored by motherhood as Princess Diana was. Princess Diana | Tim Graham/Getty Images Its sad that Princess Diana wont be around to enjoy her grandchildren. But at least her legacy and inspiration live on through her children. People have argued about whether Meghan Markle and Prince Harry should be together. Theyve debated on whether or not Markle is good enough to be a member of the royal family period. Even her family threw tons of shade in her direction to help dissuade the Prince from wedding her, an astounding and bewildering reaction. Markle still gets hate, not just from the public, but from her estranged family to this very day. But no matter what anyone says, Markle and Prince Harry really are a match made in Heaven. Markle is a strong independent woman Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Hannah Mckay Pool / Getty Images The Duchess of Sussex is known for being strong-willed and outspoken. Years as an actress have helped harden her exterior, allowing her to handle living in the public eye. While being a Duchess has come with an impressive amount of commentary from the masses, being a Hollywood starlet meant Markles name was already plastered all over tabloids. How does Markle show her strength? For one, she has done a fantastic job of dealing with the aggressive behavior exhibited by her family and strangers alike. She also hasnt been afraid to bend and break a few Royal rules showing she stands tall when it comes to her roots and what she knows to be best. Markle truly is a modern-day Duchess, one that isnt afraid to speak up. She may very well be the face of the future when it comes to the British Royal family. Her strong independent streak is one that makes her an amazing wife, will make her a fantastic mother and makes her more than suitable as an ally to charities and Patronages across the globe. She can use her platform just as good, if not better, than any British born royal! Shes also self-made The creator of #Suits said he would love to have Meghan Markle return for the final season, but the possibility of that happening is "pretty close to zero." We can dream, though. https://t.co/8Ug4aBREas E! News (@enews) January 30, 2019 The controversial Duchess gets a lot of criticism for doing things that a typical British royal wouldnt do. Those people seem to forget that she wasnt born in Britain, or into this lifestyle. Her upbringing was vastly different and she still exhibits behaviors that match up perfectly with a celebrity superstar. For some, her celeb extravagance and outspoken ways dont fit a royal, but for others, it just makes her a force to be reckoned with! Being a self-made woman means the Duchess of Sussex isnt afraid to work hard. When she was just 11-years-old, she convinced a company to change a commercial she thought was sexist. Let thank sink in. Before even becoming a teenager, she was strong, independent and ready to fight for what she believed was right! At first, Markle worked as a calligrapher to support herself in between acting jobs. Once she made her big break in Suits she was able to really throw herself into acting. She remained on the show between 2011 and 2017, only leaving when there were bigger and better things on the horizon. She did so wonderfully on the show that the producers begged her to come back, but at that point, she was already knee deep in royal duties. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex share common ground The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with @Chef_Moha and the children who were cooking this morning. The organisation enables children from under-privileged backgrounds to learn more about cooking traditional Moroccan food. #RoyalVisitMorocco pic.twitter.com/dbISu1WC7f Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) February 25, 2019 Its not just Markles amazing personality that makes her a perfect wife to Prince Harry and an intriguing addition to the royal family. The Duke and Duchess also have a few things in common, especially in regards to their pasts. When Prince Harry and the former Suits star met they bonded intensely over heartbreak. Both come from families where their parents divorced. Their similar struggles as children led to a level of understanding that wouldnt exist otherwise. The two are also very passionate about charity work, something easy to spot on the Kensington Royal Palace Twitter. Markle dabbled in philanthropy long before becoming a Duchess and Prince Harry has been an ally to many causes thanks to his upbringing. Both care deeply about children, education, the environment, and womens rights just to name a few. Meghan Markle and Princess Diana also have things in common Princess Diana changed royal fashion forever. We still see her style influence almost every day pic.twitter.com/dlxVsRXexj HELLO! Canada (@HelloCanada) February 25, 2019 The Duchess of Sussex also shared some similarities with Prince Harrys mother, Princess Diana. Its some of these similarities that leads Prince Harry to believe his mother would be ecstatic with his wife. Another thing that makes them a perfect pairing. Both the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales are fashion icons for their respective times. Similarly to her childhood connection with her husband, both had parents who opted for divorce during their formative years. Princess Diana was also not afraid to break the rules, just like Markle is today! In 1995 Diana released a statement, one that seems to match up perfectly with her daughter-in-law. I dont go by a rule book, because I lead from the heart, not the head, and albeit thats got me into trouble in my work, I understand that. These words that could have easily come from Markle, showing the two really would have been peas in a pod. The new Duchess definitely could have counted on Princess Diana to have her back and Prince Harry would have had his moms blessing in a heartbeat! I dont know if you guys have heard yet, but the Jonas Brothers are back and hotter than ever. On March 1, at midnight, they decided to drop a new music video on the laps of waiting fans. By waiting, we, of course, mean that devoted fans have been waiting for a reunion since their split up in 2013. Seeing how much Nick, Kevin, and Joe Jonas have matured might have you wondering a little more about the women that snagged them. Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle | Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic Nick Jonas is happily married to Priyanka Chopra. These two definitely make us swoon and cause us to set high relationship goals. Some have even speculated that Chopra was somehow behind the band getting back together. If so, we thank her. Joe Jonas has also found relationship bliss with actress Sophie Turner. According to Us Weekly, they are going to tie the knot in France in the summer of 2019. Kevin Jonas, on the other hand, is an old pro. He and his wife have been together for nearly a decade without a hitch. Its easy to see why this couple seems to be going so strong. They have plenty to be happy about. Lets dig deeper, shall we? They met in the Bahamas Kevin Jonas, the oldest of the bunch, met Danielle Deleasa in the Bahamas in 2006. During this time the Jonas brothers were at their peak, and girls were throwing themselves at the guys. He was smitten with her immediately, but she apparently didnt know who he was. In an interview, he admitted to some light stalking and said: It was kind of creepy. She probably shouldnt have stayed with me, but she did. The two were married in 2009. In the last 10 years of their marriage, they have been through a lot, including becoming parents, the break-up and reunion of the Jo Bros, and the start and end of their reality show. Who is Danielle Jonas? If you are trying to figure out who is Kevin Jonas married to, you are not alone. Her name has been coming up a lot lately with all the added publicity around the Jonas Brothers reunion. Seeing her in the new Sucker video has piqued even more interest in their relationship. Danielle Jonas is not only a busy wife, but she is also quite successful. She and her husband starred in the reality show, Married To Jonas. She is also finding success in designing jewelry. As if Danielle and Kevin dont already have enough on their plate, they are both parents of two beautiful little girls, Valentina and Alena. Kevin and Danielles family keeps growing Kevin and Danielle announced to the world they were parents to Alena, in 2014. We are overjoyed at the birth of Alena Rose Jonas, the proud new parents said after the birth. She is precious! We could not be more excited to start building our family together. We want to thank our family and friends for their love and support, and our fans for all of their well wishes. They told Eonline. In 2016 the couple welcomed the newest addition to their beautiful family, daughter, Valentina. Kevins brother, Nick Jonas, was the first to confirm the news on Twitter, when he tweeted, AHH! Im an uncle again! Congrats to my brother and sister in law on the birth of their new beautiful baby girl. @kevinjonas @daniellejonas. reported by ET. These two young sisters come from a very famous and talented gene pool. And, we cant help but wonder what the future holds for them and their famous family. Who knows, we might one day be reporting about the Jonas Sisters when they are older. UMC conservatives praise 'Traditional Plan' passage; 'white nationalist,' liberals claim Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment United Methodist conservatives praised their denomination for upholding a biblical understanding of homosexuality while a liberal group accused those 'Traditional Plan' supporters, which included many African delegates, of advancing a "white nationalist strain of Christianity." A United Methodist Church pastor at a North Carolina-based megachurch stated that he is delighted by the results of the denominations special session of General Conference, which upheld the Churchs stance against homosexuality and same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, delegates at the special session voted 438-384 in favor of adopting the Traditional Plan for resolving the UMCs years-long debate over sexual ethics. This plan involved maintaining the denominations official position against homosexuality, gay marriage, and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals while promising stricter enforcement. Pastor Talbot Davis of Good Shepherd UMC of Charlotte, which averages about 2,000 worshippers every Sunday, told The Christian Post that he supported the result. I am delighted that the Special General Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted the Traditional Plan as we believe in the beautiful picture of celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage that is woven throughout the pages of Scripture as well as church teaching for since its inception, said Davis. We gladly join with our global brothers and sisters in teaching this truth with as much love and winsomeness as we can. Davis also told CP that he believed the General Conference decision will not change anything about what we do at Good Shepherd, adding that the UMC has been living under the basic framework of the Traditional Plan all along. The Rev. Keith Mcilwain, pastor at Slippery Rock United Methodist Church in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, likewise expressed support for the decision. While I am sensitive to the pain and disappointment which many of my colleagues and friends are experiencing, I am optimistic about what was accomplished at General Conference, said Mcilwain to CP in an email interview. The Church once again reaffirmed her commitment to the ecumenical consensus of the last two thousand years, and firmly took her place in the global orthodox resurgence which is doing great things all over the world for the gospel. Mcilwain explained that his congregation was based in a college town and that his congregation of about 140 held diverse views on the human sexuality debate. Im hopeful that we can continue to work together for Jesus. We have a strong history in this congregation of loving one another deeply even when we disagree, continued Mcilwain. Delegates representing the global UMC met in St. Louis, Missouri on Feb. 23-26 to discern proposals for attempting to resolve the longstanding divisive debate over whether the Church should change its position on LGBT issues. Many progressive United Methodists voiced their support for The One Church Plan, which would have allowed regional bodies and local congregations to determine their own stance on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Despite the strong support for the One Church Plan among the Council of Bishops and other UMC bodies and clergy, delegates proceeded to vote the Plan down. Reconciling Ministries Network, an LGBT advocacy group that has long attempted to change the UMCs position on sexual ethics, released a statement on Wednesday denouncing the Traditional Plan as deeply unjust and painful. The Traditionalist Plan was passed by the efforts of organized opponents to gospel inclusion who have funded and promoted the demise of Christian witness across denominations who have dared to call out a white nationalist strain of Christianity, stated RMN. Delegates representing African UMC congregations were crucial to the success of the Traditional Plan and also the voting down of pro-LGBT alternatives. RMN also noted that they plan to "gather soon to determine the next steps in our continued advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people in The UMC." "There may be a traditional (divisive) plan, but by no means is our work abandoned. This is our Church. This is our Christ. This is our God," they stated. Canadian judge rules father has no parental rights to stop daughters male hormone injections Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A trans-identifying 14-year-old girl will be injected with testosterone despite her father's objections, a judge on the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled this week. The father's refusal to comply, the judge said, was tantamount to "family violence." As reported by the National Post, the child, known as "A.B.," has been at the center of a complex legal battle where her mother supports the medical transitioning that will end the child's natural puberty but the father does not. The mother has expressed concerns that her child might attempt suicide if the treatment is delayed. The totality of the evidence regarding A.B.s medical needs leads me to conclude that [her] hormone treatment should not be delayed further, the judge wrote. "While A.B.s father does not consent to the treatment, I am satisfied that A.B.s consent is sufficient for the treatment to proceed. The ruling states that the child, now in ninth grade, began identifying as the opposite sex at age 11, and that attempting to address the child by her birth name and female pronouns was an attempt "to persuade [Maxine] to abandon treatment for gender dysphoria; addressing [Maxine] by [her] birth name; referring to [Maxine] as a girl or with female pronouns whether to [her] directly or to third parties; shall be considered to be family violence under s. 38 of the Family Law Act. The child's father expressed his devastation late Wednesday in an interview with The Federalist. The government has taken over my parental rights, he said, Theyre using [A.B.] like shes a guinea pig in an experiment Is BC Childrens Hospital going to be there in five years when she rejects [her male identity]? No theyre not. They dont care. They want numbers. The National Post noted that the father "provided the court with supporting affidavits from Dr. Quentin Van Meter, a pediatric endocrinologist in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miriam Grossman, a psychiatrist in Airmont, New York, that discussed the potential harmful psychological and physical effects of gender transitioning on children." The Christian Post interviewed Van Meter in December 2018 about the drugs and therapies used to medically transition children. He said that a core of "diabolical" people have engineered a takeover of influential medical associations and have overhauled professional guidelines to now favor transitioning children with these hormone treatments. But they are misdiagnosing the problem, he said. "Every one of those [gender-confused] kids has an undercurrent of a psychological issue that is causing them to look for gender confusion as an outlet to explain how they feel," Van Meter said. "And what they need to do is find regular, routine, local counselors to go to and find out what the real issue is. And it may be painful because the parents might be involved unwittingly in creating an environment that is causing the anxiety and depression for their child." Yet the Canadian judge dismissed that evidence since they did not comment specifically on the case at hand and referred to the father's concerns as disingenuous when he said he wanted additional scientific evidence, noting some evidence suggests that he has been delaying proceedings as a way of preventing his [daughter] from obtaining the gender transition treatment that [she] seeks. Were gonna fight this right up to the Supreme Court of Canada, the father told The Federalist. Were not quitting. This case is but the latest example of where parental rights are clashing with increasingly entrenched transgender ideology. In November 2018, as CP previously reported, a Texas father found himself in the middle of a custody battle with his ex-wife who was pressuring their 6-year-old son into identifying as a girl. He was subsequently accused of abusive behavior for not supporting gender transition. In the couple's divorce proceedings the father allegedly engaged in non-affirming actions such as cutting the son's hair short. And in February 2018, Judge Sylvia Hendon in Hamilton County, Ohio, ruled that a 17-year-old should be removed from the custody of her parents due to their objections to transgender medicine and transferred to the care of the grandparents who were supportive of the treatments. Louisiana suspends abortionist's medical license, pro-lifer asks why 2 clinics hired dangerous doc Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Louisiana suspended the medical license of an abortion provider, stating that the disciplinary action was to safeguard the public health. The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners issued an order Tuesday to Dr. Kevin Govan Work, notifying him that his license would be suspended pending a final resolution through an administrative hearing. ... emergency action is imperative to safeguard the public health, welfare and safety, the boards notice said in part. Work had been performing abortions at two facilities, Delta Womens Clinic in Baton Rouge and Womens Healthcare Center in New Orleans. Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, sent a letter to the board on Feb. 19 demanding that Work was in violation of a probation order over past disciplinary actions. These included allowing other medical personnel to treat patients without his supervision, failing to document prescriptions controlled substances, and giving false sworn information to the board on his surgical operations at a medical facility. We would be surprised if the LSBME were to grant Dr. Work permission to work in outpatient abortion facilities, especially given his troubled history at outpatient abortion facilities, his failure to pass the Board Certification Examination in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and his own desire to pursue wound care, wrote Clapper. I am writing to inquire about this apparent contradiction between Dr. Works probation, his troubled history, and his current state of practice at these two outpatient abortion facilities. If Dr. Work is in violation of his probation, then we ask that swift action be taken by the LSBME to ensure that Dr. Work does not continue in his current capacity and that further disciplinary be pursued if appropriate. In response to the news of the suspension, Clapper released a statement on Wednesday expressing support for the boards decision. We applaud the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners for their prompt action in investigating Dr. Kevin Work and taking emergency action to protect the safety of the public. We look forward to learning more about the LSMBEs final action on this investigation, said Clapper. Clapper went on to question why the two abortion clinics would hire a doctor who had a history of disciplinary issues to perform procedures at their facilities. Did the abortion facilities review information about Dr. Work prior to hiring him? If so, did they inform their clients of Dr. Works history and probation status? continued Clapper. It appears Dr. Works presence is another indication that these abortion facilities are for-profit businesses willing to cut corners when it comes to the health and safety of their clients. On Feb. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked Louisiana from implementing the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where they perform abortions. The 5-4 decision to keep the state law from going into effect was celebrated by the abortion advocacy group Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed a lawsuit against the Act in 2017. The Supreme Court stepped in to protect our rights by blocking a clinic shutdown law just hours before taking effect in Louisiana. Next, we will ask it to hear our case and strike down the law for good, the pro-abortion group tweeted last month. She lived as 'Jake' for nearly 10 years before realizing it was all a lie Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment There was no way she was ever going to go back to being a female. She hated the thought of being a woman. Being a man was exactly who she was supposed to be. Or so she thought. Laura Perry was deep in the transgender lifestyle. She was taking hormones, legally changed her name to Jake, got a double mastectomy and had all her female reproductive organs removed. She was the happiest she had ever been in her life except she wasnt. I have everything I ever wanted and I was still depressed, Perry recalled Saturday at a conference called Gods Voice in Oklahoma. But she wanted so badly to erase the existence of Laura. Perry began fantasizing about being a boy early in her childhood. She felt unloved by her mother, who was a devoted Christian and very involved in church, and noticed her mother was more loving toward her more quiet and obedient brother. Her mother, Francine, had lost two boys before giving birth to Perry. So Perry always thought, Maybe mom wishes one of my brothers was still alive instead of me. I knew they had wanted three kids. If one of my brothers had lived, I probably wouldnt be here. I used to fantasize about being my brother. The tension in her relationship with her mother continued into her teens. Also during her childhood, she was molested at age 8 by her friends 9-year-old brother. Though it happened once, it really changed me I became so sexually addicted. She was sexually active as a teen but she found herself getting dumped by all the boys. I began to feel jealous because I felt they (boys) had all the power they were in control, she recalled, pinpointing another reason she wanted to be a man. It was at 16 that she became angry with God for making her a girl. She vowed to never serve Him again and ran far from God. In 2007, Perry, who was addicted to both sex and porn by then, began the process of transitioning. She first had to get a letter from a licensed psychologist in order to receive hormone treatments from her doctor. That was the law then, though the laws continue to change, Perry noted. She wasnt interested in receiving counseling. All she wanted was the letter. When the psychologist pointed out that Perry had serious issues with her mom, Perry immediately reacted with anger and said she did not want to talk about it. So the psychologist just ended up handing her the letter. Thinking back on that moment, Perry wonders, Im so sad looking back she didnt try to counsel me. Why didnt she realize that thats (issues with her mom) where a lot of this was? Once she started on hormone treatments, the first couple years of being a man was absolute bliss. Thats usually the case for most people at the beginning of their transitioning journey. But studies dont ask them 10 years later how happy they are, Perry noted. She was in a relationship with another transgender (male to female) person and together they attended LGBT pride events and support group meetings and were free to be who we are. But they stopped going to the pride events because the people hated her partner, who was a rare conservative in the LGBT community, and saw him as a traitor. They also stopped attending the support group meetings about a year later because we were more depressed when we left than when we got there, she said. We thought these people are the most depressed people in the world. We could not see the connection that it was because transgenderism will lead to depression because its not real. It is a lie from the pit of Hell. You cannot change your gender. Its just not biologically possible. Two years after her hormone treatments, she got a double mastectomy because she still wasnt feeling like a man yet and felt the surgery would help take care of that. She returned to work a month later after the surgery but her boss, a lesbian, confronted her, saying, I dont know whats wrong with you but youre depressed, youre moping around, youre not working as hard I want the old Jake back. That comment shocked Perry. She thought she was happy, especially after making all the changes to transition. But all I had done was change the outside of my body. It didnt change anything and it was devastating. I wanted it so badly. I remember feeling like Satan had revealed his hand to me and he began to gloat: You fell for this. What are you going to do now? She realized that it was all a lie and that she couldnt really be a man but at the same time, she really didnt want to be a woman. Eventually, Perry ended up getting all her reproductive organs removed. I thought maybe another surgery, maybe another month of hormones there was always this elusive freedom out there that I was going to have one day, this elusive happiness out there. But it never came, she testified. Even though I realized it was a lie, I wanted so badly to erase the existence of Laura. I didnt want to be a girl. I realized I couldnt be a man but I didnt want to be a girl so I resolved to just live life somewhere in between. What had promised to be freedom for me had become my prison cell and I was in bondage to this lie I had believed. During all this time, her mother had been praying for her with dozens of other women. Though Francine wanted to try to fix the situation herself, she heard God speak and decided to surrender it all to Him. Her heart toward her daughter softened in the process. Instead of viewing Laura Perry as a rebellious kid, Francine began to see her as a victim of the enemy. Later, Francine hired her daughter to design a website for the womens Bible study she had been leading. Perry began to listen to all the Bible studies as she built the site and thats when the Word of God began to penetrate her heart. Over the next few months, she found herself calling her mom (which she had rarely done) every day and asking her questions about Scripture. One day, she called Francine, crying and telling her something dramatic had happened at work. Her moms response shocked her. She said, Honey, you just need to trust the Lord. That blew me away. I never heard her say that. Usually she says heres what you need to do. I said what happened to you because you are not the mother I grew up with. She told me how shed been changed by the Holy Spirit I saw the transformation in my mother. When I did it was at that moment that I knew the Gospel was true Christ was alive and there was a transforming power that I had never known, Perry recalled. That night, I gave my heart to Jesus, she said to amen's from the conference crowd. She was sincere in her faith and began sharing about Jesus with her co-workers. At the same time, she remained as Jake. I was saved in 2014 but I wanted to be a man of God, she said. She began listening to various Bible teachings on the radio and online. Thats when God began to reveal the insanity of transgenderism to her. When she heard her favorite Christian leader, Everett Piper, say on Talk Radio 1170 people are not made up of their instincts, inclinations, feelings or desires and that they can choose their behavior despite how they feel, she was cut to the core. I knew it was a choice, Perry recalled thinking. God really began to convict me and I no longer wanted to be transgender. But I tried to convince myself that I was a man. I grasped at straws. I tried to think of everything I was so desperate, I didnt want to be a woman. I hated the thought of being a girl because of all those guys in high school who made me feel like it was a dirty, useless, worthless thing to be a female. She tried to put off transitioning back to Laura, even making the excuse that Jesus will return soon and take her up to Heaven. But when her mother told her she had been studying about the judgment seat of Christ and having to give an account for ones life, thats when Jesus whispered in Perrys ear: If you stood before me tonight, what name would I call? I knew He was not going to call me Jake, she thought as she felt condemned. You cannot claim to love me and yet reject my creation, she recalled Jesus telling her. I thought He was condemning me to Hell but in that moment, in the most loving voice, He said let me tell you who you are. I was already defined. I was out there trying to find who I was. You are already defined. What if I hang on to this identity I want so bad and I end up in Hell, far away from God? Fearful, Perry begged God to take her life. Thats when Jesus got down on one knee and asked her, Do you trust me? she testified. She took His hand and said she did. Though she did not die in the way she intended, she died to her identity as Jake in 2016. She sobbed for three days and three nights. Her future was uncertain and she did not know God could or would ever use her. Perry then showed up at her moms Bible study and was overwhelmed by more love and more joy that I had ever felt in my life from the women who had been praying for her. They told her that she had given them hope for their own prodigal children. My heart was radically transformed in that moment. I knew for the first time as far as I can remember that I was not meant to be a man, she testified. I cannot explain to you how I had the power to walk out of that lifestyle but it was the power of Jesus Christ. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment This week the Supreme Court heard arguments about a large memorial cross on a busy highway in Bladensburg, Maryland. The American Humanist Association argues that it is an assault on the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The Bladensburg Cross was built primarily by a group of mothers after World War I who mourned the loss of their sons in the Great War. Forty-nine men from Prince Georges County in Maryland are memorialized on the cross which was built in their honor in 1925. Later a highway was constructed that passed the cross, making it widely visible. Jeremy Dys, Deputy General Counsel of First Liberty Institute, which is defending the cross before the Supreme Court said in an interview for our television program: They mimicked the design of the gravestones that their sons were buried under in Europe. And so it stood there without any complaint until about five years ago when some atheist groups got together and decided that the presence of that memorial on public property is offensive in violating the Constitution. The Fourth Circuit has agreed with them. The Humanists website states, the longer a constitutional violation like this persists, the greater the harm to non-Christian residents forced to encounter the cross year after year. Does the Constitution mandate that the cross be torn down? An honest look at our history shows the atheists are the ones out of step with our traditions, as opposed to the 84 percent of Americans who support that cross. Was the establishment clause violated when: The Constitution was signed in the Year of Our Lord (as in Jesus)? George Washington became the first president under the Constitution, and was sworn in on the Bible, which he leaned over and kissed? Then in his First Inaugural Address in New York City, he mentioned his gratitude to God repeatedly. Then he led the cabinet and the Congressional members and Supreme Court justices over to St. Pauls Chapel for a two hour Christian worship service, which included communion, in which he also partook. The same men who gave us the First Amendment hired chaplains for the military and chaplains for the House and Senate? This practice has been challenged, all the way up to the Supreme Court, but SCOTUS ruled in favor of the chaplains (1983)---since such a practice predated the Constitution itself. Jefferson approved and regularly attended the Sunday morning Christian worship services held in the U. S. Capitol building as president? Jefferson even made a suggestion or two on potential preachers for pulpit supply. James Madison also regularly attended those services when he was president as well? These last two facts are significant because if the ACLU and the American Humanist Association and their ilk had patron saints, they would be Jefferson and Madison. President Abraham Lincoln called for the annual holiday of Thanksgiving (to God), which we continue to celebrate year after year? He also called for a day of prayer on March 30, 1863, in which he declared: It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God . . . and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. FDR issued copies of the New Testament and the Psalms to servicemen in World War II? He also gave out a Jewish version which had passages from the Old Testament. He wrote: As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. I have copy of one of these New Testaments. It was my dads, who served in the Navy in World War II. And on it goes. Joseph Story, a Harvard Law professor and Supreme Court Justice in the early 1800s, wrote a massive commentary on the Constitution. He said about the First Amendment: An attempt to level all religions, and to make it a matter of state policy to hold all in utter indifference, would have created universal disapprobation, if not universal indignation. Yet thats exactly the false interpretation of the First Amendment that the humanists are demanding. What the American Humanist Association and the ACLU and the Freedom from Religion Foundation are trying to do is to remake America into something the settlers and founders of this nation never intended it to be---a secular wasteland. Perhaps Ike said it best. In 1955, President Eisenhower said, Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the firstthe most basicexpression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be. 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 Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I still find it hard to shake that image of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York legislators ghoulishly celebrating the signing of a bill that could allow the killing of babies right up to the point of birth for any reason. Then, just days later, a Virginia legislator introduced a similar bill. And now-disgraced Governor Ralph Northam defended it on live radio, implying that babies with disabilities could be left to die after birth if the mother so chose. Thank God the Virginia assembly shelved that idea. What you may not have heard is that legislators in Rhode Island, Vermont, New Mexico, and Illinois are preparing similar no-restriction abortion laws. Lets be clear. Something is happening here. This is a crucial moment. In addition to demonic activity, its clear that radical abortion advocates are motivated by fear that the Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe v. Wade. They want to ensure their states will allow abortion at any time for any reason. Christians, who believe that human life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death, need to answer this new flurry of threats to life. We must put our prayers, skills, resources, and time to work on behalf of the most vulnerable victims in our society. Which is why I want to tell you about a new campaign just launched by my friends at Focus on the Family. Its called See Life Clearly. The very first thing to do is to sign their statement A Declaration for Life. As Focus on the Family President Jim Daly announced recently, the See Life Clearly Campaign will culminate on May 4 in New York City. On that date, Lord willing, Focus on the Family will broadcast live 4-D ultrasound images on a massive digital marquee in Times Square in the heart of New York City. The event will also be simulcast worldwide. Theyre calling it Alive from New York you might catch the reference. In other words, in the heart of Manhattan, where the nations most radical and cruel abortion law is now in effect, people will see with their own eyes that what the abortion movement so often hides as a choice or a clump of cells is indeed a precious life. One way you can support this effort is to put your name to A Declaration for Life. You will be affirming that you believe that abortion is the taking of a human life, that science and Scripture affirm that life in the womb should be protected at every stage and is wonderfully and fearfully made, that with these new laws our states have reached a tragic new low point, and finally, that abortion is incompatible with the virtues of compassion, freedom, and equality that characterize a just society. Now, its a good and vital thing to sign your name to make a public declaration that you support human life in the womb. In fact, its a great thing. But the Declaration for Life asks us to make an additional commitment: to WORK to defend life in the womb. All of us who sign the Declaration are committing: 1) to advocate for pro-life legislation at the state level, including a ban on late-term abortions and those targeting babies on the basis of disability, sex or race; 2) to promote the end of government funding of the abortion industry; 3) to vote for candidates who respect the sanctity of life; 4) to urge the appointment of constitutionalist judges who will protect the fundamental right to life; 5) to support both women in unplanned pregnancies and their babies through the good work of Pregnancy Resource Centers; 6) to encourage and promote the beauty of adoption; and 7) to pray fervently for a nationwide reawakening to the value and sanctity of every human life. Until that day comes, the Declaration concludes, we will push back against the culture of death. This is the moment we unite with one voice and proclaim, No more. Amen. Ive already signed on. I hope you will do so as well. And while youre at it, consider joining us for the Alive from New York event May 4 in Times Square. Come to BreakPoint.org, click on this commentary, and I will link you to A Declaration for Life. Resources A Declaration for Life Petition website The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture, Scott Klusendorf | Crossway Publishing | 2009 Originally posted at Breakpoint. Weekly briefing: Methodists homosexuality, R rating, Gospel for Asia Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment We've compiled the top stories of the week. Here's what you need to know: United Methodists reject push to allow same-sex marriage The United Methodist Church voted this week to reject a plan that would have opened the way for same-sex marriage and openly gay clergy. Fifty-three percent of the delegates from around the world chose to maintain the denominations position that homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching. Conservative Christians gave credit to delegates from Africa for preserving the churchs stance on homosexual behavior. Some are now expecting a large split as a result of the vote, as many liberal Methodists have already vowed to leave. Meanwhile, the denominations top court is scheduled to review the constitutionality of the Traditional Plan in April. Pro-life film get R rating due to abortion scenes To the surprise of its filmmakers, Unplanned, based on the true story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, has been given an R rating by the MPAA. We dont have nudity, we dont have sex, we dont have language. So the only thing that [the MPAA] could give us an R for is violence so that means that they agree that abortion is a violent and disturbing act, said actress Ashley Bratcher. We would like for teens to be able to go by themselves to the theater because they can go in many states and have an abortion without parental consent, as young as 13, but they cant go see this movie without parental consent. Gospel for Asia reaches $37 million settlement Gospel for Asia reached a settlement with those who accused the ministry of fraud and financial mismanagement. After being hit with a lawsuit in 2015, the ministry announced a settlement of $37 million in donation refunds. GFA maintains that there was no wrongdoing, noting that there was no improper personal gain. The parties in the lawsuit agree that all donations designated for use in the field were sent to the field. But the ministry said it chose to settle in order to move forward with its mission. Findings released from independent review of Bill Hybels, Willow Creek After six months of review, the Independent Advisory Group concluded that allegations of sexual misconduct against former pastor Bill Hybels are credible. Among the findings, the group said that Hybels initiated relationships with the female staff members and that there was inappropriate language, sexual innuendo and lax use of alcohol among staff, including Hybels. It also made a series of recommendations including having a hotline to report misconduct and establishing standards on appropriate staff behavior that would help Willow Creek Community Church and Willow Creek Association deal with such matters in the future. Senate blocks Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act Senate Democrats again blocked a bill meant to protect the life of babies that survive an abortion attempt. President Donald Trump called the vote shocking and pro-lifers maintain that the Democratic Party has gone extreme on abortion. All six Democratic presidential candidates voted against the act. Pray for Haitians amid violent riots Christian families in Pakistan who had to flee as Muslim mobs attacked their neighborhood New releases Albums: Brand New Day by 7eventh Time Down (March 1) City of God by The Cashmans (March 1) Books: The Love of Loves in the Song of Songs by Philip Graham Ryken (Feb. 28) 7 Myths about Singleness by Sam Allberry (Feb. 28) The Prayers of Jesus: Listening to and Learning from Our Savior by Mark Jones (Feb. 28) Independent Advisory Group says Bill Hybels should receive counselling An independent group convened to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Hybels, founder of the Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, called them "credible" and recommended counseling for him as well as a raft of changes to improve the organizational culture at the church and Willow Creek Association, rebranded as the Global Leadership Network. The recommendations were among 15 suggestions as well as a list of conclusive points made by the Independent Advisory Group in a 17-page report released by the church's new elder board on Thursday. "Our desire is to move forward into this new season with transparency, acknowledging that truth coming to light can oftentimes be difficult and painful," the board said in a statement released with the report. The report, which paints Hybels as a flawed, hard to contain, charismatic leader, comes 10 months after his premature resignation from the multicampus megachurch on April 10, 2018. "Bill Hybels verbally and emotionally intimidated both male and female employees. Over multiple decades, the Willow Creek Community Church boards were unable to provide effective oversight of Bill Hybels," the four-member IAG concluded on Feb. 26, six months after the group first convened last August. Hybels was forced to resign as lead pastor at Willow Creek Community Church after an extensive investigation published by the Chicago Tribune in March 2018 detailed a pattern of sexual misconduct allegations. Hybels denied a number of the allegations, including a consensual affair with a married woman who retracted her claims. The Tribune report also alleged a pattern of behavior against Hybels that includes suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss, and invitations to some female staffers to hotel rooms. Initial investigations commissioned by the church could not substantiate the allegations and the church's leadership staunchly defended Hybels. In an about-face after the scandal snowballed into a national story, Pam Orr, former chair of the church's elder board, apologized to Hybels' accusers and said after listening to some of them, "we do not believe the stories were all lies." The group of investigators that conducted extensive interviews included: Jo Anne Lyon, general superintendent emerita of The Wesleyan Church, Indianapolis, Indiana; Margaret Diddams, provost of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois; Gary Walter, past president of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Chicago; and Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals in Washington D.C. The group concluded that the collective testimony of Hybels' victims is credible. "The credibility of the allegations is not based on any one accusation or accuser but on the collective testimony and context of the allegations. The credibility of the allegations would have been sufficient for Willow Creek Community Church to initiate disciplinary action if Bill Hybels had continued as pastor of the church," they said. In reviewing the allegations against Hybels, the IAG suggested that the church "should not take further action" against him since he is "retired and is no longer a pastor or employee of Willow Creek Community Church" and "the church no longer has disciplinary jurisdiction or authority." The investigators also noted that even though Hybels' leadership flaws negatively affected his ministry at Willow Creek and the WCA, his work also resulted in blessings. "While there may be negative residual effects in the corporate culture of WCCC and the WCA, the corporate culture issues were primarily related to the presence and leadership of their shared founder and are not necessarily pervasive in the future of the church and association," the IAG noted while laying the dysfunction in the two ministries on Hybels' shoulders. "Some may choose to discount or discredit the past blessings of God on Willow Creek Community Church, the Willow Creek Association, pastoral leadership, past elders and Bill Hybels because of specific words and actions in 2018 and before. Mistakes and sins should not be denied or forgotten but neither should God's blessings and the faithfulness of God's people," the group urged. Hybels benefits from a legally binding retirement agreement initiated in 2012 with the Willow Creek Community Church that will conclude in 2020, the report revealed. The IAG recommended that he return "any possible financial resources" that were provided to him by the church or the WCA to support his ministry after his retirement agreement has ended. He was also urged to seek independent counsel at his discretion to address his failings highlighted in the report. "The counsel sought should be outside of WCCC and the WCA. This should be at his discretion, with his initiative and at the time he chooses," the IAG said. The group further suggested that Willow Creek design and make available a reconciliation process to provide hope and healing for broken relationships. The church was also encouraged to create criteria to provide financial assistance for counseling or other resources for women and men who were directly harmed by their interactions with Hybels. It was also suggested that Willow Creek should maintain a third-party off-site hotline to report misconduct with reports going to the elders or a designated committee of the elders and to a staff department designated by the elders, among other things. In their statement on the report Thursday, Willow Creek's elder board noted that every effort was made to ensure that the investigation was truly independent. "None of the four members of the IAG worked for or had formal ties to Willow Creek Community Church or the WCA. The IAG did not seek direction or opinions from Willow Creek Community Church or the WCA in this process. The expenses for the work of the IAG were funded by an external anonymous donor, and IAG members were not compensated for their time. Their work was truly independent," the elders said. "As a new Elder Board, we ask for your prayers and patience as we process this report and prepare appropriate responses and actions. We commit to honor and respect the work of the IAG and the entirety of their report," the elders continued. "While we cannot change the events of the past, we grieve what has happened, ask for forgiveness, and commit ourselves to pursuing healing and reconciliation." Responding to the release of the report Thursday, the WCA also noted in a statementthat they were grateful for the work of the IAG and would be reviewing the recommendations over the next few days. "We receive and accept the conclusions and counsel shared with humility, and with a desire to live into the next steps outlined in the report. We regret the pain that has been caused by past mistakes and believe these directives and information can offer a way forward that allows for acknowledgement, amends and healing," the organization said. "Our plan is to spend the next few days in reflection, processing and prayer on the recommendations included in the report in order to determine appropriate next steps and direction that we will communicate to our staff, partners and broader community," the statement added. Courtesy of The Christian Post Petition launched to protect free speech after street preacher's arrest goes viral A petition calling for the protection of free speech in Britain has been launched after video footage of a street preacher being arrested went viral. Oluwole Ilesanmi has since been released and no further action is being taken against him by police but his arrest outside Southgate tube station in London has raised questions about free speech rights. He was arrested over a 'breach of the peace' after a member of the public told police that he was making 'Islamophobic' comments. The actions of the arresting officers were defended in a statement from the Borough Commander sent to David Burrowes, former MP for Enfield Southgate and co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. 'Officers attempted to speak with the man to explain why they had been called and advised him that he should leave the area. The man refused to leave and a decision was made to arrest him in order to prevent a breach of the peace,' the statement said. A Christian preacher this afternoon was arrested at Southgate station London N14 for preaching about Jesus . @CConcern the police told him its because public had said he was being islamophobic . We have the full video and wondered when preaching was now illegal ? @Campaign4T pic.twitter.com/ZxC1DhlZCf EyeOnAntisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) February 23, 2019 'He was escorted from the area and once it became apparent that he would not return, he was de-arrested. No further action was taken against him. 'I know you are concerned about freedom of expression and you mention your own role in your church. The Met respects and upholds the rights of all individuals to practice freedom of speech,and this includes street preachers of all religions and backgrounds. 'In this instance, officers were responding to a call where a member of the public had raised concerns about his language. If an incident reported to us is perceived as being a potential hate crime, it is only right that we investigate. 'That is the role of the police, even if a decision is subsequently made that their actions are not criminal. In this case, it was deemed appropriate to remove the man from the area.' A complaint made about the police's treatment of Mr Ilesanmi is being investigated by the borough's Professional Standards Unit. Despite his arrest, Ilesanmi has vowed to continue street preaching. Reflecting on his ordeal, he said: 'I was never given the opportunity of spreading the Gospel...the police came on the scene...I was taken out of the vicinity into a very remote place.' He continued: 'I was thinking I would not even be able to get back but God raised up for me...people in the streets who could even be of assistance to me and I thank God that I came back and I started preaching again.' A petition has been launched by Christian Concern calling for an urgent review after a spate of arrests of street preachers in recent years. 'Sadly, this is not the first time that Christian street preachers have been arrested in the UK,' the petition reads. 'At the Christian Legal Centre, we have helped many street preachers who have been arrested, and in some cases faced criminal charges. Tony, Josh, Dominic, Bill, Rob, Mike, Michael and Adrian, Ian, Daniel, David, Stephen and many others have had their names cleared because of our help. 'We are concerned about the actions of some police officers, and we're calling on the UK's Home Secretary to launch an urgent review to ensure that the police are trained to act within the law.' What rights do the children of Islamic State have under international law? The case of Shamima Begum, the British teenager who, aged 15, left her home in London and travelled to Syria to join Islamic State, is not a one off. It's now reported that a number more women who left the UK to live in the Islamic State caliphate are now in refugee camps in Syria. The UK dealt with the Begum case by stripping her of citizenship, a measure only possible because she appears eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship through her parents despite a denial of this by Bangladesh. While the UK may hope this action absolves it of responsibility for Begum, the wider problem hasn't gone away. It's unlikely that all of the other British women and girls involved in Islamic State will have dual citizenship. This makes it impossible to side step the difficult questions around how to deal with them by removing their citizenship as rendering a person stateless contravenes international law. The children of these women and girls such as Begum's new baby boy, born in a Syrian refugee camp were born to British citizens. This means they fall under the jurisdiction of the UK, raising further issues around how the UK will ensure the children's international legal rights and fulfil its international legal obligations. Child soldiers Under international standards, there's a strong case that girls who joined Islamic State before they turned 18 were, in fact, child soldiers. The 2007 Paris Principles, formally endorsed by 105 states worldwide, including the UK, define a child soldier as: Any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities. These girls may not fit the stereotypical image of the child soldier as small, vulnerable, and forcibly abducted from their home by ruthless warlords and forced to fight. But they travelled to join Islamic State after being radicalised and recruited through the internet and social media machinery of a brutal terrorist group. Since then, many will have been sexually exploited by that group as the "wives" of Islamic State fighters, bearing multiple children, while still children themselves. Applying the definition of the Paris Principles, they can be considered child soldiers. International law, under Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Article 6 of the Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict, advocates approaching children who commit crimes while associated with armed groups as victims, with a focus on restorative justice and social reintegration. It's those who recruit and use children as soldiers who should be prosecuted, as these actions constitute war crimes under international law. Such an approach would require the UK to take all appropriate measures to promote the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of former child soldiers, including any children associated with Islamic State, in an environment which fosters health, self-respect and dignity. The situation becomes more complex when those concerned are no longer children, as the international legal protections cease to apply when the age of 18 is reached. This means that those such as Begum who spent the majority of their time with Islamic State as children, but are now adults, now fall outside the legal regimes protecting children. Children born of Islamic State Still, the international legal protections of the CRC will continue to apply in the cases of many of the children born to women and girls who are British citizens. The UK is under binding, legal obligations to consider the best interests of these children, to ensure their rights to life, survival and development, to be legally registered with a name and nationality. As far as possible, they have rights to know and be cared for by their parents, and to the highest attainable standards of health and education. It seems unlikely that the best interests of these children will be served and their rights ensured if they are left in refugee camps or at the mercy of the Syrian state. Difficult questions remain over what can and should be done with girls who joined Islamic State and their children. Other countries, such as Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka and Colombia, haven't had the luxury of washing their hands of the thousands of child soldiers, and the children born to them, whose actions during conflict were unlawful, socially destructive and morally reprehensible. Instead, they have worked within international frameworks to find solutions that have incorporated disarmament, demobilisation, rehabilitation, reintegration and education. The UK may have dodged the Begum issue through the removal of her citizenship, but the real challenges around how to respond to child soldiers without dual nationality and how to ensure the rights of the children born to Islamic State "wives" have yet to be addressed. Alison Bisset, Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law, University of Reading, University of Reading This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said they were "thrilled" to announce that Balmorhea State Park's spring-fed pool is open once again after months of repairs. The pool was shut down indefinitely in May after officials noticed serious structural issues and damage to the concrete apron under the diving board. Even though she excels at many art genres, Elena Armendariz has a specialty: hyperrealism. In fact, her colored pencil drawing, which was chosen to go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this year, garnered her a best in show award. It took about a month, month and a half to do, she said of her drawing, which consists of two donkeys. Ive entered every year, and the best Ive gotten before now was runner-up. I was worried Id graduate and never win; so it was really, really nice to feel like all my hard work paid off this time. Armendariz said that the secret to hyperrealism is time, patience and lots and lots of layering. It really comes down to the details, she said. You have to really carefully layer the colors youre using. Its a superintense style because you have to have a lot of focus. I think thats why I like it. The 17-year-old Deer Park High School senior said that her art teacher, Kate Harrel, visited a ranch before the assignment and took photos for reference material to hand out to her students. Detailed study of a nosy donkey They were beautiful pictures of the animals and the land, and one of them really caught my eye, said Armendariz. It was a photo of these two donkeys. One of them was very close to the camera and one was off in the distance, and I loved it. The one closest to the camera looks curious, almost like hes being nosy and in your business. You can see all of the detail in his fur and his eyes. Then the other one, the one further away, was a little more out of focus, so by choosing this for reference material I got to try to capture that look. The work would likely seem daunting to most people, but not to Armendariz. I love illustrating eyes, she said. Making them glossy, all the layering thats involved and then when youre done it looks like a real photograph I love the intensity of drawing something like that. Apart from her natural ability, the student said that much of her focus comes from people helping her to cultivate her interest in art people like her family and Harrel, who was also her junior high art teacher. Ms. Harrel was a junior high art teacher and moved up to high school. So, Ive gotten to have her for several years, Armendariz said. Shes very knowledgeable and encouraging. Shes very hands-on, and gives us constructive criticism. When you draw something, its natural, I think, for you to see your own flaws in the work. But she points out what you did well and helps to celebrate it she helps you through rough patches. Shes always pushing us to do more and to try new things. Family spends time drawing together Armendariz is not the only art-inclined member of her family. My mom used to be a really good artist, she said. When I was little, and even now, we would all sit around and spend time as a family drawing. Well sit down together and say, Lets draw a beach, and its always so interesting to see how different all of our ideas are. Youre drawing the same thing, but everyones idea of what that thing looks like is very different. It brought us closer as a family and let us see things from each others perspective in an interesting way. Armendariz has been accepted to the University of Houston but plans on going to San Jacinto College first to complete basics before moving on to pursue a degree in computer science. It seems like a completely different route, but what Im really doing is trying to marry my love of art and love of technology together, she said. With my computer science degree, Id like to make sure theres a visual-art component with that and try to do virtual reality or 3D models. Art wont ever be completely out of my life. Its too important to me. There are debutante balls and there are debutante balls. Blayne Fertitta's "official" social debut was unquestionably the latter. As the daughter of Tilman Fertitta - Landry's Inc. CEO, Houston Rockets owner and Post Oak at Uptown proprietor - hers is a familiar face and name around town. That also extends to Galveston, from where her family hails and home of the largest Mardi Gras Krewe, Knights of Momus. So it came as no surprise when Blayne and her grandfather Vic Fertitta (yes, the Vic in Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse) were crowned queen and King Frivolous CIV, respectively, at Fiesta de Momus' Coronation Ball on the last weekend in February. MAJOR EXHIBITIONS COMING: Menil expands horizons with Aboriginal, Caribbean art next season But that's just one of the carnival's three revelrous fetes. And at Friday's San Luis Salute, queen Blayne ruled the night. For top-tier VIPs, the festivities began with a police-escorted motorcade from the San Luis Resort to the Fertitta family's "Boardwalk," which is both an actual waterfront pier and the name of their 173-foot mega-yacht. This year, Blayne and the royal court's additional 23 duchess/debutantes descended from the hotel lobby's champagne reception in a flurry of millennial pink, yellow or floral printed gowns - a nod to the "Mexico Magnifico!" theme. And aboard the trio of party buses? A head-rushing mix of the girls' college escorts and Houston heavy-hitters such as police chief Art Acevedo, University of Houston System President Dr. Renu Khator, and Alanna Flores, whose own high-profile deb ball after-party featuring a performance by Drake also made headlines late last year. Upon arrival at their first destination, pre-party invitees were presented with two options: explore the floating manse or hit the Crystal Champagne Tent to fuel up on food and libations. Experienced attendees managed to knock out both in one well-timed swoop. Servers greeted guests with miniature margarita-filled Patron bottles. Inside the tent, there was endless Veuve Clicquot and oversized paper flower walls for picture taking; and on board the boat, there were Australian crew members to snap photos on each of the four levels, in the 11 bedrooms or next to the helicopter perched up top. A fast and furious 90 minutes later, the throng raced back onto the buses and departed for the main event - an over-the-top, jam-packed gala at the Galveston Island Convention Center. That's where master event designer Richard Flowers had transformed the exhibition-style space into a Cinco de Mayo-meets-Dia de los Muertos blowout with a hint of Las Vegas and that unmistakable Landry's slant. How else does one describe acrobats writhing around in black skeletal paint? Or exquisite alternating tabletops (upwards of 150) covered with blue and white ceramic centerpieces, bottles of tequila, shot glasses and freshly snipped blooms? There were so many musical performances, no one knew quite where to look. Atlanta's Big Beyond band had the sold-out crowd on the dance floor from the get-go. Some of the black-tie party-goers took breaks in-between busting a move to dive into the four-course dinner. Others only paused long enough to watch the royal court procession before rushing the stage again for Usher's headlining concert. FOR HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM SUBSCRIBERS: You're never too young to age well The Grammy Award-winning artist put on a crowd-pleasing show. His high-energy backup dancers and DJs spun all the hits from "Confessions," "Burn" and "U Got it Bad" to "Yeah!" "OMG" and "DJ Got Us Falling in Love." It was a highlight, for sure, but not the end. San Luis Saluters-in-the-know high-tailed it back to the hotel's bar for the party after the party. It's tradition for Fertitta family members to cozy up in booths, or catch up with old friends at the bar or singalong as Password puts on a semi-private Top 40 show. And that's also where Tilman - typically reserved and all business - capped the evening in rare form: getting down front and center with his pal, Acevedo, and later, giggling and grinning ear-to-ear as he hugged guests goodnight. The mark of a proud father on his daughter's big night. PREVIEW: Find fun things to do and see around Houston in our weekly Preview newsletter. Subscribe here. Runners and families looking for bonding time in the community can lace up their running shoes and head to the Running for Hearts 5K and Walk on March 30. The fourth Running for Hearts 5K and Walk will raise money for the hosting nonprofit organization Shield Bearer, which provides support services for the northwest Houston community, including counseling for families and individuals, and prevention programs for dating violence. Melissa Rotholz, associate director of Shield Bearer, said the event will cater to not only competitive runners, but families wanting to spend time in the community while interacting with local businesses. Louetta Automotive, Caldwell Companies, and other local entities will have booths and activities during the 5K event. There will also be a rave section with music and dancing, she said. We love bringing families together for fun events, she said. We love to bring them together to have fun together, get some exercise and raise money to help neighbors that may be going through a hard time. The funds from the run go back into programs and services. Related: Shield Bearer open Woodlands location; offers various counseling services Shield Bearer works on a sliding scale for clients, meaning anyone can receive their services regardless of income, Rotholz said. Shield Bearer serves a variety of people, including veterans, couples, children and teens with counseling services, support groups and workshops. Assessments can be done over the phone, according to the official Shield Bearer website. The run will supplement the nonprofit with providing these services, Rotholz said. We don't want anyone that's struggling with whatever it may be for money to be the reason that they are unable to get help and find that hope and that healing that they're looking for, she said. There's a lot of incredible citizens and neighbors who go through things and so this money can then help them get the counseling they need. Along with the 5K, which attendees can run or walk, the event will also have a one mile walk for more casual attendees, Rotholz said. We have medals for the 5K, she said. It's a timed event so we give our 40 something different medals in different age groups. If you want to compete, you can do that. Related: Nonprofit reflects on 2018, envisions future homeless housing community for northwest Houston Since originally opening in 2006, Shield Bearer continues to offer services to the northwest Houston area with six offices in the area. Rotholz said she Shield Bearer is hoping to raise $25,000, but that every dollar counts for the organization. We feel like whatever that dollar amount is, it's going to be helpful, she said. Every dollar counts. Every single dollar can make a difference. We just want to encourage everyone to get involved and either run or walk. You don't have to be a serious runner. The Running for Hearts 5K will take place March 30 from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Windwood Presbyterian Church, 10555 Spring Cypress Road, Cypress. Tickets can be purchased from the Shield Bearer site. chevall.pryce@chron.com The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County (DRC-MC) announces the addition of two new Board of Directors and four new Advisory Committee members effective for the 2019 fiscal year. The Board and Advisory Committee are vital to the DRC-MC continuing its mission of serving the community as a resource for resolving disputes, improving communication and restoring relationships through mediation. We are extremely excited to add these talented community leaders who have been involved in serving our organization as volunteer mediators, anti-bullying art contest judges and/or community advocates for the use of alternative dispute resolution, said Elaine Roberts, Executive Director of DRC-MC. New Board Members for the DRC-MC are Gene Roberts, J.D., Director of Student Legal and Mediation Services at Sam Houston State University and David Dewhurst, a Volunteer Mediator at the DRC-MC for the past nine years. In addition, the DRC-MC welcomes four new Advisory Committee Members to the team. Advisory Committee Members offer advice regarding how the DRC-MC can best serve the community and share the mission and vision of the organization. The newly appointed Advisory Members are Mike Fortner, CBC, Alice Runkle, Lorena Perez McGill and Amy M. Lecocq. These individuals have assisted with DRC-MC programs and through their public advocacy for the use of mediation to resolve disputes peacefully. I think the DRC-MC does important work by allowing people and businesses to talk directly to each other in an informal setting and working toward a customized resolution of the issues that led them to us. We also save litigants and the Courts valuable time and money, said Amy Lecocq when asked why she volunteers at the DRC-MC. Continuing on the Board of Directors for 2019: Lois Voth, Chair Jack Lewis, Vice-Chair and General Counsel Glenna Rodgers, Secretary Norm Gautier, Treasurer Maria Banos Jordan, Director Dr. Diana Pino, Director Sgt. Julie Thompson, Director Returning Advisory Committee Members Brian Bondy Monica Cejudo Lynn Garcia Judge Kathleen Hamilton Catherine Prestigiovanni Darcy Thompson Denise Cippolla The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. (DRC-MC) is located in Downtown Conroe at 301 N. Thompson Street, Suite 106, across the street from the Courthouse. The DRC-MC is celebrating over 30 years of resolving conflicts. The Montgomery County Commissioners Court and Montgomery County Bar Association established the nonprofit organization in 1988 and the DRC-MC has been helping people with difficult conversations since that time. Mediations prevent disputes from escalating into serious civil or criminal matters and the DRC-MC provides affordable, high-quality mediations and conflict resolution training in the Montgomery County area. Find out more about the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. by visiting www.resolution-center.org. Visit their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MontgomeryCountyDRC and call 936-760-6914, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday for additional information. The Hodge Podge Lodge is inviting the community to help kick off a fundraising effort for a new Breaking Strong-holds television series project that will also showcase Montgomery. WOW! Montgomery In The Movies! will be held on April 6 from 6-9 p.m. at The Eatery at Hodge Podge Lodge located at 300 Prairie St. in Montgomery. Tickets to experience the PG-13 movie under the stars will cost about $20 for adults and children over the age of 13. Tickets for the fun-raising event will include a complementary showing of the award-winning We Are Stronger gourmet movie food with a fun twist, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. We are just thrilled to be a small part of something that is going to be much bigger, Hodge Podge Lodge Owner and Chef Jeff Angelo said. This event will help raise funds for the pilot episode and will feature a silent auction that may include a cameo role or business product placement in the new series. The series will dive into a variety of issues related to brokenness. Gods Garage is expected to appear in the series that will include many local actors and actresses playing their own part. Locations will unveil as we keep moving forward, Reflective Media Productions CEO and Executive Producer Carla McDougal, who has lived in Montgomery County for 20 years, said This event is the kickoff to this coming here. We are so excited, get on board with us. Reflective Media Productions, a subsidiary of the Montgomery County-based nonprofit Reflective Ministries, which is based in Montgomery County, is creating the new film series which follows the success of its award-winning We Are Stronger feature film that will be played on April 6 and includes volunteers and scenes from Huntsville. We Are Stronger is about an injured soldier who returns home from Afghanistan and deals with Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder. The film, which Spirit of Texas Bank sponsored, shows the effects on the soldiers marriage, the internal struggle he has, but also the need for community and the hope and healing that Christ provides, McDougal said. While the film centers around a veteran, McDougal said the movie includes a bouquet of other real life stories. What we found was what PTSD does far and wide, McDougal said. We have a burn survivor, who actually lost a child in the fire she was in, her story is interwoven throughout We Are Stronger. We have a veteran who tells his story of sexual abuse and he actually is playing his own part. In that particular scene itself where he shares it for the first time was the actual (first) time he shared it in a story as a group and we caught it all in one take. That particular scene has impacted more lives and helped people just bring their situation to the surfacealmost like bringing the darkness into light, she added. With only a budget of $150,000 in donations, the film started out with a group of five people and ended with 30 people intricately involved in the production, of which 90 percent of the actors and actresses were from Montgomery County, including Ulises Larramendi who also owns Eden Cafe in Magnolia and Angela Sweet. Since the end of 2017, We Are Stronger has appeared in select theaters across the nation, and is now available for streaming on Amazon as well as on DVD. It has received numerous awards and recognition, including from the International Christian Film Festival, the Texas Film Festival, and the Houston International Film Festival. The films team was even recognized by The White House and invited to breakfast in the West Wing with the Chaplain in March 2017. McDougal said the movie also has had follow up material to go with it, including with an organization called Stronger Alliance with a hub website that brings together organizations from across the nation to help people who have gone through traumatic events, including for first responders, burn victims, survivors of human trafficking and others. The Stronger Alliance helps connect people to resources and organizations. After seeing the movie, a six week follow up study with a work book and leaders serving as a guide is available for people ready to get help or who know somebody who could benefit and would like to know more. It has been quite amazing, McDougal said. The amount of recognition it has received. Its truly from the heart. Everybody that is involved and the passion it has to be able to help those who are broken-hearted and to show there is hope out there. The first cast meeting will be on Sunday. For more information about opportunities to get involved, email carla@reflectivemedia.org. mellsworth@hcnonline.com Five women are finding a new way forward and away from sex trafficking through a program which works to divert from prosecution sex trafficking victims or those at risk. The Montgomery County District Attorneys Office, which heads up the countywide effort, is aiming to expand the program that launched in June, known as Project Assisting Victims Escape & Resist Trafficking (AVERT). Rescuing and saving victims from trafficking is a huge priority for law enforcement, Special Crimes Chief Tyler Dunman of the DAs Office said. This program is a big part of that. Chief prosecutors Rochelle Guiton and Mark Shirley round out the DAs Office command center on Project AVERT. A current total of 17 other partner organizations, made up of county government agencies, nonprofits and faith-based groups, are involved in the program. The New York-based Center for Court Innovation provided the DAs Office with complimentary technical assistance in developing the project. The importance of this program is underscored by the trauma endured by trafficking victims which Dunam said is typically more severe than most victims of any crime. Many at risk of being trafficked, Dunman explained, have aged out of foster care, are close to being homeless and lack family support. Dunman said a pimp or trafficker will invest several months building a bond with the at-risk individual, showing them attention by providing for them or buying them material things. It could be more of a relationship on the front end that turns into more of an exploitation-type situation, Dunman said. The at-risk individual ends up being sold for sex ... because of force, fraud or coercion. Program candidates currently include an 18-year-old enrolled since August with four other women three in their 20s and one in her early 40s added through the beginning of this year. As of recently, one candidate was completing her GED, another was receiving substance abuse counseling and yet another has received housing after being homeless. More Information Project AVERT partner organizations Angel Reach Arrow Ministries / Freedom Place BCFS - Common Thread Children's Safe Harbor Community Assistance Center Educational Outcomes Heaven's Army Montgomery County Adult Probation (MCDCSC) Redeemed Ministries Tri-County Behavioral Health Montgomery County DWI & Drugs Courts Montgomery County Homeless Coalition Montgomery County Mental Health Court Services Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Montgomery County Women's Center Workforce Solutions Yes to Youth See More Collapse The program is working to fill its space with 20 to 25 enrollees. Employment is secured through Project AVERT, as it is part of the programs goals for its candidates. The first completion of the program is expected in late spring or early summer, with time frames for participants expected to run from six months to a year. The timeline for success in the program is tailored towards what their particular needs are, Dunman said. We can go shorter or longer just depending on the needs and the abilities of the participants. Eligibility to participate in Project AVERT hinges on candidates facing victimization by a pimp or trafficker, for there to be a link to a pending criminal case, for pending offenses to be nonviolent and for the absence of a violent criminal history. Dunman points out that even if someone is choosing to prostitute themselves, they may still qualify to participate in the program. We understand that even if theyre doing it by themselves that a pimp or somebody might latch on to them and it could be soon before theyre being trafficked, Dunman said. To better serve a growing candidate roster, the DAs Office applied Feb. 21 for a grant from the Office of the Texas Governors sex trafficking division. If awarded, the grant will pay a $91,174 annual salary and benefits for a social worker to counsel participants and coordinate services. Because the trafficking victim is such a unique population and the trauma is so severe, were obviously looking to fund and hire someone who has that level of expertise, Dunman said. Dunman added that the position, slated to start Oct. 1, will likely make it the first licensed master-level social worker within Montgomery Countys criminal justice system. Dunman is asking anyone with or without a pending criminal case who feels they could qualify to be a Project AVERT candidate to either directly or through their attorney, email projectavert@mctx.org. Individuals or organizations interested in helping or providing services to Project AVERT, are also encouraged to reach out. Were excited about the kind of opportunities (Project AVERT) provides, Dunman said. jose.gonzalez@chron.com ANAHUACAuthorities searching the site of a deadly cargo jet crash in Trinity Bay have recovered a voice recorder that federal officials say could shed light on what caused the plane to crash nose-first into the water as it approached Houston. The National Transportation Safety Board announced Friday afternoon that divers had recovered the cockpit recording device that contains communications between the pilots and ground control. The device was being transported to Washington, D.C., for evaluation, the agency said. Meanwhile, search crews were continuing to comb the waters for a second recorder that registers flight data, another key element of the federal investigation. Also unrecovered are the identifiable remains of one of the crew. Since recovery efforts began, authorities have identified the remains of Capt. Sean Archuleta and First Officer Conrad Jules Aska, who were aboard the Atlas jet carrying cargo for Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service. Dive teams have recovered other body parts in recent days, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said, but have been unable to make a DNA match with Capt. Ricky Blakely, who is believed dead. Shortly before the recorder discovery came to light, Hawthorne told reporters that search crews had retrieved one of the plane's engines but otherwise recovered little of the aircraft, which left behind a field of debris after slamming into the shallow bay. In the middle of Trinity Bay, barges were set up periodically around the scattered crash zone to help teams load debris, including the uncovered plane engine, for later review. Some officers waded through the knee-deep water, feeling around in the silt for items. Hawthorne said dive teams from three different agencies were pulling 12-hour shifts rummaging through brackish water with zero visibility. "The storms we had on Tuesday didn't help," the sheriff said. Most of the debris field was concentrated around a muddy bar pocked with trails from airboats, though a piece of landing gear and one of the Boeing 767's engines sat yards away near an abandoned duck blind. A piece of the plane's exterior was lodged in the mud, displaying a portion of Amazon's logo to the foggy bay. The plane crashed into Trinity Bay shortly before 12:45 p.m. Saturday after plummeting 11,750 feet in about 30 seconds, data from FlightAware.com show. The Federal Aviation Administration lost radar and radio contact with the plane as it flew about 30 miles southeast of Bush airport, the agency said. A brief video of the crash released by Anahuac ISD Friday shows the jet making an apparent nose dive into the water. NTSB requires most aircraft to have two devices, also referred to as black boxes, to help reconstruct accidents. The still-missing flight data recorder from the crash would give investigators data on the plane's functions, altitude and other measures, allowing them to digitally reenact the crash. At least one of the families of the victims remained on the scene Friday, waiting for more information. Hawthorne said he had taken two families to the site of the crash via airboat to help give them a sense of closure. "I've never really had to do something like that before, but I'm glad I did," Hawthorne said. "Once you get out there and see it, you get the idea of how it happened. You realize there was no way someone could survive that." While the federal investigation into why the jet crashed could go on for more than a year, Hawthorne said his office expects to be here for at least another month. The presence of sheriff's deputies could be pulled back depending on how long it takes to find the other black box and Blakely's remains, Hawthorne said. "I feel very good about where we are headed, and I think we could make some more progress soon," he added Friday afternoon. Though black boxes emit ultrasonic pings to make them easier to find after a crash, the muddy water may have prevented divers from hearing the noise. At the time of the crash, a storm band was moving through the Houston area, though air traffic controllers warned the pilots of the rain. In some of the last known communication between the plane and the ground, one of the pilots can be heard saying he would aim west of the heaviest rain. Controllers warned him of departing planes headed that way. "Oh, OK, then we'll go on the east side, just go ahead and direct us," one of the pilots said. After some dialogue between the controllers, one last transmission can be heard from the plane, with one of pilot saying "OK." Afterwards air traffic controllers continued to hail the plane but received no communication back. Archuleta, one of the pilots, had been living in The Woodlands for a few years while working as a pilot for Mesa Airlines. Archuleta, 36, had just had a baby with his wife and recently landed a dream job at United Airlines, his friend Don Dalton said. Blakely, the captain, was from Indiana. Aska, the first officer, hailed from Antigua. Reporters Jacob Dick and Rebecca Schuetz contributed to this report. jasper.scherer@chron.com twitter.com/jaspscherer Pasadena PD An H-E-B employee was arrested Wednesday for allegedly filming video of a young, unsuspecting shopper in the bathroom. Joseph Edward Guajardo was charged with invasive visual recording and booked into the Harris County Jail Feb. 27, according to records from the Harris County District Clerk. Fort Bend County government and business officials made their presence known in Austin recently, meeting state officials on Feb. 20 to discuss issues pertaining to the county. According to a news release, representatives from the Central Fort Bend Chamber, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, Fulshear-Katy Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council joined city leaders, business owners and county residents on the trip to Austin. By Trend Serdarmammet Garajaev has been appointed as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan in Kuwait, according to the Turkmen presidential decree, Trend reports March 2. The diplomat will also remain the head of the diplomatic mission of Turkmenistan in the UAE. During the official visit of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Kuwait in March 2018, a solid package of bilateral documents was signed. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Turkmengas State Concern and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. In addition, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the government of Turkmenistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development was signed. At the summit talks in Kuwait, the parties considered the possibility of establishing joint ventures in the manufacturing sector based on mutual investments, and partnerships in such spheres as metallurgy. Energy, trade, investment, transport and communication, chemical industry, textile industry and agriculture, health care and high technology are areas of cooperation among the two states designed for long-term prospects. Turkmenistan is also interested in discussing issues related to the participation of large financial and investment structures of the Middle East in the implementation of TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia gas pipeline (TAPI) project. Fort Bend ISD trustees recently reviewed an abridged version of the districts annual demographic update that revealed enrollment at 38 campuses is projected to drop below 80 percent capacity next year, including five elementary schools and two high schools expected to be less than half-full. Some of your older neighborhoods like New Territory or First Colony just dont have as many students anymore. We call it aging out. The demographics are changing and people are getting older, Justin Silhavey from Population and Survey Analysts (PASA) told trustees. Members of the LBGTQIA community and its allies have a lot to look forward to when The Woodlands Pride brings the second annual The Woodlands Pride Festival to Town Green Park on Sept. 28, including a historical theme for the event of, Peace, Love and Rainbows. Five months removed from their signature event, the organizations leaders are already looking toward the future with new board members, outreach events and planning for the second year of the inclusive-focused festival already under way. The pride festival is a day for those in the LGBT community and its allies to feel included, said Ryan Elkins, The Woodlands Prides chief operating officer. Related: Woodlands Pride Festival sets 2019 event date; seeks fee waiver from township Jason Rocha, CEO and founder of the organization, said by the time the festival came around in September, 2018, The Woodlands Pride had only been a formal organization for less than five months. It was a four-and-a-half month process that felt like 10 years, Rocha recalled. Related: One of Texas most conservative areas hosts pride festival In the whirlwind of planning the communitys first celebration of LGBT pride, officials associated with The Woodlands Pride put on a day-long show of live music, food trucks, special guests and more than 70 vendor booths. An estimated crowd of up to 5,000 people visited the festival in 2018, Rocha noted. Showing The Woodlands community and the surrounding ares that queer folk exist were here and were your neighbors, patrons, family, Rocha said. I think it was just important for the people that have ever felt marginalized to see us all come together. But the event, Rocha said, wouldnt have been possible without a strong LGBT presence in The Woodlands including various support groups and The Woodlands Coalition for Equality, for example working to lay the foundation of the celebration for years prior. All of these things came together, Rocha said. It was like people were waiting to be activated once every thing came to fruition. The group originally planned for around 1,000 guests but the registrations kept on coming right up until the day of the event. By days end on Sept. 8., 2018, more than 5,000 guests had come through the gates at Town Green Park, Rocha noted. Related: New LGBT organization The Woodlands Pride seeks to build bridges within community Now, with a good eight months in front of them, officials with the organization are working to make it even bigger, and set a theme to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City. The riots, largely credited as being the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement in the United States, saw patrons at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York City fight back against a police raid from the New York City Police Department in 1969. Elkins said the 2019 theme, Peace, Love and Rainbows, will also pay tribute to the Woodstock music festival, where more than 400,000 people descended on a farm in the Catskill Mountains in August of 1969. Whether you were gay, straight or an ally, it really unified everyone, Elkins said of Woodstock. It earned its place in pop culture history. The organizing committee is also lining up speakers for the 2019 event and an interactive timeline display of important dates in LGBT history. Although Houston hosts its own Pride event one of the largest in the country every year, the importance of having a festival in Montgomery County that reflects local LGBT identity cannot be understated, Rocha said. Pride Houston reflects what Houston is, Rocha explained. Just like we choose to live in The Woodlands or any suburb, we deserve a festival or an event that reflects our community. That identity, he added, means that The Woodlands event focuses on the family, with activities slated to appeal to all ages. In the long-term, Rocha said the organization will work to aid other cities in the greater Houston area establish their own pride festivals and events that are representative of who they are. Every community should have some sort of pride recognition, Rocha said. If The Woodlands, Texas, can host a festival like we did, I dont see how any other community cant have a similar event. mrincon@chron.com The Woodlands Township Board of Directors will most likely continue their intensive analysis of incorporation issues for several more months after directors on Wednesday, Feb. 27, signalled they were not satisfied with the depth or information from an unfinished report on law enforcement service options in the event the township does eventually incorporate. At the end of the more than two-hour incorporation planning session, township board Chairman Gordy Bunch instructed officials with the Novak Consulting Group, of Cincinnati, Ohio, to come back at the end of March with a proposal for a new, extended contract proposal that would include more thorough and wide-ranging examination of law enforcement service options. We have asked them to make a draft of service extension and bring it back in April, Bunch confirmed after the meeting ended. The Feb. 27 meeting was similar to the previous incorporation planning session on Jan. 23, with township Director John McMullan asking pointed questions about the law enforcement report that was first delivered to township officials in August, 2018, and debating the options available with Bunch and other boad members. McMullan has expressed his unease with the current policing analysis, saying that he is concerned about the proposed hybrid model a mixture of contracted police services from the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office and a newly created, smaller city police force as well as the cost of various proposals, how a transition to a city police force would work and when, as well as a demand to know how policing would be done in the Village of Creekside Park, which sits in Harris County. The areas I am getting the most pushback on (from the public) are (law enforcement), McMullan told directors and consultants. There are big, big gaps in the policing costs between The Woodlands and peer cities. I think we need to spend the time and money to drill down on this. How would this hybrid model work in Creekside? Julia Novak, the head consultant with the Novak Consulting Group, asked McMullan and the other directors what kind of information they would want if the firm does a proposal for an additional study. Novak has said repeatedly that her firm was not involved in the initial Matrix study, but could explore the issue if the township board so desired. Township board Director Ann Snyder told Novak that she personally wanted to learn more about how much a fully independent city of The Woodlands police force would cost and what that model would look like in terms of facilities, staffing and the number of officers. McMullan went further, asking for more wide-ranging analysis. I want to do a really in-depth analysis tied to the five peer cities, McMullan said, referencing the peer cities of Allen, Frisco, Round Rock, Southlake and Sugar Land. (I also want to know) What is meant by this hybrid model in general and in Creekside. Policing issues taking center stage The issue of how to handle the law enforcement needs for The Woodlands if the community does incorporate has gradually taken center stage as arguably the most debated, and criticized, element of the more than year-long incorporation studies. The initial report on police service options was compiled by consultants from the Matrix Consulting Group and presented to township board members and the public in August, 2018. However, many residents who have been following the incorporation studies closely have criticized the Matrix report as incomplete and lacking the appropriate comparison data from five peer cities. By early December, however, the consultants who made the policing report were no longer involved in the incorporation studies after the township board voted to terminate the contract with the Matrix Consulting Group on Dec. 5 and continue for another three months of studies done solely by the Novak group. During Wednesdays meeting, McMullans line of questioning was echoed by former township board member Mike Bass, who has been staunch in his concerns about the incorporation process, as well as community activist and former federal prosecutor Amy Lecocq. Bass asked questions and made statements about the policing issue during both of the public comment periods of the planning session, asking about how a potential new city police force would be organized and questioning the number of officers per 1,000 residents compared to the five peer cities. My concern is we do our homework and be as accurate as possible, Bass added. Township Director Bruce Rieser tried to allay some of the questions and concerns of the public by stressing that township officials are wrestling with a more difficult issue than expected, noting that as the board has slowly worked through the incorporation studies and information, the are learning that issues have many tentacles and are vastly more complicated than expected. In reality, the only thing a hybrid model is is a combination of a police force of our own and contracted services (from the county). What Id like is (in the computerized financial model) a toggle to see what it looks like to go from the hybrid model to a full-blown police force in year three, four and five, Rieser said. A lot of this information is being seen by four members of the board for the first time in meetings. We are making sausage in front of the public. Were going to be at this for several more months or more. Rieser also reiterated comments made by Bunch in early February, stating that township leaders will not pursue placing an incorporation vote on the ballot for local voters until at least November of 2020. Give us a little room, Rieser asked of those in attendance. We are exploring everything but we are not at the point where we can definitively say, This is the plan. The next incorporation planning session is scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 27, during which time Bunch said he expects the Novak Consulting Group to have a proposal for additional law enforcement studies to be ready for township officials to possibly vote on. jeff.forward@chron.com A 77-year-old grandmother lived out her dreams of royalty when she climbed atop a throne-shaped iceberg during a recent trip to Iceland. Judith Streng, from Texas, struck a regal pose on a hunk of ice that washed up on Diamond Beach in Jokulsarlon, while her son snapped a picture. It was a moment of triumph for the magnificent "iceberg queen," as she was later dubbed. That is, until a sudden wave dislodged the icy throne - sending grandmother adrift. "When I got on it, it started to totter and a wave was coming in," Streng told ABC News. "A very large wave came in and kind of made the throne kind of rock, and I could tell that I was slipping off." FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Hurry up and book your spring break at these gorgeous Galveston, Corpus and Padre Island Airbnbs On Monday, Streng's granddaughter, Christine, posted the texts and photos her father sent after the Feb. 26 ordeal. Each photo shows Judith drifting further and further away from the camera. "Lost her kingdom when she drifted out to see! [sic]" Christine's father texted her. He added, "No joke. A coast guard rescuer had to save her and bring her back to shore!" Photos of grandmother's nautical adventure had garnered 66,000 retweets by Friday evening. The daring grandmother told ABC News her rescuer was Randy Lacount, a boat captain from Florida who witnessed her float away. He did not immediately return a request for comment Monday evening. "I thought it was safe," Streng told ABC. "One girl had been on it and then two girls at the same time, and it was very secure with them. But I don't weigh very much. So it was a little easier to float off with me, I guess." On her choice to sit on the throne, she told the network: "You know, I always wanted to be a queen. I mean, come on, that was my chance." Streng returned to the United States Monday and is recuperating from her trip, Christine told The Post. While she was not available for interview, the elder Streng relayed to her granddaughter that she's "glad people are getting a kick out of her story." "Being so popular is wild," the grandmother added. In a way, it's royalty. Without notifying his followers or even his inner circle, the longtime president of a legacy neo-Nazi group has signed over its control to a black civil rights activist from California. James Hart Stern, a 54-year-old with a history of infiltrating white supremacist groups, is the new leader of the National Socialist Movement. And his first move as president was to address a pending lawsuit against the neo-Nazi group by asking a Virginia judge to find it guilty of conspiring to commit violence at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Next, he plans to transform the hate group's website into a space for Holocaust history lessons. "I did the hard and dangerous part," Stern told The Washington Post in his first interview since taking over the National Socialist Movement. "As a black man, I took over a neo-Nazi group and outsmarted them." For weeks, the sudden change in power had confounded those who study hate groups and perplexed those within the organization, who had heard nothing from the man who led the Detroit-based hate group for 24 years, former NSM president Jeff Schoep. Before Friday, neither man had publicly addressed the organizational changes. First, Stern came forward to share the full story of his unconventional rise to power - an "epic" tale, he said, that includes infiltration, persuasion and a hint of manipulation. There's a reason, he said, that some call him the "race whisperer." The Washington Post published his version of events Friday evening. Just after midnight, Schoep finally spoke, too. In a lengthy statement to his followers, which he shared with The Post, Schoep wrote that he had been "deceived" by Stern who "convinced me that in order to protect our membership from the ongoing lawsuit, I should sign over NSM's presidency to him." Schoep said it was time for "fresh blood" in NSM leadership and announced he had formally stepped down as "commander" of the organization. Burt Colucci, chief of staff of the National Socialist Movement, will be taking over as commander, according to the statement. "I want to thank everyone who has stood by us during this difficult time. You are giants among lesser men and your loyalty will be remembered," Schoep wrote in the statement. "As for all of the vultures, snakes, and international banking and media interests who have attempted to damage NSM and me personally, you have shown your true colors." It remains unclear how NSM will be able to maintain its organizational infrastructure with Stern legally at the helm of the corporation. In his statement, Schoep said he intends to challenge Stern's ownership. "This paper appointment will not stop us," Schoep said. "Mr. Stern's bad faith actions may leave me no choice but to protect my rights in a court of law, as I believe he fraudulently manipulated me for the purposes of gaining control of, and dissolving NSM." To understand how Stern came to overtake Schoep's organization, you first must understand how the Michigan neo-Nazi came to find the California activist. While serving prison time in Mississippi for mail fraud, Stern formed a relationship with his cellmate and onetime Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Edgar Ray Killen. The KKK leader had been convicted in the "Mississippi Burning" killings of three civil rights workers. Though Killen regularly called Stern a racial slur, he nevertheless granted his cellmate power of attorney over his life story and estate. Stern was paroled from prison in 2011, and in 2016 he used his legal discretion to dissolve the Klan organization Killen once led. This was his first successful infiltration - and the lore of Stern's relationship with the KKK leader is what Stern says first drew Schoep in. In 2014, Schoep called Stern without notice to inquire about his relationship with Killen, the activist said. Schoep asked to see the man's prison ID card and said Stern was the first black man his organization had reached out to since Malcolm X. Stern said he searched Schoep's name, discovered he was a white supremacist, then arranged for the two to meet in California for a small race relations summit. The two have fostered a strange kind of relationship ever since, the civil rights activist said. Schoep and Stern remained firmly entrenched in their own political camps, he said, fundamentally opposed to what the other represents. But they also engaged in regular debate: about the Holocaust, the ugliness of the Nazi swastika, the fallibility of Schoep's white-nationalist ideals and, most critically, the fate of his hate group. The goal, Stern claims, was always to try to change Schoep's mind. "From day one, I always told him: 'I don't agree with you; I don't like you,' " Stern said. "I talked to him because I wanted to hope to change him." Change Schoep's beliefs, Stern did not. But according to Stern's version of recent events, he was able to accomplish the next best thing. In early 2019, Stern said Schoep came to him for legal advice on the lawsuit, which was filed in 2017 by a Charlottesville counterprotester against NSM and other white-nationalist groups who attended the Unite the Right rally. Schoep seemed "rattled," Stern said, and began talking about making a change. "I was hoping he was talking about his ideology," Stern said. Instead, Stern said the white nationalist leader called NSM an "albatross hanging around his neck" and said he was looking for ways to get out. He still held the same beliefs, Stern said, but he was ready to cut ties with NSM and start a new organization because he felt underappreciated by his followers and left out of the mainstream white-nationalist movement that had swept the country in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Schoep was concerned about the repercussions of the Charlottesville lawsuit and the legal bills he was shouldering, Stern said, and he confided in the California activist as he sought solutions. "I saw a crack in that armor," Stern said. So he encouraged Schoep to get a fresh start - by handing over control of the Detroit-based organization and website to Stern. And Schoep said yes. "He knew that he had the most vulnerable, the most loose-cannon members that they had ever had in the organization," Stern said. "He realized somebody was going to commit a crime, and he was going to be held responsible for it." In his statement about the ordeal, Schoep did not address how he came to know Stern, nor did he explain the conversations that led to his decision. In mid-January, Schoep filed incorporation paperwork with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to formally transfer the National Socialist Movement to Stern, according to documents filed with the state. By Feb. 15, Stern was listed in court documents for the lawsuit as NSM's representative. Stern is not listed as an individual defendant in the suit. Now, he's preparing for what comes next - and seeking guidance from Jewish leaders. Stern said he does not plan to dissolve the corporation because he doesn't want Schoep's followers, or others in the white-nationalist movement, to reincorporate it. Stern admits his plans for the website are still evolving, but his primary goal is to offer it as a reclaimed space to Jewish organizations that could help him educate NSM's followers on the history of the Holocaust. "Everything is out in the open," Stern said. "My plans and intentions are not to let this group prosper. It's my goal to set some hard records right." Schoep took control of NSM in 1994 and was responsible for growing its membership and brand as an organization of Holocaust deniers and Adolf Hitler acolytes. The group maintains a website that draws in millions of visitors from around the world, Stern said, and has organized public rallies across the county. The group, whose members wear SS-like uniforms that mirror those worn in Nazi Germany, was founded under a different name in 1974 by two former officials of the American Nazi Party, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. "Signing over leadership of an organization this old is the equivalent of a death sentence in the white-nationalist movement," said Keegan Hankes, an SPLC research analyst. "It's one of the strangest things I've seen since I started tracking these things five years ago." Several of the people listed on the NSM website as leaders within the organization did not respond to a request for comment from The Post on Friday. One man who identifies himself as SS Capt. Harry L. Hughes III and is listed as the public relations director for NSM, said in an email that he is "not involved in the NSM's legal affairs" and was "not at liberty to discuss anything, until Commander Schoep personally makes a statement." "Just like you and the rest of the media, I'm waiting in suspense, too," Hughes added. Matthew Heimbach, a leading white-nationalist figure who briefly served as community outreach director of the organization last year, told The Associated Press that there has been conflict between NSM's leaders, including Schoep, and its membership. Heimbach estimated the group had 40 dues-paying members last year. The biggest challenge the group has faced, the SPLC's Hankes said, was being outshone by the more refined efforts of new alt-right leaders such as Richard Spencer. There was tension within the organization about the need for a shift to a less violent, less explicit brand of neo-Nazism, he said. "A lot of these groups see [NSM] as extremely detrimental to anything regarding identity politics," Hankes said. Stern told The Post that he and Schoep discussed this infighting and that Schoep expressed a desire to leave NSM behind and start a new organization with less baggage. Schoep offered a different perspective in his statement: "I realize that there is a lot of confusion right now, and ongoing legal matters prevent me from being more thorough in my explanation of events. Regardless, it is important for me to communicate that my actions are always done for a reason, and I would never purposefully damage the organization I have spent so many years serving." Though Schoep is no longer legally affiliated with NSM, he still faces the lawsuit because he is listed as a defendant in an individual capacity. "It's definitely not good for him, and it shouldn't be good for him," Stern said. "You spend 25 years terrorizing people, you can't rebrand overnight. It doesn't work like that." From California, where he runs Racial Reconciliation Outreach Ministries, Stern is still sorting through the legal intricacies his new leadership entails. He is currently listed as the attorney representing NSM in court filings, but a judge ruled Friday that he cannot be NSM's lawyer because corporations are not legally authorized to represent themselves in court. Stern said he is working on hiring an outside lawyer to refile his motion for a summary judgment on the lawsuit. He has also offered the plaintiff's attorneys full access to NSM social media accounts, he said - because he claims to own those now, too. "Say what you want about me," Stern said. "But I've done this twice now." Sanad Aero Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company, has announced the closing of a new financing facility with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). FAB has led several Sanad financings since the company launched in 2010 which support various existing and new customer spare engine and component programmes including new long-term CFM56-5B and 7B spare engine lease programmes with Lufthansa Technik and TUI Group. The new facility is valued at $62 million and will be used to fund various Sanad customer programmes including long-term pool access for up to $23 million of B787 components in support of various SR Technics component service programmes. Troy Lambeth, chief executive officer of Sanad, said: We are delighted to have worked with FAB on this important transaction as they continue to be a strong banking partner for the company. We expect to see more of our long-term pipeline materialise in 2019 and attaining efficient financing support from the market is a key driver in our approach, he added. Mohanad Al Borno, senior managing director and head of CIB-UAE, said: Given the strategic importance of the aviation sector to the UAE economy, FAB is pleased to build on its long-standing relationship with Sanad. This facility meets the funding requirements of a number of Sanads key customer programmes, enabling both the company and the wider aviation sector in the UAE to grow stronger, he added. TradeArabia News Service Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) has awarded three major contracts to TechnipFMC, Maire Tecnimont, and WorleyParsons, for Phase Four of the Ruwais petrochemicals complex, which will include the worlds largest mixed-feed cracker. Borouge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis of Austria, said the mixed-feed cracker will be the fourth one in the complex and also the worlds largest with an ethylene output of 1.8 million tonnes. It will have an overall capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes of olefins and aromatics using a variety of feedstocks such as ethane, butane and naphtha coming from Adnocs refinery and gas processing facilities, stated the Abu Dhabi group in a statement. Both, Adnoc and Borealis intend to finalise the downstream configuration within three months, following the front-end engineering and design (Feed) award, it added. The contracts were signed by Borouge CEO Ahmed Omar Abdulla along with Marco Villa, president EMIA, TechnipFMC, and Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Group chief executive officer, in the presence of Abdulaziz Alhajri, executive director, Downstream Directorate, Adnoc; Alfred Stern, Borealis chief executive, and other senior members from Adnoc, Borealis and Borouge. "The mixed feed cracker is unique as it enables many new petrochemical building blocks to be available in Ruwais for the first time, thereby transforming Ruwais into an even more advanced integrated refining and petrochemicals complex," remarked Alhajri. He was speaking at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi, where Borouge signed the Feed contract, project management contract (PMC) and a licence contract associated with the mixed feed cracker complex. "The new project will significantly contribute to achieving Adnocs growth ambitions as well as those of Borouge," he added. Stern hailed the strong partnership and long successful history that Borealis has with Adnoc at Borouge. He underlined Borealis continuous support to Borouge in setting up the huge downstream polyolefins production plants that will be based on Borstar technology. "We are excited to award these contracts for the mixed-feed cracker project which will be a new milestone in the history of Borouge," remarked Abdulla. "Having this fourth complex in our world-class petrochemicals complex, in Ruwais, brings us a step closer to achieving our 2030 growth strategy." One of the tangible benefits of the investment is its contribution to enhancing the In-Country Value proposition, he added. According to him, the project is expected to generate over $3.5 billion local procurement and construction activities during its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase. "Not only will the plant contribute to an additional $6 billion to Abu Dhabis GDP annually as a direct benefit from product revenue, but our new project will also create thousands of job opportunities during construction phases and once it is commissioned," stated Abdulla. Borouge Private Limited CEO Wim Roels said: "Having the new plants on stream will enable Borouge to meet the increasing demand for polyolefins in our key markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa by expanding our product portfolio and deliver leading-edge products of differentiated, innovative and sustainable plastics solutions that meet our customers growth ambitions."-TradeArabia News Service Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) is marking its 40th anniversary this month since establishing its position as the first icon for regional trade in 1979 and evolving to be integral to global commerce and business enablement across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and the sub-continent. Over the past 40 years, DWTC has been a key protagonist in Dubais diversification agenda. It played a fundamental role in enabling trade and events during the emirates formative years, rapidly propelling the city to new heights of success. It also supported the growth of the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector in Dubai, contributing to its appeal as an optimal career option for talent in the city and globally. DWTC continues to expand as an anchor landmark along the citys economic corridor. It continues to play an integral role in strengthening Dubais position as a global economic hub, having generated over Dh200 billion ($54 billion) of total economic output and hosting over 5,000 business and Mice events from 1979-2018, said a statement from DWTC. In addition, it has attracted over 30 million business visitors to Dubai from inception through 2018, of which 12 million visitors were from international markets thereby facilitating international trade and consolidating Dubais status as a global business destination. Inspired by the ground-breaking vision for Dubai to be a model growth-oriented city for the world, the emirates founding father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, triggered the citys extraordinary and rapid metamorphosis in just four decades, with DWTC fuelling the evolution and cementing of the emirate's reputation as a competitive international leader in business tourism, events trade and investment, it stated. Embodying the aspirations of the citys leadership, the 39-storey Sheikh Rashid Tower (commonly known as Trade Centre Tower) that started its journey as the tallest structure in the Arab world and the symbol of business on the face of the Dh100 currency bill, has dramatically and sustainably transformed its purpose over time to become (i) home to regional and international businesses within the multi-dimensional 1.3 million sq ft DWTC complex in the heart of Dubai; (ii) pivotal to the citys global leadership in the expansive events industry; and (iii) steadily building the emirates competitiveness as a business, knowledge and networking hub for 2025 and beyond. Helal Saeed Almarri, the director general of DWTC Authority and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: "Our founding father, Sheikh Rashid defined a bold vision for Dubai to be the globally recognised trade and business hub for the entire region, propelling a domestic economic agenda rooted in diversification an unconventional and defiant position to adopt for any nation in the Middle East given the traditional stronghold of oil-driven GDP growth." "It has been this path-defining leadership that has guided our mission as DWTC and seen our city soar to heights beyond what many believed to be possible. His mandate since DWTCs inception has been our guiding beacon in defining our mission and strategic priorities that have over the years focused on shaping Dubais core proposition as a hub for tourism, trade and finance," he noted. Today, DWTCs global reach, market attractiveness and sector diversity are unparalleled with a broad spectrum of industries represented within our high performance, fast evolving and internationally renowned calendar of events, said the top official. "It plays host to over 600 events annually across key sectors, including technology and innovation, healthcare, energy and sustainability, real estate, food and beverage, hospitality, automotive and transportation, among others, all of which are closely aligned with Dubais and the UAEs strategic vision for economic diversification,"noted Almarri. "By the same token, DWTC has been a key enabler of international trade for the UAE and other global economies, as world leading multi-national companies, small and medium businesses and start-ups are given the platform and opportunity to connect to new markets, high value buyers, global funding and R&D opportunities etc. reflecting a democratised, shared economic value creation platform, that is a pioneering model for sustained global growth," he stated. On its future plans, Almarri said the nation was already paving the way for a tomorrow, rooted in innovation, knowledge creation, open data sharing and diversification as outlined in the UAE Centennial 2071 Agenda. As Dubai accelerates towards this goal, DWTC plays an even more crucial role in charting the next stage of growth, over the forthcoming decades. To facilitate this purpose, DWTC continues to enhance Dubais business ecosystem, enabling new industries, fostering entrepreneurship, providing a rich content network, developing sustainable and integrated infrastructure, facilitating knowledge sharing and creating opportunities for youth of this region and the world all working in tandem to strengthen the emirates position as an inclusive, stable and world-class destination to live and work. The DWTC growth is only set to intensify over the next few years, largely due to the opportunity that Expo 2020 Dubai presents, as the city prepares to welcome 20 million visitors, remarked Almarri. DWTCs legacy and expertise encompasses the Expo 2020 site, with the development of the Expo Village and the new Expo 2020 Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), both of which will cement Dubais leading position as a residential, business and Mice events hub, further boosting private sector investment and business tourism between the emirate and the world, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Officials were investigating a three-car crash Friday night in Crosby that left at least seven people injured, including two pregnant women. A third woman, 21, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and appeared to sustain the worst of the injuries, officials said. Authorities arrested a 19-year-old driver who they say was intoxicated when he ran a stop sign at the intersection of Crosby Eastgate Road and Crosby Freeway. An SUV heading east on the freeway collided with the driver's Ford Crown Victoria, striking the front passenger's side door where the critically injured woman was sitting. A pickup truck traveling behind the SUV then struck the other two cars. BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox. The two pregnant women were seated in the back of the Ford, officials said. They were flown to a nearby hospital by Life Flight, while five others were taken by ambulance, said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. RELATED: Driver in deadly Lyft crash admits to taking tequila shots before driving, prosecutors say. The Ford driver faces a charge of intoxication assault, deputy Aric Albers said, adding that investigators found multiple alcohol containers inside the vehicle. The charge could be upgraded if any of the injured passengers' conditions further deteriorate, Albers said. The status of the pregnant women was not immediately clear, though Albers said nobody aside from the critically injured woman appeared to have sustained life-threatening injuries. 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. Justice Department lawyers are challenging what they term an enormous error by a Houston federal judge with a history of bucking up against prosecutors, saying he erred gravely when he radically reduced the sentence of an admitted ISIS supporter who attempted to join the jihadist cause overseas. Attorneys from the Justice Departments national security arm filed the appeal Friday with the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to address the unprecedented 18-month prison term that U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes issued to Asher Abid Khan in June 2018. Federal probation officials had advised the judge to sentence Khan to more than 20 years, according to the government prosecutors. LIGHT TERRORISM SENTENCE: UH engineering student who tried to join ISIS in Syria sentenced to 18 months in federal prison The sentence, according to the appeal, Did not reflect the gravity of Khans conduct and would not sufficiently deter others from taking the first step along the path to radicalization." The district courts error was not harmless, the government argued in its filing. "Indeed, the magnitude of its error was enormous. Khan, 24, of Spring, was continuing his mechanical engineering studies at the University of Houston up until he reported to prison. He pleaded guilty to recruiting a high school friend to join ISIS militants in Syria. He had intended to join as well, but he got cold feet before he made it to the front. Ted Imperato, deputy chief of the national security division for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Houston, said the court did not apply the sentencing guidelines properly and handed down an unreasonably low sentence for such a crime, when filing the initial notice that the government planned to appeal. Khans trial lawyer, David Adler, said Friday he had not had time to review the appeal. Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism, which tracks cases around the country against homegrown terrorists, said Hughes sentence represents a significant departure from the norm. If Khan is removed from the equation, said the terrorism expert, the average prison sentence for that plea has been nearly 15 years. It is an abysmally low sentence for a material support to ISIS, said Hughes, the GWU scholar. The department of justice is laying down a marker because if the Khan sentence stands, it would have serious ramifications for the future sentencing of dozens of terrorism cases around the country. They want to make sure new sentencing bar isnt set. JUDGE EJECTS PROSECUTOR: Houston federal judge bars female prosecutor from trial, sparking standoff with U.S. attorney's office At the sentencing, prosecutors recommended more than 20 years in prison and a lifetime of supervision for Khan. Adler, Khans defense attorney, asked the judge for a downward departure from the guidelines, explaining that Khan had dedicated himself in recent years to work, school and family and had been speaking openly about his experience with young people who might consider joining terrorist groups. The man that stands here is a very, very, very different man than the stupid, naive man who believed this was a good thing to do, Adler said at the hearing. Khan, a U.S. citizen, was the second person in Houston to plead guilty to attempting to provide support for ISIS. Two others are awaiting trial: Warren Christopher Clark, a former substitute teacher from Sugar Land, who was captured this year in Syria, and Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, an 18-year-old from Houston, who faces an addition charge of distributing information about building explosives. Khan originally caught the attention of federal officials in McAllen while he was living in Australia in 2014. An agent testified that Khan sent a Facebook friend request to Sixto Ramiro Garcia, whom he knew from Klein Oak High School and a Houston-area mosque. Garcia had relocated to South Texas by the time the two made contact. Khan admitted in his plea that hed told Garcia, known as SRG, via Facebook that he wanted to join ISIS. A few weeks later, he told an alleged ISIS recruiter that he wanted to die as a shahid, or martyr. Federal officials said Khan and Garcia made plans to meet in Turkey near the Syrian border. Garcia departed on Feb. 24, 2014, and Khan left for Istanbul the next day with plans to continue on to Syria, but he cut short the trip and returned to Houston after family members lied to him, saying his mother was in intensive care. Garcia made it to Syria, where he sent panicked messages to his friend after Khan failed to show up. Upon his return to Houston, Khan helped Garcia connect with an ISIS recruiter and sent him $200 or $300 to cover costs. By August 2014, Garcia made it to ISIS boot camp. On Dec. 25, 2014, Garcia's mother saw a notice on Facebook that her son had died fighting for the cause. Khan, who is currently serving at a medium security facility in Arizona, is set to be released in early December. Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com. The city would send about a third fewer firefighters to handle small blazes at single-family homes under a plan Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said would free up resources without hurting the departments ability to handle minor emergencies. If implemented, Penas proposal would send 20 personnel to tackle reports of fires from sparking outlets to incipient fires at one- or two-story residences of 2,000 square feet or less. Pena told reporters Friday that the department often sends more personnel and equipment than necessary to handle those calls. This is not to limit the number of resources that are deployed to handle the needs of the incident, Pena said. These are, again, to address and ensure that we are providing the right resources to the right call. For now, though, the department plans to continue deploying 31 to 32 personnel to those fires while firefighters undergo training under the new model. Pena also said he would meet with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association to discuss any concerns before implementing the new procedure. Ultimately, Pena said, house fire calls make up a small portion of the departments fire responses, and sometimes delay firefighters from responding to more serious emergencies. In the 2018 fiscal year, the Houston Fire Department received about 348,000 service calls, more than 46,000 of which were for fire-related incidents. Of those, about 1,600 were calls for house fires, Pena said, and only about 500 of those met a scale that required the department to deploy additional resources. In those cases, Pena said, incident commanders would retain the authority to dispatch additional firefighters if they believe more than 20 are needed. The fire chief also said the new policy has nothing to do with Proposition B, a charter amendment approved by voters last November that requires the city to pay firefighters the same as police of corresponding rank and experience. Mayor Sylvester Turner has warned of potential layoffs to fund the pay raises, noting they did not come with a funding mechanism. Amid Penas policy announcement, the Turner administration and the firefighters union continued their public war over Prop. B. The mayor, in apparent response to the Houston Federation of Teachers decision to rescind its support of his reelection bid this year, released a lengthy public letter Friday proclaiming his support for collective bargaining rights. In the letter, Turner said he had sent the union a proposal to phase in the cost of parity over 5 years, which would substantially eliminate the need to lay off or reduce services beyond the normal budgetary process. Fire union president Marty Lancton soon issued a statement saying the city had made no offer to implement the proposition as approved by voters and said any suggestion otherwise is a lie, though he said the union still was communicating with Turners office about implementing the measure. In response, the mayors office released emails and documents showing two offers it had made to raise firefighters' pay over 5 years retroactive to Jan. 1, and one offer the union had submitted to phase the raises in over three years retroactive to July 1, 2018. The citys first offer would give firefighters a 4 percent base pay raise for the first six months of 2019, then a series of annual increases averaging between 4 percent and 6 percent a year through the 2023 fiscal year, with a total cumulative cost of $224 million through the end of June 2023. The citys second offer, sent in a Feb. 19 email from City Attorney Ron Lewis to union lawyer Troy Blakeney, increased the annual raises in future years, producing a cumulative cost of $291 million by June 2023. The offer also proposed doubling HFDs $13 million budget for incentive pay and phasing in that increase at an unspecified pace over five years. Neither offer, though, appears to fully implement the charter amendment by the end of the five-year period. For instance, the citys proposal to simply double firefighters incentive pay does not match what the finance department projects would be necessary to achieve full parity with police officers. The unions Friday offer would phase in parity over three years, beginning with firefighters getting a quarter of the parity-driven raises dating back to July 1, 2018. As of July 1, 2019, members with 18 years of service will would reach full parity with police, and younger members would get another 50 percent of the parity raises to which they are entitled. Members with less than 18 years of service would reach full parity by July 1, 2020. That approach would save the city an estimated $120 million, the union wrote, savings that they proposed the city use to build a Firefighter Wellness Center on union-owned land. The union also expressed interest in creating a trust to fund retired firefighters health care benefits, removing that liability from the citys books, and discussed negotiating parity in incentive pays, saying that may represent a further cost savings to the city. Lewis, in an email to Blakeney later that day, called this offer a curveball that raised issues unrelated to the proposition, and attached an unidentified document Lewis said was the product of Mr. Lanctons media campaign, inquiring whether the union intended to continue talking. Blakeney responded that the union was committed to working with the city to FULLY implement Prop B, and invited further proposals. Blakeney said the two sides had met three times, on Jan. 31, Feb. 7 and Feb. 22, and that the third meeting had ended with city officials indicating there was nothing to talk about and leaving without indicating future meetings were planned. Those emails did not paint a full picture of the city and unions correspondence, Lancton said. He provided a chain of emails that show Blakeney asking Lewis in early February for financial information regarding incentive pay contained in the police contract. By Feb. 15, Lewis had not provided the incentive pay information, emails show, and Lancton said the union had yet to receive the proposal. If you think you can beat the crowds at Big Bend National Park over spring break, think again. The busiest time of the year at the park in 2019 will fall between March 7 and March 24, when most Texas public schools and universities are closed for the break. Big Bend Chief of Interpretation Tim VandenBerg said many people arrive at the parking early thinking they can beat the rush, only to find many others doing the same thing. "March is a fantastic time to visit, but also the busiest month of the year in the park, and many visitors are both surprised and disappointed when campsites are not available," VandenBerg said in a press release. "We wish to encourage people to also visit during other times of the year to maximize enjoyment of Big Bend, and the remote sense of peacefulness that it is known for." Among the visitors, desert enthusiasts flood the park looking for spring flowers, and many travelers are simply looking for an escape from their routine. Demand for campsites and overnight lodging far exceed the number of available space, according to the release. Campgrounds and primitive campsites have already been filling each day, and few reservations are available at The Chisos Mountains Lodge, the only lodging facility in the park, the release said. So what if you still had your heart set on camping under the Texas skies during Spring Break? Well, there are other state parks with room. But you better book soon. Availability is dwindling at state parks around Texas for the primary spring break weeks for schools between March 9 and March 23. However, there are still a few more options. Cedar Hill State Park still has 231 campsites available in that time frame for visitors staying at least one night. Lake Corpus Christi State Park has 111 campsites available for at least one night, and Eisenhower State Park has 119. Even though Balmorhea State Park has no availability in that time frame, the park's San Solomon Springs pool has reopened after several months of restoration work. It had been closed since last May. RELATED: Balmorhea spring-fed swimming pool reopens in West Texas after months of repairs Texas Parks and Wildlife also just unveiled a new reservation system that allows visitors to pick specific campsites in advance. 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 | 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. Philippines flag carrier Cebu Pacific is now accepting applications for a new batch of cadet pilots who will be trained to become full-fledged aviators for the airline. Cebu will be recruiting 16 candidates who will undergo a study now, pay later, zero-interest training programme to become full-fledged commercial pilots with guaranteed employment with the airline. The application period for the sixth batch of Cebu Pacific Cadet Pilots will run until February 24. Interested applicants may visit http://www.flyfta.com to apply for the programme. Applications opened from February 15. The Cebu Pacific Cadet Pilot Programme is open to all Filipino citizens who are college graduates and are proficient in English. There are no preferred college degrees, and applicants need only have an average grade of at least 70 per cent or its equivalent in subjects related to Math, Physics and English. The programme entails 52 weeks of integrated flight training, theory and education at Flight Training Adelaide (FTA) in Australia. They will undergo learning modules, train in a flight simulator and then on to an actual aircraft. Successful candidates will receive Diplomas of Aviation for Commercial Pilot License Aeroplane, Instrument Rating, and for Pilot in Command. They will also undergo an additional four weeks of training to obtain a Pilots License under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Cebu cadet-pilots need not worry about expenses related to the flight training, as the airline will shoulder the costs firstincluding a stipend, and amortize the payment for the course while they are employed. The entire programme will be financed by Cebu Pacific, and successful cadet-pilots who enter the CEB corps of pilots will reimburse the cost of the program through salary deduction over a maximum of 10 years at zero-interest. There is no application fee for the program. The application process begins with an online pre-screening. This is followed by an on-site screening for core skills and pilot aptitude tests, among other examinations, where a fee of AU$425.00 (about PHP19,000/AED1332) will be charged. FTA will screen and shortlist all the candidates. Cebu Pacific and FTA will then jointly select the final Cadet Pilots through a final interview and deliberation. Fifty-eight CEB cadet-pilots are currently undergoing training at FTA in Adelaide, Australia. A fifth batch, comprising 16 cadet-pilots, is currently undergoing final briefings, pre-departure training and will depart for FTA in April 2019. The five batches of cadet-pilots were selected from over 30,000 applicants who submitted applications online and went through the testing, screening and interview process. - TradeArabia News Service South Africa: Government congratulates prosecutors in Rohde case Government has congratulated investigators and prosecutors who worked on the murder case of property mogul, Jason Rohde. Government congratulates investigators and prosecutors and all those who worked on securing yet another victory in the fight against gender-based violence with the conviction and subsequent sentencing of convicted murderer Jason Rohde, government said in a statement on Friday. The property mogul was convicted for the murder of his wife Susan, which took place at the Spier Estate in July 2016. Rohde was handed 18 years behind bars in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, and a further five years for obstructing the course of justice and tampering with the crime scene. The country is battling with incidents of gender-based violence on a daily basis. Government is encouraged to see perpetrators of these crimes receive harsh sentences and the nation cannot rest until there is an end to the senseless abuse and killing of women in the country, read the statement. Government said it hopes that Rohdes sentence will serve as deterrent to all those who continue to abuse women. Government is committing resources to programmes that are aimed at intensifying and accelerating efforts to achieve the elimination of all forms of violence against women and children. These include the Gender-Based Violence Command Centres, as well as the Victim Empowerment Programme, which look after the needs of gender-based violence victims, said government. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-03-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Low-cost Indian carrier GoAir has kicked off its operations from Kannur International Airport in the south Indian state of Kerala to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi with four new weekly flights on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Abu Dhabi Airports (AUH) welcomed the inaugural flight from Kannur, a popular leisure and business destination within Kerala, with much fanfare when it touched down today (March 2) at 00.40 local time. The Indian subcontinent remains one of the most popular destinations for travellers departing from AUH. Abu Dhabi Airports CEO Bryan Thompson said: "India is a key travel market for Abu Dhabi International Airport, and we are always eager to strengthen our connectivity to the Indian Subcontinent, enhancing further our services extended to our dear customers." GoAir Managing Director Jeh Wadia said: "This is a historic moment for GoAir as we enter the Middle East region with our maiden flight taking off from Kannur to Abu Dhabi, thereby strengthening the India UAE relationship." "GoAir is worlds fastest growing airline and Abu Dhabi is our 4th international destination after Phuket, Male and Muscat, and 28th destination sequentially speaking. We are delighted to partner with AUH. It is heartening to note that both GoAir and Abu Dhabi Airports were established in 2006 and are celebrating 13th anniversaries this year." "I welcome aboard passengers from Kannur and Abu Dhabi on four direct flight services per week at an attractive all-inclusive one way fare starting from Dh435 ($118). Fly smart, fly GoAir," he added. AUH Chief Commercial Officer Maarten De Groof said: "As one of our most promising new partners, we are pleased to welcome GoAirs flights to Abu Dhabi." "India has always been one of our largest and most important areas of operations, and we look forward to ensuring GoAirs guests enjoy a comfortable and efficient experience throughout Abu Dhabi International Airport where we continue to deploy world-class smart travel solutions, attractive retail offerings, and relaxing lounge spaces," noted de Groof. This additional service to Abu Dhabi reflects the Capitals status as a key destination and transit hub, and forms a part of our strategy to attract new airlines to our network, he added. The flight G8 53 will take off from Kannur International Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10.10pm and land in AUH at 00.40 and on return, the flight G8 54 will leave AUH on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 1.40am and 7.10am. Wadia lauded the UAE government as well as General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for the succssful AUH launch. "Also our special gratitude to our partners Safar Emirates Travel LLC Abu Dhabi and Al Ain; Al Naboodha Travel LLC Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman and Arabian Travel Services LLC Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Last but not the least, GoAir thanks Abu Dhabi Airports and Etihad Ground and Maintenance services, he added. GoAir, he stated, was committed to providing travellers value for their money through the highest standards of customer service delivery and affordable air fares. "With its fleet of 49 Airbus A320 and Airbus A320neo aircraft, the airline offers more than 230 daily flights and approximately 1,600 weekly flights across 28 destinations 24 domestic and 4 international," he added.-TradeArabia News Service One of President Donald Trumps most loyal foot soldiers stood in front of the door to apartment 2E. Hi there! she said as a woman opened the door to her. Im Lynne. Lynne Patton, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments regional administrator for New York and New Jersey, strode into the apartment, leading a dozen reporters, TV cameras and photographers through the door. In the middle of the pack was a HUD aide holding an iPhone aloft to livestream the whole thing on Pattons HUD Facebook page. The reporters plus the hundreds of people who have watched it on Facebook Live were on a tour of the Patterson Houses, a typical cluster of South Bronx high-rises beset by problems typical of the New York City Housing Authority: mold, leaks, poor heating, lead paint, rats. But in apartment 2E, the home of Judith Maldonado, leaking water was the days main attraction. Photographers jostled for position as Patton looked at a wall in Maldonados bathroom, paint peeling and plaster soggy. Do you have your work order number? Patton asked, promising to pass it along to NYCHA management and get the problem, which has plagued Maldonado since 2017, resolved once and for all. That effort, getting long-delayed capital repairs finally completed, is the most straightforward goal of Pattons experiment in radical empathy. She, the well-compensated, upper-class Trump family personal-aide-turned-administrator, plans to spend a months worth of weeknights in NYCHA apartments, crashing on an air mattress on her hosts floors in order to get an up-close and personal look at life in the housing projects her agency oversees. Its a bold plan, and one without precedent among HUD appointees. It has put a human face to the federal agency, which is exerting growing influence over NYCHA, including the appointment of a federal monitor agreed to as part of a major legal settlement in January. Her stays have put public pressure on the housing authority to fix myriad issues, particularly in theapartments and complexes that Patton visits. Its earned her both high-profile praise andcriticism. And it has put Patton back in the spotlight, which she loves. After Maldonados soggy walls were sufficiently scrutinized, Patton headed toward the door while thanking her host. A photographer stopped her on the way out, urging her back into the bathroom to pose under the peeling paint. Im disgusted its very emotional, she said, holding back tears near the sink while the camera clicked. Not only is this the United States of America, but this is the greatest city in the world. Sarah Blesener Lynne Patton knows how to put on a show. That does not mean, despite what you may have read, that she is a wedding planner. She was eager to correct the record as she sat down with City & State right after the tour. She sat in the same Patterson Houses apartment living room where she had spent the previous two nights. Monday night, on the air mattress. Tuesday night, on the sofa, after falling asleep watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. If helping Lara pick out a wedding dress makes me a wedding planner, she said, then I guess every woman in America is a wedding planner! Patton is comfortable around the multimillionaire set, thanks to her former occupation as a personal aide to the Trump family. She was hired in 2009 on the recommendation of Michael Cohen, Donald Trumps then-personal lawyer who pleaded guilty in August to arranging illegal hush money payments during Trumps presidential campaign. She started as a personal aide to Eric Trump, the presidents second-oldest son, and rose through the ranks to become vice president of the since-shuttered Eric Trump Foundation and chief of staff for the entire family, serving as an all-purpose scheduler and gatekeeper for the younger generation of Trumps: Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric and his wife Lara, and Tiffany. But when it came to Eric and Laras November 2014 nuptials at Mar-a-Lago, Patton insists she was just a friend pitching in.If helping Lara pick out a wedding dress makes me a wedding planner, she said, then I guess every woman in America is a wedding planner! Sure enough, reporting at the time had New York-based Jennifer Zabinski Events as the planner, with help from floral and event designer Preston Bailey. Neither Zabinski nor Bailey responded to a request for comment. But that didnt stop the Daily News from deeming her the Trump family wedding planner in a June 2017 story on her appointment as regional administrator. Headline: THE WEDDING SCAMMER. The moniker got picked up widely, in The New York Times, The New Yorker and even Brides, a magazine that usually features stories like 31 Fresh Flower Table Runners for Every Wedding Style. And even though she quickly tried to dispel it to the Times, the description has stuck the Daily News called her Eric Trumps wedding planner as recently as January. As of last month, Wikipedia still called her an event planner. Patton said she tried to edit her own page to fix it, but the online encyclopedia sent her a notice back telling her she was wrong. And I was like, but I am Lynne Patton, she said, breaking out into laughter. The persistence of the error fuels her theory that the #FakeFuckingNews is full of glorified bloggers, but Patton seems to take it all in stride. She refused to denigrate the original reporter, Greg B. Smith, who she said has done great investigative work, and the News Wedding Scammer cover now hangs on her office wall. After all, Patton clearly doesnt mind the association with the Trump name. She name drops the Trumps constantly, emphasizing her friendship with Americas most famous family. On at least one occasion, Patton invoked Erics name in an official email. That was in the early days of the Trump administration, and she said shes learned her lesson even if her taking a government job has made it harder to be a friend. Erics even scared to text me back! she jokes, since Eric has to keep some professional distance while running the family business.Does that mean were not friends? Of course not. We just had dinner the other night. But its just, we dont talk about anything that has to do with government. "We went to a ton of shithole apartments, as my boss would say. We went to a ton of them. They are horrible. Hours after our interview, Patton was insisting that she understood residents pain. On Pattons Facebook livestream of a community center town hall that night, a middle-aged man who lived at Patterson Houses could be heard yelling at her for just dropping in for a few days. You dont understand! Ive been here before! This is not new to me! Patton shouts back into the microphone, noting that she had visited Patterson Houses twice before. Go on my page. We went to a ton of shithole apartments, as my boss would say. We went to a ton of them. They are horrible. The provocative comment earned some press scrutiny thanks to her reference to President Donald Trumps notorious Oval Office aside about not wanting to admit more immigrants from shithole countries like Haiti and El Salvador. The phrase wouldve been shocking coming from any other president. And the term shithole apartments wouldve been shocking coming from a typical government appointee. But Patton isnt a typical appointee, and her social media feeds Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are constant streams of pro-Trump ephemera. Sarah Blesener Patton jumped right on the Trump campaigns golden escalator as a senior adviser when he first announced his candidacy in June 2015. As a black woman, Patton served as an important validator with two of the identity groups where the Trump campaign struggled. It was Patton who allegedly without asking permission published a heartfelt video in May 2016 defending The Trump Family that I Know against claims of racism. In it, Patton speaks over a montage of black and white photos of her with the family while somber piano music plays. There is no amount of money in the world that could buy my loyalty to a family that subscribed to such intolerant and bigoted ideologies, she says. Patton was subsequently given a primetime slot at the Republican National Convention to make the same point again. Her video played before she spoke. When Trump took office, Patton was rewarded with a job as senior adviser to HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Five months later, she was appointed regional administrator, despite her lack of experience in housing policy or urban development. But Patton still prioritizes her role as a black Trump ally over her role at HUD. The City reported that Patton skipped a conference for all HUD regional administrators in order to attend Cohens riveting testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. She was a guest of North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, a Trump ally who was once considered for White House chief of staff. Do you know Lynne Patton? You made some very demeaning comments about the president that Ms. Patton doesnt agree with! Meadows told Cohen, who had sought to portray the president as a racist to the committee. She says that as the daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way that she would work for an individual who is racist. And neither should I, as the son of a Holocaust survivor, Cohen responded. The sentiment left unspoken: But I did it anyway. During the exchange, Patton stood behind Meadows, wordlessly, in a performance that New York Times reporter Nick Confessore called the some of my best friends are black defense, in human form. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib accused Meadows of using Patton as a prop. Pattons response: Today was not about the color of my skin. Today was about two people who know the president equally and who disagree about the way he is being characterized. But Patton carries out the role of Trump validatorevery single day, in much less dramatic fashion, on social media, where the Trump campaign has never ended. Her Twitter account took a hit after fake followers she purchased were purged by the platform. But many followers are very real and very supportive when shepiles on favored Trump punching bags like Times reporter Maggie Haberman and American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan, whom Patton called Miss Piggy in a 2018 tweet. Patton later apologized and deleted the tweet, but hasnt halted the personal attacks, calling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a DumbAss on Facebook last month. There are endless #MAGAs and memes supporting a border wall. Every single day of the federal government shutdown, she posted a Twitter vignette of a different American citizen killed by an illegal alien. She met some the victims families during the presidential campaign, she explains. A lot of them are my best friends now. These particular deaths should never have happened because the person should not have been here in the first place. Unprompted, Patton then drew a bright line between her social media and her politics. Quite frankly, I dont care whos living in NYCHA that is an undocumented alien, she said. My goal is to fix NYCHA for every resident. Thats a job she plans to stick with, even as Trump ramps up his re-election campaign. Patton said she consulted with the Trump children before accepting the regional administrator job, and they decided that she should stay there through the end of the first term instead of working for the campaign even though jumping back on a campaign is common practice in Washington.But Patton still sees herself as a campaign asset. What better way to effectuate change and actually sort of foster his re-election efforts than improving the largest public housing authority in the country? Sarah Blesener The federal government is the primary funder of NYCHA, which expects to get some $1.8 billion in operating and capital funds for public housing from Washington this year. The federal government, in the form of HUD, also oversees NYCHA and HUD is tightening the leash. Carson, as HUD secretary, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, at the top of the NYCHA leadership chain, signed a court-ordered agreement on Jan. 31 mandating the placement of a federal monitor to keep the housing authority on track to meet tangible goals like eliminating lead paint and maintaining consistent heating in apartments. By its own accounting, NYCHA needs $32 billion to get every apartment in all 325 complexes into a state of good repair. The agreement requires New York City to spend some $2.2 billion over the next 10 years on capital repairs, but theres no mention on federal funding commitments, which will continue to be negotiated on a yearly basis. She takes credit for a rare increase in federal funding last year even though it was Congress that approved a funding increase after Trump first proposed a cut. Patton hastaken it upon herself to sell the deal to residents. In her eyes, HUD is the savior that will finally bring order to NYCHA and better living conditions for its more than 400,000 residents #ChangeIsComing. In speeches and statements and on TV, she mentions how much money the federal government alreadysends NYCHA. She takes credit for a rare increase in federal funding last year even though it was Congress that approved a funding increase after Trump first proposed a cut. Now shes promising the press that the president is personally paying attention to NYCHA. Could more funding be on the way? Pattons role in the NYCHA agreement appears to have been limited. One former HUD regional administrator, who spoke anonymously to City & State in order to speak frankly, said its more of a management role than a policy role, and even at that, most New York employees report to higher-ups in HUDs Washington office rather than to Patton. Most of the previous holders of the office had backgrounds in housing or economic development, but not all most notably de Blasio, who served under then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Patton has built a higher profile than any of them. De Blasio earned half a dozen mentions in the Times during his roughly two years as regional administrator. Patton already has 15 mentions, and countless more in the tabloids. For the record, a NYCHA spokesperson said employees were not instructed to change their normal maintenance routine for Patton, but tabloid stories and residents own testimony suggested otherwise, as Patterson Houses seemed cleaned up during her stay. NYCHA declined comment any further on Patton. Pattons high-profile role is wacky, the former administrator said, because she is acting like an advocate, rather than somebody who works for the agency that recommends how much funding to give NYCHA. Patton is taking a gamble with all these public appearances and sleepovers, making promises to NYCHA residents who have learned not to trust NYCHA after being promised a bill of goods time and time again that never seems to come. If this works, and theres money or changes at NYCHA that are for the better, that is great, the former HUD administrator said. If this becomes a huge public media extravaganza that results in nothing, weve just dug ourselves deeper into this ongoing cycle of promises and distrust. Sarah Blesener Pattons loyalty to the Trumps is unquestioned, but she has managed to cultivaterelationships and earn respect across the aisle. Those that have worked with Patton all credit herwith studying up on housing policy when she got the job. While shell defend HUD to the death on Twitter, she has been known in private to push back on official policies, like Carsons scuttled proposal to raise NYCHA tenants rent to 35 percent of their gross income, up from 30 percent. She has been accessible and eager to work with New Yorks fiercely anti-Trump elected officials, including New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres, a progressive Bronx Democrat who used to chair the councils public housing committee. I find (Patton) to be far better than the administration for which she works, Torres told City & State. Because Ive come to know her on a personal level. New York City Councilwoman Alicka Ampry-Samuel, the current public housing chairwoman, meetswith Patton regularly and agreed that Trump and presidential politics have never been on the table. When I talk to Lynne, we talk sister to sister, Ampry-Samuel told City & State. One woman of color to the other. We relate on that level, two women trying to make a difference in the world. Many who have worked with her agree that she has a genuine ability to connect with people even those that find her politics abhorrent. Ive toured NYCHA developments with people. And you can tell the difference when somebody cares or they dont care, Ampry-Samuel said. She seems like she cares. "I grew up with more money than God in Connecticut." That empathy has been the glue that has kept Pattons NYCHA sleepovers from becoming a total punchline. Unlike Carson, her boss at HUD, Pattons story didnt start with her growing up in government-subsidized housing. Patton is the daughter of Curtis Patton, a legendary Yale University epidemiologist, and grew up in Connecticut with more money than God, as she put it in one of her tweets. She attended Tabor Academy, an elite boarding school in Massachusetts, and graduated from the University of Miami in 1996. She briefly went to law school at Quinnipiac University but dropped out and joined the legal world anyway, working as a paralegal for more than a decade while also, occasionally, acting. She was getting ready for job at a Stamford, Connecticut, law firm one morning in 2005 when she caught video on the Today show of people struggling after Hurricane Katrina. Patton said she was so moved by the suffering that she called out of work and went straight to the local offices of the American Red Cross to see how she could help. She ended up managing temporary shelters in Louisiana for a couple months in the hurricanes aftermath. She wasnt a storm victim, but she took their pain to heart just like shes doing now, with public housing residents.Its what spurred this sleepover plan, her own idea after seeing a New York Post headline Cold Hearted: Thousands in NYCHA complex left without heat, hot water. So she announced a plan to spend weeknights away from her apartment at Trump Plaza in New Rochelle, away from her live-in boyfriend of a decade, Andrew Hayduk, who works for real estate developer the Cappelli Organization, and away from her Shih Tzu, Winston, to move into into some of the most maligned housing in the city. The entire experiment often feels like an awkward publicity stunt. Heres Patton dancing for the cameras. Theres Patton tweeting photos of rats. Heres Patton, waving and winking at the camera while stuck literally stuck, for 20 minutes in an elevator overloaded with journalists. The spectacle has led Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie to dub it poverty voyeurism on Twitter and thats among the lesser insults shes received on social media. Before our interview, Patton posed for photos for this story, first in the living room where she was staying, then out in the hallway among the graffitti, where she offered a suggestion. I think this is what people want to see. Its a little more gritty, she said. Inside, that could be anyones living room. Patton asked to keep her sunglasses on top of her her head for the shoot, an idiosyncratic style choice that she maintained in an on-set TV interview with NY1, at the U.S. Capitol during Cohens testimony, and in countless photos on social media. Its kind of become an inside joke at this point, she explained when asked about it. Theres no rhyme or reason behind it. Then Patton posed by an apartment door that somebody had glammed up, outlining 5B in rhinestones. To me its like, even in the worst situation, people can find a way to make things personal and pretty. After she mentioned NYCHAs shithole apartments during the Patterson Houses town hall, Patton got more personal with the crowd. Withhold your judgement about me, she exhorted, even though I obviously work for a president that some of you may not have voted for. At best,that was an understatement. According to the Times detailed precinct vote reports, 1,420 residents of the Patterson Houses voted in the 2016 presidential election. Forty of them voted for Trump, earning him 2.8 percent of the Patterson Houses vote. But there in front of the cameras, journalists and viewerson Facebook, Patton promised that she and HUD would finally fix up their homes. This is not about politics. This is about the people. And quite frankly, shame on anybody who does make it about politics, because thats not why were here. We are here to effectuate real change. MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Fraud, Cherokee Trail: A resident told police Feb. 24 that his sons PlayStation online account was recently wiped out. He then tried to contact the company to resolve the problem. He was told it would be restored, but he had to buy at least $550 worth of play cards to restore it. He bought the cards and gave the numbers to the online customer service. He was then told he needed to buy another card. He went to the store and bought a $450 card. Customer service then told him it needed the cards in sets of two. He then bought another two cards for $450. However, he was told that he didnt buy them fast enough and that he had to buy more Google play cards. His credit card then declined the purchases and customer service hung up on him. He told the officer he spent $2,660 during this exchange. He wanted to file a report and have police possibly help recover the money he lost. Drunken driving, Big Creek Parkway: An officer followed a car at 3:25 a.m. Feb. 27 that weaved within its lane several times. He then saw the car make a wide turn and travel into another lane. That is when he stopped the car. The driver said she had worked at a nearby restaurant, then stopped with friends at a tavern, where they had a few drinks. The officer detected alcohol on the driver during his conversation with her. She failed field sobriety tests, measuring a .138 blood alcohol content level. She was arrested. Warrant, Bagley Road::An officer randomly checked a cars registration late Feb. 26 and found that the cars owner had two warrants for his arrest. The motorist was indeed the cars owner and was arrested. Warrant, Bagley Road: Police went to McDonalds at 3:06 p.m. Feb. 24 for a disturbance. They then arrested someone involved who had several warrants. Dangerous drugs, East Winding Oak: Police went to a house regarding an overdose at 12:26 a.m. Feb. 26. They found a woman unconscious, but breathing, in the bathroom. They also located several needles and pipes in her purse. She was given two doses of Narcan prior to paramedics arriving. Paramedics gave her more Narcan. She became conscious and was taken to the hospital. Police seized the items in her purse. Criminal damage, Engle Road: Police went to Motel 6 at 3:48 a.m. Feb. 24 for a car ramming another in its parking lot. The suspect then left the scene. The victim said he had told his girlfriend to leave the motel after they were there a few days. That is when she got into her car and struck his car at least 200 times. There was heavy damage to the mans front and rear drivers side door panels. He said he had a video of the incident and the suspects cars license plates number. A security guard said he saw the incident and agreed with the victims explanation of what happened. Police contacted the woman, who said she was sorry for the incident. The officer told her she would soon receive a summons about a court date. Within minutes, the officer received a call from the victim saying he did not want to pursue charges. He said he would take care of the damages so he would not have to return to Cleveland. The officer then called the suspect and told her the charges were dropped. Found property, Pearl Road: A woman found a wallet Feb. 21 in the middle of West 130th Street. It did not contain any money, but had a drivers license and credit cards. An officer contacted the victim, who planned to pick it up Feb. 22. Harassing communications, Fowles Road: A woman told police Feb. 20 that she has been receiving messages and videos from a relatives husband since 2017. She said he also has posted sexual comments on Facebook. She said they were sent through fake accounts, but she knew who was sending them. The officer asked if she had told the man to stop sending her messages. She said no. The officer told her she had to do that. An informational report would be made, but in order for a formal complaint, she needed to tell the man to stop messaging her. She said she had a jump drive with the suspects messages on it. The officer told her she also needed to give that to police. Illegal entry, Bagley Road: A man was in court Feb. 20 who did not have a visa or green card. He said he has been in the United States for two or three years. Immigration was contacted and the man was later released to an ICE agent. Theft, Columbine Court: A resident told police that someone had entered his unlocked car sometime Feb. 17 or 18. During the interview, the officer learned that police had found the mans missing items during a previous shift. Theft, Southland Drive: A Giant Eagle loss prevention officer told police that he saw a man take several items from shelves and place them in his grocery cart on Feb. 19. He said the suspect went to the back of the store and placed the items into a Giant Eagle bag. The suspect did this several times. The suspect then left the store without paying for the items. The man was stopped in the parking lot. The suspect repeatedly apologized and admitted to the theft. Theft, Pearl Road: A woman told police that she had dropped off her son Feb. 18 at Get Air Trampoline and returned a bit later to pick him up. However, the boys shoes were missing. The security videotape revealed a possible suspect. It showed a woman going through various cubicles and removing items. She was also seen taking a pair of shoes from one of them and hiding them inside her coat before leaving the facility. The mother said she wanted to pursue charges if the womans identity was found. BEACHWOOD, Ohio A carjacking suspect stole a Beachwood police cruiser and was arrested after a low-speed chase that included officers shooting at the cruiser, according to police. The man was not injured by the gunfire and was arrested after the chase ended in Shaker Heights. Two Beachwood police officers suffered minor injuries in the incident, but police did not say how. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the case, Beachwood police said. The incident began about 2:30 p.m. when the man stole a GMC pick-up from the parking lot at University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center on Richmond Road, according to police and 911 recordings. A witness told 911 the man walked up to a truck in the parking lot, jumped in and sped off. Shortly after, an officer spotted the stolen truck turning into a parking lot on Chagrin Boulevard and Green Road, police said. The man driving the truck got out and ran from officers. The officers ran after him, according to police. The man jumped into a running but empty police cruiser and drove off, police said. The man caused private property damage while driving off, but police did not say what was damaged. Officers shot at the cruiser, partially disabling the cruiser, police said. The man still was able to drive off at low speeds, and Shaker Heights and Beachwood police stopped the car about a mile-and-a-half away on Stoer Road and Lomond Boulevard in Shaker Heights. The man got out of the stolen cruiser and tried to run but was arrested, police said. The man was taken to an area hospital out of precaution, police said. Police said they will release the mans identity when hes been charged. PARMA, Ohio Teachers at Summit Academy charter school in Parma voted on Friday to approve their first union contract and end a nine-day strike, according to the Ohio Federation of Teachers. Teachers will return to classrooms and reopen the school Monday. The two dozen teachers at the Stumph Road charter, which mainly serves students with learning or behavioral disabilities, went on strike Feb. 19 after failing to reach a deal improving teaching conditions. The contract they approved Friday ensures a voice at work and establishes staffing guidelines and labor-management committee, the OFT said. It improves includes student learning conditions, including language on class size and staffing. The contract doesnt address wages, but there will be an economic re-opener in the fall, the union said. Mike Meyers, a high school intervention specialist at the school said he was glad the strike was over. For the teachers this was a great sign of how forming a union can help organize workers, make change and create a voice for us., Meyers said. Nobody loves going on strike, but we did it for a good reason. We did it for a good cause. Parents and students were in support of us, and we made sure that they were the Number One priority going into this, and they were the Number One priority with us agreeing to the contract. Meyers said teachers overwhelmingly approved the first contract. About 25 teachers work at the school. Management was honest about reaching an agreement when they met with teachers at the bargaining table for the first time Thursday, Meyers said. "There was a lot of good communication that took place," he said. Akron-based Summit Academy Management, which runs the Parma school and 23 others across Ohio, could not be reached for comment Friday evening. The contract addresses several issues, including three critical ones, Meyers said. Class size would not exceed 18 students. He said some classes had more than 20 students. Meyers said the contract calls for two teachers per classroom as well as clarifies issues related to hiring. The labor-management team will be in communication with Summit Academy on the status of positions, he said. What was happening before was that here were positions that were not even posted online. As teachers, we were not being kept up-to- date with what positions were open or being filled or being interviewed for." Meyers said the contract calls for management to create a clean and safe environment. The strike was a rarity for charter schools and the first in Ohio, where charter teachers have just started joining unions in the last few years. Teachers said the school, with about 200 students, had not been meeting class size and staffing claims on its website, violating students legally mandated Individual Education Plans. They said poor maintenance and cleaning posed health and safety hazards. And they accused the school of unfair labor practices. Salaries have also been low at the school, with teacher starting pay just over $31,000. Salaries reported through the Ohio Treasurer show few teachers or aides making more than $40,000 last year. CATAWBA ISLAND TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Alcohol appears to be a factor in a car crash that seriously injured a 64-year-old Broadview Heights man who was a passenger, authorities say. The crash happened about 10:30 p.m. Friday on Ohio 53 just north of Ohio 163 in Catawba Island Township, according to a news release from the State Highway Patrol. A 49-year-old Westlake man was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro south on Ohio 53 when he drove off the side of the road, struck a guardrail, went back on to the road and then continued to drive into the guardrail, the release says. The car broke down and blocked the southbound lanes of Ohio 53, the release says. Paramedics took the 64-year-old man by LifeFlight to Toledo ProMedical Hospital, the release says. Both of the men were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. The crash is under investigation. Authorities did not say if the driver has been charged. Catawba Island police, Catawba Island Fire Department, Kens Towing and Ottawa County ODOT assisted at the scene. Srinagar: Ever since the Pulwama attack, Kashmir Valley has been on the edge with near-war like situation looming over the region. The Central government has, however, added fuel to the fire by banning Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), a well-known socio-religious organisation, in a move heavily criticised by the people of the state. The central government has also slightly tinkered with Article 370, which is unlikely to help the situation. Support TwoCircles On Thursday, the Government of India gave its nod to the promulgation of an ordinance for giving reservation benefits to SCs and STs in Jammu and Kashmir by amending a clause of the contentious Article 370, which gives special status to the state. Following the decision rumours started doing rounds that Govt. had partially revoked the Article 35A, prompting political parties of the region to react sharply. However, it must be pointed out that the backlash for this move is nowhere close, or even comparable, to the move to ban the Jamaat. Following the arrest of hundreds of JeI activists including its state head, a number of its members have gone underground to evade the detention. The state has created such an atmosphere that no activist of JeI was willing to speak to media, even anonymously. In fact, even the organisation hasnt released any statement since the ban as their spokesmen have also been detained. A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The notification, a copy of which is with TwoCircles.net, says the Centre banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under the anti-terror law on the grounds that it was in close touch with militant outfits and is expected to escalate secessionist movement in the state. It said the outfit claims secession of a part of the Indian territory from the union and supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose. The notification, which came barely a few days after the Jammu and Kashmir Police had arrested around 150 cadres of the group in the state, said Jamaat has been indulging in activities intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India. During the intervening night of 22 and 23 February, the police had carried out a crackdown on Jamaat cadres and arrested 150 across the valley, including its chief Abdul Hamid Fayaz and advocate Zahid Ali (spokesperson). There have been allegations in the past that JeI was a political outfit of banned terror organisation Hizbul Mujahideen but the group has denied the charges. The Centre is also of the opinion that the group is involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country intended to cause disaffection. While banning it under the anti-terror law, the Centre reasoned that the group was intending to escalate its subversive activities, including an attempt to carve out an Islamic state out of the Union of India by destabilising the government established by law. After several of its leaders were detained across the Valley, Jamaat-e-Islami called it a well-designed conspiracy to pave way for further uncertainty in the region. The government has not given any reasons for the detention of the leaders. The way forces personnel unleashed the spree of mass arrest and detained dozens of Jamaat members prior to the hearing seems something is hatching behind the curtains. Any attempt of eroding or tampering Article 35A is unacceptable for people of Jammu and Kashmir, it had said before the ban. Origins of JeI: A brief history The outfit was formed in 1945 as a chapter of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. However, in 1952 the Jamaat-i-Islami Hind decided to separate its Kashmir branch because of the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the leadership of two committed Jamaat members, Maulana Ahrar and Ghulam Rasul Abdullah, the Jamaat in Kashmir drafted its own Constitution which was passed and accepted in November 1953. Sources told a Srinagar-based news agency (KNS) that at least 300 schools are being run by Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT), affiliated with JeI having 10 thousand teachers with an approximate enrolment of one lakh students. This is the third time that Jamaat has been banned in J&K. Earlier it had been banned in the 70s and the 90s. But both the times, it emerged stronger than before. The organisation is running hundreds of Schools, health centres, orphanage centres and helping people during times of need. It has cadres in every nook and corner of the state. The Jamaat has, in the past, fought elections in the year 1971, 1972, 1977 and 1987 in the state. However, after the election rigging in 1987, it decided to boycott the electoral process. The organisation favours Kashmirs merging with Pakistan. According to reports, hundreds of its cadre were killed, detained and their houses were burned by government forces in the 1990s. Ban can hurt Kashmir further: Experts Experts say the ban on Jamaat and crackdown on its cadre will only make the situation worse especially in South Kashmir as Jamaat is deeply rooted in the area both as a religious and social movement. Over the years, Jamaat has tried to delink itself from the militancy, at least officially and their cadres were more into social work. But I fear the ban and crackdown might push them once again to the wall, which is something Kashmir cant afford right now, said Shams Irfan, a journalist and political commentator. Another political commentator Gowhar Geelani says that BJP-led federal government in New Delhi is wiping away the middle ground in Kashmir by imposing bans on respected socio-religious organisations like the JeI. The BJP is choking spaces for peaceful dissent and free speech. It seems they want to win next general elections using Kashmirs political turf as a laboratory, says Gowhar. He says the JeI, J&K existed even before the India-Pakistan partition in 1947. It has played a constructive role in social reform, moral education and also relief work, rehabilitation, and rescue during earthquakes and floods. Since the BJP has nothing to show in its CV, Kashmir bashing comes in handy, he adds. When asked how will the ban impact JeI on the ground he says, The JeI has a strong base and cadres spread across J&K. This ban will have a wider impact on Kashmirs overall political landscape. Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, while reacting to the Centres decision to ban the group said, Democracy is a battle of ideas, (a) crackdown followed by the banning of Jamaat e Islami (JK) is condemnable. Another example of high-handedness and muscular approach of the Government of India to deal with the political issue of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti tweeted on Friday. Ideas cannot be banned or jailed, but needs a better idea in place of it. India is a democracy with different ideologies battling it out democratically. Steps like this choke the space for dissent and lead us to violent times, Mufti said. She later appeared to have deleted the second tweet. According to reports, a Jamaat-run office and two schools were shut down by Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Bandipora district of North Kashmir. However, one of the schools was reopened after locals protested against the decision. China trade deal still likely despite Trump's threats, says expert 4:38 PM ET Mon, 6 May 2019 A delegation of Chinese negotiators set to visit Washington, D.C., on Thursday and Friday is expected to include Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, CNBC reported. Liu's presence offers a positive sign for market watchers, many of whom considered it more likely that Trump would follow through on his newest threat of tariffs if the vice premier did not attend. While the president's protectionist moves have scared some businesses, farmers and lawmakers, Trump has some progress to show from his year of trade maneuvers. Last fall, he agreed to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. The stock market has posted major gains in 2019, in part due to optimism that trade talks with China will achieve a deal that will reverse the steep tariffs imposed by both sides. But global markets sold off sharply Monday on Trump's latest threat to boost tariffs further. The U.S. imports goods from China totaling $539.5 billion and the U.S. trade deficit stood at $419.2 billion in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. If Trump follows through with his threats, virtually all goods imported from China to the U.S. would face some sort of tariff. Here is a timeline of the U.S.-China trade conflict since the Trump administration embarked on a trade warn between the world's two largest economies: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard takes off during the Demo-1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 2, 2019. Elon Musk's dream for human spaceflight took a stellar leap forward in the early hours of Saturday morning. SpaceX launched its Crew Dragon capsule into space for the first time, in a key test flight to prove to NASA that astronauts will be safe on future flights. Called Demo-1, the mission launched from NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA tweeted soon after the launch: "LIFTOFF! The next big leap in a new chapter of U.S. human spaceflight systems has left the pad." NASA TWEET: LIFTOFF! The next big leap in a new chapter of U.S. human spaceflight systems has left the pad. While there were no humans on board, there was a dummy named Ripley that flew on the mission. Ripley, named after the main character in the 1979 movie "Alien," is equipped with sensors that give SpaceX engineers an idea of what the journey to and from the International Space Station (ISS) is like. It was the first of two test flights for SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Crew program. Demo-2, the first crewed flight, is scheduled for July. According to NASA's schedule, SpaceX is set to become the first to launch American astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. "Today's successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us closer to once again flying American Astronauts on American rockets from American soil," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement following the launch. "This first launch of a space system designed for humans built and operated by a commercial company through a public-private partnership is a revolutionary step on our path to get humans to the Moon, Mars and beyond." Crew Dragon is slated to autonomously dock to the ISS at approximately 6:00 a.m. EST on March 3. It is carrying about 400 pounds supplies and equipment to the space station. SpaceX TWEET: Crew Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station! After the Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011, NASA partnered with the private sector to develop the future of human spaceflight. Currently, SpaceX and Boeing have NASA contracts worth up to $2.6 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively. Square co-founder Tristan O'Tierney is dead at age 35, according to comments made by his family to the San Francisco Chronicle. He passed away on February 23. "Tristan was part of Square's founding story and we are deeply saddened by his passing," a Square spokesperson told CNBC. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends." O'Tierney left Square in 2013. His mother, Pamela, blamed the death on a fight with addiction, for which he had been seeking help at a recovery center. "I know he got to the hospital, he couldn't breathe and they couldn't revive him," Pamela O'Tierney told the San Francisco Chronicle. It's unclear what exactly caused his death. According to his LinkedIn profile, O'Tierney held positions at Yahoo!, Brand Logic and Apple before starting at Square in 2009. He spent nearly four and a half years at Square, where he worked on the company's first iPhone and iPad apps. Most recently, he was a freelance photographer in Los Angeles. Read more on the San Francisco Chronicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they are sending teams to investigate a fatal crash in Florida on Friday involving a Tesla car and a semi-trailer. The two agencies are investigating several crashes involving the use of Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot including a fatal crash in California in March 2018. NHTSA, the auto safety regulator, can demand a recall if it believes a defect poses an unreasonable risk, while the NTSB makes safety recommendations. A spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Department that oversees NHTSA said late on Friday that "NHTSA's Crash Investigation Division assigned a Special Crash Investigation team to investigate the crash", while the NTSB said it is sending a team of three "to conduct a safety investigation". A report on Friday's crash released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department did not indicate if Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash that killed the 50-year-old Tesla Model 3 owner. The report said the Tesla struck a tractor trailer and the roof was sheared off as it passed underneath the trailer and came to a rest three-tenths of a mile south of the collision. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Tesla declined to comment on Friday. Some Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid putting their hands on the wheel for extended periods when using Autopilot, while Tesla advises drivers that they must keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention at all times while using Autopilot. NHTSA is also probing the January 2018 crash of a Tesla vehicle apparently traveling in Autopilot that struck a fire truck in Culver City, California, a May 2018 crash in Utah of a Tesla in Autopilot mode and a May 2018 Tesla accident in Florida that killed two teenagers and injured another but was not in Autopilot mode. The NTSB is investigating three earlier Tesla incidents being reviewed by NHTSA, as well as an August 2017 Tesla battery fire in California, in which an owner ran the vehicle into his garage. Friday's crash is similar to the first fatal Tesla crash linked to Autopilot use. In May 2016, a Tesla Model S driver was killed near Williston, Florida, using Autopilot when he slammed into a tractor trailer that also sheared off the vehicle roof. The incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches of time with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers. The NTSB said in September 2017 Tesla lacked proper safeguards that allowed the driver "to use the system outside of the environment for which it was designed and the system gave far too much leeway to the driver to divert his attention." In January 2017, NHTSA said its review found no evidence of defects in the 2016 fatal Autopilot crash that would require a recall. A state visit by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Iran has resulted in an agreement between the two countries to cooperate on the potential transiting of Iranian gas through Armenia to Georgia. As Eurasianet writes, If implemented, the agreement promises to be controversial, not least because it would involve Armenia challenging Russian control of its gas distribution sector, and potentially pitching both Armenia and Georgia into conflict with the United States, which last November re-imposed its stringent sanctions against Iran. The suggestion for the transit deal appears to have come from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who brought up the issue in a Tehran press conference following his February 27 meeting with Pashinyan. "As to cooperation in the field of gas supply, we expressed the Iranian sides readiness to step up supplies, Rouhani said. We are likewise prepared to launch tripartite cooperation to export gas to Georgia." Pashinyan said he was amenable. "Armenia is ready to cooperate with Iran and become a transit country for Iranian gas, he said following Rouhanis remarks. The establishment of an energy corridor is also of great importance both in terms of bilateral and regional dimensions and in broader terms." Neither commented on whether Georgia has yet been involved in discussions on the possible trade and an Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson was unable to confirm to Eurasianet whether Georgia had been consulted. The possible export of Iranian gas to Georgia was first raised in 2016 with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) making successive claims of a deal with both the Georgian state and an unnamed private sector company. However, these reports were subsequently denied by Tbilisi, which has yet to confirm any form of gas agreement with Iran. If implemented, the plan would introduce some competition into the Georgian gas market. Georgia is currently supplied entirely from Azerbaijan. Transit of gas from Iran through Armenia to Georgia is technically possible, as pipelines with sufficient spare capacity linking the three countries already exist. But there are a number of technical and political hurdles that would have to be overcome to make it work. The line linking Georgia and Armenia is part of a Soviet-era pipeline that currently delivers Russian gas to Armenia. Exporting Iranian gas to Georgia through this line would require its flow to be reversed, and for Armenia to halt its imports of Russian gas. That in turn would require Armenia to replace that gas with increased imports from its only other source of supply, Iran. That, then, could see the volume of gas needed to supply both Armenia and Georgia exceed the current capacity of the Iran-Armenia pipeline, requiring the line to be expanded, a move which would be both expensive and time consuming. In theory, gas trade between Iran and Georgia could also be managed by a swap deal, under which Russia would supply a given volume of gas to Georgia, and Iran would supply the same volume to Armenia in exchange. This would not require the flow through the Georgia-Armenia pipeline to be reversed, and would see Armenia only reducing, and not ending, its gas imports from Russia. Both options are technically possible but would require support from both Moscow and Washington, either of which could block gas trade between Iran and Georgia or at the very least make it difficult to realize. Yerevan is already at loggerheads with Gazprom, which owns Armenia's gas distribution network and controls around 80 percent of the country's gas market, after the company hiked gas prices for Armenia at the start of the year. Gazprom would be unlikely to welcome further competition in the Armenian market, although the possibility of increased Iranian gas exports to Armenia could persuade the Russians back to the negotiating table. Ultimately, though, the final decision on whether an Iran-Georgia gas trade could go ahead appears to lie with Washington and the terms of its re-imposed sanctions regime against Iran. The situation regarding Iran's gas exports is "not so straightforward, Erika Olson, economic counsellor at the U.S. embassy in Ankara, said February 16 at a regional energy conference in Istanbul. While Iran's gas exports are currently exempt from sanctions, financial transactions to pay for the gas are sanctioned, Olson said. Payments for gas are to be deposited into a local bank account where it can be used only in payment for the exports of sanctions-exempt goods back to Iran. As such, Armenia's gas imports from Iran under the existing barter agreement are exempt from U.S. sanctions, and swap deals for Georgian gas could also be ruled exempt. However, Olson also cautioned that the situation for any new gas deals involving Iran could face uncertain prospects depending on a number of variables. Former soldiers expected to face murder charges from Bloody Sunday Brexit 1) Ellwood claims no deal will be stopped whenever Army veterans are expected to be charged with murder within a fortnight over the deaths of Bloody Sunday protesters during the Troubles 47 years ago, The Telegraph understands. Well-placed sources have suggested that four ex-paratroopers, now in their 60s and 70s, fear being told on March 14 they will face murder charges in connection with the notorious shootings in Londonderry in 1972. Fourteen civilians were killed and another 14 wounded when the soldiers from 1 Para opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in the city. Prosecutors in Northern Ireland will meet with victims families on March 14 before making the long-awaited announcement on whether former soldiers will stand trial. A press statement will be read out in the city at an event to which television news crews have been invited. Daily Telegraph The UK will not be allowed to leave the EU without a deal at any point, Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood has suggested. He told the Political Thinking podcast he and like-minded colleagues will stop a no-deal exit whenever even if Brexit is delayed until the summer. MPs will get the opportunity to vote on a no-deal exit if Parliament rejects Theresa Mays deal again next month. Mr Ellwood suggested the PM may have to pursue a softer Brexit to build a Commons majority for her deal. Asked by presenter Nick Robinson whether this could mean the UK ultimately staying in some form of customs union with the EU, he replied possibly. BBC Weve become a walk-on-by society . . . good people need to step forward Interview with Tobias Ellwood, The Times Brexit 2) Three more Tory MPs face no confidence votes The Daily Telegraph can disclose that three Tory MPs Dame Caroline Spelman, Dominic Grieve and Mark Pawsey are facing no confidence motions at their partys annual meetings over the next four weeks. The votes are being forced on the local associations by party activists who are furious at the way some Tory MPs are trying to water down Brexit and betraying a manifesto promise to leave the single market and customs union.Tory party activists are expected to request a vote on Dame Carolines future at her partys annual meeting next Friday, Mr Pawsey faces a vote on his future on March 20 and Mr Grieve has to win a vote of no confidence on March 29. Daily Telegraph >Today: MPsETC: Brexit 3) Holiday prices cut due to fear of disruption Tour operators are offering unprecedented discounts on Easter holidays amid a slump in bookings caused by fears of Brexit travel chaos. Concern at the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU has helped to push down the price of trips to European destinations by a record 24 per cent. Analysis of more than 100,000 holidays during the school break from April 8 to April 22 found that week-long packages to destinations including Corfu, the Algarve, Mallorca and Ibiza are being cut to about 100 a person, including flights. Some operators are offering a seven-night trip with flights for as little as 108 a person, with some five-star deals as low as 124 per head. The Times Brexit 4) May sees her mission as damage limitation Theresa Mays former chief of staff has told the BBC she always saw Brexit as a damage limitation exercise. In his first TV interview, Nick Timothy suggested the PM and other ministers attitude meant the government has not been prepared to take the steps needed to make the most of Brexit. And he warned the governments mishandling of it risked opening up space for a populist right wing party. His comments are in forthcoming BBC Two documentary Inside the Brexit Storm. BBC >Today: Columnist Nick Hargrave: A memo to the next Tory leader. How you govern will be no less important than why. Brexit 5) Spain to protect the rights of British citizens under no deal The Spanish government has approved a series of unilateral contingency measures to protect the rights of Britons in Spain in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The package, set out in a royal decree that will go before parliament, will cover employment, social security, healthcare and education, and is designed to minimise disruption if the UK crashes out of the EU. The Spanish government estimates that there are at least 300,000 Britons officially registered as resident in Spain, and more than 150,000 Spaniards living in the UK. The Guardian Brexit 6) Grayling urged to resign over 33m Eurotunnel bill The Government needs to clear out the incompetent ministers Leader, The Sun Losing Control Leader, The Times Brexit 7) Forsyth: Voting for delay would mean weaker negotiating position The transport secretary faced calls to resign yesterday after his department paid 33 million to settle a legal action over no-deal Brexit preparations. Chris Grayling was condemned as incompetent after the payout to Eurotunnel, which was in the process of suing the government over the award of ferry contracts. The Channel tunnel operator had been angry at the decision to hand the contracts worth 103 million to three of its competitors without a comprehensive tendering exercise. One of the contracts was awarded to Seaborne Freight to provide additional ferries into Ramsgate, Kent, even though it did not own any vessels and had no agreement with the port. The Department for Transport (DfT) scrapped the 13.8 million deal last month. The Times If Mrs Mays deal hasnt won a Commons vote by March 12, the Commons will vote on whether to proceed with No Deal. The Parliamentary arithmetic is such that No Deal will be defeated. The next day, Parliament will then vote on whether to request an extension from the EU. This vote will almost certainly pass. At this point, the UK would be in the weakest position it has ever been in this negotiation. Whether to grant an extension or not would be up to the EU and would require all 27 member states to agree. Any extension would almost certainly come with conditions. James Forsyth, The Sun If the DUP are happy then the ERG will be happy. Daily Telegraph Barnier working on legal add-on to Brexit deal to help May The Guardian Negotiations will shift in the UKs favour Daily Express Brexit 8) Eustice: The EU can smell our fear The reason the EU have not acted in good faith during these negotiations is that they do not think we are serious about leaving or at least they think we are too scared to leave without a deal. They can smell fear. They see in the body language of our negotiators a sense that we will only ever do what the EU grants us permission to do. They see us continuing to respect their trite and ostensible legal impediments and procedures even though we are leaving. See how readily we accepted that it would be unlawful to negotiate a future partnership until after we have left or how it would be unlawful for us to commence formal trade negotiations with third countries until we have left. They do not see steely resolve or us wielding our power. Instead, we look biddable and the craven actions of those in Parliament who want to thwart Brexit are mainly to blame. George Eustice, Daily Telegraph Brexit 9) Parris: Many of the ERG would rather be martyrs than victors Without Britain, I am fearful for the future of the EU. We owe it to our continent to be in the room. In the deepest recesses of the Brexiteer mind lies a fear of winning, of being tested. Buried in their psyche is the ache for martyrdom. The divide between those who will vote for Mays deal in the days ahead, and those who wont, is just a difference of opinion about when to cry foul. Betrayal is their unconscious dream. Our job as Remainers will be to help them fulfil it. Matthew Parris, The Times Brexit 10) Oborne: Its going the PMs way Eurosceptics offer to vote for the deal if May will give a date when she will stand down as PM Financial Times Workers Rights Bill could persuade up to 70 Labour MPs to back Mays deal Daily Mail Lewis announces a scheme to sign up Conservative voters as registered supporters With ten days to go, Theresa May has, I believe, at the very least a fighting chance of making it into the winners enclosure. And if she does, we can forget the gossip now circulating in Westminster that the PM will immediately resign. History will judge whether Brexit has or has not been a good thing for Britain. But Mrs May will have delivered on her promise. She will be the heroine of the hour. Peter Oborne, Daily Mail Tory voters will be able to join the party for free as a registered supporter. The move to bring in more activists comes amid talk that the Brexit deadlock could lead to a general election. The Tories were outgunned in the 2017 election by Labour, which has more than four times as many members.The new Conservative Community Network will give non-paying activists access to campaign materials to share on social media and a role in drawing up party policies. They will not be able to take part in leadership ballots. Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said: There are people all over the country who vote for us, support us, tweet about us, knock on doors with us, deliver leaflets for us, but are not necessarily ready or looking to become full paid-up members. Daily Mail Gove says he would like independent schools to be unnecessary Cameron sends his son to a 30,000-a-year school The Sun Mitchell calls for stricter rules on tax havens Michael Gove has said he would like to see the end of private education because it creates a fundamental inequality in society. The Environment Secretary said he would like Britain to become a country where it was an eccentric choice for parents to pay for their childrens education, and that he would like to remove tax perks from independent schools. Asked if he would like to get rid of private schools by stealth, he replied: Well, yes. Mr Goves comments, which will prove controversial with many Conservative voters, go further than his previous criticisms of private education, and come as he and other ministers gear up for a potential Tory leadership contest over the summer. Daily Telegraph Tax havens under UK jurisdiction could be forced to be more open about who owns assets held there if a group of MPs get their way next week. A group led by Tory MP Andrew Mitchell and Labours Margaret Hodge want UK overseas territories (OTs) to introduce a beneficial ownership register. This, they hope, will shine a light on money laundering and the proceeds of people trafficking and other crimes. The UK created its own publicly accessible register in 2016. But the government failed in its efforts to persuade many overseas territories to follow suit. BBC Watson challenged over anti-Semitism investigation Jewish Labour Movement members turned away from meetings The Guardian Abbotts Labour branch dragged into anti-Semitism row The Sun Up to 50 may join rebel group The Times Top Corbynistas at war Daily Mail Labours mistake is to believe there are no enemies to the left John McTernan, Financial Times Chuka Umunna: I never felt totally comfortable in the Labour party The Guardian Two of Labours most senior figures have clashed over how to handle anti-Semitism within the party. General secretary Jennie Formby accused deputy leader Tom Watson of completely unacceptable behaviour for asking complaints about anti-Semitism to be forwarded to him for monitoring. She said his approach would undermine and pollute existing party processes. Mr Watson stood by his request, saying opacity and delay by the party had led to a complete loss of trust. The Labour Party has been dealing with complaints of anti-Semitism over the last two years. Mr Watsons original intervention came after nine MPs quit the Labour Party last month citing the partys failure to tackle anti-Semitism as one of the reasons. BBC >Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Independent Group. A problem for the Conservatives but a danger for Labour. SNP aim for an independent Scotland to establish its own currency within a few years Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of losing touch after it emerged that an independent Scotland could aim to establish its own currency within the first few years after leaving the UK. Under a new policy set to be introduced by the SNP, a separate Scotland would keep the pound during a transition period after a Yes vote. Keith Brown, the partys deputy leader, said it should now be party policy to establish an independent currency much quicker than previously suggested. The proposal marks a major shift on the partys position before the 2014 independence referendum when Alex Salmond, the then first minister, insisted Scotland would continue to use the pound in a currency union. Daily Telegraph An act of desperation The Scotsman >Yesterday: Craig Hoy on Comment: The middle ground is where elections are won and lost in Scotland Security guards in Parliament threaten to go on strike More than 150 UK MPs call for a bigger pay rise for staff Financial Times MPs pay should be cut Leader, Daily Express Trudeau reshuffles his cabinet amidst his biggest crisis Parliament could be thrown into chaos later this month after security guards voted to go on strike in a row about conditions. Some 250 guards who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are preparing to stage a walk-out on March 20. Visitors have to go through airport-style security checks to be allowed into the Palace of Westminster meaning a walkout could spell chaos. The Sun Justin Trudeau is facing the biggest crisis of his political career as pressure mounts on the Canadian prime minister over allegations that he interfered improperly in a corruption case involving a Montreal engineering company. News of a slowing Canadian economy compounded Mr Trudeaus challenges on Friday as he reshuffled his cabinet, less than eight months before federal elections in which polls show the opposition Conservatives as an increasing threat to his re-election. Financial Times >Today: ToryDiary: How Trudeau destroyed his political brand Moore: Teaching children about relationships is too important to be decided by politicians News in brief How an Irish observer warned in 2013 that the pro-EU elite would seek to block Brexit M.E. Synon, Brexit Central When it comes to vaccines, the science that matters is persuasion John Ashmore, Capx The myth of the millennial Corbyn project Tom Harwood, The Spectator No confidence bid launched against Sam Gyimah MP Guido Fawkes The book no socialist dares read Paul T Horgan, Conservative Woman The Government is keen that relationship education be non-judgmental, but in fact it is highly judgmental about world views which conflict with its own. It is pointless to deny, for example, that the effect of officialdoms compulsory celebration, especially in schools, of being gay or transgender makes state education more hostile for many Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents. Good character, says the Department for Education, involves honesty, integrity, courage, humility, kindness, generosity, trustworthiness and a sense of justice. How true, how very true. But why must children be told this by edict from a government building in Great Smith Street, SW1, rather than being brought up by the autonomous decisions of their teachers and parents, or by reading 1 Corinthians, 13? Given the state of the culture wars in the West, who believes that our politicians can, or should, hold a moral magisterium over us? Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph Craig Hoy is a former Downing Street lobby correspondent and is a member of the Scottish Conservative Party. Tony Blair has always believed that the political centre-ground is where elections are won and lost. Its no surprise, therefore, that in an interview with Holyrood Magazine a journal which, incidentally, I co-launched 20 years ago he says that Labour in Scotland is in trouble because it lost the middle ground to Ruth Davidson. As the tectonic plates of British politics reposition themselves following the launch of The Independent Group (TIG), something interesting is taking place in Scottish politics. Something which, for once, might play out in the Scottish Conservatives favour. Scratch beneath the surface of a recent Deltapoll, and youll find some significant data. Asked how they would vote if an election was held today and Labour and the Scottish Tories are on 26 per cent apiece: with the SNP still polling an alarmingly high 41 per cent, despite its decade of broken promises in Scotland. But asked how they might vote if TIG field candidates in Scotland, things look a bit different. Labour drops to just 13 per cent and the Tories and the SNP get a boost, the Tories up three points to 29 per cent. TIG scores nine per cent in Scotland eight per cent lower than the 17 per cent support the poll suggests it might get in London. Meanwhile the beleaguered Scottish Liberal Democrats get squeezed to just two per cent if TIG fields candidates. What do these numbers tell us, and what are the takeways for the Scottish Conservatives? From my reading, it backs up Blairs point. That the centre-ground is where we need to be, and thats where Scots are starting to believe the Tories are positioned under Ruth Davidson. Capitalising on this will be crucial. The launch of TIG might make Scottish voters think more seriously about how they cast their vote, and by doing so they could start to see something that has been staring them in the face for a while: the Conservative Party in Scotland has changed, and changed for the better. Its a centrist party and the only one that can beat the SNP and remove the clear and present danger it poses to the Union. This is something Blair recognises when he tells Holyrood: The question the Labour Party should ask itself in Scotland is how do you get beaten by the Tories? Why is that happening? Its happening because its the politics that Ruth Davidson represents. Thats why its happening. You gave up the middle ground. That was always the thing, the myth about Scotland, it was seen as this great leftist territory, but its always been much more complicated than that. People forget that, I think in the 1950s, actually, you had a majority of Tory MPs in Scotland. So there you have it. Blair, a Scot of sorts himself, concedes that Davidson is the kind of politician who represents the middle ground in Scotland. Blair evokes the memory of 1955 when the Conservatives running under Unionist and National Liberal & Conservative banners secured the majority of seats and votes in Scotland. This reminds us that Scotland has a tradition of voting Conservative, but perhaps back in the 1950s it was a different kind of Conservatism. The commonly-held view that the rot set in under Margaret Thatcher misses this point. Long before her Sermon on the Mound, Scots had set out on a different path electorally. Many Scots have a far less equivocal view on the role of the state than those down south. Perhaps it is this fact, combined with the stridency of the Thatcher era and her decision to finally address the failing state industries upon which many Scots jobs depended, that set Scotland out on a fundamentally different path politically. You cannot overlook the impact that significant levels of state involvement and public spending have had on the way Scots think and vote. State spending has accounted for as much as three quarters of the local economy in some parts of Scotland. When it comes to social policy, many Scots have more sympathy with the Nordic model than they do with the more neoliberal approaches advocated by those on the right of the UK Conservative Party. Under Davidson, the Scottish Tories have shifted significantly. By dropping opposition to free prescriptions, the party has shown they are where Scots are: in the political centre-ground. Its a commonsense, centrist conservatism, which presents a credible alternative to an SNP government which is now taxing Scots more while delivering lower outcomes in health, education, crime and transport. A YouGov poll in 2015 found that on every single issue Scots are to the left of the UK-wide position. But that does not mean they are necessarily left-wing, as Blair justly points out. With the presumption being that the UK is somewhere on the right of the political spectrum, then it can be argued that Scots might be somewhere very close to the centre-ground, or maybe even just a smidgeon to the right on some issues. So that is where the next Holyrood election, which takes place in just over two years time, could be won or lost. The SNP have shifted markedly to the left, becoming focused on the one-time Labour heartlands of the Central Belt and in cities such as Glasgow and Dundee. Many voters in rural Scotland, where the SNP traditionally cast themselves as Tartan Tories, have abandoned the SNP following its lurch to the left. The impact of The Independent Group could therefore be very different in Scotland. It might make our politics more binary, focusing minds on the fact that the next Holyrood election is a two horse race between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives: with Labour and the Lib Dems as non-starters. To quote Tony Blair at his best: The kaleidoscope has been shaken, the pieces are in flux, soon they will settle again. Before they do let us reorder this world around us. Capturing those pieces in Scotland will be no mean feat. But Davidson has already done a lot to persuade Scots she is different sort of politician. The challenge now is for the party to extend its reach across the middle ground of Scots politics to build support for its policies just as it has done for its staunch defence of the Union. In practical terms, this will entail winning over centrist Labour voters in seats such as East Lothian, and disillusioned Nationalists in seats like Perth and North Perthshire. Getting anywhere near the partys historic high watermark in 1955 is a massive political undertaking. Becoming the largest party at Holyrood, let alone securing a majority, would be a significant achievement. When Davidson returns from maternity leave in May, she will have two years to get her party there. But more than anyone else in politics today, she has the popular appeal to be able convince middle ground Scotland that its finally permissible to vote Tory again. Nick Hargrave: A memo to the next Tory leader. How you govern will be no less important than why. Nick Hargrave is a former Downing Street special adviser, where he worked under both David Cameron and Theresa May. He now works at Portland, the communications consultancy. Should Theresa May get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line in the next few weeks and the balance of probability still suggests she will attention in Westminster will gradually begin to focus on the next Conservative leadership election. Millions of words will be written about the contest that ensues and the path to become Prime Minister. About the runners and riders. About the politicking with MPs in the precincts of SW1. About pacts and alliances between different slates and candidates. About who is best placed to win a vote amongst Conservative members. About where people stand on future relationship negotiations with the EU. About an agenda for the country beyond Brexit. Far less will be written about the process of exercising power once the winning candidate crosses the threshold into 10 Downing Street. This is understandable. The emotional and physical energy needed to fight a leadership election or indeed a general election is such that politicians rarely give much advance thought on how to make the office of Number 10 work for them. This is supplemented by the fact that politicians, and the special adviser apparatchiks who serve them, are rarely good at process or people management; these skills are unfortunately not rewarded on Westminsters greasy pole. Nonetheless, the cohort of future Conservative leadership candidates would do well to start thinking privately about the structure of the Number 10 they want to build. It is an investment that will pay dividends. Otherwise the new Prime Minister will find that once his or her customary honeymoon period is over, he will have little ballast against events, the ferocious news cycle, Cabinet egos, civil service intransigence, the lack of a parliamentary majority and the million other obstacles that sit in your path. A former Prime Minister once said that you enter office at your most popular and least capable while leaving at your most capable but least popular. Here are some practical suggestions for how you can reduce the capability gap when walking up Downing Street for the first time: Make sure you choose your Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff carefully these are two of the most important decisions you will ever make. These should be grown ups that have heritage in your party, knowledge of policy, an understanding of Parliament and the UKs history of governance and critically experience of running a significant organisation. They are unlikely to be drawn from your previous political advisers, no matter what loyalty you feel to them. They need to be capable of articulating your strategic priorities primarily policy and secondarily the political communication of policy to the people who will translate the words into action: Cabinet ministers, the senior civil service, party headquarters and your MPs. They should have the gravitas to credibly challenge Cabinet ministers who are blown off course by events as well as the ability to win polite arguments with mandarins who will claim superior knowledge. They cannot be thugs; you rarely get the best out of people by telling them they are idiots. They must be able to delegate but not abdicate. These jobs are among the hardest in the world and you need to recruit and pay accordingly. these are two of the most important decisions you will ever make. These should be grown ups that have heritage in your party, knowledge of policy, an understanding of Parliament and the UKs history of governance and critically experience of running a significant organisation. They are unlikely to be drawn from your previous political advisers, no matter what loyalty you feel to them. They need to be capable of articulating your strategic priorities primarily policy and secondarily the political communication of policy to the people who will translate the words into action: Cabinet ministers, the senior civil service, party headquarters and your MPs. They should have the gravitas to credibly challenge Cabinet ministers who are blown off course by events as well as the ability to win polite arguments with mandarins who will claim superior knowledge. They cannot be thugs; you rarely get the best out of people by telling them they are idiots. They must be able to delegate but not abdicate. These jobs are among the hardest in the world and you need to recruit and pay accordingly. Decide what your priorities are and then stick to them . In the current dynamic, you must have an honest and tangible vision of the end state of our future relationship with the EU and perhaps 3 or 4 ambitious domestic priorities that form a coherent governing philosophy. These are to be achieved at all costs. Leave the rest to your Cabinet ministers. . In the current dynamic, you must have an honest and tangible vision of the end state of our future relationship with the EU and perhaps 3 or 4 ambitious domestic priorities that form a coherent governing philosophy. These are to be achieved at all costs. Leave the rest to your Cabinet ministers. Accept that strong Cabinet ministers are generally an asset to the Government . If you prevent them from speaking or doing things under their own steam then you will get stasis. The Number 10 Policy Unit should return to its original form as a cerebral brains trust working on long-term policy ideas for the next manifesto rather than the day-to-day marking of homework for departments. . If you prevent them from speaking or doing things under their own steam then you will get stasis. The Number 10 Policy Unit should return to its original form as a cerebral brains trust working on long-term policy ideas for the next manifesto rather than the day-to-day marking of homework for departments. That said, break up the Treasury within your first 24 hours and transfer the function of setting and monitoring public spending to the Cabinet Office . You cannot really exercise oversight of policy unless you keep finance within your remit. . You cannot really exercise oversight of policy unless you keep finance within your remit. Be clear on how the Civil Service really works and use the process to drive your policy objectives rather than letting your political staff complain about wily officials . The key to this is the Cabinet Office. Make sure your senior political advisers get to grips early with the little known and understood Economic &Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS). It is the conduit through which you will be able to retain reasonable control and hold departments to account. . The key to this is the Cabinet Office. Make sure your senior political advisers get to grips early with the little known and understood Economic &Domestic Affairs Secretariat (EDS). It is the conduit through which you will be able to retain reasonable control and hold departments to account. Retain a Director of Strategy to support you, your Chief and Deputy in refining how you communicate your priorities to the public . They must have the freedom to think away from the bubble and would ideally spend part of their week living in a marginal seat away from London. . They must have the freedom to think away from the bubble and would ideally spend part of their week living in a marginal seat away from London. Appoint a Director of Communications who understands analytics and data . The Number 10 press operation will always involve an element of satiating the daily thirst of the pack. But the primary role of the Communications Director is to ensure the Governments policy priorities are registering with the public and in a way that delivers you political reward. To do that you need to be tracking what works and what doesnt through evidence. . The Number 10 press operation will always involve an element of satiating the daily thirst of the pack. But the primary role of the Communications Director is to ensure the Governments policy priorities are registering with the public and in a way that delivers you political reward. To do that you need to be tracking what works and what doesnt through evidence. Never forget that you are the Leader of the Conservative Party as well as the Prime Minister . Running the country will take up most of your time. But you should spend at least a couple of hours in your week with the leadership of CCHQ to discuss high level political strategy. Day to day political tactics are beneath you but setting a direction on how to win the next election is not. You lose political definition for your project at your peril. . Running the country will take up most of your time. But you should spend at least a couple of hours in your week with the leadership of CCHQ to discuss high level political strategy. Day to day political tactics are beneath you but setting a direction on how to win the next election is not. You lose political definition for your project at your peril. Take responsibility for setting the culture of your organisation yourself . Even though you are Prime Minister you should address all the circa 200-250 Downing Street staff political and civil service- every Monday morning so you can acknowledge high performance and reinforce core delivery priorities. Many Chief Executives of comparably sized organisations do this and so should you. . Even though you are Prime Minister you should address all the circa 200-250 Downing Street staff political and civil service- every Monday morning so you can acknowledge high performance and reinforce core delivery priorities. Many Chief Executives of comparably sized organisations do this and so should you. Keep Number 10 as the Prime Ministers ceremonial residence but move the rest of the staff (including the Prime Ministers working office) to a large open-plan space nearby. The current setup of a pokey Georgian townhouse encourages silos and the shielding of information. None of the above are magic bullets and will amount to little if there is a lousy occupant in Number 10. But equally a leader with promise can only become great if they are supported by the right process. It may not be as exciting or immediately rewarding as plotting your Westminster climb. But it will have a more material impact on how history views your tenure behind the big black door. Until recently, Justin Trudeaus government in Canada was providing one bright spot for a Western centre-left which is, at least in English-speaking countries, rather embattled. So its not surprising that the scandal currently engulfing the Liberal leader has been compared by one Guardian writer to watching a unicorn get flattened by a truck. Whether or not this is actually the end of Trudeau remains to be seen at the time of writing his party appears to be rallying round him. But even if he survives it will have indelibly tarnished his reputation as the great progressive hope, for the scandal itself undermines his credentials on several fronts at once. At the root of the story are allegations that SNC-Lavalin, a major Canadian engineering firm, paid bribes worth tens of millions of Canadian dollars to the Gaddafi family in order to do business in Libya. If federal prosecutors successfully convict it on this charge it will face ten-year ban from bidding for federal contracts in Canada, potentially putting thousands of jobs at risk especially in Trudeaus own province of Quebec. Mindful of this, and doubtless also the fact that he faces a general election in October, Trudeau tried to spare SNC-Lavalin a prosecution. But Jody Wilson-Raybould, his Attorney General, refused to countermand the federal prosecutors. So he demoted her, appointing her veterans minister. What happened next appears to be Trudeau overplaying his hand. When the story initially leaked, via anonymous sources, Wilson-Raybould refused to comment, not least because she was bound by attorney-client privilege. Taking advantage of this, he apparently tried to claim that she supported him, which prompted her to resign from the government. A tactical resignation by one of the Prime Ministers close advisers didnt quiet the storm, and eventually Trudeau was pressured into part-waiving privilege in order to allow Wilson-Raybould to testify before the Canadian Commons justice committee where she excoriated him. According to her testimony, the former attorney-general was subject to an extraordinary degree of pressure to make what looks like a politically-motivated intervention in the justice system. For a politician with a brand like Trudeaus, the story is poison. A professed feminist and anti-racist, he suddenly appears to have subjected a female Cabinet minister and an Indigenous one, at that to what looks a lot like professional bullying. A champion of good government, hes now implicated in a grubby effort to shield a corrupt corporation. The opposition Conservatives may not force his resignation now, but it cant hurt their chances to enter the autumn elections against a badly damaged front-runner. Europeans share the fear that the United States is turning inward and abandoning its European allies, thus leading to the collapse of the post-World War II international order that U.S. military power created and sustains. However, a more strategic outlook is neededone that looks beyond a single-minded focus on the traditional support for U.S. allies in Europe. As Eurasiareview writes in the article Trump Or Europe: Who Is Right? OpEd, U.S. President Donald Trump has correctly railed against the idea that the United States should be the worlds policeman. An end to the costly defense of now wealthy allies should mark the beginning of the search for a more cost-effective U.S. strategy. Despite the countrys considerable indebtedness, the U.S. foreign policy and defense establishments have every incentive to blithely continue to demand their duejust like any other interest group. Of course, the Europeans are upset that Trump is calling them out on their free-riding. Simply asking them to pay more will not accomplish much, but neither will the insistence of the U.S. security-policy elite that we are mistreating our allies through Trumps demands and his administrations tone. Deep down, the Europeans know better than the U.S. elite that Trumps inward turn is not in itself the problem. Rather it connects to an American public that has become rightfully exhausted with the never-ending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and other brushfire entanglements in places such as Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Chad, and Niger. Wealthy European nations are perfectly capable of building up their militaries and acting as a bulwark against Russia. Their combined economies compare in output to that of the United States, while the economy of their main adversary, Russia, compares to that of Spain. However, they wont spend any extra money so long as the U.S. security guarantee through NATO is in place. Thus, Trump is right to question NATO, but he is wrong to attack the European Union. The original European institutionsthe core of todays European Unionwere formed as a security, not an economic, alliance. After World War II, Frances enlightened strategy was to hug Germany and embed it economically in Europe, so that Germany would less likely become a resurgent security risk. That policy has worked well for both Europe and the United States. Trump should lay off the European Union, because if the United States is questioning its traditional security guarantee to Europe, the EU should provide the building blocks for a European-wide defense force. Trade and sanctions Also at the Munich conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel properly challenged Trumps ill-advised protectionist trade war policies and bluntly rejected Vice President Mike Pences demand for that Europe join the United States in its thoughtless withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran and its resumption of sanctions on Tehran. The Europeans, less beholden to the interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia, are better positioned than the Trump administration to understand that the verifiable agreement at least delays an Iranian nuclear weapon by a decade or more. Strangely, for a man who correctly wants to end exhausting wars such as those inSyria and Afghanistan, Trump is being sucked ever deeper into what could turn out to be a Venezuelan quagmire. He had Pence demand in Munich that the Europeans recognize the Venezuelan opposition as the legitimate government of that country, as the United States has done. Trump has continued to threaten military action against the Maduro regime there, warned the Venezuelan military not to use violence against peaceful protesters, and demanded that it switch sides from Maduro to the opposition or lose everything defending socialism. It is an understatement to say that Maduro has made a mess of the Venezuelan economy. But for the Europeans would be wiser to stay out of Venezuelas internal affairs, as would Trump. No good military option exists there, and it is best to let Venezuelans decide whether and how to topple their own government. Indeed, Trumps inward-looking security policy may not be inward enough. He occasionally shows strains of belligerence, and these could drag him back into the very role of global policeman that he eschews. In short, Trump should listen to the Europeans on Iran, Venezuela, Syria, and trade. The Europeans should heed Trumps loud warning that the United States, bound by financial constraints, will do less in Europe and around the world. This will require the Europeans to dramatically step up their game in the security field. 100% Website cinema.kg uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 8556 bytes (8.36 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-08-18, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 60% Website sovokup.ru uses latest and advanced technologies like: Php. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 118591 bytes (115.81 kb uncompressed) and 20081 bytes (19.61 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-10-05, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. A new World Bank report ranks India 125th in its Women, Business and the Law (WBL) index among 187 economies it seeks to analyse across the globe. The report's main aim claims to be to "gain new insight into how womens employment and entrepreneurship choices are affected by legal gender discrimination. On a scale of 100, India's score is 71.25, worse than the global average of 74.71. Analysing ten years of WBL data through an index "structured around the economic decisions women make as they go through different stages of their working lives", the results in the report find that six economies Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden score 100 in the Women, Business and the Law index, meaning they give women and men equal legal rights in the measured areas.Pointing out that a decade ago none of these economies scored 100, indicating they all reformed over the past ten years, the report says that on a scale of 100, the global score is 74.71, suggesting, "a typical economy gives women only three-fourths the legal rights of men in the measured areas.""However", the report underlines, "The average score in the Middle East and North Africa is 47.37, meaning the typical economy in that region gives women less than half the legal rights of men in the measured areas.""On the other hand", states the report, "South Asia had the biggest improvement in average regional score, moving from 50 to 58.36, an increase of 8.36 points. This was followed by East Asia and the Pacific, which went from 64.80 to 70.73, an increase of 5.93 points."Available data suggest, the improvement was largely on account of India, which scores 71.25 on a scale of 100 -- much better than the South Asian region, though well below the global average.While India scores best than all its immediate neighbours (except China) with Sri Lanka scoring 65.63, Myanmar 56.25, Nepal 53.13, Bangladesh 49.38, and Pakistan 46.25, among the comparable BRICS economies, the country's score is worst: As against India's score of 71.25, the score of South Africa is 88.13, Brazil 81.88, Russia 73.13, and China 76.25. The only South Asian country which scores better than India is Maldives, 73.75.A comparison suggests, if the Central African Republic scores equal to India, other African countries which outperform India include Ethiopia 71.88, Uganda 73.13, Morocco 73.13, Mozambique 76.8, Angola 76.88, and Rwanda 80.63. The United Kingdom scores 97.50, Australia 96.88 and the United States 83.75.Collecting data for eight major heads, the report shows that, on a scale of 100, India ranks 100 in Going Places, 100 in Getting Married, zero in Getting Paid, 40 in Having Children, 75 in Running a Business, 80 in Managing Assets, and 75 in Getting a Pension -- with the overall WBL index of 71.25.Referring to India, the report says, South Asia had "the highest percentage of reforming economies at 88%. Six economies in South Asia reformed in Starting a Job by introducing laws on workplace sexual harassment: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan."The report says, "Advocacy has proved critical in India, including in the Supreme Court case of Vishakha v State of Rajasthan where womens groups filed public interest litigation to enforce the rights of women in the workplace under the Indian constitution."Pointing out that "the case led to the development of the Vishaka Guidelines, which defined sexual harassment in the workplace and provided measures to deal with it", the report claims "Legal reform giving equal inheritance rights to women in India increased their labour supply." Pullmantur Cruceros has launched what it calls Gastrolab, described as an innovative gastronomic platform, led by the three Michelin-starred chef Jordi Cruz. Cruz will work hand-in-hand with the cruise lines chefs, as well as with a series of guest chefs, to create cuisine turning good into extraordinary, according to Pullmantur CEO Richard J. Vogel. Vogel said: Spaniards and Latin Americans love gastronomy, diverse cuisines and dining, an to experience all five senses. For this reason, we are committed to creating gastronomy appealing to their tastes, and for them to experience it with the intensity they choose. Our goal is to continue to evolve in pursuit of excellence, he added. "There is no better way to do this than to form a team that combines the knowledge of our chefs with the talent of today's leading professionals. Gastrolab's first task will be to redefine the gala dinner menu for this summer season, and then reinvent the buffet and introduce new dishes. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will hold meetings with senior EU officials during his visit to Brussels, News.am reported. The calendar of meetings posted on EU websiteshows that on March 5 Pashinyan will be received by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker together with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn. President Juncker will hold a joint press point with Pashinyan. On the same day Armenian PM will also meet with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Kalle Tanner, who was named the 2018 chef of the year in Finland, and Noora Sipila, named waiter of the year, have teamed up to create a new menu for Viking Line that focuses on the classics of French cuisine with a modern twist. According to Viking Line, this springs so-called grand cuisine menu updates French culinary classics by making them lighter and using responsibly and locally produced ingredients. The grand cuisine menu will be available from March 7 until May 31, 2019 on the ships travelling the HelsinkiStockholm and TurkuStockholm routes. Since last fall, Viking Line has been a supporter of the chef of the year and waiter of the year contests, highlighting the importance of the professions and the high level of expertise of kitchen and service personnel. At the cruise ferry company, more than 220 chefs and 300 waiters and waitresses work aboard its ships. Their contribution is considered a vital part of the overall cruise experience, the company stated. The menu includes a seafood cocktail, onion soup served with cheese from Aland and Nordic deer tournedos Rossini with mushroom butter. The dessert is a mille-feuille pastry served with rhubarb. The menu has also been paired with carefully selected classic and elegant old-world wines. Commented Janne Lindholm, restaurant manager at Viking Line: In addition to being highly skilled, Kalle and Noora have a fantastic and proactive attitude towards their work and the ability to adapt their creations to suit the needs of ship catering. Their specially designed menu, while inspired by tradition, has a unique modern twist, making it a classic in its own right. Many of our passengers have surely tasted these French culinary classics before, so Im excited to provide them with the opportunity to compare their experiences with our modernized versions. Back 36 years ago, it was virtually the last straw. Six people died at the Interstate-95 toll plaza in Stratford when a trucker fell asleep and plowed into their vehicles from behind. The fiery January 1983 crash was one of those horrendous, chance occurrences. It also was a game-changer. Already under pressure for the long lines, wasted gas and pollution plumes from the toll plazas, the General Assembly like today mostly 187 scared rabbits whose idea of long-term planning is the next election, used the issue of safety as a fig leaf to finally get Connecticut out of the toll business within a few years. I remember writing a column back in the day suggesting that smiling images of the governor at the time, Bill ONeill, be placed on the backs of all the semi-circular exact-change baskets, so miffed motorists could work on their lefty slam dunks into his toothy face, a quarter at a time. That was then. Now, even the Republicans who are trying to fabricate a wedge issue for their dreamed takeover of the General Assembly in 2020 wait, isnt that a presidential election year? realize the inevitable return of highway tolls in the last state that even vaguely borders the Atlantic Ocean. If you profess to want to support business, you have to create an atmosphere that could foster it. For starters, tolls are user fees. Theyre fees for passage, toted up by electronic gantries that show up on a monthly credit card statement. Theyre not taxes, as those on the right who aspire to higher office, or their first elective office, call it. If youre not driving on toll roads, youre not paying tolls. Back in the dark ages, when the drinking age was 18 in New York and 21 in Connecticut, we 17- and 18-year-olds from Fairfield County knew all the side roads through Greenwich, to get around the I-95 and parkway toll plazas. After all, you could get a beer for a quarter at Vahsens or Mollicas in Port Chester, N.Y. There were no questions asked at the beer distributor across from the Lifesaver building. I can still remember the delightful, after-midnight aroma of the Arnold bakery on the way home. Makes me thirsty. If anything, Gov. Ned Lamonts initial support of trucks-only tolls was discriminatory. Plus, $200 million in toll revenue was loose change, compared with $800 million, which the state could start reaping in four or five years if the General Assembly does what they need to do and go all-in on highway tolling. If Lamont can persuade lawmakers to end exemptions in sales taxes and collect more tax revenue from Internet and streaming transactions, the state will likely manage existing transportation infrastructure projects for the few years it would take to get the tolls up. And 40 percent of the Connecticut highway traffic, folks, is from out-of-state. Youre paying to resurface the roads of New Jersey when you visit family there, but theyre coming up here for free. Its not taxes that scare the business community. Its fiscal stability. The Wizard of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett, warned a few days ago that savvy investors better not put their money into states with under-funded liabilities, such as Illinois and Connecticut. Is maybe that the reason there is a lingering 30-percent vacancy rate for Stamford office buildings, at a time when more companies are migrating east from New York City, into the Bronx and Westchester? Its coming to Connecticut if were prepared for it, said Joe McGee, vice president of the Business Council of Fairfield County, when asked about the potential opportunities. Its right in front of us, if we have the transit system. Sure, Connecticut can maybe entice some companies to move their headquarters, with a few jobs for bigwigs to inflate the higher-end housing market in Southwestern Connecticut. But the scary, slow-motion vehicular traffic and aging train lines mean their employees would need to jump through some high hoops every day just getting to work. Life is a struggle enough without 20 hours a week spent parked on I-95 or the Merritt Parkway, in the sad, twice-a-day commuter conga lines. All we need is some honesty, maybe some bravery and foresight, from the General Assembly, for a change. Yeah, its a tall order. Ken Dixon, political editor and columnist, can be reached at 203-842-2547 or at kdixon@ctpost.com. Visit him at twitter.com/KenDixonCT and on Facebook at kendixonct.hearst. Officers in Minnesota weren't quite sure who they were responding when a report came in of a "deranged person," but they probably weren't expecting to find Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow, standing motionless with a smile. The Jordan Police Department said in a Facebook post Thursday that the caller told officers that they were concerned about a man standing outside without a coat, hugging a pillow. Serious reforms are underway in the field of public healthcare of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made such a statement at a meeting with a group of art and culture figures, which was also attended by First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. "The decision has already been made, and I hope that next year we will transfer to the system of compulsory health insurance. Pilot projects are being implemented in several cities. There are positive results. Citizens are satisfied, medical services are rendered at high level, and full transparency of services is ensured," the president said, abc.az reported. He stressed that international financial institutions, primarily the World Bank, highly appreciated the pilot project. "This is a very serious reform, some countries are going to this for many years and cannot implement such reforms, but we have developed all the necessary documents for comparatively short time and created a serious turn in the field of insurance. Thus, over the past period, modern hospitals and diagnostic centers have been built in all cities and the relevant infrastructure has been created," the president said. Regarding the reform of the education sector, the countrys leader underlined that the number of students choosing the profession of teacher has increased much. "The former respect for the profession of teacher returns to the society and it became possible as a result of reforms. Strengthening of the material and technical base and construction of more than 3,200 schools has led to serious changes," the head of state underlined. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed Pakistan for releasing Indian pilot, hoping India will "respond to the positive step in the same way", TRT world reports. "It's an admirable step for our Pakistani brothers to release an Indian pilot. Our hope is that our Indian friends will respond to this positive step in the same way," he said. Erdogan said Turkey is ready to do its part to de-escalate tension between Pakistan and India. "There is no use in escalating the tension and fueling the fire." President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili will visit Armenia this month, News.am reported. It is the second trip of the Georgian president after assuming the office with the first being paid to Baku where Zurabishvili made a number of statements on Georgia-Azerbaijan cooperation. President Donald Trump has precious little to show after a few days of photo-ops and glad-handing in Hanoi. On Thursday, the American delegation pulled out of talks with their North Korean counterparts with no new agreement in sight and no clear plans for a future top-level summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump cited North Korean demands for complete sanctions relief as the reason he chose to "walk away," while the North Koreans offered a different version of events. Whatever the case, the president tried to spin the developments positively. "I think everybody hoped we could do this better, but the departure was with an agreement we continue to work on what has been an incredibly difficult problem," Trump told reporters. "Everyone walked away in that spirit." Trump has put himself at the center of the diplomatic efforts to curb the North Korean nuclear program and potentially end a decades-long frozen conflict on the Korean Peninsula. After spending his first months in office insulting Kim and threatening North Korea with "fire and fury," he dramatically changed his pitch as contacts with Pyongyang grew, and he now speaks warmly of a budding friendship between him and one of the world's last remaining totalitarian despots. But experts warned that no amount of personal chemistry can compensate for inadequate preparation. "The failure was an admission of a need for more time and working-level talks to achieve an agreement," Scott Snyder, a Korea expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Washington Post. As my colleagues noted, the summit's abrupt end doomed Trump's prediction that his sit-down with Kim would be "equal or greater" than their meeting last year in Singapore. "It also raises doubts about whether the two sides can regain momentum in a high-stakes negotiation that has yet to achieve results from lower-level diplomats working behind the scenes," wrote The Post's John Hudson and Simon Denyer. "In the absence of progress on the diplomatic front, experts worry that tensions could rise on the military front." With Trump's exit, the task of reviving the process with Pyongyang falls to his lieutenants. But that's arguably where the problems began. In the buildup to the summit, it became clear that key Trump officials were at odds with each other over the way forward. National security adviser John Bolton, a skeptic of rapprochement with Pyongyang, voiced his disquiet with Stephen Biegun, Trump's special envoy to North Korea, whom Bolton and other like-minded officials feared was moving too quickly to make a deal with the Kim regime. "You aren't ready for a summit if your secretary of state, national security adviser, special envoy to the talks and the president aren't all singing from one sheet of music," said Richard Nephew, a scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Nephew knows a thing or two about forging nuclear deals. He served in the Obama administration and was the lead sanctions expert in the American negotiating team that helped broker the agreement between Iran and world powers in 2015. Trump repeatedly panned that deal as naive and ineffective and then undermined it by reimposing on the Iranians sanctions that had been lifted under Obama in return for severe restrictions on Tehran's nuclear facilities. But Nephew and the Iran deal's other defenders point to the years of diligent, painstaking diplomatic legwork required to achieve what U.N. monitors and the U.S. intelligence community still say is as an effective arms control pact. And they set that against the flimsiness of what Trump has achieved so far with North Korea. "The contrast couldn't be more stark," Nephew told Today's WorldView. "We spent literally months when we weren't negotiating going over different options, strategizing, working with partners, making sure [administration officials] were all on the same page and all speaking with the same words when we spoke in public. We approached this as a serious, grown-up negotiation." When reckoning with North Korea, the Trump administration has struggled even to agree internally on what "denuclearization" looks like. While Obama stayed out of the various rounds of negotiations between U.S., European and Iranian officials, Trump's rush to personalize the process gave Kim a theatrical pas de deux with the American president, and proof that Pyongyang's covert pursuit and possession of a nuclear arsenal was the right ticket to legitimacy on the world stage. Trump's lack of strategic preparation also created headaches for key U.S. allies in the region - unsettling a Japanese government wary of North Korean duplicity, and now embarrassing a dovish South Korean government that had been banking on a meaningful agreement to emerge from Hanoi. The one actual document signed by Kim and Trump - a short declaration following the Singapore summit - makes the Iran deal "look like a model of clarity and specificity," noted Joshua Stanton, a veteran commentator on North Korea. "For all its flaws, [the Iran deal] undeniably gained us something. . . . [I]t got Iran to surrender a big stockpile of enriched uranium and make some useful concessions that would slow (but not stop) its path to a nuclear bomb." The Iran deal's opponents, including Trump, argue that the agreement did nothing to rein in Tehran's other destabilizing behavior in the Middle East. But the Trump administration has hardly yoked North Korea's own problematic actions abroad - from targeted assassinations to the sale of chemical weapons material to countries in the Middle East and Africa, outlined in a leaked confidential U.N. report - to the diplomatic process. The double standard irks former Obama administration officials. "We all agree that in an ideal world, we would have addressed not just the nuclear threat, but all the threats," said Susan Rice, who served as a national security adviser in the Obama White House, at a Wednesday event hosted by Georgetown University. But that, she added, was "not the aim" of the negotiations with Tehran. Instead, the United States and its allies managed "to take a very proximate, specific and, some would say, existential threat off the table," Rice said. Even after the Trump administration has scrapped Washington's end of the bargain with Iran, Rice noted that "we are not getting any more traction on the other threats now than before." And a hypothetical future interim agreement with North Korea, Rice said, wouldn't deliver "a fraction of what we got with the Iranians." The irony of the moment, said Robert Litwak of the Woodrow Wilson Center to the New York Times, "is that the best possible outcome for North Korea would look something like the Iran deal." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with the head of the US State Department, Mike Pompeo. During the conversation, the parties discussed the situation in Venezuela. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the US threats against the legitimate leadership of Venezuela. According to him, this is blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and a flagrant violation of international law. Incitement and destructive external influence, moreover, under the hypocritical pretext of rendering humanitarian aid, has nothing to do with the democratic process, the Russian minister said. CultNews101.com: news, links, resources. Cults101.org: resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics. CultMediation.com: offers resources designed to help thoughtful families and friends understand and respond to the complexity of a loved ones cult involvement. Intervention101.com: to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement. CultRecovery101.com: assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice. Pakistan handed over a captured Indian Air Force pilot to Indian officials at a border crossing on Friday, a "gesture of peace" by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan aimed at defusing a dramatic escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the disputed region of Kashmir, CBC reports. The pilot, identified as Wing Cmdr. Abhinandan Varthaman, was taken in a convoy that set out from the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore to the border crossing at Wagah. Varthaman was escorted by military vehicles with soldiers, their weapons drawn. On the Indian side of the border, Indian policemen lined the road as a group of cheering Indian residents from the area waved India's flag and held up a huge garland of flowers to welcome him back. "The nation is proud of your exemplary courage," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. Indian officials said Varthaman was in good spirits and would undergo a medical checkup. For Subscribers Why the Anderson family has never forgotten the impact of Pearl Harbor The United States will honor 80 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor this December. Here's a look at one local resident who lived through it. Attempts to influence Russia's policy through sanctions are ineffective, Russian Permanent Representative at the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Friday at the 4th Delphi Economic Forum, TASS reports. "Speaking about economy I need to emphasize that attempts to influence Russia's policy via sanctions are ridiculous," Chizhov said. "Events of recent years demonstrated that such efforts are vain and, by the way, make interests of European business also suffer a lot, as well as our relations in general, including with our largest trade and economic partner - the European Union," he added. "Against this backdrop the easiest thing for Russia would be to follow a trend that is in fashion today and to 'pivot to Asia', especially since it is there that the bigger part of my country's territory lies. Actually we are increasingly active in developing mutually beneficial cooperation with the PRC, ASEAN countries and other Asian partners, but we are not doing it to undermine or punish Europe. We do not make friends 'against Europe' or the West as a whole," he continued. "Russia, as a country located on two continents and thereby uniting Eurasia by virtue of its geography, history and cultural tradition, is genuinely interested in maintaining equally friendly relations on the West and on the East," Chizhov said. "Currently leaders of major EU countries are more and more often thinking of a new configuration of cooperation in Europe and more outspoken about the need to take their fate in their hands. I believe it is important that EU member states remember that they will not be able to uphold their positions against rising economic giants - in Asia today, in Latin America tomorrow, in Africa the day after tomorrow - unless they listen closely to Russia's words about establishing a common economic and humanitarian space in Eurasia. Defedning what we call 'European civilization' is only possible if one of its supporting pillars, Russia, is fully engaged," he explained. Ethos is a nationally recognized, award-winning independent student publication. Our mission is to elevate the voices of marginalized people who are underrepresented in the media landscape, and to write in-depth, human-focused stories about the issues affecting them. We also strive to support our diverse student staff and to help them find future success. Ethos produces a quarterly free print magazine full of well-reported and powerful feature stories, innovative photography, creative illustrations and eye-catching design. On our website, we also produce compelling written and multimedia stories. Ethos is part of Emerald Media Group, a non-profit organization thats fully independent of the University of Oregon. Students maintain complete editorial control over Ethos, and work tirelessly to produce the magazine. Since our inception as Korean Ducks Magazine in 2005, weve worked hard to share a multicultural spirit with our readership. We embrace diversity in our stories, in our student staff and in our readers. We want every part of the magazine to reflect the diversity of our world. The United States creates the prerequisites for the militarization of outer space, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov said, noting that the Russian Federation will be forced to respond to possible threats with the mirror and asymmetric measures. According to him, at present, Washington is continuing to expand the system of military presence directly at the borders of Russia simultaneously destroying the system of contractual relations on arms limitation and reduction. Thus, in 2002, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Treaty on the Limitation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems. Their next step after demonstratively suspending participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, could be the refusal to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty-3, Gerasimov recalled at the conference on the development of military strategy. The first New Hampshire polling is in and Bernie Sanders is the big winner. We had a clue about that when he reported hauling in $6,000,000 in donations within 24 hours of announcing. Friends, in politics, that is a great deal of money. Maybe he could have beaten Donald Trump the last time out, maybe he could not have. It turns out that the American people, particularly the forgotten segment of our country, were looking for an outsider. Poor Hillary was perceived as a centrist and part of the establishment and even though she got the most votes nationwide, she lost in the Electoral College. Bernie, on the other hand, was the true outsider, even within the Democratic Party, where he wasnt even a member. So, while it really isnt provable, I think that he might have won and we might have been spared this national Trump nightmare. Now it is four years later and Bernie is 77. Some people might hold that against him, objecting to the fact that after two terms he would be in his mid-eighties. That means that his vice presidential pick is going to be very important, what with the statistics leaning against Bernie. Recent Emerson College polling suggests that people want to see a woman in the number two spot. Bernie has some baggage to clean up from accusations that there was sexism in his last presidential run. So, who? This may provide an answer to the Kirsten Gillibrand enigma. What in heck is she doing, running for president with virtually no chance of winning? Her polling numbers are lower than a hounds belly. Of course, she is anything but stupid. Politically vain, maybe, but stupid, no. Gillibrand knows how to shift political positions with the best of them and I suspect she is really running for VP. Remember how she got to be senator by gubernatorial appointment with a real push from Chuck Schumer and her old friend, none other than Senator Pothole, Alfonse Marcello DAmato? Hey, Gillibrand knows how to play the cards. I think that Gilly wants to be president and she has decided that the way to get there is via the VP route. Right? I get a lot of mail from both women and men who dont like her because of her oust him campaign against former Democratic Senator Al Franken. Her polling in presidential politics is frighteningly low, so Bernie, assuming that it is to be Bernie, is unlikely to pick another northeastern liberal as his running mate. Not only that, since Gillibrand turned against Franken, Bernie will be asking himself, Who needs this? Shell end up doing it to me, too. There are others like Kamela Harris and Amy Klobuchar who could bring geographic diversity to the ticket and who have demonstrated their toughness in a way Gillibrand has not. For lots of reasons, Harris has the better shot. It is fascinating that, according to the Emerson poll, Bernie does very well with younger voters. They like his progressive politics and they dont give a hoot about the worn out whining from the regular Democrats that Bernie is not an enrolled Democrat but an independent socialist. In fact, the poor Democrats had their shot with middle-of-the road candidate Hillary and came up short. I dont make any bones about the fact that I publicly announced that I was a Bernie supporter the last time out. I have interviewed him on public radio countless times and I can tell you this you may not like him, but his politics are right where they should be. When you look at issues such as universal heath care and access to college education, he is the man. So when he looks for his vice presidential running mate, it will not be a vacillating politician who goes whichever way the wind blows. Sunday Freeman columnist Alan Chartock is a professor emeritus at the State University of New York, publisher of the Legislative Gazette and CEO of the WAMC Northeast Public Radio Network. Readers can email him at alan@wamc.org. WASHINGTON In Michael Cohens historic testimony Wednesday, there was a moment when the long-lost spines of President Trumps political enablers, probably heaped in a clattering pile somewhere, must have felt a chill. It was when Cohen looked at his Republican inquisitors and foretold their future. I did the same thing you are doing now for 10 years, Cohen said, sounding like an Old Testament prophet. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. And I can only warn (that) people that follow Mr. Trump as I did, blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. Look at whats happened to me. I had a wonderful life. I have a beautiful wife. I have two amazing children. I achieved financial success by the age of 39. I didnt go to work for Mr. Trump because I had to. I went to work for him because I wanted to. And I have lost it all. Cohens warning was ignored by those present. But his revelations advanced the inevitable day of reckoning for Trump, his family and his party. Early in his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee, Cohen gave a description of Trump that will go down in the annals of congressional testimony: He is a racist, he is a con man and he is a cheat. Incredibly, none of the Republicans on the panel even tried to refute the claim that the president of the United States is, in his essence, an unscrupulous grifter. One of them, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., did make a clueless and embarrassing attempt to defend Trump against the charge of racism. He brought out Lynne Patton an African-American friend of the Trump family who, with utterly no relevant qualifications or experience, was given a high-ranking job in the Department of Housing and Urban Development as evidence that Trump is not a racist. Patton stood silently in the background, like an artifact on exhibit. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was absolutely right to slam Meadows for using a black woman as a prop. For the record, its entirely possible to have a black friend and still be a racist. If you cant or wont understand that fact, you may be a racist yourself. But I digress. Another Republican made a weak attempt to challenge Cohen on one of his more sensational claims that Trump never expected to win the presidency and instead saw his campaign as the greatest infomercial in political history. But there was no real effort to dispute Cohens many specific charges against Trump or even to question his shocking portrait of the man he once idolized. Instead, the GOP strategy was to follow the old courtroom adage: If the facts are against you, pound the law. If the law is against you, pound the facts. And if both are against you, pound the table. Oh, the table-pounding! Republicans found it outrageous that Cohen, whose admitted crimes include having once lied to Congress, was being allowed to sit there and testify, rather than, I dont know, being dragged down to the basement and horsewhipped. How could anyone ever believe anything he had to say? Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was so overwrought that I feared he might pull a muscle when he briefly thought hed caught Cohen in a lie on a boilerplate witness form. It turned out that Jordan was wrong Cohen filled in the form correctly and all the congressman injured was his pride. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the committees chairman, did a masterful job of presiding over the circus. He saved his best for last, ending the hearing with a closing statement that appealed to the better angels of our nature, wherever they might be hiding. Were better than this, he thundered. And I so hope hes right. But I fear there will be darkness before the dawn. Thanks largely to clever, substantive questioning by junior Democrats New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being perhaps the cleverest there are new leads to follow. Cohen spoke of a whispered exchange between Trump and his son Donald Jr. that suggests, but does not prove, that Trump colluded with the Russians. Cohen said the Trump Organization committed insurance fraud and was involved in other unspecified criminal activity. He gave the House Democratic majority ample reason to subpoena Trumps income taxes. But the Trump he described was even more ruthless, selfish, amoral, dishonest and insecure more unfit to be president than we could have imagined. Getting him out of office is an urgent task for our democracy. We must be up to it. Eugene Robinson is syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group. His email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com. The humanitarian operation in Syria is a new way to use the Armed Forces formations, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov said at the general meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences. According to him, the process of post-conflict settlement is underway in the republic. "In Syria, for the first time, a new form of application of the armed forces was developed and tested in practice - a humanitarian operation," he said, explaining that in Aleppo and Eastern Guta, in a short time, it was necessary to plan and conduct measures to remove the civilian population from the conflict zone with the implementation of combat missions to defeat the terrorists. WEST CHESTER The decision by Chester County commissioners to request intervention status in a lawsuit seeking to halt work on the Mariner East pipeline projects drew general praise from those involved in the case, with one anti-pipeline activist saying it marked an example of local government bodies taking serious action against the rogue company that operates the pipeline. But the decision also drew derision for how long it took the county to take action from one of the many players in the anti-pipeline fight, state Sen. Andy Dinniman. On Thursday, following the commissioners announcement that they had hired a Philadelphia law firm to represent the county in an attempt to gain status in the case before the state Public Utilities Commission, Dinniman, D-19 of West Whiteland, issued a statement through his press secretary criticizing the countys timing. The question is: Why did it take so long for the Chester County commissioners to intervene on the PUC safety complaint and take some substantive action regarding (Sunocos) pipeline easements? Dinniman said in the statement. Its disappointing that the county is only acting after the citizens themselves filed complaints and a developer, the Hankin Group, acted to terminate (Sunocos) temporary easements. However, its better late than never, said Dinniman, a former county commissioner who has positioned himself at the forefront of anti-pipeline action. The senators comments, which came unsolicited, drew a response from the commissioners themselves on Friday. We have been looking into all of our legal options regarding pipeline actions for a number of months, and agreed to take legal action when it would be substantive and effective, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline. Our announcement to intervene in the (PUC) complaint comes just one week after Delaware Countys action and a few days after West Chester School Districts announcement to intervene. The school district made its announcement in a press release on Feb. 25; the Delaware County Council voted the seek intervention on Feb. 22. It is unclear whether Dinniman made any comments on the timing of those decisions. Chester County has taken significant action against (Sunocos) poor communication and lack of transparency, prior to our announcement yesterday, Kichline said. We have been working with pipeline safety groups, municipalities, the PUC and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for many years, and have formally registered our frustrations and concerns regarding (Sunoco) on many occasions. Said commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone, like Dinniman a Democrat: We have been researching our legal options for quite a while and made that known in a public meeting earlier this month where several community members were in attendance. I want to be very clear about my concern regarding this project, said Cozzone, who lives in Uwchlan. As a commissioner, I have a responsibility for the safety of our community. I live in the blast zone and my son goes to school in the blast zone. This issue has always been of significant concern to me, not only as a commissioner but as a mother. Kichline also noted that her parents live in East Goshen, not far from the pipeline project. Finally, Commissioner Terence Farrell said the timing of the countys announcement came as the commissioners notified Sunoco that they would be terminating the companys construction and work easements across property at the Chester County Library in Exton. The countys substantive action regarding Sunocos pipeline easements occurred Thursday because thats when the temporary construction easements at the Chester County Library expired, and we notified Sunoco of the termination of the easements, he wrote in an email Friday. Unlike the announcement that the county is seeking to join the (PUC) action, the termination of the easements has an immediate impact on Sunocos ability to proceed with pipeline construction and hopefully will prompt a forward-looking change in Sunocos corporate attitude concerning responsiveness to questions raised by our Department of Emergency Services and a change in Sunocos documented disregard for the safety of our residents, Farrell said. The senators comments came in contrast to the remarks made by the legal counsel for the plaintiffs in the PUC case, who include three Chester County and four Delaware County residents, and spokesmen for advocacy groups. We are delighted that they have joined the other intervenors, said Michael Bomstein, the attorney with the Philadelphia firm of Pinnola & Bomstein, which filed the challenge against Sunoco and its corporate parent, Energy Transfer Partners of Texas on behalf of the seven residents. We are hopeful that the judge will grant them status, and we are looking forward to working with all counsel. Sam Rubin, an organizer with the national organization Food & Water Watch, which has worked locally with anti-pipeline activists, also praised the move. This is one more sign that county and local leaders are the ones taking serious action to rein in this rogue company, Rubin said in an email after the announcement was reported. The commissioners are acting in response to the powerful community movement that is committed to stopping the Mariner East pipelines. (Now) Gov. Wolf must follow the will of Pennsylvanians across the state by stopping Sunocos pipelines for good. A spokesman for the group Delaware-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety, said that although the commissioners might be following the leaders time-wise in the PUC case, their decision to cancel the companys easements in Exton is a very important thing. Thats a big step, to take action to evict Sunoco from those easements, said Eric Friedman, a resident of Thornbury, Delaware County. Such a move is a concrete step that does not rely on the decision of a PUC judge, and takes effect immediately, he noted.. And Virginia Ginny Kerslake, the West Whiteland resident who has been protesting against the pipeline for several months and is now running for the Democratic Partys nomination for commissioner, said that she was glad the commissioners are finally doing something, although she too noted the timing came after other entities seven townships, four school districts, Delaware County and numerous residents had sought intervention. A phone call and email requesting comment from Energy Transfer were not returned. The three commissioners said their concern was that Sunoco had been unresponsive to requests to work with the county Department of Emergency Services in formulating plans on how to address possible accidents, spills, or other catastrophes along the Mariner East pipeline paths. Of the multiple pipeline operators in the county Cozzone said there are more than 600 miles of pipeline under the countys surface the Mariner East operates had been least transparent and cooperative. The PUC action currently underway was brought by residents to seek to halt work on all of the pipelines, citing safety concerns. A judge is currently considering whether to grant Sunocos preliminary objections and dismiss the challenge, of throw out those objections and allow the case to proceed. If the latter occurs, the judge then would decide which of the proposed intervenors would be allowed to testify in the case as parties. The Mariner East pipelines will transport hundreds of thousands of barrels of highly volatile liquid gases such as butane, ethane and propane from the states Marcellus Shale regions to a facility in Marcus Hook. The pipelines will span 350 miles across the full width of Pennsylvania, including through the heart of Chester County and 11 miles of western and lower Delaware County. Mariner East 1 is currently shut down after a sinkhole formed last month in a neighborhood in West Whiteland where sinkholes formed last year. Mariner East 2 has been online since the last week of December, albeit not in the shape that Energy Transfer originally envisioned. Because of the various delays caused by runoffs, spills and state-ordered work stoppages, Sunoco is using a series of different, smaller pipes to fill in the gaps where the 20-inch pipe has yet to be installed. The full 20-inch pipe now is not expected to be installed until 2020. A third pipeline, Mariner East 2x, remains under construction. Last month the state Department of Environmental Protection halted all work permits for the Mariner East project, citing a lack of progress by the company in addressing situations that led to a landslide and explosion on another pipeline in western Pennsylvania. That shutdown did not halt the flow of liquid gases on Mariner East 2, but likely will further delay completion of the project. In his comments, Farrell urged all involved to work together in finding a solution to Sunocos problems. I would hope that all parties who have, like the county, been involved in this pipeline struggle for a number of years would welcome the countys continued partnership in securing answers and transparency from Sunoco, and ultimately in securing the safety of our residents, he said. Picture the scene: its late evening on Tuesday, March 12, and BBC News at 10 is reporting live from Parliament where MPs are voting on Theresa Mays make-or-break EU withdrawal deal. Bong! Newsreader Huw Edwards reports that arch-Brexiteers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson have just been spotted marching arm-in-arm into the Aye Lobby to vote with Mrs May. Bong! Political editor Laura Kuenssberg reveals from Central Lobby that up to 20 Labour rebels have defied Labour whips to vote with the Tories. Suddenly Mrs May, a dead woman walking for so long, looks like the great survivor. An impossible fantasy? Maybe but I dont think so Bong! A setback for the Prime Minister! Now Kuenssberg is reporting that a phalanx of Conservative hardliners, led by mutinous Tory ex-cabinet minister Esther McVey, is holding out against Theresa Mays deal. Kuenssberg believes the mutineers have the numbers to sink the Government. Bong! But now comes news that the Democratic Unionist Party has just won a promise of a huge new development grant for Northern Ireland and in a last-minute change of mind will now be voting with the Tories, too. There follows several minutes of desperate tension as Parliamentary tellers for both sides line up to announce the final result. Britains future inside the European Union and Theresa Mays survival as Prime Minister is hanging in the balance . . . The minutes tick by and then, finally, Speaker Bercow announces that the Government has won by a single vote. Uproar follows in the Commons. Chaos and confusion. Chancellor Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt lean across to shake Mrs May by the hand as she slumps back exhausted on her seat on the green benches and briefly closes her eyes. A famous Commons victory for a woman who has been written off again and again. A woman who, just six weeks ago, suffered the humiliation of a record defeat of her deal by 230 votes. Then, live on camera, a note is passed to the PM. Sterling has soared by five cents in the minute that has passed since the result was made known. Suddenly Mrs May, a dead woman walking for so long, looks like the great survivor. An impossible fantasy? Maybe but I dont think so. Over the past two weeks, largely unnoticed, events have been moving quietly in the PMs favour. Yes, at first sight, last Mondays Cabinet revolt looked like another disaster for her when Work And Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark, among others, laid down an ultimatum to Downing Street. They threatened to walk out of the Cabinet unless Theresa May ruled out a No Deal Brexit. History will judge whether Brexit has or has not been a good thing for Britain. But Mrs May will have delivered on her promise. She will be the heroine of the hour It looked like an act of treachery, and perhaps technically it was. But the short-term effect was to terrify the hard-line Tory Brexiteers. They suddenly woke up to the fact that, if they press on with their own campaign for No Deal, they might get no Brexit at all. Within days, Jacob Rees-Mogg was watering down his demands over what was once the deal breaker, the Northern Irish backstop. Meanwhile, a similar dynamic was driving forward events in the Labour Party. The defection of eight MPs to form an embryonic new political party forced Jeremy Corbyn to change policy and support a second referendum on our EU membership to stop further losses from his riven Party. But theres an irony here. The likelier that another EU referendum becomes, the more likely that the Brexiteers will back Mrs Mays deal. Right now, there is one man holding the key to our exit from the EU. He is Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who first came to wider public attention with a barnstorming speech at the Tory Party conference last year. Cox has been given the task of ensuring that the make-or-break legal judgment whether any undertaking given by Europe that the Irish backstop will be enforced only for a limited period is legally binding. Tory Brexiteers demand nothing less. It is the minimum concession they need in order to vote for Mrs May. There is an uncanny parallel here with the last great crisis in modern British history: Parliaments decision to commit forces to war in Iraq. Then, again, it was the Attorney General who held the key to the decision to go to war. Had Lord Goldsmith who occupied that position in 2003 declared that the war was illegal, Tony Blair would have been forced to back down. As we know all too well, Lord Goldsmith issued a judgment that British troops could be sent to Iraq. Only later did we learn that he had succumbed to massive pressure from Blair, and the war was in reality illegal. I believe that MPs have much greater faith in the integrity of Geoffrey Cox than they ever did in Peter Goldsmith. Cox has said privately that if there is, in his view, no legally binding pledge on the backstop, he will make it plain. So there are still obstacles to be navigated. But with ten days to go, Theresa May has, I believe, at the very least a fighting chance of making it into the winners enclosure. And if she does, we can forget the gossip now circulating in Westminster that the PM will immediately resign. History will judge whether Brexit has or has not been a good thing for Britain. But Mrs May will have delivered on her promise. She will be the heroine of the hour. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will visit Russia on her first official visit, the press service of the organization reports. It is specified that the visit will take place on March 5-7. The purpose of this visit is to confirm the links between UNESCO and Russia, whose participation in UNESCOs activities is historic in all areas of the organizations competencies, the UNESCO message reads. The press service stressed that Azoulay is planning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The parties will discuss "strengthening the existing partnership in such important areas as science, the world's oceans, artificial intelligence, heritage and culture." Gwyneth Montenegro (pictured), a former escort and author from Australia has claimed that if a man cheats on his spouse, it could very well be the 'fault of his wife' A former escort from Australia has claimed that if a man cheats on his spouse, it could very well be the 'fault of his wife'. Gwyneth Montenegro, who first made headlines after revealing she had slept with more than 10,000 men during her 12-year career in the sex industry, believes that 'happy men don't cheat' and said that was clear when she spoke to married clients. The 'How to Love With Your Brain' author spoke to Daily Mail Australia about why cheating occurs and the biggest issues surrounding modern marriages and relationships. 'The reality is that, although we are not there to tend to every wish and desire of the man in our life, we do have a responsibility to make sure he is happy just as we'd expect him to keep us happy,' Ms Montenegro said. 'Otherwise who could blame him for looking elsewhere?' Ms Montenegro, who first made headlines after revealing she had slept with more than 10,000 men during her 12-year career, believes 'happy men don't cheat' (pictured in her 20s) How many men would consider cheating? Based on a study of 12,430 men in 2018: Men who'd likely never cheat: 11% Men who are very likely to cheat no matter the influences in their life: 34% Men who had no desire to cheat, but would consider cheating if they were to be miserable within their relationship: 55% Advertisement 'Statistically, according to our research, almost one in every two men would prefer not to cheat. Opting to do so only if he felt miserable in his relationship. 'It is my strong opinion that usually, when men choose to cheat, it's for psychological satisfaction, not physical.' Speaking of her career as an escort, Ms Montenegro said she had 'endless conversations with frustrated men' who ended up becoming a major part of her studies as an Intimacy Behaviourist. 'The number one reason why men sought the company of an escort was not just the infrequency of sex in his life, but also the fact that when it was offered, it was offered grudgingly. He felt like a chore, and for a while he wanted to feel like a man,' Ms Montenegro said. 'It is my strong opinion that usually, when men choose to cheat, it's for psychological satisfaction, not physical,' Ms Montenegro said 'It's so easy to undervalue what sex means to a man. In my experience, the most secure relationships have a happy and healthy sex life.' Ms Montenegro said that the biggest 'killer' of relationships is complacency - that once one party decides not to 'work' at it, it crumbles. 'The work doesn't stop when you enter into a relationship. If a man gets complacent and places less importance on a happy partner, he'll likely lose her,' she said. 'It applies even more-so for us women - get the balance wrong when it comes to mutual sexual satisfaction and the risk of cheating may increase. It can be relentless. 'In general men place a larger amount of importance on virility than women. We women don't necessarily mean to forget the needs of a partner, it's just easy to get complacent in a frantic world.' What are the top 10 reasons why men cheat? 1. Sexual frustration 2. Unfulfilled fantasies 3. Revenge 4. Unexpected encounter 5. Emotionally unfulfilled 6. Curiosity 7. Validation of virility 8. Companionship 9. Peer pressure 10. Sexual frequency Source: Gwyneth Montenegro Advertisement Ms Montenegro said that if there's one thing that she knows for sure, it's that 'people who don't communicate have poor sex lives' and these people have a greater chance of a cheating partner. To fix this, Ms Montenegro urges men and women to stop 'fearing change' in a relationship. All of us women should make an effort to engage our brain. It's so easy to get caught up in the lovely feelings and other mushy stuff. 'I wish I had a dollar for every time somebody has said to me "he's changed". Yes he has, and you have too,' she said. 'With change comes a wonderful opportunity. You didn't get together and say "lets keep each other company until one of us changes". Chances are that you said "let's grow old together". 'I love change. Monitoring change in a relationship is a chance to plot the course. Two people who are in love will use the winds of change to grow closer. And two people who are properly matched and genuinely in love are unlikely to have a partner cheat.' Ms Montenero said there are clear red flags to look for in a partner who has already disengaged from a relationship and started straying. Ms Montenegro said it's possible to significantly decrease the chances of cheating in a relationship in about 55 per cent of cases 'They are significantly less interested in you sexually and there's a sudden introduction of different sexual moves in the bedroom,' she said. 'They are also hyper protective of their phone or they start carrying a second phone and there's a sudden change in character traits. 'There is nothing like sex to boost the confidence in any man. So, if your relationship is relatively sexless and he suddenly starts demonstrating a boost in confidence, you've got to know that it didn't come from you.' Ms Montenegro said it's possible to significantly decrease the chances of cheating in a relationship in about 55 per cent of cases. 'Intimate characteristics are fluid. A man (or a woman for that matter) can drift towards or away from characteristics that make for a secure relationship. A wise partner learns the signs and uses appropriate measures to secure up their love life,' she said. The bottom line, she said, is to simply 'engage your brain' when in a relationship. 'All of us women should make an effort to engage our brain. It's so easy to get caught up in the lovely feelings and other mushy stuff that we don't see the blatantly obvious,' she said. 'The health of our relationships is paramount, we have a lot to lose if we get it wrong. I advise women to occasionally take a "top down" look at their relationship, a stock take if you like, without emotional prejudice and to do so a few times a year.' Gwyneth Montenegro's book How to Love With Your Brain takes a newer approach to the act of love and is designed to 'empower women to take control of their intimate life'. Carolyn Murphy proudly showed off her incredible figure in a skimpy blue bikini while enjoying an exotic getaway, revealing that the large tattoo that covered nearly the entire right side of her body is gone. The 44-year-old model took to Instagram on Friday to share a picture of herself posing next to her blue surfboard, which she referenced in her caption, writing: 'Hanging with Takayama.' Carolyn's washboard abs are on display in the selfie, but the large tattoo that she got inked on her upper thigh, hip, and right side of her back is noticeably absent. Carolyn Murphy, 44, took to Instagram on Friday to share a picture of herself modeling a string bikini while posing next to a blue surfboard, showing an ink-free bare right hip and leg Surf's up: The massive tattoo that covered her right side is noticeably absent in the image. Carolyn, pictured in 2004, got the Japanese koi fish tattoo with waves and peonies at age 25 Disappearing act: Carolyn's tattoo (seen left in 2004) appears to have totally disappeared from her hip and leg in the latest picture she posted (right) The mom opened up about her tattoo in an interview with V Magazine in January 2017, explaining she was in the process of having it removed. 'I had always wanted a tattoo so, when I was 25, I got a big one. A very big one,' she explained. 'It was on the entire right side of my body: a large Japanese koi fish with waves and peonies. But its almost gone.' Carolyn went on to say that getting the massive tattoo was just one example of her acting out when she was younger. 'Leaving the industry at the height of my career to live in Costa Rica, turning down a career as an actress because I didnt want to deal with fame . . . Not sure if that all makes me "bad a** or just plain crazy,' she joked. In the image, Carolyn is modeling a royal blue string bikini that matches her surfboard, and two gold necklaces are hanging from her neck. Almost gone! The model, pictured in 2016, revealed a year later that she was in the process of getting the tattoo removed Like it never happened: The tattoo was barely visible in March 2016. It likely took Carolyn nearly two years of laser treatments to get it removed Adventuer: Carolyn is believed to be enjoying a beach getaway in Costa Rica, where she used to live. She posted this picture a few days ago, urging her followers to get 'into the wild' The model's blonde hair is pulled back but a tendril has fallen onto her face. While posing for the selfie, she flashes a close-lipped smile for the camera. There appears to be a bruise on her right hip, but it's possible that it is all that remains of her tattoo. While it typically takes six or eight laser treatments to completely remove a tattoo, a tattoo of Carolyn's size can take ten sessions or more. Sessions are spaced out six to eight weeks apart, depending on the patient's skin color and how quickly it heals. At that rate, it likely took Carolyn nearly two years to get the tattoo removed from her right side. Out and about: Carolyn was in the Big Apple for New York Fashion Week last month Thigh's the limit! The model showed off her legs in cutoff shorts in Milan in September A few days before, the model posed a selfie that she took on the deck of her beach bungalow during her exotic getaway. The photo shows Carolyn wearing a white tank top and olive green bottoms that match the vegetation in the background. 'The art of adventure...getting out of monotony to explore, discover, learn, share and ignite childlike wonderment. It is in nature, reading books, traveling to new places, making new friends,' she wrote. 'Get out there, feed your soul and get #intothewild.' Commenters guessed that the blonde beauty was back in Costa Rica, where she used to live for a period of time. Carolyn opened up about her love of surfing and her time in Costa Rica while describing her perfect day to Harper's Bazaar last year. 'Ive been surfing my entire life,' she said. 'Im fortunate that Ive never seen a shark. 'When I was living in Costa Rica, the locals called me the good witch because one time I sensed something in the water and got out, then five minutes later everyone came running out, as there was a blacktip shark.' Asked what the biggest misconception about her is, Georgia Toffolo doesnt hesitate. People think reality TV star, blonde bimbo, and that theyre intrinsically linked, she says. And once youre in that box, thats it. Id like people to consider that you can do reality TV, have blonde hair and prance around in a bikini, but also be able to talk about things that matter. Another misconception is that Im posh. 'I just dont like the word and I dont think you can judge someone by how they pronounce their consonants. Its archaic. 'Thats one thing Ive never felt insecure about. Former Made In Chelsea reality star Georgia Toffolo, 24, (pictured) gave an insight into competing against the likes of Jeremy Paxman, Joe Wilkinson and Sally Lindsay in this year's Celebrity Bake Off 'Im me, I speak the way I do, I come from where I come from and I think everyone should feel the same. It was that no-nonsense attitude that won 24-year-old Georgia the Im A Celebrity crown in 2017. While she was known for being a Made In Chelsea glamourpuss prior to that, she presented herself bad skin and all so genuinely in the jungle that she won a legion of fans, particularly young girls who were grateful for her honesty. Countless opportunities have come her way since, among them her guide-to-life book Always Smiling, a presenting slot on This Morning and now a place in this years Celebrity Bake Off. Ive done things in the past year that Id never have dreamed of doing and its solely down to Im A Celebrity, she explains. Im a bookworm so to have my own book is so special, and hundreds of people message me about it every day. 'Ive loved Bake Off for so long too, so to be on it for Stand Up To Cancer was a no-brainer, especially as my grandad has stage 4 lymphoma. So how did she fare against the other contestants, Jeremy Paxman, comedian Joe Wilkinson and actress Sally Lindsay? I cant say too much, but I dont think Im a frontrunner, she laughs. I got a Paul Hollywood head-in-his-hands moment and one of those stares! It was the first time Ive baked properly. 'I practised making a cake before the show with two girlfriends and it was such a disaster we gave up. I didnt know who else was doing it, so I arrived and there was Jeremy, Joe and Sally. Georgia revealed taking part in Bake Off was her first opportunity to meet Paul and Prue but she had already met Sandi Toksvig years prior (pictured: Bake Offs Paul, Sandi, Noel and Prue) 'They were all lovely. I hadnt met Paul or Prue before, but I met Sandi Toksvig years ago. 'I adore her. Any woman whos highly intellectual and takes on the men is cool, so it was lovely to meet her again. Its surreal to do a show that you love. I was thinking, Oh my God, Im actually in the tent! Everyone was very competitive apart from me. 'Jeremy was a dark horse hed done a lot of practising, which I didnt see coming. 'They stationed me right in front of him so I think I annoyed him for two days straight. 'I was trying to distract him the whole time, so sabotage was more my technique, but he wasnt having any of it. 'Hed lark around with me for a bit but then it was eyes straight back on the prize. Georgia got a bit of a reputation for liking older men when she announced, after leaving the jungle, Zac Goldsmith, Jacob Rees-Mogg. I fancy them all! She regrets it now. I must have been delirious I hadnt slept for 48 hours since Id left the jungle, she says. So Paxman wasnt on her radar? I didnt fancy him, but I did enjoy his company. Georgia who was stationed opposite Jeremy Paxman (pictured) revealed that she spent much of the time trying to distract him in order to sabotage his bakes 'Im obsessed with current affairs, so Im a big fan of his. Shes made another unlikely alliance with Stanley Johnson, a fellow Im A Celebrity contestant 54 years her senior. I love him so much, she says. We speak three or four times a week. 'People shy away from inter-generational friendships, which is a pity because he brings so much to my life that my younger friends cant. 'We really make each other laugh. 'We talk rubbish over a glass of wine. 'He got on very well with my grandparents too, when they flew to Australia, and they all keep in touch. Born in Devon to Gary Bennett and Nicola Toffolo, who separated when she was a baby, Georgia believes shes one of the lucky few who come from a happy broken home. Ive had so much love from both of them, she says. They just werent meant to be together. Its been the perfect upbringing. 'They still live really close to each other in Devon. Georgia (pictured on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here) revealed she was going to study law at the University of Westminster before receiving a role on Made In Chelsea 'They come up to London all the time and cross over when I have them to stay, and it makes me laugh because they get on really well now. It was her mother Nicolas family who had money, and she now runs her own successful property management business. Georgia went to Blundells Boarding School in Devon when she was 13 and Torquay Girls Grammar School in the sixth form. She was supposed to study Law at the University of Westminster until Made In Chelsea came along. Apparently I said I wanted to be a barrister when I was young, she explains. I was academic but I dont think I was ever cut out for that. 'When I moved to London I started hanging out with the people who were doing Made In Chelsea and I soon had to choose between the two. 'I was never a performer, just outgoing and sociable, so Im lucky its gone the way it has. 'Made In Chelsea was a really good base to go on and do different things. She still hangs out with some of the Made In Chelsea cast, as well as other famous pals like Kate Mosss half-sister Lottie, but says theres no time for a boyfriend at the moment, despite Stanley trying to set her up with one of his grandsons. Itd have to be someone belting. I feel like this is my time to carve out a career. 'Id like to write a novel, do more presenting, and try to set a good example on social media as young people are so impressionable. 'Sometimes I cant believe work is work because its things I love to do anyway. The Great Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer, from Tuesday, 8pm, Channel 4. To donate, visit channel4.com/su2c. SATURDAY, JUNE 9 A friend threw a splendid 50th birthday party in Oxfordshire in which she separated all 250 or so guests on to four long, gender-exclusive dinner tables: two male, two female. I found myself sitting with my old boss Rupert Murdoch, mobile-phone tycoon Sir Charles Dunstone and Blur pop star Alex James. This is great! I declared. We can talk about sport, business and women all night! And thats exactly what we did, most enjoyably, over copious quantities of fish and chips, fine wine, brandy and cigars. Today, the dimmest of the dim contestants, Hayley Is Spain in the United Kingdom? Hughes, appeared on Good Morning Britain. I planned to expose her cerebral deficiencies by asking a series of quick-fire questions... Frankly, if this is radical-feminism utopia, Im all for it. One of Ruperts former top lieutenants, Les Hinton, has just published an excellent autobiography that includes an amusing anecdote about a meeting between the three of us in my editors office at the now defunct News Of The World. Les wrote: Hes a very bright man, said Rupert as we left. But he can be a bit reckless. Keep an eye on him. Rupert would later express his view more colourfully: The trouble with Piers is that his balls are bigger than his brains! I asked Rupert tonight if hed actually said that. It sounds plausible, he chuckled. At midnight, David Cameron plonked himself down next to me. Lets have a chat, Piers, said the former Prime Minister, with whom I have rarely seen eye-to-eye. So we did, for nearly an hour, over several large whiskies. Our conversation was off the record. However, I did look him in the eye and ask What the hell were you thinking? about his decision to have the EU referendum. As I pointed out, if you let the British public determine such matters, you end up with ships named Boaty McBoatface. We just cant stop ourselves giving the Establishment a bloody nose. Camerons justification for both the decision and the woefully unsuccessful campaign he ran was lengthy, candid, passionate and fascinating. I still think he was nuts to do it. SUNDAY, JUNE 10 Lily Allen, the most annoying woman in showbusiness, dedicated her song F*** You to me tonight during a concert at London club Heaven. Its a fine line between demented hate of the kind Ms Allen constantly spews my way, and crazy love. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 Ive spent the past fortnight lambasting Love Island as the worlds most stupid TV programme featuring the worlds most brain-dead, fame-crazed zombies. Today, the dimmest of the dim contestants, Hayley Is Spain in the United Kingdom? Hughes, appeared on Good Morning Britain. I planned to expose her cerebral deficiencies by asking a series of quick-fire questions including What is Pythagorass theorem (the mathematical measurement of a triangle) and Do you know Pi (the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter) to five decimal places? Unfortunately my own brain scrambled, perhaps due to its sudden close proximity to Ms Hughess, and I said: Do you know Pythagorass theorem to five decimal places? When she said no, Susanna Reid asked me if I did. Yes, its 3.147 I stammered, before one of our camera crew shouted out: Thats Pi, not Pythagoras! I froze in horror. He was right. To compound my shame, I even got the Pi number wrong it starts 3.141. Susanna, who is disturbingly addicted to Love Island, leapt on my gaffe like a ravenous rattlesnake: You just showed yourself up, Piers Morgan, on national television, in an attempt to humiliate these people. True. Ive mugged myself off, I admitted, deploying one of the shows cretinous catchphrases, as Hayley smirked gleefully, albeit with blissful ignorance as to what the hell we were talking about. I retreated to ITVs box at Royal Ascot, where lurked such luminaries as Declan Donnelly, Judge Rinder, Ben Fogle, Susanna and Jeremy Kyle. Meet the woman who saved my life, said Jeremy, introducing me to his new girlfriend Vicky Burton. Why would you do that? I asked her. F*** off, Morgan! chortled Jeremy. Then he turned to Vicky and commanded: Dont tell him anything, hes like a virus if you let him in, hell get everything out of you! Our professional jockey tipster, Dave Crosse, arrived in a neck brace and plastered broken arm after a bad fall. His tips proved to be as successful as his recent riding. Would anyone like to see the horses parade? asked an Ascot executive. Go on, Dec, I urged the pint-sized presenter. They might give you a ride. In the third race he bet on Tribute Act, a 10-1 outsider. It came second, and Dec exploded with excitement, performing an ecstatic Riverdance-style jig of joy and wildly clicking his fingers. How much did you win? I asked, assuming it must be a small fortune. I had 5 each way on it! he exclaimed jubilantly. So hed won 10, something he earns in less time than it takes to say tight Geordie git. My own strategy of putting all my chips on Frankie Dettori was an unmitigated and very expensive disaster. In a desperate effort to recoup my mounting losses, I backed him massively again in the 4.20pm on Cracksman, the red-hot, odds-on favourite. As it stormed to victory, I screamed with delight, punched the air, and hugged an equally thrilled Kyle. As we danced around together, he suddenly yelled: I thought you backed Cracksman?! I stopped dancing. I did. It won, didnt it? NO! Poets Word won, the one I backed! You just cheered your horse losing, you absolute muppet! Decs delight at this revelation was even greater than when he won his 10. I stumbled off home. My day had ended the way it had begun: with abject, self-induced humiliation. A Vaughan Williams Christmas Out now Rating: 100 Years Of Nine Lessons And Carols Out now Rating: A Renaissance Christmas Out now Rating: Christmas On Sugarloaf Mountain Out now Rating: The best British entrant in the Great Christmas Carol Handicap comes from Albion, the label of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society. A Vaughan Williams Christmas salutes VWs achievement in travelling up and down the country in Edwardian times collecting traditional carols, and then arranging them free of Victorian gunk. Here the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea winningly perform 24 of these, including some original VW carols. The solo work is nothing like as distinguished as on the Tokyo album (see below) but this is still a fascinating issue. What would Christmas be without the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge? They always have a new seasonal release, and this year its a double album celebrating the centenary of the much-loved Festival Of Nine Lessons And Carols, always a family favourite on Christmas Eve. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge. The first CD of 100 Years Of Nine Lessons And Carols draws on BBC broadcasts dating from 1958 and is full of atmosphere The first CD of 100 Years Of Nine Lessons And Carols draws on BBC broadcasts dating from 1958 and is full of atmosphere. The second comprises 16 newly recorded carols under the choirs soon- to-retire music director Stephen Cleobury. Good but not great. The best British singing comes from The Sixteen, with a new album of 14th- to 17th- century carols. Much of the music on A Renaissance Christmas is unfamiliar, and all the better for that. The Sixteens founder/director, Harry Christophers, knows how it goes, and cerebral Christmas music fans will love this. Now, one from left field. Jeannette Sorrell, founder of the Cleveland-based Apollos Fire baroque orchestra and chorus, always comes up with something original. This year its Christmas On Sugarloaf Mountain, a hillbilly celebration with knees-up-in-the-barn seasonal music that will get your toes tapping. Its subtitled An Irish-Appalachian Celebration and it does what it says on the tin. Nothing pretentious, and great fun. CAROL ALBUM OF THE YEAR Bach Collegium Japan A Christmas Greeting Out now Rating: My Christmas carol album of the year comes from Tokyo. Amazing but true My Christmas carol album of the year comes from Tokyo. Amazing but true. Masaaki Suzuki founded the Bach Collegium Japan in 1990, and has turned it into one of the worlds great ensembles. Five years ago, Suzuki and his son Masato started sell-out Christmas Eve carol concerts at Tokyos celebrated Suntory Hall. This inspiring album is the fruits of their labours. Its a winning combination of mainly traditional British carols, sung in English, imaginatively arranged by Masato, with splendid descants, interspersed with 18th-century organ music by Louis-Claude Daquin, played by Masato on a pleasing baroque organ. Its a marvel from beginning to end. There is such freshness, and the choir is so extraordinarily good. Dont miss it. Lorenzo Lotto Portraits National Gallery, London Until Feb 10 Rating: Although Lorenzo Lotto lived in Italy in the 16th century, and was surrounded by a culture of many great painters, his work stands out for its thought, originality and intelligent observation. Lottos origins were in Venice, but he travelled a good deal in northern Italy in search of commissions, and the sumptuous Venetian element was only one part of his personality. There is a clear-edged German quality, too, in his work, and a thoughtful grace that comes from Raphael in Rome. Portrait Of Andrea Odoni, 1527. Lottos origins were in Venice, but he travelled a good deal in northern Italy in search of commissions But Lotto was so good because he clearly looked at the human reality in front of him. He was one of the first convincing psychologists in paint. He accepted commissions from quite ordinary people, and there is less deference here than usual. The triple portrait of a goldsmith unmistakably captures the nerviness in his eyes a shy man, undoubtedly. Venetian Woman In The Guise Of Lucretia, 1533. It is extraordinary; in the way she stands, a thoughtful, scholarly, confident woman makes herself apparent The portrait of a young man with a lizard doesnt really need the emblems of rose petals, lizard and black coat. The look in his sensitive eyes shows us how prone to sadness and melancholy this sitter was. Sometimes the expressiveness is in a gesture. The wonderful portrait of Andrea Odoni, a collector, is both open and grasping, possessive and sharing in the way he both reaches out and grasps firmly. Triple portrait of a goldsmith, 1525. This is an excellent exhibition with plenty of interesting loans from abroad. Rather remarkably, it is also free The National Gallerys own portrait of a woman inspired by Lucretia is extraordinary; in the way she stands, a thoughtful, scholarly, confident woman makes herself apparent. Occasionally it is just in the tensions of the face; you would not want to make your confession to the Dominican friar Marcantonio Luciani, with his tightly disapproving mouth. There is more determination than charity in the face of the bishop Tommaso Negri, too. This is an excellent exhibition with plenty of interesting loans from abroad. Rather remarkably, it is also free. As 1969 dawned, The Beatles appeared to be riding high on the success of the White Album and the Hey Jude/Revolution single, both huge hits for their new Apple Records label. In reality they were unravelling, as Apple haemorrhaged cash, John Lennon immersed himself in heroin with new love Yoko Ono and the band embarked miserably on a new, back-to-basics album. Amid weddings, bed-ins and drug busts, The Beatles eventually made two albums in 1969 Let It Be and Abbey Road but it was also the year they secretly split, torn apart by money, business strife and Lennons decision to supplant Paul McCartney and make Yoko his creative collaborator... They didnt care too much for money The Beatles Apple organisation, conceived by McCartney as a hippy boutique, record label and multimedia company that would offer grants to visionary artists, spent 1.5 million of the bands money in 1968 the equivalent of 30 million today but made only 78,000. Apple was like playing Monopoly with real money, said Lennon later. Meanwhile, each Beatle had hugely overdrawn their company expense accounts Lennon by 64,000, McCartney by 60,000, Harrison and Starr by around 35,000 each. When accountants questioned why the drug-addled Lennon was spending so much money on sweets, an Apple employee recalls, I had to point out they werent really sweets. Lennons skin was sallow, his pupils dilated, his eyes sunken and he later blamed his drug use on the other Beatles and their attitude to Yoko. John was strung out on heroin so he behaved like most junkies manipulative, self-centred, in pain, says Barry Miles, a friend of the band. To cap it all, the highly competitive Beatles were furious to discover that The Rolling Stones were making more money than they were, despite selling fewer records. John and Yoko with businessman Allen Klein in July 1969. Klein had revealed that McCartney held a 1.4 million stake in Northern Songs, to Lennons 1.25 million While the guitarist gently weeps Throughout the bands later years, Harrison felt patronised and belittled by chief songwriters Lennon and McCartney. Well-known Let It Be footage caught Harrison and McCartney bickering quietly over a guitar part. But it was an argument about Lennons apparent disdain for Georges new songs, and his resentment of Yokos constant presence in the studio, that prompted Harrison to quit the band just days into the sessions. See you round the clubs, he told Lennon. Put an ad in the NME. After George had gone, Lennon and McCartney launched into an ear-splitting jam with Yoko on vocals, after which Lennon said: If hes not back by Monday, well get Eric [Clapton] in. Harrison was coaxed back after a few days. All you need is... shares The increasingly strained Lennon-McCartney relationship may have been permanently ruptured by Johns discovery that the canny Paul had been secretly buying extra shares in Northern Songs, their publishing company. In a meeting in April, Allen Klein, the brusque American brought in by Lennon to manage their business affairs, revealed that McCartney held a 1.4 million stake to Lennons 1.25 million. I had some beanies and I wanted more, was McCartneys sheepish defence. The two are said to have almost come to blows, with a red-faced Lennon shaking his fist at Linda McCartney and allegedly calling Paul a bastard. Lennon would never forget the hurt. It was the first time any of us had gone behind the others back, he later recalled. Baby, you cant drive this car Feeling guilty about his lack of contact with his six-year-old son Julian, Lennon went on a family road trip to Wales, Merseyside and Scotland to visit relatives in June. But at every chilly stop, Lennons angry aunties berated him for his lifestyle, his abandonment of first wife Cynthia and his peculiar new Japanese, avant-garde artist bride, who would only eat her own macrobiotic food. Even his cousin Stan Parkes, a close friend, told him bluntly he couldnt see what he saw in Yoko. And then in early July, up in the Highlands, Lennon, a poor driver with terrible eyesight, ran his Austin Maxi off the road, leaving John and Yoko needing stitches and a six-day stay in the Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie, 50 miles north of Inverness. She woke up, fell into bed After his Scottish car crash, Lennon arrived at Abbey Road with an unsteady Yoko and, to his bandmates amazement, four delivery men from Harrods, who wheeled a massive double bed into Studio Two. Yoko climbed in between the sheets, but not before asking for a mic to be hung overhead so she could make suggestions. What could we say? said McCartney. She was Johns bird. McCartney took his revenge by leading the band through take after take of Maxwells Silver Hammer, a song he knew John hated. The feud continued after The Beatles attended a private screening of Michael Lindsay-Hoggs Let It Be film. None of them raised any objections to its content after the credits rolled, but the following day, Apples Peter Brown phoned Lindsay-Hogg demanding all the footage of John and Yoko be cut. Let me put it another way. Ive had three phone calls [from the three other Beatles] this morning saying it ought to come out. John and Yoko in the Highlands with their children Julian, on left, and Kyoko We can walk it out Photographer Iain MacMillan took only six shots of the band walking across the zebra crossing for the cover of Abbey Road, while a passing policeman held up traffic and the painters in the background declined the photographers requests to move. McCartney wore sandals in three of the shots and went barefoot in three. Apple creative director John Kosh took the decision not to put the bands name on the cover, and when EMI chairman Sir Joseph Lockwood saw the sleeve, he phoned the young designer at 3am, told him hed cost the band thousands of sales and called him a f****** p****. Kosh was terrified and told George Harrison, who said: F*** it man, were The Beatles. And in the end The last time all four Beatles shared a recording studio was in the early hours of August 21, 1969 after a long evening spent debating the running order of Abbey Road. Lennon wanted the album to conclude with his love song to Yoko, I Want You (Shes So Heavy), but he was overruled by McCartney and producer George Martin, who favoured the famous medley. The groups final photo-shoot took place on August 22 at Johns Tittenhurst mansion, though John, Paul, Ringo, Yoko and Allen Klein were photographed signing a contract at Apple on September 20, moments before Lennon announced he was quitting the band. The meeting broke up to the sound of doors slamming. Beatles roadie Mal Evans reputedly found Paul in tears, while John, Yoko and Klein went to a nearby restaurant, The Peppermill. A little help from their friends John, George and Ringo flew to the Isle of Wight festival on August 31 to see Bob Dylans headlining set, and were dogged all day by ultimately unfounded rumours that they might join Dylan on stage. In October, days after The Beatles split, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis sent McCartney a telegram that said: We are recording an LP together this weekend in New York. How about coming in to play bass? It is not known whether Paul ever saw the message, but he left London with Linda and weeks-old baby Mary the following day for his Scottish farm. And In The End: The Last Days Of The Beatles is published by Polygon on March 20, priced 16.99. Offer price 13.59 (20% discount) until March 10. Pre-order at mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640, p&p is free on orders over 15. Spend 30 on books for free premium delivery Elizabethan Treasures National Portrait Gallery, London Until May 19 Rating: There arent many exhibitions where magnifying glasses are available at the entrance. But such is the case at Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures By Hilliard & Oliver, a new show featuring 90 miniature portraits from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Oval or round in shape, these paintings often measure no more than five centimetres high and four across. From the off, one is left stunned as to how such great likenesses could be achieved in such little space. The exhibition is devoted to probably the two finest miniaturists in English history: Nicholas Hilliard and his pupil, Isaac Oliver. They were held in a renown not dissimilar to Shakespeare, receiving commissions from anyone who was anyone. The wonderful show is devoted to probably the two finest miniaturists in our history: Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver. Above: Oliver's A Party In The Open Air: Allegory On Conjugal Love A ruddy-faced Sir Francis Drake appears, fresh from his knighthood after circumnavigating the globe. So too does Sir Walter Raleigh, oozing self-confidence, bedecked in jewels and wearing a white ruff so large it takes up half the picture. These two works were by Hilliard. Elizabeth Is favourite, Robert Devereux (the 2nd Earl of Essex), meanwhile, was depicted by Oliver, with a beard grown during his recent campaign capturing Cadiz from Spain. Miniatures often marked a major occasion in a subjects life. Sir Walter Raleigh, oozing self-confidence, bedecked in jewels and wearing a white ruff so large it takes up half the picture (above) was the work of Hilliard They were made by painting in watercolour on animal skin, using tiny, squirrel-hair brushes. According to Hilliard himself, the miniaturists practice was painstaking no speaking to the sitter was allowed while painting, for instance, or flying spittle might affect the result. Overall, he seems to have been the better flatterer of the two artists; Oliver the better truth-teller. The richest evidence of this is in portraits of the Queen in her final years. Where Hilliard depicts an ageless, eternally beautiful monarch, Oliver includes the creases on her forehead. Hilliard seems to have been the better flatterer of the two artists depicting an ageless, eternally beautiful Elizabeth I (above), whereas Oliver includes the creases on her forehead This is a wonderful show thats sure to draw large crowds. However, crowds arent really conducive to the enjoyment of works as intricate and small as these. My advice is to avoid peak hours. In the wake of the Reformation and the banning of religious images miniature portraiture became hugely popular. Alongside landscape painting, its one of the few genres of art where Britain has ever led the world and Hilliard and Oliver represent that genre at its peak. ALSO SHOWING Franz West Tate Modern, London Until Jun 2 Rating: Part of Tate Moderns remit is to decide which recent artists deserve greater exposure and then give it to them. The latest is Austrian sculptor Franz West. West is anything but a household name, yet Tates curators declare hes one of the most influential artists of the past 50 years. How well do they convince us of this? Not much. West was once described as the godfather of grunge. Which is a polite way of saying his works are ugly. Theyre mostly just lumps and clumps abstractions in need of a form (Untitled 2007). Franz West is anything but a household name, yet Tates curators declare hes one of the most influential artists of the past 50 years. Above: Rrose/Drama Visitors are invited to go behind a curtain and play with Wests Adaptives essentially, steel rods with blobs of plaster on the end. This feels like forced fun, if it can be called fun at all. His Lemurenkopfe sculptures, meanwhile, call to mind eyeless monsters. In a smaller, darker setting, they might prove unnerving but they lose impact due to the white walls and cavernous, open-plan layout at Tate. West was described as the godfather of grunge. Which is a polite way of saying his works are ugly. Theyre mostly lumps and clumps; abstractions in need of a form. Above: Untitled 2007 Wests peak arguably came with pieces of furniture made in the Eighties. Psyche is a dressing table with three adjoining mirrors set at unflattering angles and a purple stain on the tabletop. An art-world favourite West may be, but theres little to suggest him becoming a hit with the general public soon. Wild Rice 28 Brewer Street, London Rating: Janetira was one of those rarest of things, a decent Thai restaurant in the middle of London. This was before Kiln, and the first Smoking Goat, and long after Busabas decline into the inevitably mediocre. Sure, it was little more than a sliver, carved behind a Brewer Street shopfront, but the decor was reassuringly sparse. No fake orchids, tinkling water features or swathes of cheap silk. Hurray. The larb gai alone was reason enough to visit, joyously vibrant and fresh, heavy on the roasted rice and red chilli. Wild Rice (previously Janetira) doesnt feel so much reinvented. As reimagined. And as fans of classic horror films know only too well, this can never end well There were moo ping, grilled pork skewers, with char and chew, and the soul of the street; a pungent som tam, as clean as it was nose-clearing, with the joyous crunch of tiny pickled crabs; and a fermented mackerel gut curry, which was rich, elegant, salty, complex. And incandescently hot. Even by the beaded-brow standards of the South. The sort of gloriously sadomasochistic dish that brought involuntary gasps of incredulous awe, where tears of pain met torrents of pleasure. I loved the place. But a few weeks back, it changed name. And while the newly monikered Wild Rice may seem a touch more slick, both in concept (a marriage between the best of the East and the West, grins the website) and interior design (lots of tastefully muted dark wood, with the occasional flash of primary colour), it doesnt feel so much reinvented. As reimagined. And as fans of classic horror films know only too well, this can never end well. Anyway, its empty when we arrive on a Thursday lunchtime. I only found out later that it was just out of the soft launch period. Possibly a bit too soon for me to be visiting. All restaurants need time to bed in and get things working before the finickity critics (or, more importantly, punters) turn up to moan. But service could not be more charming and when the loveliest of waiters saw my upper lip quiver at the thought of being shackled to the Express Bowl Lunch, he allowed me full run of the dinner menu. Goi Pla ceviche may seem like a clash of Laotian/Isan and Peruvian cultures, but seeing as Goi Pla already involves raw, spiced marinated fish, a sort of piscine larb, the ceviche description is extraneous. Although it does make it a little more recognisable, I suppose. The one time I tried this dish was on the banks of the Mekong, just outside Vientiane. It came with ant eggs and the back half of a large water beetle, that tasted just like pear drops. Along with the slight risk of liver flukes too. No such unwelcome guests here. The fish is fresh, the spicing decent and it zips across the mouth. Hat Yai chicken wings are classic Thai booze food, salty, chewy and best appreciated after a night on the sauce. Nam prik nhoom, though, is plain dull, miles removed from the smoky, sultry allure of the Northern Thai original. Its always good to see a nam prik on any Thai menu, as these relishes are near ubiquitous. It comes with the usual cooked vegetables, but cries out for more fetid bite. And a fistful of pork scratchings too. Ten years ago, Wild Rice would have seemed a cut above the usual Thai norm. Please were bored of the bland, fed up with the polite Theres a forgettable beef salad, where flavours murmur rather than sing, barely better than the bore at your local high-street takeaway. Although the meat is a cut above the usual. Tom yum is generous, with good-quality seafood, although lacks any sort of soupy thrill. While pork pad ped, despite a profusion of fresh peppercorns, is wan and oversweet. Theres scant evidence of that all-important red chilli paste base. Ten years ago, Wild Rice would have seemed a cut above the usual Thai norm. Ingredients are good, service sweet, the menu venturing outside the usual deep fried/sweet green curry cul-de-sac. And as I said, these are early days. But please were bored of the bland, fed up with the polite. We know how good Janetira was. So roughen those edges, char those chillies, and bring back the fury and the filth. About 25 per head In less than four weeks, the UK may have left the EU or not. That uncertainty is driving many businesses to distraction but it is also creating opportunities, particularly for companies looking to acquire British firms. In the past three weeks, two Midas recommendations have been on the receiving end of takeover bids, tax software group Tax Systems and Dairy Crest, the group behind Cathedral City cheese, Country Life butter and Clover spread. Midas recommended Tax Systems last July at 85.5p. On February 13, private equity firm Bowmark Capital made a 1.10 a share cash offer for the company. Chief executive Gavin Lyons and investors with more than half the shares have already accepted the deal so it is almost certain to go through and shareholders will receive their money by April, making a return of almost 30 per cent in less than a year. Dairy Crest is a more complex story. Midas first recommended the firm in 2013 when the shares were 4. By September 2017, they had risen to 6.16 and seemed to be on a roll. But concerns about the food retailing market, economic worries and a big share placing last May took their toll and the stock was hovering around 5 until ten days ago, when Canadian cheesemaker Saputo made a 6.20 a share cash offer for Dairy Crest, valuing the company at almost 1 billion. Saputo is one of the top ten cheese producers in the world and boss Lino Saputo fancies a slice of the UK market. Cathedral City is exceptionally well-known here eaten in six out of every ten households and chief executive Mark Allen is keen to sell more abroad. He and the board are recommending the offer and, if all goes according to plan, shareholders will receive their cash by early May. MIDAS VERDICT: Tax Systems shareholders should take their cash and watch to see what Lyons does next. This is the second time he has delivered a generous takeover deal for Midas investors and he may well crop up in the market again. Dairy Crest is less cut and dried. The share price has failed to reflect the companys real value in recent months so there is little doubt that, even though the Saputo deal makes strategic sense, the Canadians will be snapping up a bargain. Some investors are even hoping a counter-bidder will emerge. Shareholders should sit tight until the picture is clearer. At the very least, they will receive an early summer windfall. They were billed as the fresh young upstarts of the energy market, rubbing shoulders with other tech-savvy entrepreneurs in their trendy Shoreditch offices. But instead of trading tips with hipsters, Bulb employees are now sharing lifts with bankers as the company has moved its 300 staff into more traditional offices in the heart of the City. The energy firm, which recently signed its millionth customer, has moved into the former offices of Baring Asset Management, taking over four floors of British Lands 155 Bishopsgate. All change: Bulb employees are now sharing lifts with bankers The sublet arrangement means Bulb is expected to match Barings annual 3.7million rent, adding pressure on bosses to close the gap on a 23.7million loss in 2018 following aggressive expansion. Last week, Bulb cut gas bills for customers by 2 per cent. Baring is the surviving part of the famous merchant bank which went bust in 1995 after rogue trader Nick Leeson ran up huge unauthorised debts. Britain's biggest care home operator is in talks to hand control to a property investment firm in a deal worth 1billion. HC-One, founded by Labour donor Chai Patel, could give Round Hill Capital, a London-based investor in residential and student accommodation, a majority stake. The business, owned by a consortium of investors including a firm run by Patel, was put up for sale with a 1billion price tag last year amid intense financial pressure on the sector. In talks: Britain's biggest care home operator is in talks to hand control to a property investment firm in a deal worth 1billion The group is among a number of care home businesses on the market. It became the UKs biggest care home provider in 2017 when it bought 122 homes from Bupa in a 300million deal that fuelled concerns about its debts. HC-One said of the talks, first reported in Estates Gazette: It is our policy not to comment on market speculation. Our number one priority, every single day, will always be the health, safety and wellbeing of the residents we support. Round Hill declined to comment. With the end of the tax year looming on April 5, many pension savers are wrestling with whether they can afford to top up their retirement pots. Pensions are one of the few remaining savings vehicles to offer generous tax perks on contributions (up to certain limits) that also allow the money invested to grow tax free. The Government does not want to be too generous so restricts the annual amount savers can salt away and receive tax relief on to a maximum of 40,000. It's that time of the year: With the end of the tax year looming on April 5, many pension savers are wrestling with whether they can afford to top up their retirement pots High earners on incomes between 110,000 and 210,000 have a smaller annual allowance on a sliding scale down to as little as 10,000. People who have dipped into their pot under new pension freedom rules who later decide to start contributing again have a reduced annual allowance of just 4,000. Breach these limits and savers face tax penalties set at their highest rate of income tax. Over a lifetime, the size of a fund can grow to 1.03million (1.055million from April) before savers are hit with an extra tax penalty. This charge is set at 25 per cent if the excess is taken as income or 55 per cent for a lump sum. Three pensions dilemmas and what experts suggest 1. The motor executive with a new job A motor industry executive from the Midlands left his employer a few years ago and started taking benefits from his occupational scheme a defined benefit pension that had exceeded the lifetime allowance. Not long afterwards he was offered another job in the same industry where the employer offered him a defined benefit pension. But they did not offer anything in exchange for turning down membership of that scheme. Andy James, of pension company Tilney, says: Any additional pension he would have taken over the lifetime limit as a lump sum would be charged at 55 per cent. But we advised him that being left with 45 per cent of something was better than 100 per cent of nothing, so he went ahead and joined the scheme. 2 The bank worker topping up her Isa An employee who had been with a leading bank since leaving school was in a defined benefit scheme. But she recently transferred the pot into a personal pension under pension freedom rules because she wanted more flexibility, the improved death benefits and to be able to nominate any unused portion to her children. James says: The transfer value put her over the lifetime allowance so her employer offered a 10 per cent salary increase in lieu of pension contributions. 'She has used this taxable salary increase partly to top up her cash Isa holdings to protect against short-term issues of possible redundancy and to speed up the repayment of her mortgage. By doing this she has reduced the familys ongoing running costs by reducing debt plus provided her family with a bigger emergency fund. 3 Media worker who cashed in a pension A 55-year okd media executive recently cashed in a small personal pension, not realising this would trigger a lower annual pension allowance for future contributions of 4,000. In his current workplace scheme he makes total contributions of 16,000 a year half made by his employer. This is 12,000 over his new annual allowance limit and means he faces a tax charge of 40 per cent on the excess. The penalty works out at 4,800. He can either ask the pension managers to meet this payment from his pot though not all providers allow this or pay it himself. Jessica List, of pension company Curtis Banks, says: He decided to continue with the pension as he is in a better financial position because of the employers matching contributions. Many better-off savers are nervous about breaching these limits. But experts say they are worrying too much as the benefits of topping up can outweigh the penalty costs. Clare Moffat, of insurer Royal London, says: These charges are not a punishment for bad behaviour. They are simply the mechanisms the taxman uses to claw back any tax relief the saver has enjoyed which exceed the limits. Watch out: People who have dipped into their pot under new pension freedom rules who later decide to start contributing again have a reduced annual allowance of just 4,000 The lifetime limit may sound huge, with allowance-busting a problem facing only a lucky few. But the reality is many ordinary individuals such as teachers, health service workers and civil servants with lengthy service under their belts are increasingly being affected. These employees are usually in generous defined benefit schemes where the pension they receive is based on a combination of salary and length of service. They may well be nudging against or even exceeding the annual limit and not even know it. It is easier for those in defined contribution schemes where pensions depend on how much has been contributed to the pot and how much it has grown to work out if their pension risks surpassing the allowance. The numbers affected by fears over breaches have ballooned in recent years as the Government has sought to trim the allowances. Puzzling: To say the pension allowances are confusing is an understatement To say the pension allowances are confusing is an understatement. One high earner who contacted The Mail on Sunday following our coverage on the subject in January, said: The whole thing is so hideously complicated that Im simply contributing the same as I did last year, shutting my eyes and hoping for the best. This reader and many like him may well find he has little to lose by breaching both his annual and lifetime allowances. But seeking financial advice is always better than shutting your eyes just to be sure you are not blindly walking into penalty traps. Ray Black, chartered financial planner at Money Minder, says: The significant tax savings that can be enjoyed on the way to building a retirement fund to the lifetime limit or above are not to be sniffed at. If a saver then uses the pension to provide an income it is possible to reduce the tax liability on the excess to just 25 per cent lower than the 40 or 45 per cent tax relief they received on contributions. Stephen Womack, of David Williams IFA, a Northampton-based financial planner, says the clincher is often whether the saver receives employer contributions. He says: Employer contributions are key. If the employer is sharing the burden, the tax penalty can be worth paying. By contrast, a self-employed business owner may be less inclined to blithely breach allowances with no employer contributions to cushion the impact of a penalty charge. Members of defined benefit workplace pensions may not realise they have exceeded their annual allowance. This is because the calculations are more complicated with the annual allowance typically equal to the growth in the promised annual pension at retirement multiplied by 16. This information is also often not known until after the end of a tax year. Womack suggests a few options for those averse to exceeding either the annual or lifetime allowance. He says: Some employers may arrange to automatically cap annual contributions at 10,000 for higher earners and then pay them the rest in additional salary. The same kind of arrangement may apply for those tiptoeing towards the lifetime allowance. Tips to avoid hefty charges Even if a savers contributions this year exceed their annual allowance, a tax charge may be avoided. This is because it is possible to carry forward any allowance not used in the previous three tax years. The exception is for those who are on the reduced 4,000 annual allowance who are not allowed to carry forward. The lifetime allowance tax charge will only raise its head when you take your pension benefits often referred to as crystallising your pension. Ian Browne, of wealth manager Quilter, says: If you have a pension that is equal to or greater than the lifetime allowance it is best that it gets measured against the lifetime allowance only once to avoid giving the taxman a second bite at the cherry. He explains: If you do not need to make any withdrawals keep the pension invested and have its value tested at age 75. This delays the 25 per cent tax charge on the excess in your pot until the last possible date. Someone who needs to make withdrawals can manage the pot to avoid the lifetime allowance becoming an issue too soon. Browne explains: They can think about moving a sum up to the value of the lifetime allowance into drawdown under the new freedom rules. They can then either spend the 25 per cent tax-free cash that everyone is entitled to or invest it in a tax-efficient investment such as an Isa. To avoid a second lifetime allowance test, the saver must withdraw investment growth in the new pension as income. Money remaining in the original pension is left until age 75 when it will be taxed. He says: Employers may offer to stop pension contributions and give a pay rise instead. This will mean more income tax to pay but you can use what remains to save in other tax-efficient schemes such as Isas. A popular strategy is for extra salary given in lieu of pension contributions to be directed into the pension plan of a spouse or partner. Womack says: Not only does it mean you avoid tax penalties but you can plan in such as way that neither of you pays more than 20 per cent basic rate income tax when you take the pension. When making the final choice on whether to accept breaches, the main question to ask is what is being given up by stopping contributions. Jessica List, of pension company Curtis Banks, says: Tax relief is only one of the advantages of a pension. There is also tax-free investment growth and the pension pot is normally outside a persons estate for inheritance tax. Schools face being shut down for up to a year in a bid to tackle Muslim extremism in the classroom if a leading election candidate gets his way. Teachers and students would also face disciplinary action for failing to shake hands with the opposite sex. One Nation's New South Wales leader Mark Latham, who previously led the Labor Party, has revealed to Daily Mail Australia his five-point plan to eradicate Islamic radicalisation and Sharia law preaching at school. Scroll down for video Schools face being shut down for up to a year in a bid to tackle Muslim extremism in the classroom if a leading election candidate gets his way (Melbourne Bourke street terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali pictured) He is campaigning for government schools to be shut down for six to 12 months, with new principals and teachers hired, if there was evidence of radical Islam being preached to impressionable students without any attempt to stop it. 'Any radicalised student runs the potential of acts of public violence,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Young people are being radicalised and the consequences in terms of acts of terrorism are horrendous. 'We're allowing a problem to fester because of political correctness. 'You're talking about something that's a supreme, public danger.' It comes two years after Muslim students at Punchbowl Boys High School in Sydney's south-west allegedly threatened to behead non-Muslim staff and declared themselves ISIS sympathisers. One Nation's NSW leader Mark Latham (pictured) has revealed to Daily Mail Australia his five-point plan to eradicate Islamic radicalisation and Sharia law preaching at school The former principal Chris Griffiths and his deputy Joumana Dennaoiu were stood down after they failed to co-operate with departmental deradicalisation programs. One Nation's plan to tackle Islamic extremism in schools 1. Zero tolerance: closing radicalised schools and placing radicalised students in youth detention 2. A regular, transparent system of public reporting on incidents involving radicalised Islamic behaviour, and the action taken by schools in response. These reports should be tabled in NSW Parliament 3. A strict Code of Conduct for the way in which teachers explain to students acts of radical Islamic terrorism. The emphasis must be on evidence and reality rather than Leftist apologies and rationalising away violence of this kind 4. Insisting on Western standards of respect and courtesy at all school events, overriding Islamic practice 5. Ensuring outside organisations with a history of radicalised views (campaigning against our culture and our civilisation) are not given access to NSW schools. The Bankstown Poetry Slam should be banned immediately Source: One Nation NSW policy plan Advertisement 'The school had become an Islamic school and the leadership was believing in Sharia law,' Mr Latham said. 'That's a radical move in itself that we can't tolerate in government schooling. 'If there's a school that's being transformed from an open government school into an Islamic institution, which seems to have happened at Punchbowl Boys High, then the public deserves an open account how it happened, what the school leadership was doing about it, how the education department responded.' A former teacher at nearby Punchbowl Public School also claimed radicalised students as young as 10 had menacingly recited the Koran in Arabic at her and on one occasion even made throat-slitting gestures. Mr Latham is demanding that radicalised students be placed in youth detention. The former federal Labor leader stands a strong chance of being elected to the NSW upper house at the March state elections, and could share the balance of power with Fred Nile's Christian Democrats and the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party. He also wants teachers and students to face disciplinary action for failing to shake hands with the opposite sex, which fundamentalist Muslims regard as sinful. 'They must. It's a courtesy of our culture that must be practised in our schools,' he said. 'It would be a disciplinary matter that should be taken seriously.' In 2017, Muslim students at the Hurstville Boys Campus of Georges River College, in Sydney's south, were given permission to put hands of their hearts as an alternative to shaking hands with female teachers. Mr Latham accused the major political parties and the education bureaucracy of failing to properly tackle Muslim extremism in the classroom. 'If there wasn't a religious dimension to this, if there wasn't a minority dimension to this, the education system one assumes would come down on the students like a tonne of bricks,' he said. 'The prevailing attitude would be "we can't pick on minorities", "we can't tell the full truth of what's happened here". 'The main problem is it's swept under the carpet.' Mr Latham is campaigning to shut down schools with Muslim extremism, two years after Muslim students at Punchbowl Boys High School (pictured) allegedly threatened to behead non-Muslim staff and declared themselves ISIS sympathisers One Nation wants the Department of Education to compile a report twice a year outlining radicalised behaviour and the school's response to it, which would have to be tabled in Parliament. 'The real problem is we haven't got transparency,' Mr Latham said. 'My feeling is these problems are common enough in the education system to be very worried about.' Under Mr Latham, events like the Bankstown Poetry Slam in south-west Sydney would also be banned, where arts workshops and school visits are held. The event, funded by the federal government and Canterbury-Bankstown council, featured a poem called 'F*** Pauline Hanson'. The former principal Chris Griffiths (pictured) and his deputy Joumana Dennaoiu were stood aside after they failed to co-operate with departmental deradicalisation programs The anger wasn't just directed at One Nation's federal leader, with videos denouncing the police and mocking the laying of wreaths on Anzac Day. 'It had nothing to do with poetry, it's just ranting against Western civilisation and against our society,' Mr Latham said. 'I was horrified to find out they were allowed to go into eight western Sydney schools as mentors. 'I find that a very, very disturbing trend. The people who are clearly anti-Western political agitators with a radical message. A former teacher (pictured) at nearby Punchbowl Public School also claimed radicalised students as young as 10 had menacingly recited the Koran in Arabic at her and on one occasion even made throat-slitting gestures 'They shouldn't get any government funding and they shouldn't be allowed within coee of any school.' Despite his misgivings about radicalised Muslim teachers at public schools, Mr Latham acknowledged Islamic schools often produced good academic results and made a contribution to Australian society. 'If they're peaceful and constructive and they fit in with Australian values, they get good education outcomes, of course we've got to support them,' he said. 'Some Islamic colleges have been a wonderful success.' A married couple quit their jobs to start their own company delivering letters from deceased family members after they were inspired by a loved one who passed away. Will Gilburt, who worked as a high-flying solicitor, and his wife Katie, who trained as a holistic therapist, set up The Legacy Letter Co following the death of Katie's aunt, who passed away in late 2016. Mrs Gilburt, 31, had been volunteering at a gorilla centre in west Africa when her aunt passed. When she arrived back in Britain, she was given a hand-written letter from her aunt before she had passed away. While Mr Gilburt was unsure what was written on the private letter to his wife, but he noticed a marked difference in her outlook after she received the letter, which gave them the inspiration to set up The Legacy Letter Co. They decided to commit to their new business venture full-time in October last year. The service allows customers to write their own message, which is then printed into a letter and delivered to your loved ones after you die. Will Gilburt and his wife Katie, both 31, set up The Legacy Letter Co following the death of Katie's aunt, who passed away in late 2016 The pair quit their jobs to set up the Legacy Letter Co in October last year Mr Gilburt, from Stansted Mountfitchet, Hertfordshire, told MailOnline: 'We know the impact something as simple as a letter from a loved one who has passed can have. 'Although there was an expectation she might pass soon, nothing can prepare you for the loss of a loved one. 'After the passing of Katie's aunt, there was obvious sadness but when the note was given to her I noticed a positive change in her outlook from the letter. 'It gave her warmth and something physical to hold. What we're hoping to achieve is the same for others who are going through the same traumatic experience of losing someone you hold close.' While the business is in its early stages, Mr Gilburt acknowledged coming to terms with writing the letter is something some people may find difficult. The letters are encrypted so no-one at The Legacy Letter Co can read your messages, but are the decrypted, printed out and sent once proof of death has been proved to the company The letters can be released at special times so people writing from beyond the grave can still have an impact on their loved ones He said: 'Of course it's difficult. It's not easy to think about life after death, but I think these letters give people the chance to use it as a way of shaping how they want their loved one to remember them. 'It's a service people can go back to at any time and re-write their own letter to loved ones. If you have a moment with someone and think "that was a great day, I need to put that in the letter", you can always go back and write a paragraph and reshape the letter. 'It's rare for people today to write letters, which is sad, but its a traditional and personalised way of reaching out to loved ones.' The messages are encrypted, meaning the messages remain private until they are decrypted, printed out and sent following the death. Yet from what people have told Mr Gilburt, the letters are being used as a chase to reminisce on good times gone by. The company is hoping to revolutionise the way loved ones are received after they have passed on It comes after the firm carried out a study with One Poll on 1,700 UK adults which found only half of Britons only know about loved ones they lost through stories passed down by others rather than the people themselves. A third of adults surveyed admitted to remembering times with grandparents but since they had passed, had no idea of what their lives were like before. Mr Gilburt, founder of The Legacy Letter Co , said: 'The research stresses the importance of changing our ways moving forward. We need to make the effort to discuss and record our memories, thoughts and feelings, whilst we can, to prevent such a knowledge gap occurring. 'Even a short message explaining how proud you are or your happiest times together can be life changing for the recipient.' Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been granted release from prison to attend the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson, authorities said. Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva died of meningitis at died at Rede D'Or Sao Luiz hospital, in Santo Andre, the city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, on Friday. The federal court of Parana state said that Judge Carolina Lebbos authorized da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence in the state capital of Curitiba, to make the 400-kilometer (249-mile) journey for the little boy's burial. Arthur is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva, one of the sons of the former president. Da Silva's spokesman, Jose Chrispiniano, told The Associated Press he does not know where and when Arthur's funeral will take place. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been granted released from prison to attend the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva died of meningitis at died at Rede D'Or Sao Luiz hospital, in Santo Andre, the city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, on Friday On Friday, social media was filled with messages in support of the former president, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010, even from adversaries. But lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, said on Twitter that da Silva should not be allowed to attend the funeral. 'Lula is just an inmate and he should be at a common prison. When the relatives of other inmates die will they also be escorted by the federal police for the funeral?' Eduardo Bolsonaro said. 'It is absurd to even contemplate that. It only lets him pose as a poor thing.' Brazil's president did not comment. Lula is currently serving a 12-year sentence for corruption in the state capital of Curitiba Arthur, pictured with his grandfather, is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva, one of the sons of the former president Most inmates are granted permission to travel to the funerals of close relatives in accordance with Brazilian legislation. But judge Lebbos' latest decision was a turnaround from her earlier ruling on January 29 which denied da Silva the ability to attend the funeral of his elder brother Genival Inacio da Silva. The youngster is seen in social media images in support of the 'Free Lula' movement In that instance, Lebbos decided to ask Brazil's federal police and the federal prosecutor's office in Curitiba whether da Silva should be allowed to travel. Brazil's federal police argued there would be security concerns if the former president left the city of Curitiba to attend ceremonies in Sao Paulo. Investigators of the sprawling Car Wash corruption investigation, which is responsible for da Silva's imprisonment, agreed with the federal police. Judge Lebbos then ruled against authorizing da Silva to leave jail. The 73-year old, who has been jailed since April 7, claims he is being politically persecuted Lebbo's decision was upheld by a higher judge. Da Silva's lawyers then appealed to Brazil's Supreme Court. Chief Justice Jose Dias Toffoli issued another decision allowing the former president to meet with his relatives, but da Silva said he preferred not to go as his brother's body had already been buried. But this time both federal police and the federal prosecutor's office in Curitiba agreed da Silva should be allowed to travel, without giving any details on what changed their perception. The 73-year old claims he is being politically persecuted. He has been jailed since April 7. Canada said it will allow a U.S. extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said Friday officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd., the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Meng's December 1 arrest at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furor and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to U.S. technology vendors. The Department of Justice said Friday officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions. She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the U.S. request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. "There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision," the statement said. The Chinese government on Saturday criticized the decision as a "serious violation" of Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. "The U.S. and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement," said a Foreign Ministry statement. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on December 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the U.S. charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng's case if he thought it would assist the U.S negotiations with China over a trade deal," said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticized the case in a statement as "a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise." Huawei is a focus of U.S. security concerns. Huawei Technologies Ltd is the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. The U.S. and China have tried to keep Meng's case separate from their wider trade dispute, but President Donald Trump has undercut that. Trump said he would consider intervening in the case against Meng if it would be in the interest of U.S. national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing. The Chinese embassy statement that due to "obvious political interference," Canada should refuse the U.S. extradition request and release Meng. U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department pursues cases "free of any political interference" and follows evidence and the law. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Chinese authorities are not interested in hearing about how Canada is bound by its extradition case with the U.S. Saint-Jacques said China might apply further pressure on Canada. Advertisement These shocking pictures show just how widespread the flooding in California's wine country was this week with thousands of homes and business facing ruin by the heavy rain. Residents were told to leave the area and roads were closed after buildings in the popular tourist destination were flooded by water up to eight feet deep. Two towns - Guerneville and neighboring Monte Rio - became 'islands'. Images show people forced to kayak down flooded streets after days of heavy rain left some areas reachable only by boat after being cut off by the rain-swollen Russian River on Wednesday. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday morning: 'Guerneville is officially an island.' By Friday the evacuation orders were lifted and all roads into Guerneville and neighboring Monte Rio were opened - almost three days later. But residents returned to scenes of devastation and pictures from the scene show people coming to terms with the extensive damage. Mud and debris covers cars, homes and roads after 3,700 people were ordered to evacuate as waters reached up to eight feet deep. Jason Flint prepared for the flooding by putting his deli's valuable equipment on pallets and milk crates stacked several feet above the ground. But it wasn't enough and when he returned to Guerneville Friday he found mud-covered refrigerators, display cases and food crates strewn about by 6-foot-high murky water. 'My entire deli is wiped out,' Flint said. 'It's crazy. It's too much to get my head around this.' Scroll down for video. A flooded neighborhood sits in waters from the overflowed Russian River in the town of Guerneville The Russian River in Sonoma County crested at more than 46 feet Wednesday night, flooding about 2,000 buildings Residents returned to scenes of devastation and pictures from the scene show people kayaking down roads Evacuation orders were lifted and all roads into Guerneville and neighboring Monte Rio were opened Friday Officials warned people to stay away from the area unless they have necessary business Along the main road in Guerneville, business owners inspected the damage caused by floodwaters that rose about 46 feet Wednesday night, the river's highest level in 24 years. Chris Reid, a manager of True Value Hardware, said they were able to salvage cash registers, computers, chain saws and other expensive equipment by putting them on the second floor of the two-story building. But on the ground level, all the shelves were covered in chest-high mud. He and employees washed down rubber boots, brooms, shovels, buckets and other salvaged cleaning supplies and brought them to the sidewalk to sell at a discounted rate. Locals are accustomed to the river flooding in rainy weather, but not like this, he said. 'The store has gone through all the floods but this is a lot more than we expected,' Reid said. Flint said he knew flooding was inevitable when he opened his deli but he couldn't afford to pay $2,000 per month for flood insurance. 'I've been here 17 years and I've never seen the river that high. I pray the worst of it is over,' he said, adding that he plans to rebuild his business. This satellite image shows Guerneville before the Russian River flood. The storm-swollen river is slowly receding after causing extensive flooding, but more rainfall is expected Friday night and Saturday This satellite image from Thursday shows Guerneville after the flood. Authorities have reopened the roads into two towns cut off for days by a rain-swollen river and residents and work crews have started cleaning up the muck left behind Farmhand Deli co-owner Jason Flint surveys the damage inside his restaurant along River Road as flood waters from the Russian River continue to recede in Guerneville, California on Friday Mick McGuinn, right, and his son Michael McGuinn help clean up Mick's girlfriend's store Bonnie Sew Good in Guerneville True Value hardware store manager Chris Reid pauses while surveying damage to his store Sonoma County spokesman Hannah Euser said even though evacuation orders were lifted for Guerneville and Monte Rio, residents were encouraged to wait to enter their homes until they are inspected. Damage assessment crews planned to mark green, yellow and red tags to indicate whether they are safe for re-entry. 'We have a lot of buildings that have taken in water and we will be inspecting them to determine if they are safe,' she said. Euser said crews were still clearing trees, tires and even propane tanks from the streets while workers with Pacific Gas and Electric checked power lines. Officials warned people to stay away from the area unless they have necessary business. Light rain was forecast for Friday night in the area and Euser said emergency personnel would remain working through the weekend. She said there were continuing concerns for mudslides in areas scarred by wildfires two years ago. 'We are not completely out of the woods here,' said Assemblyman Jim Wood, who represents the area in the state Legislature. Another wet system carrying the aptly named 'atmospheric river' is in the forecast next week, though forecasters say it's expected to affect central California. A coating of mud is left on the inside of a car that was underwater after days of heavy rain left towns reachable only by boat A Ford Mustang is covered in debris after being underwater during the flood after 3,700 people were ordered to evacuate Scott Heemstra takes Veronica Burdette out of the flood zone as floodwaters rise along Mill Street in Guerneville A log rests at a destroyed shop along River Road as flood waters from the Russian River continue to recede in Guerneville Katie Horton reacts while cleaning out her flooded home in Guerneville with another wet system carrying the aptly named 'atmospheric river' forecast next week, though forecasters say it's expected to affect central California Mishayla Horton cleans out her flooded home in Guerneville as residents were encouraged to wait to enter their homes until they are inspected Bonnie Plevney checks the waterline in her flooded shop Bonnie Sew Good. Crews were still clearing trees, tires and even propane tanks from the streets while workers with Pacific Gas and Electric checked power lines Resident Dustin Pasquin-Theders reaches for an arrow that marks the waterline on a flooded home in Guerneville No one was injured or killed and the river receded below the 32-foot flood level. However, more than 200 miles north, a man drowned while trying to reach his Humboldt County home by walking through about 5 feet of water. Benito Nunez-Rodriguez, 35, of Ferndale was trying to walk from his job at a dairy farm to his home Wednesday evening when he was carried away by the fast-moving current, said Samantha Karges, a spokeswoman with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. Co-workers had tried to encourage Nunez-Rodriguez to spend the night with them rather than cross the flood waters, but he wanted to get home, Joseph Alexandre, manager of Alexandre Family Farm, said Friday. 'We're all pretty shaken up about what happened and thinking what could we have done differently,' Alexandre said. Lawyers planned to bring down a paedophile father who brutally raped and sexually assaulted his daughter by questioning six of alter-egos in what is believed to be a landmark case. Jennifer Haynes was subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of her father Richard, now 74, from the age of four - leading her to develop multiple personality disorder. After her father was charged Ms Haynes, who has 2500 personality types, was preparing six of her alter egos to give evidence if the case went to trial. They include a four-year-old girl named Symphony, a 11-year-old boy Judas and a 17-year-old motorcycle-loving lout called Muscles. Jenny Haynes expressed her relief to reporters when she left a Sydney court on Friday after he father Richard pleaded guilty to 25 counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault They all have their own voices and characteristics, they Sydney Morning Herald reported. On Friday Mr Haynes appeared in NSW District Court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to 25 counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault at their Sydney home in the 1970s and 1980s. Ms Haynes, 49, believes that he did so because he 'was afraid' of one of her alter-egos - of which Symphony was the most significant. 'Jenny was born and my father started to abuse her. An alter was created who came to take dad's abuse so Jenny didn't have to,' Ms Haynes told Fairfax Media. 'Symphony intended to testify in court for the whole thing. When my father raped Jennifer Haynes he raped Symphony. He pleaded guilty today because he is scared to death of hearing Symphony testify about everything he did to her.' Now living in Queensland, Ms Haynes said the other egos came along after the abuse became too difficult for Symphony to deal with. Ms Haynes' multiple personality disorder was brought on by years of sexual abuse from her father. Jenny Haynes (pictured) developed a multiple personality disorder after she was repeatedly raped by her father as a little girl in the 1970s and 1980s He was extradited from the United Kingdom in February 2017 to face multiple counts of sexual abuse against his daughter at the heir homes in Dulwich HIll and Greenacre. The case was one of the worst cases of child sex abuse ever documented in Australia. Outside court, a relieved Ms Haynes told reporters she was stunned but thrilled her father had 'owned up' to what he'd done. 'The guilty plea is my father admitting everything he did and I could not be happier,' she said on Friday. Ms Haynes said she wanted her father to face her in court because he'd previously thought of her as 'not real'. 'I am a blow-up doll ... and today he had to face the blow-up doll and I hope he enjoyed every minute of it,' she said. Now 49, Jenny Haynes endured some of the worst sexual abuse ever documented in Australia The 49-year-old thanked the police and prosecutor Sean Hughes for allowing her to testify despite suffering from dissociative identity disorder - previously known as multiple personality disorder. Ms Haynes urged other child victims to come forward and issued a warning to their abusers. 'Children remember,' she said. 'We will tell and we will put you in a courtroom ... and you will go to jail.' The judge had previously made an order allowing Ms Haynes to be identified after she indicated her consent. The allegations were so serious that the case was a judge-only trial because it was feared a jury could be left psychologically traumatised. Haynes will be sentenced on May 31. Australian actor and director John Jarratt has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new movie despite the fact he is still facing a rape charge. The now 66-year-old - best known for his starring role in horror film 'Wolf Creek' - is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman at a Randwick house in Sydney's eastern suburbs in September 1976. Jarratt formally pleaded not guilty to the charge at a Downing District Court appearance back in February. But instead of laying low ahead of his trial from July 1, the troubled actor launched a crowdfunding campaign for his next film project, 'What about Sal?' Australian actor and director John Jarratt (left, with actor Gerard O'Dwyer) has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new movie despite the fact he is still facing a rape charge Jarratt joins co-star Gerard O'Dwyer - an actor living with down syndrome - in a short video that is strategically underscored with soft, sentimental music. 'This man here, he is an actor,' Mr O'Dwyer starts off the video. 'He is well known and famous his name is John William Jarratt and hell talk about What About Sal?' Jarratt takes his cue and goes on to explain the plot and mentions the talented crew who have put in the hard yards to make the film come to life. 'It's a very moving story,' he says. 'A bit sad, a bit happy. It's got it all. And we had the best crew and the best cast all working for me and I'm very honoured to have them. We got everything to make the film,' he said. That's when Jarratt finally gets to the point and says he's looking for more money to help make the film 'easier'. 'We're going to make it regardless, but a little bit of help from you guys would be great for a little Aussie film. 'Maybe just stop having coffee for a week and put that money in for us,' he says. The GoFundMe page was only set up last week, but has already made close to $3,000 of its intended $110,000 target. A Montenegrin man who overstayed his US visa is accused of running an illegal dentist's office out of the basement of his Michigan home using equipment he bought off eBay from China. Leka Gjokaj, 55, of Clinton Township, was arraigned on Friday on the charge of health professional operating without a license, a felony with a potential four-year prison sentence, according to the Detroit Free Press. Authorities say that Gjokaj did not have a license to perform dental procedures for money from his home, and that while he had traveled to the U.S. legally on a valid visa, the visa expired in 2015. Gjokaj mostly performed minor dental work such as cleaning teeth and filling cavities, rather than serious oral surgery, according to investigators, taking referrals from his church. Leka Gjokaj was arraigned Friday in Clinton Township, Michigan, on charges of operating without a dental license Gjokaj's basement featured equipment typical of a dentist's office including a dentist chair, X-ray machine and molds for teeth Police Detective Jay Anderson, remarking on the lack of cleanliness in the office, said 'it was bad' with authorities finding a glass containing dentures and 'dirty, bloody knives.' The equipment found in the basement facility, including a dentist chair, molds for teeth and an X-ray machine, was purchased on eBay and from China, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith. Smith admonished Gjokaj saying the unlicensed dentist, who claims to have studied at dental school in Albania, was 'preying on patients' dental needs. Gjokaj's attorney, Paul Lulgjuraj, says his client, originally from Montenegro, has a doctorate in dental science, and denies that he is just some 'monster off the street.' Investigators found dentures sitting in a jar after serving a search warrant on Gjokaj's basement facility Various molds of teeth found in Gjokaj's dental practice run out of his home's basement The Macomb County Prosecutor said the equipment found in Gjokaj's basement office was purchased from eBay or from China The attorney said his client, who is married with three children, has not been notified about an extension on his visa yet, and that Gjokaj has prior criminal record. He is currently in county jail on an immigration hold. Gjokaj's wife who also worked with him was not arrested, but investigators say she is currently in the U.S. illegally as well. Gjokaj's family initially brought him to the U.S., but his first job did not pan out, according to Capt. Richard Maierle of the Clinton Township Police Department. The dentist office equipment being removed from Leka Gjokaj's home in Clinton Township, Michigan Maierle also said that Gjokaj had been to Albanian dental school, and may have begun his unlicensed practice about six to 12 months ago. Lulgjuraj said his client is a 'doctor' from Montenegro who has been practicing for 30 years. 'So for somebody to say there's a person practicing in a basement, it's an unfair characterization,' he said defending his client. Lawyers for Paul Manafort are asking a judge in Virginia for leniency and to reduce his recommended 24 years of jail time ahead of his sentencing hearing next week. Trump's former campaign chairman is to be sentenced next Thursday after being convicted last summer of eight financial crimes including tax and bank fraud. Probation officials have calculated a sentencing guideline range of between 19.5 and 24 years in prison for Manafort. Prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller's office have endorsed that calculation. On Friday, Manafort's lawyers called that calculation 'clearly disproportionate' for the crimes Manafort was convicted of, as they tried to paint him as a loyal and idealistic man who learned a 'harsh lesson', as per the New York Times. Paul Manafort's lawyers are pleading for leniency from a Virginia judge ahead of his sentencing hearing on March 8 for eight financial crimes including tax and bank fraud In a new filing addressed to Judge T.S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria on Friday his lawyers argued that Manafort chose to go to trial on the charges in Virginia even after Mueller declined to give a reasonable plea offer. 'The Special Counsels attempt to vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court,' his lawyers said in the filing. Manafort's lawyers did not recommend their own sentence, but asked for one substantially lower than what's suggested by probation officials. They asked the judge to take into account the fact that Manafort is a 'first-time offender' as well as consider his age and health. Probation officials have calculated a sentencing guideline range of between 19.5 and 24 years in prison, which special counsel Robert Mueller has endorsed In Virginia he was convicted by a jury of eight felony counts in a tax and bank fraud case. On August 21, 2018 he was found guilty of five counts of submitting false tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account. The 69-year-old been jailed since June for his crimes. He's set to be sentenced on March 8 in Virginia and will go on to be sentenced on March 13 in Washington D.C. in a separate criminal case investigated by Robert Mueller's counsel. The Virginia sentence will likely be stronger than what he'll face in the Washington criminal case, where he accepted a guilty plea deal and admitted to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. That case stems from illegal lobbying he carried out on behalf of Ukrainian interests. A Texas school district has said it has changed its dress code and banned long sleeve tops to stop children from vaping and then hiding the smoke. Channing Independent School District updated their policy so that teachers can see student's forearms after a spike in the number of e-cigarettes on campus. The school district stopped short of an outright ban on hoodies but staff will also monitor bathrooms between classes, ABC7 reports. Robert McClain, Superintendent Channing ISD said: 'We found a couple of juuls that are like vape pens and confiscated them. 'We went to the internet trying to figure out, 'okay how big a problem is this?' Channing Independent School District has changed its dress code and banned long sleeve tops to stop school children from vaping and then hiding the smoke Robert McClain, Superintendent Channing ISD, said they took the action to stop students from smoking at school. The district updated their policy so that teachers can see student's forearms after a spike in the number of e-cigarettes on campus After discovering just how widespread the problem is and how the smoke can be hidden by exhaling into sleeves, McClain said they took action to stop students from smoking at school. He added: 'If they're wearing long sleeves of any sort they got to pull them up or roll them up basically two or three inches above the wrist. When they put their hands to their face we know its not's going on.' 'We considered doing away with hoodies completely but some of our kids are cold-natured. Some of our kids like the hoodies. I dont want to punish our kids but I want to keep our kids safe.' Students found vaping on school property face suspension. Parent Renee Miller said: 'As a parent I want my kids to know that everybody is watching out for them because it takes a community to raise a child. I feel the staff is watching out for the kids and thats the best interest.' Juul says they are 'developing new technology to further limit youth access' Juul Labs said in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'JUUL Labs shares a common goal with policy makers, regulators, parents, school officials, and community stakeholders preventing youth from initiating on nicotine. We are committed to preventing youth access of JUUL products, and no young person or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL. 'As we said before, our intent was never to have youth use JUUL products. We have taken dramatic action to contribute to solve this problem, which is why we implemented the JUUL Labs Action Plan to address underage use of JUUL products. 'We suspended the distribution of certain flavored JUULpods to traditional retail stores as of November 17, 2018, strengthened the age verification of our industry leading e-commerce site, eliminated our Facebook and Instagram accounts, and are developing new technology to further limit youth access and use. 'We are committed to working with lawmakers, the Surgeon General, FDA, state Attorneys General, local municipalities, and community organizations as a transparent and responsible partner in this effort. "In addition, we strongly support raising the minimum purchase age for cigarettes, tobacco and vaping products to 21. We look forward to working with lawmakers at at the federal, state and local levels to achieve this end.' Boeing Co. is investigating after a noose was found hanging at its plant in South Carolina. The foot-long noose made from nylon was discovered Thursday hanging in the aft-body building of Boeing's North Charleston campus where the aircraft manufacturer makes its 787 Dreamliner jets. There was no note or any other corresponding materials found with the knotted rope explaining why it was hung or who may have been its intended target. A noose was found hanging inside the Boeing 787 aircraft manufacturing plant in North Charleston, South Carolina (pictured) Boeing sent a letter to employees on Thursday saying the company will take 'appropriate and necessary action' against whoever is responsible (stock image) In a letter to employees circulated on Thursday, Brad Zaback, vice president and general manager of Boeing's 787 program, said the company is investigating and will take 'appropriate and necessary action' against whoever is responsible. 'I am saddened and angered that a racially-charged symbol was discovered on site,' Zaback said in his statement, which was reported in the Post and Courier. 'Diversity and inclusion are core to Boeing's enduring values, and there is absolutely no place for racism and these cowardly acts in society and especially in our company. We will work through this, and I appreciate all of you looking out for each other.' North Charleston is the city where a black man named Walter Scott was fatally shot in the back while running from a white former police officer named Michael Slager in April of 2015. There was no note or any other corresponding materials found with the knotted rope A hung jury prevented Slager from being convicted of murder under state law, but he eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Scott's civil rights and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Boeing plant is only 12 miles away from Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston where white supremacist Dylann Roof shot and killed nine black worshipers in June of 2015. Roof was sentenced to death in January of 2017 and remains on death row. More recently, actor Jussie Smollett was arrested and charged for allegedly orchestrating a noose-involved fake hate crime against himself. Chicago police said the 36-year-old Empire actor paid two Nigerian extras on the show to beat him up, put a noose around his neck, and douse him with bleach. Police claimed the alleged scheme was designed to boost Smollett's celebrity profile and allow him to negotiate a higher salary. US-backed forces have captured at least nine Australians in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State in northern Syria, a source has revealed. Briefed by the Kurdish-led Democratic Forces, the source said at least six Australians were captured as of October last year. A further three, Melbourne woman Zehra Duman and her two children, were caught attempting to flee the village of Baghouz, the last remaining Islamic State stronghold last week. Scroll down for video US-backed forces have captured at least nine Australians in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State in Syria Duman, who is believed to now be around 25 years old, had fled to the Daesh territory to marry a jihad fighter in 2014. According to Duman, the three children of notorious Islamic State fighter Khaled Sharrouf's are alive and living in Baghouz, The Australian reported. The image shows men suspected of being Islamic State fighters waiting in line to be searched by the Syrian Democratic Forces This group of women and children detained in Syria are waiting to be searched by officials Sharrouf, from Syndey, has twice been reported as dead, once in June 2015 and again in August 2017, but this remains unverified by authorities. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation believe it's 'likely' more Australians are among the fighters and their families who are now detained. The agency believes around 100 Australians are in warzones in Syria and Iraq, but they noted that not all are likely to still be alive, and they do not expect 'large-scale influx' of people returning. US President Donald Trump (pictured) has said countries should take back their citizens from Syria The news of the captured Australians comes shortly after US President Donald Trump implored countries to take back their citizens from Syria. Syrian Democratic Forces spokesperson Mustafa Bali took to social media to on February 23, to plead for nations to 'take responsibility' for their citizens. 'As thousands of foreigners flee Daesh's crumbling caliphate, the burden which is already too heavy for us 2 handle is getting even heavier,' Bail wrote. 'This will remain as the biggest challenge awaiting us unless governments take action and fulfill their responsibilities for THEIR CITIZENS,' he added. Syrian Democratic Forces spokesperson Mustafa Bali took to social media to on February 23 (tweet, pictured) A spokesperson for the Australian government stated that 'temporary exclusions' will be imposed upon anyone trying to return to the country from the Islamic State. 'The Morrison government is determined to deal with these people as far from our shores as possible and ensure that any who do return do so with forewarning and into the hands of appropriate agencies,' the spokesperson said. 'We have legislation before the parliament which will enable us to impose temporary exclusion orders preventing these people from returning to Australia until their actions and circumstances can be considered on a case-by-case basis,' they added. A California mother accused of killing her six-month-old daughter and dropping her one-year-old son from a balcony, appeared in court Friday to plead not guilty. Tierra Ortega, 24, sat in a wheelchair and held her head bowed as she listened to video from the Upland scene during the brief court appearance on Tuesday. A judge entered a not guilty plea for Ortega after he asked the woman if she could afford to hire a lawyer. A public defender will be appointed to represent her, KTLA reports. Ortega was charged with assault on a child causing death and attempted murder for the Tuesday incident. Tierra Ortega, 24, sat in a wheelchair and held her head low as she listened to video from the Upland scene during the brief court appearance on Tuesday A judge entered a not guilty plea for Ortega after he asked the woman if she could afford to hire a lawyer Six-month-old Ezlynn Ortega was found in her California home Tuesday suffering a fractured skull and not breathing. Police allege that the girl's mother Tierra Ortega, 24, killed baby Ezlynn, then threw her one-year-old son Jericho off the balcony of their Upland apartment. The parent then jumped off the balcony herself. Ortega and her son survived. When cops arrived to the scene they found baby Ezlynn unresponsive inside the home, believed to be suffering a skull fracture and internal injuries. She was rushed her to a local hospital with head trauma and pronounced dead at 1.30pm, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner's office. Six-month-old Ezlynn Ortega was found unresponsive and not breathing in an Upland, California apartment on Tuesday. Cops discovered the child after her mother Tierra Ortega allegedly threw her other child, son Jericho, over a balcony and then jumped herself. Ezlynn was identified by authorities on Wednesday Tierra Ortega seen in her mugshot (left) suffering facial injuries from the fall after reportedly jumping from the balcony. On the right she is pictured on her driver's license Upland Police shared this fundraising poster saying the Ortega family will need financial help following the Tuesday incident to cover Ezlynn's funeral costs and Jericho's medical bills The mother is considered a suspect in her death and the case is being investigated. 'Thats the worst type of situation that we can encounter, when you have a child in that state,' Upland police captain Marcelo Blanco said to KTLA referring to the baby. Police are raising money to cover the expenses of baby Ezlynn's funeral as well as Jericho's medical bills. 'The dad works for waste management in the area, and unfortunately right now he is not at work; he is at the hospital by his sons side, which is where he needs to be. He has to worry now about burying his daughter,' Blanco said. The horrific incident took place at 11.30am on Tuesday and cops were called to the scene after neighbors reported hearing a child screaming and relentlessly crying. A 911 caller said she saw a woman, Ortega, dangling a child over a second-story apartment balcony. She allegedly dropped the toddler, sending her son Jericho flying 12 to 15 feet towards the ground. Once cops arrived to the scene, Ortega then jumped headfirst over the railing towards the ground. Ortega is shown sitting cross-legged outside the apartment building in handcuffs. She was taken to the hospital to be treated for facial injuries then was booked into jail. The balcony where a police officer is standing looking down on her is the same height from which she jumped and allegedly threw the young boy First responders evacuate one-year-old Jericho who was allegedly thrown off a second-story balcony in Upland, California by his mother on Tuesday She survived the fall, suffering injuries to her head and was arrested, facing possible charges of homicide, attempted homicide and child abuse resulting in death. She was a stay-at-home mom and police have not yet established a motive behind the alleged incident. Investigators say there's no history of disturbance calls at the apartment and neighbors reported seeing no issues in the family home. 'She was going through something. Who knows? Only God knows,' neighbor Raul Ramos said to KTLA. The baby's father Robert Ortega is stunned by the attack. 'The father was in as much awe as anybody else that was there, and shocked to even believe that something like this could have happened,' Blanco said. 'This was an absolute shock for him. It was beyond his wildest dreams,' the police captain said to DailyMail.com. The distraught father (above) spoke to police but 'has no idea what led to this,' local police said The little boy Jericho was rushed to Loma Linda University Medical Center and was treated for a broken foot and lacerations to his head. He's currently in stable and fair condition and hospital staff want to run an MRI on him to ensure he doesn't have any head trauma. Upland police say he may be released from the hospital as soon as tomorrow. The captain says Jericho has speedily recovered and is doing 'quite amazing'. 'In looking at him you would never think that what I just described to you happened. He is a happy little boy with a soft cast on his arm eating mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets,' Blanco said to the outlet. In 2015 Dr. Thomas Michael Dixon was convicted in the murder-for-hire plot against Dr. Joseph Sonnier, who at the time of the murder was dating Dr. Dixons ex-girlfriend, Richelle Shetina. But weeks ago Dr. Dixon was set free when he won his appeal, had his life sentence revoked and may now be granted a new trial, his third one for the same charges. Now, as prosecutors fight to have that conviction reinstated, and Dixon is out on bail, a two-hour 20/20 documentary event digs deeper into the puzzling crime and love triangle, and features new interviews with Kristen Furhmann and Marsha Mahurin, two hold out jurors from Dr. Dixons first trial and Cynthia Orr, Dr. Dixons appellate attorney, who says that Dr. Dixon is not responsible for Dr. Sonniers death. The primetime event includes Correspondent Ryan Smiths exclusive interviews with David Shepard, the man who pulled the trigger, and Shetina from the ABC News archives. 20/20 airs on Friday, March 8 (9:00 11:00 p.m. ET) on ABC. 20/20 features new interviews with journalists who extensively covered the case including ABC affiliate KAMC anchor Bryan Mudd, former Associated Press reporter Betsy Blaney, and Lubbock Avalanche Journals Gabe Monte. The documentary includes archival interviews with Andrew Dixon, Dr. Dixons son; Dallas and James Sonnier, Dr. Sonniers sons; Missy Bartlett, Dr. Sonniers sister; Haley, Abigail and Rachel Shepard, Shepards daughters who were present at his murder trial; and Zach Johnson, an investigator on the case. 20/20 features interrogation tapes, key crime scene photos, text messages and archival footage. The romance of Shetina and Dr. Sonnier, a wealthy pathologist, came to a crashing halt in July 2012 when Sonnier was found brutally murdered inside his home in Lubbock, Texas. The crime left police stumped, until they received a tip out of the blue that eventually led them to Shepard, the man who pulled the trigger. Shepard told police that Dr. Dixon was obsessed with Shetina and wanted Dr. Sonnier killed, claiming that Dr. Dixon gave him three bars of silver and a box of Cuban cigars for the hit job. Shepard entered into a plea deal for Dr. Sonniers murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Dr. Dixon was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015. His conviction was overturned in December 2018. Most big blockbuster disaster movies have a romance running alongside the impending doom. Even when the world seems to be ending, and terror and tragedy are everywhere, romance will blossom. And however dire the conditions, it wont stop the heroine starting every day with a full face of make-up. Its not real life, though, is it? Well, sometimes, it is. Nick and Diane Marson actually did wonder if the world was ending on the day they met. Little wonder that after the first flurry of attraction, and after they went their separate ways, they both questioned how real their romance had been. Emotions were so heightened. Everything was so surreal that afterwards, when we were thinking: Could we make a go of this?, there was a doubt there. You are thinking: What if the person I met, in those exceptional circumstances, isnt the real person? admits Nick. They both liken their courtship to a holiday romance, but with an awful backdrop. Nick and Diane Marson, are the couple who met and married when their plane was stranded in Newfoundland during 9/11. Their story has inspired the West End romantic musical Come From Away (pictured) at the Phoenix Theatre in London That awful backdrop was the events of September 11, 2001 when the pair, both complete strangers, stepped on the same plane at Gatwick, heading for Houston, Texas. Nick, an oil executive from the Cotswolds, was on business. Diane, a buyer for a department store in Texas, was heading home after visiting her son and his family in England. Nick was 53; Diane had just turned 60. Both were divorcees and neither was looking for romance. They werent even sitting near each other on the Continental Airways flight. Nick was at the back and Diane was up front. Four hours into the flight, the captain announced that there was a problem. Due to issues with American air space, the flight would not be continuing to Texas, but would be going to Newfoundland instead. Cue lots of tutting and muttered cursing, as plans were scuppered and inconveniences piled up. I had a vague idea where Newfoundland was, admits Nick. But I had to check on a map. Looking back, however, both remember a distinct change of atmosphere on the plane as it headed away from American airspace. Nick, an oil executive from the Cotswolds, was on business when he met Diane, a buyer for a department store in Texas, who was heading home after visiting her son and his family in England I remember one flight attendant looking so nervous that I questioned whether she had the right temperament for the job. I realised after that that she was walking up and down the plane looking for suspicious characters, thinking we could be next, says Nick. Diane was oblivious. I was thinking it was probably a computer glitch that had brought the system down, she says Nick and Diane, like everyone else on the plane, were clueless as to the events that were folding in the States. Four passenger airliners had been hijacked by terrorists, two of which were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan. The terrible events of that day were to leave 2,996 people dead, and 6,000 injured. They were also to maroon 7,000 passengers including Nick and Diane on Newfoundland, an island off the coast of Canada, as American airspace was cleared. The town of Gander, where they landed, has a population of just 10,000. Nick remembers landing at the towns airport, and being greeted by a remarkable sight: 38 jumbo jets, all lined up like sardines. Despite being woefully ill-equipped to deal with the sudden influx of visitors, disembarking their planes with only their hand luggage, the locals coped. The mayor of Gander declared a state of emergency and local residents swung into action. They opened their schools, bars, even homes to the newcomers, providing them with everything from toothbrushes to mobile phones. They also collected every barbecue in the town for a mass hospitality evening. They arranged get-togethers, sing-alongs even, in the local bars. It was, everyone would agree, the perfect conditions for a romantic drama. For five days, Nick and Diane were plunged into this bizarre alternative existence. It wasnt hell on earth by any means. That made it difficult to cope with in some ways, after, says Nick. It was actually enjoyable, which is hard when you remember why we were there. Nick and Diane hadnt met on the flight. They first exchanged words in a queue for bedding, with Nicks opening gambit to the woman who would become his wife being about the pungent smell of mothballs. Hardly textbook romance. They then ended up sleeping next to each other in army-issue cot beds. They laugh when they recall how Diane always insisted on wearing a full face of make-up, despite everything, just like the heroine in a disaster movie. I had my make-up bag with me, and every day Id get up early, before Nick was awake, and put it on. I wore the same clothes for four days I only had the clothes I stood up in but the make-up was my way of staying normal, I guess; of holding onto the normal. Over the course of the next five days, as the scale of the atrocity became clear, they clung together sometimes literally, for instance when TV screens were erected so news could be broken to the visitors about what was unfolding at Ground Zero to the point where locals assumed that they were man and wife. When the mayor discovered that they werent, he offered to marry them. Diane said: Why not? Nick was a bit surprised by this jokey aside, but in a good way, he says. They passed the time, playing silly games organised by the locals and going for long, contemplative walks. The mood was part-mourning (one woman spent the time waiting for news about her son, who was a firefighter in New York), part-party. When the planes that had been grounded that day finally took off, that could have been the end of the story. Yet the pair kept in touch via email and telephone. Their end of the world romance became more rounded, more real. By October, Nick had told his bosses in London that he needed to return to the States to check on his project. He points theatrically to Diane. When the planes that had been grounded that day finally took off, that could have been the end of their love story. But they kept in touch via email and telephone. Their romance became more rounded and by October Nick had told his bosses in London that he needed to return to the States to check on his project'. He proposed and prepared to move across the Atlantic My colleagues didnt know at first, but as time went on I think they suspected. He proposed, and prepared to move across the Atlantic. Diane sold her small house the one she had reckoned was just fine for a single divorcee with no plans to remarry and bought a bigger one. I hadnt told my children at first, not until I knew it was serious. But when Nick came over to visit, they met him. Nick nods. They had to vet me. He clearly passed the test. On September 7, almost a year after the awful events of that day, Nick and Diane married. And for their honeymoon, they returned to Gander where the locals would throw them the party to end all parties. And now 17 years on, the happy couple are still canoodling on the sofa. Its the most heart-warming of tales, and one which is now being told on stages all over the world. No blockbuster movie this time, but their story fleetingly told in a documentary touched a couple of drama students some years back. The pair, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, then wrote a musical based on those five days in Gander. The news simply baffled Nick and Diane. To be honest, I thought: Well, good luck with that, says Nick. It didnt seem musical material to us at all. And it was a college project. It never occurred to us that anything would become of it. In fact, I remember thinking theyd be on welfare the next year. Well, no. Come From Away opened in Canada in 2013, and by 2017 it was a Broadway show, playing to packed audiences and receiving rave reviews. The show opened in Londons West End two weeks ago, with Nick and Diane in the audience. There have been standing ovations every night. Its a stunning show, utterly life-affirming, somehow. Why do they think it has touched so many? Because while 9/11 was about the worst of humanity; what happened in Gander over those five days was about the best of humanity. Those people opened their town and their hearts to us. Its a story of human kindness. There was not a happy ending for everyone that day. The lady who spent the five days fretting about her son discovered, when she returned to New York, that he had perished when the twin towers came down. Nick sat next to her at one performance. I just reached over and put my hand on her arm. It was incredibly emotional for everyone. Today, their account of their extraordinary courtship is by turns moving and hilarious. Its hard to explain, but in that environment, when you really dont know if you are on the brink of another world war or if you are even going to be here tomorrow, you skip the surface chat, says Nick. To Dianes great surprise, she found it easier than expected to let her hair down. There was an odd freedom in being in that environment, she says. We all have our set roles in life mother, grandmother, whatever and we play them. But I wasnt a grandmother there. There were no roles. Theres a foot-stomping riot of a scene in the show where the visitors party hard with the locals, and throw themselves into local rituals involving rum and kissing a cod (yes, really). They were made honorary locals by this screeching-in ceremony. Did they realise at the time they were on the verge of something life-changing, in terms of their relationship? I think I did, says Nick. I knew there was something special about this lady. I couldnt stop looking at her. During one outing to Dover Fault, a beauty spot, Nick took his camera, supposedly to get some landscape shots. He found himself going out of his way to get pictures not of the scenery but of Diane. I thought: I dont know if I will ever see her again. I want to remember how she looked. Neither truly thought they could be a proper item, but on a rickety bus journey back to the airport, something changed. Diane was emotional; Nick leaned in to comfort her. He insists he was not going in for a kiss. Well, I was, but I was going to kiss her forehead. Diane laughs again. Whatever, their lips locked and that was it. They canoodled, they confirm, all the way back to the UK. Theres a scene in the show where the stewardess is bringing towels for everyone and she goes: Hot towels? Hot towels? all the way down the plane. When she gets to us, she says: Cold towels? Thats exactly as it happened. Nick had suggested that they live in the UK, but Diane who has three children and five grandchildren insisted that the weather was better in Texas. Their honeymoon on Gander was quite the event. We told the people we were coming back and that wed love to have a party, which we would pay for, but would they help us organise it? Yet, when we got there, theyd organised everything: food, flowers, a huge meal. They wouldnt let us pay for a thing. They have been back many times to Newfoundland, and talk of their second Newfie family. Each anniversary of the date they met is difficult, though. Weve had survivors guilt. Its a difficult thing to come to terms with. We met because this awful thing happened, says Nick. They are a wonderful couple unassuming, hilarious, a perfect match. Nick ribs his wife constantly about the age difference between them, but do they think they would have been together had they met in different circumstances? No, I dont, says Diane. It was a unique situation: 3,000 people had died, and there was this sense of that could have been us. It focuses the mind. I remember thinking: How long do I have left? A year? Six years? I hadnt been looking for love, but in that situation you do think: Maybe I want to be happy. You want to grab life. Come From Away is running at the Phoenix Theatre in London (comefromaway.com). Labour's anti-Semitism scandal erupted into full-scale civil war last night after two of Jeremy Corbyns most senior hard-Left allies exchanged insults over the issue. A party chief close to MP Chris Williamson, who was suspended by Labour this week for saying it was too apologetic over anti-Semitism, admitted threatening to do in the founder of Momentum, Mr Corbyns Left-wing power base. Leaked emails seen by the Daily Mail show that Momentums Jon Lansman claimed Pete Willsman, a member of Labours ruling National Executive Committee, threatened to do him in in a feud over anti-Semitism. Leaked emails seen by the Daily Mail show that Momentum's Jon Lansman (above) claimed Pete Willsman, a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee, theatened to 'do him in' in a feud over anti-Semitism In the messages Mr Lansman, who is Jewish, brands hard-Left rival Mr Willsman a hateful, embarrassing dictator and crank. He says Mr Willsman waited two hours outside a room in which I was engaging in a telephone conference to threaten me when I emerged, I am going to do you in . He says they were Mr Willsmans precise words. Mr Willsman avoided being thrown off the NEC in September after he was recorded saying that Jewish Trump fanatics were making up anti-Semitism allegations in Labour, comments condemned as sickening by moderate Labour MPs. Mr Willsman was furious when Mr Lansmans Momentum withdrew its support for him in NEC elections in September. He survived after Mr Williamson came to his rescue, urged Labour members to vote to keep Mr Willsman on the NEC and brushed aside the furore over his fanatics outburst. He says Mr Willsman (above) waited two hours outside a room in which I was engaging in a telephone conference to threaten me when I emerged, I am going to do you in . He says they were Mr Willsmans precise words. Mr Willsman retained his NEC seat and was ordered by Labour chiefs to apologise and go on anti-Semitism training. But in January he called on his empty-headed (Labour) critics to produce evidence to back up their ridiculous assertion of widespread anti-Semitism in Labour. In the emails, sent two weeks ago, Mr Lansman says: Comrade Willsman is consumed with hatred of me. He has become an embarrassment to the Left and a serious risk to the reputation of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party. His NEC contributions are cranky. He calls Mr Willsman a stupid liar, belligerent and unpleasant and is losing it. An ally of Mr Willsman hits back at Mr Lansman in the round robin emails, accusing Momentum of trying to kill Mr Willsman in a semi-public bitch fight. In stark contrast to the way Mr Williamson and Mr Willsman deny Labour anti-Semitism, Mr Lansman has won praise for stressing the party must root it out. In the emails, sent two weeks ago, Mr Lansman says: Comrade Willsman is consumed with hatred of me. He has become an embarrassment to the Left and a serious risk to the reputation of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party. His NEC contributions are cranky' He told the BBC last week that Labour has a bigger problem of members with hardcore anti-Semitic views than previously acknowledged. He spoke of his enormous regret, sadness and some shame that MPs such as Luciana Berger, who is Jewish, had left the party. Footage emerged this week of Mr Williamson, the MP for Derby North and a long-time Corbyn ally, telling a Momentum rally in Sheffield that the party had been too apologetic over anti-Semitism. The MP issued an apology but was suspended from the party after a furious internal backlash. Mr Willsman last night confirmed he said he would do in Mr Lansman, but told the Mail: It is daft to suggest I meant I was going to do him in physically. I meant it purely in the political sense. He said he had offered to bury the hatchet in return for an apology, but Mr Lansman had refused. He just laughed and walked away so I responded rather irritably. The Labour Party and Mr Lansman declined to comment. Christopher Pyne is quitting politics while he's ahead after becoming the second federal minister within 24 hours to confirm their retirement at the next election. The Defence Minister confirmed his exit after 26 years in parliament in a statement on Saturday. He is the sixth minister to quit at the next election, sparking cabinet chaos for Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Coalition government just months out from the election. Federal Defence Minister Christopher Pyne (pictured outside his electoral office on Saturday morning) has confirmed speculation that he's quitting politics at the next election 'It's time to retire while people are asking me to stay, rather than continue and end up later with people telling me to go,' Mr Pyne said. 'I'm confident that I leave my seat in good shape. I'm sure the Liberal Party will retain Sturt at the coming election. I have every confidence that the Prime Minister will lead the Coalition to victory when the election is held in May.' My Pyne's announcement comes after Defence Industry Minister Steve Ciobo confirmed on Friday he will quit at the May election and 'do something else', preferring to stand down from his ministry immediately. Another senior Liberal, Craig Laundy, is also said to be preparing to quit politics. The former small business minister holds the marginal Sydney seat of Reid. Mr Morrison has already lost frontbenchers Kelly O'Dwyer, Michael Keenan and Nigel Scullion, who will retire from parliament at the May poll. Former foreign minister Julie Bishop, who turned down a role in Mr Morrison's cabinet, announced last week she'll also retire in May. Mr Pyne has held his South Australian seat of Sturt since 1993 and publicly thanked his constituents on Saturday. The election will mark the end of a 26 year in politics for Christopher Pyne (pictured in 2001) 'My 26 year political career also could not have been possible without the SA Liberal Party and my wonderful family to whom I owe so much,' the father-of-four tweeted on Saturday. 'As Minister for Defence and before that Defence Industry, I've been responsible for delivering the $200 billion build-up of Australia's military capability, the largest in Australia's peacetime history.' 'I'm also grateful that the youth mental health initiative I created in 2006 called 'headspace' survived the Labor Government and has gone on to thrive and become a fixture in the mental health sector.' Defence Industry Minister Steve Ciobo (pictured) confirmed on Friday he's also quitting politics. He and Christopher Pyne take the tally of departing frontbenchers to six Mr Pyne was inundated with many messages from well-wishers on social media on Saturday. 'Politics will be less interesting without you that is for sure,' one woman tweeted. Another added: 'Even the fixer can't fix this mess. Good luck for the future.' Mr Pyne's parliamentary colleagues also paid tribute. 'The Liberal Party & Australia has been well served by Christopher Pyne. Despite what you read from time to time Christopher and I have worked closely together in the Parliament for many years,' Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton tweeted. 'It's time to retire while people are asking me to stay, rather than continue and end up later with people telling me to go,' Mr Pyne (pictured) said on Saturday Christopher Pyne has been inundated with support on social media since confirming the news Mr Pyne was a strong supporter of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and was devastated when leadership challenges forced his mate's departure. 'Malcolm is Aslan to me,' Pyne said at the time, referring to the Christ-like lion king from The Chronicles of Narnia. Mr Turnbull thanked his dear friend on Saturday. 'Witty, wicked and as energetic as he is effective, Christopher Pyne has been a dear friend and colleague for many years. Together we secured the future of our Australian defence industry - national & economic security. We look forward to the next chapter of Mr Pyne's adventures,' he tweeted. A South Carolina mother and her baby son were allegedly kicked off an American Airlines flight on Thursday because of their rare genetic skin condition. Jordan Flake had boarded a flight from El Paso, Texas, to Dallas to visit her husband, Chris Flake, before he deployed for the military. She had her one-year-old son Jackson with her. 'Jackson and I were just discriminated against...big time!' she posted on Facebook Thursday, including a picture of her on board an aircraft with her baby in her lap. She continued: 'We boarded our American Airlines flight where everyone smiled and talked to Jackson. Before take off a man (employee called on flight to handle the situation) came up to my row and asked the 2 men sitting next to me to get up. Jordan Flake had boarded an American Airline flight from El Paso, Texas, to Dallas with her one-year-old son Jackson on Tuesday 'He then quietly asked me about my rash and if I had a letter from a doctor stating it was ok for me to fly.' She had been trying to visit her husband - Chris Flake - before he deployed for the military Flake explained to the staff member that she and Jackson had a rare genetic skin condition called Ichthyosis. The genetic condition is characterized 'by dry, scaling skin that may be thickened or very thin,' according to the First Skin Foundation. 'Each year, more than 16,000 babies are born with some form of ichthyosis,' the foundation states. There is currently no cure. Flake stated that, once she informed him of her medical condition, the man went to the front of the plane. He returned, after Googling Ichthyosis, and apologized to the woman before telling her that she and her son had to get off the flight. Flake explained to the staff member that she and Jackson had a rare genetic skin condition called Ichthyosis. The genetic condition is characterized 'by dry, scaling skin that may be thickened or very thin' 'He helped me get my bags and Jackson. He talked to the pilot as we were getting off,' Flake added. 'The pilot seemed ok with it, but the flight attendant rudely said (without even acknowledging me) well she doesnt have a letter from a doctor, so...' The staff member helped Flake get a hotel for the evening and arranged for her to take a different flight on another airline. Jordan and her young son were forced off the flight as a result of the rashes but staff helped them get a hotel room and another flight 'I had to make unexpected childcare arrangements for my daughter at home and I am having to get a ride to the store to get our lotions and some clothes for tomorrow,' said the mother-of-two. She added: 'I have never been so humiliated in my life! I have emailed them and am waiting for a reply. Happy Rare Disease Day! Quit being ignorant and take the time to listen to people! I shouldnt have to explain myself.' The woman's father, Terry Lee Smith, reached out to Fox Carolina in hopes of getting a response from the airline. 'My daughter is a sweet girl, military wife, and great mother... She was born with this condition and doesn't deserve this treatment,' Smith said. The airline sent a statement to Fox, that said: 'Our goal at American Airlines is to create a welcoming environment for all of our customers. We sincerely apologize to Ms. Flake and her son for the experience they had yesterday, and our team has begun an investigation into the matter. Our Customer Relations team has already spoken to her directly and upgraded them on their flights.' As a popular figure at her children's pre-school she was known simply as 'Nicki' - or to her followers on social media by the slightly self-congratulatory handle - @nicki.supermummy. But today Nicola Gobbo's name has taken on a very different meaning for those unsuspecting parents. On Friday she was finally unveiled as the mysterious 'Lawyer X' who for years had passed confidential information from her gangland clients - including Carl Williams - on to police. This may well have come as quite a shock to the residents of Brighton, the rich seaside town in Melbourne where Ms Gobbo lived, who saw her as a pillar of their community. Indeed, she even won an award from the Victorian Government for her services to a flailing local pre-school after she turned its fortunes around. But while many might have thought Ms Gobbo had a perfectly normal life as they watched her kiss her kids goodbye at the school gates this could not be further from the truth. Nicola Gobbo (pictured with Carl Williams, right, and his chief hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin, left) was a top gangland lawyer before she turned into infamous police informer - 'Lawyer X' After spending years defending some of Melbourne's leading criminals, Ms Gobbo (pictured) had two children and embraced life as a normal suburban mother - even joining the committee of a local pre-school For years her dangerous double-life was kept a secret until it was lifted by the High Court last week. Victoria Police argued that identifying Ms Gobbo as 'Lawyer X' would put the lives of her and her two children at risk. The full bench of High Court judges agreed, but said there was more at stake. 'Large though those considerations may be, they do not detract from the conclusion that it is essential in the public interest for the information to be disclosed,' they told the court. Immediately after the decision, Ms Gobbo and her two children went into hiding. This might have been the first time the police informant had explicitly expressed any concern for her own personal safety. For years she shared the secrets of ruthless underworld gangsters with police with scant regard to the the lethal repercussions she faced if she were ever found out. Paradoxically, it seems that Ms Gobbo's double-dealings were found out by several of her ex-clients - who had long suspected she was playing both sides. But while the Sword of Damocles dangled precariously above Ms Gobbo's platinum locks she continued to hide in plain sight. Bizarrely, she even became a respected member of the local community. In September, she attended the Victorian Premier's Volunteer Champions Awards where she was recognised for her efforts at the local kindergarten. The smiling crowd at Government House, in Melbourne, heard how the volunteer-run Brighton Playroom was 'thriving' thanks to 'Nicki's' skills and 'selfless leadership,' Ms Gobbo's name was able to be revealed on Friday after a High Court ruling lifted a gag order that had been in place to protect her and her two children. She is now in hiding, with fears her dangerous former clients and their families could seek revenge for her becoming an informant Less infamous on her list of regular defendants was Richard Barkho, a convicted drug trafficker who wasn't just a client but also the father of one of her children Carl Williams (pictured) pleaded guilty to four murders throughout the gangland years on the advice of Ms Gobbo. He was sent to jail where he was eventually killed himself in 2010 Ms Gobbo (left) also defended and snitched on convicted drug trafficker Tony Mokbel (right). He is among dozens of prisoners contacted by the Department of Public Prosecutions last year and told that they may be eligible for early release because of Ms Gobbo's double-dealing A couple of months later she hosted an end-of-year celebration for the kindergarten in a park in Brighton, where parents drank champagne from plastic cups and nibbled on homemade biscuits. One woman who babysat Ms Gobbo's children told The Australian she would never have guessed her employer was 'Lawyer X'. Up until two weeks ago she was still posting photos of her children on Instagram and happily mingled among the cafe dwellers just a short ride from where she used to practice law in Melbourne's CBD. Sources suggest Ms Gobbo only recently made the decision to skip town after she was told the date on which her identity would finally be revealed. Nicola Gobbo's greatest snitch jobs 1. Rob Karam, John Higgs, Pasquale Barbaro and 33 co-accused for the largest ever seizure of ecstasy in the world. The drugs came into Australia in tomato tins. 2. Tony Mokbel's brothers Horty Mokbel and Milad Mokbel. 3. David Ilic was arrested in 2013 after police raided a Port Melbourne Kennards storage facility and discovered $3,735,890 in cash as well as kilograms of cocaine, methmphetamines and ecstasy. 4. Joe Mannella (and Karam) for the multiple seizures of hundreds of kilos of cocaine and other drugs that were not the subject of charges, but were intercepted and seized by Australian Customs. 5. Faruk Orman (for the murder of Victor Pierce) 6. Mick Gatto and the infamous Carlton crew. The crew consisted of convicted criminals including Alphonse Gangitano, Mario Condello and Graham Kinniburgh - all whom were killed during Melbourne's gangland war. Advertisement Ms Gobbo's 'complicated' relationship with the police can be traced back to 1993 when officers seized 1.4kg of amphetamines with a street value of $82,000 at her Carlton home while she was still a law student at Melbourne University. In a plea bargain with police Ms Gobbo managed to escape a conviction - allowing her to embark on a career as a criminal lawyer. She won the trust of many high profile criminals and at the height of Melbourne's gangland war in the late 1990s and early 2000s she was a regular face on the scene. During this period she represented the city's most hardened crooks, from drug dealers like Tony Mokbel and Pasquale Barbaro, to gangsters like Alphonse Gangitano. Williams also pleaded guilty to four murders on her advice. While other barristers donned conservative suits to court, Ms Gobbo opted for mini-skirts, high-heels and revealing tops to represent her clients. One rather less famous client worth mentioning was convicted drug-trafficker Richard Barkho. On a day that Ms Gobbo was supposed to representing Barkho, she was forced to miss court because she was in hospital giving birth to her first baby. Eyebrows were raised when Ms Gobbo later visited Barkho in jail where it became obvious that he was not just her client but the father of her newborn child. As she attempted to raise a child as a single mother Ms Gobbo was helping prepare defences for the city's top gangland crooks while simultaneously passing information to those trying to convict them. This might sound like a hefty workload, but by this time Ms Gobbo was a dab hand at leading a double life. Documents show that she was first listed as a police informant directly after joining the bar in 1995. Among her clients were slain gangster Alphonse Gangitano (centre, back) who was shot dead in 1998 Calabrian mafia kingpin Pasquale Barbaro (left) was caught attempting to import $440 million worth of ecstasy into Australia in 2007, after Ms Gobbo tipped off police to the importation Barbaro and other members of the Calabrian mafia attempted to import the ecstasy into the country inside Tomato tins (pictured), but police were tipped off by Lawyer X and picked the drugs up at the border Carlton Crew boss Mick Gatto (left) was once a client of lawyer Nicola Gobbo (right). Gatto shot dead Carl Williams' hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin in self defence at the height of the gangland war She returned to the fold in mid-2003 when she met about six times with a Detective Sergeant of the Purana Taskforce. She worked with the officers investigating Melbourne's gangland war until 2009, but continues to deny she has done anything wrong. 'I maintain ... that anything told to me or said in my presence about crimes being planned or committed cannot ever fall under the protection of legal professional privilege by a client,' Ms Gobbo told police in 2015. 'Most significantly, I did not approach the police because I had committed (nor have I since) any crime for which I required some kind of "get out of jail free card", as is most often the reason people choose to assist police. The revelations of Ms Gobbo's double dealing has sparked a royal commission and cast doubt on the legality of dozens of convictions, with fears some of the nation's most notorious criminals could soon walk free. Vandals defaced a cardboard cutout of New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday night at a party hosted by a group of young conservatives on the sidelines of an annual political conference writing the Spanish word for 'idiot' on her face. Turning Point USA, an increasingly influential organization that rallies U.S. college students on the political right, hosted its 'Americafest' party at a restaurant near the site of the Conservative Political Action Conference. Along with themed drinks a vodka and soda water was called 'Russia collusion' and asking for 'Mexico will pay for it' got you a tequila sunrise partygoers could help themselves to slices of bread from a 'socialism bread line.' The life-size cutout of Ocasio-Cortez, who describes herself as a democratic socialist, stood in front of the bread. A cardboard cutout of socialist Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was vandalized with the Spanish word for 'idiot' on Thursday during a conservative political convention party Turning Point USA brought the life-size cutout for 700-plus partygoers to mock at a restaurant near the site of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference The gag was that Ocasio-Cortez was presiding over a 'socialism bread line,' with slices of plain white bread standing in as hors d'oeuvres Later in the evening Donald trump Jr. delivered remarks; there has been no suggestion that he or the other speakers were aware of the vandalism One of Turning Point's slogans is 'Socialism sucks.' By night's end, the cutout featured graffiti including the words 'Annie Bronx' on the cutout's forehead and 'pendeja' on her cheek. That word is Spanish slang for 'moron' or 'idiot.' On the bar menu, Ocasio-Cortez's namesake cocktail was a juice box, a slap at the 29-year-old New Yorker for bringing liberal millennial sensibilities to Congress. Social media images of the damage provided no clues to who put pen to corrugated plastic. Turning Point USA removed the cutout midway through the party after partygoers consumed all the bread. Turning Point USA staff removed the cutout midway through the party, according to an attendee Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (pictured) and Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw also gave speeches to cheering throngs The Turning Point USA group Instagrammed the night's drink list, which included jokes about President Donald Trump's border wall, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, whose namesake cocktail was a juice box Instagrammers in suburban Maryland saw gems like this on Thursday night Among the cardboard cutouts brought for mocking was Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president despite her reputation taking a beating since she admitted not being a Native American after decades of claiming to be part Cherokee Other cardboard cutouts, like one of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, stayed up all night. One conservative partygoer posed with the oversized Warren cutout, miming an uppercut to the jaw with the caption: 'This is what a real Native American looks like.' Warren has become the butt of jokes in right-wing circles for claiming falsely for decades that she had Cherokee ancestry. A Turning Point USA representative said more than 700 people attended Thursday night's party. A line stretched down the block in the National Harbor neighborhood of Oxon Hill, Maryland, for more than an hour. The event's main draws were Donald Trump Jr., Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw. A dingo has been put down after it mauled a French tourist and her nine-year-old son in a gruesome attack on a popular holiday island. A 24-year-old woman and her young child remain in a stable condition after they were set upon by a pack of dingoes on Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast on Thursday night. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QWPS) officers managed to catch one of the dingoes and euthanised the animal. They are still searching for a second dingo. A dingo has been put down after it mauled a French tourist and her nine-year-old son in a gruesome attack on a popular holiday island (stock image) Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokesperson Michael Augustus said the mother and child had left their vehicle at Eurong Beach - on the east coast of the island - when they came across the animals. 'The couple both panicked and ran back towards the vehicle and it was at that time when the pack actually chased them and attacked,' he said. Another QAS spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia, at the time of the attack, that the young boy suffered lacerations to his leg and face and his mother received puncture wounds to her arms. The duo were airlifted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital by the Bundaberg RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter in a stable condition. Lifeflight said the aeromedical crew worked alongside paramedics from the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to stabilise the pair before flying them to hospital. The journey was a six-hour round trip and the crew did not return to the base until midnight. The Department of Environment and Science said the incident would be investigated by parks and wildlife and patrols increased on the island. 'Rangers will also increase patrols at campgrounds and other island arrival points to warn visitors of the dangers associated with dingoes,' a spokesman said. The incident comes a month after a six-year-old boy was attacked by four dingoes on a family camping trip on Fraser Island. The young boy was bitten on the leg and was airlifted to hospital. A 24-year-old woman and her young child remain in a stable condition after a pack of dingoes set upon them on Fraser Island, off the Queensland coast on Thursday night Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokesperson Michael Augustus said the mother and child had just gotten out of their vehicle at Eurong Beach - on the east coast of the island - when they came across the animals 'The family had finished swimming when the young boy said he wanted to race up a sand dune,' RACQ LifeFlight Rescue aircrewman Dan Leggat said. 'Unfortunately, when he got to the top, there was a pack of four dingoes.' Paramedics treated and stabilised the boy to be transported by the Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter. Dingoes are a protected species on Fraser Island. 'Wildlife authorities recognise that Fraser Island dingoes may become the purest strain of dingo on the eastern Australian seaboard and perhaps Australia-wide,' the Queensland Department of Environment and Science website states. Thursday's incident was the eight dingo attack at the popular tourist spot in the last 20 years. One attack resulted in the death of nine-year-old Clinton Gage in 2001. His death sparked the culling of 31 dingoes and caused an outcry among residents. A dingo was also responsible for murdering Lindy Chamberlain's baby in the outback in 1980 in a notorious case which divided Australia. Paramedics treated and stabilised the boy to be transported by the Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter In the years since she cried out in the night 'A dingo's got my baby!', there were four inquests and a government inquiry into nine-week-old Azaria's death. Mrs Chamberlain-Creighton was jailed in 1982 after being found guilty of slashing her daughter's throat and making it look like a dingo attack. She was released in 1986 after Englishman David Brett fell to his death while climbing Ayers Rock known today by its Aboriginal name of Uluru and landed beside a matinee jacket that was vital to her defence. Mrs Chamberlain-Creighton had told police that no dingo saliva had been found on Azaria's jumpsuit because the baby was wearing a matinee jacket over the jumpsuit, but no jacket was found at the time the child disappeared. A third inquest in 1995 could not determine the cause of death. Mr Chamberlain, who was convicted of being an accessory after the fact of murder but later exonerated, then fought a long legal battle for a fourth inquest. That inquest heard new evidence of dingo attacks, including three fatal attacks on children since the third inquest. Mrs Chamberlain-Creighton was finally exonerated in 2012. Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis arriving in Downing Street for a Cabinet meeting last month Tory voters will be able to join the party for free as a registered supporter. The move to bring in more activists comes amid talk that the Brexit deadlock could lead to a general election. The Tories were outgunned in the 2017 election by Labour, which has more than four times as many members. The new Conservative Community Network will give non-paying activists access to campaign materials to share on social media and a role in drawing up party policies. They will not be able to take part in leadership ballots. Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said: There are people all over the country who vote for us, support us, tweet about us, knock on doors with us, deliver leaflets for us, but are not necessarily ready or looking to become full paid-up members. 'People are engaging with politics in a different way now. We want to make sure that, as we move forward and life is speeding up and modernising, we are moving with it. Figures released last March showed the Tories had 124,000 paid-up members. Labour has more than half a million. Mr Lewis said there had been a rise in numbers paying 25 to be full members but dismissed the idea of a UKIP takeover. He added: Part of the job of the Conservative Party for me as chairman is to encourage more and more people who have not voted for or been members of the party previously to come to take the view that the Conservative Party is the right one for them, regardless of their background. Figures released last March showed the Tories had 124,000 paid-up members. But Jeremy Corbyn's (pictured at Labour Party Women's Conference in Telford last week) Labour Party has more than half a million 'Our party has been discussing and talking about Europe in some way or another for the last 40 odd years. 'There have been people who have been members of the party, left the party and after the referendum came back, but our membership is growing from all different quarters. He said he would not want to fight a general election until he had completed his overhaul of the party machine: We are not yet halfway through that three-year programme we are only a year into it so I have got more work to do before I would be happy about wanting to fight a general election. Labour allowed supporters who paid just 3 to take part in its 2015 leadership election. Around 105,000 did so and overwhelmingly backed Jeremy Corbyn. A wannabe jihadist who planned to build a pressure cooker bomb to kill 'as many people as possible' in New York City in support of ISIS was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison on Friday. Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, said little during his hearing inside a Trenton federal courtroom, responding to U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp's questions with only 'yes' and 'no' answers, according to NJ.com. Lepsky pleaded guilty on March 13, 2018 to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. His plea agreement had called for a sentence of 16 to 19 years. The judge also sentenced him to a lifetime of supervised release when he's out. He originally was arrested on February 21, 2017 for stabbing his family's dog. Gregory Lepsky, 22, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Friday for a pressure cooker bomb plot to blow up as many people as possible in New York City During that arrest, police who searched Lepsky's home found a brand new pressure cooker behind a roll of bubble wrap in his bedroom closet. Investigators later searched Lepsky's computers where they found digital evidence of a plan to build and detonate a bomb. 'Lepsky admitted that he used the internet to access ISIS directives, obtain bomb-making instructions, and purchase the pressure cooker and other items to be used in the attack,' the Department of Justice said after Lesky's 2018 plea deal. After his arrest, Lepsky was taken to a local hospital, where police said they heard him tell an employee that he was 'working for ISIS,' and his name was Allah Abdel Rochmad. Gregory Lepsky was arrested at his home in Point Pleasant Borough on February 21, 2017 for stabbing his family's dog Lepsky's internet history showed he'd searched for items to launch a terrorist attack in New York City and had pledged his allegiance to ISIS Additional internet searches also showed Lepsky had researched the kinds of knives ISIS terorrists had used to behead people before purchasing a knife of his own online Further searches of his computers and digital devices revealed Lepsky pledged allegiance to ISIS and discussed traveling to Syria to fight with his 'brothers.' Authorities said Lepsky told other individuals on social media that he planned to become a martyr by driving a 'bunch of explosives' to locations where the 'enemies' could be found where he would then blow himself up. He had been researching ISIS and extremist groups throughout the month of January in 2017. Another web search revealed Lepsky had researched the kinds of knives used in ISIS beheading videos before purchasing a knife of his own online. He also had read an extremist magazine article containing step-by-step instructions for building a homemade bomb, including a list of supplies to be used. Lepsky isn't the only New Jersey man who's tried to kill New Yorkers with a pressure cooker bomb in recent years. Ahmad Khan Rahimi was sentenced to life in prison on February 13, 2018 for the tri-state bomb plot that resulted in a total of 31 people being injured, but no fatalities in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood and Seaside Park, New Jersey. From an early age I knew I was gay, but it wasnt until I was 14 that the enormity of this struck me. And I was horrified. I wanted to feel normal; to grow up and have the same family life as my parents, the same prospects and hopes as my friends. Every evening after school, Id lock myself in the bathroom and cry. After doing this for six months, I realised that crying hadnt changed anything. So I decided that I had two options: I could either kill myself or accept I was gay and get on with my life. I chose the latter. We must work to create an environment in the home and at schools and colleges where gay teenagers feel understood and accepted, and work to build a society where homophobia is as taboo as racism is now (stock image) A few years later, someone at my school, a Catholic convent, did kill himself because he was gay and couldnt cope. I understood how he must have felt. Homosexuality was never discussed by the nuns and teachers it was as though gay men and women didnt exist. In fact, the page discussing same-sex attraction in a biology textbook in the school library had been removed, as though simply reading about it might corrupt us. For those who have never struggled with their sexuality, it is hard to understand how lonely this feels. Later, when I started working in A&E, and despite far greater tolerance than when I was a teenager, I was shocked at the number of youngsters I saw who had either tried to kill themselves or self-harmed because they were unable to come to terms with their sexuality. The tragedy of it all, the misery they and their families endured, is something I will never forget. Given my personal history, you will understand why I was delighted to read comments made by Amanda Spielman, the head of Ofsted, this week. She said that all children should learn about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans) issues at school, and about gay family life; that some people can have two mothers or two fathers. It follows protests by Muslim and Christian parents at a school in Birmingham who have objected to their children being taught about same-sex relationships and homophobia as part of the Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) classes. I would normally defend to the hilt the right of parents to have a say on what their children are taught at school, but on this issue I stand firm. We are facing a mental health crisis, and fear and confusion over their sexuality is a trigger for some young people. Studies show that more than half of all students subjected to homophobic bullying say they have thought about suicide, and about 20 per cent have actively attempted it. Gay youngsters are three times more likely to have made a serious attempt on their lives than teenagers generally. The gay rights group Stonewall reports that two-thirds of gay pupils experience homophobic bullying, rising to 75 per cent in faith schools. For their sake, it is imperative that this is discussed. Given my personal history, you will understand why I was delighted to read comments made by Amanda Spielman (pictured), the head of Ofsted, this week This doesnt mean talking about the mechanics of sex to young children, as critics fear. Its about acknowledging that some people are gay, and that its OK. For those coming to terms with their feelings, this can make all the difference. I certainly wish such discussions had been part of the curriculum at my school. It would have prevented a lot of anguish. We must work to create an environment in the home and at schools and colleges where gay teenagers feel understood and accepted, and work to build a society where homophobia is as taboo as racism is now. I also believe that it is the children of parents who protest vociferously about teaching LGBT issues who will benefit most from class discussions. Some of them will be gay whether Mum and Dad like it or not, and because of strict religious beliefs these children are likely to feel even more isolated. It is our duty to help youngsters during this time, and the best way to do that is to ensure all children are presented with information about same-sex attraction in a non-judgmental way. Just as fundamentalist Christians who dont believe in evolution cannot influence the biology curriculum to fit in with their views, so parents of religious persuasions who dont approve of homosexuality cannot be allowed to influence what their children are taught. In 21st-century Britain, we must not tolerate intolerance. DrMax@dailymail.co.uk The NHS needs its medical mavericks Professor Richard Lacey, the world-renowned microbiologist who first warned the world about the human risks of BSE mad cow disease has died. As I read his obituary this week, I marvelled at his bravery. He was ridiculed, vilified and lost his job after refusing to be silenced about the possibility that BSE could be transmitted to humans. He was, however, ultimately vindicated. The history of medicine is full of noble men and women like him who spoke out regardless of the consequences. Barry Marshall, an Australian doctor, discovered the link between a bacterial infection and stomach ulcers. He, too, was laughed at and resorted to drastic measures to prove his point. He drank a vile concoction containing the bacteria (Helicobacter pylori) and developed an ulcer to prove he was right. Now, prompt antibiotic treatment has made ulcers a rarity. Sohier Elneil, a consultant gynaecologist and last years winner of the Daily Mail Health Hero award, fought a long battle for women who had suffered the pain and trauma of vaginal mesh surgery. Miss Elneil was shunned and attacked by some colleagues for making a stand but ultimately was proved right. My worry is that younger doctors have been so indoctrinated by a tick-box culture in the NHS that there are fewer mavericks or independent thinkers and that is a loss to us all. Dr Max prescribes... START4LIFE CAMPAIGN TO HELP WEAN BABIES New research by Public Health England suggests that one in four new parents lacks confidence about weaning their infant. They dont know how to do it or when. So I welcome a campaign aimed at guiding them through the process: nhs.uk/start4life/weaning How the elderly can stay in their home I recently visited an elderly relative who has Alzheimers and is now quite impaired. To be honest, I was astonished that she wasnt already in a care home given that shed been found wandering the streets on several occasions but that visit was a revelation. Carers come in three times a day, but her family are also making use of the latest digital technology to keep her in her much-loved home with some degree of independence. For example, every time she approached the front door, a sensor would activate a device and a recording of her son saying, Mum, dont leave the house unless youre with someone else or, Mum, youve opened the door, please go back inside the house. If the door was left open too long, a neighbour would be automatically alerted. It also played recordings of her son reminding her to make a cup of tea or to go to bed. And because it was her sons voice, she listened to it. Its exactly the sort of technical innovation thats needed. Power of listening Opposition to childhood vaccines is growing, and the views of the anti-vaxxers has taken hold, according to alarming research carried out by Queen Mary University of London. I think this is, at least in part, the fault of doctors. Weve arrogantly dismissed the genuine fears of people who worry about the vaccination of their children, bombarding them with statistics instead. Professor Heidi Larson at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and head of its Vaccine Confidence Project says that listening to peoples concerns without interruption, and talking them through, does bear fruit. Doctors need to heed her advice: we need to listen more and lecture less. Army veterans involved in Bloody Sunday could be charged with murder within days. Seventeen ex-soldiers, the oldest of whom is 77, remain under investigation over the shootings in Londonderry 47 years ago. Prosecutors in Northern Ireland are to meet families of the victims on March 14 before announcing whether the former paratroopers will stand trial. They face charges ranging from perjury to murder. Members of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 14 unarmed civilians in Derry in January 1972 The soldiers opened fire on the civil rights marchers who were protesting against internment without charge There are four soldiers most at risk of being charged with murder, a source told the Daily Telegraph. I fear prosecutors will throw the book at everybody and see what sticks ... it seems a complete waste of money to pursue troops almost 50 years on. The Mail has long campaigned against a witch-hunt of British troops. Their treatment stands in stark contrast to members of the IRA who, under the Good Friday Agreement of 1999, face a maximum of two years in prison for atrocities during the Troubles. One soldier facing two charges of attempted murder, who can only be identified as Sergeant O, is accused of firing into the air and hitting brickwork which may have fallen and injured civilians. Some 17 former members of the Parachute Regiment will discover later this month if they will face charges in connection with the January 1972 incident which claimed 14 lives Soldiers rounded up hundreds of people but did not find any firearms on the dead victims He said: It is a worry. It just niggles away. However, he added: I am in my late 70s. I am in Gods waiting room. There is not a lot they can do to me. The group of 17 have been left in limbo since 2016, when they were interviewed under police caution. An 18th veteran was also interviewed, but died before Christmas. The criminal investigation began following the 12-year inquiry led by Lord Saville, which ended in 2010. Costing 200million, it concluded troops lost control on January 30, 1972 when troops from the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment opened fire on protesters, killing 14 and injuring another 14. The former soldiers at the greatest risk of murder charges were highlighted in Lord Savilles report as Lance Corporal F, Corporal P, Soldier R and Soldier U. Under the rules of the inquiry, the soldiers involved have been granted anonymity. However, they fear they could be identified if the cases end up in court. The events on January 30, 1972 resulted in a 200 million public inquiry Prosecutors will have to prove individuals were responsible for particular crimes. Little forensic evidence remains, and statements from the initial investigation in 1972 may also be excluded as soldiers were under pressure from commanding officers. Evidence given to Lord Saville by soldiers cannot be used against them. Conservative MP Johnny Mercer, who is a former Army captain who served in Afghanistan and Northern Ireland said the public would 'take a dim view of a decision to charge veterans some 47 years after the event' Johnny Mercer, a Conservative MP and former Army captain who served in Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, told the Daily Telegraph: I think the British public will take a dim view of a decision taken to charge veterans some 47 years after the event. The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland will inform victims families of decisions on prosecutions before any public announcements are made. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment last night. The developments follow controversy over those who saw action in the Gulf. In 2010 the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, or Ihat, was set up to investigate claims of murder, torture and wrongdoing by British troops. Over seven years more than 3,600 claims were filed, costing the taxpayer 60million but not one resulted in prosecution. That was disbanded by then defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon after a scathing report by MPs attacked its deeply disturbing treatment of serving and retired troops. Michael Gove has said he wants state schools to become so good that educating a child privately will become an eccentric choice. The former education secretary said he hopes in future most people will not even consider sending their child to an independent school. During his time in the Department for Education, he spearheaded a series of radical reforms to raise standards and toughen up qualifications. This included a return to traditional forms of learning, such as phonics and times tables tests for young children and more challenging content for older ones. Former education secretary Michael Gove has said he wants state schools to become so good that people will not even consider sending their child to an independent school At the time, he faced a backlash from the Left, but Mr Gove stressed it was needed to get poorer pupils up to the same standard as their privately-educated peers. And yesterday, in an interview with the Evening Standard, he said the long-term goal was to make state schools so good that no-one will want to send their child privately. He said: I would have hoped we would have been able to make sending your children to a private school, as it is in Europe, an increasingly eccentric choice. Asked if he wanted to obliterate the private sector by stealth, he replied well, yes. However the former education secretary, who was educated at private school Robert Gordons College in Aberdeen, has sent his own children to the cream of London's state school's. In 2016, the former education secretary sent his 11-year-old son William to the 'Eton of comprehensives' Holland Park School in Kensington, an institution known for its impressive academic results, despite their being at least seven closer state secondary schools to him. Two years earlier Mr Gove sent his daughter Beatrice to the Grey Coat Hospital School in Westminster. Both schools are highly commended in Tatler's top 20 state secondary schools guide. During his interview Mr Gove also said fee-paying schools are helping their comprehensive counterparts reach this goal, through providing mentoring and use of facilities. There are ways in which independent schools are proving that they can do more to help the state sector, and thats a good thing, he added. In his wide-ranging interview, Brexiteer Mr Gove also suggested that Britons are now more relaxed about high immigration because of Brexit. His remarks follow official figures earlier this week showing a 15-year high in net immigration from outside the EU. The former education secretary has spearheaded a series of radical reforms to raise standards and toughen up qualifications Asked if Vote Leave misled voters in the 2016 referendum into thinking immigration would fall after Brexit, he said people had wanted democratic control over numbers. The second thing is weve seen public attitudes towards migration change, he added. Now that people know that we have democratic control, actually theres been a greater degree of acceptance of migration overall. The Environment Secretary said people were more tolerant in countries like Australia and Canada, where governments could set numbers. Asked where that left Theresa Mays target to cut immigration to the tens of thousands, he said voters could use their vote at general elections to punish a government they disagreed with. Mr Gove admitted that when he decided to back the Leave campaign in 2016 he thought it would lose. He said: My own view was that actually I didnt think we would win the referendum, I didnt think we would leave, although Im glad that was the result. He confirmed he urged David Cameron strongly not to hold a referendum, as it would create divisions. I remember saying at the time... that I didnt think that it was a good idea, he said. Head of NHS England Simon Stevens has warned that social media is giving anti-vaccination fanatics a platform to spread myths about life-saving immunisations Social media is giving anti-vaccination fanatics a platform to spread myths about life-saving immunisations, the head of NHS England has warned. Simon Stevens said he was concerned by stalling vaccination uptake and the dangers fake messages posed to childrens health. He said parents at his own daughters primary school had used WhatsApp to express concerns about childrens immune systems being loaded up with vaccines. Likening it to not bothering to tell children to look both ways when they cross the road, he said it was irresponsible and urged people to stop. Speaking at a health summit, Mr Stevens added that these parents were not only risking their own childs health, but that of others because it threatened what is known as herd immunity. He said: As part of the fake news movement, the vaccination deniers are getting some traction. Last year saw more than triple the number of measles cases across England. We have seen a five-year decline in the vaccination uptake. While the UK is a world leader in vaccine coverage, rates have fallen in nine of 12 vaccinations given to children. A anti-Muslim poster likening Rep. Ilhan Omar to a 9/11 terrorist sparked outrage on Friday after it was spotted on display in the West Virginia state capitol during a GOP event. The poster depicts theTwin Towers on September 11 with the words '"Never forget" - you said...' imposed over the image of the burning building. Underneath is seen a photograph of Minnesota Democrat Omar with the words 'I am the proof - you have forgotten'. The inflammatory poster was displayed prominently in the rotunda at as part of a GOP event, according to West Virginia MetroNews. On the same day, the sergeant at arms resigned after being accused of saying 'all Muslims are terrorists' when challenged about the display. Pamphlets accompanying the display read 'The Four Stages of Islamic Conquest' and 'Readin', Writin' and Jihadin.' A woman who had a sign identifying with 'ACT for America,' a Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate group, set up the table, but in a video exchange would not discuss the contents of her table with Democrats. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a first-time Congresswoman, was the target of the display likening her to the 9/11 terrorists. Omar is a Muslim originally from Somalia An unidentified woman set up the display in the West Virginia state capitol for ACT for America, an organization known for strong anti-Muslim rhetoric and listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center The poster displayed in the West Virginia state capitol sparked a great deal of emotion from Democratic legislators who viewed it as hateful and bigoted Today at @WVGOP day, a vendor displayed a sign promoting HATE towards Muslim Americans. Heres what she had to say... #wvpol pic.twitter.com/ph2bWJAvuf WV Democratic Party (@wvdemocrats) March 1, 2019 'No wonder why I am on the "Hitlist" of a domestic terrorist and "Assassinate Ilhan Omar" is written on my local gas stations,' Rep. Omar tweeted earlier about graffiti threatening her life. 'Look no further, the GOP's anti-Muslim display likening me to a terrorist rocks in state capitols and no one is condemning them!' The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a statement, also demanded the state and national Republican Party condemn the anti-Muslim display. 'We call on Governor Justice and GOP leaders in West Virginia and nationwide to condemn and repudiate this disgusting display of bigotry and Islamophobia,' said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. The bigoted language elicited a strong reaction from West Virginia Democrats leading to an injured doorkeeper and the resignation of the sergeant at arms. Rep. Omar connected the rhetoric seen in the West Virginia state house display to other threats that have been made against her life as Muslim in Congress Omar retweeted graffiti found in a men's bathroom that made a threat to her along with a reference to the 'hitlist' written by Coast Guard officer Christopher Hasson that targeted her among other Democrats and liberal figures 'I find it distasteful. I said so. I went over and spoke with the people in that booth that I believe is sanctioned by a political party,' said Delegate Mike Pushkin, a Democrat. 'It points out a hatred and distrust of somebody because of their religion.' Delegate Michael Angelucci, also a Democrat, witnessed the confrontation, and in an emotional floor speech, he recounted how the sergeant at arms got involved. 'The sergeant at arms had the nerve to say to us, 'All Muslims are terrorists,'' Angelucci said. 'That's not freedom of speech. That's hate speech, and it has no place in this House. I don't want to see her representing the people of this state in this House again.' Meanwhile, the minority whip, Delegate Mike Caputo, was so worked up, he apparently kicked in a door to the chamber during the opening prayer session slightly injuring a young doorkeeper. The ACT for America table also displayed pamphlets making additional extreme comments about Muslims Delegate Mike Pushkin confronted the woman who put up the ACT for America display shortly before the sergeant at arms of the House of Delegates became involved and allegedly made a racist remark 'I'm the one who kicked the door open. That's how angry I was. I went over to that poster and I said it was a racist poster,' Caputo said. The reaction from local Republicans were more muted with delegates Dianna Graves and Tom Bibby both deflecting to the importance of free speech. 'We have allowed national level politics to become a cancer on our state, to become a cancer on our Legislature, to invade our chamber in a way that frankly makes me ashamed,' Hanshaw, a Republican, said during the Friday evening session. Hanshaw then released a statement afterwards on behalf of the legislative body. Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT for America, has been continually attacking Rep. Omar on Twitter with this particular list of accusations pinned to the top The Council on American Islamic Relations released its own statement condemning the display West Virginia calling for the local and national GOP to rebuke it as well 'The West Virginia House of Delegates unequivocally rejects hate in all of its forms. As we began today's floor session, we had a series of incidents occur in and outside of our Chamber that absolutely do not reflect the character and civility the people of this state demand of their public servants,' wrote Hanshaw. Hanshaw announced the resignation of Sergeant at Arms Anne Lieberman in a motion on the House floor. The House of Delegates has already been roiled with controversy already this session due to remarks by freshman Republican Delegate Eric Porterfield, who equated LGBTQ organizations to 'a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan, without wearing hoods with their antics of hate.' ACT for America was founded by Brigitte Gabriel, born Hanan Qahwaji, in 2007 and was listed by the SPLC as a hate group because it 'pushes wild anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, denigrates American Muslims and deliberately conflates mainstream and radical Islam.' Gabriel has attacked Rep. Omar repeatedly on Twitter. BBC boss Tony Hall has been told by MPs that it would be unacceptable for pensioners to be prosecuted if it scraps free TV licences for the over 75s. In their letter, 33 cross-party MPs raised concern over the elderly being jailed because they cannot afford the 150.50 fee. They told Lord Hall that scrapping the perk would put elderly women particularly at risk, and take an average of 22,000 a week from pensioners in every constituency. BBC boss Tony Hall has been told by MPs that it would be 'unacceptable' for pensioners to be prosecuted if it scraps free TV licenses for the over 75s. 33 cross-party MPs raised concern over the elderly being jailed because they cannot afford the 150 fee The letter was signed by two former Cabinet ministers Priti Patel and Esther McVey. The warning comes as the BBC weighs up whether to abolish free licences for the over 75s, after it accepted a deal with the Government to foot the bill from next year. It is expected to strip millions of pensioners of the perk when it makes its decision in June. Keeping the free licences in place would cost the BBC a fifth of its budget. Lord Hall said the BBC Board would choose the best and fairest solution. House Democrats are said to be ready 'to take all necessary steps' to get hold of Donald Trumps personal tax returns. The top tax-writing committee in the House will request the files within the next few weeks, NBC News reports. The Ways and Means Committee is the only group in the House who can directly request the presidents returns and chairman Richard Neal is said to be starting the process by asking their attorneys to prepare the request. The decision on whether to grant the request will fall with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: 'Every day the American people and Congress learn more about President Trumps improprieties, from conflicts of interest to influence peddling, potential tax evasion and violations of the Constitution all roads leading back to President Trumps finances. 'These improprieties, and the lack of transparency around them, give the House legitimate legislative, oversight and legal reasons to review the Presidents tax returns. We will take all necessary steps, including litigation, if necessary, to obtain them.' House Democrats are said to be ready 'to take all necessary steps' to get Donald Trumps personal tax returns. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: 'Every day the American people and Congress learn more about President Trumps improprieties' Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal, pictured, has reported asked their attorneys to prepare the request Neal had earlier suggested he might wait until the end of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Trump and Russia. But after Michael Cohen urged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to demand the president's IRS returns the case for Congress to obtain the returns was strengthened, aides told NBC. Cohen, in response to Ocasio-Cortez's inquires, revealed additional details on how Trump provided insurance companies with financials that exaggerated his assets and wealth but wanted to reduce his real estate taxes - and if the president lied on insurance and IRS forms to make this happen, that would be fraud. Earlier in his nearly five hours before the committee, Cohen also said he didn't know if the president's tax returns were being audited, which is the reason Trump gave for not releasing them during the 2016 campaign even though other presidential contenders have released such information. 'Mr. Cohen, do you know whether President Trump's tax returns were really under audit by the IRS in 2016?' Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez asked him. 'I don't know the answer. I asked for a copy of the audit so that I could use it in terms of my statements to the press, and I was never able to obtain one,' Cohen said. Michael Cohen revealed more details on his belief Trump exaggerated his assets on insurance forms but under valued them on tax forms Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's questions to Michael Cohen laid the groundwork for additional subpoenas on Trump's businesses and taxes Additionally, Cohen provided the committee with three years of Trump's financial records that, if the committee subpoena's Trump's tax returns, they could use for comparison. Trump has so far refused to reveal his returns. He broke with decades of precedent when running for the White House in 2016 with every U.S. president since Richard Nixon voluntarily doing so. The committee is likely to focus on Trump rather than his businesses. An aide said 10 years of his personal returns 'can give a good sense of whether there is any evidence of tax fraud and numerous items of interest'. It may well show whether Trump was under audit in the 2016 election as he has claimed. The only return to see daylight is Trump's 1995 return, which got leaked to the New York Times. The paper conducted an exhaustive examination and concluded he may not have paid any income taxes for decades. Full returns could also reveal sources of debt, and unknown business partners. In his opening statement, Cohen told the panel: 'As previously stated, I'm giving the Committee today three years of President Trump's financial statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes [magazine]. 'These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.' Advertisement The father of a British climber in the Himalayas fears Pakistan's 'Killer Mountain' will claim his son's life, just 24 years after wife Alison Hargreaves, who was the first woman in history to conquer the Earth's apex 29,029 feet high, without an Oxygen bottle, died on its frozen peaks. Tom Ballard, 30, from Derbyshire, was reported missing earlier this week with Italian Daniele Nardi, 42. The pair last made contact on Sunday, from an altitude of about 20,500ft (6,250m) on the Nanga Parbat mountain range. In 1995, Tom's mother died on the same treacherous peak having become famous as the first woman to scale Everest solo. Jim Ballard, his father, told the Times: 'This takes me back to those days'. He highlighted that he wouldn't discuss his son's plight but said the feeling was similar to that of when he was waiting for news of his wife's whereabouts in 1995. He added: 'When the news broke there was no helicopter and we couldn't get one to the base camp at K2. But the same day the Pakistani military became interested and said they could send one and did.' Today officials said that bad weather would further delay the search efforts after a planned helicopter and drone search was called off due to adverse weather conditions, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan tweeted. Tom Ballard (left and right) and Italian climber Daniele Nardi are trying to reach the summit of Nanga Parbat - nicknamed 'Killer Mountain'. The last contact from the pair was on Sunday, from an altitude of about 6,300m Jim remains hopeful for his son (right) despite temperatures plunging to minus 40C and winds at 200mph on the Nanga Parbat range and has said that it reminds him of when his wife Alison (left) went missing A map of the Nanga Parbat mountains in Pakistan (pictured above) which shows where Tom went missing and where his mother went missing in 1995 Stefano Pontecorvo said rescuers would try again on Sunday when the weather is expected to improve. He said he has spoken to Basque climber Alex Txikon, who is joining the rescue mission with a three-strong team, including a doctor. If weather permits, Mr Txikon is expected to fly drones over the area where the two climbers went missing. Pakistani helicopter pilots were on standby from 5.30am local time on Saturday but were unable to fly due to snow, clouds and low visibility, according to an update on Mr Nardi's Facebook page. Earlier, Mr Pontecorvo said 'Both Daniele and Tom are tough guys. We hope for a miracle... and just try our best to find them.' Daniele Nardi (right) and Tom Ballard (left) were reported missing earlier this week as tensions between Pakistan and India continued to rise Alison Hargreaves and Jim Ballard with their children Tom and his sister Kate before her fatal descent of the mountain in 1995 It was clear that Tom had followed in his mother's footsteps as Alison had been a skilled climber and had previously conquered Everest solo, without an Oxygen bottle. She reached the peak of Mount Everest on May 13, 1995 and is reportedly said to have sent a radio message to her children which said: 'To Tom and Kate, my dear children, I am on the highest point of the world, and I love you dearly.' The excitement of Alison's triumph swept the media and the whole country rallied behind the explorer. However, the happiness was short-lived and exactly three months later reached the summit of K2 in Pakistan, the world's second-highest peak. Just hours later, she and five others died when they were engulfed by a storm with fierce winds that rose up the mountain. Now, temperatures on the mountain are said to be at least minus 40C, with winds ranging from 120mph to 200mph. Jim told the paper he knows that finding his son alive will not be easy, 'like finding a green beer mat on the pitch at Twickenham.' Tom Ballard, 30, (left and right) was reported missing earlier this week on the notorious K2 peak in the Pakistani Himalayas Tom (left and right) is missing with Italian Daniele Nardi and his father has said that he wouldn't give up hope for his son Initial search plans were prevented on Thursday when Pakistan closed its air space after it shot down two Indian military planes, but two army helicopters were eventually drafted in. Mr Ballard's Italian girlfriend Stefania Pederiva has also been waiting for news of Tom and her mother said that she has been 'crying constantly' since learning that he was missing. Jim told the Times he would not give up: 'From the last phone call, seven to ten days is not unreasonable, even though he might be cold and not feeling too well.' Russian mountaineers on K2 offered to support the rescue mission on Friday, with flights scheduled after an agreement was reached with the Italian embassy and the Pakistani air force. However the weather was deemed too dangerous, but Italian Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo said he is hopeful the search can continue again on Saturday. The mountain (pictured above) which Tom and his friend Daniele had been scaling before they failed to make contact In the search for Daniele (left) and Tom (right) drones were due to be operated from close to the mountain's base camp and an army helicopter was also set to search for the pair Tom (pictured above) from Derbyshire, is an experienced climber and the first person to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter He said: 'What happened during the night is the Russian team with whom I have been in contact with found it was too dangerous to try (and find the men) on foot. 'The second option is Alex Txikon, the Basque climber who had two years ago been on Nanga Parbat, has a team of three people with him - among them a doctor - and he also has these three drones with cameras and equipment to pick up traces of life. 'Today the weather was certainly not flyable from Nanga Parbat to K2 and back. 'Tomorrow we hope to do that - bring him over with his equipment and he will be based in basecamp and fly his drones over the area that both Nardi and Ballard could be found. 'If they find something then we'll have to go and get them. 'It is a complicated process. Yesterday we got special permission to fly. 'Unfortunately the helicopter with a Pakistani mountaineer on board could not find any traces. Today it was not possible, we'll try tomorrow.' Tom (left and right) is said to have moved to Scotland in the same year his mother Alison Hargreaves died on K2 when she was just 33-years-old Tom (left and right) went on to follow in his mother's footsteps and both him and his sister are keen mountaineers Pictures from Tom's Instagram account detail his various training efforts for his climbs where he seems to be having a great time getting to grips with different heights Tom (left and right) was described as a 'little bit of a loner' by a family friend but they highlighted that he climbed to a 'very high standard Mr Ballard moved to Scotland in the same year his mother, Alison Hargreaves, died on K2 when she was 33. Among climbing Everest Alison, in the summer of 1993 she became the first person to climb the notoriously perilous six great north faces of the Alps solo in a single season. The climb then inspired her book which was titled 'A Hard Day's Summer'. Tom was just six-years-old when his mother died but went on to follow in her footsteps and in 2015 he became the first person to climb the north faces alone in a winter season. His sister is also a mountaineer. Despite never really being able to scale mountains with his mother, it is said that Alison had been six months pregnant with Tom when she scaled the treacherous north face of Eiger. Sandy Allan, a family friend of Mr Ballard's from Newtonmore in the Highlands, has climbed Nanga Parbat twice and said he is worried about the 'competent mountaineer'. He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'I knew Tom when he was younger and I'd climbed with him and his mother, Tom's an exceptional climber, he's not done a great deal in the Himalayas but he's done enough to know how to look after himself very well. 'Some people thought Tom was a little bit of a loner but he climbed to a very high standard and I suppose a lot of his routes were quite esoteric. 'But he's a normal human being with a passion for climbing. 'It's a lot colder and that makes it incredibly uncomfortable but if you're a climber like Tom, it's one of the big challenges for people to do so I can understand why he'd want to go there.' 'Meghan Markle' drags 'Kate Middleton' across the floor by her hair as tensions at Kensington Palace appear to boil over in these pictures mocked up by lookalikes for an artist. The hilarious pictures by artist Alison Jackson show two actresses pretending to fight for a celebrity spoof photographer. 'Meghan' dominates the fight as she wrestles 'Kate' to the ground by her hair and pulls her across the floor of what looks like a palace. The lookalikes of the two duchesses stage a fight for celebrity spoof photographer Alison Jackson 'Meghan' appears to dominate the scrap as she wrestles 'Kate' to the ground by her hair and pulls her across the floor of what looks like a palace The pair then tug on each others' shoulders with menacing looks on their faces. Alison Jackson, who has staged pictures of Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Boris Johnson getting up to mischief, envisaged what happens behind the scenes in the royal household. The BAFTA award-winning British artist, who is on stage at the Leicester Square Theatre next week, has poked fun at the rumoured rift between the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex, which has been denied by the royals. 'Meghan' jabs a heel into 'Kate's' leg as they continue to wrestle for Ms Jackson - a BAFTA award-winning photographer The 'royals' wear menacing looks in the spoof of the royals' rumoured rift. Kensington Palace has repeatedly denied any fallout between the duchesses Alison Jackson is live on stage at Leicester Square Theatre on March 5, 6 and 7 The rumours began when Meghan and Prince Harry announced they would move out of Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. A source told the Sun: [Meghan] and Kate fell out when she b******ed Kate's staff. 'It's a tricky situation but it was a one-off and they are determined to maintain a positive relationship even though they are obviously very different in their approach.' Kate is also claimed to have been left crying in a stressful dress fitting in the lead-up to the wedding in May. In addition, sources told the Mirror that insiders are concerned about Meghan's 'authoritative' and 'abrupt' style. Alison Jackson is live on stage at Leicester Square Theatre on March 5, 6 and 7. A woman has been bombarded with abuse from an online stalker who tracked down her personal information despite only knowing her first name, in a chilling real-life echo of new Netflix drama Dirty John. Businesswoman Rhiannon Stalley, from Brisbane, was subjected to a torrent of abuse after a man she 'matched' with on dating app Bumble found her Facebook page, mobile number and even her business listing. Her ordeal began just days after she 'matched' with the man on the app, although Ms Stalley says she never actually spoke to him. Scroll down for video Businesswoman Rhiannon Stalley (pictured) from Brisbane, was subjected to a torrent of abuse after an obsessive man she 'matched' with on dating app Bumble The 30-year-old claims that once the man discovered her personal details he started sending her deranged messages, in what appeared to be a bizarre vendetta he'd manifested because the pair had not hit it off on the dating app. In one message he calls Ms Stalley 'a deadset absolute f***wit', and in another Facebook message he wrote: 'Wowyou are a piece of work', The Courier Mail reported. 'On Bumble you let the match almost expire then I extended for another 24 hours and now that's almost expired. 'What is the f***ing point of you swiping on these apps if you don't talk to your matches? The 30-year-old (pictured) claims the man had discovered her personal details he started sending her deranged messages 'Seriously don't waste people's f***ing time you moron! Deadset absolute f***wit,' one disturbing message read. However, the stalker didn't stop there, and alarmingly he managed to find Ms Stalley's mobile number online. The situation took an even more twisted turn when Kapone attacked Ms Stalley's catering business Platter to Plate. The stalker found Ms Stalley's business' Google listing, and posted a scathing review. 'Can't communicate properly, go elsewhere,' it read. The stalker found Ms Stalley's business' Google listing, and posted a scathing review, but she wrote back hitting out at him for attacking her Ms Stalley (pictured) said despite the barrage of abuse she tried to have a 'bit of a laugh' about it at first Ms Stalley said despite the barrage of abuse she tried to have a 'bit of a laugh' about it at first. 'I'm someone who has a pretty thick skin so when I got the first message I had a bit of a laugh but when he tracked down my business and got my number I got really scared about what would have happened if I had actually started talking to him,' she said. 'I'm a bit old school, I just wanted to meet someone the normal way so when I got Bumble I didn't have the notifications on and I had a pretty busy week so hadn't even had time to contact him after the match,' Ms Stalley explained. She also noted that the unknown man had clearly gone to a lot of effort to find her social media profile, and must have searched through every Rhiannon in Brisbane to find her. Angered that the jilted man could have had a negative impact on her business Ms Stalley fired back a response which exposed the true nature of his review. 'We note this review came off the back of a Bumble match that we didn't reply to for a few days and that angered you to the point of messaging us on a personal Facebook page, sending a text message using derogatory language and also leaving us this review,' the response read. Ms Stalley has since reported the man to Bumble and the dating service has removed him from the platform. Ms Stalley also added that shows such as Dirty John were particularly 'prevalent' and were vital in showing people that this type of situation can happen in real life. Ms Stalley (pictured) has since reported the man to Bumble and the dating service has removed him from there platform Her awful ordeal comes shortly after a cyber-security expert warned that an increasing number of women are reportedly experiencing similar harassment. Australia eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said social media companies should do more to prevent this kind of behaviour. She also noted that two of out of three complaints lodged with her office were from females. Dirty John is the new offering from Netflix which sees successful businesswoman Debra turn to internet dating in a bid to try and find Mr Right. She thinks she's hit the jackpot after meeting charming Dr. John, but not everything is as it seems and Debra is soon drawn deeper into world of lies and psychological manipulation. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Stalley for comment. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to continue processing applications for roughly 2,700 immigrants from Central America who were set to travel to the US under an Obama-era program. US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler, in San Francisco, threw out the administration's decision to rescind conditional travel approval for the immigrants under the Central American Minors program, which had allowed parents legally in the US to apply to bring children or other family members living in Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador to the country. The Trump administration announced in August 2017 that it was ending the program, which had been created in 2014 as a way to discourage children from attempting the dangerous trip from the 'North Triangle' countries to the US to reunite with their parents. US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler ordered the Trump administration to keep processing the 2,714 applications for immigrant children under the Central American Minors program The Trump administration announced in August 2017 that it was ending the program which was started in 2014 under the Obama administration In her decision on Friday, Beeler said that the government had not provided a reason for why it should not continue to process the existing applications. The government had only argued that it would be a burden on the Department of Homeland Security to do so, according to Bloomberg. Beeler found that there was sufficient evidence to prove that the children who had been left in their home countries without their parents faced dangers including beatings, rape and murder. Beeler ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to try to malinger on processing the applications. She warned the agency not to adopt 'any policy, procedure, or practice of not processing the beneficiaries or placing their processing on hold en masse,' and ordered it to 'process the beneficiaries in good faith,' according to Courthouse News. The judge said the administration didn't provide any reasons why it should not continue to process the applications other than that it would be a burden for Homeland Security The judge, who is based at the San Francisco Courthouse (shown), ordered that Homeland submit a plan for how it would process the applications by March During a February 14 hearing, a lawyer for the Trump administration had told Beeler that even if the children's conditional approval was restored, Homeland might still refuse to process them in 'good faith,' opting to put them in an indefinite hold instead. Despite ordering the continued processing of the applications, Beeler declined to order the administration to resume the Central American Minors program. The judge ordered that Homeland need to submit 'its plan for processing these 2,714 beneficiaries with benchmarks for assessing compliance' by March 21. The decision applies to the 2,714 children and family members who had been conditionally cleared to travel to the US prior to the Trump administration rescinded the approvals in August 2017. An email after hours to the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned. A mother says she is 'worried sick' after her 13-year-old daughter disappeared with her older boyfriend. Tammy Willmer posted a public appeal on Facebook on Friday night after she reported her daughter Jasmine, 13, missing to police. The teen was last seen at Deception Bay High School in the Moreton Bay region north of Brisbane around 11am Friday morning and has not been seen since. Her mother believes Jasmine is with her 15-year-old boyfriend. 'If anyone spots her or knows of her whereabouts please let me know as her family are worried sick. Please share around and let's get her home,' Ms Willmer posted. Jasmine Willmer (pictured) has been missing since Friday morning. 'It's very out of character for her she never does this,' her mother Tammy told Daily Mail Australia There was still no word on Jasmine's whereabouts by Saturday afternoon, despite Queensland Police launching a public appeal for the missing girl. 'There has no word from her at all since yesterday morning,' Ms Willmer told Daily Mail Australia. 'Her friends have all been trying to contact her and she is not answering any of them either. It's very out of character for her, she never does this.' Queensland Police released this photo of Jasmine 13, in their public appeal for information on the missing teenager's whereabouts She's described as Caucasian appearance, around 162cm tall, proportionate build and light brown hair. 'Concerns are held for her welfare due to her age,' a Queensland Police statement read. Ms Willmer had this plea for her daughter. Jasmine Willmer (pictured) was last seen at Deception Bay High School on Friday morning 'We love her and want her home safe,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Her whole family is very distressed and just need to know she is OK, even if she is not ready to come home please contact someone, anyone and tell us you are OK and not hurt.' Anyone who knows anything about Jasmine's whereabouts is urged to Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. 'We love her so much and if anyone knows where she is please, just contact police and let them know she is OK,' Ms Willmer said. Right wing activist Steve Bannon announced the creation of his Academy of the Judeo-Christian West back in June of 2018 Former Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has given an inside look into his developing European 'gladiator school' where he wants the continent's current and future generation of right-wing nationalists to hone their skills as culture warriors. Bannon, 65, has been campaigning across Europe, helping to cultivate its populist movements. He announced the creation and location of his Academy of the Judeo-Christian West back in June of 2018. The school is being developed inside the Trisulti Charterhouse, an 800-year-old medieval monastery in the rural hilltop region of the village of Colleperdo, about 43 miles east of Rome. Other than Bannon, the identities of those funding the school have been kept a secret. The project sparked protests from local activists in December. Bannon told CBS News that the new school, called the Academy of the Judeo-Christian West, will be a 'modern gladiator school' that teaches the foundational tenants of Western people. 'It's to give people kind of in mid-career that are looking to do something different, maybe get involved in media, maybe get involved in politics, maybe get involved in NGOs, to give them kind of the underpinnings of the Judeo-Christian West,' he said. Bannon's counterpart, Benjamin Harnwell, a British former political operative, is in charge of creating the academy. Trisulti is where the monks of Trisulti once created a center for scientific research and innovation during the Middle Ages, cultivating 2,500 types of plants for medicinal purposes. Bannon told CBS News in February that his Academy of the Judeo-Christian West will be a 'modern gladiator school' that teaches the foundational tenants of Western people. The school is being developed inside the Trisulti Charterhouse, an 800-year-old medieval monestary in the rural hilltop region of the village of Colleperdo, about 43 miles east of Rome Trisulti is where the monks of Trisulti once created a center for scientific research and innovation during the Middle Ages The monks of Trisulti cultivated 2,500 types of plants for medicinal purposes at the monestary Harnell said the school's name was chosen specifically by Bannon and that the scholastic center will have a specific tangible purpose. 'My hope for Trisulti is that it will go from being a laboratory for herbs and herbal knowledge and that it will be a laboratory for ideas,' Harnell said. 'It's not a case of learning for learn's sake, but it's the intention of there being a specific application within the wider ambit of the culture wars.' Trump fired Bannon shortly after the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia 'Unite the Right' rally led by white nationalists, neo Nazis, and members of the Ku Klux Klan, that ended with three people dead and dozens more injured in August of 2017. Ten months later, Bannon's falling out with Trump led to him stepping down as head of the right-wing news site Breitbart, which he infamously dubbed the 'platform of the alt-right' during Trump's rise to power. Breitbart has since rejected Bannon's labeling of the platform he helped found. The brother of accused serial killer Bradley Robert Edwards insists his sibling is innocent. Mr Edwards - a 50-year-old suspected of being the Claremont serial killer - is preparing to fight a string of murder and rape charges dating back to the late 1980s to the mid 90s. His younger brother in the meantime penned an email to The Weekend West to say the family of the accused was behind him every step of the way. 'My brother is innocent and ... this will be made evident as the case unfolds,' the email read. The brother of accused serial killer Bradley Robert Edwards (pictured) has broken his silence to defend his sibling's innocence The immediate family has visited Mr Edwards in prison and spoken to him at every opportunity. Though, they have been given legal advice to stay away from his court appearances. Mr Edwards is accused of attacking an 18-year-old girl in her Huntingdale home in Perth in 1988 and allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in Karrakatta Cemetery in 1995. Police also allege he is responsible for the abduction and murder of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon from the upmarket Claremont suburb between January 1996 and March 1997. Mr Edwards was arrested in December 2016 after forensic evidence allegedly linked him to the attacks. At a pre-trial directions hearing last week, it emerged the prosecution wanted to use the DNA or fingerprint traces to connect Mr Edwards with the series of crimes. The Supreme Court heard while Mr Edwards denied all the allegations brought against him in a six-hour interview with police, he failed to explain certain facts. That is, he was unable to explain why traces of his DNA was found on a Kimono linked to the Huntingdale attack and also on two of his alleged victims. He also couldn't explain why his fingerprints were found on a door of another Huntingdale home following an attempted break-in, the court heard. Added to the list of the allegations is the abduction and murder of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer (pictured) and Ciara Glennon from the upmarket Claremont suburb between January 1996 and March 1997 At a pre-trial directions hearing last week, it emerged the prosecution wanted to use the DNA or fingerprint traces to connect Mr Edwards with the series of crimes (pictured, Ciara Glennon) Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall noted the details brought to light during the pre-trial hearings were allegations - no evidence had been presented as of yet. Barrister Paul Yovich said important questions had to be answered in relation to the forensic evidence. 'The question ... is, in each case, is it the accuseds DNA ... and if so, how did it get there?' he told the court. 'With count eight (Ms Glennons murder), are there other possibilities ... innocent contact, adventitious match or contamination in the collection or testing process?' Mr Edwards is due back in court on March 20. The Washington Post has issued an 'editor's note' on its controversial coverage of an encounter between a Kentucky teen and a Native American activist after the paper was hit with a $250million lawsuit for defamation. Nicholas Sandmann, 16, alleges the newspaper falsely labeled him a racist and said that the Post had engaged in 'targeting and bullying' and modern 'McCarthyism'. Now the paper has issued an editor's note in which they say: 'Subsequent reporting, a student's statement and additional video allow for a more complete assessment of what occurred, either contradicting or failing to confirm accounts provided in that story.' The lawsuit claims that the newspaper 'wrongfully targeted and bullied' the teen to advance its bias against President Donald Trump because Sandmann is a white Catholic who wore a Make America Great Again souvenir cap on a school field trip to the March for Life anti-abortion rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18. According to the complaint: 'The Post ignored basic journalist standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented, biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump ... by impugning individuals perceived to be supporters.' Nicholas Sandmann, 16, a student from Covington Catholic High School stands in front of Native American activist Nathan Phillips in Washington Nicholas Sandmann, right, is seking $250 million in damages, the amount that Jeff Bezos, left, paid for the Post in 2013. The lawsuit claims that the newspaper 'wrongfully targeted and bullied' the teen because Sandmann is a white Catholic who wore a MAGA hat Sandmann is seeking $250 million in damages, the amount that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com and the world's richest person, paid for the Post in 2013. The Washington Post's Vice President for Communications Kristine Coratti Kelly had said: 'We are reviewing a copy of the lawsuit and we plan to mount a vigorous defense.' President Donald Trump gave Sandmann is his backing, quoting his suit and said: 'Go get them Nick. Fake News!' In a video that went viral from the incident, Sandmann is seen standing face to face with Native American activist Nathan Phillips. Sandmann stares smiling at him while Phillips sings and plays his drum. The incident sparked outrage on social media and in early articles, the Post reported that the schoolboys 'surrounded' and 'taunted' 64-year-old Phillips. The newspaper claimed that a 'smirking' Sandmann had stood in Phillip's path, blocking him from moving. The editor's note in full 'A Washington Post article first posted online on Jan. 19 reported on a Jan. 18 incident at the Lincoln Memorial. 'Subsequent reporting, a student's statement and additional video allow for a more complete assessment of what occurred, either contradicting or failing to confirm accounts provided in that story including that Native American activist Nathan Phillips was prevented by one student from moving on, that his group had been taunted by the students in the lead-up to the encounter, and that the students were trying to instigate a conflict. 'The high school student facing Phillips issued a statement contradicting his account; the bishop in Covington, Ky., apologized for the statement condemning the students; and an investigation conducted for the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School found the students' accounts consistent with videos. 'Subsequent Post coverage, including video, reported these developments: 'Viral standoff between a tribal elder and a high schooler is more complicated than it first seemed'; 'Kentucky bishop apologizes to Covington Catholic students, says he expects their exoneration'; 'Investigation finds no evidence of 'racist or offensive statements' in Mall incident.' 'A Jan. 22 correction to the original story reads: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips said he served in the U.S. Marines but was never deployed to Vietnam.' Advertisement More extensive video of the events told a radically different story, showing the boys were subjected to racist abuse by a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, before Phillips waded into the group of students and banged his drum directly in Sandmann's face. In a statement, Sandmann's Atlanta-based lawyer, Lin Wood, said additional similar lawsuits would be filed against other parties in the weeks ahead. A private investigation firm retained by Covington Diocese in Park Hills, Kentucky, found in a report released last week no evidence the teenagers provoked a confrontation. The students were met at the Lincoln Memorial by offensive statements from members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, the report said. The investigation also determined that the students did not direct any racist or offensive comments toward Phillips although several performed a 'tomahawk chop' to the beat of his drum. Phillips claimed in a separate video that he heard the students chanting 'build that wall,' during the encounter, a reference to Trump's pledge to build a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. Sandmann is seen standing face to face with Native American activist Nathan Phillips, pictured The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kentucky by Covington Catholic High School, pictured, student Nicholas Sandmann seeks $250 million in damages The investigators said they found no evidence of such a chant and that Phillips did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him. In a letter to parents, Covington Bishop Roger Foys said the students 'were placed in a situation that was at once bizarre and even threatening'. 'The immediate world-wide reaction to the initial video led almost everyone to believe that our students had initiated the incident and the perception of those few minutes of video became reality,' the bishop wrote. Students told investigators that they felt Phillips was coming into their group to join their own cheers, which were meant to drown out insults from the Black Hebrew Israelites. They claimed that they were confused but did not feel threatened by Phillips, the report said. 'We found no evidence of racist statements to Mr. Phillips or members of his group,' the report said. 'Some students performed a 'tomahawk chop' to the beat of Mr Phillips' drumming and some joined in Mr Phillips' chant.' An arrest has been made after an attack on a conservative activist on the University of California-Berkeley campus was caught on camera. Zachary Greenberg, 28, was arrested on a warrant on Friday at in Berkeley, California, following a 10-day search, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He was held on $30,000 bail in Alameda County jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily injury for the attack on Hayden WiIliams on February 19. He is to be arraigned on Monday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. Neither Greenberg or Williams are students at the University of California-Berkeley. In a statement to Campus Reform, Williams expressed his view of the news of his attacker's arrest: 'I am grateful to the University of California Berkeley Police Department for its dedication to identifying and arresting the man who attacked me. But while this is a moment for celebration, I remain disappointed by the UC Berkeley Administration, which allowed a culture of intolerance and violence toward conservatives to grow. I hope UC Berkeleys leadership will seize on this moment-in-time to take deliberate steps to establish a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence, and restore Berkeleys legacy as Home of the Free Speech Movement.' Video from the incident shows Williams (left) being confronted by a violent attacker who punched him in the face as he was recruiting for a conservative student group Williams was running a campus recruitment table for Turning Points USA, a conservative activist group, when he was approached by his attacker in Sproul Plaza. The sign on the table read 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims,' a reference to the Jussie Smollett the bias incident allegedly staged by the actor himself in Chicago. The suspect shouted: 'Mother f**ker. You racist little inbred b***h. C**t!' UC-Berkeley campus police said that the attack took place at 3.29pm on Upper Sproul Plaza, and that two men initially approached the table confronting Williams. Williams (above) was helping Berkeley students who wanted to start a Turning Point chapter 'A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victims hand,' the police statement said. The attacker then knocked over the table and the two men fought over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injuries to the eye and nose. The debilitating injuries caused by a group of newly-introduced yet massively-popular hire scooters have been revealed. Heralded as the environmentally-friendly alternative to public transport, Lime scooters were introduced to Brisbane in November last year. But after only a few months of operation, Lime may have done more damage than they've prevented, with doctors and nurses noticing a distinct spike in injuries caused the hire scooters. Surgeons have warned against using Lime scooters until they're deemed safe after a spate of injuries Nearly 100 injuries were reported in only three hospitals over the course of two months as a result of the scooters In the span of only two months, Brisbane doctors at three hospitals have seen 88 separate cases of injuries caused by the scooters. The injuries range from easily-treated bone bruises to fractured arm requiring extensive and expensive surgeries. Two-thirds of the cases were people aged 20 to 34 years old, and a little more than half were males. One in every ten instance required surgery, with injuries including head trauma, fractures, sprains, strains and bruises and cuts. Injuries ranged from contusions (pictured) to extensive and expensive surgeries Lime have been told to prove their electric scooters are safe or they may be discontinued The harrowing extent of injuries and disabilities has resulted in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) warning against their use. Chair of the RACS Trauma Committee Dr John Crozier said that public awareness of the dangers associated with these vehicles is required and that legislative measures should be implemented. 'We also urge that the safety of pedestrians and other road users is considered in any future decisions regarding the use of scooters as we have seen that the injuries are not isolated to scooter users alone,' he said. Lime's operators were told last Wednesday they had a fortnight to prove the electric scooters were safe or they would risk being pulled from the city. Queensland's Community Affairs Manager, Nelson Savanh told Daily Mail Australia 'safety is our number one priority.' 'While not all injuries get reported to Lime or the authorities, it's important for riders to remind themselves about safe scooter behaviour. So far in Brisbane we've had nearly 600,000 rides and the vast majority of riders scoot safely. 'It's so important for anyone getting on a scooter to wear a helmet. Riders must also follow the speed limit, not double up on a scooter and not drink ride. 'Make sure you do a pre-ride check of your scooter to make sure it's in working order and wear the supplied helmet. 'As soon as we learned about the wheel locking issue we decommissioned all of the scooters affected. We have deployed a firmware update which has resolve the wheel locking issue and our local operations team continue to perform quality assurance checks on all scooters. 'Any injury is one too many to us, which is why we have $20 million public liability insurance.We encourage anyone who has been affected by this issue to get in touch with our customer support team.' Caden McWilliams, 7, had traces of cocaine and meth in the liver tissue according to a coroner's report A seven-year-old boy found encased in concrete in a Denver storage unit shortly before Christmas last year had traces of illicit drugs detected in his system. The medical examiner found that Caden McWilliams had 'cocaine metabolite and methamphetamine in liver tissue' in its autopsy report, according to CBS Denver. He was also found to be malnourished with multiple physical injuries. 'The postmortem examination reveals severe emaciation of the body consistent with a malnourished or deprived state,' the report stated. 'Numerous injuries of the head, trunk, and extremities are also noted.' Elisha Pankey, 43, the mother of the boy who had disappeared in May 2018, was charged with child abuse resulting in the death of Caden and abuse of a corpse in January. The coroner was unable to ascertain the exact cause of death, stating Caden could have 'experienced complications of injuries (e.g., infection or sepsis).' The boy could have also suffered 'a component of asphyxia, dehydration, and/or hyperthermia.' 'Given the highly suspicious nature to this death, the findings of the postmortem examination, and that the decedent is a young child who is dependent on others for his care, the manner of death is homicide,' the report concluded despite the uncertainty. Elisha Pankey (left), 43, was charged with child abuse and abuse of a corpse. Investigators believe Caden McWilliams (right) last attended school in May before he was killed The grisly discovery of the child's corpse was made at the Denver storage unit after a tip from an unnamed source in neighboring Aurora The body was found encased in concrete within a locked storage unit, the Denver Post reported. Police estimated Caden had been dead since the beginning of May when he disappeared. The boy was discovered just two days before Christmas Day within the storage facility after a tip from an unnamed source in neighboring Aurora, Colorado. Pankey had been charged with possession of heroin in Aurora the day before the grisly find. Caden McWilliams was described as emaciated and malnourished at the time of his death according to the autopsy A picture from social media shows a younger Caden McWilliams with his mother Elisha Pankey, who has been charged with his death Leland Pankey, Caden's father, is currently in jail, according to CBS Denver. He was arrested for allegedly choking his wife until she lost consciousness back in 2017. Two children were home during the alleged attack. In January, an order of protection was granted for Pankeys other son, Camden, and a legal guardian was appointed for him. A college professor has been praised for his babysitting skills as well as his teaching after lending a helping hand to a student dad. Nathan Alexander, a math professor at Morehouse College, a historically black all male school in Atlanta, Georgia, was photographed holding a student's baby as he gave a lecture on Friday. Alexander was snapped comforting the infant, who was in a carrier strapped to his chest, with one hand while delivering a maths lesson with a marker pen in the other. 'Student came to class today with his child due to no babysitter or anybody to watch her while he was in class,' said user Nick Vaughn in the Twitter post. 'My professor NATHAN ALEXANDER said Ill hold her so you can take good notes! #HBCU #morehouse #Respect.' Nathan Alexander, a math professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, was snapped in the Friday picture holding an adorable little girl while in class 'Student came to class today with his child due to no babysitter or anybody to watch her while he was in class,' said user Nick Vaughn in the Twitter post. 'My professor NATHAN ALEXANDER said Ill hold her so you can take good notes! #HBCU #morehouse #Respect' Alexander responded under the post and thanked the user for snapping the moment, adding that he appreciated the love The viral post has received more than 42,000 likes and has been retweeted more than 10,000 times. Alexander responded under the post and thanked the user for snapping the moment, adding that he appreciated the love. On Facebook, Vaughn would further explain what all went down when the student brought his child to the class. 'Not only did he teach the entire lecture with the child in his arms but also stayed after class helping those with questions about todays lecture with the child still in his arms as seen in the pictures,' he said on the Facebook post. On Facebook, Vaughn would provide more photos of the professor and explained that he kept the baby even after class while taking additional questions Alexander has been a professor at the college since 2017, according to his LinkedIn. He specializes in Mathematics Education, Statistical and Mathematical Modeling and Social Networks and Graphs He continued: 'It was this encounter that truly showed me the power and impact HBCUs can have for the black community, for this professor to understand that life happens and sometimes there are just no ways around it. 'Its acts like this one that I will see from time to time on campus that reminds me not only why I choose to come to Morehouse but also why this is such a great area for young black men to be in and theres no other place on earth like MOREHOUSE!' The post included more photos of the professor and showed him still holding the baby as he answered questions. A few of Alexander's student took to the post to share their own experiences with the professor and how he has helped them. '@professornaite is one of my favorite professors!! Genuinely cares for the students and sacrifices his personal time always to help in any way possible,' asserted one user.'Nothing but respect (Ps. Sorry i wasnt in class today lol)' A few of Alexander's student took to the post to share their own experiences with the professor and how he has helped them User @djnotag_ added: 'MY FAVORITE TEACHER! He saved my grade in college algebra my first semester at Morehouse. 'I was in another section with arguably the WORST teacher in the school, ready to drop out, but he saw I was on the edge and personally tutored me. Went from a D to an A by semesters end.' Other's shared their appreciation of the professor even if they didn't personally know him. 'I professor Alexander and I don't even know him,' asserted Claudia Rankins. The sentiment was shared by Angie Jones, who said: 'You, sir, are what makes HBCUs so great! Thank you.' 'Nicely done! Several subjects were taught in this session, it would seem,' claimed a different user. Another dubbed Alexander 'Professor Hero.' Alexander has been a professor at the college since 2017, according to his LinkedIn. He specializes in Mathematics Education, Statistical and Mathematical Modeling and Social Networks and Graphs. One-year-old Paxton Davis (pictured) was taken off life support on Thursday An 11-year-old girl has been charged with child abuse following the death of a toddler she was babysitting alone while her mother ran an errand. Police in Prince George's County, Maryland arrested the schoolgirl on Friday after they say she admitted to deliberately injuring one-year-old Paxton Davis on Sunday morning. Paxton's mothers, Shonte Jennings and Tanya Davis, said they left their child Saturday night in the care of the 11-year-old's mother, who police haven't identified, noting that the woman had babysat for the couple before without incident. On Sunday morning, however, the mothers' former friend left Paxton alone with her adolescent daughter. When family members came home, they discovered Paxton had suffered severe injuries, including a fractured skull. They called the boy's mother who told them to call 911. Paxton was taken off life support Thursday night, after his mothers were able to say goodbye. 'I got in the room for a second by myself,' Davis told NBC4, 'and I talked to him and I said, "Baby, you dont have to fight no more. You dont have to fight for Mommy no more. Im at peace. I know you wasnt here forever. God gave you to me to borrow. It would be selfish to leave you on life support."' Paxton Davis' mothers, including Shonte Jennings (pictured) said they left their child Saturday night in the care of a female friend who had baby-sat for the couple previously without incident. Paxton's other mother, Tanya Silken Davis (pictured), was forced to say goodbye to her son Thursday Paxton's mothers were first told their son's injuries occurred when he fell off a bed. 'A cracked skull and you fell off a bed? It didn't line up,' Jennings said. But the 11-year-old later confessed to detectives she'd assaulted the baby. Police charged her with felony child abuse Friday and transported her to a juvenile detention facility. Prince George's County Police Maj. Brian Reilly said police aren't sure yet what her motive was. Police haven't determined why the 11-year-old girl assaulted baby Paxton The baby boy was found to have suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull 'I dont know what motive there would be in a situation like this for an 11-year-old to intentionally inflict injuries on a one-year-old,' Riley said. 'In my time, Im not aware of somebody this young being charged with this serious of an offense out of our homicide unit.' Fox News reports children can't legally be left alone with a supervisor under the age of 13 in the state of Maryland. A GoFundMe started to raise money for Paxton's memorial has raised $7,783 in two days Paxton's parents said they also want the 11-year-old's mother to be charged for what happened to their son. Police said they're consulting with the State Attorney's office to determine said if anyone will face charges yet. A GoFundMe started Thursday for Paxton has raised $7,783 in two days. Champion mare Winx has won her 31st consecutive race, but her tearful trainer Chris Waller confirmed after the win she likely has only two more starts before retirement. After jumping well Winx settled in fourth, with Happy Clapper - her main opposition - taking the race right up to the mare by surging to the front. Thousands of racegoers at Randwick Racecourse had their hearts in their mouths as the mighty mare turned into the straight some four lengths behind the front runner. But jockey Hugh Bowman kept his cool and when Winx pulled her up alongside the leader with 200 metres to go, the result was never in doubt. Winx's trainer Chris Waller fought back tears as he spoke to Channel 7 after the race and admitted 'the sun is going down' on her incredible career. Scroll down for video Champion mare Winx (pictured) has won her 31st consecutive race, but her tearful trainer Chris Waller confirmed after the win she likely has only two more starts before retirement 'The heart beats when she goes on to the track and it returns to a normal level when she comes off safely,' Waller said after the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes. 'I can see the sun going down, and hopefully we can get through two more races. 'She is a superstar. She is very, very special,' the top trainer said, fighting back tears. Winx's jockey Hugh Bowman said that despite being a long way behind the leader at the turn, he never doubted the champion racehorse. 'The pace was very solid throughout, as you could all see, and we had to make our own way into the race, but she is an amazing horse,' Bowman said. 'I know she has got another gear... another jockey might have panicked, but I knew when I balanced her up she would find the extra gear and she did it with relative ease in the end.' Winx will now recover before fronting up again at Rosehill in three weeks on Golden Slipper day. Despite being a long way behind as they came into the straight jockey Hugh Bowman (above) kept his cool and when Winx pulled her up alongside the leader with 200 metres to go, the result was never in doubt The Group 1 win takes Winx's career winnings above $23,000,000 and extends her record for the most consecutive race victories by an Australian horse The Group 1 win takes Winx's career winnings well above $23,000,000 and extends her record for the most consecutive race victories by an Australian horse. Sprint superstar Black Caviar claimed 25 consecutive wins before retiring unbeaten in 2013. The world record for most consecutive wins for a thoroughbred racehorse is 56, set by Camarero in Puerto Rico between 1953 and 1955. The 29-year-old, ex-beauty queen wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, Emma Coronel Aispuro, made her first public statement since the infamous drug dealer husband was found guilty. Coronel posted to her Instagram story a meme image of the beloved Muppet character, Kermit the Frog, labeled 'I' as in herself, lying on a bed with a Spanish caption, according to the NY Post. 'You no longer go out, do not send messages or call anyone,' reads the text in Spanish. 'What are you doing in your house that is so important??' Emma Coronel Aispuro, center, wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, leaves federal court in New York, February 12 when Mexico's most notorious drug lord was convicted of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation after a three-month trial Emma Coronel Aspuro posted this Instagram story on March 1 following the February 12 conviction of her husband Coronel, the mother of twin girls, also posted this warning about the Momo Challenge, the latest internet scare gone viral Then, on Friday night, she passed along a meme warning parents about the Momo challenge, the viral challenge that allegedly encourages kids to add a contact on WhatsApp who will then hound them with violent images and dares - the last one being for the child to commit suicide. The post encourages one to follow some recommendations to avoid the Momo Challenge by detecting any behavioral changes in children and paying attention to internet connection times. Accompanying the warning is the bizarre face of the doll-like, bird woman, also known as Momo, that is causing the online panic. The accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman is seen in this courtroom sketch, waving to his wife Emma Coronel Aispuro, upon entering the courtroom on the day he was found guilty of smuggling tons of drugs to the U.S. Guzman arrives on January 2017 after being extradited to the U.S., more than two years before he would be found guilty of drug trafficking The drug kingpin's wife has been out of the limelight since the guilty verdict on February 12 otherwise. After the verdict was read out and translated for the defendant, he turned to look at his wife and blew her a kiss. She smiled in response and, with tears in her eyes, gave him a thumbs up. Guzman, 61, will return to court to be sentenced to a life term on June 25, the next and perhaps last time she might see him. They have been married since she was 18. Amber Heard has said she 'will not be silenced' after her ex-husband Johnny Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit over her domestic violence accusations. The 55-year-old actor described Heard's 2016 abuse allegations as 'an elaborate hoax', according to the lawsuit obtained by The Blast. But Heard hit back via her attorney Eric M. George who told People: 'This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depps repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced.' George added: 'Mr. Depps actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behavior. But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self-destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr. Depp and his legal team.' The lawsuit references an article Heard, 32, wrote for the Washington Post in December last year in which she said she had received death threats and lost out on work after accusing Depp of domestic abuse. 'The op-ed's clear implication that Mr Depp is a domestic abuser is categorically and demonstrably false,' Depp's lawsuit states. Johnny Depp has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard after she accused him of domestic violence. Heard hit back saying she would 'not be silenced' Amber was spotted in London after her ex-husband Johnny Depp filed a defamation lawsuit The 55-year-old actor described Heard's 2016 abuse allegations as 'an elaborate hoax' (Heard in London on Friday) Heard's reps said it's 'the latest of Depps repeated efforts to silence her'. The couple are pictured here together in 2016 'Mr Depp never abused Ms Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. 'They were part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms Heard and advance her career.' The lawsuit goes on to say that the allegations made by Heard against Depp were refuted by 'two separate responding police officers, a litany of neutral third-party witnesses, and 87 newly obtained surveillance camera videos'. 'Ms Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse, she is a perpetrator,' the lawsuit states. Heard was pictured in London on Friday as news of the lawsuit broke. The Aquaman actress filed for divorce from the Pirates of the Caribbean star in May 2016 stating that he had been 'verbally and physically' abusive towards her. Their divorce was finalized in January 2017, with Heard later donating a portion of her $7 million divorce settlement to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. They were married for 15 months before she filed for divorce. The Aquaman actress filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016 stating that he had been 'verbally and physically' abusive towards her. Images emerged at the time (above) showing Heard with a bruised eye and face Heard was spotted leaving a California court in 2016 with facial bruising (above) after she was granted a temporary restraining order against Depp just days after claiming he attacked her Images emerged at the time showing Heard with a bruised eye and face. She claimed Depp threw a phone at her face and struck her in their home. Depp has long denied the allegations and has instead claimed that his ex-wife repeatedly violently attacked and severely injured him. In the defamation lawsuit, Depp claims Heard threw a glass vodka bottle at him and caused the bones in the tip of his right middle finger to shatter. He claims the incident occurred one month into their marriage and resulted in him having to have his finger 'surgically reattached'. 'Ms Heard then disseminated false accounts of this incident, casting Mr Depp as the perpetrator of his own injury'. Depp claims in the lawsuit that he was dropped from Pirates of the Caribbean just four days after Heard's op-ed was published in the Washington Post. 'Ms Heard also knew that her elaborate hoax worked: as a result of her false allegations against Mr Depp, Ms Heard became a darling of the #MeToo movement, was the first actress named a Human Rights Champion of the United Nations Human Rights Office, was appointed ambassador on womens rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, and was hired by LOreal Paris as its global spokesperson.' Jill Arthur, 29, was charged with sexual battery on Thursday as a result of investigations that began on January 9 A former Oklahoma teacher has been detained after she was accused of kissing an 18-year-old student. Jill Arthur, 29, was charged with sexual battery on Thursday as a result of investigations that began on January 9. An unidentified witness told police that Arthur admitted to going to the movies with the young man on December 26 and kissing him afterwards, News On 6 reports. During police interviews, the teen claimed that the relationship started after the former Bixby High School teacher gave her number to him and asked him out. The young man confirmed to authorities the incident that allegedly took place at the movie theater, adding that the two had kissed in the car afterwards. But the student did assert that there had been no other physical contact. Authorities interviewed Arthur, and claim that she admitted to kissing the student for roughly 15 seconds. They said Arthur instructed the student not to tell anyone about the relationship. An unidentified witness told police that Arthur admitted to going to the movies with the young man on December 26 and kissing him afterwards During police interviews, the teen claimed that the relationship started after the former Bixby High School (pictured) teacher gave her number to him and asked him out Arthur also told police that she didn't have any other physical contact with the student. The mother-of-one has been released from jail on a $2,000 bond. The Bixby Public Schools released a statement indicating that the teacher was no longer employed with the district. 'Jill Arthur is no longer employed by Bixby Public Schools. She taught special education in Bixby for approximately three and a half years,' the district said. Bixby Public Schools released a statement saying that the teacher - who appears to be married - had been fired from the school 'The district received a concerning report about the employee's alleged behavior in late December. We immediately notified the Bixby Police Department and shared the results of our investigation. 'The alleged incident involved possible inappropriate conduct with an 18-year old Bixby High School student. 'Our district takes all reports like this seriously and does not tolerate any inappropriate conduct between employees and students. All employees are subject to an annual criminal background check and training is provided to staff members relative to professional boundaries and out-of-school contact with students. Arthur's Facebook profile indicates that she is married and an alum of Bixby High School. By Feb. 28, 2019 WKCTC's Read Across America is part of the National Endowment for the Arts annual awareness project to motivate and encourage every child across the country to celebrate reading and to observe the March 2 birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss. "We want to bring together local kids, teenagers and adults to promote reading and literacy. It's important for us to have this event to encourage attendees to become lifelong readers," said Megan Dotson, WKCTC reading program coordinator. Participants can enjoy refreshments, listen to stories, play games, and make crafts during the free event. Each child will also receive a goodie bag. For more information about the Read Across America event on the WKCTC campus, contact Megan Dotson at 270-534-3354 or megan.dotson@kctcs.edu. PADUCAH - West Kentucky Community and Technical College is hosting Read Across America March 4 from 6-7:30 pm in Matheson Library. The event is free and open to the public. A snake catcher has shared gruesome pictures of a two-metre long python devouring a possum while hanging in a family home. Andrew Smedley, from Andrew's Snake Removal, posted the images to Facebook after he was called to remove the snake from the pergola of a home in Mount Crosby, Brisbane, on Thursday. Mr Smedley acknowledged the graphic images could be shocking to the average eye but said the feast was not out of the ordinary. A snake catcher has shared gruesome pictures of a two-metre long python devouring a possum Andrew Smedley, from Andrew's Snake Removal, posted the horrific images to Facebook after he was called to remove the snake from the pergola of a Mount Crosby, Brisbane, on Thursday 'This is a very common occurrence, pythons regularly eat possums and it will horrify some people but that's how the food chain goes in the animal world,' Mr Smedley wrote on Facebook. The lengthy python managed to gobble down the already dead possum in about 25 minutes while hanging from a roof. 'I was surprised at how quickly he manage to get it all down,' Mr Smedley said. The three pictures showed the process of the python snacking on the possum, with the final image only displaying the marsupial's tail. Mr Smedley said he found the incident fascinating to watch and claimed he doesn't like to intervene with 'nature'. 'I know it's not everyone's cup of tea and people will ask why I didn't intervene,' he said. The lengthy python managed to gobble down the already dead possum in about 25 minutes, while hanging from a roof Mr Smedley was commended for sharing the raw pictures which give insight into the food chain 'Apart from the possum being dead already even if it was still alive I would of let nature do its thing regardless, I never intervene with nature.' The snake has now been relocated with a 'full belly', Mr Smedley said. Mr Smedley was commended for sharing the raw pictures which give insight into the food chain. The snake has now been relocated with a 'full belly', Mr Smedley said 'Yes. Every animal has to find food to survive, that's just how it is,' one viewer commented. 'Gruesome but fascinating!' wrote another. 'Excellent photos ! Nature doing its perfectly natural thing,' another commented. Prosecutors are urging for a man who moved to Australia, promoted ISIS online and recruited a friend to fight for the terror group to have more time behind bars. Asher Khan, 24, moved from Texas to Sydney to live with relatives after he became 'frustrated with life', and began to plan to travel to Syria and fight for ISIS. Khan received an 18-month prison sentence in 2018 after he pleaded guilty in the US District Court in Houston for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation. Prosecutors in the United States have since launched a furious bid to substantially increase his prison sentence. Asher Khan (pictured), 24, moved from Texas to Sydney to live with relatives after he became 'frustrated with life', and began to plan to travel to Syria and fight for IS Khan (pictured right with his mother) received an 18-month prison sentence in 2018 after he pleaded guilty in the US District Court in Houston for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation US Prosecutors originally asked for the 24-year-old to serve 15 years in prison and have appealed the sentence. They told the the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday they were unaware of a comparable defendant in the US court system receiving 'such a low sentence'. They cited 35-year, 30-year and 10-year jail terms handed down to others convicted of similar terror offences. 'The district court's 18-month sentence so far exceeded the bounds of reasonableness that it seriously affects the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of judicial proceedings,' prosecutor Danielle Tarin wrote. Khan moved to Sydney in 2013, promoted IS activities online, expressed a desire to travel to the Middle East to fight for IS and was full of praise for American-born al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki. He also began recruiting friends to join him, including Sixto Ramiro Garcia, a 20-year-old American and convert to Islam who attended his mosque in Texas. Khan, from Australia, reached out to Turkey-based Australian IS supporter Mohamed Zuhbi who helped facilitate travel for potential recruits. 'Meanwhile Khan continued declaring on social media that he wanted to fight for ISIS and hoped to become a martyr,' Tarin wrote. US Prosecutors originally asked for the 24-year-old to serve 15 years in prison and have appealed the sentence In February 2014 Khan, from Sydney, and Garcia, from the US, co-ordinated their flights so they landed in Turkey about the same time. Upon his departure, Khan sent messages to his family in Texas informing them of his plans. They tricked him into returning to the Texas with a fake story his mother had a heart attack, was in intensive care and 'he needed to come home to see her before she died'. Khan, living back in the US, continued to distribute ISIS propaganda and offered to send money and food to Garcia, who went on to join ISIS in Syria. Khan moved to Sydney in 2013, promoted IS activities online, expressed a desire to travel to the Middle East to fight for IS and was full of praise for al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki Garcia died fighting in Iraq. Prosecutors argued Khan's sentence trivialised his conduct and took the sentencing judge to task for suggesting Khan 'was a naive and disaffected youth deceived by ISIS propaganda who acted more like 'a travel agent' than a terrorist'. 'The court - drawing on parallels to the Salem witch trials, Savonarola, and Voltaire - emphasised how common it is for naive credulity to lead to extremism,' the prosecutor wrote. Friends and family have paid tribute to the dog attack hero who died in hospital five weeks after he was horrifically mauled by two American Staffordshire Terriers. Colin Amatto, 40, died in Westmead Hospital on Friday afternoon, following the vicious dog attack at a residence in Tregear, 46km west of central Sydney, on January 24. Mr Amatto put his life on the line to protect a 10-year-old girl and her 39-year-old mother from the crazed dogs. Scroll down for video Colin Amatto (pictured), 40, died in Westmead Hospital on Friday afternoon, following a vicious dog attack Mr Amatto was attacked at a residence in Tregear, 46km west of central Sydney, on January 24 (pictured) He suffered multiple bites to his ears, face, chest and abdomen when he was ravaged by the dogs and went into cardiac arrest. Mr Amatto's brother-in-law Brendan Fox described him as a hero and questioned what would have happened if the 40-year-old didn't intervene. 'He saved two people, if he hadn't have stepped in when he did, who knows what would have happened, so for that he's a hero,' Mr Fox told Seven News. The attack happened inside the home where Mr Amatto had been living for two years. The dogs belonged to Mr Amatto's best friend of over 30 years, Dave Murray, and neighbours said Mr Amatto had been seen sleeping with the dogs weeks before the fatal attack. The dog owner's wife, Laura Murray said: 'He knew the dogs for a long time, so we don't really know what happened.' Mr Amatto put his life on the line to protect a 10-year-old girl and her 39-year-old mother from the crazed dogs The dogs were sedated at the scene with the assistance of RSCPA NSW inspectors and surrendered to the local council. They were euthanised the next day Mr Fox said Mr Amatto's family did not blame the dog owners for the attack. At the time of the incident the mother and daughter, who were bitten on the forearm and back respectively, ran to neighbour Daemgalo Ofa's house. Ms Ofa's son, Sione, said the pair were crying hysterically when they ran into the house asking for help. 'Mum said there was blood all over the woman and her child when they ran into our house looking for help,' Mr Ofa told the Daily Telegraph. Mr Amatto was surrounded by loved ones when his life support was switched off on Friday afternoon. The dogs belonged to Mr Amatto's best friend of over 30 years, Dave Murray, and neighbours said Mr Amatto had been seen sleeping with the dogs weeks before the fatal attack An online fundraiser has been set up to raise money for Mr Amatto's funeral. 'The painful decision to turn off his life support was made and he passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones,' the fundraiser said. 'As this is a sudden passing of our young beloved, we kindly ask our family and friends to please help us to give Colin a hero's farewell that he deserves.' Police are still investigating the fatal attack and will prepare a report for the Coroner. The dogs, described on their registration as American Staffordshire terriers, were sedated at the scene with the assistance of RSCPA NSW inspectors and were euthanised the following day. Mr Amatto died in Westmead Hospital after his life support was turned off on Friday (pictured) The confirmation of Mr Amatto's death comes as a 70-year-old woman was hospitalised after being mauled by a dog in Sydney's west on Saturday. Emergency services were called to Priam Street, Chester Hill, at about 8.20am. The woman, who was walking her dog, had been bitten on the hand after two dogs approached her while she was walking her dog. She was taken to Auburn Hospital for further treatment. Intelligent, ambitious and born with the legal profession in their blood, the Gobbo sisters were destined to become high-flying lawyers. In the 1990s Nicola made her name as a fearsome criminal defence barrister before Catherine worked in the same courts as a commercial lawyer. But their lives diverged when Nicola started snitching to police on her notorious Melbourne gangster clients. Over 14 years from 1995, she brought down dozens of Australia's most dangerous criminals including underworld kingpin Carl Williams. To protect her from reprisal, Nicola's identity was kept secret with the codename Lawyer X - but on Friday she was finally unmasked as part of a inquiry into police handling of informants. Intelligent, ambitious and born with the legal profession in their blood, the Gobbo sisters were destined to become high-flying lawyers. Left: Nicola Gobbo. Right: Catherine Gobbo She is now on the run and thought to have fled the country, fearing the families and friends of the gangsters she locked up have put a price on her head. Meanwhile, her sister Catherine, who was admitted to the bar in 2000, still regularly appears in trials in the County, Supreme and Federal Courts. Specialising in contract law, bankruptcy, and professional negligence, her work may be less glamorous than her sister's, but is certainly less dangerous. Sir James Gobbo (pictured) who was a Supreme Court Judge and later the 25th Governor of Victoria, is Nicola Gobbo's uncle The pair have been estranged for some time although it is unclear what drove them apart. Nicola's extended family have also disowned her. Her late father's brother Sir James Gobbo, who was a Supreme Court Judge and later the 25th Governor of Victoria, released a statement on Friday saying he knew nothing of her work as an informer. The statement, also signed by the 87-year-old's wife Libby and their five children, said none of them have spoken to Nicola in 'many years.' It read: 'As a family, we have been disturbed by the revelations leading to the establishment of a Royal Commission into the management of informants by Victoria Police. 'We understand that the royal commission will, in part, look into the actions of Nicola Gobbo, the daughter of Sir James' late brother. 'No members of our immediate family have seen or spoken to Nicola in many years and have no knowledge of the matters to be investigated or her actions.' Nicola's identity was revealed last week after High Court judges lifted a suppression order. Victoria Police argued that identifying Ms Gobbo as 'Lawyer X' would put the lives of her and her two children at risk. Nicola Gobbo (pictured) was frequently seen enjoying a coffee while supposedly living in fear of being revealed as a rogue lawyer who had turned on the crooks she represented The full bench of High Court judges agreed that she may be in danger but decided there was more at stake. 'Large though those considerations may be, they do not detract from the conclusion that it is essential in the public interest for the information to be disclosed,' they told the court. Nicola Gobbo's greatest snitch jobs 1. Rob Karam, John Higgs, Pasquale Barbaro and 33 co-accused for the largest ever seizure of ecstasy in the world. The drugs came into Australia in tomato tins. 2. Tony Mokbel's brothers Horty Mokbel and Milad Mokbel. 3. David Ilic was arrested in 2013 after police raided a Port Melbourne Kennards storage facility and discovered $3,735,890 in cash as well as kilograms of cocaine, methmphetamines and ecstasy. 4. Joe Mannella (and Karam) for the multiple seizures of hundreds of kilos of cocaine and other drugs that were not the subject of charges, but were intercepted and seized by Australian Customs. 5. Faruk Orman (for the murder of Victor Pierce) 6. Mick Gatto and the infamous Carlton crew. The crew consisted of convicted criminals including Alphonse Gangitano, Mario Condello and Graham Kinniburgh - all whom were killed during Melbourne's gangland war. Advertisement The unmasking has allowed convicts who were represented by Nicola to find out that they may not have had a fair trial because she may have snitched on them. A Royal Commission is asking anyone in this position to come forward, fearing that several trials may be been unfair because the defendants' lawyer may have shared privileged client information with police. Nicola has insisted she did nothing wrong and maintains that any information about future crimes that her clients told her about was not protected by client privilege. Up until two weeks ago she was still posting photos of her children on Instagram and happily mingled among the cafe dwellers just a short ride from where she used to practice law in Melbourne's CBD. Immediately after her identity was revealed, Ms Gobbo and her two children went into hiding. This might have been the first time the police informant had explicitly expressed any concern for her own personal safety. For years she shared the secrets of ruthless underworld gangsters with police with scant regard to the the lethal repercussions she faced if she were ever found out. Paradoxically, it seems that Ms Gobbo's double-dealings were found out by several of her ex-clients - who had long suspected she was playing both sides. But while the Sword of Damocles dangled precariously above Ms Gobbo's platinum locks she continued to hide in plain sight. Carlton Crew boss Mick Gatto (left) was once a client of lawyer Nicola Gobbo (right). Gatto shot dead Carl Williams' hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin in self defence at the height of the gangland war Carl Williams (left) was right when he wrote from jail that his lawyer had turned rogue. He was murdered in jail the day information was splashed across a newspaper calling him a snitch Bizarrely, she even became a respected member of the local community. In September, she attended the Victorian Premier's Volunteer Champions Awards where she was recognised for her efforts at the local kindergarten. The smiling crowd at Government House, in Melbourne, heard how the volunteer-run Brighton Playroom was 'thriving' thanks to 'Nicki's' skills and 'selfless leadership.' Nicola began working for police in mid-2003 when she met about six times with a Detective Sergeant of the Purana Taskforce, which was investigating Melbourne gangland crime. She went onto work undercover for police until 2009. It was later revealed police actually registered Ms Gobbo as an informer while she was still a law student at the University of Melbourne in 1995. It is unknown if her recruitment was connected to drug charges she faced as a university student two years earlier - although she denies any connection. An American man has been arrested after allegedly pretending to be a young girl online in an attempt to get Australian girls to send him naked photos. Shaun Dickson, 22, was allegedly pretending to be an 11-year-old girl on Instagram and contacted many underage girls for sexually explicit content. Investigators allege the 22-year-old convinced an eight-year-old Australian girl to send him nude images. According to investigators Dickson threatened the young girl when she wouldn't send more images and shared them around with other people. Shaun Dickson (pictured), 22, was allegedly pretending to be an 11-year-old girl on Instagram and contacted many underage girls for sexually explicit content Officers found images of the eight-year-old on several devices in Dickson's home, the Courier Journal reported. The 22-year-old was charged on Friday for possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by minor, prohibited use of an electronic communications device to procure a minor for a sex offence and use of a minor under 16 years in a sexual performance. It isn't the first time the 22-year-old is facing child pornography charges, as he was on house arrest for the same offences when he got arrested. Looking over court records on Friday morning, Jefferson District Judge Amber Wolf said: 'He was on home incarceration for the same exact offences in circuit court'. Dickson was awaiting trial in May for the similar charges. After a three month investigation, Dickson was found to be allegedly sending sexually explicit pictures to a minor in Greece via Skype, and was arrested in November 2017. He was told he wasn't allowed to have any communication devices. Investigators allege the 22-year-old asked an eight-year-old Australian girl to send him nude images (stock image) However, investigators say Dickson violated those orders and became a re-offender, targeting several minors from Australia. The case against the 22-year-old is ongoing and investigators say more victims may turn up. Dickson is currently being held in Louisville Metro Corrections with a court date set for March 11. In an arraignment hearing on Friday, Dickson's bond was set at $250,000 and he was told he isn't to use any electronic devices or contact underage children. Advertisement Elon Musk today described the successful launch of his SpaceX rocket towards the International Space Station as 'super stressful' after revealing he gave the capsule just a 10 per cent chance of reaching orbit. The Dragon capsule, whose only passenger was a life-size test dummy, dubbed Ripley after the lead character in the 'Alien' movies, will spend five days in space. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of the capsule, which took off from Cape Canaveral in the early hours, before putting people on board later this year. The aerospace manufacturer hopes to send astronauts into space as early as this summer - the first time America has done so for eight years. Speaking at a press conference after the launch, Musk said: 'I almost thought we would fail. I thought maybe we'd have a 10 percent chance of reaching orbit starting out. 'I'm a little emotionally exhausted because that was super stressful, but it worked.' SpaceX has already made 16 trips to the space station using cargo Dragons, but this latest version is on a fast track to reach the space station on Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. After spending five days docked to the orbiting outpost, it will make a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Friday. The Dragon's only passenger is a test dummy named Ripley after a character in the sci-fi classic Alien. Pictured: The SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off from pad 39A Pictured: A life-size test dummy floating in the Dragon capsule as the capsule made orbit yesterday. America's latest capsule for astronauts rocketed toward the International Space Station after what Elon Musk described as a 'super stressful' launch America's newest capsule for astronauts rocketed toward the International Space Station today after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida SpaceX needs to nail the debut of the capsule before putting people on board later this year. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to be the first pilots Pictured: the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre, captured in this shot from Vero Beach in Florida 'This is critically important ... We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011,' said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. The only thing keeping Ripley company was a soft plush toy version of planet Earth - which demonstrated when the rocket reached zero gravity. Elated Musk shared a video of the toy floating in space on his Twitter shortly after the successful launch. As the rocket took off, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken looked on. The pair could strap into another Dragon capsule as early as July for the second space demo. Pictured: Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien (1979) It's been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased. NASA turned to private companies, SpaceX and Boeing, and has provided them $8 billion to build and operate crew capsules to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Now Russian rockets are the only way to get astronauts to the 250-mile-high outpost. Soyuz tickets have skyrocketed over the years - NASA currently pays $82million per seat. Boeing aims to conduct the first test flight of its Starliner capsule in April, with astronauts on board possibly in August. An estimated 5,000 NASA and contractor employees, tourists and journalists gathered in the wee hours at Kennedy Space Center with the SpaceX launch team, as the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the same spot where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles once soared. Bridenstine said he's confident that astronauts will soar on a Dragon or Starliner - or both - by year's end. But he stressed there's no rush. SpaceX founder Elon Musk gave a post-launch news conference this morning after the test flight successfully took off The capsule's only passenger was a test dummy (pictured), named Ripley after the lead character in the Alien movies This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station on Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken could strap in as early as July if this test flight goes well Pictured: the Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket, ready for launch, sits on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, yesterday 'We are not in a space race,' he said. 'That race is over. We went to the moon and we won. It's done. Now we're in a position where we can take our time and make sure we get it right.' The white crew Dragon is slightly bigger than cargo versions - 27 feet (8 meters) tip to tip - and considerably fancier and safer. It features four seats, three windows, touch-screen computer displays and life-support equipment, as well as eight abort engines to pull the capsule to safety in the event of a launch emergency. Solar cells are mounted on the spacecraft for electrical power, as opposed to the protruding solar wings on cargo Dragons. 'It's an incredibly sleek looking vehicle from the inside and it's very easy to operate,' Hurley told reporters just hours before liftoff. He said he marvels at how the Dragon has just 30 buttons and touch screens, compared with the space shuttle cockpit's 2,000 switches and circuit breakers. For the test, the Ripley dummy was strapped into the far left seat, wearing the company's snappy white spacesuit. The other seats were empty, save for a small plush toy resembling Earth that was free to float once reaching zero-gravity. 'Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch!' Musk tweeted. SpaceX already has made 16 trips to the space station using cargo Dragons - but this capsule is slightly bigger than those at 27 feet (8 meters) tip to tip, and considerably fancier and safer The Dragon capsule features four seats, three windows, touch-screen computer displays and life-support equipment, as well as eight abort engines to pull the capsule to safety in the event of a launch emergency As many as seven astronauts could squeeze in, although four will be the norm once flights get going, allowing for a little cargo room. About 450 pounds (200 kilograms) of supplies are going up on this flight. The capsule is designed to dock and undock automatically with the space station. Cargo Dragon must be maneuvered with the station's robot arm. Like Ripley, the capsule is rigged with sensors. Engineers will be carefully watching sound, vibration and other stresses on the spacecraft, while monitoring the life-support, communication and propulsion systems. Some of the equipment needs more work - possibly even redesign - before serving human passengers. 'We're going to learn a ton from this mission,' said NASA's commercial crew program manager, Kathy Lueders. Flight operations team members - some of them new to this - also need the six-day trial run, according to Kennedy Space Center's director, Robert Cabana. The objective is to make the next demo flight, with Hurley and Behnken, as safe as possible. The more immediate goal is to avoid harming the space station and its three occupants: an American, Canadian and Russian. Despite SpaceX's success at recovering and reusing its rockets, NASA is insisting on brand new boosters from SpaceX for the crew capsule flights. The first-stage booster used Saturday aimed for a floating platform in the Atlantic, following the predawn liftoff. SpaceX plans to recycle the newly flying capsule for a high-altitude abort test this spring, along with a booster launched and retrieved a week ago. It's been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased Model Jeremy Meeks has tried to smooth over cracks in his relationship with Chloe Green by telling her today: Theres NO ONE else Id rather spend the rest of my life with. The shaven-headed ex-con wrote a birthday message to his fiance on his Instagram account after she had been pictured yesterday looking glum as she walked near her Monte-Carlo apartment. The couple are understood to have had a public row on February 19 at the Cavalli Club in Dubai where Meeks stormed out of the venue, leaving a tearful Ms Green on her own. Model Jeremy Meeks has tried to smooth over cracks in his relationship with Chloe Green by telling her today: Theres NO ONE else Id rather spend the rest of my life with However, Meeks used his social media to send out a public heartfelt message. He gushed: Happy Birthday to the love of my LIFE...... @chloegreen5 You are the most amazing person Ive ever met and Im so blessed to have you in my life and theres NO ONE else Id rather spend the rest of my life with. Youre an amazing mom and Ill love you FOREVER..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Chloe responded to the gushing post and commented a series of red love hearts emojis. The TopShop heiress had shared a snap of her wearing a stunning black and gold dress with her 270,000 followers on Instagram. Meeks commented: Wow. Baby followed by two flame emojis. Chloe was pictured on Friday for the first time in public since the bust-up with Meeks left their relationship strained. She was spotted taking a morning stroll near to her luxury beachside apartment in Monte-Carlo but seemed a little out of sorts. Chloe looked glum earlier on Friday as she was pictured for the first time in public since the public row with her fiance Jeremy The TopShop heiress had shared a snap of her wearing a stunning black and gold dress with her 270,000 followers on Instagram When asked if she wanted to comment about the row or pass on a message to Meeks, Ms Green said simply: No thank you. Sources close to the couple say their 18-month relationship is in trouble. The daughter of billionaire Sir Philip Green jetted home to Monaco after the argument and has since posted two pictures onto Instagram showing her without her engagement ring. Meeks meanwhile flew back to his native California after Dubai and has recently been spotted partying in LA. The model, 35, was photographed shopping at XIV Karats in Beverly Hills on Wednesday with his half-sister Carmella Jesus. When he was asked about the status of his relationship he replied: 'Of course we're still together. Chloe has posed in two pictures on Instagram without her rumoured engagement ring in an apparent message to the ex-con that their 18-month relationship is strained However, speaking to MailOnline, a source close to the pair said: She is in Monaco while he is living it up in LA. Things have been a bit strained. These ups and downs are part of every relationship but they are usually settled. I expect them to sort it out. A party-goer at the launch of streetwear clothes label EXTREMEDY in Dubai, where Meeks was modelling, said the couple who were sitting at a table with Bella Hadids property developer father Mohammed smiled for the cameras but appeared to be tense in each others company as the night wore on. Jeremy was in his element, they said. The real life and soul of the party and socialising with the other guests. Chloe was barely noticeable and in his shadows most of the night. They were all smiles posing for the pictures for the photographers but things turned sour later in the night. They were spotted having a heated exchanged and Jeremy walked out of the club without Chloe. You couldnt hear what they were saying but it was obvious they were having a row from their body language. Chloe tried to shrug it off but you could see she was upset and she left with a friend shortly after. She had her engagement ring on in Dubai and now its clearly missing from her Instagram shots. In one photo she is displaying both of her hands in a clear message to him that their relationship is in trouble. Socialite Ms Green, who turned 28 yesterday and has a ten-month-old baby son Jayden with Meeks, is keeping a low profile at her 7 million penthouse apartment. The heiress was dripping in lavish jewelry as she posed with her beau in a recent snap Meeks jetted to the US where he was turned away from Beyonce and Jay-Z's Oscar after-party at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Sunday because he wasnt on the guest list. They are spending some time apart to think things through, said the source. Chloe was very upset and hurt by what happened in Dubai and is trying to work out what she wants. Meeks is an American model and former gang member who found fame thanks to a flattering mugshot picture, which saw him nicknamed 'the hot felon'. He received a 27-month jail term in 2015 after being charged with illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm in public and criminal street gang activity. He was released from prison in 2016 saying that he had 'found God', before quickly securing a six-figure modelling job. His wife Melissa claimed to have been blindsided when pictures emerged of him kissing Miss Green on a yacht in Turkey in June 2017. Since then he and Ms Green have been inseparable jet-setting all over the world and spending time on her fathers 115 million mega-yacht Lionheart in Monaco. Meanwhile her mother Tina, and retail tycoon Sir Philip, 66, worth an estimated 5 billion, have reportedly been busy planning their daughters wedding. A war is brewing among members of a real ale campaign group after younger reformers accused the 'sexist' old guard of treating the organisation like a 'pensioners drinking club'. The feud has been made public after seven reformers - all in their early forties or younger - of Campaign for Real Ale wrote a scathing letter claiming the organisation was 'riddled with allegations of sexism and cronyism'. In the letter published in this month's newsletter, they wrote: 'We need to see a campaign thinking more seriously about the next generation of pubgoers a campaign whose public image is not riddled with accusations of sexism,' The Times reported. A war is brewing among members of a beer campaign group over sexism and the definition of real ale Camra, as it is abbreviated, has come under fire for its promotional material over the years. A poster for its Peterborough Beer Festival features a man and woman riding a barrel. It was deemed old fashioned and accused of turning away new female members A poster for its Peterborough Beer Festival in August featuring a man and woman riding a barrel was criticised because it showed the man was holding a pint of beer while the woman had a glass of wine. In 2014 Camra withdrew leaflets featuring blonde models holding pints while dressed in corsets after they were deemed sexist. Younger members say it's old stereotypes about women which scare off potential new recruits. Lucy Cousins, 41, a signatory to the letter, told The Times conservatism was hurting recruitment at a time when 18 pubs a week were closing each week. 'If we don't start getting younger people interested now, it's basically a time bomb,' she said. Beer aficionados have also butted heads on the definition of real ale, which Camra say must be served from a barrel in which it is fermenting and must not be served with 'extraneous carbon dioxide'. In 2014 Camra withdrew these leaflets featuring blonde models holding pints while dressed in corsets after they were deemed sexist By this definition, popular craft beers from the likes of Brewdog and Camden Town - that are served from a keg from which the yeast has been filtered - would not be considered a true real ale. The reformers want to change that too. What is the difference between Craft Beer and Real Ale? In the early 1970s Camra coined the term 'real ale' to differentiate between the bland processed beers being pushed by the big brewers and traditional, local beers which were under threat. The Oxford English Dictionary defines real ale as cask-conditioned beer that is served traditionally, without additional gas pressure. This means that there is yeast in the cask from which the beer is served. For the longest time, the term real ale has in the past meant a locally produced pint, crafted in a small brewery. But with the explosion in popularity of Real Ale, the definition of the term has become less clear. Craft Beer - originally an American term - are brewed in a number of ways, but many - such as Brewdog and Camden Town differ - filter out the yeast before being put into a keg for serving. Advertisement Craft beer has had a meteoric surge in popularity recently, with 500 million pints from independent breweries poured in 2018. Pub owner Peter Holt people who wanted to exclude craft beers were missing the point of the organisation - which was founded in 1971 to oppose the growing mass production of beer and homogenisation of the British brewing industry. He told the paper: 'It's about good beer and s*** beer, and it doesn't actually matter whether it's in a cask or a keg.' 'It doesn't make sense. The cask beer they're drinking is the equivalent of the stuff they were campaigning against 40 years ago.' Camra is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub. With over 190,000 members, it is now the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU). Tom Stainer, Camra's chief executive, said it was important to maintain standards and likened the group promoting craft beers to 'the Cat Protection League spending their resourcing on promoting dog ownership'. He did concede that stereotypical views of women was a problem in the industry. A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a baby girl died of head injuries in Wigan. Manchester police were called by medical staff on Thursday after the 12-month-old child was rushed to hospital. The little girl passed away yesterday despite hospital staff's best efforts to keep her alive, police said. Police and forensic officers are searching a property in the Shevington area of Wigan as part of the investigation after a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murdering the baby girl Police and forensic officers are searching a property in the Shevington area of Wigan as part of the investigation. Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Daniels, from GMP's major incident team, said: 'All murder investigations are understandably upsetting, but when it involves a child as young as this it's particularly distressing for everyone involved. 'This tragic case will no doubt have an impact on all those who knew her as well as the wider community and my heart goes out to those who loved this little girl. 'We are currently trying to build a picture of what has happened in the lead up to this little girl's death and how she has come to sustain her injuries. 'Specially trained officers continue to offer their support to loved ones at this terrible time.' He added: 'While this investigation progresses we'd encourage anyone who might have information about this death to please contact us.' Information can be passed on to police by calling 0161 856 9171 quoting reference number 1109 of 28/02/19 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un left Vietnam today after his summit with president Donald Trump ended without a nuclear deal. The dictator boarded his armoured train at train at the Dong Dang border station ahead of a 2,500-mile rail journey through China to Pyongyang, expected to take two and a half days. Talks between the two countries ended abruptly on Thursday, with Trump saying Kim had demanded that all sanctions be lifted in return for giving up some of his nukes. But the North Korean side said they had only pushed for the lifting of some. Both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was a willingness on both sides to keep talking, but no follow-up summit has been scheduled. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un left Vietnam today after his summit with president Donald Trump ended without a nuclear deal The dictator boarded his armoured train at train at the Dong Dang border station ahead of a 2,500-mile rail journey through China to Pyongyang Kim happily waved to crowds at the station in Vietnam today, having earlier paid tribute to Vietnam's late revolutionary leader. His trip to Vietnam was the first by a North Korean leader since 1964, when Kim Il Sung also travelled by rail for his journey to the southeast Asian nation. Kim had made a highly unusual stop at the stark concrete monument where the body of Ho Chi Minh is on display. On historic anniversaries Kim regularly pays tribute to his own predecessors, his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung, at the sprawling memorial palace on the outskirts of Pyongyang where their preserved remains lie in state. But he is not known to have previously done anything similar for a foreign leader. The North Korean adjusted the ribbons on a large wreath emblazoned with his name and the message 'Cherishing the memory of President Ho Chi Minh' before bowing his head for no less than 48 seconds. Talks between the two countries ended abruptly on Thursday, with Trump saying Kim had demanded that all sanctions be lifted in return for giving up some of his nukes Kim has visited China, the North's key diplomatic protector and main provider of trade and aid, four times but there have been no reports in either country's state media of him going to Mao Zedong's mausoleum in Beijing. But Kim's grandfather was a close friend of Ho Chi Minh and supplied him with fighter pilots and psychological warfare specialists during his war against the US-backed regime in South Vietnam. Pictures of the two together are displayed on the noticeboard outside the Vietnamese embassy in Pyongyang. Kim's route through China is not known and it was not clear whether he would be stopping to meet President Xi Jinping along the journey. A smiling Kim waved to crowds at the station and clasped his hands in the air as he was seen off by white-uniformed soldiers and Vietnamese officials. 'I really admire Chairman Kim Jong Un and I see him as a friendly person,' said local resident Nguyen Thuy Chi at the station. On Friday Kim met Vietnam's top leaders and reportedly tried his hand at playing a dan bau - a traditional single-string guitar. Pictures in the Vietnamese press showed the grinning leader with the instrument as a crowd of Vietnamese guests - including President Nguyen Phu Trong - cheered him on. Fire ants are an invasive alien species, native to South America. In rare cases, its sting can cause death. In 2017, Japanese authorities discovered some in a port in Kyushu Prefecture. Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) The wasabi (or Japanese horseradish) is a plant that can be used to make a very spicy green sauce. It is also excellent at keeping away dangerous and venomous fire ants, whose stings can be quite painful. Experiments by Yoshiaki Hashimoto, an associate professor of entomology at the University of Hyogo, and others have found that the insects hate the organic compound that gives wasabi its pungent taste. In Japan, fire ants are an invasive alien species. Originally from South America, they have spread to the United States, China and Australia. People with allergies to its venom have been hospitalised for shock after being bitten, which in rare cases has even led to death. Concerns about the invasive alien species arriving in Japan began climbing in 2017 when some were found in a port in Kyushu Prefecture near shipping containers from China. Hashimoto and his team conducted their experiments using fire ants that had spread to Taiwan. Capsules containing Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), responsible for wasabi's sharp flavor, were worked into "wasabi sheets" and kept fire ants away. This indicates that placing wasabi sheets on cargo shipments might stop the ants from entering shipping containers and being transported to other nations. Hashimoto said he wanted to quicken the development of the technology to help stop their spread around the world. The Freedom Fairy Jeff Thomas email: jeff.thomas1066@gmail.com Posted Mar 2, 2019 For some time, its been apparent that the former free world countries (the US, EU, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.) have been on a downward progression - socially, politically and economically. But, in the last ten years, the awareness of this has become increasingly pronounced. With each successive year, more and more people recognise that all facets of life in these formerly great countries are heading in a decidedly negative direction. At this point, even those who dont understand the decline intellectually, feel in their gut that this is not going to end well. Further, they feel it all around them and sense that when the condition becomes critical, it wont just affect others. When it reaches the crisis stage, theyll find it right on their own doorstep. The average person in each of these jurisdictions already no longer trusts either the media, big business or the government and feels that, somehow, theyre all in this together and that they, the electorate, will be the ones who will be the ultimate victims. So, is this a question of collective imagination gone haywire? Not at all, Im afraid. Their instincts are quite correct. Governments and big business alike have sold out the populace, regarding them as mere fodder in their pursuit of increased power and wealth. Governments in the former Free World have for decades become increasingly collectivist, promising ever-greater largesse to the hoi polloi, and the majority of voters, sad to say, have eaten it up. Yet, as the electorate becomes more worried, they dont ask the government t to go into reverse and stop the economically illogical largesse. Quite the opposite. As their fears grow, they demand more largesse. And so, it shouldnt be surprising that, as we get closer to the collapse of this house of cards, new candidates arrive on the scene, offering to take entitlements to Never-never land, promising universal free health care, free education through university and a guaranteed income without the need to earn it in any way. Of course, when this happens, those who understand that 2 + 2 = 4, not 8 or 12, recognize that any government that attempts to deliver on such promises will cause the collapse of the system not just the economic system, but also the social and political systems. And, so those people who do understand that the numbers simply wont work, ask themselves where it will all end. Typically they wring their hands, aware that their concern is the minority view. They recognize that they can no longer discuss their concerns freely, as their country is moving in the opposite direction embracing the new, empty promises, with ever-more determination. They search around for some form of hope and, in the majority of cases, whether they like to admit it to themselves or not, their hopes fix on the Freedom Fairy. They vainly hope that somehow, the average voter will wake up, or that sitting politicians will come before the press to reverse the stance that theyve always maintained that big government will provide for all. Unfortunately, thats a vain hope, isnt it? Deep in our hearts, we know that sitting politicians are not going to collectively say, Whoops, we goofed. Were sending the country into ruin. Were going to downsize the government, introduce a free market system and then resign and get out of the way. Since that wont happen, the only hope is that a Freedom Fairy will come along someone who has never held public office before, who says, You know what? Im going to buck the system. If Im elected, Im just going to just jolly well tell Congress that theyre to stop all this collectivist nonsense, stop borrowing money, and turn their backs on all the corrupt deals theyve made over their political lives. Yet, as obvious as it should be that no Freedom Fairy is going to come along, let alone succeed, with each successive election cycle, the more enlightened portion of the electorate start to imagine, Maybe this time it will be different. Maybe we can turn this thing around. And, there, in that last sentence, is the key word as to the futility of this wishful thinking the word, we. It seems to be human nature to imagine that if a group of us maybe even a large group - believe that something is a good idea, it will somehow happen. Worse, the we suggests that the person in question actually believes that his vote has some sort of significance. As Mark Twain famously said, If voting made any difference, they wouldnt let us do it. Quite so. In good times, the electorate gets to vote for the lesser of two evils. In the end, whichever one wins, the running of the country remains as previously planned. There may be changes in the style of the leader, but the same playbook is followed, just as before. But in volatile times, such as we now face, the electorate gets to vote for the lesser of two nightmares. In the end, whichever one wins, the running of the country will remain as previously planned, but the electorate will be even more polarized than before and the eventual outcome will be that much worse. And so, for the more advanced voter the one who understands that the political, economic and social system are spiraling downward, the most natural tendency seems to be to irrationally hope that the Freedom Fairy will come along, wave the magic wand, and send the country back to a time when most everyone worked for a living, took responsibility for themselves, paid their own way and built a strong, productive society. Its rare indeed for anyone who finds himself in that situation to honestly say to himself, I dont think were in Kansas anymore, Toto. And thats the tragic truth. The former free, productive society has been whittled away. It no longer exists and its not coming back. Unfortunately, there is no Freedom Fairy, nor is there a Wizard of Oz, any more than theres an Easter Bunny or a Santa Claus. When empires collapse, the worst thing that a voter can do is to vainly mark down on the ballot card the name of whoever he thinks the latest Freedom Fairy might be. He should, instead, toss his ballot in the dustbin and leave the polling place, in the knowledge that Mark Twain was absolutely correct. And what, then? Well, thats an even tougher question to deal with. Because, at that point, he must accept that if, a) his country has reached its sell-by date and, b) its going to take him down with it, his only hope is to bow out of the system that he realizes is on the verge of swallowing him up. If he doesnt wish to become collateral damage, his only choice is to pursue the freedom he cherishes in a location where it still exists. Just as the more enlightened German Jews found in 1938; just as savvy Cuban business owners did in 1959, the last opportunity to pursue freedom is just before it ends where you presently reside. ### Feb 25, 2019 Jeff Thomas email: jeff.thomas1066@gmail.com Jeff Thomas is British and resides in the Caribbean. The son of an economist and historian, he learned early to be distrustful of governments as a general principle. Although he spent his career creating and developing businesses, for eight years, he penned a weekly newspaper column on the theme of limiting government. He began his study of economics around 1990, learning initially from Sir John Templeton, then Harry Schulz and Doug Casey and later others of an Austrian persuasion. He is now a regular feature writer for Casey Researchs International Man, Strategic Wealth Preservation in the Cayman Islands and 321Gold. 321gold Ltd A mixed martial arts fighter and member of notorious Rebels motorcycle gang who was shot eight times has celebrated his release from hospital by taunting his attackers. Gokhan Turkyilmaz, 33, was released from hospital on Friday afternoon after he underwent extensive surgery on eight gunshot wounds to the groin. He was attacked at his Upper Coomera home on the Gold Coast on Tuesday night, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. The bikie, who is known as 'Pitbull', took to social media after his release, Corona in hand, to taunt his attackers, claiming he 'had harder sparring sessions'. 'Shot eight times, will take more than that to put me away,' he captioned a Snapchat video. The bikie, who is known as 'Pitbull', took to social media after his release, Corona in hand, to taunt his attackers, claiming 'I've had harder sparring sessions' A mixed martial arts fighter and member of notorious Rebels motorcycle gang who was shot eight times celebrated his release from hospital by taunting his attackers Gokhan Turkyilmaz was released from hospital on Friday afternoon after he underwent extensive surgery on eight gunshot wounds to the groin The shooting has spurred fears a turf war has erupted between the Rebels and fellow outlaw motorcycle gang the Bandidos. In addition to the attack on Turkyilmaz on Thursday, fellow Rebels member and president of the North Brisbane chapter 'Little' Mick Kosenko's tattoo studio was firebombed. The attack was initially thought to be revenge for another stabbing that occurred last month in a Logan shopping centre. A spokesman for Queensland Police said they are currently investigating a number of leads. Emrah Turkyilmaz (left) posted chilling threats to his Facebook page prior to his brother Gokhan Turkyilmaz (right) begin shot eight times in the front yard of his Upper Coomera home It's alleged a group of men cornered Gokhan Turkyilmaz (pictured) in the front yard of his home on Tuesday night where he was shot up to eight times 'There's staff from Taskforce Maxima working both jobs (the shooting and the firebombing), they're still trying to work out who was responsible for the shooting, although there are persons of interest in the case,' the source said. Turkyilmaz's 22-year-old brother Emrah was arrested by officers from Taskforce Maxima on Wednesday night, less than a day after his brother was attacked. He was charged with affray over his alleged involvement in an alleged shooting and brawl at a shopping centre at Loganholme on February 4, allegedly involving a member of the Bandidos bikie gang. Police allegedly acted out of concern he was planning a revenge attack against the Bandidos for the shooting of his brother. Turkyilmaz was out on bail after he was charged with trafficking ice in a 2017 police drug bust. 'Kill or be killed' and 'One by one I'm coming' were the chilling messages posted by Emrah Turkyilmaz (pictured right with Gokhan Turkyilmaz) before he was arrested by police in relation to the alleged February 4 shooting in Logan A child has died and three other people are critically injured after a horrific multi-car crash in Sydney's north-west. Emergency services were called to Windsor Road near the M2 motorway at Baulkham Hills just after 7pm on Saturday. The driver of a Holden Commodore fatally collided with several other vehicles before fleeing the scene. A young child has died and three others are critically injured after a horrific multi-car crash Sydney's north-west Emergency services rushed to Windsor Road near the M2 motorway at Baulkham Hills just after 7pm on Saturday A New South Wales Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia one car collided with at least five stationary cars in the northbound lane. Medical teams rushed to the scene about 7.15pm with ten crews and two helicopters in attendance. A six-year-old girl was rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital in a critical condition, while paramedics attended to a second child who died at the scene. Two adults were also taken in a critical condition to Westmead Hospital. Other motorists involved in the collision were taken to hospital along with six drivers who will undergo mandatory testing. A driver of a Holden Commodore fatally collided with several cars before fleeing the scene A search is currently underway with the assistance of the Police Dog Unit and Polair to locate the driver of the Holden Commodore. Four out of five northbound lanes on Windsor Road are currently closed as emergency services remain on the scene. Authorities are advising motorists to avoid the area entirely. Advertisement Soldiers from India and Pakistan have targeted each other along the volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and wounding four others, officials have said. Fighting resumed overnight into dawn, leaving two siblings and their mother dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory between the two nuclear-armed rivals, police said. The children's father was critically wounded and has been hospitalised. It is not known which country the other three civilians originated from. Pakistan's military also says two of its soldiers have been killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces, marking the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a MiG-21 fighter jet on Wednesday and detained its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. Soldiers from India and Pakistan have targeted each other along the volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and wounding four others. Pictured: one of the injured men Three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory between the two nuclear-armed rivals. A fourth, pictured, was taken to hospital Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a February 14 suicide bombing. Pictured: protesters in Kashmir Pictured: an ambulance takes an injured man to hospital after fighting resumed overnight into dawn in the disputed region of Kashmir Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman revealed that he ate sensitive documents so they would not fall into his captors' hands ahead of his release at the Wagah border yesterday. Pakistan's PM called the handover of the pilot a 'peace gesture', intended to defuse military tensions between the nuclear-armed nations. Thousands of flag-waving supporters gathered at the border to welcome him home but crowds had dwindled by nightfall as the handover dragged on for hours without explanation. The Hero: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been hailed for his heroic stoicism after he was surrounded by furious Pakistani locals on Wednesday Wing Commander Varthaman has been praised for his stoic professionalism after he fired warning shots as locals went after him on the ground in Kashmir on Wednesday. He parachuted from his burning fuselage and then fled the locals to eat secret documents and destroy military evidence, the Washington Post has revealed. Shortly before 9.30pm Indian time (4pm GMT) yesterday he finally appeared at the border checkpoint escorted by military officers and crossed the frontier into India. As Islamabad released him they also published another video of the pilot, in which he apparently praised his 'very professional' Pakistani military captors, who had rescued him from a mob. Despite the move to de-escalate the crisis both sides fired barrages of shells across the frontier today, with reports of attacks on Indian police officers in the province. The pilot finally appeared after darkness had fallen on Friday evening, crossing the border accompanied by a Red Cross representative, before he was driven away again in a convoy. In a brief statement after his release the Indian Air Force, who greeted him on his return, said they were 'happy to have him back'. 'Wing Commander Abhinandan he has just been returned to us as per the standard operating procedure of the IAF,' they said. 'He will now be taken for a detailed medical check up, particularly because he had to eject from an aeroplane which would have put his entire body under great stress.' Captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman (right) standing at Wagah border crossing during his elaborate handover ceremony in eastern Pakistan's Lahore A Pakistani soldier stands guard near the wreckage of Wine Commander Varthaman's plane after it was shot down by the Pakistan military on Wednesday Homecoming: Abhinandan Varthaman, the Indian pilot captured in Pakistan, has crossed the border to return home Return: The Indian pilot captured in Pakistan has returned home after crowds waited for hours to welcome him back. As he appeared at the crossing he was flanked by a Red Cross representative and military officers People burn an Indian flag during an anti-India protest in Karachi on Friday as tempers continued to flare following the clashes between the Indian and Pakistani air forces War Hero: Indians flocked to the streets in anticipation of the Wing Commander's arrival on home soil, waving flags and chanting in celebration While Indians celebrated the return of their hero pilot, Pakistanis burned effigies of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Men gathered on streets of New Delhi to dance and cheer the arrival of the pilot, who was said to have acted quickly to swallow sensitive documents Propaganda: The pilot appeared in this video released by the Pakistani government shortly before his release in which he appeared to praise Pakistan's military for their 'professional' handling of him In the video published by the Pakistani government he appeared to praise its military for looking after him, although it was not clear who was with him when he was speaking. Describing how he was shot down, he said: 'When I opened my parachute and when I dropped down, I had a pistol and there were a lot of people and I only had one way to save myself. So I dropped my pistol. 'So I tried to run and people ran after me. They had a lot of spirit and at that moment two young men from the Pakistani army came and they saved me from there. 'There was a captain from the Pakistani army, he came and he saved me from these people and didnt let anything else happen to me. 'Then he took me to his unit where I received first aid and after that they took me to the hospital for further aid. The Pakistani army is a very professional service.' Varthaman ejected from his burning jet and parachuted down to a crowd of 'spirited' locals who descended him on him with fury when he asked them where he was. In a moment of cinematic drama, he stumbled backwards and fired his handgun into the sky before sprinting from the baying mob. He dived into a nearby pond as they got close to him and was able to swallow some of the sensitive military documents on him, destroying others in the murky water around him. He also appeared to suggest that the episode had been overblown, saying: 'When theres a small matter, it gets turned into a big deal and people get wound up over it.' Appreciation: The captured Indian pilot's father - Air Marshal Varthaman, himself a retired pilot - and mother Shobha Varthaman are warmly applauded by fellow passengers as they board a plane from Chennai to Delhi Transport: The car transferring Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman drives near the border post on Friday evening Convoy: The motorcade carrying the captured Indian pilot arrives at the broder post on Friday evening after a long wait Here for the ride: Motorcyclist carry Indian flags near the Wagah border crossing near the northern city of Amritsar today Bring him home: People shout patriotic slogans before the arrival of the Indian Air Force pilot, who was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday at the height of the tensions over the disputed Kashmir province By Friday lunchtime thousands of Indians had gathered at the border crossing to welcome him home, singing and waving flags as they prepared to welcome the pilot home. The pilot, who has become the face of the latest Kashmir crisis, had arrived in a convoy from Lahore to the border crossing, escorted by military vehicles with soldiers. His father - Air Marshal Varthaman, himself a retired pilot - and mother Shobha Varthaman had earned warm applause as they took their seats on a flight from Chennai to Delhi to see their son. The pilot's grandfather was also in the Indian Air Force and his wife is a former helicopter pilot, Indian media reported. A group of schoolchildren brandished a painting of the pilot, along with placards reading: 'Hope for peace between India & Pakistan' and 'Thank you Imran Khan'. Speaking to Indian television, some spectators said they would wait until they were sure the pilot had returned, even as the handover dragged on into the evening. There was no official explanation for the delay. Yesterday Pakistan's PM Imran Khan announced the pilot's release as a 'peace gesture', while Islamabad partially re-opened its airspace today, but he warned his country was 'prepared for any eventuality and response'. Patient: Indians hold posters to welcome the Wing Commander back to the country as the handover dragged on for hours Expectation: People and media gather at the Wagah border crossing - usually the site of a military ceremony every day - before the arrival of the Indian Air Force pilot on Friday Arrival? A motorcade - reported by Indian media to be carrying the Air Force pilot - arrives at the border post on Friday Standing guard: Indian police near the border with Pakistan at Wagah on Friday, where the pilot at the centre of this week's military and diplomatic crisis is being handed over in a bid to defuse tensions Delight: Indian residents dance, shout slogans and wave the national flag at a central market in New Delhi on Friday Turnout: Indians hold national flags and shout slogans as they wait to welcome their pilot back at the border crossing Anticipation: Indian men shout slogans and wave the national flag near the India-Pakistan border as they wait for the Wing Commander's return Tension: Despite the 'peace gesture' there were Pakistani religious students rallying against India in Islamabad today Anti-India rally: People shout slogans and burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Peshawar today Ready: People hold Indian national flags as they dance and celebrate while anticipating the arrival of the IAF pilot Today Indian forces fought battles with militants in Kashmir that left seven dead while at least one person was killed by mortar fire in the province. The airman's capture by Pakistani forces - after his plane was shot down in a Wednesday dog-fight - sparked a fresh crisis over the Himalayan province and prompted pleas from world leaders to step back from the brink of war. The pilot from Chennai, who has 16 years of experience, endeared himself to Indians with his calm and polite manner in a Pakistani video after he was shot down. His refusal to proffer more details than necessary - 'I am sorry major, I am not supposed to tell you this' - won him particular sympathy in India. He also asked politely: 'May I request some information. Am I with the Pakistani army?' Face of the crisis: Captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman pictured in Pakistani custody on Wednesday. Pakistan's PM Imran Khan announced yesterday that the airman would be released on Friday as a 'peace gesture' Media scrum: Photographers gather on the Pakistani side of the Wagah border ahead of the pilot's expected handover today Hero: Indian people hold placards and photographs of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, as they celebrate the announcement of his impending release at a demonstration in Amritsar on Thursday Line-up: Indian policemen stand guard as they prepare to receive the Indian pilot the Wagah border crossing on Friday Border post: A Pakistani security official checks a bus carrying passengers to India amid excitement over the pilot's return Prepared: Indian policemen and media wait for the return of the Indian pilot at the India-Pakistan border at Wagah today A map showing the military clout of Pakistan (left) and India (right) and the volatile disputed region of Kashmir to the north and Jammu and Kashmir to the south Damage: Villagers in Kalal in India's Jammu region examine what they claim is wreckage from a Pakistani mortar shell today The highly symbolic Wagah crossing point, where the handover is due to take place, is famed for hosting colourful rival ceremonies by Indian and Pakistani soldiers each day at sundown - although it has been cancelled today. Patriotic spectators fill stadium-style stands on each side to cheer as goosestepping troops bring down their national flags in elaborate, competing performances. Pakistan complains over 'eco-terorism' Pakistan plans to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations, accusing it of 'eco-terrorism' over air strikes that damaged pine trees. Indian warplanes on Tuesday bombed a hilly forest area near the northern Pakistani town of Balakot. Indian warplanes on Tuesday bombed a hilly forest area near the northern Pakistani town of Balako Pakistan denied there were any such camps in the area and locals said only one elderly villager was hurt. Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam said Indian jets bombed a 'forest reserve' and the government was undertaking an environmental impact assessment. By Reuters Advertisement A ceasefire line divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, but both claim the Himalayan region in its entirety. Pakistan is also set to partially re-open airspace on Friday - allowing flights to and from Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta - after thousands of passengers were left stranded when air travel was shut down. Thai Airways cancelled nearly 30 flights, affecting 5,000 passengers. The decision affected services to London, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Stockholm, Zurich, Copenhagen and Oslo. Today there was an Emirates service from Peshawar to Dubai, an Air Arabia flight from Peshawar to Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE and a Qatar Airways trip from Peshawar to Doha. Other airports, including the one located in the eastern city of Lahore that borders India, will remain closed until March 4. However Indian forces remain on a 'heightened' state of alert despite Pakistan's promise to free the pilot, military chiefs said on Thursday. New Delhi also announced it had banned the largest political and religious group in Indian-controlled Kashmir, imposing a security lockdown in several parts of the region on Friday. Both governments had faced domestic pressure not to cave in, as anti-India protesters in Pakistan waved their country's flag and told their military: 'Move forward, the nation is with you'. Some Indian politicians also called for more aggression including 'secret missions' to target suspected terrorists in Pakistan. Party atmosphere: Indian people celebrate with drums and flags as they anticipate the arrival of Abhinandan Varthaman Support: People wear face paint with the colours of the Indian flag and one man holds a sign calling the pilot an 'Indian hero' Resumption: Passengers at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport arrive for their flights after the airspace was partly opened Pakistani passengers gather outside the Jinnah International Airport as they wait for flight operations to resume in Karachi Opposition: Pakistani religious students and other protesters rally against India in Islamabad on Friday Long wait: Indian security forces stand guard near the India-Pakistan border in Wagah as the pilot's crossing was pushed back Hero's welcome: People wave an Indian flag and carry a huge garland as they gather at the border crossing on Friday morning and wait to welcome Abhinandan Varthaman home from Pakistan Strong feelings: Sardar Ateeq, former Prime Minister of Pakistani Kashmir, addresses an anti-India rally in Islamabad today Keeping watch: Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a check post, before the release of Indian pilot On wheels: Pakistani police patrol near the India and Pakistan border on the Pakistani side of the Wagah crossing Captured: Photos shared on social media purport to show the moment when one of the Indian Air Force pilots is arrested in Pakistani Kashmir Rally: Pakistanis wave their national flag in a protest against India in Quetta on Thursday amid rising tensions between them. Pakistan's PM Imran Khan has appealed for caution given the 'nature of the weapons that we have' Evidence: Indian Air Force officials display wreckage of AMRAAM air-to-air missile that they say was fired by Pakistan Air Force fighter jet during a strike over Kashmir Q&A: India, Pakistan and Kashmir WHY IS THIS TENSION SO DANGEROUS? Both India and Pakistan are believed to possess more than 100 nuclear warheads each and have conducted atomic weapon tests. Both countries have test-fired nuclear-capable missiles. Pakistan also has refused to renounce a first-strike option with its atomic bombs should it feel outgunned in a conventional war. It takes less than four minutes for a missile fired from Pakistan to reach India. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists warns that 'computer models have predicted that the physical impacts of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan, or even a single strike on a large city, would be devastating . and would reverberate throughout the world.' HOW DID THE DISPUTE OVER KASHMIR BEGIN? When Britain granted independence to the region in 1947, it divided the Indian subcontinent into a predominantly Hindu India and mostly Muslim Pakistan. Some areas could decide their own fate. In Kashmir, the only Muslim majority area ruled by a Hindu monarch, its ruler decided against giving the population a choice. That started the first India-Pakistan war in 1947. The conflict ended in 1949 when a UN resolution established the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between the two nations and calling for a direct vote on which country should control it. That vote has never been held. Indian and Pakistan fought a second war over Kashmir in 1965. WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE? India and Pakistan fought a third war in 1971 over what was East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh. In 1999 and 2000, after Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil, the two countries faced off and a worried world urged both to pull back from the brink of war, fearing it could escalate into a nuclear conflict. Even in times of relative peace the two nations readily engage in brinkmanship and aggressive rhetoric. Advertisement Despite the peace offering Khan warned New Delhi that Pakistan was 'prepared for any eventuality and response', saying: 'I beseech India not to force us down the path of war.' 'Our efforts to de-escalate should not be considered our weakness. We are indulging our efforts to maintain peace in the region,' he said. 'Pakistan acted with caution and restraint and replied to Indian aggression only to show that we are capable of safeguarding our sovereignty.' Today China said it welcomed Pakistan's decision to 'express kindness' and hand over the captured Indian pilot after four straight days of cross-border attacks. A close Pakistani ally, China has blocked India's attempts to have the U.N. list as a terrorist the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based group that claimed responsibility for the February Kashmir bombing. The latest crisis, which erupted after an Indian airstrike on Tuesday in retaliation for a bombing in Kashmir, reached its highest point in almost 50 years this week as both countries claimed to have shot down war planes. India responded to the bombing with an airstrike inside Pakistan on Tuesday, the first such raid since the two nations' 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh. Abhinandan was shot down over Kashmir on Wednesday, after a dogfight in the skies over the disputed Himalayan region, and footage of the pilot being beaten by locals went viral in both countries. A video released by the Pakistani military later showed Abhinandan sipping tea, his face swollen and sporting bruises but otherwise collected and calm. His father, a retired air force officer, told the Times of India newspaper, 'Just look at the way he talked so bravely... a true soldier... we are proud of him.' While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India. Kashmir has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. The countries have fought three wars against each other, two directly dealing with the disputed region. In another sign of de-escalation yesterday Pakistan's foreign ministry said India had handed over its file on the deadly Kashmir bombing earlier this month which sparked the latest tensions. Pakistan has said it will act against those linked to the February 14 Kashmir bombing if actionable intelligence is shared with it, but has denied involvement in the attack. While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India. Kashmir has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. The countries have fought three wars against each other, two directly dealing with the disputed region. The surging tensions had prompted Pakistan to close down its airspace, disrupting major routes between Europe and South Asia and grounding thousands of travellers worldwide. On Friday morning the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced a decision would be taken on re-opening airspace 'shortly'. Earlier it had said flights would remain grounded until at least 1.00 pm Friday local time (0800 GMT). Firepower: This diagram shows the huge military capabilities of the two nuclear-armed nations Supplies: A train loaded with Indian army trucks and artillery guns is parked at a railway station on the outskirts of Jammu on Thursday amid fears the tension between the two nuclear-armed powers could lead to war Debris: A house in India's Jammu region is damaged by what villagers say was a mortar shell attack from across the border Refugees: Kashmiri women who fled Chakothi - a town near the Line of Control in Kashmir - arrive to take refuge at a school around 25 miles from Mufzafarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir Security: Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol along the fence near the border with Pakistan on Thursday Debris: In India on Thursday night a defence officer holds up part of an air-to-air AMRAAM missile which was allegedly fired by Pakistani Air Force aircraft. India accuses them of violating Indian airspace Slogans: Pakistani activists of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat party shout during an anti-Indian protest rally in Islamabad today Protests: Kashmiris hold Pakistani flag as they shout anti-India slogans during a protest in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani administered Kashmir A seven-year-old boy who was so petrified of police he had nightmares has been cured of his fears after a group of officers spent time making friends with him. For years James Glass would get anxious if he heard sirens or saw police officers nearby, fearing they were 'coming to get him' and his family, leading to sleepless nights. After a recent episode his stepmother Stacie Davies decided to contact officers at Sussex Police to see if there was any way they could help. Sussex Police's PC Mike Harvey with seven-year-old James Glass, the duo are now friends The 33-year-old said she was 'bowled over' by the response after being put in touch with Pc Mike Harvey at Horsham police station, in West Sussex, who invited James to spend time with him and the team. Pc Harvey spent time talking to James about his job before arranging with colleagues to take him, his 10-year-old sister Isabella, their father Russell, and Ms Davies to the station for a tour. They got to ride in a patrol car and a 4x4, venture into the back of a police van and Pc Harvey let James try on his hat. (left to right) Russell Glass, his children James Glass and Isabella Glass, their stepmother Stacie Davies and PC Mike Harvey at Horsham police station Astynomiaphobia: A fear of law enforcement Although not a fully accepted term by psychologists, it has been used to describe an irrational fear of police and law enforcement. Policophobia has been used more as informal term. One of the possible reasons that the Greek term has not entered common use is the fact that it could be used as defence in prosecutions. One researcher on the subject said: 'Of course if such a specific phobia actually exists in its own right, then it would probably add to the burden of the government's prosecutors, because defendants would be able to use (fear of police) as a defense in court under certain circumstances.' Advertisement Officers even presented James with a certificate to confirm he was a 'friend' of Horsham Police and does not need to be scared of them. Ms Davies said: 'James has been affected by these worries for years. 'We don't really know where it came from. It could have been TV. 'I think he had a perception police were violent towards people. 'Whatever it was it definitely put a fear into him. 'If he heard sirens or saw officers in the street he became anxious.' When Ms Davies decided to contact police to see if they could help, she said: 'I wasn't sure if it was the sort of thing they did or if they might be too busy. 'But I really couldn't believe the response. I was really bowled over. 'They spent so much time with us. Everyone was so nice and friendly, and very sensitive to James and his worries.' Collage of the day seven-year-old James Glass spent at Horsham police station The certificate presented to James said: 'This is to certify James Glass is a friend of Horsham Police and that he has been visited to make sure he is a brave boy. 'He has been shown around a police car and now knows that he can say hello to the police with no need to be scared. 'He knows that he can say hello to police should he get lost. Letter given to James Glass by officers to say he is a "friend" of Horsham Police 'He also knows police will help him when he is scared.' This was signed by all the officers, many of which decorated their signatures with smiley faces. Ms Davies said: 'We are particularly grateful to Pc Mike - I think he set it all up and he spent a lot of time explaining what their role is and they are there to protect the public. 'Now James is so excited when he talks about the police. He enjoyed the visit so much. 'He was very pleased with the certificate and took it into school to show during assembly.' A Grenfell firefighter whose BMW burst into flames on the school run has been locked in a bitter row with the manufacturer which is refusing to accept any responsibility for what happened. The terrifying incident occurred when Aaron Gauci, 38, picked his son Isaac, 10, up from school on October 31 last year. He was driving his two-year-old 335d M Sport salon in slow moving traffic when smoke began to pour inside. The father of two from Chessington explained he was in the outside lane when the speaker started to make strange noises. A Grenfell firefighter's two-year-old BMW 335d M Sport burst into flames with his son inside Aaron Gauci (pictured with his son Isaac and daughter Elena, 14) was driving in slow moving traffic when smoke began to pour inside I could see a haze behind the car and when I looked at the front there was smoke. I knew exactly what was happening. I made sure I didnt put the windows down because I didnt want to fan the fire with air. I managed to pull over to the pavement, jumped out and got my son. I could already see flames. After taking his son a safe distance from the vehicle, he attempted to retrieve personal items including from the boot. But it was already on fire, he said. The blaze gutted the car in a matter of minutes and the wreckage was taken to a salvage yard in Canvey Island. Following the fire, Mr Gauci, who has fully comprehensive insurance, said he notified BMW and his insurance company, Admiral. His dream 30,000 car had just 18,000 miles on the clock, was under warranty and had been fully serviced by BMW. So he expected a more sympathetic response and a replacement car. Instead, he claims the best it could do was offer him 4,000 towards a replacement BMW as a goodwill gesture and advise him to claim with his insurance company. The blaze gutted the car in a matter of minutes, forcing the 38-year-old and son Isaac to leap to safety Despite conceding that its own inspections of the burnt out wreckage had proved inconclusive, Mr Gauci said the German car giant insisted the fire was not due to a fault with the car. It told the Mail it was categorically not linked to the faulty Exhaust Gas Recirculation cooler which has forced it to issue a safety recall for 268,000 cars in the UK. Instead the firefighter said BMW told him the most likely cause was a fuel leak. Mr Gauci - who has been a firefighter for 18 years and was called to Grenfell tower on the following three days after the blaze - said: I immediately laughed and told them it wasnt possible. It is almost impossible to set fire to diesel unless its compressed in an engine. But even if, by some freak miracle it did catch fire because it had leaked on the engine, surely that is a manufacturing problem? Diesel is far less volatile than petrol and ignites at a much higher temperature. Immediately dissatisfied, Mr Gauci asked for a copy of the report, but he claims BMW refused to hand it over. What has happened then has only made him more determined. When he asked again for the report last month, the firefighter said BMW told him it was arranging for a further inspection with technical colleagues from Germany. Mr Gauci insisted that his own inspector to be present, but was told the inspection would be on a closed site so this would not be allowed. Two days later learned that his car had been taken from the salvage yard without his knowledge or permission. Initially, the father-of-two says the company refused to tell him where it had taken the car. But after he reported his car stolen, BMW finally agreed to give him the location. Mr Gauci was called to Grenfell Tower in the following days of the blaze in June 2017 It also agreed that his own inspector could examine the wreckage, but only under the supervision of a BMW technician. Again it failed to identify a cause for the fire. The firefighter said BMW has advised him to make a claim through his insurance company, Admiral. But the firm is only prepared to pay out thousands of pounds less than the car is worth, and is likely to push up his insurance premium, he says. Mr Gauci said he took out a loan to buy his dream car from a dealer at the end of 2016 after spending months hunting for one with the right specifications and extras. This car was my baby. Im only a firefighter so I dont have much money. It was a treat to cheer myself up. My wife left nearly five years ago, so its been a rough few years. He added: It is mind boggling the way BMW has behaved. If my car had had three young children strapped in the back and mum driving it could have ended very differently. I cant understand how they can dismiss this. MailOnline has approached BMW for further comment. Stocks at discount retailer Chemist Warehouse could be about to run out in a matter of days as workers prepare to go on strike. Workers at three of the retail pharmacy's east coast warehouses have backed industrial action - asking for a pay rise of between 25 and 30 per cent. The National Union of Workers said the chain would struggle to meet the weight of customer demand were workers to go through with the strike, which could begin early next week. Stocks at discount retailer Chemist Warehouse could be about to run out in a matter of days with its workers set to go on strike as early as next week (stock image) 'Our members at Chemist Warehouse are paid 25 per cent less than industry competitors and yet the owners are worth over a billion dollars,' union national secretary Tim Kennedy said. He added the union's members were responsible for the distribution of more than a million items every week. The NUW told The Sydney Morning Herald aside from pay, they wanted higher levels of job security. The union said 25 per cent of workers at Chemist Warehouse's Preston and Somerton sites in Victoria are full-time, far short of their target of 70 per cent. Union delegate Husain Alqatari, who is also a worker at one of the warehouses, said casual workers had to 'fight like animals' to earn shifts with the company. 'You have to work fast - if you don't reach your target you don't get your shift,' he said. 'Our members at Chemist Warehouse are paid 25 per cent less than industry competitors and yet the owners are worth over a billion dollars,' union national secretary Tim Kennedy said (stock image) The proposed strike follows Chemist Warehouse being ordered to back-pay more than $3.5million to its workers in 2016 after the Fair Work Ombudsman uncovered it had not paid its workers for compulsory online training they did in their own time. As many as 5976 employees, making up around two-thirds of their were force, were given $600 each on average following the ombudsman audit. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Chemist Warehouse for comment. Netflix has made a new documentary about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann which is due to be screened this month with the Oscar winning streaming service already predicting it will be a huge global success, MailOnline can reveal. Maddies parents Kate and Gerry have refused to take part in the show despite numerous requests from producers Pulse Films over the past 18 months. The couples Tapas Seven holiday pals and their spokesperson and close friend Clarence Mitchell have also snubbed the venture, saying: We want nothing to do with it. Netflix are due to release a new documentary about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann But Netflix - which scooped three awards at last months Oscars for Roma, which follows the life of a live-in housekeeper of a middle-class family in Mexico City - is boasting it has riveting new interviews with key investigators as the 12th anniversary of the worlds most famous missing child cases approaches. A source close to the movie makers said today: Everyone everywhere is fascinated by the Maddie story. We would have welcomed the opportunity of working with the McCanns directly but they informed us they couldnt and wouldnt consider taking part while a police investigation is into their daughters abduction is ongoing. But we have interesting new interviews with people close to the inquiry and we believe we can give justice to this unbelievably tragic story. Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugals Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining with pals in a nearby tapas restaurant. Maddie had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie with regular half hourly checks being made on the children. Renowned cardiologist Gerry and former GP Kate, both 50, from Rothley, Leicestershire, cling onto a glimmer of hope their eldest child could still be found alive. It is not yet known if the documentary, which has cost up to a reported 20 million, will be a one off, a two parter or as originally intended an eight part series. A friend of the McCanns said: We understand it is a serialised drama but neither Kate, Gerry nor their holiday friends and main players have co-opertated in any shape or form. And we have no idea who the actors are. We believe it is coming out very soon, within the next two weeks and before the next anniversary. Netflix had been hoping to screen it last year but the project took them a lot longer than expected. They had been wanting to string it out over eight episodes but it may now be a one or two parter. An insider at Pulse Films said: Netflix are hoping it will be a massive hit. It is not known if retired Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who is still embroiled in a long running bitter libel battle with the McCanns, has agreed to take part. In his best seller book The Truth of the Lie he accuses Maddies parents - who were once suspects in their daughters disappearance - of faking her kidnap after she accidentally died in the holiday flat. The McCann pal: The family understand Mr Amaral and Portuguese police officers have been approached. Their lawyers will be keeping watch for any potentially libellous material. Renowned cardiologist Gerry and former GP Kate, both 50, did not take part in the making of the new documentary The search for Maddie - who was just nine days away from her fourth birthday - has became the most high-profile missing person investigation in history. The youngsters face in iconic pictures is recognisable around the world. Netflix has had a string of successful true crime documentaries including hit documentary Making A Murderer on wrongly jailed American student Amanda Knox for British student Meredith Kerchers murder. And the streaming service scooped three gongs at the Oscars for Best Director for Roma, Best Cinematography and Foreign Language Film while being nominated for Best Picture. The Maddie movie - the title of which is being kept a closely guarded secret - will examine the high profile case and interview key figures and investigators. Film makers have made several trips to the familys village to speak to villagers and have also interviewed journalists who have been covering the story over the years. It will be screened as Scotland Yard wait to find out from the Home Office if they will be granted extra public funding to continue their painstaking search for the missing girl. The McCann's have been given fresh hope, as police request more money, saying: 'Theyve given us belief there is still work left to be done.' The latest funding is due to run out within weeks at the end of the current financial year and the forces request for extra money will now be carefully considered. Funding through Special Grants has already cost the British taxpayer a massive 11.75 million. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We have received and are considering a request from the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) to extend funding for Operation Grange until the end of March 2020.' The couples spokesperson Mr Mitchell told MailOnline: 'Kate and Gerry are extremely grateful to the Metropolitan Police for making a new funding application and whilst they know it is not guaranteed they are hoping it will be approved. It shows that officers are still doing everything they can to get a resolution after all this time. And it gives them hope that one day they may finally find out what happened to their daughter. It gives them belief there is still work left to be done.' Mr Mitchell said eminent heart doctor Gerry and Kate, now a medical worker, will never give up looking for their daughter. She would now be aged 15, nearly 16 . He declined to discuss the Netflix project. MailOnline has contacted Netflix for comment. The glamorous daughter of a Melbourne nightclub owner who was found dead on his front porch has revealed her heartbreak at dealing with the financial 'mess' he left behind. Zoe Thornburgh, 24, is still coming to terms with the death of her father Darren 'Razzle' Thornburgh who founded and ran celebrity hotspot Boutique in the trendy inner-suburb of Prahran. The hard-partying nightclub king, who suffered a chronic drug addiction, was found dead on a mattress in his pyjamas outside his rural Victoria home in November 2017. Police found a gun at the scene and ruled that the death was not suspicious. Zoe Thornburgh (pictured), 24, is still coming to terms with the death of her father Darren 'Razzle' Thornburgh Miss Thornburgh has applied to the Supreme Court to stake her claim and get access to the inheritance - but the process has left her tired and emotionally drained. Miss Thornburgh (left) and father Darren 'Razzle' Thornburgh (right) at nightclub Boutique Because her father left no will, Miss Thornburgh said her and her 15-year-old sister were not able to inherit his assets worth $1.7 million. She has applied to the Supreme Court to stake her claim and gain access to the inheritance - but the process has left her tired and emotionally drained. 'My dad left no will and with me being the oldest child, my parents divorced, (that) meant it was up to me to detangle all of the mess that he left, and try and salvage together a financial future for me and my sister,' she told the Sunday Herald Sun. Ms Thornburgh, a manager in a cocktail bar, said the Boutique nightclub was not included among her father's assets because he was evicted three weeks before his death after months of conflict with the landlord. The premises was bought three months ago and renamed The Greville - but now the owners are selling up and Miss Thornburgh won't receive a penny. Revealing her devastation, she said: 'My father put his heart and soul into that business. Boutique was quite literally his third child, and now to be told that legally my sister and I will receive no financial benefit from any of it is a very bitter pill to swallow.' Ms Thornburgh (pictured), a manager in a cocktail bar, said the Boutique nightclub is not included among her father's assets because he was evicted three weeks before his death after months of conflict with the landlord Court documents show Mr Thornburgh's real estate is worth $1.7 million, which counts homes in Port Melbourne, South Yarra and Barmah. Pictured: The club owner and his daughter In November it was reported that Ms Thornburgh (pictured) was locked in a legal battle over her father's multi-million dollar estate She said she was financially struggling but her grievance wasn't just about money. 'It's a very hard fact to face that my sister and I are entitled to nothing of our father's lifetime of work and legacy,' she said. In November it was reported that Ms Thornburgh was locked in a legal battle over her father's multi-million dollar estate. The Sunday Herald Sun obtained legal documents showing she was staking a claim to her deceased father's assets. 'I receive no assistance from my mother. My financial position is very limited,' she said in the court documents. The Sunday Herald Sun obtained legal documents of Zoe Thornburgh (pictured), which prove the 24-year-old is staking a claim in her deceased fathers Darren 'Razzle' Thornburgh's assets Nicky and Paris Hilton flank Darren Thornburgh during at a night at Boutique Court documents show Mr Thornburgh's real estate is worth $1.7 million, which counts homes in Port Melbourne, South Yarra and Barmah. In cash and assets he had $148,000 including his silver bullion worth $21,036, $7,000 Seadoo, $55,000 Motor home, $5,000 vintage car and $50,000 2013 Malibu boat. His daughter took to the Supreme Court after she discovered no will was left behind. Her affidavit revealed she was trying to access the funds and assets as she claimed her mother Denise Foster wasn't supporting her. The functions manager revealed the pair shared a strained relationship and besides living in her father's-owned South Yarra studio apartment, Ms Thornburgh had no access to other assets. It was also revealed Mr Thornburgh left behind more than $125,000 in debts: almost $76,000 in unpaid child support, close to $10,500 in unpaid council bills and south of $1,500 in water bills. Zoe Thornburgh and her mother Denise Foster shared a strained relationship and besides living in her father's-owned South Yarra studio apartment, Ms Thornburgh has no access to other assets A month before his death, Mr Thornburgh had lost his club, which attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Kim Kardashian, Ashton Kutcher, and the Hilton sisters. His party lifestyle had taken a turn for the worse, as he went on three to five day long drug binges. Three shots had been fired into his nightclub in October last year, and his ex-wife's house was the target of a drive-by three days later. A police first investigated links between Mr Thornburgh's death and the past shootings, but later ruled out any foul play. It was a tragic end to the life of a man who had made a name for himself. The Dandenong-born man moved to Melbourne where he worked in nightclubs as a bus boy. He rose up the ranks to management positions at clubs including Warehouse in South Yarra and Heat at Crown Casino, according to the Herald Sun. Zoe Thornburgh's affidavit revealed she is trying to access the funds and assets as she claimed her mother Denise Foster was not supporting her Darren Thornburgh ran Boutique nightclub (pictured), a popular venue that attracted some of the biggest names in Hollywood along the lines of Kim Kardashian, Ashton Kutcher, and the Hilton sisters Darren Thornburgh (left) and Molly Meldrum at the club which was popular with celebrities He got his nickname 'Razzle' from the diamond he had implanted in his front tooth. 'Razzle gave his club rock star status,' a former co-worker told the Herald Sun. 'He was respected in the industry and he knew what he was doing. He was definitely king of the nightclubs until other things took over.' But when his marriage ended in 2008, his drug use spiralled and 'took control of him,' a former worker at Boutique said. Divorce and drug use weren't the only problems that affected the nightclub owner's life negatively he was also facing serious money problems. In 2011, Darren Thornburgh (pictured) was made bankrupt after failing to pay a legal bill, the Herald Sun reports In 2011, he was made bankrupt after failing to pay a legal bill, the Herald Sun reported. An associate told the newspaper that he'd once paid a debt by handing over his Bentley. And threats from debt collectors led to him moving into a suite at the Crown Casino due to the round-the-clock security for four years. Friends say he left the Crown in 2016 and was spending his time between South Yarra and Barmah. And a business associate told the Herald Sun that he had planned to return to the club scene in 2017 but his landlords had evicted him from Boutique. 'He lost the club, which means he lost everything,' they said. Advertisement Violence erupted on the streets of France for the 16th weekend in a row as yellow vests protested against the government's economic policies they see as favoring the rich. Protesters set fire to bins and threw smoke bombs as they clashed with police who used tear gas to control crowds. Demonstrators wore red hoodies with the tricolor cockade - an emblem of the French Revolution - and stood with their mouths taped shut. Crowds gathered at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris as a march was planned through the affluent neighborhoods of the capital. It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reiterated a call for calm, pointing at 'unacceptable' outbreaks of violence since the movement began in November. A protester wearing a yellow vest waves a French flag as he stands on the Champs Elysees near the Arc de Triomphe during a demonstration by the 'yellow vests' movement in Paris, France Protesters kick burning bins during an anti-government demonstration in Lille, northern France Protesters stand with their mouths taped closed, their faces painted white and wearing red hoodies, as two men behind them wearing yellow vests hold smoke grenades in Lille A demonstrator from Belgium stands with blood pouring from her mouth after she was injured during the demonstrations in Lille Demonstrators wearing red hoodies and each carrying a different message across their backs stands in front of crowds of yellow vests Yellow vest protesters are backed underneath a shopfront and hold their clothing up to their faces as tear gas streams through the air in Lille Demonstrators stood wearing red hoodies with the tricolor cockade - an emblem of the French Revolution - and stood with their mouths taped shut Hundreds of yellow vest protesters march down the Champs-Elysees as Emmanuel Macron's headache continues for the 16th consecutive Saturday A yellow vest protester shakes hands with a riot police officer in a side street off the Champs Elysees Organisers say they want to maintain pressure on the government as a two-month 'grand debate' initiated by Macron to let ordinary French people express their views on the country's economic and democratic issues is ending this month. It follows months of continual unrest, including riots that saw the Arc de Triomphe and other public monuments attacked, with shops looted and set on fire. Sophie Tissier, a coordinator of the Paris protest, told said: 'We keep protesting every Saturday because Macron doesn't respond at all to the yellow vests' demands. We want to rebuild our democracy and change today's political system.' 'Macron is contemptuous and ... does not even try to understand that there are people that are living in great poverty and precariousness, and that there are so many inequalities,' she added. Other protests are taking place in France's major cities of Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille and others. The movement was named after the fluorescent vests that French motorists must carry in their vehicles for emergencies. The protests started in November to oppose fuel tax hikes, but have expanded into a broader public rejection of Macron's economic policies, which protesters say favor big businesses and the wealthy over ordinary workers. Macron has since announced a package of measures worth about 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) to boost workers' and retirees' purchasing power and launched a national debate that is taking place through meetings across France and a dedicated website until mid-March. Many yellow vests reject the debate which they consider as politically driven to serve the government's interests. Demonstrators march with a tricolor cockade - an emblem of the French Revolution - in Lille, northern Paris A protester wearing a gas mask holds a yellow smoke bomb during the protests against Macron's economic policies A yellow vest protester wears a yellow mask and vest as French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reiterated a call for calm Protesters stand in tear gas smoke during a yellow vest anti-government demonstration in Lille, northern France Crowds gather in Lille in the 16th weekend of unrest, including riots that saw the Arc de Triomphe and other public monuments attacked, with shops looted and set on fire. Protesters gather in Paris, France and other cities to show they are still mobilized against the government's economic policies they see as favoring the rich Eric Drouet, center, one of yellow vests leaders chats with supporters in Paris Today's ugly scenes are typical of those that have regularly reduced Paris and other towns and cities to a war zone Support for the movement has ebbed in recent weeks as it has splintered and outbreaks of violence continue. Last weekend, the extremist views of some protesters erupted in a torrent of anti-Semitic insults hurled at noted philosopher Alain Finkielkraut on the sidelines of a Paris protest. The assault came days after the French government reported a huge rise in incidents of anti-Semitism last year. The yellow vest movement was named after the fluorescent garments that French motorists must carry in their vehicles for emergencies. Today's ugly scenes are typical of those that have regularly reduced Paris and other towns and cities to a war zone. The yellow vest activists, who have brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets over the past three months, are now trying to achieve electoral success but the movement is politically divided and has no appointed leader. President Emmanuel Macron - the target of many demonstrators' anger - seems to be clawing back support as he tries to quell the movement with a national political debate. Recent polls show Macron's approval ratings rising. Several competing groups of yellow vests are getting ready to present candidates for the European Parliament election in May, while other figures insist the movement must remain non-political. Around 69,000 people nationwide took part in French protests last month, down from more than 80,000 the previous two weekends, according to the French Interior Ministry. The yellow vests movement began in November and was named after the fluorescent safety vests that French motorists must carry. Residents in parts of Victoria have been urged to evacuate their homes as four out-of-control bushfires merge into one. Hundreds of firefighters came together to attempt to put out blazes across the state as evacuation orders were rolled out for more than 20 suburbs. Four fires have merged at Bunyip State Park near Tonimbik about 65km east of Melbourne. Residents in parts of Victoria have been urged to evacuate their homes as four out-of-control bushfires merged into one Four fires have merged at Bunyip State Park near Tonimbik about 65km east of Melbourne Hundreds of firefighters came together to put out blazes across the state as evacuation orders were rolled out for more than 20 suburbs Other locals were told to seek shelter indoors because it was 'too late to leave' some regions, including Gembrook and Bunyip as a fast moving fire approached the Princes Highway. Residents in Boolarra, Budgeree, Churchill, Grand Ridge, Hazelwood, Jeeralang, Jumbuk and Yinnar were told their communities could be hit by the fires at any point. Many sought shelter in relief centres located around the state in Morwell and Pakenham, arriving with no more than the clothes on their backs. Hundreds of firefighters came together to put out blazes across the state as evacuation orders were rolled out for more than 20 suburbs Other locals were told to seek shelter indoors because it was 'too late to leave' some regions, including Gembrook and Bunyip as a fast moving fire approached the Princes Highway Most recently, residents of Labertouche North have been told to prepare to evacuate by Sunday morning Most recently, residents of Labertouche North have been told to prepare to evacuate by Sunday morning. 'Winds may strengthen early in the morning from the north west which will affect the movement of the fire,' a statement from VicEmergency read. 'Crews are focused on asset protection and will be on the fireline all night to support local communities.' Residents were reminded that 'leaving now is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous.' 'Emergency Services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.' For people who are already caught in the blaze, or choosing to remain at home, the emergency health service said they should take shelter before the fire actually arrives. Residents were reminded that 'leaving now is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous' For people who are already caught in the blaze, or choosing to remain at home, the emergency health service said they should take shelter before the fire actually arrives Smoke can be seen rising from the out-of-control bushfire burning in Victoria's east. Four fires merged at Bunyip State Park near Tonimbik about 65km east of Melbourne They warned the extreme heat is likely to be deadly, and could kill somebody well before the flames even reach. 'Shelter in a room that has two exits including one directly to the outside. It is important to be able to see outside so you know what is happening with the fire,' they said. 'If your home catches on fire and the conditions inside become unbearable, you need to get out and go to an area that has already been burnt.' A total fire ban has been implemented across the state. China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, leaves the shipyard of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. for the fifth sea trial in Dalian city, northeast China's Liaoning province, 27 February 2019. Photo: IC China's second aircraft carrier reportedly set sail from the Dalian Shipyard Wednesday afternoon for its fifth sea trial, three days after the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, left the same shipyard. Experts believe it indicates a further step toward the final delivery of the second carrier. The domestically made Type 001A aircraft carrier left the shipyard in Northeast China's Liaoning Province under the assistance of multiple tug boats Wednesday afternoon, according to photos and accompanying captions released by IC, a Chinese image and photo provider, on Wednesday evening. The testing of carrier-based aircraft could be the focus of this sea trial, an IC photo caption reads. Photos taken by local residents and uploaded to the internet last week show guide lines and possibly a non-skid coating were being painted on the Type 001A's flight deck, which are considered necessary for the takeoff and landing of aircraft. The warship is said to have already successfully tested its avionics, radar and communication systems in previous trials, so it is likely fighter jets will conduct take offs and landings this time, an anonymous military expert told the Global Times. Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times that he believes such a test is likely, or at least there will be preparations to enable future tests. "This sea trial will go a step further toward the final delivery of the new aircraft carrier," Li said. Full-sized models of an electronic warfare version of the J-15 warplane and a Z-18 helicopter were also spotted on board the Type 001A as it embarked on the sea trial, Hong Kong-based newspaper Wen Wei Po said Wednesday. The Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, was already at sea after leaving the Dalian Shipyard on Sunday. The two aircraft carriers could rendezvous in the northern Yellow Sea near Dalian, Chinese military observers said, as an area has been quarantined for a military exercise from Sunday to March 5, according to a notice the Maritime Safety Administration of China released on Friday. China will conduct a multinational naval activity in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Liberation Army navy on April 23, said spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense Ren Guoqiang at a routine press conference on Thursday. With the Type 001A and the Liaoning both at sea at the same time they could be preparing for the celebration parade, said Li. Chinese military enthusiasts are thrilled by the idea of such a speculation, with some writing online posts that they cannot wait to see China's first pair of aircraft carrier strike groups. However, even if the two carriers train together, it is probably only for parade purposes as the second carrier is still not combat-ready, the anonymous expert said. The Type 001A has not been delivered to the military yet and therefore might not even make it to the parade, he said. More than 14,000 army applicants are said to have been rejected from the armed forces due to tough Ministry of Defence rules. Applicants are being rejected due to ailments such as low-level allergies and acne. The figures have prompted accusations that the recruiting agency in charge of the MoD contract are misinterpreting medical guidelines. Capita is the services company which is contracted to carry out medicals for armed forces applicants and has to adhere to rules set out by the MoD. However, despite a huge recruitment drive from the army, as they continue to struggle to enlist soldiers, the force is still 5,000 soldiers short of its 82,000 recruitment target. Army applicants are being turned away from the force (pictured above in Afghanistan) and a campaign has been launched to get the medical guidelines changed This is while infantry battalions are about 30 per cent short of their required target and face problems with staff retention levels. Across 2016-17 more than 14,000 applicants were rejected on medical grounds, which had prompted concerns that healthy people were being pushed away and deemed medically fit to serve. Guidelines from the MoDs medical standards revolve around whether or not the applicant is physically and mentally fit enough to train, serve and fight anywhere in the world. Speaking to the Times, a series of rejected army applicants said that Capita doctors unfairly deemed minor ailments to be incompatible with the army rules. Recruits are being rejected due to minor health complaints such as acne (stock photo) One hopeful recruit Jack, 17 from Leeds, said he failed the medical just last year as he had been suffering with acne and had cold hands and feet on the day of the assesment. He said that this prompted Capita to warn that he my have circulation problems. He also pointed out to Capita that he was treating his acne with a topical cream and that it was likely to diminish over time. He also explained that he was cold as it had been snowing outside. Despite this he did not prevail and a GP later said that he did not have a circulation problem. He has now said he is hoping to apply again once his acne clears up. While applicants with low levels of treatable acne were dismissed others were sent away due to nut allergies This is while doctors who worked at Capita criticised its system with one woman who used to assess recruits saying she quit the job as she was having to fail too many people. She gave an example of a 16-year-old recruit who had been rejected because he had been given an inhaler four years prior to his application. Despite stating he had never used the inhaler, he was rejected. The doctor said she resigned as faults in medical assessments were not being remedied. She said: We were turning down so many people. It was wrong. Now a campaign has been launched for the ministry to alter the rules. Mark Francois, former armed forces minister said that the rules should be interpreted 'more intelligently' Eddie, 28, has now founded the Right to Fight campaign which is aiming to get the militarys medical policy changed. He was rejected from the force due to a nut allergy despite claiming that he had eaten 30,000 meals and had never suffered a reaction. He claimed the rules were too strict and unrealistic. Former armed forces minister and a member of the Commons defence select committee Mark Francois said while medical standards should not be lowered that they need to be understood at a different level. The reasons Capita gave for rejecting army hopefuls Shellfish allergy One applicant was rejected because they had a low level shellfish allergy. The 15-year-old from East Anglia was rejected on medical grounds despite eating mussels and never having symptoms worse than itchy eyes. He is now attempting to have his allergy downgraded so he can enlist Nut allergy Another possible recruit Michael Wilson said he wanted to join the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards at the age of 16 but said he was turned away because of a nut allergy. His allergy is so weak that he isn't even require to carry an EpiPen. He last suffered a mild reaction more than a decade ago. Advertisement We should interpret them more intelligently, particularly for people who have minor ailments that they managed successfully in everyday civilian life, such as allergies or minor eczema. Capita are interpreting the medical guidelines in far too black and white a manner. He highlighted that there was a grey area which was widely rejecting people and that they would do better to take a more intelligent approach. Elsewhere a spokesperson from Capita told the Times that the company was contractually obligated to apply the MoDs entry standard and said they do so as directed by the department. Over the last 12 months we have worked with the ministry to be to contemporise medical policies without compromising safety and standards, They said that this has resulted in changes to the mental health policy which are currently being evaluated. A spokesperson for the MoD said the unique challenging roles in the force mean that they have high medical standards. It is right that we have high medical standards to ensure that recruits can fulfil the demands of the job. A mixed martial arts fighter who has a condition which makes it look like he has bugs crawling under his skin has said he's in constant agony. Chris Fantetti, 26, has 1,000 fasciculations a day and says that the erratic muscle jerks have meant he struggles to wash and dress himself. The former fighter, from Gillingham, Kent, was diagnosed with a neurological condition called chiari malformation by a private doctor in Spain in January. As well as this, he was also diagnosed with filum disease and neuro-cranio-vertebral syndrome but claims he was told by doctors in the UK that it was 'just in his head.' Chris Fantetti, 26, who has 1,000 fasciculations a day says he's in constant agony because of his condition and can no longer compete in mixed martial arts competitions Mr Fantetti claims that before this he spent five months in pain and visited his GP at Woodlands Family Practice at least 20 times and his local hospital at least 10. Former railway worker Mr Fantetti, who has lost two stone in muscle since he became ill, said: 'It's totally changed my life, it's really depressing. 'I have about 1000 fasciculations a day and it genuinely looks like I've got bugs crawling under my skin when it's at its worst. 'I'm in constant agony and I can't see any end in sight.' Mr Fantetti first began to experience back pain in July last year but believes his condition may have first showed initial symptoms as early as January 2018. At the same time he also began to experience the fasciculations, which a doctor has since found is caused by chiari malformations, abnormalities in the brain that impair balance and muscle control. He claims despite more than 20 visits to his GP surgery he was diagnosed with asthma and told the condition was psychological. Mr Fantetti said he also made at least fifteen visits to A&E at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham after experiencing pain but claims he was told he had anxiety. Mr Fantetti's girlfriend Heidi Oldfield, 23, pictured together, now has to help him clean himself and get dressed as he has limited muscle control The 26-year-old was eventually diagnosed after six months when he visited a private doctor in Barcelona. He has since also begun to suffer from a curved spine which seriously impairs his mobility and has stopped him from competing in mixed martial arts competitions. Mr Fantetti said: 'I was in constant agony, everyday my arms would change temperature and I had severe pain across my body. 'I had shooting pains and my body would start tremouring and shaking. I went to my GP at least twenty times and went to the hospital at least fifteen times. 'At first the GPs kept saying it was asthma, so they gave me asthma pumps and steroids. Then they both said it was all in my head. 'It wasn't nice, I felt like people thought I was going crazy, I almost felt like I was going crazy in myself.' Mr Fantetti's girlfriend of five years Heidi Oldfield, 23, said despite the challenges her partner's condition has brought, she loves him all the same. But she now has to help her boyfriend clean himself and get dressed as he has limited muscle control. The former railway worker, pictured fighting, said having to give up MMA is 'heartbreaking' The transport recruiter said: 'It's been quite a bad transformation, we used to go on holiday all the time and be so active. 'Now, we can hardly leave the house. He used to go to the gym all the time, he was a real hunk, but now he can't get out of bed or shower without help. 'It can be hard, but at the end of the day I love him.' Mr Fantetti, who is raising 24,000 on GoFundMe to fund his ongoing and future care, added: 'It stops me from sleeping. 'I don't really like going out of the house now so my relationship with friends has suffered as a result. 'Heidi has to do most the things for me like cleaning myself and getting dressed as I have limited muscle control, it's really, really hard. 'It takes me ages to walk places and I'm dependent on everyone around me. I won't be able to continue what I used to do including MMA, it's really heartbreaking.' Harvey McEnroe, Chief Operating Officer at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Medway Maritime Hospital, said: 'We are sorry to hear about Mr Fantetti's concerns; we have been in contact with him and we are happy to meet with him to discuss these concerns or any other aspects of his care.' Chris is raising money for his care on GoFundMe. A man has been charged with murder over the death of a woman who was shot in the head inside her home. Stafford Emmerson, 40, was charged following investigations into the death of 40-year-old Megan Kirley. Ms Kirley's boyfriend found her body inside her rural property in Karawatha, an outer suburb of Brisbane, on February 9, 2019. He was planning to propose to her on Valentine's Day, later in the week. Stafford Emmerson, 40, has been charged with murdering 40-year-old mother Megan Kirley Ms Kirley (pictured) was shot dead in the early hours of Saturday morning Police allege Mr Emmerson was with Ms Kirley on the morning of her death and that he 'actively avoided' authorities in the weeks after. Detective Inspector Craig Morrow previously said detectives believed 'he was present at the time of the shooting' and were searching neighbourhoods he was known to frequent. Police previously claimed the man had no known address, but have since confirmed he is from Acacia Ridge. He was charged with one count of murder and is expected to front Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, March 4. Ms Kirley's boyrfirend Pieter Pickering, 43, said his 'whole world' was destroyed. He had planned to propose to her that week on Valentine's Day Ms Kirley was found dead at her rural property by her 43-year-old boyfriend Pieter Pickering. Mr Pickering rang triple-zero at 3.16am to report Ms Kirley had died by a gunshot wound. He has posted a series of tributes to his late partner since the tragedy. 'Somebody help me my Megs is gone ... my whole world is destroyed,' he wrote on Facebook. When friends asked what had happened, he replied bluntly: 'My Mrs was shot on Friday night.' He added that Ms Kirley, a passionate motorcyclist and one-time council worker, was the 'greatest woman this world was ever graced with'. 'I loved her so much and planned to ask her to marry me on Valentine's Day,' Mr Pickering said. 'I'm lost now she is gone. A Hawaiian war god statue (pictured) that was bought for $7 million in a bidding war could be worth just $5,000 A Hawaiian war god statue that was bought for $7 million in a bidding war could be worth just $5,000, experts claim. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, purchased the rare piece at a November auction at Christies in Paris. They paid more than $7 million for the figure, which is less than two feet tall. The San Francisco couple then donated the piece to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, which announced the acquisition this week. But experts have said that the object could be a Tiki bar tchotchke worth just $5,000. 'Its the sort of thing you see in a tiki bar,' said Daniel Blau, an expert in the art of the Pacific islands who is based in Munich, told The New York Times. At the sale in Paris, Christies said the wooden war god was about 200 years old. But now doubts have emerged about the sculptures age. The carving, made sometime between 1780 and 1819, had been in the collection of Claude Verite, a Paris art dealer, who apparently acquired it in 1940. Its unclear where the carving was before that. Similar pieces are found only in museums, said Susan Kloman, head of African and Oceanic Art at Christies, in a description of the piece prior to the auction. Christie's described the piece in its catalog as 'Hawaiian figure, kona style, circa 1780-1820, representing the god of war, ku ka ili moku.' It was estimated to sell for or $2.3 million to $3.4 million. Susan Kloman, head of African and Oceanic Art at Christies, described the piece as 'an incredible discovery', adding 'This figure could stand on the world stage.' 'When I first saw this figure I was astonished - really speechless.'We couldnt imagine that such a work could still exist in a private collection.' Anthony Meyer, a dealer based in Paris and a specialist in Oceanic artworks, told the New York Times: 'I dont think its a pre-contact or post-contact sculpture carved by someone with the belief systems of that period or place. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, purchased the rare piece at a November auction at Christies in Paris, paying more than $7 million 'I think its made later, but I dont know when,' added Mr. Meyer. He added that if the sculpture is of a much later date, it could have a financial value of less than $5,000. A spokesman for Christie's said: 'Christies was delighted to learn last summer that the buyer of the Kona figure had donated it to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for its permanent collection. 'The museum is well situated to add to the body of empirical research, stylistic analysis, and scholarly support that Christies compiled on the figure prior to sale, and which has already been expanded on by an expert in the field of Polynesian art. 'After more than 70 years in a private collection, this probable mate to the figure in the British Museum is an important rediscovery that is sure to inspire continued scholarship and interest.' Benioff said he learned of the piece only a day before the auction, when a Bishop Museum board member, called to ask for the billionaires help. The carving was probably part of a temple on the Big Island, where King Kamehameha I prayed to Ku to unify the Hawaiian islands, Benioff said. It is thought that missionaries boxed it up along with other sacred Hawaiian relics and sent it to Europe. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return something like this to its home, Benioff added. Benioff, who owns a large estate in Hawaii, claimed that he had beaten a 'significant bidder,' to purchase the piece The carving was returned to Hawaii in April last year and is now on display at Bishop Museum in Honolulu He told the San Francisco Chronicle: 'It was either going to go back into someones living room for another 200 years or it was going to go back to Hawaii and be on display for the Hawaiian people.' Benioff, who owns a large estate in Hawaii, claimed that he had beaten a 'significant bidder', to purchase the piece. 'Its a spiritual item. Its not really something that should be held to help 'he power of one person'. The carving was returned to the islands in April last year, the land-eater idol arriving about a week before the eruption of the Kilauea volcano. Last year, an expert group of curators from the Bishop Museum visited experts in London and Paris to investigate the history of the sculpture. The museums current 'Transformative Images' exhibition, in which the figure is on show, describes it as 'long held in a private French collection.' However it does not detail when it was found. Melanie Ide, the museums president and chief executive, said the museum was aware of 'a question about its history and provenance,' and claimed the curators were still carrying out research into the piece. She claimed that the wood that it is made from had been 'scientifically analyzed' and that further testing 'may be informative.' Before Salesforce, he spent 13 years at database software giant Oracle. He has a net worth of $6.8 billion, according to Forbes. The youngest sister of New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has hit back to trolls on her sibling's social media page, calling some of them 'sheep' and telling others to 'relax'. Social media trolls took to the premier's Instagram page recently and began to pick at Ms Berejiklian's appearance among a slew of comments defending live music. Corporate executive Mary Berejiklian decided to take it upon herself to fight the trolls and lashed out against them. The youngest sister of New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has hit back to trolls on her sister's social media page (pictured Mary Berejiklian left with Gladys Berejiklian) Corporate executive Mary Berejiklian decided to take it upon herself to fight the trolls and lashed out against them On many of the comments with the hashtag #dontkilllivemusic, Ms Berejiklian replied with a simple 'LetsGetItDoneNSW'. However, to others who left more detailed comments under the premier's Instagram photos, the youngest sister didn't keep it as sweet. After one user brought up the topic of festivals, Ms Berejiklian told them they didn't make sense and to 'relax go read or something'. When another user threatened the premier would be gone after the state election in March, her sister replied saying: 'how about you get losty'. Another person who left their opinion under the premier's photo by saying she 'sucked' was told by her younger sister: 'Grow some pubes then we can talk'. Under another of the premier's Instagram photos a user made a comment about her sister's 'f**k-off bird nose', and Ms Berejiklian unleashed. 'Disgusting 12-year-old you even allowed to have an account? You have an immature bird brain that can't come up with anything better than a bullying personal attack,' the corporate executive wrote. To others who left more detailed comments under the premier's Instagram photos, the youngest sister didn't keep it her replies sweet Social media trolls took to the premier's Instagram page recently and began to pick at Ms Berejiklian's appearance among a slew of comments defending live music, which her sister (pictured) defended The user replied, attempting to defend themselves by claiming the culture of music is dying because of the crackdown on festivals. Ms Berejiklian hit back once more: 'A baboon could tell your age based on your behaviour and sophistication in your writing.' Another Instagram user questioned why 'whoever runs your Instagram' would choose to work for 'this horrid person'. The premier's youngest sister replied with: 'better than being a bludger like you'. When one person attacked the premier with a simple 'I hate you', her sister was quick to come to her defence when they said she had a 'huge nose'. 'Good that's why I can sniff out crap like you a milk away...' she wrote. Under another of the premier's Instagram photos a user made a comment about her sister's 'f**k-off bird nose', and Ms Berejiklian unleashed When another person claimed she was the premier's 'lesbian lover', Ms Berejiklian called them 'trash' for 'making fun of lesbians'. Ms Berejiklian told one user she had 'more respect for possums' when they described her sister as being 'useless'. Another user, who tried discussing how Sydney's night-life was taking a hit because of the 'war on festivals', was told they were a 'sheep'. 'You have become a sheep and rattling off the same BS that doesnt (sic) make sense. You don't even know what policies you are arguing,' Ms Berejiklian wrote. The corporate executive is extremely protective of her older sister, as the premier took it upon herself to care for her younger sisters while their parents worked full-time. The corporate executive is extremely protective of her older sister, as the premier took it upon herself to care for her younger sisters while their parents worked full-time (pictured, Gladys Berejiklian with her parents and sisters) Mary Berejiklian used her Instagram arround @mishka_bishka and defended her sister against social media trolls Talking to The Daily Telegraph, she said her sister didn't deserve to be personally attacked 'by a minority of cowardly people', although she admits some of the responses weren't her 'finest'. 'Glad has worked hard and passionately for the people of NSW and this hasn't been limited to these past two years but since she was 17 years of age,' she said. 'She doesn't deserve being personally attacked by a minority of cowardly people hiding behind the comfort of their online social media accounts, hurling profanities with no ramifications.'. 'I didn't want any of these online bullies getting a free hit and I have no doubt several were shocked that someone fought back.' Julie Bishop believes she would have beaten Labor leader Bill Shorten in the next election had she been made Liberal leader. The former deputy leader and foreign affairs minister sensationally announced her retirement from politics last week only months after losing out to Scott Morrison for the top job after the party's leadership spill. Ms Bishop decided to run for prime minister during the infamous leadership spill in August of 2018 that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from his role as Australia's leader. Julie Bishop is adamant she would have beaten Labor leader Bill Shorten in the next election had she been made Liberal leader during the recent leadership spill While she had secured about 28 votes heading into the spill, only 11 voted for her on the day, eliminating her from the first round and paving the way for Morrison to beat out Peter Dutton. But Ms Bishop believes her colleagues were so concerned with the turmoil within the inner circle that nobody considered the most important factor - deciding who would be best to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten at the 2019 federal election. She said retiring cabinet minister Christopher Pyne was a key driver of a push to stop the party room from voting for her. 'If I had known that was what their thinking was, I could have dissuaded them of it but also I would have pointed out that the question was: Who could beat Bill Shorten? 'And I was confident that I could beat Shorten,' Ms Bishop told The Sunday Times. Ms Bishop believes her colleagues were so concerned with the turmoil within the inner circle that nobody considered the most important factor - deciding who would be best to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten (pictured) at the 2019 federal election Only 11 ministers voted for Ms Bishop on the day, eliminating her from the first round and paving the way for Morrison (left) to beat out Peter Dutton (right) WHO IS JULIE BISHOP? Julie Bishop served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and the deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was first elected to Parliament in 1998 and filled multiple roles in the Howard government, including the Minister for Ageing, Minister for Education and Science and Minister for Women. Ms Bishop was the first female to ever hold the title of deputy leader of the Liberal Party and retained the position for more than a decade despite multiple leadership spills. Ms Bishop contested for the Prime Minister's position last August when Malcolm Turnbull was ousted. She was defeated in the first round of voting by Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, the latter of which went on to win. Following the defeat, she moved to the backbench and, in February 2019, announced her retirement from politics entirely. Advertisement She was also certain the Labor party knew it too. Ms Bishop said she was quietly confident ahead of the leadership spill, having spoken with a number of MP's over the phone who guaranteed her their vote. She said after 11 years of standing beside the multiple prime minister's as deputy leader, she felt she owed it to Australia to put her hand up when the job became available. 'And I also felt for all the women in Australia who had seen me as deputy for so long. I thought I'd be letting them down if I didn't put my hand up,' she said. The Morrison government have lost a handful of ministers heading into the federal election. Ms Bishop has formally announced she will not contest her long held seat of Curtain in West Australia, and she also stepped down as foreign minister earlier in the year. Christopher Pyne, Steve Ciobo, Kelly O'Dwyer, Michael Keenan and Nigel Scullion have all chosen to resign or step away from their prominent positions within the cabinet, as well. Polls are predicting the Labor party will win the federal election, despite Bill Shorten's lack of popularity. A teacher who stabbed his schoolgirl ex-girlfriend to death 45 times with a US marine knife has walked free from prison after just 15 years behind bars. Bojan Vulic was 24 when he killed 17-year-old Vlatka Mrmos in Brisbane in 2004. The graduate teacher, furious that she had ended their three-year relationship, lured her into his car after hiding a huge 40cm blade under his seat. Murderer: Bojan Vulic (left) was 24 when he killed 17-year-old Vlatka Mrmos (right) in Brisbane in 2004 Vulic drove over the speed limit, lost control of the car and had a minor crash. The pair had a fight before he pulled out the blade and repeatedly stabbed her. The killer claimed he did not remember the attack but horrified witnesses who had rushed to the crash to help saw the brutal murder. Vulic pleaded guilty in 2006 and was handed a life sentence which meant at least 15 years without parole. On Tuesday he was released from Maryborough Correctional Centre after his first parole application. Vulic is now living with his parents on a suburban street metres from playgrounds and childcare centres in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, according to the Sunday Mail. Vlatka's shattered family believe they have been robbed of justice and fear he will kill again. Before her death, Vlatka (pictured) had told her family she was scared of her ex-boyfriend Her sister Helena Mrmos told the newspaper: 'For a highly manipulative human being who has premeditated a murder, sat on the knife for five days and purchased it for that purpose, for him to be released after 15 years and one month, for me, is just unbelievable. 'Cold, calculated, he knew exactly what he was doing and when he was going to do it. 'The sentencing remarks said he is a premeditated murderer. I am almost certain he will kill again.' Ms Mrmos raised her concerns in a submission to the parole board, saying that no amount of prison time could reform the killer - but her pleas were ignored. A Parole Board spokesman did not say why the killed was released but said in a statement: 'The Parole Board Queensland fully considers all victim submissions when making parole decisions.' Before her death, Vlatka had told her family she was scared of her ex-boyfriend who had repeatedly phoned her demanding an explanation for the break up. She told them he was controlling and even dictated when she should shave her legs. After the savage killing, Vulic rapidly drove away but smashed into another car. He ran off but didn't get far before he was caught and brought to justice. Queensland law has since changed to stipulate a non-parole period of 20 years for murder instead of 15. Five people have been arrested following a New York drug raid where cops seized enough fentanyl to kill two million people. DEA agents and Greenburgh police raided an alleged heroin and fentanyl mill operated out of Westchester, New York home on Friday morning. A Drug Enforcement Administration task force carried out a search warrant in the home in the quiet and upscale village of Ardsley and found five kilograms of fentanyl in the home and six kilograms of heroin. Photos from the raid show bags of powdered substances wrapped in plastic and stuffed into the crooks of furniture and hidden in concealed compartments of dressers. Scroll down for video DEA agents and Greenburgh police raided a home in Westchester County, New York on Friday. Photos from inside the home show powdered substances stuffed in hidden compartments of furniture Authorities found six kilograms of heroin and five kilograms of fentanyl - enough to kill two million people - in the home. A press used to form the kilos pictured above It's believed the home was a heroin and fentanyl mill where the drugs were processed then taken off site for sale The amount of fentanyl alone was potent enough to wipe out two million people, according to DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan as per NBC. 'I commend the men and women in the Task Force and Tactical Diversion Squad for their quick and efficient investigation into this organization and their diligence to the safety of the residents living nearby,' he added. Residents of the home Braulio Mata, 31; Jose Garcia, 44; and Yarly Mendoza-Delorbe, 20, were arrested in the raid. Cops additionally arrested 47-year-old Ramon Aracena Alfe of Mount Vernon and 32-year-old Dionell Duarte Hernandez. Five people were arrested in the raid, three were residents of that home: Braulio Mata, 31; Yarly Mendoza-Delorbe, 20; and Jose Garcia, 44 (from left to right) Two non-residents of the home were arrested as well: 47-year-old Ramon Aracena Alfe of Mount Vernon (left) and 32-year-old Dionell Duarte Hernandez (right) The home was located in the quiet and upscale village of Ardsley in Westchester County, New York Mendoza pictured above being arrested by cops on Friday morning The owner of the home said he rented the home in December to a couple who had moved from the Bronx and was unaware of any illegal activity, according to ABC. Cops said they also seized drug paraphernalia such as cutting agents, grinders and baggies from the home. Investigators say after the drugs were processed at the home, they'd be moved off-site for sale. It's not clear if they have attorneys. Neighbors of the upscale, quiet community say they had no clue that the home was running an alleged drug mill, but noted seeing many cars come and go at night. An ISIS bride has revealed how she went from being a school girl in London to flying to Syria with her jihadi husband. Fatima, 30, met her 'prince', who turned out to be an ISIS recruiter, online and in 2015 they left the UK to support the 'liberation army.' After being bullied and having abuse shouted at her because of her religion for years, Fatima agreed to leave and has now revealed her story to the Stylist. Fatima, 30, said she had her headscarf ripped off when she was 11 and living in London. She went to Syria with her ISIS recruiter husband in 2015 when she was 26 (file picture) Her story was revealed after Shamima Begum appealed to come back to Britain after leaving Bethnal Green to join IS when she was 15 in 2015. Begum, now 19, granted a number of interviews while she was at the Al-Hawl refugee camp and pleaded to come back to Britain with her newborn son Jerah. Fatima told the Stylist she can trace her hatred against Britain to when she was only 11-years-old and was attacked by a gang of girls who ripped off her headscarf. She said: 'The whole time, they were screaming that I was a P**i b***h. Then they refused to give my headscarf back.' However after years of abuse in the streets and at work Fatima finally lost her faith in Britain when a pregnant Muslim friend was kicked to the floor. She said: 'This gang of girls called her a failed abortion and then threatened to kick her unborn child to death in her stomach to eliminate Muslim babies.' Shamima Begum, pictured with her son Jerah, appealed to come back to Britain after leaving Bethnal Green to join IS when she was 15 in 2015 While at school she said girls pretend to be her friends but then made 'jokes about my religious father dropping a petrol bomb through their letterbox.' Despite trying to dress like other pupils by wearing branded trainers alongside her traditional clothing, Fatima couldn't fit in. The now 30-year-old explained that as she got older the insults shouted at her became even worse. Fatima even said her colleagues at a supermarket would 'shout "Allahu Akbar" at me sarcastically when they walked past sometimes even in front of customers.' Fatima also told the Stylist about life in Syria while she was living with her husband who was also from London. She said once they arrived in 2015 they were given books which justified the imprisonment of sex slaves, beheadings and the use of pregnant women in fighting. In 2017 Fatima had a realisation that 'the solution for violence is never more violence' and returned to the UK. A woman from the United States but who moved to Australia could hardly believe her eyes after spotting a kangaroo bouncing its way down a busy street. Video footage captured the moment Nicole Chapman, 31, watched as a marsupial hopped by as she headed to work. The former U.S. resident who now lives in Melbourne in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria noted how it was par-for-the-course for Americans to joke about people down under 'riding roos to work', but said she never expected to see this. A kangaroo was spotted bouncing down a main road in the Australian city of Melbourne The marsupial was caught on camera as it continued its journey down the street Nicole Chapman, 31, couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the kangaroo bounce down the street. Neither could her Aussie boyrfriend, Robert, seen left 'Every time I told people back home that I was moving here, they asked: 'You gonna ride a kangaroo to work every day?' 'I told them "It's not like that, I'll be in the city." Next thing I know, I see one hopping down the middle of the road towards us. 'I couldn't believe my eyes, it's the last place I thought I'd see crazy wildlife like that.' The kangaroo can be seen swiftly avoiding traffic as it takes off down the left-hand lane of the road. What became of the roo is unknown and Nicole said she has yet to hear anything else about its fate. The sighting was also the cause of much amusement to her partner Robert, who said it was priceless for the stereotype to be confirmed when Americans are present The sighting was also the cause of much amusement to her partner Robert, who said it was priceless for the stereotype to be confirmed when Americans are present. Nicole said: 'He just kept hopping out of view like he had somewhere to be. 'It was such a great moment to witness and share with everyone back home. 'My boyfriend was like: "After all this time denying we share our roads with roos, it turns out I was lying!"' A Detroit man who was convicted of murder aged 11 has been charged with selling heroin and methamphetamine. Nathaniel Abraham, now 33, was caught selling methamphetamine and heroin by undercover officers a number of times, according to police. Officers subsequently searched two homes in Pontiac in connection with the case. Detroit man Nathaniel Abraham (right in his most recent mugshot and left in court when he was a child) who was convicted of murder aged 11 has now been charged with selling heroin and methamphetamine At one house, on the 200 block of Warwick Street, officers apparently found 4.9 grams of meth, $3,086 and digital scales, Detroit Free Press reported. Bond was set at $100,000 during a court appearance Friday in Farmington Hills. He is expected to be arraigned Saturday in Pontiac on five counts of delivery and manufacture of methamphetamine, a 20-year felony, and on one count of maintaining a drug house, which carries a two-year penalty. Abraham, who has a girlfriend and four-month-old son, was ordered to live at his mother's home in Pontiac and wear a GPS tether because of two other cases involving indecent exposure and resisting arrest. Outside court attorney James Galen claimed that his client isn't 'holding up so well'. He told WDIV-TV: 'It looks like if we're not careful, he's going to be warehoused in another fine (Michigan Department of Corrections) correctional facility. The station reported that a judge told Abraham to leave town as he has had numerous brushes with the law. However Galen said that Another judge ordered him to stay at his mother's home. 'If he had his way, he'd leave the state of Michigan with his new girlfriend and four-month-old son and never look back. Abraham, seen here in a booking photo in August 2018, has been in and out of prison for various offenses including indecent exposure Abraham was charged with indecent exposure in August 2018 but failed to show up in court. Officers later had to taser him after he resisted arrest and had punched deputies 'I'd buy him a plane ticket, a train ticket if I could, but the truth is he's stuck now because he's got pending cases.' Abraham made headlines in 1997 when he shot 18-year-old Ronnie Greene outside a party store in Pontiac. Police said the killing appeared to be random, Detroit Free Press previously reported. Abraham was convicted as an adult of second-degree murder but sentenced as a juvenile After spending time in various juvenile facilities, he was eventually released from custody on his 21st birthday in 2007. However he later returned to jail on charges that had attempted to sell ecstasy. Abraham was also sentenced to probation for assaulting a prison guard in 2010 during his time in jail for attempting to sell drugs. Michigan Department of Corrections records show that he wad discharged from parole in June 2018 about a year after he was released. However he got into trouble once again when he showed his genitals to a woman after telling her he would mow her lawn in August 2018. He was charged with indecent exposure over this incident but failed to show up for a court appearance. At this time he punched deputies who tried to arrest him. He was then tasered and taken into custody. A massive swag bag which contains 20,000 in cash has yet to be reclaimed by its owner, four months after an online appeal was issued by police. The finding baffled officers in Telford who stumbled across the large bag of money while on patrol in the town of Wellington in October last year. Despite issuing an appeal on Tuesday October 16 2018, West Mercia Police has now said that not a single person has come forward to claim the cash. Last year they posted a picture of the cash with a message which read: 'We have some good news for whoever lost more than 20k in Wellington yesterday (October 16).' The massive bag of cash (pictured above) was found by officers patrolling an area in Telford However a spokesperson for the force yesterday, speaking to Birmingham Live said: 'No-one has come forward to claim. 'There's no update and the money remains unclaimed.' According to common law, a person who finds lost personal property could keep it until - and unless - the original owner comes forward. This rule applies to people who discover lost property in public areas. Mislaid property, meanwhile, generally goes to the owner of the property where it was found. The West Mercia Police force were unable to provide a further update as to where the cash would go if it remains unclaimed. The bizarre 'Burger Mobile' car from the 1990s flick Good Burger is on sale. The 1975 AMC Pacer with a hamburger on its hood debuted in the comedy film Good Burger featuring Keenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell in 1997. The car, now rusted and old, still has the hamburger in tact from its Nickelodeon glory days, has been put up for sale for $10,000. An ad for the car was put on Facebook Marketplace with the owner based in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 'Burger Mobile' from the 1997 Nickelodean film Good Burger is on sale for $10,000 Karl Sperl of Daytona Beach, Florida put it on sale on Facebook for $10,000 this week, describing the car as in poor condition and sharing photos of the rust-covered vehicle The Burger Mobile was iconic in the 90s comedy Good Burger where it was used by stars Keenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell (above in the film) The seller named Karl Sperl said his father 'bought it off someone who I think won it in a contest after the movie release' 12 years ago, according to Jalopnik. Photos of the car reveal the once glorious blue pacer is now covered with rust and appears to have not run in years. According to Sperl's ad the car has been driven 999,999 miles and is in 'poor condition'. The ad: The seller named Karl Sperl said his father 'bought it off someone who I think won it in a contest after the movie release' 12 years ago The blue 1975 AMC Pacer still has a metal hamburger attacked to its hood A look inside the car shows how aged and dusty its become after it was purchased 12 years ago The car may be a steal for die-hard Good Burger fans as there may be a sequel to the 90s flick However, the car might be a good buy for die-hard Good Burger fans as there are talks for a sequel to the 90s movie. Keenan Thompson announced in December that he and Mitchell could reunite for a follow up to the movie about two young men running a struggling burger joint. 'We've been talking about it for a long time. We've had meetings about it, so it's in the higher powers' hands cause we've both said that we're down to do it,' Thompson said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in December. Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gave a thumbs up to supporters as he temporarily left prison to attend the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson today. Da Silva, who was president between 2003 and 2010, has been jailed in the Parana state capital of Curitiba for corruption and money laundering since April 2018. He was released at 7am on Saturday morning and flew to Sao Paulo by plane before taking a helicopter to Sao Bernardo do Campo, where the funeral is taking place. The federal court of Parana authorized da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence, to make the 400-kilometer (249-mile) journey for the little boy's burial. Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva died of meningitis at Rede D'Or Sao Luiz hospital, in Santo Andre, the city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, on Friday. He is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva. Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gave a thumbs up to supporters as he temporarily left prison to attend the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson today Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva died of meningitis at Rede D'Or Sao Luiz hospital, in Santo Andre, the city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, on Friday. He is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva, one of the sons of the former president The federal court of Parana authorized da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence, to make the 400-kilometer (249-mile) journey for the little boy's burial (pictured) On Friday, social media was filled with messages in support of the former president, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010, even from adversaries. But lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, said on Twitter that da Silva should not be allowed to attend the funeral. 'Lula is just an inmate and he should be at a common prison. When the relatives of other inmates die will they also be escorted by the federal police for the funeral?' Eduardo Bolsonaro said. 'It is absurd to even contemplate that. It only lets him pose as a poor thing.' On Friday, social media was filled with messages in support of the former president, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2010, even from adversaries. Pictured: Arthur with his grandfather He waved to supporters as he left the funeral today. He was released at 7am on Saturday morning and flew to Sao Paulo by plane before taking a helicopter to Sao Bernardo do Campo Brazil's president did not comment. Most inmates are granted permission to travel to the funerals of close relatives in accordance with Brazilian legislation. But judge Lebbos' latest decision was a turnaround from her earlier ruling on January 29 which denied da Silva the ability to attend the funeral of his elder brother Genival Inacio da Silva. In that instance, Lebbos decided to ask Brazil's federal police and the federal prosecutor's office in Curitiba whether da Silva should be allowed to travel. Brazil's federal police argued there would be security concerns if the former president left the city of Curitiba to attend ceremonies in Sao Paulo. The 73-year old claims he is being politically persecuted. He has been jailed since April 7. Advertisement Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao would give almost anything to be able to do a load of laundry without having to drive miles from her Mexico Beach home. Anthony Campbell would appreciate having a gas station closer than an hour away from his house in Parker. And Patrick Muth just hopes it doesn't rain when it's time to go to work: His 'office' in Panama City consists of a desk surrounded by rubble under an open sky. Kathryn Welch burns a pile of branches she cut off the trees that fell around her home from Hurricane Michael in Cottondale, Florida. Welch has spent hours everyday clearing her yard of downed trees since the storm hit Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao stands in what used to be her bedroom before her home is torn down that morning due to irreparable damage from Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach. The Sebastiaos, along with two other neighbors, were the only residents who had returned to their beachside street where homes were either blown off their foundations during the hurricane or intentionally knocked down after the storm because they were deemed too damaged Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao descends from the missing top floor of her damaged home from Hurricane Michael on the morning it is torn down in Mexico Beach. The Sebastiaos paid $290,000 for the three-story house and had moved into it just two months before the storm hit Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao steps out of the trailer she's been living in after her home was damaged from Hurricane Michael. After Michael destroyed the house, Bela and her husband, Jaques Sebastiao, lived in a tent in their front yard and then a camper Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao lights a BBQ while waiting for her damaged house to be torn down. Since the storm destroyed their home, every two weeks Bela and her husband drive to their son's place in Georgia to do laundry hundreds of miles away Life is still a struggle in the county hardest hit by Hurricane Michael, which carved a wide swath of destruction through the Florida Panhandle when it roared ashore on Oct. 10 with winds of 155 mph. Drivers who have lived in the area for years second-guess themselves about whether they're going the right way - the street signs, trees, and houses that once served as points of reference are gone. Many doctors' offices haven't reopened and one of the county's two hospitals was closed, even though Bay County residents are experiencing hurricane-related health problems such as respiratory illness. Students in schools damaged by the storm have moved into other facilities, dropping enrollment by 14 percent. Bay County had about 183,000 residents before the storm, and about 7,800 people were estimated to be homeless in January. Shopping for groceries is burdensome since many retailers haven't reopened yet. Many of those that have are selling limited goods from pop-up trailers parked in front of their damaged properties. Jaques, left, and wife Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao watch as their house is torn down next to paintings of boats and beach chairs they found amidst debris in the neighborhood from Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach Jaques, right, and wife Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao watch as their damaged house from Hurricane Michael is torn down. 'We're ready to move on,' said Bela Sebastiao as they couple plans to rebuild the house Jaques, left, and wife Paulina 'Bela' Sebastiao watch as their damaged house from Hurricane Michael is torn down An excavator tears down a damaged home from Hurricane Michael in Panama Cit. In some cases, county residents have been hindered in their efforts to rebuild and repair. Mexico Beach which became the visual symbol of the storm with its rows of empty cement foundations where houses once stood had a moratorium on new construction until mid-February so new flood maps could be figured out Patrick Muth sifts through debris in what used to be his office of his fifth-generation plumbing business he continues to operate in Panama City, Florida. 'You have two options,' said Muth, who plans to rebuild the office. 'You can lay down and cry or you can keep marching.' Garbage collectors aren't even close to removing the 15 million cubic yards (11.5 million cubic meters) of Sheetrock, insulation, tree limbs and appliances strewn everywhere by the storm. Amid such disruption, once-mundane everyday tasks now require a combination of planning, patience and luck. 'It's just a hassle,' said Campbell, who is retired. 'With everyday life ... everything is different. You have to readjust.' After Hurricane Michael destroyed the Mexico Beach house of Bela and Jaques Sebastiao, they lived in a tent in their front yard and then a camper. They recently received a trailer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but it took more than a month before they were allowed to move in since they needed a special tank for sewage. The trailer had a shower and not being able to use it for weeks was 'torture,' they said. The Sebastiaos, along with two other neighbors, were the only residents who had returned to their beachside street in Mexico Beach, where homes were either blown off their foundations during the hurricane or intentionally knocked down after the storm because they were deemed too damaged. Every two weeks, they drive hundreds of miles (kilometers) to their son's place in Georgia to do laundry. 'We don't have any showers, no laundry, no supermarkets,' Jaques Sebastiao said in the days before they could move into their trailer. Ilea Faircloth, principal of Springfield Elementary School walks across a bare foundation where classrooms were destroyed by Hurricane Michael and since torn down in Panama City. As the county's student population has decreased, the school board has approved closing at least three schools for the time-being Daylight pours in through the damaged roof of a classroom at Springfield Elementary School which has remained closed since Hurricane Michael hit A student walks past empty seats in the Northside Elementary School cafeteria during lunchtime in Panama City. The county's student population has decreased by 14 percent since the storm, with some schools down by more than 40 percent Mold grows on the wall and food left behind in a classroom since Hurricane Michael damaged Springfield Elementary School in Panama City. The school remains closed as the county deliberates how best to operate schools with a decreased student population. A lack of housing has forced some students to move out of the county and enroll in other school districts A broom closet in Northside Elementary School is filled with donated shoes for students whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. With 4,700 students among the homeless since the hurricane, principals and teachers at Bay County schools are on the lookout for students who are wearing dirty clothes or missing shoes. Northside Elementary School was given industrial washers and dryers so students can get their clothes cleaned In some cases, county residents have been hindered in their efforts to rebuild and repair. Mexico Beach - which became the poster child of the storm with its rows of empty cement foundations where houses once stood - had a moratorium on new construction until mid-February to allow new flood maps to be designed. Even with the green light to go ahead, residents are having difficulty getting commitments from in-demand contractors, said Campbell, whose home developed mold after a dispute with his insurance company delayed repairs. Principals and teachers at Bay County schools are on the lookout for students who are wearing dirty clothes or missing shoes. Northside Elementary School in Panama City was given industrial washers and dryers so students can get their clothes cleaned, and staffers have filled a broom closet with donated shoes and clothing. 'We have so many students who are living from place to place and the faculty is living place to place,' said Principal Amy Harvey. 'Academics has to be important, but we want to make sure these kids are emotionally OK before we can teach them anything.' A newly installed street lamp stands amidst the debris from Hurricane Michael as an American flag blows in the wind in Mexico Beach. Garbage collectors aren't even close to removing the 15 million cubic yards (11.5 million cubic meters) of sheet-rock, insulation, tree limbs and appliances strewn everywhere by the storm Bimyall Leroy Burke smokes a cigarette outside a damaged home in the neighborhood where he now resides in a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer in Panama City. Burke just returned from Tennessee where he had been waiting for the trailer to become available since the hurricane hit and destroyed his home Since his trucks weren't damaged, Muth kept operating his plumbing business with barely a hiccup, and he's already planning to rebuild his office space. But given the extensive damage to plumbing everywhere, his regular customers don't always realize it may take weeks before he can get to them. When making service calls, he calls ahead to make sure the roads are clear and there is gas available in the area. 'It's just not going to be what it was for a long time,' Muth said. 'All of it has changed.' For law enforcement, the biggest problems since the storm are the pervasiveness of unlicensed contractors and the illegal dumping of debris on the sides of roads. Otherwise, though, the hundreds of officers from outside agencies who came to Bay County in the weeks after the storm helped keep the crime rate down, said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. Would-be criminals are perhaps discouraged by signs like the one on two wooden boards covering windows at R & D Auto Electric in Parker. They read, 'Stay out. You look, we shoot!' 'Make no mistake. Things are very tough here, and there are people who are living in very difficult circumstances,' Ford said. 'We are still hurting and we're going to be hurting for a long time.' Clothespins hang on a line outside a boarded up housing development damaged from Hurricane Michael in Panama City. Officials in Bay County, Florida estimate almost three-quarters of the households in this county of 183,000 residents were impacted in some way by the storm Rickie Keith stands in the FEMA trailer he just moved into after his home was damaged by Hurricane Michael in Panama City. 'I'm lucky to be here,' said Keith, 'The wind tried to blow us away. We got nothing.' A bible sits on a stained mattress on a pile of debris outside a damaged motel from Hurricane Michael in Panama City Natalia Baksheeva, pictured, has been jailed for eleven-and-a-half years for instigating the murder of a 35-year-old waitress by her husband A Russian woman suspected of being part of a cannibal couple who ate 'dozens' of victims has been jailed for eleven-and-a-half years. Natalia Baksheeva, 43, was found guilty of instigating the murder of 35-year-old waitress Elena Vashrusheva by her husband. In a statement given in court, she claimed her cheating had driven her 'maniac' husband to steam, pickle and freeze the waitress' remains. Her spouse Dmitry Baksheeva, 35, nicknamed the 'Devil', is still to face a separate murder trial after being declared psychiatrically fit. Earlier media reports citing law enforcement sources claimed the couple had some 30 victims over 18 years between them, and also kept meat from dogs and cats. They lured victims from dating websites, and sold 'meat' at the military academy where they lived, it was alleged. Baksheeva's trial in Russia only concerned the waitress whose butchered remains - some cooked in a frying pan - were found in the family's fridge and freezer, and on their cooker. She was convicted of provoking her husband to murder the waitress who allegedly flirted with her husband during a drinking session. Baksheeva had earlier admitted to being a cannibal, but later retracted. In a rambling seven-minute statement from the court cage, Baksheeva confessed: 'I'm guilty that for the last three years I had another man. 'I did not name him to the jury.' Her spouse Dmitry Baksheev, 35, nicknamed the 'Devil', is said to have steamed, pickled and frozen the waitress' remains Her husband guessed she was cheating, she said. She told the judge: 'This man was even involved in our church wedding. I'm guilty, your honour, that with my behaviour, I brought my husband to what he has done. 'If he went for this [murder and cannibalism], I blame myself.' Pictured: one of their victims in Russia She said: 'I asked him why he removed the scalp from the woman's head. 'He replied: "Her hair looked like yours and to prevent this happening to you, I decided to chop it off, and destroy it." 'To my question "why?" He did not answer.' Evidence suggested she had a big sway over her husband who obeyed her commands, prosecutors said. 'I blame myself so much,' she said. 'That I lived with him not loving him, and had pity for him... I think that I'm guilty very much in this. 'I will never forgive myself for this.' Criminal lawyer Dr Yulia Fedotova has claimed the murder and slicing up of the waitress' body was carried out by a skilled 'butcher' who had previous experience. She also highlighted that in her first testimony, Baksheeva had said her husband 'put the body parts in the bathroom, cut the skin off the skull, severed the ears and lips with his teeth, and ate them'. In a seven-minute statement given in court, Baksheeva said that she believed her 'maniac' husband had been driven to murder by her cheating She said: 'I asked him why he removed the scalp from the woman's head. 'He replied: "Her hair looked like yours and to prevent this happening to you, I decided to chop it off, and destroy it"' Later Baksheeva denied cannibalism, which was suddenly accepted by the authorities, said Dr Fedotova. If Baksheev was a novice killer - as law enforcement claimed - she asked how he knew how to expertly cut off the dead and gouge out the heart while dismembering other body parts. If the couple were not cannibals, why were the woman's body parts expertly preserved in the couple's fridge and freezer, she asked. 'How could Baksheev - who was never convicted before and who was not a butcher or surgeon - manage to do all this alone and just within several hours?' She claimed witnesses were shown 'dozens' of pictures of missing people suspected of being linked to the case. She wrote in opposition outlet Mediazone: 'The most important question is - what happened to other bodies? Did they exist? 'What about those dozens of missing people? Why did witnesses have to go through numerous photographs of men and women for identification? Who are these people and where are they?' Several sources have suggested the authorities did not want to allow a scandal at the prestigious military academy where they couple lived. But investigators say that the couple only met in 2012 so could not have jointly engaged in cannibal acts before this. They authorities now allege a grisly picture showing a feast - apparently depicting the severed head of a man in 1999 - was a fake. An Illinois nurse has adopted a baby boy with a congenital heart defect who she helped care for throughout his intense medical treatment. Nurse Angela Farnan helped look after baby Blaze who was born with an underdeveloped heart on May 30, 2017, at the OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, where's she's worked for 32 years. His condition has required multiple life-threatening operations and constant medical care. He had his first surgery when he was just three days old. When Blaze was ordered to remain in the hospital or in medical foster care for the 10 months before his next operation, Farnan stepped up to the plate and took the child in. Then after his second operation, Blaze's parents realized the severity of his health condition and the incredible support Farnan offered the infant, and they asked if she'd consider taking in the child. Scroll down for video Nurse Angela Farnan officially adopted baby Blaze on June 8, 2018 after caring for him as a medical foster parent Blaze was born with an underdeveloped heart on May 30, 2017 at the OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, where's Farnan's worked for 32 years When Blaze's parents realized they couldn't give him the medical care and attention he required, they asked if she'd adopt him Farnan had always wanted to start a family with her husband of 11 years, but doctors told her she couldn't conceive. Blaze is a miracle baby for her family For Farnan, who's been married for 11 years and always wanted a child but was told by doctors she couldn't conceive, it was a dream come true. She and her husband Rick Farnan immediately agreed. 'We didnt even look at each other. Rick and I didnt need to have a discussion. We said, "absolutely,"' Angela said. 'I think our response came out of our mouths at the same time. We were ecstatic.' When Farnan asked if the parents wanted her to adopt Blaze, his birth mother said, 'Yes, we want what's best for him' as they lived far from the hospital and didn't have the financial means to give him the extensive care he needed. 'I really feel that he has blessed our lives. He's full of joy. His smile lights up the room,' Farnan said on baby Blaze Angela and husband Rick Farnan pictured above with two-year-old Blaze 'Becoming a parent for the first time, I can't describe the feeling. It was one of the best days of our lives,' Farnan said on her new role as a mother Proud parents: The couple filed adoption papers in April and the adoption was finalized on June 8, 2018 'She said she wanted to be a good mom and I told her she was a great mom and never let anyone tell her differently. She made a very tough decision to do what she felt was right for Blaze,' Farnan said. 'It was quite an emotional day because my husband and I fell in love with him and it was getting close and closer to when we had to give him back,' she added. 'The birth mom, God bless her. She made a heartfelt, heart-breaking decision. Angela and I just put our heads together and said, "can you believe it? Hes going to be ours,"' her husband added. Blaze still has to undergo a third surgery and may require a heart transplant one day Farnan says Blaze has a sweet personality and loves dancing to the children's song Baby Shark and Keith Urban hits The couple filed adoption papers in April and the adoption was finalized on June 8, 2018. 'I really feel that he has blessed our lives. He's full of joy. His smile lights up the room,' Farnan said on Good Morning America. 'Becoming a parent for the first time, I can't describe the feeling. It was one of the best days of our lives,' she added. Now the Farnan's are enjoying their new lives as parents to two-year-old Blaze. Blaze still has to undergo a third surgery and may require a heart transplant one day. Farnan says Blaze has a sweet personality and loves dancing to the children's song Baby Shark and Keith Urban hits. This is the shocking moment a California woman nearly four-times over the drink-driving limit crashes into a restaurant. During the busy lunchtime hours at Amerci Pizza and Pasta in Santa Clarita on Friday, Yvonne Tejada, 40, lost control of her vehicle and plowed through the shop's front window. Diners jolted up from their seats as the bonnet of the Tejada's sedan piled into tables. One 69-year-old man was hit by the car and rushed to hospital with moderate, but non-life threatening injuries, police say. 40-year-old Tejada lost control of her car at lunchtime on Friday, in Santa Clarita One 69-year-old man (seen in gray) was struck by the car's bonnet and suffered moderate injuries, police say Tejada immediately slammed the car into reverse but it came to a halt in the parking lot out front The car immediately backs out of the restaurant, but it's believed it came to a stop in the parking lot out front after striking a stationary vehicle. A Santa Clarita Sheriff was seen placing the suspect in handcuffs outside of the dilapidated shopfront. Shortly before, Tejada, from Sylmar, was filmed failing a sobriety test by The Signal. Police asked her to walking in a straight line, but instead, Tejada walks around in a circle and later breaks down in tears at her repeated failures to comply with the basic demand. According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, initial tests at the scene indicated the driver had a blood-alcohol level of 0.31 - nearly four times over the legal limit of 0.8 percent. Tejada, from Sylmar, CA, was asked by police to walk in a straight line After several attempts of walking in a circle and staggering, the suspect broke down in tears Santa Clarita Valley Sheriffs documented the moment they took the Tejada into custody Her car (above) is seen crumpled in out the front of the Ameci pizza store, having also collided with another vehicle Joseph Maier, manager of the pizza store said he saw the impact strike from the corner of his eye. 'What really got my attention was the sound. It kind of sounded like a bomb went off,' he told KTLA 5. Maier said it's lucky the outcome of the crash wasn't devastating, as the restaurant was packed with customers at one of its busiest times of the day. 'It was packed, rush-hour. Somebody drives all the way through the window, into the wall, and hit a customer, unfortunately. It was pretty scary,' Maier added. The woman was booked on charges of a suspected DUI causing grievous bodily injury. This is the moment a firefighting plane flies feet over the heads of shocked beachgoers as it swoops low over the sea to collect water to battle a nearby blaze. The aircraft appeared to come close to hitting a block of apartments before flying low over the sand and touching down in the water close to a small boat and stunned canoeist. The heart-stopping moment happened on Friday evening on the famous La Concha beach in San Sebastian near Spain's border with France. The plane was seen flying in over a block of flats which are situated on the beach front Footage of the incident, involving a Canadair hydroplane tackling a forest fire in a neighbouring province enraged many local residents with some branding it 'risky'. Central government representatives in the region insisted the plane had permission to land in the sea and collect water. But San Sebastian mayor Eneko Goia said afterwards city hall officials would be expressing their concern at the pilot's manoeuvre. The plane then got lower and lower as it got closer to the beach with many people looking up to the aircraft in wonder The plane dipped down extremely close to the beachgoers, some of which were still in the sea He tweeted: 'Always ready to help in emergencies, but we are going to express our surprise and concern to the aviation authority over the risky manoeuvre of the hydroplane at La Concha, which flew at low altitude over the city centre and landed in the bay.' An enraged local added on social media: 'There's never a 100 per cent guarantee with a plane. 'Although the pilot pulled it off perfectly, it's risky because of everything he had below him. 'What would have happened if he had hit something. Cemeteries are full of exceptional pilots because aircrafts fail sometimes.' But another added: 'Risky manoeuvre? I didn't know Mr Goia was an expert in these matters.' The fire the aircraft was involved in tackling was in the province of Navarra. La Concha is regularly included in lists of the world's most beautiful beaches. The plane then dropped down to water level in order to land in the sea and collect water Using a single breath, freediver Egor Nesterenko explored the depths of a shipwreck off the shores of Tobermory, Ontario. Nesterenko can be seen digging through a layer of snow and ice before diving into the freezing waters of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Nesterenko can be seen moving through the cold snowy water and exploring the Alice G shipwreck and entering an eerie blue world of underwater ice. Freediver Egor Nesterenko and his friends are seen breaking through snow and ice before diving into the chilly waters Nesterenko wanted to explore a shipwreck found at the bottom of the lake in early February Nesterenko took a dive off the shores of Tobermory, Ontario - all with just a single breath Nesterenko plunges into the water and begins to dive down leaving the surface far behind The camera captures the ice which remains several feet above as Nesternko plunges deeper down. Making the adventure even more remarkable, not to mention challenging, is that he did it in a single breath. 'Well we just love the water and we love freediving,' Nesterenko told Global News. 'We usually do it in the summer. But since our summers are so short unfortunately, we wanted to take it a step further and do it in the winter.' The freedive allows Nesterenko to get upclose to the shipwreck without massive oxygen tanks Nesterenko can be seen moving through the cold snowy water and exploring the Alice G shipwreck underneath a thick layer of ice that has developed up above It's all about timing as Nesterenko needs to leave enough time for him to reach the surface Nesterenko said he can't dive for too long in freezing waters as it takes a lot of energy. Often he dives for just 90 seconds or so. 'When it's that cold your body burns through oxygen a lot quicker and it takes a lot of energy to stay warm,' he said. Saying calm and collected is most important when freediving especially under extreme elements such as the freezing waters. Nesterenko wrote on Instagram: 'The low visibility thanks to the layer of snow made for a bit of a more thrilling and eerie experience.' He said that prefers locations with warmer water conditions, such as Mexico and Thailand, where it is warm all year round. The chilly waters make freediving more challenging as the body uses up oxygen faster Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has been accused of not pushing back enough, on the allegations that emanated from the recent testimony heard from former attorney general JodyWilson-Raybould on the SNC-Lavalin controversy. Global news takes us down memory lane on the entire details of the intense and seemingly never-ending SNC-Lavalin controversy. It all started on Feb. 19, 2015, when the RCMP laid corruption and fraud charges against Montreal-based engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin, it was alleged that the company used bribery to get government business deals in Libya. SNC-Lavalin replied that the charges are without merit and stem from alleged reprehensible deeds by former employees who left the company long ago. These allegations were really serious for SNC-Lavalin as a conviction could stop them from bidding on Canadian government business, potentially destroying them. However, later that same year, the Liberals won a federal election and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took over power from the conservatives. He appointed Jody Wilson-Raybould as the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. In March 2018, the liberals proposed a bill that could change the criminal code to allow for remediation agreements, plea-bargain-like deals between prosecutors and accused corporations. If this bill is successful, companies can avoid criminal proceedings by making reparations for prior bad behaviour. SNC-Lavalin as is to be expected, lobbied hard for this bill. However, the SNC-Laving company did not wait for this bill to be passed but rather contacted the Public Prosecution Service lawyers to confirm they have all important information for a possible invitation to negotiate a remediation agreement. However, the Public Prosecution Service replies, saying it would not invite the firm for a remediation agreement. Over the next few months after this, the SNC-Laving firm and liberals who appear to be their friends are seen lobbying very hard to ensure the firm is given a chance for remediation agreement. In the course of this, attorney general Wilson-Raybould loses her seat in the department of justice and this is where the controversy begins. In the coming months, it was seen in the news, that Trudeaus government, pressured Wilson-Raybould to help SNC-Laving avoid prosecution. This news brought along a lot of heated debates, with many parties calling on the former attorney general to come public with her own version of the story. Last week, on Wednesday, the 28th February, Jody Wilson-Raybouldfinally delivered a dramatic testimony in Ottawa, alleging inappropriate and sustained pressure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his office to save the engineering firm from a trial that could damage the Liberals political future in Quebec. Citizens waited with baited breathe for Prime Minister Trudeau to come public and defend himself, but were disappointed when he only came up with a few watered down words that were not saying much. Macleans.ca complained about the Prime Ministers refusal to fight back, stating you dont push back. You dont counter Wilson-Rayboulds facts and recollections with any of your own. You dont dispute what was said, even about your alleged direct personal involvement, other than to say you disagree with Wilson-Rayboulds characterization of events. Events are still unfolding and maybe over the next couple of weeks, Trudeau could make his own side of the story clearer to the people. A 21-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested Friday on accusations he threatened to shoot up a high school in April 2018 using Snapchat to send his intentions Federal authorities say a man has been indicted for threatening on Snapchat to shoot Ohio school students. Authorities say the April 2018 threat targeted Parma High School in suburban Cleveland and led to hundreds of students missing classes over several days. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland says Russell Miley-Cruz was indicted on one count of transmission of an interstate threat and one count of obstruction of justice. The 21-year-old man from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday. Online federal court records don't list an attorney for him. Parma Police Chief Joseph Bobak said the threat panicked the community and affected students and staff for several days as parents pulled hundreds of children out of school. The April 2018 threat targeted Parma High School in suburban Cleveland, pictured, and led to hundreds of students missing classes over several days. Authorities say he posted the following message on Snapchat on April 11, 2018: 'Don't go to Parma High School tomorrow friend, we are about to shoot that s*** up alright man? Don't tell cops and you will be fine.' Police took extra precautions as a result of the threat, and U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said hundreds of students missed classes as a result. 'This case is another reminder that making threats, online or in person, is always a bad idea,' Herdman said in a statement. Parma Police Chief Joseph Bobak said: 'This individual caused fear and panic in our community by targeting and threatening school children. 'These threats affected students and staff at Parma High School for several days as frightened parents pulled their kids out of school. 'Parma Police detectives, working alongside special agents from the FBI, diligently pursued all available leads on this case culminating in today's arrest. 'I would like to thank the FBI for working together with our department to identify and arrest this individual. 'Without their assistance and resources, this outcome might not have been possible.' A woman was seen laying flowers on the grave of Alexandr and Lyudmila Skripal, the son and wife of Sergei Skripal who was poisoned in Salisbury almost a year ago. Wearing a dark coat and carrying a handbag, the brown haired woman laid flowers in the cemetery in Salisbury on what would have been Alexandr's birthday. Mr Skripal suffered two bereavements within just five years when his wife Lyudmila died aged 59 in 2012, before his son Alexandr passed away aged 43 in 2017. Mystery surrounds the cause of death for both, with his wife's death certificate claiming she died of cancer but neighbours saying it was in a car crash. It has been recorded that Mrs Skripal, died on October 23, 2012, with her death certificate recording the cause of death as disseminated endometrial carcinoma. As for Mr Skripal's son, he is said to have been killed in a car crash in St Petersburg last year but the family's cleaner said he had actually died from liver problems. An unknown woman was seen laying flowers at the grave of Alexandr and Lyudmila Skripal, the son and wife of Sergei, who was poisoned in Salisbury last year It comes after Salisbury was declared decontaminated of novichok after a year-long military clean-up operation following the nerve agent attack. Government environmental experts today handed back the former Russian spy's former house following the clean up of 11 other potentially infected sites. Military teams have spent 13,000 hours on the clean-up after Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted with the nerve agent on March 4, 2018 and left seriously ill. They took 5,000 test samples from across Salisbury and nearby Amesbury, where Dawn Sturgess, 44, was fatally poisoned in July, during the 355-day operation. One year after the poison attack, people were enjoying the sunshine in Salisbury today The town has slowly returned to normal following the deadly chemical attack Following a year-long clean-up campaign, Salisbury has now been declared clean of the Russian nerve agent novichok, which was used in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Russian secret agents unsuccessfully targeted Mr Skripal (left) and his daughter Yulia (centre). The mess they made meant completely innocent mother Dawn Sturgess (right) was killed after coming into contact with the military-grade chemical weapon The Skripals' house, in Christie Miller Road, was handed from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) back to Wiltshire Council today. Brigadier David Southall said: The incredibly complex decontamination work carried out by the Armed Forces over the past twelve months, in collaboration with their multi-agency partners, reflects the expertise, courage and selfless commitment of our Servicemen and women in getting the job done and done well. 'The handover of the site at Christie Miller Road effectively now concludes the significant military contribution to support Salisbury and Amesbury following the novichok nerve agent attack on 4 March 2018. Along with the house, the sites include the park bench where the Skripals were found collapsed, the Zizzi restaurant where they had dined beforehand, and the home of Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was exposed to the agent. Lt Gen Urch, commander home command and standing joint commander, said it had been 'the longest running' operation of its kind on British soil. He said: 'Novichok is probably one of the most dangerous and most challenging chemicals in existence today and you don't need very much of it and it's highly spreadable.' Specialist teams have spent almost a year eliminating all traces of Novichok from the town The most severely contaminated site was Skripal's home in a suburban Salisbury street. It is pictured in March last year, shortly after the Skripal's collapsed, before investigators realised how badly it was contaminated Experts have now erected scaffolding around the building as they carefully dismantle it An estimated 600-800 specially trained military personnel, including the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment, were involved in the clean-up, named Operation Morlop. Around 190 worked at any one time and there were 250 'deliberate operations' to cross into and decontaminate danger areas. A senior military source said the Skripal house was the 'most complex' but each decontamination effort was 'bespoke' to the site. Other sites were Salisbury and Amesbury ambulance stations, Bourne Hill police station, Ashley Wood vehicle recovery yard and The Mill pub. Ms Sturgess fell ill and died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals and then discarded. Police are hunting two Russian GRU agents, named as Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga, over the chemical weapons attack Her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, was also exposed to the nerve agent but was treated and discharged. Mr Rowley's home, a Boots pharmacy branch and Amesbury Baptist Church were also among the 12 sites. Police appeal for info on perfume bottle The novichok was hidden inside this fake perfume bottle Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said: 'Whilst today marks an important landmark in relation to the decontamination process it does not however mark the end to the police investigation.' Some 250 detectives have worked on the investigation, collecting 11,000 hours of CCTV footage, seizing 3,700 exhibits and taking 1,702 statements. Police are asking anyone who may have seen a counterfeit pink Nina Ricci perfume box or glass bottle in between the two incidents to come forward. Counter Terrorism Policing senior national co-ordinator, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, said officers were 'determined to bring to justice' those responsible. He said one year on there were still parts of the picture being pieced together, adding: 'We cannot account for the whereabouts of the bottle, nozzle or box between the attack on the Skripals and Detective Sergeant (Nick) Bailey on 4 March and when Charlie Rowley said he found it on Wednesday, 27 June.' Advertisement In January, the roof of the Skripals' house and garage were dismantled then removed and disposed of. The roof was removed because the extent of the search 'potentially spread the agent into every nook and cranny', the source said. Lt Gen Urch said ambulances used in the initial response also had to be decontaminated during the 'slow, deliberate and detailed operation'. Special dressing zones were set up near the Novichok 'hotspots' where teams changed into special respirator suits which included equipment not normally used by the military, the general said. 'I think our military personnel have demonstrated genuine courage,' he said. 'This is something which young girls and boys crossing the hot zone have never done before in their lives and it's been an amazing demonstration of physical and mental courage.' He said the attack, believed to have been orchestrated by Russia's secret service, was a 'despicable act', repeating a comment made by the Prime Minister in the aftermath. Teams involved in the clean-up will be 'recognised in due course for their courage', Lt Gen Urch added. A Defra spokesman said: 'The completion of clean-up work at Christie Miller Road, Salisbury marks a significant milestone in south Wiltshire's return to normality following the sickening Novichok nerve agent attack last year. 'The property was declared safe following extensive cleaning and testing by specialist teams. Wiltshire Council will shortly begin to co-ordinate work to refurbish the property, with residents of Christie Miller Road consulted on its future use.' Alistair Cunningham, chairman of the south Wiltshire recovery co-ordinating group, said this was a 'significant moment' for the area which can now 'look to the future'. He added: 'Work will begin shortly to reconstruct and refurbish the house so it can return to being a home again. We are continuing to talk to the residents on the future of the property as it is important their views are taken into account on how it is used in the future. Environment minister Therese Coffey said the 'professionalism' of all those involved in the clean-up had been 'exemplary'. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey and Charlie Rowley were also poisoned by the nerve agent Bessie 'Jill' Peterson, 88, was killed in a dog attack in Tennessee An elderly woman has been mauled to death in her yard by her neighbor's six German Shepherds. Bessie 'Jill' Peterson, 88, was in her back yard trying to clear out a drainage ditch after heavy rains on Tuesday in Pall Mall, Tennessee when she was set upon by the pack of dogs, WTVF-TV reported. 'They dragged her down the yard and all of her clothes were off, her shoes, everything. They tore all of her hair out, the casket can't be open, it's like a nightmare. It's hard to believe,' Peterson's sister Nina Brown told the CBS affiliate station. Brown said she tried to get to her sister in the backyard but quickly had to retreat inside. 'Three of the dogs came after me. They started after me and I had to call 911,' Brown said. Peterson's sister Nina Brown said: 'They dragged her down the yard and all of her clothes were off, her shoes, everything. They tore all of her hair out, the casket can't be open' Peterson's wounds were so severe that she had to be air lifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died a short time later. Brown said that the dogs should have never been loose, and that there have been a number of times that police have been called over the animals' aggressive behavior. District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said the owner of the dogs could face criminal charges. He said criminally negligent homicide could be a possible charge. The home where Peterson was attacked is seen above. The dogs were euthanized and criminal charges against their owner are possible The dogs charged at Peterson from a neighboring property as she did yard work 'This is a very sad situation. Once we gather the facts we'll determine if there's criminal liability or not,' Dunaway told WTVF. The dogs were all euthanized following the attack. Peterson's funeral service was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Brown Funeral Chapel. She will be buried in the Maupin Cemetery. Peterson is survived by two step-children and her sister, as well as several nieces and nephews. Around 200 activists from all over the country have stormed a pig farm as part of a protest against the factory farming industry in the UK. Activist group Meat The Victims UK arrived at Sandilands Pigs near Laughterton, Lincoln, in their droves at around 11am and have been at the farm all day. The group say that they want to 'expose the reality of factory farming' to the public and 100 activists are inside a farrowing house interacting with pigs. Videos from the scene show the activists wearing white suits and masks inside one of the huts, while another 100 people are outside with signs and posters. Around 200 activists, left some inside a pig hut and right a pig in a farrowing pen today, are protesting at Sandilands Pigs in Lincoln about the factory farming industry in the UK Many animal rights campaigners also stood outside the farm holding signs and posters Activist Chris Hines told MailOnline that the group wants to make the pig farming industry 'more transparent' and let the public know the truth behind their meat. He said: 'Around 100 activists who have come from all over the country are inside the farrowing house now, calmly interacting with the mother pigs and piglets. 'The mothers are in farrowing crates. The space inside a crate is enough for them to take a few steps and they can stand up and sit down, they can't turn around. 'They will be in there for about six to eight weeks while they let the pigs suckle. The idea behind them being in this is so they don't crush the piglets. The animal rights campaigners say they want the industry to be more 'transparent' and did not chose Sandilands Pigs for any other reason other than to show a standard practice UK farm 'They only have a few inches to move around - if these were dogs there would be outrage.' Mr Hines also explained that the activists did not chose Sandilands Pigs for any specific reason except to show that this is the standard type of farm in the industry. Joey Carbstrong said: 'The message is that these places operate in secrecy, the public are funding something and they have no idea what goes on in there. 'We are trying to bring what happens in here into the light. 'We want to advocate for a plant based lifestyle, a vegan lifestyle so that these places don't exist and animals are free. People from all over the country turned up at the protest which has been going since 11am The activists have been sharing updates from their protest on Facebook and say the won't leave the Lincoln farm until the story is covered in the media. Speaking to Lincoln Live joint owner of the farm Sylvia Hook, 59, said the activists had caused damage in the hut and claimed they caused the deaths of two piglets. Ms Hook said: 'About 50 of them all piled into a farrowing house, immediately the sows are jumping up and down. 'It's caused the death of two young piglets through being squashed and two other piglets i've had to take.' However the activists deny this and claim they found dead animals inside when they entered the farm house. Mr Hines added that the activists inside the farrowing house have been calmly talking to and reassuring the pigs and interacting with the piglets. Donald Trump said Saturday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team are targeting him with 'bulls**t.' 'We're waiting for a report by people who weren't elected,' he complained in a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, talking about Washington's collective anxiety over when Mueller's final report will arrive at the Justice Department and how much of it the public will see. 'Unfortunately you put the wrong people in a couple of positions, and they leave people for a long time that shouldn't be there. And all of the sudden they're trying to take you out with bulls**t, okay?' Trump was talking about the special counsel and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed him at the Justice Department. The president also vented at the media for taking him seriously in 2016 when he joked that he wanted Russians to release Hillary Clinton's tens of thousands of deleted emails to the public. And he announced in a 2-hour, 2-minute oratory marathon the longest speech of his political career that he will soon sign an executive order requiring colleges that receive federal dollars to apply First Amendment speech protections on campus. But his most aggressive words in an extended-play, unfiltered tear were reserved for people in his own Justice Department who he believes have been out to get him since before Inauguration Day. 'Robert Mueller never received a vote. And neither did the person that appointed him,' he stabbed. President Donald Trump claimed Saturday that the Justice Department and Special Counsel Robert Mueller are 'targeting' him 'with bull***t' Trump took the stage at the annual CPAC convention near Washington, hugging a U.S. flag before launching into an unscripted speech that had thousands on their feet Trump complained that Mueller (left) was targeting him despite not being elected to anything, and jabbed Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein (right) for appointing him The president mocked his first attorney general Jeff Sessions for handing the Russia investigation to Rosenstein by recusing himself from the probe early on without telling Trump of his plans. 'And as you know, the attorney general says, "I'm gonna recuse myself",' Trump snarked in full southern drawl. 'And I said, "Why the hell didn't he tell me that before I put him in?" How do you recuse yourself?' Sessions said at the time that he couldn't supervise the probe because he had himself advised Trump's campaign on foreign policy. Trump angrily denounced the Washington 'swamp' that he believes has tried to kneecap him from the day he took office. 'But we're winning and they're not,' he said. The Russia probe, now more than two years old, began as a counterintelligence investigation into still unproven claims that Trump's campaign plotted with Russian agents to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor. On Saturday he slapped at Democrats in Congress for keeping the story alive while he insists there was 'no collusion.' Trump reprised his 2017 complaints about reports of the crowd size at his inauguration, claiming some photos shown on television were shot hours beforehand Thousands of conservatives like these Trump fans packed the main ballroom of the largest hotel in the Washington, D.C. metro area to see the president speak Trump shared the podium Saturday with Hayden Williams, a California college student who was punched out on a public plaza because of his political beliefs; the president said he will soon sign an executive order requiring universities that get public dollars to protect free speech on campus He also mocked House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff as 'little shifty Schiff' for expanding the scope of the investigation to a deep-dive into his personal finances. 'They don't have anything with Russia. There's no collusion,' he said. 'So now they morph into "Let's inspect every deal he's ever done. We're going to go into his finances. We're going to check his deals. We're going to check" these people are sick.' FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS The president announced Saturday that he will soon sign an executive order 'requiring colleges and universities to support free speech.' 'If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they have to allow ... all people to speak. And if they don't, it will be very costly,' he said. He shared the podium with Hayden Williams, a Leadership Institute field organizer who was the victim of a physical assault last month at the hands of a man who objected to his politics at the University of California Berkeley. 'That was a hell of a hard punch,' Trump said of video footage that rocketed around the world, and rejoiced that the young man 'got yourself a great lawyer.' 'Sue the college, the university, and maybe sue the state,' he urged. 'He took a hard punch in the face for all of us,' Trump said, predicting that Williams is 'going to be a very wealthy young man.' University police arrested 28-year-old Zachary Greenberg on Friday. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to cause great bodily injury. Trump said Saturday that conservatives 'reject oppressive speech codes, censorship, political correctness, and every other attempt by the hard left to stop people from challenging ridiculous and dangerous ideas.' TRUMP WANTS DEMS TO RUN ON 'GREEN NEW DEAL' The president chuckled that Democrats should go all-in with the 'Green New Deal,' an environmental policy package promoted by socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a coterie of the most liberal members of Congress. 'I want them to embrace this plan. I want them to sell this plan. I just want to be the Republican that runs against them,' he said. An outline of the plan suggested measures that would cost more than $70 trillion, according to legislative analysts. It includes the long-term aim of ending the use of air travel and eliminating 'farting cows' whose methane emissions contribute carbon emissions to the atmosphere. With his crowd laughing along, Trump deadpanned: 'I do like the Green New Deal. I respect it greatly. It should be part of the dialogue of the next election. And I think it has tremendous promise and tremendous potential for the future of our country.' 'They should stay with that argument. Never change,' he said. 'No planes, no energy, when the wind stops blowing that's the end of your electric.' Trump has previously poked fun at advocates of wind power, glossing over features of the technology that store energy to compensate for calm days. In the voice of a post-Green-New-Deal American, he asked a fictional spouse: 'Darling, is the wind blowing today? I'd like to watch television, darling.' Trump blasted socialism, the mass-media and the 'Green New Deal' although he joked that he hoped Democrats continue to promote it Trump vented Saturday that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff now nicknamed 'shifty Schiff has shifted his emphasis from unproven Russia-collusion claims to a deep-dive into his finances Trump has spoken at CPAC three times, including once long before he became president TRUMP SAYS MEDIA IGNORES HIS SENSE OF HUMOR Trump had his crowd in thrall, mocking 'fake news' reporters trapped in a roped-off ballroom section between endless rows of seats and a standing-room section. He recalled a July 2016 press conference in Florida where he railed against Hillary Clinton for deleting tens of thousands of her personal emails before giving the State Department the rest of what had resided on a home-brew, unsecured server. 'Russia, if you're listening,' he said that day, 'I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.' At the time, according to the FBI, Clinton's private server had been offline for more than a year. On Saturday he insisted, as he has before, that he was joking. But Trump said 'fake news' reporters would never allow him to be humorous 'if you tell a joke, if you're sarcastic, if you're having fun with the audience, if you're on live television with millions of people and 25,000 people in an arena and if you say something like, "Russia! Please! If you can, get us Hillary Clinton's emails! Please, Russia, please! Please get us the emails! Please!"' Chants of 'Lock her up!' broke out a favorite anti-Clinton campaign chant among Trump supporters who believe Clinton should have been prosecuted for mishandling classified material on her server. Trump adopted a southern drawl to mock his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for recusing himself from the Russia investigation in 2017 The president vented at the media for taking him seriously in 2016 when he joked that he wanted Russians to release Hillary Clinton's deleted emails to the public 'So everyone is having a good time, I'm laughing, we're all having a good time and having fun,' Trump recalled. 'And then that fake CNN and others say, "He asked Russia to go get the emails. Horrible!"' 'These people are sick,' he said. 'And I'm telling you, they know the game. They know the game and they play it dirty, dirtier than anybody's ever played the game. Dirtier than it has ever been played.' The president predicted that he will outdo himself in 2020, winning re-election with more Electoral College votes than he collected in 2016 FOUR MORE YEARS? Trump also predicted his own re-election on Saturday. 'What we did in 2016 "The Election" we call it, with a capital E 'it's never been done before,' Trump said. 'And I think we're going to do it again in 2020.' 'I think we're going to do even better in 2020,' he said, projecting Electoral College numbers like 'nobody has seen in a long time.' 'Our movement and our future in this country is unlimited,' he told a sea of engaged conservatives, some of whom came from as far as Hawaii to the largest hotel in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. He said his victory over Hillary Clinton, and the resulting changes in D.C., are 'driving the other side crazy.' Trump claimed credit for last year's Republican victory in Georgia's gubernatorial race. He scoffed at Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate, who brought in the star power of Oprah Winfrey and both Barack and Michelle Obama to endorse her. Republican Brian Kemp defeated Abrams. 'All he had was Trump,' the president quipped, 'and we kicked their ass.' Photos like this have rankled Trump for more than two years, and he returned on Saturday to insisting that 'fake news' media circulated photos of a sparse crowd that were taken hours before his swearing-in Trump's speech capped a tempest-tossed week that included his former lawyer calling him a criminal in scorching congressional testimony and the sudden collapse of talks at a tense North Korea nuclear summit. He took the stage Saturday to a full playing of Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the U.S.A.,' his unofficial rally anthem, and physically hugged an American flag as camera shutters clicked. In short order Trump was complaining about journalists, pointing at 'fake news media' as his audience booed. Perhaps forecasting a second inauguration, he returned to his 2-year-old complaints about how aerial photojournalists portrayed the crowd that came to Washington to see him take his oath of office. 'It's all a phony deal folks,' he insisted. 'I saw pictures that there were no people! Those pictures were taken hours before.' 'We had fencing all the way down to the Washington Monument, and it was raining, and it was wet, and the grass was wet,' the president argued, making his age-old case that President Barack Obama didn't out-draw him eight years earlier. IMMIGRATION AND ABORTION FOCUS Trump hit his usual points on immigration, pledging to fund ICE and battle sactuary city policies, while calling illegal immigration inhumane. He claimed that just 3 per cent of immigrants awaiting asylum hearings or released on bail return to court. According to the Justice Department, 72 per cent of asylum seekers returned for hearings in 2017. But the president said America's immigration policy, specifically birthright citizenship, has made the U.S. a global laughingstock. 'This is, like, crazy,' he said. 'They used to call it "anchor babies" but they don't use that anymore because it doesn't sound nice.' President Trump's image was everywhere at CPAC this week, including a mural-sized painting on display CPAC is an annual convention held since 1974; this year it brought more than 9,200 people to a hotel in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. Citing crime figures as he claimed illegal immigrants are more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, he charged that rogue nations 'send us the people they don't want.' In a jab that was widely interpreted as xenophobic, Trump said Saturday that some members of Congress who are themselves immigrants 'hate' the U.S. despite leading better lives than they could in their countries of origin. 'Right now we have people in Congress that hate our country. And you know that,' he said. 'And we can name every one of 'em if they want.' 'They hate our country! Sad. It's very sad,' Trump continued. 'When I see some of the things being made, the statements being made, its very, very sad.' The president didn't identify lawmakers by name. 'How did they do in their country? Just ask 'em, how did they do?' he asked. 'Did they do well? Were they succeeding? Just ask that question.' 'Somebody would say, "Oh, that's terrible that he brings that up," but thats okay, I dont mind, Ill bring it up. How did they do in their country? Not so good, not so good.' The president visited wrath on Virginia's Democratic Governor Ralph Northam, who drew outrage from evangelical Christians last month for endorsing permitting mothers to end the life of a baby that survives an abortion, and -- in some cases -- babies born at full-term. 'They will execute the baby after birth!' Trump boomed. 'This is a radical agenda by the Democrats.' He said some Democratic policies are so 'lousy' politically that 'I couldn't sell 'em if I wanted to.' Bloggers mixed with reporters in the CPAC ballroom on Saturday, with some chanting 'We Want Trump!' along with the bulging crowd The Trump 2020 campaign did a brisk business at CPAC, selling everything from t-shirts and hats to playing cards and 'Build the Wall and Crime will Fall' merchandise The three-day convention in Oxon Hill, Maryland was a Trump-fest even as the president was half a world away in Vietnam for most of it The commander-in-chief was the exclamation point on three days of red-meat speeches at CPAC, an event hosted annually since 1974 by the American Conservative Union. ACU chairman Matt Schlapp introduced Trump, praising him as 'working, for free, in a last-ditch attempt to get this country on the right path. And you know what else? He beats the left at their own game.' Schlapp's wife Mercedes is the White House director of strategic communications. The ACU said Saturday that more than 9,200 people attended its convention in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., including about 2,600 students. PENCE SET THE STAGE They watched Vice President Mike Pence and a host of senators lobbing Trump soft alley-oops in speech after speech, targeting the leftward-drifting Democratic Party for what Republicans say is an embrace of socialism. Democrats, Pence said Friday, have taken a 'hard left turn' as the political calendar becomes an exercise in forecasting the 2020 elections. 'Under the guise of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions over the last century. That system is socialism,' he declared. Voters will choose next year 'between freedom and socialism, between personal responsibility and government dependence,' the vice president continued, warning that a Venezuela-style collapse could, improbably, visit itself on the U.S. 'This is the choice we face in the next 20 months," he said. The packed CPAC ballroom seemed to enlarge on Friday for Trump's appearance, with the press area moving forward by 40 feet to accommodate a standing-room-only section teeming with 'Make America Great Again' caps in the rear. A man wore this pro-Trump t-shirt at CPAC on Friday, channeling the sentiment of attendees CPAC visitors this week could pose for pictures behind a replica of the White House Briefing Room podium made famous by Saturday Night Live's lampoon of former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer The president has dominated America's media landscape for the past four years, dictating news cycles through his Twitter account and changing the subject of the nation's fascination at will every time he speaks on camera. Saturday's barn-burner served to shine a bright light on what his base wanted to hear and away from his woes that monopolized front pages and TV news chyrons all week. Michael Cohen set a dire tone on Wednesday with political-theater testimony before the Democratic-run House Oversight and Reform Committee, claiming under oath that Trump is a 'racist,' a 'conman' and a business 'cheat' who he saw using 'mobster' tactics for a decade. Cohen, who will report to prison in May for three years, has already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in the past, and to making hush-money payments to silence two women who claim to be past Trump mistresses. Trump didn't mention the disgraced former attorney in his CPAC speech. Officials in New York disbarred Cohen on Tuesday. The twist of Democrats publicly lionizing the convicted perjurer in a public setting after he swore an oath to tell the truth, polarized Americans at a moment when Trump was preparing for a summit with North Korean despot Kim Jong Un. That meeting, the two leaders' second in two years, failed to produce an agreement to trade sanctions relief for the denuclearization of North Korea. Trump on Saturday called the meeting 'very productive' and defended his decision to leave the negotiating table. 'Every once in a while you have to walk, because the deal wasn't a deal that was acceptable to me,' he said. Trump upbraided some of his predecessors who would 'make a deal just for the same of doing it. I don't want to do that.' Another senior member of the Hacienda Healthcare board in Arizona has handed in their resignation, bringing the staff exodus up to 10 in the wake of a vegetative patient being raped at the facility last year. On Friday, the facility's director of specialized therapy, Kerri Masengale, walked away from his post citing a 'lack of trust'. Masengale's resignation follows on the heels of Thursday's announcement that Tom Pomeroy, who acted as the Hacienda board chairman for nearly four decades, would be stepping down from his post. 'Though I had hoped to remain with Hacienda Healthcare during this unfortunate time of restructure,' Masengale's letter read. 'Due to previous personal experience (and subsequent lack of trust) with the newly appointed acting CEO, Perry Petrilli; my final day of employment shall be Friday, March 15, 2019,' he continued. Scroll down for video Another senior member of the Hacienda healthcare facility board has handed in their resignation, bring the staff exodus up to 10 this week Kerri Masengale (left) handed in his resignation on Friday. He cited a 'lack of trust' in acting CEO Joe Petrilli (right), who's appointment was also announced on Friday Masengale's specific grievance with Petrilli hasn't yet been revealed, but his termination of post came moments after the acting CEO was appointed. Authorities have charged Nathan Sutherland, a former licensed nurse, with sexually assaulting the 29-year-old victim Nine other of Masengale's colleagues have either resigned or have been terminated this week, according to ABC 15. Those resigning will also leave the company on March 15. Among them, includes CEO Patrick White; Director of Patient Care Services, McKenzie Gillies; CFO Joe O'Malley; and Director of Nursing, Valerie Brehm. Attorney Rick Romley, who the facility hired to internally investigate how the patient was sexually assaulted, also quit on Friday. 'When I started this assignment, I made it very clear if I was not able to conduct my work with complete objectivity and if any issue came up that caused me any concerns, I would terminate my contract,' Romley said. Hacienda hired Indiana-based Benchmark Human Services to oversee operations at the nursing facility after Arizona regulators ordered the site be placed under independent management. Phoenix police officers are pictured visiting residents in 2014 The board at Hacienda are said to be undergoing a massive overhaul (pictured: Nursing students listen during an Arizona nursing board special meeting Friday, Jan. 25, 2019) Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley (above) says he quit his internal investigation of Hacienda because of concerns about its leadership and objectivity The attorney also added that he believes resigning employees would be open to returning to the facility if an entirely new board was constructed. Hacienda haven't yet said whether another investigator will brought in to finish Romley's work. Last month, Hacienda announced it would be closing its intermediate care facility - where the woman was raped - while continuing to operate its skilled nursing unit. The facility will continue to be run by a third-party manager while Hacienda identify a way to move 37 patients to other care centers. 'To date, no patient's care or safety has been compromised by any of these changes,' the board said in a statement. On February 5, the 36-year-old nurse who police say is responsible for the rape, pleaded not guilty in an Arizona court. Nathan Sutherland was arrested in January after DNA evidence linked him to the victim's child. The defendant, a licensed practical nurse who began working at the facility in 2012, was charged with one count each of sexual assault and abuse of a vulnerable adult. Police started investigating after the 29-year-old woman, who they say was not in a position to give consent, unexpectedly gave birth on December 29. The shock delivery prompted authorities to test the DNA of all the men who worked at the care facility. Sutherland, a devout Christian and father-of-four, was forced to submit his DNA sample under court order. Sutherland is a 36-year-old self-proclaimed devout Christian who tours local churches in Phoenix with his sister (right) under the band name 'SLEEPLESSSOLJAZ' Sutherland pleaded not guilty earlier this month to charges of sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse Defense attorney David Gregan described his client as a family man with young children who has lived in Arizona since 1993. 'There's no direct evidence that Mr Sutherland has committed these acts,' Gregan said. 'I know at this point there's DNA. But he will have a right to his own DNA expert.' Investigators believe Sutherland raped the patient sometime between February and April. He had worked at Hacienda for eight years and was directly responsible the woman's care. Sutherland will reappear in court on March 19. The 29-year-old victim has been in long-term care since she was three years old, having suffered a near-drowning. She gave birth at the facility as staff frantically called 911 for assistance, telling the operator that they hadn't known the 112-pound patient was pregnant. The victim's family have said they will take care of the boy. Since the scandal emerged, Hacienda say they've increased security measures within the facility, including the installation of dozens of security cameras and company-wide training measures. This is the shocking moment a kitesurfer was left needing 18 stitches after being mauled by a pit bull off the coast of Argentina. Footage filmed on Gustavo Cervino's camera, off the coast of Punta Rasa, in San Clemente del Tuyu, shows the canine heading straight for the kitesurfer as he glides across the water. The raging dog then leaps into the air and sinks its teeth into Mr Cervino's upper arm before he manages to wrestle the animal off. Kitesurfer Gustavo Cervino is chased by the pit bull while out in shallow water off the coast of Punta Rasa, in San Clemente del Tuyu, Argentina The vicious dog manages to catch up to Mr Cervino and sinks its teeth into his upper arm As the canine, which appears to be a pit bull, bites the kitesufer's arm he falls into the water During the clip, Mr Cervino can be seen kitesurfing in shallow water when the raging dog suddenly appears and begins to chase him. As the dog bites the kitesurfer, he falls into the water with an anguished look on his face. The kitesurfer later told reporters: 'I had to open its mouth with my other hand. I do not know why it let me go, maybe because of the water. 'It tried to bite me in the neck but I managed to keep it at bay with my hand. 'If it had bitten me in the neck I wouldn't have lived to tell the tale.' Gustavo Cervino falls into the water after the brown dog bites his left arm in Argentina Mr Cervino lies in the water after the canine chases and bites him. He later drove to hospital and was left needing 18 stitches Reports state the dog continued circling around Mr Cervino after the bite before finally leaving. Following the attack, the kitesurfer was left with a bleeding arm and had to be helped by a passerby. The kitesurfer then drove to a nearby hospital where he received 18 stitches to the deep wound on his body. Mr Cervino added: 'The owner of the dog must have been there. I did not see him because I had to go to the emergency room at the hospital, I had a very deep cut.' The kitesurfer reported the incident to the police and is now recovering from his injuries. The owner of the dog has not been identified. Advertisement Cat enthusiasts from all over Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia joined together to proudly showcase their feline friends today at this year's Bishkek Cat Exhibition. Breeds from across the world including Scottish Fold, Siberian and Sypnx cats from Canada found their way to the show held every year in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where they are displayed for other cat lovers to admire. While some cats looked delighted to be there with the attention of the crowd others looked less than pleased in the way that only cats can. Some of the cats sported comical costumes, others flaunted their natural coat. The show is held every year by the World Cat Federation, an international collection of cat clubs, and lasts two days. Looking prrrroper: This velveteen clad Siberian cat looked prim and proper in his royal blue diamante ensemble as he was presented at the show Mesmerising with his lagoon blue eyes and contrasting midnight blue tunic, this proud cat holds his head high as his fluffy beard pokes out from his costume A bit hot under the collar? One coat was definitely enough for this cat as he pants while trying to hold it together for his photo shoot A girl holds her American curl cat as it looks keen to explore. The breed has much shorter ears than most cats and is known for being very affectionate and vocal The look of love: A girl looks fondly over her pet with wildly striking green eyes and a pink button nose contrasting with its thick grey fur Another girl with her face painted like 'Hello Kitty' poses with her large 'Maine Coon' cat, presented at the show, slung over her shoulders. The cat looks at home as the girl tries to catch a glimpse of its warm eyes Don't forget me: A Scottish Straight kitten tries to get involved in the celebrations as it emerges sleepy eyed from a travel bed An owner holds her reluctant Scottish Fold cat up proudly during the cat exhibition in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Scottish fold cats are admired by on lookers as the cats sit wide eyed and seemingly enjoying the attention from the crowds, many of whom are carrying cat toys Scottish Straight kittens, two ginger and one white, cosy up in their display pen as a girl looks on Scottish fold kittens are rare and are sold for around 800 ($1050 US) a kitten. The breed has a naturally dominant gene mutation which affects the cartilage in their body causing their ears to fold The cats look on in awe at a blue fluffy rodent like ball flying in the sky above them, while a girl clutches two cuddly kitten toys A Ragdoll cat showcases its dappled blue eyes and beautiful fur gradient from black around the eyes to snow white An owner holds her Siberian cat in front of a mirror as he looks less than impressed. Holding a pet in front of a mirror is often used as a test of intelligence Very intelligent animals can recognise themselves in the mirror while others perceive the reflection as another animal An owner poses with her Maine Coon cat, known for having extremely long bodies as the largest domesticated cat breed An owner poses with her Sphynx cat, known for their lack of fur the cats do actually have a layer of very fine fur and are said to have the texture of chamois leather. They were selectively bred beginning in the 1960s in Canada after a male cat without fur was born A Tennessee school has come under fire after two teachers assigned a class project asking students to pretend to be slave owners. Teachers Susan Hooper and Kim Best at Sunset Middle School in Brentwood gave their eighth grade students an assignment to pretend they owned slaves during a unit on history. 'Slave Codes: Your family owns slaves. Create a list of expectations for your family's slaves,' the assignment handed out on Wednesday said. Horrified by the assignment, Dan Fountain shared a picture of the bizarre task on Twitter after seeing his 13-year-old sister's homework writing: 'What are y'alls thoughts on my sisters hw?' Tennessee eighth grade teachers Susan Hooper and Kim Best gave their students an assignment on Wednesday asking them to pretend to be slave owners. The handwritten slave assignment pictured in the second box in the right column above Dan Fountain shared a picture of the assignment after his 13-year-old sister was uncomfortable with it on Wednesday He said the assignment made his 13-year-old sister uncomfortable. The school Sunset Middle School is 70 percent white The assignment sparked outrage and fury online, with social media users slamming the assignment as 'unacceptable'. Fountain followed up saying his sister was uncomfortable with the assignment and the teacher claimed 'in her 45 years no one has ever complained'. 'It initially made me angry. The fact that my sister is one of a couple of black kids at her school, I can't let things like this sit around and slide. The way the questions were phrased and laid out had no academic merit,' Fountain said to the Tennessean. 'I don't like the aspect that my sister is describing how she would be treated as a slave. It doesn't benefit anyone,' he added. He says the teacher didn't explain the assignment despite its sensitive topics. The assignment also asked students to create a graph showing the 'relationship between slavery and the invention of the cotton gin', write 'a poem or song lyrics to compare and contrast the lives of plantation owners to the slave population', and 'create a political cartoon depicting immigrant labor in the United States'. The assignment sparked outrage leading the school to issue an apology Sunset Middle School is 70 percent white, according to the Tennessee Department of Education. 'There's no sense in depicting immigrants in this way. You are essentially letting children run wild with their conscious or unconscious bias of other people,' Fountain said. Mike Loony, the Superintendent of the Williamson County Schools district said teachers were given cultural awareness training Disgusted with the assignment, some Twitter users vowed to call the school to complain. Others said they knew Ms. Hooper and were stunned she'd make such an assignment as she's 'anything but right wing'. Following the public outrage the two teachers and the school issued an apology to students and their parents in a statement. 'This week, we gave our students an assignment we recognize was inappropriate. We have pulled the assignment, and no grade will be given. We have and will be apologizing to our students. It was never our intention to hurt any of our students,' the statement said. 'The assignment was insensitive, and it did not promote Sunset Middle's goal of an inclusive environment. Please accept our sincere apologies,' it added. Loony issued this letter apologizing for the 'gross error in judgement' adding they have 'more work to do' in the cultural awareness department Sunset principal Tim Brown also issued his own apology on Thursday. 'I recognize this assignment was inappropriate, and steps are being taken to rectify this situation,' said to the local paper. 'I will continue to have meaningful conversations with my faculty around creating assignments that consider perspectives from all backgrounds,' he added. Mike Loony, the Superintendent of the Williamson County Schools district apologized for the 'gross error in judgement from WCS personnel'. He added that staff members were provided with professional training on cultural awareness this year. 'I admit that we have more work to do in this area,' he added. The FBI says a former Honolulu deputy prosecutor used cocaine with her brother and others involved in a drug distribution conspiracy and using her position to cover up their crimes. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday that the allegation is contained in an FBI affidavit to support a search warrant request on Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha's brother, physician Rudolph Puana. Kealoha and Puana are charged in a February 7 federal grand jury indictment on drug charges. A federal grand jury has indicted former Honolulu prosecutor Katherine Keahola and her brother on drug distribution charges. She is pictured here with her husband former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha who has also been involved in the corruption scandal Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, right, and his wife, Katherine Keahola have pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. Kealoha steered law enforcement from investigating her brother Honolulu deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha is alleged to have used cocaine with brother Dr Rudolph Puana, pictured, in a drug distribution conspiracy Kealoha, the wife of now-retired Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha, steered law enforcement away from investigating their alleged crimes and her brother , Dr. Rudolph Puana. The indictment says Puana prescribed drugs to his sister and others and instructed them to sell or trade the drugs for cocaine. The FBI says Kealoha and Puana used cocaine together. Puana was arrested last month amid a growing federal corruption investigation that has resulted in indictments against the Kealohas and current and former officers. They are scheduled to go to trial next month after being accused of framing Katherine Kealoha's uncle for the theft of the couple's home mailbox to discredit him in a family financial dispute. Authorities claimed the couple used their positions to bilk clients and relatives out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund their lavish and overextended lifestyle and then used their power to target anyone who threatened them The latest indictment said Puana, an anesthesiologist and pain doctor, advised one co-conspirator to use proceeds from the sale of illegal prescription pain medication to buy cocaine for the two of them. They would also 'sell and barter' medication in exchange for cocaine, the indictment said. When a police officer notified Kealoha that her brother and a co-conspirator were buying and using cocaine, she 'arranged to have herself assigned as the prosecutor' of the investigation, the indictment said. That allowed her to 'steer law enforcement scrutiny away from her brother's felonious conduct in that drug conspiracy,' the indictment said. She then gave favorable plea deals to others involved 'to reduce the likelihood they would reveal that her brother had distributed controlled substances,' the document says. Puana co-wrote a memoir with novelist Chris McKinney that tells his life story of growing up a red-headed Hawaiian, who despite struggling through school, went to Creighton University School of Medicine and worked at various hospitals before returning to Hawaii with a mission to help people. Kealoha's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The lawyers for Puana and others have also declined to comment. This is the shocking moment that three security guards for Miami-Dade Metrorail body slammed a woman on the platform in an apparent dispute over her fare payment. The incident occurred on February 11 at the Government Center station, where fellow rider Ingrid Love filmed the encounter. A spokesperson for Miami-Dade says the three security guards are contractors who no longer work for the county, and that the woman was not arrested or charged, according to the Miami Herald. The video doesn't show what led to the confrontation, which was well underway as Love began filming, though she said it apparently started over an issued with the woman's fare. The security guards were trying to handcuff the woman when she tried to climb a divider The guards grabbed the woman and slammed her on the platform floor The woman is seen struggling as two security guards attempt to handcuff her. 'That could be your mother,' a bystander is heard yelling. As the woman climbs up onto a bench and tries to climb up a divider on the platform, one of the guards grabs her and slams her to the platform. The guards pin the woman on the ground with her hands above her head for a time, before managing to handcuff her and sit her up. The video ends when one of the guards tells the person filming to stop blocking the door to the train and either get in or get out, and the train leaves. Love, who filmed the encounter, expressed her outrage over the incident on Facebook. The woman continued to struggle as the guards pinned her to the floor Finally the guards handcuffed the woman and eventually sat her up on the floor 'I hate to sound like I'm playing the race card but had this been a middle-age white woman trying to get home from work who had a little dispute about a $2.25 fare, it wouldn't have ended this way,' Love wrote. 'We need someone who can shine a bright light on these kind of injustice. I'll be making many phone calls and other communications today. This kind of garbage cannot stand!!' she continued. The guards were employees of U.S. Security Associates, a Georgia-based firm that Miami-Dade County contracts with to provide security for the Metrorail system. Ingrid Love (above) filmed the encounter and said she didn't think a white woman would have been treated the same way On Friday, Karla Damian, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works department, told the Herald that the guards no longer work under the contract and the county was sorry. 'First and foremost, the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works would like to express its sincere apologies to our rider and her family for the incident that occurred,' she said. 'It has been made very clear to county employees, and contracted employees, that our residents and visitors are to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. The guards involved in the incident have been permanently removed from DTPW's security contract,' Damian continued. A memorial to a synagogue destroyed by the Nazis has been vandalised in Strasbourg just days after 96 swastikas were sprayed across a Jewish cemetery in the city. Police are investigating after the site of the Old Synagogue was attacked overnight, with a 1.6-tonne memorial stone being pushed from its platform. The memorial on the Avenue of the Righteous is dedicated to non-Jews who risked their lives in WWII to save Jews. Emmanuel Macron visited the city's Jewish cemetery after 96 graves were daubed with swastikas on February 19 in Quatzenheim, northwest of Strasbourg. The memorial stone marking the site of Strasbourg's Old Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, is pictured after it was vandalised overnight on March 2 A man walks by graves vandalised with swastikas at the Jewish cemetery in the Quatzenheim area of Strasbourg on February 19 The police cordoned off the memorial stone in central Strasbourg on Saturday as they launched a criminal investigation Police said they were going to consult CCTV evidence and interview witnesses to see if they can find who attacked the memorial on Friday night. Strasbourg deputy mayor Alain Fontanel told journalists in the eastern French city the incident was an 'act of vandalism' that bore 'all the signs of anti-Semitism'. Earlier on Facebook, he said it was 'very probably, unfortunately, a new act of anti-Semitism in our city.' Before heading to the memorial for an inspection on Saturday, mayor Roland Ries wrote on Facebook: 'Once again, enough is enough.' The site, he underlined, was itself 'a response to such repulsive acts, simultaneously symbolising the exactions and horrors of the Nazi regime and the French people's power of resistance,' he said. The stone has been moved back into place. The synagogue, which was built in 1898 and was the Strasbourg Jewish community's main place of worship, was ransacked and burnt to the ground by Hitler Youth on September 30, 1940. Fontanel said video surveillance showed that shortly before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday, a car was seen near the heavy monument, and added: 'We have to see now if it was this car that committed the act.' Thierry Roos, spokesman for the Israelite Consistory of the Lower Rhine region, told AFP the religious council 'is distressed by the damage to this stone... whether it was intentional or not.' French President Emmanuel Macron wears a kippa as he looks on during a visit at the Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, Strasbourg on February 19 Macron lays his hand on a defaced stone at the Jewish cemetery in northern Strasbourg last month The main Islamic mosque in Strasbourg in a statement said the incident had provoked 'sadness, disgust, anger and revulsion' among its members. It quoted the mosque's president Said Aalla as condemning 'this new anti-Semitic act with the greatest firmness.' Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, which has a seat in Strasbourg, also condemned the damage done, and called for a 'stop in the increase of anti-Semitism.' On December 11, the day of a deadly jihadist attack on Strasbourg's Christmas market, 37 Jewish graves and a monument were desecrated in Herrlisheim, northeast of the city. In February 2015, around 300 graves were vandalised in a Jewish cemetery in nearby Sarre-Union, an act for which five adolescents were given suspended prison terms of eight to 18 months in 2017. Gregg Marinelli, 38, faces charges of illegal arms manufacturing and sales A police officer with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has been arrested on charges of manufacturing guns at his upstate home and selling them to motorcycle gang members. Thirty-eight-year-old Gregg Marinelli is also charged with tipping off a suspect in a major drug investigation, state police and the Orange County district attorney's office said. Marinelli, a sergeant in the DEP police, was arrested Thursday at his home in Plattekill. Police say Marinelli assembled dozens of handguns and assault rifles and sold them to 'individuals who are legally barred from possessing such weapons' including members of outlaw motorcycle clubs. Many of the guns Marinelli sold had no serial numbers and would be difficult to trace, authorities said. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports that Marinelli was arraigned Friday on charges including criminal sale of a firearm, hindering prosecution and conspiracy. Marinelli, who was arrested at his Plattekill, New York home illegal arms manufacturing and sales charges well as a charge of Hindering Prosecution Police said they learned about Marinelli's crimes during a cocaine- and fentanyl-trafficking investigation dubbed 'Operation: Bread, White and Blues' that resulted in more than two dozen arrests. Marinelli tipped off 'one of the major people' in that case, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Friday. 'This has to be one of the most egregious breaches of trust that I have encountered,' Hoovler said. 'I am furious. Number 1, about the leak in the case; and number 2, the conduct, the possibility of putting untraceable guns on the street.' I am enraged that a police officer would sell exactly the types of weapons that are used to kill innocent people, including police officers, Hoovler said. The types of ghost guns which were recovered in this case are valuable to criminals precisely because they are difficult to trace. A police officer who alerts an armed drug dealer who has proudly proclaimed his status as outlaw motorcycle club member, that he is the subject of police investigation, not only compromises that investigation, but puts his fellow police officers at risk. It's not clear if Marinelli has an attorney who can speak for him. A spokesman for the New York City DEP said Saturday that the alleged crimes 'betray the oath that this officer took to protect the public.' Plattekill is about 75 miles north of New York City. The city DEP deploys officers to the area to protect the city's water supply system. Italy's second most wanted man who was 'responsible for four murders' and had been on the run for 15 years was arrested today. Marco Di Lauro, 38, and fourth son of top mafia boss Paolo who ran the Italian criminal gang Camorra, was seized without a struggle while he was with his wife in an apartment in the Chiaiano district of Naples, Italian news agencies reported. The only fugitive still at large, an international arrest warrant was issued for him back in 2006. Marco Di Lauro, 38, was arrested in a Naples apartment while he was with his wife. (Pictured) Marco being taken away by police today He is the fourth son of Italian mafia boss Paolo, who ran the secret criminal gang Camorra that operated in the Naples area Photos in Italian media showed Di Lauro wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt being brought to the police station in Naples by car, with a police helicopter overhead. Around 100 people, including police, gathered outside shouting 'well done, well done', local media reported. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini hailed a 'very important operation, no respite for criminals'. Di Lauro had been on the run since he escaped a massive police swoop in 2004 known as the 'night of the handcuffs'. An informant said in 2010 that Di Lauro was responsible for at least four murders. He has been on the run for 15 years, having evaded capture during a major Police operation dubbed the 'night of the handcuffs' in 2004. (Pictured) A Policeman inspects a room in the Secondigliano Scampia quarter of Naples in 2014, where they had carried out a raid The police operation was triggered, in which Marco's brother was arrested, after a surge in violence in Naples when the Camorra mafia group split. (Pictured) Marco Di Lauro When his arrest was reported around 100 people crowded outside shouting 'well done'. (Pictured) Police inspect items left in the Naples flat they raided in 2014 He was Italy's second most wanted man, with Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, being the country's most wanted. Marco's father Paolo Di Lauro was head of the Camorra clan that operates in Naples' impoverished Scampia and Secondigliano neighbourhoods. At least 130 people were killed in a bloody turf war there after the Amato-Pagano clan split from the Di Lauro clan in 2004. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Peter Thomas (pictured) was arrested at Miami Airport on suspicion of writing fraudulent checks Real Housewives of Atlanta star Peter Thomas was arrested at Miami Airport on suspicion of writing fraudulent checks. Thomas, whose claim to fame was being married to model Cynthia Bailey, is being held without bond in Miami-Dade County pending his extradition to Louisiana. Miami-Dade Police Department officers arrested him as a fugitive with a pending warrant at Miami International Airport on Friday. TMZ reported that he was taken into custody from Louisiana for allegedly writing counterfeit checks. The 58-year-old, who is opening a nightclub in Miami Beach, is being held without bond pending his extradition. On Thursday, Thomas shared an Instagram photo of himself in Jamaica, writing, 'Making deal with my people, BIG THINGS COMING.' Thomas and Bailey, 52, separated in 2016 after tying the knot on an episode of the Bravo franchise in 2011. The former couples divorce was finalized in 2017. Thomas was married to model Cynthia Bailey and they appeared in the Bravo series Real Housewives of Atlanta. They are pictured together in July 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia On Thursday, Thomas shared an Instagram photo of himself in Jamaica, writing, 'Making deal with my people, BIG THINGS COMING' Bailey and Thomas had an amicable split and they have remained close friends. He also still appears on the popular Bravo program. RHOA producers also showed Thomas threatening another ex-husband with a knife. Thomas and Bailey separated in 2016 and their divorce was formalized in 2017. He occasionally appears in the show, as he still has a friendship with Bailey and her daughter Noelle Robinson. Bailey and Thomas had an amicable split in 2016 and they have remained close friends Bailey said of the break-up in November 2016: 'I couldnt give up Cynthia Bailey to be Cynthia Bailey Thomas. She told US Weekly: 'I was in love with Peter, but Im just not wife material. I will never be in a relationship again where it will take a lawyer for me to walk away. I will never marry again.' Bailey has since claimed that she would like to find love again and has started to date a man called Marc Hill, who was featured in the show. 'I can can confidently say that Mike and I will be getting married,' she declared on a January 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Jeremy Arnez Eppinger, 26, was arrested in Griffin, Georgia after he loitered outside a Pizza Hut wearing a camo mask and holding a gun A Georgia man wearing a camouflage mask while allegedly possessing three handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition was arrested outside of a Pizza Hut. Jeremy Arnez Eppinger, 26, was arrested and accused of loitering around the pizza restaurant on Sunday, according to Griffin Police. He was charged with wearing masks and reckless conduct, criminal attempt of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Witnesses said Eppinger was acting suspicious and crouching behind a retaining wall as he had the mask on. Then he jumped over the wall as he held the handgun and walked towards the Pizza Hut. He noticed one witness who was trying to get away from him and became 'startled' then retreated to his car, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was allegedly loitering outside this Pizza Hut in Griffin. Cops found him with the mask around his neck and a handgun in his waistband. In his car he had another gun and hundreds of rounds of ammo By the time police arrived on the scene they found him with the mask around his neck and a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun in his waistband, according to a police press release. In his car cops discovered a small arsenal including a Kel-Tec AR-15-style pistol, a third handgun, hundreds of rounds of ammo as well as pre-loaded 30-round magazines. As of Friday night he was in jail without bond. Authorities say an investigation is ongoing. Advertisement Bernie Sanders branded Donald Trump as 'the most dangerous President in modern American history' at the first rally of his 2020 Presidential campaign. The self described Democratic socialist said that his campaign would not be built on 'racism, sexism and xenophobia' like that of the President. Sanders contrasted his working class roots with Trump's privileged upbringing and said that while he got a 25 cents a week allowance the President was paid $200,000 a year at the age of three. Scroll down for video Bernie Sanders, 77, held the first rally of his 2020 presidential campaign at Brooklyn College in New York City Saturday. He grew up a short distance away from the rally's location in a working class family While Sanders spent his 20s protesting about housing segregation Trump learned to 'build a corporate empire through housing discrimination', he said. The rally took place Saturday in the freezing, snow-covered quad of Brooklyn College in New York, a short distance from where Sanders, 77, grew up. The focus on his personal story was a shift from his failed 2016 Presidential campaign, where he lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton. But, as far as policy went, it was the same Bernie Sanders as before: make the rich pay more tax, free higher education, a $15 an hour minimum wage and Medicare for all. Sanders, who is running for the Democratic ticket, was cheered on by crowd of around 2,000 people, mostly made up of young hipsters. Sanders' reveal of his personal story was a shift from his failed 2016 Presidential campaign, which focused more on policies About 2,000 people showed up at the college campus to support Sanders despite freezing weather Saturday When Sanders talked policies, however, they were the same as before as he continued to advocate for making the rich pay more taxes, establishing free higher education, a $15 an hour minimum wage across the country and Medicare for all Sanders also stated that his campaign would not be based on 'racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry' and that it would make clear 'that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies' He said: 'I want to welcome you to a campaign which says loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies. 'It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry. 'It will not be tax breaks for billions and efforts to throw millions off the healthcare that they currently have. This campaign is going to end all of that'. Sanders, an independent Senator from Vermont, told the crowd that he grew up in a rent-controlled apartment in Flatbush, an African American neighborhood of Brooklyn a few miles away. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and said that he never forgot the lack of money was always a 'point of stress' on his family. With emotion in his voice Sanders said: 'My experience as a child living in a family that struggled economically powerfully influenced my life and my values. I know where I came from, and that is something I will never forget'. Sanders went on: 'Unlike Donald Trump who shut down the government and left 800,000 federal employees to pay their bills, I know what it's like to be in a family that lives paycheck to paycheck. 'I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs. 'I did not come from a family who gave me a $200,000 allowance every year beginning at the age of three. If I recall my allowance was 25 cents a week. 'I did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers: 'You're fired'. I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over everyday workers. Sanders contrasted his working class upbringing with Trump's childhood, pointing out that unlike Trump, Sanders 'did not come from a family who gave me a $200,000 allowance every year' starting at age three, instead he got 25 cents a week Sanders also noted that unlike Trump's family which has been accused of housing discrimination, Sanders protested housing discrimination and was actually arrested for protesting school segregation As Sanders spoke the crowd chanted '1,2,3, screw the bourgeoisie' and 'Green New Deal!' referring to the Democratic plan to tackle climate change, while holding signs that stated 'From Palestine to Mexico, walls have got to go' 'I did not come from a family that taught me to build a corporate empire through housing discrimination. I protested housing discrimination, was arrested for protesting school segregation and one of the proudest days of my life was attending the March on Washington with Dr Martin Luther King Jr'. The rally at Brooklyn College has special significance for Sanders as he attended the institution before switching to the University of Chicago where he graduated with a degree in political science. As he spoke the crowd chanted '1,2,3, screw the bourgeoisie' and 'Green New Deal!' referring to the Democratic plan to tackle climate change. They also held up signs saying: 'Overthrow capitalism' and 'From Palestine to Mexico, walls have got to go' The crowd cheered as Sanders laid out his policy platform and said he is still pushing for $15 an hour minimum wage even though some states like New York and some companies like Amazon have adopted it already. Sanders drew huge cheers when he said he wanted free colleges and universities and 'comprehensive immigration reform'. That includes a path to citizenship for the 1.6 million young people on the DACA program who came to the US illegally when they were children. Sanders said that unlike Trump he did not believe that climate change was a 'hoax' and said that we have a 'moral responsibility' to look after the planet. He said that on abortion it should be a woman's right to choose, not something that is decided by the state or federal government, and that drug prices would come down under his Presidency. Sanders' shift in tone comes after he made numerous staffing changes following his 2016 Presidential bid amid allegations it was too full of 'Bernie Bros', or too white and too male. They include hiring a young progressive Muslim activist to take a lead role and women and minorities in five senior roles so far. Sanders' campaign HQ has shifted from Vermont to Washington too as they seek to become more professional. The changes were partly brought in because staff on the 2016 campaign recently alleged that they had been sexually harassed and paid less than their male counterparts. Sanders' rally occurred at about the same time as Trump gave a two-hour-and-two-minute-long speech during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Sanders' rally occurred at roughly the same time that Trump gave a two-hour-long speech during the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland Saturday (shown). It was the longest political speech that Trump has ever made During the extensive speech, Trump explained his decision to walk away from nuclear talks with Kim Jong Un during an aborted North Korean summit, but failed to mention Michael Cohen's scorching congressional testimony. Trump also took the time to mocked the Green New Deal and vented at the media for taking him seriously in 2016 when he joked that he wanted Russians to release Hillary Clinton's deleted emails to the public. Trump then claimed Mueller and his team, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are targeting him with 'bulls**t' and blasted House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff for overseeing a deep-dive into Trump's finances. Trump also said that he would sign an executive order requiring universities that get public dollars to protect free speech on campus while bringing on stage a conservative California college student who was punched in a public plaza and repeated his usual messages on abortion, illegal immigration, taxes and Federal Reserve interest rates. Police are hunting a balaclava-wearing biker who was caught on camera performing wheelies while a young child sat on the fuel tank. Salford police were alerted to the dangerous driver's antics after a caller spotted two men speeding and executing stunts on off-road bikes. A child, who appears to be around four years old, is seen gripping onto the bike as the driver keeps one hand on the accelerator and the other on his lap. Salford police were alerted to the dangerous driver's freewheeling antics after a caller spotted two men speeding and executing stunts on off-road bikes Police arrived on the scene at 3pm yesterday, but the biker duo had already escaped. Manchester Police are now calling out for any information in relation to the case. PC Steve Williams, from GMP's Salford division, said: 'Although you can't see the men's faces, I'm hoping someone might recognise the bikes or know who is behind the mask. So please take a long look at the images. 'Their actions were brazen and reckless, not only putting themselves and other road users in danger but they also put a young child at risk. A child, who appears to be around four years old, is seen gripping onto the bike as the driver keeps one hand on the accelerator and other on his lap 'Anything could have happened and ultimately this could have had devastating consequences, not to mention we understand the concerns the use of off-road bikes raise in communities. 'We are desperate to stop this happening again and find those responsible. Please, if you know anything, get in touch with police immediately.' Anyone with any information should call police on 0161 856 2863 quoting incident number 1135 of 1 March 2019. Information can also be passed on anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. A blind university student was found hanging in her hall of residence with her guide dog padding up and down close by, an inquest heard. Jade Clements, 24, hanged herself just minutes after sending a distressing message to a friend at Keele University in Staffordshire in March last year. An inquest heard how a security guard gained access to her room after a risk assessment officer at Holly Cross halls became concerned. Her loyal black Labrador Toffee was by her side when she was found. Jade Clements, 24, died in March last year after being found hanging at her hall of residence at Keele University Ms Clements' family are raising money with a GoFundMe page to cover funeral costs and will donate the rest to a Guide Dogs charity (right Jade's loyal black Labrador Toffee) Ms Clements' family said they had raised almost 7,000 in her memory An inquest was told that Ms Clements, from Godalming in Surrey, had been battling a number of health issues and had also had a recent relationship break-up. As well as her sight problems - linked to a hereditary condition - she had scoliosis, a bipolar disorder, insomnia and undiagnosed seizures. Ms Clements was on various medication and was awaiting an appointment with a psychiatrist. She had spent several periods away from university before deciding to return and was staying on campus during the Easter holidays. Friend Samara Hussain had also remained at Holly Cross halls and recalled getting a message from Ms Clements hours before her death on March 29, 2018. 'She said she had relapsed into depression. I was very concerned. I rang her and she was crying,' said Samara in a statement. Ms Clements spent a couple of hours at her friend's room and seemed to perk up. They arranged to meet again the following day. But after going back to her own room, Ms Clements sent several other messages. One American-based friend even contacted the police in the UK as they had become so concerned for her welfare. By then, Keele staff had already been alerted. Ms Clements was praised by her father Brian for being active - going kayaking and horse-riding - despite her disabilites Risk assessment coordinator Tonya Bobmanuel went to knock on Ms Clements' door. 'I heard a dog and some shuffling around in the room, which I thought was Jade coming to the door,' she said. But there was no answer. Ms Bobmanuel called security, who used a pass key to enter her room, where they found the body. A post-mortem examination confirmed Ms Clements died from hanging. She also had a significant amount of alcohol in her system. Recording a conclusion of suicide, North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith said: 'For some reason, she had decided to end it all. An awful end to a promising career.' Her family paid tribute to the 'determined' student, who had been getting first-class marks. They have described her as a 'total inspiration' and say her 'courage, infectious smile and mischievousness' touched people's lives. Her father Brian Clements recalled how she would go kayaking and horse-riding, despite her disabilities. Ms Clements on the beach with her guide dog Toffee in this undated photo Ms Clements on the south coast with her gorgeous black Labrador Toffee Ms Clements and Toffee soak up the evening sun in this undated photo He added: 'After her death, we decided to raise funds for the charity Guide Dogs as they had supported her with Toffee. She had had him for about 18 months and he gave her independence. 'Toffee was part of her life and we just couldn't give him back. He now lives with Jade's brother, Luke.' Following her death, some of the money from a GoFundMe page has gone towards Ms Clements' funeral costs, with the rest going to Guide Dogs. The fundraising has also included a dog walk, which attracted dozens of pooches. For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 116123. The conservative campus activist who was assaulted at the University of California-Berkeley has appeared at CPAC on stage with President Donald Trump. Trump called Hayden Williams up to the stage as he spoke to the cheering crowd at the conservative conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Saturday afternoon. Williams was tabling for the student group Turning Point USA on February when a man charged up and accused him of 'promoting violence' before socking Williams in the face, in a shocking attack caught on video. A suspect, 28-year-old Zachary Greenberg, was arrested on Friday. 'Do me a favor - sue him!' Trump told Williams onstage at CPAC, as Williams gave a double thumbs-up. 'He's probably got nothing, but sue him forever. Sue the college, the university, and maybe sue the state.' 'He took a hard punch in the face for all of us, remember,' Trump continued. 'And we can never allow that to happen.' 'He's going to be a very wealthy young man. Go get 'em, Hayden,' the President concluded, shaking Williams' hand and embracing the young activist. Trump called Hayden Williams up to the stage as he spoke to the cheering crowd at the conservative conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Saturday Trump embraced Williams after praising the young activist, and announced an imminent executive order mandating protections for free speech on college campuses Williams' surprise appearance tied into Trump's announcement during the more than two hour speech that that he will soon sign an executive order 'requiring colleges and universities to support free speech.' 'If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they have to allow ... all people to speak. And if they don't, it will be very costly,' he said. On Friday, Greenberg was arrested in Berkeley following a 10-day search for the suspect seen attacking Williams on video. Zachary Greenberg, 28, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on Friday He was held on $30,000 bail in Alameda County jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily injury. He is to be arraigned on Monday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. Neither Greenberg or Williams are students at the UC-Berkeley. In a statement to Campus Reform, Williams expressed his view of the news of his attacker's arrest: 'I am grateful to the University of California Berkeley Police Department for its dedication to identifying and arresting the man who attacked me.' 'But while this is a moment for celebration, I remain disappointed by the UC Berkeley Administration, which allowed a culture of intolerance and violence toward conservatives to grow,' he continued. 'I hope UC Berkeleys leadership will seize on this moment-in-time to take deliberate steps to establish a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence, and restore Berkeleys legacy as Home of the Free Speech Movement,' Williams concluded. Video from the incident shows Williams (left) being confronted by a violent attacker who punched him in the face as he was recruiting for a conservative student group Williams was running a campus recruitment table for Turning Points USA, a conservative activist group, when he was approached by his attacker in Sproul Plaza. The sign on the table read 'hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims,' a reference to allegations that actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and anti-gay attack against himself in Chicago. Willaims said in an interview with Fox News that a man charged up to the table acting 'erratically' and accused him of 'provoking violence.' The suspect is heard on video shouting: 'Mother f**ker. You racist little inbred b***h. C**t!' Williams (left) is seen 'tabling' at UC-Berkley on another occasion last summer UC-Berkeley campus police said that the attack took place at 3.29pm on Upper Sproul Plaza, and that two men initially approached the table confronting Williams. 'A physical confrontation ensued when one of the two men slapped the phone out of the victims hand,' the police statement said. The attacker then knocked over the table and the two men fought over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injuries to the eye and nose, police said. Williams was helping Turning Point USA, but he is not actually a member of the group. Williams is campus representative for Leadership Institute, which runs Campus Reform, the website that first reported on the incident. Ruthless drug dealers are targeting vulnerable young students at some of Britains top universities by brazenly handing out professional business cards on campuses while police appear to turn a blind eye. Students, many of whom are living away from home for the first time, are given instant access to Class A drugs including cocaine, MDMA and ketamine simply by calling mobile phone numbers printed on slick flyers. A disturbing Mail on Sunday investigation at four of Britains leading universities found: Leeds University: After our reporter rang the number on a business card for 'Jaye' (pictured below), this man (pictured above) arrived to sell him MDMA - even throwing in a gram for free Special offer: 'Jaye's' drug-dealing business card Shameless dealers offering free samples of drugs stapled to the back of business cards; Buy One Get One Free deals on Class A drugs that have killed scores of students; Claims that police take no action. Our troubling probe comes after a recent survey found 62 per cent of students thought that their university should take a stronger line on students who repeatedly use drugs. Another survey found 56 per cent of students have admitted to taking drugs, but the National Union of Students last year called on universities not to inform police about students caught using illegal substances to avoid them getting a criminal record. The Mail on Sunday was alerted to the sinister presence of brazen drug dealers handing out their business cards to students at the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester, the University of Nottingham, and Queen Mary University of London. Last night, police said they were investigating the use of business cards by dealers, while an MP called for a government task force to tackle the problem. Nottingham University: This man (pictured above) arrived after our investigator contacted the number listed on the card pictured below Party trick: The dealer sold him two grams of ketamine for 50, promising it was 'good stuff' It comes after students told this newspaper they had been handed flyers by drug dealers at events during Freshers Week at the start of the academic year. The cards obtained by this newspaper are often disguised as offering legitimate services, such as catering and fitness training. But when they are handed out to students by the dealers they are told that if they call the phone number printed they can buy drugs that can be delivered within minutes. One card with an image of a balloon simply advertised party essentials. Another offered a buy 1 get 1 free deal on Tuesdays. When our reporter, posing as a student, rang the numbers on the cards he was able to buy cocaine, party drug MDMA and powerful tranquilliser ketamine all of which have caused the deaths of young students in recent years. One card even comes with a free sample Among the business cards handed out by drug dealers to students, Jay (pictured below) entices students in Leeds with a free sample of cannabis. A business card from a Leeds drug dealer with a free sample of cannabis In Manchester, Ricky, offers a gram of synthetic drug mephedrone (mcat) for 10 or seven grams for 50 with a buy-one-get-one-free offer on Tuesdays. Ricky, offers a gram of synthetic drug mephedrone (mcat) for 10 He also sells cocaine (charley) for 40 a gram or three grams for 100, a gram of MDMA (md) for 25 and an eighth of an ounce of cannabis (green) for 20 or three-eighths for 50. Advertisement Our investigation began at the University of Leeds, which has more than 27,000 undergraduates, and was recently ranked in the top ten universities in the UK. Famous alumni include former Home Secretary Jack Straw. A recent survey by student newspaper The Tab found 90 per cent of students in the city admitted to taking drugs. In 2014, Leeds law and French student Natasha Brunton, 21, was found dead after taking cocaine. One current student passed our reporter a business card he said a dealer had handed to him in the popular student area of Hyde Park at the start of term. The card for dealer Jaye promised special offers delivered from noon until 2am. Within 30 minutes of phoning the number on the card, a young bearded man arrived in a black Mercedes 4x4 to meet our reporter. A DVLA check of the cars number plate later revealed it had not been taxed. The man sold our reporter eight grams of MDMA for 100. He even decided to throw an extra gram in for free. The pusher said: Its banging bro, absolutely banging. Ive got coke, MD and pills If you got any mates give them my number and I will sort them out with the best deals. A drugs laboratory test later confirmed it was MDMA. The Class A drug which can land someone up to seven years in prison for possession is the active ingredient in ecstasy pills, and has been implicated in the deaths of hundreds of people in the UK. In 2017, Sheffield student Joana Burns, 22, died after taking MDMA to celebrate finishing her maths degree. Last night, a source close to her family told The Mail on Sunday: Handing out business cards almost legitimises drug taking for students. It just shows how out of control it has become. Queen Mary University: This driver of a 50,000 Mercedes arrived after our reporter rang the number on a business card (below) for 'Rico' Brazen: He charged 40 for a gram of MDMA - which tests later to be of very high purity In Leeds, we arranged to meet another dealer Jayce. On the back of the card it read: Professional chef. For the best deals thank me later! Within an hour of calling the mobile number on the card, a man, who appeared in his late teens, arrived and offered us two types of cocaine different strengths for different prices. We bought the more expensive option, paying 150 for two grams which tests confirmed was of high purity. One Leeds undergraduate said: Dealers will carpet-bomb students with cards during Freshers Week. They are using cards because there is so much competition now they need to stand out. On one occasion I even had an Uber driver hand me a card. They act with impunity. Students said the authorities do nothing to crack down on drug use. One said: There are wild parties in peoples basements that the police will break up after neighbours complain and there will be rooms full of students taking drugs, but the police will not do anything about it. Harmless? Try telling Joana and Natashas families... Students Joana Burns and Natasha Brunton had bright futures but now their families have been left grieving after both fell victim to the escalating scourge of drugs on university campuses. University student Joana Burns after taking ecstasy for the first time Joana died after taking MDMA to celebrate finishing her maths degree at Sheffield Hallam University. Leeds student Natasha died after taking cocaine. Bags of white powder were later found in her room. Leeds student Natasha died after taking cocaine Joanas younger sister Marcia, 17, committed suicide less than three months after Joanas death in 2017. I didnt just lose one daughter to drugs, I lost two, their mother Mosca said last year. Advertisement Our undercover reporter next travelled to Queen Mary University in East London, which has 19,000 students and counts former Labour Cabinet Minister Peter Hain among its alumni. Current students said a drug dealer calling himself Rico has been brazenly distributing his cards right outside the campus. His card features gold writing that says: Anytime, anywhere in the UK. Live a little and enjoy life. Our reporter called the mobile number on the card, and within an hour a man arrived in a 50,000 Mercedes E-Class. The man, in his late 20s, charged our reporter 40 for a gram of MDMA, which tests confirmed was of high purity. Next our undercover probe took our reporter to the University of Nottingham, which has 35,000 students, and is ranked within in the top 100 universities in the world. Students there revealed a dealer had given them business cards featuring an image of balloons and the words party essentials. When our reporter called the number, a taxi driver turned up to sell our investigators two grams of ketamine for 50. He told our reporter: Its good stuff. Try it and youll find out. Lab tests later confirmed it was ketamine a powerful drug commonly used as a tranquilliser for horses. The highly dangerous drug is growing in popularity among young people, who are taking it in record levels according to Home Office figures released last month. Last year, an inquest heard Oxford University classics student Max Mian, 19, plunged to his death while high on ketamine after he climbed on to a building site in the city. Meanwhile, at the University of Manchester attended by more than 40,000 students the dealers now attach free samples of cannabis to business cards and hand them to students in the popular student area of Fallowfield. Students say dealers feel emboldened after Manchester student Toby Walkland last year avoided jail despite being caught with more than 100 Ecstasy and psychedelic 2-CB tablets worth 3,000 in his accommodation. One student said: I think it is just a matter of time before they start handing them out before lectures. It shows how little police presence there is in Manchester, and the confidence this has given criminals. I was in a class where the lecturer asked the students what they did to relax and one put their hand up and answered that they smoked weed. The lecturer didnt bat an eyelid. Last night, Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Committee in the House of Commons, said: This is the first time students are living away from home, and they are being exploited by drug gangsters. This is not what student loan money should be spent on. Universities were last night urged to take a zero tolerance approach by Buckingham University Vice-Chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon, who announced plans for it to become the first drug-free university by asking students to sign a contract pledging that they will not take drugs. Universities were last night urged to take a zero tolerance approach by Buckingham University Vice-Chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon It also routinely brings in sniffer dogs to deter drug use. Sir Anthony said: I asked myself what kind of moral leadership university leaders were providing in colluding in the mass consumption of illegal drugs on our premises. Responding to our findings last night, police forces and the universities said they were clamping down on drug dealers. Sergeant Craig Hodson, of Greater Manchester Police, said: Our neighbourhood teams are already patrolling areas where we have received reports that business cards have been given out. Toby Walkland avoided jail despite being caught with more than 100 Ecstasy and psychedelic 2-CB tablets (similar to those pictured) worth 3,000 in his accommodation A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: We continue to undertake complex investigations into drugs lines that operate and target students. Chief Superintendent Steve Cotter, Leeds District Commander, said: Over recent days a number of [anti-drug] operations have been carried out in the Hyde Park area resulting in arrests and seizures. A Met Police spokesman said: A meeting took place in early February with the university to discuss a wide range of policing issues, including drug dealing. A University of Leeds spokesman said: The university makes clear to its students that it does not tolerate illegal drug activities. A University of Manchester spokesman said: All illicit drugs are banned across campus and we work in collaboration with the Students Union to inform our students about the risks and dangers associated with drug use. A Queen Mary University of London spokesman said: We do not tolerate the sale or use of illegal drugs on our campuses. We work actively with police to tackle this matter. A spokesman for the University of Nottingham said: Our policy on drugs misuse is made clear to students and penalties include disciplinary action, exclusion and prosecution as necessary. A third of parents who have hired a tutor to help their children with schoolwork have kept it a secret and many will even lie outright if asked. The fear of being branded a pushy parent was the leading reason for keeping quiet, according to a survey. But some parents were also afraid of giving the impression that their sons and daughters werent smart enough because they needed extra help. Another fear was that hiring a tutor might suggest children were not getting enough support at home. One in ten parents confessed that they would rather lie than admit to hiring a tutor. Dawn Green, from Cambridge, hired a maths tutor to help her dyslexic 15-year-old son Angus with his GCSEs. Admitting there is a stigma, she said: I found that other mothers at school didnt talk about their children getting tutoring. One in ten parents confessed that they would rather lie than admit to hiring a tutor (Stock photo) Theres a level of competitiveness among parents because they dont want to admit that their child needs extra help. The recent exam changes have been such a huge worry that it made sense to get help from tutoring. Figures released last week showed that competition for secondary school places is hotter than ever before. A record 115,000 children will miss out on going to their first-choice secondary school this year. With parents getting increasingly anxious about their childs school performance, tutoring has become a booming industry. In 2018, one in four 11 to 16-year-olds in England and Wales had a private tutor. Despite the feared stigma, 96 per cent of parents said they would not judge others for using a tutor. One in five even said that tutoring was now a normal part of education for their children. The fear of being branded a pushy parent was the leading reason for keeping quiet about hiring a tutor (stock photo) Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign For Real Education, said: Tutoring is a forced emergency service. Parents dont want to admit that they are going off and getting private tuition because its admitting the problem. The fact that they feel they have to hide that they employ tutors shows how much stigma there is. Theyre effectively giving their children an undercover leg-up, but you cant blame parents for that. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association Of School And College Leaders, said: Families feel under extraordinary pressure over exam performance because of the increasingly high-stakes nature of the exam system. Our advice to parents is to talk to their schools to see what additional support can be provided. The survey of 4,000 parents of children aged between 14 and 18 was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of tutoring website MyTutor. Theresa May was last night given a boost in her knife-edge battle to secure MPs support for her Brexit deal when the Tories powerful king-maker signalled he was ready to drop his opposition to it. The intervention from Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the partys backbench 1922 Committee, comes amid growing confidence in Downing Street that opposition to her deal is starting to crumble ahead of the critical Commons vote on March 12. No 10 believes the prospect of MPs voting to delay or overturn Brexit if the deal is voted down has reduced the number of diehard opponents to between 15 and 25 a group dubbed the death cult by one pro-May MP. Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured has been handed a significant boost ahead of her latest attempt to pass her Brexit deal through parliament Chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Graham Brady, pictured, has said he was decided that he will support Mrs May's deal Hardline opponent Jacob Rees-Mogg has also indicated he would support Mrs May's deal Brussels sources say that any attempt by MPs to delay Brexit due at the end of this month by extending Article 50 for longer than a matter of weeks is likely to come with strict conditions, such as the UK remaining in a customs union or agreeing to hold a second referendum. Sir Graham, who voted against Mrs Mays Withdrawal Agreement in January, writes in The Mail on Sunday today that after talking to senior diplomats and politicians from across Europe, he has cause for optimism that a breakthrough is near to alter the backstop, which would keep Northern Ireland tied to EU rules. The Altrincham and Sale West MP who criticised the political classs handling of Brexit as lions led by donkeys added: The whole country is tired of vacillation and delay. When the right compromise is offered, we should pull together behind the Prime Minister. Mrs Mays allies have also been encouraged by the softening of opposition by Jacob Rees-Mogg, head of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs. One said: Jacob has finally realised that he stands to lose Brexit altogether. But it is still going to be: Will Boris [Johnson] and David Davis also see the light? Brussels insiders say negotiators have entered the tunnel process intensive and continuous talks to try to find a legally binding addition to the Withdrawal Agreement around the backstop. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier finally conceded yesterday that Brussels was ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary and hinted they would be legally enforceable. However, he added that a short extension would be needed to ratify the terms of the deal on both sides of the Channel. Downing Street will this week make a direct appeal to Labour MPs to back the deal. Labour 'bribe' rift The Brexit Secretary has warned Theresa May that her plan to bribe Labour MPs into backing her EU deal risks delaying Britains exit. The Prime Minister is set to offer MPs rolling votes on whether to adopt workers rights legislation that comes out of Brussels after the UK has left the bloc in a bid to win over wavering Labour MPs and get them to back her divorce terms. But in a stark warning, Stephen Barclay said there were significant risks with this approach, adding that Mrs May must stop short of giving Parliament a binding say. He added that there was extremely limited time to rewrite crucial Brexit legislation to include the offer before exit day, risking a delay. Advertisement Bassetlaw MP John Mann boasted that as many as 70 of his Labour colleagues could humiliate Jeremy Corbyn by abstaining or voting with the Government. Downing Street poured cold water on the figure, but insiders are confident that 30 could back Mrs May leading to a wafer-thin majority if the DUP can be convinced to back the deal or abstain. Mrs May has also moved to quash attempts by Brexiteer Tory members to deselect their Remain-backing MPs. She personally telephoned former Minister Sam Gyimah, who quit to oppose Brexit, to reassure him when news emerged that he faced an internal bid to oust him from his Surrey seat. Party chairman Brandon Lewis has promised that Conservative HQ will step in to veto the deselection of any Tory MP who supports the Prime Ministers deal. In a further boost last night, another Tory MP who voted against Mrs Mays deal said he was also performing a U-turn. Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said: Sadly, I cannot see how we can achieve Brexit other than by supporting a revised version of the PMs deal. He added: If we can reach a compromise on the backstop, we have to accept the reality that this is the best we can get. Otherwise we could end up in a deal that prevents us from implementing trade deals, having to keep free movement or, perish the thought, remaining an EU member. Meanwhile, Whitehall ground to a halt on Thursday evening for a No Deal dress rehearsal involving hundreds of Government officials and spin doctors. The day one doomsday scenario codenamed ND:D1 was war-gamed with minute-by-minute updates, including a surge in Real IRA violence, cash machines running out of money and Britains borders grinding to a halt. By ND:D7 a week into the worst-case scenario the Grand National at Aintree on April 6 was called off due to racehorses being stranded on motorways gridlocked by congestion and riots. Oscar winning former Labour MP Glenda Jackson admits she's a fan of Theresa May but thinks Jeremy Corbyn is 'crazed' By HARRY COLE Glenda Jackson has come out fighting for Theresa May, saying she loves the Prime Minister while warning that Jeremy Corbyns Labour is crazed. Despite being a lifelong critic of the Tories, the double Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP, 82, praised Mrs Mays Brexit tenacity. Describing the Prime Ministers critics as disgraceful, she said: There she is, slogging away, God love her. Ms Jackson said she admires Theresa May, left, and thinks Jeremy Corbyn, right, is 'crazed' Im a big admirer of her and I think the way shes been treated is utterly disgraceful. I dont only mean by her own party. Ive certainly admired her in the way she has handled herself over Brexit, yes. I do admire her for her tenacity, trying to deliver the referendum result to the people of our country, even though I disapproved of it. She tries to bring together two opposing sides, who find it very hard to tolerate each other, at the same time as having to deal with 27 other countries. Jackson, who starred in Women In Love and Elizabeth R before going on to become an MP for 23 years, also branded the idea of a second referendum as absurd, adding: Whats to stop people then saying, Well, lets have a third? And she turned her fire on Corbyn, adding: I will always defend my party, but were not exactly covering ourselves with glory at the moment, are we? Asked how she would fix Labour, she told The Guardian: Id ask someone to explain to me what were doing. Anybody, please, tell me what are we doing? Its crazed. Simples! How Theresa May's embarrassing Meerkat quip won her closest aide tea at the Ritz worth 58 and opened up the PM to ridicule One of Theresa Mays closest aides won tea at The Ritz after getting the Prime Minister to say Simples in the Commons. MPs were baffled when Mrs May used the catchphrase made famous by meerkat Alexsandr in the Compare The Market ads, telling SNP leader Ian Blackford: He should vote for a deal simples! But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Seema Kennedy, Mrs Mays Parliamentary Private Secretary, had a wager with Tory MP Simon Hoare that she could get her boss to say the word. Tea at The Ritz costs 58 or 77 with a glass of bubbly. Seema Kennedy, left, Mrs May's Parliamentary Private Secretary, laid a bet with fellow Tory MP Simon Hoare that she could get her boss to use the word 'Simples' at PMQs Mr Hoare now owes Ms Kennedy tea at the Ritz which costs around 58 Politicians said they were 'stunned' by the quote, with Labour MP Rupa Huq tweeting: 'Theresa Meerkat just stunned the Commons by Maybot malfunction in stating its her deal or no deal then concluding "simples".' Labour MP Liz McInnes said on Twitter: 'Yes, Theresa May did just respond "Simples" in the Brexit statement. Theresa Meerkat is now in charge. God help us.' Sharon Hodgson, a Labour MP, said: 'Really cant believe the PM has just said her Brexit plan is "Simples!" Well thats one word for it!' Mrs May has promised to give MPs a vote on extending Brexit negotiations or withdrawing from the EU without a deal if her plan is rejected next month. In a statement to the House of Commons, Mrs May confirmed that she will put her Withdrawal Agreement to a 'meaningful vote' by March 12. If that fails, MPs will be offered two separate votes on the following days; one on a no-deal Brexit and, if that is defeated, the other on requesting an extension to the two-year Article 50 negotiation process to delay EU withdrawal beyond March 29. The Prime Minister said: 'Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. 'Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29.' I voted against Mrs May's deal. Now I'm ready to back it... SIR GRAHAM BRADY explains why he has changed his mind Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, pictured, explains why he has changed his mind on Theresa May's Brexit deal and will support it in Commons Lions led by donkeys: nearly three years after the British people voted to take back control of our democracy, it is painfully obvious that the political class at Westminster doesnt share the belief in our country that is shown by the people. All too often it has looked as if the Establishment has wanted to negotiate a Brexit that looks shockingly like not leaving at all, even though the European Union has made it clear that a deep and open free trade agreement is there for the asking. This is why the Prime Ministers EU Withdrawal Agreement came so close to sinking back in January. The agreement has some good points: it gives certainty to EU citizens in the United Kingdom and ours living on the continent; it tells businesses that contracts will continue to be honoured, and it gives a transition period during which a future free trade agreement could be negotiated. But the agreement also contains a monumental bear trap. The protocol that sets out to give reassurance that the Irish border would remain entirely open would have two damaging effects. First, the so-called backstop would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom, something that is anathema to anyone who believes in the Union; and second, it would carry the risk of trapping the whole of the UK in the EU customs union and therefore banned from making free trade deals with the faster-growing markets around the world. This is not a time to make the best the enemy of the good, and most MPs are in a mood to compromise, but the danger of this backstop becoming permanent is a real one and it has to be tackled. That is why I couldnt vote for the agreement in its original form but also why I proposed an amendment at the end of January that showed the way to reach an acceptable compromise by seeking a legally binding guarantee that the Irish backstop could only be temporary. My amendment won a majority in the House of Commons and proved wrong the doom-mongers who like to claim that there is no Brexit agreement that can possibly win the backing of Parliament. Mr Brady is optimistic there is the possibility of compromise across Europe to accept parliament's position on the Irish backstop allowing Britain to leave the EU on March 29 In the month since my amendment was passed, there has been constant shuttle diplomacy the Prime Minister, Brexit Secretary and Attorney General have been locked in daily discussions to find the binding guarantee that is needed. Increasingly, the leaders of other EU countries have urged that a pragmatic solution should be found. My conversations with senior diplomats and politicians from across Europe have given me cause for optimism that a breakthrough is near. Those who have pressed for delay or for No Deal to be taken off the table have weakened Theresa Mays hand and made a deal less likely, but I still believe a compromise is fundamentally in our interest and that of the EU. We know what is needed to shift the log-jam. The Attorney General needs to give a legally binding guarantee that the backstop is temporary. Once we have that, my colleagues in Parliament need to recognise the strength of feeling. The whole country is tired of vacillation and delay. When the right compromise is offered, we should pull together behind the Prime Minister and help her to deliver our exit from the European Union on March 29. How Cox's 'codpiece' might save the day and allow PM's Brexit deal to scrape through the Commons ahead of March 29 EU departure Attorney General Sir Geoffrey Cox, pictured, is attempting to write a codicil to the Government's Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU which will alleviate concerns of Tory back benchers to the Northern Ireland back stop Hopes of breaking the deadlock over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop rest on Attorney General Geoffrey Cox's legally binding addition to the Brussels divorce text. The document, called a codicil, is the subject of intensive talks between British and EU negotiators as Brexit Day approaches. Sir Geoffrey, the Government's top lawyer, sunk Mrs May's first attempt to get her Brexit deal through the Commons after his legal advice said the UK could be trapped in the backstop indefinitely. He has now presented the codicil to Brussels and, if it is accepted, it would allow the respected QC to change his advice to MPs. However, the codicil falls far short of the fixed-time limit on the backstop demanded by Brexiteers, who have already mockingly dubbed the legal document 'a codpiece'. However, the EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has indicated he does not believe the UK will have enough time to approve Theresa May's withdrawal deal by the scheduled exit date of March 29. Mr Barnier suggested a 'technical extension' of up to two months may be needed. The Prime Minister has told MPs they will have a 'meaningful vote' on her withdrawal plans by March 12. Asked if he thought it was possible to reach an agreement by March 29, even if Westminster gave the green light this month, Mr Barnier told Spain's El Mundo newspaper: 'No.' Referencing a technical extension, Mr Barnier added: 'But you'll have to ask the United Kingdom. If there is a vote on the 12th and it takes two months to carry out the procedure, it would be justified.' Mrs May has said that if her deal is rejected by Parliament, MPs will be able to vote on whether the UK can leave the EU in a no-deal scenario, and if that is rejected, the Commons can decide on whether to extend Article 50 and delay Brexit for a limited period. EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said he did not believe Britain will be in a position to leave the EU on March 29 and will require an Article 50 extension Mr Barnier has also stated that Brussels is ready to give the UK further 'guarantees, assurances and clarifications' that the Irish backstop should only be temporary. He insisted that the controversial measure, intended to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, will not be removed from the Withdrawal Agreement. While acknowledging Brexiteer concerns that the backstop is a trap that would keep the UK tied to the EU indefinitely, Mr Barnier insisted it is only 'insurance' intended for the 'worst-case scenario'. Speaking to German newspaper Die Welt, Mr Barnier said: 'We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU. 'This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary.' The guarantees in question could come as an adjunct to the Withdrawal Agreement in the form of an 'interpretive document', he said. However the EU will not allow for a time limit to be placed on the backstop or give Britain the right to unilaterally pull out of it, Mr Barnier added. The development came as the president of Slovenia suggested the country and many other EU states would be willing to accept a short delay to Brexit. Borut Pahor, who sat on the European Council of leaders when he was prime minister, told Sky News: 'I think Slovenia and a lot of other countries would say yes. 'I think that nobody wants to see a hard Brexit in a chaotic way, which would damage London and Brussels and Ljubljana and every country.' However Mr Pahor said the extension should not be used simply to postpone the making of a compromise decision. Mrs May has insisted she does not want a delay Brexit and believes the UK can leave the EU as scheduled on March 29. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn confirmed Labour would now back a referendum if faced with a 'damaging Tory Brexit' or a no-deal departure from the European Union after Labour's vision was rejected in the Commons. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss warned on Friday that a new Brexit referendum would provoke a 'massive crisis'. She also indicated that a no-deal exit could be better than a delay. Ms Truss told the BBC: 'I think it would be an absolute disaster if we had a second referendum after people voted so clearly to leave the European Union. 'There will be a massive crisis in this nation. And it would be terrible for business. It would leave us continuing in this limbo period.' Six long weeks after going missing during an FDNY calendar shoot, 'Big Sexy' has finally been reunited with his owner. 'Big Sexy' - whose real name is Buddy - got spooked while getting ready to go in front of the camera for FDNY's upcoming Calendar of Heroes and bolted from Engine 4/Ladder 15's station in Lower Manhattan on January 20. After six weeks of searching for the cat during weather that dipped as low as two degrees Fahrenheit, Big Sexy was found on Staten Island and reunited with owner, novelist and private eye, Leslie Siebert, on Thursday. Leslie Silbert was reunited with 'Big Sexy' - aka Buddy - after the black cat was found on Staten Island after disappeared six weeks ago during a firefighter calendar photo shoot in Manhattan Big Sexy got spooked during the photo shoot and somehow escaped from the fire station on January 20. The cat was missing during a period when temperatures fell to two degrees F In a remarkable coincidence, the cat was was found in the backyard of a woman whose ex-husband was a firefighter who died in 2018 of 9/11-related cancer, according to the New York Daily News. Michele Froehlich-Perosi, a cat owner herself, told the newspaper that she first saw Big Sexy in her backyard a couple weeks ago. Unlike the feral cats that she feeds outside her door, however, she noticed that the black cat, which would later be identified as Big Sexy, had 'very clear and bright' eyes, as well as shiny fur, which tipped her off that the cat was likely stray, not feral. Froehlich-Perosi then took a picture of him and posted it on the Facebook page, Lost and Found Pets Staten Island. Big Sexy was one of five cats and seven dogs who were being photographed with first responders for the 2020 FDNY Calendar of Heroes. He is seen above with a firefighter Big Sexy turned up a couple weeks ago in the backyard of a Staten Island woman who was the ex-wife of a FDNY for died from 9/11-related cancer in 2018 Not long after that, a friend told her about Big Sexy and his disappearance, prompting Froehlich-Perosi to text a picture of the cat to Silbert. Big Sexy's identity was seemingly confirmed when the two women called each other and Silbert was put on speakerphone in Big Sexy's presence. Upon hearing his owner's voice, the cat was said to have meowed. 'Buddy kept me up all night (I'm not complaining!) with wanting to talk and snuggle,' Silbert wrote on Facebook after taking Big Sexy home. 'A lot of meowing at me, nudging to solicit petting, wanting a lot of small meals with me by his side.' Silbert wasn't 100 per cent sure she had the right cat in her possession until after a trip to the vet, who matched the chip in the cat's neck to Big Sexy's code in the pet database. It's unclear how Big Sexy was able to make the trip to Staten Island, which is only accessible from Manhattan via bridge or ferry. Big Sexy's disappearance attracted a significant amount of media attention, but at first it seemed like there was 'more media interest than kitty sightings,' she told the New York Daily News in early February. Silbert adopted Buddy as a kitten two years ago after he was found wandering through a hospital in Harlem and a worker brought him to the Manhattan Animal Care Centers shelter. Big Sexy's identity was supposedly confirmed when he meowed after hearing Silbert's voice over speakerphone. A vet then matched the cat's identity chip to the pet database It's unclear how Big Sexy managed to make the trip from Manhattan to Staten Island, which is only accessible by bridge or via ferry 'I thought I would take him in as a foster cat for a little while because I live alone and taking care of a cat is a big deal, but I had him for three weeks and I didnt want to give him back,' she told the Daily News. 'It's like his story has gone full circle. He was found at a hospital a lifesaving enterprise and he disappeared at another lifesaving enterprise.' Big Sexy was one of five cats and seven dogs adopted from Animal Care Centers of NYC who were being photographed with firefighters and emergency medical technicians with pets for the 2020 FDNY Calendar of Heroes. Proceeds will go to the FDNY Foundation and Animal Care Centers. Silbert said that after Big Sexy ran off, firefighters used thermal imaging technology to search the station. All of the exits were sealed during the shoot so no one knew how the cat escaped. The federal government has imposed a $600,000 fine on the New Jersey nursing home where 11 children died and 36 became sick during a virus outbreak last fall. The fine came after officials found conditions posed 'immediate jeopardy' to patients at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and Pediatric Center, in Haskell, New Jersey, NorthJersey.com reported. Inspectors found lapses in hand-washing and infection control, substandard care, a lack of involvement by the medical director, and poor administrative oversight at the facility, which cares for 53 ventilator-dependent children and 150 other pediatric and elderly residents. The officials found the conditions existed from October 9 to November 19, when 11 children died in the facility during an adenovirus outbreak. The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and Pediatric Center, in Haskell, New Jersey was fined $600,000 over conditions that may have led to a viral outbreak The dangerous conditions have now been corrected, officials said. The center strongly disputes the findings of the report. Last fall, state officials were forced to admit they are struggling to contain the outbreak at the Wanaque Center. Dr. Shereef Elnahal, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health, told CNN at the time that the inability to separate those who are sick from those without symptoms has led to the outbreak. 'Up until this week, it has not been possible to completely separate those patients,' Elnahal said. 'But now, due to decreasing census at the facility, it is.' The state put out a call for volunteers from New Jersey Medical Reserve Corps to help separate patients at the facility. The lethal outbreak at the Wanaque Center began in late September, spreading among children with weakened immune systems. Adenoviruses are a group of viruses that infect the linings of the eyes, lungs, intestines, urinary tract, and nervous system. A strong strain of the virus has killed 11 children An investigation of Wanaque indicated that the staff's poor hand washing practices might be fueling the viral spread. Adenovirus is, typically, a mild bug that causes the common cold. The virus infects the respiratory system, causing a sore throat, chest and throat congestion, coughing, pink eye and fever. But the virus acts very similarly to the flu, and is often mistaken for it. In fact, adenovirus can feel even worse than the flu. Like most bugs, it has many different strains with different strengths. The type that struck the Wanaque Center in New Jersey is adenovirus seven. This strain in particular is known to prove deadly in some cases. The virus spreads in droplets expelled into the air or onto surfaces from coughs, sneezes or tears. But even wiping down potentially contaminated areas only goes so far against adenovirus. It is notoriously stubborn against disinfectant sprays and wipes. WHAT IS ADENOVIRUS AND WHY ARE SOME STRAINS DEADLY? There are over 100 types of adenovirus, of which 49 can infect humans. Versions of the virus underlie several of the mots common illnesses that strike humans, including gastronteritis (stomach flu) ,pink eye and the common cold. Adenoviruses that infect the respiratory system typically cause a sore throat, chest congestion, coughing, sneezing and fever. Some strains, including type three, are mild, and very rarely life threatening. But others, such as type seven can cause much more severe illness. These stronger strains may even be deadly, particularly for children and those with compromised immune systems. Adenovirus sometimes 'masquerades' as the flu. Its symptoms can feel just as bad, but of course will turn up a negative flu test. Like most viruses, there is no specific treatment for adenovirus except to manage the symptoms and wait it out. Advertisement In October, the Health Department sent a inspectors to Wanaque and University Hospitals. At Wanaque, the team found that staff members were not properly washing their hands. Because the virus is stubborn and resistant to antimicrobial chemicals, the best way to minimize its spread is through 'mechanically' removing it from the skin through the physical act of scrubbing. Adenovirus is among a group of diseases in the so-called North Atlantic Oscillation indices. The climate may play a role in its spread. Along with measles, viral meningitis and gastroenteritis, cases of adenovirus increased in Europe when temperatures were higher and it rained more, according to a 2013 study. In October, the average temperature for the month in New Jersey was 57.4F and the average daily precipitation is 3.68 inches. Last year's temperatures and October rainfall were closely in line with these averages, but there was some kind of precipitation 32 days that month. Normally, it only rains about nine days in October in New Jersey. A wetter climate may help explain higher rates of the flu-like infection in the general population, but it didn't explain what's happening to the children in health facilities. The New Jersey Health Department says that that is on the facilities and health officials in general. 'We also need to think about whether there is more we can do as healthcare leaders to protect immunocompromised children, such as those served at Wanaque Center,' said Elnahal. 'Every year in the state, there are hundreds of outbreaks at healthcare facilities,' but better training for outbreak containment might help to reduce the deaths that come with viral spreads in these settings. Liz Truss effectively accused the Prime Minister of being complicit in allowing the monster of the hard Left to grow unchallenged Theresa May has suffered a stinging attack by one of her own Cabinet Ministers for failing to tackle the threat posed by Jeremy Corbyn. Liz Truss effectively accused the Prime Minister of being complicit in allowing the monster of the hard Left to grow unchallenged by trying to emulate Corbyns policies rather than staying faithful to the partys Thatcherite soul. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury a leading contender to succeed Mrs May told a private dinner last week: We need to confront Corbynism, not tack towards him. Her intervention comes amid mounting anger on the partys Right wing over Mrs Mays Corbyn-lite policies, including a price cap on energy bills, billions of extra NHS investment and the targeting of fat cat company bosses over pay and perks. Ms Truss, 43, launched her thinly veiled attack at a fundraising dinner for a new Museum of Communist Terror on Monday. Implying that Mrs May was spooked by the surge of support for Corbyn among young voters, Ms Truss said: We have lost our moral certainty about the evils of communism and co-opted some of the language of the Left' During her speech, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, the Cabinet Minister claimed the Right had been asleep at the wheel in the battle of ideas since the end of the Thatcher government. Implying that Mrs May was spooked by the surge of support for Corbyn among young voters, Ms Truss said: We have lost our moral certainty about the evils of communism and co-opted some of the language of the Left. The Right has become obsessed with managerialism, triangulation and focus groups. If we want to call out this Labour leadership and their ideas for the betrayal of the country they are, we must confront them. You cant fight communism just by saying it doesnt work. During her speech, the Cabinet Minister claimed the Right had been asleep at the wheel in the battle of ideas since the end of the Thatcher government We need to be prepared to ignore policies that are popular in the current climate but dont sit with our political values and instead seek to change the political weather. And in a pointed critique of Mrs Mays anti-fat cat agenda, including plans to give shareholders greater control over executive pay deals, Ms Truss said: Instead of introducing more bans and regulations, we should use our departure from the EU to cut taxes, reduce red tape and move away from the big-state European model. This is a huge opportunity to remake the case for free market conservatism. The selling point of being a Conservative is being proud of earned success, of generating wealth and choosing your own future. Ms Truss, deputy to Chancellor Philip Hammond, last week condemned as kamikaze the move by Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark to put pressure on Mrs May to rule out a No Deal Brexit. Ms Truss upped the ante this weekend, saying she would vote for No Deal if the Government failed to get an agreement with Brussels. Ms Truss told the BBC: I would support a No Deal outcome in the event that we couldnt secure a deal, yes. Because I think ultimately that has to be on the table in order to get a deal. She declined to comment last night on her remarks at the private dinner. A man has been charged after allegedly fleeing the scene of a horrific car crash that killed a 12-year-old boy and left his younger sister and mother fighting for life. The 34-year-old was arrested at about 3.30am on Sunday, hours after his Holden Commodore allegedly hit six stationary cars off a freeway in north-west Sydney. The young boy, who was sitting in the back seat of a Holden Captiva, was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother, 36, and five-year-old sister, who were also in the car, are in critical condition. The 38-year-old driver of the Captiva, believed to be the boy's father, was not injured but was taken to the hospital for assessment. Six people were injured in the collision, one fatally, with another four taken to hospital. A man has been arrested over the crash that killed a 12-year-old boy and left his sister, 5, and mother in a critical condition on Saturday night in Baulkham Hills, southwest Sydney The suspect allegedly fled the scene after careening off the M2 motorway at Baulkham Hills just after 7pm Saturday. Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Kernin Lambert described the scene as 'absolutely horrific'. 'We have had to cut five people out of their vehicles,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'It was an extremely severe collision. People are fighting for their lives. We have been trying to keep people alive.' The 34-year-old was arrested at a house on The Circle, Narraweena, on Sydney's northern beaches. He was taken to Manly Police Station to assist with inquires. He was later charged with 10 dangerous driving and speeding charges and subsequently refused bail. He will appear before the Parrmatta Local Court Sunday afternoon. Medical teams rushed to the scene at about 7.15pm with 10 emergency crews and two helicopters in attendance The driver of a Holden Commodore collided with several cars before allegedly fleeing the scene Medical teams rushed to the scene about 7.15pm Saturday with ten emergency crews and two helicopters in attendance. The driver of a Toyota Corolla, a 65-year-old man, and his female passenger, 58, were also taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries. The occupants of the other four cars were uninjured, but taken to Westmead for mandatory testing before being discharged. Godfather actor Gianni Russo claims he had an affair with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe when he was just 16 and knows how she really died. Russo, the Staten Islander who played Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather, says Monroe didn't die of a barbiturate overdose as her autopsy proclaimed. He claims she was murdered in cold blood. The 75-year-old says that she was killed by none other than Robert Kennedy, who orchestrated her death because he didn't want news of his and John F. Kennedy's involvement with the star to go public. 'It had to be Bobby. No one else would kill her. The mob would not have done it. They liked her. She was that party girl. Give her a couple pills, a couple drinks and shell f**k everyone,' Russo said to the New York Post. Godfather actor Gianni Russo, 75, claims that Marilyn Monroe was murdered by Robert Kennedy because he didn't want the world to know of her relationship JFK Russo claims to have shared an on-and-off affair with Monroe for years, starting when he was 16 and the actress was 33 and has a picture with her three days before her death on August 5, 1962. Pictured together above at the CalNeva Lodge Russo claims to have shared an on-and-off affair with Monroe for years, starting when he was 16 and the actress was 33. Speaking on their relationship he said: 'Marilyn was the best lover. She just wanted to please you.' He even has a picture with her just three days before her death on August 5, 1962. In the picture he looks at the star, who dons a scarf on her head and sunglasses, at the CalNeva Lodge, a resort of the California-Nevada border. Russo (pictured being punched in the 1972 movie the Godfather) claims the mob was after Monroe, trying to catch her in a threesome with JFK and Robert Kennedy so they could blackmail the president When she heard of the plot she threatened to go to the media. Bobby then planned her murder to prevent her from speaking out and divulging her relationship with the Kennedy's, Russo says. Russo pictured above as Carlo Rizzi in the Godfather 'It was taken three days before she was found dead in Los Angeles of what coroners deemed to be a drug overdose,' he said. Russo said that her death followed soon after that meeting at that lodge because the mob was after them. Russo's book where he divulges his life in Hollywood and rubbing shoulders with celebrities pictured above He said the mob and Chicago crime boss Sam Giancana were after Monroe because they wanted to get to the president. Mobsters flocked to the lodge when Monroe was there with the alleged plan of filming her in a threesome with JFK and Robert Kennedy. They wanted to use the scandalous tape as blackmail to strong-arm the president into invading Cuba and returning the island's casinos to organized criminals. The plan never came to fruition as JFK failed to show up to the resort. Russo says that Marilyn learned of the plot and threatened to report the mob to the media. Robert Kennedy caught wind of her plans to go public, and plotted her death to stop her, according to the actor. 'A guy known as The Doctor a killer for hire and an actual MD; he had done major hits for the mob injected air into the vein near Marilyns pubic region. She died of an embolism, but it looked like drugs to the coroner,' Russo said on her death. He details Monroe's death and his other experiences rubbing shoulders with celebrities and the mob in his new memoir Hollywood Godfather, out on March 12. Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, pictured, explains why he has changed his mind on Theresa May's Brexit deal and will support it in Commons Lions led by donkeys: nearly three years after the British people voted to take back control of our democracy, it is painfully obvious that the political class at Westminster doesnt share the belief in our country that is shown by the people. All too often it has looked as if the Establishment has wanted to negotiate a Brexit that looks shockingly like not leaving at all, even though the European Union has made it clear that a deep and open free trade agreement is there for the asking. This is why the Prime Ministers EU Withdrawal Agreement came so close to sinking back in January. The agreement has some good points: it gives certainty to EU citizens in the United Kingdom and ours living on the continent; it tells businesses that contracts will continue to be honoured, and it gives a transition period during which a future free trade agreement could be negotiated. But the agreement also contains a monumental bear trap. The protocol that sets out to give reassurance that the Irish border would remain entirely open would have two damaging effects. First, the so-called backstop would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the United Kingdom, something that is anathema to anyone who believes in the Union; and second, it would carry the risk of trapping the whole of the UK in the EU customs union and therefore banned from making free trade deals with the faster-growing markets around the world. This is not a time to make the best the enemy of the good, and most MPs are in a mood to compromise, but the danger of this backstop becoming permanent is a real one and it has to be tackled. That is why I couldnt vote for the agreement in its original form but also why I proposed an amendment at the end of January that showed the way to reach an acceptable compromise by seeking a legally binding guarantee that the Irish backstop could only be temporary. My amendment won a majority in the House of Commons and proved wrong the doom-mongers who like to claim that there is no Brexit agreement that can possibly win the backing of Parliament. Mr Brady is optimistic there is the possibility of compromise across Europe to accept parliament's position on the Irish backstop allowing Britain to leave the EU on March 29 In the month since my amendment was passed, there has been constant shuttle diplomacy the Prime Minister, Brexit Secretary and Attorney General have been locked in daily discussions to find the binding guarantee that is needed. Increasingly, the leaders of other EU countries have urged that a pragmatic solution should be found. My conversations with senior diplomats and politicians from across Europe have given me cause for optimism that a breakthrough is near. Those who have pressed for delay or for No Deal to be taken off the table have weakened Theresa Mays hand and made a deal less likely, but I still believe a compromise is fundamentally in our interest and that of the EU. We know what is needed to shift the log-jam. The Attorney General needs to give a legally binding guarantee that the backstop is temporary. Once we have that, my colleagues in Parliament need to recognise the strength of feeling. The whole country is tired of vacillation and delay. When the right compromise is offered, we should pull together behind the Prime Minister and help her to deliver our exit from the European Union on March 29. Britain's first transgender hate crime prosecution has been halted by a judge who declared: There is no case and never was a case. Miranda Yardley, 51, was put through ten months of hell after being accused of harassing a transgender activist on Twitter. But District Judge John Woollard dismissed the case after a one-day hearing, saying there was simply no evidence. Campaigners called the decision a victory for free speech, while the accused claimed police were being used to enforce a political ideology. Miranda Yardley, 51, was accused of harassing a transgender activist on Twitter but District Judge John Woollard dismissed the case after a one-day hearing, saying there was no evidence Accuser Helen Islan, who works with the trans advocacy group Mermaids, gave evidence via video link The hearing at Basildon Magistrates Court in Essex last Friday brought into sharp focus the complex and often rancorous divisions within the transgender community. On one side was Yardley, an accountant, who describes himself as a transsexual and identifies as a man, even though he underwent gender reassignment to become a woman ten years ago. Despite his own experience, his contention is that individuals cannot change sex and this has drawn fierce criticism on social media. Giving evidence via video link was his accuser, Helen Islan, who is married with children and works with the trans advocacy group Mermaids, which campaigns for children who want to change gender. The court heard that one of her teenage children is transgender. The spat began with a discussion joined by other Twitter users about self-identification, which allows people to be recognised as transgender simply by declaring themselves male or female. Concerns were also expressed about how the powerful trans lobby was allegedly eroding womens rights by allowing transgender women, born male, into female-only spaces. This, it was argued, was a threat to women. Ms Islan works for advocacy group Mermaids which campaigns for transgender children But using a pseudonym, Ms Islan accused her opponents of spreading hysteria and it was at this point the exchanges grew increasingly aggressive. In response, she was unmasked by Yardley who tweeted a picture and a link to her real identity. The tweet also referenced her transgender child, which Ms Islan argued effectively outed him. She said it led to them both being harassed adding that the post made her feel stressed and sick. Initially, Ms Islans complaint was dealt with by West Yorkshire Police before being passed to colleagues in Essex, who decided it was a hate crime. But when the case reached court the defence referred to pages of social media posts in which Ms Islan herself was regularly tweeting about her trans child, about him taking blockers, that he had come out at school. The court heard that a simple search on Google brought up Ms Islans personal details, including a family photograph that she had herself posted. At one point during the hearing, Judge Woollard said: Where is the evidence [of harassment] taking into account the need for free speech? You have to show a course of conduct and at the moment we have one tweet. Where is the evidence for Miranda Yardley outing Ms Islans son? Later he threw out the case and awarded costs to the defendant. Yardley told The Mail on Sunday afterwards that he was horrified by the decision to charge him, saying: I faced losing everything I worked for. Barrister Amanda Jones, who has represented clients accused of anti trans comments, said: The police and the CPS routinely ignore rape threats, death threats and abusive material targeted at women online. The entire criminal justice system is falling apart from underfunding and this case appears to have been a complete waste of public funds. Comedian Graham Linehan, who has been publicly critical of trans activists for attempting to close down freedom of speech, said: This is about an ideology and everyone who has tried to speak up against it is shut down and the activists are using every means they can to do this, including the courts. Essex Police said yesterday: We take all reports of hate crime incidents seriously. Ms Islan said: The decision to prosecute was made by the CPS, not me personally and I accept the verdict of the court. Advertisement Hundreds of thousands of revellers descended on Sydney's Oxford Street and surrounds for a big night of partying at the annual Mardi Gras. Decked out in glitter and fabulous costumes they kept the celebrations going well into the evening, with many still partying as the sun started coming up. A crowd of about 300,000 spectators and 12,500 parade participants soaked in the festivities at the LGBTQI community's 41st celebration. This woman quenched her thirst with a Hungry Jacks drink and relaxed on the pavement during a long night of partying This couple was one of many amorous pairs who got excited by the happy occasion Some revellers peaked too early and had to take a nap on the ground as concerned friends and police looked on Police and her friend looked less concerned later as she continued to take an early nap as the party took off around her A couple gazes into each others' eyes as the celebrations carried on well into the night and many people met for the first time The NSW Government even relaxed its draconian lockout laws for the occasion so revellers could party a bit later into night without worrying how they would get inside a bar. But the taps were turned off at 3.30am as the state's policies put a dampener on proceedings - forcing many to make their own fun after hours. Two hundred floats made their way down the famous Sydney street between 7pm and 11pm, with the event's theme chosen as 'Fearless' for 2019. Pop singing icon Kylie Minogue (pictured centre in golden dress) made a surprise appearance at the Mardi Gras Parade Kylie posed with Courtney Act in the middle of the street as they soaked up the atmosphere of Mardi Gras Kylie parties with other revellers during her appearance at Sydney's Mardi Gras festival on Saturday Friends watch the parade from an open window high above Oxford Street, with one of the best vantage points of the night One of them wore a costume the left very little to the imagination with just fishnet leggings and stars on her breasts Hundreds of thousands of revellers descended in Sydney's CBD for a big night of partying at the LGBTI Mardi Gras This reveller went all out with a shiny gold dress and matching hat she picked out especially for the fabulous occasion Revellers kept the celebrations going well into the evening with many still continuing until the sun started coming up Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the theme aimed to draw attention to the bravery of those in the LGBTQI community who had fought against discrimination. 'Many LGBTIQ people feel lonely and isolated and Mardi Gras gives you the opportunity to reach out for help, to be fearless,' she said. The main parade opened at 7.30pm with a contingent of First Nations participants - highlighting the challenges faced by Aboriginal communities. The Sydney Mardi Gras parade began in 1978 as a march and commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots of New York. It is an annual event promoting awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and themes. Police and paramedics were pictured attending to a medical incident involving a man at the parade This woman displayed the colour of love as she wore red lingerie at the parade Spectators lined the 1.7km route along Oxford Street, Flinders Street and Anzac Parade These two revellers opted for wigs and stripes as they daced to music being piped through huge speakers over the street Revellers dance in the street after the parade along with thousands of others keeping the party going This young woman wore sparkly knee-high boots and looked excited to spot her friend in the crowd A woman takes a seat while she checks her phone after hours of partying on the streets of Sydney A group relaxes in an alley off Oxford Street after the parade had gone by late on Saturday night Another happy couple connected amid the celebrations that encouraged free love for everyone This woman made sure she stood out with a hula hoop that lit up and cast lights in the middle of the street A couple of women looked very excited to be allowed on to the street, as is customary when the parade has passed One of them posed in just her bra, having shed her shirt during the proceedings as it was a humid night in Sydney A woman checks on her friend who has knelt next to their water stash in the middle of Oxford Street One man appears to have take a tumble as his friends check on him in the middle of Oxford Streets after the Mardi Gras parade This man's costume leaves very little to the imagination as he bends over with a drink next to a parked car during celebrations Friends watch the parade from a high balcony, including one fabulously dressed in a sparkly rainbow outfit The chaotic scene in an alley near Oxford Street as the party winds down after a big night of fun on Mardi Gras A couple of friends take a breather by the side of the road at the end of the night as their friend makes a phone call A group walks along Oxford Street, one of them having gone all out with his costume and another not worn one at all Two girls relax on the pavement together while checking their phones, having given a big night to Mardi Gras 2019 A woman wearing a blue wig and colourful dress takes a load off her feet in the middle of the road after Mardi Gras A tired man relaxes on a step, worn out by a big night of partying at Sydney's huge Mardi Gras celebration A couple interlock their fingers as they get together in an alley off Oxford Street as Mardi Gras drew to a close A man has had quite enough partying as he puts his head on his arm and takes a nap against a wall An interesting mask worn by one reveller a Mardi Gras, which featured many fabulous costumes on Oxford Street A writer claims she was dropped at the last minute from a BBC discussion programme because of her views on transgender issues. Journalist and broadcaster Sonia Poulton was booked to appear today on The Big Questions hosted by Nicky Campbell. But after she tweeted about Britain's first transgender hate crime case, she was suddenly told she was no longer needed. Ironically, one of the questions due to be addressed by the expert panel is: 'Has Britain become a less tolerant society?' Journalist and broadcaster Sonia Poulton said that she was booked to appear today on The Big Questions but was dropped because of her views on transgender issues Ms Poulton wrote on Twitter: 'Just been dropped from @bbcbigquestions... Booked to talk about intolerance & how 'hate' is used to silence people. Now I'm silenced. Producer 'didn't know why' but I told her. 'BBC remove gender critical voices from debate upon request. My court tweets worked against me.' Ms Poulton later claimed that a BBC researcher had confirmed to her that the Corporation 'removes gender-critical voices' if other guests refuse to appear with them. Other people due to appear on today's BBC1 programme include LGBT campaigners and a university diversity officer. 'I say remove the other guest, not the one who is willing to talk,' Ms Poulton tweeted. She later told The Mail on Sunday: 'It is disgusting of the BBC to treat me this way. They were initially very happy with what I planned to say but I had a strong feeling it might come to this. Ms Poulton claimed that a BBC researcher later confirmed to her that the Corporation 'removes gender-critical voices' 'It is filmed in Manchester and on Friday they sent me the complete travel itinerary including hotel details. 'But the following morning, they said they had booked too many guests and as I'd only get 30 seconds to speak it wasn't worth me going all the way to Manchester. 'I actually don't have strong views on transgender issues. I am certainly not bigoted, or anti, I just have serious concerns about the way children are being exploited.' BBC sources denied that a researcher had claimed guests were bumped off the programme if other guests complained. And a spokesman for the Corporation said: 'We talk to lots of people about potentially appearing on the programme but guest line-ups often change, and on this occasion we had too many guests. 'It's not true that any guest was dropped because of their opinions on trans issues and the programme will hear a variety of diverse and differing voices and opinions.' Attorney General Sir Geoffrey Cox, pictured, is attempting to write a codicil to the Government's Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU which will alleviate concerns of Tory back benchers to the Northern Ireland back stop Hopes of breaking the deadlock over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop rest on Attorney General Geoffrey Cox's legally binding addition to the Brussels divorce text. The document, called a codicil, is the subject of intensive talks between British and EU negotiators as Brexit Day approaches. Sir Geoffrey, the Government's top lawyer, sunk Mrs May's first attempt to get her Brexit deal through the Commons after his legal advice said the UK could be trapped in the backstop indefinitely. He has now presented the codicil to Brussels and, if it is accepted, it would allow the respected QC to change his advice to MPs. However, the codicil falls far short of the fixed-time limit on the backstop demanded by Brexiteers, who have already mockingly dubbed the legal document 'a codpiece'. However, the EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has indicated he does not believe the UK will have enough time to approve Theresa May's withdrawal deal by the scheduled exit date of March 29. Mr Barnier suggested a 'technical extension' of up to two months may be needed. The Prime Minister has told MPs they will have a 'meaningful vote' on her withdrawal plans by March 12. Asked if he thought it was possible to reach an agreement by March 29, even if Westminster gave the green light this month, Mr Barnier told Spain's El Mundo newspaper: 'No.' Referencing a technical extension, Mr Barnier added: 'But you'll have to ask the United Kingdom. If there is a vote on the 12th and it takes two months to carry out the procedure, it would be justified.' Mrs May has said that if her deal is rejected by Parliament, MPs will be able to vote on whether the UK can leave the EU in a no-deal scenario, and if that is rejected, the Commons can decide on whether to extend Article 50 and delay Brexit for a limited period. EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said he did not believe Britain will be in a position to leave the EU on March 29 and will require an Article 50 extension Mr Barnier has also stated that Brussels is ready to give the UK further 'guarantees, assurances and clarifications' that the Irish backstop should only be temporary. He insisted that the controversial measure, intended to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, will not be removed from the Withdrawal Agreement. While acknowledging Brexiteer concerns that the backstop is a trap that would keep the UK tied to the EU indefinitely, Mr Barnier insisted it is only 'insurance' intended for the 'worst-case scenario'. Speaking to German newspaper Die Welt, Mr Barnier said: 'We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU. 'This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary.' The guarantees in question could come as an adjunct to the Withdrawal Agreement in the form of an 'interpretive document', he said. However the EU will not allow for a time limit to be placed on the backstop or give Britain the right to unilaterally pull out of it, Mr Barnier added. The development came as the president of Slovenia suggested the country and many other EU states would be willing to accept a short delay to Brexit. Borut Pahor, who sat on the European Council of leaders when he was prime minister, told Sky News: 'I think Slovenia and a lot of other countries would say yes. 'I think that nobody wants to see a hard Brexit in a chaotic way, which would damage London and Brussels and Ljubljana and every country.' However Mr Pahor said the extension should not be used simply to postpone the making of a compromise decision. Mrs May has insisted she does not want a delay Brexit and believes the UK can leave the EU as scheduled on March 29. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn confirmed Labour would now back a referendum if faced with a 'damaging Tory Brexit' or a no-deal departure from the European Union after Labour's vision was rejected in the Commons. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss warned on Friday that a new Brexit referendum would provoke a 'massive crisis'. She also indicated that a no-deal exit could be better than a delay. Ms Truss told the BBC: 'I think it would be an absolute disaster if we had a second referendum after people voted so clearly to leave the European Union. 'There will be a massive crisis in this nation. And it would be terrible for business. It would leave us continuing in this limbo period.' The new wife of celebrity chef Albert Roux is a City high-flyer who is 28 years his junior, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Roux, 83, was seen for the first time last week with the statuesque blonde, whose name was given only as Maria by a spokesman for the chef. They are understood to have married in a private ceremony last year. Now it can be revealed that his third wife is Maria Rodrigues, a director at global accountancy giants KPMG. Albert Roux and wife Maria 2nd Annual Restaurant Association Gala Dinner, The Savoy Hotel, London, UK The 55-year-old who was born in Cheshire and educated at Bristol University is based at the firms Manchester office, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has a 27-year-old son, Joshua, from her first marriage. Friends have spoken of her intelligence and charm, and happily her passion for food. Antony Worrall Thompson, Rouxs friend and fellow celebrity chef, told The Mail on Sunday he had met Ms Rodrigues on two occasions. She came across as very intelligent, and its fantastic for them, he said. I know he is a bit older than her, but good on him. She loves food as well. The couple have known each other since at least January 2017, when they were pictured together at a dinner at The Langham hotel in Marylebone, Central London. In a photograph shared by US chef Marc Vogel, Ms Rodrigues is seen smiling and resting her hands on Rouxs shoulders. Albert Roux and his three wives, Monique (left), Cheryl (centre) and now Maria Rodrigues Vogel wrote on Facebook: It was a fantastic dinner. Albert was in fine form and a good time was had by all. French-born Roux who trained Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White won renown for Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in Britain to be awarded three Michelin stars. He was first married to his childhood sweetheart, Monique. The couple have two children, Michel Roux Jr a celebrated chef in his own right and a daughter Danielle. In 2006, he married Zimbabwean millionaire Cheryl Smith, who is 21 years his junior. The marriage broke up after he met Nataliya Lutsyshyna, a 40-year-old Ukrainian who worked at his restaurant in Parliament Square. Mr Roux and Ms Rodrigues could not be contacted for comment. Advertisement Jodie Chesney, 17, was brutally stabbed to death in a park in Romford last night A witness has revealed how attackers rowed with a 'happy' 17-year-old Explorer Scout, before she was stabbed to death in a London park as footage emerges of her at a Festival of Remembrance just months prior. Jodie Chesney was stabbed in the back as she sat with boyfriend Eddie Coyle, 18, and another friend on a park bench near St Neot's Road in Harold Hill, Havering, at 9.25pm on Friday night. Mr Coyle screamed for help and 'stroked and kissed her face' as she lay bleeding to death after being attacked by 'men in balaclavas'. Following the horrific attack, Ms Chesney's heartbroken boyfriend paid tribute to their eternal love for each other in an emotional message. A card left on behalf of Mr Coyle attached to railings yards from where they spent their last moments together reads: Jodie you are the best thing that could have happened in my life. I will love you always and you will forever be in my heart beautiful. The card signed by many friends also had a message from Mr Coyle's mother which read: Beautiful Jodie (my daughter in-law) xxxx. Krystle Pasha, who lives close to the scene of the stabbing, told Sky News she heard arguing and shouting before a 'disturbing' scream in the moments before the attack. 'I heard a lot of loud arguing, a lot of loud noise, shouting, followed by a really loud scream,' she said. Heartbroken family members said Jodie was 'lovely and quirky' and that the killing was 'unprovoked'. In a statement to ITV News on Sunday, her uncle, Dave Chesney, said 'we are all devastated'. He added: 'This was a totally random and unprovoked attack on a beautiful, lovely and quirky young girl with her whole life in front of her.' The killing comes just months after the 17-year-old appeared on the BBC in her Scouts uniform at a Festival of Remembrance. The 'sweet' Scout is stood next to Explorer Scouts at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2018, as reported by The Sun. She is seen marching on the stage in front of the Queen and Prince William, and earlier in the day posted a snap of her outside No.10 Downing Street. Claire Gillham, mother of Jodie Chesney (far right) pays her respects at the scene at St Neots Road, Harold Hill where Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death Jodie's mother left flowers and a lantern for her daughter, as friends and relatives hugged one another at the scene of the devastating killing The scene of the crime in Romford where Jodie Chesney was knifed to death. Forensic police officers search the park as flowers and lanterns are left nearby Teenage girls sobbed at the scene and were comforted by friends after Jodie's death. Her mother Claire (left) placed a lantern and flowers under a tree Another witness to the incident, mother-of-three Teresa Farenden, 49, and her friend Kelly Smith, 36, said two men stabbed the teenage girl in front of her boyfriend, before fleeing. Mr Coyle was heard yelling by Mrs Farenden, from the park known locally as 'Amy's Park'. She said: 'I was trying to do my coat up in the drive and I shouted out 'is everything okay?' as I was worried it could be kids drinking. 'Then a boy said 'no I need help, my girlfriend has been stabbed' and I just flew over there in my flip flops. 'We tried to compress the wound to stop the bleeding but there was just so much. It was like being in a horror movie. 'When I got there she was breathing but it was very shallow, she was groaning and there was a slight pulse. 'The boyfriend was holding her and kissing her face. He was whispering and begging her, 'Please, please stay awake'. Family and friends of Jodie Chesney arrived at the park known locally as Amy's Park with flowers and bears. Cards described the teenager as an 'angel' Jodie Chesney, 17, (circled in red) is stood next to Explorer Scouts at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2018. Just months later she would be stabbed to death in a London park Jodie Chesney was stabbed in the back and lay bleeding to death in a park on Friday night. Her boyfriend comforted her as neighbours of the park ran over to try and save her Police officers remain at the scene of the killing on Sunday as officers try to track down her attackers - believe to be a group of young men Flowers describing Jodie as an 'angel' were left at the scene near Amy's Park after Jodie was killed on Friday Police continue to work at the scene in Harold Hill, Romford where Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death on Saturday The park remains closed off with a blue tent still in place as officers comb the area for clues as to who the attackers were Officers have been conducting a fingertip search of the area after Jodie Chesney was fatally stabbed in the park in Havering Just hours before her death Ms Chesney posted an Instagram picture which said: 'Happy birthday Dad' and tagged Pete Chesney on his 39th Friends lay flowers at the scene in Harold Hill, Romford where Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death. Police and forensic teams remain at the scene today Family and friends, including Jodie's mother Claire (front, green jacket) visit the area where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was killed Mrs Farenden said: 'The ambulance arrived and I told the 999 call handler. She asked me to stay on the phone until the crew had reached us on the park. And in that moment the girl died. 'I turned to look at her and my friend, who had come to help, just said, 'We've lost her'.' Mrs Farenden - whose house faces the park - began CPR but did not realise the blade remained lodged in Jodie's back. It is believed she was stabbed with such force the blade snapped meaning those comforting her could not see it. She added: 'The knife blade was still in her, but I didn't see it because it was dark. 'I didn't realise at the time, but then all I kept thinking once the police told me was 'have I put the knife in further by giving her compressions?'' She added: 'It was horrific, it was just the blood. There must've been two pints of blood. There was so much of it. 'The girl was moaning, but she was mostly silent. We checked her pulse and we could hear her breathing.' The A-level student, who was described as having a 'heart of gold,' became the 18th murder victim this year in the blood-soaked capital. Jodie Chesney with her boyfriend Ed Coyle who comforted her and kissed her face as she lay dying It is believed multiple young men approached Jodie, Eddie and another friend as they sat in the park, before the attack. Jodie posted a birthday message to her father online just hours before she was knifed to death. Ms Chesney was an enthusiastic Explorer Scout who had visited Downing Street in November posting on Instagram that it was 'so much fun' and 'I'm basically famous now.' She had been snapped with the Scouts meeting former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Ms Chesney was also selected to honour the Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Albert Hall in a BBC1 broadcast for Remembrance. Jodie's heartbroken grandmother Debbie called for an end to 'needless violence' sweeping the capital as police continue to hunt for two men seen fleeing the scene. No arrests have been made. In an apparently random attack, popular sixth former Ms Chesney was left with a blade embedded deep inside her back after she and Mr Coyle were approached by a gang of youths in balaclavas, the Sun reported. Mr Coyle was described by his mother's partner as being 'in pieces.' He told the Mail on Sunday: 'Jodie was the nicest, loveliest and kindest person you could meet with everything to look forward to in life. I don't know how long it will take Eddie to comeback from this. 'To have to witness what he did is devastating.' Her grandmother wrote on Facebook: 'This was our youngest granddaughter. How have we come to this point where kids can't have a walk in a park without suffering an unprovoked attack? 'If anyone knows anything about this please contact the police with information. We don't want anyone else to go through what our family is suffering right now. This has to stop, there are too many young people having their lives cut short by needless violence.' Ms Chesney in her Scouts uniform outside parliament, she was described as a 'bright and lovely' A-level student who was involved in the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme When emergency services arrived, Jodie Chesney (left and right) still had the blade lodged in her back as horrified neighbours rushed to save her life A message left today at the park said: 'Jodie, We love you. You are so strong. We will always remember you' Mourners gathered at the park in Harold Hill on Saturday after she bled to death within an hour of being stabbed on Friday night Ms Chesney became the 18th murder victim in London this year as the knife crime epidemic continues to ravage the capital Members of the public speak to a police officer near the scene at St Neot's Road in Harold Hill, east London following the fatal stabbing Just hours earlier Ms Chesney had posted an Instagram post of her with her father Pete to wish him a happy 39th birthday. Ms Chesney is believed to have lived with her father and step-mother Joanne in nearby Dagenham. Mrs Farenden was in the kitchen when her son, who was playing X-Box, heard screaming and said 'mum, somebody is shouting 'help' from the park.' She said: 'I was in the kitchen and I thought I'd better check it out just in case. 'I never thought in a million years that I was coming out to a murder and that I would be walking out to a young lady who had been stabbed.' Debbie Chesney, Jodie's grandmother, said: 'We don't want anyone else to go through what our family is suffering right now' The mother found the victim lying on her back in the corner of the park with her boyfriend beside her. She said she put the girl in the recovery position and administered CPR. 'People are scared to help, but all I was thinking with my mother's instinct was 'I need to help,' she said. 'Her boyfriend did everything he could. When I came over she was on her back so I moved her onto her side. 'Then the boyfriend's friend came over with some kitchen roll. Then there was another girl and a man came over in a van to help and took his coat off to keep it on the wound and keep it compressed as much as they could. 'I think he was the dad of one of the boyfriend's friends. I was just trying to keep her legs in the recovery position because she was heavy, like a dead weight. 'Just as the ambulance crew turned up, she had gone. It was devastating.' Paramedics battled to save the victim who died in the play park an hour later. One of her friends told the Mirror: 'She was just the most happy person, she never stopped smiling.' Mrs Farenden said it is the first time in the 16 years she has lived by the park that 'anything like this has happened'. She said: 'It is so traumatic - she is not going to have any children, she is not going to get married - it has all been taken away. 'She was such an attractive girl and her boyfriend was a lovely looking lad. 'It just seems so random; it must've been horrific for her boyfriend and those other young people there to experience. 'It is just unreal - I think 'God, it could have been my daughter.'' A young man arrives to place a bouquet of flowers near the scene of the tragic fatal stabbing - she has been described by other teens from the area as 'the most happy person' Flowers left by a tree with notes attached close to where Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in front of her boyfriend Police were called to reports of a stabbing in children's park close to St Neot's Road in Harold Hill at 9.25pm on Friday, where they found the girl with slash wounds. Pictured: Forensic officers at the scene this morning Paramedics battled for an hour to save the teenager but she died at the scene an hour later. A forensic officer inspects evidence at the park this morning Jodie Chesney was stabbed to death in a park as she sat with her boyfriend on Friday night. 'Disturbing' screams were heard by neighbours Sadiq Khan said he was 'filled with anger' and 'devastated' by the killing of the teenage girl - as murders in the capital soar 'I thought it was a boy who was hurt because you're used to seeing these things in the news but it was a girl: a girl, a young girl.' Forensic tents were put up just metres away from swings, slides and climbing frames in the play park. Detectives from the force's homicide and major crime command are investigating and said there will be an increase of police patrols in the area. 'At this early stage, there have been no arrests and enquiries continue,' a Met Police spokesman said. Acting Detective Chief Superintendent John Ross, of the Met's East Area Command Unit, said: 'Yesterday a 17-year-old girl lost her life, and I want to express my deepest sympathies to this girl's family and friends. 'Her death is a tragedy. I can reassure them and the whole community that we are doing everything possible to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible.' The park has been taped off today as forensics officers carried out their investigations It's the 18th stab death in the space of three months - marking a harrowing reminder of London's knife crime epidemic Jodie was the first victim of 18 people killed in London this year to be a teenage girl. Sadiq Khan said he was 'filled with anger' and 'devastated' by the killing of the teenager. In a tweet this morning, the Mayor of London said: 'Devastated by the fatal stabbing of a 17 year-old girl in Havering. 'My thoughts are with her loved ones. It fills me with anger that violent criminals are targeting young Londoners with their whole lives before them. I encourage anyone with information to contact the police.' It's the latest brutal killing in the capital after a 20-year-old man was stabbed to death outside Ilford train station in east London on Tuesday. Che Morrison was knifed after a fight broke out just before 8.50pm. Witnesses said he was 'slashed in the face' during the attack. Nineteen-year-old Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck was also fatally stabbed by a gang riding bikes in Wood Green, north London, last week. Che Morrison, 20, was stabbed to death outside Ilford train station in east London on Tuesday He was chased into a hair salon by men armed with a firearm, knives and a samurai sword on February 22 and slaughtered in front of children. A day earlier, a 23-year-old man - Glendon Spence - was stabbed to death in Brixton, south London, at a youth club which had children as young as seven inside. Meanwhile in Manchester, 17-year-old Yousef Ghaleb Makki from Burnage, was stabbed to death in Hale Barns. Police rushed to the village of Hale Barns, near Altrincham, Greater Manchester, at about 6.40pm on Saturday to reports of a stabbing. Yousef was taken to hospital where he died a short time later. And in Soho a woman has been arrested after a man was stabbed in central London. The man, believed to be in his 30s, was rushed to hospital and his condition is being treated as 'life-threatening', the force said. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to reports a man had been stabbed in Romilly Street, Soho, at about 6am on Sunday. A woman in her 40s was arrested near the scene and taken to a central London police station for questioning. Due to the spate of violence, Met officers are out in force carrying out a series of stop and searches around the capital today. Earlier this week, police in Birmingham were given temporary powers allowing them to stop and search anyone 'without reasonable grounds' after three fatal stabbings in a fortnight gripped the city. Birmingham blighted by knife crime as three stabbed to death in 12 days: Hazrat Umar, 17, was on his way to the gym when he was attacked in the Bordesley Green area Police in Birmingham are also battling to stop knife crime across the city after three teenagers were fatally stabbed in just 12 days. Student Hazrat Umar, 17, died after being knifed in Cherrywood Road, Bordesley Green, at around 2pm on Monday. Hazrat Umar, 17, who is the nephew of the former chief prosecutor, was knifed to death on his way to the gym in the Bordesley Green area of the city. West Midlands Police have revealed a 16-year-old youth has now been arrested on suspicion of murder. The killing comes five days after 16-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was discovered fatally wounded near a park in Small Heath, on February 20. A post mortem examination found that the student, of Lindale Avenue, Hodgehill, died as a result of an assault. He was stabbed in the chest and back. Another teenager, Mohammed Sidali, also 16, died in hospital on 15 February after being attacked outside Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College in Highgate. A knife arch was placed outside McDonald's in nearby High Street, with officers also using stop and search powers following the deaths. Speaking in Birmingham Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he is 'very concerned' about stabbings in Birmingham. A 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital after he was knifed in the leg in Birmingham city centre on Tuesday afternoon. Police sealed off parts of Bull Street following the stabbing in a British Heart Foundation store - which has a large blood stain on the carpet inside. Shoppers crowded around the scene while police searched bushes in the area after being called to the incident at around 5.30pm today. A group of women, one identified as the mother of the victim (right) arrive at the scene of a fatal stabbing in Birmingham Police have sealed off parts of Bull Street after the teenager was knifed in a British Heart Foundation store - which has a large blood stain on the carpet inside (pictured) A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: 'Police have been called to a stabbing at a shop in Bull Street, Birmingham city centre, around 5.30pm today (Tuesday 26 February). 'A 16-year-old boy has been taken to hospital with a leg injury. 'Enquiries are at an early stage and anyone with information is asked to contact police.' Advertisement Doctors who cast doubt on the effectiveness of statins are needlessly risking lives, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock warns today. In a passionate intervention, he has thrown his weight behind a Mail on Sunday campaign to fight fake claims about proven medicines. Condemning those who peddle myths about the daily pills, Mr Hancock said: Medical evidence shows that statins save lives. Needlessly risking peoples health by spreading reckless and ignorant misinformation claiming otherwise is completely unjustified. About eight million Britons take statins, which can substantially reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by lowering cholesterol a fatty substance that contributes to the blocking of arteries in the blood. Doctors who cast doubt on the effectiveness of statins are needlessly risking lives, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured) warns today However, some medics dispute the benefits and a few wrongly assert they can cause serious and widespread damage to health. Inaccurate claims by statin deniers include that high cholesterol is not linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. These rely on small, observational studies rather than gold standard randomised controlled trials over many years that show statins do cut deaths from heart attacks and strokes. The Health Secretary said: These kind of pernicious lies have no place in our NHS and I welcome The Mail on Sundays work to shine a light on the scale of the problem. As part of our Long Term Plan for the NHS, we want to save thousands more lives from preventable conditions such as heart disease and strokes. Medicines such as statins can and do play a huge role in keeping people at risk of cardiovascular disease healthy. I strongly urge anyone who is prescribed them to listen to the advice of their doctors and nurses. Doctors can prescribe statins if a patient is assessed as having a ten per cent chance or greater of having a cardiovascular event over the next decade. However, a recent analysis by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine estimated that scare stories may have resulted in 200,000 patients who need the drug giving it up in a period of just six months. Statins (pictured) are a group of medicines that can help lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood Dr Matt Kearney, NHS Englands National Clinical Director for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, said: There is overwhelming evidence that statins prevent heart attacks and strokes and that they are safe. But if patients get worried by false, alarmist or misleading reports they see on social media and in the press and, as a result, decide not to take these life-saving medicines, they can end up making the wrong decision about how to stay well, and cause themselves real harm. The Mail on Sunday campaign comes amid growing concern about the erosion of trust in mainstream, evidence-based medicines caused by fake news on the internet. On Friday, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens warned that vaccine deniers who went online to spout fake messages were making it harder for doctors to win the public argument on vaccination. He told a meeting at the Nuffield Trust think-tank: The vaccination deniers are getting some traction. Although nine in ten parents support vaccination, half of them say they have seen fake messages about vaccination on social media. A group of thugs have been caught on surveillance video viciously beating four homeless men and stealing $5 from one of them as they slept on a New York sidewalk. Police released the horrific footage on Saturday in their search for the five suspects who attacked the men in Brooklyn late last month. One of the homeless men was beaten so badly that he later fell into a coma. Police released the horrific footage on Saturday in their search for the five suspects who attacked the four sleeping homeless men in Brooklyn, New York on February 23 The footage shows the homeless men, aged between 41 to 61, sleeping among garbage bags outside a store on 60th Street in Borough Park at about 6.45am on February 23. The five suspects were filmed approaching the sleeping men and immediately launching the vicious attack. They started kicking and punching the victims, while hurling objects at them. One of the homeless men, who appeared to be cowering under a white sheet, was repeatedly kicked and stomped on. Several suspects then dragged him out onto the sidewalk before continuing to punch and kick him. The five suspects were filmed approaching the sleeping men and immediately launching the vicious attack. One of the homeless men, who appeared to be cowering under a white sheet, was repeatedly kicked and stomped on Several suspects then dragged that homeless out onto the sidewalk before continuing to punch and kick him. One of the victims was attacked so viciously that he later slipped into a coma due to severe head trauma Police said the group stole $5 from one of the homeless men before fleeing the scene. Two of the homeless men were hospitalized with minor injuries. One of the men, who initially refused to go to hospital, is in a critical condition with severe head trauma. He later slipped into a coma, according to authorities. NYPD Police Commissioner James ONeill appealed for the public's help in tracking down the attackers. 'Please watch this disturbing video - somebody in the community knows these cowards. Sharing responsibility for public safety means picking up the phone and helping your police make your neighborhood safer. You can remain anonymous and youll get paid for your effort, too,' he tweeted. Anyone with information about the attack should contact 1-800-577-TIPS. Copper is also used on outside of the building as it works well in cold climates They then added pops of colour, including orange and cooper in the furnishings Interior designers used backdrop of black and grey in this new Avoriaz chalet Architecture of Avoriaz has been designed to blend into the landscape The architecture in the ski resort of Avoriaz in the French Alps is certainly unique. Some may even say austere. But the beauty of the resort's apartment blocks lies in them being built to replicate the landscape, as you look up from lower down the mountain - and it achieves this aim with great effect. While Avoriaz has long been considered to be of architectural merit, for most people the more traditional wooden Alpine chalet look has typically been more appealing for a ski property. But in recent years, a greater appreciation of resorts such as Avoriaz - and even the brutalist resort of Flaine - has begun to emerge. The jagged architecture of Avoriaz was designed to fit in with the mountainous landscape Avoriaz's buildings are clad in cedar and have roofs that descend in 'broken' lines towards the slopes. Simon Cloutier, of Atelier d'Architecture d'Avoriaz, the architects behind much of the resort, said: 'The main philosophy of this resort is the integration in the landscape and it is completely pedestrian, with no cars. 'These are the two points that guided the architecture.' Up close, Avoriaz's angular apartment blocks appear to jut out from the mountainside, with the resort is perched on a plateau with pistes between its buildings rather than roads and pavements. Look at the resort from further away, however, particularly from down towards the town and pistes of Morzine below and Avoriaz blends into the mountains. It may not be to everyone's tastes but there has been a greater appreciation of modern ski resort architecture over recent years. This shift is reflected in the interiors of the latest chalets to be build in the resort, with their modern design including graphite-coloured kitchens and black fixtures and fittings. High end buyers are increasingly interested in a style that reflects what they would choose for their own home rather than one imitating an old-fashioned Alpine look. Epitomising this look is a new chalet from VIP SKI, which was built specifically for rentals in Avoriaz. Its plans were put together by the company's boss Andy Sturt, with the interior design completed by Laughland Jones. Interior designer Andrew Laughland, explained: 'Avoriaz is stunning, in an avant-garde way. There is great continuity in the architecture. 'Inside the chalet, there are lots of oranges, with a grey, modern background. We tried to make it jolly and fun, along with durable. Avoriaz: Copper touches are found inside and out at the VIP SKI rental chalet called Kakisa The interior design consists of a grey and black backdrop throughout the chalet Copper is a material often used on the outsides of chalets as it is good in cold climates There are 'pings' of colour in the living areas, including the armchair and cushions The 'pops' of colour continue in the bedrooms, with this one having a great view of the slopes Winter heaven: The ski resort of Avoriaz sits at the heart of the Portes du Soleil Get the look If you're seeking to achieve a similar look to the VIP SKI chalet, its interior designers Laughland Jones have revealed some of the stores to visit. For the fixtures and fittings, it turned to Frost Demark for black door handles called the lever handle kube 101. But at around 55 each, it may be out of your budget, especially if you have a lot of doors. A significantly cheaper 9 alternative called the Touchpoint Bella lever door handle is available from IronmongeryDirect at www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk. And for the striking dark colour on the walls, the interior designers used a Little Greene paint colour called Jack Black 119. Advertisement 'The art is colourful and the cushions are lively. There are nooks and crannies that light up. 'There are lots of bright colours with pings of copper, which is a material often used on the outsides of chalets as it is good in cold climates.' He concluded: 'The attention to detail is second to none. That is reflected throughout the whole operation at VIP SKI. If you go there, then you will be really well looked after.' Andy Sturt, owner of VIP SKI, added: 'With any ski property, altitude and location are key, and we have achieved this by choosing to build at 1850 metres, on the slopes and in the centre of Avoriaz. 'Guests want a comfortable stylish home to enhance their stay, made possible with impeccable interior design delivered with aplomb by Laughland Jones'. Chalet chic: Black and grey feature heavily in the interior design, with 'pops' of copper The stairs have been painted with black paint and there is a carpet with black trims Black continues in the fixtures and fittings, including on the light switches and door handles Superstar quality: The Hotel des Dromonts was one of the first buildings in Avoriaz Perhaps the most iconic building in the resort - and the first one to built in Avoriaz in 1964 - was the Hotel des Dromonts, an iconic pine-cone like structure, which today has been decorated with a heavy nod to the 1960s and 1970s. The hotel's original nightclub is now a spa and the bar is adorned with photos of famous faces who have been there. The building helps to provide the resort with a sense of history and glamour that others do not have. Avoriaz is a unique resort that ranks among the best for building design and facilities. A seven-night stay at Chalet Kakisa costs from 1,249 per person based on two people sharing a room on chalet board basis. Price includes return flights from London Gatwick and transfers via VIP SKI. Going going but definitely not gone. Putting a home under the hammer is becoming more and more popular in todays sticky housing market. A Post Office Money study recently showed that 44 per cent of conventional sales called private treaty deals collapse within four weeks of a seller receiving an acceptable offer. This is because some buyers get cold feet, or find it hard to obtain a mortgage, or are deterred by problems shown up on a survey. It now takes an average 102 days to sell a home in the UK, whereas doing so in an auction room is usually far quicker. Selling a house in the UK is usually far quicker when going through the auctioning process The advantage for the seller is that a property goes to the auction on a set date and, if its minimum price is reached or exceeded, the buyer pays 10 per cent immediately and the rest within 28 days. The buyer, therefore, has to have their finance sorted and survey done and dusted before they walk into the auction room. The cost to sellers of going to auction is similar to selling through an estate agent: they pay the auctioneer about 2 per cent of the sale price (or nothing at all if the property doesnt sell), plus about 500 for a legal pack and entry fee into the auction event. For the buyer, theres nothing to pay except the purchase price of the property. While newbies to auctions may be understandably nervous on the big day, most auctions are relatively quiet affairs. So long as you have a steady nerve, have done your homework and then stick rigidly to your budget, youll be fine, says Andrew Hammond, a buying agent. Auctions used to be only for properties with problems subsidence, sitting tenants or wrecks but now theyre a legitimate route for any seller, he says. If you are going to an old-school auction in person, there are several golden rules to stick to. Initially, do a few dry-runs go to other property auctions to see what theyre like. Then get to know the auction jargon (such as the guide price, reserve price and sale price, etc). When you have a property in mind, view it and commission a survey. Then sort your mortgage or loan remember, the highest bidder pays 10 per cent on the spot and the rest soon afterwards and line up a solicitor to handle conveyancing. Theres now a new digital way of auctioning a home, called the Modern Method of Auction On auction day itself, keep a cool head and dont allow competitive bidding to coax you above your strict budget limit. However, theres now a new digital way of auctioning a home, called the Modern Method of Auction. Its quickly becoming a major player and, unlike physical auctions, many are run by estate agents. However, they involve high charges to buyers, so are not for everyone. The Modern Method of Auction (MMA) works like this. A home is photographed and put online with a strict deadline often 30 days allowing would-be buyers to bid at any time, 24/7, during that period. As with traditional auctions, potential buyers should get a mortgage and conveyancer sorted in advance and are advised to view the property and arrange a survey. The highest bidder after 30 days then typically has a further 56 days to complete the purchase. For sellers, going online opens their property up to buyers from all over the globe and gives them much wider exposure than a traditional sale. 'Its also usually cheaper, claims Richard Reed, of John Pye Property, an auction company. MMA means a home is photographed and put online with a strict deadline, often 30 days But, while selling a home through an online auction is entirely free to sellers, there are usually hefty charges for buyers. A study by consumer group HomeOwners Alliance says many online auctions insist that to secure a property, successful bidders must pay a non-refundable reservation fee that is usually at least 2.5 per cent of the sale price, plus VAT. So on a 225,000 property a buyer could pay an additional fee of 6,750. If for some reason the buyer doesnt go through with the purchase, they lose that sum. To rub salt into the wound, the HomeOwners Alliance says stamp duty must be paid on the reservation fee as well as the overall purchase price. Online auction firms defend their charges by saying they are upfront and transparent. Advocates of MMA says only 5 per cent of sales fall through, whereas almost half of private treaty transactions collapse. Auctions are a speedy alternative. But remember, they can come at a price. With Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance, Mediterranean waves slapping on the harbour walls, ancient castles, trips of Pompeii and labyrinthine lanes, Naples is perfect for an intriguing weekend away. The capital of the Campania region in southern Italy is famous for its manic edginess as well as the invention of pizza and can be an affordable choice for a short break ... if you know where to look. Scroll down for our handy tips on the best places to eat and stay... WHERE TO STAY Minimalist: Hotel Palazzo Caracciolo (above) where doubles start from 100 Hotel Palazzo Caracciolo Just north of Spaccanapoli, the main east-west street splitting Naples, this is a 15th-century palace converted into a vibrant hotel with minimalist yet comfy rooms. A courtyard with olive trees and a bar makes a great spot to unwind. B&B doubles from 100 (palazzocaracciolo.com) Attico Partenopeo In the heart of the old town, this bijou eight-room hotel/B&B is hidden at the top of an apartment block; you take a lift to the fifth floor reception. Rooms have comfortable beds, modern art and balconies (in some) facing Vesuvius. Organic breakfast is served in a bright dining room or on a suntrap terrace. B&B doubles from 61; add 17.50 for Vesuvius views (atticopartenopeo.it) Hotel Cimarosa On a hill in the peaceful residential district of Vomero, but right by a funicular ride into the centre, Cimarosa is an arty hotel with 16 modern rooms. This is a great hideaway for those seeking to escape the old towns bustle. B&B doubles from 69 (hotelcimarosa.it) Ramada Naples OK, so this is a business hotel, but its right next to Garibaldi Station, perfect for trains to Pompeii and Sorrento, and a ten-minute walk to the centre. Rooms are in a smart burgundy colour scheme and have bathrooms with tubs. Breakfasts come with a huge variety of cakes. B&B doubles from 81 (wyndhamhotels.com) WHERE TO EAT Pizzeria Di Matteo Yum: Neapolitan pizza is a must try in Naples - the world's pizza capital You must try a pizza in the worlds pizza capital. This tiny restaurant on Via dei Tribunali, loved by locals, serves little takeaway slices, folded in paper, for 1.30: simply delicious (as Bill Clinton once found). (Pizzeriadimatteo.com) Pizzeria Dal Presidente Clinton seems to have been a pizza fan he also tried Pizzeria Dal Presidente, farther down Via Tribunali. Sit in the hidden-away backroom and share a diavola pizza with a carafe of wine for 9 for two. Outside, check out the Banksy depicting Madonna with a pistol. (Dalpresidentepizzeria.it) Gran Caffe Imperius Sfogliatella is a sugary pastry with a sweet almond filling invented in Campania. Gran Caffe Imperius on Spaccanapoli does them splendidly (85p). Enjoy one at the bar accompanied by a 70p espresso or a 1.30 glass of Ramazzotti liqueur. (Grancaffeimperius.it) Etto On Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, this brilliant restaurant is favoured by locals. Take a plate and choose from a buffet including pastas with tuna, wild mushrooms, beetroot, roast chicken and lasagne. Its about 11 for a large helping. WHAT TO SEE AND DO Take a train Guided bus tours to Pompeii, the Roman city entombed when Vesuvius erupted in AD79, from the city are 56. Its more fun to do it yourself. Take a Circumvesuviana train from Garibaldi Station for 4.80. The Naples metro/funicular system is also a good way to get around: rides are 1. Vibrant: A traditional street scene in the Spanish quarter of the city of Naples Free entry to Pompeii The usual adult entry price is 13, but the first Sunday of the month is free. Arrive early to avoid the crowds and, afterwards, dont go to the expensive cafes by the exit. The station cafe, used by locals, has espressos for 90p and lovely fresh orange juice for 1.70. See the hilltop castle It takes half an hour to ascend the winding steps to Castel SantElmo, a glorious 16th-century fortification. Entry is only 4.30. Theres also a superb gallery of Campania art, to which your ticket allows entry. The foot of the hill has bakeries and delis for hilltop picnics. Watch the sunset Castel dellOvo (Castle of the Egg) is on the little island of Megaride, connected to the mainland by a causeway perfect for a target of a waterfront walk along the promenade south of Piazza Plebiscito, Naples main square. Its free to go to the top of the castle, one of the best places for sunsets. Visit Christmas Street Real name Via San Gregorio Armeno, this is where the citys nativity scene shops are found. Watch craftsmen at work and enjoy their creations including Putin and Trump figurines along the alley. visitnaples.eu Survivors in a Great War Zaya Youkhana, an Assyrian Christian, stands on the rubble of a destroyed church blown up by Islamic State militants in 2015 in a deserted village in the Khabur River Valley in northern Syria. The Arabic words (written by an Islamic State militant) read, "Worshippers of the cross." ( Hussein Malla/AP) Even on a day of biting February wind, the fields are lush with grass across the Khabur River Valley and so brilliantly green it hurts the eyes to look at them. A boy hurries sheep up a muddy path, while two women in bright headscarves bend over a plot of chard, picking. Near the entrance to the village of Tel Hormizd, a bombed-out water tower, lying sideways near the riverbank, signals visitors that this is no rural idyll. ISIS fighters destroyed the tank when they captured this area in 2015, and no one has returned to repair it or a vast landscape of surrounding destruction. Four years ago--on Feb. 23, 2015--ISIS militants overran the 30 villages that make up this valley. They bombed and destroyed 12 churches, multiple homes, and structures like the water tower. The fighters kidnapped more than 250 Assyrian Christians and drove away thousands of residents. Seven months later, they dressed three captured residents from the Khabur villages in orange jumpsuits, then videotaped their execution. Not long ago there were 20,000 Assyrian Christians living in the Khabur River Valley, said Mar Afram Athneil, the Assyrian Church of the East bishop of Syria: "Now we have less than 800." The civilian atrocities of Khabur are but one episode in a Syrian War that's left at least 500,000 people dead and much of the country in ruin. But the targeting of a stubborn Christian population--mirroring how ISIS sought out, threatened, and destroyed Christian communities in Mosul and its surrounding villages in Iraq--has become emblematic of what many Christians fear may be their future in the Middle East. Fierce fighting here has moved east, but security is proving elusive. Many feel betrayed by the unexpected December announcement from President Donald Trump declaring ISIS defeated and a U.S. withdrawal from Syria imminent. The confusion surrounding the U.S. policy shift rattled a fragile non-Muslim population faced with an array of menacing opponents. Toppled bell tower in Tel Hormizd. ( Mindy Belz) Assyrians were among the first to convert to Christianity, with their churches, their Aramaic Scriptures, and their ancient hymnody (Syrian chant is the forerunner to the better-known Gregorian chant) taking hold between the first and third centuries. From the world's earliest church sites in Tur Abdin in Turkey, Assyrians spread Christianity across what today are Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Repeatedly threatened by Muslim armies and government authorities, their communities today sit visibly near extinction, even as the Syrian War itself may soon end. Tel Nasri was a growing village along the Khabur River with about 1,200 residents when it replaced an old and small mud church with a new and expansive building in 2007. The new church included a barrel vault with six windows and two bell towers, each about four stories high with rounded domes, topped by crosses. ISIS emptied the village in early 2015, fought Khabur Defense Units and Kurdish forces for nearly two months, and on Easter Sunday blew up the church. The debris, including bell towers toppled like playthings, lies scattered among olive groves and vineyards left to grow wild. Destroyed church in Tel Nasri. ( Mindy Belz) Only four Assyrians have returned to live in Tel Nasri, I learned, yet I couldn't find one to talk to on the February afternoon I visited. In other villages I found handfuls of residents, or completely empty towns. "It's very easy to rebuild the churches and the houses. We can raise some money and rebuild whatever is needed," said Athneil, "but to create confidence for people to return is much harder. I don't know that we can do that." Athneil found himself at the center of negotiations with ISIS for the release of his captured parishioners, who ranged in age from 6 months to 90 years old. ISIS tried for weeks prior to the kidnappings to impose on the villages jizya--a tax for non-Muslims--then demanded exorbitant ransoms, exceeding $12 million total. The bishop and others raised an unnamed sum from a worldwide network of displaced Assyrians. With payments, the militants released the residents in small groups over the next 13 months, starting with the elderly but holding many families with young children for a year or more. ISIS fighters threatened the hostages, holding guns to fathers' heads and demanding they convert to Islam. Early on, they selected five girls to be enslaved as ISIS brides. Four were released, but one of them, now 16 years old, remains in ISIS captivity. The Mar Elian monastery destroyed by Islamic State militants. ( Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images) What ISIS did not destroy outright it has dismantled through such prolonged threats and intimidation, prompting Khabur families plus others to emigrate. I interviewed multiple families, yet few wanted their names to appear in print, still fearful four years after the attack. Kidnap victims stood firm against ISIS demands to convert to Islam, yet as a result their families have been scattered, with relatives in Sweden, Australia, or the United States. It will take more than defeating ISIS militarily to make life for Christians possible here again. It will take specific--and lasting--freedoms and protection. HOW TO GAIN SUCH PROTECTION has divided Syria's churches. Athneil told me "most of the Christian peoples are pro-regime." They support the government of President Bashar al-Assad because he represents stability and has protected non-Muslims. They believe he will take a hard line against terror groups like ISIS, despite the looming influence of Russia and Iran. Plus, he has regained control of just over half the country. Failing a negotiated settlement requiring a transitional government (called for in the UN Security Council's Resolution 2254 guiding faltering talks), he may retake all of Syria. But many Christians who have survived the war see an opportunity for pluralism and for religious freedom not allowed under Syria's current constitution. Attacks like that in Khabur Valley bred a fierce determination to secure Assyrian homelands, and for some a new willingness to take up arms against Islamic jihadists. If Assad remains in power, said Gabriel Moshe, head of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, "there will never be any security, there will never be any settlement. Any terrorist organization can arise again." Despite epochal clashes with Kurds, Assad opponents are pinning their hopes on a Kurdish-led political and military coalition that controls what for centuries were predominantly Christian areas. The coalition operates a political federation now called the Self-Administration in North and East Syria (SANES), an area of 4 million people extending east of the Euphrates and encompassing Jazira, the ancient homeland for Assyrian and other Christians. Within the self-administration zone Kurds, Christians, and Arabs have established political leadership and military control over strategic areas liberated from ISIS and other jihadist groups. They have set up a loosely federal structure of local cantons they say are committed to preserving individual freedom, including religious freedom and equal rights for women. The zone currently protects 100,000 people in historically Christian populations, along with 21,000 new Muslim converts--according to the Syriac National Council, one party in the federation. Aramaic, the first-century language of Christians still used in the ancient churches, is an official language alongside Arabic and Kurdish. Their control grows out of ground war victories involving the Kurdish YPG/YPJ units, the Assyrian-led Syriac Military Council (MFS), and several Arab militias--all fighting now under the loose banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Their efforts, supported by U.S.-led coalition air power, have reduced ISIS territory to mere patches of land south near Deir Ezzor. The wins have come with a price: More than 14,000 SDF soldiers have died or been wounded in battle. ISIS beheaded captured Yazidi women in Baghuz, one of the group's strongholds, as its fighters fled. While ISIS as a caliphate may be on the verge of defeat, the war is far from over. Al-Qaeda--linked militants remain in control in Idlib to the west, where fighting and civilian casualties spiked in recent weeks. Turkish-backed militias control Afrin in the northwest, an area now cut off from the rest of Syria, with tens of thousands of mostly Christian and Kurdish residents displaced from there. Turkey invaded that area last year, seeking what it called a safe zone to defend itself against Kurdish militias. Turkish forces occupy up to 40 miles of territory inside Syria near Afrin and continue in a tense standoff with Russian forces backing the Syrian army of President Bashar al-Assad. What does it all mean for the Christians in Jazira? On every side they confront potentially hostile forces, particularly if they remain opposed to the Assad regime, and especially if the United States cuts ties. Leaders in the self-administration zone joined about 40 U.S. religious freedom and human rights groups in a January letter to President Donald Trump, protesting the planned U.S. withdrawal. Such a decision, they said, "breaks commitments our government made to protect the area and support its democratic aspirations." The groups also warned of genocidal threats and war crimes, not only by ISIS but also Turkey and the jihadist militias it supports. "Most ethnic Christians now living in the [self-administration zone] are descendants of people driven out of Turkey 100 years ago by the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides. They are terrified," they wrote. Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, delivered a similar message when she visited Washington to meet top officials in February. Following those meetings, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel, traveled to northern Syria and met with the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces--an hourlong meeting and a symbolic show of support. In a reversal on Feb. 23, the Pentagon announced the president had ordered 400 troops to remain in Syria as part of a multinational force. Already the United States has withdrawn some heavy equipment from its base at Manbij, and in coming weeks may continue to draw down military personnel from the current level of almost 2,000. At the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Mike Pence told world leaders a Syria withdrawal represented "a change in tactics, not a change in mission." SDF leaders hope an incremental withdrawal is preceded by enhanced U.S. air coverage for northern Syria to hold the hard-won territory and fledgling steps to democracy. WITH WAR THE CHRISTIAN POPULATION throughout the country has plummeted--from about 8 percent in 2011 to 2 or 3 percent of the population today. Attrition has come through targeted killings, kidnappings, and emigration. Besides the Khabur attacks, ISIS struck multiple Christian targets and took hundreds hostage in the mostly Christian city of Qaryatayn. Most remain unaccounted for. Nearby, militants blew up the 1,500-year-old Mar Elian monastery and held hostage for five months its prior, Syriac Catholic priest Jacques Mourad. He lives in Europe now, and the city sits mostly empty, its houses destroyed by ISIS. At the same time, war and displacement have a way of feeding the church, too. Some churches in the north are starting or growing, fueled mostly by conversions of Kurdish Muslims. In Kobani, a church of Christians displaced from Afrin is drawing converts. It has 50 families and is growing. In the Shahba canton near Aleppo, also part of the self-administration zone, the first church in the area is growing out of 5,000 displaced people from Afrin forced to take refuge there. They receive humanitarian aid from other churches, and workers say many among the displaced are coming to faith in Christ. Even in the Khabur Valley, heartening signs of life can appear. Elias Antar, 72, has returned with his wife Shamiram to live in Tel Hormizd. He said they were among the last to be kidnapped by ISIS and the first to return. Too impatient to wait for demining teams after Kurdish YPG and local Khabur Defense Units kicked out ISIS, "we checked for mines ourselves and risked our lives to come back." Antar, an Assyrian Christian, has become a kind of spokesman for the Khabur villages, reaching out to Assyrian families who fled after Feb. 23, 2015, and needling them to return. "We challenge all those who are running away by growing things while they are hunting for work," he said. "We have sheep, bees, olive trees, and grapes." Antar convinced two Assyrian-Americans to come back and persuaded residents from nearby cities Hasakah and Qameshli to make regular trips to work on the village. As we talked, several families picked greens in a field near his home. Up the lane a boy herded sheep from their pen, and a young woman shooed chickens. Four hundred people lived in Tel Hormizd when ISIS attacked, Antar said. And now? I ask. He paused, then said, "Maybe 15. Twelve or 15." At the other end of the village, up winding streets lined with houses pockmarked by bullets and gutted by fire, the village church overlooks the river and the town, or at least it used to. ISIS completely leveled the building. Only a flat space of flooring remains, where residents sometimes bring chairs for informal worship services. The church's bell tower is toppled to the ground but still rings. We talked and drank tea in the airy home Antar was born and grew up in, the windows opened toward the river. When its banks overran with wavy grass in the spring, families from throughout Jazira once came for picnics. Cotton and wheat were the staple crops, and many families raised livestock and grew olive, apricot, and plum trees. Some breadwinners worked in cities like Hasakah or Qameshli by day but farmed also. The Khabur is the largest tributary of the Euphrates--rich in ancient lore and mentioned in the writings of the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, and the author of 1 Chronicles. Khabur is the site where the ancient Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III once exiled Hebrew tribes, including the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The most recent forced exile to Khabur was in the 1930s, when the League of Nations deeded "strips of land twenty-five miles long and over three miles wide on both sides of the river" to Assyrian families who endured multiple 20th-century massacres. The families who moved here had survived the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire, when the Turks massacred an estimated 300,000 Assyrians alongside more than a million Armenians. The Assyrians then survived an armed campaign by Arabs and Kurds in Iraq. The trek of Antar's parents was typical for the Assyrian refugees. "My father was displaced from Hakkari in Turkey to Iran, then to Russia, then to Greece, then to Lebanon, to Iraq, and finally to Syria." He met his wife, also a refugee, in Iran. "They moved in groups then, not scattered like now," Antar said. "With ISIS, we simply have flown." Of seven children, Antar's eldest son lives in Ukraine, while two sons live in Tel Hormizd. Four married daughters all have emigrated since the attacks, two living in Germany and two in Australia. "It's difficult to be here, but we accept the hardship," he told me. "We work and have activities. This is my life and I have no empty time. I was born in this village in 1946. And I will die here." Perfect days out are few and far between. But here's one to savour. Take a high-speed train to Canterbury West, get off and walk a few yards to The Goods Shed. This is now a farmers market that contains one of my all-time favourite restaurants, cooking everything from fresh local ingredients sold in the Shed. After a lingering lunch, followed by the purchase of local apple juice or (in season) Kentish cobnuts, stroll into town. If you're lucky, a sale will be viewing at the Canterbury Auction Galleries, and you'll be able to leave a low bid on a piece of brown furniture you didn't know you needed. All things bright and beautiful: Punting on the River Stour in the cathedral city of Canterbury If not, press on to the historic Westgate, the last of Canterbury's seven medieval gates: traffic still passes between the two mighty towers. Climb to the top for a roofscape view. But don't hang about. You have yet to saunter along the High Street, with its ancient timber-framed architecture, upper floors 'jettied' over the street. The Old Weavers' House is typical: it dates from 1500 and we had a splendid tea there last year. Cross the River Stour and admire the punting, go past the Beaney museum no time to linger and then comes the big reveal by turning left: the cathedral.You approach it via the Buttermarket and the magnificent early Tudor Christchurch Gate. The cathedral itself is one of the wonders of Britain, which as the mother church of the Anglican Communion everybody should visit at some point in their lives. With a house in Ramsgate, we often see it, if only as a silhouette, towering quite literally, because it has several towers above the surrounding city. Up close, I never fail to marvel at its size. In the Middle Ages, thousands of pilgrims flocked here every year; Chaucer describes one outing in his Canterbury Tales. If you go at Easter, arrive early to hear the glorious choir. We normally sit on the other side of the screen that has the organ on it (the organ drowns out everything else), but we can look at the architecture. This is near the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered by Henry II's knights in 1170. In just a couple of years, he'd become a saint. But for balance, a great royal figure, in a splendid tomb, is also buried here: the Black Prince. 'No, Dad not another church,' my children used to say. Now in their 20s, they have a different attitude. For example, they were keen to see St Augustine's Abbey, near the Cathedral, which is a ruin now cared for by English Heritage. And they seemed taken by the 6th-century St Martin's Church outside Canterbury, built before St Augustine even arrived and still going as a parish church. The Fordwich Arms (above) where chef-patron Daniel Smith has notched up his first Michelin star Fancy a country walk? Follow the River Stour not the one that Constable painted in Suffolk, though it can be just as charming into the magical orchards of Kent. Commercial apple trees aren't quite what they used to be, when the blossom looked like cloud banks and you needed a ladder to pick the fruit. They're now grown like vines, unable to stand up by themselves although they are still beautiful in spring. This was traditionally hop country, hence the conical towers of the oast houses, capped with what look like witches' hats, in which the hops were dried. After a couple of miles, you'll get to Fordwich. Until the Wantsum Channel silted up in the late Middle Ages, Fordwich was a busy port. The town crane used to unload the Caen stone, out of which Canterbury Cathedral was built, can still be seen. Trials were held in the diminutive town hall, built around 1555; juries retired into a cramped room thoughtfully provided with a small opening in the floor through which members could relieve themselves during lengthy deliberations. Next to the town hall is the Fordwich Arms. Go there now, don't wait to pass Go (though you may need to for the money). After only a year in business, chef-patron Daniel Smith, aged 27, has notched up his first Michelin star. It's not so much food as a conjuring trick, a work of art, a flight of the imagination. Every plate made me gasp with astonishment. This is real food. Everything is made on site. End the day by visiting the Simpsons Wine Estate, newly established by the award-winning winemakers, Ruth and Charles Simpson. Their Canterbury rose is becoming something of a cult. Perhaps pilgrims in a thousand years time will come and worship here, too. Married At First Sight's Susie Bradley appears in a shocking video, 'fat-shaming' a new mother. The 25-year-old single mother from Brisbane, who is married to Billy Vincent on the show, was at the Ipswich races with a friend last year when they filmed a woman who dated Susie's ex ten years ago, mocking her. 'That is fatness. That is what it is. That is fatness,' Susie's friend says in the clip which was obtained by Daily Mail Australia, with Susie laughing, screaming and appearing to say 'yuck.' 'That is fatness, that's what it is!' MAFS star Susie Bradley (pictured) 'fat-shamed' a new mother It came after Susie noticed the woman in the crowd. 'Is that Brock and Krysten?' she asks her friend in the clip. The woman who was 'fat-shamed,' Krysten Hatton, 27, called into HIT 105's Stav, Abby and Matt on Friday, where the video was played for listeners. Krysten told the radio station that said she has never met Susie, but previously dated Susie's ex ten years ago. The video: 'That is fatness,' Susie's friend (R) says in the clip which was obtained by Daily Mail Australia, with Susie (L) laughing and screaming and appearing to say 'yuck' Bad blood? The woman who was 'fat-shamed,' Krysten, called into HIT 105's Stav, Abby and Matt on Friday. Krysten said she has never met Susie, but previously dated Susie's ex ten years ago Target: The woman who was 'fat-shamed' was Queensland-based mother, Krysten Hatton, 27 (pictured on the day of the races) 'I went to the Ipswich races last year with my partner and family and had not long given birth to my first child, my partner and I were walking past, I didn't even see them,' Krysten said of the incident, going to the races with partner Brock. 'I'm not friends with them on social media. It got sent to me by a few different people that they recorded themselves calling me fat and posted it all over social media.' Krysten went on to say she was 'gobsmacked' by Susie's antics and branded her 'fake,' as Susie often posts about being positive on Instagram. She's had enough! Krysten went on to say she was 'gobsmacked' by Susie's antics and branded her 'fake,' as Susie often posts about being positive on Instagram Krysten told Daily Mail Australia that after the incident, she contacted Susie on Facebook to say it was disrespectful, but was told to 'go away' before being blocked. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Susie and Nine for comment, in relation to this story. Susie has made headlines recently meanwhile, due to being spotted kissing disgraced NRL star, Todd Carney, on the day after Valentine's Day last month. On MAFS, she's 'married' personal trainer and model, Billy Vincent, 28. Todd, 32, and Susie were seen kissing outside of the Stamford Plaza in Brisbane, Queensland, with Susie carrying bags after seemingly spending the night at the hotel. So they don't last? On MAFS, she's 'married' personal trainer and model, Billy Vincent, 28 (pictured) The night before she took to Instagram on Valentine's Day to document what appeared to be romantic night on social media. In one Instagram post, Susie posed with a dozen roses and a teddy bear, but didn't mention Todd in her post. In another image, two bottles of expensive champagne and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries are shown on a table. On Tuesday, Susie was probed further about Todd on Nova's Fitzy and Wippa, but she attempted to dodge the questions. When asked if they were ever 'together,' she coyly replied: 'Oh maybe in passing. Maybe in passing, that's about it.' It's now been five years since the Flint water crisis was exposed, and yet residents are still in need of clean water. As a result, Jaden Smith's foundation and a church are teaming up to deliver some much-needed help. The rapper's company, Just Goods, and First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church announced they're going to bring a mobile water filtration system to Flint called The Water Box. The system will reduce lead and other contaminates found in the Flint water supply. Doing his part: Jaden Smith's Just good company is collaborating with the First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church to deliver clean water to Flint, Michigan amid the clean water crisis The 20-year-old's JUST company collaborated with the church to design and engineer the system. To date, the church has distributed over 5 million bottles of water to residents, but bottled donations are on the decline. JUST water was founded in 2015 by Smith and his famous father, Will Smith. The idea for JUST grew out of his passion to help clean up the environment when he was out surfing when he was about 10-years old. He became outraged when he saw plastic water bottles floating in the ocean water next to him. The plan: The JUST foundation and the church will deploy a mobile water filtration system known as The Water Box to reduce lead and other potential contaminants; Jaden and his dad, Will Smith, created the company in 2015; they are pictured in December 2017 'This was a company born out of a child's love for the ocean,' Will Smith told The Associated Press during an interview as reported by the Chicago Tribune. The eco-friendly bottled water company's packaging is made from almost entirely renewable resources, including plastic derived from sugarcane. Some of the other notable names that are apart of the collective include Jaden's mother Jada Pinkett Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Lionel Richie, Queen Latifah and Calvin Harris. The Flint water crisis first started in 2014 when the drinking water supply was switched from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the cheaper Flint River. Due to insufficient water treatment, lead was found in the drinking water of over 100,000 residents. A federal state of emergency was declared in January of 2016, after a pair of scientific studies confirmed the contamination. Some officials came out to declare the water quality had been returned to acceptable levels in early 2017, but this has been disputed by some residents, experts and other officials. EastEnders fans were left in shock when Friday night's episode saw 84-year-old Dot Cotton become a millionaire. The longtime Walford resident got the shock of her life when she discovered that her recently departed friend Dr Harold Legg (Leonard Fenton) had left his entire fortune to her. Dot (played by 92-year-old actress June Brown) insisted she didn't want to know the details of Dr Legg's will, saying it was too painful to hear so soon after his death. Shock: EastEnders fans were left reeling after Friday night's episode as they watched Dot Cotton become a millionaire However, she was floored when she found out the doctor's entire estate in Golders Green had been left to her. Her lodger Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ), perhaps seeing an opportunity for himself, declared: 'She's a millionaire!' The news proved too much for Dot who was adamant that she didn't need all that money and only wanted enough to look after her family and friends. Speaking to Sonia, she said: 'I don't need all that money. Surprise: The longtime Walford resident got the shock of her life when she discovered that her recently departed friend Dr Harold Legg (Leonard Fenton) had left his entire fortune to her Her old friend: Dot (June Brown) insisted she didn't want to know the details of Dr Legg's will, saying it was too painful to hear so soon after his death 'I mean, maybe some so that I can buy this house off the council, and I could help [grandson] Charlie and his family, and little Dotty, and you and Robbie.' Dot said she would speak to Jesus about what she should do and then decided to take a trip to Ireland to visit her grandson. Viewers took to social media to express their delight at fan favourite Dot coming into good fortune. However, others pointed out that she could be in danger of being taken advantage of by Stuart. Suspicious: Her lodger Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ), perhaps seeing an opportunity for himself, declared: 'She's a millionaire!' Reaction: Fans were thrilled for Dot's good fortune but some worried Stuart could try to take advantage of her Dr Legg had reached 98 years of age on the soap but unfortunately lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in scenes shown earlier this month. Harold returned to Albert Square to spend his final moments with none other than his longtime friend Dot. Dot realised the end was in sight for Dr Legg when he was brought back to the square and she saw the frail state he was in. Hoping to make him think back on his younger days, Dot played him a DVD documentary of The Battle of Cable Street, a protest in London's East End in 1936 that he was said to have been involved in. Humble: The news proved too much for Dot who was adamant that she didn't need all that money and only wanted enough to look after her family and friends She told Sonia: 'I can buy this house off the council, and I could help [grandson] Charlie and his family, and little Dotty, and you and Robbie' Sharing touching moments as Harold drifted away, the doctor held his father's pendant in his hand before his grip loosened and he passed away. Gushing over his surprising return, Leonard said: 'I am very happy to be back at EastEnders and am looking forward to working with June and the rest of the cast and crew again.' He briefly returned to the show for the funerals of Ethel Skinner and Mark Fowler in 2000 and 2004. On working with Leonard again when he rejoined the show last year, June, 91, said: 'It's been eleven years since Dot last visited her favourite doctor, Doctor Legg, and it's an utter delight to be working with Leonard Fenton again.' She has been best friends with Princess Mary of Denmark for more than twenty years. And while her closest pal may have married a Prince, Amber Petty has yet to forge her own fairy tale romance. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, the Melbourne-based singleton spoke candidly about looking for love at the age of 48. 'I still hope to find love!' On Saturday, Princess Mary's best friend Amber Petty (pictured) spoke about looking for love at the age of 48 Way back when: Amber (pictured back right, dressed in pink) was one of Mary's bridesmaids at her 2004 wedding to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (pictured on the wedding day) 'I still hope to find to find a great love,' Amber optimistically declared to the publication. The former radio host told The Daily Telegraph that she is now looking for Mr Right, after putting her life on hold for several years in order to look after her ailing father. She explained: 'My dad died last year and I was a carer for a few years before that, then I immediately became a foster carer, so now is the time where I want to make space for love and for a romantic relationship.' On the lookout for love! The former radio host said she is now searching for Mr Right, after putting her life on hold for several years in order to look after her ailing father However, as she approaches her milestone 50th birthday, Amber has ruled out ever having biological children. She stated: 'I will always have children in my life, but they will be friends' kids and foster kids.' Last year, the beauty revealed she had become a foster parent, penning a powerful piece about the experience with The Daily Telegraph. 'I will always have children in my life, but they will be friends' kids and foster kids': Amber is pictured with Princess Mary and her daughter Princess Isabella in 2008 In her May 2018 piece, Amber wrote: 'I opened the door to find a seven-year girl with messy curly hair, standing flanked by Child Services (DHS) staff.' 'She'd come from a frightening world and now she was standing at the door of a stranger. 'My little friend has been living with me for almost six months now and has a personality the size of the MCG.' It's unclear whether Amber is still parenting the young girl. Experiencing motherhood: Last year, Amber revealed that she had become a foster parent. She is pictured in 2008, with Princess Mary and her two children Prince Christian and Princess Isabella She's a natural: Amber is pictured with Prince Christian in 2008 Amber met her best friend Princess Mary back in the mid-1990s, when the pair worked together at a Melbourne marketing company. She went on to become a household name in Australia after she was chosen to be one of Mary's bridesmaids at her 2004 wedding to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Afterward, the blonde worked in magazines and radio, and her love life was the subject of public interest. Royal role: Mary chose Amber (left) and her two sisters to be bridesmaids at her 2004 wedding to Crown Prince Frederik Amber was rumoured to have dated millionaire businessman Mark Alexander-Erber in the mid-2000s. And in 2011, she again hit headlines for her reported three-month relationship with former Nine Network managing director Jeff Browne. Meanwhile, the star has been open about the fact she is often envious of her best friend Mary's picture perfect life. In 2014, Amber appeared on The Morning Show to discuss her pal's 10th wedding anniversary to Prince Frederik, saying: 'I look at the photos of what they've got in 10 years, I look at my photos and go, where's all my stuff, where's all my stuff? 10 years and I'm still sitting there on my own, what is happening?' She was branded 'fake' and 'annoying' by fans during her stint on Celebs Go Dating. And Georgia Steel was in high spirits as she stepped out with a male pal as she left her Liverpool hotel on Friday after speaking out about her relationship with her Love Island ex Sam Bird. The reality star, 20, headed out of the building accompanied by her production set pal after a night of partying with her fellow Celebs Go Dating stars Kerry Katona, Chelsee Healey and David Potts. New flame? Georgia Steel, 20, was in high spirits as she stepped out with a male pal as she left her Liverpool hotel on Friday And despite the late night antics she managed to look radiant while showing off her natural beauty with her hair carelessly tousled into a loose bun. Ever stylish Georgia clad her trim figure in a black hoody and grey fur jacket to accompany her Emporio Armani leggings and Louis Vuitton trainers. She carried a large holdall also by the designer brand with a grey Celine bag in her other hand. Exes: The Love Island star's outing comes as she told The Sun she felt pressure to stay with her reality star ex Sam Bird after leaving Casa Amor last summer Stepping out: And despite the late night antics she managed to look radiant while showing off her natural beauty with her hair carelessly tousled into a loose bun Designer: Ever stylish Georgia clad her trim figure in a black hoody and grey fur jacket to accompany her Emporio Armani leggings and Louis Vuitton trainers While her pal carried her pink suitcase to their waiting car before leaving together. A representative for Georgia confirmed to the Mail Online that her male companion is a friend helping the star on her travel home. And earlier The Sun reported that Georgia insinuated she was pressured to stay with her Love Island ex Sam after leaving the villa. She confessed: 'That is what happens when you come out. I definitely felt like that. Weighed down: She carried a large holdall also by the designer brand with a grey Celine bag in her other hand Heading out: While her pale carried her pink suitcase to their waiting car before leaving together Baggage: Georgia's companion dressed in black jeans and a hoody while carrying a rucksack on his back 'It wasn't working, we were different people, but I really thought, "Oh my God, people are only going to like me if we're together" because that's what you're renowned for.' And when asked if she had been outright told she had to stay with Sam, Georgia said: 'I was guided.' The outing comes as the reality star faced backlash from fans following her saucy second date on Wednesday's episode of Celebs Go Dating. The Love Island star was all fired up for her date with Max and shared the advice she had been given by the dating experts Paul Carrick-Brunson and Anna Williamson. Natural: Despite the raucous night out, Georgia was in high spirits as she left her hotel Chivalrous: Her companion had a huge grin on his features as he proved he was the perfect gent and carried the reality star's suitcase Tired: While Georgia slumped against the brick wall her companion made sure he stood by the pair's luggage Home time: And later they both stowed their many bags in the boot before heading away from the hotel Social media was awash with viewers venting about her behaviour on the date as 'rude', 'fake' and 'annoying'. She said: 'The agents said to me make sure you let him take control tonight, and I think I did. But I did battle. I can't help that, it's just an instinct thing. I try to be the one in control but I don't think he was having any of it'. The reality star then expressed a desire to ravish her date. She said: 'Yeah I fancied him. I wanted to rip his clothes off lets not lie. I can't help that can I boo.' Split: The Sun reported that Georgia insinuated she was pressured to stay with her Love Island ex Sam, 25, after leaving the villa (pictured October 2018) Oh dear: The reality star faced backlash from fans following her saucy second date on Wednesday's episode of Celebs Go Dating Hmm: The star's date got off to a rocky start when she failed to understand her date's name was Maxwell, calling him 'Maxworld' for around 30 seconds The star's date got off to a rocky start when she failed to understand her date's name was Maxwell as she called him 'Maxworld' for around 30 seconds. 'Used to like Georgia Steele on Love Island NGL. However shes actually a bit f*****g rude! Who does she actually think she is speaking to people the way she does? Ew. #CelebsGoDating,' one fan wrote, leading the troops. 'Her voice makes me want to die.' Another fan wrote: 'MAX. CANCEL. KENT DOESNT WANT GEORGIA. #CelebsGoDating.' Others filed in: 'Catching up on #CelebsGoDating and Georgia has legit given me a headache.' A-lister Margot Robbie has proven not only to be a talented and successful Hollywood actor, she is also a very generous family member. Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal Margot, 28, who is filming Harley Quinn spin-off movie Birds of Prey in the US, recently spent $2.5 million buying modern, side-by-side homes on Queensland's Gold Coast for her mother and older sister. Margot's mother, Sarie Kessler, a physiotherapist, and sister Anya, who works for an accounting firm, were both recently seen leaving the stunning properties just days after Margot herself was Down Under to attend a close girlfriend's hen's party. Scroll down for video EXCLUSIVE: Margot Robbie (pictured), 28, splurged millions of dollars on new homes in Queensland for her family Sarie drove into the house's garage and brought in a wheelie bin, while Margot's look-a-like sister Anya headed off to work in her nearby office, and was later seen fanning herself as she walked to lunch with work colleagues. Even the family dog was spotted sniffing around on the grass just in front of the homes, built just three years ago. Sarie was also visited by a representative from a luxury soft furnishings company. Hey, big spender! Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal Margot spent $2.5 million buying modern, side-by-side homes (pictured) on Queensland's Gold Coast for her mother Sarie and older sister Anya Having a wheelie good time: Sarie (pictured), a physiotherapist, was recently seen leaving the stunning property, just days after Margot herself was Down Under to attend a close girlfriend's hen's party A neighbour said: 'We have seen Margot here a couple of times but she keeps her arrival very low key. She blends in just like she's a local which she can do easily as she grew up around here, of course.' 'It's a lovely home and it's good to see the family are sharing in her success.' Property records in Australia show that Margot used a financial management firm based on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to buy the homes in August last year. Bin there, done that: Sarie drove into the house's garage and brought in a wheelie bin as she pottered about her new home Each of the homes has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. Margot, whose movie Mary Queen of Scots was nominated for the best costumes and best hair and makeup at Sunday's Oscars, has been generous to her family ever since she first enjoyed worldwide acclaim after appearing in The Wolf of Wall Street. In 2014, her mothers 60th birthday year, she paid off her mother's mortgage on her previous home, which is close to the new family base. Sisterhood: Margot's look-a-like sister Anya (pictured) headed off to work in her nearby office soon after inspecting her new home, bought for her by Margot Phew, what a day! Anya was later seen fanning herself as she walked to lunch with work colleagues At the time, Sarie reportedly called her birthday the 'best one ever,' adding it was an 'amazing thing' for her daughter to do. Margot's mother bought the red brick house, where Margot spent her late teens, for $488,000 in 2007. It was sold for $630,000 in October last year after just 22 days on the market. House about that? In 2014, her mothers 60th birthday year, she paid off her mum's mortgage on her previous home (pictured) which is close to the new family base Margot married English husband, Tom Ackerley, 29, in December 2016. The I, Tonya actress also has two brothers - Lachlan, known as Lockie, and Cameron, who is an MTV presenter in Australia. Margot's father, Douglas, lives close to her mother on Queensland's Gold Coast but it is not thought that he and Margot are close. Oxford Street will celebrate inclusivity and diversity on Saturday night. And ahead of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, cast members of Neighbours counted down to joining the Australian soap's float during the annual parade. Taking to Instagram, Takaya Honda, Matt Wilson and Alan Fletcher, shared their support, as they were joined by drag queen Courtney Act. Celebrating diversity: Drag queen Courtney Act (left) was joined by Neighbours stars Takaya Honda (centre) and Matt Wilson (right), as they counted down to Mardi Gras in Sydney on Saturday Courtney, 37, who filmed an episode of Neighbours on Friday, was pictured embracing actors Takaya Honda and Matt Wilson, who play David Tanaka and Aaron Brennan on the show. The Dancing With The Stars contestant looked vibrant in a rainbow-themed frock, while Takaya, 31, and Matt, 30, wore bold dress shirts. Takaya captioned a photo of the trio on Instagram: 'What a start to the #mardigras2019 weekend.' Celebrations: Courtney, 37, who has filmed an episode of Neighbours to air next year, was pictured in a photo shared to Instagram, embracing the actors who are set to take part in the Mardi Gras parade Cast mates: Takaya, 31, and Matt, 30, play couple David Tanaka and Aaron Brennan on the long-running soap Veteran Neighbours star Alan Fletcher, who plays Dr Karl Kennedy on the drama, took to Instagram on Friday to share his enthusiasm for the upcoming parade. The 61-year-old sported a blue T-shirt with a rainbow and the text: 'Everyone is welcome on Ramsay Street'. Alan wrote in the picture's caption: 'Tomorrow I will be proudly riding on the @Neighbours float at #mardigras2019 in Sydney joining all the gang from #FremantleMedia as we celebrate inclusivity and diversity.' On the day, he posed in a suave grey suit ahead of stepping onto the float. 'Proudly riding on the Neighbours float': Alan Fletcher, 61, (pictured) who plays Dr Karl Kennedy on Neighbours, also took to Instagram on Friday to share his support He's ready! On the day, he posed in a suave grey suit ahead of stepping onto the float Also showing off her eagerness to dazzle in the parade was Neighbours star April Rose Pengilly. The 30-year-old wore a tassle-covered pink dress and a large feathered headpiece. Smiling from ear-to-ear, April put on a lively display for passersby in her flirtatious and vibrant outfit. Time to party! Also showing off her eagerness to dazzle in the parade was Neighbours star April Rose Pengilly Pretty in pink! The 30-year-old wore a tassel-covered pink dress and a large feathered headpiece with pink eye makeup 'Celebrating on our very own float': Co-star Rebekah Elmaloglou, 45, (pictured) also got in on the action, showing off an identical shirt to Alan's on Instagram on Friday Co-star Rebekah Elmaloglou, who plays Terese Willis on the long-running soap, also got in on the action, showing off an identical shirt to Alan's. Standing in her home kitchen, the 45-year-old told her Instagram fans on Friday: 'Soo excited and proud to be part of #mardigras2019 tomorrow celebrating on our very own float alongside our amazing crew and wonderful @fremantle staff! Come and see us!' The Neighbours float will be one of nearly 200 to make its way down Sydney's Oxford Street on Saturday night from 7pm. The 41st anniversary celebration is expected to see 12,500 take part in the parade. Jerry Lee Lewis suffered a 'minor' stroke on Thursday night, TMZ reported. The 83-year-old rock 'n' roll icon is 'currently getting treated in a Memphis hospital,' Lewis' reps told the gossip site. The Great Balls Of Fire hitmaker is 'expected to make a full recovery'. He's all right folks: Jerry Lee Lewis suffered a 'minor' stroke on Thursday night, TMZ reported. He's seen here in November last year The singer-songwriter's reps also told TMZ that Jerry, 'looks forward to getting back into the studio soon to record a gospel record and on the road performing live for his fans.' Lewis is still an active performer, with his next show booked at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April. He performed at Chicago's Riot Fest just last year. On the mend: The 83-year-old rock 'n' roll icon is 'currently getting treated in a Memphis hospital,' Lewis' reps told the gossip site The man known as The Killer has been married seven times, resulting in six children. Lewis' colorful life includes marrying his 13-year-old first cousin (once removed), moving to Ireland for a time amid issues with the United States Internal Revenue Service and winning several Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. On November 22, 1976, Lewis was arrested outside Elvis Presley's Graceland home for allegedly intending to shoot the Blue Suede Shoes hitmaker. Simon Pegg has undergone a dramatic physical transformation for an upcoming movie role. The Run Fatboy Run star, 49, has been hitting the gym hard and has unveiled his lean figure, after shedding a large amount of body fat. Simon worked with personal trainer Nick Lower for six months to transform his body for the thriller Inheritance, which required him to be quite slender. New look: Simon Pegg, 46, has undergone a dramatic physical transformation for an upcoming movie roll The actor has gone from 78kg to 69kg with his trainer detailing the plan he put him on on Instagram. He wrote: 'The brief for this role was lean, VERY lean. It required a specific body shape and look.' The trainer added that Simon did a combination of strength training with circuits and core work, along with 60k/m trail runs per week. He said: '6 months of hard work has paid off and I tip my hat to you sir.' Getting into shape: Formerly famed for playing out-of-shape Dennis in The Run Fatboy Run, the actor has been similarly been hitting the gym hard to shed large amount of body fat The post was also shared on Simon's twitter account where he jokingly added that 'also occasional mild grumpiness' was another aspect of his training. But fans were divided about the actor's dramatic transformation, with many of them expressing their concern that he had slimmed down too much and needed to eat. One user wrote on Twitter: 'Realize it's work, but please, eat a sandwich soon! (sic)' While another one added, 'Hope you get back to your normal self soon! It hurst to see you sooo thin! (sic)' And one fan also said: 'No offence Simon but it's time to eat again, you're not looking healthy.' Worried: But fans were divided about the actor's dramatic transformation, with many of them expressing their concern that he had slimmed down too much and needed to eat But other fans praised the actor for his toned physique, as they congratulated him or expressed their amazement at what he'd achieved. One wrote: 'Holy f***, talk about Hot Fuzz.' While another said: 'Nice work. Glad you took your time working down. Be safe to putting it back on too. Good luck.' One fan gushed that they needed Nick Lower 'in [their] life', while another added: 'Dude...DUDE...DUDDDDDDE. Someone get this man a babel. Far out. I can do my laundry on your stomach.' Pleased for him: But other fans praised the actor for his toned physique, as they congratulated him or expressed their amazement at what he'd achieved Simon will play a character named Morgan in the film and will be starring alongside Lily Collins, Connie Nielson and Chace Crawford. Simon's new appearance is different to how his fans will be used to seeing him in other films such as Paul and Run Fatboy Run. In 2007 film Run Fatboy Run, Pegg famously played out-of-shape Dennis, who can barely find the motivation to work out. But he desperately tries to whip himself into shape to compete with his ex-fiancee's super-fit new partner, played by Hank Azaria. Simon, who has been married to wife Maureen McCann since 2005, has appeared in the Mission Impossible series since 2006. Transformation: Simon (left, now and right, in the 2007 comedy Run Fatboy Run) worked with personal trainer Nick Lower in London for six months to transform his body for the thriller Inheritance, which required him to be quite slender Simon and Tom Cruise have formed a close friendship from the franchise, and the comic actor previously gushed over how surprisingly normal the Hollywood A-Lister is. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph in 2015, he said: 'It makes me laugh sometimes just how much of a bloke he is. 'I think he does get an unfair rap for a lot of things. People just don't know everything about him, but they think they do.' When asked if they ever talk on a personal level, he added: 'Sometimes, we'll have heart-to-hearts at the end of the day.' Free Assyrian Language Course in Turlock, California Caty Nariman helps students learn different letters of the Assyrian alphabet. ( Angelina Martin/Turlock Journal) The Central Valley has one of the largest Assyrian populations in the country, and Turlock is at the heart of that community. For over 20 years, a course offered by Turlock Adult School has helped to connect people with the Assyrian culture through the gift of language, free of charge. Assyrian for Education, a local non-profit funded through donations from the Assyrian community, recently provided the funds for TAS' current session of its Conversational Assyrian course, taught by Caty Nariman. The 12-week class would typically cost $70 to $100 per person to attend, according to TAS Principal Linda Alaniz, but donations throughout the last nearly three decades have allowed family members, friends and even acquaintances of Assyrians to learn their language. "Students are mostly ones who have married Assyrians, or are dating an Assyrian, and for some of them, it has to do with their jobs. Because this community is one of the big Assyrian communities, people who work for hospitals or banks or places like that want to know some basics of the language so they can be helpful to their clients," Nariman said. Nariman came to the United States from Iran in 1991, and a year later was teaching Conversational Assyrian at TAS, despite knowing hardly any English herself. She began to teach herself the language while at the same time overseeing students learning Assyrian, using sticky notes around her house to learn words and using her conversations with her pupils as a learning tool. Years later, she now speaks English fluently, and is still overjoyed every week when she sees others who are learning a language that is foreign to them. "They're in love with reading and writing the language, and I am so amazed and just thrilled to see how these non-Assyrians have picked it up, because unfortunately, we don't have a lot of Assyrians who can read and write their own language," Nariman said. Nariman has no lesson book to go off of, she said, instead planning all of the Conversational Assyrian classes herself. From learning the alphabet to constructing sentences and writing paragraphs, she prepares coursework that is appropriate for each individual students' level. Turlock resident Harold George has been taking the course for three years, he said, inspired to learn the language thanks to his wife, who is Assyrian. Alyssa Sandoval said she took the class because she has friends who are Assyrian, while her classmate Cecilia Torres wanted to take advantage of learning about a new, yet familiar culture. "Growing up in Turlock you meet a lot of Assyrian people, and it's an interesting culture so why not learn," she said. The current Conversational Assyrian course runs until April 10, and those interested can sign up for the next course, slated to begin in the fall, by visiting (AINA www.-tu-rl). Tracey Jewel has hit out at current Married At First Sight star, Jessika Power. In an exclusive chat with Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, the fiery reality star questioned why the blonde was having difficulty picking one spouse. 'How many more [husbands] do you need?' she directed at the 26-year-old. EXCLUSIVE: 'How many husbands do you need?' Tracey Jewel (left), 36, hit out at MAFS star Jessika Power (right), 26 Seated on her couch at her home in Perth, Tracey, 36, told Daily Mail Australia her thoughts on Jessika's inability to focus on her 'husband' Mick Gould. 'Jess can't make her mind up which husband she wants,' Tracey said. 'It's like, pick one, girl! You've already got one. How many more do you need?' Vocal: 'Jess can't make her mind up which husband she wants,' Tracey said from her home in Perth. 'It's like, pick one, girl! You've already got one. How many more do you need?' Tracey also weighed in on Jessika being brutally shut down by Nic Jovanovic, 28, on Wednesday night's episode. Tracey said that she believes Nic gave Jessika the wrong signals, and is trying to come across as the nice guy. 'It's very rare for a girl to sit someone down on camera that hasn't shown some kind of interest, to then get shut down like that,' Tracey told Daily Mail Australia. 'I think Nic did send Jess the wrong signals. I think he's really trying to play the good guy.' Wednesday night's episode saw Jessika propositioning Nic: 'I have sort of, developed some sort of feelings towards you,' she told the visibly uncomfortable electrician. Nic spluttered: 'I don't know what to say. There's nothing I would do to jeopardise my marriage. I've never been like, hit on that.' Ouch: Jessika was brutally shut down by Nic Jovanovic (pictured), 28, on Wednesday night's episode, and soon set her sights on another co-star On the prowl: Jessika told intruder groom Daniel Webb (pictured), 35, at the dinner party: 'As soon as I saw you come in, I thought, 'He's not a snack, he's a meal'' And after failing to seduce Nic, Jessika set her sights on intruder groom Daniel Webb, 35. Jessika told the former rugby player: 'As soon as I saw you come in, I thought, 'He's not a snack, he's a meal'.' She even went one step further by proceeding to partially undo the top of her plunging black dress, drawing Dan's attention to her cleavage. Realising Jessika's intentions, Dan's 'wife' Tamara Joy quickly interjected, marking her territory by sitting on his lap. In a piece-to-camera, Tamara, 29, raged: 'Jess is a very good-looking girl but if she's going to stir the pot with me, it's not going to end well.' Not having it: Realising Jessika's intentions, Dan's 'wife' Tamara Joy (pictured), quickly interjected, marking her territory by sitting on his lap Tamara later slammed Jessika again, telling 9Honey Celebrity on Thursday that she was surprised at how quickly she made her move on Dan. 'I still don't even know if I like him, and then I have this little whoever she is trying to follow him around like a bad smell,' she told the online publication. 'And that just left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was thinking, "Give me a minute to work out if I even like this guy, before you're gonna make your move",' Tamara added. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on the Nine Network She's gone from being a child star to an acclaimed actress to a fashion icon. On Friday, Christina Ricci, 39, showed off a low-cut leopard-print dress as she left a lunch meeting with a friend. The Addams Family star visited popular eatery Joan's on Third for her midday meeting. Dramatic look: On Friday, Christina Ricci, 39, showed off a low-cut leopard-print dress as she left a lunch meeting with a friend The 5ft1in Sleepy Hollow rocked her long dress, which stopped just above her ankles. She had on a pair of black leather loafers, which matched with her large black handbag. The Speed Racer actress had her blonde hair short and swept to the side, while she wore a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses to block out the sun. Modest outfit: The 5ft1in Sleepy Hollow rocked her long dress, which stopped just above her ankles Simple shoes: She had on a pair of black leather loafers, which matched with her large black handbag Stopping to chat: The Speed Racer actress had her blonde hair short and swept to the side, while she wore a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses to block out the sun Christina stopped to chat with her friend outside the restaurant, before stepping across the street. Though she's best known for her work in film and television, recently she has been expanding into fashion modeling. In January, the Z: The Beginning Of Everything star attended the Dior Fall/Winter show for Paris Fashion Week in a classy yet minimalist white suit. In February, she found herself on the runway for Batsheva's New York Fashion Week show. In a hurry: Christina stopped to chat with her friend outside the restaurant, before stepping across the street New look: Though she's best known for her work in film and television, recently she has been expanding into fashion modeling. In January, the Z: The Beginning Of Everything star attended the Dior Fall/Winter show for Paris Fashion Week in a classy yet minimalist white suit High fashion: In February, she found herself on the runway for Batsheva's New York Fashion Week show Christina had her platinum blonde hair short and done up in messy curls as she displayed her blue and red dress with an autumnal leaf pattern. Missing from her lunch date was her husband, film crew member James Heerdegen. The two met in 2012 on the set of Christina's short-lived series Pan Am. They announced their engagement in February 2013 and married in October of that year. The couple share a four-year-old son, Freddie. Christina was most recently seen in the Lifetime movie Escaping The Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, in which she played the eponymous journalist who had herself committed to an insane asylum to expose it's cruel and unethical practices. She's the star of Amazon Prime's new show The Widow. But there was nothing melancholy about Kate Beckinsale when she attended the adventure/drama's series premiere in New York on Friday. The Underworld actress, 45, was ready to party wearing a frilly, black dress the evoked 80s prom queen chic. It seemed like the star had good reason to smile. Just the night before Kate was seen out with rumored beau Pete Davidson, according to The Cut. Eye catching: Kate Beckinsale donned a black dress with plenty of personality while attending the premiere of her new series The Widow in New York on Friday Budding romance? Just the night before Kate was seen out with rumored beau Pete Davidson (above in recent promo for SNL) according to The Cut Kate's dress featured layers of bead-embellished tulle ruffles with cap-sleeves and a girly bow at the center. The British beauty's frock was sheer on top, showing off a dramatic dose of cleavage. Letting her wild dress take all the attention, she added pointed patent leather stilettos and small black earrings. Beckinsale teamed the look with a side-ponytail with one loose wisp of hair framing her face while smokey eyes and a pink lip tied everything together. Party girl: The Underworld actress, 45, was ready to party wearing a frilly, black dress the evoked 80s prom queen chic Glamour: Beckinsale teamed the look with a side-ponytail with one loose wisp of hair framing her face while smokey eyes and a pink lip tied everything together Kate's outing came after a reporter from The Cut spotted Beckinsale out to dinner in New York with rumored boyfriend Pete Davidson Thursday evening. The actress was witnessed leaving the Waverly Inn restaurant in the West Village with her arm wrapped around the SNL comic's shoulder. Kate and Pete first sparked relationship rumors in January after they were seen being 'very flirty' at a Golden Globes afterparty, according to a guest who spoke to Page Six. Sparkles: Kate's dress featured layers of bead-embellished tulle ruffles with cap-sleeves and a girly bow at the center Date night? Kate's outing came after a reporter from The Cut spotted Beckinsale out to dinner in New York with rumored boyfriend Pete Davidson Thursday evening Then in February the duo were spotted holding hands while leaving an LA club together. Though neither part of the pair have publicly addressed the possibility of a relationship, Kate did hit back at one online troll who told her he was 'disappointed in her dating choices.' '@bobojackdaddy fairly let down by your wonky beard but thought possibly rude to say,' she hit back with sass. Quick wit: And it wasn't long until Kate's sassy clap back reached nearly 1000 likes within 24 hours She found worldwide fame at the age of 13 with her role as Eleven in Netflix's Stranger Things. And Millie Bobby Brown took a break from her busy schedule to spend some time admiring the wildlife as she posed with a koala in adorable snaps from Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday. The actress, 15, couldn't keep the smile off her face as she cuddled with the fluffy animal, and gushed in her post that the mammal was 'the love of [her] life.' Beaming: Millie Bobby Brown, 15, couldn't stop smiling as she cradled a koala in her arms in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday, and gushed that the animal is 'the love of her life' Millie put on a stylish display in a layered white summer dress, which had lace detailing and puffy sleeves for a chic flare. The Godzilla: King Of The Monsters star brushed her brunette bob into a sleek, straight style, and accessorised with a gold chain necklace and dramatic earrings. As she cradled the koala gently in her arms, Millie couldn't help but squint as the animal squirmed and looked around. Stunning: Millie put on a stylish display in a layered white summer dress, which had lace detailing and puffy sleeves for a chic flare Millie will reprise her role as Eleven for the third season, which Netflix confirmed on New Year's Day would return to the video-on-demand platform on July 4, 2019. While little is known about season three , apart the fact it features the Starcourt Mall, the show will introduce three new actors to the talented ensemble: Maya Hawke, Cary Elwes, and Jake Busey. Millie's co-star Natalia Dyer told MTV News on Sunday that season three will be 'bigger, darker, and scarier'. She explained: 'It does feel bigger, just filming it. Obviously, I haven't seen any of it, but it does feel bigger, darker, scarier. 'It felt like they noticeably bumped it up to a different level this season. So I'm excited to see it, too. 'I don't know how [creators Ross & Matt Duffer] do it, but yeah, I'm excited!' She moaned her bikini body wasn't going well after snaking on chocolate cake and slurping a milkshake. But Amber Turner, 25, looked incredible as she slipped into a bikini with Courtney Green, 21, at FIVE Palm Jumeirah Hotel Luxury Hotel & Resort on Palm Jumeirah, in Dubai. In a snap shared on Instagram on Friday, Amber wowed in a salmon pink bikini while Courtney caught the eye in a stripy two-piece as they posed on an inflatable. Looking fabulous: Amber Turner slipped her curves into a pink two-piece for a pool snap with Courtney Green in Dubai... after complaining she wasn't 'bikini ready' A wrap around detailing of the bikini which was tied at the hip further highlighted Amber's sensational hourglass curves. Despite being culled from The Only Way Is Essex, the blonde bombshell showed no signs of sadness as she beamed brightly for the camera. The former TOWIE co-stars were stylishly in sync as they peered out of the same mirrored shades when they posed for the Instagram snap. Amber captioned her post: 'Just me & CMG living our best lives.' (sic) She's fantastic: Courtney posed in a black bikini bra and she accessorised with golden necklaces for her selfie Earlier, the television personality claimed her 'bikini body' wasn't going well as she shared a snapshot of her slice of chocolate cake and milkshakes. She wrote: 'FFS bikini body isn't going well. :( :( :(' Courtney was every inch the jet-setter as she has just returned from her Sri Lankan adventure with her TOWIE star Chloe Meadows. However, soon it will be back to reality for Courtney as she will have to shoot scenes for the television show The Only Way Is Essex. Meanwhile, Amber will bid farewell to TOWIE after she was named in the so-called cast cull in recent weeks. One for the gram: The brunette beauty looked amazing in her zig zag print bikini which caught the eye with its bright colours No doubt the former TOWIE co-stars enjoyed their break away as a sweet send off for the blonde bombshell. Myles Barnett, Jon Clark, Chris Clark, Chloe Lewis, Dean Ralph, Jordan Wright and Adam Oukhellou will not return to TOWIE for the new series. Insiders revealed exclusively to MailOnline that show bosses had been sympathetic to Amber's plight when she fell victim to the TOWIE cull. TOWIE representatives confirmed she was told her contract for the coming series had been terminated so would not be returning. Amber was a divisive addition to the show when she made her entrance as Megan McKenna's best friend during the cast trip to Tenerife in 2017's series 20. She was in a relationship with live-in beau Jamie Reed for four years before her arrival in TOWIE in which she was accused of cheating on the hunk with co-star Dan. After breaking up with Jamie, she began an on-off and often-casual fling with Dan before making things official last year but things ended bitterly at Christmas. Moaning: Earlier, the television personality claimed her 'bikini body' wasn't going well as she shared a snapshot of her slice of chocolate cake and milkshakes Now, insiders have revealed she will not be brought back despite the fact bosses and producers have been extremely sympathetic to the star. A source told MailOnline: 'Producers have been sympathetic to her heartache with Dan but any return will be on their terms. She's had a really difficult time and they've been really kind.' A spokesperson for TOWIE confirmed: 'Executive producers have informed Amber that she won't be starting the series. However, Amber is in dialogue with producers to see if there is an opportunity for her to return.' Representatives for the star told MailOnline: 'Amber has had a very traumatic time over the last few months and she is grateful to be able to have some time away from filming. Amber is in dialogue with the producers and will hopefully be back soon.' It was the scandal that helped to bring down Harold Macmillans Conservative government in 1963. And Sophie Cookson was seen for the first time in the role of party girl Christine Keeler on Tuesday, for BBC's new drama The Trial Of Christine Keeler. The Kingsman: Secret Service star, 28, got to work on set in Bristol, where she filmed intense scenes that saw her get pulled away from a media scrum outside Bristol Crown Court. Getting to work: Kingsman star Sophie Cookson was seen for the first time on set of The Trial Of Christine Keeler as the 'party girl' at the heart of the Profumo Affair in Bristol on Tuesday Sophie looked demure as she slipped into a dark green pencil-skirt dress, which she complemented with a matching blazer and black heels. While the actresses brunette curls were styled into a voluminous straight style that emulated her real-life counterpart with uncanny precision. Before filming the dramatic sequences in front of the court, Sophie wore her hair in curlers with a satin scarf wrapped around her head. The actress also wore a padded rain coat and kept a fluffy water bottle close by so she could use it in between takes and keep off the winter chill. What a resemblance: Sophie's brunette curls were styled into a voluminous straight style that emulated her real-life counterpart (right) with uncanny precision Preparation: Before filming the dramatic sequences in front of the court, Sophie wore her hair in curlers with a satin scarf wrapped around her head Her mark in history: 19-year-old Keelers had a central part in the the scandal that helped to bring down Harold Macmillans Conservative government in 1963 Drama: The Kingsman: Secret Service star filmed intense scenes that saw her get pulled away from a media scrum outside Bristol Crown Court Chic: Sophie looked demure as she slipped into a dark green pencil-skirt dress, which she complemented with a matching blazer and black heels The six-part series will explore 19-year-old Keelers role in the scandal, which later became known as the Profumo Affair. In 1961, Keeler had a brief fling with John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, who was married to film actress Valerie Hobson. Profumo denied the affair in Parliament, but to further complicate matters, Keeler had also been seeing Soviet Navy Attache Yevgeny Ivanov. Cosy: The actress also wore a padded rain coat around her ensemble during a break Getting ready: The actress wrapped the coat around her torso to try and warm up Intense: The six-part series will explore Keelers role in the scandal, which later became known as the Profumo Affair Scandalous: In 1961, Keeler had a brief fling with John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, who was married to film actress Valerie Hobson The ensuing scandal hurled the young model and her friend, Mandy Rice-Davies, into the public spotlight, and ruined many of those caught up in it. Stephen Ward, the society osteopath who introduced Keeler to his friends in high places, committed suicide during his 1963 trial for living off immoral earnings. The model, who died last December, once told the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye that the events she was involved in back in the early Sixties stole [her] life. Her son, Seymour Platt, echoed this point, as he noted to Bamigboye that his mother earned her place in British history, but at a huge personal price. Shock: Profumo denied the affair in Parliament, but to further complicate matters, Keeler had also been seeing Soviet Navy Attache Yevgeny Ivanov Outrage: The ensuing scandal hurled the young model and her friend, Mandy Rice-Davies, into the public spotlight, and ruined many of those caught up in it In the process: When she arrived on set, Sophie wore warm jogging bottoms and UGG boots Practice round: While preparing the scene, Sophie kept a fluffy water bottle in her hands so she could keep off the winter chill Other actors set to appear in the BBC drama include Ellie Bamber as Rice-Davies, Emilia Fox as Valerie Profumo, and James Norton as Ward. Amanda Coe wrote the script, and in a statement last year she said the Profumo case is the Salem witch trial meets O.J Simpson, calling it a perfect storm of gender, class, race and power that resonated still. While production is well-and-truly underway, the BBC have yet to set a release date for the drama. Emotional: The model, who died last December, once told the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye that the events she was involved in back in the early Sixties stole [her] life Huge change: Her son, Seymour Platt, echoed this point, as he noted to Bamigboye that his mother earned her place in British history, but at a huge personal price. Co-star: Sam Troughton was seen on set getting his hair and make-up prepped before he had to film alongside Sophie Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown has slipped into Australia to attend a global Converse campaign event in Queensland. The English actress, 15, was seen hosting an event at the Westfield Chermside shopping centre in Brisbane on Saturday. As the rising star's sartorial efforts on the red carpet never disappoint, Millie looked effortlessly chic in a casual white dress on the day. Scroll down for video Casual chic! Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown, 15, looks lovely in a white dress as she attends a global Converse launch in Australia on Saturday The 15-year-old posed in front of the event's official media wall in the summery frock, which she paired with matching Converse high-tops. 'Spent time with some amazing girls @converse today. Girl - Powerful. Radiant. Gracious. Leader. How do you define being a girl?' the caption read. But it wasn't all work and no play for the Hollywood A-lister, who is here filming the action flick Godzilla vs Kong film in Queensland. Beaming: Millie couldn't stop smiling as she cradled a koala in her arms in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday, and gushed that the animal is 'the love of her life' Millie took a break from her busy schedule to spend some time admiring the wildlife as she posed with a koala in adorable snaps on Saturday. The actress couldn't keep the smile off her face as she cuddled with the fluffy animal, and gushed in her post that the mammal was 'the love of [her] life.' Millie put on a stylish display in a layered white summer dress, which had lace detailing and puffy sleeves for a chic flare. Stunning: Millie put on a stylish display in a layered white summer dress, which had lace detailing and puffy sleeves for a chic flare The Godzilla: King Of The Monsters star brushed her brunette bob into a sleek, straight style, and accessorised with a gold chain necklace and dramatic earrings. As she cradled the koala gently in her arms, Millie couldn't help but squint as the animal squirmed and looked around. Millie will reprise her role as Eleven for the third season, which Netflix confirmed on New Year's Day would return to the video-on-demand platform on July 4, 2019. While little is known about season three , apart the fact it features the Starcourt Mall, the show will introduce three new actors to the talented ensemble: Maya Hawke, Cary Elwes, and Jake Busey. Instagram sensation Kurt Coleman is known for boasting about his own beauty to his devoted followers online. But despite undergoing numerous cosmetic enhancements in the past, the 21-year-old model urged Australian youth from considering Botox. Taking to Instagram, Kurt shared a powerful message to youngsters about embracing their natural beauty. Scroll down for video 'Look in the mirror... everyone is so pretty!' Instagram sensation Kurt Coleman encouraged youngsters to embrace their natural beauty and stop considering Botox in a video on Saturday 'Dear people who think theyre ugly when theyre young... or think they need Botox even,' the caption read. In the video, Kurt said: 'If you're young and you say you're ugly, it's so stupid because look at our skin. We have the youngest skin and that's not gonna last forever. 'So you may as well think "wow I have the best skin, I'm so young, I'm so pretty", like I have been doing everyday!' 'Dear people who think theyre ugly when theyre young': Kurt explained that people should embrace their healthy and youthful skin while they still have it 'But like come on! Appreciate it! Look in the mirror for a sec and be like, just young youthful, gorgeous, killing it. But yeah I just had to say that because why would you complain. Everyone is so pretty,' he said. It comes after the model posted a throwback video of himself in his teens that looked unrecognisable. In the comical clip, a young Kurt edited it to look like he was having a conversation with two versions of himself. 'Like come on! Appreciate it! Look in the mirror for a sec and be like, just young youthful, gorgeous, killing it. But yeah I just had to say that because why would you complain. Everyone is so pretty,' he said Cutting between two recordings, one where Kurt's hair flows freely, and another where he is wearing a hat, Kurt looked like a different person to the man he is now. Last year the Instagram model shared a moment of reflection while looking back at his frequent rounds of lip filler and Botox. 'It's crazy looking back at photos and realising how much the way you see everything in life can change as you grow up,' he penned. 'It's crazy looking back at photos': Last year the Instagram model shared a moment of reflection while looking back at his frequent rounds of lip filler and Botox Who's this Surfers Paradise kid? There was no sign of the plumped out, bronzed tan or flamboyant style Kurt, 21, has amassed a huge following on Instagram by flaunting 'Like, I think why did I ever want to change my lips or anything about myself when I already loved myself inside and out forevaaaaa (sic).' And it appears this thought has stuck with him, looking somewhat more natural during recent posts, after also revealing he enhanced his looks simply for 'fun'. Back in 2016, Kurt admitted he often overdid his spray tans too. 'I used to be addicted to spray tans and hated when I didn't have one on, got them every week for the last four years,' he confessed at the time. Call The Midwife star Jessica Raine has been seen for the first time since giving birth. The actress, 37, and her husband Tom Goodman-Hill, 50 - who wed in September 2015 - have been settling into their roles as new parents since quietly welcoming the child into the world. The Baptiste star showed she had settled into mothering duties with ease as she took the lead with the pram while out on Saturday morning. Pictured: Call The Midwife star Jessica Raine has been seen for the first time since giving birth, enjoying a low-key outing with her husband Tom Goodman-Hill The precise date when Jessica gave birth and the gender of the child is not known. MailOnline has reached out to Jessica Raine's representatives for further comment. Jessica and Tom's love story goes back to when they first started dating in 2010. The pair co-starred in a play and went on to marry five years later. Mummy time! Baptiste actress Jessica, 37, showed she had settled into mothering duties with ease as she took the lead with the pram while out on Saturday morning Big roles: The married couple, who wed in September 2015, have been settling into their roles as new parents since welcoming the child into the world In January, the actress broke the news she was expecting a child when she took to the stage for the premiere of new BBC1 series Baptiste. Baptiste, which has already intrigued viewers, picks up the story of the detective Julien whom fans know from The Missing. The Missing charted the tale of parents' heartache as they desperately searched for their son with the help of police after the little boy was snatched on holiday. In the new show, Julien is on holiday with his wife in Amsterdam when his expertise is needed in an investigation about a former flame. Family fun: Jessica and Tom's love story goes back to when they first started dating in 2010 after they co-starred in a play together and they went to marry five years later News: The precise date when Jessica gave birth and the gender of the child is not known The Wolf Hall star got candid when she shared it worked 'well' slipping into the heels of her 'hard' character Genevieve because she was 'emotional' while pregnant. According The Mirror, she said: 'I was a bit tired but the worrying thing for production was there was a car race and stunt and I neglected to tell them I was pregnant when I took the job. 'I broke the news and everyone was amazing. We had to work out how to do a car chase without me being in any danger. 'Also my character is quite hard and being pregnant is quite emotional so it worked well. I was interested most in food on this job! My shirts get bigger as the series goes on.' Former role: Jessica is best known for playing Jenny Lee in the first three series of Call The Midwife (pictured in character), and currently stars in Baptiste She received a ton of recognition with nominations for her appearance in First Man during awards season. And Claire Foy has taken some time out for herself as she was spotted departing a wellness centre in Notting Hill on Friday. The Crown actress, 34, kept it casual in a baby blue beanie hat and layers of clothing. Down-time: Claire Foy, 34, kept it casual as she departed a wellness centre in Notting Hill on Friday Wrapping up, the star wore a kooky ensemble of blue leopard print leggings, a grey sweater and a monochrome dog tooth coat that reached her mid calf. She kept away the chill with a blue and purple scarf and carried her belongings in a quilted Chanel handbag and a yellow canvas book bag. The gym bunny strolled along the pavement in a pair of Converse trainers and listened to music as she sported white headphones. In a recent interview, the Promise star, who grew up in Manchester and Leeds, described London as her 'home'. Wrapped up: The star wore a kooky ensemble of blue leopard print leggings, a grey sweater and a monochrome dog tooth coat that reached her mid calf She told Time Out: 'At the moment I do [think London is my home]. I love it but I dont know whether it will be for ever. 'I would quite like to live in the countryside. If I could just live in the middle of Hampstead Heath thats the dream. London is so beautiful. Id miss it. Im definitely not ready to move', she explained. Meanwhile, Claire was recently nominated for the prestigious BAFTA's Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for her performance in drama film First Man, but lost out to Rachel Weisz. Baggage: The actress carried a Chanel handbag and a yellow canvas book bag First Man joined the seven nominations club with seven nods for Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound, and Special Visual Effects, as well as Supporting Actress for Claire. The British talent, who plays Neil Armstrong's wife in the moon landings biopic, competed with The Favourite's Emma Stone and Rachel, Margot Robbie for Mary Queen of Scots and Amy Adams for Vice - with screen star Rachel taking home the gong. Mother-of-one Claire previously received a BAFTA TV nomination for Best Actress in Wolf Hall in 2016, as well as the same award for her role as the Queen in The Crown in 2016 and 2017. Time-out: The gym bunny strolled along the pavement in a pair of Converse trainers and listened to music as she sported white headphones First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, is based on a true story as it follows the life of late astronaut Neil on his quest to become the first man to walk on the moon. Claire, who plays Ryan Gosling's wife in the motion picture, went to great lengths in the hopes of channelling her character Janet in the most authentic way possible. During a recent interview on BBC Radio with Tom Ravenscroft, the brunette revealed she had limited time to familarise herself with the role of Janet, alongside her on-screen husband Ryan. 'We had two weeks of improvised film rehearsal, many of scenes are in the film. We had time to get to know each other', she said. 'There were happy moments and Ryan was carrying the whole ship!' Symposium Marks 100th Anniversary of Turkish Genocide of Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians The Greek Teachers Association "Prometheus", the Federation of Hellenic-American Educators & Cultural Associations of America and the Pan Pontian Federation of the United States and Canada held their First Symposium on Sunday, February 17th, in the Library of St. Demetrios School of the St. Demetrios Cathedral of Astoria. The Symposium celebrated the Three Hierarchs Greek Letters Day, the World Day of Greek Language and commemoration of the 100 Year Anniversary of the Pontian and Asia Minor Genocide. The Keynote speaker, Dr. Panos Stavrianidis spoke on "The Hellenic Genocide of Asia Minor." Professor Stavrianidis described the contribution of the Fathers of Greek Letters, the Three Hierarchs, who came from the Greek Christian Centers of Asia Minor. "The elimination of all Greek communities in Asia Minor and the Pontus (Black Sea coast) from 1915-1923 was the greatest catastrophe after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453," he explained. "The genocide was instigated by the national movement of Kemal Ataturk, backed by the Germans, who eliminated the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek population through massacres, forced deportations involving death marches, execution and destruction of the Eastern Orthodox cultural, historical and religious monuments." Demetris Molohides, President of the Pan-Pontian Federation of America & Canada, added "the Greek genocide began in 1913 with Thrace persecution. No one objected. Turkish aggression has continued during the past 100 years. Genocides must be written in History books. Consul General of Cyprus Alexis Phedonos-Vadet remarked: "that better days are coming to Cyprus." Dr. John Nathenas displayed and discussed a copy of the "Panagia Sumela" miraculous icon from the Sumela Monastery in the Pontus. Danielle Cormack is proud of her 'blended family' and she won't listen to any criticism, the actress has said in a new interview. The 48-year-old New Zealander has spoken to Stellar magazine frankly about her sons having different fathers and how she rejects 'baggage' people attach to that. 'I have two children to two different fathers. And it is a matter of curiosity and bewilderment to some people,' she told the publication. Outspoken: Actress Danielle Cormack (pictured) described her 'blended family' and how she refuses to accept other people's 'judgment' in an interview with Stellar released on Saturday The Xena: Warrior Princess star added: 'We are a modern, blended family. I've finally arrived at a place where I absolutely refuse to carry anyone else's baggage or judgement about that, because there certainly has been.' She had her first son, Ethan Anderson, in 1996, with her ex-husband, Hayden Anderson. Her second son, Te Ahi Ka, was born in 2010, and his father is fellow actor Pana Hema Taylor, to whom she was married between 2009 and 2013. Frank: 'I have two children to two different fathers. And it is a matter of curiosity and bewilderment to some people,' she told Stellar. Danielle is pictured with son Te Ahi Ka in 2016 Dad: Danielle had her first son, Ethan Anderson, in 1996, with her ex-husband, Hayden Anderson. Her second son, Te Ahi Ka, was born in 2010, and his father is fellow actor Pana Hema Taylor (pictured) to whom she was married between 2009 and 2013 Love: Danielle is currently in a relationship with Adam Anthony (right) a Canadian director and producer. Pictured in 2016 Danielle is currently in a relationship with Adam Anthony, a Canadian director and producer. She says of her partner: 'I am in a wonderful relationship with a man who I've been with since Ahi was really young.' In the photo shoot accompanying the interview, the Jack Irish actress models a series of stunning looks. Wow! In the photo shoot accompanying the interview, the Jack Irish actress models a series of stunning looks, including a sheer, beige skirt with pushed down knee-high stockings Pretty: In one arresting another photo from the series, the actress goes barefoot with an anklet on each leg as she poses in a fitted black suit with a white vest shirt beneath In one photo, she sits atop a desk, showing off her slender legs in a short, shirt dress with a large flower detail and a black jacket. In another snap, she wears a sheer, beige skirt with pushed down knee-high stockings, black heels and a studded while shirt that is belted at the waist. In yet another photo from the series, the actress goes barefoot with an anklet on each leg as she poses in a fitted black suit with a white vest shirt beneath. She's never been afraid to flaunt her figure. And Blac Chyna showed off the fruits of her labor with a seductive pose on a personal watercraft in Cuba on Friday afternoon. The 30-year-old social media maven rocked a revealing white bathing suit with laces stitched across her chest and thighs as she soaked up the sun before speeding off on a water adventure. Fashion: Blac Chyna showed off the fruits of her labor with a seductive pose on a personal watercraft in Cuba on Friday afternoon Chyna flaunted her long, lavender-hued hair as she perched atop the blue-and-white Sea Doo with ease. Her vibrant tattoos were on display in the paneled swimsuit which featured cut out laces along her sides and chest. The model, who's real name is Angela Renee White, later took to Instagram for a selfie sesh showing off a platinum blonde hairstyle. Business: The model, who's real name is Angela Renee White, later took to Instagram for a selfie sesh showing off a platinum blonde hairstyle The mother-of-two looked ready for business wearing a black blazer paired with a diamond choker as she boasted about Kendra's Boutique. She may be enjoying some time off ahead of the news that ex-boyfriend Pilot Jones accused the Fashion Nova stunner and her ex Rob Kardashian of cyberbullying. Jones, a Louisiana-born entertainer, informed a court on Feb. 27 that his former lover has been handed legal papers by a process server, according to The Blast. In the lawsuit, Jones accused the former couple of publicly exposing him as bisexual and releasing his private phone number in retaliation to a leaked picture of him making out with Chyna. Sweet: Chyna shares daughter Dream with ex Rob Kardashian; seen on Instagram Over: Chyna is caught in the throes with the Kardashian clan after accusing Khloe, Kris and Kylie Jenner for interfering with her reality show Rob & Chyna, ultimately causing the program's cancelation; seen in May 2016 Jones, who denied leaking the picture, went on to claim that he began to receive threatening messages after they released information about him online. Her legal woes don't end there as Chyna is caught in the throes with the Kardashian clan after accusing Khloe, Kris and Kylie Jenner for interfering with her reality show Rob & Chyna, ultimately causing the program's cancelation. The former make-up artist - who has two-year-old daughter Dream with Rob and son King Cairo, six, with ex-boyfriend Tyga - believes Ryan Seacrest has evidence that will help her build her case against the family wants the E! presenter to be sanctioned and ordered to be deposed as soon as possible. In addition to Ryan's emails, Chyna is requesting all communications between Khloe, Kylie, Kim Kardashian West and Ryan about Rob & Chyna, as well as documents relating to the renewal of the series, records of meetings between the quartet about cancelling her show and all information about the origins of the Kylie Cosmetics founder's own program, Life of Kylie. Thandie Newton snuggled up to her 14-year-old daughter Nico Parker in a heartwarming photo she posted to Instagram on Saturday. The 46-year-old English actress was posting behind-the-scenes snapshots from a W magazine photo-shoot she was collaborating on with her child. Sweeping her hair back into a low bun, Thandie buttoned herself into a blue jumpsuit and rounded off the look with a pair of white sneakers. Family time: Thandie Newton snuggled up to her 14-year-old daughter Nico Parker in a heartwarming photo she posted to Instagram on Saturday She proudly included a couple of photos of Nico having her hair and makeup done and used her caption to name-check some of the people who worked on the shoot. Hairstylist Rio Sreedharan, makeup artist Neil Young, stylist Jasmine Hassett and photographer Jeff Henrikson all had Thandie's gratitude. Thandie has been married since 1998 to Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again writer and director Ol Parker, who also wrote both Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films. So sweet: The 46-year-old English actress was posting behind-the-scenes snapshots from a W magazine photo-shoot she was collaborating on with her child In addition to little Nico, the showbiz couple also share an 18-year-old daughter called Ripley and a four-year-old son called Booker. Nico has gone into the family business with a role in Disney's live-action remake of its 1941 animated flying elephant musical Dumbo. Directed by Tim Burton, the new version is out this year and boasts a cast that includes Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Alan Arkin. Child star: Nico has gone into the family business with a role in Disney's live-action remake of its 1941 animated flying elephant musical Dumbo Thandie explained to Hollywood Life in a 2010 interview: 'I want my girls to feel empowered. Thats the most important thing.' She mused about parenthood: 'Its amazing how you start again and you re-live your childhood. The universe has given me girls because I needed to live that girlhood again in a fresh way.' Said she: 'Motherhood has taught me how exquisite human beings are and how tender, fragile and powerful we are.' She's one of Britain's top TV presenters and regularly turns heads with her sensational sense of style. And Holly Willoughby dazzled once again in an elegant black and white polkadot ballgown while aboard the MSC Bellissima in Southampton on Saturday. The This Morning presenter, 38, amped up the wow factor in the full-length number which highlighted her assets and slim waist. Wow: Holly Willoughby dazzled once again in an elegant black and white polkadot ballgown while aboard the MSC Bellissima in Southampton on Saturday She paired the number with a diamond necklace and aside from a diamond ring let her statement dress take centre stage. The blonde beauty wore her chic bob in loose waves and sported plenty of rosy makeup for the outing aboard the new liner. Also at the event was Loose Women's Carol McGiffin and her husband Mark Cassidy. Style: The This Morning presenter, 38, amped up the wow factor in the full-length number which highlighted her assets and slim waist Fashionista: She paired the number with a diamond necklace and aside from a diamond ring let her statement dress take centre stage Lovable: The blonde beauty wore her chic bob in loose waves and sported plenty of rosy makeup for the outing aboard the new liner Glow: Holly looked radiant as she showed off her winter tan while using her hosting skills on the stage However, the star-studded naming ceremony for a 750million cruise ship had to be evacuated after heavy winds rocked the quayside marquee. The christening event for the MSC Bellissima was being held in a giant marquee next to the liner at Southampton when the decision was made to move the event on board. Carol, 59, looked elegant as she donned her take on the classic trouser suit. She paired a black blazer with skinny trousers and a velvet vest top while adding height to her frame with black stilettos. Carol looked smitten as she posed with her partner who followed her lead with his version of a black tuxedo. Smiles: She kept the audience enamoured while delivering her speech ahead of MSC Bellissima's maiden voyage High spirits: The TV star gave fans a huge grin and a wave as she continued her speech Ready to go: Holly's confident speech comes as she revealed earlier she never wanted to be a 'career girl' but instead had dreams of having a family Pair: Also at the event was Loose Women's Carol McGiffin and her partner Mark Cassidy in matching suits Head turning: Meanwhile Nile Rodgers dazzled in a black blazer complete with plenty of sequin detailing Meanwhile Nile Rodgers dazzled in a black blazer complete with plenty of sequin detailing. The hitmaker, 66, later joined his band Chic for a photocall who were all clad in elegant black numbers. Earlier in the day Holly cut a glamorous figure as she posed on board the MSC Bellissima cruise ship at her naming ceremony. The TV personality looked radiant as ever in a plunging black blazer with rolled up sleeves that featured a polka dot detail. Back together: The hitmaker, 66, later joined his band Chic for a photocall who were all clad in elegant black numbers Couple: Coronation Street's Andrew Whyment joined his wife Nicola Willis who looked sensational in an off-the-shoulder velvet gown Glamorous: Actress Lisa Maxwell looked stunning in a flattering black and white dress while showing off her trim legs in a pair of silver heels Sporting stars: Footballers Joe Cole and Katie Chapman looked world's away from their usual selfs as they scrubbed up in their finest nightwear Smiles: Presenter Kate Thornton appeared at the event in a shimmering black jumpsuit with her new boyfriend Family affair: Matteo and Andrea Bocelli belted it out on the stage as they gave an unmissable performance She teamed it with a matching pair of slim-fitting trousers with a set of delicate black heels. Styling her blonde locks into loose curls, Holly kept it simple when it came to her accessories and completed her look with a simple necklace. Holly is mum to Harry, nine, Belle, seven and Chester, four, with her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin. The TV star previously told Hello! Magazine that she never had aspirations for her successful career in front of the camera as a child, but always wanted to have a family. Style: Earlier Holly cut a glamorous figure as she posed on board the MSC Bellissima at her naming ceremony Fashion: The This Morning host looked radiant as ever in a black blazer with rolled up sleeves that featured a polka dot detail Glamour: Styling her blonde locks into loose curls, Holly kept it simple when it came to her accessories and completed her look with a simple necklace Stunning: The mother-of-three donned slim-fitting trousers with a pair of black heels She said: 'All I ever wanted to do was to be a mum. It wasnt like when I was at school I thought, "Oh, Im going to be this big career girl." 'Being a mummy is definitely my most favourite job of all, without a shadow of a doubt.' The mum-of-three rarely drip feeds moments from her private social life on her Instagram account which has garnered the attention of five million followers. Instead, the presenter uses the social media platform to document her widely-discussed wardrobe from This Morning and her top presenting moments. Career: The TV star previously told Hello! Magazine that she never had aspirations for her successful career in front of the camera as a child, but always wanted to have a family They first sparked relationship rumors last summer and have been nearly inseparable since. And Paris Jackson and boyfriend/bandmate Gabriel Glenn looked like they were about to enjoy a romantic getaway as they headed out from her LA apartment together Friday morning. The daughter of pop star Michael, 20, looked ready to go wearing a purple tunic and flared blue jeans as she rolled luggage to the car. Vacation time: Paris Jackson and boyfriend Gabriel Glenn looked like they were about to take a trip when seen Friday morning in LA Continuing her eclectic look, Paris had a colorful windbreaker on hand. She added more bohemian touches with beaded necklaces and a tapestry backpack. The model beauty didn't need any makeup, showing off a fresh-faced glow. Glenn was dressed comfortably for their trip, layering a red hoodie over a tan t-shirt. He slung an overnight bag over his shoulder and carried a patterned duffel in the other hand. Hippie chic: The daughter of Michael, 20, looked ready to go wearing a purple tunic and flared blue jeans as she rolled luggage to the car Coupled up: Longtime friends, Paris and Gabriel were first romantically linked last summer after putting on a flirty display during an August fundraiser for F*** Cancer A driver welcomed them into a dark SUV and then they headed off, likely to LAX to catch a flight. Longtime friends, Paris and Gabriel were first romantically linked last summer after putting on a flirty display during an August fundraiser for F*** Cancer. At the time Jackson's camp denied any relationship, maintaining the pair - who play in the band The Soundflowers - are 'just friends now.' Going public: After keeping things private for months, the couple made their love Instagram official in February when they shared two PDA-packed photos to their band's account But after keeping things private for months, the couple made their love Instagram official in February when they shared two PDA-packed photos to their band's account. Gabriel also celebrated their love on his personal account. 'Love. Actually,' he captioned a candid shot of himself kissing Paris on the forehead. According to sources who spoke to HollywoodLife, Jackson thinks her bandmate is truly The One. 'Paris is head over heels in love and has been telling her friends that Gabriel is her soulmate. Gabriel is so supportive of her and encouraging, he's her biggest cheerleader with everything from her music to the day to day life stuff she has to deal with. And he's extremely attentive to her, it's obvious that he adores her. He even writes loves songs for her. They're very, very sweet together, this relationship is so good for her.' She's known just as much for her philanthropy as her acting and producing gigs. And in Sunday's Stellar, celebrating the upcoming International Women's Day, Deborra-lee Furness revealed why she never Googles herself. The 63-year-old said that when a stranger posts something negative online, 'it's their problem'. 'It's nothing to do with me': Deborra-lee Furness, 63, revealed in Sunday's Stellar why she never Googles herself When asked by the publication as to whether she Googles herself, Deborra-lee responded: 'Never. Because you know what? It's nothing to do with me.' 'If someone sitting in Des Moines (Iowa) is going to say something mean about someone they don't even know, it's their problem,' the wife of Hugh Jackman added. During the interview, Deborra-lee also said that we 'are on our way' towards achieving gender equality. 'We're on our way - I see a lot more cinematographers and directors (in the industry who are women) - but we've still got a long way to go,' she said. The wife of Hugh Jackman added: 'If someone sitting in Des Moines (Iowa) is going to say something mean about someone they don't even know, it's their problem' The comments come after Deborra-lee attended the Women for Peace Association luncheon in New York on Friday. The Voyager actress wore trousers, a vest and jacket, and elevated her look with black and white platform sneakers. Noticeably missing from Deborra-lee's side was her husband, Hugh Jackman, who is currently promoting his upcoming show The Man. The Music. The Show. The couple who met on the set of Australian drama Corelli in 1995, and married in 1996, share two adopted children, son Oscar, 18, and daughter Ava, 13. How they make it work: Speaking to Who magazine last September, Hugh, 50, revealed his secret pact with his wife Speaking to Who magazine last September, Hugh, 50, revealed his secret pact with his wife. 'When Deb and I got married, we made a pact that we would look at each other at every turning point in our lives and ask ourselves if this is good or bad for our family,' Hugh told the magazine. He continued: 'The family is all four of us, so something may be great for my career but terrible for the family, or actually it may be a bit of a sacrifice for the family but really good for me.' She has apparently been enjoying a 'mind-blowing' relationship with Liam Payne. However Naomi Campbell's head was reportedly turned by rapper Drake, who she spent the evening 'getting close' with recently, according to the Mirror. The supermodel, 48, was allegedly having the time of her life and flirting with the American star while attending Jay Z and Beyonce's annual Gold Oscar party at Chateau Marmont in LA. Is it over? Naomi Campbell's head was reportedly turned by rapper Drake, who she spent the evening 'getting close' with recently, according to the Mirror An onlooker told the publication: 'Naomi was having the time of her life. At the party she was getting quite close to Drake they ended up dancing together. 'She doesn't want to be in a serious relationship and hasn't been inviting Liam to events. She just doesn't seem that fussed and likes her space.' MailOnline have contacted Naomi's representatives for comment. Flirting up a storm! The supermodel, 48, was allegedly having the time of her life and flirting with the American star while attending Jay Z and Beyonce's annual Gold Oscar party at Chateau Marmont in LA Amid the swirling romance rumours, Naomi and Liam are both confirmed to attended the WE Day charity bash at Wembley Arena on Wednesday evening. However the source speculated that because it is a work commitment they are unlikely to draw attention to their relationship and will likely leave separately. They have done little to quash rumours of a relationship in recent weeks, with both parties regularly liking the other's social media snaps. In one image, the former One Direction star looked typically dapper as he hit the red carpet at the BRIT Awards at London's O2 last month. Fuelling romance rumours: In one image, the former One Direction star looked typically dapper as he hit the red carpet at the BRIT Awards at London 's O2 last month Compliments: Rumours of the pairs fledging relationship have been circulating the showbusiness circuit since Liam flirted on a snap posted to Naomis Instagram account, commenting: Perfection in a person...dont give me those eyes' Rumours of the pairs fledging relationship have been circulating the showbusiness circuit since Liam flirted on a snap posted to Naomis Instagram account, commenting: Perfection in a person...dont give me those eyes. The catwalk queen then wrote alongside a shirtless picture of Liam, Beautiful soul, to which he replied: Takes one to know one, and added a kiss emoji. They were later seen together at Londons O2 Arena where they were trying to stay under the radar during afrobeat artist Davido's concert. Soon after it emerged that they were enjoying a mind-blowing time together, with one friend claiming: Liam thinks shes amazing and beautiful. She has been linked to Lewis Hamilton in recent weeks after they were spotted jetting out to Barcelona. And Cindy Kimberly, 20, and the Formula One star, 34, set tongues wagging once more as they attended the Tommy Hilfiger show at the Theatre Des Champs Elysees in Paris on Saturday. The model showed off her fashion prowess in a vinyl miniskirt and pinstripe shirt as she hit the red carpet ahead of the SS19 TommyXZendaya collection debut. Romance: Cindy Kimberly, 20, and Lewis Hamilton, 34, set tongues wagging as they attended the Tommy Hilfiger show at the Theatre Des Champs Elysees in Paris on Saturday Cindy caught the eye as she strutted into the catwalk show in the thigh-grazing miniskirt which showcased her tremendous pins. She added a boost to her leggy frame with patent black ankle boots, while she left her shirt, which featured Hilfiger's signature navy and blue pattern, partially unbuttoned. Styling her raven tresses in voluminous waves, the Instagram sensation finished off her look with blush-swept cheeks and a daring red lip. Stunning: The model showed off her fashion prowess in a vinyl miniskirt and pinstripe shirt as she hit the red carpet ahead of the SS19 TommyXZendaya show Looking good: Lewis was also dressed head-to-toe in Tommy Hilfiger and sported a very unique number made up of a blue and red jacket over a red flannel shirt and grey hoody Cindy caught the eye as she strutted into the catwalk show in the thigh-grazing miniskirt which showcased her tremendous pins Stylish: She added a boost to her leggy frame with patent black ankle boots, while she left her shirt, which featured Hilfiger's signature navy and blue pattern on it, partially unbuttoned Glam: Styling her raven tresses in voluminous waves, the Instagram sensation finished off her look with blush-swept cheeks and a daring red lip Lewis was also dressed head-to-toe in Tommy Hilfiger and sported a very unique number made up of a blue and red jacket over a red flannel shirt and grey hoody. He paired the colourful pieces with white jeans and crisp trainers while giving the cameras his best smoulder. The pair posed separately on the red carpet before heading into the venue. Lewis joined model and Tommy Hilfiger ambassador Gigi Hadid on the front row as the duo flashed their widest grins for cameras. Style: The Formula 1 racer, 34, was dressed head-to-toe in Tommy Hilfiger and sported a very unique number made up of a blue and red jacket over a red flannel shirt and grey hoody Sensational: Also at the event was Tyra Banks who looked her usual glamorous self in a 70's-inspired Disco shirt with matching turban Pals: Lewis joined model and Tommy Hilfiger ambassador Gigi Hadid on the front row as the duo flashed their widest grins for cameras The British-born sportsman later showed off his swagger as he left the venue in a pair of round shades. Also at the event was Tyra Banks who looked her usual glamorous self in a 70's-inspired Disco shirt with matching turban. The model, 45, paired the colourful number with high-waisted jeans and knee-high leather boots while leaving her locks in loose curls. Lewis' outing comes as rumours have been swirling of a romance between himself and 20-year-old Cindy when they were spotted at Barcelona airport earlier this week. Work it: He paired the colourful pieces with white jeans and crisp trainers while giving the cameras his best smoulder Fashion: The British-born sportsman later showed off his swagger as he left the venue in a pair of round shades Rise to fame: Cindy was an unknown schoolgirl when Justin Bieber admitted he was a fan after spotting a sultry picture of her on social media Partytime: Following the show Lewis made a quick change into an all-white ensemble as he headed out parting with a slew of pals He's got style: The racing driver donned a pair of white joggers and a black bomber jacket with Tommy's name emblazoned on the back On Friday, Lewis and Cindy were both said to have been spotted partying the night away at L'arc nightclub in Paris, France. Appearing to keep their arrival low-key, the driver rocked up with his hood up and according to a source, the beauty sneakily entered the venue solo. A source claimed the pair were seen sneaking into the club to party together, although they arrived separately. Having fun: Jasmine Sanders and a pal joined Lewis for his night on the town Feeling hungry: Lewis headed to Cesar restaurant for a spot of dinner Off they go: The star shielded his eyes from the glare of cameras as his friend clambered into the car However, another source told MailOnline that Cindy and Lewis are not romantically involved. Cindy was an unknown schoolgirl when Justin Bieber admitted he was a fan after spotting a sultry picture of her on social media. Reposting the shot for his 104million followers, the singer - who is now married to model Hailey Baldwin - wrote: 'OMG who is this??' She was subsequently revealed to be a Dutch-born student living in the Costa Blanca resort of Denia who made pocket money by babysitting for 2.90 an hour. She was promptly snapped up by Uno Models, which has offices in Barcelona and Madrid. The former Westfield Group is nearly 40 per cent of the way through its EUR6 billion ($A9.6 billion) asset disposal program after offloading its stake in a Finnish shopping centre for EUR248.6 million ($A398.4 million). Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield says it has sold its 34 per cent stake in Helsinki's Jumbo centre to co-owner Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company for more than its December 31 book value. "This disposal will enable us to concentrate further on strategic assets in the Nordics with significant re-development and mixed-use opportunities," regional managing director Lars-Ake Tollemark said. URW has now completed 75 per cent of the initial EUR3 billion of disposals it announced in December 2017. It this month raised its disposal target to EUR6 billion. Paris property giant Unibail-Rodamco took over Westfield Group last year, prompting Frank Lowy's retirement nearly 60 years after he founded the shopping centre empire. Manufacturing picked up slightly in February following an unseasonably slow summer but property price falls and high energy costs are keeping businesses concerned, an industry survey suggests. The Australian Industry Group's Performance of Manufacturing Index released on Friday indicates there was expansion in the food and beverages sub-sector last month but a worsening trend contraction in two areas relating to building. "The drop off in residential construction activity is flowing along supply chains with both the metal products and the building, wood products and furniture sub-sectors contracting," Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said. Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Wednesday pointed to steeper than expected falls in home building work in the December quarter. A sharp drop in demand for building-related products and furnishings since the middle of 2018 and lower forward orders for the sector point to a slower year ahead, the AiG report said. "Looking over the longer term, there are major concerns about the high cost of electricity and gas, particularly in more energy-intensive industries," Mr Willox said. An Ai Group statement said the survey data's selling prices index rose in February, indicating that prices for some manufactured goods are going up again slightly following price falls in December and flat numbers in January. But businesses indicated that higher costs "are difficult to pass on to customers," and they were being squeezed as "wage and input costs continue to grow at a stronger pace than selling prices". Friends and strangers have given more than $9000 so the bodies of two young brothers who drowned in a Queensland river can be returned to their home city of Darwin. The bodies of Jhulio and Barak, aged three and five, were found two metres apart on Tuesday in the Ross River in Townsville. A GoFundMe account set up to help the boys' devastated family has now raised enough money to allow their bodies to be returned to Darwin for a final farewell. Extreme bushfire conditions have been declared for the Adelaide Hills and South Australia's southeast as the state nears the end of a week-long heatwave. Temperatures are forecast to reach 40C in Adelaide on Friday and will push higher in some regional centres. The Bureau of Meteorology says Saturday will be just as hot ahead of a cool change and milder conditions on Sunday. As well as warning of extreme bushfire conditions in the two districts, the Country Fire Service says conditions will be severe in five more districts from the west coast to Kangaroo Island. The State Emergency Service has also issued an extreme heatwave warning for SA, calling on people to take measures to keep cool. Adelaide's temperatures have topped 35C all week, making it the longest hot spell of the summer. DAY ONE - Thursday November 8, 2018 Comedian Tim Minchin wrote a "toxic" song about Cardinal George Pell, who was also portrayed by the media as the Catholic church's "Darth Vader", his lawyer says. Pell is facing trial in the County Court of Victoria accused of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and molesting his friend in late 1996. It is a retrial after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous or majority verdict in September for the frail cleric, who is now using crutches and is assisted entering and exiting the court dock. Prosecutors allege that after Sunday solemn mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, two choirboys sneaked away from the procession outside and re-entered the cathedral via a side door. It is then claimed the two boys entered a priest's sacristy, where they started swigging at the sacramental wine, before being "caught" by Pell. It is then alleged that the newly installed archbishop of the Melbourne diocese, still in his ornamental robes, sexually assaulted the pair. In his opening address Pell's barrister, Robert Richter QC, said this was no trial over Pell's knowledge of pedophilia in the Catholic church, following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. "This is not a trial about whether he knew about pedophile priests and didn't do anything to stop them," he said. "The trial here is on the most senior Catholic cleric actually orally raping a child of 13 and doing some other disgusting things with two children." He slammed songwriter Minchin's song, written during the royal commission, which the Rome-based Pell did not attend, citing ill health. "Some of you might have heard a song by Tim Minchin called Come back Cardinal Pell," he told the jury. "Well he came back and he came back of his own accord to clear his name. "He came back voluntarily. "That song was a toxic song at the time, an offensive song, and it made a lot of media." He told the jurors they were likely to have read previously press coverage of Pell. "In the media, Cardinal Pell was portrayed as the Darth Vader of the Catholic church," he said. Mr Richter said Pell had been open and cooperative with police during the entire criminal process. He added it was implausible the offending could have occurred, given the strict procedures in running the Sunday solemn mass that were "designed like an opera". Mr Richter said Pell was never alone when in his ceremonial garb and spoke to parishioners on the cathedral steps following mass, at the same time the offending was alleged to have occurred. DAYS TWO TO FOUR Court is closed to the media and public while the complainant gives evidence. DAY FIVE - Wednesday November 14 The jury visits the cathedral to see the sacristy where the former choirboy alleged he was orally raped and another child molested. Meanwhile, Pell watched proceedings from the dock with a pair of crutches at his side. The jury also heard pre-recorded evidence from two other former choirboys who sang alongside the alleged victims at Sunday solemn mass. Former soprano Aidan Quinn said after mass, the choirboys would get changed and go home. He also said the boys would speak to Pell before mass or in the corridors, and that on Sundays the new archbishop was always robed. He denied under cross-examination that his memories from 1996 and 1997 were not "particularly clear". "Not necessarily, I've got a lot of those details pretty clear and consistent," Mr Quinn said. Another former choirboy, Carl Miller, said he couldn't recall Pell having been alone after Sunday solemn mass. Before the jury went to the cathedral, Chief Judge Paul Kidd said jurors must not carry out any private investigations or return to the cathedral alone at a later stage. "It is a criminal offence to do so," he said. "The purpose of this view is to assist you to better understand the evidence of the witnesses." DAY SIX - Thursday November 15 An elderly former choirmaster and organist tells the trial about the orderly processes surrounding the cathedral. John Mallinson, 84, said he worked at St Patrick's Cathedral between 1976 and 1999. He said the choir comprised about 50 boys and some men. Mr Mallinson said he wouldn't have known if Pell had moved back inside the cathedral following Sunday solemn mass. "If I was playing the organ, I would not be aware of anything else going on in the cathedral," he told Mr Richter. He described Monsignor Charles Portelli, who was then Pell's master of ceremonies, as a "stickler" and "very conservative" in terms of church protocol. He also said he didn't recall any instances of choristers "nicking off" from the procession after the mass. "I don't have any recollection of anybody being reported missing," he said. He also added he couldn't recall any senior members of the choir reporting any missing choirboys after they had processioned from the church. However, he did tell prosecutor Mark Gibson that he had seen Pell returning to his sacristy following mass. "Probably frequently," Mr Mallinson said. He said Pell was usually accompanied by Monsignor Portelli or Dean William McCarthy after mass. DAY SEVEN - Friday November 16 An organist describes the "regimented and disciplined" procedures following mass at the cathedral. Geoffrey Cox said Brother Peter Finnigan would keep a watchful eye on the choristers after mass. "There was no deviation," he said. When asked if younger choristers ran past the seniors in the procession, Mr Cox said "it never happened". "It was not a free-for-all," he said. "They were in regimented routine until the end of the rehearsal." Mr Cox said if a chorister was running late back to the rehearsal room after mass, they would have to ring a bell and someone would let them in. "But that didn't really happen at all," he said. Day 12 - Friday November 23 Former St Patrick's Cathedral choirboy Christopher Doyle testifies at George Pell's trial that while the procession of boys leaving the church after mass became more relaxed out of public view it would be tricky for anyone to slip away unnoticed. Prosecutors allege two 13-year-old boys were able to slip away to the priest's sacristy where they were "caught" drinking wine by Pell and sexually abused by him in 1996. Mr Doyle said he "never" saw anyone leave the procession, nor did he ever hear about it happening. "We would have talked about it, absolutely," he said. DAY 13 - Monday, November 26 Barrister Daniel McGlone, who was an altar server at St Patrick's Cathedral from 1987 to 1997, says the priest's sacristy was a public space. "It's a very public space to my mind," Mr McGlone testified. He said it was best to think of it as a "green room" where people would congregate before and after mass. Mr McGlone said the sacristy was busy after a ceremony or mass with altar servers going back and forth to collect items from the sanctuary. "There was always someone there," he said of the sacristy. DAY 14 - Tuesday, November 27 "The allegations are a product of fantasy," Pell tells police sent to Rome to interview him in 2016 The 45 minute-long taped record of interview was shown to the jury. In the interview Detective Sergeant Christopher Reed said the boys claimed Pell "planted" himself between them and the doorway to prevent them leaving the sacristy before he exposed himself. "What absolute and disgraceful rubbish," Pell said in the interview. The cardinal said the sacristy was hardly a place to commit pedophilia. "It's vile and disgusting conduct contrary to everything I hold dear," Pell said in the interview. The cardinal claimed he was most certainly greeting the public out the front at the time of the alleged offending and by the time he returned the choirboys had disrobed and gone home. DAY 15 - Wednesday November 28 The jury is told that one of the choirboys allegedly molested in the incident died in 2014 in "accidental circumstances". Sgt Reed said the man's mother had asked him in 2001 if he'd ever been "interfered with or touched up" while he was in the choir. She said he'd said no, Sgt Reed added. He also said the man had told his father he'd never been "sexually assaulted or mistreated by any person". DAY 16 - Thursday November 29 Former choirboy Andrew La Greca tells the court that following Sunday solemn mass, the choir would process out of the cathedral, with the older choristers keep the younger ones "in line". Under cross-examination from Pell's lawyer Robert Richter, Mr La Greca agreed Brother Peter Finnigan watched the choir intently, was authoritarian and if any choristers were out of line, he would "pull them into shape". He also said that to his recollection, any time Pell was in his ceremonial robes, he was accompanied by the master of ceremonies. DAY 17 - Friday November 30 Sgt Reed admits he had no jurisdiction to conduct a formal interview outside Australia, when he flew to Rome to interview Pell at the Vatican. "No, only by agreement," he said. "And by invitation?" Mr Richter pressed. "Yes, that's correct," Sgt Reed answered. He also agreed Pell returned to face trial voluntarily. DAY 18 - Monday December 3 Mr Gibson wraps up the prosecution case, telling jurors opportunities did exist for the offending to occur as they'd heard directly from the surviving victim, now in his 30s. "He (Pell) planted himself in the doorway and said something like 'what are you doing here' or 'you're in trouble'," Mr Gibson said, quoting the choirboy's testimony. He recalled three separate acts, each lasting no more than two minutes. On another occasion, alleged by Mr Gibson to have occurred in February 1997, the boy recalled being pushed against a wall and touched by Pell in an incident lasting two or three seconds. "I didn't complain to anyone at that time. It felt like an anomaly. I was in shock and didn't tell," Mr Gibson said quoting the victim. He said that neither of the boys had come forward immediately afterwards, and that one of the boys later denied being abused when asked directly by his parents, did not mean the abuse did not occur. "It's something I've carried for the whole of my life ... It took a courage much later in life for me to even think about coming forward," Mr Gibson quoted to jurors. Mr Gibson said it was possible that after a Sunday solemn mass on either December 15 or 22, 1996 the two boys could have detached themselves from the procession group leaving the church and slipped away unnoticed because of "mischief" in the line of boys. He urged jurors to consider Pell's actions on those dates, including whether he spent more than a few minutes greeting parishioners on the front steps, a practice he developed during his five years as archbishop. And he said both Sacristan Max Potter and Monsignor Charles Portelli had told them of times when they themselves had not accompanied Pell back to the sacristy, and could not be certain he was not alone. The surviving boy also knew details about the sacristy that he could not know without having been inside it at that time, including recollections of wood panelling and an alcove where wine was kept. Scott Morrison is facing two more potential resignations from his senior team weeks out from the federal election, amid speculation Christopher Pyne and Steve Ciobo are planning to retire. The prime minister has already lost frontbenchers Kelly O'Dwyer, Michael Keenan and Nigel Scullion, who will retire from parliament at the May poll. Mr Ciobo, the defence industry minister and an 18-year parliamentary veteran, tweeted on Friday he was looking forward to travelling to Indonesia within days to sign a landmark free trade agreement. But The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday the Liberal National Party MP is ready to quit. The Queenslander was demoted from the trade portfolio after the August leadership spill when he ran for deputy. A Queensland Liberal source told AAP he would be "surprised" if Mr Ciobo retired from parliament as he was currently very active in fundraising for the election campaign. South Australian Senator Simon Birmingham was asked on Friday if he expected any other frontbench colleagues to resign and he replied: "No." Mr Pyne recently revealed how hard he took last year's spill and said he did not expect he could ever lead the Liberal Party. Labor leader Bill Shorten said the resignation speculation showed the government had given up. "I think cabinet ministers retiring on the eve of an election shows that this is a government that has given up," he told reporters in Sydney. "I say to Australians, if the ministers in the government are giving up on the government, you should too." A 74-year-old man on trial in the NSW District Court for the rape and sexual abuse of his daughter has pleaded guilty to dozens of offences dating back to when she was as young as four. Richard Haynes was extradited from the United Kingdom in February 2017 to face multiple charges of rape, buggery and indecent assault against his daughter, Jennifer, in Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s. With Jennifer looking on from the public gallery, Haynes pleaded guilty to 25 offences on Friday which occurred when his daughter was aged between four and 11. The judge had previously made an order allowing Ms Haynes to be identified after she indicated her consent. A Melbourne man who fatally shot his American fiancee while the pair were on the run deep in the Victorian bush has been jailed for 11 years. Steven Con Samaras, 50, and Tamara Turner, 49, were on the run for smuggling firearms when he unintentionally shot her in the abdomen during a late-night struggle in their caravan. The bullet hit Ms Turner's aorta and she swiftly bled to death in dense woodland south of Mildura in June 2016. Samaras gave some futile first aid and hours later placed Ms Turner's body on a bench outside Mildura Base Hospital, giving nurses a false name before taking off in his Jeep. He later lied to police about what happened, claiming Ms Turner had accidentally shot herself and buried the gun herself. Eight months earlier, Samaras met Ms Turner on Facebook and proposed within only two hours of meeting. He asked the Missouri mother-of-two to move to Australia, and she agreed. They also arranged to post four guns to his Melbourne address from Ms Turner's ex-partner's US gun shop. But three guns were intercepted by Australian Border Force officers, sparking a police investigation that led to the pair being charged with gun importation. The pair were released on bail and decided to go on the run, buying a caravan and evading authorities for months until Ms Turner was shot. Samaras was jailed in the Supreme Court on Friday for at least eight years after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Justice Andrew Tinney said Samaras had not meant to shoot or kill Ms Turner but the judge slammed his "selfish" lies and actions after her death. "Your selfish behaviour revealed only a concern for yourself," Justice Tinney said. "Your failure to seek immediate assistance for her betrayed a disturbing lack of concern and regard for her, which is at odds with your claim of having loved her." Samaras was sentenced to 11 years in prison with a non-parole period of eight years. He had originally been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. Horror films, love them or loathe them, the hands-in-front-of-eyes genre will hit a whole new level of spook at this year's Gold Coast Film Festival with the Australian premiere of female-driven survival thriller The Furies. Gorehounds or horror film aficionados typically drawn to slasher films according to Urban Dictionary, will flock in droves to the pop-up outdoor cinema in the spine-tingling dark of Springbrook in the Gold Coast Hinterland. "This is one of the most unique film screening locations the Gold Coast has to offer," says Lucy Fisher, Gold Coast Film Festival Director. "Our goal is to continually raise the bar when it comes to creating unique film experiences and Horror in the Hinterland ticks all the boxes on that front." "Hosting the Australian premiere of The Furies is a coup in its own right but doing so in a setting that will have the audience sitting even closer to the edge of their seats is something else." Fisher admits she is not a fan of horror. "I'm a big scaredy cat!" she laughs. "I am reliably told by my team The Furies really flips the horror genre on its head. The plot follows eight young women who are abducted and forced to take part in a deadly game but rather than the lead character Kayla, played by Airlie Dodds, portrayed as a victim, she is the hero." The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF) will showcase three world, ten Australian and four Queensland premieres, over 178 events with 107 films showing in 13 locations over 12 days. "It's an incredible celebration of all things cinematic," says Fisher. "We have a special mix of incredible outdoor pop up cinema locations from the beach to the lush hinterland, in a laneway and even floating on a boat." "We've created distinctly Gold Coast events highlighting our outdoor lifestyle and natural environments and bringing film to life!" adds Fisher. "We also have a very strong screen industry program with panels, workshops, Q&As that create valuable connections and help build careers." Bringing diverse Australian and International films, filmmakers and screen events to the Gold Coast, the GCFF enhances the city's cultural reputation, driving tourism and delivering economic impact to the region. "The 2018 festival entertained an audience of over 16,300 with 29.3% originating from outside of the Gold Coast," advises Fisher. "The festival reinforces our city's position as one of Australia's leading filmmaking destinations, by promoting emerging Australian filmmakers and creating educational and professional development opportunities for screen industry practitioners." Fisher and the GCFF strive to support women in film and push for gender parity in the number of men and women across speakers, moderators and panellists as well as offering childcare in the form of a free creche to help parents in the screen industry to participate and attend professional development opportunities. "As a film festival, we're committed to providing opportunities for women filmmakers as well as igniting conversations around the portrayal of women in stories and on screen," says Fisher. "Three years ago, GCFF was the first film festival in Australia to offer a creche to help address this barrier for parents." "I was inspired to offer a creche when I was at an event where I listened to women in the screen industry say that while they had regular day care, if a professional development opportunity came up that wasn't on a day care day, they were missing out," adds Fisher. "I'm a parent myself so it made a lot of sense to offer it and see if it would help women access the opportunities that a film festival brings." Gold Coast Film Festival 2019 runs from April 3 - 14 Horror in the Hinterland, a one-off event on Saturday, April 13 Detectives have arrested a company director in Sydney over an alleged fraud against NAB totalling $40 million over five years. NSW Police on Friday arrested Human Group director Helen Rosamond, 43, at her Potts Point home and took her to Kings Cross police station where she's expected to be charged with 56 bribery charges and two counts of obtaining benefit by deception relating to $6.6 million. Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said the "corporate corruption" was between the financial training company and a financial institution. A NAB spokesperson on Friday said the alleged fraud against the bank was first reported by a whistleblower. "NAB responded immediately, investigated and reported it to police," the spokesperson said in a statement. "If the alleged fraud is proven, it represents a most serious breach of trust by a former employee." The bank stressed that "NAB is the victim in this matter". "Police have confirmed that no one at NAB is under investigation, including former CEO Andrew Thorburn, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by anyone at NAB." Rosamond is the owner of the training company, Mr Smith said on Friday. NSW Police allege the $6.6 million was paid in bribes to ensure "contract viability" and to overpay legitimate contracts. The acting assistant commissioner told reporters the total amount involved in the alleged fraud was some $40 million. The criminal behaviour occurred between 2013 and 2017, he added. The relationship between Human Group and NAB dates back 12 years with contracts worth $118 million. "I won't rule out further charges or further arrests," Mr Smith said. Asked about the scale of the alleged fraud he noted: "The involvement of CEOs and very senior executives is something that we haven't seen before." He noted everyone "watched in horror" when the 2017 royal commission into the banking sector uncovered some "pretty poor behaviour". It has been a week since Victorian firefighter Troy Thornton ended his life in a Swiss euthanasia clinic but his mother's tears are still running like a river in flood. They are tears of grief but they are mingled with tears of frustration and disbelief that Australia still does not have assisted dying laws to help people like her son. "It's just so cruel," Barbara Spencer tells AAP, ahead of a memorial service for Troy on Friday afternoon. "People are talking about this and I hope Australian politicians are listening. Why can't we have a vote on this? Please listen to what people are saying." Mr Thornton was helped to die late last Friday, Australian time, in a euthanasia clinic in the city of Basel. His wife Christine was lying beside him as he took his last breath. But the couple's two teenage children and his loyal family and friends were left to wait in Victoria for a message confirming his passing. Before he died, the 54-year-old told AAP he had to travel overseas to choose a good, quick death over a long, bad one from multiple system atrophy, a degenerative and untreatable disease that slowly turns its sufferers into vegetables. Troy lived in the only Australian state that has voluntary assisted dying laws. But he did not meet the strict criteria Victorian legislators set down and could not find two doctors to say with certainty that his condition would kill him within a year. Ms Spencer has taken comfort from the conversation Troy's death has sparked about the lack of end-of-life choices in Australia. She said it was heartbreaking that he'd had to travel halfway round the world so he could choose a good death. "It would have been better, nicer, for it to be in Australia and to have everybody in his family around him," Ms Spencer said. "Christine went and I'm so glad. She could lay down with him while he went to sleep." As a Catholic, Ms Spencer rejects the notion that assisted dying is a grave violation of the law of God. And as a woman who's had cancer in her brain, bowel and right lung in the past, she likes the idea that she might be able to choose a good death for herself should her disease re-emerge. "Like Troy, I'm a very strong person and I have a strong will to live. But when you've been hit three times, you think about it. I don't want to be lying in a nursing home waiting to die, which a lot of people are," she says. "I am a Catholic and I know it's a sin but I don't care and I'm sure the Lord would not be angry with me, but would smile upon me for my decision." Troy's wife Christine says his final minutes were peaceful. "The last moments were beautiful ... it was us, laying down on the bed together," she told The Sydney Morning Herald. Afterwards, there was anger at the prospect of her long journey home with his ashes. "To have to travel halfway across the world so Troy could have the right to end his life. I could have gone straight home to my kids. Instead I waited three days before I could see them again." Troy's service will be held at 2pm on Friday at Mt Martha, a seaside town in Melbourne, where he lived. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will bid to host WorldPride 2023 following a commitment of support from the NSW government. The organisation on Thursday received a letter from Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirming the government's support and $200,000 to help develop the bid. WorldPride is a biennial event which includes parades, festivals and other cultural activities. It was first hosted in Rome in 2000 and will take place in New York in 2019 and Copenhagen in 2021. Sydney Mardi Gras is a member of InterPride, the international association of pride organisations which runs WorldPride. The mega festival has never been hosted in the southern hemisphere. Australia's will propose hosting WorldPride within the existing two-week footprint of the annual Sydney Mardi Gras festival. The first week would be dedicated to Mardi Gras and the second week dedicated to WorldPride - including a human rights conference. "There is no other parade in the world like it (Sydney Mardi Gras) for the LGBTI community," co-chair Kate Wickett told AAP Friday. "It's highly curated, really creative and we get a really good depth of diversity from across the community. "(WorldPride) would be really a great opportunity to expand and showcase that to the world." Sydney's bid will be presented at the InterPride annual general meeting in Copenhagen in October. Australia's Alex De Minaur has been beaten in straight sets by world No.3 Alexander Zverev at the Mexico Open in Acapulco. The number two seed booked his spot in the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory in one hour and 16 minutes. Zverev had too much firepower for the fifth-seeded De Minaur. The 21-year-old German hitting 25 winners and 13 aces, and converting both of his break point opportunities, as he strives to win an 11th ATP Tour title. He'll face Cameron Norrie in the final four after the Brit took 84 minutes to see off American Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-2 in the first quarter-final. A blunder in a federal advertising campaign that encourages visitors to "catch the sunset" from the east-facing side of Perth's Kings Park is typical of how Canberra thinks about Western Australia, the state tourism minister says. The sun, of course, sets over the ocean in WA, while Kings Park is a plum spot for watching a sunrise over the city's Hills region. "Tourism Australia still, despite two years of campaigning on this sort of stuff, is very east coast-centric," WA tourism minister Paul Papalia told 6PR radio on Friday. "It's not me being parochial, it's just that we're geographically in a different place." Speaking from a tourism ministers' meeting in Launceston, Mr Papalia said his federal counterpart Simon Birmingham recognised his concerns but "kind of played it down". A highly-decorated Australian military officer who raised a "people's army" during the Vietnam War and was threatened with assassination by the CIA has died in Bangkok. Barry Petersen, who earned 13 military medals for his services in Vietnam, Borneo and Malaysia, died on Thursday night, say friends and former colleagues. He was in his early 80s. His extraordinary story was chronicled in The Tiger Man of Vietnam by Frank Walker and his own biography Tiger Men, a title he bestowed on the Montagnard fighters of Vietnam's central highlands. In 1962, aged 28, Petersen was loaned to the CIA in Vietnam after working with hill tribes during the Malayan Emergency. He was originally tasked by his bosses with disarming the Montagnards who had long-standing ambitions for their own independence and an underlying hatred of the Vietnamese. South Vietnam's leader Ngo Dinh Diem was concerned about an uprising by the central highlanders. Petersen won over the locals, absorbing their culture and customs and feeding and clothing them with "bags of money" provided by his CIA handlers. Instead of disarming the Montagnards, he recruited fighters for Tiger Force which was feared by the Viet Cong for its ferocity. The guerilla tactics they employed were similar to those successfully used by the Communist fighters themselves. They operated in small mobile units of eight which could easily gather local intelligence on VC movements and strike quickly. At one stage, Petersen said he had 1200 troops under his control and Tiger Force's role was seen as crucial in trying to stem the flow of Viet Cong soldiers, supplies and munitions along the Ho Chi Minh trail. But the CIA chiefs and South Vietnam administration remained suspicious of the Montagnards and a perceived "cult of personality" growing around Petersen. "I found that the whole time I was there, two years, I had not only a force to run but a political tightrope (to walk) to keep the Vietnamese happy and to keep my Montagnards' force in line and, of course, to curb their autonomy aspirations," Petersen said in a 2000 interview. Towards the end of his two years with the Montagnards, US ambassador Maxwell Taylor made a personal visit and told him people's armies should be raised across Vietnam. Petersen disagreed, and later said: "the Americans tended to think what was good in one area was a panacea for the whole country. It's not ... this is one of the failings of the Americans." He also rejected attempts by CIA handler Stu Methven to set up "counter-terrorism" teams to conduct assassinations on targets earmarked by provincial chiefs and intelligence officers. Petersen later described it as a precursor to the notorious Phoenix Program designed and run by the CIA, the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam and South Vietnam security forces which "neutralised" more than 81,700 suspected Viet Cong informers, supporters and operatives. Under the program, which ran from 1965 until 1972, more than 26,000 people were killed, according to military and academic studies. Petersen said it was "used and abused" to settle grudges held by government officials and "a lot of innocent people died". "I refused to do it and in doing so, of course, got up the nose of the CIA," he said. An informant told Petersen the CIA or renegade operatives within the agency intended killing him and making it look like an accident so he would die a hero's death. "I think it was very much like Apocalypse Now," he said referring to unhinged US military leader Colonel Kurtz portrayed as a brutal demigod in the 1979 film. "If he won't come out, if he won't leave the highlands we'll come in and get him." But Petersen said his demise came when the Montagnards formed a government-in-exile in Cambodia after an attempted uprising in 1964. Its president sent three battalions into Vietnam to tell commanders they were under Petersen's control in the fight against the Viet Cong. Petersen said he was shocked by the offer, rejected it immediately and organised talks with South Vietnamese military leaders to clear the air. But it only added to the suspicion of South Vietnamese officials and the CIA who wanted to replace Petersen with an American. "I overstepped my mark and they got rid of me," he recalled. Decades later he would return to the Montagnards posing as a writer to avoid detection by Vietnamese security forces. However while trying to maintain a distance between himself and his former fighters, some almost gave his identity away when they shook and kissed hands. Petersen, who was born in Mackay, Queensland and never married, retired from the Australian military in 1979. He settled in Cairns but was approached at least twice by mercenaries to train rebel fighters in western Papua New Guinea and the Seychelles. He moved to Bangkok in 1992 to set up a consulting firm for foreign companies. In 2010, he auctioned off some of his military medals to keep the business running and local staff in jobs. He told Fairfax media he had the same attitude to his staff as he did to the Montagnards, which was a total acceptance of their way of life. ''I don't march to the same drum as others,'' he said. The inquest into the disappearance of toddler William Tyrrell will go ahead as scheduled despite the lead detective being replaced by NSW's most senior homicide cop. Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin, who commanded dozens of officers on Strikeforce Roseann for four years, has been taken off the case while he's investigated over allegations of misconduct. He denies all wrongdoing and has continued to work at police headquarters since the internal inquiry began earlier this year. Det Insp Jubelin was expected to be the public face of NSW Police when the long-awaited coronial inquest into William's disappearance begins on March 25. But police command has now put their "most senior homicide" investigator in charge - Detective Chief Inspector David Laidlaw. "We have to ensure the inquest gets started," Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith told reporters in Sydney on Friday. "We can't have an allegation of misconduct and not deal with it. We need to let that work its course and we also need to not derail the matter." Det Insp Jubelin has been interviewed by the Professional Standards Command over his conduct on Strikeforce Rosann. He's facing allegations relating to staff management and using a mobile phone without a warrant to record someone, AAP understands. The boy in the Spiderman suit, as William came to be known, vanished while playing in his grandmother's yard at Kendall on the NSW mid-north coast on September 12, 2014. He was three. Det Insp Jubelin was not just in charge of the strike force but also the 15,000 pieces of evidence amassed by the investigation. Mr Smith said Det Insp Jubelin's welfare was important but so to was the work of the strike force. "There were 30 people who worked on this job and I also need to worry about the welfare of those people," the assistant commissioner said. "They have put thousands of hours into this investigation and really now it's a matter for the coroner." Which state holds the record for the best elective surgery wait times? The Statement "NSW has the best on-time elective surgery performance in the country." Health Minister Brad Hazzard claims NSW outperforms all other states and territories in delivering on-time elective surgery. But the Australian Medical Association NSW (AMA) says this data is not a true performance indicator because it does not represent the full picture. February 27, 2019. The Analysis AMA NSW released a list of March 23 election priorities demanding the government develop a strategic "whole of system", long-term NSW hospital plan and capture "real" elective surgery waiting times." [1] AAP FactCheck has examined Mr Hazzard's claim that NSW beats all the other states and territories in delivering on-time elective surgery, a measure which the AMA NSW believes is limited and does not provide a true picture. AAP FactCheck examined the claims made by the minister and found them to be true. According to the most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017/2018 report, elective surgery is defined as "planned surgery that can be booked in advance as a result of a specialist clinical assessment". [2] Common elective surgeries include the removal of cataracts, skin lesions and tonsils, hernia repairs, hysterectomies, hip and knee replacements, and varicose veins treatment. [2] Patients needing elective surgery are assigned to one of three categories depending on the urgency. Category one patients must have surgery within 30 days, category two patients within 90 days, and category three within 365 days. [2] [4] The number of days calculated starts when a patient is seen by a specialist who judges the patient needs surgery and adds them to a waiting list. The number of days on the waitlist ends when the surgery is completed. [2] According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, 97 per cent of NSW patients were admitted for elective surgery within the recommended time across all three urgency categories. All other states and territories recorded lower rates overall. [2] [4] Queensland came in second with 95 per cent and the Northern Territory rounded out the top three with 94 per cent. Both Western Australia and Victoria had on-time rates of about 90 per cent, while South Australia was 87 per cent, ACT 79 per cent and Tasmania the lowest with 73 per cent. [2] While these statistics fully support Mr Hazzard's claim, AMA NSW branch president President Dr Kean-Seng Lim told AAP FactCheck the minister's statement was "misleading". The AMA has criticised the government for failing to keep a 2011 election promise to measure the "real" wait time for elective surgery. [1] The AMA defines "real" as the time from when a GP refers a patient to a specialist to when surgery is completed. It says patients can spend months or years waiting to be seen by a specialist. "It is easy to hide behind the current figures by not including the true wait time from the point of referral. The current statistics that are being used are not telling the full story," Dr Lim told AAP FactCheck. [3] Dr Lim's claim is supported by the Bureau of Health Information, a NSW medical advisory/watchdog body. In its 2017 report the BHI said the on-time data represented "a component of the total waiting time for surgery". "Before a patient is added to a waiting list, they first need to be assessed by a surgeon and this can often involve waiting times to get an appointment. The number of people waiting for these sort of appointments is sometimes referred to as the 'hidden waiting list' or the 'waiting list for the waiting list'," the BHI said. [3] AAP FactCheck concludes Mr Hazzard's claim that NSW is the best performing state or territory in delivering on-time elective surgery is true. The AMA NSW is also correct in claiming on-time elective surgery data does not fully reflect a patient's journey from the GP to surgery. The Verdict True - The checkable claims are all true. The References 1: 'My ED is in crisis mode': doctors warn state's lack of planning risking patient care', by Esther Han, February 27, 2019: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/my-ed-is-in-crisis-mode-doctors-warn-state-s-lack-of-planning-risking-patient-care-20190221-p50zdr.html 2: 'Elective surgery waiting times 2017/2018'. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report. Pages 1, 14, 17, 38 - 42: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/73b686ab-32e9-48b1-86f2-cd264b3cf073/aihw-hse-215.pdf.aspx?inline=true 3: 'Elective surgery waiting lists - what it does and doesn't tell us about healthcare performance'. By Dr Jean-Frederic Levesque. Bureau of Health Information. March 15, 2017: http://www.bhi.nsw.gov.au/Blog/authors/dr_jean-frederic_levesque/Elective_surgery_waiting_lists_and_healthcare_performance 4: 'Simplified, time-based definitions of urgency categories' (page 8). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. July 18, 2013: https://www.surgeons.org/media/20048162/rpt_2013-08-20_national_definitions_for_elective_surgery_urgency_categories.pdf While issues remain with the way Victoria Police take witness statements, the state's corruption watchdog believes better training will help officers. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) conducted a four-week hearing into alleged police misconduct during Operation Lorimer, which investigated the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller in 1998. "I expect that the evidence presented at these hearings will now result in Victoria Police examining their training programs, practices and also the current police culture that enables the identified improper practices," IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich QC said on Friday. "It is therefore important to thoroughly analyse these practices particularly as it is evident from the testimony provided at our hearings, that such practices are still occurring." Bandali Debs and Jason Roberts were convicted of the murders in 2002, but Roberts still claims he is innocent and wants a retrial. The IBAC hearings heard from 34 witnesses and 376 exhibits were tendered. Unmarked text messages from the NSW Nationals asking people to hand over their personal information to potentially skip voting lines has prompted a warning from the electoral commission. The Nationals-authorised website ownyourvote.com.au asks people to enter their name, email, postcode and phone number to discover if they're eligible to vote online. A link to the website was recently distributed to voters via a text message which states: "The NSW State Election is on March 23rd. You could save the hassle and register to vote online today by visiting ownyourvote.com.au" The website is coloured blue and red and does not have any Nationals insignia or colours on it. But a message at the bottom of the page notes it's authorised by the party. The NSW Electoral Commission on Friday issued a statement saying it was aware of text messages being distributed regarding the iVote technology linked to ownyourvote.com.au. "The NSW Electoral Commission does not operate nor endorse the website or these text messages," it said. "Voters should be aware that any personal information they provide on this website is not provided to the NSW Electoral Commission and is not covered by the NSW Electoral Commission's privacy policy." The NSW Nationals have been contacted for comment. AAP has asked what the party does with the personal information it collects via the website. Tasmania's Anglican Diocese will join the national redress scheme set up after the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse. Bishop Richard Condie confirmed on Friday that his diocese would join the Anglican group participating in the scheme to compensate people who were sexually abused as children in institutions. "The Department of Social Services will receive the documentation in early March and we fully expect to be part of the National Redress Scheme by the end of the month," Bishop Condie said. The big banks got off lightly from the financial services royal commission despite the NAB CEO and chair being offered up as "sacrifices and scapegoats", a competition expert says. Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels says there has been a powerful exposure of and condemnation of misconduct from the inquiry. But the economist and lawyer believes the royal commission has not done as well in tackling difficult policy problems. "I thought the banks got off lightly," Professor Fels told the Melbourne Press Club on Friday. "I thought it didn't get deeply enough into a number of important things." Prof Fels argued the issue of structural separation - where institutions provide advice and make the financial products they sell - needed a much deeper look. Royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC decided it was not necessary to mandate structural separation between product and advice. Prof Fels also said Mr Hayne did not get to the bottom of questions about remuneration in the sector and did not "come up with anything much" in the area of remediation for customers. "I was a bit disappointed with the recommendations," he said. Prof Fels said a lot of the recommendations were aimed at "smaller fry" such as mortgage brokers and commission agents. "The big banks got off with a few sacrifices. A chairman and a CEO have been offered up as sacrifices and scapegoats," he said. National Australia Bank's CEO Andrew Thorburn and chairman Ken Henry resigned after Mr Hayne's final report expressed serious concerns about their leadership. Prof Fels said a number of difficult policy problems required a lot more thought, time and consideration - including Mr Hayne's call for a move to a borrower-pays system for mortgage brokers. COALITION MPs GONE OR ON THE WAY OUT MALCOLM TURNBULL (Liberal, Wentworth) - Retired early after being ousted as prime minister; his seat went to a by-election in October that was won by independent Kerryn Phelps. JULIE BISHOP (Liberal, Curtin) - The former foreign minister said after 21 years it was time for a new member to take her place; resignation came after she failed to win a party leadership ballot despite being popular with voters. KELLY O'DWYER (Liberal, Higgins) - The cabinet minister and strong performer is leaving to spend more time with her family and try for a third child after struggling with fertility issues. MICHAEL KEENAN (Liberal, Stirling) - The cabinet minister is also leaving to spend more time with his family, saying he no longer wanted to be an absent father. SENATOR NIGEL SCULLION (Country Liberal Party, NT) - The long-time indigenous affairs minister leaves after 18 years in parliament, saying it was just time to retire and "eat more mud crabs, catch more barramundi, shoot more wild pigs". ANDREW BROAD (Nationals, Mallee) - Quit politics to ensure he doesn't remain a diminished figure and "half-laughing stock" in parliament, after a scandal involving a younger woman he met via a sugar daddy website. ANN SUDMALIS (Liberal, Gilmore) - Decided not to recontest her seat after facing losing her preselection, decried the bullying within the NSW Liberal Party. JANE PRENTICE (Liberal, Ryan) - Lost her preselection in May 2018 to her former staff member, Brisbane City councillor Julian Simmonds. LUKE HARTSUYKER (Nationals, Cowper) - Retiring after 18 years in parliament. SENATOR JOHN 'WACKA' WILLIAMS (Nationals, NSW) - Retiring after a decade in the Senate, having seen the banking royal commission he long fought for come to fruition. SENATOR DAVID BUSHBY (Liberal, Tasmania) - Resigned after 11 years in the Senate, was immediately appointed Australia's next consul-general to Chicago. TO BE CONFIRMED CHRISTOPHER PYNE (Liberal, Sturt) - 26 colourful years in parliament, culminating in role as defence minister and Leader of the House. STEVE CIOBO (Liberal, Moncrieff) - First elected in 2001, he was relegated from trade minister to defence industry for his role in backing Peter Dutton's failed leadership tilt. The body representing Victorian barristers says the lawyer unveiled as Lawyer X committed "appalling" breaches of her ethical obligations by informing on her clients. Nicola Gobbo has been revealed as the former underworld lawyer used by Victoria Police to inform on high-profile clients during the height of the gangland wars. After years of secrecy, her identity as Lawyer X was finally exposed after a court order suppressing her identity was lifted Friday afternoon. Known to police as Informer 3838, Ms Gobbo was first recruited in 1995 and worked with police until 2009, with drug lord Tony Mokbel and gangland figure Carl Williams among her clients. By her own admission, her information helped convict hundreds of gangland criminals and drug traffickers. However, the Victorian bar said in providing information to police while a barrister, she breached obligations of confidence she owed to clients. "She committed fundamental and appalling breaches of her ethical obligations. Victoria Police also engaged in reprehensible conduct in knowingly encouraging her to commit those breaches," it said in a statement. Bar president Matthew Collins QC said Ms Gobbo's conduct was "egregious". "All Victorian barristers are bound by a strict code of ethics under which their paramount obligation is to the administration of justice, and all are subject to a robust and rigorous disciplinary framework that applies equally to all, without fear or favour," he said. "The public can and should have confidence in the integrity of the State's 2,100 practising barristers, who take their ethical obligations very seriously and have been appalled at the revelation of the breaches committed by Nicola Gobbo." Dr Collins said a full investigation into how Ms Gobbo came to be an informant is vital to restore public confidence in the administration of criminal justice in Victoria. "It is vital there be a full investigation into how Nicola Gobbo came to be an informant, how information provided by her was deployed by Victoria Police, and how the situation was permitted to persist for such a long period of time. For that reason, the Victorian Bar welcomes the work of the Royal Commission into the Management of Informants." The royal commission into police use of legal figures as informers - including murdered lawyer Joe Acquaro - is due to begin hearings later this month. Ms Gobbo's unmasking followed concerns the commission's work would be hindered if she could not be named. Ms Gobbo became a barrister in 1998 and ceased to practice on June 30, 2009. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will not seek to switch seats at the next federal election. There has been speculation Mr Dutton could move from his marginal Brisbane seat of Dickson to Moncrieff, which is expected to be vacated by cabinet colleague Steve Ciobo. However, AAP has confirmed Mr Dutton will stand in Dickson, which he has held since 2001 but now has a margin of 1.6 per cent. Former Liberal minister Nick Minchin said staying in Dickson made sense. "You are in a much better position to hold those (marginal) seats with the sitting member than bringing in someone new," Mr Minchin told ABC television on Friday. "Peter is a very loyal servant of the party and he knows the best thing for the party is for him to stay and defend that seat." The Hanoi summit will be the second time Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un The North Korean special representative for the US arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, apparently en route to Vietnam to meet his Washington counterpart ahead of a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. Kim Hyok Chol arrived in the Chinese capital at around 10 am (0200 GMT) and was expected to board a plane bound for Hanoi later in the day. His trip comes three days after Kim Jong Un's de-facto chief of staff, Kim Chang Son, landed in Hanoi to discuss protocol and security matters with the US team ahead of the summit on February 27-28. Kim Hyok Chol and his US counterpart Stephen Biegun were engaged in three days of talks in Pyongyang earlier this month, exploring each side's positions on denuclearisation ahead of the much-anticipated meeting. Biegun said they had been productive, but more dialogue was needed. "We have some hard work to do with the DPRK between now and then," Biegun said, adding that he was "confident that if both sides stay committed we can make real progress here". The US State Department said talks during Biegun's trip explored Trump and Kim Jong Un's "commitments of complete denuclearisation, transforming US-DPRK relations and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula". Specifically, discussions on declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War could have been on the table, with Biegun last month saying Trump was "ready to end this war". Alex Wong, US deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, is already in the Vietnamese capital preparing for the summit. Biegun is expected to fly there soon from Washington to resume talks with Kim Hyok Chol. Experts say tangible progress on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons will be needed for the second summit if it is to avoid being dismissed as "reality TV". Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has become the face of the escalating conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan promised to free a captured Indian pilot on Friday as a "peace gesture" aimed at its nuclear arch-rival, but New Delhi insisted it would remain on "heightened" military alert for attacks. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was shot down in an aerial engagement over the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, had become the centrepiece of the latest conflict between the neighbours. "As a peace gesture we are releasing the Indian pilot tomorrow," Prime Minister Imran Khan told the Pakistan parliament in the first sign of a potential thaw since Tuesday when Indian fighter jets launched a raid inside Pakistani territory. Despite Khan's promise, Indian and Pakistani forces continued shelling each other through the day across the ceasefire line in divided Kashmir, AFP reporters said. In India Khan's announcement was being seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, with Indian leaders and top officials showing little sign of de-escalating the rivalry. "We are fully prepared and in a heightened state of readiness to respond to any provocation from Pakistan," Major General Surendra Singh Mahal of the Indian army told a press conference. "Our fight is against terrorism. While Pakistan continues its support to it, we are ready to target their terrorist camps and training areas," he added. - 'Happy to have him back' - Air Vice Marshall RGK Kapoor added that Pakistan's decision to free the pilot, though welcome, simply followed international regulations. India-Pakistan military balance "We are extremely happy to have him back. We want to see him back," he told reporters, adding, "we only see it as a gesture which is in consonance with all Geneva conventions." Media reports have said Varthaman could return to India on Friday through the Wagah crossing gate, famed for hosting daily rival ceremonies by Indian and Pakistani soldiers at sundown when they bring down their national flags. With the pilot attaining hero status in India and the hashtag #WelcomeBackAbhi swiftly trending on social media, India's Prime Minister Modi called on his citizens to "stand as a wall" in the face of an enemy that "seeks to destabilise India". The tit-for-tat cross border raids have alarmed world powers including China and the United States, who have urged restraint. Pakistan has closed its airspace indefinitely, stranding thousands of passengers worldwide; and the army said Thursday its troops were also on high alert along the de facto Kashmir border, the Line of Control. Pakistan has said it downed two Indian fighters this week, while India confirmed it had lost one plane and on Thursday reaffirmed its claim to have shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet. Pakistan PM Khan warned his Indian counterpart Modi not to see his desire to de-escalate as "weakness". "India must know that we will be forced to strongly retaliate against any Indian action in the future," he said. - Pilot's 'mishap' - US President Donald Trump voiced optimism earlier Thursday that the India-Pakistan tensions could soon be resolved. "We have had some reasonably decent news... Hopefully that's going to be coming to an end," he told reporters in Hanoi after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Modi has called on his citizens to "stand as a wall" in the face of an enemy that "seeks to destabilise India" Indian government sources said they were unsure what Trump was referring to. The confrontation erupted after a suicide bombing in Indian-held Kashmir killed 40 troops on February 14, in an attack claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group. Twelve days later Indian warplanes launched a strike inside Pakistani territory and claimed to have hit a militant training camp. An infuriated Islamabad denied major casualties or damage, but a day later launched its own incursion across the Line of Control which sparked the dogfight that ended in Varthaman's capture. A viral video apparently taken soon after his plane was shot down purportedly showed Varthaman being dragged and beaten by a group of men as Pakistani soldiers intervened, shouting "Stop! Stop!" Soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal told reporters Thursday that the pilot had "some mishap before our officers reached there because he was caught by the public". But he stressed the pilot was now "with us, he is safe and in good condition". A video released by the Pakistani military later showed Varthaman sipping tea, his face swollen and sporting bruises but otherwise collected and calm. He thanked the "thorough gentlemen" who rescued him from the mob and complimented the tea as "fantastic". It was unclear if he had been coerced to speak. Kashmir has been divided and disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947. The two countries have fought two of their three wars over the region. burs-tw/amu A member of Jordan's security forces checks ID cards of Syrian refugees from the Rukban desert camp near the border between Syria and Jordan in March 2017. Damascus government has asked its citizens to return home from the isolated makeshift camp Syria's government on Thursday called on thousands of displaced Syrians stranded near their country's southern border with Jordan to return to their homes, as the UN appealed for protection guarantees. Nearly 50,000 Syrians are living in squalid conditions in Rukban, an isolated desert camp located near the Al-Tanf base used by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. The Syrian government and regime-ally Russia said on February 19 that they have opened corridors from Rukban, calling on residents to leave the settlement. Damascus renewed the call on Thursday, SANA state news agency said, citing an unnamed foreign ministry source. "Out of concern for the interest of its citizens, Syria renews its call to our people in the Rukban camp to leave this settlement and return to their cities and villages," the source said. "The Syrian government will do everything it can to facilitate the transfer of these citizens from the camp to their place of residence," he added. No civilians are believed to have left Rukban in the two weeks since Russia and Syria announced the opening of corridors, Panos Moumtzis, the UN regional coordinator for Syria told AFP on Thursday. "So far, as far as we know, there has not been any movement of civilians outside of Rukban," he said. The official said the UN is not involved in the opening of the corridors but noted that most Syrians are seeking protection guarantees before deciding to leave. "Most of the people from Rukban, more than 95 percent, want to leave and most of them actually want to go back to government-held areas," Moumtzis said. "But they have expressed concerns on issues related to protection... basically they want to know that they will be safe," he added. Conditions inside the settlement are dire, with many surviving on just one simple meal a day, often bread and olive oil or yoghurt, according to one resident. Severe weather has hit the region in recent weeks, including heavy and sustained rainfall that flooded the settlement. Earlier this month, a humanitarian convoy of 133 trucks delivered food, clothes, healthcare items and medical supplies to the camp's residents. The February 6 delivery was the second delivery in three months. Syria's civil war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011. US President Donald Trump faced a backlash back home after saying he believed Kim Jong Un's assertion that he knew nothing about the torture of American Otto Warmbier while in North Korea in 2017 Donald Trump took Kim Jong Un's word that he knew nothing of the torture of an American college student while in North Korean custody, an about-face that sparked a bipartisan backlash back home on Thursday. The US president appeared to side with the reclusive leader about the 2017 case of Otto Warmbier, drawing outrage from incredulous Democrats who accused Trump of repeatedly aligning with tyrants. The 22-year-old Ohio native was returned to the United States in a coma and died shortly afterwards. A US judge concluded Warmbier was tortured by North Korean authorities. At the conclusion of his Hanoi summit with Kim, Trump told reporters he talked with Kim about the "horrible" Warmbier case. "He knew the case very well, but he knew it later," Trump said, adding that "some really bad things" happened to Warmbier while he was detained. Kim "tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." Trump took credit for the release of Warmbier and other US hostages in 2017, saying at the time that "Otto was tortured beyond belief by North Korea." At his January 2018 State of the Union address, the president praised Warmbier and spoke directly from the podium to the young man's parents seated in the audience. "You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength truly inspires us all," Trump said, as lawmakers gave them a standing ovation. But as Trump presses for Korean denuclearization, betting heavily on his relationship with Kim, the hard line he signaled that night in Congress has largely evaporated, prompting angry reactions across the political spectrum. "I do not see the leader of North Korea as somebody who's a friend. We know what happened to Otto, we know what this country has done," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the most senior Republican to break with Trump on the issue. "I support the president's effort to denuclearize them, but I do not have a misbelief of who this leader is." - 'Detestable' - America student Otto Warmbier (pictured here in Pyongyang in 2016) was subjected to brutal treatment by North Korean authorities, who released him to the United States shortly before his death Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, snapped about Warmbier's brutal treatment. "Of course Kim knew about it," he tweeted. "Apparently, the President of the United States is the only one who believes this obvious lie." An angry House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff branded Trump's acceptance of Kim's denial "detestable," while Senator Chris Van Hollen said the United States "cannot give Kim Jong Un a free pass for torturing and murdering one of our own." Senator Rob Portman, from Warmbier's home city of Cincinnati, delivered a five-minute floor speech highlighting his "unforgiveable" treatment and the "brutal" nature of the regime, though he made no mention of the president's reversal. And Trump's former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, a Republican Party luminary, said that "Americans know the cruelty that was placed on Otto Warmbier by the North Korean regime." But she too stopped short of criticizing Trump. Several Democrats took the president's position as just his latest embrace of autocratic leaders. They pointed to his acceptance of President Vladimir Putin's 2018 insistence that Russia did not meddle in the US election, and Trump refusing to accept CIA conclusions that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she thought there was "something wrong" with Trump choosing to believe "thugs" like Putin and Kim over the US intelligence community. "Why does he keep sticking up for dictators over his own people??" Senator Tim Kaine asked. Allen Weisselberg (2nd from right) is the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization As President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen delivered hours of riveting testimony to a US House committee on Wednesday one name came up again and again: Allen Weisselberg. Weisselberg, 71, is the publicity-shy chief financial officer of the Trump Organization and one of the real estate tycoon's oldest and closest advisors. Weisselberg has spent decades in the Trump family's inner circle and -- should he also turn on the president -- could prove to be far more dangerous to Trump than Cohen, who described his former boss as a racist, conman and cheat. Weisselberg, more than anyone else, has intimate knowledge of Trump's financial dealings, which are under the scrutiny of New York prosecutors and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing whether members of Trump's election campaign colluded with Russia. In a measure of the faith placed in him, when Trump assumed the presidency he named Weisselberg and his two sons -- Don Jr and Eric -- as trustees of the Trump Organization. Eric was reportedly later removed leaving only Weisselberg and Don Jr holding the reins of the sprawling real estate empire. The Brooklyn native has worked for the Trump family for more than 40 years, first as an accountant for Donald Trump's father, Fred, and since 2000 as the CFO of Trump Organization. Unlike Trump, who revels in the spotlight, the balding, bespectacled Weisselberg prefers to remain in the shadows, working out of an office in the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue. But his name came up repeatedly on Wednesday as Cohen testified about Trump's alleged misdeeds during the decade he served as the billionaire's personal attorney and fixer. Weisselberg was there when hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were discussed with Trump ahead of the election, Cohen said. - 'Criminal conspiracy' - Weisselberg and Don Jr signed some of the checks which were used to reimburse Cohen for the payments he made to the porn star to silence her about her sexual liaison with Trump, Cohen said. Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, mentioned Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg several times during his testmony before a House committee Weisselberg would be the man to talk to about Trump's alleged practice of inflating and deflating real estate assets for tax or insurance purposes, Cohen said. Asked about a New York Times report on dubious tax schemes involving the Trump family in the 1990s, Cohen said he wasn't there at the time and was unable to shed any light. "Who would know the answer to those questions?" a Democratic lawmaker asked. "Allen Weisselberg," Cohen said. Weisselberg is not currently known to be under investigation or formally accused of any wrongdoing. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Weisselberg was granted immunity in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) probe which resulted in Cohen's conviction for bank fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress. The 52-year-old Cohen, who has been cooperating with the authorities since his arrest last year, is to report to prison on May 6 to begin serving a three-year sentence. Democratic lawmakers made it clear on Wednesday they believe Weisselberg's alleged involvement in the hush money payments make him a party to a crime. "I just want the American public to understand the explosive nature of your testimony," Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, told Cohen. "Are you telling us, Mr. Cohen, that the president directed transactions in conspiracy with Allen Weisselberg and his son, Donald Trump Jr, as part of a criminal conspiracy of financial fraud?" Khanna asked. "Yes," Cohen replied. - 'Fingerprints' - Khanna pressed Cohen on whether this "criminal financial scam" was being investigated by prosecutors in New York. "I'd rather not discuss that question because it could be part of an investigation that is ongoing," Cohen said. A former federal prosecutor said Weisselberg "very likely will be one of the most important witnesses if the SDNY moves forward with the campaign finance charges against anybody beyond Michael Cohen." "I think that for anything that turns on the movement of money within the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg is potentially the most important witness," said the former prosecutor, who asked to remain anonymous. "His fingerprints are going to be all over the movements of money, bank applications, insurance applications," the former prosecutor said. Representative Elijah Cummings, the Democrat who heads the House committee which heard Cohen's testimony on Wednesday, said Weisselberg and Don Jr may also be subpoenaed. A committee aide confirmed to The Daily Beast on Thursday that the panel intended to call on Weisselberg to testify. But Cummings stressed that the congressional panel does not want to interfere with the investigations being conducted by New York prosecutors and Special Counsel Mueller. The United States is offering a $1 million reward for information on Hamza bin Laden, seen here in a video grab by the CIA The United States on Thursday offered a $1 million reward for information on a son of late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, seeing him as an emerging face of extremism. The location of Hamza bin Laden, sometimes dubbed the "crown prince of jihad," has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or under house arrest in Iran. "Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former AQ leader Osama bin Laden and is emerging as a leader in the AQ franchise," a State Department statement said, referring to Al-Qaeda. The State Department said that it would offer $1 million for information leading to his location in any country. Bin Laden, who according to the United States is around 30, has threatened attacks against the United States to avenge the 2011 killing of his father, who was living in hiding in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, by US special forces. US intelligence agencies increasingly see the younger bin Laden as a successor to his father for the mantle of global jihad, especially as the even more extreme Islamic State group is down to its last sliver of land in Syria. In 2015, bin Laden released an audio message urging jihadists in Syria to unite, claiming that the fight in the war-torn country paves the way to "liberating Palestine." And in a message a year later, following in the footsteps of his father, he urged the overthrow of the leadership in their native Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden's three surviving wives and his children were quietly allowed to return to Saudi Arabia after his killing. But Hamza bin Laden's whereabouts have been a matter of dispute. He is believed to have spent years along with his mother in Iran, despite Al-Qaeda's strident denunciations of the Shiite branch of Islam that dominates the country. Observers say that the clerical regime in Tehran kept him under house arrest as a way to maintain pressure on rival Saudi Arabia as well as on Al-Qaeda, dissuading the Sunni militants from attacking Iran. One of Hamza bin Laden's half-brothers told The Guardian last year that Hamza's whereabouts were unknown but that he may be in Afghanistan. He also said that Hamza bin Laden married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that killed some 3,000 people and sparked the US intervention in Afghanistan. A magistrate in the northern resort town of Hwange dismissed an application by the seven unemployed Chinese nationals (pictured January 2019, leaving the Victoria Falls magistrate court) to have the charges thrown out Seven Chinese nationals being held in a Zimbabwe jail for money laundering and unlawful possession of rhino horn on Thursday lost their legal bid to have their charges dropped. They were arrested on December 23 with more than 20 kilograms (44 lbs) of rhino horn pieces worth nearly a million US dollars. A magistrate in the northern resort town of Hwange dismissed an application by the seven unemployed Chinese nationals to have the charges thrown out. Their lawyer had argued the prosecution had failed to prove there was a case to answer. The seven were ordered to return to court on March 19. Acting on a tip-off, police detectives found the rhino horn stashed in a mattress, plastic bags and in boxes at a house in the nearby town of Victoria Falls. Rhino horns are highly coveted in some Asian countries such as China and Vietnam, where they have fetched up to $60,000 per kilogramme, for their supposed medicinal qualities. The demand has fuelled a boom in poaching and trafficking in Africa. An Israeli Air Force F-35 performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots The US Navy's version of the F-35 stealth fighter jet is "ready for combat," officials said Thursday, marking another milestone in the development of the most expensive weapons program ever. "The F-35C is ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win," Vice Admiral DeWolfe Miller, who commands Naval Air Forces, said in a statement. "We are adding an incredible weapon system into the arsenal of our Carrier Strike Groups that significantly enhances the capability of the joint force." The F-35 "C" variant has been developed for the Navy and is capable of taking off and landing from an aircraft carrier. Its wingtips can fold up to create more room on the huge ships. In August 2017, the Air Force announced initial operational capability for their version, the F-35A. The F-35B, used by the Marine Corps, is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings, and flew its first combat missions last year over Afghanistan. Launched in the early 1990s, the F-35 program is considered the most expensive weapons system in US history, with an estimated cost of some $400 billion and a goal to produce 2,500 aircraft in the coming years. Martha Stewart is partnering with Canada's Canopy Growth to launch a line of CBD products Lifestyle expert Martha Stewart said Thursday she's taking her brand to new heights -- partnering with one of the world's largest marijuana producers to develop a line of CBD products for humans and their pets. In announcing the new collaboration, Canada's Canopy Growth Corporation chairman and co-CEO Bruce Linton hailed Stewart as "one of a kind." "As soon as you hear the name Martha, you know exactly who we're talking about," Linton said. "I am so excited to be able to work alongside this icon to sharpen our CBD product offerings across categories from human to animal." CBD -- or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive bit of the marijuana plant -- has become a much-touted silver bullet among alternative medicine seekers to treat conditions including anxiety, pain, depression and insomnia. Some also sing its praises as an aphrodisiac, a skin disorder treatment, and aid for more serious ailments including multiple sclerosis and diabetes. "I am delighted to establish this partnership with Canopy Growth and share with them the knowledge I have gained after years of experience in the subject of living," Stewart, 77, said in a statement. Snoop Dogg (L) and Martha Stewart's tight friendship is well known "I'm especially looking forward to our first collaboration together, which will offer sensible products for people's beloved pets." The homemaking guru has said in the past she is not a marijuana smoker herself, though her unlikely but close friendship with weed aficionado and rapper Snoop Dogg is well known. The pair's Emmy-nominated variety show "Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party" includes regular references to pot, with Snoop explaining that "the king of cush and the queen of cuisine are throwing a little dinner party." "I'm not high right now, but whoever gave us this show, they must have been," the California hip-hop legend says early on in the series. Stewart insisted in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that while she's "never been a prude" about marijuana, she doesn't smoke it herself -- but does "get kind of high from secondary smoke." "The smoke is quite thick around the set," she said. Young Rohingya refugees keep an eye on cows at the Thangkhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh Bangladesh told the UN Security Council on Thursday that it will no longer be able to take in refugees from Myanmar. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told a council meeting that the crisis over the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya sheltering in his country had gone from "bad to worse" and urged the council to take "decisive" action. Around 740,000 Muslim Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh after they were driven out of Myanmar's northern Rakhine state during a military campaign in 2017 that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. "Here, I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar," said Haque. Under a deal reached with Bangladesh, Myanmar agreed to take back some of the refugees, but the United Nations insists that the safety of the Rohingya be a condition for their return. "Is Bangladesh paying the price for being responsive and responsible in showing empathy to a persecuted minority population of a neighboring country?" asked the foreign secretary. After five trips to Myanmar, UN envoy Christine Schraner Burgener reported "slow progress" in efforts to help hundreds of thousands of Rohingya return home and warned that Myanmar's elections next year could worsen the crisis. The Swiss diplomat, who was appointed in April as UN envoy for Myanmar, said UN agencies had been given "insufficient" access to help prepare the return of the Rohingya. - Myanmar appeals for patience - Myanmar's Ambassador Hau Do Suan insisted his government was taking steps and appealed for patience. He spoke of "huge physical as well as psychological barriers" in the way of allowing the refugees' return and stressed that "it takes time and patience as well as courage to build trust and confidence among different communities in Rakhine." China, which has close ties with Myanmar's former military junta, insisted that development aid could help ease tensions in Rakhine and made clear the council should not get involved in addressing the refugee crisis. Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh "It is up to the two countries to work out a solution," said Chinese Deputy Ambassador Wu Haitao. In December, Britain circulated a draft resolution that would have forced Myanmar to roll out a strategy for addressing the Rohingya crisis, but China threatened to veto the measure, according to diplomats. "We are very disappointed that there hasn't been more progress on getting the refugees back," said British Ambassador Karen Pierce. "The scale of what has been done to the Rohingya Muslims and the allegations of crimes against humanity really mark this out as one of the most terrible events of this century so far," said Pierce. The UN envoy warned that the election campaign "could add to the domestic complexities" in Myanmar, which is still struggling with a democratic transition after 50 years of military rule. Rohingya refugee girls peep out from a makeshift shelter at Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticized for failing to speak out to defend the Rohingya, is seeking to consolidate her position ahead of the 2020 vote. Myanmar's military dominates the Buddhist-majority nation, holding a quarter of seats in parliament and controlling three ministries, making their grip on power firm despite political reforms which began in 2011. This image obtained from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Billie Wayne Coble in a January 2018 booking photo. A 70-year-old convicted murderer on Thursday became the oldest man executed in Texas since the United States reinstated the death penalty. The state's Department of Criminal Justice confirmed the execution of Billie Wayne Coble, who was convicted for the 1989 murders of three people -- the parents and brother of his estranged wife, who had asked for a divorce. He died by lethal injection Thursday evening in the Texas death chamber in Huntsville, just a couple of hours after the US Supreme Court denied a last-minute appeal. Coble is the third convict executed this year in the United States and the second in the Lone Star state, which puts to death the most inmates. He is the oldest man executed in Texas since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The oldest in the US is serial bomber Walter Moody, put to death last year in Alabama at the age of 83. Inmates can languish on death row for decades as their cases wind through the courts. There are nearly 30 condemned inmates in Texas who have been in prison more than 25 years, according to the Texas Tribune. Coble, a Vietnam War veteran, was convicted of killing his brother-in-law Bobby Vicha, who was a police officer in the city of Waco, and Vicha's parents Robert and Zelda. Prosecutors said he also tied up his children and Bobby Vicha's son, and kidnapped his wife with the intention of raping and killing her. She escaped with her life after Coble crashed his car. - 'Discredited testimony' - Bobby Vicha's son JR, who was 11 years old at the time, told television station KXXV that he and his cousins were tied up for hours. "Through the whole thing, I didn't really know what was going on," Vicha said. "I was a prosecutor for eight years, so every day I dealt with criminals," he added. "I've never dealt with anybody that I thought was as bad or as evil as he is." In the latest unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court, Coble's current attorney had claimed the convict's trial lawyers did not present the defense he had wanted. "Coble did not agree with his lawyers' decision to drop altogether any semblance of a defense at the guilt phase" and concede his guilt, the court filing said. In previous appeals, his lawyers focused on the sentencing phase of the trial, saying irregularities and faulty testimony did not allow for proper consideration of a lesser sentence. The American Civil Liberties Union said this week that two experts who had testified in support of Coble getting the death penalty have since been discredited. "That Coble will be executed on such discredited testimony is unconscionable," the civil liberties group said. "The example of his case already shows all who are willing to look why the death penalty is never justice." Twenty-five people were put to death last year in the US, more than half in Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 'People want to return to their old neighbourhoods. I will work to bring those people back,' said village chief candidate Metin Arslan, shown here indicating damaged buildings in Sur Candidates campaigning for upcoming local elections in southeastern Turkey have a serious conundrum: the villages they want to run have been largely emptied by clashes between Kurdish rebels and Turkish soldiers. The violence, which resumed after the collapse of a fragile ceasefire in 2015, hit the historic walled town of Sur in the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakir especially hard. Thousands had to abandon the region, with many houses demolished during intense clashes between the Turkish military and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants. Mehmet Kacan, who is running for village chief in the March 31 elections, finds himself chasing some 4,000 voters of his Fatihpasa neighbourhood who simply are not at home. "The people are now scattered all around the province," Kacan told AFP. Metin Arslan, shown with his arm around a villager, seeks out voters in coffeeshops "It is hard to afford a living there, people cannot even pay their electricity bills. They want to return to their old neighbourhoods," he said, vowing: "I will work to bring those people back." Around 6,000 families were forced to leave six Sur neighbourhoods, and no one has returned, according to a February report by the Diyarbakir-based Dicle Social Studies Centre. While construction of new homes has been continuing since 2017, police barriers and concrete blocks prevent any access to the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site with ancient fortified walls, historic mosques, churches and synagogues. Although many people moved away, they remain registered as residents to avoid losing state benefits such as rent allowances and compensation for damaged homes. - 'No neighbourhood left'- Turkey stepped up the fight against Kurdish militants following a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, declaring a state of emergency under which tens of thousands of people were arrested or sacked from their jobs. The PKK, originally set up to win Kurdish autonomy, took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. The subsequent insurgency has claimed more than 40,000 lives. Parts of Sur have endured 24-hour curfews lasting weeks at a time, preventing Kurdish civilians from fleeing combat zones. Activists have accused Turkish security forces of causing huge destruction to urban centres and killing Kurdish civilians. Metin Arslan, right, is shown shaking hands with Cengiz Madenli, seeking election in another village, outside a shop in Diyarbakir Although the district -- a tourist attraction as one of the first places where humanity began settled life -- has been rebuilt, it has changed significantly. Kacan, an electrician, is going street by street in search of an audience for his campaign platform. At a local coffeehouse, he came across two former residents from Fatihpasa who lamented their loss. 'There is no neighbourhood left physically to talk about,' said villager Selim Turgul at a Sur coffeeshop. 'When we left the neighbourhood we did not change our addresses... because we wanted to get back to our house there'. "There is no neighbourhood left physically to talk about," said Selim Turgul. "When we left the neighbourhood we did not change our addresses... because we wanted to get back to our house there." He said many former residents "are in a dire situation", adding: "We are hoping to return. We want our own house." - 'You see the suffering'- Orhan Kacan, a former resident of Fatihpasa neighbourhood, also wants to return home. "You see the suffering of people. They cannot pay their rents for four months," he said. "We want to live in peace. We want our neighbourhood to be like it was before, so that we can return." Savas is another devastated neighbourhood where the number of voters has dropped to 1,800 from 3,000. Metin Arslan, another candidate for village chief or muhtar, is also touring the coffeehouses, to little avail. "Our residents live somewhere else because the neighbourhood is abandoned," he said. "It is not appropriate to make promises to an electorate in a neighbourhood that no longer exists." Despite warm words, the gap between the United States and North Korea remains sizeable US President Donald Trump urged North Korea's Kim Jong Un to go "all in" during their high-stakes nuclear negotiations but talks floundered amid differences over sanctions and the definition of "denuclearisation", a senior State Department official said Friday. The two leaders travelled huge distances to Hanoi for a second summit over dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programme but the two-day meeting broke down suddenly with the two sides failing to agree on a joint statement as scheduled. A senior administration official, who requested anonymity, said the North Koreans wanted "many, many billions of dollars in sanctions relief" but were "unwilling to impose a complete freeze on their weapons of mass destruction programmes". Lifting the sanctions "would in effect put us in a position of subsidising the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea," the official added. "The weapons themselves need to be on the table." "The President in his discussions challenged the North Koreans to go bigger. The president encouraged Chairman Kim to go all in. And we were going to -- we were prepared to go all in as well," he said. North Korea's foreign minister convened journalists from a handful of countries for a surprise midnight press conference in Hanoi to present Pyongyang's position that it had only requested partial sanctions relief. In return -- and in what the minister Ri Yong Ho called a "realistic proposal" -- the North had offered to "permanently and completely dismantle all the nuclear production facilities in the Yongbyon area, in the presence of US experts". But one of the problems was a precise definition of what is located at Yongbyon -- an enormous complex containing "more than 300 different separate facilities", the US official noted. "What the North Koreans proposed to us was closing down a portion of the Yongbyon complex." A further sticking point was the ever-thorny issue of an exact definition of "denuclearisation". While Washington wants North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, Pyongyang sees denuclearisation more broadly. The North's view includes an end to sanctions and what it sees as US threats -- usually including the American military presence in South Korea, and sometimes in the wider region. The official said the definition was extensively discussed at working-group level but "they haven't agreed to it". Despite the chasms still separating the two sides, the official -- like his boss Trump -- sought to strike a positive tone. "We're actually encouraged by where we're going," he said." "We didn't get close enough at this summit but we're encouraged by the opportunities ahead of us." North Korean students read newspaper coverage of Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump North Korea on Friday promised further negotiations with the US, as both sides sought to hold open the door while staking out their positions after their Hanoi summit spectacularly failed to produce a nuclear deal. The second meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump broke up in disarray Thursday, with a signing ceremony cancelled and no joint communique issued. Each sought to blame the other's intransigence for the deadlock, with Trump saying Pyongyang wanted all sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons programmes lifted. But in a rare late-night press briefing, the North Korean foreign minister said it had only wanted some of the measures eased, and that its offer to close "all the nuclear production facilities" at its Yongbyon complex was the best it could ever offer. Despite the deadlock, the North's official KCNA news agency reported Friday that the two leaders had had a "constructive and candid exchange". Relations between the two countries -- on opposite sides of the technically still-unfinished Korean War -- had been "characterised by mistrust and antagonism" for decades, it said, and there were "inevitable hardships and difficulties" on the way to forging a new relationship. It described the Hanoi meeting as "successful" and said Kim had promised Trump another encounter. No caption Similarly, Trump said before leaving the Vietnamese capital that he hoped to meet Kim again. "Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times," an unusually downbeat Trump told reporters. "I'd much rather do it right than do it fast," he said, while reaffirming his "close relationship" with Kim. "There's a warmth that we have and I hope that stays, I think it will." South Korea's dovish President Moon Jae-in, who has brokered talks between the US and the North, sought to take the positives. The talks had made "meaningful progress", with Trump and Kim building "more trust" and "mutual understanding", Moon said in a speech in Seoul. - 'Billions of dollars' - The outcome in Hanoi fell far short of the pre-meeting expectations and hopes, after critics said their initial historic meeting in Singapore -- which produced only a vague commitment from Kim to work "toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" -- was more style over substance. The outcome of the Hanoi meeting fell far short of expectations According to senior US officials, in the week leading up to the Hanoi summit the North Koreans had demanded the lifting of effectively all the UN Security Council economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang since March 2016. Before that date, the measures were largely focused on preventing technology transfers, but more recent restrictions were imposed on several valuable industries in an effort to force concessions from Pyongyang, including coal and iron ore exports, seafood, and textile trade. "It was basically all the sanctions except for armaments," a senior US official told reporters. "It tallies up to the tune of many, many billions of dollars." In return, they were only offering to close "a portion of the Yongbyon complex", a sprawling site covering multiple different facilities -- and the North is believed to have other uranium enrichment plants. Analysts say the failure to reach a deal in Hanoi does not herald the end of negotiations Trump had urged Kim to go "all in" to secure a deal, the official said, adding Washington was willing to do so. "The weapons themselves need to be on the table," he added, pointing to both Pyongyang's existing stock of atomic bombs and the ICBMs which can reach the whole of the US mainland. But the process was continuing and Washington was "encouraged by the opportunities ahead of us", the official said. "There's still ample opportunity to talk." - 'Rollercoaster ride' - Analysts say the failure to reach a deal in Hanoi does not herald the end of negotiations. The Trump-Kim summit was held under tight security in Hanoi "I don't think it's a disaster and it doesn't end the dialogue process," said Chris Green of the International Crisis Group. Trump could not afford to do "a quote-unquote 'bad deal'" in Hanoi, he added. "I think it benefits him to look tough, to string this out." But others have pointed to a lack of preparation ahead of the meeting, with the two sides unable to bridge the gaps between them in time. Former US ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said the impasse "highlighted the importance of working-level talks". Kim put "more emphasis" on sanctions relief than most observers predicted, she said, and mutual liaison offices and an end-of-war statement had proved insufficient to persuade him to go further with denuclearisation. Joel Wit and Jenny Town of the respected Washington-based 38 North project said that while there had been fears beforehand that Trump "was going to give away the store, he did just the opposite, holding out for a better deal". "The two leaders are heavily invested in the process so hopefully, this failed summit will just be one more chapter in the rollercoaster ride that is the Trump presidency," they wrote. But if the North Korean process stalls and Trump's domestic troubles mount, they warned, North Korea may slip down his priority list. The United States has built political and economic relations with Nigeria since the restoration of democracy 20 years ago The United States on Thursday congratulated Nigeria on a "successful" vote, which saw President Muhammadu Buhari re-elected after delayed polling blamed on logistical difficulties. "We commend all those Nigerians who participated peacefully in the election and condemn those whose acts of violence harmed Nigerians and the electoral process," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "We note the assessments of international and domestic observer missions affirming the overall credibility of the election, despite localized violence and irregularities." The United States has built political and economic relations with Nigeria since the restoration of democracy 20 years ago and in recent years has been especially involved in supporting its fight against Boko Haram jihadists. Buhari's winning margin over his nearest challenger, Atiku Abubakar, was 3.9 million votes -- more than enough to ensure he remained the head of Africa's most populous nation and leading oil producer for the next four years. Leading civil society election monitor YIAGA Africa, which has US and British backing, said "the announced election results reflect the votes cast," even if there were problems. The vote took place last Saturday, delayed one week over the logistical problems cited by election officials. Abubakar's Peoples Democratic Party claimed Buhari's All Progressives Congress colluded with the electoral commission to manipulate the outcome. In early February, with tensions mounting over potential violence and vote-rigging, Pompeo said the ballot offered "an opportunity for Nigeria to solidify its place as a democratic leader in Africa." He called for a "free, fair, transparent and peaceful election." The no deal outcome from the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi will have been a huge disappointment for Moon Jae-in, who brokered the talks process South Korean President Moon Jae-in insisted Friday the Hanoi summit between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump had made a "meaningful progress", despite it breaking up without a nuclear deal. "The two leaders had conversations at length, enhanced mutual understanding and built more trust," Moon said in a speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Movement against Japanese colonial rule. Both North and South Korea are united in their shared resentment of Japan's brutal 1910-45 colonial rule over the peninsula. The no deal outcome from Hanoi will have been a huge disappointment for the South Korean president, who brokered the talks process and had touted the summit as a "remarkable breakthrough" for peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula. Moon had been set to unveil details of new economic cooperation between the two Koreas this week, and now faces major questions over his dovish approach, but signalled he would not change track. Seoul would consult with the US on ways to resume South Korean tourism to the North's Mount Kumgang and operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where Southern firms used to be staffed by Northern workers, he said. Moon has been pushing for the resumption of both projects as he seeks to engage Pyongyang, but doing so would fall foul of sanctions imposed on the North since they were suspended. A joint North-South economic committee would be set up to benefit both sides "when there is progress in denuclearisation", he added, and said unification of the two Koreas "need not be far away". But after 70 years of division the two are now radically different societies and the South is far wealthier than the North. Despite Moon's optimism, some in South Korea said they did not foresee any more US-North Korea summits. "It seems like there isn't much left to talk about," said Kim Seong-min, president of Free North Korea Radio, a private broadcaster led by North Korean defectors in Seoul. "Unless Kim changes his mind and really decides to give up all nuclear weapons and facilities, not just Yongbyon. But that's unlikely." The Bougainville Ceasefire Agreement was signed on a makeshift stage in Arawa in 1998 A referendum that could lead to statehood for the troubled south Pacific Island of Bougainville has been delayed until the end of the year, top officials meeting in Port Moresby agreed Friday. Amid a row over funding, the vote -- which could split the island from Papua New Guinea and create the world's newest country -- will not take place in June as planned. Bertie Ahern, the former Irish prime minister who chairs the referendum commission, said that holding the vote on June 15 as planned was "just not possible." "This is, of course, disappointing to me and everyone else, but it is the reality of the situation," he said, recommending that the vote now take place on October 17. PNG Bougainville That recommendation was accepted by the regional and central government, although voting is likely to take place over multiple days. "The voting will take place in October," said Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. The vote is seen as a key pillar of a 2001 peace process that ended a brutal decade-long civil war that killed up to 20,000 people -- one in ten of the island's population. The battle between secessionists and the central Papua New Guinea government only ended with a promise of more autonomy and an eventual vote on statehood. Both the government in Port Moresby and authorities in Bougainville indicated they wanted that vote to go ahead, but preparations have been hindered by the government's failure to provide the bulk of promised funding for the effort. There have also been concerns about the accuracy of the voter rolls. "Our government is committed to making sure that we will have the referendum this year," O'Neill said, amid criticism from the region's president John Momis about his "slow release of funds". The referendum commission "will need more time to be ready to conduct the free and fair and credible referendum", he said. Observers have warned that disputes and delays risk rekindling unrest and heightening political tensions. Analysts at Fitch Solutions have predicted that Bougainvilleans will vote for independence, but it is not clear that the authorities in Port Moresby will honour the result. Ahern warned both sides that further delay would be disastrous and that they face years of difficult negotiations -- even after the vote takes place. The referendum will ask residents of the island whether they want more autonomy or independence. Cardinal George Pell making his way to court in Melbourne, where he was convicted of child sex abuse The first video has emerged of police confronting disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell in 2016 with allegations he sexually abused two choir boys. A Melbourne court on Friday released footage of Australian police interviewing the then Vatican number three in a room in Rome. Facing accusations he exposed himself to the boys in the sacristy of Saint Patrick's cathedral in Melbourne in 1996 and 1997, Pell interjects immediately: "Oh, stop it." "What a load of absolute, disgraceful rubbish. Completely false. Madness," a cross-armed Pell says. The 77-year-old is facing up to 50 years in jail after being convicted on five counts of sexual and indecent assault of the two choirboys, shortly after he became an archbishop. Pell, who maintains his innocence and has lodged an appeal, was remanded in custody on Wednesday, a day after his conviction was made public. The interview, which cannot be released in full because it could reveal the identities of those abused, shows Pell issuing explanations that would later form the basis of his failed legal defence. He says the sacristy is a hive of activity at the time of the alleged attack, where "you could scarcely imagine" paedophilia crimes taking place. "The allegations are the products of fantasy," Pell reads from a statement. The video comes as Pell's Barrister Robert Richter made a public apology over his language in court. He had earlier angered abuse survivors by arguing that even if Pell had committed the crimes, they were no more than a "plain vanilla sexual penetration case." On Thursday, after a "sleepless night", Richter apologised, saying he acknowledged the crime's seriousness with "the concession that it merited imprisonment". "In seeking to mitigate sentence I used a wholly inappropriate word for which I apologise profusely to all who interpreted it in a way it was never intended," he said in a statement. "It was in no way meant to belittle or minimise the suffering and hurt suffered by victims of sexual abuse, although in retrospect I can see why it caused great offence to many." Other prominent Australians have also faced public criticism for their defence of Pell in the wake of the revelations, including former conservative prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott. Howard provided a character reference for Pell, saying "none of these matters alter my opinion of the Cardinal" despite the conviction. Long-time Pell supporter Abbott said it was "shocking" for the Cardinal's friends and "devastating" for many Catholics. "I also have faith in our system of justice. Let's see what the system of justice ultimately produces," he told 2GB radio. Pell is due to be sentenced on March 13. The highly symbolic Wagah crossing point is famed for hosting colourful rival ceremonies by India and Pakistan Thousands of Indians, some waving flags and singing, gathered Friday to give a hero's welcome to an air force pilot due to be returned across the border after being shot down by Pakistan. Islamabad's "peace gesture" of freeing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman comes after tensions with New Delhi over Kashmir escalated this week to their highest level in years. The fighter pilot of 16 years' experience from Chennai has emerged as the face of the latest standoff, which has seen the nuclear-armed rivals exchange rare aerial raids. Abhinandan's parents were given a standing ovation by fellow passengers as they boarded a flight to Amritsar near the Wagah border crossing to welcome their son. The highly symbolic Wagah crossing point, where the handover is due to take place, is famed for hosting colourful rival ceremonies by Indian and Pakistani soldiers each day at sundown. Patriotic spectators fill stadium-style stands on each side to cheer as goosestepping troops bring down their national flags in elaborate, competing performances. On Friday, thousands of people had crowded in early to get a glimpse of Abhinandan, clutching sweets and garlands as they waited for his return, an AFP reporter said. "Pakistan should learn its lesson. The film is not over yet. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi will teach them a lesson," one man at Wagah told Indian television. A group of schoolchildren brandished a painting of the pilot, along with saffron, white and green Indian flags and placards reading: "Hope for peace between India & Pakistan" and "Thank you Imran Khan", referring to Pakistan's prime minister. An old man with a white beard banged a drum as groups of young men sang and danced. "We are very happy that the hero of our country is coming back. We have come here to support him," another spectator who came to the Wagah border with his family told the ABP news channel. - Hero status - After Abhinandan was shot down on Wednesday in a dogfight with Pakistani aircraft, purported footage that went viral showed him being beaten by locals before Pakistani soldiers intervened. A video released by the Pakistani military later showed Abhinandan sipping tea, his face swollen and sporting bruises but otherwise collected and calm. His polite refusal to proffer more details than necessary -- "I am sorry major, I am not supposed to tell you this" -- won him particular sympathy in India. His father, a retired air force officer, told the Times of India newspaper, "Just look at the way he talked so bravely... a true soldier... we are proud of him." Social media has been abuzz with #GivebackAbhinandan and #Abhinandanmyhero hashtags elevating the pilot to national hero status. Diplomatic sources said they expected Abhinandan to be handed over to India at around 3.00-4.00 pm (1000-1100 GMT). Abhinandan was captured a day after Indian fighter planes bombed what India said was a militant camp in Pakistan, in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Kashmir on February 14 that killed 40 paramilitaries. He was among the fighter pilots scrambled to repel a Pakistani incursion over the border the next day. str-burs-ruc/stu/amz The activists still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University Rights groups denounced Saudi Arabia Saturday over its decision to put jailed women activists on trial after holding them for nearly a year without charge. The public prosecution said Friday that the activists had been referred to court, as its investigation is complete. Some of those detained have allegedly faced torture and sexual harassment during interrogation, following their arrest in May last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners. "The Saudi authorities have done nothing to investigate serious allegations of torture," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Now, it's the women's rights activists, not any torturers, who face criminal charges and trials." More than a dozen activists were arrested just a month before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on women drivers. Most were accused of undermining security and aiding enemies of the state. Some were later released. Amnesty International called Friday's announcement a "shocking sign of the kingdom's escalating crackdown on activists" and demanded "the immediate release of prisoners of conscience." Trials in the ultra-conservative kingdom are often shrouded in secrecy. The prosecutor did not specify the charges nor give a date for their trial. But the announcement sparked speculation that the activists could be released under the cover of a judicial process, after the crackdown prompted scathing criticism against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "There is a legal process moving forward and I think it will end well," Ali Shihabi, founder of pro-Saudi government think tank Arabia Foundation, said on Twitter. "Let us see the end result and then judge, not jump to conclusions." Those still detained include Aziza al-Yousef, a retired professor at Riyadh's King Saud University. Another is Loujain al-Hathloul, who was held for more than 70 days in 2014 for attempting to drive from neighbouring United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia. Following their arrest, state-backed newspapers published front-page pictures of some of the activists with the word "traitor" stamped across them in red. Loujain was one of the activists who faced sexual harassment and torture during interrogation, her family and rights groups said. The Saudi government has rejected the allegation. Republicans hoped President Donald Trump's address to the Conservative Political Action Conference would serve as a diversion from the Mueller investigation and testimony by the president's former personal attorney Michael Cohen President Donald Trump rallied right-wing activists Saturday with a speech offering conservative red meat on immigration, trade and the threat of "socialism" as he sought to move on from a bruising week in domestic and international politics. "We believe in the American dream, not in the socialist nightmare," he said to boisterous applause from hundreds of supporters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington. "America will never be a socialist country," Trump added in a mammoth two-hour speech that seemed to draw energy from the fervent reception offered by some of his influential supporters in the room. It was his first public appearance since coming home empty-handed, and to criticism from all sides, after a nuclear-disarmament summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. He told CPAC the meeting was "very productive" -- but that he would not "make a deal just for the sake of doing it." President Donald Trump hugged the US flag as he arrived to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland The White House is also smarting from explosive testimony on Capitol Hill by Trump's former lawyer and fixer on Wednesday that branded him a cheat and a racist. Trump, often speaking in mocking tones, portrayed the Green New Deal climate strategy touted by the left of the Democratic party as a socialist plan that will devastate the fossil fuel and automotive industries. He said progressive healthcare policies would "lead to colossal tax increases" -- and accused the Democrats of having "totally abandoned the American mainstream" on issue such as immigration and abortion. - 'These people are sick' - With the federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia reportedly approaching its conclusion, Trump again berated Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team as partisan hacks out to get him, adding that "these people are sick." His voice dripping with sarcasm, he suggested that his call in summer of 2016 for Russia to find and release Hillary Clinton's emails was a joke that had been obtusely taken at face value by the media. Trump's speech came at the same time as a rally in New York by US Senator Bernie Sanders, who kicked off his 2020 campaign On the foreign front, Trump repeated his claim that the last Islamic State group fighters in Syria would be captured or killed imminently -- "as of tomorrow" -- after on Thursday telling US troops "we just took over" 100 percent of the caliphate. Two weeks earlier Trump had declared the fall of the so-called caliphate would be announced "over the next 24 hours." He railed against Chinese tariffs on American goods and said the US loses $500 billion a year to the world's second biggest economy -- "such a disaster." Trump regularly ignores the dominant US services sector to focus only on goods, when in 2017 the US trade deficit with China was actually $337 billion -- not $500 billion. Trump last year initiated a tariff war with Beijing, which has taken a nasty bite out of US growth. Although both sides say they are now close to resolving the dispute Trump insisted he's "fine with it" and told his supporters: "The beauty is this. I have $250 billion more to put tariffs on." The word "socialism" has been in heavy rotation since some Democratic candidates began openly embracing liberal platforms including the Green New Deal and a Medicare for All. On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the four-day conference in National Harbor, Maryland, to warn that Democrats are taking a "hard left turn" ahead of 2020. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, pictured at their Hanoi summit on February 28, 2019, failed to reach an agreement on curbing Pyongyang's nuclear program "Under the guise of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions over the last century. That system is socialism," he said. Trump's speech came at the same time Senator Bernie Sanders, who has embraced the label of "democratic socialist," spoke at a rally in New York, assailing Trump as "the most dangerous president in modern American history." - 'Freedom' or 'socialism' - It was Sanders' first major speech since announcing he will again seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Republicans hoped Trump's address would serve as a diversion from the Mueller investigation and to the testimony this week on Capitol Hill by the president's former personal attorney Michael Cohen implicating him in crimes. Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee that Trump is a racist and a cheat In December a court sentenced Cohen to three years in prison for hush-money payments to two women and for lies to Congress -- both of which he said were to protect Trump -- and tax evasion. During Cohen's testimony the president was in Vietnam where a high-stakes second summit between Trump and Kim broke up in disarray Thursday, without even a joint statement. The pair failed to reach an agreement on curbing Pyongyang's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. A man inspects damage and destruction at a restaurant following a reported suicide attack in the rebel-held northern Syrian city of Idlib on March 1, 2019 Jihadists controlling Syria's northwestern Idlib region said 10 alleged Islamic State group members were executed Saturday, a day after a deadly bomb attack. A suicide bomber killed eight people, including five foreign jihadists, at a restaurant in the city of Idlib on Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Idlib region borders Turkey and is dominated by an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The faction's propaganda arm Ebaa put out a statement online saying 10 suspected IS members had been executed. "This comes a day after a member of the gang blew themselves up in a restaurant," Ebaa said. The Observatory confirmed the executions by HTS and said they had been carried out "in front of the restaurant". HTS took administrative control of the whole of Idlib region last month, after overpowering smaller factions that are backed by Turkey. The region has seen jihadist groups and rebels target each other with bloody attacks, and IS sleeper cells are known to be present. Idlib has been protected from a massive offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's regime since September, thanks to a buffer zone deal agreed by Damascus' ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. But it has been hit by sporadic government shelling. Eight years into a multi-faceted conflict that has killed more than 360,000 people, Syria's government has wrested back large swathes of territory to control around two-thirds of the country. In the east of Syria diehard IS fighters are currently battling to defend the last scrap of the group's self-declared "caliphate" from a US-backed force. WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States and China resume talks Tuesday aimed at ending a fight over Beijing's technology ambitions ahead of a deadline for a massive U.S. tariff hike. The White House said that meetings between mid-level delegations will begin in Washington following talks last week in Beijing that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said "made headway" on key issues. On Thursday, Lighthizer will lead higher level talks, joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and trade adviser Peter Navarro. Leading the Chinese team will be Vice Premier Liu He, according to the Xinhua news agency. Business groups and economists saw Friday's surprise announcement of further talks this week as a sign that the two counties were making progress. Both governments have expressed optimism, but they have given no details of their talks. Economists say the time available for negotiations is too brief to resolve an array of irritants in U.S.-Chinese relations. They say Beijing's goal is to persuade President Donald Trump they are making enough progress to push back threatened U.S. penalties. FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019, file photo, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, while they line up for a group photo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. China's economy czar is going to Washington for talks Thursday and Friday aimed at ending a tariff war over Beijing's technology ambitions.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) Beijing hopes for "a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement that is acceptable to both sides," said a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. Without an agreement, a 10 percent tariff increase imposed on $200 billion of Chinese goods is due to rise to 25 percent on March 2. Last Friday, Lighthizer told the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, the two sides "made headway on very, very important and difficult issues." Trump imposed the penalties over complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. The talks also include complaints about Beijing's plans for government-led technology development, cyberspying and China's trade surplus. Beijing retaliated with higher duties on U.S. goods and told its importers to find other suppliers. That led to a 40 percent drop in Chinese imports of American goods in January. Washington, Europe, Japan and other trading partners complain plans such as "Made in China 2025," which calls for government -led creation of global competitors in robotics and other technologies, violate Beijing's market-opening obligations. China's leaders have offered to narrow its multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more natural gas, soybeans and other exports. But they are resisting pressure to scale back industry plans they see as a path to prosperity and global influence. Other stumbling blocks include Chinese resistance to U.S. pressure to accept an enforcement mechanism with penalties to ensure Beijing carries out whatever commitments it makes. Trump said last week he might be willing to push back the March 2 date if the talks go well but Washington has yet to say whether the negotiations are making enough progress. ___ McDonald reported from Beijing. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - More than a decade after the Southern Baptist Convention rejected the idea of creating a database of ministers credibly accused of sexual abuse, leaders said on Monday night the possibility is on the table. The denomination already was looking at how it could better respond to abuse when two Texas newspapers published an investigation last week that detailed hundreds of cases of abuse in its churches. Those revelations added a sense of urgency to a meeting of the SBC's executive committee on Monday night, where President J.D. Greear reported on the progress of a sexual assault advisory committee. With 15 million members and over 47,000 churches, the Southern Baptist Convention is the nation's largest Protestant denomination. But the SBC's structure as a voluntary association of autonomous churches has hindered past efforts at fighting sexual abuse. At the denomination's annual meeting in 2008, the executive committee said local church autonomy made it impossible to implement a database of abusers, an idea that survivors and their supporters had been advocating. Critics accused the denomination of using the structure as an excuse not to act. But on Monday, Greear said Southern Baptists needed to "repent of appealing to autonomy as a cover-up for lack of accountability." Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear speaks to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) He said the advisory group was studying the possibility of a database but that the subject is complicated. "Just because we are not announcing any plans regarding a database tonight does not mean that we are not doing everything we can to evaluate it as an option," he said. Greear also said the denomination should kick out churches that show "wanton disregard for sexual abuse and for caring for the survivors" and suggested an investigation of 10 churches that have been identified in media reports as covering up abuse. The Nashville-based denomination already kicks out churches that affirm homosexuality or call female pastors. Greear, who is a pastor at The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, said if there had been news stories of Southern Baptist churches performing gay weddings, the denomination would take action "because our position is clear. "We must make it clear that our position on abuse is not up for debate." He said a constitutional amendment is already in the works. The emotional meeting began with a personal appeal from the executive committee Chairman Mike Stone, a pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia. Stone showed a photograph of himself as a young boy on screens in the auditorium as he told the members of the committee, with his voice quavering at times, that he was abused as a boy, although not in a Southern Baptist church. "That boy needs you to take the next steps in confronting this evil," he said. "He's asking you to take bigger and bolder steps than you've ever taken in the past." Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear speaks to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Just days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear speaks to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Just days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear, left, prays with Jimmy Draper, right, a former denomination president, before Greear spoke to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Just days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear speaks to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Just days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear speaks to the denomination's executive committee Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Days after a newspaper investigation revealed hundreds of sexual abuse cases by Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders over the past two decades, Greear spoke about plans to address the problem. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) HONG KONG (AP) - Brexit is a "short-term frustrating issue" that will be overcome in time, the Lord Mayor of London said Tuesday during a visit to Hong Kong to tout the British capital's attractiveness for business even with the looming threat of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal. Despite the uncertainty, businesses in the financial center are "by and large, prepared for any outcome," Peter Estlin told reporters. "Brexit has been quite frustrating. It's created uncertainty (and) business doesn't like uncertainty. But as far as the city is concerned, we've known Brexit is coming," Estlin said. "Put Brexit aside. It's a short-term frustrating issue and we will get through that, but the longer-term agenda is actually quite exciting," he said. Estlin's largely ceremonial position representing the capital's financial industry is separate from that of the much more powerful elected mayor of London. Brexit is scheduled to take place on March 29 but financial markets appeared to take a fairly benign view of the defeat of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal last month, possibly believing Britain's departure may be delayed. Lord Mayor of the City of London Peter Estlin speaks during a news conference in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. Estlin paid an official visit to Hong Kong from Feb. 18 to 19 to reinforce the UK's links with cities across Asia. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Britain's focus on future industries such as electric vehicles and companies offering online financial products is driving a surge in foreign direct investment, which hit an all-time high last year, Estlin said. Companies within the City of London have prepared individually by ensuring they have "continuity of operations under any regime," while regulators have ensured a smooth transition by deploying temporary measures both inside Britain and the EU, he said. Known as the Square Mile, the City of London is home to London's financial district, including the Stock Exchange and Bank of England, and its historic center with St. Paul's Cathedral at its heart. A former British colony, Hong Kong is a major Asian financial center with extensive ties to the British financial industry. Lord Mayor of the City of London Peter Estlin speaks during a news conference in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. Estlin paid an official visit to Hong Kong from Feb.18 to 19 to reinforce the UK's links with cities across Asia. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The new U.N. special envoy for Syria said Thursday his goals in the period ahead are to achieve "concrete action" on detained and missing people and the convening of a committee to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country "as soon as possible." Geir Pedersen said he also wants to begin a sustained dialogue with the government and opposition "on building trust and confidence," to engage a wide-range of Syrians, and to help the international community deepen its dialogue on achieving a political settlement of the eight-year conflict. Pedersen's first briefing to the U.N. Security Council indicated a much broader approach to trying to end the war and restore peace to Syria than his predecessor, Staffan de Mistura, who spent his last year trying unsuccessfully to form a constitutional committee. Pedersen told reporters later that he is working "in parallel" on all five goals. The Security Council has been deeply divided over Syria, with the U.S. and its allies backing the opposition and Russia and China supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad's government along with Iran and other countries. The result has been near-paralysis of the U.N.'s most powerful body. Pedersen focused on a resolution the council did succeed in adopting unanimously in December 2015 endorsing a road map for peace. It contains "all the elements for a political solution," he said, and calls for "a truly Syrian-led and owned political process" which he stressed is key if any peace deal is to be sustained. Geir Pedersen, The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, speaks during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) The new envoy noted that key international players "express emphatic support for a political settlement for Syria" and agree on the need to counter terrorist groups. "They share an appreciation of the realities of 2019 and that real diplomacy is needed to address them," Pedersen said, noting that currently "different formats make different contributions." In the early years of the Syrian conflict there was a large international contact group, but in recent years Russia, Iran and Turkey - the guarantor states in the so-called "Astana process" aimed at ending the violence in Syria - have become the key international diplomatic players in Syria. Pedersen said he believes "there are real possibilities for strengthening international support," and a need to be "creative." "If we are to see how issues can be unblocked and how to help the parties move in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, a common forum where key states engage seriously on those issues may be needed," he said without elaborating. As he deepens discussions with the government and opposition, Pedersen said, "I sense a wide acceptance of the notion that convening a credible, balanced, inclusive and viable Syrian-led and owned constitutional committee, under U.N. auspices in Geneva, can be important to revitalize the political process." "It can be a door opener to a deeper dialogue and genuine negotiations," he reiterated. Pedersen expressed hope that "we can finalize the rules of procedure and the composition of the committee in the near future." He said the U.N. needs to "scale up and prioritize action" on releasing prisoners and accounting for the missing, "which is of immense humanitarian importance and is also an essential part of building confidence." De Mistura said at his last press conference in December that an "an extra mile" was needed to form a constitutional committee because a list of participants from civil society submitted by Russia, Iran and Turkey wasn't acceptable to the United Nations. Pedersen also said some challenges must be addressed urgently, including the future situation in Syria's northeast, where U.S.-backed forces are fighting the Islamic State group in the last village it controls and a cease-fire in the last opposition-held stronghold in Idlib remains fragile. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia expressed hope that soon the Astana guarantors "will manage to achieve mutually acceptable solutions on the Idlib de-escalation zone and also the northeast." He said Russia shares many of Pedersen's assessments and pledged support to the U.N. envoy's efforts to restore peace to Syria. "The key words that you mentioned is the need to restore, rebuild lost trust, not just within Syria but also around Syria, all of the players that are working on Syria," Nebenzia told Pedersen. France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said an inclusive political solution is the only way to avoid "a new black decade in Syria" - and he urged the Security Council to overcome its divisions and unite in helping to restore peace to Syria. WASHINGTON (AP) - The House put on a display of Democratic priorities this week with two bills to bolster background checks on firearms purchases, showing just how quickly the politics of gun control have turned. Just a few years ago, says Kris Brown, the president of one of the nation's leading gun violence prevention groups, there was a "sense of hopeless" after a divided Congress tried - and failed - to change gun laws following the mass shooting of 20 young children and six adults at Newtown Elementary School in Connecticut. But a new generation of teen leaders "flipped" public sentiment after the shooting last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, she said, helping to elect lawmakers in 2018 who are willing to buck the powerful gun lobby, including the National Rifle Association. "We're at a completely different time," said Brown, the president of the Brady, the group formerly known as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The group changed its name this week on the 25th anniversary of implementing its landmark background check bill. Parkland "reignited something in people," she said in an interview after the House votes on Thursday. Democrats - and some Republicans - "understand this is where American sentiment is going and what people want." On Thursday, the House approved legislation to allow a review period of up to 10 days for background checks on firearms purchases. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters just after the Democratic-controlled House approved a measure requiring federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, the first major gun control legislation considered by Congress in nearly 25 years, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Democrats led passage, 228-198, with a handful of defections and scant Republican support. The bill stems from the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, where nine black worshippers died at the hands of a white supremacist. A faulty background check allowed the gunman's firearm purchase after the required three-day review period expired. On Wednesday, the House approved a more ambitious measure - bipartisan legislation requiring federal background checks for all gun sales and transfers, including those sold online and at gun shows. A handful of Republicans crossed over to join Democrats. It's the most substantial gun violence prevention bill in more than a decade. Not all Democrats helped in passing the bills, and some broke with their party to back a Republican counter-effort Thursday to maintain the three-day review period for victims of domestic violence seeking guns. But the outcome showcased a turn of events as Democrats - and some Republicans -more fully support gun control measures they were hesitant to tackle even a few years ago. The NRA acknowledges the challenges ahead. But the Second Amendment group also downplays the momentum of the gun control advocates, especially since the White House has threatened to veto the bills. The measures are likely to languish in the Republican-controlled Senate. The NRA's Chris Cox said in a statement that the group "will continue to fight to preserve the constitutionally protected right to self-defense." The NRA spent more money than ever to help elect Trump, who in 2017 became the first president in decades to speak at their annual convention. And while the group was outspent by gun-safety advocates in the 2018 midterm that ushered Democrats into power in the House, it says its deepest asset is the millions of Americans who are Second Amendment advocates. "The strength of the NRA has always been with our grass roots," said spokeswoman Jennifer Baker, "and our tens of millions of members and supporters who consistently go to the polls and vote on this issue and actively engage with their elected officials." Polling, though, shows attitudes are shifting. A survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last year found that nearly 7 in 10 adults favored stricter gun control measures. That was the strongest level of support since The Associated Press first asked the question five years ago. Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona lawmaker who was severely wounded in a 2011 shooting and now runs a gun advocacy group bearing her name, said in a statement that the votes this week show "how serious the new majority in the House of Representatives is about taking action to make our communities safer from gun violence." ___ This story corrects the name of the gun violence prevention group to Brady, not the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Backing the rival sides in Venezuela, the United States and Russia failed Thursday to get the deeply divided U.N. Security Council to take a stand on how to address the Latin American nation's political conflict and humanitarian crisis sparked by an economic downturn worse than the U.S. Great Depression. The council rejected their rival resolutions - the U.S. measure backing opposition leader Juan Guaido and calling for free and fair elections, the Russian draft supporting President Nicolas Maduro and opposing interference in Venezuelan affairs and any threats of military intervention. As expected, Russia and China vetoed the U.S. draft resolution, and Moscow's proposal failed to win majority support. The results highlighted the inability of the U.N.'s most powerful body to address the worsening situation in Venezuela. Immediately before the votes, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the United States of engaging in "shameless propaganda" with the goal of "regime change." He expressed concern that the council meeting "may be exploited as a step for preparations for a real - not humanitarian - intervention." U.S. envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said after the vote that "the time for a peaceful transition to democracy is now." He accused opponents of the U.S. resolution of prolonging the suffering of Venezuelans and continuing "to shield Maduro and his cronies." Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, left, speaks to the United States special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams before the start of a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Speaking to reporters later about when Maduro might go, Abrams said, "We hope that it's as little time as possible." He reiterated U.S. concerns about Guaido's safety and security when he returns to Venezuela and expressed hope that all council members "will join us in doing so." The U.S. draft resolution received nine "yes" votes - the minimum number required for adoption - and three "no" votes from veto-wielding Russia and China as well as South Africa. Indonesia, Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast abstained. The vetoed measure urged "the peaceful restoration of democracy" in Venezuela, expressed "deep concern" at "the violence and excessive use of force by Venezuelan security forces against unarmed, peaceful protesters" and "recent attempts to block the delivery of humanitarian aid." It called for unhindered humanitarian access. Russia's resolution got four votes in favor, from Russia, China, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. Seven nations voted against, and four abstained. If it had received nine "yes" votes, Abrams made clear the Trump administration would have vetoed it. The defeated Russian resolution called for peaceful settlement of disputes and a political solution in Venezuela, and reaffirmed the primary role of the government in seeking and consenting to international aid. Indonesian Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, who abstained on both resolutions, expressed regret that the Security Council could not achieve unity. He said both resolutions were incomplete, not balanced or comprehensive enough, and became "overly politicized." "This is a sad day for the international community, particularly for the people of Venezuela," he said. "This is undoubtedly a collective failure - a failure of us 15 that are seated at this table, because we all came here today knowing that we would not reach the needed consensus for the adoption of a resolution." U.S. President Donald Trump has said all options are on the table in dealing with Venezuela's crisis, though Abrams this week stressed the word "peaceful." Washington's proposed resolution was changed from its initial text to include that word several times, including calling "for the start of a peaceful political process leading to free, fair and credible presidential elections." French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters: "The American draft does not represent a legal basis for a use of force, nor an attempt to undermine the sovereignty of Venezuela. Rather, it reflects the tragic reality of this country today." The vote on the rival resolutions followed Saturday's highly publicized attempt by Guaido, who has been recognized as Venezuela's interim president by the U.S. and more than 50 other countries, to deliver humanitarian aid across the country's borders with Colombia and Brazil. During Tuesday's council debate, Abrams and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza disagreed sharply over who was responsible for violence that flared when Venezuelan troops blocked the shipments. Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada told the council on Thursday: "There is no type of violence in Venezuela. If there are threats to peace, those threats come from abroad." Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada speaks during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Venezuelans use the Tachira river as a crossing point on the Colombia and Venezuela border, with the Simon Bolivar International Bridge in the background, in La Parada, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. The border between Colombia and Venezuela has been closed indefinitely by the Venezuelan government. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, right, votes against a resolution concerning Venezuela during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya speaks during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) U.S. special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams listens during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A powerful explosion killed at least 11 people in the Somali capital Thursday, police said. An Islamic extremist group claimed that a Mogadishu hotel was the intended target, but a police officer said militants detonated a bomb while trying to assassinate a judge. The car bomb went off near the residence of appeals court chief Judge Abshir Omar, and security forces stationed outside the judge's house fought off gunmen who tried to force their way inside, police officer Mohamed Hussein said. More than 35 were wounded in the attack, said Hussein, who raised the death toll to 11. Shortly after the detonation, at least four gunmen running on foot opened fire at nearby buildings and business, sparking clashes with security forces stationed nearby and hotel guards, he said. Two witnesses said the blast ripped off part of the roof of Omar's house. The witnesses, shopkeeper Ahmed Mohamed and area resident Fatima Nur, reported hearing gunfire after the explosion and said smoke billowed from the site of the attack. Al-Shabab, which is considered the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, claimed responsibility for the attack. The al-Qaida-linked group said the Maka Almukarramah hotel, not the judge's house nearby, was the intended target. Cars burn after car bombs in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday Feb. 28, 2019. At least four people were killed in a powerful explosion late Thursday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, police said, in an attack that Islamic extremists said was an attempt to bomb a hotel. Militants detonated a car bomb near the residence of Judge Abshir Omar, and security forces stationed outside the house fought off gunmen who tried to force their way into Omar's house, police officer Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) Another witness, Sabir Abdi, said the hotel suffered significant damage and several people inside were injured. Dozens of cars were on fire along Maka Almukarramah Road, which is in a busy part of Mogadishu where restaurants and hotels are located. Al-Shabab has targeted the Maka Almukarramah hotel multiple times in the past, including a March 2015 attack in which at least 18 people died. The hotel is frequently patronized by government officials. Many of victims of Thursday's attack suffered horrific injuries and local hospitals were said to be struggling to cope with causalities. Some of the wounded lost limbs, said Sadiya Yusuf, a nurse at Daru Shifa, one of the hospitals treating victims. The militant group, which opposes Somalia's federal government and wants to impose sharia law, has carried out many deadly attacks inside Somalia and elsewhere in the region, including in neighboring Kenya. It was behind the deadliest attack in Somalia's history, a massive truck bombing that killed well over 500 people in Mogadishu in October 2017. Al-Shabab also said it was responsible for a January attack on a hotel and shopping complex in neighboring Kenya's capital of Nairobi that killed 21 people. The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the extremist group since President Donald Trump took office. The U.S. military command for the African continent reported carrying out 50 strikes in Somalia in 2018. This year, U.S. strikes targeting al-Shabab fighters have come at an even faster pace. The military command in Africa reported 23 as of Tuesday, including one in central Somalia that killed 20 militants and another the day before that killed 35. ___ Rodney Muhumuza contributed from Kampala, Uganda. Somalis help an injured person after a car bomb, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday Feb. 28, 2019. At least four people were killed in a powerful explosion late Thursday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, police said, in an attack that Islamic extremists said was an attempt to bomb a hotel. Militants detonated a car bomb near the residence of Judge Abshir Omar, and security forces stationed outside the house fought off gunmen who tried to force their way into Omar's house, police officer Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate on Thursday confirmed former coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, despite concerns by Democrats and one Republican about regulatory rollbacks he's made in eight months as the agency's acting chief. Senators voted 52-47 to confirm Wheeler, who was nominated by President Donald Trump after former administrator Scott Pruitt resigned last year amid a series of ethics allegations. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate environment committee, called Wheeler "uniquely qualified" to lead EPA and said that under Wheeler the agency is putting forward proposals that "both protect our environment and allow the country's economy to flourish." But Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said Wheeler was failing to protect the environment and human health and was "nominated to unravel and undo the environmental protections that are now in place." Wheeler, 54, was confirmed as deputy administrator last April and became acting chief in July after Pruitt resigned. He worked at the EPA early in his career and was a top aide at the Senate Environment Committee before becoming a lobbyist a decade ago. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the sole Republican to oppose Wheeler. She said in a statement that, unlike Pruitt, Wheeler "understands the mission of the EPA and acts in accordance with ethical standards. However, the policies he has supported as acting administrator are not in the best interest of our environment and public health, particularly given the threat of climate change to our nation." FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2018 file photo, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler at EPA headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) Collins said she was particularly concerned that EPA has proposed to roll back rules regulating mercury emissions from power plants and moved to replace the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama's signature proposal to combat climate change. "There is no doubt that the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change pose a significant threat" to Maine and the nation, Collins said, adding that pollution from coal-fired power plants threatens Maine's natural resources, "from our working forests, fishing and agricultural industries, to tourism and recreation." Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., who supported Wheeler's nomination as deputy last year, voted against his promotion. As acting administrator, Wheeler "hasn't demonstrated a desire or a will to make any meaningful progress on clean drinking water standards and has rolled back clean air standards that are directly impacting West Virginians," Manchin said. He cited the agency's failure to limit the amount of highly toxic chemicals contaminating drinking water in West Virginia and around the country. The EPA has announced plans to place legal limits on the chemicals but has not yet done so. The perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, have been linked to health threats ranging from cancer to decreased fertility. "I believe immediate action must be taken, and these efforts lack a sense of urgency," Manchin said. Like Collins, Manchin also said he was concerned at EPA's attempt to undo rules designed to limit emissions of mercury, which can damage the brains of infants and young children. Environmental groups, meanwhile, slammed Wheeler, saying that while his behavior is "less cartoonish" than Pruitt, he supports the same policies. "Wheeler wants to turn the EPA into a wish-granting service for polluters, no matter the cost to public health or wildlife. But it's only a matter of time before his dirty dealings land him in the same trash heap as his predecessor," said Emily Knobbe, EPA policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental group. America's Power, a trade group that represents coal producers, applauded Wheeler's confirmation. "During his time as acting administrator, Andrew Wheeler has been seen as a thoughtful leader who understands the need for sensible environmental policies," said Michelle Bloodworth, the group's president and CEO. Wheeler's "long experience in public service demonstrates his integrity in serving EPA's mission," she said. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The U.S. and North Korea offered contradictory accounts Thursday of why the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un broke down, though both pointed to punishing American sanctions as a sticking point in the high-stakes nuclear negotiation. President Trump, who returned to the White House Thursday night, said before leaving Hanoi that the talks collapsed because North Korea's leader insisted that all the sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Pyongyang be lifted without the North firmly committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. But North Korea challenged that account, insisting it had asked only for partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down its main nuclear complex. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho commented on the talks during an abruptly scheduled middle-of-the-night news conference after Trump was in the air. Ri said the North was also ready to offer in writing a permanent halt of the country's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and Washington had wasted an opportunity that "may not come again." He said the North's position won't change even if the United States offers to resume another round of dialogue. Later, a senior U.S. official involved in the negotiations offered some clarification, saying the North wanted all sanctions, except for those involving weapons sales and transfers, to be lifted in exchange for the dismantlement of parts of the Yongbyon nuclear site. The official was not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump, the official said, challenged the North Koreans to offer more or "go all in," but Kim would not agree. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Trump made no mention of the disagreement as he addressed U.S. troops during a stopover at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, though White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said he was aware of Ri's comments. Instead, Trump focused on U.S. military might and offered a broad warning to U.S. enemies. "America does not seek conflict, but if we are forced to defend ourselves we will fight and we will win in an overwhelming fashion," he declared. Earlier on Thursday in Hanoi, Trump had told reporters the North had demanded a full removal of sanctions in exchange for shutting the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Trump said that there had been a proposed agreement "ready to be signed." However, he said after the summit was cut short, "Sometimes you have to walk." The demise of the talks came after Trump and Kim had appeared ready to inch toward normalizing relations between their still technically warring nations. The American leader had dampened expectations that the negotiations would yield an agreement by North Korea to take concrete steps toward ending a nuclear program that Pyongyang likely sees as its strongest security guarantee. However, Kim, when asked whether he was ready to denuclearize, had said, "If I'm not willing to do that I won't be here right now." But hours after both nations had seemed hopeful of a deal of some kind, the two leaders' motorcades roared away from the downtown Hanoi summit site within minutes of each other, lunch canceled and signing ceremony scuttled. The president's closing news conference was hurriedly moved up, and he departed for Washington more than two hours ahead of schedule. The breakdown denied Trump a much-needed triumph amid growing political turmoil back home and the path forward now appears uncertain. Trump insisted his relations with Kim remain warm, but he did not commit to having a third summit with the North Korean leader, saying a possible next meeting "may not be for a long time." Ri's comments reflected the North Koreans' disappointment, though there was a notable absence of bluster or threats by either side. Both Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said significant progress had been made in Hanoi, but the two sides appeared to be galaxies apart on an agreement that would live up to stated American goals. "Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn't do that," Trump told reporters. Kim, he said, appeared willing to close his country's main nuclear facility, the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, if the sanctions were lifted. But that would leave him with missiles, warheads and weapon systems, Pompeo said. There are also suspected hidden nuclear fuel production sites around the country. "We couldn't quite get there today," Pompeo said, minimizing what seemed to be a chasm between the two sides. Longstanding U.S. policy has insisted that U.S. sanctions on North Korea would not be lifted until that country committed to, if not concluded, complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. Trump declined to restate that goal Thursday, insisting he wanted flexibility in talks with Kim. Ri said North Korea proposed that U.S. and North Korean technicians jointly dismantle plutonium, uranium-enrichment and other nuclear material-making facilities at Yongbyon in the presence of U.S. experts. He said it is "the biggest denuclearization measure that we can take" given the current status of mutual confidence between the two countries. In return, Ri said North Korea asked the U.S. to lift five kinds of sanctions that are related to its civilian economy and public livelihoods. The failure in Hanoi laid bare a risk in Trump's negotiating style. Preferring one-on-one meetings with his foreign counterparts, his administration often eschews the staff-level work usually done in advance to assure a deal. There was disappointment and alarm in South Korea, whose liberal leader has been a leading orchestrator of the nuclear diplomacy and who needs a breakthrough to restart lucrative engagement projects with the impoverished North. Yonhap news agency said that the clock on the Korean Peninsula's security situation has "turned back to zero" and diplomacy is now "at a crossroads." The two leaders had seemed to find a point of agreement when Kim, who fielded questions from American journalists for the first time, was asked if the U.S. may open a liaison office in North Korea. Trump declared it "not a bad idea," and Kim called it "welcomeable." Such an office would mark the first official U.S. presence in North Korea and a significant grant to a country that has long been deliberately starved of international recognition. There had long been skepticism that Kim would be willing to give away the weapons his nation had spent decades developing and Pyongyang felt ensured its survival. But even after the summit ended, Trump praised Kim's commitment to continue a moratorium on missile testing. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Jill Colvin, Zeke Miller and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire , Riechmann at http://twitter.com/@debriechmann and Klug at http://twitter.com/@APklug ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska., during a refueling stop as he returns from Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song speaks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Beijing. (How Hwee Young/Pool Photo via AP) President Donald Trump speaks as Sec of State Mike Pompeo looks on during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Artworks featuring U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are displayed at a gallery in Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, Hanoi, Vietnam. The nuclear summit between Trump and Kim has collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal due to a standoff over U.S. sanctions on the reclusive nation, a stunning end to high-stakes meetings meant to disarm a global threat. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un listens to President Donald Trump speak during a meeting, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX closes in on human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy - named Ripley after the tough heroine in the "Alien" films - in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. NASA doesn't expect this crucial shakedown cruise to go perfectly. But the lessons learned should improve safety when two NASA astronauts strap into a Dragon as early as July. "Giant leaps are made by a series of consistent smaller steps. This one will be a big step!" retired astronaut Scott Kelly, NASA's former one-year space station resident, tweeted Thursday. Boeing is also in the race to end NASA's eight-year drought of launching U.S. astronauts on U.S. rockets from U.S. soil. The space agency is turning to private taxi rides to reduce its pricey reliance on Russian rockets to get astronauts to and from the space station. NASA is providing $8 billion for SpaceX and Boeing to build and operate these new systems. "On a personal level, this is an extremely important mission," SpaceX executive Hans Koenigsmann told reporters Thursday. "And I'm pretty sure it's not just me, I think everybody within SpaceX feels this and wants to get this right." In this Dec. 18, 2018 photo provided by SpaceX, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket are positioned inside the company's hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the Demo-1 unmanned flight test. SpaceX rockets closer to human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday, March 2, 2019, and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. (Space X via AP) A look at the newest space ride: CREW VS. CARGO SpaceX has made 16 space station deliveries over the past seven years. The private company overhauled the cargo Dragon capsule to make it safe - and comfortable - for passengers. It's slightly bigger - 27 feet (8 meters) tall - and also launches atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But now there are four seats, three windows, computer touch screens and life-support systems. Instead of solar wings, solar cells are on the spacecraft itself. And eight engines are built into the capsule walls for use in an emergency; these abort engines could shoot the capsule off a malfunctioning rocket anytime during the launch. SPACEX CHIC You can't go into space looking dowdy. SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk wants Dragon riders looking sharp and 21st century, just like their new, white, sleek spaceship. The streamlined spacesuits are also white with black trim, with matching helmets and gloves. No bulky orange flight suits left over from NASA's space shuttle program. Boeing is going with royal blue spacesuits for its Starliner capsule crews. ALONG FOR THE RIDE The life-size test dummy Ripley - wearing SpaceX's slick new spacesuit - is strapped into one of the capsule's seats. The mannequin, whose name was unveiled Thursday, is rigged with sensors to see how it holds up. Ripley is similar to Starman, which blasted off last year in the driver's seat of Musk's red Tesla convertible, on a test launch of the company's bigger Falcon Heavy rocket. The capsule can accommodate up to seven astronauts. For this test, it's carrying 450 pounds (200 kilograms) of supplies and gear. OLD PAD, NEW LOOK Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A, used a half-century ago for Apollo moon shots and later space shuttle flights, has been remodeled and gussied up by tenant SpaceX. Most notable is the long, enclosed, gleaming white walkway at the top. The old bridge for rocket-boarding astronauts was open to the elements. Astronauts like the new, air-conditioned design. "They're very happy that it's covered, and we're trying to keep the mosquitoes out. Those Florida mosquitoes, they can get in anywhere," said NASA's commercial crew program manager, Kathy Lueders. FLIGHT RUNDOWN This mission is a night owl's dream, with most of the big events happening in the wee hours. Saturday's liftoff is scheduled for 2:49 a.m. to sync up with a space station arrival the next day. Unlike cargo Dragon, plucked from orbit by the station's robot arm and guided to its berth, crew Dragon will dock on its own early Sunday morning. The three space station astronauts will enter the Dragon, unload the fresh supplies on board and then fill it with science samples and old equipment. The capsule will undock March 8 and, shortly after sunrise, parachute into the Atlantic, a couple hundred miles off the Florida coast. HOT COMPETITION Just because SpaceX is first off the pad doesn't mean it will launch astronauts before Boeing. SpaceX is shooting for a July crew launch, but that could slip depending on the results of the upcoming demo and a launch abort test this spring. Several items - parachutes and thrusters, among others - still need work and possibly redesign before certified for human use. Boeing is targeting an April test flight of its Starliner capsule without crew, and a launch with three astronauts no earlier than August. Whichever company delivers astronauts first wins a small U.S. flag left at the station by the last shuttle crew in 2011. NASA's Doug Hurley and Boeing's Christopher Ferguson - who both flew that final shuttle mission - will test drive the new commercial capsules. Hurley will ride the Dragon and Ferguson the Starliner. ___ 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. In this Dec. 18, 2018 photo provided by SpaceX, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket are positioned inside the company's hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the Demo-1 unmanned flight test. SpaceX rockets closer to human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday, March 2, 2019, and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. (Space X via AP) In this Jan. 3, 2019 photo provided by SpaceX, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is rolled out to Launch Complex 39A for a dry run to prep for the upcoming Demo-1 flight test at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX rockets closer to human spaceflight with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday, March 2 and a docking the next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. (SpaceX via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) - Two lawmakers who clashed bitterly over race hugged it out Thursday on the House floor. Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan embraced and chatted for almost a minute as the House took its final votes of the week. It was a striking sight after the pair fought during Michael Cohen's hearing a day earlier. There, Meadows tried to rebut Cohen's charge that President Donald Trump is a racist. Behind Meadows stood a longtime Trump family friend, Lynne Patton, who is black. Meadows said Patton would not work for anyone racist. Tlaib suggested Meadows' use of Patton as a "prop" was itself racist, but later said she was not accusing Meadows of being a racist. On Thursday, Meadows approached Tlaib on the House floor and offered a hand. She stood, put a hand over her heart as she spoke to him, and then threw an arm around his shoulders as the two embraced. "She said she didn't mean it yesterday, so there was no need to apologize," Meadows said later Thursday. The upheaval came at the end of a daylong hearing in which Cohen testified that, among other things, Trump said black people are "too stupid" to vote for him. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., questions Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Meadows, one of Trump's staunchest supporters in Congress, said he's never heard the president say anything racist. At one point, Patton, who now works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development stood behind him. Meadows said she would not work for anyone racist, but she'd work for Trump. Tlaib, the last member to speak, made her remarks about Meadows' move and the two got into a shouting match. Meadows said he has family members who are African-American. Chairman Elijah Cummings got them to settle down and urged Tlaib to clarify that she was not calling Meadows a racist. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The Latest on the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (all times local): 7:30 a.m. Friday North Korea's state media says the second summit between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump helped deepen "mutual respect and trust" between the countries as they work toward resolving the nuclear standoff and improving bilateral relations. The report by the Korean Central News Agency on Friday comes hours after senior North Korean officials disputed Trump's account of why his summit with Kim collapsed, saying the North didn't call for a full removal of sanctions but demanded partial relief in exchange for shuttering its main nuclear complex. The KCNA says Trump and Kim had a "constructive and candid" exchange of views and agreed to keep in close touch for the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the epochal development" in bilateral relations. __ President Donald Trump speaks to service members at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska., during a refueling stop as he returns from Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) 6:50 a.m. Friday Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is blaming the failure of American-North Korean talks on President Donald Trump's failure to invest time in the work of diplomacy ahead of time. Biden says, "I hope the president has learned a really important lesson: Diplomacy matters." Biden made the comments Thursday while headlining a forum on global leadership with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Biden says Trump "treats everything like it's a real estate deal - just let me in the room and I can convince the other party to make a deal." Instead, Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says "it requires hard, hard, hard and consistent diplomacy." Biden is considering mounting a Democratic bid against Trump in 2020. ___ 6:30 a.m. The U.S. and North Korea are offering contradictory accounts of why the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un broke down, though both are pointing to punishing American sanctions as a sticking point in the high-stakes nuclear negotiation. President Trump, on his way back to Washington on Thursday, said before leaving Hanoi that the talks collapsed because North Korea's leader insisted that all the sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Pyongyang be lifted without the North firmly committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. But North Korea challenged that account, insisting it had asked only partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down its main nuclear complex. ___ 3:25 a.m. North Korea says the United States has squandered an opportunity for a nuclear deal and may not get another chance. President Donald Trump says his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (gihm jung oon) broke down because North Korea insisted that all U.S. sanctions be lifted. But North Korea disputed that, saying the North demanded only partial sanctions relief. North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui says she believes her country's leader "may have lost his will (to continue) North Korea-U.S. dealings." She says she believes Kim is finding it "difficult to understand" why the summit collapsed. Earlier, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said Washington wasted an opportunity that "may not come again." ___ 2:30 a.m. President Donald Trump is stressing the United States' military power as he stops at a military base in Alaska on his way back to Washington after an unsuccessful summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un (gihm jung oon). Trump did not directly respond to North Korea's assertion that he had mischaracterized the reason the summit collapsed. Instead, Trump said the U.S. was investing in missile defense technology, and he issued a broad warning to U.S. enemies. Said Trump: "America does not seek conflict, but if we are forced to defend ourselves we will fight and we will win in an overwhelming fashion." Trump said before leaving Hanoi that the talks broke down because Kim insisted that all U.S. sanctions be lifted without the North committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. But North Korea's foreign minister said the North demanded only partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down its main nuclear complex. ___ 12:45 a.m. North Korea is disputing President Donald Trump's account of why the summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (gihm jung oon) collapsed. North Korea's foreign minister says the North demanded only partial sanctions relief in exchange for shuttering its main nuclear complex, and that the discussions collapsed after the U.S. demanded further disarmament steps. Ri Yong Ho's comments during an abruptly scheduled news conference in Hanoi on Friday contradicted the explanation by Trump, who hours earlier told reporters that the North had demanded a full removal of sanctions in exchange for shuttering the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Ri says the North was also ready to offer in writing a permanent halt of the country's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and that Washington wasted an opportunity that "may not come again." He says the North's position wouldn't change even if the United States offers to resume another round of dialogue. ___ 8:20 p.m. Thursday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says nuclear negotiations with North Korea will resume quickly following the collapse of President Donald Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un. Pompeo tells reporters aboard his plane Thursday that his team will get back to work "tomorrow" although no new meetings have yet been scheduled. Pompeo said progress was made between Trump and Kim at their talks in Hanoi but not enough to warrant signing any kind of agreement. The White House had scheduled a signing ceremony but abruptly canceled it along with a lunch when it became clear an agreement could not be reached. Pompeo spoke as he flew to Manila from Hanoi, Vietnam, for talks with senior Philippines officials. ___ 6:35 p.m. South Korea's presidential office says U.S. President Donald Trump regretted the collapse of his nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam but expressed "firm" commitment to continue negotiations. The office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that Trump in a phone conversation with Moon discussed the details of his talks with Kim as he flew out of Vietnam. The Blue House says Moon encouraged Trump to continue his efforts for accomplishing the "historic feat of resolving the world's last remaining Cold War rivalry." It says the leaders agreed to meet soon to discuss the nuclear issue. Trump says he "walked away" from talks with Kim after it was clear the two sides remained at odds over ending the North's nuclear program. Kim was asked whether he was ready to denuclearize and said, "If I'm not willing to do that I won't be here right now." ___ 5:10 p.m. The Kremlin says that talks at the U.S.-North Korean nuclear summit in Vietnam appear to have failed because the parties proved unwilling to compromise and make concessions. Talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped up two hours earlier on Thursday after the parties failed to reach an agreement. Trump says the U.S. was unwilling to meet North Korea's demand to remove all U.S.-led international sanctions in exchange for the shuttering of a North Korean nuclear facility. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow is encouraged by the fact the negotiations did not break down completely. But Peskov laments the lack of "small steps" and flexibility that could have helped to achieve some progress. Peskov says the North Korean nuclear program is a complicated issue that is "impossible to solve in one go." ___ 4:55 p.m. China says the U.S. and North Korea must "meet each other halfway" after no agreement was reached between the two countries' leaders during their nuclear summit in Vietnam. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a regular news briefing Thursday that the situation in the Korean Peninsula experienced a significant "turnaround" over the past year, a "hard-won result" that is worth cherishing. Lu says the U.S. and North Korea have returned to the correct path toward a political settlement, which is "the only way out." During his post-summit press conference, U.S. President Donald Trump called Chinese leader Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) "a highly-respected leader all over the world" who has been "very helpful" with North Korea. Trump says China is highly influential because of its high volume of trade with North Korea. ___ 4:30 p.m. South Korea's presidential office says it was "unfortunate" that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to produce an agreement in their high-stakes nuclear summit in Vietnam. But it says it expects "active dialogue" to continue between Washington and Pyongyang. The Blue House said Thursday it believes Washington and Pyongyang deepened their understandings of each other during their "long and deep discussions" in Hanoi. It says Trump raising the possibility of sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear disarmament steps from the North shows that the nuclear negotiations between the countries have entered an "elevated level." The collapse of the Trump-Kim summit could prove to be a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose ambitions for inter-Korean engagement hinge on a nuclear breakthrough between Washington and Pyongyang. ___ 3:50 p.m. President Donald Trump has departed Vietnam after failing to reach an agreement during his second nuclear summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The U.S. leader said he "walked away" from talks with Kim after it was clear the two sides remained at odds in talks over ending the North's nuclear program. Trump says the North had demanded a full removal of U.S.-led international sanctions in exchange for the shuttering of the North's Yongbyon nuclear facility, and the U.S. wouldn't agree to that. Trump took off from Hanoi more than two hours early after the abrupt change in schedule. Air Force One is scheduled to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, before returning to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington late Thursday. ___ 3:40 p.m. South Korean media are reacting with alarm over the collapse of the nuclear summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Yonhap news agency said Thursday that the clock on the security situation of the Korean Peninsula has "turned back to zero" and that the diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with the North was now "at a crossroads." Financial News wondered whether Washington and Pyongyang would struggle to keep the momentum of dialogue alive and anticipated the nuclear negotiations becoming a prolonged battle. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who met with Kim three times last year and lobbied hard to revive nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, was expected to comment on the outcome of the Trump-Kim summit later Thursday. ___ 3:25 p.m. President Donald Trump is hopeful that India and Pakistan may be on the cusp of progress after the two countries exchanged gunfire through the night along the Kashmir region a day after Islamabad said it shot down two Indian warplanes and captured a pilot. Trump told reporters Thursday at the end of a two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam that India and Pakistan have "been going at it" and that the U.S. has been involved, "trying to help them both out" to "see if we can get some organization and some peace." He says: "I think probably that's going to be happening," adding: "We have, I think, reasonably attractive news from Pakistan and India." World powers have called on the two nations to de-escalate tensions that have gripped the region since a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing killed over 40 Indian paramilitary personnel. The situation escalated with Wednesday's aerial skirmish. ___ 3:05 p.m. President Donald Trump says his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fell through after the North demanded a full removal of U.S.-led international sanctions in exchange for the shuttering of the North's Yongbyon nuclear facility. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in Vietnam on Thursday that the United States wasn't willing to make a deal without the North committing to giving up its secretive nuclear facilities outside Yongbyon as well as its missile and warheads program. Experts have said Washington shouldn't give up too much for a Yongbyon-only deal as the North is believed to be secretly operating other uranium enrichment sites hidden around the country. Trump says that the summit ended on a good note but that there are no current plans for a third summit. ___ 3 p.m. President Donald Trump says he doesn't think North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was involved in the mistreatment of American college student Otto Warmbier, who died after being detained in the isolated country. Trump says of Kim: "He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." Trump has taken credit for freeing American prisoners abroad and used Warmbier's death as a rallying cry against the North's human rights abuses before softening his rhetoric in advance of talks with Kim. Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Ohio, was visiting North Korea with a tour group when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2016 on suspicion of stealing a propaganda poster. He died in June 2017, shortly after he returned to the U.S. in a coma. ___ 2:55 p.m. President Donald Trump won't commit to saying the U.S. is demanding complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea before removing sanctions on that country. Trump spoke Thursday at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, after he announced that he had walked away from his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without a deal being reached. Trump says: "I don't want to put myself in that position from the standpoint of negotiation." Trump and other U.S. officials have long maintained that denuclearization was a prerequisite to lifting sanctions on North Korea. Trump said earlier that U.S. sanctions were the sticking point in the talks with Kim. ___ 2:50 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump says he has not committed to a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after their second summit ended early without a deal. Trump told reporters at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday at the end of two days of talks that "we'll see if it happens," but that he has "not committed." As for any further meetings, Trump says, "It might be soon. It might not be for a long time." Trump took questions from reporters after talks with Kim ended early. Trump says that Kim asked the U.S. to lift sanctions in exchange for certain steps toward denuclearization. Trump says he refused. ___ 2:25 p.m. President Donald Trump is explaining the abrupt and early end to his Vietnamese summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un by telling reporters: "Sometimes you have to walk." Trump said Thursday that North Korea wanted him to lift U.S. sanctions on the country in exchange for denuclearization, but he wasn't willing to do that. Still, he says Kim assured him he'll continue to hold off on nuclear and missile tests. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday at the news conference in Hanoi that he wishes the two sides could have gotten further. He says they asked Kim to do more and "he was unprepared to do that." ___ 1:40 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have failed to reach an agreement at their second summit in Vietnam, but talks between the two nations will continue in the future. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the two leaders discussed denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. She adds: "No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future." Still, Sanders is describing the meetings between Trump and Kim as "very good and constructive." Trump and Kim departed the hotel where they've been holding summit negotiations far earlier than planned Thursday. A joint agreement signing ceremony was scrapped. ___ 1:25 p.m. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have departed the hotel where they've been holding summit negotiations far earlier than planned. The leaders had been expected to hold a working lunch as well as attend a joint agreement signing ceremony at the Hanoi Metropole hotel on Thursday. Instead, they departed in separate motorcades within minutes of each other after doing neither. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters before Trump departed that there had been a "program change," but she did not provide further explanation about what had prompted the upheaval or whether any deals had been agreed to. Trump is scheduled to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. - two hours earlier than originally scheduled - before he departs Hanoi. ___ 12:55 p.m. Talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un are wrapping up earlier than expected. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Thursday that "negotiations are still ongoing" between the two delegations. Trump and Kim were scheduled to have lunch but did not enter the dining room where reporters were assembled. Sanders says Trump will return with his delegation to his hotel soon, providing no updates on a scheduled joint signing with Kim that had been on the books for 2 p.m. Sanders says Trump's press conference, which had been scheduled for 4 p.m., has now been moved to 2 p.m. at his hotel. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska., during a refueling stop as he returns from Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump speaks as Sec of State Mike Pompeo looks on during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Artworks featuring U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are displayed at a gallery in Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, Hanoi, Vietnam. The nuclear summit between Trump and Kim has collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal due to a standoff over U.S. sanctions on the reclusive nation, a stunning end to high-stakes meetings meant to disarm a global threat. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un listens to President Donald Trump speak during a meeting, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - A court absolved former President Carlos Menem on Thursday of charges he tried to interfere with the investigation into Argentina's deadliest terrorist incident - the bombing of a Jewish center in 1994 that killed 85 people. A dozen other people also were acquitted of that charge. The ruling by the three-judge panel came in a trial ordered in August 2015 on allegations that Menem and other officials tried to divert attention in the bombing investigation away from a Syrian businessman who was a Menem family friend. "In these three years there was not a single element that could justify an illicit act on the part of the former president," Menem's lawyer, Omar Daer, told reporters after the sentence was delivered. "He feels relieved." A group of relatives of victims of the bombing at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association criticized the finding. "It is more than clear, and the evidence proves it, that the Menem government knew that the attack would happen and did absolutely nothing to avoid it, much less to clarify it," said the group, Active Memory. "He is and will be one of the principals responsible for impunity in the AMIA case." Former Argentine President Carlos Menem sits at a court house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. The court is expected to give its verdict on the trial against Menem, several former officials, a former federal judge and two former prosecutors, accused of hampering the investigation of the attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Menem was president from 1989 to 1999 and is now 88 years old. Even if convicted, he likely would have avoided prison due to his legal protections as a senator. Nobody has been convicted of the truck bombing, though prosecutors have implicated several former Iranian officials in the attack. Iran's government denies any involvement in the attack and has refused to turn over those people sought for trial in Argentina. The bombing investigation was plagued by irregularities, according to a court ruling in 2004. That court acquitted a number of people who had been charged as part of an alleged "local connection" in the attack. The court asked for an investigation into members of the government and judicial system for their roles in the investigation's problems. Though acquitted on the interference allegation Thursday, several of Menem's co-defendants were convicted on other charges. Among the main ones, former federal judge Juan Jose Galeano, who headed the initial bombing investigation, was found guilty of embezzlement and malfeasance and sentenced to six years in prison. That finding involved the payment of $400,000 to an auto parts dealer who was accused of supplying the truck used in the attack on the Jewish center. A court found more than a decade ago that the dealer, Carlos Telleldin, was given the money in return for implicating four police officers in the supposed "local connection." The money came from Argentina's intelligence secretariat, which was headed by Hugo Anzorrequy. He was found guilty Thursday on charges of embezzlement and concealment and received a four-year prison sentence. In addition, former prosecutors Eamon Mullen and Jose Barbaccia were convicted of not fulfilling their duties as public officials and each sentenced to two years. FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2015 file photo, former judge Juan Jose Galeano attends a trial where he and others are accused of derailing an investigation into the 1994 bombing of the Argentina Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Former President Carlos Menem, who was also one of the accused, was absolved on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Former Argentine President Carlos Menem, center, is seen at a court house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. The court is expected to give its verdict on the trial against Menem, several former officials, a former federal judge and two former prosecutors, accused of hampering the investigation of the attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A white Maryland lawmaker was censured by the state's House of Delegates on Thursday for making a racial slur about a legislative district in a majority-black county, but she said she would not resign despite calls for her to do so. The House voted 137-0 for the body's expression of severe disapproval against Del. Mary Ann Lisanti. "With this vote, we are saying as a body that racial slurs and racially charged language cannot and will not be tolerated by this House," said Del. Kathleen Dumais, a Democrat who is the House majority leader. In addition, House Speaker Michael Busch is kicking Lisanti off of a legislative committee. The speaker already has stripped Lisanti of a leadership post she held earlier in the week. Lisanti, a Harford County Democrat who is in her second term, apologized earlier in the week to the Legislative Black Caucus and the Democratic House Caucus, as well as publicly in a written statement, after The Washington Post reported she used the slur in reference to Prince George's County during an after-hours gathering with fellow legislators at a cigar lounge in the state capital after a dinner. Maryland political leaders from both parties and civil rights groups have called for her resignation. After the censure vote, however, Lisanti said she will not resign. She rose in the House chamber to speak, but she was not acknowledged and spoke to reporters outside of the chamber. Maryland Del. Mary Ann Lisanti talks to reporters after the House of Delegates voted to censure her on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 in Annapolis, Md., for making a racial slur about a majority-black county. (AP Photo/Brian Witte) "To those who have called for my resignation, I say quitting is easy, but not the road to redemption," Lisanti said. "Quitting this body would in fact be an easy way out." The resolution the House voted on noted that Lisanti "has publicly admitted to using a hateful and derogatory racial slur while describing a predominantly African American legislative district in Prince George's County." Even after apologizing earlier this week, Lisanti expressed some doubt Thursday about whether she used the word, though she said she was taking responsibility for saying it. "It is apparent that some in attendance heard, or thought they overheard, an inappropriate word, and in lieu of reporting the incident in accordance with our newly adopted harassment policy chose to instead contact a member of the media, thus igniting the firestorm that brings us all here tonight," she said. The situation has caused a considerable distraction this week, as the General Assembly has crossed into the second half of its annual 90-day session. The speaker said he would not allow the House to be "torn apart by hurtful and divisive slurs." "Delegate Lisanti's use of a racial slur to describe an entire community is inexcusable," Busch, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Her actions have caused hurt and disappointment among legislators and the general public. This behavior has become a distraction to the important work that these dedicated public servants do each and every day in the legislature." Nearly 30 percent of the state's population is African-American, and 57 members of the 188-member General Assembly are black. When Lisanti was first asked about the comment by the Post, the newspaper reported that she said: "I don't recall that ... I don't recall much of that evening." Asked Thursday about whether she believes she had had too much to drink that night, she said "I do not," adding she had just had a very long day. The condemnation of the comment came as state government in neighboring Virginia has been embroiled in scandal after Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, both Democrats, acknowledged they wore blackface in the 1980s. They have resisted calls to resign. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A health care company known for its outspoken support of a woman's legal right to an abortion is setting up shop in Nashville. After launching clinics in the Washington, D.C., area, Atlanta and Chicago, Carafem will open its Nashville location Friday. Their marketing slogan captures part of their no-nonsense approach to the procedure: "Abortion. Yeah, we do that." "There have been more and more challenges to make sure women don't have the option to get an abortion. We of course believe the choice is simple - it's health care," said Melissa Grant, Carafem's chief operating officer, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "We need to be there for them." The move comes after the only remaining clinic offering abortion services in Nashville temporarily stopped last year. The clinic's suspension of abortion services sparked concerns about women's access to the procedure in a Republican-dominated state where GOP lawmakers have fought to make the procedure more difficult to obtain. Most recently, a bill that would ban most women from obtaining abortions once a fetus' heartbeat is detected - usually around six weeks - has won enthusiastic support from Gov. Bill Lee and other Republican leaders despite warnings about the proposal's chances of surviving a legal challenge. "We certainly know that abortion itself can be controversial but we know there's nothing controversial to offering health care to women," Grant said. Carafem's launch in Tennessee was partly motivated after the company's Atlanta clinic saw an uptick in clients when Nashville's Planned Parenthood location briefly stopping abortion services in December. Planned Parenthood had been the only health care center to offer abortion services in the booming southern region of Tennessee ever since another Nashville provider - The Women's Center - abruptly closed after its building was sold and has yet to reopen despite claims it was looking for a new location. During Planned Parenthood's abortion service pause, Carafem noticed that during January the average woman coming to Atlanta had traveled an average of 250 miles. Approximately 5 percent of the clientele came from Tennessee. Planned Parenthood had referred patients to clinics in Knoxville and Memphis, which are almost 200 miles (321 kilometers) way from Nashville. Atlanta is roughly the same distance. For Grant, that solidified the need to open a Nashville location. Carafem says a medical abortion costs $600 and a typical appointment lasts about one hour or less. Surgical abortions may be offered at a later date. According to the Tennessee Department of Health Services, roughly 8,600 abortions were performed in Tennessee in 2017. That's down from 14,250 in 2008. ___ Follow Kimberlee Kruesi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kkruesi WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump asserted on Thursday that the Islamic State group has lost 100 percent of the territory it once controlled in Syria, but U.S. officials in Washington and accounts from people in Syria said a sliver of land remains contested. Trump made his statement to troops in Alaska during a refueling stop on his way home from meeting in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He noted that IS has been on the verge of losing its entire so-called caliphate in Syria for many months. "Now it's 100 percent we just took over, 100 percent," he said, adding, "The area, the land, we just have 100 percent. We did that in a much shorter period of time than it was supposed to be." When asked about Trump's comments, the Pentagon referred reporters to the White House. Trump has jumped the gun on IS before. He said on Feb. 15 that "the eradication" of the IS caliphate would be announced within 24 hours. It was not, and although Pentagon officials remain confident that IS is on the brink of defeat, the struggle is not over. President Donald Trump speaks to service members at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska., during a refueling stop as he returns from Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) U.S. and other western countries are backing a Syrian group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, comprised of local Kurdish and Arab fighters, who have battled IS for more than three years. According to a U.S. assessment IS fighters and civilian residents are on in a small sliver of land along the Euphrates River. Officials say military operations have paused in order to separate civilians from the IS militants in that area. The SDF does biometric checks on all adult-aged males to determine if they are IS fighters hiding in the population that is fleeing. Officials said that military operations to clear out the remaining IS fighters will likely restart soon and will probably take some time. Iraqi militias said Thursday they launched dozens of missiles targeting IS militants holed up in a Syrian village across the border. This is the area along the Euphrates that has been IS's last stand. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has characterized IS in Syria as on the brink of defeat, while cautioning that measures are required to prevent its revival and return to areas of Iraq and Syria that have been liberated since 2014. "When we talk about what's occurred in Syria recently, it's been the decimation of the caliphate," he said in Brussels on Feb. 14. "And we talk about that in a military context. So, ISIS, Daesh, they no longer hold geography. They no longer govern in the spaces they once held. Their finances have been annihilated. Their ability to communicate on social media has been destroyed. You know, in that regards, they've been defeated." "Does that mean they've been eliminated? Are there remnants that are scattered or that're hiding in those communities? Well, they are. But that's the nature of the next phase: How do we maintain security? How do we keep them suppressed?" In December, Trump announced that he was pulling all American troops out of Syria, but last week he partially reversed course and agreed to keep a residual force of perhaps a few hundred troops as part of an international effort to stabilize northeastern Syria. ___ Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report. NEW YORK (AP) - Cable news veteran Greta Van Susteren is trying out local TV by joining Gray Television, which owns stations in more than 90 markets across the United States. Van Susteren will be chief national political analyst for the Gray stations, and is developing two nationally syndicated shows for the company. She's keeping her current job as host of a program for Voice of America that airs outside of the U.S. Van Susteren owns a rare TV trifecta: she hosted programs on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. But she says candidates in the upcoming presidential election will be eager to target audiences in certain states, and Gray is well situated to provide access. She said in an interview Thursday that she believes local stations will become much more influential. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - President Donald Trump framed the breakdown of his nuclear summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un as wisely knowing when "to walk." But the stunning collapse revealed the limits of his unique brand of personal diplomacy and raised concerns about future efforts to disarm a global threat. Eyeing the history books and a much-needed political victory, Trump bet big on the two-day Vietnam summit only to be forced to explain away its sudden failure. The president and North Korea gave conflicting explanations of what went wrong, though the result actually was a relief to some critics and even some Trump supporters who feared he might give too much away in pursuit of a deal. Trump, the businessman who was elected in part on his boasts of deal-making prowess, said a proposed agreement was "ready to be signed." But he said he refused to accept what he described as North Korean insistence that all U.S. sanctions be lifted without the North committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. "I'd much rather do it right than do it fast," the president said. "We're in position to do something very special." The North said it had demanded only partial relief from the punishing sanctions. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Trump had pushed for the summit, telling wary aides that his personal chemistry with North Korea's young and reclusive leader outweighed any need for detailed, staff-level talks to iron out differences before either head of state set foot in Hanoi. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who along with his special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, had been leading the preparatory effort, said staff work had achieved some results but that negotiators had intentionally left some of the most contentious issues unresolved. "We were hoping we could take another big swing when the two leaders got together," he told reporters as he flew from Vietnam to the Philippines after the summit collapsed. "We did. We made some progress. But we didn't get as far as we would have hoped we would have gotten." Pompeo noted that "when you are dealing with a country that is of the nature of North Korea, it is often the case that only the most senior leaders have the capacity to make those important decisions." Echoing the refrain that "no deal is better than a bad deal" - often used during the Obama administration by critics of its Iran negotiations - there was relief in some quarters that the president had not impulsively agreed to concessions without much in return. "Kudos to him for walking away from the table," said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank that has been highly skeptical of Trump's efforts with Kim Jong Un. "No deal is, in fact, better than a bad." And White House aides stressed that Trump stood strong. Some observers evoked the 1987 Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union's Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting that ended without a nuclear weapons deal but laid the groundwork for a future agreement. Longstanding U.S. policy insists that U.S. sanctions on North Korea will not be lifted until that country commits to, if not concludes, a complete, verifiable and irreversible end to its nuclear weapons program. Trump, who did not consult with allies South Korea and Japan before breaking off the talks, declined to restate that goal Thursday, saying he wanted to retain flexibility with Kim. But North Korea's foreign minister, in a rare news conference, said that Trump wasted an opportunity that "may not come again" and that the North's position wouldn't change even if there was another round of dialogue. The failure in Hanoi laid bare a risk in Trump's negotiating style: Preferring one-on-one meetings with his foreign counterparts, his administration doesn't always do the staff-level advance work intended to make a summit more of a victory lap than a negotiation. "The developments over the past 48 hours highlight in stark fashion the inherent weaknesses of President Trump's preference for summit diplomacy - international media spectacles that have failed to achieve substantial progress on the key issues, especially denuclearization," said Paul Haenle, the director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Unsurprisingly, former Obama administration officials agreed. "At every step of the way, Trump has placed himself, rather than professionals, at the center of this process - and as a result, he's been outmaneuvered every step of the way," the National Security Action, a group of mainly Obama-era foreign policy practitioners, said in a statement. Michael Fuchs, who worked on Asian issues as a State Department official under Obama, said there should be no more summits until the two sides are ready to announce a concrete agreement. "Let the real negotiators from both sides get to work," he said. "Until then, no more reality TV summitry." One beneficiary of the Vietnam summit may have been the North Korean leader. The first Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore gave the reclusive nation's leader an entry to the international stage. The second appeared to grant him the legitimacy his family has long desired. Kim, for the first time, affably parried with the international press without having to account for his government's long history of oppression. He secured Trump's support for the opening of a liaison office in Pyongyang, without offering any concessions of his own. Trump's backing for that step toward normalization provided the sort of recognition the international community has long denied Kim's government. Experts worried that the darker side of Kim's leadership, was being brushed aside. That includes massive human rights abuses, prison camps filled with dissidents, an absence of religious and speech freedoms and the executions of government and military officials. Trump also appeared to accept the North Korean leader's assertion that he had nothing to do with the 2017 death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was imprisoned for taking a propaganda poster while on a visit to the country. The president said he took Kim "at his word" that he was unaware of the mistreatment Warmbier was subjected to in custody, a remark that drew widespread criticism, even from Trump's former U.N. ambassador. "Americans know the cruelty that was placed on Otto Warmbier by the North Korean regime," former Ambassador Nikki Haley said. Still, Robert Gallucci, who negotiated with North Korea as a senior State Department official during the Clinton administration, said the unorthodox way in which the two North Korea summits were organized, may not have been a mistake given the unusual nature of the two leaders. "It does have its down sides, and we just experienced the down side," Gallucci said. However, Hanoi wasn't a total disaster as long as the two sides are willing to keep at it. "I'm feeling good because nothing really bad happened, and we have a prospect of using the momentum of the meeting of heads of state to propel working-level discussions, with the understanding here that both sides have invested politically in this, and leaders have invested personally in this, and they want it to work," Gallucci said. ___ Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann and Foster Klug in Hanoi contributed to this report. Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit President Donald Trump speaks as Sec of State Mike Pompeo looks on during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Bodyguards run behind the motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he returns to the Melia Hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Air Force One with President Donald Trump aboard takes off at Nom Bar International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, to travel to Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. At front right is Kim Yong Chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief. At left is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from left. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) - First lady Melania Trump is going on a three-state tour to promote her "Be Best" initiative. The White House says Mrs. Trump will travel next week to Oklahoma, Washington and Nevada. This will be her first domestic overnight trip in her official capacity. Mrs. Trump will visit a school in Tulsa and a technology company near Seattle on Monday. On Tuesday, she will attend an opioids town hall in Las Vegas. The first lady unveiled her child well-being initiative last year. The program aims to teach children to behave responsibly online and to avoid drugs. In a statement, Mrs. Trump says she wants to "shine a spotlight" on programs that are helping children. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Lynx have signed forward Kelsey Griffin to their training camp roster, the third pick in the 2010 draft who has not played in the WNBA in five years. Griffin, an All-American at Nebraska, was traded by the Lynx to Connecticut on draft day. She played five seasons for the Sun until being cut in 2015 after hip surgery. She has since become a citizen of Australia, recently winning the regular-season and finals MVP awards of the country's national league. Griffin's attempt to rejoin the Sun last year was waylaid by injury. The Lynx also announced Thursday they re-signed veteran forward Erlana Larkins. Minnesota will play this season without star Maya Moore, who helped the Lynx win four WNBA titles. Moore announced this month she'll devote more time to her family, ministry and reforming the criminal justice system. The Lynx are without star guard Lindsay Whalen, who retired last season. Along with Griffin, the Lynx added three other forwards this month: Karima Christmas-Kelly, Damiris Dantas and Jillian Alleyne. HOUSTON (AP) - The mother of a migrant toddler who died shortly after being released from the nation's largest family detention center sued the tiny Arizona city on Thursday that for years was paid by the U.S. government to run the facility in name only. The lawsuit from Yazmin Juarez of Guatemala alleges that her 1-year-old daughter, Mariee, developed a respiratory illness at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, and medical staff provided inadequate treatment before releasing her three weeks later. The lawsuit targets Eloy, Arizona, which collected $438,000 a year from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to officially run the 2,400-bed Texas facility for four years even though the city is roughly 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) away. Eloy then paid the private prison operator CoreCivic to operate Dilley, in an arrangement questioned by ICE's own lawyers . Mariee's death in May underscored the complaints advocates have long had about medical care for detained immigrants, as the Trump administration has sought to detain more migrant parents and children for longer times. At least nine infants under one year of age are currently detained at Dilley, according to lawyers who work with migrant families detained there. Legal groups filed a complaint Thursday with the Department of Homeland Security about what it described as an "alarming increase" in detained infants. Democrats in Congress have called for investigations into Mariee's death as well as other recent incidents, including a woman delivering a stillborn baby while in custody last week and the deaths of two children detained by the Border Patrol in December after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with their parents. FILE - In this June 30, 2015, file photo, signs are seen at the entrance to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The mother of a migrant toddler who died shortly after being released from the nation's largest family detention center on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, sued the tiny Arizona city that for years was paid by the U.S. government to run the facility in name only. Yazmin Juarez's lawsuit alleges that her 1-year-old daughter, Mariee, developed a respiratory illness at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, and medical staff did not adequately treat her before releasing them three weeks later. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment on Juarez's lawsuit, but said it takes the welfare of detainees "very seriously." "ICE is committed to ensuring the welfare of all those in the agency's custody, including providing access to necessary and appropriate medical care," the agency said. The lawsuit alleges that Mariee developed a severe fever a week after entering Dilley on March 5, 2018. As her mother repeatedly tried to seek medical treatment, the lawsuit alleges medical staff at Dilley misdiagnosed Mariee's illness and did not prescribe the correct medication, before releasing both mother and daughter on March 25 and clearing them to travel. Juarez took Mariee to an emergency room almost immediately, the lawsuit alleges. She remained hospitalized for the rest of her life, dying in May. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement opened the facility in 2014, during the administration of former President Barack Obama, so it could detain more parents and children together during a previous surge of migrant families trying to enter the United States. ICE used Eloy to expedite the opening with so many migrants coming into the system. The agency modified an existing detention agreement with Eloy to quickly open the Texas facility. Under the setup, ICE paid the Arizona city several million dollars per year, and it in turn funneled the money to the private prison company that ran the facility. Eloy kept a cut, to the tune of about $400,000 per year. The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general leveled harsh criticism against ICE, Eloy and the private prison operator CoreCivic, formerly known as the Corrections Corporation of America. The pass-through arrangement was long criticized by advocates and the DHS inspector general, which said it violated budget guidelines and wasted money. ICE replaced Eloy last year with the city government in Dilley, which now collects the same fees. Stanton Jones, a lawyer for the Juarez family, said Eloy deserved blame for what happened to Mariee "precisely because they did so little." "Eloy never lifted a finger to exercise any sort of oversight or participation in the operation of the facility," Jones said. Eloy city manager Harvey Krauss declined to comment, and it remains to be seen how much legal liability the city of nearly 20,000 people between Tucson and Phoenix will face. CoreCivic agreed as part of the previous arrangement to assume any legal liability on Eloy's behalf. A CoreCivic spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday that it will "defend and indemnify any lawsuits with respect to allegations related to the operations of the facility for which CoreCivic is responsible." CoreCivic added that ICE "is solely responsible" for medical care at the Dilley facility. ___ Associated Press journalist Astrid Galvan in Phoenix contributed to this report. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Law enforcement agents have arrested two protesters at Tennessee's state Capitol amid a protest demanding the removal of a bust of Confederate cavalry general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest. Thursday's arrests marked the latest escalating demonstrations at the Tennessee Legislature this year. State troopers detained Jeneisha Harris and Justin Jones, the two activists who have led sit-ins and other protests at the Capitol this year Prior to the arrest, a cup of coffee was thrown into an elevator that the House speaker, Glen Casada, was in. Harris was arrested after ducking underneath a rope blocking off the public from getting close to the Confederate bust. Casada recently said he supported adding more context or moving the bust to a museum should the Legislature choose that course. NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) - Attorneys for Kevin Spacey are seeking surveillance footage, text messages and other records they say they need to defend the disgraced actor against accusations that he groped a young Massachusetts man in 2016 at a Nantucket bar. Kevin Spacey's lawyers asked the judge in court documents filed this week to order the accuser to turn over his cellphone so they can retrieve messages, photos and other data. They also want documents from the accuser's civil attorney, including fee agreements with the accuser's family. The lawyers say they believe the accuser intends to file a civil lawsuit against Spacey, which they say would bolster the defense's argument that the accuser has a "substantial financial motivation to falsify his claims." Spacey pleaded not guilty last month. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, but the judge said Spacey doesn't have to attend. EDINGBURG, Maine (AP) - A Maine wildlife biologist said one of three bear cubs that nearly froze to death is doing well after being placed with a surrogate den. The Bangor Daily News documented Randy Cross as he checked on the cub Wednesday. He easily recognized the young bruin because of signs of frostbite on the tips of its ears. Then the cub was placed back in the den. The three cubs were abandoned after a piece of logging machinery passed close to their ground den in January. Their mother fled the ruckus, and didn't immediately return, and the logger contacted the Maine Warden Service for help. The cub that was checked on Wednesday was placed in Edinburg. The other two were placed with a mother bear in Orneville. This photo taken Feb. 27, 2019, shows one of the bear cubs hanging onto the shoulder of wildlife biologist Randy Cross as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife team conducts a den visit in Edinburg, Maine. They inject the mother with a drug so she would go to sleep while the team gathered data about her and her cubs. The team weighs, measures and checks the animals carefully for identifying markers or signs of injuries before placing them back into the den. (Gabor Degre/The Bangor Daily News via AP) This photo taken Feb. 27, 2019, shows Lisa Feener, a wildlife technician with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, checking one of the four bear cubs in a den while working on the bear monitoring project in Edinburg, Maine. They inject the mother with the drug so she would go to sleep while the team gathered data about her and her cubs. The team weighs, measures and checks the animals carefully for identifying markers or signs of injuries before placing them back into the den. (Gabor Degre/The Bangor Daily News via AP) DETROIT (AP) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles this week announced a $4.5 billion investment that would bring 6,500 new manufacturing jobs to Detroit and its suburbs and, nearly two years before the first new vehicles will even roll off the line, the city already is taking steps to ensure it can provide enough workers with the needed skills. Detroit's economy was once dominated by automotive manufacturing, but since the industry's gradual migration from the metro area it has suffered among the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the country. Not long ago, Detroit was struggling to provide basic services, culminating in bankruptcy in 2013. Providing job training then would have been a tall order. But in its recovery, the city has overhauled its training programs and slowly built a track record for preparing people for specific jobs. "We're not starting from scratch," Jeff Donofrio, the city's executive director of workforce development, said Wednesday, a day after the Italian-American automaker announced its plan . "We want to make sure we're prepared for all the ... jobs that will come to the city as a result of the investments." The city works with two high schools, a community college and a workforce development organization, in partnerships with the auto union and companies, to tailor training programs for positions in manufacturing, construction, information technology and health care. Detroit worked closely with global auto parts supplier Flex-N-Gate to ensure Detroiters were handed jobs when the company last year opened a plant in what officials described as the largest investment in the city in two decades. The city and company developed customized training with the nonprofit Focus: Hope, which prioritizes workforce development and education. Jeep vehicles are parked outside the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. Fiat Chrysler announced plans on Tuesday for a new Jeep factory, the city's first new auto plant in a generation, as part of a $4.5 billion manufacturing expansion in southeast Michigan. FCA said it would convert the Mack Avenue Engine factory to an assembly plant for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and make an investment at Jefferson North Assembly Plant to retool and modernize the factory for continued production of the Dodge Durango. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) "About 250 individuals went through that training and a vast majority were hired by Flex-N-Gate," Donofrio said. With tax breaks and land acquisitions still to be hammered out, Fiat Chrysler's specific workforce needs have yet to be revealed. But Donofrio insists that the city has a growing force of eligible workers: Detroit last year enrolled about 2,500 people in training leading to a credential for a specific job, up from about 700 two years earlier. Some prospective FCA jobs could be offered to laid-off Fiat Chrysler workers or those already working for the company on a temporary basis, and United Auto Workers officials say many of them are already in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler said it will invest $1.6 billion to reopen a shuttered engine plant and convert another in the same complex into an assembly plant for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new, three-row, full-size Jeep SUV. That would create about 3,850 jobs. All told, the investment would roughly double FCA's hourly workforce in Detroit. The prospect of training - and a job in Detroit with an expected average wage of about $58,000 a year - entices Ladale Moore. The 22-year-old Detroiter with a 10-month-old son said he was laid off a couple of months ago from his job as a Hi-Lo driver. He has worked in manufacturing since he was 18. "I've never had a job in the city, they've all been in the suburbs. They tend to pay more and the benefits are a lot better," said Moore, whose uncle, Fred Borden, works at Fiat Chrysler's Jefferson North plant, slated to get 1,100 new jobs in the multi-plant investment. "Right now, with what's going on with Fiat Chrysler, that's going to be a big thing for the city of Detroit," Moore added. While it's early, Detroit and Fiat Chrysler appear to be laying the right groundwork after significant struggles, according to Marina Whitman, a retired professor of business and public policy at the University of Michigan and a former General Motors chief economist. Chrysler and GM weathered their own bankruptcies a decade ago. Whitman doesn't see any cautionary tale arising from the recent decision by Amazon to cancel plans for a secondary headquarters in New York, spiking some 25,000 promised jobs. The online retailer ran into fierce political opposition to promised tax incentives, not, as Whitman notes, issues with availability of a trained workforce. "You've got this city entity (in Detroit) that seems to be focusing in an intelligent way on the training question," she said. "And auto companies that after going through hell and high water, have finally figured out what they have to do to be successful." The ability to begin with the end in mind might have been a long time coming, but Donofrio said that's the way training is focused now. "We're trying to get away from the train and pray approach," he said. ___ Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffkaroub FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 14, 2019 file photo, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCA logo is shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 announced a $4.5 billion investment plan it said would increase its workforce in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs by about 6,500 jobs to build all-new or next-generation SUVs, (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Tesla will only sell its electric cars online as it accelerates its cost cutting so it can realize its long-running goal of selling a mass-market sedan for $35,000. The change announced Thursday will allow the Silicon Valley automaker to begin selling its Model 3 for $35,000 - a price point that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been striving to reach in order to appeal to more consumers and generate the sales the company needs to survive. The cheapest Model 3 that could be ordered before Thursday started at $42,900. To save money, Tesla will close many of its stores, but leave some open as galleries or "information centers" in high-traffic areas. Musk declined to specify how many stores will be closed or how many employees will be laid off. The company has 378 stores and service locations worldwide. "This is the only way to achieve the savings for this car and be financially sustainable," Musk told reporters during a conference call. "It is excruciatingly difficult to make this car for $35,000 and be financially sustainable." The online sales shift will enable Tesla to lower all vehicle prices by 6 percent, on average, including its higher-end Model S and Model X. FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2019, file photograph, buyers look over a Model 3 in a Tesla store in Cherry Creek Mall in Denver. Tesla is shifting all of its sales from stores to the internet, saying the move is needed to cut costs so it can sell the mass-market Model 3 for a starting price of $35,000. The Palo Alto, California, company announced the change Thursday, Feb. 28. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) All other major automakers rely on vast dealer networks, but Musk co-founded Tesla in 2003 in an effort to shake up the industry, starting with a focus entirely on a fleet of cars powered by electricity instead of gasoline. Although he said going online-only was a difficult decision, Musk believes it's the right one. "It's 2019," he said. "People want to buy things online." That is particularly true of younger, technologically fluent consumers who already are accustomed to buying almost everything at Amazon and having it delivered to them quickly, said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book. Musk "doesn't need the whole world to buy into this," Brauer said. "All he needs is the same basic demographic that has been interested in his cars from Day One." Although he said he didn't know for certain, Musk predicted there's enough pent-up demand to sell about 500,000 Model 3s annually at the starting price of $35,000. But buyers will have to wait far longer than they do when shopping on Amazon. A U.S. consumer who places an order for the Model 3 at its new lower price now will likely get it by the end of June before a tax credit for electric vehicles is scheduled to be reduced, Musk said. The store closures will come on top of a decision to cut 3,150 jobs , or about 7 percent of Tesla's workforce, announced earlier this year. Despite the austerity measures, Musk told reporters Tesla will lose money in the current quarter ending in March, backpedaling a statement he made last October when he pledged the company would remain profitable from that point on. But Musk said it's "likely" Tesla will bounce back with a profit during the April-June period. Tesla's stock fell 3 percent in extended trading after the news came out. The Palo Alto, California, company is slashing costs just a few months after paying half of a $40 million settlement of a case that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against Musk last September after he tweeted that he had lined up financing for a potential buyout for the company. The SEC alleged Musk misled investors after concluding he didn't have the money to pull off the deal. The SEC has asked a federal judge to hold Musk in contempt after he posted another tweet about key Tesla information without getting company approval as required in the settlement of its previous case. Musk declined to take questions about the SEC's attempt to hold him in contempt - an action that legal experts say could culminate in him being forced out as CEO in a worst-case scenario. ____ Krisher reported from Detroit. SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - Bulgaria's state-run gas network operator Bulgartransgaz is relaunching a 1.4 billion euro ($1.6 billion) tender to expand the country's gas transport system from Turkey to Serbia. The company said Thursday that bids for construction of the 484-kilometer (300-miles) pipeline to transit mainly Russian gas to the border with Serbia will be accepted until March 6. Last year, Bulgaria adopted a new energy strategy that includes plans for a pipeline that could be linked to Gazprom's Turk Stream project. Its two pipelines are designed to carry 15.7 billion cubic meters of gas across the Black Sea and would allow Russian gas deliveries to Europe to bypass Ukraine, the traditional transit gas route to the West. Energy issues will be discussed during next week's visit by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. WASHINGTON (AP) - Louisiana Rep. Garret Graves says he hopes to broaden the focus of a special House committee on climate change as he becomes its leading Republican Graves, who was named to the panel Thursday, said the current climate debate centers on part of the equation. While protecting the environment is crucial, lawmakers also should also focus on employment opportunities and improving America's competitiveness in the global economy, Graves said. "Energy production and consumption, mitigation and adaptation, and shared responsibility must be discussed if we're truly going to be 'global' in this important conversation," he said, explaining that he favors an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy. Graves, 47, in his third term representing the Baton Rouge area, was among six Republicans named Thursday to the climate panel, which is led by Florida Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor. "At the risk of being self-serving," said Graves, "there's no better place on the planet to begin this conversation than coastal Louisiana." Other Republicans on the panel are Reps. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Buddy Carter of Georgia, Carol Miller of West Virginia and Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the GOP members on Thursday, three weeks after Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped eight Democrats to join Castor. While the Democrats' proposed Green New Deal has attracted far more attention, Pelosi says the climate panel will "spearhead" her party's work in the House to respond to climate change. Castor said Thursday she looks forward to working with Graves and other Republicans to "tackle the climate crisis," adding: "Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are urging policy makers to act boldly and build a clean energy economy, and avoid the worst and costly impacts of the changing climate." She and Graves both represent states and districts that are bearing the brunt of climate change, Castor said. "These impacts do not discriminate based on political party. We don't have time to waste," she said. Sara Chieffo, vice president of government affairs for the League of Conservation Voters, called it's "a dereliction of duty" for Republicans to include on the climate panel lawmakers who have questioned the validity of climate science. While Graves has called failure to acknowledge climate change a mistake for his party, he and other Republicans on the panel "have consistently put industry interests ahead of our kids' health and our future,' Chieffo said. Noting that Graves has "seen first-hand the impacts of rising sea levels on coastal Louisiana communities," Chieffo said she hopes Graves "will heed his own past words and experiences and start supporting solutions to the climate crisis." PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia district attorney's office went too easy on a gunman convicted of shooting and nearly killing a store owner, federal prosecutors asserted Thursday as they filed their own charges against the defendant. Jovaun Patterson, 29, pleaded guilty to using an AK-47 rifle to shoot the store owner during an attempted robbery in May. Under the plea deal with city prosecutors, Patterson was sentenced to a minimum of three-and-a-half years in state prison. The sentence dismayed the victim, Mike Poeng, who was shot in the groin, left unable to work and wound up having to sell his store. U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, who has clashed with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, announced Thursday that Patterson faces federal robbery and weapons charges in the shooting, philly.com reported. McSwain accused the DA's office of offering "sweetheart deals to violent defendants," saying Krasner's policies embolden potential criminals to think "they can literally get away with murder." McSwain, an appointee of Republican President Donald Trump, blamed Krasner's policies for an uptick in homicides in the city. Krasner, a first-term Democrat who ran on a platform of progressive criminal justice reforms, said he welcomed the federal prosecution of Patterson but rejected blame for the increase in homicides. "We are in the middle of an opioid epidemic," Krasner said at his own news conference. Criticizing McSwain's comments, he added: "It is highly inappropriate to frighten the people who live in Philadelphia." Earlier this month, McSwain filed suit to stop a nonprofit from opening a first-in-the-nation supervised drug injection site to address the city's opioid problem. Krasner, who had visited a safe injection program in Vancouver, British Columbia, said McSwain was advocating the failed drug policies of the past and declared: "We are not going to prosecute people who are trying to stop people from dying." McSwain has also criticized Philadelphia officials over their "sanctuary city" immigration policy. In December, Krasner told The Associated Press that McSwain had adopted Trump's "shrill" style, adding: "I don't think it's constructive for him to throw rocks, but I'm also not going to be silent when he throws them." ___ Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Latest on weather in the Deep South (all times local): 5:20 p.m. Louisiana's governor has declared a state of emergency because of the threat of flooding along the Mississippi River and elsewhere across the state. Gov. John Bel Edwards' office says the declaration announced Thursday allows the state's emergency preparedness office to help local agencies with flood response efforts. In a statement, the Democratic governor cited the National Weather Service's flood warning for the entire length of the Mississippi River and noted more rain is in Louisiana's forecast. Jim Waskom, the governor's emergency preparedness director, urged residets of any area prone to river flooding to "take action now to protect you and your home." A backyard on Pryor Road in Limestone County is flooded on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Decatur, Ala. More than 30 school districts in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee closed Friday, in part because school buses couldn't navigate flooded roads. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP) The state of emergency declaration lasts until March 27. ___ 4:05 p.m. The Tennessee Valley Authority says river levels in its expansive network of waterways are starting to recede, but flood-stricken residents should not exhale just yet as TVA continues to release water from dams and forecasters predict more rain in the coming days. TVA River Forecast Center manager James Everett says river levels have slowly begun to come down in northern Alabama and western Tennessee, which saw 10 to 13 inches (25 to 33 centimeters) of rain last week. That's two to three times the normal rainfall for February. The drenching led to homes, roads, businesses and farms being flooded in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, where saturated land and bulging rivers led to water rescues and caused landslides and sinkholes. Officials said the recovery process could take a few weeks. Middle Valley Plaza is seen flooded in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, after heavy rain overnight. Homes, highways, parks and bridges throughout the South have been flooded or rendered out of commission Saturday, as the toll of days of drenching rains swelled waterways and pooled over saturated lands amid the threat of severe storms. (Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - President Donald Trump framed the breakdown of his nuclear summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un as wisely knowing when "to walk." But the stunning collapse revealed the limits of his unique brand of personal diplomacy and raised concerns about future efforts to disarm a global threat. Eyeing the history books and a much-needed political victory, Trump bet big on the two-day Vietnam summit only to be forced to explain away its sudden failure. The president and North Korea gave conflicting explanations of what went wrong, though the result actually was a relief to some critics and even some Trump supporters who feared he might give too much away in pursuit of a deal. Trump, the businessman who was elected in part on his boasts of deal-making prowess, said a proposed agreement was "ready to be signed." But he said he refused to accept what he described as North Korean insistence that all U.S. sanctions be lifted without the North committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. "I'd much rather do it right than do it fast," the president said. "We're in position to do something very special." The North said it had demanded only partial relief from the punishing sanctions. President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, from summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Trump had pushed for the summit, telling wary aides that his personal chemistry with North Korea's young and reclusive leader outweighed any need for detailed, staff-level talks to iron out differences before either head of state set foot in Hanoi. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who along with his special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, had been leading the preparatory effort, said staff work had achieved some results but that negotiators had intentionally left some of the most contentious issues unresolved. "We were hoping we could take another big swing when the two leaders got together," he told reporters as he flew from Vietnam to the Philippines after the summit collapsed. "We did. We made some progress. But we didn't get as far as we would have hoped we would have gotten." Pompeo noted that "when you are dealing with a country that is of the nature of North Korea, it is often the case that only the most senior leaders have the capacity to make those important decisions." Echoing the refrain that "no deal is better than a bad deal" - often used during the Obama administration by critics of its Iran negotiations - there was relief in some quarters that the president had not impulsively agreed to concessions without much in return. "Kudos to him for walking away from the table," said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank that has been highly skeptical of Trump's efforts with Kim Jong Un. "No deal is, in fact, better than a bad deal." And White House aides stressed that Trump stood strong. Some observers evoked the 1987 Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union's Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting that ended without a nuclear weapons deal but laid the groundwork for a future agreement. Long-standing U.S. policy insists that American sanctions on North Korea will not be lifted until that country commits to, if not concludes, a complete, verifiable and irreversible end to its nuclear weapons program. Trump, who did not consult with allies South Korea and Japan before breaking off the talks, declined to restate that goal Thursday, saying he wanted to retain flexibility with Kim. But North Korea's foreign minister, in a rare news conference, said that Trump wasted an opportunity that "may not come again" and that the North's position wouldn't change even if there was another round of dialogue. The failure in Hanoi laid bare a risk in Trump's negotiating style: Preferring one-on-one meetings with his foreign counterparts, his administration doesn't always do the staff-level advance work intended to make a summit more of a victory lap than a negotiation. "The developments over the past 48 hours highlight in stark fashion the inherent weaknesses of President Trump's preference for summit diplomacy - international media spectacles that have failed to achieve substantial progress on the key issues, especially denuclearization," said Paul Haenle, the director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Unsurprisingly, former Obama administration officials agreed. "At every step of the way, Trump has placed himself, rather than professionals, at the center of this process - and as a result, he's been outmaneuvered every step of the way," the National Security Action, a group of mainly Obama-era foreign policy practitioners, said in a statement. Michael Fuchs, who worked on Asian issues as a State Department official under Obama, said there should be no more summits until the two sides are ready to announce a concrete agreement. "Let the real negotiators from both sides get to work," he said. "Until then, no more reality TV summitry." One beneficiary of the Vietnam summit may have been the North Korean leader. The first Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore gave the reclusive nation's leader an entry to the international stage. The second appeared to grant him the legitimacy his family has long desired. Kim, for the first time, affably parried with the international press without having to account for his government's long history of oppression. He secured Trump's support for the opening of a liaison office in Pyongyang, without offering any concessions of his own. Trump's backing for that step toward normalization provided the sort of recognition the international community has long denied Kim's government. Experts worried that the darker side of Kim's leadership, was being brushed aside. That includes massive human rights abuses, prison camps filled with dissidents, an absence of religious and speech freedoms and the executions of government and military officials. Trump also appeared to accept the North Korean leader's assertion that he had nothing to do with the 2017 death of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was imprisoned for allegedly taking a propaganda poster while on a visit to the country. The president said he took Kim "at his word" that he was unaware of the mistreatment Warmbier was subjected to in custody, a remark that drew widespread criticism, even from Trump's former U.N. ambassador. "Americans know the cruelty that was placed on Otto Warmbier by the North Korean regime," former Ambassador Nikki Haley said. Still, Robert Gallucci, who negotiated with North Korea as a senior State Department official during the Clinton administration, said the unorthodox way in which the two North Korea summits were organized, may not have been a mistake given the unusual nature of the two leaders. "It does have its down sides, and we just experienced the down side," Gallucci said. However, Hanoi wasn't a total disaster as long as the two sides are willing to keep at it. "I'm feeling good because nothing really bad happened, and we have a prospect of using the momentum of the meeting of heads of state to propel working-level discussions, with the understanding here that both sides have invested politically in this, and leaders have invested personally in this, and they want it to work," Gallucci said. ___ Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann and Foster Klug in Hanoi contributed to this report. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit President Donald Trump speaks as Sec of State Mike Pompeo looks on during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Bodyguards run behind the motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he returns to the Melia Hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Air Force One with President Donald Trump aboard takes off at Nom Bar International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, to travel to Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi. At front right is Kim Yong Chol, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief. At left is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from left. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) MIAMI (AP) - A Florida man has pleaded guilty to posting detailed bomb-making instructions to online sites frequented by extremists such as supporters of the Islamic State group. Court records show 33-year-old Tayyab Tahir Ismail pleaded guilty Thursday in Miami federal court to distribution of information relating to explosives. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing May 23. The FBI says Ismail, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, posted instructions at least four times between July and September last year. Investigators say Ismail posted other messages supportive of the Islamic State and did searches on how to build bombs. There's no evidence he had live explosives. Authorities say Ismail was an associate of James Medina, who's serving a 25-year sentence for plotting to blow up a Florida synagogue and school. HONOLULU (AP) - A man called for jury duty in Hawaii shouted "He is guilty! He is guilty!" outside a courtroom and ended up spending a night in jail, lawyers said. The lawyer representing Jacob Maldonado said his client had a bad day when he made the outburst Tuesday. "He was trying to get out of jury duty," attorney Jason Burks told the court. "Obviously, he took a very improper approach to it." Maldonado had been called as a possible juror in a Honolulu misdemeanor assault trial. The court was about to begin jury selection when lawyers alerted Judge Edward Kubo that a potential juror was creating a disturbance outside. Kubo declared a mistrial, finding the man's disturbance had affected the 44 other potential jurors, according to the judge's order. The judge ordered Maldonado's arrest on a contempt charge and set a $10,000 cash bail. Maldonado spent the night in jail and appeared before Kubo on Wednesday morning. In this image taken from video provided by Hawaii News Now, Jacob Maldonado, left, stands with his attorney Jason Burks in court in Honolulu on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. A day earlier, Maldonado was on jury duty when he screamed "he is guilty" outside the courtroom, which caused a mistrial for the case he was potentially going to decide on and landed him in jail for one night. Maldonado apologized to the court and was let go without being charged or fined. (Hawaii News Now via AP) "It was so uncalled for," Kubo said Wednesday. "The fairness of a trial is mandated and expected." Burks told the judge that Maldonado's father was recently diagnosed with cancer and his wife was also dealing with medical issues. Maldonado apologized to the judge, saying he wouldn't do it again. Kubo explained the severity of the outburst, comparing efforts to taint a jury or disrupt the selection process as yelling "there's a bomb" on an airplane. "We have to take it seriously," Kubo said. Maldonado was released without being charged or fined. NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Cohen gave Congress a who's who of President Donald Trump's allies and business associates during his testimony on Wednesday. Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer rattled off more than a dozen names, giving the House Oversight and Reform Committee a potential roadmap for future hearings. Here's a look at Cohen and the key people he mentioned. MICHAEL COHEN For more than a decade, Cohen was a loyal Trump aide . He spoke to the press on Trump's behalf, wrangled business deals, threatened detractors and occasionally helped suppress unfavorable news stories for him. Cohen broke with Trump last year and pleaded guilty to charges including that he lied to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia and made prohibited campaign contributions in the form of payments to two women who say they had affairs with Trump. Cohen spoke to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and is scheduled for another closed-door session on March 6. He's due to start a three-year prison sentence in May. ___ FILE- In this Feb. 27, 2019 file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, is sworn in to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Giving Congress a who's who of President Donald Trump's allies and business associates during his testimony, Cohen rattled off more than a dozen names, providing the committee with a potential roadmap for future hearings. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) DAVID PECKER The chief executive of the National Enquirer's parent company and a longtime Trump ally , helped kill potentially embarrassing stories about Trump over the years by paying hush money in a practice known as "catch-and-kill." In 2015, Pecker agreed to assist Trump's run for president by squelching damaging stories, federal prosecutors say. The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan agreed not to prosecute Pecker's company, American Media Inc., for its secret assistance to the campaign. That promise is now under review after the company was accused of threatening to publish revealing photos of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unless he stopped investigating how the company obtained them. ___ DYLAN HOWARD Cohen said Howard, the executive editor of the Enquirer, was personally involved in coordinating "catch-and-kill" payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump. Howard has come under fresh scrutiny for an email he sent threatening to publish the Bezos photos. ___ KAREN MCDOUGAL The ex-Playboy model said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007 . American Media Inc. paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story in August 2016 - three months before the election. Cohen made a secret recording of Trump talking about how he wanted to buy the story from the media company to make sure it remained secret. ___ STORMY DANIELS The porn actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had a one-night-stand with Trump in 2006 . Days before the 2016 election, Cohen said Trump instructed him to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep her from talking about it. ___ KEITH DAVIDSON The Los Angeles attorney who initially represented Daniels and McDougal in their dealings with Cohen and American Media Inc. and negotiated their payments. ___ ALLEN WEISSELBERG The chief financial officer of Trump's business empire, Weisselberg began working for the company as an accountant for Trump's late father, Fred. Cohen said Weisselberg helped him "figure out how to" pay off Daniels after Trump allegedly instructed him to do so. Cohen testified that Weisselberg told him he'd be reimbursed for the payment in 12 monthly installments totaling $420,000, which included a bonus and covered some of Cohen's taxes and other work he'd done for Trump. Weisselberg received limited immunity last year related to his grand jury testimony he gave in the Cohen case about the hush money allegations. ___ MATTHEW CALAMARI Cohen mentioned the longtime Trump security chief turned Trump Organization's chief operating officer while alleging Trump inflated the value of his assets on financial reports provided to an insurance company. Cohen named Calamari, Weisselberg and the company's executive vice president, Ron Lieberman, when asked who might know more about that alleged practice. ___ FELIX SATER Sater, a Russian-born former Mafia informant and stock fraud scheme convict, was a business adviser to Trump off-and-on for several years. Cohen said Sater once had an office on the same floor as Trump in Trump Tower. Sater was involved in trying to jump start a Trump Tower project in Moscow . Cohen pleaded guilty to telling Congress that the Moscow venture was dead by January 2016 when, in reality, work on it persisted deep into the presidential campaign. Cohen said Sater also talked with him about having Trump visit Russia during the campaign. Sater was also involved in trying to get the White House to look at a Ukrainian peace proposal that favored Russia. The House Intelligence Committee plans to have Sater testify at a public hearing March 14 to talk about Trump's effort to build a Moscow skyscraper. ___ JAY SEKULOW One of Trump's lawyers . Cohen said Sekulow reviewed his false congressional testimony and made changes pertaining to what he was going to say, "about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations." The testimony was also reviewed by Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, Cohen said. Sekulow said the allegations that he "edited or changed" Cohen's testimony to alter the duration of the Moscow negotiations "is completely false." FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2014 photo, David Pecker, Chairman and CEO of American Media, addresses those attending the Shape & Men's Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York. Pecker, chief executive of the National Enquirer's parent company and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, helped kill potentially embarrassing stories about Trump over the years by paying hush money in a practice known as "catch and kill." (Marion Curtis via AP, File) FILE - In this April 16, 2018 file photo, adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks outside federal court in New York. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had a one-night-stand with Donald Trump in 2006. According to President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen, days before the 2016 election, Trump instructed him to pay Daniels $130,000 to keep her from talking about it. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) LAS VEGAS (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro said Thursday that his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, is considering a big run of his own in 2020 - a bid for U.S. Senate against Republican John Cornyn. "He's considering that, but he really has not made a decision about whether he's going to do that. I would imagine he would make a decision at some point soon," Julian Castro told The Associated Press during a campaign stop in Nevada. In Texas, no clear rival has yet emerged to take on Cornyn, who until this year was the No. 2 Republican in the Senate before being term-limited out of that leadership role. Beto O'Rourke's narrow loss to Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in November breathed new life into long-suffering Texas Democrats, who haven't won a statewide office since 1994. As recently as last week, O'Rourke had suggested he may consider challenging Cornyn, but taking another run at the Senate is looking less likely as he promises to announce a decision soon on a 2020 presidential run . A spokesman for Joaquin Castro did not immediately comment. Democrats are searching for a challenger to Cornyn, who has comfortably won re-election since joining the Senate in 2003. So far, no other prominent Texas Democrats have signaled interest. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, accompanied by other member of Congress, speaks about a resolution to block President Donald Trump's emergency border security declaration on Capitol Hill, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 in Washington. House Democrats have introduced a resolution to block the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump issued last week to fund his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border, setting up a fight that could result in Trump's first-ever veto. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Joaquin Castro is the campaign chairman of his brother's presidential campaign. But his own profile is also rising in Congress, where he is chairman of the Hispanic Caucus and sponsored a measure passed Tuesday that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The resolution would block Trump's national emergency declaration and is now before the Republican-run Senate, where there are enough GOP defections to edge the resolution to the brink of passage. Cornyn has said he will vote against the measure. "I think he'd beat him. My brother would win," Julian Castro said. "There are a lot of Texans that clearly have problems with the way that he has represented the state. Most recently, refusing to stand up to Trump even though a lot of land is going to get taken, a lot of Texas landowners' property is going to get taken if there's a wall." The Castros started their political careers around similar times but took different directions. Joaquin Castro made a slow climb to Congress after a decade in the state legislature, while Julian Castro quickly received national attention after being elected San Antonio mayor at age 34. ___ Weber reported from Austin, Texas. LOS ANGELES (AP) - HBO's chief executive said he is exiting the cable channel, a decision that comes less than a year after AT&T acquired HBO's parent company. "Hard as it is to think about leaving the company I love, and the people I love in it, it is the right time for me to do so," Plepler said in a memo Thursday to HBO staffers that was obtained by The Associated Press. During Plepler's nearly 28-year tenure, the premium channel fielded popular and award-winning series including "The Sopranos," ''Game of Thrones," ''Girls," ''Big Little Lies" and "Band of Brothers." With the advent of streaming, the HBO Go and HBO Now platforms were started under his direction. Last June, a federal judge approved AT&Ts merger with Time Warner, a deal worth more than $80 billion. In his memo, Plepler said his decision came at an "inflection point" in the life of HBO. He said he was proud of the company and expected it to continue to thrive. He referred to moving on to "the next chapter of my life" but offered no details. Plepler, who joined HBO in 1992, served as co-president from 2007 to 2012. He was named chairman and CEO in 2013. FILE - This May 29, 2018 file photo shows honoree HBO CEO Richard Plepler attending the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts American Songbook Gala at Alice Tully Hall on in New York. HBO's longtime chief executive is leaving the cable channel, less than a year after AT&T acquired HBO's parent company. In a memo to HBO staffers Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, Plepler said it was the right time for him to leave. The memo was obtained by The Associated Press. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) HBO declined comment on his departure or his successor. LAS VEGAS (AP) - Casino magnate and GOP donor Sheldon Adelson has cancer and has not been at his company's offices in Las Vegas since around Christmas Day. Adelson's poor health was revealed earlier this week by one of his company's attorneys during a court hearing in a years-old case brought by a Hong Kong businessman. The founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. did not participate in the casino operator's conference call with analysts and investors following its earnings report in January. Attorney James Jimmerson told the court Monday that he learned last month "of the dire nature of Mr. Adelson's condition, health." The comment from the attorney came when discussing whether Adelson could sit for a deposition in the case and was first reported by The Nevada Independent. Las Vegas Sands Corp. on Thursday told The Associated Press that Adelson has cancer. "Mr. Adelson is still dealing with certain side effects from medication he is taking for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," company spokesman Ron Reese said in an emailed statement Thursday night. "These side effects have restricted his availability to travel or keep regular office hours." The effects haven't prevented Adelson, 85, from fulfilling his duties as chairman and CEO, Reese said. The company expects he'll return after he completes treatment. FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2017 file photo, Chief Executive of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson is seen at a business roundtable with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Adelson is not in good health and has not being at his company's offices in Las Vegas since around Christmas Day, 2018. Adelson's poor health was revealed Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 by one of his company's attorneys during a court hearing in a years-old case brought by a Hong Kong businessman. Attorney James Jimmerson told the court the condition of the 85-year-old billionaire is dire. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) Adelson also suffers from peripheral neuropathy, a condition that affects the nervous system. The billionaire and his wife, Miriam, gave President Donald Trump's campaign $30 million in 2016. They followed that by contributing $100 million to the Republican Party for the 2018 midterm elections. Adelson is Las Vegas Sands' largest shareholder and regularly participates in the company's earnings calls, but was absent when it reported results on Jan. 23. Sands President Robert Goldstein said at the time that Adelson was "a little bit under the weather." "We met with him yesterday," Goldstein said of Adelson during the January call. "He's taking some medications making him a bit drowsy, so he decided this morning to take a rain check on this one." Adelson was expected to testify in the case brought by Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen and his company, Round Square Co. He testified in 2013 and 2008 in the case's two previous trials. Suen has been seeking compensation because he said he helped Sands secure business in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Sands has argued Suen didn't help get crucial approval to build casinos in Macau and deserves nothing. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Even as he announced the failure of nuclear negotiations with North Korea, President Donald Trump complained that annual military drills with South Korea were "very, very expensive" and said the South must pay more for them. Trump's comments Thursday raised the question of whether the allies can hold springtime drills this year at the same level as in the past and maintain their military readiness if tensions with North Korea flare again following the collapsed talks. The alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, has been at risk since Trump threatened earlier to pull out the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea if Seoul doesn't increase its financial support for them. After his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June, he baffled many in South Korea by unilaterally announcing the suspension of major summertime military drills, calling them "very provocative" and "tremendously expensive." "I want to bring our soldiers (in South Korea) back home," Trump added. Trump's second summit with Kim in Hanoi ended early with no agreement on Thursday because of what Trump described as a dispute over the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. When asked by a reporter whether he would go ahead with other major drills with South Korea, Trump complained about how costly they were. "And I'm not saying it's not necessary because on some levels it is, but on other levels it's not. But it's a very, very expensive thing and we do have to think about that, too," Trump said. "And frankly, I was sort of the opinion that South Korea should help us with that. You know, we're protecting South Korea. I think they should help us with that." FILE - In this March 25, 2015, file photo, U.S. Army soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and a South Korean Army soldier participate in a demonstration of the combined arms live-fire exercise during the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States at the Rodriquez Multi-Purpose Range Complex in Pocheon, north of Seoul, South Korea. Even as he announced failed nuclear negotiations with North Korea on Thursday, President Donald Trump again called regular military drills with South Korea "very, very expensive" and said South Korea must pay more for those joint exercises. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) Around this time of the year, U.S. and South Korean troops normally launch springtime drills that involve both massive field exercises and computer-simulated war games. Last year's drills were delayed for weeks to encourage North Korea's participation in the South Korean Winter Olympics, which paved the way for U.S.-North Korea nuclear diplomacy. Details of this year's exercises haven't been announced, with officials from both countries closely watching the outcome of the Hanoi summit. Seoul's Defense Ministry said earlier Thursday that the starting date for the drills hasn't been decided. The allies have been holding smaller training exercises, but experts say a prolonged halt in comprehensive exercises would eventually weaken their military readiness, especially since many U.S. troops rotate out of South Korea after less than a year of service. A key objective of joint drills is the training of both commanders and troops from both countries to be ready for any crisis. During past drills, the U.S. often flew nuclear-capable bombers close to the border with North Korea and deployed aircraft carriers near the Korean Peninsula in a show of force, while North Korea conducted high-profile weapons tests in response. "We fly these massive bombers in from Guam, and when I first started a certain general said, 'oh, yes sir, we fly them in from Guam, it's right next door.' Right next door is seven hours away and then they come and drop millions of dollars of bombs and then they go back," Trump said Thursday. "We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on those exercises, and I hated to see it. I thought it was unfair." Analyst Kim Dae-young at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy said U.S. nuclear-capable bombers occasionally dropped conventional bombs at firing ranges in South Korea during past exercises. He called Trump's description of "millions of dollars" of spending on those bombing exercises a "clear exaggeration." He said the U.S. would likely send less troops and equipment to upcoming drills, ultimately weakening the joint operational capability. "Listening to what Trump said today, I felt he's saying he will send strategic assets if South Korea pays for their deployment," he said. Worries about a U.S. troop drawdown flared in South Korea earlier this year when Trump pushed Seoul to drastically increase its financial contribution for the U.S. military deployment. The concerns died down after Trump said he had no immediate plans to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea and Seoul eventually agreed to pay more. But similar security jitters could erupt again because the allies need to begin negotiating next year's troop deployment, and it is highly likely that Trump will demand that South Korea increase its share again. North Korea has long pushed for the suspension of joint military drills and a U.S. troop pullout. Since U.S. "carpet bombing" during the Korean War destroyed much of its infrastructure, North Korea has feared U.S. attacks. It calls its nuclear weapons a "powerful treasured sword" that can foil U.S. attempts to invade. During negotiations with the U.S., North Korea has pushed for a joint declaration of the end of the Korean War as a security guarantee. An armistice halted fighting in the war and no peace treaty was ever signed. The declaration could provide North Korea with a firmer basis for stepping up its call for a U.S. troop withdrawal. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012, file photo, U.S. Army soldiers gather around their Multiple Launch Rocket System vehicles after a live fire drill during a U.S. military exercise near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Cheorwon, South Korea. Even as he announced failed nuclear negotiations with North Korea on Thursday, President Donald Trump again called regular military drills with South Korea "very, very expensive" and said South Korea must pay more for those joint exercises. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) FILE- In this March 25, 2015, file photo, U.S. Army's Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters fly during a combined arms live-fire exercise during the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States at the Rodriquez Multi-Purpose Range Complex in Pocheon, north of Seoul, South Korea. Even as he announced the failure of nuclear negotiations with North Korea, President Donald Trump complained that annual military drills with South Korea were "very, very expensive" and said the South must pay more for them.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) DENTON, Texas (AP) - A North Texas woman who was rescued from a trash- and feces-strewn closet as a child and later spoke publicly about her abuse has been indicted on child sex abuse charges. The Dallas Morning News reports a Denton County grand jury indicted 25-year-old Lauren Ashley Kavanaugh on Thursday. She's been in Denton County Jail since her December arrest in lieu of $10,000 bond. Jail records don't show that she has an attorney. Lewisville police say Kavanaugh admitted having a "sexual relationship" with a 14-year-old girl she met through a Facebook page Kavanaugh uses to support and befriend other abuse victims. Kavanaugh was age 8 and weighed 25 pounds in 2001 when investigators found her in a Dallas County mobile home closet. Authorities say she'd also been sexually abused. ___ Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday his government plans to discuss with the United States the possibility of restarting joint inter-Korean economic projects to induce nuclear disarmament from North Korea. Moon's comments during a nationally televised speech came a day after a high-stakes nuclear summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un collapsed over what the Americans saw as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for limited disarmament steps. North Korea insisted it had asked only for partial sanctions relief in exchange for shutting down its main nuclear complex. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho also said Washington had wasted an opportunity that "may not come again" and the North's position won't change even if the United States offers to resume talks. The breakdown is a setback for Moon, whose desire for closer relations between the Koreas hinges on a nuclear breakthrough between the United States and North Korea. While Moon has prioritized stabilizing relations with the North amid the larger nuclear negotiations, his dovish approach has caused disagreements with Washington, which sees economic pressure as its main leverage with Pyongyang. "I vow to help usher in an era of a peace-driven economy on the Korean Peninsula," said Moon, who preaches that South Korea should be in the "driver's seat" in international efforts to deal with the North. However, if the nuclear negotiations derail, Moon could potentially face a serious dilemma over whether to continue to engage with the North or join another U.S.-led pressure campaign against it. South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) In a speech in Seoul commemorating the anniversary of a 1919 Korean uprising against Japanese colonial rule, Moon made a nationalistic call for inter-Korean cooperation, which he says would drive progress in negotiations between the United States and North Korea. Moon said he would "consult" with the United States on resuming operations at an inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and restarting South Korean tours to the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort. It's impossible for Seoul to resume the projects under the current U.S.-led sanctions against the North. Moon also proposed the creation of a joint economic committee between the Koreas aimed at developing the North's crippled economy, which he said would be possible with progress in the North's denuclearization. "We will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means possible," he said. "Progress in inter-Korean relations will lead to the normalization of North Korea's relations with the United States and Japan, expanding into a new order of peace and security in Northeast Asia." While Moon had been expected to make ambitious new proposals for engagement with the North while marking the centennial of an admired historical event, his speech ended without major announcements or fresh plans on inter-Korean economic activities. Moon spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom did not give a definite answer when asked whether the breakdown of the Hanoi summit forced Moon to modify his proposals. Moon said the United States and North Korea still made "meaningful progress" in Hanoi as conversations between Trump and Kim Jong Un would have "enhanced mutual understanding and built more trust." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Manila, Philippines, on Friday that the North Koreans demanded "full" sanctions relief in talks in Hanoi, contradicting Ri, who said the North asked only for partial relief. "These are global demands for the denuclearization of North Korea and we are anxious to get back to the table so we can continue the conversation that will ultimately lead to peace and stability and a better life for the North Korean people and a lower threat, a denuclearized North Korea," Pompeo told reporters. There had been hopes in Seoul that Trump and Kim would reach a deal that meaningfully reduces North Korea's nuclear weapons capability and softens sanctions against Pyongyang, which would give Moon more room to push his ambitious ideas on inter-Korean engagement. Aside of restarting the Kaesong factory park and South Korean tours to Diamond Mountain, the Koreas also aspire to reconnect their railways and roads. Moon has desperately tried to maintain an impression that things are headed toward the North's denuclearization, trying to keep hard-liners in Washington at bay and a positive atmosphere of dialogue alive. That could become much harder to do if the United States and North Korea struggle to put their negotiations back on track and amid growing doubts on whether Kim would ever voluntarily deal away an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival. While Moon focuses predominantly on North Korea issues, critics say huge problems are being mishandled at home, including a decaying job market, falling birth rates and deep age, gender and political divides. Hwang Kyo-ahn, former South Korean prime minister and leader of the conservative Liberty Korean Party, criticized Moon for overselling a "rosy fantasy" on the North's denuclearization and that people's hopes are now turning into uneasiness. "South Korea loses the most from the Hanoi summit ending without agreement," said Alison Evans, an analyst from IHS Markit. "Without progress on North Korea, Moon's domestic agenda becomes his only metric of success for voters, who have already criticized his administration for failing to deliver on economic metrics such as unemployment." Moon had hoped to follow the Trump-Kim meeting with his own fourth summit with Kim, preferably in Seoul, a prospect that now looks murkier. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gestures while answering questions during their joint news conference with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in suburban Pasay city, southeast of Manila, Philippines Friday, March 1, 2019. Pompeo is in the country for talks on the two countries' relations as well as the mutual defense treaty. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony to mark the centennial of the March First Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule (1910-45), in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 1, 2019. Moon says Seoul plans to discuss with Washington the possibility of restarting joint inter-Korean economic projects to induce nuclear disarmament from North Korea.(Hwang Kwang-mo/Yonhap via AP) South Korean protesters stage a rally to denounce policies of South Korean President Moon Jae-in on North Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 1, 2019. Moon said Friday his government plans to discuss with the United States the possibility of restarting joint inter-Korean economic projects to induce nuclear disarmament from North Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference with Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. at the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs Home Office in Manila, Philippines, Friday, March 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore plans to buy four F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. with the option of purchasing eight more to replace its fleet of F-16s. Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said Friday that the city-state will put in a request for the Lockheed Martin jets, which would be subject to U.S. congressional approval. He says the price has not been determined. Ng notes the cost of the jet has been steadily falling due to healthy orders from the U.S. and other countries, with the current unit price ranging from $90 million to $115 million. Singapore plans to retire its older F-16 fleet soon after 2030. The F-35 completed its first flight in 2006. Its buyers include Britain, South Korea, Israel, Italy, Australia, Canada, Turkey and Japan. FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2015, file photo, an F-35 jet flies over its new operational base at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Salsa music and long tirades blasted through loudspeakers for days at a colonial church in one of Venezuela's toughest slums aimed at drowning out Monsignor Hector Lunar - an outspoken priest who isn't shy about criticizing President Nicolas Maduro, even from the pulpit. Then, the dark red letters appeared overnight, stenciled on the church's pale pink facade: "HECTOR LUNAR - PEDOPHILE - TERRORIST." While appalled by the slurs, Lunar says he feels no need to defend himself. Parishioners show their support, he says, by filling the pews, knowing the attacks tapping into the worldwide sex-abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church come from Maduro loyalists intent on discrediting him. "They have nothing to grasp onto," Lunar said. "We're holding firm and pressing forward with this fight, because this country has to change." The conflict playing out in Petare, one of Latin America's largest slums, underscores the critical role played by the Catholic Church as Venezuela's political crisis crescendos. It also highlights divisions between local clergy and the Vatican on how best to confront Maduro. While Venezuela's bishops have been leading a charge for Maduro's removal, urging a boycott of what they call an "illegitimate" presidential election last year and denouncing the government's human rights abuses, the Vatican has pursued a softer approach, with Pope Francis surprising many by sending an emissary to the socialist president's inauguration that dozens of countries shunned. In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, Monsignor Hector Lunar delivers his homily during a Mass in the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Monsignor Hector Lunar, a beloved priest in one of Latin America's largest slums, has fallen under attack by loyalists of President Nicolas Maduro for using the pulpit to hold the embattled socialist leader responsible for suffering among his poor parishioners. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) This unfolds as Venezuela's deepening political and economic collapse nears a breaking point. Opposition leader Juan Guaido burst onto the scene in January launching the first viable bid in years to change course in the once oil-rich country following two decades of socialist rule. He has since won backing from the United States and some 50 countries demanding that Maduro leave power. One political battleground is at Lunar's Sweet Name of Jesus church on the edge of Petare, where some 400,000 people live crowded into the thousands of brightly colored cinderblock homes that blanket the Caracas hillsides as far as the eye can see. Notoriously poor and crime-ridden, the shanty town's residents struggle daily with scarce running water and frequent blackouts. In his visits deep into Petare, the 39-year-old Lunar describes children who go hungry and residents dying at home because they can't afford medicine. Many of his young parishioners have been injured in clashes with security forces. "Mass is Mass, but there have been moments when, yes, I've had to talk about the country's social affairs. It's impossible not to do so," Lunar said of his sermons. "The problem is one person who goes by the name of Nicolas Maduro." Maduro refuses to abandon power and accuses the White House of mounting a coup against him to exploit the country's oil, the largest reserves in the world. He has appealed to the Argentine-born Pope Francis as his presidency comes under attack from within and from a growing coalition of foreign governments. Maduro welcomed the Vatican emissary, Polish Monsignor George Koovakod, to his Jan. 10 inauguration, marking the start to a second term of a presidency that is widely criticized as illegitimate following an election banning the most popular challengers and political parties. Sending a representative from the Vatican to Maduro's inauguration was seen by many as a goodwill gesture aimed at maintaining an open relationship with the government - in case the church could play a role in resolving Venezuela's crisis. However, Pope Francis has since declined a request from Maduro to help relaunch talks with the opposition, saying that the Vatican would only get involved if both sides in the conflict asked it to step in and facilitate mediation. The Vatican expended its institutional prestige in 2016, attempting to mediate a dialogue that the pope later said "went up in smoke," placing blame on Maduro. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has taken a strong stance in recent years as an outspoken critic of Maduro's policies. The country's Episcopal Bishop's Conference has called on Maduro to release political prisoners and rejected his policies to consolidate power by forming a constituent assembly that has effectively gutted the opposition-controlled National Assembly. And at the outset of deadly street protests that left more than 120 dead in 2017, the church demanded Maduro's government immediately stop firing on protesters with tear gas, buckshot and live rounds - a call Maduro's government did not heed. "The Episcopal Conference has been and is very critical of the Maduro government," said Hugo Perez Hernaiz, a former sociology professor at the Central University in Caracas. "They squarely blame the government, and they are very consistent on that." The Catholic Church in Venezuela historically has been one of the most respected institutions in the country, he said, noting that the clergy played an influential role bringing an end to the Marcos Perez Jimenez dictatorship in 1958, issuing a letter months before his ouster cutting ties with the government. In the current crisis, other churches across Venezuela have also become flashpoints for violence. A group of Guaido supporters holding a rally at a church in the port city of Maracaibo came under attack by 40 men armed with clubs who entered the sanctuary, vandalizing the altar and injuring 15 people, some with open head wounds, local media reported. In Petare, the Maduro supporters came to the plaza for 19 consecutive days in late January and early February. They set up a stage with speakers just steps from the church's front doors, blasting loud music and politically charged speeches aimed at Lunar. "He uses the excuse of being a priest and wearing the frock but has no right to be in the street promoting protests, promoting terrorism and asking for a military intervention," a Maduro supporter and local councilman, Abraham Aparicio, shouted into the microphone, adding that U.S. bombs won't just kill government supporters. "They're going to kill everyone, God forbid." The derogatory graffiti shaming Lunar was painted on the front of the church and along one side. Several church members gathered the next morning to paint over it. Lunar was first to pick up the roller brush, applying a light coat over the dark red letters. "God is great," he said in a booming voice as he handed the brush to parishioners who took turns painting. Several coats were required to finally hide the words. One of the volunteers, 64-year-old Jose Teran, said the church is sacred and should not be desecrated. He called Lunar a good priest who creates an environment where followers can come for refuge in these difficult times. Teran also said he didn't believe the Maduro loyalists would give up quickly, expecting them to return with their speakers and more red paint. "If they come to paint again," Teran said, "we'll cover it up again." ___ Scott Smith on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ScottSmithAP In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, faithful paint over graffiti that reads in Spanish: "HECTOR LUNAR, PEDOPHILE, TERRORIST," on a wall of the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. While appalled by the slurs, Monsignor Hector Lunar says he feels no need to defend himself. Parishioners show their support, he says, by filling the pews, knowing the attacks tapping into the worldwide sex-abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church come from Nicolas Maduro loyalists intent on discrediting him. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, faithful pray during a Mass at the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. "Mass is Mass, but there have been moments when, yes, I've had to talk about the country's social affairs. It's impossible not to do so," Monsignor Hector Lunar said of his sermons at the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church. "The problem is one person who goes by the name of Nicolas Maduro." (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) In this Feb. 8, 2019 photo, nuns walk into the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Petare, one of Latin America's largest slums, underscores the critical role played by the Catholic Church as Venezuela's political crisis crescendos. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, Monsignor Hector Lunar puts on a vestment as he prepares for Mass at the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. In his visits deep into Petare, the 39-year-old Lunar describes children who go hungry and residents dying at home because they can't afford medicine. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) This Feb. 9, 2019 photo shows a stained glass window in the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Notoriously poor and crime-ridden, the shanty town's residents struggle daily with scarce running water and frequent blackouts. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, Monsignor Hector Lunar prepares for Mass in the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. "Mass is Mass, but there have been moments when, yes, I've had to talk about the country's social affairs. It's impossible not to do so," Monsignor Hector Lunar said. "The problem is one person who goes by the name of Nicolas Maduro." (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) This Feb. 9, 2019 photo shows a processional cross and a framed portrait of Pope Francis in the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. Local bishops are pushing for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro which is at odds with the softer line favored by Pope Francis, who has urged dialogue and sent an emissary to Maduro's inauguration boycotted by dozens of foreign government. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) In this Feb. 9, 2019 photo, faithful receive Holy Communion from Monsignor Hector Lunar during Mass in the Dulce Nombre de Jesus church, in the Petare slum of Caracas, Venezuela. The Catholic Church in Venezuela historically has been one of the most respected institutions in the country. The clergy played an influential role bringing an end to the Marcos Perez Jimenez dictatorship in 1958. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for their second-ever summit in Hanoi. The Vietnamese capital city rolled out the welcome mat for the leaders, creating a celebratory atmosphere for a meeting that ultimately ended without any new agreements. In other images from the Asia-Pacific region this week, Indian army soldiers secured the site of a helicopter that crashed amid fighting with rival Pakistan. In Australia, the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse arrived at a Melbourne courthouse for his sentencing hearing. South Koreans marched through the streets with torches and a military flight team put on show as the country marked the anniversary of a 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule. ___ This gallery was curated by Associated Press photo editor Shuji Kajiyama in Tokyo. In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump listens during a signing ceremony for commercial trade agreements with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) ___ Visit the AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com In this Feb. 28, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump speaks as Sec. of State Mike Pompeo looks on during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) In this Feb. 28, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo,North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves upon arrival by train in Dong Dang in Vietnamese border town, ahead of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang, File) In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump, left, meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, a woman holds American and North Korean flags as they walk along Sword Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, Indian army soldiers arrive at the wreckage of an an Indian helicopter after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. The crash killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File) In this Feb. 27, 2019, photo, Cardinal George Pell arrives at the County Court in Melbourne, Australia. The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse faces his first night in custody following a sentencing hearing on Wednesday that will decide his punishment for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill, File) In this Feb. 28, 2019, photo, participants carry torches and national flags as they march on the street during a re-enactment ceremony of the March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule, in Cheonan, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) In this Feb. 25, 2019, photo, South Korea's Black Eagles aerobatic flight team performs during a rehearsal for the upcoming government ceremony to mark the centennial of the March First Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule (1910-45), in Seoul, South Korea. The statue, bottom, is Adm. Yi Sun-sin, the national hero who won a major naval victory over Japan in the 16th century. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) In this Feb. 24, 2019, photo, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, does traditional "Banzai (long life)" cheers to Japanese Emperor Akihito, center, and Empress Michiko, right, during a ceremony to mark the 30th year of his reign at the National Theater in Tokyo, Japan. Akihito's Heisei era will end when he abdicates on April 30 in favor of his elder son, 59-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, beginning a new, as yet unnamed era. (Nicolas Datiche/Pool Photo via AP, File) In this Feb. 22, 2019, photo, spectators watch fighter aircrafts perform aerobatic maneuvers on the third day of Aero India 2019 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India. Aero India is a biennial event with flying demonstrations by stunt teams and militaries and commercial pavilions where aviation companies display their products and technology. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File) In this Feb. 25, 2019, photo, a man eats bread as he walks by a wall covering a deserted commercial building structure along a hutong alley near Qianmen Avenue, a popular tourist spot in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) BANGKOK (AP) - The Associated Press on Thursday named Ken Moritsugu, an accomplished reporter, editor and news leader with extensive experience in Asia, as its new Greater China News Director. From a base in Beijing, Moritsugu will lead AP's coverage of the world's most populous country as it undergoes dramatic change at home while expanding its influence far beyond its borders. He will oversee reporters, photographers, videojournalists and researchers in the Chinese capital and in AP bureaus in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan. "Ken is a talented and thoughtful journalist who has helped reshape AP newsrooms to better serve the needs of our audiences wherever they are - in print, on TV, on their phones and online," said Asia-Pacific News Director Adam Schreck. "We're certain he will take the China team's record of ambitious and illuminating work to new heights." In his current role as the AP's news director for Japan and the Koreas, Moritsugu helped steer the news agency's coverage of the warming of relations between North and South Korea that laid the groundwork for last year's first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two leaders met again in Vietnam this week. Moritsugu, 56, joined the AP in 2007 as Asia enterprise editor in the company's Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Bangkok, overseeing major projects including "China's Reach," an award-winning, data-driven series. He was appointed Tokyo bureau chief in 2013 and promoted to news director in 2017. "Ken's wide experience, sharp news instincts and strong mentoring skills position him as the perfect leader for an AP China operation that is bursting with talent. We're proud of the coverage our bureaus are doing on this globally important story, and confident that Ken can help lead our top-rate staff to the strongest possible journalism," said Sally Buzbee, AP's executive editor. This Feb. 28, 2019, photo shows Ken Moritsugu, in Tokyo. The Associated Press has named Moritsugu, an accomplished reporter, editor and news leader with extensive experience in Asia, as its new Greater China News Director. From a base in Beijing, Moritsugu will lead AP's coverage of the world's most populous country as it undergoes dramatic change at home while expanding its influence far beyond its borders. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) A graduate of Princeton University, Moritsugu started his journalism career at The Japan Times in Tokyo. He later was a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, Newsday, and the Knight-Ridder Washington bureau, and worked as a freelance journalist in India. He has held several leadership posts in the Asian American Journalists Association, including Asia chapter president. ___ Online: http://www.ap.org This Feb. 28, 2019, photo shows Ken Moritsugu, in Tokyo. The Associated Press has named Moritsugu, an accomplished reporter, editor and news leader with extensive experience in Asia, as its new Greater China News Director. From a base in Beijing, Moritsugu will lead AP's coverage of the world's most populous country as it undergoes dramatic change at home while expanding its influence far beyond its borders.(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate opponents of President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border have moved very close to having enough votes to prevail, and one Republican suggested the president risks a rebuff by the GOP-led chamber if he doesn't change course. Trump's move would "turn a border crisis into a constitutional crisis," veteran Sen. Lamar Alexander said on the Senate floor Thursday. But he stopped just short of saying he'd support a resolution blocking the president's move. Had Alexander pledged his vote, it would probably be enough for the Senate to pass a measure repealing the emergency declaration. Speaking later to reporters, Alexander, R-Tenn., warned what might happen if Trump doesn't settle for using other money he can access without declaring an emergency. "He can build a wall and avoid a dangerous precedent and I hope he'll do that," Alexander said. "So that would change the voting situation if he would agree to do that." The Democratic-led House voted Tuesday to upend Trump's declaration, which he declared to circumvent Congress and funnel billions of extra dollars to erecting his proposed wall. Trump has promised to veto the effort to thwart him, and Congress seems all but certain to lack the two-thirds majorities in each chamber that would be needed to override his veto. But the showdown puts GOP lawmakers in a ticklish spot that party leaders are hoping to ease. President Donald Trump speaks to service members at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska., during a refueling stop as he returns from Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republicans say a Senate vote is likely in two weeks, but exactly what the Senate will vote on remains unclear. Several Republicans said that behind closed doors, they were considering several options for alternative language. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was among those suggesting provisions making it harder for future presidents to divert federal dollars to projects of their choosing by declaring emergencies. "I wouldn't be surprised if some changes are made," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. While the wall elicits wide public opposition, Trump remains wildly popular with hard-right voters and GOP lawmakers cross him at their peril. Trump warned Republicans anew against challenging him. "I really think that Republicans that vote against border security and the wall, I think you know, I've been OK at predicting things, I think they put themselves at great jeopardy," Trump said in excerpts of an interview with Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show released Thursday. While congressional Republicans are reluctant to confront Trump, many say his move tramples Congress' constitutional power to control spending. They say it would set a precedent for future Democratic presidents to declare emergencies for their own purposes, and they worry he would siphon money to barrier construction from home-state projects. Alexander, a three-term senator who plans to retire in 2021, has no re-election worries. "I support what the president wants to do on border security, but not the way he has been advised to do it," said Alexander, 78. "It is unnecessary and unwise to turn a border crisis into a constitutional crisis about separation of powers." Presidents have declared 58 national emergencies under a 1976 law. But never has one declared an emergency after Congress had explicitly denied the money in question, Alexander said. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have said they will vote to derail the emergency declaration. Just four Republicans would be needed to send the measure to Trump for his promised veto, assuming that all 47 Democrats and their independent allies vote as expected to confront the president. By law, the resolution cannot be filibustered and would only need a majority to pass the Senate, usually 51 votes. Congress has voted to limit spending for barriers to just under $1.4 billion. Trump featured the wall as a central plank of his presidential campaign and repeatedly said Mexico would pay for it, which hasn't happened. Trump has said he needs additional barriers to halt drugs, human traffickers and unauthorized immigrants from slipping into the U.S. Opponents say there is no crisis. The emergency declaration would let Trump divert $3.6 billion from military construction to erect more border barriers. He's invoking other authorities to transfer an additional $3.1 billion to construction. Lawsuits have been filed aimed at derailing the declaration, which could at least prevent Trump from getting the extra money for months or more. Meanwhile, Collins and three other moderate senators introduced their own resolution blocking the emergency. The proposal is identical to the one-sentence, House-approved measure. The new legislation lets senators put their stamp on congressional opposition to Trump's move. The other sponsors are Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Only Murkowski doesn't face re-election next year. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro in Washington and AP writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed. More children could lose out on their top choice of secondary school this year as pupil numbers continue to grow, it has been suggested Up to 115,000 youngsters across England are expected to not be offered their first choice when places are announced on Friday, the Good Schools Guide warns. Based on analysis of birth rates and the number of children leaving primary school, it estimates that 606,000 applied for places this year an increase of 23,000 on 2018. Last year the proportion of children missing out on a place at their top choice of secondary school rose for the fifth year in a row. Only 82.1% of 11-year-olds in England received an offer from their desired school meaning 17.9% missed out, compared with 16.5% the previous year. The Department for Education said more than 825,000 school places had been created since 2010. Bernadette John, director at The Good Schools Guide, said: In recent years, some local authorities have struggled to find enough places at primary school level and now we have begun to see the impact on secondary schools. And, for the next few years, it will get worse. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told the Press Association: There is intense pressure on secondary school places in some areas of the country for schools rated by Ofsted as outstanding and good and this results in parents missing out on their preferred choice. This situation will become more challenging because the number of pupils in secondary schools is rising and is expected to increase by 428,000 over the next seven years. It is vital that additional places are carefully planned at a regional level to match demographic need, and that everything possible is done to ensure every child can access a place in a good school, not least by improving the totally inadequate level of funding currently provided to schools by the government. New analysis from Teach First suggests children from the poorest backgrounds are more likely to be heading to a school rated by Ofsted as less than good, than in 2016. The education charity found that 35% of children from the poorest postcodes currently attend a school rated as inadequate or requires improvement an increase from 28% in 2016. This amounts to an additional 30,000 children from poorer backgrounds. School Standards Minister Nick Gibb (John Stillwell/PA) School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: Today is a significant milestone for thousands of parents and children finding out which secondary school they will be attending from September. This Government is determined to create more choice for parents when it comes to their childrens education and we have created 825,000 school places since 2010, and are on track to see that number rise to a million by 2020. Standards have also risen, with 86% of schools now good or outstanding, compared to 68% in 2010, and last year more than nine out of 10 pupils got a place at one of their top three choices, setting them on the path for a successful future. Tube driver Vaughan Thomas can recall with clarity the moment a Saturday morning journey on the network changed his life. It was shortly after 9am on June 23 2007. Tony Blair was preparing to stand down as prime minister, Rihannas Umbrella was midway through a 10-week reign at the top of the singles charts, and anti-war activists were setting up an illegal camp in Westminster to protest about government policy in the Middle East. Underground, a casually dressed young man made his way along the eastbound platform at a central London station and stepped purposefully on to the tracks. CCTV images from the scene later showed headlights emerging quickly from the darkness just as the man did so. It was not enough time for Mr Thomas to stop his train. I noticed a young man in casual clothes step out and was standing on the track looking at me, Mr Thomas, a Welshman originally from Port Talbot, told the Press Association. As you can imagine, it was an awful shock to see something there that shouldnt be there. Tube driver Vaughan Thomas, who experienced a suicide first-hand in 2007 (Emma Bowden/PA) It became clear he wasnt going to get out of the way. So I closed my eyes. More than a decade later, 61-year-old Mr Thomas remembers the immediate aftermath the ingrained necessity to make the train safe, alerting passengers that they may not be able to get off for a while, and dealing with a witness who tapped at his watch asking when they could get going again. It was the first suicide Mr Thomas experienced first-hand during his eight years service with Transport for London (TfL). The next day, he was granted permission to sit in the front cab next to a driver and retrace his route, this time continuing fully into the station where it happened. He was given the all-clear to return to driving duties a month later. But the incident continued to play on Mr Thomass mind. Each time I was coming to a station I was assessing if I had seen them here, could I have stopped? he said. For the next several weeks this was going through my mind. But it was only when a police officer spoke to Mr Thomas some time later that he truly accepted he did all he could to avoid the collision. They were able to show me pictures of the young man entering the station, going down the escalator by himself. Standing on the platform, Mr Thomas added, his soft voice breaking slightly. Mr Thomas was shown CCTV of the incident, proving there was nothing he could do to avoid the collision. At that point I knew, it wasnt my fault, he said. It was the first point I cried. He later learned the man had arrived in the UK from Europe but was convinced he had a serious illness. He got tested but could not bear the wait to discover his fate. He called his parents, wrote a note, and took himself off to the Tube station. Two days after his death, test results proved negative the man was not ill. I still think about it occasionally, said Mr Thomas, who is among the majority of Underground staff to have gone through a suicide prevention programme credited with a reduction in such incidents on the network since the end of 2017. When you hear about other people having similar incidents, of course it comes back. When people come back to work we often have a discussion about incidents to support one another. If I could go back in time and speak to that young man, I think I would ask him if he wanted to talk, because if he did I was ready to listen. Samaritans is available 24/7 every single day of the year to listen and offer support to anyone who is struggling to cope. People can contact Samaritans by phone, free of charge, on: 116123, via email: jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of their local branch. A man who was convicted of attempting to murder a police officer with an under-car bomb will face a sentencing hearing later. Sean McVeigh, 38, of Victoria Street in Lurgan, was found guilty in February at Belfast Crown Court of the attempted murder of a police officer at his home using an under-car bomb. The incident took place at the officers home in the Eglinton area of Co Londonderry on June 18 2015. McVeigh was arrested by Irish police across the border in Co Donegal following a car chase a short time later. He refused to answer questions and was released on bail. McVeigh was then arrested over the murder bid by detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) at Portadown train station in May 2016. A man convicted of attempting to kill a police officer will face a sentencing hearing in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA) He is due before Belfast Crown Court on Friday morning for a sentencing hearing. A judge in Dublin is set to rule whether a Co Donegal man will be extradited to Northern Ireland to face charges over the car bomb murder of two soldiers. John Downey, 67, whose trial for the IRAs Hyde Park bombing collapsed in controversy five years ago, is wanted by prosecutors in Northern Ireland over the 1972 murder of two Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly is expected to make a ruling on the extradition in the Dublin High Court on Friday morning. Downey was detained in the Republic of Ireland last October under a European arrest warrant. Northern Irelands Public Prosecution Service initiated extradition proceedings last year after determining it had sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders of Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston, 32, and Private James Eames, 33. The two soldiers died when an IRA bomb exploded in a car they were checking on Irvinestown Road, Cherrymount, on August 25 1972. John Downey is facing extradition over the murder of two Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in 1972 (Niall Carson/PA Wire) In 2013, Downey was charged with murdering four Royal Household Cavalrymen in a bomb in Londons Hyde Park in 1982. He stood trial at the Old Bailey, but the case dramatically collapsed after it was revealed he had received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blairs government that he was not actively wanted by the authorities. The letter was issued under the terms of the controversial On The Runs (OTRs) scheme. Mr Downey has always denied any involvement in the Hyde Park attack. During an extradition hearing on the matter last month, Downeys barrister Garnet Orange SC made an appeal to Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly not to proceed with the hearing until after March 29 when Brexit matters have been clarified. Remy Farrell, barrister for the State, said however that Downeys counsel did not identify how his client would be impinged by Brexit. Concorde remains the worlds only supersonic airliner despite being grounded since October 2003. No government or manufacturer has since been able to build a commercial plane which can travel faster than the speed of sound. Many of the reasons for the demise of Concorde, high fuel costs, concern over its noise, a preference for lower fares over speed, are still applicable today, but that is not stopping a number of firms developing a supersonic airliner. Boom Supersonic says its Overture plane will be "the new norm for anyone who flies business class" (Boom Supersonic/PA) Aviation analyst John Strickland does not believe another large scale version will be developed in the current market. He said passengers want to reach their destination as quickly as possible but paying the lowest fare is the priority for most people. If you cut the time it takes to fly to Australia in half, there would be a level of interest, he told the Press Association. But what would people be willing to pay, relative to the price of such an aircraft and the investment required to make it? It looks pretty high risk. Aerion Supersonic is working on a business jet (Aerion Supersonic/PA) Former Concorde pilot Jock Lowe claimed the difference in speed between existing planes and a supersonic airliner would not deliver enough benefits to make it worthwhile. He said: Yes you save a bit of time but it costs a lot more, its a lot noisier and if you had a lot of supersonic planes in the upper atmosphere you would do (environmental) damage. There are fairly difficult problems for people to surmount to do a big (supersonic plane). As for a smaller one, a business jet, I suspect that will happen sooner rather than later. Nasa and Lockheed Martin are hoping to launch a supersonic plane named QueSST (Lockheed Martin/PA) Among the firms trying to overcome these issues is Boom Supersonic. The US start up is developing a 55-seater aircraft named Overture with an aim to fly at Mach 2.2, which is more than twice the speed of sound. The company pledges that passengers will arrive in half the time for about the same fare as todays business class. Test flights on a single-seater version called XB-1 are due to take place this year. Boom says it has received pre-orders for 30 Overture planes, with customers including Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group and Japan Airlines. It plans to launch flights in the mid-2020s. Boeing-backed Aerion Supersonic is working on a 12-seater business jet with a top speed of Mach 1.4. Its first flight is due in 2023. Nasa and aerospace company Lockheed Martin are also developing a prototype for a supersonic plane named QueSST. They claim it will be much quieter than Concorde as it will be designed to reduce a sonic boom to a gentle thump. Shamima Begum and her newborn baby are thought to have been moved from a Syrian refugee camp after they were threatened, her familys lawyer has said. The teenager and her infant son were moved from the Al-Hol camp in the north of the country due to safety concerns around her and her baby, Tasnime Akunjee said. Ms Begum, who fled from Bethnal Green in east London to join Islamic State as a 15-year-old, recently said she regretted speaking to the media. The 19-year-old, who gave birth days after her discovery by a journalist was first reported, said she wished she had kept a low profile. Shamima Begum before catching from London in 2015 to join the Islamic State group (Met Police/PA) The Sun reported that Ms Begum, who wants to return to the UK but has been stripped of her British citizenship, had received death threats since speaking out about her plight. The mother and her baby are said to have since been moved to another camp nearer to the Iraqi border. Mr Akunjee told the paper: I can confirm that it is our understanding that Shamima has been moved from Al-Hol due to safety concerns around her and her baby. We further understand that indeed she and her child had been threatened by others at the Al-Hol camp. The development comes after British officials ruled out any effort inside Syria to extract Ms Begum and her child. Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped her of her British citizenship in an effort to block her return. Ms Begums family have pleaded for the mother and her child to be allowed to come back to Britain. They say the teenager should face justice if she is found to have broken the law by travelling to Syria. A crisis-hit prison has been locked down for a pre-planned intelligence-led search, authorities said. Inmates at HMP Birmingham are understood to be confined to their cells as officers conduct sweeps of the jail. The search is one part of our long-term safety and security strategy to improve conditions at the prison, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said on Thursday. It is unclear when the lockdown began at the prison, which is being run by the state after plunging into crisis under private management. HMP Birmingham is now being run by the Government (Ben Birchall/PA) A Prison Service spokesman said: HMP Birmingham has been temporarily placed in lockdown to assist with a pre-planned intelligence-led search of the facility. In 2016, a major 15-hour riot gripped the Victorian-era category B jail, with more than 500 prisoners let out of their cells. Riot police outside HMP Birmingham during the disturbance in December 2016 (Joe Giddens/PA) Hundreds of specially trained Tornado Team officers were drafted in to bring the disorder, which caused more than 6 million of damage, under control. It was the worst disorder at a UK jail since the Manchester Strangeways riots in 1990. HMP Birmingham, which held just under 1,000 inmates at the end of January, will be run by the state for at least another six months after it took over from G4S in August. Employees clear debris after the 2016 riot (Jason Alden/G4S/PA) Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke published a devastating assessment of the prison last year. His report, which detailed findings prior to the step-in, revealed inmates walked around like zombies while high on drugs in scenes likened to a war zone. Prisoners flouted rules without challenge from staff, many of whom were anxious and fearful as they went about their duties, the assessment found. It said there had been more assaults at the establishment than at any other local prison in the previous 12 months, control was tenuous and many cells were dirty, cramped and overcrowded. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has boarded his private train at the Vietnam-China border for a 60-plus-hour ride home, ending a trip to Vietnam that saw a summit breakdown with President Donald Trump. He spent his last day in Hanoi laying large red-and-yellow wreaths at a war memorial and at the mausoleum of national hero Ho Chi Minh, surrounded by Vietnamese soldiers and his own entourage of top North Korean officials. At the border, he got out of his armoured limousine and clasped his hands, waving to a crowd of people cheering his departure. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at Dong Dang railway station (Minh Hoang/AP) Since President Trump flew home to Washington, Mr Kim has stepped assuredly into the spotlight, keen to show himself as a poised leader taking his rightful place on the international stage. He met on Friday with President Nguyen Phu Trong, the countrys top leader and Communist Party chief, grinning broadly as he was feted by top officials and escorted down a red carpet. As Mr Kim met with officials in Hanoi, the United States and North Korea have both been spinning their versions of what happened during one of the most high-profile diplomatic collapses in recent years. On Saturday, Mr Kim walked slowly behind a wreath with his name on it and a message that said, I mourn the heroes and patriotic martyrs, as it was taken to the Monument to War Heroes and Martyrs. He also oversaw the presentation of a large wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where he bowed and walked inside. Mr Kim attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Monument to War Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi (Kham/AP) Talks between Mr Kim and President Trump broke down on Thursday, the second day of their two-day summit, in a dispute over how much sanctions relief Washington should provide Pyongyang in return for nuclear disarmament steps. Despite a senior North Korean officials suggestion in a rushed, middle-of-the-night news conference called to dispute President Trumps version of the summits end that Mr Kim may have lost the will for diplomacy, the North Korean leader seems to have emerged from the diplomatic wreckage as a winner. Mr Kim answered questions with humour and ease when confronted by an aggressive international media contingent here. And, crucially for his image at home, he stood firm on his demands for the relief of sanctions imposed over a nuclear programme North Korea says it built in the face of unrelenting US hostility meant to end its leadership. North Korea said it had asked for partial sanctions relief in return for closing its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, an important nuclear-fuel production facility but not the only place the North is believed to make bomb fuel. The United States also has been spinning the summit breakdown, with senior officials saying that North Korea wanted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for only partial dismantlement of Yongbyon, and demanded the North scrap more of its nuclear programme for such a high level of concessions. Chitra Banerjee Divakarunis book, The Forest of Enchantment, starts with Valmiki handing over his composition Ramayana to Sita. Sita praises him for his poetry, sublime descriptions and perfect rhythm, but berates him for overlooking her despair as she sat under the sorrow tree in the darkness of the forest. Says she, You dont even know of my exhilaration. In addition, Sitas disappointment with the composition was that it was patriarchal in its soul and disregarded the heartbreaks that are at the core of a womans life, the unexpected alliances she forms, the rise of gut-wrenching desires and the impact of social negotiations where a woman invariably has to give up on something valuable in order to hold close something else that she treasures. Sita, thereafter, writes her own story starting from the point where she was found in the furrows of the earth. The Janaki Mandir in Janakpur, Nepal, which some believe the birthplace of Sita. (Photo: Nepal tourism department) The Forest of Enchantment comes after Divakarunis The Palace of Illusions, which gives voice to another important female character Draupadi and charts her story without the trappings of patriarchy. In a way, Divakaruni is attempting to rewrite stories that have always celebrated men. She writes in an altogether different perspective and voice, and for readers who are well-versed with the stories, the altered way of looking at the very same events gives them a sense of their own selves. Sita and Draupadi become internalised and the stories lose their mythical components as each woman reader begins to identify with the frustrations, forced circumstances, physical and emotional hardships that these two women underwent. Ramayana and Mahabharata, two epics that form the core of the Indian (Hindu) fabric, have heroines who have much in common. From the way they emerge to the way they wed, right up to their exile to the forest, there are several similar elements. Sita was found by the childless King Janaka of Mithila, half buried in the earth. Janaka was tilling the soil and preparing it for a yajna for a child. In his pursuits, he found the baby girl half-sunk in the soil. The kind king Janaka did not give the child away (as was the custom). He hugged the baby girl and experienced a hitherto unknown sense of bliss. He named her Sita and she grew up as princess in the kingdom. Of course, other versions of the Ramayana have attempted to explain her appearance in Mithila. The Kamban Ramayana, Iramavataram, is very similar to Valmikis version. However, in the Ramayan Manjari, North Western and Bengal versions of the Valmiki epic, King Janaka had looked up to the skies and on his sighting the celestial nymph Menaka, had expressed his desire to have a child. Sita apparently was his spiritual child born out of Menaka. Ram won Sita in a swayamvara. The ideal man found the ideal woman. (Photo: Raja Ravi Varma painting/Wikimedia Commons) The Tamil Uttarakantam talks of how Sita, earlier Vedavati, was reborn to wreak vengeance on Ravana. In her past birth, she was Kushadvajas daughter, whose penance to obtain Vishnu as her consort had been thwarted by Ravana, who had apparently molested her. Alternatively, the Jain version Vasudevahindi, which is built around Valmikis original version, states that it was prophesied that Mandodaris firstborn would bring death to her father Ravana. Mandodari had thereby set the child adrift and King Janaka of Mithila had come to find her. Draupadi was born out of a yajna performed by her father King Drupada. Two full-grown children had sprung out of the holy fire. The girl was named Draupadi and the boy, Drishtadyumna. Draupadi had several names like Yajnaseni, Panchali, Krishnaa and Parshati the last through her mother Prishati, who had become fearful that the children would not acknowledge her as their true mother and had prayed to the fire god Agni to obliterate the children's memories and make them accept her as their mother. Agni blessed her and the two children knew Prishati as their mother. The weddings of both women are also similar Sita and Draupadi found their respective husbands in a swayamvara, where participants had to prove their skills in archery in order to win the hands of the princesses. Ram and Arjuna, with their superior skills in archery, won the princesses. At that time, marriages were often political alliances, and a king often married several times in order to fortify his kingdom and make it more bountiful. However, the weddings in the epics werent arrangements and the women did fall in love with their men. Thereafter, their lives took different trajectories. While Ram remained Sitas husband, the sole man in her life, Draupadi had to enter into a polyandrous arrangement where she became the wife of all the five Pandavas. Arjuna won Draupadi's swayamvara. But she had to marry all the Pandavas. (Photo: Raja Ravi Varma painting/Wikimedia Commons) In ancient times, it was sinful for the younger brother to marry before the older brother. To be able to inherit and perform the last rites of the parents, the eldest son had to be married. Moreover, the rules prescribed that while the younger brothers had access to the older brothers wife, the reverse was not true. Thus, Draupadis marriage to Arjuna would have stripped Yudhisthira of his social, religious and filial obligations. Therefore, not only would the Arjuna-Draupadi marital alliance be socially and morally unacceptable, it would also sow seeds of discord within the brothers. Kunti, with her astuteness and her own complex life experiences, had the vision to see that Draupadi could break the united force of Pandus sons. Therefore, through a stratagem by Ved Vyasa, Draupadi was married to all the brothers although, in her heart, she loved Arjuna more. Ultimately, she pays the price of this love, as she falls on the path to Heaven. In her final moments, she realises that her heart had pined after a man who had never been hers. Arjuna had loved many women, Ulupi, Subhadra, Chitrangada but his deepest affections were reserved for Vasudev Krishna. In that moment of introspection, Draupadi realised that it was Bhima, and never Arjun, who had loved her with all his might, fought to save her honour, risked all to see her smile. In fact, at the very end, Draupadi, with her last breath, says, In our next birth, be the eldest, Bhima; under your shelter we can all live in safety and joy. Draupadi's heart pined for Arjun, but much too late, she realised it was Bhim who cared most for her. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Ramayana and Mahabharata are considered epics. Sita and Draupadi are the central female characters whose actions of stepping outside the social constraints (Lakshman Rekha) by Sita; and of laughing heartily at the slip-up of a man and thereafter quibbling in a court of men over the legal issue of whether Yudhisthira being a slave could wager her in a game of dice by Draupadi lead to wars and guarantee the hardest punishment to these women. Sita is abducted by Ravana. Draupadi is dragged to court and disrobed. Misogynistic accounts call both of them Kritya a blood-thirsty demonic female who starts a quarrel which men fight out. So, Sita was the Kritya of the Satyayug, Draupadi of the Dwaparyug. Sita or Draupadi the similarities are unmistakable in the humiliations, condemnations and difficulties they endure. These two, along with others like Ahalya, Damayanti, Mandodari, Surpnakha, articulate through their lives the hardships that comes to women irrespective of their social status. Yet, the scope of the Mahabharata outpaces that of the Ramayana. Sita had to undergo trial by fire Draupadi burnt in the fire of humiliation and revenge. (Photos: Wikimedia Commons) In the former, no person is ideal. Almost all characters are shaded. In that sense, Mahabharata is about human weakness, and the tests they have to stand up to individually and collectively. The one who triumphs stands to enjoy the comfort of his soul the rest perish in confusion and guilt. Ramayana, on the other hand, is about idealism, the extraordinary. Rama was the ideal man Maryada Purushottam. Sita was the ideal woman. All characters are ideals in their life choices. Even Ravana is the ideal villain. Mahabharata in that respect hardly has any extraordinary characters. However, in their ordinariness lies the extraordinariness. Ramayana is about one man, Ram. All characters are arranged around him. The abduction of Sita and the war with Ravana allow us to see the greatness of Ram as a warrior. Unlike the Pandavas, who gain strong allies in Draupadis father and brother, Ram grants Sita a status. He gets a beautiful and devoted wife. He needs nothing more. In securing Draupadi, the Pandavas gain much more. In the Mahabharata, we learn about kinship details and several subplots allow us to examine bloodlines. In the Ramayana, there are very sketchy details and like a cinematic telling of a love story, the epic sticks to the two basic characters and does not give too much about the social and filial forces that could have shaped these people. Sita's life in the forest was idyllic, till a golden deer crossed it. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) So Sitas exile for the first time was like a continual honeymoon, unmarked by hatred and suffering. There were deer and swans and lotuses, quiet and peaceful hermitages and the serene Godavari forming a scenic backdrop. She was free to love and her time in the forest provides the idyllic template to many a modern-day romantic setting. In the forest, Sita matured in her love. In the same forest, Draupadi burnt inwardly. She could hardly get any time to rest even in the forest. From morning to night, she would be busy making preparations for religious rites to be performed by Yudhisthira and looking after guests Brahmins who dropped by their humble home. Draupadi fumed inwards, desirous of revenge in every wakeful moment. Her state was brought on by her husbands, and so she is described as Nathavati Anathavat (a widow despite having husbands). Draupadi's 'sin' was that she acknowledged the truth of her heart. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Sitas trials seem to belong to a romantic, unreal world. A courageous husband, a beautiful heroine joined in love, then separated and finally reunited find expressions in the Kavya tradition. The grief of separation, the trials and tribulations of love all serve as superb elements of a true love story. Draupadis sons are cruelly beheaded by Ashwatthama in the war, Sita helps in bringing Luv-Kush to Rama and thereafter goes into the earth, from which she had sprung up. This was certainly a departure from the classic formula. Yet, it is this tragic end that has rendered Sita as a goddess, for goddesses do not provide proof of innocence. Draupadi unfortunately had to endure the limits of violence, shame, distress. She gave her loyalty to each Pandava for 12 months before moving to the next, yet, her own heart in its standing up for individual truth was seen as an act of sin, condemning her to a fall from the heights of embellished human acceptance and deification. Also read: Could women in ancient India really choose their grooms? Is China changing? Or to put it differently, can present China change? On February 21, China seemed not to side with Pakistan when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned in strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terror attack in Pulwama by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The UN press statement named the Pakistan-based terror group headed by Masood Azhar. In the past, China always vetoed such statements and blocked India's bids to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. China still has to put its weight behind the fight against terror. (Photo: PTI) Defiant dragon Was it a sign that China is becoming a normal state? No, the next day, the Chinese foreign ministry said it had mentioned a particular organisation in general terms only. Spokesman Geng Shuang added that China was not convinced about who conducted the attack although JeM had itself claimed responsibility. A day before the UN vote, the Chinese Communist Partys tabloid, The Global Times heavily criticised the Indian media: Venting their anger, some Indian media outlets directed their ire at China, blaming Beijing for offering protection to the terrorist group Jaishe-Mohammed They impulsively demanded India downgrade diplomatic and economic relations with China. Why should the Indian media not point a finger at Beijing when it refuses the obvious, that Azhar is indeed a global terrorist. Why should the world accept double standards from China? Look at Xinjiang. Beijing may genuinely be worried about Islamic terrorism, but is it a reason to randomly persecute a minority? For months, the world media has reported that more than one million Uyghurs in Xinjiang were being politically educated in special camps. On February 17, Reuters quoted a Dutch Internet expert who discovered that a Chinese surveillance firm was tracking the movements of more than 2.5 million people in the Muslim region; an online database containing names, ID card numbers, birth dates and location data, had been left unprotected for months by Shenzhen-based facial-recognition technology firm SenseNets Technology. SenseNets is said to work with Chinas police across several cities. China has been accused of snooping on its citizens. (Photo: Reuters) That places the Chinese state closer to totalitarian North Korea than Western or Indian democracy, where individuals are allowed to openly express their opinion and dissent, without having to be reeducated. Another aspect of an abnormal state is that at the slightest excuse, Beijing does not respect and uphold the engagements or agreements it has with other states. The example of the Doklam episode is striking. China had a problem with India because Beijings own troops were stopped from building a road on Bhutanese territory. Beijing took offence at Indias rightful action and immediately riposted by stopping the supply of data for rivers having their sources in Tibet, forgetting that both countries had agreed to share hydrological data from May 15 to October 15 for the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers (the agreement was renewed in 2013 and 2015). Two years later, when the border incident took place at the tri-junction Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet, Beijing refused to share the crucial data in case of floods. It also stopped the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra via Nathula in Sikkim as well as the joint exercise between the Armies of India and China (Hand in Hand). Doklam bitterness A normal state does not renege on signed agreements/MoUs at the slightest pretext. The Communist leadership in Beijing often says that China does not want to follow Western constitutionalism. In the Middle Kingdom, discussions have often taken place to decide the relationship between the Communist Party and the Law? On February 16, the official Central News Agency published a couple of speeches of President Xi on the subject. In August 2018, during a meeting of the partys central committee, Xi explained that the Party is the forerunner and guide on national law: China will never take the Western constitutional path. To promote the rule of law comprehensively, China must take the right path. He concluded that China will never follow the Western system of separation of powers or judicial independence. Ultimately, the dictatorship of an individual or a party makes a state extremely vulnerable . (Photo: Reuters) According to the well-informed website Chinascope: In February 2014, Xi told a group of provincial level officials that the Chinese democracy is essentially different from Western constitutionalism; For Xi: The leadership of the Party is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The conclusion was that China is ruled according to the Constitution, which means that the party leads the people to formulate the Constitution and the laws, and the party leads the people to implement the Constitution and the laws. The party first, the law second. Black swan moment? During the Lunar New Year holiday, Xi warned party officials to be on guard against black swans and keep watchful for gray rhinos. The China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation explained: It is also not accidental that Xis admonition to CCP cadres to uphold stability has been linked together with a demand of utmost loyalty to Xi himself. Xi urged all cadres to enhance their four-fold consciousness, political consciousness, consciousness about the big picture of party dominance, consciousness about following the instructions of the core leadership of the party, and consciousness about seeing eye to eye with the core. Xi is the core! It practically means, follow Xi, the party and the law, in this order. Ultimately, the dictatorship of an individual or a party makes a state extremely vulnerable (to a coup for example); in these circumstances it is difficult for neighbours, friends and foes to have normal relations with this state. China should realise this. (Courtesy of Mail Today) Also Read: 3 questions we want to ask Pakistan now The member nations of RCEP bloc must empower their negotiators to adopt flexibility for resolving pending issues coming in the way of concluding the negotiations for the proposed mega trade agreement, Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said Saturday. The proposed mega trade deal, Regional Cooperation for Economic Partner (RCEP) agreement, is being negotiated by 16 countries -- 10-member Asean group and India, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. "We should empower our negotiators with mandate to show flexibilities and accommodation on outstanding and pending issues," Prabhu said at the RCEP ministerial meeting at Siem Reap In Cambodia. He said that a lot of ground still needs to be covered this year. "We should be mindful of the limitations ahead, given that there are only three more rounds this year at the technical level," he said. So far 25 rounds of talks have been concluded but the members have yet to finalise the number of goods on which customs duty will be eliminated. Issues are also pending in services sector as India is demanding greater flexibility to promote trade in services. The minister informed that India and the US constructively engaged in bilateral meetings with a number of countries with an aim to narrow gaps on 'requests and offers' to the mutual satisfaction. "With little more flexibility, we can accomplish a lot in services trade which holds immense potential for RCEP," he added. Further, he said that some countries of RCEP bloc including India will be going for elections this year, but the momentum of the negotiations should be continued. The 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc aims to cover among the issues related to goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights. RCEP bloc includes 10 countries of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. The negotiations have entered the sixth year. The last round was held in February in Indonesia. RCEP members want India to eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on maximum number of goods it traded with them. India's huge domestic market provides immense opportunity of exports for RCEP countries. But lower level of ambitions in services and investments, a key area of interest for India, does not augur well for the agreement that seeks to be comprehensive in nature. India has a lot to learn from that nations expertise and accomplishments in running the NHIS programme that provides low-cost access to quality health care to its citizens. Challenges faced by PM-JAY are not very different During Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent visit to South Korea, both countries signed seven agreements to enhance cooperation in key areas, including infrastructure development, media, start-ups and combating trans-border terrorism and international crime. Health could have been yet another possible area of cooperation as India has much to learn from South Korea, which has over 30 years of experience in implementing the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) scheme that covers its entire population (almost). Currently, India is at the initial stages of rolling out the worlds largest hospital insurance programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), for the poor and the vulnerable. Some of the challenges faced by PM-JAY are not very different from those faced by South Korea. The way it dealt with the issues holds useful lessons for India. A lot can be learnt on how to save the self-employed deal from vested interests, generate necessary intel from claims data and integrate different schemes covering different population sub-groups. This article will, however, focus on covering the self-employed or the non-poor in unorganised sector. About NHIS: South Korea, now an advanced nation, was a middle-income country when its NHIS achieved near universal population coverage in 1989. In 1977, Korea made social health insurance mandatory for its employees (including dependents) of large corporations. It was gradually extended to other organised sector workers (including dependents). However, in 1989, NHIS, with identical benefit package, was extended to the self-employed (and their families). In terms of funding, it is a contributory scheme for all organised sector employees, wherein both employer and employee contribute towards insurance premiums. For the self-employed, the Government partly tax-subsidises premium. In addition to contributing towards premium, all insured members have to make co-payments at the time of seeking care. These co-payments vary, depending on the level of healthcare provider (from physician clinics to tertiary hospital). For the poor, who account for a small share (3 per cent to 5 per cent) of the population, the Government fully subsidises premium and co-payment rates, which are significantly smaller or nil. NHIS has a well-defined benefit package that covers curative care (including outpatient care), diagnosis, emergencies, pharmaceuticals, health check-ups and the like. During 2000, the Government integrated different schemes, each having a separate risk pool into a single scheme with a single risk pool. South Koreas experience in implementing NHIS will be useful for India even though the context is different. While India has social health insurance for a majority of its organised sector employees, it is seeking to provide free hospital care for the bottom 40 per cent of the population through PM-JAY. For the non-poor households, working in the unorganised sector, private voluntary health insurance is the only option. Covering the self-employed the why and how: South Korea is an excellent example of how premiums from non-poor households in the unorganised sector can be leveraged to mobilise additional funding for the health sector. This is particularly important in a context where public health spending has been low and sticky, which is true of India. Moreover, the Korean experience informs us that there are potential risks for not bringing this section of the population under the health insurance programme. In South Korea, extending NHIS to the self-employed was necessitated due to rising inequity in the amounts paid by the insured and the uninsured. Under NHIS, reimbursement rates to the health care providers were regulated. As these rates were restrictive, health care providers were prompted to charge higher rates to the uninsured, which led to increasing inequity in the amounts paid by the two groups. There were other factors at work, too, notably political considerations that led to the inclusion of NHIS in campaign agenda and rising economic prosperity that improved the ability of the self-employed to pay insurance premium. Insuring the self-employed brought with it challenges of deciding contribution levels, enrolling/collecting contributions and administering benefits. South Korea responded to these challenges well. India will soon be confronted with the issue of divergence in the reimbursement rates paid to hospitals and ones charged by hospitals to the non-insured. This divergence will be significant even if the non-poor unorganised workers were to participate in private voluntary health insurance. This is likely to become untenable sooner than anticipated. Unlike South Korea, where the Government fully subsidises premiums only for a small percentage of its population, India is fully subsidising premium for a significantly higher share of its population. The fiscal burden will likely preclude the Government from giving any subsidy to the non-poor. Even so, extending the scheme to the unorganised sector workers at full and fair premium should attract them to the programme. Korea made it mandatory for its population to join the scheme. India will have to look for mechanisms to create semi-mandatory conditions such as subscribers of specific services like telecom, tapping into affinity groups like housing society members and so forth. Also, extending PM-JAY to the unorganised sector has other solid advantages such as reduced administrative costs and greater bargaining power as care purchaser relative to care providers. There are good reasons for extending the scheme to the non-poor unorganised sector workers (and their families). This may not get extended immediately as the scheme is still being rolled out to cover the poor and the vulnerable. Nevertheless, a plan needs to be put in place for covering the non-poor for which the Korean experience is useful. Learning and technical know-how from Korea could, perhaps, be formalised through a bilateral agreement or through an international agency like the WHO. (The writer is a development economist, formerly with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank) Russia on Friday offered to mediate and provide venue to Pakistan and India for the talks to resolve their current differences, Pakistan Foreign Office said. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi over telephone and discussed the situation in the region following escalation of tensions between the two neighbours, it said. "Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov reiterated his country's offer of mediation and provision of venue for the talks between India and Pakistan," the FO added. Qureshi appreciated Russia's balanced and constructive role in de-escalation of tensions in the region. He welcomed the Russian offer and said that he had acknowledged Moscow's constructive role in Parliament while addressing the joint session earlier in the day, which was well received. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue consultations for promotion of peace and stability in the region, according to FO. A day after he returned to India from Pakistani captivity, the focus on Saturday shifted to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans recovery, both physical and psychological. Abhinandan is said to have undergone considerable mental harassment by Pakistani authorities. The brave pilot, who was flown to New Delhi late on Friday after Pakistan handed him over to India at the Attari-Wagah border, underwent a series of medical tests as part of a cooling down process at a hospital here. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met him in the hospital and said the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination. During the meeting with Sitharaman, Abhinandan is understood to have explained to her details about his nearly 60-hour stay in Pakistan. The medical check-up is part of standard operating procedure of the IAF as he had to eject from his plane on Wednesday thereby putting his body under great stress. Moreover, he was beaten up by the locals after landing in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). The tests will ascertain the nature of injuries. Once his tests are over, the senior IAF authorities will debrief Abhinandan and the procedure entails getting first person account from the pilot about the sequence of events during his captivity and details of interrogation by the Pakistan armed forces, sources said. Since Abhinandan was in custody for a brief period and most probably blindfolded to prevent him from observing the details of the place of his custody, the debriefing will be short, they added. Abhinandan, meanwhile, met his immediate family members, including his wife, a former IAF officer and father, Air Marshal S Varthaman (retired) now settled in Chennai, besides some IAF top officials on Saturday morning in New Delhi. He is now undergoing medical tests at Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistan on February 27 in POK opposite Rajouri sector after his MiG-21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Abhinandan shot down an F-16 of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Abhinandan ejected from his crashing plane and was beaten up by locals when he landed in POK. When he crossed over to India on Friday night, the pilots right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. Reports from Pakistan media indicate that after the IAF pilot was shot down and beaten up, he attempted to destroy the documents in his possession by stuffing them in his mouth. During his captivity, Abhinandan showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. The Pakistani action to attack Indian military installations in Rajouri came a day after the IAF jets destroyed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early on Tuesday. It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmirs Pulwama, killing 40 soldiers. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced in Parliament there on Thursday about the decision to release the captured pilot as a peace gesture and the first step to open negotiations with India. In our desire for peace, I announce that tomorrow (Friday) and as a first step to open negotiations Pakistan will be returning the IAF officer in our custody. The IAF said on Thursday it was happy that Varthaman was returning home but dismissed suggestions it was a goodwill gesture insisting it was in line with Geneva Convention. We are very happy Abhinandan will be freed tomorrow (Friday) and look forward to his return Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, assistant chief of staff (space) had told a news conference in New Delhi. Asked if the IAF saw it as a good will move, Kapoor had said we see it as a gesture in consonance with the Geneva Convention. Justifying the Pakistani aerial strike, Imran Khan had said in Parliament on Thursday, the only purpose of our strike was to demonstrate our capability and will. We did not want to inflict any casualty on India as we wanted to act in a responsible manner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians, tweeted Modi on Friday night. In a move to garner support ahead of general elections, Chief minister Raghubar Das on Saturday kicked off Vijay Sankalp Bike Rally from Telco Ram Mandir under his home constituency (Jamshedpur East). Sitting as a pillion rider behind district BJP president Dinesh Kumar, Das along over 2000 party workers visited various places in the city spreading partys message. During over one and half hour drive Raghubar Das alongwith party activists also interacted with common people. Holding party's flag, he said that party under the leadership of Narendra Modi will win 400 plus seats. It may be mentioned that BJP national president Amit Shah started the nation-wide campaign at Madhya Pradesh. I am here to spread partys vision of growth and progress, said Das. He also asked party workers to increase partys reach and message to every corner. He said that Modi is people's choice. Das also expressed confidence to win all 14 Lok Sabha seats. In last four years we have given growth oriented governance. We are also committed to provide basic infrastructure in each of the urban slums like proper lights, road, drinking water, drains and sewage facilities. I would like to encourage women to form sakhi mandals and obtain benefit of state government schemes to improve their financial condition, said Das. He reiterated that the Government is dedicated towards development of State with special focus on rural areas. He said that the people will reap the benefits of the several welfare schemes is his Governments priority. He also motivated the workers to get ready for next election. He deliberated minutely on issues pertaining to the strengthening of the booth committees. At Kharsawan assembly seat rally Rajesh Shukla, party spokeperson said, We had lost two seats Dumka and Rajmahal in last elections but this time we will ensure victory in all the 14 seats". He said that party workers need to unite to ensure victory. The rally was led by Meera Munda. State president Laxman Gilua said that the BJP has decided to undertake a number of programmes for the widespread publicity of government schemes and doubling the zeal of party workers. During this time, many major programmes like public relations campaigns are to be organised in addition to bicycle rallies, and conferences. He said that the BJP workers are determined to bring a complete majority in the Centre again under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asked the party members to inform the voters that if Congress comes to power than the country would witness anarchy like situation source. At Jamshedpur West Saryu Roy motivated the workers to get ready for next election. He deliberated minutely on issues pertaining to the strengthening of the booth committees. Union Minister cum Lohardaga MP Sudarshan Bhagat also participated in the bike rally at Lohardaga. The rally was led by the district BJP Chief Rajmohan Ram. The programme started from Akhileshwar Dham under Bhandra Mandal of the party. The Union Minister said that it is the party workers responsibility to strengthen BJP at the booth level. Every worker will have to be committed towards this and make Narendra Modi PM again. He said that every class of the society has progressed in Narendra Modis reign. Indias flag is furling with great honour across the world. For BJP country comes first, he said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for securing the safe release of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Friday night. Yogi said the Prime Minister had warned Pakistan not to harm the IAF pilot. There was a time when Pakistan used to attack us indiscriminately. We know how difficult it was in the past to secure the release of our soldiers from their custody. This time, our brave IAF pilots destroyed Pakistan fighter planes before they could intrude into Indian territory, Yogi said while addressing a gathering at Shivratri Fair in Junagadh town of Gujarat. The fair was declared Mini Kumbh by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat. Calling Modi a strong Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said, Modi made it clear that we will not compromise. A warning was given that Pakistan would face consequences if anything happened to our pilot. Only a strong Prime Minister can show such grit and resolve. Yogi also lauded the IAF pilots bravery and tweeted, India is proud of you Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation salutes you for the way you defended the sovereignty of the country by displaying indomitable courage and bravery. Uttar Pradesh, along with the entire nation, is proud of your exemplary courage. Jai Hind, Jai Hind Ki Sena! Coming in support of nearly 300 students of Subharati Medical College who are facing uncertain future despite of Supreme Court (SC) ruling to shift them to different medical colleges of the state, senior BJP leader Ravindra Jugran has said that the state government should immediately intervene to provide justice to the students. Addressing the media persons here on Saturday, Jugran who is also the patron of the association of the parents of private medical colleges of Uttarakhand said that the Subharati Medical College was getting time to time permission from the state administration to operate the college despite of the fact that it was not fulfilling the guidelines laid down by the Medical Council of India (MCI). He said that the students and their parents are suffering because of the apathetic attitude and lack of monitoring by the officials concerned. The Supreme Court (SC) in December last year had ordered that the students of first and second MBBS batches of the college should be shifted to the different medical colleges of the state. Acting on the order, the state government set up a committee to suggest on how these students would be adjusted. This committee in its report suggested that 25 students each of both the batches should be shifted to three government medical colleges based in Dehradun, Srinagar and Haldwani. For the students admitted on payment seats, it was suggested by the committee that 37 and 38 students would be shifted to SGRR Medical College and Swami Ram Medical College Jollygrant respectively. However even after two months of the submission of the report of the committee, the state government is yet to give its nod for shifting the students. The students are also annoyed over the order of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to the effect that the students of first batch should write their examination again as Subharati College was not approved by it. With the nod of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), decks have been cleared for setting up swine flu and dengue testing facility in the laboratory of the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Hospital. In response to the permission sought by the GDMC to test samples for swine flu and perform Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test for confirmation of dengue in the patients, NCDC has given its permission. Confirming it, the medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital Dr K K Tamta said that after the budget for these setting up these facilities is provided, tenders for purchase of required machines would be floated. He claimed that GDMC Hospital would be able to start these facilities by end of this year. It is worth mentioning here that in the absence of an approved testing laboratory, the health and family welfare department of Uttarakhand sends the samples of suspected patients for detection of H1 N1 virus ( Swine Flu) to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi due to which the arrival of the reports is delayed. Similarly, the samples are sent to New Delhi for ELISA tests. The delay in the arrival of reports of swine flu tests from Delhi causes problems to the health department officials, doctors treating these patients and their anxious family members. During the peak season of swine flu NCDC remains so crammed up with the samples of the suspected patients that the process of tests and sending the reports takes at least a week. The delay in the arrival of reports of swine flu usually results in a situation where either the patient dies or recovers from the disease by the time the report arrives. Last year, NCDC had authorised the molecular laboratory of the Mahant Indiresh Hospital to perform tests of swine flu. But recently the state health department, based on a report of team of union health ministry, has refused to accept swine flu report sent by this hospital. AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party will protect the land, forests and water that belong to tribals and poor people in Jharkhand, if voted to power. Addressing a gathering of about 10,000 people at the historic Morhabadi ground during the Parivartan Ulgulan Rally of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, the Congress chief said that he was happy that the whole Opposition was united and fighting the BJP. We will together fight against them and the Gathbandhan will win in all 14 seats. After six months the BJP will lose Assembly polls and we will work for the betterment of people here. We will use your money for your betterment, he said. Promising that he will not let the country get divided into the haves and haves not Rahul said that he, alongwith his team will bring a formidable change with the help of people in Jharkhand. Farmers and tribals loans will be waived. The people will get education, health and all basic facilities in the State rather than hollow promises, he said. The Congress president launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion accusing him of stealing public money and polarising the country on the basis of caste, community and economic status of people. He claimed that with support of Opposition parties the Congress will root out the BJP from the Centre and the State in the coming elections. He reiterated that the Chowkidar (read Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has snatched Rs 30,000 crore of the Air Force to fill the pockets of noted industrialist Anil Ambani in the infamous Rafale deal. In 2014 elections there was a slogan Achhe din aayenge. Now, the slogan has changed to Chowkidar. One Chowkidar has defamed all the Chowkidars of the country. You must have seen how the Air Force protected the country in the recent days. And, the Chowkidar stole Rs 30,000 crore of the Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for Anil Ambani, said Gandhi adding that the French president has also given testimony to this. Our PM snatches money from Air Force and gives it to Ambani. This Chowkidaar has also been stealing money from farmers, labourers, poor workers and tribal people too. Congress had brought Land Acquisition Bill in 2013 to protect your land, jungle and water. This all belongs to you and not to Ambani. But, as soon as Narendra Modi came to power he wanted to amend the Act. He tried thrice to change the Act in the parliament but we did not let it happen. Finally, he asked BJP ruled State governments to make changes in the law. Today, in Jharkhand land is being snatched from tribals, farmers without their consent and is being given to BJPs industrialist friends, he said. Labelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a liar, Gandhi said that he had promised to waive farmers loans and his party did it within 10 days of formation of government in three States. Narendra Modi lies in every speech. Chowkidar is a liar. He gives false promises of giving Rs 15 lakh and what not to the people. Narendra Modi has waived loans worth Rs 3,50,000 crore of 15 people in last four and half years, he said. They say Make in India but you see everywhere Made in China. Unemployment is rampant in Jharkhand. Youths do not have work to do. The BJP is now cracking a joke on the poor farmers by giving them Rs 17 days per day. We have decided that as soon as we come to power we will give guaranteed minimum income to every poor person. This will be historic as no country has done this before, said the Congress president. Counting his partys contribution to the country, Rahul said that Congress government brought green revolution, white revolution, MGNREGA, Right to Food, computer revolution, telephone and many other things. What did Narendra Modi give to you in last five years hatred, disbelief and communism? He is making every Indian fight with another by spreading hatred, he added. Rahul Gandhis maiden visit to Jharkhand as the Congress president on Saturday was not only about political jibes and election promises, but also about learning the tribal culture and making party office bearers feel special. The Gandhi scion on Saturday shook a leg with tribal dancers on the beats of Mandar (traditional drums) before addressing the rally at Morhabadi Ground. He seemed visibly interested in learning the traditional dance moves that the tribal community in Jharkhand performs during indigenous festivals and social gatherings. His gesture of holding hands of tribal dancers and joining them as they grooved brought out a deafening cheer from the crowd, which saw him on the giant screens installed at the venue. The tribal community forms 27 per cent of Jharkhands 3.20 crore population and plays a significant role in elections. The community is extremely sensitive about its culture and land. Many tribal rights organizations here have been up in arms against the incumbent governments land acquisition policies. In the given circumstances, Gandhis move may find success in appeasing the tribal population in the mineral-rich state. Even while addressing the rally, Gandhi spoke about the Congress partys agenda of preserving the rights of tribal people and ensuring their Jal, Jungle, Jameen (water, forest, land) wasnt taken away by industrialists. The Congress party will ensure that the tribal land is not given away to industrialists, he said. Gandhis tribal card at the rally also assumes significance as he did not visit Jharkhand since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power here in 2014. The BJP, on the other hand, has been boasting about Prime Minister Narendra Modis eight official visits to Jharkhand since 2014, the maximum by any Prime Minister in one term. Modis eight visits, the BJP claims, is evidence to his love for the tribal people. While Narendra Modi merchandises were a hit during the 2014 elections, Saturday was perhaps the first instance wherein youths were seen carrying RaGa merchandises. Some Youth Congress leaders were spotted carrying laptop bags and caps with picture of Rahul Gandhi printed on them at the rally. Before joining the tribal dancers, Gandhi personally met all the senior office bearers of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) and shook hands with them. Later, his address to the crowd also seemed quite interactive. The Congress scion who became the butt of all jokes during the 2014 election campaigns, oozed confidence as he asked the crowd to maintain silence as he spoke. However, empty seats at the ground just before Gandhi reached the venue caused panic among local Congress leaders, who accused the police of not letting supporters enter the venue on time. Minutes before Gandhis address, Congress leaders asked the crowd to cross all the barricades and gather as close to the pulpit as possible. The move may have been intended to show a higher headcount at the rally. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that if there was a strong government, difficult situations could easily be handled through firm decisions. Flagging off the Vijay Sankalp Yatra of Bharatiya Janata Party in Gorakhpur on Saturday, Yogi said a determined government at the Centre had not only destroyed terror camps in Pakistan but also ensured the safe release of its Indian Air Force pilot held by the neighbouring country after the recent action along the border. This is what the National Democratic Alliance government headed by Narendra Modi has shown to the country, he said. Yogi also exhorted the BJP workers and leaders to ensure that a powerful government returned at the Centre. He said the BJP-led government had doubled the income of farmers and fulfilled the promise made by Modi. Yogi said that many farmers who had given up farming or were planning to do so due to huge losses had now returned to their old occupation and were enjoying the increase in their income due to several welfare measures. The Chief Minister said the farmers were benefited through various subsidies started by the Centre as well as the state government. He said that Modi had fixed a target of doubling farmers income by 2022 and they were working diligently to achieve the goal. Yogi also inaugurated an agriculture fair and exhibition. Meanwhile, some candidates of Police Recruitment Board exams awaiting results for the last many years waved posters and banners when the Chief Minister was addressing farmers. They were removed from the venue. Pakistani troops Saturday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said. The shelling from across the border started in Nowshera sector around 12.30 pm, ending over 12-hour-long lull in the border skirmishes which intensified after India's pre-emptive strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Tuesday. A young woman and her two children were killed and several others, including two Army personnel, were injured in heavy shelling along the LoC in lower Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district Friday night, raising the death toll in the exchange of firing on the Indian side to four. "Pakistan continues with nefarious designs and at about 1230 hours, again initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector," the spokesman said. "The Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively," he said, adding that there was no report of any casualty on Indian side in the latest round of firing. Meanwhile, all educational institutions within five kilometer radius of the LoC remained closed for the fifth day Saturday as a precautionary measure, officials said. They said the Indian forces are on high alert and keeping a close vigil along the LoC and the International Border (IB). A police official said the shelling from across the border stopped around 11 pm Friday after intense firing which left 24-year-old Rubana Kosar, her five-year-old son Fazan and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam dead and her husband Mohammad Younis injured in Salotri village of Poonch district. "The panic-stricken border residents in some worst-hit villages fled to safer places. There was no report of mass migration and people are staying back at their homes although the district administration had made necessary arrangements in case people are forced to flee their homes," the official said. Poonch Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav said the health institutions are open and working round-the-clock to meet any eventuality. "All ambulances have been mobilised and moved to the areas close to the LoC with special teams to help people in need," he said. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, also leaving nine persons, including some army personnel, injured. Amid high tensions along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. Lashing out at Pakistan for aiding and abetting terrorism. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said the neighbouring country was damaging itself and humanity by these acts, and underscored that global consensus should be built to focus on eradicating the scourge of terrorism. "Our neighbour is aiding, abetting, funding, training terrorists. They are not able to understand the damage they have done including to the humanity and also to themselves," Naidu said at an event here, without naming Pakistan. He said while India wants to be friendly with all countries and neighbours and has never attacked any country, "If somebody wants to do some mischief, we have to answer and for that the country has to be united". "We cannot allow nations to encourage terrorist activities and harbour terrorist safe havens and training camps," he said. The nation has to work as Team India to build a stronger, more developed country which is capable of defending itself against hostile forces "and disruptive designs like we have demonstrated two days ago in a fitting response to our neighbour's inaction to check cross border terrorism", the Vice President said in a reference to recent airstrike against terror camp in Pakistan. "Our fight is against terror and all its manifestations, not against any religion as our External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made it clear in her address at the OIC meeting," Naidu said, adding that the world, especially South East Asia has numerous problems like poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. "We have to encourage countries to skill people, not to kill people," he said. The Vice President said he would like to join the nation in saluting Wing Commander Abhinandan for his bravery, valour and professional integrity in the face of adversity. Naidu made the remarks at the foundation stone laying function of a new office building of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 'Kaushal Bhawan'. It is to be built by state-run Navratna PSU NBCC at New Moti Bagh, New Delhi at a cost of Rs 172 crore. He said its construction will be completed in next 18 months. Noting that by 2022 the country has to skill more than 40 crore people, the Vice President said the private sector also needs to get involved in this regard. North Korea on Friday promised further negotiations with the US despite a spectacular failure to strike a nuclear deal at their Hanoi summit, with both sides keeping the door of diplomacy open. The high-stakes second meeting between the Norths leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump broke up in disarray Thursday, without even a joint statement. In the aftermath, each sought to blame the others intransigence for the deadlock. Trump insisted Pyongyang wanted all sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons programmes lifted, and this was a bridge too far. But in a rare late-night press briefing, the North Korean Foreign Minister said Pyongyang had only wanted some of the measures eased, and that its proposal to close all the nuclear production facilities at its Yongbyon complex was its best and final offer. Despite the stalemate, the Norths official KCNA news agency reported on Friday that the two leaders had had a constructive and candid exchange. Relations between the two countries on opposite sides of the technically still-unfinished Korean War had been characterised by mistrust and antagonism for decades, it said. The following companies are subsidiares of Air Products and Chemicals: 7001 Hamilton Properties LLC, ACP Europe SA, ACP Zolder Invest NV, AJWAA Gases LLC, AP Services South America SpA, APCI (U.K.) Inc., Air Products (Anshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (BR) Limited, Air Products (Cangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Changsha) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Chongqing) Chem-Materials Co. Ltd., Air Products (Dongguan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Guangzhou) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hangjin Qi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hefei) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Huaibei) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jiangxi) Co. 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Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi Pucheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Production Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) On-Site Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Systems Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shangluo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tangshan) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tongxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Weifang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xingtai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xinxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yichun) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zibo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Utah (Utah), Air Products and Chemicals Tech Development (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Air Products spol s.r.o., Asia Industrial Gas Company Ltd., Beijing AP BAIF Gases Industry Co. Ltd., Blue Ocean Industrial Gases Co. Ltd., Carbolim B.V., Carburos Via Augusta Logistics S.L., Centro Tecnico Indura Limitada, Chengdu Air & Gas Products Ltd., Contse S.A.U., CryoService, CryoService Limited, Dixons of Westerhope, DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products Inc. (Illinois), East Coast Nitrogen Company LLC, East Coast Oxygen Co., Gardner Cryogenics (Pennsylvania), Gas Direct Limited, Gas Supply Services Ltd., Gas Technologies Ltd., Gases Industriales de Columbia S.A. Cryogas, Gases Integrated Company Limited (GIC), Gasin II Unipessoal LDA, Gastel Limited, Goar Allison & Associates, Green BioFuel s.r.o., Harvest Energy Technologies (California), Harvest Energy Technology, Helap SAS, Indura, Indura Argentina S.A., Indura Holdings Colombia LLC, Indura Inversiones Limitada, Indura Peru S.A., Indura S.A., Indura S.A. (Peru), Indura Sociedad Comercial Limitada, Ingemedicas Santandar Ltda., Ingenieria en Redes de Gases S.A. - Gasproject S.A., Inversiones Air Products Holdings Limitada, Jazan Gas Projects Company, Jazan Integrated Gasification and Power Company (JIGPC), KRIG Holdings B.V., KRYVYI RIH Industrial Gas, Korea Industrial Gases Ltd., Kulim Industrial Gases Sdn Bhd, Lida SAS, Markaziy Osiyo Sanoat Gaz LLC, Matgas 2000 A.I.E., Napro S.A., Olin DNT Limited Partnership, Oxigeno Medicinal Domiciliario Limitada, Oxigeno de Sagunto S.L., Oxigenol S.A., Oxygen & Argon Works, Oxygen & Argon Works Ltd., Oxygen Center Ltd., Oxygen Warehouse Trade (1980) Ltd., PQ Ammonia, PT Air Products East Kalimantan, PT Air Products Indonesia, PT Air Products Indonesia Services, Permea China Ltd., Permea Inc., Procal (California), Prodair Air Products India Private Limited, Prodair Corporation, Prodair Escravos Limited, Prodair S.A.S., Prodair Services Limited, Prodair et Cie S.C.S., Quimica Basica S.A., ROVI Cosmetics International, S.I.Q. Beteiligungs, SAGA SAS, SCWC Corp., STP & DIN Chemicals Sp. Z.o.o., Servicios Indura Limitada, Sociedad Espanola de Carburos Metalicos S.A., Soprogaz SNC, Stravinsky Investments LLC, The Former SR Manufacturers Inc., Tyczka Industrie-Gase GmbH, Union Mobiliere Industrielle S.A.R.L., United Industrial Gases Company LLC, Vitalox Industrial S.L.U., WuXi Hi-Tech Gas Co. Ltd., Yangon Industrial Gas (Thilawa) Company Limited, Zibo Chuangcheng Engineering Design Co. Ltd., and ir Products Israel Ltd.. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm provides financial planning, asset management and insurance services to individuals, businesses and institutions. It operates through the following business segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice, as well as full service brokerage and banking services, primarily to retail clients through the company's financial advisors. The Asset Management segment provides investment advice and investment products to retail and institutional clients. It also provides products and services on a global scale through two complementary asset management businesses: Columbia Management and Threadneedle. The Columbia Management business primarily provides U.S. domestic products and services and Threadneedle primarily provides international investment products and services. Its international retail products are primarily provided through third-party financial institutions. The segments retail products include mutual funds and variable product funds underlying insurance and annuity separat Read More American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Cincinnati Bell, Inc. is engaged in providing entertainment, data and voice communications services over wire line and wireless networks. It operates through Entertainment and Communications and Information Technology Services and Hardware segments. The Entertainment and Communications segment offers products and services such as high-speed internet, data transport local voice, long distance, and video services. The Information Technology Services and Hardware segment involves in managing IT solutions, including managed telephony, network and infrastructure services, equipment sales, and professional IT staffing services. The company was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH. Read More Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. engages in the management of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It operates through the following segments: Asset Management, Real Estate, Renewable Power, Infrastructure, Private Equity, Residential Development, and Corporate Activities. The Asset Management segment includes the management of its listed partnerships, private funds and public securities. The Real Estate segment is comprised of the ownership, operation and development of core office, core retail, LP investments and other properties. The Renewable Power segment encompasses the ownership, operation and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, storage and other power generating facilities. The Infrastructure segment consists of the ownership, operation and development of utilities, transport, energy, data infrastructure and sustainable resource assets. The Private Equity segment refers to the broad range of industries, and is mostly focused on business services, infrastructure services and industrials. The Residential Development segment represents homebuilding, condominium development and land development. The Corporate Activiti Read More Covestro AG develops, produces, and markets polymer materials for various industries. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes; Polycarbonates; and Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS). The Polyurethanes segment develops, produces, and markets chemical precursors, such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, and polyether polyol, which are used primarily in the furniture, construction, and automotive industries. The Polycarbonates segment provides high-performance plastic polycarbonates in the form of granules, composite materials, and semi-finished products for use in the automotive, construction, electrical and electronic, medical technology, and lighting industries. The CAS segment offers precursors for coatings, adhesives, and sealants, as well as specialties. This segment also provides polymer materials and aqueous dispersions for use in automotive and transportation, infrastructure and construction, wood processing, and furniture applications. The company markets its products through trading houses and distributors. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and the People's Republic of China. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Daimler: AEG Olympia Office GmbH, Achtzehnte Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft DVB mbH, Anota Fahrzeug Service- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, Athlon Beheer International B.V., Athlon Beheer Nederland B.V, Athlon Car Lease Belgium N.V, Athlon Car Lease International B.V., Athlon Car Lease Italy S.R.L., Athlon Car Lease Nederland B.V., Athlon Car Lease Polska Sp. z o.o., Athlon Car Lease Portugal lda, Athlon Car Lease Rental Services B.V, Athlon Car Lease Rental Services Belgium N.V., Athlon Car Lease S.A.S., Athlon Car Lease Spain S.A., Athlon Dealerlease B.V., Athlon France S.A.S., Athlon Germany GmbH, Athlon Mobility Consultancy B.V., Athlon Mobility Consultancy N.V., Athlon Rental Germany GmbH, Athlon Sweden AB, Athlon Switzerland AG, AutoGravity Corporation, Banco Mercedes-Benz do Brasil S.A, Beat Chile SpA, Beat Ride App Colombia Ltda., Beat Ride App S.A., Belerofonte Empreendimentos Imobiliarios Ltda., Brooklands Estates Management Limited, CARS Technik & Logistik GmbH, CINTEO, CLIDET NO 1048 (Proprietary) Limited, Campo Largo Comercio de Veiculos e Pecas Ltda., Circulo Cerrado S.A. de Ahorro para Fines Determinados, Clever Taxi, Clever Tech S.R.L., Clever Tech Sud S.R.L., Conemaugh Hydroelectric Projects Inc., Cuspide GmbH, DA Investments Co. LLC, DAF Investments Ltd., DAIMLER FINANCIAL SERVICES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAIMLER SERVICIOS CORPORATIVOS MEXICO S. DE R.L. DE C.V., DAIMLER TRUCK AND BUS HOLDING AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD, DTB Tech & Data Hub Unipessoal Lda, Daimler AG & Co. Anlagenverwaltung OHG, Daimler Australia/Pacific Pty. Ltd., Daimler Automotive de Venezuela C.A., Daimler Brand & IP Management GmbH & Co. KG, Daimler Brand & IP Management Verwaltung GmbH, Daimler Buses North America Inc., Daimler Canada Finance Inc., Daimler Canada Investments Company, Daimler Capital Services LLC, Daimler Ceska republika Holding s.r.o., Daimler Colombia S. A., Daimler Commercial Vehicles (Thailand) Ltd., Daimler Commercial Vehicles Africa Ltd., Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA FZE, Daimler Commercial Vehicles South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Daimler Compra y Manufactura Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Daimler Export and Trade Finance GmbH, Daimler Finance North America LLC, Daimler Financial Services AG, Daimler Financial Services Africa & Asia Pacific Ltd., Daimler Financial Services India Private Limited, Daimler Financial Services Investment Company LLC, Daimler Financial Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Daimler Financial Services S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.N.R., Daimler Financial Services UK Trustees Ltd., Daimler Fleet Management GmbH, Daimler Fleet Management Singapore Pte. Ltd., Daimler Fleet Management South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Daimler Fleet Management UK Limited, Daimler Fleet Services A.S., Daimler FleetBoard GmbH, Daimler Gastronomie GmbH, Daimler Greater China Ltd., Daimler Group Services Berlin GmbH, Daimler Group Services Madrid S.A.U., Daimler Grund Services GmbH, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Private Limited, Daimler Innovation Technology (China) Co. Ltd., Daimler Insurance Agency LLC, Daimler Insurance Services GmbH, Daimler Insurance Services Japan Co. Ltd., Daimler Insurance Services UK Limited, Daimler International Assignment Services USA LLC, Daimler International Finance B.V., Daimler International Nederland B.V., Daimler Investments US Corporation, Daimler Ladungstrager GmbH, Daimler Manufactura S. de R.L. de C.V., Daimler Mexico S.A. de C.V., Daimler Mitarbeiter Wohnfinanz GmbH, Daimler Mobility Services GmbH, Daimler Motors Investments LLC, Daimler Nederland B.V., Daimler Nederland Holding B.V., Daimler North America Corporation, Daimler North America Finance Corporation, Daimler Northeast Asia Parts Trading and Services Co. Ltd., Daimler Parts Brand GmbH, Daimler Parts Logistics Australia Pty. Ltd., Daimler Pensionsfonds AG, Daimler Protics GmbH, Daimler Purchasing Coordination Corp., Daimler Re Brokers GmbH, Daimler Re Insurance S.A. Luxembourg, Daimler Real Estate GmbH, Daimler Retail Receivables LLC, Daimler South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Daimler TSS GmbH, Daimler Truck AG, Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific Pty. Ltd., Daimler Trucks & Buses US Holding Inc., Daimler Trucks Asia Taiwan Ltd., Daimler Trucks Canada Ltd., Daimler Trucks Korea Ltd., Daimler Trucks North America LLC, Daimler Trucks Remarketing Corporation, Daimler Trucks Retail Trust 2018-1, Daimler Trucks and Buses (China) Ltd., Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd, Daimler Trust Holdings LLC, Daimler Trust Leasing Conduit LLC, Daimler Trust Leasing LLC, Daimler UK Limited, Daimler UK Share Trustee Ltd., Daimler UK Trustees Limited, Daimler Unterstutzungskasse GmbH, Daimler Vans Hong Kong Limited, Daimler Vans USA LLC, Daimler Vehiculos Comerciales Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Daimler Verwaltungsgesellschaft fur Grundbesitz mbH, Daimler Vorsorge und Versicherungsdienst GmbH, Daiprodco Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Detroit Diesel Corporation, Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing LLC, Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Detroit Diesel-Allison de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Deutsche ACCUmotive, Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. KG, Deutsche Accumotive Verwaltungs-GmbH, Dreizehnte Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft DVB mbH, EHG Elektroholding GmbH, EvoBus (Schweiz) AG, EvoBus (U.K.) Ltd., EvoBus Austria GmbH, EvoBus Belgium N.V., EvoBus Ceska republika s.r.o., EvoBus Danmark A/S, EvoBus France S.A.S.U., EvoBus GmbH, EvoBus Iberica S.A.U., EvoBus Italia S.p.A., EvoBus Nederland B.V., EvoBus Polska Sp. z o.o., EvoBus Portugal S.A., EvoBus Reunion S. A., EvoBus Russland OOO, EvoBus Sverige AB, FLINC GmbH, Familonet GmbH, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, Friesland Lease B.V., Funfte Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft Zeus mbH, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 2 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 3 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 4 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 5 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 6 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 7 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Alpha 1 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Beta OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Delta OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Epsilon OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Gamma 2 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Gamma 3 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Gamma 4 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Daimler AG & Co. Gamma 1 OHG, Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft EvoBus GmbH & Co. OHG, Hailo Network IP Limited, Hailo Network Iberia S.L., Intelligent Apps GmbH, Interleasing Luxembourg S.A., Invema Assessoria Empresarial Eireli, Koppieview Property (Pty) Ltd, LAB1886 GmbH, LBBW AM Daimler Re Insurance, LBBW AM MBVEXW, LEONIE CORP DVB GmbH, LEONIE DMS DVB GmbH, LEONIE FS DVB GmbH, LEONIE FSM DVB GmbH, LEONIE PV DVB GmbH, LEONIE TB DVB GmbH, Lab1886 USA LLC, Lapland Car Test Aktiebolag, Legend Investments Ltd., Li-Tec Battery, Li-Tec Battery GmbH, MB GTC GmbH Mercedes-Benz Gebrauchtteile Center, MBarc Credit Canada Inc., MBition GmbH, MDC Power GmbH, MDC Technology GmbH, MERCEDES-BENZ TRUCKS POLSKA SPOKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA, MFTA Canada Inc., MITSUBISHI FUSO TRUCK EUROPE Sociedade Europeia de Automoveis S.A., MYTAXI ITALIA S.R.L., MYTAXI POLSKA SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA, Mascot Truck Parts Canada Ltd (2017), Mascot Truck Parts USA LLC, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd, Mercedes pay AG, Mercedes pay S.A., Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd., Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited, Mercedes-Benz (Yangzhou) Parts Distribution Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz AG, Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Adm. Consorcios Ltda., Mercedes-Benz Antwerpen N.V., Mercedes-Benz Argentina S.A., Mercedes-Benz Asia GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Assuradeuren B.V., Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust 2016-2, Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust 2016-B, Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust 2017-A, Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust 2018-A, Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust 2018-B, Mercedes-Benz Auto Receivables Trust 2015-1, Mercedes-Benz Auto Receivables Trust 2016-1, Mercedes-Benz Auto Retail Trust 2018-1, Mercedes-Benz Bank AG, Mercedes-Benz Bank GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Bank Polska S.A., Mercedes-Benz Bank Rus OOO, Mercedes-Benz Bank Service Center GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Banking Service GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Belgium Luxembourg S.A., Mercedes-Benz Bordeaux S.A.S., Mercedes-Benz Broker Biztositasi Alkusz Hungary Kft., Mercedes-Benz Brooklands Limited, Mercedes-Benz CPH A/S, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., Mercedes-Benz Capital Rus OOO, Mercedes-Benz CarMesh GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans Brasil Industria e Comercio De Veiculos Ltda., Mercedes-Benz Cars Ceska republika s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East FZE, Mercedes-Benz Cars Nederland B.V., Mercedes-Benz Cars UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay S.A.S., Mercedes-Benz CharterWay S.r.l., Mercedes-Benz Compania Financiera Argentina S.A., Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Consulting GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Corretora de Seguros Ltda, Mercedes-Benz Credit Penzugyi Szolgaltato Hungary Zrt., Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center Maastricht N.V., Mercedes-Benz Danmark A/S, Mercedes-Benz Dealer Bedrijven B.V., Mercedes-Benz Drogenbos N.V., Mercedes-Benz Egypt S.A.E., Mercedes-Benz Energy Americas LLC, Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Espana S.A.U., Mercedes-Benz Europa NV/SA, Mercedes-Benz ExTra LLC, Mercedes-Benz Finance Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Australia Pty. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Austria GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services BeLux NV, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Canada Corporation, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Ceska republika s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Espana E.F.C. S.A., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services France S.A., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Hong Kong Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Italia SpA, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Korea Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Nederland B.V., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services New Zealand Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Portugal Sociedade Financeira de Credito S.A., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Rus OOO, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Schweiz AG, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Slovakia s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Taiwan Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC, Mercedes-Benz Finans Danmark A/S, Mercedes-Benz Finans Sverige AB, Mercedes-Benz Finansal Kiralama Turk A.S., Mercedes-Benz Finansman Turk A.S., Mercedes-Benz Formula E Limited, Mercedes-Benz France S.A.S., Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Forsaljnings AB, Mercedes-Benz G GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Group Services Phils. Inc., Mercedes-Benz Hellas S.A., Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Limited, Mercedes-Benz Hungaria Kft., Mercedes-Benz IDC Europe S.A.S., Mercedes-Benz India Private Limited, Mercedes-Benz Insurance Broker S.R.L., Mercedes-Benz Insurance Services Nederland B.V., Mercedes-Benz Insurance Services Taiwan Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Investment Company LLC, Mercedes-Benz Italia S.p.A., Mercedes-Benz Japan Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Korea Limited, Mercedes-Benz Leasing (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Leasing Co. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Leasing GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Leasing Hrvatska d.o.o., Mercedes-Benz Leasing IFN S.A., Mercedes-Benz Leasing Kft., Mercedes-Benz Leasing Polska Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz Leasing Taiwan Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Leasing Treuhand GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Leasing do Brasil Arrendamento Mercantil S.A., Mercedes-Benz Ludwigsfelde GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Mercedes-Benz Manhattan Inc., Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft., Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Rus Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Master Owner Trust, Mercedes-Benz Mechelen N.V., Mercedes-Benz Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Mitarbeiter-Fahrzeuge Leasing GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH, Mercedes-Benz New Zealand Ltd, Mercedes-Benz PRAHA s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Paris SAS, Mercedes-Benz Parts Logistics Eastern Europe s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Parts Logistics Iberica S.L.U., Mercedes-Benz Parts Logistics UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz Parts Manufacturing & Services Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Polska Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz Portugal S.A., Mercedes-Benz Project Consult GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Renting S.A., Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America Inc., Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Tel Aviv Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India Private Limited, Mercedes-Benz Retail Belgium NV/SA, Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz Retail S.A., Mercedes-Benz Retail Unipessoal Lda., Mercedes-Benz Risk Solutions South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Roma S.p.A., Mercedes-Benz Romania S.R.L., Mercedes-Benz Russia AO, Mercedes-Benz Schweiz AG, Mercedes-Benz Service Leasing S.R.L., Mercedes-Benz Services Correduria de Seguros S.A., Mercedes-Benz Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Mercedes-Benz Sigorta Aracilik Hizmetleri A.S., Mercedes-Benz Slovakia s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Solihull Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Sosnowiec Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz South Africa Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Srbija i Crna Gora d.o.o.u likvidaciji, Mercedes-Benz Subscription Services USA LLC, Mercedes-Benz Sverige AB, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Trucks Belgium Luxembourg NV/SA, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Center Sint-Pieters-Leeuw NV/SA, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Ceska republika s.r.o., Mercedes-Benz Trucks Espana S.L.U., Mercedes-Benz Trucks France S.A.S.U, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Italia S.r.l., Mercedes-Benz Trucks MENA Holding GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Molsheim, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Nederland B.V., Mercedes-Benz Trucks Schweiz AG, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz Turk A.S., Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Mercedes-Benz Ubezpieczenia Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz V.I. Lyon SAS, Mercedes-Benz V.I. Paris Ile de France SAS, Mercedes-Benz Vans Australia Pacific Pty. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Vans Ceska republika s.r.o, Mercedes-Benz Vans Espana S.L.U., Mercedes-Benz Vans LLC, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mobility S.L., Mercedes-Benz Vans Nederland B.V., Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Limited, Mercedes-Benz Vehiculos Comerciales Argentina SAU, Mercedes-Benz Venezuela S.A., Mercedes-Benz Versicherung AG, Mercedes-Benz Vertrieb NFZ GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Vertrieb PKW GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Warszawa Sp. z o.o., Mercedes-Benz Waterloo S.A., Mercedes-Benz Wavre S.A., Mercedes-Benz Wemmel N.V., Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Receivables LLC, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil Assessoria Comercial Ltda., Mercedes-Benz do Brasil Ltda., Mercedes-Benz Osterreich GmbH, Mercedes-Benz Aluguer de Veiculos Unipessoal Lda., Mercedes-Benz.io GmbH, Mercedes-Benz.io Portugal Unipessoal Lda., MercedesService Card Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Mitsubishi Fuso Bus Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc., Monarch Cars (Tamworth) Ltd., Montajes y Estampaciones Metalicas S.L., Multifleet G.I.E, NAG Nationale Automobil-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft, P.T. Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, PABCO Co. Ltd., PT Daimler Commercial Vehicles Indonesia, PT Mercedes-Benz Distribution Indonesia, Porcher & Meffert Grundstucksgesellschaft mbH & Co. Stuttgart OHG, R.T.C. Management Company Limited, Renting del Pacifico S.A.C., RepairSmith Inc., Reva SAS, Ring Garage AG Chur, SILVER ARROW CHINA 2017-2 RETAIL AUTO LOAN ASSET BACKED NOTES TRUST c/o CITIC TRUST CO. LTD., SILVER ARROW CHINA 2018-1 RETAIL AUTO LOAN ASSET BACKED NOTES TRUST c/o FOTIC: China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Co. LTD., SILVER ARROW CHINA 2018-2 RETAIL AUTO LOAN ASSET BACKED NOTES TRUST c/o FOTIC: China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Co. LTD., STARKOM d.o.o., Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Sechste Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft Zeus mbH, SelecTrucks Comercio de Veiculos Ltda, SelecTrucks of America LLC, SelecTrucks of Toronto Inc., Setra of North America Inc., Silver Arrow Australia Trust 2017-1, Silver Arrow Canada GP Inc., Silver Arrow Canada LP, Silver Arrow Lease Facility Trust, Silver Arrow S.A., Special Lease Systems (SLS) B.V, SportChassis LLC, Star Assembly SRL, Star Egypt For Import LLC, Star Transmission srl, Starexport Trading S.A., Sterling Truck Corporation, Sumperska sprava majetku k.s., T.O.C (Schweiz) AG, Taxibeat, Taxibeat Ltd. UK, Taxibeat Peru S.A., Taxibeat Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Thomas Built Buses Inc., Thomas Built Buses of Canada Limited, Transcovo SAS, Transopco France SAS, Transopco GmbH, Transopco Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Transopco UK Ltd., Trona Cogeneration Corporation, Ucafleet S.A.S, Vierzehnte Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft DVB mbH, Western Star Trucks Sales Inc, Zuidlease B.V., Zweite Vermogensverwaltungsgesellschaft Zeus mbH, car2go, car2go Belgium SPRL, car2go Canada Ltd., car2go China Co. Ltd., car2go Danmark A/S, car2go Deutschland GmbH, car2go Europe GmbH, car2go Group GmbH, car2go Iberia S.L.U., car2go Italia S.R.L., car2go N.A. Holding Inc, car2go N.A. LLC, car2go Nederland B.V, car2go Sverige AB, car2go Osterreich GmbH, moovel Group GmbH, moovel North America Inc., moovel North America LLC, myTaxi Iberia SL, myTaxi UG, myTaxi UK Ltd., myTaxi USA Inc., mytaxi Austria GmbH, mytaxi Network Ireland Ltd., mytaxi Network Ltd., mytaxi Portugal Unipessoal LDA, mytaxi Sweden AB, ogotrac S.A.S., smart France S.A.S., smart Vertriebs gmbh, and trapoFit GmbH. Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada. Read More 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. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum: AMI Metals Aero Services Ankara Havaclk Anonim Sirketi, AMI Metals Europe SPRL, AMI Metals Inc., AMI Metals UK Limited, Acero Prime S. de R.L. de C.V., Airport Metals, Alaska Steel Company, Alaska Steel Company, Aleaciones Especiales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., All Metal Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., All Metal Services India Private Limited, All Metal Services Limited, All Metal Services Ltd. (Xian), All Metals Holding, All Metals Processing & Logistics Inc., All Metals Transportation and Logistics Inc., Allegheny Steel Distributors Inc., American Metals Corporation, Best Manufacturing Inc., Bralco Metals (Australia) Pty Ltd, CCC Steel Inc., Chapel Steel Canada Ltd., Chapel Steel Corp., Chatham Steel Corporation, Clayton Metals Inc., Continental Alloys & Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Continental Alloys & Services Limited, Continental Alloys & Services Pte. Ltd., Continental Alloys Middle East FZE, Crest Steel Corporation, Delta Steel Inc., Diamond Manufacturing Company, DuBose National Energy Fasteners & Machined Parts, DuBose National Energy Fasteners & Machined Parts Inc., DuBose National Energy Services, DuBose National Energy Services Inc., Durrett Sheppard Steel Co. Inc., Earle M. Jorgensen Company, FastMetals Inc., Feralloy Corporation, Ferguson Perforating Company, Ferguson Perforating Company, Fox Metals And Alloys, Fox Metals and Alloys Inc., Fry Steel, Fry Steel Company, GH Metal Solutions, GH Metal Solutions Inc., Haskins Steel, Infra-Metals Co., KMS FAB LLC, KMS Fab, KMS South, KMS South Inc., Liebovich Bros. Inc., McKey Perforating, Merfish United, Metals USA, Metals USA Inc., Metalweb Limited, National Specialty Alloys, National Specialty Alloys Inc., Northern Illinois Steel Supply, Northern Illinois Steel Supply Co., PDM Steel Service Centers Inc., Pacific Metal Company, Phoenix Corporation, Precision Flamecutting and Steel Inc., Precision Strip Inc., Reliance Metalcenter Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Reliance Metals Canada Limited, Service Steel Aerospace Corp., Siskin Steel & Supply Company Inc., Sugar Steel Corporation, Sunbelt Steel Texas, Tubular Steel, Tubular Steel Inc., Valex Corp., Valex Korea Co. Ltd., Valex Semiconductor Materials (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Viking Materials Inc., and Yarde Metals Inc.. Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 1,400 bank branches and 4,800 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Read More Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The firm engages in the operation of pipelines and terminals that transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and other products and stores petroleum products chemicals and handles bulk materials like ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, CO2, Terminals, Product Pipelines and Kinder Morgan Canada. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment engages in the ownership and operation of major interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline and storage systems, natural gas and crude oil gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities. The CO2 segment focuses on the production, transportation and marketing of CO2 to oil fields that use CO2 as a flooding medium for recovering crude oil from mature oil fields to increase production. The Terminals segment consists of the ownership and operation of liquids and bulk terminal facilities located throughout the U.S. and portions of Canada that trans load and store refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, ethanol and bulk products, including coal, petroleum coke, fertilizer, Read More Equinox Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. The company's principal properties include the Aurizona project covering a total land package of approximately 223,160 hectares located in Maranhao State, Brazil; and the Castle Mountain property situated in California, the United States. It primarily explores for gold, copper, and silver deposits. The company was formerly known as Trek Mining Inc. and changed its name to Equinox Gold Corp. in December 2017. Equinox Gold Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Read More "Are you Islamophobes?" "Why are you doing this?"If you have any of these questions, please visit On this website, we engage Muslims and the foundations of Islam without trying to be "PC". We feel honesty is better than disguised language. As you can read on our FAQ, this is out of love, not out of hatred. Thanks, and we're looking forward to seeing your comments! Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services from rodents to flying and crawling insects, as well as to other forms of wildlife management for commercial and residential customers. The company also provides hygiene services, including the provision and maintenance of products, such as air fresheners, sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, hand dryers, paper and linen towel dispensers, soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats. In addition, it engages in the supply and laundering of workwear, uniforms, cleanroom uniforms, and protective equipment. Further, the company installs and services interior and exterior plant displays, flowers, replica foliage, Christmas decorations, and ambient scenting for commercial businesses; offers property care services consisting of damp proofing, property conservation, and woodworm and wood rot treatment; and provides a range of specialist cleaning services, such as deep cleaning of kitchens and washrooms, trauma cleaning, and flood or fire damage cleaning, as well as graffiti removal, specialist deep cleaning, and disinfection services, including the professional and discreet disinfection of areas that have been exposed to bio-hazardous situations, such as crime and trauma scenes, prison cells, void properties, emergency vehicles, and healthcare establishments. Additionally, it offers a range of healthcare waste management services comprising the collection, disposal, and recycling of hazardous and offensive waste produced by businesses and organizations associated with the provision of healthcare; and color-coded sharps disposal bins to deal with various types of waste. Rentokil Initial plc was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Camberley, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. Zinc Media Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, produces television and radio contents in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Television and Zinc Communicate. The Television segment operates television production activities under the Blakeway, Brook Lapping, Films of Record, Red Sauce, Supercollider, and Tern Television brand names. The Zinc Communicate segment specializes in developing cross-platform content for brands, businesses, and partners, including graphics and animation, web design and hosting, video production, publishing, and advertising sales. In addition, it provides contract publishing services. The company was formerly known as Ten Alps plc and changed its name to Zinc Media Group plc in November 2016. Zinc Media Group plc was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More iShares Gold Trust shares reverse split on Monday, May 24th 2021. The 1-2 reverse split was announced on Wednesday, March 3rd 2021. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the closing bell on Friday, May 21st 2021. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares Gold Trust stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split. There is not enough analysis data for Community Investors Bancorp. 4.1 Community Rank Outperform Votes Community Investors Bancorp has received 55 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Community Investors Bancorp has received 34 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Community Investors Bancorp has received 61.80% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Community Investors Bancorp and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe CIBN will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe CIBN will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next The following companies are subsidiares of 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 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. 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(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.. Oil States International, Inc. engages in the provision of specialty products and services to drilling, completion, subsea, production, and infrastructure sectors of the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following segments: Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies and Offshore or Manufactured Products. The Well Site Services segment consists of completion and drilling services such equipment and services that are used to drill for, establish, and maintain the flow of oil and natural gas from a well throughout its life cycle focuses on completion-focused equipment and services as well as land drilling services. The Downhole Technologies segment provides oil and gas perforation systems and downhole tools in support of completion, intervention, wireline and abandonment operations. The Offshore or Manufactured Products segment designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment utilized on floating production systems, subsea pipeline infrastructure, and offshore drilling rigs and vessels, along with short-cycle and other products. The company was founded in July 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More TC Energy Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. It operates through Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines, Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines, and Power and Storage segments. The company builds and operates 93,400 km network of natural gas pipelines, which transports natural gas from supply basins to local distribution companies, power generation plants, industrial facilities, interconnecting pipelines, LNG export terminals, and other businesses. It also has regulated natural gas storage facilities with a total working gas capacity of 535 billion cubic feet. In addition, it has approximately 4,900 km liquids pipeline system that connects Alberta crude oil supplies to refining markets in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. Further, the company owns or has interests in seven power generation facilities with a combined capacity of approximately 4,200 megawatts that are powered by natural gas and nuclear fuel sources located in Alberta, Ontario, QuAbec, and New Brunswick; and owns and operates approximately 118 billion cubic feet of non-regulated natural gas storage capacity in Alberta. The company was formerly known as TransCanada Corporation and changed its name to TC Energy Corporation in May 2019. TC Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. engages in the acquisition and operation of multifamily properties in select targeted markets throughout the United States. It operates through the following segments: Multifamily Communities, Financing, New Market Properties, Preferred Office Properties, and Others. The Multifamily Communities segment consists of company's portfolio of owned residential multifamily communities. The Financing segment refers to the portfolio of real estate loans, bridge loans, and other instruments deployed by the company to partially finance the development, construction, and prestabilization carrying costs of new multifamily communities and other real estate and real estate related assets. The New Market Properties segment covers portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers, as well as the financial results from the retail real estate loans. The Preferred Office Properties segment relates to the portfolio of office buildings. The Others segment includes deferred offering costs. The company was founded by Leonard A. Silverstein and John A. Williams on September 18, 2009 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Read More There is not enough analysis data for Revolution Bars Group. 5.0 Community Rank Outperform Votes Revolution Bars Group has received 285 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Revolution Bars Group has received 83 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Revolution Bars Group has received 77.45% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Revolution Bars Group and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe RBG will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe RBG will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next Tembo Gold Corp., a junior mineral development company, acquires, explores, and develops mineral properties in Tanzania. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Tembo gold property located in the Lake Victoria goldfield district in northwest Tanzania. The company was formerly known as Lakota Resources Inc. and changed its name to Tembo Gold Corp. in September 2011. Tembo Gold Corp. was incorporated in 1937 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Read More Village Farms International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes greenhouse-grown tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in North America. It operates through three segments: Produce Business, Energy Business, and Cannabis and Hemp Business. The company also owns and operates a 7.0 megawatt power plant that generates and sells electricity to British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority; and produces and supplies cannabis products. It markets and distributes its products under the Village Farms brand name to retail supermarkets and fresh food distribution companies, as well as products produced under exclusive arrangements with other greenhouse producers. The company was formerly known as Village Farms Canada Inc. and changed its name to Village Farms International, Inc. in December 2009. Village Farms International, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Delta, Canada. Read More The Million Pound Note (1954) Starring Gregory Peck 33:35 - love this song, of music, of the rhythm - still remember back to my college years - "Henry Adam so handsome, Portia, so beautiful! My conclusion: Charm = money ! $5000 pounds for a bougue of flowers (46:37") 1:01:15 '' - those days in stock market buying ! 627,683 views https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyePJXDB-uQ Published on Aug 20, 2018 Lease duration ranges from 1 month to 5 years. Available in major metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Minimum lease amount at Rs 19,856 for the Rapid. Personal, government employees and corporate buyers are eligible for the leasing facilities. If you are one of those new-age buyers who think that the multiple stages involved in buying a new car is cumbersome, Skoda India has some news for you. The Czech car manufacturer has joined hands with ORIX Auto Infrastructure from Japan to provide leasing solutions on its entire range of cars including the Rapid, Octavia, Superb and the Kodiaq Initially, the facility will be offered across 8 cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. It will later be available nationwide under Skodas India 2.0 Project, which is expected to kickstart with the launch of Skodas upcoming compact SUV in 2020. Rentals start at Rs 19,856 per month and will be open to personal buyers and corporate entities. The maximum leasing limit will be for 5 years and saves the lessees from road tax, insurance, maintenance, tyre and battery change along with several aspects involved in car ownership. For more details check out Skoda and ORIXs official statement. SKODA AUTO India partners with ORIX to offer leasing solutions SKODA AUTO India has signed a MoU with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Ltd (OAIS) The monthly lease rental for SKODA model range will start at INR 19,856 and cater to salaried individuals, working professionals, SME-s, corporate entities, and PSU-s SKODA AUTO leasing solutions will be offered across 8 metropolitan cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad SKODA AUTO leasing solutions incorporate road tax, insurance, breakdown assistance, accidental repairs, end-to-end maintenance, scheduled tyre and battery changes, and a replacement vehicle New Delhi, 01 March 2019: SKODA AUTO India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Limited (OAIS): a wholly owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, Japan. A range of innovative and competitive leasing services will now be offered to lease SKODA AUTO products through OAIS's existing business network and SKODA AUTO dealer partners. The monthly lease rental for SKODA model range will start at INR 19,856 and cater to retail and corporate customers across segments: salaried individuals, working professionals, small and medium business enterprises, corporate entities, and public sector units/undertakings. With a range of flexible leasing solutions, one can avail lease for up to five years on the SKODA AUTO model range: RAPID, OCTAVIA, SUPERB, and KODIAQ. In the first phase, SKODA AUTO leasing solutions will be offered exclusively to customers across eight metropolitan cities, namely: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, before a nationwide rollout in the subsequent phase, as part of the 'INDIA 2.0' project. SKODA AUTO leasing solutions incorporate an array of benefits and services: road tax, insurance, breakdown assistance, accidental repairs, end-to-end maintenance, scheduled tyre and battery changes, and a replacement vehicle. With customized services, subscription-based payment models, zero down payment, and complete avoidance of an unregulated and unorganized resale market, leasing is a 'Simply Clever' mobility solution and a feasible alternative to owning a car. Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho. The company had sold 55,422 units in February last year, HMIL said in a statement. New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Saturday reported 1.6 per cent decline in total sales at 54,518 units in February. The company had sold 55,422 units in February last year, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales were at 43,110 units as against 44,505 units in the year-ago month, down 3.1 per cent, it added. Exports were, however, up 4.5 per cent at 11,408 units as compared to 10,917 units in February last year, the company said. Mumbai: Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal on Friday urged his employees to bear with him in the "difficult situation" that the airline is going through for some more time and said he is willing to make any "sacrifice" to keep the airline afloat. In an emotional letter, Goyal also assured his employees of keeping them abreast of all the developments in the wake of the airline's rescue plan by the lenders, which has already been approved both by the board and shareholders. "The deep emotion... leads me to appeal to each of you from my heart, to bear with me through this difficult situation a little longer, till we emerge out of turbulence and fiscal challenges, into clear blue skies," Goyal said in the letter. His letter came a day after reports emerged that he has agreed to step down from the chairmanship of the loss-making carrier, in which lenders have now become the largest shareholders. "Towards this I commit to you personally from my heart, that I am prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure your future comfort and prosperity, viability of the airline and in fact welfare of all the employees of the company," he said. Jet Airways has been grappling with financial woes and is looking to rejig debt as well as raise funds. On February 14, Jet Airways board had approved a Bank-Led Provisional Resolution Plan (BLPRP), whereby lenders would become the largest shareholders in the airline. Its shareholders have also approved conversion of loan into shares and other proposals during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on February 21. "I solemnly assure you to keep you updated when our CEO, Vinay Dube and his team will ensure a fresh detailed update to be provided to you by the 18th of this month, by which time I am confident of the situation gently easing up in our favour," said Goyal. "While a few steps remain, some critical steps are behind us and the remaining approval processes are well underway. I assure you that I am personally working this situation as rapidly as possible," he added. The BLPRP is very critical to the long-term viability and sustainability of Jet Airways and would provide in due course, a funding package, he said. "In closing, I most humbly request and personally appeal to each one of you for your continued support for just a little while longer so that we can cross the line together," Goyal said. EPFO conducted a study and found out that a large number of firms were splitting their employees pay packages into numerous allowance to reduce their EPF liability. New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court held that special allowance is part of basic wages for EPF dues computation, retirement fund body EPFO has decided to take a stringent action against those firms which will not take into account such component in PF contributions. The apex court in its judgement has ruled that special allowance is part of the basic wages for computing the employees provident fund (EPF). The employer as well as employee pay 12 per cent of basic wages each towards contribution for social security scheme run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). "Following the judgement, the EPFO will take stringent action against firms which would not factor in special allowance for computation of EPF contributions. The body is studying the judgement and would soon come out with a detailed plan to implement the judgement," a source privy to the development said. "The case of artificially lowering basic wages which become the basis for computation of EPF contributions, was pleaded by the EPFO in the apex court. Thus, it is imperative for the body to implement this in letter and spirit," the source said. An EPFO trustee Virjesh Upadhyay who is also General Secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) said, "We welcome the apex court decision. This is a long pending issue. In fact the EPFO's apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees had constituted a committee to give a detailed report and suggestions to deal with splitting of wages by employers for reducing EPF liability." He further informed, "The committee had given its recommendation to deal with the issue. But in the meantime, the matter went to court and recommendations given by the panel to include various allowance into basic wage could not be implemented." Earlier, the EPFO conducted a study and found out that a large number of firms were splitting their employees pay packages into numerous allowance to reduce their EPF liability convincing their workers that this would result in higher taken home pay. The apex court in its order has allowed the appeal of the EPFO, which sought to include allowance like special allowance in basic wages for computation of EPF contributions. Mumbai: Kriti Sanon's Luka Chuppi has released now and the actress is receiving a humongous response for her distinctive role as 'Rashmi' in the film. The film also marks Kriti Sanon's highest opener as a solo female lead after Dilwale. Owing to all the love and appreciation garnered took to her social media, shared an overwhelming post and captioned the post saying, "This is a feeling i cannot explain in words! Overwhelmed.. Been taking baby steps but always gone with my gut. Bareilly ki Barfi was definitely a milestone for me. And this one seems to be as Meetha or maybe more! Cannot thank you guys enough for the love and appreciation for Luka Chuppi! Makes me wanna work harder! I promise i will give it all and never let you guys down! Rashmi is always gonna be special! #Gratitude". The actress's performance is a complete package of fantastic screen presence and maintains a strong position. Kriti Sanon also shines in an important emotional sequence in the film. Kriti Sanon has been making a mark on the audience with her impeccable choices of characters. After Kriti's brilliant performance in Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) as Bitti Mishra, the actress is all set to treat the audience with yet another noteworthy character. The actress is all geared for an eventful 2019 with a line-up of four films out of which first film Luka Chuppi is already released. With projects like Housefull 4, Luka Chuppi, Panipat and Arjun Patiala, the young actress is leaving no stone unturned to treat her fans with her versatile performances in varied genres of films. Mumbai: As the title of the film suggests, Vasan Balas Directorial venture, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, revolves around the story of a man who literally feels no pain. Not because he is too macho to get hurt, but because he suffers from a rare disorder which prevents him from feeling any pain. Abhimanyu Dassani, who is the son of actress Bhagyashree, makes his Bollywood debut with the film. Till now, all the posters and promotional content of the film has been centred around the male lead to highlight the concept of the film. But, where does the female lead of the film, Radhika Madan, fit into the scheme of things? Will she be just another prop to stage the perfect launch vehicle for the star kid? In the latest teaser from the film, our very own Pataakha girl Radhika, lit some fireworks when she questioned nepotism, patriarchy and her placement in the film. Needless to say, she ruffles quite a few feathers, and will surely leave you in splits. She posted the teaser with the caption, Mera Launch Ho Chuka Hai, its not my film ok! Produced by RSVP movies, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota hits the screens on March 21, 2019. Item numbers in Bollywood had become the much-needed spice to add in every movie and why not, they would become an instant hit among people and add to the commercial aspect of the film. As a result of which we saw songs like Kaddu Katega, Sarkai Lo Khatiya Jada Lage, Fevicol Se, Chikni Chameli, Munni Badnaam Hui becoming chartbusters and people could be seen dancing to it at every party. Not only that, lines from these songs were often used to eve-tease women. Thankfully, gone are the days when actors would blindly pick up a song and dance to the words that blatantly objectify women without batting an eyelid. These days more and more actors are becoming aware of the negative impact that these item songs have on society. They are demanding the lyrics to be clean and are asking for their songs to be shot aesthetically. Kriti Sanons recent movie Luka Chuppi features an item song titled Coca Cola, which was in news for putting women down. Responding to which, Kriti reveals that the song is a fun banter between the guy and the girl and the team ensured to shoot it like that. It is not shot in a way that objectifies women and people conveniently ignored that the boy is also being objectified. The girl calls him coca-cola towards the end and she is also objectifying him. And, that was a conscious decision. Still from Ek Do Teen. She further adds, Its done both ways deliberately and those are the things that I do take care of... I am not trying to give a wrong message. We were very conscious that its not just about the girl. While Kriti Sanon is trying to draw a balance, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, who has made the world dance to some of her item numbers, has made it loud and clear that the trend of item songs should die now. On her chat show, Kareena said, Even in my song Fevicol, a girl was compared to tandoori murgi. Honestly, when I did that number or even Halkat Jawani for that matter, I saw these songs only as fun. I really hadnt thought about it from a responsible point of view. Now, I feel, its high time that the trend of item number dies down. In Bollywood, writers should stop writing them and directors should stop requesting them. Its not funny anymore. Applauding the actors who are becoming more conscious of the songs they are performing upon, actress Taapsee Pannu calls it a brave step towards a huge change that was waiting to happen. I have not done any item songs and I am glad people dont approach me just for songs. Even though I havent thought much about it because I was never approached, I feel times have changed and people are more cautious about the item songs. Its a brave step by everyone and its a huge change (waiting) to happen, says Taapsee. While it may appear that the director willingly wants to add an item song, at times, it is the pressure to see the commercial aspect of the film that leads to such choices. But, some are finding ways to dodge this pressure. Filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia, who directed a biopic on gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli titled Daddy with Arjun Rampal had to fight immense pressure to ensure that he doesnt add any item song just to grab the eyeballs. Ashim says, When I was making Daddy with Arjun, they wanted certain item numbers that are there in typical commercial Bollywood movies but I told Arjun that I will not do it. I told him that he will have to co-produce the film and thats the only way to protect the movie. Studios will have their own demands. Veteran actress Juhi Chawla who has witnessed the industry closely for many years now says she hates the word item song. Juhi says, One thing, which I dont like these days, is how can we call our girls item girls. Why would you call your artist an item girl? Its so cheap. I dont enjoy watching it. Look at a film like Dangal. Its such a clean film. I hope it sends out a message to people that you need to make a damn good film and not just plug in an item number. The romantic comedy Luka Chhupi functions as a guidebook of sorts to the somewhat hesitant couple who have just fallen for each other, but coming from the small town of Mathura, they look rather unsure of whether to tie the knot or not. Rating: Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Alka Amin Director: Laxman Utekar The romantic comedy Luka Chhupi functions as a guidebook of sorts to the somewhat hesitant couple who have just fallen for each other, but coming from the small town of Mathura, they look rather unsure of whether to tie the knot or not especially the girl, who demands more time to weigh the situation before making a decision. She has reservations about the boy or whether she really likes him-or not and suggests that they go in for a live-in relationship! Laxman Utekars debut film has an interesting premise, but it isnt that film you have been waiting for: The modern take on the relationship between a boy and a girl who are unmarried, and would rather stay together without engaging into a legally binding association. Set in Mathura, it merely gives us a birds view of how small towns in North India enjoy all the accoutrements of the modern world, and yet, when it comes to the age-old mindset ingrained in antiquated values, the local residents have a long way to go. I am not too sure if the Indian middle-class is still regressively outdated; or that it would take another century for them to come to terms with the 20th centurys rapid changes as we have seen in the last decade or so. Many characters in the film continue to be non-conformist in their outlook, and are in fact oddities as contemporary parents or individuals in this day and age. As the mast maula, Gudu Shukla (Aaryan), we have a hero, who, in his own right, is the star reporter of a Mathura cable news channel. His cameraman Abbas (Aparshakti Khurana) is someone Guddu counts on, both as a team out to cover news locally, as well as, for his own personal comfort and support. Guddus parents Badriprasad Shukla (Atul Srivastava) and Shakuntala (Alka Amin) continue to live a life full of antiquated values that is reminiscent of the 1960s. Guddus brother-in-law Babulal (Pankaj Tripathi) is someone who does nothing for a living and spends all his time lustily chasing married women and whiling away time. Guddu falls for his intern, the headstrong Rashmi Trivedi (Kriti Sanon), who has just landed from the capital city of New Delhi, and is keen to learn the ropes of television journalism before branching out to greener pastures. Meanwhile, all hell breaks loose as one of Bollywoods most sought-after stars Nazeem Khan is hounded by the media and slammed for his live-in relationship. Quite obviously, no one likes such bold-faced cheeky behaviour of a role model. The self-righteous custodians of morality principal among them being Rashmis father Vishnu Prasad Trivedi (Vinay Pathak) of the Sanskriti Raksha Manch have an even larger issue: They wouldnt approve of such an unacceptable act by someone who belongs to the minority community. Fortunately for Guddu, it is Rashmi who has no reservations about not conforming to social customs, and is gung-ho right about moving into a place with him. What follows next is routine: The social hindrances loom large to ruin their romance and Guddus family discovers his luka chhupi (hide and seek) union, and threaten them with dire consequences. Guddus parents throw a fit and the couple decides to formalise their bond in the presence of their respective parents and of course, a priest. Not that its a smooth run thereafter; several familial characters and sudden quirks of the couple derail the proceedings while intermittently giving us hope of a few bright spots here and there, only to degenerate into nothingness. Director Utekar and writer Rohan Shankar had probably come across a rigorously even-handed idea about how people in small towns and cities are still grappling with the fast evolving notions of marriage, cohabitation and old rituals. That they are unimaginative begins to show right after the first half when cliched situations never allow the film to take off. All the tumult that follows looks premeditated and doesnt mesh together with the incompatible viewpoints and motivations of the old and the young. The original premise could have been developed into something of great measure, like the new generation gradually controlling the outdated values and having its way. Funnily enough, its the women (Rashmi; Guddus mother; another old woman on the street) who seem to be far more progressive in their views and are seen welcoming the freshness of the bold departure from the traditional. Lazy writing makes it less witty and enrapturing. The madly-in-love couple in the throes of amorous passion even try to maintain their liaison as they descend deeper and deeper into the insular world of domestic nitty-gritties. After the emotional upheaval of all the loads they are forced to endure, they do poke fun at the institution of marriage. Too bad, it is perilously close to losing appeal even as it tries hard to expose the foibles of conventional relationships. The writer is unable to impose rhythm on the escalating complications, and often allows a scene to go on far too long, without any solid material. The drama strains to achieve characters conflicts convincingly, stretching between breezy satire and convention mores .The result is, at times, a skilfully rehearsed script reading rather than unexpected turn-of-life events. Aaryan does whatever he can to step into the shoes of the current crop of successful heroes: Rajkummar Rao, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, to name a few. Is this the film that could catapult him to their level? Nah, he needs a lot more to blend chutzpah and emotive range to pull off comedy. For Sanon too, this may not be the ideal vehicle to allow her to go up the ladder, but its her natural charm that has an instant appeal. Scene-stealers Tripathy and Khurana have the right skills to give us a few laughs but the poor execution of this mostly unamusing two-hour comedy makes it an opportunity lost! Another actress from Mumbai is making her debut in the Telugu film industry. Digangana Suryavanshi is a popular Hindi soap actress and has also acted in three Hindi films. Now, she is all set to debut here with the film Hippi, in which she will be playing the leading lady opposite Karthikeya from RX100. I have always been enthusiastic about Telugu cinema. In fact, I have received offers earlier as well, but Ive had to turn them down because the dates werent working out for me. Im quite glad now, though, that Im finally making my debut in the Telugu film industry with Hippi, says Digangna. She says that she started acting at a pretty young age. Ive acted in several serials, have participated in Bigg Boss and have also done three Hindi movies. Two of my films wherein I played the leading lady roles, FryDay and Jalebi, both released on the same day. This had never happened for any actress in Indian cinema until then. This was about when the makers of Hippi approached me with their offer and I accepted it, says she. Nothing in particular pulled Digangana into the South Indian film industry. This is one industry that is going to gain widespread recognition and everybody knows it. The call came in very suddenly after the release of the trailer of FryDay in October last year. We met and they finalised my role in one day, which seemed really quick. Soon after, I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely and talented Krishna Sir (director) and Thanu Sir (producer), she says. She added that she does not know much about the South Indian film industry. I saw Karthikeyas picture in the newspaper one day and on the same day, I received a call from about this project. Soon, I sealed the deal and thats how my debut in Telugu commenced, she reveals. Although learning Telugu from scratch can be a challenge, actress Digangna found a way to make it happen. I did not want to mess up my dialogues on the sets, so I sat with the assistant directors for a week to understand my lines before I learned them, she says. The actress prefers to write when time permits. I write a lot. Whether its a poem, a short story, or a novel, I like to put my ideas on paper whenever I have the time, shares the actress. Digangana believes that the only difference between South and Hindi film industries is the language. Neither of the industries lacks anything or is superior to the other. The only difference, in this case, is the language. We understand Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi, and Hindi, so all that I'm struggling with is the language because its new to me. The work culture is pretty much the same, honestly, she says. Digangna is still studying in Mumbai. Im still pursuing my Bachelors degree in Arts. I appeared for my second-year exams while I was shooting Jalebi. I am currently in my third year of graduation, she says. It was as a kid that this Bengaluru based artist began his journey of collecting awards for his artworks. Ganapati Hegde, over the years has added a number of prestigious awards to his credit. He is currently showcasing over 60 plus paintings from his new Coming from a family that is inclined to arts in its various forms, it was inevitable that Ganapati would have an inclination towards the fine arts. He says, My entire tryst with art started when I received an international award in 8th standard that boosted my confidence. My interest in art was such that I ended drawing on the walls and floors as well. Ganapati later went on to acquire a diploma in fine art from the Ken School of Art, Bengaluru. During my time at art school, my teacher cautioned me not to switch from fine arts to streams like multimedia and graphic design. But it is not possible to survive with a career like this, he shares. Therefore, Ganapati learnt graphic design and worked with some of the bigwigs of the IT industry before quitting his professional life to become a full time artist. An admirer of works of artists like A Ramachandran and Henri Rousseau, he adds, Though Im a city boy now, my inspiration comes from native, Kumta which is a coastal town in North Karnataka. For Ganapati, painting is the freedom of expression and also a visual representation of emotions and thoughts. Ganapati has also won a national award at the 13th Camilin Art Foundation and also won a Lalit Kala Academy Award. Talking about his recent exhibition Second Springs, These paintings are all about how you interpret nature in your own unique way. I have done over 60 plus paintings that took over a year to complete, he shares. On his plans for the future, this avid traveller shares, Painting for me is never a process and it is never planned. I only paint when I am inspired. nd Springs. Talking to his artist, we find out more about his collection and his journey of becoming an artist. US: An unflinching new documentary on paedophilia accusations against Michael Jackson has shattered the glittering veneer around the late King of Pop, presenting in lurid detailed stories of two men who say he sexually abused them for years as minors. "Leaving Neverland," a four-hour film by British director Dan Reed, is considered so potentially devastating that counselling was made available at its Sundance Film Festival premiere in January. US cable network HBO will air it in two parts, starting Sunday. Reed said he tried to include "sexual detail in a very measured way, so it wasn't done for shock value." He said, "Of course it's shocking. It's a very serious crime. And it shouldn't be glossed over." "We tried to make it graphic enough to be eye-opening and for people to be confronted with what it means for a little child to be seduced and raped by an adult paedophile," Reed told AFP. It's not the first public airing of abuse claims against Jackson but the television release marks the scandal's first major explosion since Michaels fatal overdose at age 50, almost 10 years ago. The documentary centers on James Safechuck, 41, and Wade Robson, 36, who recount separate but consistent accounts of how their idol molested them as boys. Both describe the childlike Jackson wooing them inviting them into his fairytale existence, gaining their families' trust and manipulating them into keeping their sexual relations secret. You and I were brought together by God," Robson said Jackson had told him. Their mothers also offer narratives of seduction into the cult of Jackson and the ensuing guilt that haunts them. Robson first met Jackson as a five-year-old after winning a dance competition. The megastar invited the boy to his Neverland Ranch, where Robson, by then seven, said the abuse began. He describes how their sexual relationship "escalated rapidly," with Jackson telling him, "This is us showing each other that we love each other." Safechuck, who said his abuse began at age 10, tells a similar tale, saying Jackson told him if anyone ever found out, their lives "would be over." Jackson's estate has vehemently defended the late star, suing HBO for USD 100 million over a "posthumous character assassination" as the claims in the film breach an agreement made not to disparage the icon, a condition HBO had agreed to for airing one of his concerts previously. Jackson faced accusations in 1993 of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy and settled out of court, with Robson and Safechuck saying at the time that Jackson hadn't touched them. In 2003 more accusations triggered a dramatic trial and at the time, Safechuck kept a distance but Robson testified for Jackson, who was acquitted. Neither man reversed their stories until recently, after becoming fathers themselves. Both filed their own lawsuits that were dismissed over statutes of limitations. "You loved him in a lot of ways. And then you know Michael does these things to you that are not healthy," Safechuck said. "It's really hard to have those two feelings together. I still, today, am grappling with that," he added. Leaving Neverland comes in the wake of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's downfall and as R&B superstar R. Kelly faces a fresh legal reckoning for his own questionable history with underage girls. For pop culture scholar Robert Thompson of Syracuse University, the release in today's #MeToo context is key. Jackson's trial was relatively recent, but "in so many ways, consciousnesses have been raised." "A documentary this far out could completely change his legacy," Thompson said. Reed said the timing of the film's release with #MeToo was unplanned but fortuitous. "The #MeToo movement has done a lot of groundwork," he said, because the normal response now is to listen to alleged victims, not "slime them." Jackson's sprawling California homestead is back on the market for USD 31 million, some 70 per cent less than the asking price four years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal. Diane Dimond, who covered the Jackson saga for years and has penned a book on it, said she expects more men will come forward. "He was a prolific paedophile, that did what he did right under our noses because he knew he was so adored that he could get away with it," she said. But the fans, Dimond said, "will forever think that he was like Jesus." Jackson somehow strikes a chord, even today, in the very soul of people," she added. Thompson agrees, saying there's little chance of erasing Jackson's artistic legacy, even if his reputation is tarnished. "In any sense of rational history, we cannot retroactively say that no, Michael Jackson didn't change the history of global pop because he did change the history of global pop," Thompson said. When the servant went to the farm, he found Nagappa's body lying in a pool of blood. (Representational image) Bengaluru: A 75-year-old man was brutally hacked to death by unidentified miscreants in Channanaya kanapalya on Friday. The deceased, Nagappa, was heading to his farm when the miscreants attacked him with rods. The incident took place around 7.45 am and the police suspected that the fight over land could be the reason behind the murder. We inspected the spot where the murder took place. We got a gold chain worn by the deceased on the spot, indicating that the murder was not for robbery, a senior police official said. The incident came to light at 11 am when Nagappa's wife sent their servant in search of Nagappa when he did not return even after hours. When the servant went to the farm, he found Nagappa's body lying in a pool of blood. The police who have registered a case suspect it to be the work of Nagappa's relatives. The commissioner also said that strict orders will be issued against the presence of officials who are not on duty at the airport unless they have valid reasons. KOCHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday arrested a customs head havildar from the Kochi airport while attempting to smuggle three kilograms of gold. The accused, identified as Sunil Francis, was arrested and placed under suspension. The DRI officials recovered three gold bars of one kilogram each valued at nearly Rs 1 crore. According to officials, the gold was smuggled in by a passenger arrived from Dubai. An inquiry against the accused has been initiated. The officer is currently facing vigilance rule proceedings under the code of conduct, said Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar. The accu-sed will be produced bef-ore the court on Saturday. Meanwhile, the DRI sleuths have also detained Adhinan Khalid, a resident from Muvattupuzha, who allegedly handed over the gold bars to the havildar on his arrival from Dubai. Sources said that the havildar was off duty on Friday and the passenger handed over the contraband to him was in the toilet of the international terminal. Disciplinary proceedings against the accused can end in dismissal from service. The accused, who is under suspension, will face show cause for major penalty including dismissal from service, Mr. Kumar said. The commissioner also said that strict orders will be issued against the presence of officials who are not on duty at the airport unless they have valid reasons. The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh, a native of Jalandhar district in Punjab, they said. (Representational Image) New Delhi: A non-resident Indian was arrested from the IGI airport in the national capital for allegedly raping a woman he had met on a matrimonial site in 2017, the the police said today. The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh, a native of Jalandhar district in Punjab, they said. According to police, the woman filed a case on March 27, 2018 stating that she came in contact with Singh through the matrimonial website. On December 12, 2017, Singh reportedly intoxicated the victim and raped her. He later convinced her that he would marry her soon, but instead left Delhi, senior police officer Vijayanta Arya said. Thereafter, the victim learnt that Singh was already married and was living in the United Kingdom, where he used to work as a security guard, the officer said. As part of the investigation, raids were conducted in the accused's village in Punjab, but he did not join the probe, police said, adding a lookout circular was also issued against him. On Thursday, Singh was apprehended from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, while he was returning from UK to visit his family in Jalandhar. Domestic sales were at 43,110 units as against 44,505 units in the year-ago month, down 3.1 per cent. The company had sold 55,422 units in February last year, HMIL said in a statement. New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on Saturday reported 1.6 per cent decline in total sales at 54,518 units in February. The company had sold 55,422 units in February last year, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales were at 43,110 units as against 44,505 units in the year-ago month, down 3.1 per cent, it added. Exports were, however, up 4.5 per cent at 11,408 units as compared to 10,917 units in February last year, the company said. Revathi refused, and an argument broke out. Vinod, who was on his bike, slashed Revathi with a knife and fled the scene. Revathi started bleeding profusely and died on the spot, police sources said. (Representational Image) CHENNAI: The Chennai city police arrested a man on charges of murder after he stabbed a woman to death in Guindy on Friday night, for calling off his wedding with her daughter. The incident occurred when Vinod (27), resident of Masoodi street in Guindy, had gone to visit his fiancee, Jeevitha's house. Revathi had called off Vinod's wedding with her elder daughter two months ago as she came to know of his gambling and drinking habits. Vinod and Jeevitha had been in a relationship for over five years prior to their engagement. They were engaged in March last year, and were to be married in November, but everything collapsed. "Even after the wedding was called off, Vinod used to pester the family often. The family had even complained to the All Women Police Station in Guindy, following which he was called to the police station and warned," a source close to the family said. In order to prevent Vinod from constantly pestering her daughter, Revathi put Jeevitha in a hostel three days ago. Unable to contact Jeevitha, Vinod continued to pester Revathi for Jeevitha's phone number and address, but she did not yield. On Friday night, when Revathi was returning home from work in a private firm in Guindy, Vinod cornered her and again asked her to give him Jeevitha's phone number and address. Revathi refused, and an argument broke out. Vinod, who was on his bike, slashed Revathi with a knife and fled the scene. Revathi started bleeding profusely and died on the spot, police sources said. Guindy police were immediately alerted, who rushed to the spot and arrested him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder). Based on a complaint, the All Women police arrested Rajagopal and filed a case against him before the Mahila court here. (Representational Image | File) TIRUCHY: The District Fast Track Mahila Court in Tiruchy on Saturday convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old year man to undergo 20 years imprisonment for impregnating a minor girl. According to the prosecution, the accused Rajagopal of Nadupatti village in Thuraiyur taluk developed clandestine intimacy with a 16-year-old minor girl, after preventing her wedding on the ground of it being a minor marriage with another boy in February 2018. Even as the minor girl was admitted to the childrens home, operated by the district child line, she after some months developed stomach pain. The poor girl was then rushed to the Government hospital where doctors examined her and declared that she was in the family way with four months pregnancy. The girl then told the authorities that due to the illegal intimacy with the accused, she had become pregnant.Based on a complaint, the All Women police arrested Rajagopal and filed a case against him before the Mahila court here. On completion of the case, the Judge Mahilendhi convicted and sentenced the accused to undergo ten years imprisonment for each of the two sections under POCSO Act and also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 for each count. The Judge directed that the sentences would run concurrently. The accused remitted the fine amount immediately in court. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with India, Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days. (Photo: ANI/ Twitter) Jammu: Three members of a family were killed and two others injured as Pakistani forces heavily shelled areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said. Pakistani forces targeted civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy guns, including Howitzer 105 mm, they said, adding that Indian forces retaliated effectively. In the heavy shelling, three members of a family were killed and another was injured in Salotri in Poonch district, where shells hit several houses, they said. Twenty-four-year-old Rubana Kosar and her son Fazan (5) and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam were killed in the shelling. Rubana's husband Mohd Yunis was injured, they said. Earlier in the day, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in the firing by Pakistani forces in the Mankote area of Poonch, officials said. Besides Salotri and Mankote, shelling also took place in Krishnagati and Balakote areas in Poonch district. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with India, Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days. On Thursday, a woman was killed and a jawan was injured when Pakistani Army heavily shelled civilian areas and forward posts in six sectors along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, in which one woman was killed and 9 persons were injured. In view of the prevailing situation, authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. They have asked all border dwellers to remain inside their homes. Amid high tension along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by the White Knight Corps Commander, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday visited Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a hospital in Delhi, where the Indian Air Force pilot had been taken last night for a medical check-up after his arrival in India from Pakistan. Varthaman underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. He met Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday morning and briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Varthaman, who underwent a medical check-up on Saturday at a military hospital and will stay at an Indian Air Force Officers Mess. He was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 pm on Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of the "cooling down" process and it is expected to continue till Sunday. Once, the health check up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. A video circulated on social media that he was badly beaten up by a group of people after being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi Friday night. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling it a peace gesture. India used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources in New Delhi said. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan had retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: A day after his return from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Saturday informed the top brass of Indian Air Force (IAF) that he was subjected to a lot of mental harassment, though he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities, said a source. The Wing Commander was also medically examined here, considering the fact that he had ejected after his MiG 21 was shot down in PoK air space while chasing Pakistani fighter planes which had transgressed into Indian air space on February 27. Before his plane was hit, he had shot down a Pakistani F-16. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa met Wing Commander Varthaman at a hospital here. During a separate meeting with the Air Force Chief, Varthaman briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Wing Commander Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours, Varthaman stepped on the Indian soil through Wagah border, Amritsar in Punjab, on Friday night at 9.20 pm. He was in the custody of Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On Wednesday, Abhinandan was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his MiG 21 Bison crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon his landing. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling his move a peace gesture. India also used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no compromises on Pakistans proposal for holding talks, said sources. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held talks with the US and other P-5 countries, sources said. The External Affairs Ministry also exerted pressure on Pakistan through the Arab world, they said. The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to 'change dictionary meanings', Modi said at a housing ministry event here. (Photo: File) New Delhi: "Abhinandan" used to mean welcome, but its meaning would change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday in an apparent reference to the IAF pilot released by Pakistan. The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to "change dictionary meanings", Modi said at a housing ministry event here. His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. "The world takes note of what India does ... India has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. Abhinandan once used to mean welcome. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change," he said. Soon after the pilot was released, Modi had tweeted, "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage." Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, R. Jayanti, Dean, RGGGH said that the surgery was a very difficult one. A team headed by doctor A R Venkateshwaran did the gastroscopy for Jayakumar. It was a complicated one as we had to ensure he does not choke or the metal objects do not go down the wrong passage in the throat, she said. Chennai: In a remarkably complex surgery conducted at the Rajiv Gandhi government hospital on Friday, over 40 items were removed from a patients stomach after he had swallowed them over a period of a few months. The man, identified as Jayakumar, 52, was undergoing treatment at the Institute of Medical Health in Ayanavaram when during a routine MRI for his disease was being conducted, he developed severe abdominal pain. Suspecting some health condition, a CT scan was taken during which multiple metallic objects in his stomach were revealed. Jayakumar was immediately rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where he was admitted at the Institute of Gastroenterology. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, R. Jayanti, Dean, RGGGH said that the surgery was a very difficult one. A team headed by doctor A R Venkateshwaran did the gastroscopy for Jayakumar. It was a complicated one as we had to ensure he does not choke or the metal objects do not go down the wrong passage in the throat, she said. The Dean also said that 40 objects, including keys, razors, coins and magnets were removed from the patient's stomach. An endoscopy was performed and the medical gastroenterology team avoided a major surgery for the patient, she said. If the objects were not removed, the patient could have developed complications like perforation of the intestines, bleeding and sepsis, doctors say. We screened the patient with fluoroscopy and ensured complete clearance of all foreign bodies from his digestive tract, doctors said. Meanwhile, Jayakumar who appeared hale and healthy after the surgery promised that he would not resort to swallowing metal objects again. He has been given counselling at the government hospital and will be sent back to the IMH. Hampi is all decked up for the two-day Hampi Utsav which will be inaugurated on Saturday. Ballari: Bowing to pressure from artistes, lovers of art and music and pro-Kannada organisations, the state government has decided to hold the Hampi Utsav at the world heritage site of Hampi on March 2 and 3. Chief Minister H D Kumarawamy will inaugurate festival on Saturday along with Kannada film star , Darshan Toogudeep. Deputy Commissioner and chairman of the Hampi Utsav Committee, Ramprasath Manohar said four stages had been erected for cultural events near the Yeduru Basava Mantap and one each near the Sasivekal and Kadlekal Ganesh idols. As part of the festival people will also get to enjoy a ten minute chopper ride, 'Hampi by Sky' for Rs 2,500 . The state government has released around Rs 3 crore from the departments of Kannada and Culture and Tourism for the festival which is likely to cost around Rs 5.5 crore to organise. "The government has released Rs 3 crore and the balance will have to be managed through donations," Mr Manohar said. Superintendent of Police, Arun Rangarajan said arrangements had been made for free flow of traffic during the two days in the district and for adequate parking space. Besides CCTV cameras would be installed at strategic points and drones used for security, he added. The Hampi Utsav was first scheduled to be held from November 3 to 5 last year, but was put off owing to the severe drought. It will now be organized on a smaller scale than usual and for a mere two days instead of three as has been the practice till now. Abhinandan Varthaman finally emerged at 9.10 pm(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. (Photo: PTI) Wagah: After a suspenseful wait lasting hours, Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman finally returned home Friday night from his nearly three-day captivity in Pakistan, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by Indias retaliation over Pakistans continued support for terrorism. Hoping to give a heros welcome to Wing Commander Varthaman, thousands of Indians gathered on the border carrying the tricolour and garlands since morning. But as the day wore on and night fell there was no sign of the pilot, who was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. He finally emerged at 9.10 pm(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing a civilian clothes -- a dark jacket and khakhi trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors country from his homeland. Amritsars Deputy Commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon told reporters that the fighter pilot was happy to be back in his country. Asked what Abhinandan told officials upon his return, the DC said he first smiled and remarked, I am happy to be back to my country. Giving further details, the DC said, The Pakistan authorities brought Wing Commander Abhinandan to the Joint Check Post at Attari and he crossed over the Zero Line at around 9:21 pm(IST). After going through some formalities at the Wagah-Attari border, he was handed over to the BSF authorities. Later, the IAF authorities took him with them. An official was seen putting his arms around the pilot while receiving him. The Wing Commander was then driven away from the Attari border towards Amritsar in an Air Force vehicle which was escorted by Punjab police. The Deputy Commissioner said the officers parents were not present at the checkpost. Varthaman is being flown to Delhi and will undergo debriefing Saturday which will include his physiological as well as a physical check-up in the presence of officials from the military and Intelligence agencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians, tweeted Modi. Earlier, addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu, Modi said, every Indian is proud of brave pilot Abhinandan. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also came out with a Jai Hind tweet. Several political leaders, including Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also welcomed the IAF hero back home. Vice Chief Marshal R G K Kapoor read out a brief statement before a large posse of reporters in Attari, near Amritstar, on the other side of Wagah. Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This check up is mandatory as he had to eject from an airplane which would have put his entire body under stress, said Kapoor, who did not take any questions. The handing over of Varthaman to India at Wagah was delayed as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources in Pakistan. It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda. At 8.30 pm (9 pm IST), the Pakistan government released the pilots video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured. Recording of his video message caused delay in his handing over, a source said. In the video message, Varthaman said he entered Pakistans space to find a target but his aircraft was shot down. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14 by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM). Amid mounting outrage, Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MIG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in PoK, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a peace gesture. However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. After the pilots release, the Pakistan Foreign Office described him as a Prisoner of War. The Pakistan government was under tremendous international pressure to de-escalate the tensions with India and release the captured pilot. As analysts painstakingly debated each nuance of India-Pakistan relations in TV studios, anchors went hoarse keeping up the constant commentary, and journalists looked for information on when and how he would be handed over to India. The government decided to keep it all under wraps. Patriotism was the mood of the day. There was garba in Ahmedabad, dancing in Bangalore, a sand sculpture of the officer in Puri and yagnas in several places. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a JeM suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. District medical health officer Ramesh Reddy met the junior doctors in the morning and discussed their problems. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: Junior doctors of Niloufer Hospital continue their strike but resumed emergency services on Friday. Junior doctor Rahul from Niloufer said, In view of problems faced by patients, we have resumed emergency services and all other services were boycotted. District medical health officer Ramesh Reddy met the junior doctors in the morning and discussed their problems. Meanwhile Telangana junior doctors submitted a representation with various demands to health minister. Speaking about the demands P.S. Vijayender Goud said, We have to increase the number of special protection forces and deploy at least two at every emergency and intensive care unit in every government hospital. To ensure that all medical equipments like ventilators, incubators and others are available and regularisation of stipends. TJUDA also requested the health minister to address long-term issues like deficiency of assistant professors, nursing staff and paramedical staff due to the delay in recruitment and establishing fast track courts to punish the culprits involved in assaults doctors. The $1 billion hyperlocal online grocery space is heavily dominated by BigBasket and Grofers with a 71 per cent market share. After they established themselves in the markets, several new players have entered the space in the past two to three years. Chennai: Large vertical players are still enjoying the first-mover advantage in the hyperlocal online grocery space as new entrants have not been able to differentiate themselves and scale up faster in the space. The $1 billion hyperlocal online grocery space is heavily dominated by BigBasket and Grofers with a 71 per cent market share. After they established themselves in the markets, several new players have entered the space in the past two to three years. Among horizontal players, Amazon launched Pantry and Now, Flipkart has its Supermarket and Paytm Mall too is betting big on the essentials. However, all these players have been able to manage only 9 per cent share of the market. "In grocery, especially in perishable categories like vegetables and fruits, the companies have to be more focussed. With too many categories in hand, horizontals have not been able to allocate enough resources in just one category. However, a wide supply chain infrastructure is their advantage and will have to see how they focus on grocery category,' said Mrigank Gutgutia, head, consumer internet, RedSeer. According to him, large vertical players - BigBasket and Grofers -have the first-mover advantage and have established themselves in multiple cities. Tie-ups with farmers and producers and brand trust allow them to be heavy on private label products, which support profitability. A few smaller vertical players like Satvacart, SpiceBe and Kada have come up in select cities. But they are not able to scale up their model due to lack of differentiation and hence have just one per cent market share. Then there are providers of daily essentials like Supr, DailyNinja, Doodwala and Milkbasket who operate in micro-markets within specific cities. Though they have 9 per cent market share, scaling up is quite difficult as they focus on just five to six category of products. Some of the offline supermarkets like Nature's Basket, Spar and Spencers have launched their omnichannel model and have grabbed three per cent market share. A few other players like Yellow Market and Your doorstep.in with wider assortment of products too have emerged in the space. Specialised players in the meat category like Nandus Chicken, Lucious, Brown Apron and Zappfresh are witnessing faster growth and have grabbed 3 per cent market share. "But it is difficult to garner a high turnover with one product," said Gutgutia. "Grocery is a category that needs focus in terms of user experience and brand trust. Management of supply chain and delivery cost too are key things to be taken care off. Many of the new entrants have not been able to differentiate their model yet," said Gutgutia. Kochi: The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has partnered with the Korampadam Service Co-operative Bank, Kothad to promote cage fish farming in the backwaters of the Kadamakkudy panchayat. The initiative is aimed at helping the villagers become small-scale entrepreneurs through cage fish farming. As many as 114 villagers attended a skill development programme, conducted recently by the CMFRI and the Bank, covering various stages of cage fish farming such as cage fabrication, site identification, species selection, feed management, harvest and marketing. Visits to cage farming sites and practical training were also included in the three-day programme. The CMFRI will offer the technical guidance to the villagers while the bank will give them loans as initial capital to those starting the cage fish farming. The CMFRI would extend technical support to the farmers on each phases of the cage farming, said Dr A. Gopalakrishnan, director of CMFRI. "This will act as a source for additional income to the fishermen and it will help increase the domestic fish production as well," he added. Species such as cobia, seabass, snappers, mullet and pearl spot will be used for cage farming. "The CMFRI has so far trained 2,500 fishermen all over the country, and around 2,500 cage fish farming units are currently operational across the coastal states under the CMFRI's technical guidance," said head of CMFRI's mariculture division Dr Imelda Joseph. However, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has been engaged in the rescue operation since the day of the tragedy on December 13 last, will continue with their services. (Photo: AFP | File) Shillong: A team of rescuers from the Navy and Army Friday announced to leave the operation site in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district after 60 days of searching the 15 miners trapped in a 370 feet-deep illegal coal mine. The Navy and the Army informed local authorities about their decision to pack up and leave the operation on direction from their higher-ups, operations spokesperson R Susngi said. However, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has been engaged in the rescue operation since the day of the tragedy on December 13 last, will continue with their services. "There is no instruction for us to wind up the operation and we will continue with our work," Santosh Singh, Assistant Commandant of Guwahati-based NDRF team, told PTI Friday from the site. The Navy will be going back on Saturday, the operations spokesperson said, adding the Army will also pack up and leave on receiving a direction from the higher authority. The Navy and Army personnel along with rescuers of the NDRF had so far detected five bodies deep inside the mine and retrieved two of them, officials said. The Navy arrived at the accident site at Ksan area of Lumthari village on December 31 last and lately operated their underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search the holes 24/7. The district authority congratulated and saluted the efforts, dedication and the tremendous contribution of the agencies in the two month-long rescue operation for the trapped miners at Ksan. District Deputy Commissioner FM Dopth also conveyed his deepest gratitude. On Thursday, the second body was handed over to the relatives from Lumthari village, Susngi said. The highly decomposed body was identified by his family members from the clothes he wore, he said. The companies involved in discharging water from the mines, including the Coal India Ltd, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and KSB dewatered over 1 crore litres every day, he said. The operation to rescue the miners is one of the longest in the country and involved multiple agencies, including the Navy, Army, NDRF among others. The family members of each of the 15 miners have been given Rs 1 lakh interim relief each by the district authorities. The mine disaster had shocked the nation. Media reports highlighted the cash-rich illegal coal mining in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya in violation of a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2014. The Supreme Court is monitoring the development and the rescue operations on a weekly basis. Speaking at a rally in north Maharashtras Dhule district, the Congress chief also ridiculed industrialist Anil Ambani, saying he cannot make even paper planes. (Photo: File) Dhule: Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticising the Congress despite talking about the need for unity after the Pulwama attack, party chief Rahul Gandhi Friday said Modi cant refrain from engaging in public relations exercise even for five minutes. Speaking at a rally in north Maharashtras Dhule district, the Congress chief also ridiculed industrialist Anil Ambani, saying he cannot make even paper planes. After the Pulwama attack, I told my party leaders and workers to ensure that nobody criticised the government and (said) the country should stand together in this fight, Gandhi said. Political attacks on the government could be made once the tensions between India and Pakistan eased, he said. Modi tells media that India is united after the Pulwama terror attack. Immediately after that, he criticises us during the war memorial opening (in Delhi). This countrys prime minister cannot stop his public relations even for five minutes. That is the difference between him and Congress, Gandhi said. It was the defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which has been making military aircraft such as Mirage, Sukhois and Jaguars, he said, targeting Anil Ambani whose company has got the offset contract under the Rafale deal. When demonetisation was announced, the country was made to believe that it was a fight against black money, but only the common man had to stand in queues in front of banks and not Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi or Vijay Mallya, Gandhi said. Referring to the announcement of Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme for farmers during the Union Budget, Gandhi said the BJP MPs thumped their desks to welcome it. Later we came to know that Modi and Piyush-ji have given Rs 17 (per day) to the families of farmers. So every person got Rs 3.5 (per day). Modi should be ashamed of himself. On one hand loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore are waived and on the other hand families of farmers are given Rs 3.5, he said. Under the scheme, farmers with land-holding of two hectares or less will get Rs 6,000 per year. The Congress chief reiterated his promise to give a minimum income to the poor. We will not give you Rs 3. If they can give Rs 3.5 lakh crore to 15 people, we can surely give to the poor and the youth (minimum income), he said. The BJP wants to create two Indias, one of 20-25 industrialists and the other of the poor, farmers and unemployed youth, Gandhi said. We want a government where all are given equal space. This is a country of love. Wherever the BJP goes, they spread hatred. Wherever they go and spread hatred, we spread love, he said. Mobile phones, shirts and shoes are made in China, but the Congress wants them to be made in India and made in Maharashtra, he said. How many people got the benefit of the Maharashtra governments loan waiver scheme or the Minimum Support Prices promised by the BJP, he asked the crowd. The Congress, after coming to power in three Hindi heartland states, waived farmers loans within two days, he said. New Delhi: Union minister Smriti Irani Friday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modis parakram (valour) for Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthamans return from Pakistan within two days of his capture. Sangh (RSS) today can be proud of the fact that a son of India is returning to India in 48 hours due to the parakram of a swayamsevak (RSS volunteer), she said in an apparent reference to Modi. Modi was an RSS pracharak before he joined the BJP, which is affiliated to the Hindutva organisation. She was speaking at the release of a book, RSS: Building India through Sewa, authored by BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal. Speaking on the occasion, RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabole said the nation was with Abhinandan, who was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday during an engagement between Indian and Pakistan fighter jets. Hosabole said people are feeling an upsurge of patriotism due to the prevailing atmosphere. He also spoke in detail about the nationwide work of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which, he asserted, believes in servicing the society in different fields without any bias and discrimination. Irani also highlighted work of the woman wing of the RSS. Mittal said his book presents facts about the RSS and its works while seeking to explode a lot of myths about it. The organisation has often faced vicious criticism even though it is in reality the biggest nation-building exercise. In Amethi, the Prime Minister will also unveil several development projects relating to power generation, education, health, and manufacturing sectors. (Photo: File) Amethi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to India a factory which will manufacture the latest series of AK assault rifles in Rahul Gandhi's constituency Amethi on Sunday. The Centre, on February 13, cleared a proposal to produce 7.47 lakh Kalashnikov assault rifles at a plant to be set up in Amethi commissioned by the Ordinance Factory Board and a Russian firm. At Kauhar in Amethi, the Prime Minister will dedicate the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Limited to the nation - a joint venture between Indias Ordinance factory and a Russian firm on Sunday. The firm, which is in line with the Make in India mission of the Centre, will bolster the armed forces in the country and will strengthen the national security. The factory will also generate employment opportunities in Amethi and nearby areas and give a tremendous boost to the UP Defence Corridor project. In Amethi, the Prime Minister will also unveil several development projects relating to power generation, education, health, and manufacturing sectors. These projects will be of direct benefit to Amethi region as well as Uttar Pradesh on the whole. Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to address a public gathering at Kauhar. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit to Amethi after assuming office in 2014. The restaurant has faced the wrath of BJP workers who have asked it to change its name. Located at Pottammal, the restaurant has been serving exclusive Pakistani cuisine to foodies for the last few years. Kozhikode: A popular restaurant here bearing the name Karachi Durbar has left a sour taste in the mouths of a section of people. All because of the Pulwama terror attack and its aftermath. The restaurant has faced the wrath of BJP workers who have asked it to change its name. Located at Pottammal, the restaurant has been serving exclusive Pakistani cuisine to foodies for the last few years. Restaurant owner Jamshi Udayas said that a group of BJP workers visited the restaurant soon after the Pulwama terror attack and asked him to change its name. As we ignored their warning, they again approached us two days ago after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan, said Udayas, a native of Kozhikode, who had also opened a second outlet at Thondayad Bypass. We covered the first few letters of the name Karachi to avoid any unpleasant incident at our restaurant. We started off in Kozhikode on a very good note, as the people here love the Pakistani food, especially the grilled varieties, he said. BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai told Deccan Chronicle said that this was wrong information. No BJP worker will get involved in such an act. After all why should the name of a restaurant bother us when our mission is for the country, he said. A similar incident was reported from Karachi Bakery outlet in Bengaluru. The restaurant manager received a threat call to blast the store if the word Karachi was not removed from the signboard. The caller identified himself as Vicky Shetty, an underworld don. Following this, the bakery covered the entire name on the board. The Pakistani officials reported the death of two of their soldiers and two civilians and injuries to two others including a woman in the firing. SRINAGAR: A 24-year-old woman and her two minor children were killed and two other civilians injured in Pakistani mortar shelling and use of heavy calibre weapons along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district on Saturday. The Army said that it retaliated to unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops strongly and effectively. The Pakistani officials reported the death of two of their soldiers and two civilians and injuries to two others including a woman in the firing. The Army and police officials in Jammu said that a woman resident Rubana Kounsar and her son Faizan (5) and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam were killed and her (Rubanas) husband Muhammad Yunis and another civilian Parvaiz Akhter injured in the Pakistani shelling in Salotri area of Poonch. Earlier, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in the firing by Pakistani forces in neighbouring Mankote area, they said. In-charge police post Jhullas, SI Rasheed Kasana that the woman and her two children were killed on the spot and two other persons including Yunis suffered injuries when a mortar shell fired hit their house at Salotri. Chennai; There will be a flood of Abhinandans on the birth register of hospitals and maternity clinics across the country in the days to come, such is the aura created by this man over a cup of tea. Even as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman crossed over the Wagah-Attari border and moved back to Indian soil, the entire nation heaved a huge sigh of relief. At a hospital in north Chennai, another family heaved a similar sigh after their daughter gave birth to a baby boy after some complications. "The timing was almost perfect. Abhinandan came back to India at 9:20, my boy was born at 9.21," says Parimalam Ramanathan. "We have decided to name him after Abhinandan. We expect him to serve the nation just like him after growing up," Parimalam said. Further north in Rajasthan's Alwar district, another family who wanted to remember Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardaman's bravery too named the baby 'Abhinandan.' Speaking to the press, the baby's mother Sapna Devi stated: "By naming my son Abhinandan, we will keep reminding him about the valour of the pilot and I would like him to become a brave soldier just like him." Social media users also took to celebrate the Wing Commander's return by tweeting pictures of newborns named Abhinandan. One user, Kesar Chauhan tweeted, "My brother gave birth to a baby boy today, we have decided to keep his name Abhinandan. Our Josh is still high. How's the name?" Along the same lines, a couple in Ajmer named their newborn 'Mirage' to pay tribute to Air force for a strike on terror camps in Balakot. SS Rathore, the father said, "We named our child Mirage Rathore to commemorate strike on Pakistan by Mirage jets. We hope inspired by his name, he'll join the security forces." My teacher asked me to write papers standing on the floor. Other students in the examination room were laughing at me then. But, I did not take note of it. I had just focused on writing my exam, the victim, Prerana Prajapati, Bhopal: A girl student in a private school here had been made to write her class nine examination standing on the floor as punishment for not being able to pay her school fee. Chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday ordered a probe into the incident after it was drawn to his attention by the association of parents of the students of the school. My teacher asked me to write papers standing on the floor. Other students in the examination room were laughing at me then. But, I did not take note of it. I had just focused on writing my exam, the victim, Prerana Prajapati, student of class nine of Saraswati Co-Ed Higher Secondary school here told the investigating officer. As per her father Hamir Singh Prajapati, a daily wage earner, his three wards, one daughter and two sons were studying in the school. He owed the school Rs 37,000 as dues towards fees. The school authorities denied his daughter to appear her exam if the dues were not cleared. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at Armys RR Hospital in Delhi on Saturday. Abhinandans wife (left) Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son Tavish and sister Aditi (right) are also seen. New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after being released by Pakistan on Friday, told his top commanders at the Indian Air Force that he was subjected to lot of mental harassment in Pakistan though he was not physically tortured. Early on Saturday morning, Wg Cdr Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force. Wg Cdr Varthaman, who is recovering at Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi, briefed Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa about his detention in Pakistan. He underwent a series of medical tests on Saturday as part of a cooling down process. Meanwhile, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman also met him. Cooling down usually means to prepare a soldier for reintegration into routine family and regimental life after he has underwent traumatic psychological stress in hostile environment or war. The tests are expected to continue till Sunday. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also met him at hospital and enquired about his health. He officer was in high spirit, said a defence ministry official. Pictures of the meeting released by the ministry, showed Wg Cdr Varthaman siting on a chair and looked relaxed. There does not seems to be any worrying back injuries after he ejected from MiG21 in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). His wife Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son and sister Aditi were also present during the meeting. Once, the health check up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. He had undergone a preliminary examination in Punjab upon his arrival in India. During de-briefing, Wg Cdr Varthaman will give the sequence of the eve-nts. He will give details on how he was hit, where he landed, how he got caught and what he told the Pakistanis. What documents they recovered from him and how he was treated, said sources. He is likely to give briefing on what is the mood there and other things he sens-ed while in their custody. South African comedian Trevor Noah, host of 'The Daily Show', tried to find humour in escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. New Delhi: Actor Swara Bhasker who is known to speak her mind has slammed comedian Trevor Noah over his insensitive comments on Indo-Pak tensions. South African comedian Trevor Noah, host of 'The Daily Show', during an episode, tried to find humour in the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. In the video, being shared widely on social media, Noah said that while he hopes India and Pakistan do not go to war, it would be the "most entertaining" war if they did. Swara Bhasker has now taken to Twitter to call out the comedian and tell him that neither is war 'funny', nor Hindi 'gibberish.' Calling his statement both 'ignorant & racist', the actor wrote, "@Trevornoah 1. War isnt funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Ur stereotype of indo- pak is ignorant & racist. 3. Ur set smacks of essentialism & a patronising generalisation & is v #FirstWorld 4. Human lives were lost & at stake. SO disappointing! @ComedyCentral." @Trevornoah 1. War isnt funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Ur stereotype of indo- pak is ignorant & racist. 3. Ur set smacks of essentialism & a patronising generalisation & is v #FirstWorld 4. Human lives were lost & at stake. SO disappointing! @ComedyCentral pic.twitter.com/c46TqB9btd Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019 Following recent developments, Bhasker, in a separate tweet, spoke about India and Pakistan walking back from brink of war and further wrote, "@Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri." @Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri pic.twitter.com/cjG3CBAVrd Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019 Comedian Mallika Dua too slammed Noah over his remarks and took to Twitter to write, Shockingly unintelligent & tone deaf What makes it sadder is that @Trevornoah cracked such a below average, shit joke. Something Russel Peters probably threw in the bin before his first open mic in life. If youre going to be a racist comic than at least get the comic bit right. Shockingly unintelligent & tone deaf What makes it sadder is that @Trevornoah cracked such a below average, shit joke. Something Russel Peters probably threw in the bin before his first open mic in life. If youre going to be a racist comic than at least get the comic bit right. https://t.co/r23s9eCiuK Mallika Dua (@MallikaDua) March 1, 2019 Trevor Noah, however, is not new to controversy. He recently introduced the best picture nominee 'Black Panther' at the Oscars and had some fun with the idea that people think the fictional setting of the country of Wakanda is real. During the segment, Noah joked that growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, he would see T'Challa flying over their village, and he would remind them of a great Xhosa phrase, abelungu abazi uba ndiyaxoka -- which according to Noah meant, In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart. However, those who know the language realised Noah actually said, "White people don't know I'm lying." Kalaburagi: Taking strong exception to PM Narendra Modi accusing opposition parties of indirectly helping Paskistan and harming India by their comments on the armed forces, senior Congress leader, M Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday warned him against playing politics on the dead bodies of soldiers. Mr Kharge said it was evident from the recent comments of both Mr Modi and state BJP chief B.S. Yeddyurappa that they were trying to gain political mileage from the airstrikes carried out by the armed forces on Pakistan in retaliation for the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in a terror attack . Mr Yeddyurappa went to the extent of saying the party would win 22 seats in Karnataka following the airstrikes. When Pakistan attacks, those in power should think of a counter-offensive instead of criticising the opposition. But Modi delivers a political speech when our soldiers are martyred by the enemy. His remarks are painful for everybody," he said. Pointing to the Pakistan-backed strikes in Kashmir, he said the Centre must take the issue seriously and find a way out in the interest of national security. When Pakistan continues to be in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union government should take steps to deal with it, he added. He said he was happy at the return of the IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan. Asked about sharing of seats between the coalition partners in the state for the coming Lok Sahba poll, he said the Congress Legislative Party leader, Siddaramaiah and Chief Minister Kumaraswamy would take a final call on the matter. Brigadier Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, general director of artificial intelligence at Dubai Police, being received by KP-BOT, first humanoid police robot in India, at the police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Cyberdome has decided to cooperate with Dubai police in cyber security. The two sides reached an agreement on sharing the information about those who are engaged in criminal activities on social media, said Police Cyberdome chief Manoj Abraham. There has been an increase in the number of cases happening through Facebook and WhatsApp. They will also cooperate in cyber intelligence, artificial intelligence and cyber crime software development, said Mr Abraham. The decision was reached after a meeting with a five-member team led by Brigadier Khalid Nasser Alrazooqi, general director of artificial intelligence at Dubai Police. Cyberdome is a technological research and development centre of Kerala police department, conceived as a cyber centre of excellence in cyber security having public-private partnership. The team from Dubai had reached here to study the working of the Cyberdome and starting such a centre in Dubai. The Cyberdome aims at preventing cyber crimes through developing a cyber threat resilient ecosystem in the state. It also ensures collective coordination among the government departments and agencies, academia, research groups, non-profitable organisations, individual experts from the community, ethical hackers, private organisations and other law enforcement agencies in the country to provide a safe and secure cyber world. Cyberdome collaborates with around 10 national and international organisations, more than 500 IT professionals working around the globe, nodal officers from all major banks, three universities, 750-odd students and 250 mobile technicians. The Kerala police has established a hi-tech centre for cyber security and innovations at the Technopark campus here. New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted on Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers conclave in Abu Dhabi. As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India, spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said. Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC concluded with a resolution that supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia, it claimed. The resolution also expressed deep concern over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. The FO said that in the context of current volatile situation in the region, the OIC member states adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, which expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistans right to self-defence; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim-dominated. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. Indias participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of honour at the invitation extended by the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting, the MEA spokesperson said. Industries Minister N. Amarnath Reddy receives Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his arrival at Tirupati airport. DCIndustries Minister N. Amarnath Reddy receives Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on his arrival at Tirupati airport. (DC) TIRUPATI: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maitree Wickreme-singhe were among the ministers and some of the top officials on Saturday who reached the temple city of Tirupati to offer worship to Lord Venkateswara. Mr Wickremesinghe and his wife along with other officials, earlier arrived at Chennai airport where they were received by the officials concerned. From there they were flown to Tirupati airport by a special helicopter where they reached by 4.35 pm. On behalf of the State government, industries minister N. Amarnath Reddy and other district officials accorded a warm welcome to the visiting Prime Minister couple when they landed at the airport here. After visiting the temple, they drove to the sacred hills, where they were received and accorded warm welcome by TTD EO Anil Kumar Singhal and Tirumala JEO K.S. Sreenivasa Raju at Sri Krishna Rest House in Tirumala in the evening. After an overnight stay here, the Prime Minister and his wife will offer worship on Sunday morning and fly back from Tirupati airport at 1.15 pm. Meanwhile, tight security has been put in place at the airport and Tirumala by the police department. Wing Commander MA Afraz, Kargil veteran , said the feelings of the soldiers on the front differed from person to person, but at the end of the day they were also human beings. As tensions escalate between India and Pakistan and social media rages with a war of its own, the question is: Is military action the only way? The solution is political, says former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral L. Ramdas, and involves continuous dialogues between the two governments. Senior journalist Hemanth Kumar writes that Pakistan had no choice but to release Wing Commander Abhinandan without further ado, for India's now-robust foreign policy would have brought disastrous consequences for its neighbour. As war-mongering engulfed social media following the recent airstrikes against Pakistan in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack, the wife of one of the CRPF soldiers killed in it, Mita, was trolled for speaking out against war. But the criticism she has invited seems to have hurt many veterans of the armed forces, who share her views. Former Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral L Ramdas believes there can be no military solution to the Kashmir dispute. The 1971 war veteran and Magsaysay award winner for peace said, "We have been fighting terrorism for the past several years. The only solution is political and not military. And a political solution must involve a genuine and continuous dialogue with the people of Kashmir, including dissidents and separatists, the government of Pakistan and the government of India." He continued, "We want peace, but if we are told to go to war we do it. This is precisely one of the reasons we ask for better weapons. The chest thumping has to stop. Most of the soldiers are farmers' children. Nobody wants to die." Responding to the war-mongering and online trolling of the Pulwama martyr's wife, Mrs Lalita Ramdas, wife of the admiral, said, "My husband has been called anti-national for talking peace. The narrative of hyper-nationalism should change. As the daughter of a former Naval chief and wife of a former Naval chief, I too stand for peace." Calling the trolling of a martyrs wife disappointing, Brigadier Kushal Thakur, who led the 18 Grenediers that lost 34 men in the Kargil war, said "As a soldier I want peace," and recalled that Lt Col R Vishwanathan, who was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously, died on his lap in battle. "He was my friend and it was a great loss for the battalion but at the end of the day, despite losses we had to continue because the country is above everything else," he added. Brig. Thakur was himself awarded the Yudh Sewa Medal. In all, India lost 527 soldiers, including 52 from his town. Wing Commander MA Afraz, another Kargil veteran , said the feelings of the soldiers on the front differed from person to person, but at the end of the day they were also human beings. "When your brother in arms gets killed one gets enraged and aggressive. But the purpose of war is to achieve peace," he added. Bengaluru: Will Mrs Sumalatha Ambareesh queer the pitch for candidates of JD (S)-Congress and the BJP by entering the fray as an independent in Mandya in forthcoming Lok Sabha polls? Evidently miffed with Congress leaders for not backing her candidature in Mandya, despite here meetings with top leaders including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Mrs Sumalatha reportedly turned down an invitation from BJP leaders to contest as a nominee of their party as she has made up her mind to stand as an independent and bank on the groundswell of support in favour of her late husband and former minister M H Ambareesh and make the most of the sympathy factor as well as the actor-politician passed away recently. The upshot: she has kicked off a five-day campaign to connect with voters across the parliamentary constituency and set to rope in a slew of megastars from the tinsel world to drum up support for her in the run up to Lok Sabha polls. Her late husband's fans, supporters and voters swayed by the throng of renowned actors could well dent the prospects of candidates of both JD (S)-Congress combine and the BJP. Sources in Congress said a couple of Congress leaders from Mandya, including Mr Sachidananda, member of KPCC, have already announced their decision to support Mrs Sumalatha and campaign for her even if she contests as an independent candidate. Besides, friends and well-wishers of the late actor are also rallying behind her and vowed to work for her victory. While JD(S) ministers-Mr C S Puttaraju and Mr D C Thammanna dismissed any kind of sympathy wave in favour of Mrs Sumalatha, diehard fans of the late actor, Ambareesh, said it would become evident during L:ok Sabha polls. Sources said Mrs Sumalatha's plea to contest as a Congress candidate were dashed with energy minister D K Shivakumar ruling out such a possibility on grounds that the seat was promised to alliance partner JD (S). This despite a section of Congress workers batting for her candidature in Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. Her decision to contest as an independent would certainly result in sleepless nights for leaders and candidates of JD (S)-Congress and the BJP in the run up to Lok Sabha elections. New Delhi: Life of every jawan is valuable to us, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day after Wing Commander Abhimanyu Varthaman was welcomed back, speaking at a conclave organised by a media house. Fear of valour of the Indian armed forces in our neighbouring country is good, he said. I am surprised that when all Indians are standing with Indian armed forces, some political parties are raising doubts on the capabilities of our forces, said PM Modi. Speaking at the India Today Conclave on a wide range of issues. Watch! https://t.co/9v2U0dQfH3 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 2, 2019 Why is it that those who ruled the nation for so many years have so many defence scams in their era? If a deal could not happen, defence modernisation could not happen. Who is every middle-man close to? The entire nation knows. And Lutyens Delhi, surely knows, said PM Modi. Those who ruled the nation for many years started scams from jeeps and went on with Bofors guns, VVIP choppers among others, said Modi. In our tenure, the corridors of power are also free from middlemen because they know, this Government will not tolerate any corruption, said Modi. Not one bullet proof jacket was bought from 2009-2014. We bought two lakh thirty thousand bullet proof jackets, said Modi. He also mentioned one rank one pension (OROP) a 40-year pending demand of military veterans fulfilled by his government, earlier in its tenure. Our 55 months and the 55 years of the others have given two contrasting approaches to governance. They had a token approach; we have a total approach.' India has been battling poverty but they gave a token slogan garibi hatao. What it achieve that was never specified, said Modi. It was known that India needed to work on financial inclusion. For that, they gave a token - bank nationalisation. They did this in the name of the poor but none of them bothered to check if the doors of banks are open for the poor or not, said Modi. If work has to be done, it has to be in totality, not with tokenism. That is why all our initiatives aim for 100%. Jan Dhan - financial inclusion and banking for all. Awas Yojana - Housing for All, Ayush Yojana - Healthcare for all, said Modi. No expert recommends farm loan waiver. Unlike the farm loan waiver, PM Kisan Samman is a long term measure to supplement farmers income. Our earlier measures like soil health card and crop insurance have succeeded in helping farmers. Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday hit out at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for playing the nuclear and Muslim cards against India and denounced Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfits, describing these as demon outfits. Attacking Khan, he said the Pakistan Prime Minister makes weird comments in his countrys Parliament. He (Khan) says we have atom bomb, etc. Do we not have those? We also have, Owaisi said addressing a gathering here. He also asked Khan to desist from playing the Muslim card to target India. Muslims of this country know better. Handle your Lashkar-e-Shaitaan (a reference to Lashkar-e-Taiba) and Jaish-e-Shaitaan (a reference to Jaish-e-Mohammad), the Lok Sabha member said, in his message to the Pakistan Prime Minister. The Muslim leader also denounced JeM chief Masood Azhar, saying he should not be called a Maulana but a devils dog and butcher of humanity. Exploding bombs, attacking people is not Islam, the MP from Hyderabad said, adding Indias enemies are our (Muslims) enemies too. Owaisi also slammed Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who said yesterday that Masood Azhar is in Pakistan but too ill. He (Qureshi) asked for evidence. What more evidence do they need? His organisation (Jaish-e-Mohammad) is banned, he said. Owaisi said Khan was also misrepresenting the role of Tipu Sultan and Bahadur Shah Zafar in his speeches. Tipu Sultan was never against Hindus but against his regime, whosoever led those, he said. He expressed happiness over the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was in Pakistans captivity after his MiG-21 fighter plane was shot down on February 27. The AIMIM chief also went on to add, We praised the government over air strikes (on JeM camp in Balakot) in response to the Pulwama terror attack. But, now the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) needs to answer, how the terrorists were able to procure explosives? How they got hold of American weapons? Why was there intelligence and diplomatic failures? Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad on the occasion of 61st revival day of AIMIM, he said, Sixty years ago, at this very place, Jinnah came. We didnt accept Jinnahs message. We said India is our country. Those who understood Islam, stayed in India while the razakars (volunteers), who adhered to the message of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, went to Pakistan, the AIMIM chief said. Owaisi also claimed that all sorts of allegations were levelled against him in the last four years. What was our mistake? Are we against Hindus? Are we against Dalits? he questioned. You may doubt because I am a Muslim but if BJP is saying mera booth, sabse mazboot' (my booth is the strongest), then I am saying mera sarhad majboot toh desh mazboot' (if my borders are protected, then my country is protected). So when you vote, keep in mind what is good for the nation and not the strength of someones booth, AIMIM chief told the gathering. He also vowed to 'finish BJP from Secundarabad and Congress from entire Telangana'. Tirunelveli: Two BJP workers were injured in a clash between MDMK and BJP cadres at a black flag protest staged by MDMK party workers, led by party leader Vaiko, at Kavalkinaru, bordering Kanyakumari district, in Tirunelveli. Vaiko was given permission to stage the protest at Aralwaimozhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visiting Kanyakumari on Monday. But, he was blocked at Kavalkinaru, where he staged the protest along with 200 of his party cadres. On information about the protest, a group of BJP cadres rushed to the place, but security personnel at the venue blocked them. Yet unexpectedly, four of the BJP men sneaked into the MDMK protest and pelted stones on Vaiko, who was addressing party cadre standing in a campaign van. However, none was injured. In response, MDMK men chased the BJP supporters and began retaliatory strike, in which two BJP men were reported to have sustained minor injuries. To bring the situation under control, police arrested Vaiko and his supporters, numbering around 240. At the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government has given a major thrust on affordable housing, brought changes in laws governing the real estate sector, while developing skills and improving technology for it. (Photo: ANI/ Twitter) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday declared 'April 2019-March 2020' as Construction-Technology year and stressed on use of advanced technology to meet the increasing demand of housing in the country caused by rapid urbanisation. He also sought the support of private sector in fulfilling the government's mission of providing brick house to every Indian by 2022. At the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference here, the Prime Minister said his government has given a major thrust on affordable housing, brought changes in laws governing the real estate sector, while developing skills and improving technology for it. The NDA government has built 1.3 crore houses as compared to "only 25 lakh" houses built during the previous dispensation, Modi said. "The numbers speak for themselves. This shows how serious we are about our commitment in fulfilling the poor and middle-class people's dream to have a house of their own." "We are also ensuring that the houses have water, power and Ujjwala connections (LPG) along with other facilities. The quality of houses and spaces have also improved in the last four-and-half years but more is to be done. For that, I seek the support of the private sector... Let us work together... and do something that helps the poor," he said. Modi said his government has worked with a holistic approach keeping in mind the challenges of building houses in varied geographical conditions of the country and several key decisions were taken keeping in mind the problems faced by builders and buyers. "India is among the few countries where demand for houses is increasing at a rapid pace. To fulfil this demand using advanced technology in the construction sector, I announce April 2019-March 2022 as Construction-Technology year," he said. Asking the stakeholder to give the housing sector a new pace by using the latest technologies available in the world, Modi said the government was keen on engaging with all stakeholders to understand their suggestions and work towards making the housing sector more vibrant. "A house is not only about four walls. It is a place where one gets the power to dream and aspirations are fulfilled. A home is much about dignity and security as it is about a shelter. It always shocks and saddens me that in a nation like ours, several people do not have their own home. We have been working to solve this in the form of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It is my dream that every Indian has a brick house by 2022," the Prime Minister said. Asserting that with the country's fast urbanisation, the need for more houses is being felt, he said to meet the demand and to transform the housing sector, his government has implemented programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, HRIDAY, AMRUT and Smart Cities. 27 people, 19 from Golaghat and eight from Jorhat, have so far been held for illicit liquor trade ran under protection from netas, officials. Guwahati: The Assam hooch tragedy, which has claimed 155 lives in Upper Assams Golaghat and Jorhat districts, has also left at least 32 children orphaned so far. With no one to look after them, the government agencies are trying to firm up plans to shift them to relatives homes or government-run shelters. Informing that child welfare committee (CWC) has identified 32 children who lost both their parents to the tragedy, child rights activists are of view that the number is likely to rise before the survey is completed. The police has arrested 27 people 19 from Golaghat and eight from Jorhat till now for involvement in illicit liquor trade. Police and excise department officials have been destroying large amounts of illicit liquor seized. If security agencies are to be believed there is a nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and illicit liquor traders that is patronising the hooch syndicate. Through its survey, which began on Monday, the CWC is trying to identify the total number of children who have been orphaned by the tragedy as well as arrange for their rehabilitation and protection. According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the CWC is responsible of looking into cases of children who are in need of basic care and protection. CWC chairperson of the Golaghat district Lukumoni Goswami said that the worst affected by the crisis is the Halmira tea estate in Golaghat, where over 100 people have lost their lives after drinking spurious liquor and at least 30 children have been orphaned. During the ongoing survey, we have identified 30 children, in the age group of two to 16, who have lost both their parents. So far, two children a girl and her brother have been rehabilitated to a childrens home in Bokakhat, she said, adding that in most cases relatives of the orphaned children have come forward to take the responsibility of children and are refusing to hand them over to the authorities. In some cases, local residents of the area have also come forward an sought custody of children who lost their parents. However, officials also suspect that many of these relatives and local residents may have been motivated by the state governments decision to pay a compensation of `2 lakh to the kin of the deceased. In many cases, locals and distant relatives have also shown up. But we are fearing that they may be refusing to hand over the children to the CWC just because the state government has announced the decision to offer an ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased, an official said. The CWC chairperson, however, said that they are taking some proactive measures to ensure that the children are looked after well. To avoid a situation where relatives or local residents may stake claim to the compensation amount, we have decided to open bank accounts in the names of the orphaned children. This will ensure that the money is not misused. Also, we are trying to come up with strategies to deal with cases where the orphans themselves dont want to go a childrens home, she added. A similar survey to identify the orphaned children has started in Jorhat district where CWC officials have been able to identify two orphans so far. The Assam hooch tragedy is not something new that the country has seen. Similar tragedies have struck parts of the country from time to time. In 2009, the Gujarat saw the death of around 136 people in the Ahmedabad, after they consumped hooch. In this tragedy, more than 6,000 people were booked for violating norms of prohibition in the state. The Sangrampur district of West Bengal in 2012 resulted in the death of 172 people. Most of the people who lost their lives were labourers, rickshaw pullers and hawkers. In 2015, 102 people died at a slum in Mumbai after consuming poisonous alcohol. In 2016, people in Gopalganj district of Bihar witnessed the death of 13 people in 2016. In February this year, at least 97 people lost their lives in the twin hooch tragedies in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. (Photo: File) Chennai: Asserting that there were no uncertainties regarding a tie-up with actor Vijayakanth-led DMDK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK on Saturday said there would be good news soon. The ruling AIADMK, which is in an alliance with the BJP and PMK, has been making all-out efforts to rope in the DMDK. "There are no such uncertainties. In one or two days we will be taking a good decision and will announce happy news (in this regard)," AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, who is also the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, told reporters after a meeting at the party headquarters here. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. BJP's Tamil Nadu in-charge and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had gone to DMDK chief Vijayakanth's house last month. Though the meeting between the two leaders was touted to be for an alliance to contest the upcoming general elections, Goyal denied it saying, "Everything in life is not about alliances and politics. There are some personal relationships also." DMK president MK Stalin had also visited Vijayakanth's residence last month sparking speculation about attempts to forge an alliance with the DMDK. When reporters asked Stalin whether he would welcome DMDK into the DMK-led alliance, he had said, "I appreciate and thank you for your good intentions", but did not elaborate. The DMK chief had said he did not visit Vijayakanth to discuss politics but to enquire about his health. Top actor Rajinikanth too visited Vijayakanth at his residence to enquire about his health condition. AIADMK allots one seat to Puthiya Thamilagam The ruling AIADMK on Saturday signed a poll pact with Puthiya Thamilagam by alloting one parliamentary constituency to it, party Coordinator O Panneerselvam said. Puthiya Thamilagam President K Krishnaswamy along with his supporters held discussions with the AIADMK seat sharing committee at its party office here. Emerging after signing an alliance with Krishnaswamy, Panneerselvam, also the Deputy Chief Minister, said a parliamentary constituency has been allotted to Puthiya Thamilagam for the coming Lok Sabha polls. "For the 21 seats that are lying vacant in Tamil Nadu, Puthiya Thamiliagam would extend its support for the AIADMK candidates", he told reporters. While 18 assembly seats are lying vacant following the disqualification of the dissident MLAs (who owe allegiance to rebel leader MLA TTV Dhinakaran) by the Speaker, three other seats fell vacant following the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2018, AIADMK MLA A K Bose (Thiruparankundram) and Hosur constitutency following disqualification of the MLA. In the 2016 assembly polls, Puthiya Thamilagam unsuccessfully contested four seats by forging an alliance with the DMK under the leadership of M Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan said she was happy that Puthiya Tamilagam has come into the AIADMK-BJP alliance. AIADMK concluded its poll deal with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) by allotting five and seven seats to them respectively. Soundararajan expressed hope that the DMDK, led by Vijayakanth, would also join the alliance soon. Addressing a rally, Gandhi said 'chowkidaars' (watchmen) complain to him about the slogan 'chowkidaar chor hain' (watchmen are thieves). (Photo: ANI/ Twitter) Ranchi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday in a rally at Ranchi, Jharkhand took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying all 'chowkidaars' are not thieves, but only 'desh ka chowkidaar' is a thief. In the public address here, Gandhi said that 'chowkidaars' (watchmen) come to him and complain about the slogan 'chowkidaar chor hain' (watchmen are thieves). They say that they are not thieves but honest people, and ask me to change the slogan, the Congress chief said. "I tell them not to get worried, the entire country knows that when we say 'chowkidaar chor hain' its meant that we are talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Gandhi said. He also said, "One chowkidaar has defamed all the chowkidaars." #WATCH: Congress President Rahul Gandhi says at a rally in Ranchi, Jharkhand, "Accha mujhe ek baat samjhao, in sab choro ke naam Modi kyun hain? Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Narendra Modi." pic.twitter.com/lVUj3R71Ph ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 The Congress chief also attacked the Prime Minister on the Rafale issue, alleging corruption in the fighter jet deal. The government has repeatedly denied the allegations of graft levelled by the opposition party. Rahul Gandhi also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over declining growth in the third quarter of this fiscal, saying the "chowkidaar" has once again failed in the numbers of the quarter. Gandhi's comment came a day after his party alleged that despite "fudging" of data by the Modi government, India's economy continues to slide. "False promises, false games. The chowkidaar has failed again in this quarter's numbers," the Congress chief said on Twitter, citing a news report that India's growth declined to 6.6 per cent in the quarter ending December 2018. On Friday, the Congress had tweeted that "as PM Modi's disastrous tenure comes to an end, despite all the fudging, the economy continues to slow." "Less than two months to go before India sees a new dawn," the party said on its official Twitter handle. Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has said the latest quarterly growth rates "puncture" the government's claims on the economy. "Quarterly growth rates of 2018-19 puncture the claims of government. Q1 was 8 per cent, Q2 was 7 per cent and Q3 was 6.6 per cent. This is the swan song of the BJP government. If Q4 growth rate declines further, as is expected, that will expose the government completely," Chidambaram tweeted. In signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general elections, GDP growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of the lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand, government data showed on Thursday. Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of snatching Rs 30,000 crore from the Indian Air Force, who defends the country. Speaking at the party's Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morabadi Ground here, Gandhi alleged there was "corruption" in the Rafale deal and Rs 30,000 crore had been wrongfully given to Anil Ambani. "Vaayu Sena desh ki raksha karti hain aur hamare PM use chori karti hain (The IAF defends our country but the PM has snatched money from the force)," he said. Gandhi alleged the Prime Minister had waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists but not for farmers, students and shopkeepers. The Congress president said if his party is voted to power, it will give minimum guaranteed income. The money will be transferred directly to the accounts of the poor, he said. 'India today has a Prime Minister with a strong will and determination, who can make impossible things possible,' said CM Yogi Adityanath. (Photo: ANI) Motihari: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. Prime Minister has conducted himself as a 'Lauh-Purush' (iron man) during the recent incidents with Pakistan. India today has a Prime Minister with a strong will and determination, who can make impossible things possible. Modi hai toh mumkin hai (if Modi is in power, anything can happen) he said at a rally here on Saturday. You would have heard when the Pulwama attack happened, PM said that martyrdom of our soldiers wont go in vain. And valiant IAF pilots destroyed terrorist camps inside Pakistan even before 13 days. Our Wing Commander went to Pakistan and returned on Friday. This shows the determination of a strong government. he added. Adityanath also slammed the earlier governments for their inaction against terrorism. There were Prime Ministers earlier too, there were governments earlier too but lack of determination to act against terrorists was clearly evident, he said. Earlier, Pakistani Army used to ingress into our territory. Now, our Army goes there and kills terrorists. Earlier, the Chinese Army used to ingress on our territory but in Doklam, you saw that our Army stopped the Chinese Army from undertaking construction activities in Bhutan, he added. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also praised the central government for its various pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes and claimed that its policies have made India one of the topmost economies in the world. Who would have thought that Dalits will get their own home? he asked. Adityanath urged the people of Bihar to gather in large numbers for the Prime Ministers rally in Patna tomorrow. Hyderabad: In a major setback to the Congress just 10 days ahead to the Legislative Council elections, party MLAs Athram Sakku and R. Kantha Rao announced that they had decided to join the TRS to support Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. In another significant development earlier on Saturday, Telugu Desam Sathupalli legislator Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, who is expected to join the TRS met Mr Rao at Pragathi Bhavan here. Mr Sakku, the Asifabad MLA, and Pinapaka legislator Rega Kantha Rao said that they had recently met the CM and brought the problems of the Schedule Tribes, particularly of the Adivasis, to his notice. Mr Rao had assured that he would resolve all issues by personally visiting the tribal areas. They said they were confident that only Mr Rao, who brought statehood for Telangana, could resolve their problems. The duo said they would resign their membership of the Telangana state Assembly if necessary and contest again on TRS ticket. They said they would consult legal experts and supporters. Their defection comes as a shock to the state Congress leadership when it was forming up the votes to win a seat in the Council elections from the MLA quota. If the three legislators defect, the Congress-TD strength would fall to 18, below what is required to win a seat. The TRS was short of six legislators when it proposed contesting for the fifth MLC seat on offer along with the MIM. With the three possible defections, the party now needs to raise the support of just three more legislators. The ruling party is confident that more legislators will join the party in the run-up to the MLC elections. Meanwhile, a press communique from the Chief Ministers Office said that Mr Veeraiah met Mr Chandrasekhar Rao with a request to release water for standing crops in Sathupalli, Wyra, Khammam, Paleru and Madhira constituencies as the crops were stressed without water and needed urgent intervention. While considering his request the Chief Minister ordered Chief Secretary S.K. to take steps for the immediate release of water from the Nagarjunasagar left canal to ensure irrigation to two lakh acres in Khammam district. Congress leaders had already cried foul that the TRS was poaching its legislators to secure a victory for the MIM at any cost. Vijayawada: Telugu Desam leaders including minister N. Lokesh have alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had conspired to suppress the Telugu Desam by carrying out attacks on IT companies in Hyderabad that were providing services to the party. He alleged that the three leaders were trying to steal the data of the Telugu Desam to weaken their party in the elections. Mr Lokesh took to Twitter to voice his protest against police raids in Hyderabad on an IT firm, IT Grids, that was providing support to the Telugu Desam. He said that the three Modis his reference to Mr Modi, Mr Rao and Mr Reddy were unable to face AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directly. They had tried to stop work on the capital Amaravati and APs development but had failed. They have now begun raids on IT firms that are offering services to TD, he said. He alleged that Telangana police had tried to steal the data of TD membership and seva mitras during the raids and had kidnapped employees to weaken the TDs online services. Mr Lokesh said Mr Modi and Mr Rao were trying to make Mr Reddy the Chief Minister but the people would give them a befitting reaction. Hyderabad: The Jamat-e-Islami Hind has condemned the ban on Jamat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir. Jamat TS and Odisha unit president Hamid Mohammed Khan said the Centre was hampering peace efforts by such illogical actions. Clarifying that there was no organisational link or even communications between the Jamat and Jamat-e-Islami J&K, Mr Khan said the organisation was excluded from the Hurriyat Conference was not involved with the separatist forces. The Jamat-e-Islami J&K is working there as a religious and social welfare organisation involved in the betterment of society. Imposing a ban on such an organsation means the government is closing options to reach the general public, Mr Khan said. He said organisations like the Jamat-e-Islami may pave the way for negotiation with the public. Our Union government is taking unnecessary action against such organisations which have deep roots among the public of the state, Mr Khan said. He said the Jamat e Islami had no link with the organisations of the same name floated in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The firm has been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, data theft under the IT Act. (Representational Image) Hyderabad: The Madhapur police on Saturday filed a criminal case and conducted raids against city-based IT company IT Grids Private Limited for allegedly stealing official data of beneficiaries from the AP government database and using it for manipulation of polls in that state. The complaint was filed by data analyst T. Lokeswara Reddy here. It was alleged that IT Grids had developed an application called Sevamitra through which it had stolen the data. Cyberabad police seized computers and devices from the companys premises following the raids. The firm has been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, data theft under the IT Act. Mr Lokeswara Reddy said in the complaint that while he was studying electioneering in AP, he found that the Telugu Desam cadres were using mobile phone and tab-based software applications, especially the Sevamitra app, for advancing the partys electoral prospects. He said the TD website, www.telugudesam.org, and its Facebook page had details of Seva-mitra app which was meant for the TDs registered members to gather information about voters and to work for the partys victory. From what I learnt through Sevamitra app, the government of AP has utilised the services of Bluefrog Mobile Technologies in Visakhapatnam to implement government schemes and functions of AP. During the course of discharge of work by Bluefrog, it was given access to enormous amount of official data in respect of the beneficiaries of various government schemes and also private data of individuals, Mr Lokeshwar Reddy said. He said the details of beneficiaries which include their demographic, geographic and other identification features such as name, age, gender, address, Aadhaar number were shared with the app. Also shared was data from, AP Smart Pulse Survey, State Resident Data Hub, Praja Sadhikara Vedika (managed by Karvy Data Management Services Ltd., Hyd) and IVRS surveys conducted by the AP government, he alleged. He alleged that the IT Grids had acquired the data in violation of the Supreme Court guidelines. The TD is making use of this data to analyse who are for and who are against the government and based on this analysis they have deleted hundreds and thousands of names of voters, Mr Reddy said. CHENNAI; Congress president Rahul Gandhi will launch his partys poll campaign for Tamil Nadu on March 13. This will be his first campaign for the Lok Sabha election in the State. Chairing the partys advisory committee meeting here on Saturday, TNCC chief KS Alagiri said the venue for the rally would be announced on Sunday. This will be the first political rally in the State for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, he added. Former TNCC president Su Thirunavukkarasar, who now heads the partys poll campaign committee, said that he had discussed about the strategy with the party seniors. How to expedite the poll campaign and take it to the peoples hearts besides how to reply to the charges of the BJP and other opposition parties were discussed at the meeting elaborately, he said. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Thirunavukkarasar said separate election campaign committees would be formed for each of the 21 Assembly constituencies which would face the by-election. After holding the meeting at his party State headquarters - Sathyamurthy Bhavan, he said the Congress would also disseminate information about its achievements. Accordingly, committees would be formed at all the districts, he added. Ahead of this rally, on March 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address a massive rally along with the alliance leaders in Chennai. While the Congress has announced its first poll rally, it would allow the DMK to decide on a joint campaign, say sources. Meanwhile, the opposition DMKs attempts to rope in Vijayakanths DMDK into its camp may not fructify if the words of the BJP is to be believed. The AIADMKs alliance with the DMDK will be finalised on Monday, Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJP state president has claimed. She asserted that the DMDK was taking its own time just as any party would while deciding on the alliance. Bengaluru: Soon after 'Mahashivaratri' next week, Sumalatha Ambareesh could well take her biggest step in politics choose a party to represent in Mandya Lok Sabha polls. The still stunning actress has three options leverage the support of party leaders and fans of her late husband Ambareesh to secure a ticket from the Congress, accept the invitation of top BJP leaders including former external affairs minister S.M. Krishna to enter the fray as the party candidate, or contest as an independent. Her decision, however, will depend on next week's meeting of top Congress leaders on whether to field a candidate in the hotbed of Vokkaliga politics or leave the seat to alliance partner JD(S). Former Congress minister M S Atmananda said indications are that a call would be taken on the candidate soon after 'Mahashivaratri.". Though a rookie in politics, Mrs Sumalatha has hit the ground running, and met important leaders during her visit to all eight Assembly constituencies in Mandya district. She demonstrated her ability to communicate in flawless Kannada, and her speech laced with emotions, when she addressed fans of her late husband outside her residence for the first time last month, impressed even bystanders with her speech. Congress workers in Mandya voted for BJP candidate Dr Siddaramaiah as they were upset with the decision of the top brass to allow JD(S) to contest the Lok Sabha bypoll last year. During upcoming Lok Sabha polls too, a similar situation could help Sumalatha if Congress hands Mandya to JD (S). If she does go with the BJP whose vote share has grown, Mr. Krishna's supporters could also throw in their lot with her. The sceptics were proved right when the much anticipated second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Koreas Chairman Kim Jong-un ended without any agreement in Hanoi on February 28. Their first meeting on June 12 last year in Singapore had resulted in a formal agreement, howsoever incomplete on details, in which Chairman Kim had agreed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in return for security guarantees from the United States. The absence of any definite outcome from the second summit is disappointing both to the principal parties and the international community. On the first day of the summit on February 27, the North Korean leader had said: There is a look of distrust and misunderstanding which has hindered our journey to the destination. But we have been able to overcome all such obstacles and we meet again in Hanoi. Alas, his hopes were belied. In preparation for the Hanoi summit, there had been several rounds of negotiations between US officials led by secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the North Korean chief negotiator Kim Yong-chol, but clearly the chasm between the two sides was too deep to be crossed. Why the sherpas allowed the two principals to meet without a clear understanding of the outcome is surprising. Going into the Hanoi summit, the primary objective of the United States was to set North Korea firmly on an irreversible course towards denuclearisation, starting with a list of all the Norths nuclear facilities and an agreed timeline for their dismantling or disabling. The foremost objective of North Korea was to get the crippling sanctions lifted while conceding as little as possible immediately on the journey towards denuclearisation. The third common but minor objective was to move towards a closure of the 1950-53 Korean War, which had ended in an armistice. The Hanoi summit ended rather abruptly, and a luncheon scheduled between the two leaders was reportedly cancelled. It is to his credit that the mercurial President Trump concealed his frustration and held a long press conference in which he explained that while they had a very good meeting, Chairman Kims vision was different than what the US was looking for. Chairman Kim wanted all the sanctions to be lifted immediately in return for dismantling only their most prominent nuclear facility at Yongbyon. President Trump said that we wanted a lot to be given up. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo elaborated that North Korean missiles, nuclear warheads and weapon systems would have been left out of any immediate agreement, and the timing as well as the sequencing issues of various steps towards denuclearisation also could not be agreed. Mr Trump clarified that it had taken the US a long time and partnership with many countries to build the leverage of UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and that leverage cannot be built again easily once it is given up. Replying to a query, President Trump said that he expected there would be no future nuclear or missile tests by the North and revealed that on this issue, Chairman Kim had said: We will see. President Trump evaded the question on any additional sanctions against North Korea, saying that they were very tough. The policy of maximum pressure is therefore being kept in abeyance by the US for the present. President Trump continues to assess Chairman Kim as a constructive interlocutor and is ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. When asked about the torture of young US citizen Otto Warmbier in 2017 in North Korean prisons, President Trump said that he would take Chairman Kim on his word when he said that he did not know about it. As is his wont, President Trump blamed his predecessors, particularly President Barack Obama, for doing nothing and allowing North Korea to develop its nuclear and missile capability. He said that in the process of dealing with North Korea, China has been a big help, more than what people know. He further said that at Hanoi he and Chairman Kim talked a lot about China. He also acknowledged Russias help in implementing the sanctions. When questioned on any possible resumption of military exercises with South Korea, President Trump deflected the issue complaining that the exercises cost hundreds of millions of dollars and South Korea should do more to reimburse the costs. He was a trifle disparaging when he remarked: Exercises are fun. They play war games. It appears that during the Kim-Trump talks, the focus was on denuclearisation and the lifting of sanctions, and the possibility of a formal end of the Korean War did not receive much attention. Most Korea watchers were always pessimistic about any breakthrough at Hanoi. North Korea had made its stance abundantly clear in several statements that it expected corresponding measures from the United States in a step-by-step path towards denuclearisation, and that the US should first ease sanctions in return for the freeze on nuclear and missile tests which North Korea has already declared. President Trump left Hanoi disappointed, but on a friendly note. The talks at the official level will continue to bridge the gaps in perception and outcomes. No understanding on a third summit was reached at Hanoi between the two leaders. After a inconclusive summit at Hanoi, the US foreign policy establishment will be relieved that the President has not yielded too much on promises of future action by North Korea. Japan would also heave a sigh of relief that no deal had been struck ignoring its concerns on short-range North Korean missiles. South Korea has termed the outcome regrettable, and would have to navigate deftly keeping the US on board in its own bilateral journey towards reconciliation with North Korea. And the world at large, including India, would find solace in that there is no immediate likelihood of a return to the belligerence and rhetoric about an imminent war on the Korean peninsula. At least in the medium term, till President Trumps patience runs out! The writer is a retired diplomat who has served as Indias ambassador to South Korea Nine security force personnel were injured and five of them succumbed to injuries. The security forces used floodlights to ensure that the militants trapped in the area did not escape taking the advantage of darkness, the locals said.The security forces used floodlights to ensure that the militants trapped in the area did not escape taking the advantage of darkness, the locals said. (Representational image) Srinagar: Five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed on Friday in an encounter with militants while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in J&K, where areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day, injuring a civilian on Friday. The encounter broke out on Friday morning after the militants opened fire on the security forces search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara. Nine security force personnel were injured and five of them succumbed to injuries. The slain personnel included a CRPF inspector and a jawan, two Army men and a policeman. A youth, Waseem Ahmad Mir, was killed in clashes with the security forces, officials said. It was not clear if any militants were killed. Sources said that the gunfight broke out during a cordon-and-search operation launched jointly by the Armys 22 Rashtriya Rifles, 92 Battalion of the CRPF, and J&K polices counter-insurgency special operations group in Baba Gund village. The security forces used floodlights to ensure that the militants trapped in the area did not escape taking the advantage of darkness, the locals said. The encounter started at around 1.00 am soon after the joint team of security forces intensified the searches and fired some warning shots towards the suspected spot, the officials said. A report, not confirmed by the authorities so far, said that the second militant was also gunned down later. The hour we met wont come again Why would we want it to? Many hours have passed since then And theres so much left to do From Rundivous Graffiti by Bachchoo I never thought Id have the opportunity or the audacity to say Some of my best friends are Jews! As every fool knows, its the feeble construction attributed to anti-Semites in denial of their anti-Semitism. With the substitution of the word Jews for other classifications, it is a sentence now attributed to racists or homophobes who justify their prejudices. The opportunity to use the shibboleth (a Hebrew word: Judges xii.4-6) arises as, after I wrote, in this very column, about having observed orthodox Jewish women in certain parts of London wearing wigs over their heads of hair, I received a complaint calling me anti-Semitic. The correspondent who wrote to me through my TV agent even demanded an apology. Gentle reader, before I paraphrase what I wrote and what the objection to it was, I must tell you why I am not treating this triviality as dewdrops off this Parsi vultures back. There is a crisis in the Labour Party of Britain with long-standing members of Parliament resigning, Jewish organisations attacking the Labour leadership for complicity or inaction when faced with instances of anti-Semitic poison in the party with the media and the Tories indulging in justified bouts of schadenfreude. Another reason for stooping to address the complaint is that in our age of social media bullshit (some of my best friends are bulls) this kind of victim-seeking stuff can spread and get distorted. It has happened several times before. This column has on occasion excited objections, accusations, even death threats from, for instance, Islamist fundamentalists (not Muslims, mind you: Some of my best friends are Muslims!). In one of these instances I was accused of libelling an eminent Parsi gentleman. It wasnt my intention (some of my best friends are Parsis!). However, being well brought up, I took it upon myself to apologise in a traditional Parsi way and wrote a public apology. I feel compelled to repeat my repentance in this instance to the complainant who accuses me quite wrongly of anti-Semitism and I implore her to accept my heartfelt verse: Sorry, sorry Marghi Mori Thahra peyt ma Billari Dori I am confident that the complainant, after reading these lines and having my apology translated by her Parsi friends (I am sure some her best friends are Parsi) will issue a grovelling apology for her demand for an apology. (Some of best friends are apologists?) The offending observation in my previous column was made in the context of religious or supposed-religious injunctions to women to cover up their hair. The column was provoked by some idiot declaring a World Hijab Day, importuning all women to adopt the head-cover. She was free in democratic societies to so do. The opposite is not the case. There would be vociferous objections, riots and blood if someone declared a discard-your-hijab-day. And no doubt accusations of Islamophobia. (Please note, I am not calling for any such thing! fd. Hah! Coward, scaredy cat! Ed.) I said in that column that my Muslim friends and even an Islamic scholar or two aver that Islam doesnt demand hijabs. Neither does it stop women from driving cars or insist they have their sexual organs mutilated in infancy. The hijab remark attracted no accusations of Islamophobia from anyone. I went on in a paragraph or two (Some of my best friends are paragraphs!) to observe that I see Londons Jewish Orthodox women wearing wigs over their natural heads of hair. My observation was in no sense derogatory but an expression of wonder that hiding ones own hair, saving eyebrows and eyelashes, in particular places or on particular occasions, seemed to be a requirement of several societies. Parsis cover their heads in the fire temple and at other ceremonials. My complainant set out the history of the Jewish Orthodox practice of wearing wigs. She said that Jewish women in past centuries in eastern Europe lived in fear of rape and so shaved their heads bald and wore wigs. When the rapists tried it on, they took the wigs off to confront the rapists with a bald head which would put them off. This is a useful piece of folklore but it does make one wonder whether a determined rapist would, on seeing a bald head be demotivated and run away, sparing the hairless victim. I have no insight into the psychology of rapists though I have read feminist essays in which rape is characterised as an act of criminal power lust rather than one arising from normal sexual urges. (I have to say none of my friends are rapists!). The context in which the accusation against my innocent observation is, in the words of the complainant, the widespread debate about anti-Semitism in Britain from which city I wrote my column. This week a Labour MP from Derby has been suspended from the Labour Party for saying that the reaction to anti-Semitism was too strong. He volunteered to show a documentary which argued that the disciplining of Labour members for the offence was a witch hunt. He was discouraged from supporting this view with his film and is now justifiably suspended for defying that precaution. The leadership of Labour insists that they will do everything they can to eliminate any whiff of anti-Semitism from their party. Brave words. My suggestion to them then is that they convene full meetings of party members and the general public in every constituency in Britain, starting with those 12 which have voted in a Labour MP who happens to be a Muslim. Some of these have decisive numbers of voters who are immigrants from Bangladesh or Mirpur. The platform should then vigorously denounce all anti-Semitic thoughts and doctrines. Way forward, comrades! Watch those membership figures! (er some of my best friends are of Bangladeshi and Mirpuri origin!) It seems that the Centres threat to seek action against five police officers who were present at a demonstration led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata recently was mere bluster easier to say than to implement. (Photo: PTI) Two senior IAS officers in the government of India and one from UT cadre are yet to get their next posting even though their successors have been appointed. According to sources, Sanjay Kumar Singh, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, was replaced by Ansuli Arya, a 1989-batch IAS officer at the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF), but he is yet to be posted for his next job. Similarly, Jaishree Mukherjee, a 1986-batch officer of the Maharashtra cadre, was shifted in December from the I&B ministry following the appointment of Atul Kumar Tiwary by downgrading the post from assistant secretary to joint secretary. She too is awaiting her new posting. Further, say sources, last December, former Goa chief secretary Dharmendra Sharma had proceeded on leave following the appointment of Parimal Rai as his successor. The ministry of home affairs being the cadre controlling authority of UT cadre officers and the lieutenant governor being key to such placements, his further posting too depends on the NaMo administration. It is rare to put such senior officers under an inordinately long wait. What is worrying officers is not only their careers, but also where to draw their salary once relieved from the previous department/ministry and while waiting to join another. Many contenders for railway post The post of executive director, establishment (sports), in the railway board is highly sought after. Its importance is underlined by the fact that the Indian Railways is one of the biggest employers of acclaimed sportspersons in the country. Not surprisingly, therefore, over a dozen aspirants are jostling for appointment to the post, which fell vacant when Rekha Yadav (IRPS:1995) was appointed additional commissioner, CPFO, under the ministry of labour and employment. According to sources, claims and competition have escalated for a set of reasons. Reportedly, as half-a-dozen officers are in the race for the job, namely; Ashwini Kr. Yadav (IRSE); Ravinder Bhakhar (CPRO, CR); Ajeet Singh Yadav (IRSS); M.S. Sunil (RPF); Prema K. Lochan (IRSEE); Vinamara Mishara (DGM, NR); Vijender Singh (secretary to GM, NR); Satya Narayan Meena (IRSSE). Wholl emerge the victor in this intense competition remains to be seen. Empty threat? It seems that the Centres threat to seek action against five police officers who were present at a demonstration led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata recently was mere bluster easier to say than to implement. According to some reports, the ministry of home affairs had sought punitive action against the five officers and was considering stripping them of their meritorious awards and banning them from Central deputation. The officers named included Kolkata additional commissioner of police Supratim Sarkar, and Vineet Goyal, who heads the chief ministers security team. However, sources say that such an order cannot be issued without conducting an inquiry. Also, any disciplinary action against an officer has to be initiated by the state government, which then relays the relevant papers to the ministry. Since, in this instance, it was the chief minister herself who had organised the protest, it can be safely assumed that the state government will not initiate any such a move against the senior cops. In effect, the Centre can rail and flail about it, but it cannot take action against the cops. Europe has invested billions in its Galileo global positioning satellites, partly to ensure it is not dependent on US systems, but it still relies on the US military to track the hardest-to-spot threats in space. Europe needs its own technology to guard against a growing threat to its satellites from space junk ranging from dead satellites to tiny particles, according to a top adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). With the world increasingly reliant on orbital infrastructure to maintain communications links and steer new generations of autonomous vehicles, scientists warn that the danger posed by debris in orbit has grown exponentially. We are getting around 100 alarms a day about approaching particles, said Thomas Reiter, an adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). Every two weeks, a satellite has to dodge something. Europe has invested billions in its Galileo global positioning satellites, partly to ensure it is not dependent on US systems, but it still relies on the US military to track the hardest-to-spot threats in space. Europe needs to be able to analyze what is happening in orbit itself, said Reiter, a German former astronaut, adding that billions must be spent on a radar system to achieve this. We are not (currently) in a position to get a picture of what is happening up there. For now, the threat from thousands of dead satellites that continue to circle the planet is manageable, since they are relatively large and easy to track. Far more dangerous are an estimated 900,000 particles of over a centimeter in size, and the 130 million that are over a millimeter, the ESA says. Almost impossible to spot, a particle moving at high speeds can cause severe damage to satellites costing hundreds of millions of euros or even destroy them, disrupting communications for millions of users. Reiter said more needs to be done to clear space debris as well. This includes guiding defunct satellites into orbits that will see them fall into Earths atmosphere and burn up - a project that would cost some 200 million euros over three years, he said. Such efforts would require Europe works with international partners. Of the 114 satellite launches in 2018, only eight were European, compared to 39 Chinese, 34 US, and 20 Russian, according to the ESA. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The IAF Wing Commander returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome. (File Photo) United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthman from captivity in Pakistan and called on the two countries to sustain the "positive momentum" and engage in further constructive dialogue. The IAF Wing Commander returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. "UN chief Guterres welcomes the news of the release of the Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PTI when asked about the Secretary-General's response to the development. "The Secretary-General calls on both parties to sustain this positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue. His good offices remain available should both sides agree," Dujarric said. Varthaman's release was being watched with bated breath across India as the IAF pilot was accorded a hero's welcome as he crossed onto India through the Wagah Border. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a "peace gesture". However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food. (Photo:AP) Washington: The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden on Thursday, the day the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him. (Photo: AP) United Nations: The UN Security Council has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, describing the terrorist, thought to be based near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as the most probable successor of the group's current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden on Thursday, the day the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him. Saudi Arabia also announced on Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. A Security Council press release said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an official member of Al Qaida. Hamza bin Laden has called for followers of Al-Qaida to commit terror attacks. Is seen as the most probable successor of al-Zawahiri, the powerful 15-member Council said. The sanctions list subjected him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo. An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by designated individuals. Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types, spare parts, and technical advice, assistance, or training related to military activities, to designated individuals, entities. Pakistan Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control (LoC). (Representational Image) Islamabad: Pakistan Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control (LoC). The soldiers were killed in the Nakiyal Sector of the LoC, Pakistan Army said. "Reports of casualties of Indian troops and damage to post due to effective response by Pakistan Army," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, said in a statement. Separately, the army claimed that Indian firing was continuing across the LoC, which killed as two civilians and injured two others, including a woman. The Taliban control or contest more than half of Helmand's districts and regularly deliver sharp blows to Afghan forces. (Photo:AP) Kabul: At least 23 Afghan security forces were killed in a Taliban attack on a joint US-Afghan base in southwestern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, as fighting continued during a pause in peace talks between the insurgents and American negotiators. Details of the heavy toll from the hours-long assault on Shorab military base -- one of the largest military installations in the country -- followed earlier claims by local and US officials that Afghan forces had successfully repelled the attack, killing four militants. The pre-dawn assault, claimed by the Taliban, saw militants enter the base in Helmand province and engage in firefights with Afghan forces. Hours later, Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, a spokesman with the Ministry of Defence, said: "The operation is over -- 23 security forces killed, 15 injured and 20 insurgents killed." Omar Zwak -- a spokesman for the provincial governor -- also confirmed the toll, saying the Taliban deployed at least seven suicide bombers who were killed during the fighting. A US official told AFP that no Americans were killed or wounded in the attack. The Taliban control or contest more than half of Helmand's districts and regularly deliver sharp blows to Afghan forces, who have been struggling to hold off insurgents across the war-torn country since taking the lead from NATO forces in late 2014. The assault on Shorab comes as US and Taliban negotiators in Doha have temporarily halted peace talks, which are set to restart over the weekend. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad earlier this week called the latest meetings in the months-long diplomatic push "productive", saying the two sides "will take the next two days for internal deliberations, with plans to regroup on Saturday". Negotiations are believed to be progressing after high-level talks last month ended with a "draft framework" on the potential withdrawal of US troops and a pact to prevent Afghanistan from harbouring terrorists.A New York Times report published Thursday hinted that US forces could leave Afghanistan within five years under a Pentagon plan offered as part of a potential deal with the Taliban to end the nearly 18-year war. The US has also pushed for a ceasefire and the opening of a dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government -- demands that have been repeatedly rejected by the insurgents. The Taliban were quick to dismiss the existence of the plan, saying they were unaware of any such proposals made during the negotiations. "No talks have been held in the meetings regarding an interim government and elections, nor has the US side proposed anything regarding staying in Afghanistan for four or five more years," the insurgents said in a statement Friday. The Afghan government and civil society groups have voiced repeated concerns that an abrupt US withdrawal could spark an even bloodier civil war or a return to hardline Taliban rule. Heavy snowfall across large swathes of Afghanistan has led to a sharp reduction in violence this winter, but warmer weather in the country's south will likely spark an increase in bloodshed with the arrival of the spring fighting season. Analysts have warned that the Taliban are likely to ramp up attacks in the coming months as they seek to maintain momentum on the battlefield and leverage at the negotiating table. Afghan forces, however, claim to be taking the fight to the insurgents, with the Ministry of Defence saying more than 100 "terrorists" have been killed in recent days in various operations across the country. The US has also intensified its air campaign against the Taliban and the Islamic State group, dropping twice as many munitions on insurgent positions in 2018 compared to the previous year. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over politics. (Photo: File) Islamabad: Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Pakistan was under intense pressure from the US, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and release the Indian pilot. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. Qureshi dismissed the notion that the captured IAF pilot was released owing to pressure or as a compulsion. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Geo News quoted him as saying. India has repeatedly told Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and recently handed over a dossier containing "specific details" of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan. "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion," Qureshi told BBC Urdu. He said that Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over politics. "Pakistan does not want to go in the past, but if it goes in the past, then we will have to see how the attack on Parliament, Pathankot and Uri took place and that is a long story," the foreign minister said. Qureshi reiterated that if evidence is shared against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), then action will be taken. On Friday he admitted that JeM's chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a tense situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invading Pakistan Air Force jets and shot down an F-16, according to Indian officials. China has been blocking India's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on the ground that New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). (Representational Image) Beijing: China on Friday said it has never recognised India and Pakistan as nuclear powers and ruled out extending such a status to North Korea following the unsuccessful second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam. "China has never recognised India and Pakistan as nuclear countries. Our position on this has never changed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing in Beijing. He was replying to a question whether China would recognise North Korea as a nuclear state like India and Pakistan as talks between Trump and Kim at the second summit in Hanoi broke down over Pyongyang's refusal to give up two nuclear processing plants. China has been blocking India's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on the ground that New Delhi has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). After India applied for NSG membership, Pakistan too applied for the same following that China has called for a two-step approach which states that NSG members first need to arrive at a set of principles for the admission of non-NPT states into the NSG and then move forward discussions of specific cases. Varthaman, who underwent a medical check-up on Saturday at a military hospital here will stay at an Indian Air Force Officers Mess. New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday visited Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at a hospital in Delhi, where the Indian Air Force pilot had been taken last night for a medical check-up after his arrival in India from Pakistan. Varthaman underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. He met Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Saturday morning and briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Varthaman, who underwent a medical check-up on Saturday at a military hospital and will stay at an Indian Air Force Officers Mess. He was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 pm on Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of the "cooling down" process and it is expected to continue till Sunday. Once, the health check up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. A video circulated on social media that he was badly beaten up by a group of people after being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi Friday night. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling it a peace gesture. India used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources in New Delhi said. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan had retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Islamabad: Pakistan opened its airspace in phases with commercial flight operations resuming on Saturday at Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta airports, amid escalating tensions with India. Quoting sources, Geo News reported that Lahore and Multan airports will remain closed till March 4. Flights that were bound for Lahore are being diverted to Islamabad and Peshawar. Officials at Peshawar airport said that normal flight operations have resumed. They added that international flights to and from Dubai, Riyadh and Doha will arrive and depart on their stipulated times. On Friday, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson said that the airspace was "partially re-opened", adding that it would be fully restored for commercial flight operations from March 4. The spokesperson added that flights will take off and land at Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta airports beginning from Friday, and the remaining airspace will re-opened "gradually." Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan after around 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the responsibility of which has been claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Following this, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out anti-terror strikes at a large JeM terror training camp in Balakot on Tuesday, in which a large number of terrorists were killed, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. On Wednesday, India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which an IAF pilot named Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was missing in action. Wing Commander Abhinandan, while flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters, which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Wearing a blue blazer and grey khaki trousers, he crossed over into India from Attari-Wagah border at 9:20 pm on Friday. He was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to the Border Security Force (BSF) following paperwork. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue consultations for promotion. (File Photo) Islamabad: Russia on Friday offered to mediate and provide venue to Pakistan and India for the talks to resolve their current differences, Pakistan Foreign Office said. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi over telephone and discussed the situation in the region following escalation of tensions between the two neighbours, it said. "Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov reiterated his country's offer of mediation and provision of venue for the talks between India and Pakistan," the FO added. Qureshi appreciated Russia's balanced and constructive role in de-escalation of tensions in the region. He welcomed the Russian offer and said that he had acknowledged Moscow's constructive role in Parliament while addressing the joint session earlier in the day, which was well received. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue consultations for promotion of peace and stability in the region, according to FO. New Delhi/London: Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism that threatens both the countries, British MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said Saturday. Speaking at a India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Johnson said India and the United Kingdom would succeed in defeating terrorism, a common threat, for their values were superior to those of terrorists and their sponsors. "I'm sure I speak for millions of people in my own country when I say we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage at the killings in Pulwama, and in our determination to work with you to defeat the terrorist foe that threatens us both," Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London, said. "And we will succeed, and we will defeat them because in the end, it is our values that are superior to those of the terrorists, and those who sponsor them," he said. Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the security forces. On the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan's custody, Johnson said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation in dealing with terrorism. "Imran Khan behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation and I think all of us who worry about what is going on there has a real real duty to support the civilian side of the government in Pakistan against the deep state elements," he said. "We have a very important relationship with Pakistan but there is no doubt that the deep state in the country has been responsible chronically for association with sponsorship of terrorist groups. We have been trying to address it through task force, blacklisting and grey listing and we put a huge amount of pressure on Pakistan. But we can consider putting more pressure through our aid budget," he said. Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. Thousands of travellers were stranded in Bangkok on Thursday when Thai Airways cancelled all flights over Pakistan after Islamabad closed its airspace in response to soaring tensions with India. Nearly thirty flights -- the majority to and from European routes -- were initially affected, the airline said, with three aircraft forced to return to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport and others cancelled or set to be re-routed. The travel disruption spun out across the region, with Singapore Airlines' usually direct flights to Europe forced to re-fuel on Wednesday, while a flight to Frankfurt was cancelled. The disruption follows a snowballing crisis between nuclear-armed neighbours Pakistan and India, which has raised fears of an all-out war. Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian Air Force planes in its airspace, although it later clarified only one Indian pilot had been captured. India said its forces had also shot down a Pakistani fighter jet as Pakistan suddenly closed its airspace. Thai Airways said nearly 5,000 passengers had been caught up in the drama, as it struggled to find new routes to Europe with Iran "rejecting" a request to travel over its airspace, according to a spokesperson for the carrier. But a few hours later China gave "permission to Thai Airways ... to bypass Pakistani airspace," according to Pratana Patanasiri, Thai Airways Vice President, allowing Thursday night's flights to Europe to resume. But frustration mounted Thursday at Bangkok's main airport at the sudden delays. "We have waited here for 11 or 12 hours already," Gerda Heinzel 55, a German tourist flying back to Munich after a holiday in Phuket. "We have not been given anything to eat, anywhere to stay. There are no German-speaking staff to help us." By the Times Staff UPLAND All charges against four men charged in a stabbing during what one of the defendants had initially described as an intervention of her drug-addicted sister were dismissed following a two-hour preliminary hearing Thursday. Friday night, Upland Police Chief Michael Irey said the four co-defendants, Michael Simon, 39, of Trainer; Chelsey Damon, 26, of the Wallingford section of Nether Providence; and Preston Jenson III, 32, and John Mrak, 50, both of Brookhaven, will be rearrested on the same charges involving the stabbing of a Philadelphia man back in January. Defense attorneys Stephen J. Schukraft, who was representing Simon, and Enrique Latoison, who was representing Damon, said earlier Friday they were pleased with the outcome of the hearing. Latoison added that he was hoping the case was closed and that there would be no move by the commonwealth to rearrest. Attempts to reach attorneys Baltazar Rubio and Jessica Mann, who represented Jenson and Mrak, respectively, were unsuccessful Friday. Irey, who said he was notified by the Delaware County District Attorneys office mid-afternoon Friday about the decision to move for rearrests, said investigators had not received any new information since they were initially charged with stabbing the victim, the boyfriend of the drug-addicted sister of one of the suspects. We will be rearresting, Irey said Friday night, referring to Simon, Damon, Jenson and Mrak. Based on previous information provided by Irey, it was about 6:18 p.m. on Jan. 20 when Upland police responded to a stabbing in the first block of Upland Avenue. Officers Timothy Ervin and Kevin Molineux arrived to find a male victim bleeding from a stab wound. The residence was occupied by a woman and her boyfriend when the defendants began to kick in the door, broke a window and forcibly entered the house. Once inside, the female resident and her boyfriend were chased upstairs to a bedroom where, according to an initial police release, Damon and one of her male accomplices forced the female resident into a closet, while the other intruders beat her boyfriend. The boyfriend, according to the release, was stabbed in the back with a knife that Damon brought with her to the scene. According to police, the boyfriend at one point was able to free himself and ran outside where he collapsed. Police said three of the four defendants admitted their involvement. At the proceeding Thursday before Senior Magisterial District Judge Thomas Lacey in Brookhaven, Latoison said the stabbing victim did not testify, nor was he in the courtroom. He told a detective at the hospital, I dont know how I got the wound and I dont know who gave me the wound,' Latoison said. I contested in my closing and I continue to contest that there was any stabbing at all. There wasnt any medical testimony or any information to indicate a stabbing. And there was no recovered smoking gun, or bloody knife. What we have is a person who has a wound some sort of laceration that caused some blooding, but I couldnt cross examine him, he said, adding there was no indication during the hearing as to the victims required treatment. Both Schukraft and Latoison said their clients were conducting a drug intervention. When told of the decision by authorities to rearrest the individuals, Latoison said Friday night, The judge made the right decision to dismiss and I believe the same judge or a different judge would come to the same conclusion. WEST WHITELAND The Chester County commissioners announced Thursday two steps regarding the Mariner East pipeline project, with the boards chairwoman declaring that the trio had no confidence in Sunoco Pipeline LPs efforts to engage with residents concerning the safety of its two pipelines. The county has hired the Philadelphia law firm of Reger Rizzo & Darnall to represent it in an effort to intervene in the legal challenge by some residents to Sunocos pipeline plans before the state Public Utility Commission, the commissioners said at a press conference. The residents, three from Chester County and four from Delaware County, contend that Sunoco does not have a proper emergency plan in place in the event of a pipeline catastrophe, which could lead to property damage, personal injury, or death. In addition, easements across county property that had been granted in 2017 will be cancelled, the commissioners said. Time and again, Sunoco has been severely lacking in effective communication and transparency, and we have no choice but to take these formal measures, said commissioners Chairwoman Michelle Kichline. Even with the groundswell of activity and appeals from elected officials, grass root organizations and residents affected by the pipeline, the company is not playing ball. We have no confidence that they ever will and we are done with trying to get answers on our own. The residents are asking the PUC to grant them emergency relief and shut down the existing Mariner One pipeline that transverses the county, and to halt work on the Mariner Two pipeline that has drawn howls of protest across the region. The commissioners, by seeking to join with the residents involved in the challenge, are essentially contending that Sunoco has failed in communicating with its emergency services officials, and lacks coherent plans for an emergency. They have shown a complete disregard for the safety of our residents, for our emergency responders, and for the community, said commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone. Its been very frustrating. I think that is the key, agreed Commissioner Terence Farrell at the press conference. The principal concern that we have is the safety of our citizens. Their action comes just days after the West Chester Area School District announced its intention to request the PUC to grant it party status in the case as well. For more than two years, according to the trio, the commissioners and leadership from the countys Department of Emergency Services have been formally requesting crucial pipeline emergency safety information and procedures from Sunoco, either directly or through the PUC and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, in order to prepare mass notification plans and neighborhood emergency practices in the event of a Mariner East pipeline disaster. The commissioners contend those requests have gone unanswered, so the county is now joining with the complainants in the case of Flynn vs. Sunoco because of shared interests, legal causes of action and requested relief, according to a press release. In addition to this proposed legal action, the commissioners on Thursday sent a letter to Sunoco giving it notice that the county plans to terminate two temporary easements on the library property that were granted to the company in 2017 a work space easement and an access road easement for the new pipeline constriction. Work on the property did not commence within the term of the temporary easements, the county contends, so the commissioners letter informs Sunoco that it no longer entitled to utilize the countys librarys property. There were no terms for renewal of the temporary easements within the 2017 agreements. The commissioners made the announcement at the Chester County Library in Exton, the property owned by the county that sits on a section of the Mariner East pipeline owned by Sunoco. In January, the commissioners issued a blistering statement after sinkholes appeared around the Mariner East One pipeline in West Whiteland. In commending the work of its emergency personnel and local first responders, they said they were hampered by Sunocos lack of communication. Sunocos continued delay in getting information about the sinkhole to our emergency management personnel and out to the public and the companys perceived desire to distance itself from potential safety issues is disgraceful, the three said at the time. To say that we remain frustrated and appalled by their lack of responsiveness to our Department of Emergency Services is an understatement. But Thursdays announcement went further. It is time to take legal measures to force Sunoco to change its practices and be accountable, added Kichline. Kichline said the move echoes the anger and frustration that the commissioners have heard fro residents about Sunocos behavior. The move to intervene is expected to be opposed by Sunoco, said Assistant County Solicitor Kristen Mayock. She said a timeline on when the PUC would grant or deny the request to intervene depends on how long it takes Sunoco to file its motion, and for the county to respond. A spokesman for Sunoco Pipelines parent company, Energy Transfer Partners of Texas, could not be reached for comment. The countys selection of Reger Rizzo and Darnall was based upon the qualifications of one of the firms partners, Margaret A. Morris, who works in the firms Philadelphia office, Cozzone said. Morris chairs the firms Utility Group and has more than 30 years legal experience with a specific focus on utility regulatory issues at the municipal, state and federal levels. She spent 10 years as legal counsel to Vice Chairman Robert Bloom at the PUC and has expertise in legislative and regulatory developments specific to the energy and gas industry. Reger Rizzo has offices throughout the region, including one in West Chester. We have been working with pipeline safety groups, municipalities, industry organizations, pipeline operators and concerned citizens for many years, introducing notification practices, the web-based Pipeline Information Center, and holding public meetings on issues relating to pipeline matters, said Cozzone, a member of the states pipeline infrastructure task force. But Sunocos complete disregard for the safety of our residents has led us to seek legal counsel to address Mariner East pipeline issues. We are confident that Margaret Morris is the person to guide the county to successful conclusions. And to be clear, this legal action is against Sunocos corporate practices and is being taken to benefit the health and safety of all county residents, added Cozzone. Earlier this month, an executive with of the Mariner East pipelines parent company, Energy Transfer Partners, said he recognized the company could have done differently in addressing safety issues. A published report stated that the firms chief executive officer acknowledged the problems the pipeline was having in Pennsylvania during a financial analyst call. Weve made mistakes and we are correcting those mistakes and will not make those mistakes again, Kelcy Warren allegedly said in response to a question of whether the company has learned from the past what to execute better. The pipelines have had 80 violations ranging from spills of drilling fluids to sinkholes in backyards to improper disposal of hazardous waste over a two-year period. Company officials have maintained that 86 percent of the spills between 2010 and 2018 were under 50 barrels and that 95 percent of the incidents in 2017 were on company property. Earlier this month, a leak was reported in Marcus Hook that required Post Road to be temporarily closed as a precaution. The right-of-way for the pipeline through land and adjacent to the Exton Square Mall was recorded in 1937, prior to the countys ownership, and the library property is encumbered with a permanent easement area. In 2017, the county formalized what already existed in terms of the right-of-way that Sunoco needed to maintain the existing line, and to allow for two additional lines proposed by the Mariner East Two project. The easement agreements that Chester County entered into with Sunoco in 2017 were only completed once all other landowners residential and commercial affected by the Mariner East pipeline had signed agreements with Sunoco. At that time, the Commissioners and County Emergency Services leaders were still actively pursuing information on emergency policies from Sunoco and were given assurances that the information would be shared. The lack of regard and respect for government officials, regulatory and safety organizations and above all, Chester Countys men, women and children is unconscionable, said Farrell. In addition to taking these legal actions, we commend the citizens of Chester County who have been taking an effective stand against the shoddy practices of Sunoco. They too are instrumental in this fight for health and safety. All three commissioners are seeking re-election to the board this year. The plaintiffs in the PUC action include Nancy Harkins of Westtown, Caroline Hughes of East Goshen, and Gerald McMullin of West Whiteland. They and four Delaware County residents filed the challenge before the PUC in November. CHESTER City and county drug investigators confiscated bulk heroin valued at more than $16,000 in street sales, and cocaine valued at more than $10,000, after searching the residence of a city man now behind bars on drug and related offenses. A tip spurred an investigation and subsequent search of the home of 46-year-old Clarence Womack, according to city authorities. Womack was at home in the 1300 block of Martin Luther King Mall when city Officer John Benozic, and other members of the Chester Narcotics Unit and Delaware County Drug Task Force arrived on the morning of Feb. 21, armed with a search warrant. According to a release issued by Chester Police Chief James Nolan IV, Womack was in the front bedroom on the second floor, already out of bed. Womack, identified by Nolan as the target of the investigation, was immediately secured while city Officer William Murphy and his K-9 partner, Chase, began searching for suspected narcotics. Chase gave a positive indication in the kitchen and in the basement laundry area, the release states. A black plastic bag containing a mason jar with four black plastic bags was found in the basement, in a cinder block in the laundry room near the ceiling, the release states. Three of the bags contained varying amounts of bulk cocaine, and one bag contained suspected heroin, the release states According to the release, located inside the cinder box next to the cocaine and heroin packages was a string that when pulled up, revealed a black plastic bag holding a clear zip-top freezer bag containing marijuana, and a green drawstring bag holding one handgun magazine for a .45-caliber firearm that was loaded with ammunition. A box of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition was also located in the basement, behind a couch. During a search of the first floor, a police radio on a charger was located in the kitchen, on top of the refrigerator. The radio was later found to be stolen from the City of Chester, according to the release. During a search of a bedroom at the top of the stairs on the second floor was a safe containing various sizes of ammunition and two pieces of mail for Clarence Womack at the Martin Luther King Mall residence. In Womacks bedroom, searchers recovered a box of 12-gauge ammunition on a piece of furniture to the right of the bed, a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun with six live rounds in a closet to the right of the bed, $374 in denominations of five $20 bills, 15 $10 bills, 21 $5 bills and 19 $1 bills in a pair of pants on the bedroom floor. A further search revealed a clear freezer bag with five clear Apple stamp bags containing baggies consistent with packaging marijuana, found in a truck tool box. Also recovered was a clear mason jar with marijuana residue and an exterior security camera. Back at police headquarters, all located narcotics were field tested with a positive reaction for marijuana, cocaine and heroin, the release states. Charges filed against Womack include possession of a prohibited firearm; receiving stolen property; possession of a controlled substance; possession with the intent to manufacture or deliver; and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Contacted Friday night, defense attorney Clinton L. Johnson said of his client, Hes going to vigorously defend the charges. Womack is being held at the county prison in lieu of posting bail, which was set at 10 percent of $200,000. A preliminary hearing is listed for March 7 before Magisterial District Judge Walter Sonny Strohl whose court in Middletown is designated as the county drug court. ROSE QUINN The state a baby is born in makes a big difference in whether that child gets a good start in life, according to a new report. The State of Babies Yearbook: 2019 was released this week by Zero To Three , a nonprofit that supports early-childhood development, and Child Trends , a nonprofit research center. The report, which is billed as the first of its kind, ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on how babies born there fare in the categories of good health, strong families, and positive early-learning opportunities. But just how important is the state where a baby is born? It is pretty significant, said Myra Jones-Taylor , the chief policy officer at Zero To Three, who led the federal policy team behind this report. There are great, wide ranges between how babies are faring from state-to-state. For example, the report finds that only 17 percent of infants and toddlers in Mississippi received a developmental screening in the last year, while nearly 59 percent did so in Oregon. The report also provides statistics about the nations youngest residents: 45 percent of infants and toddlers are classified as poor or near poor 38 percent of infants and toddlers are read to daily 9 percent live in grandparent-headed households Each state is ranked ranked under the three categories and also receives an overall ranking: G for growing, R for reaching forward, O for improving outcomes and W for working effectively. States that are classified as either growing or reaching forward are below the national median on selected indicators. The researchers examined nearly 60 indicators under the three categories, including things such as the infant mortality rate, housing instability (infants and toddlers who have moved three times since birth), and states with paid family leave. The report also includes a snapshot for each state that details where each state stands on these indicators. We want this to be a roadmap for states, said Jones-Taylor. We want all states, even the states in the top tier, they all have room to grow. We want them to open it up and dig deep into the data. Regional Differences The states classified as the best for babies are all located in the Northeast, with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont leading the way. Theyre really been putting together the policies and social fabric that we know make for better outcomes for babies and their families, said Jones-Taylor. The states in the South were more likely to rank near the bottom. Arkansas and Nevada were the only two states to rank in the lowest tier for all three categories. The report also notes the changing demographics in this country. Today 51 percent of babies in the United States are children of color. Jones-Taylor says that these children and their family may face historical and structural inequality and states should enact policies to counteract that. These disparities show up early, and they have lasting negative consequences in all three domains that we track, said Jones-Taylor. Being a child of color is not a risk factor in and of itself, its the systems in place that have shut families of color out of opportunity. That is really what puts families and young children at risk. She cites things such as these families increased likelihood to work in low-wage jobs and in communities without access to high-quality child care as examples. Jones-Taylor says she hopes that in addition to state leaders, child welfare advocates and parents will use this report to learn what can be done to improve conditions for infants and toddlers where they live. She emphasizes that some of these things are quite simple such as parents reading and singing to their babies on a daily basis during this critical stage of life. There is no other time in their lives when their brain is growing as quickly and is as sensitive to its environment than the time between zero to three, she said. Image by Getty On February 27, Saxena had moved an application in Patiala House Court to become an approver in the case. In a statement before the Patiala House Court, Rajeev Saxena said he has "thought long and hard" and that his 'exposure' to the case was 'very minimal'. (File Photo) New Delhi: AgustaWestland case accused Rajiv Saxena will record his statement before Delhi's Patiala House Court's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal on March 5. On February 27, Saxena had moved an application in Patiala House Court to become an approver in the case. After moving the application to become an approver in the case, Saxena told a Delhi court that he was not under any pressure. He further said that neither any assurance was given to him nor sought from him. In a statement before the Patiala House Court, Saxena said he has "thought long and hard" and that his 'exposure' to the case was 'very minimal'. "(I have) no intention to not cooperate. Logical consequence is to give testimony in the case. (I am under) no pressure. It is on my free will completely and the complete understanding of the case. No assurances were given and none sought," Saxena said on his plea seeking to turn an approver. The Dubai-based businessman was extradited to India in the wee hours of January 31 in connection with alleged scam in the Rs 3,600 crore deal for the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland company. He was allegedly operating a number of Swiss bank accounts in Switzerland in which huge amounts of money were deposited, according to a government dossier. The searches, sources said, were carried out in at least five offices and residential premises in Mumbai and a few other locations. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at the premises of former CEO of the ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar and Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot in connection with a bank loan fraud case. The searches, sources said, were carried out in at least five offices and residential premises in Mumbai and a few other locations. Searches were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the premises of Ms Kochhar and Mr Dhoot in Mumbai and Aurangabad respectively, sources said. Ms Kochhars residence in South Mumbai was also brought under the action, they added. Sources added Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhars brother-in-law were questioned by the sleuths during the operation. It is also believed that ED officials also had a similar interaction with Mr Dhoot. There was no information about any recoveries or seizures made by the search teams till late evening. The ED had registered a criminal case under the PMLA earlier this month against Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, Mr Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning of `1,730 crore loans by ICICI Bank to the corporate group. The EDs PMLA case was filed after taking cognisance of a CBI complaint lodged in the matter earlier this year. The CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, and Mr Dhoot and his companies Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) in the case. The Central probe agency also named Supreme Energy, a company founded by Mr Dhoot, and Nupower Renewables, a company controlled by Deepak Kochhar, in the FIR. For six years now, Medicaid expansion advocates in Utah have pushed for the state to embrace full expansion. And each year, from 2013 until two weeks ago, the Utah Legislature has actively thwarted even limited attempts to expand Medicaid. In 2018, it finally approved a proposal for partial expansion one dependent on the executive branch allowing Utah to cut corners on the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress. Unsurprisingly, that waiver never came and that partial expansion was never put into effect. Over the years, as other states worked out the kinks and full expansion became more cost-effective, support for full expansion grew in Utah. After years of being stonewalled by their elected officials, Utahns took on the expensive, difficult route of a ballot initiative. (The oft-criticized high cost of ballot initiatives results from the herculean effort required to get an initiative on the Utah ballot.) The signatures were gathered and voters turned up in record numbers at the polls. Full Medicaid expansion won, fair and square. The Legislature had six years to settle with voters on a compromise they could both be happy with, and it failed to do so. As a result, voters took the case of full Medicaid expansion to trial in the form of a ballot initiative, and they won. The verdict was in; the window for a settlement had expired. But that didnt stop the Legislature from promptly repealing and replacing Proposition 3 with another partial expansion plan. The honest question I have for Utah lawmakers who voted for the repeal is this: What should those of us who wanted full Medicaid expansion do now? Proposition 3 supporters played by the rules and won. It still wasnt enough. To say that everyone cant always get what they want, or that voters are sore out of luck because legislators are fundamentally opposed to full Medicaid expansion, is not a democratic or sincere response. Though the Legislature has the authority to do as it wishes with ballot propositions, it is disingenuous to treat them as if they are no different from any other piece of legislation. Propositions, while clumsy at times, are a critical release valve for citizens in the event that their elected officials repeatedly ignore their expressed wishes. Any legislator acting in good faith would uphold the results of a ballot proposition regardless of how his or her individual district may feel about it because propositions are, in a very real way, the final word of the will of the state on a specific issue. They require political willpower and public consensus far beyond any ordinary bill passed by the Legislature. The self-serving excuse that we live in a republic, not a democracy is only ever used by lawmakers to justify subverting the interest of the people for their own personal preference. What options remain to those of us who voted for Proposition 3? Lawmakers, comfortable in their incumbency, have nonchalantly suggested we just vote them out, if were so unhappy. This is a terribly unfair option. Instead of a majority vote in favor of Proposition 3, achieving full Medicaid expansion now requires replacing 27 individual lawmakers? If the only way for a majority of Utahns votes to matter is by also gaining a majority in the Legislature, this is a punitively high bar. It shouldn't take flipping seats for legislators to implement something voters approved. This new goalpost is perhaps most unfair to Republicans who voted for full Medicaid expansion, who likely will not want to vote against their representative on one issue alone. I do not know why legislators were so comfortable repealing a rare ballot proposition passed by the voters. Perhaps too many years in a supermajority have atrophied Republican legislators ability to lose graciously. Perhaps it really is time for lawmakers who voted against Proposition 3 to go. But it shouldnt have to be. SALT LAKE CITY Chip and Joanna Gaines have turned their Waco paradise into a full-blown fairy tale, now complete with their own castle. The Gaineses just purchased the Cottonland Castle in Waco, Texas, according to the Chicago Tribune. According to a Magnolia spokesperson, the Gaineses have been eyeing the castle for a while and have previously tried to purchase it, the Chicago Tribune reports. Chip and Joanna Gaines' latest fixer-upper: A castle in Texas. https://t.co/KQortoloiA Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) February 26, 2019 The castle began construction in 1890 by a man named John Tennant, according to wacohistory.org, and wasn't completed until 1913 after being purchased by Capt. Alfred Abeel. The 6,700-square-foot castle has been vacant for 20 years, according to the Chicago Tribune, and the Gaineses are planning to finish the restoration on the building. "I can confirm that Magnolia has purchased the historic Cottonland Castle," Magnolia spokesman John Marsicano told the Waco Tribune-Herald in an email. "For nearly two decades, Chip and Joanna have admired the property as a hallmark of the Castle Heights neighborhood they've even made past attempts to purchase it. The property is an iconic piece of Wacos history and while specific plans have not yet been determined, one thing is for certain: Their efforts will focus on fully completing the homes long overdue and well deserved restoration." The castle was previously owned by an Oxford University scholar, the Waco Tribune-Herald reports. The listing price for the property was $425,000, but the final price the castle was sold for hasn't been disclosed, the Chicago Tribune reports. Headlines this week were filled with stories about the North Korea summit, Michael Cohen and more. Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to President Donald Trump who pled guilty to lying to Congress, appeared Wednesday before the White House Oversight Committee. During his testimony, Cohen called Trump a 'racist' and 'con man' who lied throughout the 2016 elections about his business interests in Russia. Another big story this week was Trump's meeting with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. The summit came to an abrupt end Thursday when Trump walked away after not agreeing to a deal from Kim. Kim's deal proposed North Korea closing the nuclear facility at Yongbyon in exchange for ending all sanctions on the nation. Some critics say this would have been a terrible deal for the United States and Trump was right to cut the meeting short, while others say Trump's action was a bad international relations move and is just a show of his personality. Other stories this week included the Democrats' move to block Trump's national emergency declaration, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft being charged with soliciting prostitution and Washington governor Jay Inslee announcing a 2020 presidential campaign on the platform of solving global warming. Utahns believe in redemption. And yet we have unwittingly designed a system that not only fails to influence people to change their lives, it positively paralyzes them trapping them in the criminal lifestyle the rest of us abhor. Its time this stopped. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, is sponsoring HB431, a bill that will help give those who show they are serious about changing their lives a path to do so. People like Alan Fahringer. Alan Fahringers life was drugs. By 2005 his misspent life led him to a substantial prison sentence. His arrest and imminent conviction were a wake-up call. He took a hard look at his life, and who he had become, and seized an option to enter a rigorous program that promised to help him turn his life around. And it did. Not only did he complete the lengthy program, but he stayed without pay, for another five years to help save the lives of those he had come to care about. Through this experience, Fahringer decided he would dedicate his life to helping people just like him become a person they had never met before. As part of that new life, he helped me, Joseph Grenny, start The Other Side Academy, or TOSA, three years ago in Salt Lake City. TOSA is a residential school where Fahringer lives full time with close to a hundred longtime criminals and drug addicts who are fighting to change their lives for the better. And yet, in spite of the remarkable and lasting changes he has made, he is still blocked from jobs, banking, travel and other necessities of life just as if he were still the man he was more than a decade ago. Dozens of graduates of The Other Side Academy face the same fate. As they near graduation, determined to set a new life course, our students begin to worry. Where will I find an apartment? Will anyone interview me for a job? When can I have a bank account? Our students spend two years or more learning to become some of the most impeccably honest and decent people in our state. And yet when they are ready to begin their new lives, they are routinely denied jobs, apartments and other tools they need to survive. Consider even one of our recent stellar graduates. After two years learning to live a decent, value-centered life, he found employment in an entry-level hourly job. So far, so good. Then he began applying for an apartment. Every application required an application fee equivalent to four or five hours of his wages. When apartment managers checked his background, they automatically rejected him. Each time he was turned down, he was forced to apply again. And again. And again. After a dozen applications, he had consumed what little cash reserves he had accumulated. At that point, he began reaching out to the only housing options available to him people from his criminal past. Its time for commonsense legislation that sends a different message to people like Alan and our graduates. We should create reasonable paths to expungement for past offenses for those who have proven they are no longer the people they used to be. The current process is prohibitively expensive and unnecessarily lengthy for those who need it most. A person who has lived honestly and decently for a decade is still haunted by past offenses until they work through a labyrinthine bureaucracy requiring hundreds or thousands of dollars of legal assistance. The public rightly demands that those with a criminal past climb out of the deep hole they are in, but then we grease every ladder they have available. How can we expect them to engage in a new way of living if we systematically exclude them from the crucial tools they need to live that very life? Let me be clear, we believe people must be held accountable for harm they cause to others. Criminal records should be left in place long enough to ensure patterns that require escalated actions can be appropriately addressed. This bill will allow those with relatively minor crimes who have broken the pattern to succeed in the changes they have demonstrated commitment to. Our laws express our values. We need to tell people like Alan Fahringer that we prize redemption. We applaud the rigorous self-renewal he demonstrates. And lets do so by getting out of their way, not making it even harder than it already is. SALT LAKE CITY Environmental groups are assailing Gov. Gary Herbert after his administration on Thursday petitioned the federal government to craft a state-specific roadless rule for Utah. The Center for Biological Diversity said Utah wants to "bulldoze" federal protections for forests by asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to craft a roadless rule covering the state's 4 million forested acres. This would decimate habitat for Utah wildlife already struggling to survive, said Randi Spivak, the centers public lands director. This is an incredibly cynical ploy to open up forests to road building and industrial logging. Its not about forest health. Its a horrible deal for Utahs forests and citizens. Not true, countered Utah officials, noting that any management change would occur after an environmental review. Jake Garfield, a policy analyst with the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, said the idea is to give the agency greater flexibility to restore forest health. "It is not telling the Forest Service they need to construct new roads, or open old roads that have been closed," he has said previously. Both Colorado and Idaho are seeking a state-specific amendment to the national roadless rule as well. Herbert sought the solution on the heels of a summer that saw more than 1,300 wildfires ravaging homes, other structures, rangeland, livestock and watersheds and costing $42 million. Critics say amending the roadless rule won't solve the wildfire problem. A Utah-specific rule is a solution looking for a problem, and another sorry example in Utahs love affair of building unnecessary roads for the sake of roads, at the expense of the ecological and recreational values of some of the most valuable and vulnerable landscapes in the state of Utah, said Carl Fisher, executive director of Save Our Canyons. Fisher pointed out the area of highest risk to Utah residents is the urban-wildland interface, not backcountry forests. SALT LAKE CITY A tax reform bill backed by Gov. Gary Herbert and GOP legislative leaders is headed to the House floor following its first hearing Friday, which lasted more than two hours. The 12-2 vote by members of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee to advance HB441 came despite testimony from a number of business representatives concerned about the impact of the services they sell being subject to sales taxes. "This is scaring the daylights out of me," said Jim Ferrin, an investment adviser who used to serve in the Legislature. Ferrin said he would end up having to pay the taxes himself because of the existing contracts with his 300 clients. He called what would be a 3.1 percent state sales tax on his services "an enormous tax on my net revenues" and told the committee, "You wondered who are the losers? Thats me." Rep. Tim Quinn, R-Heber City, said the bill that broadens the shrinking sales tax base while lowering the current 4.7 percent state sales tax rate and cutting income taxes would actually reduce the tax burden for a typical Utah family by $664. "To me, that's important and that's significant," he said, given the magnitude of the changes in the bill that only became public late Wednesday night after months of work by a group that included senators and the governor's budget officials. Kristin Cox, executive director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, said she didn't see any obvious winners or losers in the bill. She said taxing services was "very difficult, but it is absolutely necessary and the right thing for this state." The bill extends sales taxes to all services not specifically exempted, including most health care, tuition, child care and housing costs. It does impose a 1 percent tax on health insurance premiums and a transaction tax on real estate purchases. Quinn expressed frustration after hearing multiple people suggest the bill was being rushed through the legislative session that ends March 14, and should instead be considered over the interim before the 2020 Legislature. "Let me translate that for you. Kill it, that's what that means. It doesn't mean to study this further. It means we want to stop the bill," he said, adding that the same people rarely want to wait when they're requesting appropriations. "I've been getting the crap kicked out of me for the last six months on this bill, so I'm tired of hearing about the fact that we haven't given this careful consideration. We have," Quinn said. He said many of those who testified represented "incredibly profitable businesses." During the public testimony, Brian Hollien, president of Morris Murdock Travel, described the bill as having a "draconian" effect on his business, which operates on a slim profit margin. Hollien said he's already competing with tens of thousands of travel companies worldwide selling the same cruises and other vacation options. He said adding sales taxes to his prices would send Utah customers to out-of-state operators. Quinn, however, made a point of telling the committee that the tax still would have to be paid on purchases made by Utahns whether it is a Utah company selling a service or one in another state. Hollien said later that's "just naive, because these companies are not going to tack on the Utah sales tax." Other groups testifying included attorneys and broadcasters, who face a sales tax on advertising production. Attorney Mario Arras said he already has to turn away some clients unable to afford legal representation, a situation that will become worse if sales taxes are added to the cost. Either public defenders would need to be available to more people at a greater cost to taxpayers, Arras said, or those with limited means "will be forced to defend themselves against the awesome, life-wrecking power of the state." Steve Evans, a Vernal radio-station owner and a former chamber of commerce president, labeled the bill "a job killer" and said it would hurt the oil and gas drilling industry as well as broadcasters. One of the two votes against sending the bill out of committee, Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, questioned the effect it would have on music teachers, plumbers and other service providers who work in multiple taxing jurisdictions. Ivory, an attorney, said the bill creates "a tax on a tax on a tax," citing his own profession as an example. He said if he hires a paralegal, he pays sales taxes on a bill that includes sales taxes already paid by the paralegal for services. Rep. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City, also voted against advancing HB441. There was more limited discussion on the impact cutting the state income tax rate from 4.95 percent to 4.75 percent would have on public education. Income tax revenues can only be used to pay for education. Quinn said the cut is necessary to ensure the bill is revenue neutral, meaning additional funds from taxing services will be offset by the tax rate reductions as well as other income tax changes to benefit families, the poor and the elderly. He said $350 million in additional sales tax revenues will be used to "kick-start" a shift from using income taxes to pay for higher education as well as public schools, actually making more money available for K-12. But Jay Blain, policy and research director for the Utah Education Association, cautioned against an income tax cut. Blain said there's been "great progress" in education funding in recent years. "We dont want to stop that progress," he said. "We feel the political calculation in cutting the income tax rate to have a revenue neutral bill is not the right calculation to make at this time." UEA, along with the Utah PTA, Utah School Boards Association, the Utah School Superintendents Association and Our Schools Now, a group that backed a tax increase for schools, issued a joint statement against reducing income taxes. Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, made the motion to favorably recommend the bill, acknowledging that "it is not ready in its final form but it is darn close. We can get this done if we work together." While the House committee was hearing the bill, Senate Republicans were briefed by House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville. House and Senate leaders are still deciding how much more of a tax cut to give Utahns. Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, said the caucus is waiting to see what changes might be made in the bill by the House. Vickers said he'd like to see the Jan. 1, 2020, start date for the tax changes delayed. "I have my own thoughts on making sure that we have adequate input from the public and making sure we work through the process to implement the policy," he said. "I guess we'll see what we get." LAYTON Scientists have identified the source of petroleum vapors in Layton that some residents last week said were making them sick. "The source of gasoline odors in a Layton city neighborhood has been narrowed down to petroleum products in the groundwater," the Department of Environmental Quality said in a news release Friday. Scientists drilled geoprobes in the neighborhood and analyzed the chemistry of the vapors, according to the release. They were able to identify petroleum products in groundwater adjacent to a Chevron gas station at 1034 W. Gentile St. After it got into the soil, the petroleum "dissolved in the groundwater and moved along the natural pathway toward the neighborhood at the intersection of Gentile and Angel streets," the release states. It then ran into a secondary track in a back-filled sewer trench and flowed into an old storm drain on Angel Street. "Were working with the owner of the gas station to see if the underground storage tanks are contributing to the plume," Brent Everett, director of the Division of Environmental Response and Remediation, said in the release. "In addition we will continue our work to abate the vapors in the affected homes, identify all sources, define the extent of the plume, and begin cleanup efforts," Everett added. Mark Berger, a resident who has been affected by the vapors, said that the situation has "improved significantly." Its nice to be getting back home and getting life back to normal," he said in the release. Officials say they have been working since the smells were first reported Feb. 14 to determine the source. Authorities installed vapor recovery systems in three homes with funds from Utah's hazardous Substance Mitigation Act, the release states, and the systems will soon be operational. Anyone who smells petroleum odors in their homes or coming from storm drains should call 911 so the fire department can investigate. Results from drinking water sampling showed no contamination, officials said. SALT LAKE CITY A bill that would raise the minimum age cutoff for legal marriage in Utah won approval from the Utah House of Representatives on Friday. It's a watered-down version of a bill that would have initially raised the minimum age from 15 to 18, as originally proposed by HB234's sponsor, Rep. Angela Romero. Instead, the bill would raise Utah's legal age to 16, while requiring 16- and 17-year-olds to marry only with permission of parents and a juvenile court judge. The House voted 55-6 to advance the bill to the Senate but after an amendment to include a marriage ban for 16- and 17-year-olds when the gap between the couple exceeds seven years. Six Republicans voted against the bill but did not say why or argue against it on the House floor. Romero, D-Salt Lake City, called the bill a "bipartisan effort" meant as a way "for us to protect children" while also recognizing there may be some "special circumstances" when 16- and 17-year-olds will marry with parent and court permission. Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, lauded the bill and its amendment, telling of how "for many years" her district "had a couple of fundamentalist religious groups" and she's "known children in these situations." "Without disparaging these communities, I just want to say that I can tell you lots of stories where I heard that very young girls are being coerced or forced to marry in situations that they did not approve," Poulson said. Utah should recognize "we want our children to be able to be children" and have opportunities to get an education before marrying, Poulson said, noting she herself married at age 22, and "I was really young and dumb." "Certainly this is something I think the state of Utah should make a statement about," Poulson said. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. SALT LAKE CITY A bill that would incrementally raise Utah's legal smoking age to 21 has cleared another legislative hurdle. The Utah House of Representatives on Friday voted 47-19 to approve HB324, which would increase the legal age to buy tobacco products to 20 in 2020 and to 21 in 2021. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, cited research that shows 95 percent of smokers start using tobacco products before age 21, when they are likely to become "entrapped" in addiction, he said. "I think we all know the danger of tobacco," Eliason said. "I think we know that developing brains are unfairly trapped in this industry." Eliason also pointed out it's "a little bit ironic" Utah allows 19-year-olds to buy tobacco but not alcohol until they're 21 even though both alcohol and tobacco can be "detrimental" to health. Eliason also noted in states that have raised the age requirement on tobacco, there's been a 50 percent decline in high school student smoking rates, minimizing students who are "doomed to a life of using these products that can trap them and destroy their health," he said. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake officials and homeless advocates broke ground Friday on the city's first new permanent supportive housing project in 10 years. The new phase of First Step House Recovery Campus, called 5th East Apartments, will be located at 440 S. 500 East, officials said. The building will provide 75 beds and support for those who are leaving homelessness. "The thing that some of you may not know about this project is that the people that we will be serving in the 5th East Apartments are individuals who struggle with serious and persistent mental illness," said Shawn McMillen, executive director of First Step House, during a groundbreaking for the new building. "They are folks who often slip through the cracks, and because of this, we're going to be able to provide a warm, safe place for those folks to live that will match the level of services to the level of need," McMillen explained. The First Step House Recovery Campus offers substance use disorder treatment, medical care, job training and housing, officials said. The first phase opened in 2016 and also serves veterans. Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said, "I come from a family that has mental illness in it and I see what happens, so I personally am grateful to everyone who has stepped up to make this a reality." "It is also part of our process in shifting away from the shelter model of service to the homeless resource centers and having that next step, which is a permanent supportive housing unit," she said. The building will be the first "significant development of permanent supportive housing" in the city since Palmer Court was built about 10 years ago. The city invested $1 million in the First Step House expansion, Biskupski said. Tim Whalen, director of Salt Lake County Behavioral Health Services, said the biggest barrier for getting people out of psychiatric hospitals and into the community is the lack of "safe, affordable housing." "It offers us the ability to place 75 of our most vulnerable citizens in safe, affordable housing with access to treatment, to have dignity in their lives, and to be safe," Whalen said. The Utah Housing Corporation started formulating the idea two years ago as Pioneer Park, a downtown hot spot for people experiencing homelessness, began "spiraling out of control," said Grant S. Whitaker, president and CEO of Utah Housing Corporation. The project will cost about $20 million, he said, some of which will be funded by allocated tax credits. The project is being financed by Salt Lake Citys Housing Trust Fund, Zions Bank, National Equity Fund, Morgan Stanley, Rocky Mountain Community Reinvestment Corporation and the Olene Walker Home Loan Fund, officials said. Biskupski said the project is expected to be completed around next spring. Hoping to give a heros welcome to Varthaman, thousands of Indians gathered on border carrying tricolour and garlands since morning. Abhinandan Varthaman finally emerged at 9.10 pm(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. (Photo: PTI) Wagah: After a suspenseful wait lasting hours, Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman finally returned home Friday night from his nearly three-day captivity in Pakistan, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by Indias retaliation over Pakistans continued support for terrorism. Hoping to give a heros welcome to Wing Commander Varthaman, thousands of Indians gathered on the border carrying the tricolour and garlands since morning. But as the day wore on and night fell there was no sign of the pilot, who was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. He finally emerged at 9.10 pm(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing a civilian clothes -- a dark jacket and khakhi trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors country from his homeland. Amritsars Deputy Commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon told reporters that the fighter pilot was happy to be back in his country. Asked what Abhinandan told officials upon his return, the DC said he first smiled and remarked, I am happy to be back to my country. Giving further details, the DC said, The Pakistan authorities brought Wing Commander Abhinandan to the Joint Check Post at Attari and he crossed over the Zero Line at around 9:21 pm(IST). After going through some formalities at the Wagah-Attari border, he was handed over to the BSF authorities. Later, the IAF authorities took him with them. An official was seen putting his arms around the pilot while receiving him. The Wing Commander was then driven away from the Attari border towards Amritsar in an Air Force vehicle which was escorted by Punjab police. The Deputy Commissioner said the officers parents were not present at the checkpost. Varthaman is being flown to Delhi and will undergo debriefing Saturday which will include his physiological as well as a physical check-up in the presence of officials from the military and Intelligence agencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians, tweeted Modi. Earlier, addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu, Modi said, every Indian is proud of brave pilot Abhinandan. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also came out with a Jai Hind tweet. Several political leaders, including Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also welcomed the IAF hero back home. Vice Chief Marshal R G K Kapoor read out a brief statement before a large posse of reporters in Attari, near Amritstar, on the other side of Wagah. Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This check up is mandatory as he had to eject from an airplane which would have put his entire body under stress, said Kapoor, who did not take any questions. The handing over of Varthaman to India at Wagah was delayed as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources in Pakistan. It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda. At 8.30 pm (9 pm IST), the Pakistan government released the pilots video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured. Recording of his video message caused delay in his handing over, a source said. In the video message, Varthaman said he entered Pakistans space to find a target but his aircraft was shot down. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14 by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM). Amid mounting outrage, Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MIG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in PoK, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a peace gesture. However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. After the pilots release, the Pakistan Foreign Office described him as a Prisoner of War. The Pakistan government was under tremendous international pressure to de-escalate the tensions with India and release the captured pilot. As analysts painstakingly debated each nuance of India-Pakistan relations in TV studios, anchors went hoarse keeping up the constant commentary, and journalists looked for information on when and how he would be handed over to India. The government decided to keep it all under wraps. Patriotism was the mood of the day. There was garba in Ahmedabad, dancing in Bangalore, a sand sculpture of the officer in Puri and yagnas in several places. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a JeM suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. SALT LAKE CITY Children from Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind came to the Capitol on Friday to learn about Utah's government and to interact with the legislators, who they learned are involved in allocating funding for their schools. Kate Borg, director of blind campus programs, said most of the funding from the schools comes from the government, meaning legislators decide their financing. "For them to be able to shake hands with a student and look into their face before they go vote is really important," Borg said. Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind provides services for students, from infants through age 22, both in classrooms and through one-on-one interaction. The help provided depends on the student's needs and where they live. Kysen Hurt was one of the deaf students who came to the Capitol with his class. Using American Sign Language, he said he and his classmates were excited to be there. He made a video where he used ASL to talk about the school. The video was sent to Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, who invited the students to meet with him and answered their questions. Cox explained his job to the students, shared the names of the lion statues at the Capitol, discussed his favorite music (Cox plays bass guitar in a rock band with his brother) and explained how computers and technology related jobs are great opportunities. Cox talked about technology that allows cows to milk themselves on his farm and self driving cars that could help some of the students in the future. Martin Price, program director at the School for the Deaf, said coming to the Capitol and seeing how the government works helps deaf students understand. "Because they cant hear they actually need to see. Its a visual experience, they have a lot of hands on experience by being here, so thats why we do it," Price signed. Borg said being at the Capitol helped the blind students to work on orientation mobility skills and social skills. "Any time we can go out in the community to really practice these skills and put them into place is really important," Borg said. The students sent their representatives emails inviting them to meet with the group during their trip. Borg said a student named Cameron sent emails every day for the last two weeks to his representative, Rep. Elizabeth Weight, D-West Valley City, who came to meet him during lunch. Students from the school come to the Capitol every year to thank the legislators and learn about Utah's government. SALT LAKE CITY Rep. Val Potter, R-North Logan, said he worked for 13 years for a manufacturer of amusement rides as a sales marketing manager. He and other engineers he talked with wondered why Utah didn't have a safety inspection program for rides like 44 of the 50 states. Potter is sponsoring HB381, which would create rules for safety inspections and require parks to use nationally recognized standards and report injuries. The bill passed through the House Transportation Committee Friday with a vote of 11-1. Potter said having a basic safety standard is the right thing to do. Currently injuries from amusement rides are not required to be reported to the state, so it is unknown how Utah compares to states with regulations, but there have been injuries and fatalities, according to Potter. "I worked in the industry long enough to know that every year the rides got bigger, faster (and) scarier this is a very important industry, people love their amusement rides. With so much happening in this industry, weve been very blessed," Potter said. The bill gives the authority for regulation to the Utah Department of Transportation because it oversees the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee, which helps with the safety of ski lifts. The bill was modeled after this system. "The goal is to ensure safe operation of amusement rides in the state of Utah and the safety of those who pay to be on the amusement rides," Potter said. Potter said the state has some liability for amusement park incidents whether there is a law requiring inspections or not. Larry Mullenax, executive director of the Utah State Fair Corporation, said the legislation is in the organization's best interest and would help keep the public safe. He said the corporation does inspections for its rides and does not see many injuries. "Those operators are professionals, we hire the best. We like to think that we have a very safe fair, incidents are very, very low or minor," Mullenax said. But Mullenax does have some concerns. He said the timing to get daily inspections during the week of the 24th of July with so many rides in operation would be difficult. Linda Hull from the Utah Department of Transportation said the department does not have amusement park expertise, but it would be able to carry out the program the way it is presented in the bill. She said it would be similar to the Ropeway Committee and would become financially independent after the first few years. Indian troops respond strongly & effectively to shelling along border. The shelling also kept the local people awake whole night, the local sources said. (Representational Image | PTI) SRINAGAR: Several residential houses and other structures were damaged in fresh intense cross-LoC shelling and firing in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch, Rajouri and Baramulla districts on Friday. The officials said that the Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling at Gawahalan, Chokas, Kik-er and Kathi posts of the Indian Army in Uri area of Baramulla district and across entire Kamalkote sector. The Indian troops have responded strongly and effectively to the Pakistani shelling, the officials said. They said that the shelling started at 3 am and continued till reports last came in. They added that some shells landed into residential areas as a result of which one civilian M.R. Khan, a resident of Madiyan Kamalkote, was injured. Earlier, a few houses and a stationary car were damaged in the Pakistani firing in Balakote area in Mendhar sub-division of Poonch. The shelling also kept the local people awake whole night, the local sources said. A defence spokesman in Jammu said that at about 4.15 pm on Friday, the Pakistani troops initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along LoC in Nowshera sector of district Rajouri. Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively, the spokesman, Lt. Col. Devendra Anand, said. He said that similar clashes were reported also from Mendhar, Balakote and Krishna Ghati sectors of Poonch district. Pakistan continued to initiate unprovoked ceasefire violations also in Mendhar, Balakote and Krishna Ghati sectors, the spokesman said adding that in these sectors also the Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively. Meanwhile, Northern Command chief Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, accompanied by the White Knight Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Paramjit Singh, on Friday visited forward posts in Akhnoor sector of the LoC to review the operational preparedness and the prevalent security situation. During the visit to this sector in Jammu district, the Army commander was briefed by the commanders on ground about the current operational situation, prevailing security scenario and the preparedness of the formation in dealing with the same, a statement issued by the Army said. It added that Lt. Gen. Singh was also briefed on the actions taken to meet the challenges of increased ceasefire violations. He was handed over to the BSF at around 9.20 pm by the Pakistani Rangers. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the IAF (right) poses as he is freed the by Pakistani authorities at Wagah on Friday. On extreme left is the Indian air attache at the high commission in Islamabad. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force, who had ejected into Pakistan after his MiG-21 fighter jet had got hit on Wednesday morning, walked back into India across the Wagah-Attari border late on Friday evening, sending a wave of joy across the country. He was handed over to the BSF at around 9.20 pm by the Pakistani Rangers. Initially, Wg Cdr Varthaman was expected to be released at 5.30 pm, but finally emerged at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side at only at 9.10 pm, accompanied by the Indian air attache posted at the high commission in Islamabad and the director (India) at the Pakistan foreign office, Dr Fareha Bugti. He was wearing civilian clothes a dark jacket and khaki trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors country from his homeland. Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram! tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hoping to give a heros welcome to Wg Cdr Varthaman, thousands of Indians had gathered on the border carrying the tricolour and garlands since the morning, but as the day wore on and night fell there was no sign of the pilot. He finally emerged at 9.10 pm India time. Wg Cdr Varthaman had shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet which had intruded into India on Wednesday and got hit during the dogfight and ejected into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This checkup is mandatory as he had to eject from an aircraft which would have put his entire body under stress, Air Vice-Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor, assistant chief of air staff, told reporters in a brief statement at Attari, near Amritstar, on the Indian side of the border. After the checkup, the IAF plans to fly him to New Delhi, said sources. The sources said Wg Cdr Varthamans family is in Delhi. As per process he will meet his family for a brief period and then will be taken for debriefing, sources had said during the day. The sources said that during debriefing, Wg Cdr Varthaman will give the sequence of the events. He will give details on how he was hit, where he landed, how he got caught and what he told the Pakistanis, as well as what documents they recovered from him and how he was treated, the sources said. He is likely to give a briefing on what was the mood there and other things he sensed while in Pakistani custody. Before his release, Pakistan made a video recording of Wg Cdr Varthaman, where he is heard talking about his capture. The video is heavily edited and doesnt have any credibility as it was shot while Wg Cdr Varthaman was in Pakistani custody and presumably under pressure. This was shown on Pakistani television. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber killed 40-plus CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama on February 14 by Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Amid rising outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a major JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, of 24 fighter jets, including F-16s, in a bid to hit Indian military targets, which was unsuccessful. Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Thursday told a special joint sitting of Pakistans Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a peace gesture. However, India said Pakistans decision was only in compliance with the Geneva Conventions. After the pilots release, the Pakistan foreign office described him as a prisoner of war. The Pakistan government was under tremendous international pressure to de-escalate the tensions with India and release the captured pilot. The Donegal Daffodil Day committee have appealed for the publics support as they prepare to take to the streets on Friday, March 22 to raise crucial funds for cancer patients. On average, 1,050 people in Donegal are diagnosed with cancer annually. The Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day, which is proudly supported by Boots Ireland, funds crucial support services for people affected by cancer and lifesaving cancer research. Members of the public can volunteer to sell Daffodils on the day, or simply buy a daffodil from local volunteers or their local Boots store. Speaking at the launch of Donegal Daffodil Day, held in Mount Errigal Hotel on Monday, local Night Nurse Sharon O'Connell spoke about the role she plays in supporting patients during their final days. Last year 51 terminally ill cancer patients in Donegal received 196 nights of care, allowing them to remain at home during their final days. In order to provide the Night Nursing service and other free supports, the Irish Cancer Society needs to raise over 4m nationally on Daffodil Day this year. Committee members and volunteers pictured at Monday night's Daffodil Day launch in Letterkenny. PICTURE: CLIVE WASSON Night Nurse Sharon said, When I go into a family home, I am there to support the patient, and also their family members. I do my best to create a supportive and calm atmosphere at a very difficult time. Losing a loved one to cancer is heart-breaking. "But Im privileged to hear afterwards from many families what a source of comfort it was to spend those precious final moments at home with their loved one. When I finish my night shift, I go home knowing I have made a difference to my patient and their family. Public support is crucial according to local organiser Veronica McAteer who urged locals to show their support on Daffodil Day. People of Donegal have always been generous in their support of Daffodil Day, but with more people being diagnosed with cancer, we need to ramp up our efforts to ensure they get the help they need," she said. "Not only will donations fund services like Night Nursing, but also cancer research to help more people survive cancer. Please help us by volunteering to sell daffodils, or simply by buying a daffodil on March 22." Boots Ireland is the official main sponsor of Daffodil Day and local stores will be getting involved in the fundraising efforts. Over six years Boots Ireland have raised over 1.4m for the Night Nursing service. Margaret McFadden, Manager of Boots store in Letterkenny said: We are delighted to support Daffodil Day again this year and to play our part in helping families affected by cancer. Pop in store to buy a pin or add a 1 donation when making a purchase. Every euro will make a big difference in the fight against cancer. To get involved in Daffodil Day locally contact Ena on 087 7381055. For more information visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday Readers of the Donegal Democrat received a free Spring Breaks 2019 supplement this week. The publication was brought to you by the teams behind ten of Ireland's leading local newspapers with journalists highlighting some of the must-see attractions, festivals and events that are happening all around the country in the coming weeks. Here's a selection of some of the top events coming up in Donegal Remember you can check out our supplement on our website by clicking on the 'Supplement' section Cara 10 Mile Challenge, Bundoran: March 8-10. Push yourself to the limit competing against Irelands top athletes. Ballyshannon Drama Festival: Taking place in the Abbey Arts Centre from March 9-17, a must for theatre lovers. The Ballyshannon Drama Festival - one of the highlights on Ireland's drama circuit Seachtain na Gaelige: Taking part countywide a celebration of our language, tradition and culture. March 1-17. St Patrick's Day Parades: Celebrate our national day in many of the St. Patrick's Day parades around the county Shore 2 Summit Adventure Race: March 16, Sliabh Sneacht, Innishowen. Test your overall fitness, switching disciplines and utilizing different muscles Cup of Tae Festival, Ardara, w/e May 3: Often called the best wee festival in Ireland Ardara celebrates the great tradition of fiddle playing in Donegal, attracting Irish and international musicians. Rory Gallagher International Festival: Ballyshannon, w/e May 30: Join more than 10,000 fans from all parts of the world in celebrating the life and times of Ballyshannon-born Rory Gallagher. Donegal International Rally: Letterkenny, w/e June 21. Join some of the top drivers in Europe, a pulsating experience Sea Sessions, Bundoran: w/e June 21. Superb music acts and more in the tented village. Modi said he was proud that Indias first woman defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman was from Tamil Nadu. Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu): Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Friday that the country will no longer be helpless in the face of terror, saying a New India will pay back the terrorists with interest, and that their influence has been curtailed and will be curbed further. Mr Modi also accused some Opposition parties of doubting the armed forces and his governments fight against terrorism, saying their statements were helping Pakistan and harming the nation. Telling the Opposition parties to stop weakening India with their statements to strengthen their own politics, the PM said: Modi will come and go, India will remain. He did not name any party. Addressing a public meeting here, the PM also hailed Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, saying every Indian was proud of him. Every Indian is proud that the brave Wing CommanderAbhinandan belongs to Tamil Nadu, he said after inaugurating several projects in the rail and road sectors. Mr Modi said he was proud that Indias first woman defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman was from Tamil Nadu. Reiterating his governments resolve against terrorism by retaliation, Mr Modi criticised the previous Congress-led UPA government for not using such aggressive tactics and accused it of blocking surgical strikes after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in November 2008. The country, he said, has been facing the menace of terrorism for years but there is a big difference now... India will no longer be helpless in the face of terror. This is a New India, this is an India that will return the damage done by terrorists with interest, he said, adding that the influence of terrorists and terrorism is curtailed and is going to be curtailed even more. The events of the past two days, an apparent reference to the IAFs airstrikes on a JeM terror camp inside Pakistan and the IAFs shooting down a Pakistan fighter jet, have demonstrated yet again the strengths of the nations armed forces, he said. It has also brought our nation closer, the PM said, a reference to the outpouring of support to Wing Commander Varthaman and to Indias armed forces from the people. However, he said, it was sad that a few political parties suspect our fight against terror. When the entire nation supports the armed forces, they suspect the armed forces, he said. These are the same people whose statements are helping Pakistan and harming India. They are the same people whose statements are happily quoted in the Parliament of Pakistan and in the radio of Pakistan, Mr Modi said. I want to tell them Modi will come and go, India will remain. Please stop weakening India to strengthen your own politics, he said. We are Indians first and your politics can wait... It is the safety of our nation that is at stake, the PM said. Citing reports, the PM said though the Indian Air Force wanted to carry out surgical strikes after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the UPA blocked it. The nation expected those responsible for these acts of terror to be punished, but nothing happened. 26/11 (Mumbai terror attacks) happened in India but nothing happened, Mr Modi said. And today we are in an era where the news reads armed forces have full freedom to do what they want. J&K is under Presidents Rule since June 2018. SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused the Narendra Modi government of making sinister moves by using the governors office to further disempower the state. This will not be tolerated and the entire state will fight against this criminal and illegal move of government of India, she said. The PDP leader was reacting the governments giving its consent to extension of two Central constitutional amendments to J&K on recommendations of the states governor Satya Pal Malik for granting reservation in promotions and reservation for economically-weaker sections of the society. National Conference (NC) vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah also criticised the governments move. He wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter, The government means an elected government. President cannot seek concurrence of governor who is a representative or agent of President. Same will apply even where only consent is required. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, on Thursday had approved the proposal to extend Constitution 77th amendment (reservation in promotion for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) and Constitution 103rd amendment (reservation for economically-weaker sections of society) to J&K. The concurrence for extending these amendments was given by Mr Malik after the State Administrative Council (SAC) approved the proposal last month. J&K is under Presidents Rule since June 2018. 'In one or two days we will be taking a good decision and will announce happy news,' said AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. (Photo: PTI/File) Chennai: Asserting that there were no uncertainties regarding a tie-up with actor Vijayakanth-led DMDK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK on Saturday said there would be good news soon. The ruling AIADMK, which is in an alliance with the BJP and PMK, has been making all-out efforts to rope in the DMDK. "There are no such uncertainties. In one or two days we will be taking a good decision and will announce happy news (in this regard)," AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, who is also the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, told reporters after a meeting at the party headquarters here. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised. BJP's Tamil Nadu in-charge and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had gone to DMDK chief Vijayakanth's house last month. Though the meeting between the two leaders was touted to be for an alliance to contest the upcoming general elections, Goyal denied it saying, "Everything in life is not about alliances and politics. There are some personal relationships also." DMK president MK Stalin had also visited Vijayakanth's residence last month sparking speculation about attempts to forge an alliance with the DMDK. When reporters asked Stalin whether he would welcome DMDK into the DMK-led alliance, he had said, "I appreciate and thank you for your good intentions", but did not elaborate. The DMK chief had said he did not visit Vijayakanth to discuss politics but to enquire about his health. Top actor Rajinikanth too visited Vijayakanth at his residence to enquire about his health condition. AIADMK allots one seat to Puthiya Thamilagam The ruling AIADMK on Saturday signed a poll pact with Puthiya Thamilagam by alloting one parliamentary constituency to it, party Coordinator O Panneerselvam said. Puthiya Thamilagam President K Krishnaswamy along with his supporters held discussions with the AIADMK seat sharing committee at its party office here. Emerging after signing an alliance with Krishnaswamy, Panneerselvam, also the Deputy Chief Minister, said a parliamentary constituency has been allotted to Puthiya Thamilagam for the coming Lok Sabha polls. "For the 21 seats that are lying vacant in Tamil Nadu, Puthiya Thamiliagam would extend its support for the AIADMK candidates", he told reporters. While 18 assembly seats are lying vacant following the disqualification of the dissident MLAs (who owe allegiance to rebel leader MLA TTV Dhinakaran) by the Speaker, three other seats fell vacant following the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2018, AIADMK MLA A K Bose (Thiruparankundram) and Hosur constitutency following disqualification of the MLA. In the 2016 assembly polls, Puthiya Thamilagam unsuccessfully contested four seats by forging an alliance with the DMK under the leadership of M Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan said she was happy that Puthiya Tamilagam has come into the AIADMK-BJP alliance. AIADMK concluded its poll deal with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) by allotting five and seven seats to them respectively. Soundararajan expressed hope that the DMDK, led by Vijayakanth, would also join the alliance soon. At nearly 1,000 U.S. high schools, the chance of students graduating on time is no better than the flip of a coin. And charter schoolswhich were born to create more options for studentsmake up an outsized share of the number of public schools persistently graduating less than half of their students. An analysis of federal data by the Education Week Research Center identified 935 public high schools with four-year graduation rates of less than 50 percent in 2016-17, the most recent year available. Of those, 54 percent are charter schools. Thats one-quarter of all U.S. charter high schools, and nearly 3 percent of all public high schools. These numbers arent just a one-time blip. Many charter schools have suffered from chronically low graduation rates of below 50 percent since 2010-11. And the number of charters with low graduation rates could be even larger than the Education Week analysis reveals. Thats because some charter schools were excluded from the federal data set due to student privacy concerns. For its analysis, the Education Week Research Center also removed all schools labeled as alternative in the federal data. The data undercuts the idea that charters are a better option, said Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher who is a national authority on graduation-rate patterns. If kids go to a charter high school where the norm is not to graduate, its not delivering on the promise of creating better, more successful schools for kids in need. But some charter advocates and experts argue that its unfair to compare how charter high schools stack up against their traditional school peers when it comes to graduation rates. For starters, the federal data collection doesnt take into account that some charter schools were set up to serve specific kinds of students who have greater needs and are harder to educate. That would include schools like Christel House DORSwhich stands for dropout recovery schoolthat exclusively serves students in Indianapolis who are over 18-years-old, have aged out of the traditional district system, and want to go back to school to get a diploma. The school had a graduation rate of less than 15 percent in the 2016-17 federal data and operates under a special state designation and accountability regime. Every student we work with, we are reclaiming, they are in that group that has been disengaged, said the schools principal, Emily Masengale. They are adults, they have children, so the demands of working and maintaining a household while also going to school can be a huge struggle for students and sometimes hard to balance. Christel House DORS offers a flexible schedule and employs special support staff members who frequently call students and do home visits, even helping students pay their rent or get their heat turned back on. But those type of intensive supports arent always enough to get students across the finish line, Masengale said. Enlarge graphic. Education Weeks analysis is set against the backdrop of a larger, national debate over how graduation rates for all public schools are calculated. That adds a layer of complexity to the examination of charter high school graduation rates and why they lag so far behind other public schools. Whatever the culprit be it problematic data, disproportionate numbers of at-risk students, or simply the quality of the charter schools themselvesthe numbers are troubling. In an economy that increasingly demands more training than just a high school diploma, graduation is a crucial first step toward higher education, stable earnings, and social mobility. That reality has fueled a big push in the last decade to raise the nations graduation rates. And its been successful, at least on the surface: 84.6 percent of the high school class of 2016-17 earned their diplomas in four years, an all-time high. A Better Option? Charter schools were created more than 25 years ago as an alternative to the traditional school district system. Since then, the charter sector has slowly grown to about 7,000 schools educating 3 million students in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Underpinning the entire charter movement is the idea that with flexibility to innovate and compete for students, charter schools will deliver a superior educationone thats tailored to the individual needs of students and parents. But with nearly a quarter-million students enrolled in charter high schools with an on-time graduation rate below 50 percent, it calls into question whether the sector is delivering on its mission. The answer to that question hinges in part on what state you are in. In Indiana, the majority of charter high schools graduated less than half their students at the end of the 2016-17 school year. In Ohio, its even more extreme. The majority of students in nearly two-thirds of that states charter high schools did not receive diplomas in four years. Arizona, Minnesota, and Ohio have the largest share of charter schools that consistently fail to graduate half of their students year after year. On the other end of the spectrum is Wisconsin. That state has a large charter sector, but a relatively low share of charter high schools with graduation rates below 50 percent. Charter school authorizersthe groups given power under state law to approve new charter schools to open and oversee those that dohave been cracking down more on bad actors, said Karega Rausch, the vice president of research and evaluation at the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Over the last five years there have been over 1,000 charter schools that have closed, including a fair number that are high schools, he said. So the sector has taken a lot of steps to either close or replace ineffective schools. There is still more work to do. But, Rausch said, authorizers also have to accommodate specialized programs where graduation rates may not capture a schools academic successes. Wide Variability The reasons why some states have many charter schools with low graduation rates and others dont is difficult to pin down. Differences among the states in how they label alternative schools could be part of the issue. States have leeway in interpreting the word alternative when they report this data to the federal government. While the Education Week Research Center removed alternative schools from its analysis, its worth noting that there are significant variations among states on the number of alternative charter schools they claim. See Also Calculating Grad Rates for Charter Schools: Its Complicated But it may also come down to the rules governing charter schools. They also vary a lot. Balfanz noted that in some states, like Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio, charter laws dont include strong performance mechanisms that would shut a school down before its graduation rate gets too low. In some places, charter authorization is quite strong and they do close schools down, Balfanz said. That might be unique to charters; [policymakers have] got to even out the authorization process so we dont have wild variations. Some places have quick hooks. Other considerations are whether states allow for-profit companies to run charters and how much states provide in per-pupil funding to charters, said Michael J. Petrilli, the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Some for-profit schools have come under scrutiny for poor academic outcomes for students. "[These states] are hospitable environmentsthe laws dont prohibit these sorts of schools from operating under the charter rubric, said Petrilli. In Ohio, for example, where charter schools receive relatively low levels of per-pupil dollars compared to district schools, that can make running a rigorous, college-prep high school less feasible, said Petrilli, and large technology-based dropout-recovery programs more attractive. Analyzing graduation rates, however, and using those rates as a metric for high school success, comes with many caveats. Researchers who study charter schools point out that the schools are often smaller, so graduation rates can vary more from year to year. Charters may also be more likely to hold students back a year, which means a four-year graduation rate may not be capturing all of a schools graduates. And then theres the question of whether charter schools educate a disproportionate number of at-risk students, and if that should even count as an excuse for low graduation rates. Among the experts and charter advocates interviewed by Education Week, theres consensus that finding the regulatory sweet spot for schools set up exclusively for high-needs or at-risk students is tough. Alternative schools do warrant a different accountability system that takes into account the kinds of students they educate and the time they have them, said Russell Rumberger, professor emeritus of education at University of California-Santa Barbara. But on the other hand, we shouldnt let them off the hook. They still need to be accountable for the students they have and the time they have them. Nor should alternative schools and programs become a way to circumvent responsibility, experts said. For example, an investigation by The Arizona Republic released last week found that the states oversight of alternative charter schools is lax and that schools used the alternative status to avoid closure for poor performance. Questionable Tactics In the high-stakes rush to raise graduation rates, schoolscharter and traditional district schools alikemay funnel faltering students into credit-recovery programs to get them off their books, use credit-recovery programs of questionable quality to get diplomas into struggling students hands, or dub themselves alternative to circumvent state accountability systems. Those tactics illustrate some of the ways schools and states can still game their graduation rate numbers, despite a major move a decade ago to create more reliable reporting. Federal regulations adopted in 2008 required states to calculate their graduation rates in a uniform way, reporting the percentage of 9th grade students who earn regular diplomas four years later. Those rules now have the force of law, since theyre part of the Every Students Succeeds Act. But that hasnt stopped states from reporting incorrect data that inflate graduation ratessometimes because districts send them bad numbers, and sometimes because theyre under pressure to look good for accountability. States have been caught counting diplomas with less-rigorous requirements, even though the law requires them to count only regular diplomas given to a preponderance of students. Theyve counted students who didnt earn enough credits, or who substituted credit-recovery courses for regular classes. All that doesnt change the fact, though, that a far larger share of charter high schools are graduating less than half their students compared to other public schools. Folks will try to say, I bet at least half or more are truly alternative schools, even if they dont code themselves that way, said Balfanz. Or maybe that theyre small, over capacity, [or] dont keep track of data. Whatever you want to call it, you have an awful lot of schools that arent graduating many kids. Isle of Man faces financial transparency crackdown The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey face a financial transparency crackdown, after UK MPs demand the names of corporate owners are revealed. Currently, the Island is exempt from EU rules requiring countries to publish registers of the real owners of companies. Tory MPs have pushed a parliamentary amendment, demanding that the crown dependencies introduce public registers by the end of 2020. The proposal will be debated on Monday and is likely to succeed. Energy FM News understand at least 20 Conservative MPs have said they will back the amendments. The governments of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have released a joint statement following the proposed bill. "We are not represented in the UK Parliament, and it is a respected constitutional position that the UK does not legislate for the Crown Dependencies on domestic matters without our consent. The proposed amendments are contrary to the established constitutional relationships that exist between the United Kingdom and each of the Crown Dependencies and, if passed, would produce inoperable legislation." The Chief Ministers of all three jurisdictions will be holding meetings in London on Monday. Tributes paid to Southern 100 Vice President Tributes are being paid to Southern 100 Vice President Ron Kitching who has passed away. Mr Kitching first became involved in the races in 1967. He was appointed a Vice President of Southern 100 Racing in 2012, for services to the club and racing on the Billown Course. In a statement, Southern 100 said: "Ron was always available when required for course preparation and associated activities." "We wish to pass on their sincere condolences to Judy, Boris and Wendy and other family members are friends at this sad time." Funeral arrangements will be announced when available. No pollution problem in Douglas? Prove it says councillor A Douglas councillor has called on government to prove theres no air pollution problem in the capital by conducting regular tests. It comes after the environment minister Geoffrey Boot refused to commit to monitoring more than once every two years, despite pressure from Tynwald members. Bill Henderson, Bill Shimmins and Ralph Peake paid for their own air quality testing to be undertaken at Quarterbridge, revealing EU safety limits were broken in December. That month the levels of nitrogen dioxide surpassed the 40g/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) cap deemed safe to humans before serious health damage is caused. In January this year, pollution was close to breaking this limit again at 39.93g/m3. Despite these findings, Mr Boot insists that when his department did continuous monitoring before 2009, no problems were identified, and biennial tests since then have shown no significant change. Douglas Councillor Andrew Bentley is a representative of Derby Ward, one of the most densely populated areas of the capital, which includes Quarterbridge and Lord Street. He says if these limits were broken in neighbouring countries, authorities would be obliged to tackle the issue, not ignore it. Mr Bentley, whos also a member of the Isle of Man Green Party, says hundreds of people live and work in these areas and the Council needs reassurance from government that pollution isnt a major problem. Ewan Gawne - Local Democracy Reporting Service Storm Freya: Steam Packet warn of disruption The Steam Packet Company is warning tomorrow's sailings could be disrupted or cancelled due to Storm Freya. The ferry operator says there is possible disruption to the 7.45pm Ben-my-Chree service to Heysham and the return sailing to Douglas at 2.15am on Monday. A final decision will be taken by 5:30pm. Winds in the Irish Sea are expected to reach severe gale force nine on Sunday evening. Varthaman was captured by Pakistan after his Mig-21 Bison was shot down by a Pakistani jet during a fierce dogfight on Wednesday. People celebrate with a tricolour as they wait for the arrival of IAF pilot Wg. Cdr. Abhinandan Varthaman at Attari-Wagha border near Amritsar on Friday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Pakistan has turned down a request by India to send back Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by aerial route and not through the Attari-Wagah land border, official sources said Friday. They said hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the decision to release Mr Varthaman, India conveyed to Islamabad that he be sent back via the aerial route. However, late in the night, Pakistan conveyed to India that the pilot would be returned through the Attari-Wagah border and Indias request could not be heeded to, the sources said. Mr Varthaman was captured by Pakistan after his Mig-21 Bison was shot down by a Pakistani jet during a fierce dogfight on Wednesday. The Indian defence establishment was also mulling sending a special aircraft to Pakistan, the sources said. The IAF pilots MiG 21 was shot and he bailed out after bringing down one Pakistani F-16 fighter during the dogfight to repel a Pakistani attack early on Wednesday morning. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Kash-mirs Pulwama, killing 40 soldiers. The Pakistan Air Force carried out a retaliatory aerial combat, unsuccessfully targeting several Indian military nstallations. Centre banned the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) on grounds that it was 'in close touch' with militant groups. Earlier on Saturday, authorities in Kashmir sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including residences of some of its activists. (Image: ANI) Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has staged a protest along with workers of People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Srinagar against the ban of Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) by the Central Government. Mehbooba Mufti and PDP workers protest in Srinagar against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) by the Central Government. (Photo: ANI) Earlier on Saturday, authorities in Kashmir sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including residences of some of its activists. It came days after the Centre banned the outfit on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant groups and was likely to "escalate secessionist movement". Several properties, including residential houses, belonging to various JeI leaders and activists were sealed in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley Friday night, a police official said. He said bank accounts of JeI leaders have also been freezed. Various district magistrates have also sought a list of moveable and immovable properties of the Jamaat leaders, he said. However, it was not clear if the move was linked to the ban on JeI or was done by NIA in connection with its probe into money-laundering cases. The Centre Thursday banned Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and was expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ban follows a massive crackdown on the outfit in the Valley since last week. Around 150 leaders and activists of the outfit have been detained in raids at several places across Kashmir. According to central government officials, the Jamaat was responsible for the creation of the state's biggest terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen and the brain behind the formation of Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat, a conglomerate of separatists, has been ideologically supporting Pakistan-sponsored violent terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, they say. Kashmir-based political parties have criticized the ban on JeI. Two Pakistani soldiers killed along Kashmir LoC Two civilians also killed and 2 wounded along disputed Kashmir border, says media wing of Pakistani army Heavy clashes between Pakistan and Indian forces were reported on Friday night after Islamabad handed over a captured Indian pilot in a gesture meant to de-escalate tensions triggered last month. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire in Nakiyal, near the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing the disputed Kashmir valley, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani army. TWO CIVILIANS WERE KILLED Separately two civilians were killed and two others wounded, including a woman, in Indian shelling in the Tatta Pani and Jandrot sector near the LoC, said ISPR."Indian troops undertook firing along LoC. Exchange of fire in Hotspring, Tatta Pani and Jandrot sectors," said an ISPR statement. The fresh clashes began between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after Pakistan on Friday handed over an Indian pilot who had been held in Pakistan after his aircraft was downed along the disputed border with Kashmir on Wednesday. On Thursday, Pakistani Premier Imran Khan announced the pilots release as a gesture of peace.Tensions between the South Asian neighbors escalated following a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir in mid-February that left more than 40 Indian troops dead.The attack was claimed by Jaish-E-Mohammed (JEM), a militant group that Pakistan has banned since 2002 but is accused by India of providing sanctuary to. The two South Asian nations have fought three wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir -- since they were partitioned in 1947. Cyprus will not engage in combat with Turkey for gas US energy company ExxonMobil on Thursday had announced the discovery of a natural gas field containing an estimated 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet inside Cyprus's exclusive economic zone. The announcement was made at a joint press conference in Nicosia by ExxonMobil vice-president Tristan Aspray and Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis. Aspray said that further technical work will be done in the next months to accurately estimate the capacity of the gas field. The gas drilling was made by an ExxonMobil-Qatar Petroleum consortium on a target called Glafcos (Glaucus) in Cyprus's block 10. Separately, a statement by Exxon-Mobil said that "based on preliminary interpretation of the well data, the discovery could represent an in-place natural gas resource of approximately 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet (142 billion to 227 billion cubic meters)". TURKEY HAD JUST STARTED ITS BIGGESt EVER NAVAL EXERCISE This is the second verified big find of natural gas in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone following Noble Energy's discovery of a 4.5 to 8 TCF of natural gas in 2011 in Block 12. The announcement of the new discovery is bound to bring a strong reaction by Turkey, which has objected to natural gas exploration and exploitation by Cyprus without the participation of the Turkish Cypriot community. Turkey started as of Wednesday its biggest ever naval and air exercises involving over 100 warships, which engulf the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, publishing a map which is intended as a warning to Greece, Cyprus and Israel. It has also said that a drillship it owns will start exploration in areas of the eastern Mediterranean, in reaction to the Cypriot gas exploration. Its chief of military staff has been repeatedly quoted by Turkish newspapers as saying that nothing can be done in the eastern Mediterranean without the participation of Turkey. Ankara has warned international firms against exploration in the disputed waters, where Turkey backs a breakaway proto-state in the northern third of the island. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned foreign energy companies not to overstep the mark, and officials have said Turkish ships would soon begin their own offshore drilling there. Iranian FM mocks Trump over North Korea nuclear summit Days after his resignation was rejected, Zarif says US president can't improve on 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Mohammad Javad Zarif publicly ridiculed Donald Trump, saying Washington's failed nuclear summit with North Korea demonstrates that the US president won't get a better deal than the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. "YOU'LL NEVER GET A BETTER DEAL" The Iranian foreign minister, whose attempted resignation was rejected earlier this week, said on Friday that Trump should have "realized that pageantries, photo-ops & flip-flops don't make for serious diplomacy". A second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un collapsed on Thursday over sanctions, and the two sides gave conflicting accounts of exactly what happened, raising questions about the future of their denuclearization talks. "It took 10 years of posturing plus two years-literally thousands of hours of negotiations to hammer out every word of the 150-page JCPOA. You'll never get a better deal," Zarif wrote on Twitter, using the acronym for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Signed by the Iranian government and several world powers, the JCPOA led to Iran curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions. 6 suspected DHKP-C terrorists arrested Among those captured earlier this week are senior members of DHKP-C terror group, say police Appearing in court on Saturday, six accused DHKP-C terrorists were formally arrested after their capture in Istanbul earlier this week, according to security sources. On Tuesday, counter-terrorism police captured the suspected terrorists hiding on the top floor of a building in Okmeydan, Istanbul, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. DHKP-C RESPONSIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF TERROR ATTACKS The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front or DHKP-C listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Turkey, including a 2013 attack on the US Embassy in Ankara which martyred a Turkish security guard and the 1996 murder of businessman Ozdemir Sabanc. Among those arrested were Umit Ilter listed on the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorists list and Caferi SadIk Eroglu, two alleged top members of the terrorist group.Charges against the two include establishing and running an armed terrorist group and spreading terrorist propaganda. Earlier this week, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the DHKP-C had been wiped out in rural areas of Turkey."Our fight against terrorism is on and will continue without slowing down" Soylu added. US delegation in Turkey to discuss Syria pullout Meeting of Turkey-US Joint Working Group, tasked to coordinate US troop withdrawal from Syria, continues for the second day. Turkeys capital Ankara is hosting the second meeting of a bilateral Turkish-US group to coordinate the American troop withdrawal from Syria, a diplomatic source said Friday. CONTACTS WILL CONTINUE IN THE DAYS TO COME The Turkey-US Joint Working Group, following its first meeting on Feb. 6 in the US, met Thursday for a gathering set to end today, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The US pullout from Manbij, Syria and the area east of the Euphrates River -- where Turkey has promised a counter-terrorist operation -- topped the meeting. The US currently has more than 2.000 troops deployed in Syria, but announced last December that they were leaving, revised this week to say some 200-400 would stay. The group meeting in Ankara is operating as a sub-unit of the Syria Working Group established in February 2018 between Turkey and the US. After the meeting, neither side is expected to comment, but its contacts will continue in the days to come, according to participants at the meeting. US keeps PKK's status as foreign terror organization US maintains a strong commitment to our partnership with our NATO ally Turkey, says State Dept. The US on Friday said it is maintaining the PKK's status as a foreign terrorist organization and Washington will continue to help Turkey fight the PKK's operations. THE DESIGNATION "The United States maintains a strong commitment to our partnership with our NATO ally Turkey, including fighting PKK fundraising operations in Europe and elsewhere," the department said in a statement. In addition to notifying to the US public and the international community that the PKK remains a terrorist organization by Washington, the State Department has also designated the PKK as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2001. The State Department first designated the PKK as a terrorist organization in 1997, and through this designation, the PKK is denied access to the US financial system. The US has worked with Turkey to counter terrorist threats from the PKK, according to the department. The designation helps US agencies and governments in law enforcement activities in relation to the PKK and anyone deemed a member of the terrorist organization. In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40.000 people. More than 1.200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its decades-old acts of terror in July 2015. Demilitarising the mindset of civil society requires ensuring lasting peace at the border. The military action carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in retaliation to the terrorist attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama has led to two obvious responses. First, many, including the national leaders from the opposition, congratulated the Indian armed forces for their action. On the ruling front, as expected, Operation Balakot, as it has been officially named, has immediately generated a sense of triumphalism among the members of the government and its supporters. The spokespersons representing the ruling party also lost no time in claiming that the military action in Pakistan was the fulfilment of the public demand for the Indian militarys retaliation to the terrorist attack in Pulwama. Second, action by the IAF in Pakistan has also been seen by many as a resolute indication of a unity of minds, of both the government mind and the public mind sharing the same desire to teach the attacker a lesson in order to avenge humiliation. This unity was evident in the public expression coming from the Indian Prime Minister: Whatever is there in your mind is also in my mind. This makes it necessary to determine the combative quality of the public mind and what its consequences are for the prospect of peace and harmony, both in society and between nations. There are a couple of questions that one has to raise at this point in time. First, what is the guarantee that the public mind with a combative quality would work only outwardly, against external threats, and not inwardly, against its fellow members of civil society? Second, is it not the democratic function of the government in power in the embattled countries to demobilise its citizens who are in a combative mood? 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Fund things like deferred cyber and CAPEX projects. http://www.fiscaldoctor.com/contact-us/ About Gary W. Patterson Gary W. Patterson, president & CEO of FiscalDoctor, works with leaders who want to uncover their blind spot before it finds them, so they can make better decisions. He can also help increase your profitability, providing access to 100 best-of-the-best experts who are often better and cheaper than incumbents. Gary can be reached at 678-319-4739 or gary@FiscalDoctor.com Key member of 2 successful INC 500 international companies growing rapidly profitably Honored as published thought leader by the Financial Time's ExecSense service Served on 10,000 business growth initiative as Virtual National VBA Visit his website at http://www.fiscaldoctor.com and "free" fiscal fitness test at http://www.fiscaldoctor.com/fiscal-quiz/ , or call 678-319-4739. ### Port San Antonio officials want their Southwest Side campus to play a bigger part in San Antonios burgeoning technology scene. To help pull it off, they have tapped a firm started by former Mayor Henry Cisneros, a connected and influential figure in local political and business circles, and others. With the 11-member board of directors OK earlier this week, port officials will sign a memorandum of understanding with American Triple I Partners, which Cisneros and principals of New York investment company Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. announced in February. The firm will assess the feasibility of a facility that could include an events arena, a home for the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology and space for co-working, classrooms and showcasing new technologies developed at the port. Triple I submitted an unsolicited proposal for the project earlier this year, said Jim Perschbach, the ports president and CEO. The firm isnt being paid for its feasibility work, but it would be if its eventually awarded a contract to manage the project. On ExpressNews.com: Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros launches infrastructure investment firm Over a 120-day period, the firm will look at designs, costs and funding possibilities for the so-called Innovation Center. It would be housed in an existing building at the 1,900-acre former Kelly AFB. We have a sense of urgency about making this project happen, Perschbach said. We think the time is now. On ExpressNews.com: Tech event arena, co-working space envisioned for Port San Antonio Triple I will also evaluate the potential for a second building at the ports Project Tech complex. The first facility was built last year and filled up quickly, with aerospace company Lockheed Martin and later technology company LGS Innovations announcing plans to move in. The second will target cybersecurity and applied technology companies. Perschbach said Triple I put together a team of design and construction firms with experience building the components the port envisions, such as museum space and secure facilities. Theyre also well-connected to businesses and organizations that could be partners for the projects, he added. If port officials decide to pursue the Innovation Center, Perschbach said, they may go back to the board which is appointed by the San Antonio City Council and ask members to award contracts to Triple I. For now, well see what happens as the firm fine-tunes the concepts, he said. This wouldnt be Cisneros first project at Port San Antonio. In 2016, the port worked with locally based Mission DG, where Cisneros was a partner, and Granite Redevelopment Properties of Dallas to make upgrades at the Billy Mitchell Village Apartments, now known as the Gateway Residences at Port San Antonio. Thats the only housing project Cisneros, a former Housing and Urban Development secretary, has been part of at the campus, a port spokesperson said. Cisneros also has ties to the ports board of directors. Chris Alderete, the boards chair, is married to Joe Alderete, a former District 7 councilman who served under Cisneros when he was mayor. As we advance these development plans in the months ahead, we look forward to creating new and exciting places where our people's talent can be further showcased and connected with a world of big opportunities, Chris Alderete said in a statement earlier this week. Cisneros said he didnt discuss the substance of the proposal with the board before Wednesdays vote, though members he saw in social settings told him they knew it was in the works. He said he confirmed Triple Is proposal to them and said he looked forward to presenting it. I hope we do a great job of building the facilities the board needs and wants, Cisneros said. A concentration of technology there would define San Antonio as a cybersecurity center. The name Triple I refers to infrastructure, innovation and investment. The firm invests client funds in transportation, information-technology and smart city projects. The port facilities fit those categories, said David Cibrian, the firms CEO. We invest in innovative infrastructure projects in second and tertiary markets, he said. The project(s) (are) squarely within what we do at Triple I. Cisneros said the firm spent several months working on the proposal and assembling local and national experts and organizations. Triple I, which focuses on projects needing $25 million to $50 million in funding, would contribute capital, though likely less than $25 million, he said. I recognize how important Port San Antonio is to San Antonios overall economic development objectives, Cisneros said. Were grateful for the opportunity. For the longer haul, as a citizen of the area, I want to see the port prosper. madison.iszler@express-news.net Gandhi said, 'It is matter of shame that IAF protects country but PM steals money from the Air Force and puts it in Ambanis pockets.' Ranchi: After addressing a rally on Saturday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi performed folk dance with the locals. #WATCH: Congress President Rahul Gandhi performs folk dance with locals in Ranchi, Jharkhand. (Video Source- AICC) pic.twitter.com/IrFRrYLtcV ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 Addressing his first rally in Jharkhand since 2014, Gandhi repeated his charge against PM Modi saying, It is a matter of shame that Indian Air Force protects the country, air force pilots sacrifice their lives but the prime minister steals money from the air force and puts it in Anil Ambanis pockets. Some 300 people gathered at the Alamo on Friday to commemorate an awe-inspiring plot twist in the 1836 siege for Texas independence: the arrival of The Immortal 32 from Gonzales, including four teenage boys, who answered a call for help and died in battle five days later. Fridays ceremony and re-enactment, one of dozens of events unfolding on the sieges 183rd anniversary, reinforces the importance of March 1, when the Gonzales force entered the compound, joining nine others from the town who were already there, as a key date in an epic saga that played out across Texas. The observances continue Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. Texas Independence Day ceremony, held by the Alamo and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Alamo Mission Chapter, celebrating the declaration of an independent republic by delegates at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The solemn anniversary of the early-morning Battle of the Alamo, resulting in the deaths of at least 189 Texians and Tejanos and at least 70 Mexican soldiers at least 300 more were wounded on March 6, 1836, will be observed throughout the day Wednesday. Alamo Events The anniversary of the 1836 siege and battle is being observed with ceremonies, lectures and tours, and a music festival Sunday. Visit thealamo.org and click on visit/events calendar for a full list of activities. Events requiring admission are noted with an asterisk (*). Saturday Independence Day Ceremony: 12:30 p.m. Sunday Crockett Fiddle Festival: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guided Battlefield Tour: 10 a.m.* Monday The Siege and Battle of the Alamo, An Artist's Interpretation: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alamo After Dark Tour: 7 p.m.* Tuesday Guided Tour, After the Battle: 10 a.m.* The Siege and Battle of the Alamo, An Artist's Interpretation: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. James Boddie's Virtual Alamo Lecture: Noon* Wednesday Dawn at the Alamo: 6 a.m. Commemoration Ceremony: 10 a.m. Commemoration Ceremony: 2 p.m. Commemoration Ceremony: 6 p.m. See More Collapse On ExpressNews.com: Remember Alamos Immortal 32 Fridays event paid tribute to the people of Gonzales, at the time the town closest to San Antonio, about 75 miles east. The Texas Revolution began there with a skirmish Oct. 2, 1835, when Mexican dragoons were sent to retrieve a cannon the town had been supplied with four years earlier for defense. When the Alamo was under siege five months later, the men from Gonzales were the only ones to answer William Barret Travis pleas for aid. Alan C. Huffines, a military historian who spoke at the ceremony, said the townspeople put aside crops that needed tending and family obligations to join the cause. The people of Gonzales asked for no clarification from Travis. No wait-and-see attitude, Huffines said. Those that were soon to become widows or childless encouraged their men to march to the Alamo. He called it a twist of fate that the men reached the Alamo because Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had just ordered one of his regiments to move south, clearing the road from Gonzales. It was bitterly cold when they reached the fort. But their arrival provided a morale boost for the garrison, which celebrated by playing drums, fiddles and bagpipes, and fired two cannon volleys toward Santa Annas headquarters. Texas would win independence with Santa Annas capture six weeks later after the Battle of San Jacinto. But the people of Gonzales and Goliad, where 342 Texians and Tejanos were executed, would long bear emotional scars from the war. The Alamo dead from Gonzales included 16-year-old Galba Fuqua and William Philip King the youngest of the 189 defenders, at 15 years, five months old. According to research by the Gonzales County Historical Commission, one woman, Sidney Gaston, lost her husband, ex-husband and brother. Texian soldier Creed Taylor would later remark, the screams and lamentations of the mothers, wives, children and sisters of these brave men who gave their lives for Texan liberty will ring in my ears so long as memory liveth. Also speaking Friday, Gonzales Mayor Connie Kacir said few parts of the Alamo narrative capture the essence of supreme sacrifice as vividly as the story of the Gonzales 32. These brave men entered this Alamo to fight for you, Kacir told the crowd, including schoolchildren from Gonzales. The Alamo events also include a music festival Sunday, spotlighting fiddle-playing in the tradition of David Crockett, and lectures on the complex social, economic and political factors of the revolution. On ExpressNews.com: Crockett may have wanted to die in clean clothes During a panel discussion this week, scholars said more information is surfacing or being clarified through computer digitization of historic documents that are being read or translated for the first time or given updated interpretations based on new evidence. Theres so much stuff that needs to be looked at, said Gregg Dimmick, author of Sea of Mud: The Retreat of the Mexican Army After San Jacinto. Santa Anna, a brutal, take-no-prisoners leader, sought to emancipate slaves during his Texas campaign not because he opposed slavery, but to destabilize the colonies, said Andrew Torget, associate history professor at the University of North Texas. Other factors of the revolution included a cluster of civil wars occurring throughout Mexico and a perception among many Americans, dating to the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, that Texas was a part of the U.S. There also was a growing rift between federalists who wanted regional representation and centralists who favored an authoritarian Mexican government. Miguel Soto, professor of Mexican history at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, said it was even more complex than that, with personalities and personal financial interests shifting alliances, friendships and rivalries, resulting in a socio-political landscape that was changing all the time. He and the other panelists said it now requires an open mind to view Texas history objectively free of biases formed through folklore, tradition or family lineage. It takes a lot of patience and distance to try to understand what was going on, Soto said. Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA The fighting between two teen-age girls started online. It ended with a fatal stabbing in a driveway. A 16-year-old is charged with murder in the death of 18-year-old Kaitlin Leonor Castilleja, who was stabbed early Friday outside the minors Northeast Side home. All this stems from an ex-boyfriend, said Marie Fernandez, Castillejas aunt, who called the attack the result of a love triangle turned violent. The minor also is accused of stabbing Vivian Foster, 18, a Texas State University student who survived her wounds. The 16-year-old now is being held in a juvenile detention center. The three attended Madison High School in the 2016-17 school year. The two 18-year-olds have graduated, and the minor still is a student. On Friday, talk about the attack dominated students conversations in the halls and lunchroom. The school, which has more than 3,000 students, called in extra counselors to help. Fernandez said her niece and the 16-year-old had been exchanging taunts over social media for weeks. The animosity boiled over recently when Castillejas ex-boyfriend began dating the younger girl, but then returned to Castilleja, she said. A preliminary police report said Castilleja and Foster went to the suspects house near Judson and Stahl roads at about 1 a.m. After the attack, the suspect called police to report she had been assaulted in her driveway when she arrived home from work and that the two victims had been messaging her on social media stating they wanted to fight her, authorities said. The two injured went to Northeast Methodist Hospital, 4 miles away, where they told officers theyd been stabbed after jumping a girl at her house, a police report states. Paramedics took Castilleja to San Antonio Military Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. Police went to the suspects home a tidy, brick one-story with potted plants and a Texas flag hanging above the garage and found evidence of a stabbing in the driveway. They also discovered the weapon, the report says. Fernandez said multiple people were involved in the attack, though police havent released such information. They lured my niece to go over, they set her up, she had no chance, Fernandez said. They videotaped the attack, she said. What kind of person does that? By late Friday, earlier text messages said to be from the 16-year-old were being circulated online in which she seemed to be making threats about possibly stabbing someone. The police are not identifying the suspect because she is a juvenile. The San Antonio Express-News learned her name but is not publishing it because she is a juvenile. Property and court records show her parents filed for bankruptcy last year and lost their former home to foreclosure. Her Twitter account shows she has posted taunting and confrontational tweets, and retweeted at least one video of herself in a fight at school, apparently taken and posted by another student. Castillejas online presence also revealed a number of aggressive posts on social media, including ones in which she boasts of engaging in physical fights. Videos in which female teens and young women physically fight each other increasingly are being posted on Facebook and Twitter, where such activity evidently is becoming glamorized. Huddling around fights Madison High students streaming out of school Friday afternoon talked about the rumors surrounding the deadly fight. The most common theory was that it was over a boy, though some heard it was the result of a feud on social media that made no mention of a boy. No one wanted to attach their names to the rumors. I aint trying to snitch, one student said after verifying reporters werent recording. Theres a culture of resorting to physical fights to solve problems, even during school hours, said Alexis Benavides and Angela Garcia, both 15-year-old freshmen. On Wednesday, there was a fight in the hallway among four freshmen, they said. On Friday morning, Garcias algebra teacher said he had to break up a fight in an earlier class. Its kind of to the point that if I see a fight I dont even stop anymore, Benavides said. Other classmates, though, huddle around the fights with their cellphones, recording and uploading them to social media. The crowd makes it difficult for teachers to get in and break up the brawls, Benavides said. The girls said they usually feel safe because they try to avoid conflicts, but knowing someone got stabbed made Garcia a little more aware of her surroundings Friday, she said. The fights are a distraction from schoolwork, they said. Students talk about the latest fight all day, just as they did Friday. In a letter home to parents, Madison High School Principal Steve Zimmerman did not name Castilleja but identified her as a former student and employee of the North East Independent School Districts Kids Involvement Network, which runs after-school programs for elementary and middle school grades. I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of this former Maverick, Zimmerman said in the letter. Madison borrowed extra counselors from nearby schools to work with students and employees who needed to talk about her death. Those counselors will be there again Monday, according to NEISD. The school district did not receive reports that any of the teens linked to Fridays altercation were involved in cyberbullying, district spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor said. She declined to comment on the 16-year-olds disciplinary history, citing federal privacy laws. Castilleja and the 16-year-old both were on the junior varsity cross-country team in 2017-18, a yearbook photo shows. NEISD last summer contracted with Social Sentinel to monitor social media for threats, but the company does not have a database of student names and would not flag threats unless a school or the district is mentioned, Chancellor said. The district relies on classmates, parents and others in the community to report possible violence among students, and the community comes through quite often, she said. After a fight earlier this week in the LEE High School area, school officials received word that specific students might continue to fight at school the next day, she said. From there, we can take proactive measures, Chancellor said. We bring in extra police officers. We make sure the administrators know about the possibility and what was found on social media so they can be extra vigilant. Students might be reluctant to report what they see on social media, but NEISD urges parents to teach their children to do so, Chancellor said. We know its hard to come forward, she said. We know thats difficult, but in this day and age, it really does take everyone to ensure the safety of people, not just at school but at grocery stores, at movie theaters. If you see something, you need to say something in this day and age. Thats just where we are. Fernandez said her niece, who was attending Northwest Vista College to become a nurse, isnt able to give you her side of the story, but its been ongoing bullying on both sides. Theres so many factors that have contributed to this, and at the end of the day, whether it was wrong, in all aspects my niece had no intentions of hurting anyone, she said. Mourning Kaitlin Castillejas childhood friend Jesamie Moody organized a candlelight vigil Friday evening at a small park on Horizon Peak and Raintree Path. Moody was joined by 100 family and friends who shared memories of Castilleja. Me and her used to always get bullied, Moody said. She would be the one to calm me down and say Dont care what other people are thinking. Castillejas sister, 37-year-old Sally Deleon, said bullying was something she had endured since middle school. When she started not backing down she just got the (bad) end of the stick, Deleon said. In the incident leading to Castillejas death, Deleon thinks that social media and peer pressure played a large role. A lot of just back and forth social media feuds from what they are posting, Deleon said. But we dont know. Her family members contradicted reports that Castilleja was the aggressor, when instead she was defending herself. Its sad, there was no need for it, Deleon said. Family members said much of what was reported had been the suspects side of the story. Deleon said they had not heard from the young woman who survived the attack. Yes, we want answers. But at the end of the day, our focus is that we dont have her here, Deleon said. Shes the only one who can tell or say whatever, and shes not here to do any of that. Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje covers issues that affect marginalized populations in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | mstoeltje@express-news.net | Twitter: @mstoeltje Reporters Caleb Downs, Alia Malik and Krista Torralva contributed to this report. A politically connected alleged cartel associate wanted in San Antonio has been extradited from Spain. Juan Manuel Mono Munoz Luevano, who is also known as El Ingeniero, appeared Friday for a brief initial hearing in San Antonios federal court after spending three years in custody in the European country. On ExpressNews.com: Coahuila businessman charged with drug trafficking, money laundering Munoz, the owner of a chain of gas stations in northern Mexico, was indicted in San Antonio in 2015 with four counts related to the import and distribution of cocaine, a money laundering conspiracy count and conspiracy to possess a firearm during drug trafficking. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Betsy Chestney set arraignment for Wednesday. One of his lawyers, Jose Ramon Puig of Florida, declined comment. Munoz, who is from Coahuila, Mexico, which borders Texas, is believed to have associated with a number of cartels, primarily Los Zetas. Media reports in Spain and Mexico said that law enforcement in Spain heard him on wiretaps calling from his residence in the suburb of Madrid back to Mexico to threaten or extort others or to order beatdowns and killings. He reportedly also has close ties to Coahuila political figures, and to prosecutors, ex-prosecutors, mayors, congressional lawmakers and judges from various Mexican states. Among those he was close to, the reports said, is Humberto Moreira, who was governor of Coahuila from 2005 to 2011. Moreira went on to become the national president of one of Mexicos prominent political parties, the PRI, until he resigned amid controversies related to the debt of Coahuila, which rose from $27 million to $2.8 billion under his tenure. Federal agents in San Antonio have been investigating Moreira for several years in connection with money laundering allegations here, but he has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing. One of Moreiras former cabinet members, Hector Javier Villarreal Hernandez, treasurer of Coahuila from 2008 to 2010, has told investigators of the ties, according to El Pais newspaper in Spain, which cited investigative documents about Villarreals statements to Spanish authorities. Villareal has been free on bond since pleading guilty here in September 2014 for laundering, in real estate in San Antonio and South Texas, millions of dollars stolen from Coahuilas coffers. On ExpressNews.com: Court records: Former Mexican governor stole money from state, laundered it in Texas In Mexico, Munoz appeared to be caught in a war among cartels and was in Spain to handle affairs for Los Zetas in Europe, according to media reports. In 2013, during a war between the Sinaloa and Los Zetas drug cartels, a number of Munozs gas stations were attacked and set on fire, the Mexican news magazine Proceso reported. Presumed members of the Sinaloa Cartel hung banners accusing Munoz of laundering money and buying stolen gasoline from the Zetas, according to Proceso. Related: Witness: Zetas paid off top officials in Mexican border state The charges in San Antonio against Munoz stem from alleged drug activity here dating to 1999 through his indictment in January 2015, though federal prosecutors have not provided public documentation other than a bare-bones indictment. Officials with the U.S. Attorneys Office did not respond to inquiries Friday. If convicted, Munoz faces 10 years to life in prison. Guillermo Contreras covers federal courts in San Antonio and international legal issues. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland In one of his first acts of official business, new City Manger Erik Walsh on Friday named his executive staff. Most notably, Walsh promoted Maria Villagomez the other finalist for the city manager job to replace him as deputy city manager. These changes will accomplish our goal of being effective, efficient and responsive to our residents, Walsh said. Im excited about todays appointments. Its critical to have the right team in place to carry out our responsibility to the Mayor and City Council and the San Antonio community. Together, we will continue the Citys legacy of providing critical, professional services to our residents and improving their quality of life. The city council appointed Walsh as city manager Jan. 31. He takes over for Sheryl Sculley, who held the role for 13 years, a span in which she is credited with stabilizing city finances and stewarding three massive bond programs. Sculley also became an increasingly contentious political figure, as critics said she was imperious and overpaid. Her final City Council session was last Thursday. During the search for her successor, city council members named Walsh and Villagomez as the two finalists for the post. Shortly after Walsh prevailed, Mayor Ron Nirenberg called Villagomez a rising star and said she could very well become city manager in the future. She will join Peter Zanoni as a top deputy to Walsh. Villagomez will oversee the police, fire, and animal services departments while continuing to run the budget department. Fittingly, the move was announced as Villagomez and other city negotiators met with the fire union to continue negotiating a new contract. She has been an assistant city manager since October 2015. Walsh also named Colleen Bridger, who had been the director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, as an assistant city manager, overseeing the Health, Parks and Recreation, and Human Services departments, along with the Office of Equity. Jennifer Herriott will replace Bridger as the interim director of the health district. She has been the organizations assistant director of community health for the last five years. Brian Dillard was appointed the chief innovation officer, charged with leading initiatives like Smart Cities, SmartSA Innovation Zones and the CivTechSA program. Dillard had been serving in the role on an interim basis since last year, after working for Delta Risk and Lockheed Martin. Alex Lopez, who was interim chief equity officer, was appointed deputy director of the Economic Development Department. Zan Gibbs, who was previously equity manager, replaced Lopez as the chief equity officer, overseeing equity assessments and plans across all city departments. Beto ORourke giveth and Beto ORourke taketh away. On Wednesday, the Dallas Morning News reported that the former congressman from El Paso, who lost a close U.S. Senate race last November to Ted Cruz, will not challenge this states other senator, John Cornyn, in 2020. This development has opened up a lane for U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, to take on Cornyn, something the Castro camp says he will seriously consider. Castro flirted with a 2018 run of his own against Cruz but backed off to avoid what would have been a divisive Democratic primary contest with ORourke. By the most generous interpretation, you could say that ORourke is now returning the favor. On ExpressNews.com: Castro, unlike ORourke, has much to lose in 2018 Of course, the reason ORourke is bowing out of the Senate race is that he appears ready to join the crowded field (13 official candidates and counting) for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. And thats where the taketh-away part comes in. Thats because Joaquin Castros identical twin brother, Julian, the former San Antonio mayor and Housing and Urban Development secretary, already is out on the presidential campaign trail, making his case in the diners of Iowa and on the college campuses of Idaho. Joaquin Castro, his brothers most loyal champion, is serving as chairman of Julians campaign. In an impressive display of sibling support, Joaquin has even cultivated some facial hair in recent weeks to make it easier for voters to distinguish the Castro whos running for president from the Castro who serves on the House Intelligence Committee. ORourkes expected entrance into the presidential sweepstakes would clog though not necessarily block Julians path to the nomination. ORourkes punk-rock, skateboarding, shoot-from-the-hip hipster appeal would dilute some of the power from Julians generational-change message and make the former mayor only the second-best-known 40-something Texan in the race. The Castro brothers always have plotted their career moves as a team, making sure not to step on each others big moments. Joaquin put aside his congressional ambitions until Julian was safely ensconced in the mayors office. When Joaquin made his congressional move in 2012, Julian took a back seat. On ExpressNews.com: Castro makes first move from West Side to West Wing For the Castro family, this is Julians time. After all, you could make a good case that Joaquin, as a four-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has stronger credentials for a presidential bid than his brother. But this is Julians time. That fact might lead some observers to conclude that Joaquin will resist a campaign against Cornyn because it could detract from his brothers presidential candidacy. In truth, the opposite is the case. A Senate campaign from Joaquin would immeasurably boost Julians presidential prospects. For one thing, the national media would get swept up in the story of two twins running for high-profile offices at the same time. For another, Joaquins statewide presence on the 2020 Texas primary ballot would be a big turnout asset for his brother. So if Joaquin passes on a 2020 Senate race, it wont be because of his brothers presidential campaign. It will be about the particulars of Joaquins own unique situation as a 44-year-old congressman, family man and emerging force in his party. Joaquin has the most coveted congressional seat in South Texas, representing the only district entirely contained within the borders of Bexar County. Its a safe Democratic seat that he could hold for the next 30 years, if he wanted. Its not a wild stretch to suggest that someday he could become the first Latino speaker of the House. Already, hes a force on Capitol Hill, as demonstrated by his sponsorship of a resolution that would block the national emergency that President Donald Trump recently declared for the funding of a border wall. The resolution, which the House passed Tuesday, provides a key test of the separation of powers between this countrys legislative and executive branches. Challenging Cornyn would force Joaquin to give up his seat. In addition, Cornyn makes for a more elusive adversary than Cruz. Almost willfully bland, Cornyn stirs neither the animosity nor the worship that Cruz generates, though they share a compulsive allegiance to Trump. A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday found that 43 percent of Texans approve of the job that Cornyn is doing, compared with 51 percent for Cruz. Only 26 percent, however, disapprove of Cornyns performance, compared with 40 percent for Cruz. As Joaquin mulls his options and Julian builds support for his presidential campaign, ORourke prepares to make his big announcement. They make for an ever-shifting political triangle with sharp angles. 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 Both the leaders formally joined the Congress in the national capital in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi. AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia with Bahraich MP Savitri Bai Phule and Fatehpurs ex MP Rakesh Sachan in New Delhi on Saturday. The two leaders joined the Congress party on the occasion. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: In a major boost for the Congress party in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh just days before the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, the party on Saturday bagged two key leaders from the state in its fold sitting former BJP MP from Bahraich Savitribai Phule and veteran Samajwadi Party leader and ex MP from Fatehpur Rakesh Sachan. Both the leaders formally joined the Congress in the national capital in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi. Mr Sachan, who was an MP from Fatehpur in 2009 as well as two-time MLA and considered close to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, is being seen as a prize catch by the Congress. Political observers said that Mr Sachan had been tipped off by SP leadership as its nominee for the forthcoming 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Fatehpur. However last month, when the party announced its seat sharing with BSP, the constituency went to the latter. Miffed by the development, the senior leader broke ranks with the Samajwadi Party and joined the Congress. Ms Phule, a first time MP, had resigned from BJP in December last year after being critical of the partys leadership. She is considered a key Dalit leader of eastern Uttar Pradesh and had alleged that the BJP leadership was dividing the society and her voice was not being heard within the party as she was a Dalit. She had however said that she will continue as an MP till the end of her term. At a time when the Congress is desperately trying to strengthen its demoralised cadre in Uttar Pradesh, the induction of two important leaders in its ranks is likely to work as a shot in the arm for the party just prior to Lok Sabha polls. Sources within Uttar Pradesh Congress told this newspaper that the move is significant as it will rejuvenate the party and they even claimed that these are early days, and as the elections come nearer, many more leaders from SP, BSP and BJP are likely to join Congress. General secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and general secretary looking after western Uttar Pradesh Jyotiraditya Scindia, were also present on the occasion of the induction of the two leaders. More than 45 years ago, as a 14-year-old farm kid in Oregon, I watched on a flickering black-and-white television as President Richard Nixons former White House counsel, John Dean, testified about presidential misconduct in the Watergate scandal and the second-most-corrupt administration in American history began to crumble. Now, watching Michael Cohen testify before Congress, I sense a similar historic temblor, only this time it may be the No. 1 most-corrupt administration that is beginning to teeter. Cohens testimony was staggering because of the cumulative sum of alleged misconduct, because of the overall portrait it provided of Donald Trump as a mobster. I know what Mr. Trump is, Cohen said, summing up what he learned working at Trumps side for a decade. He is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat. The range of Trump cons that Cohen outlined was extraordinary, from rigging an auction for the sale of a Trump portrait, to apparent bank fraud, to apparent perjury, to secret hush money payoffs to women, to apparent advance knowledge of a WikiLeaks dump of Democratic emails. Watergate started with a third-rate burglary that Nixon apparently had no advance knowledge of. But the investigation into the burglary led to revelations of a cover-up, of obstruction of justice, of mind-boggling abuses of power. One difference is that Trumps illegal behavior seems to be more broad-ranging than Nixons. Trump may have been so cavalier because he never expected this office or this scrutiny. I wish the hearing hadnt taken place precisely during Trumps summit with Kim Jong Un, because of the risk of undermining nuclear diplomacy, but the irony is that according to Cohen, those Trump-Kim negotiations are a historical fluke. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power, Cohen said. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. What was almost as dispiriting as the range of misconduct alleged was the behavior of Republicans on the committee. They seemed less interested in ferreting out the truth than in covering it up; all they wanted to do was protect Trump and discredit Cohen. It was three hours into the hearing before a Republican even asked Cohen a question about Trump. The Republicans argued that we should not believe Cohen because he is a proven liar. But if a proven liar should not be believed, why do these same Republicans believe Trump? After all, Trump has made 8,718 false or misleading statements since taking office, according to the Washington Posts count. Cohen said he had no knowledge of any sex video obtained by Russia as leverage over Trump and added that he didnt have proof of collusion with Russia, only suspicions. But he described a kind of kompromat: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it and then made clear to me that he wanted me to lie to Congress. Cohen shot down some of the rumors going around. He said he has no knowledge of Trump having a love child or paying for an abortion, and Trump would never physically harm Melania. But the sum total of his testimony was devastating; decades from now, historians will continue to analyze it. On his first day testifying to the Senate Watergate committee back in June 1973, John Dean said: To one who was in the White House and became somewhat familiar with its interworkings, the Watergate matter was an inevitable outgrowth of a climate in which expediency trumped law. It was in part Watergate that drew me toward journalism, and in 35 years reporting for the New York Times, Ive known and covered many American presidents and foreign leaders. The American leaders sometimes tried to bamboozle or spin us reporters, but they were tethered to truth and to American values, and were fundamentally different from some banana republic leaders who were simply gangsters. Until now. I hope Democrats arent gleeful. This is a sad moment in American history, for Nixon walks again. Squared. And I hope the Republicans listened when Cohen told one of his GOP interrogators: I did the same thing you are doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. He added: People who follow Mr. Trump blindly will suffer the same consequences Im suffering. Much of the cross-examination of Michael Cohen while he was testifying before a House committee Wednesday were efforts to discredit the witness not to substantively challenge the charges made against Donald Trump. The nation would have been better served with the latter. Serious allegations were made that demand answers. The public needed these questioners to move beyond partisan posturing, much of it for the sole purpose of protecting the president. Some of the most serious questioning came from freshman Democratic representatives, including Alexandria Octavia-Cortez of New York. Attacking the messenger was, of course, the obvious play, given Cohens admission of lying to Congress earlier. He also pleaded guilty to other charges, resulting in a three-year prison sentence. Cohen is a liar and a scammer himself? OK, but in the employ of a boss who, if Cohens testimony is accurate, actively directed him to use those skills to protect Trump and his brand. Much can be said about the Trump-Cohen relationship, but that each didnt intimately know who and what the other was isnt credibly among them. And when Cohens testimony is weighed against what is already known from court documents and journalistic investigations, and against Trumps own long record of mendacity, what were left with are further indications that the president committed felonies. And even if these dont result in criminal prosecution because the Justice Department doesnt cause sitting presidents to be indicted and because of the complexities of the law in proving intent Cohens testimony was disheartening. It was disheartening in particular to anyone hoping that the ballot box and not impeachment would be the tool brought to bear in this process. Those hopes just became dimmer, and might dim even more, after special counsel Robert Muellers report is released, if, indeed, Attorney General William Barr allows a public examination. Americans have become inured by the drip-drip of revelations of alleged Trump and Trump campaign misconduct for a few years now. Even so, this testimony was shocking. There is simply no historical equivalent of which were aware of someone in a presidents inner circle calling the president a racist, con man and a cheat in congressional testimony. The closest we come is John Dean in the Watergate years, and it still took the Watergate tapes to sink President Richard Nixon. The fact is that much of what we knew before Cohens testimony does little to contradict the former Trump fixer. Simply, already facing a prison sentence and knowing that lying again to Congress could lengthen his stay, why would he lie? Among the criminal acts Cohen alleges: Cohen said he was in Trumps office when he put Roger Stone on speakerphone during the campaign. Stone told Trump he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that a data dump was imminent. Trumps alleged reply: Wouldnt that be great. This is serious if active collusion is proven. The president has reportedly told the special counsel that he did not talk to Stone about the WikiLeaks plans or about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised to deliver dirt on Clinton. Others in the Trump orbit have already been indicted for lying to the FBI or the special counsel. And the fact that no usable dirt from a foreign power was delivered is not mitigating if there was a conspiracy to get such information. Cohen said Trump directed him to pay hush money to a porn star because of a previous affair and produced a check from the Trump organization to partially reimburse him. This violates campaign finance law. Cohen produced other documents revealing that Trump inflated assets when that served him and diminished them for tax purposes. But perhaps the most serious allegation is that Trump told Cohen to lie to Congress. Cohen said this wasnt a direct ask. It came in the form of mobster-speak in which he looked Cohen in the eye and said there was no effort underway to get a Trump Tower in Moscow, though both clearly knew there was. Plausible deniability, in other words. Prosecutors need not prove a direct ask if the actions amount to the same. This was troubling testimony that will not go down in the history books as either one of the nations or the presidencys finer moments. Yes, it is testimony from a tarnished witness, but buttressed by what we already know, it is testimony that points to a tarnished presidency. And more crisis ahead. Cohens testimony opens other lines of inquiry. So far, more than $200 million has been spent on a downtown creek, which does not have water flow. Meanwhile, county deputies earn low salaries, the jail is always in need, and our roads need repair. The only reason this creek is being redone is to give downtown gentry a nice place to stroll in the evening. Also, where does the water come from? We all know that the creek does not flow for most of the year because of the aquifer level. Water is being added from somewhere. This is just another spend-at-will project from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. It is time to stop wasting county money on beauty projects and start paving some roads! Jack Hardy End of beginning Re: Release of abusive priests names only a beginning, Feb. 13: Sir Winston Churchill once spoke eloquently in a speech after a crucial victory at what he called the Battle of Egypt in 1942. He said: Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Those poignant words are most appropriate for Pope Francis and his bishops who were deliberating at the popes summit at the Vatican. Their battle to restore the churchs credibility and their effort to expunge child sex abuse from the priesthood is equally, if not more, important than the battle that raged in Egypt years ago. In essence, its not the end of clergy abuse of innocent children by any stretch of the imagination. Its not even the beginning of the end. But perhaps its the end of that detestable beginning. There is still time for disenchanted Catholics to reaffirm total faith in the church, but lets face it anything short of complete destruction of this awful behavior will surely reignite a crisis of faith, perhaps even lead to an additional 95 Theses nailed to the Vaticans door. Mike Gonzales, Houston Tax then vs. now Re: Trickle-down pain, Your Turn, Feb. 18: The writer of that letter drew a link between the accomplishments of the 1950s and 1960s, and the tax rates in place at the time. In fact, I remember President Barack Obama making the same claim in a speech. What neither person mentioned was the real reason for our early success in those two decades. One was the return of millions of soldiers from the war that spiked demand for consumer goods. The second was that our economy was the only one that survived World War II. We had no competition. The onerous tax system, which would take away 50 percent of a single persons incremental earnings starting at $22,000, became a major problem for the economy. Workers would refuse to work overtime, and entrepreneurs were not willing to risk their life savings so the government could take away 70 percent. Perhaps the writer did not live and work during the 50s and 60s and therefore doesnt know of all the resentment of the tax rates. For a president who prided himself on being a historian, to ignore the truth of the real effect of those high tax rates is just plain dishonest. Oops, I said something bad about President Obama. I apologize. Mel Friedman Now, nation broke Re: National debt passes $22 trillion, Business, Feb. 13: Our national debt has passed $22 trillion. That is more than double what it was before the financial crisis of 2008. What does it really say about our economy and the future of our economic empire? Most economists will tell you that the size of the debt is not as concerning as the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. In other words, if the economy grows, then the debt can grow and be manageable. Billions of dollars has to be spent just to service the debt. Thats money that could be used to build roads and fund entitlement programs. To me, the national debt is the result of failed economic policies. The idea of less taxes and more money for the rich to invest and create jobs in order to grow the economy has failed. If this policy is so successful, why does our debt continue to grow out of control? Were starting to hear rumblings of socialism. If we again experience a financial crisis on the level of the 2008 crisis, Im afraid this time it will end badly. Americans need to wake up to the real crisis. Lets call it what it is we, as a nation, are broke. The government, the American people and many corporations have staggering amount of debt. Those with the power and money want us to believe that this is OK and it grows our economy. I beg to differ. James Young These walls, please Please give President Donald Trump his wall! If the indictment is under federal jurisdiction, the walls of the U.S. penitentiary at Leavenworth are more than worthy. However, if the indictment is from New York state, then the walls of Attica Correctional Facility will be sufficient. We are tired of the lies, whining and unethical behavior. Robert S. Broff Impeachment fever It is interesting, all the negative hoopla and threats to impeach President Donald Trump over his desire to build a wall and his issuing of executive orders. Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten that both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama publicly stated they were going to pursue building a fence and strengthening our border. Hillary Clinton also publicly stated we needed a fence. Its also interesting that Clinton and Obama issued far more executive orders than Donald Trump has. Alas, these facts have been lost to history in the wake of all the publicity to impeach Trump. Dan Dreher Yes to upgrade The wraparound on the front of the Feb. 16 newspaper said Presidential Upgrade. That is exactly what I need. Mark Cooper Stay positive Just look at today! Valentines Day, Presidents Day, a full moon, love in the air, and now Palm Sunday, Easter and Earth Day. This is just a wonderful start for the next couple of months. Lets focus on what is really good. John Kiser Vital Theatre Company / Contributed photo A one-hour adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, inspired by the classic film, which marks its 80th anniversary this year, will be onstage at the Westport Country Playhouse on Sunday, March 17. Presented by Vital Theatre Company and geared toward children ages 2 to 7, this production features six actors, a flying monkey and a funny witch. Of course theres cheerful Munchkins, too, played by puppets. Old Greenwich The Greenwich Lions will hold its annual pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon March 9 at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich. Tickets, available at the door, cost $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 6 to 11. Kids under 5 are free. And its not just about the sausage, pancakes, juice and coffee, club president Kammi Mehta said. There will also be face-painting by local resident Wells Noonan, door prizes, meet and greets with FIDELCO guide dogs and live music, plus a bake sale. Additionally, there will be free pediatric eye screenings for kids ages 2 to 6. The funds raised at the event help the Greenwich Lions with its many services throughout town, including eye screenings for kids at elementary schools. The breakfast also goes toward the Lions support of Call A Ride, the YWCA Greenwichs domestic abuse services, Meals on Wheels, Neighbor to Neighbor and the Connecticut Lions Eye Research Foundation. The Lions joked that, Weve served up enough pancakes over 58 years to circumnavigate the globe. Byram The question of whether more street trees should be planted along streets in Byram will be put to residents. The town of Greenwich, members of the Byram Neighborhood Association and the Greenwich Tree Conservancy are working together on the project. Studies show that street trees soften hardscapes, buffer pedestrians from moving vehicles and improve outdoor aesthetics, said Matt Popp, who is helping with the public outreach. Additionally, trees are credited with helping to cut traffic speeds, reduce the strain on infrastructure by absorbing precipitation, extend pavement life by providing shade and remove carbon dioxide emissions from the air. Street trees also provide wildlife habitat, create a sense of place and provide shading, Popp said. If things go according to plan, the street trees would be planted in Byram during the spring, he said. The groups will then look at other neighborhoods in town for street trees. Popp said the plan is to plant trees such as oak, red maple, shad and hawthorne. Smaller trees will be planted where there is limited space or overhead utility lines; in open spaces, large canopy trees will be planted to provide shade. Residents should email their views to contact@byramneighbors.org. Downtown A speed limit could be coming soon to a popular short-cut in the downtown area. The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a request from a resident for a 25 mph speed limit for Grigg Street, a small road off Greenwich Avenue. Town Traffic Operations Coordinator Melissa Evans told the selectmen that she now must get state approval. Considering the fact that it is in Central Greenwich and the way the traffic is downtown, I am hoping we can get the state to agree with us that it needs a speed limit, Evans said. They normally dont approve streets that are less than 500 feet, but again, the concern on Grigg Street is that people are using it to avoid lower Greenwich Avenue. Currently, Grigg Street has no speed limit. First Selectman Peter Tesei and Selectman Sandy Litvack admitted they use Grigg Street for that purpose though always at a safe speed. Tesei called it a convenient little cut-through to avoid traffic. The popular app Waze, which provides directions, sends drivers down Grigg Street as the easiest route. Its one of my favorite streets in town, Tesei said. Evans agreed that when traffic is backed up on Railroad Avenue, Grigg Street is an easy way to get off the Avenue. The resident who lodged the complaint was very vocal that drivers were traveling too fast on Grigg Street, she said. No timetable given on the state decision, but Evans said it could take months. She joked that the states review process may be even more onerous than what we have going on here. State officials will make a site to see the conditions on Grigg Street, Evens said. We hope they will give you a quick thumbs up, Tesei said. Riverside A detour will go into effect in the summer on Sunshine Avenue in Riverside so a bridge can be replaced. The bridge, which was built over Binney Park Brook in 1956, was rated to be in poor condition after the most recent inspection report, said Jason Kaufman, the towns senior civil engineer. Although construction will take about seven months, the full road closure and detour will be needed for far less. The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the detour, which is slated for June 24 to Aug. 26. For any work needed beyond those dates, one lane would be kept open at a time to allow for alternating traffic, the town Department of Public Works said. Outside of working hours, there would be regular two-way traffic. The closure will be between 35 and 39 Sunshine Ave., a length of only 50 feet. It will require detours in both directions. The 1.5-mile detour will send drivers onto Bonwit Road, Florence Road, Split Timber Place, Old Orchard Road, Sheephill Road and Sound Beach Avenue Extension. Public hearings have been held on the project to keep residents informed, Kaufman said. Additional notices will go out when the project is about to start. The construction will involve installing a box culvert under Sunshine Avenue and a new wingwall on the south side of the bridge, he said. Catch basins and manholes will also be installed, and the curbs and sidewalks will be replaced. Additional paving work will be done as well. The culvert will be installed over the spring and summer, and Kaufman said the project should be completed by fall. The state is expected to reimburse the town for half of the $750,000 cost of the project. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com STAMFORD The Board of Representatives Monday will discuss everything from ghost guns to the thickness of plastic bags it will soon ban. But before that meeting even gets started, there are two committee meetings that could shape what city Representatives do hours later on public safety and land use. First, at 5:30 p.m., the Land Use Committee will meet to issue a recommendation. The committee will discuss a two-pronged appeal brought by the South End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, which seeks to reverse the Planning Board approval of denser housing on the former B&S Carting site between Woodland Avenue and Walter Wheeler Drive. The committee last week recommended the Board of Representatives uphold the Planning Boards decision on half of the appeal. Monday, the committee will take up the other half. Soon after that committee meeting, the Public Safety & Health Committee will gather to discuss a proposed ban on ghost guns unregulated firearms largely made with 3-D printers. Public Safety is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. The guns, which can slip through metal detectors, prompted Bridgeport lawmakers to enact a similar ordinance after that citys police took seven such guns off the street. For a few thousand dollars, people can purchase a 3-D printer that applies thin layers of plastic to build almost anything, including gun parts. The guns take plastic bullets, though most can hold only one or two at a time. The guns are not known for accurate fire, but tests have shown that some are powerful enough to penetrate human bone. The full Board of Representatives will then meet at 8 p.m. The board is expected to take up both measures. All meetings will be held on the fourth floor of the Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd. barry.lytton@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2263; @bglytton Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shares details of 60-hour Pak trauma. New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him on Friday, has apprised defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa about the mental harassment he was subjected to during his nearly 60-hour captivity in Pakistan. Sources said the pilot, who is undergoing medical tests at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi, briefly mentioned to Ms Sitharaman about the mental trauma though he was not tortured physically during captivity. Wg. Cdr.Varthamans wife Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son, sister Aditi and senior military officials were present in his meeting with the defence minister on Saturday, sources said. He is mentally strong and remains in high spirits despite the harassment he suffered in Pakistan, they said. The IAF pilot, who was caught by Pakistanis after he shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during a dogfight on Wednesday, is undergoing tests the hospital as part of a cooling down process. The process prepares a soldier for reintegration into routine family and regimental life after he has undergone traumatic psychological stress in hostile environment or war. In a tweet, the defence minister said she met Wg. Cdr.Varthaman and his family to commend him on his valour, express the nations gratitude for his selfless service, and wish him a speedy recovery. Pictures of the meeting released by the ministry showed a relaxed-looking Wg Cdr Varthaman sitting on a chair. There did not seem to be any worrying back injuries caused during the bailout from his MiG-21, officials said. When Wg. Cdr. Varthaman crossed over into India from the Attari border in Punjab on Friday night, his right eye above the handlebar moustache appeared swollen. Once, the pilots health check up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, officials said. During debriefing, Wg. Cdr. Varthaman will share the sequence of the events. He will give details on how he was hit, where he landed, how he got caught and what he told the Pakistanis. What documents they recovered from him and how he was treated, said a source. He is also likely to give a briefing on what is the mood in Pakistan after he airstrikes on JeM camps and other things he sensed while in their custody. The pilot arrived in the national capital from Amritsar on an IAF flight at around 11.45 pm on Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. STAMFORD A city man was arrested with a young boy while allegedly shoplifting at Macys Thursday afternoon. Sgt. Robert Shawinsky said police were called at noon by a store loss security officer following a suspected shoplifter on Broad Street. Suspect was described as a black man wearing a bright blue coat and carrying a Nike duffel bag. Officers flooded the area looking for the man and spotted someone who fit the description but the man was with a small child. After getting confirmation from the security officer that the shoplifting suspect was indeed with a child, officers moved in and made the arrest. When police searched the man, they found $560 worth of stolen goods, and a pair of wire cutters, Shawinsky said. Samson White, 47, of Franklin Street, was charged with risk of injury to a child, fifth-degree larceny, possession of a shoplifting device, violation of probation and failure to appear in court for a larceny charge from Norwalk. The child was brought to headquarters and picked up by the childs mother and White was held in lieu of a $25,000 court-appearance bond. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF's stock was trading at $25.60 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EWU shares have increased by 29.5% and is now trading at $33.14. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More According to police, the woman filed a case on March 27, 2018 stating that she came in contact with Singh through the matrimonial website The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh, a native of Jalandhar district in Punjab, they said. (Representational Image) New Delhi: A non-resident Indian was arrested from the IGI airport in the national capital for allegedly raping a woman he had met on a matrimonial site in 2017, the the police said today. The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh, a native of Jalandhar district in Punjab, they said. According to police, the woman filed a case on March 27, 2018 stating that she came in contact with Singh through the matrimonial website. On December 12, 2017, Singh reportedly intoxicated the victim and raped her. He later convinced her that he would marry her soon, but instead left Delhi, senior police officer Vijayanta Arya said. Thereafter, the victim learnt that Singh was already married and was living in the United Kingdom, where he used to work as a security guard, the officer said. As part of the investigation, raids were conducted in the accused's village in Punjab, but he did not join the probe, police said, adding a lookout circular was also issued against him. On Thursday, Singh was apprehended from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, while he was returning from UK to visit his family in Jalandhar. The Montana Highway Patrol commissioned nine new troopers today at the 65th Advanced Academy Graduation ceremony. Chief Deputy Attorney General Jon Bennion addressed the graduates at the event, which took place at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena. In his remarks, Chief Deputy Attorney General Bennion reminded the graduates their skills and character will be put to the test, both on duty and off. You must take all of this with the utmost seriousness, but do not fear. Just as steel is strengthened in the forge of fire, so will you be made better by challenge and adversity, Bennion said. And without a doubt, when you may not even know it, you will be making an impression on some young boy or girl to want to be here one day graduating from training and heading out to the field, Bennion added. At the ceremony, four awards were presented: Physical Fitness Award Isaiah Webber Awarded for exemplary standards during the physical fitness curriculum in the 65th MHP Academy. The Michael Haynes Memorial Grant End of Watch: March 27, 2009 This grant is presented to: Brennen Plucker This award was presented in loving memory of Trooper Michael W. Haynes MHP 159 by his wife, Tawny Haynes. Academic Award Taylor Gagnon Awarded for exemplary standards during the academic curriculum in the 65thMHP Academy. Camp Commander Award Isaiah H. Webber and Christopher Benson Awarded for exemplary standards and performance observed by the Camp Commanders in the 65th MHP Academy. Members of the 65th academy class include: Jacob Ayers Hometown: Frenchtown, Montana Initial station: Sidney Christopher Benson Hometown: Hamilton, Montana Initial station: Big Sky Sam Eccles Hometown: Helena, Montana Initial station: Bozeman TElle Evans Hometown: Wolf Point, Montana Initial station: Wolf Point Taylor Gagnon Hometown: Victor, Montana Initial station: Bozeman Eric Gardner Hometown: Billings, Montana Initial station: Billings Cade Hill Hometown: Taylorsville, Utah Initial station: Havre Brennen Plucker Hometown: Bozeman, Montana Initial station: Bozeman Isaiah Webber Hometown: Browning, Montana Initial station: Cut Bank On a related note, the Montana Highway Patrol will begin accepting applications for ten Trooper positions. Interested individuals should visit MHPs website for further details and application instructions when this link is made active on March 4: https://dojmt.gov/highwaypatrol/. For more information about the Trooper selection process and requirements, contact MHP at 1-(877) 8-PATROL toll-free or (406) 444-3259. Viti-Culture is a one day free to attend event that focus on technical developers, innovators, supplies and services directly or indirectly involved in Wine Production - from Soil to Cellar. Viti-Culture provides a showcase for interested and prospective growers to come and speak to experts and find out more about any aspect of wine production. Whether you have an already established vineyard and winery, are looking to plant, or want to invest in your own production facilities, numerous exhibitors attend Viti-Culture to advise on every aspect of establishing and managing a vineyard, to producing, packaging and marketing the wines Rural Accommodation near this Show British farmers have warned that standards 'must not be sacrificed' in a future US trade deal as the Trump administration demands 'unwarranted barriers' are pulled down. The United States government published its negotiating objectives for a future trade deal with the UK, including comprehensive access for agri goods and a demand to pull down unwarranted barriers, such as rules which regulate the UK food and farming industry. The demands, which runs to 18 pages, is likely to fuel concern within the industry which fears a lowering of food and farming standards once the UK leaves the EU. David Henig, the director of the UK Trade Policy Project and a former UK trade official, said the list is an 'uncompromising document with no mention of mutual benefit'. NFU President Minette Batters said the demands 'comes as no surprise'. She said it is 'imperative' that any future trade deals do not allow the imports of food produced to lower standards than those required of British farmers. But a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said that the government has always been 'very clear' that there will not lowering of food standards as part of a future trading agreement. A free trade agreement with the US has always been our priority. I note that theyve published their objectives in those talks and we will publish ours shortly. We welcome the fact that they have set those out. We will be in talks with them and we will publish our own shortly. US food exporters have long complained that EU regulations limit American food products like chlorine-washed chicken, hormone-boosted beef and GM crops. It follows news of the International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox explaining how it is 'categorically untrue' that UK food and farming standards will be lowered as it leaves the EU. In the US, the government permits such practices as chlorinated chicken, which consists of dipping meat into chlorinated water to prevent microbial contamination. But this practice is banned in the EU, which fears the practice could actually worsen safety standards. Indeed, a report has warned of the potential increase in cheaper, lower standard food imports to the UK which could put British farmers at a competitive disadvantage. While UK government ministers have insisted that they will protect British agricultural standards in trade negotiations, US president Donald Trump's commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, has also said that any post-Brexit deal with Washington would hinge on the UK scrapping the kind of standards operated under membership of the EU. A senior US meat lobbyist from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), a group which represents American pig farmers, told the Trump administration earlier this month that the UK must adopt US food producing standards if it wants to secure a trade deal post-Brexit. You might think that being foster carers to three siblings wouldnt leave a lot of time for much else. This isnt the case for Sandra and Paul Hewitt from Barnsley who took the time to collect items to donate to Cals Childrens Charity (3Cs), fill four extra suitcases and bring them from the UK. Sandra and Paul have been foster carers for Foster Care Associates (FCA) for eleven years and are currently caring for three children, a sibling group aged 8,11 and 14. For the last eight years, they have been coming to Turkey three or four times a year for a chill out break and, as many regular visitors do, follow what is going on in the area when they are back in the UK. When Sandra spotted a post by 3Cs volunteer, Christine, on Cals Beach Lovers Facebook group asking for donations for raffle prizes, she immediately sprang into action. Sandra and Paul had three weeks before their next visit to Cals and, in that time, Sandra organised donations of Easter eggs, chocolates, toiletries, a mobile phone and a TV. The prizes amounted to an extra 10kg in weight spread over four extra suitcases (free extra luggage allowance is generally given for charitable donations with the correct documentation from your chosen charity). That didnt include the TV which was being raffled at the Manx Arms in Barnsley, with proceeds to go to 3Cs. A visit to 3Cs Last Monday (25 March), Sandra and Paul visited the 3Cs charity shop, in its new location on Bars Mancero Blv. in Cals, to meet the team and present the donations in person. Sandra was delighted and touched to be presented with a plaque by Christine on behalf on 3Cs. Plaques were also given to FCA Bromsgrove and the Manx Arms. Cals Childrens Charity would like to say a massive thank you to Sandra and Paul for their kindness and generosity and to FCA Bromsgrove and the Manx Arms Barnsley for their fantastic support and donations to the children of Fethiye. For more information about Cals Childrens Charity, please visit them on Facebook. Hrithik Roshan Was The Guest Of Honor At The Event Hrithik Roshan was the guest of honor at costume designer Vikram Phadnis' second directorial venture, Smile Please, a Marathi film. The superstar shared a warm hug with Vikram Phadnis at the event. Hrithik had made a cameo appearance in Vikram's first Marathi film, Hrudayantar, which released in 2017. Hrithik Looked Like A Total Hunk Looking totally handsome at the event, Hrithik was wearing a navy blue t-shirt teamed with classic denims, black combat shoes, and a hat. Hrithik will next be seen in Anurag Kashyap's directorial venture, Super 30, which is a biographical film based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar. Shweta Nanda Bachchan Was A Savvy Sight To Look At Shweta Nanda Bachchan also graced the muhurat of Vikram Phadnis' next Marathi film, Smile Please. She looked savvy in a white button down shirt teamed with a light denim jacket and navy blue jeans. She gave her outfit a pop of color by sporting red pointed toe pumps, and a pair of sunglasses. Kiara Advani Made Heads Turn Kiara Advani looked very beautiful at Vikram Phadnis' muhurat of his next film, Smile Please on Friday afternoon. She wore a lovely floral printed white off shoulder dress with strap detailing, and light pink pumps. Kiara will next be seen in Kabir Singh alongside Shahid Kapoor. Ameesha Patel Was Casual Cool Ameesha Patel was also present at the muhurat of film Smile Please on Friday afternoon. She sported a black cropped tank top with denim shorts. Manish Paul Looked Cool TV actor and presenter Manish Paul looked snazzy at the muhurat of Smile Please. He wore a black t-shirt with a denim jacket and teamed it with black denim pants. He went with white sneakers to complete his outfit. Zarine Khan's Simple Yet Classy Look Zarine Khan kept her look simple yet classy at film Smile Please' muhurat on Friday afternoon. She wore a white button down shirt with denims. Gurmeet And Debina Twinned In White TV actors Debina Bonnerjee and Gurmeet Choudhary twinned in white at the muhurat of Vikram Phadnis' film Smile Please. Debina looked glamorous in a white off shoulder ensemble, whereas Gurmeet wore a white t-shirt with white denims and white sneakers. Kiara, Debina, Gurmeet, Ameesha And Manish Snapped Together Kiara Advani, Debina Bonnerjee, Gurmeet Choudhary, Ameesha Patel and Manish Paul were all seen chatting during the muhurat of Smile Please. By John Tilak and Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) - Conflicting cultures and management styles are overshadowing Barrick Gold Corp's $18 billion bid for rival Newmont Mining Corp, becoming factors just as important to the deal's success as whether or not the pair's lucrative assets in Nevada and elsewhere fit well together. Mudslinging started almost as soon as the hostile all-stock, no-premium bid was announced on Monday. One rival executive compared the tension between Barrick Chief Executive Mark Bristow and Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg to the Hatfields and McCoys, two 19th Century U.S. By John Tilak and Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) - Conflicting cultures and management styles are overshadowing Barrick Gold Corp's $18 billion bid for rival Newmont Mining Corp, becoming factors just as important to the deal's success as whether or not the pair's lucrative assets in Nevada and elsewhere fit well together. Mudslinging started almost as soon as the hostile all-stock, no-premium bid was announced on Monday. One rival executive compared the tension between Barrick Chief Executive Mark Bristow and Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg to the Hatfields and McCoys, two 19th Century U.S. families whose members held a grudge for generations. "Newmont shareholders shouldn't risk what they have and need for what they don't have and don't need," Goldberg told Reuters on Friday. Newmont's board continues to evaluate Barrick's offer, Goldberg said. He reiterated what he had said earlier in the week that all options were on the table, including a Newmont bid for Barrick. Bristow was not available for an interview on Friday. At the heart of the debate is Nevada, where Barrick and Newmont have owned neighbouring mines since the 1980s. Newmont said it prefers a joint venture in the state, a plan which Barrick says would be too complicated and not financially beneficial to all shareholders. The logic of combining the company's Nevada assets seems clear to both sides, but the sticking point is control. "If those fences and armed guards were removed, you'd have trucks from Barrick's mine not drive hours to get to the crusher and roaster, but they would have to go two miles to Newmont's," said an person familiar with Barrick's thinking. Bristow and Goldberg were emailing each other as recently as late January about a potential Nevada venture before Bristow stopped responding, Goldberg said. "I was hopeful that Mark, as another miner, would be able to sit down and do a (Nevada joint venture) deal as a point of logic," said Goldberg. "But then he dropped a hostile, no-premium bid." Bristow, for his part, said in an interview earlier this week that Goldberg did not show up for recently planned meetings to discuss Nevada. 'FIGHT TO THE DEATH' Barrick, which two months ago closed a $6.1 billion buyout of Randgold Resources, has encouraged Newmont to ditch a previously announced $10 billion takeover of Canada's Goldcorp Inc. Barrick has historically relied on acquisitions for growth, amassing billions of dollars of debt that it has been working to pay down. Newmont in recent years has focused on organic growth and financial discipline, although the Goldcorp bid breaks with past practice. Those divergent strategies would be hard to meld even in a friendly proposal, but become that much more difficult amid the culture clash, according to multiple investors and bankers, with the acrimony threatening to scuttle the deal as it did when the companies last tried to combine in 2014. "Newmont will fight to the death to stay independent," a banking source said. Newmont's shares have gained 39 percent in the past five years, compared to a 26 percent drop for Barrick's stock and a 3 percent drop in gold prices. Some Newmont shareholders question Barrick's claim that the deal will generate more than $7 billion in synergies. "We have no reason to have confidence in (Bristow's) ability to manage such a vastly more-complicated company," said James Rasteh of Coast Capital Management LP, which said it holds more than 100,000 Newmont shares. Bristow said in an interview earlier this week that his record at Africa-focused Randgold speaks for itself. Some investors agree. "Newmont is a company in need of a shakeup," said John Ing of Maison Placements, which declined to say how many Barrick shares it holds. BlackRock, a top-three investor in both companies, declined to comment. Flossbach Von Storch, a large investor in both companies, has said it supports a friendly deal but could not be reached for comment on Friday. Newmont would have to pay Goldcorp a $650 million break-up fee if it pulls its offer. Ironically, that would be the only cash that would change hands were the Barrick-Newmont deal to move forward, irking some Newmont shareholders. Antitrust experts do not expect any deal to face regulatory pressure. (Additional reporting by Liana Baker in New York, Diane Bartz in Washington and Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The famous sand artist created exquisite sand art, saluting the bravery of national hero, IAF Wng Cmdr Abhinandan Varthaman. Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik paid tribute to IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who has recently been released by Pakistan, following two days of custody, through a beautiful installation at the Puri beach in Odisha. The Padma Shri awardee and internationally recognised sand artist created a mesmerising work of sand art to welcome Abhinandan back home. In a photograph shared on Twitter by Sudarsan, an image of Abhinandan can be seen carved out on sand with the words "Welcome Home Abhinandan" written beside it. A flying fighter jet was also present in the art piece. He captioned the photo "#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan My sand art to welcome our brave Hero at Puri beach #Odisha." Talking to ANI, the renowned sand artist said, "We welcome Abhinandan with our sand art. It took me and my students two tonnes of sand to create the sculpture." On February 28 too Sudarsan had etched Abhinandans likeness on sand and wrote 'Salute to Our Brave Hero Abhinandan,' alongside it. (Photo: ANI) This is not the first time Sudarsan has etched a sand art in honour of IAF pilot Abhinandan. On February 28 too he etched Abhinandans likeness on sand and wrote Salute to Our Brave Hero Abhinandan, alongside it. Wing Commander Varthaman, flying a MiG -21 Bison fighter plane, was chasing Pakistani jets, which had transgressed into Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. He crossed over into PoK during the chase, where his aircraft was shot down. He was taken to the custody by the Pakistani Army after ejecting safely. On February 28 too Sudarsan had etched Abhinandans likeness on sand and wrote 'Salute to Our Brave Hero Abhinandan,' alongside it. (Photo: ANI) The new management will be under immense scrutiny of shareholder groups to correct everything that has gone wrong under Naresh Goyals leadership. Jet Airways sliding to Number 2 rank in the Indian aviation space on a standalone basis explains some of the rationale that seems to have played on Naresh Goyal while agreeing to step down as Chairman of the beleaguered airline to give a new lease of life to an airline which has survived many rough patches despite a string of troubling legacy issues. Goyals exit comes at a time when options to find a cure for the financial challenges for Jet were running out rapidly with further bank loans out of reach and new investors not responding adequately to Goyals reach-outs, swiftly pushing the airline to the present situation. The provisional resolution plan providing for lenders to become largest shareholders following conversion of debt into shares underlines the dilemma and compulsion for both, Goyal as well as the shareholders. While the lenders have been continuously working on steps to recover the debt from Jet, the toss-up for lenders was to either push the airline into a resolution process by initiating proceedings before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or to rework the debt to enable Jet to tide over the crisis. In deciding to rework the debt, the banks have weighed challenges around the resolution process before NCLT and the inordinate delays in relation to ongoing resolution proceedings of some of the big ticket companies that have not gone down well with lenders. In addition to the delays, the rapid changes in the insolvency laws and the ever-increasing size of the pie to be shared with the operational creditors have only added to the unpredictability of realisation of dues from Jet. Though conversion of debt into shares in a way is a haircut taken by the banks since the shares would not carry fixed returns which the banks were entitled to as interest and other charges as a lender, the crisis at Jet would only mount manifold with future debt repayments to the tune of about Rs 1,700 crore by March 2019, Rs 2,445 crore during the financial year 2020 and about Rs 2,170 crores during the financial year 2021. This apart, additional pressure triggering from revenues and costs of crude oil would continue to contribute to the financial stress, thus leaving no further waiting time to lenders as well as to Goyal. The call taken by lenders to take a haircut and acquire larger shareholding in Jet clearly signals that the insolvency process is not geared up to meet such situations and as such the lenders are compelled to proceed further with the troubled legacies of Jet on one hand and a haircut on returns on the other hand. For Goyal, the going has been becoming tougher and has ultimately brought the airline to the hallway of the lenders where Jet has to walk forward alone and Goyals innings has to come to an end as chairman. Not long back Goyal had refused to give up chairmanship and insisted on pulling Jet out of the crisis by further equity contribution by Jet and Etihad. Goyal has been known to find his way through troubled times all along. Way back in 2007 Goyal lapped Sahara against heavy odds which took him 24 months to overcome. Since the openings up of the skies in India, Jet has been the only private airline to survive thus far despite its share of challenges including the expulsion and later re-joining of 1,900 employees, trouble with pilots and crude prices. Under pressure of financial crisis, Goyal had been approaching investors including the Tatas as well as Etihad to make investments in Jet which did not elicit any positive results. Etihad has been reviewing their own strategy with respect to its minority stake in comparatively regional and smaller markets like India. Etihads $2 billion losses in 2016 has put pressure on its ability to further fund such investments in regional markets where it holds minority stake and in fact the airline would look for an opportunity to exit from Jet. It is also understood that following the conversion in debt into equity and other related terms of the provisional resolution plan, Goyals stake in Jet would fall to around 22 percent from the present 51 percent majority stake. Therefore the dilemma for Goyal has been to continue to lead the company with deepening financial crisis which would have left the banks with no other option but to initiate resolution proceedings before NCLT or to alternately give up control and leadership of Jet for enabling a step toward turnaround of Jet. As much as banks are wary about rushing to NCLT in such circumstances, for Goyal as well, the NCLT route is full of potholes and in-fact capable of bringing Jet to complete halt in a manner similar as the fate of Kingfisher earlier. Since August 2018 when Jet signalled that its financial crisis has reached the brink, a multitude of state holders have held forth on various counts including lack of transparency, corporate governance and instances of wasteful expenses incurred by Jet. With Goyals exit, the board would comprise of nominees of the banks in a majority and decision-making at all levels would have a much deeper oversight from the lenders. Additionally, even the business leadership would be carried out professionally with strengthening corporate governance practices. The challenges for the new management would be immense and would include taking appropriate action against any instances of irregularities of the previous management under Goyal as and when such issues come to the fore going forward. Retail shareholders have alleged that they have found themselves to be at the receiving end as a result of a number of legacy issues under Goyals leadership. Therefore, the new management will be under immense scrutiny of shareholder groups to correct everything that has gone wrong under Goyals leadership to stop the slide and make a turnaround. The banks will take steps to make Jet attractive for them to divest at a later date. (Kumar is the founder & managing partner of Hammurabi & Solomon Partners and a visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation) In April 2017, Uttar Pradesh announced a farm loan waiver for small and marginal farmers costing Rs 36,400 crore. As per recently released central government finances for up to January 2019, the fiscal deficit stood at 121.5 percent of the revised estimates. Stagnancy in indirect tax receipts and decent growth in revenue spending (12.4 percent YoY in April 2018-January 2019 period) have led to a rise in deficit. Capital spending, notably, has declined 13 percent YoY up to January 2019 vis-a-vis estimated growth of 20 percent, as per revised estimates. While these numbers are dissected very carefully, the Big Brother state governments doesnt receive its due attention. On an aggregate basis, total spending by states are at least 30 percent higher than the Centres spending. Further, the areas where the states spend such as irrigation, roads and bridges, power sector etc., are different from the areas where the Centre spends such as railway, highways and defense. Our analysis of finance accounts of 19 states, which together account for about 90 percent of all states, suggests that the aggregate fiscal deficit touched 62.5 percent of the budget estimates during 9MFY19 the worst in at least the past eight years. Higher deficit was the result of weak tax receipts and higher spending. Total spending grew by a healthy 14.5 percent YoY in 9MFY19, led by strong growth of 23.1 percent in capital spending. However, growth in total receipts of 19 states lagged at 12.9 percent YoY during 9MFY19. High growth of nearly 23 percent in capital spending has come on the base of a decline of 15.3 percent in the corresponding period a year ago. The average growth of the last two years, thus, was only 4 percent significantly lower than about 20 percent average growth in the previous five years. What led to this slowdown in the states capex from FY18? The populist schemes like farm loan waivers. Data for two largest states Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh will make this analysis clear. In April 2017, Uttar Pradesh announced a farm loan waiver for small and marginal farmers costing Rs 36,400 crore. As per the actual data for FY18, while Uttar Pradeshs revenue spending (including loan waiver) grew 12.5 percent in FY18, its capital spending halved down from Rs 76,500 crore in FY17 to Rs 40,600 crore in FY18. Similarly, Maharashtra announced loan waiver in June 2017 and its capital spending declined 14 percent YoY in FY18 (provisional estimates). In both cases, total spending growth was also much lower than in FY17. While it declined 2 percent YoY in Uttar Pradesh (vis-a-vis 9.4 percent growth in FY17), it grew 10.9 percent YoY in Maharashtra (vis-a-vis 13.8 percent growth in FY17). What this suggests is in contradiction to the popular perception that farm loan waivers will support economic activity growth. In reality, what farm loan waivers have done is to shift investments (or capital spending) to consumption (or revenue spending) by the states. Since the efficiency of the former is higher than those of the latter, such shift reduces the overall efficiency (or productivity) of the fiscal spending, and thus, hurt economic activity growth. Although the Union government has stayed away from farm loan waivers, several states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand recently announced loan waivers aggregating more than Rs 2 lakh crore during the past couple of years. In its 2019-20 interim Budget, however, the Centre announced a guaranteed income scheme of Rs 6,000 per annum for 12.5 crore small and marginal farmers in the country from FY20, following Telanganas Rythu Bandhu scheme. It needs to be seen if states could manage to resist the trap of announcing a replica of this scheme locally to attract more voters. Some states such as Odisha and Jharkhand have already announced their own welfare schemes providing annual guaranteed income for the farmers. It is just a matter of time when the size of this scheme grows and more states adopt it. The problem, however, is that combined analysis of the Centre and 19 states (general government) reveals that total receipts of the general government were weak in 9MFY19, as tax growth (at just 8.6 percent) was the weakest in seven years. Indirect taxes (including GST) were the key culprit, rising by a meagre 5.8 percent YoY in 9MFY19, as against an average growth of 16.1 percent in the last three years. Considering the historical trends in the final quarter of the fiscal year, our estimates suggest that indirect taxes could witness a shortfall of up to Rs 2.1 lakh crore in FY19. If so, the ability of the states to grow spending in 4QFY19 would be as limited as the Central government. Further, the states may also have to follow the Centre by axing capital spending in order to meet (or remain close to) its fiscal deficit targets. Overall, while the schemes such as the loan waivers and guaranteed income schemes for the farmers are very attractive from political perspective, they are unlikely to be acceptable on economic grounds. Short-term gains are likely to create long-term losses and the latter will most likely come back to haunt the broader economy. (The writer is chief economist, MOFSL) Pakistan first violated ceasefire at around 6 pm, in Nowshera, Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors of Rajouri and Poonch sectors of Jammu and Kashmir where rising tension between India and Pakistan has left villagers close to the Line of Control exposed to violence. Three members of a family were killed and two others injured due to heavy shelling at Salotri in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, as Pakistan violated ceasefire at various places along the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistani forces, News18 reported, targeted civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy guns, including Howitzer 105 mms. Officials said Indian forces had retaliated effectively. Jammu & Kashmir: Three members of a family were killed in shelling by Pakistan, in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector, last night. pic.twitter.com/kqCsnf6RFH ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 Twenty-four-year-old Rubana Kosar, her five-year-old son Fazan and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam, were killed in the shelling. Rubana's husband Mohammad Yunis was injured, they said. Earlier in the day, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in firing by Pakistani forces in the Mankote area of Poonch, officials said. Pakistan first violated ceasefire at around 6 pm, in Nowshera, Mendhar and Krishna Ghati sectors of Rajouri and Poonch sectors on Friday, reported ANI. Reports by Indian Express said the firing was unprovoked and took place at Gawahalan, Chokas, Kiker and Kathi posts in the Uri sector. Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days in violation of the ceasefire agreement with India. On Thursday, a woman was killed and a jawan was injured. On Thursday, ANI had reported that bunkers were being constructed in the last village of the Poonch sector in order to ensure the safety of locals residing there. The village, identified as Karamara, is one that has been on the receiving end of constant firing in the wake of escalated tension along the India-Pakistan border. Locals also alleged that bullets and mortars are fired from both ends. Speaking to ANI, Ayaz Khan, a local, said, "Firing happens here daily. I have grown up seeing this. For the last five to 10 days, a lot of bunkers have been built." The past weeks have witnessed cross-border firing on a daily basis, ever since 42 Central Reserve Police Force personnel lost their lives in the 14 February terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama. The Pakistan Army has violated ceasefire more than 60 times during the last one week. Two weeks after the attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched airstrikes targeting terror training camps in Pakistan's Balakot. A day after India carried out air strikes, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighter jets was shot down. India said it had foiled a strike attempt by Pakistan on 27 February by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet. The pilot of the jet, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was detained in Pakistan and released on Friday. With inputs from PTI This is the third time that the Nizams jewels have been exhibited following their purchase by the Government of India in 1995 for a relatively paltry sum of Rs 210 crore. The girl walks into the strongroom vault and bursts into spontaneous, wondrous laughter. But it is the boy with her who breathlessly articulates the awe they are experiencing: Such big diamonds. They were visitors at the Jewels of India: The Nizams Jewellery Collection exhibit at the National Museum in Delhi and there is nothing extraordinary about their reaction. With diamonds from Golconda mines, rubies and spinels from Myanmar, emeralds from Colombia and Basra pearls, is one of the most spectacular arrays of jewels one can lay eyes on. And this is without taking into account the Jacob Diamond, weighing in at 184.50 carats and ranked fifth in the world in size. It is in fact bigger than the Koh-i-noor, which weighs 105.60 carats. This is the third time that the Nizams jewels have been exhibited following their purchase by the Government of India in 1995 for a relatively paltry sum of Rs 210 crore. In reality, the collection was believed to have been valued at anywhere between Rs 1,800 and 2,000 crore, though its virtually impossible to attach a price tag on history and legacy. Even the story of how India came to buy the jewellery, which had been allocated by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam, into two trusts The Nizams Jewellery Trust set up in 1951 and The Nizams Supplemental Jewellery Trust set up in 1952 is not without its shares of twists and turns. The jewels were meant to be sold in the events of the death of Khan and his son, Azam Jah. Khan died in 1967 and his son in 1970. Accounts vary as to how the Government of India got involved in the process of acquiring the jewels in both these trusts. One version states that the descendants of the Nizams had organised an auction which the Centre stopped while another version claims that the trustees and descendants approached the government themselves, offering the jewels for sale. Either way, the process for this started in 1972 and culminated in 1995, after several court cases and delays. Eventually, the jewels, which comprised 325 pieces and were stored in three trunks inside a vault of a private bank in Mumbai, were taken over by the government of India, which promptly put them in another vault, this time in the RBI. The first exhibition was in 2001 when they were showcased at the National Museum. The second was in 2007. At the inaugural event, the jewels were on display for two months. This time, the exhibition, which started two weeks ago, is on till May 5. Set along the perimeter of the room, the exhibition consists of a fabulous display of turban ornaments, necklaces, armbands, bracelets, earrings and anklets apart from 22 unset emeralds. The Jacob Diamond is in a revolving case at the centre, and such is its allure that even those who are chasing from one display case to another slow down when approaching it. The exhibition is accompanied with prints of archival photographs from the Chowmahalla Palace of the Nizam family members wearing the jewellery. Interestingly, Mir Osman Khan was rumoured to be a miser, preferring to wear old clothes. The Nizams collection is the single most important assortment of Indian jewellery that we have in India today, says Dr Usha Balakrishnan, art historian and author of the book, Jewels of the Nizams. Balakrishnan was in fact asked to document the jewels by the government before they were exhibited in 2001, though she was given only four days to do so. I still dont have words to describe what it was like to see and handle the collection, she says. India has a 5,000- year tradition of jewellery, but little of it has survived due to various factors. The Nizams collection was built over the two-hundred-year rule of the dynasty which was established by Mir Qamaruddin (Asaf Jah I) in 1713 when he was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan. At its peak, it encompassed the entire plateau south of the river Tapti, extending all the way to Madurai and Trichinopoly. As the Mughal Empire declined, the Nizams took their place in the patronage of fine gems and jewellery. The Golconda mines which gave the world some of its finest diamonds from the Hope to the Dresden Green diamond were also under the Nizams. The mines yielded Type II A diamonds, considered one of the purest forms. Even today, a Golconda diamond fetches record prices at auctions. Hence, it is rather curious then that the biggest diamond in the Nizam collection, the Jacob, was actually mined in South Africa. The dynasty continued with an old injunction that stipulated that the ruler had to be offered the best of the mined gems. Everyone talks about the value of the collection but the truth is that it is priceless. Each of these jewels was crafted in India by an Indian craftsman. In fact, there is no other parallel in the world for this kind of hand craftsmanship, says Balakrishnan. Today, in order to see the finest collection of Indian jewels, one has to travel out of the country. Be it the Al Sabah collection in Kuwait, Al Thani of Qatar or the Indian exhibit at Victoria and Albert Museum, most of Indias best pieces are not in the country any more. In a 2015 interview, Hamad bin Abdullah Thani, owner of the Al Thani selection, had spoken about the Nizams collection. No one can see it. The pieces are in the central bank. What is the point if they are not shown to the public? He went on to make a point also made by Balakrishnan, that if the crown jewels can be on display in the Tower of London and if Russian treasures can be exhibited in the Kremlin museums, why should Indians be deprived of this cultural heritage? For centuries the balance of trade was in our favour because of the luxuries we possessed: textiles, pepper and diamonds. It is our greatest soft power and needs to be on permanent display, says Balakrishan. In 2001, when the jewels were exhibited, it had led to sales (tickets and brochures including), of Rs 53,62,735. If the exhibition would have been on continuous display since it was acquired, it would have paid its cost several times over by now. This remains a topic for the future, however. In the meantime, if you are in Delhi, head to the National Museum for an afternoon of gem gazing. All eyes were focused on the parents of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman as they stepped off the flight to Delhi ahead of the IAF pilot's release from Pakistan. New Delhi: It may have been after midnight when the Chennai-Delhi flight came to a stop at the tarmac but there was no scramble to rush towards the exit because all eyes were focused on one couple the parents of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Air Marshal (retired) S Varthaman and Dr Shobha Varthaman were given a standing ovation as co-passengers made way for them in the early hours of Friday, ensuring that the couple gets off first. Abhinandan, who was captured by Pakistan on Wednesday, was released on Friday. A pilot friend sent a better version. #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan. pic.twitter.com/tj0U2z4jMh Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) March 1, 2019 In photos and videos shared by passengers on social media platforms, the couple, who came to Delhi on their way to Amritsar to bring their son home, can be seen acknowledging the clapping, cheers and gratitude with nods of their heads. The plane landed at the Delhi airport about an hour after midnight. The couple left for Amritsar soon after landing in Delhi. They are all set to receive their son most likely at the Wagah border. Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured by the Pakistan Army after his fighter jet crashed in an air duel with a Pakistani F-16. He shot down the plane before his own went down, forcing him to eject. He fell into Pakistani territory. On Thursday, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had announced that he would be released, signalling a de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. Abhinandan's family has served the Indian Air Force for generations, since the second World War. Air Marshal S Varthaman, a recipient of several honours, including a Param Vishisht Seva Medal, said in a message, "Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind, just look at the way he talked so bravely... a true soldier... we are so proud of him." As the Sena was opposed to Nanar refinery citing local opposition, Fadnavis, while announcing a tie-up between the BJP and Sena for coming polls, had announced that the project would be shifted. Mumbai: The Maharashtra government Saturday made it clear officially that a Rs 3 lakh crore oil refinery project will not come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis later said his government was keen that the refinery come up in the state, and an alternative site will be made available. Earlier, Shiv Sena leader and industry minister Subhash Desai said the chief minister had signed a proposal to denotify the land which was to be acquired. As the Sena was opposed to Nanar refinery citing local opposition, Fadnavis, while announcing a tie-up between the BJP and Sena for coming polls, had announced that the project would be shifted. "The Sena had promised the people of Konkan region that the project will not come up there as long as they were opposed to it. Today we have fulfilled our promise. Even the alliance with the BJP was sealed on the condition that the project at Nanar would be scrapped," Desai told reporters. The government had issued a notification in May 2017 to acquire 5,932 hectares of land across 14 villages in Ratnagiri district and two villages in Sindhudurg district. Due to opposition from the local people, the government had stayed the land acquisition process. "In April 2018, I sent a proposal to the chief minister seeking de-notification of the land that was to be acquired," said Desai. The file was pending with Fadnavis for long but the chief minister signed it Saturday, he said. "A gazette notification will be issued by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to cancel the notification of land acquisition in two days," Desai said. State-run oil majors have tied up with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for the mega refinery project. Fadnavis told PTI late in the evening that his government wants the refinery to come up in Maharashtra, because it will power the state's growth for the next ten years. "We will find an alternative site taking everybody in confidence and will not let this investment opportunity, which will create one lakh jobs, go anywhere else," he said. The public communication strategy adopted by Narendra Modi over the last five years has been the subject of much discussion in the public sphere. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday spoke about the reason behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi bypassing the convention of holding press conferences to communicate with the masses, and adopting the radio and social media instead to do the same. The public communication strategy adopted by the prime minister over the last five years has been the subject of much discussion in the public sphere. While releasing a book titled "Mann Ki Baat-A Social Revolution on Radio" at the National Media Centre in Delhi on Saturday, Jaitley said that the prime ministers communication strategy has been shaped by his experience with the media during the 2002 Assembly election in Gujarat. I was sent to Gujarat to direct the election campaign on behalf of the party. The media was not very friendly with him (Modi). Rather, it had adopted an aggressive stance against him. It was felt that agenda was replacing news. In such a situation, you cannot talk to the people through conventional media. It was required to rise above the heads of the intermediaries to talk to the people directly. Even today, very few people understand this strategy, he said. In the 2002 Gujarat Assembly Elections which took place months after riots in the state, the then chief minister Narendra Modi was the focal point of a heated debate around secularism and communalism. The BJP registered a victory in that election. Jaitley also said that in an age when the "media attempts to set the agenda of the nation rather than disseminating news", public figures often have to create mechanisms for public communication. He added that Modi selected the medium of the radio for this purpose, and introduced the "Mann Ki Baat" programme to address the public directly. He used the radio to communicate with the public about governance. No political subject was addressed in the talks. He addressed issues which had been of importance in the previous month, or were expected to be of importance in the upcoming days. People used to send questions and suggestions to him, which were studied and answered in a crisp manner, Jaitley said. The finance minister made a mention of the strategy that Mahatma Gandhi used to communicate news about the Dandi march to Indians. "At the time, English-language newspapers were by and large run by British editors. The radio, then a recently-introduced medium, was also owned by them. When Gandhi announced his salt satyagraha, an English newspaper mocked it by asking whether the British would run away from India if Gandhi made salt from sea water. But what was built up during the march was electrifying. Perhaps the Dandi March was one of the greatest acts of political communication, he said. Jaitley also said, "Mahatma Gandhi was not a forceful speaker. But he spoke in very simple language to communicate his thoughts, and the footprints of his thoughts have remained for years." Remarking that there are few politicians who can directly talk to the people, he said, "I am giving the example of Gandhi because he taught political strategy when media was mostly owned by foreigners. The book released on Saturday by the finance minister is a compilation of 50 episodes of "Mann ki Baat" that were broadcast on All India Radio. The book, collated by the BlueKraft Digital Foundation, also sheds light on research and feedback related to the programme. Many parents, according to Twitter, have named their babies after wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, and chose to make the announcement in similar ways. Following the return of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India on Friday, waves of patriotism took over the nation, some of it undermined by overzealous keyboard warriors who chose to flood Twitter with identical messages of babies named after the airman. The image that accompanied several of these tweets was that of an infant that looked a few months older than a newborn child. In one instance, the author of a tweet declared that his "brother gave birth to a baby boy today": #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan My brother gave birth to a baby boy today,we have decided to keep his name Abhinandan. Our Josh is still high. U tell me how is the name? pic.twitter.com/dQ41bhy3Xh Kesar chauhan (@iamkesarchauhan) March 1, 2019 #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan My aunt gave birth to a baby boy today,we have decided to keep his name Abhinandan. Our Josh is still high. U tell me how is the name? pic.twitter.com/PdTCEdgxgk ANUJ (@ajjuishere) March 1, 2019 Mrs @iamkesarchauhan to brother gave birth to a baby boy yesterday,then comes #Abhinandan in india From Pakistan.They have decided to keep his name #Abhinandan. His Josh is still high U tell his how is the name?@chitraaum @sardanarohit @awasthis @narendramodi #AbhinandanDiwas pic.twitter.com/hcs9PYV1aA Kailash Hindustani (@KailashYadav_) March 2, 2019 #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan A lady gave birth to a baby boy today,we have decided to keep his name Abhinandan. Our Josh is still high. U tell me how is the name? #AbhinandanDiwas #modi pic.twitter.com/ef8alNtzsq Sir Rishabh pant (@Rishabpant_77) March 1, 2019 Some were quick to note the text of such tweets were in most cases a copy paste job. Not sure how you guys are related to each other but At least text toh change kardo yaar... pic.twitter.com/KblavcJ01s Zoo Bear (@zoo_bear) March 1, 2019 And other Twitter users noted loopholes in the plot: For a baby thats less than 24 hours old, he looks a little big. Ishita Yadav (@IshitaYadav) March 1, 2019 Shame to see some ppl naming their 6 or 8 month old baby Abhinandan and claiming that he born today just to get publicity #Abhinandan #AbhinandanReturns Rahul Jha (@imrahul_24) March 2, 2019 Congratulations Your brother deserves Philip Kotler award for giving birth to a baby Abhishek (@ImAbhishek7_) March 1, 2019 Wait your brother gave a birth? pic.twitter.com/h0dHC40U8o BlackGloves (@La_bete11) March 1, 2019 The development comes in the wake of tensions between the two nations beginning to de-escalate after Pakistan announced that it would let Varthaman return home. The tensions were sparked by a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, where at least 42 CRPF personnel were killed. While in both Pakistan and India, journalists, politicians, performers, sportspersons and common people rejoiced on social media, other countries too reacted positively to the return of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan on Friday, two days after he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army when his MiG 21 fell in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The decision to release the pilot, announced by Paksitan prime minsiter Imran Khan on Thursday, was met with cheers and hopes that the tension between the two countries would de-escalate. While in both Pakistan and India, journalists, politicians, performers, sportspersons and common people rejoiced on social media, other countries too reacted positively to the development. China, Indian Express reported, welcomed the "goodwill signal" by Pakistan in releasing Abhinandan. A key ally to Pakistan, China has often blocked India's efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar declared a United Nations-designated terrorist. In a Ministry of Foreign Affairs' briefing on Friday, spokesperson Lu Kang said that China had, from the beginning, called upon both sides to "exercise restraint, ease tensions, and engage in dialogue." "China welcomes the goodwill signal by the Pakistan side. De-escalation serves common interest of both sides," Lu said. Meanwhile, France, which assumes the presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, vowed to "do everything it can to ensure that the perpetrators of the terrible Pulwama attack are punished". A statement by Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs said, "I welcome the easing of tensions between India and Pakistan and the release of the Indian pilot held in Pakistan. I applaud the two governments' decision to exercise restraint and responsibility and encourage them to resume their bilateral dialogue." He added, "Today I reiterate our solidarity with India in the fight against all forms of terrorism." The European Union had called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise "maximum restraint" in this atmosphere. Russia, which along with China, forms the politically significant Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral grouping, on Friday offered to mediate and provide a venue to Pakistan and India for talks to resolve their current differences, the Pakistan foreign office said. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi over telephone and discussed the situation in the region following escalation of tensions between the two neighbours, it said. "Russian foreign minister Lavrov reiterated his country's offer of mediation and provision of venue for the talks between India and Pakistan," the FO added. On Thursday, the United Nations had welcomed Pakistan's decision to return Abhinandan. Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric said that the world body and the international community want the two countries to "de-escalate tensions". With inputs from PTI Even after seven long decades, our national leaders have miserably failed in fulfilling their promise that Partition victims would be given protection in the land that they considered their own. Awarding citizenship rights to non-Muslim refugees from the three neighbouring Muslim countries on a fast track mode would be a long due and befitting penance for the entire nation. Even after seven long decades, our national leaders have miserably failed in fulfilling their promise that Partition victims would be given protection in the land that they considered their own. It is these people who had sacrificed their very existence for the sake of a fractured Independence even as the saga has continued for generations. Right from the first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to the last Congress prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, all were opportunistically oblivious of the promise they made during the turbulent times of the Partition. 1947 was a nightmarish curse both for the Hindus and Muslims, particularly so on the Bengal front. But there is no denying the fact that the Hindus, even after 70 years, are the worst sufferers. Muslims also bled profusely, they were also rendered homeless, but ultimately they could acquire a country of their own where they can speak in their own mother language and fearlessly practice the religion they believe in. But the Hindus are stripped off their freedom both in these Muslim countries as well as in some parts of India. India achieved her truncated independence on the basis of the two nation theory. In direct contrast to it, the birth of Bangladesh was, in the true sense, a celebration of the victory of linguistic fraternity over religious identity. But the seed of communal polarization, sown by the Partition, was hard to be rooted out. And as time rolled on, reality began to resurface. The reality of communal polarization. Newly-born Bangladesh spared little time to convert itself from a secular nation of Bengalis, both Muslims and Hindus, to an Islamic state. Bangladesh has a very strong, distinctly articulated and proficiently influential presence of secular, liberal intelligentsia which unfailingly dares to confront the evil nexus of politics and religious fundamentalism. But unfortunately, this sane voice of the liberal progressive forces has not succeeded in instilling confidence and a sense of belongingness among the minority Hindus. News of scripted torture on the Hindus, and calculated inactivity of the authority does not cease to pour in from various parts of Bangladesh. The Partition-cursed Hindus are forced to believe that they are the poor minority at the mercy of their Muslim masters. The 1947 Partition constantly haunts them, and sends them to a state of insecurity and the resultant alienation. Presence of Hindus in Bangladesh has been in a descending mode even before the bifurcated Independence officially signed in 1947. These statistics of the non-Muslim exodus from Pakistan, erstwhile East Pakistan and subsequently Bangladesh, have a direct impact on the society and politics of various states, particularly states like Assam. Settlement or to be precise, dealing with the refugees of East Bengal origin, is the pivotal issue of Assams society as well as politics. Bengalis in Assam as well as in the entire Northeast are the worst sufferers as the nation has, for reasons best known to it, has failed a formulate a policy to rehabilitate the displaced non-Muslims from the neighbouring countries. Our political masters have tactfully ignored the fact that these non-Muslim refugees are not illegal infiltrators, rather they had to migrate from one part of the country to another part, and that too on the basis of the promise of the national leaders. Rehabilitation of the displaced minorities from the neighbouring Muslim countries, unfortunately, remains a legal and political issue in India, but it should have been treated on the humanitarian ground. Our political masters intentionally kept the issue burning to reap dividends in the elections. A state like Assam is the best example. For long 40 years, the entire society and politics of the state, which shares borders with Bangladesh, had been regulated by a fallacious theory that lakhs and lakhs of Bangladeshi infiltrators have settled in the state and that the Assamese culture and language are under threat of their aggression and eventually with the increasing numbers, the Bangladeshi would very soon usurp political power too. Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the political outfit of the Assamese ultranationalists was in the power for two terms but could not detect even one lakh Bangladeshis. But for the last four decades, this witch-hunt for the Bangladeshi, which now turns out to be Hindu Bangladeshi, remains the pivotal issue in the state. And Hindu Bengalis, residing for generations in the state, are the worst sufferers. A strict law should immediately be adopted to pull the curtains down by awarding citizenship rights to the non-Muslim refugees from the neighbouring Muslim countries, to atone for the sin our national leaders committed 70 years back. It would be the ultimate penance for those who have lost their motherland and dignity so that their fellow countrymen could live in an Independent country with their head held high. The writer is editor, Jugasankha, a leading Bengali media group MMRDA to hike ticket fares; revised rates to be declared today. Mumbai: The second and most awaited phase of the monorail, from Wadala to Jacob Circle, is all set to begin from Sunday with fare hikes to be declared on Saturday. Chief minister Devendra Fadanvis will inaugurate the second phase of the monorail. The phase of Monorail, which faced several hurdles and was revised eight times will begin on Sunday. The second phase has been scheduled to start from Sunday evening at 6 pm. said senior official from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The MMRDA officials said that invitations for the inauguration have been sent for printing. The chief minister is expected to flag off the second phase from the Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk station. The monorail second phase corridor is 19.5 kilometer long and the project cost was Rs 3000 crore. This corridor from Wadala to Jacob Circle will make the entire corridor operational, which is from Chembur-Wadala-Jacob circle. The trial runs for the second phase were conducted in past few days. The MMRDA had taken over the project from the contractor, to whom it was initially assigned, after serving a show cause notice for not completing the project on time. In December 2018, the MMRDA took charge of the project. Due to this, the contractor company had taken objection on the MMRDA taking containers carrying spare parts. Two containers containing 112 spare parts of worth Rs 3 crore had arrived in Mumbai in the month of January. However, the containers faced obstacles to reach Wadala depot as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) officials were not releasing it. After intervention from the MMRDA authorities, the spare parts were released and the speedy work for the second phase began. With the second phase of monorail being functional, the MMRDA officials expect an increase in the number of commuters. They are expecting nearly 1 lakh commuters on both lines within a year. The MMRDA officials have also prepared a revised ticket price. The new charges will be applicable from Sunday morning. The MMRDA may declare revised rates on Saturday, said a MMRDA official. A Delhi court on Saturday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Robert Vadra till 19 March in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Robert Vadra till 19 March in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Special judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Vadra, who is the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square worth GBP 1.9 million (British pounds), which is allegedly owned by him. On 25 February, a Delhi court refused to stay the ED's interrogation of Vadra in connection with the money laundering case. The court directed him to join investigation before the Enforcement Directorate (ED). With inputs from agencies Eyewitnesses present at the site of India's 26 February bomb strikes against a Jaish-e-Muhammad base say they saw up to 35 bodies being transported out of the the site by ambulance in the hours after the attack. Rome: Eyewitnesses present at the site of India's 26 February bomb strikes against a Jaish-e-Muhammad base say they saw up to 35 bodies being transported out of the the site by ambulance hours after the attack. The dead, they recounted, included 12 men who were said to have been sleeping in a single temporary shack, and several individuals who had earlier served in Pakistan's military. The sources, who work for local government authorities, declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to media, and said they feared reprisal. The eyewitnesses were contacted by this correspondent using encrypted communication. "Local authorities reached the site soon after the bombing," one witness said, "but the area had already been cordoned off by then by the army, who did not even allow police to enter. The army also took away mobile phones from the medical staff on the ambulances." A former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer known locally as "Colonel Salim" was killed in the bombing, sources said, while a "Colonel Zarar Zakri" was injured. Mufti Moeen, a Jaish-e-Muhammad instructor from Peshawar, and improvised explosive device-fabrication expert Usman Ghani were also killed in the bombing. The largest single cluster of fatalities, the eyewitnesses said, were 12 Jaish-e-Muhammad fidayeen trainees, who were living in a single temporary earth-and-wood building that was flattened in the bombing. Conflicting Testimony Eyewitness testimony from the region has been conflicting, with witnesses variously saying there were no Jaish-e-Muhammad fighters at Jaba top, and others insisting they were present. The testimony has also been divided on whether casualties were inflicted, with several local residents telling television and print journalists that the only victims were some civilians who received minor injuries. However, the witnesses were only interviewed days after the attack, and several media outlets reported that they were not allowed unfettered access to all areas in Jaba, the village targeted in the raid. Independent satellite imagery analysis conducted by Nathan Ruser of the prestigious Australian Strategic Policy Institute concluded that there is "no apparent evidence of more extensive damage and on the face of it does not validate Indian claims regarding the effect of the strikes". However, Indian Air Force officials have asserted that that synthetic aperture radar which provides finer spatial resolution than conventional beam-scanning radar reveals that they destroyed four target buildings below the ridge, where the Jaish-e-Muhammad has several buildings, including a seminary. The images, however, have not been made public, making it impossible to independently verify these claims. Islamabad has said the Indian raid caused little damage, other than to local vegetation. Indian intelligence sources said two of the names mentioned by the eyewitnesses Usman and Colonel Salim had also figured in communications intelligence available. At an intelligence assessment meeting held on 1 March, India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) said its communications intelligence could confirm five dead, but placed estimates of the killed in the region of 20. R&AW had identified the Jaba top seminary as a target, based on intelligence that personnel earlier stationed by the Jaish-e-Muhammad at villages along the Line of Control had been pulled back to that location, in anticipation of possible Indian Army retaliation after the Pulwama suicide bombing. Theres no doubt that bombs hit their targets, a senior intelligence official said. Though some of the numbers that have been appearing in the media are hyperbolic, I think the raid served its purpose, which was to make a point about our ability to strike at terrorist safe-havens, rather than extract revenge. Some television channels reported that 300 people had been killed in the strike. Past air strikes on terrorist targets have generally had a low deterrent effect, since the personnel at training facilities are generally small in the number and dispersed. In 1998, the United States fired 75 cruise missiles at Al-Qaedas Zhawar Kili in retaliation of the bombing at the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, but killed only a dozen terrorists or less. The author is an Italian journalist who has covered South Asia extensively. She writes regularly for Limes-Italian Review of Geopolitics and several Italian and Swiss media outlets. She won the Italian journalism prize, Il Luigiano d'oro in 2010. She is the Chief Editor of Stringer Asia, an online magazine on South Asia, since 1995. 'It is good to be back in my country,' was the first reaction of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he set his foot back on Indian soil. New Delhi: "It is good to be back in my country," was the first reaction of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he set his foot back on Indian soil. This was stated by an official quoting Varthaman after he received the pilot at the Attari-Wagah border soon after his release from Pakistan. In its reaction, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Twitter, "We have Wing Commander Abhinandan back with us. Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior #Abhinandan." Varthaman was captured by Pakistani authorities on 27 February after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. "We are happy to have him back," said a top IAF officer shortly after Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities. Reading out a brief statement, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, told a posse of reporters that the pilot will be taken for a detailed medical examination as he was subjected to lot of stress during his nearly three-day captivity. "He will be taken for a detailed medical checkup. The officer has had to eject from a plane which would have put his body under immense strain," said Kapoor. The air vice marshal did not take any question from the media. Ever since suffering the humiliation of being a three-day chief minister after the May 2018 Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict, BS Yeddyurappa has been trying desperately to engineer defections from the Congress to regain power The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) usually begins its preparations for general elections six months in advance, but Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa has been so obsessed with toppling the coalition government and becoming chief minister again, that with less than two months to go for Lok Sabha polls, the BJPs campaign in the state is yet to take off. Ever since suffering the humiliation of being a three-day chief minister after the May 2018 Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict, Yeddyurappa has been trying desperately to engineer defections from the Congress to regain power. He could never mobilise around 12 to 13 MLAs required to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition and during the Budget Session last fortnight had to eat a humble pie as Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy produced an audio tape purportedly of Yeddyurappa offering Rs 25 crore or Rs 10 crore as mentioned elsewhere in the conversation to an MLA for switching sides. Yeddyurappa has been silenced, for the time being, with a police case of attempted bribery. It remains to be seen what impact the whole episode will have on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Yeddyurappa again embarrassed his party by claiming that the air strikes on Pakistan will help BJP win 22 seats in Karnataka and received a severe reprimand from BJP chief Amit Shah. Yeddyurappa, the Lingayat strongman, was largely responsible for bringing the BJP to power in Karnataka for the first time in 2008, but since then, his erratic and unpredictable behaviour, coupled with corruption charges against him when he was chief minister, have resulted in diminishing returns for the BJP. But not having a leader of comparable stature and given his track record of volatility when replaced the BJP has been forced to face another election under his leadership. For the BJP, 2019 Lok Sabha polls is like none before, as it will have to take on the combined might of the Congress and the JD(S). As evident from the results of three by-elections to Ballary, Mandya and Shivamogga just six months ago, the BJP will have to deal with a formidable combination. In 2014, the BJP bagged 17 out of 28 seats: ten of them by a margin of more than one lakh votes with Yeddyurappa leading the pack, winning Shivamogga by more than a margin of 3.3 lakh votes. And the Congress won three out of nine seats by a margin of less than 10,000 votes because of the three-way fight between the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S). This scenario is likely to alter substantially when Congress and the JD(S) put up a common candidate against the BJP. In the recent by-elections, Yeddyurappas son BY Raghavendras victory margin came down to 60,000 votes and Congress snatched the Ballary seat earlier held by BJP by a stunning 2.3 lakh votes. In the May 2018 Assembly elections, Congress and JD(S) polled a combined 53 percent votes compared to 41 percent of the BJP. The two coalition partners were cock-a-hoop not long ago that they would sweep as many as 24 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. But parliamentary polls are entirely different from Assembly elections and the results do not necessarily follow simple arithmetic. Besides, the tension that has crept into seat-sharing between Congress and JD(S) is likely to spill over into campaigning by party workers, leading to some unexpected results. The BJP has its own share of problems in candidate selection: Some MPs are seen as laggards or facing anti-incumbency. In the old Mysuru area especially, which accounts for 12 seats, BJP will be hard pressed to retain three Bengaluru city seats and one Mysuru seat in a one-on-one contest. In Bengaluru South, which has traditionally voted for the BJP, Ananthkumars absence who passed away two months ago will be sorely felt, as he had won six consecutive terms. His wife Tejaswini, who has been successfully running a midday meal scheme for 2.5 lakh schoolchildren, is likely to contest with BJP, while Congress is trying to persuade Sumalatha Ambareesh to stand for election here rather than Mandya. Union minister Sadananda Gowda who won from Bengaluru North, may face a formidable challenge from HD Deve Gowda, who is pitching himself as a prime ministerial candidate. PC Mohan may have a tough time against Rizwan Arshad of the Congress in Bengaluru Central, which has five MLAs out of eight Assembly segments. In the coastal and north Karnataka areas, BJP may have it relatively easy. The overall result from Karnataka will depend to a large extent on how the Modi charisma works as ultimately, he is the real vote-catcher for the party. Abhinandan Varthaman was in the custody of Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. New Delhi: A day after his return from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Saturday informed the top brass of Indian Air Force (IAF) that he was subjected to a lot of mental harassment, though he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities, said a source. The wing commander was also medically examined, considering the fact that he had ejected after his MiG 21 was shot down in PoK air space while chasing Pakistani fighter planes which had transgressed into Indian air space on 27 February. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa met Varthaman at the Army RR Hospital. During a separate meeting with the Air Chief, Varthaman briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours, Varthaman stepped on the Indian soil through Wagah border, Amritsar in Punjab, on Friday night at 9.20 pm. He was in the custody of Pakistan Army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On Wednesday, Abhinandan was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his MiG 21 Bison crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon his landing. On Thursday, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan announced the release of Varthaman, calling his move a peace gesture. India also used diplomatic and military pressure to ensure that Pakistan releases Varthaman unconditionally, top sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made no compromises on Pakistans proposal for holding talks, said sources. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with the US and other P-5 countries, sources said. The External Affairs Ministry also exerted pressure on Pakistan through the Arab world, they said. Most TV channels are on a free-for-all mission, where the objective is to attain stratospheric decibel levels based on their own perception of what the truth ought to be. The one casualty we can be certain of in the aftermath of the surgical strikes on 26 February is facts. It is often said in Pakistan that the Indian media is more pro- government and more submissive to a nationalist stream of thought. Last weeks coverage somewhat bears this out. Opinions hold sway and guessing games are rife in the post-truth age. One main reason is that the barebones Indian official readout by the foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale did not give any details of the casualties inflicted or provide images. The magic number of 300 or 350 killed in the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp at Jabba Top near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was attributed to sources and not even the department the sources came from is mentioned. So where did this number emanate from, which is now being mentioned across the globe? Some media have whittled down this number to 20 or even 40, but in the absence of a concrete official number, we really dont know. The other thing no one knows or has been told from a credible source who is named, is the extent of damage. Was the JeM training camp demolished, and on what basis are reports saying there is aquatic training a swimming pool and some 20 ex-army trainers? This seems based on older reports of the camp which existed in 2004. Few sources are quoted, except in one case which had access to intelligence reports/information. So, for the most part, looking back over last weeks fast developing news, we dont know so many things about this surgical strike, much like the earlier one in 2016. The first confusion was over where Balakot was located, since there are two places with that name one along the Indian Line of Control. The foreign secretary in his readout did not clarify this crucial fact, though it became clear quite soon. All we know is that it was a non-military pre-emptive strike, based on credible intelligence reports that Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning another strike. The foreign secretary only said a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis being trained for fidayeen (suicide) action were eliminated. No number was given out. And so, it was left to sources to step into the breach. Also, was this an active JeM training centre? Some reports indicate it was. The subsequent briefing by the defence top brass only indicated there was proof but the government would have to choose to share it. Fair enough, but that did not stop TV channels from jumping the gun and speculating on the numbers. The images of little fighter planes crisscrossing screens on both Indian and Pakistani TV channels were supposed to remind us of the war-like situation. It was mostly annoying, along with the rant that most TV anchors indulged in. According to an article in The News Minute, a Telugu channel, TV9, showed a news room designed as a war room, with an anchor dressed in camouflage with a gun in his hand. It cant get worse than that, or can it? Even after the last surgical strike in 2016, the war was mainly played out in TV rooms, with anchors wearing flak jackets. All this must make us duck for cover and cringe. Yet, we didnt learn any lesson from reporting that earlier surgical strike and once again, the media had to rely on what the government put out. This time too, we threw all journalistic caution to the winds. The lack of complete information from the Indian government, and selective leaking of the figure of 300 by sources led to the confusion. The media which went to Balakot, notably Al Jazeera and Reuters were not allowed to visit the madrasa. The Reuters report said that the board of the JeM was taken down, and the military stopped them from going to the madrasa, which local people said was a place for children to study in. The constant replaying of pictures of an empty crater and some chopped trees put out by Pakistan has now made the Indian attack a butt of jokes. Credible information is not only required before a surgical strike, it is also necessary for the media to file their stories. This is something that the government needs to take seriously. A bland read-out may serve little purpose. In this case, it has caused mayhem, with all sorts of claims being made by these nebulous sources. The other problem is that for the Indian media, direct verification is not possible as there is a dim chance of any Indian journalist being allowed to the site. A similar thing happened during the 26 November, 2008 terror attack, when no one from Pakistan could come to Mumbai and report. While there was all-round condemnation of this attack from Pakistani civil society, it makes a difference if you are allowed to report on something as devastating as this strike was. Hamstrung by little information from official sources, lack of access to the actual place, and fed by sources and speculation, the media had a choice: to honestly state that it didnt know or couldnt verify the numbers or some of the statements put out by officials was one way out, but that would be too much to expect in an era of breaking news. Even when nothing is happening, as for instance during the long wait on Friday to see the captured Indian pilots release at the Wagah border, TV reporters at the site had to fill in the boredom with nonsensical statements someone is coming through the gates or something is happening, but I dont know what exactly and speculation for the delay including statements that it was worrying. The wages of non-stop TV. However, not all the media has stooped to spreading misinformation. In fact, some TV channels also took the trouble to say that the official number of those killed in the surgical strike is not known. Questions are also raised by media practitioners on the manner of reporting this strike. But most of TV and also the channel mentioned earlier are on a free-for-all mission, where the objective is to attain stratospheric decibel levels based on their own perception, which is not much, of what the truth ought to be. Things are not exactly ideal on the Pakistani side either, although they do have the advantage of going to the site and checking the truth of the Indian claims. The question is if anyone was allowed into the JeM camp/madrasa, though the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson said that it was an open site and anyone could go there. In his address to a joint session of Parliament, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan praised his countrys media for its responsible reporting, adding that the media there was covering war and conflict since 2002, and so they knew the implications of war-mongering. Not so the Indian media, he said, which was war-mongering, and he was afraid something would happen just by watching the broadcasts. He implied that had the Indian media seen what its counterparts had (in Pakistan) in terms of bloodshed, they wouldnt be doing this. No one, Khan said, wins a war; one shouldnt even think of it. While there is much jingoism including advocating the use of a nuclear bomb, this doesnt seem to constitute the opinion of the people, who for the most part, are against war and for peace. The first demonstrations for peace and anti-war were in Pakistani cities, and people demanded the release of the captured Indian pilot. In India too, there are sane voices, but they tend to be shouted down in the frenzy to promote revenge. However, the idea of revenge was articulated in unmistakable terms by a journalist during the press conference by the ISPR spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor on 26 February. The first question from a male Pakistani journalist was, Sir, the Indians are behaving like drunk moneys and jumping all over the media isnt it time to shut those monkeys up? The journalist said that India hit a faraway hill and some trees, and asked if Pakistan should do the same to match the Indian strike that is, bomb a faraway hill and some trees. To this, Major General Ghafoor, using the journalist's words, said that they would "shut these monkeys up," but in the "Pakistani way," with no lies, etc. The questions at the Foreign Office briefings which, as Indian journalists posted in Islamabad, we were allowed to attend, were sometimes on these lines journalists asked about the RAW hand in bomb blasts in Islamabad and so on. But for the most part, no one was hostile against Indian journalists and on the contrary, made them feel at home. While Indian journalists had been posted in Pakistan for over 20 years, and both India and Pakistan earlier allowed media representatives to be stationed in each others countries, that is no longer the case. Since May 2014, when the two Indian journalists reporting for The Hindu and Press Trust of India were asked to leave, there is no Indian media presence in Islamabad. Since 2011, New Delhi also has no Pakistani correspondents. So, even a rational media exchange is no longer possible, though journalists do visit. Despite a free media that both countries boast of, even this practice has no traction. Being able to travel and report freely reduces doubt and suspicion. The fact that it is no longer possible only fuels more doubt and misgivings. Government records reveal the average annual apple production in Kashmir is 17 lakh metric tons. Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings straight and raw from the ground will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days. Read more articles from the series here *** Ganderbal: Mohammad Afzal Bhat (60) from Watlar village was lucky, like most apple growers in the Ganderbal constituency and across Kashmir, to have had time to harvest the years fruit, because days later, on 3 November, 2018, untimely snow wreaked havoc in the Valley, the likes of which hasnt been seen there for nearly a decade. Bhat, however, couldnt protect his orchard from the damage that, officials and experts say, has broken the backbone of the Valleys apple growers, as several orchards have been ravaged. After harvesting the fruit last October, Bhat was preparing for post apple-picking activities pruning perennials, tilling surfaces around tree trunks, and removing invasive weeds to protect his 20-kanal apple orchard from any possible damage, but heavy snowfall on 3 and 4 November forced all growers to stay put in their homes and watch their labour of love get destroyed partial or full breakage of branches, trees uprooted, tree trunks shaken, and harvested and ready-to-be-sold fruit ruined. The root rot and collar rot, caused when rainwater or snow accumulates around roots or trunks and leads to decay, also damaged many trees in the days that followed. The Rs 7,000-crore horticulture industry, considered to be the Valleys backbone, has 1,44,825 hectares under apple cultivation in Kashmirs ten districts. Government records reveal the average annual apple production in the Valley is 17 lakh metric tons. Almost one-third of this was damaged. That is more than 43,353 hectares of apple orchards owned by 3.65 lakh families in over 2,350 villages and towns in the Valley have been affected. Picking up the pieces Chief Horticulture Officer, Ganderbal, Shabir Ahmad Mattu says 106-odd hectares of apple orchards owned by 4,094 families in around 65 villages were affected this is 36 percent of the constituencys overall apple production area. But 50 percent of the affected orchard owners have been compensated with Rs 4,000 under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), and the rest will be compensated soon in a phased manner, he adds. An irate grower, however, retorts, "An average apple tree gives a harvest worth Rs 5,000 every year. So you can see that the compensation announced doesnt even cover one tree. Hows this justified?" Of Bhats 500 apple trees, more than 150 have suffered minor to heavy damage. "A few trees are completely uprooted. All thats left to do of them now is to burn them for fuel during winters, he rues, angry at the government for leaving the growers to fend for themselves. "Nobody has approached us to help us through this devastation, neither have we received any compensation from the government, which continues to claim that it has already dispensed it, adds Bhat, walking through his devastated orchard and mournfully picking up broken branches. Other farmers from the constituency have pegged their losses at between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000. Its hard for us (growers) to ascertain the damage in numbers. Limb breakage was the common denominator across orchards. We clipped the damaged branches and saved the trees. But this will have a direct bearing on apple production in our village as well as across Kashmir. As per my calculation, I will have to bear an annual loss of Rs 70,000 for at least the next three years, says Aabid Hussain, an orchardist from Lar, Ganderbal. Those trees with extensive branch damage would have to be cut completely and replaced with new ones. More than 15 apple trees have been damaged in my 12-kanal orchard. An average apple tree takes 8 to 12 years to grow fully; so the fact that I have to replace three with new ones means that I have to wait for 10 years and, simultaneously, invest in other resources to improve yield. All this will bring my losses to nearly Rs 2 lakh. In my village, Wakoora, average damage is between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. So, the compensation offered by the government is peanuts, says Mohammad Ashraf, an orchardist. Traversing from village to village, going from door to door, the story remains the same in the absence of any unions or associations for Ganderbals orchardists, the growers have been left out in the cold, while government officials continue to downplay the damage sustained and losses incurred, because there reportedly arent enough funds to compensate everyone affected. Where were the elected representatives? For Abid Hussain (28) from Watlar village, its the absence of a representative whom, he says, they had chosen during the previous election to address their grievances, is whats astonishing. We havent seen him here since the snow unleashed its fury. If he cant redress our grievances or hear our distressed calls, we better replace him with someone else in the upcoming election, he says; Hussain is referring to the local MLA of National Conference (NC), Ishfaq Ahmad Shaikh, who won the last election for his pro-farmer promises. Ganderlbal resident Arif Lone seconds Hussain and says the local MLA didnt show up despite so many farmers being distressed. Shaikh, however, claims to have visited several snow-ravaged areas and promises to make a case of reasonable compensation for orchardists in his constituency once a popular government is in power.The compensation announced under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) is peanuts. The massive damage demands a reasonable compensation, for which I will fight after I am chosen as a representative once again, says Shaikh, who hopes to win the upcoming election as well. Given the calls by pro-freedom groups like Hurriyat for boycott of all elections, most parts of the Valley witness minuscule voting in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. However, Ganderbal is among the few constituencies that has seen a higher voter turnout. Local issues like road connectivity, health facilities, and agricultural and horticultural development play an important role in deciding the fate of legislators in the fray. The constituency has been dominated by NC both at the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha levels. With livelihoods of a majority dependent on horticulture, a sizeable number of voters will seek the regions development in the form of new plans and execution of already laid out policies from legislators contesting in the upcoming elections. Assessing the damage Deputy Director of Horticulture, Kashmir, Mohammad Yousuf Dar says the damage happened because the leaf fall was yet to occur and the pruning activity yet to begin. Though we usually issue advisories when there is an early snowfall prediction, we didnt predict or expect such a massive snowfall. Snow accumulated on tree branches, which caused them to bend and break from the weight, he adds. The government estimates losses due to this damage to trees along with horticulture and agricultural crops at Rs 500 crore. Apple growers associations across the Valley, however, say the loss is double that figure Rs 1, 000 crore and that too only for apple fruits and orchards. Figures available with the Department of Horticulture, Kashmir, reveal that in terms of area, Kulgam district in south Kashmir is the worst-hit with 9, 945 hectares damaged, followed by Kupwara, Shopian, Anantnag, Bandipora, and Pulwama with 8,823, 6,948, 6,047, 4,571, and 3,488 hectares affected, respectively. In terms of overall apple production, Pulwama district tops with 45 percent of its apple crop and fruit damaged. Its followed by Baramulla in the north, Kulgam in the south, and Ganderbal in central Kashmir with 42 percent, 37 percent, and 36 percent, respectively. Kupwaras damage is 34 percent, and Shopian and Anantnags 33 percent each. The lack of insurance coverage for orchards has further distressed the farmers. Growers across Watlar, Choontwar, Waliwar, Benhama, Baghe-e-Zaman, Arhama, Bagh-e-Manandh, Yaarmuqam, Repora, Bala, Wakoora, Dab, Sherbagh, Wakoora, and surrounding villages in Ganderbal, who we met, rued their harvests vulnerability to natural calamities and the absence of insurance protection for the same to mitigate the losses. Many of them, like Manzoor Ahmad from Wakoora village, have urged the government to bring apple growers under the umbrella of insurance. Experts explain HDP model and farmers hesitation Associate Director (Research Wing) at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Professor Muhammad Saleem Mir rules out any impact of climate change on the horticulture sector in the region and attributes the aberration in weather conditions as a natural phenomenon that occurs after long internals and irregularly. Switching over to High-Density Plantation (HDP) entirely is what, the government and experts say, will protect the crop from unforeseen natural calamities due to erratic weather. An HDP orchard is organised in such a way that there is little to no effect of snowfall, hail, and windstorms on the crop. And while it takes an apple tree around eight to 12 years to yield the fruit, High-Density Plants yield the fruit in just two or three years. Government officials claim that they, along with scientists, have been going from door to door to encourage more farmers to adopt this model. The damage caused could have been avoided had farmers followed the techniques already provided to them by agricultural experts, says Mir. An HDP orchard is well protected from natural calamities and gives a better and higher yield. It also involves less expenditure and minimises chances of huge quantities of the fruit getting spoiled. Though farmers in European nations switched to HDP decades ago, it remains a new and unexplored concept in the Valley. There is a lack of knowledge and awareness among Kashmirs farmers about it, and thats the main reason why they have been giving it the cold shoulder. Experts, however, say the situation is changing gradually. Farmers are approaching officials and experts for guidance on planting high-density crops in their orchards. The affected growers concede that they will replace most of the damaged trees with HDP ones. (The author is a Srinagar-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com) It is critical to debunk the myth that Abhinandans release was a peace gesture by Pakistan. It was rather a desperate damage control act, given Pakistans fragile fiscal health and the collateral perils of escalating tensions with India at this stage. When the Pulwama attack occurred on 14 February, it brought back an acute sense of collective indignation which one felt on rare earlier occasions such as the 26/11 attacks. However, unlike on previous occasions, the restlessness notwithstanding, most people knew that our response this time would be different. We would no longer play ball to the wily Pakistani leadership which has mastered the art of talking peace during the day and encouraging terror during the night. Hence, after a whetted prelude which included cancellation of Most Favoured Nation status to Pak, increasing custom duty on imported goods by 200 percent, diplomatic onslaught, warnings over the Indus Water Treaty, besides direct warnings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, in his speeches, the unprecedented finally happened in the wee hours of 26 February. The Indian Air Force (IAF )intruded deep into Pakistan to bomb one of Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camps at Balakot. What followed was a rogue retaliation by Pakistan on the morning of 27 Februrary, which resulted in Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman being taken captive. The night of 27 February was indeed a chaotic and depressing one for India, what with Pakistan releasing a video of Abhinandan. This video instantly led to a renewed clamour for peace by Indias disgruntled liberals. In fact, the behavior of a section of Imran Khan enamoured Indians was so embarrassing that Pakistan seemed to have gained an advantage in the situation. Indias previous government would have succumbed under this pressure, as the case used to be. But then Modi is made of sterner stuff, a fact Pakistan was late to realiSe. Not only did Modi chose not to de-escalate, the Indian establishment made it clear to Pakistan that releasing Abhinandan immediately was not a choice but a compulsion for them. A host of friendly countries only chipped in, putting insurmountable pressure on Pakistan. The result was pleasantly unexpected: a rogue State, known for its thuggery was, for the first time, forced to release a Prisoner Of War in less than 48 hours and without any damage to him. It is critical to debunk the myth that Abhinandans release was a peace gesture by Pakistan. It was rather a desperate damage control act, given Pakistans fragile fiscal health and the collateral perils of escalating tensions with India at this stage. It is important to note here that till the noon of 28 February, a cheeky Pakistan establishment continued to play truant-telling India that they will decide in the next two days on whether to give the POW status to the captive wing commander. By early evening however, the terror State had been shocked into retreat mode by Indias unexpected firmness. When Imran finally declared Abhinandan would be released as a peace gesture, India had registered its most resounding win against Pakistan in several decades. So how did this Pakistans absolute turnaround come about in a matter of hours? Contrary to what the obsequious Indian peaceniks would have us believe, Pakistan indeed didnt have an option this time. Why would a country which only the previous day had violated our airspace with 23 F16s and tried attacking our military bases, suddenly beg for peace? What contributed to Pakistan being choked was an unprecedented resolve shown by India. Indias message to the world was loud and clear : Yes, India wants peace but will no longer be blackmailed into it. India will never again be apologetic about avenging herself. India will no longer run to the super-power nations and complain against Pakistan. Rather, the world would now have to watch India tame Pakistans rogue propensities. What does the future hold? Strange as it is, the last four days has also seen repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan and heavy shelling across the border. In fact, around the same time that Wing Commander Abhinandan was being handed over, heaving shelling by Pakistan resulted in the death of two children. In this situation, India rightly does not want to have any truck with Pakistan. The Indian prime minister does not want to waste his time talking to a puppet prime minister controlled by the Inter-Services Intelligence. For India to be ready for any meaningful engagement with Pakistan, Pakistan will have to take visible action against JeM terrorists. While this tough, non-nonsense stand is extremely heartening, ideally it should have been taken post 26/11. What also works heavily in Indias favour today is our deft foreign policy. The best manifestation of our diplomatic success was seen on Friday when the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Countries sided with truth and India . In the process, they ostracised Pakistan their member and shunned terror unequivocally. This is the power of todays India. Sadly, a powerful India discomforts Pakistan, as much as it does certain Indian opportunists, who now have a new fantasy: a peace loving terror State! For India, this is truly a watershed moment. With its new resolve and clout, India is expected to assume a crucial role and responsibility in the fight against global terror. This will also serve as eye-opener for the superpower nation which had until recently been shielding JeM. The author is a BJP leader from Mumbai This is a dharmayudha, a righteous war between good and evil, fight it in every way, use every tool you have military, diplomatic, communications, economic and win it. For too long your country has languished under Pakistans terror assault. Five millenniums ago, after the Great War fought on battleground Kurukshetra between all but two warriors of Aryavarta, when King Yudhishthira asked Ved Vyasa about how he should go about rebuilding his kingdom, Vyasa told him to seek the advice of General Bhishma. Son of Ganga and King Shantanu, pupil of Guru Parashurama, administrator-warrior-thinker-strategist par excellence, this monument of a man lay on a bed of arrows on the battleground, consciously waiting for the opportune time to let his soul leave his body. With his death would go all wisdom, all knowledge, all perspectives about dharma, statecraft, kingly duties. And war. The ensuing discourse between Bhishma and Yudhishthira comprises the largest of 18 parvas, books, in the Mahabharata. At 12,890 verses the Shanti Parva holds little more than one-sixth of the entire 73,640-verse text of the critical edition. Broadly, this parva is divided into three parts, Rajadharma parva (law of statecraft, governance), Apaddharma parva (laws of emergencies, calamities) and Mokshadharma parva (law of salvation, metaphysics), although each influences the other, in a seamless blending, with dharma being the uniting feature and the constantly-repeated motif. If Bhishma were alive today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would ask him four questions around war. First, should India go to war with Pakistan? Although Pakistan has been in a state of war against India for seven decades, using Islam as a weapon, 72 virgins as an incentive and suicide jihadis as fodder, the fifth technical war between two nations is a little way ahead. In the first four wars one each in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999 India defeated Pakistan and sent it home, only to return. On its side, India got busy with other problems, such as fighting poverty and illiteracy, fixing unemployment, delivering economic growth, and creating civilisational narratives. Like dogs that run after vehicles, Pakistan has been nipping Indias our heels as we accelerated our economy to becoming the worlds fifth largest, expanded our civilisational footprint and pursued a deeper engagement in world affairs, over the past seven decades. Tolerance has its limits and, as discussed earlier, that limit has been crossed, the thousandth nip has been made, Pakistans Shishupala moment has arrived, and India has risen to its rajasic state. Bhishmas answer would have been on the following lines. Protecting the State, and through it, its people, is the first dharma of a democratically elected government (he uses the word king but we are now in the 21st Century governance structures). He would have reminded Modi of the six essential requisites of sovereignty. One, peace with a foe that is stronger. Two, war with one of equal strength. Three, marching to invade the dominions of one who is weaker. Four and five, halting and seeking protection if weak in ones own fort. And six, sowing dissensions among the chief officers of the enemy. Driven by the toxic mix of fear, insecurity and a wayward Islam, the Pakistani establishment has been in the grip of a death wish. It has created an organised industry that manufactures terror, uses young and unemployed bodies as tools, keeping its own families safe in London. This, to Bhishma, would have been an adharma. This is a righteous war, he would have told Modi. By not fighting it for the past three decades since Pakistan changed tactics to using terror as State policy, India has suffered. If you turn away from war, Bhishma would say, it will unleash another round of violence on your people, on your soldiers, on your security establishment, on the very soul of the nation. So, protect your people righteously and slaughter your foes in battle: fight. Second, what sort of war should it be? Pakistan has been consistently sending terrorists across the border to kill Indian citizens and soldiers through acts of terror. It has been giving cover to and overseeing these operations from inside Pakistan, directly through the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a state within a State, and indirectly through non-State actors, such as the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), responsible for the 14 February, 2019, Pulwama attack and the Hafiz Muhammad Saeed-led Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), responsible for the 2001 Parliament attack and 2008 Mumbai attacks. And then there is Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai bombings. All three roam about freely in Pakistan, under the protection of the countrys military. So, the battlefield has changed since Bhishma commanded the Kuru army: its not kshatriyas versus kshatriyas (soldiers versus soldiers); it is State-created, soldier-protected terrorists killing innocent citizens. How do you fight such a war? Bhishmas answer, however, remains timeless. One that desires the destruction of a foe should not put that foe on his guard. This was done well at Balakot, when India crossed the Line of Control and bombed Pakistan. Further, one should never exhibit ones ire or fear or joy: this is something Chinas multi-designated leader Xi Jinping does very well, and India because of its democratic pressures does very badly. Bhishma also said that without trusting ones foe in reality, one should behave towards him as if one trusted him completely, speak sweet words and never do anything disagreeable. Indias public posturing has been controlled, with media leaks driving narratives. By returning Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Pakistan has played its cards well. It seeks to de-escalate tensions, disarm the aggression, gain the moral high ground: and revert to terror. There is no guarantee that Pakistan will move a millimetre towards destroying terrorist infrastructure in its borders or bring Azhar, Saeed and Dawood to justice. By ignoring it, being willing to take the casualty and giving little room for manoeuvre to Pakistan, India has played this well too. Another pressure point for Indian policymakers is technology. In the age of social media riding the worlds lowest-cost data carrying infrastructure, rage is just one tap away. At a time when vital excitability is the currency of discourse and a never-experienced-before rajasic upsurge driving it, part of warfare has shifted online through psychological operations. On the Pakistani side, the military controls these conversations. On the Indian side, the narrative is controlled by herds: peace-loving groups on one side, justice-seeking on the other, with a large middle watching. When every conversation is public and every action dissected, how does a State work in secrecy? Had elections not been looming, Bhishma would have said India should wait long and then slay the foes at the right opportunity, when the enemy wont expect an attack. This point of opportunity is key: once it passes, it can never be had again. Pakistan does this very well through its terrorists. India needs to play this game, but through righteous means. Bhishma goes on to say that while the victory should be decisive, killing a large number of troops is not a good idea. Finally, he says, excited with wrath and bereft of forgiveness, boys only seek quarrel. Given this, Bhishma would tell Modi to ignore the media, traditional as well as social, and focus on action, with media management left to one senior minister: the media-friendly Arun Jaitley, the calm and composed Nirmala Sitharaman or the feet-on-the-ground Sushma Swaraj. Three, what would be the best victory? Rubbing Pakistani leaderships nose into the ground would be easy but may not deliver outcomes. Given Pakistans terror DNA, even the best intentions may not sustain. The bigger question is: what will Pakistan do with its biggest export industry of terrorists? Traditional change incentives in this journey to economic well-being and social respectability are few. It will definitely mean a downgrade on both, in their personal finances and lifestyles as well as on the perception side as they will be seen as cowards for giving up the holy war. Bhishma would have an answer even for this complexity. Confronted with Pakistans immoral and adharmic moving parts, he would first say that Modi should seek victory without battle. Victories achieved by battles are not spoken of highly by the wise. Through an intense diplomatic engagement, Modi has followed that advice already. He kept the diplomats of the world aware of what was going on at every point: after the Pulwama terror attack, before the Balakot strike, and after it. The success is there for all to see: the entire world, including China in an unexpected change of stance, is pushing Pakistan to get in line. Fourth, now that the diplomatic victory is in the bag and military resolve has been made clear even the disguised nuclear threat by Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan (I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford such a miscalculation?) India should cut out the gangrene of terrorism. In the rather unlikely scenario if Pakistan chooses war over peace, its economy will self-destruct in a month, if not a week. Bhishma would tell Modi to exact tribute. But since India is not the aggressor, it is only defending its people, what can it exact? Two ideas. One, hand over the terror triad of Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Muhammed Saeed to India so we can bring them to justice. Two, show that Pakistans intent of using terror as State policy ends by visibly destroying terror camps in Pakistan; a team from India and the United Nations (UN) should verify results. Pakistan can see Balakot as its coming of age moment, when it finally decides to join the comity of civilised nations. While concluding, Bhishma would tell Modi to never back down. The nation and its citizens come first; everything else follows. Protect it with all your energy, all your will, this is your first dharma, he would say. This is a dharmayudha, a righteous war between good and evil, fight it in every way, use every tool you have military, diplomatic, communications, economic and win it. For too long your country has languished under Pakistans terror assault. Today, the nation is shedding off its tamas, inertia, and embracing the rajasic state. It is willing to suffer. It is willing to support. It needs to win this war. Do not fritter this energy: do not disappoint your people, do not push them back into becoming lambs for slaughter. The article was first published by ORF and has been reproduced with permission. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the country was ready to extend support to Pakistan to deal with the menace of terrorism on the neighbour's soil. Chandauli: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the country was ready to extend support to Pakistan to deal with the menace of terrorism on the neighbour's soil. "Not only India, many other countries are hit by terrorism today but I want to tell you...have confidence...this will not go on forever...the prime minister has taken a decision that a decisive battle should be launched for its (terrorism) end and it has already begun," he said. Singh was on a visit to Chandauli to lay the foundation stone of the Group Centre of CRPF in Chakia Tehsil to be built at the cost of Rs 850 crore. The facility will have residential houses, schools, hospitals, recruitment and training centres. "If Pakistan thinks it does not have the strength to deal with terrorism, it can seek the help of its neighbouring country India." "Pakistan will either have to wipe out terrorism from its soil on its own or else such a situation will be created that terror bases will be wiped out from Pakistan and no power will be able to stop this," the home minister asserted. "India has shown to the world that it has the strength to not only strike from its soil, if required, we can also strike on the soil of other country as we have this strength," he said. The senior BJP leader also termed India's invite to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a "diplomatic victory". It was for the first time that India was invited for the meet of the influential grouping of 57 countries. The minister remarked that a country which wins both on the battle ground and diplomacy is considered "successful". Addressing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chakia, he said the nation was proud of its brave soldiers like Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and others. Expressing happiness over the safe return of the IAF pilot from Pakistan's custody, Singh said, "India is proud of brave soldiers like you all." The home minister also paid tributes to the soldiers from the district who lost their lives in terror attacks, including the recent Pulwama attack. He also hailed the Army for its precision and accuracy for carrying out strikes on terror camps in Balakot after the Pulwama attack. Singh reiterated that the Union government was making all-out efforts to provide all sorts of facilities to the armed forces who guard the borders and protect the nation. Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for formulating policies for the upliftment of farmers and the poor, he said all the schemes of the BJP-led NDA government were made to benefit farmers, labourers and the downtrodden people of the country. Uttar Pradesh BJP unit president Mahendra Nath Pandey and MLA Sushil Singh were among others present at the function. The bench sought the parties responses by March 27. Mumbai: The Bombay high court Friday issued show cause notices to the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Shiv Sena, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for putting up illegal hoardings and banners across Maharashtra. A division bench, headed by Justice A.S. Oka, said that it was of the opinion, prima facie, that these political parties had committed a breach of previous orders that prohibited display of hoardings or banners without requisite permission. There is material to show that these political parties have indulged in display of illegal hoardings, banners and so on. We issue notices to these parties asking them to show cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them, the court said. The bench sought the parties responses by March 27. The bench warned that if the parties failed to take appropriate action on the matter, it would issue notices to their leaders. Today, we are issuing notices to the political parties, but if we feel that proper action has not been taken on the issue, we will issue notices against the leaders, said Justice Oka. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed before it, raising the issue of numerous hoardings and banners put up on public roads illegally. At last hearing, the Bombay high court had asked the Bharatiya Janata Party counsel whether its top leaders would direct party workers not to use their photos on illegal banners and posters. If not, it would issue a contempt notice against them, the high court had said. The world should also realize that Baloch movement is about a freedom struggle and even if India cannot invite them to set up base here, at least the leaders in exile should be provided a platform to counter Pakistan's rhetoric New Delhi: While Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was talking of peace in Parliament on Thursday, a terror outfit Al-Badr based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was holding deliberations with the leaders of its parent organisation, Jamaat-e-Islami to launch suicide attacks in India. Al-Badr is operating out of two large housing complexes in Malakand and Mansehra, owing to its close connections with Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Hours later, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S), a proponent of Taliban in Pakistan came out in support of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and offered its cadres for suicide attacks inside India. And, just before the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, Pakistani state put out a heavily edited propaganda video. All of these developments lend credence to the idea that declaring the Pakistani establishment as peace loving is a preposterous idea. The history of sharing dossiers with Pakistan and even with other international forums did not change Pakistan's stand on terror outfits which were nurtured over the years by successive Pakistani regimes. So, India must take advantage of unprecedented 26 February operation at Balakot, and uncover terrorist outfits' plans and break up their cells. The Indian security and intelligence apparatus should target Pakistani seminaries, who are running large-scale training and terror recruitment programs. An intelligence-backed uninterrupted operation will allow the Indian forces to strike with great accuracy to disrupt terrorists safe havens. There are other long-term measures that should be part of arsenal. Although the Indian security establishment has vowed to undertake only non-military operations while responding to terror attacks, they must also launch a campaign to expose the connection between terrorists and Pakistani leaderships that continues to rake up the issue of Kashmir while it has escalated the violence against Baloch and Pashtuns. A classified government note has suggested that the loss of Bangladesh created a new geo-political situation on the Indian sub-continent and that made Pakistan anxious to preserve the stability of its western part through brutal force. The note said : "It is difficult to deny the existence of the Pashtun movement, which represents the abstract consciousness of nationhood of people, who are predominantly tribal and nomadic and are divided between the neighboring states of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The geographical limits of the proposed state and its location have been ill-defined. While sometimes it is considered to constitute areas on both sides of the Durand line that forms the boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan, at others it is limited to Pakistans North West Frontier Province (now renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and further there have been suggestion that Balochistan region of Pakistan should also form a part of proposed Pashtun state. The movement lacks cohesion but it has found sustenance from the support it has received." Indian leadership, barring on few occasions, has always treated the persecution of Pashtun and Baloch people as Pakistan's internal issue, but it's nothing short of an independence movement just like India's and Pakistan's. To jog up the memory of decision makers, it is important to mention that originally three princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat and the six agencies in the tribal territory lying between the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Durand line which constituted the boundary between British India and Afghanistan were included when Pashtun movement gained momentum. In 1929 Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan launched a movement for independence of the tribal territory. His red-shirts organisation treated the tribal territory as historically independent of British India and had demanded the setting up of an independent state of Pakhtoonistan. While leaving, British regime had issued a statement saying that agreements with tribes of the NWFP will be re-negotiated by the appropriate successor authority. The subsequent events are tales of betrayal and brutality by Pakistan. The history of this region is stained with blood since June 1949, when Pakistan Air Force decided to bomb the demonstrators in the tribal territory. Pakistan admits that arrogance displayed against the local tribal leaders led to anti-federation sentiments, resulting in armed struggle that goes on till today. New religious seminaries have been established by the Pakistan Army and ISI in this region for young recruits where they are trained and later transported to carry out Jihad in Kashmir. A Pakistani defence journal quoting Interior Ministry said, in 1947, Pakistan had only 245 seminaries which has now increased to some 26,000 madarasas in the country with nearly 3.5 million students. Between 1988 and 2000, this increase was about 136 percent. Pakistan fears that it is losing Balochistan and have even accused US of supporting Baloch freedom movement in confluence with other players since it aims to deny China's ingress in the area through involvement in mineral exploration projects and socio-economic uplift of masses. Pakistanis are scared that brutality in Balochistan is harming them most. This is what a Pakistani Brigadier Sher Shah wrote: "Violation of human rights is the main concern shared by both, insurgents and the state security apparatus. Three Ds deterrence by army, detainment and deaths have irked the people of the province most, hence need to be addressed as a prelude to any conflict resolution effort. The issue of enforced disappearances continues to be the most reported case in media, hence judicial activism is seen questioning the role of state functionaries. This earns bad name to the security forces in general and army and ISI in particular." This is a candid admission from a Pakistani officer. He goes on to say that India is using this perhaps trying to teach Pakistan a lesson for its interference in Jammu and Kashmir. Shah said Pakistan has never been comfortable with India in view of its historic relations with its neighbour, that includes three wars. He wrote: Further Balkanization of Pakistan is also seen by some of the Indian strategists as their ultimate objective. Moreover, it has jumped into Balochistan affray to teach Pakistan a lesson in response to its involvement in Kashmir. India aims on checking China's military ingress in Indian Ocean through Gwadar port. Use of force by Pakistan Army and ISI alone cannot bring sustainable peace in Balochistan. Since last many decades, inputs regarding torture and terror safe havens, have been known to Indian leadership but lack of will forced our hand. Even Narendra Modi government, except mentioning about Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in his Independence Day speech, did not do anything significant to change things. In order to defeat Pakistans false narrative on Kashmir, India in collaboration with friendly countries and using diplomatic channels, must expose Pakistan's brutality in the region while continuing with non-military offensive against Pakistan based terror groups to exhibit capabilities and resolve. Also, the world should realize that Baloch movement is about a freedom struggle and even if India cannot invite them to set up base here, at least the leaders in exile should be provided a platform to counter Pakistan's rhetoric. The government and top decision makers need to focus on twin aspects- put our house in order and continue operation against separatists in Kashmir and collaborate with friendly nations to expose the Pakistan brutality and terror safe havens in Balochistan. Since last week, leaders and activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) have been detained in a mass crackdown across the Valley. At 6 pm on Friday evening, police and revenue officials raided the home of Bashir Ahmad Lone the former district president of Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir at Syedpora Harwan, Srinagar, and asked his family members to leave the residence. The family said they were shown an order, following which they were asked to vacate the property. The officials soon blocked the entrances with wooden planks leaving the family to fend for themselves on a cold road outside their residence. We were outside the residence till late evening, making frenetic calls for help, said one anxious family member whose Srinagar property was sealed. While officials promised help, none came to our rescue. The family spent the night at the place of a relative. Similar news came from Srinagars Bemina area where the property of another JeI leader was sealed. Since last week, leaders and activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) have been detained in a mass crackdown across the Valley. This comes in the aftermath of the 14 February Pulwama attack carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which left 42 Central Reserve Police Force personnel dead. The eviction order came from the office of Srinagar magistrate Shahid Chaudhary. Copies of a slew of similar orders directing authorities to seal properties of the group surfaced on social media Friday, less than 24 hours after the Centre banned the outfit for five years under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In a notification issued after a high-level meeting on security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the outfit is in close touch with militant groups and is supporting extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. JeI is supporting claims for secession of a part of the Indian territory from the Union and supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose by indulging in activities and articulations intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India. Earlier, in a mass crackdown, over 200 JeI leaders and activists were detained, including their chief Dr Abdul Hameed Fayaz, spokesperson Zahid Ali and others. Some party activists said this is the third time the outfit has been banned. The cadre-based party founded in 1942 faced bans during the 70s and 90s. Many believe the outfit is being punished for its ideology, which regards Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, and seeks its resolution through right to self-determination. The JeI cadre was decimated in the counter offensive led by the civilian militia called Ikhwan, particularly after the terror group Hizbul Mujahideen called itself the armed wing of the JeI. In 1997, the organisation distanced itself from the militancy. The Centre's ban has drawn flak in the Valley. Why has Jamaat been banned? asked People's Conference chief and BJP ally Sajad Gani Lone. Jamaat is a social political and religious organisation. In a vibrant democracy, ideas have to be fought and not banned. This organisation has given us illustrious leaders and legislators. How can they be banned? I strongly pitch for the revocation of the ban. Terming democracy a battle of ideas, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti called the crackdown condemnable and and said it was another example of high-handedness and muscular approach of the Government of India to deal with the political issue of Jammu and Kashmir." Why is the Government of India so uncomfortable with Jamaat-e-Islami? Radicalised Hindu groups representing fringe elements are given carte blanche to spread misinformation and vitiate the atmosphere. But an organisation that has worked tirelessly for Kashmiris is banned. Is being anti-BJP anti-national now? Mehbooba Mufti asked in a tweet. The ban triggered a wave of anxiety in the Valley. Even as their properties were seized, senior JeI leaders kept mum. I dont think its the right time to talk, said a well-known JeI leader from Srinagar, speaking on condition of anonymity. Whatever we say might be used against our leaders who are currently under detention. The Joint Resistance Leadership led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik also condemned the ban, terming it an authoritarian and arbitrary decision of the Government of India. Post the Pulwama attack, there has been a deliberate attempt to direct revenge against Kashmiris, including attacks on students outside the state, mass arrests and crackdown, raids on homes of leadership and people across the Valley, to banning organisations and fiddling with 35A/370, JRL said in a statement. They said all this is being undertaken by the "rulers" in New Delhi in a sweeping and muscular manner by continuing with their Kashmir doctrine of force, as to be seen as being tough on Kashmir and fulfilling their agenda in order to woo and consolidate voters for electoral gain. The Jamaat-e-Islami JK has evolved over the years and has been mainly focussing on the welfare activities in Kashmir, said Kashif, an outfit member who'd only share his first name. While fringe Hindu groups have been given absolute freedom across India, New Delhi is banning an organisation that played a great role in Kashmir during disasters like 2014 floods. Sameer Peer, a Srinagar-based teacher, said the ban has put at risk the future of thousands of students enrolled in the JeI-run Falah-E-Aam schools. Educational institutions should be left out of it, Peer said. They are recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education and participate in all government functions. Even as senior bureaucrat Khursheed Ganai an advisor to Governor Satya Pal Malik said the government will consider matters before it bans the JeI-run schools, the crackdown has fanned tensions in the Valley. Many believe the move is likely to backfire and will push the Valley into a new crisis. Authorities in Kashmir have sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu and Kashmir), including residences of some of its activists, police said on Saturday Srinagar: Authorities in Kashmir have sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu and Kashmir), including residences of some of its activists, police said on Saturday, days after the Centre banned the outfit on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant groups and was likely to "escalate secessionist movement". Several properties, including residential houses, belonging to various leaders and activists were sealed in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley on Friday night, a police official said. He said bank accounts of the leaders have also been frozen. Various district magistrates have also sought a list of moveable and immovable properties of the Jamaat leaders, he said. However, it was not clear if the move was linked to the ban on the group or if it was done by the NIA in connection with its probe into money-laundering cases. The Centre on Thursday banned Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and was expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ban follows a massive crackdown on the outfit in the Valley since last week. Around 150 leaders and activists of the outfit have been detained in raids at several places across Kashmir. According to central government officials, the Jamaat was responsible for the creation of the state's biggest terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen and the brain behind the formation of Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat, a conglomerate of separatists, has been ideologically supporting Pakistan-sponsored violent terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, they say. Kashmir-based political parties have criticized the ban on JeI. Firstpost obtained an audio tape purportedly of Ammar in which he claimed more suicide bombers are being prepared for operations in Jammu and Kashmir after the IAF attack on their Balakot facility New Delhi: The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has, for the first time, acknowledged that their Balakot madrassa Taleem-ul-Quran was attacked by the Indian Air Force (IAF) even as they issued a fresh warning to New Delhi. Maulana Ammar, brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar has also admitted that the madrassa was a training centre for jihadis. Firstpost obtained an audio tape purportedly of Ammar in which he claimed more suicide bombers are being prepared for operations in Jammu and Kashmir after the IAF attack on their Balakot facility. Ammar said: India has declared war. They entered Pakistan territory and bombed the madrassa at Balakot. Indian Air Force did not bomb any agency or its headquarters, but the seminary where recruits are trained for jihad in Kashmir. By attacking our seminary, India has provoked us to relaunch our jihad. There were reports that Ammar and Yousuz Azhar, the JeM chief's brother-in-law, were killed in 26 February Balakot air strike. Azhar runs madrassa Taleem-ul-Quran, which is at the top of mount Jaba, around 100 kilometres from Islamabad, the country's capital. Ammar, who heads the JeM's operations in Afghanistan and Kashmir, was last seen in Peshawar in December 2018, where he vowed to continue attacks against USA and India. At a jihadi recruit meeting, Ammar called on JeM terrorists to launch suicide attacks to avenge the Balakot bombing. Ammar also criticised the Pakistan government and Prime Minister Imran Khan for releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after he chased and shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet in an aerial dogfight on 27 February. There was a Niazi who gave away half the land and 90,000 soldiers and now today's Niazi (Imran) has surrendered before the enemy and by ensuring the return of Indian pilot has lost the battle, Ammar purportedly said on the tape. The tape indicates the IAF strike dealt a severe blow to JeM and its leadership and the outfit is no longer able to run its recruitment and training drive in Mansehra and is shifting base. At least two Pakistani ministers Sheikh Rasheed and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi admitted the presence of madrassa Taleem-ul-Quran and JeM chief Masood Azhar in Pakistan. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Federal Minister for Railways in the Imran government, was the first to admit in the National Assembly that IAF attacked the JeM facility in Balakot. However, the Pakistani government has shied away from making any statement against JeM and Masood Azhar or announcing that it will destroy terror outfits operating from its soil and eliminate their ability to carry out terror strikes. The deafening silence of Pakistan government on JeM and other outfits also shows the terror groups vice grip on the levers of power in Islamabad. According to sources, India received tactical cooperation from various countries to corner Pakistan and reserves the right to hunt down terror threats inside Pakistan. Suicide by eight farmers and one agricultural worker in Kerala in the last two months shows that the curse of the flood continues. The August flood in Kerala that washed away hazardous pesticides from rivers and water bodies and brought fertile silt to the farmlands was viewed by agricultural experts as a blessing in disguise to the famers who have been hit hard by steady fall in farm productivity as well as prices over the years. However, suicide by eight farmers and one agricultural worker in the last two months shows that the curse of the flood continues to haunt a large section of the peasantry in the state even after six months. Analysis of the suicide cases reported since January first week reveals that the measures initiated by the government to provide succour to the flood-hit have not reached a major chunk of the farmers. A major relief measure taken by the government was a moratorium on farmers loans for one year. However, all the eight farmers who have committed suicide in the state had allegedly resorted to the extreme step following pressure from banks to repay the outstanding loans. Curiously, almost all the lenders who have defied the government order are financial institutions that are under the control of the state government. The current wave of suicides started on 2 January, when a young farmer was found hanging from a tree near his house in Idukki district. T Santhosh, 37, committed suicide after he received a notice from the state-owned Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) Ltd to repay Rs 10 lakh he borrowed from the institution, according to his family members. Later in the month, two more farmers took their lives under similar circumstances. While Kunnath Surendran, 67, consumed poison after he received a notice from Agricultural and Rural Bank to repay Rs 6 lakh, Kunnumpurath Sahadevan, 68, ended his life after recovery proceedings were initiated against him by a cooperative bank following his failure to pay back Rs 12 lakh he took from the bank. The other farmers who have committed suicide are Johny Mathai, 58, Kottakallil Raju, 62, Sreekumar, 59, James Mathew, 54 and Jijo Paul, 49. Barring the last, all others belonged to Idukki district, where flood and a spate of landslides claimed 57 lives and inflicted extensive damage to crops and properties. All of them took their lives after they received notice from financial institutions to repay the loans. The banks move came as a shock to the farmers as they were expecting six more months to resume the repayment of the loans. Even though the recovery proceeding is a violation of its decision, the state government has not taken any steps to restrain the financial institutions from proceeding against the debtors. On the contrary, the LDF government has even refused to acknowledge the crisis. While Minister for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Tribes said he was not aware of the farmers suicides, Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar has sought to downplay them, saying they were not related to issues pertaining to farming and indebtedness. In one sense, the agriculture minister is right since most of the farmers had taken the loan not solely for agricultural purpose but also for the education and marriage of their children and other needs of the family. Moreover, agricultural production has also considerably gone up in the flood-hit areas in the wake of the deluge. The farmers who have benefited from the increased soil fertility brought by the flood are those who cultivate short duration crop varieties such as paddy and vegetables. Kuttanad, which suffered two bouts of flood last year, is the biggest beneficiary of the calamity. The region, known as the rice bowl of Kerala, has reported a bumper crop from the post-flood cultivation. The situation is different in the hilly Idukki district since cash crops that takes three to five years to provide yield dominate the agriculture scene in the district. Therefore, peoples representatives and farmers in the district have been demanding special consideration for Idukki. The flood and the landslides have not only destroyed crops but also changed the structure of the farmlands in many parts of the district. They need a long time to recover from the losses and repay the loans. The farmers will clear the liability if they are allowed more time, said Roshy Augustine, who represents Idukki Assembly constituency, from where maximum suicides have been reported. He said that the situation in the district was grave and more farmers would resort to the extreme step if the government does not come out with urgent relief measures. The Congress has gone a step further and demanded complete waiver of the loans as the party has done in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The party has announced a series of protests to press the demand. While Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala will lead a fast at Kattappana in the district on 6 March, the UDF has given notice for a district hartal (shut down strike) next week. The Opposition is trying to put the Communist Party of India (Marxist), that heads the government, in the dock in the run up to the Lok Sabha election since a major demand of the farmers long march led by the party in Maharashtra was loan waiver. The CPI(M) is demanding farm loan waiver in Maharashtra, but I want to know whether the party government in Kerala will write off farm loans in the state. Its silence on the demand shows that the partys love for farmers is only in paper and not in action," says Ramesh. It is not easy for the government to concede the demand since it is struggling hard to mobilise funds for rebuilding the damaged assets. The shortfall in the collection of GST has further eroded its coffers forcing the government to impose severe restrictions on treasury payments. However, the government will not be able to ignore the issue since a drought like situation is looming large over the state with all major rivers in the state drying up and ground water level going down after the flood. This may confound the miseries of the farmers and make the demand for farm loan waiver louder and louder in the coming months. Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday New Delhi: Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terrorist mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on 31 December, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits, another official said. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the Soviet-Afghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania, the second official said. He also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On 2 January, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on 18 September, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On 14 February this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 Jawans. Modi began his tenure with a good governance agendahe would clean India, spur growth and generate employment in the industrial sector. There would be no need for employment generation programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in a skilled India replete with opportunities. Despite these noble intentions, governance has hardly benefited the common citizen The Narendra Modi government assumed power with a substantial mandate at a time when oil prices were at a historic low in 2014. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had ruled for ten long years, and was burdened with scandals. It appeared that the historic majority won by Modi for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a fitting reply to the Congresss version of dynastic politics undermined by scandals. Modi began his tenure with a good governance agendahe would clean India, spur growth and generate employment in the industrial sector. There would be no need for employment generation programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in a skilled India replete with opportunities. Despite these noble intentions, governance has hardly benefited the common citizen. There is a raging debate over growth and employment figures. The unemployment rate doubled in 2017-18 as reported by the unpublished National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report. Two members of the National Statistical Commission have resigned owing to the non-release of this report, generated in December 2018. They claimed that an organisation [NSSO] with impeccable credentials for being unbiased was unfairly challenged by the current deputy chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Could the government be worried about unemployment figures on eve of the forthcoming general elections? Good governance requires smart technocrats in the bureaucracy. Whether it was the reforms of 1991 or sectoral initiatives such as establishing the National Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or implementing the right to work, technocrats in the bureaucracy played a significant role. Good political intention required competence in the bureaucracy. There was bad news on this front. There has been a spate of senior-level resignations. Two chief economic advisers to the Union finance minister have left as have the founding deputy chairman of the NITI Aayog, and two governors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Indias governance is a delicate balance between smart technocrats and the political class. Technocrats not only follow political direction, they often make proposals to politicians regarding how they can benefit citizens and win elections. It is a matter of concern that so many technocrats selected by the ruling party parted ways with government in quick succession. A few examples will highlight the importance of techno-political synergies for producing winning governance solutions in India. It is a curious fact that RBI governor Raghuram Rajan left before the infamous demonetisation. Gone are the days when it was opined that demonetisation would uproot corruption. If `500 and `1,000 notes spurred corrupt cash transactions, today we have a bigger opportunity in the `2,000 note. Middle-class women had saved cash that was lost in the name of fighting corruption. Even the governments chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian called demonetisation a draconian shock after quitting office in 2018. Which competent economist would have advised demonetisation to fulfil a political agenda? Most recently, RBI governor Urjit Patel resigned after a raging debate regarding the Central banks autonomy. This was the shortest tenure in RBIs history. Patel was averse to fiscal profligacy in a pre-Budget year and had attempted to clean the bad debts of powerful corporates. Loyalty to the country, for the governor, may have come before loyalty to the Prime Minister even though Patel resigned for personal reasons. The autonomy of Indias regulatory institutions is critical for democratic governance. Employment generation was a prime concern for the BJP government. The government had opined that programmes like MGNREGS would become redundant in a rapidly growing economy. The government launched the Make in India programme alongside a new Ministry for Skill Development. One would have thought that Modi would skill the youthful Indian workforce to earn political immortality. What are the results of skilling India? The controversial unpublished NSSO report opined that the unemployment rate had risen to 6.1 per cent from a consistent rate of 3.0-3.5 per cent between 1994 and 2012. The public sector continued to employ more persons than the private sector. Employment generation decelerated, but the fire behind the MGNREGS deployed to implement the right to work had also cooled. It is rumoured that a senior civil servant persuaded the government not to ignore the right to work in the early days of this government. Over time, that view was validated by unemployment statistics. Allocations for the right to work could therefore not be reduced. The problem with implementing MGNREGS has been delayed payment of wages. It is most visible in parts of the country where the programme was implemented most effectively. To give just one example, I visited some villages in Lingampet Mandal in Nizamabad district (Andhra Pradesh, now Telengana) in 2013, and again in 2015. In 2013, villages in this Mandal deployed biometric attendance. Workers were uniquely identified and paid decent wages. A governance innovation in the form of workers unions had been introduced and the local programme officer had even won a national-level award. No longer did the workers have to migrate seasonally to greener pastures such as Guntur in search of work. The condition of workers had taken a substantially negative turn by 2015. Wage payments were excruciatingly delayed to such an extent that workers were hesitant to receive MGNREGS wages. They routinely migrated to the more prosperous parts in the times of need. What one witnessed in 2013 was fiction in 2015. It is not surprising therefore that the share of households at the national level that did not receive any MGNREGS employment has been growing since 2014. The 2014 election was won on the mandate of serving the citizenry at large. The political quest for good governance seems to have lacked both winning ideas and competence. Unemployment has soared at the very moment when the right to work has met a stepmotherly treatment. This is not the best way for the government to approach the 2019 elections. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his stay in Pakistan. New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, officials said. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his nearly 60-hour stay in Pakistan. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight around 11.45 p.m Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. Currently, he is undergoing medical tests at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on 27 February after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force. When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Pakistan was not under 'pressure' or 'any compulsion' to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Islamabad: Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Pakistan was under intense pressure from the US, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and release the Indian pilot. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. Qureshi dismissed the notion that the captured IAF pilot was released owing to pressure or as a compulsion. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Geo news quoted him as saying. India has repeatedly told Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and recently handed over dossier containing "specific details" of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan. "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion," Qureshi told BBC Urdu. He said that Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over politics. "Pakistan does not want to go in the past, but if it goes in the past, then we will have to see how the attack on Parliament, Pathankot and Uri took place and that is a long story," the foreign minister said. Qureshi reiterated that if evidence is shared against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), then action will be taken. On Friday he admitted that JeM's chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a tense situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invading Pakistan Air Force jets and shot down an F-16, according to Indian officials. As long as we fix Pakistan in some way we are happy. We have not really fixed them, but that is a separate matter. I am apparently one of the few Indians not excited or moved by the events of last week. I am referring to our attack on Pakistan, their response the next day, and also the events surrounding the capture of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman for two days after, ending with his release on Friday night. There are several reasons and some of them you may disagree with. First, I do not hate Pakistan. I have been to that country a few times and I know many people from there. I think that their governments have done some terrible things, but I do not blame the population for that. If we are able to get our act together in our home, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, whatever else their government would do to us would not affect our country in the way that it has. That brings me to the second reason. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modis hard rule in Kashmir, the number of deaths there have gone from 189 in 2014 to 267 in 2016 to 357 in 2017 and then 451 last year. The number of our soldiers killed there has gone from 47 to 91. Is this a good record and is this good for India to sacrifice so many of our warriors for no particular reason? My answer is no, and if I am to look at our governments performance and policies then I cannot look away from the data and the numbers. We are failing in Kashmir and are substituting performance with drama and spectacle. The third reason is that I do not see any benefit from the actions of the Indian government in striking Pakistan. To be clear, I can understand what Modis argument is, but I think he is wrong. The arguments in favour of military action of the sort we saw last week are as follows: 1) Pakistan harms us so we have to harm them in some way; 2) If we attack them hard then they will think twice about doing so in future; 3) This attack will help put pressure on Pakistan to shut down its terror infrastructure. I do not have any particular objection to any of these points. I just do not think theyre effective and I find that the negatives that they produce, which endanger the lives of more Indians, outweigh the positives. Fourth reason: Such actions strengthen the already strong argument that we should spend more on our military and on equipment like fighter planes. Our total spend on security is Rs 4 lakh crore a year. This is money that is diverted away from health and education in one of the poorest nations in the world. It becomes difficult for people in politics to oppose further spending for the army when there is such intense focus on the military. The fifth reason is that governments use this to distract. Last week also brought the news that the economy has slowed and growth has fallen. Unemployment is at over 7 percent, the highest levels of over 40 years. There is little or no focus on such things because we are forced to look at other things. The sixth reason is my disgust with my own profession of journalism. The manner in which we are being enthusiastically led into a war is sickening. Readers will not know that all of the positions that news channels take are determined by money. Deliberately damaging our country for money is treason and they should be called out. The seventh and last and most important reason is this: I think of India as a nation and a culture that has to contribute to mankind and the whole planet. We have reduced ourselves and our country over the last few years primarily into the rival of one other small South Asian nation. As long as we fix Pakistan in some way we are happy. We have not really fixed them, but that is a separate matter. Our ambition and our vision has become very small. We do not have anything to offer to compete with America, Western Europe or China. We do not even think about any real rivalry with them. Our great goal is to get the better of Pakistan. To be that is too small and too minor and too negative an ambition for this great nation. We are bigger than this and capable of contributing to the world in a much more significant and meaningful way than we think. The intensity with which we are focussed on Pakistan, particularly our government and our media, ultimately harms us and reduces our greatness. The MMRDA has sought help from the state government to deploy state security forces at the monorail facility. Mumbai: The security of the monorail, which will be thrown open to the public Sunday, continues to be an issue. The MMRDA has sought help from the state government to deploy state security forces at the monorail facility. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate the 19.2km monorail corridor Sunday. There is a high alert in Mumbai in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan and the monorail authorities, too, want to tighten security. An official from the MMRDA also pointed out that the state security had already been deployed for phase 1, which was already operational. However, the agency was expecting a manifold increase in commuters once the entire route became operational and the existing arrangements would not be enough. We are expecting over one lakh commuters everyday. The present security is not enough and therefore, we have the state government to sanction more security for the second phase, the official said. Once commissioned, the monorail will operate daily from 6 am to 10 pm with a 22 minute gap between the two mono trains. It will reduce travel time from 90 to a mere 30 minutes. Qureshi has made repeated calls for dialogue between India and Pakistan, yet it is his contradictory and confusing stand on the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and the role it has played, that has proven beguiling. In the ongoing escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, one man who has constantly found himself under the spotlight due to his office, is Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. While on one hand, Qureshi has made repeated calls for dialogue between India and Pakistan, his contradictory and confusing stand on the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and the role it has played, has proven beguiling. Considering that the current round of hostilities between India and Pakistan worsened when Pakistan-based Jaish-Mohammed struck a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, killing at least 42 soldiers on 14 February, the focus of two key media interactions by Qureshi was the terror outfit and its leader. On 28 February, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Qureshi claimed that he knew that Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. Then, on 1 March, speaking to BBC's Secunder Kermani, Qureshi refused to accept that Jaish ever claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack but ended up admitting that the Jaish leadership had been contacted by "people here". The day after Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan announced that captured Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be released as a gesture of peace and as the "first step" to open negotiations with India, Qureshi was firm when he told CNN that Pakistan never wanted to escalate issues. With clear ease, he stressed that it was India who attacked Pakistan, violating the United Nations' charter and undertaking an act of aggression. To a question by Amanpour on whether Pakistan would be open to war, Qureshi was a picture of restraint. "I hope not. That would be mutual suicide. Pakistan never wants to be in a hostile position," he said. He added that he wishes that India, instead of attacking and blaming Pakistan, would simply share information on terror hideouts on its soil which, incidentally, India had in a dossier sent to Paksitan just a day before, on 27 February. Through the course of Amanpour's direct questioning, Qureshi extoled the virtues of the new government under Khan in Pakistan. "This is a new government with a new mindset. We want to live in peace," he added, repeating that Khan's government is unlikely to let anyone use Pakistan to foster terror against any country, even India. "Well then, let me ask you a direct question regarding the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed. The Indian government would like you to have his name put on the international terrorists list. But your friends, the Chinese government, apparently on your behalf, have been vetoing that. Should he be put on the terrorist list?" Amanpour asked. It is only then that Qureshi seems to lose his composure slightly. "We would be open to any step that would lead to de-escalation," he says. "If India have any solid evidence, please send it (to Pakistan) and talk. Please initiate a dialogue," he added. At this point, Amanpour asked him if the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Masood Azhar, is present in Pakistan. "And if so, will you go after him?" "Well, he is in Pakistan, according to my information, and he is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house, because he is really unwell, so that's...that's the information I have," Qureshi said. In the portion of the video of the interview between 7:10-7:28, he can be seen making the claim on the Jaish leader's health. Amanpour then went on to grill him on why even "a very ill" Azhar is not being arrested in the light of the tension he causes, to which Qureshi responded that all Pakistan needs in this regard are evidence that would be acceptable to the courts of Pakistan. Qureshi's words on Azhar's health implied a knowledge on his whereabouts on the part of the Paksitani government that the Indian media has pounced upon. It raised questions, not only on Pakistan's complicity in Jaish's attacks but also on whether Pakistan was indeed open to de-escalation. While the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan removed Jaish and Azhar from the forefront of diplomatic concerns in the time since the interview, on 1 March, Qureshi ended up bringing the focus back to him in the BBC interview. Through the interview, Qureshi largely echoed his earlier points on Pakistan's predilection for peace and the aims of the new government under Khan. It is only when interviewer Kermani noted that the crisis began with Jaish's attack, that Qureshi jumps in with his denial. The relevant portion spoken of below can be found between 2:14 and 3:11 time marks of the interview. "We are not sure of that," says Qureshi to Kermani's line. "You are not sure that Jaish-e-Mohammed is based in Pakistan or that they have claimed responsibility for it?" Kermani asks him. Qureshi, who began disagreeing halfway through Kermani's question, says, "They have not (claimed responsibility)." "They have claimed responsibility," the interviewer replies. "They have not. There's confusion on that," Qureshi says. "Where's the confusion?" "The confusion is that the leadership, when contacted, they said no," the Pakistan foreign minister replies. "The leadership's been contacted by who, sir?" asks Kermani. "By, you know, by people over here, they say. We...um...we...you know, they deny, they deny that. That's the confusion," Qureshi insisted. "Who's contacted the leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan?" "People...there are people who are known to them." "And they've said? They've said 'we weren't responsible'?" "They...um...claimed no responsibility." Kermani then went on to press on the matter and brought up the statement issued by Jaish, claiming responsibility. "We've all received it," he added. But Qureshi insisted that Jaish could not be convincingly blamed for the Pulwama attack, stressing that there are "conflicting reports" on this. The dossier on the Jaish-e-Mohammed was handed over to Islamabad by New Delhi and is believed to contain precise knowledge of the terrorist leaders present in the camp which India had claimed to have destroyed in the Balakot air strike. There are publicly available photographs and material of the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur, and a plethora of intelligence inputs on just what the group is up to in Kashmir, apart from specific audio tapes linking the group's top leadership to the Pulwama attack. RTE will ensure a modern curriculum and children will not feel left out once they leave madrassas An attack on the sovereignty of madrassas is how the All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary described the suggestion to bring the Muslim religious schools under the Right to Education (RTE) act. Madrassas autonomy and independence guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution will be threatened, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said recently. But, the question is what have Indian madrassas, where more than seven million children go for basic education, made of their autonomy? Even if one concedes that it is okay for them to teach just Islamiyaat, they must be asked what brand of Islam are they teaching these impressionable children? The concern was also flagged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights when last year it proposed bringing madrassas under the RTE to ensure that the children didnt miss out on their right to education. Children going to madrassas were as good as out-of-school kids, the panel said. I will give just one example and ask madrassa authorities if they are in right minds to be imparting such incendiary ideas to our children and that too in the 21st century. That these teachings cannot be directly linked to any violence yet is beside the point a ghettoised mind is more toxic than a ghetto. Something that hasnt happened yet can happen tomorrow. There is a book called Islami Akhlaq-wo-Aadaab (Islamic behaviour and good manners) for teenage students and part of the course for Aalimiyat (an equivalent of Class 12). Written by Maulana Amjad Ali Azmi Rizvi, this is actually a simplified and summarised version of the 16th volume of Bahar-e-Shariyat, a book of Islamic jurisprudence that is a required study for every aalim, a scholar trained in Islamic law. The book claims to seek reforms in the Muslim society. In its chapter on an Islamic dictum Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi anil Munkar (Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil), it says: In attacking mushrikeen (polytheists, usually and wrongly translated as idolaters) all by oneself, there is a possibility that one will be killed but if there is a greater possibility that one will kill their man or injure or defeat them, there is no harm in attacking alone; but if there is a greater possibility that they will not be harmed or defeated, then one should not attack. If there is a possibility that when one stops fasiq (depraved) Muslims from committing sins one would get killed and will not be able to harm the debauched Muslims, still it is best to stop them from sinning, (although not stopping them is also permitted, (Fatawa Alamgiri), because getting killed in this venture does not go in vain. It may not appear to be fruitful at this time but in future it will bring good results (Page 268). [I have tried to be as close to the Urdu text as possible in this translation, even at the cost of some clarity.] This is so utterly senseless that anyone reading this might wonder if I am quoting it out of context. There isnt any context. This is the last paragraph of the chapter and the one before it gives advice on reporting a theft. The religious ruling is given as if Muslims regularly need advice on whether, and under what circumstances, it is worth risking life while trying to kill a mushrik or stopping a wicked Muslim from committing a sin. This would make sense if one were to assume that Muslims risk their lives in these pursuits, as routinely as, say, they go out to buy vegetables. Fortunately, that is not the case. But, that is no argument for complacency. Islamic theology, as it is taught unabashedly and senselessly, is full of violence, most of it against Muslims who dare to think a new thought. Fresh thinking was banned in the 9th Century CE. There are thousand and one grounds for declaring Muslims kafir (infidel) or murtad (heretic, apostate) and sentence them to death. This sentence can be carried out by any Muslim in the absence of an Islamic court. As for non-Muslims, including those whom Quran considers Ahl-e-Kitab (People of the Book) and deserving the most intimate relations with Muslims, theology considers them permanent denizens of hell. No wonder most religious Muslims conversant with their theology feel nothing but contempt for non-Muslims and can have nothing but reverence for those who are engaged in despatching them to their permanent abode. A distinction should, however, be made between Islam and Islamic sharia (jurisprudence) or Islam and Islamic fiqh (theology). If Muslims want to live honourably in todays closely connected world, they have to work towards evolving a new jurisprudence and theology of peace and pluralism and gender justice to replace the theological texts that encourage violence, supremacism, xenophobia, intolerance and gender injustice. At the very least and as an urgent measure, I would request madrassa authorities to weed out from textbooks passages like the one above that beget murderous violence as well as irrelevancies like how to treat female prisoners of war and concubines, etc. Our ulema cannot be unaware that Muslim youth in large numbers are joining jihadist groups around the world today. We should have been deeply worried when the first time a Sunni Muslim went to a Shia mosque in Pakistan, blew himself up to kill fellow namazis, considering them apostate, and thinking he was doing a pious act for which he will be rewarded by God with a place in heaven. This was several years ago. Today, we have become a society which can produce a whole army of suicide bombers practically anywhere in the world. The blame lies squarely with the kind of education imparted in our madrasas. RTE will ensure a modern curriculum so that children are more attuned to the world around them. They will study what students in other schools are being taught and will not feel left out once they leave madrassas. A modern education will equip them to a world where technology is shaping lives and changing it at a breathtaking pace. Madrassa education is a violation of the human rights of Muslim children. Our children and the world at large deserve better. We simply cannot live in the 21st Century with a 7th-Century mindset. The author is the founder-editor of a Delhi-based progressive Islamic website NewAgeIslam.com There are two routes that India and Pakistan could take: they could either escalate prevailing tensions further and push the region towards greater possibility of a nuclear encounter, or cease further military operations and fight the battle diplomatically There are two routes that India and Pakistan could take: they could either escalate prevailing tensions further and push the region towards greater possibility of a nuclear encounter, or cease further military operations and fight the battle diplomatically. This is because both countries have had their share of chest-thumping and victory to claim in the eyes of domestic audience. The Indian Air Force scrambled jets and allegedly hit a terrorist training camp inside Pakistan. The neighbouring nation, on the other hand, shot down an intruding IAF aircraft inside Pakistan allowing the military to restore its reputation in the eyes of its audience. Since the Balakot incident, people in Pakistan including in the military circles were pointing fingers at the armed forces and their capacity to defend the country. Now, with the shooting down of the IAF aircraft and detaining the pilot to back the claim, the pressure has released. What lies at the bottom of the present cycle of tension is the struggle of both sides to re-adjust the threshold. The security community inside Pakistan was extremely concerned that not responding to the Indian attack was allowing New Delhi to redraw the red line. Though an assessment is yet to be made if Pakistan managed to push back the Indian red line to the position it was at before Pulwama, both sides now have their respective victories to show. From now on, the two governments could think about de-escalating and starting a fight or a conversation through diplomatic means. In fact, it makes greater sense to contest the matter diplomatically. Interestingly, in the heat of military tension, the issue of both terrorism and Kashmir had slipped back. In the past few days, the world was discussing the fear of war in a nuclear South Asia rather than the underlying issues. It is only after de-escalation that the conversation may start in Pakistan regarding Jaish-e-Mohammed and other jihadi groups that are based inside the country. The US, UK and France have raised the question to the UN, asking for Masood Azhar and his group to be placed in the list of terror organisations. Obviously, there is frantic activity by both sides in trying to convince the world of their position. Inside Pakistan, a conversation will only begin if any shift in JeMs status occurs at the international level. Thus far, the organisation remains hidden from most public eyes. Unlike the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish did not get involved extensively in welfare activities. It did not even engage with the stated policy of co-option according to which jihadi outfits could mainstream themselves by becoming part of the electoral process. Jaish-e-Mohammed has been very clear about its objective of jihad outside Pakistan. Even within the city of Bahawalpur where it is based, it tends to not draw much attention of ordinary folk until people put their ear to the ground and hear the chatter. People in the immediate neighbourhood of the JeM headquarters sense the power of the organisation and nominally abide by its rules like not playing music, etc. They were not moved or disturbed even after the attack in Uri. They are likely to remain there until some international pressure comes into play. The official Pakistani position remains that the Jaish infrastructure in Bahawalpur is dedicated to imparting religious education. In the coming days, the government may even facilitate more visits to the madrassa by local or foreign journalists to prove the point. The federal information minister even claimed that JeM itself had no presence except for the two seminaries madrassa Sabir and madrassa Subhanallah. The minister made no mention of Markaz Usman-o-Ali that has been the organisational nerve center since its creation in March 2000. But referring to India-Pakistan tensions, it is still not clear if the prospective de-escalation that seems to involve the help of foreign players is based on the pre-condition of Jaish being declared a terrorist organisation, or the two countries will go to the drawing board again, trying to negotiate from their particular perspectives. Pakistan would like to draw attention towards, what it considers as the core problem, Kashmir. While the international community appreciates the dire conditions of the Kashmiri people and human rights violations in the Valley, there appears to be little sympathy for organised terror as pushing the case. Internationally, there is not much consideration for Pakistans position on the group even if it were to make the claim that the JeM had nothing to do with the Pulwama attack and that India does not offer any credible evidence. Depending on the amount of international pressure, Islamabad could also opt for the argument it has used in the past for LeT, of the state not having the capacity to totally eliminate such groups. The international community may even be reminded of Jaishs confrontation with the authorities in the past. This refers to Masood Azhars involvement in the December 2003 attack on Pervez Musharraf. In short, there are two battles that are likely to be fought from now on - a diplomatic contest that will be linked with the struggle to describe to the world what JeM is as an organisation. In the fog of the ongoing war or warlike activities, how likely it is for the media to independently explore JeM is a question worth asking. At least, no one seems ready to ask the question about why the organisation operates inside the country, and its general worth for the society. From Pakistans perspective, even if it has to make some adjustments in the face of international pressure, it will hope for a quid pro quo of the international community linking the issue with the Kashmir dispute. At least, this is what Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan has said repeatedly. The UN Security Council has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, describing the terrorist, thought to be based near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as the most probable successor of the group's current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. United Nations: The UN Security Council has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, describing the terrorist, thought to be based near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as the "most probable successor" of the group's current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee listed 29-year-old Hamza bin Laden on Thursday, the day the US announced a reward of up to $ 1 million for information about him. Saudi Arabia also announced Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. A Security Council press release said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an official member of Al-Qaeda. Hamza bin Laden "has called for followers of Al-Qaeda to commit terror attacks. Is seen as the most probable successor of al-Zawahiri," the powerful 15-member Council said. The sanctions list subjected him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo. An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by designated individuals. Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, of arms and related materiel of all types, spare parts, and technical advice, assistance, or training related to military activities, to designated individuals and entities. Just hours before the UNSC Sanctions Committee designated Hamza bin Laden, the US State Department's Rewards for Justice Program announced a reward for up to $ 1 million for information leading to his identification or location in any country, saying he is emerging as a leader in the Al-Qaeda franchise. "Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by US service members," the State Department said. In January 2017, the State Department had listed Hamza bin Laden as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, freezing all of his assets based in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons. The designation also prohibited US persons from engaging in transactions with him. By Joydeep Gupta Sustainable water management is proving to be a challenge in much of Asia, especially in the basins of rivers that flow through more than one country. At the same time, a large number of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Asia are working on water management issues. Why cant these CSOs play a greater role in pushing for more cooperative transboundary water management? This is especially important as the countries of this region feel the growing impacts of climate change, as glaciers recede and rainfall becomes more irregular. This was one of the questions asked as part of a survey carried out by the BRIDGE (Building River Dialogue and Governance) project, funded by The Asia Foundation and the Transboundary Rivers of South Asia (TROSA) programme of Oxfam Novib, which focuses on the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin. This river basin supports the livelihoods of over 620 million people, is the third largest freshwater outlet to the ocean, and is the third most biodiverse river basin in the world after the Amazon and the Congo. The rivers and tributaries of the basin flow through five countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal. The project team also asked bureaucrats in these countries what the governments thought of the roles that CSOs could play. The most important finding of this survey was that most CSOs do not have access to technical knowledge, or the capacity to effectively engage and influence decision-making, according to the survey report published recently. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which helps the BRIDGE project in the GBM basin, has now started providing this technical knowledge to CSOs. It will concentrate on five themes capacity-building; transboundary cooperation; communication, outreach, and advocacy; research and knowledge; and policy and legislation. Building up capacity The survey found that when it comes to capacity-building, most CSOs focus on local communities, followed by local and provincial governments. They concentrate on disaster preparedness and early warning systems; food security and community livelihood improvement. International laws and bilateral treaties, river rights and social impact assessments of developmental projects come very low on the priority list. Do the CSOs do any research? The survey found that some do, focusing on environmental and social impact analysis of projects. Specifically, some CSOs study the impacts of sand mining on riverbeds, while some others study fisheries conservation. A few study water quality and monitor pollution. The CSOs work with the communities for the research, but far less with academic institutions. The authors of the survey recommended closer collaboration with academics. They also recommended the development of regional and national CSOs cooperation mechanisms, which can be done by building on existing networks. They suggested that such networks should build trust with the governments of the GBM basin countries. Considering the need for regional guidelines in transboundary river basins, the authors identified early warning systems and nature-based solutions as good entry points to deal with disasters such as floods and erosion and to support sustainable management of river basins. There is also a need to analyse the extent to which current national policies and plans are equipped to deal with future water conflicts, so that CSOs can support harmonisation of water governance policies at the regional level. Some of the CSOs surveyed are bringing together communities who live across national boundaries but share the same river basin, especially in the Koshi, Mahakali, and Brahmaputra basins. CSOs can build on this strength and enhance community capacity to effectively engage in transboundary water dialogues, the authors of the survey point out. Bureaucrats eye view The BRIDGE project also asked bureaucrats in all five countries what they thought of the role of the CSOs in water management, especially in transboundary river basins. Almost all bureaucrats felt policy formulation was the job of governments, though they were happy to get inputs from CSOs through policy dialogues. A few especially in Bangladesh did see CSOs as useful partners in designing more effective, inclusive and holistic policies and also in providing support to their implementation. Interestingly, some bureaucrats also felt that CSOs had more freedom than governments in advocating closer cooperation between countries on water governance, and this was a role they could play. To a certain degree this has been borne out by the Brahmaputra Dialogue, initiated by the Hyderabad based NGO South Asian Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs). As part of these discussions, participants from academia and civil society in China, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh have been able to talk of common concerns. Most bureaucrats see research and knowledge production as a core area of CSO engagement and find it useful, as it enables government institutions to access data from remote areas or on specific topics, the survey says. But some policymakers are worried about the credibility of the data. Once again, this is a capacity-building issue, the survey points out. As far as policymakers are concerned, they see the main role of CSOs to be communicating the policies made by the government. In India, the National Mission for Clean Ganga was cited as an example where CSOs are engaged, especially at the local level, in monitoring the impact of programmes and creating community awareness. Some bureaucrats do go beyond that, and say CSOs can open multiple channels of communication, leading to the sharing of national and international research, standards and data. Some others also say, By sharing information with different levels of society, CSOs can help pre-empt conflict situations before they arise, if they work well. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ranchi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying while the Indian Air Force (IAF) was defending the country, Modi stole Rs 30,000 crore from the force and put it in businessman Anil Ambani's pocket. He asked chowkidars (watchemen) not to get worried over the slogan "chowkidar chor hain" as the country knows that "it was meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi". Speaking at the party's Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morahbadi Ground in Ranchi with leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, Gandhi reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was "wrongfully" given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes. Ulgulan is the term used for the movement of justice and independence launched by legendary tribal fighter Birsa Munda against the British in the 19th century. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and state's former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi and Rashtriya Janata Dal's former MLA Ram Chandra Singh were present at the rally. The Congress chief stuck to his rally schedule, and did not visit ailing RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, neither did he speak to Prasad over the phone. There was speculation over whether the Congress president would contact Prasad to break the logjam over seat-sharing among grand alliance partners in Bihar and Jharkhand ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prasad has been in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail since December 2017 after his conviction in Rs 900-crore fodder scam cases that broke out in the early 1990s in united Bihar. "Vaayu Sena desh ki raksha karti hain aur hamare PM uske paise chori kar ke Anil Ambani ko Rs 30,000 crore de dete hain (The IAF defends our country but the PM steals its money and gives Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani)," he said taking a jab at Modi, a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned home from Pakistan captivity. The AICC chief claimed that former France President (Francois Hollande) had said 'Modi said if Rafale deal was to be sealed then Anil Ambani should be given the (offset) contract.' In his no holds barred attack on Modi, the Congress president further alleged that the prime minister had waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists, but not that of farmers, students and shopkeepers. "There was long thumping of desks (in the Lok Sabha) by the BJP members during the budget speech of (officiating) Finance Minister Piyush Goyal." "I found out that the thumping erupted after announcement of Rs 17 per family of the farmers, effectively Rs 3.5 per member of the family. But they (the Centre) waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists," said Gandhi, referring to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana in which farmers having less than or upto two hectare will be given Rs 6,000 per year. He said if his party was voted to power, it would give minimum income guarantee to the poor by directly transferring money into their accounts. Focusing on tribals and farmers, Rahul said the Congress party had in 2013 brought the Land Acquisition Act to protect the jal, jungle, jameen (water, forest and land) of the tribals. "Jal, jungle and jameen are yours, and not of Ambanis or Adanis. Under the land act, until and unless 80 percent of the farmers (land owners) say yes, the land cannot be sold, and if they say yes there will be social impact study and then land will be sold four times the market rate," he said. He said the Congress protested vociferously when the Modi government tried to amend the act. Dear PM, Have you no shame at all? YOU stole 30,000 Cr and gave it to your friend Anil. YOU are solely responsible for the delay in the arrival of the RAFALE jets. YOU are WHY brave IAF pilots like Wing Cdr. Abhinandan, are risking their lives flying outdated jets. https://t.co/BrzAuFTlFu Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 2, 2019 He said in Chhattisgarh the Congress government had returned unused land to original holders within ten days of forming the government as the land had not been used in the last five years. The AICC president said farm loans were waived in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan within 10 days of the Congress forming the government in those states. He said, "Rs 15 lakh had been promised to the people, but what have you got in the last five years. (They) Spread hatred everywhere. We unite and connect with the people". The Congress president, who is visiting Ranchi after nearly five years, said he joined politics in 2004 and had never spoke a lie. He said the Congress had given to the country MGNREGA, White Revolution, Green Revolution and Computer Revolution. Gandhi assured the JVM president and the JMM that the Congress would fight the polls in alliance with them. Jharkhand has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats. In his speech, Marandi said his party would be part of the grand alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. On his "chowkidar chor hain" slogan, Gandhi made it clear that it was directed at the prime minister and not other watchmen in the country. "I tell them not to get worried, the entire country knows that when we say 'chowkidar chor hain', it is clearly meant that we are talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Gandhi said adding, "one chowkidar has defamed all chowkidars." Former Jharkhand police chief Rajeev Kumar joined the Congress in the presence of Gandhi. Kumar is the third IPS officer in Jharkhand Congress after its present president Ajoy Kumar and Rameshwar Oraon. State Congress spokesman Alok Dubey told PTI that Gandhi went straight to the airport after the rally and he neither had any schedule to meet the RJD president nor talked to him over telephone. Modi also hit out at his detractors saying they are free to criticise him but their tirade should not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took on the Opposition over the issue of air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan saying while the entire world stood behind India in its fight against terror, some parties in the country were questioning it. He also hit out at his detractors saying they are free to criticise him but their anti-Modi tirade should not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. Modi also said that the entire country is feeling the absence of the Rafale fighter jet aircraft and wondered what could have happened if the IAF had the fighter planes. "The country is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today what all could have happened if we had Rafale. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said in his address at the India Today conclave. "One of the challenges before the country is some people opposing their own country. When the entire nation today is standing with the armed forces, some parties are casting doubts on them," he said. "These are the parties whose statements and articles are being used by Pakistan against India. In their fixation with criticising Modi, they are opposing the country and comprising its interests," the prime minister said. "I want to ask these people whether they trust the capability of our armed forces or doubt it...I want to tell such people that they are free to oppose Modi and point out shortcomings in the government's working, but do not help those harbouring terrorism. If you want to oppose Modi, do so, but but do not oppose national interests. They should take care that their anti-Modi obsession does not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed," he said at the gathering. He said that India's unity has scared many within the country and outside. Modi said, "I can say with full confidence that the 21st century belongs to India." Southamptons Ralph Hasenhuttl became the latest manager to endorse Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the permanent role, describing his instant impact at Old Trafford as outrageous. Southamptons Ralph Hasenhuttl became the latest manager to endorse Manchester United caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the permanent role, describing his instant impact at Old Trafford as outrageous. United are unbeaten in the Premier League since Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in December, winning nine of their 11 games to get back into the mix for a top-four finish. Solskjaer, who was a forward at United for 11 years, had also earned praise from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp last week, who said the Norwegian deserves (the job) 100 percent. I think they will, Hasenhuttl told reporters on Friday when asked whether United would give Solskjaer the United job on a permanent basis. To be unbeaten (in the league) since he took the job is amazing, its outrageous. With his history of being a player at Manchester United and now doing it as a manager in a very good way, I think you cant have better science to be the next manager. Southampton, in 17th place, are just two points above the relegation zone with 27 points but Hasenhuttl said their midweek win over Fulham had eased the pressure on his squad before Saturdays trip to Old Trafford. Im positive, we had a very important win on Wednesday and now we go with not much pressure, because nobody expects something from us, Hasenhuttl, who took over at Southampton in December, added. It is very hard to take points at Old Trafford but my team does not think in that way. We know we can be a good opponent in every stadium for every team, if we are very organised, as we showed against Chelsea (in the 0-0 draw) for example, where it is not easy to take a point. The Associated Press The Carhartt hoodie that Laura Serghe bought two years ago looked phony. And then, what was supposed to be an Eastpak backpack, arrived recently with messy stitching and a label inside that peeled off easily. Both were bought from one place: Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, whose rapid growth, particularly among third-party sellers, has led to a counterfeit problem. Im not going to buy from Amazon anymore, says Serghe, a freelance photographer in London who unwittingly bought what she believes were fakes. Ive had enough. Amazon has wrestled with counterfeit products on its site for years. But the problem seems to have gotten worse, with Amazon acknowledging for the first time in its annual report in February that fake goods could hurt its business and reputation. Now its trying to crack down: On Thursday, it announced a number of tools that it says will help reduce the amount of fakes on its site. Counterfeits are a costly problem for the company since Amazon typically refunds shoppers who believe they were duped. Knock-offs could also cause shoppers like Serghe to lose their trust. Looking back, Serghe says the prices of the items she bought were suspiciously low. The backpack, for example, was about 60 percent cheaper than authentic Eastpak backpacks she has previously bought. Now Im questioning everything, she says. Counterfeiters usually get their products on Amazon through its growing third-party marketplace, where sellers can list their products directly on the site. Its an important part of Amazons business since it allows Amazon to offer millions more products on its site. More than half of all products sold on Amazon last year came from third-party sellers. The new tools Amazon announced Thursday include a way for brands to remove fake items from the site themselves, rather than reporting them to Amazon and then waiting for the company to do something. It is also using machine learning to automatically scan listings to remove suspected counterfeits and has created unique serial codes that can be placed on products during the manufacturing process, which can then be monitored by Amazon on its site. Amazon says one of the brands using the tools is handbag and luggage seller Vera Bradley, which says it wants to make sure its customers get authentic Vera Bradley items from Amazon. For now, the tools are invite-only, but the company says it will work to add more brands quickly. Reuters Chinas Huawei is set to reward employee shareholders with a 3 percent rise in cash dividends that are worth billions of dollars, according to company sources and Reuters calculations - a move expected to boost morale as it battles a U.S.-led drive against its telecom gear. The payout also appears to indicate profit growth as well as confidence the company can survive U.S. accusations that its telecoms network equipment may enable espionage by the Chinese government, analysts said. Known for its so-called wolf culture that demands high levels of dedication from employees in return for high pay, Huawei Technologies Ltd boasts that some 80,000 of its workers own nearly all of the companys shares - a scheme viewed as unique for a firm of its size. The cash dividend per share for 2018 is expected to rise to 1.05 yuan per share from 1.02 yuan, six employee-shareholder sources told Reuters, citing internal notices handed down over the past month. Total returns per share dropped 7 percent to 2.61 yuan, they added. That follows a stock split. There will also be a 1 to 1.56 stock split for 2018, the sources said. I am satisfied with the number given the macro environment, said one of sources. Like the other employee shareholders, the source was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be identified. A spokesman for Huawei, the worlds largest telecommunications equipment maker and no. 2 manufacturer of smartphones, said the company does not publicly disclose its dividend policy. The payout comes amid an unprecedented crisis for Huawei as Washington calls on governments around the world to stop using its gear, particularly in 5G networks. The United States has also charged Huawei with bank fraud related to sanctions against Iran and is seeking to extradite Meng Wanzhou, its CFO and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, from Canada on related charges. Huawei has repeatedly denied its equipment represents a security risk and Meng has said she is innocent of the allegations made against her. Strong Performance Unlisted Huawei discloses very little about its employee shareholder scheme beyond the number of participants and the 1.14 percent holding of founder Ren. But the state-owned Securities Times in February 2018 reported a figure for outstanding shares and a stock split, citing a Huawei internal memo. That implies 20.3 billion shares currently outstanding, which would translate to a cash dividend of 21.3 billion yuan ($3.2 billion). The dividend shows business fundamentals are good, said Zhou Zhanggui, an independent Huawei analyst, adding that profits for its smartphone business are likely to come in ahead of expectations. Analysts said the calculations of total dividend payouts seemed accurate based on available information. Huawei said in December it expects 2018 revenue to rise 21 percent to $109 billion, its fastest pace in two years. The company, which made a net profit of 47.5 billion yuan in 2017, is due to announce figures for last year in late March. According to the Securities Times report, its total dividend payout for 2017 was 16.8 billion yuan, equivalent to 35 percent of net profit. It's The Money That Counts Huaweis hard-driving culture calls for all employees to work every last Saturday of the month, albeit for double pay. Tough postings in remote locations are also not uncommon. Even so, the employee shareholder scheme, a legacy of 1990s reforms in China, is the big draw for many and enables Huawei to rank as the biggest employer of fresh graduates from Chinas top two universities. The cash dividend can be as much as annual salary or even more, the sources said. Huawei employs some 180,000 people globally and the shareholder scheme is not open to all, with staff usually only able to take part after three years of strong performance. Before joining the scheme, workers also need to sign a declaration of dedication that they voluntarily give up benefits such as paid annual leave, which some jokingly describe as a slave contract. It is a bit like joining the Communist Party or the Youth League at school - it is half voluntary, half mandatory. If youre practical-minded youd want to join, said a former employee, who left after two years because he did not like the work culture. Some, however, dont mind at all. The money is what keeps me pumped, so who cares about losing a few days of holidays?, said one long-time employee shareholder. Schemes of tribal dept to be applicable to Dhangars. The CM said that 10,000 houses will be built for the Dhangar community. Mumbai: Ahead of Lok Sabha (LS) polls, the state government has announced a variety of sops to appease the Dhangar community, which has been demanding a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. As a part of it, the Dhangar community will be given all the schemes applicable to the tribal department along with separate financial provisions. A cabinet sub-committee, headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, discussed various demands of Dhangar community in view of the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) report. It was decided to hand over the TISS report to Advocate General for further consultation and to consider the future course of action on the Dhangar reservation issue and also for recommendation to the Centre and for the proper representation of the case before the high court, said Mr Fadnavis. Till the Dhangar community gets the ST status, all schemes of tribal department will be made applicable to Dhangars with separate financial provisions. Government Ashram Shalas will also be constructed in the vulnerable areas identified by TISS. In addition to this, dedicated hostels will be constructed for Dhangars and schemes for the admission to tribals in renowned schools will also be made applicable to the community, he added. The CM also announced that Ahilyabai Holkar Mahamandal will be strengthened and will expand its scope for skill training and self-financing to youth from the Dhangar community. Furthermore, 10,000 houses will be constructed for the Dhangar community. He said that Swayam like scheme would be launched for the Dhangar community and benefits of pre and post matriculation scholarship will also be given to them. However, opposition leaders have raised doubts over the assurances given to the Dhangar community by the state. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s Dhananjay Munde said, "The TISS report on the Dhangar reservation has been gathering the dust for last one and half years and the budget was just announced. Then why didn't the government make the provision for the community in the budget itself?" The communitys ire for not getting the status was likely to harm the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the LS polls. Hence on the lines of the Maratha community, the state decided to provide additional benefits to Dhangars. tech2 News Staff SpaceX is hours away from a demo test flight of its new Dragon capsule designed for astronauts. The test flight will last six days, and be real in every way liftoff from Florida on Saturday, docking to the International Space Station (ISS) the following day. But the Dragon capsule won't be carrying humans onboard, just the next best thing: a test dummy that's named after and looks identical to Eileen Ripley from the Alien films. Ripley will wear the same, white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will in future missions. NASA doesn't expect this test to go perfectly. But they have their interest in the mission for good reason two NASA astronauts strap into a Dragon as early as July. This is part of early tests involving SpaceX and Boeing to find a safe and reliable shuttle service for NASA's astronauts to the ISS. Boeing is also in the race to end NASA's eight-year drought of launching US astronauts on US rockets from US soil. Giant leaps are made by a series of consistent smaller steps. This one will be a big step! Good luck to @nasa & @SpaceX on tomorrows 1st test flight of a commercially built & operated American rocket & spacecraft designed for humans to launch to @Space_Station! #LaunchAmerica https://t.co/xh6LalyZpY Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) February 28, 2019 NASA is turning to private taxi rides to reduce its pricey reliance on Russia to get astronauts to and from the space station. NASA is providing $8 billion for SpaceX and Boeing to build and operate new systems to take over from the Soyuz rockets. "On a personal level, this is an extremely important mission," SpaceX executive Hans Koenigsmann told reporters Thursday. "And I'm pretty sure it's not just me, I think everybody within SpaceX feels this and wants to get this right." SpaceX and @NASA have completed thousands of hours of tests, analyses, and reviews in preparation for Crew Dragons first test flight to the @space_station pic.twitter.com/JvJqeoLKVy SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 28, 2019 When to watch? The Dragon capsule is scheduled for launch at 2.49 am EST (that's 1.19 pm IST) on Saturday, 2 March from Florida. Once the Dragon capsule is launched into space and heading for the space station, updates from NASA and SpaceX's social feeds will keep us looped in on how the rest of the mission goes. Where to watch? A live stream of the launch will be available on both NASA's and SpaceX's YouTube channels. What's at stake? Apart from a new project and guaranteed funding for their manned space vehicles, whichever company delivers astronauts first wins a small US flag left at the station by the last shuttle crew in 2011. Astronaut Doug Hurley from NASA and Christopher Ferguson from Boeing both astronauts that flew on the last space shuttle mission in 2011 will take the new commercial capsules to the space station on a test drive in April 2019. Hurley will ride the Dragon and Ferguson the Starliner. Here's a look at what the newest space ride is capable of. By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government, as expected, on Friday approved extradition proceedings against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, prompting a furious reaction from China. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was detained in Vancouver last December and is under house arrest. By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government, as expected, on Friday approved extradition proceedings against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, prompting a furious reaction from China. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was detained in Vancouver last December and is under house arrest. In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Meng and Huawei with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meng will appear in a Vancouver court at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1800 GMT) on March 6, when a date will be set for her extradition hearing. "Today, department of Justice Canada officials issued an authority to proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou," the government said in a statement. China, whose relations with Canada have deteriorated badly over the affair, denounced the decision and repeated previous demands for Meng's release. Legal experts had predicted the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would give the go-ahead for extradition proceedings, given the close judicial relationship between Canada and the United States. It could be years though before Meng is ever sent to the United States, since Canada's slow-moving justice system allows many decisions to be appealed. A final decision will likely come down to the federal justice minister, who will face the choice of angering the United States by rejecting the extradition bid, or China by accepting it. Professor Wesley Wark of the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs said "the Canadians will take a beating throughout this whole process" from China. "I suspect the Trudeau government is desperately hoping that the Americans reach a deal with the Chinese," he said by phone. U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in December he would intervene if it served national security interests or helped close a trade deal with China, prompting Ottawa to stress the extradition process should not be politicized. Last week Trump played down the idea of dropping the charges. After Meng's detention, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling. Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who had served two postings in China, said Beijing was likely to retaliate further. "They're not going to take this lying down ... one shudders to think what the consequences could be," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, saying Beijing might crack down on Canadian canola shipments or stop Chinese students from going to Canada. Ottawa rejects Chinese calls to release Meng, saying it cannot interfere with the judiciary. "The Chinese side is utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the issuance of (the) authority to proceed," the embassy in Ottawa said in a statement. Beijing had earlier questioned the state of judicial independence in Canada, noting the government faces accusations it had tried to intervene to stop a corruption trial. Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti declined to comment. Huawei was not immediately available for comment. Meng's lawyers said they were disappointed and described the U.S. charges as politically motivated. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the Irish 'backstop' is only intended to be temporary, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said on Friday. 'We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU,' Michel Barnier said in an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper to be published on Saturday. 'This is not the case BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the Irish "backstop" is only intended to be temporary, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator said on Friday. "We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU," Michel Barnier said in an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper to be published on Saturday. "This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary." The backstop, an arrangement designed to prevent the return of "hard" border infrastructure between EU member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland if there is no trade deal after Brexit that makes it unnecessary, has become the main point of contention in the proposed Brexit deal. "We will not reverse the backstop," Barnier added. "It's an insurance. We don't want to make use of it. And this is also the case when you insure your house. It's only intended for the worst-case scenario." British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said last month that the key to securing a Brexit deal that the British government can get through parliament was to define the "temporary" nature of the Irish backstop more precisely. Prime Minister Theresa May has said that, if British lawmakers once more reject her withdrawal agreement in a vote due to take place by March 12, they will get to vote on asking her to request that the EU delay Brexit. Barnier said EU guarantees that the backstop is temporary could come as part of the political agreement setting out expectations for Britain's relationship with the bloc after it leaves. He told Die Welt that any extension must be intended specifically to solve the impasse. He added that he saw little risk of the remaining 27 EU leaders opposing a delay to Britain's exit, currently set down as March 29, as long as Britain was serious about finding a solution. "The question that the EU27 will ask is: What (is it) for? The answer cannot be that Britain wants to postpone a problem. One would want to solve it." He added that any decision to allow an extension would have to be unanimously approved by EU leaders at a summit on March 21. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Kevin Liffey) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Several people with knowledge of their arrest said that some of the women's rights activists who were detained have been subjected to caning, electrocution and others were also sexually assaulted. Dubai: Prosecutors in Saudi Arabia have referred detained women's rights activists to trial, saying those charged "enjoy all rights preserved by the laws in the kingdom" after them being reportedly tortured in custody. Prosecutors issued the statement late on Friday night, referring to their earlier June statement that marked the activists' arrest just before Saudi Arabia granted women the right to drive. They alleged those arrested had the "aim to undermine the kingdom's security, stability and national unity." Several people with knowledge of their arrest have told The Associated Press that some of the women detained have been subjected to caning, electrocution and others were also sexually assaulted. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal and to protect personal details about the detainees. The Saudi government did not respond to questions about the cases early on Saturday. The women, who include activists in their 20s as well as mothers, grandmothers and retired professors, have been accused of vague national security violations in connection to their human rights work. Canadian criticism of the arrests saw Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties to Ottawa. Human rights groups have criticised the arrests, which come amid a series of crackdowns led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman. "The Saudi prosecution is bringing charges against the women's rights activists instead of releasing them unconditionally," said Michael Page, deputy director for the region at Human Rights Watch. "The Saudi authorities have done nothing to investigate serious allegations of torture, and now, it's the women's rights activists, not any torturers, who face criminal charges and trials." The kingdom also faces widespread international criticism over the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October, allegedly by members of Prince Mohammed's entourage, as well as over its yearslong war in Yemen. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, on Friday asked a federal judge in Virginia to hand down a sentence that is significantly below guidelines, according to a court filing WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, on Friday asked a federal judge in Virginia to hand down a sentence that is significantly below guidelines, according to a court filing. Manafort, who was convicted in August of eight charges of bank and tax fraud as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, is due to be sentenced on March 7. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Berkrot) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. New Delhi: Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said in New Delhi on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terrorist mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on 31 December, 1999, in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several Al-Qaeda recruits, another official said. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the Soviet-Afghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania, the second official said. He also went to Kenya to meet an Al-Qaeda affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On 2 January, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on 18 September, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On 14 February this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing at least 40 jawans. By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic-led congressional panel on Friday demanded that the White House comply with requests for documents and witnesses for a probe into alleged security clearance abuses involving President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others. After weeks of White House stonewalling, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, in a letter to the White House, said 'I am now writing a final time to request your voluntary cooperation.' Cummings panel has subpoena power. Cummings highlighted in his letter a New York Times story that said Trump ordered his former chief of staff John Kelly to provide Kushner with clearance over objections from Kelly and Donald McGahn, then White House counsel. By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic-led congressional panel on Friday demanded that the White House comply with requests for documents and witnesses for a probe into alleged security clearance abuses involving President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others. After weeks of White House stonewalling, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, in a letter to the White House, said "I am now writing a final time to request your voluntary cooperation." Cummings panel has subpoena power. Cummings highlighted in his letter a New York Times story that said Trump ordered his former chief of staff John Kelly to provide Kushner with clearance over objections from Kelly and Donald McGahn, then White House counsel. The Times said Kelly and McGahn both wrote memos about the incident and that McGahn outlined concerns raised about Kushner by career security officials, including CIA officers. "If true, these new reports raise grave questions about what derogatory information career officials obtained about Mr. Kushner to recommend denying him access to our nation's most sensitive secrets," Cummings wrote to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone in the March 1 letter, which appeared to set the stage for his committee to subpoena the material. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Oversight Committee launched its investigation on Jan 23. Cummings said he and his staff have since written and spoken to White House officials multiple times about obtaining documents and witnesses, but to no avail. Kushner's temporary clearance was suspended by Kelly in February 2018, along with other officials operating under temporary clearances, as part of measures to tighten procedures after White House staff secretary Rob Porter was fired when his two ex-wives raised charges of domestic abuse. Cummings said he has provided the White House with detailed descriptions of security clearance abuses by at least nine high-level White House officials including Kushner and current and former national security advisers. The House Democrat's letter included a transcript from a Jan. 31 Times interview with Trump, in which the president denied ordering Kelly to overrule security officials and provide clearances for Kushner. Trump said he did not think he had the authority to overrule security officials on clearance matters, according to the letter. But White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told an NBC interviewer on Friday that Trump has said he has "absolute authority" to order security clearances. Cummings gave the White House until Monday to respond to his latest demands. His panel's probe is part of a wide-ranging effort by House of Representatives Democrats, launched since they took majority control of the chamber in January, to investigate Trump, his presidency and his business interests. (Reporting by David Morgan and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist ailing Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channelled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to force through the border. Washington: The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist ailing Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channelled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to force through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing, with the leftist strongman seeing the aid as a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalise US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of "dozens" more officials and their families, said Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognised as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said that 3,00,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognise Guaido as Venezuela's president but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes worth. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Abrams, the US envoy, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favour of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favour of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said were seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela". President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Since last month, more than 50 countries have recognised Guaido, a 35-year-old political newcomer who has united the often fractious Venezuelan opposition. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. Guaido continued on to Brazil, where he met with the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday travelled to Paraguay. Speaking to reporters in Brasilia on Thursday, Guaido said he would return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. Abrams said the United States was "very concerned" about Guaido's ability to return home safely and warned of a "very large reaction" if he was arrested. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died after 17 months in a North Korean prison, blamed Kim Jong Un's 'evil regime' on Friday after U.S. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died after 17 months in a North Korean prison, blamed Kim Jong Un's "evil regime" on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed the leader's claim not to have known how their son was treated. Warmbier's parents said they had held off commenting during the second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi, which was cut short on Thursday after the two sides failed to reach a deal for the reclusive communist nation to give up its nuclear weapons. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto," Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that." After the family's sharp statement, the White House tried to explain what Trump meant. "What he said was that Chairman Kim says, what he believes Chairman Kim to have said, was that he was not aware of what had happened to Otto Warmbier when it happened," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News. Trump had kind words for the family later on Twitter: "I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. ... Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto's mistreatment and death." The U.S. president drew criticism after he praised Kim's leadership and said he accepted Kim's assertion that he had not been aware of how Warmbier was treated while in detention. "He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word," Trump told a news conference. Prominent Republicans on Thursday did not share Trump's acceptance of Kim's word, including close Trump ally U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who said he didn't "buy it for a minute." It wasn't the first time Trump has faced criticism for appearing to side with autocratic leaders. He gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the benefit of the doubt after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year. In July, Trump refused to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in U.S. elections. Warmbier, 22, died on June 19, 2017, shortly after he was flown home to Ohio in a coma after being held by North Korea for 17 months. "Otto should have never been arrested in the first place and Kim is responsible for that decision and everything that subsequently happened," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Patricia Zengerle, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Peter Szekely in New York; editing by Scott Malone and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. worth paying multiplex prices for worth a look, but wait for DVD, unless your favorite actor is in it give it a miss my reaction under consideration my reaction under gag order for now not yet seen by me Tim Cook told its share holders that future products from Apple will ensure better profits. Tim also mentioned that Apple is still on track and has aimed positively to double the revenue by 2020. CEO Tim Cook recently had talks with its investors, who were worries over Apples diminishing market over the expensive iPhones. However, Tim Cook has promised them that future products that will be launched will blow them away for sure. Tim Cook had a lot to talk about at the annual general meeting in Cupertino, California, reported Bloomberg. During the meeting, Tim told its investors that the company has been "planting seeds" and "rolling the dice" on future products and has shown his optimistic behavior about where the company is today and where it is heading in future. Apple also mentioned that it has acquires around 18 companies in 2018 without even listing them. Tim also mentioned that Apple is still on track and has aimed positively to double the revenue by 2020. Apple is said to reduce the prices on its MacBook Air apart from increasing the resolution on the display panel. Additionally, Tim also did mention about a great roadmap of fantastic devices ahead in 2019. Microsoft is adding the ability which allows users to take a photo of a printed data table and convert it into a fully editable table in the Excel app for iOS and Android. For now, though, the app is rolling out to Android and will be gradually rolled out to iOS. Microsoft is using artificial intelligence for this feature, with image recognition and this eliminates the need to manually input hardcopy data. The feature will be available to Microsoft 365 users. Apart from this, Microsofts latest FastTrack, desktop app assure, provides app compatibility service for Windows 10 and Office 365ProPlus. FastTrack now offers guidance on how to configure Exchange Online Protection, Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Office 365 Message Encryption, and Data Loss Prevention policies. These services are now globally available to eligible customers with more than 150 seats at no additional cost. Microsoft is also bringing Microsoft Account security alerts to the companys Authenticator app. When you receive a push notification, you can quickly view your account activity and take actions to protect your account if needed. Other updates include new one-time passcode (OTP) from Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) make sharing and collaboration seamless for any user with any account. Azure AD now supports automated user provisioning from Workday, enabling fast and efficient identity creation, so employees can access their Microsoft 365 apps and all other critical resources on day one. The Teams desktop app will be installed along with the rest of the Office 365 ProPlus apps for all new installs. Source Crestwood Equity Partners ( CEQP 3.82% ) is in the midst of a multi-year strategy to improve its financial profile even as it restarts its growth engine. That plan has already paid dividends for investors as the company generated high-end results in 2018, which enabled it to deliver market-crushing total returns. The midstream company believes there's plenty more upside ahead. That's evident from the comments of CEO Bob Phillips on the company's fourth-quarter conference call, where he laid out three reasons he believes Crestwood has a bright future. 1. We're growing at a peer-leading rate Phillips wrapped up Crestwood's call by making three summary points that outlined what investors should expect from the company in the future. He began by saying that "No. 1, we've reaffirmed our 15% annual growth rate in EBITDA and DCF [distributable cash flow] per unit through 2020." What's noteworthy about those comments is that they suggest Crestwood's earnings and cash flow growth rates are going to accelerate. That's because EBITDA was up only about 6% last year while DCF was down slightly since its expansion projects didn't start ramping up until the second half. That puts the company on track to grow at a much faster rate in 2019 -- with earnings on pace to increase 13% while cash flow should rise 15% at the midpoint of its guidance range -- before kicking into an even higher gear in 2020. That fast-pace growth sets Crestwood apart from most peers. It's currently on track to deliver the third highest EBITDA growth rate over the next two years while leading the way in DCF per unit growth. That high-octane growth should enable Crestwood to continue delivering strong total returns, especially since it currently trades at the second lowest valuation in its peer group. Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Crestwood Equity Partners. 2. We're closing in on our targeted financial profile Phillips continued by saying: No. 2, we're entering the final year of a three-year capital program, spending $850 million in the basins that we operate in, Bakken, Powder, Delaware, generating incremental EBITDA of $160 million for an investment multiple of about 5.5 times. ... [W]e think that is exactly where the company ought to be right now. That results in us achieving our targeted leverage ratio of 3.5 to 4 times in early 2020. The reason Crestwood is growing at such a fast pace is that it's investing in high-return expansion projects. Phillips noted that the company's $850 million of investments should generate $160 million of incremental EBITDA, which is significant, considering it produced less than $400 million of earnings in 2017. That earnings growth, when combined with some non-core asset sales, has the company on track to achieve its leverage target by early next year. 3. We plan on rewarding our patient investors as soon as it's practical The CEO concluded by saying: And when we get there [to our leverage target], or get to line of sight on that run rate, then we're going to reevaluate distribution growth going forward. That's the plan. We're sticking to it. We know we sound like a broken record, but the model is working and our team continues to execute well. So we're going to stay with it and hope that the investors like what we're doing. Crestwood had talked about potentially increasing its distribution this year but decided to hold it flat for 2019. That will allow it to retain more cash to finance some additional expansion projects so that it doesn't negatively affect its financial profile. One of those projects is a $60 million investment to expand its Arrow water gathering system in the Bakken to support the growth of Enerplus ( ERF 8.73% ). Crestwood couldn't pass up this opportunity since the long-term agreement with Enerplus implies an investment multiple of 4, which is higher than its average project. Next year, however, not only is capital spending on track to moderate, but Crestwood should also achieve its targeted leverage metrics. As a result, the company should be in a position to start returning more money to investors, either through increasing its already attractive 7.6%-yielding payout or repurchasing some of its dirt cheap units. Well positioned to enrich investors Crestwood has already been one of the best-performing midstream companies over the past year. However, it still appears to have ample upside since its growth engine is starting to accelerate, while it's on track to achieve its leverage target so that it can begin returning more cash to investors. That combination of growth, yield, value, and improving financial profile make Crestwood look like a great income stock to buy and hold for the long term. Royal Dutch Shell plc ( RDS.B 0.02% ) and Total S.A. ( TTE 0.63% ) are giants in the energy industry, long focusing on their integrated oil and natural gas businesses. But there's been a notable shift in their public comments about their core operations, which have been backed up by dollars spent to expand their businesses beyond carbon-based fuels. Why are they doing this, and does it make sense? Oil is not dead yet According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for energy is expected to grow by 25% between 2017 and 2040. That will be driven by increasing demand in emerging markets, largely in Asia (think China and India and their massive urbanizing populations), with developed markets seeing slower growth because of conservation efforts. Electricity will be an increasingly important source of energy as the world attempts to shift away from carbon-based fuels. Carbon-based fuels are under attack because of global warming concerns. This is headline grabbing news that has investors worried about the future of oil companies like Shell and Total. However, according to the IEA, the global demand for energy is likely to be so great that oil and natural gas demand will continue to grow for many decades to come. Oil's growth is projected to be backed by demand for chemicals, aviation, and heavy trucks. Natural gas, meanwhile, is increasingly being used to generate electricity because it is cleaner than coal. That should support demand for the fuel even as renewable power options like solar and wind continue their fast-paced growth. In fact, despite the hype, the IEA projects that by 2040 coal and natural gas will still be the two largest sources of electricity generation. This is not a doomsday scenario for big oil companies, which helps explain why ExxonMobil Corporation has pretty much decided to double down on its oil and gas business. Because oil and natural gas are depleting assets, someone will need to drill more holes to supply the still-robust global demand for these energy sources. That demand should also support the oil and natural gas businesses at Shell and Total. That said, these two energy giants are starting to shift their mix, with an eye to an increasingly electric future. Check out the latest earnings call transcripts for Royal Dutch Shell and the other companies we cover. Spreading their bets Total, for example, paid roughly $1.8 billion in 2018 to buy a European electric and gas utility. That comes on top of previous investments in solar power giant SunPower Corporation, in which it owns a controlling stake. The French energy giant is clearly building out an electric business to compliment its energy, chemical, and refining operations. The electric operation is tiny, at about 5% of adjusted operating income in 2018. And oil, natural gas, refining, and chemicals will get far more investment over the next few years than Total's electric business. But management expects to continue investing in expanding its electric operations over time, so this is a long-term bet. Shell has also been investing in the electric space. While part of that includes shifting its mix more toward natural gas, which was helped along by the acquisition of BG Group, it is also investing more directly via its New Energies division. For example, it bought one of the largest electric vehicle charging station owners in Europe in 2018, and took a 49% stake in an Asian renewable power company. And in early 2019 it purchased a company focused on energy storage for homes. According to the company's management, the longer-term goal is to create an electric business that will one day be large enough to sit alongside its oil and gas operations. That said, Shell doesn't break out the results of its New Energies division at this point. The clear goal for both companies is to create a balanced portfolio that includes electricity. That's not a bad business plan given that electricity is projected to be an increasingly important source of energy. In fact, Exxon's choice to double down on oil could lead to it falling behind the broader and changing energy industry over time. A big acquisition could make up for that, of course, but the slow and steady approach that Total and Shell are taking makes complete sense. Smaller moves, in fact, could help limit the risk of an investment misstep. And then there's the worst case scenario for carbon energy sources. The IEA's 2040 projections change materially if the world gets serious about reducing carbon emissions. In this scenario, renewable power grows meaningfully, with a notable drop in oil demand and slower growth for natural gas. That would be a bad outcome for integrated oil giants, even though oil and gas will still be very important contributors on the world stage. By acting now, Shell and Total are hedging their bets and protecting themselves from this outcome. Not a crazy idea At this point, it looks like oil and natural gas, and the products made out of them, will remain vital for many years to come. However, there is a clear trend in the energy space toward electricity. Although it is likely to be a long time before electricity displaces oil and natural gas, Total and Shell are making a solid choice to start adjusting their businesses now. That will allow them to build and learn, and protects them from the potential worst-case scenario in which the world reduces its carbon footprint more swiftly than currently expected. If that sounds good to you, then both are worth a closer look today. The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food. (Photo:AP) Washington: The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. ExxonMobil ( XOM 1.49% ) shareholders have good reason to be frustrated. Among the five largest oil and gas companies in the world, referred to as supermajors, it's the only one that has lagged the total return (stock performance plus dividends) of the S&P 500 in the last three years. In fact, the stock's total return of 8% is far behind the 55% rise of the index in that span. The performance is all the more surprising considering North American refining margins have been healthy for much of the past three years. But management believes the business will thrive thanks to its strength downstream. When coupled with a steady ramp-up of upstream projects in the coveted Permian Basin, it could help pull the business out of the doldrums. Does that makes ExxonMobil a buy? Is the sluggish growth strategy finally picking up? While most peers have already begun to realize significant contributions from recent growth projects, it's taken ExxonMobil a little longer to get warmed up following the oil price crash of late 2014. Upstream production growth was difficult to come by for the business in 2018, but it exploited healthy refining margins in its downstream refinery network. The downstream segment saw fourth-quarter 2018 earnings rise to $2.7 billion, up from just $952 million in the year-ago period. Healthy downstream operations should continue for the foreseeable future due to a confluence of factors, including cost-advantaged North American crude inputs, a new low-sulfur fuel requirement for shipping vessels going into effect on the first day of 2020, and various investments in infrastructure to adapt to expected demand surges in specific petroleum products, such as synthetic lubricants. ExxonMobil will be well-prepared for growing demand for low-sulfur marine fuels after upgrading its complexes in Beaumont, Texas, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, by the end of 2019. Meanwhile, the business is well-positioned to leverage its salivating upstream assets in the Permian Basin. The acreage position underpins plans to triple upstream segment earnings between 2017 and 2025. The company boasts 1.6 million acres in the Permian Basin, with an estimated net recovery potential of 9.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Two-thirds of that production potential is packed into the Delaware Basin formation, which is currently home to less than half of its active rigs in the Permian Basin. Successful development would allow the supermajor to take advantage of its extensive refinery infrastructure along the American Gulf Coast, which could result in supercharged growth potential by the mid-2020s. Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Exxon. By the numbers ExxonMobil reported solid full-year 2018 operating results. The business delivered operating cash flow of $36 billion, its highest total since 2014 (oil prices collapsed later that year), although it's only half of what management thinks could be possible by 2025. It saw full-year 2018 earnings rise 6% compared to the year-ago period to a healthy $20.6 billion. Capital expenditures rose 12% year-over-year, which could become the new normal as the business ramps growth investments. Despite finally seeing contributions from growth projects of years past, ExxonMobil shares don't look too attractive on several key valuation metrics -- including forward earnings, PEG ratio, and enterprise value (EV) to EBITDA -- compared to supermajor peers. Company Forward PE PEG Ratio EV to EBITDA Dividend Yield ExxonMobil 14.4 1.20 7.5 4.2% Royal Dutch Shell 10.0 1.71 5.8 5.9% Total 9.1 21.1 5.5 5.2% Chevron 14.9 0.43 7.7 4% BP 10.3 0.40 5.8 5.8% As the table above demonstrates, ExxonMobil might be the least attractive supermajor based on the selected valuation metrics. It's expensive relative to future earnings expectations and EV. Its dividend, while above average compared to the broader stock market, fails to impress when ranked against peers. Simply put, investors looking to play growth in the Permian Basin, or own an oil supermajor, could do better. Energy investors may want to pass on this supermajor Investors looking for ExxonMobil stock to catch up to peers in the near future may be disappointed. The business expects to plow at least $30 billion per year into new projects and growth initiatives, which will likely weigh on its cash flow for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the company's valuable acreage in the Permian Basin might still be a few years away from delivering closer to its full promise, especially considering persistent infrastructure constraints. That said, if the business can deliver on its strategy in the next five years and successfully ramp up growth projects, then patient investors should be rewarded by the mid-2020s. But the bottom line is that there are simply better investments in the market right now than ExxonMobil. No, it's not your imagination. The election cycle does seem to be starting earlier and earlier as time goes on. Just weeks after the midterm elections wrapped up this past November, members of the Democratic Party were throwing their hats into the ring to declare themselves as candidates for the 2020 presidential election to be held in November 2020. Like earnings season with the stock market, campaign season simply doesn't stop anymore. The 2020 election is bound to captivate the attention of the American public. There are a number of hot-button issues that President Trump, assuming he's the Republican nominee for president, and the eventual Democrat nominee will have to address. This includes healthcare reform, national and border security, economic growth, and likely our nation's growing national debt. However, one issue that absolutely deserves to be center stage -- but is unlikely to receive any serious discussion during the presidential election -- is Social Security. Social Security isn't going bankrupt, but it's still in big trouble On one hand, America's most important social program has done a bang-up job of providing a financial foundation for tens of millions of retired and disabled people. Each month, about 63 million benefit checks are disbursed, and more than 22 million of these recipients are lifted out of poverty as a result of their payout. This shows that America's social investment in its retired and disabled workforce is doing exactly what it was intended to do. Then again, the foundation that Social Security provides is also showing signs of weakness. Last year, the program's asset reserves grew by the lowest amount in more than three decades. The Social Security Board of Trustees has forecast that a major inflection point is right around the corner, whereby the program will begin paying out more than it collects each year. These growing net cash outflows, brought about by ongoing demographic changes, are projected to deplete Social Security's nearly $2.9 trillion in asset reserves by 2034. To be crystal clear, Social Security not having a dime left in its asset reserves doesn't mean the program is bankrupt or insolvent. Rather, it just means that the existing payout schedule isn't sustainable over the long run. The program's 12.4% payroll tax on earned income and the taxation of benefits over certain income thresholds are two recurring sources of revenue that ensure Social Security can't go bankrupt. But in order to maintain payouts over the long term (defined as the next 75 years), the Trustees have estimated the need to reduce benefit checks up to 21% by 2034. That's not a welcome outlook, given that more than 3 out of 5 retired workers currently rely on Social Security for at least half of their monthly income. Fixing Social Security means someone always loses Current and future retirees are clearly worried about this top social program, and they'd like the leading candidate from both major political parties to address how they'll go about strengthening Social Security for the long run. Unfortunately, neither the Republican nor Democrat presidential candidate is likely to discuss Social Security much, if at all, leading up to the 2020 elections for one simple reason: All solutions mean some group has to lose. Make no mistake about it, there are quite a few solutions on the table in Capitol Hill that would work to raise additional tax revenue, reduce long-term expenditures, or take a middle-of-the-road approach, thereby eliminating the program's $13.2 trillion cash shortfall through 2092. But every solution presented means some individuals won't come out as winners. As an example, one of the core proposals that Republican lawmakers would like to see implemented is a gradual increase to the full retirement age -- i.e., the age at which you become eligible to receive your full monthly benefit. Currently set to peak at age 67 for those born in 1960 or later, the GOP has called for a gradual increase up to age 70 for full retirement benefits in order to counteract increased longevity. Doing so would reduce lifetime benefits paid by the program by either coercing workers to wait longer to claim benefits, or to take an even steeper monthly reduction by claiming early. Although such a solution would protect current and soon-to-be-retired seniors, it would reduce the lifetime benefit potential of future generations of workers. President Trump understands this, and back in 2013 he urged the GOP to steer clear of the topic around election time. As for Democrats, they'd prefer to see the payroll tax earnings cap (currently $132,900 in 2019) increased or eliminated. Right now, any earned income (i.e., wages and salary paid to workers) above $132,900 is exempt from the 12.4% payroll tax. Over the past three-plus decades, the amount of earned income exempt from this crucial income generator for Social Security has quadrupled from around $300 billion to $1.2 trillion. Raising or eliminating this cap would instantly generate more revenue for the program. But, it would also not provide any extra benefits for the well-to-do during retirement, despite their added payroll tax contributions. Put another way, amending Social Security could mean costing your political party precious votes come election time. The Republican core proposal negatively impacts working-age Americans, which could make reelection difficult for President Trump. Meanwhile, the Democrat proposal hurts the wealthy, who just happen to be important campaign donors and policy influencers. No matter the resolution to Social Security's problems, someone will lose. And for that reason, Social Security has become a topic that only second-term presidents are likely to consider tackling. Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism. New Delhi/London: Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism that threatens both the countries, British MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said Saturday. Speaking at a India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Johnson said India and the United Kingdom would succeed in defeating terrorism, a common threat, for their values were superior to those of terrorists and their sponsors. "I'm sure I speak for millions of people in my own country when I say we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage at the killings in Pulwama, and in our determination to work with you to defeat the terrorist foe that threatens us both," Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London, said. "And we will succeed, and we will defeat them because in the end, it is our values that are superior to those of the terrorists, and those who sponsor them," he said. Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the security forces. On the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan's custody, Johnson said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation in dealing with terrorism. "Imran Khan behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation and I think all of us who worry about what is going on there has a real real duty to support the civilian side of the government in Pakistan against the deep state elements," he said. "We have a very important relationship with Pakistan but there is no doubt that the deep state in the country has been responsible chronically for association with sponsorship of terrorist groups. We have been trying to address it through task force, blacklisting and grey listing and we put a huge amount of pressure on Pakistan. But we can consider putting more pressure through our aid budget," he said. Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. The United Nations on Friday stressed that refugees fleeing conflict should be granted safe haven. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told the Security Council on Thursday that the refugee crisis had gone from bad to worse. (Photo:ANI) United Nations: The United Nations on Friday stressed that refugees fleeing conflict should be granted safe haven after Bangladesh declared that it would no longer take in Myanmar's Rohingya. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told the Security Council on Thursday that the refugee crisis had gone from "bad to worse" and deplored the fact that none of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya sheltering in his country had returned home. "Bangladesh has been amazingly generous in the support they have given the Rohingya refugees," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "It is important that people fleeing conflict are able to find safe haven wherever they go." Under a deal reached with Bangladesh, Myanmar agreed to take back some of the refugees, but the United Nations insists that the safety of the Rohingya be a condition for their return. Haque told a council meeting on Myanmar that "Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar", suggesting that his government was ready to close the border to refugees. Around 740,000 Muslim Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh after they were driven out of Myanmar's northern Rakhine state during a military campaign in 2017 that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. "Is Bangladesh paying the price for being responsive and responsible in showing empathy to a persecuted minority population of a neighbouring country?" asked the foreign secretary. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is conducting an internal review of the world body's operations in Myanmar following accusations that UN officials in the country ignored warning signs of the attacks against the Rohingya. The UN spokesman said the review led by Guatemalan diplomat Gert Rosenthal was to provide "possible lessons learned for the future" and advise on the way forward. Britain's Guardian newspaper first reported on the inquiry on Tuesday that will focus on the UN's failure to prevent the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Some of the criticism has focussed on allegations that the UN resident coordinator, Renata Lok-Dessallien, downplayed concerns about worsening abuses against the Rohingya and sought to prioritize economic development at the expense of human rights. The UN has denied those claims. He is from the State of Assam. The next goal is to bring the university into its poor village. He says: "I no longer want to see children forced to leave school". New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Day after day he has deprived himself of part of his income and thus managed to build nine schools: This is the story of Ahmed Ali, a rickshaw driver of Assam of humble origins. He did it for his son but also for future generations, less fortunate than he, who could not study. Speaking to the IANS agency he says: "I did not go to school because I was poor. The people in my village are poor and it made me very sad to see that their children could not attend school for the same reason. I no longer want to see children forced to leave school ". Ali is originally from Madhurband, about 300 km from the state capital Guwahati. To earn a living, he drives a rickshaw and often finds himself accompanying students who go to school. The desire to do something for poor children came to him when his wife was expecting their first child. At that moment he realized that, given the humble origins, the child could never have had a quality education. The man tells: "I understood that it was a wish of Allah and thanks to the blessing of the people of the village I managed to achieve what I wanted". In 1978 the driver opened the first school in his village of origin. To finance the construction, he sold a piece of land he owns and was given another part where the structure stands today. The other schools have been financed by his savings and some charitable organizations. To make sure the facilities had adequate funds to guarantee teaching, Ali worked as a day driver and wood cutter at night for years. In all, he built three primary schools, five intermediate schools and a high school in Madhurband and in neighboring villages. Inaugurated in 1990, today 228 young people are enrolled in high school. According to him, studying is an important achievement especially for girls: "Boys can also go to study away from home, but little girls do not". His next goal is to open a college. In fact, he adds, "after the 10th class the pupils do not have the possibility to receive a higher education. The nearest college is 15 km away ". Finally, the greatest desire is for all schools to be recognized by the government. "So raising money will no longer be a problem" and poor children like his son will have the security of being able to study. News Worried about plastic, some rethink Mardi Gras beads KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News David Baca and Priscilla File hold out the peanuts they will throw from the Krewe de Isle of Misfits on the second Friday of Mardi Gras on Friday. , March 1, 2019. Baca and File decided to throw peanuts instead of plastic beads. GALVESTON There is perhaps no more prevalent symbol for Mardi Gras than plastic bead necklaces. People toss them from balconies and floats by the thousands into outstretched hands of revelers. But in an age when people increasingly look sideways at plastic bags and plastic straws, how does the eco-conscious partier partake in the fun of a Mardi Gras toss? Priscilla Files answer is a little nuts. About two years ago, Files and her husband, David Baca, could no longer stand the thought of contributing to plastic pollution by tossing Mardi Gras beads, she said. Instead, they have started passing out roasted peanuts at parades, Files, executive director of the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy, said. We just got to the point where we felt wed thrown our allotment of plastic beads, she said. The peak of their peanut passing happens during the first weekend of Mardi Gras, when they and a group of friends hold an unofficial bike parade down Seawall Boulevard while the road is closed to traffic. Most people just walk right up and we give them a handful of peanuts, Files said. I just ride by slowly, saying peanuts, peanuts. And they laugh and just form around my bicycle. So far, their idea is only a two-person affair, but it seems possible that plastic consciousness could inspire more Mardi Gras choices in coming years. Over the past two years, the Galveston City Council has considered passing a ban on single-use plastic bags. That plan was stopped after the state legislature passed a bill banning bag bans. The council this week approved a resolution encouraging food purveyors to withhold plastic straws unless customers ask specifically for them, and to consider offering straws made of paper or some other more biodegradable material. And some restaurants already have stopped offering plastic straws in effort to prevent plastic pollution. Theres been no organized effort to stop the rain of plastic beads during Galvestons annual celebrations, though some local environmental groups have been circulating a National Geographic article that details the amount of plastic used during New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations. Mardi Gras can result in a lot of trash being left on Galvestons street. City officials have estimated that cleanup crews pick up as much as 2 tons of garbage off the streets after the busiest nights of the event. The city does its best to pick up trash and beads left in the street, but inevitably, some get caught in tree branches or washed into storm drains, officials said. We try to be as diligent as possible about clearing the streets during Mardi Gras, but were almost certain that beads enter the drainage system especially when it rains during Mardi Gras, city spokeswoman Marissa Barnett said. The beads dont cause major blockages in the sewers, Barnett said. Some companies and Mardi Gras enthusiasts are trying to reform the annual pre-Lenten festival into something more sustainable. A research team at Louisiana State University is trying to make biodegradable beads out of algae, according to a recent report in Smithsonian Magazine. Other companies sell beads made out of paper or glass, though those options tend to be less affordable than plastic beads bought in bulk. Still, some people do choose to forgo throwing beads in the name of some other, greener option. Dustin Henry, a coastal resource manager for the city of Galveston and former krewe members, sought out alternatives to beads, he said. He settled on buying aluminum coins that had been picked up and resold from other Mardi Gras celebrations. The coins had a nice weight to them, and made a good sound if they hit the ground, which might catch the attention of revelers if they dont see the coin flying through the air, Henry said. Hes also become more conscious about which beads he pursues, he said. Instead of just aiming to collect a massive amount every year, he attempts to get his hands on bead necklaces with medallions from each of the citys krewes, he said. The medallions change every year, and hes less likely to throw them away than he is an unadorned necklace, he said. Those are like the only beads I try to go for, personally, because they are a keepsake, Henry said. The second weekend of Mardi Gras began Friday evening, and continues on Saturday and Sunday. The Knights of Momus Grand Night Parade begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on Seawall Boulevard at 25th Street. Georgia Senate Republicans have introduced the 2019 version of a bill theyve entitled The Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. Republicans say the bill is necessary to protect people whose religious beliefs come into conflict with other viewpoints. Republican state Sen. Marty Harbin of Tyrone said Thursday his proposal was drafted to mirror the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993 . But of course it doesnt. Georgia Equality, said in a news release that Harbins legislation would allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers, among others, and would grant taxpayer-funded agencies a broad license to discriminate against LGBT youth, families, and other Georgians. House Speaker and fellow Republican David Ralston in January said he was concerned a Georgia version of the federal law has a real potential to divide us as a state. Its a much different world than it was in 1993, Ralston said. He also said he believed the proposals were a solution in search of a problem. I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, Deal said at the time. In 2016 when Georgia introduced a similar LGBT discrimination bill companies like Coca-Cola, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios, Salesforce.com and the NFL all came out against it and threatened to boycott the state. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 92,100 jobs and nearly $4.6 billion in total wages in Georgia, including indirect jobs and wages alon Uber now offers free healthcare benefits to drivers News oi-Priyanka Dua These centers will help verify eligibility and issue e-cards to driver and delivery partners for the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, which provides Rs. 500,000 of healthcare benefits. Uber and Ayushman Bharat has announced a partnership to facilitate free healthcare for tens of thousands of driver and delivery partners. Indu Bhushan, CEO, Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, and National Health Authority (NHA) said, "Reaching out to the last mile beneficiary lies at the core of the goal of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY of providing cashless quality inpatient care for serious illnesses with a view to protect more than 10 crore economically vulnerable families or 50 crore people from catastrophic healthcare expenditure that impoverishes more than 6 crore people every year." He said, "Through this partnership with Uber, we hope to reach out to lakhs of people and their families in the driver and delivery community to bring them the benefits of this transformative scheme and help secure their health and economic security." The company has also signed an MoU with the National Health Authority for setting up Common Service Centres at Partners Seva Kendras across India. These centers will help verify eligibility and issue e-cards to driver and delivery partners for the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, which provides Rs. 500,000 of healthcare benefits for free secondary and tertiary treatment to each eligible family per year in government and impaneled private hospitals. Driver and delivery partners will pay only Rs. 30 to obtain an Ayushman Bharat card to provide access to the services under the scheme. They will not be required to pay any charges or premium for pre-hospitalisation, hospitalization and post-hospitalization expenses, which are all covered under the scheme. Each impaneled hospital is staffed by 'Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Mitras' or frontline healthcare workers to assist patients and facilitate their care at the hospital. They will also run a help desk and check documents to verify eligibility for the scheme. Pradeep Parameswaran, President, Uber, India, and South Asia said, "Driver partners are at the heart of what we do and during our engagements with them, they have repeatedly mentioned the need for a stronger safety net, especially good healthcare. Our partnership with Ayushman Bharat, the largest government healthcare scheme in the world, caters to such a requirement. It underscores our commitment not just to driver and delivery partners, but also our resolve to facilitate healthcare benefits for their family members.'' Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Global impact A 2008 paper, dubbed "Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War," by Brian Toon, Alan Robock, and Rich Turco, concludes that a war between India and Pakistan using fifty nuclear warheads equivalent to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, would instantly claim lives of at least 45 million people. However, recent research claims that the final toll would be global and astronomically greater in terms of deaths. A new study on the dire consequences of a nuclear conflict, by researcher Micheal Mills, shows the effects with the help of an Earth system model with all essential aspects such as ocean dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and other interactive components, to determine the destruction a limited nuclear warfare would cause if both nations deployed fifty 15-kiloton weapons over major cities. And, that's less than half of what both India (110-130 warheads) and Pakistan (110-140 warheads) have in their arsenals. Years without summers The explosions are said to start hundreds of firestorms that suck air and spit huge columns of smoke that rise up to the stratosphere, resulting in a global spread out. If we go by the model's prediction, the smoke will block all sunlight making the temperature drop way below normal. This will be the coldest temperatures the Earth would witness since the ice age. The icy weather will last for at least 25 years and the smoke will continue to float over stratosphere for years. This hypothetical nuclear war will also result in 20-50 percent elimination of the ozone layer above populated cities. What's important to note is that the researchers have predicted the loss on basis of weapons that are equally powerful as the Little Boy nuclear weapon that devastated Hiroshima. But that's no match to the weapons that exist today. "The danger of nuclear winter has been under-understood - poorly understood - by both policymakers and the public. It has reached a point where we found that nuclear weapons are largely unusable because of the global impacts," Michael Mills, a researcher at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, told Business Insider. Nobody's the winner Besides, the nuclear conflict would reduce the crop yields in the following decade, global precipitation will see a decline of 6 percent in the initial five years, while a 4.5 percent fall a decade later. Also, the monsoon in the Asian region will reduce by 20-80 percent, that means whichever nation wins this battle face an extreme shortage of food due to lack of rains. The global famine after the war between India and Pakistan could lead to the death of around two billion people due to starvation. Millions more might lose their lives because of the diseases caused by nuclear radiations. It's important to understand that the study only represents the effects of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan who are responsible for only 0.7 percent of the world's 14,500 nuclear warheads. But even a limited nuclear war among the two neighboring countries could lead a catastrophic nuclear winter. International safeguards The International Atomic Energy Agency undertakes regular inspections of civil nuclear facilities and audits the movement of nuclear materials through them. Most of the nations are a part of initiatives towards limiting the proliferation of nuclear warheads. Since 1970, the international safeguards system has successfully prevented the diversion of fissile materials into weapons. It is also focusing to address undeclared nuclear activity. We hope both India and Pakistan abide by these safeguards and reach a peaceful solution to the ongoing situation and prevent themselves from engaging in nuclear warfare. Canada to Allow Extradition of Huawei CFO to US Sputnik News 22:04 01.03.2019(updated 22:53 01.03.2019) The Canadian Department of Justice has decided to allow the US to extradite Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei. Meng is wanted in the US for alleged financial crimes. "Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou," a Friday press release by the Canadian Department of Justice reads. The Chinese Embassy in Canada issued a statement in response, saying China is "utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes" Ottawa's decision. Meng was arrested on December 1, 2018, in Vancouver, the US having issued an arrest warrant for her earlier that year. Released on C$10 million bail on December 12, she was given a GPS tracker and 24-hour security detail, to ensure she didn't flee to her native China. Meng is charged in the US with numerous financial crimes, including bank fraud and conspiracy to defraud the US government. The charges stem from her position on the board of Skycom, a subsidiary of Huawei that the US government alleges the tech giant used to get around trade sanctions against Iran. She has denied these allegations. Meng's extradition hearing is scheduled for March 6. However, the Canadian Justice Department warned that "An extradition hearing is not a trial nor does it render a verdict of guilt or innocence." "If a person is ultimately extradited from Canada to face prosecution in another country, the individual will have a trial in that country." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Demands WH to Grant Kushner Top Security Clearance Amid US Intel Concerns Sputnik News 06:10 01.03.2019 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump ordered senior White House officials to upgrade his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner top-secret security clearance despite concerns of the intelligence community, media reported. Trump ordered his chief of staff at the time John Kelly to grant Kushner security clearance despite warnings from intelligence officials and White House lawyers, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In an interview with New York Times in January, Trump denied any involvement in helping secure the top-level clearance for Kushner. Last year, Kushner's interim security clearance was reportedly downgraded from Top Secret/SCI-level to the Secret level. According to NBC News, two White House security specialists rejected last month Kushner's application for a top-secret clearance after a FBI background check raised concerns about potential foreign influence on him, but they were overruled by their supervisor, according to two sources familiar with the matter. NBC News also reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Kushner's FBI background check identified questions about his family's business, his foreign contacts, his foreign travel and meetings he had during the campaign. According to the broadcaster's sources, Kushner sought to obtain the highest security clearance level to access the so-called sensitive compartmented information (SCI), which is the most classified type of data in the United States, but needed to get a lower, top secret clearance first. While the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must be the one to grant SCI access, the White House could also issue a top secrecy clearance. Meanwhile, the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has told the reporters that the administration does not comment on security clearances. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Huawei Units Plead Not Guilty to Trade Secret Theft Charges - Justice Dept Sputnik News 05:40 01.03.2019 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Two equipment-manufacturing units of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei pleaded not guilty in a US court to theft of trade secrets and wire fraud charges, the Justice Department said in a press release. "Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device USA Inc. were arraigned today on charges of theft of trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice", the release said on Thursday. "The companies entered pleas of 'not guilty". Chief US District Judge Ricardo Martinez set trial for 2 March 2020, the release said. Charges against the two equipment manufacturing units follow multiple indictments announced last month against the parent company and the company's chief financial officer in the T-Mobile case, as well as separate charges against Huawei for violating US sanctions on Iran. Huawei has recently faced allegations that it is linked to the Chinese government and even has been spying on its behalf, something that the company has vehemently denied. Last year, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States banned the Chinese telecommunications giant from participating in government contracts, while several other countries voiced their own concerns over Huawei's activities. In February, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington would not share information with countries installing technology made by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei in their IT systems. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 40 soldiers killed as 7 suicide assailants attack army base in Helmand IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Kabul, March 1, IRNA -- About 40 soldiers were killed as seven suicide intruders attacked a huge army base in Helmand, Afghanistan, on Friday, according to Afghan news sources. Afghan TOLOnews said the clashes still continue. Afghan defense ministry earlier announced that a number of assailants were killed in Shurabek base in Washir in Helmand Province and a number of others are surrounded by army forces. Afghan official sources have not yet commented on the fatalities and damage caused by the clashes. However, continuation of the attacks show a fierce battle swept across the base. 1420**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Secretary General praises Bulgaria's strategic role in the Black Sea region NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 01 Mar. 2019 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Bulgaria's commitment to NATO during a visit to Sofia on Friday (1 March 2019). After talks with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the Secretary General thanked Bulgaria for its strong contributions to NATO missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq, and its strategic role in the Black Sea and Western Balkans regions. The Secretary General noted that this year the Alliance will celebrate its 70thanniversary, as well as the 15thanniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO. "Bulgaria has contributed to strengthening the Alliance," he said. Mr. Stoltenberg welcomed Bulgaria's support for the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to NATO. "I welcome that just last week the Bulgarian parliament voted unanimously to ratify the accession of North Macedonia into NATO," he added. Mr. Stoltenberg also thanked the government for its commitment to reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence. The Secretary General and Prime Minister Borissov discussed current security challenges, including Russia's violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Mr. Stoltenberg stressed that NATO does not want a new arms race and called on Russia to come back into compliance with the Treaty. While in Sofia, the Secretary General also held separate talks with President Rumen Radev, and other representatives of the Government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Deputy Secretary General visits Portugal NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 01 Mar. 2019 Visiting Portugal on Friday (1 March) the NATO Deputy Secretary General Ms. Rose Gottemoeller met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva and with Minister of Defence Joao Gomes Cravinho to discuss defence investment and the challenges facing the Alliance. Ms. Gottemoeller visited the NATO Communications and Information Academy (NCIA) and the NATO Naval Striking and Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO) headquarters in Oeiras. She also paid a visit to NATO's Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Monsanto. In Lisbon Ms. Gottemoeller met with members of the Parliamentary Committee for National Defence. Earlier on Thursday (28 February), Ms. Gottemoeller addressed the conference "The Future of NATO" at the Catholic University of Lisbon and said that as a founding member of NATO, Portugal has "always been at the heart of the transatlantic Alliance", sitting "at the edge of the ocean that binds us together". The Deputy Secretary General said that today Portugal continues to contribute to transatlantic security "on land, at sea, in air and in cyber space" with the new "cutting-edge cyber defence training academy" NCIA in Oeiras. She said that in April Allied Foreign Ministers will meet in Washington on the same day and spot that the North Atlantic Treaty was signed 70 years ago and it will be a chance to reflect "on what we have achieved and where we are going". The Deputy Secretary General stressed that Allies will continue to "strengthen NATO and our shared security" and that she is sure that "Portugal will continue to play an integral part today and in the future". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NAVFAC Southeast awards $24.7 million for new LCS Operational Trainer Facility at NS Mayport Navy News Service Story Number: NNS190301-13 Release Date: 3/1/2019 10:06:00 AM From NAVFAC Southeast Public Affairs Jacksonville, Florida (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $240 million indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity design-build multiple award construction contract (IDIQ-MACC) to five large businesses February 22 for construction projects located at Naval Station (NS) Mayport and the NAVAC Southeast area of responsibility (AOR). Archer Western Federal JV is being awarded the initial task order at $24.7 million for the P427 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Operational Trainer Facility (LTF) located at NS Mayport, Florida. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by January 2021. The remaining four contractors will be awarded $1,000 each to satisfy the guaranteed minimum. "The LTF provides innovative, immersive, virtual reality training for LCS crews which allow them to be better prepared for the operational scenarios they will encounter at sea," said Commander Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two Capt. Shawn Johnston. "It is not surprising that many other ship classes will begin to utilize similar high fidelity simulators. This increased LCS training capacity will allow the 14 LCS expected to call Mayport home." LCS crew training is based on a virtual ship-centric concept, accomplished through a combination of classroom instruction, vendor training, shore-based trainers and sophisticated virtual reality training systems. The LTF will provide LCS crews with the necessary training and certifications they require prior to deployment. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general building type projects (new construction, renovation, alteration, demolition, and repair work) including industrial, airfield, aircraft hangar, aircraft traffic control, infrastructure, administrative, training, dormitory, and community support facilities. MACC contracts are used to pre-qualify a group of contractors (usually four to seven) with respect to performance, experience, capability and safety and then issue task orders to them for projects that meet the parameters of the MACC. MACCs save the command and the government time and resources. The five large businesses awarded under this contract include: Archer Western Federal JV, Chicago, Illinois, B.L. Harbert International, Birmingham, Alabama, The Haskell Company, Jacksonville, Florida, The Korte Company, St. Louis, Missouri and Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, Minnesota. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. All work on this contract will be within the NAVFAC Southeast AOR which includes Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of February 2024. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Donald Cook Departs the Black Sea Navy News Service Story Number: NNS190301-12 Release Date: 3/1/2019 10:05:00 AM From U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs BLACK SEA (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) began its previously announced southbound international straits transit of the Bosphorous, en route to the Mediterranean Sea March 1 after conducting maritime security operations in the Black Sea. While in the Black Sea, the ship conducted operations at sea with the Turkish Navy and completed a port visit to Odesa, Ukraine in support of our NATO allies and regional partners. "There is no substitute for the forward presence provided by USS Donald Cook and our other forward-deployed DDGs stationed in Rota," said Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet. "The multi-mission capability of these warships is essential to our ability to routinely train with our NATO and partner maritime forces and enhance our collective interoperability. This ensures U.S. 6th Fleet remains ready to support requirements across the full spectrum of maritime operations." Donald Cook entered the Black Sea on Feb. 19, to strengthen interoperability with NATO allies and partners and demonstrate our collective resolve in the Black Sea. Donald Cook is the third U.S. naval vessel to conduct operations in the Black Sea in 2019, marking the fourth U.S. ship to visit Odesa since January 2018. In January, Donald Cook and Fort McHenry conducted port visits to Georgia and Romania, respectively. The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with international law, including the Montreux Convention. U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Strengthening Ally Relationships at Sea Navy News Service Story Number: NNS190301-09 Release Date: 3/1/2019 9:53:00 AM By Lt j.g. Teresa C. Meadows , commander, Task Force 65 Public Affairs NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (NNS) -- In southern Spain, the U.S. Navy and the Armada Espanola share piers at Naval Station Rota. Operating in and out of the Cadiz Harbor, both navies share similar missions, operating areas and mindsets, which helps to strengthen their relationship both as neighbors as well as maritime counterparts. The relationship between Spanish navy Capt. Javiar Moreno, commodore of the Spanish Frigate Squadron MAR-41, and Capt. Joseph Gagliano, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 60 and commander Task Force (CTF) 65, has developed within the last few months. As neighboring forces whose headquarters are now adjacent to each others', the two leaders immediately recognized that a strong relationship between their two nations was vital, and they set out to create strengthening opportunities. As units in the Armada Espanola prepare for a 7-month deployment to the horn of Africa, they set sail for a week to train for potential real-world events and threats while deployed. Moreno extended the invitation to Gagliano for American Sailors to board his vessels for the week underway in order to gain insight and understanding of the Spanish navy's way of life at sea. On Jan. 21, 2019 five American Sailors got underway with three different Spanish ships that were heading out to the Alboran Sea: the Santa Maria-class frigates ESPS Navarra (F-85) and ESPS Numancia (F-83) and the Spanish navy tug ESPS La Grana (A-53). Lt. j.g. Teresa Meadows, Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) Jason Lee, Chief Sonar Technician (Surface) Jason Muldowney, Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Austin Ward, and Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Jacob Ferrantino are the first Americans to have participated in an engagement-at-sea between MAR-41 and DESRON 60 which was designed to strengthen the relationship between the squadrons. "We are neighbors, so it is important for us to work together," said Spanish navy Cmdr. Martinez Guitian, commanding officer of Navarra. To make immersion easier, the Spanish provided each Sailor with a Spanish "running mate" who spoke English and had similar work duties. Both of these prerequisites allowed for an easier transition and accommodating ship ride. As the Spanish prepared for their certification events, the week's schedule included many opportunities for the U.S. Sailors to get involved with and see first-hand. The Sailors were able to observe multiple events from the Spanish Combat Center, the bridge, and top-side. By seeing the events from start to finish, it was easy to understand similarities and differences to how the navies approach the same evolutions. Spanish crew members welcomed the Sailors onboard with open arms and eagerness. While out to sea together, the sailors continually shared advice, stories, experiences, questions and knowledge. "This partnership has been a truly rewarding experience," said Lee. "Not only did it open up an opportunity for American and Spanish Sailors to work together expanding professional and cultural exchanges but also reinforced the need for constant strain in the operational and training environment as the U.S. Navy works with its regional allies towards maritime security." The underway together served to build relationships and friendships, and strengthened the bond between allies on an individual level. "This embarkation marks another important step in developing the special relationship between Spanish and U.S. ships based in Rota," said Gagliano. "We kicked off this initiative with Commodore Moreno just eight weeks ago, and already we are sailing together at sea. This shows the seriousness of our commitment." CTF 65 and DESRON 60, headquartered in Rota, Spain, overseas the forward-deployed forces of U.S. 6th Fleet's area of operation in support of regional allies and partners as well as U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens Of Afghan Troops Killed In Taliban Attack In Helmand By RFE/RL March 01, 2019 Afghan forces repelled a Taliban attack at deadly cost after the militants assaulted a large military base in the southern province of Helmand late on February 28. Afghan officials said on March 1 that at least 25 Afghan soldiers were killed in the gunbattle. At least nine Taliban militants were also reported killed, including three suicide bombers. Clean-up operations were still under way at Camp Shorab, a strategic military installation that has been attacked by militants three times in the last 48 hours. A U.S. military-assistance mission operates from the base, but no foreign troops were involved in the incident, Afghan officials said. On Twitter, U.S. military spokesman Colonel Dave Butler said the attack "was repelled by the brave Afghan Security Forces." Butler later added that reports indicated "Taliban fighters were initially able to gain access to the Afghan base but were stopped by Afghan forces." The Taliban said its fighters had killed dozens of Afghan soldiers. A military source told RFE/RL that a top Afghan commander at the military installation had been killed in the attack. The assault on the base comes with the U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan in Qatar for the latest round of peace talks. On February 28, Zalmay Khalilzad said negotiations would resume on March 2 following three days of talks with Taliban negotiators in Doha, aimed at finding a negotiated solution to Afghanistan's 17-year war. The New York Times reported on March 1 that the proposal currently under discussion could include the withdrawal of U.S. forces in the next three to five years and the creation of a power-sharing government including the Taliban. In the past, Khalilzad has tried to convince the Taliban to hold direct talks with representatives of Afghanistan's government. The Taliban has rejected that proposal. In Kabul on February 28, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reiterated that an Afghan-led peace process would provide lasting stability in the country. "Afghanistan wants cooperation and collaboration, but Afghans and the legitimate government of Afghanistan should own the peace process," he said. There are some 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, as well as thousands of European forces participating in NATO's Resolute Support mission. With reporting by dpa and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban-attack-afghan-military -base-helmand-gunbattle/29797634.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Chief Urges Russia To Comply With INF Treaty By RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service March 01, 2019 NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the Western military alliance must be prepared if Russia ignores calls to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a cornerstone of arms control for decades. In an interview with RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service on March 1, Stoltenberg said NATO needed to start "planning for a situation without the INF Treaty, with more Russian missiles." Stoltenberg was in Bulgaria for the 15th anniversary of the country joining NATO. He earlier held talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Last month, Washington formally suspended its obligations under the 1987 INF Treaty that bans all land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. This came after Washington and NATO repeatedly accused Moscow of violating the accord by developing the 9M729 cruise missile, also known as the SSC-8. Russia, which has denied any breaches, has also announced it is withdrawing from the INF Treaty. Relations between the West and Russia are also strained over Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria as well as its alleged interference in elections in the United States and elsewhere. 'Dual-Track Approach' Stoltenberg said NATO was taking what he called a "dual-track approach -- deterrence, defense and dialogue," with Russia. "Russia is our neighbor, Russia is there to stay, and we need to work for improving relations with Russia and strive for reducing the tensions. So, we strongly believe that to be united, to be firm [as NATO] is a platform for also engaging in a political dialogue with Russia to reduce tensions," Stoltenberg told RFE/RL. Stoltenberg also said NATO was bolstering its presence in the Black Sea and Baltic regions. "We have done that because we see significant Russian military buildup, we see Russia investing heavily in a wide range of weapon systems, including nuclear weapons, and we are seeing the fact that Russia has used military force against the neighbor illegally annexing Crimea [from Ukraine] and then destabilizing eastern Ukraine." In his state-of-the-nation speech last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said if the United States deployed new missiles in Europe, Moscow would retaliate by fielding new weapons that will take just as little time to reach their targets. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-chief-urges-russia-to -comply-with-inf-treaty/29798095.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Misinformation Flies After Kashmir Air Battles By Amos Chapple March 01, 2019 On February 26, Indian jets launched a bombing raid on what it described as a militant training camp inside Pakistan. The air strike came in retaliation for a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14 that left 40 Indian servicemen dead. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced the air strike had taken out "a very large number" of "terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups of jihadis." Another Indian official claimed some 300 militants were killed in the bombardment. But pictures taken by a Reuters photographer who visited the scene on February 28 show only craters on a sparsely populated hillside. A local told Reuters he was jolted awake by the predawn barrage but that no one was killed. "Only some pine trees died, they were cut down. A crow also died." Locals did tell Reuters that Jaish-e Muhammad, the extremist organization India said it was targeting, ran a madrasah, or Islamic religious school, near where the bombs struck. But that building appeared to be intact when Reuters visited. Indian officials later walked back the tally of alleged "terrorist" deaths, saying on February 28 it was "premature" to provide casualty details. Then, on February 27, as Pakistani and Indian jets clashed in the skies above Kashmir, officials made contrasting claims. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced his military had shot down two Indian warplanes and captured two pilots. In Delhi, meanwhile, a government spokesperson told reporters the Indian Air Force had shot down a Pakistani fighter plane and lost one of its own aircraft and pilots in the clash. A senior Indian Air Force officer then claimed the downed Pakistani jet was an F-16 taken down by an Indian MiG-21. Soon afterward, photos and videos were released that confirmed one Indian pilot had been captured and an Indian MiG-21 jet had been downed, but no evidence that a second Indian plane or a Pakistani plane was shot down has since emerged. The downing of a relatively modern F-16 fighter by an Indian Air Force MiG-21, which first took to the skies in 1959, might be a surprising takedown given the disparity in technology of the planes. And several media outlets have run with the David-and-Goliath angle of an ancient Soviet jet taking out a relatively modern American-made F-16. Lynette Nusbacher, a strategist and former British intelligence officer, told RFE/RL that such a shoot-down is certainly possible "if the right missile or round hits [an F-16], it doesn't matter what platform the missile or round comes comes from." But Nusbacher said there was not enough open-source evidence available to say whether an F-16 had indeed been shot down. Since the announcement that a Pakistani F-16 was downed, amateur sleuths have trawled the Internet for proof of an F-16's demise, with many major Indian news outlets basing reports on images that appear to show the downed Indian MiG, rather than a Pakistani F-16. Further confusion followed when an Indian military helicopter crashed in Kashmir on the morning of February 27, reportedly killing several servicemen. Several major news outlets included images of the helicopter crash to illustrate the stories of downed "planes" during the crisis. The British outlet The Independent described several pictures of the helicopter wreckage, including one photo that clearly shows a helicopter rotor, as the remains of "an Indian fighter jet." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/misinformation- after-clash-between-india-and- pakistan/29798194.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Not Planning Military Intervention in Venezuela - Official Sputnik News 19:38 01.03.2019(updated 20:58 01.03.2019) The United States is not planning a military intervention in Venezuela, but all options remain on the table, US Special Representative Elliott Abrams said during a press briefing on Friday. "We are not attempting to do that, the United States is pursuing a policy of economic, financial, political, diplomatic pressure on the de facto regime in Venezuela in support of Juan Guaido we continue to say, and we always will, that all options are on the table," Abrams said. Abrams added that the United States is in conversations with international partners about how to put more pressure on the Maduro government. According to the senior official, the US will continue taking "appropriate actions" against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and will impose new visa restrictions for dozens of Venezuelan officials. "The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on individuals responsible for undermining Venezuela's democracy," Abrams said. "We are applying this policy to numerous Maduro-aligned officials and their families." Earlier in the day, the US Treasury Department issued new Venezuela-related sanctions against six individuals. After imposing a new round of sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the US would continue to target the supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with sanctions. Tensions have been escalating in Venezuela since 23 January, when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president. Maduro qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan in Contact With Global Powers Over Standoff With India - Spokesperson Sputnik News 18:03 01.03.2019(updated 19:35 01.03.2019) Pakistan's army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, had a "telephonic communication" with the United States, Britain and Australian militaries, as well as diplomats from the US, the UK and China over the present volatile situation. New Delhi (Sputnik) Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson of the Pakistan armed forces, said in a tweet that Army Chief Bajwa discussed the standoff and "its impact on peace & stability in the region" in a call with US CENTCOM Commander General Joseph Votel as well as with top military commanders of other nations. As per the tweet of the official spokesperson, Army Chief Bajwa told foreign military commanders that "Pakistan shall surely respond to any aggression in self-defence". Earlier in the day, King Abdullah II of Jordan also made a telephone call to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and offered to mediate between the two nuclear-armed nations. Jordan king "conveyed his concern over the escalating situation between Pakistan and India." During the conversation, Imran Khan reiterated that the core issue between the two countries remains the issue of Kashmir that needs to be resolved as per UN Resolutions. Khan stated that his government's agenda is to promote peace and prosperity for the people of Pakistan through poverty alleviation and social welfare programs. "The war hysteria unleashed in India was threatening the peace of the region," Khan emphasised. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Terrorists in India's Kashmir Kill 4 Soldiers, Gun Battle Still Raging - Reports Sputnik News 17:43 01.03.2019(updated 19:33 01.03.2019) The encounter reportedly broke out at midnight after a joint team of the Indian army's 22 Rashtriya Rifle, 92 Battalion Central Reserve Police Force and local police launched an operation at Khanan Babagund in Langate, acting on a tip-off about the presence of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in the area. New Delhi (Sputnik) At least four Indian security personnel were killed and eight others, including a commandant of the paramilitary forces, injured in a gunfight with terrorists in the Babagund Langate area of Handwara in the Kupwara district of Kashmir on Friday, according to the local police. Police sources further confirmed that the gun battle that started at midnight was still underway when reports last came in. "When a joint search team of police, Central Reserve Police Force and Indian Army went to retrieve the terrorists' bodies amid a lull, one of the two militants, earlier believed to be dead stood up and fired indiscriminately," a local police official told the media. Earlier in the day, the Indian Army confirmed the death of two terrorists in the operation. India accuses Pakistan of harbouring terrorist organisations, notably Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and its founder, Masood Azhar, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba group. In the aftermath of the JeM suicide attack which killed over 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in Pulwama, Kashmir on 14 February, India conducted an air strike on alleged terror camps located in Balakot, Pakistan. Pakistan responded to the airstrike, which Delhi described as 'pre-emptive and non-military', by dispatching F-16 jets to strike military targets within India. The incursion into Indian airspace was allegedly repelled, but a pursuing Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison was shot down over Pakistan while India claims to have shot down a Pakistani F-16. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian, Pakistani Troops Exchanging 'Heavy Fire' Along Line of Control - Sources Sputnik News 16:49 01.03.2019(updated 17:30 01.03.2019) Tensions between the nuclear-armed Asian nations escalated this week, with their militaries skirmishing following an Indian Air Force strike on a suspected terrorist stronghold in the contested region of Kashmir. Indian and Pakistani forces are engaged in a heavy exchange of fire at as many as eight different locations along the Line of Control separating the two countries' forces in Kashmir, multiple informed sources have told Sputnik. Major firefights are taking place in sectors including Mendhar, Balakot, Krishna Ghati, the sources said. Earlier Friday, Indian television reported that at at least two Indian police officers and two soldiers were killed by militants in the Kupward district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, with two terrorists also said to be eliminated in the shootout. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain dangerously high despite efforts to deescalate the conflict, including Islamabad's decision to hand over an Indian fighter pilot whose MiG-21 jet was shot down over Pakistani airspace on Wednesday. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of failing to fight Islamist extremists holed up in its territory. Multiple jihadist groups, including the Jaish-e-Mohammed* terrorist organisation, are thought to be situated in Kashmir, and to have been involved in attacks on Indian security personnel on the Indian side of the line of control. Earlier this month, the group claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing which killed over 40 Indian security personnel. In response, India carried out an airstrike on a suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed base on the Pakistani side of the border on Tuesday. A day later, the Pakistani military reported shooting down two Indian aircraft. India's defence officials later revealed that a Pakistani Air Force F-16 was also downed during a dogfight with IAF planes. Islamabad insists it did not use F-16s in the air battle, and has accused New Delhi of violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity with its strikes. *Outlawed in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Huge Spanish Warship Challenged by Royal Navy Boat in Gibraltar Sputnik News 13:05 01.03.2019 The incident comes two weeks after a Spanish warship with its guns manned attempted to order commercial vessels to leave Gibraltar waters, in what was reportedly described by the government of the UK overseas territory as "foolish games". A small Royal Navy vessel followed a huge Spanish patrol boat as it entered British-controlled waters off the coast of Gibraltar and refused to leave on Thursday. The 15-metre HMS Sabre faced down Spain's OPV Infanta Cristina for almost two hours before the 88-metre Spanish ship finally left the area. A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed "an incursion by the Spanish navy" which she said "left British Gibraltar Territorial Waters when challenged". "Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. We have no doubt about our sovereignty over Gibraltar. The UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes, nor enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content," the spokeswoman underlined. The Thursday incursion is the latest in a series of such incidents since the beginning of this year. In early February, Royal Navy vessels challenged a Spanish warship which sailed along the Gibraltar coast with its weapons uncovered and manned. Commenting on the incident, British Defence Minister Gavin Williamson pledged on Monday that the UK "will always be there to defend our sovereign interests and defend Britain's national interests". Gibraltar has been a British Overseas Territory since 1713, when Spain ceded it to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht. Gibraltar's residents rejected the idea of Spanish sovereignty in 1967 and joint UK-Spanish authority in 2002. The region is scheduled to withdraw from the EU, together with the rest of the UK, in March 2019. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Kills Two Militants in Kashmir Amid Indo-Pakistan Border Violations Sputnik News 11:42 01.03.2019 The conflict between India and neighbouring Pakistan has escalated to a level not seen since the 1970s; the rival nations, which both possess nuclear weapons capabilities, have already exchanged artillery fire and the nations' fighter jets have engaged each other in the skies above the contested Kashmir region. New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian security forces have killed two militants in restive Kashmir in a week that has seen exchanges of cross-border artillery and small arms fire between India and Pakistan. "The hiding terrorists opened fire at the security forces, triggering an encounter," NDTV reported, quoting an unnamed police officer. India accuses Pakistan of harbouring terrorist organisations, notably Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and its founder, Masood Azhar. In the aftermath of the JeM suicide attack which killed over 40 Indian soldiers in Pulwama in Kashmir, India conducted an air strike on alleged terror camps located within Pakistan. Pakistan responded to the airstrike, which Delhi designated as 'pre-emptive and non-military', by dispatching F-16 jets to strike military targets within India. The incursion into Indian airspace which was repelled, but a pursuing Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison was shot down over Pakistan while India claims to have shot down a Pakistani F-16. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan Hopes to Avoid War With India: It Would Lead to Mutual Suicide Sputnik News 08:23 01.03.2019(updated 09:39 01.03.2019) Earlier, the Indian Air Force (IAF) claimed that it had lost a MiG-21 fighter but that a Pakistan F-16 jet had also been downed as the two sides engaged in an air battle, just a day after the IAF carried out an airstrike against a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp located in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has voiced hope that a full-scale military conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi would not take place. "I hope not. That would be mutual suicide", he told CNN when asked whether the recently-heightened tensions could have led to a military conflict had it not been deescalated. "The policy of this government is that we will not allow our soil to be used by any organisation or any individual for terrorism against anyone, and that includes India," Qureshi said, commenting on India's concerns over the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad radical group. He recalled that shortly after becoming Pakistan's Prime Minister, Imran Khan underscored that if India "takes a step toward us, we will do two [such steps]". Qureshi also confirmed that Masood Azhar, the founder and leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is currently in Pakistan. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information, he is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house, because he is really unwell," Qureshi said. When asked why Pakistan has not arrested the radical leader, who is on a terror list in India, Qureshi urged New Delhi to provide "solid evidence" of his involvement in terror attacks. Commenting on Russia's willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan to try to ease bilateral tensions, Qureshi said that Islamabad is ready to accept such an offer. "[Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov has offered to mediate. I do not know about India but I want to say this to Russia, that Pakistan is ready to come to the table and de-escalate tensions," Qureshi underlined. The Times of India has, meanwhile, reported that Pakistan had continued to deny the use of its F-16 fighter jets against the Indian Air Force (IAF) during a dog fight on Wednesday. The newspaper recalled that the US laws bar the use of such fighters in an "offensive role" against another country. On Wednesday, the IAF claimed that it had lost a MiG-21 fighter but that a Pakistan F-16 jet had also been downed as the two sides engaged in an air battle earlier that day. The developments took place just a day after the IAF carried out an airstrike against a JeM terrorist camp located in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region. Tensions between the two sides escalated on 14 February when at least 40 Indian paramilitary officers were killed after a car carrying over 100 pounds of explosives detonated next to a security convoy in Kashmir. India named JeM leader Maulana Masood Azhar as the person responsible for ordering the attack and accused Pakistan of having a "direct hand" in the bombing. Islamabad has rejected the allegations, blaming New Delhi for human rights violations in Kashmir. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Venezuelan FM Praises Victory of Peace After US Resolution Failure at UNSC Sputnik News 06:23 01.03.2019 BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) Peace and preservation of national sovereignty have won at the UN Security Council session, dedicated to the Venezuelan crisis, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said, as the US-drafted UNSC resolution, calling for new elections in the Latin American country, got vetoed. On Thursday, Russia and China vetoed the US-sponsored draft. South Africa voted against the resolution, too, three countries abstained, while nine other states supported it. Ahead of the vote, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the US draft had "no chance" of being adopted. "Today, peace, the protection of sovereignty and self-determination of peoples won in the Security Council. Multilateralism will not fall to the feet of the United States (and countries following them) in order to attack the free people of Venezuela," Arreaza wrote on Twitter. However, also on Thursday, the United Nations Security Council rejected a draft resolution put forward by Russia to reaffirm the right of President Nicolas Maduro's government to coordinate aid deliveries to the Latin American country, too. Four countries voted in favor of the resolution, while four others abstained and seven other council members rejected it. Tensions in Venezuela escalated on 23 January, when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president. Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro called Guaido's move an attempt to stage a coup. The US and around 50 other countries have recognized Guaido. Russia and a number of other states have voiced their support for constitutionally elected Maduro. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Briefing on Venezuela Special Briefing Elliott Abrams U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Washington, DC March 1, 2019 MR ABRAMS: Good morning. Apologize in advance for the cough. QUESTION: Everyone's got it. MR ABRAMS: Then I take back the apology. A few things to start with. First, there was a session of the UN Security Council yesterday on Venezuela. The United States presented a resolution that got the requisite nine votes for passage but was then vetoed by Russia and China. The Russians put in a resolution which got four votes, which I would call pathetic, and I think the results in the council demonstrate that there is very broad international support for democracy in Venezuela and for the National Assembly and Interim President Guaido. Secondly, an announcement. The United States has imposed new visa restrictions on individuals responsible for undermining Venezuela's democracy. We are applying this policy to numerous Maduro-aligned officials and their families. Maduro supporters that abuse or violate human rights, steal from the Venezuelan people, or undermine Venezuela's democracy are not welcome in the United States. Neither are their family members who enjoy a privileged lifestyle at the expense of the liberty and prosperity of millions of Venezuelans. The United States will continue to take appropriate action against Maduro and the corrupt actors and human rights violators and abusers who surround him. The United States urges all nations to step up economic pressure on Maduro and his corrupt associates as well as restrict visas for his inner circle. Now is the time to act in support of democracy and in response to the desperate needs of the Venezuelan people. That's first. Second, Treasury today announced additional sanctions. The United States also took action against six security officials of the illegitimate Maduro regime, individuals associated with the obstruction of the entry of international humanitarian aid into Venezuela or violence against those who attempted to deliver the assistance. Sanctions were imposed on Richard Jesus Lopez, commanding general of the Venezuelan National Guard; Jesus Maria Mantilla, commander of the Strategic Integral Defense Region Guayana; Alberto Mirtiliano Bermudez, division general for the Integral Defense Zone in Bolivar State; Jose Leonardo Norono, division general and commander for the Integral Defense Zone in Tachira State; Jose Miguel Dominguez, chief commissioner of the FAES, the special forces in Tachira; and Cristhiam Abelardo Morales, the national police director. The United States and the international community continue to support the Venezuelan people as they strive to reclaim their democracy. We must support Interim President Juan Guaido's presidency per the Venezuelan constitution, the National Assembly, and the will of the Venezuelan people. Treasury will have made that announcement earlier this morning. Okay, questions. MR GREENAN: Matt. QUESTION: Thank you. Just on the visa can you give us a rough idea how many even if you can't name them? MR ABRAMS: I'm treading carefully here. Dozens, let me just say that. QUESTION: Okay. But and but weren't there some that were already (inaudible)? MR ABRAMS: Yes, yes. This is in addition. QUESTION: So dozens more? MR ABRAMS: Dozens more. And we continue to look at associates, close associates of Maduro who, with their families, have visas to the United States. This is an ongoing process. QUESTION: Okay. And then secondly, and more importantly, I'm just I'm wondering, are you guys, meaning the administration, at all concerned that the initial, for lack of a better word, excitement over Guaido and the recognition is losing some momentum and given that Maduro doesn't seem to be going anywhere? He's certainly not taking the national security advisor's advice to go sit on a beach outside of Venezuela, and so are you concerned that you're losing momentum? And then and related to that, there is one member of Congress in particular, a senator, who has suggested that Maduro might meet the same fate as Qadhafi in Libya. And I does that help or hurt your cause or your efforts to build momentum? MR ABRAMS: I'm not actually going to get into that, commenting on what particular senators say, but I -- QUESTION: Well, forget I forget the line about any senator. The comparisons between Maduro and suggesting that he might meet the fate of Qadhafi, does that does that help your cause or -- MR ABRAMS: I'm not going to get into that other than to say that I think that dictatorships come to an end. Some last for a very long time, others a much shorter time. This one in Venezuela will also come to an end. We hope that it comes to an end quickly and peacefully. I'm not concerned about the loss of momentum that some people allege. You saw Juan Guaido become much more of an international figure in the last week than he had previously been. He'd not been very well known, but now he's been meeting with a series of Latin American presidents, our Vice President. He's in Brazil and Paraguay, so after visiting Bogota, where there were several Latin American presidents. The what underlies all this is not anything the United States is doing. What underlies it is the desire of the Venezuelan people to escape from the condition of dictatorship and economic misery that they are suffering, and that has not diminished and isn't diminishing. MR GREENAN: Lesley. QUESTION: Hello, how are you? How much diplomacy how much effective diplomacy can you make when Russia and China continue to undermine your efforts? You probably saw today that the Russians have sent wheat supplies to Maduro, so and at this stage it looks like sanctions is one of the only viable pressure points that the U.S. has. So my second question after this one is how have you managed to get and who is on board with adding sanctions against Maduro? So which countries? MR ABRAMS: I'm not you know I'm not going to make announcements on behalf of other countries. QUESTION: Of course. MR ABRAMS: I think you will see additional sanctions tied to the behavior of the regime. And if the regime engages in additional particularly provocative acts, I think you will see more international reactions. Clearly the support of Russia and China for the Maduro regime helps the regime. I don't think you're going to see large amounts of additional money put in by either Russia or China, but their political support, their diplomatic support helps the regime, and we have made the argument unsuccessfully to date to both Russia and China that they're not helping themselves. That is, if their concern or to the degree their concern is about the recovery of monies they have lent or invested, a bankrupt Venezuelan economy will never be able to repay those amounts. Only a Venezuela in recovery will be able to do so, and that's not going to happen under the Maduro regime. QUESTION: So you can't really I mean, Maduro won't step down until you've got Russia and China stepping away. MR ABRAMS: Well, I would say Maduro won't step down until the day he steps down, and that day will come. MR GREENAN: Shawn. QUESTION: Can I just follow up on the issue of Russia, the Russian announcement of wheat, of medical supplies? How does the U.S. feel about this? Could this be something significant? If the U.S. goal is to help the people of Venezuela, how do you feel about Russian aid going -- MR ABRAMS: Well, the problem we have with various kinds of aid is where does it go. We know very clearly that for years the regime has corruptly sold some aid that's delivered and has used other portions of the aid exclusively for supporters of the regime in other words, it becomes a political weapon rather than a means of improving the life of most Venezuelans. And I think it's fair to ask that question about any aid that's given to or through the regime. Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela. We are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime. MR GREENAN: (Inaudible.) QUESTION: Gustau Alegret, NTN-24. I was wondering if you could share some more details about those family members that are going to be sanctioned by the U.S. And second question, what the Maduro regime is requesting in the conversations that are having with you or the U.S. administration? And Foreign Minister Arreaza suggested this week in Geneva a potential meeting between Trump and Maduro. Is that an option for the U.S.? MR ABRAMS: I can't reveal much at all about the visa revocations. I am told by the lawyers that their according to their reading of the statute, we just can't do that. It's visa confidential information. I would be happy to do so if we were permitted. We can't by law. QUESTION: Just the number? MR ABRAMS: I don't even know if I'm actually permitted to give the number, and I noticed that in the announcements the number is not there. I will ask if we can do that. Conversations with the regime. Our conversations with the regime, the de facto regime, are primarily about the safety of Americans. As I've noted here before, we have an embassy. We have 12 Americans in prison in Venezuela, we have tens of thousands of American citizens in Venezuela, and the protection of all American citizens is at the top of our list of concerns. So in any situation like this, you talk with the guys who have the guns, who have the power right now, yes, to protect Americans. I would I guess on the question of meetings that the President meetings with the President, that really is a question for the White House. MR GREENAN: Michele Kelemen, NPR. QUESTION: Are you confident that Guaido will be able to go back into the country, and what if anything is the U.S. doing about that? And just following up on the question of your meetings, did you have meetings with Maduro's representatives at the UN when you were there this week? MR ABRAMS: No. The answer to the second question is no. The answer to the first question is that we, I think and many other countries, are very concerned about Interim President Guaido's ability to go back home, which he has a right to do as a Venezuelan citizen, and to go back home safely. Because a number of regime officials have actually threatened him with arrest. We certainly hope that he is able to go home safely. We know that there are dozens and dozens of other governments who share that concern. I think that if he were arrested on his return, you would see a very large reaction on the part of the Venezuelan people and on the part of the international community. MR GREENAN: Venezuela TV. QUESTION: Thank you. Good afternoon. Just to follow up the question of my colleague, you can name you can give us the number, or you can give us the names, but they are already being expelled from the United States, these family members? This is the first question. And the second one will be: Venezuelan people was expecting on the February 23rd that Maduro were overthrown. And because they thought that this humanitarian aid will go into the country. What will be the next step from the United States to put more pressure on the dictatorship? MR ABRAMS: On the first question, we take a look at visas and we revoke them. In some cases people can be in the U.S., in other cases they may be outside the U.S. That's not a primary consideration for us. And you will find you won't find, because we can't give you the information, but there is a mix. As to next steps, well, you see some of the next steps. Pardon me. As to next steps, you see some of the next steps right now. You see visa revocations, you see additional sanctions, you see moves in the United Nations. We're having we are having conversations with governments that have not yet acknowledged Juan Guaido as the interim president, urging them to do so. We have conversations with lots of governments about what efforts we in the international community, particularly the democratic community, can take together to put additional pressure on the regime and to show additional support for the National Assembly, for Juan Guaido, and for the Venezuelan people. MR GREENAN: Dmitry. QUESTION: I wanted to know if you and the Russian diplomats, Russian officials, are engaged in any direct, meaningful interactions, or you only trade accusations from podiums? MR ABRAMS: I had a very nice conversation with the Russian ambassador to the UN yesterday prior to the session and prior to his attacks. Yes, there are conversations obviously constantly between the United States and Russia on a variety of issues, including this one. QUESTION: You mean yourself? Including you? MR ABRAMS: Including by me, yes. QUESTION: Okay. MR GREENAN: Nicole, CNN. QUESTION: Hi. Thank you for doing this. This morning or earlier today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that he thinks the U.S. will intervene militarily, and he named you personally. I want to read you what he said. "Elliott Abrams" -- QUESTION: You look like you can't wait. (Laughter.) QUESTION: -- "just escalates the situation that would provoke an explosion and bloodshed in Venezuela to justify military intervention, as the U.S. wishes." So could you please respond? MR ABRAMS: Oh, I have known Foreign Minister Lavrov for 15 years. There was a time in the Bush administration when I was working on the Middle East. We had the Middle East Quartet which I participated in, and he the Quartet was U.S., EU, UN, Russia. QUESTION: (Off-mike.) MR ABRAMS: Yes. And he is still foreign minister. So I've known him for quite a while. I don't think he actually believes that we're attempting to do that, and I think, as you know, we are not attempting to do that. The United States is pursuing a policy of economic, financial, political, diplomatic pressure on the de facto regime in Venezuela in support of Juan Guaido, the interim president, the National Assembly, the Venezuelan people. We continue to say and we always will that all options are on the table because they always are. But I think anyone who actually looks at American policy in Venezuela could not reach that conclusion. MR GREENAN: Courtney, Wall Street Journal. QUESTION: A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would encourage granting of temporary protected status to Venezuelans in the United States. Is that part of the administration's considerations, conversations with lawmakers or others? MR ABRAMS: Conversations, sure. I mean, when I have gone up on the Hill in the last few weeks, that is a question that's frequently raised, and it's something that obviously the administration has to talk about internally. There has been no decision. It will have to be considered not only here at State but clearly by the Department of Homeland Security and ultimately the White House, but it is not something on which a decision has been made. QUESTION: Hi. Shayna Estulin, i2NEWS. There was a tense exchange between you and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar a couple of weeks ago. What do you think that was all about? And two, have you guys worked things out? Are you all good? MR ABRAMS: We've not engaged in further conversations. I really don't know what that was all about. You would have to ask the congresswoman what her what her intent was in that colloquy. MR GREENAN: We have time for one last question. Abbie. QUESTION: Thank you so much. Yesterday at the UN you mentioned that if Maduro stayed in power there could be 5 million people who are fleeing Venezuela. Is there any push within the administration to take in more refugees from Venezuela given those rather stark numbers? MR ABRAMS: The number comes you've got it too now, gave it back to me. The number comes from a mathematical extrapolation. We generally about there's a lot of movement, or there was, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border. We the number was something like 5,000 people a day additionally going into Colombia, so just do the math. You would reach about 5 million at the end of calendar 2019. On all of these questions regarding admissions to the United States, again, it's not just a State Department question, it's an administration question. It's one that we will have to talk about and talk to Congress about. The one thing that we have done and continue to do is to make sure that in the places where most Venezuelans go Colombia, Peru, Brazil we give more and more help. And we have every I guess I'd say every week been announcing additional amounts of assistance to help them cope. And it's worth saying it's a real burden, as you can well imagine, from the point of view of public schools taking in more of more children, from the point of view of labor markets, from the point of view of food supplies, from the point of view of hospitals. It's a real burden, and it's one that we should salute those neighboring countries for undertaking. And we are trying to help them with financial assistance to help defray these costs. MR GREENAN: Thank you very much, everybody. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Treasury Sanctions Security Officials Associated with Violence and Obstruction of Humanitarian Aid Delivery U.S. Department of the Treasury March 1, 2019 Treasury further targets security officials loyal to Maduro as humanitarian aid is prevented from entering Venezuela Washington Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Venezuelan government officials who are aligned with illegitimate former President Nicolas Maduro and associated with the obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries into Venezuela on February 23, 2019. In order to prevent much needed aid from reaching the suffering people of Venezuela, Maduro closed Venezuela's border and deployed official, and unofficial, military and security forces to Venezuela's borders with Colombia and Brazil where the humanitarian aid convoys were set to cross. This action, taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13692, targets six security officials who control many of the groups that prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela, thereby exacerbating the humanitarian crisis that has left millions of Venezuelans starving and without access to medical care under the Maduro regime "Former President Nicolas Maduro's border blockades of trucks and ships loaded with humanitarian aid are the latest example of his illegitimate regime weaponizing the delivery of food and critically needed supplies in order to control vulnerable Venezuelans. We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. "The United States strongly supports the efforts of Interim President Juan Guaido, and Treasury will continue to target Maduro loyalists prolonging the suffering of the victims of this man-made humanitarian crisis." To combat the significant humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the United States led a multilateral initiative on February 23 to fund and stage hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid for delivery into Venezuela. Trucks were organized to carry these supplies across the border from Colombia and Brazil into Venezuela, but the Venezuelan military and security forces controlled by Maduro blocked the aid before it could cross the border. These Maduro-controlled groups and units fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters and set some humanitarian aid trucks ablaze. Additionally, a vessel carrying humanitarian aid from Puerto Rico to Venezuela received direct threat of fire by Venezuelan naval ships. One of the groups staged along the Venezuelan border to prevent the humanitarian aid from reaching the people was Maduro's Special Police Unit, the FAES, or the Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales. The FAES' appearance at the border came at the same time as the announcement that humanitarian aid would be arriving to the border regions. Maduro created the FAES originally to put down armed gangs and rescue hostages; since then, the FAES has been used by Maduro to suppress dissent using deadly operations, to crack down on Maduro's political opponents and the opposition, and to control crowds of protesters. Maduro has cultivated the FAES to serve as a force loyal to him and not to the Venezuelan people or the constitution. The illegitimate Maduro regime uses the FAES to suppress public shows of defiance by members of the armed forces, including when the Maduro regime arrested members of the Venezuelan National Guard after they pledged allegiance to the opposition in January 2019. After stopping aid from reaching Venezuelan citizens, Maduro severed diplomatic ties with Colombia. According to the Colombian foreign minister, following clashes with Venezuelan security forces throughout the day, Colombian authorities documented that the violent actions of the Maduro regime had left at least five people dead and 285 people injured, of whom 27 required hospitalization. The following six individuals designated today control many of the groups that prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela on February 23, and these individuals have been determined to be current or former officials of the Government of Venezuela: Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas (Lopez) is a Major General and the Commanding General of the Venezuelan National Guard, or the Guardia Nacional Bolivariana, commonly referred to as the GNB, as well as a member of the High Command of the GNB. Lopez is a Venezuelan military officer who has kept Maduro in power, and is one of the senior Venezuelan military officers who is helping Maduro maintain control over the Venezuelan armed forces. is a Major General and the Commanding General of the Venezuelan National Guard, or the Guardia Nacional Bolivariana, commonly referred to as the GNB, as well as a member of the High Command of the GNB. Lopez is a Venezuelan military officer who has kept Maduro in power, and is one of the senior Venezuelan military officers who is helping Maduro maintain control over the Venezuelan armed forces. Jesus Maria Mantilla Oliveros (Mantilla) is a Major General and the Commander of Strategic Integral Defense Region Guayana, or the Region Estrategica de Defensa Integral Guayana, commonly referred to as REDI Guayana. Ahead of the humanitarian deliveries on February 23, Maduro urged Mantilla to reinforce security measures on the Venezuelan border with Brazil in order to protect the Venezuelan people from any provocations or violence that would occur on the border. Maduro added that his illegitimate regime was preparing plans for the permanent deployment of military corps to these border areas. is a Major General and the Commander of Strategic Integral Defense Region Guayana, or the Region Estrategica de Defensa Integral Guayana, commonly referred to as REDI Guayana. Ahead of the humanitarian deliveries on February 23, Maduro urged Mantilla to reinforce security measures on the Venezuelan border with Brazil in order to protect the Venezuelan people from any provocations or violence that would occur on the border. Maduro added that his illegitimate regime was preparing plans for the permanent deployment of military corps to these border areas. Alberto Mirtiliano Bermudez Valderrey (Bermudez) is the Division General for the Integral Defense Zone in Bolivar State, or Zona Operativa de Defensa Integral del estado Bolivar, commonly referenced to as ZODI Bolivar State, bordering on Brazil. Bermudez is close to the Commander of REDI Guayana, Mantilla, and the Commander General of the GNB, Lopez. is the Division General for the Integral Defense Zone in Bolivar State, or Zona Operativa de Defensa Integral del estado Bolivar, commonly referenced to as ZODI Bolivar State, bordering on Brazil. Bermudez is close to the Commander of REDI Guayana, Mantilla, and the Commander General of the GNB, Lopez. Jose Leonardo Norono Torres (Norono) is the Division General and Commander for the Integral Defense Zone in Tachira State, commonly referred to as ZODI Tachira State, bordering on Colombia. In mid-February 2019, Norono identified the opposition members as stateless actors, calling them traitors who want to see Venezuela filled with blood. is the Division General and Commander for the Integral Defense Zone in Tachira State, commonly referred to as ZODI Tachira State, bordering on Colombia. In mid-February 2019, Norono identified the opposition members as stateless actors, calling them traitors who want to see Venezuela filled with blood. Jose Miguel Dominguez Ramirez (Dominguez) is the Chief Commissioner of the FAES in Tachira State. Additionally, Dominguez was the Director of Operations of the FAES, which falls within Venezuela's Bolivarian National Police, or Policia Nacional Bolivariana, commonly referenced to as the PNB. In 2018, Dominguez was quoted saying that the point of the FAES was to fulfill the function of eradicating organized criminal mafias engaged in smuggling and extortion, and that the most important focus of the FAES is to fight paramilitary groups at the border, who attack the population and encourage economic warfare. In reality, the FAES are known for their violent role in suppressing dissent from Maduro's political opponents, the opposition, and protesters, and as recent as February 23, preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the Venezuelan people who so desperately need it. According to Dominguez, there is explicit coordination between the FAES in Tachira and Commander Norono of ZODI Tachira. Previously, Dominguez was a member of the Venezuelan security team that opened fire on unarmed student protestors on February 12, 2014, resulting in the death of at least one of the students, Bassil Dacosta. Dominguez was also linked to the 2008 bombing of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, also known as FEDECAMARAS, headquarters that resulted in one death. is the Chief Commissioner of the FAES in Tachira State. Additionally, Dominguez was the Director of Operations of the FAES, which falls within Venezuela's Bolivarian National Police, or Policia Nacional Bolivariana, commonly referenced to as the PNB. In 2018, Dominguez was quoted saying that the point of the FAES was to fulfill the function of eradicating organized criminal mafias engaged in smuggling and extortion, and that the most important focus of the FAES is to fight paramilitary groups at the border, who attack the population and encourage economic warfare. In reality, the FAES are known for their violent role in suppressing dissent from Maduro's political opponents, the opposition, and protesters, and as recent as February 23, preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the Venezuelan people who so desperately need it. According to Dominguez, there is explicit coordination between the FAES in Tachira and Commander Norono of ZODI Tachira. Previously, Dominguez was a member of the Venezuelan security team that opened fire on unarmed student protestors on February 12, 2014, resulting in the death of at least one of the students, Bassil Dacosta. Dominguez was also linked to the 2008 bombing of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, also known as FEDECAMARAS, headquarters that resulted in one death. Cristhiam Abelardo Morales Zambrano (Morales) is the Director of the PNB and a Colonel within GNB. In early 2018, as the Regional Chief of the PNB in Tachira State, Morales was responsible for the escape of several convicts imprisoned in a PNB building in Tachira State. For information about the methods that Venezuelan senior political figures, their associates, and front persons use to move and hide corrupt proceeds, including how they try to exploit the U.S. financial system and real estate market, please refer to FinCEN's advisories FIN-2017-A006, "Advisory on Widespread Public Corruption in Venezuela," and FIN-2017-A003, "Advisory to Financial Institutions and Real Estate Firms and Professionals." As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of these individuals, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by these individuals, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons. U.S. sanctions need not be permanent; sanctions are intended to bring about a positive change of behavior. The United States has made clear that the removal of sanctions is available for persons designated under E.O. 13692 or E.O. 13850 who take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order, refuse to take part in human rights abuses, speak out against abuses committed by the former Maduro regime, and combat corruption in Venezuela. #### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN chief urges Somalis not to be 'deterred' by latest deadly terror attack 1 March 2019 - The Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that he "strongly condemns the deadly terrorist attacks" that took place in the Somali capital Mogadishu late on Thursday local time, which reportedly killed more than 20 people, with scores injured. According to news reports, all three gunmen from the al-Shabab extremist group, who fought for hours against Somali Government special forces, were killed, after taking over a building in the centre of the capital. Reports say it was the longest siege by the group since it was forced out of Mogadishu in 2011. The terrorists set off two car bombs that killed more than 20 and injured around 80 others. One detonated by a hotel patronized by government officials and the other near the home of Appeals Court Chief Judge Abshir Omar, news reports said. Mr. Guterres extends his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, wished "a swift recovery to those injured" and commended "the response of the Somali emergency services to the bombings." The Secretary-General trusts that "Somalis will not be deterred by such violence from pursuing a peaceful and prosperous future" and reiterated the UN's support and solidarity with the people and Government of Somalia. In a tweet, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) also strongly condemned "last night's twin bomb explosions", saying "no political agenda can be served by violent extremism". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taliban Attack on Afghan Military Base Kills 25 Soldiers By Ayaz Gul March 01, 2019 The Taliban carried out a pre-dawn assault Friday against a major military base in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 25 troops and taking "a number of others" hostage. Afghan officials and Taliban sources say a group of heavily armed insurgents in military uniforms, including suicide bombers, stormed the Shorab base in Helmand province, which also housed U.S. troops. The raid began with a suicide bomber detonating his explosives-filled vehicle at the main gate and enabling other assailants to enter the fortified compound. The ensuing clashes continued until late afternoon. Afghan officials were unclear whether security forces killed and cleared the base of all the attackers because heavy rain in the area hampered the operation. The provincial governor's office said in a statement at least nine assailants, including three suicide bombers, were killed by Afghan forces and a clearance operation was underway. It did not give any details about casualties suffered by Afghan forces. A local security official speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity confirmed the death of at least 25 Afghan troops. Sources said more than two dozen Taliban rebels participated in the raid and took hostage an unspecified number of security personnel who were asleep in one of the rooms at the time of the attack. A Taliban statement claimed its "mujahideen (holy warriors)" killed dozens of security personnel, including Americans, and putting strong resistance after taking up positions inside the base. It went on to claim insurgents destroyed several aircraft inside the base and also killed six pilots, though insurgent claims are often inflated. Just hours after the attack began, a U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Col. Dave Butler, rejected Taliban claims as "more lies," saying the attack "was repelled by the brave Afghan security forces." It was not possible to independently verify claims made by either side. In a statement late last year, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed his forces have lost almost 30,000 personnel since he took office in September 2014. Afghan civilians also have borne the brunt of the intensified hostilities and almost 4,000 civilians were killed in 2018, according to the United Nations. The Taliban attack comes as insurgent negotiators are due to resume peace talks with American interlocutors in Qatar on Saturday after a two-day break. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taliban: Afghan Cease-fire Not Part of Talks With US By Ayaz Gul March 01, 2019 The Taliban are hoping that negotiations with the United States will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, allowing Afghans themselves to peacefully negotiate an end to years of hostilities, a senior member of the group says. But Suhail Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban's informal political office in Qatar, clarified in an interview with VOA that neither a cease-fire nor issues related to intra-Afghan peace dialogue were on the agenda for talks with American interlocutors at this stage. "There is a steady progress on these two items, but the talks are not completed. The talks will continue until we reach a conclusion," Shaheen told VOA when asked whether he expected a deal soon. He said Taliban and American envoys would resume discussions in Doha on Saturday after a two-day break to try to flesh out details of "a draft agreement" that both sides are hoping could set the stage for promoting a settlement to the conflict through an intra-Afghan peace process. Shaheen said the two sides paused the dialogue to conduct "internal deliberations" and seek advice from their respective leaderships. U.S. forces, pullout The spokesman explained that discussions between Taliban and U.S. working groups on Tuesday and Wednesday exclusively revolved around withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces "and the nature of this pullout," as well as Taliban guarantees to prevent terrorists from using Afghan soil to harm other nations in the future. "When the [American] occupation is ended, I think we will have a countrywide consultation with scholars and influential Afghans about the shape of a future government," Shaheen said. The Taliban, he said, remain committed to the dialogue with the U.S. because neither side has been able to achieve its objectives militarily in the past two decades. "So, the only solution is through peaceful means, through diplomatic means, because if we achieve an agreement through peaceful means, that would be better for both sides because that would end hostilities and replace hostilities with cooperation and good relations," Shaheen said. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that if the talks with the Taliban make progress, he will consider a reduction in American troops in Afghanistan. The Trump administration's reconciliation envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, is leading the American team in the talks with the Taliban. In a series of tweets on Thursday, the Afghan-born diplomat described as "productive" his two-day meetings with the Taliban in Doha. "We continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and, eventually, peace," Khalilzad said, adding "all four key issues remain on the table," but he did not elaborate. Khalilzad has repeatedly stated he wants the Taliban to engage in direct talks with Kabul to find a political solution to the problems facing the country. But the Taliban staunchly oppose any talks with the Afghan government, dismissing it as an American "puppet." Shaheen dismissed concerns that a complete foreign troop withdrawal without a solid political reconciliation process in place would worsen the security crisis in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban had already opened talks with Afghan opposition politicians during a recent meeting in Moscow because "we don't want anarchy in the country, we don't want repetition of the chaotic situation of the 1990s." "We hope we resolve all the issues [with the U.S.] and there are no foreign troops on the Afghan soil, and we hope we have an Afghan inclusive government in place in the country. So, only in that case will there be a sustainable peace and stability in the country," Shaheen said when asked whether talks with the U.S. would deter the Taliban from unleashing their spring offensive in Afghanistan. Fresh attacks The Taliban usually announces its spring offensive around late April, which leads to intensification in the war, now in its 18th year, and inflicts heavy battlefield as well Afghan civilian casualties. The Taliban, meanwhile, have maintained battlefield pressure and launched fresh attacks against Afghan security forces. On Friday, a large group of insurgents in military uniforms, including suicide bombers, stormed a major army base in southern Helmand province, which also housed U.S. forces. The predawn attack lasted until late afternoon, killing dozens of Afghan forces. The United Nations, while issuing its annual report on civilian casualties last week, called on warring sides to seize the opportunity for peace to end the Afghan human tragedy and misery. The report documented almost 4,000 civilian deaths in conflict-related incidents in 2018, representing the highest number of Afghan civilian fatalities in a decade. Shaheen noted that the presence in Doha of the newly appointed Taliban deputy political leader, Abdul Ghani Akhund, popularly known as Mullah Baradar, was playing a "pivotal" role in furthering dialogue with the U.S. Baradar was given the new responsibility in January, months after he was freed from a prison in Pakistan on Khalilzad's request to meet a key Taliban demand to boost the dialogue. "The negotiation team every day has consultation with him and they receive his instruction and guidance on how to proceed with the talks. So, that's very important that we have access to him. Otherwise, it would have taken days if not weeks to have the same instruction from the [Taliban] leadership," Shaheen said. Co-founder of group Baradar is known as a co-founder of the Taliban and was arrested in a joint Pakistani-U.S. raid in Karachi in 2010 while he was traveling through the neighboring country, where Taliban leaders have long sheltered. Baradar is also credited with regrouping the Taliban after they were removed from power by the U.S.-led military invasion in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US, South Korea Expected to Scale Back Joint Military Drills By Brian Padden March 01, 2019 The U.S. and South Korea are expected to announce they will significantly scale back annual large-scale joint exercises. Media reports quoting unnamed U.S. defense officials say the official announcement is expected in the coming days. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to confirm the reports when contacted by VOA. Scaling back the exercises could be seen as a good faith gesture to keep nuclear talks with North Korea alive following the failed Hanoi summit, and to address President Donald Trump's concerns over the high cost of these massive demonstrations of force. The annual joint drills known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, which are usually conducted in the spring, were first postponed in 2018 to facilitate North Korea's peaceful participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that were held in South Korea. High cost President Donald Trump suspended the exercises indefinitely after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last June in Singapore, where the two leaders agreed to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump had long been critical of the cost of these joint exercises that bring in thousands of troops, fighter jets, war ships and other military assets from U.S. bases around the world. The president was asked about the future of the military drills at the recent Hanoi summit, where Trump and Kim failed to agree on specific measures to reduce the North's nuclear capabilities, nor to ease crippling economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. "You know, the military exercises, I gave that up quite a while ago because it cost us $100 million every time we do it. We fly these massive bombers in from Guam, and when I first started a certain general said, 'oh, yes sir, we fly them in from Guam, it's right next door.' Right next door is seven hours and then they come and drop bombs and go back," said Trump. U.S. military leadership is reportedly planning to replace the large-scale drills with a series of smaller exercises and training, and implementing technology-based virtual exercises instead of deploying thousands of actual troops for the war games. Nuclear talks The scaling back of the joint exercises could also be part of the Trump administration's efforts to offer North Korea some incentive to continue to engage in nuclear talks, short of reducing the economic sanctions that the U.S. says will remain in place until a substantial and irreversible reduction in Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities is achieved. "He's going to lower the military tension at the moment and keep it low, but he is going to keep the economic sanctions on. And let's see if North Korea comes in with a more reasonable bargaining position," said Patrick Cronin, the Asia-Pacific Security Chair at the Hudson Institute. The U.S. military justified these large scale joint military exercises in the past as defensive in nature and necessary to maintain operations readiness.In recent years the drills included an increased the number of troops and firepower in a show of force to counter the North's continued missile and nuclear tests. North Korea has denounced the U.S., South Korea joint exercises as aggressive provocations and rehearsals for war. VOA Korean service reporter Connie Kim also contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian Pilot Captured by Pakistan Returns Home By Anjana Pasricha March 01, 2019 An Indian pilot captured by Pakistan after his fighter jet went down over disputed Kashmir has been handed back to India at the Wagah road border crossing between the two countries. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman walked through the gates into India two days after he was captured. His return is expected to avert a wider conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries. Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told lawmakers on Friday that "as a gesture of peace and to de-escalate matters, the Indian pilot who is under arrest with us will be released today." In a brief statement, Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor said that the Indian Air Force is happy to have him back and that he will get a medical check up. In anticipation of his return, a huge crowd had gathered on the Indian side of the border crossing to give a rousing reception to the man who is being hailed as a hero in India. Through the day they waved Indian flags, danced, beat drums, cheered and brought garlands, but many went back disappointed after the pilot's release was delayed. He has won admiration following reports in Indian media that after parachuting from his plane, he jumped into a pond and destroyed sensitive documents and maps by swallowing them. Videos of his capture and questioning by Pakistani authorities have been widely shared on social media. The pilot's parents were cheered by the passengers of a plane when they learned of their identity as they traveled to New Delhi to meet their son. After his capture, his father, also a former fighter pilot, expressed hopes that his son does not get tortured. Before the pilot was released, Pakistani television stations broadcast a video of him thanking the Pakistani army for treating him well. Indian authorities canceled a military ceremony in which the flags of the two countries are lowered daily at sundown at the Wagah border. The tensions between the two countries spiraled after India conducted an airstrike inside Pakistan to target a suspected militant camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad that claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitaries. A day later there were claims from Pakistan of bringing down two Indian jets and from India of bringing down one in aerial combat. Pakistan captured the Indian pilot after his MiG fighter jet crashed in enemy territory. Both countries have been under intense pressure to calm their tensions from the international community. While the release of the pilot appears to have made them step back from a confrontation, the Kashmir border witnessed another day of heavy mortar and artillery shelling for the fourth straight day on Friday. Indian authorities said one woman was killed and an Indian soldier wounded in the exchange of fire. In Indian Kashmir, schools and colleges remain closed, hospitals have been stocked with medicine and worried residents have been stocking food fearing a conflict between the South Asian rivals. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a political rally in the state of Tamil Nadu that every Indian was proud of the fighter pilot -- Abhinandan Varthaman is from the southern Indian state. He said India will no longer be helpless in the wake of terror and said the events of recent days had brought the nation closer. "The way the nation has supported the armed forces is extraordinary and I bow to every Indian for that." This is not the first time that an Indian pilot is being released by Pakistan. In 1999 an air force pilot was released after eight days in Pakistan's custody after his jet crashed in their territory during a conflict between the two countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Somali Forces End Deadly Mogadishu Building Siege By Mohamed Olad Hassan March 01, 2019 Somali security forces Friday ended the al-Shabab siege of a residential building in Mogadishu after battling the militants for almost 24 hours. An unknown number of al-Shabab militants had remained holed up in a building near a hotel in Mogadishu since Thursday. VOA's reporter on the scene says government security forces cordoned off the entire area and began collecting dead bodies, barring journalists from getting close to the building that was under siege. The death toll from Thursday's twin car bombs in the area has climbed to more than 30 people, according to admission records from three hospitals. VOA reporters in the city say the death toll is likely to rise because the number of the dead bodies and recovery of those injured remained unavailable. Al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-affiliated militant group, claimed responsibility for Thursday's twin blasts and the siege of the building. The assault started Thursday night when the militants detonated twin car bomb outside hotels and restaurants along the city's main Maka al-Mukarama road. Within an hour of the blasts, armed militants started firing and hurling hand grenades from a nearby residential building. Somali security officials believe the militants missed their target, which likely was one of the hotels in the area, and mistakenly went into another building for cover. "Somali security forces typically have been known to end such militants' sieges in the city within a few hours, but this 24-hour operation is the longest ever, and it shows there is security negligence," said Abdisalam Guled, former deputy of the Somali National Security Agency. Speaking to state-run radio, Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Guelleh said flushing militants out of the building was not easy. "The operation was supposed to end quickly, but the fact the militants were desperately holding a number of civilians as human shields made it difficult for the security forces to intensify their operation," Guelleh said. The group has been fighting to overthrow a Western-backed federal government that is protected by 22,000 African Union-mandated peacekeepers. Fight against al-Shabab Al-Shabab lost most of its strongholds in south and central Somalia to military forces from the Somali National Army and the African Union. The movement and mobilization of a large portion of al-Shabab military attacks also were weakened by a dramatic increase in the number of U.S. airstrikes. In 2018, the U.S. military command for Africa reportedly carried out 50 raids against the militants. As of Tuesday, U.S. raids in 2019 targeted the militants 23 times, including one in central Somalia on Tuesday that killed 20 terrorists and destroyed one vehicle. Despite the continued military pressure on the terror group, it continues to carry out assassinations and blasts in Mogadishu. Last month, militants assassinated the country's Deputy Attorney General Mohamed Mursal, and the oldest Federal lawmaker, Osman Ilmi Boqorre. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Donald Cook Departs Black Sea After Third 2019 NATO Drills - Pentagon Sputnik News 01:31 02.03.2019 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US guided-missile destroyer Donald Cook has departed the Black Sea for a continuing deployment in the Mediterranean and other areas covered by the Sixth Fleet, the Navy said in a press release on Friday. "While in the Black Sea, the ship conducted operations at sea with the Turkish Navy and completed a port visit to Odessa, Ukraine in support of our NATO allies and regional partners", the release said. On Friday, the Donald Cook began a southbound transit through the Bosphorous Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the release added. Donald Cook has become the fourth US Navy vessel that visited Odessa since 2018, and the third US ship that has conducted operations in the Black Sea in 2019. The Russian National Defense Control Center has said that Moscow had monitored the actions of the USS Donald Cook destroyer which entered the Black Sea on 19 February. Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO's military buildup near Russian state borders could boost the potential risks of provoking a military confrontation. Back in November, three Ukrainian naval vessels illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the waterway between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Russia seized the vessels and detained 24 people on board after they failed to respond to a demand to stop. After the incident, the Russian authorities opened a criminal case concerning the illegal border crossing. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the incident was a provocation plotted in advance as a pretext to introduce martial law in Ukraine. Putin noted the provocation could be linked to the Ukrainian president Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the presidential election set to be held this spring. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Kiev is preparing a new provocation in the Kerch Strait involving the violation of Russia's territorial waters. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Air Force Rejects New Boeing KC-46s Over Dangerous Debris Issues Sputnik News 01:08 02.03.2019(updated 01:10 02.03.2019) Airplane maker Boeing was forced to ground the US Air Force's KC-46 tanker fleet for a week to investigate reports of loose tools and debris inside the planes. As a result, the USAF has stopped taking deliveries of the jet until Boeing sorts out its manufacturing problems. "This is a big deal," a February 21 memo from Boeing's factory management in Everett, Washington, said. The memo went out to employees on its 767 assembly line, which makes a plane that serves as the basis for its KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker, used by the US Air Force. "We have USAF pilots here for flight training, and they will not fly due to the FOD (foreign object debris) issues and the current confidence they have in our product that has been discovered throughout the aircraft," the memo notes. As the plane is assembled, it is routinely swept for objects or tools left around or within it, as they could cause damage later from bouncing around, particularly if they're inside of a sealed-up bulkhead or underneath a floor, explains the Seattle Times, which first reported the story. Subsequent sweeps found eight tools in aircraft that had been advanced to a later stage of production and two tools in planes actually delivered to the Air Force. While the tanker fleet was eventually returned to the air on Thursday, approximately one week after it was grounded, the Times noted that the Air Force considers FOD a "chronic issue" that has "resulted in a program level impact." As a result, the Air Force said Friday it would refuse delivery of further KC-46s until Boeing cleans up its manufacturing act, the Times also reported. Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Hope Cronin said no KC-46s had been accepted since February 20, "and [deliveries] will not restart until the production aircraft are cleared of FOD, and the Air Force and DCMA [Defense Contract Management Agency] have approved a corrective action plan by Boeing that will prevent FOD in the future." It's a big setback for the planemaker and the KC-46 program, which is already years behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, and has several serious performance issues the service has been forced to overlook due to its dire need to replace its aging tanker fleet. The Air Force took delivery of the first nine KC-46s on January 11 a year and a half later than it was supposed to, according to its contract with Boeing. Boeing announced in May 2016 that it was going to miss the August 2017 deadline and that the program was $393 million over budget a deficit the company was forced to swallow itself, according to its fixed-price contract with the Pentagon, Defense News reported at the time. The setbacks come from the Chicago-based firm's attempts to wrestle with two glaring defects in the KC-46's design: it can't adequately refuel the Air Force's A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft due to a problem with the refueling boom, and the cockpit camera that shows the pilots a view of planes behind the craft coming in for more juice has a bad glare issue, Forbes noted. Boeing is contracted for 52 of the expected 179 KC-46 tankers the Air Force will require, according to a company press release in January. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US to End Annual Spring Joint Drills With South Korea Reports Sputnik News 00:51 02.03.2019 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US military is planning to announce the end of large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea that are held each spring, media reports said on Friday. The annual exercises will be curtailed as part of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce tensions with North Korea, NBC News reported, citing two unidentified defense officials. Word of the planned announcement come less than 48 hours after a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended without an agreement. The exercises known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle will be replaced with smaller, mission-specific training, the report said. In past years, North Korea has called the drills a practice run for a US-led invasion of the North. Following his first summit with Kim in Singapore last June, Trump suspended the annual exercise, and Friday's report indicated that the US is preparing to make the suspension permanent. Washington and Seoul held regularly joint military exercises, which were being perceived by Pyongyang as acts of aggression against the country. Russia and China have repeatedly condemned the United States for holding such drills and urged all the sides involved to refrain from provocations that could further escalate the situation on the Korean Peninsula. However, the long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula reportedly started to ease after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearizing and held historic summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Jersey Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 1, 2019 Gregory Lepsky, 22, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for planning to construct and use a pressure cooker bomb in New York on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey made the announcement. Lepsky pleaded guilty March 13, 2018, before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp to an information charging him with one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, specifically ISIS. Judge Shipp imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: On Feb. 21, 2017, Lepsky was arrested by the Point Pleasant Police Department in connection with an incident that occurred that day in his familys home. Following the arrest, law enforcement officers searched the residence and found a new pressure cooker stored behind a roll of bubble wrap in Lepskys bedroom closet. During searches of computers and other digital evidence linked to Lepsky, law enforcement officers found evidence of Lepskys plan to build and detonate a bomb as part of his support for ISIS. During several social media communications, Lepsky told others that he intended to fight on behalf of ISIS and that he would, if necessary, become a martyr by driving a "bunch of explosives" to where the "enemies" could be found and blowing himself up. Law enforcement officers also located a series of instructions that had been published online by another terrorist group that gave specific, step-by-step instructions on how to build a pressure cooker bomb, which coincided with the delivery of the pressure cooker to Lepsky a short time before his arrest. In addition, law enforcement officers recovered a message forwarded by Lepsky from another ISIS supporter stating that if a westerner could not travel to Syria to fight for ISIS, he could conduct a terrorist attack in his home country using improvised explosive devices. At his plea hearing, Lepsky admitted that beginning in January 2017, he began to formulate a plan to detonate the pressure cooker bomb in New York City on behalf of ISIS. Lepsky admitted that he used the internet to access ISIS directives, obtain bomb-making instructions, and purchase the pressure cooker and other items to be used in the attack. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Shipp imposed a life term of supervised release. Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; the N.J. State Attorney Generals Office, under the direction of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal; the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer; the Point Pleasant Police Department under the direction of Chief Richard P. Larsen and the N.J. Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness under the direction of Director Jared Maples, with the investigation leading to todays sentencing. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Donnelly of the U.S. Attorneys Office Criminal Division in Newark and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. Topic(s): Counterterrorism National Security Component(s): National Security Division (NSD) Press Release Number: 19-183 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Arabia Strips Al-Qaeda's Hamza Bin Laden of Citizenship - Reports Sputnik News 19:42 01.03.2019(updated 19:44 01.03.2019) The decision comes as the Daesh* terrorist group holds on to its last slither of territory along the Syrian border with Iraq. However, policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned that with the defeat of that group, the traditional al-Qaeda* franchise may, once again, begin to surge. Saudi Arabia has removed the citizenship of Hamza Bin Laden, the son of slain former al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, according to reports. Reports say that the Gulf Kingdom's leadership announced the decision on Friday, 1 March, in the country's official Gazette newspaper, saying that Bin Laden's citizenship had been revoked by royal decree back in November 2018, but that there was no explanation offered as to why it was made public now. The decision comes as the United States has issued a $1 million reward for any information that leads to Mr Bin Laden's capture, amidst alleged concerns among US intelligence agencies that the younger Bin Laden has ambitions to follow in his late father's footsteps by proclaiming a global jihad against the West and allied targets. In a statement released on February 28, the US Department of State said that Hamza, "is emerging as a leader in the [Al-Qaida] franchise." In 2015, Mr Bin Laden released an audio message calling for unity among Jihadist fighters in Syria, saying that they should come together to focus on "liberating Palestine." He also called upon Muslims around the world to continue attacking the US and its allies. Then, in 2017, he was branded a "specially designated global terrorist" by Washington. Recently, the United Nations Security Council committee added Hamza to its sanctions list. In a statement the committee explained its move was the result of Hamza being "given a more prominent role within al-Qaeda." The decision subjects Hamza to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo. * Terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address State Department Maintains Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) Designation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC March 1, 2019 The Department of State has reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended (8 U.S.C. 1189). The PKK was originally designated as an FTO in 1997. Since designating the PKK over two decades ago, the United States has worked with Turkey and other Allies to counter the terrorist threat from the PKK. The United States maintains a strong commitment to our partnership with our NATO ally Turkey, including fighting PKK fundraising operations in Europe and elsewhere. Today's actions notify the U.S. public and the international community that the PKK remains a terrorist organization. In addition to its continued status as an FTO, the PKK has also been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 since 2001. Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate them, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and governments. A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DR Congo: Insecurity and attacks mean Ebola will keep spreading, warns world health agency 1 March 2019 - Worsening security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo marked by attacks on Ebola clinics have made it a "given" that the deadly virus will spread further, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. In Geneva, spokesperson Christian Lindmeier condemned the "deplorable" targeting of two Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) facilities earlier this week in Katwa and Butembo. WHO was "doing everything and talking with everyone" to ensure that the operation to overcome the current Ebola outbreak continues, he insisted. To date, the agency and its partners have relied on armed protection from UN peacekeepers from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), to operate in a region that's home to more than 100 non-State armed groups. "In the light of the recent attacks and enhanced discussion with MONUSCO forces, with local authorities", said Mr. Lindmeier, he said they were working on improving security to ensure that patients and staff were better protected, "and that everything can be done to get this outbreak under control." He added that considering the "deteriorating" situation, there was nonetheless "a likelihood of an increase of Ebola cases. That is definitely a given." 555 lives lost so far to Ebola outbreak According to the DRC health authorities, the latest outbreak of Ebola which began on 1 August 2018, has claimed 555 lives. There have been 885 cases of the virus - which is endemic in the vast country, causing high fever, bleeding and death in around 60 per cent of cases with 820 confirmed infections and 65 probable. Mr. Lindmeier confirmed that following Wednesday's arson attack on the Butembo facility, four patients had fled and run away while the attack was ongoing. But they "have not run away" from treatment. WHO and MSF staff were unhurt but security personnel "did experience casualties", he added. "It's a very understandable reaction that under fire you try to save your own life more than anything," the WHO spokesperson said, in relation to the missing patients: "Three have already voluntarily returned, that's also important to note - they understand how important it is - and the fourth for whatever reason hasn't come back yet or hasn't been traced yet," he added, saying that finding the patient had to be a priority now, along with tracing those they had all come into contact with. In addition to attacks on Ebola treatment centres, healthworkers have faced varying levels of resistance from some local communities in trying to trace anyone who might have come into contact with infected carriers. "Apart from the obstacles we are facing there are ongoing rumours in the communities that the Ebola virus doesn't even exist," Mr Lindmeier said. "And if such a rumour (takes) hold, that makes it easy for groups to not believe in what you see, and what the patients are going through, and that hampers the operations." Following the most recent Butembo attack, WHO and partners are working to ensure the safety of the patients and staff. Patients have been transferred to a centre in Katwa. "It is a priority of the response to ensure quality clinical care for the patients," the agency said in a statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ebola Likely to Spread in Eastern DRC as Security Worsens By Lisa Schlein March 01, 2019 The World Health Organization (WHO) says the deadly Ebola virus is likely to spread in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo because of deteriorating security in conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri provinces. The latest WHO figures put the number of Ebola cases at 885, including 555 deaths. International efforts to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in eastern DR Congo have hit a serious roadblock. The charity Doctors Without Borders has suspended its life-saving operations. The action follows attacks on two of its Ebola treatment centers this week the first on February 24 in Katwa, followed by an attack three days later in Butembo. The World Health Organization called the attacks deplorable and said there is a great risk of the spread of the disease. During the attack on the facility in Butembo, four Ebola patients fled for their lives. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said three of the patients have since returned, while one is still missing. "If you want, the positive note is that all of these four patients were convalescent, that means they were already getting better," he said. "Hence, they had a lower viral load, which makes it way less likely for further infections.But yes, it is highly important to find those people, that last patient and then, of course, immediately start the contact tracing and monitor the contacts these patients might have been in touch with." Lindmeier said the WHO remains committed to staying in the DRC until the job is done. However, he notes that an Ebola outbreak as complex as this one can only be managed collectively and by having all the partners on the ground. He added that it is normal to expect organizations to do whatever is necessary to protect their staffs. The Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces is the second largest in history after the 2014 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people.Prior to the recent incidents, progress was being made in containing the spread of the Ebola virus in the DRC. The WHO reports the disease is now largely under control in the former hot spots of Mangina, Beni, and Komanda.It says more than 250 people have been cured and 80,000 protected through vaccination. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 1, 2019 News By Jim Garamone Defense.gov DOD Sends Space Force Legislation to Congress WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department has proposed legislation that would create the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. If approved by Congress, the U.S. Space Force would be the first military service established since the Air Force stood up in 1947. The new force recognizes how vital space is to U.S. economic prosperity and national security, Defense Department officials said. The legislative proposal follows a directive President Donald J. Trump signed Feb. 19. DOD proposes that the U.S. Space Force initially be established as a new military service within the Department of the Air Force. In this model, the new Space Force would have a similar relationship to the Department of the Air Force that the Marine Corps has with the Department of the Navy, officials explained. The uniformed four-star Space Force chief of staff would be granted full membership in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Additionally, the proposal calls for a new undersecretary of the Air Force for space, who would provide dedicated civilian supervision of the Space Force. If Congress passes the proposal, the Space Force would be authorized to organize, train and equip space forces "to provide for freedom of operation in, from and to the space domain; to provide independent military options for joint and national leadership; and to enable the lethality and effectiveness of the joint force," the proposal says. Threats From Space China and Russia recognize that U.S. space capabilities underpin the ability of the United States to project power around the globe. "China and Russia are actively developing a range of counter-space capabilities to deny the United States the advantages of space in a crisis or conflict," an official said on background. "China and Russia are also rapidly developing space capabilities to enhance the lethality of their own military operations. There is an increased likelihood that the U.S. military will need to defeat the space capabilities of adversary forces in order to prevail in a potential conflict, protect lives and secure U.S. interests." China has demonstrated anti-satellite capabilities, and a recent report from the Defense Intelligence Agency says Russia is known to be developing them as well, officials said. China and Russia also are looking at all other aspects from jamming to hacking to kinetics to destroy or degrade U.S. space capabilities, they added. Five-Year Plan The Defense Department's legislative proposal outlines a five-year phased stand-up of the Space Force beginning Oct. 1 the start of fiscal year 2020 if Congress passes the legislation. This will allow force leaders to prepare for mission transfer beginning in fiscal year 2021. The plan calls for the Space Force to continue to build out its force structure through fiscal year 2024. Officials estimate that about 15,000 military and civilian personnel could transfer to the Space Force. Initially, most of the personnel in the new service will come from the Air Force, but soldiers, sailors and Marines also will be considered for transfer to the new force. "The secretary of defense, in consultation with each service secretary and service chief, will determine which existing space forces will transfer into the USSF after its creation," a Pentagon official said. DOD has established a full-time planning task force to conduct detailed planning for the new military service. The department's fiscal year 2020 defense budget request asks for $72.4 million to begin the process of establishing the headquarters of the new service. The headquarters would be in the Pentagon. Additional resources will be dedicated to building out the USSF headquarters and establishing and maintaining new support elements such as education, training, doctrine and personnel management centers, officials said. Once fully established, they added, the additive costs will be about $500 million annually, which they noted is about 0.07 percent of the annual DOD budget. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 1, 2019 News By Jim Garamone Defense.gov Officials Explain U.S. Space Force Need, Culture WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Space Force will allow the Defense Department to deliver space capabilities and results faster, better and ahead of adversaries, Pentagon officials said today. Officials spoke with reporters on background this morning in advance of the announcement that DOD delivered a proposal for establishing the sixth branch of the armed forces to Congress today. The proposal calls for the U.S. Space Force to lodge in the Department of the Air Force. "What underpins the entire discussion is the importance of space to life here on Earth," an official said. "Space truly is vital to our way of life and our way of war, and that has really been increasing over time." The Space Force will allow the department to face down the threats of great power competition in space, officials said. Today, the United States has the best space capabilities in the world, they noted, but they added that this is not an entitlement. "Our adversaries have recognized that, and they recognize what space brings to the United States and our military," an official said. "As a result, they are integrating space into their forces, and they are developing weapon systems to take away our advantages in a crisis or conflict." A Warfighting Domain Space has changed the character of war. "Space is not just a support function, it is a warfighting domain in and of its own right where we really need to be prepared to compete, deter and win," he said. The Space Force is a strategic step forward that will bring greater focus to people, doctrine and capability needed to wage a war in space, officials said. If Congress approves the proposal, the new service will grow incrementally over the next five fiscal years. Planners already are discussing the culture of the organization and what people they would like to see populate it. "We're going to try to establish a unique culture -- the special training, the care for promotions, development of doctrine," another official said. Pending passage, DOD will begin transferring personnel from the Air Force to the new service in fiscal year 2021 -- most of the personnel in the U.S. Space Force will come from the Air Force. Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel will be affected in later years. Civilian employees will come to the new service under the auspices of the Department of the Air Force, just as civilian employees of the U.S. Marine Corps work for the Department of the Navy. Building a Culture On the military side, the service will look for individuals who will build the culture of the new service. "We want people to be recruited into the Space Force as similar to the way the Marine Corps recruits Marines," a senior official said. "We don't recruit [Marines] into the Navy -- they go after the specific kind of people with a vision that is necessary to build that culture." It will take some time for Space Force service members to build that culture. "When you grow up in your service, you are a part of a culture and that is your mindset and focus," a senior military officer said. "The Air Force includes space, but the personnel still grow up in an Air Force culture today. I would argue that if you 'grow up' in a Space Force where you are solely focused on the space domain, your ability to think clearly and focus on that domain will get after the problem set much more effectively." The force will look for people with a technical background to apply toward warfighting. "We need people who, at their core, understand what warfighting is and how to do those things that bring together that capabilities from across all services to pursue strategic objectives as part of the joint force," another officer said. If Congress approves, the U.S. Space Force will have about 15,000 people -- the smallest U.S. armed force. "It is a small, but mighty group," a senior official said. "As we look forward to the importance of space to our country and national security, it is really elevating it." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK only asked U.S. for partial sanctions removal, says FM Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/3/1 10:14:36 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) only proposed that the United States partially remove its sanctions against Pyongyang, said the country's foreign minister here early Friday. "What we proposed was not the removal of all sanctions, but they are partial removal," said Ri Yong Ho at a press conference, adding the DPRK only asked for those sanctions impeding the livelihood of its people to be removed first. If the United States agrees to the proposal, the DPRK "will permanently and completely dismantle all the nuclear production facilities in Yongbyon area, including plutonium and uranium in the presence of U.S. experts and by the joint work of technicians of both countries," Ri said. "This proposal was the biggest denuclearization measures we can take at the present stage in relation to the current level of confidence between the U.S. and DPRK," he added. Ri said that during the bilateral meeting, the DPRK expressed intent to make commitment on permanent halt of the nuclear testing and long-range rocket launch test in written form in order to address the concern of the United States. "However, during the meeting, the United States insisted we should take one more step besides the dismantlement of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon area. Therefore, it's crystal clear that the United States was not ready to accept our proposal," he said. He stressed that the DPRK's principle stand will remain unchanged if the United States proposes negotiations again in the future. DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump held their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday and Thursday, which ended without a deal. "Basically they (DPRK) want the sanctions lifted, in their entirety, and we couldn't do that," Trump said at a press conference after the summit. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Talks Held between Vice Foreign Ministers of DPRK and China Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Date: 01/03/2019 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) Pyongyang, March 1 (KCNA) -- Talks were held between Ri Kil Song, vice foreign minister who is on a visit to China as head of the DPRK Foreign Ministry delegation, and Kong Xuanyou, vice foreign minister of China, in Beijing Thursday. At the talks both sides exchanged views on the issue of boosting exchange and cooperation in each field in this significant year by putting into practice the important understanding shared by the supreme leaders of the two countries and on the issues of mutual concern and reached a complete consensus of views. Present at the talks from the DPRK side were members of the delegation and a minister of the DPRK embassy in Beijing and from the Chinese side were officials of the Foreign Ministry. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Meets Chinese Foreign Minister Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Date: 01/03/2019 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) Pyongyang, March 1 (KCNA) -- Ri Kil Song, vice foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, met Wang Yi, state councilor and foreign minister of the People's Republic of China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday. Ri is heading a DPRK foreign ministry delegation on a visit to the PRC. Wang Yi said that the tasks facing the diplomatic fields of the two countries are very important in thoroughly implementing the common ideas shared by the top leaders of the two countries, hoping that the two countries would actively develop the bilateral relations this year that marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations between China and the DPRK. Ri Kil Song referred to the traditional DPRK-China friendship developing at an unprecedented level and underlined the need to intensify the strategic communication and cooperation between the diplomatic fields of the two countries and further the mutual exchange and cooperation in various fields. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK FM Ri Yong Ho disputes Trump reason for summit collapse People's Daily Online (CNTV) 08:29, March 01, 2019 In Hanoi, DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho presented a rare and unexpected midnight news conference following the Trump-Kim summit. During the conference, Ri Yong Ho disputed Trump's explanation for collapse of summit, saying the DPRK asked "for only partial U.S. sanctions relief." Ri said DPRK had asked for lifting five of the 11 sanctions under United Nations Security Council resolutions. Those measures, he said, were particularly damaging the livelihood of the DPRK people. Ri said Pyongyang's position won't change even if U.S. seeks further talks. "Chairman Kim got the feeling that he didn't understand the way Americans calculate" and may have "lost the will" for further negotiations. The FM's statements contradicted the explanation by Trump, who hours earlier told reporters that the North had demanded a full removal of sanctions in exchange for shuttering the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Ri says the DPRK was also ready to offer in writing a permanent halt of the country's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and that Washington wasted an opportunity that "may not come again." According to Xinhua, DPRK leader Kim is scheduled to meet with top Vietnamese leaders on Friday and leave Saturday on his armored train for the return trip, through China, to DPRK. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Ri Kil Song, vice foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Beijing on Thursday. Additional reporting from Associated Press and Yonhap FM Ri's Opening Statement at Hanoi Press Conference: "During the two-day meetings the leaders of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and the United States of America held serious discussions with good patience and self-restraint. Based upon the principle of building trust and resolving issues in faced manner which was jointly acknowledged in the first Singapore DPRK-US summit, we offered a realistic proposal in this meeting." "If the United States removes partial sanctions, mainly remove the articles of sanctions that hamper the civilian economy and the livelihood of our people in particular, we will permanently and completely dismantle all the nuclear material-productive facilities in the Yongbyon area, including plutonium and uranium in the presence of US experts and by the joint work of technicians from both countries." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump Says Unwilling to Give Up DPRK Sanctions Unless Denuke Program Agreed Sputnik News 06:35 01.03.2019(updated 06:56 01.03.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he did not want to fully abandon sanctions against North Korea unless there is a real program for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula agreed. "They wanted to denuke certain areas and I wanted everything I did not want to give up the sanctions unless we had a real program," Trump said when asked about sticking points in his talks with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Trump said that the North Korean delegation was not ready for such developments. "They are not ready for that and I understand that fully. I really do. They spent a lot of time building it I wanted them to denuke and they would not do the full [denuclearization]. They wanted to do some. And I guess I lot of people would have said 'it's a great start.' But I just did not feel it was right," Trump explained. The president noted that the relations between Washington and Pyongyang were "very good" but both he and Kim were not satisfied with the results of the talks that were held in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday and Thursday and finished abruptly without a deal. Trump suggested "it was not the right time" to sign an agreement, noting, however, that both sides were "working toward something." The president reiterated that the agreement on the complete verified denuclearization of North Korea was a much tougher deal to make, but "that's the deal we should have." However, Trump did not rule out that such a deal might not be reached. On Thursday, the two-day summit abruptly finished with the lack of an agreement or a declaration after the sides failed to reach a consensus on concessions they were ready to make under such a deal. The White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said that Trump was unwilling to repeat the mistake of ex-President Barack Obama, who concluded the "bad" Iran nuclear deal, in his relations with North Korea and other states. At their first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim expressed in a joint statement their commitment to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement on Libya Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC March 1, 2019 The text of the following statement on Libya was released by the Governments of the United States of America, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Begin Text: The governments of France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate their strong support to the ongoing efforts of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Ghassan Salame and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to de-escalate tensions in Libya and help the Libyan people chart a path toward credible and secure elections. We welcome UN leadership in convening Prime Minister al-Sarraj and LNA Commander Haftar on February 27 and commend the efforts of the Government of the United Arab Emirates to facilitate this discussion. We welcome the announcement by UNSMIL that a political agreement could be reached on the need to end the transitional stages in Libya through holding general elections, and on ways to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions. Mindful that there is no military solution in Libya, we call on all Libyans to work constructively with SRSG Salame and seize this vital opportunity to realize a stable and unified government that can deliver security and prosperity for all Libyans. We also welcome the announcement by the Government of National Accord that parties have agreed to resume oil production at the al-Sharara field. All sides should promptly implement this agreement in order to allow the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to resume its vital work for the benefit of all Libyans. These Libyan resources must remain under the exclusive control of the NOC and sole oversight of the Government of National Accord, as outlined in UN Security Council Resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), and 2362 (2017). NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN chief hails Libyan leaders' agreement to hold general election 1 March 2019 - An agreement by Libya's Prime Minister and a key rival military leader to improve political stability across the country through new general elections, has been welcomed by the UN Secretary-General. In a statement on Friday, Antonio Guterres commended the progress made by Prime Minister Faiez Serraj, who also presides over the council leading the Government of National Accord, and the Commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar. The UN chief's Special Representative for Libya, and head of the UN Mission, UNSMIL, Ghassan Salame, hosted the meeting on Thursday between the two leaders that led to the breakthrough, in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. "Both partiesagreed during the meeting on the need to end the transitional stages in Libya through holding general elections" said a statement issued by UNSMIL. "They also agreed on ways to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions." Mr. Guterres said that apart from the commitment to the democratic process through the ballot box, he also welcomed the "commitment to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions". Despite its large oil reserves, Libya has been wracked by political and economic turmoil, as multiple armed groups have competed for power and control across the country, since the overthrow of former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. In early February, the UN and aid partners together with Libya's interim Government, launched a humanitarian response plan, appealing for $202 million to bring live-saving relief to more than half a million Libyans in need. Maria Ribeiro, UN Resident Coordinator, said in the foreword to the plan that "many Libyans get poorer every year. Basic health and education services decay, and frustrated citizens cannot understand why oil production and increased government revenue does not lead to improved living standards, security and well-being for all in Libya." The UN chief concluded his statement on Friday by saying that he hoped "further progress can be achieved on the basis of what has already been agreed upon, with the support of the international community." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bangladesh Tells UN It Cannot Accept More Rohingya Refugees By VOA News March 01, 2019 Bangladesh has told the United Nations Security Council that it cannot take in any more Rohingya refugees. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told the body Thursday: "I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar." He accused Myanmar of making "hollow promises and various obstructionist approaches" in the negotiations to return the Rohingyas to Myanmar. "Is Bangladesh paying the price for being responsive and responsible in showing empathy to a persecuted minority population of a neighboring country?" Haque asked. "Not a single Rohingya has volunteered to return to Rakhine due to the absence of conducive environment there." Hau Do Suan, Myanmar's ambassador, said his country needs more time in its efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas. He asked the council to consider the "huge physical as well as psychological barriers" in the process of returning the Rohingyas. "It takes time and patience as well as courage to build trust and confidence among different communities in Rakhine." British Ambassador Karen Pierce said, "We are very disappointed that there hasn't been more progress on getting the refugees back." She added: "The scale of what has been done to the Rohingya Muslims and the allegations of crimes against humanity really mark this out as one of the most terrible events of this century so far." Russia and China, unlike the Western members of the council, believe that it is up to just Myanmar and Bangladesh to craft a solution for the return of the Rohingyas. More than 720,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape persecution and violence in Myanmar. Because of previous refugee crises in Myanmar, Bangladesh currently is home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees. The United Nations has praised the country's generosity and has appealed to the authorities to continue to allow people fleeing violence in Myanmar to seek safety in Bangladesh. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a predominantly Buddhist country. It has a long history of tension with its ethnic minorities, much of it based on religion. Southern Chin State is the only State in Myanmar with a Christian majority. It also is the poorest and least developed region in the country. The large Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine State continues to suffer discrimination and repression from the majority Buddhist community. Though they have lived in Myanmar for generations, the Rohingya are denied citizenship and remain stateless. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Address by President Moon Jae-in on 100th March First Independence Movement Day Republic of Korea - Office of the President March 01, 2019 (Unofficial translation) Fellow Koreans and compatriots abroad, One hundred years ago today, we were united as one. At noon on March 1, students passed out the Declaration of Korean Independence. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the national representatives held a ceremony to declare Korea's independence at Taehwagwan in Seoul, and some 5,000 people read the Declaration aloud together at Tapgol Park. The protagonists of the March First Independence Movement were ordinary people such as laborers, farmers, women, soldiers, rickshaw pullers, gisaeng, butchers, serfs, street merchants, students and monks. These people also participated in a nationwide campaign to repay the national debt to Japan by quitting smoking to save, donating ornamental hairpins and rings made of gold and silver, and even selling locks of hair. On that day, we were reborn as citizens of a republic; we were no longer subjects of a dynasty or a colony of Imperial Japan. The great journey toward a democratic republic began at that time looking beyond independence and liberation. One hundred years ago today, there was no South and North Korea. From Seoul and Pyeongyang to Jinnampo, Anju, Seoncheon, Uiju and Wonsan, loud chants of manse erupted on the same day, and these calls for independence spread like a wildfire to every corner of the country. For two months from March 1, manse protests took place in 211 out of the total 220 cities and counties across the country regardless of the region whether they belonged to what is now a part of South or North Korea. The chorus of people shouting manse continued into May. Just over two million people, about 10 percent of the total living on the Korean Peninsula at the time, joined the manse demonstrations. Some 7,500 Koreans were murdered with 16,000 injured. The number of people arrested and detained reached as many as 46,000. The most horrible tragedy occurred in Maengsan, Pyeongannam Province. On March 10, 54 local residents descended on a military police outpost to call for the release of detained teachers; they were massacred inside the building. Another act of brutality followed in Jeam-ri of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. A total of 29 villagers, with even children among them, were massacred after they were locked in a church that was later set on fire. In contrast, however, not a single Japanese civilian was killed due to attacks by Koreans. We Koreans were also united as one in Yongjeong, China, across the border in what was North Gando; in Vladivostok in the Maritime Province of the Russian Far East; in Hawaii; and in Philadelphia. Anyone and everyone who felt a part of the Korean nation organized and took part in a rally. We all together aspired to independence and dreamed of popular sovereignty. Those who harbored the chants of the March First Independence Movement in their hearts began to realize that common people like themselves were the main drivers of the independence movement and the rightful owners of the country. That awareness prompted the participation of ever more people and empowered them to shout their chants every single day. The first fruition was the Provisional Republic of Korea Government, the root of a democratic republic. The Provisional Government stipulated "a democratic republic" in Article 1 of its Charter, upholding the spirit of the March First Independence Movement. It was the first case in world history of a democratic republic expressly set forth in a constitution. Fellow Koreans, Wiping out the vestiges of pro-Japanese collaborators is a long-overdue undertaking. Only when we contemplate past wrongdoings can we move toward the future together. The task of setting history right is what is needed to help our future generations stand tall. Firmly upholding the national spirit is the state's responsibility and duty. What we intend is neither to instigate divisiveness by reopening old wounds now nor to create issues for diplomatic conflicts with a neighboring country. Neither of these is desirable. Wiping out the vestiges of pro-Japanese collaborators, just as with diplomacy, should be done in a forward-looking manner. Shedding these vestiges is all about reaffirming the most basic values: Acts of pro-Japanese collaborators are what should be repented, and the independence movement is what should be honored and respected. This simple truth is justice, and upholding justice is the beginning of creating an equitable country. The Japanese imperialists labeled independence armies as bandits and independence activists as thought offenders to justify their crackdowns. The word "Reds" originated from them. Terms like "thought offenders" and "Reds" were not applied exclusively to actual communists. These words were used to stigmatize all independence activists ranging from nationalists to anarchists. Hostility between the left and the right and ideological stigmas were tools used by Japanese imperialists to drive a wedge between us. Even after liberation, they served as tools to impede efforts to remove the vestiges of pro-Japanese collaborators. They were also used to brand the public as enemies when it came to massacres of civilians, spurious accusations of spying for North Korea and the student pro-democracy movement. Even in the liberated homeland, those who used to serve as police officers during Japanese colonial rule painted independence activists as Reds and tortured them. Many people were labeled Reds and thus sacrificed. Their relatives and bereaved families had to live ill-fated lives under social stigmas. Still now in our society, the word "Reds" is being used as a tool to vilify and attack political rivals, and a different kind of "Red Scare" is running rampant. These are typical vestiges left by pro-Japanese collaborators, which we should eliminate as soon as possible. The 38th parallel drawn through our minds will disappear all together once the ideological hostility that caused internal rifts are removed. When we discard feelings of aversion and hatred toward others, our internal liberation will be completed. Only then will a new century be able to begin in a genuine sense. My fellow Koreans, Over the past century, we have continued our journey toward a fair and just nation that envisions peace and freedom for all of humanity. Overcoming colonial rule, war, poverty and dictatorship, we have accomplished miraculous economic growth. Through the April 19 Revolution, the Busan-Masan Democratic Protests, the May 18 Democratization Movement, the June 10 Struggle and the candlelight revolution, ordinary people have striven by their own initiative and means to build a democratic republic for all of us. The spirit of the March First Independence Movement has been revived whenever our democracy faced a crisis. This new 100 years is the century for completing a true country of the people. It is a new 100 years to achieve unity through novel ideas and mindsets, without being pulled around by past ideologies. We have courageously taken on the challenge of creating a peaceful Korean Peninsula. Undaunted by change, we have taken a new path. This new 100 years is the century to ensure that this challenge leads to success. At the time when I announced the Korean Peninsula peace initiative in Berlin in July 2017, peace seemed too far away to grasp. When an opportunity arose, however, we stepped forward and took hold of peace. At last, a spring of peace arrived amid a cold snap in Pyeongchang. Last year, I met with Chairman Kim Jong Un for the first time at Panmunjeom and, by bringing the minds of 80 million Koreans together, we proclaimed to the whole world that an era of peace has dawned on the Korean Peninsula. In September last year, I stood in front of 150,000 citizens of Pyeongyang at May Day Stadium. As President of the Republic of Korea, I promised them complete denuclearization, peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. On the Korean Peninsula, shots are no longer heard in the sky, on the land and across the seas. Unearthed along with the remains of 13 soldiers in the DMZ was our yearning for reconciliation. Railroads and roads between the two Koreas, which constitute national arteries, are now being reconnected. As fishing grounds surrounding our five northwestern border islands in the West Sea expanded, fishers' hopes of catching a full haul have grown. Ideas once regarded as ethereal rainbows are now taking shape before our eyes one by one. The DMZ will soon be returned to the people. One of the most well-preserved areas of nature on earth will prove to be a blessing for us. Whether we create a peace park there, house an international organization dealing with peace, or visit for eco-peace tourism, or make a pilgrimage there, the DMZ can be used jointly for the wellbeing of Koreans from both sides while preserving the natural environment. This will lead to South Koreans' free and safe trips to North Korea. I will strive to make it possible for separated families and displaced people to visit their hometowns and meet with their relatives, going beyond mere reunions as before. Permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula will be firmly settled only after surmounting many critical junctures. The second North Korea-United States summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, made meaningful progress, given the fact that the two leaders had conversations at length, enhanced mutual understanding and built more trust. Importantly, they even discussed the issue of installing liaison offices, an important step toward the normalization of bilateral ties. I have high regard for President Trump, who has expressed his commitment to continuing talks and optimistic views. I believe this is part of a process to reach a higher level of agreement. Now our role has become even more important. My Administration will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means. The spring of peace that arrived on the Korean Peninsula was not ushered in by someone else. It is an outcome accomplished by ourselves by the power of the people. Unification need not be far away. Achieving a unity of mind while acknowledging differences and establishing mutually beneficial relations this is exactly what unification is all about. The coming 100 years will differ from the past in quality. We will push ahead with a bold transition toward a new Korean Peninsula regime and prepare for unification. The new Korean Peninsula regime refers to the order of the coming century in which we will take on a leading role. Working together with the people and with North Korea as well, we will create a new order of peace and cooperation. The new Korean Peninsula regime is a new community of peace and cooperation that will end confrontations and conflicts. We will establish a permanent peace regime without fail on the basis of our unwavering will, close ROK-U.S. coordination, a settlement in North Korea-U.S. talks and support from the international community. The new Korean Peninsula regime is a new community of economic cooperation that will be formed after the era of ideology and factionalism is put behind us. I will help usher in an era of a peace-driven economy on the Korean Peninsula. We will consult with the United States on ways to resume tourism in Geumgang Mountain and operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. South and North Korea agreed last year to cease all hostile military acts against each other and activate the Inter-Korean Joint Military Committee. When there is progress in denuclearization, a joint economic committee will be established between the two Koreas to produce economic achievements that benefit both South and North Korea. Progress in inter-Korean relations will lead to the normalization of North Korea's relations with the United States and Japan, later expanding into a new order of peace and security in Northeast Asia. On the basis of the spirit of the March First Independence Movement and national unity, I will strive to foster this new Korean Peninsula regime. I urge all of you to pool our strength. Peace on the Korean Peninsula will serve as a new driving force for economic growth, which will not only impact both Koreas but also encompass Northeast Asia, ASEAN and Eurasia. A century ago, peoples and countries in Asia that were colonized or on the brink of colonization provided unreserved support for the March First Independence Movement. Chen Duxiu, a Beijing University professor who led the New Culture Movement, said that Joseon's independence movement was magnificent, heroic and, at the same time, articulate: It ushered in a new era in the world history of revolution by only employing the will of the people without the use of force. Asia is the place where ancient civilizations first began to flourish and where various civilizations have existed together. I will help peace on the Korean Peninsula contribute to prosperity in Asia. Sharing Asian values that seek to promote mutual growth, I will join in efforts to build a global order of peace and prosperity. Completion of the railroads running the length of the Korean Peninsula will expedite the formation of the East Asian Railroad Community, which I proposed on Liberation Day last year. This will develop into an energy community and an economic community, solidifying a multilateral peace and security framework that encompasses the United States. By hosting the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit and the inaugural Korea-Mekong summit, we will endeavor to build a people-centered community of peace and prosperity along with the members of ASEAN. Cooperation with Japan will also be strengthened for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The Declaration of Korean Independence clearly stated that the March First Independence Movement was not driven by a spirit of enmity but was intended to promote the harmonious co-existence of all humankind. It also clarified that the Movement was aiming for peace in East Asia and the world. The Declaration read: "To boldly right old wrongs, opening a new relationship based on true mutual understating, is certainly the best way for both countries to avert disaster and foster amity." This is our spirit that is still valid even today. We cannot change the past but can transform the future. When Korea and Japan firmly join hands while reflecting on history, the era of peace will approach our side with large strides. When the pain of victims is substantively healed through concerted efforts, Korea and Japan will become genuine friends with heart-to-heart understanding. Fellow Koreans and Koreans living overseas, As we have cultivated the Republic of Korea together over the past 100 years, we have to prosper together in the century to come. Each and every one of the people must be able to have an equal and fair opportunity and find happiness in their work without facing discrimination. For us to prosper together, we have embarked on yet another challenge of building an innovative, inclusive nation. The path toward an innovative, inclusive nation on which we are walking is also the same one that will build the country our forefathers dreamed of one hundred years ago today. Countries around the world are now seeking a new path to solve the global issues of polarization and economic inequality, discrimination and exclusion, gaps among nations and climate change. They are closely watching how we take on the challenge to build an innovative, inclusive nation. We are people unafraid of changes; in fact, we actively make use of them. We made a beautiful flower blossom in the world history of democracy through the most peaceful and refined methods. The strength to overcome the Asian foreign exchange crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2009 came entirely from the people. Our next hundred years will be a century when peace leads to the power of inclusiveness, and the inclusiveness will in turn build a country where everyone prospers together. I am confident that we can take the initiative in making a transition into an inclusive nation and that the inclusive nation we are to build will become a global model of an inclusive nation. The March First Independence Movement is still propelling us from behind into the future. Today, we are reevaluating independence activist Yu Gwan-sun's accomplishments to award her the Order of Merit for National Foundation anew this time at the highest grade because the Movement is still progressing. Independence activist Yu Gwan-sun was at the forefront of the manse protest in Cheonan's Aunae marketplace. She staged a manse protest without fear of death to mark the first anniversary of the Movement even as she was locked in Seodaemun Prison. However, her biggest accomplishment is having her name alone call to mind the Movement whenever we hear Yu Gwan-sun. The history of the past 100 years proves that we can achieve changes and innovation if we do not lose hope no matter how difficult our present reality is. Over the next 100 years, the growth of the people will directly lead to the growth of the nation. When unity is achieved from within by moving beyond ideological confrontations, and when peace and prosperity are accomplished from outside, genuine independence will be completed. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Week In Russia: Boris Nemtsov And The Russia That Might Have Been By Steve Gutterman March 01, 2019 Thousands of people in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities honored the memory of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, and in doing so mourned the loss of a Russia that might have been. Meanwhile, in the Russia that is what it is, state TV elaborated on President Vladimir Putin's saber-rattling warning to the West about missiles. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. Four Years Later For days, weeks, and months at a time, the discourse on Russia is often dominated by one person: President Vladimir Putin. In February alone, there was -- among other Putin-centric phenomena the president's annual state-of-the-nation speech and an article by a Kremlin aide who predicts Russia will be "Putin's state" for a century to come. This past week provided a bit of a respite, with the focus shifting -- at least for some -- to one of the most prominent victims of Putin's Russia: Boris Nemtsov. Thousands of people marched in cities across Russia on February 24 to honor the memory of Nemtsov, a vocal Putin critic who was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin four years ago. The crowd swelled above 10,000 in Moscow, where many also gathered at a makeshift memorial at the scene of the crime at 11:31 p.m. on February 27. On posters and in words, many marchers had something to say about Russia under Putin, some chanting slogans against the president and others accusing him of running what rights activist Lev Ponomaryov likened to a "totalitarian regime, with torture and murders" that are not solved or, in some cases, even investigated. They were not just paying tribute to Nemtsov they were mourning the loss of a Russia that might have been. In news stories, Nemtsov is often described simply as "former deputy prime minister." Fallen 'Star' That's accurate: It's a post he held for about 17 months, and the highest one he reached in the federal government though he made his name as governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region in 1991-97. But for anyone who remembers Russia in those days, it falls far short of describing a politician who, had things gone differently, might possibly have become president. "In the 1990s he was a star," was how BuzzFeed's Miriam Elder put it in a story written hours after his killing. "One of the youngest mayors of post-Soviet Russia, he managed to turn Nizhny Novgorod, one of Russia's biggest cities, into a place where the factories ran, the paychecks cleared, and the economy grew despite the poverty and chaos engulfing the country. "He was that rare thing in those days -- a popular politician," she wrote. In two decades, Nemtsov has gone from star to symbol, for some, of what is wrong with Russia under Putin. Along the way, he did his best to point some of the biggest problems out until he was killed. Nemtsov was a frequent and fiery speaker at the Bolotnaya protests of 2011-12, leading chants of "Putin's a thief" at the rallies that erupted after the then-prime minister revealed plans to return to the presidency and the ruling United Russia party won parliamentary elections marred by evidence of widespread fraud. He also issued a series of reports alleging high-level corruption and portraying Putin and his circle as a voracious bunch intent on staying in power to protect their extravagant wealth. A report issued in August 2012, a few months into Putin's third term, countered the president's portrayal of himself as a "humble servant" of the Russian people who labors like a "galley slave" to improve their lot and keep them safe. Instead, it described him as a man with wristwatches worth a combined $700,000, a presidential jet with a $75,000 toilet, and access to a fleet of yachts in which the one with a spa pool, waterfall, and wine cellar rated only second-best. But that report did not make much of a splash. And when Nemtsov was killed, many wondered why, considering that few Russians would have considered him to pose an imminent threat to Putin's power: He had been out of the government and parliament for years, a prominent victim of what Kremlin critics say was a persistent drive to push liberal opponents to the margins. Plus, in the constellation of the Russian opposition, he had been eclipsed by Aleksei Navalny. Whodunit? One fact that attracted attention, though, was that at the time of his assassination, Nemtsov had been drafting a report on Putin's alleged involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine where Russia-backed separatists had pushed ahead with a deadly offensive near the town of Debaltseve two weeks earlier, even as Moscow was negotiating the still largely unimplemented cease-fire and political settlement deal known as Minsk 2. Whether that report was a factor is unclear. One thing that is clear, according to relatives, colleagues, and Western governments, is that the convictions handed down to five men from Chechnya in 2017 for his murder fell far short of solving the crime. As with previous high-profile killings of Kremlin critics -- including the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 -- government critics have voiced suspicion that the culprits will never face justice because an honest investigation could lead to figures who are close to Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov or to Putin's inner circle. "We'll repeat it for a fifth year: Nemtsov's murder is a political killing, and Putin bears responsibility," said Grigory Yavlinsky, another liberal politician who served in the government and in parliament but has long since been sidelined, though less dramatically. "The person who actually ordered it has still not been found. This is all undoubted evidence of the authoritarian-criminal powers that be in this country. The Nemtsov March shows that hundreds of thousands of Russians see it this way," Yavlinsky tweeted from the February 24 demonstration in Moscow. Russia Without Putin? He may have been exaggerating attendance, and in any case crowds of 10,000 in Moscow and smaller gatherings elsewhere are not necessarily a sign of severe pressure on the Kremlin as the fact that Putin weathered the protests of 2011-12, which at times drew 100,00 or more, seems to show. But Putin has gotten a slew of bad news from opinion polls in recent months that have taken some of the Teflon off. Most notable, maybe, was the late January survey showing that for the first time since 2006, more Russians believe the country is on the wrong path than the right one. Trying to guess what Russia might look like had someone like Nemtsov come to power may be a fool's game. But it seems even more foolish to think that history had to happen the way it did that, as then-Deputy Chief of Staff Vyacheslav Volodin told international Russia experts in October 2014, "there is no Russia today if there is no Putin." Or, for that matter, that the first decade of Putin's rule was a "miracle of god," as Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said in 2012. Or, as Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov wrote in a newspaper article last month, that Russia will be "Putin's state" long, long after he is no longer president. But it's Putin's state for now, and the state TV channels the first thing he moved to corral when he came to power -- are Putin's state TV. Count 'Em A good example of the way Putin uses those channels to try to hammer messages home, to audiences inside and outside Russia, played out after the February 20 state-of-the-nation speech in which he issued the latest in a series of warnings to the West about weapons he says Russia has been developing or deploying in recent years. In the speech itself, Putin poked fun at the idea of U.S. "exceptionalism" one of Russia's favorite targets in recent years and suggested Americans would do better to forget about such lofty ideas and focus on whether they can count. "Probably they can," he said. "So let them calculate the range and speed of our future arms systems." Over nearly two decades in power, Putin has often repeated himself. He did so several times on the day of the speech, proudly recounting his counting remark at a dinner with top Russian media figures even before the meal was served, footage suggests. Several guests nod appreciatively as Putin speaks. Outside the room, some observers seemed less impressed. "Catching up with Putin's address. It sounds like he just discovered that flight time is shorter if you fly faster and even shorter if the distance is short," Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project, a Moscow-based NGO focusing on Russia's nuclear arsenal, remarked on Twitter on February 25. "And someone told him that 'hypersonic' means really fast." The Pentagon, meanwhile, suggested that Putin's tough talk may not have the effect he would seem to have intended. "Every time Putin issues these bombastic threats and touts his new doomsday devices, he should know he only deepens NATO's resolve to work together to ensure our collective security," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said, according to Reuters. 'Very Excited' Regardless of whether U.S. officials were counting ranges and speeds, at least one Russian was: Among Putin's dinner guests was Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of the state-owned media company Rossia Segodnya and the host of a weekly news show who told Sunday night viewers in March 2014 that Russia is the only country "capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash." Last Sunday, Kiselyov was at it again. Four days after Putin's address, his show listed U.S. facilities it said Moscow would target in retaliation for a nuclear strike, and he asserted with the help of on-screen visual aids including maps featuring bows of bending light meant to show missile trajectories that they could reach their targets in five minutes or less. Putin spent more time on domestic issues than on foreign policy in general or weapons in particular or missiles themselves in his speech. But one Twitter user remarked that in recent appearances, he "looks very excited talking about missiles and new weapons and bored when it concerns [the] economy." With good reason, perhaps. "Russia has a very strong incentive to bring up nuclear issues as often as possible, because when you look at Russia as a nuclear power, it is indisputably a superpower," Justin Bronk, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent defense and security think tank in Britain, told RFE/RL. "When you look at Russia on almost any other metric, it is, at best, a regional power with declining demographics, budgets, and huge numbers of problems," he said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/the-week-in- russia-boris-nemtsov-and-the-russia-that-might- have-been/29798253.html Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Germany May Extend Ban on Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Beyond Deadline - Reports Sputnik News 18:27 01.03.2019 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The German government is considering the possibility of extending its halt on arms sales to Saudi Arabia for two weeks, with the current deadline set for March 9, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday, citing sources. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz have agreed to extend the freeze in arms deliveries to Riyadh, the outlet said. Earlier in the day, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that Berlin would make a decision regarding the halt on weapons shipments sometime in March. Germany banned weapon sales to Saudi Arabia last fall following the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on February 20 that future decisions on whether to deliver arms to Saudi Arabia would depend on how the conflict develops in Yemen. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OPCW Releases Doc Claiming Chlorine Used in Attack in Syria's Douma Last Year Sputnik News 20:32 01.03.2019(updated 21:11 01.03.2019) According to the documents published by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), chlorine was used in an allehed chemical attack in Syria's Douma in April 2018. According to the OPCW, its Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) conducted a number of on-site visits and "analyzed a range of inputs including witness testimonies, environmental and biomedical samples analysis results, toxicological and ballistic analyses, and additional digital information from witnesses." "Regarding the alleged use of toxic chemicals as a weapon in Douma, the evaluation and analysis of all the above-referenced information gathered by the FFM provide reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on April 7, 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine," the report said. In April 2018, the US, UK and France accused Damascus of a chemical attack on the Syrian city of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus. As an "evidence" they cited video provided by the White Helmets, who used footage that showed residents of the Douma, including children, whom doctors allegedly were trying to save from the effects of toxic substances. The United States, backed by France and the United Kingdom, promptly fired over 100 missiles on what they called the Syrian government's chemical weapons sites without waiting for the results of a probe conducted by the OPCW. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that the claims about the alleged use of toxic chemicals by the Syrian government were aimed at justifying external military action. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrians 'exposed to brutality every day' as thousands continue fleeing ISIL's last stand 1 March 2019 - In eastern Syria, 13,000 people have arrived at a protection camp in just the last week, after fleeing fighting in the last ISIL extremist stronghold in Deir-Ez-Zor governorate, the UN's emergency coordination office, OCHA, said on Friday. Nine in 10 of the arrivals at Al Hol camp in Al Hassakeh governorate were women and children, spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva. "Many of them have arrived exhausted, hungry and sick," he said "Approximately 45,000 people have fled the Hajin and Al-Baghouz area of Deir-ez-Zor and arrived in the camp, since December. Those who are fleeing have told us of a desperate situation for civilians in the area they are fleeing from. It's affected by hostilities - civilians are being killed and injured on a daily basis - there's large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure and shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities." Mr. Laerke also reported that 84 people, mainly children under-five, died either on their way to the settlement or shortly after arriving at the Al-Hol camp. And according to aid teams there, 175 children have been hospitalized owing to complications from severe acute malnutrition. The UN and partners are responding to growing needs at Al-Hol camp and surrounding areas by providing life-saving assistance to all new arrivals, along with food, water, shelter, and warm clothes and blankets. 'Staggering' levels of need prevail: new UN humanitarian assessment Elsewhere in Syria, a desperate humanitarian situation prevails, despite a reduction in violence in many parts of the country over the past year. "With the crisis in its eighth year, staggering levels of need persist for people throughout Syria," according to OCHA's Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019 for Syria. Published ahead of a conference co-chaired by the European Union (EU) and the UN in Brussels from 12 to 14 March, the OCHA document states that 11.7 million people need help inside the country. including 6.2 million who are internally displaced. A further 5.6 million are refugees. "The population continues to look for safety in parts of the country still affected by ongoing hostilities with significant protection needs, new and protracted displacement, increased self-organized returns and the sustained erosion of communities resilience," it warns. For millions of Syrians "the crisis is far from over", it insists, with needs including food and livelihood assistance, health care, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene support. Education for children is also urgently required, with more than two million boys and girls out of school across the war-torn country. "People continue to be exposed to brutality every day," the Needs Overview cautions. "Women, children, adolescent girls, older people, widows and female-headed households, and people with disabilities, face distinct protection risks and have specific needs." In addition, it warns, more than 10 million people are estimated to live in areas contaminated by explosive hazards "of all kinds". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Final Assault on Last IS Syrian Enclave Underway By Jeff Seldin March 01, 2019 U.S.-backed forces in Syria moved to retake the very last patch the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate in Syria, advancing on the terror group's remaining fighters late Friday. The final assault, announced on Twitter by Syrian Democratic Force spokesman Mustafa Bali, began just a day after the lead commander said the northeast Syrian village of Baghuz would be liberated within a week. "After evacuation of thousands of civilians and our comrades who held hostage in #Baghouz, operation to clear the last remaining pocket of ISIS has just started at 18:00 this evening," Bali wrote. Another SDF official, speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity, said 15,000 troops were taking part in the operation, with the backing of U.S. and coalition airpower and artillery. "Our final assault on Baghuz began with intense fighting with [IS] terrorists," SDF spokeswoman Lilwa Abdullah told VOA separately. "But we will keep fighting until we break into their last defense line. ..." "There aren't any civilians left in Baghuz, so it's a matter of time before we take a full control of it," Abdullah added. The U.S.-led coalition declined to provide any update late Friday, saying it was too early to assess the operation's progress. SDF officials had been bracing for a difficult fight, saying their troops are likely to encounter some of the Islamic State's most dedicated and hardened fighters, aided by booby traps, improvised explosive devices and an extensive system of tunnels and caves. Sources close to SDF officials on the ground told VOA there is grave concern that an unknown number of IS fighters may be hiding below ground in a network that may extend for more than two kilometers. SDF and coalition officials had estimated more than a week ago that Baghuz held only about 300 IS fighters, as well as a few thousand civilians. But in the past week alone more than 13,000 civilians have fled the enclave. Some had been telling SDF officials as late as Thursday that the tunnels remained packed with civilians. The final assault on Baghuz also comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told U.S. soldiers that the final shred of the IS caliphate had already fallen. "We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it's 100 percent," he said while visiting with U.S. troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Thursday. "You saw what happened. Everybody saw. We have the whole thing," he added. "We did that in a much shorter period of time that it was supposed to be." The comments, which barely caused a stir among the troops in attendance, quickly drew a sharp rebuke on Twitter from a spokesman with the YPG, a Kurdish militia that has contributed to the SDF, who berated the president's "ignorance" regarding the battle front as "abhorrent." "Victory doesn't seem to be coming in next days," the YPG's Zana Amedi warned via Twitter. "ISIS is not simply laying down arms and surrendering," he added, using an alternate acronym for the terror group. "They're preparing to make a last stand which is making it harder to predict a quick ending." Despite having been reduced to a small patch of land, IS has held on by using civilians as human shields and by using the tunnels and caves to launch occasional counterattacks against SDF forces. "It is a very difficult and complex situation," coalition spokesman, Col. Sean Ryan, told VOA Tuesday. "The threat remains as long as Daesh (IS) fighters have not given up in Baghuz and have the will and weapons to fight." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US-Led Allies Finishing Off 'Caliphate' By Jamie Dettmer March 01, 2019 Islamic State militants are being as vicious at the end as they were at the start when they rolled out their caliphate. Gaining worldwide notoriety with macabre public-square slayings, beheadings of Westerners, murdering gay Syrians and Iraqis and enslaving Yazidi women, the militant group bragged their caliphate would rival the Abbasid empire of the Middle Ages, which lasted two centuries. Their's has lasted less than half-a-decade. In a bid to hold on to their last redoubt in the hardscrabble desert in eastern Syria the militants have kept to character, shunning the laws of war, readily sacrificing non-combatant lives, using as human shields women and children, nearly all of them their own wives and offspring. Islamic State once controlled 88,000 square kilometers of territory straddling Syria and Iraq and imposed its medieval-style rule on nearly eight million people. At its peak the militant group, which skewed the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, generated billions of dollars from extortion, oil-smuggling, theft and kidnapping. IS propagandists sought to legitimize their quasi-state by claiming false attributes of statehood, from minting coins to opening schools locals didn't want their kids to attend. For the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces battling IS the final assaults can't come fast enough. Because of the risk of non-combatant casualties, "we have been compelled to go cautiously and accurately," says Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the SDF. The caliphate's roll-back is being cited by U.S. and European officials as an example of successful Western intervention. The Kurds and allied tribesmen were mentored, supplied and advised primarily by the United States first by Barack Obama's administration, then by Donald Trump's. Despite the small investment in terms of American ground troops, never more than about 2500, the U.S. strategy of shaping a local proxy force and supporting it from the air worked better than many had expected. And it is already emerging as the default model for other challenging U.S. counter-terrorism missions, say U.S. officials. Gen. James Hecker, vice director of operations at the Pentagon, highlighted the benefits of using surrogate forces, before a congressional panel last month, arguing the strategy lessens "the need for large scale U.S. troop deployments," reduces the chances of being caught in quagmires and "fosters an environment where local forces take ownership of the problem." Among those who took ownership in eastern Syria were members of the Sha'itat tribe. In 2014, Islamic State militants massacred Sha'itat tribesmen who had the temerity to revolt. IS fighters shot, beheaded and crucified an estimated 900 of them, the bloodiest single atrocity committed by the terror group in Syria. As with other slaughter, IS gloried in the barbarity, recording the slayings on cellphones for social-media sharing. That massacre as well as others prompted a former British intelligence officer, Richard Barrett, to predict in a report for the Soufan Group, a security consultancy, that IS was sowing the seeds of the caliphate's demise, arguing eventually the barbarity of the militants would catch up with them and provoke a backlash. The Sha'itat tribesmen fighting alongside the Kurds in eastern Syria are part of that reaction. The caliphate may be crushed but it has left behind a high body count and added to the war trauma of Syria's vicious conflict. The legacy of studied cruelty will haunt the Levant for generations. But IS aims to add to the legacy. A pro-Islamic State online magazine, "Youth of the Caliphate," has bragged the group will survive. Other IS social-media channels have emphasized that the terror group's strategy is now to cause as much havoc as possible, using insurgency tactics honed in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's al-Qaida mentor, after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. A draining insurgency is already in full swing in neighboring Iraq. Everything and anything is fair game as far as Islamic State is concerned -- government targets, civilians, anyone who's considered a collaborator with local or central authorities. The group's aim, as in the past, is to provoke over-reaction and widen deep-seated sectarian rifts, which have only become more toxic in Syria's long-running conflict, to exploit the sense of dispossession many ordinary Sunni Muslims feel in Syria and Iraq, both of which are ruled by Shi'ite regimes, warn analysts and Western officials. "Today conditions in both countries are more favorable for the future resurgence of ISIS. The areas from northeastern Syria to Western Iraq lie in ruins, whole communities are devastated and the borders are too porous to be secured by central governments," according to Hassan Hassan, co-author of a book on the terror group. There are still pockets of IS fighters in territory controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, mainly in the vast Baida desert in Syria's southeast and in areas south of the capital Damascus. Others have been making their way to the northwestern province of Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. They're not being embraced by their rival jihadists, who also nurture dreams of establishing a caliphate. The al-Qaida group likely worries the Islamic State presence will invite more bombing from the Russians. Al-Qaida is enjoying a resurgence, benefiting from the humiliation of its competitor, say Western officials. Some of the thousands of IS fighters in Syria may end up joining al-Qaida for survival reasons, but analysts believe most won't. The majority of the IS survivors will carry out bombings like the blast on January 16 in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which killed 15 people, including four Americans, say U.S. and U.N. officials. Elsewhere, the group retains offshoots and adherents in Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Philippines and in Europe, too. But the hope of Western officials is that the demise of the caliphate will diminish the militant group's macabre appeal and at least reduce the lure of the group for European recruits. Nonetheless, the head of Britain's foreign intelligence arm, MI6, Alex Younger, cautioned Western policy-makers recently against a sense of triumphalism as IS is "returning to its natural state as an asymmetric, transnational terrorist organization." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Thousands of Syrian Civilians Fleeing IS Stronghold By Lisa Schlein March 01, 2019 Thousands of civilians continue to flee Baghuz as Islamic State militants make a final stand to retain control of their last stronghold in Syria, the United Nations reports. The U.N. Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs says increasing numbers of people are managing to escape Baghuz in rural Deir-ez-Zor, but at a very heavy price. In the last week, around 13,000 people most of them women and children have arrived at al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, according to OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke. He says many are exhausted, hungry and sick. "Those who are fleeing have told us of desperate situations for civilians in the area they are fleeing from," Laerke said. "Civilians are being killed and injured on a daily basis. There is large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure and shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities." The road from Baghuz to the al-Hol refugee camp is long and arduous. Laerke says more than 84 people have lost their lives either en route to the camp, or shortly after arriving. He says two-thirds of these deaths are children under the age of 5. Another 175 children have been hospitalized for severe acute malnutrition, he reports. Laerke says the camp is increasingly overcrowded, noting that approximately 45,000 people have arrived since December and more arrive every day. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Briefs Turkey on Plans to Withdraw Troops From Syria by Summer - Reports Sputnik News 02:50 02.03.2019 ANKARA (Sputnik) - Washington has informed Ankara about its intention to pull out US troops from Syria by the summer of this year, noting, however, that the schedule can be adjusted depending on the situation on the ground, Turkish media reported on Friday. According to the Anadolu news agency, Washington made the announcement during the meeting of the Turkey-US joint working group aimed at coordinating the US troop withdrawal from Syria. The meeting was focused on the situation in the northern Syrian city of Manbij and Syrian territories to the east of the Euphrates River, the media outlet specified. The Turkish side firmly opposed a possible transfer of former US bases to militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Turkey, after the US withdrawal, saying that they either must be destroyed or handed over to the Turkish military, the news agency added. Ankara also reporedly informed the US side that if Washington withdrew troops without a mutual agreement with Turkey in line with its security concerns, it would reserve its right to self-defense. Ankara claims that Kurdish militias operating in the north of Syria pose a threat to Turkey's security. In January 2018, Turkey launched a military operation in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin against the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which is regarded by Turkey as an affiliate of the PKK. Last December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara was ready to launch another offensive against the Kurdish militia, in then Kurdish-controlled Manbij, however, the Turkish leader later said that the operation had been postponed following his phone conversation with Trump, who announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria after the call. Damascus, in turn, categorically opposes the presence of either the Turkish or US military on Syrian territories to the east of the Euphrates River. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Shell will join a consortium comprising Air Liquide, Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), Enerkem and the Port of Rotterdam in an effort to build Europes first advanced waste-to-chemicals facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Shell will become an equal equity partner in the proposed commercial-scale waste-to-chemicals (W2C) project, which will be the first of its kind in Europe to make valuable chemicals and bio-fuels out of non-recyclable waste materials. The consortium, which has set up a dedicated joint venture company, has already undertaken extensive preparatory work, covering detailed engineering and the permitting process. It aims to take the final investment decision (FID) later in 2019 as it pursues the development work and finalizes the selection of an engineering and procurement contractor (EPC). The planned facility will convert up to 360,000 tons of waste into 220,000 tons (270 million liters) of bio-methanola chemical building block that is used to manufacture a broad range of everyday products, as well as being a renewable fuel. This represents the total annual waste of more than 700,000 households and represents a CO 2 emission savings estimated at about 300,000 tonnes when compared to the production of methanol from fossil fuels. The project is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy, which has agreed to develop mechanisms and regulation that will help bring this new technology to full scale to support the low-carbon transition of the Dutch economy. The waste-to-chemicals project is also supported by the City of Rotterdam, the Province of Zuid-Holland and InnovationQuarter, the regional development agency. The facility will be built within the Botlek area of the Port of Rotterdam using Enerkems proprietary technology, and will convert non-recyclable mixed waste, including plastics, into syngas and then into clean methanol for use in the chemical industry and for the transportation sector. This is a departure from the reality of today, where methanol is generally produced from natural gas or coal. The plant will have two production lines, or twice the input capacity of Enerkems commercial plant in Edmonton, Canada. It will benefit from the state-of-the-art infrastructure available within the Port of Rotterdam, as well as synergies with Air Liquide (large industries) for supplying the required oxygen and with Nouryon, for the hydrogen raw material. The current aim is that the facilitys sustainable methanol output will be purchased by Nouryon and Shell. GREENWICH Several major capital projects cleared a big hurdle Friday when the Board of Estimate and Taxations Budget Committee gave them its endorsement. At an all-day meeting, the committee voted to recommend a 2019-20 municipal budget of $443.4 million for the full BET to consider. As part of that budget, the committee approved funds for work on a proposed new northwest fire station, municipal ice rink and Eastern Greenwich Civic Center. A $100,000 allocation would allow the town to evaluate possible sites in the Northwest corner of town for a combined station for the Greenwich Fire Department and Greenwich Emergency Medical Services. First Selectman Peter Tesei and area residents have pushed hard for the station for years, saying that section of town is vulnerable without it. Members of the Representative Town Meetings District 10, which covers Northwest Greenwich, attended the budget votes and were happy with the decision. Louisa Stone called it a step in the right direction. In the past, the RTM has voted down a Northwest fire station, but District 10 pushed through a sense of the meeting resolution last fall to bring the project back to life. Stone said she and other members of the district were happy to see how much support it got and we will continue to talk to our friends. I think everyone understands its a matter of life safety, she said of the proposed fire station. A motion from committee member Leslie Tarkington to remove the fire station was defeated without a second. Tarkington said she made the motion to open a conversation about the project and that she wasnt necessarily planning to vote against it. I felt that it merited further discussion, she said. The committee gave its approval without debate to $250,000 to begin design work on a new municipal ice rink to replace the Dorothy Hamill Rink in Byram, which is in poor condition. Design work for a new Eastern Greenwich Civic Center would also be covered by a proposed $300,000 allocation signed off on by the Budget Committee. A public hearing on the municipal budget is scheduled for March 26. The full BET will vote on it on March 28. It then goes to the Representative Town Meeting, which will hold the final vote in May. The $8.4 million allocation for planned work at Greenwich High Schools Cardinal Stadium was reduced to $1.3 million by a motion from committee Chair Leslie Moriarty. The project would only focus on new bleachers for the stadium. Budget Committee member Michael Mason recalled a presentation about the bleachers that showed broken bolts and bleacher pieces before emergency repairs were done. Mason agreed that the bleacher project was urgent, even though the other planned improvements for Cardinal Stadium were still in flux. Budget Committee member Jeff Ramer said he was concerned about spending money on the bleachers with other improvements still to come. He said he didnt want the work on the bleachers to be discarded in larger work. Thats not the intent here, Moriarty said. The Board of Education is looking to give us a better number and determine what they can and cant do moving forward. Moriarty said the $1.3 million figure might change as they await more information and discussions with the Board of Education. Ramer said he would be looking for more information at that meeting before he decided whether to support the cut. The committee approved recommending a $100,000 cut to the amount spent on salaries by the Greenwich Police Department. The cut is only a recommendation, but if it is approved by the full BET and the RTM, Chief of Police James Heavey would decide how to implement the cut. Ramer, who made the cut, said that based on conversations the committee had with Heavey and the police administration, the police department could make up the savings by reducing the hours for the Marine Division by ending operations at 8 p.m. each night, instead of 11 p.m. This is a department that has a $22.5 million budget, and Im only trying to create a little bit of economy within the department, Ramer said. Im reasoning that $100,000 can be covered out of the $22.5 million budget without too much stress. While it initially looked like the motion would fail, Mason ended up abstaining, allowing it to pass with Moriarty and Ramer voting in favor and Tarkington voting against it. Mason said he did not support the cut but wanted it to go before the full BET for further debate. At the full BET meeting, Mason said he would make a motion to restore the $100,000. Tarkington said she didnt support the motion but said, There are some messages here that departments really need to be more mindful about so they can contribute to this financial hurdle were facing. She said that the BET had too much autonomy and that town departments needed to do more to work together. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com GREENWICH Three men now in their late 40s are suing the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich for sexual victimization they say they endured from a young counselor there in the 1970s and 80s. A lawsuit filed by the three men in Superior Court, using pseudonyms to protect their identities, claims a member of the Boys Club, who later supervised them, subjected them to sexual assaults for years, hundreds of times, in the case of one youngster, John Doe. The alleged abuse included anal penetration, among other forms of sexual assault, on the grounds of Boys Club on Horseneck Lane, in basement areas and elsewhere, according to the lawsuit. The suit says the counselor, who it names as Andrew Atkinson, was responsible for a pattern of sexual abuse from 1976 to 1984. A lawyer representing the men, Phil Russell, said Atkinson was at large, somewhere in the northeast. Atkinson is not being sued. Efforts to locate him or contact him were not successful. The statute of limitations for a criminal case has expired, according to Greenwich police, who reviewed the litigation involving the Boys Club this fall. The statute of limitations for a civil suit was soon to expire, leading the three men to come forward and initiate a lawsuit. Speaking on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club, George Fox, the chairman of the board, said, We are taking it very seriously. The club and its legal representatives would work through the legal process, he said. Fox said the leadership of the club was trying to understand what the situation was. As to the contemporary guidelines and security procedures in place, Fox said, We have reviewed the current protocols at the club, and we have no issue. He noted the incidents described in the lawsuit took place before the current staff was in place. The lawsuit contends that the Boys Club (which later changed its name to the Boys and Girls Club) was negligent in allowing the sexual assaults to occur. At no point did Defendant through its employees, agents, volunteers, apparent agents and/or representatives, discover the sexual abuse or seek to prevent it, despite having reasonable opportunity to do so, the lawsuit contends. It says the club lacked policies, procedures, or guidelines to protect youngsters under its care, and supervision was inadequate. The plaintiffs in the case were subject to extensive permanent emotional and psychological injuries arising directly from the physical injury and invasion, the lawsuit says. Another plaintiff, John Roe, allegedly was molested, fondled and groped when he was around 6. At a later age, 11, he was subjected to oral sex and other forms of abuse, according to the lawsuit. Plaintiff John Smith was was approximately 9 or 10 years when he allegedly was groped by the counselor, and later subjected to oral sex, the suit maintains. Court papers state the alleged victimizer was approximately 10 years old in 1975, around five years older than the plaintiffs. He became a member of the Keystone Club, whose members were often placed in supervisory roles over the younger Boys Club members, according to the lawsuit. Affidavits filed in the case state the three plaintiffs have all battled with drug and alcohol abuse, and those troubles are directly related to ... sexual abuse. The Boys and Girls Club is legally liable for the incidents described in the lawsuit, said Russell. The state Legislature changed the laws around the statute of limitations for child sexual assault cases in 2002, but the new laws were not applied retroactively to incidents in previous decades. The Police Department encourages people who have been victimized to contact a special hotline, the Sexual Assault Hotline, at 203-329-2929. The legal response to the lawsuit from lawyers representing the Boys and Girls Club, filed this month, denies a number of the allegations. In other instances, the defense lawyers state individual allegations lack sufficient information as to their truth. No dollar amount in damages, or other forms of compensation, were specified by the lawsuit. Judge Kenneth Povodator has been handling the case in Superior Court in Stamford. rmarchant@greenwichtime.com GREENWICH Students of the Ailey School moved seemlessly from ballet to jazz, West African to modern dance, celebrating a new culture with each graceful step. The performance Friday culminated a week of programming at Greenwich High School for Diversity Awareness Week, which was themed Reimagining Our World: a World of One. The weeklong series was funded by the GHS PTA and organized by the Diversity Awareness Club. It kicked off Monday with a discussion of the movie Hidden Figures and a dance presentation by the Pender-Keady School of Irish Dancers. During the week, students had the opportunity to hear testimonies from LGBT volunteers for the Stonewall Speakers, listen to a representative from the Center for Immigrant Opportunity, hear about conflict resolution in Israel by a speaker for nonprofit Jersualem U, among many other topics. Sophomore Tiffany Zheng screened the movie Hidden Figures, and attended the dance performance Friday. Students were engaged and they had a lot to say about diversity, she said. The performance by the Ailey School was beautiful, and a unique way to represent diversity, she said. Zheng already has ideas for next year. I really hope we include a lot more student-directed discussions, a great way for students to take the reins, she said. Likewise, president Anna Braunsteins favorite presentation was the Alvin Alley Dance Company. Seeing such a diverse group of passionate individuals come together and create something so incredible like the performance they give is really inspiring and special, she said. She and co-president Stevie Braverman experienced their last Diversity Awareness Week, and seeing their school come together to validates the work that they have been doing, she said. I hope next year our school shows as much enthusiasm and excitement towards this week and the message of this week as they have the past four years, she said. I have no doubt that will the case. Mr. Charles is an incredible mentor and does such an amazing job putting on this week. He really cares about this message and with the support and help of the club members, Im sure next year will be just as incredible as this year was. jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com As of February 28, Bixby was updated on the Galaxy S8, S9 and Galaxy Note8 and Note9 devices running on Samsung's One UI (Android 9) allowing the dedicated Bixby button to be remapped to a custom action or app. You still cant totally disable Bixby, but you can at least set Bixby to a double press so that it wont be as easy to accidentally trigger. You can then set the single-press to open any app or set a custom action that you wish such as calling a contact or toggling Wi-Fi. It was discovered, however, that Samsung blacklisted certain apps, specifically competing voice assistants, from being mapped to the Bixby key. This included Amazon Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant. Within a day, XDA-Developers managed to come up with a solution that would let you remap the key to work with Google Assistant and Cortana, circumventing Samsungs blacklist method. Amazon Alexa doesnt work with this method. A script was exported from an automation app called Tasker and can be side-loaded as an APK. All you need to do is side-load the script APK and select it as the Bixby single-press action. This will prompt a voice command and in the Complete action using screen, choose the Google Assistant or Cortana if you wish. Theres another method that involves setting a Quick Command manually to trigger an open assistant command. You can try this or the above methods by checking out XDA-Developers write up at the Source link. Source PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann spoke Thursday at the Mississippi Maritime Museum general membership meeting. His message: the preservation the the maritime industry bodes well for keeping homegrown products in the state and Mississippi Gulf Coast. ''I fully support the efforts of this community-based board to create this museum," said Hosemann. " Weve been building ships in Jackson County for 300 years and the sea-going tradition here is stronger than ever today. We really must make every effort to preserve our history here in Mississippi." Museum board president Perry Thompson and fund raising chairman Robert Hardy brought those in attendance up to date on the museums developmental progress. Over $600,000 has already been raised, with the probability of incoming grants and state funding bringing an expectation of the facility to reality in the next couple of years. Thompson also stated the Marine Activities Center is already well-used and has been the site of an ongoing maritime history lecture series. Those interested in assisting in the fundraising efforts of the museum can visit the Get On Board site for more information. Haiti - Politic : Under Secretary David Hale's visit unappreciated by the opposition Friday, Under Secretary David Hale travelled to Haiti to discuss with political, private sector, and civil society leaders the path forward on dialogue and economic growth. He urged the government of Haiti to develop a long-term strategy to strengthen institutions, improve good governance, and fight corruption. "Haitians have suffered for far too long from political instability, economic mismanagement, and corruption. Political stability will attract economic growth and foreign investment. We commend the Haitian National Police on its professional management, and will continue to provide support to enable the National Police to carry out its mandate. The United States government welcomes efforts to begin an inclusive and earnest dialogue, and looks forward to fair and transparent parliamentary and local elections this October, which will help channel change through the ballot box and not through violence." Following his meeting with David Hale, President Moise said "[...] We exchanged on the situation of the country. I appreciate the availability of the US Government to facilitate the search for an inter-Haitian solution to the socio-political crisis.".Prime Minister Ceant after meeting with the Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said "The discussions focused on the need to strengthen the process of institutionalization of democracy in Haiti through dialogue." A visit little appreciated by the radical opposition who is wary of the alleged position of conciliation of Washington, whose role in Haiti is marked by his interventionism and questions the result of this "American mediation" faced with the crisis, saying that David Hale's visit will not get things moving in the right direction. According to Me Andre Michel, one of the spokesmen for the radical opposition "[...] the Americans do not understand the Haitian political crisis" he criticizes Hale "for promoting dialogue, while the main obstacle is President Jovenel Moise [...]" affirming "Prezidan Jovenel Moyiz kwoke Sou yon pye mango ki nan lakou anbasad ameriken. Pep la dwe kontinye mobilizasyon an pou mete Jovnel Moyiz ate. The solution to the current political crisis is the resignation of Jovenel Moise." See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-27063-icihaiti-usa-undersecretary-david-hale-expected-in-haiti.html HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... A police officer shot dead Friday in the early hours of the night, in Fond Cochon, 2nd communal section of Roseau, Reginald Sainvil, an agent of the Departmental Unit of Maintenance of the Order (UDMO) in Grand'Anse, was killed by two bullets at the head during an operation aimed at the arrest of a dangerous bandit Raynald Auguste aka "Ti Rasta" actively sought. During this operation 3 individuals were arrested. The State owes more than $5 billion to oil companies The debt of the State (the Customs) to the oil companies, is today superior to 5 billion Gourdes which causes a serious problem of cash to these companies, which evoke the possibility for lack of sufficient liquidity, not to be able to import fuel in the country, if the State does not pay what it owes them. A cargo of fuel is docked, but is unpaid and can not be unloaded. In addition, the lack of diesel for some power companies has a negative effect on their production capacity, forcing the population to endure endless blackout... J-C Moise refuses any dialogue Jean Charles Moise, the leader of the radical opposition of the Pitit Dessalines platform, rejects any idea of dialogue with President Jovenel Moise. According to him, when we speak today of dialogue, it corresponds to the principle of sharing cake. He continues to demand the resignation of the Head of State, Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant and all parliamentarians, for according to him "that all forces of the Nation can allow the country to go on a new basis..." Two websites on the supply of goods and services in Haiti Productive information meeting with Kim Sassine, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti (CCIH) on the two digital platforms "Haiti Service Providers" (HSP) and Export Haiti. These two online databases, developed in collaboration with the Center for Investment Facilitation (CFI) aim to present to the world markets Haitian supply of goods and services and investment potential in the country. CCIHC encourages its members to register on both platforms in order to benefit from the opportunities that they are likely to generate. Haiti Service Providers : www.haitiserviceproviders.com Export Haiti Platform : www.exporthaiti.online See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-26377-icihaiti-economy-2-digital-platforms-for-the-promotion-of-haitian-products-and-suppliers.html Vandalism to the LEH Following the acts of vandalism on the premises of the Haitian State Lottery (LEH) in the morning of Monday https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27065-haiti-news-zapping.html , the Director of the Institution Margareth Fortune at a press conference said that the individuals who terrorized the employees of the lottery are militant employees close to the power in place. She invited the President and his Prime Minister to look into the situation of those activists whose salaries are in arrears. Food for the Poor alongside DINEPA Food for the Poor joined the efforts already made by the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27056-haiti-news-zapping.html to move into sustainable, with the construction of 3 large drilling in Cornillon Grand-Bois. The technical team of an engaged firm has already visited the site, Friday, March 1, 2019. HL HaitiLibre We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here BUSINESS students from The Henley College ran a tuck shop in Market Place to raise money for the treatment of a boy fighting cancer. Timi Avduli, Isabel Young, Manvir Sandhu, 16, and Matthew Allen, 17, set up a stall beneath a marquee in Falaise Square. They were selling crisps, chocolate bars, biscuits and soft drinks donated by Tescos Slough branch in aid of Oliver Warner, from Bramley, Hampshire. The five-year-old, whose family are friends with the teenagers lecturer Adam Stangroom, has a rare type of nerve cell cancer called neuroblastoma. The family need to raise 500,000 to take him to Spain and then America for two stages of treatment. Mr Stangroom also lives in Bramley and his wife Karen teaches at Olivers school where the couples son Daniel, nine, is also a pupil. Manvir said: This has been a really valuable exercise that has really boosted our confidence. Weve had to approach people in the knowledge that they may say no A few weeks earlier, another group of the colleges business students raised more than 300 by selling cakes donated by Waitrose, Patisserie Valerie and Patisserie Franco-Belge, of Henley. There are plans for a fund-raising raffle or tombola in Henley town centre later this month and possibly a pub quiz. To donate to the campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ cake-sale-for-oliver PUPILS at Nettlebed Community School are preparing to take part in a world record attempt dancing challenge for Comic Relief. The school is one of many across the country which will taking part in Red Nose Day on Friday, March 15 by dancing to David Bowie and Mick Jaggers Dancing In The Street. The idea is to get as many people as possible to join the challenge at 9am on the day, each paying 1 to Comic Relief. Organisers hope to raise millions for charity as well as setting a new Guinness world record. On Tuesday, actor Simon Williams visited the school, where his eight-year-old granddaughter Rosie Chambers is a pupil, to give the children some encouragement. He played the song on speakers and led pupils and teachers in a dance on the playground. Williams said: We are trying to get all the schools in South Oxfordshire to take part in Dancing in the Street on Red Nose Day. Everyone will have to dance for four minutes to break a world record and they will all donate 1. Its about having fun, dancing and helping all the underprivileged people who need help, both here in England and abroad. The children all looked like they enjoyed it and somewhere in there was my granddaughter. Headteacher Bethany Greenwood said: We are delighted to be taking part and supporting a charity which matches all our values at Nettlebed. This is the second charity activity we will be doing this month after a fund-raising day for Help for Heroes on March 7. For more information visit www.comicrelief.com Reading FC are offering fans the chance to buy a limited edition red kit for Comic Relief. All sizes will be available for just 5. Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load James Redmond told gardai he felt really ashamed of his behaviour. A neighbour invited into the home of a 92-year-old woman stole her pension from her handbag when she went to the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. James Redmond (25) had a drug debt and was allegedly being threatened. Redmond later told gardai he felt "really ashamed" of his behaviour. He recently received a threeyear sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after mugging the same neighbour for her pension. Judge Anne Watkin imposed an eight-month sentence, saying Redmond's behaviour was "horrendous" and "particularly nasty". Judge Watkin said Redmond did not use violence but what he did was a terrible abuse of trust. The defendant, of Dun- edin Close, Monkstown Grove, Monkstown, admitted stealing 240 on January 12 last year. A garda told Dun Laoghaire District Court that Redmond was in the injured party's house as a guest when she went into the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. Culprit The woman's handbag was in the sitting room and Redmond took the money from it, the garda said. The court heard the woman had just collected her pension. She later reported the theft to gardai. She knew Redmond was the culprit as there was no one else in the house. Gardai later spoke to the defendant, who promised to repay the money but never did. Defence solicitor Ronnie Lynam said the theft was "opportunistic". Mr Lynam said Redmond had a drug problem at the time and had built up a drug debt. He was under threat and needed money. The lawyer said Redmond made admissions to gardai, telling them he felt "really ashamed" of what he had done. The court heard Redmond had 11 previous convictions and had been jailed last month for three years. In that matter, the same neighbour had just collected her pension and had arrived home last March 9. Redmond was waiting for her and grabbed her bag from behind, causing her to fall. He took all the cash in her bag - 487 - and ran off. The woman was found lying on her back when gardai arrived at her home. operators of the country's top tourist attraction must pay compensation after an unsuccessful job applicant was asked at interview how she would settle into a "young" workplace. The Workplace Relations Commission ordered the Guinness Storehouse to give Eileen Owens 2,000 after it ruled the question discriminated against her on the grounds of age. Adjudication officer Roger McGrath said there was no doubt Ms Owens was asked how she would settle into a "young" workplace. "I can think of no reason why this question would be asked except to find out the complainant's view of her ability to carry out the role of financial assistant, given her age," he said. "Whether conscious or unconscious, this question indicates age was a factor in the selection process, with a bias towards younger candidates." Ms Owens was one of 136 people applying for the job and nine were called for interview. Mr McGrath said a younger candidate was successful, and he found Ms Owens had been treated less favourably. He rejected the Guinness Storehouse contention that the question did not indicate an intention to discriminate on age and that Ms Owens was reading too much into a few words. Principle Ms Owens said she lodged her claim as a matter of principle and to prevent it happening in the future. She said she was asked: "We are a very young team here. How would you feel about that?" Ms Owens said the interviewer prefaced her comment with: "I probably shouldn't be asking this, but am going to ask it anyway." She was taken aback by it but answered as best she could, her reply along the lines of: "I'm young at heart, I don't look my age. I have a 24-year-old daughter. I am experienced at work and work well with all colleagues, regardless of age." She said she had found it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the interview, in disbelief at the question she had been asked. Ms Owens added that she could not understand why the Human Resources Business Partner on the panel had not intervened. She felt aggrieved at how the interview was conducted and said it left her apprehensive at other interviews. After Ms Owens failed to get the post, the Guinness Storehouse told her she was "over-qualified" for the position but would be positive towards her for any future, more senior financial roles. The firm denied it had discriminated against her. It denied the question was put to Ms Owens at all and further denied that any discriminatory ground informed the firm's thinking and decision-making. The firm also denied that any question was put to Ms Owens with any intention of being discriminatory on age grounds. The interviewer accepted she had asked a question using the word "young" in reference to the culture of the workplace. She denied she had said: "I shouldn't be asking this." Asked what she meant by young, the interviewer said she should have just said "fast-paced". South Africa: President heads to Eswatini for working visit President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday undertake a working visit to Mbabane, in the Kingdom of Eswatini, for discussions with His Majesty King Mswati III. South Africa and Eswatini have cordial bilateral relations that are informed by cultural affinities, geographical proximity and historical ties dating back to the struggle against colonialism and apartheid in South Africa, said the Presidency in a statement. The structured bilateral relations between the two countries are conducted through the Joint Bilateral Commission for Cooperation (JBCC), which was established on 20 December 2004 and is convened at a ministerial level. Furthermore, both countries have signed 21 bilateral agreements, which serve as legal instruments for cooperation in areas such as cross-border movement of people and goods, trade and investment, health, defence and policing, among others. South Africa is the largest trading partner of Eswatini. Total bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to R33.4 billion in 2017, with exports from South Africa amounting to R 17.1 billion, while imports from the Kingdom reached a value of R16.2 billion. The President will be accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu and State Security Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-03-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A Co Meath charity worker has said she is willing to go to prison after refusing to pay a fine imposed by the courts for failing to fill in her census form because she was out helping the homeless. Ashling Lowe, of Mornington Way, Trim, was given eight months to pay a fine of 150 last June after she was convicted at Navan District Court for failing to provide the information on the Census of Population form in April 2016. She was one of seven cases nationally brought before the courts by the director general of the Central Statistics Office (CSO). fate The mum-of-one is now awaiting her fate after receiving a warning notice on February 18. The letter states: "You are hereby given notice that if you fail to make payment in full, enforcement processing will be commenced within 10 working days and you will be given notice to appear in court." Ms Lowe, who is still refusing to pay the fine, may be given a term of imprisonment or a community service order to the maximum of 240 hours. The court might also order that the fine be deducted from her salary or pension or move in a receiver to take possession of her property to the value of the fine. The letter says: "The court will impose one of the following orders if you fail to act: an attachment of earnings order (for deductions to be made from your salary or pensions); a recovery order for the collection of the fine by the receiver; a community service order; or an order committing you to a term of imprisonment." Ms Lowe, who founded the Meath Food Bank and delivers supplies to those in need in the county and in Dublin, argues that she complied with the rules of the census. "The census states that you must be in the house or in someone else's house on the night of the census. I wasn't. I was out feeding the homeless, who I firmly believe were enumerated incorrectly. "I feel I complied by the rules of the census as I was out that night, carrying out my civic duty in helping others and now I've a criminal conviction for it. "I'm not going to be bullied by any court. I believe that no enumerator took any information from any of the homeless rough sleepers who I spoke to on the night. "I think the homeless figures were massaged to make it look like there are less homeless than there are. They can lock me up, but they won't get one red cent from me. "I told the census enumerator that I went to Dublin every Sunday night with food for the homeless and that I'd happily bring the form with me and fill it in if I came across an enumerator counting the homeless. "I was all around Dublin that night and every rough sleeper I talked to said they hadn't seen anyone in relation to the census. "I felt that the enumerators weren't doing their job properly, and as a protest of moral conscience I decided not to comply with my legal requirement in order to highlight this issue. Gender "I believe there are a lot more homeless on the streets than were counted in that census. I'm told that if an enumerator for the homeless can't engage with them, they just record their gender." She added that she did not mind paying the fine - if it helped the homeless. "In my estimate, there are now over 11,000 homeless on the streets. I've no problem with a judge telling me to spend the 150 on food for the Meath Food Bank to deliver to the homeless on the streets." The CSO says Census 2016 figures recorded 6,906 homeless people, 73pc of whom are based in the Dublin region. It added that there were 123 rough sleepers counted on census night, 102 of whom were in Dublin. This count was carried out by the Dublin Regional Housing Executives. A 26-year-old north inner city criminal who was arrested last year over a suspected plot to murder The Monk's nephew Jonathan Hutch was jailed yesterday for seven years for three separate offences. Daniel Delaney, of Mariner's Port, Sheriff Street, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at Clonsilla Inn, Clonsilla, on January 8, 2017. He also pleaded guilty to burglary at Siam Thai, Malahide, on May 21, 2017, and to burglary at Monkstown Rugby Club on September 20, 2017. Delaney is one of a number of dangerous north inner city criminals who have aligned themselves with the Kinahan cartel. Hiding He was arrested in the early hours of last March 14 near Gorey, Co Wexford, with another Kinahan-aligned north inner city criminal - a feared 28-year-old thug - in an intelligence-led operation into the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud. Gardai from Enniscorthy backed up by members of the Armed Response Units from the southern and eastern regions arrested Delaney in what they believe was an imminent hit on Hutch. It is understood Hutch had been hiding out in a property in the north Co Wexford village of Kilmuckridge in the weeks before armed gardai made their arrests. One of the men was caught in a field at Millands, Gorey, at 12.45am after being seen leaving a car nearby. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded two firearms and ammunition. The other man was arrested nearby in a follow-up search. Delaney and his pal were released without charge after being questioned for several days at Enniscorthy and Gorey Garda Stations. However, Delaney now faces being behind bars for at least five years after yesterday's sentencing hearing. Delaney has 128 previous convictions, including for burglary, robbery and theft. The court heard yesterday that he has come to further garda attention since committing his most recent offences. Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced him to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment for the earliest burglary, one-and-a-half years for the second and three years for the third, to run consecutively. The judge suspended the final 12 months of the eight-year total sentence on condition that Delaney keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a per- iod of two years on his release. The court heard that while on bail for the burglary at Clonsilla Inn, Delaney burgled a Chinese restaurant in Malahide and 3,000 worth of alcohol was stolen. He committed another burglary, at Monkstown Rugby Club, while on bail for the previous offences, during which 7,690 worth of damage was done to the premises. Judge Sheahan said the fact that two of the burglaries had been committed while on bail demonstrated "absolutely no regard for the rule of law". She said bail ought not to be viewed as an opportunity to commit further burglaries. Brazen The judge added that the fact Delaney had done nothing to hide himself from CCTV only indicated the "brazen nature" of his criminality. Judge Sheahan said the aggravating factors were the seriousness of the offending, the fact that he was on bail when he committed two burglaries and his previous convictions for similar offending. She said the mitigating factors were his plea of guilty, having a very young child and the fact that he had been a "positive contributor to society" from 2014 until 2017. Among Delaney's most serious past convictions was a four-year sentence he received in July 2002 for the violent robbery of a taxi driver in which a mobile phone, wallet and cash were taken at Lisburn Street on October 13, 2011. Nicola Kenny died when a lorry drove into the back of her parked car A coroner has appealed to commercial vehicle operators to comply with tachograph safety guidelines. A tachograph system is a piece of equipment that records a driver's speed and distance covered and helps comply with EU rules, including how much rest a driver has taken. Paul Morris made the plea after hearing harrowing details surrounding the death of a young mum travelling to hospital to see her sick newborn baby. The Tipperary coroner was told that Nicola Kenny (28) died when a Volvo lorry veered on to the hard shoulder and hit the parked car in which she was travelling. Driver fatigue was said to be a contributory cause. Mr Morris said Ms Kenny's death underlined the consequences of driver fatigue, and appealed to commercial vehicle operators to comply with tachograph safety guidelines. Expand Close The crash scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The crash scene The lorry driver said he was distracted by a bout of sneezing, but fatigue was said to be a contributing factor in the tragedy. injUries The young Thurles mother died instantly from multiple injuries when the car in which she was a back-seat passenger was hit from behind. The car had pulled on to the hard shoulder to allow her take a phone call from a Dublin hospital to say her baby girl was fine and would be transferred to Tipperary from Temple Street Children's Hospital. Mr Morris said: "It really does highlight the truth of the Road Safety Authority (RSA) campaign, which is reflected in signs on the motorways that tiredness kills," he said. "If ever there was a case that highlights the truth of that, this is it. "Drivers in commercial vehicles with tachograph systems should abide by safe driving times and take the appropriate rest periods to avoid fatigue and danger to other road users." Ms Kenny had given birth in Tipperary to baby Lily Rose on September 4, 2016. However, the baby was seriously ill and was transferred to Dublin for specialist care.Ms Kenny - having just given birth - was unable to accompany the child. She and her mother, Ann, were travelling to Dublin the next day to see Lily Rose in a car driven by her aunt, Irene Whelan Slattery. Between Junctions 10 and 9 of the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway, Ms Kenny received a call from the hospital, and her aunt pulled on to the hard shoulder so the call could be heard. Seconds later, the car was hit from behind by the lorry. The car was driven down a grass embankment. Last May, Armagh lorry driver Ciaran McBride (34) pleaded guilty before Tipperary Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing death. prison He received an 18-month suspended prison sentence after the court heard that he was profoundly remorseful over what had happened. Garda Declan Corrigan said the car had pulled over on to the hard shoulder at about 12.25pm to allow Ms Kenny to take a phone call from Temple Street Children's Hospital. "The call was to tell Nicola that the baby was fine, and that there was no need to travel to Dublin," he said. A passing motorist, Pat Foley, told gardai he saw the lorry "slowly veering off the road and on to the hard shoulder". The trial judge said he believed driver fatigue was a contributing factor in the tragedy. Businessman Denis OBrien at court for the hearing this week Billionaire businessman Denis O'Brien lost his High Court action alleging he was defamed in articles in the Sunday Business Post. The jury, by a majority, dismissed the case yesterday afternoon. Mr O'Brien, who attended each of the 17 days of the case, was not in court for the verdict. He could face a 1m legal bill. After five hours of deliberations, the foreman told the judge they could not reach a unanimous decision on all the questions before them. Mr Justice Bernard Barton told them a majority decision was open to them. The jury resumed considering their verdict and returned to the courtroom just after 4pm. Mr O'Brien sued Post Publications over articles in March 2015 in which he was named as among the 22 biggest borrowers from Irish banks in 2008. Their focus was a confidential PricewaterhouseCoopers report given to the Government in November 2008 which looked at the exposure of Ireland's banks. Shredded Journalist Tom Lyons got a copy of the report from a source in early 2015 and shredded it after the articles appeared, to protect the source. Mr O'Brien claimed the articles, including some headlined "22 men and 26 billion" and "The Gang of 22" wrongly meant he was among a "gang" of 22 borrowers responsible for the destruction of the Irish banking system, defaming him and injuring his reputation. He also alleged malicious publication and sought punitive damages. The defendant denied the words meant what he alleged, denied defamation and malicious publication and pleaded "fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest". The jury found the articles did not mean that Mr O'Brien, as one of 22 borrowers, was among those borrowers most to blame for the destruction of the Irish banking system and the subsequent bail-out and was not a recipient of cheap and easy money in some way related to improper influence with bankers, politicians and civil servants. They also found the articles did not mean that, as a result of what was said about Mr O'Brien's borrowings, the PwC report was one which he wished to keep secret or top secret and had been suppressed. They found the articles meant the story of Mr O'Brien's borrowings and the amount was telling and disturbing but that they were not defamatory. The other questions asked whether the articles meant Mr O'Brien was "massively overstretched" and "faced huge financial pressure" in November 2008. The jury found they did, but that was not defamatory. Mr Justice Barton said the case was dismissed with an order for costs against Mr O'Brien which could run to 1m. The Bible has been under attack in the western world for over 200 years but never more intensely than today. These attacks have taken different forms and have come from many different corners of the academic world, from philosophers, to scientists, to textual critics. In the specialized world of archaeology the attacks have increased dramatically in the past 50 years. Once a specialization filled with Bible believing individuals, the field of archaeology is now overrun with atheists and skeptics, agnostics and those committed to the destruction of the Bible as a source of true historical information. These attacks on the Bible are a part of a sweeping movement in western culture. Spearheaded by academic elitists in the university and the public educational system, the news and popular media, and the entertainment industry, these revisionists cloak themselves with supposed objectivity, purity of motives, and the superiority of science over the "uninformed", "unscientific", religious community. They regularly mock those who question their world-view and their conclusions by name-calling and the worst forms of anti-Bible and anti-Christian propaganda. They have powerfully infected the church by turning Bible believing Christians against the very Scripture which is the foundation of truth and life in this world. Instead of contending for the Bible, Christian academics, pastors, and lay-persons are making egregious accommodations to these destroyers of faith and truth. In these days of intense spiritual battle, God has called ABR to step into the gap to contend for the truth and to assist the church in this critical hour. ABR is a non-profit ministry dedicated to demonstrating the historical reliability of the Bible and to give answers to questions being asked by believers and non-believers alike. We do this by using original archaeological fieldwork and research along with studies in other apologetic disciplines. We take on the bold claims of skeptics and critics. We challenge the bizarre anti-biblical propaganda that is purveyed upon the public as gospel through television and print media. We uphold the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is God's message for the salvation of all mankind! An uneasy holiday season began here in 1941. Then the war crashed in. Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who just saw the release of his latest film Luka Chuppi, has a few more interesting projects in hand. The actor will now be seen playing Janhvi Kapoors father in the Gunjan Saxena biopic and has already started shooting for the film in Lucknow. He will be essaying the role of Gunjans father Anuj Saxena. Both Janhvi and Pankaj will continue shooting in Lucknow until the first week of March. Pankaj will then return to Mumbai after wrapping up his first schedule. Being directed by Sharan Sharma, the film is based on the life of first female Indian Air Force combat pilot and first female Shaurya Chakra recipient Gunjan Saxena, who played a significant role in picking the injured soldiers during the 1999 Kargil War. When asked about his role, the actor said, I am having a lot of fun while shooting for the film. Janhvi is a very sincere and well behaved actress. She respects me a lot and I too respect her for the sincerity and commitment towards her work. Sharan is a very talented director and is well versed with his craft. Its an opportunity working under Dharma Productions. They leave no stones unturned to get the right things on board. On the other hand, child actor Riva Arora who played late actor Sridevis daughter in her last film Mom, will be seen playing the young Gunjan in the film. Also read: Meanwhile, Pankaj will be seen in a more prominent role in the second season of his hit web series Sacred Games. He had flown with cast members Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui to South Africa for the shoot. He will also be reprising the role of Kaleen Bhaiya in the second season of another web series Mirzapur. Follow @htshowbiz for more An online petition has been started in Pakistan seeking the removal of actor Priyanka Chopra as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, reported The News International. The petition tags UN and UNICEF as well. The petition has been started by people miffed with the actor for congratulating the Indian Air Force after air strikes across the Line of Control. Pertaining to actors tweet Jai Hindi #IndianArmedForces after the Indian Air Force conducted multiple air strikes in Pakistans Balakot, the petition argues that the actor cheered for war, despite being the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Priyanka Chopra was made the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 2016. Also read: When Kartik Aaryans mother cried after she saw him kissing onscreen War between two nuclear powers can only lead to destruction & death. As goodwill ambassador of UNICEF, Priyanka Chopra was supposed to stay neutral & peaceful but her tweet in favour of Indian arm forces after they invaded Pakistan airspace shows otherwise. She doesnt deserve this title anymore, the petition reads on website Avaaz.org. At the time of filing this report, the petition had received 2,200 signatures. On February 26, twelve days after the Pulwama attack, India had launched an anti-terror strike against a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistans Balakot, in which a large number of terrorists were killed by the Indian Air Force, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. (With inputs from ANI) Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Shah Rukh Khan has tweeted in celebration of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans return to India, after his plane was shot down in a skirmish by Pakistani fighters. Shah Rukh wrote on Twitter, a few hours before the pilots return, There is no better feeling than Coming back Home, for home is the place of love, hope & dreams. Ur bravery makes us stronger. Eternally grateful. #WelcomeBackAbhinandan. There is no better feeling than Coming back Home, for home is the place of love, hope & dreams. Ur bravery makes us stronger. Eternally grateful. #WelcomeBackAbhinandan pic.twitter.com/NFTRINu6Mw Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 1, 2019 Other actors have also spoken about the pilots return. I am very happy that Captain Abhinandan is going to come back. He is coming back home safe. I can only imagine what his family must have gone through, Vidya Balan said at an event in Mumbai. Raveena Tandon, who was also present at the event, said, One gets hurt and it feels sad when you hear about war and that is not the scenario you want to give to your children in the future. The actor, however, stressed on the need to wipe out terrorism. There has to be war against terrorism. Terrorism has to stop because it is not a war between countries. It is very sad because there are good people everywhere in the world, you cant generalise people and say that this person is good and this person is bad. Terrorism is something very scary for our future generations and for the entire world. Terrorism has to be eliminated somehow, Raveen added. Also read: Bollywood stands by Abhinandan, cancels film promotion, events in the wake of Indo-Pak tensions The pilot will be released by Pakistan as a gesture of peace through the Wagah-Attari joint check-post on Friday, two days after he was captured across the Line of Control after shooting down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced on Thursday that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be freed on Friday after New Delhi sought his unconditional, immediate and unharmed release signalling a de-escalation in the spiralling tension with New Delhi. Wing Commander Abhinandan will be brought by Pakistani authorities from Rawalpindi to Lahore and handed over first to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) under rules of the Geneva Convention before being brought to the check post to return home. With agency inputs Follow @htshowbiz for more The entire nation welcomed Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he finally returned home on Friday. The IAF pilot was released by Pakistan after his plane crashed on the other side of the border. Several Bollywood celebrities were also among millions of Indians who welcomed the hero. Gully Boy actor Alia Bhatt tweeted, Our hero is home. #Abhinandan. Zero actor Anushka Sharma too called him a true hero and wrote on her Twitter handle. The entire nation welcomes you home Abhinandan. You are a true Hero, she tweeted. Our hero is home. #Abhinandan Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) March 1, 2019 The entire nation welcomes you home Abhinandan. You are a true Hero. Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) March 1, 2019 Kartik Aaryan, who saw the release of his film Luka Chuppi on the same day, also welcomed him home in his tweet that read, Salute to the Wing commander #AbhinandanVarthaman Nation is proud of you. Prayers for your safe return !! #Peace. Salute to the Wing commander #AbhinandanVarthaman Nation is proud of you. Prayers for your safe return !! #Peace Kartik Aaryan (@TheAaryanKartik) February 27, 2019 Why Cheat India actor Emraan Hashmi hailed him as his hero and wrote, Such calm and resilience in the face of adversity . Prayers for our brave pilot #AbhinandanVarthaman . Hope for his safe return. #AbhinandanMyHero. Such calm and resilience in the face of adversity . Prayers for our brave pilot #AbhinandanVarthaman . Hope for his safe return. #AbhinandanMyHero Emraan Hashmi (@emraanhashmi) February 28, 2019 Praising Abhinandans bravery, south star Mohanlal tweeted, Because this is where you belong. Welcome back to our Motherland Abhinandan. Salute to the bravery n valour. Jai Hind #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #AbhinandanVarthaman. Because this is where you belong. Welcome back to our Motherland Abhinandan. Salute to the bravery n valour. Jai Hind#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #AbhinandanVarthaman Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) March 1, 2019 Athiya Shetty, who made her debut with Hero, also wrote on her Twitter account, Welcome home #AbhinandanVarthaman words will never be enough, we have so much gratitude. Thank you for your bravery and selfless service. You are more than our hero, you are our hope. Jai hind. Welcome home #AbhinandanVarthaman words will never be enough, we have so much gratitude. Thank you for your bravery and selfless service. You are more than our hero, you are our hope. Jai hind. Athiya Shetty (@theathiyashetty) March 1, 2019 Also read: When Kartik Aaryans mother cried after she saw him kissing onscreen Earlier during the day, Ranveer Singh had spoken at the India Today Conclave about the Pulwama attack and Abhinandan. He had said, We are rejoicing today. I am very happy, I am elated. I was quite disturbed seeing the imagery that came out. I have been disturbed for a while actually. He had also tweeted to welcome the hero and hailed him for his bravery. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Kartik Aaryan just saw the release of his latest Bollywood film Luka Chuppi opposite Kriti Sanon. The film revolves around how their lives spiral out of control once they decide to have a live-in relationship. With live-in relationship as the subject of this film, the two actors were asked during the films promotions what they thought about such a relationship personally. While both the actors were forthcoming, there was a time when Kartik made his mother cry after kissing onscreen in Pyaar Ka Punchnama. The actor had revealed in the 2013 Biscoot TV interview that his mother was upset over his onscreen behaviour and broke into tears. He had added that his maternal grandmother was also very upset with him. One, I left my studies (for film industry) and second, I am doing such deeds on screen, he had said . The actor is very close to his mother Mala and occasionally shares pictures with her on his Instagram handle. The two had danced together during the success bash of his last film Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, the video of which went viral on the web. The actor was recently joined in by his parents and his sister at the screening of Luka Chuppi. Kartik Aaryan with his family at the screening of his film Luka Chuppi. Kartik is on a high professionally as Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety went on to become his biggest blockbuster and entered the Rs 100 crore club. The actor now has two more films in his kitty. Other than the just released Luka Chuppi, he has already begun shooting for Pati Patni Aur Woh with co-stars Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Panday. The actor had released his first look from the film while sporting a hairline moustache and posing in plain formals. He had captioned the picture on his Instagram handle, Miliye Lucknow ke Chintu Tyagi Ji se #Samarpit#AashiqMizaaj #Pati. Also read: Sonchiriya vs Luka Chuppi box office predictions: Kartik Aaryan film expected to dominate the dacoit drama According to a report in Pinkvilla, the actor has also confirmed that he will be starring in Imtiaz Alis next film. The film will reportedly be based in Punjab and Delhi. Simmba actor Sara Ali Khan is said to be in talks to play the female lead opposite him. Follow @htshowbiz for more For Robin Sharma, author, leadership expert, writing is a few things. He sees it as a craft and also a potent way to transform people. He wrote his latest book, The 5 AM Club for four years at multiple places, like Mauritius, Switzerland, Russia, Rome and it was quite a journey. Sharma who wrote the iconic The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari wanted to get every line perfect in his latest work. I wanted it to be a handcrafted book, the best book I have ever written; a piece of magic in peoples hands that really cause some transformation. The book changed me while I was writing it. It pushed me to places I had never gone to. It made me stronger. There are things in the book that are very disruptive in terms of ideas, he says. The Canada-based author was in India recently and in an exclusive interview, he talks about the most important hour of the day, how every individual is an artist and how joy is a GPS. Excerpts from the interview: In this day and age, people are really struggling with making peace with their lives, be it personal or professional and mindset has a significant role to play there. What is your advice on that? I pushed myself to come up with ideas that are disruptive in this context. I talk about mindset, heartset, healthset and soulset because you can have a great mind, great psychology, positive thinking but if your heart is full of anger, sadness, disappointment, you are not going to be great at work or in life. Healthset focuses on energy, vitality and longevity and soulset is important because that is about building intimacy with who you truly are, your bravery, your authenticity, your values. A lot of people are busy being busy these days. The starting point is the first hour of the day. The way you start your day determines the way it is going to unfold. Anyone who feels lost, disengaged, tired, unhappy understanding that from 5 am- 6 am, running the 20-20-20 formula, move, reflect, grow will fundamentally change the way the day unfolds because your neurobiology will be activated, you will have more energy, more focus, you will be living on your terms versus the societys terms. Getting your morning routine right is a complete gamechanger. Things like just breaking free from all types of digital distraction; there is a line in the book saying addiction to distraction is the death of your creative production. A lot of people are cyber zombies, they are spending their entire day checked into their phone versus being present in their world. Letting technology be your servant vs your God is really important to decide. There is a portion in the book that talks about joy being a GPS and part of that is making sure you fill your life with people fuelling your joy, in other words releasing the energy vampires in the dream stealers. If you have toxic people in your life, you will never be able to feel happy and productive. What is the 20:20:20 formula so powerful? 5 am to 6 am is the time of least distraction. Those hours before the sun, there is a quietude that brings magic to our days. The fear hormone is highest first thing in the morning. By exercising for the first 20 minutes, you are reducing your cortisol so how valuable is that? Secondly, by exercising, you are going to release dopamine which is the inspirational neuro-transmitter so you feel strong. Thirdly, you release Serotonin, the pleasure neuro-chemical, you feel happy. Fourthly, you build your focus. The first 20 minutes, your whole brain cognition is activated by that first 20 minutes pocket. The second 20 minutes which is reflection, in a world when very few people take time to think anymore, the 20 minutes 5:20-5:40 am writing, praying, meditating is going to work on your focus and groundedness in terms of how you live your day. The final 20 minutes which is learning, we feel happier when we feel we are growing. The 20:20:20 formula from 5 am to 6 am optimises your brain, gives you more energy and anchors you into your higher wisdom. By 6 am, you will feel fundamentally different. Is there a difference between how creative people work on their happiness compared to non-creative people? It is a great question and in that context, I would say everyone is an artist. Once I was in South Africa and there was a man cleaning the toilets and as I walked in, he said, Welcome to my office! The whole washroom was perfectly clean and he was smiling, sparkle in his eye. I asked him why is he so passionate about his work. He said, I am the ambassador of South Africa. I represent my country. I can lift them up with my inspiration. It is beautiful to come across someone like that. You come across people who do their work wonderfully, make you smile and you remember them from time to time. We are all artists. You dont necessarily have to be a journalist, a writer or an artist to find your creative expression. You can work in a bank and you can perceive it as an opportunity to express your creativity, to help people and enjoy your day. How would you want to be remembered? I would like to be remembered like someone who is a humble servant, as someone who woke people up to the possibilities within them that life caused them to forget. I would like to be remembered as someone who handcrafted their books, helped people and then I would also like to add that I dont really care if I am remembered. I would rather just use my life right now to do the things I want to do. One of the best examples is Vincent Van Gogh. Over the course of his lifetime, he produced 900 paintings. He sold one painting in his lifetime. He became famous after he died. It means that he was working with such love and devotion to art and not for the sake of fame. We are going to be dust one day so why not focus on being happy and fulfilled right now. Currently reading I am reading Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. I am also a big fan of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Whats next? I would love it if the 5 AM Club is made into a movie. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter It is hard to imagine a place in India where a vast majority of people live not having known the simple pleasures of taking a stroll down a road or taking a small road trip. Or indeed having a normal interaction with a neighbour or a friend. But this is the reality for most women in Kashmir who have lived for decades in abnormal conditions, thanks to the painful conflict which seemingly has no end. There is a disproportionately high level of mental problems among women in Kashmir, but that hardly comes out in the open, first due to ignorance and second due to the fact that such an admission would bring with it much stigma. Women have been recorded by researchers as having admitted in private to being taken to so-called peers and charlatans to cure them of treatable mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia. Such women are usually young women who live in fear of brutalisation either by the security forces or the militants, mothers waiting for their lost sons or husbands, or widows of soldiers or militants. There is just one mental health hospital in the state, an indication that this is not considered a very serious issue. I am speaking only of women here, but men too suffer the same mental health issues, living in a hothouse atmosphere of violence and fear. Living this life has become the norm for most people in Kashmir. Many women live lives of constant anxiety, never knowing if their sons or husbands will come home at the end of the day. For those whose sons join the militants, there is even greater mental stress owing to constant pressure from the security forces. Few are willing to believe that their sons could do something which would bring them the double distress of losing them and also facing the wrath of the security forces. For many women, even getting to a doctor to deal with physical illnesses is a chore given the constant curfews and dangers of going out of the house. As for getting help for mental problems, it is almost impossible. In addition to all these problems, women face the brunt of violence at home. With little social support in the form of NGOs or counselling centres, women suffer this in silence leading to mental and physical consequences. This includes higher incidence of miscarriages and acute depression. Men, who have no outlet for their rage against their own helplessness, their frustration at the lack of employment and their inability to move freely take it out on their helpless wives and children. Women in other parts of India, even in the poorest districts, are able to meet each other and have conversations about their families, talk about their hopes for their children. Here, there is none of that. In such a situation, the children are also a casualty. They grow up in an atmosphere where they see their mothers subject to violence at home. They often grow up in a home where the mother is really unable to take care of them properly due to mental or physical illness. They also grow up in an environment of constant violence and disruptions from school and the joyful activities of childhood. The effects of these traumas will live far beyond the Kashmir conflict even it is resolved. The government which says it cares deeply about the people of Kashmir must look at this issue far more seriously. Children growing up in such a dystopian environment are far more likely to be susceptible to the propaganda of terrorists. Successive governments have talked about winning the hearts and minds of people, but it would be good to begin with their mental and physical health. Now, more than ever, with no possibility of any scaling down of security operations and the horrific probability of more militant strikes, the people caught in the perpetual crosshairs, especially the women and children, should not become a footnote in the larger conflict. lalita.panicker@hindustantimes.com Students in Lucknow felt the ISC Chemistry paper was a balanced one. The questions tested students overall knowledge on various aspects. Students at La Martiniere Girls College, Lucknow were of the view that two questions from chemical kinetics were more or less similar that proved to be beneficial for the candidates. The Organic section was quite predictable with expected portions. LMGC students Devashi and Yashaswi said that they had attempted similar questions in their internal examinations hence they are looking forward to a good score. Sudha Gupta, senior Chemistry teacher of the institution said questions were mostly direct and simple to answer for a consistent student. The so far smooth and somewhat easy paper in the ISC-12 Examinations received a mixed reaction from children at Hoerner College, Mahanagar. Whereas all agreed that Organic and inorganic segments were easy the Physical segment was tricky. Tanya Gupta and Shubhankar Shukla said it was an easy paper. We studied the entire course and didnt do selective study so it was a good paper, said Harsh Jaiswal, a student. Another girl Priya Sharma said she found the Physical segment a bit tricky with twisted questions. Their teacher Laxmi Srivastava said it was an easy paper. The students at City Montessori School, Gomti Nagar looked happy and content having appeared for the ISC Chemistry paper. The paper was more or less what the students had expected. Medha Navya Dwivedi. a student said, The paper appeared not so easy at the first reading but as I started attempting the questions,the solutions presented themselves and the paper became easy. Arjun Rastogi, another student, had mixed feelings. He said, Question one was easy. But there were a couple of questions which did present some difficulty initially. The Principal, CMS Gomti Nagar, Abha Anant said some students felt that the paper was easier than expected. It covered the whole syllabus and if the students had studied throughout, the questions were easy, she said. Overall the paper was a perfect blend of easy and challenging questions. Aryan and Manas had similar opinion. The duo said, The paper was easy but it did require some thorough knowledge for scoring full marks. According to students at St Teresas College Aashiana, Chemistry ISC class 12 paper was good though they were nervous before it started. Ayush Verma, a student said that the question paper was according to the syllabus,numericals were based on direct formula, I am expecting good marks. Chitanahi came out smiling and told the teacher that the objective questions were easy. Most of the questions were solved during practice tests. Chemistry teacher DK Srivastava with 17 years of experience was satisfied after feedback of students and analysing the paper. Principal Geetika Kapoor said that till date the students have been happy with the exam papers and were able to complete the papers on time. City Montessori School, Kanpur Road branch students expressed the paper as both balanced and scoring. Abu shahid, a science stream student said, The numericals from kinetics chapters were concept based and scoring. Ritu chadana, another science stream student said, The Name wise organic equations were very scoring and marks gaining. Another student Dhruv Kushwaha said, My exam went very well as the paper was standard which required specificity of answers in terms of reaction conditions and temperature units. Raunaq Preet Singh added, A little tricky paper in terms of equations and numericals. Ajay Madan, HoD Chemistry said, The Paper was a standard paper and calibrated the skill level of one against the other more skilled. We had religiously performed our duties to guide the students at all levels. Mahindra Saini, Senior Chemistry educator added, Im confident that my students will embark upon a new journey and create history by bringing cent percent marks for our Alma Mater. Senior section In charge Shipra Bajpai bubbling with zeal added, Children cannot be made good by making them happy. But they can be made happy by making them good. High-collared, fluid silhouettes teeming with detail were the Paris Fashion Week recipe when Chloe showcased its latest winter co llection and bid adieu to former designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died on Feb. 19. Rick Owens, meanwhile, pushed the envelope with a truly frightening and mesmerizing show that featured alien styles inspired by American rock group Kiss. Some highlights of the fall-winter 2019 collections on display Thursday: CHLOES HIGH COLLARS Designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi produced a diverse and saleable collection with rich design pickings but failed to really light a winter spark. VIP guests at Paris Maison de la Radio were treated to a display featuring round shoulders a key theme this season alongside a diaphanous, tubular sleeve that subtly referenced the houses 70s DNA. While, floral motifs and prints created a visual kinesis, an effect accentuated by ethnic patterns and tribal jewelry. Pervading the 55 looks displayed in the morning show, however, was a low-energy, grounded and sensible feel. High collars and statement on-trend lapels did away with the notion of a bust, and the footwear consisted of sturdy, equestrian-inspired boots with square heels. Still, there were some beautiful individual garments, such as an off-white knit sweater with sleeves attached by gold buttons at the elbow that captured a sportswear-meets-aristocrat vibe. Illustrating the frenetic pace of fashion week show schedules, guests rushed out so quickly at the end of the display that Ramsay-Levi was blocked from taking a bow in one of the main runway halls. She just smiled and laughed. ___ CHLOES FAREWELL POSTCARDS TO KAISER KARL Lagerfeld exerted a giant influence on the global fashion industry. Designers including Diors Maria Grazia Chiuri have peppered their collection notes with poignant tributes this week. On Thursday, it was Chloes turn to bid farewell to the couturier, who was the houses longtime creative director from the 70s a post that was somewhat overshadowed by his more famous tenure at Chanel. Chloe praised the German-born designers incalculable genius over 25 years with the house. A wad of postcards was placed on each guests seat, remembering Lagerfelds most important moments with the brand in his own words. I love dresses straight out of fairy tales that are the color of the moon; that are as bright as the sun, one read. ___ RICK OWENS FRIGHTENS The lauded American designer again drew inspiration from Larry LeGaspi, the U.S. designer whose silver and black space-age looks were worn by rock bands such as Kiss. It was the same starting point as his provocative mens show of last month: A sort of a reverential homage to LeGaspis bombastic styles. This runway collection, though, was very different from the mens fare in more ways than one. It was genuinely frightening. Models in monster-like face makeup horns, alien-like nose cartilage, billowing wigs, and giant black pupils strode out inside the Palais de Tokyo venue. It had some guests gasping, and others reaching for their cameras. Though the first styles focused on long, beautifully tailored coats this classicism didnt last long. Platform boots, which elongated the body in a nod to 1970s glam rock, soon led to exaggerated silhouettes with big curved shoulders. Then, Owens signature envelope-pushing began: In the form of giant, sheeny space-age sleeves that might well have been a Martians answer to a leg-of-mutton design. ___ ARORA MAKES A STATEMENT Manish Aroras show opened with aplomb. A hooded model with patchy orange makeup and a bejeweled visor strutted out in a multicolor striped sweater emblazoned with Finally Normal People. It set an ironic tone for the exuberant Indian designers show. Arora, who went in a more sophisticated direction last season, settled back this fall-winter in his tried-and-tested flamboyant styles. The collection comprises a motley cru (sic) of Mad Max bohemians straight out of a dystopian future, declared the program notes. The result was a sort of punk-meets-Bollywood vibe for many of the 34 ensembles delivered in eye-popping color. Pieced together, there were fleeces, fringing, horned and Mohican-style headpieces, leopard-print hoods, sparkly leggings and dresses with diverse silhouettes. The sheer scale of the excess made this unlikely collection somehow work. ___ VON FURSTENBERG ATTENDS STATUE OF LIBERTY MUSEUM EVENT On Wednesday night, some of the fashion industry elite attended a cocktail party at the Paris residence of Jamie D. McCourt, the U.S. ambassador to France. The party kicked off celebrations for the upcoming Statue of Liberty Museum in New York. Belgian-American fashion designer and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg, who reportedly raised over $100 million for the museum, was a guest of honor. Attendees included models Karlie Kloss and Natalia Vodianova, as well as U.S. Vogue Editor Anna Wintour in a bold red and white cape. Paris has a special significance for the Statue of Liberty, as the iconic monument was originally a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886 and was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. ___ Thomas Adamson is at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Dior went back to the feisty Teddy Girls of 1950s Britain for its vision of a feminist future in its Paris fashion week show Tuesday. With black leather jackets, long nipped-waist Dior New Look skirts with leather cumberbunds and tartan a-go-go, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri raided the wardrobes of the rebel girls of the early days of rock n roll. The original royal rebel Princess Margaret -- a Dior addict -- and the proudly proletarian Teddy Girls who were the queens of the ravaged landscape of postwar Britain were the two pillars of the Italian creators autumn winter collection. She took some of the most feminine clothes of the epoch -- kitten heels with black socks, shiny bucket hats and tight woollen sweaters -- and mixed them with a more masculine and sportswear silhouette. Chiuri has been on something of a crusade during her time at the most feminine of French labels to make its famously chic clothes simple and adaptable enough for everyday wear. And you could easily imagine women wearing trainers under even the most intricate of dresses in this collection. Models present creations for Christian Dior during the Fall-Winter 2019/2020 Ready-to-Wear collection fashion show in Paris, on February 26, 2019. (Photo by FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP) (AFP) The Teddy Girls were the punks of their time, impertinent characters with wild quiffs who wore Edwardian-style mens jackets with ample skirts, jeans and black leather jackets, the designer said. London always represents tradition and at the same time the breaking with tradition, Chiuri told AFP. - Fashion is a political act - The show was a long love letter to the iconoclasm of British style, and comes as an exhibition about Dior at the V&A museum in London has become a sold-out hit. I tried to create pieces in this collection in which everyone can express themselves in their own way by using different combinations while respecting the codes of the brand, Chiuri said. Since her debut collection in 2017 -- when she made headlines with a We Should All Be Feminists T-shirt -- Diors first female designer has put down a ladder to women artists and writers. This time she lionised the veteran Italian artist Tomaso Binga, who took on a mans name to satirise male privilege. One of her most iconic works, an alphabet formed from the naked body of a middle-aged woman, was the backdrop for the show in a huge pavilion in the grounds of the Rodin Museum in Paris. With Hollywood star and #MeToo activist Jennifer Lawrence in the front row, the 87-year-old artist (whose real name is Bianca Menna) dressed up like a kind of cardinal to read a stirring declaration urging female solidarity before Chiuri sent out her models. TOPSHOT - Models present creations by Saint Laurent during the Fall-Winter 2019/2020 Ready-to-Wear collection fashion show in Paris, on February 26, 2019. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) (AFP) - Saint Laurents killer vamps - In another feminist nod, three wore T-shirts bearing the titles of books by the American feminist thinker Robin Morgan -- Sisterhood is Powerful, Sisterhood is Global and Sisterhood is Forever. Today fashion and the act of buying is a political act, Chiuri told AFP. Apart from clothes, bags and shoes, people want to know that behind objects there are values in which they believe, she said. It is safe to say that Saint Laurents Anthony Vaccarello is less up to speed with latest feminist theory. Shortly after he took over the label he found himself in the firing line of outrage over a hypersexualised 2017 ad campaign for the label that put painfully thin models in degrading poses. The young Belgian designer has not backed down from his sexed-up vision for the brand, and his Paris show was a procession of leggy models in black micro dresses and hotpants. Vaccarellos women are night owl vamps and his only concession to winter was to drape some in big overcoats with exaggerated shoulders -- all the better to show that every one was a man-eater, wearing her sexiness like a weapon. These were clothes to sin in, to turn heads at glitzy cocktails and nightclubs, with a line of flourescent looks literally lighting up in the dark. His co-ed show under the Eiffel Tower also made a game bid to steal a march on his Saint Laurent predecessor Hedi Slimane, who has created a male line for the first time at Celine. Vaccarellos response has been to go toe-to-patent-Chelsea-boot-toe, out-Slimane-ing the man they call the sultan of skinny at his own lux-grunge rock god game. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Army rescue teams have managed to recover the body of one soldier who was among five soldiers who had been missing for the last 12 days after an avalanche in Namgia Dogri outpost along the China border in Kinnaur district. Army teams assisted by experts from Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) are looking for the other four missing army men. The deceased jawan has been identified as Rajnish Rishi who was on patrol along with five others when they were swept away by an avalanche at Namgia Dogri in Kinnaur on February 20. Rescue teams of Army after, a grueling operation today, managed to recover the mortal remains of the missing soldier from 20 feet snow, said additional district magistrate Pooh, Shiv Mohan when reached over phone. Also read | Kinnaur avalanche: Nine days on, rescuers speed up efforts to search for missing soldiers The search operations have been continuing for the past 11 days despite adverse weather conditions. There is up to 20 to 25 feet snow in the avalanche-hit area at Namgia Dogri in Shipkila sector. Rescue dogs, deep penetration radars and metal detectors have been pressed into service, he said. The Army men dug through 20 feet of snow to recover the missing soldiers body. They used motored chainsaws to cut through the hardened snow to locate and recover the bodies, Shiv Mohan said. Rajnish Rishi, a rifleman with the 7th JAK Rifles, had gone missing on February 20 after an avalanche hit an army patrol near Namgia Dogri forward post in Shipkila sector. Six soldiers were buried under the snow in an avalanche on February 20. Havildar Rakesh Kumar, who was rescued on February 20 only, he succumbed to his injuries in hospital in Pooh later. Also read | Army deploys more men, machines to trace soldiers missing after avalanche Indian Army along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, personnel from the Ladakh Scouts and engineers from armys General Reserve Engineer Corps are carrying out the rescue operation. But inclement weather conditions leading to snow blizzards and intermittent snow spells have hampered the rescue operations so far. A team of experts had arrived in Pooh two days ago to assist the army in the rescue operations. The rescuers had also recovered a cell phone from the avalanches site during the rescue operations. Those who are still missing include Naik Videsh Chand, Rifleman Govind Bahadur Chatri, Rifleman Arjun Kumar and Rifleman Nitin Rana. All the missing soldiers are from the 7th Jammu and Kasshmir Rifles Himachal shares a 260-km-long porous border with China. Of the total border length, 140km lies along Kinnaur and 80km of border is along Lahaul and Spiti district. The international border is jointly manned by the Indian Army and ITBP. One out of every two claims made since 2007 by forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act has been rejected, data from the ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) shows, underlining the problems in the process through which their claims are addressed and indicating they have a long wait ahead as the ministry begins to reassess their claims after the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed its own order which would have resulted in the eviction of a million forest-dwelling families. The claims are by tribal or pastoral communities seeking community rights over forest land they have inhabited for generations. Out of 4.224 million claims received, only 1.894 million titles have been distributed, 1.939 million have been rejected and a little less than 400,000 are still being assessed. On February 13, the Supreme Court, while hearing an 11-year-old public interest case by wildlife activists challenging the law, which was passed in 2006 and which gives legitimate forest dwellers rights over the forest, passed an interim order that had nothing to do with the main case. It said that those forest dwellers whose claims under the law have been rejected should be evicted. Following a public uproar, the government filed a petition and the court stayed its own order. It also asked the states to file details of the process and people involved in rejecting the claims. The government (through the tribal affairs ministry) contended in court that the details of the process and the rejected claims were not provided by most states. With a stay in place, the ministry is now tasked with reviewing reams of documents to check why so many claims had been rejected by the state- and district-level forest rights committees. It has called for a meeting of all state governments on March 6 in which state government officials are expected to bring details of rejected claims. Deepak Khandekar, secretary, ministry of tribal affairs, said: Yes, half of the claims have been rejected. Till now, we were more concerned about recognition of claims because the issue of eviction was not raised. Now, since the issue of eviction came up in the court, we want to look at why so many cases have been rejected in the first place. As an annexure to the governments petition, the ministry submitted a letter it wrote to chief secretaries of states on June 27, 2018. The letter highlighted high backlog of claims, high rate of rejection, even of community rights, and the early review of rejected claims, including a suo motu (on its own) review of rejections. Non-communication of rejection at each level results in preventing the claimants from exercising their right to appeal or review while rejecting claims, reasons must by cited by concerned authorities, the letter said, adding that it has recently come to the notice of MoTA that state forest authorities move immediately to evict people whose claims under forest rights act are rejected without waiting for decision on review such an action while depriving aggrieved person of opportunity to prefer appeal creates grounds for unrest, agitation and also fuels extremism. Tushar Dash, member of the Community Forest Rights, Learning and Advocacy (CFR LA), said most rejections were arbitrary. Our analysis from Chhattisgarh, for example, shows incomplete documentation, arbitrary decisions by forest officials in forest areas of Chhattisgarh like Korba and Surguja are behind a majority of decisions. These are forest lands where mining may come up. Senior ministry officials said claims were often rejected by the district-level forest rights committee whose members include the district collector, divisional forest officer and members of the district panchayat. A number of wildlife conservation groups have also now called for transparent recognition of forest dwellers rights. The government, in its application, has noted that India is a signatory to the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; ratified the Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, and is party to the Convention on Biological Diversity making recognition of tribal rights imperative. Further, international conservation organisations have strongly advocated respect for the relationship between forest dwelling communities and forest conservation, the application said, giving examples of efforts by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and WorldWide Fund for Nature. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment , Nature Conservation Foundation and Conservation International have also recently endorsed a petition demanding that forest dwellers not be evicted from forest land. We have seen very positive impact of communities on conserving forest land in Maharashtra, particularly Gadchiroli. I will not be able to comment on individual forest rights. But community rights are very important. Community rights areas also coincide with rich coal and iron deposits, which is why even those claims may be pending, said ecologist Madhav Gadgil. Air India will not accommodate passengers from Jet Airways cancelled flights till further notice, an Air India circular issued on Friday said. Passengers with tickets on one airlines cancelled flight are generally accommodated on flights of another airline headed to the same destination at the last moment under a mutual agreement. The airline whose flight is cancelled has to pay the one bailing it out within 15 days. Officials familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the agreement between Air India and Jet Airways, which is facing a severe financial crisis, had been terminated. With immediate effect and till further notice, Jet Airways and JetLite Limited documents, including FIMs (flight interruption manifest), are not to be accepted for travel on Air India flights, read a circular issued by Air India on Friday. Issuing FIMs is a common practice between airlines, under which if one airline has more passengers than seats, it shifts the extra passengers to another airline at the last moment paying at a pre-agreed rate. The airline also shifts passengers if it cancels a flight. In case of a full-cost carrier, payments have to be made within 15 days; in case passengers are being shifted to a low-cost carrier such as IndiGo or SpiceJet, payments have to be made immediately in cash or RTGS (real time gross settlement). Apart from Air India, Vistara has also backed off from accommodating stranded Jet Airways passengers as its flight cancellations were getting to be too frequent, an aviation industry official aware of developments said on condition of anonymity. Vistara has not had any seat-sharing or FIM agreement with Jet Airways. An interline ticketing facility has been terminated for internal reasons, said a Vistara spokesperson not wishing to be named. With interline facility, an airline can book tickets on another airline through the Global Distribution System (GDS). Under this system, an airline can shift its passenger to another airline even a day in advance, unlike FIMs which are for last-minute cancellations. The aviation industry official said Jet Airways was cancelling flights on a routine basis and picking up seats in Vistara at a predetermined fare, when Vistara could have sold those seats at a higher price. It was an emergency stopgap arrangement but Jet Airways is using it more frequently, the official said. Jet Airways did not reply to an email query on the matter sent on Saturday morning. At least two dozen aircraft of Jet Airways have been grounded because of non-payment of dues, leading to about 100 flight cancellations every day. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not taken action yet and is reviewing its flight schedule twice in a month to monitor the number of cancellations. With a debt of about $1.14 billion, Jet Airways has been cancelling flights from/to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Port Blair. It is in talks with Etihad for additional cash infusion. In the Pujhar household, at the end of the row in the residential quarters of workers at the Halmira Tea Estate in Assams Golaghat district, Dipali Pujhar (11) is the eldest surviving member of the family. Her parents Debaru and Sunita, died in the recent hooch tragedy. The first deaths were reported on February 21. Both of them drank together, Krishna Pujhor, sister-in-law of Debaru Pujhor said outside the small two-room kutcha house which had two mattresses rolled and a small tin trunk among other things. Two pots of puffed rice soaked in water lay in one corner of the mud floor. Four children are all that is left of the family, Krishna said. The youngest of the Pujhor siblings is just five. According to officials the hooch tragedy which killed 156 people in the two districts of Golaghat and Jorhat, has also orphaned 37 children. At the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, there are nine other victims who have severe visual impairment, which could result in complete blindness, according to doctors. Also read: Toxic methanol caused hooch deaths in Assam: Cops Thirty two children of 11 families have been orphaned in Golaghat, said Dhiren Hazarika, the districts Deputy Commissioner. In neighbouring Jorhat, there are five such children, according to officials. Hazarika said the District Social Welfare department has been instructed to take care of the orphans. They will make sure that the children are given shelter, proper education and also they will have a conversation with the relatives to ensure their care under the provisions of the law, he said. It will be done under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act. The work will start once the rituals end. The families are mostly Hindus, Hazarika said adding the officials are in touch with the families. Meanwhile, Parimal Suklabaidya, Assams excise minister said the government is considering initiating a high level probe. We will move towards that soon. There are demands of a CBI, CID or a magisterial inquiry, he said. On Friday, an all party delegation visited Golaghat and Jorhat. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who crossed the Wagah-Attari border post into India from Pakistan on Friday evening, met with his family members for a few minutes upon his arrival in Delhi late in the night. He was also met by Air Force chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa early on Saturday morning. Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured by Pakistani authorities on Wednesday after his MiG 21 Bison was shot down over Pakistani territory. But before the IAF pilot ejected from his aging MiG-21 hit in the aerial dogfight over the skies of Jammu, he shot down a fourth generation F-16 fighter. His parachute landed in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and was handed over to Pakistan army. Right now, the Wing Commander is going through a process called cooling down and this exercise is likely to continue for a few more days. As part of this exercise, he will be kept under medical observation, given counselling as well as debriefed by the air force. Abhinandan had undergone a preliminary examination upon his arrival in India. He will undergo some more medical tests today. Sources say that the top priority for the air force right now is to bring his health back to normal. Also read | Day after IAF pilots return, PM Narendra Modi says Abhinandan will acquire new meaning Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This checkup is mandatory as he had to eject from an airplane which would have put his entire body under stress, said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor in a brief statement to reporters at Attari on Friday evening. Abhinandans release, coincided with the release of a heavily edited propaganda video to the Pakistani TV channels. The video had come in for severe criticism on social media, with some saying it cast doubt over Pakistans claims of the release being a peace gesture. The 38-year-old IAF officer had walked to his freedom at the Attari border that is manned by the Border Security Force that guards the international border with Pakistan. Ahead of Abhinandans return, BSF officials had canceled the retreat ceremony at the border post. Also read | Who is IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Abhinandan is more important than the ceremony, a local official said about the IAF officer who Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, had made every Indian proud. Wing Commander Abhinandan is the son of decorated air force officer Air Marshal S Varthaman. Abhinandan became the human face of the conflict between the two countries when Pakistan Army put out a series of videos showing him in its custody. Also read | Good to be back: IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on Indian soil after 58 hours in Pak Army custody On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced the decision to release Wing Commander Abhinandan in the national assembly. Khan had described it as a peace gesture to India. Khans announcement was seen as a diplomatic victory in India after it had rejected an effort by Islamabad to use Abhinandan as a bargaining tool. Pakistan had been under pressure to release the IAF pilot after the Pakistan Air Force tried to bomb military installations in Jammu and Kashmir in response to Indias air strike at terror group Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp at Balakot in Pakistan. It was the first time in 50 years that India had ordered the IAF jets to carry out an aerial strike across the Line of Control. Also read | IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman back home after 58 hours in Pakistan Army custody Terming social media a powerful tool of technology that could be used and misused, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said information was sometimes posted on it without verification. As an example, he cited the case of the Indian Air Force operation against a terror base in Pakistans Balakot on February 26. Recently our air force in KPK [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in Pakistan] reached Balakot. Before anyone could get information, somebody started saying it is near the LoC [Line of Control]. Some, whom I call compulsive contrarians, found a new Balakot and did not check that the other Bala Kote is in Poonch. Why would our air force attack our own people? These are social media aberrations, he said. Jaitley was speaking at the book launch of Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio, a collection of 50 editions of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann Ki Baat programme that is aired on public broadcaster All India Radio. The remarks come ahead of general elections and against the backdrop of concerns about the possible influence the spread of fake news and biased and inflammatory content on social networks may have on the outcome of the polls. Twitter, Facebook and Google have said they had put in place measures to check such content during the elections. They have also put in place norms for political advertising. Even as he criticised the social medias perceived tendency to set the agenda instead of report it, Jaitley said the time was ripe for the radio and the print medium to strike back and regain their space. The minister said PM Modi had recognised the reach of radio and chosen to communicate with the people through his radio programme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a veiled reference to what has been viewed as a diplomatic victory of India at a public function in New Delhi to state that the world watches every move of the country closely. PM Modi said the Sanskrit word Abhinandan would acquire a new meaning due to what has transpired over past couple of days. Indicating that the international community takes the country seriously, PM Modi said, Whatever India does, world watches it closely.It is the power of this nation that it changes the meaning of words. Abhinandan used to mean congratulation, now Abhinandan will have a new meaning. The prime ministers remark has come a day after IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was released by Pakistan. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was in Pakistan Armys custody since Wednesday morning after his aircraft was shot down and he landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following an aerial dogfight with the jets of Pakistan Air Force. Wing Commander Abhinandan was handed over to Indian authorities on Friday night at Attari-Wagah border in Punjab by Pakistan, which reportedly changed the time of his release twice during the day. A PTI report said that the delay in his release happened due to a video statement of the IAF pilot that the Pakistan Army wanted to record before his release. The video was released by the Pakistani side on social media just before the IAF pilot was handed over to Indian authorities. The video clip, which has several cuts and jumps, shows Wing Commander Abhinandan saying that he was treated well by the Pakistan Army, which saved him from a mob. He is also heard saying that Indian media blows up matters out of proportion while reporting on India-Pakistan relations. The IAF pilot was part of the Indian Air Force team that foiled Pakistan Air Forces attempt to target military installations of India on Wednesday morning. Flying a MiG 21 Bison, the IAF pilot shot down F 16 PAF fighter jet before his aircraft was hit by one of the missiles. Pakistan had breached Indian airspace drawing immediate response from India. In the aerial dogfight that ensued, Wing Commander Abhinandan had to eject his aircraft. His parachute drifted towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was arrested by the Pakistan Army. Soon, a video was released from Pakistani handles on Twitter showing Wing Commander in blindfold with blood on his face and hands tied behind his back. He was being questioned by a Pakistani official. After verifying the video clip, India demanded release of the IAF pilot by Pakistan, which initially said that it was ready to hand Wing Commander Abhinandan if it meant de-escalation of prevailing tension between the two countries. India rejected the deal offer issuing a strongly worded demarche reiterating its demand. In what appeared as a surprise move on Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Wing Commander Abhinandan would be released as a peace gesture the next day. The IAF welcomed the decision calling it a gesture in consonance with the Geneva Convention that provides for a prisoner of war to be treated well and repatriated without being harmed. Wing Commander Abhinandan returned to India slowly walking through Attari-Wagah border, where common people, mediapersons, security personnel and some of the high ranking military officers waited anxiously braving rains for his safe homecoming. Many in the ruling BJP including the party president Amit Shah described Wing Commander Abhinandans return as diplomatic victory of the Narendra Modi government. In his address at the inaugural function of the Construction Technology India 2019 in New Delhi, PM Modi said, We have to move forward as a parakrami (mighty) nation. The Election Commission will be in Jammu and Kashmir on March 4-5 to review the ground situation and assess the states preparedness for the summer Lok Sabha elections and take a call on whether assembly polls can be held in tandem, according to a person aware of developments. The poll panel, headed by chief election commissioner, Sunil Arora, will hold review meetings with state administration officials and political parties representatives in Srinagar on March 4 and in Jammu on March 5, the person said. Jammu and Kashmir has been under Presidents Rule since December 20, 2018. Before that, for six months, it was under Governors Rule after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in June pulled out of the coalition government it had with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by Mehbooba Mufti. According to rules, elections have to be held within six months of imposition of Presidents rule, which extends up to June 2019. The Centre was keen to hold the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls along with the national elections, but it has been forced to reconsider matters since the February 14 suicide car bomb attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama. Union home minister, Rajnath Singh had, however, told Opposition parties at a meeting this week that the Centre was ready to hold the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in phases along with the general elections. Political parties in the state are divided on the issue of simultaneous polls. A PDP official said the government should consider holding the assembly polls closer to June. Conditions in the Valley are very volatile. It would be hard for political parties to campaign and the Centre, too, will need to have more security deployment, the official said. However, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had recently tweeted that holding elections on time would be a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modis handling of J&K. A combination of factors, including extreme weather events stemming from climate change, habitat fragmentation and unregulated fishing, has placed many of the endemic fish species in the river Cauvery, which flows through Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, at the risk of extinction, researchers say. The fish at risk include the various mahseer species found in the river, including the giant hump-backed mahseer (Tor remadevii), which can grow up to 1.5 metres in length and weigh 55 kilograms. It is considered one of the 20 mega fish of the world. Other fish species such as the red-tipped halfbeak, the slender stone loach, the mrigal, the Wayanad mahseer, the Korhi barb, the Nilgiri barb, the Nilgiri mystus, the Bhavani barb, the Cauvery barb, and the Nemacheilus pulchellus (which is so rare it doesnt have a common name) are at risk of extinction as well. The Cauvery is subject to an intense range of anthropogenic impacts which act either independently or in combination to threaten the existence of fish populations and all aquatic flora and fauna, Adrian Pinder, a fisheries scientist at Bournemouth University in England and director of research at the UK-based Mahseer Trust said in an emailed response to queries from HT . These include pollution, habitat destruction and blocked migration pathways, overfishing using illegal methods such as dynamite and poison, and alien species which are generally stocked intentionally by the fisheries departments. For example, the hump-backed mahseer was once found throughout the Cauvery, but today its distribution and population have declined by more than 90%, according to Pinder. The species was recently assessed as being critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Pinder added: This fish is considered an umbrella species. If it is present, then we know that the water quality habitat and migratory pathways are good. Today we are aware of only two small spawning populations, both sited within tributaries of the main river Cauvery. Unlike large mammals or marine life, there are no dedicated protected areas for Indias freshwater fish species. In the Western Ghats, some 50 % of endemic fish species are threatened with extinction although the region is considered one of only two biodiversity hotspots in India, researchers say. Fish are not even considered as wildlife and protection is only restricted to the existing wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, said Rajeev Raghavan, South Asia coordinator for the IUCNs freshwater fish specialist group and an assistant professor at the Kerala University for Fisheries and Ocean studies (KUFOS). Unlike the habitat of large mammals, the habitat of a fish species can spread across both protected and so-called non-protected areas of the river and its tributaries. Raghavan added: Most endemic fish in the Cauvery is found in its upper reaches places like Coorg, in the Cauverys tributaries such as the river Moyar, Bhavani and Kabini. The area from Shivasamudram to Hogenekkal also harbours populations of endemic and threatened species. The fish are mostly microhabitat specialists, restricted to specific areas of the river. Scientists say awareness creation among local communities and officials is essential to stave off the spectre of extinction of the Cauvery fish species. Improving awareness among local communities and frontline forest staff on ground enforcement to stop illegal and destructive fishing is required. Also, we need to demarcate no-take zones, close fisheries during the spawning seasons and begin to consider fish species in the management and environmental impact assessment plans associated with developmental projects, Raghavan said, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman underwent a string of medical tests on Saturday as part of a cooling down process before he is debriefed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the 60 hours he spent in Pakistani custody after his fighter jet was downed in a fierce dogfight over the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. The 35-year-old IAF pilot was first taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment on Friday night, where he was evaluated on his physical and psychological states, hours after his repatriation from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He was subsequently moved to the Research and Referral Hospital, where he met defence minister NIrmala Sitharaman, two government officials said on condition of anonymity The officer told the authorities that he underwent mental harassment in Pakistani custody but was not tortured, said one of the officials cited above. Everyone knows how Pakistan circulated a heavily edited propaganda video featuring Abhinandan to spread disinformation, the official said. The air force will debrief Varthaman on the February 27 dogfight with the Pakistan Air Force F-16, which he brought down with his MiG-21, and the time spent in Pakistani custody after the approval of specialist doctors who are monitoring his health parameters, said the second official Also read | Good to be back: IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on Indian soil after 58 hours in Pak Army custody Also watch | IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman back home after 2 days in Pak custody His ability to rejoin his unit in the same role depends on his physical and mental condition. The top priority is that he recovers his health. Theres a laid down protocol for debriefing in such cases and it will happen after the cooling down process is over. Theres no hurry, the second official added. Varthaman, feted as a hero for the dignity and aplomb he maintained during interrogations by Pakistani officers in subsequently aired video-taped conversations,was captured by Pakistani forces after he ejected from his plane when it took a hit from Pakistani fire . Varthaman met his parents, who had flown in from Chennai, for about five minutes at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment, a specialist facility where aircrew from the three services are assessed for flying fitness. Also read | Day after IAF pilots return, PM Narendra Modi says Abhinandan will acquire new meaning Defence minister Sitharaman met the wing commander at the RR Hospital in the presence of his wife, Squadron Leader Tanvi Marwah (retd), their seven-year-old son Tavish and Varthamans sister Aditi, who has flown from France to be with the family for a week. Shortly after Sitharaman met Varthaman, the defence ministry announced that the officer was in high spirits. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa also met the fighter pilot who belongs to the air forces No.51 squadron, also known as Sword Arms. While Abhinandan seems to be in good physical shape, hidden injuries cannot be ruled out at this stage, experts said. In ejection cases, theres always a possibility of hidden injuries to the spine and bones. There may be no visual signs of muscular injuries too. MRI and X-Ray tests will establish if there are any injuries. Doctors will conduct a thorough psychological assessment too. All this may take a couple of days, said Air Marshal Pawan Kapoor, who retired as Director General Medical Services (Air) in December 2017. Experts and officials said Varthaman could return to flying fighter jets depending on his health condition. His posture is ramrod straight. He seems to be in good shape and could soon be in the cockpit again. Younger pilots suffer fewer injuries during ejection, said Anil Chopra, who became the first air marshal in the world to eject from a fighter jet seven years ago at the age of 59. Like Chopra, Varthaman too created military aviation history when he shot down the F-16 . Air Vice Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur, additional director general of the Centre for Air Power Studies, said this was perhaps the first ever kill of an F-16 by an MiG-21 Bison, fighter jets of two different generation. The IAF said on Thursday it had fairly credible evidence to prove that the Mirage 2000 strikes against the Balakot terror camp on February 26 met their objectives and the IAF caused the intended damage and destruction. Pakistan had tried to target Indian military installations in the Rajouri sector a day after Indian Mirage 2000 jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp at Balakot in an unprecedented, peace-time cross-border air strike. Varthamans return has ended, at least for the time being, heightened tension between India and Pakistan that threatened to snowball into a wider military conflict between the nuclear-armed countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced his release in what he described as a gesture of peace towards India, which carried out the February 26 attack on the Jaish camp in retaliation for the suicide car bombing in Pulwama on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men were killed. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the return of Varthaman from captivity and called on the two countries to sustain the positive momentum and engage in a constructive dialogue, a UN spokesperson said. Also read | Before cooling down and medical tests, IAF pilot Abhinandan meets family in Delhi The 15-member crew of the Indian Navy including specialist divers left Khloo Ryngksan, the site of the tragic mining tragedy in which 16 miners were trapped in a rat-hole mine since December 13 last year and will be returning to their base on Saturday, according to an official communique Friday evening. According to R Susngi, the spokesperson of the East Jaintia Hills district, the Navy personnel who joined the rescue operations on December 29 left the site upon receiving instruction from their high command. Susngi added that along with their Navy comrades, personnel of the Indian Army who joined the operations on January 29 will also be leaving Meghalaya on Saturday after receiving a call from their higher authority. Appreciating the selfless service of both the teams, East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner FM Dopth wished them a safe return and good luck on their next mission. The district and the state as a whole is indebted to the services rendered by them, Dopth stated while mentioning that fond memories of the association will remain etched in a lot of hearts. Also read: Second body retrieved from Meghalaya coal mine; 5 spotted so far Earlier Friday afternoon, the second body that was retrieved on February 27 was identified as that of Dimonme Dkhar of Lumthari village and was handed over to his grieving mother Justina Dkhar by the deputy commissioner. The spokesperson informed that Coal India Ltd. pumped out 48,60,000 litres of water over 36 hrs till 5pm Friday. The NDRF and the SDRF are still at the site of the operation and continue to assist other agencies in the rescue operation in line with a Supreme Court order. BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday sharpened his attack on the opposition alleging that the Congress, and other parties have raised doubts over the strike by the Indian Air Force on terror camps in Pakistan. Shah said while the last four days were heavy for Pakistan but opposition parties gave it a chance to be happy. Speaking ahead of the launch of BJPs bike rally in Madhya Pradesh, Shah said, The press conference by [Congress president] Rahul Gandhi and his 21 allies gave Pakistan a chance to be happy. Shah was referring to a meeting of opposition parties in New Delhi on February 27. Reading out a joint statement after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi had said the 21 opposition parties expressed deep anguish over the ruling partys blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by Indian armed forces. The opposition parties, however, extended full support to the IAF in their statement. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had said that the Congress party was with the government and the armed forces in whatever decision it took to meet the security challenges emerging out after Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed on February 14. At Saturdays rally, Shah said, The opposition leaders are raising questions over air strike on terror camps in Pakistan. I want to ask them, you (Congress) remained in power for long. The country is facing terrorism since 1990. Did you ever show courage to hit back at terrorists? Shah said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government under Manmohan Singh did not strike back at the terrorists after 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 as it lacked courage. More than 160 people had died in terror attack in Mumbai. Things have changed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We gave befitting reply to terrorists and their supporters after attack at Uri army camp and also after Pulwama terror attack, Shah told the BJP party workers. The BJP president also hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over their statements on IAF strike and Pulwama attack. Mamataji seeks to know if air strike was actually carried out. Akhilesh says there should be probe into Pulwama terror attack...There should be a limit to vote bank politics, said Shah. On Friday, Banerjee sought to know the damage caused by the IAF strike at the terror camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. She said, We have the right to know how many people were killed in the air strikes launched by India. Is it 300, or 350? I read in the international media that the bombs landed somewhere else. How many actually perished or, did anyone at all? Days after Pulwama attack, Indian Air Force carried out strike at what was believed to be the biggest terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The IAF later said that it succeeded in its mission to destroy the terror infrastructure. SP chief Akhilesh, a day after Pulwama attack had targeted the government saying, intelligence is still uninformed. The public wants to know how infiltrators succeed in carrying out strikes time and again. Launching BJPs bike rally, Shah claimed that while Pakistan has admitted to Indias response to terrorists after Pulwama, the opposition parties were targeting the Modi government for vote bank politics. He said only Modi government can give befitting reply to Pakistan. Celebrated engineer and member of the House of Lords, Kumar Bhattacharyya, who played a pivotal role in engineering and manufacturing in the United Kingdom, besides advising the Tata group over the decades, died on Friday after a short illness aged 78. His passing away was announced by the University of Warwick, where he founded the reputed Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) that provided research base for a range of industries, including the Tata Group. David Normington, pro-chancellor of the university, paid tributes to Bhattacharyya, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, calling him a force of nature. He said, Long before I joined the University of Warwick Council, I knew of Professor Lord Bhattacharyya as an adviser to successive prime ministers and secretaries of state and a tireless advocate for the UK manufacturing industry. He was a force of nature. He pushed at boundaries, he changed lives, he created jobs, and he set the standard for how universities should work with industry. Most of all, for so many of us, he was also a kind and generous friend. We shall miss him terribly, but here at Warwick he will remain our inspiration for many years to come. Bhattacharyya was the recipient of several awards and honours in India, the UK and elsewhere, including the Indias Padma Bhushan and the British civilian honour of CBE. Warwicks vice-chancellor Stuart Croft said, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya served for four decades at Warwick founding and leading WMG. However, his service goes far beyond this University. The achievements of WMG, particularly his own wisdom, passion, and advocacy of the importance of manufacturing, technology, research teaching, and training has helped guide regional, national and international leaders, business figures and policy makers, he said. He has helped preserve and create jobs and transform companies, economies, and individual lives, above all in our region. We mourn the passing of a unique man but we also celebrate all that he has achieved and are thankful that those achievements will have a massive impact for years to come, Croft added. Business secretary Greg Clark, said: I am deeply saddened by the death of Professor Lord Bhattacharyya. Kumar has been a heroic figure, helping establish in Britain a world-wide reputation for excellence and innovation in advanced manufacturing. Through the WMG, which he founded, and through his extraordinary energy and tenacity Kumar encouraged many firms to locate and expand in Britain. Hundreds of thousands of people in Britain owe their livelihoods to Kumar Bhattacharyya. It has been a personal privilege to be able to work so closely with Kumar, who helped inspire our modern Industrial Strategy, and to be his friend. Kumar will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him, and our thoughts are with his wife Bridie, their three daughters Anita, Tina and Malini and their family. The Aam Aadmi Party has announced the names of its candidates for six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The announcement was made by Delhi AAP convenor Gopal Rai, who also said that the party will not be entering into an alliance with the Congress. While Atishi Marlena has been nominated to contest from East Delhi, Guggan Singh will contest from Northwest Delhi. AAP political affairs committee member Raghav Chadha will contest from South Delhi, while Pankaj Gupta has been nominated to contest from the Chandni Chowk seat. Dilip Pandey and Brijesh Goyal will contest from Northeast Delhi and New Delhi seats respectively. The party has not yet decided who will contest from the West Delhi seat. Clearing the air regarding the possibility of a tie up with the Congress, Gopal Rai said that the AAP had received two communications from the Congress. He said that the Delhi Congress, led by Sheila Dikshit, had refused the tie-up yesterday. Rai said that the second communication was conveyed by Rahul Gandhi himself in the February 13 mahagathbandhan meeting He himself in front of all other leaders had told AAP convener that partys leadership is not in favour of alliance, Rai said So we have just these two communications so far and so we are going ahead on our own, Rai said. Also read| Rahul Gandhi gives nod to start alliance talks with AAP Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday renewed his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterating his charge that he misled the people on the issues of providing corruption-free government, job creation and addressing farm distress. Gandhi said PM Modis image has changed from a leader who promised to bring achchhe din (better time) to chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief). Speaking at the Congresss Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morahbad in Jharkhand, Gandhi said, One chowkidar has defamed all chowkidars of IndiaAll the chowkidars of India are honestEveryone knows that when someone says chowkidar chor hai, it refers to Narendra Modi. The Congress president alleged that PM Modi snatched Rs 30,000 crore from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which protects the country, and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and gave it to industrialist Anil Ambani in Rafale deal. Gandhi has been targeting PM Modi over Rs 58,000-crore Rafale deal with France that India signed in 2016 for the purchase of 36 fighter planes. A similar deal was being negotiated when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliace (UPA) was in power before 0214 for the purchase of 126 Rafale jets. The Modi government renegotiated the deal with France terming the previous one unworkable. The Congress and other opposition parties have alleged that commercial favouritism was done in Rafale deal. Gandhi on several occasions has alleged that PM Modi personally ensured that Ambanis firm, Reliance Defence gets contract in Rafale deal. Both the government and the Reliance Defence have rejected the allegation as baseless. Reliance Defence is an off-set partner of the Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets. Addressing his first rally in Jharkhand since 2014, the Congress president repeated his charge against PM Modi saying, It is a matter of shame that Indian Air Force protects the country, air force pilots sacrifice their lives but the prime minister steals money from the air force and puts it in Anil Ambanis pockets. He claimed that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the chowkidar will be defeated. He promised that if voted to power the Congress government will implement a minimum income guarantee programme for the poor. Businessman and Member of Parliament for Tati East Samson Moyo Guma, has successfully managed to place under Provisional Judicial Management his United Refineries Botswana Holdings (URB) a cooking oil manufacturing plant in Francistown. Gumas petition comes weeks after he was reported to being followed by the taxman. Guma is the Chairman of the company. Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) was reported to be after Gumas companies for failing to pay tax. Guma is unhappy that state institutions are being used to fight political wars. BURS and Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) have been raiding some high-profile people for tax related matters among them tax evasion. URB has been put under provisional Judicial Management through an order of the court by Justice Tshepo Motswagole of Gaborone High Court. Justice Motswagole has ordered that while the order remains in force URB shall be under the direction and management of the Provisional Judicial Manager Evans Munalula, and that the said Provisional Judicial Manager shall himself be subject to the supervision of the Registrar and Master of the High Court. As from today any other person or persons vested with the management of the Respondents affairs shall be divested thereof, and that the affairs of the Respondent shall forthwith be managed by Provisional Judicial Manager appointed in terms of this order. The Provisional Judicial Manager shall discharge the duties prescribed by Section 472 as read with Section 474 of the Companies Act. The Provisional Judicial Manager shall be empowered without the authority of the shareholders but subject to the authority of the creditors and the Master, to borrow money with or without security on behalf of the Respondent for the purpose of paying essential running expenditure in and about the business of the Respondent including salaries, wages, and utilities for the business required by the Respondent and to pledge the credit of the Respondent for any goods or services required, said the Judge. Justice Motswagole ordered that while URB is under Provisional Judicial Management all actions, proceedings, the execution of all writs, summons and other processes against the URB be stayed and be not proceeded with without leave of the court being obtained. He ordered a rule nisi (temporary order) returnable on April 12th 2019 calling upon all interested persons to appear and show cause, if any, to the court why a final Judicial Management order should not be granted. Any party intending to oppose the relief sought in the proceedings is expected to file their notice of opposition in terms of the Rules of the High Court and file their answering affidavit. According to BDC website the mandate of URB is to procure, refine and distribute vegetable oil in Botswana, with particular interest in the Botswana market and also the export market in countries in the SADC region. The company manufactures crude cooking oil through a refinery. The company imports the raw sunflower it uses for producing its cooking oil from South Africa. In 2015 then Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Advocate Sadique Kebonang described progress made by URB towards realisation of an edible oil refinery and seed crushing plant construction as impressive. Advocate Kebonang who was touring URB plant in March that year said he was happy that the URB team made the project visualisation a reality by utilising available skills. The close to P100 million project is estimated to refine between 2 500 -3 000 tonnes of edible oil per month. URB, a 100 percent citizen-owned company, manufactures cooking oil at its edible oil refinery plant situated at the Dumela Industrial Site in Francistown. The company was issued a licence to start operations in October 31st 2016. Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is unwell. Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army, a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he cant leave his house, because hes really unwell. Also read| Jaish chief Masood Azhar is in Pak, admits foreign minister, then says he is very unwell The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terror mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Also read | Action against Masood Azhar only if India gives solid proof: Pak Minister Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhars release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhars earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the SovietAfghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansars department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania. He also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Also read | US, UK, France push for terrorist tag for Jaish chief Masood Azhar that China blocked Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 Jawans. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.) YSR Congress leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his strong political will for the air strike on a terror group Jaish-e-Mohammads camp across the Line of Control but said it wont help the BJP during the elections in Andhra Pradesh. Modi ji did score a point. I would give credit to him for being bold and decisive, Reddy said at the India Today Conclave-2019 in New Delhi. In the same breath, he said the air strike will not have any bearing on Andhra Pradesh during the elections. Prime Minister Modis failure to keep his promise of granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh will work against him in Anadhra Pradesh, he asserted. He accused both the Congress and the BJP of ditching Andhra Pradesh over the question of special category status and said that he doesnt trust any of the national parties. He insisted that his party will support anyone meeting the special category status demand as a pre-condition. He said the YSRC will fight the polls independently as it did in 2014. We single-handedly fought the last election when the Telugu Desam Partys Chandrababu Naidu put up a combined fight with Narendra Modi and actor Pawan Kalyan. Yet, he came to power with below 1 per cent margin, Jagan Reddy recalled. The YSRC leader exuded confidence over his party coming to power this time. There is a perceptible dissatisfaction in all sections over the TDPs rule and Chandrababu Naidus false promises. The election in 2019 will be between credibility represented by his party and Naidus opportunism, Reddy asserted. He ruled out returning to the Congress saying Rahul Gandhi party suffers from a crisis of confidence. Congress party had brought out a book on Chief Minister Naidus corrupt deeds just three months before Telangana elections. Later, it joined hands with Naidu to cobble up a grand alliance against Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. They cant fool the people any longer, he said. On corruption cases foisted against him, the YSRC leader said they were all politically motivated. There were no cases against me when my father was chief minister. All cases cropped up only when I decided to leave the Congress after his death, he said. Had his father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy been corrupt, how could the Congress under his leadership return to power in 2009 with a huge mandate, presenting 33 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress leadership enabling UPA-II to come to power at the Centre, he asked. TDP law maker and spokesman Dokka Manikya Varaprasad said Reddys praise of Modi for the air strike vindicated his unholy alliance with the BJP. The TDP has been building a narrative surrounding Narendra Modi, Jaganmohan Reddy and Telangana Chief Minsiter K. Chandrasekhar Rao holding them responsible for all the evils faced by Andhra Pradesh after it was split into two states. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was released by Pakistan last night, in a Delhi hospital. Wing Commander Abhinandan arrived in the national capital around 11.45 pm last night, nearly two-and-a-half hours after he crossed Wagah-Attari border in Punjab. During her interaction with the wing commander, Sitharaman enquired about his health. The officer was in high spirit and was happy to meet the defence minister. Sitharaman conveyed to Wing Commander Abhinandan that the whole country is proud of his courage and determination, the news agency reported quoting unnamed officials. During the meeting that took place at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, the IAF pilot is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his time in custody of the Pakistan Army. Sitharaman met the commander along with his family in the hospital. (HT Photo) Abinandan is undergoing thorough medical check-up following his return from Pakistan, where he was in custody of the army for more than 55 hours. The IAF pilot had landed on the other side of the Line of Control during the aerial dogfight between the air forces of India and Pakistan on Wednesday morning. The Pakistan Air Force had breached Indian airspace and attempted to target military installations. Wing Commander Abhinandan was part of the Indian Air Force that foiled the PAF attempt and chased a large package of fighter jets away from the Indian airspace. In the aerial combat that ensued IAF pilot Abhinandan shot down an F-16 PAF fighter jet. His MiG 21 Bison was also shot down. He ejected the aircraft but his parachute drifted towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was arrested by the Pakistan Army. He was released by Pakistan amid mounting international pressure to de-escalate tension between the two countries. The operation to flush out militants from the Babagund area of Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district continued for the second day on Saturday, police said. The encounter began on Friday morning when security forces launched a search operation in the area in north Kashmir, following information about presence of militants there. The operation at Babagund is on, a police official said. He said security forces have cordoned off the area to stop militants from escaping. After the encounter began on Friday, there was lull in firing several times during the day, but militants opened fire as soon as security forces advanced towards a house where they were hiding. After one such lull, the militants opened indiscriminate firing on advancing team of security forces as they were closing in, injuring nine security force personnel. A police spokesman on Friday said four security force personnel two cops and two CRPF personnel including an inspector later succumbed to injuries. However, defence officials Friday said two army jawans were also killed in the operation. Clashes between a group of youngsters and law enforcing agencies took place near the encounter site on Friday in which several protestors were injured in the security forces action. A youth, identified as Waseem Ahmad Mir, who had severe injuries, was rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. A woman and her two minor children , one of them nine months old, were killed while her husband was critically injured after a Pakistani mortar shell hit their house along the Line of Control in Jhullas area of Poonch district late Friday night. Shelling by Pakistani forces intensified around 10:30 pm, shortly after Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was repatriated through the Wagah border at 9:15 pm following two days of captivity after his MiG 21 was shot down. SSP Poonch, Ramesh Angral said that Pakistan army resorted to heavy shelling Friday night in Flore area of village Jhullas. A shell exploded in a house that killed 26-year-old Rubina Kouser, her two children Shabnam who was 9 months old and Faizan who was five years and critically injured her husband Mohammed Younis (32), Angral said. Also Read: 65 relief camps set up in villages along border, LoC amid Indo-Pak tensions On Thursday, 27-year-old Amina Akhter was killed and soldier Zakir Hussain was in injured in Pakistani shelling in Poonch. Tension has risen along the LoC and the border since the February 14 suicide bombing by a Jiash-e-Mohammad terrorist on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that killed 40 troopers and prompted India to launch a pre-emptive air strike against the JeM on Tuesday. Authorities on Thursday had ordered the closure of schools within a range five-km from the International Border with Pakistan and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC in 2003. The ceasefire has been repeatedly violated over the last few years. There was no let up in ceasefire violations by Pakistan army on Saturday. On Saturday Pak continued with its nefarious designs and at about 1230 hours again initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district, said Defence spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand. Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively, he added. Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshis remarks about his government learning from contacts with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that the group had denied involvement in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack have triggered anger and consternation in official circles in New Delhi. Qureshis remarks came against the backdrop of a claim of responsibility by JeM within hours of the attack that killed 40 paramilitary troops and calls from the world community to crack down on terrorists operating from Pakistani soil. The comments, made in an interview with BBC aired on Friday, came a day after Qureshi acknowledged JeM chief Masood Azhars presence in Pakistan and said action could be taken against him only if India provides solid, inalienable evidence. A person familiar with the thinking of the Indian government said Qureshis remarks were a reflection of the Pakistani establishments deep-rooted ties with the terror group banned by Islamabad in 2002. He [Qureshi] has admitted the presence of JeM leader Masood Azhar in Pakistan. He has admitted to their people talking to JeM, thereby establishing the Pakistan governments linkages to JeM, the person said. They now have to act on terror groups in areas under their control, the person added, recalling Pakistans commitment of 2004 to not allow its soil to be used by terrorist elements. Qureshi was asked during the BBC interview whether the latest crisis had begun with the attack by Pakistan-based JeM, and he replied, Were not sure of that. When it was pointed out that JeM had claimed responsibility, he said, They have not, there is confusion on that. He added, The confusion is that the [JeM] leadership, when contacted, they said no. The leadership of the banned group, he said, had been contacted by people whore known to them, but didnt offer details. A security official, who did not want to be named, said Qureshis comments went against the stand adopted by the world community and even the UN Security Council, which had named JeM in a statement on the Pulwama suicide bombing issued on February 21. The statement had called on all states to cooperate actively with the Government of India and other relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of such attacks to justice. It seems the Pakistan government doesnt really care about all the evidence thats already available and wants to continue obfuscating, the security official said. This official added it was significant that Qureshi was the first senior Pakistani functionary to publicly acknowledge Azhars presence in Pakistan. During the interview, Qureshi repeated his call for India to share evidence when he was asked if Azhar was under investigation.We have courts in this country, the courts are independent. When you take action against an individual...you will have to prove your point in the court of law. What we are saying to the Indians [is] if you have something, please share it with us. He said the government was studying a dossier on Azhar and JeM received from India. If India wants to initiate a dialogue based on this dossier, we are willing to engage with them, he added. Asked if he was in favour of the fresh move by France, the US and Britain to designate Azhar a global terrorist by the UNs 1267 Committee, Qureshi said Pakistan is open to move in the right direction if we have solid evidence. People familiar with developments said the Indian government will focus on counter-terrorism efforts in engagements with international partners and Pakistans repeated failure to act against designated terrorist individuals and groups such as JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba,and Azhar and LeT founder Hafiz Saeed. It should be noted that virtually no country criticised Indias air strike following the Pulwama attack. But statements issued by key powers such as the US after the Pulwama attack and the non-military action spoke of the need for Pakistan to crack down on terrorists operating from its soil, a person said. Two petitions have been filed in the Rajasthan high court challenging the bill granting 5% reservation in educational institutions and jobs to Gujjars and four other communities on the ground that it breaches the Supreme Court-mandated 50% ceiling on caste-based quotas. The Rajasthan Assembly had passed the Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on February 13 this year. It provided Gujjars and four other communities 5% reservation after increasing the other backward classes (OBC) quota from 21% to 26%. When the bill was being passed, deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said the assembly had passed a resolution requesting the Centre to make necessary amendments to the Constitution to protect it from legal scrutiny. On Wednesday, two petitioners Arvind Sharma and Badal Verma challenged the bill, saying reservation beyond the 50% limit was unconstitutional. The state government has stated that reservation is under pressing need for uplift of these communities while the actual pressing circumstance was the ongoing reservation agitation by Gujjars, said their counsel Abhinav Sharma. The Gujjars had blocked traffic for eight days on several national and state highways to press the reservation demand. Sharma said reservation was granted based on proportionality of the population of Gujjars and the four other communities and not on the quantifiable data of backwardness in education and public employment. The high court registry has listed hearing of their petitions next week, he said. Tourism minister Vishvendra Singh said on Friday the state government would put forward its defence strongly in court. When the 10% reservation (to economically backward classes) will not get stuck in court, how will the 5% reservation not pass the hurdle? he asked. In a related development, the Samta Andolan Samiti has issued legal notice to the Rajasthan chief secretary, personnel secretary, social justice and empowerment secretary and the law and legal affairs secretary, saying the bill was in contempt to the status quo order passed by the Supreme Court in an earlier case related to reservation for five communities, including the Gujjars. Samta Andolan Samiti president PN Sharmas advocate Shobhit Tiwari said the SC, in its order on November 13, 2017, had restrained the state government from breaching the 50% reservation ceiling in Rajasthan. The Gujjars and other communities were given 5% reservation for the first time through the Special Backward Class (SBC) Act in 2015. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Indias plan to send fighter jets to strike a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan on February 26 was a decade old, a government official said. Conceived after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, which left 166 people dead and nearly 300 injured, the plan was never put on paper to prevent a possible leak, the official, who asked not to be named, added. It was passed down to select people through briefings verbally only, he said. After the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, in which a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy killing 40 soldiers, it was clear that there would be a response. The task to hit back could have gone either of the three services -Army, the Indian Navy or Indian Air Force, the officer said. Even as intelligence agencies such as the Research and Analysis Wing (RA&W) got down to identifying possible targets to hit, the Indian Air Force (IAF) volunteered to go, he said. And, when the JeM camp at Balakot was shortlisted as a target by the government, the IAF was the natural choice, a second senior government officer said on condition of anonymity. . The IAF had the choice of sending Russian-made heavy strike bombers, Su30Mki, that would flatten the entire area. The priority was, however, to avoid any possible civilian casualties. The IAF tweaked its plan and decided to use the Mirage-2000 and the Israeli made Spice-200 precession guided ammunition, the second officer said. According to this officer, Although Pakistan has claimed there is no damage, our post-strike analysis has shown huge damage. Also read | China non-committal as push renews for terror tag on Jaish chief Masood Azhar IAF struck five buildings inside the camp. While a sweep from high-up in the skies after the air strike was impaired because of clouds, other assessments including that of intelligence agencies point to large-scale damages, the second officer said. Deception at Work Not only did the IAF deceive Pakistans air defence systems by sending the fighters in a the strike, it also used deception at every stage of the operation. Moving nearly 20 assets including fighters was sure to give away the surprise. As fighters took off from the Gwalior air base and other assets got airborne from multiple air bases, a section of the airspace, including some over New Delhi, was quietly vacated. The fighters and other assets flew in complete radio silence and sensors switched off through the funnel created without disturbing the civilian traffic, much of which was international flights. Hundreds of civilian flights crossed the Indian airspace without knowing that a large number of assets were moving towards Pakistan. Meanwhile, in New Delhi another kind of deception was on. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, and Western Air Command Commander Air Marshal C Hari Kumar went through the motions. Air Chief Marshal addressed Defence Attache (DA)s in the afternoon and even a banquet in the honour of soon to retire Air Marshal Hari Kumar. After the banquet, they quietly slipped back into the operations room, a third senior government official, who did not want to be named, said. Radars and Air Defence At a control room in New Delhi, the fighters were being tracked using multiple sources including the Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AEWS) aircraft hovering inside Indian airspace. It spotted Pakistan trying to respond to Su-30Mki that were rushed towards a different direction. As the Indian fighters turned back, Indian Air Defence Systems comprising radar networks came online. We couldnt have put them up before, it would put Pakistan on the alert. The Indian Army and Indian Navy were also put alert as the air-defence systems came alive, the third senior official said. Also read | 2 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian The proposed ordinance allowing private companies to use customers Aadhaar identities to meet know-your-customer (KYC) rules has attracted criticism from experts and activists who say it violates fundamental privacy norms, makes people vulnerable to identity thefts, and undermines the parliamentary process. It has its share of supporters, though. Similar mixed reactions have been received for the other decision of the cabinet that exempted the recently-launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KiSAN) scheme from Aadhaar-related conditions. While some experts said that the decision exposes inherent weaknesses of the biometric system, other said that the exemption was a political necessity because of paucity of time. The cabinet on Thursday cleared two separate proposals related to Aadhaar. The first decision approved promulgation of an ordinance for voluntary use of Aadhaar number for KYC authentication, and the other one made Aadhaar optional for small and marginal farmers to avail the second instalment of 2,000 on April 1 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KiSAN) scheme. The hurried-through ordinance, bypassing Parliament, is disturbing. The Supreme Court verdict does not permit the government to allow private entities access to personal data of citizens, Reetika Khera, associate professor, IIT Delhi, said, referring to the courts Aadhaar judgement. She alleged that the companies were lobbying to get access to Aadhaar data, which will expose people to the risk of identity thefts and identity frauds. It is not clear why the government passed the ordinance in a hurry, without discussions in Parliament and without debating it in public, advocate Vrinda Bhandari, who represented petitioners against the government in the SC in the Aadhaar case, said. In September last year, the Supreme Court said that Aadhaar is constitutionally fair and gives dignity to the marginalised, but ordered that the government could not make Aadhaar-linking compulsory for operating bank accounts, mobile phone connections, and school or college admissions. Commenting on the second decision of the cabinet, Khera said, The fact that Aadhaar is not compulsory for the PM KiSAN scheme is the first time that the government has admitted to the failures of Aadhaar. It suggests that the government is aware of the problems that Aadhaar has created in the banking system. Pronab Sen, economist and former chief statistician of India, however, said the government has corrected an error it made earlier in making Aadhaar mandatory for various schemes. The original idea of Aadhaar was to give citizens an alternative to identify proofs like passports, ration cards, driving licenses, etc. It was meant to help them, if they dont have any other IDs, they can use Aadhaar. It was never meant to be mandatory, he said. While briefing the media after the cabinet meeting on Thursday, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: Aadhaar can be used as KYC on a voluntary basis. Congress spokesperson Pranav Jha said this is again a step taken by the government in contravention of the SC judgment in the Aadhaar case. It is a blatant subversion just to provide massive secret data base of ordinary Indians to crony corporates, he said. Soon after it was elected, the Narendra Modi government concluded that the India-Pakistan relationship had fallen into an unthinking cycle of talks, followed by terror, followed by more talks, ad nauseam. Both governments had come to accept this pattern, but India was the one getting a bloody nose. The outgoing government, when asked about how to handle Pakistans terror actions, simply told the Modi team, Just keep talking to them. Modis National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, privately described this terror-talks cycle as the left hand washing the right hand, while the right hand is washing the left hand. This passivity had its origins in different circumstances. In the past, Indias military and economic strength was only marginally greater than Pakistans. The international community was as likely to blame New Delhi for mismanaging Kashmir as it was to blame Islamabad for sponsoring terror. The turmoil of Kashmiri politics was a third element. The Modi government decided it was time to break the cycle. It adopted a more muscular approach. Pakistan would have to learn that a major terrorist strike would be met with a strong Indian retaliation. Islamabad should no longer be able to predict the Indian response, other than the fact that it would be punitive. In addition, dialogue would no longer be pursued just for the sake of dialogue. The old framework had to be broken. But Modis national security team accepted it was an educational process that would have to unfold over a number of years and the learning would apply to both Pakistanis and Indians. Any residual doubts about this policy ended after the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Pakistans re-education began that autumn. The 2016 Uri attack and the reprisal that followed were effectively Lesson One. India had carried out reprisals before, but it had never gone public with them. It was like a military pop quiz: Islamabad could either admit the attacks and go toe-to-toe with India, or it could deny them and de facto admit it didnt want a fight. It chose the latter. Uri showed the Line of Control would no longer be a barrier to Indian action. It also showed global opinion had changed. The West and Russia criticised Pakistan, not India. Even fair weather friend China was very correct in its response. Pulwama and its aftermath now constitute Lesson Two. Bodybag counting is irrelevant to the strategic equation. The real success of the past week of tension is that Indias calculus of deterrence with Pakistan is now more deeply ingrained in the bilateral relationship. One, India not only breached the Line of Control but it carried out a heavy bombardment on Pakistani land that is not even disputed. Until now, New Delhi had always attacked targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to make the thin legal case it was attacking Indian territory and, therefore, not in violation of international law. With the Balakot strike, India dispensed with this fig leaf. The message to Pakistan and the wider world: if India is hit, it will strike wherever it wishes. This has similarities to Peulot Ha Tagmul, roughly acts of retribution, a policy adopted by Israel from the 1950s. Two, Pakistan found itself even more isolated internationally. Traditionally, Islamabad has counted on the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China for diplomatic cover. Post Pulwama, only China has been supportive and, publicly, largely neutral. Islamabad can take some consolation in Russias echoing of Chinas position, at least behind closed doors. Changing the behaviour of nations is a long process. And Modi has sought as much to change Indian mindsets as Pakistani ones. It is unlikely Uri and Pulwama will be enough. Rawalpindi will wonder if the policy will survive a weaker Indian government. There are also other elements New Delhi must address. For example, the deterioration in the political climate in Kashmir since 2016. And, at some distant point, India will need to open the door to dialogue again. For now, a new normal has been established both at home and next door that could define relations for years to come. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to take a final call next week on hiring advertising and public relations (PR) firms to handle the partys outdoor and media campaigns and draft slogans for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a party leader aware of the development said on Friday. The leader said Gandhi was unhappy with power point presentations made by some agencies on Thursday and asked party leaders to get campaign design suggestions from more advertising and PR firms. The Congress chief had been expected to finalise the agencies this week. The presentations were stopped midway on Wednesday soon after news came in about the Pakistani jets violating Indian airspace and capturing an Indian Air Force pilot. They continued on Thursday. An internal tussle between senior leaders also delayed the process, another senior Congress functionary said. A party panel shortlisted four from at least 25 firms that applied to handle the Congress partys outdoor advertising, print and electronic media and social media campaigns. The amount the party plans to spend on this isnt known. In August 2018, Gandhi formed a publicity committee, headed by senior leader Anand Sharma, to look after the partys communication strategy. The other members of the panel are Bhakta Charan Das, Praveen Chakravarty, Milind Deora, Kumar Ketkar, Pawan Khera, VD Satheesan, Jaiveer Shergill, Rajeev Shukla, Divya Spandana, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Manish Tewari and Pramod Tiwari. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress hired Dentsu India, a Japanese advertising and public relations company, and Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm, to handle its outdoor and social media campaigns. The 600-crore ad campaign by the Congress, however, failed to match the Bharatiya Janata Partys communication strategy handled by advertising industry heavyweights Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara. While the Congress was reduced to its lowest ever tally of 44 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP became the first political party to secure a majority on its own in 30 years by winning 282 seats. The Congress government in Rajasthan will hold a state-level Gau Raksha (cow protection) meeting on Saturday, said a top official. P K Goyal, additional chief secretary, agriculture, said the meeting is being held for the first time in Rajasthan to provide a platform to those who are running cow shelters, and their representatives. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot will be the chief guest while Gopalan (cow welfare) minister Pramod Bhaya will preside over the event, to be held at Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre. Representatives from 2,673 registered cow shelters have been invited to the meeting. Goyal said suggestions will be invited to prepare an action plan and schemes for cow shelters, and marketing and standardisation of cow products, among others. In addition, the government will also address the practical problems faced by the Directorate of Gopalan in running various schemes, he said. Soon after coming to power in December, the Ashok Gehlot government had issued an order to all district collectors that people adopting stray cows will be felicitated on Independence Day and Republic Day. Those interested in adopting cows can deposit a specific amount decided by local cow shelters and visit the shelter anytime to see the animal. Rajasthan, under the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime, became the first state to appoint a cow welfare minister in India. Welcoming the Congress governments move, BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said, It is good if the Congress works on such policies made by BJP; there are many which they should continue. But they should not link it to the Lok Sabha elections. In its assembly election campaign last year, the Congress had promised to increase grants for cow welfare and provide better facilities for stray cows. Growing up in air bases around the country, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman may not have had to look far for role models. His parents fit the bill, said two persons who have known the family for years. His mother is a well-known doctor who has served in conflict zones and father an accomplished fighter pilot who was closely involved in the Kargil war and served the Indian Air Force for nearly four decades. An alumnus of Madras Medical College who did her specialisation from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Shobha Varthaman, 66, was a member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or doctors without borders ) and spent years providing medical care to people in countries affected by armed conflict, epidemics and natural disasters, said Group Captain TK Singha, a retired fighter pilot who knows the Varthamans. Also read: Nirmala Sitharaman meets IAF pilot Abhinandan in hospital day after his return Singha told Hindustan Times that some of the countries she has worked in include Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Papua New Guinea, Haiti and Nigeria. During the Second Gulf War, in Sulemaniyah, Iraq, Dr Shobha encountered life-threatening experience of a suicide-bomb blast. In Iran, she taught Pranayama to her patients for promoting healing, Singha wrote in a piece published by Northeast Now. She is a specialist in anaesthesia, intensive care and pain management. Singha was the IAFs spokesperson in the east when Air Marshal S Varthaman, Abhinandans father, was commanding the Shillong-based Eastern Air Command a few years ago. Also read | Good to be back: IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on Indian soil after 58 hours in Pak Army custody Singha recalls a conversation with Dr Varthaman in which she shared her experiences of interacting with an Iranian mother who had lost her 18-year-old son to a landmine blast. In that conversation, she recalled the Iranian woman as saying, It is my country, I have to protect it and if I have a son who can protect, I will send him. And if he goes and we dont have any more sons, we will go next. Singha said Dr Varthaman was deeply moved by the womans reaction. In countries where Bollywood stars are well known, Dr Varthaman found a novel way to get her patients to follow her instructions. Also read | Varthamans a MiG-21 family: Son flies it, dad flew it In most countries Amitabh Bacchhan and Shahrukh Khan were popular. So it was easy for me. All my Hindi film DVDs were given to my patients as bribes for following my instructions, Singha recalled her as saying. Dr Varthaman also recalled the Iraq suicide bomb blast in another conversation with Singha. She said, It was about 5:30 pm and I had finished my work and was going back home. I was standing right outside the hospital. Suddenly I heard a huge noise and a massive ball of fire almost as high as a three-floor building. Air Marshal Varthaman played a significant role during 1999 Kargil conflict when he, as a Group Captain, was the chief operations officer (COO) of the Gwalior airbase, home to Mirage 2000 fighters. A total of 31 Mirages took part in the conflict. He retired as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Shillong-based Eastern Air Command. In 2017, the government constituted a committee under the Air Marshal to assess the viability of building stealth fighters jointly with Russia. The Samjhauta Express will leave for Pakistan from Delhi on Sunday after the two neighbours agreed to operationalise services at their ends, a senior railway official told PTI. The announcement came a day after Pakistan released Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The official said the first train from India will leave on March 3. While Pakistan had cancelled its services right after an air strike by the Indian Air Force, India cancelled the operations of the Samjhauta Express on February 28. The train will start running from the Indian side on Sunday, while on the Pakistan side it will leave Lahore on Monday on its return journey. On the Indian side the train runs from Delhi to Attari and from Lahore to Wagah on the Pakistan side. The transfer of some officials supervising the ongoing last phase of update of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam will hamper the process, officials familiar with development said. The reshuffle came despite Supreme Courts request to the Election Commission of India to examine the case for exemption of these officials from transfers. According to an official as many as 17 additional deputy commissioners involved in supervision of NRC hearings of the claims and objections phase have been transferred since February 5 in light of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. This official said that the office of the State Coordinator of the NRC (SCNRC) had moved the Supreme Court for exemption of the officials for it wanted to make sure that the process is completed within the stipulated July 31 deadline set by the top court. Also read: Supreme Court rebukes Assam govt over citizens register, says it is creating confusion These officials are familiar of the process, the local equations. Changing them would definitely hamper the process, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity when asked how the transfer of such a small number of officials would hamper the process. In its February 5 order, the Supreme Court, acting on a report submitted by the SCNRC had directed that adequate number of officials (3457 as indicated by the SCNRC) be kept free for NRC work. We also request the ECI to examine the case of exemption of officers in the rank of District Magistrates, Additional District Magistrates, etc., as mentioned in paragraph 4 of the of the report of the state coordinator, from transfers which are likely to made in view of elections, the apex court had said. Also read: Supreme Court pans Centre on Assams citizen register, says trying to destroy process It is learnt that after the Supreme Court order, the SCNRC wrote to the chief electoral officer, Assam and the state government to ensure that the officials are not moved. The home department of the state government which is coordinating the NRC work said the reshuffle was carried out by the department of personnel. We are not involved. It was done by the Department of Personnel, said Ashutosh Agnihotri, Principal Secretary. An official of the department of personnel said it merely carried out the directives of the Election Commission of India. Mukesh Chandra Sahu, chief electoral officer, Assam said it is an inter-departmental matter. We will look into it. The 17 ADCs who have been transferred, meanwhile, are yet to be relieved after an earlier directive from the SCNRC to the deputy commissioners in the districts. The United Arab Emirates, the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, said on Saturday that it looked forward to the grouping strengthening its relations with India. UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan told a news conference at the end of the meeting of OICs Council of Foreign Ministers, I think the OIC has sent a very clear and positive sign to India... that the OIC appreciates the relationship with India and looks forward to strengthening such a relationship to a point where we can embrace India one day in the OIC. He was responding to an Indian journalists question about resolutions passed by the meeting that referred to alleged atrocities in Kashmir and the air strike against a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility at Balakot. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the inaugural session of the meeting on Friday as a guest of honour and made a thinly veiled attack on Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistans foreign minister boycotted the meeting over the invitation to India though, Islamabad sent a delegation. Al Nahyan said matters should be looked at from a positive angle. Referring to the issue of an enhanced relationship between India and OIC, he said: I know we are not there yet for obvious reasons but what I can say (is) that having India as a guest of honour was a historic moment for the OIC. It was a historic moment for India definitely and the language that you are referring to (on Kashmir) has been in our previous statements. The most important...change in the OIC today towards India is having India as a guest of honour and having such a positive, strong, dedicated speech that we heard yesterday from India. Referring to the resolutions on Kashmir, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, Our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India. Kumar said India appreciates the historic gesture of being invited to the meeting on the 50th anniversary of OICs first meet. People familiar with developments said OIC resolutions are not negotiated and include issues suggested by all members. The Abu Dhabi Declaration, a negotiated document, had no mention of India or Kashmir. A statement from Pakistans Foreign Office said the OIC resolutions stated Kashmir was the core dispute with India. They also expressed grave concern over Indian violation of Pakistani airspace, affirmed Pakistans right to self-defence. They also called for restraint and de-escalation. Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday took a jibe at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over his veiled threat of his country possessing nuclear bomb amid heightened tension between the two countries. Owaisi said the Pakistan prime minister should tackle terror outfits operating in that country. They Pakistan prime minister talks about atom bombDont we have it? We have it too. What is he talking about, said Owaisi at addressing a public function in Hyderabad on Saturday. Owaisi was referring to Imran Khans statements over past few days in which he gave a veiled threat that if tension escalates between India and Pakistan, things could go out of control given the kind of weapons the two countries have. Imran Khan also referred to the two countries being nuclear powers. Imran Khans statements came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed on February 14. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. However, Pakistan PM appeared to ignore the claim by Jaish and sought proof from India for its hand behind Pulwama attack. Days after Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a strike at a terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammed. Pakistan responded to attack on terror camp by attempting to bomb Indian military installations on Wednesday morning. The attempt was foiled by the Indian Air Force. On Thursday, Imran Khan addressed a joint sitting of the National Assembly of Pakistan, where he blamed Indian governments policies for terrorist attack on the CRPF soldiers. Responding to Imran Khans remarks, Asaduddin Owaisi said the Pakistan PM should first handle Lashkar-e-Shaitaan and Jaish-e-Shaitaan referring to the terror activities of proscribed outfits Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The two terror groups have long enjoyed the patronage of Pakistan Army and its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). On Friday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in an interview, admitted that Jaish chief Masood Azhar is in his country. In another interview, he said that the Pakistani government was in touch with Masood Azhar. Reports from Pakistan on Saturday suggested that Masood Azhar was being treated at a hospital run by Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi. This town of Pakistani Punjab province is also the headquarters of Pakistan Army. A woman and her two children, one of them nine months old, were killed while her husband was critically injured after a Pakistani mortar shell hit their house along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jhullas area of Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district late on Friday. Shelling by Pakistani forces intensified around 10:30 pm, shortly after Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was repatriated through the Wagah border at 9:15 pm after two days of captivity. Senior Superintendent of Police, Poonch, Ramesh Angral said Pakistani army resorted to heavy shelling on Friday in Flore area of village Jhullas. A shell exploded inside their house, killing 26-year-old Rubina Kouser, her two children 9-month-old Shabnam and five-year-old Faizan and critically injuring her husband Mohammed Younis (32), Angral said. On Thursday, Amina Akhter (27), was killed while a soldier, Zakir Hussain (35), was injured in Pakistani shelling in Poonch. Tensions along the LoC have escalated since the February 14 suicide bombing attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama that killed 40 personnel. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. Twelve days after the attack, on February 26, the Indian Air Force bombed the terror groups biggest training camp near Balakot in Pakistan. On Thursday, authorities ordered closure of schools within a five kilometre from the International Border with Pakistan and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has approved the initiation of talks that could lead to a possible alliance in Delhi with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the coming parliamentary elections, a Congress leader directly involved in the discussion said on condition of anonymity. The two parties established contact on Friday with a top Congress strategist close to the party leadership speaking to a senior Aam Aadmi Party leader, this person added. Delhi sends seven representatives to the Lok Sabha. The Congress leader added that after Gandhis approval, the partys central leadership was in the process of persuading those Delhi leaders who had been against forming any alliance with the AAP. This includes senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, who was until recently the partys Delhi chief. If all goes well, we will firm up the alliance in Delhi next week before the announcement of the dates for the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said. But the alliance in Delhi is completely de-linked from other states. The AAP wants the alliance to extend to Punjab for sure, and perhaps even Haryana and Goa, two other states where it has some presence. The formula likely to be suggested by the Congress to AAP leaders is that the two parties contest three seats each with the seventh going to a consensus candidate or a celebrity. The AAP is unlikely to accept this proposal and could bargain hard during the negotiations. We have 67 seats in Delhi [in the 70-member assembly] and how can we accept a 3+3+1 formula. We want to contest on six seats in Delhi and four in Punjab, besides Chandigarh. In return, we will give the Congress one in Delhi, and leave Haryana and Goa open for negotiations, a senior AAP leader said on condition of anonymity. The Congress leader said the partys Delhi in-charge, PC Chacko, has already held discussions with senior colleagues, including state unit president and former chief minster Sheila Dikshit. A second Congress leader said the need to have an alliance in Delhi was strongly felt at a meeting of Opposition leaders at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawars residence in the national capital on February 13. Apart from Pawar and Gandhi, the other leaders present in the meeting were Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee and Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. During the meeting, the leaders asked Gandhi about his stand on the alliance in Delhi, to which he replied that the Delhi unit of his party was against it. But the dominant view in the meeting was that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could be defeated only if there was a oneon-one contest for a majority of the Lok Sabha seats, and urged Gandhi to explore the possibilities of joining hands with the AAP. Kejriwal has previously said that he is open to an alliance with the Congress. An internal survey conducted by the Congress in Delhi showed that the party is not in a position to win any constituency on its own and that the BJP will win all the seven seats in case of a division of votes. We are not having ideological alliances for the Lok Sabha elections. The ultimate goal is to defeat the BJP. Look at Telangana, we had a tie-up with a party [TDP] that was formed on the anti-Congress plank. In West Bengal, we are ready to join hands with both Trinamool Congress and Left parties, and similarly, with the AAP in Delhi, said a third Congress leader. Interestingly, the Delhi Congress leaders, at a meeting at former Delhi chief minister and party leader Sheila Dikhsits residence on Friday unanimously rejected an alliance with the AAP but maintained that a final call would be taken by Gandhi. In a statement issued after that meeting, the leaders said the AAPs winnability in all the state elections after its mammoth victory in Delhi in 2015 has been poor whereas the Congress was a national party which has shown political wins. Everyone was of the opinion that an alliance must not be entertained with the AAP. In Gujarat, Karnataka, Nagaland and Meghalaya and so many other states, their candidates lost their deposits, said Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitender Kochar. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Confident that Congress, alliance leaders can bring a change: Rahul Gandhi I am confident that be it Congress leaders, or leaders of the alliance, we are a team and promise to change and the develop the state of Jharkhand, said Rahul Gandhi in Ranchi. Modi govt tried to do away with Land Acquisition bill Congress had introduced the land acquisition bill in 2013 for that stated that farmers need to be consulted before their land is acquired, and they could only acquire it only when 80% of the farmers agree to it, said Rahul Gandhi in Jharkhand. However, as soon as the Modi government came to power at the Centre, several times in the Parliament they tried to turn down the bill but Congress kept its foot down for the sake of farmers. When they couldnt make the move successful at the Centre, they asked their state governments to work in this direction, he added. Jharkhand has become garh of unemployment: Rahul Gandhi Jharkhand has become the garh of unemployment. This is state has the most number of unemployed youth, this is what the BJP has done to the state. Rahul Gandhi addresses rally in Ranchi Congress national president is set to address a public rally in Jharkhands Ranchi. Union textiles minister Smriti Irani lauded the Anti Romeo Squad constituted by the UP government in 2017 and said 4,000 youths accused of harassing girls and women were facing action by this squad. She stated that the Union cabinets nod to the Metro rail project for Agra was another step by Prime Minister towards modernisation of Indian cities. We are marching towards a new India metro projects are being cleared for the modernisation of our cities. I am fortunate to communicate the green signal for the metro rail project in Agra, said Irani. The minister was in Agra to attend a programme, Mahilaon ke Man ki Baat and interacted with women and girls at Agra College here on Friday. In reply to a query by a girl from Sri Lanka, the minister stated that India had made adequate arrangements for the security and safety of tourists visiting the country. There are tough laws for crime against women and there is provision for capital punishment for rape with victims less than 12 years old, she added. Replying to another question, Irani said she moved out of the house at the age of 17, but took care that her family and society remained proud of whatever she did. Why only women are asked how they will balance professional and family life, she asked. No man asks this question from another man. This mindset needs to be changed, added Irani. Highlighting various schemes initiated by the NDA government, she urged the youth to vote for the BJP, if they wanted a progressive and strong India. The minister underlined strong governance, development, growth and a better India as some of the reasons why people should vote for the BJP. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a tough stand against terrorism, Smriti Irani said Indias army, air force and navy had made it clear that they were prepared to safeguard the nations sovereignty. The Prime Minister has taken various initiatives and launched schemes for women. Working women are allowed 26 weeks maternity leave now, said Irani. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Innovation in the mind, compassion in the heart and passion in the belly can help create great enterprises, 83-year-old Shantaram Balwant Mujumdar, founder-president of Symbiosis Society, said here on Thursday, during a candid interview about the inception and growth of Symbiosis. Chancellor of Symbiosis International Deemed University, Prof SB Mujumdar, as he is known, was a professor of Botany at Fergusson College, when he took the first steps to create Symbiosis in 1971. While at Fergusson College, he noticed how a girl student would approach a window in the boys hostel with a package everyday. When he checked into the hostel room, he saw a Mauritian student lying in bed, pale and sick. He kept his head on my shoulder and wept profusely. Believe me, the tears of a foreign student was a turning point, Mujumdar said during his public interview by Vikrant Vartak, founder of Mavens, a chief executive officers peer group. Mujumdar was the guest at the 20th Senate Talk Show, Pride of Pune series, under the knowledge-sharing initiative for budding entrepreneurs and business professionals. The Symbiosis founder recalled that students like Patrick Oswasa from Ghana, spoke of the extreme discrimination that he suffered from Punekars simply because he was a black African. The student told Mujumdar that in the mornings, students in the hostels would close their eyes or look away because seeing black in the morning was a bad omen. In local buses, people would not sit near him because of his colour. It was to address this discrimination and help foreign students that Mujumdar established Symbiosis. The octogenarian educationist stressed on values like humility, simplicity and frugality coupled with passion, compassion and innovation that can help in making a valuable contribution to society. He also stressed on the importance of spirituality in ones life. Mujumdar credited his parents for these values and said, Right from childhood, they taught me the importance of values, most importantly, moral values. Humility is not a weakness. You can be polite and get work done. You can be persuasive without being aggressive. These essential values for any institution or organisation, he said. On spirituality in ones life, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi who had said, I continuously pray in the faith that the prayer of a pure heart never goes unanswered. When asked for tips, advice and suggestions for budding and aspiring entrepreneurs and youth of the country, he spoke of the importance of passion, compassion and innovation. He said the word innovationary that he had coined to denote massive social change through innovation, was better than the word revolutionary. Symbiosis, I believe is a beautiful example of social innovation, passion and compassion, he said. A Detroit-area man who was convicted of murder at age 13 has been charged with selling heroin and methamphetamine. Nathaniel Abraham now is 33 years old. Bond was set at $100,000 during a court appearance Friday in Farmington Hills. Outside court, attorney James Galen says his client isnt holding up so well. The Oakland County sheriffs office says investigators seized meth, about $3,100 and digital scales at a house in Pontiac. Abraham faces drug charges in two communities. A court hearing in Pontiac is set for Saturday. Abraham was 11 in 1997 when he was accused of fatally shooting a stranger in Pontiac. He was convicted at age 13. He was released from state supervision in 2007 but has had subsequent legal problems. Indian diplomats have long remarked that the Foreign Office is stuck in the colonial past, but there are signs of change: an Indian-origin British diplomat says he is grateful that Britain does not have an empire anymore and is not a superpower. Britains dwindling standing in international relations has been noted in recent years, more so after the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, but the remarks by diplomat Nik Mehta in a speech last week suggests a nuanced reappraisal of itself and its global role. Mehta, charge daffaires of the British Embassy, Seoul, expounded on Britains colonial past in a speech at Yonsei University, noting that the United Kingdom has a more complex historical legacy than most countries. And its not all good. I strongly feel that we must acknowledge our past - the good and the bad. The process of reconciliation and revisiting the past is not an easy one. The UKs colonial legacy will remain controversial, but whats important is that we continue to learn the lessons of our history, he said. Also read | UK stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over Pulwama attack, says British MP Boris Johnson Mehta listed Britains several major contributions to global history, and added: The UK is no longer a superpower. And we dont have an empire any more - a fact which I, for one, am grateful for. I am also proud that I can stand in front of you as a British diplomat and as a son of Commonwealth immigrants. I continue to believe that diversity remains one of the UKs greatest strengths. However, Mehta recalled that some of his family members were shocked and upset when he told them he was joining the Foreign Office: Some asked me if I had forgotten what the British did to our people. My family are East African Asians. My mother was thrown out of Uganda in the early 1970s by Idi Amins forces after he decided to expel all Asians. She was taken in by the UK. My father left Kenya around the same time to study in the UK. They are very much the children of Britains colonial past and imperial history. Until the 1980s, posting non-white diplomats to represent Britain abroad was considered putting the countrys security and institutional reputation at risk, according to an official historical assessment of race in the Foreign Office. The assessment, titled Black Skin, Whitehall: Race and the Foreign Office, 1945-2018, released in October 2018 mentions that Indian-origin Robin Chatterjie was the first successful minority applicant in the entry level Diplomatic Service Fast Stream in 1975. Mehtas remarks are significant in the context of the Foreign Offices difficult history on issues such as colonialism and race, particularly when there was no public consensus (in the UK) around whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, as the assessment states. [The] Empire quite literally depended on crude skin racism in order to function, and until that basic fact is processed and accepted, British politics in general and the FCO in particular will find it an uncomfortable legacy with which to deal, the document adds. Mehta is among an increasing number of British diplomats from a non-White background posted in various countries, including India. Also read | UK minister signs extradition order for alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. The latest episode of LeBron James on-going HBO series, The Shop, just aired Friday night, and it appears Antonio Brown had a few things to get off his chest. While talking with LeBron, Anthony Davis, Jamie Foxx, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, and Jerrod Carmichael, the Steelers star WR spoke in depth about his current situation with the Steelers and his desire to be traded. "That's the narrative they try to create once you doing your own thing," Brown said. "'Yo, this guy a distraction. He this type of guy.' All I've ever been was a guy who came from Central Michigan, sixth round who worked his ass off." Brown eventually brought up his issues with QB Ben Roethlisberger as well, saying he feels Ben thinks hes a owner, before going on to make fun of his interception in week 17's pivotal game. "The type of guy he is. He feels like he's the owner. Bro, you threw the shit to the D-lineman! What the f*ck? I'm over here wide open. You need to give me a better ball," Brown said. "But it's like in the league, you're going to have a guy from the team that'll be like, boy, you can't say nothing. I need you to get out there like, but it's like why I got to be acting?" Check out an excerpt of the interview (below). https://twitter.com/_/status/1101701123877076993 Sadly, sexual assault cases involving young students and their teachers have become all too common. One of the more recent cases involves school teacher Brittany Zamora who, police say, sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy at Arizona's Las Brisas Academy Elementary School last year. The unnamed boy was interviewed by police where he detailed the disturbing, sexually-charged conversations and interactions he had with the 27-year-old teacher. "She said she wanted to give me a blow job and my stuff is really big and stuff like that," he told investigatiors before going on to describe "stuff" as "penis." According to the boy, Zamora hugged and kissed him in private while everyone was in a parent-teacher meeting and the two later touched each other in the back of their classroom while other students were occupied with watching videos. The boy also said he would wander by Zamora's desk and pretend to drop things and would "touch his stuff." https://www.instagram.com/p/BmOpjwKlifm For weeks the boy would pass her notes, telling her that he loved her while also describing the sexual things he would do to her. He would sometimes stay at his grandparent's house where he would sneak out, meet Zamora in her car, and engage in sexual activity. The teacher prohibited him from telling anyone about their illegal encounters, but the young teen told a friend. The situation continued for weeks. When he would stay at his grandparents' house, he would sneak out to meet her in her car where they reportedly performed oral sex on one another. Zamora told him not to tell anyone what they had been up to, but he later told a friend who, in turn, would act as a lookout while the pair had sex in the classroom. "They were just doing it," the friend explained. "It was very uncomfortable. It's, like, weird how a 27-year-old can, like, love a 13-year-old and do stuff. It's just crazy. She's not a good person." https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZ8k_wlJdM The friend said that while Zamora never attempted to have sex with him, she did ask him personal questions about his genitalia. Rumors began to circulate throughout the school and the boy's parents claim in a lawsuit that the principal was alerted by at least three students. The parents were never told about the accusations made by their son's classmates. An investigation has revealed text messages between the teacher and the boy that further incriminate her. "I want you too baby so bad!" Zamora messaged him. "Whenever we can you know I'm down." Zamora is charged with molesting a child an sexual conduct with a minor. She has pleaded not guilty. The boy's parents are seeking $2.5. million in damages against Zamora, her husband, and the school district. On Tuesday the United Methodist Churchs governing body narrowly voted to continue banning same-sex weddings and openly gay clergy, and to toughen the penalties for clergy who break those rules. Now, with the 12 million-member denomination teetering on the verge of a split, individual Methodists are changing churches, ministers are assessing their futures, and whole congregations are likely to consider leaving the UMC. This vote was about me, said Bodie Gilbert, the music minister of Westbury UMC. Gilbert, whos married to a man, still hopes to become a full-fledged, fully ordained Methodist senior pastor. In seminary at Baylor University, he chose to affiliate with the UMC, rather than a denomination more open to LGBT ministers. The United Methodist Church is in my theological bones, he explained. He thought it was moving toward greater inclusion, and he wanted to be part of that revolution. Gilbert and another Westbury minister traveled to St. Louis to observe the UMCs governing body earlier this week decide how the increasingly fractured church will govern itself. Like many progressive Methodists, they hoped the delegates would vote to allow regional groups and churches to opt out of the denominations declaration that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, as well as the bans on same-sex weddings and clergy who are self-avowed practicing homosexuals. A majority of U.S. delegates supported that plan. But a coalition of American evangelicals and non-U.S. delegates narrowly passed a different set of rules. If approved by the UMCs court, those will add teeth to enforcement of the rules banning same-sex marriages and gay clergy, and also make it easier for disagreeing churches to exit the denomination. Houston-area Methodists, like Methodists across the country, are struggling to figure out what all this means. On Facebook and church websites, many conservative and moderate pastors reminded their congregations that their denomination still declares that all persons are of sacred worth, and that LGBT members are still welcome and valued. But many other pastors were openly appalled by the decision. It was a dark day for Methodists, said Rudy Rasmus, co-pastor of St. Johns UMC in Midtown. The denomination made a decision not only to eliminate the LGBTQIA community from its churches but also to minimize its impact on a generation of people under 35 years old. He isnt sure what the decision will mean for his involvement, and St. Johns involvement, with the United Methodist Church, he said. Many African-American congregations, including Houstons Windsor Village, supported the ban on same-sex marriage and gay clergy. But not Rasmus: Discrimination and injustice of any form whether its sexual identity or race it all leaves the same scar. I grew up in Houston drinking from a separate water fountain as a child. At 62, Im still waiting on healing from that scar. The Houston church most likely to leave the denomination appears to be Bering UMC, which since the 1980s has been one of Houstons most visibly LGBT-affirming churches. Pastor Diane McGehee says that for the moment, with so much uncertain, Bering is focused on comforting members who feel deeply wounded by the denominations decision, and on making sure that LGBTQ+ members know that the denominations decision wont change their churchs stance. She has planned her Sunday sermon with that firmly in mind. God, she plans to tell her congregation, is more manifold and various than the human mind can comprehend. God includes all colors, all genders, all sexual orientations, and it is their churchs joyful duty to reflect that boggling breadth. God, shell say, is more queer than we can imagine. Scott Jones, the bishop over the Houston and East Texas region, urges calm, and believes that tempers are cooling after the heated St. Louis meeting. People are breathing deep, he said. Theyre allowing their emotions to subside. Theyre praying and thinking, How best can we serve God and the United Methodist Church? At 10 a.m. Saturday, via livestreamed video (www.txcumc.org), Jones will answer questions submitted by email. Methodist C.J. Yeoman isnt waiting for matters to resolve. For 13 years, she and her husband belonged to Chapelwood UMC in Memorial. But as the St. Louis gathering drew near, she became convinced that no matter what the outcome, the UMC would split, and she felt sure that Chapelwood would go with the traditional churches. So two weeks ago, they switched to the more LGBT-friendly St. Pauls UMC in the Museum District. I literally have been begging my friends to be ready, she says. Its almost like Im telling people on Election Day 2016 that Trump is going to win. She is hardly the only person who believes a split may be near. Ted Campbell, a professor of Methodist history at Southern Methodist University, noted that many congregations both evangelical and progressive are interested in breaking from the denomination. I really hope we keep connected, he said. But its typical of Protestants to separate over issues that seem enormous at the time, then get back together in 50 or 75 years. Rob Renfroe, pastor of discipleship at The Woodlands UMC, is head of the national evangelical organization Good News, and recently co-authored a book, Are We Really Better Together?, which argues that evangelicals and progressives differences are irreconcilable, and that both would be better off if the denomination can split apart amicably. Renfroe, too, doesnt believe that the recent vote marks a lasting victory for evangelicals. He predicts that progressive Methodists will disobey the rules in large, dramatic ways. If so, he predicted, conservative churches would be likely to withhold the money they pay the denomination. Then the church is in chaos, he said. Renfroe belongs to the Wesleyan Covenant Association, an orthodox group that could form the backbone of a new denomination, should evangelicals eventually split from the UMC. In the wake of the recent vote, theres talk of forming a similar group for LBGT-affirming churches. On Twitter, Adam Hamilton, a high-powered progressive pastor, announced that a group of progressive leaders will convene after Easter at his church, near Kansas City, to discuss where Methodism goes from here. At Westbury UMC, during the usual Sunday school time, the congregation will gather for an update. Music minister Bodie Gilbert and the other pastor who attended the St. Louis UMC meeting will tell the congregation what they saw, and Pastor Danny Yang will explain the situation as far as he understands it, take questions and try to gauge the congregations reaction. Westbury is not officially an affirming church, with a stated policy of fully including LGBT people in all aspects of church life. Its congregation is one of the most racially and economically mixed in Houston, and includes significant demographic groups African-Americans, recent immigrants that havent traditionally embraced LGBT causes. But like much of American culture, the church has been leaning in that direction. Two years ago, when Gilbert and his husband, lawyer Marc Waters, joined the church together, standing up as a couple, it felt like a watershed moment. Gilbert was hoping merely to have their membership approved. Instead, the congregation broke out in applause. Yang isnt sure what lies ahead, whether his church will choose to leave the UMC or to stay and fight to change the denomination. But if anything, he said, the UMC decision seems likely to propel his church toward being more inclusive, not less. It made such a strong statement. We have to make a stronger statement: The story of our denomination is not the story of this church. This moves us out of complacency. lisa.gray@chron.com twitter.com/LisaGray_HouTX After U.S. college student Otto Warmbier was released from a North Korea prison in 2017, unresponsive and not expected to survive, his father, Fred, spoke of a comforting phone call from President Donald Trump: It was gracious, it was nice, and it felt good. During Trumps State of the Union address in 2018, Fred Warmbier and his wife, Cindy, stood and wept while Trump spoke of the menace of North Korea and gave tribute to their son, who died days after his release. On Friday, the Warmbiers emerged into the public eye again, this time with a blistering statement directed at the president. They said they could no longer be silent after the summit this week with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, and after hearing Trump say that he believed Kims claim that he did not know what had happened to Warmbier while he was in custody. We have been respectful during this summit process, the Warmbiers said in a statement. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. The outrage went far beyond the Warmbiers, as U.S. political leaders, including members of Trumps own party, joined the family in condemning Kim for Warmbiers death. Americans know, the world knows, Kim Jong Un knows, and most importantly, the Warmbier family knows that Otto suffered a cruel death inflicted by a brutal regime serving Kim Jong Un, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, wrote on Twitter. Trump has grown increasingly effusive about Kim since the days, early in the administration, when he referred to the dictator as Little Rocket Man and threatened to rain fire and fury upon North Korea. Our relationship is a very special relationship, he told reporters this week before the summit broke up. And at a rally in September, the president boasted that Kim wrote me beautiful letters. And theyre great letters, he said. We fell in love. For the Warmbiers, who had found an ally in Trump as the president helped secure the release of their son, it was a striking turnabout. In late 2015, Otto Warmbier was an adventure-seeking University of Virginia student on a five-day tour of North Korea. As he tried to leave the country, he was detained at the Pyongyang airport, accused of stealing a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. He was returned to the United States in June 2017 with a catastrophic brain injury, and he died at age 22. Trump said in 2017 that Warmbier was tortured beyond belief by North Korea. But in the aftermath of the summit in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, this week between Trump and Kim, Trump said that the two leaders discussed Warmbier and that Trump believed Kim was ignorant of what was happening to Warmbier while he was imprisoned. I dont believe that he would have allowed that to happen; it just wasnt to his advantage to allow that to happen, Trump said afterward. Those prisons are rough theyre rough places and bad things happened. But I really dont believe that he I dont believe that he knew about it. He tells me that he didnt know about it, Trump also said, and I will take him at his word. Just as the Warmbier familys plight aroused sympathy around the world after Warmbiers 17-month imprisonment, his parents statement Friday was echoed by words of support from a chorus of elected officials in Ohio. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in an email: North Korea murdered Otto Warmbier and the president of the United States has a responsibility to make sure they face the consequences. Anything short of that is unacceptable. In the Warmbiers hometown Wyoming, Ohio, an affluent enclave of 8,500 people that borders Cincinnati their neighbors, friends and acquaintances said they were aghast that Trump appeared to be taking the side of Kim, a dictator and authoritarian known for his willingness to torture and execute political enemies. Everybody both loves that family and sympathizes completely with the circumstances theyve had to deal with, Jenni McCauley, a Wyoming councilwoman. Otto Warmbier was an outstanding young man, she said, eager to travel and curious to explore the world. Its such a sad thing that Trump said anything in regard to it, McCauley said. We wish he had not said anything. Founded in 1805, Wyoming boasts century-old, well-kept homes and a tidy downtown with mom-and-pop businesses and a village green park. The area, which is part of Hamilton County, leans Democratic, residents said. Trees and streetlamps that had been wrapped in blue-and-white ribbons in support of Otto Warmbier at the time of his release stood bare Friday. When school let out, students spilled out from a campus on foot and filled local coffee shops and bakeries. Patty Pfahler, 59, the owner of a home furnishing store in Wyoming, said that she felt conflicted by the presidents remarks. They felt sour and reopened old wounds, Pfahler said, but she also suggested they might be an effort at international diplomacy. At a coffee shop in town, one employee, Kate Nicholson, 42, said that hearing Trump say what he did about Kim made my stomach hurt. Darren Wilson, 47, a resident of Wyoming, questioned whether Kim could really have been ignorant of Warmbiers condition while he was imprisoned. I find it hard to believe that someone who runs a country where the people are so oppressed would not know what is going on with someone like Otto, Wilson said. I dont personally believe it. Sherry Sheffield, Wyomings unofficial historian, said that residents of the town have tried to give the family privacy to grieve since their son died. I have heard other people say theyre doing OK, she said. Of the familys decision to speak out, Sheffield said, theyre really in this to make sure that people understand what happened. The Warmbiers filed a federal lawsuit last year in the United States against the autocratic government, and they were awarded over $501 million in damages, although it is unlikely they will receive the full amount from North Korea. No one answered the door at the Warmbiers home on Friday afternoon. Trump said on Twitter on Friday that his remarks had been misinterpreted. Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Ottos mistreatment and death, he said, adding: I love Otto and think of him often! This article originally appeared in The New York Times A real-life edition of 'Jaws' might be swimming toward beaches near the Houston area. On Tuesday, a man fishing off Navarre Beach Pier in Florida threw out a fishing line. Surprisingly he reeled-in a 10 foot long, 700 pound great white shark, per a report from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. It was the first time the alpha predator has been spotted near that location. Great white sightings in the Gulf of Mexico are very unusual, according to studies and reports. The Herald-Tribune also reported that the shark was tagged and released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. On land, Navarre Beach Pierre is 573 miles from Galveston. However, PLOS ONE (described on its site as the 'world's first multidisciplinary Open Access journal'), published a study titled 'Seasonal Distribution and Historic Trends in Abundance of White Sharks in the Western North Atlantic.' This is the key line for those who frequent those Gulf Coast beaches in Texas. The "study which examined great white sightings from a wide variety of sources from 1800 to 2010 showed the range of white shark occurrence extended from the north coast of Newfoundland to as far south as the British Virgin Islands, as far east as the Grand Banks and Bermuda, to as far west as the coast of Texas." RELATED: Why you don't need to worry about being a Texas shark attack victim The study reports, "Interestingly, there is a very good chance more great white sightings will take place in the Gulf and possibly Texas waters. The removal of gill nets along the shallow areas of the Gulf Coast beginning in 1994 has given young great white an advantage." The gill nets reportedly killed off the great whites in the Gulf over several decades. But with their removals, more sharks are reaching sexual maturity. "We are on our second generation of whites born without the nets." The report concludes that a great white shark venturing toward the Texas coast "is not beyond the realm of possibility." Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | 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. Donald Trump is not the first president to be frustrated by Congress, or to respond by making aggressive use of the powers of his office. But he may have transgressed the limits on those powers in declaring a national emergency last month in order to access the funds he considers necessary to build a wall along the southern border. The decision was unpopular, in any case. According to a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday, Texans are evenly split on the question of whether to build a wall along the southern border; 48 percent support the idea, and 48 percent do not. But 60 percent of the respondents disapproved of Trumps use of emergency powers. In other words, some of the Texans who share Trumps views on border security are not convinced that the ends justify the means. And U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat of San Antonio, considers the declaration an unconstitutional power grab, to boot. On HoustonChronicle.com: Presidential powers are limited and an emergency declaration is not a blank check He responded to Trumps announcement by filing a resolution of disapproval, which would block Trumps declaration from taking effect. It passed the U.S. House on Tuesday on a 245-182 vote, and will be taken up this month in the Senate unless Trump withdraws the declaration as some Republicans hope he will. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, for one, thinks the resolution might pass the Senate, even though the chamber is controlled by his fellow Republicans. Three Republican senators had announced by late Friday that they would vote in favor of Castros resolution. Assuming that all of the Democratic senators do the same, the result would be a tie, which would be broken by Vice President Mike Pence. And if a fourth Republican breaks ranks, Trump would have a chance to veto the resolution. Such a veto, according to Cornyn, would not likely be overridden in the House. Cornyn is probably right about that. Only 13 Republican members of the House voted for Castros resolution of disapproval in the first place. And Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general, might also be right that Trumps declaration passes constitutional muster. Thats ultimately a question for the courts which, as Cornyn noted, have already been asked to weigh in on the subject. On HoustonChronicle.com: Cornyn to vote no on resolution nullifying Trump's emergency border wall order The emergency declaration, however, is clearly an act of aggression by the president. Although he clearly has the power to declare national emergencies, in this case he did so because Congress refused to appropriate the funds he demanded and the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. Trump clearly believes that he has the power to reprogram funds appropriated by Congress, among other things. And he has a very high approval rating, among Republicans. But Trump is a businessman who never held prior elected office. If hes committed executive overreach in this case, or any other, he probably doesnt even realize it. The same could not be said of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago after graduating from Harvard Law School, where he served as the editor of the Harvard Law Review. And Republicans were right to say that Obama had a worrisome tendency to deliberately push the limits of his power. Ive got a pen and Ive got a phone, said Obama, at the outset of a Cabinet meeting in January 2014. On HoustonChronicle.com: Trump's assaults on rule of law are falling short The Democrats who applauded Obama for his willingness to take bold action in the face of Congressional obstruction should have realized that his successor might be tempted to do the same. But there are limits on the power of the executive branch, and most presidents need to be reminded of them, from time to time. Congress, on such occasions, shouldnt be shy. And in this case, Castro is right. Theres a humanitarian crisis on the border, as well as a lot of drug trafficking. He and Cornyn are among the leaders in Congress who take such issues seriously. Trump, however, has just been demanding border-wall funding. Congress is under no obligation to do the presidents bidding, or to humor a president who sees the separation of powers as a national emergency. erica.grieder@chron.com In December 2017, Maria Soto worked 142 hours at $9 per hour cooking and serving food at a gas station taco truck. In January 2018, her employer only offered her $640, half of what was due. Workers in Houston like Soto, 50, reported a total of more than $1.2 million in stolen wages last year, according to a new study by the Fe y Justicia Worker Center. The average amount stolen from each worker was about $3,600, in many cases about a quarter of their annual income. Labor abuses are not victimless crimes, Marianela Acuna Arreaza, executive director of the worker center, said in a statement. Wage theft means families getting evicted, parents being unable to afford their kids medication or their own. Workers self-reported their cases to the worker center last year, which then analyzed the data. Most of the employees work as domestic workers, day laborers, and in other low-paying jobs. RELATED: Harris County prosecutors bring first wage theft case over Harvey paint job The database Fe y Justicia compiled is long overdue, according to Linda Morales, organizing coordinator for the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO which partners with Fe y Justicia and helped assess the self-reported data. Several workers rights organizations know anecdotally of wage theft cases, but the database would better track local ones, Morales said. Yet Morales said that $1.2 million is a conservative total as many more workers chose not to report a wage theft case, and those who did didnt ask for all they were owed. Among undocumented workers, theres a fear that reporting wage theft could mean fast-tracking a visit from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Among those who are citizens and legal residents, its a hassle to try to get the money back when they could be spending time working somewhere else. Thats what Sylvia Rangel first thought when her employer stole $500 from her regular wages. About two years ago Rangel, 52, was working as a nanny for $10 an hour. She grew frustrated with how the childs parents kept monitoring her through their security cameras, frequently calling her from their jobs. Rangel said she threatened to quit when the couple kept having her run extra errands and pay for their childs school supplies, food and other expenses with her own money. Even after the employers stopped requesting the errands, the surveillance continued and Rangel gave her notice, collecting her final check on a Friday. By the following Tuesday after she paid her bills, the check had been canceled. It depresses you, Rangel said to have worked so much and you feel like Im not worth anything and why would they do this to me? Rangel at the time was hesitant to seek a lawyer. Youre working out of necessity and you dont have money to pay someone to help you, she said. But when she found her way to Fe y Justicia, the worker center was able to negotiate on her behalf and get back the $500 as well as the unpaid overtime Rangel had recorded while working there. Having learned about her rights, Rangel now volunteers at Fe y Justicia helping other workers protect themselves during pay negotiations. Yet she comes across many who are still hesitant to make requests of their employers. RELATED: Houston day laborers suffer wage theft in post-Harvey reconstruction Some women shes talked to worry that if they ask for vacation days or higher pay, the employer will simply hire a different worker who doesnt know their rights, or an undocumented worker who is too fearful to speak up. For many workers, wage theft can happen multiple times. Back in 2002 an employer didnt pay Soto what she was promised for housecleaning work. Had it not been for a cousin referring her to Fe y Justicia last year, Soto may not have thought about legal action against the taco truck owner. The rationale the truck owner gave Soto and Fe y Justicia for only paying half her wages was that Soto was shooing away customers, Soto said. But Soto noted she would open the truck at 11 a.m. and at times wouldnt leave the worksite until 2 a.m. when the owner was running late. After about a year of unsuccessful negotiations with the former employer, Soto now has a court date for her case on March 5. The full report of wage theft cases in Houston last year will be published by Fe y Justicia in May. ileana.najarro@chron.com twitter.com/Ileana Najarro For years, Gladis Garcia Aguirre and her family tolerated their next-door neighbor, an older white man who they say called them wetbacks and bad people. The man would frequently confront visitors to their home and inquire about their immigration status, and once threatened to shoot a contractor working for them, according to a police report filed with the Alvin Police Department. But on Nov. 27, Garcia Aguirre was outside her Alvin home when she heard a pinging sound, like a rock hitting her car. Moments later, she felt a stinging pain in her back. Shed been shot with a pellet gun. She promptly called Alvin police, and an officer arrested her neighbor for alleged assault. Im terrified, Garcia Aguirre said recently. Im afraid for my kids. What if one of my children had passed by right then? What would have happened if he hit us in the eye or something more serious? The recent incident described by Garcia Aguirre, an immigrant from El Salvador, comes at a time when Hispanics say it has become more difficult for them in the U.S., with 40 percent reporting an offensive incident based on their ethnicity. Last fall, millions online viewed a tirade by an angry Houston motorist as he showered a Hispanic woman with insults, telling her President Donald Trump was rounding up and deporting her countrymen. The woman, who was with her daughter, posted his harangue on the internet and it was denounced by many, including Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Were having many cases like this, with aggressions over small details that can have serious consequences, said Professor Michael A. Olivas of the University of Houstons Law Center, a noted expert on immigration and education law. Olivas said the encounters mostly involve a white person who feels compelled to enforce minor regulations, and will engage a person of color. Despite the petty subjects, the situations are inherently dangerous, he warned. This is just all part of an empowerment of the right wing including people who are dangerous, who are self-emboldened, Olivas said. Hate incidents increased 17 percent nationwide in 2017 compared to the previous year, and nearly 60 percent are associated with race, ethnicity and ancestry, according to the FBI. In Texas, 190 criminal incidents involving hate crimes were reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety that same year, up 6.7 percent from the previous year. Confrontations leave victims feeling unsafe The women involved in the two Houston encounters said the incidents left them feeling frustrated and unsafe. Because neither was designated as a hate crime, the legal repercussions would have been modest. When Garcia Aguirre reported the shooting to Alvin police, they filed the offense as a Class C misdemeanor assault by contact. They arrested her neighbor, William Chapman, 65, and he was released a few hours later after posting a $330 bond. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 24 in Alvin municipal court. Chapman denied shooting his neighbor. Apparently somebody said that I was outside, Chapman told the Houston Chronicle. So basically, I got what they call, like, a traffic ticket, a little Class C (misdemeanor) I got to go to court over. Garcia Aguirre outlined what she said were other hostile confrontations including an alleged death threat during the last 10 years by Chapman. Garcia Aguirre said she retrieved a branch from Chapmans tree that landed in front of her house. He came out and said that the branch was his property and screamed, I am going to get my gun out and shoot you, wetback fat a**, she said. Chapman said he did not make a death threat but said he did use inappropriate language with Garcia Aguirres husband, Frank Guevara. I did call him some names one time, Chapman said. I admit that when I got mad everybody gets mad, two or three names later you cool off. And sometimes I feel sorry because I say things. Chapman accused Guevara of a number of offenses, from stealing firewood from his backyard to breaking items around the neighborhood. Alvin court records show that both Chapman and Guevara filed charges against each other for letting their dogs run loose in the neighborhood. Things get broken around here, but you never could catch it, Chapman said. Guevara, a long-haul trucker who is away most of the week, expressed frustration with the relatively minor charge brought over the alleged assault. We have to put an end to this before it gets worse, Guevara said. This isnt just an assault by contact. My wife was assaulted with a weapon; my family are not animals that you just shoot with a pellet gun. On the advice of police, the family installed surveillance cameras around their home. One shows Chapman handling a large knife while looking at their front door; another shows him loading a shell into a shotgun and making hand gestures toward the home, Garcia Aguirre said. Chapman denied he brandished the firearm to threaten his neighbors. I didnt aim that gun at him; I didnt threaten him with that gun or nothing, Chapman said. Prejudiced? Aint got nothing against them. Garcia Aguirre said he also confronted a business owner who was overseeing installation of a water system in 2017. The business owner, Maria Solis, said Chapman approached her car and asked why she was visiting Garcia Aguirres home. He eventually threatened her and her installers, she said. I am going to get my (expletive) gun and kill you and everybody, Solis said Chapman told her. Solis said the encounter was scary. Solis filed an police incident report on July 5, 2017, and Chapman was arrested on a Class B misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat by threatening to grab his gun and shoot several subjects. The case was later dismissed. Woman subjected to tirade in her car In another incident, a white motorist was accused in October of hurling insults at Janet Espejel as the Hispanic woman drove with her infant daughter in northeast Houston, She recorded his comments, and the confrontation went viral. Youre driving in two lanes, you stupid b****, the man said. Thats not how we drive in America Trumps deporting your illegal cousins today. Espejel filed a report with Houston police, alleging a road rage incident. She said she felt intimidated and scared. He attacked me because of my ethnicity, and that is racist and offensive, she said. In the end, Espejel elected not to proceed with criminal charges, noting her expense for a babysitter, transportation and parking to go to police headquarters would be greater than a potential fine if the man was found guilty. I have already given a lesson to that person by exposing him to the more than six million people that have seen my video in my Facebook account. she said. Reporting and caution Despite modest penalties, experts and advocates urge victims to report incidents to raise awareness and help authorities deter potential crimes. Many victims do not file a report for several reasons, including lack of knowledge about what constitutes a hate crime or an incident, said Dena Marks, senior associate director for the southwest region of the Anti-Defamation League. For a crime to be investigated with the added element that it was motivated by hate or bias, the victim should disclose that perception to the authorities. Doug Richards, a former prosecutor who was a member of the Harris County District Attorneys Vehicular Assault Team, said that a charging decision (by prosecutors) largely depends on how the incident made the victim feel when a crime has been identified. Olivas, the legal expert, advises people who find themselves in hostile situations to be cautious and avoid confrontation. Consider your safety first, he said. Some of these racist people can become very dangerous. olivia.tallet@chron.com UPDATED AT 6 A.M. SUNDAY: Crew Dragon successfully docked to the International Space Station. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk struggled to find words early Saturday after the successful launch of the spacecraft that soon could carry astronauts to the International Space Station. To be frank, Im a little emotionally exhausted because that was super stressful, Musk told reporters in Florida after Crew Dragon left Earths atmosphere. But it worked. So far. The launch is a first for NASAs Commercial Crew Program, which aims to launch Americans from American soil for the first time since the Space Shuttles were grounded in 2011. Since that time, the U.S. has relied on Russian to ferry its astronauts to and from the space station, at a cost of $81 million per seat. THE FIRST NINE: NASA names astronauts to fly on commercial vehicles by Boeing, SpaceX The Crew Dragon that rocketed out of Earths atmosphere Saturday did not have humans on board unless you count Ripley, a mannequin named after Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien movie series. Instead, it essentially is a dress rehearsal for the crewed flight tentatively scheduled for July. It will test all the systems aboard the spacecraft to ensure that it is safe for humans. But Saturdays event marks an even bigger milestone for the U.S.s history-making space agency, ushering in a time when companies play an even bigger role in the countrys human exploration portfolio. What today really represents is a new era in spaceflight: An era when we are looking forward to being one customer, as an agency and a country, of many customers in a robust commercial marketplace in low Earth orbit, where the space station flies, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during the Saturday morning news conference. So we can drive down cost and increase access in ways that, historically, has not been possible. The commercial crew program is part of NASAs overall plan to commercialize low Earth orbit, where the space station has flown since 1998. But NASA officials and the companies they hired to help them have a long way to go before that becomes a reality. True success of SpaceXs test flight Saturday will not be known for about a week. It docked to the space station Sunday morning, but it still must re-enter Earths atmosphere, splashing down near Florida, March 8. And Boeing the other company hired by NASA in 2014 to build and launch a commercial spacecraft still must conduct its test flight, currently scheduled for April. Weve passed some of the riskiest items, Musk said. Were only partway into mission, but so far, it seems to be looking very good. Seventeen years in the making When Musk started SpaceX in 2002, his ultimate goal was human spaceflight. I really believe in the future of space and I think its important we become a space-faring civilization and be out there among the stars, Musk said. And I think thats one of the things that makes people really excited about the future. But 17 years later as he sat in front of a group of reporters trying to express what Crew Dragons launch meant to him Musk admitted he never thought this day would come. When I started SpaceX, [people] said Youre going to fail, and I said I agree, I think we probably will fail, he said. Yea. It was worth trying anyway. This wont be Musks first trip to the space station.. SpaceXs Dragon 1 has been transporting cargo to the orbiting laboratory since 2012. MORE DELAYS: NASA announces setbacks to SpaceX, Boeing commercial flights Crew Dragons mission is much more difficult, however. The spacecraft needs to safely transport humans out of Earths atmosphere, dock to the space station without the assistance of Canadarm2 a robotic arm built by Canada that performs maintenance, moves equipment and supplies and attaches visiting vehicles to the station and then return to Earth five days later. Musk said Saturday morning that docking to the space station without Canadarm2 will be challenging because the company has never done it before, as will re-entry and proper parachute deployment. But Sunday morning, Crew Dragon docked successfully. But thousands of simulations have been conducted since NASA awarded the company a contract in 2014, he added, and things should go smoothly. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, currently scheduled to fly on SpaceXs first crewed flight, were in the control room during the flight. Behnken said he was feeling pretty good about flying with SpaceX after watching the launch. Seeing success like this gives us confidence in the future, Behnken said. This is about predicting what the vehicle will do and testing it to make sure thats what it does. More work to be done Despite Saturdays success, SpaceX and the entire Commercial Crew Program has suffered numerous setbacks since NASA awarded contracts totaling $6.8 billion in 2014. Both Musks company and Boeing initially were expected to launch crewed test flights in 2018, but the schedules of both companies have slipped. Now, SpaceX hopes to launch their crewed flight in July, while Boeing hopes to send humans to the space station in August, after its uncrewed test flight in April. If these schedules hold, the companies could, theoretically, meet the deadline to take over flying U.S. astronauts to the space station before NASAs contract with the Russians runs out in November 2019. But a July report from the Government Accountability Office warned that NASA might need more wiggle room. The U.S. currently pays Russia $81 million per seat on the Soyuz spacecraft, a cost that includes the seat, the training, the spacesuit, and the search and rescue team, among other things. BUDGET OFFICIALS: NASA could see 5 percent cut in funds next year NASA officials previously have said they could adjust their Soyuz flights to the space station to bleed into 2020, but the agency now is considering buying two more seats on the Soyuz to take astronauts there while SpaceX and Boeing complete their spacecrafts. A per-solicitation notice released Feb. 13 stated that past experience has shown the difficulties associated with achieving first flights on time in the final year of development. This notice follows a report released in October by a NASA safety panel that called into question both companies' timelines and construction. It found that Boeing had not completed several important tests on the parachute systems, heat shield and other components of the spacecraft, for example, and that SpaceX was struggling with the parachute system. The commercial crew program also is on shaky ground because of an investigation by NASA into the workplace culture, including drug use, at both Boeing and SpaceX. This investigation does not appear to have impacted the flight schedules. President Donald Trump wants to transition the space station to commercial operation by 2025 ending federal funding by late 2024 but Congressional leaders have fought back against that notion. LONGER LIFE: U.S. Sen. Cornyn files measure to extended U.S. operations on space station to 2030 U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, last week filed a measure to extend U.S. operations of the space station until 2030. A similar measure was filed last year by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, also a Republican from Texas, but it failed to make it to the presidents desk. A questionnaire specially designed to identify victims of human trafficking works better than a general screening tool commonly deployed in health-care settings, according to a Houston study. The tool, tested on homeless youth seen at Covenant House Texas clinic, is part of an effort to better respond to the growing crisis of trafficking, the coercion of people into commercial sex acts or labor. It occurs more often in Texas than any other U.S. state besides California, according to a recent study. This study shows we can do a better job identifying trafficked youth, who typically find it difficult to open up to healthcare providers, said Dr. Claire Bocchini, a Baylor College of Medicine professor of pediatrics and the papers senior author. Providers need to be trained on the value of trafficking-specific screening tools to take advantage of the opportunity before them. Bocchini said the amount of exploitation surprised the authors, who had hypothesized they would identify some, but not this much. Previous research has shown homeless youth are a particularly high risk group for trafficking. The study found a history of sexual exploitation in more than a quarter of those questioned using the trafficking-specific screening tool, compared to 15 percent originally identified using a general questionnaire. It found a history of labor exploitation in more than half, compared to less than 1 percent previously identified. There is nothing in the general questionnaire about labor trafficking. Such identification is considered fundamental to get victims to services and stop the cycle of trafficking. RELATED: Fort Bend sheriffs office establishes human trafficking tip hotline The new study, a joint effort by Baylor and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was published recently in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. It enrolled 121 18- to 21-year-olds who sought clinical services in 2016 at Covenant House, the largest Houston shelter for homeless youth. Covenant House is now incorporating the screening questionnaire, said Leslie Bourne, the shelters executive director. It represents a fantastic shift in how we approach and identify possible trafficked youth, said Bourne. if youve ever worked with this population, you know how vulnerable they are, the need to intervene as quickly as possible to stop the cycle. Were thrilled to see this screening tool can help. The tool is being introduced as trafficking numbers continue to grow. There are now nearly 50 million people trapped in modern-day slavery, according to the International Labor Organization, and the U.S. Justice Department estimates as many as 17,500 slaves are brought into the country every year. A UT study recently estimated there are about 313,000 victims of sex and labor trafficking in Texas. Bocchini emphasized the appeal of trafficking-specific questionnaires in healthcare settings, which are considered a prime place to intervene because victims so often visit for treatment. A 2014 survey of trafficking survivors found 88 percent saw a health provider at some point during their captivity. But much of the time providers arent aware theyre in their presence. OPINION: Texans need to be vigilant against human trafficking The new questionnaire seeks to change that. It asks respondents whether anyone theyve worked for has forced them to do something sexually they didnt feel comfortable doing; put their photo on the Internet to find clients for sex; forced them to engage in sexual acts with family, friends, or business associates; pressured them to have sex, including photos or videos; or forced them to trade sex for money, shelter, food or other commodities through online websites, escort services, street prostitution, informal arrangements, brothels, strip clubs or fake massage businesses. The questionnaire, developed by researchers at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., showed promising results in initial pretesting with homeless youth in Houston, Milwaukee, New York City and Rochester, N.Y. The new Baylor-UTHealth study added to that work by comparing the trafficking-specific questionnaire results to information already in the respondents medical record based on the general questionnaire. In all, 25.8 percent of respondents answered yes to one or more of the questions about sexual exploitation. Twenty-two percent reported voluntarily trading sex for food, clothing, money, shelter, favors or other necessities for survival, a category distinct from trafficking, though theres overlap between the two groups. Seventy percent of those whod traded sex were minors the first time they did so. Nearly 55 percent of respondents said they had been victims of labor exploitation, such as having been tricked into doing different work than promised, not been paid or been paid less than promised, been restrained from leaving by the employer and been physically harmed on the job. More than a quarter of respondents reported experiencing both sexual and labor exploitation. RELATED: Sex trafficking victims desperate call saves her life, lands three in jail, police say The study also found the entry into trafficking occurs not just through strangers on the street or online but often through family, friends and acquaintances, a surprising new finding. A follow-up study will probe deeper into that, researchers said. Barriers to better identifying trafficking victims and getting them into services included mistrust of the system, fear of involvement by law enforcement, a desire not to interact with the mental health system and stigma, according to focus groups conducted with youth who completed the questionnaire. Youth identified by the study as most at risk for trafficking included those who run away from home, those involved in juvenile justice system foster care, those who experience abuse and those who are homeless or housed in unstable situations. The key takeaway is that there are reliable tools that can improve our ability to identify human trafficking victims to help navigate them to services that can help them recover, said Diane Santa Maria, a UTHealth School of Nursing professor and a corresponding author on the paper. Existing screening would be improved by incorporating these questions. todd.ackerman@chron.com twitter.com/chronmed Regarding Montgomery County to add 5,200 homes (Business, Thursday): I am outraged how this development, which will cover 2,200 acres, got the green light from county officials. Such a massive project will contribute more runoff to our already overburdened drainage system. Were they so blinded by future tax revenue that no thought was given to the almost certain flooding that will result from covering so much ground with houses and concrete? To make matters worse, the article mentions even more developments now being planned north of Conroe and the Woodlands. As usual, its all about the humans and the money, of course. The final slap is that when the flooding happens, those public employees who approved these projects will be long gone. No one will even remember their names, so no one will be held accountable. Randal Jones, Houston Political theater Regarding Sides point fingers as N. Korea talks fail (Nation/World, Friday): I disagree with the assessments that the talks in Vietnam were a failure. President Donald Trump, in fact, achieved his goals. The real goals of that meeting were directly related to what was going on at the hearings in Washington: Vietnam was the stage for a distraction. The theater in Vietnam benefited both Kim Jong Un and Trump. Kim is seen as a powerful figure on the national scene, which builds his stature, and Trump distracts attention from the hearings in Washington. Norman Bunch, Houston Fighting for survival Regarding Small theaters face final curtain call (Front page, Friday): The article unfortunately comes too late for some small nonprofit arts organizations. The article could have been an important clarion call to arms for several instrumental, choral, dance and visual arts nonprofit groups. As a member of the Houston Masterworks Chorus, I recognize the sad story of Horse Head Theatre Co. The lack of affordable performance space has haunted us for decades. MATCH seemed to be an answer until we learned that the largest theater would seat only 359 patrons. We need creative thinkers to help us turn the tide, or more wonderful small arts organizations will succumb. Rochella Cooper, past president, Houston Masterworks Chorus Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this week underscored perhaps, contributed to the peril in which the bodys Republican majority finds itself. The House vote on a resolution to disable President Donald Trumps declaration of a national emergency a vote in defense of the Constitution and in opposition to a hugely unpopular power grab by the president sends the measure to the Senate. McConnell said hed support Trump, negating the chambers power of the purse. A measly three Republican senators (Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina) have announced that they will support the resolution, leaving the other 50 Republicans, including 18 of the 22 who will be on the ballot in 2020, in defense of an out-of-control, widely unpopular president. Unless they do an about-face, theyll all have to answer the painful question: Why didnt you stand up to Trump and defend the Constitution? Those deep-red-state voters incapable of thinking critically about Trump might not care, but consider voters in newly swing or downright blue states like Colorado (Cory Gardner), Georgia (David Perdue), Texas (John Cornyn) and Arizona (Martha McSally) where lack of independence from Trump, coupled with a strong performance by a Democratic presidential candidate at the top of the ticket, may put the Republicans at a severe disadvantage. Even in Kentucky, where McConnell remains overwhelmingly unpopular, you would think a staunch conservative running on fidelity to the Constitution might have a shot in a primary. (I wouldnt be surprised if McConnell decided to retire, delighted with his handiwork in shaping the judiciary.) Republicans may get asked some uncomfortable questions about whether theyd allow a Democratic president to declare an emergency in response to climate change or gun deaths. If not, why didnt they stand up to Trump? Michael Cohens testimony isnt going to help Senate Republicans either. Imagine the questions Republicans will face on this front: Why did you not hold a single hearing to investigate Trumps alleged participation in a criminal scheme to violate campaign laws? Or to investigate lying about his business dealings in Russia? Or about Trumps financial interests in Saudi Arabia? If Trump secured his campaign by paying hush money to cover up an affair, and continued the coverup by making payments during the presidency, should he be reelected? If Trump lied to the American people about doing business in Russia, continued to explore a lucrative deal with the Russians and pulled his punches against Russian President Vladimir Putin to help his chances of getting a deal, should he still be in office? If someone lies repeatedly, should he be president of the United States? Do you think Trump has repeatedly lied? What about when he denied knowledge of the hush-money payments? When he said the border wall was already being built? If Trump misrepresented his financial status to banks, should he be president? Why are you supporting a candidate of Trumps defective character rather than supporting a different Republican? Maybe Republicans have good excuses/explanations, but I cannot imagine what they may be. Remember, they will be on the ballot with Trump, defending their own conduct for the last few years and supporting a president with a plane-load of legal and ethical baggage. To be blunt, theyre going to be painted as spineless sycophants who didnt stop an unhinged president when they had a chance. Whats more, they will have entirely earned that reputation. Rubin writes opinion for The Washington Post. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. At the kickoff meeting featuring an array of local groups, Planner Mark Maloy outlined the process of the Census and the role of the complete count committee. Local Committee Kicks Off Push For 2020 Census PITTSFIELD, Mass. Local organizations are gearing up for a push to get everyone to fill out the Census. The 2020 Census is on its way and a countywide complete count committee has been formed to assist in the efforts. The group is separate from the U.S. Census Bureau -- through the bureau is in contact with the group -- to connect with those living in the county and get the paperwork filled out. The results of the Census will have a significant impact on not only government representation but dollars from federal and state programs that use the population figures to dole out funds. "There is a lot of funding at the federal level where census data is part of the formula," said Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Planner Mark Maloy. Maloy said there is some $690 billion distributed by the federal government where the Census data is a determining factor -- which breaks down to some $2,000 per person. In the Berkshires, the population is a factor in some $280 million in federal funding. On the state level, programs like Chapter 90 for road repairs, Chapter 70 for schools, cultural grants, parks and library grants all have the population as a factor determining who gets what. Maloy said the state dished out some $5.3 billion in aid to cities and towns, much of that has population figures as a determining factor. As for representation, the Berkshires lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representative when Massachusetts dropped from 10 to nine after the last Census. Maloy said it does not appear at this point that Massachusetts will lose another seat, but because the population has been growing in the east, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal's district could be growing. "My guess is that his seat is going to expand a bit because of population change," Maloy said. In the State House, the Berkshires potentially could lose a seat in the House of Representative depending on how the numbers shake out. It appears that all of the representatives -- and the senator -- will have to take on more towns. "Based on population across the state, we should only have three representatives for the county," Maloy said. But none of those expectations really matter in the end because it is what happens in the 2020 count that ultimately determines and sets the base for the next decade. "This is the one that grounds everything. This what they base all of the other surveys on," Maloy said. "This is the only 100 percent, complete count." So where are you living most of the time as of April 1, 2020? That's the count the Census is looking to track. It isn't a count of citizens or homeowners. It is a count of every person living in the United States of America. But not everybody wants to give the government information -- especially if it is from an out of town organization. The complete count committee is going to provide that familiar face and roll out a campaign to get the Berkshire County votes out. The cities of Pittsfield and North Adams are also both gearing up their own complete count committee to do the same within their borders. "One of the guiding premises is to use trusted voices to encourage everyone's participation," Maloy said. The group will particularly be targeting the groups of people who are notoriously difficult to get to fill out the Census. The Berkshires, for instance, has trouble with the "snowbird population." Those people tend to move south for the winter and get the Census forms in March there. But they spend most of their time in the Berkshires and should be counted as part of this population instead. "It is important for us to educate seniors to fill it out for Berkshire County," Maloy said. The Berkshires face a challenge with online submittals and hilltowns. This year will be the first time the Census will be online and many areas don't have internet access. The committee will be looking at such things as making sure there is a local access point for it to be done. The Census forms sent in March won't go to post office boxes and many Berkshire towns have a lot of people relying on those. The committee will have to get the forms into the hands of those residents. "The reason for that is because it is not a physical location," Maloy said. Maybe the most daunting task, there could be a question of citizenship. Legally the answers to the Census cannot be shared with any other agency -- and Census workers are required to keep secrecy for life and the information isn't released until 70 years after -- but that doesn't mean the immigrant community is going to trust it. Maloy said a question of citizenship on the Census has been challenged in court and at this point appears to have been thrown out. But he expects appeals so the question could ultimately be there. "I don't know what is going to happen with that one but I know a lot of the immigrants are concerned about it. This is not a count of citizens in the US, it is a count of everybody who lives in the United States," he said. That mistrust in the government won't be segregated to just the immigrant population but a common theme among a lot of people. Maloy said one of the most difficult groups to count are young children because parents are protective about giving that information out. There will be language barriers and the Berkshires is at a disadvantage because the nearest Census office will be in Worcester. Maloy said other tough-to-count populations include renters, female heads of household, young children, households with incomes less than $35,000 a year, people without a high school degree, the non-white populations, people in rural areas, the young and mobile group, and the snowbirds. "These are populations that historically do not respond to the census," Maloy said. "It is a diverse group of people we need to convince to answer the census questions." The kickoff meeting on Thursday drew representatives from a number of county groups working with various populations. BRPC will be the lead liaison for the countywide group and those gathered brainstormed other groups that could be involved in helping the effort. The group crafted subcommittees. The outreach efforts will begin in the fall and last through the winter. In March, the paperwork will be mailed to homes. And after five notices, those who haven't responded will be on the list for an enumerator to knock on the door. In the end, the hope is to have as close to a complete count of every person in the country but it is a daunting task. California Cattle Council vote is underway Sacramento, California - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has mailed more than 19,000 ballots to state cattle producers, urging them to vote on a referendum asking whether or not to establish the California Cattle Council. If approved, the Council would perform research aimed at the development of best management practices to improve sustainability and efficiency; assist with regulatory compliance; and develop consumer education programs for California beef. This is an important opportunity for cattle producers to determine if they wish to join together for these purposes, said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. I urge all producers to cast a ballot so their voices may be heard. The Council would be funded by a mandatory one-dollar per head assessment on each sale of cattle and calves, levied on the seller. However, producers would be able to obtain a refund of assessments paid by submitting a claim to the Council. In order to be counted, ballots must be returned to CDFA by March 22, 2019. For more information, please visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/cattle. Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale Travel to Haiti Washington, DC - Today, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale will travel to Port-au-Prince, Haiti where he will meet with Haitian President Jovenel Moise, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant, and other political, economic, and civic leaders. Under Secretary Hale will encourage an inclusive national dialogue that addresses the current economic and political challenges facing Haiti. His visit will reaffirm the United States commitment to working with all Haitians towards a more secure, prosperous, and democratic future. Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50m (38m) over what he claims are hoax abuse claims. Heard accused Depp of domestic violence in May 2016 before settling the case for $7m (5.3m), which the Aquaman star donated to charity. The new suit says: Mr Depp never abused Ms Heard. Her allegations against him were false when they were made in 2016. They were part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Ms Heard and advance her career. Heard responded via her attorney, Eric M George, who told Deadline: This frivolous action is just the latest of Johnny Depps repeated efforts to silence Amber Heard. She will not be silenced. The statement continues: Mr Depps actions prove he is unable to accept the truth of his ongoing abusive behaviour. But while he appears hell-bent on achieving self destruction, we will prevail in defeating this groundless lawsuit and ending the continued vile harassment of my client by Mr Depp and his legal team. The 65 best movie insults of all time Show all 65 1 /65 The 65 best movie insults of all time The 65 best movie insults of all time Avengers Assemble (2012) "This is my bargain, you mewling quim." Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) "Hey, where'd you get those clothes, the toilet store?" DreamWorks Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) "How could you sleep with Fat Bastard? No, I mean, literally, how could you do it? He's so fat, the sheer mechanics of it are mind-boggling." New Line Cinema The 65 best movie insults of all time Bad Moms (2016) "Well, you look like a bag of d***s" REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Bad Santa (2003) Youre an emotional f***ing cripple. Your soul is dogs***. Every single f***ing thing about you is ugly. REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Blade: Trinity (2004) "You c*ck-juggling thunderc***!" New Line Cinema The 65 best movie insults of all time The Breakfast Club (1985) "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?" Universal Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) "If staying here means working within 10 yards of you, frankly, I'd rather have a job wiping Saddam Hussein's arse." Universal Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Bull Durham (1988) "From what I hear, you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a f***ing boat." Orion Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Burn After Reading (2008) "I have a drinking problem? F*** you, Peck. Compared to you we all have a drinking problem." Macall Polay The 65 best movie insults of all time The Campaign (2012) "You know what the difference between your momma and a washing machine is? When I dump a load in a machine, the machine doesn't follow me around for three weeks." Warner Bros Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Casino (1995) "You horse manure smelling motherf***er, you." Universal Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time The Cat in the Hat (2003) "Do you know how hard it is telling people were related?" DreamWorks Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Closer (2004) "Go f*** yourself, you WRITER!" Columbia Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Clueless (1995) "Youre a virgin and you cant drive." Paramount Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Con Air (1997) "You're somewhere between a cockroach and that white stuff that accumulates at the corner of your mouth when you're really thirsty." Buena Vista Pictures Distribution The 65 best movie insults of all time The Death of Stalin (2017) "You smell like rendered horse, you burning a**hole." eOne Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Donnie Darko (2001) "You can go suck a f***." Pandora Cinema The 65 best movie insults of all time Duck Soup (1933) "He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don't let that fool you he really is an idiot." Paramount Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Easy A (2010) "Don't you think it's a little strange that your boyfriend is 22-years-old and still in high school?" Screen Gems The 65 best movie insults of all time Erin Brockovich (2000) "That's all you got, lady - two wrong feet and f***ing ugly shoes." Columbia Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Escape Plan (2013) "You hit like a vegetarian" The 65 best movie insults of all time The Favourite (2018) "You look like a badger." Fox Searchlight Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time A Fish Called Wanda (1988) "To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people." The 65 best movie insults of all time Full Metal Jacket (1987) "You climb like old people f***, Private Pile." ColumbiaCannonWarner The 65 best movie insults of all time Gangs of New York (2002) I dont give a tuppeny f*** about your moral conundrum, you meat-headed s*** sack. Miramax Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) "You're in more dire need of a blowjob than any white man in history" Buena Vista Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time The Hangover (2009) "You are literally too stupid to insult." Warner Bros. Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time His Girl Friday (1940) "Listen, you insignificant, square-toed, pimple-headed spy!" Columbia Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Home Alone (1990) "You're what the French call: 'les incompetents'." DON SMETZER/20TH CENTURY FOX/The Kobal Collection/WireImage.com The 65 best movie insults of all time In Bruges (2008) "YOU'RE AN INANIMATE F***ING OBJECT!" Universal Studios/Focus Features The 65 best movie insults of all time In the Loop (2009) "Allow me to pop a jaunty little bonnet on your purview and ram it up your a*** with a lubricated horse c***." IFC Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) "I should have had you wear double condoms. Well, we shouldn't have done it in the first place, but if you ever do it again, which as a favour to women everywhere, you should not, but if you do, you should be wearing condom on condom, and then wrap it in electrical tape. You should just walk around always inside a great big condom because you are s***!" CBS Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Perry: "Look up 'idiot' in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?" : "Look up 'idiot' in the dictionary. You know what you'll find?" Harry: "A picture of me?" Perry: "No! The definition of the word idiot, which you f***ing are." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Knocked Up "Your face looks like Robin Williams' knuckles. The 65 best movie insults of all time The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) "Were you always this stupid or did you take lessons?" The 65 best movie insults of all time The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) "My great aunt Jennifer ate a whole box of candy every day of her life. She lived to be 102 and when she'd been dead three days, she looked better than you do now." Warner Bros. The 65 best movie insults of all time Matilda (1996) "Your mummy is a TWIT." TriStar Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time The Mist (2007) Ill tell you what. The day I need a friend like you, Ill just have myself a little squat and s*** one out. REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries." EMI Films The 65 best movie insults of all time National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, d***less, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey s*** he is." The 65 best movie insults of all time Parenthood (1989) "I wouldn't live with you if the world were flooded with piss and you lived in a tree." Universal Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Phantom Thread (2018) "Are you a special agent sent here to ruin my evening and possibly my entire life?" REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Point Break (1991) "You're a real blue flame special, aren't you, son? Young, dumb and full of cum. What I don't know is how you got assigned here. Guess we must just have ourselves an asshole shortage, huh?" REX The 65 best movie insults of all time The Princess Bride (1987) "I'll explain and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog faced buffoon." Vestron Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Roxanne (1987) "Is that your nose or did a bus park on your face?" REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Say Anything (1989) "I got a question: if you guys know so much about women, how come you're here on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?" The 65 best movie insults of all time Scarface (1983) "Even if I were blind, desperate, starved and begging for it on a desert island, you'd be the last thing I'd ever f***." Universal Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time School of Rock (2004) "You're tacky and I hate you" The 65 best movie insults of all time Sexy Beast (2000) "You're the f***ing problem you f***ing Dr White honkin' jam-rag f***ing spunk-bubble!" REX The 65 best movie insults of all time She's All That (1999) "To everyone here who matters, you're spam. You're vapour. A waste of perfectly good yearbook space." Miramax Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Short Circuit (1986) "Hey laser-lips, your mother was a snowblower." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Shrek (2000) "You dense, irritating, miniature beast of a burden." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time The Silence of the Lambs (1991) You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but youre not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling?" Orion Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) "Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder." 20th Century Fox The 65 best movie insults of all time Step Brothers (2008) "You're not a doctor. You're a big fat curly headed f***." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time There Will Be Blood (2007) "You're just the afterbirth, Eli, slithered out on your mother's filth. They should have put you in glass jar on a mantelpiece." Paramount Vantage/Miramax Films The 65 best movie insults of all time Three Amigos (1986) "You dirt-eating piece of slime. You scum-sucking pig. You son of a motherless goat." Orion Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Toy Story (1995) "You are a sad strange little man, and you have my pity." Buena Vista Pictures Distribution The 65 best movie insults of all time Wayne's World (1992) "Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice cream flavour, he'd be pralines and d***." Paramount Pictures The 65 best movie insults of all time Whiplash (2014) "You are a worthless, friendless, piece of shit whose mommy left daddy when she figured out he wasn't Eugene O'Neill, and who is now weeping and slobbering all over my drum set like a f***ing nine-year old girl." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time The Witches of Eastwick (1987) "In the short time we've been together, you have demonstrated every loathsome characteristic of the male personality and even discovered a few new ones. You are physically repulsive, intellectually retarded, you're morally reprehensible, vulgar, insensitive, selfish, stupid, you have no taste, a lousy sense of humour and you smell. You're not even interesting enough to make me sick." REX The 65 best movie insults of all time Withnail & I (1987) "Monty, you terrible c***." HandMade Films The 65 best movie insults of all time The Wizard of Oz (1939) "You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk!" Loew's, Inc. The 65 best movie insults of all time The Women (1939) "You wanna see a bad facelift? Helen Danvers, two o'clock. She looks like she's re-entering the Earth's atmosphere." REX Last year, Depp who has been dropped from the forthcoming Invisible Man reboot settled a $25m (19m) lawsuit with his former business managers, alleging gross misconduct and fraudulent self-activity. Also in 2018, the location manager for film City of Lies filed a lawsuit against Depp alleging he was punched twice in the ribs by the actor. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Heard claimed that after accusing Depp of violence she lost out on a number of roles as she felt the full force of our cultures wrath for women [who speak out]. Urgent restrictions are needed on the international trade in giraffe bones and spotted hides, a coalition of African countries has said. Populations of giraffes have fallen by up to 40 per cent in the last 30 years, driven by poaching, habitat loss and human conflicts across much of their range. But while sales of elephant and rhino products face ever tighter controls, the silent extinction of giraffes has so far been overlooked. Campaigners have warned that the flood of hunting trophies, giraffe bone ornaments and hides is contributing to their demise. A group of 30 concerned African states is now pushing for giraffes to receive special protection under CITES, an international treaty that controls the trade in endangered species. Environment news in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Environment news in pictures Environment news in pictures Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands practical solutions to combat climate change Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we do now...will profoundly affect the next few thousand years". On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should "get on with the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage. "As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we've not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires. "We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan," he said. The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to "exceptional cultural leaders". AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the worlds coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change. The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival. These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods. As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains Alan Schaller Environment news in pictures Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown. More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found. The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate. It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year. Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows Nasa/Getty Environment news in pictures Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry. All of the regions 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a presumption against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced. Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country. Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UKs only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors. But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites Ross Wills Environment news in pictures Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters. However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japans territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts. This means controversial scientific trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019 AP Environment news in pictures COP24: Environmental groups criticise morally unacceptable climate deal reached after major Poland summit Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland. But climate campaigners warned the deal effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action. Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying important progress had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared. But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries. The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran Reuters Environment news in pictures Unprecedented changes needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded. Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately. Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster AFP/Getty Environment news in pictures Africas three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africas elephant poaching epidemic. Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins. Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo. Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continents most prolific smugglers Art Wolfe The members of the African Elephant Coalition including giraffe range states such as Kenya, Chad and Niger are calling on the EU to back their proposal. Abba Sonko, who leads CITES activities in coalition member Senegal, said the Appendix II listing for giraffes would place much-needed control on international trade. We want to do everything we can to help protect giraffes in our countries and prevent the extinction of the species, he said. The extinction of giraffes has already become a reality in Senegal, unfortunately. As it stands, the group is unlikely to convince the required two thirds majority at the next CITES meeting in May to back the move, but the support of the European bloc may swing the campaign. The EU is a big influencer in whether the proposals pass, said wildlife trade expert Adam Peyman from Humane Society International, which is supporting the proposal. The CITES classification would not consist of an outright ban on giraffe products, but would allow authorities to track their movements and ensure they were not contributing to declines in wild populations. So far, the EUs reluctance to support the move is based partly on the lack of universal support from African countries, and the fact that trade in giraffes often originates from nations where populations are relatively stable. However, HSI said there was evidence of giraffe products being moved from unsustainable countries to sustainable ones before being shipped to markets overseas. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Over the past decade, 40,000 giraffe parts have been imported to the US, and investigations have also revealed a thriving trade in the UK and other parts of Europe. Unlike other exotic products such as ivory which has been the subject of very strict bans in the UK and EU giraffe bones and hide are not subject to much scrutiny. Recommended EU backtracks on ivory ban despite pressure from campaigners and MEPs Demand for giraffe is increasing because there are no regulations its so easy to obtain, you dont need a permit or anything to buy it, said Mr Peyman. The European Commission and member states are weighing up their potential support for the proposal, with a deadline set for the end of March. The Independent has contacted the European Commission for comment. Latin Americas food capital Lima is known for award-winning fine-dining restaurants Central, Maido and Astrid & Gaston, but a new wave of highly trained young cooks are opening their first establishments and moving away from elaborate multi-course tasting experiences. Cutting back on the likes of fancy white table cloths, the next generation is focusing on sustainable Peruvian produce and succinct daily menus that are just as big on flavour and technique as their more established counterparts, conscious to apply ethical business practices and innovative ideas in pared-back spaces. Limas picky diners are ready to embrace change, says chef Matias Cilloniz, who opened Mo Bistro in the Miraflores district eight months ago. For the most part, Limenos enjoy eating classic dishes made with imported meat or overfished lenguado (flounder), but some want to take risks and try new products. Lima is ready for a breath of fresh air, he says. After honing his skills in Australia, Madrid and Boston, Cilloniz formed part of Virgilio Martinezs first culinary team at his restaurant, Central, when it opened a decade ago, which featured on Netflix's Chef's Table series, where Martinez wowed viewers with his altitude inspired menu. But the haute cuisine environment wasnt for him and Cilloniz was determined hed manage his own business differently. He says: Im grateful to Virgilio as he taught me so much. But the level of stress got me down. Im a cook and I always will be, but I also want to spend time with my family, play sport and have a good quality of life. Mo, which also houses a tiny market, is one of the Peruvian capitals few establishments to open from 7.30am until close of dinner at 11pm, and others have fast followed suit. Obviously I didnt invent breakfast! he laughs. But its a positive change as others are starting to offer the same, which improves their staffs working hours. Daily brunch at Mo is a highlight, given that Cilloniz source organic eggs and tomatoes, smokes trout in house and produces his own yoghurt, ricotta and sour cream from organic milk. Over in the Barranco district, Kjolle, led by Pia Leon, was Limas most-anticipated 2018 opening. Sister restaurant to Central, where Leon was head chef for several years, Kjolle offers a more laid back experience, where she creates family-style dishes such as jungle tiradito made from sustainably sourced Amazonian fish and pato curado (cured duck). Pia Leon was head chef of Central restaurant, and now runs her own, Kjolle, which is more laid back (Kjolle) Dishes are equally as photogenic as Centrals and she also sources ingredients from Mater Iniciativa, the research arm of both restaurants. However, Leons hand deciphers Peru and its ingredients in a sensitive and comprehensible way. She says: Peru is everywhere at Kjolle: from the crockery to the handwoven wall hangings, the stone tables and hand-carved wooden spoons. Stone and onyx in particular comes from Ayacucho and Junin, which are Andean areas. Ingredients are 100 per cent Peruvian and its a freer concept, less structured than Central. A block away from Kjolle is Merito, a compact two-floor space combining industrial decor with original adobe walls opened by Venezuelan chefs Juan Luis Martinez and Jose Luis Saume in August. Like Leon, Martinez also honed his skills at Central but when it came to flying solo, he wanted to give credit to his roots as well as Perus ingredients. The short and sweet menu best enjoyed at the kitchen bar features playful dishes for sharing such as the catch of the day, home-churned butter and sofrito tomato salsa to stuff into roasted arepas, and mouth-watering "rockolate", chocolate presented five ways from mousse to ganache smoothed within a large grey stone. Chef Jaime Pesaque's Mayta restaurant here recently reopened, after first launching 10 years ago (Mayta) Martinez says: I wanted to incorporate Venezuelan products like arepas but show them in a more refined way. By using emblematic Latin American ingredients, Im linking what we have both in Venezuela and Peru. Also located in Barranco, Siete has been in a soft-launch phase for the past few months although chef Ricardo Martins vows to officially open this December. Based within a 1905-constructed mansion whose adobe walls are shared with neighbouring restaurant Isolina, Martins brings an array of experience honed at restaurants in Sydney, Berlin, Amsterdam and Stockholm he most recently opened Felix for Rafael Osterling in Lima to Siete, where hes enjoying mashing all those ideas and flavours up to a The Doors soundtrack. He says: I like the fact you cant identify my dishes origins. Maybe its Korean or Australian but no matter; I want the freedom to create. Star dishes include sea urchin with dashi butter, razor clams with clam vinaigrette, and a mind-blowing catch-of-the-day curry teamed with a plantain-stuffed yellow chile pepper served on handcrafted dish ware. He adds: Maybe this is contemporary Peruvian cuisine I just dont know! But it shouldnt matter as long as its delicious. Despite his upbeat attitude, Martins recognises theres plenty of work ahead. Lima needs change and its starting to happen. The new generation is more diverse but its outlook is difficult as theres lots of competition. But we collaborate with the previous generation: for example, Matias Cilloniz and I are talking with Pedro Miguel Schiaffino of Malabar about sharing his orchard and working together. Back in Miraflores, Jaime Pesaque has raised the bar to open not one but two ventures this year. While 10-year old Mayta recently reopened, his other restaurant, 500 grados, concentrates on a particular concept: fires and coals. Pesaque says: The markets brakes have been on for the past few years but a heap of younger chefs are coming through who are doing things right, and thats doing Lima some good. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events In my case, I wanted to do something different so everything is cooked through our two ovens that are called Celsius and Fahrenheit: even part of a salad will pass through the embers. Also opening daily from breakfast onwards, serving specialty coffee and sourdough early on before moving on to slow-baked ossobuco and pizzas, the flaming concept has been well received, he adds. Other new additions from young chefs to Limas food scene include Alinea Bistro and La Nina in Miraflores, dealing in classy comfort food and an elegant tasting menu paired with natural wines, respectively. But theres still work to be done in terms of creating new gastronomical references, according to Cilloniz. Lima has changed a lot with these new airs, and whats happening is fresh. Its a strong gastronomical city but we need more voices, he says. The launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon shuttle on Saturday morning has been hailed a significant achievement in the history of US space flight, bringing back the prospect of crewed American missions. The trial run is the first significant milestone in the collaboration between Elon Musks SpaceX and Nasa, which aims to get astronauts back into space. Not since 2011 has the US had the capacity to launch missions on home soil. A dummy crew of one was launched from Nasas Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 0749 GMT (0249 local time) and sensors will relay data on whether it is ready to run a manned mission. It is expected to arrive at its destination, the International Space Station (ISS), at 1105 GMT (0605 local time) on Sunday, delivering around 400lbs of cargo and staying for around five days before returning to Earth. The craft was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket and carried a pilot dummy, nicknamed Ripley in a nod to Sigourney Weavers character in the Alien films. SpaceX's journey through the Solar System Show all 6 1 /6 SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System SpaceX's journey through the Solar System The American space agency retired its own shuttles in 2011, opting instead to focus its efforts on a new Commercial Crew Programme, working alongside SpaceX and Boeing. Since then, it has paying to use Russias Soyuz spacecraft to blast astronauts into space, at a cost of $81m a seat (61 million). Crew Dragons lift off has been hit by several delays along the way. It was previously scheduled for 7 January, before moving to 17 January and then being pushed back again to no earlier than February. This is really a significant achievement in the history of American space flight, said Jim Bridenstine, Nasas administrator. We want to make sure we keep our partnership with Russia, which has been very strong for a long period of time, going back to the Apollo Soyuz era, but we also want to make sure we have our own capability to get back and forth to the ISS, so that we can have this strong partnership where they can launch on our rockets and we can launch on their rockets. But I think another big milestone here is the idea that were not as an agency, as Nasa, purchasing, owning and operating our own rockets at this point, were looking to a future where we can be a customer, one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in lower Earth orbit. A trial carrying passengers for the first time could happen as soon as July, with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley lined up to climb aboard. Additional reporting by PA Kensington Palace has refuted reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be raising their child as gender fluid. The denial comes two days after Vanity Fair reported that Meghan Markle had told close friends she wanted to avoid gender stereotypes and approach parenting from a gender-neutral perspective. In an online article published on Thursday, the magazine quoted an anonymous source as saying, Meghan has been talking to some of her friends about the birth and how she and Harry plan to raise their baby. Her exact word was fluid. She said they plan to raise their child with a fluid approach to gender and they wont be imposing any stereotypes. But the palace has described the claim as totally false in a statement released on Saturday. Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Show all 16 1 /16 Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen PA Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen REUTERS Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen REUTERS Meghan Markle returns to Grenfell Tower community kitchen Getty Images The couple are expecting their first child in Spring. Recommended Meghan Markle writes inspiring messages to sex workers Hollywood actor Kate Hudson shone a light on the concept of gender-neutral parenting in January after she told AOL that she would take a genderless approach to raising her daughter, Rani Rose. But the 39-year-old later posted a statement on Instagram saying that her words had been taken out of context. Recently someone asked me something along the lines of, if having and raising a girl is different from boys. My response was simple. Not really. This whole clickbait tactic of saying Im raising my daughter to be genderless is silly and frankly doesnt even make sense. The mother-of-three went on to explain that her saying genderless approach was a way of refocusing the conversation in a direction that could exist outside of the female stereotype". It just felt a little antiquated to me," she added. "Not all girls want to be princesses, some want to be king. And thats fine by me. Keira Knightley has spoken out about suffering from poor mental health in a candid interview. I think its very important that particularly young people, but actually everybody, knows that everybody breaks, the British actor told Glamour. The 33-year-old star added that while mental health problems can be a part of life, what you have to do at that point is acknowledge it and ask for help if youre lucky enough to be able to get that help. Knightley went on to explain how there have been moments in her career when she hasnt been able to cope but that she was lucky because she could afford to get the help she needed at the time. Ultimately, its nothing to feel ashamed about, she told the publication. Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Show all 18 1 /18 Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health I think that particularly with men theres a big feeling that you shouldnt have these emotions and that you should be able to cope, and you should be able to man up [...] I think men do have to acknowledge their emotions and they should talk about it; its ok to cry because youre a human being. Its not the first time Knightley has referenced a bout of poor mental health. In October last year, she told The Hollywood Reporters Awards Chatter podcast that she had a mental breakdown at the age of 22, shortly after she acquired worldwide fame following roles in Bend It Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean and Love Actually. Recommended Five celebrities who have addressed mental health in awards speeches I did take a year off there and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of all of that stuff, she said with regards to the pressures of her early success. I felt pretty much like actually I didnt exist and I was this weird creature with this weird face that people seemed to respond to in quite an extreme way, and I couldnt quite figure any of it out. Knightley went on to explain that she spent her year off travelling the world, describing it as one of the most important years of [her] life. If you have been affected by any issues mentioned in this article, you can contact The Samaritans for free on 116 123 or any of the following mental health organisations: mind.org.uk nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth mentalhealth.org.uk samaritans.org anxietyuk.org.uk You can almost hear the squeals of delight emanating from our established banks at the plight befalling Metro Bank, the industry high street disruptor. Not that the banks would ever publicly admit to taking pleasure in the accounting error that has seen Metro disclose that hundreds of millions of pounds of commercial property loans had been wrongly classified in risk terms, a revelation that caused its shares to crash. At one stage they were down by 50 per cent. Theyve recovered a bit since, but the damage has been done. Metros credibility was further undermined when it became apparent the bank had not spotted the mistake, as first claimed, but instead the regulator was responsible for highlighting the blunder. The bite of a deadly spider which causes victims to experience a four hour erection before they die could one day help millions of men overcome erectile dysfunction, according to researchers. Scientists studying Brazilian wandering spiders sometimes known as banana spiders believe that chemicals in its bite could lead to a treatment more effective than Viagra. They have refined the toxins and included them into a gel which in early trials led to prolonged erections but, crucially, without the unhappy ending. The team from the Federal University of Minas Gerais made a synthetic form of the toxin in order to test its effects and overcome the high toxicity of the spiders venom. In tests in mice and rats with erectile dysfunction it found that it led to a swelling of the penis lasting about 60 minutes when applied topically to the genitals. There were no signs of discomfort or harm and the drug had effects over and above sildenafil (Viagra) when they were given in combination, suggesting it could work for men where other drugs have failed. Writing in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the authors said the compound PnPP-19 could become a promising alternative for erectile dysfunction treatment. Brazilian wandering spiders have in the past made sensationalist headlines in the UK after being discovered among bananas, but many of the species are not poisonous to humans and mainly hunt small rodents. Professor Maria Elena de Lima, who led the study, told The Sun: We believe it could fill an enormous gap in the market and help millions of people worldwide. A trial of another of the chemicals last year in healthy male and female subjects found a topical application of the gel to the genitals led to erections in men within 30 minutes and doubled blood flow to the organ compared to a placebo. There were no other symptoms like painful prolonged erections, known as priapism, headache or high blood pressure and the researchers said the drug has the potential to be a safe and efficacious option for erectile dysfunction patients. The drug works by boosting production of nitric oxide, which dilates the blood vessels that supply the penis, causing it to swell with blood. This is the same mechanism as Viagra originally developed while looking for a heart disease treatment but in a topical treatment rather than a pill. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 2) Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Richard "Dick" Gordon is insisting on his panel's recommendation for former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad over the controversial anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine. "Kailangan silipin mabuti ang involvement ni dating Presidente Aquino at Budget Secretary Abad dahil sila ang nagpabilis ng pagbili ng Dengvaxia vaccines. Dapat masampahan agad sila ng kaso because justice delayed is justice denied," Gordon said in a tweet on Saturday. [Translation: They need to carefully look in to the involvement of former President Aquino and Budget Secretary Abad because they sped up the procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines. Cases should be filed against them because justice delayed is justice denied.] While Gordon commended the Justice department for indicting former Health Secretary Janette Garin and nine other officials of the Health department, he said it should have found cause to charge them for illegal procurement and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. He said those involved should not have been charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide because there is not enough evidence, which proves that Dengvaxia is the reason behind the deaths of children who received the vaccine. The Justice department said Garin, the other indicted government officials, and officers of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur "totally disregarded the identified risks and adverse effects of the vaccine." It also said that they exhibited an "inexcusable lack of precaution and foresight" when they went ahead with the registration and purchase of Dengvaxia, and used it for a school-based mass immunization program. Gordon's Blue Ribbon committee previously recommended that Aquino, Abad, Garin and other officials be slapped with graft raps over the allegedly irregular procurement of the Dengvaxia vaccine, which cost the government 3.5 billion. Dengvaxia was administered to over 800,000 schoolchildren before Sanofi-Pasteur disclosed that the vaccine could cause "severe disease" among those who have not yet been infected with dengue. Several deaths have been linked to the vaccine, but none of these claims have been definitively proven by experts. An ancient system of lakes has been identified deep underneath the surface of Mars, in a discovery scientists say hints at the past presence of life. While the red planet is mostly dry and desolate today, a growing body of evidence shows it used to be covered in large bodies of water above and below ground. Now, using information gathered by the European Space Agencys Mars Express mission, scientists have located an underground water complex previously only predicted by computer models. Understanding when and where water existed on Mars is vital for the researchers looking for traces of aliens. Findings like this are hugely important; they help us to identify the regions of Mars that are the most promising for finding signs of past life, says Mars Express project scientist Dmitri Titov. 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 Only last year, a team identified a vast lake of liquid water hidden underneath the planets southern pole, but for the most part, Mars wet days are over. Early Mars was a watery world, but as the planets climate changed, this water retreated below the surface to form pools and groundwater, said Dr Francesco Salese of Utrecht University, who led the new research. We traced this water in our study, as its scale and role is a matter of debate, and we found the first geological evidence of a planet-wide groundwater system on Mars. Using data from cameras on board their craft orbiting the planet, the scientists were able to explore 24 craters stretching thousands of metres below the surface. They found features that could only have been formed by water flowing through the craters, indicating an interconnected system of water bodies that has long since dried up. The water levels indicated by the underground formations also fit with the theory that Mars was once covered with an ocean between 3 and 4 billion years ago. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Besides the shapes of the craters, the scientists also analysed the minerals found within them, providing tantalising clues about the planets history. Clays, carbonates and silicates revealed by their study are all materials known to be linked with the emergence of life. Next year, together with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the ESA intends to launch their ExoMars rover to explore the planets surface in a search for aliens. Named after the DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin, the rover will arrive on Mars in 2021 and hunt for signs of life with a drill to extract samples from beneath its crust. The UK has officially asked Georgia to extradite Jack Shepherd, who was convicted of killing Charlotte Brown during a speedboat trip in 2015. The 31-year-old is currently in prison in Tbilisi. A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said the organisation prepared a request for extradition which was sent to Georgian authorities by the Home Office. It remains unclear when the request was officially submitted. The web designer took Ms Brown on a speedboat in the Thames during their first date in December 2015. In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Jack Shepherd, who went on the run in March 2018 after killing a woman in a speedboat crash on the River Thames, attends court hearing in Tbilisi, Georgia, 29 January, 2019. Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Charlotte Brown, 24, who died in a speedboat crash on the River Thames in December 2015. PA In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Undated photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of the speedboat owned by Jack Shepherd who was found guilty of killing his date, Charlotte Brown, in an accident on the River Thames in December 2015. Metropolitan Police In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd The family of Charlotte Brown - father Graham Brown, sister Katie and mother Roz Wickens - who died following a speedboat crash, pictured on 22 January, 2019. Yui Mok/PA In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Tariel Kakabadze, the lawyer of Jack Shepherd, attends a court session, in Tbilisi, Georgia, 25 January, 2019. Shakh Aivazov/AP In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Jack Shepherd speaks to media on 23 January, 2019, at the police station in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he handed himself in to police. Still taken from video provided by Rustavi 2. Rustavi 2 via AP In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Jack Shepherd is escorted to a court hearing in Tbilisi, Georgia, 25 January 2019 EPA In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Father of Charlotte Brown, Graham, gives a statement to the media outside Portcullis House following a meeting with Home Secretary Sajid Javid on 22 January, 2019. Jack Taylor/Getty Images In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Metropolitan Police image of Jack Shepherd. Metropolitan Police In pictures: Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd File photo of Jack Shepherd dated 18 October, 2017. Steve Parsons/PA Ms Brown was killed when the boat overturned, plunging the pair into icy water. Shepherd then went on the run for 10 months but was convicted of manslaughter in absentia and sentenced to six years in prison. He handed himself in to Georgian police officers in January 2019. Shepherd has reportedly written to Ms Brown's family, requesting a meeting "to explain everything that happened that tragic evening". The note, obtained by The Sun newspaper, read: "I want more than anything to talk to Charlotte's family. "I wish that I had ignored the police and lawyers and spoken to you three years ago." Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events But Ms Brown's father Graham Brown is quoted by the newspaper as saying: "We don't intend to dignify Shepherd's comments with a response until the extradition process has been completed and he is finally held accountable for his actions." Additional reporting by agencies The US ambassador to the UK has defended his countrys agricultural industry after MPs and campaigners voiced concerns about chlorine-washed chicken and other food products. On Friday British politicians warned that aggressive US demands for a post-Brexit trade deal could remove sanitary and phytosanitary standards in the UK farming industry. MPs also expressed fears that such a trade deal would lead to spiralling NHS drug costs. The ambassador Woody Johnson dismissed fears about food standards as myths, in an article in The Daily Telegraph. The billionaire diplomat alleged the debate over a possible deal was a smear campaign from people with their own protectionist agenda. Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Show all 18 1 /18 Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well These billboards were plastered by campaign group Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well PA Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Mr Johnson also criticised the EUs Museum of Agriculture approach to food standards. He acknowledged US farmers did wash chicken with chlorine to eliminate harmful pathogens, but claimed they did so to protect public safety. The EU does not allow producers to wash meat with any substance other than water, unless the substance is explicitly approved by the European Commission. The issue of chlorine-washed chicken has come to symbolise fears about animal welfare and environmental standards after Brexit. Mr Johnson also defended the use of growth hormones in US cattle production after MPs and campaigners expressed fears about hormone-pumped beef entering the UK. The EU chose the moral high ground for its choice not to use growth hormones, he said. But again, there are good reasons American farmers chose a different path. They want to produce meat using fewer resources at a lower cost to both the environment and the consumer. Brexit: what happens next? The diplomat entered the debate a day after Donald Trumps administration published negotiating objectives for a UK-US trade deal. A storm of criticism followed and Theresa Mays spokesperson attempted to calm fears, insisting the government had ruled out lowering food standards in any future trade deal. The UKs National Farmers Union (NFU) was among the worried groups reacting to the objectives. We should not accept trade deals that allow food to be imported into this country produced in ways which would be illegal here, said Minette Batters, the groups president. Mr Johnson criticised phrases such as chlorinated chicken and hormone beef as inflammatory and misleading terms, and said the terms cast US agriculture in the worst possible light. He said he wanted agriculture to be part of a trade deal between the UK and US. It is a great opportunity for both of us, he said. But the diplomats article has attracted further criticism online. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The British public benefit from the third most affordable food in the world produced to some of the highest animal welfare, food safety, food hygiene and environmental standards on the planet, said Stuart Roberts, the NFUs vice president. Not my definition of a museum. And Conservative MP Vicky Ford said that the ambassadors proposals were bonkers. In the last general election I had more emails from constituents about animal welfare than on all other issues put together, she said on Twitter. The idea that the people of UK would willingly adopt US animal welfare standards is total bonkers. When they said I was going to be on that flight, I closed my eyes and could see my aunty dropping to the floor. I felt like I was there again... And I wanted to die. I wanted to die. Paul Douglas had been in Colnbrook removal centre for a matter of days when he was ordered to pack up to get on a charter flight. The words set him into panic mode. He locked his door and began to cut his wrists. All he could see was the vision of his aunt getting shot dead in the street 20 years before after she too was deported back to Jamaica. The officers eventually broke into the 30-year-olds cell and found him unconscious in a pool of blood. Instead of being driven to the flight on 4 February, he was rushed to hospital where he got 22 stitches. After several days, he was discharged and taken straight back to detention where he is still subject to removal. Paul was just nine when he witnessed his aunts murder. With neither of his parents around, she had been his main carer until she was forced to flee to England after becoming a target of the gang warfare that dominated their local area. But the Home Office refused her asylum claim and sent her back and days after returning she was shot dead. Recommended Dozens to be deported on first Jamaica charter flight since Windrush Growing up in a Kingston neighbourhood with one of the highest crime rates on the island, death was nothing new to Paul. On the way to school Id see dead bodies, he recalls. Youd hear gunshots but you became immune to it. When youre living in and around it, you find a way. I learned to close my eyes and pretend I was in a better place. But the murder of his aunt was the wakeup call for his relatives and when their home was shot at weeks after the murder, they decided to place Paul on a flight destined for the UK. Despite the painful memories, Paul quickly settled into life in London and began to flourish, excelling academically and seizing on opportunities to learn. He achieved good grades in his GCSEs and was planning to study engineering at college. At the age of 16, though, he was wrenched back to the violence and death he witnessed in his formative years. An altercation with another teenager that began at school which Paul says he had not wanted to take part in escalated into a street fight between two groups. During the fracas, a 16-year-old was fatally stabbed. The judge acknowledged Paul did not strike the fatal blow, but the jury decided he and two other boys were jointly responsible. Paul was sentenced to 12 years in jail for joint enterprise. We went from aspiring young boys to black boys in a gang, he says. There was a lot of talk of gang culture during the trial. That was the last thing I wanted. Coming from such a violent place, I always used to say when I was growing up that I never wanted to be like the people I grew up around. I tried so hard. I never engaged in violence. Up until this point I had never been arrested. I was trying to get somewhere in my life. Paul found purpose helping young offenders before he was detained by the Home Office (Paul Douglas) Despite the devastation and anger that came with knowing he would be spending the rest of his youth and much of his early adulthood in jail, Pauls empathy for the victims family helped him come to terms with his fate. Regardless of the situation, someone lost their life, he says. I had to think about the boys family a mum, a dad, sisters, brothers. They were suffering. I had to put myself in their position to understand. In this situation there were no winners. He decided to try to take a positive approach to prison, continuing his education behind bars as well as successfully engaging in rehabilitation programmes and acting as a mentor for younger inmates. There was a lot of emotion. At the time I was young. You just see your future disappear. I knew I wouldnt be able to experience a lot of things that young people my age did. I was angry at the system, but I found that that got me nowhere. I couldnt argue against it. You have to learn to just get on with it. Chanel went into labour a few weeks after Paul was detained in Colnbrook Fourteen years on, after completing his sentence with a glowing report from the parole board, Paul was setting up a home to share with his pregnant girlfriend, Chanel Gebon, in time for the birth of their first child. But his long-awaited freedom was cut short when he was detained by the Home Office for the first time on the day he was supposed to be attending his unborn daughters ultrasound scan. He was taken to Colnbrook, where he was later told he was to be deported to Jamaica. Chanel, 28, who is a British national, says losing Paul just before giving birth pushed her into a dark place. A week or so after he was detained, she went into labour. It was something wed always been talking about, how the birth would be. We were really looking forward to the moment, she says. But I had to do it all without him just hearing his voice on the end of the phone. It was horrible. Paul says he cut his wrists because he wanted to kill himself while at the removal centre (Paul Douglas) Everything we had planned was positive. Paul isnt someone who would want to hurt or upset anyone at all. From the moment he came out, hes been supportive to so many people. Hes done his time. Hes a lot more mature now he has goals. Everyone deserves a second chance. Her words are echoed by Sonya Russo, director of offender behaviour programme Plan B, who worked with Paul during his jail term until the present day, and was on the phone to him while he was self-harming in his cell after hearing about the charter flight. She says the 30-year-old is an absolute asset to the community. Paul has turned things around and survived a 12-year sentence, Sonya adds. He has a big impact in the work we do, because hes obviously relatable to the boys that we teach. Whats happening to him is just awful. Especially his current condition. Volunteering with the charity, Paul has supported young men who have been released from jail, helped them settle back into the community, and advised prison governors about the best way of teaching inmates as well as working with child victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. Weve got a full-time job for him as soon as were allowed to employ him, says Sonya. He settled into a new life after prison and then boom, hes back in these conditions again its like hes gone full circle. Since he was a small child hes had it rough, and hes losing hope that hes ever going to be OK. Despite initial claims by the home secretary, Sajid Javid, that deportees were all guilty of very serious crimes such as murder and rape, Paul was among a minority of them who had actually been convicted of such an offence. But even in his case the facts point to a more complex story. The 30-year-old is reduced to tears when he talks about his threat of deportation. Everything was good. I was finally getting the opportunity to almost live my life. To be suddenly picked up like this and be in this position, Im mindblown, says Paul. I got released by a High Court judge. The judge deemed me not a risk to the public. I walked out of prison with my bags on my back. Working with young offenders made me feel some kind of purpose. I changed some kids lives dramatically after speaking to them. But they just look at whats on paper. They say they need to protect the public because this person is very dangerous, but they dont look at the facts. No one wants to listen. Harking back to his aunts murder, which came flooding back to him when immigration officers came to put him on a flight back to Jamaica, leading him to cut his wrists, Paul says openly: That wasnt self-harm. I wanted to kill myself. The Home Office was told my aunty was at risk of death, but they removed her and allowed it to happen. Now I am in the same position, showing them all the records and everything. Its like there are no lessons learned. A Home Office spokesperson said: Mr Douglas has no legal right to remain in the UK and has been convicted of murder. The law requires that we seek to deport foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK. This ensures we keep the public safe. Theresa May will have to delay Brexit even if she gets her exit plan through parliament this month, Michel Barnier has said. The EUs chief negotiator said there was now not enough time for the European Union to ratify the withdrawal agreement, even if MPs back the plan in a vote expected to be held on 12 March. In a joint interview with several European newspapers, Mr Barnier also said the EU was willing to provide further assurances that the backstop will be temporary. Ms May has promised that MPs will be allowed to vote on extending Article 50 if they decide to reject her deal a second time, but Mr Barnier said an extension would be needed even if the agreement gains parliaments approval. His comments will come as a blow to the prime minister, who has insisted Britain will be able to leave as planned on 29 March if MPs back her deal. Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Show all 18 1 /18 Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well These billboards were plastered by campaign group Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well PA Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter On whether it would be possible for the EU to ratify the agreement if the UK parliament signs it off on 12 March, Mr Barnier told papers including Germanys Die Welt and Spains El Mundo: No, no. There would have to be an extension that would be called motivated or technical. But you have to ask the UK. If there is a vote on 12 [March] and it takes two months for the procedure, it would be justified. Asked if an extension to Article 50 was the only option if a Brexit deal is to be finalised, he answered: Yes, you could say that. Mr Barnier said the EU would most likely agree to such an extension, but that member states would need to be convinced there was a good reason for it. He said: The hypothetical duration would depend on what they want it for. I know there is the idea of an extension without conditions, but you have to know that an extension would serve to fix a problem, not to delay the solution. In my opinion, do not postpone the problem for three or six months, do not risk prolonging the general uncertainty of Europe beyond the elections, but it will be for the heads of state to respond. Ms Mays hopes of securing the Commons backing for her deal rest on obtaining fresh concessions from the EU on the backstop the main source of opposition from Tory Brexiteers. Recommended Grayling faces parliamentary inquiries amid fresh calls to resign Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, have been locked in talks with Brussels in a bid to secure legally binding guarantees that the backstop, which would see the UK enter into a customs union with the EU if a trade deal cannot be agreed, would be temporary. Mr Barnier said Brussels was open to giving further assurances that this is the case. He said: We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU. This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary. He announced that the EU is considering providing the new guarantees in a joint interpretative document an add-on to the withdrawal agreement saying this could enshrine assurances made in a letter from Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, in January. Brexit: what happens next? Mr Barnier said: Guarantees, assurances, can be given in a document, perhaps next to the treaty, not in the political declaration. We can imagine an interpretative document, where there are elements such as those already in the letter from Tusk and Juncker. That was a letter from two presidents of two institutions. If the document is agreed with the United Kingdom, it would be much stronger. However, he insisted that any new concessions will not include either a time limit on the backstop or a unilateral exit mechanism for the UK a key demand of many Tory Eurosceptics. He said: There cannot be a temporality clause, as it is impossible for there to be a unilateral withdrawal from it. The backstop must be and remain credible. More than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria, local officials say. The Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, said that the blast caused a massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state. The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude to the Bonny export terminal. Aiteo is yet to comment on the explosion. It is not immediately clear if the pipeline has been shut down. The Niger Delta is highly polluted. Nigerian oil companies usually assert that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining. 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 Deadly accidents caused by leaking pipelines are common in the country. In January, an overturned oil tanker exploded in Odukpani in Cross River state while dozens of people were scooping up the leaking fuel. Police said at least 12 people were killed while some witnesses estimated up to 60 were dead. AP Chelsea Manning has been called to testify before a grand jury in the investigation of Julian Assange, officials said. The summons is one of several indicators that prosecutors remain interested in WikiLeaks publication of diplomatic cables and military war logs in 2010. Prosecutors in Virginia have been pursuing a case based on conduct that predates WikiLeaks publication of hacked emails during the 2016 presidential campaign, and it is not clear investigators are interested in that activity. Officials discussed the investigation of Mr Assange, who founded WikiLeaks, on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy of the grand jury process. Ms Manning, whose subpoena was first reported by the New York Times, is a former Army private who served seven years in a military prison for passing secret State Department cables and military documents to WikiLeaks before receiving a commutation from Barack Obama. Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Show all 12 1 /12 Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence torbakhopper/Flickr Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Garry Knight/Flickr Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence People hold signs calling for the release of imprisoned wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning while marching in a gay pride parade in San Francisco, California June 28, 2015. Manning has appealed to an Army court to overturn her court-martial conviction, a court filing released on Thursday said. Reuters Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Around twenty activists associated with the Chelsea Manning support group rally in front of the White House in Washington DC, Sunday May 11, 2014. Stephen Melkisethian/Flickr Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Daily Chalkupy/Flickr Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Around twenty activists associated with the Chelsea Manning support group rally in front of the White House in Washington DC, Sunday May 11, 2014. Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Twitter Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Abigail Edward holds up a sign advocating the release of WikiLeaks whistle blower Chelsea Manning along the Gay Pride parade route in San Francisco, California on Sunday, June, 26, 2016. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Demonstration for Chelsea Manning in London, England, United Kingdom. Chelsea Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning) is a United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a million classified or unclassified but sensitive military and diplomatic documents. Manning was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years imprisonment, with the possibility of parole in the eighth year, and to be dishonorably discharged from the Army. Manning is a trans woman who, in a statement the day after sentencing, said she had felt female since childhood, wanted to be known as Chelsea, and desired to begin hormone replacement therapy. From early life and through much of her Army life, Manning was known as Bradley; she was diagnosed with gender identity disorder while in the Army. Mike Kemp/Getty Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Chelsea M Queer Friends/Twitter Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Instagram Protesters urge Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence Jil Love Revolution/Instagram Ms Mannings attorneys have filed a motion to quash the subpoena. I object strenuously to this subpoena, and to the grand jury process in general, Ms Manning said in a statement. Weve seen this power abused countless times to target political speech. I have nothing to contribute to this case and I resent being forced to endanger myself by participating in this predatory practice. The subpoena was signed last month by Gordon Kromberg, a national security prosecutor on the Assange case. Mr Kromberg last month persuaded a judge to leave sealed an indictment against Mr Assange despite its inadvertent exposure in an unrelated court filing last year. Under Mr Obama, Justice Department officials had decided not to pursue charges against Mr Assange and WikiLeaks after concluding that to do so could set a precedent that paved the way for prosecuting news organisations for publishing classified information. But the case got a fresh look under Donald Trump. Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said the Justice Department probably indicted Mr Assange last year to stay within the 10-year statute of limitations on unlawful possession or publication of national defence information, and is now working to add charges. Theres nothing else that would make sense, he said. The heart of the controversy is, theres never been a successful prosecution for publishing classified information, Mr Vladeck said. There has always been the spectre of a First Amendment defence. Peter Zeidenberg, a national security defence attorney, said he cannot see grounds for Ms Manning to refuse the subpoena. Shes already been prosecuted, shes been convicted, she served a sentence, he said. She has no Fifth Amendment privilege over self-incrimination. If she doesnt testify then shell be held in contempt. Ms Manning appears to be the latest individual subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury investigating Mr Assange in the Eastern District of Virginia. Last July, computer expert David House, who befriended Ms Manning in 2010 at a hacker space in Boston he founded, testified for 90 minutes before the grand jury. In an interview, Mr House said he met the WikiLeaks founder in January 2011 while Mr Assange was under house arrest at Ellingham Hall, a manor house 120 miles northeast of London. Mr Assange was fighting an extradition request by Sweden, where he faced an inquiry into allegations of sexual assault. Mr Assange asked Mr House to help run political operations for WikiLeaks in the United States. Specifically, he wanted me to help achieve favourable press for Chelsea Manning, he said. Mr House, who testified in exchange for immunity, said the grand jury was interested in his relationship with Mr Assange. They wanted full insight into WikiLeaks, what its goals were and why I was associated with it, he said. They wanted explanations of why certain things occurred and how they occurred... It was all related to disclosures around the war logs. The grand jury seemed interested in whether Mr Assange had solicited Ms Manning to hack on WikiLeaks behalf, but did not press very hard on that, he said. During her trial, Ms Manning testified that she acted on her own to send documents to WikiLeaks and no one associated with WikiLeaks pressured her into giving more information. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty He was not asked about WikiLeaks 2016 release of Democratic emails, which US intelligence agencies have assessed were hacked by Russians. Nor did he have personal knowledge of that, he said. He was never told what charges prosecutors were contemplating. Mr House said his last contact with Mr Assange was in 2013 and his last contact with WikiLeaks was in 2015. Mr House said he fears retribution for being associated with WikiLeaks and Ms Manning in 2010 and does not believe the US prosecution is warranted. This is not an investigation borne out of a concern for national security, he said. It is an investigation borne out of retribution and revenge against Mr Assange over the [2010] leak that he precipitated, and how this leak impacted the careers of politicians in Washington, DC Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a one-time WikiLeaks spokesman who has grown estranged from Mr Assange, said in an interview he was contacted by the German federal police in October 2017 and told that US authorities wished to talk to him about the Manning-Julian connection. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events He also received a letter in March 2018 repeating the request from then-US attorney in the Eastern District, Dana Boente. He said the German police told him the FBI was interested in what possible contact possible coordination occurred between Mr Assange and Ms Manning, he said. The Americans appeared to be interested in possible solicitation by Ms Assange of Ms Manning, he said. Domscheit-Berg told the German police he was not interested in speaking to the FBI. Washington Post An 11-year-old girl has been charged with first-degree child abuse of a one-year-old boy who died after suffering serious injuries in her care. The girl, who is not related to the victim, was left babysitting Paxton Davis at her home in Maryland near Washington DC while her mother went out on an errand. Her family members called 911 after returning home to find the baby unresponsive. Paxton was taken to hospital with severe injuries to his upper body and died four days later, on Thursday 28 February. The girl was arrested following his death and admitted the assault, according to Prince Georges County Police. 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 Major Brian Reilly, commander of the criminal investigation division, told a press conference the motive remains under investigation. I dont know what motive there would be in a situation like this for an 11-year-old to intentionally inflict injuries on a one-year-old, he said. There are no words. There is no reason for this to take place. Major Reilly said the two families were friends and Paxton was left there in the care of the girls mother on the previous Saturday. The girl had not looked after the baby before. Recommended Babysitter who returned dead boy to mother charged with murder It was an innocent friendly agreement that turned absolutely tragic, he said. There was a short time where the 11-year-old was left in the house where there was no parental supervision. Police were alerted by medical staff at 3.25pm following the babys arrival at hospital. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events When hospital staff took a look at our one-year-old victim, they immediately called child abuse detectives due to the severity of his injuries, said Major Reilly. It was clear from the beginning that the injuries Paxton suffered were not consistent with the normal play of a one-year-old. Police said that they would consult with the Prince Georges County states attorneys office to determine any further charges in the case. Canada has said it will allow a US extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said on Friday that officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wangzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd, the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Ms Meng's arrest on 1 December at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furore and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to US technology vendors. Ms Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of US trade sanctions. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court on Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the US request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision, the statement said. The Chinese government criticised the decision as a serious violation of Ms Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. The US and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement, said a Foreign Ministry statement. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on 10 December in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Ms Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Ms Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the president of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms Meng's case if he thought it would assist the US negotiations with China over a trade deal, said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Ms Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticised the case in a statement as a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. Huawei is a focus of US security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. The US and China have tried to keep Ms Meng's case separate from their wider trade dispute, but Donald Trump has undercut that. Mr Trump said he would consider intervening in the case against Ms Meng if it would be in the interest of US national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing. The Chinese embassy statement that due to obvious political interference, Canada should refuse the US extradition request and release Ms Meng. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events US Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said the department pursues cases free of any political interference and follows evidence and the law. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Chinese authorities are not interested in hearing about how Canada is bound by its extradition case with the US. Saint-Jacques said China might apply further pressure on Canada. AP The mother of a five-year-old girl mauled in the face by an emotional support pitbull at an airport in Oregon has filed a $1.1m lawsuit. Mirna Gonzalez says her daughter Gabriela suffered permanent injuries when another passenger's dog bit her as they waited to board their plane at Portland International Airport on 18 December 2017. While Ms Gonzalez left her children momentarily to buy a coffee, Gabriella allegedly asked the dog's owner if she could pet it. But as soon as she reached out her hand it bit her in the face. The Port of Portland, Alaska Airlines and the owner of the dog are named in the $1.1m lawsuit Ms Gonzalez filed on behalf of her daughter on Monday. The lawsuit says the dog owner, Michelle Brannan, should have known her dog "possessed vicious propensities". It also blames the airport and airline for creating "an unreasonable risk of harm to the public" by allowing the dog into the passenger area without being inside a crate. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The incident is one of numerous high-profile allegations of bad emotional-support animal behaviour at airports as airlines and the federal government have scrambled to respond to a growing number of complaints, ranging from poor toilet training to nasty bites. The episodes have proliferated over the past two years, fuelling a debate over how the animals should be regulated while travelling. In June 2017, a 70-pound emotional support dog bit a man in the face as he sat down in his window seat on a Delta Air Lines flight departing from Atlanta, leaving him needing 28 stitches. In February 2018, an emotional support dog chomped at a child's forehead on a Southwest Airlines flight departing from Phoenix, leaving her with only a scrape but causing panic. In Gabriella's case, she had to undergo tear-duct surgery, leaving her with permanent scars, her attorney, Chad Stavley, told the Washington Post. The pitbull severed her tear duct and disfigured her upper lip, leaving a chunk of it missing, according to a graphic photo of her injuries provided by Mr Stavley. Mr Stavley said he hopes the lawsuit, filed on Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, will push airports and airlines to strictly enforce the policies surrounding emotional support animals that most created in response to the 2017 and 2018 dog bites. Recommended United Airlines bans emotional support puppies and kittens The new rules intend to clamp down on fraudulent emotional support animals or service animals people's house pets disguised as helpers while also making sure the animals that people really need are kept away from other passengers as much as possible. Mr Stavley said he plans to investigate whether the dog that bit Gabriella was a legitimate emotional support dog. The dog's owner, Michelle Brannan, claims that it was, according to the lawsuit. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday night. It is unclear if she still owns the dog. According to a December 2017 report from KATU 2 News, the dog was quarantined at an animal shelter for 10 days following the attack, and the owner was cited by police for failing to crate the dog. There's a lot of abuse of this emotional support animal situation, Mr Stavley said, and folks who have legitimate service animals people who are blind and need guide dogs and the like are kind of getting thrown into the same boat [as emotional support animals]. It shines a poor light on those folks. The Port of Portland and Alaska Airlines, which Ms Brannan and the Gonzalez family were flying that day, both declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Alaska Airlines was among the airlines that changed their policy on emotional support animals in 2018. The airline's new rule, which went into effect in October, requires that owners keep their dog or cat the only animals allowed aboard in a carrier or on a leash at all times and provide 48-hour notice and appropriate documentation ahead of their flights. We are making these changes now based on a number of recent incidents where the inappropriate behaviour of emotional support animals has impacted and even injured our employees, other guests and service animals, Ray Prentice, Alaska Airlines director of customer advocacy, said in a statement in April 2018. Most animals cause no problems. However, over the last few years, we have observed a steady increase in incidents from animals who haven't been adequately trained to behave in a busy airport setting or on a plane, which has prompted us to strengthen our policy. The support-animal incidents have not been limited to dog bites. One service dog, a golden retriever named Eleanor Rigby, gave birth to puppies at a terminal in Tampa in June, though people didn't complain very much about that. Recommended The strangest emotional support animals on planes An emotional-support hamster named Pebbles was flushed down the toilet by its owner in February 2018 after Spirit Airlines informed the student she could not take the pet with her on the flight from Baltimore. Another man got angry at United Airlines for denying Dexter, his Instagram-famous emotional-support peacock, a seat on the plane from Newark, even though he had purchased a ticket for the bird. We explained this to the customer on three separate occasions before they arrived at the airport, an airline spokeswoman told the Washington Post. When United announced its policy change in February 2018, the airline said it had witnessed a 75 per cent increase in customers bringing emotional support animals aboard. When Delta announced changes with its policy in January 2018, the airline reported an 84 per cent increase in reported animal incidents since 2016, including urination and defecation and acts of aggression from the animals, behaviour not typically seen in these animals when properly trained and working. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The concerns from the airlines also prompted the Transportation Department to review its own rules for service and support animals last year. The agency intended to crack down on the fraudulent use of animals who aren't really service animals and to make sure measures are in place to prevent badly behaved pets from boarding flights. It has yet to issue a final rule change. In the meantime, Mr Stavley said, Gabriella Gonzalez will not be boarding any flights anytime soon. The girl developed a fear of airports, he said, as well as a fear of petting dogs. Washington Post A poster that linked the US representative Ilhan Omar to 9/11 has resulted in a brawl among legislators in West Virginia, leading to an individual being taken to hospital. The poster, which was on display at a GOP event in the West Virginia statehouse, depicts the Twin Towers on fire on 11 September with the words Never forget you said written above the building. Under the image is a picture of Ms Omar with the words I am the proof you have forgotten. Democratic state lawmaker, Mike Caputo, was enraged by the poster and wanted to get into the chamber to protest. He admitted to kicking the door during an argument about the image and allegedly injured the security guard, who had to be taken to hospital. 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 "We have created an anger that I have never witnessed in 23 years in this body and it sickens me. It absolutely sickens me. So yeah, I kicked the door open I'll own it," Mr Caputo said, according to WSAZ. Ms Omar responded to the offensive image on social media. No wonder why I am on the Hitlist of a domestic terrorist and Assassinate Ilhan Omar is written on my local gas stations, she tweeted. Look no further, the GOPs anti-Muslim display likening me to terrorist rocks in the state capitols and no one is condemning them! Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The House Rules Committee is expected to meet to decide if Mr Caputo will face repercussions. Ivanka Trump and the president appear to have lied about the process that took place for her and her husband Jared Kushner to obtain high-level security clearances while working in the White House, after it was reported that former Chief of Staff John Kelly was ordered to get top-secret access for Mr Kushner last year. Those orders came directly from the president, the Washington Post said, despite opposition from career intelligence officials and the chief of staff himself, who reportedly expressed his concerns in private and documented Mr Trumps demands in a memo. Donald McGahn, who previously served as White House counsel, also wrote a memo describing the same situation, according to the New York Times. Despite his obscure foreign investments and financial dealings which experts say would bar anyone from receiving even a low-level security clearance Mr Kushner still managed to obtain access to some of the nations top secrets, reportedly thanks to an order made by Mr Trump. The president has final authority in determining who obtain security clearances, even if their decision flies in the face of national security concerns. There are at least nine occasions in which the Trump family appeared to provide false statements surrounding Mr Kushner and Ms Trumps security clearance process, reflecting an unprecedented effort by the president to hire his family in a White House administration and later cover up behind-the-scenes actions he took while disregarding the advice of his own intelligence community. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs Despite reportedly having pressured the president to grant Kushner the long-delayed clearance, according to the Washington Post, Ms Trump said in an interview with ABC News Abby Huntsman last month, the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husbands clearance. Zero, she added, stressing her fathers apparent lack of interference with Mr Kushners security clearance process. And even though it was reported Mr Kushner eventually received his security clearance in May of last year, the president apparently made false statements about the matter in an interview with New York Times Maggie Haberman in January of this year. Did you tell General Kelly or anyone else in the White House to overrule security officials? she asked the president. No, he replied. I dont think I have the authority to do that. Im not sure I do. You do have the authority to do it, she responded. But I wouldnt, Mr Trump said. I wouldnt do it. He went on to claim I was never involved with the security, adding, I just, I never thought it was necessary. Mr Trump later acknowledged he did, in fact, have the authority to grant Mr Kushner or anyone, for that matter a security clearance, saying, Uh, I have the right to do it, but I never thought it was necessary, Maggie. I never thought it was necessary. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events A spokesperson for Mr Kushners attorney Abbe Lowell refuted the New York Times report in a statement, saying, In 2018, White House and security clearance officials affirmed that Mr. Kushners security clearance was handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone. That was conveyed to the media at the time, and new stories, if accurate, do not change what was affirmed at the time. The Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into how Mr Kushner and others were able to obtain security clearances under Mr Trump, with top Democrat Elijah Cummings requesting relevant documents from Mr Kushner. Six civilians have been killed after violence continued to escalate between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Indian police said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons indiscriminately targeted border villagers, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He added that several homes were destroyed by the shelling. After a brief period of respite, two further civilians were killed in separate fighting as the shelling recommenced. Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistans military said two of its soldiers were also killed after an exchange with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates the two countries in Kashmir. Tensions have been running high since an Indian aircraft carried out a strike in Pakistan against militants which it claimed had conducted a suicide bombing which killed 40 Indian troops. The situation continued to escalate and on Wednesday Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet and captured its pilot. The pilot was later returned to India in what was described as a peace gesture. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Officials from both countries blamed each other for unprovoked violations of the 2003 ceasefire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier. Since tensions increased following last months suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Additional reporting by agencies An Indian womens rights campaigner has said a surge in underage girls being raped can be attributed to the rise in men watching porn but condemned the decision to introduce the death penalty for such crimes. Dr Rukmini Rao, who has campaigned for increased punishment for rape and the recognition of domestic violence, argued the growing popularity of porn was driving not just underage rape but also marital rape. The 68-year-old argued there was a very serious problem with rape in the country saying many young girls and women are not properly educated about the definition of consent. The rise of porn and the rise of rapes is definitely linked, she said. There has been an upsurge in rapes of young women and young girls. I have a lot of young women coming into crisis centres because they feel they are sexually incompatible with their husbands. Nine times out of 10, it is because the man is watching too much porn and wanting to recreate it in real life and also drinking too much. Increasingly younger people like teenagers are getting access to porn films. It is illegal to watch porn in India but it happens a lot. Recommended India introduces death penalty for child rapists Dr Rao said the married young men demand sexual services from their wives noting that marital rape is legal in India. They feel entitled, she added. Young women are protected from thinking about sex and sexuality and their bodies. You have one person who is an innocent and one person who is predatory. Dr Rao said rape investigations and prosecutions can take several years explaining that parents often do not want to pursue cases of young girls being raped because the cases could still be going on when they are trying to marry their daughters off. We need quick prosecutions and then punishment of the guilty every time, because the number of rapists who actually go to prison is very small, she said. You need to find a physical mark or some evidence and if the person is not taken to a doctor soon enough for a swab to be taken they will not find enough evidence for the rapist to be prosecuted. India is the third largest consumer of Pornhub content behind the US and the UK, according to data taken from 2017. A notorious gang rape of a 23-year-old student in Delhi in 2012, which led to the city being branded the rape capital of the world, was perpetrated by six men who had been watching violent porn. Since then, a trend of rape videos going viral in India has led many to raise concerns that smartphones (India has 400 million users), cheap data and easy access to violent porn, combined with a lack of sex education and understanding of relationships, could feed sexual violence. Sexual abuse in India continues to be highly prevalent despite the introduction of tougher rape laws in 2013. According to the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2016 the rape of minor girls increased by 82 per cent compared with the previous year. The NCRB data observes that a woman is raped every six hours in India. Across all rape cases, 95 per cent of rapists were not strangers but family, friends and neighbours. Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes in India with some estimates indicating 90 to 95 per cent of rape cases remain unreported. Dr Rao criticised the introduction of the death penalty for convicted rapists of girls under the age of 12 a move that was introduced via an executive order in April last year amid uproar over a series of high-profile cases. The campaigner, who has also promoted rights for female farmers and fought against child marriages and the trafficking of baby girls, argued the death sentence was no solution to any problem. The move has also been criticised by other activists and politicians who say it will not serve as a proper deterrent to child rapists without the criminal justice system being totally overhauled. Child rights activists have voiced concerns the introduction of the death penalty could make families more likely to cover up sexual crimes even warning rapists might kill their victims to avoid being exposed for their crimes. Indian government surveys show some 42 per cent of girls in the country have been sexually abused. Dr Rao, who set up the first rural womens shelter in Medak district, said rape cases often involve upper-class men raping lower-caste women adding that this happens during conflict because rape is employed as a weapon. The campaigner said there was a problem of violence against women more generally and argued the issue of domestic violence in the country stemmed from gender inequality in society. It is institutional inequality from birth, she said. A woman is told she is different from birth. She is told she is less than a man. But a boy is privileged from birth. He thinks it is OK to behave badly. Violence against women is a major issue. There is street violence, marital violence and sexual violence at the workplace. The conviction rate for crimes against women overall in India is very low only 18.9 per cent and the lowest in a decade according to the latest official crime statistics from 2016. The average conviction rate for all crimes is 47 per cent. More than 50 per cent of Indian men and women still believe that sometimes women deserve a beating. One woman is killed every hour for not providing enough dowry an amount of property or money given by a bride to her husband at the time of marriage. The campaigner, who is also chair of trustees at the Lepra Society India, said there was mounting resistance to gender inequality from female activists in the country. Indian women are fighting back, she said. They are mobilising themselves. There has been a boom in activism over the years. Women are not willing to lie down and die. They are fighting for their dignity and for their rights. We do not need some VIP. We are not looking for saviours. But if you come in friendship and are willing to stand side by side with women, it is not at all patronising. A memorial stone marking the site of a former synagogue destroyed by the Nazis has been vandalised in Strasbourg. Officials said the heavy memorial stone was discovered moved from its base in the French city on Saturday morning. Strasbourg mayor Roland Ries denounced the incident as a new antisemitic act. French officials in the region said that antisemitism undermines the values of the republic. The monument commemorates a synagogue built in 1898 that was set on fire and razed to the ground by the Nazis in 1940. Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents Show all 10 1 /10 Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism6 Students holding a placard reading "Together against antisemitism" take part in a ceremony in tribute to Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish man abducted and killed over a decade ago. AP/Francois Mori Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism3 Vandals spray swastikas over post boxes painted with face of late Holocaust survivor and renowned French politician Simone Veil in Paris, France. 11 February 2019. AP/Mairie du XIIIth Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism1 French street artist Christian Guemy, known as C215, cleans post boxes vandalised with swastikas covering the face of the late Holocaust survivor and renowned French politician Simone Veil in Paris 12 February 2019. AP/Michel Euler Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism2 AP/Christophe Ena Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism9 Poster reads "Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, not in our name" during a gathering decrying antisemitism at Place de la Republique in Paris on 18 February 2019. AP/Francois Mori Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism5 Ceremony in tribute to Ilan Halimi at a memorial in Sainte Genevieve des Bois, Paris, February 13 2019. Two trees planted in memory of the 23-year-old Jewish man abducted and killed over a decade ago found vandalised two days later. AP/Francois Mori Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism7 Student lights candle at a ceremony in tribute to Ilan Halimi - a 23-year-old Jewish man abducted and killed over a decade ago. AP/Francois Mori Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism8 Man holds poster reading "Racists, don't touch our Jewish friends" during a gathering decrying antisemitism at Place de la Republique in Paris on 18 February 2019. AP/Francois Mori Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism10 Poster reads "Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, not in our name" during a gathering decrying antisemitism at Place de la Republique in Paris on 18 February 2019. AP Protests across France after 74% rise in antisemitic incidents France antisemitism4 French prime minister Edouard Philippe pictured at the end of a ceremony to present the Ilan Halimi award to reward projects by youths combating antisemitism and racism at Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, 12 February 2019. Reuters/Charles Platiau The incident comes amid an uptick in antisemitic acts in France in recent months. Last month, about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas in a Jewish cemetery close to Strasbourg. The worlds number one bridge player has been suspended after failing a drugs test. Geir Helgemo, a Norwegian who represents Monaco in bridge events, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and female fertility drug clomifene at a World Bride Series in Orlando in September. Mr Helgemo was suspended by the World Bridge Foundation (WBF) after accepting he had breached anti-doping rules. All his titles, medals and points from the 2018 World Bridge Series have also been revoked. His suspension runs until 20 November. 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 Kari-Anne Opsal, president of the Norwegian Bridge Federation, said the drugs were not performance enhancing. In a statement on the federations website, she said: Geir Helgemo ... has previously played for the Norwegian national team and is our biggest star. Many within the bridge community know Geir and respect him. It is his responsibility not to take substances that are on the doping list, even though in this instance they are not performance enhancing in bridge. I feel for Geir in this situation and hope he will come back stronger after 20 November, 2019, when his ban ends. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee and as such abides by World Anti-Doping Agency rules. A 77-year-old grandmother had to be rescued after the throne-shaped iceberg she was posing on for a photo drifted out to sea during her holiday in Iceland. Judith Streng, from Texas, was visiting the Jokulsarlon Lagoon with her son when they came across the chunk of frozen water shaped like a throne on the beach. Moments after Ms Streng climbed on top of the iceberg to pose for a photo, the makeshift seat was carried away from the shore by a large wave. When I got on it, it started to totter and a wave was coming in, Ms Streng told ABC News. A very large wave came in and kind of made the throne kind of rock, and I could tell that I was slipping off. On Monday, Ms Streng's granddaughter, Christine, posted the texts and photos her father sent after the ordeal on 26 February. Each photo shows Ms Streng drifting further and further away from the camera. 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Show all 15 1 /15 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York A house in upstate New York has been completely encased in ice. AP 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Standing on Ramona Beach on the south side of Lake Ontario, the property was hit by an ice tsunami, a phenomenon that occurs when strong winds blow blocks of ice from the water onto the shore. Maureen Morgan Whelan 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York The settled ice is around 4 feet thick and had to pass over a storm barrier to reach the house. Maureen Morgan Whelan 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York The house pictured when not covered in ice. Maureen Morgan Whelan 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York A satellite view shows the proximity of the house to Lake Ontario Google 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York The nearby town of Hamburg, NY was also hit by ice shoves. Town of Hamburg Emergency Services 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Residents were issued a voluntary evacuation warning when conditions became dangerous Town of Hamburg Emergency Services 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York By the shore in Hamburg, NY Town of Hamburg Emergency Services 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York By the shore in Hamburg, NY Town of Hamburg Emergency Services 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Fort Erie in Ontario was also affected by the adverse weather. Lake Erie neighbours Lake Ontario and the areas surrounding both have been victim to huge ice shoves AP 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York On the shore of Mather Park in Fort Erie, Ontario, February 25 AP 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Niagara Falls, on the river between lakes Ontario and Erie recently partially froze over AFP/Getty 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York Horseshoe Falls in Niagara falls while partially frozen on January 31 AP 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York American Falls in Niagara Falls seen from Ontario, Canada while partially frozen on January 31 AP 'Ice Tsunami' encases house in New York American Falls in Niagara Falls seen from Ontario, Canada while partially frozen on January 31 AP Lost her kingdom when she drifted out to see! [sic] Christine's father texted her. He added: No joke. A coast guard rescuer had to save her and bring her back to shore! Photos of the grandmother's nautical adventure had garnered 66,000 retweets by Friday evening. She told ABC News that her rescuer was Randy Lacount, a boat captain from Florida who witnessed her float away. He did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday evening. I thought it was safe, Ms Streng told ABC. One girl had been on it and then two girls at the same time, and it was very secure with them. But I don't weigh very much. So it was a little easier to float off with me, I guess. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events On her choice to sit on the throne, she told the network: You know, I always wanted to be a queen. I mean, come on, that was my chance. Ms Streng returned to the US on Monday and is recuperating from her trip, her granddaughter told the Washington Post. While she was not available for interview, Ms Streng relayed to her granddaughter that she's glad people are getting a kick out of her story. Being so popular is wild, she added. Washington Post Isis is facing its final territorial defeat, after Syrian forces supported by the US said they were closing in on the terrorists groups last remaining stronghold. A spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the fierce battle being fought over the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria was likely to be over soon. The SDF began a final assault to capture the enclave, which is near the Iraqi border, on Thursday. If successful, their campaign will be a milestone in four years of fighting against a group which once controlled territory across a third of Syria and Iraq. Thousands of Isis fighters and followers retreated to Baghouz as the group was gradually driven out of other regions. Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent In recent weeks around 40,000 people of various nationalities have fled the tiny cluster of villages and farmlands in Deir ez-Zor province. The number of evacuees streaming out of Baghouz surpassed initial estimates of how many were inside. Their evacuation delayed the final assault until Friday evening, when SDF forces said they had advanced and would not stop until the jihadists had been defeated. We expect it to be over soon, Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, said. The SDF are advancing on two fronts using medium and heavy weaponry, and three of its fighters have been wounded so far, he added. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Additional reporting by agencies Saudi Arabia is moving to prosecute a group of womens rights activists who have been detained for several months, its state news agency has announced. The kingdoms public prosecutor is thought to be preparing the trials of nine people arrested in June last year on suspicion of harming the countrys interests and offering support to hostile elements abroad. The group comprised five men and four women. At the time of their detention international rights groups reported that at least 11 prominent activists, mostly women, had been arrested. They had previously campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the kingdoms male guardianship system. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Some were later released, but activists have said that several of the women were held in solitary confinement for months and faced torture and sexual harassment. A Saudi official has said the allegations of mistreatment and torture of the female detainees were false ... And have no connection to the truth. Dozens of other activists, intellectuals and clerics have been arrested separately in an apparent bid to stamp out opposition to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated power including with a sweeping anti-corruption campaign. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events It comes shortly after Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law who has been tasked with implementing a Middle East peace plan, met with Mr Bin Salman during a series of engagements with regional leaders. Jeremy Hunt, the UK's foreign secretary, was due to meet Saudi officials at the weekend to pursue a diplomatic solution to the war in Yemen. Additional reporting by AP Q Can you help with a parking problem that cost me nearly 300? I pre-booked cheap offsite parking at Luton airport. I left home in plenty of time for my 6.30am flight to Vilnius in Lithuania. But there were overnight motorway maintenance closures which meant I was running short of time by the time I reached the airport. I had to park in short-term parking so I didnt miss the flight. When I returned from five days away I got a fright in the shape of a 290 bill, more expensive than the flights and accommodation for a five-day trip for two had cost. What can I do now to recover some or all of the money? James B A If your travel insurance covers delays en route to the airport, then you may be able to claim though you will need evidence from the police or Highways England, together with specifying your departure time from home and arrival time at the airport. This type of cover, though, is intended for missed flights rather than punitive parking charges, so dont be surprised if it is rejected. Perhaps, though, you were simply unlucky and didnt allow quite enough time. In this case all I can suggest is you ask the pre-paid parking firm nicely if they might deign to defer your now-elapsed spell for a future date. Mrs Wards body was found on Friday (Niall Carson/PA) A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of his wife. Alan Ward, of Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, is accused of killing Catherine Ward, 41, at the west Dublin property. Mrs Ward was found with fatal stab wounds in the house in the early hours of Friday. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Ward, 51, appeared before a district judge charged with her murder on Saturday afternoon in Dublin. He was remanded into custody to appear before court again at a later date. The European Union is ready to give Britain more guarantees that the Brexit backstop is only intended to be temporary, chief negotiator Michel Barnier said. "We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU," said Mr Barnier. "This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary." Mr Barnier's comments came in an interview with Germany's 'Die Welt' newspaper to be published today. His remarks will be closely studied in Ireland, where Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously acknowledged the ambition for the backstop to be temporary - but insisted it should not become a game of "chicken". The backstop, intended to prevent a hard Border, has become the main point of contention in the proposed Brexit deal. "We will not reverse the backstop," Mr Barnier added. "It's an insurance. We don't want to make use of it. And this is also the case when you insure your house. It's only intended for the worst-case scenario." Mr Barnier said EU guarantees that the backstop is temporary could come as part of the political agreement setting out expectations for Britain's relationship with the bloc. He told 'Die Welt' that any extension must be intended specifically to solve the impasse. He saw little risk of the remaining 27 EU leaders opposing a delay to the UK's exit, currently set for March 29, as long as the UK was serious about finding a solution. "The question that the EU27 will ask is: What for? The answer cannot be that Britain wants to postpone a problem. One would want to solve it." He added that any decision to allow an extension would have to be unanimously approved by EU leaders at a summit on March 21. Yesterday, Mr Varadkar said it was unlikely the UK would crash out of the EU on March 29. Asked whether a deal was close, he gave a cautious response, saying: "We are entering quite a sensitive period over the next week or two. But I think that the United Kingdom crashing out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal is unlikely. I think we will have a deal or we'll have an extension." Meanwhile, he suggested Fianna Fail can no longer be considered "honest brokers" in Northern Ireland after its partnership with the SDLP. In remarks that will spark a furious political row, the Taoiseach compared Micheal Martin's new alliance to that between the UK Conservative Party and the DUP. Speaking in Belfast, where he attended the annual Alliance Party dinner last night, Mr Varadkar said if Fianna Fail returns to government in the Republic, it cannot claim to treat all parties north of the Border equally. Fianna Fail's deputy leader Dara Calleary reacted angrily to the Taoiseach's remarks, claiming it was Fine Gael that let north-south relations drift in the build-up to Brexit. "Our involvement in Northern Ireland politics has always been positive and constructive compared with the lack of engagement shown by Fine Gael in government since 2011," he told the Irish Independent. "The lack of engagement is key to the impasse we have at the moment." The British government has paid 33m (38m) to Eurotunnel to settle a legal action over the award of Brexit contracts to ferry firms. Eurotunnel, which operates the Channel Tunnel, will no longer challenge the Department for Transport's decision to award deals worth 108m to Seaborne Freight, DFDS and Brittany Ferries for crossings to ports other than Dover in the case of a no-deal Brexit. The payout led to further calls for Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to resign, but Downing Street insisted it had full confidence in him. Eurotunnel had previously accused the DfT of awarding the contracts through a "secretive and flawed procurement process". The decision to award Seaborne Freight a deal worth 13.8m sparked widespread concern as the startup firm has not previously run a ferry service. The contract was terminated last month after its financial backer pulled out. The UK government said the "primary reason" for reaching an out-of-court agreement with Eurotunnel was to ensure the supply of goods such as crucial medicines and medical supplies "would not be put in jeopardy". The DfT had argued that the "extreme urgency" of preparations for Britain's departure from the European Union justified the process. Some of the 33m for Eurotunnel will be spent by the firm on improving security and traffic flow, Downing Street said. Mr Grayling said: "While it is disappointing that Eurotunnel chose to take legal action on contracts in place to ensure the smooth supply of vital medicines, I am pleased that this agreement will ensure the Channel Tunnel is ready for a post-Brexit world." Many firms are also delaying investing over the longer term The clearest evidence yet has emerged of stockpiling by Irish businesses ahead of Brexit in the latest evidence of how the UK's planned exit from the EU is hitting Irish industry. With 27 days to go before Brexit, Irish manufacturers have increased stocks of raw material at a record pace, according to the latest Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from AIB. Separately, new figures from the Revenue Commissioners show a nearly seven-fold increase since the start of the year in the number of Irish companies applying for key customs registrations needed to trade with the UK, after it leaves the EU Single Market. The number of applications for an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number increased to 2,617 by the end of the week from 384 at the start of January. It compared to 2,976 applications for all of 2018. Having an EORI number for customs and excise is the minimum requirement for businesses to be able to move goods in and out of the EU customs area. In the last seven days, 416 businesses have applied for the EORI customs registration. Stockpiling materials ties up business capital but it is a protection against any disruptions to supply chains that will happen if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal on March 29. The latest evidence for Ireland tallies with comments late last month by Gene Murtagh, the chief executive of Irish insulation giant Kingspan, who told the Irish Independent that companies in the UK had been stockpiling ingredients, raw materials and other goods. "Pretty much every warehouse in the country (the UK) is full," he said. While Irish manufacturing businesses are stockpiling materials, many firms are delaying more long-term investment. The heads of Bank of Ireland and AIB also both said this week that they have seen evidence of investment decisions being delayed by their small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, until there's clarity on what form Brexit will take. Overall, the PMI Index shows manufacturing activity in robust condition in Ireland. The PMI index was created to provide a single-figure reading for conditions in a sector on a scale either side of 50, where numbers up from 50 show growth and down from 50 chart decline. The Irish manufacturing PMI posted 54 in February, up from 52.6 at the start of 2019. Action to mitigate supply chain disruptions are the main Brexit effect in evidence in February. AIB chief economist Oliver Mangan, said: "The impact of Brexit was evident in many of the components of the PMI as some firms moved to take action to avoid possible disruption to supply chains. "Some firms also reported rising demand from the UK ahead of Brexit," he said. It shows preproduction inventories increased at the fastest rate in the near 21-year PMI history. Stocks rose in 11 of the past 12 months. A number of panellists surveyed for the Index said they had brought forward purchases in order to secure raw materials in case of any stock problems due to Brexit, although some companies had raised their buying activity due to stronger customer demand. However, the AIB's Oliver Mangan added that uncertainty about Brexit saw business optimism slip to its lowest level in 18 months. Members of Wicklow Uplands Council and the SUAS Operational Group meeting with Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle and SUAS participants on the Glassamullen Commonage. Commonage farmers who may have only sat in the same room together during a funeral are now working together for the common good of the hills. In November the Sustainable Uplands Agriculture-environment Scheme's (SUAS) pilot project was launched by the Wicklow Uplands Council with the aim of rejuvenating stock numbers and vegetation management on the hills. The project received 1.95m in funding from the Department of Agriculture under the EIP AGRI initiative. Project manager Declan Byrne tells the Farming Independent that the project, which has 26 farmers involved, is the first of its kind in Ireland where an agricultural plan is devised for a commonage itself rather than an individual. "This is the first time it has ever been trialled in Ireland. We had a meeting with the farmers a couple of years ago when starting off and for many it was the first time they sat together in a room that wasn't a funeral mass. "It's not the traditional way of doing things here but it is the most logical - instead of having individual management plans, there is one for the whole commonage." The project, set to run until 2022, aims to increase stock numbers of sheep, which have wilted in recent years, and improve vegetation management. "Sheep used to spend up to 10 months on the commonages but now farmers have gotten more access to lowlands which are easier for them to manage the sheep," says Mr Byrne. "Now sheep only tend to graze from July to September on the hills and only graze the grassy areas, not the heather and bracken which is quite overgrown. "The challenge is to get them up to graze in January, February, March and April. Farmers who graze their sheep on the hills during those months will get rewarded with feeding buckets." Mr Byrne says that farmers in the area have been trained in cutting gorse and heather and how to burn uplands in a controlled manner which is "hard to get right". He adds that farmers will also be rewarded for recording sheep numbers, and someone is also paid to look after the sheep and bring them back to the correct places. SUAS held an information meeting last night and expression of interest forms for further farmers to take part in the project are available on wicklowuplands.ie. "This is about ensuring the sustainable future of our uplands. The farmers don't have to be friends, they just have to work together. We hope at the end of 2022 we can produce a handbook on the project," says Mr Byrne. The IDA has urged Dublin City Council to give developer Johnny Ronan the go-ahead for more office space in Dublin's Docklands that will have the capacity to accommodate an extra 1,000 Salesforce staff. Last month Salesforce confirmed plans to create 1,500 jobs over the next five years in the area. The employees are to be located in Salesforce Tower Dublin which is made up of four inter-connected buildings on the North Wall in the Silicon Docks area. Mr Ronan's Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) said that the new campus represents the largest-ever single office letting in the State. Now, Mr Ronan's firm has lodged plans to increase the scale of floor area by 23pc by seeking to add floors to bring the office blocks to 11 storeys. In a submission to the City Council, the IDA's head of property, Damien Kilgannon, said that planning permission for the Ronan plan "will represent a significant early win for Dublin" in the National Planning Framework and Project Ireland 2040. Mr Kilgannon said that granting permission "will also enable Salesforce to realise its ambitious growth for the benefit of Dublin and Ireland". Mr Kilgannon told the council that Salesforce has requested Mr Ronan's Spencer Place Ltd to seek the planning permission for the additional 100,000 sq ft of office space "to accommodate further growth in Dublin". Mr Kilgannon said that "the development now proposed will provide capacity to add to a further circa 1,000 employees at Spencer Dock". The IDA executive said that Salesforce welcomes the opportunity to expand its new Dublin campus by increasing the height and density of the proposal. Mr Ronan's firm has lodged the application after the recent publication by Government on new building height guidelines in urban areas. Mr Kilgannon said that the successful implementation of the guidelines "will ensure the timely delivery of height and density in the most appropriate locations". Growing market: Parcel Motel is one of the main players in the sector in Ireland The growth in online shopping may be bad news for home-grown retailers, but it's a boon for parcel delivery companies. We prefer to sofa surf for bargains rather than slog it down the main street, but some sites still won't ship to Ireland, delivery people often call when you're at work, and you might have to drive for miles to your nearest parcel depot. Then there's the problem of returning items you don't like, or which don't fit. It can be more trouble than it's worth. However, internet shopping is riding high. Last Christmas was the busiest on record both for retailers (some reporting increased traffic of up to 70pc) while An Post said it delivered 100,000 parcels a day over the festive season, up 50pc on the previous year. The beleaguered organisation, which up to recently had operated at a loss, is closing 159 post offices. Under CEO David McRedmond, it is seeking to find new income streams, and has cottoned on to the success of parcel lockers, which can operate 24/7 and aren't dependent on costly staff. Plans are under way to partner with a company to start operations this year. It will provide much-needed competition in this market, which is what we're looking at today. Parcel Motel Probably the best known provider, with its vibrant green and blue box units in petrol stations and car parks, it's owned by postal giant UPS. Prices range from 4.50 to 16.50 to send a parcel, while collections are 3.95. It has a range of partner companies where returns are free, including Next and Littlewoods. It handles packages from Britain, Northern Ireland and the USA too, costing from 3.75 up to 53.99 for heavy goods. DPD Parcel Wizard Rather than lockers, DPD utilises 'drop off points' for parcel deliveries on its parcel pickup service which has no additional charge. These, according to the company, include the likes of Spar and other retail outlets (475 in total) which offer better opening hours than post offices. There's a great map. Its returns option is also handy; you print off a label, and drop the parcel into one of the outlets on its list. For receiving parcels, they'll also set up a UK Virtual address for customers, costing from 3.85 (depending on weight to a maximum of 20kg), for delivery Mon-Fri. AddressPal This is An Post's existing service for UK/US deliveries to your nearest post office or to your home. It's priced from 3.75 (post office) and from 6.49 (UK to home) and they will also operate with a New York or Northern Ireland way-station if needs be. Delivery is within three to four days (UK) and five-six days (USA) which is fast. Customs Customs have extraordinary powers and a statutory right to examine all parcels coming from outside the EU (and sometimes within it if suspicious). Shoppers often believe they can 'get around' duties, taxes and VAT by using shipping companies over normal postal services, but that is not the case. Revenue slap on whatever duties are owing, and it is the legal responsibility of the delivery driver to collect it on their behalf. They may also add on a levy (in An Post's case 1pc) for parcels requiring customs clearance outside the EU. It has had its darker side too however. Prior to the repeal of the 8th Amendment, private parcel delivery companies were a favoured way of getting abortifacients into the country; many were of course seized by customs officials en route, as they were illegal imports. It was 195 years ago today that Bedrich Smetana was born, in a part of the world that would become, for most of the 20th century, Czechoslovakia. Smetana blazed a trail, a partisan of the polka, a fighter for the furiant. He was a product of his time, a nationalist who railed against imperial domination. The ancient Czech lands were then part of the Austrian empire. Vienna - the Habsburg capital - set the tone. German was the language spoken. Music followed the classical model. Smetana saw the traditional tunes and rhythms and the folklore of his native place as one way of asserting identity, of making a political point. He was for a time an activist. As Prague rose against Austrian control - one of many rebellions across Europe during 1848 - Smetana composed military marches for the insurgents. As government troops approached the city, he was among those manning the barricades on the Charles Bridge. He escaped prosecution and was able to continue his career, building on his success as a piano teacher by opening a music school. He had married Katerina Kolarova, a pianist he'd known since childhood, but long-term happiness eluded them. They had four daughters, but three died as infants. During a spell in Gothenburg in Sweden, where he'd gone to escape the strictures of Prague under Austria, Katerina fell ill with tuberculosis. She too died. Six years passed before he felt able to return to the Czech capital. By now married to the sister-in-law of his brother, he found opportunities that hadn't existed before. Video of the Day Austria's grip had loosened. Plans had been made for a National Theatre. A Provisional Theatre had already opened its doors, the first stage to host performances in Czech. A competition was held, with the aim of delivering a specifically Czech opera. Smetana entered his first effort at musical drama. The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, in accordance with the rules of the competition, was based on a historical theme. The result was slow in coming. The judges' deliberations went on for two years. By the time he heard he had won, Smetana had already enjoyed the public's acclaim on foot of its first production. The Bartered Bride soon followed, and while it didn't enjoy the same initial success as the composer's first effort, it has lasted the pace rather better. The gorgeous music that Smetana composed later in life was in complete contrast to the trials and tribulations he was experiencing. His second marriage was loveless, his health was failing and there were financial problems as well. His string quartet From My Life was his artistic response to increasing deafness. By the time he wrote his signature piece, Vltava - a tribute in melody to the mighty river that flows through the heart of Bohemia - he was, like Beethoven in later life, unable to hear the glorious soundscape he was creating. There was to be no happy ending, sadly, for the man now deemed to be the father of Czech music. He died in 1884, at the age of 60. On the evening of his funeral, a planned performance of The Bartered Bride went ahead at the National Theatre in Prague. The stage was draped in black. George Hamilton presents 'The Hamilton Scores' on RTE lyric fm from 10am each Saturday and Sunday With its jewel-coloured shop fronts and laid-back vibe, Ennistymon is home to a growing population of musicians, artists, chefs and craftspeople seeking life outside the capital. And it's here that Jacinta Sheerin and her partner, musician Steo Wall, decided to settle after the seaside town cast a spell on them when they visited friends a few years ago. They loved it so much that they decided to put down roots, and are now raising their sons Adam (four) and Felix (two) in the Clare town. The town's proximity to glor Theatre in Ennis is also allowing Jacinta (39), originally from Dublin's Inchicore, the creative freedom to work in theatre outside the capital. Last summer she was announced as an Associate Artist at glor, a scheme initiated by the theatre's director Orla Flanagan to support professional artists in their work. This gave Jacinta the much-needed head and work space to write her new play which will debut at glor this week. "I am so lucky to have the fantastic team at glor as supporters and theatre collaborators," Jacinta says. "The quality of life in Clare is wonderful. Ennistymon has so many quality restaurants and coffee shops, fantastic walks, galleries galore, great bars and, of course, there's the beach - loads of beaches. The atmosphere has really helped me sustain my creativity and writing." That creativity will come to fruition when she takes to the stage with her one-woman show, Sweet About Me, which is described as an honest, emotional and warmly funny play about addiction and the road to recovery. Set in an addiction treatment centre over the course of four weeks, the play introduces a series of five patients with their own stories and secrets. Each is seen through the eyes of 18-year-old Bernadette Fagan who has an eating disorder. Expand Close Jacinta with Felix at Spanish Point. Photo: Eamon Ward / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jacinta with Felix at Spanish Point. Photo: Eamon Ward Jacinta has loosely based this fictional story on her own experience of an eating disorder and the issues she herself faced getting treatment for it. By casting a spotlight on this subject she hopes to create conversations about guilt, addiction and recovery. While Sweet About Me draws on her own experience, she says she really wanted to make it a fictional story set in a treatment centre. "It's a made-up story drawing on my knowledge. I was never in a treatment centre. The message is mostly about mental health and how, when we push down our feelings or we don't talk to each other, things manifest. The main character is not able to manage her feelings and the only thing she is able to control is her body and food," says Jacinta. The name Sweet About Me references both an addiction to sugar and Jacinta's own journey through recovery, becoming sweet about herself as a person. She was aged just 10 or 11 when the first of two incidents, which she believes had a negative effect on her younger self, happened. She recalls that she was carrying some "puppy fat" and someone called her "fatso". "I wasn't aware of being overweight at all until that moment. It made me aware and conscious of myself. Before that I was in ignorant bliss. It changed the course of my life forever. Words are so powerful. "When I was a teenager, I lost weight - the puppy fat was starting to fall away naturally. Everyone started to comment on my appearance, adults and people my own age telling me: 'You've lost weight, you look great!' I guess this made me aware of weight again, and how I had to maintain it in order to stay looking well. If I see someone now who has lost weight, I try not to comment. It's too much pressure and, for some people, it turns into a never-ending obsession with their weight and size." For Jacinta, this obsession, which began in her teens but had abated, reared its head again in her early 20s. "I went through a relationship breakdown and it came back full force. I found myself overeating to try and cure the pain." The pressure of having to look a certain way in an industry where rejection is commonplace exacerbated her illness. She grappled with what felt like a "never-ending cycle" of starving herself and binge eating and living in shame - while keeping it all secret from her family and friends. "I did keep it hidden. I felt full of shame that there was something wrong with me, having this addiction to food, that nobody else in the world had ever experienced. It was very shameful and so I isolated myself. "I would have had weight fluctuations over the years but I guess they weren't huge to other people. I had clothes for 'big' days and clothes for 'smaller' days. I'd have clothes that covered me when I'd eaten a lot. I know there were times when people would have said I'd got very skinny but then I'd eat a little bit more or think to myself 'that's great'. You lie to people - you get very good at lying to people. I was able to not let people know I had it. I was able to keep it a secret." Expand Close Happy place: Jacinta at home with her sons. Photo: Eamon Ward / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Happy place: Jacinta at home with her sons. Photo: Eamon Ward Video of the Day It was only after she had sought help and was recovering that she told anyone close to her. "It wasn't until I got help for myself - through meeting other like-minded people in a formal way - that I started to realise that I'm not the only one suffering from this disease. It's a very cunning disease and everyone suffers it differently. The first person close to me I told was my friend Maria. I'd been getting help for a while when I told her. I remember the two of us just cried." Recovery is something Jacinta describes as "ongoing" and says she still needs to meet those 'like-minded people' for support. "For me, I had to give up sugar to be well. That was hard because sugar is such a big part of society - from your birthday cake and desserts - and you have to say no. At the beginning it was really hard for me to say no because I didn't want to insult people. But then you have to go 'if I eat this sugar, it will send triggers into my body'. "Once you've had an eating disorder I believe you're always in recovery. You can forget you've had it. That's why I call it a disease of forgetting. I feel I will always be in recovery and reminding myself that I have it," she says. It was writing and drama that helped sustain her through the dark times her illness plunged her into. That love of theatre began when she joined Dublin Youth Theatre at the age of 15 before going on to study drama at the University of Ulster, and complete a masters in drama therapy at Maynooth University. Her big breakout moment came with the success of her show Waiting for IKEA which started out as a Dublin Fringe Festival play, sold out its run and went on to tour in London and New York. Her TV work includes Love is the Drug, Fair City and the feature film Seaside Stories. It was in the middle of writing her second play that she felt the need to be somewhere a little bit quieter than Dublin. She had a good friend living in Ennistymon and so, seven years ago, she flitted to Ennistymon temporarily to stay with her friend while she wrote. Her partner Stephen would visit her on weekends. That play - I'm not ADHD I'm BOLD - was well received and the time came to move back to Dublin. But instead of going back to city life, Jacinta stayed and Steo joined her. Their son Adam was born a few years later, followed by Felix, and now Ennistymon is very much home. While it worried her initially that she may be a bit "out of the theatre loop" if she had a permanent base outside Dublin, the quality of life won out for her and her family. "The pull was very strong. There were lots of times over the years when we've asked would it be easier for us to be back in Dublin. Then we'd think there's so much here for us. We've a big group of friends. It was a worry but we've made it work." She admits that some friends in Dublin initially thought they were "mad" to up sticks and move to Clare. "They've been to visit us here and none of them ever want to leave. They think it's the most beautiful place. It's gorgeous here. I love going for walks by the sea. We have such moments of gratitude when we see the lads running along the beach and think that this is just the right move". The town of Ennistymon itself sounds like a creative's dream with more and more new arrivals bringing their own unique energy to the area. Lured by the promise of little traffic, no commuting and more affordable housing, Ennistymon is seeing new restaurants, cafes and shops open all the time to cater for the influx of new arrivals. "All the shops here are different colours - there's blues and pinks and yellows as you go down the street. Everyone knows everyone and there's a lovely atmosphere and vibe. Everyone is so nice. There's a great shop called The Cheese Press. If you look in the window of a day there could be a music session going on. You go in and have your coffee and meet everyone you know - it's like an episode of Cheers." "There's the locals who've been here for years and then there's the people who've come for a week and ended up staying 20 years. People are really accepted by the locals - that's the kind of town it is," she says. The family is renting a property on the outskirts of the town but hope to buy a place in the future. "I would like to be here forever. It makes us happy and fills our hearts with joy to be here," she says. As she counts down the days before Sweet About Me has its premiere, she's hoping that the play will shed light on an area that's not much talked about. "Hopefully this will touch a nerve with someone. Even if they're not affected directly, it might give them the knowledge and they can spread it on. A penny might drop for someone. I don't want to sound like Mother Teresa that I want to cure the world with the play. I just hope it might drop a penny for someone," she says. "This affects so many people and it's a conversation worth having. Years ago I couldn't have imagined that I'd want to talk about it because I was like, 'I'll never admit to anyone that I have this', but it's only by talking about things that we can bring light on them," she says. 'Sweet About Me' opens at glor Ennis on March 6 before a nationwide tour. See glor.ie If you have been affected by an eating disorder, or need information on the issues raised here, contact Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, on 1890 200 444. The Duchess of Cambridge takes part in a coaching session during hers and the Duke of Cambridge's visit to Windsor Park, Belfast as part of their two day visit to Northern Ireland The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watches a coaching session during their visit to Windsor Park, Belfast as part of their two day visit to Northern Ireland The Duchess of Cambridge during her and the Duke of Cambridge's visit to Roscor Youth Village, Co Fermanagh as part of their two day tour of Northern Ireland The Duchess of Cambridge during her and the Duke of Cambridge's visit to Roscor Youth Village, Co Fermanagh as part of their two day tour of Northern Ireland The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at the Empire Music Hall in Belfast, as part of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's two day visit to Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave after their visit to Belfast Empire Hall for an informal party to celebrate inspirational young people who are making a real difference in Northern Ireland as part of their two day visit to Northern Ireland Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit St Josephs SureStart Facility in Ballymena, Northern Ireland February 28, 2019. Jeff J Mitchell/Pool via REUTERS Kate Middleton during their visit to the Braids Arts Centre in Ballymena to see the workings of the CineMagic charity as part of their two day visit to Northern Ireland. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Wire Kate Middleton is seen on a walkabout outside the Braid Centre in Ballymena, Northern Ireland February 28, 2019. Stephen Lock/Pool via Reuters Kate Middleton receives daffodils during a visit to St Josephs SureStart Facility in Ballymena, Northern Ireland February 28, 2019. Jeff J Mitchell/Pool via Reuters Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine visit Cinemagic in Ballymena, Northern Ireland February 28, 2019. Ian Vogler/Pool via Reuters Kate Middleton arrives at the Braid Centre in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, February 28, 2019. Reuters/Phil Noble Kate Middleton confessed to feeling a little broody this week after meeting a cute baby boy and joked her husband would be worried. Kate was taken with five-month-old James Barr when she spotted him with father Alan during a walkabout on Thursday in Ballymena, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland. Britain's Duchess of Cambridge told the proud father: Hes gorgeous. It makes me feel a little broody. Kate and William already have a young family of three Prince George, Princess Charlotte and the most recent addition Prince Louis. When Mr Barr asked: Baby number four? Kate could not stop herself from laughing as she said: I think William would be a little worried. When the duchess was pregnant with Louis she jokingly said her husband was in denial about the new baby. Ladbroke has odds of 5-2 the couple will announce this year they are expecting baby number four. Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said: Royal fans are already going into overdrive for Harry and Meghans baby, let alone William and Kate announcing their brood is expanding once again. Meanwhile, Kate revealed her nickname for her daughter Charlotte during the visit to Northern Ireland. When blogger Laura-Ann from Belfast told Kate that her eldest son, Bertie, was four years old, Kate replied: Oh, hes the same age as Lottie. Irish Coast Guard helicopters will not be able to land on the elevated helipad at the new national children's hospital. The Coast Guard provides reserve support to the Air Corps, which is the primary provider of helicopter services to the National Ambulance Service. Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed the Air Corps AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters can land on a raised landing site or the roof of a building which is designed and certified for such operations. But the Irish Coast Guard provides reserve support to the National Ambulance Service when required through its Sikorsky S-92 search and rescue fleet. "The Sikorsky S-92 helicopters are not licensed to land on helipads," Mr Harris confirmed. It means that for access to the St James's campus, they will land in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, "from which patients will be transferred in an ambulance by road, as is current practice". Mr Harris, who was replying to Irish Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, said: "The majority of patient transfers to the existing three Dublin children's hospitals are completed by road. "There will be an elevated helipad at the new children's hospital, which will have direct and rapid access to the critical care, theatre and emergency departments within the hospital. "This enhanced direct and rapid access will improve clinical outcomes for the sickest children and young people." He said the helipad had been designed in close consultation with the National Ambulance Service Aeromedical Liaison Service, who is responsible for providing helicopter services to hospitals. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, responsible for the building, also consulted with the Irish Aviation Authority and the Air Corps, which is the primary provider of paediatric helicopter services to the National Ambulance Service. It "advised that, when reviewing the alternatives with the Irish Aviation Authority and the Air Corps, they recommended against a ground helipad due to the constrained flight paths and obstacle clearance". "Use of elevated landing sites on the roof of hospitals is widespread in the UK and Europe and many of the recently completed paediatric hospitals have elevated helipads," it said. Meanwhile, the 60-bed modular unit at University Hospital Limerick, which it was feared would be delayed due to the construction cost overrun at the 1.4bn children's hospital, is to go ahead. Fine Gael Senator Kieran O'Donnell said the HSE "has instructed the hospital group to proceed with the development and to get the excavation works under way straight away". The hospital is the most overcrowded in the country, with 70 patients on trolleys on Wednesday. The extra beds will not be ready on time for next winter and will not be ready until mid-2020. Grim find: Gardai at the scene on the Lowry farm in 2013. Photo: Press 22 Tracing Patrick Quirke's movements around the time of Bobby Ryan's death, gardai went back to the day before the disappearance of the man Mr Quirke described as a "lived-for-the-moment type of chap". It was Thursday, June 2, 2011. "I probably can't remember the Thursday at all," Mr Quirke told Inspector David Buckley in a voluntary cautioned statement on May 16, 2013. The interviews, heard by the jury earlier this week, were lengthy and detailed. It was his wife's birthday, Mr Quirke recalled, adding: "It was a normal day." They would have baled silage on the farm and that evening, at around 8pm, he had travelled on his own to a meeting in the Horse and Jockey - it was a syndicate of property investors, of around 20 to 30 people, he told them. There were discussions about the sale of a building. "It was slightly heated," Mr Quirke recalled. It could have been 11.30pm when he left there and came home, he said. He did not think he had met Mary Lowry that day. "Myself and Mary were not getting on at that time," he said. They would not have had a reason to meet, he added. He didn't think his wife was up when he got home but thought she might have been in bed but awake. "I presume we did talk about the meeting," he said, adding: "She's a night-time person, I'm a morning person." Mr Quirke has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bobby Ryan (52), a lorry driver and part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight, on a date between June 3, 2011, and April 2013. Gardai had asked him what time he had got up the next morning, June 3, 2011. Mr Quirke told them he never checks the time but thought that he probably got up around 6.15am. He milked the cows at his own place at Breanshamore. He had 120 animals at this time, he said. There were around 15 in a row in the dairy, with each row taking around 10 to 12 minutes to milk. When he was on the last row, he got a text from a local boy, who wanted to help out and he told him to come down. It was around 8.30am and Mr Quirke left him to finish the milking while he went to Fawnagowan to collect his bulls from the shed. "I wanted to get in and out fast," he said. He dropped off the bulls, left them to follow the cows back to the paddock and they went in for breakfast at 9.20am, Mr Quirke said. The youngster with him started to bring in the bales, Mr Quirke needed to fix a wire in a fence and when he went back to the house and got ready, Imelda was waiting and they set off together. "Had ye a good weekend in the Heritage?" Inspector Buckley asked Mr Quirke during the interview. He said they had. He and Imelda were "getting on well". It was unusual for them to go away at that time of the year but he had arranged a weekend away at the hotel in Laois for Imelda as a birthday surprise, he told gardai. "She knew she was going somewhere, she didn't know where," he said. At that point, Mr Quirke had been asked to jump forward to 2013, when Mr Ryan's remains were found. He had gone to the run-off tank on April 30, expecting it to contain enough water for him to mix with slurry, but he was "disappointed" to find it was only a half to two-thirds full. He had expected there to be more, he claimed, because there had been a leak in the milking parlour water system around March 12 or 13, and the water had flowed for two days. He began to suck the water out but thought the hose seemed "stuck to the ground" so he stopped, moved his tractor and tanker forward by about a foot, and began again. Initially, on his first glance through the hole in which his hose went in, he thought he saw carpet or plastic. A "foreign object", he said to gardai. He pulled back the second flagstone over the tank and said "I saw it then". Asked by gardai whether he could describe it, he replied: "Graphically, every time I close my eyes." He had called his wife Imelda but didn't tell her anything over the phone, just saying 'yes' in reply to her query as to whether he needed a lift. When Imelda arrived, he showed her the body. "She seemed kind of calm - maybe she was trying to keep me calm," he said. Inspector Buckley put it to him that if it was his wife, he would have preferred her not to see the body in the tank. To that, Mr Quirke replied: "I know what Imelda is like in a crisis. I know she'd know what to do." Asked why he hadn't phoned gardai, Mr Quirke said: "I don't know. I wasn't thinking straight. I wasn't acting straight. "I just wanted to meet one person." Gardai then asked him why he did not alert the landowner, Mary Lowry. He said: "I didn't want to meet her," adding that he wanted to "avoid her". He said he was concerned the body was naked, adding: "My first instinct was the man didn't walk out of the house." Asked whether he had any theories of how the body had ended up in the tank, he replied: "I don't know. I turned that around in my head." He said he had been involved in a conversation with someone who said it was "standard to remove the clothing to get rid of forensics" and that "someone professional would remove the clothes". "You come up with theories. It frightened me, the whole thing frightened me," he told gardai. He was "afraid" of Mary Lowry, he claimed. When asked why, he replied: "I'm always afraid of Mary Lowry. "She's vicious. She already abused me the evening before in the yard," he said. Asked whether she was ever violent towards him or whether it was verbal abuse, Mr Quirke replied that it was verbal abuse. "Were you ever verbal towards her?" gardai asked him, and Mr Quirke said: "Yes, probably." Put to him that he had said his first instincts were that the body was that of Bobby Ryan, he said: "Sure, who else would it be? "I always thought something sinister happened," he said. "I suppose I'm always curious by nature. I couldn't go with the flow because I knew he didn't commit suicide," Mr Quirke said. He told them he knew Mr Ryan had not just gone into the woods or "hitched a ride" to Rosslare and got the ferry - but also knew he hadn't committed suicide because they hadn't found a body, adding: "Anyone who commits suicide wants to be found." The next interview was on May 21, 2013. Gardai had asked Mr Quirke about his affair with Ms Lowry. He told them it started after he told her he would have to "pull back" from his involvement in her farm because he was "falling in love" with her. Ms Lowry's exact answer was "I am too", he said. Asked whether it was "widely known" that he and Ms Lowry were having an affair, he said: "Widely known here but not outside." Asked to describe the relationship, Mr Quirke told gardai he and Ms Lowry had generally met at Fawnagowan. They went out to lunch together "but not too much" and did not do much socialising. They went away for a night "three or four times", he said. He later listed off the hotels in which they had been - in 2008, the Lyrath in Kilkenny and the G in Galway; in 2011 the Cliff House in Ardmore, Co Waterford, and January 2012, Fitzpatricks in Killiney, Co Dublin. Asked whether his wife Imelda had "an inkling", he said: "Probably she did but she never said anything to me." Ms Lowry and he had discussed a possible future together, with Ms Lowry saying "when the kids grew up". They confided in one another and he advised her financially. When she ended their affair in December 2010, he was angry. He took her phone and rang Bobby, saying: "I'm the man," before hanging up. "I never threatened Bobby Ryan in any way," Mr Quirke told gardai, adding: "I challenge anyone to show that I did. "I did not kill Bobby Ryan - there is someone out there who did do it and he is laughing at the moment because you are looking at me," he said. The trial continues. Former Sunday Business Post journalist Tom Lyons (left of picture) and editor Ian Kehoe (right of picture) speaking outside court. Photo: Collins Businessman Denis O'Brien lost his High Court action alleging he was defamed in articles published in the 'Sunday Business Post'. The total legal costs of the case, which ran for 17 days, could run to 1m. The eight men and three women of the jury told the judge at about 12.40pm, after some five hours' deliberation, they could not reach a unanimous decision on some of the nine questions before them. In those circumstances, a majority decision was open to them, Mr Justice Bernard Barton said. The jury resumed deliberations and returned to court just after 4pm. Mr O'Brien sued Post Publications Ltd over articles published over six pages on March 15, 2015, in which Mr O'Brien was named as amongst the 22 biggest borrowers from Irish banks in 2008. Their focus was a confidential PwC report given to the Government in November 2008 which looked at exposure of Ireland's banks in 2008. Journalist Tom Lyons got a copy of the report in early 2015 and later shredded it to protect the source. Mr O'Brien claimed the articles, including headlines '22 men and 26 billion' and 'The Gang of 22', wrongly meant he was among a "gang" of 22 borrowers responsible for the destruction of the Irish banking system and that they defamed him and injured his reputation. He also alleged malicious publication, and sought punitive damages. The defendant denied the words meant what he alleged, denied defamation and malicious publication, and pleaded "fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest". The jury heard evidence from Mr O'Brien, Mr Lyons and former 'SBP' editor Ian Kehoe during the 17-day case. The 'Post' released a statement afterwards. "The case highlights the extent to which Ireland's defamation laws place significant constraints on all Irish media outlets in their efforts to provide robust, objective and fair scrutiny of the stories that matter to Irish democracy," it said. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his Government is carrying out a review. "Defamation laws in Ireland do seem to be more restrictive than in other countries," he said, when asked if Irish defamation laws are too restrictive. "We have to balance the need for free speech and free press, and we also need to protect people's privacy and people's reputations. Where media organisations or journalists do publish things that are untrue or damaging, it can really hurt people. We need to get that balance right," Mr Varadkar told reporters in Belfast. The jury had nine questions to consider. They found (1) the articles did not mean Mr O'Brien, as one of 22 borrowers, was among those borrowers most to blame for the destruction of the Irish banking system and the subsequent bail-out; and (2) was not a recipient of cheap and easy money which was in some way related to improper influence with bankers, politicians and civil servants. They also found (3) the articles did not mean, as a result of what was said about Mr O'Brien's borrowings, the PwC report was one which he wished to keep secret and had been suppressed. They found (4) the articles meant the story of Mr O'Brien's borrowings and the amount thereof was telling and disturbing but that was not defamatory. Questions 5 and 6 asked if the articles meant Mr O'Brien was "massively overstretched" and "faced huge financial pressure" in November 2008. The jury found they did but that was not defamatory. Given those answers, Mr Justice Barton said the case was dismissed with an order for costs against Mr O'Brien. Mr O'Brien was represented by two senior counsel - Paul O'Higgins and Luan O Braonain, instructed by Meagher Solicitors. Post Publications was represented by Michael McDowell SC, instructed by John Doyle, of Dillon Eustace Solicitors. Numbers of fish being hauled out of the ocean have fallen by nearly 5pc as stocks are hit by rising sea temperatures. Cod, herring and various shellfish species are among the creatures already suffering due to climate change, according to a new analysis examining data from around the world. The decline has been even more pronounced in key fishing regions such as the East China Sea and the North Sea, where climate-induced losses have been as high as 35pc. This devastation is being aggravated by overfishing, and it threatens the livelihoods of the 56 million people who rely on fisheries for survival. While soaring ocean temperatures are expected to cause havoc with marine ecosystems in the future, the new findings are a grim reminder that climate change is already a reality. To conduct their ambitious analysis, the scientists examined fishing data on maximum sustainable catches stretching back to 1930, covering 235 populations of 124 marine species, and linked it with changes in ocean temperatures. In total, this represented around a third of the catch from around the world across this period. These results were published in the journal 'Science'. In April 1945, as Allied forces advanced into Germany, a group of Nazi hostages were transported from various concentration camps to a remote Alpine valley. Five Irish prisoners of war, an officer and four ordinary soldiers, became part of this group. They were among 160 prisoners from 18 countries transferred from various concentration camps to Dachau. From there they were moved to a remote location in the South Tyrol. The group included members of the former governments of France, Hungary, Greece, Austria, and senior military figures from a number of countries. There were also aristocrats, clergy, industrialists and diplomats, all held as hostages whom Heinrich Himmler, commander of the Schutzstaffel and the Gestapo, hoped to use as barter to save the regime or, as a final resort, himself. The Irish officer of the group was John McGrath, from Co Roscommon. A World War I veteran, he left his job as manager of Dublin's Theatre Royal in 1939 to rejoin the British army. He didn't make it on to the boats at Dunkirk and, along with 40,000 other British servicemen, he was marched across France to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Initially held in an officer camp in Bavaria, he later became the senior British officer held in a secret camp north of Berlin designed to turn POWs with an Irish background into Nazi collaborators. He had volunteered for this role on the urging of his senior officers in his POW camp, who wished to find out what was afoot. McGrath's subversive activities were soon discovered by German Military Intelligence and he was arrested and deposited in the notorious Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Expand Close John McGrath (second left) during a 1937 visit to Dublin Zoo by American entertainer Jimmy Durante (third right) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John McGrath (second left) during a 1937 visit to Dublin Zoo by American entertainer Jimmy Durante (third right) Three Tipperary POWs - Thomas Cushing, Andrew Walsh and Patrick O'Brien - also ended up in Sachsenhausen. There they were joined by another Irishman, John Spence. All had, to some extent, been compromised by their agreeing to work for the Nazis, although some had been given leave by McGrath to take part in missions on the basis that on landing on Irish or British soil they would, at the first opportunity, report to the authorities. Special status When the Germans realised they were likely to be double-crossed, the Irishmen were arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen, where they were placed in an isolated section distant from where McGrath was held. They were later joined by Russian, British, Polish and Italian special prisoners. All were now Nacht und Nebel - night and fog - prisoners, whose existence was a state secret. The Irish were given special status because they knew of German secret missions. Some later acted as 'orderlies' to British officers who came to inhabit the same special compound, including survivors of the famous 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in 1944. Prior to the British officer's arrival, the Tipperary men had become central to an event with international repercussions that occurred on April 14, 1943. Two special Soviet prisoners had been housed with the Irishmen: Yakov Djugashvili, Joseph Stalin's eldest son, and Vassily Kokorin, a nephew of the Soviet foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. An argument arose about the state of a shared toilet that led to a fist fight that pitted at least three of the Irishmen against the two Soviet prisoners. One version of the incident has Stalin's son being chased by a knife-wielding Cushing, before jumping out of a window of their hut. Yakov ended up standing outside after curfew, where he was ordered by an SS guard to return or he would be shot. Watched by Cushing and the others, the young Georgian, instead of returning to barracks, ran to the electrified fence and was simultaneously electrocuted and shot. His death was to prove embarrassing for the British in their post-war dealings with Stalin. McGrath had been transferred from Sachsenhausen to Dachau Concentration Camp in early 1943 where he shared a cell with Richard Stevens, an intelligence officer, kidnapped by the Germans in then neutral Netherlands in 1939. They were uncomfortable cell mates, as became apparent when Steven's former colleague, Sigismund Payne Best, later became a co-resident of that camp prison. Both officers had been treated with great leniency by the SS, perhaps because they were expected to play a part in a public show trial planned by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The day before their kidnapping in 1939, a bomb had exploded beside where Hitler had spoken only 13 minutes earlier. The bomb was placed by a young man acting alone, Georg Elser, but Hitler became convinced that the British were involved, and Payne Best and Stevens were considered likely to have been directly implicated. Elser was held in the same prison bunker as McGrath and Stevens, before being executed on the day Payne Best was transferred there. Dachau had become the assembly point for scores of prominent prisoners whom the Nazis considered to have value as hostages. Included among the hostages were a number of Wehrmacht generals who had fallen under suspicion of having plotted against Hitler. Also present were dozens of German 'kin' prisoners, men, women and children, relatives of those executed after being implicated in the plot to kill Hitler in July 1944. Among them was Alexander von Stauffenberg, the brother of Claus, who placed the bomb close to Hitler in the Wolf's Lair. The British and Irish contingent became integrated into this enlarged group, collectively known as the Prominenten. In late April 1945, accompanied by some notorious SS guards, the hostages were transported to Niederdorf, an Alpine village high in the Dolomite Mountains, the presumed location for a last stand by fanatical Nazis. This extraordinary collection of prisoners, of diverse nationality and background, thrown together by fate, found themselves interacting with Italian partisans, ethnic German South Tyrolean resisters, and Senior Wehrmacht Generals plotting to surrender. The hostages elected an international committee within which McGrath played a significant role. Most survived, and some are revealed to have improbable post-war lives, including one of the Irish who was implicated in two major armed robberies. Captivity took its toll on McGrath, physically and mentally, and he died in Dublin 30 months after his liberation. Tom Wall is the author of 'Dachau to the Dolomites: The Untold Story of the Irishmen, Himmler's Special Prisoners and the End of WWII', published by Merrion Press; see merrionpress.ie A new law to block killers or their estates benefiting from their crimes is being stalled by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. The minister has been criticised for not prioritising legislation to close the loophole, an issued raised with him this week by the family of slain mother Clodagh Hawe. But the Department of Justice says there are problems with the proposed legislation and that it may have unintended consequences. The private members bill, dubbed Celine's Law after slain film production company owner Celine Cawley, was tabled by Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan two years ago. It came after Ms Cawley's husband Eamonn Lillis, despite being convicted of manslaughter, maintained he was entitled to ownership of assets he jointly held with his wife, including homes in Dublin and France. Lillis ultimately won the right to a 50pc share of Irish assets following a High Court ruling. However, a French court found he had no right to a share in the home in France. The Government has said it is not opposed to Mr O'Callaghan's bill. However, the Irish Independent has learned there are no plans to prioritise it, even after calls from Clodagh Hawe's mother and sister for changes to succession laws this week. Their pleas came amid fears Mr Hawe's estate stands to benefit after he transferred family funds to his own account. He took his own life after brutally murdering Clodagh (39) and sons Liam (14), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) at their home near Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, in August 2016. The legislation was left off the Government's priority list for the spring and has yet to be scheduled for scrutiny by the Oireachtas Justice Committee. And even when it gets to that point, it is likely to be delayed as the Government wants "substantial amendments". The department said the bill contained a number of unintended legal consequences, which would be addressed by the Government's committee stage amendments. The minister has concerns the proposed law would not apply to someone who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter. He is also concerned about a number of complex jurisdictional issues which may arise in cases where the killing took place outside the jurisdiction. In a statement, the department said Mr Flanagan received a submission from Clodagh Hawe's family this week. "He has assured them that their concerns will be carefully considered by his department officials and the Attorney General as part of this process," it said. However, Mr O'Callaghan called for greater urgency. "The cases of Clodagh Hawe and Celine Cawley indicate the Government must take steps immediately to reform the law that allows killers or their estates to benefit from their heinous crimes," he said. "Last year, Dail Eireann gave support to my legislation seeking to amend the law. The Government needs to prioritise this legislation so that the families don't have to go through the bizarre and unfair process of seeing their loved ones' killers benefit from their crimes." Meanwhile, the National Women's Council of Ireland said it had "very serious concerns" about the length of time which has elapsed since a review of domestic homicides was announced in the wake of the Hawe murders in 2016. A Garda spokesman would not comment on individual cases but said it had started a process where domestic homicides will be reviewed to establish what lessons can be learnt from a policing perspective. "One such review has been undertaken and two further cases have been identified for review," they added. A large painting of a vulture was spotted across the street from Ulster Bank Headquarters in Georges Quay last Thursday. The artwork appeared on the wall on the corner of Gloucester St and Moss St in Dublin city centre. It was painted by a group of artists named Subset, who explained that the painting took three hours and 22 artists to fully finish. We painted the piece to spark conversation regarding the impact of Vulture Funds on our country, the group told Independent.ie. The location was chosen due to its proximity to Ulster Bank HQ. There are 22 members of SUBSET and as with all of our work the full crew were involved in some manner, the group added. Subset also stated that it might have other plans for similar paintings relating to vulture funds across the city. Expand Close The image beside Ulster Bank / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The image beside Ulster Bank According to the groups Patreon page, they are a group of artists, from various fields, exploring several mediums. It also states that they hope to transform cities into open-air galleries, to create public art for communities. The group stated said that they have hundreds of paintings across Dublin city, as well as other Irish cities, but did not specify which ones. This is not the first time that Subset have used art as a commentary on society, as the group have pieces across the city about climate change, mother and baby homes and homelessness. Ulster Bank received criticism last year when it sold 5,200 mortgages to a vulture fund. Ulster Bank did not respond to requests for comment at time of publication. An Independent TD has called for full pay for women when they take time off work to have an abortion. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle said an existing maternity and infant scheme could be extended to grant leave to women planning a termination. The scheme enables pregnant women to free visits with their GP and obstetrician. They are legally entitled to paid time off for antenatal appointments under Maternity Protection Acts. It is believed that most workers planning terminations since abortion services were rolled out got a doctor's cert and took sick leave. But this can leave many facing a dramatic fall in income, as employers are not obliged to fund their wages. This could leave many dependent on the social welfare Illness Benefit payment of up to 198 a week, once they have made enough social insurance contributions. Mr Pringle said it would make sense to extend an existing maternity scheme rather than trying to come up with a new one. "Ultimately, it's the only way to ensure full pay because some employers don't pay sick pay at all," he said. "Some mechanism needs to be set up to ensure they get some form of sick pay." Irish Congress of Trade Unions equality officer David Joyce said the union umbrella body does not have a policy on the issue as abortion services have just started. "I understand that in the UK, the normal sick leave arrangements apply," he said. "As there is no right under employment law here to be paid while on sick leave, that could be a serious deterrent to staying out of work - in particular for lower-paid women." He described Mr Pringle's proposals as interesting. Ibec director of employer relations Maeve McElwee said extending the scheme might cause problems for women as they would have to disclose they are pregnant. "Most doctors' certs will simply say there is a medical illness, and employers will never know what that was," she said. Back in 2009, Oliveto started out as a pizza restaurant by the seafront in Dun Laoghaire. It looked as if a lot of money had been ploughed into the venture - a snazzy pizza oven and a slick interior fit-out - but the timing was off. Oliveto re-emerged after a couple of years at what was once the Kingston Hotel, now renamed Haddington House. This used to be rather down at heel, but is now well on its way to becoming the jewel in Dun Laoghaire's crown. The man behind Oliveto, and now the owner of Haddington House, is Fla Larkin, who is three years into a five-year programme of renovating and upgrading the hotel. Initially, the food offering was focussed around simple pizzas, but the arrival last year of a new chef, Cormac Rowe, who held a Michelin star for three years while he was in charge of the kitchen at the Lady Helen at Mount Juliet, has upped the ante. Larkin says that the culinary ambition is now expressed as "Irish seasonal food through an Italian lens". As it happens, Rowe is on holiday on the night of our visit, leaving sous-chef Barry O'Neill (who worked under Barry Fitzgerald at Bastible and Grainne O'Keefe at Clanbrassil House) in charge. On the evidence of our meal, the eatery is in safe hands. The large room has an over-sized bar beside the entrance and a pizza oven blazing away at the back. (Larkin tells me that the space will be getting a makeover in the next couple of years, but for now, it's perfectly comfortable without being particularly stylish.) My friend has booked ahead, requesting a table by the window, so we have one of the few with a view. (It's a travesty that there are so few places in Dublin where you can eat looking out at the sea; in any other coastal city, there would be slews of them.) There is a pizza menu but - apart from the fact that I reviewed Pi Pizza last week and I'm not sure that there is much more to be said about pizzas anyway - we are here to explore the rest of the offering. (That said, when the weather is fine, there are wooden tables outside where you can sit and order pizzas - this strikes me as a good idea to file away for a couple of months hence.) We start with a 'small bite' of fried baby squid with roast garlic aioli - delicate little tentacled creatures in a light batter - before a shared starter of salsify with roasted Parmesan, smoked almond and saffron vinaigrette. The dish comes with a disconcertingly large puddle of sauce - it takes up fully half the plate - which turns out to be the roasted Parmesan, in almost-soup form, that's intensely savoury. Salsify is one of those under-used ingredients that we tend to forget about until it shows up on a menu to remind us how good it is; the texture from the almonds is spot on. Then a small portion of potato and cheese agnolotti with king oyster mushrooms and tiny cipollini onions, to which we add delectable, crisp guanciale. The stuffed pasta eats lighter than it reads; it's very good. My friend is borderline vegetarian and well impressed by a main course of chargrilled celeriac, black garlic butter, Savoy cabbage, mushroom ragu and pine oil. It's clear that as much thought has gone into this as into the composition of any of the meat dishes, and it's very good. Andarl Farm is one of the only producer names on a menu that would persuade me to order pork, so it's tender braised pork cheeks with a gorgeous puree of Jerusalem artichokes, hazelnut butter, kalettes and a Pedro Ximinez jus for me: umami-rich, deeply flavoured and quite the triumph. A portion of rhubarb with baked mascarpone is too big and, while the first rhubarb of the year is lovely, the cheese is heavy. The cheeses on the cheese board are in great condition, but no one tells us what they are. Our bill, with a side of cavolo nero, a carafe of white and one of red (Falerio and Rosso Piceno, 19 each), and an espresso comes to 137 before service, which is affable. The rating 8/10 food 8/10 ambience 8/10 value 24/30 ON A BUDGET At lunchtime, midweek, you can order a plate of penne all'arrabbiata or a margherita pizza for around a tenner. ON A BLOW OUT Two people both ordering salumi as a snack, chargrilled pork with vegetables to start, strip-loin steaks and cheese to finish would run up a bill of 130 before drinks or service. THE HIGH POINT The focus on flavour. THE LOW POINT Nobody told us about the specials. I'm unpacking my suitcase in a downtown hotel with Canada's late-night comedy show 22 Minutes as my soundtrack. In one sketch, a dashing, suited figure is showboating the highlights of the country's least-heralded province and the Maritimes' perennial underdog: New Brunswick. "We're the third largest maple syrup producer in the world!" he jokes. "And trees, we've got lots of them!" The joker it transpires, is Brian Gallant, the province's darling governing premier whose punchlines are slowly converting the masses. It seems they're even trying stand-up routines to put the province on the map. New Brunswick is to many, the drive-thru province - a pitstop for New Englanders and Canadians to fuel up on Tim Hortons and gasoline before summering onwards in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But its 70,000 square kilometres (an area the size of Ireland) remain very much a tourist-free wilderness of seaboards, forests and, as Canada's only bilingual province, culture. That's why I'm exiting the mighty Trans-Canada highway, to discover the joys of New Brunswick - from coast to cote. Expand Close 'New Brunswick's wilds are very much a four-season playground for kayaker' / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 'New Brunswick's wilds are very much a four-season playground for kayaker' My journey begins northwards along New Brunswick's eastern fringe and the province's postcard Acadian coast. A one-time colony of New France, today Acadia is Canada's renaissance region, a place where nationalist airs and vibrant francophone tradition run deeper than the Saint Lawrence river. And it's clear to see. Driving through its rural townships, properties are festooned in flags of bleu, blanc and rouge; identical to the French tricolour - but with a fitting star of the sea. But, this isn't France. Nor is it neighbouring Quebec. "We're not the same as Quebecers," asserts a waitress at La Caraquette diner. "We're Acadians even our French is different!" She's referring to Chiac - New Brunswick's vernacular brogue, which curiously combines 18th-century French and modern Canadian English. And it's succeeding to meld the often fraught linguistic divides within the province, as a diner on the forecourt soon testifies. "Ej vas tanker mon truck!" he announces to his mate, before chugging a GMC off to the nearest pump. Expand Close Thomas in Grande-Anse, New Brunswick / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Thomas in Grande-Anse, New Brunswick Acadia itself makes for dreamy coasteering, with no-filter beaches and perfectly photogenic lighthouses en route. Grande-Anse, where New Brunswick reaches its northernmost outpost, is the region's showiest. Here, where seascapes collide across to Quebec, there's a raw, untouched air to the land and, with its restless coasts and dramatic cliffs, more than just a soupcon of the Wild Atlantic Way. Tracking inland, the ocean breeze is replaced by a pine-infused potpourri of New Brunswick's logging country. Here, my GPS is set to Chalets Restigouche, a remote wilderness campground squirreled deep in the thick forests of Kedgewick County. With a parking lot of RVS, SUVS & ATVS, the site clearly caters to Canada's outdoors set. I hunker down for the night in one of their rustic lodges: beaver cabin. It's backwoods living at its best, and I'm soon reclined on a maple-canopied porch with rations of Canadian wine and woodpecker song. I guess you'd call this the Acadian dream. New Brunswick's wilds are very much a four-season playground for kayakers, hunters and subscribers of Outdoor Canada magazine. But at 8.30pm on a Sunday evening, I'm venturing out for a more passive pursuit: moose-spotting. Around 30,000 of the iconic elks roam New Brunswick's forests with head-counts at their highest in decades. That's not to guarantee a sighting, however. "They're like cats, they're everywhere here," jokes campsite owner Manon Arpin, producing an iPhone snap of her most recent run-in. "But you need to head on the gravel roads at dusk or dawn to have the best chance!" That, I do. Directed to a roadway that looks like it leads to nowhere, I head off into the dusk: dipped lights, windows down, Acadian country music radio abruptly muted. The initial mileage reveals little but a skunk hightailing across our path - but nature almost always rewards patience. And, after mounting the umpteenth cusp in the endless dirt-track, a yearling bull moose grinds us to a halt. Expand Close Moose! Into the wild in New Brunswick / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Moose! Into the wild in New Brunswick There's a primal buzz to witnessing any animal in nature; even more so when it's a self-chartered encounter. But moose aren't known for their smarts - nor their predictability, so we're content to watch him watch us, before he lumbers off into the thickets and the wilds. It's hunting season soon. Bonne chance, buddy. From Acadia, I journey south to St Andrews By-the-Sea, Canada's oldest vacation resort whose border ripples alongside the US state of Maine. And just like neighbouring New England, Saint Andrews is an Atlantic ode to cottage culture with a streetscape canvas of galleries and inns, quirky lobster shacks and coffee shoppes. Saint Andrews is most famous for the Bay of Fundy - an epic natural wonder which experiences the highest tidal changes in the world. It's best witnessed at the Hopewell Rocks - giant sandstone sea-stacks gulped by the seas each day, drawing thousands of kayaking Instagrammers per annum. Impressive, oui. But wildlife are the bay's true star attraction. Expand Close Whale watching in New Brunswick / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Whale watching in New Brunswick Despite the modern-day threats of plastics and fishing nets, the Bay of Fundy remains a haven for marine life and hosts a buoyant eco-tourism scene to boot. Harbour seals, porpoises and a mighty congress of bald eagles soon hit my camera roll, but before that, I'm life-vesting up with local operator Fundy Tide Runners (fundytiderunners.com; $70/45) in search of their most awe-striking residents, humpback whales. Come high tide, we jet across the mirror-glass waters into the blue, our crew of marine biologists following strict observation guidelines (like 100m distance buffers) all the while. That's not to say the whales adhere to that same yardstick. It's not long before one, then two, then a pod of humpbacks buttress our vessel, spraying rainbows, bow-tailing and breaching around us with cymbal-crashing orchestration. It's the perfect montage to end my week. Four fab: travel tips Expand Close New Brunswick Lobster at Frederichton. Photo: Tourism New Brunswick / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp New Brunswick Lobster at Frederichton. Photo: Tourism New Brunswick Folk life New Brunswick's Acadian Village (villagehistoriqueacadian.com; 13), is the largest folk town in Canada. It's like being on the set of Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, en francais. Tracks & trails Mount Carleton Provincial Park is a gift for nature lovers - all-level hiking options culminate in the 800m peak of Mount Carleton itself, with views of 10m trees. parcsnbparks.ca; 7. Road trip Fancy a Sunday drive across the sea floor? Ministers Island, near Saint Andrews, is home to an historic summer estate only accessible at low tide. ministersisland.net; 10. Love that lobster Thanks to its rich waters and fair market prices, lobster lovers really luck out in New Brunswick. For the ultimate taster, head to the annual lobster festival, which sets out its stalls every July in Shediac. shediaclobsterfestival.ca Where to stay New Brunswick makes a refreshingly affordable touring destination. For the backwoods, two bedroom cabins at Chalets Restigouche (chaletsrestigouche.com) start from 100 per night. In Saint Andrews, Rossmount Inn (rossmountinn.com) offers a touch of a New Brunswick Ballymaloe with fine-dining overnight packages from 90pps. Get there Expand Close Moose sign / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Moose sign Canadian low-fare airline WestJet (westjet.com) begins a direct seasonal service from Dublin to Halifax, Nova Scotia from April (from 350 return). On the ground, it's a two-hour onward drive to New Brunswick; Thomas travelled with Avis (avis.ie) who offer economy car hire rates from under 30 per day. Thomas travelled as a guest of Tourism New Brunswick. See tourismnewbrunswick.ca for more info. Read more: Premium Mary Kenny Opinion After a long exile, soon Ill be back in my native Dublin... free to stroll the banks of the Dodder and reminisce about bohemian Baggotonia Very soon, all going well, fingers crossed, le cunamh De, and Inshallah, I expect to be back in my native Dublin again, after a long exile caused by the wretched virus. So, doubly vaccinated, distance-abiding and in the open air, I should be free to stroll by the banks of the Dodder river and its environs, watching the waters run over the little brooks and weirs, and the willows bend their graceful boughs. The unprecedented success of high yield, financially viable horticultural produce has hit the headlines in recent times. No, it's not the shamrock, even with St Patrick's Day barely less than a fortnight away. This other plant has been so successfully grown here, indoors and outdoors, and is so widely used there may well be plans afoot to replace the shamrock as the national symbol of Ireland. Some of the people of Ireland get so carried away with the excitement of St Patrick's Day what the parades, the drinking, the trad, the razzmatazz and the Irish dancing, they have taken to wearing huge clumps of shamrock clover as a way of proclaiming their Irishness. Some day soon a hungry heifer will end up eating one of these people by accident. The new symbol, though, is used all year long and grown all year long. The imposter plant isn't even native. The pretender is an import, unlike the shamrock which has been here for at least 1,587 years. Scholarly as ever, I get this figure by going back to the year of St Patrick's death in 432AD. The usurper has made a far bigger impact in the space of 50 years. The foreign plant is a widely recognised symbol and can be seen on the backs or fronts of polo shirts all over the world. There are marketing advocates who steadfastly maintain the proposed new national symbol of Ireland will be more easily recognised than the "dear little shamrock, the sweet little shamrock", to quote the well-known song. But the rock and roll advocates for change are adamant there are far more songs written about the new motif. The new plant has no great history here. It seems it was introduced in the 1960s. The new national symbol of Eire was grown outdoors to begin with in the far southwest, where the mild weather and warm rain was of great assistance to the small band of growers who grew the introduced species mostly for their own use. It prospered and the hardy band of growers sold off their excess produce. Seeds were harvested. Students and people who found it hard to get out of bed in the morning took to growing the plants in bedsits. Canny businessmen gathered together in groups known as gangs and imported the plant for sale and distribution through a network of agents who sold the crop at house parties and the like in much the same way as Tupperware and, laterally, Ann Summers. Aer Lingus spent 2m last year on rebranding the airline by means of a stylish, modern new logo. It may have been money down the drain. The usurper could appear on the tails of Aer Lingus planes, or even on the chests and crests of the Irish sporting teams. Maybe, the way things are going, the Taoiseach will present a bowl of the widely available plant to the president of the United States on St Patrick's Day. The evidence of the plant's popularity is there for all to see. Last October, gardai found 100,000 worth of the plant in two horticultural facilities in west Cork, known in the trade as a grow house. These are usually bungalows where the heat is left on all day like hotels catering for Americans and the proponents of same maintain there is never any shortage of hot water in the hot tank. Last month what gardai described as a "significant" amount of suspected cannabis plants were destroyed in a fire at a grow house in Bruff, Co Limerick. There was 210,000 worth of plants and seeds found in Dundalk a couple of years ago. Seven years ago, gardai discovered an estimated 1.6m of cannabis plants in Tramore in Waterford, 1.4m in Swinford in Mayo, 1.2m in Ardee in Louth and 800,000 worth in Newbridge in Kildare. There were big Garda finds in Roscommon and Kilkenny. Longford had several grow houses. There was 360,000 worth of the new shamrock found growing in a house in Abbeylara a few months ago. Last year, 45,000 worth of plants were confiscated from a three-bedroom house in south Longford. Two years ago, 200,000 of potted plants were detected in a house near Carrigallen. The gardai did their best and had huge successes. Ask your friend the guard what he or she thinks. They will tell you drug use is rampant and out of control. Twelve houses were raided by the gardai in south Kerry in 2018. The gardai have done an incredible job but when one grow house closes down, another opens up. I could go on and on. This is just a random trawl through the country. Every town and every village has a drug dealer with a lot more dangerous drugs for sale than cannabis. The horticulturalists have a saleschild in nearly every secondary school in Ireland and several primary schools. There is strong evidence to suggest cannabis use by the young can lead to serious long-term damage. That much is definitely proven. There is so much to be thrashed out from the different ends of the debate, such as proposed legalisation to mandatory sentences. The big question is why are so many people using drugs regularly? There has been no worthwhile national conversation. We wrote here about drug use in the universities and it is an epidemic. Just ask the students. Drugs are everywhere. The scale is unprecedented. The millions made will corrupt or have corrupted Ireland. Yet politicians on all sides are ignoring the problem. Homelessness is linked to drug use. I hope all of our people find a place of their own to call home but the drugs scourge dwarfs all of the problems we face as a nation. Cocaine use is rampant. The taking of cocaine is seen as no more eventful than having a coffee. There are no social boundaries between rich and poor. Drugs are widely available and are cheap. Check your local paper. You will read of heroin use in country places and raids for killer drugs in every county. The regional papers are doing a wonderful job. Gardai have told me these murderers have groomed kids to sell their drugs. So have addiction counsellors. Dealers use blackmail and threats. Ask your kids. Ask anyone in the know. We need a great debate but there has to be a short-term fix before it is too late. More resources must be given to the gardai. Existing resources must be refocused. Not one Opposition or Government politician has gone on a crusade. There have been no big marches. No water charges numbers marching on our streets. Why? Is this drug epidemic not serous enough? Is there corruption? And all the while, a generation of lovely young people are being slaughtered before our very eyes. Maybe the use of the cannabis plant as our national emblem is outdated. Is the coca plant not more popular now? "The Cliona, the Meabh and the Mucha, The pride of the Irish navy, When the Captain he blows on his whistle, All the sailors go home for their tea." The first verse of the old 1960s satire penned by none other than Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly about the Irish Navy's only ships came to mind when we learned about Ireland's first recorded venture into "gunboat diplomacy". We might have sung the auld ditty with greater gusto if it had not come in a week when those Brexit tensions were dialled down. We had after all seen movement in the two big UK parties in recent days, with Theresa May abandoning the fiction of "no delay", and Jeremy Corbyn finally accepting his party's policy on a second Brexit referendum. We were digesting the prospect of a no-deal Brexit on March 29 being far less likely, when we learned that two Northern Ireland trawlers were arrested in Dundalk Bay on Wednesday by the Irish Navy's LE Orla and escorted to Clogherhead harbour. The two small boats, out of Kilkeel, Co Down, were suspected of fishing inside Ireland's six-mile territorial limit. Suddenly, a sectoral and somewhat localised fishery dispute was raised by timing and the Democratic Unionist Party's penchant for melodrama to the status of a potential Brexit-related international incident. We were reminded that the DUP's Nigel Dodds learned all his rhetoric from the daddy of them all. Demanding an explanation from the Taoiseach over the incident, Ian Paisley's long-time assistant said: "When Leo Varadkar talked about soldiers on the Border he didn't mention the Irish sending warships with 76mm guns. These heavy-handed tactics with our fishing vessels demonstrate that Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney are entirely focused on Ireland and are fair-weather friends to Northern Ireland," Mr Dodds continued. It looked like a Brexit 'own goal' by Dublin. The sailors might have done better to take the songwriters' advice and go home for their tea. So, it was time to introduce a few simple facts - even at risk of spoiling a rather good-looking story. Firstly, this issue is not linked with Brexit, even though fishery is a huge concern for Ireland in the EU-UK divorce, as one-third of Irish fishermen's catches, including 60pc of mackerel and 30pc of prawns, comes from UK waters. We will hear much more about fish before Brexit is sorted. This row is about Irish fishermen, pursuing a hard and risky trade, trying to defend their livelihoods. There had been a so-called "voisinage" deal which allowed Northern Ireland boats to fish in Republic of Ireland waters and vice versa. But fishermen in this jurisdiction felt strongly that this was being abused and brought a successful Supreme Court challenge against it. In 2016, the court ruled the practice had no proper legal basis. So, the Irish Navy was simply doing its job in applying the law. The Taoiseach yesterday explained that legislation to restore the "voisinage" arrangement was framed in 2017 but this "got stuck in the Seanad". Mr Varadkar, in Belfast last night, has pledged to resolve the issue. But the fishermen who took the legal challenge have urged caution here. Louth-based senator Ged Nash, of Labour, has warned that merely reverting to the pre-2016 arrangements will not do and local fishing families need protection. Things were greatly helped at Drogheda District Court yesterday by Judge John Coughlan who applied the Probation Act for the two detained skippers and praised their integrity. The situation was further cooled by the skippers speaking of the Irish Navy's courtesy and professionalism, and that of others involved. The highly professional Irish Navy is a long way from the public sector poor relation lampooned by The Dubliners' 1967 song. But it is also far from being an instrument of Brexit "gunboat diplomacy". The overall message is that fisheries are a Brexit issue. Geroge Bernard Shaw wrote a play called 'Heartbreak House' after WWI expressing his dismay at England's conviction that it could handle any crisis with ease - whereas in reality its imperial days were numbered. The languid drawing-room setting was an allegory for a limp regime with a sense of entitlement, unsuspectingly delivering itself over to a new world order under the control of ignorant but active people. 'Heartbreak House' sounds an alarm bell. Naturally, its core message was ignored - often the fate of cautionary stories. But every once in a while warnings are heeded. This week, members of the trade union movement showed they have been paying attention to lessons from history: recent history in the muddled aftermath of the Brexit vote where the Border question has been paramount, and early 20th-century history a propos the circumstances surrounding the foundation of Ireland's two states. Specifically, they recognise the need to avoid repeating mistakes arising from the presumption that events can be left to take care of themselves. A coalition of trade unions, along with officials from unions not currently aligned to the lobby, has banded into a new movement, Trade Unionists for a New and United Ireland (TUNUI). Its stated intention is to engage in the reunification debate on both sides of the Border, making the case that unity represents an opportunity to promote economic equality and social progress. What's exciting abut this initiative is its recognition that reunification is an opportunity to reimagine Ireland and reinvigorate the Constitution. In that sense, the wheel has come full circle in this Decade of Centenaries - and not in a way that was envisaged only three years ago when 1916's 100th anniversary was marked a few months before the Brexit vote. It is an interesting development to see the labour movement state its intention to be at the heart of the reunification debate. It seems particularly apt because of its close connection with James Connolly, who worked in both parts of this island for a more equal Ireland. It's Connolly we have to thank for that stirring call to "Irishmen and Irishwomen" in the 1916 Proclamation, where he insisted on specific mention of women. Trade unionism has cross-Border reach and, more than most, has developed links with the unionist community through shared union membership. It is well placed to make the case that workers' rights could be enhanced in a new and agreed version of Ireland. On Monday, TUNUI launched its reunification initiative in Dublin at the Communication Workers' Union (CWU), where speakers included CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick and Mandate general secretary John Douglas. On Tuesday, the alliance made a start on its pitch in Northern Ireland with an event in the symbolic setting of Belfast's Linen Hall Library. That's an institution closely associated with the United Irishmen - a non-sectarian alliance of Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter - through its former librarian and executed revolutionary Thomas Russell (subject of the poem 'The Man From God Knows Where'). Speakers included former senior Siptu official Michael Halpenny, and the question of how to pay for reunification was discussed. Such debates are important to tease out nuances. For example, is there cross-cultural support for reunification? Has Brexit left moderate unionists inclined towards the Republic as a way of remaining in the EU? And how do nationalists who were contented with the status quo feel now their dual Irish-British citizenship is threatened? We still hear a lot of lip service paid to reaching out to unionists but who is listening to what they want in the event of constitutional change? Whenever a Border poll is mentioned, north or south - and it is on people's lips increasingly - the question of affordability invariably is raised. There is a soft vote for unity in the Republic which dwindles at the prospect of higher taxes or reduced services to pay for it. An annual subvention of 10bn (11.6bn) from Westminster to keep the North afloat is often cited but this is not a net figure and takes no account of taxes collected there. Let's have clarity. At this point, I note the cost of rescuing the Irish banking system was 64bn, so money can be found when something is regarded as necessary. It's also evident Britain has little affection for the North and would gladly hand it over - a case could be made for guarantees from its exchequer to continue paying a subvention for a defined period. The European Union and Irish America could be tapped for contributions. On the financial front, it's not all a drain. Economies of scale and merged services could achieve savings - one health service, one education service and so on. Co-operation in the provision of public services could improve outcomes for all. The North's free health service is an asset most people living there would shudder to lose. But in other areas, from education to job opportunities, the Republic has much to offer. Social welfare is higher in the Republic than in the North, as are average wages. Plus, two recent referendums on abortion reform and marriage equality have pushed the once clerical-dominated Republic ahead in terms of social progress. In Dublin, of course, accommodation costs gobble up incomes and more social housing must be built. But it would be a win-win, in an all-Ireland framework, to relocate some of the multinationals to Belfast. Dublin is woefully short of office and living space, while Belfast has plenty of both within easy reach. Partition doesn't work. Or to put it another way, removing partition could broaden opportunities. This week, comedian Patrick Kielty wrote a piece for the 'Guardian' in which he described the DUP as the political wing of the Old Testament. He was on the money. Nevertheless, the DUP should also be courted, so let's go easy on the mud pies. The party's MPs are able negotiators, judging by the way they have handled Theresa May. Imagine having them in our camp. Cicero said it was a mistake to compel others to think and live as we do. But there is no harm in seeking to persuade - in offering compelling arguments that encourage people to reconsider. TUNUI is hosting a conference on April 27 at the CWU headquarters in Dublin. Its speakers will need to show how reunification could deliver benefits to Ireland in its entirety - just as the peace process was advantageous to both communities and both parts of the island. Unionist voices must be heard at the event. And another thought: some unions have made their position clear but where do employers stand? The Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has done the State some service. The salary top-ups controversy at the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC), penalty points abuses, and the Grace abuse case are just some of the scandals it has helped expose. The PAC, particularly under the chairmanship of Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness between 2011 and 2016, gained a reputation as being a tough place for witnesses. Robust questioning was the norm. It was also a springboard to greater things for TDs. Three members of that committee - Simon Harris, Eoghan Murphy and Shane Ross - now sit at Cabinet. Another, Mary Lou McDonald, became leader of Sinn Fein. But this week, a landmark court ruling brought the committee crashing back to earth. For all the good it has done, the PAC has also divided opinion amid accusations of unnecessary grandstanding. The matter before the Supreme Court is much more serious, and judges propose finding the PAC acted "unlawfully" in its questioning of former Rehab Group chief executive Angela Kerins. The ruling not only raised questions over the PAC's conduct but also the failure of the Oireachtas to take any significant action in response. The court examined complaints by Ms Kerins about her treatment by the PAC in 2014, which she linked to subsequent ill health, a suicide attempt and her decision to quit her 240,000-a-year job. It is to hear further submissions before finalising the matter, but what it has already found is hugely significant. Until now, constitutional provisions on Oireachtas privilege have acted as a barrier to courts intervening over comments in parliament. But the court has now signalled it can intervene where "there has been a significant and unremedied unlawful action on the part of a committee". The three TDs most associated with criticism of Ms Kerins were Mr McGuinness, Mr Ross and Ms McDonald. One former committee member, Labour Senator Ged Nash said they would have to "account for their actions" in the wake of the ruling. But so far there is no sign of repentance and sources say it is unlikely there will be. Both Mr McGuinness and Mr Ross have declined to comment as the case is ongoing. In response to a request for comment from Ms McDonald, Sinn Fein issued a statement saying: "Those that spend taxpayers' money need to be held to account. This needs to be done without fear or favour." Rehab was always going to be a tricky proposition for the PAC. As both a charity and commercial group it receives substantial payments from the State to provide services but also has private revenue streams. Also, the PAC ordinarily only examines bodies subject to scrutiny from the Comptroller & Auditor General, which Rehab is not. Ms Kerins' appearance came in the aftermath of the CRC affair, which put transparency and funding in the charity sector top of the political agenda. Ms Kerins was informed in advance the PAC would be examining issues relating to HSE and Solas funding and its lottery. But her reluctance to discuss her salary in an interview shortly before the hearing did not go unnoticed. Much of the focus in the hearing was on her salary, paid out of Rehab's commercial earnings. The Supreme Court said she was invited to the PAC on one basis but dealt with on an entirely different one. It was put to her by Ms McDonald she earned more than the President of the United States or the Taoiseach. The TD suggested Ms Kerins was on a different planet. Mr Ross also honed in on pay and quizzed Ms Kerins about bonuses. He suggested there was an extraordinary opaqueness to Rehab's accounts. Mr McGuinness criticised as "unnecessary" contact the committee received from Rehab's solicitors about the extent of its remit. "We may have gone a little bit beyond it in pursuing salaries and so on, but that was because we wanted to get an overall view of the organisation," he said. Ironically, arguably the most cutting remarks came from Fine Gael's John Deasy, a TD who said he came to the hearing with "an open mind". He said Ms Kerins' answers had been evasive, that she had unnecessarily "made a big song and dance" and information "had to be dragged out of her". Mr Deasy declined to comment on the ruling. On Friday I headed for Dealgan Nursing Home for the 10th annual Visions Of Colour art exhibition where ten of their painting group were exhibiting their work and a huge crowd had turned out specially for the occasion. I was only in the door when I met up with prolific painter Agnes Whelan from Castletown who told me she had five pieces on show and this was only the tip of the iceberg because she has painted a staggering 34 paintings in only eleven months. She was accompanied by her daughters Liz Dullaghan from Jenkinstown and Ann McConville from Inniskeen and husband Walter, who were hugely proud of their mum and her great work. I then headed over for a quick word with Nellie McGinn from town who was four on show and was really looking forward to the night. At the time I met her, she was chatting to Loretto Gaughran from Blackrock who was there to cheer on her mum Lily McArdle from Blackrock who had one piece on the wall and told me she really loves the classes but was expecting the launch night to be even better. They were also enjoying the company of Agnes' sister Finola Gaughran and neighbour Patricia O'Brien both from Ard Easmuinn who were more than impressed with the work on show. I then headed for a group who included Vanessa and Marcella Shields from Waterview, Margaret Smith from Mountain View Crescent, Carol Smith from Hollywood, Susan Doyle from Sutton Court, Barbara McCabe from The Meadows, Sarah Smith from Hollywood and Paddy Shields from Waterview who were there to support their mum and granny better known as Susan Crawley from Hyde Park, or Hollywood as she preferred to call it. Susan told me she has only started the classes and only had the one on show but was really enjoying it. Meanwhile over at another group I then met up with Susan Boddy from Suil na Mara with three on show, who was there with her niece Ciara Tennyson from Carrick Road, her mother-in-law Kathleen Tennyson from Greyacre Road who also had three on show and her granddaughter Poppy Tennyson from Carrick Road who were up for making the best of the night. They were also with Noel Breslin from Carrick Road with niece Katriona Curran from Mary Street North, Pat Begley from Pont Road and Hugh Kieran from Clanbrassil Street who is no stranger to a few colours, brushes and canvas and yes, of course I forgot to ask him if he as showing anything, sorry Hugh. Noel told me his delightful wife Mary Breslin had painted one titled My Kearney Cottage which was above them on the wall. One lady who certainly gets around was Nellie McGinn who was now sitting enjoying the company of her daughter and granddaughter Bernie and Ellen Rice from Upper Jenkinstown who were hugely proud of her work. Not too far away I then got a word with Gertie McGeough from Barleyfield and Sr. Bernadette Smyth from Carrickmacross who were there to enjoy the night and lend their support to all their artists. After this I headed over for a chat with Rose Perkins from Marian Park who told me she had taken a break from the classes and hadn't got anything on show on the night. She was enjoying the night with her friend Frances Cullen from Fatima Court and son Dessie Perkins from Fatima. Finally, before I departed, I got a quick word with Maureen Connolly from Point Road who had one piece on show and was sitting with Kitty McBride from Castletown Road. Maureen was joined by her son Ciaran who was more than impressed with his mum's work. Ravensdale mezzo soprano Tara Erraught is returning to the New York Metropolitan Opera House for another season next Spring having received an enthusiastic response to her debut there last year, 'I am delighted to announce my return to the The Metropolitan Opera next season, in the title role of Rossini's, La Cenerentola,' she told her followers on social media. 'I love this role, and I am delighted to share the stage once again with my wonderful friend Javier Camarena (we have been married so often on stage, I lost count),' she continued. 'It's so exciting to work with Maestro James Gaffigan , David Luciano , Maurizio Muraro, and to sing again with the brilliant Christian Van Horn.' The production will run from March 12 to April 3 2020, including a St.Patrick's Day performance. Announcing this latest production of Rossini's take on Cinderella, the Met describes Tara as 'a rising star'.? Tara made her Met debut in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and also starred in the company's production of 'Hansel and Gretel.' She has described the lead role of Angelina in 'La Cenerentola' as one of her favourites, and recently played it when she made her debut with the Welsh National Opera last year. Having completed her term as resident principal soloist with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich from 2010 - 2018, Tara is now enjoying a busy international career on the opera, orchestra and recital stage. This Spring she has engagements in Dusseldorf, Germany for the 10th Festive Opera Gala in support of the German AIDS Foundation; Milwaukee, USA and Lyon, France. Irish audiences can catch her in the National Concert Hall's International Concert Series on April 26 with pianist John O'Conor, for a concert including works by Strauss, Mahler, and Rossini. Colaiste Lu sixth year students were invited to participate in the major event Ard-Fheis na nOg, hosted by Conradh na Gaeilge in County Monaghan last week. Ellen Ni Neachtain, Lauryn Ni Riain, Clar Nic an Bhaird and Ronan O Coigligh all represented their school. Senior students from various gaelcholaisti in Antrim, Monaghan and Tyrone gathered together in the Garage Theatre, Co. Monaghan at this prestigious event, and debated a range of topics such as Brexit, United Ireland and the range of practical subjects in schools. All students had an opportunity to express their viewpoint on each motion and give their vote at the end. The president of Conradh na Gaeilge Dr. Niall Comer commended the points debated by the students and the wonderful standard of Irish. The students Irish teacher Neasa Ni Chonluain was delighted with the opportunity given to the students to attend the first Ard-Fheis gathering for young people, and looks forward to the school's involvement in this again next year. Meanwhile, Colaiste Chu Chulainn students showed their charitable side on behalf of Irish Heart Foundation. They spent Valentines Day packing groceries for customers in Dunnes Stores. The donations were to help the vital work of the Irish Heart Foundation. Principal Thomas Sharkey said: 'Our students have shown again they have a great sense of social responsibility. They know that coronary health is a major issue in Ireland and were delighted to support this charity. ' He added his praise, saying: 'All credit goes to the students - they came up with the proposal and carried out the work.' Louth County Council is to hold a second information event on Thursday, February 28 at the Dolmen Centre, Omeath, as part of a public consultation on the Carlingford Lough Greenway project. The drop-in event takes place from 5pm to 8pm and members of the project team will be on hand to talk about the route and plans for the Greenway. They will deliver a presentation on the initiative at 6pm. The 3.46 million project is funded under the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). It is led by Louth County Council, working in collaboration with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and East Border Region Ltd. Match-funding has been provided by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. When completed, the Carlingford Lough Greenway will provide a world-class cross-border green travel route. The project will extend for approximately 20km from Carlingford to Newry City, providing a commuter and recreational facility for the area. The new 10.1km stretch will build on the popular Carlingford Marina to Omeath Greenway. The project also includes the extension of the Greenway from the Marina into the village centre. Following the recent public consultation meeting in Carlingford, the consultants have agreed to re-examine the proposed route following the recent well attended public consultation meeting in Carlingford. The proposal from the consultants is for the Greenway to bypass the bridge/cutting at the northern entry to the village entirely. It would see the Greenway starting at the seafront in Carlingford, crossing the Omeath road into the village, continuing uphill through the village in the general direction of Omeath and the Marina and then cross back over the road near the entrance to the Marina itself. Traffic calming measures would be provided at the two crossing points on the main Omeath Road. Local residents argued that other options should be explored which would bring the route closer to King John's Castle and keep it as much as possible on the seaward side of the road. The consultants have now agreed to re-examine the options. The food lobby has been labelled as the most evil empire in the world by Cllr Anne Campbell The food lobby has been labelled as 'the most evil empire in the world,' by Dundalk Cllr Anne Campbell. She made her comment as the stark reality of the childhood obesity crisis was spelled out when Katryn Reilly, policy manager at the Irish Heart Foundation addressed Louth County Council's monthly meeting. The presentation revealed that there been a dramatic increase in the rate of obesity among Irish children While only one per cent of Irish children were classified as obese in 1975, this had jumped to one in four children being overweight or obese in 2018. She highlighted how obesity is related to diabetes, heart disease and certain cancer. The total lifetime costs of childhood obesity in the Republic of Ireland are estimated to be 4.6 billion, with the direct healthcare associated costs estimated at 1.7 million. Alarmingly, the obesity crisis will lead to 85,688 premature deaths in Ireland, including 1,492 premature deaths in Louth. The meeting heard that international experts were pointing the finger of blame for childhood obesity at food and drinks companies whose marketing campaigns target children. It was found that just children watching just over four minutes of food advertising would increase their food consumption by 60 calories. Each additional hour of commercial tv that children watch was associated with a 28 per cent increased likelihood of buying junk food and drink. Amazingly, seeing just one extra broadcast advert per week predicted an increase of almost 350 calories a week per ad. In order to combat this, stricter regulations were needed including extending the ban on junk food advertising up to the 9pm watershed. Cllr Emma Coffey drew attention to the fact that children are exposed to advertising through social media channels such as Youtube. Poor planning in towns which allow take-aways to open in proximity to schools needed to be tackled, argue Cllr Conor Keelan. Cllr Anne Campbell declared:'Mums and Dads are just not just up against the pester power of kids they are up against the most evil empire in the world, which is not the arms lobby but the food lobby.' Making the point that is the parents are the ones who buy food, she said couldn't compete with the food marketing industry which pitted them against 'the best brains' and millions of dollars. She noted how food companies targeted parents, as well as children, highlighting foods which contained added vitamins or whole grains in a bid to make them think that they were making healthy purchases. She also noted that 'every single end of aisle offer in supermarkets are for junk food - pizzas, crisps, ice-cream and minerals.' 'Mums need help to combat that,' said the Sinn Fein councillor who last year tabled a motion that the Council call on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to extend the broadcasting ban on advertising junkfood to children from 6pm to 9pm. Cllr Pio Smith said he would like to know what the HSE policy was in regards Ronald McDonnell and the naming rights of the Children's Hospital. The lack of shops selling fresh food in town centres was raised by Cllr Tomas Sharkey. It would, he said, be a challenge to walk from one end of Dundalk to another and be able to buy oranges, apples and bananas. There were lots of shops selling fast food, cigarettes, sweets and crisps but few selling fresh fruit. Cllr Marieanne Butler felt that a lot of the problem was about education as it was the case that foods which might appear healthy, like apple juice, were really full of sugar. She too would support any efforts to curb advertising as parents could try their best but children were watching advertisements for junk food on social media. Ms Reilly said that an audit of schools was needed to see what schools had facilities for cooking or preparing food and a space to keep children in at lunchtime. She also revealed that some schools don't even have drinkable water in places that are accessible to children. The number of pupils being enrolled in school in Co Louth is rising, with over 500 more in classes than 2017/2018 The number of pupils being enrolled in school in Co Louth is on the rise once again, with over 500 more students in classes than 2017/2018. The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Louth rose to 29,692, an increase of 562 or almost 2%. At both primary and secondary level, the number of multi-denominational schools has risen, and there is also a move towards larger schools in our post-primary system as enrolments increase each year. Total enrolments in Louth primary schools rose to 17,259 in September, an increase of 126 pupils. In percentage terms, this is up 0.7% on September 2017, compared to 0.8% across the State generally. The figures also show changes in the numbers of children attending schools of different ethos, where enrolments in multi-denominational primary schools in Louth increased by 2.1% while in Catholic schools they increased by 0.6%. Total enrolments in Catholic primary schools in Louth stood at 15,924 in September 2018, representing 92.3 % of all pupils, down from 92.4 % in 2017. Enrolments in multi-denominational schools stood at 1,009, accounting for 5.8 % of the total (up from 5.8 in 2017). Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 242, representing 1.4 % of all pupils. Overall in Louth more primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 20 schools seeing an increase of 5 or more pupils, compared with 13 schools that saw a decrease of 5 or more. The data shows that the average primary school size in Louth is 247 pupils, above the national average of 180 pupils. At post-primary level, 12,433 pupils were enrolled in Louth schools in September 2018 - an increase of 436 pupils, or 3.6 %, on September 2017. Journalist and broadcaster Shane Coleman will be the guest speaker for the Louth winners of the National Enterprise Awards on Friday March 8 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dundalk. The Blackrock native will deliver the keynote address at the celebratory lunch which is the highlight of Enterprise Week. 'After a busy Enterprise Week, we are rounding it off on Friday with our Enterprise Awards lunch,' says Louth's Head of Enterprise Thomas McEvoy. The free lunch will be hosted by Drogheda Independant journalist Alison Comyn, feature a keynote address by Newstalk's Shane Coleman. Shane is the presenter of Newstalk's flagship Breakfast programme. He is a former Political Editor of the station and previously presented The Sunday Show on Newstalk for five years. He was a nominee and bronze award winner for Speech Broadcaster of the Year in the 2016 PPI radio awards (now IMRO radio awards). He is also a regulator contributor to both the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent. He was previously Political Editor and Business Editor of the Sunday Tribune. He is the author of four best selling books on Irish politics, including 'Bertie Ahern and the Drumcondra Mafia' and 'Scandal Nation'. 'As a broadcaster, business journalist and Co. Louth man, we look forward to hearing Shane's insight into the business, economic and political scene facing Ireland as Brexit approaches,' said Thomas. He added that they were delighted to have the support of Dundalk Credit Union in staging the event. 'The occasion will serve as a showcase for three of Louth's emerging business leaders,' continued Thomas. 'At the event, we will announce the three Louth category winners of National Enterprise Awards 2019. We will also reveal which company will go forward to represent Louth in the National Finals in the Mansion House Dublin in May.' Billy Doyle, CEO of Dundalk Credit Union explained "Enterprise is the backbone of County Louth. We see it everywhere, from big industries to artisan producers and all the SMEs in between. Dundalk Credit Union are committed to supporting the community of Louth through the services that we provide and we are delighted to back the work of the Local Enterprise Office in Louth by partnering in the Louth Enterprise Awards." Thomas urged local business people not to miss out on this free event but pointed out that places are limited and pre-booking is essential. Reserve your place now on www.LocalEnterprise.ie/Louth. This event is part of Local Enterprise Week Louth hosted by the Local Enterprise Office and Louth County Council, which takes place from March 4 to 8 March. Check out the full line-up by visiting www.localenterprise.ie/louth Hundreds of motorists encountered a multi agency checkpoint outside Dundalk last week as Revenue carried out 'non compliance' checks on vehicles travelling into town. In what have become known as 'diesel dipping' checkpoints, the operation led to scores of motorists being pulled over as vehicles were checked for 'mineral oil offences' and VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) particularly on vehicles with Northern Ireland and UK plates. Such operations have become a familiar sight along the border in recent years, with Revenue confirming they are part of a wider strategy tacking the 'shadow economy.' Checkpoints are, in many ways, also intended as a visual deterrent to motorists not to knowingly use marked diesel, often sold at much lower prices, to fuel their car. But Revenue are warning that the use of marked diesel could ultimately come at a much higher price. A spokesman for Revenue told the Argus: 'Marked gas oil (green diesel) attracts a low rate of excise duty and its use in ordinary road vehicles is illegal.' He added: 'Tackling shadow economy activity in all its forms, including any form of mineral oil fraud is a key priority in Revenue's drive to maximise compliance and protect legitimate trade. Revenue policy is that all detections of the misuse of marked mineral oil are investigated with a view to prosecution. The maximum penalty on summary conviction for a first offence is 5,000.' He added that Revenue officers 'routinely operate checkpoints based on risk assessment, targeting non-compliance with Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) obligations and mineral oil fraud.' 'The frequency and nature of these checkpoints is determined by risk.' The spokesman confirmed Revenue officers had operated checkpoints near Dundalk 'carrying out routine operations in conjunction with An Garda Siochana, primarily targeting non-compliance with Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) obligations and mineral oil fraud.' 'In the course of the operation, three mineral oil detections were made by Revenue officers and one vehicle was seized for marked mineral oil offences. one vehicle was seized for VRT offences.' VRT is chargeable on the registration of motor vehicles in the State, and by law all motor vehicles in the State, other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered with Revenue. A retired surgeon who groped seven boys in his care over a period of three decades has been jailed for four years. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Shine to four years imprisonment for one count of indecent assault. He sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment for all other counts and ordered that each sentence run concurrently. Judge Nolan said that the appropriate headline sentence in the absence of mitigation was one of seven years imprisonment. He described the offending as a 'serious pattern of misbehaviour'. One of the victims of a retired surgeon who groped seven boys over thirty years has told a court he was given 'a life sentence of pain'. Michael Shine (86) of Ballsbridge, Dublin had denied twelve charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda on dates between 1971 and 1992. On day 17 of the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a jury of two women and eight men returned guilty verdicts, having deliberated for just over six hours. Reading his victim impact statement in court, Patrick Cusack (56), who waived his right to anonymity, said Shine had handed him 'a life sentence of pain, hurt, anguish and shame'. Mr Cusack told the court he had not had a proper night's sleep in 45 years until the guilty verdict was announced two weeks ago. He said that having received the justice he has wanted since 1974, he could now truly say that what happened was not his fault. A second man who also read his own victim impact statement aloud said that Shine had no understanding of what he had done. The man said he does not trust many people as a result of the abuse he suffered. 'I am aware that under a facade, people can have evil motives. He (Shine) taught me that,' the man said. Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Cathleen Noctor SC, prosecuting, that Shine indecently assaulted six boys aged between 11 and 15 on dates ranging from 1971 to 1988. He said the sole count of sexual assault related to an incident in 1992 when the injured party was aged 16. Dec Gda Nolan said that during the trial, a medical expert gave evidence that there was no medical basis for the behaviour described by the seven men. Shine has three previous convictions for indecent assault relating to two complainants who were both aged 15 in 1975; he was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment for these in late 2017. These convictions are currently under appeal. Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, said his client was attacked on the steps of the courthouse on Friday and liquid was thrown at him. He said that Shine's 'health is precarious' and that a prison sentence would have a profound impact on a man of his age. Mr Hartnett said that Shine faced the prospect of dying in prison without the comfort of his friends and family. He asked the judge to consider not imposing a custodial sentence and asked that he take into account that the cases occurred a long time ago. Speaking outside the court after Shine was sentenced, Patrick Cusack (56), one of the injured parties in the case who has waived his right to anonymity, said it was a 'good day for me and for all victims of abuse, but particularly the victims of abuse of Michael Shine'. Mr Cusack encouraged others who have been the victims of abuse to come forward and seek help. He said he was 'delighted' with the sentence and that it was 'most appropriate', but said that the conviction had been more important. 'He (Shine) will never say sorry. Paedophiles don't say sorry, it's their chemical make-up,' Mr Cusack said. He went on to say he expects that Shine will never acknowledge himself or any of his victims. 'He will self gratify in his abuse, but that's as far as it goes. You are just a toy in his world.' Judge Nolan said the aggravating factors in the case were the number of assaults and that as a doctor Shine was in a position of trust. Further aggravating factors were that the victims were at the time 'vulnerable' boys, that there was no expression of remorse and that Shine has previous convictions for offences of this type. He said the mitigating factors were Shine's age, his health challenges, his good work record, his being held in high regard by his family and that there was a possibility of him dying while imprisoned. Judge Nolan said it had been well decided by precedent that age is no barrier to prison sentences. Gerry Duffy makes a presentation to former Dundalk FC manager, Stephen Kenny last November at the SOSAD Centre, Dundalk, along with Cathy Cousins, Gerry Curtis, Mark Kelly, Ciara Solan and Maria OToole Along a busy street, Dundalk's SOSAD centre is a safe haven for people suffering from mental health issues, or who may be impacted by suicide. A welcoming place for people in distress, the Joceyn Street offices also acts as a base for the SOSAD's 24 hour helpline service, and a direct access point for free one to one counselling. 'The need is very clearly there for SOSAD,' says Maddie Carroll Morgan. 'This is an urgent care service for people who are in crisis. If they need it they can be seen the very same day or the next day.' SOSAD have a team of trained counsellors who can offer urgent appointments, a much quicker response than people can expect if they attend their GP, and face long waiting lists for counselling.' But, operating an entirely free service like this, run largely by volunteers, does come at a cost, and the charity are appealing for Dundalk people to get behind them to ensure this vital service continues. 'We are really grateful to everyone who has supported us, and people who donate after hosting an event, all of that support is so vital,' says Gerry Duffy who has headed up a number of fundraising events for SOSAD including the annual Duck Race. He pointed out that SOSAD receive no government funding and are 100% funded by donations, and the support of people who fundraise on their behalf. SOSAD also highlighted that they don't benefit from major fundraising events, such as the hugely successful 'Darkness Into Light' which is a Pieta House event. Instead, they rely on a number of local fundraisers, such as the Duck Race, pop up shops and other organised throughout the year, including the 'Hit the Right Note' busking event taking place in Drogheda this Saturday, March 2nd with all proceeds going towards SOSAD's six offices across the north east. 'It is only from these events that we receive funds which are used locally to provide services.' SOSAD are, adds Gerry, 'very grateful' to former Dundalk FC manager Stephen Kenny who came on board as their patron and remains so, despite his hectic schedule with the Irish Under 20s team. 'He has been an incredible support, and continues to be so,' says Gerry. SOSAD's founding aim was, and continues to be raising awareness of suicide in Ireland, and to break the stigma surrounding suicide. 'SOSAD work on a daily basis to provide support and direction to those feeling depressed and/or suicidal, and to provide support and direction to those who may know someone feeling suicidal,' said Maddie. They also work to provide support and direction to those who have been bereaved by suicide. SOSAD also has a range of supports available for anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide. 'Every volunteer at SOSAD is committed to providing the very best possible care and support to every client and we also do all we can to help their families cope through this difficult time.' The day to day work of the Dundalk centre also involves carrying out suicide interventions, psychological assessments and offering free counselling to anyone who needs it. 'Ultimately, we provide a safe and comfortable place to talk and be listened to, with an initial meeting to establish need, and have professional counsellors available for those who need it,' added Maddie. To contact SOSAD in relation to vital fundraising, or to access services at 42 Jocelyn Street, email sosaddundalk@gmail.com or contact 042 93 27311. A briefing on the work Louth County Council hopes to carry out at the Long Walk Quarter, West Gate in Drogheda and Ardee with funding received for urban regeneration under the Ireland 2040 project was given by Senior Engineer Catherine Duff at the local authority's monthly meeting. The allocation of funding for Dundalk, Drogheda, and Ardee as 'very good news', she said. Plans for the Long Walk Quarter had been in drawn up as long ago as ten years, she recalled. At that time the council had been in discussion with the owners of the Long Walk Shopping Centre as to how the area could be redeveloped but these were put on hold when the recession hit. 'Now is a good opportunity to go forward,' she said, explaining that they were hoping to build on the preparatory work already carried out. A design concept had been carried out which would see the Long Walk Quarter becoming Dundalk's 'Green Lung', linking the train station, bus station and Ice House Hill. It was also hoped that it could become an area where people could live and work in. 'This is a long term project' she stressed, saying that additional funding would be needed to bring it to fruition. This was also the case regarding the West Gate Vision in Drogheda. Chief Executive Joan Martin said they were hoping to get the letters of offer within the next fortnight and that the allocation would be more substantial than what they had already received and could be multi-annual. The West Gate Vision for Drogheda incorporates the area around Barlow, the old Abbey and Donaghy's Mill. The funding for Ardee would see the council going for tender for the main contractor for work on Ardee Castle, as well as developing plans for the extension of the Ashwalk cyclepath, the refurbishment of the town centre and works on the Castleguard Road and improvement to the sewerage works. The Chief Executive paid tribute to Catherine Duff who led the teams in Dundalk and Drogheda, and Aoife Lawlor who led the rural projects on their work on making the applications for funding. Once they receive the letters of offer they will be setting up a team to move the projects forward. Cllr Frank Godfrey said he hoped that the work would be carried out sensitively giving the historic nature of Drogheda. He described Narrow West Street as 'one of the biggest eyesores in the country' for the past 10 to 15 years and criticised the property owners for allowing it to happen, saying they were 'sitting on properties waiting to make a killing.' He also expressed reservations that a 10 storey building on the Bridge of Peace would be out of character. Ms Martin assured him that any work would be done in accordance with the town's development plan and that they had employed an architect to draw up a frame-work plan for the project. 'We are planning for the Dundalk and Drogheda of the future, planning for the long term,' she stated. Cllr Conor Keelan welcomed the 'Green Lung' for the Long Walk Quarter, describing it as 'very attractive'. He also asked if there would be any linkage between the Long Walk and Clanbrassil Street. Ms Duffy said that there would be connections to Clanbrassil St in the project. Cllr Pearse McGeough said the funding for Ardee Castle was good news for mid-Louth and the county as whole. He wondered if there was a timeframe for the project. Ms Duff replied that a contractor has been appointed for Ardee Castle and the first phase was for the castle to be opened up so that he could do enabling work and see what works need to be done. This would then inform the tender document for the main contract. Local residents have welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for whiskey warehouses at Kilcurry. Bord Pleanala upheld Louth County Council's decision not to grant planning permission to Great Northern Distillery Ltd for 13 maturation warehouses across 111 acres. Each warehouse had a proposed floor area of about 4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) and would have been around 10m (33ft) high. The board held that the development would contravene the zoning objective provided for in the county development plan. It also found that the development would have formed a 'discordant and obtrusive feature on the landscape at this location'. Reacting to the news, Cllr Conor Keelan said that the decision confirmed his original thoughts that 'it was completely unsuited to this area and was not proper planning or sustainable development of the area. Given the traffic situation I was very surprised that Louth County Council advanced it as far as they did.' He congratulated the Kilcurry residents for their informed campaign. Meanwhile, Great Northern Distillery founder John Teeling has said he is 'disappointed' with the decision, having spent more than 500,000 on consultancy fees. The company had argued in its appeal that the development was of 'strategic economic importance to the rapidly-growing Irish whiskey sector'. He had previously said that the company was planning to spend more than 20million on the site, which would have been used to store maturing whiskey produced by the Great Northern Distillery. Last year, the distillery produced over 125,000 barrels of spirit in grain, triple and double distilled malt, potstill, heavy amd medium peated malt as well as their first batches of gin. Following Louth County Council's decision last year to refuse planning permission for the warehouses, Mr Teeling said he would look outside the county for the company's substantial warehousing needs. Mr Teeling ended Irish Distillers' near monopoly of the Irish whiskey sector in the late 1980s when he launched Cooley Distillery which he sold to alcohol giant Beam Inc for 73 million in 2012 His sons established Teeling Whiskey in Dublin by initially using stocks of the Cooley product. There was standing room only in Rathmichael Parish Church last Sunday as parishioners, friends and well wishers flocked to say farewell to their Rector of almost 27 years. Canon Fred Appelbe presided at his final service as Rector of Rathmichael before retiring later this week. In his sermon he said it had been a great privilege to serve the parish over the last 26 and a half years. There had been very many positive events, among them improvements at the parish school for which he thanked former Education Ministers, Niamh Breathnach and Mary Hanafin, who was present in the congregation. Leading tributes to Canon Appelbe, parishioner Geoffrey Perrin said the day was emotionally charged. He described Fred as a man of exceptional humanity. 'He has been behind us, praying for us and he has led us. He has been our inspiration. He has been a friend in happy and fun times and a companion in times of sadness,' he said. Anne Thompson, who has been Fred's PA throughout his ministry paid tribute to Fred's wife Sonia for her industry and innovation in support of the parish. She said she had become part of the rectory family, which includes Fred and Sonia's daughters Debbie and Hayley. On behalf of the parish, Rector's Churchwarden, Richard Marshall, made a presentation to Fred and said it had been a pleasure to meet and talk to him every Sunday morning. Wicklow TD Andrew Doyle is to seek the Fine Gael nomination for Ireland South in upcoming the European Elections. Minister Doyle, who is currently Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, announced his intention to pursue a career as an MEP last week, having served as a TD since 2007. He will seek the nomination at the Fine Gael Ireland South selection convention this Sunday, March 3. He said that Brexit has highlighted how important European membership is to Ireland and that he believes his experience to date will ensure that he can make a positive impact at European level. 'Over the past three years as Minister of State, I have been heavily involved in the government's Brexit preparations within the Department of Agriculture. I have represented the Irish government, meeting with delegations from our European partners and further afield, as we attempt to open up new markets to Irish produce. I delivered Ireland's national statement to the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development and met with representatives of the World Food Programme to discuss challenges facing that organisation and how they can support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the United Nations,' he said. Minister Doyle also outlined his experience chairing meetings at Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, which focused on climate change, agriculture and food security. 'I believe I have the experience to make an impact at European level from day one, which is why I am putting myself forward for nomination. I have been a member of Fine Gael since 1983. During that time our country has changed considerably, however the core tenants of the party - equality of opportunity, free enterprise and reward, security, integrity and hope - remain the same,' he said. Andrew Doyle started his political career as a member of Wicklow County Council in 1999 and was elected to Dail Eireann in 2007, where he became the Deputy Spokesperson on Agriculture with special responsibility for Food and Horticulture. In 2010, he was promoted to the opposition frontbench as the spokesperson for Agriculture. Following re-election in 2011, he was appointed Chair of the Agriculture Committee. In the Dail, he introduced legislation entitled 'Food (Fair Trade and Information) Bill 2009' to provide in the interests of the common good, for the prohibition of activities which prevent, restrict or distort fair trade in grocery goods in the State, and to provide for information on the grocery trade in Ireland to be gathered and published. Minister Doyle also produced the first ever parliamentary report on the Offshore Oil and Gas sector in 2012 which called for a new fiscal licencing regime in Offshore Oil and Gas exploration off the coast of Ireland. He is married to Ann with whom he has four children. 'Here we are again,' said Berna Fidan, the sister of missing woman Esra Uryan, who was reported missing on February 23, 2011. Esra's car was later found in Bray, parked at the foot of Bray Head, a small purse in the boot of the car. Esra (38), an English woman of Turkish descent, had lived in Clondalkin for four years with her husband and their son. She was last seen leaving her house at around 7.15 a.m. that morning, in the family car, which was a grey Renault Twingo, registration number 08 D 23067. She was reportedly going to the shops, but never returned., Her sister Berna has been to Ireland dozens of times since then in a quest for clues, for some trace of her sister. 'I spoke to her about three days before she disappeared,' said Berna, sitting in Molloy's cafe on Quinsboro Road, where people now recognise her due to the frequency of her visits. Esra's close friend Ilknur MacCormick joined Berna, as always, on this annual pilgrimage, along with Berna's daughter Ayda. 'She was making the arrangements for mum and her mother-in-law to fly over and telling me everything about it. Everything was normal. Her neighbour spoke to her the previous day about what schools the kids would go to. Esra told her neighbour that she was getting the house ready for the two mums to visit.' Then she vanished without a trace, her car turning up in Bray. Cameras have spotted a near encounter between Esra's car and a red Skoda Octavia. They have never identified the driver of that other car, who may have seen who was driving Esra's vehicle. Now the family is hoping fresh posters will help to jog someone's memory, particularly perhaps the driver of that red Skoda. Her family remain utterly convinced that Esra did not take her own life, or choose willingly to leave her young son. They are haunted by the troubling possibilities, the very fact of 'not knowing' what happened to her such a terrible burden to bear. This visit to Ireland included a meeting with investigating gardai about any progress or plans, but little or no progress has been made. 'It's scenario after scenario,' said Ayda, one of Esra's nieces, who was a teenager at the time of her aunt's disappearance. 'You just think all day of what could be, what about this? You're going around in circles. 'It was a very strange time,' she said, of the period following her aunt's disappearance. Her mum had flown to Ireland straight away to help search for Esra. 'A death is one thing, but "missing", it's something you hear about but you never think it's going to happen to you or someone you know.' She remembers just constantly poring over potential scenarios with her sister, her mum and uncle. 'What we could do, who we could contact. But there was nothing to go by.' They try to hang on to some sense of hope that Esra is alive, or at least that she hasn't suffered, or is not somewhere in the world suffering at this moment. Callous strangers have repeatedly contacted Berna with usually groundless information, maliciously sent, exacerbating their already unbearable pain. A set of keys found in a Neilstown business a year after her disappearance brought gardai no closer to solving this sad mystery. The investigators, Esra's family, and the friends they have made in Ireland through their terrible suffering, are baffled by the fact that she was never captured on CCTV, a rarity in modern times with cameras almost everywhere. Meanwhile, Berna will keep coming back here until something is resolved. She and those who join her regret that their abiding memory of Ireland will always be linked to the tragic disappearance of a much loved woman. Esra is described as 5'3" in height, with dark hair and green eyes. She was wearing black leggings, white nike trainers, and a dark top. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bray Garda Station on 01 6665300, Ronanstown Garda Station 01 6667700, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station. Preliminary enrolment numbers in primary and post-primary schools in Wicklow show 0.8 per cent increase between September 2017 and September 2018. Last Thursday, the Department of Education published initial results on enrolments by local administrative area for September 2018 for schools across Ireland. The data provides information on increases and decreases in school enrolments across the country, changes in the numbers attending schools of different ethos, as well as average school sizes. The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Wicklow rose to 29,103, an increase of 233. Total enrolments in Wicklow primary schools rose to 18,114 in September, an increase of 93 pupils. In percentage terms, this is an increase of 0.5 per cent on September 2017, which compares with an increase of 0.8 per cent across the State generally. The figures demonstrate changes in the numbers of children attending schools of different ethos. Enrolments in multi-denominational primary schools in Wicklow increased by 9.4 per cent while in Catholic schools they decreased by 0.4 per cent. Total enrolments in Catholic primary schools in Wicklow stood at 13,329 in September 2018, representing 73.6 per cent of all pupils, down from 74.2 per cent in 2017. Enrolments in multi-denominational schools stood at 1,356, accounting for 7.5 per cent of the total, up from 6.9 per cent in 2017. Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 2,108, representing 11.6 per cent of all pupils. Overall in Wicklow more primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 26 schools seeing an increase of five or more pupils, compared with 18 schools that saw a decrease of five or more. Small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system, with 708 schools nationally having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year. These schools accounted for 22.8 per cent of all schools yet represented just 4.4 per cent of the total enrolments. The report shows that Wicklow had a lower proportion of small schools than average, with 13.6 per cent of schools having 60 pupils or fewer and with 2.3 per cent of pupils attending such schools. It also shows that the average primary school size in Wicklow is 224 pupils, above the national average of 180 pupils. At post-primary level, 10,989 pupils were enrolled in Wicklow schools in September 2018 - an increase of 140 pupils, or 1.3 per cent, on September 2017. Enrolment in multi-denominational post-primary schools increased by 45 pupils, or 0.7 per cent while in Catholic schools enrolments went down by 48 pupils, or 1.3 per cent. Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 3,772 pupils in September 2018, while multi-denominational (including inter-denominational) schools had total enrolments of 6,179 pupils. Enrolments in Church of Ireland schools stood at 1,038. The report showed that the average post-primary school size in Wicklow is 500, below the national average of 503. Minister McHugh said: 'The numbers highlight the rise in the school-going population across the country, with an increase at both primary and secondary level enrolments. They reflect the important changes taking place in the patronage of our schools, with more choice available to parents. At both primary and secondary level, the number of multi-denominational schools has risen. There is also a move towards larger schools in our post-primary system as enrolments increase each year.' For the third year in succession some of the most influential movers and shakers in the global music industry have been lined up to take part in the Music Cork symposium at venues across the city in May. The event, which will run for three days from Wednesday, May 1, will once again create a platform for people to meet leading industry professionals, hear them speak about their work and experiences and take in showcase performances by a host of talented performers. Music Cork will also offer people the opportunity for people to network with speakers and fellow delegates over the three days of intimate social gatherings. As in previous years it will kick-off with the welcome return of the Music Cork 'Pub Trail', which will take delegates on a whistle-stop tour of local establishments before heading to the newly revamped Cyprus Avenue for the first of two nightly showcase gigs. Day two will see the focus turn to the business end of things with a series of key note presentations delivered by a veritable 'who's who' of respected music insiders, including Sarah Desmond, senior VP of Marketing & Partnerships at Universal Music Group, who will discuss industry trends and innovations. Other speakers already announced include agents Lucy Dickens (Mumford & Sons, Adele, James Blake) & James Whitting (Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Robyn & Maggie Rogers), Cesar Andion, PR & Talent at Live Nation Spain and music supervisor Catherine Grieves who has worked on shows for HBO, Channel 4 and Netflix. Other speakers include Danny O'Reilly (The Coronas), American music lawyer Lisa Lester and composer Louize Carroll (The Blizzards), with more to be announced over the coming weeks. These will be followed be followed by a carefully curated music trail across s city venues and the second showcase gig at a venue yet to be announced. While the line-up of artists set to perform across the three-days have yet to be unveiled, organisers have promised it will feature the best of breaking Irish music. Music Cork 2019 will draw to a close with the 'Bacon and Bloody Mary' networking brunch for delegates at Goldbergs Bar and Restaurant. One of the team behind music Cork, Indiependence Music and Arts Festival co-founder Shane Dunne, said they were delighted that Cork would once again be hosting the event. "Delegates will have the opportunity to meet and network with music industry figures from Ireland and abroad, hear about and discuss industry trends and innovations, benefit from years of experience and knowledge while enjoying a relaxed three days around the vibrant streets of Cork," said Shane. He said the music showcases would combine the newest talent and some of the great new acts emerging onto the Irish scene. "The feedback over past two years from the delegates and showcasing acts has been hugely positive, people are seeing a real benefit out of coming to Music Cork. We have to thank our sponsors, without whom we wouldn't be able to run Music Cork so affordably and offer so much over the three days for attendees," said Shane. For more information about Music Cork 2019 and to buy 'early bird' (which will ensure delegates access to all events) priced at 109, visit www.musiccork.ie. Clayton gets into the back of the car and orders Shona to follow his instructions and drive in Coronation Street Coronation Street: David is furious when he discovers that Shona attempted to supply drugs to Clayton and that someone broke into the house. David is stunned and orders her to pack up and get out. As Shona climbs in David's car, Clayton gets into the back and orders her to follow his instructions and drive. Meanwhile, Kevin accompanies Gina to The Rovers and explains to Sally, Tim, Beth and Carla that he mistakenly took the party money and Gina is entirely innocent. Kevin begs Gina to think twice about leaving and offers her a bed at Number 13 for as long as she likes. Gina is grateful. Elsewhere, Gemma assures Rita that Paul will soon be out of her hair as he's hoping for a place at the new bail hostel. Claudia is appalled to hear they're going to have a bail hostel on their doorstep and Billy despairs at her lack of charity. Also, when Cathy and an apologetic Brian explain how they spilt coffee over Daniel's laptop and fear his essay is gone forever, Sinead is unfazed and reckons Daniel will have backed up his work on the cloud. Having restored Daniel's essay, Brian is relieved. Eastenders Kat goes against Jean's wishes and tells Stacey the truth. Stacey urges Jean to go for the tests straight away, as Shirley listens in to the tense conversation. Stacey is adamant that Jean needs an appointment straight away and Kat has an idea to make it happen. Later on, Jean becomes overwhelmed by everyone's fuss - including Shirley wanting to know why she kept it quiet. After hearing Kat and Stacey talking about her, Jean packs a bag and heads off to the Tube station. Meanwhile, Jay messes up twice with Ruby, which leaves her upset. Elsewhere, Rainie taunts Stuart about his admissions during the Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Furious that she was eavesdropping, Stuart urges Rainie not to tell Dot what she heard. Also, Mitch promises to find the money for Bailey's school trip. Emmerdale Debbie fears the results of her actions when she realises that Kerry has got social services involved. Meanwhile, Jacob is worried when Maya sees Liv kiss him. Jacob is nervous but excited as Maya leads him up to his bedroom. Thrown by the visual reminders of Jacob's youth, an uneasy Maya makes her excuses and leaves the bedroom. Meanwhile, determined to find information on Amy, Kerry sneaks into Pollard's barn. Will she find what she's looking for? Elsewhere, Cain's fears continue to mount. Fair City Will's mind games have a destructive impact on Phoebe and Mairead's relationship, and Doug refuses to take the blame when a business deal goes awry in the garage. A deceitful Paul breaks his promise with dire consequences for Callum. When Mairead confronts Will over his meddling, a disappointed Cristiano dishes out a few home truths. Orla takes Wayne to task over taking his frustrations out on Doug, while Sharon intervenes when Lee and Hayley clash over his underhanded tactics. The story of one of Ireland's most notorious gun battles - and its mysterious aftermath - are to be explored at and upcoming lecture in Blarney. On March 21 1924 a group of men wearing Irish army uniforms pulled up at the main pier in Cobh. Seated in a yellow Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, they watched 50 British soldiers disembark a ferry from Spike Island. Suddenly the men in the Rolls Royce produced machine guns and fired on the British soldiers. One soldier was killed while eighteen others and six civilians were injured. Driving away at speed, the Rolls Royce stopped briefly to fire on a British warship in the harbour. An hour later armed British soldiers returned to Cobh and more shots were fired. There followed one of the biggest manhunts in modern Irish history, making front-page news throughout the world. The Rolls Royce and its occupants seemed to have vanished into thin air. The car was not seen again for 57 years. Next Thursday, March 7, historian John Jefferies will unravel the facts and myths os the Pier Head shooting and the amazing story behind the mysterious Rolls Royce known as the 'Moon Car' when he presents an illustrated lecture at Scoil Mhuire Gan Sma Secondary School in Blarney. The event, which starts at 7pm, has been organised by the Blarney and District Historical Society. All are welcome, there is a 4 fee for non members. The incredible bravery of four Army Chaplains of different faiths who lost their lives during Word War II was celebrated during a commemoration organised by Pat Mulcahy, the Irish Commander of the American Legion. Reverend George Fox (Methodist), Alexander Goode (Jewish Rabbi), Rev Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Fr John Washington (Roman Catholic) comforted the wounded and directed others to safety as the US Army transport 'Dorchester' sank on February 3, 1943 while crossing the North Atlantic after being torpedoed by a German U-boat. Members of the Irish United Nations Veterans Association, American Legion, Gardai, and ONE (Oglaigh Naisiunta na hEireann) attended the high-profile ceremony, which was held in St Peter's Church, Rockchapel. Pat, who had intended to hold the commemoration last year but had to postpone it due to illness, said he was delighted to be able to honour the four chaplains on the 76th anniversary of their tragic deaths. He paid tribute to his wife, Cathleen, and also to John Canty for their help in organising the event. Local Sergeant Dan Murphy was among those who presented flags at the Altar, while American Legion members Mike Devine and John Canty took up the poignant Prisoner of War Flag. Pat and Cathleen were delighted that their grandsons, Harry and Tom McCann, were present to present the poppy and officers cap. Music was provided by John Curtin and Donna McCann; piper Mairead O' Neill and bugler Joe Willis, who gave a note-perfect rendition of the Last Post. A model of the Dorchester, which was made by residents of St John of God respite in Tralee, was on display. Sunday, February 3, marked the 76th anniversary of the sinking of the Dorchester, which was attacked and sunk as she was transporting troops to an American base in Greenland, with 672 of the 902 officers, enlisted men, merchant seamen and civilian workers losing their lives. Many of those survivors owed their lives to the courage, leadership and selfless acts exhibited by four chaplains of different faiths who, in sacrificing their lives, created a unique legacy of brotherhood. As soldiers rushed to lifeboats, the quartet of chaplains comforted the wounded and directed others to safety. One survivor watched the chaplains distribute life jackets, and when they ran out they gave their own to four other men. As the Dorchester went down, they were last seen praying arm in arm. The treasurer of a voluntary group set up to fund the purchase of potentially life-saving equipment for Mallow General Hospital (MGH) has revealed it has spent more than a quarter-of-a-million Euros on items over the past eight-years. In his report to the AGM of the Friends of Mallow Hospital, Noel O'Connor said that the body had spent an average of 33,000 per annum since 2010 on equipment for the north Cork facility. The report listed some of items supplied to the hospital through the group over the past eight years. These included two high-spec echocardiogram machines, equipment to facilitate laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery, a large investment in the dedicated MGH sleep laboratory over the past four years and an argo plasma coagulation machine allowing for the expansion of the endoscopy department. Speaking to The Corkman Mr O'Connor said the equipment purchased through the fundraising efforts of the 'Friends' had made a huge contribution to the "exceptionally high" standard of care the hospital is able to offer to the local community. "The Friends of Mallow Hospital was set up in the 1970's by a group of like-minded people, often former MGH patients themselves, with the expressed aim of raising monies for essential, state-of-the-art equipment," said Mr O'Connor. He said that while cuts to health capital spending budgets had impacted on many hospitals, including MGH, the efforts of the Friends had ensured the facility was in a position to maintain, and in some cases even expand, many of its core services. "In each of the past eight years the Friends of Mallow General Hospital has spent an average of 33,000 on vital equipment. By any standards, that is a magnificent achievement and a record that we are justifiably proud of," said Mr O'Connor. "The vision that inspired the establishment of the Friends is as relevant today as it was four decades ago. This considerable investment has been of enormous benefit to the services provided at the hospital, benefits that will continue to be felt well into the future," he added. Mr O'Connor was quick to point out that none of that would have been possible without the generosity of the people from the wider north Cork region who have donated to the groups various fundraising initiatives over the years. He said parishes from Ballydesmond to Lismore and from Dromcollogher to Blarney have been hugely generous in their support, most notably through their church gate collections. "The Friends committee is indebted to the many people who each year without fail organise the collections and other event. Deep gratitude is also due to the many individuals who contribute to these collections," said Mr O'Connor. "Without these good people, the Friends could not continue to give the support the nurses, doctors and staff at MGH need to maintain the excellence services they continue to provide," he added. The Friends meet on the last Tuesday of each month at the hospital and new members are always welcome. A group of agricultural science students from Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk delved deeper into the marketing and export of certified Irish Angus beef when they visited the Netherlands. The trio - Gillian Casey, Aine O'Connor and Maire Moylan - were selected by a panel of industry judges to rear six Irish Angus Cross calves up until the animals' slaughter in 2020. In addition to the rearing of calves, the students are undertaking a research project, 'Benefits of Irish Family Farming Systems', which will explore the tradition of family farming in Ireland, its impact on rural communities and the support which the Irish Angus breed can provide to family farming systems. The study trip - which was organised by the Irish Angus Producer Group, ABP and Kepak - saw the students begin their trip with a visit to Tesco Ireland, who have been involved in the production and promotion of certified Irish Angus beef for more than two decades. It was then time to board a flight to visit Albert Heijn - a Dutch supermarket chain that is also a leading importer of Irish beef. The study trip abroad takes the students full circle - from their own experience to rearing the calves as part of the competition to the marketing of a "premium product" on a global scale. The Cork students are finalists in the Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools Competition run by Irish Angus Producer Group, along with its processor partners, ABP and Kepak. The initiative encourages secondary-school students to increase their knowledge and understanding of the care and attention required to produce and market the highest quality beef for consumers and to apply the knowledge they gain in the classroom to a real-life setting. Each of the finalists will receive the financial benefit of selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project. The winning students also receive an additional grant of 2,000 for their further education. A 37 year old businessman living in north Cork has been remanded in custody after he was charged in connection with a 10,000 drugs seizure by gardai at a business premises in Cork last week. Viktoras Andriejevas from Castleterry, Mitchelstown was charged with two offences following the seizure of a half a kilo of cannabis herb at Unit 5, Carrigaline Industrial Estate, Carrigaline on February 20. Mr Andriejevas was charged with possession of cannabis herb contrary to Section 3 and possession of cannabis herb for sale or supply contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. Det Garda Eoin O'Toole gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution and told Cork District Court that Mr Andriejevas made no reply to the two charges when they were put to him after caution. He said that gardai were objecting to bail because of the seriousness of the charges and the strength of the evidence against Mr Andriejevas, and the belief he would not stand trial if granted bail. Cross-examined by Mr Andriejevas's solicitor, Eddie Burke, Det Garda O'Toole said that drugs had been found in two vacuum packed packets in a warehouse premises rented to Mr Andriejevas in Carrigaline. Each packet contained a quarter kilo of cannabis herb and they had been hidden in the premises but were located by a garda sniffer dog, while gardai also recovered a vacuum packing machine in the unit. Det Garda O'Toole said that gardai also recovered a number of mobile phones at the premises with messages which supported their belief that Mr Andriejevas was involved in the distribution of drugs. And he added that gardai also recovered a large quantity of cash on the premises, which Mr Andriejevas had been renting for the past five years and using as a base to ship second hand clothes to Lithuania. He agreed with Mr Burke that when Mr Andriejevas was arrested, detained and questioned at Togher Garda Station, he denied any knowledge of the drugs and said he had nothing to do with them. Mr Burke put it to Det Garda O'Toole that Mr Andriejevas would say that at least six other people had access to the warehouse but Det Garda O'Toole pointed out that Mr Andriejevas was the sole tenant. Mr Burke suggested the vacuum packing machine may have been used to wrap clothes for export but Det Garda O'Toole said the clothing was packed in 150kg bundles, too large for the vacuum pack machine. Mr Andriejevas took the stand and said that he had a business where he exported second hand clothing to Lithuania and Eastern Europe, which had a turnover of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 a week. Therefore, for gardai to find 2,600 in his office safe, as gardai had done when they searched the premises, was not unusual and he did not consider it a large sum of cash given his business turnover. He said that he had approximately 80-90 mobile phones on the premises as he was also involved in exporting phones but he only had two for his own use - one for domestic and one for international calls. He said that he had been living in Ireland since 2006 and his two children were attending school here and he would not pose a flight risk if granted bail but promised to turn up when his case is listed for trial. Judge Olann Kelleher said that in light of all that he had heard, he was refusing bail and he remanded Mr Andriejevas in custody to appear again at Cork District Court on March 1. Sunday is World Wildlife Day. Each year, March 3 celebrates and raises awareness of the world's wild animals and plants. World Wildlife Day is a United Nations initiative that coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international agreement between governments to regulate global trade in wild animals and plants to ensure that their survival does not become threatened by such trade. Thousands of species are internationally traded and used by people in their daily lives for food, health care, housing, tourist souvenirs, cosmetics or fashion. With 183 contracting parties, 182 countries and the European Union, CITES is one of the world's most powerful tools for wildlife conservation through the regulation of trade. CITES regulates international trade in over 36,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, to ensure their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment. World Wildlife Day is celebrated under a different theme each year. This year the theme is 'Life below water: for people and planet'. Oceans regulate our climate, produce half the oxygen we breathe, provide nourishment for 3+ billion people, and absorb 30% of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and 90% of the heat from climate change. To ensure that oceans and marine species are preserved and protected, nature-based solutions that bring together public, private and civil society partners need to be replicated and scaled-up. Ireland ratified CITES in January 2002 and the convention entered into force here on 8 April 2002. Globally, over 36,000 plant and animal species are accorded varying degrees of protection by the CITES convention. Regulations implementing CITES in the European Union list the species relevant to this part of the world and the EU experience of illegal trading in endangered wildlife. Irish laws follow the EU Regulations and lay out the terms and conditions for possession, use and trade in protected species that are both native to Ireland and non-native species listed under CITES. Trade in marine species such as exotic seahorses, colourful corals and tropical seashells is monitored by customs officials and wildlife officers to ensure that the survival of these beautiful and often endangered life forms does not become threatened by tourists unwittingly buying them as souvenirs while on their holidays abroad and bringing them home. Wildlife is best enjoyed and left in the wild where it belongs. Monasterboice: If you have any news relevant to Monasterboice, be it personal, such as weddings, birthdays etc, club or organisation related, please contact me at paddyholdcroft@gmail.com or on 0862039501 Thanks A big thank you to all who attended last weeks successful book launch "Monasterboice Cemetery Inscriptions ". The book is now available at a cost of 15 each.Please contact any of the following numbers for your copy Denis 0876742042, James 0872291706, Charlie 0863312050, Des 0863589601 or email monasterboicetourguides@gmail.com Mullary Cemetery Lotto. Saturday 16th Feb Winning no was 37. Winner was Sean McGovern and John McGeogh N.Mairtin Lotto results 20.02.19 no: 06,07,29,30, Jackpot not won. 17,000 this week. Match 3 Numbers 150 Shared by Kenny Lambe, Donal Murphy, Kenneth Lambe. Drumshallon Forge. The Drumshallon Forge is located just north of the Piperstown Equestrian Centre, Ballymakenny Road, Grangebellew, Co Louth, A92 DF7X. Contact us by email: drumshallonforgeheritagecentre@eircom.net and find us on Facebook. Regular weekly schedule Book club - One Monday evening per month, 8 PM to 10 PM. Fee is 5 per meeting. Contact Lisa on 086 161 4465 for next meeting. Arty crafty evenings - Wednesday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30 PM. 5 per session. Non-Tutored. Contact Jacinta on 087 758 9282 Pilates for beginners - New Block Starts Thursday, Feb 28th, 2019, 09.45 to 10.45. Six weeks for 55. Booking is essential. Contact Sara on 087 650 0871 Creative writing - Every Thursday morning 10 AM to 12 Noon. This group provides an opportunity for both prose and poetry writers, of all levels of experience, to have their work reviewed and critiqued by others. Fee of 5. Contact Lisa on 086 161 4465. Singing for pleasure - Every Thursday evening from 7.30 PM to 9.00 PM. 5 per session. Yoga with Slava - New Block Starts March 08th, 2019 - every Friday morning, 10 AM to 11.30 AM. Cost is 80 for 8 sessions or 12 Pay-As-You-Go. Contact Slava on 087 295 9662 for more information. Beginners welcome! Special events Ceili Set Dancing with the Triskell Ceili Band - Friday, March 15th, 2019. Dancing from 9 to 12 PM. 10 per person, pay at the door. Tea / supper provided Tullyallen Contact me If you would like to see your news in this part of the newspaper, a celebration, weddings, anniversary, family party, births or anything that might be of interest to the local community, please have no hesitation in contacting. Give me a ring at 087 6366605 or pop me an email at hilary.a.kelly@gmail.com But one thing to remember is that the deadline to get your items to me is Friday Lunchtime as the paper will now be in the shelves from Tuesday mornings. Date for your diary The Tullyallen Access the Glen Committee are delighted to announce that the official opening of the Glen Walkway will take place on Saturday 30th March 2019 at 2 pm at King William's Glen. We are absolutely thrilled that Ms Eanna ni Lamhna has agreed to officiate at this long awaited event. This is a huge honour for all involved and for Tullyallen and the surrounding areas. Ms Ni Lamhna is one of Ireland's best known public figures in the area of nature and the environment. She is a renowned author, biologist, educator and is also a radio (Mooney goes wild) and TV presenter. It is an added bonus that she also hails from the wee county. Further updates will follow on this event and the Committee looks forward to welcoming all at what promises to be a wonderful day - a fitting finale for this wonderful community project. Parish News The Africa Magazine supports the work of the St. Patrick's Missionary Society Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. Readers are informed of the changing challenge facing the missionary and gives them a sense of belonging in the frontier work of the church. If you wish to subscribe to this magazine, please leave your name and contact details in the sacristy (before Thursday the 28th of February ) for Mr. Moonan who is co-ordinating the Africa Magazine. Subscription is 10 a year. Upcoming talks for Lent in Community Services Centre Scarlet Crescent Drogheda, Thursday 7th of March, 14th of March and 21st of March. Each talk will be from 7.30pm - 8.45pm. Refreshments served and all are welcome. Thursday 7th of March- Listening for God's Voice in the Old Testament - Patrick Logue, 14th of March- Christian Art & Scripture-Larry Corrigan and 21st of March- Women of the Bible- Margaret Duffy. Ash Wednesday is March 6th and begins the holy season of Lent. To help us prepare for Lent we will have a guest speaker from Trocaire at our Masses the weekend of 2nd/3rd of March. Ash Wednesday, 6th of March . Masses with the blessing and distribution of ashes at 10am and 7.30pm and during Lent all weekday Masses are at 7.30pm. Fun Day For The Whole Family The glen Emmets are organizing a fun day for the whole family that will take place on Sunday 7th April at 2pm. You can run or walk the 5k to support our local club. There will be a finishers medal for adults and juveniles. This is race chip timed and is a great preparation for the Drogheda 10k in May. This costs 15 for adults, 10 for under 18's, 30 for a family entry comprising of 2 adults and 2 under 18's. There is also a group rate available. Events kick off at 3pm and there will be tea / coffee and refreshments for everyone who takes part after the event in the Glen Emmets Clubrooms. To book your place you must register now at https://register.primoevents.com/ps/event/GlenEmmets5k. Lotto Results Results for the Glen Emmets Lotto held 19th February 2019. The Grand Prize Draw was for 4,700 and there was no winner. The numbers drawn were 7,8,14 & 31. The 4 Lucky Dip winners who receive 25 each are Katie McCabe, Claire Ryan, Ignatius Traynor & Dave Dowling. Next week's draw is 4,800. Tickets are on sale in Centra Tullyallen or any committee member or now you can play online at https://www.locallotto.ie/play_newa.asp?ll_id=1329#Anchor Slimming World Times Tullyallen Slimming World classes are on every Thursday. The first class is 5pm and the second is 7pm. Amanda will be there giving plenty of inspiration, motivation and encouragement to everyone who comes along. Men's Shed Tullyallen Men's Shed meets up every Tuesday and Friday mornings 10 am till 1 pm why not call into them. They are currently in the Glen Emmets GFC Clubhouse. They have Bowls, Pool, Darts, Rings, Cards so why not call in for a chat and a cuppa. Everyone has something to offer in the Shed. All new members will be most welcome. Contact David Cusack 086 1228569 or Martin Lane on 0878159172. Tullyallen Parent & Toddler Group The Tullyallen Parent & Toddler group continues to meet every Thursday from 9.30 to 11.30am in the Glen Emmets Clubrooms. This is not just for parents, grandparents and minders can come along with the kids also, it's a great way for the kids to get together and the grown-ups can catch up with a cuppa and a natter. This costs just 3 per adult and this includes entry into the Glen Emmets Lotto draw. The 13th volume of Riocht na Midhe, the journal of the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society was launched by one of the patrons of the Society, Dr Edel Bhreatnach, CEO of the Discovery Programme, in the Ardboyne Hotel on Wednesday, 20th February. The journal, edited by Dr Peter Connell, contains its usual eclectic mix of articles and reviews dealing with the history and heritage of the Meath-Westmeath region, ranging from the archaeology of the Boyne Valley to the activities of Cumman na mBan in the years 1914-22. The standard of scholarship in these articles means that the journal adds to its well-earned reputation as a high quality publication that continues to help us understand the history of where we live. The hot dry summer of 2018 brought us a new word - 'Dronehenge'. It refers to the newly discovered henge or enclosure at Newgrange, photographed by a drone flying over the site last July where the outlines of the feature stood out in the parched grass. Dr Ciaran McDonnell's article 'A Summer of Archaeology' captures the excitement and significance of this and others archaeological discoveries made over the summer, all highlighting the wonderful and mysterious heritage we have on our doorsteps. Drs Geraldine and Matthew Stout and their colleague Joanna Leigh report on their summer excavations at Newgrange Farm which revealed a cursus, a long enclosed, monumental pathway containing piths with evidence of butchery of cattle and pigs and cooking dating back 4,500 years. Continuing the archaeological theme, Joseph Fenwick's article conducts a search for the 'lost' passage tomb at Knowth, referred to in documents in 1836 but whose location remains unknown ever since. Michelle Dunne's article on the minor place names of Meath and Westmeath, which is the recipient of the Riocht na Midhe prize for postgraduate research, is a fascinating account of the names of natural and man-made features in the landscape of both counties. Events and people long past are recorded in these names. Just two examples illustrate the wealth of history and folklore they commemorate. Folklore about 'fairy cobblers' is recalled in the name for a rock called 'Cobbler's Cave' in Donore while 'the Rag Man's Corner' in Kilskeer recalls an old man who slipped and died at the corner. Two articles record aspects of the history of the Barnewall family. Colum Kenny describes the prominent role the family played in the administration and practice of law in the Pale while Eoghan O hAnnrachain and Stephanie Robertson write about the tragic death of Matthias Barnewall, one of the Wild Geese. Having fought at the Battle of the Boyne, he died in 1692 at the age of 22 in the service of the king of France in the Battle of Ortheuville and the article describes the remarkable survival of his tomb in the nearly village of Tenneville in Belgium. Continuing the military theme, an article by Dr Ciaran McDonnell explores Meath's involvement in the military history of the years from the Battle of the Boyne to Waterloo, including an excellent account of the Battle of Tara in 1798 and the final defeat of the Wexford pikemen at Knightstown, near Wilkinstown. Alice Stopford Green was born in Blackwater House, Kells in 1847 at the height of the Great Famine. She would go on to occupy a prominent position as an historian and political activist in Ireland and Britain, including playing a role in nationalist politics in the years 1914-22. In an article illustrated with many fascinating photographs dating from the nineteenth century, Dr Angus Mitchell provides a definitive account of her family background with its links to the Ascendancy and the Established Church. Fiona Ahern's account of the early years of Laytown Strand Races celebrates the remarkable achievement of the 150th anniversary of the first recorded horse-racing on the beach in 1868 while Tracey Ni Mhaonaigh's article also marks a significant anniversary - the 120th anniversary of the death of Eoin O'Growney, a key figure in the revival of the Irish language in the closing years of the nineteenth century. F.M.W Harvey, born in the rectory in Athboy in 1888, Irish rugby international and recipient of the Victoria Cross is the subject of Bernard Walsh's piece. Harvey, who served for many years in the Canadian Army, has what may be the unique distinction for a Meathman - he has a mountain named after him, Mount Harvey in Alberta. Dr Danny Cusack, who has written extensively on links between Meath and Australia, provides a fascinating profile of Patrick McGarry from Kildalkey. Emigrating to Australia, via the United States, in 1890, he went on to play a prominent role in trade union and labour politics and served as a Labor MP in the New South Wales Parliament. A split in the Labor Party over the issue of conscription in 1916 contributed to the end of McGarry's political career in 1920. Peter Connell's article on the 1918 general election in Co Meath also emphasises the key role that the conscription crisis of the spring of that year had in Sinn Fein's victory and the election of two of its candidates in the county, Edward Duggan and Liam Mellows. Tracey Holsgrove's account of Meath's Cumann na mBan in the revolutionary years is a valuable contribution to the neglected area of women's role in the history of the county. Copies of the journal and membership of the Society may be purchased on its website at www.mahs.ie. A series of major projects are to be progressed in the East Meath area this year as part of the 125m transport budget within Meath CC. For Stephen McKee, an allocation of 400,000 along with 500,000 from last year shows the commitment to progress the Spine Road in Bettystown. Sharon Tolan asked that while a decision was awaited on the Bord Pleanala appeal over it, other works could go ahead. Des Foley from Meath CC confirmed that they were advancing the detailed design and tender system. Sharon Tolan wants the Piltown Road added to the winter gritting list but in reality, feels the entire road needs an upgrade as it is one of the major entry and exit points for the coastal area. She is also anxious to see some works in the area around Harrys garage as it is very difficult to cross the road there. Also on the issue of crossings, she feels raised crossings would help at a number of locations. She would also like to see Donacarney and Mornington added to the street sweeping schedule. Cllr Sharon Keogan feels the road from Irish Cement to the Beamore Road should be closed for good as it is too dangerous. Cllr Wayne Harding also made a case for lights at Rathdrinagh Cross and hoped a project there could be facilitated. The list includes the Deepforde footpath on the Dublin Road. It is an 80,000 project and will be shared between Louth and Meath CC. It will start within the next week or two. Local councillors have expressed their support for a motion by Cllr Dolores Minogue, suggesting a 'masterplan' be developed to attract business to Ardee. She has called for national pilot project for the town, looking at all aspects of life, from schools and childcare options to leisure and what employers want to move to a small town. She also says two ready to go factory outlets should be constructed and then promoted. 'It's a case of build it and they will come,' she stated. She said the town needed to become pro-active in terms of business. Cllr Jim Tenanty said the idea should be part of a Local Area Plan as Ardee seemed to be left behind when it comes to investment. Cllr Colm Markey suggested the IDA and Enterprise Ireland be part of it and to have 'strategic sites ready'. Tom Cunningham agreed that a plan was needed to drive the area forward with Cllr Pearse McGeough feeling that developing two factory sites was needed to attract industry to the area. 'The bottom line is that we need to create employment,' he stated. One of the victims of a retired surgeon who groped seven boys over thirty years has told a Dublin court he was given "a life sentence of pain". Michael Shine (86) of Ballsbridge, Dublin had denied twelve charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault committed during medical examinations at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co Louth and at two private clinics in Drogheda on dates between 1971 and 1992. On Monday afternoon, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment. The judge said age was not a bar to such sentences. Reading his victim impact statement in court, Patrick Cusack (56), who waived his right to anonymity, said Shine had handed him "a life sentence of pain, hurt, anguish and shame". Mr Cusack told the court he had not had a proper night's sleep in 45 years until the guilty verdict was announced two weeks ago. He said that having received the justice he has wanted since 1974, he could now truly say that what happened was not his fault. Reservations are now open for The "Daffodil Day" Cheltenham Gold Cup Cancer Business lunch now in its 17th Year. The event takes place on the 15th March and is a date not to be missed, whether you're a racing fan or not it's the best "Business Networking" day in of the year! The thrills and excitement takes place in the Westcourt Hotel at 1pm where live racing from the track is shown on two big screens, as part of your ticket you will enjoy, drinks on arrival, a 3 course meal, Tea/Coffee, Tote Facilities in the restaurant, Table reserved for the day, Best dressed competition unobstructed viewing of every race , Racecard, Pre-race tipster provided by Jockeys, Trainers and Owners, and after racing music. Last year we had winners galore both on and off the track!! The Irish Cancer Society will benefit greatly from all funds raised at the lunch. They are most grateful for all past Daffodil Day Business Lunch donations, which is now over 350,000 which is a a staggering amount and testament to everyone's generosity. The Irish Cancer Society is still relying on your support this year, funds are constantly required for Daffodil Day nurses, to help the needs of cancer patients throughout the country particularly on the east coast. Tickets are 75 each and tables of 6, 8, 10, or 12 may be reserved. This event relies heavily on sponsorship and people are asked to sponsor a Race, the Best Dressed, an auction or raffle Item, or send a donation. Details from Karen Healy 086 855 7878 karen@karenh.ie or Maeve Smith. The Drogheda Gold Cup Business Lunch Committee consists of Giles Belton, Bernard Woods, Karen Healy, Maeve Smith, and Hilary Lynch. Daffodil Day itself is on Friday March 22 and Lizanne Allen, among many others, has been looking after the Drogheda and surrounding area on Daffodil Day for over 30 years. Volunteers are needed to be part of the day, even for an hour. A woman charged in connection with the seizure of almost 1 million-worth of drugs has been released from custody on 30,000 bail. Natalie Chiper (37), Tullyard, Ballymakenny, Drogheda, is accused of possession of cannabis herb, valued 940,000, for sale or supply at The Whitehouse, Tullyard, Ballymakenny and simple possession of the drugs, on 23 January last. At Drogheda court on Friday, Judge Coughlan approved two independent sureties of 15,000 each. Bail had been fixed in the high court on 5 February. The defendant had been in custody for more than four weeks. Denis Ceban, one of the independent sureties, was described as a family friend of the defendant. An Irish citizen, he owns two takeaway restaurants in Dublin city centre. Vladimir Rufulea, a Romanian citizen, who also posted 15,000 bail, works as a bus driver. The court heard some of the bail money in this case came from the sale of property in Romania. Det Gda Eric Canny indicated consent on behalf of the state. After the men's bank accounts were frozen, the judge granted bail. Natalie Chiper, who had been held in the Dochas Centre, attached to Mountjoy Prison, was not present in court for the hearing. Enniscorthy Lions Club presentation of cheques to local charities. Back: Niamh Tierney, Jimmy Gahan, Stephen Mahon, Enda Furlong and Helen Kirwan. Front: Rev Nicola Halford, Patricia Byrne (Irish Pilgrimage Trust), Eric Barron (President Enniscorthy Chamber), Dessie Sheehan (St. Vincent de Paul) and Fr. Odhran Furlong. Enniscorthy Lions Club showcased its charitable nature when it presented cheques to two very worthy local organisations. The club's President, Eric Barron, told this newspaper that 1,200 was presented to the St Vincent de Paul organisation while 800 was presented to the Irish Pilgrimage Trust. Mr Barron said the club was delighted to be able to help both organisations which he described as being 'very worthy recipients'. The money for the SVP was raised through a Christmas food appeal organised jointly between the two organisations. 'The Irish Pilgrimage Trust is a voluntary led organisation that does great work bringing people to Lourdes every year,' said Mr Barron. The drone incident at Dublin Airport last week has once again highlighted just how vulnerable the basic infrastructure that we take for granted is to technological attack. With operations suspended for 30 minutes after a pilot spotted a drone while taxying to a runway, in accordance with DAA procedure, the incident in Dublin had far less of an impact than the drone incursions that shut down Gatwick Airport for three days last December. But it is still an extremely serious turn of events and one that needs to be addressed urgently. It is reassuring then to see that the Government is treating the episode with the gravity it deserves. After the Gatwick incident, Ireland's National Civil Aviation Threat and Risk Group met to discuss the situation and come up with a plan of action should something similar unfold here. That group - which involves the gardai, defence forces, officials from the departments of transport, justice and foreign affairs, the Irish Aviation Authority, and representatives from Ireland's airports and airlines - will meet again this week to examine the fallout from the events at Dublin airport last Thursday. Unfortunately, they are hamstrung in what they can do to deal with the threat. Drones are a relatively new phenomenon and currently there are few, if any, foolproof ways of protecting sensitive sites from them. One solution that has been tried at several airports across the world is the use of electronic 'drone guns' which fire disruptive beams that jam the signals to a drone and bring it down. Other sites have used specially trained birds of prey to catch the drones while powerful net guns have also had limited success. The problem with all these 'solutions' is that they are typically extremely expensive and, even given the high cost, they are not very effective. Conversely - if you wish to cause disruption on a massive scale - the drones themselves are very cheap and highly effective. It's essentially a reverse arms race that is currently being won by increasingly cheap and better quality drones. It is still unclear if the drone incursion at Dublin airport was malicious or the mistaken action of an irresponsible, ill-informed and poorly trained drone user. Whatever the background to the incident it, like Gatwick before it, has shown how easy it is to shut down a major international airport. A decade ago a terrorist operation aimed at shutting down an entire airport for three days would have required months of preparation, planning and training as well as hundreds of thousands of Euro. Now, as we saw at Gatwick before Christmas, it takes just two people, who would require almost no training, and a pair of drones that could cost as little as 100 apiece. At best they could shut down an airport. At worst they could use a drone, with their explosive and flammable lithium batteries, to bring down an airliner by flying into its jet engines. It is hard to know what can be done in the face of this new threat but it is one we must take very seriously. Dublin Airport has reunited a missing African Grey parrot with its owner, following a social media appeal and a little help from a German supermarket chain. The female parrot was discovered walking along the eastern end of Dublin Airport's main runway by airport fire fighter Craig Wade. Craig and a colleague were carrying out a routine runway safety inspection at the time, and having seen Hugo, managed to coax her into a makeshift carrier box and got her safely to the fire station. Craig contacted the Kildare Animal Foundation and they kindly agreed to care for the parrot until her owner could be found. A social media campaign by Dublin Airport, followed by an intervention from the German supermarket chain Lidl and some novel use of modern technology, tracked down four potential owners of the elusive bird. The only thing identifying Hugo, however, was a ring with a unique identification number, and none of the potential owners could provide the information. It was then that Dublin Airport and the Kildare Animal Foundation combined to act as 'pet detectives' in the case. One of the potential owners, Lubomir Michna, originally from Slovakia, said he had taught Hugo a few words of Slovak, and Dublin Airport suggested that he record an audio clip which could be played for the bird to assist with the investigation. Dan Donoher of the Kildare Animal Foundation said it was clear from this clip that Lubomir was definitely Hugo's owner. 'When the voice recording was sent to me and I played it for Hugo she reacted instantly and became animated and excited. There was no doubt in my mind that Lubomir was her rightful owner', he said. When Lubomir finally arrived to collect his pet, Hugo was thrilled. 'As soon as the carrier was opened, Hugo jumped onto Lubomir's arm and cuddled into his neck. You could see they have a really close bond, it was lovely', Dan added. Lubomir said Hugo had escaped from his house in Finglas at about 4pm on a Saturday afternoon after a door was mistakenly left open. He said he could not be more thankful to Dublin Airport and the Kildare Animal Foundation for finding and looking after Hugo. He plans to meet Craig, the fire fighter who rescued her, shortly to offer his thanks in person. The Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme which would see a giant regional sewage plant built at Clonshaugh with its outfall going off shore at Portmarnock, has come in for heavy criticism in the Dail. Fianna Fail TD for Dublin Fingal and Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Darragh O'Brien has criticized Government over its lack of costings that will be incurred in planning for the Greater Dublin Drainage Project at Clonshaugh in North County Dublin. O'Brien quizzed the Minister on the matter in Dail Eireann, saying: 'The prospect of the Greater Dublin Drainage Project being developed precisely as proposed has deeply frustrated people locally over the past number years so it is no wonder that there have been over 14,000 submissions through its public consultation process. 'According to the plans that have been submitted to An Bord Pleanala, sewage will only be treated to the minimum secondary level but surely it makes more proactive sense to ensure the highest levels of modern treatment are applied. 'When I met with Irish Water in June I was assured that the focus of priority was on continuing to upgrade the Ringsend facility by introducing new technologies and increasing its capacity. If that is the case then a series of localised plants are more suitable than the one giant sewage orbital development that has been planned for the North County. This is a project that if completed as proposed, would be four times the size of Croke Park and I do not believe that Fingal should have to bear the brunt of that.' Deputy O'Brien said: 'This isn't a discussion about the difference of a couple of thousand here or there in taxpayer's money; this project involves hundreds of millions of euro. I have asked successive Minister's to carry out a cost-benefit analysis on this plant and repeatedly assured that it would be conducted. Yet years on, it appears one is not available. #Just this month we learned of the chaos that is the National Children's Hospital overspend - why is this Government incapable of properly keeping tabs on large capital projects? Irrespective of the construction is permitted to proceed; the State must have a full handle of the costs associated with its plans. That would surely be in line with prudent spending.' The Fianna Fail TD said: 'My Dail colleague in Dublin Bay North, Sean Haughey as well as Dublin Councillors, Eoghan O'Brien and Sean Paul Mahon collectively support An Bord Pleanala's decision to facilitate an oral hearing on March 20th next. It would be useful however, if we had some idea of spending to date in order to inform residents ahead of the hearing. No one, not even the Minister or his Department are in the position to confirm or even estimate how much public money has been spent...' the North Fingal Pool Campaign has expressed its joy at the recent announcement that a swimming pool project will be pursued in Balbriggan. A campaign spokesperson said: 'North Fingal Pool campaign extends a massive thank you to its supporters and the committee are very grateful for the submissions made to the Castlelands Masterplan calling for a swimming pool for Balbriggan town and the subsequent calls during the Our Balbriggan strategy public consultations. We have over 2,000 supporters and the committee have been meeting regularly since our establishment in early 2018. 'We are thrilled that our cause is now firmly on the agenda and we will continue to lobby and work with our public representatives to ensure this commitment by Fingal County Council is delivered and development can begin immediately. ' the campaign spokesperson added: 'We are soon to meet again with our local Fingal County Councillors and public representatives, TD and senators most of whom have already committed to meeting at the end of this month. We will also be calling for a meeting with Fingal Chief Executive Paul Reid.' North Fingal Pool Committees campaign began as a result of a huge response to a call on social media by local man and activist Anthony Flaherty. A public meeting was held with public representatives and local Fingal councillors and a committee was soon set up. Local activist welcomes pool A local activist and member of North Fingal Pool Committee, has welcomed the recent announcement there is a swimming pool project being pursued for Balbriggan. Niall Keady said: 'A swimming pool which was something that had not previously been a high priority has now been thrust to the top of the agenda and all down to public engagement. In August I wrote a blog for Balbriggan.net entitled 'Castlelands Public Consultation- Balbriggan Keyboard Warriors, your time to shine', where I listed several issues and items that were needed for Balbriggan, one of which was the need for a swimming pool.' The original Metrolink route now seems set to be effectively cut in half There has been a widespread welcome north of the Liffey and particularly here in Fingal of reports that the NTA is set to abandon the southern section of the Metrolink project which was to connect Swords via Dublin Airport to the City Centre and then on to Rathfarnham. There have been increasing calls in recent weeks from political and administrative quarters in Fingal for the northern section of the line to proceed as Metrolink south floundered over difficulties accommodating the line on that side of the Liffey and a possible shut down of a Luas line to allow construction of sections of Metrolink. No such impediments exist on the northern side of the line and several local politicians have called for the Swords to City Centre via Dublin Airport section of the project to proceed. Those voices were added to this month by the chief executive of Fingal County Council who called for the northern section of the line to proceed 'without delay'. Now reports have surfaced that the NTA intends to abandon the southern section of the project, clearing a logjam in the project and allowing the long-awaited northern section of the line to proceed. Local councillor and Metro campaigner, Cllr Darragh Butler has welcomed the news. In a strong statement on the issue, he told the Fingal Independent: 'It's great news that Southsiders are happy with their overcrowded Luas lines - good luck to them. 'We don't have that privilege on the Northside so we need Metro North delivered now - no more delays. Cllr Butler said: 'We need a high speed and fequent rail service from Swords via dublin airport and DCU to Dublin City Centre and we need it now.' He concluded: 'We've been waiting for close to 20 years now and enough is enough.' Last month, Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell along with Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock called for the Metrolink project to be separated into two phases with the prioritisation of the development of Metro from Dublin City Centre to north Dublin and it seems they will not get their wish. Speaking of the importance of Metro for the Fingal area, Deputy Farrell said: 'The delivery of Metro from the city centre to north Dublin, the airport and the Swords community is vital in providing transport links to cater for the demands of a modern city and a growing population in north Dublin.' Deputy Farrell concluded: 'It is essential that a rail link is established to the airport from the city centre, particularly to support those who commute every day for work or education, and for the benefit of the 31 million passengers who use Dublin Airport.' Andrew and Raymond Kavanagh pictured with a grain store and dryer at the proposed location of a new flour mill at Ballycarney Two brothers from Enniscorthy, Andrew and Raymond Kavanagh, are working on a plan to develop a state-of-the-art flour mill near the town to the tune of around 25m. The mill, which will be located at Ballycarney, will create around 30 new jobs initially but Andrew said it's possible the plant will expand even further once it's up-and-running. 'We are looking at a 16 month timeframe,' said Mr Kavanagh, with regard to when the plant is likely to open. Very keen to keep things local the brothers plan to initially use at least 25 per cent Irish wheat in their flour grist but Andrew said it's envisaged that amount will increase going forward. 'We would definitely hope to use more Irish wheat,' he said. In addition to being proud of their Wexford origins the two brothers are also acutely aware of the quality of wheat grown locally and throughout the south east. 'If there is wheat to be got in Ireland then the south east is the best place for it,' said Andrew. He also highlighted the amount of bakeries that are located in the south east region with Co Wexford having some of the best known bakeries in the country including the likes of Pat the Baker, Ryan's, Irish Pride, Kelly's and Stafford's. When the mill opens it will mark the first time in around 50 years that a new flour mill will have opened anywhere in the country but Andrew was keen to stress that a lot of work has gone into the plan already. 'We started working on this around three years ago and we went back twice with planning and we got our full planning in August gone,' he said. The mill will use 25 tonnes of wheat per day to produce around 65,000 tonnes of flour per year. However, at present almost all flour used in Ireland is imported and Mr Kavanagh pointed out: 'It might say it's packed in Ireland but it's mostly imported into the country.' 'People don't realise that when they buy flour off the shelf it's possible that it might not be milled in Ireland,' he said. Ennis Martin Architecture helped the brothers get planning for the project and Minister Paul Kehoe also expressed full support for the project. 'It's a great news story for Wexford,' he said. 'It will create jobs locally and I very much support it,' said Minister Kehoe. Meanwhile Mr Kavanagh said there is still uncertainty around Brexit and that a tariff on flour imports will have a major impact here. That's another reason why development of Ireland's first flour mill since the 1970s can only be good news for the local economy. In addition to the 30 full-time jobs it's expected that around 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the plant and it's hoped that many of these will be local people. Lizzy Lyons, owner of Lizzys Little Kitchen, will host a special supper club night in her restaurant to celebrate International Womens Day. Photo by Steve Kelly. With International Women's Day right around the corner, one local business person in the town is taking it upon herself to help mark the occasion by hosting a special supper club night in her restaurant. Lizzy Lyons, the owner of Lizzy's Little Kitchen, will host the supper on the evening of Thursday, March 7, the eve of International Women's Day. International Women's Day is a day which aims to celebrate the profound social, economic, cultural and politicial achievements of women around the world. "For me, International Women's Day is an opportunity to celebrate all that women have achieved," said owner Lizzy Lyons, who was named Local Food Hero at the 2018 Listowel Food Fair. "I'm looking forward to hosting an evening of food and fun, where the focus is on our personal successes and the successes of our friends." Lizzy's reputation has been firmly on an upward trajectory since her business was founded in 2014, having been named as the Best Neighbourhood Restaurant in Munster at the Irish Curry Awards in 2017. Her Ballybunion pop up in 2015 also earned her a place in John & Sally McKennas' "Where to Eat and Stay on the Wild Atlantic Way". The business has since taken up permanent residence in a larger premises in the popular Kerry seaside town. The evening kicks off at 7pm sharp, and guests will receive a free drink on their arrival to the event. There will also be an option of a non-alchoholic beverage available for drivers/non-drinkers. Tickets will cost 25 per person and are available to buy at Lizzy's Little Kitchen, Lower William Street, Listowel; or by contacting Lizzy via the Lizzy's Little Kitchen Facebook page. A Killarney woman has described the two weeks she spent volunteering in Nepal as one of the most "rewarding and important" experiences of her life. Holly de Burgh along with Seamus Coffey and Tadhg Healy from Killarney were joined by Jason Moore and Rory Dalton from West Limerick in early December of last year. Describing her trip, Holly said that they travelled to the city of Biratnagar in the East of Nepal where they worked with a group of people known as the Musahar. The Musahar are one of the most impoverished people in Nepal with many people living "hand to mouth with limited access to medical care, education and employment." Holly and the rest of the group spent time in two villages during their two weeks there; they helped to build secure doors for a number of homes along with benches and tables for the small school that they helped to refurbish there. "We also provided books and stationary for the students in the school and teaching supplies for the volunteer teacher," said Holly. "To see what could be accomplished in such a short space of time was inspiring to me and to be part of the happiness these communities felt was incredible," she continued. Now that they are back in Ireland, Holly said she and the rest of the volunteers are now determined to raise awareness of these people and the problems they are facing. They will be holding a fundraising event in the Curious Cat cafe in Killarney on March 1 at 7pm; here they will be displaying all the photographs taken during the trip which is a great chance for locals to learn more about the cause. Entry will be 10 which will include a complimentary glass of wine along with some food. Contracts have been signed for the construction of 29 new social housing units at a cost of 4.5 million. On Monday Mayor Of Kerry Cllr Norma Foley and Chief Executive of Kerry County Council Moira Murrell signed the contracts for the construction of the housing units in Listowel, Killorglin and Milltown under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Programme. Seven two-bed, two-storey houses are being constructed at Courthouse Lawn, Listowel, by Tralee-based Ned O'Shea and Sons Construction to the value of 1million. In Milltown, a 1.2million contract awarded to locally based firm Evans and Kelliher Construction will see the development of eight new homes at Cuirt Eaglaise. That development comprises of four two-bed and four three-bed units. The design teams for both projects include Kane Williams Architects; Malachy Walsh and Partners Consulting Engineers; and John Kelleher and Associates, Building Services Engineers. Finally, a further 14 homes will be completed by next December at Ardmoneel in Killorglin as part of a 2.3million contract agreed with Parkway Contracts, who are based in Tralee. The design team includes Vincent Fahy Architects; Tobin Consulting Engineers; and Don O'Malley and Partners Building Services Engineers. Mayor Foley welcomed the commencement of construction of these new houses which, she said, will provide modern and comfortable facilities for many individuals and families in Kerry. "It is wonderful to see these developments being advanced under the Rebuilding Ireland programme with the support of Kerry County Council," she said. "I look forward to the completion of these units at the earliest opportunity," Mayor Foley added. Moscovian Victor Bayda has said he aims to give the people of South Kerry's Uibh Rathach Gaeltacht the confidence to use and to speak the Irish language during his time as the region's Oifigeach Pleanala Teanga (Language Planning Officer), a role he started out on last week. The Russian was appointed to the position recently and will oversee the implementation of a seven-year language plan for the region. Through listening to Raidio na Gaeltachta, he became aware that the position had not been filled, and after applying and then getting through the interview process, the role was his. He explained to The Kerryman that he developed a strong interest in languages from a young age; he learned English from his parents before attending school, and he then travelled to the UK in his teens to partake in English-language courses. While taking part in these, he developed an interest in other UK languages, such as Welsh and Scots-Gaelic. This fascination with Celtic languages eventually brought Irish onto his radar. It was while studying Dutch at Moscow State University that Victor learned there were Irish classes available at the university, and this led him down the path on which he made frequent visits to Ireland to further his Irish skills (including to Trinity College and to Gaeltachtai and non-Gaeltachtai around the country); becoming a lecturer on the language at Moscow State University; and completing a PhD on aspects of the Irish and Icelandic languages. In overseeing the plan for Uibh Rathach, he will face considerable challenges. Less than seven per cent of the region's 1,753-person population speaks Irish daily outside the education system, making it one of the weakest Gaeltachtai in the country. He was, however, encouraged by what he saw in the early stages of this new chapter in his life. "I did meet some people here speaking Irish one night, and when I spoke to a few others and explained to them why I'm here, they told me things such as, 'Oh, my Irish is terrible', or that they used to have Irish and it has faded away over the years," he said. "Anyway, I got back talking to some of them later in the night, and a few of them tried to converse with me in Irish - and I found they had more Irish than they initially thought. "The language is within them, but it's hidden, and one of my aims is to bring it out of people, give them confidence to use more Irish, and to help them realise it's something valuable." The Udaras na Gaeltachta-funded plan itself was published in early 2018 having been put together by Comhcoiste Ghaeltacht Uibh Rathaigh, and as part of his early work in the role, Victor will be looking into providing more exposure for the language through education centres such as pre-schools; primary schools; and the secondary school serving the area, Colaiste na Sceilge. Victor - who has some ability in around ten languages, including fluency in Irish, English, Russian, and Dutch - has been appointed for two years and now lives in Ballinskelligs. He has vowed to get to grips with the Kerry dialect - his early learning led to him mastering the Galway dialect - and hopes to see his family move over and immerse themselves in Gaeltacht life. "My wife and my son are in Russia," he explained. "My wife already speaks some Irish - but I'd love to have her over here to pick up some more. "Not to mention, with its hills and its waters, it's one of the most beautiful places you could hope to see." The Minister for Mental Health has refused to rule out a cut in funding for vital refurbishment works at the mental health unit at University Hospital Kerry as a result of cost overruns at the National Children's Hospital. The second phase of works - to refurbish the Acute Mental Health Unit at UHK and provide 15 replacement beds - are due to be completed by the end of March at a cost of approximately 790,000. While these works have been underway for several months and are nearing completion under the Capital Funding section of the HSE's 2019 National Service Plan, an additional 1.1million is earmarked for furthe refurbishment of the unit. Last week, Kerry Fianna Fail TD John Brassil wrote to Junior Minister for Mental Health and Older People Jim Daly seeking an update on the unit. Deputy Brassil also sought clarification on whether promised funding for the UHK unit would be impacted by the review of the Goverment's health spending plans in the wake of the cost overrun debacle at the National Children's Hospital site in Dublin. In his reply, Minister Daly said he was aware of the funding promised for UHK but refused to be drawn on whether it will be affected. "My Department and the Health Service Executive are currently engaged in a process to finalise the HSE Capital Plan for 2019. The HSE Capital Plan will determine the projects that can progress in 2019 and beyond having regard to the total available capital funding and the relevant priority of each project," said Minister Daly. "All Health capital projects, currently at various stages of development, such as the project in Kerry, are included as part of this process. Once the HSE has finalised its Capital Plan for 2019, it will then be submitted to me for consideration," the Minister said. Last August, the Mental Health Commission published a damning report on conditions in one of UHK's mental health wards, which it found to be frequently overcrowded; dilapidated in places; and with areas that posed a safety risk to patients. At a time when many are questioning what the British Government are thinking (with Brexit and everything else that is going on) it is encouraging to see them make the good decision of trialling mindfulness as a subject in 370 schools from now to 2021. The study aims to introduce children to a range of techniques to promote good mental health and give schools clear evidence about what works best for students' mental health and wellbeing in the modern world. It is one of the largest studies of its type in the world. I often think that if there is one piece of advice that I could offer my younger self, it would be to start meditation. It could have saved me a lot of hassle had I learned this simple practice that I could do anywhere at any time to help me focus better, find balance, regulate my emotions and effectively manage stress all in one. It would probably also have saved those around me a lot of stress and trouble too! Mindfulness can be defined as 'paying attention on purpose in the present moment non-judgmentally as if your life depended on it'. We can be mindfully engaged in anything we do. It can involve being present to any aspect of your current experience. A Harvard study has estimated that we are present about 50 percent of the time. The rest of the time we are in the past or in the future or in our heads. Imagine how much more we could all be and do if we could be more present more of the time. For children to learn this powerful skill at a young age in schools, it can help them in a number of key ways; focus better so they can do better at school or in any subject, career or sport they want to pursue, effectively manage stress and relate better with others. Mindfulness is a valuable life skill that can enhance all areas of life. The present moment is always the most powerful place to be. Overthinking of the past and future adds to our stress and is also shown to diminish happiness. As part of the UK study, children will work with experts to learn relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and other practices to "help them regulate their emotions". It would be great to see the Irish Government do something similar. There is both a need and an opportunity at this critical time in our history. A 2017 study by the Royal College of Surgeons, shows that one in three children will have experienced a mental health problem by the time he or she reaches 13 years. A 2018 UCD study found that: One in four students said they feel stressed at the end of the day and find it hard to concentrate and over 50% of students have difficulty concentrating in class or on study because of day-to-day stress. While many schools are doing mindfulness as part of the current wellbeing curriculum, there isn't consistency and it often depends on the enthusiasm and skillset of teachers and priorities of the management. For anything in life to work, it requires consistency and needs to be driven and supported at all levels. Mindfulness practices have been around for 1000s of years in many traditions. While they will not solve all mental health problems, a recent study has shown that it is beneficial for up to 95 percent of people. This is a topic I feel passionately about. If any schools are working on or looking to expand your mindfulness programmes, for either students or teachers, we would love to hear from you. Calodagh McCumiskey designs and delivers bespoke wellbeing at work programmes to grow people and companies. She also offers regular meditation classes, personal development workshops and wellbeing consultations to help people thrive: 053 9140655 | info@spiritualearth.com | www.spiritualearth.com One of the New Ross area's most renowned chefs, Giles La Forge is taking over the running of the four eateries at the Kennedy Boutique Hotel, employing 12 staff. Around twenty of the hotel's staff were told in early February that there were changes being implemented at the hotel on the quay, which meant many had lost their jobs. The former head chef sensed an opportunity and has hired 12 staff, many of whom already worked at the hotel, to run a new French style cafe at the front of the premises, the bar, a pizzeria and steakhouse upstairs and Et Voila restaurant fronting on to the quay upstairs, overlooking the River Barrow. The new look food offering at the 16 bedroom hotel, whose accommodation is being run separately, is opening to the public this Friday. Giles closed Et Voila, a popular French restaurant in Irishtown, in July 2016 and is looking forward to reopening his flagship eatery at what was formerly known as Yanks. He said: 'I am very excited as it is a great challenge and the place looks great and has great potential. We have a good team there. I will re-hire the staff who were there, between ten and 12, and I plan to create a good professional team and to run it as a family business.' Giles is to opening the pizzeria and steakhouse in the William Marshall suite function room three to four nights a week and Et Viola will also to be open on the same nights. The cafe will be open seven days a week and he has recruited the former pastry chef at the Ashdown Park Hotel in Gorey, who hails from Belgium, to create sumptuous desserts and pastries. The emphasis will be on affordable dining and quality produce at all of his eateries and the pub will serve daily specials and have a fixed menu also. 'I want to bring a more professional style to the hotel. We will have more choice and a better range of steaks and stone baked pizzas. Et Voila will be a celebration of French cooking, featuring my specials. We are in New Ross, not Dublin so my prices will reflect that.' The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Wexford rose to 31,155, an increase of 209 Preliminary enrolment numbers in primary and post-primary schools in Wexford show a 0.7 per cent increase between September 2017 and September 2018. Last Thursday the Department of Education published initial results on enrolments by local administrative areas for September 2018 for schools across Ireland. The data provides information on increases and decreases in school enrolments across the country, changes in the numbers attending schools of different ethos, as well as average school sizes. The total number of pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year in both primary and post-primary schools in Wexford rose to 31,155, an increase of 209. Total enrolments in Wexford primary schools rose to 18,517 in September, an increase of 11 pupils. In percentage terms, this is an increase of 0.1 per cent on September 2017, which compares with an increase of 0.8 per cent across the State generally. The figures demonstrate changes in the numbers of children attending schools of different ethos. Enrolments in multi-denominational primary schools in Wexford decreased by 0.5 per cent while in Catholic schools they increased by 0.2 per cent. Total enrolments in Catholic primary schools in Wexford stood at 17,144 in September 2018, representing 92.6 per cent of all pupils, up from 92.5 per cent in 2017. Enrolments in multi-denominational schools stood at 650, accounting for 3.5 per cent of the total. Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 497, representing 2.7 per cent of all pupils. Overall in Wexford more primary schools lost than gained pupils, with 28 schools seeing a decrease of 5 or more pupils, compared with 27 schools that saw an increase of 5 or more. Small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system, with 708 schools having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year. These schools accounted for 22.8 per cent of all schools yet represented just 4.4 per cent of the total enrolments. The report shows that Wexford had a lower proportion of small schools than average, with 13.7 per cent of schools having 60 pupils or fewer and with 2.8 per cent of pupils attending such schools. It also shows that the average primary school size in Wexford is 182 pupils, above the national average of 180 pupils. At post-primary level, 12,638 pupils were enrolled in Wexford schools in September 2018 - an increase of 198 pupils, or 1.6 per cent, on September 2017. Enrolment in multi-denominational post-primary schools increased by 126 pupils, or 2.5 per cent while in Catholic schools enrolments went up by 72 pupils, or 1.0 per cent. Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 7,425 pupils in September 2018, while multi-denominational (including inter-denominational) schools had total enrolments of 5,213 pupils. Overall, more post-primary schools gained than lost pupils, with 15 schools seeing an increase of 5 or more pupils, while 4 schools saw a decrease of 5 or more. The report showed that the average post-primary school size in Wexford is 574, above the national average of 503. The definitive enrolment figures will be published later in the year. A New Ross man who went on to become the 'cornerstone of UCD' through his academic prowess has retired. The late Tom and Kathleen Bolger of Wexford Street, New Ross, would have been very proud to hear the many tributes paid to their son, Thomas, on the occasion of his retirement function in UCD on February 13. His wife, children, grandchildren, brothers and friends were there to join him alongside many students and colleagues from his 47-year association with and career in University College Dublin. Dr Tom did his Leaving Certificate in New Ross CBS in 1972 and in the autumn of that year went to UCD to pursue his undergraduate studies in Science. Having completed his BSc he went on to do his HDip in Education (now known as the Professional Masters of Education) and his PhD. He became a lecturer in the Zoology Department. Tom has worked in UCD ever since - apart from a year spent in the University of Georgia in Athens, USA, on a Fullbright scholarship. In 2003 he earned the distinction of becoming Professor of Zoology and soon after Head of the Zoology Department. In 2005 he became the first Head of the School of Biology and Environmental Science. This school incorporated components of six heretofore academic departments, including Zoology of which Tom was already the Head. Dr Kay Nolan, who gave the keynote address at Dr Tom's function, said: 'It was a reflection of the personal respect that people had for him and his patience and tenacity that he managed to meld a very disparate group of people into an academic group that functioned as a coherent unit. Subsequent changes in the composition of this department have been made all the easier because of the excellent relationships forged during Tom's tenure.' She talked about the various aspects to Tom's work and the pioneering work which he had done in research, teaching and administration. His productivity can been seen in the number of papers he has published and to great acclaim in many different countries, the grant funding he received from organisations such as COFORD, the EPA, The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, SFI and the EU (in fact he's been funded by the EU more or less continuously since 1988), the network of collaborators he's worked with at home and worldwide, the impact he has made on so many college committees and courses, but most importantly on the quality and careers of a multitude of MSc and PhD research students; not to mention the thousands of undergraduate students who have been taught by him. This was evidenced by the large number of past students who came back to their alma mater especially for this event. Adjectives used by some of these students on the night included 'knowledgeable, helpful, approachable, inspirational, enthusiastic, and available'. Many colleagues, both past and present, were also in attendance. These included Professor Jim Curry, who was Tom's mentor for his Phd. The affection in which Tom is held by his UCD colleagues was clear, as is the fact that he also went way beyond the call of duty to help them as well. He was described as 'what everyone should aspire to be as a senior academic', an oracle of wisdom, a person of good humour, grace and empathy. 'The Central Administration of UCD has put great store on Tom's people skills and discretion and in recent years he has been called upon to undertake some very difficult tasks. The feeling among staff is that he's leaving big shoes to fill and hoping perhaps that he's not going to disappear totally!?' The anti-social behaviour of a group of youths in Irishtown can only be addressed by gardai, according to a senior county council housing official. Speaking at the meeting of New Ross Municipal District council Padraig O'Gorman said the local authority is making good progress in tackling anti-social behaviour and is not afraid to evict tenants where necessary. 'We have issued a lot more warnings and have had a couple of evictions. We are awaiting a template form the IT department about how housing liaison officers report anti social behaviour.' He said when the council has evidence of bad behaving tenants, showing them acting clearly in breach of the law, they will act swiftly. 'In Irishtown the people who are causing the anti-social behaviour are not our tenants but are from outside the area. It's a public order matter, a matter for An Garda Siochana.' Cllr Michael Sheehan called for CCTV in Irishtown and was told there are plans to roll out CCTV in a targeted manner in urban areas throughout the county, which are being finalised by the council's Joint Policing Committee. Sixth class pupils and members of Fethard On Sea GPA with their assembled nest boxes Getting back to nature through woodwork and ornithology has seen students of Poulfur NS create numerous nest boxes for local songbirds. Led by William Auld, the project is an initiative of the National Association of Regional Game Councils and Fethard Game Protection Association. 6th class pupils enthusiastically got behind the nature project which promotes caring for songbirds in the wild. William said: 'The whole idea is to give ownership of the nest boxes. We prepare the timbre and they assemble them with all of the members joining in to help them.' William said the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the project and look after the bird boxes. He thanked Walls Sawmills in Ballycullane for providing the timbre which is prepared in Bevel furniture in Saltmills. Naturalist Liam Ryan gave a talk about local wildlife and songbirds and the after care needed for the nest box houses. He relayed to them the importance of erecting the bird house near their home and about having them orientated in a northerly direction between north east and north west so that on hot summer days the box doesn't overheat in direct sunlight and to position them so chicks aren't blinded by the sun, making them more susceptible to being killed by birds of prey. Liam, who is also known for his excellent wildlife and newspaper photographs, encouraged the pupils to feed the birds in winter and spoke of the value of dandelions as a great source of food for them. William said; 'The whole idea is about gaining a deeper appreciation for nature and for what is around is. This is our fifth year doing it with Poulfur NS.' A technology obsessed couple have found their dream job by thinking inside the box and in the process turning thousands of people on to the wonders of computing. Wexford couple Frank and Niamh Turner founded TEKcentral in the Taghmon Action Group centre in 2016 after Frank was made redundant and Niamh decided she needed a change of pace from her hectic Waterford city job. Speaking at their bright, modern offices, which they opened with Frank's redundancy and their savings, Frank said: 'We both come from an electronic and computer engineering background. It took us quite a long time to actually take the plunge to start TEKcentral.' Niamh said: 'I was in Waterford in an electrical manufacturing company, up at 6 a.m. and not home until 7 p.m. No one in the kids' creche knew me. It's difficult for a woman as the guilt would kill you. Frank worked in Hitachi. He was made redundant so he started up his own IT business and did his teaching diploma.' For the parents of four children, making the move into a start-up was a daunting prospect but it was a dream Frank and Niamh have never shied away from, in the process building a successful Wexford company without any supports from the Local Enterprise Office. They had the vision for TEKcentral for many years and with this in mind Frank completed his teachers diploma in ICT in 2011. It wasn't until 2016 that they had that moment of 'jump or get off the pot' so they went for it. Niamh, who is a Bierney from Wexford town, said: 'At the time we had four children ranging between one and 12 so it was a big decision to come out of industry, but looking back we would say if you can do something that you love for yourself it is very rewarding.' The couple teach coding and technology to young people at schools, in libraries and at their TEKcentral hub, which has over a dozen PCs and boxes full of fun tech stuff for children to program everything from race cars to games. 'We cover both software and hardware (and everything in between). I think the driving force behind the positive reaction we get from schools, parents and libraries is the genuine interest we both have in all things technical and electronic and the buzz we get from seeing young people enjoy and discover these things.' Frank and Niamh currently have classes in the Educate Together school in New Ross, and have many classes and programs throughout the year in New Ross Library. They were recently partners with the Wexford County Council for Wexford Science Festival 'WexSci', during Science Week. 'We had a brilliant week meeting schools and groups. For instance we met Ramsgrange Community School in New Ross Library where we programmed Micro:Bits and hacked into a remote control car to rewire the Micro:Bit into it. We also met with Youth New Ross, where we had a great Comic Life session. We were so impressed with these young people's artistic abilities that we said we would have to go back there, so they are going to create their own characters between now and Christmas and we are going to revisit them in the new year to take them through building their own comic book with their own characters.' For the last two years they have run a summer program in all libraries in County Wexford. These have consisted of two four week sessions. 'These sessions are so important as not every young person has access to computers or can attend classes, and because the summer session is a four-week program the young people are getting a really good introduction to computers, coding and technology.' The enterprising couple cater for everybody, young people with all kinds of interests and conditions and professionals who feel somewhat embarrassed by their lack of tech knowledge. Children from Cottage Autism Network started coming to TEKcentral in 2017. One of the children, Gerard Tonge, from Adamstown, really took to the place. His mother Rachell Morris said: 'We had tried absolutely everything for Gerard. The first time here he was like a whirlwind but he settled after a few visits and this is the only place Gerard feels at ease in.' Gerard, a bubbly, bright boy of 11, who has cerebral palsy, Adhd and Autism, was never into coding until he attended a TEKcentral class and now he can't get enough. In the process he has made friends. Rachell said: 'He has never been good with his peers. Niamh and Frank get on so well with children and adults and it makes such a different having a place where your child is made to feel so welcome. As a parent you don't have to worry about them while they are here and he is learning a lot. Frank and Niamh have gone above and beyond to accommodate Ger and all is interests.' While we chatted Gerard was totally absorbed playing a noisy game and loving every minute of it. Niamh said they teach children Python and Scratch coding, adding: 'It's very rewarding for us. We do classes in Wexford town, Enniscorthy, New Ross. We have 28 laptops. We go into primary schools, many of which wouldn't have laptops for every child, especially in country schools.' They run eight week courses in schools all along the east coast, teaching the children tech in fun, interactive ways. 'We go into hardware and software and play games like Simon Says on computers. The children are writing the programs. We teach them how mobile phones work.' They have 130 clients, not including pupils and today Frank and Niamh employ two people. 'We work with children who never see computers and have never used a mouse or keyboard so it's great to get them into it. We also get professionals attending our classes and on a one-to-one basis because they don't know how to use a computer. You are trying to get them to upskill.' Frank and Niamh are constantly updating their technology. Frank says: 'We've a lot of robots, electronic kit. We use the tech and computers to do PC autopsies and we do the evolution. We use Micro:Bits which were used in 6th classes in the UK Every 11-year-old in the UK got one. It would be great if Irish pupils could get them.' The company's unique selling point is that they provide all of the equipment, a selling point which has won over county councils and schools across the east coast. Their classes for children with dyslexia and autism are also proving a hit, with positive word of mouth seeing parents travel from outside the county to bring their children to the Taghmon business. Using a colour scheme individually tailored to each child, Frank and Niamh can offer a specialised service for each child. Their income comes 70 per cent from their classes and 30 per cent from their schools and libraries classes. Frank said: 'We are in Kildare County Council and in Educate Together schools in Arklow, Carlow, Kilkenny in September. We are very invested in the company and have plans to expand into north Wicklow, Waterford and Dublin. There is always an email to answer. Our only problem is keeping all the work in the office.' Niamh said: 'I love it. I especially love working with the Cottage Autism Network groups. You see so many autistic kids who have such potential; it's just a matter of harnessing it. In classrooms you can just see the pupils' confidence growing week after week. Many schools don't have any IT. 'We are filling a gap in the education system. We are also teaching teachers in Enniscorthy Education Centre using Scratch, Python and Micro:Bits. We do debugging programs for teachers too. We have a small IT business as well.' A 78-year-old man on trial for the alleged sexual abuse of a girl when she was aged four to 12 was found dead at his home the night before the third day of his trial was due to begin at Sligo Circuit Court. When the jury of nine men and three women assembled to hear the third day of evidence last Thursday morning at Sligo Courthouse it was informed that the accused man had died. Evidence that the accused man had died was given before the jury by Detective Inspector Ray Mulderrig and Ms Dara Foynes BL (prosecuting) with State Solicitor, Ms Elisa McHugh formally entered a nolle prosequi. Judge Francis Comerford told the jury they no longer had a function in the matter and he thanked them for their service saying cases of this nature were extremely difficult for juries to hear. He discharged the jury and exempted them from service for 15 years. The trial had begun on Tuesday of the 78 year old who had entered not guilty pleas to 12 counts of alleged indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault between July 27th, 1983 and July 26th, 1992, at the womans family home in Sligo. The court heard that the accused had been a family friend of the alleged victim who began her evidence on Tuesday afternoon of last week. The defendant was present for his trial on that day but it went ahead in his absence on Wednesday. Judge Comerford was informed in the absence of the jury that the accused had not turned up on Wednesday and it was later ascertained that he had gone to Sligo University Hospital after suffering a fall at his home the night previous. The Judge directed that nothing be said in front of the jury regarding the accuseds absence and it was expected that he would perhaps turn up at some stage during the day but he didnt. The week previous the accused had also presented at Sligo University Hospital which prevented his trial going ahead at that stage. The trial had been specially fixed to start at the beginning of this three week sitting of the Circuit Court but it was put back to last week when the accused was admitted to hospital. Judge Comerford ordered that he provided with evidence from the hospital of the mans condition and letters were subsequently furnished from a treating doctor. The accused had also been the subject of an earlier pre-trial hearing to ascertain his fitness to stand trial on the charges. The court heard medical evidence from both the prosecution and defence and the Judge ruled that the defendant was fit to stand trial. The alleged victim had given evidence last Tuesday week on the opening day of the trial at which the accused had attended. On the second day of the trial she continued with her evidence, detailing incidents which had allegedly occurred at the family home from the age of four to 12 when the it was alleged the accused, a family friend, would enter the house when her parents would be away at work. She had given evidence in particular about four incidents of abuse which she remembered above all the others and was due to be cross examined on Thursday morning last when the trial was halted after the accused was found dead at his home on Wednesday night. Sligo is delivering on its' growth potential', according to Councillor Martin Baker, Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council. "After many years of planning, it gives me great pleasure to see important schemes finally come to fruition," he said, adding that they would transform Sligo. The Cathaoirleach made the comments as he welcomed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross to the formal 'sod-turning' events for the N4 and Western Distributor Road. The N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin Road Project will provide just under 14km of Dual Carriageway, and 1km of Single Carriageway, linking the existing N4 dual carriageway at Collooney to the Curlews By-Pass, just south of Castlebaldwin village. The 150m scheme was included in the Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Capital Plan 2016-2021, as a key priority. The Western Distributor Road, which got underway recently, will facilitate the development by IDA Ireland of a new Business Park at Oakfield which will serve Sligo and the North-West Region. The 18.5m road will provide a direct high quality link from this proposed IDA Business Park to the N4 dual carriageway. It will also provide a new high quality access road from the N4 to the existing IDA Business Park at Finisklin. Minister Ross was also given a briefing on the Eastern Garavogue Bridge project, which will facilitate improved movement around Sligo and open up land for development to the east. Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes credited the Council for its vision of Sligo's future and paid special tribute to the staff for their professionalism, persistence and determination in driving forward ambitious and transformative projects that will underpin the future development of Sligo. "Sligo is on the cusp of a new era of growth," he said, adding that "the infrastructural developments added to the recent job announcements bode well not only for the future prospects of the region, but for Sligo as the capital of the region." He also pointed to a unity of purpose among the agencies in Sligo. "Sligo County Council, along with the IDA, IT Sligo, Enterprise Ireland and Failte Ireland, is taking a leadership role as Sligo asserts itself as the capital and economic driver of the northwest. But recent announcements and uplift in the local economy are not due to one agency alone, they come from a genuine engagement between statutory agencies, business sector and local communities in the interest of Sligo. Because of that collaboration, 2019 will witness the gradual unveiling of a new, vibrant Sligo, where many long-awaited tourism and infrastructure projects will come to fruition," said Mr Hayes. Anthem truly feels like a game that was conceived in a boardroom. The old "by gamers, for gamers" chestnut is nowhere to be found here, as Anthem bears all the hallmarks of being seen as a cash cow first, and a game after. Before delving further into why Anthem just doesn't hit the mark in a variety of aspects, something needs to be said on the issue of EA and Bioware. For a studio that produced some of the greatest games of our generation such as the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age and Knights of the Old Republic, it just seems such a shame that an outfit of such obvious regard has been so utterly gutted and spoiled by EA's involvement. The things that Bioware should be at least good at, such as worldbuilding and lore, are completely absent in Anthem. Upon their introduction, many of Anthem's characters are initially quite charismatic and inviting, but it doesn't take long before they are ruined by Hollywood blockbuster-esque overacting and one-note performances. Anthem's gameplay - or, more specifically, gunplay - is actually quite solid for the most part. The javelin suits are easy to fly and the gunplay is snappy and vicious enough to warrant praise, but the whole ordeal crumbles when you are exposed to Anthem's world and progression systems. Credit must go to the developers in that they somehow managed to create a world that is simultaneously as dull and uninteresting as it is lush and beautiful. The sprawling sci-fi expanse of Bastion never truly invites you to explore it's vast landscape as the only real incentive to do so is by completing hair-pullingly tedious quests doled out to you by the residents of Fort Tarsis - the jarringly dead walled city that serves as your character's main hub. For a game so reliant on its roots in the looter-shooter genre, the actual loot in Anthem is certainly nothing to write home about. The distinct lack of Javelin suits present in the Day 1 release will surely leave a bad taste in the mouth of many who have eagerly awaited the long-anticipated release of this game. Another disappointing note is the lack of variety in weapon designs, with many - if not most - being simple reskins and recolours in lieu of novel meshes. Anthem is an unmitigated disappointment, particularly due to the amount of fanfare generated in the years leading to its release. Sure, Bioware and EA are scrambling to right their wrongs with talks of "90 day roadmaps" and the like, but one can't help but feel that the damage is already done. Where is the heart of County Wicklow? Could it be in Glendalough, Saint Kevin's haven of pilgrimage and contemplation? Could it be the Gaelic grounds in Aughrim, perennial focus of sporting hope and expectation? Could it be Lugnaquilla, the highest point in Leinster and an unmissably massive brooding presence? Or just maybe the heart of Wicklow is a little room off the Boghall Road in Bray, where so many treasures associated with the county are stored. Held here on tap is an unrivalled stock of Wicklow books and booklets, Wicklow reports, Wicklow journals. Of course, the case may be made for nominating The Meeting of the Waters as the spiritual centre, a place renowned for its beauty and celebrated in song. Or how about the sturdy magnificence of Russborough House? Or the Dwyer McAllister cottage in the hills above Baltinglass, a less substantial building than Russborough, but one which reeks of Ireland's defiant pride? Anyone researching somewhere to represent the heart of County Wicklow will surely find themselves in this little room in Bray, for it is here that much of the relevant raw material is stored. Yet the public library beside the Boghall Road is low profile to the point of near anonymity. Expect to see no signs pointing to this worthy facility, a neatly painted low-rise structure surrounded by unlovely palisade fencing. In this district of large housing estates and busy business parks, the best landmark for the library is probably the community centre next door. At least the Ballywaltrim Community Centre proclaims its name in large letters up over the door, unlike its shy neighbour. The community centre provides parking for the ever so discreet library a few metres away. The staff in this cheerful and brightly lit space are at modest pains to point out that this is not the main public library in Bray. Their colleagues in Eglinton Road run a more substantial and important operation, in the middle of town, with longer opening hours and the luxury of extra space upstairs. This plays down the fact that Ballywaltrim libary, beside the Boghall Road on the southern outskirts of Bray, has custody of the priceless Wicklow treasure trove. They don't boast much about the riches which await behind a blue door leading off the main reading room. They don't advertise the existence of this store of all things Wicklow with neon lights. Nevertheless, they are perfectly happy to admit the general public - all you have to do is ask. In a world gone mad online, here is a place where researchers and readers must show up in person rather than log in over the internet. Most of the stuff behind the blue door is presented on paper. The room carries the retro scent of books and ink and dust. Some of the material takes the form of photocopied reports while some comes immaculately printed and bound. Most striking is the variety of ages represented on the shelves, with plenty of Victorian vintage volumes clad in leather filed in amongst glossy modern tomes. This is the destination for anyone wishing to immerse in Wicklow writers, Wicklow history, Wicklow facts and Wicklow fiction.Your reporter was drawn immediately to some of the older stuff. First stop was a book with the alluring title 'Stories of Wicklow', written by George Francis Armstrong MA, DLit and published in London by Longmans in 1886. Could this be some long lost bestseller, compiled by an author with such an impressive string of letters after his name? No! The contents turn out to be written in poems, epics on a scale not much to modern taste, full of classical allusions of no significance to those who cannot tell their Aristotle from their elbows. He wrote of the Eumolpidai, for instance, as though fully expecting that readers would catch the reference. A quick scout on Wikipedia reveals that the Eumolpidai were a 'family of priests at Eleusis who maintained the Eleusinian Mysteries', leaving ordinary duffers none the wiser. Granted, there is an occasional gem of a phrase glinting among the endless couplets, as when he describes The Scalp as 'the stern granite gate of Wicklow'. It seems that though Armstrong spent some time as an undergraduate at Trinity College, his mind was more at home in Ancient Greece than Glenmalure. Yet he was not alone in that at the time and his other works garnered glowing reviews from publications on both sides of the Atlantic. If a glimpse through Armstrong was a disappointment, then another Trinity man has more substance. Thomas Moore (1779-1849) - described as 'Poet, Patriot and Byron's Friend' - has a small section of the library all to himself. Dublin born, of Kerry stock, his Wicklow credentials are slim but for one glorious piece of work. He spent much more of his time swanning around the drawing rooms of London than he did paddling in the Avoca river. Yet as the man who immortalised the Meeting of the Waters in his 'Irish Melodies', he spawned a veritable industry. His books consistently outsold famed poet William Wordsworth by a factor of three or more during his lifetime. A man of diminutive stature, he must have been the Terry Wogan of his day, though more of a rebel than Sir Terence. Moore's diaries were published posthumously in 1860 by Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts. A copy of this hefty work is held in Ballywaltrim though there is no mention of Wicklow in the index. The 'Melodies' are referred to just a couple of times, with nothing at all specifically about 'The Meeting of the Waters' amidst all the name dropping. First he writes of proof reading the collection of twelve lyrics. Then he celebrates later on that it has been translated into Russian - twice. Moore, in short, was only fleetingly involved in the county which helped to make his name as a poet and songsmith. But there is plenty of material here in the room behind the blue door which wallows in the nitty-gritty, books galore on topics such as Arklow shipping or mountain hikes or the bloody trauma of 1798. Ruan O'Donnell's definitive 'The Rebellion in Wicklow 1798', released to mark the bicentenary in 1998, provides chapter and verse on the Battle of Newtownmountkennedy. He relates how the town had strategic importance as it had a stock of Government munitions, making it attractive to the thousand or so rebels who came calling on May 30 of the fateful year. The fighting made a hero of Thomas McDonagh from Ballydonagh and other books make the case for others whom the authors feel should be famous. For instance, in his history of Hollywood, Brendan Corrigan makes clear his view that Sir Geoffrey de Marisco should be more widely known than he is. De Marisco took Hollywood over in the late 12th century and progressed from his base in west Wicklow to become Viceroy of Ireland, no less. Not far away from Corrigan's magnum opus is book called 'The Stories of Bray' which was published in Hodges Figgis in 1913. It was written by George Digby Scott, the local Church of Ireland rector, who had things to say about the origin of the name of his native town, which morphed through various forms - Bri, Bree, Bre and so on. On the other side of the hills, WA Maguire wrote about 'The Downshire Estate in Ireland', brought to the attention of the reading public in 1972 by Clarendon Press. The contents underline the sheer vastness of the estates run by titled landholders, who have an uncanny resemblance to latter-day Russian oligarchs. The Downshire holding of the Hill family ran to 120,000 acres. Though most of it was in a great swathe of territory between Belfast and Newry, they took control of 5,000 acres in and around Blessington in 1785 and also owned Edendarry in Offaly. Amazing. Among the most interesting books held in the library is the series 'Memorials of the Dead' assembled by the late Brian J Cantwell, whose family have strong Bray associations. He used to spend he weekends scouring the cemeteries of Wicklow, Wexford and Dublin, recording and indexing the inscriptions on the gravestones. These books are a model of organisation and perseverance, as the one on North West Wicklow illustrates. Cantwell logged the trades and a profession of the deceased, finding doctors, clerics, embroiders, hoteliers, quarrymen and pawnbrokers along the way. The most unusual calling, however, was that of brothers John (aged 28) and Michael Meagan (aged 30), who lie interred in Glendalough. Their lives came to an all too abrupt end in the year 1765, when they were unceremoniouosly hanged as (have you guessed?) highwaymen. The patronage of a new school planned for Newtownmountkennedy/Kilcoole has been awarded to Educate Together. It was announced in April of last year that four new primary and secondary schools were to be built in Co Wicklow. The first of these - an eight-classroom primary school in Newtown/Kilcoole and a Wicklow town secondary school catering to 600 students - are earmarked to open this year, while an eight-classroom primary school for Woodbrook/Shanganagh in Bray and a secondary school for Kilcoole/Greystones are to open by 2021. An online selection process allowing parents to indicate their preferred patron for the Newtown/Kilcoole primary school closed on January 14 and the data from that was used to decide the patronage, which was awarded to Educate Together last week. Anne Gregory was one those behind Educate Together's campaign to secure patronage of the primary school. Speaking on Friday following the announcement, Ms Gregory said: 'I have really enjoyed working on the campaign and it gave me great pleasure to meet so many dedicated people that were part of the team. I look forward to the imminent announcement of the location to be announced.' Niall Wall, Regional Development Officer at Educate Together, said that the new Newtown school with be the fifth Educate Together National School in Wicklow and will add to the stock of equality-based school places for families in the county. The school will enrol Junior Infants starting in 2019 this year, while enrolment for subsequent years will be taken in the year prior to the child starting school. Principal recruitment will begin immediately. The location for the school has not yet been announced as the Department of Education and Skills is currently sourcing accommodation for the school. This is a second success for Educate Together, which was also announced as the patron of the new Wicklow town secondary school back in November. Educate Together also plans to apply for the patronage of the two other schools announced by the Minister of Education last April. Health Minister Simon Harris welcomed news that a patron has been selected for Newtown/Kilcoole's new school. 'This has not been a simple process, we identified a need for additional school places in the area a number of years ago but it took a lot to get the Department of Education to re-examine their population projections.' 'I want to congratulate everyone involved in the campaign. I look forward to working with the school as it develops. The Department are currently in the process of selecting a site and I will keep the community updated when I receive confirmation,' said Minister Harris. In addition to the Newtown/Kilcoole patronage, Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh last week announced the patronage of eleven new schools to be established in 2019. These primary schools will be established in interim accommodation initially, until permanent accommodation solutions are put in place as part of the Department's build programme. Eighty-eight new homes have been announced for Rathnew, with 67 more social houses being built in the village this summer. Wicklow TD Minister Simon Harris announced yesterday (Tuesday) that 88 new homes will be provided for social housing in the Rathnew area through a government scheme. Mr Harris confirmed that there will be 88 new social housing homes in a development of 144 units (houses/apartments) at Hazelbrook Rise, Rathnew. The Department of Housing and Local Government offers financial support to approved housing bodies in the form of a long-term loan under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) to assist with the financing of the construction or acquisition of units which will be provided for social housing use. This loan facility can support up to 30 per cent of the eligible capital cost of the project, where the units will be provided under long-term lease arrangements (and funded by the SHCEP) to local authorities for social housing use. Making the announcement, Minister Simon Harris said: 'I am really pleased to confirm that 88 new social housing homes will be delivered in Rathnew through the CALF scheme - a Rebuilding Ireland measure established to assist approved housing bodies in purchasing houses to be leased for social housing. These 88 houses will be part of a 144-unit development. Fifteen of the 88 new social housing homes will be delivered through the Part V planning requirements - a measure in place to ensure housing developments have a healthy balance of housing.' He said this is one of a number of projects currently being undertaken by Wicklow County Council and its partners in the approved housing body sector through the Government's Rebuilding Ireland plan. 'We know there is serious pressure on our local housing stock in Co Wicklow so it is really important that new housing is coming on stream for both private and social housing. I will continue to work with my cabinet colleagues and Wicklow County Council to ensure we sustainably develop our Wicklow housing stock.' Meanwhile, construction on the first phase of a 67-house scheme on land along Hawkstown relief road will begin this summer. The Administrative Officer in the Housing Section of Wicklow County Council, David Porter confirmed to this newspaper that the scheme has gone through Part VIII planning, with tenders due in next week. Mr Porter said: 'We would expect works to begin in the summer on the initial portion of these affordable houses.' Wicklow County Council is building the social houses in Rathnew to address the growing waiting list for local authority housing. The planned estate will consist of 46 two-bed houses and 21 three-bed houses, all of which will be two-storey. Christine Flood from Wicklow County Council (WCC); Minister Damien English; Frank Curran, Chief Executive of WCC; Minister Heather Humphreys; Cllr Pat Vance, cathaoirleach of WCC; Minister Michael Creed; Programme Manager, Conor Sweeney; Minister Michael Ring; and Vibeke Delahunt, Head of Enterprise at WCC at the launch of the Mid-East Regional Development Pla Screen content and the movie sector will form a key basis of Co Wicklow's role in a new Regional Enterprise Plan aimed at driving growth across the Mid-East region. The mid-east plan is one of nine regional plans launched recently by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys. Its development was overseen by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, working with stakeholders from the Mid-East region (Counties Wicklow, Meath and Kildare) through a committee chaired by Eamonn Sinnott, Vice President and General Manager of Intel Ireland. The mid-east Plan identifies four strategic objectives: To develop the region as a hub for the screen content creation sector; To create a network of innovative co-working spaces; To build an ecosystem framework to support the agri-food sector; and to ensure the availability of skills and talent to realise the mid-east's future economic potential and address upskilling requirements. Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, said that the Content Creation Enterprise Hub will feed into a number of the plan's objectives. 'The development of the Content Creation Enterprise Hub at Wicklow County Campus will result in the provision of specialised and customised sector-specific business supports for start-ups and established businesses in the content creation/film sector,' said Mr Curran. 'This initiative will promote growth, job creation and internationalisation and also position Ireland as a global leader in content creation, leading to a strong regional screen enterprise ecosystem.' Launching the plan, Minister Humphreys said that it set out key strategic areas where, by working together, regional stakeholders can provide 'a basis for future enterprise development and job creation that is sustainable in the longer term'. She added that, since the first regional jobs plan was launched in early 2015, there are 32,200 more people at work in the mid-east and the unemployment rate has dropped from 9.6 percent to 5.8 per cent. Regional Enterprise Plans are two-year focused plans to end in 2020 and they are also 'live' documents, with the expectation that new initiatives can be taken on during their operation by the regional stakeholders working together. Wicklow hill sheep farmers found a kindred spirit as they attended Teagasc's National Hill Sheep Conference in the Glendalough Hotel last week. Bobby Lennox from Alexandria in Scotland was one of a number of speakers and described his life as a hill farmer on the west side of Loch Lomond. Many of those present could relate to Mr Lennox's experiences as he described the challenges of farming land that rose to 2275ft and receives an average rainfall of 100 inches. Besides outlining how he has tried to improve his flock, Mr Lennox explained that he was investigating alternative, non-farming enterprises to improve the viability of the farm for the next generation. The conference also heard from Dr Peter Bates, who made a presentation on the control of sheep scab and other external parasites. Other speakers at the conference included Dan McCarthy, manager of Kenmare Mart in Co Kerry, who said that store lamb producers will need higher prices and supports if they are to continue to farm hills and mountains; Brendan Joyce from Connemara, who argued for an alignment of policy between what the NPWS sees as good environmental practive under the Birds and Habitats Directive and what the Department of Agriculture sees as good agricultural practice; and James Smyth, the general manager of Irish Country Meats in Navan, who believes that Easter and Ramadan will have a significant influence on the supply of lamb to the market from 2019 to 2022. Michael Nicholson from Wicklow County Council, Brian Dunne from the Wicklow Uplands Council, Bryan Fennell from Wicklow County Partnership and Fred Verdier from Wicklow Tourism launching the two new tourist and heritage brochures An extensive walking trails brochure and a number of heritage trail brochures created to complement sections of the Wicklow Heritage Trails, were officially unveiled on Monday. The brochures were created as part of a joint initiative between Wicklow Uplands Council, County Wicklow Partnership, Wicklow County Council and Wicklow Tourism. The Walking Trails booklet unfolds to reveal a countywide map highlighting each of the 38 way marked trails found throughout County Wicklow. It will be distributed to public access points throughout the county in the coming weeks. The free publication is designed to inform local communities eager to explore their surroundings and for visitors keen to experience some of the trails the area is increasingly becoming known for. The location and length of each walk, its difficulty grade and expected duration, all feature to ensure that the information appeals to all types of walkers. Taking in Wicklow's beautiful setting, the collection of trails range from coastal to mountainous and take in woodlands, reservoirs, towns and a host of other highlights. The variety of walks that are open to everyone, range from smooth, flat trails suitable for all including users with reduced mobility and wheelchair users through to strenuous and difficult trails suitable for more competent and fit mountain walkers. According to Brian Dunne, coordinator of Wicklow Uplands Council, 'County Wicklow offers a huge choice of walks for its residents and visitors, whether it's in the uplands, along the varied coastline or is based around a heritage site, we are lucky to have them all available at our doorstep. The reputation that Wicklow enjoys as a centre of recreational activity, is greatly enhanced with their production and will assist in attracting visitors seeking the unique experiences Wicklow can offer'. Bryan Fennell, Rural Recreation Officer for County Wicklow Partnership said that it is expected that there will be great interest across the county in the new brochures. 'As walking is the most popular recreational activity in Ireland across all ages, these brochures will be of great interest across Wicklow's communities and for the visitors who come to enjoy its trails. Trail development is a key focus in Wicklow and the number of marked routes will continue to grow and as awareness increases, we expect their usage to be grow to,' he said. Following the completion of the Wicklow Trails Heritage Recording Project, two heritage trail brochures have been produced for the Avonmore Way and the Vartry Reservoir Trails Produced by Abarta Heritage, the colourful brochures are designed to highlight heritage found on or close to these walking trails and are full of interesting facts, photographs and a simple map. Completed in 2018, the Wicklow Trails Heritage Recording Project, which was co-ordinated jointly by the Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council and Wicklow Uplands Council, discovered and recorded much of the cultural history found along a 60km walking route in development, from Bray to the village of Woodenbridge. A third brochure for the soon to be opened Bray Head Trail, which encompasses a trail through Belmont and the Sugar Loaf Way, will also be released this year. Funding for the production of the maps was secured through County Wicklow Partnership under Measure 1 of the Department of Rural and Community Development's Outdoor Recreational Infrastructure Scheme 2018. Residents on the Indian side of the border celebrate before the arrival of an Indian Air Force pilot who was captured by Pakistan. Pakistani officials brought a captured Indian pilot to a border crossing with India for handover yesterday, a "gesture of peace" promised by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan amid a dramatic escalation over the disputed region of Kashmir. The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was taken in a convoy that set out from the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore to the border crossing at Wagah, escorted by military vehicles with soldiers, their weapons drawn. The Pakistani military has said his plane was downed on the Pakistani-held side of Kashmir on Wednesday. On the Indian side of the border, turbaned Indian policemen were lined up along the road as a group of cheering residents from the area waved India's national flag and held up a huge garland of flowers to welcome the pilot back. Expand Close Imran Khan: Pakistans prime minister has appealed for calm / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Imran Khan: Pakistans prime minister has appealed for calm The expected handover comes against the backdrop of blistering cross-border attacks across the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that continued for a fourth straight day, even as the two nuclear-armed neighbours sought to defuse their most serious confrontation in two decades. Tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers faced off along the Kashmir boundary known as the Line of Control, in one of the world's most volatile regions. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down two Indian aircraft on Wednesday and capturing the pilot. Since the escalation, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war on the Asian subcontinent. Mr Khan, the Pakistani premier, told politicians: "We are releasing the Indian pilot as a goodwill gesture tomorrow." But India made it clear that the latest escalation had changed its strategy and that going forward, it would strike, including inside Pakistan, if it received information of an attack in the planning. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned: "India's enemies are conspiring to create instability in the country through terror attacks." Yesterday, Pakistan's civil aviation authority partially re-opened the country's airspace, allowing travel to four major cities, another sign tensions with India were de-escalating. The agency issued a statement saying all domestic and international flights would be allowed to and from the cities of Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta. It said other airports, including the one located in the eastern city of Lahore that borders India, would remain closed until Monday. Islamabad closed its air space on Wednesday after saying that Pakistan's military had shot down the two Indian military planes and captured the Indian pilot. Residents of the Pakistani border town of Chikhoti reported heavy shelling on Thursday night and Friday morning. More than 200 people had fled to a military organised camp about 20km away from the border. Police in the Indian-controlled Kashmir said one man was wounded and at least two civilian homes were damaged in the cross-border shelling. Kashmir has been divided but claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after the two countries' creation in 1947. They have fought three wars, two directly over the disputed region. There is speculation George Pell will win his appeal against his conviction for the sexual abuse of two 13-year-old boys When Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell was jailed in Australia on Wednesday for sexually molesting two 13-year-old boys in 1996, the shockwaves were felt globally. Pell, third from the top in Rome, is the most senior Catholic cleric ever to be found guilty of such offences. All his clerical life he has been a juggernaut for his Church - to some the protector of traditional values, to others the embodiment of the post-Vatican II conservative backlash. In Australia, his ideology was expressed by loud public disapproval on almost every progressive issue: climate change, same-sex marriage, abortion. In Rome, even though noises from Pope Francis raise hopes for change, Pell's brand of Catholicism still holds sway. It certainly got 'Big George' (as he is known to his mates) to the dizzy heights of Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. And why not? The cardinal was a company man who'd protect his beloved institution's reputation and vast financial and property assets at any cost. Much of the recent controversy surrounding Pell in Australia has been about his inaction over offending priests and his legalistic approach to abuse survivors. He was a headline witness several times at the Australian Royal Commission inquiry into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. In 2016 the commission travelled to Rome to find out what he did and did not know about paedophile priests and brothers, during his time as a priest in the Ballarat region of Victoria and then as an auxiliary bishop. Pell said no one ever told him what was going on and shocked the world by saying "it wasn't of interest to me". Stories of broken lives, suicides, anguish at the failure to act on the horrors in that diocese seemed to leave Pell unmoved. Oddly enough, Ballarat was where Pell was born and raised and where his mother Margaret 'Lil' Burke instilled a faith her son described as "very Irish ... and probably in particular a faith typical of the west of Ireland in its certainties and in its impatience with theological subtleties". There was nothing subtle about the Melbourne Response - a Church scheme Pell put in place in 1996 to handle child sex abuse complainants. It was legalistic and focused on keeping compensation pay-outs low. People found the process traumatising. Pell touted his scheme in Rome where he was hailed as the first in the hierarchy to take action amidst the rising tsunami of complaints. Is it any wonder that although abuse survivors are generally joyous that the single most obstinate institutional force against fairness is now out of the way, they are outraged by the hypocrisy? The impact on the Australian Catholic Church is not immediately obvious. In Australia this Church never reigned supreme - although Pell, and historically other prominent Irish Catholic hierarchy, worked hard to replicate the influence the institution had in the homeland. Australia isn't the most Catholic, or even religious, of countries. The tendency there is to low-key your beliefs. However Pell's unshakeable moral certainty, an Ian Paisley-like charisma and defence of the old ways won him admirers in politics and the media. To the Australian right, George Pell is a culture warrior and they are now waging a fierce war in his defence. Right-wing columnists are baying about a miscarriage of justice while Pell's legal team hunker down for an appeal. (There is strong speculation an appeal might succeed - the burden of proof in historical child sex abuse cases is a minefield.) Former prime minister John Howard has written a pre-sentencing character reference for Pell. This sent social media into overdrive. One journalist tweeted that Howard's reference was as if he was saying: "Yeah alright George molested kids but what a conversationalist hey. had some bloody chinwags with old George in my day. lights up the room with the f***in' bon mots he does." That's Australia for you. The global impact of George Pell's fall from such a great height is something else. The following story is true but you can read it as an allegory for today's Church. Ted Kennedy was a parish priest providing pastoral care in Redfern when his dying light came up against Pell's rising star. Redfern, a Sydney inner-city suburb, is home to Aboriginal people from across Australia whose lives are entwined in poverty, prejudice, police harassment and alienation. Kennedy, another priest with a strong Irish Catholic pedigree, opted for the poor. His small church and his home were refuges for the marginalised and oppressed. Progressive Catholics from across Australia came to Kennedy's services. In 2000, his book 'Who is Worthy? The Role of Conscience in Restoring Hope to the Church' directly challenged Church conservatism epitomised by the then Archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell. The archbishop had refused communion to people wearing the rainbow sash. Church doctrine was not a smorgasbord, said Pell. These people were wrong to think they had a right to homosexual activity. In his book, Kennedy argued primacy of conscience over established doctrine. Within a year Pell was to become Archbishop of Sydney - the most powerful seat in Australian Catholicism - and by 2003 he was a cardinal. When Kennedy became ill and died, Pell systematically wiped out his 30-year ministry in Redfern. In the small church the Stations of the Cross went back up and pictures of Aborigine elders came down. A soup kitchen closed and people were refused holy communion unless they could prove baptism. The sermons by the priests Pell installed were about sinfulness and damnation, not about open hearts and compassion. Pope Francis preaches open hearts and compassion but he appointed Pell to be his bean counter, which opens questions about the Pope's priorities and if he really has the will to do more than talk about the biggest problem his Church faces. Annette Blackwell, Irish journalist and university lecturer, has written widely on institutional responses to child sexual abuse in Australia. Jodie Chesney has been described as 'the nicest girl possible' A 17-year-old girl has become the latest murder victim in London after she was stabbed near a childrens playground in a park in an apparent random attack. The student, named locally as Jodie Chesney, was said to have been just sitting with friends in the park in Harold Hill, Romford, on Friday when she was approached by two men. It is understood one of the men was seen to stab her in the back before the pair fled. Neighbours and parents of those she was with rushed to her aid. Teresa Farenden, a 49-year-old mother of three whose home backs onto Harold Wood where the girl was attacked, went to help the teenager after hearing screaming coming from the park shortly after 9pm. Explaining how she had heard voices yelling for help, she said: I never thought in a million years that I would be walking out to a young lady who had been stabbed. Then a boy said, I need help, my girlfriend has been stabbed and I just flew over there. People are scared to help, but all I was thinking with my mothers instinct was, 'I need to help'. Her boyfriend did everything he could. She placed the girl in the recovery position and administered chest compression in the hope of reviving her. The knifes blade was still in her, but I didnt see it because it was dark, she continued. I didnt realise at the time, but then all I kept thinking, once the police told me, was, 'Have I put the knife in further by giving her compressions?' It was horrific, it was just the blood. There was so much of it. The girl was moaning, but she was mostly silent. We checked her pulse and we could hear her breathing. An ambulance crew arrived, but Ms Farenden believed the girl was already dead by then. The girl is the 18th person to be murdered in London this year, five of whom have been teenagers. She was also the fifth person to be fatally stabbed in the capital in just eight days. Her family said they were too distressed to speak. Friends who congregated at the scene tearfully told how the girl was studying psychology and sociology for her A-Levels. She apparently attended Havering Sixth Form College. The students, who lay flowers near the site where she was attacked, said she was not the type of girl to get into any trouble and was the nicest girl possible. A mother who had accompanied her son - a friend of the girls - to the scene, said Jodie was with three friends in the park when the attackers struck. Two of them chased the scumbags and two of them were trying to get help," the woman, who did not want to be named, said. I believe it was a random attack. They were just sitting there, they were having a Friday night giggle, as we have all done. What do you do at 17? You just want to go out and be with your mates and not have your mum tell you to stop making so much noise. It is an inner city crime that is moving to outer London areas; it was never like this before. Forensic officers conducted a fingertip search of the area, just yards from a childrens playground. A Scotland Yard spokesman said a murder investigation had been launched and the victims next of kin had been informed. No one has been arrested. Acting Detective Chief Superintendent John Ross of the Metropolitan Polices East Area Command Unit described the girls death as a tragedy. He issued an appeal for witnesses to the attack or anything suspicious in the area on Friday night. The officer added that additional patrols would be put in place in the Harold Hill area. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] The memorial stone marking the site of Strasbourg's Old Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, is pictured after it was vandalised (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images A memorial stone marking the site of a former synagogue destroyed by the Nazis has been vandalised in Strasbourg. Officials said the heavy memorial stone was discovered moved from its base on Saturday morning. Strasbourg mayor Roland Ries denounced the incident as "a new anti-Semitic act". French officials in the region added that anti-Semitism "undermines the values of the Republic". The monument commemorates a synagogue built in 1898 that was set on fire and razed to the ground by the Nazis in 1940. The incident comes amid an uptick in anti-Semitic acts in France in recent months. Last month, about 80 gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas in a Jewish cemetery close to Strasbourg. An image acquired by Nasas InSight Mars lander (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP) Nasas newest Mars lander has started digging into the red planet, but hit a few snags, scientists said. The German drilling instrument on the InSight lander struck what appeared to be a couple of stones. It only managed to burrow between half a foot (18cm) and about 1.5ft (50cm), far short of the first digs goal, said the German Aerospace Centre. The hammering device in the mole was developed by the Astronika engineering company in Poland. How do you get to know someone deep down? Sometimes you have to dig a little bit or in my case, burrow. Soon my robotic mole will start hammering itself into the ground, to help take the temperature of #Mars. Heres a look at how it works: pic.twitter.com/n6Qd6BxUiI NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) February 28, 2019 This is not very good news for me because although the hammer is proving itself the Mars environment is not very favourable to us, said the companys chief engineer, Jerzy Grygorczuk. Over time, the team is shooting for a depth of up to 16ft (five metres), which would set an otherworldly record. The lander is digging deep to measure the planets internal temperature. InSight landed on Mars last November. Expand Close An image acquired by Nasas InSight Mars lander using its robotic, arm-mounted Instrument Deployment Camera (Nasa/JPL-Caltech via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An image acquired by Nasas InSight Mars lander using its robotic, arm-mounted Instrument Deployment Camera (Nasa/JPL-Caltech via AP) Flight controllers at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California sent commands to the lander on Thursday to begin digging. It will rest for a bit before burrowing again. The spacecraft already has a seismometer on the surface, listening for potential quakes. The lander is stationary, but has a robot arm to manoeuvre these two main experiments. After three days of grilling Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Democrats are quickly using his words as a roadmap to open new lines of investigation into the president's ties to Russia and summon additional witnesses. Mr Cohen completed a third day of testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday, one day after publicly branding his former boss a racist and a conman who lied about business dealings in Russia and directed him to conceal extramarital relationships. He was interviewed behind closed doors by the House Intelligence Committee for more than eight hours. As he left the House Intelligence interview, Mr Cohen said he would be returning to Capitol Hill on March 6 for another round of questioning. The gauntlet of interviews with Mr Cohen launched what is expected to be months of investigations into Mr Trump and those connected to him. Multiple Democrat-led House committees are pledging to investigate not only Mr Trump's campaign's ties to Russia, which are also the subject of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, but presidential conflicts of interest, possible money laundering and other oversight matters that Democrats said were ignored under GOP control. House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff called the closed-door session with Mr Cohen productive and said politicians were able to "drill down in great detail" on issues they were investigating. Another Democratic committee member, Eric Swalwell, said Mr Cohen "has been asked, based on a lot of new evidence we learned today, to bring corroborating materials that he believes he has". Mr Schiff said the committee would hear from Felix Sater, a Russia-born executive who worked with Mr Cohen on an ultimately unsuccessful deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, in an open hearing on March 14. In addition, a committee aide said the panel also anticipated inviting Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to testify. Mr Cohen mentioned him in his public House Oversight testimony, linking him to hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had an affair with Mr Trump. The president denies the affair. The Oversight Committee is also planning on calling additional witnesses after Mr Cohen's testimony. The committee's chairman Elijah Cummings indicated the panel could bring in a broad swathe of people that Mr Cohen mentioned. He told reporters that his panel was poring over the transcript and anyone mentioned multiple times had a chance of hearing from them. Based on who was mentioned in the hearing, possible witnesses could include Mr Weisselberg and two of the president's children, Donald Jr and Ivanka. Ms Daniels was also mentioned frequently. Mr Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress about the Moscow real estate project and reports to prison in May for a three-year sentence, gave harsh testimony about Mr Trump on Wednesday. He said Mr Trump knew in advance that damaging emails about Democrat Hillary Clinton would be released during the 2016 campaign - a claim the president has denied - and accused Mr Trump of lying during the campaign about the Moscow deal. Mr Cohen also said Mr Trump directed him to arrange the hush money payment to Ms Daniels. He said the president arranged to reimburse Mr Cohen, and Mr Cohen brought to the hearing a cheque that he said was proof of the transaction. He said prosecutors in New York were investigating conversations Mr Trump or his advisers had with him after his office and hotel room were raided by the FBI last April. Mr Cohen said he could not discuss that conversation, the last contact he said he has had with the president or anyone acting on his behalf, because it remained under investigation. Two of Mr Trump's most vocal defenders, politicians Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, sent a referral to the Justice Department alleging Mr Cohen lied in his testimony. (Donald Trump with his children Eric, left, Ivanka and Donald Jr, right. Photo: Getty Images US President Donald Trump has claimed his former attorney Michael Cohen wrote a "love letter to Trump" manuscript for a book he was hoping to write after working for the president during his rise to prominence and, eventually, the White House. "Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a 'love letter to Trump' manuscript for a new book that he was pushing," the president tweeted yesterday morning. "Written and submitted long after Charlottesville and Helsinki, his phony reasons for going rogue. "Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony," he added, "which now is a lie!" Mr Cohen revealed in an explosive public testimony on Wednesday that he had intentions to write a book at some point about his experiences working for Mr Trump. The president's former lawyer had said in his testimony on Wednesday that he was seemingly appalled by Mr Trump's actions surrounding the Charlottesville white nationalist protests that led to the death of activist Heather Heyer, as well as his performance on the national stage during a controversial summit in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump's claims yesterday appeared to allege that Mr Cohen was writing a book that was favourable towards the president despite the personal stances he shared towards these issues with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. "Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen's new book, given to publishers a short time ago," Mr Trump continued in a follow-up tweet. "Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!" the president wrote. The allegations Mr Cohen's book proposals featured positive descriptions of the president appeared to come from Fox News's Tucker Carlson, who made the claims on the Thursday night episode of his show. Mr Carlson claimed: "Cohen wrote the book proposal long after Charlottesville and Helsinki." The Fox News host appeared to be citing a 'Daily Mail' report, reporter Matthew Gertz noted on Twitter. The headline for that story read: "Exclusive: 'Crazy, Dumb, Paranoid, Liar' - these things have been said about my boss...None of it is true!' Inside Michael Cohen's '$750,000' book deal and how he pitched the proposal praising Trump just weeks before the FBI raided his office." The outlet claimed to have reviewed a copy of the manuscript, writing: "At the time he had nothing but good things to say about his boss who had entered the White House a little more than a year earlier." The president continued angrily tweeting throughout the morning, writing, "Oh I see! Now that the two year Russian collusion case has fallen apart, there was no collusion except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats, they say, 'gee, I have an idea, let's look at Trump's finances and every deal he has ever done'. "'Let's follow discredited Michael Cohen and the fraudulent and dishonest statements he made on Wednesday'. "No way," he added. "It's time to stop this corrupt and illegally brought witch hunt. Time to start looking at the other side where real crimes were committed. "Republicans have been abused long enough. Must end now!" Mr Trump wrote later in the morning about Mr Cohen's supposed book, saying: "Michael Cohen's book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. "What does Hillary Clinton's lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one? "Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary? Using her lawyer?" he wrote. For more than a decade, Mr Cohen had been a loyal Trump aide. He spoke to the press on Mr Trump's behalf, wrangled business deals, threatened detractors and occasionally helped suppress unfavourable news stories for him. Mr Cohen broke with Mr Trump last year and pleaded guilty to charges including that he lied to Congress about a Trump real-estate project in Russia and made prohibited campaign contributions in the form of payments to two women who say they had affairs with Mr Trump. Mr Cohen spoke to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and is scheduled for another closed-door session on March 6. He is due to start a three-year prison sentence in May. ( Independent News Service) The US government is offering a $1m (880,000) reward for information that helps trace the son of the late al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden. The state department said it was seeking Hamza bin Laden, who is widely thought to be emerging as a leader within the extremist group. His exact whereabouts has been unknown for a number of years, although various reports have speculated that he may be living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or Iran. Saudi-born Hamza, thought to be around 30 years old, was named as a "specially designated global terrorist" by Washington in January 2017. His father was killed during a US military raid in May 2011 on the secret complex where he had been living in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Since then, Hamza has used audio and video messages on the internet to call for revenge attacks against America and its Western allies. The state department said Hamza married the daughter of Mohamed Atta, the leader of the group of al-Qa'ida hijackers on 9/11 who carried out the attack on the World Trade Centre. It added letters seized from bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad had indicated he was grooming his son to one day replace him as leader of the group. Although al-Qa'ida has orchestrated a long list of terror incidents across the world, it remains best known for the September 11 attacks in 2001, which killed almost 3,000 people and injured 6,000 more. ( Independent News Service) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated on the launch pad by spotlights at Launch Complex 39A SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft took off on Saturday morning, marking the first major step towards US ambitions to resume sending astronauts into space on its own spacecraft on American soil. The uncrewed spacecraft launched from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 2.49am local time (7.49am Irish time) as planned, on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a dummy pilot called Ripley - a nod to Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien movies - loaded with sensors to feed back information on the journey's progress. The launch will provide vital data to SpaceX and Nasa that will determine whether the spacecraft is ready to carry passengers. The American space agency ended its own Space Shuttle in 2011, opting for a new Commercial Crew Programme working with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Boeing. Since then, it has relied on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to blast astronauts into space, which costs $81m a seat. Crew Dragon's lift off has been hit by several delays along the way, previously scheduled for January 7, before moving to January 17 and then pushing it back again to no earlier than February. Expand Close The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated on the launch pad by spotlights at Launch Complex 39A / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated on the launch pad by spotlights at Launch Complex 39A "This is really a significant achievement in the history of American space flight," said Jim Bridenstine, Nasa administrator. "We want to make sure we keep our partnership with Russia, which has been very strong for a long period of time, going back to the Apollo Soyuz era, but we also want to make sure we have our own capability to get back and forth to the ISS, so that we can have this strong partnership where they can launch on our rockets and we can launch on their rockets. "But I think another big milestone here is the idea that we're not as an agency, as Nasa, we're not purchasing, owning and operating our own rockets at this point, we're looking to a future where we can be a customer, one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in lower Earth orbit." The crew capsule is expected to reach the ISS (International Space Station) at 6.05am (11.05am Irish time) on Sunday, delivering around 400 pounds of cargo and staying for around five days before returning to Earth. A trial carrying passengers for the first time could happen as soon as July, with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley lined up to take the ride. Bangladesh has told the UN Security Council it cannot take any more refugees from Myanmar, some 18 months after more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims started pouring across the border fleeing a military crackdown. Attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents in Myanmar's Rakhine state triggered the crackdown the UN, US, UK and others describe as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies the accusations. "I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar," Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said. Mr Haque accused Myanmar of "hollow promises and various obstructionist approaches" during negotiations on returns. "Not a single Rohingya has volunteered to return to Rakhine due to the absence of a conducive environment there." We all are aware of the tensed situation going on between the two countries India and Pakistan. Actor Swara Bhaskar who is known to speak her mind has slammed comedian Trevor Noah over his insensitive comments on Indo-Pak tensions. South African comedian Trevor Noah, host of 'The Daily Show', during an episode, tried to find humour in the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. In the video, being shared widely on social media, Noah said that while he hopes India and Pakistan do not go to war, it would be the "most entertaining" war if they did. Trevor Noah took a jibe at Bollywood dance numbers and said that Indian soldiers would go on the battlefield singing and dancing. He even pantomimed our soldiers shooting at the enemy while in the middle of a jig and said, "It would also be the longest war of all time. Another dance number? I'm sorry, I love Bollywood, I do." Swara Bhaskar lashed out at the comedian for his "ignorant and racist" jokes. "1. War isn't funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Your stereotype of Indo-Pak is ignorant and racist. 3. Your set smacks of essentialism and a patronising generalisation and is very first world. 4. Human lives were lost and at stake. SO disappointing!" she wrote on Twitter. Featured Video Comedian Mallika Dua too slammed Noah over his remarks and took to Twitter to write, "Shockingly unintelligent & tone-deaf What makes it sadder is that @Trevornoah cracked such a below average, shit joke. Something Russel Peters probably threw in the bin before his first open mic in life. If you're going to be a racist comic than at least get the comic bit right." However, the current situation between the two nations is much better than earlier as the IAF pilot Abhinandan has returned India back. Stay tuned for more updates. Currently, the nation is celebrating the return of brave IAF Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was held captive by Pakistan for over 2 days. We all are aware of the ongoing tension between us and our neighboring Country Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack which took place two weeks ago. On the one hand, there are people who are posting welcome messages as the brave-heart is back in his motherland but on the other hand, there are hate mongers, trying to bring him down by posting hate comments against him. Nazar fame Monalisa ( Antara Biswas ) came across a similar situation when hate mongers wrote against the pilot on her Instagram post. The actress shared her happiness on the safe return of IAF Pilot, Abhinandan and posted a picture as a welcoming gesture. However, this did not go well with some online trolls who posted hate comments and it was then, Monalisa reacted on the comments and said, "These are the people who support terrorism." Have a look at her post and her comments in the pictures below: Featured Video The Coquille Tribe isn't worried about a rival's effort to derail a long-awaited casino decision in Oregon. The tribe started the land-into-trust process for the 2.42-acre site in Medford more than four years ago. Plans call for a Class II gaming facility, to be known as Cedars at Bear Creek , on the land. The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians has long opposed the proposal out of fear it will impact its Seven Feathers Casino Resort . But after The Medford Mail Tribune reported about the Coquille Tribe's purchases of additional land near the site, Chairman Dan Courtney asked for a meeting with the Trump administration. "It appears that Coquille has grossly misrepresented to federal, state and local governments the actual scope and scale of its proposed Medford gaming facility," the Cow Creek chairman wrote in a February 21 letter to Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs John Tahsuda , The Mail Tribune reported. The Coquille Tribe denies the claims as baseless. The casino will be restricted to the original 2.42 acres, a spokesperson said, although another 45 acres have been acquired in recent years. This letter is just another attempt to delay the project, communications director Ray Doering told The Mail Tribune in response to the Cow Creek Band's request. Generally, land placed in trust after 1988 can't be used for a casino. The Coquilles, however, are seeking an exception in Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that applies to tribes that were restored to federal recognition. The tribe gained recognition through the Coquille Restoration Act in 1989. The law requires the BIA to place up to 1,000 acres in trust. The Cedars at Bear Creek site is in Medford, about 170 miles from the Mill Casino , the tribe's Class III facility in North Bend. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation Related Stories Zachary Bear Heels, 29, died after being beaten by police officers in Nebraska By Kevin Abourezk PHOTOS: Zachary Bear Heels Prayer Walk Native leaders in Nebraska expressed outrage Friday following a prosecutors decision to drop assault charges against a former Omaha police officer who allegedly punched a mentally ill Native man who later died in June 2017. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleines decision to not move forward with the case against Ryan McClarty means none of the four officers who were involved in the altercation with Zachary Bear Heels will be convicted of any crimes. The most vulnerable man in all of Nebraska on a June 2017 night at 60th and Center was Tasered and beaten to death by the Omaha Police Department but no one could find any wrongdoing, said Frank LaMere, a Winnebago activist. Zachary Bear Heels was murdered under the color of law. LaMere called on the Nebraska U.S. Attorneys Office and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Bear Heels death and the prosecution of McClarty and Scotty Payne, a second former Omaha officer who was acquitted by a jury in December of second-degree assault after shocking Bear Heels 12 times with a Taser It is foretold that we will gain justice only when we stand up and continue the fight that the City of Omaha and their police department started, LaMere said. I am ready to fight. What choice do we have? They are killing our sons and daughters. "Loving Son, Brother, Grandson, Nephew, Uncle" -- Zachary Bear Heels was laid to rest in Apache, Oklahoma, following his death in Omaha, Nebraska, in June 2017. His headstone is seen in this courtesy photo. Bear Heels mother, Renita Chalepah, declined to comment when reached Friday by Indianz.Com, though she expressed disappointment in Kleines decision to drop the charges against McClarty. Kleine told The Omaha World-Herald that he made his decision after reviewing the testimony of two national law enforcement experts who agreed that McClartys punching of Bear Heels was justified because the mentally ill man had freed his hand from a handcuff, thus turning the handcuff into a weapon. Kleine said he was also influenced by the jurys acquittal of Payne. The county attorney said he doubted he could obtain a conviction against McClarty. "It bothers me the way everything happened here because it shouldn't have happened," Kleine told the World-Herald . "But as we got into it deeper at least from the standpoint of McClarty we became aware that it was too fine a line from the standpoint of was it justified or was it not justified?" McClartys trial was originally scheduled to begin in January, but Douglas County District Court Judge J. Russell Derr decided to postpone it until April 29. Renita Chalepah, far right, takes part in a prayer walk on December 8, 2018, to honor the life of her son, Zachary Bear Heels, who died June 5, 2017, after being shocked and beaten by police officers in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Kevin Abourezk The incident involving Bear Heels began after he was kicked off a bus in Omaha for erratic behavior. He had been on his way from South Dakota to Oklahoma. His relatives have said he had schizophrenia, was bipolar and wasnt taking his medication. After Payne and two female officers Jennifer Strudl and Makyla Mead found him outside a convenience store on the night of June 5, 2017, they attempted to put him in a police cruiser. Payne began shocking him after he refused to get into the cruiser and even after he was sitting on the ground, handcuffed, near the back passenger tire of a police cruiser. McClarty, who arrived shortly after the altercation began, started punching Bear Heels after he got a hand free from his cuffs. A coroners physician who conducted an autopsy on Bear Heels later concluded his death was attributable to excited delirium and not necessarily related to his injuries or shocks. Following the encounter, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer fired all four officers, though only Payne and McClarty were ever charged with crimes related to the encounter. Native activists have called on Strudl and Mead to be held accountable in connection with Bear Heels death. On Friday, Native community members in Omaha criticized Kleines decision to drop the charges against McClarty. Levelle Wells, an Omaha Tribe citizen, said he has been the target of inappropriate police treatment. To be real, Im not surprised, he said of the decision to drop charges against McClarty. Ive been living in Omaha all my life so I know how these cops can roll. Theyre a gang themselves. Rudi Mitchell, former chairman of the Omaha Tribe, said Kleine should have proceeded with the trial, even if he didnt believe he would win because it was the right thing to do. Last August, Chalepah filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Omaha alleging police used excessive force against her son and failed to properly treat his mental illness. I feel disappointed for the mother, he said. I hope her lawsuit goes through and she will get a lot of money. The life is not worth the money, but at least something should happen with the city and the police department. #NativeLivesMatter Native Americans are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Jason Pero, 13 Bad River Ojibwe. Ashland, Wisconsin. November 8, 2017. Zachary Bear Heels, 29 Rosebud Sioux. Omaha, Nebraska. June 5, 2017. Loreal Tsingine, 27 Navajo. Winslow, Arizona. March 27, 2016. Paul Castaway, 35 Oglala Sioux. Denver, Colorado. July 12, 2015. Allen Locke, 30 Oglala Sioux. Rapid City, South Dakota. December 19, 2014. Joy Ann Sherman, 52 Oglala Sioux. Mitchell, South Dakota. November 8, 2014. Jordan Willis, 30 Choctaw. Mississippi. August 12, 2014. Mah-hi-vist GoodBlanket, 18 Cheyenne-Arapaho. Clinton, Oklahoma. December 21, 2013. John Williams, 50 Ditidaht First Nation. Seattle, Washington. May 30, 2010. Christopher Capps, 22 Oglala Sioux. Rapid City, South Dakota. May 2, 2010. prev next Join the Conversation Related Stories The entire nation is celebrating the return of the brave heart IAF Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. He was in the custody of Pakistan was released yesterday. He was welcomed with open hearts and arms wide open by the nation. His bravado made every Indian proud. Twitter Our Bollywood celebrities too welcomed the pilot with their generous words and emotions. While Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif welcomed him with the National Flag, others couldn't help but express how proud they are of him. Deepika and Kat shared the National Flag picture on their Instagram handles to give respect to our brave IAF pilot Abhinandan. Instagram Abhinandan addressed the media after his return and said, "it feels good to be back in my country" after he stepped his foot in his soil, we are happy he is safe and sound. Soldiers like him make us feel secure and stronger. More power to you Mr. Abhinandan Varthaman. Swara Bhasker has always been a no-nonsense person and if you rub her the wrong way she will teach you a lesson for life. Twitter Just a few days ago she blasted Veena Malik for taking a dig at the IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. And now she slammed comedian Trevor Noah for his insensitive joke on the current tension between both the countries. Instagram Trevor joked about how Indian military must be fighting with Pakistan in Bollywood style and even sang a few Hindi songs. Swara called his joke cruel and racist and blasted him. @Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri pic.twitter.com/cjG3CBAVrd Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019 She took to twitter and wrote, @Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri. Twitter Swara is known for sharing her opinions in every situation and she is appreciated for that, but sometimes she even gets trolled for it, but she doesnt give a damn and thats what we love about her. Way to go girl! Photo: BCCL/Representative While India was getting ready to welcome its Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at the Attari-Wagah border, five security personnel back home laid their lives for the nation in an encounter with terrorists in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir. Read more Here's more top news of the day: 1) Day After Wg Cdr Abhinandan's Release, Samjhauta Express Service Between India-Pakistan Restored AFP The Samjhauta Express services have been restored amid standoff between India and Pakistan. The train will leave for Pakistan from Delhi on Sunday after the two countries agreed to operationalise services at their ends. Read more 2) Budgam Martyr's Wife Asks People To Not Just 'Shout Slogans' But Join Defence Forces And Act BCCL People gathered from across the city and district in the thousands to bid adieu to the pilot, who died in the line of duty in a helicopter crash with five other IAF men near Budgam in Central Kashmir on Wednesday. Read more 3) After Facing Backlash For A Heavily-Edited Video Of Wng Cdr Abhinandan, Pakistan Takes It Down Photo: Reuters/ A man watches a statement of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman on his mobile phone, released on twitter by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in Karachi Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to his country on Friday at around 9:30 pm. After being held captive by Pakistan armed forces, India demanded his unconditional and immediate return. Read more 4) Supreme Court Comes To The Rescue Of Aravali Green Patch In Delhi-NCR After Haryana Govt Allowed Construction BCCL The Haryana government drew sharp criticism from the Supreme Court over its law to allow construction in Aravali, the only green lung of the Delhi-NCR region. The Aravali is also an ecologically fragile region and efforts have been made to revive and conserve the forest area. Read more 5) Surat's Saree Makers Ready With Pulwama And Army Designs TOI Designer sarees depicting public outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Priyanka Gandhi's entry into politics are attracting traders from across the country to Surat, country's biggest synthetic sari-making centre. Read more After the Pulwama terror attack, Indias foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale announced on Tuesday that in a non-military, pre-emptive strike India had targeted one of the major Jaish-e-Mohammed camps in Balakot. While Pakistan refused to acknowledge that India had hit any terror camp whatsoever, local media reports cited government officials who determined a casualty rate of around 200 to 300 terrorists. Pakistan shared pictures on its twitter handle saying that India had only dropped payload in open areas that destroyed nothing but pine trees. Infact, Reuters reported on Friday that Pakistan even plans to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations, accusing it of eco-terrorism over air strikes that damaged their trees. Photo: Reuters/Damaged trees in Jaba village, Pakistan after their officials refuse to acknowledge that India destroyed one of the JeM training camps in Balakot At the February 28 briefing, IAF assistant chief of air staff (space and operations) R G K Kapoor said it would be premature to say the number of fatalities inflicted on the camp but the government had got the results it needed. He added that it was upto the government and higher leadership as to when and how to give the evidence or not. Since then people started questioning the credibility of the strikes with many even wondering if they were carried out only for public approval. However, the Indian defence establishment said on Friday that they had suffice evidence to show that they had effectively destroyed the JeMs terror training facility in Balakot. A top government official even told The Indian Express that IAF had hit the four buildings it had targeted inside the campus of Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran at Balakot. He went onto say that due to technical intelligence and ground intelligence limitations at the moment made any assessment of terrorists killed purely speculative. Photo: Reuters Intelligence Agencies Have Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Images As Evidence However, the defence establishment asserted that they had evidence in the form of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) pictures to put rest to all speculations regarding the strikes. Four buildings that were recognised as targets were hit by five S-2000 precision-guided munition (PGM) fired from IAFs Mirage-2000 fighter jets. An official told TOI, The SAR films clearly show before and after pictures of the intended targets being hit. Its up to the government whether it wants to release them or not. Pakistan, of course, has also worked swiftly to repair the damage to the site. The Sukhoi-30MKIs, which accompanied the Mirage-2000s for air defence, do have SARs for high-resolution ground mapping with the capability to penetrate clouds. Photo: Reuters/Mirage 2000 The Mirage 2000s had electro-optical sensors but could not have captured images because of the cloudy weather during pre-dawn strikes. An official speaking to the Express said that they had SAR imagery to show that a building used as a guest house, where brother of Maulana Masood Azhar used to stay; an L-shaped building where trainers used to stay; a double-storied building used to house students entering the seminary and another building where those undergoing final combat training used to stay, were hit by the bombs. He even added that the Jaish Madrasa that was selected was in the middle of nowhere and there was very small chance of civilian casualty. IAF had made use of Israeli S-2000 bombs which are also called SPICE bombs. The S-2000 are highly accurate, jammer-proof bomb which works precisely even under heavy cloud cover. It penetrates through the roof, enters the building and explodes after a delay. Photo: Reuters/ Indian Air Force officials display wreckage of an AMRAAM air-to-air missile that they say was fired by a Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet during a strike over Kashmir on Wednesday It does not destroy the building rather is meant to hit the command and control centres. S-2000 used by IAF for the strike can be fired from a standoff distance of up to around 100 km. It was also reported that according to government official the buildings had roofs which were made of corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheets and the SAR imagery shows that on the first day, these roofs had gone missing. The roofs were repaired after a period of two days which made it difficult to assess the damage inflicted by technical intelligence. It is upto the political leadership to decide if it wants to release classified data to the public. The Haryana government drew sharp criticism from the Supreme Court over its law to allow construction in Aravali, the only green lung of the Delhi-NCR region. The Aravali is also an ecologically fragile region and efforts have been made to revive and conserve the forest area. Upset at Haryana Assemblys effort to overturn the Supreme Courts ban on construction, the apex court labelled it as sheer contempt. On Wednesday, Haryana Assembly passed an ordinance to the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, throwing open thousands of acres of land in Faridabad, Nuh, Mehendargarh and Rewari, under the Aravalis and Shivalik ranges for construction purposes and mining which is a potential threat to the ecologically sensitive region. BCCL Legislature is not supreme At times, court also has to prevail, said the Supreme Court. The bench said we want to say a lot of things, but cannot. We will not allow such kind of misadventure...You are not above the law, said court. The apex court said, But no action should be taken under the amended Act It is really shocking that you are destroying the forest It is not permissible. The amendment was passed in the state assembly amid uproar from opposition INLD and Congress. The opposition claimed that the BJP government in the state has passed the contentious bill allegedly to win support of real estate dealers ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Over the past few months, protests by residents of Gurugram, Faridabad and Delhi have intensified demanding shutting down construction and other commercial activities in the Aravali green belt. The area is a fragile ecological zone and biodiversity hotspot. Its home to nearly 400 species of plants and some 200 species of native and migratory birds. Flying the MiG-21 fighter aircraft for the Varthamans is almost of family tradition. His father Air Marshal (retd) Simhakutty Varthaman also flew the MiG-21 and was an IAF test pilot who retired five years ago, a family friend told PTI. Abhinandan's grandfather was also in the IAF, he said. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman downed a Pakistani F-16 plane before his MiG-21 Bison was hit during a dogfight. In an interview to PTI, Wing Commander (retd) Prakash Navale, who was a course-mate of Abhinandan's father at the National Defence Academy (NDA) during 1969-72, said the first time he saw the young pilot was when he was a three-year-old toddler. Simhakutty Varthaman/Twitter "Myself and his father were then posted at the fighter training wing at Hakimpet, Hyderabad," said Navale, 66, who retired from the IAF in 1994 and now lives in Navi Mumbai. PHOTO: TWITTER/ THE VARTHAMAN FAMILY AT AIRPORT TO RECEIVE HIM At Wagah "Initially, I also passed out (from Air Force Academy) as a fighter pilot but later switched to helicopters. Myself and Air Marshal (retd) Varthaman were flying instructors for some time," he said. MiG 21/Twitter Like Navale, Air Marshal Varthaman is also a Sainik School alumnus. While Navale studied at Sainik School Satara, Air Mashal Varthaman is from Sainik School Amaravathinagar in Tamil Nadu. Navale said Air Marshal Varthaman was staying at Tambaram when he was doing the flying instructor's course there. "The Varthamans are very simple people and we have enjoyed many a hearty meal at their house," he said. Twitter "Air Marshal Varthaman is a thorough gentleman. His wife Shobha, a doctor, is a great lady. When my wife Aruna was pregnant, she used to visit us regularly and administer injections to her. We were blessed with our daughter Pooja due to Shobha's medical care," Navale said. Abhinandan's sister Aditi lives in France and has married a French national, he said. AGENCY INPUT PTI We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Photo: Contributed Cassidy deVeer is the new president of the Canadian Home Builders Associations Central Okanagan chapter. DeVeer, who is president of Kelownas 3rd Generation Homes, is the first woman to hold the position. I am proud to represent such an outstanding board, executive and members, deVeer said in a press release. It is an honour to be selected to work for the residential construction industry in the Central Okanagan. With pressures on the residential construction industry from all levels of government, our role to advocate for our members has never been more important. The construction industry in the Okanagan provides more than 25,310 jobs and is looking to grow year on year by 0.4 per cent, according to the 2018 B.C. Labour Market Outlook report. Construction sits in the top three industries in the region, which is home to 11 per cent of all B.C. residents, or one in 10 workers. March 1, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The new resource numbers and expectations for 2019 are summarized in a CIBC report. In a Feb. 21 research note, Cosmos Chiu reported Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (KL:TSX; KL:NYSE) released a company-wide resource update, in which total reserves expanded 24% to 5.75 million ounces (5.75 Moz). "Overall, our net asset value per share increases to $18.11 from $17.23 on the increased reserves and guidance update," Chiu added. As such, CIBC increased its target price on the company to CA$53 per share from CA$48. In comparison, the current share price is CA$48.08. Chiu relayed that most of the reserve increase came from Fosterville's Swan zone, where reserves doubled to 2.3 Moz at 49.6 grams per ton, surpassing CIBC's forecast of 2 Moz. Reserves also grew outside of Fosterville by 3%. At Macassa, for instance, 250,000 ounces (250 Koz) were added through conversion of Measured and Indicated (M&I) ounces. However, 1.6 Moz of M&I plus Inferred resources were removed; to supplant those, Kirkland plans to drill about 90 kilometers there this year. Also at Fosterville, the reserve grade increased, by 43%. As such, Kirkland revised its 2019 guidance upward to a range of 920 Koz to 1 Moz at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $520$560 per ounce versus its previous projection of 740800 Koz at an AISC of $630680 an ounce. The new guidance included Kirkland's decision to restart the Holloway mine. Management expects to start production there at 20 Koz and ramp it up to 50 Koz by 2021. CIBC has an Outperformer rating on Kirkland Lake, which, Chiu noted, "remains one of our Top Picks, and we see the potential for more than $400 million in free cash flow in 2019." Disclosure: 1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. Disclosures from CIBC, Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., Earnings Update, February 21, 2019 Analyst Certification: Each CIBC World Markets Corp./Inc. research analyst named on the front page of this research report, or at the beginning of any subsection hereof, hereby certifies that (i) the recommendations and opinions expressed herein accurately reflect such research analyst's personal views about the company and securities that are the subject of this report and all other companies and securities mentioned in this report that are covered by such research analyst and (ii) no part of the research analyst's compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by such research analyst in this report. Analysts employed outside the U.S. are not registered as research analysts with FINRA. 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Additionally, CIBC World Markets Corp./Inc. generally prohibits any research analyst from serving as an officer, director or advisory board member of a company that such analyst covers. In addition to 1% ownership positions in covered companies that are required to be specifically disclosed in this report, CIBC World Markets Corp./Inc. may have a long position of less than 1% or a short position or deal as principal in the securities discussed herein, related securities or in options, futures or other derivative instruments based thereon. Recipients of this report are advised that any or all of the foregoing arrangements, as well as more specific disclosures set forth below, may at times give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Important Disclosure Footnotes for Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (KL) Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. is a client for which a CIBC World Markets company has performed investment banking services in the past 12 months. CIBC World Markets Inc. has received compensation for investment banking services from Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. in the past 12 months. CIBC World Markets Inc. expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. in the next 3 months. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Clothing stalwart Gap is closing more than 200 outlets as part of a worldwide restructuring programme. The retailers San Francisco-based parent company, Gap Inc, is splitting into two companies, one of which will consist of the eponymous brand and others including Banana Republic. A second company will solely house its Old Navy brand, which has been out-performing its stablemates. Gap Inc said it was undertaking the restructuring exercise in an effort to revitalise brand health. The company has not said where shops will shut or how many jobs will be affected, although all 230 closures over the next two years will be of Gap stores. At the end of 2018, there were 1,242 Gap shops worldwide with 152 in Europe. Gap president Art Peck said the company knows what we need to do to win. The Canadian government, as expected, said yesterday it would allow an extradition hearing to proceed against the chief financial officer of Huawei, who was detained in Canada late last year. Meng Wanzhou, currently under house arrest, will appear in a Vancouver court on Wednesday to set the date of the hearing. Ms Meng and Huawei face charges of conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran. Photo: Google Street View An Alberta mother found guilty of breaking the ankles of her two-year old daughter has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. The woman, who can only be identified as S.N.A. due to a publication ban, was convicted in December of several offences, including aggravated assault. She had testified at trial that her daughter fell off a toilet in 2016. The toddler's grandparents took her to a hospital in Wetaskiwin, south of Edmonton, where X-rays confirmed fractures to both ankles. The child was then transferred to Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Wayne Renke determined at trial that the injuries were not an accident. Painstaking research being carried out to track down the descendants of a soldier awarded two First World War medals has uncovered 12 Patrick Ryans who served in the 1st Battalion of the Munster Fusiliers. Genealogist Margaret Murphy has been trawling through records trying to identify the former owner, Private Patrick Ryan, who enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Munster Fusiliers at the outbreak of the war in 1914 and whose medals ended up in the pocket of tweed jacket handed in to a charity shop in West Cork. Her research has shown there were 12 Patrick Ryans who served in the battalion and she has so far managed to discount four of those men from her list. Margaret is based at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre in Co Cork, which is leading the search for Private Ryans relatives, and is being aided by military historian Kevin Tomlinson. Heritage centre manager Terri Kearney said that one potential lead had come from a person who believes they know the family who may have possessed the tweed jacket in which the medals were found. The medals were found in the jacket when it and other clothes were left outside a charity shop in the village of Kealkil, near Bantry. Ms Kearney said they were making inquiries about this and believes that while the true Private Ryan may have come from outside Co Cork, there has to be a local connection. It was originally believed Private Ryan, who survived his postings to the aborted Gallipoli campaign and to the Western Front, came from Co Tipperary. However, the researchers are not sure if that is accurate and say he may have hailed from Co Limerick. We get people coming forward with clues and unfortunately were discounting them one by one, Ms Kearney said. The charity shop is putting the two medals on display today in the hope they will jog some locals memories. Charity shop treasurer Ed Smith said they were preparing a lot of information about the medals and what they were awarded for. We will put this up on a big notice board in the shop, he said. Meanwhile, Steve Roffe, the volunteer worker who found the medals in the jacket pocket has been so fascinated by the case he has been in contact with military historians himself. Theres a museum room in Fort Camden, Crosshaven and its curator Gerry Conroy has sourced some military records from Britain which we hope to have shortly. Hopefully they might give us a lead, Mr Roffe said. Adoption rights campaigners have hit out at the Governments latest amendments to its long-promised information and tracing legislation. Earlier this week, Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone confirmed that a controversial provision requiring adopted people to sign an undertaking to not contact their birth parents in order to receive their birth information has been removed. Under the bill up to now, adopted people would be entitled to their birth information only if they sign a formal undertaking that they will not contact, or attempt to contact, the birth mother, birth father, or relevant guardian concerned. The revised legislation will replace the current provisions, including the undertaking, and will provide for contact with all birth parents to ascertain whether they have any objection to the birth information being released. Where the parent does not consent to the release of the information, both parties will make their case before the Adoption Authority of Ireland. The bill currently contains no provision for a natural mother to access her own file. Paul Redmond of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors said the amendments were a giant step backwards. Adoptees have been stripped of all rights to their original birth certificates and their files including their medical records. Meanwhile, natural mothers have been given all the rights as they must be asked for their permission before anything can be released to an adoptee, he said. Spokesperson for Aitheantas, Adoptee Identity Rights, Rody OBrien, said the group could not support the bill as it is not the reforming legislation it should be. There are still flaws and errors in the proposed amendments to revise the privacy provisions. The amendments provide for contact with all birth parents to ascertain whether they have any objection to the birth information being released. This exhibits a misunderstanding of the constitutional rights of adoptees to identity information which are not subject to another citizens ratification or veto, he said. Claire McGettrick of the Adoption Rights Alliance also said her group could not support the bill in its current guise, saying the Government was confusing the issue of the right to ones own information with an adopted person seeking a relationship with a natural parent. She said that information on a birth certificate is a matter of public record and accessible by any member of the public except adopted people. Northside Dublin GAA club Ballymun Kickhams may not be moving into a new home inside the M50 ring as planned. Local Fianna Fail Councillor Paul McAuliffe says he's concerned the National Transport Authority wants to take over a large part of the site for MetroLink works. Gardai targeting dissident republicans have uncovered a significant cache of explosives and arms along the border, in the second linked operation since the start of February. The haul comprised two firearms, believed to be rifles, a significant quantity of ammunition, and around a quarter of a kilo of plastic explosives, along with a detonator. While not a large quantity of explosives, sources said it could be used in an attack on a car or something similar, and the presence of a detonator meant it was ready to be deployed. The operation, which concentrated on lands around Omeath, Co Louth, was conducted on Thursday by officers from specialist anti-terrorism and firearms units, and involved gardai from the Louth Division. Gardai suspect that the firearms, ammunition, and explosives were hidden there in relatively recent times. A controlled explosion of the explosives and the detonator was conducted by an Army bomb squad. The find is part of an ongoing operation against dissident republican groups, with the New IRA considered to pose the biggest threat to security forces north and south. Fears have been expressed, including by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, that dissidents plan to exploit Brexit, particularly if it involves a hard border. In January, a car bomb exploded outside Derry courthouse, an attack that was blamed on the New IRA. No one was injured, but the bomb went off shortly after a group of young men had walked past the vehicle. A Garda statement said the operation involved gardai from the Louth Garda Division, Special Detective Unit, and from Special Tactics and Operations Command. The statement said: During the operation, gardai recovered a quantity of explosives, two firearms, and a sizable quantity of ammunition of various calibres. An explosive ordnance disposal unit of the Irish Defence Forces later visited the site and some of the material was later destroyed by a controlled explosion. In its statement, the Defence Forces said an army bomb disposal team was tasked to the scene, where gardai had found weapons and ammunition along with a small quantity of plastic explosives and a detonator. The team arrived on scene at 6.35pm, it said. On arrival, a cordon was established. The quantity of explosives and the detonator were disposed of and the scene was declared safe at 8.25pm. In the first operation, on February 1, gardai uncovered a mortar tube and around 1,000 rounds of ammunition in separate hides some 6km outside Omeath. It is thought that the tube and the ammunition had been stored there for at least a year and was linked to dissident groups Soon after he was appointed last September, Commissioner Harris, the former deputy chief constable of the PSNI, said that dissident republicans remained the greatest threat on the island. He subsequently told the Oireachtas Justice Committee that he feared a hard border would be a rallying call and an emotional driver for dissidents. More than 400 children are taking part in an overnight camp in the Midlands this weekend, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Scouting Ireland. It comes after the body's practices of safeguarding children were called into question, in a letter sent to them by the Child and Family agency Tusla during the week. South Dublin homes and businesses are facing another weekend of disruption to their water supply. Irish Water said a leak in a mains pipe on the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook is resulting in the 24-hour outage. Similar works last month also resulted in significant disruption, with areas like Booterstown, Stillorgan and Blackrock again affected. Regional Operations Manager for the East Midlands with Irish Water, John O'Donoghue, said they hope to keep disruption to a minimum. Mr O'Donoghue said: "You can never be sure, sometimes when you do fix water mains or fix a major burst, because you're increasing the pressure further on, it can cause other problems further down the line and that's not unusual. "Hopefully, this is the end of it and we do apologise for any inconvenience that will be caused but we will try and get it done as speedily as we possibly can." He outlined the areas facing disruption. He said: "The likes of Booterstown, Stillorgan and Blackrock, but I suppose potentially there could be other areas closer to the city itself like Mount Merrion road North and South Pembroke Road, Knutley Park, Guildford Road, Mespill Road, Sussex Terrace, Belmont and Richmond Hill. "But again, based on what happened a month ago, we'd be confident that disruption here would be very minimal." A protest has taken place outside Dublin's GPO this afternoon, following a spate of attacks on foreign students in the city. Demonstrators voiced concerns about the rise in the number of assaults and cases of racial abuse. Detectives in the North are appealing for information after a report of an aggravated burglary at a house in the Summerhill Court area of north Belfast yesterday afternoon. Shortly before 12.30pm, it is reported that two men, one armed with a suspected firearm, entered a house in the area. A total of 26 Albanian nationals have tried to enter the country through Ringaskiddy Port in Cork in the last nine months. The figures were released by the Department of Justice to Fianna Fails Michael McGrath, after the Irish Examiner revealed this week that eight stowaways were found in a container at the ferry terminal after it arrived off a ship from Spain. Mr McGrath said the figures for the last nine months reveal a troubling pattern and raise questions about possible human trafficking. I think it points to a troubling pattern here, given the number involved, and I think its clearly a failing on the Spanish side in relation to their security and their immigration controls. We could well be looking at criminality in terms of human trafficking here, so I think at a political level, the Irish Government need to take up this issue at a senior level with the Spanish authorities, the Cork South Central TD told RTE News. The eight recent stowaways were all Albanian nationals under the age of 24, including a 16-year-old. They were found between pallets in a container on the back of a truck which had disembarked the ferry from Santander in northern Spain around 5pm last Monday. It was the second time in four weeks that stowaways have been found using the same service. Four were found in a container at Santander port earlier this month before the lorry boarded the vessel. While the crossing takes more than 26 hours, it is understood the men could have been in the container for up to four days. There were signs they had access to food and water during the crossing. The container was soiled by excrement. Gardai and paramedics were alerted. All were in relatively good physical condition, but one was treated for mild dehydration. The seven adults were taken into custody by garda immigration officers. Four have since been deported, three remain in custody pending deportation, and the youth is in care pending further enquiries. It is believed that garda immigration officers have travelled to Santander in recent months to discuss with their Spanish counterparts a range of security issues linked to the new route. Photo: The Canadian Press Walmart endured more than a week's worth of bad publicity before announcing publicly that it was making "every effort" to find a role for disabled workers who had been threatened with job loss as the retailer gets rid of greeters at 1,000 stores. Amid a fierce backlash, Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart's U.S. stores, said in a memo to store managers Thursday night that "we are taking some specific steps to support" greeters with disabilities. The chain noted that several greeters were offered new jobs at their respective stores and accepted. Advocates for the disabled said Walmart is making the right move. "By rethinking their action, Walmart is now opening the door to actually help individuals realize their full employment potential," said Cheryl Bates-Harris, senior disability advocacy specialist at the National Disability Rights Network. Walmart told greeters around the country last week that their positions were being eliminated in late April in favour of an expanded "customer host" role that involves not only welcoming customers, but also helping with returns, checking receipts to help prevent shoplifting and keeping the front of the store clean. The position requires hosts to be able to lift heavy weights, climb ladders and do other tasks. People with disabilities who have traditionally filled the greeter job at many stores accused Walmart of acting heartlessly. Outraged customers and others started online petitions, formed Facebook support groups, and called and emailed Walmart corporate offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, to register their displeasure. "This was a major-league botch," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy, adding that Walmart should have foreseen the public's reaction. "Someone finally woke up," Johnson said. "Hopefully they're now woke and they'll fix this thing the right way. ... The good news is it's reversible." For its part, Walmart said Foran's memo did not signal a change in direction for the company but was meant to reinforce what it was already doing for workers displaced from the greeter job and clear up misinformation. Foran acknowledged the change from greeter to host, and its impact on disabled workers, had "created some conversation." He wrote that Walmart was committed to doing right by these employees, noting that greeters with disabilities would be given longer than the customary 60 days to find other jobs in the company. "Let me be clear: If any associate in this unique situation wants to continue working at Walmart, we should make every effort to make that happen," said his memo, which Walmart released publicly. A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of his wife in Dublin. Alan Ward, 51, of Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, is accused of stabbing 41-year-old Cathy Ward to death at their home in Clondalkin on Thursday. Judge Victor Blake directed that he be medically examined due to concerns raised by his solicitor over his mental health. He granted Mr Ward legal aid and remanded him in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court on Friday, March 8 at 10am. Earlier: Man due in court after fatal Clondalkin stabbing A man in his fifties is due to appear in Dublin District Court this afternoon charged in connection with a fatal stabbing in Clondalkin on Friday. The man was arrested after the incident in the Greenfort Drive area. The victim, named locally as Cathy Ward, aged 41, was found at her home at around 12.30am. The deceased had been fatally stabbed and was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor. Floral tributes were being left at the home of the woman yesterday. Aileen Lee previews a March 8 event that aims to promote gender equality in the world of design. AS PART of its celebrations last year for International Womens Day, the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) launched its Why Design website, to showcase practising female designers from all design disciplines, as a way to promote and encourage greater female participation in the sector. The impetus to create this website came from startling statistics that show that the Irish design sector is 25% female to 75% male. Not only that, but men make up 89% of the leadership roles in the Irish creative sector. Spearheaded by Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, president emeritus of the IDI, the website was the first initiative of its kind for creative industries in Ireland, with its focus on inspiring female second-level students to take the leap into creative industries and to increase female participation in the Irish design workforce. Mackenzie-Doyle, who is also head of marketing & product in Voxgig and a recent winner of the Creative Leader prize at the Irish Womens Awards, says the feedback this past year on the website has been very encouraging. She says: We have had really positive feedback so far, which has been very reassuring as we are developing something that is very much needed. We have had comments from parents letting us know how great a resource its been to understand the range of careers and educational opportunities across the country. Whats been most rewarding is the feedback from second-level students, the idea of: Yeah, I could do that too that is inspiring confidence in them to know that they could. Women in the industry have also given huge praise for the platform and I know it has encouraged female creatives who perhaps want to go to the next level to take those steps towards achieving their goals. Jewellery designer Chupi Sweetman who features in the Why Design initiative. As part of the IDIs celebrations for International Womens Day this year, it will host a panel discussion, under the Why Design umbrella, around gender balance in the creative industries, on Friday, March 8, from 6-9pm, at 22 Anne Street South, Dublin 2 (tickets available on Eventbrite). Two internationally acclaimed designers will speak at the event, Natasha Jen, Partner at Pentagram New York, the worlds largest independent design consultancy, and Thierry Brunfaut, co-founder of Base Design, which has offices in Brussels, New York and Geneva. Mackenzie-Doyle says this event is aimed at men and women currently working in the design sector in Ireland, to impress upon them the benefits of balanced teams. She says: In inviting Natasha and Thierry, we want to make sure its a balanced conversation and that we talk about culture and business facts. The impact of gender balance is financially proven. We need to get the female and male perspective on this. Men are in 89% of the senior roles in Ireland so its essential we dont exclude them in this conversation or nothing will change. Roisin Lafferty, who has previously featured in Irish Examiner Interiors Design/life series, is one of the creatives involved in the Why Design website. In Ireland, the IDI, through Why Design, aims to inspire and challenge the Irish creative community to make a positive change. We are keeping diversity high on the agenda. We have exciting plans throughout the year and are collaborating with like-minded organisations to make a tangible difference. - More details at www.idi-design.ie and www.whydesign.ie Ahead of World Book Day, Ailin Quinlan rounds up the best reads for kids Thousands of school pupils around the country are set to participate in one of the worlds biggest and most popular reading initiatives next week. Research shows reading has a wide range of benefits for children and as part of World Book Day, Thursday, March 7, schoolchildren receive special tokens enabling them to buy one of 12 specially priced 1.50 World Book Day Books. This year theres an additional book available in Ireland only, Sam Hannigans Rockstar Granny by Alan Nolan, published by The OBrien Press. The aim of World Book Day, which has run for 22 years, is simple: To encourage children to experience the pleasure of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. Therefore, as part of the initiative, the special tokens are distributed to primary and second-level schools all over the country. Reading has a massive impact on a childs mental wellbeing, his or her vocabulary, literacy, numeracy, and general better outcomes overall, says Elaina Ryan, director of Childrens Books Ireland which provides its top picks for books for children of all ages. CBI has also organised a number of special initiatives around World Book Day. One of these, Bookseed, which begins in early March in Limerick and is expected to be eventually rolled out nationwide encourages parents to read to babies, while another initiative will see CBI engage in a partnership with KPMG which focuses on reading and book gifting to groups in Dublin, Galway, Cork, and Belfast. Meanwhile, in another celebration of World Book Day and what it stands for, a campaign to highlight the needs of school libraries will be the focus of a special survey by CBI on surveymonkey.com/r/SchoolLibrariesIreland Find out about World Book Day and the 12 World Book Day 1.50 titles for 2019 at worldbookday.com/world-book-day-ireland 0-2 yrs Lucy Cousins. Little Fish and Mummy. Walker Books 7.98, ISBN 9781406384291 This rhyming maritime adventure with its bold outlines and vivid colours is the perfect book to share with babies. Little Fish loves Mummy Fish very much, and young readers are invited along on a special adventure with them under the sea. Mary Murphy Happy! A First Book of Feelings Walker Books 6.84, ISBN 9781406380651 A first book of feelings for the very youngest children by Irish artist Mary Murphy. Little hands are encouraged to lift the flaps and explore the world of emotions in this fun, interactive board book. Ingela Parrhenius Wheres Mrs Kangaroo? Nosy Crow 7.98, ISBN 9781788003681 This is the latest title in this brilliant board book series for babies. With easy-to-grasp, shaped felt flaps, a repetitive refrain and beautiful artwork from Swedish homewares designer, Ingela Arrhenius, the tiniest book-lovers will be able to interact with this board book with its easy-to-turn, sturdy pages. 2-4yrs Benji Davies Tad Harper Collins Childrens Books 14.94, ISBN 9780008212797 This is a story about growing up and branching out and not always being the first to do so. Meet Tad, the smallest tadpole in the pond. Tad is very concerned about where all his fellow tadpoles are disappearing to in this story about taking the next steps in life, even when they are a little bit daunting. John and Fatti Burke Brian Boru: The Warrior King Gill Books 14.84, ISBN 9780717184569 Following on from Granuaile, the first in this Little Library series, John and Fatti Burke bring us the story of Brian Boru for younger readers. Brian Boru lived a big and exciting life. Now his adventures have been condensed by John into simple text for younger readers and brilliantly illustrated by Fatti. Alexandra Penfold All Are Welcome Bloomsbury Publishing 13.69, ISBN 9781526604088 This is an important book that celebrates diversity and inclusion in a simple way suitable for all young children, says Elaina Ryan. We see families of all shapes and sizes bringing their children to school, a mix that includes interracial, same-sex, and heterosexual couples as well as single caregivers and guardians. We follow this group of children throughout their day in school, to which everyone is welcomed with open arms. 5-8yrs Beatrice Alemagna Harold Snipperpots Best Disaster Ever Thames & Hudon 14.84, ISBN 9s780500651872 This is the story about a lonely little boy named Harold Philip Snipperpot who is about to be seven years old. Harold has never had a real birthday party. His grumpy parents dont like parties or shows of affection, and he fears theres no chance hell have a birthday celebration this year either. But in fact, this year is going to be very different indeed! Steve Antony Amazing Hodder Childrens Books 14.84, ISBN 9781444944709 This book is a celebration of friendship, Its about being yourself with its positive message about celebrating diversity. The child in this book may be in a wheelchair, but the only reason we know this is though the illustrations. The book provides the perfect platform to start conversations about the importance of understanding and acceptance, says Elaina. A great fun read for all kids who will recognise Steve Anthonys artwork from the award-winning Mr Panda series. 9-11yrs Kirsten Reinhart, translated by Siobhan Parkinson Illustrated by David Roberts How To Bake a Sausage Dog Little island Books 10.28, ISBN 9781910411889 Fennymore Teabreak has more challenges in his life than most boys his age. His parents have mysteriously disappeared, and hes left in the care of eccentric Aunt Elsie who has a penchant for salted dachshund which has disastrous consequences. Throughout this zany book, we meet a plethora of odd characters who seem intent on making life difficult for Fennymore, but, like all good protagonists, he overcomes his problems intelligently and finds a great female sidekick called Fizzy to company up with. Anita Ganeri Amazing Expeditions: Journeys that Changed the World Ivy Kids 17.12, ISBN 9781782407232 Most children are fascinated by adventure and those extraordinary humans who undertake them. Throughout history, adventurers have always wondered what is beyond the next mountain, ocean, river... or even planet. Explorers head out to discover new lands, find and establish trade routes, seek treasure, make scientific discoveries, gain territories for their country, or simply do something thats not been done before. 12-14yrs Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault Louis Undercover Walker Books 20.55, ISBN 9781406378429 A visually stunning, hopeful, and thought-provoking graphic novel about family separation, love, and bravery from the award-winning creators of Jane, the Fox and Me. In this quiet, probing tale we meet Louis, an adolescent boy who shuttles between his mums home in the city and his dads house in the country, with his little brother, Truffle who is still too small to understand the situation fully. As painful as the upheaval and complexities of his parents separation is, Louis has another problem: he is trying to summon up the courage to speak to his true love, Billie and struggling to do so. Dick Lehr Nothing But The Truth Walker Books 9.13, ISBN 9781406379846 Dick Lehr, a former reporter for the Boston Globes famous Spotlight Team, has reimagined a case he investigated during his journalist days, to create a compelling story about a daughter determined to prove her fathers innocence. This novel is inspired by the true story of a young mans false imprisonment for murder, and a daughters fight for justice against the odds. When a 13-year-old African-American girl becomes the innocent victim of gang-related gunfire, there is a public outcry and a immediate manhunt is launched to catch the murderer. A young African-American man is quickly apprehended, charged, and wrongly convicted of the crime. Twelve years after his conviction, his daughter persuades a reporter and a determined lawyer to help clear her fathers name. A pacey read and timely reminder of the damage a rush to judgment can cause, especially relevant in todays charged climate. Sara Barnard Fierce Fragile Hearts Macmillian 9.13, ISBN 9781509852888 This book is a companion novel to the earlier Beautiful Broken Things, focusing on Suzanne, who has come out the other end of a downward spiral that left her vulnerable but is now back at home, near the reassuring safety of close friends. However, her friends are about to leave for university. Suzanne lost time when she went off the rails, and is now lagging behind them in her life stage, again about to lose her safety net. This story is about lifes turning points and the changes when you are the person left behind. With Brexit approaching, Pat Fitzpatrick thinks it might be time to cosy up to our next nearest neighbours: France. He chats to French nationals who have made Ireland home to find out what they really make of us Weve always had a thing for the French here in Ireland. While the people from the island next door were doling out warm beer, mushy peas, and centuries of oppression, the next country along offered suntans, wine, and that girl you saw on the metro in Paris on a school tour in third year. Our thing for the French could get even stronger, now that the Brits have decided to take back control by leaving the 21st century and heading back to 1956. This isnt just about ferries bypassing Britain and heading for France its about new life in an old relationship, that existed long before your one in the Kerrygold ad told Andre shed like him to butter her spuds. (That was basically a single entendre, if youll pardon my French.) Ireland obviously appeals to a new generation of French people the 2016 census found 11,661 French nationals living here (up almost 2,000 since 2011), with almost half of that number living in greater Dublin, a further 1,119 living in Cork city. It cuts both ways. Irish people have always had a thing about life in France. The latest wave is professional rugby players, with top stars such as Johnny Sexton, Simon Zebo, Donncha Ryan, and Tomas OLeary making the move to France to ply their trade. Tomas is back in Cork now, so that himself and his wife Julie can be closer to their families. But when I caught up with him recently to talk about life in Montpellier and his Told & Co range of watches, it was clear they had a ball in the south of France. We spent Christmas in a chateau near Carcassonne, we had the place to ourselves, blue skies, we went for a cycle through the vineyards with our little son, Jamie. Whats not to like? Tomas OLeary: The former rugby star says he loved his spell playing in France. Picture: Clare Keogh We love France for good reasons but what do they think of us? Jean-Christophe Trentinella is director at the Cork office of Alliance Francaise, a global organisation tasked with promoting French culture and building ties with the host country. He only arrived here five months ago, but hes clearly been keeping an eye on us. In Britain, the US, and Australia, I found a social varnish that you dont find here. When people are displeased in Ireland, they really let you know. Its not a lack of politeness, more a relationship with your own emotions and how they can take over. Its not aggressive, but when theyre irritated they let me know. So much for our hundred thousand welcomes. That said, he has clearly settled in and likes a lot of things here, including the way his young daughters creche has them out playing in all weather. Asked if he would recommend Ireland to a French person, he said it depends where they come from. There are a lot of people here from Brittany and Normandy, but I dont meet too many from the south of France. I think that might be the weather, if anything, the weather here is an upgrade on Brittany. There goes Brittany off my holiday list. Jean-Christophe then turns to one export that has always had a big following in Ireland: French cinema. Alliance Francaise is running the Cork French Film Festival, the oldest French film showcase in Ireland, featuring 20 films at the Gate Cinema from tomorrow, culminating with Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac on March 10. Good food is another French export that never goes out of fashion in Ireland. Patrick Guilbaud has flown the flag since he arrived here in 1981 and opened his iconic Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, which has two Michelin stars. He found it a culture shock when he arrived 38 years ago. Ireland was years behind France and the UK then in terms of society and savoir faire, he tells me. It reminded me of Paris in the 1960s. But it has changed dramatically for the better. Dublin is a very nice capital city, its a very nice place to be. People complain about the traffic, but it is nothing compared to Paris or London. Does he think the Irish and French are compatible? The Irish people are very close to the French people. We have a similar sense of humour, we can laugh at ourselves, we like drink and good good and good company. So, its very similar to the French way of life, very close, maybe because of our Catholic histories. The English I found to be more pragmatic, and stubborn, when they decide on something they dont change their mind. You can say that again. The shared Catholic history is clearly an invisible bond, for a number of reasons. As Jean-Christophe put it, I heard stories [in Ireland] of abuse by the Catholic clergy being unearthed, and certain people wanted this pushed aside. We had the same issues in France. While Im in the Alliance talking to Jean Christoph, I catch up with three interns from France, Flore Ducasse, Sophie De Kermenguy and Diane Durey, along with Katie Nolan from Cork. The three French women clearly love living here, once they get past the shock of the Cork accent and the sky high price of accommodation. Although, when I ask them about Irish men, they dont agree with Patrick Guilbaud on our shared sense of humour. Irish men are quite open but there were some jokes I didnt get says Diane. Jean-Christoph Trentinella, director at the Cork office of Alliance Francaise, on the South Mall, Cork Dont take it personally, but I think its closer to the British humour, sometimes you make jokes and dont smile. So we dont know if this person is serious. Handy romance tip there guys ditch the sarcasm if you are chatting up someone from France. One other thing, and dont take this literally, but drop the jogging pants. From what they told me, French women are, at best, puzzled by the way we walk around town in gym gear. So, what about women here? For some reason I thought theyd judge their Irish counterparts, but in fact they envy them.The make-up its so different and the tan of course, says Flore with a giggle. They go on the streets and wear skirts and light clothing in Paris you could not do this, you would be picked up on the street and men would want to talk to you, it would be awful. Here in Ireland, you can do it, and no one will bother you. You can just go out in the clothes you want to wear. I move on to gargle and I ask them if we drink too much here in Ireland. Apparently not. According to Sophie, we drink the same amount as people in her native Brittany, at which point Flore jumped in, slightly peeved I think, and insisted that they also drink a lot down around her native Biarritz in the south-west. So it doesnt sound as if drink culture will come between us and the French. There is, however, one vast ocean of misunderstanding that threatens to come between us. When talking about her time in France, Katie from Cork mentions the lack of craic. The three French woman ask, what is this craic? Katie and I try to explain it (I was on the verge of singing The Bold Thady Quill.) Still nothing. After a few more attempts they said they got it, but Im fairly sure they were pretending, just to get us to shut up. There just isnt a French word for craic, and we might have to do something about that. As for food, dont go there. We could fall out over meat. Katie said she hated the chicken and beef during her time in Lille, Flore and Sophie werent having it, and there was nearly a diplomatic incident over the whole thing. Sophie and Flore, who say the Irish drink about the same as in their native Brittany and Biarritz. The three French women were polite about our restaurants, but that was as far as it went. When I ask the one thing they miss most about home, they said cheese, almost in one voice. That said, there is plenty that unites us. All three of them love our bookshops, they love the way you start talking to the person next to you in the pub, and bizarrely, they dont seem to mind the weather.So, it feels like ourselves and the French are going to get along just fine. As long as you dont mention the craic. Or beef. - The Cork French Film Festival begins tomorrow. corkfrenchfilmfestival.com The sight of Jonathan Sexton and Joey Carbery watching from the sidelines while their Ireland colleagues went full throttle with the U20s in Belfast yesterday prompted mixed emotions. Reports earlier this week had claimed that Carberys hamstring injury could threaten his participation in the rest of the Six Nations, and maybe beyond in terms of his province, so his presence in a wardrobe of boots, shorts and training top was a welcome one. Sexton joining him for a light workout countered that. Thankfully, there was no mention of any injury holding him back afterwards. The handful of late, high-profile hits and general physical punishment suffered by the starting out-half was ultimately declared as being responsible for yesterdays approach. Safety first, basically. Theyre both on track, said Joe Schmidt. Johnny is certainly ahead of Joey. Johnny is going to be fine, hell train next week. Were hoping that Joey will be fit to train, potentially on Wednesday. If he can train Wednesday and do so on Friday then thats sufficient lead-in that he can be in contention (for the France game). So well just have to wait and see, moreso on Joey, but wed be very confident about Johnny. Robbie Henshaw and Dan Leavy both trained earlier in the day with Schmidt revealing that they are on a slightly different programme. All going well, the plan for that Leinster pair is a midweek return to the paddock. Leavy has not played yet in this Six Nations because of a calf injury but his re-appearance here suggests a role is within the realms of possibility, even if he hasnt had a game of rugby since Leinsters defeat of Connacht on December 22. Garry Ringrose, Jordan Larmour and Tadhg Beirne were other faces among the 21 senior players who engaged in a full-on run through, but there was no sign of Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath or Sean OBrien. On the last of those, Schmidt said that it was a decision based on the volume of work being done over their three-day stay in Belfast, the line being that they did not want the flanker to overdo it having only recently returned from injury. Hes been in with us a lot, where we try to have a reasonably tight number at camp with us. With Sean, he was back with Leinster doing a conditioning week and hell be back with us on Tuesday. Still, OBriens absence must call into question his participation against the French while the fact that Cronin was another not required either hardly bodes well given the lineouts difficulties against Italy when the hooker was making his first Six Nations start. We know that he can throw, said Schmidt. I dont think Ive ever seen a hooker who hasnt had an off day throwing at some stage, but do they get written off because of it? I think youd be crazy to do that after the good work that he has done. Other squad members are on provincial duties this weekend: Adam Byrne with Leinster, John Ryan from the bench with Munster, John Cooney and Jordi Murphy from the off with Ulster and Ultan Dillane and Quinn Roux in Connachts second row. Why do men statistics show it is mostly male partners who perpetrate this crime kill their families? It can be to do with an intense sense of shame about their masculinity. Some crimes are so inconceivable that we become transfixed by them. The murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three boys, Liam, Niall, and Ryan, by her husband and their father, Alan Hawe, on August 29, 2016, is one such crime. When we are transfixed by something, we are rendered motionless. We are at a total loss as how to deal with it. The idea that the place in which you should feel safest, your home, and the people with who you should feel the safest, your family, is in fact the most dangerous scenario for you, is inconceivable to us. As a society, we have grappled with many inconceivable horrors, from Church and institutional abuse to all-out gang violence on our streets. When a crime moves from a public to a private place, our parameters of understanding shrink considerably. And when it is committed by a person well known to the victim, as opposed to by a total stranger, the lines blur even further, and we can lose our faculty to reason. When Clodagh, Liam, Niall, and Ryan Hawe were found murdered in their Cavan home in summer 2016, some grasped at the mental health of Alan Hawe in a futile attempt to explain away the inconceivable. Mental health professionals were quick to point out that people with tendencies towards suicidal ideation do not physically harm others in the process of their own tragic self- destruction. So where to next? We couldnt ask Clodagh what her life had been like. Nor could we ask any of her three boys. We also couldnt question Alan Hawe about why he did what he did. Although he did try to control the narrative somewhat, by being the one to leave a letter. A letter which Clodaghs family had to wait more than a year to see. Families were left with unimaginable grief and a litany of eternally unanswerable questions. The nation was transfixed. Here was a crime that happened behind closed doors, in the private sphere of family. Was it even our right to be privy to this information at all? Is this a public matter or a familys personal one? This week, Clodaghs mother, Mary Coll, and sister, Jacqueline Connolly, were interviewed for an RTE Claire Byrne Live special about their unanswered questions. They revealed information about Alan going bridesmaid dress shopping with Jacqueline and Clodagh, about him walking Clodagh up the aisle for their wedding. There were other snippets of information that we all tried to piece together to shed some light on this inconceivable crime, one with which, as a society, we seem at a loss to deal. Clodagh Hawe Not so long ago, domestic abuse was seen as a private family matter. It was not the job of An Garda Siochana to police the private dwellings of this country for any abuse that might be going on there. If you heard shouting coming through the walls of your neighbours house, you turned a blind eye. If you suspected a friend or family member might be in trouble, you may have turned the same blind eye. How do we process crimes of an intimate nature? How do we report and repair from them? So far, we havent been so good at either. Statistics show that, on average, a woman will be assaulted by her partner or ex-partner 35 times before reporting it to the police. When it is reported, only 29% of women who had experienced severe abuse report it to An Garda Siochana. And national research from 1999 found that between 1% and 6% of domestic-violence offenders in Ireland receive a prison sentence. It comes back to that oldest of social diktats, dont wash your dirty laundry in public. But that diktat neither protects nor repairs. Had Alan Hawe not killed himself, had he been charged, he would have possibly stood trial for quadruple murder, not just any murder but the murder of his partner and children. The crime of familicide is a rare enough one, but it is a reality. It is a crime we struggle to understand, due to the fact that the victims and the perpetrators cannot be questioned for studies. And we are left with relatives grasping for answers on national television, with a justice minister asking them for ideas on how to deal with familicide. In looking for some understanding of, or answers to, this inconceivable crime, we can look to researchers. Why do men statistics show it is mostly male partners who perpetrate this crime kill their families? It can be to do with an intense sense of shame about their masculinity. Clodagh Hawe with her sons, Liam, Niall, and Ryan Neil Websdale, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northern Arizona University, has researched and written about the crime. It was often presumed that male-perpetrated spousal homicide was a final exertion of power and control over their wives, writes Websdale. But fatality review teams are occasionally finding something else at the heart of familicide in the modern world perpetrators who suffer an intense sense of shame about their masculinity, much of it unacknowledged or bypassed. Websdale has also points out that while most perpetrators of familicide have a track record of violence, some have no known history of abuse. In the case of Clodagh Hawe and her children, her sister said there was no sign that Clodagh was afraid in her marriage or that Alan ever raised a hand to the boys. However, there was evidence that something was going to come out about Alan and he felt it could lead to a life of ruin for his family. This concept of a good life spinning out of control is apparently connected to the crime of familicide. These seemingly civil and often reputable men are frequently quiet, subdued, respectable, upstanding citizens who killed because their lives were spinning out of control, says Websdale. Bankruptcy, unemployment, destitution, familial dissolution, or some other calamity profoundly undermined their sense of masculinity. What drove Alan Hawe to do the inconceivable? What was the thing that, if and when made public, would unravel his respected family man persona? What drives a man to kill his family? We are all still looking for answers, both private families and public citizens. In the pursuit and publication of those answers, we can hope to find some understanding of, maybe even prevention from the crime, and possibly some semblance of repair. You can hear the calls already. Its time to nobble the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Put it back in its place. They are out of control. They need to be taught a lesson. The ink on the provisional Supreme Court judgment is not even dry and the fate of the Dails leading committee appears doomed. But we would weaken the PAC at our peril. In November 2001, 36 gardai won their High Court challenge to the Oireachtas sub-committee inquiry into the shooting dead of John Carthy in Abbeylara. The 95-page judgment found that such inquiries do not have the power to make findings of fact or expressions of opinion adverse to the good name or reputation of citizens. This judgment was a major blunting of the force of such committees and then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern conceded it would have a profound impact on the workings of such bodies. Alan Shatter, then an opposition TD and a member of the committee, said the consequences of the judgment created a major constitutional crisis for the Oireachtas. During the boom of the Celtic Tiger, where light touch was the order of the day, the weakened state of committees meant very little. But by 2011, having done its best to destroy this country, Fianna Fail was thrown out of office. At the heart of that vote was anger. Anger at how the country could be bankrupted. Anger at the lack of oversight or regulation on those who wilfully set out to gamble with the fortunes of the Irish people. Alan Shatter, pictured in 2011. Anger that those who did the most damage, politically and at the higher echelons of our main banks, could swan off into the sunset with their multimillion-euro retirement pots. There was a palpable desire for tougher rules, greater accountability and more transparency as to how our country is run. The newly-installed Fine Gael/Labour government sought to capitalise on this move by again giving politicians enhanced powers to investigate matters. This could only be done by way of referendum. Then justice minister Shatter along with his Labour ministerial colleague Brendan Howlin took the lead in selling the virtue of giving politicians the power to make findings of fact against people. The week before the referendum, which was held on the same day as Michael D Higgins was elected President, a dramatic intervention came from no less than eight former attorneys general. In what was billed as an unprecedented intervention, which caused consternation in Government circles, the eight from a variety of political backgrounds wrote to the national newspapers expressing their opposition to the proposed wordings. The signatories were Patrick Connolly, Peter Sutherland, John Rogers, Harold Whelehan, Dermot Gleeson, David Byrne, Michael McDowell and Paul Gallagher. They stated that the proposals would seriously weaken the rights of individuals to their good name and provide insufficient protection for the independence of the judiciary: We are strongly opposed to the current proposals to amend the Constitution for the following reasons. The proposal in relation to Oireachtas inquiries seriously weakens the rights of individual citizens, firstly to protect their good names, and secondly to have disputes between themselves and the Oireachtas concerning their constitutional rights (especially their rights to fair procedures) decided by an independent judiciary. It was a key intervention and the referendum was lost, amid much acrimony between Howlin and Shatter, each blaming the other for the defeat. A majority of people were not comfortable with the idea of a committee of politicians having the ability to sit in judgment on private citizens, which the powers would have allowed them to. This weeks provisional Supreme Court judgment in the Angela Kerins v members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) case has brought the decision of the people to vote down the referendum back into sharp focus. The court found that the PAC, in its dealing with Kerins in 2014, was acting very significantly outside of its remit and therefore unlawfully. In what was a truly significant judgment, the court overturned the opinion of the High Court that the immunities and privileges conferred on the Oireachtas by the Constitution and by statute are absolute. For the first time, the court has adjudicated that the courts can sit in judgment on the actions of politicians, in certain limited circumstances. The judgment in a related case involving an action by businessman Denis OBrien against the Oireachtas is due on Tuesday. Were it to succeed, it would further seek to limit the rights of politicians to exercise their duties in the public interest without impediment. Denis O'Brien But politically, the impact of the Kerins judgment is already being felt. Some of the countrys top public officials have warned the judgment could cost the taxpayer millions of euro in damages. The judgment must radically change unfairly hostile Oireachtas committee hearings, or they may refuse to appear, they say. Senior officials have described the behaviour of some committees as increasingly outrageous adding some have descended into total show trials for the benefit of the politicians. But in truth, before it was even delivered, a lengthy queue of people was lining up to take shot at the PAC. Many of those in power, and their eager cheerleaders in the media, have made it their business to seek to undermine the work of what is the most important Oireachtas committee of all. They feel the PAC and other committees have become overly hostile forums in which peoples reputations are shredded for the benefit of the politicians questioning them. That it has become a place to chase cheap headlines and grandstand. As someone who was present for all seven hours of the 2014 Kerins appearance, the exchange was certainly robust, fiery and gruelling. No one doubts it took an extremely serious toll on her and her family. But it was an exceptional meeting. It was not in keeping with the normal modus operandi of the PAC. No right-thinking person can, in the cold light of day, defend a committee which repeatedly defied its clearly defined remit. Yet, before we all join the chorus to rein in the PAC, its important role and that of other leading committees. They should be robust. They should be uncomfortable places for secretaries general and other accounting officers to go to. As the editorial in this newspaper on Thursday morning stated, in recent years the PAC has been the forum where many public scandals have been unearthed and forensically probed. CervicalCheck, the Grace foster abuse scandal and the saga of the Garda training college in Templemore are a few which spring to mind from the past couple of years. In truth, the PAC at its best should be a thorn in the side of the powers that be. The inevitable attempts to use the Kerins judgement to further restrict the already limited powers of committees will not be in the interests of those value accountability. Weak committees were as much a part of the reasons why no one in Government saw the crash coming a decade ago. The PAC, since the crash, showed some teeth and achieved some real successes in the public interest. The excesses shown in the Kerins episode may have sealed its fate, and the powerful insiders may get their way and nobble it. But it will be to all of our costs if that is allowed to happen. In reading the letter "Get over yourselves" about how selfish Kelowna and Lake Country people are being over the possible move of Costco, I was surprised by the writer's own selfishness. She says we have access to two Costcos (Kelowna and Kamloops) but so does she. To drive from Mcdonald's in West Kelowna to Costco in Kamloops, Google says it takes 1 hour and 58 minutes. From Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna to the Costco in Kamloops, it's a 2 hour and 22 minute drive. Kamloops is even closer for you if you are on the Westside. How about that? Jim Kinsmen Dateline Military Not Pulling Its Punches on Charter Change This week, The Irrawaddy discusses the Tatmadaws strongly negative initial reactions to the NLDs constitutional reform bid. Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! The National League for Democracy (NLD)s relations with the Tatmadaw [Myanmars military] and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) have been tense since the NLD took steps to amend the Constitution. There has been a lot of criticism on social media about the statements by the USDP and the Tatmadaw. We will discuss what the Tatmadaw can do to win the love and support of the people regarding constitutional amendment. Political analyst U Maung Maung Soe and political journalist Ko Thiha Thway join me to discuss the issue. Im [The Irrawaddy English editor-in-chief] Kyaw Zwa Moe. The Tatmadaw held a press conference on Saturday. They said they agree [in principle] with amending the Constitution, but the NLD had not complied with procedures and the law. Military-appointed lawmakers and officials of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team also talked a lot. And there was public criticism in response. For example, [military-appointed lawmaker] Brigadier-General Maung Maung told reporters, The country will face instability if any one political party amends the Constitution with only its [own] goals in mind. Because our country is in a strategic position, it could become a battleground if the wrong position is taken. It is necessary to be aware of this. Ko Maung Maung Soe, do the military leaders need to respond that strongly? Are their concerns reasonable? Maung Maung Soe: The problem stems from a failure to negotiate in the name of national reconciliation. The Tatmadaw needs to think about what impacts their responses will have. They need to think about whether people accept and support their responses in Parliament, and their responses at press conference, and if their responses are appropriate considering the reality facing the country. Some view their response as too aggressive. The Tatmadaw has been deeply involved in politics for 57 years, since 1962. In fact, it has been involved since 1948, because civil war broke out [in that year] and has continued since. And the existing Constitution gives the Tatmadaw a major role to play. Under such circumstances, the Tatmadaw doesnt need to respond so aggressively, I think. If it responds with restraintby saying that it agrees with constitutional change in principle but wants it to take place in line with proceduresthe view of the people, as well as those of foreign countries and investors, of the Tatmadaw might be different. KZM: Ko Thiha, you attended the Tatmadaws press conference. The Tatmadaw True News Information Teams secretary, Major-General Tun Tun Nyi, said the NLD bent the rules after taking office in 2015. He said it stretched the rules by submitting the State Counselor Law. People are not happy with the Tatmadaws response. What is your view? Thiha Thway: When Daw Aung San Suu Kyi first entered Parliament, she had to take an oath that she would safeguard the Constitution. She refused to take that oath, which was the beginning of the problems regarding the NLD and the Constitution. As with the State Counselor Law, the NLD caught [the Tatmadaw] off guard when it submitted the [constitutional amendment] proposal. The Tatmadaw raised objections. It said time should be made for discussion of such a contentious issue. The Tatmadaw says such matters should not be put to a vote. The NLD has a majority in Parliament. The Tatmadaw thinks the NLD has wielded its majority too aggressively, and has responded. This has resulted in tensions between the two sides. KZM: The NLD has not said which provisions it will seek to amend. But judging from the 168 proposed amendments to the Constitution the NLD published in 2014, I can conclude that the party will not push the Tatmadaw to retreat from politics for the time being; for example [the provision guaranteeing] that 25 percent of lawmakers will be military representatives appointed to Parliament by the commander-in-chief of defense services. Nor do I think the NLD will push to restrict the power of the commander-in-chief. Given the current situation, the NLD is not likely to do so, as it is working for national reconciliation. U Maung Maung Soe, do you think the Tatmadaw needs to be worried? In my opinion, the NLD will continue working together with the Tatmadaw for the next 15, 20 years. MMS: There is one thing that the Tatmadaw and the military-backed USDP are worried about. Constitutional amendment is supported by the majority of the people. Frankly speaking, it is the best tool to solicit votes in the 2020 election. The majority of the people will not cast votes for anyone who is against amending the Constitution. The majority of the people want to have it amended. Today, nobody thinks that the Constitution doesnt need to be changed. Everyone says it needs to be changed, though there has not been any argument yet about which provisions should be changed. Rather than raising strong objections at this moment, it would be better to have a debate after the provisions to be amended are sorted out. KZM: It is the task of the committee [to draft amendments to the Constitution]. MMS: Yes, it is. However small their representation on the committee, the Tatmadaw, USDP, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Arakan National Party and other parties have the right to debate anyway. Again, nothing the committee agrees is final. Its proposed amendments will be submitted to Parliament and will be finalized only after being approved by Parliament. Though the NLD is in the majority at present, it holds just over 60 percent [of seats]. It is difficult to get those amendments approved as this requires more than 70 percent of votes, according to Section 436 [of the charter]. Whether they will be approved will depend on negotiations. Only when the two sides agree can a particular provision be amended in Parliament. There is no need to worry too much. They can respond calmly. KZM: Given the current political landscape, how far will the NLD go to amend the Constitution? TT: When the committee starts discussions, we will see which provisions will be hard to amend. Besides the discussion inside the committee, there should be talks between the leaders of the two sides outside the committee. If the Army chief and NLD leader reach an agreement, the committee will also be able to arrive at an agreement. As the committee will hold detailed discussions on particular provisions, the different views on those provisions will become clearer. And if the leaders of the two sides are willing to negotiate based on those views, I hope the Constitution can be changed to a certain extent. As youve said, the NLD cant amend the Constitution as it wishes. And the NLD knows that it cant. KZM: Ko Maung Maung Soe, speaking of civilian-military relations, the Tatmadaw shouldnt focus just on the relations between military and civilian leaders, but also on what they call soldier-state relations and soldier-society relations; in other words the relations between them and the people. Only then will it become more respectable, right? MMS: When we talk about civilian-military relations, generally we focus on what the civilian side should do to improve its relations with the military. In my view, the military should think about how to improve its relations with the civilian side. Both Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have shown that they understand that the Constitution cant be amended right away. At an exclusive meeting on Oct. 15, 2018, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that ethnicities might have their own dreams about what should constitute a federal Union, but at the same time, there is a need to acknowledge the reality of the 2008 Constitution, which [she said] should be amended step by step. This is the stance of the NLD. Lawmakers of the Tatmadaw, USDP, NLD and all the other parties, if all of them agree that the Constitution should be amended, the first thing they should do is to think about what particular provisions should be amended as a priority. The peace and ethnic issues are the most pressing issues now. We should think about whether or not to amend provisions related to ethnic issues, self-determination and equality first. If they proceed based on those basic points, it will be easier to solve the problem. KZM: I think many points can be amended then. Speaking of ethnic issues, military officers said at [Saturdays conference] that the Tatmadaw would withdraw from politics only when ethnic armed organizations no longer exist. Ethnic leaders are not happy with that. What is your assessment of it? MMS: Previously, the NLD planned to amend the Constitution based on agreements reached at the Union Peace Conference. But now, as it is trying to amend the Constitution with lawmakers only, ethnic armed organizations have been left out while political parties are included. The two key players, the NLD and the Tatmadaw, need to think about how to solve this. KZM: Ko Thiha, if all sides reach an agreement, either through the committee or by other means, to change the Constitution to a certain extent, the democratic transition in our country will be smooth. It may take two years or more. But this will earn us credit both in ASEAN and the international community. What is your expectation, as the committee is due to submit its report in July? Do you think there will be favorable developments in the months to come? TT: The NLD and ethnic parties desperately want to amend the Constitution. The problem arises because there are two different dreamstheir dream of how they want to build the country and the Tatmadaws dream of how it wants to keep the country going. So, they need to negotiate over their dreams first. The Tatmadaw is resisting constitutional amendment. Though it says it wants to amend the Constitution, it is concerned that the amendments will have a negative impact on what they have built. It takes a defensive position and resists. In my view, the Tatmadaw should think about the changes envisioned by the ethnic groups and democratic forces led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and make appropriate changes to achieve that change. KZM: U Maung Maung Soe, my last question. Myanmar people respect the Tatmadaw, and basically accept that the Tatmadaw is necessary. But the question is how the Tatmadaw will gradually retreat from politics. How should the Tatmadaw act to win the love of the people and not be cursed by the people? When Myanmar finally becomes a truly democratic countryit may take a long time, perhaps 30 years or sothe Tatmadaw will only have to focus on its state defense duties. How realistic should the Myanmar Tatmadaw act in these years? MMS: First of all, there is national reconciliation, because the two sides cannot crush each other. Because of this, there must be compromises. Secondly, taking a look at the past, if one side thinks it has been right all along, it will be hard to solve the problem. Because the conflict is happening between two sides; if one side has always been right all along, the other side would have always been wrong. This wont solve the problem. So I think people will accept it if the Tatmadaw and the NLD, which are the two main stakeholders now, objectively and responsibly judge the rights and wrongs of history. KZM: Thank you for your contributions! We will wait and see if the ending turns out to be a happy one for Myanmar! Burma This Week in Parliament Union Parliament members at parliament buildings in Naypyitaw on November 12, 2018 / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy Monday (Feb. 25) Deputy Minister for Ethnic Affairs U Hla Maw Oo replied to the question raised by U Wai Sein Aung, Upper House lawmaker from Rakhine State Constituency 1 on whether there is a plan to designate Sept. 9, the anniversary of the death of independence hero Sayadaw U Ottama, as a gazetted holiday in the entire country or only in Rakhine State. The deputy minister said the government currently does not have such a plan. Tuesday (Feb. 26) Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance U Set Aung explained the matters related to informing signatories of the rectification of the coming into effect of the ASEAN, Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement sent by the president to the Union Parliament. Wednesday (Feb. 27) Nine representatives discussed a motion calling for the effective implementation of seed sector development as a major resource for agricultural development submitted by U Aung Kyi Thein, a representative of Mon States Chaungzon constituency and the session approved it. Thursday (Feb. 28) Union Parliament voted against extending the terms of the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission headed by ex-general and former Lower House speaker U Shwe Mann. Only 20 lawmakers voted in favor of extending the commission, while 555 voted against it with 10 abstentions. Friday (Mar. 1) Seven representatives discussed the motion of Upper House representative U Pyi Phyo Zaw calling for the government to adopt frameworks for mid- and long-term project objectives by reviewing land management and national land use strategies. U Pyi Phyo Zaw pointed out the importance of policies, strategies, procedures, laws and rules and regulations for the sustainable development of the country. The deputy minister for natural resources and environmental conservation took part in the discussions and the motion was approved. On This Day The Day Democracy Died in Myanmar Government troops are deployed in downtown Yangon on the morning of March 2, 1962. On this day in 1962, the Myanmar military seized power after abolishing the elected government of U Nu, who had been voted in two years earlier. In a radio announcement on March 2, coup leader General Ne Win cited deteriorating conditions in the country, including ethnic minorities call for federalism, as justification for his actions. The military had earlier staged a coup in 1958 at the request of the then government and handed power back to the civilian administration in 1960. This time the coup-installed regime would last for 26 years, until it was toppled by a nationwide popular uprising in 1988. Under Ne Wins military dictatorship, Myanmar went from being one of Southeast Asians most developed and democratic nations to ranking among the worlds least developed countries. The regime gained notoriety for, among other things, its bloody dynamiting of the Student Union building on the Rangoon University Campus, deadly crackdowns on a series of worker and student strikes, demonetization, and appointing military personnel to government departments. Ne Wins regime made the takeover official by announcing March 2 as a gazetted holiday under a different title. Since 1965, the day has been known as Peasants Day, named after the huge socialist-style peasant meetings held across the country. By Wei Yan Aung On This Day A Tigress Visits the Shwedagon Pagoda The Shwedagon Pagoda in the late 19th century. On this day in 1903, a tigress made her way to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon (then known as Rangoon), causing pandemonium at the countrys most sacred Buddhist site. The tiger was first spotted crouching halfway up the gilded structure in the morning by a group of visitors. An order to kill the creature was issued by local authorities and, after much difficult and dangerous effort, soldiers from the Kings Regiment (Liverpool) shot and killed the 8-foot-long young tigress. In the early 1900s, the city contained large areas of dense forest and tigers were a common sight in the area. The tigress visit to the pagoda prompted curiosity among Myanmar people near and far, and the religious site saw a surge in visitors. The beasts appearance also became a source of inspiration for local artists, who churned out plays and songs about the pagodas nonhuman visitor and her untimely death. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 2) Heavy traffic is expected on Monday following the closure of the Tandang Sora flyover and intersection on Commonwealth Avenue for the construction of the new MRT line. The two innermost lanes on the eastbound and westbound portions of Commonwealth Avenue were closed at 11 p.m. on Saturday. Authorities expect the closure to affect 100,000 motorists traversing the road and thousands more commuters everyday. It will remain closed until 2020. Motorists coming from Tandang Sora can no longer cross directly towards Commonwealth and would have to take the U-turn slots in front of UP TechnoHub and CW Home Depot. Two roads can possibly become traffic bottlenecks - parts of Luzon Avenue and Congressional Avenue extension. Even before the closure, traffic at the foot of the Luzon Avenue flyover was already heavy, but even heavier traffic is expected given that trucks pass through this route. CNN Philippines also passed through Congressional Avenue prior to the closure and observed slow moving traffic. Authorities are appealing to commuters and motorists for their patience and understanding, saying that the MRT-7 project could not be delayed. Vehicle owners are also encouraged to practice carpooling, where at least two people are onboard a car. The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it will conduct clearing operations on nearby roads to ease traffic congestion. Elevated U-turn slots will also be constructed, but would take six months before they are finished. Despite appeals, some motorists and businesses near the area are still wary of the closure. Jeepney and taxi drivers, in particular, worry that the closure would hit their income. "Siyempre magsasara 'yan, mata-traffic," taxi driver Andrew Arce said. "Eh ayaw na ayaw naming ma-traffic. Siyempre, namamasada kami." [Translation: Of course that would close down, we'll get stuck in traffic We really don't like getting stuck in traffic. Of course, we want to continue with our trip.] The MMDA earlier planned for the Tandang Sora flyover to be closed on February 23, but the Quezon City government appealed for it to be delayed to March 2 to be given more time to inform the public about the move. CNN Philippines Correspondents Rex Remitio and Paolo Barcelon contributed to this report. Canadian recording artist Shari Ulrich swung by the Castanet and Soft 103.9 studios Friday afternoon, as she gets ready to hit the stage at Kelowna's Rotary Centre for the Arts. Ulrich won her first of several Juno Awards for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1981. Originally from California, she now calls Bowen Island home. Ulrich chatted with Soft 103.9's Kevin Rothwell about her adopted country, and how her life on B.C.'s coast impacts her songwriting. Ulrich takes to the stage in Kelowna at 7:30 p.m. tonight, followed by shows in Merritt and Chilliwack through the weekend. Saturday, March 2nd, 2019 (7:24 am) - Score 1,149 The UK Governments Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has released 1.725m to help improve superfast broadband (24Mbps+) coverage in rural parts of Suffolk. The money is expected to result in a further 550 business and 600 non-business (homes etc.) premises being covered. At present the existing 64m state aid supported Better Broadband for Suffolk (BBS) project with Openreach (BT) has already achieved 93%+ coverage of superfast ISP networks (up from just 50% in 2013) and they aim to reach 98% coverage by the end of 2020. On top of that the local authority has consistently said theyre committed to reaching 100% Superfast Broadband coverage in Suffolk as quickly as possible and todays announcement is all about helping to chip away at the final 2%. This generally represents some of the most poorly served rural communities in the county. Matthew Hicks, Leader of Suffolk County Council, said: This is great news for Suffolk and really underlines the success we have when local councils work together. With 98% of Suffolk already funded to receive Superfast Broadband, we are doing all we can to reach the remaining businesses and residents, so I congratulate the teams on securing this funding. By helping businesses to go Superfast, we are enabling them to unlock new ways of working, access new online markets and helping them grow and be successful. Apparently work on connecting the new areas will begin later in 2019, although the announcement doesnt clarify precisely how the funding will be used, where or by who. The most likely outcome is that it will go toward an extension of the existing BT contract and many such deals being signed today tend to focus on ultrafast full fibre FTTP more than the older generation of superfast hybrid fibre FTTC (VDSL2) services (not yet confirmed for Suffolk). On the other hand Cityfibre last year secured the contract to build a new Gigabit (1Gbps+) capable full fibre broadband / Ethernet network in Suffolk (here), which will initially focus on connecting public sector sites across 10 towns before being expanded to reach local businesses and possibly homes. In theory the new funding could play a role in that but the focus at this stage for Cityfibre is different from what has been announced today. The theme of this years International Night is Embracing Our Diversity. Countries from all over the world will be represented at this event, but emphasis will be placed on countries where current ISU international students are from. International Night will include a flag show, various performances by international students and different food from around the world, including cuisine from Nepal, Latin America, Ireland and Africa. Two separate raffles will also be held. This years mega raffle prize is a 4k smart TV. A portion of the proceeds raised from the raffle will be donated to Bennys Pantry. Tickets are available for purchase at the Pond Student Union and Rendezvous. Ticket prices are $7 for students and faculty, $8 for the public and $10 at the door. For more information, contact the International Student Association President, Subigya Shah, at shahsubi@isu.edu. Microsoft's Edge last month posted its first ever double-digit browser share, while Google's Chrome slid for the third month straight. Mozilla's Firefox once again held steady, keeping its head above water. According to data published Sunday by California-based metrics company Net Applications, Edge's October share climbed by 1.4 percentage points, ending the month at 10.2%, the first time Microsoft's browser broke through that psychologically important barrier. The gain was the largest ever for Edge in a single month, almost double that of the previous record set in December 2019. The increase was so large that it immediately raised suspicions that it was a miscount by Net Applications rather than a reflection of reality. Bolstering that was an even greater boost to the share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), the obsolete browser the Redmond, Wash. company has started to strip of some of its support. IE's share for October 5.6% was 1.7 points higher than the month prior, a jump so out of character as to be unbelievable. Edge's gain was understandable, at least. Microsoft relaunched that 2015 browser earlier this year when it recast Edge with the Google-dominated Chromium technology, the same that powers Chrome. Not only did Microsoft make Edge a Chrome copy, but it also expanded support to versions of Windows other than 10, as well as macOS and, more recently, Linux. Since January, Edge has slowly been adding share; 3.2 points since the Chromium-based Edge went final in the Stable channel. In the past 12 months, Edge has gained 4.1 percentage points, for an average of a third of a point per month. At that pace, Edge should sit at almost 11% by year's end and at 15% by December 2021. Of course, that assumes Edge can maintain growth, which in turn requires one or more rivals continues to give up share. The most likely loser? Chrome, mostly because of its titanic share but also because Edge is, well, Chrome wearing a different outfit. Microsoft's launch of Windows 10 20H2 the H2 signifying the year's second feature upgrade last month may assist Edge as it continues to climb: 20H2 includes Chromium Edge. That should accelerate the replacement of original Edge, the version introduced in mid-2015 that ran only on Windows 10, with the sounder Chromium browser. Chrome down for third consecutive month Chrome dumped seven-tenths of a percentage point in October, falling back to 69.3%. The decline was the third in as many months, an unusual run that's occurred only four times in the browser's 15 years. (The last time it happened before this was in September-December 2019.) Whenever Chrome suffers losses in two or more straight months, it's tempting to wonder whether the browser has peaked. Computerworld has tentatively pegged more than a couple such milestones before but been proven wrong each time. The browser could easily bounce back as it has before. Computerworld's latest forecast as always, based on Chrome's 12-month average stayed with growth, albeit pared significantly from 30 days ago. Chrome should return to 70% by March 2021 and reach 71% by September 2022. (The latter was three months later than last month's forecast, showing how present declines quickly impact future gains.) Edge remains Chrome's most dangerous competitor, primarily and this is Google's own doing to some degree because the former is the latter, what with both relying on Chromium. But Microsoft has cards to play here that Google cannot match; Microsoft will leverage its enterprise management reputation and expertise in an attempt to wean commercial customers from Google's browser. Microsoft's strategy, then, would be the opposite of Google's. The latter pushed Chrome to consumers until its share reached tipping point, and employees demanded the right to run the same browser they'd become familiar with at home. Microsoft would instead hope to win over business users in the expectation that they might want to run the same browser on home PCs, tablets or even phones. Firefox: Not dead yet! Firefox didn't move its share needle last month; it stayed at the same 7.2% mark it earned in September. That meant Firefox didn't gain any ground. It also meant it didn't lose any, probably its most important goal for now and the foreseeable future. Mozilla's browser also stuck to the bad news forecast of last month, although Computerworld's current prediction puts it under 6% in August 2021, two months later than last month's estimate. At its 12-month rate of decline, Firefox will dip below 5% in May 2022. Elsewhere in Net Applications' numbers, Apple's Safari slumped by two-tenths of a percentage point in October, sliding to 3.4%. Opera Software's Opera fell by a slightly-larger three-tenths of a point to end the month at an all-time low of seven-tenths of a point. Net Applications calculates share by detecting the agent strings of the browsers used to reach the websites of Net Applications' clients. The company counts visitor sessions to measure browser activity. Or it used to. At the same time it published October's share numbers, Net Applications announced that it's pulling the plug on the data source. "October 2020 is the last month of data," the firm said. "Why? An upcoming change in browsers will break our device detection technology and will cause inaccuracies for a long period of time." The change Net Applications cited would remove much of the agent string information used not only to compile analytics such as browser and operating system share, but also by advertisers and/or scammers to "fingerprint" individuals so that they can be more thoroughly tracked as they conduct their online lives. Computerworld has not yet decided whether to continue the "Top web browsers" series, and if so, which alternate data source might be used. Stay tuned. Today Overcast with rain showers at times. High around 65F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Tonight Some clouds. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 75F. Winds light and variable. Ethics Bowl Team Competes at Nationals (L-R) Trevor Sierra 05, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Andrew Engen and Adriane Powell served as judges during one of two Ethics Bowl practice rounds held during the week leading up to Nationals. March 1, 2019 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. In preparation for competition at the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, the Illinois Wesleyan University Ethics Bowl team called upon alumni, friends of the University, faculty and staff to judge practice rounds leading up to Nationals, held March 2-3 in Baltimore. Practice round judges included Don Knapp (McLean County States Attorney), Andy Kriess 86 (IWU Director of Marketing), Puneet Leekha (Chestnut Health Systems Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel), Adriane Powell (IWU Director of Alumni Engagement), and Trevor Sierra 05 (McLean County Assistant States Attorney). The judges were invaluable in simulating the Ethics Bowl experience, said team member Jared Schneider 22, an economics major. The guest judges brought in their varied perspectives on the ethical issues and exposed dimensions of the cases that we might not have considered before, as they bring with them experience from multiple careers. McLean County Assistant States Attorney Trevor Sierra 05 spoke with the IWU Ethics Bowl team during the week leading up to Nationals. Assistant Professor of Philosophy Andrew Engen and Associate Professor of Philosophy Emily Kelahan 05 coordinated the series of practice rounds in which the team worked together to present arguments in response to various ethical questions. In addition to asking stimulating questions, our judges are people with whom our students can connect for professional guidance and mentorship, added Kelahan. They give the students things to think about that I never could. From real-world controversies in society ranging from gene editing to mass automation, Ethics Bowl cases are designed to prepare students for careers in law and other related fields. In preparation for Nationals, team members conducted extensive research into a series of cases which will be debated amongst 35 qualifying teams from across the U.S. Illinois Wesleyans Ethics Bowl team qualified for Nationals for the fourth time in the past seven years by placing fourth out of 32 teams at the Upper Midwest Regional competition on Nov. 17. Juan Rios-Narcisco '22 speaks during an IWU Ethics Bowl practice round ahead of Nationals. Since this is Nationals, we're surely going to face some very good teams, but I think it's going to be enjoyable to work through the rounds as a team, Schneider said. With five first-year students on Illinois Wesleyans eight-student team, Kelahan said this is an exciting opportunity for the young squad to experience Nationals and learn from competing teams. I always enjoy seeing the other teams in action, Kelahan said. Whether we win or lose, we always learn a lot from watching the way other teams perform. We all want to have a strong showing at Nationals and be competitive with all of the other accomplished teams who will be there to compete with us, Schneider added. I'm looking forward to experiencing Nationals for the first time, as I think it will be valuable experience for the future. Updated: Nationals Results Illinois Wesleyan went 2-1-1 at Nationals. IWU tied Tufts University, lost to Oklahoma Christian University, and defeated both Seton Hall University and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. The 2018-19 Ethics Bowl Team members include: Allen Cook 22 (Springfield, Ill.), physics and political science double major Matthew Galvan 22 (Los Angeles, Calif.) political science major Emma Gray 21 (Urbana, Ill.) biochemistry major Jonas Maes 22 (Redmond, Wash.), political science major Kayley Rettberg 20 (Carol Stream, Ill.), political science major Juan Rios-Narcisco 22 (Arrowsmith, Ill.), design, technology and entrepreneurship (DTE) and political science double major Jared Schneider 22 (Lombard, Ill.), economics major Adeline Schultz 20 (Bloomington, Ill.), philosophy major By Rachel McCarthy 21 Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over criticising the grand old party Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused him of not taking a break from public relations exercises even when the situation is tensed and the relation between India-Pakistan relations are at the lowest point in decades. "The Indian Prime Minister can't keep his public relations (exercises) aside even for five minutes, and that's the difference between him and us," PTI quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying at a rally in Dhule. "He tells the media that India is united after the Pulwama terror attacks, but then immediately targets the Congress." After the Pulwama attack, I told my party leaders and workers to ensure that nobody criticised the government and (said) the country should stand together in this fight, Gandhi added. Speaking at a rally in north Maharashtras Dhule district, Congress president also attacked industrialist Anil Ambani, saying he cannot make even paper planes. Rahul Gandhi said it was defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which has made military aircraft such as Mirage, Sukhois and Jaguars. Gandhi also accused PM Modi of "protecting" fugitive businessman like Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in India by several agencies. Modi refers to Mehul Choksi as Mehul bhai (brother Mehul) but calls you -- the people -- mitron (friends)," Rahul Gandhi said. Also read: The UN Security Council has banned Hamza bin Laden, the son of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, subjecting him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo. The UNSC described Bin Ladens son as the most probable successor of the groups current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. The UN Security Councils 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee on Thursday listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden, hours after the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him. Also, on Friday, Saudi Arabia also announced Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. In a press release, UN Security Council said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an official member of Al Qaida. Hamza bin Laden has called for followers of Al-Qaida to commit terror attacks. Is seen as the most probable successor of al-Zawahiri, the powerful 15-member Council said. Under the Sanctions Committee arms embargo, all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities. "Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. service members," the State Department said. In January 2017, the State Department had listed Hamza bin Laden as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, freezing all of his assets based in the United States. Also read: Summerville, SC (29483) Today Cloudy with occasional rain late. Thunder possible. Low 51F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain late. Thunder possible. Low 51F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. VICTORIA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2019 / Erin Ventures Inc. [TSXV: EV] [OTCQB: ERVFF] is pleased to announce the release of an amended mineral resource estimate report titled, "Mineral Resource Estimate Update On The Piskanja Borate Project, Serbia, October 2016 - Amended February 28 2019" (the "Report"), for Erin's 100% owned Serbian boron property. The Report was authored by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd ("SRK") independent of Erin, and has been prepared in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" ("NI 43-101"). The effective date of SRK's mineral resource statement contained within the Report is July 19, 2016, and was prepared in conformity with the Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM) "Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines". In summary, in producing the mineral resource statement, the Qualified Persons (the "Authors") at SRK have: Modelled the borate horizons in 3D; Composited the sample data into 1m intervals and undertaken a statistical analysis of the assay data in each mineralised domain; Evaluated the composited assay data for the presence of high-grade outliers from histograms; Undertaken geostatistical analyses to determine appropriate interpolation algorithms; Created a block model with block dimensions of 10x10x2 m; Undertaken a Quantitative Kriging Neighbourhood Analysis (QKNA) to test the sensitivity of the interpolation parameters; Interpolated borate grades into the block model; Visually and statistically validated the interpolated block grades relative to the original sample results; and Reported an MRE according to CIM Standards. Upon consideration of data quality, drill hole spacing and the interpreted continuity of grades controlled by the deposit, the Authors variously classified portions of the deposit in the Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource categories. The Authors applied basic economic considerations to restrict the Mineral Resource to material that it considered had reasonable prospects for economic extraction by underground mining methods. The updated MRE for the Project is presented below. SRK Mineral Resource Statement as at July 19, 2016 for the Piskanja Deposit prepared in accordance with CIM Standards Mineral Resource Category1 Cut-off (B2O3) Tonnage, Mt B2O3 Grade, % Contained B2O3, Mt3 Indicated 12% 7.8 31.0 2.4 Inferred2 12% 3.4 28.6 1.0 1Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves as they have no demonstrated economic viability. SRK and Erin are not aware of any factors (environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, or other relevant factors) that have materially affected the Mineral Resource Estimate. 2The quantity and grade of reported Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to report these Mineral Resources in the Measured category and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading a part of these to this category in due course or if further technical work will enable them to reported as Mineral Reserves. 3Contained metal figures and totals may differ due to rounding of figures. Report Conclusions The infill drilling and database verification work completed in 2016 added further confidence to the geological model and borate grade distributions and enabled the production of an updated MRE which is similar in quantum, but is now more robust, than that previously produced. Comparison to Previous Estimates: In comparison to the previous 2013 MRE for the Project, which was also reported at a cut-off grade of 12% B2O3 but above a minimum mining thickness of 1.0 m, this updated MRE (which is reported above a minimum mining thickness of 1.2 m) has more borate in the Indicated category (2.4Mt compared to 1.7 Mt) and less borate in the Inferred category (1.0Mt compared to 1.8 Mt). These changes are primarily due to some previously reported Inferred material being upgraded in to the Indicated category though there is also a slight reduction in B2O3 content for the Project as a whole from 3.5 Mt to 3.4 Mt (-4%) mainly as a result of a 6% reduction in tonnage. This change is primarily due to the 2015 infill drilling which has shown some of the thicker zones to be less continuous than previously assumed but also enabled the higher grade zones to be better delineated, which has reduced the tonnage slightly but at the same time slightly improved the grade (namely a global 2% increase in grade compared to the previous estimate). Piskanja Mineralisation Model, looking north (To view the full-size image, please click here) SRK Mineral Resource Classification (To view the full-size image, please click here) The Report describing the details of the resource estimate will be available under Erin's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on the Company's website www.erinventures.com. The full report contains more information with respect to the key assumptions, parameters, methods and risks of determination associated with the Mineral Resource Estimate. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Blake Fallis, General Manager Qualified Persons The technical information in this release was prepared and approved by James E Wallis, M.Sc. (Eng), P. Eng., a director of Erin, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. The responsible persons for the updated MRE are Dr Mike Armitage (C.Eng. C.Geol.) and Dr Mikhail Tsypukov who are both full time employees of SRK and Qualified Persons in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (CIM Standards) and independent of Erin Ventures. Dr Mikhail Tsypukov visited the Project between 17th and 19th of October 2018. About Erin Ventures Inc. Erin Ventures Inc. is an international mineral exploration and development company with boron assets in Serbia. Headquartered in Victoria, B.C., Canada, Erin's shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EV" and OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol "ERVFF". For detailed information please see Erin's website at www.erinventures.com or the Company's filed documents at www.sedar.com. For further information, please contact: Erins Public Quotations Erin Ventures Inc. Blake Fallis, General Manager Phone: 1-250- 384-1999 or 1-888-289-3746 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.erinventures.com Canada TSX Venture: EV Europe Berlin: EKV USA OTCQB: ERVFF Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements: This release contains forward looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "feel," "plan," "anticipate," "project," "could," "should" and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, variations in estimated costs, the failure to discover or recover economic grades of minerals, and the inability to raise the funds necessary, changes in external market factors including commodity prices, and other risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from the results referred to in the forward-looking statements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. These and other factors made in public disclosures and filings by the Company should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. "Inferred Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and economic and legal feasibility. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource reported in this news release will ever be upgraded to a higher category or to reserves. U.S. persons are advised that while mineral resources are recognized under Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. U.S. persons are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable. MEDFORD, Ore -- The Habitat for Humanity in the Rogue Valley is helping families in need. Recently the The Holland Family and The Hinojosa Family were welcomed them into their home-ownership program. According to Habitat's Programs and Operations director Brandon Thoms, the families were selected based on three criteria: the need for housing, the ability to pay, and willingness to partner. Each family is required to work 500 hours of sweat equity throughout the build process," Thoms said. "They also help us with fundraiser, events, community outreach, etc. Habitat for Humanity is currently building homes in Medford and Rogue River. MEDFORD, Ore. -- Landlords, renters, and property managers are trying to weed through the details when it comes to Oregon's new rent control law. The governor signed the bill Thursday, making Oregon the first state in the nation to have such a law. Charles Rice, a Medford resident struggling with his rising rent, doesn't think the law goes far enough. He has lived in his two bedroom, one bathroom apartment in southwest Medford for about a decade. He says he's seen a $50 increase every year on his rent, which is now up to $850. He says it's a challenge to pay his rising rent because he is battling cancer and is on Social Security with a limited income. He wants to see a law that puts a monetary limit on how much landlords can raise rent each year. "They use percentage points," Rice says, talking about the new law. "I don't want to hear percentage points." The law prevents landlords from raising rent higher than seven percent plus the consumer price index -- a benchmark of the average prices for most house purchases in the U.S. Landlords also can't carry out no-cause evictions within a tenant's first year of occupancy a provision designed to protect those living month-to-month, who are often most vulnerable to sudden rent hikes and abrupt lease terminations. There are exemptions to the law, like if an owner has fewer than four units, or if a rental property has had its occupancy licenses less than 15 years. Senator Jeff Golden, (D - Ashland) says this is to ensure "that developers can recoup investment costs." Claude LaBaw, co-owner and president of My Favorite Property Management in Medford, says he thinks the seven percent plus the CPI is a good number. "I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem, because most landlords don't raise their rent $300 - $400 in a year," LaBaw said. "Most landlords will raise them $100, $50, $25, depending on their expenses." For Rice, that's still too much. We reached out to his landlord, who works at Our Valley Properties LLC. All calls went straight to voicemail. Rice says he likes his neighborhood, but isn't sure what they're going to do to be able to stay. "We have nowhere to go," Rice said. MCCLOUD, Ca. -- The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office says on February 28, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. Search and Rescue (SAR) assisted by the Siskiyou County Road Department rescued a woman stuck in deep snow near Bunny Flat. Bunny Flat is a recreational area at the foot of Mt. Shasta at the end of Everett Memorial Highway. The original call came in on February 27, 2019 at 10:43 a.m. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office says a woman called saying her Prius was stuck in deep snow and she could not get herself or the car out. She says she went into the area from Everett Memorial Highway on Sunday but encountered heavy snow from recent storms. The woman is identified as Lydia Briggs, a resident of Massachusetts. Briggs told SAR that she was almost out of food, and was melting snow to use as drinking water. Briggs said she was intermittently running her car to stay warm, and had less than a quarter tank of gas remaining. The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office SAR team attempted to deploy a snowmobile and a "Sno-Cat" to the location, but due to the excessive snow that had fallen, around six feet, the vehicles could not traverse the roadway. SAR says it had to abort the mission. SAR requested assistance from Mr. Eric Freeman and his Mt. Shasta-based Siskiyou County Road Department crew. SAR says the only way to reach the stranded tourist was to clear the deep snow from the roadway leading to the Bunny Flat parking area. Crews used large snow blowers on Everett Memorial Highway to attempted to clear a path. The team reached Briggs on February 28, 2019 around 10: 30 a.m. and managed to guide her back down Everett Memorial Highway to safety. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 2) Five students died and six others were injured in a road accident in Negros Oriental Friday morning, according to the Education department. The incident happened in Barangay Mayabon, Zamboanguita around 6:10 a.m. Those killed in the incident were five students from the Basay National High School. In a statement, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones extended her condolences to the families of the victims. "Five of the victims were our learners from Basay National High School who were members of the MathSayaw Team. They were on their way home from a tournament in Cebu at the time the tragic incident happened. The Department will extend support and assistance to the bereaved families," said Briones. A separate statement from the DepEd statement said the victims were on their way back to Bayawan aboard a van after attending a dance competition in Cebu, when their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck. The DepEd said five other students and an adult were hurt in the accident and are currently in the hospital. "Personnel of the said field offices are currently at the hospital to closely monitor the condition of those injured and check any further assistance that can be extended," the statement said. Zambonaguita police said the drivers of both vehicles were fine. Dumaguete City-based stringer Roy Bustillo contributed to this report. 20 Shares Share When we all lived in villages, knowing individual merchants allowed you to identify and avoid the cheats. As we urbanized, brand names became the reputational marker. But when you are dealing on the internet, where no one knows youre a dog, what guarantee do you have? A case involving a Dutch physician who argued that her licensure suspension should be forgotten, highlight health cares growing dilemma of privacy and reputation. The current case from the Netherlands Here is the broad outline. A Dutch surgeons license was suspended for poor post-operative care on appeal that suspension was made conditional and she was allowed to continue practicing under supervision. The Dutch governments health care regulator noted the events in the official public record as did a blacklisting website that mentioned her, along with other physicians as people to avoid. She sued Google, asking them to remove the links to the blacklistings website. Google refused. The Dutch Data Protection Agency (DDPA) agreed that it was important for future patients to be able to find the information. They noted that the information was not manifestly incorrect and at the time probation was ongoing making the information relevant. The plaintiff appealed to the courts, arguing that the blacklisting website was not representative and therefore not a reliable source and that publication of these findings, even by the government regulators represents blaming and shaming, a form of digital pillory. The right to be forgotten Under the strict privacy rules of the EU, an individual has a right for their digital traces to be forgotten with some broad exceptions. Specifically, exceptions requiring data retention include information necessary for historical, statistical and scientific research purposes, for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, for exercising the right of freedom of expression, when required by law or where there is a reason to restrict the processing of the data instead of erasing them. Several years ago, the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) ruled that for data playing an essential role in public life, and arguably that includes malpractice litigation, the preponderant interest of the general public in having access to the information in question may overcome a right to be forgotten. Spanish authorities in a case involving Google and a real estate transaction refined and extended the right to be forgotten. They found that search engines, specifically Google, by the mere linkage and display of information were controllers of private information and were required to remove links, when challenged by individuals, under the EU privacy rules. The website that contained the data to be forgotten had to be addressed separately. Google processes about 63,000 search requests a second, and being a controller of private information is a natural conclusion. 90 percent of searches begin and end on the front page, in fact, most end after the first five listings on that page other than ads. How we search has spawned an industry gaming the algorithm to move you up in the page rankings for marketing and reputation managers who seek to bury your less favorable links on page two or three. The courts decision for the Dutch physician The courts subsequently found the DDPA regulatory decision to be incorrect, the links were irrelevant and excessive and ordered Google to remove them. Among the reasons cited: Both Google and the court agreed that professional disciplinary proceedings are not special criminal data that can never be forgotten. The government kept the same information publicly available so that removing the links would not impair the public interest. That the board had never stopped her from working during her probationary suspension implying she was not a threat to patients. The obligation of search engines and devilish details Europeans feel that burying the link, as we do in the U.S., is insufficient. The 2014 Spanish decision obligated controllers, like Google to resolve three issues: Whether truthful information should be treated differently to false information and, if so, how to determine which information falls into which category. How to classify information as old versus new and at what point does the staleness of information require its removal on request? The relevance of the original source of the publication to a removal request. Intuitively, these are all good arguments. But in an initial case brought by a plastic surgeon which he lost he wanted an article written about an accusation of malpractice to be forgotten. When the article was written, it was true; it was when he was found innocent that the information became false. A similar argument could be made about our youthful indiscretions, is 10 or 15 years sufficient for them to be forgotten? That debate played out in the confirmation hearing for Justice Kavanaugh and the same issues that lead to the Cleveland Clinic firing a medical resident for anti-Semitic statements made five years previously. And as for the argument of a source, does a scathing Yelp review by an angry patient deserve to be removed or retained more than the same report sent to the states medical board prompting an investigation? Even the best of algorithms with human oversight are no guarantees. After all, at some point, Google will be sued for not posting information, that a patient who feels their injury could have been avoided if only they knew about those prior cases. Who decides health cares reputational markers? A Google search for position statements on physicians online reputation from the American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, American College of Physicians and American College of Cardiologists found no statements. Even on page two and three, there were no positions. The right to be forgotten can be couched as the right to have only correct information, but changing times and conditions make relevant and correct ambiguous. U.S. law balances those issues by the First Amendment and laws governing both libel and invasion of privacy. Search engines are not the judge; the government, through the courts, makes those decisions. But that is an expensive undertaking, and the laws do not always align with the best interests of patients or physicians. In the EU, the responsibility has been shifted onto an uneasy and I would argue unstable alliance of government regulators and large corporations. How technology companies, and that would include Facebook and all the rest, have managed privacy concerns and separating true from false should give us all pause. Rather than writing another set of clinical guidelines, shouldnt we along with our patients, the real stakeholders develop a way that expresses truthful reputation that is both truthful and permits redemption. Charles Bosks classic description of managing medical failure provides the direction we should take: forgive and remember. It is time we figure out how to do this on the internet before the regulators and the corporate interests decide for us. The original story of the Dutch physician can be found on many sites, I made use of the British Medical Journals article Dutch surgeon wins right to tell Google to remove links to her name in online blacklist. The legal analysis was based, in part, on The Right to be Forgotten: Who Decides What the World Forgets? in the Kentucky Law Journal. An article in Forbes, Europes `Right To Be Forgotten Clashes With U.S. Right To Know provided the legal counterpoint. Charles Dinerstein is a surgeon. Image credit: Shutterstock.com MASON CITY, Iowa - A group of Mason City High School government students is getting a hands-on lesson in legislative procedure. In fact, they've drafted a bill they hope turn into law. The bill, also known as House File 408, would allow Iowa judges the option to send those with class D felonies to a county jail as opposed to a state penitentiary. "Doing that would decrease recidivism rates, and if you have more people in the community, they could actually contribute rather than spending their time at state." Banjo Banes and his classes did the research and crunched the numbers, and found the proposal could save taxpayer dollars. "It's like $90 per day to keep an inmate at a state penitentiary compared to a county jail, which is roughly around $50 per day." The class presented the bill to the House Judiciary Subcommittee this week in Des Moines, answering questions and even offering rebuttals. Banes enjoyed the experience. "Getting to speak personally with Mrs. Steckman and Mrs. Reagan, having the opportunity to say what we felt about the bill, give any recommendations that could possibly change it. It felt like we were really contributing to how the process was going." Teacher John Lee is heading the group in his AP Government class. "When the kids showed up, they realized that it's not overwhelming as you may think. It's about knowing your material, doing your research and making your voice heard, and people are out there willing to listen." The bill passed through the subcommittee and on to the Judiciary Committee. If it makes its way through the committee, it can be brought up for debate. "I think the kids believe in it. This isn't something they're just trying to do. They really believe in it." ALBERT LEA, Minn. Stealing a safe ends in jail time for an Albert Lea duo. Kassidy Jo Poole, 20, and Casey Alan Schultz, 23, were arrested in November 2018 and accused of stealing a safe from the home of Pooles ex-boyfriend. Police say Poole arranged a phony meeting to get her ex-boyfriend out of his home during the theft and the safe was found at a place where Poole and Schultz were staying. Both pleaded guilty to 1st degree burglary. Poole was been sentenced to 80 days in the Freeborn County Jail, followed by 20 years of supervised probation, and 40 hours of community work service. Schultz received a 66 day jail sentence, five years of supervised probation, and 100 hours of community work service. NORTH IOWA A Waterloo man is going to prison for crimes in Cerro Gordo, Floyd, and five other counties. Jonathan Henry Martin, 35, was arrested in December 2018 in Butler County after an investigation involving 11 law enforcement agencies. Martin was accused of a November 2018 break-in at Ventura Mart and breaking into the Town Mart in Rudd and attempting to break into the Yesway in Rockford and Dugans Restaurant in Floyd in December 2018. Martin has now pleaded guilty to 3rd degree burglary and lottery fraud in Cerro Gordo County as well as 3rd degree burglary and two counts of attempted 3rd degree burglary in Floyd County. Hes been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and must serve at least three years before becoming eligible for parole. Martin will serve that at the same time as whatever remains of his collective sentences for 2012 drug and burglary convictions in Black Hawk County, 2012 burglary convictions in Bremer, Buchanan, and Delaware counties, and a 2015 theft conviction in Franklin County. When he was arrested in December 2018, authorities also said Martin was a suspect in additional burglaries in Butler and Chickasaw counties. ROCHESTER, Minn.-It's a colorless and odorless gas that has deadly affects if left undetected. Carbon monoxide kills about 400 people a year, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Rochester Fire Department has seen an increase in calls regarding CO during that historic blizzard. Last week calls for carbon monoxide went up, with snow fall coming down now and into the night red says carbon monoxide poisoning is still a risk. RFD were busy responding to 17 calls for carbon monoxide. 12 of those calls were between February 24th and 25th. RFD says the reason for the spike were likely due to heavy snow blocking furnace exhaust vents. Thats something Michael Dean knows about all too well. He works at Ace hardware and tells me when his children were younger they covered his exhaust vents with snow, not realizing it was preventing carbon monoxide in his home from escaping. I noticed it before the furnace quit working before it was a danger of carbon monoxide buildup, he said. Rochester firefighters recommend you keep you vents and gas meters clear of snow and ice. MASON CITY, Iowa - The largest mainline Protestant church in the U.S. is facing controversy after voting to reaffirm its decision to ban same sex marriage and openly gay clergy. At the General Conference of the United Methodist Church this week, delegates from around the world voted to uphold the church's Traditional Plan by a vote of 438 to 384. However, the decision is causing a rift in the church, with some congregations threatening to leave the denomination. "It's tearing communities apart. Not just the churches, the whole community." Skylar Thomas is the Vice President of Mason City Pride. She is a Christian, and says the decision is hypocritical to God's message. "It goes back to we're all God's children. And according to their teachings, God doesn't make mistakes. But you're telling me that I'm a mistake." Pastor Dan Fernandez of Mason City First United Methodist Church was in attendance at the conference. While he did not participate in voting, he doesn't agree with the decision. And with most of the votes in support for the ban coming from the Southern Conference, which includes Africa, he feels that the vote doesn't speak for those here in the U.S. "Sometimes, you will think that one person's vote does not represent the whole majority of the people. But that is their right because when they go there. They will cast their vote and that's it." However, he doesn't believe those in the LGBTQ community would leave en masse due to the vote, and feels that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, shoudl be a part of the church. "They want to stay and continue to work and continue to enlighten the church that, 'hey, we're all God's children, and you should accept us the way we are.'" In a statement, Bishop Laurie Haller with the Iowa Conference of the UMC says, "while many people are grateful for the decisions of the General Conference, others are devastated. I pray that you will treat one another with compassion and kindness during this time." According to a 2014 poll from the Pew Research Center, 60% of United Methodists say that homosexuality should be accepted, while 32% said it should be discouraged. Mark Kress, 59, of Sterling, Va., first realized his 88-year-old father, Willard, needed help after he saw some bills with past-due balances stacked on his fathers kitchen table. That was completely out of character for Willard, who had a successful career as a certified public accountant. Initially, Willard didnt believe he needed help. For most of his adult life, he had managed his investment portfolio and done his own taxes. But over five years, Kress and his four siblings gradually persuaded their father to let them take control of his finances. It wasnt a simple task. Willard had multiple bank and investment accounts, and none of them were online. After going through a pile of paperwork, Kress and his siblings managed to consolidate Willards bank accounts and arrange for electronic payment of regular bills. Distributions from his retirement savings account are automatically deposited in his bank accounts, along with his Social Security payments and dividends from a brokerage account. Kresss brother has power of attorney for Willards finances and has online access to his bank accounts so he can make sure theres enough money to pay the bills. Although the family has now successfully streamlined Willards finances, Kress says, it was a long, drawn-out process. We probably erred in not taking control sooner. Numerous studies have shown that our ability to manage complex tasks diminishes as we get olderand for financial tasks, the decline typically starts after age 60. But because the decline is gradual, many seniors dont realize that theyre having trouble managing money, says Michael Finke, dean of the American College of Financial Services, who has researched cognitive declines impact on financial decision-making. Thats why its critical to start talking to your parents while theyre still able to make appropriate decisions, Finke says. Often, by the time parents have lost their ability to make sound financial choices, theyve also lost the ability to evaluate who they can and cant trust. That makes them vulnerable to bad advice from unscrupulous relatives or financial advisers, he says. Start the conversation Knowing that the ability to make good financial decisions starts to diminish when youre still in your peak earning years can provide an opening for baby boomers to discuss this sensitive topic with their parents. Tell your parents that you have started to discuss your finances and retirement plans with your own children or others you trust. Another effective way to broach the topic of your parents finances is to ask them whether they have core estate-planning documents, including powers of attorney for finances and health care, a will and, in some cases, a living trust. You should also ask your parents whether theyve updated beneficiaries for life insurance policies, retirement savings plans and other types of accounts. If theyre reluctant to share details of their finances, stress that your main concern is to be able to locate these key documents if they become incapacitated or die. Thats how Charles Rotblut, vice president of the American Association of Individual Investors in Chicago, initiated the conversation with his father-in-law, Les. It helped that Les, a retired NASA employee, had a lifelong interest in finance and enjoyed discussing investment strategies with his son-in-law. About five years ago, Rotblut, now 50, encouraged Les to discuss plans for his estate and his funeral. Rotbluts wife, Marni, went with her parents to meet with their estate attorney in Texas, where they lived, and Rotblut dialed in. Les also allowed Rotblut to follow him around the house with a notebook so he could write down where various documents were kept. When Les died in March at age 82, Rotblut had an inventory of his in-laws bank and brokerage accounts, along with their sources of retirement income and life insurance. Rotblut also knew where to find their tax returns. Rotbluts mother-in-law (who asked that we not use her name) has continued to pay the billswhich she did while Les was alivebut her daughter and son-in-law will sometimes sit down with her while she writes the checks. And Rotblut receives monthly statements from his mother-in-laws bank and has online access to her account. Rotblut also monitors his mother-in-laws investments and has the power to make changes and withdrawals on her behalf. Its very casual, Rotblut says. Were not interfering but very quietly paying attention so we know whats going on. Many seniors are understandably reluctant to allow anyoneincluding their childrento move money on their behalf. But you may be able to persuade them to let you monitor their financial activities, which can help you identify problems early on. Some investment firms even provide read only statements to family members designated by the client. Thomas Lapp of Philadelphia says his father gave him access to his online accounts so that Lapp could keep an eye out for unusual credit card charges or other potential problems. That was about three years ago. Recently, Lapps father gave him permission to manage the accounts. It was a transition from me being a second pair of eyes and looking over his shoulder to him looking over my shoulder, Lapp says. Taking charge At some point you may need to be more hands-on. Maybe unpaid bills are piling up at your parents house, a parent was the victim of fraud, or he or she just no longer wants to deal with bills and taxes. Stepping in is one of the hardest things in the world. Its more than just having a conversation about finances, says Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. Its a conversation with a loved one about his or her ability to continue to manage finances. If you havent been heavily involved in your parents finances, start by finding out about assets and how they have been spending money. In some ways, you have to be a detective, says Hyman Darling, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Review bank and credit card statements for the past six months to learn what bills regularly come in and must be paid, says Matthew Boersen, a certified financial planner with Straight Path Wealth Management in Jenison, Mich., who managed his grandmothers finances for three years. Look for charges for services that may no longer be used and can be canceled. Investment and bank statements will give you an idea of your parents assets and income. But check your parents latest tax return and 1099 forms for any overlooked income sources. Review insurance policies as well as valuable veterans or employer benefits that even your parents may not be aware of, says Paul Tramontozzi, a certified financial planner with KBK Wealth Management, in New York City. Tramontozzi stepped in to manage his parents finances about three years ago after his father, a retired language teacher, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia and his mother was preoccupied with caregiving. He discovered that his father had paid for years for a workplace insurance policy that provided 1,200 hours a year of home aida $30,000 annual benefit. If your parents are like many others, theyve acquired a variety of bank and investment accounts over the decades. Consolidate them to make oversight easier. Tramontozzi spent months consolidating his parents accounts, which revealed another issue. When you have your investments so fragmented like that, once you put it together, the investment mix doesnt make sense, he says. Ultimately, once you consolidate, there is some type of rebalancing. Rather than writing multiple checks every month, set up automatic bill payments for your parents. Make sure you maintain good records of income and expenses, such as medical bills that may be tax-deductible. Careful bookkeeping can also help alleviate any sibling concerns about how youre managing your parents affairs. Line up the right documents Taking charge will be much easier if your parents have signed a durable power of attorney, which can give you broad powers or spell out specific actions youre allowed to take, such as paying bills, selling assets and gaining online access to accounts, says Darling. If you dont have this document and a parent becomes incapacitated, you will have to go to court to be appointed the guardian or conservatora process that can take a month or longer and require you to make annual accountings to the court. Some parents set up a revocable trust, naming themselves as the trustee and the trust as owner of their assets. Among the benefits: A child named as successor trustee can then smoothly transition into managing those assets. Even with this, you will still need a power of attorney to handle assets and financial matters that fall outside the trust, says Leslie Thompson, managing principal at Spectrum Management Group, in Indianapolis. Many states either require banks and brokerages to honor valid powers of attorney or relieve institutions of liability when they accept the documents. But even in those states, elder lawyers say, its not uncommon for financial institutions, particularly large ones, to insist that a family use their power of attorney form. Banks and financial institutions are wary of the growing number of cases of fraud against seniorsmany of them perpetrated by family. From the banks perspective, suddenly they have people they have never met announcing themselves as the new fiduciary, often without the actual customer with them, says Corey Carlisle, executive director of the ABA Foundation. If they show up with a durable power of attorney, they can wipe out a persons account instantly. The simplest solution is for you and your parents to visit the financial institutions your parents deal with and see if they will accept your power of attorney or require you to sign theirs. This way, you wont run into surprises later, and it allows you to establish a relationship with the bank or brokerage. Help with oversight In fact, its a good idea for your parents to introduce you to all the professionals in their lives, including their accountant, lawyer, financial adviser and bank representative, who can be part of your team that manages your parents affairs. Shon Anderson, a certified financial planner in Dayton, encourages adult children of his clients to sit in on a financial planning review so they can get a good picture of their parents finances from a third party. A financial planner can also provide you with tools to help you get organized. Anderson offers his clients a digital filing cabinet for copies of key documents, such as a power of attorney and a living will. Many financial planners also offer software that can consolidate parents investments, other assets, debts, account numbers and contact information, says Scott Hughes, a certified financial planner in Herndon, Va. If your parents dont have an adviser, stand-alone programs can help with oversight. EverSafe, a monitoring service created with seniors in mind, will scan bank, retirement, investment and credit card accounts as well as credit reports to understand a customers normal financial activity. EverSafe then issues alerts to the customerand any trusted people designatedif it uncovers anything outside the norm, such as unusual spending behavior or missed deposits, says Elizabeth Loewy, a former prosecutor and cofounder of EverSafe. The monthly cost ranges from $7.49 to monitor bank and credit card accounts to $22.99 for credit reports and unlimited accounts. If fraud is a concern, freeze your parents credit reports at each of the three major credit bureaus. This prevents someone from opening credit under a parents name because companies cant view the reports. You can lift the freeze if your parents want to apply for new credit (see I Thwarted ID Thieves). Also, keep your parents up to date on the latest scams targeting seniors. Although taking control of your parents finances is a drastic move, it may be the only way to protect your parents from unscrupulous people who prey on senior citizens. David Houston, a wealth management adviser for Northwestern Mutual in Oklahoma City, learned that lesson after his widowed father was befriended by a 32-year-old woman who had a history of exploiting elderly men. She had previously persuaded an 85-year-old man in his fathers hometown to bequeath her his entire estate, leaving his family with nothing when he died. Houston was unable to convince his father, who died two years ago, that the woman was up to no good, and she ended up with more than $100,000 from his bank accounts. But Houston did persuade his father to give him control of a living trust that contained commercial real estate and other large family assets. When he voluntarily stepped down as trustee, he gave us authority to control those, Houston says. Thats the only reason we still have them. Hiring help If handling your parents finances becomes too much for youor you want to preserve your parents independence while having someone keep an eye on thingsconsider hiring a daily money manager. This person basically serves as your parents assistant, helping to pay bills, manage the mail, negotiate with creditors and even, if necessary, remind a forgetful parent not to give out bank account numbers to strangers over the phone. A lot of what were doing are the kinds of things an adult child would do, says Leah Nichaman, board president of the American Association of Daily Money Managers, which has about 800 members. Fees range from $60 to $150 an hour, and managers typically meet with clients twice a month. You can get names of daily money managers in your area at the associations website or from lawyers, accountants or your local Area Agency on Aging. When interviewing money managers, find out how long theyve done the job, how they bill, whether they charge for travel time, whether theyre insured and the steps they take to keep your parents information confidential, Nichaman says. Ask for names of clients who can tell you what the manager was like to work with. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Cloudy. Low near 20F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. Low near 20F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Mumbai, March 2: Security has been heightened while police has been kept on high alert across all railway stations of Western Railway in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh after intelligence inputs on the possibility of a deadly terror attack. According to reports, the Western Railway (WR) has sounded an overall alert at all its stations in three states after intelligence inputs from Gujarat on the possibility of a deadly terror attack. Security has been beefed up across the city as part of confidence-building measures undertaken by the state government in the wake of the Indian Air Force (IAF) surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. Indian Air Force Puts All Air Defence Systems on High Alert After Striking Terror Camps Across LoC. According to a report by TOI, the inspector generals (Railway Protection Force) office told security agencies at all stations of Western Railways to keep a close watch on long-distance trains, especially the ones plying to and from Jammu. The report further informs that a letter was sent by the IGs (RPF) office in Churchgate to heads of RPF in Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ratlam, Rajkot and Bhavnagar on February 22. Surgical Strike 2: Indian Air Force Strikes JeM Camps in Pakistan Days After Pulwama Attack, Pak Officials Cry Intrusion. In the letter, it was stated that after the Pulwama attack, intelligence inputs were communicated by state railway police from Gujarat on the possibility of multiple blasts in public places. The areas on target including railway stations, temples and the iconic Statue of Unity. Moreover, the inputs stated that the attack would be headed by a person from Hyderabad, also involved in the Pulwama attack, with allegiance to Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM). 'Highest Alert' in Delhi, Mumbai and 5 Other Cities; Security Increased at Defence Installations. Random frisking of commuters and baggage checks are jointly being conducted by RPF and GRP. Chief PRO Ravindra Bhakar, WR (RPF) was quoted in the report saying that in view of the security alert, Western Railway RPF had a co-ordination meeting with Mumbai GRP officers on February 27 and with the GRP commissioner on February 28 to discuss coordinated action required on trains and railway premises. "All posts have been alerted and directed to take preventive measures in co-ordination with GRP and city police, he said. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 02, 2019 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Often times, creative Nigerians put out their works on social media with the hope that someone willing to invest, help or patronize them would see it. It is a common practice among talented artist to paint portraits of their favourite celebrities and post it on social media. This move has helped many of these artist grow and be known both at home and abroad. Legit.ng recently reported that Hollywood comic actor Kevin Hart had promised to help a Nigerian artist who painted a portrait of him. Nigerians celebrated with the artist and many even thanked the actor for his kindness. It could be assumed that many Nigerian artists who were moved by what Hart did have also decided to follow in the footsteps of the lucky artist. Another Nigerian artist identified as Arinze Stephen Ekwuide took to his Twitter account to share a pencil painting of popular Nigerian rapper Phyno. READ ALSO: Nigerians react to Kevin Hart supporting young pencil artist from Kaduna This move by the artist caused the rapper and many Nigerians to react. Phyno replied the young artist by acknowledging his work, expressing that he did a good job. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Nigerians who saw the rapper's reply however stated that he should also help like Kevin Hart did with the other artist. Others just laughed about his reply and another Twitter user expressed that everyone cannot be like the Hollywood actor. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Nigerians had tried to cajole rapper Ycee to support another artist identified as @austinelkhasy who made a pencil sketch him. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda A Twitter user identified as @Iam_KingBuchi had tried to guilt trip the rapper into buying the artwork, but the rapper had swiftly replied by saying he is not Kevin Hart, he also thanked the artist for taking out his time to sketch the beauty artwork. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Top 5 Nigeria Rappers: Falz, Olamide And... Guess Who Else! - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo has reacted to his suspension by APC - In a statement by his aide, the Imo governor said his suspension is a plot to destroy APC chance in the southeast region - Okorocha also berated APC chairman Oshiomhole, adding that the Imo state will outlive the former Edo governor The governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, has described his suspension as a plot to bring into destruction the chance of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the southeast region by some selfish people ahead of 2023. Reacting to his suspension, the Imo governor said the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, was heavily blinded by 2023 presidency, thus making attempt to ruin the region's chances, The Nation reports. Legit.ng notes that Okorocha berated Oshiomhole for ruling the party with high-handedness. In a statement by his chief press secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, the Imo governor vowed that all attempts by Oshiomhole and the APC working committee to destroy the region's chance will be resisted. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The statement read: Adams Oshiomhole was determined right from the outset to destroy APC in the southeast and unknown to party chieftains from the zone who had genuinely supported his chairmanship. He is playing the politics of 2023 in 2019 and in playing it he has thrown caution to the wind. In all the southeast states there are crises and all arising from the fraudulent manner he conducted the primaries. In 2015, Governor Okorocha had joined the merger that gave birth to APC at the risk of his second tenure and was called all sorts of unprintable names. Yet, he won the governorship election, delivered 24 out of the 27 members of the House of Assembly for APC, two House of Representatives members and one senator. In 2019, Oshiomhole felt that such a man should be treated with disdain. He handed over the governorship ticket of the party to Hope Uzodinma who has never resigned his membership of the PDP on the floor of the Senate like others did and giving all kinds of flimsy excuses. And if Oshiomhole had meant well for APC and Imo people in particular, would he have given the ticket of the Party to a man facing five corruption charges and having travel ban slammed on him, to be the partys candidate. He added further added: In the February 23, 2019 presidential and National Assembly election, Governor Okorocha won in ten, out of the twelve local government areas in Orlu zone to emerge winner for Imo West senatorial district. He also delivered four House of Representatives candidates on the platforms of APC and AA respectively, with one Senate seat and two House of Representatives Seats outstanding. And when the APC members across the nation are still celebrating the success of the party in the Presidential and National Assembly elections, Oshiomhole in his wisdom or lack of it, felt that the best action in the circumstance was to suspend two governors who did well in the election, even when he played safe in 2015 and 2019 in Edo State without any known pressure. Again, Oshiomhole coming with the purported expulsion this time was only acting out of the fear that God in his infinite Mercy could give Governor Okorocha a role to play in the Senate, in the overall interest of the nation. The truth is that Oshiomhole is only labouring in vain to play his own part of the deal that warranted his giving out the tickets of the party to non-deserving elements like in the case of Imo. Finally, APC especially in the southeast and in Imo in particular will outlive Oshiomhole. Men like him hardly sleep with their two eyes closed. They always sleep with their eyes open because they have murdered sleep with their actions and inactions. And unfortunately for him the purported expulsion cant stand because the law has taken care of it even long before now.'' PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the national working committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had suspended Governor Ibikunle Amosu of Ogun state and his counterpart, Rochas Okorocha of Imo state from the party. The national working committee also recommended to the national executive committee (NEC) of the party that both governors be expelled from the APC. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Vice President Yemi Osinbajo casts his vote, boasts of APC victory | Legit TV Source: Legit The deportation of 47 Cameroonians from Nigeria on January 26, 2018 has been declared as illegal and unconstitutional by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. Julius Ayuk Tabe, a Cameroonian separatist leader, and 46 others were deported from Nigeria after their arrest in Abuja. READ ALSO: APC suspends Amosun, Okorocha from party Sahara Reporters reports that Ayuk, president of a self-declared breakaway state made up of the Anglophone regions of majority-Francophone Cameroon, was one of 15 people whom Cameroon issued an international arrest warrant for in November 2017. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that about 40,000 residents of Rann, Kala-Balge local government area of Borno state, Nigeria, who fled their community due to incessant Boko Haram attacks to Goura in neighbouring Cameroon three weeks ago, have been reportedly told to leave the country. The field communication officer of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Maiduguri, Abdulkareem Yakubu, said in a statement on Wednesday, February 27, that the Nigerian refugees are now leaving Cameroon after being told to go home. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Abdulkareem quoted Stephanie Remion, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Goura, Cameroon, as saying: Today we are seeing people packing up their belongings and leaving for Rann (Nigeria) after being told by Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities to leave. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) is now-> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better. Can Nigerian Soldiers really not deal with Boko Haram fighters?| Legit TV. Source: Legit.ng (CNN) The United States and South Korea are expected to announce in the coming days that annual military exercises between the two nations are to be scaled back, according to a U.S. defense official. The large-scale military exercises, known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, had been scheduled for this spring. Now, according to the official, the U.S. and South Korea will instead conduct scaled down exercises at a small unit level that could involve virtual training. Defense officials say they can achieve the necessary training goals through the pared down exercises. The announcement is expected to come shortly, following President Donald Trump's decision to walk away from negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. It can be seen as a good faith gesture of Washington's intent to continue engagement with Pyongyang, analysts said, but also as a way of reducing the possibility of incidents that escalate out of control. The U.S. has already suspended several larger military exercises as part of an effort to ease tensions with North Korea following the last year's Singapore summit between the two leaders. The pending decision to pare back exercises represents the continued restraint both sides have demonstrated after the Singapore meeting, said Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. In the months since that June meeting, there's been "restraint by North Korea on tests and it looks like the US will restrain itself on large military exercises," Snyder said. The U.S. is "trying to adjust the types of exercises, not abandon them, to make them less provocative and send a more clear signal that they're not designed to be offensively threatening." In a news conference following last June's summit Trump called the exercises "provocative," stating, "It's inappropriate to be having war games." Trump has also questioned the usefulness of the exercises, citing the disproportionate share of the cost borne by the U.S. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters last November that the 2019 version of the Foal Eagle exercise was being "reorganized a bit" to keep from "being harmful to diplomacy." On Friday, Defense Department officials refused to comment publicly about the status of the joint exercises but said they will proceed unless Trump specifically orders them canceled. "The (US-South Korean) alliance remains ironclad," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn, when asked about the exercises. "Our forces maintain a high state of military readiness and vigilance in full support of a diplomatically led effort to bring peace, prosperity and stability to the Korean Peninsula." "The important thing here is there is a kind of plan for maintaining readiness, but in ways designed to be less provocative," Snyder said. "Showing restraint in exercises is OK, refraining would not be appropriate. What would be unacceptable would be the prohibition on ... exercises." The U.S. step supports measures that South Korea and North Korea launched last year to reduce military tensions, including establishing no-fly zones along their border, halting artillery and other military drills close to the demilitarized zone, dismantling several heavily armed guard posts inside the DMZ and creating a maritime peace zone. Other confidence building measures are being discussed. These measures "lay a solid foundation for more far-reaching measures to reduce the risk of a surprise attack or inadvertent conflict," Richard Sokolsky from the Stimson Center website 38 North, which tracks North Korea. The U.S. has been focused on North Korea's denuclearization, "but a 'bolt out of the blue' North Korean nuclear attack on the United States, which would be suicidal for the Kim dynasty and his country, has always been a fantastical scenario," Sokolsky wrote. "The most likely trigger for any large-scale conventional conflict between North Korea and US/ROK forces has always been a local incident or accident that escalates out of control." Earlier this month the U.S. and South Korea reached a preliminary agreement on the cost of keeping nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea. Under the revised Special Measures Agreement, South Korea would boost its financial contribution to nearly $1 billion, according to a State Department official and South Korean media. That's an increase from the roughly $800 million it had been paying per year during the previous five-year commitment. In an early February interview with CBS, Trump said he has "no plans" to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea and claimed to have "never even discussed removing them," but said "maybe someday" he would withdraw US forces from the country. "I mean, who knows. But, you know, it's very expensive to keep troops there," Trump said, even though U.S. military officials have said it is cheaper to house those troops in South Korea than in the U.S. This story was first published on CNN.com, "U.S. set to scale back military exercises with South Korea." - Uche Secondus said the PDP will seek redress in court over the recently concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections - Secondus said the party would ask the court to ignore testimonies of internation election observers - The PDP party leader claimed that the international observers were threatened by opposition to give false comments about the elections The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s national chairman, Uche Secondus, has said the court will ignore testimonies from international election observers that the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections were free and fair. Secondus said the observers comment cannot be used because they have been threatened by the opposition to keep quiet, The Cable reports. Referring to a controversial statement made by the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, that 'foreigners who interfere in Nigeria's election will return home in body bags', Secondus said the fear of getting killed won't let the observers say the truth about the elections. READ ALSO: Prophet rejects presidential result, says Atiku is the ordained one He said: "Evidence from across the countries show there was suppression of voters in our stronghold. We are not going to be approaching the court based on the comment of observers that were threatened. They were threatened. So, what do you expect them to say? They have to go home with their lives. They were threatened and cant talk. We have the facts and we will show them to the world when we get to court. We have enough evidence to approach the court. While the military was suppressing voters in the PDP strongholds, a different abracadabra was going on in the northern states especially in Kano, Yobe, Borno and Zamfara states which recorded high voter turnouts. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the southwest zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, March 1, said it was fully in support of the partys presidential candidate in the February 23 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on his decision to challenge the polls result in court. The national vice chairman of the party (southwest), Eddy Olafeso, gave the position at a news conference in Lagos. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| - on Legit TV Source: Legit - Barely seven days after the 2019 elections, the Nigerian Army has spoken about its activities during the polls - According to spokesman of the Army, Sagir Musa, the soldiers acted within the requirements of the law, rules of engagement and code of conduct - The troops before the election said it had uncovered a plan by some political actors to arm and sponsor miscreants dressed in military uniform to cause pandemonium at polling stations The Nigerian Army on Saturday, March 2, said its activities in the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly polls were within the ambit of the law and rules of engagement. Reacting to allegations of partisanship, coercion and shooting of voters in some areas across the country during the elections, it said that soldiers deployed on election duty were professional and proactive in their conduct. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the spokesman of the Army, Col. Sagir Musa, said: we acted within the requirements of the law, rules of engagement and code of conduct. READ ALSO: Fear of 'body-bags' comment made international election observers quiet During the elections, there were widespread allegations of partisanship, brutality of soldiers on some electorate and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, and partisanship in the process. Electoral officers in some states, including Rivers, Lagos and Delta, accused the military of interfering in the elections. The soldiers were fingered in shootings that resulted in deaths of many people, and other unwholesome acts allegedly recorded in some states during the polls. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Musa said the Army made its position clear before, during and after the elections. He pointed out that monitors of the elections had commended the army for its role while the exercise lasted. The spokesman said: Our position stands on the verdict given by local and foreign election monitors that commended the Nigerian Army for being professional, proactive, responsive and unbiased. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Nigerian Army stated that it had uncovered a plan by some political actors to arm and sponsor miscreants dressed in military uniform to cause pandemonium at polling stations. The disclosure was made in a post on the Army's twitter handle, @HQNigerianArmy, on Tuesday, February 19. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| - on Legit TV: Source: Legit A heart-wrenching video of another veteran Yoruba actor, Ojo Arowosoge popularly known as Fadeyi Oloro, has surfaced online. The actor who was well-known for his brilliant herbalist roles in the 80s and early 90s is critically ill and could barely talk. Veteran Yoruba actor Fadeyi Oloro hospitalized over an unknown ailment Source: Instagram Fadeyi, who had a trademark costume during his active times is said to be hospitalized at Ile Epo General Hospital in Lagos. He is seen in the video mounting all his strength to mutter for financial assistance from all Nigerians. READ ALSO: Baba Suwes first son Adesola Omidina thanks Nigerians for coming to his fathers aid See the video below: Recall that this is coming just few weeks after veteran comic actor Baba Suwe sought for public help over his failing health. After lots of back and forth and numerous accusations, Baba Suwe has however gotten the needed financial help and his treatment has commenced. Fadeyi Oloro is known for his 'powerful' charms and incantations in movies. The words of the Ekiti state-born actor were fire. He became known from the fierce anti-hero role he played in old Yoruba television soaps; Arelu and Yanponyanrin. Many people who however know him claim he is a very respectful man who exudes friendliness when he is not acting. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better Faces Of Nigeria | Regina Helen Thanks Everyone For Help | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - The NYSC says it had no records of a corps member dying during the conduct of the February 23 presidential election - The organisation's spokesperson Aderemi, said reports in the media about killing of a corps member were inaccurate - Adeyemi also confirmed that taking part in INEC ad-hoc staff jobs during elections was no longer compulsory for corps members - INEC had confirmed the death of an ad-hoc staff in Rivers state during the presidential elections but never said she was a corps member The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has denied reports that any corps member deployed as INEC ad-hoc staff was killed in Rivers state during the Saturday, February 23 presidential election. According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Adenike Adeyemi, made the denial while confirming that corps members will not be allowed to work in security challenged areas in the country. Adeyemi, who spoke in Abuja on Saturday, March 2, ahead of the upcoming Governorship and House of Assembly polls slated for March 9, noted that reports of a corp member dying were totally false. READ ALSO: Crisis deepens in APC as VON DG reacts to suspension She assured that the safety and security of corps members remained a top priority for the scheme and as such no corps member would be posted to work as ad-hoc staff for the March elections in any state or area of the Federation that had been adjudged as having security challenges. She said: Corps members are not allowed to work or live in such areas and this is understood by INEC. Once a place is adjudged and declared as having security challenges, corps members are not to serve there either for elections or primary assignments. Their security is always considered by the scheme during posting. We have seen reports in the media claiming that corps members died during the presidential and national assembly elections. The NYSC Coordinator in Rivers already addressed this issue and set the records straight that no corps member serving as INEC ad hoc staff died during the Feb. 23 elections. There were pockets of violence in the state but no corps member lost his or her life. Before corps members are deployed as INEC ad hoc staff, there must be an MoU between the two organisations and as part of the MoU, INEC is to provide welfare and security for the corps members. Payment of renumeration is also fixed and disbursed by INEC. The commission has stated how much corps members are entitled to and they also agreed that their welfare, which includes transportation and feeding will be handled by them. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda While noting that working as ad-hoc staff was optional and no longer compulsory for corps members, she added that their remaining non-partisan during conduct of elections was very important. She added: While we commend the performance of corps members during the presidential and national assembly elections of Feb. 23, we wish to stress that as electoral umpires, corps members are expected to remain apolitical. Management wishes to warn that any corps member who directly engages in, aids or abets electoral malpractices will face prosecution by the appropriate authorities. As the governorship and house of assembly elections approach, management expects corps members to once again demonstrate a high sense of responsibility and neutrality. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app This call has become necessary as the entire nation looks up to them for the credibility of the elections. They are therefore, expected to uphold the trust and resist any temptation to compromise the integrity of the exercise. In particular, all corps members must resist attempts by politicians, their agents, or other individuals or groups to corruptly induce them to commit any form of electoral fraud. We expect them to be good ambassadors of NYSC and their respective families. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that INEC, on Sunday, February, 24, announced that an ad-hoc staff deployed for election presidential and National Assembly elections in Rivers state had died. INEC chairman Yakubu Mahmood, during a briefing with journalists and some international observers including the United States ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Syminton, said Ibisekin Amachree was hit by a stray bullet on her return from duty Degema local government area of Rivers state. Praying for the repose of Amachrees soul, Mahmood condemned incidents of violence across some states in Nigeria at the polls. He however never identified late Amachree as a corps member. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better 2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? - on Legit TV Source: Legit Newspaper - Governor Bello says people of Nigeria state are waiting for President Buhari to fulfill his campaign promises to them - One of the promises, he said, is construction of grazing reserves for the Niger state herders community - The governor is confident that President Buhari-led federal government would resolve the farmer-herders crisis in the northern state The Governor of Niger state Abubakar Bello has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the northern state who voted massively for him to ensure his re-election in the Saturday, February 23 president elections. According to Channels TV, Governor Bello said this during an interview in which he identified grazing reserves for the large population of cattle herders in the state. READ ALSO: IBB congratulates President Buhari over his re-election for fresh 4 years He said: There are so many activities which we have lined up in the next level, partnering with the federal government to ensure that we do it. One of such interventions would be the flagging off of the Bobi Grazing Reserve. Niger governor Abubakar Bello says President Buhari should fulfill those campaign promises he made to his people. Source: File Source: UGC As you are aware, the herdsmen/farmers crisis has been on the front burner for a while now. We have invested some money to see that we start off a very functional grazing reserve, hoping that it would reduce some of these conflicts between farmers and herdsmen. He added: He has made promises, with regard to Niger State, especially with regard to the rail line between Minna and Abuja which is very important to the economic activity of the state, and so many other interventions that the federal government, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has extended to us here in Niger State. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The governor's words came around the same time Legit.ng reported that President Buhari, on Friday, March 1, gave a hint into what his second term in government would look like. The president declared that he would be tougher this time around. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The president, who won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke when members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) paid him a congratulatory visit, saying the last lap of his administration would be tough. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react -on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Former military president of Nigeria, retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) has congratulated President Buhari on his re-election for the next four years. IBB also praised the main challenger Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party for behaving in a respectable manner throughout the electoral process The Nation reports that IBB issued a statement in Minna, the Niger state capital to convey his congratulations to Buhari. The statement read: Now that the President has won his re-election bid, he should confront with renewed vigour the most urgent problem confronting Nigeria: insecurity of lives and property. READ ALSO: Failed prophecies: 5 prophets who predicted Atiku would defeat Buhari and what they said The Boko Haram insurgency remains a threat to many Nigerians particularly in the North East sub region, whiles the twin evils of kidnapping and armed robbery/armed banditry remain a major national menace. The president must pay priority attention to these security issues. He urged President Buhari to pay utmost attention to the country's economy and also draw close his opponents in the presidential election that he won. He said: There is the need to be more creative in formulating policies that will improve the nations economy, create employment opportunities and give hope to our teaming youths. The newly elected president should heal the wounds of the heated campaign exchanges by embracing those who contested alongside with him. The President must resist the temptation to see them as enemies; not even opponents, but fellow compatriots who merely disagreed with him on how best to move our country forward. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda IBB also praised Atiku and expressed his admiration of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for his doggedness urging him to work with President Buhari to move the country forward. I was particularly impressed with the gallant and audacious spirit of the main challenger in the presidential race, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar GCON. I was not surprised that even though he lost the most exotic position of the land, his doggedness and pattern of support cut across ethnic, religious and regional lines that earned him the second position of the last Presidential election. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app I call on the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to close ranks and work with the winner of the election in an objective and constructive manner so that democracy will continue to thrive in our country at this crucial period of renaissance. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported earlier that the United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo congratulated the people of Nigeria on a successful presidential election and President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election. According to a statement by the Presidents spokesman, Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Friday, Pompeo commended all Nigerians who participated peacefully in the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections. He, however, condemned those whose acts of violence harmed Nigerians and the electoral process. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - The Peoples Democratic Party has been advised to accept the outcome of the Saturday, February 23 presidential poll - The national chairman of Igbo Reawakening Forum, Uchenna Ufearoh, gave the advice to the opposition party - Ufearoh says the PDP should not sink the ship of state because it lost the presidential election The national chairman of Igbo Reawakening Forum (IRF), Uchenna Ufearoh, has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept the outcome of the Saturday, February 23 presidential election in the spirit of sportsmanship. Ufearoh said the party should not sink the ship of state because it lost the presidential election, The Nation reports. Legit.ng gathers that Ufearoh advised the opposition party to join hands with President Buhari to move the nation forward. READ ALSO: Atiku supporter refuses to give beggars money because he believes they voted for Buhari He said: I call on the President to be magnanimous with his victory, while the losers should accept defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship. They should not sink the ship of the state because of their loss. Let them join hands with Buhari to rebuild and move Nigeria forward. Buhari fulfilled his 2015 campaign promises to a reasonable extent. You know when youre building a house, the foundation doesnt appear fanciful. Its difficult to appreciate the structure until you start laying the blocks. Thats when the beauty would be better appreciated. The president in the past three and half years has been at the foundation level. This victory has given birth to a new Nigeria. Mr. President will reinforce and consolidate on his previous achievements." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the presidential election held on Saturday, February 23 in which President Muhammadu Buhari emerged winner was described as the freest in the country since 1951. Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri on Thursday, February 28, said the election was the freest in the country since 1951 when he started voting as an adult. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng The operatives of Nigeria's anti-corruption body Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Babalele Abdullahi, the son in-law of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Atiku Abubakar. Daily Trust reports that Babalele, who doubles as finance director of Atikus group of companies was arrested at his Maitama residence. According to the report, about two dozen EFCC agents came in 4 vehicles that included 2 regular vehicles, an 18-seater Toyota bus and a Hilux truck. They were however prevented entry into Babalele's residence when they arrived around 8am until his lawyers arrived. READ ALSO: Akpabio: Court stops INEC from issuing certificate to PDP's Ekpeyong Atiku's media aide Paul Ibe confirmed that the operatives came backed by law with a search warrant for Babale's residence and office. But reportedly proceeded to arrest him even after finding nothing incriminating. He said: They came with a search warrant to search the house and office of Babalele and found nothing incriminating. They then proceeded to his office at Oakland Centre in Maitama and found nothing incriminating there. "However, they took away some documents of landed property. Not done, the EFCC officials stormed his Wuse residence where they again found nothing incriminating after the search. "Afterwards, Babalele was taken away to the EFCC office in Wuse to make a statement alongside Mr. Lawan Ayuba. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda The Cable quotes Atiku as saying through his aide in the same statement that the arrest of Babalele was a plot to force him to concede defeat to Preisdent Buhari after the Saturday, February 23, 2019 presidential elections. In a desperate move to have Atiku Abubakar concede and congratulate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at about 8.30am today (Saturday) invaded the Maitama residence of Babalele. They were however not given access into the house until his lawyers arrived, Ibe said in the statement. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Ibe says Atiku will not be moved by the actions of the EFCC. As a law abiding citizen, Atiku Abubakar recognizes the constitutional role of the EFCC and indeed any other agency of the government to carry out investigations, but will not be cowed by any attempt to blackmail him into mortgaging his mandate, he said. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had also reported that the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos granted a bench warrant for the arrest of four officials of the Akwa Ibom state government at the instance of the EFCC. The warrant of arrest was issued on the attorney general and commissioner for justice in Akwa Ibom state, Uwemedimo Nwoko, the commissioner of finance, Nsikan Nkan, the accountant general, Mfon Udomah and a cashier of the state government, Margaret Ukpe. The warrant was issued after the EFCC told the court that the defendants are at large and the warrant was necessary to ensure their presence in court at the next adjourned date of March 18 and 19. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better 2019 Election: Atiku heads to court to contest election result, can he win? - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng A 15 year old girl from Ballybrittas in Laois is preparing to take on a serious task, of volunteering in the Kolkata slums in India. Hannah Flynn, daughter of Anthony Flynn and Siobhan Flanagan, will fly out in April with 13 classmates to help out poverty stricken children for a week in India, for the Hope Foundation. A past pupil of Rath National School, Hannah goes to secondary in the Presentation in Thurles where the project is an annual event for Transition Year students. We had to do an essay and an interview before being picked. I think it will be a great experience, an eye opener. I know it will be very difficult, the poverty is a big thing. They have told us that could be walking through someone's house just by walking down the street, she said. The plucky student has had her medical jabs. She admits that her parents especially her mother are worried for her. I just hope that I can make a difference. We will be visiting orphanages and playing with the children, teaching them dances and learning theirs. We will bring out supplies to them like jerseys, stationery and medical supplies from the school. I hope to go back later and do bigger things, she said. Hannah has to raise 3,600, with 1,400 to pay for her flights and jabs, and 2,200 going to the Hope Foundation for their work to protect and educate children living in slums. Last Friday she held a table quiz in The Gate House Emo, and has also opened a GoFundMe account. Click here to make a donation. Hannah welcomes donations and sponsorship. I am going well with the fundraising, but any support from my local community is really welcome, she said. Contact Siobhan at 086 6048298. A Laois native is urging people to get involved with Irelands largest fundraising campaign, the Trocaire Lenten Appeal, which will see more than 1 million Trocaire boxes reach households and schools across the country. Local Trocaire worker, Declan Dixon from Kilcavan in Laois, is appealing to people of his home county to get involved in the campaign, which will allow Trocaire to help more than 2 million of the poorest and most vulnerable people across the world over the coming year. Trocaires 2019 Lenten Appeal highlights how the loss of land in the developing world is leading to devastating consequences for millions of families. Kilcavan man, Declan Dixon from Trocaire explained why the public should help. Land is such an important factor in combating poverty. It allows people to grow food to feed their families and to make a living, and it offers much-needed safety and stability for children. Sadly though, for many reasons, land and homes are being taken from millions of families across the developing world and means they are facing hunger, the threat of violence as well as a lack of access to education and basic medical care as they struggle to survive, he said. This year, the lent box tells this story through three young girls. Maria is from Guatemala where vulnerable communities are being violently evicted by large businesses and left with nothing. In Uganda, Patricia has lost her home because her father died. Her mother, like many others, lacks any basic rights to her land simply because she is a woman. While Maya, who now lives in a refugee camp in Lebanon, was forced to flee her home with her family to escape the Syrian war. Trocaire is working in over twenty countries across the developing world and supports thousands of families like those of Maria, Maya and Patricia by providing food, shelter and medical care as well as fighting for justice and land rights, Declan added. This would not be possible without the support of the public. We are incredibly grateful for the generous donations we receive from parishes, schools and families from Co Laois each year and I would appeal to people across the county to support this vital campaign. "This can be done by collecting your loose change in a Trocaire box, making a donation online or over the phone, or organising fundraising activities throughout lent. Every donation makes a difference. The Trocaire Lent Campaign runs from Ash Wednesday, March 6 to Easter Sunday, April 21. Trocaire boxes are available from local parishes, by visiting www.trocaire.org or by phoning 1850 408 408. It no longer seems like diamonds are a girls best friend.... Zoflora and Flash seem to be the way to a womans heart now! I hate to admit it, but Ive been cleanfluenced by the Mrs Hinch hype. For anyone living under a rock, Mrs Hinch, aka Sophie Hinchliffe from Essex, has become a social media sensation, who grew her Instagram following to nearly two million people by sharing her cleaning tips. It has become a daily ritual for me to look at her story, showing her Hinch Hauls of cleaning products, and sharing her tips and tricks to keep your house immaculate. She has drawn so many people in with her charisma, and somehow makes cleaning seem fun by nicknaming her cleaning supplies and the likes. I instantly feel the need to scrub the floors, walls, and ceilings after seeing Mrs Hinchs spotless home. Instagram has certainly become somewhat of a cleaning culture platform. It has made cleaning cool. A Netflix series titled Tidying Up With Marie Kondo has also caused a bit of a stir online. Mrs Kondo is a Japanese organising consultant and author who helps people declutter their homes. And I know what youre thinking, its absolute madness that someone can make a living by showing people how to clean and declutter their house. But this is the power of social media, I suppose! I must admit, when I was younger I had a touch of OCD. I would perfectly place all my belongings in my wardrobe, I needed to colour co-ordinate all my clothes, there couldnt be one little crease on my bed and I would never let anybody sit on it (my friends still tease me about that to this day). But as I grew older, I grew out of that phase. Now, I feel like the cleaning craze has hit me again, all thanks to social media. There is just something so satisfactory about watching someone scrub. I actually find it therapeutic, theres nothing quite like going to sleep in a clean room. Mrs Hinch has said in a past interview that cleaning has become a way of coping with anxiety, a comfort. But it can become an unhealthy obsession for some. Social media can show peoples best bits, it can put pressure on others to make their home as immaculate as the pages on Instagram. But one has to remember, theyre only the good bits, nobodys perfect! Abbottfield is Clanes most exciting new address, located on the western edge of the town centre, and will extend to 48 houses when completed. The development has been designed in such a way as to embrace the green open spaces creating an idyllic family friendly environment. Westin Homes are developing a quality and sustainable home of exceptional standard with an enviable energy rating of between A2 and A3. The nearby town centre is an attractive focal point with a host of essential facilities including schools, shops, boutiques, offices, The Westgrove Hotel & Leisure Club and an abundance of restaurants and cafes. The K-Club and Carton House Hotel are among some of the illustrious neighbours. Many large employers have established their base in Kildare with Intel Ireland in Leixlip (who recently announced a major expansion plan), and the Kerry Group in Naas. Westin Homes recently completed their development in Naas, Oldtown Walk located in Oldtown Demesne on the Sallins Road which comprises a distinctive residential development of 50 spacious three and four bed semi-detached and four and five bed detached homes. There is a mix of two different house types available for sale, details as follows; Four bedroom detached, approx. 1,951 sq.ft. - showhome available for viewing - Prices from 485,000. Three bedroom semi-detached, approx. 1,200 sq.ft. - showhome available for viewing - Prices from 307,500. The two showhomes are on view with Coonan New Homes on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, 3 from 2.30pm 4pm. For any queries please contact call 01 6286128 or email info@coonan.com Cowboys and Heroes 2019 got off to an electric start with its launch party last Tuesday at Drumcoura City. Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan, Johnny Brady, Declan Nerney and Ciaran Rosney were met by droves of fans that had the venue buzzing. To add to the atmosphere there were live performances by up and coming artists, Olivia Douglas and Sina Theil, who will both be performing on the second stage in June. There was no fewer than five camera crews recording the action: iCountry, Hot Country TV and Irelands Country to name a few. They also spoke with Simon Power, Cowboys and Heroes organiser, about the upcoming event where he revealed that this year the charity of choice is the Make A Wish Ireland. According to Simon all of the proceeds from the gate on the Monday of the festival will be going directly to the charity. He also pointed out that Cowboys and Heroes is not just about the music with western horse shows, American car shows, jiving, karaoke and much more taking place over the four days. Cowboys and Heroes will run this year from the May 31 to June 3 at Drumcoura City. Weekend tickets are just 75 for the full four days. For further details check out cowboysandheroes.ie or call 071 9645781. Also read: New festivals and events for Ballinamore in 2019 Three teenagers who travelled from Dublin to Carrick-on-Shannon and stole two high value mobile phones appeared before Judge Kevin Kilrane last week in the local district court. The three defendants, aged 14 at the time of the offences, cannot be named for legal reasons. The court heard that on December 27 last the three defendants all visited Carphone Warehouse, Rosebank, Carrick-on- Shannon and stole Samsung Note 9 and Samsung S9 Plus mobile phones valued at 1,800, the property of Martin Heavey. The three defendants, who were accompanied by family members in court, pleaded guilty to the offence and also to the theft of 8 diesel from Kennedy's Service Station, property of Kevin Kennedy, on the same date. The gardai were contacted and Garda Redahan and Garda Burke gave chase. The car the three defendants were travelling in was intercepted at the roundabout on the N4 at Clooncolry, Dromod. The car was searched and the gardai found number plates which had been stolen from a car in Lucan, Dublin that morning. The phones were also recovered. One of the defendants gave the gardai a false name. The court heard one of the defendants had served three weeks' detention for thefts in 2018, another was convicted of theft offences in 2017 and was disqualified from driving for two years at the Children's Court in Dublin last June. The third defendant had no previous convictions. Ms Kathleen Henry BL appeared for all three. She said the eldest of the defendants, now aged 15, is currently attending a Youthreach programme and is hoping to go back to school. Judge Kilrane convicted and fined the first defendant 600 from bail money of 700 already lodged in court for the theft of the phones and disqualified him from driving for two years. The second defendant was also convicted and fined 600 for the theft of the phone and disqualified for two years while the third defendant was convicted and fined 500 for the same offence. However, one of the defendants didn't show up last Friday to pay his fine as he couldn't come up with the money. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest. On the other charges of theft of the diesel and handling stolen property, he imposed convictions and took them into consideration. A charge of dangerous driving against one of the defendants was struck out on application by the state. THE LIMERICK Chamber of Commerce were in talks with gardai week after a serious incident in which a teenager allegedly held a knife to a barman in the city centre at the weekend. Gardai have confirmed they received a report where a man produced what is believed to be a knife on Little Ellen Street at 7.15pm on Saturday last. No injuries were reported to gardai, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, the spokesperson told the Leader. A source said two barmen were sorting out stock outside a licensed premises when a group of youths, believed to be in their mid-teens, started kicking a few of the empty kegs. After the group left the scene, it is alleged that one youth retrieved a knife that was hidden behind a nearby ESB box and returned to the scene with another youth. When the two males walked towards the barmen, the youth allegedly held a knife to one of the men. The guy had the knife only just a couple of inches away from one of the lads stomach. The lads ran, they ran for their lives, the Leader was told. The gardai arrived swiftly, according to a source, but the youths had already fled the scene. This is a whole new tribal thing in Limerick. They just dont care, nothing can be done with them, one source said, adding that there is an escalation of many different groups in the area. Limerick Chamber of Commerce has confirmed that officials are due to meet with gardai at Henry Street over the incident later this week. Anyone with information in connection with this incident can contact Henry Street garda station at 061 212400 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111. LIMERICK is performing exceptionally well when it comes to Foreign Direct Investment, with IDA Ireland continually securing companies to the region. Thats according to the job creation agencys head of regional business development Anne-Marie Tierney-Le Roux. She said: 2018 was a very strong year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), continuing on the excellent growth recorded in investments in recent years. The existing companies continue to invest and we have an established and dynamic FDI base from the life sciences, financial services and technology sectors in Limerick. Over 10,600 people are employed in 56 IDA client companies in Limerick. The local economic impact of the existing FDI base is impressive, Ms Le Roux says, and shouldnt be underestimated. Global companies who have established here act as strong reference sellers for the city and region, showing that, if this location can meet their requirements in terms of skilled workers, access and connectivity and a strong pro-business environment, it can help other multinationals considering locating in Ireland the opportunity to quickly establish and scale up their operations here too. Theres a real vibrancy here, synergies have been created and that also makes it an attractive location for further investment, she adds. As well as working to attract FDI and supporting the existing client company base to develop and expand operations, IDA is leading the development of a new Advanced Manufacturing Centre to be located within the National Technology Park in Limerick and constructing a new 4,500 sq. metre three-storey advance office building in the National Technology Park. Having property solutions to offer prospective investors is crucial, Ms Tierney-Le Roux says. In developing the new Advanced Manufacturing Centre with the support of government and the involvement of Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, we are responding to the identified needs of our discrete manufacturing industry base. This facility will service the entire Irish-based manufacturing sector. It will be of scale and an international exemplar, greatly complementing existing resources and developing the expertise to allow companies to evolve, adopting multiple new technologies and building new skills in order to remain both viable and competitive. Limerick beat a number of locations from across Ireland to the advanced manufacturing facility. IDA Ireland owns both Raheen and the National Technology Park and continues to make infrastructural investments for the future. Significantly, IDA Ireland received planning permission in December 2018 for a major upgrade to the road network within the National Technology Park. It a new left slip lane from Plassey Park road to the R445, widening of Plassey Park road for the length within the National Technology Park from the Annacotty roundabout to the vicinity of the junction of Plassey Park road with Milford road including cycle lanes, footpaths, pedestrian crossings and landscaping. It is anticipated that this project will be on site in 2019, subject to a successful public procurement process. - This article was included as part of a 36 page supplement called Limerick On The Up, highlighting Limericks resurgence. It is available as an e-paper here. THE CASE of two whistleblowers from the University of Limerick finance department was raised by the UL president during a private meeting with the Minister for Education. The whistleblowers, known as Persons B and C, who raised issues about financial practices at the university more than three years ago, have yet to return to return to work despite their suspension being first lifted in November 2017. I know that my officials are working with the college to see if we can find a solution, Minister for Education Joe McHugh told the Limerick Leader while on a visit to Limerick. I did meet with the UL president (Dr Des Fitzgerald) on Friday morning and we had a conversation, he added. In fact, the president raised it with me. Im a big believer in getting people around a table and getting people to figure it out. I do think it is important that a resolution is found for these two people. Id be happy to meet with them once this is resolved. I dont want to be part of the conversation now because I am respecting the employee, employer circle, said the minister. Meanwhile, the Dail has heard that the Department of Education is willing to assist the university in looking for ways to facilitate a return to the workplace of the two individuals in question. During a topical debate, local Fianna Fail Deputy Willie ODea raised the plight of the two staff members. These are dedicated, hard-working and courageous women who performed their duties in an exemplary manner. One might well ask what nefarious crime they committed to find themselves in this unfortunate situation, asked the deputy. They blew the whistle on blatant wrongdoing and exposed wasteful, wrongful and wanton expenditure of taxpayers money, Deputy ODea added. They have been vindicated by a number of independent reports, they have been vindicated by the Comptroller and Auditor General and, importantly and perhaps astonishingly, they have been vindicated by their employer. Despite this, Persons B and C remain reliant on the tender mercies of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy ODea added. The university has requested the assistance of the Department of Education in resolving this case, Minister McHugh said in response. My Department is willing to assist the university in exploring potential opportunities to facilitate a return to the workplace of the two individuals in question, Minister McHugh said. I am confident that when the president and my officials sit down and the two individuals at the heart of the issue, there will be opportunities presented to them to find a solution. In 2018, the U.S. and Canadian governments issued three travel warnings for The Bahamas. Those prompted Royal Caribbean to issue its own warning to passengers last year, but the cruise line later removed references to specific locations following complaints by the nations ministry of tourism. Other cruise lines that go to The Bahamas from South Florida are Norwegian, Carnival, Disney Cruise Line and Bahamas Paradise. A COUNTY Limerick man who received a three year ban for driving with excess alcohol blamed previous bouts of jaundice for the high blood alcohol reading. Patrick Lawlor, 2 Cois Deel, Rathkeale was fined 250 and disqualified from driving for three years when he was convicted, at Newcastle West court, of driving with excess alcohol at Cois Deel on December 31, 2017. Mr Lawlor contested the charge saying he had not been breathalysed when stopped by Garda Thomas Moroney. He also said Garda Moroney had asked him had he been drinking, to which he had replied, hed drank a couple of pints. The reason for the high reading on a sample of urine taken at Newcastle West garda station, Mr Lawlor explained was to do with previous bouts of jaundice. His doctor had advised him that it was taking him a lot longer to process alcohol than other people. Mr Lawlor also said his address was 31 St Marys Park not Cois Deel. Mr Kenny Kerins BL, defending Mr Lawlor, argued that Garda Moroney, in his sworn evidence, had relied on three things to form his opinion that Mr Lawlor was intoxicated: the smell of alcohol, the driving and failing the breathalyser. But without evidence the breathalyser had been used, this could be called into question. I believe it can be established as a matter of fact, whether or not the device was used at that date, he said but the State had not supplied a serial number which would indicate a breathalyser had been used on Mr Lawlor. Earlier, Garda Moroney said he had observed Mr Lawlor driving along New Line, Rathkeale, going from side to side before turning into Cois Deel. The garda said he then activated the blue lights and Mr Lawlor pulled in. He got a strong smell of alcohol, he told the court, and he also noted in his notebook that Mr Lawlor had failed the breathalyser. Garda Moroney said he did not ask Mr Lawlor if he had been drinking. Supt John Deasy said maintenance records for the breathalyser had been supplied to Mr Kerins but there were no serial numbers on the mouthpiece used, only the machine. Judge Mary Larkin convicted Mr Lawlor, acknowledging that the disqualification would have very serious consequences for him. She postponed the disqualification to August 10 but also fixed recognisance, in the event of an appeal, at Mr Lawlors own bond of 250. A LANDOWNER in west Limerick got in touch with Farm Leader this week to say roving bandits were on his land. Groups of men trespassing on land and illegally hunting hares with dogs has been a problem for years all over County Limerick. The man said he has signs saying No hunting or shooting erected but they took no notice. I was out for the day on Sunday but when I came home I was told there were men with lurchers out. I went down the fields and fences were damaged. The wire was loose. Roving bandits is all they are, said the farmer who didnt wish to be named. They could have been scouting the place as well. They act in a reckless manner. They could be bringing disease onto my land. They dont care. Id normally see a few hares in one particular field. I was looking down at it on Monday and there wasnt a hare to be seen. I have CCTV around the house but Im thinking of putting up hidden cameras to catch them in the act, they said. I just want to warn farmers they were out in west Limerick on Sunday and to keep an eye out, he concluded. These men, who have no affiliation whatsoever to coursing clubs, have become the bane of farmers lives. Late last year, IFA deputy president, Richard Kennedy pressed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on a number of points including these unwelcome visitors, It has been highlighted a lot in North Dublin but it is a countrywide problem. There are people travelling over land without permission with dogs and worrying livestock. When they are confronted by the farmer or landowner they are quite intimidating. We pressed that point with Commissioner Harris, said Mr Kennedy, who also raised garda visibility in the countryside and extra resources. As cattle are out unseasonably early, these men and their dogs are scaring animals. They can run through wires and break through ditches with the fear. Last October, Bruff Superintendent Brian Sugrue urged farmers to ring gardai if they see trespassers on their land and not to approach them. Cllr Eddie Ryan raised the issue of illegal hunting at a meeting of the joint policing sub-committee for the Cappamore-Kilmallock municipal district. Cllr Ryan said there is major fear amongst Limerick farmers when men with lurchers chasing and killing hares appear on their land. Cllr Gerald Mitchell said that while they are on the land with the lurchers they have their eyes on something else. Ring us. There is no need to challenge these people. We can deal with it as a trespassing charge, said Supt Sugrue. COUNCIL members must leave their political badges in their back pocket and fight for Limerick. Thats the view of Fine Gael council leader Cllr John Sheahan, who was speaking at a meeting on the controversial new regional strategy this week. Members met at County Hall to begin the process of forming a submission against the blueprint, which many feel leaves Limerick losing out in favour of Cork. Now, with March 8 being the deadline for submissions, councillors will get down to preparing objections to the strategy, which many councillors have criticised for containing scant mention of rural county Limerick, the Foynes deepwater sea port, with the N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction road left out, alongside the Adare bypass. The strategy is to be decided by the Southern Regional Assembly, based in Waterford, the first time the authority has been given the power to decide on the plan, which will govern Limericks development over the next 12 years. Councillors here cannot reject the plan outright, council boss Conn Murray warned, as they will just be overruled by the majority of non-Limerick members. Urging a reality check, the chief executive said instead amendments must be made. Mayor James Collins acknowledged this will mean negotiating with councillors from across the southern region, and jockeying for position. Independent councillor Lisa-Marie Sheehy said: This council needs to stand in unity. If the plan is passed as it is, it would be detrimental to the growth of both the city and county. If Cork is designated as an international city, funding will follow it there. Cllr Sheahan, who is one of Limericks three representatives on the assembly, said: Whatever you think of this draft, the first one was far less complimentary to Limerick. He said in that one, Newcastle West did not even warrant a mention, and it planned to do away with rural, one-off housing. A trade-off was made, he said, to include the new Strategic Development Zone beside the University of Limerick which may bring a new town on the Clare side of the campus. Limerick council must stand united, he added, saying: Lets get real here. If we bring politics into it, then let us fail Limerick. Lets put our political badges into our back pockets and all represent Limerick. That is the essence as to why we came here today. Fellow assembly member, Cllr Noel Gleeson, Fianna Fail, added: Politics is politics, but we need it to be left outside the door when we are trying to get the best deal for our city and county. Its up to councillors from all parties to ensure this is rejected. There is too much hanging on it. We need to take the initiative to put Limerick back on the map. Kilmallock-based councillor Mike Donegan pointed out that in the strategy document, 48 pages were dedicated to Cork, as opposed to just 26 to Limerick. That tells its own story. There a lack of contemplation of Co Limerick. There is nothing in it for towns like Kilmallock, Bruff and Kilfinane. No opportunity for them to grow and develop. I see nothing worthwhile in this it bypasses rural Ireland and its very disappointing, he told the meeting. Councillor Seamus Browne of Sinn Fein added: It makes the likelihood of rural depopulation yet more likely in Co Limerick. It does not address the regeneration issue in Newcastle West town centre and Abbeyfeale. Its a bad plan: it enshrines Cork as the capital of the southern region and Limerick as a small European town, and does nothing to show Limericks ambition. One decision was taken at the special meeting: Limerick councillors sought a ban on incineration of waste materials in Limerick in the plan. City West councillor Malachy McCreesh gained the support of members in his bid to stop the burning of rubbish, on foot of controversial Irish Cement proposals. Now it looks like his motion will form part of a submission to the strategy. A TAXI driver who asked for a hug upon completing a journey was one of 28 Limerick drivers to be complained to the authorities last year. Almost half of all complaints regarding taxi drivers in Limerick last year, however, related to overcharging. The behaviour of drivers and the refusal of some to take passengers on their requested journeys formed much of the rest of the complaints, made to the National Transport Authority (NTA). According to the NTA, one passenger complained that a driver asked for a hug having arrived at their destination, while another complained that a driver threw water at passengers after they had gotten out of the vehicle. In that case, the driver has since apologised for his behaviour. The NTA has confirmed a number of small public service vehicle (SPSV) drivers were fined for overcharging while others were cautioned or given advice about their behaviour. Figures released to this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act show the NTA received 28 complaints via its website during 2018 under Section 64 of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. Several of the complainants alleged that drivers had deliberately taken a longer route than necessary while others expressed concerns relating the accuracy of the meter and the fare being charged. The driver tried to charge me 15.60 for an 11-12 trip. He demanded a two euro surcharge. When I asked for a receipt, he refused, stated one complaint. The poor condition of vehicles was another bugbear of complainants. Each of the complaints were investigated and a ten drivers were subsequently given Fixed Charge Penalty Notices for breaching the revelevant regulations. A further five drivers were cautioned by NTA inspectors while four were given advice relating to their conduct and behaviour. The NTA says a number of the complaints did not result in any action being taken as the complainant failed to follow through with investigators. Complaints Pedestrian blocked: A taxi driver parked across the pedestrian crossing, completely blocking my way. I asked the driver to move the car. He refused. At this point a traffic warden told him to move. He did move. I asked the taxi driver for his name, which he refused to give. I contacted Gardai. They attended. They told me to contact the NTA to make a complaint. Complaint upheld, fixed payment notice issued Overcharged: I noticed his meter wasnt even on and he decided to take us. He told us the fare would be 4.50 per person when we got in. Which sounded about right considering the cost of the fare is normally around 20 from after 8pm. I was expecting it to be slightly more than that so that sounded fine. The fare was 26. I told him that he couldnt do that and just make up his own fare and charge per person and not by the meter. Complaint upheld, two fixed payment notices issued From my own experience, I would rather call someone instead of going to a site, he said. I would be afraid of seeing someone there who I would know, who would tell somebody. I dont want to discourage (safe consumption sites) because I think theyre important. But I think we need as much as we can out there to keep people alive so they can recover. A group of women, under the aegis of Two Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria, yesterday walked the streets of Abuja, to make a passionate appeal to PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to congratulate President Buhari who was declared winner of last Saturday's presidential election and concede defeat. Atiku who has since rejected the results released by INEC last week Tuesday February 26th, has said he will be heading to court to seek redress. He alleged that the election was characterized by mass rigging for the APC. The women began their march at the Unity Fountain down to Hilton Area before proceeding to the Force headquarters, Eagle Square and back to Unity Fountain. Led by their leader, Mary Onuche, the women who carried different cardboards with different inscriptions,appealed to Atiku to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan and congratulate Atiku on his victory. Some do it hanging upside down. Some do it for a few hours at a time. Some do it buried under a blanket of mud. Regardless of their preferred mode, bats, elephants, frogs, honeybees, humans and more have something in common: They all sleep. In fact, scientists have yet to find a truly sleepless creature. But is sleep really necessary for survival? [Why Do We Sleep?] The dangers of sleeplessness Most humans will acknowledge that sleep is absolutely necessary. People often struggle to function after even just one sleepless night. Poor sleep over the long term has been linked to a host of negative health effects, from heart disease and stroke to weight gain and diabetes. These connections, and the fact that all animals seem to slumber, suggest that sleep must play an essential function for animals. But what is that function? Does sleep allow the brain to repair damage and process information? Is it necessary for energy regulation in the body? Scientists and thinkers as far back as the Greek philosopher Aristotle have offered explanations for why we sleep, and yet, the exact purpose of sleep remains an open question. In the 1890s, Marie de Manaceine, one of the first female physicians in Russia, was troubled by the mystery of sleep. "We all love life, and we all wish to live as long as possible, but in spite of this, we sacrifice one-third, sometimes even half of our life in sleeping," Manaceine once wrote. In her quest to figure out what exactly sleep is, she conducted the first sleep-deprivation experiment in animals. Using an approach that now seems quite cruel, the physician kept puppies continuously awake, finding that they died after a few days of sleep deprivation. Over subsequent decades, further sleep-deprivation experiments using other animals, like rodents and cockroaches, found similarly fatal results. However, the underlying cause of death in these cases, and how it relates to sleep, is still unknown. Super short-sleepers While total sleeplessness seems dangerous, some creatures can get by with remarkably short bouts of sleep. They could be the key to understanding sleep's function, scientists have said. A study published in February in the journal Science Advances monitored the sleeping habits of fruit flies. "We found that some flies hardly ever slept," study co-author Giorgio Gilestro, a lecturer of systems biology at Imperial College London, told Live Science. Gilestro and his colleagues observed that 6 percent of female flies slept for less than 72 minutes each day, compared to the average of 300 minutes that the other females slept. One female even slept as little as 4 minutes a day on average. In a further experiment, the researchers deprived the flies of 96 percent of their sleep time. But these flies didn't die prematurely, like the Russian puppies did; these virtually sleepless flies instead lived just as long as a control group that was left to sleep normally. Now, Gilestro and a few other researchers are starting to wonder if sleep is less necessary than people have thought. "Some animals seem to survive on far less sleep than previously expected based on restorative theories for the function of sleep," Niels Rattenborg, who studies sleep in birds at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, told Live Science. In a 2016 study, Rattenborg and his colleagues outfitted great frigatebirds (Fregata minor) in the Galapagos Islands with a small device to measure electrical activity in the brain. The monitors showed that the birds sometimes slept in one hemisphere of their brains at a time while they were soaring over the ocean. They sometimes even slept in both hemispheres simultaneously while in flight. Sleeping while flying could be common among other bird species such as common swifts (Apus apus), which can fly for 10 months without landing though scientists have no direct evidence for this. But perhaps more surprisingly, the study found that the frigatebirds, while flying, slept on average just 42 minutes per day, even though they typically got more than 12 hours of shut-eye on land. Does Rattenborg think we'll ever find an animal that doesn't sleep at all? "Anything is possible," he said. "However, an emerging pattern among the studies of short-sleeping animals is that none are completely sleepless. This preservation of a little sleep suggests that there is a minimum amount of sleep that is essential, even in these remarkable short sleepers." Originally published on Live Science. Do you know how much time has passed since you started reading this mystery? The world's most precise clocks run at a steady pace, messing up by only about 1 second every 300 million years. But the brain takes those rhythmic seconds and makes its own sense of time stretching the ticks and scrunching the tocks. But why can't the brain keep time like a regular clock? In other words, why does time fly when you're having fun, and why does it plod along when you're bored? How the brain percieves time depends on its expectations. The brain can represent the probability that something is going to occur, given that it hasn't happened yet, said Dr. Michael Shadlen, a neuroscientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. [10 Things We Learned About the Brain in 2018] Every thought has various "horizons," Shadlen told Live Science. In a book, for example, horizons lie at the end of every syllable, the end of every word, the end of the next sentence and so on. Time moves according to how we anticipate these horizons, he said. When you're really engrossed in something, the brain anticipates the "big picture" and sees both the near and the distant horizons, which makes time seem to flutter by, Shadlen said. But when you're bored, you anticipate the closer horizons such as the end of a sentence instead of the end of the story; these horizons aren't knit together as a whole, and time crawls. There isn't a single spot in the brain that's responsible for how we perceive time in this way. Rather, any area that gives rise to thought and consciousness is likely involved in this task, Shadlen said. "There are almost certainly a multitude of timing mechanisms in the brain," added Joe Paton, a neuroscientist at the Champalimaud Foundation, a private biomedical research foundation in Portugal. (These subjective timing mechanisms have nothing to do with circadian rhythms, or how our body is linked to the 24-hour rotation of our planet.) One mechanism involves the speed at which brain cells activate one another and form a network when you're performing an activity. The faster those paths of neurons form, the faster we perceive time, Paton and his team have found in rodents. Another mechanism involves chemicals in the brain. Again, in rodents, Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded impacts how the brain perceives time. When you're having fun, these cells are more active, they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you're not having fun, these cells don't release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down. It's not clear why our brains aren't methodically accurate when tracking time. But it could have an evolutionary advantage, Paton said. "Life is kind of a series of should-I-stay-or-should-I-go decisions," Paton told Live Science. This internal sense of time can help animals decide when it's rewarding to stay somewhere. But when you look back in time, the perceived duration of an event involves the way the brain laid down the memory, said Dr. David Eagleman, an adjunct professor of psychology and public mental health and population sciences at Stanford University. The networks of neurons that code for a new memory are denser than they are for something that's not novel, he said. When you look back, those denser networks make it seem as though that memory lasted longer. For example, if you were to recall a long flight, but you always take long flights, you might remember it going by more quickly than it seemed at the time because your brain didn't lay down much memory, he said. Moreover, "time seems to speed up as you get older," Eagleman told Live Science. When you're a child, everything seems novel, and thus your brain lays down dense networks to remember those events and experiences. As an adult, however, you've seen much more, so these events don't prompt the creation of such memories. So, you look back at your younger years and say, "Where did that time go?" Originally published on Live Science. New Orleans vibes took over San Antonio's River Walk Friday night for a Mardi Gras-themed event during the annual Royal Masquerade Gala. RELATED: Photos: Mardi Gras-themed Pub Run saw beads and carousers running about downtown The Hyatt Regency San Antonio played host to the assortment of guests dressed in formal attire, beads, and masks that set a glitzy, yet Cajun/Creole tone for those enjoying the live music, casino games, and delicious foods. The event benefited the San Antonio River Walk Association. Click through the gallery above to see who partied in masks at the masquerade gala: The sold-out 2019 Tiger Ball, celebrating the Asia Society Texas Center's 40th anniversary in Houston, was one for the books. Held at the Center on Friday evening, the swank black-tie affair raised a record $1.418 million for the nonprofit organization. Symbolic of the traditional anniversary gift of ruby jewelry, ruby red was was the color of the evening, from crimson gowns galore to the red carpet walked by the crowd of 670 patrons and guests as they arrived at the Asia Society Texas Center facility. Partygoers began the evening at a cocktail reception in the two-story Fayez Sarofim Grand Hall. As the cocktail hour came to an end, several women wearing traditional outfits from various Asian countries held up lanterns on extended poles, lighting the outdoor walkway across Southmore Boulevard to the lavish Chevron Gala Pavilion that covered 1,700 square-feet of the Asia Society parking lot. Inside, the pavilion was decked out with tables adorned with red and gold linens and candelabra centerpieces, a 60' video wall showcasing projections of wishing lanterns, and eight 8-foot-tall custom built red lanterns suspended from the ceiling. What's more, 13 live Oak and Shumard oak trees, part of the property, were wrapped in strands of dazzling white lights. Attendees enjoyed a decadent meal, including curried cauliflower and apple soup and Chilean sea bass with jasmine rice, catered by City Kitchen as Phoebe and Bobby Tudor were presented with an award for their dedication to the community and longtime support of Asia Society Texas Center and a brief ceremonial candle-lighting ceremony honored the memory of Asia Society Texas Center founding member, Barbara Bush. Following dinner, attendees returned to the Grand Hall for dessert and lively tunes spun by a DJ Senega. Orchestrating the evening were ball chairs Michelle and Hector Herrera and Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron, along with honorary chairs The Honorable Hushang and Shahla Ansary, Molly and Jim Crownover and Maria and Neil Bush, who were at a family wedding and unable to attend. The more than $1.4 million dollars raised, including proceeds from big board and silent auctions, benefits exhibitions and programs at Asia Society to promote mutual understanding between the U.S. and the East and strengthen the partnerships of Houston's diverse communities. Celebrating the evening were Lynn Wyatt, Leigh and Reggie Smith, Sylvia and Gordon Quan, Divya and Chris Brown, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Cabrina and Steven Owsley, Jo and Jim Furr, Anne and Albert Chao, Anne and Charles Duncan, and Diane and Mike Cannon. Lily and Charles Foster, Isabel and Danny David, Diane Lokey Farb, Ceron, Lily and Charles Foster, Miya Shay and State Representative Gene Wu, Margaret Alkek Williams, Kristy and Chris Bradshaw, Jennifer Howard, and Muffet Blake and Bob Murray were also in attendance. 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 An 11-year-old rape victim gave birth in Argentina Tuesday after she was apparently denied an abortion by authorities, infuriating women's-choice advocates in the country who have fought to legalize the procedure. The girl, referred to as "Lucia" to protect her identity, underwent a Caesarean section Tuesday in the 23rd week of her pregnancy, the Guardian reports. Lucia, whose baby is not expected to survive, had previously begged officials to "remove what the old man put inside me." That man is the 65-year-old partner of Lucia's grandmother - who took custody of Lucia and her siblings in 2015, after her two older sisters were abused by their mother's partner, the Guardian reported. Lucia attempted to commit suicide twice upon learning of her pregnancy Jan. 23. She was hospitalized and later placed in state care as a result of apparent self-inflicted lesions, the outlet said. The birth of Lucia's child Tuesday was widely condemned by women's rights activists in the country, who say Lucia and her mother repeatedly asked for her to have an abortion - a request that was delayed by nearly five weeks, according to the BBC . Debate over who the girl's guardian was complicated the planned abortion, further exacerbated by several doctors who refused to carry out the procedure because of their personal beliefs. As The Washington Post has reported, Argentine law allows abortion in instances of rape, when the mother is mentally disabled or if there is a serious risk to her health. In any other instance, a woman could be imprisoned for up to four years for undergoing the procedure. In Lucia's case, officials ordered a hospital director to "continue with procedures necessary to attempt to save both lives," - a mantra also used by antiabortion advocates - citing a decision made by a family judge, according to the BBC. That court has since indicated it gave no instruction to save two lives. Moreover, the Guardian reports a doctor warned in court that Lucia faced "high obstetric risk" if her pregnancy was allowed to continue. Gustavo Vigliocco, health secretary of the province of Tucuman, even claimed Lucia wanted to birth the child. "I am close to both the child and her mother. The child wants to continue her pregnancy," Vigliocco said in a radio interview, according to the Guardian. "We are considering the risks but she has a large contexture, she weighs more than 50 kilos." A doctor who performed the procedure said she managed to save Lucia's life after the girl had been "tortured for a month by the provincial health system." "For electoral reasons they [the authorities] prevented the legal interruption of the pregnancy and forced the little girl to give birth," Dr. Cecilia Ousset told reporters, according to the Guardian. "My legs trembled when I saw her, it was like seeing my younger daughter. The little girl didn't understand completely what was going to happen." Women's rights advocates agreed with Ousset's assertion that Juan Manzur, governor of Tucuman, used Lucia to push his political agenda. Journalist and self-described feminist activist Mariana Carbajal wrote in a tweet that Tucuman had treated Lucia "like a receptacle, like an incubator." Soledad Deza, of the Women for Women Association, reminded news outlets that Lucia's abortion would have been legal, considering health risks and the fact she was sexually abused, the Guardian reports. She likened the girl's experience to "the worst type of cruelty." In August, after months of debate, the Argentina senate rejected a bill that would have legalized abortions during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. While some Latin American countries have loosened abortion laws to be less restrictive, the majority of countries in the region ban abortions outright or permit them only when the mother's life is at risk, The Washington Post reported. Those against abortions argue the government should focus its effort on reproductive health and educational services. Citing a government study, The Post has previously reported that 60 percent of pregnancies in Argentina are unplanned. "I'm mad. I wanted to win," Maria Paz, 22, a member of the socialist feminist group Las Rojas, told The Post after the bill failed August. "But the senators should feel worse. They're turning their back on all of these women who want the right to abort." The men had been drinking in a home in the 2300 block of West Augusta Boulevard about 2:30 a.m. when a verbal altercation escalated and a man in his 20s punched the other man several times in the left eye, knocking him to the ground, according to Chicago police spokesmen. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at a hospital, and the incident is being investigated as a homicide. From the halls of Congress to the presidential campaign trail, Democratic moderates are beginning to push back against the wave of liberal energy and shoot-the-moon policy ideas that have captured the party's imagination over the last two months. They worry that the sweeping proposals and hardball tactics of liberal firebrands could alienate centrist voters in the 2020 election, even as they hold out hope that Democratic primary voters, focused on defeating President Donald Trump, will check the party's move to the left. The moderates' concerns came to a head this week when one of the newest Democratic stars appeared to threaten her colleagues if they did not toe the liberal line, raising the specter of a cleave in the party between moderates and purists similar to a long-standing divide in the Republican Party. At a closed-door meeting of House Democrats on Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said some of her colleagues could find themselves "on a list" of primary election targets, after they voted for a Republican amendment requiring that undocumented immigrants who try to buy guns be reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to people in the room who were not authorized to comment publicly. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said he has confronted party leaders about such threats, which have also come from the Justice Democrats, a liberal group that backed Ocasio-Cortez's primary campaign. "Being unified means ensuring that Democrats aren't primary-ing other sitting Democrats," Gottheimer said. "Since when is it okay to put you on a Nixonian list? We need to have a big tent in our party or we won't keep the House or win the White House." Some warned that imposing purity tests could lead to a Democratic version of the conservative tea party revolt that transformed the GOP in recent years. That surge has brought Republicans new energy and new voters, but it's also cost the GOP some congressional races and legislative victories. Several Democratic presidential candidates, including many of the early entrants, have quickly endorsed sweeping liberal policies, including a Medicare-for-all health plan, a "Green New Deal" to combat climate change, and reparations for African Americans. Recently, however, some prospective candidates have been offering an alternative vision. Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D- Colo.), who is contemplating a presidential run, said U.S. politics needs to return to a more civil place. He referred to the House Freedom Caucus, a group of purist Republicans that often opposes legislative compromises. "We don't have to settle for disgraceful politics. We don't have to settle for being as terrible as Donald Trump," Bennet said during a visit to Iowa on Feb. 21. "We don't have to settle for Freedom Caucus tactics - those guys are tyrants. We don't have to accept that." Liberal Democrats, including many new to Capitol Hill or national politics, argue that the party has been too timid, caving to Republican pressure and failing to inspire voters with calls for sweeping change. The surge of new voters in the midterm elections, they say, shows the excitement and support generated by such proposals. The centrists counter that liberal ideas and candidates have more power online and among the grass roots than at the ballot box and that the passions will likely fade in coming months, both in Congress and the presidential campaign. John Anzalone, an Alabama-based Democratic pollster, said the perception that the party's primary voters are enthusiastically liberal is not based on data. "There is, without a doubt, a myth that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez somehow represents the narrative of Democratic primary voters in the country," Anzalone said. "Almost half of them identify themselves as moderates or conservative." That appears to be at least somewhat borne out by the midterms, when less-ideological candidates often won when facing purist opponents. Thirty-three of the 40 GOP seats that Democrats picked up were won by candidates who had been endorsed by the moderate NewDem PAC. A January Gallup poll found a pragmatic streak in the party - 54 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents wanted the party to become "more moderate," while only 41 percent wanted it to be more liberal. That contrasted with the Republicans and their allies, 57 percent of whom wanted a more conservative party. The centrists do not necessarily argue that the ideologues are wrong but that purity comes at the price of progress. That lesson, said Matt Bennett, a spokesman for the moderate think tank Third Way, is now on display in the House - which just this week held a blockbuster hearing featuring Trump's former personal lawyer and passed the first significant gun-control bill in a generation. "Without the people who flipped seats, there is no Speaker Pelosi, there is no Michael Cohen hearing, there is no background-check bill - there is only misery and Republican rule," he said. "No one in the Democratic Party should be doing anything to jeopardize those seats. No one." For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has been treading carefully - sidelining the most sweeping liberal proposals, playing down prospects of a Trump impeachment and scheduling weekly meetings to bring together leaders of the moderate and liberal factions. Thursday's meeting threatened to open a new breach. After 26 Democratic moderates joined with Republicans to pass an amendment on a key gun-control bill, Pelosi said they should show more "courage" on politically sensitive votes, according to the people in the room. That struck some as tone deaf, as did Ocasio-Cortez's comments about primary challenges. Ocasio-Cortez in a tweet Friday said she was not making threats but warning that the Democratic defectors "were inadvertently making a list of targets for the GOP and for progressive advocates" by voting with Republicans. The eruption followed weeks of growing tension between wings of the party. Freshmen who were elected on platforms of cleaning up big-money politics and fixing the heath care system have found themselves voting on, and answering for, a different set of issues, and some are feeling the heat from their constituents. "A lot of people are complaining and expressing concerns about the Democratic Party being portrayed as socialist, or certain voices being louder than others," said Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who unseated a GOP incumbent in a suburban Minneapolis district. The new liberal energy in the House is coming from candidates, including Ocasio-Cortez, who captured districts that generally favor Democrats. Some party strategists say liberal activists must recognize that their message would not work in more conservative areas. "People would be wise to remember that, by definition, we have the House majority because people flipped seats from red to blue," said Tyler Law, a Democratic consultant who helped direct the party's communications efforts in 2018. "Seats that went from blue to blue did not deliver the majority." The Democratic presidential primary contest, meanwhile, has so far been dominated by candidates pushing sweeping liberal policies. But several prospective candidates have begun warning against an overly aggressive liberal platform. At a house party last month in Waterloo, Iowa, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is exploring a possible run for the White House, was confronted by an activist who demanded that he support Medicare-for-all, rather than his current proposal to lower the age of Medicare eligibility. Brown said that's not realistic. "My ideology says universal coverage today - just like yours does - but I want to make people's lives better," Brown responded, as he stood hear the fireplace in a packed living room. "I know Congress won't pass Medicare-for-all." Over the coming weeks, a second wave of candidates could adopt a line closer to Brown's. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe have all been preparing campaigns that would promise an ability to win over Trump voters. Each has been crafting campaign plans based on polling that shows an enormous appetite among Democratic-leaning voters for anyone who can defeat Trump, even if they do not hew to strict liberal policies. "You can be very progressive, liberal and left and also want to elect people to get things done," said Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who is advising Hickenlooper. "Primary voters are very comfortable holding both of those things at the same time. They don't see it as either-or." In the House, moderates like Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., have been speaking up more about the merits of their approach, which tends to attract smaller audiences on Instagram and Twitter. "There are a lot of people that suck up a lot of oxygen," Schrader said. "And then there's the people that do the work. . . . We're the ones who actually govern and make things happen. And I think we're content with that." One Swedish bank is making hay from its lack of a major presence in the Baltics as a money-laundering scandal sweeps the Nordic region. Svenska Handelsbanken, Sweden's biggest lender by assets, is trying to get investors to buy its riskiest bonds by making sure they're aware it does very little business in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The bank sold $500 million in additional Tier 1 notes this month with a promise that creditors would face "negligible Baltics exposure." That approach follows successive rounds of allegations that some of the biggest Nordic banks were key players in channeling dirty money via their Baltic units. The suspicious funds originated in the former Soviet Union and made their way to the West, with Wall Street banks helping to pump the cash into the global financial system until as recently as 2015. Mats Olsson, a spokesman for Stockholm-based Handelsbanken, says the bank made the decision to distance itself from the Baltics in its advertising material "to address all the questions we get" about its exposure to the region, "given what has happened in other Nordic banks and their Baltic activities." Last week, Swedbank was dragged into the $230 billion Estonian money-laundering scandal that has engulfed Denmark's Danske Bank. The Swedish institution is cooperating with investigations by supervisory authorities in Sweden and Estonia. The revelations have wiped about $5 billion off Swedbank shares, one-fifth of its market value, and its bond yields have spiked. At the heart of investor concerns is the risk that Swedbank, the dominant financial presence in the Baltic region, could face value destruction on Danske's scale since the laundering scandal hit that bank about a year ago. The stock price of Denmark's biggest lender has halved, erasing about $18 billion of value. Danske is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as prosecutors in several European Union countries, and faces class action lawsuits from furious investors. Swedbank shares fell as much as 4 percent in late Stockholm trading Tuesday after Dagens Industri reported that the bank's former chief compliance officer, Viveka Strangert, lost her job in 2016 following her presentation of an investigation into the Baltic operations. Swedbank responded that her departure wasn't a result of her report. Meanwhile, Handelsbanken's shares have gained since the laundering allegations started swirling. Worries about the risks of doing business in the Baltics have prompted several prominent members of Sweden's establishment to speak out. Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves told reporters on Monday that "historically, there's been quite a big difference" between the Baltics and the Nordics. In the Baltics, he said, there are "some bad guys around." Ingves said both regions need to work on fixing the problem. After Estonia last week asked Danske to exit the country, the Danish bank said it's pulling out of all three Baltic nations and Russia. Analysts are starting to advise clients to buy Danske shares again on a perception that management is taking the right steps. Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, asked to comment last week on the allegations over Swedbank, said his nation had reduced laundering-related risks since the 2007-2015 period covered by the investigation of Danske and has a "zero-tolerance" stance on dirty money. Handelsbanken has a single branch in each of the three Baltic countries, and says it serves local customers from its home markets -- the Nordics, the U.K. and the Netherlands. The exception is dealings with a handful of state-owned companies. Its assets in the region are dwarfed by those of Swedbank, which has around $18 billion to Handelsbanken's roughly $180 million. Handelsbanken made a point of being clear about its Baltic exposure, Olsson said, because the question is "of interest to our investors." Meanwhile, the bank is advertising its British exposure as a reason to buy its bonds even though it's exposed to the upheaval surrounding the divorce from the European Union. Handelsbanken says it's done what it can to prepare for Brexit and will continue expanding U.K. operations "regardless of the outcome" because of the potential for growth. Last year, operating profit there jumped 63 percent. That compares with no profit in Estonia and losses in Latvia and Lithuania, according to the bank's annual report. Ingves, the central bank chief, pointed to the impact on Sweden's banks of the Baltic economic crisis a decade ago. After the initial shock, the "good times returned very quickly, and some things were left unchanged," he said. "That's of course unfortunate." - - - Bloomberg's Ott Ummelas, Aaron Eglitis and Amanda Billner contributed. The catalyst for Gordon Johnson's career with the FBI came from a heinous crime. He remembers clearly the day in 1995 when a former U.S. soldier parked a rented truck packed with explosives outside a government building in Oklahoma City and ignited the fuse. The explosion orchestrated by Timothy McVeigh reduced the building to rubble, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. "I saw all the resources that the FBI was bringing to that investigation and how they were determined to figure out who did this very despicable act," said Johnson, who was in the Army at the time but joined the FBI that year. "I thought, wow. That is a force of good. . . . I was drawn to that." Johnson says his career has come full circle with the arrest of Christopher Hasson. Federal authorities contend the U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant stockpiled weapons and planned a widespread domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists. Johnson, who is set to retire this week as the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Baltimore, said agents worked tirelessly with Coast Guard investigators and prosecutors to prevent what they believe would have been a devastating attack. "You saw the photograph with the weapons that we confiscated, and if you look at each one of those weapons and each one of those rounds of ammunition, it could have been a potential victim," Johnson said while reflecting on his career from his office in Baltimore County. "There's an individual tragedy in each one of those shell casings that I'm glad we were able to potentially get in front of." Hasson was arrested on gun and drug charges this month after the Coast Guard Investigative Service and agents with the FBI in Baltimore began reviewing activities that prosecutors said were linked to Hasson's white-nationalist views. Federal law enforcement officials seized a cache of guns and ammunition from his basement apartment in Montgomery County in the Maryland suburbs north of Washington and said Hasson used his government computer to plot an attack. Hasson's defense lawyer has said the government's accusations are a "histrionic characterization" of Hasson with "no actual indication of any plan." Johnson said he couldn't speak to the specifics of the Hasson case, citing the ongoing investigation. But he said the round-the-clock effort agents put in to bring about an arrest - including working through the government shutdown - highlights why he has loved his more than two decades with the FBI. "We have some really hard-working agents, analysts and professional staff here," Johnson said. "They're working this case, and they see it for what it is, and they don't stop." Johnson, 50, ends his FBI career after two years as the head of one of the busiest field offices in the country. The Baltimore office covers 7 million people across Maryland and Delaware. A native of Frederick County, Maryland, Johnson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and served as an infantry officer in the Army before becoming a special agent in New York. From there, he moved to counterintelligence at FBI headquarters in Washington, supervising various counterterrorism, cyberintelligence and counterintelligence programs in assorted offices before taking over as the special agent in charge in Baltimore in 2016. There, Johnson has dealt with numerous crises that have made national news. There were mass shootings, including the rampage at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis that killed five, and the workplace shooting at a countertop company in Edgewood that killed three. And there was a prison riot in Delaware that killed one, and the line-of-duty deaths of at least six local police officers. Johnson said the FBI is immediately on the ground for those events because, should one turn out to be a case of terrorism, the agency would take charge. Major events are intense, Johnson said, as he and other agents rush to the scene, interact with traumatized victims, comb the Internet for intelligence and coordinate with local law enforcement. Johnson also has overseen efforts to beat back violent crime and shut down public corruption. Violent crime increased in Baltimore around the time he took over the field office, with homicides reaching record levels. Agents have been working with city police to ramp up enforcement efforts targeting major actors and gangs that drive most of the crime in the city. Johnson said the FBI has also been focused on its partnership with Prince George's County, which he and Police Chief Hank Stawinski often say has been a major factor in driving down violent crime in the Maryland jurisdiction bordering Washington. "We have some work that our cross-border squad is doing in Prince George's County where you're talking about how homicides are down," Johnson said. "I know that we've done work there that has helped that community, so I'm pretty proud of that." In Prince George's, several politicians, public officials and liquor store owners were convicted in a bribery scheme to push legislation that would expand liquor sales. In Baltimore, federal officials cracked down on the police department's Gun Trace Task Force involving officers who clocked fraudulent overtime pay while stealing money and drugs from suspected drug dealers and civilians. A Pittsburgh Steelers fan who keeps a yellow "Terrible Towel" in his office and grew up watching games on a TV with a rabbit-ear antenna, Johnson said he plans to rest and enjoy time with his family before looking for work in the private sector. And, when the time is right, he wants to visit the family of Richard Collins III. Collins was killed at the University of Maryland in what prosecutors say was a hate crime. The second lieutenant in the Army was days away from graduating when he was killed, and Johnson remembers being asked by University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell to help investigate. "When I see the photos of him and his family, I actually kind of see myself as a young lieutenant coming into the Army," Johnson said. It is one case, he said, "that will always resonate." NEW DELHI - He parachuted out over enemy territory. Fired in the air to keep back angry locals. Jumped into a pond and then destroyed documents by eating them. Ever since Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian fighter pilot, crashed in Pakistani territory on Wednesday, the story of his survival has transfixed a nation. Now his safe return to India is helping defuse one of the worst crises to erupt in decades between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Late Friday, Varthaman crossed into India on foot at the Wagah border crossing with Pakistan. Under bright floodlights, he stepped through the towering metal gate that separates the two countries and shook hands with security officials on the Indian side. It was a hero's welcome: Hundreds of Indians awaited Varthaman's arrival all day, waving the national flag and holding garlands of flowers they hoped to drape around his neck. Television anchors choked with emotion as they described the scene. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the pilot home on Twitter, saluting his "exemplary courage." Varthaman's plane was hit Wednesday morning in the first aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan in nearly 50 years. He was subsequently captured by the Pakistani military, a particularly dramatic development in an already volatile conflict between the two nations. Countries around the world, including the United States, worked to ease the tensions. In a scene that could have come from a movie, Varthaman parachuted out of his flaming plane, according to several media outlets, including the BBC and Dawn, Pakistan's leading English newspaper. Upon discovering he was in Pakistan, Varthaman ran backward, the reports said, firing his pistol in the air to ward off angry locals. When they got too close, he jumped into a pond and destroyed sensitive documents and maps by swallowing some and soaking others before he was captured. On Thursday afternoon, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that his country would return Varthaman to India as a "peace gesture." The move immediately lowered tensions between India and Pakistan after two days of hostilities that began when India launched an airstrike on Tuesday on what it said was a terrorist training camp within Pakistan. The atmosphere of anxiety eased further on Friday. Pakistan partially reopened its airspace after two days of closures to allow travel to four major cities. Indian authorities affirmed that national elections due in April and May would be held on schedule. Experts said Varthaman, a 38-year-old from the South Indian city of Chennai, will undergo a detailed debrief and medical checkup. Indians have closely followed every twist and turn in Varthaman's saga this week. An alleged video of his initial capture shows him being dragged from the crash site as enraged locals attempt to hit him. A Pakistani soldier is heard asking people to stop. A second, more controversial video that may run afoul of Geneva Conventions was tweeted by Pakistan's Information Ministry. The clip showed the blindfolded pilot with a bloodied face, answering questions calmly while in Pakistani custody. After the Foreign Ministry in India "strongly objected to Pakistan's vulgar display of an injured personnel," the Pakistan military posted a fresh video saying the pilot was being treated "as per norms of military ethics." Seen sipping a cup of tea, Varthaman declines to answer any question on his operation or aircraft details, while praising his treatment by the Pakistani army. Spoken like a "true soldier," his father, Simhakutty Varthaman, said in a statement. In a final video purportedly shot before Varthaman's release shared by Pakistan's Information Ministry, he praises the Pakistani army for being "very professional." He also criticizes Indian media outlets for unnecessarily stoking emotions with their coverage. Flying runs in the family: Varthaman's father, now retired, was a decorated senior officer in the Indian air force who reached the rank of air marshal. In an ironic twist, Simhakutty Varthaman once advised a filmmaker who made a movie about a pilot jailed in Pakistan after being captured in war. In the movie, the hero is ultimately reunited with his family. After the capture, his father had expressed hope for his son's safe return and said the family was praying that he "does not get tortured." On Thursday night, the pilot's parents flew to Delhi ahead of their son's release. As passengers on the flight realized who the couple was, they burst out in applause and cheers. Varthaman, the son, appeared on a popular Indian television show eight years ago with several other fighter pilots. The hosts asked the guests what the main prerequisite was to be a fighter pilot. "Attitude," said one. "Bad attitude," added Varthaman with a smile. Even as India and Pakistan traded charges over the last two days, Varthaman's behavior in captivity united people from both sides of the border, mostly in praise. Videos of his capture and questioning were shared by thousands on social media. Pakistani citizens joined the chorus asking their government to return Varthaman as a gesture of peace. This is not the first time that an Indian pilot has been captured by Pakistan. In 1999, the rivals fought a brief but intense conflict high in the Himalayas. In that clash, known as the Kargil conflict, India deployed fighter jets but Pakistan did not. During the fighting, an Indian fighter pilot named Kambampati Nachiketa was captured by Pakistani forces. Nachiketa said he was tortured during his eight days of captivity, after which he was released. --- The Washington Post's Joanna Slater contributed reporting. HANOI, Vietnam - As he boarded his train for the long journey home on Saturday, Kim Jong Un grinned, waved and clasped his hands above his head like a boxer celebrating victory. North Korean state media has already proclaimed his summit meeting with President Donald Trump in Vietnam a success, but in reality the North Korean leader embarks on the long journey home largely empty-handed. He is likely to spend part of the time pondering his next move, especially because he has set great store in a campaign to revive the country's economy. "The North Koreans are in a seriously troubling situation now," said Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Kookmin University. "Kim Jong Un is still under pressure from sanctions, and it's not clear what to do with the Americans. Most likely they will still keep talking, because Donald Trump remains very, very dangerous." After the breakdown of the summit the previous day, Kim spent Friday meeting with Vietnam's top leaders in Hanoi. There was the usual pomp and ceremony, with a communist tint: Kim stood beside President Nguyen Phu Trong at a welcome reception outside the presidential palace as a military band played the two countries' national anthem, and ambled down a red carpet past an honor guard, flanked by a goose-stepping soldier in a white uniform. There was a banquet and an arts performance, and on Saturday morning a chance to solemnly pay his respects to the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam's Communist revolution, before his motorcade set off north for the Chinese border. But there were no trips to manufacturing or tourism projects in the port city of Haiphong or Ha Long Bay that had been foreshadowed, and were supposed to signal North Korea's intent to open its economic doors to the world. "Despite the upbeat portrayal in the state media, the summit collapse should have left Kim and his aides in grave shock," said Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea leadership expert at South Korea's Sejong Institute. "In that state of mind, they seemingly didn't have the bandwidth to travel to factories in Haiphong factories or to Ha Long Bay, and decided to limit their activities to official bilateral events with the Vietnamese leadership." Earlier this week, a senior North Korean delegation had visited a series of factories in the port city of Haiphong, including a plant making the country's first domestically produced car, a telecommunications factory owned by the military, a plastic bag factory and a high-tech agricultural zone, according to Vietnamese state media. The delegation had visited a luxury hotel and cruised through the limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay. But with sanctions still firmly in place, there obviously wasn't much point in Kim going there. If the North Korean leader was angry or disappointed with the failure of his summit with Trump, he showed no sign of it as he left on Saturday morning, twice stopping to wave and grin at flag-waving crowds gathered outside Dong Dang station near Vietnam's border with China. Then, he boarded his personal, armored train. Whether he will go straight home to Pyongyang, a 2,500 mile, 65-hour journey, or pass by Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, remains to be seen. Thae Yong Ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who defected from the embassy in Britain in 2016, said Kim had been so confident of the summit's success that he'd brought a large entourage on his train, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong and more than half of the ruling Politburo. "Although it was publicized as a success in the state media, the 'no deal summit' witnessed by many officials would have irked Kim Jong Un," he told Channel A news. "Kim tried to contain his anger and appear outwardly calm during his public appearance in Vietnam. But Kim Yo Jong and other aides had grim faces." Asia Press, a Japan-based website with a network of contacts inside North Korea, said it had spoken by telephone to a source living near the Chinese border who said traders there had widely expected sanctions relief after the Hanoi summit, and would now be disappointed. But experts said the damage to Kim's standing would be limited, with the blame likely to be shifted onto Washington. "The no deal summit will be preached to the North Korean public as the Supreme Leader's heroic safeguard of national security against the American raiders' push to disarm the regime," said Ahn Chan-il, a high-ranking North Korean defector who now runs the World Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul. "The military authorities in Pyongyang will actually welcome the breakdown of the nuclear summit. The switch to a peace regime would have diminished the power of the military in North Korea." The United States says the Trump-Kim summit failed because North Korea demanded the removal of almost all economic sanctions in return for a partial closure of a nuclear complex, without promising even to freeze its nuclear and missile program. But on Friday, China said it believed some sanctions relief was still justified. "The U.N. Security Council should relaunch discussions on reversible clauses of the resolution and readjust sanctions accordingly, based on the principle of simultaneous reciprocity," spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news conference. That appeal is set to fall on deaf ears in Washington, with the United States almost certain to veto any attempts to ease sanctions. Lankov, who is also a director of the NK News service, said he expected China to ease up on the implementation of sanctions but not ignore them entirely. "China wants to position itself as the guardian of the international law and international norms when Donald Trump is so eager to break them," he said. "So for China, it's not a good idea to openly violate sanctions. They will do whatever is possible within plausible deniability limits. In North Korea, Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers Party of Korea, devoted the first five pages of a special eight-page Saturday edition to Kim's visit to Vietnam. Kim said both countries and communist parties should carry forward friendly and cooperative relations "forged in blood generation after generation, true to the intentions of the preceding leaders," Korean Central News Service reported. They would advance bilateral cooperation in the economy and defense, as well as everything from science to the arts, he said. The Hanoi summit was another chance for Kim to parade on the world stage, and chip away at his country's diplomatic isolation. But Vietnam, emerging as an important regional player in its own right, is never going to become an important economic or diplomatic ally. Indeed, this was the first visit by a North Korean leader to Vietnam since Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, came here in 1964. Economically, Vietnam doesn't need cheap labor or textiles from North Korea, but instead depends heavily on investment from South Korea. Diplomatically, despite the fact that North Korean lent some support to North Vietnam during its war with the United States, ties are not particularly close. Indeed, the two countries fell out badly over Cambodia in 1979, with North Korea backing Pol Pot in the face of a Vietnamese invasion. - - - The Washington Post's Min Joo Kim in Hanoi and Anna Fifield in Beijing contributed to this report. More than 400 pieces of student artwork are decorating the halls of Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville as a part of the Regional Office of Educations annual art show. The Regional Office of Education #1 hosted the art show for the 12th year Friday where students from any school in Adams, Brown, Cass, Morgan, Pike and Scott counties could submit pieces they created. With mediums from chalk and paint to wire sculptures, coordinator Maryjane Million, the homeless liaison and licensure coordinator for the Regional Office of Education, said there were many different types of art for people to view. This is more of an opportunity to celebrate the artistic ability of our students, Million said. There arent a lot of venues where students can showcase their artwork for such a large audience. Jacksonville Middle School seventh-grade student Thomas King took home a Lincoln Land Community College award for his lighthouse collage. My grandmother loved lighthouses, King said. I was thinking about her when I made it and I love the picture in general. While his grandmother didnt get to see the picture until the show, King said he was proud of it and hoped she would like it. I was pretty surprised that it won, I didnt expect it, he said. For Adelyn Jones, a first-grade student from South Jacksonville Elementary School, her piece depicting an autumn tree being named the Peoples Choice was a surprise. I was really happy and surprised, Jones said. I like that piece. She said seeing her artwork on the wall with her classmates pieces made her feel good. I felt really happy and proud, she said. Million said the art show gives students a chance to see their work displayed, but also to learn from others. I think it gives them encouragement to continue doing their artwork, to expand it, Million said. They get to observe what others are doing and I hope they can learn from other artworks. WINNERS Lincoln Land Community College Award Thomas King, 7th grade, Jacksonville Middle School Marlee Barnhill, 4th grade, Murrayville-Woodson Elementary School Mayors Office Award Addison Gibson, 6th grade, Jacksonville Middle School Rose Marshall, 12th grade, Routt Catholic High School Chamber of Commerce Award Annika Kaufmann, 12th grade, Winchester High School Conner Lonergan, kindergarten, Triopia Grade School Regional Office of Education Award Ashley Fearneyhough, 11th grade, Bluffs High School Charlotte Sturgeon, 4th grade, Eisenhower Elementary School Peoples Choice Award Adelyn Jones, 1st grade, South Jacksonville Elementary School Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha. "I and my staff always acted appropriately and professionally," Trudeau said Wednesday night in Montreal, where he was celebrating a Liberal Party by-election victory. "Our government will always focus on jobs and our economy." The image of Wilson-Raybould, Canada's first Indigenous attorney general, skewering her ex-boss, a famed liberal who pledged to improve relations with native peoples and self-described feminist, has taken the shine off the PM. "This is a huge, huge blow to Justin Trudeau's personal brand and Justin Trudeau's promise of doing politics differently," a polling firm executive told the New York Times. "That shine is not dented or scratched. It's been completely scuffed." Wilson-Raybould was the only Indigenous Canadian in Trudeau's cabinet, before she resigned. Muhammadu Buhari will have little time to celebrate his resounding victory in Nigeria's presidential election before facing the multitude of problems dogging Africa's biggest oil producer. The court challenge to last weekend's election promised by his main rival, Atiku Abubakar, is the least of his worries. Add to that a listless economy, Islamist State attacks wreaking havoc in the northeast and an explosive cocktail of worsening poverty and rapid population growth. The 76-year-old former general came to power in 2015 on a wave of optimism after becoming Nigeria's first opposition leader to win at the ballot box, with promises of fighting endemic corruption and ending the economy's addiction to oil. So far, progress has been slow. "President Buhari can expect an even briefer honeymoon than he did in 2015," said Matthew Page, a former State Department specialist on Nigeria, who's based in Cambridge, England. "Unless Buhari experiences an epiphany and adopts a more dynamic, reform-minded, and business-friendly strategy, we can expect Nigeria's socioeconomic situation to stagnate during his second term." In his first four years, Buhari was a strong proponent of a statist economy. He called on the central bank not to let the naira weaken and made it clear he disagreed with the pledges of his multimillionaire rival, Abubakar, to privatize inefficient and loss-making oil refineries and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. His administration's drive to clean up business practices brought him into conflict with some foreign companies. South Africa's MTN Group Ltd. is fighting claims that it owes $2 billion of backdated taxes, which have dragged its shares down. And the government is suing firms including JP Morgan Chase and Royal Dutch Shell in Europe for what it says was a corrupt oil deal in 2011. All companies deny the allegations. OPEC's sixth-biggest producer is still struggling to recover from a 2014 crash in oil prices, although they have risen 22 percent since 2018 around $65 a barrel. Other reasons for optimism include the first shipments this month from the massive Egina offshore oil field, which will boost Nigeria's production 10 percent to around 2.2 million barrels a day. And billionaire Aliko Dangote says he'll complete an oil refinery near Lagos, the commercial capital, in the next two years that could drastically cut the nation's import bill for fuel. "Nigeria offers vast opportunities, and a lot of low hanging fruit," said Mathias Althof, a money manager in Stockholm at Tundra Fonder, which is bullish on banking stocks. "People have quite low expectations of Buhari since the first four years lacked major reforms. Hopefully, he has saved them for the coming four years." Economic growth accelerated to 1.9 percent last year, the fastest since Buhari took office, but still far below the average of 7.4 percent in first 15 years of this century. Huge difficulties remain. Unemployment has soared to 23 percent and rising debts are curbing the government's ability to spend money on infrastructure. Interest payments are projected by the International Monetary Fund to soak up more than 80 percent of the federal government's revenue by 2022. The stock market has dropped 3 percent since Monday, as it became clear Buhari would win. "Nigeria's credit challenges remain and include a low-growth environment, very high exposure to fluctuations in oil prices, weak institutions, and high levels of corruption," Aurelien Mali, an analyst at Moody's Investors Service, which rates the country five steps below investment grade, said Tuesday. Security problems have also proliferated. While Buhari succeeded in eroding territorial gains made by Boko Haram militants in the northeast, since December they and a breakaway group affiliated to Islamic State have ramped up attacks in the state of Borno. Separate clashes between farmers and herders over grazing land led to around 2,000 deaths last year, mainly in central parts of the country, according to Amnesty International, while a spate of kidnapping and raids has displaced thousands of people in the northwestern state of Zamfara. During his first term, Buhari could point to the failures Abubakar's People's Democratic Party, which ruled Nigeria for 16 years after the return of civilian rule in 1999 and did little to improve security and infrastructure, while corruption was widespread. After four years in power, "he will not have the bogeyman of the last administration to blame," said Tunde Leye, an analyst at Lagos-based SBM Intelligence. The president must also deal with the fallout from the election, which although more peaceful than some votes in the past, saw at least 39 people lose their lives. While the U.K. said "the Nigerian people can have confidence in the result" despite the vote's shortcomings, the opposition claimed Buhari's 56 percent to 41 percent margin of victory was the result of massive rigging. "It's one of the most disputed elections in Nigeria's history and has further widened divisions," said Idayat Hassan, director at the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja, the capital. Government officials say the bitterness will fade. "Somehow, when it comes to the point of all hell breaking loose," Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said in an interview Thursday, "Nigerians calm down." - - - Bloomberg's Ruth Olurounbi, Tope Alake and Paul Burkhardt contributed. President Donald Trump's decision to make Otto Warmbier the public face of his pressure campaign on North Korea aimed to convince the American public that, beyond the existential but abstract threat of its nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un's brutal regime posed a more tangible danger to the United States. By highlighting Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student who died days after his release from 17 months in captivity, Trump married his "fire and fury" war rhetoric with an emotional appeal over the grief of a single family. Yet after the collapse of nuclear negotiations with North Korea in Hanoi last week, Trump is facing an unforeseen backlash as the public's emotion has boomeranged back on him. At a news conference, Trump said he raised Warmbier's death with Kim but took the dictator "at his word" that he did not know of the mistreatment and felt "very badly" about it. The Warmbier family's rebuke of Trump on Friday in a sharply worded statement opened a damaging fissure at a time when the administration is scrambling to salvage the bilateral talks and put the president's primary foreign policy initiative back on track. Having once relied on the Warmbiers to bestow moral authority on his risky North Korea strategy, Trump has lost a crucial partnership at the worst time, as the general public relates to the renewed pain of a family that feels betrayed by the president. Victor Cha, who served as a high-ranking Asia policy official in the George W. Bush administration, said Bush also demonized North Korea on human rights and, like Trump, met with defectors. "But the difference is he was consistent; he stuck with it no matter what," Cha said of Bush's tough rhetoric. "The big difference is that once Trump sated his short-term needs, and after he met with Kim, he never talked about it again. It just goes to show there was no principle behind it. It was tactical and short-term." To Trump's supporters, his attention on the Warmbier case is evidence of a president who has eschewed broader human rights goals abroad to focus on his efforts on freeing individual Americans - from China, Egypt and North Korea. In May, Trump met three other Americans released from North Korea on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in the dark of night for a dramatic welcome shown live on cable television. But his critics see a president whose transactional nature has limits in the more complicated world of geopolitics - and on an interpersonal level with a grieving family. Fred and Cindy Warmbier, Otto's parents, initially were thrilled by Trump's attention. Otto had been detained in December 2015, accused by North Korean authorities of stealing a propaganda poster during an organized tour of the country. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in a trial the family called a farce in which he was forced to confess to bogus charges. Warmbier's parents had grown frustrated with the Obama administration for not securing their son's release, although former officials said in interviews Saturday that they faced a virtual news blackout for more than six months as Pyongyang cut off communications. The family "wanted a more assertive public posture. Our view was that was not the best way to get him out. There was no real consensus," said a former Obama administration official who worked on Warmbier's case and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. "It was something that was widely debated - how public should we be, how in-your-face? There are informed views on both sides." This former official said the tensions between Washington and Pyongyang made negotiating almost impossible, even for the United States' protecting power, Sweden, which attempted to intervene because the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea. Trump has boasted repeatedly of freeing Warmbier, including in a tweet Friday when he wrote: "Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch." But experts said Kim likely released Warmbier because his condition had deteriorated and the North Korean leader did not want the American to die in custody. The circumstances around what caused Warmbier's injuries - the family said he was tortured, while the Kim regime said he suffered from botulism - remain shrouded in mystery. Trump quickly forged a bond with the family, as he has with so-called "angel families" of Americans killed by undocumented immigrants. The president appeared with the angel families at campaign events in 2016, brought them to the Oval Office and featured them in his State of the Union addresses. The president called the Warmbiers several times, as did Vice President Mike Pence, whose personal lawyer also represents the family. Trump cited Warmbier's death in speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, the South Korean National Assembly and his 2018 State of the Union. Fred and Cindy Warmbier were seated in the House chamber as guests of first lady Melania Trump as the president told their son's story. They wept as Trump pledged to "honor Otto's memory with American resolve." It was one of the most emotionally resonant moments of the speech. Jim O'Brien, who served as special envoy for hostage affairs in the Obama administration, said he often advocated for more prominently raising public awareness of American citizens who were detained by terrorist groups. But in an interview, O'Brien called Trump's use of the Warmbiers "exploitative" because the president did not follow through in forcefully pressing Kim to take responsibility and make concessions. "The shameful element about what Trump did was not ask for records about Otto so the family would know what happened and ask for guarantees that future Americans who are detained get consular access right away," O'Brien said. "The short attention span of Trump, who uses this kid and his family and then has no idea about any follow-through, is why this seems so callous." Since Trump's first summit with Kim in Singapore in June, the president has not spoken of human rights. Last week, he referred to Kim as "my friend" and called him a "real leader." Trump's gamble that establishing a personal rapport with Kim would lead to a breakthrough at the negotiating table was incompatible with his prior strategy of developing a bond with the Warmbiers. In December, the family won a $500 million legal judgment in federal court against North Korea for Otto's torture and killing. Trump has tried to fend off criticism by saying on Twitter "I love Otto" and mentioned him again in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday. "It was not wrong to make Otto a central part of your strategy," O'Brien said. "But the amount of publicity was careless and unnecessarily grandiose. And the failure to follow through, especially as he sat alone with Kim, is what makes it seem callous and myopic." A man was hospitalized in critical condition after he was alleged to have pulled a shotgun on a deputy Friday afternoon on the Northwest Side. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the suspect, a 35-year-old man, was pulled over by a deputy at about 3:45 p.m. at Military Drive and Loop 1604. The suspect ran from the deputy, who chased him through a small wooded area and into the Blazing Star RV Resort, 1120 W Loop 1604 N, Salazar said. The suspect was wearing a heavy jacket and the officer was not able to determine if the suspect was armed at that point, Salazar said. Once inside the RV park, the suspect turned on the deputy and pulled out a shotgun, authorities said. The suspect fired several rounds from the shotgun, but did not hit the deputy, Salazar said. They appear to be slug rounds, Salazar said. He described the rounds as being the diameter of a nickel, which make a hole the size of a quarter on impact and a much larger exit wound. He said the deputy, a seven-year veteran, and the suspect were about 20 feet apart. Its quite clear that this suspect intended to kill this deputy, Salazar said. Authorities said the man was hit several times in the lower extremities and upper body. Deputies applied first aid to the suspect until medical personnel arrived and he was airlifted to University Hospital. Salazar said the suspect has a lengthy criminal history, and that he was out on bond when the incident occurred. Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA Once again Texas is at a pivotal point in deciding who we are as a people. Before our state lawmakers is a choice this legislative session between fear, scarcity and prejudice or generosity, inclusion and nondiscrimination. As pastor of University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio and an immigrant who came to Houston 21 years ago, I got to know the Texas that is bighearted and generous a state that knows that to include and not discriminate is the better path. Unfortunately, not everyone living in Texas knows the welcome of our great state, but experiences the pain and humiliation of discrimination. Its disheartening that state laws against discrimination do not include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Its surprising and shocking to realize that in this day and age, it is still legal under our states laws to fire hardworking employees, refuse to serve them in a business and otherwise discriminate against them just because they are LGBTQ. In stark contrast with this omission in our laws, the vast majority of Texans are in favor of full inclusion. Polling shows 64 percent of Texans support laws that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, public spaces and housing. It is appalling that in spite of the opinion of the majority of Texans that discrimination has no place in our state, we continue to see discriminatory efforts driven by fear of the other. Under the guise of religious freedom, a minority overwhelmingly Christian want to deprive certain groups of people of their civil and human rights. The irony here is they actually believe that religious freedom justifies exclusion and discrimination. If they have their way, businesses, health care providers and government officials will be able to pick and choose who to serve or to hire, or which laws to follow based on their religious beliefs. The discriminatory laws they support are against the wishes of the vast majority of Texans 57 percent who oppose turning religion into a license to discriminate. As a pastor and person of faith, I cannot be silent as I witness such an affront to the Gospel and to a founding value of our nation. Religious freedom as justification for the denial of human rights disregards Gods image in our siblings. It dehumanizes our siblings and leaves LGBTQ Texans our family members, neighbors and friends vulnerable to discrimination in virtually all aspects of their lives. From my own experience growing up in apartheid South Africa as part of the oppressive white minority, I experienced firsthand the emotional and physical impact of discrimination and the exclusion of the other based on fear. While the psychological scars of the oppressor cannot and should never be equated with that of the oppressed, we need to realize that to dehumanize another is to dehumanize oneself. South Africas former president, the late Nelson Mandela, had it right when he said: I am not truly free if I am taking away someone elses freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. As Texans and global citizens, we have a lot at stake as our legislators meet. Before us, we have the opportunity to embrace freedom and liberty for all more fully. Now is not a time for us to be silent or to succumb to fearmongering, but to stand together and embrace the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12). True to Christianity, we have the opportunity to join people of all faiths and no faith in working for the common good and to protect all people from discrimination, including LGBTQ people. Together we can make it possible for all people to embrace their God-given identity without fear of discrimination. To do the right thing and treat all people with respect and dignity, our laws should set a clear standard that discrimination has no place in our great state. Updating our states nondiscrimination laws will help ensure that all people including our LGBTQ neighbors have the opportunity to be judged solely on their job performance as an employee and be treated with dignity and respect when they go into a business as a customer. Even though we may have different beliefs, whats most important is focusing on what we have in common. When it comes to being able to earn a living, having a place to live, or being served by a business or government office, LGBTQ people should be treated like anyone else and not be discriminated against. For too many times in my life, I have stood at such a pivotal point to hear that the world as we know it will come to an end if we protect and include all our siblings. Counter to such thinking, the truth in our communities, our churches and our places of work is that the more differences we bring together, the more fully we are human and the more fully we experience the divine in our midst. While we still have a long way to go to overcome unfair treatment, updating our nondiscrimination laws will provide one more tool to help ensure that all Texans are treated fairly and equally in the state I now, along with you, call home. The Rev. Andries Coetzee is part of Texas Believes, a coalition of faith leaders who support full equality for LGBT Texans. Editors note: A longer version of this editorial was published in the Express-News sister paper, the Houston Chronicle. It is a view with which the Express-News Editorial Board is in full consensus. Some religious people say everybody finds God in the end. Weve all heard stories of deathbed baptisms and conversions. Maybe the converted are motivated by fear, maybe by an elementary risk assessment. If God exists, even a devout atheist has much to gain by accepting him. On the other hand, the guy dying has nothing to lose in saying a quick prayer. Lets apply that logic to another existential pickle: global warming. Politics has made the term radioactive in some parts of this country, including Texas, even as the warnings from climate scientists grow more dire by the week. Of course, we all wish this warming stuff really was a hoax, that our great-grandkids will some day breathe clean air just fine. Maybe even take an Alaskan vacation and spot a real live polar bear. Nice thought. But we cant stake our future on wishful thinking. Seems better to err on the side of caution on the side of science. If human behavior increases global warming and more than 97 percent of climate scientists say it does weve got everything to gain by taking action, including the survival of our planet and mankind. In the unlikelihood that its an elaborate hoax or a gross miscalculation, what do we have to lose by ridding the air of some heat-trapping gases? Industries and economies built on fossil fuels will lose money initially, but nothing they cant make up with investments in forward-thinking technology and alternative energy. The rest of us earthlings will get cleaner air to breathe; more sustainable energy infrastructure; burgeoning new energy industries, some hopefully based in Texas, employing thousands; and species saved from mass extinction. Thats why its so curious when politicians refuse to even entertain the idea of a deathbed conversion on climate. Take Gov. Greg Abbott. In December, he spoke of the urgent need to future-proof the Gulf Coast after a sweeping report by his Commission to Rebuild Texas recommended dramatic reforms in a state where sea levels are rising and storms are becoming more frequent and more severe. But asked by a reporter whether human impact on climate change affected Texas weather disasters, Abbott replied: Listen, Im not a scientist. Impossible for me to answer that question. The next month, 27 climate scientists, researchers and professors from schools such as Texas A&M, the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University sent the governor a letter offering to brief him on climate science and what Texas needs to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to warming. No one ever contacted us, Andrew Dessler, professor of atmospheric sciences at A&M, told the Houston Chronicle editorial board. And what is science telling us? The scientists letter hit the highlights. By midcentury, the Southern Great Plains, which includes Texas, will experience 30 to 60 more 100-degree days each year. Higher temperatures could result in an additional 1,300 deaths per year by centurys end. Up to $20.9 billion in coastal property is projected to be flooded at high tide by 2030. Whats their source for such gloomy predictions? The National Climate Assessment, by more than a dozen federal agencies. Texas, as one of the biggest U.S. wind energy producers, can play a key role in reducing emissions and drive future changes. The only thing missing is leadership, the scientists wrote. Even in Washington, were seeing leadership among Republicans. The top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently wrote Democrats a letter asking to work together to find bipartisan climate solutions. A climate change caucus last Congress counted 45 Republican House members. Republicans from the late John McCain to former Secretary of State James Baker have called for aggressive action. George H.W. Bush campaigned on the greenhouse effect back in 1988. In the end, it was lip service. As president, Bush squandered a precious chance to stop climate change. Abbott is squandering Texas chance. Not because he doesnt get it because he prioritizes votes from skeptics who seem to think an occasional snowball negates warming trends spanning a century. What a legacy. Someday, history books may note that the governor of Texas had a chance to help heal the planet and build new, sustainable energy industries in the process. Salvation sent him an invitation and he never responded. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange appears at the window of the balcony prior to making an address to the media at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Longford Waste Company, Mulleady's Waste Ltd, have faced criticism this week over their decision to increase weekly service charges by 92 cents per week. The increased charges were revealed in a letter to customers and the price change will come into effect from March 2. The news was met with criticism from some locals and politicians, with Cllr Micheal Carrigy describing the decision to increase the service charges by 50 per year as unfair. Cllr Carrigy said the decision is particularly unfair on households making a collective effort to reduce their waste output. He then called on Mulleady's to change their plans to increase service charges, noting that any increase should be made to bin lift charges instead. Any increase in charges should be put on the bin lift charge and not against the households who are reducing their waste, he said. Mulleady's Waste Ltd, which has been in operation for over 25 years, said in a letter addressed to all customers, that they had no alternative but to increase charges due to rising costs facing the company. The company listed increased insurance premiums, utility costs, labour costs and commercial rates as the primary factors behind the decision to increase the weekly service charge, while they also noted that the cost of environmental compliance has risen significantly in recent years. Other reasons behind the hike include Chinas refusal to accept recyclable waste from Ireland and changing legislation from the government, which has forced companies to invest heavily in vehicle weighing systems. Niall Mulleady of Mulleadys Waste Ltd responded to the recent criticism and said the vast majority of their customers were accepting of the reasons behind the increase. We held out for five and a half years. The majority of customers are ringing in to say they understand the reason behind it and they are grateful at not having incremental changes coming in, he told the Longford Leader. He explained that with the department pushing for a pay-by-weight service to be introduced, Mulleadys felt a service charge increase rather than a bin lift fee, was the only feasible option. We are being told every few months by the department, that pay-by-weight is still very much at the top of the agenda and they want it to come into play. The department believe it is the fairest and only way for everybody to get the service that they request. You pay for what you put out. He also noted that Mulleadys were one of the last companies to introduce an increase and said many other companies charge significantly more than their customers will now have to pay. We are actually one of the last to put on the service charge. We are charging 92 cents per week, which is 4 per month. There are other companies charging as high as 17 per month as a service charge, he said. A Granard man who led gardai on a high speed chase in north Longford after failing to stop at a checkpoint has been sentenced to four months in prison and banned from driving for nine years. Joseph Donoghue, of 3 Farrells Terrace, Granard, Longford pleaded guilty at last weeks District Court sitting following an incident at Ballinalee, Longford on July 21 2018. The court was told the accused, who had been disqualified from driving at the time, passed through the checkpoint resulting in a pursuit taking place. During the course of the next 2km, gardai observed the vehicle driven by Mr Donoghue travelling at speeds of 92km/hr in 50km/hr zones and 160km/hr in 80km/hr zones. Judge Hughes was informed that Mr Donoghue was seen crossing continuous white lines on the main Ballinalee-Longford road, before the accused brought the vehicle to a halt. Monetary fines were consequently issued to Mr Donoghue, the court heard, all of which remain unpaid. When asked about whether Mr Donoghue had any previous convictions on his record, it was discovered the Granard man had received a five year driving ban at Cavan District Court only two months previously. Prior to that, Mr Donoghue was given a four year disqualification at Longford District Court for a hit and run offence. In defence, solicitor Frank Gearty said while he accepted his clients previous indiscretions, this was an isolated incident. He said: It was the day of his brothers wedding and he was the best man. He took a chance driving his cousins car. Weddings, personal celebrations or otherwise, Judge Hughes adopted a differing view. Its (wedding) not an emergency by any stretch of the imagination, he said. This guy was driving while disqualified in Cavan and you would think he would have learned his lesson. Mr Gearty said Mr Donoghue was a father of two and extremely remorseful over what had occurred. Judge Hughes, nonetheless, proceeded to issue a four month prison term and nine year disqualification for the Section 53 dangerous driving charge. A four month concurrent sentence was issued for a charge of no insurance, while fines of 400 each were ordered for having no driving licence, exceeding the speed limit and failing to stop. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hughes took aim at the Irish Prison Services over the speed at which offenders of road traffic offences are released from prison. The Irish Prison Service, dare I call a shower, have no regard or respect to the good work of (road safety) authorities, he said. In claiming such prisoners were released very, very quickly, he questioned whether the same level of remission was afforded to individuals convicted of other criminal offences. Blues and North Harbour rugby player Michael Tamoaieta died suddenly on Friday. The 23-year-old was a much-loved partner to Helen and their daughter and a dearly loved son and friend to many, the Blues said in a statement. Tamoieta was a member of the extended Blues squad and a former New Zealand Secondary Schools representative. He made 11 appearances for North Harbour in the ITM Cup. Blues CEO Michael Redman said they're stunned by the news and deeply saddened at his passing. "Michael was a talented athlete and our focus is to offer our support and sympathy for the family and we are supporting our team and staff," said Redman. His family have asked for privacy as they deal with the shock of his death. The cause of death has not been made public. NZ Rugby boss Steve Tew also offered his sympathies. "Our sincerest condolences are with Michaels family at this very sad time," Tew said. "Michael was a valued member of the Blues and North Harbour rugby environments and had been part of the New Zealand Secondary Schools team. "We know his family, club and former school mates will be feeling this loss and our thoughts are with them all." More to come Credit to Newshub. Hamp was chair of the Department of Linguistics from 1966 to 1969, and was director for the Center for Balkan and Slavic Studies from 1965 to 1991, Silverstein said. The center sometimes drew visiting delegations of linguists, some from what was then the Soviet bloc. During their visits, the Hamps would entertain, and Margot Hamp would take them on a shopping trip to what was then the Marshall Fields department store for goods they couldnt get at home. I suspect one of the reasons for the constant flow of delegations to the Slavic Center was actually Marshall Fields, Silverstein said. On Friday, the defense secretary released a legislative proposal at the president's direction to establish the Space Force, within the Air Force, as the sixth branch of the armed forces. This legislation is the first step toward creating a new, separate military department for space in the future, and our administration will continue working closely with leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle to get a bill that creates the Space Force to the president's desk this year. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that a campaign ad produced by candidate Toni Preckwinkle and a Chicago Reader article quoted in the ad were factually incorrect. In fact, the ad and the Chicago Reader story accurately asserted that candidate Lori Lightfoot worked on two lawsuits brought by Republicans challenging congressional redistricting. The online version of this article was corrected on Saturday, March 2, 2019. , Mediapool.bg, , - . - , . 18:00 . I am not supposed to tell you this - It's the most important quote of the week and everyone in the country has heard it at least once, all thanks to Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The entire nation has been celebrating the return of the IAF pilot and #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan has been trending since his release was announced by Pakistan. But, before that, it was this line that got people to respect him even more. When the Pakistani Army asked him about the details of his mission, he only had one answer - I am sorry, I am not supposed to tell you this. It exploded on social media and became a talking point everywhere. The brave and stoic manner in which he deflected all the questions thrown at him, while in captivity, struck a chord with everyone in the nation. But, that one line wields so much power now, that even Indian police departments are using it to give out important messages. Well, the Mumbai Police better watch out because Nagpur Police is here to take their crown. When someone asks for your OTP : "I am not supposed to tell you this"#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #NagpurPolice NagpurCityPolice (@NagpurPolice) March 1, 2019 Like always, it got a lot of praise online and everyone appreciated it a lot. Yep. Hail the patriotic fervour of India Kudos to #NagpurPolice for saluting the Heroes of the Indian Defence Services. Jai Hind! Mallika Kaleem (@MallikaKaleem) March 1, 2019 Someone great, I'm sure. Who handles your account? Nice https://t.co/H78EDhCYZm Sachin Verma (@sachinverma1) March 1, 2019 Bohot. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Katrougalos, visited Delphi today in order to attend the Delphi Economic Forum. On the margins of the Forum the Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Friday, 1 March, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, N. Christodoulides, and will also have meetings with the Vice Prime Minister of Romania, A. Birchall, and the Executive Vice President of the Atlantic Council, D. Wilson. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will then attend a dinner with his counterpart from North Macedonia, N. Dimitrov, and the Minister Delegate for European Affairs of Romania, G. Ciamba. On Saturday, 2 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend as a keynote speaker a discussion on the national strategy on foreign policy. On the same day, he will meet with his Serbian counterpart, I. Dacic, and attend a one-on-one meeting with N. Dimitrov. Finally, on Sunday, 3 March, he will participate in a discussion focusing on the political landscape following the Prespa Agreement. 720 Juneberry Road, Riverwoods: $2,195,000 | Listed: Oct. 15, 2021 This six-bedroom home has four full bathrooms, one half bath, reclaimed wood floors and 12-foot ceilings on the main floor. The kitchen is equipped with dual islands, a built-in ice machine, freezer drawers and a walk-in pantry. The living room features a wood-burning fireplace and a wood-beamed ceiling, and the dining space leads to a screened porch with a fireplace, a built-in grill and a refrigerator. The primary bedroom suite is located on the main floor has a private sitting area with a fireplace and a walk-in shower. Four additional bedrooms that share Jack and Jill baths are on the second floor. An indoor hot tub, a sunroom, a heated four-car garage and a finished lower level with an in-law suite complete this home. Agent: Ron Ehlers, Compass, 847-975-5515 *Some listing photos are virtually staged, meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishing or decorating options. To feature your luxury listing of $800,000 or more in Chicago Tribunes Dream Homes, send listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com. Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news. Michael Poulakidas, Stathis Poulakidas, Russell Woerman and companies and firms affiliated with them have donated more than $25,000 combined in cash and supplies, and Michael Poulakidas once served as the treasurer of Irvins campaign. He stepped down shortly after the group was approved to handle the Copley project to remove any appearance of any impropriety of any conflict, a spokesman for the group has said. Two men working on a house next door ran out and tried to help, but the smoke was too much. As firefighters arrived around 2 p.m. to the four-unit townhome building in the 1800 block of Carnation Court, they were met with thick black smoke and flames, Aurora Fire Marshal Javan Cross said. Cass City Village Council members made the correct decision this week to allow certain licensed medical marijuana facilities within the village. Council voted 5 to 1 to opt into establishing standards for such facilities. This decision shows officials are willing to work with their residents. It shows they listen to their constituents and consider their opinions. Last summer, owners of an area factory proposed developing a medical marijuana grow and processing operation inside an unused portion of the building. Several residents pleaded with the council to approve the proposal, however, it failed. Now, Cass City will not be the first municipality in Michigan to open a medical marijuana facility. Nor will it be the last. With the approval, officials will be able to study trends and gather information from other Michigan communities that allow operations. And, if any questions arise, officials will be able to contact the states Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs office for clarification. Unlike recreational marijuana, the state has rules and guidelines in place for what is and isnt allowed when it comes to medical marijuana. When it comes to using marijuana, the same rules will apply to Cass City as it does any other area in the state: You cant smoke in public. A medical marijuana facility wont be open to just anyone. An individual must have a valid Michigan Medical Marijuana card to obtain their marijuana. Also, the medical grow operation originally proposed in Cass City would have been a secure, well-controlled operation that would not bother neighbors. Cass City should make sure that any facility that does come into the village has the following: a state-of-the-art H/VAC system to control any odor; 24/7 security with camera monitoring; and a carefully selected workforce required to undergo criminal background checks. This type of facility should generate more revenue for the village. It will also be helpful to those who have medical marijuana cards, as there aren't any medical dispensaries currently operating in Huron County, and a majority of municipalities said 'no' to allowing them. Patients will travel from all over the Thumb to purchase their medication and spend money on other things while in Cass City. It more than likely will be a long road before Cass City officially sees any medical marijuana-related activity get underway. But, we applaud officials for listening to their residents and taking a step into the 21st Century. For several weeks, Ive been dealing with a cold and the flu and not very well. Being so sick required several trips to the doctor, in addition to a variety of different medicines in an attempt to get better. Of course, on the way home from one of the many trips to the doctor in Cass City, it started snowing. It seems like Ol Man Winter just lays in wait to dump snow on me. At least, for once, the roads werent too terribly icy, so driving wasnt the usual white knuckle event that it has been for months, so I was able to relax as the two shots I was given started to make me feel a little better. I was chilled when got home, so I made a hot cup of tea and curled up in a chair to drink it before heading back to my computer to write articles for the paper and come up with a column. The tea did its job of warming me. Because I didnt feel good, I didnt feel like writing, so I procrastinated. As I sat there watching big, fluffy flakes of snow fall and twirl in the wind, I had to grudgingly admit, it was rather pretty. Despite my dislike for cold, white, and winter, there have been a few times when Ive marveled at winters beauty. It is amazing how the most insignificant little weed when coated in ice can be turned to breathtaking beauty when the sun shines on it and how the wind can make snow waves with ice crystals that sparkle like diamonds on certain days. For a few days, we had set warm weather records, and weve set records for low temperatures. Only in Michigan can you have such extremes in a matter of a few days. Its like whiplash from one temperature to the next. Then, on my next doctors visit, the day was nice and kind of warm. I loved every degree of it. As I was sitting in the sun going home, I drove very, very slowly enjoying the sunshine and warm rays. When I got home, I dragged my recliner in front my big picture window so I could continue enjoying the sun. While warming myself in the sun, I thought maybe spring and warm weather werent a myth after all, which is what I had started to believe over the last several weeks. With my spirits lifted, I put in my favorite Beach Boys cassette tape in the stereo and dreamed of sun, sand and surf, with my toes in Saginaw Bay and my butt parked on the beach in Caseville. I shut my eyes and dreamed of a day at Caseville beach as I sang along and tapped my toes to the beat of the music. Then ... silence. Nothing but silence as my stereo ate my summer dreams and Beach Boys cassette. Noooooo! Its a conspiracy. Mother Nature and Ol Man Winter are taunting me. Because there was no more music, I was forced to turn on the television. My suspicions were conformed. The forecast calls for more snow. Now, that I've complained about winter and marveled at its beauty, Im so ready for it to be over. Please! Mary Drier, a veteran journalist, writes a biweekly column for the Huron Daily Tribune. SEBEWAING Detectives from the Michigan State Police First District Special Investigation Section are investigating an officer-involved shooting in the village of Sebewaing. According to a statement the Michigan State Police posted on Twitter, deputies from the Huron County Sheriff's office, along with officers from the Sebewaing Police Department, were dispatched to an address in Sebewaing to investigate a male subject threatening suicide at about 10:30 p.m. Friday. After some parts of Connecticut saw up to 4 inches of snow Saturday morning, there were several motor vehicle crashes. But as morning pushed on into afternoon, temperatures rose and roads were cleared. But once night hit, temperatures dropped again, causing melted snow to freeze, making potentially dangerous travel conditions. Below are the most up-to-date traffic and weather-related updates. UPDATE: 7 P.M. Following some snow overnight Friday into Saturday, the state saw high temperatures ranging from the upper 30s to low 40s Saturday, causing some of that snow to melt. But as temperatures drop as the night goes on, its expected to cause slippery spots on untreated surfaces due to the refreezing of snow melt, the National Weather Service said. Anyone venturing out is urged to use caution. Updated, 1:30 p.m. Middletown has ended its parking ban as the snow has stopped and roads have been cleared. Update, 12:05 p.m. An accident that closed part of I-95 south in Orange has been cleared, the state Department of Transportation reports. The DOT also issued a reminder to drivers to stay back 300 feet from snowplows so the trucks can do their jobs. Update, 11:45 a.m. I-95 southbound is closed between exits 41 and 40 in Orange following a reported one-vehicle collision. The Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department said Route 8 north is reopened after an earlier crash there just south of exit 42, which had closed the right lane. There were no injuries reported. Update, 11:19 a.m. The National Weather Service canceled its winter weather advisory at 10:50 a.m., but the winter storm watch remains in effect until March 4 at 7 a.m. for southern Connecticut. Update, 10:07 a.m. Suffield police said on Facebook the department received reports of a boy, 6, in shorts and a yellow jacket alone and upset on the towns South Green. Police said they are searching to locate the boy and are requesting more information at 860-668-3870. Update, 9:40 a.m. Fairfield police report that Black Rock Turnpike was closed between Tahmore Drive and Samp Mortar Drive due to a motor vehicle crash. The operator of the vehicle was wearing his seat belt and suffered only minor injuries. He was cited for speeds too fast for the weather conditions, police said n Facebook. Police also urged motorists to use extreme caution while driving in these weather conditions. Stay home if you can and allow crews to treat and clear roadways. Update, 9:39 a.m. A 2-vehicle accident on I-95 northbound between Exits 18 and 19 in Wesport. The left lane is closed. Update, 9:32 a.m. A motor vehicle accident I-95 northbound between Exits 13 and 14 in Norwalk. The right lane is closed. Update, 9:01 a.m The parking ban in Milford has been extended until 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. Update, 8:43 a.m. Temperature reported at Bridgeport is 31 degrees F, with snow, fog and mist conditions, the weather service reports. Update, 8:24 a.m. A disabled motor vehicle had caused the right lane to be closed on Interstate 95 southbound between Exits 47 Route 34. The incident is expected to take less than an hour to clear. The winter weather advisory remains in effect until noon today, a winter storm watch in effect from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning, the weather service reported. The watch is in effect for most of southern Connecticut. Related: CT Town prepare for storm, announces closures. The weather service warns that travel could become very difficult. The Department of Motor Vehicles has canceled all road skills tests for today Saturday, March 2, due to expected storm conditions. Customers will be notified that their scheduled tests are canceled and provided instructions for re-scheduling them. Morrissey, who died at age 23 after an epileptic seizure in 2017, even gave one of the sculptures he made in an advanced arts class to teacher Dan Chambers as a token of appreciation for his direction during four years studying art. The abstract sculpture is comprised of a platform of wood and various pieces of objects painted in a variety of colors and sits on Chambers shelf in his classroom. Nearly 9,000 Marines Didn't Get Vaccinated By the Deadline. Many Risk Getting Kicked Out of the Corps. The Marine Corps reported that 5% of the force had not gotten even one shot before the deadline passed. The commissary's curbside grocery pickup program started its expansion to new locations Friday, while also announcing the closure of the three current locations -- and adding a service fee. The program, known as Click2Go, has been available for free through a pilot program at three commissaries -- at Fort Lee, Virginia; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; and Travis Air Force Base, California -- since 2013. In July 2017, Defense Commissary Agency officials announced plans for expansion, but gave no details on when or where. Now, 20 months later, the system has added its first new location: Fort Eustis, Virginia. But at the same time, officials announced that the Fort Lee, Offutt and Travis locations, which are operated under a different contract, will be shuttering when that contract ends June 1. Although the service at Eustis will be free for a promotional period through the end of March, shoppers there will pay a $4.95 service fee per order starting April 1, officials said in a release. That is similar to the fee paid for curbside delivery at some off-base grocery stores. Next to receive the new program "at a time to be determined" will be the commissary at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, officials said in a release. After that, customers can expect a rollout to locations worldwide over the next four years, with plans to eventually reopen the service at the original three locations. But don't get too excited. Not all commissary locations will offer the service, officials cautioned. "A variety of factors, including sales and transactions, existing infrastructure and demographics, will determine if a commissary is suitable for Click2Go," they said in the release. Shoppers will place their orders on the commissary's website. After choosing their items, shoppers must select a pickup time that is at least six hours but not more than six days out. Orders are paid for at time of pickup. Curbside orders can be paid for with credit cards that do not require the user to enter a PIN. Cash, checks, debit cards that require a PIN, food stamps and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) vouchers are not accepted for pickup orders. Coupons are accepted for Click2Go orders, officials said. Unlike commissary baggers, who work for tips only, Click2Go workers are not permitted to accept tips. By Jessie Blaeser Greek life on college campuses has existed for nearly as long as the United States have been a country. Many fraternity and sorority members argue this long-standing tradition is part of the traditional American college experience and membership offers a number of benefits, including camaraderie. Others cite tragic incidents in which Greek life has resulted in the death of members as one of many reasons why the collegiate Greek system should be abolished. What do you think? According to TIME's Lisa Wade, concern about fraternities is nothing new. In 1863, a group of college presidents "described fraternities as a 'plague' and 'un-American.'" Wade expands: Young rich men invented social fraternities to isolate themselves from their middle-class peers, thumb their nose at the religious values of their professors and wrest control away from the administrators who set their schedules, curricula and objectives. As would be expected, the result of this invention has been poisonous. Not only does the Greek life further an elitist system on college campuses, but so-called traditions have become so extreme, that some students have lost their lives as a direct result of yielding to pressure to follow such customs. Wade describes the death of 19-year-old Timothy Piazza during a fraternity party put on by Penn States Beta Theta Pi chapter. Piazza fell twice down the stairs after being instructed to drink what a forensic pathologist called a life-threatening amount of alcohol. She writes: In the aftermath of Piazzas death, Penn States president wrote a heart-wrenching open letter. He detailed the facts about Greek life: excessive drinking, high rates of sexual assault, hazardous initiation rites and fatal accidents. He also listed the well-intended and genuine efforts by Penn State to change Greek culture efforts that dont seem to be working and wondered if the right answer is abolition. To Wade there is only one solution to ending this kind of tragedy: Abolish Greek life on college campuses. Despite these tragedies, some claim the good fraternities and sororities do not get nearly enough media attention as the bad. Nevertheless, the good exists. According to CNN's Alexandra Robbins, fraternities, in particular, maintain the "goal of making their brothers 'better men' as helping them to become better people." Surely, the goal of making each other better through brother or sisterhood is one to be commended. Robbins reports on her experience speaking with fraternity brothers: They believed it was their responsibility to hold brothers to high standards of tolerance and cooperation. They were able to create a subculture in which members were rewarded for being good guys...They encouraged members to open up to each other and to give unconditional support. Some students told me that their fraternity friendships and accountability saved their lives. Centuries of corruption hide behind the veil of Greek life on college campuses. Not only has the system influenced the spread of power in business and politics in the real world, but it has also resulted in the unacceptable abuse of college students. As The Atlantic's Caitlin Flanagan bluntly puts it: Lawsuits against fraternities are becoming a growing matter of public interest, in part because they record such lurid events, some of them ludicrous, many more of them horrendous. For every butt bomb, theres a complaint of manslaughter, rape, sexual torture, psychological trauma. Flanagan refers to Bloomberg Newss David Glovin and John Hechingers reporting, saying that since 2005, more than 60 people the majority of them students have died in incidents linked to fraternities. She expands: ...a sobering number in itself, but one that is dwarfed by the numbers of serious injuries, assaults, and sexual crimes that regularly take place in these houses. After a yearlong investigation, Flanagan concludes that fraternities are mightier than universities themselves a dangerous truth that the country must face. But if you ask many of the current members of fraternities and sororities, they will likely tell you that the friendships theyve found in Greek life are unique, and therefore something to be protected. Mics Teddy Bommarito explains four key benefits of the Greek system, including camaraderie and academics. Bommarito writes: Although the word camaraderie is a cliche defense of fraternities and sororities, the bond that is created between members as a result is certainly visible, durable and genuine; the relationships between brothers and sisters are bonds that last a lifetime. Furthermore, the Greek system includes organizations beyond the traditional fraternities and sororities you might be thinking of from TV or movies. Multicultural Greek organizations prioritize diversity and understanding through the mission of promoting justice. The National Pan-Hellenic Council, formed at Howard University in 1930, contains nine historically African American, international Greek fraternities and sororities and promote unity, educational progress and cultural uplift. There are also service-oriented Greek organizations, whose express mission is to perform community service. Theres no question that the Greek system is in grave need of reform, but it would be a shame to ignore the great unity that has come to fruition as a result of the system itself. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say. IMLAY CITY, MI The family that lost four children in a fire this week in Imlay City is offering words of thanks to the community. Siblings Keith L. Kelley, Jr. 6, Keyondre L. Kelley, 5, and KeyannaRae F. Kelley, 3, died Feb. 26 after a fire was reported around 3 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26 at their familys residence in the Maple Grove Communities mobile home park off South Almont Avenue. A fourth child, Keyairan J. Kelley, a 1-month-old girl, died Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor after initially being listed in critical condition. The childrens parents, Keith L. Kelley, 42, and Krystal I. Whitney, 29, both remain at Hurley Medical Center in Flint with severe burns. Keyshawn F. Kelley, 1, has been transferred to Childrens Hospital of Michigan in Detroit for specialized diagnostics and treatment after suffering burns on his back. Keith L. Kelley, Jr. was the couples first-born child who enjoyed playing video games and loved superheroes, per the obituary. Keyondre loved playing video games and his favorite superhero was Spider-Man, states the obituary, while sister KeyannaRae loved the movie Frozen and her Troll dolls and Keyairah was born one month ago. These four little angels were taken much too soon, reads the obituary. In the wake of the fire, community members and businesses have rallied around the family to offer support, including prayers, well wishes, and a candlelight vigil that drew more than 100 residents sharing their grief outside the mobile home where the fire took place. The Whitney/Kelley families have been deeply touched by the outpouring of support, emotional and financial, during this difficult time, according to a statement from Muir Brothers Funeral Home in Almont, sharing the words in a statement on behalf of the families. All funeral expenses have been donated by Debby Muir, Rick Muir and Christina Muir-Murphy of Muir Brothers Funeral Home Almont and Roth-Muir Funeral Home Romeo. The date and time for a celebration of life service -- as requested by the family -- is still in the works. A $10,000 check from Venture Global Engineering Foundation will also be given to the family, Christina Muir-Murphy, one of the directors at Muir Brothers Funeral Home in Almont, previously said. They would like to thank the First Responders and the Imlay City Police Department for their dedication and effort, the management and fellow residents of the Maple Grove community, local businesses and organizations; including Venture Global Engineering Foundation, according to the statement. The family stated that this flood of community support has carried them in the wake of these devastating events. The family has set up a trust for monetary donations with Lakestone Bank and Trust, 1875 S. Cedar St., Attn: Benefit of Whitney/Kelley Family, while physical items can be dropped off at Saint Pauls Lutheran Church, 200 N. Cedar St. We urge you to continue to keep the family in (your) thoughts and prayers as they begin the healing process, the statement concludes. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. Its been determined the furnace was most likely on and working before the fire started, according to Imlay City police. There wasnt evidence of an alternate heat sources, like a space heater, being used in the home. The final cause of the fire will depend on interviews and further investigation. SEBEWAING, MI Police in Huron County were involved in a shooting that involved the death of a suicidal man after he shot his girlfriend. About 10:30 p.m. on Friday, March 1, Huron County Sheriffs deputies and Sebewaing police officers responded to a Sebewaing residence for reports of a 49-year-old man threatening suicide. The man was armed with a handgun and his mother and girlfriend were in his home with him, police report. Michigan State Police troopers from the Caro Post arrived to assist and summoned the MSP Emergency Support Team. At some point, the mans mother exited the house without having been harmed. About 2:15 a.m., the man shot his girlfriend who was still inside with him. Police then entered the residence in an effort to rescue the woman, exchanging gunfire with the man in the process. The man was pronounced deceased at the scene. The woman was taken to Scheurer Hospital in Pigeon and then transferred to Hurley Medical Center in Flint where she remains in stable condition as of 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Detectives from the MSP First District Special Investigation Section are investigating the shooting. Police did not disclose the deceased mans name. Cory Booker, a 2020 Democratic hopeful, has recently revealed his strategy to capture the votes of Americas minorities: quote 30-year-old rap lyrics and hope for the best. The New Jersey Senator and presidential candidate arrived in Simmonsville, South Carolina on Friday, for an early campaign appearance. Booker is set to deliver a keynote address at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday, the site of a brutal police beatdown of civil rights marchers in 1965. Before his bridge engagement, Booker was quizzed on what he will do to capture the minority vote next year, and offered rap lyrics in response. The hip-hop generation is my generation, Booker said. I dont want you walking around here like Dont believe the hype. I want you to be like fight the power, he added, name-checking two tracks by the hard-hitting political rap group Public Enemy. Twitter was unimpressed. Ending mass incarceration, enacting reparations, promoting an Equal Rights Amendment, providing free/massively subsidized post-secondary education are all things Booker could have mentioned, one commenter said, instead of a couple of quotes from that one thirty-year-old album he could remember. While Bookers rap references might reek of fellow kids desperation, the New Jersey Senator seems to be a lifelong fan of Public Enemy, mentioning the militant New York rappers in a pair of tweets from 2012. At least Booker was 19 years old when Public Enemy dropped their influential second album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. His fellow 2020 Democratic contender Sen. Kamala Harris (California) drew ridicule when she recently claimed to have listened to west-coast rappers Tupac and Snoop Dogg while she smoked marijuana in college. The problem? Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986 and UC Hastings College of the Law in 1989. Tupac and Snoop released their first albums in 1991 and 1993 respectively. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! A young black California woman charged with attempted murder in the brutal beating of a 91-year-old Mexican man with a brick has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Laquisha Jones, who allegedly yelled "Go back to your country!" while pummeling Rodolfo Rodriguez, pleaded guilty in December to a charge of aggravated elder abuse and using a deadly and dangerous weapon. Charges of attempted murder were dropped as part of the plea deal. Also on rt.com Virginias first lady apologizes for handing cotton to black kids Rodriguez was brutally assaulted while taking a walk last Fourth of July in Willowbrook, Los Angeles after bumping into Jones' 4-year-old daughter, according to KTLA. Jones, 30, threw the old man to the ground and began beating him, first with her fists and later with the brick, shouting "Go back to your country," according to Misbel Borjas, a neighbor who witnessed the apparently unprovoked attack. When she tried to intervene, several men joined Jones in assaulting the senior citizen. He was hospitalized with a broken cheekbone, head injuries, and bruised ribs, and was left unable to walk. Jones only stopped beating Rodriguez after Borjas informed her she'd taken her photograph - and tried to hit her with the brick as well after claiming Rodriguez had tried to touch her daughter, Borjas said. The men returned to continue the beating after Jones ran away, but they were never found by police. Rodriguez, who lives in Mexico and does not speak English, actually has US citizenship and was in the country visiting his family. If you like this story, share it with a friend! A national offshore trade pilot area will be established at the Yangpu economic development zone (EDZ) in South China's Hainan province. It is expected to improve the areas entry and exit management systems, according to the China Daily, which cited the EDZ's management committee. Yangpu EDZ enjoys the preferential policies of a free trade zone. It has an advantageous geographic location and an extensive transportation system. It was approved to be a state-level development zone in 1992 and started operating a year later. Also on rt.com China luring Indian tech firms with market access & free rent The new offshore area will promote investment facilitation policies in areas such as trade, finance and local currency settlement. A domestic and international supply center and a cross-border logistics channel will be set up there. To further facilitate international trade, a single-window service will be implemented in Yangpus bonded port area. The port clearance time will be reduced substantially to meet international standards. Also on rt.com Cross-border bridge connecting Russia & China to open in 2020 Hainan has rich resources of oil and natural gas, as well as rubber, sea salt, quartz sand, iron, and titanium ore. The authorities plan to develop international shipping by relaxing oil export quotas. They also want to construct a new shipping hub in Yangpu this year for international land and sea trade. Foreign trade routes will be opened from Yangpu to Southeast Asia. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section Russian frigate Admiral Essen and US Navy destroyer Donald Cook have sailed in close proximity of each other in the Bosporus Strait, with the encounter of the two warships captured in rare footage. The video, released by Turkey's Aydinlik news outlet, shows the American and Russian crossing under the bridge over the strait, connecting Europe and Asia, one after another. The distance between the two vessels was so small at some point that the sailors could have waved hello. The footage provides impressive close-ups of the two ships, allowing a good look at the guns and missile arsenals aboard. Some YouTube comments praised the slick design of the Russian vessel and joked that its US counterpart was fleeing from it. USS Donald Cook was put in service back in 1998, while Admiral Essen is a much more modern ship. It was commissioned only in 2016, but already took part in Russias operation in Syria, firing Kalibr cruise missiles at terrorist targets. Donald Cook entered the Bosporus Strait and traveled to the Mediterranean on Friday. The destroyer previously spent two weeks in the Black Sea in what the US Navy called an operation to provide security in the region. It also docked in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, providing the venue for the meeting between countrys president, Petro Poroshenko, and US Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker. The situation in the Black Sea remains tense after three Ukrainian navy ships violated the Russian maritime border in the Kerch Strait, between Crimea and mainland Russia, in late November. It led to a lengthy naval chase and culminated in Russian coastguards using force to stop and detain the perpetrators. But Kiev apparently keeps mulling new provocations as Ukrainian Prime Minister, Pavlo Klimkin, vowed on Friday that the Black Sea will become a Bermuda triangle for the Russian ships. Massive Turkish navy drills, which kicked off on Thursday in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, added to military saber-rattling in the region. More than 100 warships are taking part in the exercises as Ankara tries to highlight the might of its upgraded fleet. The US and other NATO states have been routinely sending its warships to the Black Sea since Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014 and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine broke out. Washington insists the missions are carried out in line with the international law on a rotational basis in order to reassure its allies in view of the so-called Russian threat. Moscow slammed the presence of the US Navy in the area, saying that it only serves to increase tensions and puts Europe at risk of a military conflict. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! It was more about the vision than the upfront. Once it got rolling I didnt feel the need to be a part of it so much because the park district took it over. What I was really trying to use was visionary, Cooper said. It wasnt about serving myself. It was about trying to figure out what the community wanted. A bus ad campaign against radical feminism that features an image of Adolf Hitler wearing blush and lipstick has sparked uproar among Spanish social media users. The Nazi dictator appeared on buses in Madrid wearing make-up and sporting a feminist symbol on his military cap, along with the hashtag #StopFeminazis. The ad quickly made headlines after being spotted on the streets of the Spanish capital. The eyebrow-raising advertising campaign was launched by the local ultraconservative Catholic movement Hazte Oir (Make Yourself Heard) to protest against the local gender violence law, which it considers discriminatory against men. Its not gender violence, its domestic violence, the main slogan painted on the bus says, referring to a 2004 law specifically cracking down on crimes against women. The second slogan calls for local right-wing politicians to repeal the legislation. Also on rt.com Feminist sues Twitter after getting banned for saying men arent women Spains gender violence law established special courts dealing with cruelty against women, as well as setting up designated rehab centers, and was praised by womens rights associations. However, the legislation is held in low esteem by conservative activists. Campaign spokesman Luis Losada Pescador said it only serves to generate gender bars, while feminist supremacism is plugged into the budget. The appeal was slammed online, however, as many people considered the analogy of the infamous Nazi leader inappropriate and disturbing. You can defend the devil and reject the laws you want, but nobody will take you seriously with an Adolf Hitler [image] with painted lips, one user wrote on Twitter, calling the whole idea offensive, despicable and depressing. Many people defended the countrys gender violence law, which attracted criticism from conservatives. One person said it saved lives, adding that the activists are making fool of themselves with this macho bus. One furious Twitter user went even further by calling the ad an insult to the murdered women, blaming the campaigners for hate speech. There were also voices in favor of the controversial ad, with one person saying that the Hitler image was the perfect match for the situation. And another one claimed that the current gender violence law confronts men and women, making them enemies and promotes the image of man as murderer. The bus depicting Hitler is expected to travel through Madrid and several other Spanish cities until International Womens Day on March 8, when womens rights rallies are held. Meanwhile, the mayor of Valencia said that local authorities might ban the dubious campaign in the city if experts find elements of hate speech in its message. Also on rt.com 12yo arrested for writing Hail Hitler on school playground (PHOTOS) The Make Yourself Heard conservative group first entered the public eye in 2017 after running another bus campaign, this time focusing on the transgender community. The ads key message claimed that a person cant change their sex and continue to be either a man or a woman because boys have penises, girls have vulvas. An Israeli comedian who joked that she wants to marry Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has become a sensation on Arab social media, with some news outlets even reporting her tongue-in-cheek proposal as genuine. Noam Shuster-Eliassi playfully suggested tying the knot with the Saudi royal during an interview with Arabic-language channel i24. After lamenting that nobody likes a tall and strong girl, the unmarried 32-year-old entertainer complained that her family was pressuring her to find a husband, who told her that any man would do, even a non-Jew. Shuster-Eliassi, however, said she was hunting for a real Prince Charming. Also on rt.com Iranian leader worse than Hitler, absolute monarchy is cool Saudi crown prince I dont want to [marry] just any person. I want to shoot high, Shuster-Eliassi told the i24 host. There is the tall [Syrian President] Bashar Assad. But no, no, no he wont work. MBS [Mohammed bin Salman]. MBS is a very tall man and I know that there are now more relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, she quipped. While the joke went unnoticed in Israel, it spread like wildfire across Arab social media, with several news sites even reporting the suggested match which sounds like the premise of a poorly-conceived romantic comedy, or a deeply deranged Disney cartoon as a serious proposal. One Moroccan news site, for example, reported that Shuster-Eliassi was courting bin Salman and wishing to tie a knot with him. Her comment circulated widely on the internet after Faisal al-Qassem, a well-known media personality in the Arab world, wrote a Facebook post about the unorthodox union. The joke was later picked up by BBC Arabic and Al-Jazeera. Shuster-Eliassi has expressed surprise over the attention her seemingly innocuous joke has received. I did not expect by any means for it to explode in this way, she told the Times of Israel. I have never experienced something on this scale. She speculated that the faux proposal received so much media attention in the Arab world because it coincided with a US-led conference on the Middle East in Warsaw, which senior officials from Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states attended. The joke was that Saudi and Israel are already having secret meetings, so I asked for him to help me with being single and building my party, she said. The timing with the Warsaw summit is what made it take off. I think the Arab world used it as ammunition to say something about what is happening and the narrow interests that are leading the region. Like this story? Share it with a friend! Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris is in damage control mode over revelations that her office paid out over $1.1 million in response to sex harassment and misconduct claims while she was California's attorney general. Allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation by co-workers, reports of inappropriate touching, and complaints about sexually charged comments and actions in the workplace are among the recorded incidents that resulted in payouts during Harris' six-year tenure as AG, according to records obtained through a California Public Records Act request by the Los Angeles Times. Harris insists she was unaware of the suits, but has retroactively shouldered the burden of responsibility. "As the chief executive of a department of nearly 5,000 employees, the buck stopped with me," she said, adding that as a senator, she is made personally aware of any harassment complaints. Harris has cast herself as a staunch supporter of #MeToo, but despite her efforts at reinvention, her long record as a prosecutor seems to confront her at every turn. She claimed ignorance of charges against top aide Larry Wallace after the Justice Department paid $400,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging he had harassed and discriminated against his executive assistant even though he had worked closely with Harris for 14 years. Under Harris' leadership, the Department of Justice paid out $649,500 to special agent James Rodriguez to settle charges the agency had harassed and retaliated against him for winning an earlier settlement transferring him to undesirable jobs, slow-walking his pay, and even encouraging co-workers to file complaints about him. While she pleaded ignorance about that settlement as well the largest made under her tenure her history of protecting officials guilty of prosecutorial misconduct including falsified confessions, doctored evidence, and perjury speaks for itself. Also on rt.com I did inhale! Kamala Harris pulls a giggly U-turn on pot legalization After Harris' Justice Department was ordered to ease the overcrowding plaguing California jails in 2014, her office argued that releasing minimum-security inmates up for parole would deprive the state of California of a vital supply of the cheap labor it had come to depend on to fight the country's deadliest wildfires sparking a media firestorm that Harris tried unsuccessfully to quench by claiming she had no idea her own office was advocating keeping prisoners in jail to fight wildfires at $1 per hour. Like this story? Share it with a friend! The US attempts to threaten Venezuela and meddle in the countrys affairs under the guise of supplying humanitarian aid have nothing to do with democracy, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov told his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo. The top diplomats talked on the phone on Saturday on the initiative of Washington, the Russia Foreign Ministry said. During the conversation, Lavrov blasted the American threats against the government of Nicolas Maduro, calling them blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and a flagrant violation of international law. He also grilled the US Secretary of State over Washingtons attempts to influence the situation in Venezuela under the hypocritical guise of providing humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit country. Such actions have nothing to do with democratic process, Lavrov said. Earlier this week, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza, has labeled the US aid to the country a Trojan horse. He said that nails and barbed wire to build barricades were seized from the supply trucks on the border with Colombia and provided photos to back his words. As for Washingtons proposal to hold consultations on Venezuela, Lavrov said that Moscow was ready for such talks. However, he reminded Pompeo that the principles of the UN Charter must be followed strictly as only the people of Venezuela have the right to decide the future of their country. The situation in Venezuela escalated after opposition leader, Juan Guaido, declared himself interim president of the country in late January. He was swiftly backed by the US, which never made a secret out of its desire to see socialist president Maduro removed from power. Also on rt.com Washington prepares 'global strike' to overthrow undesired govts like Venezuela Moscow However, all the American backing and increased sanction pressure on Caracas have so been insufficient to cement Guaidos claim to power as the man fled to neighboring Colombia to lead the coup from there, while promising to return. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! A poster juxtaposing a photo of Rep. Ilhan Omar with that of the 9/11 Twin Tower attacks complete with a provocative caption has led to a brawl among legislators in West Virginia, ending in one injury and one resignation. The poster was put on display in the rotunda of the West Virginia statehouse as part of 'GOP Day' on Friday. It is unclear who was responsible for bringing the poster into the chamber, but it was the subject of immediate anger from Democratic lawmakers. If the visual was not self-explanatory enough, the upper part of the collage featuring the 9/11 bombings was captioned: "'Never forget' you said..." while the bottom one depicting Omar read: "I am the proof you have forgotten." The poster sent tempers flying high in the chamber and led to some heated exchanges between the lawmakers, in which a doorkeeper was injured and had to be sent to hospital for a check-up. Later, Del. Mike Caputo (D-Marion) admitted that he forced the door open, injuring the doorkeeper, when it was kept shut for the daily prayer and pledge of allegiance. "Yeah, I kicked that door open. I'll own it," Caputo said, acknowledging that he "did and said some things" that he should not have. While tensions were boiling over the poster, the House's Republican Sergeant at Arms Anne Lieberman reportedly made an inflammatory remark about Muslims, fueling the Democratic outrage even further. READ MORE: #StandwithIlhan: Social media users defend Ilhan Omar after her forced apology over anti-Semitism Del. Michael Angelucci (D-Marion) said that the sergeant, who is supposed to maintain order and decorum in the chamber, argued that "all Muslims were terrorists" during the commotion. "The sergeant at arms of this body had enough nerve to say to us all Muslims are terrorists," Angelucci said, as cited by local NBC affiliate WSAZ-TV. The lawmaker denounced the remark as "beyond shameful" and built up a defense for Muslims by arguing that Christians did also kill people, but do not get branded "terrorists." Another Democrat, Del. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha) compared the attack on Omar to Nazi propaganda against Jews. "In the early '30s in Germany, you might see a similar poster about a different religion and that's one of the many reasons why that bothers me," Pushkin said, as cited by West Virginia Public Broadcasting. READ MORE: WATCH Ilhan Omar grill US Venezuela envoy on war crimes of previous US-backed coups Republicans have distanced themselves from the message, but argued that it is protected by freedom of speech. "Freedom of speech is very dear and near to me. Let's hold it all within the House," Del. Tom Bibby (R-Berkeley) said during a House session, urging the Republican speaker Roger Hanshaw to move ahead. Hanshaw denounced the incident and said an investigation had been launched into the brawl. Lieberman denied that she made the remark, but later handed in a resignation letter, effective immediately. Speculation has been rife as to who had put up the poster. WVPB reported that it might be the work of ACT for America, known as a pro-Trump and anti-Muslim advocacy group. But the organization, which has been openly critical of Omar, denied any involvement. Meanwhile, Omar has taken to Twitter to accuse the Republican Party of inciting violence against her, while citing other instances when she was subjected to hate. Omar has emerged as a divisive figure among Congress Democrats, primarily for her criticism of Israeli policy. Her comment about the Israeli lobby's influence on Capitol Hill sparked a major backlash, with her fellow party members denouncing it as anti-Semitic. Under pressure by establishment Democrats, Omar eventually apologized, but this failed to quell the controversy, as many considered her apology half-hearted and others blamed her for caving in under pressure. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! The Daily Shows Trevor Noah is being raked over the coals on Twitter for a joke he made about the threat of war between India and Pakistan. Is it racist? Insensitive? Not funny? Or are his viewers just triggered? Joking that a war between India and Pakistan would be the most entertaining war of all time, the South African-born comedian burst into his idea of a Bollywood musical number, complete with simulated gunfire, on his nightly comedy-news program on Thursday. Some slammed Noah for his insensitivity, claiming such jokes were inappropriate with two nuclear-armed powers on the brink of war and dozens already dead in bombings. Others found his reach for the Bollywood stereotype racist. Still other detractors blamed American exceptionalism, suggesting every American life lost in battle is treated with the utmost seriousness. while others focused on his South African heritage, claiming it should make him more sensitive. A few even called for him to be banned over the bit. while some just wished hed gone with something funny instead. Noahs defenders, however, found his routine a breath of fresh air. Interestingly, the clip was missing from the Comedy Central stars YouTube channel and his own Twitter feed, suggesting Corporate had heard the reactions loud and clear. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! German treasury officials have seized a family's beloved pug and auctioned it off on eBay to cover their debts including an unpaid dog tax but the dog's new owner now claims she was sold a defective product. Purebred pug Edda fetched just $850 on eBay after the city of Ahlen put her up for auction and the policewoman who bought her is demanding the city pay for the medical procedures she requires. Officer Michaela Jordan plans to sue the city, complaining that the one-year-old dog was advertised as healthy but in reality had a "massive eye injury" that has so far required four surgeries costing over $2,000 to fix, with a fifth looming in the future. A city worker had even reassured Jordan that the dog was healthy when she questioned the low price tag, explaining that the dog was a repo, Ahlener Tageblatt reports. Also on rt.com Chanel slammed for keeping dogs in tiny cages at London boutique (PHOTOS) While Ahlen city spokesman Frank Merschhaus initially praised the canine foreclosure auction as a "pragmatic solution" to the family's mounting debts, the sale is now under internal investigation because the enforcement officer involved used their private eBay account to auction Edda off though the money reportedly made it to the Ahlen treasury. Pets valued at over 250 ($284) are fair game to be confiscated to pay debts, though the negative press unleashed by the Edda affair suggests Ahlen might think twice before barking up this tree again. Edda's original owners including children ages five, seven and nine are still pining for their pup, holding onto tokens of their departed companion like her leash and bowl. Their mother, who relied on Edda as a comfort animal for her mental illness, told Ahlener Tageblatt that "how it all ended, that was absolutely not OK" though she admitted: "I know now that Edda is in good hands." They had fallen behind on bills including the $90 yearly dog tax levied by the city after her husband was paralyzed in a work accident. "Owners who pay their dog tax properly do not need to fear enforcement," Merschhaus said, adding that this was the first time the city had ever repossessed a dog and that such measures were a last resort "only if multiple requests for payment go ignored or agreements for installment payments are not adhered to." Local outlets reported that debt collection officers initially had their eye on the paraplegic father's wheelchair before settling on the pug for repossession, but Merschhaus dismissed those reports as "wicked rumors." Also on rt.com Russian traffic policeman adored by social media as he helps a limping dog cross the street (VIDEO) If you like this story, share it with a friend! Russian military police will accompany the buses with refugees leaving the Rukban tent camp in the US-controlled zone in Syria, on their way to the areas administered by Damascus. The first buses departed for the camp on Friday. 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Also on rt.com Russia, Syria to open 2 corridors for refugees stranded in US-controlled area The buses will enter the camp, located within the 55km zone around the US base at Al-Tanf, at a mobile checkpoint at Jleb and bring out the refugees through one of the two humanitarian corridors opened last month by Moscow and Damascus. The first buses, accompanied by Russian military police vehicles, departed to Jleb on Friday. Upon their evacuation, the refugees will be ferried to the towns of Al Khalidiyah, Al-Amarah, Palmyra, Mhin, Al Karyatein and to the areas outside Damascus, Homs and Alepppo, for permanent resettlement, Solomatin said. He noted, however, that while the operation had been agreed by the Syrian and Russian forces, the US military has yet to respond to the request. The Rukban camp in the southeastern part of the country houses some 40,000 refugees displaced by the hostilities in the war-ravaged country. The refugees are said to be living in squalid conditions, lacking medical assistance and basic supplies. Last week, the Center reported that some 220,000 Syrian refugees had returned home with the support of the Russian forces. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Russian & Syrian military to ensure safe evacuation of refugees stranded in Rukban camp (VIDEO) Russian & Syrian military to ensure safe evacuation of refugees stranded in Rukban camp (VIDEO) Source : RT - Daily news Yellow Vest protesters have taken to the streets of Paris for the 16th consecutive week. While some enjoyed a friendly chat with police officers, others faced tear gas after trying to break off from a pre-approved marching route. Unlike previous demonstrations, Paris officials authorized a designated route for Saturdays Act 16 anti-government marchers a span of road beginning at the Arc de Triomphe and ending at Place Denfert-Rochereau in the south of the city. In contrast to the chaotic clashes with police during previous protests, photographs and videos reveal a largely peaceful, orderly demonstration. Videos taken by an RT France reporter even showed Yellow Vests and French police chatting amiably, with one protester even offering a riot cop a flower. Police, however, later used tear gas on demonstrators who attempted to defy the pre-approved protest route by marching down New York Avenue. Similar marches are being held across France, but activists have expressed concern that the movement is losing momentum. One Yellow Vest group on Facebook has called on demonstrators to return to the movements spontaneous roots with unsanctioned protests held at unauthorized locations. The Yellow Vest movement began in November 2018 after French President Emmanuel Macron announced controversial tax hikes. Over 2,000 people have been arrested since the demonstrations began, and dozens of protesters have been injured during violent clashes with police. Macron called for a return to calm on Friday, denouncing the intolerable violence that has resulted from the weeks of protests. Like this story? Share it with a friend! President Donald Trump has scolded the media for "misrepresenting" his words on Otto Warmbier, a US student who died shortly after his release from a North Korean jail, saying that he holds still the reclusive nation responsible. Trump faced massive backlash after he told a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Thursday, that he takes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "on his word" that he had no prior knowledge about the Warmbier ordeal before the US negotiated the student's return. "I don't think that the top leadership knew about it," Trump said, noting Kim gained nothing from Warmbier's death. "I don't believe that he would have allowed that to happen. Just wasn't to his advantage to allow that to happen." Also on rt.com Trump-Kim summit failure no surprise as only nukes deter US regime change in N. Korea Gabbard Mainstream media immediately jumped on the remark, accusing Trump of "absolving" the "brutal dictator" at the expense of an American citizen. READ MORE: 'Huge letdown' due to lack of knowledge - experts on Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi Warmbier's parents have also poured fuel on the fire raging online, blaming the North Korean leader for their son's death and seemingly reprimanding Trump for his reluctance to do the same. In a series of tweets on Friday, Trump blamed the media for putting him in the crosshairs. "I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family," he tweeted. "Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto's mistreatment and death," he added, calling the Warmbier's family "a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength." "I love Otto and think of him often!" he wrote. Trump did not point out where exactly the media had got it wrong, and never walked back his defense of Kim. Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing a propaganda poster while on a trip to North Korea, but was eventually released after spending 17 months in custody as his health deteriorated dramatically. Warmbier slipped into a coma soon after his trial and never woke up. Pyongyang said that his illness was caused by botulism, a form of severe food poisoning, and a sleeping pill he took while in custody. However, Warmbier's parents have long doubted Pyongyang's account of events, with his father Fred saying that the family did not believe "anything" the "terroristic regime" says. The Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi, their second since last year's meeting in Singapore, has not brought any feasible progress in terms of de-nuclearization, but has rekindled the weird bromance between the two unlikely pals. Over the past months Trump has displayed affection for the North Korean leader on numerous occasions, at one point even saying they "fell in love" after Kim had sent him "beautiful letters." Trump called Kim a "real leader," "very smart," and "a real personality" in his Thursday interview with Fox News' Shean Hannity. Describing his North Korean counterpart as "pretty mercurial," Trump immediately clarified that he didn't "say that necessary in a bad way." to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media wont tell you. Polony said he would also like to innovate local government in Glenview finding ways to make it more efficient, more cost reductive and more modernized. He said he would also like to look into creating districts in Glenview so that trustees are not voted at-large but through the different districts. Former Dover officer may not have been vetted fully in Maryland Maryland's public safety department said it was not informed of Thomas Webster's nearly 30 use of force complaints before being hired by Greensboro. Read the story Birkett said knowing she is still in prison reminds him of Judge George Bakalis admonitions to Marilyn Lemak at her sentencing: "It is appropriate that every day as you look at the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the bars, you will see the faces of these young children and hear these young voices asking you, `Why, Mom? We loved you, Mom. Why did you do this to us?'" Both the property owner and the market owners made sizable investments to transform the market, Andrews said. Its hard to know exactly why the market was not successful in that location. There are so many variables in such a challenging business type. I think the one thing (Cannon) and I pledged from the beginning is we weren't going to let politics get involved in our conversations and our working together to try to get things worked out, Lynch said. We have to work together to move our city forward, and, I think that's what we've been doing. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More In a surprise move, both small and mid-caps indices outperformed Nifty and Sensex in the last week of February which could also suggest that trend might be shifting towards non-index names. However, for the month of February, both small & mid-cap indices closed in the red. The S&P BSE Small-cap index rose 3.4 percent and the S&P BSE Mid-cap index gained 2.3 percent for the week ended March 1 compared to 0.5 percent rise in the Sensex and 0.67 percent gain seen in the Nifty50. The week packed a punch of big returns from small-caps, as over 100 stocks gave double-digit returns. As many as 107 stocks in the S&P BSE Small-cap index rallied 10-40 percent in just five days. Stocks which gave double-digit returns include names like Wabco India, Granules India, Arvind, Dish TV, Global Offshore, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Force Motors, Himadri Speciality, Swan Energy, Minda Corporation, Rolta India, Punj Lloyd, Prime Focus, Andhra Cement among others. In the S&P BSE Mid-cap index, only 4 stocks gave double-digit returns which include names like NALCO, Tata Communications, Reliance Capital, and Adani Power. Here is a list of top 20 stocks out of 107 from the S&P BSE Small-cap index which have given double-digit returns: Although Small & Midcap indices closed in red for February, a reversal in the trend seen in the last week of February suggest that there is a possibility that the broader market might have bottomed out. Yes, further data will confirm the trend. "Price damage in a new pocket cannot be ruled out. We have seen different scrips and sectors get negatively impacted on a given day. However, I do feel that the broader market has bottomed out," Amar Ambani, President & Head of Research, YES Securities told Moneycontrol. "The recovery though, will not be V-shaped. The bottoming-out process will take longer. While stocks can bounce 20-30 percent, but were unlikely to see midcaps and small caps back to their earlier highs for at least 15-18 months," he said. If someone is looking to buy into the broader market space then the decision has to be made on a case to case basis. There cant be an umbrella approach while shortlisting stocks, but, yes, there is value emerging in most of the small & midcap, suggest experts. Value has emerged, not just in pockets, but in abundance, provided holding horizon is three years or more. In times like these, check for the strength of promoter, balance sheet and whether growth prospects are intact, they say. "Based on board index like Nifty500, we can assess that about 60-65 percent of the stocks are currently valued below its seven-years average valuation on P/E basis which is very attractive," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services told Moneycontrol. "This is a good time to develop a portfolio of quality mid & small caps with a two to three years investment perspective. We can conclude that the majority of stocks have corrected well but few blue-chips and sectors like FMCG, Consumer Discretionary, Chemicals and IT are on the higher side," he said. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. India, which is successfully pushing its aggressive policy of adding renewable energy to its energy profile, is projected to be on track to achieve its target set under the historic Paris climate change agreement, a top US energy expert has said. Testifying before a Congressional Committee on Paris Climate Agreement Commitment, an energy expert from the World Resource Institute and George Mason University, Andrew Light said that India's aggressive policy on renewable energy is primarily driven by its domestic incentives to keep its greenhouse gas emissions in check. The most important is that India's air pollution levels have become a domestic crisis. Air pollution caused roughly 1.24 million deaths in India in 2017 alone. "The WHO estimates that 11 of the 12 cities with the highest levels of particulate matter pollution in the world are in India. India is also seeking to provide electricity to over 30 million homes that are still without power, and ensuring that energy access is reliable for all its citizens," he said. It also stands to benefit economically from being a leader in the solar energy industry, and will achieve greater energy security in the process. "Because of India pushing forward with this transition, it is projected to be on track to achieve part of its Paris target of 40 percent non-fossil-based power capacity by 2030," Light told the members of the Environment and Climate Change subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He said, India is an example of a large developing country that is still industrialising, but increasingly making strides to do so sustainably. While its total emissions climbed an estimated 6.3 percent in 2018, most of this growth was in order to provide electricity to people who had previously lacked access to reliable power, Light told the lawmakers. "India's total emissions remain much lower than those of the US (India makes up 7 percent of global emissions, while the US accounts for 15 percent) and its per capita emissions are still very low, at only 2.5 tCO2e per person as of 2014," he said. The main approach in India for reducing emissions is by pursuing very ambitious targets for the deployment of renewable energy, especially solar power, he said. For its Paris commitment, India set a goal of 40 percent electricity generation from non- fossil fuel sources by the year 2030, as well as a reduction in its economy's carbon intensity of 33-35 percent by 2030, he added. Light said that even prior to setting their target under Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi established an ambitious target to install 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy, 60 GW of wind power, and an additional 15 GW of biomass and small hydro by the year 2022, creating an estimated 330,000 new jobs in the process. "The solar target alone is the largest single-sector target of its kind in the world. India energy watchers in the US were skeptical of the feasibility of these targets when they were originally announced, but now India is making excellent progress on delivering these targets, Light said. Asserting that India's growth in renewable energy over just the last five years has been staggering, he said the costs of renewable energy in India have fallen 50 percent in the past two years. Its solar energy capacity increased eightfold from 2014 to 2018 (2.63 GW to 22 GW), and its wind power capacity increased from 21 GW to 34 GW over the same period. This brings its total renewable energy capacity to 70 GW. "India is performing so well that it is now aiming to reach 227 GW of renewable capacity by 2022 by also adding floating solar and off-shore wind to the package. For context, this is nearly double current US levels of wind and solar capacity. Meanwhile, the number of planned coal plants has plummeted, shrinking by a quarter in the first half of 2018," Light said. France extended its complete solidarity with India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms, as it welcomed the easing of tensions between India and Pakistan and the release the IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. "I welcome the easing of tensions between India and Pakistan as well as the release of the Indian Air Force pilot detained in Pakistan. I hail the two governments' choice of restraint and responsibility and urge them to resume bilateral dialogue," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. France, which is assuming the presidency of the United Nations Security Council from March 1, will do its utmost so that those responsible for the terrible attack in Pulwama are sanctioned, he said. France reiterated its complete solidarity with India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms. The US, the UK and France on February 28 moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based terror group JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, a listing that will subject him to the global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. The Security Council Sanctions Committee will have 10 working days to consider the fresh proposal submitted by the three members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 2 declared 'April 2019-March 2020' as Construction-Technology year and stressed on use of advanced technology to meet the increasing demand of housing in the country caused by rapid urbanisation. He also sought the support of private sector in fulfilling the government's mission of providing brick house to every Indian by 2022. At the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference here, the prime minister said his government has given a major thrust on affordable housing, brought changes in laws governing the real estate sector, while developing skills and improving technology for it. The NDA government has built 1.3 crore houses as compared to "only 25 lakh" houses built during the previous dispensation, Modi said. "The numbers speak for themselves. This shows how serious we are about our commitment in fulfilling the poor and middle class people's dream of have a house of their own." "We are also ensuring that the houses have water, power and Ujjwala connections (LPG) along with other facilities. The quality of houses and spaces have also improved in the last four-and-half years but more is to be done. For that, I seek the support of the private sector... Let us work together... and do something that helps the poor," he said. Modi said his government has worked with a holistic approach keeping in mind the challenges of building houses in varied geographical conditions of the country and several key decisions were taken keeping in mind the problems faced by builders and buyers. "India is among the few countries where demand for houses is increasing at a rapid pace. To fulfil this demand using advanced technology in the construction sector, I announce April 2019-March 2022 as Construction-Technology year," he said. Asking the stakeholder to give the housing sector a new pace by using the latest technologies available in the world, Modi said the government was keen on engaging with all stakeholders to understand their suggestions and work towards making the housing sector more vibrant. "A house is not only about four walls. It is a place where one gets the power to dream and aspirations are fulfilled. A home is much about dignity and security as it is about shelter. "It always shocks and saddens me that in a nation like ours, several people do not have their own home. We have been working to solve this in the form of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It is my dream that every Indian has a brick house by 2022," the prime minister said. Asserting that with the country's fast urbanisation, the need for more houses is being felt, he said to meet the demand and to transform the housing sector, his government has implemented programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, HRIDAY, AMRUT and Smart Cities. Polls should be held to make India and its economy strong, to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desire of a 'prince' to become the prime minister, BJP chief Amit Shah said here on March 2 in a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Shah, addressing BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' bike rally here, slammed the opposition for raising doubts over the recent air strike on the terrorist camps in Pakistan. "Polls should be held to make the country and its economy strong and to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desires of ageing leaders and a family's prince to become the prime minister," he said. On the Indian Air Force's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp early Tuesday, Shah said, "The opposition is doing politics by raising doubts over the recent air strike on Pakistan-based terrorist camps." He criticised Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the issue. "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule, maximum number of terrorists were eliminated in the country," he said. Shah also blamed the Congress for the delay in the implementation of the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) for the ex-servicemen and creation of the National War Memorial. Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial, adjoining the iconic India Gate complex in New Delhi, on Monday, nearly 60 years after it was mooted to honour the fallen soldiers after Independence. File Image Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on March 2 termed the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) an act of "vengeance" by the Centre, saying it would have "dangerous consequences". "There is an atmosphere of vengeance in the state, especially in the Valley after JeI youths and leaders were arrested. JeI is a social and political organisation. It is an ideology and I do not think you can imprison an ideology by arresting some activists of the outfit. We totally condemn it," Mehbooba told reporters at the PDP headquarters here. The PDP president said while there was no action against those persons responsible for incidents of lynching in the country, "a social organisation involved in helping the poor" in Kashmir has been banned. "You have Shiv Sena, Jan Sangh, RSS in the country who have lynched people on the basis of eating a type of meat, but there was no action. However, an organisation which has been helping the poor and running schools has been banned and its activists put in jails. We will not allow this. Its consequences will be dangerous," she said. Mehbooba asked the Centre not to turn Jammu and Kashmir into a prison. "You cannot imprison an ideology, we live in a democratic nation and in a democracy, there is battle of ideas. If you have a better idea, let there be a battle on that, but do not turn J-K into a prison. "We had not allowed the BJP to do whatever it is doing now (during the PDP-BJP coalition), but unfortunately there is no one to stop them (now). When a Kashmiri is beaten, people applaud and become happy," she said. When asked about the sealing of properties of Jamaat leaders, including schools run by the organisation, the former chief minister said it was unfortunate and should not have been done. "It is unfortunate as these schools were providing education to the poorest of poor. Their students are meritorious. Where will all these students go after their schools have been banned. They are playing with our future and this is very wrong. They should rather ban (RSS) shakhas where swords are displayed. No Jamaati carries a sword," she said. Condemning the recent NIA raids on moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's properties, Mehbooba said the Centre wants every Kashmiri to pay for "a thought which is in his mind". "I condemn the NIA raids on Mirwaiz. After all, he is the religious head of Jammu and Kashmir and has respect among the people. All these are acts of vengeance and it seems that they (Centre) want every Kashmiri to pay for a thought which is in his mind," she said. Later, party leaders and activists took out a protest march against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. Various party leaders and activists assembled at party headquarters and tried to march towards Lal Chowk City Centre here, but were stopped by a large contingent of policemen near Sher-e-Kashmir Park. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on March 2 said parties need to rise above their political interests and work unitedly to eliminate the menace of terrorism which has "swallowed a generation of youth" in the Kashmir Valley. He said peace talks between India and Pakistan cannot be held now in view of the heightened tension between the two neighbours, although nobody is in favour of war as "our government has made it clear that the IAF strike inside Pakistan was not aimed at the country, its civilians or military installations but at terrorist camps." "Our stand from day one is that the Congress is against terrorism and want its elimination. We will support whatever steps our security forces will take in this direction," the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told reporters here. Welcoming the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to India after being released by Pakistan, Azad said, "Peace talks cannot be held this time but appropriate steps need to be taken to avoid war between India and Pakistan." "Nobody is in favour of war... We (India) are not in favour of war which was evident from the briefing of the foreign minister and home minister to the opposition parties. Our (IAF) strike was not against Pakistan, its people or military installation, but was aimed at terrorist camps. It is the responsibility of the world to see that the fight is restricted to the elimination of terrorism alone." "Jammu and Kashmir is the worst sufferer of terrorism. A generation of our youth in the valley was finished by terrorism. If the menace is addressed, it will bring happiness to the state and the country," the former chief minister of the state said. He said terrorism not only caused loss of life in the state but also pushed it backward, both economically and educationally, compared to other parts of the country. Azad congratulated the security forces, state police and the people for their relentless efforts to end terrorism and said, "I am hopeful that the people and security forces will overcome terrorism and restore peace in the region which will help in revival of economy, tourism and open new vistas for our youth." Asserting that the Army does not belong to a particular party, like the entire country cannot belong to a single party, he said, "The nation belongs to every one and the credit for the good work of the Army goes to the nation." Alleging that a particular party was trying to take credit for the actions of the armed forces, the Congress leader said, "They should avoid dividing the nation and the Army." Azad said there are many issues for which the BJP-led NDA government at the centre can be criticised, but "today, Congress is of the opinion that in the prevailing situation and tension on the borders, we should forget political differences and stand united". "We are expecting the same from the ruling party," he said. He, however, said the Congress cancelled all its programmes, function and even meetings in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, unlike the BJP which "did not cancel even a single function or public meeting". "The Congress and other parties respect the martyrs and stand with the security forces and we expect the ruling party to follow suit and did not indulge in politics over the sacrifices of the jawans," he said. Azad appealed to people of Kashmir and Jammu divisions to stand united and avoid any type of tension in the present crisis. "The tension on the border is more compared to past several years which also witnessed manifold increase in the ceasefire violations and casualties. We need to restrict tension on the borders and not allow it to have any impact in the hinterland," he said. "Both Jammu and and Kashmir divisions are interdependent. The goods transported to Kashmir goes through Jammu while Jammu's economy is dependent on Kashmir. The functioning of government for six months each in the twin capitals, introduced by Maharaja (over a century ago) was a befitting move to cater to the needs of the people," Azad said. He said people of both the regions should fight terrorism together as hatred against each other is neither good for Jammu nor for Kashmir. Expressing concern over the intense shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri which left four people dead in the past few days and forced migration of many, Azad said, "Our party delegation is visiting the shelling-hit border villages to express solidarity with the people, lend support to them and also assess the damage." The United States and Russia clashed on March 1 over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. A Spring Festival gala for Chinese and Israeli youths was held Friday at Kalay High School in central Israeli city of Givatayim. Chinese and Israeli young students jointly performed Chinese traditional arts. The Chinese traditional song "Jasmine" performed by a band of Kalay High School kicked off the festival event. A girl sang the well-known song in Chinese and the performance was greeted with enthusiastic applause. The gala event was held in the school's gym, which was decorated with red Chinese knots, lanterns, folding fans and colorful balloons. Students from Kalay High School also staged a dance performance with the background song of "Little Apple," which was popular and cheerful. Chinese students presented some Chinese traditional music. Pan Jiayu from Tel Aviv University performed "Fern-leaf Hedge Bamboo under the Moonlight" with Chinese traditional instrument of cucurbit flute. Guzheng performance of "Snow Mountain in Spring" by Chen Siyan from Tel Avi University and Guqin performance of "Drunk Fisherman Sings the Night" by Yuan Shiran from Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) attracted audience. Tai Chi performance by Maciek from Confucius Institute of Tel Aviv University, Tai Chi single broadsword by Li Linfeng from Bar-Ilan University, and Kungfu performance by the national team of martial arts of Israel, also got a resounding round of applause. "This is the first time for our school to hold such a kind of event and it is marvellous. This is a good opportunity for our students to learn Chinese traditional culture," said Avi Benbenishty, principle of Kalay High School, in an interview with Xinhua. "Our students are always curious about Chinese culture and they feel very excited to attend the event. We will try our best to create more opportunities for students to learn more about China," added Benbenishty. After the performances, interesting activities were also held in the school, including Chinese calligraphy, Chinese papercuts, Chinese painting and tea arts. "It is very interesting," said Shani Handelsman, a grade-9 student of the school. The young girl told Xinhua that she learned a lot about Chinese traditional culture from the event and greatly enjoyed it, while she was drawing rivers and trees in Chinese brush. "Chinese traditional culture is different from Israeli culture. I want to learn more about it. China sounds wonderful and I hope to be there," said Handelsman. "Our students could be more familiar with the Chinese culture from such event," said Izhar Oplatka, city councillor responsible for the education system in Givatayim. Oplatka added in recent years more and more programs have been carried out to expose students to the Chinese culture, which is "meaningful and colourful." The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have advanced into Islamic State's final territorial enclave where heavy fighting is under way, the SDF media office said on March 1. The SDF were advancing on two fronts into the tiny enclave at Baghouz in Deir al-Zor province at the Iraq border. Three SDF fighters had been wounded so far, the media office said in an update circulated to reporters. The SDF began a final assault to capture the enclave at Baghouz on February 28, aiming to wipe out the last vestige of territorial rule that once spanned a third of Syria and Iraq. Representative Image At least 23 Afghan security forces were killed in a Taliban attack on a joint US-Afghan base in southwestern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, as fighting continued during a pause in peace talks between the insurgents and American negotiators. Details of the heavy toll from the hours-long assault on Shorab military base -- one of the largest military installations in the country -- followed earlier claims by local and US officials that Afghan forces had successfully repelled the attack, killing four militants. The pre-dawn assault, claimed by the Taliban, saw militants enter the base in Helmand province and engage in firefights with Afghan forces. Hours later, Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, a spokesman with the Ministry of Defence, said: "The operation is over -- 23 security forces killed, 15 injured and 20 insurgents killed." Omar Zwak -- a spokesman for the provincial governor -- also confirmed the toll, saying the Taliban deployed at least seven suicide bombers who were killed during the fighting. A US official told AFP that no Americans were killed or wounded in the attack. The Taliban control or contest more than half of Helmand's districts and regularly deliver sharp blows to Afghan forces, who have been struggling to hold off insurgents across the war-torn country since taking the lead from NATO forces in late 2014. The assault on Shorab comes as US and Taliban negotiators in Doha have temporarily halted peace talks, which are set to restart over the weekend. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad earlier this week called the latest meetings in the months-long diplomatic push "productive", saying the two sides "will take the next two days for internal deliberations, with plans to regroup on Saturday". Negotiations are believed to be progressing after high-level talks last month ended with a "draft framework" on the potential withdrawal of US troops and a pact to prevent Afghanistan from harbouring terrorists. A New York Times report published Thursday hinted that US forces could leave Afghanistan within five years under a Pentagon plan offered as part of a potential deal with the Taliban to end the nearly 18-year war. The US has also pushed for a ceasefire and the opening of a dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government -- demands that have been repeatedly rejected by the insurgents. The Taliban were quick to dismiss the existence of the plan, saying they were unaware of any such proposals made during the negotiations. "No talks have been held in the meetings regarding an interim government and elections, nor has the US side proposed anything regarding staying in Afghanistan for four or five more years," the insurgents said in a statement Friday. The Afghan government and civil society groups have voiced repeated concerns that an abrupt US withdrawal could spark an even bloodier civil war or a return to hardline Taliban rule. Heavy snowfall across large swathes of Afghanistan has led to a sharp reduction in violence this winter, but warmer weather in the country's south will likely spark an increase in bloodshed with the arrival of the spring fighting season. Analysts have warned that the Taliban are likely to ramp up attacks in the coming months as they seek to maintain momentum on the battlefield and leverage at the negotiating table. Afghan forces, however, claim to be taking the fight to the insurgents, with the Ministry of Defence saying more than 100 "terrorists" have been killed in recent days in various operations across the country. The US has also intensified its air campaign against the Taliban and the Islamic State group, dropping twice as many munitions on insurgent positions in 2018 compared to the previous year. business Explained | Why the Trump-Kim talks were much ado about nothing? Watch the video to know how the US-North Korea talks are back to square one. Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said here on March 2. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terror mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the SovietAfghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania. He also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 Jawans. In a bid to attract more investors to investment trusts, market regulator SEBI on Friday approved amendments to real estate investment trust (REIT) and infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) rules, giving them more flexibility to raise funds. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the leverage limit for InvITs from 49 per cent to 70 per cent. It also changed norms for valuation of money market and debt securities by mutual funds in order to make the process fairer and uniform across the industry and safeguard investors from defaults. Experts say the step has been taken in view of the IL&FS crisis. The changes seek to make valuation practices more reflective of the realisable value of money market and debt securities with residual maturity up to 60 days. Accordingly, the residual maturity limit for amortisation-based valuation by mutual funds will be reduced from 60 days to 30 days. The threshold maintained between reference price and valuation price would be plus or minus 0.025 per cent, while the reference price would be taken as the security level price given by valuation agencies. According to the Board's decision: "The valuation agencies appointed by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) may provide valuation of money market and debt securities rated below investment grade." The SEBI also approved lowering of fees for brokers and exchanges, as well as granting of permanent registration to custodians, instead of periodical renewal every year. The SEBI meeting also okayed a 33.33 per cent reduction in fees of brokers from Rs 15 per crore of transactions to Rs 10, while the same for agri-commodity derivative transactions would see a sharp 93.33 per cent reduction from Rs 15 to just Re 1. On REITs and InVITs, the SEBI said the norms now include those relating to minimum allotment and trading lot, and the value of such allotments, among others. The minimum allotment by REITs/InVITs would be made in multiples of a lot, each consisting of 100 units, while the value of such allotment lot would be Rs 1 lakh for InvITs and Rs 50,000 for REITs. The increase in the limit would be subject to disclosure and compliance requirements, such as the consolidated debt of the InvIT and the project debt having a credit rating of AAA. The InvIT will need a minimum track record of 6 distributions on a continuous basis, post listing, in the years just preceding the financial year in which the enhanced borrowings are proposed to be made. For this, the minimum number of investors would be determined by the issuer, including the maximum holding of units by a single investor. The leverage would be determined by the issuer in consultation with investors. The underlying assets can be completed, under construction or both, while the minimum investment by an investor cannot be less than Rs 1 crore. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. March 02, 2019 Why Is The British Government Banning Hizbullah? This week the British Home Secretary Sajid Javid laid out an order that proscribes the political arm of the Lebanese resistance organization Hizbullah as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000. The military arm of Hizbullah was already named as such. The reason given by the home secretary makes little sense: My priority as Home Secretary is to protect the British people. As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organisations today. Hizballah is continuing in its attempts to destabilase the fragile situation in the Middle East and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety. During the last years Hizbullah's operated to stabilize the Syrian government and to defend Lebanon against an onslaught of Jihadis coming over the Syrian border. How that is supposed to "destabilase the fragile situation in the Middle East" is a bit hard to understand. Moreover nothing in the definition of terrorism in the Terrorism Act 2000 speaks of destabilization and nothing in there seems to apply to Hizbullah, especially not to its political and welfare arm. Besides its operations in Lebanon and Syria there were no Hizbullah attacks at all in Britain or anywhere else. One also wonders if the British government really considered the consequences of the act. Sajid Javid @sajidjavid - 17:59 utc - 1 Mar 2019 From today, Hizballah is a banned terrorist organisation in the UK. Anyone who is a member or invites support for it is breaking the law. It is also illegal to display Hizballah flags in public and new laws will make this a crime online. Under the law "support" is defined quite widely. 12(2)(c) says for example: A person commits an offence if he arranges, manages or assists in arranging or managing a meeting which he knows is to be addressed by a person who belongs or professes to belong to a proscribed organisation. That makes it illegal to convene the Lebanese parliament where elected parliamentarians belonging to Hizbullah regularly speak. Will the UK indict the speaker of the Lebanese parliament if he travels to London? And what about those 300,000 voters in Lebanon who last May voted for Hizbullah candidates? Do they all break British law? Will they get arrested when they fly through Heathrow? Oh - by the way - here is the Hizbullah flag straight out of Wikipedia. Does displaying the flag make this blog, or Wikipedia, illegal to read in Britain? The Hizbullah movement represents some 90% of all Lebanese Shia, around 30% of Lebanon's population. It runs hospitals and schools. It supports the Lebanese army. It is an integral part of the Lebanese government and state. Hizbullah called the British ban "an insult to the Lebanese people". By proscribing Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and by prohibiting any "support" for it the British government makes it extremely difficult for itself and for others to keep up relations with the Lebanese state. One wonders what the British government is doing this and doing this now. Is this supposed to deflect from the Brexit shambles it is currently creating? Israel and the United States continue to press European governments to take such a step. But none except Britain took it. Why then does the British government feels the need to do this? Posted by b on March 2, 2019 at 19:44 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Fusion of dragon and lion dance performance, coupled with Indian classical performance and along with Bollywood based music performance, reminisced the audience assembled for the Spring Festival celebration here on late Thursday evening. Most members of the audience, who were witnessing the live performance of the dragon and lion dance for the first time, were enthralled by the performance. "The team coordination, enthusiasm and strength were breathtaking! I noticed how the red colored lion used to flicker his eyes. It seemed so real at times! I really adored both the lion and dragon performance. Chinese art is amazing," Priya Pandey, who attended the evening event, told Xinhua. Chinese Consul General in Mumbai Tang Guocai said that spring is the beginning of every good thing and "we will have more and more such exchanges in the years to come." Sumit Mullick, Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra state said it is very befitting that the two great civilizations get together and celebrate each other's festivals together and "that is what bring two major peoples together." Tintin has ventured again to Shanghai with the opening of the country's first flagship shop themed on the classic Belgian cartoon character, much welcomed by its Chinese fans spanning several generations. Created in 1929 in the comic series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, also known by his pen name Herge, the heroic reporter character had an adventure to Shanghai in the story The Blue Lotus published in 1936. He was able to accomplish the journey thanks to his Chinese friend Chang Chong-Chen or Zhang Chongren, then a Shanghai architectural student in Belgium, to whom Herge had turned for help to create the story. As Tintin's adventures continued, he has grown to become one of the best known and admired cartoon characters of the 20th century, attracting hundreds of millions of fans from across the world. One of these is Wang Yue, a representative of China for Moulinsart, intellectual property owner of The Adventures of Tintin. "I had long planned to set up a store about Tintin in China for more than one decade," said Wang, who runs the shop in downtown Shanghai along with three partners. "Again, his friend Zhang Chongren, a Shanghai native, was the reason for the store to be opened in Shanghai." Located on Chang'an road in Shanghai's Jingan district, the 100-square-meter loft style store sells more than 1,000 products with the iconic figure in over 50 categories. Even though the shop is still in its trial operation, Tintin fans spread the news through social networks and swarmed into the shop. "Unlike other cartoon characters, Tintin has a broad fan base crossing generations due to the comic series' enduring popularity," said Wang, 41, who claimed to have been a die-hard fan since he first came to know Tintin at 10 when his French teacher introduced the series to improve his French. "A customer from Qingdao, who visited my store on opening day, was the mother of a 15-year-old boy and told me that Tintin was their emotional tie because she used to read it as bedtime stories to her son." Fu Shuwen, 39, who visited the store on Friday, said: "I had no TV or films to watch when I was a kid and Tintin was my favorite comic as it brought me the outside world." The character appeals to the young, too, since the Chinese version of The Adventures of Tintin was published in 2001 by the Juvenile and Children's Publishing House. The series has since become a popular choice for bedtime stories in China, which has renewed the interest in Tintin among the young generation. "I always read Tintin to my child and he loves it," said Shen Wei, a 37-year-old mother. The limited-edition sculptures of Tintin and a suitcase with Shanghai and his dog Snowy printed on it has been the most popular among Tintin fans, according to Wang. To meet customer demand, Wang said, an official online Tintin shop and a Beijing store will open soon, and a Tintin exhibition in China is in preparation. "For me, Tintin's courage and goodness has affected and encouraged me until today," said Wang. The rig count is on the upswing this week for Midland County, but down in the Permian Basin, according to oil field services company Baker Hughes. Midland has 50 rigs, up three, while the Basin has 466, a loss of seven. The Basins most-active county, Reeves, also is down this week. The countys rig count is 70, down five. The rig count in Martin County also is down significantly 44, a loss of nine. 3 1 of 3 courtesy of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 MCSO / MCSO Show More Show Less 3 of 3 A 50-year-old woman was arrested and charged last week accused of sexually assaulting a child in 2013 in a case where she says she was induced to the act by a former Montgomery County Jail guard currently serving a 25-year sentence for an unrelated incident. The Conroe Police Department began an investigation on Beth Angela Bristow, of Conroe after the victim came forward in late December. Bristow admitted to an investigator to performing sexual acts on a child in September 2013 after Phillip Wayne Rickard, 52, encouraged her to do so, according to court records. The last time heroin landed Marissa Angerer in a Midland emergency room -- naked and unconscious -- was May 2016. But that wasn't her first drug-related interaction with the health system. Doctors had treated her a number of times before, either for alcohol poisoning or for ailments related to heavy drug use. Though her immediate, acute health issues were addressed in each episode, doctors and nurses never dealt with her underlying illness: addiction. Angerer, now 36 and in recovery, had been battling substance use disorder since she started drinking alcohol at age 16. She moved on to prescription pain medication after she broke her ankle and then eventually to street opiates like heroin and fentanyl. Just two months before that 2016 overdose, doctors replaced an infected heart valve, a byproduct of her drug use. She was discharged from the hospital and began using again the next day, leading to a reinfection that ultimately cost her all 10 toes and eight fingers. RELATED Midland Health responds to Kaiser article "(The hospital) didn't have any programs or anything to go to," Angerer said. "It's nobody's fault but my own, but it definitely would have been helpful if I didn't get brushed off." This scenario plays out in emergency departments across the country, where the next step -- a means to divert addicted patients into treatment -- remains elusive, creating a missed opportunity in the health system. A recent study of Medicaid claims in West Virginia, which has an opioid overdose rate more than three times the national average and the highest death rate from drug overdoses in the country, documented this disconnect. Researchers analyzed claims for 301 people who had nonfatal overdoses in 2014 and 2015. By examining hospital codes for opioid poisoning, researchers followed the patients' treatment, seeing if they were billed in the following months for mental health visits, opioid counseling visits or prescriptions for psychiatric and substance abuse medications. They found that less than 10 percent of people in the study received, per month, medications like naltrexone or buprenorphine to treat their substance use disorder. (Methadone is another option to treat substance use, but it isn't covered by West Virginia Medicaid and wasn't included in the study.) In the month of the overdose, about 15 percent received mental health counseling. However, on average, in the year after the overdose, that number fell to fewer than 10 percent per month. "We expected more ... especially given the national news about opioid abuse," said Neel Koyawala, a second-year medical student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and the lead author on the study, which was published last month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. It's an opportunity that's being missed in emergency rooms everywhere, said Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University outside Boston. "There's a lot of evidence that we're failing to take advantage of this low-hanging fruit with individuals who have experienced a nonfatal overdose," Kolodny said. "We should be focusing resources on that population. We should be doing everything we can to get them plugged into treatment." He compared it to someone who came into the emergency room with a heart attack. It's taken for granted that the patient would leave with heart medication and a referral to a cardiac specialist. Similarly, he wants patients who come in with an overdose to start buprenorphine in the hospital and leave with a referral to other forms of treatment. Kolodny and Koyawala both noted that a lack of training and understanding among health professionals continues to undermine what happens after the overdose patient is stabilized. "Our colleagues in emergency rooms are not particularly well trained to be able to help people in a situation like this," said Dr. Margaret Jarvis, the medical director of a residential addiction treatment center in Pennsylvania. It was clear, Angerer said, that her doctors were not equipped to deal with her addiction. They didn't know, for instance, what she was talking about when she said she was "dope sick," feeling ill while she was going through withdrawal. "They were completely unaware of so much, and it completely blew my mind," she said. When she left the hospital after her toe and finger amputations, Angerer recalls her next stop seemed to be a tent city somewhere in Midland, where she feared she would end up dead. Instead, she persuaded her mother to drive her about 300 miles to a treatment facility in Dallas. She had found it on her own. "There were a lot of times I could have gone down a better path, and I fell through the cracks," Angerer said. The bottom line, Jarvis said, is that when a patient comes into the emergency room with an overdose, they're feeling sick, uncomfortable and "miserable." But surviving that episode, she emphasized, doesn't necessarily change their perilous condition. "Risk for overdose is just as high the day after as the day before an overdose," said Dr. Matt Christiansen, an assistant professor in the Department of Family & Community Health at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in West Virginia. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency Our Mental Health Department is consulted when a patient is dealing with a mental health crisis or is requesting detox and residential chemical dependency rehabilitation. Regarding substance use disorders, our team completes a crisis screening and as appropriate, facilitates admission and transfer to the appropriate facility (when there is availability). We are contracted with a local facility for patients that may be uninsured, but will help facilitate admission and transfer for patients that have insurance as well. If a patient decides that they do not want to go to detox and treatment, we provide and review resources with them. Any patient that goes home with resources is then placed on our follow-up program list. The initial follow takes place within 24-48 hours. We check on the patient, continue to encourage them to follow up, try to determine any road blocks that may be keeping a patient from following up with the recommended resources, and to help decrease recidivism. Continued follow up will vary with each case. Tanzanian authorities on Thursday pledged to allocate land to 13 Chinese companies that have shown interest to do business in the east African nation's Coast region. Evarist Ndikilo, the Coast regional commissioner, said preparations by the government were in final touches to allocate land to the 13 Chinese firms, adding: "They will be allocated with the land in two weeks' time." "It is the government's drive to ensure that Tanzania attains an industrial economy and creates job opportunities to its people," Ndikile told a news conference in Kibaha shortly after he had held talks with the Chinese investors. The official said the Coast region has enough land for investments, including a 5,890-hectare special zone for investments in Chalinze area. He said the Chinese investors were interested in putting up cement industries, manufacturing of wagons for the standard gauge railway, plastic materials and car batteries for export. Godfrey Mwambe, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), said Tanzania has been receiving investors from China through the facilitation of the country's envoy to China, Mberwa Kairuki. According to TIC, trade between Tanzania and China continues to grow healthily and China is Tanzania's second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment. About 724 Chinese companies are registered with the TIC, while more and more Tanzanians are entering into partnerships in trade and investment with their Chinese counterparts. Over the years, Chinese companies have built a number of mega projects in Tanzania, including roads and bridges, creating about 150,000 job opportunities. Some 350,000 Tanzanians are engaging in jobs relevant to trade with China, according to the Chinese embassy in Tanzania. East China's Zhejiang Province plans to increase its trade volume with Africa to US$40 billion by the end of 2022 to account for at least 20 percent of the total Sino-Africa trade. Zhejiang's department of commerce issued an action plan revealing the details on Friday as China's first provincial-level plan on economic cooperation with African countries. The 40-billion-dollar target will mark a significant rise from the 30.1-billion-dollar trade between Africa and Zhejiang, home to many of China's most successful private businesses, in 2018. The plan also promises to increase investments in Africa's industries of textiles, garments, chemicals, equipment manufacturing and pharmaceuticals to meet the continent's development needs. The province, however, will bar investments that are polluting and highly energy-consuming from going to Africa, said the plan, which also calls for more agricultural investments and cooperation. The document also said the province would expand goods imports from Africa, especially in the non-resources category. According to China Customs, China's foreign trade with Africa reached US$204.19 billion in 2018, up 19.7 percent year-on-year and 7.1 percentage points higher than the growth of China's overall foreign trade during the same period. Specifically, the country's exports to Africa rose 10.8 percent to US$104.91 billion in 2018, while its imports from Africa surged 30.8 percent to reach US$99.28 billion. China on Friday urged Australia to abandon ideological bias and provide an environment of fair competition for Chinese companies. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a routine press briefing when asked to comment on media reports that Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne had reiterated keeping Chinese telecoms giant Huawei out of Australia's 5G network infrastructure even if the United States softens its stance on Huawei. China expressed grave concern over this statement, Lu said. He said the Chinese government has consistently encouraged Chinese companies to carry out economic cooperation overseas in accordance with international rules and local laws, and had never supported any enterprises to engage in activities that harm national security of other countries. Instead of setting obstacles under various pretexts and taking discriminatory practices, the Australian side should facilitate cooperation between enterprises from both countries, he said. When asked whether a test on imported coal taken by China was related with recent tension between China and Australia due to issues including 5G infrastructure, Lu said it was "completely normal" for China to take such a test. "Chinese customs have carried out inspection and analysis on risks of the imported coal and taken appropriate operations according to laws and regulations," said Lu, adding that it was the Chinese government's duty to maintain the safety and interests of the Chinese people. Murphys Historic Hotel View Photos Murphys, CA Tree work along a section of Main Street in Murphys will cause delays for motorists on Tuesday that will require the use of a detour. Calaveras County Public Works reports that trimming will be done in front of the Murphys Historic Hotel located at 457 Main Street. There will be large equipment and personnel in the roadway, so the area will be closed from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Road Closed signs will be up in both directions and flaggers may be on hand at times. Through traffic will be directed to take a detour along Church Street or South Algiers Street to get around the shutdown section of the roadway. All businesses will still be accessible during the work. Motorists are asked to slow down near the tree work and to obey all signage. Questions regarding the work can be directed to the Calaveras County Department of Public Works at (209) 754-6402. Tuolumne County, CA The heavy rain is causing some traffic hazards in Tuolumne County this morning. A large rock is blocking a lane of Phoenix Lake Road at the intersection of Silver Dawn Drive. On Lyons Bald mountain Road near Greenley Road in Sonora, there is water flowing across the roadway. The CHP is asking motorists to avoid the area. In the Jamestown area, on Bell Mooney Road near Highway 108 more than two feet of water is covering a bridge there. The CHP reports that motorist are turning around in both directions, which they note is exactly what drivers should do as it is extremely dangerous to drive through flooded areas. Additionally, a vehicle has gone off OByrnes Ferry Road and crashed into a ditch at the entrance to the Sierra Conservation Center. There is plenty of emergency activity in the area, so traffic is slow going. Well bring you more road reports as soon as new information comes into the newsroom. You are here: Business Four aircraft produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Vulcanair arrived in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, by a China-Europe freight train Friday, local authorities said. The aircraft were purchased by Sichuan Tuofeng General Aviation Co., LTD, general agency of Vulcanair in China. The company has agreed to buy a total of 100 aircraft from Vulcanair. The aircraft were transported by trucks to Lodz, one of the largest cities in Poland, from Italy, and carried by a China-Europe freight train departing from Lodz to China on Feb. 13. They finally arrived in Chengdu on Feb. 26 and completed all procedures, including customs clearance, on Friday. "Compared with traditional sea transportation which usually takes around 45 days, it only spent 14 days on a China-European train," said Che Tianfa, chairman of the board of Tuofeng. The aircraft will be used for pilot training, sightseeing, photograph and short-distance shipment. Courtesy Photo Centennial BANK President C. Brett McDowell was inducted to the 2019 Texas Lyceum Board of Directors, the bank announced via news release on Tuesday. The Texas Lyceum is a nonprofit, non-partisan statewide organization with 26 directors across the state. Hart City Administrator Adrian Rosas advised the Hart City Council earlier this month not to pursue the $275,000 Texas Community Development Block Grant to get a new sewer lift station at Ave. B and Eighth St., also known as the Main Lift Station. An estimation data cost sheet of $137,017 from Brandt Engineers Group of Amarillo for the station was discussed. The $275,000 grant requires that the City pay 10 percent ($27,500) as a match. Rosas told the Council that the City has enough funds, but the Council decided that they want to wait until there is more in the cash surplus fund. In the meantime, he said a pump and hose at the Station might have to be replaced. There is another lift station south of the four-way stop intersection of FM168 and TX194. Rosas says this services 30 households on Date Street and Old Hart. In other business, the Council approved the renewal of the Atmos Energy Franchise agreement. The Franchise Agreement will expire five years from the date of the meeting; Atmos pays the City 5 percent of Atmos' gross receipts derived from the sale, transportation and distribution by Atmos of natural gas within the City limits during the preceding calendar quarter. Also, Atmos shall pay to the City, within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, a franchise fee equal to 5 percent of the value of gas transported by Atmos Energy for transport customers through the Gas System of Atmos to a delivery point within the City. The agreement allows Atmos to use the streets, roads, highways, alleys, public ways and other real property owned or controlled by the City. City Hall reports that an average yearly income figure for franchise fees from Atmos Energy, Excel Energy and Windstream is $50,000. Employee bonuses (paid in December) were approved: $500 for each four full-time employees and one $400 payment to the part-time employee. There are three seats up for reelection on the Council including those now occupied by Ezekiel Barron, Mary Reyna and Johnny Carrasco. All three have filed for a place on the ballot for the May 4 election, which likely will be cancelled because there are no challengers. The date to sign up was Feb. 15; the Council approved the perfunctory requirements to hold an election. Also, no one had signed up as write-in candidate, and the time to do this has expired (Feb. 19). Two drug dealers hired a hitman earlier this month to kill a 39-year-old man who was giving them diluted drugs, according to court records. Now the alleged dealers, 34-year-old Christina Rodriguez and 43-year-old Manuel Cantu, and the accused hitman, 39-year-old John Cantu, are facing charges of capital murder in the death of Michael Angelo Perez on Feb. 23. They remain in the Bexar County Jail. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox According to arrest affidavits for the three suspects, Rodriguez and Manuel Cantu are drug dealers who operate out of their home in the 300 block of Illg Avenue. Perez supplied them with at least some of the drugs they sold, but buyers had recently started complaining the drugs were diluted. Another dealer for whom Rodriguez and Cantu work confronted them about Perez's drugs. He told them to "take care of the problem," according to the affidavit. A witness told police that the pair then developed a plan to hire a hitman to kill Perez, authorities said. On Feb. 22, Rodriguez went to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo with a witness. She withdrew $500 from an ATM, then she and the witness met up with John Cantu, her brother-in-law and the alleged hitman, police said. The three got into Rodriguez's car. She asked Cantu if "he was ready to do this and if he had everything," the affidavit says. In response, Cantu lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun. Rodriguez drove the witness and the hitman back to her home on Illg Avenue. Manuel Cantu showed up after midnight asking where Perez was. The witness and Rodriguez went to Perez's residence and convinced him to come over to Illg Avenue, the affidavit says. When he arrived, the affidavit says, Manuel Cantu attacked him. He forced Perez into a carport adjacent to the home and began punching him, authorities said. The witness told him to stop. John Cantu then shot Perez multiple times, killing him, according to the affidavit. RELATED: 2 arrested in connection to Converse shooting caught on video Manuel and John Cantu then loaded Perez's body into a vehicle, drove him to the 400 block of Bloom Avenue and dumped his body there to make it look like he was a victim of a drive-by shooting, the affidavit says. Police found Perez's body at about 3:15 a.m. after receiving a call about a man lying face-down in the roadway. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. A few days later, on Feb. 27, a San Antonio police officer spotted Rodriguez and Manuel Cantu stop at a known drug house, conduct a transaction and then drive off, the affidavit says. The officer pulled them over in front of their home in the 300 block of Illg Avenue. Rodriguez was driving without a license and Cantu was found carrying drug paraphernalia, police said. Both were placed under arrest. During the traffic stop, Rodriguez told the officer she had information on a murder. She told the officer that her brother-in-law, John Cantu, had killed Perez. The witness to the murder then came out of the home and told police that she too had information about the killing. After interviews with homicide detectives, authorities secured arrest warrants for both Cantus and Rodriguez. If convicted, the three could face life in prison. 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 Heres the rundown: Gourdough's Public House is opening its San Antonio spot this weekend, J. C. Penney is looking to hire local stylists and several retailers are planning to close stores. Gourdoughs is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:50 a.m. Saturday at 215 Losoya St., the Austin businesss first Alamo City location. Doors open at noon and Gourdoughs will hand out free dessert donuts, including Selena-inspired treats, with any purchase. J. C. Penney is looking for 70 local salon stylists and will hold a job fair from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at its North Star Mall location. The company also announced this week it is shuttering 18 department stores and nine home and furniture locations this year. Though its not releasing a list of store closures, none are in Texas, a company spokesperson confirmed. Gap Inc. announced this week it plans to split into two independent publicly traded companies: Old Navy and a second entity its currently referring to as NewCo that will include Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and some of its other brands. The retailer also said it plans to close about 230 specialty stores within the next two years. A spokesperson said Gap is still finalizing the list of specific stores that will close. L Brands, the parent company of Victorias Secret, is shuttering roughly 53 stores this year. The company, which has about 10 stores in the greater San Antonio area, said it is not releasing a list of store closings. Goodwill San Antonio is opening a new electronics store at 4810 Eisenhauer Rd. Tuesday afternoon. The stores inventory includes laptops and desktop computers, tablets, gaming systems, e-readers and other electronics. Fast-food chain Burger King is looking at building a new restaurant at 14235 Potranco Rd., according to filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). It would be finished in July. First-time franchisees Aaron and Madison Thompson have opened the first Pinch A Penny Pool Patio and Spa location in San Antonio. They previously ran Clear Blue Pool Supply at 22250 Bulverde Rd. before converting it into a Pinch A Penny store, according to a news release. The brand provides pool services and sells equipment. A new French restaurant, Bistro9, opens at 4 p.m. Monday, staff writer Chuck Blount reports. The restaurant is located at 6106 Broadway. Another, River City Seafood & Grill, has closed after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, according to Blount. The seafood spot is located off Loop 1604 in the Stone Oak area. Rubens Backyard has moved into the former MoMaks Backyard Malts & Burgers, which closed last year, Blount reports. The restaurant is located at 13838 Jones Maltsberger Road. madison.iszler@express-news.net Rodents and pests - especially gnats - hit San Antonio-area restaurants hard this week as city health officials made their rounds conducting inspections and handing out demerits for said pests, as well as a host of other gross violations. One popular Cajun food hot spot along the River Walk was cited for having rodent droppings "throughout" the kitchen and the inspector noted that a bag of noodles "appeared to have been chewed through." Not too far away at a nearby Bill Miller BBQ, an abundance of gnats was reported in the popular chain's storage room. Various pans on the clean rack also had food debris and there was an accumulation of a black residue in one of the sinks. LAST WEEK'S INSPECTIONS: Feb. 15, 2019 A total of 20 area restaurants failed to score above 90 during their inspections this week. In addition to the pests, violations included raw meats stored above cooked foods, employees touching foods with bare hands, warm foods in cold holds and some establishments just not being clean. To land on this weekly list of restaurants compiled by the Express-News, an establishment must score 89 or below or anything less than an "A" during a random city health inspection. The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environment Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below. Click through the gallery above to see the San Antonio establishments that were cited by health inspectors this week. Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each is assigned a demerit score of 3, 2, or 1 points, according to the health division. If you have questions about inspections or complaints about a food establishment, contact the Metropolitan Health District office by calling 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000. Be prepared to provide the name, location, date of incident and details of the incident. Several people were injured in a five-vehicle crash in northwest Harris County Saturday, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. Four people were taken to the hospital, including a woman who was taken to Memorial Hermann Fairfield in critical condition, the sheriff said. BREAKING NEWS UPDATES: Get your Houston breaking news alerts delivered to you. A potential suspect attempted to flee the scene on FM 1960 near U.S. 290, he added, and alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. Officials from the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department were on scene to assist deputies with the response. RELATED: Two pregnant women injured after drunk driving crash "The fact that its 11am and alcohol could be a factor, is a sad reality," Gonzalez tweeted. "Seems to be the norm these days. We refuse to accept this and will continue to advance the work of our regional traffic safety task force to try and curb this." 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 man riding in the passenger seat of a pickup truck was fatally shot in west Harris County early Saturday morning, a sheriff's deputy said. A car described as a dark colored four-door sedan pulled up next to the pickup truck and opened fire, according to officials. At least two shots were reportedly fired at the truck. Yuhuang's methanol project, the largest greenfield investment in methanol by a Chinese company in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, is making significant progress in its construction, according to China's Yuhuang Chemical Inc. (YCI) on Friday. "Starting from the year 2019, we're in a critical stage called moving from the below ground, which is the foundation stage, into the above ground," said Charlie Yao, CEO of YCI in an interview with Xinhua. All the major equipment that has been delivered to the site will be erected in the first half of this year, he said. YCI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yuhuang Chemical Company in east China's Shandong Province, is constructing a 1.85-billion-U.S.-dollar methanol production facility in St. James Parish, Louisiana. This methanol project was announced in 2014. After selecting Louisiana for its site, Yuhuang Chemical began building the production complex in January 2017. The plant facility, to be wholly constructed in three phases, is expected to start commercial production in mid-2020, following the completion of the first-phase YCI Methanol One. According to Yao, the project is expected to achieve the major milestone of construction delivery this year. "Early next year, the contractor will start to turn the unit over to YCI ownership, ready for commission, and we will train operators ready to start the production by mid of next year," he added. YCI Methanol One will include 100 permanent direct jobs after creating more than 1,000 construction jobs, said the company. Koch Methanol, an affiliate of Koch Industries, agreed to buy into the new facility last year. As part of its investment, affiliates of Koch Methanol will receive the exclusive methanol offtake rights from the new facility, as well as construct, own and operate the methanol terminal assets for the outbound flow of methanol. Methanol is used in the manufacturing of many everyday products, including plywood, carpet, fuel and plastics. The plant will have a capacity of producing approximately 1.7 million metric tons of methanol per year. "We plan to have 70 percent of the product sold in the U.S. domestic market and about 30 percent export. And our large export country would be China," said Yao. San Antonio police say a man is in critical condition following a shooting at a residence on the far Northwest Side early Saturday. The 21-year-old male was with two other men at a residence in the 7300 block of Brandyridge about 3:30 a.m. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales hopes to launch a meaningful cite-and-release program in April. Just in time for Fiesta, our communitys annual party, and also 12 years late. As welcome as this policy change will be for its potential to alleviate jail overcrowding, steer people into diversion programs and help ensure a small mistake wont tarnish a persons record for life, its hard not to think of the thousands of missed opportunities to improve and change lives since Bexar County is so late in implementing this reform. This is no knock on newcomer Gonzales kudos that he is acting but cite and release has been around since 2007 when state lawmakers granted this shortcut through the criminal justice system for people accused of some Class A and Class B misdemeanors. Travis County implemented a program almost immediately. Bexar County hastily started a cite-and-release program last year under previous District Attorney Nico LaHood. But LaHood never partnered with outside law enforcement agencies, notably the city of San Antonio, which is responsible for the majority of arrests in Bexar County. The program required a $250 fee, which is a huge obstacle for indigent defendants. When we looked at the program last year, we found 14 people had completed it between February, when it launched, and August. Gonzales has an opportunity to get this right. So how will his cite-and-release program work? The program will apply to marijuana possession of 4 ounces or less, theft, theft of service and driving with an invalid license. Graffiti is excluded. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus has been adamant on this point. Prosecutors would make the final call as to who qualifies for cite and release, looking at the offense, criminal history and other factors. People in the program will either do community service or take a class. If they complete the program, they will benefit from not having the charge go on their records and having their lives disrupted from pretrial incarceration. McManus has said he supports the program as long as it maintains officer discretion. We think the City Council could bolster the policy by passing an ordinance that underscores a presumption of release for people charged with these particular nonviolent offenses. Why? Because locking up people pretrial for nonviolent low-level offenses is expensive and doesnt necessarily make the community safer. Research has shown the longer a defendant is detained pretrial, the more likely that person is to be accused of future crimes. Shima Baradaran Baughman, a law professor with the University of Utah College of Law and author of The Bail Book, told us all it takes is three days in pretrial detention for recidivism rates to increase. Because of the many potential detriments to unnecessary pretrial detention, we once again encourage Bexar Countys judges to implement meaningful bail reform that reflects the policy ideals of cite and release. But as district attorney, Gonzales can also dictate internal policies to reflect best practices. He has enormous influence. For example, prosecutors can recommend personal recognizance bonds, an alternative to money bail, for certain nonviolent offenses. This is a natural complement to his burgeoning cite-and-release program. Done right, cite and release will make a difference in many lives, but its unfortunate it has taken so long to get here. Revamped cite and release wont mean anything for Mathew Dimas, a young man who was pulled over in April and arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana. He had never been arrested before and is just the type of person a real cite-and-release program would want to target. But he had been arrested by San Antonio police, meaning he could not participate in Bexar Countys program. And he was indigent, meaning even if he could have participated in the countys program, paying the $250 fee would have been difficult. Instead of community service and diversion, he was found guilty. From arrest through court dates to guilty plea, it cost taxpayers to move him through the system. Now he has a permanent record for a pretty minor offense. Did anyone benefit? For a case like this, cite and release is a better way. An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly stated which eligible misdemeanors will be excluded from the program. Graffiti is excluded. TokiBox 0 overall rating 0 Ratings | 0 Reviews TokiBox is a monthly subscription box that supports a vegan wellness lifestyle. Each box has one superfood of the month, plus vegan & cruelty-free skincare, vegan snacks, and vegan lifestyle items such as eco-friendly bags, vegan guides, wellness guides, and tips. This box was sent to us at no cost for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes). About TokiBox The Subscription Box: TokiBox The Cost: $34.95 a month + free US shipping. Save with 3 and 6-month subscriptions. ACTIVE DEAL: Save 20% off your first box! CODE: MOMSDAY The Products: a minimum of 6 full-size and travel-size items. All vegan, cruelty-free, eco-friendly and non-toxic. The products are curated from small local businesses and other small businesses across the US. Ships to: US (free shipping) and Worldwide (flat-rate shipping) TokiBox February 2019 Review TokiBox includes a card which normally describes a monthly theme. This month, it seems to be all about the love, but I keep feeling like they miss the mark when it comes to curating a thematic collection. Though lovely, theres only one item in this box that lends itself to love/hearts. Loco Love Chocolate, Hazelnut & Praline, 1.05oz Retail Value $3.51 ($4.95 AUD), Listed Value $4.44 The December TokiBox included a Loco Love chocolate that I really liked. This month they gave us a delicious Hazelnut & Praline bar which contains He Shou Wu, a longevity herb said to help the body to combat stress and increase libido. (If youve already guessed that this is the love product, you are correct!) Once again, I recognized and could pronounce each of the high-quality ingredients, including coconut butter, cacao paste, and Celtic salt. Extra bonus: according to the packaging, each chocolate purchased provides a child in Ethiopia one day of water. Wildway Grain Free Granola, Banana Nut, 1.75oz Estimated Value $2.50 (buy a 4-pack for $9.99), Listed Value $8 Growing up with two brothers and a Scout leader for a Dad, the term be prepared was ingrained in me from an early age. Ive noticed this applies most noticeably to the snack bag I pack for myself whenever I go anywhere (like, even driving to the grocery store what if I break down and theres a fluke snow storm in June, leaving me stuck in my vehicle for 10 hours??!) Granola is a quintessential item in my snack bag because it keeps well, its filling, and it tends to be yummy. I didnt get a ton of banana flavor here, but I did taste loads of cinnamon which is one of my favorite spices. The Daily Bar Superfood Snack Bars, Salted Caramel, 1 bar Estimated Value $2.84 (buy a 10-pack for $40 AUD), Listed Value $6 I was first struck by the packaging of this treat and appreciate the sturdy box to prevent the bar from breaking apart as it is very crumbly. Its one of those bars where you sort of have to make your palm a plate and then lick off the fallen nuggets. Taste-wise, I expected a lot more sweetness the way a salted caramel anything typically is. It wasnt bad at all, just maybe a little too bland to justify dealing with the mess. Delia Organics Nail & Cuticle Oil with Rosehip Oil and Peppermint, 10ml Retail Value $15.99 Chemotherapy does a number on your nails. I also have the horrible and gross habit of biting my cuticles when Im stressed. Needless to say, my hands are a mess! I never really used cuticle oil in the past, but this rollerball design seems like an easy addition to my nighttime routine. The spearmint aroma comes through most for me, but the overall smell is not overpowering. It seems to absorb quickly and isnt greasy. Who knows, maybe nice nails are in my future after all! BKIND Hand Balm, Floral, 50g Retail Value $12.13 ($15.95 CAD) I tend to not be wild about flowery scents in products. Fortunately, this one was not super potent. The primary ingredients are shea butter, coconut oil, and apricot oil. This variety also contains rose extract, geranium essential oil, and bergamot essential oil. The consistency was creamier than I expected, but I didnt love how it felt on my hands. This may wind up as part of my nighttime routine, but I dont think I could use it during the day when my hands are needed to do things. Ivy & Twig Rose Clay Face Mask, travel size Retail Value $1.95 Ill do the occasional face mask whenever I realize I need a mental health break, but I prefer when they come ready to go rather than when I have to mix it up myself. With this one, I really had to play around with the water to get a good consistency. Once I did, however, the mask itself was really nice. It has a pleasant, clean aroma. The Verdict: I liked the food products in this months Tokibox more than the beauty products. Using a combo of retail values and list prices where retail values werent available, the contents of this box add up to an estimated total of $38.92. I dont think this months box is a good value for $34.95, including free shipping. I guess the saying about having to give love to get love is true in this case! To Wrap Up: Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the March box. Order by the 11th of the month to receive that months box. ACTIVE DEAL: Save 20% off your first box! CODE: MOMSDAY Value Breakdown: This box costs $34.95 USD, which means that each of the 6 items in the box has an average cost of $5.83. Check out all of our Tokibox reviews and similar boxes in the Womens Subscription Box Directory! Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist! What do you think of the February Tokibox? The United Nations (UN) yesterday dismissed as nonsense online media reports that it had approved the intervention of a multinational force to Zimbabwe, saying it was a clear misinterpretation of a visit by a senior official from the global body aimed at mobilising resources for humanitarian assistance. Online news agency, Bulawayo24 yesterday quoted unnamed diplomats who claimed the UN Security Council was planning to send armed forces to remove Government for alleged human rights violations. This followed a visit by UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr Mark Lowcock, who committed $10 million. The United States is providing an additional $15 million for humanitarian assistance aimed at mitigating the effects of drought-induced food deficit. In an interview yesterday, UN Resident coordinator Mr Bishow Parajuli said he read the story with bemusement and shock at the level the falsehoods. I asked myself whether I was dreaming when I read about it. It is not only nonsense, but absolutely nonsense. It is not even worth to get a response from us. That is totally unfounded and mischievous. That is very unfortunate, said Mr Parajuli. The $25 million was committed on Thursday during a Flash Appeal in which the UN is requesting the international community to assist the country overcome drought-induced humanitarian challenges. Mr Parajuli said relations between the UN and Zimbabwe were cordial, hence the decision to join hands with Harare to fight economic challenges occasioned by drought. Addressing delegates during the launch, Mr Parajuli implored other development partners to join and help Zimbabwe. The UN is committed to continue to work with the Government to undertake the necessary reform efforts as outlined in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme to support the countrys vision to become a middle income country by 2030. That having been said, these longer term reform efforts need to take place in parallel short-term humanitarian assistance that are life-saving and resilience-building activities that are aimed to prevent further deterioration and safeguard gains made so far, said Mr Parajuli. Herald Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisas spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda claims that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is investing $6 million in order to avoid standing against most loved opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in any election. Writing on his Twitter handle on Friday, Sibanda said: Mnangagwa is investing $6 mil trying to avoid standing against Pres Chamisa in any election. All should fear a run against President Nelson Chamisa, he is: 1) still within term limits 2) the partys engine of growth and power 3) the only one who can beat a rigging ZANU PF. https://twitter.com/DrNkuSibanda/status/1101469855482605570 Government is orchestrating a well-choreographed plan using the state security apparatus to infiltrate MDC structures, as well as foment violence and chaos in the run up to, during and after the partys elective congress in May to dent opposition leader Nelson Chamisas credibility and legitimacy, while weakening his leadership and party, the Zimbabwe Independent has established. The ultimate objective of the plan for which a hefty war chest has been set aside is to have a weak MDC post congress with limited bargaining power in the event that talks between the party and the ruling Zanu PF materialise, sources said. Chamisa, who lost last years presidential election, has refused to recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner, insisting he rigged the polls. He says only dialogue will resolve the impasse, seen as key towards setting Zimbabwes creaking economy on a firm recovery and growth path. Chamisa has been a problem for President Mnangagwa both at home and internationally. He has continued to question Mnangagwas legitimacy so the best way for Zanu PF is for him to have legitimacy and credibility problems of his own, an official said. Chamisa will address any lingering legitimacy questions of his own if he is elected at congress. But the plan is to make sure that his image and credibility are damaged during the congress period, through sponsoring divisions, confusion and violence in the MDC. The idea is that the MDC should emerge weaker after congress. Chamisa should emerge with his reputation in tatters. There must be legitimacy questions if he sails through so that he ceases to have the moral authority to question Mnangagwas own legitimacy. His bargaining power will be reduced in any negotiations if the plan succeeds. The elective congress will be the first since the death of Tsvangirai last February, hence critical. Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News A man has been sentenced to 315 hours of community service for assaulting his wife after she had an altercation with his sister-in-law whom she suspected of being in an illicit affair with him. Nyasha Chandaona (29) appeared before Masvingo magistrate Candice Kaseke facing charges of domestic violence as defined in Section 3 (1) (a) as read with Section 4 (1) of Domestic Violence Act Chapter 05:16. Chandaona pleaded guilty to the charges but said he was trying to refrain his wife from fighting his brothers wife, Anymore Matongo. I was not expecting it, it just happened as I was trying to refrain her, said Chandaona. It was the States case that on February 11 in village Mutenda, under Chief Shumba at around 17:00 hrs, the accused visited his brothers house where Anymore served him a meal. The accuseds wife Shamiso Munyuki (25) suspected the two were seeing each other so she confronted Anyomre at Mutendi business centre and a fight started. The accused arrived at the scene and started assaulting his wife with clenched fists several times. A neighbor identified as Pamela Mazenyana restrained him and the complainant reported the matter to the police. Malvern Mapako represented the state. TellZim Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News China will revise its regulation to improve oversight of organ donation and transplants, according to an official from the National Health Commission. The changes will include new rules on the donation, retrieval and distribution of organs and punishment for violations, said Fan Jing, an official in medical supervision and evaluation at the commission. She spoke at a conference on organ donation and transplantation held in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday. Unlike the existing Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation, the revised rules will specify the legal responsibilities of various parties in the sector, including Red Cross societies at different levels, medical institutions, organ procurement organizations and medical staff, Fan said. The new regulation also aims to be more effective in holding accountable medical institutions and local health authorities found to have violated laws and regulations, she said. Fan did not provide further details such as when the new regulation will be released. In addition, the commission will also introduce new rules to improve supervision of organ donations and transplants to ensure legal practices are used and quality services are provided, she said. These include the management of organ donation coordinators and data collected during organ donations and transplants, she said. Huang Jiefu, a former vice-minister of health and now chairman of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, said the existing regulation governing human organs, which was released by the State Council in 2007, is outdated and needs revising. "More than 10 years have passed since release of the regulation, and great changes have happened in China's organ donation and transplantation," he said. One major point of progress is the rapid increase in the number of organs donated since 2015, the year when China stopped using organs retrieved from executed prisoners, making voluntary donation the only legitimate source for organ transplant surgeries, he said. But the existing regulation includes few details regarding organ donation, and it needs revision to include more rules on donation, such as specifying voluntary donation as the only source and ensuring fair distribution of organs through a computerized system, he said. "Quality of transplant surgeries can be assured at certified hospitals, but there are also some uncertified clinics where uncertified doctors perform surgeries, and patients should not choose them," he said. The organs of more than 6,300 people were donated after death in China last year - a total of nearly 18,000 organs - an increase of 22 percent compared with the previous year, according to the National Health Commission. Nearly 1 million people had registered to be organ donors by the end of January, according to the China Organ Donation Administrative Center. MDC Alliance member of the House of Assembly for Harare West, Joana Mamombe, has been arrested. Mamombe (25) had been on the police wanted since mid-January, with police saying she was suspected of inciting protesters who went on to loot private businesses and destroy property worth millions of dollars. Detectives swooped on the youngest member of the current session of Parliament on Saturday morning as she was attending a Parliamentary workshop in Nyanga. Police have arrested Hon Joana Mamombe whilst she was attending a Parliamentary workshop in Nyanga. The speaker of Parliament is also attending the same workshop, said Chalton Hwende, the MDC deputy treasurer-general, in a statement. In a statement, the MDC say they are worried by the continued harassment of their officials. https://twitter.com/mdczimbabwe/status/1101740717133758464 The MDC is concerned with the continued harassment of Members of Parliament by the military State, said the MDC Alliance, announcing the arrest. Finer details of the arrest to follow. ZOOMZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News MDC Alliance legislator for Harare West Joana Mamombe has been taken to Harare Central Police station where she has been charged with attempting to overthrow and subvert a Constitutionally-elected government (Treason). The charges stem from an incident when she addressed a Press Conference on 14th of January 2019 at Civic Center, Malborough, just as the violent #ShutDown Protests were building up across the country. Mamombe was arrested in Nyanga on Saturday morning by a group of nine detectives from CID Harare. The cheeky detectives pounced on Mamombe as she was about to board a Parliament of Zimbabwe bus, then threw her onto the back of an open truck to take her all the way to Harare, a distance of 270km. MDC Alliance legislator for Warren Park constituency, Shakespeare Hamauswa, said: Honourable Mamombe is Acting Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Technology Development. Sadly, this morning she was snatched by a group of eight men and a lady who claimed to be from CID Law and Order Harare office. Mamombe (26) had been on the police wanted since mid-January, with police saying she was suspected of inciting protesters who went on to loot private businesses and destroy property worth millions of dollars. Said Hamauswa: We know Honourable Mamombe committed no crime and she deserves to be treated with respect in line with the arresting procedures as enshrined in the laws of the land and in tandem with the constitution. The security agents had a million options of engaging with with Honourable Mamombe in a dignified manner. They could have waited for her to come back from Nyanga since she was on Parliamentary business. He accused the police of showing cruelty and disrespect for arresting Mamombe during parliamentary business and throwing her into the back of an open truck all the way to Harare. Bringing two vehicles to pick a 26 year female MP is a sign of desperation cruelty on the party of regime. Mnangagwa and his regime should know that violence is like a raging fire which creates its own fuel. He is causing, obviously without knowing, the development of dangerous culture in our body politic. To Honourable Mamombe we say remain strong. We will match their capacity to inflict injuries with our capacity to resist pain, said Hamauswa. MP Joana Mamombe in Nyanga chairing a Parliamentary portfolio Committee retreat session, just hours before she got nabbed The MDC is concerned with the continued harassment of Members of Parliament by the military State, said the MDC Alliance, announcing the arrest. Police have arrested Hon Joana Mamombe whilst she was attending a Parliamentary workshop in Nyanga. The speaker of Parliament is also attending the same workshop, said Chalton Hwende, the MDC deputy treasurer-general, in a statement. MDC Alliance spokesperson Jacob Mafume has accused the police of employing Smith-era tactics on opposition politicians, saying Mamombe was not a criminal. He accused Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda of remaining complacent while MPs were hounded by the State. The MDC is worried by the use of tactics of the Smith regime. In no country do you have harrassmment of elected officials the way it has been happening in Zimbabwe since August 2018. That the speaker of Parliament is also silent is an indictment on his party. Allowing the Executive arm of the state to systematically decimate dissent in the legislature is barbaric, undemocratic and unacceptable. Hon Mamombe is not a criminal, terrorizing her mother and invasion of her privacy is a violation of her Constitutional rights. The State must protect its citizens not terrorise them and instill fear on everyone who disagrees with Dambudzo Mnangagwa. ZOOMZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News The United Nations (UN) Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mr Mark Lowcock yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at Munhumutapa Offices. Mr Lowcock, who was accompanied by the UN Resident Coordinator Mr Bishow Parajuli, met the President in the presence of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo, Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube, among other senior Government officials. The visit by Mr Lowcock is his first in Southern Africa since he assumed his role in 2017. In an interview after the meeting, Mr Lowcock said they wanted to launch the Zimbabwe Flash Appeal of about US$234 million for the international community to provide assistance to Zimbabwe. We have had an excellent discussion with the President, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Finance. I want to express on behalf of the United Nations our total solidarity to the people of Zimbabwe in coping with the current economic challenges, he said. Mr Lowcock said he briefed President Mnangagwa that they were going to launch the Flash Appeal to provide assistance from international community to Zimbabwe. The Flash Appeal calls on the international community to further contribute to the aid organisations efforts to save lives in response to Zimbabwes economic challenges. Mr Lowcock is expected to meet the diplomatic community, humanitarian organisations and members of the civil society. Herald Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Abduction of Hon Mamombe and Arrest of Hon Sithole concerns MDC Caucus The Law and Order section has denied arresting Hon Joanna Mamombe who was abducted this morning in Nyanga while on parliamentary business. A team of about nine henchmen who snatched Hon Mamombe Boko Haram style claimed to be from police law and order section were driving a Toyota Fortuner registration number ACI 4582. Honorable Joanna Mamombe had been in Nyanga for Parliamentary business since the 24th of February. This is a result of Zanu PF military polical settlement which has seen them create vigilante groups and vested powers of the state to these killer units resulting in deaths of at least 17 people in January and 7 others on 1 August 2018. An Honorable Member has privileges they must enjoy whilst on parliamentary business. While in Nyanga, suspected security officers visited Hon Mamombes parents home in Glen Norah at midnight in search of her, harassing everyone and intruding into personal privacy of innocent people. Yesterday, another arrest was effected on Hon Godfrey Sithole who surrendered himself to the police. He appears in court today. The regimes disdain towards upholding fundamental human rights is reflected in these barbaric acts. The manner the operation was done sends shivers down the spine of the ordinary civilians. It is a sad incident reflecting retrogression in our Constitutional Democracy against reform pretence by Mr Mnangagwa. The MDC caucus strongly condemns the abduction and arrest of Hon Mamombe and Hon Sithole. When members of Parliament are harrassed and their rights violated in that manner it means the ordinary citizens are worse off. In general acts of torture, arbitrary arrests on trumped up charges, mass trials and conviction are of concern to the MDC caucus. Our prayer is for the country to enjoy peace and harmony. We will keep fighting for everyone to enjoy their fundamental rights as enshrined in our constitution. Behold The New. Change That Delivers! Hon Prosper C. Mutseyami MDC Parliamentary Chief Whip Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News A woman who once accused her husband of raping her has walked into a police station and accused Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa of rape, ZimLive can reveal. Police have launched an investigation into the sensational claims by 39-year-old Nyaradzo Nyathi, the wife of Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent Herbert Garikai Nyathi, who is currently on diplomatic service in Canada. Nyaradzo left her home she shares with her mother on Mtukudzi Drive in Norton saying she was going to her house in Greendale in Harare on February 28. Along the way, she took a detour into Norton Police Station where after producing a diplomatic passport, she went on to tell the police an incredible tale about how the MDC leader attacked her. Nyaradzo, according to police sources, said she was returning from a jog at around 9.45PM on November 8 last year and had just reached their gate when Chamisa allegedly emerged from nowhere, grabbed her and raped her inside her home in Knowe Phase 2. The MDC leaders spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda said they would not be commenting until they hear from the police. The alleged rape is being investigated under crime reference CR15/03/19. ZimLive has been told that Zimbabwes ambassador to Canada, Florence Zano Chideya, ordered Nyaradzo to be returned home after her mental health was questioned. Nyaradzo had accused her husband of rape, but he escaped arrest because he enjoys diplomatic immunity. Police sources say Norton police have referred the case to police headquarters in Harare, and police are keen to question the MDC leader. MDC MP Job Sikhala said on Twitter: When handsome men of substance and fame are alleged of rape when million women scream at their sight. Mapererwa manje vana kamba. Nyaradzo and her husband have lived at Zimbabwean diplomatic missions in Namibia, Austria and Canada. ZimLive Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Yves here. This post brings up a classic issue about tactics for achieving change that readers often debate in comments. So it is useful to have an opportunity to focus on this question. By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at DownWithTyranny World CO2 emissions are growing, not falling. What will the children say? (source) Modern America is a tense place these days. By that I mean, there are a number of tensions in American social and political life that are, this year, coming to a frothy head. First, consider the tension in center and leftish circles around class war and the 2020 election. Many argue that the right way for to Democrats to win this election is by embracing identity politics that racial justice, justice for women, for gay, lesbian and trans individuals, for indigenous peoples and all other victimized groups must come first, must be placed front and center. And not just for presentation and marketing purposes (though many do argue that vote-getting starts with making the identity case), but because fighting the old white patriarchy is a necessary precursor to fighting the class war that if the old white patriarchy is in place, the class war cant be won. Adolph Reed Jr. has written much about this tension on the left (his latest is here), and proponents of the Sanders candidacy stand almost alone in believing the solution lies in winning the class struggle. So thats one tension. Another is the tension around radical, oppositional action versus a more considered, careful, inclusive approach. Visitors to DWT recently read about Rep. Pramila Jayapal and her balancing act her attempt to keep real progressives, not-so-real progressives and Party leaders all aligned with genuinely progressive legislation like Medicare for All. Time will determine if that strategy succeeds; everyone I know hope it does. Radical opposition, however, has its proponents, and no subject inspires them more than the coming climate catastrophe, which the world is doing less than nothing to head off (see graph at top). Will the politics of accommodation work in this sphere, or will radical action be required? Must the current system be broken and rebuilt before a climate solution can be enacted? As writer David Atkins explains it in the following twitter thread, the choices left to us are really one choice. First, the Right will not let is not letting the current system survive in any case; theyre breaking norms with everything they touch. Second, the current system cannot provide a climate solution. Thus breaking that system the way the Left wants to break it provides the only hope for those of us who want to live to 2050. Radical thoughts for a radical time. Heres that thread. See what you think after you read it. Short thread here on climate change, the norms of democracy, and the battle between the right, center left and progressive left. Ready? Here goes /1 The Right has always depended for its success on the implicit or explicit threat that it would be willing to subvert all the norms of democracy to achieve its goals, whether it be 2nd amendment remedies or the Federalist Societys changing all the rules in the courts/2 This is how the Right works the refs: they let everyone know that theyre willing to pull out ALL the stops if white male patriarchy and racism dont stay centered in society, and if rich people dont get to keep all the loot. /3 The center left has long depended on being the responsible party. The cogent ones, the level headed ones. The perpetual Real Mothers in the Justice of Solomon [story] willing to sacrifice almost anything to salvage the system. /4 The problem is that this dynamic between right and center left is codependent and convenient to the status quo. The far right gets to keep the angry old racists happy, the center left keeps the concerned vaguely cosmopolitan educated crowd happy. And the donors always win. /5 The progressive left [is] saying enough of this game. We, too, are willing to break the norms of American democracy because these issues are life and death emergencies. Were not going to play the responsible straight man to the GOPs destructive clown. /6 Yes, we KNOW the Green New Deal cant pass through the Senate under the current system. Were not stupid. Were [putting] down the marker that if this system wont let the GND pass, we will change the system until it doeseliminate the filibuster, add states, pack courts, etc. /7 So when the center left says but I can pass this weaker version, the answer is twofold: 1) no, you cant. The GOP is a destructive clown that wont give you the time of day, either. But also, 2) we dont care what you think [you] can pass. Were telling you what we need. /8 And if that means changing the system? So be it. If it means breaking the system? So be it. The norms of 20th century American democracy are worthless compared to the threat of climate change. Also, radical inequality. Also, the declining middle class. /9 The right has been very effective playing this game. They are signaling loud and clear they would rather have a Putin-backed dictatorship under a corrupt idiot than give up old white male privilege or [plutocratic] control. What is the left willing to do? How far will we go? /10 The center lefts answer? Nowhere. Well do whatever we can with the system we have, and whatever happens happensas long as nobodys stock portfolio takes a hit. That is completely, totally unacceptable to those of us who want to live to 2050. Or have [kids] who do. /11 If the system wont budge with us, well budge the system. We are dealing with catastrophic threats, and econ/tech challenges well beyond the capacity of our current politics. Your experience within the system means nothing now. Your commitment to the goal is everything. /12 In short, the current system WILL NOT SURVIVE. The right sees an existential threat from a browning, more progressive population. They cannot afford for democracy to survive, and they will kill it if given half the chance. /13 But the current system also wont let us deal with our environmental, technological and economic challenges in anything like the timeframe we need to solve them. Which means the defenders of that system are just as dangerous in their own way as the right wing is. /14 The future belongs to the side that changes the system to accomplish their goals. Will it be young progressives? Or will it rich old racists? There is no middle ground. There is no responsible defense of the status quo. Its going to be one side or the other. /fin His conclusion is striking, but not surprising. Weve heard it from others as well. As Atkins says: The defenders of the present system are as dangerous in their way as the right wing is. The future belongs to the side that changes the system to accomplish their goals. The terms of this debate apply to a number of policy fields, and well be hearing some form of this discussion, of this tension, throughout the 2020 campaign. For example, the Medicare For All debate has already been characterized (accurately in my view) as a battle to replace capitalism (see Ed Walkers The Green New Deal Challenges the Domination of Capital). But the argument above applies no more directly than it does in the climate debate, where the clock is running, the end (if it comes) is near and total, and theres no turning back to anything that went before, no matter how much we wish it were not so. You are here: China Premier Li Keqiang has signed a decree of the State Council to unveil a regulation on production safety emergency response. The regulation standardized emergency response work systems, preparation and rescue. According to the regulation, the State Council oversees national production safety emergency response work while local governments at the county level and above are responsible for rescue work for local incidents. Governments at the county level and above and relevant production safety supervision authorities should stipulate rescue plans for potential incidents and make them public. Production units should also make rescue plans. The regulation specified the establishment of rescue teams, training and the preparation of rescue equipment and facilities. The regulation will come into effect on April 1. EAST LANSING, Mich. - African carnivores face numerous threats from humans. So, it's a fair assumption that the presence of more humans automatically equates to decreases across the board for carnivores. New research led by Michigan State University and published in the current issue of Ecological Applications, however, shows that's not always the case. The truth is some species decrease while others increase, which reveals how varying conservation and management policies can impact carnivores. Matthew Farr, MSU quantitative ecologist and lead author of the study, sought to evaluate how a community of carnivores in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve were influenced by human disturbance and differential management. The Kenyan reserve is divided into two sections by the Mara River. On the western side, known as the Mara Triangle, stricter enforcement policies result in low levels of human disturbance, which work to keep the area relatively pristine. A subsection of the eastern side, known as the Talek region, however, experiences many human incursions, from cattle herders to throngs of tourists. The stark differences are captured by Google Earth, which shows multiple trails carved into the Talek region where cattle commute to graze. "Lions have responded negatively to the increased human activity, and sightings have decreased in the Talek region," Farr said. "On the other hand, hyenas are thriving in disturbed Talek. We were interested in understanding how other species may be responding to these anthropogenic changes and how the carnivore community as a whole is faring." Farr teamed up with MSU scientists Elise Zipkin, Kay Holekamp, Gary Roloff and David Green (now at Oregon State University), to examine how human disturbance influences the carnivore community. The team observed nine other carnivores, including banded mongooses, bat-eared foxes, black-backed jackals, cheetahs, slender mongooses, leopards, caracals, servals, and side-striped jackals, in addition to lions and hyenas. "Analyzing data for a full community is tricky," Zipkin said. "Many carnivore species are rare and difficult to detect, but we wanted to use all the information we had to get a full picture of the effects of human disturbance." Using records from all observations, the team created a model, linking abundance data for each species. The shared information across the carnivore community helped inform the model for the rarer animals, where data are sparse. It was this model, in fact, that confirmed the discrepancies between individual species' responses to human disturbance. "Our model indicated that passive enforcement of wildlife regulations and policies in the Talek region is having adverse effects on many of the carnivores," Farr said. "Specifically, bat-eared foxes, leopards, lions, and servals are suffering when compared to the active-enforcement approach within the Mara Triangle." However, the model also showed that carnivores don't react uniformly to blanket conservation policy. Hyenas and black-backed jackals are thriving in the Talek region in the face of high human disturbance. "By taking a community-wide approach rather than focusing on a single species, we avoided overlooking important intra-community variability that showed some carnivores benefiting from lax management," Farr said. "However, even if some species increase in response to anthropogenic disturbance, that may not necessarily be a good thing as there might be other unintended consequences to the ecosystem." Land managers now have important information on how management practices can differentially affect carnivores. The results from this research will help drive conservation efforts in the Talek region, which are already improving due to changes in management. The number of cattle grazing has been drastically reduced, and the lions are starting to return to the region. In the past few decades, a lethal disease has decimated populations of frogs and other amphibians worldwide, even driving some species to extinction. Yet other amphibians resisted the epidemic. Based on previous research, scientists at the INDICASAT AIP, Smithsonian and collaborating institutions knew that skin bacteria could be protecting the animals by producing fungi-fighting compounds. However, this time they decided to explore these as potential novel antifungal sources for the benefit of humans and amphibians. "Amphibians inhabit humid places favoring the growth of fungi, coexisting with these and other microorganisms in their environment, some of which can be pathogenic," said Smithsonian scientist Roberto Ibanez, one of the authors of the study published in Scientific Reports. "As a result of evolution, amphibians are expected to possess chemical compounds that can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi." The team first traveled to the Chiriqui highlands in Panama, where the chytrid fungus, responsible for the disease chytridiomycosis, has severely affected amphibian populations. They collected samples from seven frog species to find out what kind of skin bacteria they harbored. "Amphibians have glands scattered on their skin that produce different compounds," Ibanez said. "In addition, their skin is inhabited by a diverse community of bacteria that produce metabolites that inhibit the growth of fungi and other bacteria." Back in the laboratory, 201 bacterial strains were retrieved from their samples and tested against Aspergillus fumigatus, a fungus that causes invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. Of these, 29 showed antifungal activity, but one in particular caught their attention: a bacterium called Pseudomonas cichorii. This one showed the greatest potential to inhibit the growth of A. fumigatus. After identifying the most promising bacteria, the scientists had a new question: among all the chemical compounds produced by P. cichorii, which one was keeping the fungi at bay? To find out, they used mass spectrometry and molecular networking techniques. They also observed the interactions between this bacteria and A. fumigatus to identify the bacterial compounds acting in areas where fungal activity was most inhibited. The main compounds were cyclic lipopeptides that included massetolides and viscosin. The team then separated viscosin from the other components produced by P. cichorii and tested it invitro against A. fumigatus and the chytrid fungus. The results confirmed that viscosin displayed significant activity against both. This research project holds promise for humans and frogs. Studying the skin bacteria of Panamanian frogs may lead to the development of alternative drugs to treat the fungi causing aspergillosis in humans, which are becoming more drug-resistant, and to defy the chytridiomycosis epidemic, the major source of disease-related death among amphibians worldwide. "We are showing to the scientific community a set of possible alternative molecules to fight fungal drug resistance in humans," said Christian Martin, the first author of the study along with the principal investigator Marcelino Gutierrez, both from INDICASAT. "Although more studies are needed, our collaboration could spark interest in the conservation of amphibians as a novel source of bioactive compounds in humans. For amphibians, this is a promising study because there are only four bacterial secondary metabolites chemically described that inhibit chytrid fungi. In this study, we are introducing a new family of chemical compounds found in Panamanian frogs that could help amphibians worldwide." "I consider that bioprospecting compounds from skin secretions or bacteria living in frog's skins is just beginning," Ibanez said. "This research has identified an antifungal compound produced by frog skin bacteria, which may be used to control pathogenic fungi affecting humans and amphibians. More research will be required to determine its potential medicinal use." Days of heavy rains and flooding along the Russian River have caused an estimated $155 million in damage across Sonoma County, officials said Saturday. Properties affected include 1,900 homes -- 1,760 with major damage -- and 578 businesses, according to county estimates. "This is a heartbreaking time for our community," said Fifth District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose district was hit hardest by the flooding. "We appreciate everyone's patience as we all work together to help our community recover. We've done it before and we can do it again." A local assistance center will open Sunday in Guerneville to provide services to Sonoma County residents affected by recent storms and flooding. Government agencies and nonprofits will be represented at the center, and all county residents can access services regardless of immigration status, according to a Sonoma County spokeswoman. County departments at the center will include Permit Sonoma, to provide over-the-counter permits for some repairs and to begin the permit process for structural work and building safety, according to a release from Sonoma County spokeswoman Briana Khan. In addition, the county's human services department will take applications for CalFresh food benefits and Medi-Cal. The county's health services department will have representatives from animal services, environmental health, and behavioral Health to provide mental health support and referral. The Sonoma County Community Development Commission will support other housing needs. California state agencies on hand will include the Department of Motor Vehicles (Monday-Saturday) for those needing identification or driver licenses. The state department of insurance will be available (Monday-Saturday) to provide insurance support and the Contractors State Licensing Board will provide contracting support and resources. Nonprofits, including United Policyholders (Wednesday-Thursday), American Red Cross, and The Salvation Army will provide additional resources and support to local residents. The assistance center will also have information on topics related to the flood including debris drop-off locations for non-hazardous waste, and dates and times for hazardous waste drop offs as well as important health and safety information. The center will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the former Bank of America Building, 16390 Main St. in Guerneville. From Monday through Saturday, the center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Current emergency information is available at www.socoemergency.org. Chaos erupted outside Texas' death chamber when the son of the condemned inmate pounded on the chamber windows, shouted obscenities and threw fists after his father spoke his final words. Billie Wayne Coble, a Vietnam War veteran who killed his estranged wife's parents and brother and threatened to do the same to her in 1989, told five witnesses he selected to attend his Thursday night execution that he loved them. Coble then nodded as they watched from a witness room, saying: "Take care." When he finished speaking, his son, grandson and daughter-in-law became emotional, and the men swung and kicked at others in the death chamber witness area. Officers stepped in but said the men continued to resist and were eventually moved to a courtyard, where both were handcuffed and arrested. "Why are you doing this?" the woman asked. "They just killed his daddy." As the men were being subdued outside, a single dose of pentobarbital was injected into Coble. He gasped several times and began snoring as the lethal dose of drug was being administered inside the death chamber at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:24 p.m. His son and grandson, 45-year-old Gordon Wayne Coble and 21-year-old Dalton Coble, were arrested on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. They each were released Friday on $1,000 bond. The 70-year-old Billie Wayne Coble was the oldest inmate executed by Texas since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. He was convicted nearly three decades ago for the August 1989 shooting deaths of Robert and Zelda Vicha, and their son, Bobby Vicha. The victims were killed at separate homes in Axtell, northeast of Waco. A prosecutor once described Coble as having "a heart full of scorpions." Coble, distraught over his pending divorce, kidnapped his wife, Karen Vicha. He was arrested and later freed on bond. Nine days after the kidnapping, Coble went to her home, where he handcuffed and tied up her three daughters and nephew, J.R. Vicha, according to investigators. Coble then went to the homes of Robert and Zelda Vicha, 64 and 60 respectively, and Bobby Vicha, 39, who lived nearby, and fatally shot them. After Karen Vicha returned home, Coble abducted her. He drove away, assaulted her and threatened to rape and kill her. He was arrested after wrecking the vehicle in neighboring Bosque County following a police chase. Coble was convicted of capital murder in 1990. An appeals court ordered a new trial on punishment in 2007, but a second jury also sentenced him to death. Other appeals were also denied. J.R. Vicha, Bobby Vicha's son, was 11 when he was tied up and threatened by Coble during the killings. Vicha, who eventually became a prosecutor partly because of his father, said that Coble's execution would be a relief. "The way they do it is more humane than what he did to my family. It's not what he deserves, but it will be good to know we got as much justice as allowed by the law," he said ahead of the execution. "This is not a happy night," added McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson. "This is the end of a horror story for the Vicha family." On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Coble's request to delay his execution. His attorneys had argued that Coble's original trial lawyers were negligent for conceding his guilt by failing to present an insanity defense. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down his request for a commutation. Coble's attorney, A. Richard Ellis, told the courts that Coble suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his time as a Marine during the Vietnam War. Ellis argued that Coble was convicted in part because of misleading testimony from two prosecution expert witnesses on whether he would be a future danger. Coble was the third inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the second in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state. J.R. Vicha, 40, still lives in the Waco area. His father was a police sergeant in Waco when he was killed, while his grandfather was a retired plumber and his grandmother worked for a foot doctor. Vicha is working to get a portion of a highway near his home renamed in honor of his father. "Every time I run into somebody that knew (his father and grandparents), it's a good feeling. And when I hear stories about them, it still makes it feel like they're kinda still here," Vicha said. The parents of a 3-year-old girl are demanding answers after they say a chunk of their daughters hair was ripped out around nap time at a suburban day care. Robin Reddick said she dropped her daughter Ariana off at a Kindercare in Oswego, Illinois, Tuesday morning. Hours later, she received a call from the day care saying something happened to the child but it wasnt an emergency. When she picked her daughter up, she said she saw an entire braid had been ripped from her scalp. It looked very painful, Reddick said. I can see hair follicles of her hair. Reddick said Arianas teacher and the day care only told her they noticed the hanging braid after nap time. The couple took the child to a doctor, where they said they were told something forceful had been used on their daughters hair. They also spoke with DCFS and filed a report with police. How does something like this happen in the care of the facility? Reddick said. In a statement, Kindercare said it became aware of the loose braid and called the childs family. Although no injury occurred, we also reported the incident to state licensing, so that they may look into the matter for themselves, if they so choose, the statement read. The family said they want answers. I just want justice for my daughter, Reddick said. And I just want to know what happened. What happened to her at day care that day. One Boston army veteran is teaching minorities about gun use and safety in an effort to diminish the negative stigma surrounding gun owners of color. Pierre Salomon became fascinated with firearms during his service in the U.S. Army. "I did active duty when I was deployed to Afghanistan," Salomon said. "That's kind of how I fell into, you know guns. I love the culture." He runs his own company called Salomon Firearms Training, where he teaches people how to use guns safely. Salomons family is originally from Haiti, but he has lived in Boston since he was a young child. While Salomon was growing up in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, he didnt see many gun owners who looked like him. Most people associated minorities who owned guns with crime. "You'll hear terms like 'black on black crime,'" he said. "Gang violence. You know if youre a black guy with a gun you have to be in a gang." He blames the stigma on years of discrimination during and after slavery when blacks were either limited in or prohibited from owning guns. That explains why he wears a T-shirt that reads, "BLACK GUNS MATTER." "So for me, 'black guns matter' is the equivalent of black gun owners matter," he said. It is also part of the reason he teaches free firearms classes to African Americans and other minorities in his spare time. "It's not really common to get a free class like this, especially for the African American community," said Sayquan Arthur Vance, who is also in the army. Vance is the only man in a Saturday class in Dedham that Salomon taught when NBC10 Boston interviewed him. "I do have a son so I would love to be able to protect myself and my family," said Gabrielle Bouquet, one of Salomon's students. Once a student, Tayla Gamache now helps Salomon teach his class. "The first class I took I instantly fell in love with Pierres teaching," she said. While some believe Salomon is doing justice to firearm owners who have been stigmatized, others have criticized his work. One Facebook user called his class "racist" in a post about them. Another suggested said it encourages segregation. Salomon said he has received many similar messages. However, he insists his classes are meant to unite, not divide. Salomon said he is a proud member of the National Rifle Association, though he hopes his classes bring more diversity to the organization. "Often times, you dont see many people of color in there or theres maybe one individual through all the classes," he said. Police in northwest Indiana believe there is a connection between four recent homicides in Gary that included three relatives. Over five days in late February, a husband and wife were found shot dead in separate incidents, and the husbands brother was found killed near a vehicle, Gary police said. The bodies were identified as husband and wife, Tracy Valentine and Jimmy Valentine; Wayne Valentine, brother of Jimmy; and Timothy Snow, police and the Lake County coroner said. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More At this time we have not released much information as this investigation is very fluid and has a lot of moving parts, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said in an email. Police are investigating if there is a connection to a fifth recent homicide. Pam Crider, 42, died of multiple gunshot wounds on Feb. 27 in the 2900 block of West 10th Place, authorities said. The first homicides were reported Feb. 20 when a landlord found dead bodies in an apartment in the 400 block of Johnson Street. Timothy Snow, 55, and Tracy Valentine, 48, had been shot to death inside, authorities said. The next homicide happened the evening of Feb. 24, police said. Wayne Valentine, 69, was found shot dead near a vehicle in the 2400 block of Jennings Street. On Feb. 25, Jimmy Valentine was found shot to death in a ditch near a roadway in the 2500 block of Calhoun Street, authorities said. Gary police, the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit and federal authorities are investigating the homicides aggressively and thoroughly, Hamady said. Anyone with tips can contact Detective Edward Gonzalez at (219) 755-3855 or call the Crime Tip Line at (866) CRIME-GP. Pastor Eugene Keahey, his wife Deanna Keahey, and 15-year-old daughter Camryn Keahey, are confirmed to be the three family members found dead in a Cedar Hill house fire that is the focus of a criminal investigation. Investigators had no reason to suspect an intruder and were reviewing Facebook posts made by the pastor himself, said Cedar Hill police Sgt. Chad Cooley. About three weeks ago, Keahey changed his cover photo to a picture with the words, "We all have secrets." And at 3:57 a.m. Thursday -- exactly 33 minutes before the fire was reported -- the pastor posted a vague message referring to "this difficult time in my life" and ended with the phrase, "Good Night Y'all." Police also discounted reports by neighbors of possible gunshots before the fire, suggesting they may have heard aerosol cans exploding or windows breaking. New video shows Cedar Hill police racing to the fire at 705 Lovern Street around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. Officers could be seen trying to make entry into the home before firefighters arrived. They also drove a squad car through the front lawn so they could use the hood as a makeshift ladder. As the video rolls, a man and a woman are pulled to safety. "It's just overpowering to save a life. It's pretty emotional too," said Cedar Hill police Sgt. J.R. Podany. Six people were inside the home when the flames erupted. Keahey was a well-known figure in North Texas. He previously served at Antioch Fellowship Baptist Church in Dallas before leaving for Mount Zion. While at Mount Zion, he brought attention to the water crisis, and even did an interview about it with NBC 5. "He took of himself to go into a small community who had not even running water facilities and let their plight be known," said Dawn Miller, a family friend and former church member. Keahey, a father of four, shared the home with his wife, two daughters and extended family. An older son and daughter were not believed to be in the home at the time. Many who knew the family had kind things to say. "He and his wife, a lovely love story, been together forever. [They] openly love each other, support each other," Miller said. Those friends, crushed by the news, are still at a loss for what happened. "Why? I mean why?" asked Leslie Newson, who said Deanna Keahey taught her sons in elementary school. Investigators with the State Fire Marshall's Office were on scene early Friday with an accelerant-detecting K9, searching the home's interior and exterior for possible signs of foul play. Crime scene tape remains up around the home because a neighbor reported possible gunfire before the flames erupted. Newson said she's praying for the survivors. "We are very, very sorry for their loss and our hearts and prayers are with them," she said. Newson said she hoped the Keaheys' older children are able to overcome this hardship. "Even though this has happened to them, that they don't hold a grudge. Remember what their parents taught them... to still love," she said. NBC 5 reporter Scott Gordon contributed to this report. Chinese police detained 90 suspects for illegally selling, butchering and transporting pigs infected by African swine fever, the Ministry of Public Security said Friday. About 15,000 pigs and 140 tonnes of raw pork and processed pork products were seized during the raids, said Li Jingsheng, a senior officer with the ministry, at a press conference. Since the outbreak of African swine fever in China in August last year, police have allocated more officers and stepped up a crackdown on related crimes, Li said. "The ministry will maintain an iron fist against such crimes and direct its resources and personnel at crimes that might lead to the spread of African swine fever or undermine food safety," he said. Rescuers brought an excavator to the remote Indonesian gold mine that collapsed earlier this week, trapping dozens, hoping to speed up rescue efforts despite the risk of triggering landslides. The death toll has risen to eight and 20 have been rescued, local disaster official Abdul Muin Paputungan said Friday. About three dozen people are still believed trapped in the rubble of the unlicensed mine in North Sulawesi's Bolaang Mongondow district that collapsed on Tuesday evening. Paputungan said an excavator began working on the site Friday morning after relatives gave permission and a path was cleared through steep jungle terrain. He said the dozens of emergency workers involved in the grueling rescue "never stop praying that all those still trapped in the mine are able to survive until we can rescue them." Food and water has been passed to some of those trapped but officials are concerned oxygen is dwindling in parts of the mine. Rescue workers have used makeshift stretchers to haul victims to a nearby settlement. Wooden structures in the mine collapsed Tuesday evening due to shifting soil and the large number of mining holes. Informal mining operations are commonplace in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to thousands who labor in conditions with a high risk of serious injury or death. On Thursday, a trapped miner's leg was amputated to free him but the man died from blood loss while being carried out of the area. A rescuer who amputated the leg of miner Teddy Mokodompit said he and his team crawled 12 meters (40 feet) into the mine to operate, Kompas newspaper reported. The stuffy air was difficult to breath and the tunnel they were in vibrated, with soil and gravel falling on them, Laiya, who uses one name, told the newspaper. "I and all my team members were crying while cutting his leg in the hole," he said. "We were worried that landslides will happen while we were inside." The national disaster agency said more than 200 people from multiple agencies are involved in the rescue but frustration was growing among family members of trapped miners. "The process to rescue only one person takes the whole day," said Amin Simbala, father of a buried miner. "Don't be concerned by this one person only, just get him out, if you need to amputate then amputate so others can still be saved." Rescuers have used their bare hands and basic tools to search for the missing. They've fashioned stretchers from tree branches, twine and other material. Photos showed a trapped miner's arms and head jutting through a gap in rocks and rescuers toiling each night in arduous conditions. The search and rescue operation is difficult not only because of the remote and inaccessible location but also because of the risk of triggering new collapses inside the mine. Small artisanal and often unauthorized mining is rising in many parts of Asia and Africa. A study by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development found the number of people engaged in such mining had risen to more than 40 million, up from 30 million in 2014 and 6 million in 1993. Landslides, flooding and collapses of tunnels are just some of the hazards. Much of the processing of gold ore involves use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. Connecticut lawmakers are scheduled to hear testimony on whether the state should eliminate a restriction on the length of Tweed-New Haven Airport's main runway. Airport officials say a 2009 state law that limits the runway to its current 5,600 feet threatens existing service and prevents Tweed from attracting more commercial flights. They say the runway is too short for most commercial planes to take off safely and want it increased to more than 7,000 feet. The legislature's Transportation Committee has scheduled a public hearing Monday on legislation to eliminate the restriction. Some New Haven-area lawmakers and residents are concerned about threats to quality of life and the environment if the runway is lengthened and air traffic increases. Tweed now only has daily service to Philadelphia and weekly flights to Charlotte. Parents against school regionalization bills being considered by state lawmakers arrived by the busload today to express their opposition. There are currently three bills before lawmakers that address the size and proximity of districts with a goal of reducing redundancies and costs. But parents from several school districts made their way to the Capitol Friday to tell lawmakers Hands off our schools. Just let the communities continue to manage their own school system. Theyre doing a good job of it said New Canaan mother Jennifer Basch. She has two kids in town schools and says she doesnt want anything about how they learn to change as a result of regionalization. If youre bussing kids in and kids are on the bus for a really long time, class size grows. Teachers no longer have such a close knit administration, she said. Parents and students had the opportunity to voice their positions to the Education Committee Friday. Also among them was New Canaan parent Maria Weingarten. Theres no indication that theres any improvement in educational outcome. These bills should be killed right from the beginning, she said. In the governors proposal the state would establish a commission on shared school services that would then create a plan for consolidating school districts. The administration says it would not force any districts together, but moms like Tammy Ward of Wilton disagrees. We dont want to be forced into any type of situation that we didnt sign up for. We have a great school system we have a strong school system and we want to continue doing whats right for our students, said Ward. Her concern is that merging districts or sharing services in the name of a better bottom line without proper parental input could hurt kids across Connecticut in the end. There are different ways to go at it and there are different ways to cut costs. This is not the way to do it, she said. Lamont spoke about regionalization earlier this week in Fairfield. A statement sent this afternoon by the governors office said quote: This is an issue that has strong feelings on all sides, but we have to remember that at the end of the day, its about ensuring that our kids get the best education and that we dont burden our cities and towns by subsidizing inefficiencies. A judge has ruled that a woman charged with setting a fire that killed 16 residents of a Connecticut nursing home in 2003 is still not competent for trial. The Hartford Courant reports that a public defender told the judge Friday that Leslie Andino remains "severely disabled." The judge continued the case for another year. Authorities allege the now 38-year-old Andino set the fire at the Greenwood Health Center in Hartford in February 2003. Then 23, Andino was a resident of the facility because she has mental health issues and a progressive form of multiple sclerosis that has irreparably eroded her brain. Andino said at the time she accidentally ignited her bed sheets while flicking a lighter. A judge ruled in 2005 that she would likely never regain competence. Indian and Pakistani soldiers have again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said Saturday. But in a sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals could soon ease, a Pakistani Cabinet minister said a key train service between Pakistan and neighboring India would resume on Monday. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan this past Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. Fighting resumed overnight Friday. Pakistan's military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed countries over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Indian police, meanwhile, said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The children's father was critically wounded. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons "indiscriminately targeted border villagers" along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling. Following a lull lasting a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line. Since tensions escalated following last month's suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday that Russia had offered to serve as a mediator to ease tensions. He said Pakistan was ready to accept the offer, but he did not know whether India would agree as well. Qureshi also said a top Saudi diplomat would soon visit Pakistan and India. Pakistani officials said China is expected to send an envoy to Pakistan and India this coming week. The current violence marks the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. The latest wave of tensions began after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a Kashmiri militant on Indian paramilitary forces. India has long accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the suicide attack. Pakistan's minister for railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told reporters Saturday that the Samjhauta Express train service linking the Pakistani city of Lahore with the Indian border town of Atari would resume on Monday. The service was suspended by Pakistani authorities this past week. Thousands of people on both sides of Kashmir have fled to government-run temporary shelters or relatives' homes in safer areas to escape shelling along the frontier, which is marked by razor wire, watch towers and bunkers amid tangled bushes, forests and fields of rice and corn. "These battles are fought on our bodies, in our homes and fields, and we still don't have anything in our hands. We are at the mercy of these soldiers," said Mohammed Akram, a resident in the Mendhar area in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Sakina, a young woman who fled to a shelter with her two children, said the frequent shelling had made them "homeless in our own land." In Pakistani-administered Kashmir, many displaced families urged the international community to help resolve the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully. "Whenever India fires mortars, it's we who suffer," said Mohammad Latif, a laborer who took refuge at a government building that was vacated for sheltering displaced families. "I don't care whether the Indian pilot is gone or not, I don't care who released him and why, but I want to know whether peace will return to us after his return to India," said Mohammad Sadiq, a shopkeeper who also was among the displaced. He said the latest tensions between Pakistan and India rose so suddenly that some people sold their sheep, cows and buffaloes at throwaway prices in his native Chikothi town. "We did not know whether we will get any shelter and how could we take our animals" with us, he said. Meanwhile, Indian police said two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials were killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this report. Several clergy belonging to the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth will offer "Ashes to Go," in addition to the traditional Ash Wednesday worship services this year. Ashes to Go began almost a decade ago when some Episcopal churches decided to take the Ash Wednesday ritual outside church walls and bring it to the people. Churches brought ashes to people in diverse places such as train stations, city plazas, coffee shop parking lots and on the sidewalks of downtown. So this Ash Wednesday, Ashes to Go will be offered in multiple cities, including Fort Worth, Decatur, Granbury and Keller. If you don't have time to attend church for Ash Wednesday, here are some places that will bring the ashes to you: Sundance Square, Downtown Fort Worth -- the Rev. Canon Janet Waggoner and other clergy will have Ashes to Go for passersby from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on a sidewalk on the square. St. Christopher Episcopal Church, 3550 Southwest Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76133 Phone: 817-926-8277. Ashes to Go, 7 - 9 am, Starbucks at I20 and Trail Lake Drive. Ash Wednesday worship at noon and 7 pm. St. Luke in the Meadow Episcopal Church, 4301 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76103, Phone: 817-534-4925. Ashes to Go, 7:30-8:30 a.m. and 2:30-3:30 p.m. on the corner of Meadowbrook and Somerset. Ash Wednesday worship at 7:00 p.m. Trinity Episcopal Church, 3401 Bellaire Drive So., Ft. Worth, TX 76109 Phone: 817-926-4631. Commuter Service, 7 am on lawn of church with worship to follow in the Chapel for those who can stay. Ash Wednesday worship: 12:15 and 7 p.m.; Children's Service: 4:30 p.m. Episcopal Church of the Resurrection and First United Methodist Church of Decatur will be offering drive-through "Ashes and Coffee to Go" from 6:30 to 9:00 in the FUMC parking lot, 104 S Miller Street. This is the third consecutive year that the two churches have joined in this ministry. Ash Wednesday worship will be at 6 pm at the Church of the Resurrection, 905 S. Church Street, Decatur, TX 76234, Phone: 940-222-8705 Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, worshiping at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 2016 Acton Hwy (FM 4), Granbury 76049. Ashes to Go at Red on the Square, 11:30am-1:30 pm. Worship service at the Adventist church building, 6pm. St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, 223 S. Pearson Lane, Keller, Texas, 76248 Phone: 817-431-2396. Drive-Thru Ashes in the parking lot 5:30-6:30 pm. Worship services: noon & 7 pm. Last year, Ashes to Go was offered in more than 25 states in the United States and in London, England, and Cape Town, South Africa, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. The idea is to offer a low-key invitation without pressure to allow people to receive ashes even if they cannot attend one of the traditional services planned at every Episcopal Church in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. A museum dedicated to the history of the U.S. Border Patrol has reopened after officials say protesters vandalized exhibits during an organized demonstration earlier this month. The U.S. Border Patrol Museum in El Paso announced on its Facebook page Wednesday that the museum was welcoming visitors following a protest by immigrant advocates upset over the detention of migrant children at the now-closed detention center in Tornillo, New Mexico. Protesters posted stickers throughout the facility that included images of migrant children who have died recently in Border Patrol custody, according to museum officials. The stickers were posted on an exhibit for fallen border patrol agents and on other displays throughout the museum on Feb. 16. Activists also left expletive messages in the museum's guest book. "It was chaos. They weren't really violent, but they were extremely organized," David Ham, the museum's director, told the El Paso Times after the museum closed. "They knew where to go; they knew where a lot of our cameras were, they knew we were short-staffed on the weekend." The demonstrators, who called themselves Tornillo: The Occupation, denied that the protest left behind any permanent damage. "We took action because the museum and spaces like it exhibit a one-sided perspective of what is happening on the border," the group said in an emailed statement a few days after the protest. El Paso police are investigating. No arrests have been made. It was unclear how much the damage cost the museum. Ham did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment. The privately funded museum, which is near one of the busiest U.S. ports of entry, seeks to tell the history of the Border Patrol as the nation's views on immigration, travel and border security have changed. Congress created the U.S. Border Patrol in 1924. The agency slowly grew as its mission transformed from stopping Chinese immigrants crossing in from Mexico to its current role at a time of massive migration, cartel drug smuggling and political skirmishes. Norma Mandujano Herrera prayed before the grave of her great-grandmother, Sinforosa Perez Mandujano, where she lay interred in the St. Anthony Cemetery when a man approached her. The Monitor reports the man, 96 years old, said that not only had her great-grandmother delivered him, but she was also responsible for delivering more than 90 percent of newborns as the town midwife. "We didn't know that," Mandujano Herrera said, speaking on her and her sister's behalf. "The little we know, we've heard from townspeople." Mandujano Herrera, 54, lives in McAllen and said she doesn't visit the cemetery often, but still feels a lot of pride in her family's history, which is one of the stories found among the city's cemetery. "There's just such pride in knowing and hearing the people talking," she said. The city last month unveiled a historical marker at the cemetery granted by the Texas Historical Commission, the first such designation for the city. "The designation honors Penitas cemetery as an important and educational part of local history," Adalia De Luna, secretary of the Penitas Historical Society, said during the unveiling ceremony. "This holy place is vital to the new generation so they will not forget our past ancestors and provide awareness in the history of the community of Penitas." The small town, tucked between Palmview to the east and La Joya to the west, is believed to be the oldest settlement in the United States, De Luna said, tracing its establishment to the 1520s. Credited for founding the town are five Spanish explorers and a priest last-named Zamora whose descendants are said to be buried at the cemetery. Antonio Zamora, who was born in 1851 and buried in 1894, has the oldest marked burial at the cemetery, which has about 500 marked graves. About another 120 burials there are unmarked because some of them were handmade wooden crosses that have since rotted. Among those that are known are Mandujano, who was born Feb. 14, 1883, and died on Sept. 8, 1962. She was considered the mother of Penitas, having dedicated her life to delivering newborns. Also buried here are several veterans, including two Civil War veterans who fought for the Union Army. During the ceremony, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, spoke about what the town personally means to him, saying that when people ask him where he's from, he responds that he's from Penitas. Hinojosa, who was born in McAllen and attended school in the Mission school district, worked as a farm worker when he was a teenager. "When I first ran for public office, for state representative, my slogan was From the cotton fields of Penitas to one of the highest offices in the state of Texas,"' Hinojosa said. "This cemetery has a lot of history of your families," he said. "That cemetery is us." Enrollment growth is contributing to an acute housing shortage at Prairie View A&M University, a recurring problem that's prompting disputes over which students deserve priority for on-campus accommodation. The Houston Chronicle reports after protests from students and parents, administrators this month suspended recently announced plans to house first-year students in a portion of a residence hall now occupied primarily by juniors and seniors. But the broader housing problem, on a campus with only enough beds for about half of its students, continues to be a challenge. "For me, it was made clearer than ever that many students feel that their concerns about these persistent issues have been minimized or disregarded," Timonthy Sams, the vice president of student affairs, wrote in a letter to the Prairie View community. Prairie View A&M, a historically black university 45 miles northwest of Houston, lies in a rural area with a limited stock of off-campus housing. Finding habitation for its growing student body has been a problem intermittently for years. Prairie View reached its highest enrollment -- a total of 9,516 students -- in fall 2018, an increase of more than 1,200 students from fall 2015. A total of 4,366 beds, roughly 46 percent of fall enrollment, are available on-campus for students, according to a university spokeswoman. David Allen, the mayor of the town of Prairie View, said he first learned about problems with student housing in the 1990s. "It made the news," said Allen, who was living in Los Angeles at the time. "I was like, `Wow.' (Growing enrollment) was a good problem to have, but in my mind it was bad because it hadn't been actively acted on in the city. . It's not as though we didn't have space." Recent graduate Keeawnya Cole, 22, who is from California, said she first experienced the university's "housing crisis" during her junior year in fall 2016, when she was homeless for around six weeks. At the time, many students were pushed off-campus due to what she says was an overflow. Cole and some of her friends resorted to keeping their luggage in their cars and shacked up with friends on-campus, even though this violated university rules, she said. "We were are a tight knit-community, and we're going to help each other out," Cole said, but being without stable housing was tough. "We made it work for the first couple of the weeks," said Cole, who eventually secured off-campus housing. That same year, the university offered to shuttle at least 100 students to hotels in Cypress and Hempstead because of an overflow, said Yolanda Bevill, assistant to the university president. The current controversy began Feb. 15, when Sams sent a letter to the university community saying first-year students would receive priority for on-campus housing. Portions of residence halls that primarily house upperclassmen would now accommodate incoming students, the letter stated. Sams' letter cited University of Nevada at Reno research showing that first- and second-year students living on campus earned a higher grade point average and were more likely to enroll the following year than those living off-campus. He said an "off-campus office initiative" would be launched to replicate components for on-campus living, and he directed potentially displaced students to the university's online directory for off-campus housing. Sams' plan quickly faced resistance. At a recent town hall meeting, students expressed concerns that students beyond their first year would be displaced due to high enrollment, according to Angel Butler, a sophomore architecture major. "We don't have anywhere to go," Butler said. Students took to social media, some using the hashtag (hash)pantherswithouthomes and (hash)PVTownhall to express their displeasure. "They just spent ($61 million) for a new stadium, but didn't implement housing," said Cole, the recent graduate. Butler created a Change.org petition addressed to university President Ruth Simmons in hopes of accumulating 5,000 signatures to amplify students' voices and express their concerns. Many signers vocalized their anger in the comment section. "As a parent I have been simmering on this all weekend," Jamala Thomas wrote, adding that the surrounding area of Prairie View doesn't have diverse housing options. She added that if her daughter had to move off-campus, "I will be forced to have her look at transfer opportunities at TAMU!" Butler said a protest was planned, but was canceled after Sams responded in another letter. "I want you to know that I heard your concerns and have decided to suspend plans to utilize a portion of University Square for first-year housing next year," Sams wrote, adding that he had learned more about students' concerns regarding housing, transportation for off-campus students and financial aid issues. Sams also announced plans to launch a task force, to include students, to help devise a housing strategy. Bevill, the university spokeswoman, said students may have misunderstood the extent of possible displacement caused by shifting residence halls to first-year students: "We weren't talking about a large population," she said. Still, Sams' retraction of his changes was seen as a victory for students, said Butler. Even so, "We still have a lot of work to do," she said. The university's location in the small town of Prairie View, with a 2017 population of about 6,400, limits choices for off-campus housing. Schools in urban areas often have more options in surrounding neighborhoods, said David Houck, managing director of the higher education practice at real estate services firm JLL. A university can play a pivotal role in establishing housing demands and pricing expectations, even off campus, through decisions on how much to invest in on-campus housing, Houck said. Most available homes in Prairie View are rented to students by older couples in the community, Cole said, and other facilities students where students live are usually older, according to Mayor Allen. Lack of transportation -- the one university shuttle that runs off campus is often late -- and crime in neighboring areas also have been deterrents, according to Butler and Cole. A private, off-campus development, Panther Hill Apartments, was not complete when classes began in fall 2018, and some students were offered delayed leases. In January, Sams stated that he would establish an on-campus housing office, with the university's housing coordinator already working to alleviate students' ongoing issues with Panther Hill, which included mold, water damage and rooms in need of repairs. Bevill says the demand for on-campus housing varies every year. "You can project, but I don't think you can accurately predict from semester to semester how many students will demand housing," she said. Some progress is being made. Bevill said the university plans to open a new, 540-bed on-campus facility in 2020. The university will also work on solutions to transportation issues mentioned by students. The university has also hired someone to oversee and manage enrollment. Mayor Allen said some off-campus developments are in the works as well. One project, scheduled to be completed in fall 2020, will include about 300 student rooms and surrounding retail businesses, restaurants and townhomes. Cole said students are not dissatisfied with Prairie View A&M as a whole. "We love our school, which is why we're so passionate about what's going on," Cole said. As technology advances faster than ever, how kids prepare for careers changes, too. The Facts reports while most high schools are expanding their reach through specific career and technical education programs such as video game programming, one teacher at Sweeny Elementary School thought career prep could start even earlier -- with drones. "I bought my daughter a drone last year for Christmas and she loved it immediately," said Matthew Way, STREAM lab teacher at Sweeny Elementary School. "I started thinking in my mind of a way to incorporate drones with the students' learning because I knew it would engage them." The school's STREAM, or Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math, lab program is designed to expose kids to as much as they can be exposed to at an early age so they can discover their passions early-on. "We're not preparing kids for the future," Sweeny ISD Superintendent Tory Hill said. "We're preparing kids to create the future." Flying drones will help prepare children to create the future and will segue into the high school CTE programs. Through the course, children will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and communication. Flying a drone is also already part of many careers, like journalism, law enforcement and engineering. "We have a lot of kiddos from low-income families in this district and disadvantaged enrollment has a high rate at the elementary school in particular," Sweeny Elementary School Principal Michael Heinroth said. "More exposure at school takes the pressure off of families and opens the door for these kiddos who would never get to do this otherwise." Once the course officially starts next year, enrolled fourth-grade students will break up into four roles -- a job pilot, a data analyst, a spotter and a materials person. First, the students will learn on a simulator in a computer lab. Once they get to flying, Way will focus on teaching kids the difference between a toy and a tool, partly by having students learn to care for and fix the drone. Right now, three fourth-grade students in particular -- Vance Smyth, Gabriel Hernandez and Myla Way, Matthew Way's daughter -- are hoping to join the program once it officially launches. They all worked on a drone project already in the STREAM lab class as an introduction to the drone course. "Here, it's kind of easier because we get to do it on an iPad," Hernandez said. "I have a drone at home, a little one with a controller, and it's hard because I kept crashing it into the roof." Next year, if they participate in the course, they'll be able to teach fourth-grade students what they already learned. This is the way the program will go each year after the first year to help fifth-grade students develop leadership skills, Way said. The drone class will focus on all aspects of STREAM just like other lab projects. Students at Sweeny Elementary School can sign up now to be a part of the drone course for next school year. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday urged efforts to promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a meeting in Beijing. All regions and government departments should conscientiously implement the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said. The plan, an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area, covers the period from now to 2022 in the immediate term and extends to 2035 in the long term. The plan was issued on Feb. 18. Efforts should be made to promote cooperation in technology and innovation between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, said Han, adding that a series of measures would be adopted to facilitate customs clearance of personnel and goods in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the exit and entry of samples for scientific research, laboratory reagents and genetic resources. National laboratories, scientific centers, and key scientific infrastructures should be further opened to universities and research institutes in Hong Kong and Macao, Han said. He also pledged support to scientists and research institutes in the two special administrative regions to participate in international science programs and projects. Han said more favorable tax policies would be given to Hong Kong and Macao residents. Young people in Hong Kong and Macao should be encouraged to work and start businesses in the Greater Bay Area, he said, adding that a batch of innovative and venture bases should be established for them. The government will provide grants and subsidies for young people from Hong Kong and Macao who start businesses in Guangdong, and will also select and fund a batch of promising startup projects, he added. The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. Covering 56,000 square kilometers, the bay area had a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and its GDP reached around 10 trillion yuan in 2017. S Band Radar & Maps | Forecast | Weather Alerts Traffic | Send Us a Photo/Video | Live Cams A strong cold front moved across North Texas early Sunday morning bringing a reinforcing shot of unseasonably cold air and a strong north wind. The rest of Sunday will be windy and very cold. NBC 5 Weather A sustained north wind between 20 to 30 mph will be common. Some wind gusts may be up around 35 mph. Wind chills will be in the teens and 20s by Sunday afternoon. **MAKE SURE YOU TAKE COLD-WEATHER PRECAUTIONS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. PROTECT YOUR PIPES IN YOUR HOUSE AND MAKE SURE BOTH PEOPLE AND PETS HAVE THE ABILITY TO KEEP WARM** By Monday morning, the temperature will be close to a record low. The record is 20 degrees set back in 2002. Even if the temperature doesn't get to the record, it's going to feel much colder. Wind chill values will be down in the single digits to around 10 degrees for a large part of North Texas. Please make sure the kids are bundled up properly before stepping out the door for school Monday morning. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however. Temperatures will warm back up in to the 60s by Thursday and 70s for Friday and Saturday. [[414095503,C]] Get the latest forecast information from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts here. When Gary Bornstein spent $52,000 for a Tesla Model 3 last summer, he did it without taking a test drive or even seeing the car that he now owns. The Long Island, New York, financial consultant did his research and ordered the car online, a process that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is gambling on being attractive to many more buyers in the future. Musk on Thursday announced a radical change in Tesla's business model. The Silicon Valley electric car maker plans to close most of its stores worldwide and go strictly to internet sales as it tries to cut overhead so it can sell a base Model 3 for $35,000 and still make money. It's a huge risk and a major departure from the way people now buy new vehicles in the U.S. Many states require cars to be purchased from physical dealerships so buyers typically do their research online but travel to a storefront to kick the tires, make the deal and drive away. Still, experts say the time may be right. A tech-savvy generation that grew up ordering goods online from Amazon sight-unseen has reached car-buying age and is Tesla's target market. But even they may be skeptical of spending so much money without getting behind the wheel, especially for a purchase second only to the cost of buying a house. "This is a purchase that is an extended-buy purchase. It's not something you go pick up a loaf of bread, milk and you buy a Tesla," said David Koehler, a marketing professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. "People get upset just buying clothes online that don't fit them." Even Musk seemed a little apprehensive on a conference call with reporters Thursday. At one point he said there's demand for 500,000 Model 3s per year, but he also added "I don't know what the demand is." Investors also were skeptical, in part because Musk predicted a first-quarter loss after pledging to be profitable every quarter. Shares of the company took a beating Thursday and were down more than 8 percent in late-day trading. Musk, in an email to employees, wrote that 78 percent of all Model 3s were purchased online last year rather than in a store, and 82 percent of buyers did it without a test drive. He's also offering to let people return the cars and get their money back within seven days or 1,000 miles after the sale. Bornstein, 45, said spending more than $50,000 completely online felt strange, but he read numerous reviews and sat in a Model 3 at a Tesla store near his home before buying. "It was a bit of a weird feeling, definitely a leap of faith," he said. But he's happy with the car and would buy the same way again. The leap of faith may not transfer to people who want one of Tesla's more expensive models, the Models S and X, which can run well above $100,000. Bornstein said he'd be less likely to make that large of a purchase online. Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for the Edmunds.com auto pricing site, said those buyers tend to be older and less apt to buy on the internet. But Caldwell said the seven-day return policy is a way that buyers can be sure they're not making a mistake. "I think having that program probably does for a lot of people at least give them peace of mind that they can return the car if things just go sideways for them," she said. There's little data about online auto purchases. Edmunds, which provides content to The Associated Press, has found that it takes people an average of 3.5 months to buy a car, from starting research to the finish. Most of that time is spend doing online research, Caldwell said. And the used-car site Carvana, which does sales totally online, more than doubled its sales last year to over 94,000, even though it started selling vehicles in 2013. The company certifies the cars, offers buyers a warranty and has a seven-day return policy. Authorities arrested a man who they believe kidnapped and killed his wife, whose body was discovered in Mexico last month, a sheriff's sergeant said on Saturday. Investigators received word from the Calexico Police Department on Feb. 5 that the body of Rosa Isella Beltran Lopez, who had been reported missing from Jurupa Valley a week prior, was found over a thousand miles away in Pueblo Nuevo, a municipality in the northwestern Mexican state of Durango, according to Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Brosche. Her husband, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarado, was arrested in Jurupa Valley 13 days later on suspicion of first-degree murder, according to Brosche and jail records. "There are no outstanding suspects, and no threat to public safety," Brosche said. Lopez Alvarado remained in jail without bail. State police in Rhode Island are heading to Delaware to bring back a Providence man facing numerous charges in connection with the kidnapping of a young Boston mother whose body authorities say was discovered in the suspect's trunk. Louis D. Coleman has been charged with being a fugitive from another state in Delaware, and will be moved to Rhode Island to face multiple charges, including kidnapping, refusal to report a death with intent to conceal a crime and mutilation of a dead human body. It's unclear if he'll face charges in Boston, where authorities say 23-year-old Jassy Correia was last seen enjoying birthday celebrations with her friends just after midnight on Sunday at the nightclub Venu in the city's Theater District. At a news conference Friday afternoon, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said the case is complicated "with evidence in three jurisdictions." "There are moving parts in all of them. To protect the integrity of the evidence we have gathered, there are many aspects we simply cannot discuss today," said Rollins. "Whatever this case is ultimately charge, wherever it's charged and tried will be based on the evidence of the law." Her body was discovered inside the trunk of a vehicle in Delaware on Thursday, authorities said. "She was a mother, she was brave, she was strong, Correias cousin, Katia Depina, said. "She did not deserve this. She went out to celebrate her birthday and never returned home. She did not deserve this. We want justice for her death." Rollins said authorities hope to bring the case either to Boston -- either in Suffolk County or in the U.S. District Courts in Massachusetts. "Right now, for the people who love Jassy most and for the entire Suffolk community, this isn't about jurisdiction," said Rollins. "This is about a daughter. This is about a mother whose 2-year-old daughter doesn't understand where she's gone and will no longer have a mother. It's about devastating loss for family members who lost a central part of their lives." Thirty-two-year Coleman, of Providence, was taken into custody on Thursday in Delaware. He was considered a person of interest in Correias disappearance and then later a kidnapping suspect. At the Friday news conference with Rollins, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said no woman should fear going out in the city. "No family deserves this. Women should be able to traverse anywhere without fear of being harmed," said Gross. "We've had tragedies in the past but we just want the folks of ill-intent to know that this just won't be tolerated in the city." Correia, who was the mother of a 2-year-old girl, was last seen leaving the nightclub just after midnight on Sunday. Surveillance footage captured her getting into a red car with an unknown man, who is believed to be Coleman. "Women should have the right to go to any nightclub and wear what they want and not worry about being kidnapped and murdered at the end of their night," said family friend Joao Depina. Her family had been trying to reach her for days and increasingly became worried. They were unable to get in contact with her for her birthday on Tuesday and filed a missing persons report on Wednesday. Now, Correias family is seeking answers as they process the devastating tragedy. The womans relatives said they had never heard of Coleman and do not believe Correia knew him, either. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh offered his condolences to the Correia family via Twitter. He said the city is mourning the loss of Jassy Correia. A Fort Worth mother whose 12-day-old daughter died after contracting HSV-1 saved the life of another Texas infant with a powerful post she shared on Facebook. Trejo Family Herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1, is what caused the death of Emerson Trejo, Presley Trejo's only daughter. Most commonly, HSV-1 causes sores around the mouth and lips, sometimes called fever blisters or cold sores. In newborns, it can cause serve complications, or even death, if left untreated.[[505333961,R]] Trejo said in the first few days at home after Emerson's birth, she began to show signs of loss of appetite and abnormal fatigue. "She wouldn't cry in the middle of the night to eat. She was sleeping all through the night, all through the day. I was freaking out every single day," Trejo said. She told NBC 5 that she warned doctors that Emerson had a small spot inside her mouth, but Trejo claimed they told her not to worry. On Emerson's 12th day of life, Trejo said she suffered a seizure. The Trejos returned to the hospital where doctors diagnosed the virus and said it had spread to the baby's organs, which were shutting down. Emerson died that same day. "It was traumatizing. Sickening. She never woke up again. She was gone," said Elias Trejo, Emerson's father. The Trejos still don't know how Emerson contracted the virus. "I am grateful that she got to be with us and that she died in my arms. I am grateful for that, but we would much rather have her here," Presley recalled. Trejo family Two months after Emerson's death, Presley shared her story on Facebook, including pictures of their final moments with Emerson. "Everyone needs to know about this virus and what it does to children and their families! PEOPLE!!!! STOP KISSING BABIES THAT ARE NOT YOURS!!!!! WASH YOUR HANDS WHEN YOU ARE AROUND NEWBORNS!!!!!" Presley wrote. Ashley Pool, of Bryan, Texas, was one of the more than 254,000 people (and counting) to have read Presley's story on Facebook. Pool family "I cried. I cried because I just had a baby," Pool said. One week after reading Trejo's post, she said she began to notice the symptoms of HSV-1 in her newborn. She rushed her daughter to the hospital, where doctors confirmed Pool's suspicion and started the baby on antivirals before the virus could spread. "I would have never thought anything was wrong with her if I hadn't seen Presley's post. It saved Reagan's life and I'm eternally grateful for that," Pool said. A few weeks later, Pool and Trejo were able to talk, via FaceTime. "I just want to tell you thank you so much. I can't imagine how hard it is to share so soon after it happened," Pool told Trejo. NBC 5 News "I know for my husband and I, this is exactly what we wanted to do, whenever I posted this, so I'm just glad that I was able to help you and save a little baby," Trejo responded. Trejo, now pregnant with twin girls, hopes more families become aware of the danger posted by HSV-1 to newborns. "I'm so grateful for how her outcome turned out [with Ashley's daughter]. [It's] the outcome I would have wished for, for my daughter," Presley said. About one of every 3,500 babies born in the United States, or less than one percent, contracts herpes simplex virus each year, according to the March of Dimes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, from 2015-2016, 47.8 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 14-49 carried HSV-1. The virus is a common, lifelong infection with often carries no symptoms. People with symptoms may have painful blisters or sores at the site of infection. The viruses are transmitted through contact with an infected persons lesion, mucosal surface, or genital or oral secretions. Massachusetts State Police say they are investigating a possible link between the suspect in a woman's kidnapping and a series of unsolved rapes and murders. Louis D. Coleman of Providence, Rhode Island, is facing charges including kidnapping and mutilation of a body. Authorities said 23-year-old Jassy Correia was kidnapped early Sunday morning in Boston, and that her body was found in Coleman's trunk Thursday in Delaware. After Coleman's apprehension, Massachusetts State Police said they received several calls regarding the unsolved murders of two women and three rapes that occurred in Brockton between 2013 and 2014. Back in 2017, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office released a composite sketch, generated by DNA phenotyping and information compiled in the investigation. Authorities did not know how old or how large the man should be, so they formed the image of a man around 25 with a normal build. Investigators said two years ago that they wanted to talk to the man in the sketch about the murders of Ashley Mylett and Linda Schufeldt. Officials said the victims were all known as prostitutes who were "picked up" by the person who raped or killed them. All of the crimes took place between 2013 and 2014. District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in 2017 that there may be additional rape victims who are not coming forward out of fear. Bridgeport Police In Delaware, Coleman has been charged with being a fugitive from another state. He will be moved to his home state of Rhode Island to face charges in the kidnapping investigation. It is unclear at this point whether he will also face charges in Boston. Saudi Arabia announced Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, the son of the late al-Qaida leader who has become an increasingly prominent figure in the terror network. There was no immediate explanation why the royal decree stripping his citizenship, signed in November, was only becoming public now. However, the announcement comes after the U.S. government on Thursday offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture as part of its "Rewards for Justice" program. The kingdom similarly stripped Osama bin Laden's citizenship in 1994 while living in exile in Sudan when Hamza bin Laden was just a child. Where he is now remains in question. "This is an example of history rhyming," said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies who studies al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. "He's basically born right after al-Qaida is founded, so his life is totally consumed in the establishment, the formation of al-Qaida and the launching of its war against the West and America." Saudi Arabia revoked Hamza bin Laden's citizenship in November, according to a circular by the Interior Ministry quietly published Friday by the country's official gazette. State-run media in the kingdom did not report on the decision. Bin Laden is believed to have been born in 1989, the year of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, where his father became known among the mujahedeen fighters. His father returned to Saudi Arabia and later fled to Sudan after criticizing the kingdom for allowing U.S. troops to deploy in the country during the 1991 Gulf War. He later fled Sudan for Afghanistan in 1996, where he declared war against the U.S. As leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden oversaw a series of attacks, including the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen. He and others plotted and executed the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, which led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. U.S. Navy SEALs ultimately killed bin Laden in a raid on a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. For Hamza bin Laden, now believed to be around 30, his father initially worried for his safety and thought to send him away for study, but his son instead "wants to get into the fight," Joscelyn said. He's then sent away for explosives training in Pakistan. Video released by the CIA in 2017 that was seized during the Abbottabad raid shows Hamza bin Laden with a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. Previous images have only shown him as a child. The State Department said in its announcement Thursday about the $1 million bounty on him that it believes he married the daughter of Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks. Hamza bin Laden began appearing in militant videos and recordings in 2015 as an al-Qaida spokesman. "If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong," he said in his first audio recording. In recent years, the Islamic State group, which began as al-Qaida in Iraq before breaking away from the terror group, has taken much of the international attention. However, Joscelyn warned al-Qaida remains a transnational threat, something that authorities may now pay more attention to as the Islamic State group withers away in Syria. A United Nations report published last year noted that Hamza bin Laden "continued to emerge as a leadership figure in al-Qaida." It suggested both he and Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over al-Qaida after Osama bin Laden's death, "are reported to be in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas." "Al-Qaida's leadership demonstrates strategic patience and its regional affiliates exercise good tactical judgment, embedding themselves in local issues and becoming players," the U.N. report warned. "While there is as yet little evidence of a re-emerging direct global threat from al-Qaida, improved leadership and enhanced communication will probably increase the threat over time." Here are some of the top stories of the past week for the NBC 6 Weekend Digest: New Screening Measures Roll Out at Miami Airport Cutting-edge technology heading to a South Florida airport is going to cut down on the time you spend in line and will make your flight safer, according to officials. Miami International Airport is one of the first airports to obtain new machine readers at security checkpoints. It's a change the TSA predicts can cut in half the time it takes for an agent to send you on your way. For more information, click here. NBC 6s Willard Shepard has an exclusive look into new screening technology and other security measures at MIA. How Much Should You Tip? Navigating Our Tipping Economy Tipping is expected at places like restaurants and nail salons. But what about on a flight? If you thought airplanes were a tip-free zone, you might want to grab some singles before boarding. Reports say the budget carrier Frontier Airlines is now giving passengers the option to tip flight attendants for serving refreshments. In a recent Consumer Reports survey of more than 1,000 American adults, 27 percent said there are more situations today where theyre expected to tip than there were just two years ago. Have we finally reached a tipping point? Consumer Reports takes a closer look, with tips on tipping. For more information, click here. Have we finally reached a tipping point? Consumer Reports takes a closer look, with tips on tipping. Paraplegic Uber Eats Courier Has Impressive Track Record At just 16 miles per hour, it's safe to say Uber Eats courier Jesus Cassiano has one of the fastest delivery times in Miami. He beats the downtown traffic on his retrofitted wheelchair and takes pride in his ability to get customers their food fast and fresh. "Hot and fast. It's important," Jesus said. "I love the face of the customers." At age 18, Jesus was in a car accident in Brazil that led to paraplegia and the need to adapt to life in a wheelchair. Upon arriving in the United States, he knew without a doubt he had to work not just for the money, but also for his mind. For more information, click here. At just 16 miles per hour, its safe to say Uber Eats courier Jesus Cassiano has one of the fastest delivery times in Miami. NBC 6s Laura Rodriguez reports. North Miami Beach Native Talks 'Titan Games' Win James Jean-Louis proves that no matter what happens in life, with razor-sharp focus and a good support system, you can achieve your goals. The North Miami Beach native and Budweiser truck driver was crowned a champion Thursday night on the very first season of NBC's "Titan Games," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's epic, endurance-based competition series. "It was overwhelming," Jean-Louis told NBC 6 at Duffy's in North Miami Beach, where he and his loved ones gathered to watch his final Mount Olympus challenge against competitor Derik Scott. "The feeling itself of knowing that I actually won, that I'm a Titan champion, is amazing." For more information, click here. James Jean-Louis, a South Florida native, celebrated his Titan Games win with loved ones. As the number of Democrats running for president grows, the 2020 hopefuls fanned out across several early-voting states over the weekend and met with voters in some of the states that will have an early say in determining the nominee. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sherrod Brown of Ohio were in South Carolina, site of the South's first primary, drawing diverse audiences in the state where the primary electorate is largely composed of minority voters. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont made Brooklyn the official launch site of his second run for the White House, saying his campaign is tailor-made to defeat President Donald Trump. In Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts courted voters. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was scheduled to attend the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an event where politicians traditionally poke fun at the press and other politicians. Trump spoke to a gathering of conservatives in suburban Maryland, where he mocked Democrats for their framework to combat climate change and said House lawmakers pushing to expand their investigations of him are "sick." SHERROD BROWN In the final swing of a political tour as he decides whether to enter the 2020 presidential race, Brown spent time this weekend in South Carolina. He stressed his commitment to higher wages and more robust health care and acknowledged the crucial role of the early-voting state. At a Darlington County Democratic women's event, Brown said he values the important role that black women play in the primary process. South Carolina holds the first southern voting, and its Democratic primary electorate is largely African-American. "You can't be a Democrat in this country, especially in a state as diverse as Ohio - you can't be a human being who's awake and not understand that black women are the heart of the Democratic Party," Brown said. "It's black women that drive this party. It's black women that get progressives like me elected." Later Saturday, Brown was expected to speak at Dorchester County Democrats' oyster roast, an event that Booker was also scheduled to attend following a town hall discussion in Charleston. BERNIE SANDERS Sanders on Saturday launched his second presidential campaign in his birthplace of Brooklyn with a call for Americans from all walks of life to join his fight for a political revolution, one he's been waging for four decades. Calling Trump the most dangerous president in modern U.S. history, the Vermont senator said that his campaign is built to defeat Trump. After falling short in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, Sanders told supporters at a rally at Brooklyn College, which he once attended, that his campaign is saying "loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies. It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry. That is going to end." Sanders pledged to fight for "economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice." He had begun his 2016 campaign in Vermont, which he has represented in the Senate for nearly two decades. But this time, as he tries to showcase more of his personal story, Sanders kicked off his 2020 bid in the New York City borough where he grew up as the son of a Jewish immigrant and lived in a rent-controlled apartment. After Brooklyn, Sanders planned to travel to Selma, Alabama, where he will be among the politicians commemorating the anniversary of the 1965 clash known as "Bloody Sunday," when peaceful demonstrators were beaten back by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A second campaign rally this weekend was set for Chicago, where he attended the University of Chicago and was involved in civil rights protests. DONALD TRUMP Trump aired his grievances and basked in the adoration of cheering conservatives after a trying week of tumult and setbacks, giving a stemwinder of a speech that clocked in about two hours-plus and hardly left him winded or the audience disappointed. Trump let loose against House Democrats broadening their investigations of him, predicted he would win re-election by a greater margin than his 2016 victory, taunted some of his potential White House challengers and sounded themes that are staples of his rallies. The off-the-cuff remarks came at the end of the week that saw his nuclear summit with North Korea's leader collapse without an agreement, his former lawyer deliver congressional testimony about his character and business practices and Congress take action to nullify his emergency declaration to secure money for the border wall that lawmakers have denied him. Jaden Smith's foundation and a church are working to bring cleaner water to Flint, Michigan. The rapper's organization and First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church on Friday announced they'll deploy a mobile water filtration system known as "The Water Box" that reduces lead and other potential contaminants. The 20-year-old's JUST goods company collaborated with the church to design and engineer the system. He is the son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. The church has distributed over 5 million bottles of water to residents, but bottled water donations are on the decline. Flint has been replacing water lines after lead-tainted water was discovered in 2014. Lead began leaching from pipes after the city tapped the Flint River for drinking water without properly treating it to reduce corrosion. The four-month fishing ban, aiming to protect aquatic resources and biodiversity in China's rivers, started Friday. The annual ban, from March 1 to June 30, will cover the main streams, tributaries and lakes along major rivers including the Yangtze and Pearl rivers. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of east China's Jiangsu Province, working with relevant departments, launched a series of enforcement actions Friday. Nearly 30 vessels will inspect Jiangsu's main streams for at least 10 days. Zhang Jianjun, deputy director-general of the provincial agriculture and rural affairs department said that over 60,000-meter-long illegal netting tools have been cleared up, and 405 people violating fishing regulations have been penalized over the past three years. Ni Zhimin, a fisherman in Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang Province, sells the fresh fish he catches in the Qiantang River every day. Ni fished for the last time on Thursday and will wait for four months, like other fishermen, until the ban is over. The Qiantang River is the largest river in Zhejiang and is known for having the world's largest tidal bore. It accommodates over 85 percent of the freshwater fish species in the province. However, fish species in the river declined from 149 in the 1970s to 122 in 2019. From Friday, the entire river basin of the Qiantang River has imposed the fishing ban for the first time. During this period, all forms of fishing activities are banned, except recreational fishing. The agricultural department and procuratorates in Fujian Province launched a series of fishing ban promotional activities in fishing villages across the province earlier on Feb. 22. The provincial department of ocean and fisheries said a fishing ban has been imposed on the Minjiang River, a major river in Fujian. Fishing activities for research purposes must be approved by local fishery departments. Fishery authorities of southwestern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said Friday that around 15,000 fishing boats and 30,000 fishermen in the region would be affected by the fishing ban this year. On the first day of the ban, more than 300 people and over 50 vessels were dispatched to participate in a law enforcement campaign on rivers in Guangxi. So far, an unlicensed fishing boat has been captured, and illegal netting and cages have also been discovered. For those whose livelihood will be affected by the fishing ban, the local government is planning to provide subsidies for them, according to Dong Xiaogang, a local fishery department official. In eastern Anhui Province, fishery departments are trying to turn local fishermen into protectors of aquatic resources during the fishing ban period, encouraging them to play an important role in the protection of the ecological environment along the Yangtze River and help ease the problem of law enforcement officer shortage. In Chaohu Lake -- one of China's five largest freshwater lakes -- mostly situated in the city of Hefei, capital of Anhui, the fishing ban was imposed one month earlier on Feb. 1 due to different fish life cycles, according to Anhui's fishery authorities. A total of 26,000 kg of fish fry and 7,500 kg of young crabs were poured in Poyang Lake on Friday. Poyang Lake, located in east China's Jiangxi Province, is China's largest freshwater lake. To further improve the ecological environment, all aquatic life conservation areas in Jiangxi banned fishing this year, and the section of the Yangtze River in the province and Poyang Lake will ban fishing all year starting in 2020. The top tax-writing committee in the House is readying a request for years of President Donald Trumps personal tax returns that is expected to land at the Internal Revenue Service as early as the next few weeks, NBC News has learned. And Democrats are prepared to take all necessary steps, including litigation, in order to obtain them. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., has asked the committees attorneys to prepare the request, according to two aides involved in the process. What to Know The two first met on Tinder, where the girl told Sean Rickard that she was 19. The girl told Rickard that she was 12 before they first met in person - he said that he "didn't care." Rickard is being held on $100,000 bail. Felony charges were filed on Friday against a 21-year-old Anaheim man accused of sexually assaulting a 12 year-old girl he met through a dating app. Sean Michael Rickard is charged with three counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and one count each of distributing pornography to a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct and luring a child with the intent to commit a specified crime. Rickard, who's being held on $100,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned sometime on Friday in the Santa Ana jail courtroom. A charter school student in Santa Ana, California, saw the alleged victim get into a car with an adult man Wednesday and snapped a photo that she showed her mother, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. "She told her mom she thought it was weird, so the mom did the right thing and contacted the school and the school did the right thing and contacted us," Bertagna said. Police determined who the girl was and began investigating Rickard, Bertagna said. The two met through the Tinder app about eight months ago, when she claimed to be 19 years old, he said. A few weeks ago, before they would meet in person, she confided that she was 12 "and he (said he) didn't care," Bertagna alleged. On Wednesday, Rickard allegedly drove the girl to a parking lot in Santa Ana, where they engaged in a sex act, Bertagna said. After police began investigating Rickard, they communicated with the suspect through the girl's phone, pretending to be the alleged victim, Bertagna said. Rickard sent a video of himself masturbating, and when he agreed to a meeting, the officers were there to arrest him, Bertagna said. Some of the most powerful winter storms on record in California lashed the state in 1982 and 1983, resulting in severe weather-related hazards that long-time residents understood as part of living in Southern California -- flooding, dangerous surf pounding coastal communities, landslides and damaging winds. But on March 1, 1983, something terrifyingly unfamiliar rampaged through neighborhoods south of downtown Los Angeles, destroying homes and businesses, flipping cars, hurling debris and ripping part of the roof from the LA Convention Center. A college program in Claremont is giving parolees a second chance by preparing them for college. Patrick Healy reports live for NBC4 News at 5 on Friday, June 17, 2017. A tornado packing winds between 113 and 157 mph had struck Los Angeles. It left a scene of devastation usually associated with the Midwest and southern plains. When it comes to natural disasters, Los Angeles is a city more associated with earthquakes. Unlike "drop, cover and hold on," taking shelter in the lowest level of a sturdy building was something different. "The thing I remember the most about the 1983 tornado in Los Angeles was what an anomaly it was," said NBC4 forecaster Fritz Coleman, who had joined the station a year earlier. "When the story aired, we thought, 'Wow, this is a historic event.'" It was a convergence of weather events that developed over the final days of February off the California coast that produced the rare and frightening historic event. "You need rotation in the atmosphere, and some sort of storm to be able to lift some of that rotation," said NBC4 forecaster David Biggar. "We ended up with surface winds that were coming out of the south. But above it, up in the upper atmosphere, we had winds coming out of the west, and that creates this natural rotation through the atmosphere." KNBC-TV On the morning of March 1, 1983, Southern California faced the threat of flooding and mudslides due to the major winter storm, one in an unrelenting series that clobbered California over two months. The city's Emergency Operations Center had already been activated. It was just before 8 a.m. when the tornado began carving its way through neighborhoods near downtown Los Angeles. A city fire department ambulance team responding to a separate call first reported a funnel-type cloud near 47th Street and Broadway at 7:59 a.m. Reports of wind damage followed. Fire Station 15 received a report of a woman trapped in a car near Hill Street and Jefferson Boulevard. When they arrived, they found cars scattered by wind, downed power poles and seemingly endless debris. The call went out for help -- the area needed to be checked for more victims. The map below shows the tornado's path. Closely paralleling the 110 Freeway, the tornado affected an area about 3.75 miles long and one-third of a mile wide. Moving in a generally south-to-north direction, the tornado passed within a quarter-mile of downtown high-rise buildings. Click here for a Google Earth map showing the tornado's path. The prime disaster area was designated between 7th Street to the north and Slauson Avenue to the south, the 110 Freeway on the west and Central Avenue to the east. The tornado was classified at the time as an F2, which can produce winds of 113 to 157 mph. And, in Southern California's mild weather, most buildings weren't built to withstand that kind of rotating wind. Nine people were killed. More than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed. More than 30 people were injured. KNBC-TV Without modern technology like camera phones, stunned witnesses recounted their perspectives on the destruction. "I saw it coming, a big grayish, blackish swirling ball," Irene Willis told the Los Angeles Times. "It went right over the top of the post office there on Broadway and hit me like a ton of bricks. "I had no control of my car. I didn't know if my car was on the ground or in the air. My windshield got knocked out -- a big board went right through it and went past my shoulder and landed in the back seat. It sounded like a bunch of freight trains going by." At about the time the tornado developed, a skilled weather observer and professor in the geography department at USC just happened to be instructing a basic meteorological observations class on the roof of the campus' eight-story Vivian Hall. The location was just west of the tornado's path. The professor described the sound of "roaring freight trains," a common characteristic of tornadoes. The roof of the LA Convention Center, built in 1971, was partially torn of and large letters were ripped from the marquee over the building's entrance. National Research Council March 1, 1983 was an unusual, but not unprecedented, day for LA. There is a line in the National Research Council's report on the tornado that mentions similar tornadoes occurred in Southern California in the past and there's no reason to assume it won't happen again. "It's not as rare as you might think," Biggar said. "A tornado of this kind of strength is rare. But LA County, since about 1950, I think we've had about four or five of these of that kind of strength. "But I think this is probably very unique in where it was placed." NBC4's David Biggar and Friz Coleman contributed to this report. What to Know The baby boy was left with a friend of his mother Saturday night. He was left alone with an 11-year-old girl when her mother ran an errand Sunday morning. When an adult returned to the home, 911 was called. The girl admitted assaulting the baby, causing the injuries that led to his death days later, police said. An 11-year-old girl admitted assaulting a baby boy, leading to his death this week, Prince George's County police said. Paxton Davis was in the care of the girl's family Sunday morning when the girl's mother ran an errand, leaving the 1-year-old boy alone with the girl in her Suitland, Maryland, home, police said. When an adult returned to the home, they called 911. Paxton suffered severe upper body injuries and was taken to Children's National, where he was taken off life support Thursday afternoon. I got in the room for a second by myself," Paxton's mother said, "and I talked to him and I said, Baby, you dont have to fight no more. You dont have to fight for Mommy no more. Im at peace. I know you wasnt here forever. God gave you to me to borrow. It would be selfish to leave you on life support.'" Paxton's family, who had just celebrated his first birthday on Feb. 8, said they initially were told Paxton fell. But police determined the child had been assaulted. It was clear from the beginning that the injuries Paxton suffered were not consistent with the normal play of a 1-year-old, Prince Georges County police Maj. Brian Reilly said. The girl admitted to assaulting Paxton, police said. She was charged as a juvenile with first-degree child abuse and was taken to a juvenile facility. In my time, Im not aware of somebody this young being charged with this serious of an offense out of our homicide unit, Reilly said. Police didn't name the girl. She had never cared for the baby before, though Paxton had spent time at the home before, as his mother was a friend of the family, police said. Paxton had been left with the family Saturday night. The motive for the assault is under investigation. I dont know what motive there would be in a situation like this, for an 11-year-old to intentionally inflict injuries on a 1-year-old, Reilly said. Under Maryland law, a child cannot be left unattended without proper supervision by a reliable person at least 13 years of age. Police said in a statement that any further charges would be determined in consultation with the State's Attorney's Office. Paxtons mother said she believes the girls mother should be charged. A memorial fund has been created for Paxton. The United States is calling for a vote on a U.N. resolution urging "the peaceful restoration of democracy" in Venezuela, free and fair presidential elections, unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to all people in need and making clear its support for opposition leader Juan Guaido. The draft resolution is expected to be put to a vote Thursday afternoon, a council diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an expected announcement. But it is likely to face a veto from Russia, which backs Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the May 20 election that kept him in power. The proposed resolution, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, also expresses "deep concern" at "the violence and excessive use of force by Venezuelan security forces against unarmed, peaceful protesters" and "recent attempts to block the delivery of humanitarian aid." At a Security Council meeting Tuesday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the weekend attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to carry in aid shipments from Colombia nothing but a "humanitarian show" created by the United States. He said the Trump administration's sole aim is "regime change, including with threats to do so via foreign intervention" in violation of the U.N. Charter's principle of noninterference in the affairs of another country. Elliott Abrams, the U.S. envoy for Venezuela, shot back: "I reject from start to finish, I reject from top to bottom, accusations of military interventions from a country that is occupying the territory of Georgia and Ukraine." Before the council meeting, Abrams told reporters that U.S. policy "is to use as much diplomatic and economic and political pressure as we can" along with the dozens of countries backing Guaido "to support the Venezuelan people's desire for democracy." The U.S. draft resolution to be voted on makes some significant changes from the administration's initial draft, in what one diplomat called an attempt to address Russian concerns. Russia had circulated a rival draft resolution "expressing concern over the threats to use force" against Venezuela and "to intervene" in its domestic matters. Its draft reaffirmed that international disputes should be settled peacefully and urged that the Venezuelan situation to be settled "through peaceful means." The initial U.S. draft's only mention of "peace" was to recognize "the disruption to peace and security in the region caused by the actions of a regime that have caused an economic collapse." More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled their homeland in recent years in search of food, medicine and opportunities elsewhere in the region. The final U.S. draft doesn't mention the use or threatened use of force but it does make several references to peace. It "calls for the start of a peaceful political process leading to free, fair and credible presidential elections." It "supports the peaceful restoration of democracy and rule of law in Venezuela." And it asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "to help ensure free, fair, and credible presidential elections, and encourages subsequent peaceful, inclusive, and credible initiatives to address the prolonged crisis in the country." The Russians, however, are likely to object to another statement in the new U.S. text. It notes "the constitutional authority of the democratically elected National Assembly," which Guaido heads, and commends its efforts to release political prisoners, fight corruption and provide amnesties to civilian and military officials who support "the restoration of democracy." As for aid, the Trump administration's initial draft expressed "deep concern" at "recent attempts to block the delivery of humanitarian aid" and stressed the need to facilitate access and delivery of aid to all Venezuelans in need similar language to the final draft, which added a call for "unhindered access." The rover and the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work after "sleeping" during their second lunar night on the far side of the moon. The lander woke up at 7:52 a.m. Friday, and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at about 10:51 a.m. Thursday. Both of them are in normal condition, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. China's Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8 in 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3. A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang'e-4 probe switched to a dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power. As a result of the tidal locking effect, the moon's revolution cycle is the same as its rotation cycle, and it always faces Earth with the same side. The far side of the moon has unique features, and scientists expect Chang'e-4 could bring breakthrough findings. The scientific tasks of the Chang'e-4 mission include low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure, and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms. The Chang'e-4 mission embodies China's hope to combine human wisdom in space exploration, with four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia. Its been just over a month since the federal government reopened, yet Dallas airport transportation security administration officer Becky Mancha is still waiting to receive part of a paycheck she missed during the partial government shutdown. Unfortunately, the checks are not coming up correctly, so now I'm trying to figure out exactly what they paid me for and what am I missing, Mancha said. She is just one of 800,000 federal workers who were either furloughed or worked without pay during the longest government shutdown in American history. Mancha and others say the experience has left them insecure, frustrated and scrambling to pay their bills, even a month later. TSA released a statement Friday which reads, Of the 60,000 employees, unfortunately, approximately 1,000 have experienced pay discrepancies. This partial payment was complicated by a payroll process that goes from TSA to the National Finance Center (NFC). For the next few months, Mancha and other federal employees whose paychecks were withheld during the partial government shutdown say they are going to be behind schedule when it comes to paying bills. I'm just catching up with all of my bills, making sure I'm up to date. I deferred the payments and now there is more interest and additional payments, things like that, said Mancha, who added that she had to hold off on buying books for her daughter in college. Air traffic controller Nick Daniels, who works at Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center, said one of his young colleagues resorted to working at Starbucks to make ends meet during the shutdown. They're having to work at Starbucks ... having to take up a second job before they control your plane and learn how to, for the rest of their career, never make a mistake and never have an error, Daniels said. Daniels was able to get help from companies like Chase and Freedom Mortgage. "I cannot tell you how relieving it was to have somebody on your side and somebody willing to help you out in such a time of uncertainty while you're being required to work without pay, he said. During the shutdown, which began Dec. 22 and ended Jan. 25, affected federal workers missed nearly $2 billion in pay each week, according to a report from Congress nonpartisan budgeting research office. The total amount, about $9 billion, averages out to about $11,250 in income not paid to each affected worker during the shutdown. And while the government committed to reimbursing those employees though not contractors the Congressional Budget Offices report also noted another complication: some workers may have a higher proportion of taxes withheld from their larger-than-usual reimbursement checks, unless they adjusted their tax withholding to account for the change. The federal Office of Management and Budget did not respond to requests for information on how many employees have yet to be paid back in full and what is causing any delay. Three members of Congress wrote a letter to the OMB on Feb. 12 asking them to answer a series of questions by Feb. 26. The OMB has not answered as of Friday morning, according to the office one of the members, Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va. Not all of my constituents have received their full back pay, said Wexton, who represents a portion of Northern Virginia where many D.C.-area federal workers live. She added that the OMB has not been transparent enough about the issue. For Victor Payes, a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport and a single father of two daughters, the lost pay meant he had to borrow money to pay his bills on time. I had to take out a loan last month just to make sure I was able to pay rent for February, otherwise I would have been late, Payes said. This is taking away from my credit score because now I owe more money. Many federal employees lived within restricted means during the shutdown. Ones who live paycheck to paycheck had to take out loans, go to food banks and strategically chose what to spend on. The Capital Area Food Bank, which serves the D.C. area, said that its Hunger Lifeline emergency food assistance referral service website had five times as many visitors this January compared to last. A spokeswoman said the organizations pop-up markets served 5,000 federal workers and contractors through direct distribution efforts during the government shutdown. A missed paycheck has a ripple effect, said Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport TSA agent Laymon Lightfoot, who worked without pay during the shutdown. It controls and restricts your movement and your freedom to do things. Even just getting to work was a challenge because of the costs of gas, Lightfoot said. The shutdown also affected morale of federal employees, leaving lasting emotional impacts in a way that felt different from previous shutdowns, according to Jenny Brown, who has worked for the IRS for 33 years and is the Chapter 67 president of the National Treasury Employees Union. I've talked to a lot of people who say that they feel broken. It is hard to go back to work, and so loyally, when you know you can just get shut down like that for five weeks, Brown said. Fear of another government shutdown is changing how some workers approach saving. Brown said shell stop having her lawn fertilized professionally and save that money instead. I am putting as much money as I can into my savings account, Brown said. Traditionally, one of the benefits of working for the federal government is job security, since many federal workers are protected by strong unions. But many federal employees considered switching jobs during the shutdown. Brown said she knows a few people who found different jobs during the 35-day shutdown and decided to stay there permanently to avoid ever being so directly affected by a federal shutdown again. Lightfoot hopes to eventually find a job within the federal government in a sector that would not be affected by a government shutdown, like the post office. Several unions that represent federal employees are suing the government over the shutdown. The largest such union, the American Federation of Government Employees, claims the government forcing work without pay is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law says we are entitled to our paychecks in a timely basis and that did not happen this time around, said Payes, the LA TSA agent. We just can't be held hostage to solve political disputes as the work we do is so important, he added. A man has been arrested after a prominent Pakistani scholar was fatally shot Friday morning just steps away from his home in Southeast D.C. in what police are calling a neighbor dispute. Hilman Jordan, 45, of Southeast, was detained and charged in the death of 64-year-old Jawaid Bhutto, his upstairs neighbor and a well-known former professor of philosophy at Sindh University in Pakistan. Jordan faces a count of first-degree murder while armed. Police said they responded to the 2600 block of Wade Road at approximately 11 a.m. Friday after receiving a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering an apparent gunshot wound. Bhutto was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. There, he was pronounced dead. "We have a neighborhood dispute. Somebody decides to introduce a firearm into that dispute. Now we have a family who's lost somebody," said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham. Friends and family of Bhutto said they are overcome with grief. He was my closest confidant, said Nafisa Hoodbhoy, the victims wife. We shared everything. I would say to him that, you know, 'I would much rather pass away before you,' and he would say, 'No, I couldnt bear that so I think Im going to go before you,'" she said. Bhutto stopped teaching after arriving to the United States more than a decade ago, but his impact lived on, said Mushtaq Rajpar, one of his former students. He was an intellectual," Rajpar said. "He was not only a teacher. A giant man. He was a literary man. A very well-read person. He was so engaging, he said. Some of his students back home in Pakistan are very, they are activists you know, they are teachers. He produced people. His wife said shes been hearing nonstop from people in Pakistan who are mourning him. "They're crying in Sindh," she said. "Every home has turned into kind of place where people are bemoaning the loss of someone people considered one of their own." Hoodbhoy added she and Bhutto had talked about returning home to Pakistan for a couple of weeks to reconnect with their loved ones. "We were planning that trip when this happened yesterday," she said. Authorities say a group claiming to be part of the Black Panther Party protested inside a Loudoun County, Virginia, school where teachers instructed students to pretend to be slaves for a gym activity last month. An employee at Madison's Trust Elementary School called 911 Friday morning and said people were being disorderly inside the school's office. School officials told deputies that the group of six people entered the school's vestibule after following a parent and a student who were cleared to enter the school. The group then continued into the office and some members asked to speak with a school administrator "to discuss how recent events in the news surrounding the school were being addressed," the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a release. When an adminstrator said he couldn't discuss personnel matters, the group left and chanted "No justice, no peace," according to the sheriff's office. When deputies arrived, they found the group, wearing all black, was calm while leaving the school. They were compliant and told the deputies they were with the Black Panther Party, the sheriff's office said. There were no threats made to the school or staff, but a school officer stayed on campus for the rest of the school day, according to the sheriff's office. The sheriff's office said it is investigating security at the school in light of the "breach of visitor access." Last month, Principal David Stewart apologized to parents after students were instructed to act like runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad for a Black History Month lesson during gym class. "The lesson was culturally insensitive to our students and families. I extend my sincerest apology to our students and school community," Stewart said in the letter sent on Feb. 12. Students in grades 3-5, including African-American students, were split into groups and challenged to overcome a physical obstacle. Some of the students pretended they were escaped slaves, Loudoun NAACP Chapter President Michelle Thomas said. "It's awful," Thomas previously told News4. "It's really insulting. It makes me feel unsafe because I have kids in Loudoun County Public Schools." Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Eric Williams said in a later statement the school system would make the following changes to address address racism, cultural insensitivity and inequity: Creating an "Equity and Cultural Competence Specialist" position for fiscal year 2020. "This person will organize cultural competence and implicit bias training for all teachers and administrators. Previously, this training had been optional for teachers and administrators, and it will now be required," Williams said. An outside expert will conduct an equity audit this spring to gather perspectives on racial and cultural insensitivity. The school system will then devise a longterm plan based on the results. The school board's budget for 2020 includes a position "dedicated to equity in education." The school board will create a group to address equity in education. "We acknowledge that this incident at Madisons Trust is a symptom of a broader issue. The diversity in Loudoun County is one of our greatest strengths, but Loudoun County is also a place where equity has proven a challenge for many decades," Williams said. "We have struggled with inequities in student achievement gaps, discipline disproportionality, underrepresentation of minority students in advanced programs and courses, and the lack of a diversified teacher workforce." The incident came after several top officials in Virginia, including Gov. Ralph Northam, were embroiled in a blackface scandal. Sen. Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday miles from the rent-controlled apartment where he grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully made the case that he is nothing like fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat the incumbent in 2020. "My experience as a child, living in a family that struggled economically, powerfully influenced my life and my values. I know where I came from," Sanders boomed in his unmistakable Brooklyn accent. "And that is something I will never forget." The Democrats in the 2020 race have taken varied approaches to Trump, with some avoiding saying his name entirely, while others make implicit critiques of his presidency. Sanders has never shied from jabbing Trump in stark terms, and during his speech at Brooklyn College, he called Trump "the most dangerous president in modern American history" and said the president wants to "divide us up." The Vermont senator positioned himself in opposition to Trump administration policies from immigration to climate change. Beyond the issues themselves, Sanders, who grew up in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Flatbush in a middle-class family, drew a stark contrast between himself and the billionaire in the White House who hails from Queens. "I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs," said Sanders, who has lived in Vermont for decades. He pegged his allowance as a kid at 25 cents a week. Sanders also said he "did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers, 'You're fired.'" "I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over every day workers," he added. More than 200 miles away in suburban Washington, Trump reveled in his 2016 victory and said Republicans "need to verify it in 2020 with an even bigger victory." While Trump didn't mention Sanders explicitly in a two-hour speech, he railed against the policies of "socialism" in a continued attempt to portray Democrats as out of touch with ordinary Americans. Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist. "Socialism is not about the environment, it is not about justice, it is not about virtue. It is only about one thing - it is called power for the ruling class," Trump said. "We know the future does not belong to those who believe in socialism" Speaking at the same conference Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence called Sanders an "avowed socialist." Sanders enters the race at a moment that bears little resemblance to when he waged his long-shot bid in 2016. Democrats have been mobilized by the election of Trump and are seeking a standard-bearer who can oust him from office. Many of Sanders' populist ideas have been embraced by the mainstream of the Democratic party. The field of Democrats that he joins includes a number of liberal candidates, most notably Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who share similar sensibilities. As Sanders launched his campaign in Brooklyn, Warren was campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa and was questioned repeatedly about Sanders. Though the two have been friends since before they came to the Senate, Warren did not endorse Sanders in 2016, a decision that angered his supporters. "I'm going to be blunt - we can't go back and relitigate 2016," she told a voter who asked why she declined to back Sanders. "We've gotta keep our focus on how we're going to win in 2020." Later asked by reporters how she'll distinguish herself from Sanders, she said she would focus on issues, and emphasized the need for the Democratic field to stick together. "The way I see it, I got plenty to talk about as it is about the structural change we need in this country and laying out how we can do this. This is hopeful. People come and they hear what's broken, that we can fix it and that we do it together." Sanders' rally was his first campaign event since announcing a week ago that he would run against for the White House. Hours before his speech in Brooklyn College's East Quad, a line of supporters snaked down the snowy streets. A reggae band played before Sanders spoke, and he was introduced by a number of supporters including Nina Turner, the former Ohio state senator who is a co-chair of Sanders' campaign this year, and Shaun King, the writer and civil rights activist. King cited Sanders' participation in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when he was a student at the University of Chicago. "This is the origin story of an American revolutionary," King said of Sanders, who will return to Chicago on Sunday evening for a second campaign rally, where he's expected to further highlight his own activism. Paul Crewdson, 37, of Brooklyn, came to the rally carrying a hand-drawn cardboard sign that read, "Win Michigan, Win Ohio, Win Wisconsin." "I think this was the reason that Democrats lost in 2016," he said. As he began his speech, Sanders himself hinted at how he sees the race, a campaign that runs beyond the battlegrounds. "This is a 50-state campaign," he said. "We will not concede a single state to Donald Trump." Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Kevin Freking and Zeke Miller contributed to this report. About 18 months after the Trump administration threatened to withhold law enforcement grants from nearly 30 places around the country it felt weren't doing enough to work with federal immigration agents, all but one have received or been cleared to get the money, the Justice Department said. In most cases, courts chipped away at the crackdown that escalated in November 2017 with letters from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to 29 cities, metro areas, counties or states it considered as having adopted "sanctuary policies" saying those policies may violate federal law. Of those 29 jurisdictions which include cities as large as Los Angeles and as small as Burlington, Vermont only Oregon has yet to be cleared to receive the grants from 2017, a Justice Department spokesman told The Associated Press this week. Vermont officials announced Monday that they had been told the state Department of Public Safety would be getting $2.3 million in law enforcement grants that had been blocked. Vermont had not joined any of the legal cases, instead corresponding directly with the Justice Department. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, declared victory, saying the money would be used primarily on anti-drug efforts. "State and local law enforcement agencies already are stretched thin, and withholding these federal grants only makes their work more difficult," Leahy said in an email to the AP. "It's unthinkable that the Trump Justice Department would hold these funds hostage over an unrelated dispute on immigration policy." Last summer, the U.S. Conference of Mayors sued in Illinois on behalf of its member cities focusing on the issue. In September, a federal court temporarily blocked the Justice Department from withholding the funds for the jurisdictions represented by the conference. The conference's litigation is now focused on making the order affecting the 2017 grants permanent and apply to 2018 grants, as well, said Kate O'Brien, a Chicago attorney who represented the mayors. Other federal courts have ruled against the Justice Department. Similar cases are being litigated across the country, and the Justice Department is considering appealing some unfavorable rulings. The Trump administration has long argued that places that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities, often called "sanctuary cities," pose a threat to public safety. "I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk," Sessions said in a statement in January 2018. "Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law." The details differ by jurisdiction, but the Justice Department felt law enforcement agencies in those communities weren't sufficiently committing themselves to cooperating with federal immigration agents when officers came in contact with people who might not be in the country legally. Aside from confirming the clearance of grants to the 28 jurisdictions , Justice Department spokesman Steven Stafford declined to comment. Some, but not all, of the 28 jurisdictions were cleared for the grants without changing the policies that triggered the original concern from the Justice Department, now led by Attorney General William Barr. And not all of the places actually have the money in hand yet, or have been told they've been cleared to get it. Ken Martinez, the county attorney for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, said officials there had yet to hear about 2017 grant funding and are eager to get it. "It will be incredibly helpful," Martinez said. "I can tell you there's been a high level of frustration from people on both sides of the issue." In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Justice Department was concerned about the wording of a city resolution dealing with police investigations involving citizenship or immigration status. A year ago, a memo was sent to city employees saying they "may" share information with federal authorities. "So no funds (were) lost on our end," said police Sgt. David Lefont, noting the total was less than $100,000. That some of the threatened cities ended up changing their policies amounts to at least a partial victory for the Trump administration, said Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center For Immigration Studies, which advocates for tight restrictions on immigration. "What it looks like to me, the Trump Administration is not able to fully enforce cooperation with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to the extent they would like to, but it is able to fully enforce compliance with existing federal law that some sanctuary jurisdictions have had to change their policies in order to get their money," Vaughan said. But other jurisdictions were cleared to get the money without having to change anything. "The court in our cases, and in similar cases throughout the country, has found the attorney general is not authorized to impose these conditions," said O'Brien, the attorney for the mayors' group. The Vermont settlement of the 2017 grants is among the last. Even before the 2017 letters were sent, federal courts across the country had begun to rule against the Trump administration's efforts. And they continue. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Feb. 15 that the Justice Department exceeded its authority and ordered a permanent, nationwide injunction against requiring police departments to cooperate with immigration authorities in order to receive the grants. Oregon, the only one of the 29 jurisdictions not yet cleared for the 2017 grants, last fall filed its own lawsuit against the Justice Department. The lawsuit, which also covers grants for 2018, accused Trump and Matthew Whitaker, acting attorney general at the time, of trying to "impermissibly commandeer the resources" of Oregon and its largest city, Portland. "For years, these grants have provided millions of dollars to law enforcement in Oregon," Rosenblum said in November. "But, suddenly these public safety funds have been withdrawn because Oregon will not submit to U.S. DOJ's demand that Oregon participate in its immigration enforcement efforts." Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Eliot Spagat, Paul Elias, Susan Montoya Bryan, Andrew Selsky and AP News Researcher Jennifer Farrar. Ask Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker what the biggest threat is to the state's sizzling economy, and he's likely to say the sluggish growth in new housing. The paucity of new housing, according to Baker, is driving up rental and mortgage costs, forcing workers to move farther and farther from where they work, putting extra pressure on the state's overburdened transportation system and in turn making it harder for the firms fueling the state's economic surge to find the employees they need. "If you can't produce housing, you can't solve any of our problems," Baker told reporters this week after detailing a housing bill that largely mirrored a bill he submitted to lawmakers last session but was never voted on. The Republican said the bill is crucial to his administration's goal of 135,000 new housing units in Massachusetts by 2025. Baker said that after producing about 30,000 new housing units each year for four decades, the state has fallen to building 8,000 to 10,000 new homes during the past 25 years. The bill would make a number of changes to laws governing the building of new housing. One of the most critical changes would be to reduce the voting threshold for a certain zoning permits issued by local permit-granting authorities from a two-thirds "supermajority" vote to a simple majority vote. It may sound arcane, but Baker and the bill's backers say streamlining the process could help speed the production of more housing. The bill has the backing of more than a dozen mayors and city managers in the Boston area, including Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan and Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch _ all Democrats. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who also supports Baker's bill, called the lack of enough housing "the most critical issue impacting communities like mine." She described some of the bureaucratic hurdles needed to create housing, including eight months spent trying to get some initial approvals on a project to turn former Roman Catholic school buildings in Salem, currently vacant, into housing. "The character of our community's at risk right now. The folks who pour your coffee and pour your beer and you enjoy seeing working downtown are fast not being able to live in the city where they work," the Democrat said at a Wednesday news conference called by Baker. "It has to do with rising rents, rising housing prices and not enough housing production in our community across all spectrums." Some housing advocates say the state should focus on creating stronger protections to aid longtime tenants facing eviction because of gentrification and soaring rents. Lynn United for Change, a volunteer-based community organization focused on fighting unjust evictions and foreclosures, sounded a skeptical note about Baker's proposal. "Lower income/working class people are experiencing a crisis of evictions/displacement/unaffordability right now. That's why we won't settle for a bill that helps wealthier people, the RE industry, etc. but ignores our needs," the group tweeted Thursday. "We need concrete steps toward more (hash)housing production AND more affordability + tenant protections. NOT action on production but vague promises on the rest. The damage caused by destroying communities through displacement is irreversible; help is needed NOW," the group added. Baker said he's not discouraged about the bill's failure to gain traction in the Legislature during the last session. He said he hopes for a better reception as the Legislature, controlled by Democrats, ramps up its new two-year session. Doing nothing to address the state's housing challenges isn't an option, Baker said. "This problem gets worse every year that goes by and we don't do something about it," Baker said, advocating for a bit of patience along with the sense of urgency. "I've been involved in plenty of issues over the years where it took more than one trip through the branches to get something done," he said. "Sometimes complicated stuff takes a while." The Maine town of Berwick and first responders around New England are mourning the loss of a Berwick firefighter who died while battling an apartment building fire. Captain Joel Barnes died and four other firefighters were injured Friday. Berwick Fire Chief Dennis Plante says the 32-year-old Barnes "died a hero, battling a large and dangerous building fire'' and "made the ultimate sacrifice for his community.'' Barnes was a paramedic and served as the Berwick Fire and Rescue training officer and emergency medical services coordinator. Before joining Berwick Fire in 2016, he previously worked for South Berwick Rescue, York Ambulance, and the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department. He was also actively involved with the Acton Fire Department as a per diem firefighter. "Firefighters run toward danger and into places that everyone else is running away from. Captain Barnes lost his life saving others, while we honor him, we are struck with a profound sense of grief today," said Berwick Town Manager Stephen G. Eldridge. "On behalf of the enter Berwick community, I wish to thank everyone for their offers of support and expressions of condolence." The town says the Berwick police and fire crews escorted the captain's body from the medical examiner's office in Concord, New Hampshire, to the Tasker Funeral Home in Dover, New Hampshire, on Saturday while firefighters and police were stationed in salute over major overpasses of Route 4. The procession was joined by the Dover Fire Department as it reached city limits. Gov. Janet Mills says Barnes "will be forever remembered for his courage and service to our state.'' U.S. Sen. Susan Collins called Barnes a hero "who lost his life while bravely seeking to save the lives of others." "Maine will be eternally grateful for his sacrifice and for all of our firefighters who face extreme danger to protect our communities," Sen. Collins wrote on Twitter. Condolences have poured in from across New England, from Maine to Hampton, New Hampshire. Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in Berwick. Please keep the Berwick Fire Department and the family of Captain Joel Barnes in your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. Lebanon Fire and EMS (@LebanonFireEMS) March 1, 2019 In Boston, Fire Commissioner Joe Finn shared his condolences on Twitter on behalf of the city's department. "On behalf of @BostonFire we offer our condolences and support to the family and friends of Berwick, Maine Fire Captain Joel Barnes, killed in the Line of Duty at a 4 Alarm building fire on March 1st. Rest In Peace Capt." On behalf of @BostonFire we offer our condolences and support to the family and friends of Berwick, Maine Fire Captain Joel Barnes, killed in the Line of Duty at a 4 Alarm building fire on March 1st. Rest In Peace Capt. pic.twitter.com/xmrmaD8Wd9 Commissioner JoeFinn (@ChiefJoeFinn) March 2, 2019 Captain Barnes' family requests that any donations being made in his name go to the Berwick Volunteer Firefighters Association in his memory, c/o Kennebunk Saving Bank, 2 School Street, Berwick, ME 03901. The origin and cause of the fatal fire remain under investigation. A cashless economy is a popular term these days. There has been a lot of discussions and brainstorming on this issue. Digital payment is the latest innovation in the field of Information and Technology. Online payment through the wallet is a global trend and Nepal cannot remain unaffected from it. Although Nepal is still miles behind from creating a cashless society, there has been an effort made by the government and private sector in achieving this foot. Now, there are many online digital payments or mobile wallet platforms/gateways in Nepal. In this post, we will provide the top online digital payments provider and mobile wallet platforms available in Nepal. In Nepal, the concept of digital payment service providers started with the introduction of a credit card by Nabil Bank in 1990. Kumari Bank was the initiator of online banking in Nepal. Although it took some time for such services to be part of peoples lives, the digital payment services are now popular among Nepali users. A brief history of digital service providers in Nepal The concept of digital/mobile wallet started in 2009 after the launch of eSewa by F1 Soft International. The introduction of eSewa revolutionized the concept of digital payment in Nepal. Since then Nepal has seen different digital payment service providers. Since eSewa, other payment systems like Khalti, IME Pay, QPay, iPay, etc. have launched their services. Digital payment services are mostly used for utility payments (electricity, Water bills), mobile top-ups, airline ticketing, movie ticketing, and transactions. Online digital payment service has eased the life of people as people dont have to queue up for hours to pay bills. You are just one tap away from recharging your mobile balance and buying a ticket for your favorite movie. You can get different offers for using their services including cashback when you use these apps for any purchase. ALSO READ: Top online news portal of Nepal In this blog, I am going to discuss the top five most popular online/digital wallets of Nepal. The list has been prepared based on the popularity of their use as well as the services they offer. However, mobile wallets may have varied use based on the necessity of the users. 5. iPay Nepal iPay is a service from the muncha.com merchandise dealing with online shopping in Nepal. Muncha.com works as an intermediary between shoppers and merchants for online shopping. You can get the app for both Android and iOS. You can simply open the account for the app and load the account. However, for now, you can load account from the web only. This fund can be used for payment to the merchants that are signed by iPay. It has maintained two layers of security for a transaction where you are required to input the transaction password. Although it was launched a long time back, it has not been able to lure more users to use it. The reason for this is that it has only five partner banks and has a limitation when it comes to mobile top-ups, airline ticketing, utility payment, and other services. The app requires your email id for signup and you need to enter your email id every time you log in. You can download the app from either the Play Store or iOS store. 4. PrabhuPay Prabhupay is also one of the latest digital wallet payment providers, owned by Prabhu Group. Having a bank of its own, PrabhuPay allows us to make fund transfer to wallet from 20 different banks. The best part is you can also move the money from any of the platforms in the PrabhuPay Ecosystem to another. The Topups for mobile, bill payments of electricity, water, internet, travel/movie ticket, and more can be done from the PrabhuPay wallet. PrabhuPay says they have got multiple layers of security to make the payment securely safe. You can add several kinds of debit/credit card in the app, from a simple registration in the app. You can also earn 1 bonus point after payment of Rs 100 on bill payment. Since there are many digital payment providers operating already in the market, the survival of the fittest theory will come into play very soon. Do check out the 5 ways to earn money in your free time. 3. IME Pay IME is a popular remittance service provider in the country. They are now offering their users with a better one in all digital wallets. IME Pay is one of those emerging digital payment service providers in Nepal that has been popular in recent years. It offers a wide range of payment gateway for its users. The services available from this app include airline ticketing, bus ticketing, utility payment, remittance, ISB payment, Telephone bill payment, etc. The digital wallet is also giving you tickets for Chandragiri Hills Cable car. You can enjoy your digital life that is hassle-free with no queue and no penalty for delay. You can simply do your work sitting at home or even when you are on the go. The users can use IME Pay for remittance service where the sender and receiver can use this wallet to send and receive money. There is very little option for loading the wallet using online banking. Once they get more banks on board with them this app has the potential to grow further. If you are planning to use this digital wallet as an agent of IME Pay, you can download the IME Pay agent app. This will be helpful for agents as they can utilize all the facilities from their mobile devices. The agent app is also available in the Android app store for free download. ALSO READ: Top video streaming apps in Nepal 2. Khalti Digital Wallet Although Khalti was launched only in 2017, it has come up with some popular lineup of services to make it the second popular digital payment service provider in Nepal. Initially, it was available only for Android and web platforms. Now you can get this wallet for iOS devices as well. It has been providing with the services for DTH payment, ISP payment along with other popular merchant payments. You can get tickets for movies in almost all popular movie hall chain. It has extended its services to pay the water bill in places outside Kathmandu as well. The reason for its growing popularity has been the added services in almost every field possible. In some cases of airline ticketing, you can get more bonuses than its competitors. Not only that if you are purchasing Kaspersky anti-virus, but there is also a discount in excess of 25%. It is easy to load your Khalti wallet using different bank accounts. The popularity graph for this digital payment provider has gone up massively and it continues to grow in recent times. Apart from the regular services given by the digital wallet, Khalti has partnered with OYO hotel chain recently. You can book more than 30 hotels from the OYO chain in Kathmandu and Pokhara. There is a facility to pay for different event tickets via scan. You can enjoy the services of the Khalti wallet by downloading the app from the app store. 1. eSewa The undisputed winner of the digital wallet service providers in Nepal contest goes to eSewa. This is not because they were a pioneer to start the service in Nepal, but the popularity of their app along with the number of users says it all. They are the most trusted and most used digital wallet service in Nepal. They have huge coverage and their services are used by a large number of merchants. Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal had provided it with a mobile money license for the first time. To be honest, there are no competitors for them except for some promising sign shown by Khalti. Their range of service has grown so big that they can simply not worry about anyone to catch them up so easily. There is a facility for airline ticketing not only for domestic but for international as well. You can pay your exam fee, tuition fee, water bill, electricity bill and many other utility payments using eSewa. They have teamed up with the popular online shopping merchants to make life easy for their customers. eSewa is the online bank of Nepal. It has easy to use interface in the app, making the life of the users hassle-free. You can load the wallet easily using banks, eSewa dealers and eSewa directly. eSewa has started its own online shopping store called eSewa Pasal. You can find different items in this store with a price that is lower than normal. Popularity does not seem to be getting lower. However, with the addition of new services they are getting more users each day. You can use the remittance service of Western Union from eSewa. They have partnered with this popular remittance service. The quality of service and satisfied customers are the main reason to make the eSewa top the list. eSewa has recently crossed 20 lakhs subscribers. With widespread promotion and marketing, they are successful in increasing the number of merchant payments to more than 25 thousand in PhonePay. Some other mobile wallet service providers Apart from the digital wallets mentioned in the list, there are many other digital wallet service providers in Nepal like DigiPay, QPay, Pay Well Nepal and more. QPay has been popular in recent days with more users downloading as well as using its services. Another payment provider named CellPay has also been launched with the investment of IMS (Samsung distributor). Bunch of new digital payment platforms is also being launched and including that from CG as well. These days the mobile wallets are increasing in numbers day by day providing the same kind of services. So, we can say the mobile wallets are mushrooming in Nepal with not so differentiations. Due to which, none of them can sustain well in the highly competitive market. So, either merging or doing different will definitely give them a competitive advantage over others. There is also a role of government to regulate and encourage such payments. The government can also work for a single payment platform, run by the Nepal Rastra Bank to enable payments from wallet directly without the need to load funds. NRB had already set a limit on digital payments in Nepal. The payment amount has been increased which is encouraging for the digital payments industry in Nepal. You can also use mobile apps from different banks that are providing some services similar to these digital wallets. The recent trend shows the competition among these digital payment players lies in their wide reach, availability in shops (online/offline). So, these mobile wallet providers are increasing their availability in more merchants with the easiest QR code payment option. In the present context, it has been very convenient to have digital/mobile wallets doing almost all the work that paper money does. READ ALSO It all started with eSewa, however, today Nepals market has some tough competitors who can challenge to thrive and give better services. We can say that in the coming decade Nepal will be much closer towards the paperless economy. Tell us what do you think of the best digital payment service providers in Nepal. Which one do you use, comment below? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Viber to get latest news, information about Ntc, Ncell, Smart Cell and phones in Nepal. Recommended: RTHK: Syria force battles into last jihadist pocket Kurdish-led forces battled jihadists defending their last village on Saturday as operations were relaunched to flush out the Islamic State group from eastern Syria after several days of humanitarian evacuations. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces pushed into Baghouz, a tiny hamlet near the Iraqi border where IS fighters have been making a desperate last stand. An official for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the SDF, on Saturday said they had breached the jihadists' perimeter. "The assault is underway - the forces have started to enter the last (IS) pocket," said Aram Kojeir, a YPG official on the ground. "The advance on the ground is taking place on three axes," he said, adding that the SDF had also taken control of a hill overlooking the last redoubt. AFP news agency reporters near the front line could see thick black smoke rising above the heart of the village, which SDF units approached through outlying farms. "The intense fighting continues," spokesman Adnan Afrin told reporters, adding that eight SDF fighters had been seriously wounded in the first few hours of the battle. "It's closer combat now, the distance between us and the jihadists is gone," he said, explaining that a one-kilometre buffer had been maintained in recent days. An AFP journalist near Baghouz saw military planes in the sky. The SDF launched the assault late on Friday after a week-long exodus that saw thousands of people flee the enclave. While IS fighters, who have been besieged for weeks in an ever-shrinking pocket, are vastly outgunned, their use of tunnels, booby-traps and suicide bombers is hampering the SDF advance. "We can't put a timeframe on this battle - two weeks, three weeks or a week - it will depend on the surprises we get along the way," Afrin said. "Those who have not surrendered by now will meet their fate there," he said. Most of the more than 50,000 people who left the very last rump of the IS "caliphate" in recent weeks were women and children. Some of the evacuees, however, were suspected fighters either surrendering to the SDF or attempting to slip back into civilian life. The jihadists are cornered in a bend of the Euphrates, with Syrian government forces and their allies on the west bank of the Euphrates blocking any escape across the river and Iraqi government forces blocking any move downstream. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said seven IS fighters were shot dead by Syrian government forces and allied Iranian militiamen. Only a few dozen people were evacuated by the SDF on Friday in the smallest convoy in days, prompting the Kurdish-led force to close the humanitarian window and resume their offensive. The assault will deal a final death blow to the "caliphate" which IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in mid-2014 and which once covered territory larger than Britain. At its peak, the proto-state covered large parts of Iraq and Syria, administered millions of people, minted its own currency, levied taxes and produced its own textbooks. It effectively collapsed in 2017 when IS lost major cities such as Mosul in northern Iraq and Syria's Raqa following massive offensives by government armies and their respective international allies in both countries. While the last remains of IS' statehood experiment are about to disappear, the group remains a potent force in both Syria and Iraq, where it carries out deadly attacks. Its brutal legacy is still raw and the scope of the atrocities committed under its rule continues to emerge, even in areas where its fighters were defeated long ago. The SDF this week announced that yet another mass grave was discovered, this time near Baghouz, and that the severed heads of women were found in it. While the victims were not immediately identified, local fighters believe the executed women are likely to be members of the Yazidi minority. Members of the mostly Iraq-based religious minority are considered heretics by IS, which tried to exterminate them in 2014. Many of the thousands of women abducted and enslaved by IS in the early years of the "caliphate" are still missing today and it is feared some may be held captive in Baghouz. Nadia Murad, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and herself an Iraqi Yazidi who was kidnapped and raped, urged the US-led coalition backing the SDF to help secure their safe return. "The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS must have a plan to help rescue Yazidis that are still missing," she said in a statement on Friday, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Some Yazidis managed to slip out with the thousands of civilians evacuated over the past 10 days. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-03-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Most people, unless they work in the criminal justice or corrections fields, probably arent aware of everything it takes to run a county jail. That thought crossed our mind after reading a News-Herald story on the Lake County Jails annual report from 2018. The report shows how the administrators, corrections officers and staff at the Lake County Jail have a lot to deal with in meeting the needs of prisoners who call the place their temporary home. For example, the jail must address the effects of drug abuse and addiction, which seem to plague a fair share of people who end up incarcerated. Its interesting to note that 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the start of the Jail Treatment Program. Larry Smith, who oversees the program, said during a Sounds of Ideas taping last March that when the treatment program began in August 1993, a majority were there because of a problem with alcohol. By 2016, there were four times as many people there for opioid treatment than any other kind. Smith said the jails treatment helps 36 people at a time who are serving that last 30 days of their sentence, usually for a crime related to their addiction. In 2018, 363 inmates completed the program 238 men and 125 women. There were 319 who completed the program in 2017, according to the report. Helping prisoners with physical illnesses or injuries also is a big responsibility for the Lake County Jail. The cost of medical services in the jail was about $923,656 last year, up from $819,484 the year prior. Those costs include the salaries of the nurses, physician and dentist. This is a constant reminder of the increasing cost of medical programming in the coming years, the report stated. Pressing issues in 2018 include responding to growing demands by the judiciary to provide 24-hour medical care by licensed doctors and nursing staff, as well as the continual plague of frivolous jail litigation by inmates. Pharmaceutical costs incurred from the jail were about $216,796 last year, but because of reimbursements, that actual cost to the jail was $98,791. Another aspect of ensuring the well-being of prisoners is to provide them with mental health services when issues arise. Mental health professionals received 1,840 inmate referrals last year, down from 2,089 in 2017. A part-time psychiatrist contracted with the jail was called to consult with 499 inmates on 528 occasions due to the seriousness of their mental health conditions, according to the report. Keeping the Lake County Jail safe also requires officers and administrators to prevent contraband from being smuggled into the institution. Although contraband has been a problem in jails for many years, the issue has become increasingly problematic given the heroin epidemic that is plaguing jails across our country and intensified in Ohio, Lake County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Frank Leonbruno wrote in a 2017 letter to Lake County commissioners. In December 2015, two Lake County Jail inmates died in a 12-hour period from drug overdoses from heroin smuggled into the jail. Last March, another inmate died from a heroin overdose. Leonbruno believes that inmate smuggled heroin into the jail by hiding it in his body cavity. Inmates use their body cavities to bring in contraband, knowing that officers cannot search there without probable cause and a judicial order because of their Fourth Amendment rights concerning search and seizure, Leonbruno said. The Lake County Jail now has a full body scanner. The purchase of the equipment was approved by the county commissioners in 2017. Leonbruno said at that time that drug smuggling is the greatest scourge facing jails today. In 2018, 12,663 scans were conducted in the jail. Those scans resulted in three positive scans for contraband, including a crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia, according to the report. Thorough pat-downs from corrections officers also resulted in the confiscation of two guns before they were able to be brought into the secure perimeter of the jail. In conclusion, we believe that anyone who carefully reads the 2018 report will come away convinced that operating the Lake County Jail is an expensive and challenging endeavor. Its also a document that helps you appreciate the work done every day by all of the people who help to keep the jail running safely and smoothly. Sorry! This content is not available in your region At the start of this century, it would have seemed inconceivable for the global hegemonic powers to imagine that the two most populous nations would be leading the world towards a greener future. However, that's exactly what is happening. Just a decade ago, China and India were being lambasted by the international community for allegedly sabotaging the aims of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. However, the two countries have not only been able to turn things around but are now setting an example for the rest of the world. A recent NASA report highlights how, despite being late-entrants to the list of environmental protection enthusiasts, they have been contributing immensely to making the planet greener over the past two decades. The report, published in the journal Nature Sustainability on Feb. 11, says the Earth's green leaf area has grown 5 percent since 2000 and currently accounts for over 5 million square kilometers (an area comparable to the size of the Amazon rain forests). According to Chi Chen, the study's lead author, a graduate researcher at Boston University's Department of Earth and Environment, "Although the nations encompass only 9 percent of the planet's land area enveloped in vegetation, they account for almost a third of the greening a result which is absolutely in contrast with the widespread conception of land degradation in densely populated countries due to over-exploitation." The study's lead researcher, Ranga Myneni, in a separate statement, mentioned that he along with his colleagues had identified the greening phenomenon in the mid-1990s with the help of high-resolution data captured from space by two satellites, Terra and the Aqua. However, to eliminate the uncertainty of the role of human activities over the results, they further tracked the changes occurring in the total land area covered by vegetation over a long period. In a further blow to the skeptics, the study revealed that China, despite possessing just 6.6 percent of the world's vegetated area, contributed almost 25 percent of the increase in the green leaf area. Out of this, 42 percent is from afforestation and 32 percent from farming activities, thanks to its aggressive tree-planting and forest conservation and expansion programs. Last year, the Chinese State Forestry Administration pledged to cover almost 23 percent of the mainland's total land area with forests. Additionally, several forestation projects in the northern parts of Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai, covering 6.6 million hectares (almost the size of Ireland), are underway. Moreover, China, in line with its commitment to the Paris agreement to cut its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from the 2005 levels, has made significant progress in employment of clean energy. In 2018, it generated a total of 1.87 trillion kWh of clean energy, up 170 billion kWh from 2017. Notably, in 2015, it surpassed the U.S. to become the largest market for electric cars with over 200,000 registrations. At the same time, solar power cell production in China saw a 100-fold increase between 2005 and 2014, enabling it to lead the world in renewable energy sources. India, meanwhile, has contributed almost 6.8 percent to the growth of the green leaf area, out of which 82 percent of the total contribution is made by its croplands as a result of intensive agricultural activities. Despite lagging behind in terms of resources, the country has demonstrated a vigorous resolve in restricting its employment of fossil fuels. It curtailed its carbon emissions by 13.5 percent between 2005 and 2012. Along with the commitment to enhance its agricultural capacity, India aims to shrink its consumption of fossil fuels by a further 40 percent and gradually shift towards sources of renewable energy. Its ambition is to produce 175GW from solar power by 2022. But on the other hand the U.S., the world's largest economy, has backed down from its commitments made under the Paris agreement, arguing, in 2017, that they would strangle the American economy and lead to major job losses. This is in sharp contrast with the attitude of China and India who, at a crucial point in the fight against climate change, and despite being the world's most populous nations, are acting as leaders and setting an example for the rest of the world. Although there is still a long way to go in the fight against global warming, the encouraging results of studies such as this one by NASA can act as a positive incentive for everyone. Rachana Gupta is an active blogger, poet and freenlance content writer. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. New Delhi: As Jet Airways continue to face severe financial problems, Air India said on Friday it would not accept any passengers that have got cancelled tickets of the former airline. Generally, when an airline cancels a flight due to some exigencies, other airlines accommodate the formers passengers in their flights. The airline, which has got its flight cancelled, has to pay other airlines for passengers accommodated. With immediate effect and till further notice, Jet Airways (India) Limited and Jet Lite Limited documents (including FIM and endorsed/involuntary rerouted/rebooked/exchanged/reissuedocuments) are not to be accepted for travel on Air India flights, said an order of Air India dated March 1. FIM stands for Flight Interruption Manifest. Around 15 aircraft of Jet Airways have been grounded by the lessors due to non-payment. Jet is trying to raise funds for its operations as it has a debt of around Rs 8,200 crore currently. Moreover, its pilots have been threatening action as there have been delays in salary payment. The carrier also said it is making all efforts to minimise disruption to its network due to the grounding of these planes and is "proactively" informing and re-accommodating its affected guests, it said. Jet Airways also continues to provide required and periodic updates to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in this regard, the airline added. Grappling with financial stress due to four consecutive quarterly losses, the airline is looking to restructure its debt as well as raise funds. Its board and shareholders have already approved a bailout plan by the lenders. Meanwhile, Beleaguered Jet Airways' Chairman Naresh Goyal has stepped down as the lenders gear up to acquire majority stake in the airline under a bailout plan. The move comes a day after an urgent meeting of lenders with Goyal and Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas to resolve various issues between the two promoters as well as lenders and Etihad. The Gulf-based carrier holds 24 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based full service airline, founded by Goyal 25 years ago. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: As many as 6 people have died after a bus they were travelling in rolled into a gorge in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. The bus was en route to Srinagar from Surinsar when it met with the accident at Majalta. The injured people are being treated at a nearby hospital. This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version. New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party Delhi convenor Gopal Rai is expected to make an important announcement related to the Lok Sabha elections at the partys ITO office on Saturday. Although it is not clear what the announcement would be, speculations are rife that the party may announce an alliance with the Congress as well as a list of its candidates. After initial hurdles, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress have reportedly initiated a fresh round of talks for the alliance for upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on Friday. According to reports, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has given his nod and appointed a senior Congress leader to negotiate the seat-sharing pact with the AAP. After Rahul Gandhis go ahead, the Congress is also trying to convince the partys top Delhi leaders who are against the alliance with the AAP. Former Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and current state president Sheila Dikshit have rejected the idea of an alliance with the AAP. On Friday, Dikshit had turned down a proposal to form a pre-poll alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party for the general elections after holding due deliberation with party workers. "Top leaders of Congress held discussion over the issue of a tie-up with AAP in Delhi but most of the leaders are not in favour of an alliance with AAP. We will convey our decision to party high command," she had said. Earlier last month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that he was tired of convincing the Congress party for forming an alliance but the later refused to understand. "There should be only one candidate against every BJP candidate, votes must not be divided. I am tired of trying to convince Congress for forming an alliance. But they refuse to understand. If today our alliance with Congress is done, BJP will lose all seven seats in Delhi," Kejriwal had said at an event in Delhi last month. However, Dikshit had said that he has not talked about the alliance even once. "I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal on what basis has he said this because he has not talked about it even once," she said. In 2014, the BJP has bagged all the seven Lok Sabha seats at stake in Delhi. Both the Congress and AAP wants to brighten up its fortunes in national capital in the coming Lok Sabha elections. New Delhi: Former BJP leader and Baharaich MP Savitri Bai Phule on Saturday joined the Congress party in presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary of Uttar Pradesh east Priyanka Gandhi. General Secretary for UP west Jyotiraditya Scindia was also present when Phule was inducted into the party. She had earlier met former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, days after once arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party announced their tie-up in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each. Phule, who has often been critical of the BJP leadership, resigned from the party in December 2018, saying it was dividing society. "I have resigned from the party. But I will continue as a Lok Sabha member till the end of my tenure," Phule had said. However, she said she will complete her tenure as a Member of Parliament and won't quit the post. "Desh ke chowikdar ki pehredari mein, sansadhono ki chori karai ja rahi hai (the country's resources are being looted under the watch of the country's gateman)," she had said in a derisive reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Phule also said she wanted to draw the country's attention towards the issue of reservations in promotion. Known for her controversial statements, Phule has been attacking the BJP and its governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh for their alleged indifference to the concerns of Scheduled Castes. Phule had said Lord Hanuman was "a Dalit and a slave of 'manuwadi' people", adding her voice to the row which erupted over UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement that the deity was a Dalit. Asked about the Ram temple issue, pending in the Supreme Court, Phule said the BJP is raking up the matter as it has no other issues. "The country does not need a temple. Will it end unemployment and other problems of Dalits and backwards? The temple will benefit Brahmins, who are only 3 per cent. The money offered in temples are used by them for their gains and make our community (Dalit) their slave," she had said. Phule earlier also raised questions on BJP leaders dining at Dalit homes and termed Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, "a mahapurush" (great personality), causing embarrassment to her party. With Agency Inputs New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that Jamaat-e-Islami is an ideology and warned that banning it will have dangerous ramifications. "You cannot imprison an ideology or an idea. There are thousands of Kashmiris in villages and cities associated with the Jamaat. It is s socio-religious organisation, said PDP chief. Mufti said that it is unfortunate that government is sealing properties of Jamaat leaders, including schools run by the organisation. It is unfortunate as these schools were providing education to the poorest of poor. Their students are meritorious. Where will all these students go after their schools have been banned. They are playing with our future and this is very wrong. They should rather ban (RSS) shakhas where swords are displayed. No Jamaati carries a sword," she said. Slamming PM Modi-led government at the centre for its decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami, Mufti said that the BJP is converting Jammu and Kashmir into an open prison. She also accused the government of taking any actions against those persons responsible for incidents of lynching in the country. "You have Shiv Sena, Jan Sangh, RSS in the country who have lynched people on the basis of eating a type of meat, but there was no action. However, an organisation which has been helping the poor and running schools has been banned and its activists put in jails. We will not allow this. Its consequences will be dangerous," she said. "We had not allowed the BJP to do whatever it is doing now (during the PDP-BJP coalition), but unfortunately there is no one to stop them (now). When a Kashmiri is beaten, people applaud and become happy," Mufti said adding that she never got any credible intelligence reports about the links of Jamaat workers with the terrorists when she was Chief Minister of the state during the PDP-BJP coalition. Condemning the recent NIA raids on moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's properties, Mehbooba said the Centre wants every Kashmiri to pay for "a thought which is in his mind". For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India by Pakistan on Friday night, at a hospital in New Delhi.A Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him through the Attari-Wagah border, underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 PM Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of the "cooling down" process and it is expected to continue till Sunday. Once, the health check-up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. #Visual: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman at a hospital in Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/WD927TQHOV a ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. A video circulated on social media that he was badly beaten up by a group of people after being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi Friday night.A For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India on Friday night, has told officials that although he was not physically tortured byA Pakistan officials, he went through a lot of mental harassment in their custody, news agency ANI quoted sources as saying.A Varthaman, who was brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him through the Attari-Wagah border, underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 PM Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of the "cooling down" process and it is expected to continue till Sunday. Once, the health check-up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. The handing over of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India at Wagah was delayed on Friday as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources. It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda. Sources: After returning from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has informed that though he was not physically tortured by the Pakistanis; he went through a lot of mental harassment. pic.twitter.com/x7C3lFsrSR a ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 At 8.30 pm (local) time, the Pakistan government released the pilot's video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured. "Recording of his video message caused a delay in his handing over," a source said. In the video message, Varthaman said he entered Pakistan's space to "find a target" but his aircraft was shot down. "I was in search of the target when your (Pakistan) Air Force shot me down. I had to eject the plane which had sustained damage. As soon as I ejected and when my parachute opened and I fell down, I had a pistol with me.? "There were many people. I had only one way to save myself: I dropped my pistol and tried to run. "People chased me, their emotions were running high. Just then, two Pakistani Army officials came and saved me. Pakistani army captains saved from the people and did not let any harm come to me. They took me to their unit where I was administered first aid and then I was taken to the hospital where I further underwent a medical exam and received more aid," he said. "The army personnel saved me from the mob. The Pakistani army is very professional and I am impressed by it," he said, while criticising the Indian media. India has maintained that Varthaman's plane was downed when IAF planes foiled an attemptA by Pakistan Air Force to target Indian military installations in JammuA and Kashmir on February 27, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. He bailed out of the aircraft but drifted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he was detained by the Pakistan Army. Although there has been no official word as to what time he was brought to the Wagah border on Friday, but the sources say he reached Lahore after 4 pm. The Pakistani media reported that "his papers were being checked at the Wagah immigration" that was why he was not being "immediately" handed over to the Indian authorities.A Varthaman was handed over at around 9.20 pm (IST). (With agency PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The encounter which started on Friday at Babagund village of Langate, Handwara in north Kashmir's Kupwara district continued for the second day on Saturday. Two terrorists are still active at the site, police said. Para Commandos have been called in to neutralize the terrorists, according to reports. Earlier, five security personnel, a CRPF officer, were killed when a terrorist who was hiding in debris of a house damaged in a joint operation opened fired on them. It was reported that two terrorists were killed in an overnight encounter. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site, the officials said. One civilian was also killed during a clash with security forces following a stone-pelting incident at the spot. Earlier, on Thursday night at around 9:00 pm, the contingents of Army's 22 RR, 92 battalions, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and SOG conducted a cordon-and-search operation at Khanu-Babagund hamlet in Langate. ALSO READ | IED blast in Pulwamas Tral, civilian injured Reports said that the forces had also installed lights to prevent the terrorists from escaping in the darkness of the night. As of now, there is no information on which group the terrorists were affiliated with. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation following information about presence of terrorists there, the officials said. During the searches, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated, they said. There was lull in firing several times during the day but the terrorists would resume firing as soon as the security forces advanced towards the house where the ultras were hiding, the officials said. Clashes between a group of youngsters and security personnel took place near the encounter site, leaving four persons injured, the officials. Earlier in the day, a civilian was injured in an IED blast set by terrorists in Tral area of Pulwama district. The incident took place at around 3 am in Amlar area, according to reports. Soon after the incident Police team reached the spot and an investigation is underway. The area has been cordoned off. IED was laid to target security forces patrol vehicles but seems to have exploded prematurely, according to reports. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Flash Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday. Pompeo briefed Yang on the Hanoi summit between leaders of the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying that Washington will remain engaged with the DPRK and continue to seek resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and consultations. Speaking highly of China's active role in helping settle the Korean Peninsula issue, Pompeo said the U.S. side is willing to maintain communication and coordination with China. In the phone talks, Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said the Korean Peninsula issue is complex and cannot be resolved in one stroke. China hopes that the United States and the DPRK can remain determined and patient, meet each other halfway and stick to peace talks, to achieve new results and new progress, said Yang. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role on matters related to the Peninsula, he added. U.S. President Donald Trump and DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un held their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday and Thursday, without reaching an agreement. New Delhi: The government on Saturday issued an alert asking all civil aviation installations - airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads flying schools, aviation training institutes, etc. in the country to enhance the existing security measures. The alert has been issued as the government has received intelligence inputs in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments. "In view of the intelligence input in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments, it is imperative to enhance the existing security measures being taken at all the civil aviation installations like airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads, flying schools, aviation training institutes etc. so that no untoward incident takes place," the alert notification read. The alert, issued by Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), asks all airlines and airports to take 20 specific enhanced security measures which will be "in operation till further orders". The security measures include "strict access control to regulate entry into the terminal building, on ground monitoring and enhanced screening of passengers and staff". According to the alert notification, no vehicle should be parked in front of the terminal building and there should be intensive checking of vehicles entering car parking area. The BCAS has suggested enhanced screening of passengers, staff, and hand baggages and "strengthening of anti-terrorism/anti-sabotage measures and placement of quick response teams" at all airports. According to the alert notification, "QRT and perimeter patrolling" has to be strengthened too. QRTs are part of the CISF only, which is in-charge of security at various airports across the country. "Intensive checking of vehicles/persons at the approach to airport terminals/installations" has also been called for. Authorities have been also been asked to "enhance surveillance in and around the aviation installations" and specific monitoring of "flights/helicopters/UAV/ UAS/drones/gliders/hot air balloons from airports/helipads/airfield around Delhi National Capital region". There would be "no issuance of visitor entry passes till further notice", it said and directed strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations including air ambulance. Meanwhile, the Indian Army has said that its weapons systems were on high alert and its mechanized forces were on standby in the wake of the Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) attempts to hit Indian military installations a day earlier. Major General S.S. Mahal told the media that on Wednesday PAF jets tried to target a Brigade Headquarters, a Battalion Headquarters and logistics installations in Jammu and Kashmir. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: At least four buildings inside the Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Balakot were hit by Indian missiles. The Indian Express quoted a source as saying that intelligence agencies have evidence, in the form of imagery from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), showing that the four buildings, identified as targets, were hit by five S-2000 precision-guided munition (PGM) fired from IAFs Mirage-2000 fighter jets. The missiles hit inside the campus of Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran run by Jaish which is located on the same ridge line as the hilltop, a few hundred metres to the east, according to the Indian Express report. Earlier, Pakistan confirmed that the area was hit by IAF jets. However, it has so far denied any damage. Why did the Pakistan Army seal the madrasa after the strike? Why did it not allow journalists to visit the madrasa? We have evidence in the form of SAR imagery to show that a building used as a guest house, where brother of Maulana Masood Azhar used to stay; an L-shaped building where trainers used to stay; a double-storied building used to house students entering the seminary and another building where those undergoing final combat training used to stay, were hit by the bombs, The Indian Express quoted an official as saying. It is for the political leadership to decide if it wants to release that imagery and make public what is a classified capability. The SAR images are not as clear as satellite pictures and we couldnt get a good satellite picture on Tuesday because of heavy clouds. That would have settled the debate, the official added. "The madrasa was selected carefully as it was in the middle of nowhere and there was little chance of any civilian casualties. Intelligence given to the IAF was accurate and timely, the official said. Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale spoke about intelligence operation. In an intelligence lead operation, India struck the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commander and Jihadis were eliminated, Gokhale said. Credible information was received that JeM was attempting other attacks in the country. A pre-emptive strike became important. India struck the biggest camp of JeM in Balakot, Gokhale added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A civilian was injured on Saturday in an IED blast set by terrorists in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district. The incident took place at around 3 am in Amlar area, according to reports. Soon after the incident Police team reached the spot and an investigation is underway. The area has been cordoned off. IED was laid to target security forces patrol vehicles but seems to have exploded prematurely. (Visual from the IED blast site) At least 42 CRPF personnel were killed last month in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 80 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded. More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Days after the airstrike against terror camp in Pakistan and subsequent events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the country was feeling the absence of Rafale and results would have been different if India had the fighter jets as he attacked the Congress for its tirade against his government over the aircraft deal. "India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, that if we had Rafale, the results would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said at the India Today conclave. PM Modi said he wanted to tell all those opposing him that they were free to criticise him and point out shortcomings but they should not harm the country's security interests. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been attacking Modi over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and favourtism. The government has denied the charges. Tearing into the Congress, the prime minister alleged its rule saw many defence scams. "They began with jeeps and later graduated to weapons, submarines, helicopters. The defence sector suffered in the process," he said. "Those who ruled the country had interests in two things - doles and deals. The culture of doles and deals has harmed the country," he said targeting the Congress. "Why is it that those who ruled the nation for so many years have so many defence scams in their era. If a deal could not happen, defence modernisation could not happen. Who is every middle-man close to," he asked, adding "the entire nation knows. And Lutyens Delhi, surely knows." PM Modi said during his tenure, 2.3 lakh bullet proof jackets were bought while previous Congress-led government ignored the proposal since 2009. "In our tenure, the corridors of power are also free from middlemen because they know, this government will not tolerate any corruption," he said. PM Modi said his government's 55 months in power and 55 years of others' rule had given two contrasting approaches to governance. Previous governments had a 'token approach', we have a total approach', he said. A day after the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, PM Modi said the life of every jawan was valuable to us. He also said that there was fear in the neighbouring country of the bravery and valour of Indian armed forces and it was good. He also criticised the previous Congress governments for not doing anything to implement the OROP (One rank, one pension) scheme for armed forces and asked why there was no war memorial for the soldiers. Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early on Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. IAF pilot Varthaman shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during the fierce dogfight. The Indian strike on the Jaish camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir that killed 40 soldiers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was present in Lahore to oversee the 'smooth' handing over captured Indian Air Force pilot to India at the Wagah border on Friday, official sources said. Imran Khan arrived in Lahore on Friday afternoon, a couple of hours before IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was brought to the Wagah border from Islamabad, amid high security. "PM Khan's main purpose of being in the town was to oversee the 'smooth' handing over of the captured Indian pilot to the Border Security Force," an official source told PTI. Wing Commander Varthaman was arrested when his MIG-21 crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after being shot down by Pakistan Air Force for what Islamabad said "violating Pakistani airspace" on February 27. He said during his stay Khan held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, who praised the premier for ordering the release of the Indian pilot. They said this gesture would establish that Pakistan was a peace-loving country and wanted peace with its neighbouring countries especially India. Buzdar said: "This move will help de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan." "The prime minister stayed in the city till the time the Indian pilot was handed over to his country. Later, he left for Islamabad," the source added. Pakistan Foreign Office, in a statement issued after handing over of the Indian pilot to India, said: "Prime Minister Imran Khan who announced his (Varthaman's) return as a 'goodwill gesture' aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India." Pakistan had detained him following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control when his MiG 21 fighter jet was downed on February 27. "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup because he had to eject from an aircraft. The IAF is happy to have him back," said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor at Attari-Wagah border. India on Wednesday summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and demanded the immediate and safe return of the IAF pilot who was detained by Pakistan following an aerial engagement by air forces of the two countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing a special joint sitting of the parliament on Thursday announced that Pakistan will release the pilot. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Indian Air Force on Friday, in a series of tweets titled aDiary of Eventsa, talked about the sequence of events which unfolded from the time when the Pakistan Air Force craft entered the Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmiras Nowshera sector on February 27 to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman being made a captive in the Pakistan territory and his eventual release on Friday night. There are details of how IAF's MiG-21 Bison downed PAF's F-16. This is the exact text of what the IAF tweeted: On 27 Feb 19 at around 1000 hrs IAF radars detected a large package of PAF aircraft heading towards the Indian territory towards general area Jhangar. They breached the Indian airspace west of Rajauri in Sunderbani Area. The ingressing aircraft were observed to be at various levels. IAF fighters including MiG-21 Bison, Su-30 MKI, Mirage-2000 were tasked to intercept the intruder. PAF aircraft attempting to target military installations were intercepted by IAF fighters which thwarted their plans. #DiaryofEvents: On 27 Feb 19 at around 1000 hrs IAF radars detected a large package of PAF aircraft heading towards the Indian territory towards general area Jhangar. They breached the Indian airspace west of Rajauri in Sunderbani Area. (1/5) Details on https://t.co/yUXMuzlovQ a Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 Ingressing aircraft were observed to be at various levels. IAF fighters including MiG-21Bison, Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000 were tasked to intercept the intruder. PAF aircraft attempting to target military installations, were intercepted by IAF fighters & thwarted their plans. (2/5) pic.twitter.com/J2E1G8ZGQ9 a Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 Although PAF bombs have fallen in Indian Army Formation compounds however they were unable to cause any damage to our Military Installations.A In the aerial combat that ensued one F-16 of PAF was shot down by an IAF MiG-21 Bison. The F-16 crashed and fell across the LOC in POJ&K. Although PAF bombs have fallen in Indian Army Formation compounds however they were unable to cause any damage to our Military Installations. In the aerial combat that ensued one F-16 of PAF was shot down by an IAF MiG-21 Bison. The F-16 crashed and fell across the LOC. (3/5) pic.twitter.com/bP2hXnIDd4 a Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 The IAF lost one MiG-21 in the aerial engagement & the Pilot ejected safely his parachute drifted into POJ&K where he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army. The IAF lost one MiG-21 in the aerial engagement & the Pilot ejected safely, his parachute drifted into POJ&K where he was taken into custody by Pakistan Army. (4/5) a Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 We have Wg Cdr Abhinandan back with us. Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior #Abhinandan. We have Wg Cdr Abhinandan back with us. Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior #Abhinandan. (5/5)#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan a Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 1, 2019 Abhinandan Varthaman, IAF pilot Wing Commander who was captured by Pakistan, was handed over to officials of the Indian High Commission at Wagah border near Lahore on Friday evening. Pakistan had detained him following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control when his MiG 21 fighter jet was downed on February 27. "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup because he had to eject from an aircraft. The IAF is happy to have him back," said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor at Attari-Wagah border. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in PoK on February 26 and killed the brother and the brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, among others in a pre-dawn aerial attack. According to a report in the Firstpost, eyewitnesses present at the site said they saw up to 35 bodies being transported out of the site by ambulance in the hours after the attack. The dead, they said, included 12 men who were said to have been sleeping in a single temporary shack, and several individuals who had earlier served in Pakistan's military. "Local authorities reached the site soon after the bombing," one witness said, "but the area had already been cordoned off by then by the army, who did not even allow police to enter. The army also took away mobile phones from the medical staff on the ambulances, the report read citing a source who wished to remain anonymous. However, there are conflicting eyewitness testimonies, too. While some say there were no Jaish-e-Muhammad fighters at Jaba top, and others insisting they were present. There were reports that also said that no Jaish trainees were attacked and it was only civilians who were the actual victims. Independent satellite imagery analysis conducted by Nathan Ruser of the prestigious Australian Strategic Policy Institute concluded that there is "no apparent evidence of more extensive damage and on the face of it does not validate Indian claims regarding the effect of the strikes," it was reported. A former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer known locally as "Colonel Salim" was killed in the bombing, sources said, while a "Colonel Zarar Zakri" was injured. Mufti Moeen, a Jaish-e-Muhammad instructor from Peshawar, and improvised explosive device-fabrication expert Usman Ghani were also killed in the bombing. Indian intelligence sources said two of the names mentioned by the eyewitnesses Usman and Colonel Salim had also figured in communications intelligence available. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The teams of Indian Navy and Army have been recalled from the Meghalaya mine rescue operation to extract the bodies of 16 miners trapped in a rat-hole mine since December 13, 2018. According to an official communique, the 15-member crew of the Navy, including specialist divers, and Army personnel, who were assisting local authorities in the rescue mission will return to their respective base on Saturday. Wishing the Navy and Army teams a safe return and good luck for their next mission, East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner FM Dopthsaid, "The district and the state as a whole is indebted to the services rendered by them." At least 16 miners got trapped in a 370 feet-deep illegal coal mine in Meghalayas East Jaintia Hills on December 13. The team of Indian Navy had joined the rescue mission on December 29, while Army personnel were also called in to assist on January 29. Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has been engaged in the rescue operation since the day of the tragedy on December 13 last, will continue with their services. There is no instruction for us to wind up the operation and we will continue with our work, Santosh Singh, Assistant Commandant of Guwahati-based NDRF team, was quoted by PTI as saying. Earlier, the second body was handed over to the relatives from Lumthari village, Susngi said. The highly decomposed body was identified by his family members from the clothes he wore, he said. The companies involved in discharging water from the mines, including the Coal India Ltd, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and KSB dewatered over 1 crore litres every day, he added. The operation to rescue the miners is one of the longest in the country and involved multiple agencies, including the Navy, Army, NDRF among others. The family members of each of the 15 miners have been given Rs 1 lakh interim relief each by the district authorities. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2019 at the India Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee via through a live interactive session. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address a poll rally in Ranchi. The Patiala house court to resume hearing over Vadra's plea, seeking directions to stay the ED interrogation. US President Donald Trump sought to quell a firestorm sparked by his comments on the case of an American student tortured and left in a coma in North Korea, saying his words had been "misinterpreted". 21:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Visitors entry at Lucknow Airport has been stopped with immediate effect as per directives of BCAS till further orders in view of prevailing threat perception. 15:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Samjhauta Express services to resume from India from March 3. 14:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM in Hyderabad: Mere musalmaan hone par shayad tumhe shak hoga ki ye vafadaar hai ya anti-national hai, magar suno meri ek baat ko, agar BJP yeh keh rahi hai ki mera booth sabse mazboot, mai keh raha hoon ki meri sarhad mazboot to mera desh mazboot. 14:06 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In AgustaWestland case: Alleged middleman Christian Michel seeks judicial inquiry for being shifted to solitary confinement and violation of his human rights. A Delhi court has sought a report from Tihar Jail. authorities on March 5. 13:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In SpaceX confirms Dragon capsule successfully separates from rocket 13:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Delhi's Patiala House court has extended till 19th March interim bail of Robert Vadra, in money laundering case. Next hearing in the case is on 19th March. Court has also adjourned hearing on Manoj Arora's anticipatory bail. 13:39 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madhya Pradesh: BJP President Amit Shah takes part in party's 'Vijay Sankalp Bike Rally' in Umaria. 13:19 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP President Amit Shah at a rally in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh: Rahul Baba, antankwadiyon ko jawaab dene ka jazba tha aap mein? Pakistan ko muh tod jawaab dene ki shamta nahi thi aur aap par sawaal utha rahe hain. 13:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In AgustaWestland scam accused Rajiv Saxena to record his statement before Delhi's Patiala House Court's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal. Rajiv Saxena had moved application in Delhi's Patiala House Court to become an approver in the case. 13:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Handwara: Wreath laying ceremony of two J&K Police personnel who lost their lives in Kupwara encounter yesterday. 13:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In FM Jaitley:When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any info some ppl started saying Balakot is along LoC.Some ppl whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot&didn't check that, that Bala Kote is in our Poonch.Why'd our forces attack our territory? 13:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chennai: Puthiya Tamilagam party joins the AIADMK-BJP-PMK alliance in Tamil Nadu for upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Puthiya Tamilagam Chief Dr Krishnasamy says, "We have joined the alliance to contest & win over 40 seats in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry." 13:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In J&K: Mehbooba Mufti and PDP workers protest in Srinagar against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu & Kashmir) by the Central Government. 11:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Kim Jong-un's train departs Vietnam rail station for China: AFP 11:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pays tribute to Vietnam's embalmed revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh as he wraps up a whirlwind week in Hanoi. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pays tribute to Vietnam's embalmed revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh as he wraps up a whirlwind week in Hanoi https://t.co/fPtc4QPMua pic.twitter.com/q4UmoqV9xD AFP news agency (@AFP) March 2, 2019 11:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Hearing has been adjourned for 6th March in Delhi's Patiala House Court on a criminal defamation complaint against Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor over his alleged remark against Prime Minister Modi. The case was filed by Delhi BJP leader Rajiv Babbar. 11:26 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Himachal Pradesh: Deputy Commissioner Kinnaur: Body of one of the five missing army personnel who had been trapped in an avalanche in Namgya since last 11 days was recovered today. 11:26 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Amaravati: 4 labourers injured in slab collapse at the under-construction Andhra Pradesh High Court complex, today. Injured labourers shifted to a nearby hospital. Amaravati: 4 labourers injured in slab collapse at the under construction Andhra Pradesh High Court complex, today. Injured labourers shifted to a nearby hospital. pic.twitter.com/jhpzAbdlYX ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 11:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Jammu & Kashmir: Three members of a family were killed in shelling by Pakistan, in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector, last night. Jammu & Kashmir: Three members of a family were killed in shelling by Pakistan, in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector, last night. pic.twitter.com/kqCsnf6RFH ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 11:24 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Kupwara encounter: Firing stopped, search operation underway. Four security personnel and one civilian lost their lives in the encounter that broke out yesterday. 11:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court by lawyer, Anuja Kapur, seeking a direction to the Centre for framing necessary guidelines and restraining fake news by setting responsibility of the concerned authorities. 10:32 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh made Guinness World Record for the 'most contributions to a handprint painting in 8 hours' yesterday. Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh made Guinness World Record for the 'most contributions to a handprint painting in 8 hours' yesterday. pic.twitter.com/atgUgWy4tQ ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 2, 2019 10:32 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Punjab: Firozpur STF Range Police has arrested three people for possession of 97 gram heroin worth Rs 50 lakh. 10:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP president Amit Shah to hold bike rally in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol today. BJP to take out 3800 bike rallies across the country today. 09:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Jammu and Kashmir bus accident: Death toll rises to 6; Total 38 people were injured after a bus on its way from Surinsar towards Srinagar rolled into deep gorge in Majalta, Udhampur last night. Injured persons are being treated at a nearby hospital. 08:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Saudi Arabia revokes citizenship of Hamza bin Laden. 08:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In You rule the skies and you rule our hearts: BCCI welcomes IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. 08:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In US president Donald Trump argues to be misinterpreted regarding Otto Warmbiers death. 08:00 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Jammu & Kashmir Police: Last night a bus on its way from Surinsar towards Srinagar rolled into deep gorge in Majalta, Udhampur. 5 persons died on spot. Rescue operation is going on. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-16 fighter jets, on Saturday rejected a Pakistani officialas remark that it was going to sue India for awrongly claiminga that one of its planes was shot down by MiG-21 Bison during an aerial fight in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27. aLockheed Martin has made no such comments,a the Indian subsidiary of the American defence major replied in response to Pakistan censor board chairman Danyal Gilanias tweet. Responding to the company, Gilani in his defence said: aI acknowledge the statement is wrongly attributed to you. I picked it from a website. However, I stand by Govt of Indiaas failure to prove it downed a Pakistani F-16 jet.a Lockheed Martin has made no such comments. a Lockheed Martin India (@LMIndiaNews) March 1, 2019 Thank you @LMIndiaNews. I acknowledge the statement is wrongly attributed to you. I picked it from a website. I take it back. However, I stand by Govt of #India's failure to prove it downed a #Pakistani F-16. Indian media & journalists have caught #Indian govt disinformation. a Danyal Gilani (@DanyalGilani) March 2, 2019 Many Pakistani media outlets have been reporting that Lockheed Martin would file a case against India for downing its jet. Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 1,05,000 people worldwide. It is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shot down a Pakistani F-16 plane before his MiG-21 Bison was hit during a dogfight. He was then captured by Pakistani authorities. Varthaman brought to Delhi after Pakistan released him through the Attari-Wagah border on Friday night. He then underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 PM Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. The handing over of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India at Wagah was delayed on Friday as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources. It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on Friday with Christian Braun, a co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reform. Wang said that currently, unilateralism is on the rise and the multilateral mechanism is under attack, and therefore people should strongly support the United Nations to play its due role. Noting that it is necessary for the United Nations to keep pace with the times, promote reforms and improve efficiency, Wang said reform of the UN Security Council should aim to increase the representation and voice of developing countries and small and medium-sized countries, truly reflecting international fairness and justice. Wang expected all parties to conduct democratic consultations to realize comprehensive consensus, to help ensure that the reform of the UN Security Council conforms to the purposes of the UN Charter and the common interests of all UN members. Braun, also permanent representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations, said he agreed that the reform of the UN Security Council should be a gradual process with inclusiveness and transparency and should be advanced on the right track in line with the common aspirations of UN members. New Delhi: Brave Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned home from captivity in Pakistan on Friday. Billions of people were watching him live walking across the Zero Line at the Attari-Wagah Border. In all those visuals and pictures, Abhinandan was accompanied by a woman and the question that popped in the minds of almost all the Indians was who was the woman walking back with the Indian Air Force (AIF) pilot? Some people on social media claimed that she was Wing Commander's wife. But, no, she was not Abhinandans wife. The woman standing beside IAF pilot at the Attari-Wagah border was Dr. Fareeha Bugti, Director (India) in the Pakistan Foreign Office. Bugti is an FSP (equivalent to India's IFS) officer and is in charge of handling India affairs at their Foreign office (counterpart of India's Ministry of External Affairs). According to reports, Bugti is one of the main officials handling the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is in Pakistan prison. According to reports, she was present during the meeting between Jadhav, his mother and wife in Islamabad on December 25, 2017. "It is good to be back in my country," was the first reaction of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan as he set his foot back on Indian soil. This was stated by an official quoting Abhinandan after he received the pilot at the Attari-Wagah border soon after his release by Pakistan. Abhinandan was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. "We are happy to have him back," said a top IAF officer shortly after Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities. Abhinandan was in one of the eight MIG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in PoK, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a "peace gesture". However, India has been maintaining that Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. After the pilot's release, the Pakistan Foreign Office described him as a Prisoner of War. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Air Force Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din, whose F-16 was shot down by his Indian counterpart Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman, has reportedly succumbed to his injuries after being beaten up by some locals thinking that he was an Indian. The Pakistani pilot had ejected after getting hit in an aerial engagement and had managed to land safely in his own territory. However, Pakistani locals thrashed him so badly that he had to be admitted in hospital, reported FirstPost. Interestingly, Pakistan is yet to reveal his identity. FirstPost added that like Wing Commander Varthaman, Shahaz-ud-Din also belonged to an illustrious military family. Shahaz-ud-Dins father Waseem-ud-Din, also an Air Marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, who has flown F-16 and Mirages. The news that Shahaz-ud-Din's plane was shot down was first reported by London-based lawyer Khalid Umar, who says he received it privately, from individuals related to the F-16 pilots family, the report added. Pakistan government had earlier claimed that they have two Indian pilots in their custody. However, later they retracted from their statement and tried to hide the goof-up. On Friday night, Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan, was handed over to officials of the Indian High Commission at Wagah border near Lahore. Pakistan had detained him following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control when his MiG 21 fighter jet was downed on February 27. "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup because he had to eject from an aircraft. The IAF is happy to have him back," said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor at Attari-Wagah border. India on Wednesday summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and demanded immediate and safe return of the IAF pilot who was detained by Pakistan following an aerial engagement by air forces of the two countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing a special joint sitting of the parliament on Thursday announced that Pakistan will release the pilot. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The United States (US) has sought more information from Pakistan on the potential misuse of F-16 fighter jets against India in violation of what it is called the end-user agreement, the State Department said. Pakistan had acquired the F-16 fighter jets from US to fight against terrorism in 2008. However, the country has long been using the assets acquired from the US against India. During a joint military press conference on Thursday, India had shown parts of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile to prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military posts in Kashmir following Indias anti-terror strike on JeM camp in Balakot. During the misadventure, Indian Air Force jets shot down an F-16 fighter jet. However, Pakistan denied the Indian claims of using F-16 fighter jets and that one of its planes was shot down by Indian Air Force. We are aware of these reports and are seeking more information, news agency PTI quoted a State Department spokesperson as saying when asked about report that Pakistan has violated end-user agreement with the United States in this weeks border clash with India. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Military intelligence (MI) and ISI are planning to "mix poison" in ration stocks of Indian security forces deployed in the Kashmir Valley, according to reports. An intelligence note, accessed by India Today TV, said necessary measures should be taken to ensure the security of ration depots of all the camps, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The report, quoting the chatter floated by a Pakistani number, added that agents of the Pakistan intelligence agencies operating in Kashmir are planning to carry out the conspiracy. Security forces have been asked to check all ration procured for soldiers across the country "to rule out any untoward incident or attempt", the report added. The report came even as five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed in an encounter with militants while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, where areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day. The fresh violence came amid heightened Indo-Pak tensions in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack, the subsequent anti-terror operation by India and Pakistan Air Force's attempt to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan on February 27, was handed over to India on Friday night at the Attari-Wagah border. He underwent a series of medical tests as part of a "cooling down" process, officials said. Early Saturday morning, Varthaman met his immediate family members as well as several top officials of the Indian Air Force, they said. Varthaman arrived in the national capital around 11:45 PM Friday and soon after he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is undergoing a series of medical tests as part of the "cooling down" process and it is expected to continue till Sunday. Once, the health check-up phase is over, debriefing sessions will be arranged for him, the officials said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan violated the ceasefire yet again in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. Pakistan initiated unprovoked firing and shelling at 12.30 pm along the Line of Control (LoC). Mortars and small firearms weere used. The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively even as shelling continued. On Friday, too, Pakistani had violated ceasefire along the LoC in three sectors of Jammu and Kashmir namely Mendhar, Balakote and Krishna Ghati sectors at 6 pm. Earlier today, one civilian was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing towards Indian posts and villages in Kamalkote area of Uri in Baramulla district on Thursday evening, the officials said. They said the intermittent firing continued throughout the night. One civilian has been injured in the firing. Indian Army has responded to the Pakistani firing inadequate measure, the officials said. The ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops comes as tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The intense aerial engagement between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack led to a dramatic escalation of confrontation in the last few days. While India shot down an F-16 warplane of Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost a MiG-21 Bison during the fierce engagement between the air forces of the two countries along the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan's retaliation came a day after India on February 26 struck several Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) training camps in Balakot in response to the cowardice JeM attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. During the airstrikes, IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was also captured by Pakistan. However, Pakistan on Friday handed over Varthaman to the Indian authorities as a "gesture of peace" and the first step towards negotiation with India. As the tension between India and Pakistan escalated in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, let us take a look at the air prowess of both the countries. India has 2,185 aircraft, including 590 fighter jets, 804 attack aircraft, 708 transport aircraft and 251 trainers. Pakistan, on the other hand, has only 1,281 aircraft that include 320 fighter jets, 410 attack aircraft, 296 transport aircraft and 486 trainers. Pakistan outnumbers India with 49 attack helicopters, compared to India's 15. However, with a total of 720 helicopters, India has got the advantage over Pakistan, which has a total of 328 helicopters. While Pakistan's acquired US-made F-16 Falcon fighter is considered to be one of the most prolific jets in service, India's Sukhoi Su-30MKI, the multi-role all weather fighter, is the most advanced fighter jet in operation with the Indian Air Force. Pakistan's F-16 versus India's Sukhoi Su-30MKI: Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, Pakistan's F-16 is used by several international countries, including the United States. The F-16 Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter, which was manufactured by General Dynamics, now Lockheed Martin for the US Air Force (USAF). A total of 4,500 aircraft have been manufactured since it was first introduced in 1976. It is popular for being an all-weather multirole aircraft as it offers better visibility than many of its direct competitors. F-16, the AN/APG-68 radar is a long range up to 300 km and a Pulse-doppler radar designed by Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) to replace AN/APG-66 radar in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. On the other hand, Su-30MKI Radar, the forward facing NIIP N011M Bars (Panther), is a powerful integrated passive electronically scanned array radar. The N011M is a digital multi-mode dual frequency band radar. Both fighters are very Agile and Excellent Dog-fighters. While F-16 is very much lighter and has better Speed, Su-30MKI is equipped with TVC (Thrust-Vectoring Control) engines which means its ITR (Instantaneous Turn Rate) can be extreme. Superior Agility and Aerodynamic performance of SU-30MKI easily compensates for its bigger size than F-16. Pakistan's warplane F-16 Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a multi-role all weather fighter for air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions. It is the most advanced fighter jet in operation with the Indian Air Force and is the primary air-to-air and air-to-ground strike machine. Since December 2000, the Su-30MKI variant that the IAF uses is built in India by HAL under a license agreement with Russia's Sukhoi. Also known as Flanker (NATO), the Su-30MKI is exclusively used by India and there is an estimate that IAF has 290 operational units of 30MKI till date. Initially, developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, in Irkutsk, the first unit of Sukhoi Su-30 was inducted in 2002. The Sukhoi Su-30MKI has a top speed of Mach 2 (2120 kmph) and has a maximum take-off weight of 38,800 kg. The jet can carry a wide range of equipment from radars to missiles, bombs and event rockets. The Su-27, which was first produced in the Former Soviet Union starting 1982 is counted among the worlds best fighter aircraft even without any upgrades; but some of the technology and capability that the Su-30MKI boasts has absolutely no parallels across the worlds air forces. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. highlights NIA has collected evidence against many separatist leaders in the Valley. Financial aid was provided to terrorists, including suicide attacker Adil Dar. NIA sources said the Jaish's terrorists got financial assistance from Pakistan. New Delhi: The NIA, which is investigating the Pulwama terror attack that claimed lives of 40 CRPF jawans on February 14, has found evidence that terrorists were being provided financial and other assistance at the local level in Jammu and Kashmir, sources in the central agency said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has collected evidence against many separatist leaders in the Valley who allegedly helped the terrorists, the sources added. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) rammed a vehicle carrying a huge quantity of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. India has launched a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the attack and highlighted Pakistan's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early on February 26, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The sources said the financial aid was provided to six to seven terrorists, including suicide attacker Adil Dar, involved in the attack. The money, which was spent on arranging a car for the suicide attack, had come from Pakistan through Dubai. The sources added that the arrest of some separatists involved in the conspiracy can soon happen. Some of these separatists still have police protection. The NIA sources said the Jaish's terrorists got financial assistance from Pakistan and Dubai through hawala with the help of the separatist leaders of Kashmir. On January 26, the NIA carried out searches at seven locations, including on the premises of separatists like Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, in connection with a case related to funding to terrorist and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. The agency said it had recovered "high-tech internet communication setup" from the residence of the Mirwaiz. It also claimed to have recovered letterheads of terrorist groups and visa recommendation letters for admission in Pakistan-based educational institutions from several locations. The NIA team, accompanied by local police and CRPF personnel, swooped on residences of some of the separatist leaders, including the Mirwaiz, Naseem Geelani, son of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and chairman of Tehrek-e-Hurriyat Ashraf Sehrai, they said. The NIA has also checked bank accounts of nearly 40 separatist leaders after the raids. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Robert Vadra till March 19 in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Special judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Vadra had on February 1 moved to Delhi court seeking anticipatory bail in the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Earlier last month, Delhi's Patiala House Court had extended his interim protection from arrest to March 2, which expired today. During the hearing, the counsel for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the court that Vadra was not cooperating in the case and opposed the extension. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property at 12, Bryanston Square worth GBP 1.9 million (British pounds), which is allegedly owned by him. According to the ED, Manoj Arora, an employee of Vadra's Skylight Hospitality LLP, is also an accused in the case. The ED had alleged that Arora was aware of the Vadra's overseas undeclared assets and was instrumental in arranging funds. Vadra had accused that ED officials 'relentless harassment'. In a Facebook post written last month, Vadra said, "I have had nothing to hide and I am surely not above the law. I have deposed for almost 6 days; ranging from 8 to 12 hours per day with a 40 minutelunch break, n have been escorted to the washroom. I have completely cooperated and adhered to the rules whenever I was called in any part of the country. Attachment of my work place- my office n areas that are subjudiced, shows a complete misuse of assertion of power, a complete vindictive & vicious witch hunt. When truth sustains n prevails, I suppose an apology is all that will suffice. Will stay determined for justice for me. (sic)" For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: From 1965 to Kargil War and Pulwama attack, News Nation brings you the stories of our war heroes, who laid down theirA lives while protecting our borders and in the service of the motherland. The tales of their bravery andA never giving up attitudeA will be narrated byA their familyA membersA in our special show Shaurya Sammelan. The show is our small effort to give a platform to the family members of ourA martyred soldiers to express their emotions. On behalf of the entire News Nation, we thank our soldiers for their selfless service towards the nation. What family members ofA war heroes said: WATCH | What top defence experts has to say about India's military might and how the country can manage its enemies. Pakistan has only one issue that is anti-Indianism, says Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Rakesh Sharma. We don't want war but if Pakistan begins it, we are always prepared to give a fitting reply, says Tripta Thapar, mother of Capt Vijayant Thapar, Kargil martyr. #WATCH | We don't want war but if Pakistan begins it, we are always prepared to give a fitting reply, says Tripta Thapar, mother of Capt Vijayant Thapar, Kargil martyr.#PulwamaAttack #ShauryaSammelanhttps://t.co/RWW3Z0IwlL pic.twitter.com/XVhAwfPbdP a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 When my husband was going to attack Pakistan at Lahore border, i was bit scared, he didn't tell me that they were going, says 1965 Martyr Anant Rajas wife Usha. Army isn't for one but for our entire nation, says 1965 Martyras wife Usha #WATCH | When my husband was going to attack Pakistan at Lahore border, i was bit scared, he didn't tell me that they were going, says 1965 Martyr Anant Rajas wife Usha#PulwamaAttack #ShauryaSammelanhttps://t.co/RWW3Z0IwlL pic.twitter.com/Lnwn8QwDFJ a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 #ShauryaSammelan Army isn't for one but for our entire nation, says 1965 Martyras wife Usha#ShauryaSammelan Follow LIVE updates here:https://t.co/RWW3Z0qVud pic.twitter.com/j9S3943IfJ a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 Many parts of my Papa's body were missing. We couldn't show his body to our mother, says #Pulwama martyr Kaushal Rawat's daughter Apurva. We shouldnat think that Pakistan is weak. We donat want war but we should be ready to answer them, says, Tripta Thapar, mother of Capt Vijayant Thapar, Kargil martyr. We shouldnat think that Pakistan is weak. We donat want war but we should be ready to answer them, says, Tripta Thapar, mother of Capt Vijayant Thapar, Kargil martyr. Follow LIVE updates here: https://t.co/RWW3Z0IwlL pic.twitter.com/Sy3eyFmxM5 a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 Army isn't for one but for our entire nation, says 1965 Martyras wife Usha#ShauryaSammelan Follow LIVE updates here:https://t.co/RWW3Z0qVud pic.twitter.com/j9S3943IfJ a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 We shouldnat think that Pakistan is weak. We donat want war but we should be ready to answer them, says, Tripta Thapar, mother of Capt Vijayant Thapar, Kargil martyr. Follow LIVE updates here: https://t.co/RWW3Z0IwlL pic.twitter.com/Sy3eyFmxM5 a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) March 2, 2019 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In case you didnt know the spirited side of Prince Harry, this short anecdote with wifey and duchess Meghan Markle will enlighten you. During their royal trip in Morocco last week, the prince like most expecting fathers in all their excitement decided to pull a prank on Meghan and their baby. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were on a three-day visit to a school in the town of Asni to support girls' education when they were congratulated on their pregnancy. A captured BBC footage showed that the love birds and expecting parents will be seeing a lot of fun and pranks for their royal baby. In the footage, Harry can be seen taking dad jokes to a racy new level as he asks Meghan Markle if he is the father of the couple's upcoming baby. The funny footage captured by the BBC showed a funny banter exchange between the couple. Harry can be seen feigning shock as he asks Meghan, "What? You're pregnant?" The Duchess, like the good sport she always has been playing along with his game and replies back "Surprise!" as she and other members of the charity, Education for All, laughed along. But Harry wasn't done. He followed up with, "Is it mine?" which drew more laughter from Markle. The couple, who married May last year are expecting their first child this spring. You are here: World Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supports his "friend," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who faces immense pressure to step down as the country's leader. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conveyed President Vladimir Putin's words of support for and solidarity with Maduro Friday during talks with visiting Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. "Venezuela is a strategic partner of Russia ... We work very closely with your state and coordinate actions in the international arena," Lavrov told Rodriguez. Venezuela is undergoing "a frontal offensive and a shameless interference" in its internal affairs, and Russia categorically opposes such attempts and upholds the ideals, norms and principles of the UN Charter, Lavrov said. "We support the steps of the government of President Nicolas Maduro aimed at solving social and economic issues," the Russian top diplomat said. At a joint press conference following their talks, Rodriguez said Venezuela will continue to strengthen relations with Russia and expand bilateral cooperation. She said both countries expect to sign new deals on top of the existing 264 agreements at a meeting of the Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission in April. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier in the day that Putin did not plan to meet Rodriguez due to his tight schedule. New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Indiaas first mission to Mars, joined the millions of Indian to hail and welcome Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan VarthamanA who returned to India on Friday night after remaining in Pakistani custody for over 60 hours.A MOM, that has completed four years orbiting the Red Planet, tweeted this to welcome message for the brave Indian pilot: "We are proud of you #WingCommandarAbhinandan." We are proud of you #WingCommandarAbhinandan. a ISRO's Mars Orbiter (@MarsOrbiter) March 2, 2019 ISRO had launched the mission, on November 5, 2013, successfully placed itself into Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first attempt. Abhinandan Varthaman, IAF pilot Wing Commander who was captured by Pakistan, has been handed over to officials of the Indian High Commission at Wagah border near Lahore on Friday evening. Pakistan had detained him following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control when his MiG 21 fighter jet was downed on February 27. He was received by the top officials of the Indian Air Force at the Wagah border. Abhinandanas parents a his father is an IAF veteran a had travelled to Amritsar from Chennai this morning to meet him on arrival. However, the pilot was whisked away in a convoy by Indian officials away from the public glare. A "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He will now be taken for a detailed medical checkup because he had to eject from an aircraft. The IAF is happy to have him back," saidA Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor at Attari-Wagah border.A India on Wednesday summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and demandedA the immediateA and safe return of the IAF pilot who was detained by Pakistan following an aerial engagement by air forces of the two countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing a special joint sitting of the parliament on Thursday announced that Pakistan will release the pilot. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Canadian government on Friday approved the extradition proceedings against Huaweis chief financial officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou. However, as expected, a furious China hasnt taken this too kindly. Denouncing the decision, it sought for Mengs release. Meng, the daughter of Huaweis founder, was detained in Vancouver in December 2018 and is under house arrest. In late January, the US Justice Department charged Meng and Huawei with conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran. The US Department of Justice in its 13-count indictment charged Huawei and Meng with financial fraud. The indictment also accuses Huawei, its CFO, and other employees to deceive numerous global financial institutions and the US government regarding Huaweis business activities in Iran. Another 10-count indictment in Seattle, charged Huawei Device Co with theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. Meng is supposed to appear before a court in Vancouver on March 6, when a date will be set for her extradition hearing. Today, department of Justice Canada officials issued an authority to proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou, the government said in a statement as quoted by news agency Reuters. US Justice Department spokeswoman Nicole Navas Oxman said Washington thanked the Canadian government for its assistance. We greatly appreciate Canadas steadfast commitment to the rule of law, she said in a statement as quoted by the news agency. A final decision will likely come down to the federal justice minister, who will have to decide between angering the United States by rejecting the extradition bid, and China by accepting it. US President Donald Trump had told Reuters in December he would intervene if it served national security interests or helped close a trade deal with China, prompting Ottawa to stress the extradition process should not be politicised. After Mengs detention, Canada and Chinas relation has only gone downhill. China had arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling. London: Many modern laptops and an increasing number of desktop computers are much more vulnerable to hacking through common plug-in devices than previously thought, a study has found. The researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Rice University in the US shows that attackers can compromise an unattended machine in a matter of seconds through devices such as chargers and docking stations. Vulnerabilities were found in computers with Thunderbolt ports running Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD. Many modern laptops and an increasing number of desktops are susceptible. The researchers exposed the vulnerabilities through Thunderclap, an open-source platform they have created to study the security of computer peripherals and their interactions with operating systems. It can be plugged into computers using a USB-C port that supports the Thunderbolt interface and allows the researchers to investigate techniques available to attackers. They found that potential attacks could take complete control of the target computer. In addition to plug-in devices like network and graphics cards, attacks can also be carried out by seemingly innocuous peripherals like chargers and projectors that correctly charge or project video but simultaneously compromise the host machine. Computer peripherals such as network cards and graphics processing units have direct memory access (DMA), which allows them to bypass operating system security policies. DMA attacks abusing this access have been widely employed to take control of and extract sensitive data from target machines. Current systems feature input-output memory management units (IOMMUs) which can protect against DMA attacks by restricting memory access to peripherals that perform legitimate functions and only allowing access to non-sensitive regions of memory. However, IOMMU protection is frequently turned off in many systems and the new research shows that, even when the protection is enabled, it can be compromised. "We have demonstrated that current IOMMU usage does not offer full protection and that there is still the potential for sophisticated attackers to do serious harm," said Brett Gutstein, who is one of the research team. The vulnerabilities were discovered in 2016 and the researchers have been working with technology companies such as Apple, Intel and Microsoft to address the security risks. Companies have begun to implement fixes that address some of the vulnerabilities that the researchers uncovered; several vendors have released security updates in the last two years. However, the research shows that solving the general problem remains elusive and that recent developments, such as the rise of hardware interconnects like Thunderbolt 3 that combine power input, video output and peripheral device DMA over the same port, have greatly increased the threat from malicious devices, charging stations and projectors that take control of connected machines. The researchers want to see technology companies taking further action, but also stress the need for individuals to be aware of the risks. "It is essential that users install security updates provided by Apple, Microsoft and others to be protected against the specific vulnerabilities we have reported," said Theodore Markettos, who led the study. "However, platforms remain insufficiently defended from malicious peripheral devices over Thunderbolt and users should not connect devices they do not know the origin of or do not trust," he said. New Delhi: Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said in New Delhi Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old overweight terrorist mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999, in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits, another official said. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the Soviet-Afghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania, the second official said. He also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 Jawans. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Russia on Friday offered to mediate and provide the venue to Pakistan and India for the talks to resolve their current differences, news agency PTI reported. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov spoke to his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi over the telephone and discussed the situation in the region following the escalation of tensions between the two neighbours, it said. "Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov reiterated his country's offer of mediation and provision of a venue for the talks between India and Pakistan," the FO added. Qureshi appreciated Russia's balanced and constructive role in de-escalation of tensions in the region. He welcomed the Russian offer and said that he had acknowledged Moscow's constructive role in Parliament while addressing the joint session earlier in the day, which was well received. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue consultations for the promotion of peace and stability in the region, according to FO. Earlier, Pakistan handed over IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman through Wagah Border on Friday. While speaking in Parliament, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that they would release captive Indian Air Force pilot on Friday as a 'big peace gesture'. Khan's surprise announcement to a joint session of Parliament, that Varthaman will be released Friday, was greeted by loud thumping of desks by the lawmakers. Earlier, his foreign minister said Khan was also willing to talk to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the phone to talk peace. India on Wednesday summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and demanded the immediate and safe return of the IAF pilot who was detained by Pakistan following an aerial engagement by air forces of the two countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing a special joint sitting of the parliament on Thursday announced that Pakistan will release the pilot. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Flash The Chinese government on Friday handed over a China-aided satellite television project to the Burundian government, which will benefit 300 villages in the central African country. The project is one of the fruits of the 2015 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in South Africa, in which the Chinese government pledged to provide satellite television to 10,000 villages in 25 African countries. The project will have positive effects on different areas of Burundi and will promote cooperation between China and Burundi, said Chinese Ambassador to Burundi Li Changlin in Bujumbura, commercial capital of Burundi, before signing a handover document with Burundian Communication and Media Minister Frederic Nahimana. The project has social value as it will directly help local people access information concerning domestic and global events, said Li. China is Burundi's reliable partner and it also contributes to other development projects of Burundi in areas of infrastructure, health, education and human resources development, said the envoy. Nahimana thanked China for including Burundian villages in the project. "This project will help less fortunate households to have access to TV, information, national and international programs," the minister said. Nahimana also awarded Chinese digital TV service provider StarTimes a certificate for successfully implementing the project. The First High Criminal Court yesterday sentenced two defendants to death after finding them guilty of smuggling 68 kilograms of hashish from Iran through the sea. Without revealing further information on the defendants age or nationalities, Muharraq Governorate Chief Prosecutor Adnan Mattar confirmed that three individuals were involved in the case. He explained in a statement issued here yesterday that the court ordered to impose the capital punishment on two of the defendants and to fine them BD10,000 each, while the third defendant was fined BD13,000. The details of the incident were initiated when the Public Prosecution received a report from the Anti-Narcotics Department in Interior Ministry, informing that a network that smuggles and promotes narcotic substances in the country, with the purpose of selling, was detected, Mr Mattar said in the statement. He explained further: The department was also informed that the network is working to bring in further quantities of narcotic substances in co-ordination with an Iranian citizen, who supplies them at the borders of the territorial waters of the Kingdom. The official said the defendants were caught in the middle of the sea as a result of co-ordination between Interior Ministrys Police Aviation and Coast Guard Command. Sixty-eight one-kilo blocks of hashish were detected in the possession of the defendants. The Public Prosecution had earlier accused the defendants of smuggling drugs with the intention of selling and referred the case to the First Criminal Court, which announced its sentence yesterday. Drug smugglers are frequently detected in Bahrains territorial waters while coming from Iran. On February 19 this year, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of five drug traffickers who were attempting to traffic more than BD1.6 million worth of Hashish, Marijuana and Shabu from Iran through sea. ArtBAB, the regions youngest and most promising art fair will open doors from 7 to 10 March 2019 at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre. The fair will be held under the patronage of HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King of Bahrain and President of the Supreme Council for Women. The fair will see 16 international galleries from Buenos Aires, Paris, Antwerp, Greece, Bulgaria and many more showcase their works alongside local artists. This year there are 17 artist stands and a BAAB Pavilion of Bahraini contemporary art show tasking 30 artists. Gallery view Fairs & Programme Director Kaneka Subberwal said, Through this exciting fair we are building our legacy for the future. By collaborating with such a wealth of artisanal design talents and bringing knowledge of artificial intelligence to the arts, we can welcome a host of fascinating artists and galleries to this exciting fourth edition of the fair. Bahrain continues to push boundaries in the arts and I hope these new initiatives demonstrate this. TAG Fine Arts will present a specially curated contemporary cartographic display, featuring beautiful and highly creative maps of Bahrain and the surrounding area by seven international artists. Ewan David Easons impressive Mappa Mundi Bahrain is inspired by his series of continents, countries and cities, and draws on his stunning use of gold leaf. Justine Smith integrates mapping and banknotes in her powerful Money Maps of the World series to explore the role of money in peoples lives and to illustrate key aspects of history and culture. Making an exciting return to ArtBAB this year is Bulgarian Art Agency Ltd with incredible artworks by Zurab Tsereteli, the renowned Georgian-Russian artist and architect. Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts, has been at the forefront of Georgian and Russian art for over forty years with works including the 1997 Moscow landmark statue Peter the Great, and the re-design of the outstanding Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the Moscow River. A leading modern and contemporary art gallery from Paris, Galerie Bruno Massa will exhibit artworks by emerging German painter Ursula Schregel and Jordanian artist and photographer Wedad Alnasser, and striking blown glass sculptures by Rudolf Breda. In addition, NK Gallery will travel from Antwerp to display works by acclaimed Belgian artist Didier Mahieu whose works in multiple mediums from painting to film earned him the 1993 Princess Grace International Prize in Contemporary Art. Core Art Gallery from Greece and Buenos Airesbased contemporary art gallery Quimera Galeria will contribute to the impressive international line up along with Art Lounge, which aims to spread the work of international artists throughout Portugal. Cosmic Heart Gallery brings Natasha Lalla and Shailan Parkers creative and abstract artistic creations from Mumbai. Participating from the Middle East is the Baghdad Art Gallery who can be seen alongside leading Dubai galleries Fann A Porter and Sconci Art Gallery. ArtBAB 2019 will also feature Zu_Cace, the innovative gallery from Zayed Universitys College of Arts and Creative Enterprises. Style quotient The pioneering Artisans Across Borders project that seeks to renew the ancient crafts of Bahrain will showcase finished collectables and a limited edition range of products in a design room. The products have been designed under the directorship of well-renowned Indian fashion design guru and luxury fashion icon, JJ Valaya assisted by Ameena Khan. Many regional firsts ArtBABs speakers programme will also launch a world premiere on Art & Islamic Finance, as a debate between Deloitte Art & Finance Luxembourg and Deloitte Islamic Finance and Knowledge Centre (IFKC) Bahrain. Other featured elements will include a VR tour of world-renowned art collections which is a regional first, predicting trends through blockchain, Game-changing VR and AI art in the art movement and a shared talk space for 40 cultural and tech leaders from 20 countries. The High Criminal Court yesterday issued a life sentence to a Bahraini convicted of possessing contraband weapons and ammunition for terrorist purposes and abetting fugitives who had committed crimes punishable by death or incarceration. The court also fined him BD500 and ordered to revoke his nationality, said Terror Crime Chief Procecutor Ahmed Al Hammadi. Investigators found that the defendant concealed several fugitives who were members of an armed terrorist group that killed a policeman and facilitated the escape of inmates in the Jau reformatorys jailbreak. Bahrain has condemned the terrorist bombing that took place in Mogadishu in Somalia, resulting in the death and injury of a number of people. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the Kingdoms solidarity with Somalia in its fight against violence, extremism, and terrorism. The ministry extended its deep condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured as a result of this heinous act. The ministry also reiterated the Kingdoms firm stance in rejecting all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism. The ministry also condemned the terror blasts in Mosul, in which two people were killed. Somalias special forces killed all three gunmen who had taken over a building in central Mogadishu, using civilians as human shields, officials say. The attack, which killed 20 people, began late on Thursday when Al Shabab militants stormed an area lined with hotels, shops and restaurants. They then seized a nearby building. This was the longest siege by the militant group since it was forced out of the Somali capital in 2011. The final gunman was killed about 22 hours after the initial attack. At least two people were killed and 24 wounded in a car bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday, police and medical sources said. Police said a vehicle packed with explosives was parked near the perimeters of Mosul University, in the centre of the city. Mosul, which was recaptured last year from the Islamic State militants who had overrun northern Iraq three years prior, has been the site of several bomb blasts in recent months, one of which killed five people in November. A UN probe yesterday said there is evidence Israel committed crimes against humanity in responding to last years protests in Gaza, as snipers targeted people clearly identifiable as children, health workers and journalists. Israel immediately rejected the findings as hostile, deceitful and biased. The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory investigated violations committed during demonstrations in the Gaza strip between March 30 and December 31 of 2018. Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, committee chair Santiago Canton said in a statement. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, he added. The commission, set up by the UN Human Rights Council in May, said that more than 6,000 unarmed demonstrators were shot by military snipers during weeks of protest. The Commission found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli snipers shot at journalists, health workers, children and persons with disabilities, knowing they were clearly recognisable as such, it said. Israels foreign minister said the Jewish State rejects the report outright. Protests civilian in nature The UN investigators stressed that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli troops killed and injured Palestinians who were neither directly participating in hostilities, nor posing an imminent threat. The demonstrations were civilian in nature, it said. Despite some acts of significant violence, the Commission found that the demonstrations did not constitute combat or military campaigns. The investigators told reporters in Geneva that they did not have access to the Israeli militarys rules of engagement concerning the suppression of protests. But, based on publicly available evidence including submissions to Israelis Supreme Court, the commission said there is evidence that Israeli troops have been instructed that they can use lethal force against those who may be inciting others to engage in dangerous protests. The so-called main inciters provision is totally at odds with international law and must be removed from Israels rules of engagement, Canton told reporters. Israel did not cooperate with the probe or provide access to Gaza. The United Arab Emirates and Singapore have signed a comprehensive partnership agreement, along with a number of memoranda of understanding, MoUs, in the education, technology, and environment sectors, with the aim to benefit both countries interests. Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, attended the signing ceremony. An agreement was signed between ADNOC and Nanyang Technological University, NTU Singapore, was signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and Professor Ling San, Provost and Vice President (Academic) at NTU Singapore. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, signed an MoU on the protection of the environment. As for green projects development and applying best practices, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority, and Dr Leong Chee Chiew, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of Parks and Recreation at the National Parks Board. Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his hope that through the signing of these agreements, the two countries will work together towards broadening spheres of co-operation and joint action, serving the interests of both countries and their peoples. He added that UAE-Singapore ties are witnessing tangible developments, driven by the mutual desire of the two friendly countries to diversify co-operation in new areas contributing to the overall progress of the two countries. The UAE and Singapore have succeeded in adopting development models and emulating infrastructure projects via advanced international standards, said the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince. The Saudi energy minister said yesterday he is leaning towards extending oil production cuts in the second half of 2019, despite US President Donald Trumps demand to keep prices down. OPEC countries and other major oil producers in January began implementing a six-month deal to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day to shore up sagging prices. We remain flexible. I am leaning towards the likelihood of an extension in the second half of this year for the output cuts, Khalid al-Falih, energy minister of the worlds top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, told CNBC television in Riyadh. His comments come just two days after Trump criticised the producer group for rising crude prices. Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy, Trump tweeted on Monday. World cannot take a price hike -- fragile! Responding to the tweet, Falih said: We are taking it easy. The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach... We are interested in market stability first and foremost, he added. Falih said it was hard to foresee the situation in June when the agreement between major oil producers, including Russia, expires. All of the outlooks that I have seen well need to moderate production in the second half of this year, but you never know, he said. OPEC production fell to a fouryear low in January as the cartel, and Saudi Arabia, applied the new pact to shore up prices, the International Energy Agency said this month. Oil prices crashed in mid2014 to below $30 a barrel, down from over $100 a barrel, due to a glut in supplies and weakening global demand. Speaking at a symposium organised by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum, Falih said a lack of adequate investments in oil and gas, which OPEC estimates at $11 trillion by 2040, would see supplies fall short of demand. OPEC and our non-OPEC partners, led by Russia, continue to play their role in helping to balance the market, the minister said. But sustaining that role requires timely investments, reliable supply, and appropriate spare capacity, he added. Flash U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that he hoped for the continuation of the dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, according to a statement issued by the State Department. "Each side had agreed that there was clearly more conversation to be had. I hope we can continue the dialogue," Pompeo said in Manila during his interview with ABS-CBN, a media group from the Philippines. The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "didn't quite get as far in this summit as we would have hoped," Pompeo noted, adding the two sides still "made some progress" in the two-day summit in Hanoi. U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, ended their second meeting in Vietnam's capital on Thursday without reaching an agreement. Trump said at a press conference after the summit that "basically they (DPRK) want the sanctions lifted, in their entirety, and we couldn't do that." Countering the U.S. claims, Ri Yong Ho, the DPRK's foreign minister, told a separate press conference that Pyongyang only proposed the removal of sanctions that directly affect the livelihoods of its people. If the United States agrees to the proposal, the DPRK "will permanently and completely dismantle all nuclear production facilities in the Yongbyon area, including plutonium and uranium in the presence of U.S. experts and by the joint work of technicians of both countries," Ri said. Next-generation wireless technology is taking the medical world a crucial step closer to robots performing remotely-controlled surgery, a doctor in Spain said Wednesday after carrying out the worlds first 5G-powered telementored operation. Doctors have telementored surgeries in the past using wireless networks but blazing fast 5G increases image quality and definition which are crucial for medical teams to take decisions with as much information, and as few mistakes, as possible. This is a first step to achieve our dream, which is to make remote operations in the near future, said Doctor Antonio de Lacy, after providing real-time guidance via a 5G video link from a Barcelona congress centre to a surgical team which operated on a patient with an intestinal tumour about five kilometres (three miles) away at the Hospital Clinic. 5G greatly reduces latency -- the time it takes to get a response to information sent -- of wireless networks so images and data is relayed almost instantly. De Lacy, the head of the hospitals gastrointestinal surgery service, used his finger to draw on a screen an area of the intestine where nerves are located and instructed the team how to navigate the surgery. The demonstration was part of the Mobile World Congress, the mobile industrys biggest annual global event, which is being held in the Mediterranean coastal city this week. John Hoffman, the chief executive officer of mobile communications industry body GSMA which organises the annual trade fair, said it was the worlds first 5G mentored live surgery. This is truly revolutionary and just one of the benefits that 5G will bring us, he added. During the operation the 5G connection had a lag time of just 0.01 seconds, compared to the 0.27-second latency period with the 4G wireless networks which currently predominate in developing nations. If you are going to do remote assisted surgery, you need to be almost there in person. You cannot have more than a couple of milliseconds latency. And that is where 5G technology comes in, GSMA director general Mats Granryd said. DANBURY An incarcerated Danbury man will face additional charges after admitting to crimes while being questioned by police. Eddinson Sanchez, 23, of Brushy Hill Road, was charged with first-degree burglary, risk of injury to a minor, second-degree threatening, sixth-degree larceny, first-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, credit card theft and third-degree assault on an elderly person. On Sept. 4, 2018, a burglary was reported overnight in the Liberty Street area of the city. The suspect, later identified as Sanchez, climbed into a second-story bedroom window, police said. While Sanchez tried to take items from the home, the resident woke up and confronted Sanchez. Sanchez threatened the resident with a large kitchen knife and fled, police said. Investigators retrieved video footage from a nearby business and posted it on the departments Facebook page. The public helped police identify Sanchez as the suspect. Police said during an interview with Sanchez about the burglary, he admitted to robbing an elderly woman near St. Peter Church on Oct. 22, 2018. When Sanchez stole the womans purse, he pushed her down, causing her to suffer significant injuries, police said. Based on the investigations, police applied for arrest warrants for Sanchez, which were later granted by the state Superior Court in Danbury. When police served Sanchez with the arrest warrants, he was already incarcerated. Information obtained during both investigations corroborated Sanchezs admissions, police said. Sanchez also admitted to several additional crimes, which are currently being investigated. A 16-year-old girl was arrested Friday after she stabbed two teenagers, one fatally, who attacked her in the driveway of her San Antonio home, police said. Officials identified the 18-year-old killed as Kaitlin Leonor Castilleja. She graduated from high school last year, according to a school district spokeswoman. Authorities have not identified the suspect because she's a minor. She has been booked into a juvenile detention facility. Castilleja's aunt, Marie Fernandez, said the two girls had been arguing on social media long before their confrontation Friday morning. "She isn't able to give you her side of the story, but it's been ongoing bullying on both sides," she said. "It's social media. There's so many factors that have contributed to this, and at the end of the day, whether it was wrong, in all aspects my niece had no intentions of hurting anyone." According to a preliminary police report, Castilleja and Vivian Foster, 18, went to the suspect's house at about 1 a.m. Friday. During the fight, the suspect stabbed both of the girls, causing superficial cuts to Foster but mortal wounds to Castilleja, police said. The suspect then called police to "report she had been assaulted in her driveway when she arrived home from work" and that the two alleged victims had been messaging her on social media "stating they want to fight her," authorities said. According to Live Oak police Lt. Matt Malone, the victims went to Northeast Methodist Hospital. They told officers they had been "stabbed after 'jumping' a girl at her house," according to a police report. Paramedics took Castilleja to San Antonio Military Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. Friday. Officers went to the suspect's home and found the crime scene in the driveway. They discovered the "murder weapon" at the scene, according to the preliminary report. The 16-year-old suspect was then arrested in connection with the stabbings and charged with homicide. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media The lawsuit, filed in May, accused the city of "failing to act in part because one of the callers is the son of Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy." The exact amount the Board of Education paid the family of Candace Owens, now an 18-year-old Stamford High graduate, was made public yesterday after The Advocate filed a Freedom of Information request last week. The Board of Education spent an additional $25,000 on legal expenses, including representation by a Hartford law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP, school board spokeswoman Sarah Arnold said. The case was terminated two weeks ago at a settlement conference, according to court records. As part of the settlement, the Board of Education denied any wrongdoing and liability. The school board has 30 days from the settlement date to pay the Owens family by check to their attorney, Norman Pattis. The entire $62,500 tab will come out of a $375,000 legal fund. "The case was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties," said Patrick Fahey, one of the attorneys who represented the Board of Education. He declined to comment further. Neither Pattis nor Robert Owens, the father of Candace Owens, returned phone messages. The Board of Education attempted to keep the terms of the settlement from being disclosed because of a confidentiality clause. But the Freedom of Information Commission said that any settlement funded by taxpayers is public record unless it is sealed by the court. The settlement marked the end of a yearlong controversy that stoked racial tensions and political drama. Last February, at least one of five teenagers sitting in a car left messages threatening to kill Owens, who is black, and repeatedly used a racial epithet. In one of three messages, one of them referred to her as "dirty" and threatened to burn her house down and tar and feather her. The group included Malloy's youngest son, Sam, then 14. The mayor released a statement in March saying his son cooperated with police and did not know the alleged ringleader, Evan Kopek, or Owens before the night of the calls. He has declined comment since then. Kopek, now 18, was a former friend and classmate of Owens. Two days before the phone incident, they had a shouting match during class. School officials suspended Kopek for that but would not discipline him and the other boys for an incident committed off school grounds unless the police made an arrest, which drew criticism from the state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Owens left school for six weeks, saying it was traumatic to attend with the alleged callers. She returned after Kopek was arrested in late March. Another teen was arrested later that spring. School officials would not say whether they disciplined Kopek after the arrest. The lawsuit said the decision to delay suspensions amounted to a failure to protect Owens. The suit accused the city of violating the federal Title IX rule banning discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. The school system has "continued to do nothing to protect Ms. Owens from repeated harassment and intimidation by the young men and their friends," the suit stated. None of the students involved in the case attends Stamford High any more, Arnold said. Candace Owens was arrested in an unrelated harassment case in October. In November, Kopek pleaded to being a youthful offender and had his case sealed. He will have no criminal record. He faced charges of first-degree harassment and second-degree intimidation by bigotry or bias. It is not known whether Malloy's son was charged because he is a juvenile. Flash The United States and South Korea would downgrade two large-scale joint military exercises this spring, U.S. media reported on Friday. The two major exercises, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, would be replaced with a limited version of "mission-specific training," NBC News reported, citing two U.S. defense officials. The downgrade decision came right after the conclusion of the Hanoi summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which failed to reach an agreement. U.S. officials said that the downgrade decision has been under consideration for some time and was not related to the Hanoi summit, according to the report, adding that the decision was expected to be announced by the United States and South Korea in the next few days. Following his first summit with Kim in Singapore last June, Trump announced that Washington would suspend large-scale joint military exercises with Seoul, underlining the vast cost of the exercises. The combined forces of the United States and South Korea have annually staged springtime war games from March to April, including the Key Resolve command post exercise and the Foal Eagle field training drill. The DPRK has denounced the war games as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, vestigial of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended with an armistice. NEW HAVEN An environmental issues consultant is advising the city that it does not have to proceed with testing housing for toxic levels of lead paint until a childs blood lead level is three to four times what New Haven has been using. Attorney Amy Marx, who has brought several New Haven cases to court seeking injunctions to get apartments abated in a timely manner as childrens blood lead levels increased, said such a change in policy would be outrageous. It defies the common sense meaning of the rule of law. In addition, as a matter of policy, it would be a terrible choice to decide to roll back protections we have had for decades, Marx said. Attorney Nancy Mendel, who has practiced environmental law for more than 20 years, said she has been the citys environmental consultant for more than a decade. She said Mayor Toni Harp called her in for advice when the abatement cases started ending up in Housing Court and the number of potential abatements increased. The fight has several elements, driven by rising costs. One issue is when to test the toxic lead level in paint that sets off an order to abate. Another is consideration of cost versus an early abatement to protect children. The third is who can change a policy based on an ordinance put into effect by the legislative body decades ago. The last is having two different policies on lead testing, one for federally supported housing and one for the rest of the city. Marx said if the administration put a different policy into effect it would be an abuse of power without a change in the law, as well as a reversal in the national trend to lower the standard at which toxic lead in paint should be tested and then abated. She said the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development already mandates an environmental review of the thousands of public housing and Section 8 apartments it underwrites at the same lower trigger now used by the city under its ordinance. Acting under a higher standard would create two sets of protection, with less protection for the rest of the city, Marx said. Mendel is taking issue with the interpretation of New Havens lead ordinance that the process of notifying parents and then fairly quickly proceeding to a test for toxic levels of lead begins when the city is notified that a child under age 6 has a blood lead level equal to or in excess of 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Once high levels of lead are found in painted interior and exterior surfaces, as well as in the soil, an order to the landlord to abate the area sets off a tight 30-day timeframe with which Mendel said the city cannot keep up. New Haven has experience with having lowered the level that it goes and tests at. What has happened is an unintended consequence where it has overwhelmed our resources and our costs to be able to track. We dont have the inspectors to do all this, Mendel said. Mendel contends the only legal requirement the city is mandated to follow is the states standard, which is also referenced in the citys ordinance. Testing for lead in paint chips and dust under the states standard occurs when a childs blood lead level is equal to or greater than 20 micrograms per deciliter of blood or there are two tests within three months that show the level has stayed at 15 micrograms per deciliter. The attorney said the city is now the test case for what happens when a lower standard is in place. Mendel said that does not mean the city does nothing until the blood lead level reaches 20 micrograms per deciliter. She said it is her understanding that the inspectors advise parents on nutrition, the importance of keeping the apartment clean of flaking paint and dust that can contain lead and are warned about certain toys that could contain lead. But Marx said under the New Haven law, the city Department of Health has protected children at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference level of concern since 1990, when the Board of Aldermen at that time updated a 1972 ordinance on lead poison prevention by looking to the CDC. Marx has estimated through statistical ratio analysis that 363 children ages 6 and under suffered from lead poisoning in New Haven in 2017, according to a revised city and state Department of Health standard, as well as the standard set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (over 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood) Harp, in her state of the city address last month, said that while 494 children in New Haven were reported at or above 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood in 2002, in 2017, the number of children reported at that level or above had shrunk to 90. Efforts to continue that precipitous decline one housing unit at a time continue. Marx said the state Department of Health itself, in its 2016 annual disease surveillance report, states that children with a blood lead level equal to or greater than 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood are considered to be lead poisoned. The state lowered its case management action level from 10 to 5 to correspond with the CDC reference value. That CDC level of concern has continued to drop to a lower trigger over the years and reached a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter in 2012. Mendel is challenging the interpretation of the citys ordinance that defines lead poisoning as a blood lead concentration equal to or greater than 20 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood, or any other abnormal body burden of lead as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The last part has been interpreted as referring to the CDCs level of concern by Marx, as well as the city, which has issued abatement orders based on it, some of which will end up being prosecuted in Housing Court. Mendel contends that any other abnormal body burden of lead does not equate to a blood lead level that eventually can lead to an abatement order. It means any kind of level of lead found otherwise than in the blood, she said. Mendel said reaching the level of concern means a child has been exposed to lead and while the next question is what is that source, it does not mean an immediate need to technically test for toxic lead paint levels. The leading cause of lead poisoning in Connecticut is the paint in homes where families live, according to J.L. Pottenger Jr., supervising attorney for the Housing Clinic at the Yale Law School, who recently testified on a bill being discussed at the state. Mendel said the city made a discretionary determination that this was the right thing to do, lets say, when it chose to use the level 5 to begin inspections. She said she is trying to get the city back on track so they dont end up spending inordinate amounts of money in court when all they are trying to do was a good thing and take care of children. Mendel contends that the sometimes two-to-three-month process to qualify for a federal Housing and Urban Development loan for a homeowner to help pay for an abatement throws off the tight timeline defined in the law by the city and the state. Court testimony in the suits brought by Marx found that abatements had to be redone after the city had signed off on them. Also, there was a failure to file plans on land records outlining the necessary maintenance and inadequate notification of parents. Three different judges have ordered abatements to be done by the city and the families moved out, if the homeowner is unresponsive or cant afford to do the work, with the city leining the property or seeking HUD funds for repayment. A request has been sent to the city seeking what the cost has been. In a recent case that came before an aldermanic committee, the city spent $60,777 for the abatement and relocation of a family living on Elm Street. The home was recently sold and the city has been repaid. Marx maintains the issue is not with the citys ordinance but with the administration of the citys health department, which can be fixed. There is no doubt that the court cases against the city showed that it was doing an absolutely terrible job protecting the health of the children in New Haven whose blood lead levels were 5 micrograms and more per deciliter. But the response to this is to do the job properly, not to abdicate its responsibility. The inefficiencies can and should be fixed at this moment in time when other states have shown the way, Marx said. The city has to appoint a lead poisoning advisory committee, which Mendel said will help establish policies going forward. Marx said the New Haven Legal Assistance Association is demanding that it be named to the group as an outside objective body that has seen the details of the problem. She said the law cant be over ridden simply because the city wont admit administrative inadequacies. There is a bill before the state Public Health Committee that would make the lower standard mandatory statewide, and it is being opposed by towns and the state Department of Health as too costly and burdensome to meet, but praised by advocates working in the field. Attorney Emily Benfer, the director of the Health Justice Advocacy Clinic at Columbia Law School and a national expert on lead poisoning prevention and healthy homes legislation, sent testimony to committee. In 2016, she said there were 1,895 children under age six, according to the state, whose blood lead levels would have to reach 20 micrograms per deciliter before an environmental investigation of their homes was required. She said the states level of 20 is based on the CDCs 1991 recommendations and no longer comply with medical or scientific recommendations. As a result, they fail to protect children from an entirely preventable disease and the severe and permanent brain damage lead poisoning causes. Benfer said the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that no amount of lead in the blood is safe and children require a wide margin of safety. ... Lead poisoning presents an urgent health and safety threat to children, causing irreversible neurological harm that affects bodily functions, growth, cognition, behavior, and development. At the lowest levels of exposure, lead poisoning can lead to permanent brain damage and premature death, reduced IQ, diminished intellectual and academic abilities, academic failure, juvenile delinquency, high blood pressure, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, development delay and premature death, she wrote, referencing the World Health Organization. Raul Pino, commissioner of public health in Connecticut, also submitted testimony, which was mirrored by statements from towns and regional groups representing municipalities as to the cost factor. He said an estimated 120 inspections are required under the current lead statutes, which are time consuming and require local health department resources. The implementation of the changes outlines in this proposed bill would result in an additional 1,200 comprehensive lead inspections and epidemiological investigations annually. The four local health departments with the highest percentage of lead poisoned children would bear the responsibility of 900 of those inspections, increasing their annual caseload by 160-300 inspections, Pino wrote. One section of the bill goes beyond the level used in New Haven where children would be tested at lead levels of 3 and 4 micrograms per deciliter, which Pino questioned. He said the cost of the bill would be significant. While he supports the intent, The financial barriers to implement these changes would be difficult to overcome. mary.oleary@hearstmediact.coml 203-641-2577 Why are lawmakers always meddling in the private affairs of private citizens? Who knew that a knock on the door to get your vote would give ordinary men and women the power to keep you or your loved ones locked in pain and misery for years while they debate whether a person should have the right to have someone help them end their own lives? These lawmakers are not sitting at someones hospital bedside holding their hand while they lay in misery. I would doubt they even know these people so why are they involved? Sometimes the way we do things in this country is a complete mystery to me. We put down animals to keep them from suffering and yet we debate whether humans in the same condition should suffer? The act of suicide, though disturbing and painful for those left behind, it is not illegal. But assisting someone to do so is. That is why the issue is back before the General Assembly in yet another incarnation this time as HB 5898, An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill. The measure received hearings under different bills in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 but never made it out of committee, according to a report in CTMirror. The new bill, introduced by Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, is before the Joint Committee on Public Health. It has growing support including the Massachusetts Medical Society, which recently dropped its opposition. It is a hot-button issue with legitimate arguments on both sides of the table, but to me it comes down to a matter of choice. That is why I wonder, what makes our legislators think they have the right to determine what a person does with his or her own life? I really hate politicians wading into my personal life and making decisions they should have no part of. I would much more prefer they spend their time coming up with ideas to produce more revenue other than whats in their constituents wallets than worry about how people choose to leave this Earth. And I am not the only one. Judy Centurelli wants to be able to die with dignity. The then-74-year-old Connecticut resident told legislators last year she does not want what is currently offered in this state should she become terminally ill. What worries me most about dying is not having any control over how and when it will occur should I become too ill or incapacitated to have any hope of once again living a life that I would consider worth living, said her written testimony before the Connecticut legislature. I want death with dignity not tubes and artificial means of keeping me alive. I want choice in how I end my days. I have chosen how I want to live my life and I want to choose how I will end it. I think many of us feel the same way. I certainly dont want to lie in a hospital bed suffering in agonizing pain but helpless because some politician I dont know says I must. As outlined in the bill, a patient wanting to end his or her life undergoes a psychiatric evaluation, submits two written requests at least two weeks apart and, once they have been determined mentally sound and capable of making their own decision to die independently, a physician prescribes the medication the patient personally must ingest to bring about their death. I dont see anything wrong with that. Neither do 61 percent of Connecticut residents, according to a 2018 Quinnipiac University poll, which found Republicans favored assisted suicide 51 percent to 42 percent, Democrats supported it 66-28 and Independents 63-31. It also is legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., and 21 other states are considering some form of it. But apparently, it has been a huge leap for lawmakers in Connecticut. Sara Myers and other Connecticut residents did not have the choice and the end of their lives was very painful, according to Tim Appleton, U.S. field director of Compassion and Choices, a nonprofit that supports assisted suicide initiatives on a national level. The conversation started with Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who made national headlines by helping people suffering from debilitating conditions end their lives. He was convicted in 1999 and spent eight years behind bars for assisting terminally ill patients with suicide. But the conversation rages on. This isnt exactly a feelgood Sunday morning conversation but it is one I think affects all people. I simply dont want any lawmaker telling me I have to live in pain and suffer because they say so. They are supposed to add options to peoples lives, not take them away. Before her death, Myers remarked, Knowing that youre going to die in a horrible, painful way is a very scary thought. I cant imagine what it must have been like for her. But it did not have to be that way for Myers and many others. No matter how people feel on the subject, it will eventually become the law because it has the support of 18- to 29-years-olds by a wide margin, 63-28, according to the QU poll. The only question in my mind is why do we need a law to give terminally ill people the right to end their lives? That is just too much government. Suicide? Terminally ill patients shouldnt need an OK. Editors note: This column has been updated to reflect it is the Massachusetts Medical Society, not the Connecticut Medical Society, that has stopped opposing aid-in-dying. James Walker is the New Haven Registers senior editor and a statewide columnist for Hearst Connecticut newspapers. He can be reached at 203-680-9389 or james.walker@hearstmediact.com. Follow him on Twitter @thelieonroars Lewis J. Beilman III begins many of his days by sitting down at 6 a.m. and writing short stories about the relationships, racial divisions and misunderstandings that now surround us. After an hour or so of work, he heads off to his full-time job as a grant writer at Cornell Scott Hill Health Center. His early morning work has paid off with the recent publication of The Changing Tide (Adelaide Books), a collection of 10 short stories and a novella. Im a Hamden resident who writes short stories in my spare time, Beilman told a group of friends and family at Hamdens Books & Co. on a recent Saturday afternoon. My stories are about characters who embrace or reject change. The issues include immigration and racial and ethnic divisions. Then Beilman began to read the first story in his book, They Were There. A man hears a robbery and murder happening near his home, grabs his .38 Special and after he goes outside he sees two young dark-skinned males standing near a body. Thugs, he thinks to himself as he pulls out his gun and shouts: On the ground. But instead the two males run off. Steve Wessel, the man with the gun, sees that the victim has had his skull crushed with a rock. When the police arrive, Wessel tell them: I saw the perpetrators. They were two black men. Shortly afterward a black detective drives up and asks Wessel some questions about what he saw. The detective listens to the account about the two supposed perpetrators, then asks: What made you think they attacked the victim? They were there, Wessel replies, taken aback by the question. The two African-American guys were right there over the body. Wessel also tells the detective: Im sorry I didnt shoot those bastards when I had the chance. Wessel, who regularly reads right-wing blogs such as Breitbart, The Drudge Report and Hot Air, is interviewed about the crime for a politically conservative radio talk show. But before he goes on, the detective tells him the investigation has proved the two black youths were 16-year-old high school students who were in the area to buy candy at a gas station, saw two men arguing and then saw one of them strike the other with a rock. Another witness confirmed the youths account. When Wessel goes on the talk show and reports the youths were released, the host angrily says: I bet if those two murderers had been white, they would be in jail right now. After Beilman read a portion of that short story, a member of the audience asked what had inspired him to write it. Beilman said it was the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed black high school student who was killed by George Zimmerman at a gated housing complex in Florida in 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. In a follow-up email to me, Beilman said: Despite the fact that George Zimmerman was found not guilty, I still consider the event a murder one of the many murders of young black men where justice reveals it isnt color blind, at least not in the United States. In another email message, Beilman said his stories often deal with contemporary social issues and I am particularly concerned with the issue of racial equality. Much of this concern is due to moral considerations, but a big part of the concern is personal. I am in a long-term interracial relationship and have a 15-year-old black stepson. Beilman added, I hope the world will be a fairer, safer place for him to grow up in. During Beilmans talk at the bookstore, he also was asked about the role of the news media in his stories. Beilman noted we are living in a time where people are debating about fake news. Beilman pointed out the protagonist in They Were There listens to right-wing radio. It has a damaging effect on peoples lives. It has heightened fears of people who are different than you, pushing you to dislike the outsider, to make decisions that are kind of reckless. Beilman was then asked about the cover of his book, which features a tattered American flag. He said this was his idea. Because right now theres turmoil in our country. The tattered flag represents that. Were living under a period of siege. Beilman acknowledged, Weve been through worse times: the Civil War, world wars. But this seems to be the most divisive time I can remember. (He is 45.) He cited President Trumps declaration of a national emergency in an effort to transfer federal funds to build a wall on our border with Mexico. We have a national emergency when we have fewer immigrants coming in now than before. This is putting strains on the branches of our government. When asked what changes he wants to see to make America a better place, Beilman noted some of his stories illustrate people learning lessons about being more open-minded toward different ethnic groups. The way you treat other people affects your community, he said. Thats why its nice to be in a small bookstore in a neighborhood like Whitneyville. You get to know your neighbors and learn about people who arent like you. In an email message to me, Beilman said he enjoys his neighborhood of Hamden Plains because its diverse economically, racially and ethnically. Its a nice part of Hamden. During his talk, Beilman made a brief reference to his mothers political views, which are quite unlike his. I asked him about this in an email and he replied: My mom is a diehard Trump supporter. Weve agreed not to discuss politics. Its just not productive. He added, I grew up in a Republican household. Still, the Republicans I remember my parents supporting when I was younger people like (President) George H.W. Bush, (Conn. Gov. and Sen.) Lowell Weicker and (U.S. Rep.) Chris Shays were people who seemed reasonable, even if you disagreed with their politics. Today its very difficult to reason with many of the right-wing conservatives who have taken over the Republican party. But Beilman said because his father worked as an accountant for a company that built power plants and thus the family moved about 12 times before Beilman was 3 years old, he lived with many different kinds of people all over the world. This gave me a different perspective on people. Hopefully, it made me a little more open to different cultures. randall.beach@hearstmediact.com A Wallingford man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a car Friday, NBC Connecticut reports. The news station reports that Wallingford police said it happened in the area of 1219 Old Colony Road at about 6:07 p.m. The 31-year-old man, was trying to cross the street when he was hit. He was rushed to Hartford Hospital in critical condition, NBC reported. One of two remaining first descendants of ASSIs, Nasuven Enares posing next to ASSI Flag and rare map detailing blackbirding route while pointing to picture of her parents father from Tanna and mother from Ambae Look, its not that the food was bad. It was good. Very good, in fact. Simple classics executed by a well-regarded chef. The gnocchi were perfect little clouds in a broth great for bread dipping. A crab dish did not disappoint. Heres the rub: The portion sizes were teeny tiny, like someone-get-me-a-magnifying-glass tiny, and the prices were for well-off people or people-pretending-to-be-well-off-people-for-a-night. I paid $16 for 13 gnocchi in that appetizer. Yes, I counted them. Because when existential despair is starting to creep in because youre paying for a pricey meal that isnt delivering the promised feelings of luxury and soul-fulfillment and out-of-body transcendence, thats what you do. You start counting gnocchi. I decided to dine at this particular upscale spot in one of New Jerseys upscale towns it couldve been Princeton, Red Bank, Chatham, you know the ones because its a new restaurant from a well-known chef. I planned for it to be our next restaurant review. I took a foodie friend. I needed someone with a refined palate, someone who embarrassed me once by asking a waiter to bag our leftover beef rib bones so she could make a broth at home. Its a BYO, and so I grabbed two bottles of wine from whatever I had, a red and a white. I picked the most pretentious seeming bottles (judging by label and name alone, naturally) because we were going to eat fancy tonight. We decided to open the white, but as we checked in and handed the bottles and our coats over a coat-check-fancy place! a staffer opened both. The service was good enough, though the waitress stumbled over which items they were out of and which they werent. There were maybe a dozen things on offer; it shouldnt be that hard, I thought. We sat next to a middle-aged suited guy, with glasses that somehow balanced on his nose and didnt have the parts that go around your ears, and his wife. I tried not to pre-judge him despite the, uh, interesting spectacles. I hoped he wasnt a ritzy jerk and instead was, say, the CEO of a non-profit for Syrian orphans, here for a night out with his wife because they need a date night and hes been so freaking busy with the orphans. But then, when the waitress explained they were out of two of the items on the limited menu, this guy nearly blew his top. He wanted the crepe. And this was an injustice. And I have no idea how the glasses stayed put. Moments later the waitress returned with a big smile, happy to report that they would, in fact, make, just for him, a new batch. What is it about restaurants like this that bring out the absolute worst in people? That make us demanding and incensed? Is it because weve bought into their fancy and, therefore, weve all been cast as the snooty patrons and are simply playing our part? (And, if not us, then at least a bunch of the other folks dining there?) And why is going out to dinner so fraught? I got dressed up, braved the cold, ponied up nearly $200 (okay, okay, it was on the company credit card) and hoped to be wowed, to have a memorable food experience, to be transported somewhere beyond the frigidness of February in New Jersey. But all of it just made me wish I was home watching Netflix. After sharing appetizers, my friend ordered the scallops as her entree. Three medium sized scallops arrived. They cost $34. We couldnt decide if this was a slight or fair. Hey, scallops are expensive, right? Did you expect them to fill you up? She had clearly ordered wrong. It was our own fault. I had a $42 steak which came with a whisper of mashed potatoes. If one were to eat these in combination with bites of the steak like a real rube would, one would run out of said potatoes before the fifth bite. Not that I know I brought home the untouched and recorked bottle of red, which, Google later informed me, was an $80 vintage someone gifted me. Greeaaat. I didnt want to waste it, so I paired it with a bag of white cheddar popcorn and drank it on my couch while watching the Super Bowl. I found myself still wondering, how was it that I ate at a place that was not bad appetizers, entrees, desserts and coffee and left feeling not only not full (again, portion sizes) but also, somehow, emptier than ever? For sure there are plenty of restaurants in New Jersey worthy of ire places too expensive with food that is bad. This was not that. This was a place that was somewhat expensive with food that was pretty darn good. Why am I complaining about what was, by my own admission, a tasty meal? Why did I need schtick and magic and, dare I say, leftovers? And how could I expect them to control for jerks like the dude I sat next to? Had I, in fact, become the man in the weird glasses, expecting an experience, expecting something exciting and Instagrammable and getting good-but-boring and then whining about it? Maybe. But, also, whats a girl got to do to get some more mashed potatoes? Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. An Atlantic County firefighter was on a list 25 people, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, charged Monday with soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa, according to a report from the Press of Atlantic City. Joeseph Daniels, 36, of Ventnor City, who is a firefighter for the citys department, was seen on police surveillance footage at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter Florida, where he paid a woman for a sex act, the Press reported. Daniels surrendered to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office on Wednesday and was released after posting a $500 bond, and pleaded not guilty to one count of soliciting another to commit prostitution, his lawyer, Scott Skier, told the publication. We anticipate the case will be resolved with a full dismissal of all charges, Skier said in the report. This charge is a first degree misdemeanor and carries a penalty of up to one year in jail, a $5,000 civil penalty, and a mandatory 100 hours of community service and educational program on the negative effects of prostitution and human trafficking, according to a release from Florida State Attorney David Aronberg. These cases arent about any one defendant or any group of defendants, Aronberg said in the release. The larger picture, which we must all confront, is the cold reality that many prostitutes in cases like this are victims, often lured into this country with promises of a better life, only to be forced to live and work in a sweatshop or a brothel, subject to force, fraud or coercion. Kraft pleaded not guilty to two counts solicitation of prostitution, according to court documents released Thursday. Kraft was among hundreds of men charged in a crackdown on massage parlor prostitution and an investigation into human trafficking at Florida spas. Ten spas have been closed and several people, mostly women originally from China, have been charged with running the operation. Jupiter, Florida, police say in court documents that Kraft was chauffeured to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in a 2014 white Bentley on the evening of Jan. 19, where investigators say they videotaped him engaging in a sex act and then handing over an undetermined amount of cash. Kraft returned 17 hours later, arriving at the upper-middle class shopping center where the spa was located in a chauffeured 2015 blue Bentley, the documents said. Kraft, who is worth $6 billion, was videotaped engaging in sex acts before paying with a $100 bill and another bill, police said. He then flew to Kansas City to watch his Patriots defeat the Chiefs in overtime hours later. The article contains material from the Associated Press. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By Sam Pesin The purpose of the Liberty State Park Protection Act is to protect this sacred and priceless open space national treasure in perpetuity from exclusionary privatization plans, which have besieged the park for its four decades, and have been met each time with overwhelming public opposition. This historic bill will preserve Americas Park as a free and green neighbor of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. Liberty State Park opened on Flag Day in 1976 as New Jerseys Bicentennial gift to America. With over 5 million annual visitors, the park is a special gift from the people to the people and must be our legacy to future generations. I urge our states legislators, in both parties, to co-sponsor and vote for the act, Senate bill 3357, introduced by Senator Sandra Bolden-Cunningham, and Assembly bill 4903, introduced by Assemblyman Raj Mukherji. People of all races, religions ethnicities and cultural backgrounds come to enjoy free outdoor activities, urban nature and the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminals immigration and transportation history. Liberty State Park, a free park for a free people, is a powerful American symbol of the importance and vitality of our great nations diversity. The vast majority has repeatedly rejected promised privatization revenue in return for giving away precious and irreplaceable parkland. A Star-Ledger editorial summed up the common-sense truth perfectly: parks are not supposed to make money." They are supposed to provide green oases, particularly in densely packed urban areas like Hudson County. Thats why parks, a common public good, are supported by taxes. The act would allow for small-scale, park-appropriate commercial activities that directly enhance the ability of visitors to enjoy the park such as a seasonal ice-skating rink, bike and kayak rentals, boat tours, etc., and any such proposal with a lease for a year or more would require a public process. The act also revives and revises the Liberty State Park Advisory Committee of park stewards, and engages the public and the committee in the review of plans and the creation of a management plan to help guide and improve the parks future. The act will prohibit privatization in the parks two special urban natural areas the Caven Point Peninsula bird sanctuary, and also the interior nature restoration area, which was saved from privatization by then-Gov. Christie Whitman, who listened to overwhelming public sentiment, in her words. On NJTV on Jan. 30, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji stated, Can you imagine if anyone proposed encroaching on Central Park for even one inch of the park? Liberty State Park is sacred and priceless public land because it is next to our national shrines to democracy and because the park is very scarce urban open space and urban wildlife habitat. Liberty State Park is a spiritual, natural, open space, historical, recreational and cultural public resource and also a mental, emotional and physical health public resource. The park is a peaceful and scenic waterfront haven and escape from the concrete, crowded and noisy urban region and is a secular cathedral for everyone in our stressful modern society to clear their heads, relax, recharge and renew their spirits. The act honors the parks original intent, envisioned by its founders -- Morris Pesin, Liberty State Parks father, Audrey Zapp, the parks godmother, the preservationist Theodore Conrad and the first state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Richard Sullivan -- of a desolate waterfront wasteland of abandoned rail yards and decaying piers being transformed into a beautiful family park for all to enjoy next to Lady Liberty. The act respects the parks 42 year history of sustained public opposition by caring park supporters putting democracy into action in statewide grassroots battles against privatization and commercialization plans, as expressed in public hearings, countless public comments, petitions, and in a series of coalitions of local, regional, and statewide groups. The Protection Act will lead to a positive and transparent collaboration with the NJDEP, the public, and visionary elected officials and will ensure a peaceful era for this special place on Earth for future generations. The title of a Bruce Springsteen song is "Land of Hope and Dreams and because Liberty State Park brings people together and inspires reflection on our country and on our own lives, the park is truly a land of hope and dreams. Sam Pesin is president of The Friends of Liberty State Park. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Gov. Phil Murphy has imposed a deadline on about 50 statewide agencies to hand over information on their hiring practices, according to a report by NorthJersey.com. The outlet reported that the governors office is requesting the names of people who were hired and promoted in the last three years. Murphy took office in 2018, which means the lists will also include those hired under Gov. Chris Christie. Agencies were sent the letter Friday and given a March 15 deadline, NorthJersey.com reported. Additionally, they must also provide details of all employees who have relatives working in any department, office, authority, or instrumentality of the state. Murphys direct employees or appointees and recent hires in the executive branch were excluded from the request. His letter comes after documents obtained by media outlets showed career workers at the SDA were possibly pushed out to make room for friends and allies of the new CEO -- Murphys political ally, Lizette Delgado-Polanco. NorthJersey.com first reported on the hirings and firings. Its not the SDAs only controversy. The agency is also at the center of investigations into the Murphy administrations decision to give former staffer Albert J. Alvarez a job as chief of staff. The appointment came after Katie Brennan, chief of staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, alleged Alvarez had sexually assaulted her during Murphys campaign and alerted top officials about her claim. Alvarez previously worked on Murphys gubernatorial campaign. He stepped down as chief of staff for the SDA in October after he was questioned about rape allegations. Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Go pop some corn, because whatever your politics, this is some amazing TV. First, Gov. Chris Christie appeared on CNNs Cuomo Prime Time on Thursday evening and was asked if Trump lies so much that he cant be believed. Cuomo cited reports in the Washington Post and New York Times that stated President Trump personally overruled intelligence officials, White House lawyers and his own chief of staff to grant his son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance. This contradicts President Trumps January oval office interview with the New York Times in which he insisted he was never involved in Kushners security clearance, and an interview Ivanka Trump gave to ABC, in which she said the same. Theres no way to defend the New York Times story tonight, and Im not going to. And I have to assume its true because the White House didnt deny it, nor did Jareds lawyer, said Christie. Those are things that both should be very disturbing to people." Cuomo then pressed harder. The actual problem, said Cuomo, is that this president has no problem lying about things he thinks he needs to. Fair point? Well, what hes done at times, which I think has been unfortunate, is lie about things he hasnt needed to lie about," said Christie. "Thats worse. In many respects, whether its the Stormy Daniels payment, or whether its this instance, it doesnt serve him well, and it doesnt serve the country well. Wow. Remember the Chris Christie who once stood mutely next to Trump onstage, like he was in a hostage video? Like Mr. Kurtz, he dead, right? Not so fast. On Friday morning, Christie appeared on Fox News Fox and Friends -- a show the president frequently watches -- a totally different Christie emerged. Referencing the New York Times story, co-host Brian Kilmeade asked, How problematic is that? Ordering the clearance is not problematic, said Christie, who less than 8 hours earlier had called it very disturbing. Its under the presidents legal authority to do, continued Christie. ""The problem is that they didnt tell the truth." Suddenly, a much more sympathetic Christie was on display. Its hard to be objective. Hard to be objective with the people youre having Thanksgiving dinner with ... When you play around the edges of that, people get concerned about why youre playing around the edges of that. So I hope theres a good explanation for it. Its not problematic legally. Its problematic from a credibility perspective." Wow. Its not lying. Its problematic from a credibility perspective? But then came the chefs kiss of Christie reversals. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com On Thursday night, Christie told Cuomo the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York wasnt wasting taxpayers money by investigating former Trump attorney Michael Cohens claims of lawbreaking by the president, because it could indict members of his team. On Friday morning, NBCs Ken Dilanian tweeted that Christie told CNN the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is building a case to indict the president when he leaves office. Chris Christie, Trump supporter, says he believes the Southern District is building a case to indict the president when he leaves office. Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) March 1, 2019 Christie immediately shot it down on Twitter, claiming he never said that. Absolutely UNTRUE! What I said was, IF they are trying to build a case, they cannot bring a case until after he left office because DOJ policy prohibits indictment of a sitting President. Cmon @KenDilanianNBC be accurate. I see no case against POTUS based on what we know. https://t.co/vWQsf0eJZ3 Governor Christie (@GovChristie) March 1, 2019 But heres the problem. A check of the whole CNN interview by the Washington Examiner showed he did. Heres what Christie actually said: What theyre doing Im confident is building a case for two things, Christie told Cuomo. One to go after those around the president who may have committed crimes. And two: to build a case if they have one I dont think they have one at the moment but if they if they were trying theyre trying to build one against the president when he leaves office. Christie added the statute of limitations on any federal charges against Trump would not run even after he left office. And so, as the week draws to a close, CNN Christie is not only at war with Fox News Christie, Fox News Christie is at war with NBC over their quoting CNN Christie. Confusing, but perhaps thats what happens when you play around the edges. Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Lift bridges -- those hulking steel spans that have a center section that rises and lowers to let boat traffic pass -- are complicated structures. A new one being built in Hudson County is so complex, it is off its original construction schedule by at least a year. The new Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge was originally scheduled to open to traffic this year. Instead, the lift section of the bridge that was supposed to be hoisted in place last year is still sitting on a barge, waiting. And officials project it wont be open to traffic until 2020. Progress on the internal elements, such as the counterweights and wire cables, as well the fabrication and installation of the machinery and control housing, have been more challenging than originally expected, said Stephen Schapiro, a DOT spokesman. Because of the complex nature of a lift span bridge, it is critical that they are installed properly and tested before erecting the lift deck. A US Coast Guard boat passes a barge carrying the "lift" part of the new Wittpenn bridge deck that will carry Route 7 over the Hackensack River connecting Kearny and Jersey City.NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Raising the deck on the lift span portion of the Wittpenn Bridge and putting it in place will happen once the towers are completed, he said. The erection of the tower bases took longer than expected, Schapiro said. There have been other issues, too. Last year, the DOT had to put off raising the lift portion of the bridge due to cold weather, which made work difficult on the bridge towers and on the machinery that makes the bridge open and close, officials said. Drivers using the old Wittpenn Bridge -- located next to the new span -- and people riding PATH trains over the Hackensack River between Kearny and Jersey City, watched the two black boxy towers of the new bridge being built on either side of new, soaring approach ramps that were constructed first. The new bridge has a 70-foot clearance over the water. Once its finished, traffic disruptions should be minimized, because the bridge will only have to be opened for the largest boats. Construction of the $480 million replacement Wittpenn Bridge began in November 2011. Though it should open to traffic in 2020, it is not scheduled to be fully completed until 2022. The lift, or orthotropic bridge deck, was floated by barge to New Jersey from the Pacific Northwest through the Panama Canal in 2017 with some degree of fanfare. It was made in Oregon and Washington. When it opens, the replacement bridge will continue to bear the name of Henry Otto Wittpenn, a former Jersey City mayor and state highway department member who died in 1931. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters TAMPA, Fla. No news was the best news for the Yankees and Gary Sanchez. The catchers spring training debut was about as uneventful as it gets as the Yankees lost to the Orioles, 2-0, at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday. Felt good. Felt healthy, Sanchez said, via team Spanish translator Marlon Abreu. Thats the important thing about all this now, the health is No. 1. The Yankees kept Sanchez out of spring training games until now to be careful with his left shoulder, which underwent debridement surgery in the offseason. The 24-year-old had been dealing on and off with shoulder discomfort starting in 2017. The team doesnt believe it was a big reason why he had a terrible 2018, hitting just .186 in 89 games. But ridding him of any potential problem could only help. Sanchez, who also suffered from groin problems last year, said he was encouraged with the debut, in which he went hitless in two at-bats, striking out and lining out. Typical spring training, Sanchez said. It was good to get in a game and get some at-bats and see pitching, get an opportunity to catch Paxton for the first time, see his pitches. See the environment in a live game. I feel good. Sanchez will play again Sunday at home. Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook. Four Mississippi residents died in an early-morning, head-on crash on Interstate 12 in Livingston Parish on Thursday, April 25, 2019, Louisiana State Police said. Jimmy Deason was convicted of murdering his wife and two children in Arkansas in March 1990 and is accused of stabbing a woman five times in the abdomen in St. Roch last Friday (Feb. 22). Records show he was released from the Arkansas Department of Correction after serving 21 years of his sentence. In 1975, Paul and Linda McCartney and their band Wings came to New Orleans to record their album, Venus and Mars, at Allen Toussaints Sea-Saint Studios in Gentilly. Later that year, legendary New Orleans bluesman and pianist Professor Longhair performed a concert, "Live on the Queen Mary,'' at a party thrown by the McCartneys on the titular cruise ship, docked in California, to celebrate the release of "Venus and Mars.'' Originally released in 1978 on Harvest Records, the rare recording is being re-released on vinyl and CD, McCartney announced on his website. You can pre-order it there; it is being released April 5. The recordings were re-mastered at The Music Shed in New Orleans. "Highlights include the rollicking Mess Around, the standards Stagger Lee, Everyday I Have the Blues, Im Movin On and Professor Longhairs own hits Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Tipitina,''' the website says. Professor Longhairs influence was crucial to many of his fellow New Orleans musical legends, such as Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John, all of whom were touched by his rumba, mambo, and calypso piano based blues sound. Mardi Gras 1975: When Paul McCartney got a Zulu coconut McCartney is coming to New Orleans May 23 for one night only as part of the The Freshen Up tour. Click here for ticket information. HALF MOON BAY, Calif. See if you can get to the end of this article without being interrupted by another piece of technology. Tristan Harris, a former Google executive, said it could be a challenge, and he compared phones and apps to slot machines that command attention and endlessly distract. In an unusual twist, Mr. Harris discussed electronic addiction at the recent New York Times New Work Summit on a stage set with candles, as the electricity in the Half Moon Bay area had gone out. When Mr. Harris worked at Google in 2013, he created a 141-page slide show that acted as a reckoning for the internet giant. What was first shared with around 10 colleagues was later viewed by tens of thousands of employees and others. Charles McCarry, a former C.I.A. officer who used his Cold War experiences to animate his widely admired espionage novels, notably The Tears of Autumn, a best seller about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, died on Tuesday in Fairfax, Va. He was 88. His son Caleb said the cause was complications of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a fall. The soft-spoken Mr. McCarry followed other former spies into writing fiction, a group that includes Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and David Cornwell, who writes under the pseudonym John le Carre. And over nearly 40 years, Mr. McCarrys dense plotting, realistic detail and brisk writing style brought him a reputation as one of espionage fictions leading practitioners. McCarry is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue by the breadth of Alan Furst, by the fathom of Eric Ambler, by any measure, the political satirist P. J. ORourke wrote in a review of Mr. McCarrys Old Boys (2004) in The Weekly Standard. Old Boys is the sixth of seven novels that center on Paul Christopher, an urbane agent for the Outfit (read: the C.I.A.), who first appeared in The Miernik Dossier (1973), an inventive tale told through letters, surveillance reports, diaries and transcripts of phone conversations. The Christopher character Mr. McCarrys equivalent of George Smiley returned the next year in The Tears of Autumn. HOUSTON In his State of the Union address, President Trump surprised Congress by asking for a commitment to eliminate the H.I.V. epidemic in the United States within 10 years. Im a physician who specializes in H.I.V. and AIDS prevention in a city with one of the highest infection rates in the country, so thats music to my ears. But the president needs to know that were going to fail if we dont start working much harder. After nearly 40 years, we finally have the biomedical tools and the public health strategies to end the H.I.V. epidemic in America. The winning strategy goes like this: Increase the number of people who get tested for H.I.V., and start those who test positive on antiretroviral therapy as soon as possible, which helps prevent transmission of the virus. Those who test negative but are vulnerable to infection because of sexual activity should take pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, the daily drug regimen that reduces the risk of getting H.I.V. The tragedy is that those tools are sitting on the shelf in many parts of the country, especially the South, where H.I.V. rates are still rising among some groups and where AIDS disproportionately afflicts African-Americans. Just this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the progress in H.I.V. prevention has stalled. Big cities on both coasts where AIDS was concentrated when it was officially recognized as a health condition in the early 1980s have deftly managed the disease. San Francisco was once ground zero, yet in 2017 new H.I.V. diagnoses there fell to 221, a record low. The citys Department of Public Health credits PrEP and a rapid-start program that gets those who test positive for H.I.V. into care within five days. So here we are, tortured phone owners one and all. Perhaps, like me, youve accidentally blocked some of your friends without successfully getting rid of the woman with the free knee brace. Perhaps you were like Dr. Gary Pess, a hand surgeon who told The Timess Tara Siegel Bernard that he stopped answering any calls when he didnt recognize the number and then discovered one of them was about a person with a severed thumb. But good news! Were getting some action. I know Congress is working on a bill is not as encouraging as, say, Let me pour you a drink and change the subject. But still. In the House, Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey has a proposal called Stopping Bad Robocalls, which certainly gets to the point. Pallone is the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its fair to say he has a healthy chance of getting something done. Things are more problematic in the Senate, which, as you may have noticed, is barely capable of getting its act together long enough to salute the flag. However, Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts the man who helped give us that Telephone Consumer Protection Act in 1991 has teamed up with Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota to sponsor a bipartisan plan. Its called the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, which I certainly hope you noticed spells out Traced. (Or, O.K., Traceda if you wanted to be really technical.) The bill, Markey says, is a perfect example of lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle getting together and agreeing we dont want our wireless devices in our pocket to be called by total strangers 10, 15 times a day. Pretty low bar, yes? Perhaps someday we will see a liberal from California and a conservative from Arkansas get together to fight against people who throw beer bottles out of their car window when theyre in the passing lane on the highway. But lets not be cynical. Markey says, If this bill cant pass then no bill can pass, and hes probably right. You need to root him on, given that the other option is falling back in your chair and moaning, No bill can pass. Come on. The idea is to make telephone companies try much harder to identify and block slimy robocalls. And to bring enforcement groups together to find new ways to prosecute the scammers. I know it doesnt sound all that dramatic, but if you want people to stop calling you every day with offers to repay your student loans, its a better strategy than repeatedly screaming I graduated in 1980! into the phone. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. An open letter that ran as a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, promised that Mr. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio would help shepherd the project through the community development and approval process, hopefully with far more transparency and far better communication than there was during the first go-round. In another development, State Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens, an outspoken critic of the deal, is no longer nominated to to sit on the Public Authorities Control Board, which would have the ability to deep-six any final deal. The open letter, which was signed by more than 70 unions, current and former elected officials and business and community groups, acknowledged that the public debate was more like a one-sided shouting match. We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming, the letter said. Opinions are strong in New York sometimes strident. But vigorous democracy and vigorous capitalism should be able to coexist. That would be an important lesson for Amazon, which pressured city officials in Seattle its hometown to repeal a business tax for housing and homeless service. Those opposed to the New York project a distinct minority of people in the city and the state were not without cause for rage. The subways are rickety, the schools are dysfunctional, the rent is too damn high and getting higher. And the deal included $3 billion in tax benefits for a trillion-dollar corporation. INTERNATIONAL An article on Thursday about the Mexican governments approval of a new 60,000-member National Guard to tackle the nations public security crisis misstated the given name of a former Mexican president. He is Felipe Calderon, not Ernesto. NEW YORK An article on Wednesday about black-run numbers businesses omitted a source on the historical fight in the State Legislature over the numbers game and the daily lottery. It is the article We Intend to Run It: Racial Politics, Illegal Gambling, and the Rise of Government Lotteries in the United States, 19601985, published in the June 2014 issue of the Journal of American History. An article on Friday about Allen Weisselbergs role in the Trump Organization misidentified the street where the Weisselbergs rented an apartment in a Trump-branded building. It is on Riverside Boulevard, not Riverside Drive. ARTS & LEISURE An article on this weekends cover about the documentary Leaving Neverland misidentifies who is recalling a lullaby Michael Jackson wrote for him. It was Wade Robson, not James Safechuck. But his theaters production will have to be delayed so the cast can learn new lines and movements, and some actors have already taken other roles, he said. Mr. Rudin defended his actions in a brief statement, saying, As stewards of the performance rights of Aaron Sorkins play, it is our responsibility to enforce the agreement we made with the Harper Lee estate and to make sure that we protect the extraordinary collaborators who made this production. But he also blamed the situation on the Dramatic Publishing Company, which is run by Christopher Sergel III, Mr. Sergels grandson, saying it had erred in issuing licenses to present the play to theaters that should not have received them. Mr. Rudin has argued that a 1969 agreement between Ms. Lee, the author of the novel, and Dramatic Publishing bars productions by theaters within 25 miles of a city that in 1960 had a population of more than 150,000 people, as well as productions using professional actors, when a first-class production is running on Broadway or on tour. We have been hard at work creating what I hope might be a solution for those theater companies that have been affected by this unfortunate set of circumstances, in which rights that were not available to them were licensed to them by a third party who did not have the right to do so, Mr. Rudin said. In an effort to ameliorate the hurt caused here, we are offering each of these companies the right to perform our version of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkins play currently running on Broadway. Mr. Sergel declined to comment. It was an unusually conciliatory gesture for Mr. Rudin, who has a reputation in the theater industry for being strong-willed and litigious. Before the Broadway adaptation opened, he was locked in a legal battle with the Lee estate, which argued that the play departed too much from the novel; the dispute was eventually settled. SAN FRANCISCO The University of California Police Department on Friday arrested a suspect in the assault of a conservative activist on the Berkeley campus, reviving a debate over free speech at colleges. Neither the suspect, Zachary Greenberg, nor the man he is accused of punching, Hayden Williams, a field representative of the Leadership Institute, an organization that provides training to conservative campus groups, was a student at the university. The attack on Feb. 19 took place at Sproul Plaza, the birthplace and symbol of the Free Speech movement, the protests by students in the 1960s demanding greater political expression. Mr. Williams was helping a campus group that was recruiting members. Conservative groups said the assault on Mr. Williams served as a symbol of what they say is continued intolerance toward conservative views on college campuses. Mr. Williams appeared on Fox News programs with a black eye, and videos of his assault were widely shared on social media. A former police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Okla., in 2016 will not face federal civil rights charges, the Justice Department said Friday, noting that it had found insufficient evidence to prove she had willfully used unreasonable force when she killed him. Betty Shelby, a white officer who worked for the Tulsa Police Department at the time, said she shot Terence Crutcher in September 2016 in self-defense because she thought he was reaching into his car for what might have been a weapon. Video of the episode showed Mr. Crutcher holding his hands above his head when he was shot. On Friday, the Justice Department said it had found insufficient evidence to prove that her use of force against Mr. Crutcher was objectively unreasonable under the definition set by the United States Supreme Court. Any allegation of law enforcement misconduct and willful deprivation of civil rights is taken seriously, R. Trent Shores, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, said in a statement. However, the evidence in this case did not support pursuing criminal prosecution. Moving forward, I hope that citizens and law enforcement will continue to work together to better our community. WASHINGTON Lawyers for Paul Manafort, President Trumps former campaign chairman, asked a federal judge in Northern Virginia on Friday to show leniency when he sentences Mr. Manafort next week, casting him as a loyal, compassionate, idealistic man who has learned a harsh lesson. They said Mr. Manafort, who has been jailed since June, had already suffered greatly for his crimes. At age 69, plagued by health problems, he poses no risk of recidivism, they said. Their sentencing memorandum, the second they filed this week, was submitted to Judge T.S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va. Judge Ellis will sentence Mr. Manafort on Thursday for tax fraud, bank fraud and other financial crimes. The next week, he will be sentenced by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in a related conspiracy case in United States District Court in Washington, D.C. Advisory sentencing guidelines set Mr. Manaforts punishment at 19 to 24 years in the financial fraud case. While they recommended no specific sentence, prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, have said they agreed with that calculation by the federal probation office. After the American college student Otto Warmbier was released from a North Korea prison in 2017, unresponsive and not expected to survive, his father, Fred, spoke of a comforting phone call from President Trump: It was gracious, it was nice and it felt good. During Mr. Trumps State of the Union address in 2018, Fred Warmbier and his wife, Cindy, stood and wept while Mr. Trump spoke of the menace of North Korea and gave tribute to their son, who died days after his release. On Friday, the Warmbiers emerged into the public eye again, this time with a blistering statement directed at the president. They said they could no longer be silent after the summit meeting this week with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and after hearing Mr. Trump say that he believed Mr. Kims claim that he did not know what had happened to Mr. Warmbier while he was in custody. We have been respectful during this summit process, the Warmbiers said in a statement. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. BOGOTA, Colombia A Colombian prosecutor assigned to investigate the countrys largest former rebel group was arrested and accused of accepting a bribe in the case of a former rebel commander wanted in the United States, the authorities said Friday. The prosecutor, Carlos J. Bermeo, had been assigned to a special court established to try cases of war crimes from the five-decade conflict between the government and rebels, which left at least 220,000 people dead and ended in a 2016 peace deal signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. But Mr. Bermeo, according to prosecutors, accepted money to stymie an extradition case involving a former member of the FARC, Jesus Santrich, who was arrested last year on charges that he had continued trafficking drugs after the group laid down its arms and given up its illegal activities. The Colombian attorney generals office said it arrested Mr. Bermeo and four others at two hotels in Bogota the moment they were about to receive a payment of $500,000. WASHINGTON The United States and South Korea will suspend two large-scale joint military exercises this spring, two American officials said Friday, as part of President Trumps efforts to maintain the truce he has struck with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea. A limited version of the training drills, however, are still expected to go forward, officials said. The United States and South Korea have long held large-scale exercises in the spring, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle the latter of which usually includes thousands of ground, naval, air and special operations troops from both nations. The decision to scale back the military exercises follows nuclear talks this week between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim that ended without an agreement on how or whether to shut down North Koreas nuclear weapons program. As the Trump administration continues to seek a resolution, a Defense Department official said, the high-profile missile exercises that Pyongyang views as provocative will be toned down. The official said the decision to formally suspend the large-scale drills was expected to be announced by the United States and South Korea in the next few days. It was first reported by NBC News. [Read: Trudeaus Ex-Attorney General: Veiled Threats Were Made to Drop Case] Its risky to predict how this will all play out, both in the short term and for Octobers federal election. Thats in part because those outcomes will likely be affected by a series of investigations, both active and proposed, into the actions of the prime minister and his aides. Heres a look at whos seeking answers, what they could uncover, and who else might still take a peek: Whats Already Underway Parliamentary hearings: The House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice is where Ms. Wilson-Raybould finally broke her silence this week. Its also where other key players are set to appear, notably Gerald Butts, Mr. Trudeaus friend who stepped down last month as his top political adviser amid the scandal. But the justice committee isnt set up to run a full-scale investigation. It has neither a team of people digging up evidence, nor the power to order up internal government documents. And, as the opposition has repeatedly pointed out this week, the Liberals control the committee. This makes it unlikely that anything the panel does will inflict much harm on Mr. Trudeau. The U.N. has accused the Assad regime of repeatedly committing war crimes in Syria. Including a chemical attack in April on a town called Douma. It killed dozens of people and triggered U.S.-led strikes inside Syria. To this day, Syrian officials and their Russian allies deny the attack ever took place. Finding out what really happened matters. Entire families were killed, and the regime went to great lengths to conceal the evidence. Our investigation is the most detailed reconstruction of the attack so far. We analyzed a trove of videos and interviewed dozens of witnesses and experts. We scoured some evidence with the investigative group Bellingcat, and we teamed up with the agency Forensic Architecture to create a virtual model of the crime scene. We center on one building that confirms where the attack happened. One bomb, that shows who carried it out and when. And the victims, whose symptoms tell us what happened: a lethal chemical attack. The evidence combined exposes Syria and Russias lies. Where is your concrete evidence about what happened? The concrete evidence is right here. First, its important to understand why Douma was a target that day. The Syrian military had launched a brutal campaign to retake the eastern suburbs of Damascus held by rebels for five years. The strategy: to terrorize the population into submission. It worked. The regime began gradually seizing town after town and Douma was the last enclave holding out. Were going to focus on this one street. Ambulances used it to reach an underground tunnel that linked up with Doumas last functioning hospital. And the street may have been targeted for that reason. In just two days, the bombing leveled entire buildings, one after the other. And then, on this apartment building a chemical weapon was dropped. Assad has offered two explanations for the attack. Either the terrorists had chemical weapons and they use it intentionally. Or there was no attack at all. Initial investigations became nearly impossible because his forces took control of Douma and the crime scene. Many witnesses and media activists were bused out. The first outsiders allowed to visit the site were Russian media, who broadcast their own distorted version of events. But that propaganda unwittingly gave us visual evidence to find the truth of what happened. We couldnt visit the site. But we worked with Forensic Architecture to reconstruct the crime scene and study the clues it contained. And here is where the trail of evidence begins. We confirmed its where the bomb fell by geolocating this mosque, this school, and apartment block seen from the buildings balcony. And we made a model of the building by analyzing the videos taken inside soon after the attack. And mapping architectural details as first responders moved from floor to floor and into rooms. Gruesome as the videos were, they confirmed these bodies were found at the building that was hit. We counted 34 victims. Men, women and children spread across two floors and in the stairwell. Now we look at the bomb. Its rigging and casing tell us who dropped it. Frost tells us when it happened. And black residue indicates chlorine was used. The bomb itself is a crude chemical weapon, a pressurized chlorine tank designed to blow open on impact. And this debris tells us it was rigged to fall from the sky. This matters because Syria controls the airspace, and opposition fighters dont have aircraft. Scattered around are small wheels and axles. And here, in the tangled remains, we see straps, another wheel and fins. When we reassemble this twisted metal in our model of the balcony it becomes a cylindrical rigging and it fits right onto the canister. This is almost identical to the rigging on a second bomb found in Douma that day. Straps and hooks so it can attach to a helicopters release system. Rear fins to create drag and stabilize the bomb as it falls. And small axles and wheels so the bomb alternatively can be rolled out of a helicopter. Clearly, the bomb on the balcony was designed to drop from the sky. And the damage to the casing tells us that it did. These deep dents mean the tip of the bomb made first impact, consistent with it falling nose down from above and piercing the ceiling. But most importantly, this imprint revealed on the underside of the canister. Lying beside it is a crumpled metal lattice that we think covered the balcony. Its dimensions precisely fit the pattern seared onto the canister. Our analysis suggests that this imprint was made by the force of impact when the bomb crashed through the metal lattice and onto the concrete below. Our conclusion is it had to drop from the sky. We have evidence of regime helicopters dropping them all across Syria during this conflict. In the campaign to retake Aleppo. In this attack on a hospital in Al-Lataminah. In Saraqib, just two months before the attack on Douma. And on many more occasions. Flight observers reported Syrian helicopters leaving this military airbase on the night of the attack. It was the staging point for many bombing runs that day. Soon after, the helicopters were seen circling close to Douma. This was around the time that medics and activists in Douma began reporting the attack on Twitter and WhatsApp. We verified they were in Douma, and the details match other witness interviews we took. Now, the evidence that the bomb was also dropped around this time. This video was filmed by one of the first people to enter the building after the attack. His camera light catches a white object. We know its the bomb because our model of the building shows its in the precise position that the bomb landed. It even matches the shape and contour of the canister. But what about the color? The white is a layer of frost that experts tell us coats the underside of a tank when it empties and the liquid left inside cools. They call it auto-refrigeration, a phenomenon weve seen in previous chlorine attacks. The frost supports the thesis that chlorine was released quickly and recently. This video was shot around 10 p.m. We know because we tracked down the cameraman, who sent us the video file data from his cellphone. Experts told us the frost can remain for hours. And this lines up with the time frame given in witness accounts of that night. The last clue on the bomb is this black residue. A metals expert told us that when chlorine mixes with water, or in this case, frost, it forms an acid that corrodes the metal creating a dark compound. So where we once saw frost, we now see black corrosion. Its further evidence that this was a chlorine attack. So far, this collection of evidence helps us understand where the attack happened, when it happened, who did it, and the chemical that was used. Our final and perhaps most damning evidence are the videos of the victims that we verified were taken at the building. Filmed by medics and media activists, they show that this was a lethal chemical attack. We werent qualified to diagnose the symptoms, so we enlisted the help of experts with decades of experience in chemical weapons exposure. A warning: This raw footage is very graphic. Weve obscured it to focus on specific details. Some experts identified two clear signs of exposure to chlorine. Chlorine gas actually turns into an acid and the tissues produce a lot of mucus. Its often referred to as a frothy mucus. There appear to be corneal burns the eyes appear almost whitened. This could happen from exposure to a chlorine gas. We have reporting that the chlorine exposure here was extremely high. A U.S. official told us chlorine and the nerve agent sarin were found in blood samples taken from Douma. So a second chemical may also have been used. But the experts all agree that these victims were not killed by conventional weapons. And the scenes were not staged, as Syrian officials have claimed. You dont really see evidence of physical trauma from blast injuries or shrapnel injuries or gunshot wounds. Lastly, the locations of the victims suggest what happened inside. Chlorine gas is twice as heavy as air and sinks instead of rising. After years of war, many Syrians know exactly what to do if they smell it. That helps explain why many of the victims were found near water sources and on the staircase. Sheltering in the basement from the intense bombardment, they moved upstairs once they smelled chlorine. They couldnt have known it was coming from the roof or that they were moving into a death trap. The Douma attack was not an isolated incident. Its just the latest in a string of chemical attacks that date back to 2013. And leaked material we obtained from the U.N. has implicated the Syrian regime in six attacks in 2018 alone. Taken as a whole, they represent what we believe is a deliberate strategy of Bashar al-Assad to poison his own people. These are war crimes. But the prime suspect continues to roam freely. Dear Fellow Travelers, Merida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan, is a magnet for creative souls from around the world if you want to understand why, just read Peter Haldemans article this week and look at the incredible light in the accompanying photographs. He offers a guide to the exhibition spaces, restored historic homes and restaurants where long languid dinners play out over an evening. Peter went to Merida and stayed part of the time with friends. As one of them tells him, people first come to Merida to visit the ruins and the cenotes, then, look at houses the second time, and buy a house the third time. Watch out, it could happen to you. We also visit Venice in this weeks issue, in search of the small bars known as bacaro that serve the Italian version of tapas known as cicchetti. Cicchetti are cheap, delectable and truly Venetian, and we have a guide to seven classic bacaro where you can find them. Our 36 Hours column visits the Belgian city of Ghent often overshadowed by Bruges, it has its own medieval core, picturesque canals and, yes, moules frites. Seth Sherwood offers suggestions for a long weekend there. Closer to home, Sebastian Modak, our 52 Places Traveler, eats three meals in Houston that capture the citys diversity, and we drop in on Fairhope, Ala., a town of natural beauty and eccentric ambition. To help you plan your travels, we have a month-by-month Frugal Traveler guide to when to get the best travel deals consider booking your Alaska trip for next month now. Welcome to the weekend. The news was fast and furious this week. Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer and fixer, testified before Congress. Mr. Trump met with North Koreas leader in Vietnam. March is coming in like a lion, weather wise. But now, its time to take a breath and catch up on some amazing journalism. PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January, saying it might face over $30 billion in wildfire liabilities. Legal scholars say the bankruptcy is one of the most contentious and complicated they have ever seen. Money paid out to wildfire victims might leave less money in the pot for shareholders like BlueMountain. And as different parties compete in bankruptcy, PG&Es board will have to ensure that the company is making its operations safer as climate change increases the risks of wildfires. I spoke to Mr. Angelides about why he had agreed to seek a seat on PG&Es board and his ideas for helping the company. The interview has been condensed and lightly edited. What is your assessment of what went wrong at PG&E, and whom do you hold responsible? Clearly, theres been safety issues with the explosion at San Bruno, and the subsequent problems that emanated out of that. Clearly, the growing risk of wildfires in California has been a significant issue. And failures on the safety front have been an issue, so I think were at a point now where its important to have a board that has the skill set and the commitment to restore public trust in the company, and to be able to move it forward. The reason I was willing to join this slate is it had people who had the requisite skills to resolve the companys existing problems and to turn the corner, a board that could be truly committed to safety, a board that would be committed to being the states partner in achieving its clean energy goals. HALF MOON BAY, Calif. Ashton B. Carter, the former secretary of defense, understands why employees of technology companies have opposed partnerships and contracts with the United States government when it comes to artificial intelligence. My first reaction was good on you because you are thinking morally and you are thinking about whether what you are doing is right or wrong, Mr. Carter said at The New York Times New Work Summit in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The sentiment comes at a time of strained relationships between Silicon Valley technology behemoths and the United States government. Want this column in your inbox? Sign up here. Welcome to a quick catch-up on this weeks news in business and tech, so you can sound smart and well-read on Monday even if you spent most of your weekend scrolling through strangely cute pictures of vermin. Heres your cheat sheet. FEB. 24-MarCH 2 Whats Up? Through the Mud If you didnt spend your Wednesday glued to the riveting testimony of Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer and fixer, youve no doubt heard the more salacious details by now (hush money to a porn star, etc.). But Mr. Cohen also made new accusations about his former clients business practices. He said that Mr. Trump inflated his net worth to qualify for bigger bank loans, misrepresented the value of properties to avoid taxes and exaggerated the value of his assets when insuring them in other words, committed fraud. Those revelations could pose problems not only for Mr. Trump, but also for his inner circle, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son Donald Trump Jr. Just Cant Help Himself Teslas chief executive, Elon Musk, went rogue on Twitter again. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to hold him in contempt of court for tweeting about production forecasts last week, which violated the terms of a settlement he made with the agency last year. (The S.E.C. sued him over misleading Twitter posts about taking his company private, and his legal team is now supposed to review any tweets with material information before he sends them which didnt happen, in this case.) In related news, Tesla is finally taking orders for the long-promised $35,000 version of its Model 3 sedan. But it had to cut significant costs in other areas like in its work force to do so. His research also gave him entree to American colleagues at Bell Labs and IBM, and set off a small-scale laser race that combined comradeship and sharing between individual scientists with dead-serious Cold War rivalry. Dr. Alferov would recall with pride that in the race to build a prototype of a laser that worked at room temperature, he and his team in Leningrad beat Bell Labs in New Jersey by a month. Subsequent perfection of heterostructure lasers and heterotransistors based on combined materials made possible todays world of LED screens, optically read disks and the fiber-optic technology behind cellphones. Zhores Ivanovich Alferov was born on March 15, 1930, in Vitebsk, in what is now Belarus, the painter Marc Chagalls hometown. His father, Ivan Karpovich Alferov, was a former dockworker who joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and later regaled his two sons with reminiscences of meeting Lenin and Trotsky. His mother, Anna Vladimirovna Alferov, headed a public organization of housewives, worked as a librarian and always remained our close friend while bringing us up without discouraging words, Dr. Alferov wrote in his Nobel autobiographical essay. Communism lifted his father to the role of itinerant industrial manager, and he moved the family across the Soviet Union as he helped carry out Stalins five-year plans for rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. He named his eldest son, Marx, after Karl Marx; Zhores was named after the assassinated French Socialist leader Jean Jaures. Marx was 20 when he died at the front during World War II, to be remembered by his younger brother a half-century later at the Nobel ceremony in Stockholm. And voters, activists and organizers are primed to command accountability by whichever black woman takes the keys to City Hall. Money didnt completely determine the outcome. The candidate with the biggest war chest William Daley had a familiar last name. His brother and father served as mayor for four decades. And the richest person in Illinois, Ken Griffin, who recently bought the most expensive home in the country, a penthouse in New York, donated $2 million to William Daley. Yet Mr. Daley still placed third. So it is indeed historic that the sun may have set on the Daley dynasty. The state of black politics in the city is changing, too, and complicates for some the idea of who a black candidate is and represents. Ms. Lightfoot and Ms. Preckwinkle won by harnessing votes across racial lines, not just by capturing the black vote. How the chips fall will be based on their message, political baggage and appeal. Ms. Preckwinkle is the Cook County Board president and a seasoned elected official on the South Side who supports criminal justice reform. She has a political base. Shes derided by some as Queen Sugar for having cast the tie-breaking vote for a sweetened-beverage tax in 2017 to balance the county budget. Taxpayers recoiled; the backlash was so severe that it was repealed within months . Ms. Preckwinkle also faces criticisms for being too cozy with people in office tied to corruption. Enter Ms. Lightfoot, who could also become the citys first openly gay mayor. A powerful TV commercial presents her as an outsider, uninterested in smoke-filled, back-room deals. She was the head of Mr. Emanuels police reform task force that called for impressive and sweeping changes. But some people cant reconcile her image as reformer with her past. Shes a corporate lawyer and former prosecutor, and she sat on a now-disbanded police disciplinary agency criticized for not firing bad police officers. Over the next several weeks, I imagine the two pragmatic women will compete to see who is a real progressive. The first female mayor was Jane Byrne, a white woman elected in 1979. Harold Washington was the first black mayor elected in 1983. In these first few days of the 2019 runoff, Im already cringing at comments about Ms. Preckwinkle and Ms. Lightfoot that sound sexist based on neither policy nor legitimate critiques. I hope regressive racial and gender politics dont undermine this race. Black women know this double-edged sword all too well. We have a front-row seat to how black women in the public eye are treated whether its not believing black girls who survived sexual abuse or questioning a womans blackness or her love of country. This year, the nomination of Capernaum, a heart-wrenching realist drama centering around a feisty adolescent boy consigned to a life of poverty and hardship, made Ms. Labaki the first Arab female director ever to be shortlisted for the Oscars. But she had to largely finance it on her own, mortgaging her house in Beirut. Ms. Labaki received a small sum for her film from the Qatar-based Doha Film Institute, one of the handful of organizations in the Arab world offering financing to Arab filmmakers across the Middle East. (The institute also helped fund Of Fathers and Sons. ) Her husband, Khaled Mouzanar, who doubles as her producer and film composer, has said that in addition to mortgaging their house they had to delay payments for their sons school in order to fund the film . (He told me that he was eventually able t o secure funds from local investors .) Filmmakers across the Middle East also continue to face censorship or have to practice self-censorship. In 2017, the Lebanese-born director Ziad Doueiri, whose fourth film, The Insult, was nominated for best foreign language film last year, was briefly detained upon his return to Lebanon to promote his film there and forced to answer accusations of treason in front of a military court (he was cleared). His earlier film, 2012s The Attack, which was filmed partly in Israel, defying Lebanese laws that prohibit travel to that country, had caused an outcry. It was banned in Lebanon and in several Arab countries and he had to relocate to Paris. In a way, things have improved since Mr. Doueiris debut film, West Beirut, in 1998, when local funding was even more scarce, and even since Ms. Labakis first film, Caramel, a charming, lighthearted dramedy that premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Mr. Doueiris The Insult was largely funded by private Lebanese investors. Several Arab cinephiles are doing what they can to bolster Arab cinema and to help build Arab audience appreciation for local films. According to Rasha Salti, who selects Arab films for some of the leading international film festivals, The Oscar run this year may not mark an apotheosis per se, but rather an affirmation of the maturity of Arab cinema. Ms. Labaki, Mr. Doueiri, Mr. Abu-Assad, and Naji Abu Nowar, the director of Theeb, are but a few of the Arab filmmakers whose work reflects the contemporary Middle East, with themes that are as global as they are local. Capernaum, which earned the director a 15-minute standing ovation when it premiered at Cannes last year, was beaten out by Alfonso Cuarons Roma at the Oscars. Like the Cuaron film, Capernaum addresses the plight of female laborers. After Zain, the sharp-witted young protagonist (who in real life was a Syrian refugee in Lebanon but who, with Ms Labakis help, has since been relocated with his family to Europe), runs away from home, he befriends Rahil, an Ethiopian migrant worker and mother of a baby boy. Intense and deeply moving, Capernaum is cinema at its most vital and its most potent. SWINDON, England Mr. and Mrs. Average are said to live in this southwestern English town better known as a political bellwether than for any charm. Its 54.7 percent vote for Brexit in 2016 was one of the first results announced, an early indicator of upheaval. Now, with less than a month until the March 29 deadline for Britain to leave the European Union, its again aligned with most of the country, this time in its cluelessness as to what is about to happen. To paraphrase Churchill, much invoked by Brexiteers as a symbol of the rule-Britannia greatness they believe will return once Britain is freed from its European shackles: Never was so little known by so many about so much. Britain is in a funk. Just get this over with, is a plea I heard often from Brexit-battered Brits, as if they were waiting to have a limb amputated. After nearly three years, theyre done. All the oxygen has been sucked from the room by the Conservative Prime Minister Theresa Mays floundering attempt to end the countrys 46-year membership in the European Union. Its not easy to make an egg from an omelet, as Pascal Lamy, the former head of the World Trade Organization, has observed. I grew up in a Britain where the Continent, a faintly distasteful geographical mass associated with rabies and garlic, was far away. The E.U. changed that. Now, through finance, trade, law, values and culture, Britain is mixed into a borderless market of 28 nations and more than a half-billion people that has brought peace, stability and an unprecedented, if uneven, prosperity to Europe. Britains decision to break from that is a curious act of self-harm, linked, like the election of Donald Trump, to the desperation of our times. Trump, who once bleated Wheres my Roy Cohn? in his anger about Jeff Sessions recusing himself, wanted a lawyer who was whip-smart, amoral, ruthless and predatory. Cohen was merely Renfield to Trumps Dracula, gratefully eating insects and doing the fiends bidding. Trump used Cohen for dirty deeds done dirt cheap, as ACDC sang. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump showed up late to Cohens sons bar mitzvah and then made a belittling speech about how he had come only because Cohen had begged him and everyone around him. The Times revealed last April that Trump had regularly threatened to fire Cohen and quoted Roger Stone saying that Trump mocked Cohen for overpaying for Trump real estate. With a few exceptions in his inner circle and with family, Trump doesnt give loyalty or deserve it. Thats why Republicans on the Hill who so obsequiously stand by him will eventually learn it wasnt worth it, just as Cohen warned them. Loyalty is a rare commodity in Washington. And Cohen is not the most wretched sycophant in political history. That honor goes to Andrew Young, a slavishly devoted aide to John Edwards during the 2008 campaign who served as a driver, personal shopper, handyman and butler to the North Carolina senator. When Edwards had an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter and a pregnancy ensued, he persuaded Young to say that he was the father. Edwards also got Young to go on the lam with his wife, who was a nurse, and Hunter and the baby, hiding out in fancy hotels and a posh home near Santa Barbara an odyssey financed by Young and Bunny Mellon. As Young wrote in The Politician, inside the campaign there was a cult-like atmosphere that encouraged extreme sycophancy. When Trump gave me a tour of his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in the summer of 2016, he introduced Cohen as my lawyer. Cohen looked furtive, standing around with Trump favorites Corey Lewandowski and Hope Hicks and a few young guys at a desk and a whole bunch of Trump portraits and cutouts and a wall with pictures of Trumps vanquished primary rivals. It was the least presidential campaign headquarters ever, with the drywall still unfinished in some places. As The Times reported, Cohen, who had been pushing for years for Trump to be president, was jealous of the attention Trump gave Lewandowski. In the window of calm between Michael Cohens testimony and the allegedly almost-at-hand delivery of Robert Muellers report, its worth returning for a moment to the document that established the darkest interpretation of all the Russian weirdness swirling around Donald Trump: the intelligence dossier created by Christopher Steele, late of MI6, on behalf of Trumps political opponents, which brought together the reports and rumors that Steele deemed credible about the then-candidate, now-presidents Russia ties. The Steele dossier made four big claims or, since all those claims took the form of rumors and raw intelligence, lets say that it raised four big possibilities. One of them, soon well corroborated, was that Russian intelligence was behind the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and the release of stolen emails through WikiLeaks. The next possibility was that a Russian project to cultivate Trump, supported and directed by Putin, had been going on for many years, and included both offers of sweetener real estate business deals (which Trump supposedly declined) and a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin (which he supposedly accepted). The third possibility was that this relationship dramatically influenced the 2016 campaign. According to Steeles sources, there was possibly a well-developed conspiracy of co-operation between Trumps campaign and Russian intelligence, managed by Paul Manafort with Michael Cohen playing go-between in Prague, which encompassed the D.N.C. hacking a crime carried out with the full knowledge and support of Trump and senior members of his campaign team. These are civilian nuclear power plants, and Saudi Arabia claims it wants them for electricity. But the Saudis insist on producing their own nuclear fuel, rather than buying it more cheaply abroad. Producing fuel is a standard way for rogue countries to divert fuel for secret nuclear weapons programs, and the Saudi resistance to safeguards against proliferation bolsters suspicions that the real goal is warheads. Trump may be vigilant (destructively so) about Irans nuclear plants, but in the Saudi case his response seems to be: Theres money to be made! When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised objections to the transfer last year, Axios reported, Trump and his advisers told Netanyahu that, if the U.S. does not sell the Saudis nuclear reactors, other countries like Russia or France will. Trump seems to believe that the Saudis have us over a barrel: If we dont help them with nuclear technology, someone else will. That misunderstands the U.S.-Saudi relationship. The Saudis depend on us for their security, and the blunt truth is that we hold all the cards in this relationship, not them. Why on earth would America put Prince Mohammed on a path to acquiring nuclear weapons? He is already arguably the most destabilizing leader in an unstable region, for he has invaded Yemen, kidnapped Lebanons prime minister, started a feud with Qatar, and, according to American intelligence officials, ordered the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The prince has also imprisoned and brutally tortured womens rights activists, including one who Im hoping will win the Nobel Peace Prize, Loujain al-Hathloul. As Representative Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, has noted, A country that cant be trusted with a bone saw shouldnt be trusted with nuclear weapons. The White House wont clarify whether Kushner discussed the nuclear issue when he met Prince Mohammed a few days ago, but Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, told me, Id be surprised if it didnt come up. Along with Senators Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, Merkley has introduced a resolution to oppose the transfer of nuclear technology that would allow Saudi Arabia to create nuclear weapons. Theres another element of Trumps Saudi policy that is simply repulsive: the fawning courtship of a foreign prince who has created in Yemen the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, murdered a journalist and tortured womens rights activists. The White House genuflections are such that Prince Mohammed had a point when, according to The Intercept, he bragged that he had Kushner in his pocket. Outside the North Korean Embassy in Hanoi, a glass case displaying an array of patriotic photographs was reportedly reorganized just before Kim Jong-uns arrival. The chairmans portrait remained untouched at the top of the vitrine, but the images of fruit orchards and fishing boats had been swapped out for those of factories and a satellite antenna. A South Korean reporter, standing outside the embassy, observed that the new pictures seemed tailored to fit a theme of Vietnamese-style reform and opening. Instead, President Trump and Mr. Kim cut short their parley, ending the summit on Thursday with no agreement in hand. Much of the American foreign policy establishment, including Democratic legislators, reacted with smug surprise. Mr. Trump had been played, they said, but he was right to walk away rather than to promise too much. According to the president, North Korea had demanded a lifting of all sanctions , to which Washington could not agree . A North Korean official said Pyongyang asked for only partial sanctions relief. Washingtons North Korea watchers and foreign policy experts what Ben Rhodes, President Barack Obamas deputy national security adviser, has called the Blob concluded that the summit was a failure and that Mr. Trump never should have met with Mr. Kim in the first place. The Blob was content. Many South Koreans, however, felt dismayed. Mr. Trump is no model statesman, and his record as president has largely been reckless and cruel. Yet in the Korean context, his bucking of foreign policy tradition (born, undoubtedly, of a quest for personal glory) has at least drawn the North into the global arena. Seoul has never had the luxury of selective dealings with Pyongyang. North Koreas nuclear stockpiles are a less immediate threat than the mass of conventional arms lining the Demilitarized Zone, just across the border. For South Korea, sanctions against the North are not simply a virtue-signaling device, but a policy with immediate, real-world consequences: They can spur the flow of refugees out of the North, undermine efforts by the South to send food and other humanitarian assistance, and make it difficult to host inter-Korean family reunions. The pursuit of a peace treaty to replace the 1953 armistice, to which the United States but not South Korea was a signatory would, beyond its symbolic value, help dismantle the culture of militarism and anti-Communist paranoia that has, at times, justified repressive crackdowns in the South. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court once again took on a question that has long confounded it: W hat qualifies as an impermissible establishment of religion under the Constitution ? The court has over the years sent mixed signals about when the government may be playing favorites with a particular faith. For instance, in its ruling last year upholding President Trumps executive order imposing an entry ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries , the Supreme Court insisted, in a 5-to-4 vote, that the restrictions were facially neutral toward religion, ignoring the presidents long history of antipathy toward Islam and its adherents. And weeks earlier, the justices ruled, in a narrow decision, for a Christian baker who had claimed mistreatment by Colorados civil rights commission , which penalized him for denying service to a gay couple. This weeks hearing, in American Legion v. American Humanist Association, involved a 40-foot cross in Bladensburg, Md., that was erected 93 years ago to honor fallen World War I soldiers. The question before the court: Is Maryland in violation of the First Amendment because the memorial is on public property and maintained with public funds? Over the years, the justices have tried to come up with rules to assess all kinds of religious emblems and practices carrying the governments imprimatur sectarian prayers in legislative sessions, war memorials, Ten Commandments and Christmas displays, and mottos on seals or currency. Its easier to talk about saving more or being frugal, she said. Theres not as much shame around those topics. While its true that families with means have always helped their children (discreetly or not), whats different today is that as the economy has more extreme gyrations and wages flatten, family wealth plays an outsize role in helping people get ahead, said Chuck Collins, a scion of the Oscar Mayer food corporation and the author of Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good. Those who do not have parental assistance in their 30s, however, continue to be at a disadvantage. They are grappling with paying off student-loan debt, their savings might not be as strong because of that, and many are taking care of other family members, said Iimay Ho, 32, the executive director at Resource Generation, an organization that works with people ages 18 to 35 with wealth or class privilege to engage on issues of inequality. Ms. Ho said there was no way she would have been able to amass the $200,000 she has in net assets if her parents, both of whom immigrated from Taiwan to pursue advanced degrees, hadnt paid for tuition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, given her close to $100,000 toward buying a condo in Washington, D.C., and continue to give her about $10,000 a year. For those without parental cash at the ready, theres often some kind of debt hangover that holds them back in significant ways. Roger Quesada, 34, calls his $65,000 of student-loan debt to Sallie Mae, which incurs $400 a month in interest payments alone, a jail sentence. A lapse in his payments ruined his credit, he said, and has hampered his financial and career aspirations. Its been trying to navigate our economy without one of the most important components good credit that provides enormous advantages and privileges, said Mr. Quesada, who grew up working-class in West New York, N.J. Thats something many in my generation take for granted graduating debt free. They also take for granted, he said, financial advice that native parents with an upper hand economically have. I couldnt rely on my mother for anything after I left home. She is retired, disabled, barely scraping by, and depends on Social Security. If anything, I need to be helping her. Valentines Day is over , but were still receiving an endless stream of kisses: passed along in emails and texts like months-old mints nestled at the bottom of our bags, doled out inconsequentially to our tax guys and the work colleagues weve never actually met. Symbolized by two lowercase Xs or a lone capital at the close of a message, kisses have become the trivial signoff du jour for a subset of Americans, a spicier take on All best. Hugs, their more sober partner, written simply as o, have been kicked aside after failing to make it big in the merciless world of internet parlance. Ending digital notes with these shorthand kisses is especially popular today among people who work in industries like fashion or public relations, which lean female and are, perhaps, less likely to be navigating the muddy waters of #MeToo. The xs manufacture closeness and soften bad news. To leave them out is to risk coming across wooden and cold, if not a psychopath . Dana Schwartz, the co-founder of the Hours Agency, a fashion public relations firm in New York, has long been a proponent of signing work-related emails with xx, finding that it makes the messages more friendly and conversational. In the last few years, shes noticed more and more people in her orbit using xx, too. In many ways Marant, though undeniably fashionable, isnt a slave to the culture around fashion. Shes built a brand that has never chased fads and yet always seems to be on trend. When something has waned (like the Bekett, her polarizing stacked sneaker) shes subtly shifted course while still staying true to her signature aesthetic a mix of boho and rock n roll. Marants collections regularly consist of easy-to-wear items like printed blouses, draped dresses, quilted jackets, chunky knitwear, high-waisted skinny pants and retro-inspired boots. Its a look Marant herself wears like a second skin. Two days later, a few hours before the show starts, I find Marant in the same outfit she was wearing when we last met. Only today, shes pulled on a pair of the slouchy leather boots from the new collection. Im lazy, she says, laughing when I ask her if shes made it home to change. I wear the same thing all week I literally pick the clothes up off the floor and then put them on again. Backstage, hair and makeup are in full swing. Marant walks about greeting everyone, lit cigarette in hand, and settles into a makeup chair for her own touch-up. When it comes to her hair, she just flips her head upside down and brushes it downward from the back before pulling it together into her signature topknot. As show time approaches and many of the guests start taking their seats, five models have yet to arrive theyre on motor taxis coming from the last show, Off-White. Marant doesnt break a sweat, but as the Lithuanian model Giedre Dukauskaite rushes in and embraces the designer, Marant does an air punch and shouts, One! Gigi Hadid arrives next, with a swarm of photographers in her wake, and within 15 minutes, all the girls are present and getting into the lineup. As a driving beat announces the start of the show, everyone starts whooping. Marant stands behind the curtain, right where the models take their exit onto the runway, and shouts, Be strong, be beautiful and remember, I love you! Airport food has long conjured images of limp, overpriced Caesar salads and refrigerator-case turkey wraps. But as terminals across the country modernize, and the demand for local food grows, the number of destination-worthy airport outposts offering food youll want to eat has been steadily growing. The most recent example opened in January. The Manufactory Food Hall at San Francisco International Airport now offers fast-casual representations of cuisine from four notable local chefs and bakers: Pim Techamuanvivit of Thai restaurant Kin Khao, Gabriela Camara of Cala, and Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery. Instead of soggy french fries and overcooked burgers, travelers in the International Terminal can order sandwiches on Tartine bread, gluten-free Thai fried chicken boxes and curry soups, and Mexico City-style tacos. The hall also features freshly baked pastries, Tartines coffee and a full bar. When we were first approached about this, my knee-jerk reaction was, Never! said Ms. Prueitt, citing concerns about quality control. But I started thinking about who we could collaborate with, how we could effectively translate our food to this environment. That made it a much more interesting venture. A 60-year-old former massage worker from Taiwan, who agreed to be identified only by the nickname she commonly uses, Tina, said she was lured into working at a massage parlor in New York a decade ago by the travel agency broker who helped secure her visa to travel to the United States. People come here and dont have a place to live, she said. These places offer a place to live, and it seems like a nice idea. They say, Its not safe to keep your passport on hand, and they will ask to hold the passport. She was arrested several times before getting out of the business, and feels comparatively lucky. One close friend was spirited to Texas by traffickers, she said, had her passport taken and was forced to see eight to 12 customers a day. One day the tearful calls she often received from her friend came to an abrupt halt. A lot of the businesses that look like either nail salons or massage places, especially the places that offer massage, there are bad things happening there, she said. Its 100 percent organized crime. The ubiquity of the massage parlors offers an accessibility and sheen of normalcy not offered by traditional brothels. And as the massage parlors have expanded even into small-town America in recent years, meticulously detailed review sites like Rubmaps have served as the Yelp and Foursquare of the illicit parlor business, with graphic anatomical descriptions of the women and explicit breakdowns of the sexual services proffered. Even at illicit parlors, owners and managers can claim ignorance of the additional services offered by employees behind closed doors. The evidence gathered during raids and searches often tells a far different tale. The police say it is common to find ledgers tracking the number of dates women have had, as was found in a bust in Dallas in 2016. In one case in Kansas, a search of the premises yielded a notebook with handwritten Chinese-English translations that included sexually explicit phrases such as did you bring condom and happy ending. A federal law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because this person is involved in active cases, said that the most common method for smuggling women from Asian countries was either a fraudulent tourist visa or a fraudulent work visa, such as for nursing work. Many came as students, then overstayed to work in the sex industry. Many women arrive in the United States from China bearing heavy debt burdens and try to find work in restaurants or nail salons. But the money isnt good enough for the five-figure debts weighing them down. The massage jobs are presented as opportunities for fast, easy money. Many of the words Senator Bernie Sanders used in Brooklyn on Saturday as he kicked off his second run for president were familiar: revolution, economic justice, prison-industrial complex. But one word was not: I. I was born literally a few miles away from here, he told the crowd. I lived in a three-and-a-half-room rent-controlled apartment, he thundered. I was educated proudly in high-quality public schools, he said. During his last presidential campaign, and throughout his political career, Mr. Sanders has offered a policy-focused message almost entirely devoid of personal details. At Saturdays rally, however, he did something new: He talked about himself. I know where I came from! he shouted as his supporters roared. And that is something I will never forget. From Michael Cohens testimony to the Trump-Kim Jong-un summit, its been a busy week in American politics. Here are some of the biggest stories you might have missed (and some links if youd like to read further). ___________________ More allegations and revelations about the president. In a daylong hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, Michael D. Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, offered a damning portrayal of life inside the presidents orbit where, he said, advisers sacrifice integrity for proximity to power. Accusations by Mr. Cohen, such as the presidents alleged knowledge of the hacked Democratic emails released by WikiLeaks, could create new legal issues for Mr. Trump. His testimony also revived questions about whether the president broke the law by failing to disclose that he had footed the bill for a hush payment to a pornographic film actress. Internal memos revealed Thursday show that Mr. Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, a top-secret security clearance last year, overruling concerns from intelligence officials. The memos contradict previous statements made by the president, who said he had no role in Mr. Kushners clearance. WASHINGTON Democratic leaders are convinced that Steve Bullock, the popular governor of Montana, would give the party its best shot at unseating Senator Steve Daines, a freshman Republican, when he stands for re-election next year in a state that President Trump carried by 20 points. But Mr. Bullock has a bigger if far less attainable aspiration: running for president. And so it has gone for Democratic leaders as they struggle to recruit a solid slate of candidates that they will need to net the three or four seats necessary to take control of the Senate next year. Four top-tier potential Democratic Senate candidates John Hickenlooper in Colorado, Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Beto ORourke in Texas and Mr. Bullock are seriously exploring presidential campaigns, forsaking statewide campaigns within their grasp, at least for now, for a national one that would be the longest of long shots. A fifth potential recruit, Richard Ojeda, resigned his State Senate seat in West Virginia to run for president, only to withdraw last month without committing to challenge Senator Shelley Moore Capito. This isnt a bad map like 2018 because we have very few seats to defend, said Guy Cecil, the former executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But the opportunities to pick up seats are limited, and we need the best candidates possible to win the majority. Its critical that some of the long shots in the presidential primary consider the Senate this year. OXON HILL, Md. President Trump said on Saturday that he planned to issue an executive order that would help guarantee free speech at colleges and universities by putting their federal aid at risk if they do not protect the viewpoints of students of all political stripes. The president made the announcement during a rambling two-hour speech to activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, but he did not provide any details about the possible executive order. Several White House officials did not respond to emails or telephone calls seeking additional information. The White House did not respond to questions about when the president might sign the order. The issue of free speech on college campuses has for years been a cause celebre among young conservative activists, who point to instances around the country in which conservative voices have been shunned by liberal students and professors. The crowd, which included many college-age conservatives, welcomed Mr. Trumps announcement, leaping to their feet when he pledged to hold school administrators accountable for ensuring that conservatives were permitted to express their views on campuses, often places where liberals outnumber them. EL PASO Arlinda Valencia was at a funeral when an uncle told her a bewildering family secret: An Anglo lynch mob had killed her great-grandfather. A mixture of grief and shock overwhelmed me since this was the first I heard of this, said Ms. Valencia, 66, the leader of a teachers union in El Paso. The more I looked into it, the more stunned I was at how many Mexicans were lynched in this country. Ms. Valencia and other descendants of lynching victims are now casting attention on one of the grimmest campaigns of racist terror in the American West: the lynching of thousands of men, women and children of Mexican descent from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century. Some victims were burned alive, like Antonio Rodriguez, 20, a migrant worker who was hauled from a jail in Rocksprings, Tex., tied to a tree and set ablaze in 1910. Other mobs hanged, whipped or shot Mexicans, many of whom were United States citizens, sometimes drawing crowds in the thousands. Please sign up here to have the Race/Related newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox. No one wants to be called a racist. During Michael D. Cohens hearing before the House Oversight Committee this week, Representative Mark Meadows, a conservative Republican from North Carolina, was incensed when Rashida Tlaib, a freshman Democrat from Michigan, used the word racist to describe a bold move from Mr. Meadows during the hearing. Mr. Meadows, who is white, summoned Lynne Patton, a black woman with ties to the Trump family, before the committee to defend the presidents character against charges of racism leveled by Mr. Cohen. Ms. Patton, who is an official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, stood silently and nodded while Mr. Meadows spoke on her behalf and presented her as proof of Mr. Trumps good relationship with black people. This is Stephon Clark, lying on the ground, motionless after two Sacramento police officers shot him seven times. He was a 22-year-old father of two boys. An unarmed black man. Killed in his own backyard. And it all happened in just 23 seconds. Were going to break down those 23 seconds and look at five critical moments. Our frame-by-frame analysis reveals a series of split-second decisions and errors, and examines how they ended in Clarks death. A warning: It can be hard to watch. First, lets play the whole encounter. Pay attention to how quickly it escalates. It all starts earlier around 9:10 p.m., when a resident calls 911 and reports that someone is vandalizing cars. Then, 16 minutes later, a police helicopter spots a suspect. This is Stephon Clark. The police footage doesnt show Clark break a window. But the police say they believe he was responsible for the reported vandalism. Clark jumps a fence into this yard. He lived here with his grandmother, although theres no reason to think that the police knew this. Moments later, we see two police officers approach the front of the house. Police have not confirmed the officers identities, so well call them Officer 1 and Officer 2. The helicopter guides them toward Clark. Officer 1 has his gun drawn before he encounters Clark. We slowed down and brightened this clip to see it more clearly. This is just before the officer first shouts, starting the crucial 23 seconds as the officers begin pursuit. Clark is standing along the side of the house, while the officers are at the front. Officer 1 sees Clark and shouts. Clark runs farther into his backyard. He moves under a covered patio and stays there for the next 13 seconds. The officers chase Clark and run around a blind corner, breathing hard. Their speed may have robbed them of a chance to de-escalate the situation from a safe spot, which would be in line with their departments instructions. The chaos of the full-on pursuit could have been a factor in the next critical moment, when one of the officers mistakenly thinks that Clark has a weapon. Officer 1 is now about 40 feet away from Clark. Well freeze on this frame. Its difficult to see, but right here, this is Stephon Clark facing Officer 1. We can tell hes stopped and facing the officer, but we cant see much else, including whether he has anything in his hands. Heres the moment from the helicopters perspective. Less than two seconds after coming around the corner, Officer 1 shouts the word Gun. So, why in that brief moment did the officer conclude that Clark, who was unarmed, had a gun? We dont know. Both officers backtracked behind the corner and then looked back around it. Officer 1 again concludes that Clark is armed. And immediately after that, his partner decides to fire. Why? Possibly because he saw Clarks movements. Remember, Clark had been stopped, but as the officers retreat, he begins moving in their direction. When they look around the corner again, hes closer, around 25 feet away from the officers and continuing to move. Clark is stepping through a narrow space between a picnic table and the house, likely turned and not directly facing the officers. We drew this conclusion in part by comparing the body camera to this picture of Clark from earlier in the same day. Notice the pants with white stripes the same ones seen in the body camera. But nothing in the videos can tell us why Clark moved. Overhead from the helicopter we see him as well. That small cluster of white pixels. Thats all we can see of Clark before shots are fired. Less than a second after Officer 1 called out a gun for the second time, Officer 2 fires the first series of five bullets. After a short pause, both officers shoot a combined 15 more times. Lets look at that again from the helicopter. The first volley is fired while Clark stands. He falls to his hands and knees. Hes still moving as the second round of shots begins, and then, by the time its over, hes motionless. So, which shots killed Clark? The ones fired while he was standing or those fired while he was on the ground? In early May, the Sacramento County coroner released its autopsy report, concluding that Clark was shot seven times. By combining the report with our analysis we determined that Clark was struck in his left leg while still standing, a non-lethal shot. He was also struck six more times, all on the right side and back. These shots broke his ribs, fractured his spine, lacerated his heart, perforated his lungs and killed him. Given Clarks position, orientation and movement, these last six shots almost certainly hit Clark while he was falling or lying on the ground. We dont know exactly how long it took these wounds to kill Clark, but we do know that there was a significant delay before any medical aid was given. Show me your hands. Lets see your hands. After they stopped firing, the officers dont approach Clark. They talk to either each other or to Clarks unresponsive body, which they still consider a threat. You all right, you hit? Yeah, Im good. Two minutes after the shooting, other officers arrive. You cant see his hands, right? The police discuss using a body bunker, a shield to protect themselves from gunfire. Three-Sam-five if you can head this way, we could use a body bunker before we detain him. Almost three minutes after the last shot, the police identify themselves for the first time. Hey, can you hear us? Police Department, can you hear us? We need to know if youre OK. We need to get you medics, but we cant go over to get you help unless we know you dont have a weapon. Officer 1 describes the moment when they fired. He came up and then he, he kind of approached us hands out. And then, fell down. Four minutes and 50 seconds after the shooting, officers approach Clark. One of you guys want to go hands, cover em, I oh, fuck. They handcuff him, which is a standard practice. And when they roll him over, his cellphone is lying under his body. This suggests a possibility: that Clark had the phone in his hand and thats what the officers mistook for a gun. The police now have the phone but have not said whether he was recording. Give me a light, well start CPR. All right. Six minutes after the last bullet was fired, officers not involved in the shooting give first aid. Clark is pronounced dead at the scene. Officers 1 and 2 step away and mute their cameras. Hey, mute. We can no longer hear what theyre discussing. Shortly after the shooting, the Sacramento Police Department updated its guidelines. Officers are now required to record why they mute or turn off their cameras. WASHINGTON The surprise hits of the annual gathering of right-wing activists in Washington were appearances by three black women. Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, better known as Diamond and Silk, thanked the organizers for inviting them two conservative black chicks before mocking reparations. Candace Owens, the fiery young YouTube sensation, called on black people to escape from the countrys liberal ideology. Their unapologetic support for President Trump was greeted with huge applause at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which concluded Saturday with an appearance by the president. Days before, Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trumps former lawyer and fixer, testified before a Congressional committee that the president is a racist who had once said that black people were too stupid to vote for him. I dont believe the president said that, Ms. Owens said in an interview from the bustling convention hall on Friday. The second you put him in front of a crowd of black Americans, they love him. They walk away and they say, hes amazing. All three women are part of the small but diverse collection of black Trump supporters who operate out of TV studio green rooms and appear at rallies far from the presidents inner circle in the West Wing. They advocate on the presidents behalf. Their very presence, some of Mr. Trumps backers argue, is evidence that the presidents critics are wrong that he is a racist. TUNIS, Tunisia Two years ago, American Marines battled Al Qaeda militants in western Tunisia along the border with Algeria. A Marine and a Tunisian soldier were wounded and two other Marines were later commended for their valor in the gunfight. Yet many details of the February 2017 clash remain murky, largely because of the Tunisian governments political sensitivities over the presence of American forces in its territory. Publicly, American officials will say only that the battle happened in a North African host country. The Tunisian authorities have refused to confirm that anything happened at all. Last year, when one of the most detailed accounts of the clash to date surfaced in a report in Task & Purpose, a privately owned American website focused on military and veterans affairs, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense was dismissive. It said the presence of American troops in Tunisia was only for cooperation and training, not conducting operations. ALMATY, Kazakhstan The businesses he started had failed, and he had a wife and two children to support. So when the authorities in Chinas far western Xinjiang region offered him a job with the auxiliary police, Baimurat welcomed the good pay and benefits. For months, he stood at roadside checkpoints, looking for people on the governments blacklist, usually from Muslim ethnic minorities. As a Kazakh Muslim himself, he sometimes felt uncomfortable about his work, but he needed the money. Then he was asked to help bring 600 handcuffed people to a new facility and was stunned by what he saw. Officials called it a job training center, but it was basically a prison, with toilets and beds behind bars. One detainee was an acquaintance he barely recognized because he had lost so much weight. Mr. Baimurat, 39, suppressed his emotions. There are cameras everywhere, he recalled, and if they see you look unhappy, you will be in trouble. NEW DELHI Intense shelling erupted along the disputed border between India and Pakistan on Saturday, killing several civilians and making it clear that hostilities between the two nuclear-armed nations were hardly over only a day after Pakistan handed over a captured Indian fighter pilot in what it called a good-will gesture. At least five civilians and two soldiers were killed, according to officials on both sides. At the same time, independent security analysts continue to question Indias claims this past week that it had killed a very large number of terrorists at a major training camp in a cross-border airstrike. The bold strike set off an enormous mobilization of Indian and Pakistani forces and a cycle of military attacks, bringing South Asia to red alert. Michael Sheldon, a researcher at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, said on Saturday that after studying satellite imagery of the area in Pakistan that India had bombed, he could see no evidence any buildings were hit. He added, It appears to me they didnt hit their targets. Instead, he said, all publicly available evidence and accounts from witnesses on the ground indicated that the Indian bombs had landed in an unpopulated forest and had taken out some pine trees. He set out his argument in an online article titled Surgical Strike in Pakistan a Botched Operation? SITTWE, Myanmar The blood was flowing again, as it has so often, in Rakhine State, where the jungle of the Mayu hills meets the muddy flats of the Bay of Bengal: Ethnic militants ambushed four police bases on Myanmars Independence Day in January, killing 14 officers. The Myanmar Army responded with its customary ferocity toward what it termed a terrorist group. The insurgents would be crushed, added Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmars civilian leader. Fatal clashes continued through February, and a 7-year-old child was killed in the crossfire. On Wednesday, two police officers were killed by a land mine blamed on the militants. Rakhine, like Sarajevo or Darfur, has become a global byword for ethnic cleansing, a place where in 2017 members of the countrys Buddhist majority carried out the mass expulsion of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group, an act accompanied by widespread rape, killing and the burning of entire villages that United Nations officials called genocide. The Myanmar military used a deadly raid by Rohingya militants on police posts and an army base as the excuse for the rampage that ensued. HANOI, Vietnam As President Trump settled into the dining room of a French-colonial hotel in Hanoi on Thursday morning, the conversation with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader with whom he had struck up the oddest of friendships, was already turning tense. In a dinner at the Metropole Hotel the evening before, mere feet from the bomb shelter where guests took cover during the Vietnam War, Mr. Kim had resisted what Mr. Trump presented as a grand bargain: North Korea would trade all its nuclear weapons, material and facilities for an end to the American-led sanctions squeezing its economy. An American official later described this as a proposal to go big, a bet by Mr. Trump that his force of personality, and view of himself as a consummate dealmaker, would succeed where three previous presidents had failed. But Mr. Trumps offer was essentially the same deal that the United States has pushed and the North has rejected for a quarter-century. Intelligence agencies had warned him, publicly, Mr. Kim would not be willing to give up the arsenal completely. North Korea itself had said repeatedly that it would only move gradually. MOSCOW The chief of Russias armed forces endorsed on Saturday the kind of tactics used by his country to intervene abroad, repeating a philosophy of so-called hybrid war that has earned him notoriety in the West, especially among American officials who have accused Russia of election meddling in 2016. At a conference on the future of Russian military strategy, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, said countries bring a blend of political, economic and military power to bear against adversaries. The speech outlined what some Western analysts consider the signature strategy of Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin and what other experts call a simple recognition of modern war and politics. General Gerasimov said Russias armed forces must maintain both classical and asymmetrical potential, using jargon for the mix of combat, intelligence and propaganda tools that the Kremlin has deployed in conflicts such as Syria and Ukraine. MADRID When seven men gathered in 1977 around a long green table in the Spanish Congress to write a Constitution for a new, democratic Spain, they spent a month, on and off, arguing over a single word. It was just two years after the death of Gen. Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who had suppressed attempts to create regional autonomy. The two Catalans at the table, Miquel Roca and Jordi Sole Tura, wanted the text to grant the right of self-government to Spains constituent nations an implicit reference to Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country Mr. Roca recalled in an interview. The other five, who included one of Francos former ministers, refused. Eventually, they reached a compromise. The final text spoke not of nations but of regions and nationalities. The net has been cast too wide and the effect of the scheme has been to cause landlords to commit nationality and/or race discrimination against those who are perfectly entitled to rent, with the result that they are less able to find homes than (white) British citizens, the judge said, citing claims from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, which brought the case to court. Mrs. May, who was Britains home secretary for six years before becoming prime minister in 2016, has been closely identified with moves to tighten the countrys migration policies. She promised to create a really hostile environment for illegal immigration in a 2012 interview with The Daily Telegraph, although her government now prefers to speak of a compliant environment. Measures to achieve that included a poster campaign, with billboards driven on vans across Londons suburbs in the summer of 2013, urging those in the country illegally to Go home or face arrest. The billboards drew widespread criticism and quickly disappeared. But they were followed by the legislation mandating document checks at many key points in daily life, a cultural shift for Britain, which has no mandatory identity card system, unlike many European countries, and has long considered its relative lack of official paperwork a point of national pride. Criticism of the measures reached a peak last year, when the government had to apologize to Windrush migrants the name refers to the Empire Windrush, the liner that brought the first large postwar group of arrivals from the West Indies who had lived legally in Britain for decades but lost their jobs, were denied medical care and even faced the threat of deportation. Fridays judgment was another nail in the coffin for the governments misguided, discriminatory and unworkable hostile environment policy, Lara ten Caten, a solicitor with Liberty, a group that campaigns for civil liberties and supported the court challenge, told the BBC. While effective immigration control is a legitimate aim for any government, the Home Office must stop outsourcing its discriminatory policies to third parties who are ill-equipped to enforce them but may be slapped with heavy fines and even end up in prison if they dont, she added. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today, Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, faces indictments over an alleged scheme involving brazen acts of bribery and fraud. So why are so many Israelis ready to re-elect him? Its Wednesday, March 27. david halbfinger I think the only way people would vote for someone under indictment is if they cant live without him, if they think hes indispensable. michael barbaro David Halbfinger is the Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times. david halbfinger And if you really want to understand how Benjamin Netanyahu developed this idea that hes the indispensable Israeli leader, youve got to go all the way back to the early 1990s, when he first arrived on the scene. archived recording Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Arafat, chairman of the executive council of the Palestine Liberation Organization, his excellency Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, the president of the United States. david halbfinger When the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is getting going the first time, really, ever archived recording (bill clinton) Prime Minister Rabin, Chairman Arafat, Foreign Minister Peres david halbfinger There is this breakthrough moment of the Oslo Accords. archived recording (bill clinton) Today, we bear witness to an extraordinary act in one of historys defining dramas. david halbfinger And those accords, as we know, provided for Israel to begin to start pulling out from the occupied territories in Gaza and the West Bank, and the goal was this would eventually lead to a Palestinian state. michael barbaro Right. I remember watching this historic moment at the White House, and I think everyone who watched it and processed it in the days and weeks later thought this is truly a turning point in the history of the Middle East, Israel and the Palestinians. david halbfinger Thats right, but Netanyahu didnt see it that way. To him, Oslo was dangerous, a risk, a big mistake. archived recording The government has gone too far, too fast, and most people say, hold it. david halbfinger Its right at this time that Netanyahu emerges on the Israeli political scene, taking over the Likud party, warning against how unwise and foolhardy these Oslo Accords would prove for Israelis. archived recording [CHANTING] david halbfinger He gets into a really closely contested race in 1996. archived recording With just days to go before the Israeli elections, campaign fever is sweeping the country. Netanyahu, who is against Peress peace agreement with the Palestinians, is selling his own vision of a secure future for Israel. david halbfinger And archived recording It took a split second and 22 pounds of TNT to transform a packed commuter bus in rush-hour traffic into a pile of twisted metal and blood. The attack, the bloodiest in Israel in nearly 20 years, came just three months before an Israeli general election. david halbfinger There were suicide bombings by Palestinians that were leaving scores of Israelis dead. It was bloody. It was awful. archived recording 1 After the latest bombing Israels opposition leader urged Israelis to be restrained. archived recording 2 Dont give up. Theyre trying to break us, these terrorists. They wont break us. david halbfinger And he was the guy who had been warning against precisely this kind of thing. He goes to sleep one night thinking that he has lost the race, and he wakes up the next prime minister of Israel. archived recording 1 Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu, 46, thrice-married, father of three, right-wing politician and, now, Israeli prime minister. archived recording 2 This is the victory of the Jewish people. This is the victory of Israel. This is the victory of Jerusalem. And we say, hey, thank God! Thank God! michael barbaro And is it the view, David, that Netanyahu won precisely because of his skepticism about making peace with the Palestinians, that he was giving voice to something that maybe many Israelis privately agreed with? david halbfinger I think thats right. I think that as much as people want to embrace optimism and hope and did then, I think he figured out a way to tap into that visceral, you know, gut-level fear. I mean, violence does happen here. This is a very small country. Its the size of New Jersey, roughly, in area and in population, and its been fighting wars, you know, as long as its been around. And everybody here knows somebody who lost somebody. You know, every time one of those buses blew up in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, or a cafe exploded, everybody knows somebody who didnt survive. So with that kind of a populace, with that kind of an audience, Netanyahus message is very powerful. michael barbaro And what happens to the peace talks once Netanyahu is elected in 96? archived recording For four days, the world has wondered what will happen to the Mideast peace process now that the right wing is back in power. david halbfinger So he gets in, and having made these warnings, he now is the leader of the state of Israel, which depends very heavily on the United States, whose administration under Bill Clinton was very much interested in pursuing peace. So where does that leave Netanyahu? He basically slow-walks. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) I can tell you that were negotiating earnestly, but I cannot at this time predict an end. I hope that the other side shows goodwill. We certainly have showed it. david halbfinger He resists. He slows things down. He expresses reservations. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) I would be very careful. david halbfinger But ultimately, because Israel is so dependent on the United States at that point archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) Our position is to not only move on the peace process, but also improve the prosperity and economic conditions of the Palestinian population. david halbfinger He does get pressured into shaking Arafats hand, into striking a deal in Hebron. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) And I believe that we can advance to achieve both goals for the benefit of both peoples. david halbfinger And ultimately, its those concessions, which inflame his own base, the right wing of Israel, against him. And when it comes time for him to get re-elected in 1999 archived recording I think that Barak will take the elections. Israel is disappointed with Netanyahu. david halbfinger A lot of them desert him, and he goes down. archived recording Bibi Netanyahu lost the elections, and his own coalition actually turned against him. david halbfinger Hes bounced out of office, and hes sent into the wilderness. It seems like it could be the end of his political life. michael barbaro So Netanyahu, having run on a campaign of skepticism about the peace process, is kind of strong-armed into engaging in it a small way and experiences a huge blowback that costs him politically. What is the lesson for him? david halbfinger Well, the lesson is you dont get anywhere by participating in a process you dont believe in. I think thats the lesson that he carries with him to this day. michael barbaro So what happens next? archived recording (bill clinton) The objective now is to put the peace process back on all its tracks. david halbfinger Israel tries again for peace talks under President Clinton, with Ehud Barak. archived recording (ehud barak) A strong Israeli-American relationship must be the cornerstone on which to build a peaceful Middle East. Mr. President, the road ahead may be long and arduous, but together with our peace partners, we can and will make it happen. david halbfinger Theres this historic deal on the table in 2000, but the talks collapse. archived recording We have received five casualties so far. One of the casualties is a young girl who has suffered multiple burns. She is now on a mechanical ventilator and is undergoing extensive tests. We have one patient with hand burns, and we have three other patients who have been only lightly injured. david halbfinger And later that year, the Palestinians resume their terror attacks against Israel. archived recording A car bomb went off in a narrow, lightly-traveled side street in a working-class area of West Jerusalem. david halbfinger The Second Intifada begins. archived recording More deaths and suffering on Jerusalems streets, inevitably more fear and hatred. Bodies were carried out on stretchers and in black plastic bags. david halbfinger And thats really three years of carnage inside Israel. archived recording 1 The explosion ripped through the crowded bus, throwing bodies and wreckage across the road. archived recording 2 The bombing was probably carried out as yet another act in the violent tit-for-tat killings that have overwhelmed peoples lives here for so long. david halbfinger This is what led the Israelis ultimately to build the barrier wall separating Israel from much of the West Bank. All this time, Netanyahu is watching, sort of once again seeing his philosophy, his beliefs about the Palestinians and the prospects for peace essentially being vindicated. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) When I left office, I had time to kill. So I went around the world, and I saw what everybody was doing. And when I was offered this opportunity, I said, O.K. david halbfinger So he returns to the scene as the finance minister. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) But I need to run the economic cabinet because that gives me the ability to actually make the decisions. david halbfinger You know, its a kind of a thankless job, youd think. This is the guy who has to raise taxes. But actually, Netanyahu comes into the finance ministry. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) We cut spending. david halbfinger He cuts taxes. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) Cut welfare. david halbfinger He cuts the bloated bureaucracy. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) Took over the pension funds of the unions which were in actual bankruptcy. david halbfinger He privatizes industries. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) Raised the retirement age for men and women. david halbfinger And he really lays the groundwork for what would be widely praised across the spectrum here as an economic miracle for Israel. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) The economy last quarter grew 5.5 percent. Stock market has more than doubled. Its grown 100 percent in 12 months. And money is flowing in, and investment is coming in. Israel is a very, very good deal. david halbfinger He develops this new kind of gravitas and regains the leadership of the right-wing party, Likud. archived recording At this ceremony Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu took over as prime minister of the Middle Eastern nation. david halbfinger And in 2009, hes able to win the job, and he was the next prime minister. michael barbaro And David, what does Netanyahu do once hes back in power as prime minister? I have to imagine that given his vindication from the 90s with the peace process and once again in the mid-2000s, hes kind of hardened in this unwillingness to engage in negotiations with the Palestinians. david halbfinger Yeah. I mean, its in this time when he really kind of masters the art of his form of politics. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) You see, at stake is not merely the future of my country. At stake is the future of the world. And nothing could imperil our common future more than the arming of Iran with nuclear weapons. david halbfinger Hes got this incredible ability to stir the fears of Israelis, their basic existential fears. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) To understand what the world would be like with a nuclear-armed Iran, just imagine the world with a nuclear armed Al Qaeda. david halbfinger He is masterly in his management of the Israeli economy. archived recording Israel is the fastest-growing, one of the most dynamic entrepreneurial and innovation-based economies on the planet. david halbfinger And he starts getting re-elected again and again with relative ease. archived recording And its election day in Israel, and it appears prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will get another term in office. david halbfinger And its also in this period that Netanyahu really cements the idea that he is truly indispensable to Israel. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) My friends, I have come here today because as prime minister of Israel, I feel a profound obligation to speak to you about an issue that could well threaten the survival of my country and the future of my people. david halbfinger He picks a fight with the Obama administration over the Iran nuclear deal. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) It doesnt block Irans path to the bomb. It paves Irans path to the bomb. So why would anyone make this deal? david halbfinger He goes so far as to go to Congress and to challenge Obama publicly. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) Weve been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Well, this is a bad deal. Its a very bad deal. Were better off without it. david halbfinger And ultimately, what happens he wins. You know, Obama leaves office. archived recording (donald trump) My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran. david halbfinger Trump comes in. Trump basically echoes everything that Netanyahu has been saying. archived recording (donald trump) In just a short period of time, the worlds leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the worlds most dangerous weapons. david halbfinger And lo and behold archived recording (donald trump) Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. david halbfinger The United States exit from the nuclear deal. And in 2016, Donald Trump promised at his convention speech archived recording (donald trump) I alone can fix it. david halbfinger Only I can fix it. A year later, Netanyahu can say to Israelis, only I could have pulled this off. Only I could have stood up to an American president on his signature issue and been vindicated, you know, because I know the Americans so well. They get me. Only I could have done it. And there he is again, the indispensable man. michael barbaro And when Netanyahu says that, it feels true, right? david halbfinger Yeah, and I have to say yes. Earlier this year, Netanyahu put these giant billboards up for his campaign showing him alongside Trump. You know, theyre like six or eight stories high, each of them. And I think when many Israelis think about what he accomplished, pushing back against the Iran deal I think, you know, he is that large in their minds. No prime minister could have done that except Bibi. archived recording 1 Israels prime minister, Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu. Hes held the post for nine years, but now his political future seems, at best, uncertain. archived recording 2 Investigators say there is now sufficient evidence to charge Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of public trust. archived recording 3 The next step now will be for the attorney general here to either reject or accept the police recommendation calling for an indictment. archived recording 4 Huge breaking news out of Israel. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be indicted. michael barbaro David, all of this sounds like the story of a prime minister who is experiencing tremendous success and who is delivering very well on this message of indispensability thats at the center of his political life. So what exactly goes wrong? david halbfinger I think, in hindsight, somewhere along the way as hes growing in stature really fast and really big in the eyes of his people, in the eyes of the rest of the world, you know, he starts to believe exactly how indispensable he is trying to convince Israelis he is. He starts to really identify himself with Israel, and thats not just taking personally what happens to Israel. Thats thinking that, you know, whats good for you is good for the country, and there is an arrogance to that as well. archived recording For six weeks now, Israelis have been demonstrating against the prime minister crime minister, as theyve affectionately nicknamed him. david halbfinger You know, theres two things that start to get him into trouble, according to what weve been learning in the recent months. For one thing, he develops a taste for the trappings of power. Theres the sense that he and members of his family they feel that somebody who is as exalted a leader on the world stage should be treated accordingly. Theres a steady stream of gifts that hes accused of accepting from billionaires and Hollywood moguls who hes friends with and so on. archived recording Luxurious champagne for the lady and fine cigars for the gentleman. david halbfinger You know, theres jewelry arriving in the prime ministers residence for his wife. Theres tens of thousands of dollars worth of cigars. Theres champagne. And then archived recording Case number two Netanyahu reportedly struck a deal with a major newspaper where, in return for more favorable coverage, he would weaken a rival newspaper. david halbfinger The second thing is, if youre the indispensable man, but you see impediments to your continuing to lead, and those impediments might be in the form of a critical, fractious news media, well, how do you get around that? Maybe you want to bend the news media to your will, and youll look for ways to do that. michael barbaro How did that work, exactly? david halbfinger So there are just countless examples of this, but one that really stands out for me goes back to Election Day, the last time, in 2015. He put up a video on Election Day itself archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) [SPEAKING HEBREW] david halbfinger where he speaks to camera and says, youve got to come out. archived recording (benjamin netanyahu) [SPEAKING HEBREW] david halbfinger The Arabs are being bussed to the polls in droves. You know, theyre not allowed to advertise in the last number of days of an Israeli election, but Walla News, this news website over which Netanyahu is wielding enormous influence and control, Walla News is prevailed upon to run this Facebook video on its home page prominently all day long. michael barbaro Wow. david halbfinger And who knows how many people saw that and got right out and voted. michael barbaro So no other candidate can advertise at this point, but this video kind of serves as a kind of advertisement for Netanyahu through a media organization that hes got this, essentially, bribery arrangement with. david halbfinger Thats right. Thats the allegation. michael barbaro And what do we know about how this was coordinated by Netanyahu or people around him? david halbfinger So, much of this has been reported because the prosecutors have turned state witnesses out of some of Netanyahus closest aides his media adviser, his deputy in the communications ministry, the guy who is running him back and forth, allegedly, between the family and the newsrooms. You know, there are conversations where the prime ministers wiretapped talking to some of these guys. Theres just apparently a massive trove of evidence that were not going to see until after the election, but I think from the way its been reported up till now, its going to be pretty damning. michael barbaro David, how do you think about these two things existing side by side, these extremely damning allegations of corruption, bribery, fraud, and an Israeli electorate that may very well still be poised to re-elect the man who allegedly committed those acts? david halbfinger So I think that Israelis are just having a very difficult time imagining the next thing. Netanyahus been in office for 10 years. Hes done really well by the average Israeli. And Netanyahu himself has become this huge, towering figure. I mean, there is nobody else on the scene. You know, the man challenging him, this former army chief hes got lots of stature. Hes very tall. But Netanyahus image just dwarfs the guy. And so for Israelis, I mean, they take these charges seriously. But it is very, very hard for them to think about anybody else in that job. And that, really, for many people, I think, when they go into the ballot box, its going to be hard for them to get past that, that idea. Up against Netanyahu is this new party. Its led by a bunch of generals who are promising Israeli voters that they know how to keep them safe, that their security is in good hands. But Netanyahu is telling people, you know, I know you. I know your fears. Trust your fears, and you can only trust me to keep you safe. michael barbaro And it seems to be working. david halbfinger Its worked for him so many times, and it just might one more. michael barbaro David, thank you very much. david halbfinger Michael, its great to be with you. michael barbaro Polling shows that the Israeli election scheduled for April 9 remains extremely close. In the days leading up to the election, Netanyahu has received political assistance from President Trump, who broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy by recognizing Israels authority over the Golan Heights, long a source of international controversy, during a ceremony at the White House this week. If Netanyahu is re-elected, he could become Israels first sitting prime minister to face criminal prosecution. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. In an unexpected move, the Trump administration is waging a new attack on the Affordable Care Act, telling a federal court that it now believes the entire law should be invalidated. In the past, the administration has asked courts to strike down individual elements of the A.C.A., but to leave the rest of the law in place. archived recording (nancy pelosi) Last night, in federal court, the Justice Department of the Trump administration youd think theyd have more to do decided not only to try to destroy protections for pre-existing conditions, but to tear down every last benefit and protection the A.C.A. affords. michael barbaro The timing could benefit Democrats, who were already planning to campaign for the presidency on a message of saving the A.C.A., and it could hurt Republicans, who fear the decision may anger constituents who have come to rely on the A.C.A. If the court agrees with the administrations request, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance, a possibility that House speaker Nancy Pelosi was quick to highlight. archived recording (nancy pelosi) And the Department of Justice becomes the Department of Injustice when it wants to tear down health care benefits. michael barbaro A dual citizen of Saudi Arabia and the United States had been imprisoned in the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh for about a week when he heard a knock on his door. Guards dragged Walid Fitaihi, a Harvard-trained physician, to another room, according to a friend who took down the prisoners detailed account of his treatment. Dr. Fitaihi told the friend he was slapped, blindfolded, stripped to his underwear and bound to a chair. He was shocked with electricity in what appears to have been a single session of torture that lasted about an hour. His tormentors whipped his back so severely that he could not sleep on it for days, his friend said, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals. The doctor had described the physical abuse, in general terms, to his relatives as well, a person close to them said. Detained in November 2017 in what was billed as a crackdown on corruption, Dr. Fitaihi, 54, remains imprisoned without any public charges or trial. About 200 prominent Saudis were detained with him, and he is one of dozens who remain in prison. BEIRUT, Lebanon The office of Saudi Arabias public prosecutor said late Friday that it had completed its investigation into a group of womens rights activists, accused of working to undermine the security of the kingdom, and was preparing to put them on trial. Human rights groups have criticized the treatment of the activists, who were arrested last spring but have yet to face formal charges. Some of the activists were subjected to torture during interrogation, according to relatives and others briefed on their cases. Saudi Arabia denies that any were mistreated. The group includes both women and men. Some had campaigned openly for Saudi Arabia to lift its ban on women driving, while others had supported the cause in quieter ways. Some members of the group were in the process of opening a shelter for abused women when they were arrested, including a man who donated land for the project. He was later released, but others were not. The activists were detained last year as the kingdom was preparing to lift its ban on women driving, leading many to assume that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdoms day-to-day ruler, did not want to share credit for the change with activists who had pushed for it. The Federal Voting Assistance Program, the federal program that ensures military service members, families and overseas citizens the right to vote, has signed a pact with Marketing for Change Co. to provide absentee voting assistance. The five-year, $9.7 million contract calls for marketing, education and research services in a bid to raise awareness among Americans living abroad on issues such as voting rights, voter registration and how to request and return absentee ballots. The work will be carried out in partnership with Alexandria, VA-based agency Fors Marsh Group, with MFC leading creative and outreach efforts while Fors Marsh Group handles research. FVAP was established by the United States Department of Defense. Marketing for Change bills itself as a behavior-change communications agency, and utilizes social psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics to develop strategies and campaigns designed to influence human behavior. The full-service firm, which was founded in 2005, maintains offices in Orlando, Philadelphia, Tallahassee and Alexandria, VA. Michael Cohen Michael Cohen, president Trump's former fixer and muscle, is scheduled to report May 6 to begin a three-year prison sentence for campaign finance law violations related to working for the former Boss, who now calls him "a rat." Since Cohen was disbarred in New York on Feb. 26, he'll need a job once released from the slammer. Some savvy PR firm should scoop him up. Cohen put on a PR clinic during his riveting public testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Feb. 27. Right off the bat, Cohen apologized to the Members of Congress for previous untruthful testimony that he made "to protect Mr. Trump." Warming the heart of every PR counselor, Cohen stressed the importance of staying on messageand then didin portraying Trump as a "racist, con man and cheat." Cohen presented his crisis manager credentials: "As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3 a.m. if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children's friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own." That crisis mindset came in handy after the $4B Man, which in Trump's mind was the value of his brand in 2013, decided to trash President Obama's educational credentials. At that point, Trump had moved beyond the "birther" nonsense. Trump told the AP in 2011 that he heard Obama was a "terrible student" and wondered how he got into Columbia and Harvard. "I certainly will look into it," said the real estate developer. "Let him show his record." Once Trump launched his own presidential bid, crisis manager Cohen fired off letters to Trump's high school, colleges and the College Board that threatened legal jihad if they released his grades or SAT scores. [My hunch: Obama earned better marks than Trump.] His May 5, 2015 lawyer letter to Fordham University president Rev. Joe McShane ended with a sweet PR flourish. "P.S. Mr. Trump truly enjoyed his two years at Fordham and has great respect for the University." Cohen displayed great composure during the Q&A when Republican pit bulls Jim Jordan (OH) and Mark Meadows (NC) trashed him as nothing more than a two-bit convicted lying low-life scoundrel desperately trying to have some time knocked off his upcoming sentence by casting aspersions on the Tweeter-in-Chief. In his prepared remarks, Cohen said it best: "I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the president, I consider it significant and dangerous." And the dagger: "But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either." And that includes Trump lapdogs Jordan and Meadows who manage to keep their mouths shut over the president's 8,718 lies and misleading statements documented by the Washington Post as of Feb. 17. Somebody should give Cohen a PR gig. At the very least, he deserves an industry honor (O'Dwyer's never got into the awards game) in the special events category for his testimony. How about a Silver Anvil, PRSA? Woman who returned from South Africa to Chandigarh jumps home quarantine, goes to 5-star hotel Punjab: Rs 50 lakh worth Heroin seized, 3 arrested Chandigarh oi-Vikas SV Chandigarh, Mar 2: The Punjab police's Special Task Force (STF) has reportedly seized 97 grams of contraband substance heroin worth Rs 50 lakh. The Firozpur STF Range Police has arrested three people along with seizing the contraband substance. In January this year, Delhi Police's Special Cell seized 20 kilograms of contraband substance Heroin and arrested six people in connection with it. The value of of the seized narcotic was said to be around Rs 80 crore. In the same month, the Delhi Police's crime branch busted a drug trafficking syndicate that imported drugs online via dark web from the US and other countries, to distribute them in the city. Heroin worth Rs 200 seized, narcotics were being brought from Kupwara to Delhi in apple cartons In November last year (2018), the Narcotics Control Bureau seized Rs 200 crore worth heroin. The contraband substance was being brought from Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara in apple cartons. The heroin laden apple cartons were intercepted and seized from a highway toll plaza. In July 2018, four alleged drug peddlers were arrested in three separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and more than 450 grams of heroin and 250 intoxicant capsules were seized from them. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 11:35 [IST] J&K downgraded to UT from state, like a CM demoting to MLA: Ghulam Nabi Azad If normalcy to be brought in Kashmir, Article 370 has to be reinstated: Farooq Abdullah 3 of a family killed in heavy shelling by Pakistani forces along LoC in Poonch district India oi-PTI Poonch, Mar 02: Three members of a family were killed and two others injured as Pakistani forces heavily shelled areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said. Pakistani forces targeted civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy guns, including Howitzer 105 mm, they said, adding that Indian forces retaliated effectively. In the heavy shelling, three members of a family were killed and another was injured in Salotri in Poonch district, where shells hit several houses, they said. Twenty-four-year-old Rubana Kosar and her son Fazan (5) and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam were killed in the shelling. Rubana's husband Mohd Yunis was injured, they said. Earlier in the day, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in the firing by Pakistani forces in the Mankote area of Poonch, officials said. Besides Salotri and Mankote, shelling also took place in Krishnagati and Balakote areas in Poonch district. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with India, Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days. On Thursday, a woman was killed and a jawan was injured when Pakistani Army heavily shelled civilian areas and forward posts in six sectors along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, in which one woman was killed and 9 persons were injured. In view of the prevailing situation, authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts.They have asked all border dwellers to remain inside their homes. Amid high tension along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by the White Knight Corps Commander, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 12:05 [IST] India's armed forces now do not hesitate to cross border to protect country, says Rakshya Mantri One year of Balakot airstrike: 'It marks paradigm shift in our operations', says Ex-IAF chief Dhanoa Air strike at Balakot hit four JeM buildings, SAR evidence suggests India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 02: India has gathered evidence to suggest that four buildings of a Jash-e-Mohammad terror facility were hit during the air strike at Balakot earlier this week. Evidence in the form of satellite imagery have been collected that suggests that the buildings that were identified as targets were hit during the operation. The buildings were hit by five S-2000 precision guided munition that were fired from the Mirage 2000. R&AW mapped Balakot 15 years back, but it needed guts to hit it India has also learnt that the terror facility at Balakot was sealed after the strike. Moreover, it has also been learnt that journalists were selectively allowed around the area. No journalist was allowed inside the facility that was struck, Indian officials say. Pakistan while confirming a strike, however denied any damage. It cited heavily accounts by civilians who had said that there was a loud sound and it felt like an earthquake. The civilians however said that there was no damage. India on the other hand says that it has evidence in the form of Synthetic Aperture Radar suggesting that the four buildings that were selected as targets were hit. An official tells OneIndia that the JeM facility was not accessible by anyone in the vicinity. Inside JeM Balakot camp: Religious fanaticism, hard core training by Pak officials Officials also said that the strike was not aimed at causing any civilian damage. It was a precise hit and the S-2000 is extremely accurate and is also jammer proof. The evidence gathered is under classified category and it is now entirely up to the government to release the proof or not, an official explained. Andhra Pradesh: Slab collapses at underconstruction building, 4 injured India oi-Vikas SV Amaravati, Mar 2: In a mishap at the underconstruction Andhra Pradesh High Court complex in Amaravati, four labourers were injured, said reports. Slab reportedly collapsed during the construction work due to which the labourers were injured. They have been rushed to a neadby hospital. Their condition is not known yet. In January 2019, a massive fire broke out at an under-construction hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in which seven people were injured. UP: 3 dead, 14 rescued as roof of under-construction building collapses in Shahjahanpur Last year in December, two children were killed and three others injured after a wall of a school building collapsed. In October last year, at least three persons were killed and 14 others rescued when roof of an under-construction building collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 12:07 [IST] Corruption on accelerator and development on ventilator was hallmark of Congress rule: Modi Christian Michel seeks judicial inquiry for keeping him in solitary confinement India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Mar 2: The alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal scam, Christian Michel, on Saturday sought judicial inquiry over the Tihar Jail authorities having allegedly kept him in solitary confinement. He has reportedly claimed that it was a violation of his human rights. The Delhi court has reportedly sought a report from Tihar Jail authorities on March 5. Every chance that Michel will flee if granted bail, CBI, ED tells court The court had on Wednesday sought a detailed report from the Tihar Jail authorities on a plea by Michel, who was extradited from Dubai in December, claiming he has been kept in solitary confinement in the prison. Special Judge Arvind Kumar had then asked the jail superintendent or a competent authority to appear before the court to respond to Michel's allegation that he was not allowed to interact with co-prisoners. Michel told the court that the cell in which he has been shifted remains fully illuminated 24 hours because of which he was having problems sleeping, a PRO report said. Michel was allegedly one of the middlemen who brokered the Rs 3,600 crore UPA-era deal for 12 VVIP helicopters. He is accused of paying bribes to officials and politicians. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate on February 12 opposed the bail plea of Christian Michel, saying he may abscond from India if released. CBI and the ED, in their separate replies, told special judge Arvind Kumar that Michel is accused of serious economic offences and there is ample evidence against him to prove his guilt. AgustaWestland: Middleman Christian Michel extradited to India, lands in Delhi Michel, who was extradited from Dubai, was arrested by the ED on December 22. Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. The ED, in its charge sheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 14:41 [IST] Banned in the nick of time: Jamaat-e-Islami was spiralling out of control Crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami will be multi-pronged India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, Mar 02: Authorities in Kashmir have sealed several properties belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including residences of some of its activists, police said Saturday, days after the Centre banned the outfit on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant groups and was likely to "escalate secessionist movement". Several properties, including residential houses, belonging to various JeI leaders and activists were sealed in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley Friday night, a police official said. He said bank accounts of JeI leaders have also been freezed. Various district magistrates have also sought list of moveable and immovable properties of the Jamaat leaders, he said. However, it was not clear if the move was linked to the ban on JeI or was done by NIA in connection with its probe into money-laundering cases. The Centre Thursday banned Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and was expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state. Banned in the nick of time: Jamaat-e-Islami was spiralling out of control A notification, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ban follows a massive crackdown on the outfit in the Valley since last week. Around 150 leaders and activists of the outfit have been detained in raids at several places across Kashmir. According to central government officials, the Jamaat was responsible for the creation of the state's biggest terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen and the brain behind the formation of Hurriyat Conference. The Hurriyat, a conglomerate of separatists, has been ideologically supporting Pakistan-sponsored violent terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, they say. Kashmir-based political parties have criticized the ban on JeI. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 14:19 [IST] Talks with China will not help says USA NSA on situation on Ladakh 20 members of a family removed from US flight after mask of 1 slipped under nose Here is what US will do, if it finds that Pakistan misused the F-16s India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 02: The US said that it was seeking more information on the potential misuse of the American-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the end-user agreement, the State Department has said. If it is found that Pakistan has intact violated the norm, the question is what action will the United States take. The action in today's context may not be significant as the US has already abandoned Pakistan. The US does not provide the country with any financial aid and neither it is any longer providing support for the F-16 fleet, Air Marshal (retd), B K Pandey says. He says that the Chinese have come in a big way to support the Pakistan Air Force. The J-17s are being built there. Although it is not as potent as the F-16, the aircraft are still there in large numbers, he added. With this association, Pakistan would have 250 aircraft. The J-17 is a third generation aircraft, but nothing would stop China from helping Pakistan in building a fourth generation aircraft. India digs up details to show US that Pak used F-16s in offensive operation The US, if learns that the F-16s have been misused at best can twist Pakistan's tail. Since all aid and support has already been stopped, no further action may be taken, barring the fact that they may speak against Pakistan in international forums, B K Pandey also adds. The Indian Air Force on Thursday displayed parts of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir after India's anti-terror operation in Balakot . Pakistan on Wednesday categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the Indian Air Force. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 14:29 [IST] India digs up details to show US that Pak used F-16s in offensive operation India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 02: India has picked up more proof that suggests Pakistan had used an F-16 in an offensive role. Indian officials have maintained that the Pakistan Air Force had used the F-16 to try and strike at military installations, but failed. Pakistan on the other hand denied using an F-16 to which Indian officials say that this is being done to escape a clause by the use which prevents the use of a fighter in offensive operations. India has collected evidence that Pakistan used the F-16 and would share it with the United States seeking action. India has pulled out contract details between the United States and Pakistan on the AMRAAM missile that was fired from the F-16. The details are being shared with the US to enhanced India's case that Pakistan had misused the jets. To escape a US clause, Pak lies about the use of an F-16 On Thursday during a briefing, India had presented parts of a fired AMRAAM missile, which can only be fired from an F-16 aircraft. Parts of the AMRAAM air-to-air missile were recovered from east of Rajouri within Indian territory, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor had said during the briefing on Thursday. The AMRAAM missile allow a fighter pilot to target an enemy aircraft which is beyond visual range, in day or night and also in all weather conditions. Pakistan, it may be recalled had agreed to buy 70 F-16s in the 1980s. 40 were delivered before the US Congress cut aid and military sales in the 1990s, while citing Pakistan's secret development of nuclear weapons. Officials say that Pakistan vehemently denies the use of an F-16 is largely because of a clause by the United States. Pakistan denied the use of the aircraft as the US prevents the use of the aircraft in offensive operations. Moreover it also raises questions about the capability of the PAF after its F-16 was brought down by the vintage Russian made MiG-21. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 10:18 [IST] J&K downgraded to UT from state, like a CM demoting to MLA: Ghulam Nabi Azad If normalcy to be brought in Kashmir, Article 370 has to be reinstated: Farooq Abdullah J&K: Army camp attacked by terrorists in Shopian, police retaliate India oi-Madhuri Adnal Shopian, Mar 02: Terrorists on Saturday evening launched an attack on a camp of the 44 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) in Nagbal in Shopian district, said the police. Police were alerted immediately, who retaliated and fired back. The area has been cordoned off. [Kupwara: 4 security personnel martyred in encounter with terrorists] The incident came a day after five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed in an encounter with militants while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, where areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day. The fresh violence came amid heightened Indo-Pak tensions in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack, the subsequent anti-terror operation by India and Pakistan Air Force's attempt to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 20:25 [IST] Jaish chief Masood Azhar's brother confirms IAF strikes on Balakot terror camp India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Mar 02: The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar's younger brother Maulana Ammar on Saturday confirmed an attack by Indian fighter jets on Jaish e Muhammad Markaz inside Pakistan, according to reports. Maulana Ammar, brother of JeM chief Masood Azhar has also admitted that the madrassa was a training centre for jihadis. It is learnt that Ammar was speaking at a seminary in Peshawar on Feb 28th and is associated with Afghan and Kashmir Operations of Jaish. [Air strike at Balakot hit four JeM buildings, SAR evidence suggests] In an audio clip, where Masood Azhar's brother can be heard saying that Indian fighter planes didn't bomb ISI or Pakistan army, but its centre in Balakot. He also criticised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan. "Indian aircraft did not bomb the safe house of any agency or its headquarters or where agency officials held their meetings, they bombed the centre where students were trained to understand the concept of Jihad," Ammar can be heard saying. There were reports that Ammar and Yousuz Azhar, the JeM chief's brother-in-law, were killed in 26 February Balakot air strike. Azhar runs madrassa Taleem-ul-Quran, which is at the top of mount Jaba, around 100 kilometres from Islamabad, the country's capital. Ammar, who heads the JeM's operations in Afghanistan and Kashmir, was last seen in Peshawar in December 2018, where he vowed to continue attacks against USA and India. Two days after the air strikes, the intelligence agencies have prepared a detailed note on the manner in which the Balakot camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad functioned. The note makes a mention of the propaganda material being used at the camp and also added that videos of the Babri Masjid demolition and Kandahar hijack were being used. Further the note speaks about an extensive training programme of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which included both military and religious training. [Inside JeM Balakot camp: Religious fanaticism, hard core training by Pak officials] Earlier in the day, it was reported that Masood Azhar is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". Jammu and Kashmir internal matter, says India in reaction to OIC resolution India pti-PTI New Delhi, Mar 2: Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted on Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi. "As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said. Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC concluded with a resolution that "supported" Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. "In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia," it claimed. [India will work with OIC to build bridges of understanding, inspire youth to path of service: Swaraj] The resolution also "expressed deep concern" over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim-dominated. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting," the MEA spokesperson said. The OIC also called for "restraint and de-escalation" in South Asia as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, the Pakistan Foreign Office said. PTI Jharkhand has become the garh of unemployment, says Rahul Gandhi in Ranchi India oi-Madhuri Adnal Ranchi, Mar 02: Congress President Rahul Gandhi while addressinng in Ranchi on Saturday said that Jharkhand has become the 'garh' of unemployment. This is state has the most number of unemployed youth, this is what the BJP has done to the state. [After Rahul's okay, AAP-Congress alliance talks are back] While address a rally along with leaders of Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand, Rahul said,"Congress had introduced the land acquisition bill in 2013 for that stated that farmers need to be consulted before their land is acquired, and they could only acquire it only when 80% of the farmers agree to it", said Rahul Gandhi in Jharkhand. "However, as soon as the Modi government came to power at the Centre, several times in the Parliament they tried to turn down the bill but Congress kept its foot down for the sake of farmers. When they couldn't make the move successful at the Centre, they asked their state governments to work in this direction," he added. [Congress' 16th Lok Sabha Report Card: Rahul, Sonia, 09 others 'most inactive'] "I am confident that be it Congress leaders, or leaders of the alliance, we are a team and promise to change and the develop the state of Jharkhand," said Rahul Gandhi in Ranchi. He further asked,"Accha mujhe ek baat samjhao, in sab choro ke naam Modi kyun hain? Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, Narendra Modi." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 16:54 [IST] Kinnaur avalanche: Body of one of the trapped army personnel recovered India oi-Vikas SV Shimla, Mar 02: The body of one of the five Army personnel who were trapped under the snow after the avalanche on February 20 in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, was on Saturday recovered said reports. On February 20, the avalanche which was triggered when a glacier near Namgia Dogri slid, buried six soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles when they were on a routine patrol. One soldier, Rakesh Kumar, was rescued on the same day, but he succumbed to his injuries in a hospital at Pooh. 10 policemen trapped as avalanche strikes J&K's Kulgam district "Body of one of the five missing army personnel who had been trapped in an avalanche in Namgya since last 11 days was recovered today," news agency ANI quoted Deputy Commissioner Kinnaur as saying. The operations to rescue five trapped Army personnel had to be stopped several time in the last 10 days due to heavy rain and snow which made it difficult for the resue team to dig through the snow. On February 22, the rescue teams were on standby as the area was lashed by incessant snow blizzards and snowfall. The search and rescue operation for the missing Army jawans was adversely affected as Pooh witnessed 4 to 5 inches snowfall whereas more snowfall occurred at Shipki La and its adjoining areas last week. Five Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawans were also injured in the avalanche. They were identified as Belangeen, Rajneesh Kumar, Mohammad Ishan, Rambaran, Tele Tek Chand, Army sources said, as per a PTI report. Himachal Pradesh: Avalanche hits Kinnaur; 6 Army jawans feared dead When the avalanche descended rapidly down from the mountainside near Shipki La, 16 Army and ITBP jawans had gone towards the border post from Namagya in order to repair a damaged water supply line. While eight ITBP jawans were on the hill overseeing the water supply line, the Army jawans were standing down the hill, the sources said, as per a PTI report. Six Army jawans were buried alive. One of them was rescued, but he succumbed to injuries subsequently. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 12:00 [IST] Kumbh attempts another Guinness record with 8000 handprints India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P Mumbai, Mar 02: After making way into the Guinness Records by parading 500 special buses non-stop in Prayagraj, Kumbh Mela Authority added another feather to its cap with a painting of palm impressions of approximately 8000 people. Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh made Guinness World Record for the 'most contributions to a handprint painting on the theme of 'Jai Gange' in 8 hours' on Friday. Mayawati takes dig at Modi's 'Shahi Snan' at Kumbh 2019 says,'it won't wash away sins' According to TOI, the preparations for the Guinness record attempt started early Friday morning at Ganga auditorium at sector number 1 of the Mela ground. The participants started with putting their palms' impression on the huge canvas as early as 10am and were able to wrap up after eight hours. The earlier record for the largest number of people gathering to create a handprint painting was made in Yeouido Hangang Park in South Korea's Seoul on April 15, 2018. A day before India made its way into the Guinness Records by parading 500 special buses non-stop in Prayagraj on Thursday to break the record of the United Arab Emirates. Till date, Abu Dhabi held a record of running 390 buses in a parade. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 11:54 [IST] Modi solely responsible for delay in arrival of Rafale jets, says Congress India pti-PTI New Delhi, Mar 2: The Congress on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the country witnessed his "monologue, fake bravado and narcissistic lies", as Rahul Gandhi accused him of being "solely responsible" for the delay in arrival of Rafale jets. [First Rafale aircraft to land India in September 2019] "Dear PM, Have you no shame at all? YOU stole 30,000 Crore and gave it to your friend Anil. YOU are solely responsible for the delay in the arrival of the RAFALE jets. "YOU are WHY brave IAF pilots like Wing Cdr. Abhinandan, are risking their lives flying outdated jets," Gandhi said on Twitter. The response came after Modi said the country was feeling the absence of Rafale and results would have been different if India had the fighter jets as he attacked the Congress for its tirade against his government over the aircraft deal. "India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, that if we had Rafale, the results would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," the prime minister said at the India Today conclave. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the nation witnessed a monologue by a "narcissistic" prime minister sans any sense of accountability. [Was Rafale deal meant to strengthen IAF of industrialist: Shiv Sena's poser] He said the prime minister is obsessed with one word-- 'Modi' -- and forgets that India is a thriving democracy of 132 crore people with a multitude of opinions. "When will Modiji take decisive action against Pakistan-sponsored terror? Compromising national security and gross intelligence failure are the characteristic style of a non-functioning Modi government. "In last 56 months, 498 soldiers and officers have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir alone. In the month of February 2019 alone, 55 brave soldiers laid down their lives due to the menace of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism," a statement quoting Surjewala said. He said the prime minister had blatantly "politicised" the bravery and martyrdom of India's soldiers as a political pamphlet. "Latest instances of Modiji's cronyism are the Rafale deal and handing over of 5 out of 6 airports to his crony friends," the statement said. The Congress also hit out at the ruling dispensation for its alleged poor handling of the economy. "Modijis directionless policies and myopia of economic vision have been disastrous for Indias economy. No wonder, every economic expert across the spectrum now says 'Modinomics' is harmful for the country. "With nearly 50 days to go, India awaits for Modi governments departure," Surjewala added. PTI PM-Kisan 10th installment to roll out by next week: How to check your status and name in beneficiary list? Modi to visit Rahul Gandhi's constituency Amethi tomorrow, first since becoming PM India pti-PTI Amethi (UP), Mar 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting and lay the foundation stone of an ordnance factory unit in Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The constituency is being given a saffron hue ahead of the visit, during which the prime minister will launch several projects in the constituency which has remained loyal to the Gandhi family for long. This would be Modi's first visit to Amethi after coming to power in 2014. He visited the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, represented in Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in December. According to official sources, Modi will address a public meeting in Kauhar area of Gauriganj and will launch some projects besides laying the foundation stone of a new unit of the Munshiganj Ordnance Factory, where assault rifles will be made in collaboration with Russia, on Sunday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Amethi earlier this week to review preparations for the prime minister's visit. Modi previously visited Amethi on May 5, 2014 and the BJP, which had fielded party leader Smriti Irani against Gandhi in 2014 general election, had managed three lakh votes. [The meaning of Abhinandan will now change says PM Modi] Irani has been nurturing the constituency since and is expected to contest again in the coming poll, expected to be held in April-May. State BJP general secretary Govind Narain Shukla, who is the convenor of the prime minister's public meeting, said, "It will be a historic meeting in Kauhar with over 1.25 lakh people likely to attend it." In 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP had won four of the five assembly constituencies under Amethi Lok Sabha seat, with SP winning one. Congress had failed to open account in the Gandhi bastion. [Every Indian is proud of Abhinandan: PM Modi] Meanwhile, Congress workers have objected to the white-washing of the wall paintings of their leader, Rahul Gandhi, near the meeting venue. Gandhi's representative, Chandrakant Dubey, said white-washing the paintings of the local MP was "very sad and unfortunate" and only shows the intolerance of BJP leaders and workers. PTI Pakistan unlikely to clear the air over Wg Cdr Shahzaz Ud Din India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, March 2: Pakistan is unlikely to clear the air over its Wing Commander Shahzaz Ud Din, who has reportedly died after the dogfight with Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman's MiG 21 Bison on February 27. One India story on February 28 "Unfolding the mystery over Pakistan ' s F-16 pilot" described how the F-16 pilot was hospitalised after being beaten up by a Pakistani mob considering him to be an Indian pilot, and how the Pakistani Army foolishly announced that it had captured two Indian pilots without realising that the hospitalised pilot was, in fact, its own F-16 pilot. Now various reports have identified the F-16 pilot as Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din of No 19 Squadron, which belongs to Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) F-16 Squadron. In a Facebook post on March 1, London-based Pakistani lawyer Khalid Umar claimed that Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din has died in a hospital, where he was admitted after mistakenly being beaten up by a mob in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). He also claimed that the F-16 pilot was the son of Air Marshal Waseem Ud Din, DCAS (Operations) of PAF. Though the reports of Shahaz-ud-Din's death is all over the social media and news platforms, Pakistan was tight-lipped over it at the time of filing this report. Pakistan is unlikely to clear the air over Shahaz-ud-Din mainly for two reasons. First, if it announces the death of F-16 pilot then it will be crystal clear that F-16s were used to attack against India on February 27. It will be difficult for the Pakistan government to officially accept it as the F-16s are supposed to be used for counter-terror operations. Addressing a press conference after striking against India, Pakistan military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor had categorically denied using F-16s. However, Pakistan's federal Information Minister Chaudhary Fawad Hussain has said that it is prerogative of Pakistan to decide where to use F-16s. How IAF shot down Pakistan's F-16 in an aerial dogfight "We purchased them from America and didn't get them in a grant. So we'll decide where to deploy them. F-16 jets will be used for the purpose for which they are needed. But Insha'Allah, we hope that situation doesn't arise," he told SBS Punjabi in an interview in response to a query over Indian claim that Pakistan used F-16s to target military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. However, it seems Hussain did not understand that it is not F-16 but the missiles that it carries may land Pakistan in trouble. Out of Pakistan's 76 F-16s, 40 are equipped with the upgraded (Beyond Visual Range) version of AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM missile. As per the agreement with Washington, Islamabad had agreed to use AMRAAM missiles only in the counter-terror operations along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. This the reason the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday displayed parts of AMRAAM, as evidence to that Pakistan used F-16 fighter jets during an operation targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. India is also planning to share this evidence with the US. The second reason that Pakistan is unlikely to officially announce the death of Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din is because it will embarrass not only Pakistani Army but also Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan before the international community and within Pakistan. It is notable that Pakistan Army on February 27 claimed its Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace and captured two Indian pilots. In a tweet, Pakistan military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said, "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two (2nd) in the area. " By that time Pakistani Army was not aware that the second pilot was, in fact, Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din, who was battling for life in a hospital. After getting incorrect information for his army, Imran Khan also claimed to capture two Indian pilots. Pakistani Army had taken hours to realise its blunder mistake and by evening Ghafoor tweeted: "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics." Pakistani media is also not asking Ghafoor where did the hospitalised pilot go. In fact, announcing death of Wing Commander Shahaz-ud-Din will open Pandora's Box and Islamabad will find it very difficult to answer the obvious question that will arise. Moreover, it is not new for Pakistan to deny the due rights to its fallen soldiers. Islamabad took 11 years to officially acknowledge that Pakistan Army's 453 soldiers and officers were killed in the 1999 Kargil War. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 15:14 [IST] Pakistans ISI looking to poison ration stock of armed forces, IB warns India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Srinagar, Mar 02: Security has heightened after intelligence warned that the Pakistan's ISI and its agents are planning on mixing poison in the ration stocks of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The intelligence says that this information was picked up based on the chatter that was floated, in which it was suggested that the ration stocks of the armed forces would be poisoned. The intelligence advises that the necessary measures be taken to enhance security of ration depots of all the camps, especially those in Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover the ration being procured for the use by security forces be subject to frequent checks to avoid any kind of eventuality, the intelligence has also said. IAF and Navy chief to get Z-plus security The alert comes in the wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, following the air strikes at Balakot. A day after the strikes, an Indian MiG-21 shot down an F-16 aircraft belonging to Pakistan. However an IAF Pilot was captured, following the incident. IAF Pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was released on Friday at the Wagah Border. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 11:46 [IST] Peace gesture? How Pakistan made the return of IAF pilot a theatric India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 02: India's request to Pakistan seeking Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman be flown back was rejected. Pakistan cited the closure of its air space and said that the IAF pilot would be returned through the Wagah border. On Friday crowds had gathered to greet the IAF pilot and it was expected that he would be returned to India by 5 pm. However there was a delay and finally the handover happened at around 9.25 pm. India digs up details to show US that Pak used F-16s in offensive operation Pakistan while describing Abhinandan as a Prisoner of War said that he was treated with dignity and in line with the international norms. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had termed the return as a peace gesture, aimed at de-escalating tensions with India. The Wing Commander was brought to Lahore in the evening, following which he was taken to an ISI facility. Following this a heavily doctored video with several edits was released to the Pakistan media. Officials in India tell OneIndia that this delayed the entire process by nearly 4 hours. While the television channels reported that the handover had happened and formalities on the Indian side were on, in reality, the Wing Commander was still in Pakistan. The official said that India was aware that Pakistan would create a spectacle out of the entire incident and hence had requested that he be flown back. Officials also said that the video was recorded under duress. It is clear that from the several jump cuts that the video was heavily edited to fit the Pakistan propaganda. At 8.30 pm (local) time, the Pakistan government released the pilot's video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured. "Recording of his video message caused delay in his handing over," a source said. India has maintained that Varthaman's plane was downed when IAF planes foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. He bailed out of the aircraft but drifted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he was detained by the Pakistan Army. Imran Khan was in Lahore to ensure 'smooth' handing over of Indian pilot: Sources Although there has been no official word as to what time he was brought to the Wagah border on Friday, but the sources say he reached Lahore after 4 pm. The Pakistani media reported that "his papers were being checked at the Wagah immigration" that was why he was not being "immediately" handed over to the Indian authorities. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 10:45 [IST] Pradhan inaugurates & lays foundation of several oil & gas projects in Tripura India pti-PTI Agartala, Mar 02: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday inaugurated and laid foundation of several oil and gas projects in Tripura and said the northeast state is ranked number one in production of natural gas in the country. "Tripura produces 4.96 mmscmd gas per day which is highest in the country. But we want to augment productions, so we have set a target of producing 10 mmscmd per day," Pradhan said after inaugurating several projects by remote here. The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focused on improving the standard of living for the people of North East. Collaborative efforts of both Central and state governments along with contribution by oil and gas companies are bringing a developmental shift in the economy of Tripura. Pradhan inaugurated the ONGC Sonamura Gas Collecting Station (GCS) in Sipahijala district, Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections in West Tripura district, laid foundation of the first CNG station at Udaipur in Gomati district and foundation stone of National Skill Training Institute for women to be set up at Ananda Nagar, near here. He said the ONGCs Sonamura Gas Collecting Station (GCS) was built at a cost of Rs 215 crore and will provide additional gas to NEEPCO Monarchak Power Plant to generate power for Tripura and northeast region. The meaning of Abhinandan will now change says PM Modi Pradhan said the launch of first CNG Station will create a CNG green corridor between South Tripura, Gomati, Sepahijala and West Tripura district and also provide cost effective green fuel to the people. The Petroleum minister said Gail's Khilpara Mother Station will be the hub of City Gas Distribution Network for Gomati District and will also be helpful in creating a gas based economy in the region, thereby creating direct and indirect employment and livelihood for people of this region. Pradhan, who is also the Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship minister said the upcoming National Skill Training Institute for a women in Agartala will fulfil the need for skill training of women in Tripura and other North-Eastern States. Central government will bear the cost for all training materials, merit-cum-stipend and scholarship. "Tripura is one of the fastest growing state in the country after the BJP government came to power, ONGC Tripura Asset had played a major role in this connection," he said. The Petroleum minister said the Modi government is committed to provide energy justice to the poorest of the poor specially people residing in the the remotest areas of our country. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has empowered more than 2.17 lakh women in Tripura and LPG has reached 73 per cent households in the state. He said 150 more petrol pumps and one more LPG bottling centre would be opened in Tripura shortly and the storage capacity of petrol depot at Dharmanagar in North Tripura district would be increased. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb who present on the occasion said Tripura would be made a model state in terms of development as both state and the central government has a good understanding and the Centre is serious about development of Tripura which remained neglected for years. The Tripura chief minister said the Central government has recently sanctioned Rs 2,300 crore as additional fund to the state. PTI J&K downgraded to UT from state, like a CM demoting to MLA: Ghulam Nabi Azad If normalcy to be brought in Kashmir, Article 370 has to be reinstated: Farooq Abdullah President issues order extending quota for EWS in J&K India pti-PTI New Delhi, Mar 02: President Ram Nath Kovind issued an order extending the benefits of reservation to economically backward sections in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night. A notification in this regard was issued after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took a decision on Thursday to issue the order, a Home Ministry official said. With this, the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections has been made applicable in Jammu and Kashmir also. Air strike at Balakot hit four JeM buildings, SAR evidence suggests This would pave the way for reserving state government jobs to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir who are from economically weaker sections belonging to any religion or caste, the official said. Ten per cent reservation to economically weaker sections was introduced in the rest of the country through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment in January 2019. The central government's move came as Jammu and Kashmir is currently under the President's Rule. PTI PM-Kisan 10th installment to roll out by next week: How to check your status and name in beneficiary list? Red caps are like red alert for UP, PM Modi's jibe at Samajwadi Party in Gorakhpur rally PM Modi lauds UP govt for the work done for the benefit of sugarcane farmers The meaning of Abhinandan will now change says PM Modi India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, Mar 02: "Abhinandan" used to mean welcome, but its meaning would change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday in an apparent reference to the IAF pilot released by Pakistan. The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to "change dictionary meanings", Modi said at a housing ministry event here. His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. Peace gesture? How Pakistan made the return of IAF pilot a theatric "The world takes note of what India does ... India has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. "Abhinandan once used to mean welcome. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change," he said Soon after the pilot was released, Modi had tweeted, "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 12:14 [IST] Udhampur accident: 6 dead as bus plunges into a deep gorge India oi-Vikas SV Srinagar, Mar 2: At least six people were killed and around 38 injured when a bus fell into a gorge near Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. The incident took place on Friday (March 1) night. The bus was on its way from Surinsar to Srinagar when it veered off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Majalta region, said reports. Injured were rushed to the hospital. "Last night a bus on its way from Surinsar towards Srinagar rolled into deep gorge in Majalta, Udhampur. 5 persons died on spot. Rescue operation is going on," ANI quoted a stament by the Jammu and Kashmir police as saying. [Jagtiyal bus accident: 52 pilgrims dead, KCR announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to family of deceased] On February 12, at least 30 people were injured when a bus on its way from Ahmedabad to Morena in Madhya Pradesh overturned in Rajasthan's Baran district after the driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver of the private bus, with over 60 passengers onboard, was reportedly drunk and he continued watching videos on his phone despite some passengers raising objection to it. In December last year, at least 11 people dead and 34 others injured as a bus from Poonch to Mandi fell in a gorge. The bus was heading towards Poonch from Loran. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 9:05 [IST] Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump Leniency sought for former Trump campaign manager International oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Washington, Mar 02: Lawyers for President Donald Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge on Friday to impose a sentence "substantially below" the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud. Manafort, 69, is to be sentenced on March 7 by Judge T S Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia after being convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. Manafort's attorneys, in a filing with the judge, said the sentencing guidelines -- which call for a prison term of 235 to 293 months -- are "clearly disproportionate to the offence conduct for which Mr Manafort was convicted." "Mr Manafort acknowledges that he received a fair trial before this court, he accepts the jury's verdict, and is truly remorseful for his conduct," they said. His attorneys suggested a "sentence substantially below the range", arguing that Manafort is a first-time offender and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison. Manafort is one of seven former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is believed to be nearing the end of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Michael Cohen who called Trump a liar finishes week of testimony Mueller's office said in their own sentencing memo that Manafort was a "bold" criminal who "repeatedly and brazenly" broke the law but did not recommend a specific sentence. Mueller's office said that Manafort violated the law for years and his sentence "must take into account the gravity of this conduct", to deter both Manafort and anyone else who would commit similar crimes. "His criminal actions were bold," Mueller's office said, and included attempting to tamper with witnesses and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyers. Manafort's attorneys took issue with that characterisation. "The Special Counsel's attempt to vilify Mr Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this court," they said. "The cases that the Special Counsel has brought against Mr Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally and financially," they said. The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign but were for work he did for Russian-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014. Manafort was also charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offences and faces separate sentencing in that case. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a "political witch-hunt. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 15:30 [IST] Pakistan was not under 'pressure' or 'any compulsion' to release Indian pilot Abhinandan International oi-Madhuri Adnal Islamabad, Mar 02: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that the Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. [Imran Khan deserves a Nobel Peace prize: Yes, Pakistan is saying it 'officially'] In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". Qureshi dismissed the notion that the captured IAF pilot was released owing to pressure or as a compulsion. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Geo news quoted him as saying. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Pakistan was under intense pressure from the US, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and release the Indian pilot. [Record, edit, delete: Pak forced Abhinandan to speak on video] India has repeatedly told Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and recently handed over dossier containing "specific details" of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a tense situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Potential misuse of F-16 by Pakistan: US seeks information International pti-PTI Washington, Mar 02: The US is seeking more information on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the end-user agreement, the State Department has said. The Indian Air Force on Thursday displayed parts of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir after India's anti-terror operation in Balakot . Pakistan on Wednesday categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the Indian Air Force. "We are aware of these reports and are seeking more information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about report that Pakistan has violated end-user agreement with the United States in this weeks border clash with India. [Unfolding the mystery over Pakistan's F-16 pilot] "Due to non-disclosure agreements in Foreign Military Sales contracts, we cannot discuss the specifics of end user-agreements contained within," Lt Col Kone Faulkner, a Defense Department spokesperson told PTI. The United States, which is the largest seller of high-tech defence equipment globally, and has a strong end-user monitoring agreement, as a matter of practice takes all allegations of misuse of defense articles very seriously. But before making any judgement or arriving at any conclusion, it needs to establish some facts on the ground, if there has been any violation by Pakistan to the F-16 end-user agreement it signed by the United States. According to Pentagons Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) F-16 jets were meant to be used to "enhance Pakistans ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations". Publicly available documents reveal that US has imposed nearly a dozen restriction on Pakistan related to its use of F-16. During a Congressional hearing on July 20, 2006, John Miller the then Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs, had told lawmakers that the United States has "very carefully considered" the potential risks of the diversion of US technology and equipment." While the exact details of the restrictions were discussed in a closed-door session, and thus remains classified, Miller then broadly outlined some of the restrictions, which he said were over a "dozen new and unprecedented elements" of the security plan for Pakistan. Miller then told lawmakers that the security provisions also include semi-annual inventories of all F-16 aircraft equipment and munitions, including related technical data, and more frequent inventories for other systems. [India digs up details to show US that Pak used F-16s in offensive operation] "There is a two-man rule, so to speak, for access to this equipment and restricted areas, and F-16 flights outside of Pakistan or participation in exercises and operations with third nations must be approved in advance by the United States government," the then top State Department official said, according to the transcripts of the hearing. PTI Talks with China will not help says USA NSA on situation on Ladakh 20 members of a family removed from US flight after mask of 1 slipped under nose Under new plan, US to exit Afghanistan in 3 to 5 years International oi-Shubham Ghosh Washington, March 2: The US has found itself stuck in the quagmire of Afghanistan for over 17 years seeing three presidencies now. The deadline of pulling out of the war-ravaged nation has only been missed as the security situation there has not shown considerable improvement. However, under a new Pentagon plan being offered in peace negotiations, all US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan over the next three to five years, according to a report published in the New York Times on Thursday, February 28, The rest of the international force stationed in Afghanistan would also exit the country around the same time, it was reported. "The plan is being discussed with European allies and was devised, in part, to appeal to President Trump, who has long expressed skepticism of enduring American roles in wars overseas," the NYT report added. The new plan eyes cutting by half the 14,000-strong American troops that are currently deployed in Afghanistan. Here is what US will do, if it finds that Pakistan misused the F-16s It would also assign the responsibility to train the Afghan military to over 8,500 European and other international troops. This though has been a long-term goal of the foreign forces but hasn't been successful yet. Internal squabble and corruption have been two reasons that have left the local regime in Afghanistan weak. The US is currently having talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan peace in Doha, Qatar. The plan so far has been supported by the US administration and Nato but American officials warned that it could be upended by President Donald Trump any time. Taliban refuse reports The Taliban though said in a statement released on the same day that such a suggestion was never raised in their talks with US negotiators in Qatar, reported Afghanistan's TOLO News. It also said that an interim government was also not discussed during the Doha talks. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 16:35 [IST] Fake: This is not an image of a protest in Assam against Bangladesh violence United Nations urges Bangladesh not to close door to Myanmar refugees International pti-PTI United Nations, Mar 02: The United Nations on Friday stressed that refugees fleeing conflict should be granted safe haven after Bangladesh declared that it would no longer take in Myanmar's Rohingya. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told the Security Council on Thursday that the refugee crisis had gone from "bad to worse" and deplored the fact that none of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya sheltering in his country had returned home. "Bangladesh has been amazingly generous in the support they have given the Rohingya refugees," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "It is important that people fleeing conflict are able to find safe haven wherever they go." Under a deal reached with Bangladesh, Myanmar agreed to take back some of the refugees, but the United Nations insists that the safety of the Rohingya be a condition for their return. India will work with OIC to build bridges of understanding, inspire youth to path of service: Swaraj Haque told a council meeting on Myanmar that "Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar", suggesting that his government was ready to close the border to refugees. Around 740,000 Muslim Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh after they were driven out of Myanmar's northern Rakhine state during a military campaign in 2017 that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. "Is Bangladesh paying the price for being responsive and responsible in showing empathy to a persecuted minority population of a neighbouring country?" asked the foreign secretary. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is conducting an internal review of the world body's operations in Myanmar following accusations that UN officials in the country ignored warning signs of the attacks against the Rohingya. The UN spokesman said the review led by Guatemalan diplomat Gert Rosenthal was to provide "possible lessons learned for the future" and advise on the way forward. Britain's Guardian newspaper first reported on the inquiry on Tuesday that will focus on the UN's failure to prevent the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Some of the criticism has focussed on allegations that the UN resident coordinator, Renata Lok-Dessallien, downplayed concerns about worsening abuses against the Rohingya and sought to prioritize economic development at the expense of human rights. The UN has denied those claims. PTI US slaps new sanctions on Venezuela regime International pti-PTI Washington, Mar 2: The United States and Russia clashed Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. [Venezuela political crisis: China, Russia veto US resolution in the UN] The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. PTI Members of farmers' body detained in Lucknow for trying to burn effigies of PM Modi, Shah UP: Dalit man killed by landlord Lucknow pti-PTI Muzaffarnagar, Mar 2: A 26-year-old Dalit man was allegedly killed by his landlord at Lakhyan village here, police said Saturday. Popin's body was found lying in an agricultural field, with multiple stab injuries to his neck, said Circle Officer Hariram Yadav. The incident took place at Lakhyan village which comes under the jurisdiction of Titawi police station. According to a complaint lodged by the victim's family, Popin left home with his landlord Titu on Friday and did not return home till late in the night. [Dalit ragpicker beaten to death by factory workers in Rajkot, wife's condition critical] A case was registered against Titu and one Ravinder, the circle officer said, adding that both of them are at large. Meanwhile, irate villagers protested against Popin's death and demanded immediate arrest of the accused persons. Yadav said security has been tightened in the village to avoid any untoward incident. PTI Our attitudes mean a lot to us and our society. Depending on our attitudes (Pasin blo yumi or eda mauri daladia), our society will be reflected accordingly. So, good attitudes portrays a good society whilst bad ones will bring about a sorry state of affairs in our society.The setting applies appropriately to our City of Port Moresby. Our attitudes contribute significantly to the wellbeing of our city and the welfare of its residents. Such is the significance of this feature in us (human beings) and this aspect of our human make-up plays an integral part in the overall setting of our society. In reality, the good or the bad of a society is dependent on the attitude of the inhabitants.The repeated calls from the City Hall for a change in attitude in how we think, in our appreciation and understanding of issues and in our reactions to situations is for the very reason to make Port Moresby a modern, liveable city.Sadly, our continuous appeals for change is forced on us by the negative attitude of some of our residents. We make the call because we feel residents are not responding well to the aims and aspirations of the Commission for a better Port Moresby.Attitudes of disrespect, lack of appreciation and understanding or sheer ignorance of authority have contributed to the down side of Port Moresby. Yes, we can attribute this status quo to the varying intellectual levels of people and the diversified backgrounds that make up Port Moresby, but I am sure we can adjust ourselves to imply the condition of our surroundings.Port Moresby has an environment that is conducive to modern living. Regardless of your intelligence or your status, the sight of our city and the authority, which it holds as the capital city of Papua New Guinea, demand the right type of attitude to compliment the modern surroundings we all live in.The kind of attitude seen in our city as reflected by the happenings in the city leaves a lot to be desired and certainly warrants the call for a degree of adjustments to suit the environment we are in.The careless attitude leading to defacing and damaging of public facilities, the uncontrolled littering and the wilful disregard for the rules and regulations imposed by authorities are the very behaviours referred to, that are causing concerns for authorities including NCDC as the governing authority of Port Moresby city.In my last column, I highlighted the need for all of us to treat Port Moresby as a modern city with the right attitude to suit the modern setting. I elaborated that Port Moresby is not a rural village and therefore, it should not be regarded as such with the negative approaches.I also mentioned that when in Port Moresby our attitudes should change from the village expectation to the one that is of a modern city.Some may infer that it will take a while to adjust our attitudes and lifestyles, but to fit into the environment and for Port Moresbys case of a modern environment we should re-adjust ourselves.As a responsible organisation, NCDC has involved itself with programs that help to make the necessary change in attitude and the mindset of residents. The NCD Governors Active City program is one such program that is fully supported by the Commission to focus on behavioural change of our people.It may be take a whole, but it is working with desired outcomes. Overtime the constant hammering of the relevant messages of change into the mindset of the city residents is causing a realisation of the demands of a modern city.Port Moresby demands the right attitude from all of us to fit in well into its modern environment. The modern setting of Port Moresby entails respect, a sense of belonging and appreciation, and a feeling of caring for a just and equal society for our success and prosperity.A change-in attitude with a right frame of mind set and an appropriate approach to better living in our city-is what we need for Port Moresby.Picture: Bernard Kipit, City Manager Cowboy Boots Market 2019 Key Players like Ariat, Stetson, Wolverine, Rocky, Justin Boots, Laredo, Lucchese, Old Gringo, Roper, Tony Lama Cowboy Boots Market 2019 Key Players like Ariat, Stetson, Wolverine, Rocky, Justin Boots, Laredo, Lucchese, Old Gringo, Roper, T https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/71885 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/71885 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/71885 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/71885 www.upmarketresearch.com Up Market Research offers a latest published report on Global Cowboy Boots Market Research Report 2019 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. 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The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Cowboy Boots Market 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.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for Cowboy Boots Market analysis & forecast 2018- 2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Region- wise Analysis Cowboy Boots Market covers: North America Europe China Japan India Southeast Asia Other regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)For More Information On This Report, Please Visit @The Major Players Reported In The Report Are: Ariat Stetson Wolverine Rocky Justin Boots Laredo Lucchese Old Gringo Roper Tony LamaGlobal Cowboy Boots Market: Product Segment Analysis: Western Boots Work Boots Riding Boots Walking Boots OtherGlobal Cowboy Boots Market: Application Segment Analysis: Men WomenThe Report Covers In- Depth Analysis As Follows: Chapter 1 Overview of Cowboy Boots Market Chapter 2 Global Market Status and Forecast by Regions Chapter 3 Global Market Status and Forecast by Types Chapter 4 Global Market Status and Forecast by Downstream Industry Chapter 5 Market Driving Factor Analysis of Cowboy Boots Market Chapter 6 Cowboy Boots Market Competition Status by Major Manufacturers Chapter 7 Cowboy Boots Market Major Manufacturers Introduction and Market Data Chapter 8 Upstream and Downstream Market Analysis of Cowboy Boots Market Chapter 9 Cost and Gross Margin Analysis of Cowboy Boots Market Chapter 10 Marketing Status Analysis of Cowboy Boots Market Chapter 11 Report Conclusion Chapter 12 Research Methodology and ReferenceRequest Complete TOC Of this Report @Cowboy Boots Market Analysis and Forecast 2018- 2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market- driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real- time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real- time scenario.Global Cowboy Boots Market: Key Stakeholders: Manufacturers Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers Subcomponent Manufacturers Industry Association Downstream VendorsIn this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Cowboy Boots Market are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Cowboy Boots Market 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 Cowboy Boots Market analysis and forecast 2018- 2025.Avail Discount On this Report @Customization of the Report:Up Market Research 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.You can also ask for region wise market research report, as below: Cowboy Boots Market Global Market Status & Trend Report 2013- 2025 Top 20 Countries Data Cowboy Boots Market North America Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market South America Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market Europe Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market EMEA Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market Asia Pacific Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market China Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market India Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025 Cowboy Boots Market United States Market Status and Trend Report 2013- 2025About UpMarketResearch:The 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. Cold Plasma Bio-welding Device Market Global Market Opportunity 2026 Evaluated By Global Players 3M Company, Covidien PLC, Coloplast A/S Global Cold Plasma Bio-welding Device Market https://bit.ly/2NxnOcU https://bit.ly/2TgSwwn Staples and suture are the most widely used devices in closure of the surgical incision. Both the techniques are effective in their purpose, however associated with certain risks such as infection and scars. While sutures are cost effective and time-consuming, staples offer more rapid and consistent solution. With the advancement of technology, there are new techniques being introduced such as the absorbable, tapes, and adhesive compounds. Moreover, these devices are available in different materials.Request Sample Copy of Research Report @Cold plasma offers great advantages over the conventional methods including watertight tissue seal, elimination of a foreign-body reaction to sutures or clips, reduction in surgical procedure time, and reduction of trauma. A recent study conducted on porcine skin incisions demonstrated comparable and favorable wound healing results macroscopically as well as histopathologically. There wasnt any epidermal damage, infection, bleeding, and wound dehiscence detected on at the incision site.Selection of an apt technique or device is essential for optimal healing.IonMeds BioWeld1An Israeli company, IonMed has received FDA approval for its new cold plasma based surgical incision closure device called BioWeld1. Plasma has shown manifold benefits in tissue welding, enhancement of tissue repair, disinfection, control of bleeding, and destruction of cancer cells. However, due to high temperature of plasma, it results in harmful effects on the body tissues. Therefore, scientists at IonMed found a way to use cold plasma for effective and safe sealing of wounds. The process takes a few minutes but leaves minimal scars. The device can be used for skin grafts along with its bioadhesive tape Chitoplast strips. The combined action of bioadhesive and plasma provides the basis for natural healing process.IonMed received CE mark for BioWeld1 in 2014 and the clinical trials got completed in 2015. Once the product has the CE clearance, it can also be used in skin grafts and traumatic wounds. The product is being used in the United States and will be commercialized extensively in the Europe too.Market PotentialAccording to the Trendlines Group, an innovation commercialization company, there are about 5 million skin grafts annually conducted in the EU. Moreover, there are nearly 70 million surgeries conducted annually in the Unites States requiring incision closures. Moreover in the U.K., there are around 5.89 million surgeries where wound closure devices could be used. Even if a small percentage of these surgeries start using this device, could be a great start for cold plasma surgical incision device. The potential thus is very huge for cold plasma bio-welding devices like BioWeld1 which offers great advantages over the conventional staples and sutures.Request For Customization of Research Report @Established players in the global wound care market such as Ethicon, Inc., Baxter International, Inc., 3M Company, Covidien PLC, Coloplast A/S, and Smith & Nephew need to come up with new technologies and compete with such advanced and better devices to sustain their market share.ConclusionCold plasma could prove to be beneficial in expediting wound closure, tissue healing, attaining positive outcomes and providing sufficient tensile strength. Continuous investment is required to make the cold plasma bio-welding device BioWeld1, widely available.About Coherent Market InsightsCoherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Dermal Regeneration Template Market Overview 2018 Dermal Regeneration Template https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/118 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/118 The outer collagen Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) thermal layer functions as a biodegradable template that helps in regeneration of dermal tissue neodermis by the body. The inner layer of dermal regeneration template is made of complex matrix of cross-linked fibers. The porous material of the template helps in regeneration of skin. The cross-linked fiber material of dermal regeneration template acts a scaffold for the re-growth of skin layer. Once the dermal skin layer is regenerated the outer layer of template is removed and is replaced with a thin epidermal skin graft. This procedure leaves the wound to a flexible, growing and allows permanent regeneration of skin. It allows faster healing of wound with minimum scarring.Get a sample copy of report @Using dermal regeneration template allows immediate wound closure without risking any loss of donor material. In 2005, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for its INTEGRA Dermal Regeneration Template as a treatment for life-threatening burn injuries and reconstructive surgery for the repair of scars when other therapies fail. Recently, In January 2016, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for treatment of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU) with dermal regeneration template. The application of this template is typically completed in two operative sessions involving the product applied to the excision sites and the second procedure performed 3 to 6 weeks after the placement of product to remove silicone layer and for an epidermal autograft applied to the neodermis.The increasing cases of burns and awareness among the population of low and middle income countries provides opportunity for dermal regeneration template industry. The growing concern with burning cases and governments initiatives to grow awareness among patients related to burn treatment through campaigns and national burn Awareness week to act as a fuel to the growth of dermal regeneration template market. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services initiated medical countermeasures (MCMs) program, aimed to improve burn treatment for mass causality. The increasing research fund and grants associated for burn research is creating opportunity for dermal regeneration template manufacturers to come up with products with more innovations.American burn association (ABA) is one of such organization of the U.S. that offers awards, grants and fellowship opportunities to practitioners for education, prevention and rehabilitation of burn. The growing usage of skin grafts and skin replacement substitutes are expected to act as a restrain to the global dermal regeneration market. Dermal regeneration template usage in chemical, radiation or electrical burns are limited and can only be used after thorough evaluation by surgeon. The product can be only used in excision therapy and are contraindicated for infectional wounds. Their limitation for incision use and usage in chemical and radiation is expected to hamper the overall growth. North America, Europe and Asia Pacific contribute major revenue to the overall market. Asia Pacific is expected to grow with high CAGR as compared to other region.The global dermal regeneration template market has only one FDA approved product from Integra LifeScience. The growing research related to innovation in material and design is expected to penetrate many companies in the market. In 2016, a research funded by Welcome Trust described a novel approach to increase the thickness of elastic- layered fiber for geriatric patients and created a hybrid of Integra dermal regeneration template.Inquiry before buying report @Global Dermal Regeneration Template Market TaxonomyThe global market is classified on the basis of following segments:Indication Type:Burn InjuriesChronic Diabetic Foot UlcersTrauma InjuriesOthersEnd Users:HospitalAmbulatory Surgical CentersEmergency Care UnitsOthersAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Acne Vulgaris Treatment Market Full in-Depth Analysis by Growth 2026: Pfizer Inc., and Novan Inc, Allergan plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Mylan, N.V., Bayer AG Acne Vulgaris Treatment www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1260 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1260 According to a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2015, 9.4% of global population was estimated to be affected by acne. Moreover, globally, acne is the eight most prevalent disease. The U.S. is the largest market for acne vulgaris treatment products. According to study by National Institute of Health (NIH), in 2013, over US$ 3 Billion was spent for treating acne vulgaris in the U.S. In 2014, according to American Academy of Dermatology, the number of acne vulgaris patient aged 25 years and above, especially women, is rising significantly. Furthermore, low awareness regarding the factors causing acne is another factor leading to increasing prevalence acne vulgaris.Download PDF Brochure @Treatment for acne on an average lasts for two years, therefore companies capitalize on this and earn sustainable revenue from acne treatment products. Majority of the population suffering from acne prefer OTC products as first line therapy. However, some have to visit dermatologist to cure acne vulgaris on account of ineffective result from OTC products.Key players in the acne vulgaris treatment market are focusing on collaboration, acquisition, and new product development strategies in order to enhance their product offerings and sustaining their position in the market. For instance, in 2017, LOreal a global beauty company signed an agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. to acquire its skin care brands portfolio which includes anti-acne brand AcneFree at US$1.3 billion. Also, in November 2017 Novan Inc., announced its plans to conduct phase three clinical trial for its new anti-acne molecule.Novan has unique nitric oxide technology, Nitrici, through which a timed release of nitric oxide from chemical entity is possible. This is beneficial as nitric oxide has natural ability to revitalize tissue, kill invading microorganisms, prevent clotting, regulate inflammation, and even aid in removing cancer cells. Moreover, in 2017, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. signed an agreement with Haitong International Zhonghua Finance Acquisition Fund I, L.P, to sell its Obagi Medical Products business for US$ 190 million in cash. Obagi Medical Products have high presence in acne treatment products market.Key players in the global acne vulgaris treatment market are Allergan plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Mylan, N.V., Bayer AG, Janssen Pharma Inc., Galderma Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Novan Inc.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Acne Vulgaris Treatment Market Taxonomy:On the basis of product type, the global acne vulgaris treatment market is segmented into:MedicationsBenzoyl peroxidesRetinoidsSystemic and topical AntibioticsHormonal AgentsOthers (Salicylic Acid, Azelic, Dapsone, and Alternative therapy)DevicesLaser devicesHeat extraction devicesOthersAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market Is Thriving Worldwide with the outstanding players AstraZeneca PLC, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., and Daiichi Sankyo Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1500 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1500 Manufactures in vaccine market are focused on research and developmental activities for developing new vaccine with better safety and immunity for the disease at low cost and to strengthen the product portfolio. For instance, in 2017, GlaxoSmithKline plc, received US FDA approval for phase III clinical trial of its product Shingrix, a recombinant sub unit vaccine, for shingles infection in adults. Moreover, manufacturers are targeting disease such as HIV or dengue to expand product portfolio.For instance, in 2018, Sanofi received US FDA approval for its dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia. Furthermore, merger and acquisition are adopted by key players to expand the company share. In 2014, Pfizer Inc., acquired Baxters portfolio, which includes of marketed vaccines for US$ 648 million. The portfolio includes NeisVac-C and FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac vaccines against meningitis by group C meningococcal meningitis and tick-borne encephalitis, respectively.Download PDF Brochure @The global disease control and prevention vaccine market is projected to witness significant growth over the forecast period, owing to rapid advancements in technology for development of novel vaccines such as recombinant and cell-based technologies, resulting in increasing production of the vaccines. For instance, in 2018, collaboration between Austrian biotech Themis Bioscience and Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEIP). CEIP will fund US$ 37.5 million for vaccine development for five years. Moreover, governmental bodied supports the research and development program leading to the development of improved form of presently available vaccines.For instance, in 2015, a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease scientists engineered a protein to maintain the specific shape of the viral spike, stimulating the immune system to produce powerful anti-HIV antibodies. However, manufacturing cost as well as large gap between demand and supply leading to hike in pricing is expected to hinder the growth of disease control and prevention vaccination market.For instance, according to World Health Organization (WHO), incidence of polio are decreased by 99% as of 2018 as compare to 1988, attributed to global initiatives for polio eradication by public and private organizations. Furthermore, increasing government initiative to strengthen immunization program are expected to augment the growth of disease control and prevention vaccine market. For instance, in 2017, Minister of Health from 194 countries endorsed Global Vaccine Action Plan to prevent millions of death through more access to vaccine by 2020. Moreover, manufacturers are focusing on the developing new vaccine with better safety and immunity for the disease at low cost.According to Access to Medicine Foundation index, 2017, vaccine market is dominated by four major players, collectively referred as 'big four': GSK, Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer, and Sanofi. Big four contribute to 80% of the global vaccine revenue. Players vary significantly by portfolio and pipeline size. Other major players operating in market include AstraZeneca PLC, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., and Daiichi Sankyo.Request Sample Copy Of This Report:Detailed Segmentation:Global Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market, By Product Type:Live-attenuated VaccinesInactivated VaccinesRecombinant VaccinesToxoid VaccinesGlobal Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market, By Type:Monovalent VaccineMultivalent VaccineGlobal Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market, By Route of Administration:OralInjectableGlobal Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market, By Age Group:PediatricAdultsGlobal Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Market, By Indication:Infectious DiseaseCancerOther IndicationAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Infectious Disease Therapeutics Market Is Thriving Worldwide with the outstanding players Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Janssen Pharmaceutical, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Infectious Disease Therapeutics https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1658 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1658 Increasing advancements in rapid diagnosis of various infectious diseases allowing early and quicker diagnosis is greatly impacting the medical outcome of disease treatment. Advanced technologies such as lateral flow, agglutination assays, and solid phase that are used in rapid diagnostics of infectious diseases are integrated with innovative features such as portability of handheld devices, offering point-of-care treatment to the patients.Download PDF Brochure @Moreover, advancements in the technology of point-of care diagnostics is expected to drive growth of infectious disease therapeutic market over the forecast period. For instance, in 2014, Becton, Dickinson, and Company offered point-of-care system BD FACSPresto for HIV/AIDS. It offers percentage results of CD4 T lymphocytes and hemoglobin concentration. Moreover, in January 2017, Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) developed a fusion antigen, which is used as a part of diagnostic test manufactured by InBios International, Inc. for Chagas disease.Moreover, research funding is provided by various government and private organizations for infectious diseases to provide effective diagnostic and treatment options. For instance, in November 2016, QuantuMDx Group received funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and test companys CAPTURE-XT pathogen concentration technology and Q-POC molecular diagnostic platform for rapid low cost detection of tuberculosis. In January 2018, University of Glasgow-led project received US$ 1.85 million funding, which is a part of Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). This project will develop new tests for parasitic diseases and rapid testing in remote locations to help enable rapid diagnosis and rapid treatment of infectious diseases.Asia Pacific is expected to witness fastest growth over the forecast period. Rising demand for efficient and quick diagnostic testing, increasing number of strategies adopted by market players to expand their geographical reach in this region, and engagement of government organizations in minimizing the disease burden are factors that are expected to drive market growth in Asia Pacific region.For instance, in March 2013, Qiagen N.V. launched its careHPV test in China. CareHPV is a molecular diagnostic test designed to screen for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) at low-resource settings such as areas lacking electricity, water or laboratories. Qiagen also gained the approval from China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for the careHPV in 2012. Moreover, in March 2018, Government of India launched the TB Free India Campaign with an aim to completely eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025.Key players operating in the infectious disease therapeutics market include Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Janssen Pharmaceutical, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Merck & Co., Inc., and Novartis International AG.Get a sample copy of report @Key players are developing new products for the treatment of infectious diseases and are also receiving approvals to commercialize their products. For instance, in May 2017, Merck received FDA approval for its ISENTRESS HD, a new 1200 mg integrase inhibitor for HIV-1 infected patients. This drug can also be used in combination therapy with other antiretroviral.Infectious Disease Therapeutics Market TaxonomyThe global infectious disease therapeutics market is segmented on the basis of mode of treatment, drug class, disease infection, end user, and region as mentioned below:By Mode of TreatmentDrugsOral AdministrationTopicalInjectionsOthersVaccinesBy Drug ClassAnti-BacterialAnti-ViralAnti-ParasiteAnti-FungalOthersBy Disease IndicationTuberculosisHIV/AIDSInfluenzaHepatitisOthersBy End UserHospital PharmacyRetail PharmacyOthersBy RegionNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastAfricaAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Newborn Screening Market Studied by Focusing on Major Companies: Agilent Technologies, AB SCIEX, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Covidien PLC, GE Life Sciences, Masimo Corporation, Natus Medical Inc., PerkinElmer Newborn Screening www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/2192 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2192 Newborn screening tests look for developmental, metabolic, and genetic disorders in infants. It allows steps to be taken before development of symptoms. Although, majority of these illnesses are very rare, they can be treated with early diagnosis. Newborn screening includes over 30 conditions and illnesses. Increasing awareness among parents for disease screening is a major factor driving newborn screening market growth. Furthermore, various government and non-government organizations are actively focused on offering better fetal and maternal care. For instance, in June 2018, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) led a campaign to fight sickle cell disease in Africa and urged governments, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, to invest in newborn screening of the disease.Download PDF Brochure @Novel treatments, biomarkers, and technologies are expected to enable various diseases to be considered as potential candidates to be included in New Born Screening (NBS) programs. For instance, new treatments such as Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT), Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT), and gene therapy and new pharmacological drugs have allowed autoimmune diseases to be considered as potential candidates to be included in NBS programs.Market DynamicsIncreasing number of newborn screenings, owing to rising awareness among parents and governments is expected to drive the newborn screening market growth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017, four million infants in the U.S. are routinely screened, using a few drops of blood from their heel, for certain endocrine, genetic, and metabolic disorders. The infants are also tested for hearing loss and Critical Congenital Heart Defects (CCHDs) prior to discharge from a hospital or birth center.Furthermore, increasing incidence of hospital acquired diseases create an acute need for newborn screening. For instance, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011, around one in every 25 infants was infected with at least one hospital acquired infections.Government initiatives to support screening of newborns is also a major factor driving the newborn screening market. For instance, CDC is working to harness the latest advances in science and technology so that more disorders can be identified accurately and treated quickly. In 2005, CDC established the Newborn Screening Translation Research Initiative (NSTRI) with the CDC Foundation. NSTRI works with corporate, academic, and foundation partners to assure the quality of research methods during both pilot studies and routine screening.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Key players operating in the global newborn screening market include, Agilent Technologies, AB SCIEX, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Covidien PLC, GE Life Sciences, Masimo Corporation, Natus Medical Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., and ZenTech S.A.Detailed Segmentation:Global Newborn Screening Market, By Product:Assay KitsHearing Screening DevicesMass SpectrometerPulse OximetryGlobal Newborn Screening Market, By Test:Blood TestCardiac TestHearing TestUrine TestGlobal Newborn Screening Market, By Application:Blood Spot DiseaseCritical Congenital Cardiac DiseaseMaple Syrup Urine DiseaseHearing DisabilitySickle Cell DiseaseThyroid DisorderAbout 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.1001 4th Ave,, #3200, Seattle, WA 98154 Beverage Refrigeration Market 2019 By Key Vendors Whirlpool Corporation, Electrolux, Dover Corporation, GE, Haier. Beverage Refrigeration Market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2111 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2111 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/beverage-refrigeration-market https://www.gminsights.com/ North America Beverage Refrigeration Market is anticipated to surpass USD 1 billion by 2024. This can be credited to escalating consumption of refreshment drinks and technological improvements in refrigeration systems. In addition, government encouraging utilization of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies in refrigerators.Beverage Refrigeration Market to reach USD 4.5 billion by 2024. Escalating demand for refrigerators to store and serve drinks for social gathering and private events, is a key factor driving beverage refrigeration market growth. Ongoing technological advances to reduce the overall cooling time and consumer demand for distinctive features such as bottom freezer drawer and powerful filtered water will boost beverage refrigeration market.Request for a sample copy of this report @Manufacturers are anticipated to invest in new product development to comply with new energy standards implemented by the regulatory bodies. Further, increasing penetration of refrigerators that employ specific features such as modifiable shelves to accommodate bottles and cans will boost product sales.Increasing consumer preference for packaged drinks which are convenient to consume at home will support the product demand. According to recent statistics, the global consumption of packaged drinks was estimated more than 1.05 trillion liters in 2016 and Chinese consumption amounted to about 178.6 billion liters.Beverage Refrigeration Market, By Producto Under counter beverage refrigerator Gliding door Swing Dooro Countertop beverage refrigerator Gliding door Swing dooro Storage beverage refrigeratoro Milk coolersMake an Inquiry for purchasing this Report @Under counter beverage refrigerator was valued at over USD 1 billion in 2016. Product offering such as stainless-steel body or custom panel-ready fronts are stimulating the demand. In addition, better shelving and temperature control will support segment penetration over the forecast period.Rising demand to preserve milk in dairy shops will propel coolers demand over the projected timeframe. Diary companies are upgrading their existing capacities, and setting up cold storages along with the processing plant. This will generate the overall revenue over the forecast period.Asia Pacific market holds over 20% of overall industry share in 2016. According to industry estimates, the region is anticipated to account for more than two-thirds of the global beverages consumption by 2020. The region accounts for 60% of the world population and increasing consumption will provide lucrative opportunities for manufacturers.Browse Report Summery @Global Beverage Refrigeration Market is fragmented in nature. Key industry players are Electrolux, Daikin Industries, Avanti, Dover Corporation, KingsBottle, Whirlpool Corporation, Edgestar, Haier, Ford and General Electrics. Other Industry participants are Koolatron, Coca-Cola, Danfoss, Gamko, Liebherr, Marvel, Kegco, Danby, Johnson Controls, U-line, HABCO, Allavino, Kenmore, Marvel, United Technologies Corporation and Illinois Tool Works.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: A 19-year-old woman remained in federal custody Friday in Portland after police say she accompanied two men on a crime spree that started with the killing of an Uber driver in Colorado, included armed robberies in two other states and ended with arrests in Oregon. Oregon State Police Capt. Timothy Fox compared the rash of violence to the deadly exploits of Bonnie and Clyde. A federal prosecutor described Cynthia Sena as a significant danger to the community after the Feb. 22 killing of the Uber driver in Colorado once Sena had summoned the ride, an armed robbery at a gas station in Wyoming and an armed robbery of a bank in Utah before ending the next day with her arrest in Oregon. Senas defense lawyer gave a strikingly different account of Senas role. He argued she was terrorized into going with the men and is a victim in the case. Sena appeared in U.S. District Court in Portland wearing a full-length green anti-suicide smock. Two alleged accomplices, Matthew Anthony Fanelli, 30, of New Mexico, and Jose Lopez-Jovel, 31, of El Salvador, face murder charges out of Colorado. In Oregon, the men are accused of attempting a carjacking in Roseburg and Fanelli is accused of leading police on a high-speed chase south on Interstate 5 and firing at a pursuing state trooper. Assistant Federal Public Defender Fidel Cassino-DuCloux said he was disgusted that his client was being treated as a criminal defendant and argued she should be getting victim services instead. Once in Oregon, it was Sena who fled from the men and alerted her mother to call the FBI, he said. She has no criminal record and was attending college until October 2018 when she met Fanelli, he said. Fanelli forced her to become a prostitute and dance as a stripper, abusing her physically and mentally, he said. The young woman thought she had escaped from Fanellis grip earlier last month and returned to her mothers home in New Mexico, her lawyer said. But Fanelli left expletive-filled death threats on her familys phone, he said. In one message played in court, a man identified by the defense lawyer as Fanelli started: Hey, you know who this is. He demandrf Senas mother let her daughter return to him or he would murder, murder, murder. Ill commit murder. Matthew Anthony Fanelli, left, and Jose Lopez-Jovel The next day, on Feb. 22, Fanelli shot up the Sena family car, according to Senas lawyer. Fearing Fanelli would harm her family, Sena went back to him and he took her to the Deja vu Showgirls strip club in Colorado Springs and forced her to strip, her lawyer said. When she was done, Fanelli pulled her by the hair, grabbed her lower jaw, made her kiss him and then ordered her to leave with him, though she was barely dressed and it was 15 degrees outside, the defense lawyer told the court, reading from a police report. As Fanelli pulled her out of the club, he is accused of firing shots at the clubs manager and a bouncer, according to Colorados El Paso County Sheriffs Office. Government prosecutors said Sena arranged for the Uber ride just hours later, asking her mother to order the car in Denver. Fanelli, Lopez-Joval and Sena got into the Uber, a black 2015 Cadillac, and the two men then shot and killed the driver, 58-year-old David Rosenthal, according to police. The three then drove off in the Cadillac. About two hours later, Fanelli and Lopez-Joval robbed a gas stations convenience store at gunpoint in Cheyenne, Wyoming, about 100 miles north of Denver, and returned to the Cadillac, where Sena was waiting, according to law enforcement. About six hours later, the three are accused of an armed robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank in Park City, Utah, according to police. Sena scoped out the lobby of the Utah bank, while claiming she lost her purse, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Jarrett said. When she walked out, the two men walked in and robbed the bank at gunpoint, the prosecutor said. All three face federal charges in Utah, accused of bank robbery and using and carrying a firearm in a crime of violence. The next day, in Oregon, Sena parted ways with Fanelli and Lopez-Joval, Jarrett said. Sena was able to escape from the two men in Salem, her lawyer said, and she asked her mother to contact the FBI. Clearly Ms. Sena is the victim here, Cassino-DuCloux said, arguing for her release and return to her mother in New Mexico. U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You said she found the defense argument compelling, but that she must consider the gravity of the allegations. She was concerned, she said, about releasing Sena when Sena has no ties to Oregon and an amorphous plan to return to her mother in New Mexico. The judge, though, will allow Senas lawyer to return to court early next week to present a more detailed proposal for Senas release. A pretrial services officer argued against Senas release, noting that she had left her mothers home once last month and cited concerns about outside influences if she returned there. She was trying to keep her family from getting killed, Cassino-DuCloux responded. As to outside influences, he added, The person who committed heinous acts, hes in jail. Hes in custody. Fanelli remains in custody in Josephine County. He faces a murder warrant out of Colorado, the Utah bank robbery charges and, along with Lopez-Joval, multiple Oregon state charges, including attempted murder, attempted aggravated murder and unlawful use of a weapon. Lopez-Joval is being held in Douglas County. Sena is at the Multnomah County Detention Center, charged in the Utah bank robbery. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A federal judge Friday ordered Dante Emanuel Hall, one of the men who Patrick Kimmons wounded in a downtown parking lot on Sept. 30 before Kimmons was fatally shot by police, be taken back into custody pending trial on a felon in possession of a firearm charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim Yous decision came about two weeks after another magistrate judge, John V. Acosta, had released Hall so he could visit with the surgeon who had operated him the night he was shot to assess whether he needed further surgery. Hall, 31, suffered a wound to the left leg that fractured his femur and underwent surgery shortly after the Sept. 30 shooting. In early November, he was arrested and booked into custody on the federal firearms charge after his release from Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. Hall had placed a Walther 9mm handgun on the wheel of a car's tire in the downtown parking lot at Southwest Third Avenue and Harvey Milk Street before he was shot, according to investigators. Hall returned in a wheelchair to U.S. District Court in Portland Friday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Bolstad argued that Hall remains a danger to the community, noting that the location where he was released to on home detention appeared to be the target of a drive-by shooting on Feb. 25. "His presence out there in the world puts other people in danger,'' Bolstad said. Halls defense lawyer Thomas Price said the notion that Hall may have been a target of a shooting doesnt make Hall a danger. "The fact that someone else in the community might want to harm Mr. Hall is not a relevant consideration,'' Price argued. He added that he was concerned Hall still needed surgery and wouldnt get to a scheduled follow-up appointment this month with his doctor, under his medical insurance, if taken into custody. The judge said she found no reason to keep Hall out of custody, noting that no surgery has been scheduled since he was released and medical reports indicated his incision had healed well. She found hes a danger to the community, noting his criminal record and repeated possession of guns. She said shed ask that the U.S. Marshals Service ensure that Hall is transported to future medical appointments that he may have. Hall has two prior convictions as a felon in possession of a firearm in 2007 and 2012. He also has prior felony convictions for riot in 2008 and for unlawful use of a weapon in 2013, according to court records. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Oregon environmental regulators on Friday announced 20 companies statewide that will face new scrutiny over air pollution and potential health risks. Included on the list is AmeriTies, a company in The Dalles with a history of noxious air pollution that was the focus of an investigation published online Friday by The Oregonian/OregonLive. It is one six companies whose reviews will begin immediately. State officials say air pollution from each of the 20 companies will be analyzed beginning this year to determine if it is harmful. Companies whose pollution exceeds state standards would be required to make fixes, although reductions could ultimately take years. The looming reviews are the most tangible action by Oregons Department of Environmental Quality since a toxic air scare rocked Portland in 2016. Regulators didnt realize the amounts of pollution flowing from glass manufacturers in Portland. As a result, Gov. Kate Brown ordered the state agency to craft new rules to reduce the health risks posed by a broader range of pollutants released into the air by companies. Regulators have now built a list of more than 350 businesses and selected 20 for review in 2019. The 20 were chosen to go first based on potential health risk and proximity to neighborhoods or businesses. Companies that provided insufficient data about their emissions also got closer attention from the state. Were excited and pleased to be moving the program forward, said Keith Johnson, the project manager for Cleaner Air Oregon. The states program will tell us so much more about what the emissions are from facilities across the state, he said. Regulators decided last fall that AmeriTies should be among the first 20 companies to receive a review, said Susan Mills, an agency spokeswoman. AmeriTies could not be reached for comment late Friday. The company has been a source of deep frustration for residents of The Dalles, who have complained for decades about air that reeks of mothballs. The company makes railroad ties, and fumes are so strong that some residents have complained of health problems. Johnson, the Cleaner Air Oregon manager, said AmeriTies was identified for review because officials are concerned the company didnt fully disclose its pollutants. AmeriTies used an identification method that officials say isnt as rigorous as theyd like. We think there may be more there to report, Johnson said. Each company will have up to 90 days to submit an inventory of air toxics, which regulators will review. A company will then have up to 60 days to create a risk-assessment plan that will evaluate the scope of its pollution and potential health impacts. After regulators review the plan, a company will have up to five months to complete its assessment. A company found to have air toxics exceeding state benchmarks would have up to four months to submit a plan for fixes. If immediate health issues are identified, a company could have up to one month to begin implementing the plan. But if the project identifies longer-term health issues, a company could have up to two years to begin making fixes. Johnson acknowledged that it could take years to see some companies ultimately reduce emissions. It has a lot of complexities to it, he said. But Johnson said the mere existence of the program could prompt others to proactively reduce their pollution before regulators force their hand. Knowing that the rules are coming out, he said, people are taking action now. -- Brad Schmidt bschmidt@oregonian.com 503-294-7628 @_brad_schmidt Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A fisherman was stranded and taking on water Friday night near Winchester Bay. His boat contained unusable lifejackets, expired emergency flares, no registration, no sound device and only one fire extinguisher. But the problem was that he had only one bilge pump working to suck the water coming into his boat back out. The fisherman called for help at 9:46 p.m. Friday, and the call was caught by Coast Guard crews standing watch at the North Bend office. They deployed a 47-foot motor lifeboat from the Umpqua River Coast Guard station. While the fisherman had said he could see the buoy for the entrance to the Umpqua River, the Coast Guard boat could not find anyone around the buoy. So the people monitoring the radio in North Bend asked the fisherman to launch flares. The rescue crew saw the flares and traced a path to the disabled boat 3 miles north of the Umpqua River entrance. The rescue workers sent a dewatering pump aboard the 65-foot fishing vessel, and once the incoming water was under control, they began to tow the fishing vessel back to shore. It took until 4 a.m. -- nearly five hours -- to get the vessel to shore, where crews discovered all the problems with the fishermans equipment. He must stay on land until he fixes the problems and then can finish his trip. No one was injured during the rescue. This is the second rescue of the week by the Oregon Coast Guard. The first was by air. On Thursday, a helicopter crew found a man who got snowed in on a forested hilltop in southern Oregon. He had been there three days and had hypothermia by the time he was rescued. By Audrey Mechling Mechling served as a legislative aide to Rep. Nancy Nathanson in 2014 and 2015, and was Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon's chief of staff in 2017. I am writing in response to State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Haywards op-ed (When I experienced sexual harassment, Peter Courtney took action, Feb. 27). Numerous news articles have recently addressed how Oregons legislative leadership -- Senate President Peter Courtney in particular -- have handled complaints about inappropriate workplace conduct in the Oregon Capitol. Among them, Steiner Haywards account is the only one that paints Sen. Courtney in a positive light. Steiner Hayward has been fortunate to receive support from Courtney after reporting sexual harassment from former Sen. Jeff Kruse. I am one of the aggrieved parties in the Bureau of Labor and Industries complaint alleging that Courtney and others have systematically brushed sexual harassment complaints under the rug (you may know me better as Employee A), and I can say with near certainty that none of the complainants shares Steiner Haywards good fortune. I know that I am not alone when I describe my reporting of sexual harassment in the Capitol as a traumatizing experience in which I was intimidated into years of silence. By submitting her op-ed, Steiner Hayward undermines the critical work that women in the Capitol are doing to bring their stories to light, to hold wrongdoers accountable and to create systemic change in the culture of Oregon politics. Reasonable minds can differ on their evaluations of complicated and emotionally-charged topics, but by penning her unwavering support for Courtney, she sends a signal to the women involved in the BOLI complaint -- along with others working to address the culture that allowed this harassment to occur at the Capitol -- that she does not believe our assertions that the Senate President has been far more harmful than helpful in navigating this challenging process. She also sends the unacceptable message to women in the building that if they stand up against men in power, the women around them will not stand with them. Courtney has also sent a clear message to women in the Capitol: If you speak up for yourself and other women in the building, as Sen. Sara Gelser has time and again, you will be ostracized and shamed. However, if you walk in lockstep with leadership as Steiner Hayward has done -- questioning the memory of women involved in the BOLI complaint and expressing support for Courtney, you will remain in the Senates good graces. I want the women of the Capitol to hear this message instead: I stand with you. I stand with Intern A, Intern B, Employee B, and all of the other unnamed women. I believe their stories of harassment that took place under the current leadership in the Senate. Steiner Hayward claims that Courtneys response to her 2016 report of Kruses harassing behavior was swift and compassionate. I fail to see how a response that allowed the harassing behavior to continue for multiple years, included no ongoing monitoring, and culminated in Kruse being allowed to harass two young law interns for months is in any way swift or compassionate. We are fighting to change the culture because we care deeply about the institution that is the Oregon Legislative Assembly. I know that we cannot build a system that will guarantee that no current or future women or men experience workplace harassment in the Capitol, but we can and must improve outcomes when brave individuals come forward and report harassment. I believe that it is time for new leadership in the Oregon Senate. However, I know the Oregon Legislative Assembly well enough to believe that Courtney will not step down from his role as Senate President without pressure from Senate members. To all of the senators in the Legislature, I remind you that one of the lead attorneys defending the legislature also defended Senator Courtney in litigation arising from his mishandling of multiple sexual harassment allegations from Western Oregon University students. I remind you that he allegedly instructed a member of his office staff to resign in exchange for five months severance and six months benefits because she had a consensual romantic relationship with a House member. I remind you that his key takeaway from workplace harassment trainings meant to address the toxic culture in the Capitol was not that he needs to address hiring practices in his office, but that he should say hello to his staff in the mornings. I ask you to review my story, and the stories from women in the Oregon State Capitol and Western Oregon University communities, to believe them, and to ask yourself who you are really fighting to protect. Has the brain trust of legislators in Oregon and Washington thought through all the consequences of year-round daylight-saving time? The length of day is a latitude-dependent function because the axis of the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees from a normal plane of polar alignment with the sun. Near the winter solstice, when days are shortest and for a full month thereafter, sunrise occurs near and at its latest time but that time is not the same everywhere. In California, where year-round daylight time is appealing, the latest sunrise would occur in Los Angeles would be at 7:59 a.m. But up here in Portland, it would be nearly an hour later, occurring at 8:50 a.m. On the many cloudy and rainy days of winter in the Pacific Northwest, this means your children will leave home for school in the complete darkness of night and we would not see any meaningful daylight or dawn until after 8:30 a.m. most of these mornings. This was an important consideration given by prior legislators concerning the reversal back to standard time during the shorter days of the year. Chuck Wiese, Portland A 38-year-old man was arrested Thursday after police say he shot his girlfriend and her mother in their Albany home killing the parent. Eric Rodriguez-Najar, 38, remains held in the Linn County Jail on Friday on accusations of murder, first- and fourth-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon in the Thursday shootings of 59-year-old Mary A. Taylor and 36-year-old Lani M. Taylor. Rodriguez-Najar also attacked Lani Taylor on Wednesday, prosecutors allege. The shooting was reported around 3:15 p.m. at the Taylors home in the 1100 block of Southeast Lafayette Street. Mary Taylor was found dead in the living room and her daughter was shot in the arm and taken to a hospital for treatment, police said. Police havent released anymore information in the shooting. Court records show Rodriguez-Najar and Lani Taylor have at least two children together. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A 25-year-old woman acquitted of criminal charges stemming from an arrest at Portland International Airport last year is suing the Port of Portland, alleging officers illegally detained her and used excessive force. Jathina Campos of Portland is seeking $200,000 for battery, false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her state constitutional rights during the Feb. 24, 2018 arrest. Port of Portland police said officers initially detained Campos after she arrived for her flight a day early and got upset when she wasnt allowed to go through the security check point. Officers said she appeared to be drunk. She was later arrested and accused of repeatedly attacking officers while in their custody. Campos and her attorneys Juan Chavez and John Schlosser contend in the lawsuit that Officers Anthony Byrd and Todd Hoffmann officers didnt have probable cause to take her into custody because she wasnt intoxicated to the point that she was a threat to herself or anyone else. The lawsuit said the officers escalated the situation without telling Campos why they were grabbing ahold of her. The suit claims Byrd wrenched her arm without justification, so Campos lawfully defended herself by kicking at Byrd. The officers then slammed Campos to the ground and injured her wrists by putting handcuffs on too tightly, the lawsuit said. She was then taken away from the security area in a wheelchair, later carried to a holding cell and left on the floor with her hands and feet in a hog-tie restraint as at least half a dozen officers stood near her. Campos suffered a black eye, a cut over her eyebrow, a chipped tooth and bruises from the Feb. 24, 2018, encounter. She missed her flight and two weeks of work, the lawsuit said. The Port of Portland does not have a written policy regarding how or when a Port officer can initiate a detox hold, the lawsuit said. As demonstrated by Officer Byrd, a Port officer can detain any individual under a detox hold without much more justification than impatience with the detainee. A Multnomah County jury acquitted Campos of attempted assault of a public safety officer and resisting arrest on Jan. 31. Schlosser told The Oregonian/OregonLive at the time that what the officers wrote in their reports didnt line up with surveillance footage shown to the jury and that there were no cameras that captured the area where Byrd, Hoffmann and a third officer said Campos tried to attack them on the way to the holding cell. Schlosser said he doesnt believe the officers would have interacted with Campos in the same manner if she were white. Campos is Latinx. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. The Frankenmuth Woolen Mill is celebrating its 125th consecutive year of processing wool and manufacturing wool bedding at 570 S. Main Street in downtown Frankenmuth. A Michigan Centennial Business, the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill is recognized as the oldest, continuously operated woolen mill in Michigan. The original mill structure is still in use and remains much the same today as when first opened by Franz Ranke and George Grueber in 1894. Native Midlander Jeanine Michna-Bales is giving people a new look at American history. A selection from her "Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad" is featured in a national touring exhibit, "Southbound: Photographs of and about the new South." Michna-Bales was born in Midland, but was raised in the Midwest, spending time between Indiana and Florida with her parents. When she was working at an ad agency in San Francisco in 2002, she started conducting research on the Underground Railroad. Michna-Bales found herself writing three to four pages of notes every day. "That's when ideas started to show up on the page. They chose me more than I chose them," she said during a recent phone interview. Michna-Bales' research helped fuel her next step: photograph different sites from the southern states into the north. She planned a route that a potential traveler would have taken along the Underground Railroad. Over three and a half years, Michna-Bales traveled from Louisiana through Tennessee and Kentucky to Michigan and into Ontario, Canada. She photographed locations at 20-mile intervals - roughly the distance people would travel in a day - and chose to shoot at night, representing how fugitives tended to travel in the dark to avoid capture. "I thought if I told the story just from a station master's perspective, you take away the urgency of the freedom speaker him- or herself. It wouldn't be reflective, wouldn't tell entire story," she explained. But shooting photographs at night and having them come out clear as day presented a challenge. Michna-Bales used several techniques, including taking 12 images of the same scene and stacking them in Photoshop. She also used a longer exposure on her camera to give photos the look of a painting. The resulting prints portray the darkness of evening or twilight while allowing objects to stand out distinctly to the viewer. In the early 2000s, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art curators Mark Long and Mark Sloan began working on their own project to feature different aspects of the South through the work of 56 photographers. When they encountered Michna-Bales' photos, it was an easy choice to include her in the exhibit. "The ambition in her project, from the research she put in to the images it's really quite startling," Long commented. While each "Southbound" artist is allowed to display only four images, a handful were made available in a catalog and up to 10 entries can be found on the exhibition's website. The showcase debuted at the Halsey Institute, located in Charleston, South Carolina, from Oct.19, 2018 through March 2. According to Long, Michna-Bales' pieces tie in nicely with other installments that depict the issue of race in the South, from the 1960s civil rights era to the more recent Black Lives Matter movement. "We are hoping to present people with a slice of the South through the eyes and minds of the photographers," Long stated. Michna-Bales hopes that her photographs will inspire people think more about America's first civil rights movement. "It's starting those conversations and talking with people face to face and understanding that everybody's human," she said. "Southbound" continues its tour from Sept. 5 through Dec. 29 at Gregg Museum of Art and Design in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information about the exhibit, visit southboundproject.org For more on Michna-Bales' "Through Darkness to Light" collection, visit throughdarknesstolight.com Thousands of Midland area kids will receive free oral hygiene kits filled with toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss, as part a grant that was awarded to Dr. Chris Jones of Jones and Secor Family Dentistry in Midland. Jones, who is also president of the Saginaw Valley District Dental Society, was one of six recipients of the Michigan Dental Association's Public Relations Grant, worth $5,000, for his project idea of disseminating dental kits to kids. The goal of the grant program is to help educate and promote oral health in Michigan communities. Jones said he wanted to do something simple with the money. He said he used the $5,000 to purchase more than 3,000 pencil pouches, more than 5,000 toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss, all to be disseminated to elementary and middle school kids attending Midland Public Schools. The schools include Adams Elementary, Chestnut Hill Elementary, Woodcrest Elementary, Plymouth Elementary, Central Park Elementary, Siebert Elementary, Jefferson Middle and Northeast Middle schools. "If you have a brand-new toothbrush and it comes in a cute little container maybe that will inspire (the kids) to put some of their brand new toothpaste on their brush and scrub the heck out of their teeth," Jones said. "We're hoping that it does." Jones said the pencil pouches and toothbrushes will be inscribed with the Michigan Dental Association's name and website, helping to promote the oral health authority. "Everyone loves free stuff," Jones wrote in his grant proposal. "Providing the toothbrush kits to students in our community would bring excitement and happiness to almost 5,000 children while easily promoting the Michigan Dental Association." In addition, the kits will help younger kids replace old, overused brushes and introduce them to dental floss, which they may have never used before, Jones said. There were eight applicants for the 2019 PR grant program, with six chosen winners. 'The other recipients include West Michigan District Dental Society, Detroit District Dental Society, Genesee District Dental Society, Northern Thumb District Dental Society and Muskegon District Dental Society. When she isn't injured, Theresa Coventry spends her free time at Roll Arena in Midland, improving her skating skills and learning the ins and outs of roller derby in hopes of becoming a playing member of the Chemical City Derby Girls. At age 52, Coventry said learning to skate and play derby has been "slow going," but she's not letting her age, or a recent knee injury, hold her back. "It's a little frustrating," she said. "But that's just the way it is. I wasn't going to wake up one day and be a great skater, much as I really wanted to." As a stay-at-home mom for the last 15 years, Coventry said she had been interested in skating and participating on the derby team, but the timing was never right. Then, last October, Coventry enrolled in a six-week training camp hosted by the Chemical City Derby Girls, hoping to learn how to skate better. However, she was still on the fence about joining the team. As she got more involved, Coventry said she was blown away by the kindness of the women and the supportive atmosphere of the derby team. Now, she is fully invested and determined to succeed, she said. "I'm not hung up on the age thing," Coventry said. "There's no way to turn back time, so this is when it fit into my life and I'm busting my butt to make it work." As "fresh meat," Coventry is working toward passing a set of skills tests and a written test before she can officially earn her derby nickname "T.Wrecks" and participate in her first bout (game). Coventry is just one member of CCDG, which is comprised of about 30 adult women ranging in all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes, from the Great Lakes Bay Region. Roller derby is a female-dominated contact sport that involves dozens of rules geared toward safety, assistance from several volunteer referees and non-skating officials and skaters rolling around an oval track. A bout, or derby match, consists of five players from each team - four blockers and one jammer - who are trying to score more points than the other team. This is done by lapping their opponents as many times as they can in a two-minute period called a jam. It's complicated, chaotic and very cardio based, said Jordan Boyce, president of CCDG. CCDG practices twice a week and is in the beginning of its competitive season, which will last into October. The derby team hosts bouts at the Roll Arena on Bay City Road in Midland, as well as travels around Michigan to play other teams. However, members of CCDG agree that it is more than just a sport -- it is a sisterhood, a unique opportunity to be expressive and a way to give back to the community. Some of the CCDG members described the relationship between the women as a sisterhood, complete with its own occasional fighting. "There's drama that happens - you put a bunch of women together, there's going to be fights - but overall, we're really able to kind of come back stronger, as stupid and cheesy as that sounds," Boyce said. Boyce has been president of the derby team less than a year, only just learning to skate two and a half years ago. Outside of derby, Boyce is a school psychologist for the Bullock Creek School District. "We have people who do all kinds of different things and have all kinds of different backgrounds and all kinds of different lives," she said. "But we all come together for a joint purpose as to make this team work." When she first started skating, another member told Boyce she reminded her of a deer on ice, like the classic Disney movie Bambi. From there, the nickname Bambi transitioned into "BAM-Bee" and is now Boyce's derby name. Derby nicknames are a roller derby tradition, adding to the sport's uniqueness. Boyce said the names usually reflect the player's personality and interests or are sometimes just a play on words. For example, the youngest member of the team, 19-year-old Alexis Foster, earned herself the nickname "The Foster Kid". Foster said she can express herself in derby so much more than she was able to as a speed skater. Unlike some other sports, roller derby allows for skaters to wear crazy makeup and adorn fun outfits, like tutus, Foster said. But fun aside, derby skaters are serious athletes, Coventry said -- something that's not always recognized. "In general, people don't understand how it's a real sport and it's a lot of work," she said. "And these ladies that are out there skating bouts are amazing athletes. They work so so hard." Hard work on the track extends out into the community for CCDG. The derby team participates in public fundraisers like the Special Olympics Polar Plunge as well as hosts its own fundraisers and events, Boyce said. "One of our things we really try to do is get out into the community, partly because we do want our name out there and we want people to come," Boyce said. "But we feel really strongly that as a team of women it is women supporting women and supporting causes and helping people who need help." She said CCDG is a supportive team that wants to help spread its support to the community. While the team is currently closed to new members, everyone is invited to attend bouts and Boyce said they are always looking for volunteers. If there's anything to be known about roller derby, Boyce said, it's how inclusive the sport really is. "There is literally a place for everyone" she said. "Even if you think that you're too old, or not in shape, or too young or not skilled or too meek or that you can't do it -- you can. Literally anyone can play or be a part of it in some way." To follow the Chemical City Derby Girls or check upcoming bout dates, visit the team's Facebook page or email Boyce at chemicalcityderbygirls@gmail.com. The YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region will honor 17 local leaders at the eighth annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards at 5:30 p.m. March 20 at Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw. These awards honor women from the Great Lakes Bay Region who have demonstrated volunteer or professional activities and have made outstanding contributions in the categories of social justice, business and entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, community leadership, and lifetime achievement. The Lifetime Achievement Award is granted to women who have, through a lifetime of volunteer and/or professional activities, made outstanding contributions to her community. The 2019 honorees include: Joni Boye-Beaman, Saginaw Valley State University; Dr. Betty Jones, community leader; and Leola Wilson, State of Michigan, retired. The Women of Achievement Awards are granted to women who have made outstanding contributions in volunteer and/or professional activities in their prospective fields. The 2019 honorees include: Lisa Coney, Saginaw Intermediate School District - social justice; Dawn Luptowski, MCI Insurance - community leader; Dr. Roslyn McQueen, Hurley Medical Center - healthcare; Francine Padgett, MidMichigan Health - healthcare; Helen Raica-Klotz, Saginaw Valley State University - education; Lee Ann Rouse, Omni Tech International Ltd. Inc. - business and entrepreneurship; Linda Sims, Saginaw Valley State University - community leader; Alice Stricker, Frankenmuth School District, retired - education; Tiffany D. Torain, The Dow Chemical Co. - social justice; and Lynn Weaver, McLaren Bay Medical Foundation - business and entrepreneurship. The Women of Achievement Emerging Leader Awards are granted to women, between the ages of 18-25, who demonstrate emerging leadership skills and have exhibited through their character, accomplishments, and activities, a philosophy of empowering women, and commitment to their community. The 2019 honorees include: Jamie Dwyer, Delta College; Reyna Frost, Central Michigan University; Emma Kirsch, Saginaw Valley State University; and Emily Williams, Northwood University. YWCA GLBR will feature Donna Murray-Brown, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association as a special guest and Meg McLeod Anchor/Reporter for WNEM-TV5, as emcee at the 2019 YWCA Women of Achievement Awards. "It's a privilege to celebrate the achievements and contributions our honorees have made to the Great Lakes Bay Region. Each woman is a superior role model in their field of expertise, and we are particularly pleased to honor their accomplishments," said Ann Coburn-Collins, YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region board president. "Women's dedication to their communities within the Great Lakes Bay Region is strong and their professional accomplishments are stellar. YWCA's recognition of an increased number of Women of Achievement honorees this year illustrates that exact point." said Kimberly Houston, interim executive director of YWCA GLBR. "Our 2019 women achievers will inspire others to excel and to always bring their best to growing our community and empowering women in the Great Lakes Bay Region." The awards dinner is open to the public. Tickets are $65 each or $500 for a table of eight. To purchase tickets, contact the YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region at 989-894-9055 or visit ywcaglbr.org/women-of-achievement-awards. To the editor: On Feb. 14, The U.S. Senate rejected a bill that would have afforded legal protection to children who are born alive despite the best efforts of an abortionist. Our senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters both were part of the opposition. We are not talking about the health and safety of the mother or some perverted choice. The baby is born, the pregnancy is over, we have two distinct individuals. We are not talking viability, the child is functioning on its own. And we certainly are not talking about something "unwanted," literately millions of people are begging for an opportunity to nurture a child such as this. To my knowledge, not since Hitler's Germany has the idea of infanticide been considered by a civilized society, but here we are. Please do not take my word for this, go to www.congress.gov/bill/116-congress/senate-bill/311/text and see for your self what Stabenow and Peters in effect voted for by rejecting this bill. Then ask yourself, is this what we want from our government? THOMAS MYERS Midland Shortly afterwards I formed a trio, together with violinist Israel Baler and cellist Edgar Lustgarten. We called ourselves the Pacific Art Trio and played concerts up and down the West Coast, for anybody who wanted us. We were all involved in film studio work, and this endeavour was a sort of life raft for the three of us. It was far from unusual for us to work throughout the day on a Tom and Jerry cartoon and then meet after supper to prepare the Ravel Trio. One time we were planning a performance of the Shostakovich Trio, fairly new at the time. We had the typical chamber music discussion (otherwise know as a screaming argument) about the tempo of the first movement. The printed metronome markings in the score seemed arbitrary to us, and none of us believed them. I had an idea. "Let's call Shostakovich," I offered. My two colleagues laughed. "Where?" asked Eddie. "Do you happen to have his phone number?" A few more scathing remarks back and forth, and I got on the phone in Eddie's split-level Van Nuys living room and asked for Moscow Information. It took endless time and some surreal dialogue, but I was finally put through to an English-speaking member of the League of Composers in Russia. I explained who we were and what our problem was, and by God, we were given an appointed time twenty-four hours later to put through the call, at which time an interpreter would be on an extension. So there I was the next day, with a flushed face, inquiring about metronome markings and being answered by Shostakovich, by way of an interpreter. My conversation to Moscow went something like this: "At seventeen after A, does a quarter equal 132?" Answer: "No no, that's wrong, read eighth not quarter, and eleven later, just before B, it should change to half equals 60." My two trio companions were listening to all this and excitedly taking notes, when suddenly Iz Baker began to laugh uncontrollably. I waved at him in a fury, but he finally had to leave the room. When my monumental phone call came to an end, I asked him, in icy tones, just what he found so amusing. "Think about it," he gasped. "The whole town is seething with the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee , everybody's afraid to give any kind of opinion, obviously a phone call to Moscow is monitored by the FBI or somebody, and they will almost certainly think you were talking some kind of code." I had happy visions of Senator McCarthy being given the new metronome markings of the Shostakovich Trio and trying to manufacture a sinister plot to overthrow Van Nuys out of it, but at the time nothing official ensued. The harmful effects of exposure to tobacco smoke have been known for many years. Cigarette and cigar smokers are at significantly higher risk of contracting all sorts of respiratory maladies, and research linking secondhand smoke to cancer goes back nearly three decades. But what about the chemicals that stain the walls, ceilings, carpet and upholstery in rooms in which tobacco has been smoked? What about the lingering nicotine on the fingers of smokers? Is there something dangerous in the residue that lingers long after the smoke clears? Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati have found more evidence of the potentially harmful effects of exposure to the residue and particles left behind by tobacco smoke. In "Nicotine on Children's Hands: Limited Protection of Smoking Bans and Initial Clinical Findings," published Jan. 16 in Tobacco Use Insights, Cincinnati Children's attending physician Melinda Mahabee-Gittens and UC assistant professor Ashley Merianos found that not smoking around children doesn't stop the children of smokers from being exposed to nicotine. They also found that that higher levels of exposure to tobacco smoke residue -- which likely includes carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines -- may be linked to respiratory problems. "It just goes to show that indoor smoking bans don't necessarily protect children from tobacco smoke exposure and related pollutants, such as thirdhand smoke," says Merianos. "It also shows that exposure to tobacco smoke toxicants is more widespread than previously thought because exposure in children is not limited to inhaling secondhand smoke," adds Mahabee-Gittens. Research staff collected wipes of the dominant hands of 104 children visiting the Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Emergency Department between April 2016 and August 2017 with complaints potentially linked to tobacco smoke exposure and who had at least one caregiver who smoked. The handwipes were then analyzed for nicotine. The research explored several variables, including the self-reported smoking behaviors of the children's caregivers, as well as the number of smokers living with the child, the number of cigarettes per day smoked by caregivers, the number of cigarettes smoked around the child in any location (such as in the home and the car) and the number of cigarettes smoked around the child inside the home. The research also looked at the medical records of the children for possible smoke exposure-related complaints such as wheezing and cough, as well as past medical histories and discharge diagnoses. The study found significant levels of nicotine on the hands of children of smokers whose caregivers did not smoke in their presence, averaging 82 nanograms (ng) of nicotine. A similar amount was found on the hands of children whose caregivers smoked between one and five cigarettes per day in their presence. Children whose parents smoked 15 or more cigarettes around them had nicotine levels on their hands in excess of 200 ng. More than half of the children in the study were under 2 years old. Children in that age group averaged about 69 ng nicotine, while children between the ages of 2 and 4 -- who accounted for 25 percent of the children studied -- averaged nearly three times as much (185.6 ng). Children ages 5 and over were found to have only slightly more nicotine on their hands than the children under 2. "Future work should explore the associations of hand nicotine and age to determine how children's changing interactions with their environment and behaviors contribute to increased nicotine in 2- to 4-year-olds, whether handwashing decreases the risk and whether increased levels are associated with increased [secondhand smoke-related] clinical illnesses," according to the research article. Children whose caregivers smoked five or less cigarettes per day had an average of about 55 ng nicotine on their hands, while children whose caregivers smoked 15 or more per day were found to have an average of 124 ng nicotine on their hands. Children with higher levels of nicotine found on their hands were significantly more likely to have respiratory symptoms such as wheezing and coughing, Merianos says. "That's just a preliminary finding," she cautions. "We need to do more work. There's a paucity of literature available on the impact that thirdhand smoke has on health effects in children." Merianos advocates for caregivers to quit smoking to decrease the exposure of children to nicotine and smoking-related chemicals. For those who do not quit, she recommends handwashing, showering and changing clothes after smoking to minimize thirdhand smoke exposure. Mahabee-Gittens adds that parental smokers should know that these measures alone are not enough to protect their children since deep-seated reservoirs of toxicants continue to build when smoking continues. The researchers will continue to study the issue to see if the results are replicated with a larger sample of children. Bernie Sanders has spoken out repeatedly against a potential war of regime change in Venezuela, as youd expect from the democratic-socialist who represents the greatest presidential hope of the American left, but in recent days, he has softened his stance with rhetoric that hews closely to the state departments line on Nicolas Maduro: The people of Venezuela are enduring a serious humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government must put the needs of its people first, allow humanitarian aid into the country, and refrain from violence against protesters. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) February 23, 2019 Anyone who has followed U.S. foreign policy knows how quickly humanitarian aid can turn into overt material support for far-right rebels seeking regime change, especially when the aid efforts are led by neocon ghouls like Elliott Abrams. It's a familiar playbook, and despite his broad anti-war stance, Sanders' reference to humanitarian aid and his anti-Maduro warning give a tacit nod to those in the Trump administration who want the Venezuelan president out by any means necessary. It also left just one presidential hopeful who stood firmly for unapologetic anti-interventionism: Hawaiian congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Tulsi Gabbard: The US should not be in the business of intervening in Venezuela and picking who should lead the country. And we certainly should not be threatening military action. The US needs to stay out of Venezuela and let the Venezuelan people determine their own future. pic.twitter.com/v5wW7lPdL3 Sarah Abdallah (@sahouraxo) February 4, 2019 Her logic makes senseif you believe that its not Americas job to police the world, and that, in fact, our attempts at intervention and regime change have uniformly ended in disaster for our enemies and ourselves, from central America to Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya, you simply cannot support a war of intervention. As she said in the video above, theres no justification. Period. To put it more simply, its imperative to ask these two questions about any potential war: 1. Can America win? 2. If America wins, will the other country or America itself be better off in the aftermath? If the answer to either question is no, then the war is a bad idea from a practical and ethical perspective. And as weve seen, time and time again, the answer to question two is always no. The juice is never worth the squeeze. Gabbard has served for 15 years in the Hawaii National Guard, and was deployed to Iraq for a 12-month tour in 2004 as part of a field medical unit, and again to Kuwait in 2008. Her firsthand experience with war has informed her foreign policy worldview, but this worldview is in direct conflict with the so-called blobthe Washington D.C. foreign policy establishment, in conjunction with the military-industrial complex, which encompasses powerful figures from both parties and generally believes in, and advocates for, war. Those who depart from the ruling doctrine of profit by aggression are deemed either fundamentally unserious or so serious as to be dangerous, and the pressure and influence exerted by the blob can be seen in how few so-called liberal candidates ever take a strong anti-war stance, and how some of those who doeven avowed progressives like Bernie Sanderscan be subtly bullied into echoing the power structure. Gabbard remains stubbornly opposed, and has faced a disproportionate number of attacks as a resulta clear indication that despite a relatively marginal status in the Democratic primary, her anti-war stance (in combination with her service history and her charisma) makes her a feared figure. The criticism from the establishment right is almost too obvious to discussthey make lots of money from war, are generally bellicose on foreign policy, and have shown an avowed refusal to learn from Americas litany of historical mistakes. Its the criticism from the left that raises an eyebrow, and much of it concerns the fact that Gabbards anti-interventionism echoes a different section of the political rightthe hard right, which is represented by the likes of Steve Bannon, and which is, despite Trumps drain-the-swamp campaign rhetoric, still utterly powerless. Heres Eoin Higgins, who has written critically on Gabbard for Paste, drawing the connection in New York last year: But a steady drumbeat of criticism from progressives claims that Gabbard also has sympathies with Steve Bannon-style nationalists on the hard right, whose foreign-policy view is also fundamentally anti-interventionist. Her detractors argue that her policy overlap with the hard right is consistent and substantive enough that it ought to undermine her credibility as someone who could represent consensus progressive values in the White House. If Gabbardism is a foreign-policy school of thought, it is perhaps best captured by her own words. In short, when it comes to the war against terrorists, Im a hawk, Gabbard told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in 2016. When it comes to counterproductive wars of regime change, Im a dove. Its a sentiment that wouldnt be out of place in Ron Pauls 2008 presidential campaign or in Pat Buchanans in 1992. Its easy to see the circular argument of the Gabbard detractors that Higgins references here: If theres a segment of the right that opposes wars of intervention, then its bad for anyone to oppose wars of intervention since the anti-interventionist right is bad. It divorces the issue from debateare wars of intervention good?and places it squarely in the realm of ideology by association. In this sense, theres no way for anyone on the left to justifiably oppose regime change in places like Iraq or Venezuela, and its a subtly effective way for the center-left and center-right to narrow the spectrum of acceptable opinion, to quote Noam Chomsky. What Gabbard represents, then, is an attempt to broaden that Overton Window, and that represents a direct threat to the Blob. Its no wonder that she has become such a massive target despite trailing almost everyone in the (admittedly early) polls. Which isnt to say that there are no legitimate foreign policy criticisms of Gabbard from the left. The criticism shes faced for her 2016 quote on being a hawk in matters of terrorism feels like thin grueltheres literally no Democratic candidate who will paint themselves as anything but tough on terrorism, whatever that actually meansand painting her as a nationalist because Steve Bannon said a few positive words for her and landed her a meeting at Trump Tower strikes me as equally unconvincing, since Gabbard never had a chance to influence a Trump administration and Bannon himself was soon whisked out for his foreign policy views when it became clear the swamp would not be drained. Nor does it seem especially troubling that, when pressed, she questioned the Trump administrations line on Syria at a time when it looked like an alleged chemical attack might be the basis of another regime change warquestioning such motives became fundamental and necessary after the WMD fiasco in Iraq (or the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, or), even if she turned out to be wrong, and the fact that she made an enemy of Neera Tanden in the process is practically a badge of honor. And, at the risk of beating a dead horse, it all reverts to the same position anyway: Wars of intervention are a bad idea, regardless of the justification. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that many of Gabbards most vociferous critics on the left are those who support specific wars on moral grounds, with very little concern for the likely consequences, and treat her broader anti-war position as a policy of cruelty to the suffering people of the world. That said, Gabbard did support a punitive 2015 bill that would have made it extremely difficult for war refugees from Iraq and Syria to come to America, and she took a longer than expected timeuntil May 2017to stop accepting money from the defense sector. Then theres her affiliation with Hindu nationalists which have led many to suspect that a strain of Islamophobia runs through Gabbards politics (though, somewhat confusingly, she has also been accused of anti-Semitism due to an Arab-American group that paid for her to visit Assad in Syria). In addition, her appearance on Tucker Carlsons show Thursday night to tout her anti-war campaign is sure to frustrate and annoy the usual left-wing critics: Still, its no departureas she demonstrated by meeting with both Assad and Trump, and proved yet again with Tucker Carlson, Gabbard does not adhere to the usual line that simply talking with a reviled figure is the same as boosting that persons legitimacy. Ideas are paramount, and their dissemination critical. To her, there is little to be lost from talking, as she noted when she met Assad: I think we should be ready to meet with anyone if theres a chance it can bring about an end to this war, which is causing the Syrian people so much suffering. As she veers from doctrinaire thinking on this front, so she diverges on war. The Democratic primary is still young, but its already clear that Gabbard is the only candidate with the courage to stake out a hard, unwavering anti-war position. Whether she finds her constituency over the course of the campaign, or whether she remains near the bottom of the pack, the simple act of expressing that worldview will make her plenty of enemies among the rich and powerfulin America, criticizing war is tantamount to criticizing business and profit, and that simply wont stand. A final round of Q4 2018 smartphone statistics were posted by Counterpoint this week and Apple ended up in second place ahead of Huawei in the biggest quarter of the year for hardware sales. Huawei failed to overtake Apple as many were predicting. The chart below shows Global Smartphone Shipments for Q4 2018. Counterpoint is putting their money on Huawei overtaking Apple for good by the end of 2019 and with Huawei kick starting 5G sales, they may get enough of a boost in Asia and Europe to in fact accomplish that goal if Apple is unable to counter punch. With global shipments declining 7% annually it was surprIsing to learn that all global regions suffered a decline, not just China, with Central and Eastern Europe being the only regions with positive growth. While Counterpoint claims that Apple's iPhone shipments declined 15% during Q4, the were still able to grow revenue 6% annually. The iPhone's Strongholds for Q4 2018 Apple's strongholds were of course North America and Europe. In North American Apple registered a resounding lead by 47% with Samsung at a distant second at 22%. In Europe, it was a tough race as Huawei really pressured Apple and Samsung to make it a hot 3-way race, the tightest race for smartphones in the world. Today Apple launched a new campaign in the U.K. and France today titled "There's more to iPhone" that is selling the iPhone's many values beyond price alone. Europe is going to be one of Apple's toughest battlegrounds as Huawei and Xiaomi are pulling out all the stops in 2019 to shake of the smartphone landscape in this region. The days of it being an Apple-Samsung only race is officially over. The iPhone's Weak Point: Emerging Markets It's no secret that Apple's interest in emerging markets is low. Besides China, Apple struggle's in most of the emerging markets and in India, they're embarrassingly under 1%. Thankfully Counterpoint didn't provide a chart for that market segment. In Latin America and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Apple is in last place with 5% for both markets. Without Apple's own unit shipment data for iPhones being published any longer, all media covering smartphone stats are no longer able to pinpoint Apple's iPhone shipments with deadly accuracy as in the past. If you're interested, you could compare Counterpoint's stats published this week for global smartphone shipments with IDC's which we covered back on January 30th here to get as full a picture as possible. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. Bill Hamblin and I published this article in the Deseret News very nearly five years ago, on 7 March 2014: Although Manicheism the religion founded by the Mesopotamian prophet Mani is dead, its influence still continues in subtle and indirect ways. Mani was born in A.D. 216 near the modern city of Baghdad in Iraq, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Although a Persian, Mani was raised in a Gnostic Christian sect known as the Elkesaites, whose founder, Elkesai, was a Christian prophet living in Jordan around A.D. 100. His followers believed that a heavenly book of scripture had been revealed to him as a supplement to the writings of the New Testament. At the age of 12, Mani claimed to have received a vision from his angelic celestial twin, who revealed heavenly secrets to him. As Mani himself described his first vision: In the reign of King Ardashir (of Persia) the Holy Spirit came down and spoke to me. He revealed to me the hidden mystery, hidden from the ages and the generations of Man: the mystery of the Deep (underworld) and the High (heavens), the mystery of Light and Darkness, the mystery of the (apocalyptic) Contest, the War, and the Great (Final) War. The Holy Spirit disclosed to me all that has been and all that will be. At age 25, Mani left the Elkesaites, founding his own new religion. In the following years, he preached in India and Iran with some success, eventually converting the brother of the Persian emperor Shapur, who introduced Mani at the imperial court. However, his success made him a threat to the Zoroastrian state religion of the Iranian empire. After the emperor Shapurs death, Mani was imprisoned as a dangerous heretic. In 276, he was martyred by being flayed alive under the order of the famous Zoroastrian High Priest Kirder. Mani believed that he was the last and greatest of the prophets, successor to the founders of the three great religions of Iran in his day: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Christianity. He described himself as an apostle of Jesus, teaching the true original form of Christianity. According to Mani, there is a fundamental dualism between spirit and matter, light and darkness. The pristine world created by God was a world of light and spirit, but when the powers of darkness overcame the first man, the spirits of light became imprisoned in the chains of dark matter. These sons of light need to be freed from darkness in order to ascend back to the presence of God. This liberation from the bonds of material darkness was the goal of Manis revelation, which he called heavenly knowledge (gnosis). Manis attempt to integrate Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism led to some interesting twists of doctrine, such as medieval Turkish Manichaean texts that speak of the nirvana of the Buddha Jesus on the cross. Manis followers were organized into two groups: the Elect, who were expected to live the higher law, and the Hearers, who were followers of a lesser law. The Elect lived by the three seals: that they would abstain from wine and meat, that they would harm no living thing, and that they would live in celibacy so as not to imprison new spirits of light in the bondage of matter. The Hearers followed and supported the Elect, but were not required to live these three higher laws. Perhaps Manis most important convert was the famous Catholic theologian Augustine (A.D. 354-430), who was a Manichean for nine years before his conversion back to Christianity at age 33. Thereafter, Augustine wrote a book condemning Manicheism. But Augustines doctrine of the fall which became normative for Catholics was in part his reaction to Manichean thought. Later, medieval Christian heresies such as the Paulicians, Bogomils and Cathars were all influenced by Manichean ideas. At its height in the sixth and seventh centuries, Manicheism was probably the most widespread religion in the world, with members found from Spain to India and China. However, Manicheans were almost everywhere in the minority. Suffering religious persecution under increasingly intolerant kingdoms, their religion eventually disappeared. Manicheism was most successful among the nomads of Central Asia, where it was declared the official religion by the king of the Uigur Turks in 762, surviving there until the 16th century. Today, only a few followers of neo-Gnostic New Age movements still revere the writings of Mani as scripture. Nonetheless, subtle influences of his ideas can be found throughout the history and doctrines of both Christianity and Islam. This is another discussion (posted one yesterday) with my friend, Deacon Steven D. Greydanus, from my Facebook page. It came about spontaneously today, and so (as with most of my debates), I am sharing it more widely, so that others can ponder two sides of a given debate and use their own critical faculties to see where they stand. This is what I love about back-and-forth dialogue. His words will be in blue. ***** The Great Dealmaker got no deal from Kim Jong-un and came home empty-handed but Kim continues to get praise and strokes from the leader of the free world. Hes sharp as you can be, and hes a real leader, Trump told Hannity the day before yesterday. He likes me, I like him. Some people say you should not like him. I say, Why shouldnt I like him? I like him. Get along great. Why shouldnt Trump like Kim? He doesnt know. He cant understand it. Why shouldnt one like an extremely brutal tyrant who leads one of the most repressive regimes in the world? A man who has literally executed government officials for such offenses as falling asleep in meetings or adopting disrespectful posture. Who has murdered his own family members, and innocent family members of his enemies, including children. A man who leads a regime in which whole populations are deliberately starved and political prisoners are raped and tortured. Where Christianity is deemed a very serious threat the worst nation on earth for Christians, according the watchdog group Open Doors. Trump said out cant think why he shouldnt like, admire, and praise this man. But yeah, hes pro-life. And a strong leader. And a great dealmaker. You clearly know little about diplomacy on a world scale and what it entails. If you did, you couldnt possibly write this comment as it is. But we know that Trump would be trashed no matter what he did. When he had great success last time it didnt matter. The missiles were flying two years ago, Now they arent. Remains of our servicemen are being sent home. The Korean War may officially end. South Korea (i.e., the nation at great risk in a potential war) was ecstatic about it. Now that he walked away, like Reagan did with Gorbachev (ultimately to succeed), hes trashed. It matters not what he does. Yeah, Gorbachev and the Soviet Union did all these things and probably worse. Thats precisely why we attempted to talk to them and make whatever deal we could. Its why we talk to China (with its horrible views on religious freedom and one-child policies and forced abortion). Were not in these high-stakes talks with England or Canada. Would you say, dont talk at all to anyone who doesnt lead a saintly society? We murder 3000 children a day here. Who the hell are we to look down our noses at non-Christian countries? We claim to be so enlightened and Christian. Thats why I argued in print over 15 years ago that we are arguably the wickedest country of all time. By biblical and Christian standards, I think we are. The biggest obvious difference is that Obama and several Presidents before him (from both parties) sat on their butts and kicked the Korean can down the road. Clinton actually enabled N. Korea to get nukes in the first place, with his (typical) liberal fallacies and naivete about dictatorships: seen again In Obamas treaty with Iran. Trump actually tries to do something about it. And the thanks he gets from Never Rational Never Trumpers like you (who admit to being sorely tempted to literally hate him) is what we see above. You should be ashamed of yourself. He could cure cancer and get North Korea to destroy all their nukes, and it wouldnt make a whit of difference. There is so much invested now in hatred of him that it can never change. Its here forever. Total / largely irrational and clueless demonization . . . That is ridiculous spin. No one can imagine Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush 41, or Reagan talking like this. No one would say they could except out of desperation to defend the indefensible. Anyone with any common sense knows this is true. [I linked two articles about Reagan praising Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union in 1988, and about Obamas and the lefts love affair with Castro and Obamas relationship with the Iranian dictator Khamenei] Once again, it matters not what Trump does. When he was talking about fire and fury and rocket man (talking tough) he was roundly criticized. Now that he is using the usual niceties of diplomacy, hes roundly criticized. Reagan, of course, did both, too. He was excoriated for talking about the evil empire but then he engaged in successful diplomacy. He was supposed to start World War III, like Trump is supposed to. Somehow it never comes. The only constant factor is that the media and the Never Rational Never Trumpers must hate and lie about Trump and apply relentless double standards. LOL. Weve talked before about this. Your need to find moral equivalence obliterates your ability to distinguish carefully worded objective statements of fact from emotional statements of approbation. Its obvious to most people. I dont need to find anything. Very typical of my reasoning is analogical argumentation (I got my love of that from Cardinal Newman, and it was key in my conversion). Youre trying to make out that Trump is an absolute idiot, different from anyone before him. So I use straightforward analogies showing that, no, hes scarcely different from diplomatic strategies and words employed by both Reagan and Obama. If Im asked whether Trump exaggerates things more than they (including within diplomacy), I would say yes. But I dont see that as the damning indictment that you do. Not my cup of tea, but not earth-shatteringly scandalous and disgraceful. Just . . . different. Ho hum. Yawn . . . ZZZzzzzzzz . . . My friend Al Kresta has a great saying about others, with whom we may not agree on all particulars: I prefer his way of doing things to my way of not doing them. Trump has been very successful on many levels. So, more power to him. As Ive said from the beginning, he is a pragmatic / can-do centrist. America has a long history of that. In fact, its very typically American. Its just that were so far left today and so many Republicans are in bed with liberalism and its failed and stupid (and often, outright immoral) ideas and policies, that they cant see this in the light of history. As Ive said before, I think youre beyond rationality in talking about Trump. Youre incapable of doing it objectively and fairly. And in my opinion, its because (as Ive seen so often in many areas in my hundreds of debates on a myriad of topics) you despise the man and even sometimes fall into flat-out hatred: as you yourself freely admitted. You said it, not I. But it confirmed what we basically knew about virtually all Never Trumpers. This goes beyond mere policy differences: to extreme derision and contempt. And that clouds ones reasoning ability. You are brilliant in theological analysis, as Ive happily noted many times (I praise you a lot more than youve ever praised me, so there is no personal animus here at all). But when you discuss Trump, forget it. Thus, presently, you are reduced essentially to laughing mockery sans any strong or persuasive argument both of Trump and of myself. *** Photo credit: ralfskysegel (8-31-16). Trump graffiti in Melbourne, Australia [Pixabay / Pixabay License] *** Patna: Emboldened criminals in Patna under Digha police station on Saturday rained bullets on a businessman killing him on the spot while sending a wave of panic among other businessmen in the state capital. Ram Bachchan Rai, a building construction material trader, was gunned down on Saturday afternoon around 3:30 pm in Digha when he was going somewhere on his motorcycle. Four criminals on motorcycles forced him to pull over and pumped 8-10 bullets in his head. Rai died on the spot. His body was sent to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for an autopsy. Police believe the victim's neighbor Nakata Rai behind the broad daylight murder of the businessman. According to the police report, Ram Bachchan Rai had a row with Nakata Rai on the day of Holi few days ago. That led to the imprisonment of Nakata Rai. His sons, however, threatened Ram Bachchan Rai of dire consequences saying he will 'pay the price' within ten days for sending their father to jail. The incident has led to a tense situation in the area where large number of policemen were deployed to monitor all activities. Angry residents blocked the road and burnt tires demanding immediate arrests of the killers. Patna: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha was given a warm welcome by his fans at the Patna Airport on Monday following his return from England where he had gone to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution in the areas of art and politics. Sinha, an actor-turned-politician, was honored at a function at the British Parliament. Ashok Kumar Singh, the founder of Parmapara Foundation, an organization aiming for development in the areas of health, culture, and education while also working for the upliftment of poor and destitute, welcomed Sinha with a flower bouquet. The Political and Public Life Award is presented by Britain's Asian Voice, a weekly newspaper.to individuals who have made a significant impact in public life or have made a difference in their local communities. The award function was attended by prominent MPs, business leaders, and members of the British Armed Forces Patna: Senior NDA leaders in Bihar including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Nityanand Rai, Janata Dal U state president Vashisht Narayan Singh, and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Pashupati Kumar Paras, in a display of absolute unity on Friday, held a joint press conference ahead of the Sankalp Rally in Patna on March 3 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to deliver a speech kicking off the election season. Speaking on the occasion, Rai, exuding with confidence, said the crowd at the Gandhi Maidan during Sankalp Rally would be bigger than anything Patna has ever seen before and that would be a sign for things to come in the next few months. There is tremendous enthusiasm among the voters in Bihar and everyone is looking forward to the Prime Ministers speech on March 3rd. This rally is going to be historical in many ways and will be remembered for generations to come, Rai said. Paras, echoing Rais sentiments about the historical importance of the Sankalp Rally, said that the NDA was going to win by a huge margin as people of Bihar had already made up their mind about voting for the NDA candidates. The so-called Mahagathbandhan in Bihar will cease to exist once the poll results are announced. People of Bihar are quite happy with the NDA government at both center and in the state and will not risk development and progress by voting for a corrupt party like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) or Congress, Paras said. Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday flagged off luxury buses that would shuttle between various locations in Bihar and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh making it convenient for those who are unable to get a train ticket or arent able to afford plane tickets. Kumar flagged off the buses from Adhiveshan Bhawan located within the Secretariat campus in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, and senior transport officials. The plan introduced by the Bihar Transport Department and approved by the Uttar Pradesh government features seven brand new luxury Volvo buses that would leave for Ghaziabad via Noida from Patna, Kishanganj, Nalanda, and Buxar. Two out of the seven buses are sleeper buses where passengers would be able to travel in comfort with their own beds, like in 3-tier compartments in trains except more luxurious, making the journey worth the time and money. Five of the buses have comfortable seats that, despite 18-hour-long journey, will not be as tiresome as traveling by a car. In Patna, the buses will leave from Bankipore bus stand at 2:00 pm and after stopping at Mithapur bus stand, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, and Agra, and a drive of nearly 18 hours, will reach the Kaushambi bus stand in Ghaziabad. While the one-way Patna-Ghaziabad ticket in a sleeper bus has been fixed at Rs. 1650, those boarding the bus in Muzaffarpur will pay Rs. 1500 for the same seat. This service will prove to be a major boon for the people in Bihar who will now have another option in traveling to Uttar Pradesh. Depending on its popularity, we may add more buses for different destinations in UP and other states, said Transport Secretary Sanjay Agrawal. Later, responding to a reporters question about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals warning that he will not allow Bihar buses to ply on Delhi roads, Kumar dared Kejriwal to do that saying if he followed up on his threat, Biharis working in Delhi would completely shut down the nations capital paralyzing every aspect of life. Without notifying his followers or even his inner circle, the longtime president of a legacy neo-Nazi group has signed over its control to a black civil rights activist from California. James Hart Stern, a 54-year-old with a history of infiltrating white supremacist groups, is the new leader of the National Socialist Movement. And his first move as president was to address a pending lawsuit against the neo-Nazi group by asking a Virginia judge to find it guilty of conspiring to commit violence at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. Next, he plans to transform the hate group's website into a space for Holocaust history lessons. "I did the hard and dangerous part," Stern told The Washington Post in his first interview since taking over the National Socialist Movement. "As a black man, I took over a neo-Nazi group and outsmarted them." For weeks, the sudden change in power has confounded those who study hate groups and perplexed those within the organization, who have heard nothing from the man who led the Detroit-based hate group for 24 years, former NSM president Jeff Schoep. Schoep has yet to publicly speak on the shake up, but Stern is finally filling in the blanks. On Friday, the activist shared the full story of his unconventional rise to power - an epic tale, he said, that includes infiltration, persuasion and a hint of manipulation. There's a reason, he said, that some call him the "race whisperer." To understand how Stern came to overtake Schoep's organization, you first must understand how the Michigan neo-Nazi came to find the California activist. While serving prison time in Mississippi for mail fraud, Stern formed a relationship with his cellmate and onetime Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Edgar Ray Killen. The KKK leader had been convicted in the Mississippi Burning killings of three civil rights workers. Though Killen regularly called Stern a racial slur, he nevertheless granted his cellmate power of attorney over his life story and estate. Stern was paroled from prison in 2011, and in 2016 he used his legal discretion to dissolve the Klan organization Killen once led. This was his first successful infiltration and the lore of Sterns relationship with the KKK leader is what first drew Schoep in. In 2014, Schoep called Stern without notice to inquire about his relationship with Killen, the activist said. Schoep asked to see the man's prison ID card and said Stern was the first black man his organization had reached out to since Malcolm X. Stern said he searched Schoep's name, discovered he was a white supremacist, then arranged for the two to meet in California for a small race relations summit. The two have fostered a strange kind of relationship ever since, the civil rights activist said. Jeff Schoep, second right in business suit, commander of the National Socialist Movement, and others leave under police protection after a rally against illegal immigration in Pomona, Calif., in 2011. (Thomas R. Cordova/The Orange County Register via AP)AP Schoep and Stern remained firmly entrenched in their own political camps, he said, fundamentally opposed to what the other represents. But they also engaged in regular debate: about the Holocaust, the ugliness of the Nazi swastika, the fallibility of Schoep's white-nationalist ideals and, most critically, the fate of his hate group. The goal, Stern claims, was always to try and change Schoep's mind. From day one, I always told him: I dont agree with you; I dont like you, Stern said. I talked to him because I wanted to hope to change him. Change Schoep's beliefs, Stern did not. But according to Stern's version of recent events, he was able to accomplish the next best thing. In early 2019, Schoep came to Stern for legal advice on the lawsuit, which was filed in 2017 by a Charlottesville counterprotester against NSM and other white-nationalist groups who attended the Unite the Right rally. Schoep seemed rattled, Stern said, and began talking about making a change. I was hoping he was talking about his ideology, Stern said. Instead, the white nationalist leader called NSM an "albatross hanging around his neck" and said he was looking for ways to get out. He still held the same beliefs, Stern said, but he was ready to cut ties with NSM and start a new organization because he felt underappreciated by his followers and left out of the mainstream white-nationalist movement that had swept the country in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Schoep was concerned about the repercussions of the Charlottesville lawsuit and the legal bills he was shouldering, Stern said, and he confided in the California activist as he sought solutions. "I saw a crack in that armor," Stern said. So he encouraged Schoep to get a fresh start - by handing over control of the Detroit-based organization and website to Stern. And Schoep said yes. "He knew that he had the most vulnerable, the most loose-cannon members that they had even had in the organization," Stern said. "He realized somebody was going to commit a crime, and he was going to be held responsible for it." In mid-January, Schoep filed incorporation paperwork with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to formally transfer the National Socialist Movement to Stern, according to documents filed with the state. By Feb. 15, Stern was listed in court documents for the lawsuit as NSM's representative. Stern is not listed as an individual defendant in the suit. Now, he's preparing for what comes next - and seeking guidance from Jewish leaders. Stern said he does not plan to dissolve the corporation because he doesn't want Schoep's followers, or others in the white-nationalist movement, to reincorporate it. Stern admits his plans for the website are still evolving, but his primary goal is to offer it as a reclaimed space to Jewish organizations that could help him educate NSM's followers on the history of the Holocaust. "Everything is out in the open," Stern said. "My plans and intentions are not to let this group prosper. It's my goal to set some hard records right." Schoep took control of NSM in 1994 and was responsible for growing its membership and brand as an organization of Holocaust deniers and Adolf Hitler acolytes. The group maintains a website that draws in millions of visitors from around the world, Stern said, and has organized public rallies across the county. The group, whose members wear SS-like uniforms that mirror those worn in Nazi Germany, was founded under a different name in 1974 by two former officials of the American Nazi Party, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Signing over leadership of an organization this old is the equivalent of a death sentence in the white-nationalist movement, said Keegan Hankes, an SPLC research analyst. Its one of the strangest things Ive seen since I started tracking these things five years ago. Schoep did not respond to a request for comment from The Post on Friday, nor did several of the people listed on the NSM website as leaders within the organization. One man who identifies himself as SS Capt. Harry Hughes III and is listed as the public relations director for NSM, said in an email that he is "not involved in the NSM's legal affairs" and is "not at liberty to discuss anything, until Commander Schoep personally makes a statement." "Just like you and the rest of the media, I'm waiting in suspense, too," Hughes added. Matthew Heimbach, a leading white-nationalist figure who briefly served as community outreach director of the organization last year, told the Associated Press that there has been conflict between NSM's leaders, including Schoep, and its membership. Heimbach estimated the group had 40 dues-paying members last year. The biggest challenge the group has faced, the SPLC's Hankes said, was being outshone by the more refined efforts of new alt-right leaders such as Richard Spencer. There was tension within the organization about the need for a shift to a less violent, less explicit brand of neo-Nazism, he said. "A lot of these groups see [NSM] as extremely detrimental to anything regarding identity politics," Hankes said. Stern told The Post that he and Schoep discussed this infighting and that Schoep expressed a desire to leave NSM behind and start a new organization with less baggage. Though Schoep is no longer legally affiliated with NSM, he still faces the lawsuit because he is listed as a defendant in an individual capacity. "It's definitely not good for him, and it shouldn't be good for him," Stern said. "You spend 25 years terrorizing people, you can't rebrand overnight. It doesn't work like that." From California, where he runs Racial Reconciliation Outreach Ministries, Stern is still sorting through the legal intricacies his new leadership entails. He is currently listed as the attorney representing NSM in court filings, but a judge ruled Friday that he cannot be NSM's lawyer because corporations are not legally authorized to represent themselves in court. Stern said he is working on hiring an outside lawyer to refile his motion for a summary judgment on the lawsuit. He has also offered the plaintiff's attorneys full access to NSM social media accounts, he said - because he claims to own those now, too. Say what you want about me, Stern said. But Ive done this twice now. (c) 2019, The Washington Post Katie Mettler In times of turmoil this week, say the Rev. Phil Amerson ponders the words of the Methodist churchs co-founder. May we not be of one heart, John Wesley wrote, though we are not of one opinion? Amerson, First United Methodist Church San Diegos interim pastor, was among local Methodists wrestling with Tuesdays controversial decision of church delegates meeting in St. Louis. By a vote of 438-384, the General Conference adopted rules banning same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. Im deeply disappointed, said Amerson. And Im especially concerned about the damage this does to gay and lesbian folks in the community. Some fear the new rules could also cause a schism in the nations second-largest Protestant denomination, which trails only the Southern Baptist Convention. (The Methodist churchs 12.6 million adherents include about 7 million Americans.) Is there going to be a split? asked the Rev. Bob Rhodes, lead pastor at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church. I think were closer to that than we ever have been before. Among the denominations progressive believers, the decision was met with dismay. Amerson, the former president of two Methodist seminaries, this week heard from three men who had been studying to become pastors. They wanted to know, How do I leave this denomination? Amerson said. The adopted Traditional Plan was championed by theologically conservative delegates from Africa, the Philippines and other parts of the globe, as well as U.S. churches affiliated with the Ohio-based Wesleyan Covenant Association. The associations web site links falling church attendance in the U.S. to the divisive debate over the churchs sexual ethics The Covenant compared this controversy to the Traditional Plan, which, it said, reaffirms teachings rooted in Scripture and Christian tradition and creates new means for maintaining the good order of the church should those means be necessary. Under the new rules, ministers who perform same-sex weddings could be punished the maximum penalty would be a year-long unpaid suspension. Bishops would be required to ensure that gays and lesbians do not enter the ministry. Critics fear the Traditional Plan could lead to an exodus from the church. Among those who considered this move, at least briefly: Bishop Grant J. Hagiya, the Los Angeles area resident bishop and most senior cleric on the West Coast. With this conservative turn, I have been deeply conflicted, Hagiya wrote late Tuesday. The question is, can I stay in a repressive and oppressive church with integrity? After a sleepless night, I came to a new resolve. I believe I must stay in the UMC and lead our people within the geographical context we find ourselves in the West. Dana Hook, chair of First United Methodists church council and a lesbian, had a similar dark night of the soul. I told my wife, Can we even stay as part of the United Methodist Church? she said. They decided they could, recalling the Mission Valley congregations referendum last June. By an overwhelming majority, worshipers voted to welcome LGBTQ members and clergy, plus endorsed same-sex marriage. Many Methodist congregations have a big tent approach, welcoming all without dwelling on members sexual identities. Some take a more conservative view, while still others like Waters Edge, a Methodist faith community in Ocean Beach occupy the other end of the spectrum. We fly our rainbow flag proudly every Sunday, said Lysa Edward, who worships there. I hope that we all come to the conclusion that we are all Gods children and he loves us the way we are. By Peter Rowe, The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS) Another storm dropped a few more inches of snow on central Pennsylvania overnight. While road conditions are better than they were on Friday morning, conditions are still slick throughout most of the region. Wet and freezing conditions are reported on every major roadway in Dauphin and Cumberland counties, 511PA reports. Farther to the north near Hamburg, snow and slush is reported on Interstate 78. Another snowstorm is forecast for Sunday. An old institution is looking to do a new thing in uptown Harrisburg. Leaders of the Camp Curtin YMCA are seeking grant funds to launch a multi-phase affordable housing plan they hope will serve the triple purpose of breathing new investment in a neighborhood long starved of it, adding quality housing that existing residents can afford, and providing a new stream of revenue for the Y. This proposal is unusual for most YMCAs and a first in Harrisburg, but Camp Curtins executive director Jamien Harvey said he and his board are following the lead of their counterparts in York, where the Y has developed nearly 300 housing units over the last three decades. Camp Curtins project will start much smaller; the first phase may see as few as four or five townhomes on Jefferson Street, to the east of the Ys property. But if it works, Harvey envisions an eventual build-out that could lead to as many as two dozen new homes on the blocks circling the Y property at 2135 N. 6th St., filled with some of the nicest homes that people have seen in this neighborhood for a while, but renting at rates that are affordable to current residents. The goal is to change the nature and the environment of the community a little bit, build some pride back up in the area, Harvey said. The Ys plan and its timeline hinge on grant funding to seed the project. Harvey says applications are pending now for federal Community Development Block Grant funds allocated to the city, and separate funds from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Camp Curtin did recently receive a small allocation from Dauphin Countys share of gaming taxes. The Y would develop and own the new homes, and the grant funding would permit it to rent them to tenant families at rates that low- and low-moderate income households can afford. Thats key in a city where, according to a recent housing market analysis, nearly half of renter households have incomes under $25,000, and the median renter income is just $22,000 a year and new affordable housing development has lagged demand. Harvey said the project is a natural extension of the Camp Curtin Ys role as a nerve center for its part of Harrisburg. While it has long been enhancing its neighbors lives through the programs that it houses, the housing program offers the chance to uplift the streets beyond its doors. What kind of a leader can come to work every day, and walk out his door and see empty lots, beer cans, bottles, drugs, houses that need to be torn down,? Harvey asked. Theres no way I could stand by and watch a community continue to decline. At the same time, Harvey knows the type of development he envisions simply couldnt happen in the conventional housing market because depressed property values in the area have convinced private developers they would never get a return on their investment. Were tearing them down (in Harrisburg), Harvey noted, but no ones putting them up. Camp Curtin Y hopes to change that narrative in the not-too-distant future. All eyes are on the forecast for Sunday as a winter storm is expected to drop even more snow on central Pennsylvania. Forecasts indicate the snow will begin on Sunday afternoon, and persist into early Monday morning. PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike have announced tentative vehicle restrictions ahead of the storm. Heres how much snow is forecasted from various weather agencies: National Weather Service National Weather Service predicts that 6 to 8 inches of snow will fall throughout central Pennsylvania. 3-2-2019 610 am: Winter Storm Watch posted for roughly the southeast half of Pennsylvania Sunday. Expect snow to arrive... Posted by US National Weather Service State College PA on Saturday, March 2, 2019 AccuWeather AccuWeather predicts 3 to 6 inches of snow throughout most of the state. A section of the northern part of the state could see as much as a foot of snow. The entire state is expected to see plowable snow as a result of the weekend storm. ABC27 In a post Saturday morning, ABC27 meteorologist Adis Juklo predicted the track of the storm has moved to the mid-Atlantic coast. That track will help keep central Pennsylvania cold enough for what he called a moderate snow event of about 6 inches. A weather graphic indicates 4 to 8 inches is possible across the region. WGAL WGAL predicts 1-3 inches in areas north of Harrisburg. For Harrisburg and areas south to the border with Maryland, 3-7 inches are predicted. Third winter storm to arrive Sunday afternoon https://t.co/M9UzDMKniZ pic.twitter.com/xqVZK6f9d2 WGAL (@WGAL) March 2, 2019 CBS21 In a morning post, CBS21 meteorologist Tom Russell predicted 3-6 inches of snow that will persist from late Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening. WILLIAMSPORT - The vice president of the Aryan Strikeforce has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a scheme to transport weapons and drugs across state lines. Stephen D. Davis, 49, is the first of six indicted members of the white nationalist organization to be sentenced. Because of the time Davis has been detained since his arrest in 2017, he will be released from prison in four months if given good conduct credit. The sentenced handed down Friday by U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann also includes a $200 fine and a two-year period of supervised release during which he may not have contact with any member of a white supremacy organization. Davis was facing a sentence in the range of 37 to 47 months, but Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel agreed to a 30-month term. In return, Davis, formerly of Bumpass, Virginia, agreed not to appeal. He pleaded guilty in August to a charge of possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He had been convicted previously in 2014. Davis admitted in early October 2016 he traveled from Virginia to Potter County with a shotgun and a 9mm pistol and gave them to another strikeforce member who had served 10 years for aggravated assault. Strikeforce members met in Potter County in September and October of that year. "One of the goals of the Aryan Strikeforce was to provide firearms in preparation for a race war," Brann said. The organization's stated mission is "to protect the honor of our women, children and the future of our race and nation" using violence as a necessary tool, Rocktashel has pointed out at previous court proceedings. Three other strikeforce members, Joshua Michael Steever of Manville, New Jersey, Connor Drew Dikes of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Henry Lambert David of the Allentown area, have pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and are awaiting sentencing. They admitted taking part in meetings in 2017 with undercover FBI employees to plan the transportation of imitation crystal methamphetamine and machine gun parts from Pennsylvania to Maryland. Those meetings took place in the Harrisburg area, Philipsburg, New Jersey, and Staunton, Virginia, besides Potter County. Jacob Marks Robards of Bethlehem and Justin Daniel Lough of Waynesboro, Virginia, are awaiting trial. Robards has joined Lough in fighting their indictments by accusing the government of outrageous conduct by conceiving, planning and directing the scheme. Rocktashel claims they were willing participants. Hoosick Fall, N.Y. is one of many U.S. communities whose drinking water has been contaminated with PFOA or PFOS. AP Photo/Mike Groll, File After more than a year of community meetings and deliberations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in February 2019 that it would begin the process of regulating two drinking water contaminants, seeking to stem a growing national public health crisis. If EPA follows through, this would be the first time in nearly 20 years that it has set an enforceable standard for a new chemical contaminant under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The chemicals at issue, PFOA and PFOS, have contaminated drinking water supplies across the country affecting millions of Americans. They belong to a class of synthetic chemicals called PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that are widely used in products including firefighting foams, waterproof apparel, stain-resistant furniture, food packaging and even dental floss. These chemicals have been linked with numerous health problems, including cancers, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, low birth weight and effects on the immune system. Studies show exposure to PFAS in children can dampen the effectiveness of vaccines a topic my colleagues and I are currently investigating as part of a project called PFAS-REACH. In laboratory studies, low levels of PFAS can alter mammary gland development, which could have implications for increasing breast cancer susceptibility later in life. Whats more, PFAS are highly persistent. Once released into the environment, they dont break down a fact that has led many to dub these substances forever chemicals. A persistent problem PFAS have been used for decades, but only in the last few years have we begun to grasp the full extent of contamination. A 2016 study reported that over 16 million Americans are exposed to these contaminants in drinking water, and a more recent estimate put that number at 110 million. PFAS find their way into water supplies from military fire training areas and airports, as well as industrial sites and wastewater treatment plants. For instance, in 2010 my colleagues and I at the nonprofit Silent Spring Institute, which studies links between environmental chemicals and womens health, first detected PFAS in public and private drinking water wells on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Department of Defense has identified approximately 400 current or former military sites with known or suspected contamination, stemming mostly from use of firefighting foams. Today there are more than 4,700 PFAS substances in use. All are chemically similar and highly persistent. The United States phased PFOS out of products in 2000 and PFOA in 2006, but they are still turning up widely in drinking water, which is why states want EPA to set standards specifying what levels of exposure are safe. Meanwhile, studies suggest that some newer PFAS chemicals have similar health effects, and most have not been studied at all. Scientists are working hard to better understand these chemicals in order to mitigate the publics exposure. For example, researchers at the STEEP Superfund Research Program, a multi-institutional effort which I am a part of, are investigating how these chemicals move through the environment, their chemical characteristics, how they accumulate in our bodies, and their impacts on our health. A shifting landscape EPA has been considering regulating PFOS and PFOA in drinking water since 2009. The agencys recent announcement is a step in the right direction, but still only addresses these two chemicals in drinking water and any new federal standard wont be fully implemented for years. Earlier this year my colleagues and I published an analysis in which we showed wide variation in the way state and federal regulators manage these contaminants in drinking water. We found that seven states have their own guideline levels for PFOA and PFOS. Of these, Vermont, Minnesota and New Jersey have adopted levels that are more stringent than EPAs current non-enforceable levels. More recently, New Hampshire, New York and California have also proposed guideline levels lower than EPAs. The day after EPA announced its plan, Pennsylvania officials announced they would create their own standards, citing concerns about EPAs sluggish efforts to address the issue. Meanwhile, some states are developing their own guidelines covering additional PFAS chemicals. For instance, Minnesota has included in its guidelines a chemical called PFBS, which is used in Scotchgard. North Carolina regulators are focusing their efforts on a substitute called GenX that seeped into local water supplies from a plant upstream and has been detected in their air and soil. A key question now is how EPAs drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS will compare with what states are doing. Will the agency consider the full body of scientific evidence on health risks associated with exposure to this class of chemicals when setting a safe limit in drinking water? Will it consider effects on sensitive populations, such as pregnant women and children? Although the science is still evolving, one thing is clear: The more we learn about these chemicals, the more we see health effects at lower and lower levels. It is important to give states latitude to adopt more stringent approaches than those set by EPA, and a lot can be learned from how states set guidelines. However, the emerging regulatory patchwork raises concerns that some Americans are not adequately protected. Some states have the resources and technical know-how to conduct their own risk assessments, but others may lack the funding and expertise. Political and social factors, as well as pressure from industry, can lead to wide disparities in exposure, with some communities protected and others left vulnerable. A federal standard would ensure that everyone is protected, regardless of whether their states have the will and the resources to develop their own standards. Its all in the family EPAs plan includes other steps that sound promising, such as listing PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the Superfund law to establish liability for contamination and support cleanup, enhanced monitoring in drinking water, and better reporting of releases from industry. But the plan largely focuses on addressing problems at existing contaminated sites, not on keeping these chemicals out of water supplies and the environment. Conducting risk assessments on individual PFAS compounds one at a time is impractical. As a result, many advocacy groups and scientists including my colleagues at the Green Science Policy Institute are calling for these chemicals to be regulated as a class. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA has authority to restrict approval of new toxic chemicals. But in reality, new ones are approved all the time without thorough evaluations. Given concerns about the extreme persistence and mobility of PFAS compounds, in my view it makes good sense to restrict this entire class of chemicals. There are precedents for such action. In 1979 the United States banned PCBs after these persistent and toxic chemicals became widespread in the environment. The global community banned chlorofluorocarbons in 1996 when scientists learned that they damage Earths stratospheric ozone layer. And in 2017 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to ban an entire class of toxic flame retardants from consumer products. There is ample evidence for treating PFAS the same way. The question is whether federal regulators have the will. Laurel Schaider, Visiting Scientist, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Your recent story (Facing another year of stagnant state funding, nursing homes warn of potential closures, 2/21/19) about the governors proposed budget was spot onunfortunately. There are winners and losers in his proposal. Pennsylvania has one of the countrys largest senior populations. In fact, three-quarters of the states Medicaid budget pays for the care of just one quarter of the population seniors and individuals with disabilities. Medicaid enrollment for home and community-based services for seniors has doubled from last year at this timeyes, the Baby Boomers are here! So to speak in a language Boomers will remember, this proposal feels a lot like the famous Dialing for Dollars show but with much higher stakes. Seniors who rely on services through Medicaid cant just spin the wheel and hope that it lands on adequate funding so they can stay at home as they age. We must invest in a real strategy for how this commonwealth is going to care for and support its growing senior population. There was no mention in the governors budget proposal of an investment like this to support access to home-based care for seniors by ensuring an adequate reimbursement rate for providers to recruit and retain the best caregivers. Medicaid homecare rates are regional, and range from $17.52 to 19.52/hour. It is critical for providers to pay a good hourly wage to caregivers who are providing care in seniors homes, but the Medicaid rates leave little room for other operating costs such as the required background checks and TB screenings, training, workers compensation, scheduling, and payroll taxes. Your article noted that nursing homes have not had a Medicaid rate increase in five years. Nor have homecare agencies that bring care into the homes of more than 60,000 individuals under the Medicaid program. In the coming months, we will read and hear a lot about budget negotiations. We believe that all segments of our population from the very young, to people with disabilities, to seniors who are dependent on state funding deserve our attention. And we hope that the governor and lawmakers will recognize the contribution our seniors have made to the state and to their communities, and do the right thing by making them a top priority. It is important to not only address Medicaid, but other rights and protections for seniors. Pennsylvania has gone three years without an Older Adult Protective Services (OAPSA) law to provide protections for this vulnerable population. And most illogical is an outdated Medicaid rule that entitles all qualified citizens to receive care in a nursing home but not in their own private home. A step in the right direction would be for the legislature to pass House Bill 51 to level this playing field and allow homecare agencies to do an abbreviated financial assessment and determine someone is likely eligible for Medicaid-funded homecare immediately while the full financial determination is being completed, just like nursing homes are permitted to do. We firmly believe that no one group should compete against another for Medicaid dollars. Rather, we believe that Pennsylvania must provide a strategy to care for and support Pennsylvanias growing older population. We urge the governor and lawmakers to remember this group and provide resources not only for those in the dawn of life children but also for those in the twilight of life seniors. -- Vicki Hoak is the CEO of the Pennsylvania Homecare Association. A Day in Nafplio, Greece A Day in Nafplio, Greece you dont want to miss this picturesque Greek town. It is one of the most beautiful cities Ive ever been to. It is a great place to spend the day shopping and enjoying some gelato! Athens Poros Today we are continuing my trip to Greece. I started the trip in, and then we went to. Today I am sharing my FAVORITE place Nafplio, Greece. It was BEAUTIFUL. I could have spent the entire day photographing this picturesque town. My only regret is that we only had a few hours to explore before we had to head back to Poros. Nafplio is a great place to relax and so some shopping. AHI Travel I went to Greece with a tour group,. I booked it through Auburn University. Our tour group was small. We had about 15 people on the tour. We had people from Auburn University, University of Missouri, and Western University. The trip was 7 nights in Greece. Two nights in Athens and five nights in Poros I really loved the tour group. Ive already booked another trip with them for this year. We arrived in Nafplio at lunch time. We had lunch with the group and then free time to explore on our own. View of the castle of Palamidi. The fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area (16861715). Unfortunately, we didnt have time to go up to the top. I know the views of Nafplio would have been amazing! Constitution Square This is my favorite photo from Nafplio. It is the entrance to one of the shopping streets. I blew this up and it is hanging in our house. LOVE it! How cute is the entrance to this restaurant? I loved the streets of Nafplio. SO beautiful. Another view of castle of Palamidi. I would love to come back and check out the castle. This is a car rental place. SO cute! We spent the time we had walking around and going into the shops. We bought some olive oil and local honey in this shop. I just used the honey this week on some Greek naan bread. It is SO good! Adorable!!! We finished the trip with some delicious gelato. Italy The owner was from Italy. I could really tell. The gelato was as good as what I ate in We got a great view of Bourtzi Castle as we waited for our bus. It is a Venetian castle in the middle of the Nafplio harbor. I hope you enjoyed the quick photo tour of beautiful Nafplio, Greece!! Nanga Parbat in winter, photographed from Base Camp at the end of December 2018. There has been no news from Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard since Sunday 24 February when the two were above 6000 meters on the Mummery Rib. Photo by Daniele Nardi, Tom Ballard Nanga Parbat in winter, photographed from Base Camp. There has been no news from Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard since Sunday 24 February when the two were above 6000 meters on the Mummery Rib. Photo by Daniele Nardi, Tom Ballard Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi at Nanga Parbat in winter. There has been no news from Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard since Sunday 24 February when the two were above 6000 meters on the Mummery Rib. Photo by Daniele Nardi, Tom Ballard Nanga Parbat: fundraising appeal for Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard search operations 02.03.2019 by by Planetmountain While the poor weather conditions in the Nanga Parbat area are hindering the search for Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard, a group of friends has launched the following appeal for funds in order to try everything possibile in order to find the two alpinists who have been missing since Sunday 24 February. "We are the friends of Daniele Nardi. Daniele and mountaineer Tom Ballard have been missing since Sunday, February 24. They were attempting to scale the Mummery Ridge of the Nanga Parbat mountain in the Himalayas. Since then, rescue operations have been underway attempting to find Daniele and Tom. We are so grateful for everyone who has led these rescue efforts on the ground. The helicopter rescue operation costs roughly 50,000 per day. Donations to help support these costs are graciously appreciated. Any unused donations will be donated to the schools of Pakistan where Daniele has regularly donated school materials and medicine on this and past expeditions. To stay up to date on the latest progress of the rescue operation, visit Daniele's Facebook page. Thank you so much for anything you're able to contribute." - Click here to make a donation By Robert Iafolla (Reuters) The U.S. Labor Department on Friday defended its authority to use salary levels to decide who was eligible for overtime pay but distanced itself from an Obama administration rule that greatly expanded the number of qualifying workers. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the Labor Department has continued to fight a challenge to an Obama administration-era rule to raise the pay threshold for overtime eligibility. But it has not endorsed the former administrations move to nearly double that threshold, an increase strongly opposed by business groups. The Labor Department told a federal appeals court on Friday it had the power to use salaries to set thresholds for mandatory overtime pay, without advocating for the $47,500 maximum salary level set by the department under Obama. The Labor Department is challenging a November decision from a federal judge in Texas that blocked the Obama rule, a decision that the department said could prevent it from setting a new threshold below that set by the Obama administration. The Obama rule was expected to extend overtime pay eligibility to more than 4 million salaried workers. Nevada and 20 other states sued last year to block the rule. Business groups criticized the increase as too drastic and costly, potentially forcing employers to convert salaried workers to hourly wages. Trumps Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta said during his confirmation hearing in March that the correct threshold might be around $33,000. The Labor Department took initial steps earlier this week to begin developing a new threshold. In its Friday brief to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, the Labor Department made it clear it did not support the salary threshold developed under Obama. But the department told the court it was reluctant to move forward with the rulemaking necessary to set a new threshold as long as its authority was in question. Nevada and the other states have said that the use of a salary threshold to determine overtime eligibility has been controversial for decades, but appeals courts allowed it because it had been set low enough to exempt management workers. But the Obama administration rule is far more drastic, the states said, expanding overtime pay to tens of thousands of state employees. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, criticized the Labor Departments handling of the appeal, saying in a statement that the administration appears to be preparing to roll back overtime protections for millions of workers. (Reporting by Robert Iafolla; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Andrew Hay) 6.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that Congress wants to investigate Trump for various financial crimes, including fraud against the US government. Sen. Blumenthal said on MSNBCs The Beat with Ari Melber: They are made necessary by the Ways and Means Committee wanting and protect the public against the kind of tax fraud that was revealed very dramatically in the in the Cohen hearings. Inflating the value s of properties to insurance companies or banks. Thats against the lawIts fraud. Thats fraud against those insurance companies. Its bank fraud. It could be fraud against the government. Also, deflating the values for tax purposes, thats tax fraud. But also I think what strikes me about the Cohen testimony is the kind of Pandoras box it opened. Not only in terms of witnesses but also potential crimes. Video: Sen. Richard Blumenthal talking about Trumps potential financial crimes, Thats fraud against those insurance companies. Its bank fraud. It could be fraud against the government. https://t.co/YCJWqrhnYO pic.twitter.com/7ykCwh0Xqu PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 1, 2019 Rachel Maddow gave a crystal clear example from the Cohen testimony of how Trump committed bank fraud. Those who claimed that there was nothing new in the Cohen hearing missed a treasure trove of new information. The takeaway from the Cohen testimony is that Trumps financial crimes are more comprehensive than anyone could imagine. Trump is and was engaged in a wide variety of fraud. Trump cheated banks. Trump cheated insurance companies. Trump cheated the United States government. Congress will be investigating it all. The most interesting potential investigation will be into whether Trump conspired to defraud the United States. Trump would have cheated the United States if he lied to the government to get any asset, contract, assistance, subsidy, or loan. Donald Trump never wanted his tax returns released because they will reveal the extent of his fraud. Congress is going to get his tax returns, and the conmans great con will finally be exposed. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 4.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said she has information about Trump avoid taxes by having his income dumped into his charitable foundation. Waters said on All In with Chris Hayes, This president has lied about his tax returns. He said that were being audited, and because of that, he could not share them. But hes never intended to share his tax returns because he knows were going to find out a lot about him the lies hes been telling. What I really want to know is whether or not he performed services that he got paid for he did not want to pay taxes and told people to put the money in the foundation. Ive even got calls for people close to this information sharing it with me and it may be information I give to the Ways and Means Committee. Well see how to work it, but theres a lot of information about how it was used or misused. Video: Rep. Maxine Waters hints a massive Trump crime, What I really want to know is whether or not he performed services that he got paid for he did not want to pay taxes and told people to put the money in the foundation. https://t.co/XDNEes6gbH #Inners pic.twitter.com/B2vMu7cQf1 PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 2, 2019 Maxine Waters Is Accusing Trump Of Tax Fraud Rep. Waters chairs the House Banking Committee, so any information that she has related to Trump misusing his foundation to dodge taxes would have to be turned over to the Ways and Means Committee. Waters was correct. Trumps tax returns are likely to reveal a laundry list of financial crimes. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has stated that Congress will be looking at Trump for bank fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud, and defrauding the US government. The problem for Trump as pointed out by Michael Cohen is that the fraud didnt stop when Trump entered politics. The statute of limitations is not up on Trumps potential crimes, which is why Trump is so desperate to win a second term. The only thing standing between Trump and a criminal indictment is the presidency. Evidence of Trumps criminal activity is everywhere. Maxine Waters is now Trumps worst nightmare. Waters in power, and using her position to dig up the truth about Trump. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Nicolle Wallace played two clips of Rep. Mark Meadows to demonstrate that the Republican congressman is a card-carrying member of the racist birther movement. Rep. Meadows (R-NC) was outraged over suggestions of his racism during the Michael Cohen hearing, but Nicolle Wallace showed that Meadows has a years-long history of trafficking in racism. Wallace said, Congressman mark meadows, outraged after his behavior during Michael Cohens public testimony was called racist. His track record suggests it might not be such a reach. Listen to what he says a few years back about President Obama. She then played clips of Meadows saying: 2012 is the time were going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is. Were going to do it. If were doing our job from a harassment standpoint, we wont have to worry about it. Well send him back home to Kenya or wherever it is. Wallace continued, Send him back to Kenya. Hes not from Kenya. I think he knows basic the most racist thing that sort of went on, on the right. I used to spend some time the right, was this birther movement. He seems like a card-carrying member way back when. And we didnt catch it by accident. We took ten minutes and found two clips. Video: Nicolle Wallace on Mark Meadows, Congressman Mark Meadows, outraged after his behavior during Michael Cohens public testimony was called racist. His track record suggests it might not be such a reach. https://t.co/mgeLZEpRZB pic.twitter.com/Y2yutAmQhm Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 2, 2019 Long before Donald Trump, racism was the Republican Partys get out the vote strategy against Obama. Everyone knew what the birther conspiracy that Donald Trump built his political base was really about. Republicans were trying to turn the black man in the White House into an illegitimate president. Rep. Meadows knew that Obama wasnt from Kenya, but he also knew that going birther was good politics for a House Republican. It fired up the base. Mark Meadows doesnt get to be outraged when he gets called out for his racism. As Nicolle Wallace showed, the fact is that Meadows has spent years building is a career on racism. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and tells Obama to go back to Kenya, then its probably a racist. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday ordered President Donald Trumps former political adviser Roger Stone to stop speaking publicly about Robert Muellers criminal case against him, or else he will be sent to jail pending trial. He agreed to do that, but he neglected to tell the judge about his upcoming tell all book that is critical of her. Late last night The Washington Post reported that: Jackson has ordered Stones attorneys to explain why they failed to tell her before now about the imminent publication of a book that could violate his gag order by potentially criticizing the judge or prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The order came barely eight days after Jackson barred Stone from speaking publicly about his case, prompted by a photo posted on Stones Instagram account that placed a crosshairs next to a photo of Jacksons head. Clearly Jackson is very upset at Stone. She pointed out in her order that he could have and should have brought up his upcoming book during his recent hearings involving his gag order. Judge Jackson is demanding that Roger Stone explain his book stunt by this Monday, March 4th. The question is whether shell revoke Roger Stones bail on Monday, which would result in Stone either being thrown in jail or placed under house arrest. The decision is based solely on her personal judgment, and she has complete discretion in the matter. Stone did apologize last week for abusing Jacksons trust, and he did humble himself by asking for a second chance. Clearly he does not want to go to jail. But Jackson said when she imposed the gag order on February 21 that it would be foolhardy to wait for Stone to violate her order again. She told him that she had serious doubts whether youve learned any lesson at all. And she warned him that she would order him to jail for future violations. Although Stone has been released on an unsecured personal recognizance bond and allowed to travel between South Florida, Washington and New York City, that may be coming to an end. And Roger Stones time as a free man may also be coming to an end very soon. 1.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The Russian state-run television network mocked President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un because of the sudden collapse of the talks between the two leaders this week. It ended so badly the sides even avoided signing any joint agreement, one host said, according to a translation reported by CNN. Crafty Kim Jong Un was ready for some concessions, but not the ones Trump reportedly wanted. Another Russia reported reportedly called the results meager. Overall very, very meager for such a pompous summit, the reporter said, according to the CNN translation. The Russian commentators reportedly went so far as to suggest that the United States would actually invade North Korea with military force if Kim Jong Un gave in to the demands of Western nations and surrendered his countrys arsenal of nuclear warheads and missiles. Talks between Trump and Kim in Vietnam collapsed on Thursday as the two leaders reportedly failed to reach an agreement concerning the reduction or elimination of sanctions. Trump defended his decision to terminate the negotiations, saying sometimes you have to walk. North Koreans, however, said that they made the decision to end the summit, and not Trump. This makes Trump look even weaker and less in control of a volatile situation. To make things look even worse for the U.S. president, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is now putting together its own summit meeting with Kim Jong Un, according to CNN. This meeting is on the agenda, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said. We will continue to coordinate this with our North Korean counterparts through diplomatic channels. The conclusion we can draw from this is the Donald Trump is a horrible negotiator despite his boasts to the contrary. On top of that, everybody knows how weak and needy he is, and other countries can use that to their advantage. With Donald Trump in charge the United States does not stand to gain anything from negotiating with the brutal dictator who runs North Korea. Instead, Trump is weakening U.S. security interests, as well as putting our regional allies Japan and South Korea at greater risk. The entire summit disgrace was an embarrassment to America, and Donald Trump should be deeply ashamed. Russia and its president Vladimir Putin had good reason to mock our president. We would be much better off if he was not in the White House. 7.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Trumps hours-long CPAC rant had a central theme. The president is terrified because Democrats are investigating his finances Trump said: They fight so hard on this witch hunt, this phony deal they put together, this phony thing that looks like its dying. So they dont have anything with Russia. Theres no collusion. Now they go and morph into lets inspect every deal hes ever done. Were going to go into his finances. Were going to check his deals. Were going to check these people are sick. I saw little shifty Schiff yesterday. Its the first time he went into a meeting and he said were going to look into his finances. I said where did that come from? He always talked about Russia, collusion with Russia, the collusion delusion. Now we have people that lost and unfortunately, you put the wrong people in a couple of positions. And they leave people for a long time that shouldnt be there. And all of a sudden, theyre trying to take you out with bullshit, okay? Video: Trump had an epic meltdown because Democrats are investigating his finances. https://t.co/I75GHahkz0 pic.twitter.com/WK6Nzkq1uo Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 2, 2019 Trump is losing it because Democrats are following the money. Adam Schiff did say that they will be looking into the presidents finances. The problem for Trump isnt that Democrats are looking at his deals as Trump falsely claimed at CPAC. Democrats are looking at Trump for bank fraud, financial fraud, tax fraud, and even fraud against the US government. Rep. Maxine Waters suggested that Trump tried to avoid paying taxes by laundering income through his charitable foundation. There was no leadership in Trumps CPAC speech. Donald Trump ranted like a cornered career criminal because that is what he is. Fraud is the Trump family business, and the president is getting very uncomfortable because Democrats are digging where the crimes are buried. The president is crumbling, and his unhinged CPAC ranted revealed that the end is near. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 2.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Why did Donald Trumps Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta give a very lenient plea deal to Donald Trumps friend, serial child rapist Jeffrey Epstein, when Acosta was a federal prosecutor? Why did Trump reward Acosta a few years later by giving him a position in his cabinet? These are questions that many people want answers to, and now it looks like were finally going to get those answers. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into the Epstein-Acosta case. The DOJ is looking into whether federal attorneys, including Acosta, committed professional misconduct in Epsteins criminal case. And now House Democrats have also asked new Attorney General William Barr to reopen the criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, based on a recent ruling by a federal judge that Epsteins plea deal was illegal. According to the Miami Herald: Fourteen Democratic members of Congress have asked the U.S. attorney general to reopen the criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old Palm Beach hedge fund manager accused of sexually trafficking underage girls. The group, led by Florida Democrats Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel, and Jackie Speier of California, asked President Donald Trumps new attorney general, William Barr, to reopen the controversial non-prosecution agreement under which Epstein and a group of unidentified co-conspirators received federal immunity for sex trafficking crimes. The deal, negotiated by then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta who is now President Donald Trumps labor secretary allowed Epstein to plead guilty in state court to two felony prostitution charges. He served 13 months in the Palm Beach County jail, but had his private driver pick him up at the jail six days a week to go to his downtown office in West Palm Beach as part of an unusual work-release arrangement. William Barrs response to this request will tell us a lot about how he will do his job as Trumps attorney general. But this new development is about something much more important than just William Barr. If the Epstein case is now brought back into the public eye were about to learn the details of Donald Trumps involvement with Epsteins sex parties with young teenage girls and also about the presidents involvement in the coverup of Epsteins crimes. There is no question Jeffrey Epstein should go to prison for the rest of his life. But its not clear that House Democrats or the DOJ can make that happen. But we do know this: House Democrats have decided to focus on the Epstein-Acosta-Trump scandal. If William Barr and the Department of Justice dont give them the information theyve requested they will start holding hearings. If they do, the Democrats are likely to subpoena Labor Secretary Acosta and grill him in public during televised hearings. Democrats and the American people want to know why Acosta gave such a sweetheart deal to a serial child rapist that was no more than a slap on the wrist. They also want to know why Donald Trump rewarded Acosta with a cabinet job. If these public, televised hearings show that Donald Trump was involved with Epsteins multiple rapes of underage girls, then this is entire affair about to get much more ugly, and much more politically dangerous for the president. It may even be enough for him to lose support among Evangelical Christians. But that remains to be seen. Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Adam Parker has covered many beats and topics for The Post and Courier, including race and history, religion, and the arts. He is the author of "Outside Agitator: The Civil Rights Struggle of Cleveland Sellers Jr.," published by Hub City Press. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Thunder possible. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Thunder possible. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine. Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication. U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-Charleston, calls for U.S. Senators to take action Friday, March 1, 2019 after the House of Representatives passed a pair of gun reform measures this week. One of the bills seeks to close the so-called "Charleston loophole," a glitch in the law that allowed Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof to purchase a gun when an FBI background check took more than three days to complete. Caitlin Byrd/Staff Are you yearning to take a "time out"? Find a day to unplug and pause from the stresses and demands of life. You are invited to come spend a quiet day in solitude at Assisi Heights, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday Ash Wednesday. We will gather to begin and end the day in prayer, spending the remainder of the day in solitude. You will have a private room and prepared lunch. Options include attending liturgy, praying in the chapel, enjoying the "outdoor cathedral" of Assisi Heights, and/or taking a siesta. A pre-arranged meeting with a spiritual director is available if you wish. Admission is $40 preregistered/prepaid. Includes lunch. Register online, tinyurl.com/y5lwydyo, or call 507-280-2195. Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW. St. Marks suspends suppers through Lent LAKE CITY St. Marks Episcopal Church would like to announce that the monthly community suppers will be suspended during the Lenten Season, March 6 through April 21. Our next community supper will be held on Wednesday, May 8. On Ash Wednesday, March 6, St. Marks Holy Eucharist and distribution of ashes service will be at 4 p.m. at the Lake City Care Center Chapel. Everyone wishing to receive distribution of ashes is welcome to attend. Rev. Phillip McNairy will be the Celebrant with Deacon Lynne Sprick assisting. We look forward to resuming our community suppers in May and welcome everyone to enjoy our home-cooked meals the second Wednesday of every month. St. Marks welcomes newcomers and/or guests to join its Sunday service at 10 a.m., except the fifth Sunday when St. Marks takes its service to the Lake City Care Center Chapel at 10 a.m. The service is open to residents and guests. St. Marks is located at 110 S. Oak Street, Lake City across from Patton Park. Its the church with the historic red door. Assisi Heights hosts Lenten meditation The afternoon begins at 4 p.m. Thursday with a brief invocation on the Lenten theme followed by your own personal reflection/mediation in Lourdes Chapel. Donations Appreciated. More information/register: tinyurl.com/y3eozequ, or call 507-280-2195. Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW. Join A Time for Women at Autumn Ridge Opal Richardson, a Rochester family law lawyer, will speak at A Time for Women this week with a presentation titled "Caring for Families." The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Autumn Ridge Church, 3611 Salem Road SW, Rochester. Also on the program, a demo by Samantha Beach featuring "Beading Mission, Revive Hope Goods," a mission she helped start overseas. There will also be open beading with Sandie Luck and Mert Armstrong. This group is for women to enjoy, learn, relax and connect with others. Refreshments will be served and all women are invited to attend. For questions or more information, call or text 507-269-7653 and leave a message. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/a.time.for.women. The Way of the Cross: A Franciscan tradition Devotion for the Way of the Cross was promoted by Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751), a great Franciscan preacher who established the concept of 14 stations. Learn the practice of having stations in churches, and more importantly, the benefit of this devotion for our spiritual journey, and understand the historical perspective and inspirational content of this Lenten devotion. Sister Ramona Miller has led many pilgrimages and has visited the friary in Rome where St. Leonard is venerated. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. March 9 at Assisi Heights in Rochester. Admission is $10 preregistered/prepaid; $15 at the door. Register online, tinyurl.com/y2glf5u8, or call 507-280-2195. Assisi Heights is at 1001 14th St. NW. The deep desire among Democrats to beat President Donald Trump in 2020 is filling the chairs in Iowa homes and meeting halls as candidates parade through the state. Even though the states first-in-the-nation caucuses wont be held for another 11 months, large and energetic crowds more typical of much later in the campaign are turning out to take the measure of what probably will be the biggest field of Democratic presidential candidates in a generation. But among Iowans, theres still no agreement on who would be best to take on the incumbent president. Three of the Democrats have gotten approving mentions from voters and are consistently drawing people out into the cold and snow: Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who spent the entire weekend in the state and weathered the most recent winter storm, as well as Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. "We want someone whos definitely gonna take Trump out," said Naomi Mendez, a 42-year-old educator from Des Moines who views Harris and Warren as the two most electable among the at least dozen candidates so far. "Im looking for that strong candidate thats gonna make it to the end." They are activated The mobs of Democrats turning out so far this year are an extension of the wave of energy that powered the partys gain of 40 Republican-held seats to seize the U.S. House majority in last Novembers midterm congressional elections. Lots of Iowans became politically active for the first time last year and are now looking to the White House campaign, said J. Ann Selzer, a longtime pollster in Iowa. "They are activated, and they feel like they can change things," she said. "Its not like hoping for change. Its making change." A Monmouth University poll released Feb. 4 showed 56 percent of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents nationally prefer someone who would be a strong candidate against Trump, even if they disagree with that candidate on most issues. Just 33 percent said they would prefer a nominee who theyre aligned with on the issues even if that person would have a hard time beating Trump. The candidate viewed as most likely to beat Trump, of course, is a moving target. Someone who looks like a winner now could easily stumble before the caucuses begin in early February 2020. While Harris, Warren and Booker have gotten good early reviews from many Iowans, others say theyre attracted to Sens. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, and Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, because their electoral history suggests an ability to win in both urban and rural America. Brown has visited Iowa and other early nominating states, but he hasnt decided on making a bid. During a stop at the state capitol on a windy, rainy Saturday, Harris urged Democrats to harness their anger and turn it into political change. She joked that she knows theyre "yelling at the TV," "throwing things," and engaging in "individual and group therapy." At a popular tavern thats a fixture in Iowa City, dozens of people stood outside the room where Kirsten Gillibrand was speaking on a recent frigid night because they couldnt force their way into a jam-packed venue where the junior senator from New York was standing. On his first trip to the state as an official candidate earlier this month, Booker was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, including a standing-room-only event in Cedar Rapids on a Friday evening where attendees had to navigate an icy parking lot. Intimate events Crowd size isnt a perfect metric. These are not arena-sized events, and the caucuses themselves are relatively low-turnout affairs. Campaigns have an easier time building them on their initial trips through the early nominating states than later in the year, after activists have seen them in person already once or multiple times. Former President Barack Obama, then the junior senator from Illinois, drew huge audiences on his first visits to Iowa as a declared candidate in February 2007. His campaign later sought to create more intimate events to try to showcase his ability to answer voter questions. The depth and breadth of Democrats who want to take on Trump is illustrated on Anna Wittmuss iPhone. She already has selfie photos with 11 active and prospective presidential candidates. She has images with Harris, Warren, Booker and Klobuchar, as well as candidates who barely register in the polls or havent officially decided on joining the race. In the former category is South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former technology executive Andrew Yang, former Rep. John Delaney and self-help author Marianne Williamson. In the latter group is Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "There are a lot more people at the events and a lot earlier," said Wittmuss, a 57-year-old speech pathologist from West Des Moines. "People dont want Trump, and they want to make an educated decision." Wanted: Decent Democrat Wittmuss, like many voters interviewed, said shes happy to have the smorgasbord of choices. Unlike the 2016 Democratic nomination race, this one is so wide open because the party establishment isnt directing the race with money or endorsements. Some top Democrats, Obama in particular, have indicated theyre unlikely to weigh in anytime soon. With so many competitors coming from the U.S. Senate, the deluge of candidate events has been especially heavy on weekends when Congress isnt in session. Conveniently for the candidates, its also when its typically easiest to build a big crowd. "It seems like Friday, Saturday and Sunday Im seeing candidates," said Luanne Pedrick, 63, a health care data analyst who, for now, is most interested in Harris and Booker. "I feel like we are so privileged here to be able to see all these people. I always want to give them a fair shot to have their say." Samantha Kuhn, an environmental advocate from Des Moines, said its "way too early" to know which Democrat shell support in the caucuses. "The number one thing: beating Trump. Number two: finding someone who can govern decently," she said. "We could still get a yahoo Democrat." CARLSBAD, Calif. Fans of all things Lego may have already seen the recently released "Lego Movie 2," but for a more up-close experience, Legoland enlisted its master builders to bring a part of the movie directly to the theme park. Visitors to the Carlsbad, Calif., park can now experience key scenes from the film at the new Lego Movie 2 Experience, which re-creates a set from the film. Both the basement scene and the bedroom of Bianca, one of the human characters featured in the animated film, are showcased in the new attraction. Not only are the rooms re-created with the Lego models seen in the film, but theyre outfitted with the same furnishings, down to the carpeting and hardwood floors. The Lego movie franchise has proved to be popular, with two spinoffs and now the sequel to the original 2014 "The Lego Movie." "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" didnt have quite the stellar opening the first one did, garnering about half the revenue that the "Lego" movie took in when it opened. The computer-animated film takes place five years after the events of the first movie, now set in Apocalypseburg, a post-apocalyptic version of the original Bricksburg. Occupying the space where Legolands Imagination Zone had been, the Lego Movie 2 Experience was a labor-intensive endeavor, beginning with a weeklong visit to the Vancouver, British Columbia, set where the live-action scenes of the movie were filmed. "I got to go up to Vancouver and be on the live-action set while they were filming and we had to photograph everything to reassemble it here at the park," said Tim Sams, head of the model shop at the Carlsbad park. "No one was allowed to have cameras on set there except for me. So I documented the entire set so we could make sure it fit in the space here." It required two huge shipping trucks to transport the disassembled set, including the Lego models and all the non-Lego contents of the two rooms, Sams said. As much as was possible, the Lego models, from the Statue of Liberty to a fist-shaped space ship, were transported intact. But things happen. "A lot of the models did make it back at least in larger broken pieces," he said. "There were instances where we opened a box and we didnt know what we were looking at. The whole thing took six model builders 640 hours with no instructions, so it was important to get really good photos. "Its more fun than anything else, like a large jigsaw puzzle. Were master model builders and we do this daily, so I wouldnt say it was difficult." In all, from the time the project was conceived to the process of clearing out the site and constructing the film set, the attraction took five months to complete. Attention to detail was paramount in mimicking the film experience. For instance, the replication of Biancas room includes the city and palace she was building in the movie from Lego Duplo bricks. Also featured are some of the films more memorable characters such as Queen Watevera Wa-Nabi, the queen of the distant Systar System, and General Mayhem, a masked space pilot. MIAMI Imagine a travel search engine so smart it can find you a hotel based on your kids favorite activities. Or an app that finds you a better hotel rate just by reading your receipt. Or a bot that answers personalized travel questions, like where your departure gate is located. Travelers will soon find all these features online and in some cases, already can as attendees of the second Future of Travel Tech Summit, hosted by LAB Miami Ventures at The Historic Lyric Theater, learned recently. More than 400 registered participants, as well as representatives from some of the biggest brands and investors in the travel tech space, took part. "This sector is incredibly international and Miami is becoming an important hub to bring everyone together," said LAB Miami Ventures CEO Tigre Wenrich. Wenrich observed that many of the technologies coming online are being pitched to enterprises though theyll still have instant benefits for consumers. For the summit startup pitch competitions five official judges, the favorite was Destygo, a French company that has built a chatbot that answers simple questions about the destination theyre visiting. Think of it as a hyper-local Google. As CTO and co-founder Pierre Pakey put it, "A lot of people have stupid questions that they dont want to bother a human with." For example, Destygo can build a chatbot for an airport that answers questions about what gate a passengers flight is leaving from, and whether its delayed. Its bot has already been put to use by airports in Paris and Lyon, as well as operations for Disneyland Paris, Accor Hotels and Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Dave Harris, vice president of digital strategy at Carnival Cruise Line, said the best idea he saw came from another French company, Adrenaline Hunter, a web portal that allows travelers to find and book adventure activities worldwide in advance. Harris said that, for years, companies have attempted to find ways to aggregate micro-businesses think the guy on the beach who runs a parasailing outfit onto a single platform. Adrenaline Hunter, he said, appears to be the one to do it. "Its hard to go to a source you trust for that type of thing," he said. "If they can take that power as a collective and provide something like Yelp, they will succeed." If brand trust is what every company hopes for, few founders are willing to bank their own name on it. Barb Parshall, a former programmer on Wall Street and travel junkie, is betting she can. One day, she simply was fed up with trying to find the perfect hotel on existing search engines, so decided to build her own, called Baarb. Travelers can type in preferences such as favorite type of music or a childs favorite fantasy series, and Baarb will select a tailored hotel or resort. For summit-goer Claudia Ojeda, a Miami-based principal at Boston Consulting Group, the trend toward curated and unique experiences rather than the same old sightseeing trip will allow companies such as Baarb to thrive. "People want something distinctive, or even experimental," she said. There were plenty of ideas for consumers. If youve had the sneaking suspicion after booking a hotel room that youve paid too much, you may be right. According to CNET, the chance your room rate will drop after youve booked it is about 40 percent. Plus, if theres a free cancellation option, you can rebook at the lower rate. We live in a different era. As we head into 2022, with the COVID-19 variants on the rise, I am grateful for us as a community. We have done ou Read more LOWER PROVIDENCE Fridays snow had long melted in time for Lidls long- awaited, late afternoon groundbreaking at the intersection of Ridge Pike and Trooper Road. On hand for the event were Lower Providence Township Manager Don Delamater; Supervisors Peter MacFarland, Patrick Duffy, Colleen Eckman, Gary Neights, Jason Sorgini; Township Community Development Director Michael Mrozinski; Parks & Recreation director Karl Lukens; Lidl Development Manager Stephen Damico and Lidl Real Estate Manager Chris Dailey. For decades the corner location had been the home of Norristown Ford dealership and, more recently, had housed a Sunoco gas station and convenience store. Lidls development plan had received recommendation for approval from the Township Planning Commission back in September 2017, when it was determined that four lots would be consolidated into two parcels and the sites existing buildings, including the gas station, would be demolished. Construction on a new building Lidl had designed specifically for the U.S. market is now expected to be completed in September. This is a very important day for Lower Providence for several reasons, said MacFarland. Were welcoming a new company to town, Lidl, a German company thats chosen Lower Providence for one of their first 100 U.S. stores. Secondly, the Norristown Ford site has been empty for over 15 years and the township has been very anxious and hopeful to get a prominent business into that location and we feel very gratified that we can now have that. This is the other bookend on Ridge Pike of the township where a new and repurposed building is being located. The other end is well underway, Providence Place assisted living. So we have two bookends for Ridge Pike and were now working to fill in and repurpose empty buildings to have better resources for our residents. Damico noted, This will be our second store in Pennsylvania. We just recently opened in Ridley Township and were really excited to get another store opened. Dailey added, This is a great corner. Once we are running, the community is going to enjoy our products. We want our customers to have a phenomenal experience and save money while theyre doing it. Were very big on private label products, which is kind of what were known for. As anyone who had driven by lately was aware, the familiar corner had been going through a major transformation for months, with fencing concealing the demolition of the gas station and the Norristown Ford buildings. In January, Delamater had acknowledged the previous lack of activity that seemed to fuel rumors that maybe Lidl was not coming to Trooper after all. Lidl received land development approval from the township quite a while ago, and then it was quiet there for a while, he said at the time. Reports had surfaced that Lidl was looking to pare back on the amount of openings in the area they were planning, and there was a lot of speculation that this was one of those sites. But we always received confirmation from Lidl that this was not one of the sites they were paring back, that they were moving forward with it. They just needed to get various approvals from PennDOT and approvals from DEP as part of the whole process before anyone would see any construction or demolition there. With 41 direct flights weekly and 650,000 visitors annually, tourism counselor foresees enormous growth prospects in the near future BEIJING - The growth in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Spain could be described as "spectacular," Dario Polo Rodriguez, tourism counselor of the Spanish embassy in China, said in a recent interview. In 2018, China overtook Japan to become Spain's largest source of Asian tourists, and consolidated itself as a strategic market, according to Polo Rodriguez. For most local school districts Gov. Tom Wolfs 2019-2020 budget proposal is more business as usual. Which is not terribly good news for the Pottstown School District. While most local districts will see a modest increase in state aid, none are as chronically under-funded by the state as Pottstown, which should be receiving an additional $13 million under the states fair funding formula. Adopted in 2016, the fair funding formula is designed to level the playing field for districts with stressed tax bases, high poverty and other challenges. But since it was adopted, the state has continued to apply the formula to just a small percentage of its total education funding, leaving districts the formula was designed to bolster, like Pottstown, still struggling to make ends meet. During his reelection campaign, Wolf answered questions at a July press conference by saying that all state funding should be routed through the formula. But the budget he proposed in February makes no mention of an effort in that regard. Wolf has proposed a $442 million increase in basic education aid and that may seem high except that, as PennLive reported on Feb. 7, Wolfs budget rolls in $242 million of Ready to Learn Block Grants that had been included as a separate budget line in previous years. So in creating a searchable database to compare Wolfs proposed funding to last years, PennLive combined the two lines to create a true apples-to-apples comparison. Using that database to take a look at the governors proposed impact on local school districts shows increases for all, but few beyond 3 percent. The notable exceptions are Boyertown which would enjoy a 7.7 percent increase and an infusion of $288,706 if Wolfs budget were adopted unchanged and Pottstown. A Drop in a Nearly Empty Bucket In Pottstown, an increase of $665,927 represents a 5.5 percent increase in basic state aid, but it doesnt exactly have Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez jumping for joy. Firstly, he points out, a 2.6 percent increase in pension payment costs for the coming year will eat up $210,000 out of Pottstowns already strained budget and cutting that aid figure down closer to $455,000. Secondly, that increase does not even cover half the roughly $1 million in revenue lost by the removal of Pottstown Hospital from the tax rolls. Last September, 47 days before the election, the three state legislators representing Pottstown delivered an unexpected $1 million grant check to the district, covering that gap for a year. A year later, in which no state elections will be held, district officials are not expecting another one. But perhaps most significant of all is the fact that for yet another year, Pottstown Schools will not be receiving the more than $13 million the states own fair funding formula says it should be. I am of course thankful for anything additional we receive, but frankly, it is a few more drops in a nearly empty bucket, Rodriguez said. I would be morally bankrupt as a leader if I said it was enough. Racial Bias in School Funding The fact that a new national report has now confirmed what The Mercury first reported two years ago that school funding favors white students over non-white students just adds insult to already grievous injury, said John Armato, the districts director of community relations and a member of the school board. The report by EdBuild found that even when serving the same number of students, school districts with a majority non-white population get $23 billion less in government funding than those serving majority white districts, due largely to school district lines and the education systems reliance on property taxes. That fact that the racial disparity in education funding is finally getting national attention is something Im happy about, said Rodriguez. The fact that we stand as a shining example of that disparity is not something I could ever be happy about. The racial disparity in Pennsylvanias education funding was highlighted by researcher David Mosenkis, who applied the fair funding formula to all school districts and, when he checked the ethnic make-up of those districts made a shocking discovery. The 20 percent of students in the whitest districts receive $1,934 per student more than their fair share of funding; and the 20 percent of students in the least-white districts receive $1,912 less per student than their fair share, Mosenkis wrote in 2017. And thats true, even when poverty levels are nearly identical. At the request of MediaNews Group in 2017, Mosenkis compared Pottstown and Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County. Both have similar poverty levels and, according to the fair funding formula, both should be getting about the same amount of Basic Education Funding aid between $5,550 and $5,750 per student. But when you look at actual state aid per student, Mahanoy is getting $6,913 per student $1,156 more than its fair share, according to the formula. And Pottstown is getting $3,173 per student $2,361 less than its fair share. Thats a $3,517 gap per student between the two districts. The only significant statistical difference between the two districts is Mahanoy City is 84.5 percent white, while Pottstown is 39 percent white. Failure in Moral Leadership From when the fair funding formula was first initiated, and David Mosenkis showed the glaring discrepancy in how the Commonwealth funds education, and is made worse by racial bias, and everyone agreed thats accurate, was important. Failing to do anything about it is a failure in moral leadership, Armato said. The failure to provide $13 million in state funding means the costs the district now faces, from $1.5 million for the aging administration building; the $6 million or more to renovate and/or repair the Edgewood building will all fall on a budget that must also absorb any agreement reached this year with the teachers union and a tax millage that is the third highest in Montgomery County. By the states own calculation, Pottstown is entitled to $13 million more than it is getting, we cant make up for that in a five square-mile school district with a low-income population and a high tax rate, said Armato. Our community is already over-burdened by the property tax and we cant continually go to our taxpayers and ask them to make up for what the state government refuses to do, he said. So what happens is we cut and cut and the cumulative effect is we destroy educational opportunities for young people and continue a cycle deeper and deeper into a hole we cant dig our way out of, it is a cycle destined for failure, he said. Rodriguez said Pottstown has cut staff and services, outsourced the entire transportation department, eliminated the districts copy center. He said he does not know how much longer the district can go without cutting into educational programs. I literally just had a meeting about how much color ink we are using, he said. Pottsgrove Cruising Along Meanwhile, the budget picture is much rosier at the neighboring Pottsgrove School District. Business Administrator David Nester told the school board at the Feb. 26 meeting that the preliminary budget projects a deficit of 2.1 percent, less than the 3 percent tax cap the state would allow Pottsgrove to enact for the 2019-2020 budget. In the last two months, the school board has adopted an early-bird three-year contract with its teachers that will add $2 million to payroll; and a new agreement with 21 mid-level administrators that will provide raises of up to 3 percent each year. Nester said Wolfs budget is positive for public education, and would add about $300,000 to the districts basic and special education funding stream. He said under Wolfs proposal, which will be subject to many changes by the Republican-controlled legislature, state funding would comprise about 32 percent of Pottsgroves total budget. Pottsgrove will also enjoying a 10 decrease in prescription costs, no increase in its medical insurance costs and an increase in the real estate transfer tax, which means the real estate market is improving in Pottsgrove, he said in a video presentation on the preliminary budget. More savings may be provided by an early teacher retirement incentive and the district is preparing to add a third world language to its curriculum. Readers will likely recall my note here last week about the person working a table at Sproul Plaza at Berkeley was assaulted. I received this notification a few hours ago from the administration: Community: Update on Sproul Plaza Assault Case Dear Steven Hayward, Today, an Alameda County Superior Court Judge issued a warrant for the arrest of the suspect in the matter involving a February 19 assault on Sproul Plaza. Zachary Greenberg was arrested by the University of California Police Department (UCPD) on the warrant and booked into jail at 1 p.m. UCPD will formally present the case to the Alameda County District Attorneys Office for consideration of the filing of criminal charges. Once the matter is presented and reviewed by the District Attorneys Office, additional information will be made available regarding a charging decision. Fox News reports: Arrest records from the sheriffs office say Greenberg was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to cause great bodily injury. Aaaannnnd, a mugshot: Seeking to mitigate its possible liability in the defamation lawsuit brought by Nicholas Sandmann, I believe, the Washington Post has published this Editors note related to Lincoln Memorial incident (with links omitted here): A Washington Post article first posted online on Jan. 19 reported on a Jan. 18 incident at the Lincoln Memorial. Subsequent reporting, a students statement and additional video allow for a more complete assessment of what occurred, either contradicting or failing to confirm accounts provided in that story including that Native American activist Nathan Phillips was prevented by one student from moving on, that his group had been taunted by the students in the lead-up to the encounter, and that the students were trying to instigate a conflict. The high school student facing Phillips issued a statement contradicting his account; the bishop in Covington, Ky., apologized for the statement condemning the students; and an investigation conducted for the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School found the students accounts consistent with videos. Subsequent Post coverage, including video, reported these developments: Viral standoff between a tribal elder and a high schooler is more complicated than it first seemed; Kentucky bishop apologizes to Covington Catholic students, says he expects their exoneration; Investigation finds no evidence of racist or offensive statements in Mall incident. A Jan. 22 correction to the original story reads: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips said he served in the U.S. Marines but was never deployed to Vietnam. Rick Moran comments: Basically, the Post is admitting it made an error. But I dont see an apology, do you? However, consider this. Sandmanns lawsuit was filed on February 19, 2019. The Posts editors note was published on March 1, ten days later. What the Post is doing here may be governed by the possible application of this Kentucky statute to the case. Under the statute, a newspaper can mitigate defamation damages if it publishes a fair summary of plaintiffs statement of the facts following a demand made 10 days prior to commencement of the lawsuit. My guess is that the Post didnt want to take a chance it might lose the benefit of the statute in this case. PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 19:57:06 Press Information RESEARCH REPORT INSIGHTS Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU +1-631-721-4201 6317214201 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 638 Words Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.com+1-631-721-42016317214201 With increasing number of people suffering from diabetes, managing and controlling diabetes has become critical. Hence being user-friendly and portable, artificial pancreas systems are gaining popularity across the globe. Ensuring the effectiveness and safety of medical devices, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is helping in the development of innovative artificial pancreas system device. FDA is also making it sure that the device monitors blood glucose level automatically and provide proper insulin doses. However, along with basic features, manufacturers are also trying to develop high-end artificial pancreas systems to improve diabetes management.According to the report by Research Report Insights (RRI), type 1 diabetes is estimated to exceed $250 million by 2026 in Europe and North America artificial pancreas systems market. It is also anticipated to increase to 12.9% CAGR during 2016-2026. While type 2 diabetes is expected to register 4.1% CAGR between 2016 and 2026 in artificial pancreas systems market in Europe and North America. Conventional CGM devices and insulin pumps are large in size, hence people are opting for artificial pancreas systems.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114860/Artificial-Pancreas-Systems-Market North America and Europe artificial pancreas systems market: segmentation:By Distribution Channel: Hospitals; E-Commerce; By Disease Indication: Diabetes Type 1, Diabetes Type 2; By Region: North America, Western Europe, Eastern EuropeEmerging technologies to offer better artificial pancreas systemsManufacturers are focusing on developing smaller, more reliable and streamlined artificial pancreas systems. For instance, Cellnovo, a France-based mobile diabetes firm recently raised 17.5 million to develop fully automatic artificial pancreas. The company is focusing on introducing a system that can measure glucose level and provide the right amount of insulin without input from humans. These fully automated artificial pancreas are expected to also reduce long-term complications associated with diabetes.Companies are also entering into partnerships to develop and test artificial pancreas systems. For example, Roche, a pharmaceutical and medical device company has joined hands with Senseonics and TypeZero to develop a long term artificial pancreas automated system and conduct clinical trials of the system. Companies are developing artificial pancreas also referred as a closed loop diabetes management system. The new system would include insulin injection and glucose monitoring through algorithms. The system will also include Roches Accu-check insight insulin pump. A system including CGM sensor, lasting up to 90 days, smart algorithms and a discreet insulin pump is first of its kind.Request Report Discount https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114860/Artificial-Pancreas-Systems-Market: Artificial pancreas for childrenWith increasing cases of diabetes among children, especially type 1 diabetes, manufacturers are also introducing artificial pancreas systems for children. Medtronic, a Minnesota-based medical device company has developed MiniMed 670G system for children suffering from type 1 diabetes. The system was also approved by FDA. This system includes a sensor to monitor glucose level in fluids under the skin, and based on the levels the device delivers and provide insulin.Technological Advancements to Boost Artificial Pancreas SystemsManufacturers of artificial pancreas systems are focusing on treating type 1 diabetes, in which pancreas produces very little or no insulin. According to the American Diabetes Association, type 1 diabetes patients are not more than 10%.While a recent study has also shown that artificial pancreas can better control condition of children with type 1 diabetes. The study found that children with artificial pancreas had lower average blood sugar level and they were more within the normal blood sugar range, without an increase in low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.One of the largest company in North America & Europes artificial pancreas systems market has been identified as Illinois-based medical device manufacturer Medtronic plc. With it, the UK-based Cellnovo is also being recognised as a prominent manufacturer of artificial pancreas systems. Other key players in the artificial pancreas systems market across North America and Europe include, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Dexcom Inc., Insulet Corporation, and Tandem Diabetes Care IncReport Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114860/Artificial-Pancreas-Systems-Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 19:11:35 Press Information RESEARCH REPORT INSIGHTS Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU +1-631-721-4201 6317214201 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 517 Words Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.com+1-631-721-42016317214201 According to the research report by Research Report Insights, the global automotive drive shafts market was valued at US$5.3 bn in 2015 and is likely to be worth US$8.9 bn by the end of 2024. During the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the global market is expected to progress at a CAGR of 6.1%.Heavy Commercial Vehicles to be Prime Consumers of Automotive Drive ShaftsOn the basis of vehicles, the market is split into passenger cars, heavy commercial vehicles, and light commercial vehicles. Of these, the heavy commercial vehicles are expected to show steady growth rate in the coming years due to their demand in the transportation industry. The research report states, that the heavy commercial vehicles segment will rise at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2016 and 2024. The increasing demand for automotive shafts in production and serving of heavy-duty trucks is estimated to provide an impetus to the segment in the coming years.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114867/Automotive-Drive-Shafts-Market Geographically, the market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific is poised to remain the leading regional market in the coming years as the demand for automobiles and their production picks up pace. The report estimates, that Asia Pacific automotive drive shafts market will rise at a CAGR of 6.5% between 2016 and 2024.Repair and Replacement of Old Parts Augments Demand for Automotive Drive Shafts through After-sales ServicesThe global automotive drive shafts market has been growing due to the unstoppable production of vehicles in emerging economies of Taiwan, India, China, and Singapore amongst others. As economies limp back to normalcy after the depression of 2008, the production and sales of automobiles and their parts have steadily risen to generate soaring revenues. In the coming years, the increasing investments in automobile manufacturing, especially in countries such as China, is likely to boost the automotive drive shafts market.The demand for automotive drive shafts has also been increasing as they are the most critical parts of a vehicle. As they are known to working under continuous pressure and stress, they undergo severe damage, which demands their replacement or repair. Thus both of these factors are expected to propel the sale of automotive drive shafts in developing and developed countries.Emerging Trend of Electric Vehicles to Impede Market GrowthDespite the steady market drivers, the global automotive drive shafts market is facing a tough challenge. The rising trend of electric cars against the backdrop of emerging pollution concerns is expected to restrain the growth of the market. Electric cars operate on batteries, which can be charged. Thus, they completely eliminate the need for automotive drive shafts. Analysts state, if this trend is to grow rapid as countries work on reducing carbon footprint it could negatively impact the global market.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114867/Automotive-Drive-Shafts-Market ChinaRAPAC (Rest of Asia Pacific)Middle East and Africa (MEA)U.A.ESouth AfricaRMEA (Rest of Middle East and Africa)Latin America (LATAM)BrazilArgentinaRest of Latin America (RLATAM)Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114867/Automotive-Drive-Shafts-Market Water Home delivery PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 11:21:48 Press Information Ones need Plot-72, Udyog Kendr, Ecotech III, Greater Noida, Apt. No. or Suite No. Deepak Sharma Sales Manager 9266662474 email https://onesneed.in/ # 421 Words Plot-72, Udyog Kendr, Ecotech III, Greater Noida,Apt. No. or Suite No.Sales Manager9266662474 Although water covers 70% area of Earth and it is the most necessary element for the survival, yet it is not available in abundance for drinking. Thus, Bailley turns out to be supplying high quality drinking water across India since its launch in 1993. Bailley packaged water is bottled in 52 state-of-the-art plants across India. Targeting various category of consumers & occasions, Bailey Water Bottle is satisfying their needs. There is increasing presence of packaged drinking water brands across India, but the leading competitors of Bailley are the Bisleri, Fosters, Icelings and Aquafina among others.Book Your Bottle Here:Bailley test parameters have been accredited on IS: 14543: 2004 to judge the quality including the minerals, toxic substances, microbiological organisms, pH level, colour and various other factors. The brand is continuously taking effective steps to stay within the -permissible limit in order to maintain the water fit for consumption. Bailleys raw water is contaminant free from synthetic chemicals, toxic metals, radioactive elements and bacteria. Moreover, Bailley also maintains the ground water level through continuous rain water harvesting system.Bailley uses integrated management system of Parle Agro Pvt Ltd, by which they maintains the product quality, safety, hygiene, consumer centric app-roaches and adhering to environmental concerns. The Bailley water goes through intensive purification process of 7 stages including the automatic washing to sanitization process of jars & bottles, before it reaches to the final consumer. Moreover, Bailley water goes through 30 parameters on regular basis as per the standards set by governing body Bureau of Indian Standards, and also the company has also acquired the Schedule IV Certificate from the Food Safety Standards Authority of India.Further, the quality of Bailley water is not only maintained as per the set parameters but also the Bailey water Distributor ensures the taste consistency. Some of the distributors are providing water home delivery at your doorstep but every drop of Bailley water tastes same across the country, due to the fact that natural minerals of PAPL are used into the drinking water. This water goes through the outer labs testing which are approved labs of PAPL, on the parameters set by BIS & FSSAI. Moreover, the company ensures that their food handlers are periodically examined by the doctors so that they remain medically fit & vaccinated by the NABH certified hospitals.Read Full Blog Here:Therefore, in all Bailley ensures to supply hygienic, clean, healthy and safe packaged drinking water to their customers across the country. PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 18:41:09 Press Information RESEARCH REPORT INSIGHTS Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU +1-631-721-4201 6317214201 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 404 Words Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.com+1-631-721-42016317214201 Digital forensic comprises integration of computer science with laws that are needed for the purpose of investigation of crime. It comprises complete recovery and then interpretation of data that is present in various digital devices to be presented in the courts of law and mostly involves various cyber-crimes. Investigation in digital forensics is carried out in three different stages which include display acquisition, investigation and analysis together with reporting of crime.In accordance with the research report on the world market for Digital Forensics by Research Report Insights (RRI), it has been anticipated that strong growth would prevail in the said market. The world market for digital forensics market stood at a valuation of around US$ 2.87 bn in the year 2016 and is estimated to be worth around US$ 6.65 bn by the year 2025, thereby rising at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2017 and 2025.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114870/Digital-Forensics-Market North America is forecasted to Continue with Regional Supremacy over the Period of ForecastThe world market for digital forensics has been regionally segmented into the geographies of South America, North America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Europe. The region of North America is quite likely to continue with market dominance in the international market for digital forensics. North America is expected to be trailed by Europe as it stood as a major regional segment of the said market. Asia Pacific accounts for a substantial revenue in the world market for digital forensics. The growing trend of internet of things technology and cloud based solutions in many of these regions is acting as the major growth driver in these geographies.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114870/Digital-Forensics-Market Increased Growth of Cloud Services to Encourage Growth of the MarketOwing to the rampant growth of cloud devices and services with in-built facilities of Internet-of-Things, cyber criminals have undue advantage of dealing with leaking of customer information. Such characteristics might augment the risk of viruses and malwares thereby making computer systems prone to hacking.Another reason for the improvement of the said market is the possible tracing of hacking activities to their source. These activities are traced by forensic agencies by making use of the right forensic methods. Thus, such evidence-based investigation for the purpose of recovery of information has been a prime factor for the rise of theLatin AmericaReport Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114870/Digital-Forensics-Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 12:07:04 Press Information human rights organization "SLON" ., 21/2, , 111558 Tatyana Brindas PR-manager +7 914 549 85 03 email http://www.slon.ru.com # 657 Words ., 21/2, , 111558PR-manager+7 914 549 85 03 According to investigators, the presumed participants of this organized criminal group, were dealing large quantities of drugs through prohibited dark net forums. The presumed leader of the group was caught by the police, already being on the radar and coming back from abroad. He testified against one of his assumed accomplices. The latter began to confess and disclosed the whole criminal group, and thus was assigned to house arrest.It should be noted that to obtain adequate lawyer services, the assumed accomplice had closed a deal with the lawyers association SLON, which works with human rights organizations. However, state law representatives forbade him to stay in touch with his relatives as well as with the lawyers, except with those who work under Article 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (state defenders).On the phone, the deputy head the deputy head of the Petrozavodsk police, informed the press that the defendant did not require any lawyers since he was already in touch with lawyers despite the agreement he had, no other lawyers will be allowed.For now, the court has appointed him state defenders, working under article 51 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure, that are just needed to meet the requirements of this procedures norms.After the representatives of the lawyers association SLON tried to get in touch with the defendant, the investigator called his wife: Your husband will have a 10-year sentence if these lawyers come to him, told investigator E.A Zelenina. The deputy head and the investigator have approved the two lawyers who were there during the first meetings, not the lawyers from SLON, who only defend criminals, just think about it!According to the Code Of Criminal Procedure (Art 49, 50 and 53) as well as to the Constitution (Art 46) an investigator is not allowed to keep the lawyers away from their defendant. Moreover, the investigation team has no right to choose the lawyers of the suspects.A few days before the trip, the lawyers from SLON received threats over anonymous phone calls, also linked to the activity of the law service Trevozhnaya KnopkaBased on the available information, lawyers have every reason to believe that there is no weighty evidence, except testimonials of the presumed leader of the criminal group, as well of the defendant himself.Assuming the fact that no lawyers from the human rights organization are allowed to see him, its possible that it comes to pressure on the suspect, something the police is trying to hide.When the lawyers came to the investigation committee to transfer the warrant, the head of the Investigation Committee from Petrozavodsk described the deeds of the lawyers with all the single details, such as their route across the city, their precise timetable, their meals, and even all their activities including their phone calls and searches on the web. In fact, those lawyers were spied on and were on tape, which was carried out without any court orders. Such an action is illegal and violates Art 138 of the Criminal Code, after decisions validated by the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court. With those actions, the representative of the investigation committee violates their privacy. Surveillance of lawyers can for sure be carried out by the investigative department in Petrozavodsk, but in the absence of a court order, this is totally illegal.As a result, investigators have prevented the human rights organization from helping the suspect, thanks to a written refusal from him. Actually, its assumed that the suspect is completely satisfied with the situation and does not want to change anything. In which state is now the suspect, no one knows, as well as how the investigators got this refusal. The representatives of SLON were told that:- No human right organization will be allowed to work on his case.- Any attempt to interfere in the current situation will put both the group SLON as well as the suspect at risk. PR-Inside.com: 2019-03-02 20:12:25 Press Information RESEARCH REPORT INSIGHTS Research Report Insights (RRI) 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com Email: sales@researchreportinsights.com BISHU +1-631-721-4201 6317214201 email https://www.researchreportinsights.com # 753 Words Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.com+1-631-721-42016317214201 According to the latest market report published by Research Report Insights (RRI) titled Tissue Paper Converting Machines Market by 2027, Toilet rolls tissue paper converting machines segmentis expected to be the largest contributor to the global tissue paper converting machines market over the forecast period, 2017-2027.Globally, the revenue generated from sales of tissue paper converting machines has been estimated to be around US$ 1,123.8Mnin 2016, and is projected to increase at a CAGR of 5.0% during forecast period 2017-2027.The globally rising urban population and increasing concern among the consumers regarding proper hygiene has propelled the market for tissue paper products. This inclination in the demand of tissue paper products has been recognised by the tissue paper converting firms across the globe. This has led to the expansion in the production capacity of multinational tissue paper products manufacturers by either adding machinery to the manufacturing facility or by acquiring the emerging small and regional tissue converting companies. The trend among tissue paper converting firms to expand the production capacity to meet the increasing demand of tissue paper products has fuelled the tissue paper converting machines market.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114938/Tissue-Paper-Converting-Machines-Market Due to rapid expansion of global tissue paper products production capacity, the required production capacity to meet the global demand of tissue paper products has reached to around 80% of the present production capacity. Thus, the global overcapacity of tissue paper products production has restrained the growth of tissue paper converting machines market. Moreover, the slower acceptance of proper hygiene in developing countries of Asia Pacific is the reason for low per capita consumption of tissue paper, while the demand for the same is expected to rise at a considerable pace. China and India are the producers of low production capacity tissue paper converting machines at very low prices as compared to the machines manufactured by European and North American manufacturers. Thus, a large portion of tissue paper converting machines demand in the region is served by low cost machines produced by regional players. This fact has restrained the global revenue generated by the tissue paper converting machines market.Industry 4.0, which is the wireless connectivity among various machinery in the production line with the help of technology such as internet of things (IOT), cognitive computing, cyber-physical systems and others, is the trend impacting the tissue paper converting machines market players across the globe. Other than this, the tissue paper converting firms keep on innovating to improve the brand position in the global market. This leads to the demand of highly customized machines over the standard tissue paper converting solutions. To enhance the pace of production of tissue paper products, the key market players are focusing on developing the rewinding machine, which is highly responsible for the productivity of the complete converting line. Forte rewinder launched by PCMC, and Constellation technology based rewinder launched by Fabio Perini are trend setter for the tissue paper converting machines market.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114938/Tissue-Paper-Converting-Machines-Market Although, the key global players of tissue paper converting market has made the market highly competitive for the small and emerging players to sustain in the market, the private label brands of tissue paper products are experiencing considerable growth. Thus, the increasing market for nationwide retail chains and their attraction towards the tissue paper market has created ample opportunities for the tissue paper converting machines market players. In terms of opportunity created by the geographical regions, North Africa is expected to create very high opportunity for the market. This is due to more than twice the demand of tissue paper than the tissue paper converting capacity of the region. Thus, North Africa creates a lucrative market for the global tissue paper converting firms to export to the region, and also for regional players to emerge in the region.Some of the players operating in the global tissue paper converting machines market include Fabio Perini S.p.A, Paper Converting Machine Company Italia S.p.A., Omet S.R.L., KawanoeZoki Co., Ltd., MtorresDisenosIndustriales Sau, BaoSuo Paper Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd., A.Celli Group, United Converting S.R.L., Futura S.p.A., Dechangyu Paper Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd., Gambini S.p.A, C.G. Bretting Manufacturing Co. Inc., Wangda Industrial Co., Limited, ZambakKagitSan.VeTic.Ltd.Sti ., Unimax Group Engineering & Development Corporation, Tissuewell S.R.L., 9. Septembar- Tissue Converting D.O.O., Maflex S.R.L., Hinnli Co., Ltd., and Chan Li Machinery Co., Ltd.Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114938/Tissue-Paper-Converting-Machines-Market The Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have denied any knowledge of the clearance reportedly granted top officials of Zinox Group and its affiliate, Technology Distribution, accused of complicity in a N170.3 million contract fraud scandal. EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade, and his counterpart in the Police, Frank Mba, told PREMIUM TIMES in separate inquiries on Wednesday the reported clearance did not emanate from any of their agencies. A fortnight ago, the reports about the controversial clearance appeared in several online platforms. When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Mr Orilade was categorical in his denial of the report. I dont have that information, he told our reporter on the telephone. Pressed for confirmation whether indeed the Commission issued the statement, Mr Orilade asked for time to crosscheck the information with his superiors before reverting later. Later in his office in Abuja, the anti-graft agency spokesperson told our reporter the agency did issue any clearance for the accused officials. As a rule, EFCC does not give clearance to any person or group in cases under prosecution. It is only the courts that are authorized to do so after the matter has been diligently prosecuted and the accused person or group discharged and acquitted, he said. Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, who equally denied knowledge of Police clearance of the Zinox officials, said he was too busy focusing his attention on the success of the forthcoming elections. He spoke on the eve of the just-concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections I am not aware of any such report (of clearance of Zinox officials), I can assure you. I dont know anything about it, and I dont have anything to do about it for now, Mr Mba said on the telephone. My focus right now is on the forthcoming elections. Honestly, I want to stay glued to the elections. I dont want to be distracted. Other things that are auxiliary to the conduct of the election will have to wait. Thats my priority for now, he said. ZINOX VS PREMIUM TIMES The computer firm is fighting a lawsuit by an Ibadan-based IT firm which says Zinox and its officials impersonated it and forged its documents to secure a federal contract with the Federal Inland Revenue Service worth N170.3 million. In May 2017, Zinox filed a suit seeking to restrain PREMIUM TIMES and some of its officials from continuing to report the N170.3 million contract fraud scandal involving five of the companys officials, including its top management. Zinox had accused the newspapers editors of libeling it and its chairman, Stanley Leonard Ekeh, through the series of publications of the scam. Apart from its demand for N2 billion in damages, Zinox asked for an order of perpetual injunction restraining PREMIUM TIMES from further publication, an apology as well as court directive for the removal from the newspapers website series of publications on the scandal. But, PREMIUM TIMES responded with a counter application demanding N10 billion as damages against Zinox Technologies and its top officials, for attempting to frustrate the discharge of its role to the society. On Thursday, Justice Oriji of the Federal High Court Apo dismissed the application by Zinox Technologies Limited seeking the order to stop further publication of reports against its officials. The papers lawyer, Mmuoka Jude, said the publications claiming the computer firm had been cleared were designed to mislead the public and the court on the truth about the ongoing case against the officials. These clearly are flagrant violations of the spirit of the ongoing suit before the Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Apo presided by Justice SC Oriji, he said. Dueling resolutions on Venezuela fail By Hong Xiao at The United Nations | China Daily | Updated: 2019-03-02 06:51 The United Nations Security Council on Thursday did not adopt either of two rival draft resolutions on Venezuela proposed by the United States and Russia. The US draft called for the holding of new elections and recognition of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself "interim president" and was recognized by Washington and some other countries. It received nine votes in favor, three against, and three abstentions in the 15-member council. Russia and China, as well as South Africa, opposed the resolution. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no opposition by either Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom or the US to pass. Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, reiterated that China opposes external forces interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs and opposes military intervention in the South American country. "The draft resolution before us (from the US) is seriously inconsistent with China's principal position, as I stated above. Therefore, China had to vote against it," Wu said. Minutes later, the council voted on the Russian draft, which called for a peaceful settlement of disputes and a political solution, and reaffirmed the primary role of the government in seeking and consenting to international aid. "We drafted an alternative draft resolution, the aim of which is not to incite political intrigues and regime change but rather to genuinely help the Venezuelan people in efforts to normalize the situation in the country," said Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia. The Russian draft gained four votes in favor, seven against and four abstentions. China voted in favor, joined by Russia, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. Wu called upon the Venezuelan government and opposition parties to seek a political solution through dialogue within the constitutional and legal framework. Third meeting It was the third Security Council meeting seeking solutions to the political tensions in Venezuela, which began to escalate in January. According to Xinhua News Agency, a US-backed effort on Saturday to deliver "humanitarian aid" to Venezuela through border crossings met strong resistance from the Venezuelan government, as President Nicolas Maduro said the alleged aid, mainly from the US, was cover for a military invasion. The Venezuelan government has closed the nation's borders with Brazil and Colombia, along with some air and sea routes. xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com (China Daily 03/02/2019 page8) A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday declared as illegal and unconstitutional, the deportation of 47 Cameroonians from Nigeria on January 26, 2018. The judge, Anwuli Chikere, also granted all the reliefs as prayed by the key Cameroonian separatist leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and 46 others who were deported from Nigeria after their arrest in Abuja. The applicants who are Cameroonian citizens seeking asylum in Nigeria were abducted at Nera hotels in Abuja on January 7, 2018, while they were assembled at the said venue for a meeting. They were subsequently detained by the National Security Agency at an underground detention center in Abuja without access to their families, lawyers and doctors. They had approached the court through two separate suits with number FHC/ABJ/CS/ 85/ 2018 and FHC/ABJ/CS/ 147/ 2018 respectively. In her judgement on Friday, Mrs Chikere agreed with the counsel representing the applicants, Femi Falana, saying that the Nigerian government lacks the power to deport refugees and asylum seekers from the country. Mrs Chikere however granted all the reliefs sought in both suits and awarded N5 million to each of the applicants in the first suit while in the second suit granted N200, 000 to each of the applicants. Apart from awarding the damages to each applicant, Mrs Chikere ordered the federal government to ensure that the deportees are brought back to Nigeria forthwith. Meanwhile Mr Ayuk, the president of a self-declared Ambazonia state, made up of English-speaking part of Cameroon, was one of 15 people whom Cameroon issued an international arrest warrant for in November 2017. The Nigerian government is yet to react to the ruling but has the options of appealing or obeying the judgement. The Cameroonian government has carried out large scale repressions on the English speaking part of the country. Senate President Bukola Saraki last Saturday lost his re-election bid in Kwara State. Mr Sarakis party, PDP, also lost the presidential and all federal legislative seats in Kwara. That was the first time since 2003 that Mr Saraki would lose elections in the state. The phrase o to ge, which means it is enough was popularised by Kwara residents who wanted the exit of Mr Saraki. PREMIUM TIMES brings you some of the arrowheads of the movement. 1. Ibrahim Labaeka Although there are conflicting accounts of how the O to ge mantra was birthed in Kwara, the dominant narrative is that it was coined by Islamic gospel artiste, Ibrahim Labaeka. Mr Labaeka, a member of the Islamic Musicians Association of Nigeria (ISMAN), also confirmed this in several amateur clips posted on Youtube as well as a social networking site, Facebook, in the heat of the campaign. Mr Labaeka is a respected voice in Kwara music industry, ranking as one of Ilorins most influential artistes. He has often lent his voice to discourse on Kwara politics, supporting with his music the late Olusola Saraki and Governor Muhammed Lawal at different times in the past. When the Senate President was reportedly assaulted at the Ilorin Eid ground in 2015, he was also recruited to appeal to the people and indeed released a song calling on Ilorin people to protect Saraki, whom he described as Ilorins Shield. But in the buildup to the 2019 elections, Mr Labaeka alleged that he was swindled of millions of naira by those in Senate President Bukola Sarakis camp, despite working for them in the past. He thereafter claimed that he would expose them as deceptive hypocrites who failed to honour basic terms of agreements and campaign against them. In a city with deep religious sensitivity, it was easy for him to appeal to the peoples emotions and, hence, the potency of the O to ge mantra. 2. Lai Mohammed While Mr Labaeka provided the artistic inspiration for the birth of O to ge, Nigerias Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, provided the political shield. Seen as an embodiment of the federal might in Kwara State, Mr Mohammed successfully rallied party members to the cause despite protracted legal battles that almost scuttled the partys plan. Mr Mohammed himself has often identified with the progressive camp in Kwara politics, which has its firm root in the southern district. He contested the 2003 election in the state on the platform of Alliance for Democracy but lost to Mr Saraki of the PDP. Unsurprisingly, on Saturday, Mr Mohammed swept the elections in his hometown, Oro, and won his Irepodun local government for President Muhammadu Buhari. 3. AbdulRazaq AbdulRahaman The governorship candidate of the APC, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, remains one rallying force in the O to ge movement in Kwara State. An oil magnate with a deep pocket, he is the CEO of First Fuels Limited. He is also a son of the first lawyer in Northern Nigeria, AbdulGaniyu Folorunso (AGF) Abdulrazaq, considered one of Ilorins most influential elder statesmen. The old man is believed to have popularised the notion that Mr Sarakis father, Olusola, hailed from Abeokuta. On two occasions, precisely in 2011 and 2015, Mr AbdulRazaq contested the Kwara Central Senatorial District seat. But he lost to Senate President Bukola Saraki. He defected to the APC from the PDP in the build-up to the 2019 elections and declared interest in the governorship seat. Party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr AbdulRazaq was picked ahead of other candidates in the party primary, especially Oba Abdulraheem, because of his non-affiliation with the Saraki family. Unlike other contestants, sources said, party chieftains chose Mr AbdulRazaq because they were worried that the O to ge mantra may be problematic if its major candidate has no clear ideological detachment from the Saraki clan. That he is a son of one of Ilorins most respected elders, and the candidate with by far the deepest pocket, were only a plus. 4. Ibrahim Oloriegbe Ibrahim Oloriegbe won the Kwara Central Senatorial seat in Saturdays election. He is a medical graduate of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with decades of experience in both the private and public sectors as a medical professional and politician A one-time majority leader at the Kwara State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003, Mr Oloriegbe contested for the Kwara Central Senatorial seat on the platform of the defunct ACN in 2011 but lost to Mr Saraki at the court of appeal. He has since been a major opposition figure in Ilorin and on several occasions, vowed to retire Mr Saraki from active politics. 5. Moshood Mustapha Known widely as MM, Moshood Mustapha was once Special Adviser on Inter-parliamentary Affairs, Protocol and Special Duties to Senate President Bukola Saraki. Mr Mustapha has been an ally of Mr Saraki since 2002, serving as commissioner until 2005. A former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Mustapha fell out with Mr Saraki over what party insiders said were intra-party affairs at the time. He was consequently denied the ticket to return to the National Assembly in 2015, despite being among those who decamped with Mr Saraki into the APC. He was one of the earliest governorship aspirants in the APC to declare his ambition. When he lost out in the primaries, many insinuated that he would decamp but he did not. 6. Lukman Mustapha Lukman Mustapha is the Chairman of Sobi FM, by far one of the most influential media platforms that dictated the pendulum of the O to ge movement. Mr Mustapha is a brother to Moshood Mustapha, a former aide to Mr Saraki. He defected into the APC shortly after Mr Saraki took over the structure of Kwara PDP and contested the governorship position but lost out to Mr AbdulRazaq. He has since provided support for the O to ge movement in Kwara, especially with his hold on the media. 7. Yahaya Seriki A philanthropist and notable Ilorin politician, Yahaya Seriki was one of the earliest members of APC to declare his gubernatorial ambition. He, however, lost to Mr AbdulRazaq in the primaries. He has been accused of working for Mr Saraki in the APC, although he denied the allegations. He added that he would not trade his loyalty to the party for anything, revealing also that he was lured into the PDP with a promise of appointment by Mr Saraki but he rejected it. He was later appointed the Director General of the APC campaign in Kwara Central district and indeed delivered for the party. 8. Yinka Aluko Yinka Aluko is the former security aide to Mr Saraki during the latters tenure as governor of Kwara State. Mr Aluko left his former boss before the 2015 general elections to become a running mate to then PDP candidate, Simeon Ajibola. He was a member of the PDP National Executive Council until he defected into the APC in 2018. He contested the party primaries but lost out. He, however, remained a strong pillar of the O to ge movement especially in the heart of Ilorin. 9. Cook Olododo Abdulganiyu Cook Olododo was born December 25, 1960 to the family of Cook at Amode Compound, Okelele in Ibagun Ward of Ilorin East. Mr Olododo was a strong ally of Mr Saraki in the past, serving as his Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Kwara State Government at different times. He is one of the strongest pillars of the O to ge revolt in Ilorin widely considered as vast in the knowledge of Sarakis electioneering gambits. On Saturday, he emerged the Reps member-elect for Ilorin South/Ilorin East by polling 56,496 votes to defeat Ayinde Mohammed of PDP who polled 27,737 votes. 10. Oba Abdulraheem Oba Abdulraheem once served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin. He is known as the Talba of Ilorin. Widely respected and loved by the people, Mr Abdulraheem is revered in Ilorin particularly because of the doors of opportunities he opened for many when he held sway at the Federal Character Commission. He is largely seen as a part of the larger Saraki political family but fell out with Mr Saraki shortly after the death of the late Olusola Saraki. He contested for the governorship ticket in the PDP during the 2015 election but lost to Simeon Ajibola. He defected into the APC and also contested for the governorship ticket. Party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Abdulraheem is believed to have won the APC governorship primaries but party strategists feared that his association with the Saraki clan would affect the fortune of the party in the state. Although he was rumoured to be working for the PDP, he has since debunked the rumour and restated his commitment to the APC. 11. Iyiola Oyedepo Perhaps the most consistent antagonist of Senate President Bukola Saraki in contemporary Kwara politics is Iyiola Oyedepo. Mr Oyedepo has ensured that the reign of Mr Saraki and by extension, the Kwara State Government, was put under check. He has also remained politically distant from Mr Saraki, moving away and into the PDP and APC respectively as the Senate president also moved in and out. Mr Oyedepo, as the state PDP chairman, moved to the APC when Saraki returned to the PDP last year. Earlier in 2014 when Mr Saraki left the PDP for the APC, he moved away from the party. For about five years, he is widely reputed to have been the brain behind a radio programme on Harmony FM, PDP Gbode, galvanising opposition against the Saraki dynasty and the state government with a critical appraisal of governments policies and exposure of the governments many misdeeds and alleged corruption. 12. AbdulYekeen Alajagusi Alajagusi was until last year a member of the PDP. He would later defect into the APC alongside other members, winning a House of Representatives ticket in Ilorin. He was one of the politicians the APC relied on to weaken the influence of the PDP in Asa local government, considered the stronghold of Mr Saraki. He won the House of Representatives seat for Ilorin West/Asa with 68,585 votes to defeat Abdulrasaq Lawal of the PDP who polled 42,068 votes. 13. Offa/Kwara South People Although the O to ge revolt was said to be infectious in Ilorin, it has firm root too in Offa and other parts of Kwara South. Already the region is considered the home of opposition in Kwara politics. The revolt that resulted in Mr Sarakis fall on Saturday is said to have its roots in Offa and other parts of Kwara South, beginning with the Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal constituency bye-election which the APC won in 2018. The anti-Saraki sentiment in the town was, however, intensified by the Offa Robbery debacle of April 2018. 14. Kwara North Youth Although there is very little evidence people in Kwara North were fanatical about mouthing the O to ge mantra on their streets, they spoke louder than all of the regions with their votes on Saturday. The less chant of O to ge in the region, PREMIUM TIMES observes, may be due to linguistic concern, as the region does not boast of huge Yoruba population like the South and Kwara Central. But the votes from the region spoke louder than street sloganeering as the margin of victory recorded by the APC was much significant than it was in the two other regions. PREMIUM TIMES understands that the youth in the region were at the forefront of the campaign even after local chiefs pledged allegiance to the Saraki dynasty. 15. Non-partisan traders, Cab drivers and Youth The O to ge campaign was designed to appeal to non-partisan voters, largely because of its revolutionary tone and many of them caught the vibe. In Ilorin and other parts of the state, so infectious was the mantra that residents expressed it in different forms, with motorcycle riders and cab drivers popularly using the horn of their cars and motorcycles to make the sound in the city centre. Apart from party members, many of them were non-partisan residents. PDPs O tun ya response did little to dilute the potency of the mantra. Perhaps owing to its acceptance and effectiveness, it has even been adopted in Lagos by an anti-Tinubu group, with the slogan O to ge Lagos. For the fifth time since 1999 when the fourth Republic began, Nigerians last Saturday went to the poll to elect a president who will lead the nation for the next four years. The announcement of the presidential election result by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, was almost halted by the protests of the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It accused the umpire of bias and complained of irregularities in the results announced by the electoral commission. The PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the result and said he would challenge it in court. Mr Buhari came to power in 2015 on the tide of popular discontent against his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. However, the tide started ebbing a few months into his administration, starting with his delay in appointing ministers. For a man regarded as a firm and fearless leader with disdain for corruption, his close association with people accused of fraud and his frequent trips abroad in search of medical care soon impaired his goodwill. A series of policy mishaps, delayed or failed responses to key national issues, economic troubles leading to massive loss of jobs, increased insecurity, among others, forced many Nigerians to seek alternative, believing that the jinx broken by Mr Buhari when he unseated a sitting president in 2015 can be repeated in 2019. They wanted to serve Mr Buhari a dose of his own medicine. Based on the results announced by INEC, Mr Buhari has survived and has again been handed a four-year term that is if not upturned by the court where his opponent has vowed to seek redress. How then did a man many see as slow, aged and unfit to rule, triumph? This is especially taking into consideration the wide margin of about 4 million votes he won with this year, as against the 2.5 million votes he secured ahead of the incumbent in 2015. Without prejudice to allegations of electoral manipulation that will be decided by the Supreme Court if Mr Abubakar makes true his threat, here are some factors that helped Mr Buhari to victory. Loyal support base Since 2003 when Mr Buhari began his quest for the presidency, there are states in the North East and the North West he has never lost, whether running in the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) or even in his new APC. The states are Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, among others. While many attributed this support to Mr Buharis lifestyle compared to other politicians and his religion of Islam, the fact that he had contested against fellow Muslims from the same northern region and still beat them appears to defeat this claim. Since the death of the former premier of the defunct northern region, Ahmadu Bello, Mr Buhari is the only leader from Northern Nigeria who has managed to build a cultic following that is largely unconcerned about his performance in office. The real motivation for this support remains unclear. The opposition PDP also made inroads into some of these northern states, and particularly Kano, where a former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, led the battle for the PDP. But the partys efforts yielded little compared to Mr Buharis APCs. Mr Buhari won in Kano despite his association with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje who was filmed accepting dollars alleged to be a bribe from a state contractor. The APC candidate scored more than 1.4 million votes compared to the paltry 391,593 garnered by his rival. Power of incumbency Until 2015 when former President Jonathan left office, upstaging incumbents in Nigeria, and most nations across Africa had been a strange sight. Thus the commendation that greeted Mr Jonathans historic phone call to his opponent, even before the final collation of results in 2015, was not unexpected. Apart from the common sit-tight syndrome afflicting African leaders, except a very few including the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa, an African leader, whether in a democratic or autocratic system, is usually dominant. The power transcends their ability to muscle opposition at home, but also to curry the favour of many international organisations whose business interests and other deals require state protection. As the worlds most populous black nation, the president of Nigeria is powerful and commands great respect from far and near, even if the citizens feel otherwise. Also, in the case of Mr Buhari, apart from his mass appeal to a section of the country, his assumption of power in 2015 has attracted him more friends across the bridge down south. Prior to his emergence in 2015, selling his candidacy to the southern electorate was a herculean task. But in 2019, with political appointments offered many Nigerians across the states of the federation, and political patronage enjoyed by many politicians and businessmen and women, the story changed significantly for Mr. Buhari. This is evident in the results of the election across the states. For the first time in the history of his electoral journeys, Mr Buhari, apart from simple majority also secured the constitutionally required 25 per cent of total votes cast in 34 states of the federation. Buharis relationship with governors This was a significant strength of Mr Buharis campaign in the southeast region, where the president faced stiff opposition. The president, since his assumption of power, has related cordially with all governors regardless of political party or ethnic affiliations. When bailouts were dished out to the states to assist them on salary payments, the sharing formula was generally accepted as fair and just. The Enugu State governor and his counterparts in Ebonyi and Abia, who are of the PDP, had no reason to be committed to plots against the president. When their party queried their commendation of the president, one of them was reported to have said his relationship with the president was beyond politics. The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, whose predecessor was the running mate of the PDP candidate, did not also hide his admiration for Mr Buhari. He said he had taken more infrastructural projects to the region than many of his predecessors. Political realignment Defections and political realignments across the country helped Mr Buharis reelection bid in no small measure. The endorsement of some key figures seemed to have enhanced his chances. For instance, Godswill Akpabio may have lost his senatorial reelection bid in Akwa Ibom State, but his defection to APC emboldened the presidents camp and reduced the strength of the PDP. While he failed to win the state for the APC, the presidents performance in the state cannot be dissociated from his efforts alongside other leaders in the party. A similar scenario played out in Rivers State, which is generally regarded as the hotbed of intriguing politics. The combination of the strength of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Magnus Abe, among others, gave a stiff challenge to the PDP in the state. Even when Mr Amaechi was the state governor in 2015, the president could not record more than 69,000 votes, compared to the PDPs more than 1 million votes recorded. But the story changed this year. The emergence of a former governor of Abia State who is facing corruption charges, Orji Kalu, as a senator-elect on the platform of the APC, is a confirmation of the influence of the power of realignments on the fortune of Mr Buhari in the east. PDP/Atikus alleged baggage of corruption If Mr Buhari was unable to achieve anything in the last four years, he was able to demonise the main opposition party as a haven of corruption. Anywhere the president or his party members went, they were quick to label the PDP as a gathering of corrupt individuals. They usually backed up their claims with accounts of how the nations economy plummeted under the weight of financial malfeasance during the 16 years of the partys reign. Not even the argument that the APC has been turned to a sanctuary for those it tagged as corrupt could stop the ruling party from tarring its opponent black. The public apology by the party through its national chairman, Uche Secondus, may have worsened the situation, as it was seen by many as an admission of guilt. The choice of Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate did not also help matters, especially with the baggage of yet unproven corruption allegations placed on Mr. Abubakars head. Efforts to clear his name and his hurried visit to America ahead of the election could hardly change the minds of many Nigerians about the PDP candidate. Even when many Nigerians did not want Mr Buharis return as president, Mr Abubakar was not the alternative for them. A leader of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, said rather than voting for either, he would stay away. The ASUU leader, who asked not to be named, described the choice before Nigerians as Hobbesian, saying there was only one offer, and it was either Nigerians took it, or they would lose it. PDPs protracted crisis Another major factor that may have influenced the reelection of Mr Buhari was the prolonged crisis within the opposition PDP. Until 2018, the crisis of leadership that rocked the party led to the exodus of its members to other parties. The ruling APC was a beneficiary in many states. The likes of former Borno State Governor, Ali Sheriff, and his supporters; its former spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye in Ekiti State; Iyiola Omisore, a former senator in Osun State; Jerry Gana, former presidential aspirant, and the partys chairman in Lagos State, Moshood Salvador, among others, left the party. The fallout of the partys presidential primaries also affected the party as the choice of the delegates raised dust. The selection of Peter Obi, regarded as a new entrant into the party from his former All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), also fueled further crisis. Even when the party stakeholders publicly denied any rancour over Mr. Obis choice, keen watchers knew all was not well. That may have contributed significantly to the improved figures recorded by Mr Buhari in Mr Obis region. Election postponement The last-minute postponement of the general election was one of the major factors that affected voters turnout last Saturday. There are indications that Mr Buhari was a major beneficiary. Many Nigerians, and particularly those who travelled far distances before the postponement, could not make it back to their polling centres a week after. APCs firm leadership The renewed energy brought on board by the new leadership of the APC under Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor, also helped the party. Even though his leadership was accused of meddlesomeness and corruption by some stakeholders, his ability to maintain party supremacy seemed to have instilled discipline in the party. People may query the fallout of the party primaries in states such as Rivers, Zamfara, Imo, and Ogun, but the outcome of the elections in many of these states proved the party leader right. Before Mr. Oshiomholes emergence, the leadership seemed to have lost grip on the party structures across many states. The conflict between the executive and the Legislature was not unconnected with the poor leadership of the ruling party. Politics of endorsement Endorsements like those from the regional and socio-cultural groups such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, among others, seemed to have caused more divisions than unity. Many accused the groups of receiving pecuniary gains for their decisions, and as a result, decided to vote against their wishes. The umbrella organisation for Muslims in Nigeria, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his reelection, describing it as a reward for his good character and transparent honesty. The organisation therefore, advised the President to continue to be focused, fair, and firm in his administrations efforts to reposition the country for good. In a statement by the chairperson of its media committe, Femi Abbas, the organisation said it would continue to pray for the Presidents success, saying his success is unequivocally the collective glory of all sincere lovers of God irrespective of their religious or ethnic persuasion. The statement reads; In appreciation of the Almighty Allah for His boundless favours on Nigeria through Your Excellency and acknowledgement of His honour in making your re-election a success, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, congratulates you on your electoral victory and wishes you another successful tenure as President of our beloved country. As Your Excellency is aware, you are a pride not only to us as an Ummah but also the entire black race by virtue of your unique personality and immense qualities which have endeared you to millions of minds, including those of us in the Council and our affiliate bodies. It is a sign of walaayah (friendship) with Allah that a persons love is planted in the hearts of people. You are a refreshing source of inspiration to many people all over the world as a symbol of unimpeachable character, transparent honesty, unimpregnable integrity and unassailable righteousness. As Allah says in the Glorious Quran, is there any reward for good other than good? (Q55:66), Nigerians in their overwhelming majority have rewarded Your Excellencys goodness with a vote of confidence in you through the last February 23 presidential election. The statement also enjoined the President to be wary of those it described as hypocritical do-gooders contriving a non-existent tension for relevance when indeed by their partisan pre-election activities, they cannot genuinely lay claim to neutrality and sincerity. We have no doubt that you are aware that leadership is a trust and that as Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, every shepherd (leader) will be asked about his flock (followers); yet, we must enjoin you to continue to do your best in the interest of the country. We urge you to continue to be fair and firm in leading Nigeria to where she deserves, despite the unfounded blackmail and character assassination by those whose pre-occupation is to eliminate Muslims and Islam from the public space in order to continue to use religion to exploit and extort gullible individuals. We urge you to be wary of hypocritical do-gooders contriving a non-existent tension for relevance when indeed by their partisan pre-election activities, they cannot genuinely lay claim to neutrality and sincerity. Our prayer is that the Almighty Allah continue to grant you good health, long life and divine wisdom to steer the ship of Nigeria to the shore of greatness in peace, development, security and decorum. We also beseech Him to continue to guide and guard you in the discharge of your onerous duties so that you will remain a pre-eminent role model that you are for all incorruptible persons, the NSCIA said. The 2019 presidential election has ended with the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari. Polls for federal parliamentary seats have also seen the emergence of a new crop of lawmakers, including about 15 outgoing state governors. Although the election has been commended by many local and international observers, it was characterised by several anomalies including late arrival of materials, malfunctioning card readers, and violence. About 40 people were killed during the election including 11 in Rivers State. Like Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, who has alleged that the elections were manipulated, several other candidates for both senatorial and lower house seats have alleged cheating and may seek redress in courts. PREMIUM TIMES aggregates some of the lapses observed by its reporters in the February 23 election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Kaduna State Generally, elections in Kaduna were peaceful. But isolated cases of ballot box snatching, sharp practices by presiding officers and over-voting were observed. Many of the infractions were reported at local government levels, indicating that there is a need for INEC to improve on so many aspects of the exercise. As experienced in many states, materials for Saturdays election arrived late at many polling units in Kaduna. As of 8:00 a.m., when polls were scheduled to commence, materials were yet to leave many ward registration areas in places visited in Chikun, Kaduna North and Kaduna South local government areas. As a fallout of delay in distribution of materials at registration centres, elections in polling units started quite late in Kaduna. For instance, at the Kawo Local Education Authority Primary School Polling Unit where Uba Sani, a senatorial candidate, voted, the election did not start until after 12:00 p.m. The candidate who arrived about an hour earlier had to wait for the officials to set up. In some of the polling units in Kaduna, INEC ad-hoc personnel and security officers were unable to control the crowd that thronged polling units. Instead of filing in a single line, or sometimes based on gender, some voters scrambled to vote first, thereby overpowering officials. In some of these polling units, community leaders and politicians took charge, lording it over other voters. The failure of card readers to either accredit or authenticate was widely reported in Kaduna State. In some cases, the presiding officers abandoned the machine and allowed people to vote, leading to widespread cancellations. Also, despite promises by the commission, corps members and other ad-hoc staff were still made to sleep at schools designated at RAC centres, a harsh condition that probably affected their performance on election day. Benue State In Benue State, polls opened behind schedule in many polling units across the state. At some polling units in Otukpo Local Government Area, which falls under Benue South Senatorial District, for instance, INEC staff arrived at noon for the exercise, four hours behind schedule, leading to voting spilling over to the next day. Generally, the election was peaceful, but there were a few reported cases of voter intimidation and ballot snatching. The internally displaced persons at various camps in Benue were disenfranchised, except for a few who registered at relatively secure places. This arrangement appeared unlike in the North-east, where IDP victims of Boko Haram were giving a special voting arrangement. While elections were ongoing, IDPs were seen going about their normal activities in Benue State. Collation has commenced at Kaduna North Local Government. There were also cases of result sheet snatching in Gboko Local Government Area, which the state governor, Samuel Ortom, accompanied by other party leaders reported to the state INEC office. Mr Ortom alleged that military personnel in collusion with a former governor, George Akume, snatched result sheets from collation officers in the local government. However, when Mr. Akume visited the INEC headquarters, he denied the allegation and accused the governor of also seizing result sheets. In most of the local governments, politicians were allowed to operate freely in turning the outcome of the election in favour of their political parties. The entire process was mostly characterised by a slow collation process at all levels. Imo State Saturdays exercise in Imo State was largely marred by irregularities. Most polling units opened long after 8:00 a.m. As of 8:45 a.m, many INEC ad-hoc staff were still finding it difficult to locate their polling centres. At one of the super registration centres about the same time, materials were still being sorted for different polling units in Imo West Senatorial District. Buses did not arrive on time to convey personnel and materials. The delays were attributed to squabbles over accreditation of party agents of both factions of the APC in the state. Violence and thuggery were mostly observed across the state. Some units were yet to open as of 9:35 a.m. There was little or no presence of adequate security personnel at many polling units in Ideato LGA of Imo West. This gave room for several oddities and disorderliness as complained by INEC officials detailed in those units. Around 12:34 p.m. at Ward 1, Unit 007 in Awommama village of Ideato LGA, people openly quarrelled over money said to have been given by the major parties in the race. Both men and women were involved in the violent confrontation and there was no security official at the centre. A journalist duly accredited to cover the polls was harassed and briefly detained by thugs at Polling Unit 1, Ward 1 in Ogboko Village of Ideato LGA around 10:14 a.m. When he reported to the nearest police area command, the journalist was further advised to stay away from the unit. It was the polling unit of the outgoing governor, Rochas Okorocha. Also, in the same LGA, there was low turnout of voters. At Ward 001, Polling Unit 004 in Ogboko Village, though there were 1004 names on the voters register, only 46 voters cast their votes as of 1:46 p.m. There were also reports of ballot box snatching. Mr Okorocha confirmed the incidents of ballot snatching at Umuobom and Osomotor villages while casting his vote. Several incidents of violence were observed in Imo North Senatorial District. This led to cancellations of results of about three LGAs, causing the Imo North Senatorial District elections to be declared inconclusive. Voting ongoing at Ugbonla, Ilaje The INEC office in the Isiala Mbano LGA of the district was reportedly set ablaze by suspected political thugs during the elections. Gunshots were also reported around Ehime Mbano and Obowo villages. Elections were peaceful and hitch-free in Imo East (Owerri Zone. Saturdays rain did not affect voter turnout as residents came out. There was also adequate security here. Akwa Ibom As of 10:00 a.m. on Election Day, voting materials for Uyo Ward 06 were yet to be shared out to the different polling units. When PREMIUM TIMES visited the ward collation centre at St Michaels Primary School, Abak Road, Uyo, electoral officers were busy sorting out voting materials. Party agents blamed the delay on the inexperience of the electoral officers. Earlier, one politician, accompanied by a truckload of armed police officers, had visited the school during sorting of voting materials, in apparent contravention of an order that barred police officers from moving about with politicians on Election Day. Along Oron Road, in downtown Uyo, election officials were yet to arrive polling units as of 8.30 a.m. A handful of voters were seen idling away, waiting for officials to arrive with voting materials. There were instances where the card readers malfunctioned, like in Unit 013, Ibiono Ibom Western Ward 4. Voters at the unit were seen expressing frustration against the electoral system. In Ibiono, a politician, with the backing of police and another security agency, led thugs to hijack election materials in a polling unit close to his home. Some INEC officials, in some instances, aided politicians to hijack ballot materials. Police in Ikot Ekpene confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that some thugs, together with INEC officials, were arrested while trying to run away with ballot boxes after voting. Ondo The elections went on well in most parts of Ondo State. Specifically in the central and northern senatorial districts. Electoral materials in these areas arrived ahead of the opening time of 8:00 a.m., except for a few polling units where materials arrived slightly late. This, however, was not the same in the southern senatorial district, especially in Ese Odo and Ilaje Local Government Areas, where there was a near total breakdown of law and order. In Ilaje, a coastal community with difficult terrain, ballot box snatching and outright kidnapping of electoral officers were witnessed. The returning officer for Ilaje, Ogunjobi Kehinde, a professor, confirmed while presenting the results that INEC staff were kidnapped and ballots were taken away, resulting in cancellations in many polling units. The polling units affected include Unit 28 in Ugbo and 24 in Mahin Ward 2. It was also reported that there was no voting in Ayetoro in Ugbo Ward 2 due to violence. Some communities in the riverine Ilaje and Ese Odo also did not vote because there was a mix up of electoral materials and because the areas were far-flung, the materials could not be retrieved. In Idanre, some individuals were attacked while hoodlums made efforts to disrupt the electoral process. Security in the area was largely porous and only a few unarmed security operatives manned a large number of polling units. At Polling Unit 008, Ward 2, Atosin, Idanre, hoodlums threatened to snatch ballot boxes, but the situation was saved by the deployment of policemen. The secrecy of the ballot was largely flouted in many of the polling units, as the position of the voting area was accessible to other voters. The prohibition of phones and cameras at the voting area was also not effectively enforced or selectively enforced. For example, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Bamidele Oleyelogun, went to cast his vote with all his mobile phones with him at the cubicle in Polling Unit 6, Ward 6 in Igbaraoke. At the compiling of results at some polling units, some corps members made errors in entering the results in the sheets and caused unnecessary delays and confusions. Such was the case in Ward 2, Unit 10A, Akure South, where a corps member entered the House of Representatives results in the form and titled it Ondo Central Senatorial District. Besides the complaints and interjections of political parties who had issues with the results presented by the returning officers of local governments, the presentation of results went well at the state collation centre. Borno State Despite delaying the elections to improve on its logistics, INEC started the February 23 elections in Borno State on a wobbly note, with electoral officials arriving their polling units late. In Jere Local Government Area, many polling officials did not get to to their units on time. Most of the INEC ad-hoc staff who got all their sensitive and non-sensitive materials as early as 5:00 a.m. were left stranded for several hours before they could deploy. The delay was, among other things, blamed on lack of vehicles to take them to their different wards and specific polling units. For example, our reporter trailed some of the polling officials deployed from Jere to a polling area called Galtimari. The vehicle that was supposed to convey them did not show up until after 11:00 a.m. And when they eventually left for their polling units, the driver took them to the ward office in Fori neighbourhood and dropped them there. They had to trek the remaining two kilometres to their polling units. Although accreditation and voting started early in some PUs in Maiduguri, the state capital, most of the card readers could not perform the finger print verification. Most voters had to manually thumbprint on the column provided beside their photograph on the voter register before voting. Another problem that constituted a major setback for the voters was the location of some polling units, especially for those who had to vote in IDPs camps. Many who considered the location as too far from their homes did not go out to vote. Some of the IDPs living in host communities could not locate their newly assigned polling units. The IDPs from Kukawa Local Government Area had two voting centres one at Teachers Village Camp and the other at Arabic College, Maiduguri. Some of the IDPs found themselves at the wrong voting centres. And because the distance between the two locations is more than four kilometres, most went back home without voting. Security at the polling units were also inadequate. Though the Borno State Police Command had said it mobilised 14,000 personnel for election coverage in the state, some of the polling units had no such security deployment, a situation that left most of the electoral officials at the mercy of politicians and political touts. Another major problem which the opposition politicians had cried over was the sorting of ballots. At some of the polling units, when results were counted they were not pasted on the walls or structure around the PUs as required by law, before the results were taken to the ward collation centre. And at the ward collation centres, proceedings took place at night. The same thing was observed with the local government collation centres. Most of the smaller political parties did not have resources to keep their agents to watch proceedings for that long period of time. And such delays, in most cases, favour bigger political parties to possibly manipulate results. Enugu State Enugu State was one of the states significantly affected by the logistics challenges INEC cited as reason for the initial postponement of the general elections. PREMIUM TIMES had reported the missing result sheets for the Enugu West Senatorial District, represented in the upper chamber by the Senate Deputy President, Ike Ekweremadu. Until a few hours to the rescheduled polls, the result sheets for Aninri Local Government Area, one of the five local government areas in the senatorial district, could not be retrieved. Also, on Election Day, PREMIUM TIMES observed late arrival of materials across the state, a development many of the electorate said was a deliberate attempt by the electoral umpire to disenfranchise them. At the New Haven Primary School in Enugu, the state capital, where eight polling units were sited, as of 9:00 a.m., there was no sign of election holding in the vicinity. The location, which also served as collation area for one of the wards in Enugu, had many ad-hoc staff on ground who were still being deployed to their polling units as of 8:00 a.m. PREMIUM TIMES also observed a late mobilisation of ad-hoc staff including collation and returning officers with many of them still stranded at the state INEC office as late as 12:00 midnight on Friday, February 22. Many of the collation officers could not also reach their centres due largely to what they described as non-provision of logistics by INEC. Although voting was largely peaceful across the state, there were challenges identified in various polling units including shortage of ballot papers, and late arrival of result sheets. Rivers State The elections in Rivers was marred by widespread irregularities and deadly violence. In some local government areas like Bonny, which houses major international oil firms, election did not take place at all due to violence. No fewer than 16 people were killed, including at least two security agents. The PDP and the APC have blamed one another for the shambolic outcome of the exercise. Nyesom Wike, the state governor, blamed the Nigerian Army for aiding the killings to suppress votes from the state considered an opposition stronghold. Mr Wike said he had petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate the elections-related killings in Rivers State on February 23. The army responded by claiming arrest of Mr Wikes loyalists sent to disrupt polls. The suspects denied wrongdoings. Kwara State In Kwara State, late arrival of materials was witnessed in major parts of Ilorin, the state capital. Similarly, INEC officials arrived late to many polling units in the city centre. But the process was generally peaceful and devoid of violence across the state. As Nigerians prepared last year for the ongoing general elections, some political leaders mooted the idea of forming a political party that presents the voters an alternative to the two establishment parties, the ruling All Progressives (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was one of those involved in the initiative after President Muhammadu Buhari ignored his advice not to seek reelection. Mr Obasanjo, who in the run-up to the 2015 elections publicly tore his membership card of the PDP, also said he would not return to the party. Instead, he would rally the newbreed politicians into a Third Force to challenge the APC and PDP at this years election. But Mr Obasanjo soon abandoned the project and endorsed the candidature of his estranged former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, after the latter won the presidential primary of the PDP in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. But an unusual suspect on Saturday emerged the Third Force from the presidential elections, as it was credited with the highest number of votes after the APC and PDP. The new Third Force is Invalid Votes. From the result of the poll announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the total number of invalid votes recorded nationwide is also higher than the total votes cast in each of 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory. With 1,289,607 votes out of the 28,614,190 total votes cast at the poll officially declared invalid, PREMIUM TIMES spoke with stakeholders on the reasons and implications of the invalidation of such a large number of votes. The APC won the election with 15,191,847 votes, while the PDP emerged runner up with 11,262,978 votes. The other 71 parties polled only three percent of the total votes cast in the election, their combined total way below the total of invalid votes. It is, therefore, safe to say invalid votes emerged from the poll as the third largest political party in Nigeria. The increasing number of invalid votes in the Nigerian election has become a source of worry to many stakeholders in the country. A large number of invalid votes has been recorded in almost all the recent elections in Nigeria. For instance, during the April 2011 presidential election, 1,259,506 votes were rejected as invalid out of the 39,469,484 votes cast. The figure dropped at the 2015 presidential election, when 844,519 votes were rejected as invalid out of the 29,432,083 votes cast. In the 2019 presidential election, the margin of victory was about 3.9 million votes and higher than the number of invalid votes. It is the reason that INEC did not call for a rerun. But in a tight race, the invalid votes would have been enough to determine the outcome. The Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, and Samson Itodo, the Director of YIAGA Africa, attributed the high incidence of voided or invalid votes to inadequate voter education in Nigeria. They urged government, the electoral commission and political parties to do more enlightenment campaigns for voters on the voting process. They also want the size of the ballot papers increased to enable voters thumbprint properly in their preferred partys box. To be able to increase the size of the ballot papers, Mr. Itodo suggested a review of the number of parties that get on the ballot papers. For the fact that anyone can be a candidate doesnt mean all the parties should get to the ballot paper, he said. Parties that are weak in terms of institutions and dont even comply with the rules of their own party should be excluded. Before this cycle of elections, the National Orientation Agency took sensitisation campaigns to the 774 local government areas of the country to enlighten voters on how they can exercise their franchise by voting correctly. Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and even media houses ran jingles and lectures to educate voters. But it would appear that these efforts did not reach a large audience. The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the suspension of governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibikunle Amosun of Imo and Ogun respectively, will not affect the partys victory in the March 9, governorship and state House of Assembly election. Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC National Publicity Secretary, gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the development on Friday in Abuja. NAN recalls that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) at its Friday meeting, suspended Messrs Okorocha and Amosun, alongside the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, and the Minister of Niger Delta, Usani Usani. As to the effect it will have in the coming governorship and state House of Assembly elections, the real negative effect will come when we allow our members who are in position of influence to undermine our candidates. We need to get it clear to every member who supports such actions that the party is watching them, and similar fate may befall them, Mr Issa-Onilu said. He added that the suspension of the governors would not have come to the public as a surprise following their anti-party activities over a period of time. He recalled that the two governors had been sponsoring candidates against those recognised by the party. This, he said, had been ongoing and so the party had to follow the right procedures; taking steps to first get them to see reason why they needed to retract their steps. NAN recalls that in Ogun, Mr Amosun is backing AbdulKadir Akinlade, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against APCs Dapo Abiodun. In Imo, Mr Okorocha is supporting his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, the candidate of the Action Alliance, against Hope Uzodinma, the APC candidate. They occupy the position they are in today, courtesy of the ticket given to them by this party. To now use that opportunity to work against the interest of the party, you do not expect the party to look the other way. More so when you realise that APC is a party of discipline that has come to establish the fact that to deepen democracy, you must subject everybody to the rule of law, and that there must be equality for all before the law, he said. Mr Issa-Onilu stressed that as far as the APC was concerned, no matter what position an individual held, the party would not give him any leverage when he flaunted the rules or the constitution of the party. He added that the partys leadership had at a point, issued queries to the two governors and cautioned them against their anti party activities. He recalled that when the APC presidential campaign train was led by President Muhammadu Buhari to Ogun, they were thoroughly embarrassed by a different party. Mr Issa-Onilu said this was done with the support of the governor, who he said, brought in certain elements who were not APC members to the campaign venue to create problems. This actually embarrassed our president, but we thought at that period, we were facing the presidential and National Assembly Election and that it was not the appropriate time for us to do anything that might be destructive to our course, so we waited, he said. He added that though there was a window for the governors to show remorse and act appropriately to convince the partys leadership that they would play by the rules, they never did. He said rather Messrs Okorocha and Amosun came out openly to endorse their choice candidates against the partys candidates. Which ever way you look at it, that is anti-party activity, it is beyond the limit, and tolerating such, will mean that our change mantra is just a mantra without meaning, the APC spokesman said. He further explained that the VON DG was suspended also, because of his anti-party activities in the recent past, which he said had been documented. The APC spokesman said that Mr Okechukwu had also engaged in actions that undermined the partys performance in Enugu, his home state. He also explained that the Minister of Niger Delta was also found to have committed the same offence as the others. He maintained that it would be injurious for the party to allow such actions to continue, adding that the suspension still stood. He, however, said that the duration of their suspension would be determined by the time the report of the investigative committee on the matter was submitted to the partys National Executive Committee (NEC). I have forwarded the report to NEC, recommending their expulsion, the limit of the powers of the partys NWC is to suspend; it does not have the power to expel. It is only NEC that can take that action, so we have exercised what the Constitution of the party allows us to do, the report of our investigation will be put in place and passed on to NEC for further action, he said. He added that the APC NWC had also decided to issue a query to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State for anti-party activities, adding that the party already had video evidence against him. NAN reports that Mr Akeredolu had earlier been accused by the Ondo Mandate Group, an APC support group, of working against the party and the presidency. On the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, Mr Issa-Onilu said the party had noted his comments, but had not seen him working against the party. He said the minister had his grievance and had the right to express same within the law, but added that the APC, for now, did not have any evidence that Mr Shittu was involved in any anti-party activity. (NAN) The Kaduna State Government said it would set up a judicial commission of inquiry into the killings in Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas of the state. Gov. Nasir El-Rufai made the statement on Saturday when he visited Maro, Karamai and Sakiya communities in the area where 40 persons were killed on Tuesday in alleged reprisal attacks. According to the governor, the commission, to be chaired by a senior High Court Judge, will investigate the root causes of the crisis. He said the committee would comprise of security experts who would also look into the killings and investigate those behind it. Mr El-Rufai said the committee would further look at what could be done to address the issues, how many people were arrested and under investigation over the killings and their states, and why none had been convicted by the courts. I am here to sympathise and commiserate with you and to pray for the repose of the souls of the departed, he added. Over a hundred people have been killed in the area in the last two weeks in suspected ethnic religious attacks. The latest killings occurred on Tuesday in Kajuru local government area where at least 30 people were murdered. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr El- Rufai visited the mass grave where 15 persons were buried in the area after the Tuesday attacks. It is very sad that people that have lived together side by side for hundreds of years have suddenly started killing each other, he said. According to him the cycle of violence particularly in Kajuru and Kachia must stop. It is not in our culture, our religion to permit anybody to kill; all those who engage in these are not godly people, but godless people, they are neither Muslims nor Christians, the governor said. He urged the residents to join in condemning the killings while calling on religious leaders to always preach peace. We must remember that this cycle of violence will never end as long as we believe in revenge and reprisals. We have community leaders, we have law enforcement agencies that you should report everyone that has done wrong, you should not take laws into your hands. Because if you dont do so, anyone can take laws into his hands and the cycle of killings will never end, he said. Mr El-Rufai assured the communities that the government would continue to work towards ensuring peaceful coexistence and urged them to work with government and security agencies to restore lasting peace to the area. He urged residents to be law abiding, reminding them that irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences, they were all creations of God and would account for the evil they committed. We will all stand before God for our actions, let us not do what is not in our Holy Books I beg of you; I pray God gives you the fortitude to bear the loss. While I sympathise with you, I am also worried because I am also going to stand before God to answer to what steps I have taken to prevent the killings. I have to explain every death before God, so I am more worried because its ultimately my responsibility and this is why I have to be here to apologise and commiserate with you, the governor said. On the complaint of the community of lack of communication network, the governor said the government would take it up with relevant agencies. Suggestions have been made to get satellite phones for the community leaders so that where ever they are, they can make calls in times of emergencies; Nigeria Air Force has helicopter that can get here in 20 minutes, he said. According to him, there are so many isolated vulnerable communities which the government is working on ways to respond quickly to whenever attacks occur. Earlier, the Chief of Karamai, Maika Musa, expressed worry over the attacks and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to book. He also disclosed that the affected communities were in urgent need of government intervention, including provision of food, to ease their pains. According to him, the victims who are mostly farmers have lost their grains to the fire set by the bandits that attacked their communities. He also urged the government to assist in providing access roads that would easily link them to the city. (NAN) Former military leader, Ibrahim Babangida, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his reelection. Mr Babangida also urged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, to work with the winner in the interest of the country. Mr Babaginda said this on Saturday via a statement. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Buhari as the winner of last Saturdays presidential election after he got 15,191,847 votes to defeat Mr Abubakar who garnered 11,262,978 votes. In his message, Mr Babangida urged Mr Buhari to address Nigerias most urgent problems such as economic challenges and insecurity. Mr Babaginda also urged the president-elect to heed the yearnings of Nigerians for the restructuring of the country, urging him to seek constitutional means to devolve some powers presently exercised by the federal government. I congratulate the Nigerian electorate who conducted themselves peacefully during the voting process; they were enthusiastic to exercise their democratic rights of electing candidates of their choice, he said. Sadly, due to violence in some part of the country, lives were lost and I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to their families for the death of their loved ones. I wish to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on his re-election to lead Nigeria in the next four years. I have observed that the electioneering campaign was very strenuous and the contest very keen. That despite the turbulent terrain of politics, the President submitted and subjected himself to this process. Indeed is a clear testimony that he believes in the democratic process and ideals. Mr Babaginda advised President Buhari to desist from seeing his opponents as enemies. The newly elected president should heal the wounds of the heated campaign exchanges by embracing those who contested alongside with him. The President must resist the temptation to see them as enemies; not even opponents, but fellow compatriots who merely disagreed with him on how best to move our country forward. Now that the President has won his re-election bid, he should confront with renewed vigor the most urgent problem confronting Nigeria: insecurity of lives and property. The Boko Haram insurgency remains a threat to many Nigerians particularly in the North East subregion, while the twin evils of kidnapping and armed robbery/armed banditry remain a major national menace. The president must pay priority attention to these security issues. The economy of the country must also occupy the presidents urgent attention. There is the need to be more creative in formulating policies that will improve the nations economy, create employment opportunities and give hope to our teeming youths. The President may wish to heed to the yearnings of reasonable Nigerians for restructuring and seek all constitutional means to devolve some powers presently exercised by the Federal Government to the other tiers of government. Mr Babangida, himself a former PDP presidential aspirant, however, urged Mr Abubakar to pacify his supporters to refrain from violence, adding that politics is a game in which there must be only one winner. He also showered special praises for Mr Abubakar, saying he impressed him with his gallant and audacious spirit as the main challenger. I call on the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to close ranks and work with the winner of the election in an objective and constructive manner so that democracy will continue to thrive in our country at this crucial period of renaissance. I urged him also to endeavour and prevail on his admirers to eschew bitterness and violence. They must be prevailed upon to understand that politics is a game in which there must be only one winner. I pray that the Almighty Allah will continue to guide our democratic steps for peace and progress in our country. The National Broadcasting Commission has closed Jay FM in Jos, Plateau State, for alleged breach of broadcasting code of conduct, the radio said Saturday. The managing director of the station, Clinton Garuba, told PREMIUM TIMES that the closure was unfounded and political. Earlier, at a press conference held at the station on Saturday, Mr Garuba accused the State Security Services (SSS) and the NBC of conniving to shut down the station. He said the shutdown directive came in a letter on Friday night, which referred to previous letters of warning and fine on two separate issues dated February 16 and 18 respectively. While the former was a warning for airing a News Sound Bite by Bishop David Abioye charging his followers on how they should vote, the latter was a N100, 000 fine for airing a News Commentary titled does Buhari deserve a second term? authored by a listener, he said. The question is will be that between the 18th of February 2019 when JAY FM was sanctioned and the 1st of March, 2019 when JAY FM was shut down, what exactly did JAY FM air to warrant a shutdown? Mr Garuba asked. Mr Garuba said a claim by NBC that its broadcast might lead to a breakdown of law and order was not true, challenging the commission to cite an instance any misconduct. Mr Garuba appealed to NBC to kindly respond the station before the governorship election to enable it inform the electorate and also to mobilise them to partake in the election. The NBC could not be immediately reached. Rights Attorney, Family Members Go Missing After his Scheduled Release ZHENGZHOU, HENAN, China, Mar. 1, 2019 / Christian Newswire / -- A human rights attorney and two of his family members went missing after he was scheduled to be released from prison yesterday, according to BBC News Photo: Missing Chinese human rights attorney Jiang Tianyong. Initially, authorities told the family of imprisoned human rights attorney Jiang Tianyong, who just finished a two-year prison sentence on a trumped-up subversion of state power charge, he would be relocated to Zhengzhou after his release and not allowed to return home. Some of his supporters traveled to the jail on the day of his scheduled release, expecting to pick him up, but the officials told them he had already been moved to another, unknown location. They did not disclose who had moved him. Since then, his wife, Jin Bianlingwho fled to the United Stateshas not been able to contact him. A public security bureau officer told Wang Qiaoling, the wife of persecuted human rights attorney Li Heping, that Jiang being "relocated to somewhere other than his hometown" is legal since he was sentenced to two years in prison with three years' of political rights deprivation. However, this is a violation of Chinese law. In addition, his father and sister's phones have been shut off, and no one has been able to reach them. Both of his missing family members planned to meet him outside the prison. Jiang was initially taken into police custody while returning home to Beijing after visiting the wife of Xie Yang, another human rights attorney who was imprisoned for his work, in November 2016. He stood trial in August 2017. In the past, Jiang advocated for the rights of people groups commonly suppressed by the Chinese government, including religious minorities and lawyers caught up in China's 2015 crackdown on legal professionals who defend people imprisoned for their beliefs. His activism has landed him in jail multiple times, according to TIME Magazine , and he reported suffering torture. TIME also cited human rights scholars from the United Nations, who "expressed fear for Jiang's alleged ailing health, saying that he suffered memory loss and was possibly drugged while in detention." These claims match testimonies from other released human rights lawyers, who say they were forced to take unknown medication during their time behind bars. ChinaAid calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Jiang and his father and sister, since their arbitrary detention and forced disappearance are unequivocal violations of international human rights legislation and China's own laws. In addition, those who enacted this abuse must be held accountable as violators of Chinese law and the international human rights agreements of which China is a signatory. For more information on Jiang Tianyong's story, please click here The former spokesperson to the former governor of Kaduna State, Ramalan Yero, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ahmed Maiyaki, a grass root politician, is a prominent figure in the PDP. In a statement sent PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Maiyaki said he defected because he did not believe in the capacity of the PDP governorship candidate, Isah Ashiru. Mr Maiyaki had earlier dumped his former boss during the PDP primaries and supported the former NEMA boss, Sani Sidi. Both of them lost to Isah Ashiru, who clinched the partys ticket to wrestle the state top seat with the governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on March 9. Having consulted widely with my political associates, family and friends, l have decided to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This decision has become necessary, in view of the inability of the party at the state and its gubernatorial candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan to provide an alternative development plan if elected to lead the state. It is on record that the bar of governance in Kaduna State is admirably high at the moment and we, as indigenes of the state, have a duty to sustain this feat. Sadly, the PDP in Kaduna and its gubernatorial candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan, have not put in place any plan to sustain or surpass these achievements. To this end, l have notified and returned the membership card to officials of the PDP at my ward. Accordingly, l have registered as a member of All Progressive Congress (APC) whose candidate, Gov Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has proven competence and vision for Kaduna State. I wish to state unequivocally, that El-Rufais vision for my dear state is unmatched by any of the candidates seeking to be governor of the state in the March 9th polls. l believe Elrufai has the capacity, experience and interest to serve Kaduna better. l, therefore, declare my total support for his candidature and urge other like minds to do so. Kaduna truly deserves a competent leader, we cannot afford anything less. One of the PDP chieftains in Kaduna, Umar Mohammed, said they are not surprised by Maiyakis decamping. We know people like Maiyaki will decamp. They have not been with the party. He left his former boss, former governor Yero and worked for Sani Sidi. Now, he could not fit in, so he left. He will leave APC too, Mr Umar said. The whereabouts of Governor Udom Emmanuels security aide remains unknown eight days now after he was reportedly arrested by soldiers in Uyo on the eve of the February 23 general elections. The aide, Iniobong Ekong, is a retired captain in the Nigerian army and a special adviser on security matters to the Akwa Ibom governor. The Commissioner of Information in the state, Charles Udoh, had told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Ekong was picked up by some soldiers in the night on the eve of the elections. Mr Ekong is yet to regain his freedom, Ini Ememobong, the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday. Mr Ememobong corroborated the claim that the governors aide was being held by the military. We have information that he is being detained in Port Harcourt by the military authorities. The military hasnt denied that they are the ones holding him, he said. He said Mr Ekong has not been allowed to reach his family. We are making frantic effort, we are mounting sufficient pressure, we are demanding for his unconditional release. We are also stating that as a civilian, he ought to be detained or tried by civil authority, the PDP spokesperson said. PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the claim that Mr Ekong is being held by the military. Aminu Iliyasu, spokesperson for the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, did not confirm or deny Mr Ekongs arrest. Reached Saturday night, he told PREMIUM TIMES he would have to find out about the report. The police in Akwa Ibom said they were not aware of the matter. I read about it on the social media like every other person, the police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, told PREMIUM TIMES, Friday. I believe an incident of such magnitude should have been reported to the police, Mr MacDon saidreporty need to make an official report to the police. The spokesperson said the police was going to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, Mr Ekongs daughter, Pearl, has taken to Facebook to appeal for the release of her dad. His right to liberty and dignity, a constitutional right that every Nigerian should enjoy, has been infringed without apology. As I write, no one has come forward with a charge or an accusation. A man who has done nothing wrong but given his all to Nigeria, a passionate activist, a father, a husband taken in the middle of the night in a democratic nation? Help us, please. Dont just read this; share this post until it reaches someone with the power to do something, Ms Pearl wrote on Wednesday on the social media site. The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it must rescue Ogun workers from some alleged anti-labour practices of the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun. Ayuba Wabba, the NLC President, made the position of the congress known in a statement on Friday night in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there has been a confrontation between the state governor and the leadership of NLC over non-payment of workers salaries and arrears and the recent sack of the NLC state chairman by the governor. The NLC leadership also accused Mr Amosun of non-remittance of statutory deductions from workers salaries and his refusal to pay gratuities of retired state and local government workers since 2013. Mr Wabba said NLC was prepared for a showdown with the governor if attempts were made to disgrace the NLC during its rescheduled March 5 protest in the state, as reportedly threatened by him. He said the decision to confront and tackle Mr Amosun had already been taken by the NLC at its 12th National Delegates Conference and that there was no going back on it. The leadership of the NLC has taken cognisance of a statement credited to the Gov. of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, where he threatened to disgrace the leadership of the NLC if the Congress insists on embarking on a protest scheduled for Tuesday March 5, 2019 in Ogun State. This was reported by Premium Times on 1st March 2019 and other platforms. Our position is that The Nigeria Labour Congress has taken note of the threat by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. But we want to assure him that his threats will not deter us from defending the interest of workers in Ogun State whose rights he has been trampling upon. This is especially on the following issues: the non-remittance of statutory deductions from workers salaries for pensions, cooperative, ileya, Christmas etc. over a period of one hundred and five (105) months, he said. He said that Mr Amosun had refused to pay salary arrears of workers at the Tai Solarin College of Education, according to him, which has accumulated for the past ten years and now grosses to a financial liability of about N9 billion. To make matters worse, Governor Amosun sacked the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress from his employment for standing firm in the defence of the rights of workers in Ogun State. The issues we have highlighted are too grievous to be swept under the carpet, therefore, the decision of the 12th National Delegates Conference of the NLC to confront and engage Governor Amosun will be carried out to the letter on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. We are not unmindful of the fact that even Amosuns political party has complained of his penchant to violently disgrace other spheres of leadership outside his control and sometimes beyond him. We are not unmindful of the fact that Governor Amosuns hostility to Nigerian workers is primarily a transfer of aggression Our confidence stems from the protection and guarantees provided by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which gives workers and indeed all Nigerians the freedom to peaceful assembly and protest,he said. While insiting on the scheduled protest, Mr Wabba added that All that the law requires us to do is to inform the police and relevant security agencies. This we have done. We are ready to peacefully protest the grievous mistreatment by our workers in the hands of Governor Ibikunle Amosun on 5th March 2019. We want to warn Governor Amosun that we will hold him personally responsible for any harm that comes to any worker during our protest on March 5, 2019. We want to remind Governor Amosun that he has already trampled workers on the ground and those who are down need fear no fall. We wish to alert our security agencies to Governor Amosuns resort to violent threats. We assure him that his immunity cover will soon be removed and he must be ready to answer for his crimes against workers. The NLC can assure Ibikunle Amosun that we will continue to engage him even after he would have been sworn in as a Senator in Abuja. We wish to state that we unequivocally stand with the press statement recently released by our state council on this issue. We urge all our state councils especially those from the contiguous states to Ogun State Lagos, Oyo, Osun states who are already fully mobilised for the protest not to be sacred one bit by the threats by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. We had dared and won worse tyrants, Mr Wabba said. (NAN) More Religious Bigotry from Rep. Omar NEW YORK, Mar. 1, 2019 / Christian Newswire / -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on what Rep. Ilhan Omar told her fans two days ago: Rep. Ilhan Omar, who lied about the Covington Catholic High School students, and then, after unfairly maligning them took down her accusatory tweet, is no stranger to religious bigotry. Just ask Jews. Now she has struck again. On February 27, she told a gathering of her fans at Busboys and Poets, a Washington, D.C. cafe, what they came to hear. "I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country." Everyone knew she was targeting Jews. American Jews do not pledge allegiance to Israel: their allegiance is to the United States. With good reason, they support Israel. So, too, do millions of Christians. But it is a hallmark of anti-Semites to accuse Jews of putting Israel first. There was a time, not long ago, when Catholics were accused of putting the best interests of the Vatican over the best interests of the United States. That was an expression of religious bigotry. It is no less bigoted for a public figure to accuse Jews of dual loyalty. The Democratic Party has a few brazen young congresswomen on its hands. They had better defuse this time bomb before the mutineers take control. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Irvin Cantor and Jeffrey Breit grew up in different parts of Virginia (Cantor in Richmond, Breit in Virginia Beach), graduated from law school a year apart (Cantor in 1978 from the University of Virginia, Breit from Tulane in 1979), and later became great friends and two of the most heralded trial attorneys in their home state. Each has been president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and routinely recognized as among America's "Super Lawyers" and the nation's top litigators. In Richmond, the legal community considers Cantor, Stoneburner, Ford, Grana and Buckner one of Virginia's top brain injury and medical malpractice firms. In Hampton Roads, Breit, Drescher and Imprevento is viewed as the "go-to" practice for complex personal injury cases. Now, Jeffrey Breit and Irvin Cantor have united their legacies and companies into one. Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, with offices in Richmond and Virginia Beach, will represent victims of accidents caused by the negligence of others, seeking to secure fair settlements for their injured clients. "We are both veterans in the area of personal injury law in Virginia and elsewhere," says Breit, who comes from a family of attorneys (father, brothers and wife) and now teaches as an adjunct professor of law at the College of William and Mary. "Each of us has outstanding young attorneys working with us, so Irv and I thought it was time to bring together everyone's talents to provide Virginians with serious injury cases the most experienced, knowledgeable and vigorous representation possible." "Stephanie Grana, Elliot Buckner and Scott Bucci are also Super Lawyers in their fields and well known in Central Virginia for their ability to win significant awards," says Cantor. "In fact, Stephanie is a past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and Elliot is in line to become one. We have all partnered with Jeff and his team on cases. The relationship and results have been excellent." Jeff's protege is Kevin Biniazan, an Arizona native who graduated cum laude from W&M Law where he received some of his litigation training from Breit himself. "Kevin is on his way to a very successful and productive career," says Jeff, "and having a great team of lawyers, either in the next office at the Oceanfront, or at the other end of the phone line in Richmond, to provide advice and co-counsel will benefit him and his growing list of clients." Cantor's protege is his son, Joseph, who also graduated cum laude from the University of Richmond Law School. Virginia Beach attorneys Mike Imprevento, Allen Beasley and Billie Hobbs Leeth will remain as part of the new entity. In Richmond, Breit Cantor also includes lawyers Lewis Stoneburner, Aubrey Ford, Bellamy Stoneburner and Jeffrey Stedman. Irvin Cantor, who is a Past President of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, is also founder and President of Jury Impressions, a jury consulting company, which arranges mock trials and focus groups for attorneys nationwide. Jeffrey Breit has made his mark, not just in the courtroom, but also at the statehouse, leading the fight to raise the "cap" on medical malpractice awards in Virginia, which had been frozen for 17 years. He also was one of 15 attorneys who represented 125,000 businesses, fishermen and other individuals who filed lawsuits against defendants in the April 2010 BP oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Pending the official formation and launch of Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, inquiring parties can learn about and request the services of Breit Drescher Imprevento by visiting https://www.breitdrescher.com/. If you would like any additional information please call Jeff Breit at (757) 670-3888 SOURCE Breit Drescher Imprevento Related Links https://www.breitdrescher.com RICHMOND, Va., March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner (Richmond) and Breit Drescher Imprevento (Virginia Beach) are merging to form Breit Cantor Grana Buckner, a powerful Virginia law firm specializing in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Independently, each law firm is renowned for its representation of individuals and families devastated by personal injury, wrongful death and other cases of serious personal, commercial and economic loss. Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner in particular has over 100 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. These two firms are merging for one simple reason to be the go-to firm for catastrophic cases in Virginia and along the East Coast. Because our attorneys focus their practices on only the most serious plaintiffs' cases, our clients receive exhaustive and aggressive representation from the first meeting through trial. Most importantly, our limited case-load and client-focused approach ensure that all clients are given the attention, compassion and respect they deserve. Our attorneys are routinely sought out by other attorneys to assist on complex cases and have been recognized for their professional leadership, litigation experience and reputation for legal acumen. Four of our attorneys have served (or will serve in 2020) as President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and three have served as President of the Virginia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. All of our partners have been selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America and/or Super Lawyers, in addition to numerous other professional accolades. Our lawyers have also had leadership roles in and actively participate with the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, American Association for Justice, the Lewis Powell Inn of Court and the Metro Richmond Woman's Bar Association as well as numerous other legal, professional and charitable organizations. The combined experiences, insight and background of the two law firms means even more powerful resources will be available for clients. The two office locations in Richmond and Virginia Beach will incorporate 14 attorneys and a vast team of paralegals, nurses and investigators. Breit Cantor Grana Buckner will be a powerful force that fights for justice on behalf of those who have sustained life-altering injuries or the death of a loved-one. Until the official formation of Breit Cantor Grana Buckner this spring, inquiring parties can learn about and request the legal assistance of Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner in Richmond by visiting https://www.virginiatrialfirm.com/. For more information please call Irv Cantor at (804) 644-1400 SOURCE Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana & Buckner Related Links https://www.virginiatrialfirm.com NEW ORLEANS, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF continues its investigation into CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS). Beginning in November 2017, news reports revealed claims of sexual harassment and lewd conduct by veteran CBS anchor Charlie Rose toward numerous female employees dating back decades up to 2017, which CBS executives knew of but failed to take adequate measures to prevent. In July 2018, media reports exposed sexual harassment claims against CEO Leslie Moonves for conduct spanning the 1980s and mid-2000s including forcible touching or kissing and threats of career sabotage, all largely ignored by CBS. Subsequent reports further detailed a widespread culture of sexual harassment at CBS, ignored or even suppressed by executives, including three six-figure settlements with employees. The Company's actions, directed by its executives, have exposed it to significant litigation and expense including an ongoing securities class action lawsuit for failing to disclose material information to investors regarding the above conduct, violating federal securities laws. Recently, the lawsuit's allegations were expanded to include that Moonves and other executives had sold over 3.4 million shares of CBS stock before the claims went public, totaling over $200M in proceeds. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether CBS officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to CBS shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of CBS shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-cbs/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 206 Covington St. Madisonville, LA 70447 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com NEW ORLEANS, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK). On February 1, 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that, based on a filing by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., a nonprofit oversight entity, and people familiar with the matter, the Company was facing a $10M fine by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for numerous violations of safety and cyber security rules, including "repeated failures to implement physical and cyber security protections," and that the Company had "failed to protect sensitive information on its most critical cyber assets and allowed employees without proper clearances to access computerized records for more than four years." According to the report, the 127 violations cited presented a serious risk to "the eastern interconnection, the web of electric utilities east of the Rocky Mountains that furnishes electricity to most Americans." KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Duke's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Duke's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Duke shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-duk/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com "We are GRYYT. Our customers are exceptional, passionate organizations solving the world's greatest social challenges. Everything they and we do is about integrity, and we needed an outstanding individual leading us in supporting our customers' missions with ethics and integrity. We are truly excited and blessed to have Sarah leverage her experience in support of our mission as GRYYT's new CCEPO," said CEO, Stephen Deason. Putney previously led the Institutional Review Boards for the Harvard University School of Public Health and Emory University, has led compliance for healthcare organizations, and has served as a Professor of Bioethics for Stony Brook Medicine. Putney graduated cum laude from Yale University and later received her J.D. from University of Maine School of Law. She also holds an M.A. in Bioethics from Emory University. About GRYYT GRYYT is an agency for nonprofits and for-purpose organizations. We are a TRIBE - comprised of our team, our partners, and our community. We are committed to solving the world's biggest challenges. We embody GRIT in all that we do. We believe in exceptional experiences, in the way we work together, the way we engage, the way we partner, and the people they serve. Visit us at gryyt.com . SOURCE GRYYT, LLC Related Links https://www.gryyt.com NEW ORLEANS, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS). On January 2, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported in an article titled "Fracking's Secret ProblemOil Wells Aren't Producing as Much as Forecast" that, according to a review of available public data on production, many of the Company's shale wells, specifically those involved in the fracking process, were producing oil and gas at a much lower rate than the Company had forecasted to investors. Further, the report noted that "findings suggest current production levels may be hard to sustain without greater spending because operators will have to drill more wells to meet growth targets." KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Oasis' officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Oasis' shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Oasis shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-oas/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com NEW ORLEANS, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Whiting Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: WLL). On January 2, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported in an article titled "Fracking's Secret ProblemOil Wells Aren't Producing as Much as Forecast" that, according to a review of available public data on production, many of the Company's shale wells, specifically those involved in the fracking process, were producing oil and gas at a much lower rate than the Company had forecasted to investors. Further, the report noted that "findings suggest current production levels may be hard to sustain without greater spending because operators will have to drill more wells to meet growth targets." KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Whiting's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to Whiting's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Whiting shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-wll/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 3200 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Related Links http://www.ksfcounsel.com Jammu, March 2 : Three civilians were killed in shelling by the Pakistani army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said on Saturday. Police said a woman and her two children were killed in Salotri village of Jhalas area in Krishna Ghati sector of the LoC when a shell fired by Pakistan army exploded inside a house on Friday night. "Besides, four others including two civilians and two army soldiers have been injured in Pakistani shelling and firing," a police officer said. Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been trading heavy fire on the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts since the last eight days. Local residents have described the hostilities on the LoC as 'war-like situation'. Authorities have closed all educational institutions within 5 km from the LoC in these two districts and asked people to remain indoors. Washington, March 2 : The family of a US student, who died after he was jailed in North Korea, have implicitly rebuked President Donald Trump's lauding of Kim Jong-un. Otto Warmbier's parents said they have been "respectful" during Trump and the North Korean leader's second summit in Vietnam in February end, but were now speaking out, the BBC reported. Fred and Cindy Warmbier said "no excuse or lavish praise can change" the fact that "Kim and his evil regime" killed their 22-year-old son. Their statement came after Trump heaped compliments on Kim despite the two-day summit having ended on February 28 without any proper assurance of denuclearisation by the Asian regime. The talks ended without an agreement. Trump told reporters in Hanoi on Thursday referring to Warmbier's death: "He (Kim) tells me he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word." He also said that the North Korean leader felt "very badly" about the case. In a Fox News interview aired late on Thursday, Trump said Kim was "sharp as you can be" and "a real leader". "Some people say I shouldn't like him... Why shouldn't I like him?" The family's brief statement on Friday condemned Trump's praise for the North Korean leader, without mentioning the President by name. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto... responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or lavish praise can change that," it said. After the blistering statement, the US President took to Twitter where he said he had been "misinterpreted". "I never like being misinterpreted, but especially when it comes to Otto Warmbier and his great family. Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch. Of course I hold North Korea responsible.... "....for Otto's mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vain. Otto and his family have become a tremendous symbol of strong passion and strength, which will last for many years into the future. I love Otto and think of him often!" Trump said. Warmbier was accused of stealing a hotel poster and jailed in Pyongyang in January 2016 during an organised tour. The University of Virginia student was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, but released after 17 months following international pressure. He was returned to the US in a vegetative state in June 2017, and died days after in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Warmbiers attended the 2018 State of the Union speech as the president's guests, weeping as he called them "powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world". Back at the White House after the Vietnam talks, Trump even accepted that he gets along "really well" with Kim, the BBC said. He described the asian leader as "he's a real personality and he's very smart. He's sharp as you can be, and he's a real leader, and he's pretty mercurial. I don't say that necessarily in a bad way, but he's a pretty mercurial guy." Hanoi, March 2 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed his willingness to intensify bilateral cooperation "in all areas", during his official visit to Vietnam, Pyongyang state media reported on Saturday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report is on Kim's official two-day state visit to Vietnam that began on Friday following his second summit with US President Donald Trump in Hnaoi that ended abruptly on Thursday and without any joint agreement, reports Efe news. During his meetings with Vietnamese leaders, Kim expressed his desire to "normalise cooperation and exchanges in all areas, such as the economy, science, technology, sports, culture, art and media", and to "raise bilateral relations to a new level", according to KCNA. The North Korean dictator stressed on "the friendly relations between the two countries and the two parties of the same blood", and pointed out that Pyongyang's "unwavering position" is to "extend (those relations) for generations to come". On Friday, Kim met Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, where they held talks, exchanged gifts and later attended an official state banquet in the evening, as well as with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. It is the first time in 55 years that a North Korean leader has visited Vietnam, after the last was made by Kim Jong-un's grandfather and founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un will culminate his trip on Saturday with a visit to the mausoleum of Vietnamese national hero Ho Chi Minh, who was a communist revolutionary leader and the first President and first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and with whom his grandfather met in Hanoi in 1964. He will then travel by his limousine to the Dong Dang train station near the Chinese border, a journey of some 140 km with roads closed to any other traffic, where he will board his armoured train for his 4,500-km journey back to Pyongyang. Kolkata, March 2 : A huge fire broke out at garment warehouse in the city on Saturday, a fire brigade official said. No injuries have been reported yet. "The blaze was reported at around 8.10 a.m. in the Chitpur area," he said. Dark clouds of smoke was coming out from the area. Ten fire tenders were at the spot trying to douse it and prevent any further spread to adjacent establishments. The reason of the fire is not yet known. Brasilia, March 2 : Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been granted leave from prison to attend his seven-year-old grandson's funeral, who died of meningitis. The boy died on Friday, and the jailed former head of state has been allowed to go to the burial in Sao Paulo on Saturday, the BBC reported. The 73-year-old leader had asked permission to attend his brother's funeral in January, but the Supreme Court did not allow until the funeral was already underway. However, Parana state government said Lula would be allowed to attend his grandson Arthur's funeral. Arrangements were being made to fly him to the city, which is roughly 340 kilometres away from the federal prison in Curitiba, where he is lodged. This will be Lula's first time out after his conviction in April 2018. Lula, as he is known, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption charges in 2018. He maintains that his conviction was politically motivated. An iconic figure for the Left in Latin America, the former trade unionist led Brazil between 2003 and 2010. His was the most high-profile conviction from a sprawling anti-corruption probe named 'Operation Car Wash' that has been dubbed "the largest foreign bribery case in history" by the US Department of Justice. His supporters insist he is the victim of political persecution, with his left-wing Worker's Party petitioning for his release, the BBC reported. He was convicted for work done on a beach front property. He was found guilty of taking renovation work from a company implicated in a corruption scandal. In February a court doubled Lula's sentence, which will be contested, his lawyer has said. President Jair Bolsonaro has said he hoped Lula "rots in prison". Los Angeles, March 2 : Amazon has apparently started removing anti-vaccine documentaries from its Prime Video streaming service after a CNN Business report highlighted the anti-vaccine comment available on the site. Anti-vaccine movies that were previously available free for Prime subscribers, like "We Don't Vaccinate!", "Shoot 'Em Up: The Truth About Vaccines", and "VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe", are now "currently unavailable", CNN reported on Friday. Amazon did not respond to questions about why the films are no longer available on Prime Video. However, while some anti-vaccine videos are gone from the Prime streaming service, a number of anti-vaccine books were still available for purchase on Amazon.com as of Friday afternoon, and some were still being offered for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. A sponsored post for the book "Vaccines On Trial: Truth and Consequences of Mandatory Shots" also remained live. Amongst the titles taken down are "VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe", the notorious anti-vaccine documentary that was banned from the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016, and whose director, Andrew Wakefield, is one of the central figures in the anti-vaccine movements. The development also comes hours after California Democrat Adam Schiff wrote an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, saying he was concerned "that Amazon is surfacing and recommending" anti-vaccination books and movies. Ottawa, March 2 : The Canadian government has given its go-ahead to begin the extradition of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou to the US, leading to China's dissatisfaction and Beijing even questioning Ottawa's authority. The extradition process of Meng's, who has been accused of helping the Chinese tech giant to dodge American sanctions on Iran by Washington, was given the "authority to proceed" by Canada on Friday. The daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, Meng was detained in Vancouver last December at Washington's behest. She is currently free on bail, reports Efe news. "Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Meng Wanzhou," the government said in a statement on Friday. Shortly after the order, China responded that it was "utterly dissatisfied" with the outcome of events and said Beijing "firmly opposes the issuance of authority to proceed", Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy here as saying. "This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. "The so-called 'rule of law' and 'judicial independence' asserted by Canada cannot cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case," the spokesperson said. The date of the extradition hearing has been scheduled for March 6 by the provincial Supreme Court of British Columbia. "Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the US and immediately release Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Act of Canada," it added. "The final result of the Canadian court to handle this case will be a touchstone for testing whether Canada adheres to the judicial independence or not. We will wait and see," the Chinese spokesperson was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Earlier the Department of Justice Canada said: "During the extradition hearing, the Crown will make its detailed arguments in its submissions to the Court, where evidence will be filed and become part of the public record." In January, the US government presented a pair of federal indictments against Huawei and Meng personally on charges ranging from financial fraud to industrial espionage. The specific accusations against Meng involved alleged bank fraud, wire fraud and other financial misdeeds to evade unilateral US sanctions against Iran. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is the world's largest maker of telecommunications and China's flagship enterprise. Beijing has also reacted sharply to the US legal offensive against the company and its executives. Several Canadians have been detained in China since Meng's arrest and most of Beijing's public ire has been directed at Ottawa. In late January, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even fired his country's ambassador to China after the envoy suggested Canada might rule against extradition. It was then believed that Trump's suggestions that he could use the legal case against Huawei and Meng to pressure China on trade might be grounds for the Canadian judge to rebuff the extradition request. Meng's attorneys late on Friday cited that comment from Trump in the statement reacting to the announcement from the Canadian government. Seoul, March 2 : LG Display took a jab at industry rival Samsung Electronics by arguing in favour of the superiority of its OLED panel over LCD. Kang In-byeong, the company's Chief Technology Officer, emphasised the fundamental difference between organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and liquid crystal display (LCD) panels during a briefing session on display technology in Seoul, the company said. LG Display is promoting OLED for 8K TVs, while Samsung is pushing quantum dot (QD) OLED, or QLED, Yonhap news agency reported. Kang's argument, according to the company, is that LCD has limits in expressing a perfect shade of black and in guaranteeing full-viewing angle, creating more problems to solve as resolution becomes higher. Han Sang-beom, the CEO of LG Display, said that the QLED "being talked about by the rival firm is an LCD that uses quantum dot sheets". Kang drove in the point further, saying LG Display is not preparing QLED. "The quantum dot being used in QD OLED is filter. The QLED that LG is talking about is quantum dot emitting lights on its own," he said. The technology officer added that in the future, companies in the panel market will compete to offer better design, including in wallpaper, flexible, rollable and foldable forms, the company said. Islamabad, March 2 : Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was not freed by Pakistan due to any pressure or compulsion, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday. The Wing Commander was captured by Pakistan on February 27 after his MiG-21 crashed inside Pakistani territory. He was released on Friday night. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion. We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace. "Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over politics." The Minister reiterated that if evidence was shared against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), then action will be taken. The Pakistan-based terror group had claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF troopers, raising tensions between India and Pakistan. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Qureshi said. The Minister had admitted on Thursday that JeM chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan and was "very unwell". Speaking on Saturday, Qureshi said: "The government will not allow any militia or militant organisation to use weapons or to spread terrorism through their use. If any group does this, then the government plans to take action against them. "Pakistan does not want to go in the past... But if it goes in the past, then we will have to see how the attack on (Indian) Parliament, Pathankot airbase and Uri took place and that is a long story." Srinagar, March 2 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti warned on Saturday that banning the Jamaat-e-Islami will have "dangerous ramifications". The Peoples Democratic Party leader told the media: "You cannot imprison an ideology or an idea. There are thousands of Kashmiris in villages and cities associated with the Jamaat. It is s socio-religious organisation. "Children studying in Jamaat-run schools have been securing positions in exams. What will happen to these children after you close their schools?" She said that banning the Jamaat could have "dangerous ramifications. By doing this, the BJP is converting Jammu and Kashmir into an open prison. "We had resisted these moves of the BJP when we were in power with them," she claimed. She said as the Chief Minister and the Home Minister of the state during the PDP-BJP coalition, she never got any credible intelligence reports about the links of Jamaat workers with the militants. "An environment has been created in the country in which beating and harassing Kashmiris is celebrated. It is unfortunate and there seems to be nobody to control this." Mehbooba Mufti said that after IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was returned to India, it appeared talks would start between India and Pakistan "but war mongering is still continuing in India". Shimla, March 2 : After 10 days of a hectic search operation, rescuers on Saturday managed to trace the body of a trooper. Four are still missing, officials said. Rajesh Rishi, 25, was one of the six troopers of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles who got buried under an avalanche that occurred near the Tibet border in Kinnaur district on February 20. The body of one trooper was found soon after. Officials said about 500 personnel have been deployed to search for the troopers. A lot of fresh snow had accumulated at the avalanche site, 350 km from the state capital, and fresh snow has made treks treacherous. The snow has solidified into hard rocks, making it difficult to dig, they said. Many mountaineers from the area are also involved in the operation. The state government said two separate parties of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were patrolling Namgia Dogri when the avalanche hit. Five ITBP troopers were also injured in the disaster. Lt Gen P.M. Bali, Chief of Staff of Western Command headquarters, visited the site of the avalanche last week and assured that all out efforts were underway to find the missing army men. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more snow in the region till Saturday. New Delhi, March 2 : A Delhi court on Saturday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in a money laundering case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar extended the interim protection from arrest to Vadra and his associate Manoj Arora till March 19. The court also directed them to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, which is presently probing the case, whenever they are required. The court was hearing Vadra and Arora's anticipatory bail pleas. The case relates to the ownership of overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds by Vadra. On December 7, 2018, the ED had raided several of Vadra's properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. LAHORE, March 1, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Photo released by Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on March 1, 2019 shows captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman standing at Wagah border crossing during a handover ceremony in eastern Pakistan's Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 2 : In an obvious reference to the courage of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the word "abhinandan" has assumed a new meaning. "The strength of our country is that it changes the meaning of words in dictionary. 'Abhinandan' in English until now meant 'congratulations', but it will be different from now on," Modi said towards the end of his speech at an event here, speaking partly in English and partly in Hindi. Modi's remarks came a day after the Wing Commander was released by Islamabad after over 60 hours in captivity. Varthaman was captured after a dogfight in the sky when his plane was hit and it crashed in Pakistani territory on February 27. The 35-year-old IAF officer showed calm during his questioning in Pakistan, a video released by his captors showed. Addressing private firms linked to the housing construction sector, Modi sought help to take India to the top in the field so as to ensure homes for the "poorest of poor". Giving example of construction technology used in tents in Kumbh in Prayagraj, Modi said: "If makeshift arrangements can be made so good, permanent arrangement will be expectedly extremely much better." Jaipur, March 2 : Rajasthan's education system is undergoing a sea change with the new Congress government infusing fresh thoughts into the system. From taking initiatives to motivate teachers by felicitating them at the block, district and state levels to changing the course curriculum to remove the politicisation and saffronisation of education done during the former BJP regime, the state government is trying to make education a smooth process where students don't look at the world from a political prism, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara told IANS in an interview. "We are looking at things in a holistic manner and hence have decided that no student shall stand with flowers or bouquets to welcome any politician. "This will end the torture of students, who keep standing for hours under the sun (waiting for the dignitary to arrive), wasting their time and energy which should otherwise be used for academics. Also, this practice symbolises that a politician is more like a God who needs to be offered flowers and bouquets," Dotasara added. He further informed that the education department has set up a committee to review the syllabus in government schools.""While 80 per cent of the syllabus shall remain the same, 20 per cent will undergo certain changes. The former BJP government brought in saffronisation and politicisation of education. Hence we are reviewing those aspects"" the minister added. "There is a picture of Sati in school textbooks. How can the picture be there when the practice has been long abolished," he asked. Dotasara further said that the former government had reduced the role of freedom fighters in textbooks and had presented the role of Veer Savarkar far more strongly. "This reflects saffronisation in textbooks and to review this, we have formed a special committee comprising educationists who are looking into all such aspects"" Dotasara said that stories of martyrs will be included in textbooks. "The bravery of Jagdish Yadav from Rajasthan who combated terrorists during the Parliament attack on Dec 13, 2001 should be remembered by one and all. Hence we shall try to accommodate more such stories," Dotasara added. He further said he has made a policy of not accepting any bouquet or flowers at any felicitation. " "None of the people approaching me should present bouquets or flowers. I shall accept only pens or mement"s," he said. Dotasara also pointed out that teachers don't feel motivated. Out of around five lakh teachers, only 40-50 teachers are felicitated every year - and too only at the state level. " "Hence, we are planning to felicitate them at the block, district and state levels so that more teachers are rewarded for their exceptional w"rk." In the short period after the formation of the new governm"nt, "we have observed that transfers are hampering the work in our department. In fact, I have been hounded by people from morning to evening requesting for their transfers. Hence, I have decided to bring in a proper transfer policy in my department. We will study the transfer policy model of a few states who have implemented it successfully," he added. (Archana Sharma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in) Maymana : , March 2 (IANS) As many as 15 militants and six security personnel were killed on Saturday when the Afghan forces repelled a Taliban attack to capture a district in the country's Faryab province, officials said. A group of Taliban fighters "launched a well-coordinated offensive on security check-points to overrun Qaisar district in the morning but faced resistance", Army spokesman Mohammad Hanif Rezai was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency. The militants retreated after losing 15 fighters on the spot. Six security personnel were also killed in the firefight, which lasted three hours, the spokesman added. Over a dozen militants sustained injuries. The Taliban have not commented on the clashes. New Delhi, March 2 : Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday announced the names of candidates for six of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital and ruled out an alliance with the Congress. "The party has decided to field Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Dilip Pandey from North East Delhi, Atishi from East Delhi, Brajesh Goel from New Delhi, Gugan Singh from North West Delhi and Raghav Chadha from South Delhi," AAP's Delhi Convenor Gopal Rai said. The party was yet to take a call on the West Delhi seat, he added. "A few names have been considered for West Delhi. The party will announce the candidate in the next few days," Rai said. Of the six candidates who have been named, Atishi, the only woman, Chadha, Pandey and Gupta have been long-time associates of Kejriwal, who took power in Delhi in February 2015 after leading the AAP to a stunning win that gave it 67 of the Assembly's 70 seats. While the BJP took the remaining three seats, the Congress, after 15 long years in power, was wiped out. Since then, the Congress Delhi unit had been as anti-AAP as the BJP. Rai told the media that it was the 'Mahagatbandhan' leadership that favoured an alliance between the AAP and Congress in Delhi to avoid a split in votes against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But he said the Congress was not interested in any tie-up with the AAP, which was born out of an anti-corruption movement when the Congress ruled India. On February 13, when Congress President Rahul Gandhi met AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal at a meeting of opposition leaders, he (Gandhi) rejected the alliance, Rai said. "We were then told they are re-thinking. On Friday, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit said a straight 'no' for the alliance." Rai admitted that there was a lot of disquiet within the AAP too on an alliance with the Congress -- which would have affected the party's prospects in other states. Confident of winning the Lok Sabha polls on its own strength, Rai told IANS: "We have contested elections on our own and we can do it this time as well. We won 67 seats in Assembly election. We will try to make a similar presence in the Lok Sabha elections," Rai said. In the 2014 Lok Sabha battle, although it was out of power by then, the AAP came second in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The BJP won all the seats while the Congress finished third. The Congress had backed Kejriwal to form a government in December 2013 after a hung verdict but the government collapsed after just 49 days. Hyderabad, March 2 : Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said his party will contest the Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, and might field candidates in one parliamentary constituency each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. AIMIM's Bihar unit president Akhtarul Iman will contest as the party candidate from Kishanganj. In 2014, Iman was the Janata Dal-United candidate but pulled out at the last minute in favour of Congress's Mohammad Asrarul Haque, who retained the seat. Iman later joined the MIM. Owaisi made the announcement while speaking at a meeting here to mark the 61st anniversary of the MIM's revival. The three-time Hyderabad MP, who exuded confidence of retaining his seat with a record majority, hinted at the party contesting Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra after talks with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) headed by Prakash Ambedkar. The MIM is working with Ambedkar's party and Owaisi claimed that their public meetings were drawing a good response. He also said the MIM leaders in Uttar Pradesh were also keen in contesting one Lok Sabha seat in that state. "We will discuss and decide what to do in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka," he added. Owaisi also announced that MIM would support Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana's 16 Lok Sabha constituencies and back the YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, where Assembly elections were due along with Lok Sabha polls. Referring to the campaigning by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Telangana Assembly elections last year, Owaisi said that he has a debt to repay to Naidu. "I will go to Andhra Pradesh and campaign for YSR Congress," he said. Owaisi said if the TRS and YSR Congress together win 35 seats in the two states, they, along with the MIM, would be in a strong position at the Centre to get the pending issues of both the states resolved. Urging the party cadres to gear up for the polls, Owaisi claimed that for last 61 years, MIM had been working to strengthen democracy and to fight for the constitutional rights of Muslims, Dalits and all oppressed people irrespective of their religion and caste. The MIM chief recalled the sacrifices made by his grandfather Abdul Wahed Owaisi who revived the party in 1958 to strive for protection of the rights of minorities enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Owaisi said his grandfather and later his father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and other leaders made untiring efforts to provide a political platform to raise the voice for the rights of the oppressed. He asked party cadres to renew their commitment to the party and rekindle the spirit of sacrifices displayed by the party leaders in the past. Patna, March 2 : A man suspected of alleged links with the terror outfit involved in the Pulwama attack was arrested from a village in Banka district on Saturday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Sankalp rally in Patna. Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey said the police were looking into the alleged links between the arrested man, identified as Rehan, and the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Pakistan-based terror outfit that claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed on February 14. Banka Superintendent of Police Swapna T. Meshram said a police team arrested Rehan from Belari village under the Shambhuganj police station area. Another suspect escaped, he said. The police are questioning Rehan to get more information. Mumbai, March 2 : Even as speculations are rife about Jet Airways' founder Naresh Goyal's plans to quit as Chairman to save a rescue plan for the passenger airline, he said the situation should ease by March 18. In a letter to the airline's employees, he said: "I...personally appeal to each one of you for your continued support for just a little while longer so that we can cross the line together. Promising to keep the employees in the loop, he said, "when our CEO Vinay Dube and his team will ensure a fresh detailed update", it will be shared "by the 18th of this month, by which time I am confident of the situation gently easing up in our favour." In an emotional outreach, Goyal said: "The deep emotion this has evoked leads me to appeal to each of you from my heart, to bear with me through this difficult situation a little longer, till we emerge out of turbulence and fiscal challenges, into clear blue skies." On February 28, some media reports stated that Goyal has agreed to quit and scale down his stake in the company. Following that Jet Airways scrip closed over 5 per cent higher on Friday. However, in a post-market hour regulatory filing, the airline said it was "committed to make appropriate disclosures in accordance with applicable regulations to avoid any speculative activities..." "The company is, however, unable to comment on the reasons for the increase in its share price on the stock exchanges," it said. The surge in stock prices came despite the fact that the financially stretched airline has been grounding aircraft over non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements. On Thursday, the airline had informed the stock exchanges that it had grounded 19 aircraft. The additional grounding of 2 more that came on Friday, is likely to impact around 75 flights. Damascus, March 2 : Syria on Saturday accused the US-led coalition of firing white phosphorus munitions on an Islamic State (IS) held area in the country, the media reported. The shelling targeted the farmlands of the town of Baghouz, the last IS-held area in the eastern Euphrates River region in eastern Deir al-Zour province, Xinhua news agency reported citing state news agency SANA. There were no details given about the losses. A day earlier, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces started the last push against remnants of IS militants in the Baghouz area, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said. After securing the evacuation of civilians and kidnapped SDF fighters, the SDF launched the final push against the IS-held area in Baghouz. The spokesman said only terrorists were remaining in the town. The SDF fighters had been waiting for the civilians to fully evacuate Baghouz to launch the final stage of battle to eliminate the IS completely from the few areas they control in farmlands of the town, the report said. The US-led coalition has been backing the SDF in their push against the IS in that area since September 2018. The Syrian government has repeatedly accused the US-led coalition of targeting civilians in their fight against the IS, calling on the international community to dissolve the alliance in Syria. New Delhi, March 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Amethi district in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday where he will unveil an Indo-Russian ordnance factory that will produce the iconic Kalashnikov rifles, it was announced on Saturday. At Kauhar in Amethi district, the Prime Minister will open the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd - a joint venture between India's ordnance factory and a Russian firm - and also address a public gathering in Congress President Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha seat. "The Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd is a milestone in India-Russia cooperation. The latest series of the iconic Kalashnikov rifles will be made in the Korwa Ordnance Factory," an official statement said. "The joint venture will bolster the armed forces and strengthen the national security." The factory will generate employment opportunities in Amethi and nearby areas and give tremendous boost to the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor project, it said. The Prime Minister will also unveil several development projects related to power generation, education, health and manufacturing sectors. "These projects will be of direct benefit to Amethi region as well as Uttar Pradesh," added the statement. Kolkata, March 2 : As part of expansion of benches under the National Company Law Tribunals (NCLTs) in different cities, the Centre is considering to open a third court at the tribunal's Kolkata bench, an official said on Saturday. Under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), the Kolkata bench has approved 21 resolution plans involving Rs 21,596 crore, till January 31, 2019, the official said. "We are getting enquiries from the headquarters whether there is space to open the third bench. We are having a meeting for space in the existing building (that houses the tribunal in the city). Currently, there are two tenants - NCLT and SIB (Special Intelligence Bureau)- in the building. "We are negotiating if we could get the space (in the existing building). Otherwise, we have to look for an alternative," the bench's Deputy Registrar Chattopadhyay said at an interactive session at Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the proposed third bench was expected to be operational within the current calendar year. There are 1,319 cases, filed before the city bench under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code till January end, out of which 432 cases were disposed off, while 887 were pending, he said. The Kolkata bench, had till January end, had pronounced as many as 46 orders for liquidation, he added. New Delhi, March 2 : The closure of the Pakistan air space has caused cancellation of six international flights to and from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, here on Saturday. Pakistan has banned Indian aircraft from using its airspace and its Air Traffic Control (ATC) has barred flying of any aircraft below 32,000 feet. The air space restriction by Pakistan impacted traffic at the IGI Airport with 6 international cancellations -- 3 departures and 3 arrivals. On Friday, the restriction had led to cancellation of 11 international flights -- 5 departures and 6 arrivals. The commercial airspace in Pakistan was partially opened on Friday. The original NOTAM (notice to airmen) issued on Wednesday said the restriction was applicable until Friday morning. However, a fresh NOTAM for international flights over Pakistan was issued later. It restricted flights until 1.30 p.m. on March 4. The development comes days after the Indian Air Force (IAF) chased away intruding Pakistani jets in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. On their part, airlines like Lufthansa and Air India have said the restriction would not have any major impact on their operations. Jaipur, March 2 : At a "Gau Raksha Sammelan" organised here on Saturday, the Congress government announced that it will soon increase the grant for cow shelters to ensure cow conservation in the state. Addressing the convention attended by representatives of several registered cow shelters, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said: "In Indian culture, cow has been given the status of mother. Hence, the state government is making all efforts to ensure that cow conservation is done properly in Rajasthan." "Our government will soon decide on the ways and means to increase the grant for cow shelter, as we feel the present grant is not enough to feed the cows. Even in our last tenure, we set up the Directorate of Gauseva, which aimed to serve the cause of cow conservation," he said. Paying his gratitude to participants, the Chief Minister said: "After conversation with all the prominent people present here, we will draft the best policy for cow conservation in the state." The gathering, organised at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, is being viewed as a move to highlight the cow welfare schemes initiated by the Congress government. Noida, March 2 : A 34-year-old businessman Rohit Gupta was killed here early Saturday when the BMW he was driving rammed a roadside tree after hitting a barricade, police said. The accident happened at the Sector 93 red light when he was returning to his ATS Village home in Sector 93 from Sector 105 side. A police official in Phase 2 said Gupta, who belonged to Bulandshahr, lost control of the car after hitting a barricading and crashed into a tree. He was apparently driving at a high speed and died on the spot. Based on his identity cards, his family was informed of the tragedy and his body was sent for autopsy. Jammu, March 2 : Indian Army chief, Gen Bipin Rawat reviewed the security situation along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu region on Saturday. According to a defence statement, Gen Rawat, accompanied by Northern Command chief, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, visited the Nagrota-based White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness of the forces in view of the current situation along the LoC and the IB. "During the visit to the Corps Headquarters, the COAS was briefed and updated by Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, GOC, White Knight Corps about the current operational situation, prevailing security scenario and the preparedness of the formation. "The COAS was also briefed on the actions taken to meet the challenges of increased ceasefire violations and measures put in place to thwart the nefarious designs of the adversary," it said. The army chief was also informed about the measures in hinterland in the Corps' area of responsibility towards ensuring peace and stability. Commending all soldiers for their unwavering dedication to duty, selfless devotion and high standard of professionalism, the Army chief expressed appreciation of the measures and standard operating procedures instituted by the units and formations in the Corps Zone to minimise casualties due to ceasefire violations and infiltration bids, the statement said. Gen Rawat also stressed the need for them to be prepared for effectively meeting current emerging security challenges, and to remain vigilant to counter the nefarious designs of the enemy and anti-national elements, it added. New Delhi, March 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that time had come for a "total transformation" where fruits of development must reach "each and every citizen". in his address at the India Today Conclave here, Modi said that while 2014 to 2019 was the time to look at necessities and provide basic needs to every household, the journey from 2019 onwards would be for fulfilling aspirations and realising new dreams. "From 2014 to 2019 was the time to lift (the nation) from a state of hopelessness to the high of hope, from 2019 onwards will be the journey towards greater achievements. "We have read in the books that the 21st century would be India's century. In the last five years, through sheer hard work, we have laid a solid foundation on which a majestic building would be erected. So I say with confidence that 21st century would indeed be India's century," Modi said. He also targeted the Congress for promoting a culture of "doles and deals" while it was in the government. "Let me ask those who were in power for so long as to why so many scams in the defence sector happened during their rule. Who is every deal maker, every middleman close to, the entire nation knows and the Lutyen's Delhi surely knows," Modi said. He said that his government got "the corridors of power free of middlemen". Taking a potshot at the farm loan waiver scheme by newly-elected Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Modi said that "no policy expert or economist" would say that waiving farmers' loan would solve country's agrarian crisis. "These doles were not aimed at empowering the poor. The best example of this is farm loan waiver. Every 10 years, the UPA government came up with a farm loan waiver idea. They did nothing in their entire tenure but came up with a waiver at the 11th hour. They loved to fight elections on loan waivers. But we have taken a different approach," he said. New Delhi, March 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Ahmad bin Khalifa Al Thani, over telephone and discussed various matters of common interest. Modi mentioned that India attached great significance to further strengthening her relations with Qatar, while thanking the Emir for his leadership and guidance to the rapid strengthening of bilateral relations, especially in recent years, an official statement said. The two leaders also discussed the regional situation, with the Prime Minister underscoring that terrorism continues to pose serious risk to peace and security in the region and beyond. He stressed the importance of "demonstrable and immediate action" by all concerned for putting an end to all forms of terrorism and ending all support to it. The leaders noted the historic significance of participation of India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as Guest of Honour in the 46th Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on Friday. New Delhi, March 2 : With the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation adopting resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, India on Saturday said that the state is an integral part of India and its matters are strictly internal. Answering a query regarding India's participation at the OIC in Abu Dhabi and resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that India's stand on the issue was consistent and well-known. "As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well-known. We reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," he said. He said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had attended the OIC's plenary session at Abu Dhabi on Friday as the Guest of Honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting," the spokesperson said. It was the first time that India had attended the plenary as guest of honour. Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed that the OIC Ministerial expressed "support" for Pakistan's position on the Kashmir issue. It said the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia. The OIC resolution, it claimed, expressed concern over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. The Pakistan Foreign Office statement also said that in the context of the current volatile situation in the region, the OIC member states adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, which "expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace, affirmed Pakistan's right to self-defence and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force". It said the OIC resolution on regional peace and security in South Asia also welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's renewed offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian pilot. The resolution called for restraint and de-escalation as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means. It said the OIC adopted two other resolutions sponsored by Pakistan on international disarmament and non-proliferation issues and reform of the UN Security Council. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi did not attend the plenary OIC event due to the presence of his Indian counterpart at the event. Qureshi had told the Pakistan Parliament that he would skip the session due to the OIC's failure to rescind the invitation to India. Bengaluru, March 2 : The Karnataka government on Saturday launched here its pilot project to deliver citizen services at the home of the people. "Through this initiative, citizens can avail services like health card, income certificate, caste certificate and senior citizen card at home," said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy unveiling the project at Dasarahalli in Bengaluru Rural district. The project named "Jana Sevaka" (people's servant) will have officials visiting the homes of citizens concerned in order to provide the required services. Flagging off the project, Kumaraswamy visited several homes in the constituency to deliver the citizen services at their residence. To avail the services at home, citizens, particularly senior citizens and the disabled, can call helpline number (080-44554455) and request the service needed by providing details of their address. After verification of the criteria required to avail the service, "mobile sevaka", an official who will travel to the homes on a motorbike, will fill up the application forms required for the citizen service digitally using a tablet and generate receipts using a thermal printer. "The initiative saves time in waiting in queues at government offices and saves transport costs for citizens," the Chief Minister said. The state has also appointed "women sevakas" to assist women in availing the services. Greenberg Traurig's Ed Wallace was named to City & States 2019 NYC Power 100 list. Ed Wallace, co-chair of the New York City office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was named to City & States 2019 NYC Power 100 list. Earlier this year, the publication also ranked Wallace number 12 on its Manhattan Power 50 list. The New York City Power 100 list honors the 100 most influential people in government, business, culture, and social services. In 1981, Wallace became the then youngest City Council member in New York City history representing the Borough of Manhattan. Wallace began his career in the Chelsea neighborhood office of the Legal Aid Society. He also served as chief of staff to City Council President Carol Bellamy and later as vice president for finance at Mort Zuckermans Boston Properties. From 2012-2014, Wallace was chair of New Yorkers for Parks and now sits on the NY4P Board. Wallace serves as vice chair and counsel to the Citizens Budget Commission and is the vice chair of the French American Foundation Board. Professionally he has been listed in multiple editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Wallace serves as a trusted advisor to his clients. He has represented Columbia University, NYU, and Fordham University in their Manhattan expansions. He has advised Extell, Silverstein, Fetner Properties, and other leading developers and financial and media companies in obtaining government approvals. Wallace also advises Hornblower, the Citys ferry provider, and serves as outside national counsel to JCDecaux, the worlds largest street furniture company. About Greenberg Traurigs New York Government Law & Policy Practice Greenberg Traurig has one of New York Citys leading real estate, land use, and government relations offices in the City. The Government Law & Policy group, which has been consistently ranked among the Top 5 lobbying practices in New York City by the City Clerks Office, represents major U.S. companies, leading not-for-profit institutions and major real estate companies in major transactions involving New York City. The attorneys are part of a national practice named Law Firm of the Year in the U.S. News-Best Lawyers 2014 edition of Best Law Firms for Government Relations. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 39 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. Groundbreaking at KODA Condominium Flats Downtowns residential population has grown by nearly 40 percent since 2010, and with projects like this more people will be able to call downtown home in one of our most vibrant neighborhoods, said James Sido, The Downtown Seattle Association. Executives of DA LI Development USA and Realogics Sothebys International Realty (RSIR) jointly announce the official groundbreaking of KODA a 201-unit, 17-story condominium high-rise community located at 450 South Main Street in Nihonmachi (Japantown), the gateway to the historic Chinatown-International District. Following a successful market debut a year earlier when the majority of units were reserved for priority presales, DA LI confirmed receipt of the Master Use Permit and held an official groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, February 28th. Remarkably, KODA is the first new construction for-sale development to be offered in the popular in-city neighborhood, which is located just steps from King Street Station and the regional transportation hub. We are very pleased to have earned the unanimous support of the International Special Review District (ISRD) and the City of Seattle to move forward with this transformative and timely community, said Kevin Hsieh, Vice President of Da-Li Development USA, based in Pioneer Square. We will now begin presales and groundbreaking to welcome our new homeowners by winter 2020/21. The ISRD is a panel of community stakeholders that regulate design and development within the Chinatown-International District (CID). This unique oversight is established to preserve the CIDs unique Asian American character and encourage the rehabilitation of areas for housing and pedestrian-oriented businesses. Being the fastest-growing large city in the US, market observers note that 93-percent of the 27,000 multi-family housing units added to the downtown skyline since 2010 have been purpose built for rent and not for sale. Attainable homeownership has become an issue and an opportunity requiring creative solutions brought through design and careful planning. Downtowns residential population has grown by nearly 40 percent since 2010, and with projects like this more people will be able to call downtown home in one of our most vibrant neighborhoods, said James Sido, Senior Manager Media Relations and Issues Management with The Downtown Seattle Association. Condominium production has been lagging in Seattle and increased ownership potential is sorely needed in this market. Whats more, this transit-oriented development will be steps away from King Street Station providing access to one of the citys major transportation hubs. Ben M.Y. Chen, Director of Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle, provided opening remarks acknowledging DA LIs investment in the region, appropriately within the Chinatown-International District. Throughout the groundbreaking ceremony, DA LI recognized numerous members of the KODA development team, many of whom were present for the event. Key consultants and subtrades include: KODA DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT TEAM DA LI INTERNATIONAL, LLC I Developer PCL CONSTRUCTION I General Contractor KMD ARCHITECTS I Architectural and Interior Design HOLMBERG COMPANY I Mechanical Contractor (Design/Build) RDH BUILDING SCIENCE I Building Envelope Consultant DCI STRUCTURAL I Structural Engineer DCI CIVIL I Civil Engineer BRUMBAUGH & ASSOCIATES I Landscape Architect A3 ACOUSTICS I Acoustical Consultant MCCULLOUGH HILL LEARY I Land Use Attorney BUCKLIN EVENS, PLLC I Condominium Attorney HART CROWSER I Geotechnical Engineer JUSTEN COMPANY I Project Consultant MCKINNEY AND ASSOCIATES I Civil Consultant BERG ELECTRIC I Electrical Consultant (Design/Build) REALOGICS, INC. I Marketing REALOGICS SOTHEBYS INRNATIONAL LTY I Sales In order to convey the full vision behind KODA, a Sales Gallery has been built at 510 Occidental Avenue South in Pioneer Square, which will open to the public in late March 2019. A Grand Opening celebration is planned for March 14th, 2019 and will be followed by the official sales debut of the homes. A new release of studio, urban-one, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats (464-1065 sq. ft.) will be offered from below $450,000 to more than $1.4 million. For more information and to register for advance unit reservations, visit: http://www.ownKODA.com About DA LI Development USA, LLC (http://www.DA-LI.us ) DA LI Development USA, LLC is the American subsidiary of DA LI Development Co. Ltd., a publicly traded Taiwanese company, focused on large-scale residential high-rise development. Originally founded in 1977, DA LI has evolved into a major force in community development. DA LIs first USA office in Seattle marks the result of an exhaustive search for a city that offers the potential for long-term growth and which supports our core vision of providing high-quality homes and living experiences. We expect to build a long and fruitful relationship with the US housing communities that we serve. About Realogics Sothebys International Realty (http://www.RSIR.com) - Artfully uniting extraordinary homes with extraordinary lives, Realogics Sothebys International Realty is a leading global sales and marketing brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest. Recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal amongst the fastest-growing private companies in Washington State in recent years and ranked #8 in the top ten largest residential real estate brands, the boutique real estate firm of 235+ brokers service branches in downtown Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Kirkland, Issaquah and Madison Park. RSIR is a leading project marketing specialist currently representing more than $1 billion in new condominium developments planned throughout the Puget Sound region. EDITORS NOTE: Property renderings, development team headshots, bios and additional market statistics are available upon request. Drivers looking for a used car have just as difficult of a time shopping for a used vehicle perhaps even more so. They want a vehicle that is cheaper than a brand-new model. They also want one that matches their needs and lifestyle, is dependable and at a price that works with their budget. Brooklyn Mitsubishi, a dealership that specializes in new Mitsubishi vehicles, offers an extensive selection of used vehicles from a variety of brands, including Mitsubishi, Dodge, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and many others. There are also several vehicle styles to choose from like sedans, crossovers, pickup trucks, minivans and more. In addition to the wide selection of used vehicles, Brooklyn Mitsubishi offers financing options to make paying for the chosen vehicle easy. This includes secure credit applications and monthly payments, along with the option of trading if the driver is interested in switching out their current vehicle. Drivers interested in learning more about Brooklyn Mitsubishis selection of used vehicles are invited to visit the dealerships website at http://www.brooklynmitsubishi.com. To accommodate New York Citys Spanish-speaking population, a Spanish-language version of the website is available at http://www.brooklynmitsubishiespanol.com. The dealership may also be contacted by phone at 718-345-2500. Brooklyn Mitsubishi is located at 5910 Church Avenue in Brooklyn. Aviation enthusiasts young and old can discover aviation in a hands-on way when EAA's Spirit of Aviation mobile experience arrives at major events throughout the U.S. in 2019. (EAA photo) Its fun, its discovery, and its a fantastic introduction to the world of flight! The Experimental Aircraft Association will again deliver the excitement of flight throughout the United States in 2019 as EAAs Spirit of Aviation mobile unit, sponsored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), visits numerous events this year. The traveling experiential exhibit introduces EAA to enthusiasts through hands-on, member-tested activities engaging people of all ages in aviation. Tens of thousands of people discovered the wonders of flight at the EAA Spirit of Aviation tour in 2018, including such distinguished visitors as Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, who visited us when we were at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, last year, said Dave Chaimson, EAAs vice president of marketing and business development. More importantly, EAAs Spirit of Aviation experience encompasses immersive activities and virtual reality, giving visitors a glimpse into flight and invites them to be part of EAAs dynamic member community. The Spirit of Aviation mobile unit will be making 11 appearances in seven states during 2019. Upcoming visits throughout the year include (tour schedule subject to change without notice): March 22-23: USA Science & Engineering Festival L.A.; Los Angeles, California April 13-14: Wings Over South Texas Air Show; Corpus Christi, Texas April 27-28: MCAS Beaufort Air Show; Beaufort, South Carolina May 10-12: Joint Base Andrews Air Show; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland June 15-16: Minnesota Air Spectacular; Mankato, Minnesota June 20-23: NTT IndyCar Series REV Group at Road America; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin July 23-29: EAA AirVenture; Oshkosh, Wisconsin August 12-17: International Pathfinder Camporee; Oshkosh, Wisconsin August 22-September 2: Minnesota State Fair; St. Paul, Minnesota September 27-29: MakerFaire; Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 10-13: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta; Albuquerque, New Mexico The 53-foot traveling exhibit is a rolling billboard for EAA, including graphics highlighting a Long-EZ homebuilt aircraft that represents EAAs experimental aircraft roots. It also includes promotions for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and the EAA Young Eagles program. Its fun, its discovery, and its a fantastic introduction to the world of flight, Chaimson said. Stop by and bring the entire family. At selected locations, we are even bringing along our own Stan Lee-inspired superhero, Aviore, who was created through a cooperative effort by EAA and the Stan Lee Foundation in 2017 as an inspiration to young people all over the world, encouraging them to follow their passions and find their place in the sky! Visitors to EAAs experiential marketing exhibit will be able to build their own Aviore gliders, supported by Flite Test, and take virtual flights with Samsung Gear VR headsets to connect with the Spirit of Aviation. There are also Redbird flight simulators for flight training experiences, hands-on building stations, and EAAs Virtual Flight Academy as part of the organizations mission to grow participation in aviation. About EAA EAA embodies The Spirit of Aviation through the worlds most engaged community of aviation enthusiasts. EAAs 220,000 members and nearly 900 local chapters enjoy the fun and camaraderie of sharing their passion for flying, building and restoring recreational aircraft. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or go to http://www.eaa.org. For continual news updates, connect with http://www.twitter.com/EAA. Hard-hitting attorney Lori G. Cohen, co-chair of the Global Litigation Practice at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, was named Product Liability Attorney of the Year by Benchmark Litigation at the publications seventh annual U.S. awards. The firm was also shortlisted for Product Liability Firm of the Year and Labor & Employment Texas Firm of the Year; and Houston Shareholder Shira Yoshor was shortlisted for Labor & Employment Texas Attorney of the Year. Cohen is no stranger to Benchmark Litigation honors, having been previously selected by the publication as follows: National Litigation Star, 2019; Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2018-2019; Top 10 Women Litigators, 2018; and Top 250 Women in Litigation, 2015-2017. During the Feb. 28 event at Essex House in New York City, the publication recognized the countrys most distinguished litigators and their firms for their work over the past 12 months. Photographs from the award ceremony are found here. Cohen also serves as chair of the firm's Trial Practice Group as well as chair of the Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Practice, and as co-chair of the Atlanta Litigation Practice. Nationally recognized for her extraordinary trial record of 57 defense verdicts, Cohen and her team represent clients in some of the largest multi-district litigations and mass tort cases in the country, while defending some of the most dangerous single-plaintiff catastrophic injury cases in challenging, plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions. Yoshor focuses her practice on labor and employment matters and a wide variety of complex commercial litigation. She is experienced in representing management in virtually all aspects of labor and employment law. She regularly counsels employers on managing workplace issues, drafts employment agreements, handbooks, and policies, drafts and litigates whistleblower claims, discrimination and retaliation claims, and claims involving all sorts of restrictive covenants. Yoshor also has broad experience in complex commercial cases. Yoshor is listed in The Legal 500 United States, 2016-2018; in Super Lawyers magazines Texas Super Lawyers, 2016-2018; and received the Rebecca and Max Nathan Award from the Houston American Jewish Committee in 2016. She is the immediate past president for Texas Executive Women; a board member of the Houston Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, of the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees, and of The General Counsel Forum Houston Chapter Board of Directors; and a member of the Dress for Success Houston Advisory Board. Greenberg Traurigs Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Practice is an integral part of the firms 600-plus member global Litigation Practice. The team is nationally recognized for its dynamic courtroom presence, responsiveness to clients, and deep subject matter knowledge. The team was The American Lawyers 2018 Products Liability Litigation Department of the Year. The firms Life Sciences & Medical Technology Group advises clients ranging from startups to large multinational public companies to leading research institutions. The groups attorneys work closely with clients, providing innovative legal counsel to help them achieve their objectives from discovery through commercialization and product marketing. Greenberg Traurigs Global Labor & Employment Practice serves clients from offices throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Members of the practice have had numerous trial wins and are frequently called upon to handle complex, bet-the-company, and large high-stake cases, including class and collective actions. On the labor side, a leading group of lawyers regularly represents management with labor-relations matters. Labor & Employment team members assist clients with complex employment issues, and design practical, proactive strategies that can be readily implemented by todays human resources professionals. In addition, the practice is recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the areas of Labor and Employment Litigation, Labor-Management Relations, ERISA Litigation, Workplace & Employment Counseling, and Trade Secrets Litigation. Visit Greenberg Traurigs Labor & Employment Blog for insights and analysis of the latest labor and employment developments, including legislation, regulations, cases, policies, and trends. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 39 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. The adventure-ready 2020 Kia Telluride will soon be available at Lehighton Kia. Large crossovers have become popular vehicles for families looking for extra space for passengers and cargo. Automakers have been upping the ante for the large crossover market by introducing new vehicles to their lineup. The newest model that will soon be available at Kia dealerships nationwide including Lehighton Kia is the 2020 Kia Telluride. The 2020 Kia Telluride is an adventure-ready crossover that can accommodate up to seven or eight passengers. It is outfitted with Torque Vectoring Cornering Control, along with an available all-wheel drive system with center-locking differential so the vehicle can handle a wide range of terrain. Its 291-horsepower 3.8-liter Lambda DOHC 24-valve V-6 engine boasts a 5,000-pound towing capacity and a 19 to 20 mpg-city / 24 to 26 mpg-highway estimated fuel economy. To help shoppers learn more about the upcoming 2020 Kia Telluride, Lehighton Kia offers an information page on its website (http://www.lehightonkia.com), which showcases various aspects of the vehicle, including engine specifications and color options. Additional information about the 2020 Kia Telluride is available on the Lehighton Kia blog, which has already shared information about the vehicles pricing, driving range and specially-created commercials. The 2020 Kia Telluride is expected to arrive at Lehighton Kia in spring 2019. Drivers interested in learning more about the vehicle or reserving one are encouraged to contact Lehighton Kia through its website or by phone at 855-638-1376. Lehighton Kia is located at 1502 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton. Owning a car is a pretty big responsibility. Cars have a lot of different moving parts, and that means there are a lot of things you need to keep track of. Its not easy to know when something is going wrong inside of your car. The big problem that many people run in to is they dont know there is a problem until it happens. That can be really annoying for car drivers, so its important to try and stay on top of a cars health. The best way to do that is with regular checkups and inspections for your vehicle. Alexander Toyota offers these services to customers who want to take care of their car. Services like this can go a long way to making sure a car is in good running condition, and it can help identify any potential problems before they become too serious. The checkup will cover key areas like your engine, transmission, brakes, and fluids. By checking all of these areas, our technicians can get a good idea of what kind of shape your car is in. Customers interested in this service should reach out to Alexander Toyota to schedule a service. This can be done over the internet on their website, or by calling the dealership at 928-344-1170. Alexander Toyota also has a physical location at 889 E 32nd St, Yuma, AZ 85365. The Government of Ghana is a leader on data and technology for sustainable development. This is an opportunity to see the reality of how governments are using much-hyped new technology and data, and applying it to real world problems with the opportunities and the challenges that this presents." The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, hosted at the United Nations Foundation, today announced a week-long reporting trip to Ghana. Selected journalists will have access to expert briefings and field trips to explore how data and technology are being used to drive progress and improve life for Ghanaians, with a focus on issues such as environmental protection, equality and inclusion, and maternal health. Ghana, with a population of almost 30 million people, is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and looked to as an innovator in data and technology for sustainable development. Despite this progress, the country still faces stark development challenges, with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights reporting in 2018 that inequality is higher than it has ever been in Ghana, while almost one-quarter of the population lives in poverty and one person in every 12 lives in extreme poverty. The press fellowship invites reporting on the reality of using frontier technology while overcoming the fundamental issues common to countries undergoing rapid development. Ghana is one of five countries using the Africa Regional Data Cube a new innovation that packages 17 years of analysis-ready Earth observation and satellite data to address challenges such as illegal mining, agricultural production, and urbanization. This work supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a comprehensive plan to address social, economic, and environmental challenges adopted by 193 countries at the UN in 2015. The Government of Ghana is a leader on data and technology for sustainable development. This is an opportunity to see the reality of how governments are using much-hyped new technology and data, and applying it to real world problems with the opportunities and the challenges that this presents, said Claire Melamed, Chief Executive Officer at the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. We want to give journalists a front row seat to see how data can help monitor and achieve the SDGs. This fellowship will give journalists access to the government officials, civil society leaders, and representatives of international organizations working in Ghana. Journalists will attend a satellite data training with NASA, learn how government officials are working to end extreme poverty using data and technology, and meet the people who are making it happen on the ground. The fellowship is open to qualified journalists interested in covering international development and data/technology issues in Ghana and/or West Africa. The fellowship will cover all related expenses such as travel and lodging, and will take place the week of May 20, 2019. The deadline to apply is Thursday, 18 March 2019. Apply here. Contact: Jennifer Oldfield joldfield(at)data4sdgs.org, +1 202 629 8425 About the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data is a global network including governments, businesses, and civil society organizations working around the world to harness the data revolution for sustainable development. Since it was created in 2015, the Global Partnership has elevated data issues at a political level, launched a multi-million-dollar Collaborative Data Innovations for Sustainable Development funding initiative, and supported the advancement of country-led Data Roadmaps for Sustainable Development in: Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania. Learn more at http://www.data4sdgs.org. About the United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation acts as a strategic partner to help the United Nations mobilize the ideas, people, and resources it needs to deliver and to grow a diverse and durable constituency for collective action. We focus on issues at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and engage citizens who seek action. Founded in 1998 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner, the UN Foundation works with philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual partners. Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org. Red By Morgan, a leading cosmetics e-commerce website brand has recently announced the debut of two exciting new lines of their award-winning cosmetic products. Red By Morgan is pleased to introduce their bright, apple-red https://redbymorgan.ca/product/madonna-vinyl-lip-lacquer/ MADONNA Vinyl Lip Lacquer featuring a brilliant and illuminating metallic finish as well as their Highlighting Duo Crayon, which come in Champagne and Bronze is a stylish way to add dimension to your eyes. Founder of Red By Morgan, Morgan Hoodfar, established her cosmetics company in April of 2018 making quite a splash in the e-commerce cosmetics market. She leveraged her more than 18 years of experience in the beauty and medical aesthetic industry as well as her considerable knowledge of how to provide product via e-commerce that meet the beauty needs of women. Her boutique brand provides a higher quality of ingredients and uses premium grade and natural moisturizing extracts that are far beyond ordinary brands. One factor that has prompted so much interest rests in the fact that Red By Morgan is so innovative in the quality production of their products. The new MADONNA Vinyl Lip Lacquer provides a hypo-allergenic, hydrating, moisturizing formula that will give your lips a supple, wet look while not being oily. It is infused with a proprietary formula of lip-staining pigments that will lend a rich, intense, pop of colour with each gentle stoke of the applicator. The innovative, double-sided Highlighting Duo Crayon https://redbymorgan.ca/product/highlighting-duo-crayon/ is so much more than a mere pencil. The Highlighting Duo Crayon will set off your brows by accentuating your eyes and arches as you see fit. Leading cosmetologist swear by the Highlighting Duo Crayon because of its abilities to add depth and dimension. It applies as a smooth cream but dries to a powder matte finish that defines, provides definition and shimmer to illuminate your best qualities. Morgan, the entrepreneur of this brand, is a vivacious evangelist of her cosmetics line and suggests that "the key to the success of Red By Morgan has rested in three critical areas. First, we know who our customers are, they are women who value a quality products made from pure and skin-nutritious ingredients. They want to purchase a beauty product that they can trust that is hypo-allergenic and not tested on animals and that doesn't contain sulfates, parabens or skin-irritating fragrances. When I designed my product line, I made sure that these values were priorities." RED BY MORGAN is an innovative cosmetics company founded and operated by Morgan Hoodfar in Toronto, Canada. Built as a proudly Canadian company, Red By Morgan sells domestically in Canada as well as in the United States and sells internationally through her e-commerce website. MADONNA Vinyl Lip Lacquer Red By Morgan is clearly the preferred option for discerning consumers and features products that are always and assuredly Paraben Free, Hypo-Allergenic, Allergy Tested, Non-Comedogenic, Fragrance Free, and Cruelty Free. BOILERPLATE: For additional information or for purchasing information, please visit MADONNA Vinyl Lip Lacquer or simply Email: Red By Morgan Customer Service. For business inquiries contact us by reaching out to our media spokesperson at info@redbymorgan.ca. KEYWORDS: Red By Morgan, Highlighting Duo Crayon, MADONNA Vinyl Lip Lacquer, Morgan Hoodfar cosmetics, Toronto Cosmetics Company, boutique cosmetics company, cosmetics e-commerce website, hypo-allergenic cosmetic company, lip pencils, lip lacquer, Mascara, Cruelty Free Makeup, Fragrance Free, Paraben Free Skywells Energy, a Phoenix-based renewable energy firm focused on delivering sustainable energy solutions for both commercial and residential use, has announced the appointment of William Scheela to its Board of Advisors. Scheela has as long career in academia and as a researcher, with publications in a number of academic and professional journals. As a member of the Board of Advisors, Dr. Scheela will play a critical role in advising Skywells Energys research, economic, and product development activities to help expanding the firms offerings to meet both the current and future needs of businesses and individuals seeking sustainable energy solutions in todays residential and commercial spaces. Dr. Scheela is a well-respected academic and researcher in the areas of business administration, entrepreneurship, and strategic management. His research interests particularly focus on the development of the private equity industry in the emerging economies of Southeast Asia and China. Dr. Scheela current holds the position of professor emeritus of business administration at Bemidji State University, which is part of the Minnesota State University System. During his tenure at Bemidji State University, he taught a variety of courses, including international management, entrepreneurship, and strategic management. In addition to his faculty position at Bemidji State University, Dr. Scheela has held a variety of titles at international universities. From 1987-88, he served as a visiting lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also held the title of visiting profession at National Economics University of Vietnam in Hanoi from 1998-99 and again in fall 2009. In fall 2009, Dr. Scheela also taught at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila in the Philippines, where he taught Introduction to Venture Capital in Asia. Dr. Scheelas career has also been marked by success on the research front, with a number of his articles published in academic and practitioner journals. In 2014, Dr, Scheela published a book entitled Venture Capital in Asia: Investing in Emerging Countries.Dr. Scheela earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Minnesotas Carlson School of Management. There couldnt be a better time for Skywells Energy to have someone like Bill join the team, said Nik Shehaj, Skywells Senior Partner . We are pleased that we were able to attract such impressive talent to join our Board of Advisors. With Bills vast knowledge of the private equity industry and the emerging economies of Southeast Asia, we are confident he will provide sound guidance as Skywells Energy looks to continue to provide the world with innovative sustainable energy solutions. About Skywells Energy Skywells Energy is a Phoenix-based renewable energy firm that provides sustainable energy solutions to both commercial and residential partners. The firms solutions include solar systems, energy efficient products, LED lights, building automation systems, and energy management platforms designed with bottom line economics and sustainability in mind. To learn more about Skywells Energy, visit http://www.skywellsenergy.com If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. Deal of the Week: Holt Signs NYTs Gettleman New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Gettlemans The Mission, a chronicle of the life and death of American missionary John Chau, was picked up by Holts Paul Golob in a six-figure deal for North American rights. Todd Shuster and Justin Brouckaert of Aevitas Creative Management represented the author. Gettlemans reporting detailed the story of the obsessive quest that drove Chau to a remote island in the Indian Ocean, where he hoped to convert the indigenous people to Christianity but was killed. Comparing the book to John Krakauers Into the Wild and David Granns The Lost City of Z, Golob said he was taken with the immediacy of Gettlemans prose, which he said jumps off the page to reveal how far a driven and obsessed person is willing to go in the service of their dream. The book, which is due out in 2021, is part of Holts publishing partnership with the New York Times. FROM THE U.S. Harper Pays Up for a Debut Erin Wicks, editor at HarperCollins, was obsessed enough with Micah Nemerevers These Violent Delights, which she described as a propulsive and gripping debut set in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, to buy it for six figures at auction. Nemerever, who studied art history and queer theory at the University of Connecticut and wrote his MA thesis on gender anxiety in the art of the Weimar Republic, spins a tale about, per the publisher, two college students, each with his own troubled past, falling into an escalating obsession with each other that ultimately leads to an act of unspeakable violence. Caroline Eisenmann at Frances Goldin Literary Agency sold the North American rights. Paul Rudnick Plays with Berkley Berkley v-p and editorial director Cindy Hwang acquired, in an exclusive submission, playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnicks contemporary gay romance Playing the Palace for publication in trade paperback in 2021. Hwang, a longtime fan of Rudnicks writing, calls the opportunity to publish his wit, humor and pathos a dream come true. Among Rudnicks film and stage credits are Addams Family Values, Regrets Only, and Sister Act. The novel, the publisher said, features an openly gay prince of England falling for an American man. David Kuhn at Aevitas Creative Management brokered the deal for world and audio rights. The book adds to Berkleys commitment to what it called redefining romantic comedy that sprung up last year with two debuts: Jasmine Guillorys The Wedding Date and Helen Hoangs The Kiss Quotient, which both featured multicultural romances. Garbes Grabs Six Figures In a six-figure deal, Julie Will at HarperWave snatched up world rights for Everybody, Every Body, Angela Garbess follow-up to last years attention-getting Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy. In Everybody, the publisher says, Garbes blends reporting, research, memoir, and cultural criticism to explore the physical reality of life in a female body and show how that reality impacts experiences with food, travel, music, health, wellness, sexuality, and cultural identity, as well as parenting and motherhood. Monika Woods at Curtis Brown represented the author. Ecco Savors Victoria Jamess Wine Daniel Halpern, Eccos president and publisher, preempted wine wunderkind Victoria Jamess Wine Girl. The agent described Jamess memoir as Educated meets Sweetbitter and said it is about a young woman breaking free from an abusive and traumatic childhood and into the glamorous but notoriously toxic restaurant industry. James, who became a sommelier at the tender age of 21, is beverage director and a partner at Cote, a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. She is also the author of Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rose. Allison Hunter at Janklow & Nesbit negotiated the deal for North American rights. Putnam Buys KJ DellAntonias Chicken In a preempt, Putnam executive editor Margo Lipschultz scooped up The Chicken Sisters, the debut novel from How to Be a Happier Parent author KJ DellAntonia, who was a reporter for the New York Times and editor of its MotherLode blog. Lipschultz described the book as a warmhearted story about the long-standing rivalry between two Kansas fried-chicken dynasties and a reality TV competition that forces a new generation of sisters to face old secrets and new dreams. Caryn Karmatz Rudy at DeFiore and Company brokered the deal for world rights. Penguin Gets Artcurious Penguin executive editor Meg Leder won North American rights at auction to Jennifer Dasals Artcurious: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History, based on Dasals podcast of the same name. Curator of contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Dasal reveals funny and fascinating stories about artists and masterpieces. According to the publisher, This isnt your mamas art history text.... It promises to teach you something new, like the fact that the CIA funneled money to support abstract expressionism as a way to fight the Cold War. The five-figure deal was brokered by William Clark for his eponymous agency. Behind the Deal In a three-way auction, Chelsea Cutchens at Overlook won world rights (excluding Canada) to Warrior Butterflies, the debut novel by Ava Homa, which both the author and her agent, Chris Kepner of the Kepner Agency, believe to be the first novel by a Kurdish woman available in English. Kurdish literature is rarely translated, leaving the Kurds, a voiceless nation, too busy staying alive to create literary pieces in foreign languages, Homa explained. She grew up in a Sanandij, the capital of Kurdistan Province in Iran, and later emigrated to Canada, where she wrote the book in English. The novel was inspired by the life of Farzad Kamangar, a Kurdish teacher, poet, journalist, and human rights activist who was prosecuted on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God). Homas story begins in 1963 when a seven-year-old boy witnesses a brutal massacre of hundreds of Kurds. The story picks up a generation later with Leila, the daughter of that boy, now a broken man. Leila dreams of going to university, but that privilege is reserved for her brother. She is trapped at home, helping her mother. Eventually, she escapes with her brother, but his increasing activism puts them both at risk. INTERNATIONAL DEALS John Irvings new publisher in the U.K. is Scribner, an imprint of S&S UK. Ian Chapman, CEO and publisher, signed a three-book deal for U.K. and Commonwealth rights with Dean Cooke of CookeMermaid. Darkness as a Bride, Irvings 15th novel, will be the first book published under the new agreement and is due out in 2020. Bret Easton Elliss first foray into nonfiction, White (an incendiary polemic about this young centurys failings, e-driven and otherwise, as Knopf describes it), is making its way around the world. Daisy Meyrick at Curtis Brown UK, on behalf of Amanda Urban at ICM Partners, has closed deals with Darkside Books (Brazil), Robert Laffont (France), Kiepenheuer & Witsch (Germany), Brainfood Media (Greece), Einaudi (Italy), Ambo Anthos (Netherlands), Etiuda (Poland), and Elsinore (Portugal). For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report. Liz Hartman will be writing the Deals column while regular columnist Rachel Deahl is on maternity leave. To submit deals for the column, email deals@publishersweekly.com. Correction: This column initially referred to Ava Homa's hometown as "a Kurdish village in Iran" when it is, in fact, Kurdish Iran's capital city. Frances Goldin Literary Agency was also spelled incorrectly. Unit sales of print cookbooks in 2018 were up 21% from 2017 according to NPD BookScan, and thats good news for the modest but dedicated coterie of culinary bookshops across the country. Some have been around for a year or two, others for decades, but all cater to the appetites of local cooks. Ken Concepcion, co-owner of Now Serving in Los Angeles, said he sees his shops existence as integral to the citys identity: You cant really call yourself a serious food city unless you have a cookbook store. He and his wife, Michelle Mungcal, opened Now Serving in L.A.s Chinatown in 2017. Its just 400 sq. ft., but even at that size, it fills what Concepcion saw as a longtime void. Id worked as a bookseller [at now-defunct Library Ltd. in St. Louis] and for Wolfgang Puck for 12 years in Beverly Hills, and I was frustrated after Cooks Library closed in 2009 that there was no specialized cookbook store in L.A., he said. I waited for someone to open a store, but when I saw no one else going to do it, I figured we might as well try. Now Serving stocks 1,400 titles alongside select sidelines: aprons, Japanese knives, and locally made ceramics, for an inventory thats 60% books. The community been supportive, Concepcion said, and the store also draws repeat customers from, for example, San Diego and Arizona. In formulating his concept for the shop, Concepcion took inspiration from two industry stalwarts: San Franciscos Omnivore Books on Food, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in November, and New York Citys Kitchen Arts & Letters, which opened in 1983. The latter shop counts Julia Child and James Beard among its early fans. People say were a cookbook store, but really were much more than that, explained Matt Sartwell, managing partner at Kitchen Arts & Letters. We sell 12,000 titles, and that covers every kind of book having to do with food and drinkfrom culinary history and anthropology, to antiquarian books and rare editions, to how-to books on running a restaurant. Sartwell noted that the shop is for customers who are more discerning than those who might buy a cookbook while out browsing for cat food at midnight. One recent store bestseller is an academic tract titled The Neapolitan Pizza. Its a $60 book published by a small Italian publisher outside of Naples, Sartwell said. Its demand for that kind of book that keeps us here. Kitchen Arts & Letters hosts many of its events at the nearby 92nd Street Y, where chef Ina Garten drew a crowd of 900 for the 2018 release of Cook Like a Pro. That was the event where Garten was asked what she would serve Donald Trump for dinner, Sarwell said. She replied, a subpoena. Because home cooks can find virtually any recipe imaginable online, culinary bookshops need to offer something the internet doesnt. Our customers are people who value books but also our expertise, said Philipe LaMancusa, a retired chef and co-owner of Kitchen Witch Cookbooks in New Orleans. He and co-owner Debbie Lindsey opened the shop in the citys French Quarter in 1999 and moved three years ago to a more residential neighborhood and a 2,500-sq.-ft. space, which allows them to showcase 10,000 new, used, rare, and out-of-print titles, as well as host pop-up events for area chefs and a weekly vegan tortilla Tuesday in the parking lot. The move meant a shift from stocking books for touristswho came in for copies of the stores all-time bestselling title, Chef Paul Prudhommes Louisiana Kitchento focusing on serving locals, whose tastes mirror the prevailing food trends around the country. These days, Lindsey said, African, Korean, and Middle Eastern cuisines are hot. When we were in the French Quarter, we couldnt give away books on Asian cuisine, and now we cant keep enough in stock. Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco sells items of local culinary interestvintage event menus from the Bay Areas influential Chez Panisse, for instanceand imports titles that arent readily available locally, or even online. We do feel the challenge of competing with online sellers, said manager Sarah Henkin. Celia Sack [the stores owner] realized early on she needed to offer something Amazon couldnt. We just got a shipment of hard-to-find books from the Philippines, and were loving the high-quality self-published passion projects, such as the recently released Jia! The Food of Swatow and the Teochew Diaspora by Diana Zheng and Gnocchi Solo Gnocchi by Christine Y. Hickman. In Seattle, Lara Hamilton, owner of Book Larder in Seattle, said she relies on annual trips abroad to help her source titles for the store. I just got back from a trip to London and found the most amazing book, Black Sea by Caroline Eden. The photography is great, and its about a part of the world we dont see in cookbooks much. Book Larder, which opened in 2011, stocks 2,500 new, used, and antiquarian titles; the on-site kitchen hosts classes and author events. 2018 was our best sales year ever, Hamilton said, attributing the growth to a resurgence in people cooking and entertaining at home. And though home cooks pore over beautifully plated food on social media, she added, what they find on an Instagram feed has been curated for how it looks, not how it tastes. Recipes in cookbooks are reliable. Its what keeps us in business. For more on cookbooks, see Be Our Guest. Maid in the USA Stephanie Land debuts at #19 in hardcover fiction with Maid, which, in its fifth week since publication, enjoyed its best print unit sales to date. In her heartfelt and powerful debut memoir, our starred review said, Land describes the struggles she faced as a young single mother living in poverty. In an October interview with PW, Land explained that one of her goals for the book is to clear up misperceptions about public assistance. I cringe when people call me a success story, she said, because that perpetuates the idea that its a successful system. (See all of this week's bestselling books.) Southern Hospitality In Mom Hacks, #19 in trade paper, Darria Long Gillespie offers 100-plus tips to help new mothers eat more healthfully, get exercise, sleep better, and cultivate resilience. Gillespie, an emergency physician and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, lives in Atlanta and launched the book at the Buckhead Barnes & Noble. A couple of weeks earlier, Gillespies alma mater, Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., hosted two ticketed events with the author. Attendee preorders were substantial: the book debuts at #1 in NPDs East South Central division, which includes Tennessee. Chefs Choice In October, Little, Brown released, via Facebook Messenger, an interactive version of The Chef by James Patterson, with Max DiLallo. The free e-book, which Little, Brown says more than 100K users have downloaded, is a condensed version of the story and includes digital add-ons such as photos, video, and audio clips. Its still available via the Messenger app; the newly released print edition is #3 in the country. New & Notable The Threat Andrew G. McCabe #1 Hardcover Nonfiction, #1 overall Former FBI director McCabes polished combination career retrospective, manifesto about the FBIs value, and rebuttal to Donald Trumps smears, our review said, is one of the better Trump-related tell-alls. Daughter of Molokai Alan Brennert #19 Hardcover Fiction Our review praised this emotional, gripping sequel to Brennerts Molokai, in which Ruth Utagawa, daughter of lepers but not afflicted herself, is taken from an orphanage and adopted by a Japanese family, the Watanabes, who move from Hawaii to Northern California, where they start a strawberry farm in the early 1920s. Top 10 Overall Rank Title Author Imprint Units 1 The Threat Andrew G. McCabe St. Martins 66,970 2 Becoming Michelle Obama Crown 41,075 3 The Chef James Patterson Little, Brown 27,105 4 Brawl of the Wild (Dog Man #6) Dav Pilkey Graphix 26,982 5 Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens Putnam 25,988 6 Girl, Wash Your Face Rachel Hollis Nelson 23,409 7 The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris Harper 18,005 8 Educated Tara Westover Random House 17,461 9 Brave, Not Perfect Reshma Saujani Currency 15,236 10 The Lost Girls of Paris Pam Jenoff Park Row 14,753 All unit sales per NPD BookScan except where noted. In his opening keynote at the London Book Fairs 2018 Quantum conference, Tom Goodwin, head of innovation for Zenith Media, described a publishing industry slogging through what he called the mid-digital age. We live in this amazing age where incredible things are possible, but routinely people are quite disappointed, he observed. It always appears that when new technology arrives, we think about how weve done things before and sprinkle a little bit of technology around the edges. He urged publishers to get much better at looking ahead, not behind. But as trade publishers prepare for the 2019 London Book Fair, set for March 1214 at Olympia London, theyre feeling pretty good about their old technology: for a fourth straight year, print sales are increasing. According to NPD BookScan, print sales in the U.S. topped 695 million units in 2018, up 1.3% from the year before. In the U.K., print was up just over 2.1%, on sales of roughly 190 million units. And, despite slowing growth for traditional publishers e-books in the U.K. and another year of e-book declines in the U.S., audio continues to fuel publishers digital businesses. The rise of digital audio was a major focus at last years London Book Fair, and it will feature prominently again in 2019, as the formats double-digit annual growth shows no signs of stopping. I think this year will be another year of real growth for audio, says Amanda DAcierno, president and publisher of the Penguin Random House Audio Group, citing ever-improving technology (including smart speakers and virtual assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant) and tantalizing data showing that more than half of todays audio consumers are ages 1844, a prized demographic. They are downloading titles from Google Play, from Audible, from Apple Books, and they are using OverDrives Libby app to borrow from their libraries. The more people I meet, the more combinations of audio apps I see. Of course, 2019 also holds its share of challenges for publishers. The Trump administration continues to sow chaos in the U.S., including attacks on the free press and a trade policy centered on tariffs, while turmoil related to Brexit has British publishers on edge. In Europe, an insurgent new open access movement threatens to roil scientific publishers, and a major copyright revision may spark a tough political battle ahead of this springs E.U. elections. But despite political uncertainty around the globe, the publishing industry has kept remarkably calm and carried on. At the close of the 2017 London Book Fair, Pan Macmillan managing director Anthony Forbes Watson said publishers were feeding off the chaos in the world outside rather than being depressed by it. That certainly appears to be holding true in 2019. This year, the London Book Fair will once again unofficially kick off with Quantum, a digital-themed preconference offering an insightful, data-driven program on a range of topics relating to the book business. The fairs professional program will again feature a full slate of talks and panels on the key issues, including rights and translations; copyright; the freedom to publish; open access and scholarly publishing; new opportunities for authors, including in the self-publishing arena; and political challenges. And, of course, agents and publishers will be on hand in the International Rights Center, where rights dealing is expected to be brisk. For more, consult the full 2019 London Book Fair program online. And check out PWs roundup for a glimpse at some of the big properties U.S. agents will be selling at the fair. London Briefcase 2019: What U.S. Agencies Will Be Selling at the London Book Fair For Rosa Martinez, one of the chefs featured in We Are La Cocina (Chronicle, June), sharing food with others has always been a central part of life. As a child in a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico, she sold tamales and other foods her mother prepared in the town square. After emigrating to the U.S., Martinez made a living as a domestic worker in the Bay Area, saving enough money to buy a home. She now owns and operates a catering company, Origen, and every year, she invites her former employers to her backyard for a picnic. Martinez launched Origen with the support of La Cocina, a small-business incubator in San Franciscos Mission District. Founded in 2005, the organization offers an affordable commercial kitchen space to low-income entrepreneurs, primarily women of color and those from immigrant communities. Many chefs involved with La Cocina got their professional starts through acts of personal hospitality. The cooks at La Cocina, nearly all of them, began their businesses by welcoming people into their homes, says Caleb Zigas, the organizations executive director. The forthcoming book, coauthored by Zigas and Leticia Landa, La Cocinas deputy director, gathers more than 100 recipes from 50 chefs hailing from 19 countries, including the U.S., and also shares each chefs story. Zigas and Landa began considering a cookbook about 10 years ago, as a way to amplify underrepresented voices and celebrate their successes. They are stories of talent, of innovation, and, in no small part, of overcoming adversity to achieve economic freedom, Zigas says. For us, food has always been about the people that make it, and we wanted to use a cookbook as a way to introduce as many people as possible to the work that these women do to achieve independence for themselves and their families. In keeping with an overarching theme of hospitality, several of the books recipes are for party foods, meant to be eaten by hand and with friends, such as momos (Nepalese dumplings), onigiri (Japanese rice balls), and Jamaican beef patties. The book also lays out the ground rules of hosting a taquiza, which Zigas says is basically a Mexican potluck, built around the taco. He adds, The host provides warm tortillas, salsas, and sides. You bring your best fillingand dont forget the tequila. Return to the main feature. Culinary narratives take many forms: blood-and-offal tell-alls a la Anthony Bourdain or the gastronomic reveries of M.F.K. Fisher, to name just two. Here, we look at a dozen such books from the forthcoming spring and summer menu. Burn the Ice Kevin Alexander. Penguin Press, July A James Beard Awardwinning journalist tracks what he calls a golden age in American diningwhen hipster enclaves such as Portland, Ore., and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, edged out the traditional culinary mainstays in Manhattan and San Franciscofrom its origin in the mid-2000s to its end about a decade later. Burn the Place Iliana Regan. Midway, July Beginning with her childhood in Indiana, Regan, chef-owner of Chicago restaurants Elizabeth and Kitsune, traces her path to a Michelin star while also delving into issues of sexuality, gender identity, and addiction. Foodies will appreciate this blistering yet tender story of a woman transforming Midwestern cooking, our review said, written in a fresh voice all her own. Eat Like a Fish Bren Smith. Knopf, May Smith, who left commercial fishing for a career in restorative ocean farming, is on a mission to get seaweed,which he considers a sustainable superfood, onto more restaurant menus and into home kitchens. Girl on the Block Jessica Wragg. Dey Street, Aug. Wragg began training as a butcher in her hometown of Chesterfield, England, at age 16 and a few years later landed a job at the Ginger Pig in London. She details her rise in the male-dominated world of butchery while providing a historical and contemporary look at the craft. Hotbox Matt and Ted Lee. Holt, Apr. The latest title from the authors of the James Beard Awardwinning The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook pulls back the curtain on the catering world, an often-dismissed arm of the culinary industry denounced for its rubber chicken and dry salmon, in this captivating tell-all, PWs review said. (The Lees are profiled in Too Many Cooks.) Hungry Jeff Gordinier. Crown/Duggan, July In this memoir-meets-travelogue, Esquires food and drinks editor chronicles four years of globe-trotting adventures with renowned Danish chef Rene Redzepi seeking out the finest tacos in the Yucutan, chasing sea urchins in the Arctic Circle, and more. Notes from a Young Black Chef Kwame Onwuachi, with Joshua David Stein. Knopf, Apr. Top Chef alum Onwuachi, executive chef at Washington, D.C.s Kith and Kin, recounts personal and professional struggles and triumphs in what our starred review called an inspiring memoir. The author includes one representative recipe with each chapteregusi stew, shrimp etouffee, and chicken and waffles, among others. (See our q&a with Onwuachi.) Save Me the Plums Ruth Reichl. Random House, Apr. In her latest, multiple James Beard Award winner Reichl, whose books include Tender at the Bone and, most recently, My Kitchen Year, zeroes in on her decade as editor-in-chief at Gourmet. PWs starred review called Plums a deeply personal look at a food world on the brink of change. Serious Eater Ed Levine. Portfolio, June In 2006, New York City freelance food journalist and digital novice Levine ponied up $100 for the domain name Serious Eats, a food website that would, by 2017, see more than 10 million visitors per month and make its founder a wealthy man. The road to foodie glory wasnt always smooth, and here, Levine details his unlikely rise in the world of online media. Tiny Hot Dogs Mary Giuliani. Running Press, Apr. New York City caterer Giuliani (The Cocktail Party), whose frequent TV appearances include spots on Rachael Ray, The Chew, and Today, discusses her culinary success alongside tales of motherhood, loss, and celebrity encounters. Giulianis entertaining memoir, our review said, is packed with satisfying stories and recipes that readers will guiltily enjoy. The Truffle Underground Ryan Jacobs. Clarkson Potter, June This expose, which has its roots in a 2014 piece Jacobs wrote for the Atlantic, is a deeply researched and eye-opening account, our review said, of the lengths people will go for wealth, gratification, and a taste of the prized fungus. Uncultivated Andy Brennan. Chelsea Green, June Brennan, who owns Aaron Burr Cidery in New Yorks Catskills region, addresses apple growing and food activism, advocating for wild, organic processes over modern cultivation practices. Rowan Jacobsen, who has written extensively on the sustainable food movement, contributes the foreword. Return to the main feature. Russia second Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK), christened Kronstadt, will undergo a series of trials in 2019, the commander in chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, told reporters during a visit to the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering in St. Petersburg this month. Serial production of the non-nuclear Lada-class submarines continues. This year, testing will commence on the second non-nuclear Lada-class submarine Kronstadt, which was launched in September 2018, Korolyov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency on February 22. The Kronstadt, was officially launched at the St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyards on September 20 thirteen years after the SSK was laid down.The construction of the Kronstadt was was suspended in 2011 due to a number of design and technical challenges, in addition to a funding shortage, and only restarted in 2013. The commander of the military's Northern Command warned this week that Moscow is deploying conventionally armed missiles that for the first time are capable of striking targets deep inside the United States. Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, who is also commander of the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Command (NORAD), stated in prepared congressional testimony that while Russian nuclear missiles have threatened the country for more than 50 years, Moscow only recently developed and deployed capabilities to threaten us below the nuclear threshold. On February 27 and 28, U.S. president Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a second bilateral summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The summit was cut short abruptly in the middle of the second day, and a widely anticipated joint statement was not signed by the two leaders. This Hanoi summit had been preceded by a historic, first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in June 2018. At their first meeting, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement that called for: transformed bilateral relations, building of an eventual peace regime, complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and recovery of U.S. soldier remains from the North. In addition to the statement, President Trump also announced at that time that annually held U.S.-South Korean military exercises would be suspended for fall 2018. North Korea subsequently returned 55 sets of U.S. soldier remains as a deliverable after the summit. Both sides failed, however, in the eight months following Singapore to make progress on the summit declaration due to disagreements over the definition of denuclearization and the sequencing of the steps that would be taken to fulfill the promises made in the joint statement. After a new date was set for the Hanoi summit in January, there were some hopes that these differences could be bridged in another high-level meeting between Trump and Kim. But the same issues ultimately appeared to play a role in the breakdown of the presidential-level talks in Hanoi. It appears the two leaders fundamentally misjudged each other. Kim may have calculated that Trump, eager for a foreign policy victory, would reward him with maximal sanctions relief in exchange for a continued moratorium on nuclear and missile testing, limits on existing nuclear stockpiles and a possible Yongbyon shutdown. Trump, thinking Kim was brought to the negotiating table because of his maximum pressure policy and fire and fury rhetoricrather than the Norths own advances in its nuclear and missile programthought he could entice Kim with Vietnam-style economic development. Neither expectation was borne out in Hanoi. Q1: Was this summit a failure? A1 : Yes, likely on several different levels. With prior high expectations for a joint deal in Hanoi, the abrupt end to the summit could understandably be considered a waste of time, energy, and resources. It could also make it very difficult to move negotiations forward at the working level since the discussions on even basic principles have failed at the highest leadership level. Additionally, President Trump, facing more pressing domestic difficulties at home, could have his attention drawn away from North Korea, making it harder to make future progress. But, then again, deciding against a deal at this time is better than accepting a bad deal. A bad deal is one that would have substantially weakened U.S. national security interests and our alliance relationships in the region. If, as Trump suggested, the North Koreans wanted full sanctions relief before giving more on the Yongbyon nuclear facility and other nuclear sites, then that would have been a bad deal. (The North Koreans have since responded with their own version of events.) The question now is whether working-level negotiations can produce an agreement between the two sides on what denuclearization means in concrete terms. If there is greater institutionalization of working-level talks on denuclearization and the development of a peace track between the two countries, this could be an unintended positive outcome from the summit, despite the decision to walk away now. But, coming up with a timeline and roadmap to advance the Singapore summit declaration in the face of this decisionmaking impasse at the highest level will be a substantial challenge. Q2: Are we safer as a result of the Hanoi summit? A2: No, the threat from North Korea remains the same. While we are certainly in a much better place than in 2017political and military tensions on the peninsula have been reduced while diplomatic engagement has continued between the United States and North Koreawe should expect that North Korea will continue to maintain and develop its nuclear weapons programs. CSIS Beyond Parallel reports show, in fact, that North Korea still maintains operational ballistic missile bases across the country and other nuclear weapons-related sites have been kept in good condition in a wait-and-see mode during negotiations. Until the United States succeeds in getting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into North Korea to oversee the suspension of nuclear operations, the sealing of buildings, and the installation of monitoring cameras, the threats posed by North Korean weapons of mass destruction programs will continue to exist. The negotiations process has taken us further off the crisis path but has not yet necessarily made us safer. One area that could potentially also make us less safe is the erosion of deterrence and readiness of U.S. and South Korean military forces if the suspension of military exercises continues beyond this spring. This is an important question that will need to be addressed after Hanoi. The South Koreans and Chinese may object to the resumption of military exercises because they may see that as raising tensions at a sensitive time. (The North Koreans, of course, argue that the exercises are a rehearsal for a U.S. invasion of their territory.) We should not allow alliance equities (such as the U.S.-South Korean military exercises) to be held hostage by the negotiations. And we should not accept a de facto freeze-for-freeze situation, where North Korea freezes its nuclear and ballistic missile testing in exchange for our suspension of legitimate and necessary military exercises. To do so would set a dangerous precedent that would put us in a more untenable negotiating position later. This could also result in a diminished U.S. security posture in Asia and potential problems with alliance relationships in the future. Q3: Where do we go from here? A3: Its not clear. Unfortunately, the failure of negotiations at the top does not leave much room for diplomatic maneuvering going forward. The South Koreans will be anxious to pick up the pieces after this summit and play a moderator role in resuming productive negotiations. South Korean president Moon Jae-in could try another summit between the two Koreas to attempt to bridge differences between all involved parties. In South Korea, President Moon will be in a very difficult spot politically if this entire process breaks down, so he will be anxious to find ways to break the impasse. The North Koreans will huddle with the Chinese and Russians to try to make sense of what happened at Hanoi, and they may regroup to come up with another negotiating strategy. The most important thing to watch will be how the summit is portrayed in North Korean state media and whether or not the North Koreans will blame the United States for the failure in diplomacy and return to brinkmanship tactics. From the U.S. perspective, we will need to decide how to respond to a continuing stalemate. This summer, for example, the United States will need to decide whether to allow a major military exercise with South Korea to go forward. If the military exercises get the green light, Kim could decide to respond in some fashion, such as a missile test. In this case, China would not respond harshly because Kims provocation would be seen as a response to U.S. action. North Korea is the land of lousy options. So far President Trump has been no more successful than his predecessors in solving this strategic riddlebut at least we are in a better position now than in 2017 when talk of preemptive war was in the air. Reprinted with permission from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Sue Mi Terry is a senior fellow with the Korea Chair at CSIS in Washington, D.C. Lisa Collins is a fellow with the CSIS Korea Chair. Its disappointing that a deal was not reached in Hanoi, but its good that US President Donald J. Trump walked away rather than signing a one-sided agreement. Agreeing to a total lifting of UN sanctions in return for only limited steps on denuclearizationclosure of the Yongbyon facility would have done nothing to reduce the North Koreans nuclear weapons and infrastructure, making the task of real denuclearization even harder. Dismantlement of the Yongbyon facility, the main production site for the Norths plutonium and enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, would be an important achievement, but it would not shut off the Norths fissile material production completely. The North has other facilities, some clandestine, in addition to Yongbyon, as Trump pointed out. Moreover, dismantling Yongbyon would have left untouched the Norths existing stockpile of fissile material, warheads, ballistic missiles, and their associated production facilitiesall of which continue to pose a real and growing threat to the United States, its allies, and the entire Northeast Asia region. The North Koreans, not for the first time, overplayed their hand, hoping that Trumps eagerness for a deal would persuade him to override his advisers and effectively accept North Korea as a de facto nuclear weapons state. This was the nightmare scenario of US experts and US allies in Seoul and Tokyo, who will now breathe a collective sigh of relief. But Trump has to feel personally embarrassed as well, having predicted an even greater success than he believes he accomplished at Singapore. He needs to face the reality that he grossly misjudged Kim Jong-uns desperation for economic support, when for North Korea this has always been more about acceptance by the international community and survival of the regime. We can only hope that both sides will recognize that personal rapport between the two leaders, while a valuable ingredient for talks, cannot substitute for the complex negotiations over the details of denuclearization and verification that must precede any meaningful agreement. In the meantime, the United States should do all it can to rebuild its leverage by shoring up the international sanctions regime. The details of the package left on the table in Hanoi have yet to emerge. It appears that the sides were discussing a political declaration on the end of the Korean War, the first step toward a peace treaty; the opening of diplomatic liaison offices as a step toward the eventual opening of embassies; waivers of sanctions on inter-Korean economic projects, such as a reopening of the Mount Kumgang resort; and an extension of the North Koreans moratorium on weapons and missile testingall in return for dismantlement of Yongbyon and, possibly, other facilities. It is not clear if the sides agreed on a definition of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula that would commit North Korea to the full, verifiable elimination of all its programs and facilities without undermining the US-South Korean alliance. This remains essential. Evidently, the United States agreed to defer a declaration by North Korea with an inventory of all elements of its nuclear program to be eliminated; this, too, cannot be delayed much longer if denuclearization is going to be truly full, final, and verifiable. It is good that the two leaders parted on amicable terms and left the door open to follow-on discussions. Both leaders will need to reflect on their tactical misjudgments going into the Hanoi meeting. Kim should empower his negotiators to engage in the serious negotiations at the expert level that he sought to avoid prior to this weeks summit and before last years Singapore summit as well. Trump should instruct his team to re-engage quickly with Pyongyang, after consulting thoroughly with US allies and with China and Russia, who can help increase US leverage on Pyongyang if we play our cards right. Trump would be wise to hold off on scheduling a third summit until the outlines of a deal are much clearer than they were before Hanoi. Trump deserves two cheers for reducing tensions with Pyongyang and getting closer to a worthwhile deal than anyone would have predicted. By walking away from the table, he has improved the chances of a better deal down the roadbut only if he has the patience for the tough negotiations that lie ahead. We still do not know if Kim will ever agree to full denuclearization. But continued diplomacy is the way to put him to the test. Reprinted with permission from The Atlantic Council. Alexander Vershbow is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Councils Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a former US ambassador to South Korea, NATO, and Russia. Follow him on Twitter @ARVershbow. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/01/2019 ADVERTISEMENT Episode 9 spoilers FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Cassie Randolph's dad Matt Randolph pays her a surprise visit ADVERTISEMENT Cassie decides to quit the show ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Colton jumps a fence and runs off Colton chases Cassie down in California ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. spoilers reveal what led to Colton Underwood 's highly-promoted fence jump as well as all the events that unfolded afterward -- including which bachelorette he picked as his winner and ended up with, if he proposed, and whether he and his final pick currently engaged!The next episode of 's 23rd season is set to air on Monday, March 4, followed by The Women Tell All special on Tuesday, March 5.According to ABC, fans can expect the epic fence jump in the March 4 episode but that's just the beginning."This will be one of the most shocking episodes in franchise history," says the network, as Colton's search for his soul mate draws to a close and he sweeps the Final 3 women away for Fantasy Suite overnight dates in enchanting Portugal.When viewers last saw Colton, he had left the three remaining women -- Cassie Randolph Hannah Godwin and Tayshia Adams -- at the Rose Ceremony following hometown dates and desperately rushed to talk to host Chris Harrison Overwhelmed by having just sent Caelynn Miller-Keyes home and nervously anticipating the Fantasy Suites that lie ahead, the virgin Bachelor will head to the Algarve region of Portugal."It will be a trip full of major surprises, high anticipation and extreme anxiety, after vowing to save himself for the woman he loves," teases ABC.Colton and Tayshia will take a breathtaking helicopter ride to Cape St. Vincent , once considered to be the edge of the earth.Colton will confess his feelings for Tayshia, but will they make it to the Fantasy Suite -- and what will happen behind closed doors if they do?"Or will Cassie have the opportunity to be his first? Cassie is still apprehensive about taking the next step with Colton, and he reveals to her the unsettling conversation he had with her father during their hometown date," according to ABC."Then all hell breaks loose when their date is interrupted by a bombshell surprise no one saw coming."ABC says "a stunning twist" -- a first in history -- will cause Colton to have a breakdown, leaving everyone speechless and confused.Colton's decisions from that point on will not only affect his own journey to find love, but everyone else's.Colton has been fearful of rejection at the end of the process since Night 1, and it just may happen.According to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Cassie's father Matt Randolph will play a huge role in the dramatic turn of events, as he has major influence on his daughter's life and choices.When Colton visited Cassie's hometown in Huntington Beach, CA, Matt asked his daughter to think things through and not make any hasty decisions.Matt told Cassie that at 23 years old, she has her entire life ahead of her and so it makes no sense to rush into anything unless she could do so with 100 percent certainty, trust and confidence.Cassie left her hometown date feeling confused and worried she may not be ready to get engaged to Colton, and viewers weren't sure whether it was because she lacked feelings for him or just didn't feel prepared to take that next step in life.Cassie was therefore the only one of Colton's Final 4 bachelorettes to not express how she was in love -- or at least falling in love -- with star.Carbone reports Colton will enjoy an overnight Fantasy Suite date with Tayshia in Portugal but nothing physical, other than kissing, happens between them."She mentioned that they just spent the night talking, but Tayshia admits that she's nervous for the next Rose Ceremony because she didn't think Colton was all there mentally," Carbone wrote.Matt then reportedly flies to Portugal and makes an appearance between the day and night portion of Colton's subsequent date with Cassie."Her dad just reiterates what we heard him say last [episode]. The stuff how marriage is a huge step, she's 23, he doesn't think she's ready, she seems hesitant, etc," Carbone wrote.After their talk, Cassie wishes she had more time with Colton on the show and determines she must send herself home that night -- as long as she can muster up enough courage to do so.Meanwhile, Colton confesses to the cameras he is "in love with Cassie" and wants to hear her say the same words.He also reportedly plans to lose his virginity that night to Cassie.During the night portion of their date, Carbone says Cassie will share the details of her conversation with her father when sitting down with Colton and the rest of the episode will focus on this couple."So looks like Tayshia will get the first 30-40 minutes of the episode with her overnight, then it's all Cassie/Colton from there on... A lot of the footage is this back and forth between Colton and Cassie and the cameras just kept rolling," Carbone wrote.During Cassie and Colton's chat, Cassie will express doubt in their relationship because her father did not give Colton permission to propose marriage."Cassie starts to wonder if he's the right person for her if her family isn't sold," Carbone wrote.The conversation reportedly gets tense and Cassie admits to Colton she "loves him" but is not "in love" with him -- yet.Cassie then reportedly talks to a producer and second guesses leaving the show because she didn't expect dumping Colton to be so hard."There's a lot of hugging and crying between the two, and I was told it's basically just Colton pleading for her to stay the whole time and Cassie not knowing what to do," Carbone wrote."He says he'll be patient with her and she tells him she doesn't know if she can get there. Colton tells her he doesn't want her to make a decision now, and that it's not easy going on other dates when all he can think about is her."Cassie reportedly expresses guilty over the prospect Colton may leave without an engagement and everything he came on the show for, but Colton says if it's not with the person he feels strongest about, then it's not something worth doing or having."She tells him she wants him to have what he wants [an engagement]. She says she loves him but she's not in love with him, and she's having her doubts and doesn't know why she's so confused," Carbone shared.Colton, however, doesn't give up and allegedly remains focus on the girl of his choice."Colton specifically does tell her, 'I want it to be you at the end of this, engaged or not,'" Carbone claimed.After Cassie mentions two other women are still in the running for his heart, Colton tells her, "I f-cking love you."Cassie reportedly replies, "I can't do this," and then that's how things end between them.Cassie essentially told Colton she's not ready to get engaged and so continuing on with the process wouldn't be fair to him. She therefore quits the show and leaves Colton heartbroken.Colton allegedly walks Cassie out while kissing and hugging her, and then she cries in the car as she drives off.And this is when Colton has his meltdown and attempts to quit , according to Carbone."Colton goes back up to his room [for his wallet], closes the door behind him, cameras are still rolling... comes back out of the room, takes his mic off, pushes the cameras out of the way, and says he's done," Carbone revealed."THIS is where the fence jump happens, we see the shot of Chris Harrison say, 'Holy f-ck, he's gone...' and that's where next week's episode ends [on a cliffhanger]."The fence jump will serve as a teaser heading into the finale, and fans will be left wondering whether Colton truly quit the show or settled for another girl -- and what happened with Cassie."Colton will then gather himself the next day and speak with both Hannah G. and Tayshia separately and dump them, and ultimately he's with Cassie, but they are not engaged," Carbone revealed.Colton therefore never enjoys an overnight Fantasy Suite date with Hannah G., as he ended the process prematurely.Carbone reports Cassie returned home to California after leaving the show -- and then Colton also traveled back to America and basically chased Cassie down.'s production crew reportedly filmed Colton tracking Cassie down in the Los Angeles area and telling her that he'd still like to be with her regardless of whether they get engaged.Colton's desperate plea resulted in the couple choosing to continue dating together and taking an engagement off the table since Cassie is only 23 years old."Colton comes to Cassie and basically says, 'We don't need to be engaged, but I want to be with you.' And that's where we are for right now," Carbone insisted."They are definitely seeing each other, and have been seeing each other since the end of filming."Colton and Cassie will apparently update fans on the status of their relationship live on : After the Final Rose airs on ABC."My guess is Cassie is very young, and her feeling of, back in November, telling Colton, 'I'm not ready to be engaged,' [is] probably still going to stand in March. But that's just a guess. We'll see what happens," Carbone predicted.However, Cassie appeared to play up the rumors and spoilers about her relationship with Colton in a recent Instagram post.Cassie posted a photo of herself flipping a tire on a previous group date in which the girls had participated in a "Bachelor's Strongest Woman" contest."Caption Options: 1. When you gotta secure the ring 2. Get this ring away from me. I'm not ready for that...Or am I? 3. Hey @neillanejewelry ... do you make rings this big?" Cassie teased on Instagram.Maybe Cassie is ready for an engagement after all!Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Danielle Staub is engaged again following her divorce. ADVERTISEMENT E! News confirmed the 56-year-old television personality said "yes" to her boyfriend, Oliver Maier, the duke of Provence, a week after finalizing her divorce from Marty Caffrey. People said Staub and Maier got engaged Thursday morning during a vacation in St. Barth. The couple plan to marry Monday in New York with Staub's "The Real Housewives" co-star Teresa Giudice and other friends in attendance. "I'm madly in love," Staub told the magazine. "I'm feeling elated and excited for the next stage of my life. I'm going to marry the man of my possible dreams and hopefully I'll spend the rest of my life in bliss." Staub will become a duchess after her marriage to Maier, who manages a private equity firm in New York. The couple met through a mutual friend, Maier's ex, in October and made their relationship Instagram official last week. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "Mystery solved #photocredit @berangeresbh," Staub captioned a photo of herself kissing Maier. Maier was still dating his ex when he started pursuing Staub. "I didn't intend for it to happen that way, it's my mistake," he said. "I care about Danielle. She's phenomenal, comes from a good family and is beautiful beyond belief. I'm happy we're together." Staub finalized her divorce from Caffrey Feb. 21 after splitting from him in August after three months of marriage. She was previously married to Kevin Maher and Thomas N. Staub, and has been engaged 21 times. Athens, GA (30605) Today Showers this evening becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Showers this evening becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. 'The most unfortunate part is that after precipitating the crisis situation on Tuesday, the government ducked and took help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to 'de-escalate' the situation.' 'Make no mistake, this fateful move has grave implications.' 'You don't take help from the wolf to guard the sheep, right?' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi hugs Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Rashtrapati Bhavan, February 20, 2019. Photograph: @MEAPhotogallery/Flickr There has been an avalanche of reports in the international media quoting Western diplomats and security officials to the effect that India's 'intelligence-led... non-military preemptive strike' on a big terrorist camp in Pakistan on February 26 was all baloney. Apparently, these reports say, there was so such terrorist camp in existence in Balakot. Incredibly enough, no one on the government cares to set the record straight. The foreign secretary had claimed earlier that the strike killed 'a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.' But surprisingly, the day after the FS spoke, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor said it was 'premature' to provide details about casualties. He would only say that the Indian armed forces had 'fairly credible evidence' of the damage inflicted on the camp by the air strikes. It is important for the government to clarify, because what happened was a defining moment in India-Pakistan relations and in India's fight against terrorism. The nation has a right to know. No doubt, crossing another country's borders and attacking its territory is a major escalation. What is the rationale behind such escalation? Prime Minister Modi says he has given a 'free hand' to the armed forces. Are we to assume that the IAF suo moto acted on February 26? That is inconceivable. This calls for deep introspection: What is it that the government achieved through the 60-odd hours between the early hours of Tuesday and the evening of Thursday? There is no shred of evidence that the Pakistani side is cowed down in fear. On the contrary, Pakistan insists that it will retaliate against any act of Indian aggression. Prime Minister Imran Khan disclosed in the national assembly in Islamabad on Thursday that on the night of Wednesday-Thursday, the Pakistani military was in a state of readiness to fire missiles into India. Some of our self-styled experts say we have 'sent a message' to Pakistan that we will hit them hard if terrorism continued. How can they be so sure? The Pakistani retaliation with an attack on India the very next day -- an act of war by targeting our military installations -- discredits their thesis. The most unfortunate part is that after precipitating the crisis situation on Tuesday, the government ducked and took help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to 'de-escalate' the situation. Make no mistake, this fateful move has grave implications. The whole world knows that these two petrodollar States are the principal sponsors of terrorist groups who destroyed Syria. Importantly, how can we possibly overlook that Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terrorist organisations in Pakistan have received direct support from these Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia? There is plentiful evidence of it. An action request cable archived by Wikileaks, documenting the illicit finance activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, stated that 'it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority.' The cable continues, 'Still, donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.' It describes Saudi Arabia as 'a critical financial support base' for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other terrorist groups.' By the estimation of the US state department, LeT and JeM are all but synonymous! As far back as in 1993, the LeT became part of the United Jihad Council, an umbrella group for militant Islamists operating in J&K, and in doing so, it formed a direct alliance with the JeM (which claimed credit for the Pulwama attack recently). In fact, another Wikileaks cable confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been funnelling money not just to LeT but to JeM directly. It says: 'Locals believed that charitable activities being carried out by Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith organisations, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Al-Khidmat Foundation, and Jaish-e-Mohammed were further strengthening reliance on extremist groups and minimizing the importance of traditionally moderate Sufi religious leaders in these communities.' 'Government and non-governmental sources claimed that financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith clerics in the region from 'missionary' and 'Islamic charitable' organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.' Saudi Arabia has quite openly held out assurances to Pakistan that it need not go after JeM directly. Indeed, the most dangerous part of the gambit by the Modi government to let in Saudi Arabia and the UAE into its matrix over Pakistan and Kashmir is that this policy shift is completely of sync with the wider geopolitical struggle unfolding in the region. Quite obviously, Saudi Arabia wants to win Pakistan over in a tug-of-war game with Iran and is doling out to Islamabad generous financial help and a $10 billion investment plan to to build an oil refinery in the Gwadar port project (which actually puts a major Saudi project on Iran's border.) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's (recent visit to Pakistan has essentially cemented Pakistan's inclusion in an anti-Iran Arab NATO. Against this backdrop, how could Indian policymakers blithely overlook the far-reaching, dangerous implications of consorting with Saudi Arabia and the UAE as partners in its fight against terrorism in J&K fomented by Pakistan? The most intriguing part is the newfound bonhomie between the Indian elite and the sheikhs. Put differently, you don't take help from the wolf to guard the sheep, right? What explains the Faustian deal to allow them to enter the sanctum sanctorum of India's foreign policy -- Kashmir and the matrix of India-Pakistan relations? Beware of the lure of green money. The Saudis and Emiratis are great operators in Washington, DC. Their fierce lobbying and charm offensives are legion. If they could manipulate the American political class so brilliantly, our oligarchy must be chicken feed. 'It is my opinion that not releasing the Balakote Battle Damage Assessment immediately post strike was a phenomenal blunder, perception battle wise,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd), India's former air adviser in Pakistan. The IAF's unprecedented air strike on the Jaish training facility at Balakote and the PAF's riposte at Naushera led to some anxious moments for most Indians. Now that our hero Wing Commander Abhinandan is back safe and sound, perhaps it is time to take stock of our aerial operations so far. We still have no details of the tactical air pictures of the Balakote strike or the Naushera aerial engagement. So let's keep to the big picture and the planning aspects. At the outset, it is my opinion that not releasing the Balakote Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) immediately post strike was a phenomenal blunder, perception battle wise. One can understand holding it back were the operation a special forces one or indeed a secret mission. But since the establishment chose to go to town over it (elections be damned) it would have been prudent if the IAF had been permitted to release the imageries from the Spice weapons or the purported Heron recce UAV which was statedly overhead. Some enterprising retired army colonel uploaded some OSINT imageries of the target area which only showed some smoke plumes but no details of damage. If indeed 350 terrorists were killed , it was vital that proof be shown to the world at large. Let us hope this is done sooner than later! The second most important aspect that needs serious consideration by the planners is the media's involvement. Especially in the sub continental context, it is foolhardy to give in to the temptation of outsourcing your psywar effort to 'ranting' war-mongering studio warriors. This could well take options of graded escalation out of your hands, given the uncalled for jingoism. It would have been adviseable to carry out the mission and then announce the details at an opportune moment without the frenzy of 'an uncontrolled media' and its drawing room wars. Whilst social media definitely helped in the ratcheting of pressure on Pakistan in terms of Abhinandan's release, unnecessary media frenzy non stop and its impact on popular opinion has virtually put paid to another similar aerial operation for the foreseeable future. High profile large formation aerial strikes with their accompaniment of EW and AD escorts is a tough call, especially in the Indo-Pak context, given the radar/AWACS cover on both sides. Even if surprise could be achieved in one strike, a second one soon thereafter is unlikely to succeed. And in a situation wherein repeat strikes have to be done against terror camps -- now that the Rubicon has been crossed as regards our political will for offensive action, special forces action or employment of special forces light -- Thrush aircraft or 'Little Bird' chopper types a la what the CIA/Blackwater combine employed in Mali, Iraq and Columbia -- need serious consideration. One another mission which special forces aircraft permit is Combat Search and Rescue. If we had the training and the hardware to conduct this vital mission, Abhinandan could have been rescued by the IAF, more so as close to the LOC as he apparently was. PSYOPS is another vital planning consideration. Whilst the IAF inquiry would reveal what exactly caused Abhinandan's aircraft engine to flame out (so one hears), in any event we should have given it a spin to deny the Pakis the credit for shooting down our MiG 21, which apparently did NOT happen. We lost a big chance to capitalise here and the Bison kill would have been so much sweeter for all of us. Having done a super job of media management during Kargil, this should have come as second nature for the IAF. It is still not too late to rectify and put out the reason for the ejection. The Pakis also would have learnt a thing or two such as the end user agreement trap on the US supplied F-16 and other equipment and problems in targeting in Indian territory given the anti-terrorism plank India capitalised on. India too needs to think through terror targeting in the JeM context. Other than Bawahalpur, what else can we target? Can the ISI be targeted in any manner? If Lashkar-e-Tayiba needs to be hit, can we neutralise JUD facilities in Muridke and elsewhere? Honing of real time intelligence gathering and neutralisation of terror training camps in built up areas would be challenging, but vital to avoid collateral damage and hence an advantage in the 'perception' war. For old fogies like me, the employment of IAF airpower in a counter terror role and the Bison kill on the F-16 are stuff out of dreams! One has no doubt that the IAF would think through peculiarities of this air campaign in terms of targeting, weaponeering, BDA and CSAR. Sustained training effort in these spheres alone would give us capability to show desired results on the ground. NABHAH SPARSHAM DIPTAM A day after his return from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on Saturday informed the top brass of Indian Air Force that he was subjected to a lot of mental harassment, though he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities, said a source. The IAF pilot was also medically examined, considering the fact that he had ejected after his MiG 21 was shot down in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir air space while chasing Pakistani fighter planes which had transgressed into Indian air space on February 27. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa met Wing Commander Varthaman at the Army R&R Hospital. During a separate meeting with the air chief, Varthaman briefed him about his detention in Pakistan, officials said. Wing Commander Varthaman was expected to be debriefed by the IAF on his detention in Pakistan, which is yet to take place. After a delay of over five hours, Varthaman stepped on to Indian soil through the Wagah border, Amritsar in Punjab, on Friday night at 9.20 pm. He was in the custody of Pakistan army since Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside PoK. On Wednesday, Abhinandan was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his MiG 21 Bison crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan army upon his landing. Abhinandan used to mean welcome, but its meaning would change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday in an apparent reference to the Indian Air Force pilot released by Pakistan. IMAGE: A man looks at television screen, airing live transmission of released Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhi Nandan, at Wagah border, in Karachi, Pakistan. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to change dictionary meanings, Modi said at a housing ministry event. His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. The world takes note of what India does... India has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. Abhinandan once used to mean welcome. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change, he said Soon after the pilot was released, Modi had tweeted, Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is unwell. Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan army, a senior security official said. Qureshi said on Thursday: He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he cant leave his house, because hes really unwell. The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the United Kingdom, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terror mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar, kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhars release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhars earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the SovietAfghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansars department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania. He also went to Kenya to meet an Al Qaeda affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 jawans. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, officials said. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his nearly 60 hour stay in Pakistan. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an Indian Air Force flight around 11:45 pm on Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. Currently, he is undergoing medical tests at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment, a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force. When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early on Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Photograph: @SpokespersonMoD/Twitter Abhinandan will undergo debriefing which will include his physiological as well as a physical check-up in the presence of officials from the military and Intelligence agencies. IMAGE: Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he is released by Pakistan authorities at Wagah border on the Pakistani side. Photograph: PTI Photo "It is good to be back in my country," was the first reaction of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he set his foot back on Indian soil. This was stated by an official quoting Varthaman after he received the pilot at the Attari-Wagah border soon after his release by Pakistan. After landing in New Delhi a group of people gave a rousing welcome to him at the Palam airport. In its reaction, the Indian Air Force said on Twitter, "We have Wg Cdr Abhinandan back with us. Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior #Abhinandan." Varthaman was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. He was handed over to Indian authorities at Attari-Wagah border on Friday evening. IMAGE: Abhi with a Pakistani official. Photograph: PTI Photo After a long wait, he finally emerged at 9.10 p.m(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing a civilian clothes -- a dark jacket and khakhi trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors' country from his homeland. "We are happy to have him back," said a top IAF officer shortly after Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities. Reading out a brief statement, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, told a posse of reporters that the pilot will be taken for a detailed medical examination as he was subjected to lot of stress during his nearly three-day captivity. "He will be taken for a detailed medical checkup. The officer has had to eject from a plane which would have put his body under immense strain," said Kapoor. The Air Vice Marshal did not take any question from the media. Abhinandan will undergo debriefing Saturday which will include his physiological as well as a physical check-up in the presence of officials from the military and Intelligence agencies. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying while the Indian Air Force was defending the country, Modi stole Rs 30,000 crore from the force and put it in businessman Anil Ambanis pocket. IMAGE: Speaking at the party's Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally, Rahul Gandhi said that Modi stole Rs 30,000 crore from the Indian Air Forceand put it in businessman Anil Ambani's pocket. Photograph: PTI Photo He asked chowkidars (watchmen) not to get worried over the slogan chowkidar chor hain as the country knows that it is meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at the partys Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morahbadi Ground in Ranchi with leaders of the Mahagathbandhan, Gandhi reiterated that Rs 30,000 crore was wrongfully given to Anil Ambani in the purchase of Rafale fighter planes. Ulgulan is the term used for the movement of justice and independence launched by legendary tribal fighter Birsa Munda against the British in the 19th century. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and states former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi and Rashtriya Janata Dals former MLA Ram Chandra Singh were present at the rally. The Congress chief stuck to his rally schedule, and did not visit ailing Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, neither did he speak to Prasad over the phone. There was speculation whether the Congress president would contact Prasad to break the logjam over seat-sharing among grand alliance partners in Bihar and Jharkhand ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. WATCH: Rahul performs folk dance with locals in Ranchi Prasad has been in Ranchis Birsa Munda jail since December 2017 after his conviction in Rs 900-crore fodder scam cases that broke out in the early 1990s in united Bihar. Vaayu Sena desh ki raksha karti hain aur hamare PM uske paise chori kar ke Anil Ambani ko Rs 30,000 crore de dete hain (The IAF defends our country but the PM steals its money and gives Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani), he said taking a jab at Modi, a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman returned home from Pakistan captivity. The Congress chief claimed that former France president (Francois Hollande) had said Modi had said if Rafale deal was to be sealed then Anil Ambani should be given the (offset) contract. IMAGE: After the rally, while spending time with the locals, Rahul performed the folk dance. Photograph: PTI Photo In his no-holds barred attack on Modi, the Congress president further alleged that the prime minister had waived Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of industrialists, but not that of farmers, students and shopkeepers. He said if his party was voted to power, it would give minimum income guarantee to the poor by directly transferring money into their accounts. Focusing on tribals and farmers, Rahul said the Congress party had in 2013 brought the Land Acquisition Act to protect jal, jungle, jameen (water, forest and land) of the tribals. Jal, jungle and jameen are yours, and not of Ambanis or Adanis. Under the land act, until and unless 80 per cent of the farmers (land owners) say yes, the land cannot be sold, and if they say yes there will be social impact study and then land will be sold four times the market rate, he said. He said the Congress protested vociferously when the Modi government tried to amend the act. He said in Chhattisgarh the Congress government had returned unused land to original holders within ten days of forming the government as the land had not been used in the last five years. The Congress president said farm loans were waived in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan within 10 days of the Congress forming the government in those states. IMAGE: Rahul said the Congress protested vociferously when the Modi government tried to amend the land act. Photograph: PTI Photo The Congress president, who is visiting Ranchi after nearly five years, said he joined politics in 2004 and had never spoken a lie. He said the Congress had given to the country MGNREGA, White Revolution, Green Revolution and Computer Revolution. Gandhi assured the JVM president and the JMM that the Congress would fight the polls in alliance with them. Jharkhand has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats. In his speech, Marandi said his party would be part of the grand alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. On his chowkidar chor hain slogan, Gandhi made it clear that it was directed at the prime minister and not other watchmen in the country. Gandhi said chowkidars (watchmen) come to him and complain about the slogan (chowkidar chor hain) saying they are not thieves but honest persons. I tell them not to get worried, the entire country knows that when we say chowkidar chor hain it is clearly meant that we are talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said adding, one chowkidar has defamed all chowkidars. Former Jharkhand police chief Rajeev Kumar joined the Congress in the presence of Gandhi. Kumar is the third IPS officer in Jharkhand Congress after its present president Ajoy Kumar and Rameshwar Oraon. Pakistani troops on Saturday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said. IMAGE: A villager stands inside his damaged house after heavy shelling from the Pakistani side at Mendhar, in Poonch. Photograph: PTI Photo The shelling from across the border started in Nowshera sector around 12.30 pm, ending over 12-hour-long lull in the border skirmishes which intensified after Indias pre-emptive strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammeds terror camps at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Tuesday. A young woman and her two children were killed and several others, including two army personnel, were injured in heavy shelling along the LoC in lower Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district on Friday night, raising the death toll in the exchange of firing on the Indian side to four. Pakistan continues with nefarious designs and at about 1230 hours, again initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector," the spokesman said. The Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively, he said, adding that there was no report of any casualty on Indian side in the latest round of firing. Meanwhile, all educational institutions within five kilometre radius of the LoC remained closed for the fifth day Saturday as a precautionary measure, officials said. They said the Indian forces are on high alert and keeping a close vigil along the LoC and the International Border. IMAGE: A tail of a mortar shell lies inside a damaged house after firing from the Pakistani side at Mendhar. Photograph: PTI Photo A police official said the shelling from across the border stopped around 11 pm Friday after intense firing which left 24-year-old Rubana Kosar, her five-year-old son Fazan and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam dead and her husband Mohammad Younis injured in Salotri village of Poonch district. The panic-stricken border residents in some worst-hit villages fled to safer places. There was no report of mass migration and people are staying back at their homes although the district administration had made necessary arrangements in case people are forced to flee their homes, the official said. Poonch Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav said the health institutions are open and working round-the-clock to meet any eventuality. All ambulances have been mobilised and moved to the areas close to the LoC with special teams to help people in need, he said. The Pakistan army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, also leaving nine persons, including some army personnel, injured. Amid high tensions along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. 'Recording of his video message caused delay in his handing over' IMAGE: Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman released by Pakistan authorities at Wagah border on the Pakistani side on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo The handing over of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman to India at Wagah was delayed on Friday as he was asked to record a statement on camera by Pakistani authorities before he was allowed to cross the border, according to sources. It was not clear whether he was made to record the video under duress. The video also had several jump cuts indicating that it had been edited heavily, apparently to fit Pakistani propaganda. Also, the Indian Air Force said that Varthaman shot down an F-16 but there is no mention of that in the video message recorded before his release. At 8.30 pm (local) time, the Pakistan government released the pilot's video message to the local media in which he said as to how he was captured. "Recording of his video message caused delay in his handing over," a source said. In the video message, Varthaman said he entered Pakistan's space to "find a target" but his aircraft was shot down. "I was in search of the target when your (Pakistan) Air Force shot me down. I had to eject the plane which had sustained damage. As soon as I ejected and when my parachute opened and I fell down, I had a pistol with me." "There were many people. I had only one way to save myself: I dropped my pistol and tried to run. "People chased me, their emotions were running high. Just then, two Pakistani Army officials came and saved me. Pakistani army captains saved from the people and did not let any harm come to me. They took me to their unit where I was administered first aid and then I was taken to the hospital where I further underwent a medical exam and received more aid," he said. "The army personnel saved me from the mob. The Pakistani army is very professional and I am impressed by it," he said, while criticising the Indian media. India has maintained that Varthaman's plane was downed when IAF planes foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. He bailed out of the aircraft but drifted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he was detained by the Pakistan Army. Although there has been no official word as to what time he was brought to the Wagah border on Friday, but the sources say he reached Lahore after 4 pm. The Pakistani media reported that "his papers were being checked at the Wagah immigration" that was why he was not being "immediately" handed over to the Indian authorities. Varthaman was handed over at around 9.20 pm IST. 'As China rises and India grows to reclaim their earlier positions on the world stage as two of the largest economies and most important countries, there will indeed be some contention between these two powers.' 'There will also be plenty of space and room for cooperation amongst the two of us.' 'As our economic size increases to match the fact that we are the two most populous nations on earth, it will be all the more important for us to keep the interests of our peoples as well as those of the rest of the world in mind.' 'We shall have to grow together rather than as separate and disparate entities,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's ambassador to China -- in the 7th annual lecture of the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents on March 1, 2019. Mr Vijay Naik, Convenor, Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends from the Media. Thank you so much for inviting me to deliver the 7th Annual Lecture of your Association on the subject of 'India-China Relations: Doklam to Wuhan and Beyond'. Since my retirement from the Indian Foreign Service and the Government of India 3 months ago, I have been living and teaching in Pune. I would like to thank you for inviting me to Delhi for today's event since it clearly shows that you are alive to the fact that there is much thinking about India's foreign policy which also takes place outside the nation's capital of Delhi. I should share with you that Pune offers many avenues of debate and contemplation on national and international affairs. Some of my most lively and productive interactions are with my Masters students at the Symbiosis School of International Studies. I can confidently predict that at least some of them will soon be in decision making capacities here in Delhi. Friends, it was my honour to have served India as her Ambassador to Bhutan and China and as High Commissioner to Pakistan over the past few years. In these capacities, I was afforded a ring side seat of some of the recent, momentous, developments in our neighbourhood. While there are many recurring themes in our relations and interactions with our immediate neighbours, this evening I will focus my attention solely on India-China Relations. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, April 27, 2018. Let me start with the common description of our ties with China as being complex and being characterised as having elements of both cooperation as well as competition. Let me point out that in the case of any two large, neighbouring, countries their relationship is likely to be complex and difficult, as they are likely to have strong opinions on most issues and are unlikely to share identical or similar perspectives on many bilateral or international issues. We are aware of the complexities of Mexico's relations with the United States. Now for the sake of assumption let us suppose that Mexico had been a competitor with the United States and had an unresolved boundary with its northern neighbour. Wouldn't that have made the relationship intensely complicated? This is exactly what we find in India-China relations and therefore, while it is going to be one of the most important relationships of the 21st century there is very little doubt that both countries and their governments will have to navigate incredibly difficult waters as they move ahead on their respective paths of regaining their historical, pre-eminent places in the world order. Predictably, there will indeed be ups and downs in this bilateral relationship, but it will also be immensely important for each of our nations to work hard at ensuring a balanced but forward looking approach to our ties. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi with Chinese President Xi at Wuhan, April 27, 2018. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is exactly what we have witnessed and experienced in India -China relations in 2017 and 2018 when we moved from the confrontation at Doklam to dialogue and discussion at Wuhan. Many people have described this as the 'Wuhan reset'. I must share with you that I, personally am very averse to the use of this term, since I believe that both sides -- the Government of India as well as the government of the People's Republic of China -- saw what happened at Doklam, analysed that particular experience, drew their own conclusions from it and then, independently came to the decision that it was much more important to have a relatively harmonious and balanced relationship between the two most populous states on this globe. Talking to each other was important and this is what happened at the Wuhan Informal Summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping. If the word 'reset' in any way implies that the tensions and ill-temperedness of Doklam was being brushed aside or under the carpet, then I strongly object to this term. If it means the process I have just described of a cool, re-appraisal of the importance of the relationship and a desire to put it on an even keel then I can go along with the use of the term 'reset'. IMAGE: Indian and Chinese soldiers attend the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China at the India-China border, about 41 km from Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh, October 1, 2009. Photograph: Utpal Baruah/Reuters Please permit me to spend some time talking about the Boundary Question between India and China. We are all aware that we have differences of opinion about the boundary between us. We agree that some of these boundary related issues have been left to us by history. But it is for us to resolve these problems and issues and hence we have been discussing them for a fairly long period of time. Currently, the Special Representatives of our two countries are attempting a resolution to this Question. There can be little doubt that resolving the boundary issue is incredibly difficult due to the nature of our borders which lie in the mighty Himalayas thousands of metres above sea level. Hence, we must be patient with our negotiators. India and China have agreed that even while we attempt to resolve the Boundary issue, we shall do our very best at maintaining peace and tranquility on the border. Elaborate and fairly successful standard operating procedures have been put into place to ensure that our armed forces do not get into situations which will raise temperatures in the relatively cool climes of the India-China boundary. Yet, we have had what I call as 'close proximity situations' at Depsang in 2013, at Chumar in 2014 and most recently at Doklam in 2017. Why do such situations take place at all? My analysis reveals that better technologies available to both sides, better roads available to both sides -- yes, let me repeat that despite all the criticism, the Indian armed forces also have better roads on our side of the border as compared to 20 or 25 years ago -- have brought the two armed forces closer on this border than ever before in history. IMAGE: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman exchanges a namaste with Chinese troops, October 8, 2018, during her maiden visit to the Nathu La border post in Sikkim. In this scenario, if any one of the two sides makes an attempt to change the status quo or a set pattern of behaviour, there is an immediate reaction from the other side. This is exactly what happened in each of these instances in 2013, 2014 and 2017. In each case, the Chinese PLA attempted to change the status quo on our frontier and in each case the Indian Army blocked such an attempt. Once the status quo was resumed, the situation went back to normal, although it may be a new normal. So my advice to the Chinese PLA is -- if you want to maintain peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas, do not change set patterns of behavior and do not attempt to change the status quo on the border. Do not take any action which will be out of the ordinary and ring alarm bells on the Indian side. The PLA's patrolling activity must maintain its normal, routine patterns. IMAGE: Prime Minister with Chinese President Xi at Wuhan, April 27, 2018. As I had said earlier, since both Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping were keen to bring the bilateral India-China relationship on to an even keel, they agreed to meet at an informal summit at Wuhan. The idea of an informal summit meant that there was no need for the bells and whistles of a formal State visit but the two leaders could spend a whole lot of time by themselves, talking to each other on any subject they felt was important for a strategic conversation. The offer to have the Summit at Wuhan in central China was made by the Chinese side, since they felt they had the facilities for such a meeting there and because Prime Minister Modi had not visited Wuhan before this event. Eventually, PM Modi and President Xi spent anywhere from 8 to 10 hours communicating with each other on some of the important bilateral, regional and global issues of the day. They also spoke to each other about the history and culture of their respective countries and societies, thereby adding to understanding and trust in each other. The importance of being sensitive to the concerns of the other country was an integral aspect of these talks. The outcome of Wuhan is there for all to see. Naturally, if there was anyone who was expecting a complete transformation in the relationship that was an unrealistic expectation to start with, but those of us who were keen to have some warmth and vigor return, were satisfied with it. If the use of the term 'reset' to describe the Wuhan Informal Summit indicated that all issues between India and China were resolved then those who use this term were naturally in for a surprise. However, Wuhan did indicate that the leaders of India and China had the maturity and the intelligence to be able to sit together and work on their differences while expanding the areas of cooperation. To many of us present at Wuhan, the meeting was a reiteration of our belief that India and China can talk with one another rather than past each other. It was a vindication of our insistence that two ancient cultures and civilisations can reason with each other even on areas of disagreement while being able to cooperate on obvious convergences. One of the understandings emanating from the Informal Summit at Wuhan was the fact that although the governments of India and China have been in close touch over the decades and even though business has boomed over the past few years, the one area of bilateral contact which lacks intensity is people-to-people exchanges. That is why the High Level Mechanism to boost such contacts was established and held its first meeting this past December. It is led by the foreign ministers of the two countries. Given the fact that India and China are the two most populous nations on earth, that we are ancient civilisations with our own individual ways of thinking, it is very important to foster greater interaction between our peoples. In the ancient past, we had been able to understand each other well due to the monks, sages and scholars who had travelled to each other countries and brought tales which enhanced understanding of the other side. Today, it is once again necessary for the connect between our people to increase and multiply so that we understand each other better, are able to see the other's point of view and comprehend where the other is coming from. Only such greater interaction and the resultant understanding will provide the basis for a better relationship between us and make each of us more sensitive to the other. IMAGE: Shuai Jiao Baba (Let's Wrestle, Dad), Dangal's Chinese version, was a superhit in that country. I have had the opportunity of seeing and experiencing China, as an Indian diplomat, over a period of 3 decades from 1988 to 2018. Not only has China changed due to the fast paced economic growth she has undergone, but more importantly attitudes and behaviour patterns indicate a greater openness amongst the Chinese people towards new ideas, new commodities, new technologies and new products. It is this characteristic which has made Bollywood films popular amongst the youth of that country. The Chinese audience is very discerning and only those movies which have good themes, strong story lines and outstanding acting become hits there. Similarly, the rising popularity of yoga in China comes from its obvious health benefits including in cases of serious illness. It is important that we support both these activities since they do enhance understanding amongst ordinary people. IMAGE: An idol of Lord Buddha is seen at the Mahabodhi temple compound in Bodh Gaya. Photograph: Desmond Boylan/Reuters A lot has been said and written about the continuously rising trade deficit that India experiences with China. My view is that such a large and expanding deficit is dictated by the very composition of bilateral trade. When we mainly export primary produce to China while importing every kind of manufactured product including iron and steel, electronic items, power equipment and mobile handsets then we will end up with a trade deficit which will increase over time. Even if we are able to sell more basmati and non-basmati rice, sugar, tea, sapota and mangoes to China it will not bridge the trade gap. Therefore, I have argued in the past, that we need to focus not so much on the Balance of Trade in our bilateral payments but on Invisibles. We need to and must work towards attracting more Chinese tourists to India. This will prove to be a less herculean task as compared with selling more pharmaceuticals or software in the Chinese market where we face huge non-tariff barriers. A public-private effort by India can result in up to 1.5 million Chinese tourists visiting our country by 2020. Our Buddhist trail will be attractive, but so too will our beaches, our mountain resorts, our temples and other historical sites. We must focus our efforts in this direction. We need to undertake a massive marketing effort in China to ensure that our message of Incredible India goes down from the metropolitan cities to the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where the real heft of Chinese tourism abroad comes. The results will be quick and very obvious. They will not merely help us meet our tourism targets but will provide employment to large numbers of our countrymen and women, while balancing out our trade deficit. It will have the additional spinoff that understanding of the other country will be enhanced amongst our peoples. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ashoka University I have been a strong advocate for Indian Universities to attract more Chinese students. We will need to provide these potential students a rationale and a value proposition of why they should study in India rather than in the United States, the UK, Australia or Canada. I believe that value proposition can be as follows: Do your Bachelors degree in India, learn fluent English in the process and then at the Masters level you will have a good shot at relatively easy admission into and study at universities in any of the Western countries. Once again we will need to market this well and we shall be surprised at the interest we can generate amongst the Chinese youth. I suspect that the new private universities in India may be able to pull in many more Chinese students in a 3-year perspective due to their cleaner premises, better catering facilities and good faculty and curricula. IMAGE: Masood Azhar, the Jaish e Mohammad terrorist, who is seriously ill in Pakistan. Photograph: Reuters Over the past few weeks a lot of attention and indignation has focused on China's objections to the listing of Masood Azhar under the United Nations 1267 sanctions. I am of the opinion that we must have a transactional approach to this issue. Perhaps, China will permit the listing to move ahead if there something we can do for them or offer them in return? If there is, a bargain can indeed be struck. I am confident that our diplomats are already working on such a scenario. I would also like to suggest that amongst international and global issues there are many where India and China do see eye to eye and on which we work together. All of us recollect the stellar work done by the BASIC countries of India, China, Brazil and South Africa in the context of climate change negotiations. Today, India must devote some energy and persuasion to convincing China to become a member of the International Solar Alliance or ISA. There is little doubt that this will be a win-win proposition as China will benefit from becoming a member and the ISA will gain from China's membership. Now that Japan and Saudi Arabia have recently joined this international organisation, China is very likely to follow suit if we devote some attention and time to them. On the economic side, I would also like to suggest that perhaps India and China can work together on modernising one of our railway stations. All of us who have travelled in China have been impressed by the nature and state of her infrastructure including her railway stations. Many Indians have admiringly stated that, Chinese railway stations look and feel like airports! Since India is working on modernising her railway stations surely there can be some way we can include China in this effort. We shall have to work on and perfect a financial model which works for both countries and for the firms from both nations involved in this work. If we are able to build and finalise such a model we will indeed be in business! The subject of trans-boundary rivers is one which has received considerable attention in both India and China. The Brahmaputra, in particular, and Chinese dam building and other construction on that river is a matter of great concern in the lower riparian countries such as India and Bangladesh. The recent experience is that China, although very cagey on this subject, and all the while playing up the fact that they are cooperating even though it is not mandatory for them to do so, has indeed worked with India in several instances particularly when a blockage of the main body of that river in Tibet is likely to burst and cause potential havoc downstream in India. Chinese and Indian authorities have stayed awake through the night in certain recent cases exchanging data and information on the flood level and in projecting when the flood peak is likely to reach the populated and settled areas in India. In some cases, such warnings and continuous monitoring of the situation has enabled the affected areas in India to either evacuate those segments of its population living in the low lying areas which were likely to be submerged or helped them in putting out a more general alert. Such recent cooperation has been under the radar but needs to be acknowledged adequately. It provides hope that trans boundary rivers could become an area of cooperation rather than one of contention. An India-China relationship on relatively even keel, will not and does not restrict our diplomatic space with the rest of the world. In fact, it enhances the scope for India to do more with Russia as well as the United States, with Japan as well as Europe and ASEAN. The only challenge is internal, whether we shall have the bandwidth to be able to expand our interaction with all our partners. I, for one, have little or no doubt about our ability to do more projects with all friendly countries. This matter will continue to require our attention and concerted action so that we are better organised, better prepared and better at implementation. IMAGE: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, February 27, 2019. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter Esteemed Members of the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents. Many of the ideas I have shared with you this evening on the way forward beyond Wuhan in India China relations have been given shape, dissected, sharpened and finalised in discussion and debate with friends, colleagues, well-wishers and analysts in Pune. Therefore, the entire set of suggestions on how India and China can move ahead in the coming months is named by me as the Pune Plan of Action on India-China Relations. The Pune Plan includes: Continued, intense high level political interaction since our relationship is driven from the top down. Therefore, I do hope that President Xi Jinping can visit India later this year for the next Informal Summit with our prime minister. Enhanced and expanded military exchanges between India and China so that understanding between the two militaries is increased. Work to increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting India through a public-private partnership between India Tourism and private tour operators. Continue to encourage the sale of Indian films in China as well as promote and propagate yoga in that country. Focus efforts on attracting more Chinese students to Indian universities. Create a financial model for Chinese firms to modernise Indian railway stations. Persuade China to become a member of the International Solar Alliance. Expand engagement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Ladies and Gentlemen, as China rises and India grows to reclaim their earlier positions on the world stage as two of the largest economies and most important countries, there will indeed be some contention between these two powers. There will also be plenty of space and room for cooperation amongst the two of us. As our economic size increases to match the fact that we are the two most populous nations on earth, it will be all the more important for us to keep the interests of our peoples as well as those of the rest of the world in mind. We shall have to grow together rather than as separate and disparate entities. It will become incumbent on us to maximise global welfare rather than that of each one of us separately. In such a scenario, I visualize that while there will remain some areas of competition between India and China, cooperation will be the dominant theme between us. Thank you very much for this opportunity. Thank you for your attention. THOMASTON Patricia Trish Tomlinson has joined Thomaston Savings Bank as Vice President, Senior Commercial Lending Officer. Tomlinson comes to the bank with 25 years of commercial lending experience, and was most recently been employed by Peoples Bank, following the acquisition of Farmington Bank in October 2018. In her new role, Tomlinson will be responsible for developing new commercial banking relationships and servicing an existing portfolio of accounts. We are very excited to have Trish join the Thomaston Savings Bank Commercial Lending Team, said Jay Murdick, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending Team Leader, Thomaston Savings Bank. With her strong background in developing and structuring commercial loans and true commitment to customer service, we know her expertise will be an asset to the Bank and to our customers, as we extend our branch network into Farmington and expand our commercial lending platform in that market. She earned her Bachelors degree in Business from Bentley University. Tomlinson is active in her community, serving on the board of the United Way of West Central Connecticut since 2011 and its executive board since 2013. Tomlinson and her husband Doug raised their two daughters, Taylor and Brooke, in Farmington and have resided there for nearly 20 years. Litchfield County residents support Operation Fuel LITCHFIELD The Marion Isabell Coe Fund, U.S. Trust, Bank of America, N.A trustee, has awarded a $5,000 grant to Operation Fuel for energy assistance for households in Litchfield County. Operation Fuel provides year-round emergency energy assistance throughout Connecticut to lower-income working families and individuals, the elderly, and disabled individuals who are in a financial crisis. Anyone who needs energy assistance should call 211 or visit www.operationfuel.org. For more information on Operation Fuel, or to make a donation, go to www.operationfuel.org. TCC provides school supplies for local teachers TORRINGTON Round Room LLC, the Verizon Authorized Wireless Retailer, recently announced that more than 570 of its TCC stores donated school supply packs to nearly 6,000 teachers across the U.S. The recipients included educators at Torringford School. The sixth annual Teachers Rock Supply Giveaway took place during the week of Feb. 11, ensuring that classrooms were well-stocked at the start of the new year. Since 2014, TCC has donated more than 30,000 supply packs to deserving teachers across the country. Each participating TCC store partnered with a local school to donate the supply packs valued at $77 each. The supply packs include pencils, pens, dry erase markers, erasers, glue, paper, tissue boxes, sticky notes and more, and enable each teacher to impact an average of 30 students. Other schools in Connecticut that received the supply packs from TCC include: Sarah J Rawson Elementary (Hartford), Christian Academy of Arts, Science & Technology (Vernon), Mary T Murphy Elementary (Branford), A.W. Cox Elementary (Guilford), Irving School (Derby), St. Peter and Paul (Waterbury), East Hampton Middle School (East Hampton), and Helen Street (Hamden). The National Center of Education Statistics reports that nearly all public school teachers spend $480 out of their own pockets to pay for school supplies each year, said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room, parent company of TCC. Its such an honor to be able to give back to educators across the country for six straight years. We want to show our deep appreciation for their hard work, and our Teachers Rock Supply Giveaway has been a great way to demonstrate how much we care. More information about the Teachers Rock Supply Giveaway is available at www.TCCRocks.com. Supporters of the campaign are encouraged to use hashtags #WhyTeachersRock, #BetterTogether and #TCCRocks on Instagram and Twitter to help spread the word. To learn more about TCC, visit www.TCCRocks.com. Customers can also connect with the company at www.facebook.com/tcctalk and www.twitter.com/tcctalk. Foundation partners with theatre for summer programs TORRINGTON Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation is the sponsor of the Warner Theatres 2019 Summer Arts Program. The program, according to a statement, is a key feature of the Warner Theatres Center for Arts Education. Established in 1993, the Warner Theatre Summer Arts Program is a summer day camp licensed by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, where students ages 5-16 can explore and develop their artistic talents in an atmosphere of encouragement, enrichment, and enlightenment. The goal of the program is to provide children and teens with an opportunity to explore a wide variety of performing and visual arts in a place where self-esteem and confidence can be nurtured and discovered. Faculty members cite regional, national and international teaching and performing credits and all have experience communicating their diverse knowledge to children. Students engage in daily activities such as acting, improv, musical theatre choreography, tap dance, visual art, creative writing and technical theatre. The Summer Arts Program offers three two-week sessions, chock-full of learning and fun, with an opportunity to perform at the end of each session. Older campers will have the opportunity to culminate their two week session with a full scale musical production. And for our youngest campers ages 5-6, we offer two Mini Camp sessions each consisting of one-week half-day sessions. To learn more about the summer program, visit warnertheatre.org HARTFORD Allowing hunting of black bears in certain areas of the state has become an annual debate at the state Capitol and Friday saw that conversation renewed on two different bills raised by the Environment Committee. One of the bills, SB 586, would allow the hunting of black bears in Litchfield County. The other, SB 894, is to to identify non-lethal management practices that can be employed to deter black bears from habituating in areas densely populated by humans. As with a lot of issues, whether Connecticut is experiencing an increase in the black bear population seems to depend on which side of the issue you are on. To those who believe that they state statistics backing their belief and to those who dispute those numbers, they often state that black bear sightings are different than black bear population numbers i.e. the same black bear can be sighted in multiple towns/locations. Although the bill that would allow bear hunting is written to allow it in Litchfield County, much of Fridays testimony centered around the growing bear population in a town in Hartford County Simsbury. I think Simsbury is getting close to Farmington as far as having the highest bear population, Rep. John Hampton, D- Simsbury, told the committee. Simsbury Animal Control Officer Mark Rudewicz said that from early spring to fall he is hammered by calls concerning black bears wandering in peoples backyards. There are days when I have been on 14 different calls (for bears), Rudewicz told the committee. People are very concerned for their safety, for the safety of their property. Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, asked Rudewicz whether any humans had been hurt by the bear interactions. Rudewicz said: Fortunately we havent had anybody seriously hurt. But you cant minimize that as beautiful as these animals are, they are wild animals, dangerous animals. Rudewicz was asked by Cohen whether he was in favor of the non-lethal bill or the one that allowed bear hunting. He said he didnt want to speak for anyone other then himself, but he found the problem is that the bears have lost their fear of humans, adding that he thinks states that have allowed bear hunting have seen some success in thinning the population. Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, has been pushing for a black bear hunting season for years. Miner said that while he is not opposed to trying to do everything the state can to better educate members of the public on protecting themselves from black bears, it might be the right time for the state to take that next step to allow hunting. Department of Environmental and Energy (DEEP) Commissioner Designee Katie S. Dykes submitted testimony in support of allowing hunting. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection supports this bill because it provides a valuable tool to address the growing public safety concern associated with the continuous expansion of Connecticuts black bear population, Dykes said. UConn reports that, as of 2015, there were between 397 and 457 black bear in northwestern Connecticut and bears were most abundant in towns with moderate housing density like Farmington, Simsbury, and Avon, Dykes said. UConns results complement DEEPs findings that the statewide black bear population continues to grow at a rate of nearly 10 percent per year, and is now more than 800 bears aged one year or older. Both studies conclude that, without controls, the population will continue to grow, eventually reaching a statewide total of around 3,000 animals, Dykes said. Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton, thinks the hunting bill should be expanded to other areas, using Simsbury again as one of his main reasons. According to data compiled by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, seven of the top 10 communities with bear sightings are located in Hartford County, Witkos testified. Of these towns, five are a part of the 8th Senatorial District which I represent. This legislation needs to take that information into account and expand the scope of this proposal to include these areas of Hartford County. The Town of Simsbury has been particularly hard hit by the overpopulation of bears, Witkos added. In data compiled by the Town of Simsbury, from 2017 to 2018 there has been a 69.9 percent increase in calls for black bears in that community. On the other side, there are plenty of voices who say allowing black bear hunting is the wrong direction to go to address the problem if it is a problem at all. The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) submitted testimony strongly opposing the bear hunting bill. It said, in part: Though some may fear bear-human interaction, study after study has shown that recreational hunting does little to reduce attacks. Furthermore, Connecticut already has existing legislation allowing residents to deal with problem bears that threaten humans or destroy crops and property. CTLCV and numerous others opposed to bear hunting embraced the intent of the non-lethal management second bill. Rather than resort to a knee jerk response and threaten our small bear population with overhunting, Connecticut should focus on education-based strategies to reduce bear-human conflicts: teaching people how to remove attractants like spilled garbage and overflowing birdfeeders, keeping their pets on leashes or indoors and wearing a whistle while hiking, CTLCV said. Anti-hunting advocates, however, repeatedly stated that numbers can lie. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reported 8,922 black bear sightings last year, said Fran Silverman, communications director for Friends of Animals, a wildlife advocacy organization headquartered in Connecticut. The report, however, doesnt acknowledge that every sighting is not a different black bear, Silverman said. The non-lethal management bills stated purpose is to have the Commissioner of DEEP submit a plan on best practices to deter black bears from habituating in areas that are densely populated by humans. Those practices, the bills states, could include: attractant management practices and recommendations; non-lethal hazing devices, including noises and physical deterrents that decrease black bear use of densely populated human areas; education programs that instruct and encourage the general public to improve their use of attractant management practices; and community planning strategies that consider black bear territory in making land use and waste management plans within municipalities. TORRINGTON A former Middletown police officer accused of groping a juvenile girl while working at a Litchfield treatment facility declined a plea offer and now faces a trial. Ulyses R. Alvarez appeared in Superior Court in Torrington Friday on charges of fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and risk of injury to a minor, a Class B felony. The defendant had faced two other felony charges that were dropped from the case during the days pretrial hearing. Judge John A. Danaher III announced that the two charges which were nolled, or will no longer be prosecuted, were promoting a minor in an obscene performance, a Class B felony, and illegal possession of child pornography, a Class D felony. The judge asked Alvarezs attorney whether his client would accept a revised offer from the state. Attorney Kevin Smith, of Pattis & Smith Law Firm in New Haven, said his client rejected the offer. Danaher and the prosecutor reminded Alvarez that if he rejects the offer and is convicted on all charges, he could face up to 21 in prison. The text of the offer was not available on Friday. More for you Man charged with groping girl at treatment facility quit Middletown police force Smith again replied that his client rejected the states offer. The case will go to a jury, the judge added. The decision (to nolle) the (two) charges arrived for a sound reason, Smith said after the hearing. He would not comment on what the reasoning was. We got 25 years (of prison) off the table, with the two charges that were dropped, Smith added. He said a tentative trial date has been set for April 9. The pretrial hearing lasted less than a half hour. Alvarez, whose last know address was in Waterbury, was charged for allegedly acting inappropriately in a sexual manner and groping a juvenile girl while working at a Litchfield treatment facility for adolescent girls and women, according to state police. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the charges stem from Alvarezs time as an adolescent development specialist at the Touchstone Residential Treatment Program Facility in Litchfield, which serves girls between 12 and 18 years old who are being cared for by the state Department of Children and Families. Juvenile residents told police, staff members and other adults in positions of authority that Alvarez had acted inappropriately toward them in a sexual manner, according to the warrant affidavit. Alvarez is also a plaintiff in a civil suit against the Middletown Police Department, where he worked for just over a year as a probationary officer. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2016, alleges that Alvarez faced racial discrimination while employed by the department. It was dismissed by the court, but he has appealed. Alvarez quit the force in 2015, two days before he was to be fired after allegations about his behavior were made to his superiors. A female who was involved in a domestic violence incident, to which Alvarez responded, told the police that he groped her and made her feel his genitals through his pants, a document written by a judge in the civil case states. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the judge and that this was not the first appearance in court Alvarez has made since 2017. It also corrects that details of the plea offer were not revealed and the possibility of a sentence of up to 21 years would occur only if the suspect were to reject the offer and be convicted on all counts. TORRINGTON A Waterbury man added to his charges when he tried to flee police as officers tried to take him into custody on an active arrest warrant for sale of narcotics, police said Saturday. Daniel Rivera, 21, of Matrone Street in Waterbury, was charged with reckless driving, destruction of property, interfering with an officer, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal attempt to commit assault on a police officer and two counts of sale of narcotics. He is being held on a $1 million bond. The Torrington Police Narcotics Units conducted an investigation into narcotic sales throughout the city for several months, focused on a specific individual Rivera. Police said the narcotics unit worked alongside Torrington police patrol units and the Statewide Narcotics Task Force to try to apprehend Rivera on an outstanding warrant, which was granted after the months-long investigation. Around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Rivera was seen in Torrington at the Bank of America parking lot, 112 South Main St. Units quickly developed a plan to take Rivera into custody. But as officers approached Riveras vehicle to take him into custody, he recognized them as police officers. Rivera threw his vehicle in reverse, climbed a snow bank and drove forward, fleeing from officers at a high rate of speed through the bank parking lot headed for Main Street, police said. In his escape, Rivera nearly hit one the members of the Torrington Police Narcotics Unit with his vehicle, according to police. The officer had to jump out of the way of Riveras vehicle, police said. Officers canvassed the Waterbury area for hours to try to find Rivera. He was taken into custody in Waterbury at his residence hours later, police said. Mary Kingwoods home felt freshly settled. The roomy first-floor apartment in a yellow house sits on a quiet street north of downtown up Norwalk, as Kingwood called it. On a winter morning, sunlight flooded through windows and a sliding glass door leading to a small porch, warming the kitchen and den. A TV sat atop a stand, encircled by plastic chairs placeholders as Kingwood waited for her furniture to be delivered and cardboard boxes lined the walls. Kingwood, 73, likes her porch and the peacefulness shes found since moving two weeks ago into the Wilton Avenue home, which took her many months and multiple apartment visits to find with a Section 8 voucher. Her search was narrowed by her congenital heart disease and the oxygen tank she must maneuver around her living space. Per her doctors orders, only single-story, two-bedroom homes for an aide, or her children, to watch her after shes had an episode would do. Several places had potential, but one had no closet space and another, she liked, but they wanted water and electric and heat. Section 8 dont want to pay for that, Kingwood said. The move was spurred by the razing and redeveloping of her 46-year home at Washington Village the oldest housing project in Norwalk. The former federally funded project will be replaced by Soundview Landing, mixed-income development funded thanks to a $30 million federal Choice Neighborhood Initiative Grant and the private developer Trinity Financial. The new complex will feature 136 federal public housing units (Washington Village also had 136), 67 workforce housing units and 70 market-rate units. Kingwood was given a voucher to relocate during the construction and, upon its completion, will be offered a unit in the new development. But after more than four decades in a place, she is struggling to adjust. Soundview Landing looks to her like a hotel, cramped and without personal space, and Wilton Avenue can be lonely. Washington Village had room for her kids to play and it was in that space that she and her family laid down deep roots. Youd go to your front door, or youd go to your back door in the morning, and theres usually somebody standing there waving good morning, Kingwood said. This particular morning on Wilton Avenue, only the empty yards of neighboring houses were visible from Kingwoods porch. Death by a thousand cuts The Norwalk redevelopment is part of a nationwide trend: Inadequate federal funding has forced local Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to cultivate private partnerships to provide affordable housing. Results for tenants have been mixed. In November, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent a directive to PHAs, acknowledging that need had outpaced available funding and instructing them to reposition their housing stock. That repositioning means making it easier to demolish public housing and also making it easier for PHAs to voluntarily convert public housing to vouchers, said Ed Gramlich, a senior adviser at the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition, based in Washington, D.C. Vouchers are one of several types of federal assistance that provide aid to families, the disabled and the elderly to find housing. Other means of housing assistance include subsidized private development and state and federal public housing, the last of which has become increasingly less palatable to the government. By October, the feds aim to eliminate 105,000 units nationwide. Statewide, federal public housing stock has already dropped by more than 3,000 since 2008, from 17,149 to 14,074 units. This decrease has happened at varying rates in Connecticut municipalities. Norwalk, bucking the trend, gained nine units since 1998. Bridgeport has lost just 23 federal public housing units since 2012, though by one estimate, the citys low-income housing stock has dropped by as many as 1,000 units since the 1970s. New Haven lost more than 900 federal public housing units from 2002 to 2012. In Stamford, the average number of federally subsidized units through much of the 1990s was nearly 1,200. Today, there are 360. Once upon a time the federal government was very active in providing funding for new housing, not just keeping up existing, and thats gone, Stamford Land Use Bureau Chief Robin Stein said. Thats where big dollars used to come for a lot of housing projects. Gramlich estimated that since 2010, public housing has been underfunded by roughly $50 billion. During that same time, HUD has estimated a loss of between 10,000 and 15,000 public housing units a year. According to 2017 NLIHC estimates, there is a shortage of 7.4 million affordable extremely low-income (at or below the poverty guideline or 30 percent of area median income) rental homes. In Connecticut, there are only 36 affordable and available rental homes per 100 extremely low-income rental households. And with less funding, unresolved maintenance issues have piled up. With constant underfunding of the capital budget, basic repairs cannot be made, Gramlich said. When you starve the beast, the physical integrity of the units begins to crumble and then youre forced to demolish and theres no money to replace. Its kind of a death by a thousand cuts. PHAs must find alternate solutions. What were hearing over and over again from HUD is that theyre unable to fund public housing at a level that would allow us to maintain it properly, said Adam Bovilsky, executive director of the Norwalk Housing Authority. One of the main reasons for conversions is in order to ensure that public housing doesnt get dilapidated because of lack of funding. A dream takes seed A Dream Come True. So begins the second annual report from the Housing Authority of Bridgeport, dated 1940. Public housing has become a reality, through the working out successfully of one of the greatest cooperative enterprises in civic improvement that Bridgeport has ever seen, the report gushes, touting the citys first two public housing projects: the 1,251-unit Yellow Mill Village and the 516-unit Marina Village. The projects were made possible, in part, thanks to the petitioning in Hartford for funds by Father Stephen Panik, first chairman of Bridgeports Housing Authority, and socialist Mayor Jasper McLevy, and the passage of the federal Wagner-Steagall Act of 1937, which established the United States Housing Authority and allowed for the allocation of federal money to local housing agencies. The aim was to clear substandard housing to which low-income people were relegated in the pre-war years where conditions of crime and disease constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents, according to the Bridgeport report and replace it with cleaner, safer, subsidized options. They were located in cities like Bridgeport and New Haven to support factory workers and improve their housing conditions, particularly in relation to strategic industries, like gun production, said Alan Plattus, professor of architecture at Yale University. In Connecticut and nationwide, the concept was embraced and projects were erected in large numbers. Projects like Elm Haven in New Haven, Washington Village and Roodner Court in South Norwalk and Southfield Village and Vidal Court on Stamfords West Side were sold as beacons of hope for the citys neediest residents. Upon its completion in 1941, Yellow Mill Village, later renamed Father Panik Village, was heralded by McLevy as the biggest event in the history of Bridgeport. A dream deferred But by the mid 20th century, the dream had begun to wither, and projects were sources of the social ills they were ostensibly meant to cure. The reason: No jobs, or the disappearance of good, relatively high-paying, relatively low-skilled factory jobs, Plattus said. This is a familiar story. In the 19th and early 20th century, immigrants and people from rural areas in the South came to industrial cities. Without advanced degrees, or in some cases, without degrees at all, they could get a good factory job with benefits, join the union and build wealth, Plattus explained. So a lot of the people who started out in public housing, typically would move to better housing eventually. De-industrialization of cities also struck a heavy blow. Factories, which once sustained cities like Bridgeport and New Haven, shut down or relocated. Public housing became relegated to the housing choice of last resort, Plattus said. When a lot of this public housing was built, starting in the 1930s and on through the 1940s and early 1950s, segregation was legal, Gramlich said. In the years before the Civil Rights Act, properties were either intentionally placed in areas of low-income and racial concentration, or in some cases, were racially segregated by project building. That kind of racial dynamic was kind of baked into the system, Gramlich said. As conditions worsened in the 60s, 70s and 80s, public housing was deemed a failed experiment and politicians squeezed funding. Projects became synonymous with drugs, crime and general depravity. Glaring examples of the systems failure (Father Panik and Elm Haven, among many) became cautionary tales. Alternatives were sought, including the HOPE VI Housing plan in the 1990s, and more recently, the Obama-era Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and loosened Section 18 demolition and disposition regulations. Each enables PHAs to demolish failed public housing and build replacements often with the aid of a private partner either with voucher or mixed-income units, that are seemingly meant to reduce the concentration of poverty and provide better living conditions and more opportunity for residents. I think that the old model of large public housing complexes is generally frowned upon at this point. I think theres general consensus among most policy makers that concentrating poverty is not healthy for families or cities, Bovilsky said. Where there are concentrations of poverty, theres normally less economic opportunity and outcomes for children tend to be reduced. Success, however, was varied. The push for repositioning justified the further depletion of HUD funds and, in many cases, destroyed projects were not replaced with an equal number of low-income units. Often, displaced former residents of housing projects were denied re-entry to the new developments built where their homes once stood. What generally happened is there was no 1-for-1 replacement, Gramlich said. By 1994, Father Panik was completely razed and in 2017, Crescent Crossings, a mixed-income, partially federally-funded complex opened in its footprint. In recent years, Elm Haven, Southfield Village, Vidal Court, and most recently, Washington Village, have succumbed to the same fate, ushering in a new and not necessarily improved era of housing assistance. I think it changes the face of how we serve our low-income communities, Bovilsky said. It depends on how you do it. Theres no question of a greater need of affordable and deeply affordable housing, whatever the trends of public housing may be. Moving up, moving out? Kingwood didnt come to Washington Village by choice. She was living with her children in an apartment on Flax Hill Road when, in 1970, the landlord sold to a developer. Kingwood, then a teachers aide, applied for public housing. I really didnt want Washington Village. But they put you where they wanted, Kingwood said. Nevertheless, Kingwood adjusted. Her children, then her grandchildren, grew up in the project and, like Kingwood, forged bonds among the rows of brick apartments. Neighbors barbecued in the summer, played games in the courtyard and hosted seasonal clean-ups. Kingwood, along with the other single mothers that surrounded her apartment, formed an informal support group, often coming to each others aid in intangible ways. I never had to worry because normally the kids would go out and there was another mother out there watching, Kingwood said. They say it takes a village to raise a family. Washington Village was that village. There were, undoubtedly, problems at the project while Kingwood lived there. And there are, undoubtedly, positives to the privacy of her new apartment. But only one of the two places really feels like home. To ride by and see it torn down hurts. Theyre not just tearing down a building, Kingwood said, of Washington Village. There were a lot of memories. Staff reporters Emlie Munson and Barry Lytton contributed to this story. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered two deputy governors fired for their role in suppressing a land-rights protest on Jan. 24 in southwest Cambodias Sihanoukville province in which military police violently attacked villagers resisting eviction, sources said. The order removed from office deputy governors Srun Sron and Phay Bunvannak, Hun Sen wrote on his Facebook page on Friday. Today, I forced myself to fire two Sihanoukville deputy governors, Hun Sen said, adding, I must remove the gravel and sand from my shoes in order to move forward. I dont have the time to talk to disgraced government officials, and I dont have the time to educate them. I will attack tigers, snakes, and rats regardless, he said. No reason for the officials termination was given in the order, though Hun Sen also on Friday said at the ground-breaking ceremony for a Chinese-funded hospital in Cambodias Tboung Khmum province that officials who break the law will be punished. Their employment will be terminated, or they will face more serious prosecution in accordance with the law, he said. Calls seeking comment from Sihanoukville provincial governor Yun Min rang unanswered on March 1, though Ministry of Defense spokesperson Chhum Socheat told RFA he has now been ordered to investigate the role played by provincial military commander Savin Vibol in the forcible eviction of the villagers in January. We have received the order. We met this morning to carry out an investigation of the case," he said, adding that if Savin Vibol is found guilty, he will face punishment according to the law. Others face punishment Five members of the Royal Gendarmerie, the Cambodian military police, already face administrative measures for their role in carrying out the crackdown, Eng Hy, a spokesperson for the unit tasked with maintaining internal security in the country told reporters in Cambodia earlier this week. Among these, the case of an officer named Sok Thearith has been compiled and forwarded to the court on the grounds that he used violence against a resident, Eng Hy said, adding that a soldier named Chan Mao had struck another villager with his assault rifle during the protest. Thus, the case of that soldier will also be referred to the court, Eng Hy said. Eng Hy said that the four facing discipline outside the courts, a deputy commander of the Gendarmerie named Pen Vibol and three other officers, will be subject to written reprimands by their units for having failed to prevent live fire which struck one villager in the chest, leaving him critically injured. Six villagers were also arrested following the crackdown on a protest against the forcible eviction of residents from land in southwest Cambodias Sihanoukville province, in the countrys first violent police crackdown since a July election widely seen as unfree and unfair. 'Brutal, unacceptable' Villagers clashed with military police armed with assault rifles and shields who tried to evict them using tactics described as brutal and unacceptable, following a Supreme Court decision to grant their land in Sihanoukvilles Prey Nob district as a concession to a wealthy businessman. Residents of the site said they had occupied the site since 2002, with several having bought land from other villagers, and were surprised to suddenly learn that it belonged to the businessman. Speaking to RFA on March 1, Um Sam Atha senior official of the Cambodia-based rights group Licadhosaid that Hun Sen has set a good example by dismissing the deputy governors involved in the crackdown on the villagers, but needs to do more to prevent similar incidents in the future. In the past, officials have failed to bring suspects to justice for their role in forced evictions, he said. It seems that they are working now based only on orders from Hun Sen, he said, adding that since the salaries of government officials are provided by the taxes villagers pay, they should try to resolve villagers problems without waiting for orders from above. Land disputes are a bitter problem for Cambodia, where rural villagers and urban dwellers alike have been mired in conflicts that the U.N.s special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia has warned could threaten the countrys stability. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney. U.S. college student Otto Warmbier is shown at his trial in North Korea, March 16, 2016. On the heels of the failed U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, where no progress was made towards either denuclearization or sanctions relief, Kim Jong Uns regime is receiving fresh criticism for its role in the 2017 death of U.S. citizen Otto Warmbier. Warmbier, a 22-year old American college student, was detained in Jan. 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from a hotel while he was visiting Pyongyang with a tour group. He subsequently was sentenced to a 15-year prison term, during which he suffered a neurological injury. He was repatriated in a vegetative state in June 2017 and died shortly afterward. North Korea said that Warmbiers condition was due to botulism and sleeping pills, but medical personnel in the U.S. found no evidence of botulism. In the moments after the Hanoi summit concluded Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump during a press conference was asked if he had approached Kim about taking responsibility for how Warmbier was handled. Trump replied that something very bad happened but that he did not think the North Korean leader was aware of that, or would have permitted any foul play. He tells me that he didnt know about it, and I will take him at his word, said Trump, in comments he later walked back after returning to the United States. Many observers, beginning with Warmbiers parents, were critical of the president for his remarks. Warmbiers parents released a statement Friday, saying that they had chosen to remain silent during the summit, but now felt the need to speak. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity," they said. "No excuses or lavish praise can change that." Human rights groups chastised Trump, who has a record of expressing admiration for strongmen including Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "It's absolutely appalling Donald Trump is letting North Korea off the hook for the death of this young man. In a totalitarian state like North Korea, Kim Jong-un would know every aspect of the trial and imprisonment of a high value hostage like Otto Warmbier, said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch. Instead of making excuses for Chairman Kim, Trump should have demanded to know what happened to Otto, who was responsible for the rights abuses that caused his brain damage, and what was done to hold the perpetrators accountable, said Robertson. Otto should have never been arrested in the first place and Kim is responsible for that decision and everything that subsequently happened. Donald Trump shows his disdain for human rights and democracy every time he takes the word of a dictator over the people hurt by the dictator's actions, and North Korea fully fits with that pattern," he said. Trump has, since the post-summit press conference, somewhat walked back his stance on the case. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Friday in an interview with Fox News that after speaking on the issue with Trump, "The president agrees with the Warmbier family and holds North Korea responsible for Otto Warmbier's death." The assasination of Kim Jong Nam Meanwhile in Hanoi, where Kim Jong Un met Vietnams top leaders, the father of one of the women accused of murdering Kims half-brother Kim Jong Nam at the behest of North Korean agents, said he hoped the meetings would help his daughters case. My daughter was allowed to phone home 2 or 3 times last year. During the phone calls she asked how the family was and told us that she was in good health and had a good appetite, Doan Van Thanh told RFAs Vietnamese Service His daughter, Doan Thi Huong, and Indonesian Siti Aisyah are on trial for murder in Kuala Lumpur for Kim Jong Nams assassination in Feb. 2017 in a Malaysia airport. She claims that she thought the two were participating in an elaborate prank when they sprayed a liquid on Kims face that turned out to be VX nerve gas. He died shortly afterward. I want the Vietnamese leaders to talk with the North Koreans to tell them that my daughter is innocent. She should be sent home as soon as possible, her father said. Pham Le Vuong Cac, a Vietnamese legal expert, said Doan Thi Huong was a victim in this case. She was enticed and cheated by North Korean secret agents into committing the murder, he said. The ultimate responsibility rests with North Koreas head of state, Kim Jong Un, he added. Asked whether he knew if Hanoi had raised the case with Kim, the legal expert said he didnt know. But the government has the obligation to protect her because she is a [Vietnamese] citizen. Shes a victim, he said. Additional Reporting by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Malaysian officials and villagers give new clothes to Rohingya women and children who were found stranded along a beach in Perlis state, March 1, 2019. Malaysian villagers rescued 35 hungry Rohingya women and children who were stranded along a beach in the nations northernmost state on Friday, officials said, as reports surfaced that human traffickers could have dropped off the group from neighboring Thailand. Police scrambled to the scene after receiving phone calls from local residents that they had found 26 Rohingya women and nine children covered in mud and weak while walking along the coast of Kuala Sungai Baru village in Perlis state, authorities said. Based on information gathered by my officers who were at the scene, a group of illegal immigrants believed to be of Rohingya descent was found by the side of the road while another group was still in the sea and assisted to the shore by the public, state police chief Noor Mushtar Mohd said in a statement. He said the Rohingya Muslims were believed to have been dropped off by a fishing boat before dawn Friday and were making their way through the muddy shores during low tide before they were spotted and aided by villagers, who gave them new clothes. The Rohingya women and children were fed before they were handed over to immigration officers who transported them to the Belantik Immigration Office, about 134 km (84 miles) south, Noor Mushtar said. Malaysia, which has a dominant Muslim-majority population, does not make any distinction between undocumented workers and refugees. The nations laws consider any illegal entry as a criminal offense. Immigration officials did not respond to a request for comment. Yante Ismail, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur, said the agency was aware of reports about the Rohingya Muslims, and would be ready to provide humanitarian assistance. UNHCR will be in contact with Malaysian authorities to seek access to these individuals in order to assess their protection needs, Yante told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. A police official in Kangar, capital of Perlis, told the Associated Press that the group was believed to have come from Thailand. The official sought anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Lilianne Fan, international director of the Geutanyoe Foundation, a refugee assistance organization, said it was coordinating with UNHCR and other NGOs to assist the Rohingya women and children. I believe we could expect to see more of this happening, Fan said. In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya were driven out of Myanmars northern Rakhine during a massive military counter-offensive, which the United States and the U.N. described as ethnic cleansing. The retaliatory operation took place after Rohingya militants attacked Myanmar security outposts, sparking an exodus of refugees into Bangladesh. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. A man on a motorbike passes the headquarters of Myanmar's Union Election Commission in Naypyidaw, Oct. 27, 2015. Myanmars election commission has approved a new political party formed by a splinter group of retired generals from the countrys main opposition party, who have their eyes on the next general election in 2020, an official from the agency said Friday. The Democratic Party of National Politics (DNP), created by former military generals Soe Maung, Lun Maung, and Kyaw Thu, initially tried to register their party as the National Political Party in August 2018. But after the Union Election Commission (UEC) rejected the original name of the party, they changed it to the current name. They came to complete the registration process yesterday, said UEC spokesman Myint Naing. They got the permit for the party formation a week ago. They decided to change the party name after negotiations, he said. As required by the regulations for new parties, Soe Maung as party leader and Kyaw Thu as his deputy came for the registration. RFA could not reach former Major General Soe Maung for comment. Soe Maung, the new partys leader, was the militarys advocate general and served in the Presidents Office under former President Thein Sein and his army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) government. He was a member of the USDPs Central Executive Committee when the group became the main opposition political party to the civilian-led National League for Democracy (NLD) which came to power in 2016. The major general also had a hand in the military commission that drafted Myanmars current constitution which guarantees the political power of the armed forces. The new partys deputy leader, former Major General Lun Maung, served as auditor general during Thein Seins administration, but was later dismissed from the post. He later made headlines after he opened a restaurant in Bilin township in southeastern Myanmars Mon State and served customers himself. Former Army Brigadier General Kyaw Thu served as chairman of the government board that recruits civil servants. Parties prep for elections The formation of the DNP comes as Myanmars political parties begin thinking about the next general election in 2020, and as lawmakers on a newly created constitutional reform committee start discussing which parts of the current 2008 charter should be amended to remove elements considered undemocratic. USDP and military legislators have balked at the joint constitutional amendment panel which will likely propose changes that will erode the political power of the armed forces. The current constitution gives military members of parliament an automatic 25 percent of seats, a crucial veto over proposed changes to the charter, and control of three defense and security ministries. Min Ze Ya, vice chairman of the Peoples Party a political party started in 2018 by members of the 88 Generation pro-democracy group said the formation of the new party by the former generals signals their desire to influence both military and civilian aspects of government. The 2008 constitution already apportioned to the military exceptional powers and privileges in parliament, he told RFA's Myanmar Service. This is an attempt to expand the militarys power beyond the legally appointed members and into the elected civilian candidates. In other words, by combining the two forces of military-appointed members and affiliated civilians, the military will cement its domination in [Myanmar] politics and keep it this way for the long term, he said. Former MP Thein Kyaw of the National Unity Party who won a seat in the 2015 general election, said it remains to be seen if the National Politics Democratic Party will be accepted by voters. It could grow into a major party and attract more members, and then it would have stronger financial resources, he said. But, in the end, we will see in the upcoming general election to what extent it can effectively convert members into votes. Tu Jar, chairman of Kachin State Democracy Party, said he has no concerns about the formation of a new party because ethnic minority parties are also competing for voter support. It is an emergence of another political force in a new political system, he said. We are willing to work with all other parties, including the NLD, regardless of who the [new partys] founders are. Meant to enhance democracy NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said voters are competent enough to make the right decision in next year's general election, and they will decide which parties will move ahead. We welcome all new parties, he said. [They] are meant to enhance democracy. Regardless of the number of parties, people will decide their fate in the elections, he said. We have no concern about that. The ruling NLD-led government believes that constitutional reform is necessary so that Myanmar can move closer to forming a democratic federal union that includes ethnic minorities. The party, which won the countrys 2015 elections by a landslide after decades of army-backed rule, promised prior to the vote to amend the charter in part to limit the political power of the military. But once in power, the NLD backed off from pursuing the issue so as not to damage its delicate power-sharing arrangement with the military. Reported by Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A group of village administrators in western Myanmars violence-ridden Rakhine state said Friday that they have resigned from their posts, fearing arrest after four other village chiefs were detained by police for allegedly having ties to the rebel Arakan Army (AA) which is fighting the national military in several townships in the region. Nearly 90 of 103 village-level General Administration Department officials in Mrauk-U township quit after authorities arrested Maung Oo Sein of Pying Cha village, Sein Hla Maung of Yan Aung Pyin village, Maung Tin Shwe of Pauk Pin Kwin village, and Aung Naing Tun of Kyaukse Pyin village, while they were holding a monthly meeting on Thursday at the township administration office, some of those who stepped down said. The township is one of several in Rakhine state where government forces have been battling the AA, an ethnic insurgent group fighting for greater autonomy in the state. The Myanmar government instructed the military to crush the ethnic fighters after they carried out deadly coordinated attacks on four police outposts in early January. The group of administrators who resigned said they sent a letter to the Mrauk-U township administrator Maung Thar Sein, saying that they feared for their safety because of the arrests of fellow officials, and that the action has threatened the entire administrative system. The village chiefs also said that Maung Thar Sein has failed to help protect local officials. The township administrator hasnt taken responsibility or accountability, so all the village and ward-level administrators submitted resignation letters and returned their office seals, said Maung Thein Tun, administrator of Chate Chaung village. Arrests and investigations of village administrators can be conducted only after authorities have informed the township administrator, said Khin Maung San, head of Than Shin Pyin village. But our fellow administrators were taken away while sitting in a meeting without the township administrator knowing anything, so that was a big shock for us, he said. Maung Thar Sein was unavailable for comment. Police took the arrested officials to a local court and charged them under Section 17(1) of Myanmars colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act, which carries a three-year prison sentence for those who interact with an unlawful association, such as an ethnic armed group like the AA. Rights groups accuse Myanmar authorities of using the act to intimidate and arrest ethnic minorities, especially those in turbulent regions where government troops are engaged in hostilities with ethnic armies. Investigation underway The four detained administrators are being held at the Myoma Police Station, where authorities have tightened security. RFA contacted the Mrauk-U township police chief, but he said he could not provide details about the matter. We cant answer anything because the investigation is still ongoing, he said. We havent received any reports from the local police. Rakhine state Municipal Affairs Minister Win Myint told RFAs Myanmar Service that officials have heard about the arrests but cannot yet comment on them. We can only comment after we discuss the [investigative] reports, he said. In the meantime, the official duties of the four arrested administrators will be transferred to social organizations and local elders, said Win Naing, head of the Na Kan village tract. The regional violence from the fighting between the Myanmar Army and AA has been punctuated by the disappearances, arrests, and murders of village heads and ordinary residents alike. An unknown number of civilians have been killed by crossfire or unexploded ordnance from fighting between government soldiers and the AA, and roughly 7,000 in Rakhine and neighboring Chin state have been displaced by the armed conflict since late November 2018. Two village administrators in Buthidaung township and another village chief in Rathedaung township who have been detained since January are facing charges for allegedly having links to an illegal organization. About 30 local administrators in Rathedaung township submitted their resignations in January in protest over the arrests of some of their colleagues accused of having links to the AA, though township authorities refused to accept the letters, according to local area officials. More than 90 local administrators in Rathedaung were scheduled to attend their regular monthly meeting on Friday, but 20 were absent due to security concerns, according to one official. And in Kyauktaw township, some 40 village tract administrators sent a letter to township administrator Thiha Zaw, calling for an investigation into the disappearance of Tun Nu, administrator of Taung Min Kalar village, after he was abducted on Jan. 19. Local Myanmar soldiers denied that they were involved in the abduction, according to area residents, and the AA told RFA that it had nothing to do with the incident. AA abducts two in Chin state Also on Friday, a village administrator and police officer from Paletwa township in Chin state said AA soldiers detained them for five days and beat one of them during an interrogation. Char Haw, the head of Paletwa's Thandaung village, and Police Lieutenant Salai Befa, chief of the Thandaung Police Station, said the AA abducted them at their homes on Feb. 22, accusing them of informing the Myanmar Army about the location of AA troops. We were taken on Feb. 22, Char Haw said. We had to travel all day long for five days going up mountains and crossing creeks. Villagers alerted Chin state government about the abductions, and a search for the missing men took place in nearby forests on Feb. 23. Char Haw said the soldiers beat him with their guns, causing injuries to his head, chest, back, and legs. I was beaten with rifle butts during the interrogation, he said. They forced us to say that we had informed the government army about the movement of AA military columns. They pointed guns at our foreheads and said they would free us if we admitted to it, but would kill us if we didnt. Salai Befa, who said he was kept apart from Char Haw, said AA soldiers neither interrogated nor beat him. I wasnt beaten, he said. They didnt ask me any questions either. They said I didnt do anything wrong and that they would release me when we reached a village. Soldiers released the two men on Feb. 27 after an order from the AAs central headquarters, they said. But the insurgents asked them to promise that they would not to inform the government army again about the AAs movements in Paletwa township, they said. Char Haw said he believed that he and Salai Befa were freed because local media extensively covered their abductions. He also said he would leave Thandaung village because he is afraid that the AA will return to take him away again. AA officials said they will take four or five more village administrators from 11 communities in the Thandaung village group because they also have informed government soldiers about the AAs movements, Char Haw said. RFA could not reach the AA for comment. Chin state officials have stepped up security in the region since the two abductions, said Soe Htet, state spokesman and minister of municipal affairs. The regional government has planned to increase security by the military and by the police force in this area, he told RFA. Reported by Min Thein Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Nandar Chann and Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Azerbaijani anti-corruption blogger Mehman Huseynov was released from prison on March 2 after serving a two-year prison sentence in a case that sparked international outrage and critics said was politically motivated. Shortly after being released, Huseynov visited the grave in Baku of Elmar Huseynov (eds: no relation), an Azerbaijani journalist who was shot dead exactly 14 years ago today. The global chemical weapons watchdog said March 1 that chlorine was used against the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma last year, in a long-awaited final report on the attack that killed 43 people. The report by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was based on a visit by a fact-finding mission to the site of the attack. The mission's mandate does not include laying blame, but Western powers led by the United States said the regime of President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the attack and launched air strikes on Syrian military installations in response. The OPCW said two cylinders likely containing chlorine smashed into a housing block in the town. The report said there were "reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine." It said, however, that it found no evidence of the use of nerve agents in Douma, which had been previously alleged by some parties in the conflict. The Russian Embassy in The Hague rejected the report, claiming the attack was "staged" by Syrian rescue volunteers known as the White Helmets. Russia is Assad's main international backer. The report will now go to the UN Security Council. Based on reporting by AP and AFP Indian officials, accompanied at a border crossing by representatives of the Red Cross, greeted a pilot who had been freed minutes earlier by Pakistan. "The nation is proud of your exemplary courage," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter on March 1 after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman walked across the Wagah crossing point into Indian territory. The handover took several hours, delayed because of procedures including a quick check of his medical condition before he was turned over to Indian officials. An official told reporters his first words were "it is good to be back in my country." Varthaman, sporting a black eye, was scheduled to receive another, more-detailed medical exam before taking a flight from nearby Amritsar to New Delhi for a debriefing about his captivity. "He will be taken for a detailed medical checkup," said Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor. "The officer has had to eject from a plane which would have put his body under immense strain," he added, reading from a statement. Well-wishers had gathered along the road on the Indian side of the border, but with the delay, most had left when Varthaman finally crossed over around 9 p.m. The release of Varthaman, whose warplane was shot down in the disputed region of Kashmir, was described as a "peace gesture" by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. "While in captivity, he was treated with dignity and in line with international law," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Pakistan's military said its air force shot down two India Air Force jets in its airspace and captured a pilot on the ground in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on February 27. India confirmed the loss of one of its MiG-21s and the capture of its pilot. It said it also foiled an attack by Pakistan warplanes over Kashmir and shot down one Pakistani plane. Islamabad denies any of its aircraft were shot down. During his captivity, Varthaman was shown on Pakistani TV in his green flight suit saying he was rescued by two Pakistani military personnel after he ejected and found himself surrounded by a group of angry residents in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The aerial confrontation came after India on February 26 struck what it said was a militant camp in northeastern Pakistan in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed at least 41 Indian troops in the India-controlled part of Kashmir. A Pakistan-based group, the Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM), claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack -- the deadliest to take place during a three-decade insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of having a "direct hand" in the attack and providing sanctuary to the militants. Islamabad denies involvement. India's air strikes in Pakistani territory on February 26 were the first since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and NDTV Indian and Pakistani forces continued their fierce artillery barrages in the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir, with both sides accusing the other of initiating the deadly shelling. Pakistan's military said two of its soldiers were killed on March 2 in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates the disputed region between the rivals. Earlier, Indian police on March 2 said a mother and two children were killed overnight after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit a home near the Line of Control (Loc) that divides the bitter nuclear rivals in the Muslim-majority Kashmir region. The family members a 24-year-old woman, her 5-year-old son, and 9-month-old daughter -- were killed in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, said a senior police official. The Indian military said its forces returned the fire. A police official told AFP that Indian troops also surrounded a house in Handwara district of Kashmir after believing they had killed two militants inside. However, the official said, one of the insurgents survived and when security forces went in to retrieve the bodies, the man opened fire, killing four soldiers before he was shot dead. The official said a civilian was killed in later protests over the clash. Meanwhile, Umar Azam, a Pakistani government official, on March 2 said Indian troops with heavy weapons "indiscriminately targeted border villagers" along the LoC, killing a boy and wounding three others. He added that Pakistani troops were "befittingly" responding to the Indian shelling. The exchange of artillery fire came despite some signs of an easing of the latest crisis between the two bitter rivals. On March 1, Pakistan released a captured Indian pilot in what its prime minister said was a peace gesture. Pakistan's military said its air force shot down two India Air Force jets in its airspace and captured a pilot on the ground in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on February 27. India confirmed the loss of one of its MiG-21s and the capture of its pilot. It said it also foiled an attack by Pakistan warplanes over Kashmir and shot down one Pakistani plane. Islamabad denies any of its aircraft were shot down. The aerial confrontation came after India on February 26 struck what it said was a militant camp in northeastern Pakistan in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed at least 41 Indian troops in the India-controlled part of Kashmir. Also, on March 2, India handed over the body of a Pakistani prisoner who was beaten to death by inmates at an Indian jail on February 20. Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qurehsi accused India of failing to protect the Pakistani prisoner." Shakir Ullah was allegedly killed in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 soldiers. Pakistan has formally lodged a complaint with the Indian government. It was unclear on what charges Shakir Ullah had been held at the jail. Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both sides claim all of the divided territory. With reporting by AP, AFP, ANI, and Times Now Hundreds of people gathered on March 2 in the Latvian capital, Riga, for a protest rally. Demonstrators demanded the dismissal of the city council and the resignation of Mayor Nils Usakovs. The protest came after a corruption scandal involving bribes in the purchase of public transport for the city. To outsiders, Turkmenistan's capital has long had a reputation as a difficult-to-reach destination. But it's also gotten tougher lately for many of the country's own citizens. The website Hronika Turkmenistana reported on February 21 that authorities "are not permitting vehicles from the regions into Ashgabat." There has been no government word of any ban on nonlocals entering the nation's capital. But in fact, it has been in effect -- even if irregularly enforced -- for nearly three years. Hronika Turkmenistana reported that a group of drivers (most of them from the Mary and Lebap Provinces) was awaiting passengers on February 17 in a parking lot in Annau, along the M37 highway some 5 kilometers from the eastern edge of Ashgabat, when traffic police appeared and fined them for having "entered restricted territory...for transport [or vehicles] from other cities." The police explained that the "restricted area" for vehicles without Ashgabat license plates extends 25 kilometers outside the city limits. Hronika Turkmenistana reported that police have now established a checkpoint in the town of Gyaurs, 25 kilometers southeast of Ashgabat, where vehicles from outside the capital are turned away. Even without official comment from the Turkmen government, it's easy to guess at the reasons. One need only look at recent economic reports -- particularly from the regions -- to understand why people might want to reach the capital and why the government might be reluctant to see them there. The government continues to deny there is an economic crisis in Turkmenistan, but the signs are there. RFE/RL's Turkmen Service -- known locally as Azatlyk -- and others have reported on the country's unemployment problem. It's another topic the government generally doesn't comment on, but the figure is believed to be well over 50 percent of the workforce. People from outlying regions tend to gravitate toward big urban areas in hard economic times. Big cities and towns offer more opportunities for employment, and in Ashgabat's case there was some truth to that in the run-up to the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games that Turkmenistan (AIMAG) hosted in September 2017. Thousands of workers were needed for construction of the facilities for AIMAG. But while some people from the regions were able to find employment at the time, Ashgabat city officials insisted that they find accommodation on the outskirts of the capital and, once the work was done, they were expected to return home. Basic goods -- flour, bread, sugar, and cooking oil among them -- have been in short supply for three years. The regions have reportedly been the hardest hit. In early December, the government in Ashgabat told regional administrations they would have to fend for themselves for funds. Azatlyk reported at the time that traffic police in the regions, for example, stepped up vehicle stops and fines to motorists for a wide assortment of reasons. Regional administrations were reportedly already experiencing difficulties dealing with the deteriorating economic situation. In August, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov reprimanded four provincial leaders for failure to collect sufficient taxes for local budgets. Azatlyk has been reporting about shortages of flour in the especially hard-hit Dashoguz and Lebap Provinces and bread rationing in Mary Province. The heads of all three of those provinces were reportedly told at that time to do what they could to meet their provinces' needs. The government reportedly made supplying the Ahal Province, where Ashgabat is located, and the Balkan Province, where Turkmenistan's Caspian coast is located, a priority. So besides coming to Ashgabat to look for work, some people seem to be coming to buy goods that are in short supply or unavailable in their areas. And authorities seem to have figured this out. Azatlyk reported toward the end of 2018 that traffic police with sniffer dogs on the outskirts of the Turkmen capital were stopping vehicles with license plates from the regions that were leaving the Ashgabat area. Police searched vehicles for food and confiscated what they considered excessive. Even in Ashgabat, there is not an abundance of food except among those with enough money to shop in the few well-stocked, but expensive, private stores. Enormous resources have been poured into Ashgabat in the past 25 years, certainly into the Ashgabat city center. The Turkmen capital is on the Guinness List Of World Records for the world's highest density of white marble-clad buildings. There are fountains, ornate monuments, an ice-skating rink and, of course, museums, and even an amusement park. But few are currently able to see these wonders, and that now appears to include most of Turkmenistan's residents. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL. Saudi Arabia says it has revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, a son of deceased Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The announcement on March 1 comes a day after the United States said it was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the identification or location of Hamza bin Laden. Riyadh did not provide specifics on why it was stripping bin Laden of his citizenship, but it said it was revoked on February 22. It was only made public now. The Saudis also stripped Osama bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994 while he was living in exile in Sudan. Hamza bin Ladens location remains a mystery. Speculation has centered on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran. A U.S. State Department statement on February 28 said he is emerging as a leader of the Al-Qaeda terror organization. A 2018 United Nations report highlighted that "Al-Qaeda propaganda continues to highlight a new generation of potential leaders, such as Hamza bin Laden...in an apparent attempt to project a younger image to its sympathizers." He is believed to be 30 years old. The United States invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 because the Taliban-led government had protected Al-Qaeda and the elder bin Laden, who organized the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. The Taliban was driven from power and bin Laden, hiding in the northern Pakistani city of Abbotabad, was killed in a U.S. raid in 2011. In a July 2016 audio recording, Hamza bin Laden threatened revenge against the United States for killing his father. Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa Drivers of Car:Go -- Serbia's version of the ride-sharing application Uber -- protested in Belgrade on March 1 to demand the resignation of Transport Minister Zorana Mihajlovic. The drivers claim she only protects the interests of the taxi drivers, whom they accuse of holding a monopoly. Car:Go was founded in 2015 and has dramatically expanded despite pressure from the taxi lobby. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened their second summit with handshakes and warm words about the prospects for their meeting on nuclear weapons. Ahead of their dinner at a hotel in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on February 27, Trump said the biggest progress from their first meeting last year was his personal relationship with Kim. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the nation's hero, is back to India. He was handed over to the delegation of officials of Indian Air Force at Wagah border at 9:25 pm on Friday. Hitherto, Pakistan said they would release Abhinandan on the afternoon of Friday. However, there was an unusual delay which threw suspicions on Pakistan again. Finally, Pakistan army officials, themselves, handed over Abhinandan to Indian Air Force officials on Friday night. Advertisement "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us. He has been released as per the standard operating procedures. He will be taken for a detailed medical check-up because he has ejected from an aircraft which puts a strain on the body. The IAF is happy to have him back, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor told the media after his release. Abhinandan is now sent to military hospital, New Delhi for medical check up as he was ejected from MiG 21 aircraft and fell into Pakistan's land. He was taken into custody by Pakistan army. Thereupon ,they released several videos of Abhinandan hinting that he had been safe in their custody. His patriotism was also elevated as he denied to disclose confidential issues to Pakistani military. In the meanwhile, celebrations were kick started across the nation with the safe return of Abhinandan. People are awaiting to listen to his experiences and his precious message to the nation at the earliest. Hollywood star Luke Perry Los Angeles, Mar 2: Hollywood star Luke Perry, currently starring in "Riverdale", has been admitted to a hospital after he suffered a "massive" stroke. The 52-year-old actor is "currently under observation at the hospital", his representative Arnold Robinson told the Hollywood Reporter. However, contrary to what some media reports have said, "he is not in a coma," the spokesperson added. Luke Perry in hospital after he suffered massive stroke Advertisement The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to an address, believed to be Perry's, around 9:40 am for a "medical assistance" call on Wednesday, authorities said. The actor's health scare happened on the same day Fox announced that the original stars of "Beverly Hills 90210" has signed on for a reboot. Perry famously played bad boy Dylan McKay on the long-running '90s teen drama. The actor currently stars as Fred Andrews on "Riverdale". SADD chief Paramjit Singh Sarna NEW DELHI, Mar 2: The SADD welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's gesture to set free Wing-Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, saying the Modi government should now also act to release Sikh prisoners languishing in various jails of the country under draconian TADA charges. "A number of Sikhs have served their TADA sentences. A number of Sikhs are still undergoing trial in judicial custody under the draconian law, which was repealed long back," SADD chief Paramjit Singh Sarna said. Pakistan PM Imran Khan Advertisement "The central home ministry must take up their cases on a priority. If Pakistan can set free our pilot it held captive in this tense bilateral situation, why can't our own government release TADA Sikh prisoners in our own country?" Sardar Sarna called upon both the central and the Punjab governments to work out a plan for setting free the Sikhs who were jailed during the unrest in the state, mostly under false TADA charges. IAF Pilot Abhinandan "Such a gesture by our own government will raise its international profile on the human-rights front. It will match prime minister Imran Khan's gesture that aimed at de-escalating the India-Pakistan standoff. The Modi government should take the first step to heal Punjab's wounds and release TADA Sikh prisoners as soon as possible," Sardar Sarna said. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Abu Dhabi, Mar 2: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is in Abu Dhabi to attend the foreign ministers' meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states where she is expected to raise the issue of terrorism, amidst Indo-Pak tensions following the Pulwama terror attack. Swaraj will attend the inaugural plenary of the two-day meeting on Friday. It is for the first time that India has been invited to a meeting of the OIC, an influential grouping of 57 Islamic countries, as the guest of honour. India's engagement with the OIC comes in the midst of escalating tension between India and Pakistan. The ties strained further after Indian fighter jets bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan carried out a retaliatory aerial raid on Wednesday. "EAM @SushmaSwaraj arrives in #AbuDhabi for the Ministerial Meeting of @OIC_OCI. Advertisement Shah Mehmood Qureshi India has been invited by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of UAE as the 'Guest of Honour'," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. Pakistan, a member of the OIC, tried to get Swaraj 'disinvited' from the Abu Dhabi meet following India's air strike on the terror camp in Pakistan. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he will not attend the meeting over the grouping's failure to rescind invitation to Swaraj. The OIC had disinvited India from its conference in 1969 in Morocco at Pakistan's behest. The OIC has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. The MEA said Foreign Minister of United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan invited Swaraj as the 'guest of honour' to address the inaugural plenary and that India was happy to accept the invitation. Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Forty CRPF soldiers were killed in the attack. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres United Nations, Mar 2: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthman from captivity in Pakistan and called on the two countries to sustain the "positive momentum" and engage in further constructive dialogue. The IAF Wing Commander returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. "UN chief Guterres welcomes the news of the release of the Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities," his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PTI when asked about the Secretary-General's response to the development. "The Secretary-General calls on both parties to sustain this positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue. His good offices remain available should both sides agree," Dujarric said. Advertisement IAF pilot's return to India from Pak captivity Varthaman's release was being watched with bated breath across India as the IAF pilot was accorded a hero's welcome as he crossed onto India through the Wagah Border. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. Advertisement Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a "peace gesture". However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa United Nations (PTI) UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa is following with "great concern" the situation between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to seek dialogue to avoid an escalation of tensions, her spokesperson said. Espinosa's spokesperson Monica Grayley said the UNGA President stresses that the use of "diplomatic means is basically the best way to settle political differences, to settle political disputes" and hopes that the relevant parties can resolve the current situation through peaceful means. Advertisement The President of the General Assembly is "actually following with great concern the latest reports on the situation between India and Pakistan, told reporters Thursday during her press briefing. Espinosa, who had visited India before assuming office last year and had made a trip to Pakistan in January this year, asks for both sides right now to seek dialogue to avoid an escalation of tensions but also to avoid further tragic loss of life." Several international leaders too have expressed concern over the escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, calling for restraint and need for dialogue. Former UN Deputy Secretary-General and Foreign Minister of Sweden Jan Eliasson tweeted that the conflict between India and Pakistan is "potentially suicidal. Heavy responsibility on their leaders to calm down and de-escalate the situation and to open up to diplomacy and back-channel contacts. Such efforts should be strongly supported by the outside world. The fuse is short. The Elders, a group of independent leaders founded by late South African President, also called on the leaders of India and Pakistan to take urgent steps to defuse military and political tensions and to refrain from further bellicose rhetoric and pursue a path of meaningful dialogue. Beant Kaur Dhillon California, 2nd March'19: In a shocking incident, a Sikh couple of Bakersfield, California USA, was charged with the murder of a newborn. The body of the baby was recovered from the backyard of their home, under a flower bed. This incident came to the fore through a third party, whom the newborns mother, a now 16-year-old confided to. Acting on the report, the Bakersfield police searched the home of the accused and found the body of the baby. It is reported that the girl, then a 15-year-old had given birth to a baby in her bathroom. He mother, Beant Kaur Dhillon drowned the baby, put the body in a garbage bag and told her nephew Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann to bury the baby. He buried it in the backyard under the flower bed. The husband of the lady, Jagsir Singh Dhillon, was not present at the scene of crime, but was informed by her later and agreed to keep it a secret. Presently, Beant Kaur has told the court that she did it to prevent the family from shame. The couple, apart from the murder charge is also facing child cruelty charges as they did not attempt to provide any medical help to their daughter who had delivered a child. Beant Kaur has plead not guilty to the crime and Jagsir Singh has been granted bail. He is due to appear in the court on March 13. The other accused, Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann is atill at large. The Sikh community is shocked at the revealation, and feels it is time for introspection. The social workers from the community feel this incident would help the community address the taboo topic of teen pregnancies, which very much exists in it, but is not recognized. Janasena chief Power Star Pawan Kalyan was cornered by AP's media ever since his words in a public meet were published by some Pakistan media on Indo-Pak war. Pakistan media allegedly reported that Pawan Kalyan had come to know from insiders that there'd be a war between India and Pakistan before elections. Seemingly, media from Telugu states tore him apart and advised him he shouldn't have made such remarks when patriotic fervour is hovering over across India. Advertisement Of course, even Power Star's fans too felt Pawan Kalyan shouldn't have spoken about Indo -Pak war issue. "If at all he wants to target BJP, there are innumerable blunders committed by the BJP," they opined. However, Pawan Kalyan comes up with a clarity on his remarks on Indo-Pak war just ahead of elections. He said even international media like 'The Guardian' predicted Indo-Pak war and he had quoted those snippets. A video was also posted by Janasena party in Twitter handle in which the clippings of Indo-Pak war predictions of The Guardian were shown. Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan expressed his joy for the safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is still fighting to win back a new Amazon headquarters in Queens along with more than 70 other parties who signed an open letter this week to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos despite the fact that Bezos and his company have shown no signs of regretting their decision to cancel plans to place half of Amazons HQ2 in Long Island City. On Friday, Cuomo said that his behind-the-scenes maneuvering is less about winning them back and more about maintaining New Yorks reputation as a business-friendly city. I have no reason to believe that Amazon is reconsidering, Cuomo said during an interview on WNYCs The Brian Lehrer Show. I think the point was more, not that Amazon is going to change its mind, I dont think that they do. But, the truth should be known because this was a national story and it had damning consequences for New York. We dont want anyone to think that New York doesnt understand that we are the home of entrepreneurial business, and we want young people coming here and new talent. And New York is open for business. The report about Cuomos last-ditch phone calls to Bezos as well as the open letter signed by elected officials, union bosses, and business and community groups U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, whose district includes Long Island City, and the Partnership for New York City, a pro-business organization first ran in The New York Times late this week. We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming. Opinions are strong in New York sometimes strident, the open letter read, calling to mind New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios comments about New Yorks grit after Amazon pulled out. We consider it part of the New York charm! But when we commit to a project as important as this, we figure out how to get it done in a way that works for everyone. But the problem with the HQ2 deal was that opponents believed it didnt work for everyone. Aside from the nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and subsidies that angered many progressives, a new tech headquarters also promised to introduce added strains on New Yorks already-crumbling subway system and the influx of new high-paying jobs would force some current Queens residents out of their homes due to the rising cost of rent. These are issues that other cities which house giant tech companies like Seattle and San Francisco are still fighting, but critics say that New York didnt do enough to ensure that the city wouldnt face the same problems when HQ2 moved into Long Island City. If thats the case, why send a letter without answering those criticisms, or even producing a plan to make HQ2, or attracting other big new corporate campuses, beneficial to New Yorkers who wouldnt personally work there? Lena Afridi, director of economic development policy at the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, a coalition of affordable housing advocacy groups, said that the responsibility is not solely on Amazon to assure community members that the negative effects of their presence could be mitigated. It's really up to the state, she said. One of our concerns when the project was still slated to happen was that the immediate area outside of the proposed site, it's comprised of a ton of rental (housing) stock that's not regulated at all. So those folks already face displacement pressures that would just become compounded by a huge, huge, development like Amazon coming in. Signaling how demanding some of Amazons foes could be, however, Afridi called for policies that were unlikely to be enacted, including universal rent control. That, and broad tenant protections, would have gone a long way in allaying community concerns about affordable housing and displacement, she said. The universal rent control and real tenant protections are a tangible solution that could help not just in this instance, but in big development in general, she said. Universal rent control is hardly a narrowly tailored or Amazon-specific proposal. Its a pre-existing policy proposal in certain corners of the left and it would represent an enormous and controversial shift in state policy one which the housing industry contends would actually exacerbate the housing shortage by discouraging development. Afridi also said that Amazon should have guaranteed that some of the promised 25,000 jobs go to Queens residents and, to members of various demographics and populations, based on neighborhood. Amazon did commit 30 jobs to residents of New York City Public Housing Authority developments, but Afridi said that wasnt enough. Tom Wright, who signed the open letter to Bezos this week and is the president and chief executive of the Regional Plan Association, pointed to the other half of HQ2 in Crystal City, Virginia, as a model for how New York could strike deal that would both appease critics and attract tech companies in the future. The situation in Arlington was that they had a vacant space and they've been doing a community based plan for bringing jobs and economic development there, and then when Amazon came, essentially they were just signing on to the plan that had already been created, he said. That's what should be happening here. The $3 billion deal to attract Amazon was kept private between the city, state and Amazon angering local lawmakers who were cut out of the process but Afridi said that its the community members who need to be brought into the fold, too.Without a public process, we can't really speak to what folks would need in their communities, because there's no capacity for them to speak on it. Wright agreed that an open process would be more likely to draw in community members and assure tech companies that blowback from critics could be minimized. The bigger thing is that it should never be a secretive process, Wright said. It's gotta be something that's done in an open, transparent, collaborative way ideally, before it's negotiating with a single company. While proponents of the deal often responded to criticisms that the new headquarters would strain public transit and cut back on affordable housing by pointing to the $27.5 billion in tax revenue that Amazon promised to produce, a more effective method might have been communicating what investments should be made into those needy areas ahead of time. With Amazon, it became, They're going to bring these jobs so what transportation investments do we need? What kind of parks and schools and community investments do we need? Wright said. That's the reverse order, of course. It ought to be, Here, we're going to make these investments in transportation, in housing, in community resources, and make ourselves an attractive place for an Amazon to come to. Jukay Hsu, who also signed the open letter, is the founder and chief executive officer of Pursuit, a tech training organization that was set to operate the job-training center on the HQ2 site. Hsu agreed that communication was an issue, but that details about community investments were just at their beginning stages. I think there's a lot more to communicate. I think we were just seeing the beginning of the process, and I think that's why a lot of people were, myself included, disappointed by this outcome, he said. Oftentimes these projects are long, and I think there's a lot more we would both want to communicate, and I think that could have certainly been better on all parties. Kathryn Wylde, the president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, who also signed the open letter, was optimistic that commitments to the community would have been made. There was a process that began with real community engagement on workforce planning and infrastructure issues that I think would have led to a very good end, where people would've been satisfied, had input and impact on the project, she said. But just as it was getting started, Amazon pulled out. Cuomo is still pulling for the deal, despite admitting himself that Amazon is unlikely to come back to New York, but Democratic political consultant Bruce Gyory said that is a smart strategy for Cuomo. Given that the Amazon headquarters was supported by a majority of New Yorkers both in Queens specifically and in the suburbs it behooves Cuomo to show that he wont give up fighting for HQ2 even if the end goal is moot. You punch until you hear the bell and the bell hasnt sounded, and until somebody rings a bell I'm going to keep pushing, Cuomo told Brian Lehrer on Friday morning. I dont believe that they will reconsider, but I am hopeful. But I think sending the message to other business, please don't be confused, we're open for business. A new measurement approach proposed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could lead to a better way to calibrate computed tomography (CT) scanners, potentially streamlining patient treatment by improving communication among doctors. The approach, detailed in a research paper in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests how the X-ray beams generated by CT can be measured in a way that allows scans from different devices to be usefully compared to one another. It also offers a pathway to create the first CT measurement standards connected to the International System of Units (SI) by creating a more precise definition of the units used in CT -- something the field has lacked. "If the technical community could agree on a definition, then?the vendors could create measurements that are interchangeable," said NIST's Zachary Levine, a physicist and one of the paper's authors. "Right now, calibration is not as thorough as it could be." An object's ability to block X-rays -- its "radiodensity" -- is measured in Hounsfield Units (HUs), named for the Nobel Prize winning co-inventor of CT. Calibration of a CT machine, something every radiology facility has to perform regularly, involves scanning an object of known radiodensity called a phantom and checking whether these measurements give the right number of HUs. A problem is that a CT scanner's tube -- essentially its X-ray generating "light bulb" -- creates a beam that is the X-ray version of white light, full of photons with different wavelengths that correspond to their energy. (If the human eye could see X-rays, you could run the tube's beam through a prism and see it break into a spectrum of colors.) Because a photon's penetrating power depends on its energy, the beam's overall effect on the phantom has to be averaged out, making it challenging to define the calibration. Further complicating the situation is the way the tube's X-ray light has to change depending on the type of scan. Denser body parts need more penetrating X-rays, so the tube has a sort of color switch allowing its operator to adjust the tube voltage to match the job. Adjusting the tube's voltage alters the spectrum of the beam, so that it ranges between something like a "cool white" and a "warm white" light bulb. The variable spectrum makes it tougher to ensure that the calibration is correct for all voltages. advertisement Add these complications to the differences that exist among various CT machine manufacturers, and you get a lot of trouble for anyone who wants to link the calibration of any given scanner to a universal standard. But if it could be done, there would be far-reaching benefits to both industry and medicine. "You want interchangeable answers regardless of what CT machine you use and when," Levine said. "For one thing, you want doctors to be able to communicate between hospitals. Let's say a patient needs a follow up but is somewhere far from home, or the same scanner got a software upgrade that changes the number of HUs. If you can't measure accurately, you can't improve your technology." Better calibration could make diagnosis more efficient and less costly as well, Levine said. "Better comparisons among scanners might allow us to establish cutoff points for disease -- such as emphysema getting a particular Hounsfield score or lower," he said. "It's also common for CT scans to turn up suspicious growths that might be cancerous, and a doctor commonly orders an MRI as a follow up. We might eliminate the need for that second procedure." The NIST team had to overcome the uncertainties created by the tube's broad X-ray spectrum and tube voltage setting. Their idea was to fill several phantoms with different concentrations of powdered chemicals that are common in the body, and compare the phantoms' radiodensity using CT. The comparison would help link HUs to the number of moles per cubic meter, which are both SI units. "Executing this idea was tricky, because the volume of a mole depends on the size of a given chemical molecule," Levine said. "A mole of salt takes up more space than a mole of carbon, for example. And the air in the powders represented a further complication." The trickiness would make all but a math aficionado wince: Each chemical in the mixture could be characterized by two numbers, but the entire phantom created a 13-dimensional space that complicated the data analysis. Fortunately, the team was able to use a linear algebra technique well-known to data science to simplify the data down to two dimensions, which was far more manageable. "Basically, we've shown that you can create a CT scanner performance target that any design engineer can hit," Levine said. "Manufacturers have been getting different answers in their machines for decades because no one told their engineers how to handle the X-ray spectrum. Only a small change to existing practice is required to unify their measurements." BALTIMORE, MD - If it walks like a duck (or a goose or a swan), it can find food in mud without seeing or smelling it. These waterfowl bills are covered in skin that's a lot like the sensitive skin on the palms of our hands, and it can feel food in mud and murky water. Slav Bagriantsev, Eve Schneider, and Evan Anderson at Yale University are researching duck skin to learn more about how our sense of touch works. "We know a lot about how we see, taste, and smell," Bagriantsev explained, "but we actually don't know much about how touch works at the molecular level." They will present their insights into the mechanics of touch at the 63rd Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, to be held March 2 - 6, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. There is only one molecule, so far, that has been identified as being important for touch in vertebrates like humans, mice, and ducks, called Piezo2. Most of what we know about Piezo2 has come from research in mice, however, a mouse's skin is mostly covered with hair--unlike the glabrous skin on our palms or lips. Bagriantsev and his colleagues decided to study ducks, whose bills are covered with glabrous skin like ours, which can help them learn about human touch too. Ducks, geese, and swans are unique among waterfowl in that they are picky about the food they eat--they wouldn't be able to do this without their specialized bills. They found that the clusters of neurons responsible for sensing touch exist in similar density in ducks' bills as they do in human and primate palms. When tiny forces, like those that might be generated from a tadpole wiggling in murky water, stretch the neurons in a duck bill, Piezo2 opens and lets ions into the neuron. When enough ions enter, the neuron fires, sending a signal to the brain telling the duck there's movement nearby. Bagriantsev and colleagues found that duck Piezo2 allows more ions to enter the neuron by staying open longer, compared to mouse Piezo2. This tiny difference probably allows a duck bill to be more sensitive to touch than a mouse's paw. "It seems that ducks capitalized on what most vertebrates normally have," said Bagriantsev. Piezo2 is probably not the only molecule involved in touch. Mice without Piezo2 have tactile deficits, but are still able to detect touch and navigate the world, so there must be other molecules involved. Bagriantsev and his colleagues hope that ducks' bills will help them reveal the other players in the sensation of touch. by Nathaniel Prime Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:53 pm Motto: "Scale is also like Starscream in the G1 movie in that it's bad comedy." Weapon: Fusion Cannon Thank you for all the wonderful things you have brought to us, and I hope you rest well and happy. One's red one's blue sometimes I want to ask god why he's played this cruel joke on us Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents advertisements SpaceX launches Crew Dragon on demo mission to space station March 2, 2019 For the first time, a U.S.-built commercial spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts is now on its way to the International Space Station. SpaceX on Saturday (March 2) launched its first Crew Dragon on a uncrewed test flight to demonstrate its ability to safely fly to and from the space station, prior to doing the same with NASA astronauts on board. The Demo-1 (DM-1) Dragon lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:49 a.m. EST (0749 GMT) from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Tonight was a big night for the United States of America, a great night for NASA. What today really represents is a new era in spaceflight," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at a post-launch press conference. The early morning launch, which culminated in the Crew Dragon being deployed into Earth orbit 11 minutes after liftoff, set up a scheduled rendezvous with the space station approximately 24 hours later on Sunday. SpaceX flight controllers oversaw the vehicle's ascent from Firing Room 4 inside NASA's Launch Control Center (LCC), continuing the room's Apollo and space shuttle program-use legacy. "That was super stressful, but it worked so far. We have to dock to station and come back, but so far it has worked. We have passed some of the riskiest items," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. First revealed in 2014, SpaceX's Crew Dragon builds off the capsule design that the Hawthorne, California-based company has been using to fly cargo for NASA for seven years. The Crew Dragon adds an environmental control and life support system and a launch escape system, the latter capable of carrying the Dragon to safety during its climb to orbit or in the event of a catastrophic problem on the pad. "Early Dragon 1 had a window on the side and this was clearly a hint to everybody that we wanted to fly humans into space," said Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president for build and flight reliability, at a pre-launch press conference on Thursday. "We want to do this, this is our goal, this is why we are actually here. So clearly this is super important for us and incredible." For DM-1, the Crew Dragon is transporting 450 pounds (200 kilograms) of supplies and equipment for the space station's Expedition 58 crew. In addition, the capsule is loaded with mass simulators and is carrying an anthropomorphic test device (ATD), a "dummy" fitted with sensors around its head, neck and spine to gather data ahead of SpaceX's second Crew Dragon demo mission, DM-2, with NASA astronauts on board. "With respect to the 'dummy,' it's actually a smarty, right? It has lots of sensors, so we call it a smarty," said Koenigsmann, adding that the ATD was dubbed "Ripley" after actress Sigourney Weaver's character in the "Alien" movie franchise. Live camera views from on board the Dragon provided a look at Ripley, garbed in SpaceX's black and white spacesuit and strapped into one of the spacecraft's four seats, during the launch. The broadcast also showed a small plush toy Earth with a face, hands and feet placed there to float loose in the cabin. "Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch!" joked Musk on Twitter prior to the launch. Once the Dragon catches up with the space station in orbit, it will execute a series of autonomous maneuvers to approach a link up with an international docking adapter (IDA) mounted to the end of the station's space shuttle-era Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2). "On the approach, the vehicle will come in to about 150 meters [490 feet] on the V-bar [Velocity-bar or vector]," said Joel Montalbano, NASA's space station program deputy manager. "As it comes a little closer, the [space station's] crew will test a retreat command. The vehicle will move back out to about 180 meters [590 feet] or so and sit there for about ten minutes. This is all part of the testing we do to insure the safety of the space station." "Then [the Dragon] be commanded in," he explained. "It will do one more stop at about 20 meters [65 feet] for a little bit. Again, just to do some testing, making sure everything is good to go. Then it will come in for docking." About two hours after the Dragon arrives at the space station, Expedition 58 flight engineer Anne McClain of NASA and commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos will open the spacecraft's hatch, beginning five days of docked operations. The Crew Dragon is slated to undock from the space station on Friday (March 8) at approximately 2:30 a.m. EST (0730 GMT). About five hours later, the spacecraft will conduct a 15-minute de-orbit burn, beginning its return to Earth. The capsule will re-enter the atmosphere, deploy parachutes and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at about 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT), marking SpaceX's first Dragon recovery on the east coast of the United States. Pending the DM-1 mission going as planned, SpaceX is scheduled to conduct an in-flight abort test using the same spacecraft later this spring. The DM-2 crewed mission would then follow, flying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley for a short duration visit to the space station no earlier than June. "We are taking the opportunity with this Demo-1 flight to learn all that we can in preparation for our upcoming crewed flight," said Hurley. "It really is our chance, not to be on board, but to be with the rest of the team that will support us when we fly on the vehicle." SpaceX's first Crew Dragon launches atop a Falcon 9 rocket on the Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, March 2, 2019. (collectSPACE) Video frame of SpaceX's anthropomorphic test device "Ripley" and a Celestial Buddies Earth inside of Crew Dragon. (SpaceX) SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demonstration-1 mission patch. (SpaceX) SpaceX's Demo-1 Crew Dragon seen atop Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 1, 2019. (collectSPACE) 2021 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved. MESA, Ariz. Always looking to find any extra edge, the As this spring introduced a meditation station into their Hohokam Stadium activities. People are liking it, shortstop Marcus Semien said. Its supposed to calm you down, whether youve had a bad game or if youre just frustrated. Some people feel like theyre more energized after. Head trainer Nick Paparesta said the team is incorporating meditation exercises into their routine for a few weeks, with groups scheduled for sessions in a back hallway. The meditation exercises incorporate music via earphones that also have transponders that register brain waves, but the As arent trying this out to improve mental function, as some athletes have been known to do. Were doing it for health, not for training their brains or make them more proficient in what they do because theres no scientific proof behind that, Paparesta said. Now, if youre meditating regularly and youre feeling better because youre sleeping better and sleeping longer, yeah, obviously youre going to perform better. Some players do use the 30-minute sessions to sleep, and Paparesta said there is evidence that rest breaks throughout the day can improve health and performance. Semien, who has two small sons at home, said, I use it as a little recharge before I get home with the boys. I dont know the science behind it to know what it really does, but its relaxing. As 1, Indians 0 Notable: Paul Blackburn , who is in the mix for a spot in the rotation, worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Manager Bob Melvin said it's the best Blackburn has looked since he pitched well for Oakland in 2017. "This was a different guy for me," Melvin said. ... Frankie Montas , also vying for a rotation spot, also threw three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two. ... Closer Blake Trienin had a 1-2-3 inning of work and struck out two. ... The A's run came in the fourth, when Matt Chapman scored on a wild pitch. ... Chapman, who is coming off left shoulder surgery, set that up with his hustle double off Trevor Bauer . "I tested myself running to second on that one and sliding, because I slid hard," he said. "I was like, well, there's only one way to find out! I did have to push the envelope because I wanted to test it, and it felt good." ... Chapman, playing in his second game in the field this spring, also made a tough play in the sixth, running in for a tapper by Tyler Naquin . Quotable: "I would love to go to Japan. ... I heard it's a great time, one of those team-chemistry-building things where you're out of your bubble, in a different country, just being with the guys." - Blackburn, on hoping to be part of the group of players the A's take to Tokyo on March 14-21. Sunday: A's at Angels, 1:10 p.m. Radio: 860 - Susan Slusser See More Collapse Reliever Liam Hendriks , a bookworm who uses the sessions as reading time, said he hasnt noticed any results yet but he assumes that it will take more regular sessions to be really effective. The point is to try to remap some of the stuff in the brain that deals with stress and anxiety, he said. You can sleep, you dont have to focus. ... Its more of a preemptive strike than anything, it helps you react to certain events. Whether it works or its a placebo effect, as long as it has an effect, it has its merits. Sometimes that little change of mind-set is all you need. Who knows? Semien is going into his fifth season with the As and he noted that in that time, the team has made a concerted effort to improve players health, adding a team nutritionist, a cryotherapy chamber and more advanced hot/cold whirlpools, along with yoga and technologies to track performance and facilitate players rehabilitation from injuries. Its good to be investing in different things to help our performance, Semien said. Players health and well-being is important. Briefly: With minor-league camp opening Saturday, the As optioned right-hander James Kaprielian , who did not pitch in big-league camp because of a lat strain, to Triple-A Las Vegas and reassigned left-handers A.J. Puk (who is coming back from Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Alexander and right-hander Parker Dunshee . ... Mike Fiers will throw a simulated game in minor-league camp while Marco Estrada gets the start against the Angels in Tempe on Sunday. Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com The new 826 Valencia writing center in Mission Bay sells pet rocks, lumberjack repellent, fairy lanterns, foresty smells air fresheners, unicorn horn polish that doubles as lip balm and walking sticks for mid-sized creatures that walk on hind legs. There is bark and moss on the walls, caves with blue fairy lights where kids can hole up and read, and a large tree sculpture where visitors can dangle messages. Books are available as well produced by kids at 826 Valencias two other writing centers in the Mission District and Tenderloin. But to most San Franciscans, the biggest surprise about the space at 1300 Fourth St. the official name of the store is the Woodland Creatures Outfitters Ltd. wont be the whimsical architectural flourishes or the unusual goods sold in the store. It will be that the place is full of children Mission Bay children, to be exact. Over the last two years, Mission Bay a neighborhood known for its hospital, medical research facilities and upscale apartment complexes has been quietly filling up with families. In addition to hundreds of kids sprinkled throughout the market-rate buildings, the neighborhood is now home to three new affordable complexes 1300 Fourth St., 1180 Fourth St., and 588 Mission Bay Blvd. North with a total of 820 people younger than 18. This year, 140 more children are expected to move into 1150 Third St., a building that will house a combination of families and formerly homeless veterans. The influx of families into the neighborhood comes as an even greater transformation is about to happen. The Golden State Warriors Chase Center arena will open this fall with a collection of new restaurants and retail spots. Dropbox and Uber will move into new corporate headquarters, while the Marriott SoMa Mission Bay Hotel will welcome its first guests in summer 2020. Fourth Street planned as the neighborhoods main shopping drag is starting to come alive after five years in which it was characterized by empty glass boxes on the ground floor of expensive apartment buildings. In the past two years, a juice shop opened, along with a pizza place, an Ethiopian restaurant, a cafe, two yoga spots, a framing store and an outpost of Guss Community Market. But while Mission Bay has lush parks and sparkling playgrounds, it lacks the churches, recreation centers and schools that help working families squeak by in more established parts of the city. There are no inexpensive bodegas, thrift stores, job training centers, food pantries or Boys & Girls Clubs. About 63 percent of Mission Bays children live below the poverty line. Currently, 826 Valencia, which was co-founded by novelist Dave Eggers, has two writing centers and stores in San Francisco, the original one in the Mission and a second in the Tenderloin, which opened in 2016. The organization also works with kids in a number of city public schools. Last year it served 8,200 children in San Francisco. Eggers writing centers and adjacent stores are famous for their themes the one in the Mission is a pirate shop, and the one in the Tenderloin is a travel store owned by a globe-trotting puffer fish. In Mission Bay a former railyard the staff explored the idea of using the areas waterfront location as a jumping-off point for the theme. But Eggers was having none of it. One of Dave Eggers rules around these whimsical stores is that its not about logic, said Bita Nazarian, the executive director of 826 Valencia. He was like What is all this logic? Its about the illogical, right? Its about the creative energy. Finding an enchanted forest in Mission Bay is more in line with what we are trying to do. The space was built pro bono contractor BCCI volunteered its construction services while Jason Schulte of Office and Jonas Kellner of WRNS Studio provided design and architecture services. The space also includes a large, enchanted forest mural by artist Jacqueline Brown. Dropbox, the Warriors Foundation, the Giants and Cisco Meraki all provided financial support. The nonprofit 826 Valencia has raised $3.4 million of a $4.2 million campaign for the center. The Mission Bay center will start with a small number of children, about 35, but those students will be there every day for three hours for help with homework, reading and writing. It will expand as the number of volunteers increases, Nazarian said. So far, about half of the children come from the 143-unit 1300 Fourth St. building, which was developed by the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. We are starting with a deep connection with the kids who live right here, Nazarian said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The need for after-school programs in Mission Bay was evident from the moment the writing center opened on Feb. 19. Immediately, its desks filled with kids, Nazarian said. Its also a community builder. The families in Mission Bays affordable buildings have relocated from different parts of the city, many from the Bayview and Tenderloin, and are still meeting their neighbors. For the first time, they are getting to know kids in their own buildings, Nazarian said. Mission Bay is all new arrivals. Everything is an introduction here. Everybody is brand new. M.J., a second-grader at Bessie Carmichael Elementary on Seventh Street who lives upstairs from the center, said he likes going there after school because I can do my homework in peace. He said he discovered it himself walking by. I saw this program and I asked my mom, Mom, can I get in the program? She said, yup. Anfal, a fifth-grader at Bessie Carmichael who lives in the 150-unit building 1180 Fourth St., said she likes to hide away in the cave and read. Last time I came here I read Wheres Waldo? in the cave, she said. It was comfortable, and I was hiding from everyone. Just like in the book. Huyen Kiki Vo, a social worker in the TNDC housing complex above 826 Valencia, said that the center has been a gift to the working parents in the building, some of whom were homeless prior to moving in. These parents are hard-working and resilient, but they have a lot on their plates, she said. Now they dont have to worry about their kids after school. J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen Lingering showers are expected to lightly douse the Bay Area this weekend, a welcome reprieve from the torrential rainfall that pummeled the region last week, forecasters said Saturday. Most of the anticipated weekend precipitation had already fallen by early Saturday, but widespread, on-and-off showers were expected through Sunday, said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Folks venturing out (Saturday night) or even Sunday, I would probably bring an umbrella with you just in case, Rowe said. By Saturday morning, Bay Area cities received from a half-inch to close to an inch of rain from the latest storm. San Francisco and Oakland had about a half-inch of precipitation over 24 hours. Mill Valley received slightly more with 0.61 inches. Woodacre had just less than an inch, and San Anselmo received close to an inch of rain. Rohnert Park had 0.89 inches of rain and 0.47 inches was reported in Petaluma. Guerneville which experienced disastrous flooding over the past few days received 0.72 of an inch of rain by Saturday morning. The latest showers didnt cause the Russian River to rise. Russian River is a rather large river basin, so it takes a lot of volume of water to cause rapid rises or sustained rises or flows, Rowe said. The remaining weekend showers are not expected to swell the river, which was at 23.49 feet Saturday morning, nearly 8 feet below flood stage. Guerneville, with nearly 4,500 people, has received close to 10 inches of precipitation in the past week, Rowe said. After four days of evacuations, residents and the general public were allowed back into Guerneville on Friday afternoon. Crews were continuing to remove debris from roadways, according to the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. Nearly 3,000 homes and other structures were damaged by muddy floodwaters. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued emergency proclamations Thursday to enable aid for Sonoma County, plus the counties of Lake, Amador, Glen and Mendocino. Cleanup and recovery could take months. Roughly $155 million in floodwater damage was done to 1,900 homes and 578 businesses in Sonoma County, according to preliminary reports from a flyover assessment conducted by emergency response officials. Officials with California Highway Patrols Marin County office reopened all lanes of Highway 37 after crews worked around the clock to move thousands of gallons of water off the roadway. CHP officials said, 17,000 gallons per minute to be precise. We will continue to monitor the area during the coming days as more rain is expected, but we really hope the worst is behind us. An atmospheric river expected to arrive Tuesday could bring up to 2 inches of rain to parts of the North Bay, but the bulk of its impact should hit Southern California, Rowe said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The same trend of lingering showers that are dousing the Bay Area this weekend will sweep the Tahoe area. Its a new month, but the same story, said Mark Deutschendorf, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. By 7:30 a.m. Saturday, several inches of snow had fallen at the highest elevations of the Sierra, with more expected. Its a common Sierra storm rather than one of those high-impact ones like we had earlier this week, and less wind is also making things less extreme for travel purposes, Deutschendorf said. Overall, the higher elevations could get up to 20 inches of snow Saturday and up to 8 inches inches Sunday. As much as 10 inches of snow was expected to fall Saturday at the lake level, but higher temperatures Sunday will bring a rain-snow mix, Deutschendorf said. Chain controls were in effect Saturday for Interstate 80 near Donner Summit, Highway 50 near Echo Summit and roadways near the Tahoe Basin. Highway 89 around Emerald Bay was closed Saturday. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani SACRAMENTO The district attorney will not prosecute the two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark, the unarmed 22-year-old who was killed in his grandmothers backyard nearly a year ago. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said at a news conference Saturday that Sacramento police Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet reasonably believed Clark was armed with a firearm and that they were in imminent danger. When we look at all of these facts and circumstances, we look at all of it. Everything, Schubert said. As a result, we will not charge these officers with any criminal liability related to the shooting death and use of force on Stephon Clark. I think it is quite clear that Mr. Clark was in a state of despair, and he was impaired and its very sad, she added. SeQuette Clark, his mother, told the Associated Press she refused to agree with the district attorneys decision not to prosecute the officers. They executed my son, she said. Its not right. Shortly after the decision was announced, Clarks grandmother Sequita Thompson was rushed to the hospital after experiencing chest pain, said Jamilia Land, a family friend. There is no justice here, Land said. And it is just hard. This is hard to continuously watch. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement calling for systematic reforms that reduce inequities, increase community confidence in our criminal justice system and that reinforce the sanctity of human life. But most of all, we need to acknowledge the hard truth our criminal justice system treats young black and Latino men and women differently than their white counterparts, he said. That must change. A 61-page report released by Schuberts office describes details of the chaotic events that led up to the police shooting that night on March 18, 2018. Just two days before the shooting, the police were called to the home of Salena Manni, Clarks girlfriend and mother to his two young sons, for a domestic violence incident. Manni told officers that Clark had punched and slapped her and called her derogatory names. He also shoved her head into the wall, leaving a 3-inch hole in the wall. A warrant was issued for Clarks arrest, according to the district attorneys report. In the subsequent 12 hours, Clark, who was on probation for domestic violence charges involving Manni, called Manni 76 times. He also called his probation officer and drafted an email to law enforcement reading, Im pretty scared, Im going to be put in jail. He also traded text messages with his girlfriend, saying that he is going to be locked up for the rest of his life, that he is never going to be able to see his children again, Schubert said. After sending the texts, Schubert said Clark searched more than two dozen sites on how to commit suicide, focusing primarily on drug ingestion. His last text message to his girlfriend was a photo of 10 Xanax in the palm of his hand with the message, Lets fix our family or Im taking all of these. A toxicology report from the night of the shooting determined that Clark had marijuana, Xanax, alcohol, codeine, hydrocodone and cocaine metabolite in his system. Manni, Clarks girlfriend, repeatedly broke down in tears and had to pause to collect herself at a Sacramento church Saturday evening as she delivered a brief statement about the decision. She said Schubert had wrongly focused on the events leading up to the night Clark was shot. They murdered Stephon Clark, Manni said. Thats what this is about. Its not about anything that happened before that. Its about the officers who murdered him, murdered him because he had a cell phone in his hand. And now hell never come back to us. On March 18, a 911 caller confronted Clark with a bat after reporting him to police, Schubert said. Investigators determined the car break-in suspect was Clark based on the clothing description and evidence left at the scene. There was no evidence that anything was stolen or taken from these cars, she said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The shooting occurred in his grandmothers backyard after Mercadal and Robinet said they thought he had a gun. Clark was unarmed and holding a cell phone at the time of his death. But Schubert said the reason she didnt file charges is that evidence showed the officers honestly, without hesitation, believed he had a gun. Her decision was based on the officers spontaneous statements, which included commands for Clark to show his hands and asking one another if they were hit by gunfire after firing their weapons. Now Playing: Protester Kevin Carter speaks out against Sacramento District Attorney Anne-Marie Schuberts decision not to charge the police who shot Stephon Clark at a rally on March 2, 2019. Video: San Francisco Chronicle Schubert did not investigate the officers state of mind before the shooting, their personal lives or toxicology. The shooting sparked protests in Sacramento and gained national attention as part of a wave of rallies over police treatment of communities of color. Sacramento police tactics and the decision to shoot were also called into question and led the California Justice Department to publish 49 recommendations for reforming use-of-force policies and training. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said Saturday that the district attorneys decision was not a surprise and that Clarks death must be the catalyst for the kind of change that people will look back upon and say out of the depths of pain and anger and injustice came hope peace and real equity for our people. About 80 people gathered outside the Sacramento Police Department to protest the decision. Sonia Lewis, a leader in Black Lives Matter Sacramento and mother of six sons, said she did not want to see one more young black man die at the hands of police without Schubert holding them responsible. What I didnt expect was her blatant disregard and disrespect for his life. It felt like slander, she said. That was the outrage. Clarks family, including his two sons, his parents and his grandparents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January seeking more than $20 million from the city, Mercadal and Robinet. The family alleged that the officers used excessive force and racially profiled Clark. Sarah Ravani and Alexei Kosoff are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com, alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani, @akoseff Striking teachers in Oakland have decided to postpone their vote on a tentative deal with district officials until Sunday, union officials said. A reason wasnt provided for the postponement, but Keith Brown, the Oakland Education Association president, told The Chronicle on Saturday that the union will hold a closed-door ratification meeting at noon Sunday at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland to vote on the agreement. The tentative agreement, which was reached with Oakland Unified School District officials Friday, would give teachers an 11 percent raise over three years and a one-time 3 percent bonus. Educators initially asked for a 12 percent raise over three years. Teachers union officials called the tentative agreement a historic contract. Not everyone was happy. More than 100 teachers, counselors and nurses signed an open letter addressing concerns regarding the tentative agreement. They said the deal fails to address the threat of school closure and demands placed on counselors and nurses. The letter says the proposed pay increase wont address the immediate teacher shortage crisis. Thats why many OEA members are considering a NO vote, it says. A simple majority is needed to ratify the agreement, said Mike Myslinski, a spokesman with the California Teachers Association. Its unclear whether the decision late Friday to postpone the vote was related to a tense confrontation at the blocked entrances to La Escuelita Education Center, where a school board meeting was scheduled Friday. Cell phone video showed people in the crowd pushing, shoving and yelling at each other as police officers surveyed the scene. The meeting was canceled because of safety concerns, board officials said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Jody London, the boards vice president, said that when she arrived at the center on crutches at around 10 a.m. before the tentative agreement was reached she was mobbed by the crowd. The meeting we were supposed to have (Friday) to approve the budget reductions we need to make to support the raise did not occur, London said. We had to cancel the meeting and will reschedule for next week. If we cannot vote, there cannot be a raise. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor Coroners officials released on Friday the names of three Richmond siblings who died after the sport utility vehicle they were traveling in crashed into a big rig parked illegally on Interstate 80 near Emeryville early Thursday morning. They were identified as Eliab Villareal, 24, Sarah Villareal, 22, and Eva Villareal, 19, said Deputy Sheriff Shawn Sobrero of the Alameda County Sheriffs Office. The only sibling in the SUV to survive the crash identified by police as a 17-year-old boy is fighting for his life, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser created Thursday. He was taken to the hospital with major injuries. His condition was unknown on Friday. California Highway Patrol officials said Thursday that a preliminary investigation shows that the four Villareal siblings were traveling westbound on I-80 in a gray Nissan Xterra around 1:20 a.m. when the SUV veered off the road near a curve and crashed into a big rig that was parked illegally on the right shoulder. The crash occurred at the curve that splits westbound I-80 off toward the Bay Bridge. The fundraiser page says the siblings piled into the SUV that night to visit their ailing father in the hospital. Relatives of the siblings could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday, but officials with Daniel Webster Elementary School in San Francisco confirmed on Facebook that Sara and Eva Villareal both worked as teachers for its After-School Enrichment Program. This is sudden and awful news, so as we prepare to support our ASEP staff and children you may donate, if you are able, to the grieving family, the post said. The post referred to the women as the school communitys beloved Ms. Eva and Ms. Sara. 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. Authorities said they expect to cite the driver of the big rig, who was asleep inside the cab at the time of the crash. CHP officials said the wet roadway and speed may be factors in crash. The California Highway Patrol conducts thorough and extensive investigations, and the understanding of this incident may change as more evidence is collected and analyzed, highway patrol officials said in a statement. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor The war between the high-tech trash cans of San Francisco seems to be over. The city has thrown in its lot with the cheaper one. City officials announced last week after studying and sniffing high-tech trash cans for months that they have agreed to retrofit 1,000 sidewalk trash cans with a small sensor device from a Danish company, instead of leasing more of the rectangular Bigbelly trash cans that have popped up recently in San Francisco. The Danish sensors cost $294 outright. The Bigbelly trash cans rent for $3,000 a year. I want to be a good steward of our resources, said city trash can maven Larry Stringer, also known as the deputy director of public works, explaining his decision to go with the Danish devices. Stringer was standing the other afternoon on the corner of Sixth and Market streets, traditionally a popular spot for trash enthusiasts. Nearby were two of the battling trash cans. A few steps from the Bigbelly can, with its blinking green light and signature foot pedal, was a familiar, round metal San Francisco can retrofitted with the small black device. (The two cans were conveniently located on opposite sides of the entrance to a porno theater, so that a departing customer could deposit trash into a smart can no matter which way he walked.) Last year, as a test, the city installed the Danish sensors on four dozen trash cans around town. The sensor sends a light beam into the trash barrel, and when the device determines that the can is 80 percent full, it transmits a signal to Recology dispatchers, who send a crew to empty the can. The devices make it possible for the city to know at any moment how much trash is in its cans and to dispatch a trash truck to empty a can before it overflows onto the street. Its very exciting, said Manuel Maestrini, the devices 31-year-old inventor and the founder of the Nordsense, a Copenhagen company. Were making an impact. Were making cities more liveable. Were empowering cities to make smarter decisions. The smarter decision, he said, is to empty a trash can only when its 80 percent full. In the past, he said, trash trucks were emptying cans that were as little as 10 percent full. Thats more wasteful, the Danish trash visionary said, than anything in a trash can. Stringer said the prototype devices worked great, except for a few false positives. The sensors apparently have trouble with pizza boxes. A single pizza box can sometimes fool the device into sending a full signal even though theres plenty of room remaining in the trash can for more trash. An umbrella can do that, too. Maestrini, ever the inventor, went to work on San Franciscos pizza box and umbrella problem from his Copenhagen headquarters. He redesigned the sensors. Instead of shooting a single laser beam into the trash, the next generation of trash sensors will shoot 16 laser beams into the trash. That way, he said, choosing his words with care, we will have a better understanding of the topology of the waste surface inside the can. San Francisco trash receptacles are often a mess, because people rifle through them in search of aluminum cans that can be turned into nickels, or food scraps that can be turned into lunch. City officials hope smarter, more frequent collection will cut down on the eyesores. The Bigbelly cans, while popular with some users and harder to break into than the citys 3,000 traditional round metal cans and concrete block containers, are just too expensive, according to S.F. Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. 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. Im not a big fan, he said. Several community benefit districts around the city, including the Union Square Business Development District and the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, however, use the Bigbelly bins. The trash compactors inside each Bigbelly can break down and the cans are susceptible to graffiti and vandalism, said Nuru, who added that leasing them means the city is responsible if that happens. In coming weeks, the 1,000 new trash sensors will be catching a plane in Copenhagen, bound for San Francisco. They will be installed beginning next month. The Danish company will provide the installers, Maestrini said thats part of the deal. Another plus, he said, is that the batteries are included. This is very exciting, Stringer said. When people throw trash into a trash can instead of onto the street, theyre saying that they love their city. But when people walk by a trash can thats full, often theyll just throw their garbage anywhere. This should really help cut down on that. Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@SteveRubeSF Its easy to dislike the Deep South when you live in the liberal Bay Area, especially if youve seen Green Book, a movie about a white man hired to drive a black musician on a concert tour in the Jim Crow South in 1962. In the film, Don Shirley, an elegant and talented pianist, is subjected to all kinds of humiliations. He cant stay in the hotels where he performs, and he cant eat there either. He cant even use the restroom. His driver, a tough New York guy, is forced to rely on The Green Book: The Negro Travelers Guide to Travel and Vacations, first published by Victor Hugo Green in 1936. Not only did the film win an Oscar for best picture, but Mahershala Ali, who was born and raised in Oakland and went to St. Marys College in Moraga, won for best supporting actor. Good for us. You might think what happened in the South would never happen here, of course. But thats far from the truth. It wasnt just in the South. It was all over, said the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco. It was here, too. He and others can remember when downtown San Francisco hotels as late as the 1950s would not let nonwhite guests register. There were no whites-only signs and nothing in writing. The hotels the Fairmont on Nob Hill and the rest of the best hotels were unofficially restricted. Thats why it was wise for a black traveler even in California to use the Green Book, for information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trip more enjoyable, said the introduction to the 1949 issue. The unofficially restricted policy officially ended in 1947, at least at the Fairmont, but the policy went on in other hotels in the city for some time after that. It lasted until the end of the 50s, said Joseph Simon, who ran a string of nightclubs in San Francisco. Black artists could perform at the hotels, but they couldnt stay there. In fact, San Francisco was featured on the cover of the 1954 Green Book, with a picture of a cable car climbing Nob Hill. It gave advice on the summer climate (bring a topcoat) and noted that Yosemite National Park was worth seeing and friendly to black travelers. Getting to the city could be a problem. Brown remembers driving from the South across the country in 1956. He recited the route: Dallas; Amarillo, Texas; Santa Fe, N.M.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Needles (San Bernardino County); then up the San Joaquin Valley. It was there, too, he said. All there. All the way up the valley, Bakersfield on up. He meant discrimination. Not just hotels and motels, but gas stations. All kinds of things. They wouldnt let you use the restrooms, he said. I had to go by the side of the road. Route 66, celebrated in song and story, was not an easy road for black travelers. Candace Taylor, who wrote about Route 66, said that at one time, 44 of the 89 counties along the highway had sundown laws, which meant black people could not be in the county after dark. In its 1951 edition, the Green Book listed three hotels in San Francisco that welcomed black guests: the Buford Hotel and the Scaggs in the Western Addition, and the Powell Hotel downtown. 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. Later it added the famous Booker T. Washington Hotel on Ellis and Fillmore streets. The Booker T, as it was known, had a restaurant, a noted bar. Famous guests included W.E.B. du Bois, the Nat Cole Trio, Joe Louis, Dinah Washington and the Harlem Globetrotters. You havent lived until youve stayed at the Booker T was one of its slogans. Those were the days when the Fillmore district was the Harlem of the West. It was done in by redevelopment. The hotel was torn down in 1970, and a big Safeway market stands in its place. The California Hotel in Oakland was tops in the East Bay. Billie Holiday, James Brown and Sly Stone were among its guests. The Green Book also listed a beauty salon, a barbershop and a tavern in Berkeley, but no hotels. There were listings in Vallejo and Sacramento as well as Los Angeles and San Diego. Sometimes, good hotels werent available, so the Green Book listed what it called tourist homes where black guests could pay to stay in private homes. One of them, a handsome house on McAllister Street, was owned by a member of the Third Baptist Church. W.E.B. du Bois and Josephine Baker were among its guests. These tourist homes were all over the country, an early black version of todays Airbnb. The overt discrimination has faded away. Its better now, absolutely, said Simon, who is 90. But Brown is not so sure. The struggle still goes on, he said. Carl Noltes column appears Sundays. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf Not once did conference organizer Sandra Toms have to wait in line at the womens restroom at the RSA Conference, the worlds largest gathering of information security professionals, her first year. Thats how many women went in 1998. Much has changed, though some question if its enough. Toms has been the chief organizer of the RSA Conference in San Francisco for 21 years, helping to grow it from a meeting of a few hundred mathematicians and cryptographers in the early 90s to an event attended by more than 40,000 people, including business leaders from around the world. The audience for this weeks conference, held at the Moscone Center in the South of Market area, is expected to include about 20 percent women. Its nice to wait in line for a restroom, said Toms, sitting in a conference room, her hands resting on a stuffed accordion folder. Working behind the scenes of the RSA Conference, hosted by Massachusetts cybersecurity firm RSA, Toms has sometimes struggled to boost the presence of women in security. Critics have panned the event in the past for a lack of gender diversity among speakers and for tolerating now-banned booth babes models that companies hire to draw people to their booths on the exhibitor floor. The boys club aspect of Silicon Valley is particularly entrenched in security. Women make up 26 percent of the tech workforce globally, but account for only 11 percent of positions in cybersecurity, according to a 2017 study. This years conference is centered on the theme Better, which is fitting given the flak Toms and other organizers caught last year. Then, even as the #MeToo movement reached its height nationally, the conference tapped 19 men to give keynotes out of 20 total. Only Monica Lewinsky, who emerged as an anti-bullying activist from her part in President Bill Clintons impeachment, represented women in the keynotes a fact she called disappointing in an interview with USA Today. Employees of Google, Facebook and Uber threw an alternative event featuring female and minority speakers in protest. Toms blamed the male-dominated lineup in part on the events sponsors, which provide a certain number of speakers each year. Symantec, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, McAfee and IBM all sponsors of the event each put forward male speakers. In most of these cases, however, each company presented only one speaker. Toms added that women tend to be reluctant to apply for the conferences keynote process. After companies put forward mostly male nominations again, for 2019, Toms said she had to go back and tell them to do better. I thought I was going to have to change my major sponsors, she said. But everyone understood. This year the conference doubled its number of keynote speakers, and it features a diverse set of thinkers that includes political strategist Donna Brazile and actress Tina Fey. Lea Kissner, chief privacy officer at data startup Humu, said she and other organizers are retiring the alternative event, OurSA. Theyve proved its not a pipeline issue by having a much better speaker lineup this year, Kissner said. Also new this year is a half-day training to help women become more effective public speakers and find the confidence to apply for keynote opportunities. Attracting women to the cybersecurity field is tough, but not as challenging as retaining them, according to Lynn Terwoerds, executive director of security group the Executive Womens Forum, which has done networking events with the RSA event for a decade. On average, women in security earn less than their male peers, and women are four times less likely to be promoted to executive roles. Joyce Brocaglia, head of Alta Associates, an executive recruiting firm for the security sector, believes women are making strides toward the C-suite. Her company placed women into 40 percent of the executive roles it filled in 2018. When she started recruiting 30 years ago, clients looked for the candidate with the sharpest technical skills. As employers realize the value of security once relegated as a back-office function, Brocaglia said they started to look for softer skills: business acumen, collaboration and a holistic approach to understanding and mitigating risk. Certainly, men have those skills, as well, said Brocaglia, who is also founder of EWF. But more women highlight their soft skills on their resumes. ... I think because women inherently understand that the soft skills are the hard skills. Toms stumbled into a career in security. At 30, she left her role as an insurance defense litigator to try corporate marketing. Later, Toms signed up to cover for the RSA Conference organizer who was on maternity leave in 1998. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes She stayed two decades, even as RSA was first purchased by EMC and later became part of Dell Technologies. Toms credits a natural curiosity with maintaining her interest in the field. Growing up in San Joaquin County, she got a sewing machine in the third grade and took it apart just to see how it worked. She brings the same desire to know more to her work, adding conference tracks over the years like Hackers and Threats because they sounded cool, she said. Dismantling the tech bro culture at the RSA Conference has been more of a challenge. Three years ago, Brocaglia was standing inside her booth at RSA when she noticed a group of men staring. The company one booth over had hired booth babes. Though once common at trade shows, the models gave Brocaglia an uncomfortable reminder of the everyday sexism women in tech face. They also didnt seem effective. Most of the guys stood far back and gawked at the women. They were almost intimidated by coming up to the booth, she said. Oddly enough, I had four or five men come up to me and apologize. Toms heard this feedback from many others and in 2015, created a dress code. It bans inappropriate use of nudity and provocative clothing with the goal of making the exhibitor hall feel comfortable for everyone. She did not explain why, as the longtime conference organizer, she had allowed booth babes in the first place. But she noted that they were a distraction from the reason so many people attend: to find solutions and have technical questions answered. Cybersecurity is hard, she said. Its an area where the good guys feel like were outgunned and outmanned. So theyre here, and they need answers. Melia Russell is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: melia.russell@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meliarobin A small measles outbreak in the Bay Area last year spread almost entirely among families who had chosen not to vaccinate their children including two young boys whose mother lied to public health investigators about their immunization status underscoring the gaps that remain in vaccination coverage in California, according to a report published Friday. Only seven people were infected in the outbreak that started in Santa Clara County. One likely reason it was so contained is that vaccination rates statewide have been high ever since a 2016 law ended most options for families to opt out of immunizing children, public health authorities said. But the cases also demonstrate that with a disease as highly infectious as measles, even small clusters of unvaccinated people can put communities at risk. And its alarming, infectious disease experts said, that some parents are so attached to anti-vaccination beliefs that they would undermine a public health investigation. On the one hand, yay, this outbreak only got so big. It was only seven people. But it could have been five, or three, said state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, who authored the legislation that ended most vaccination exemptions. We had our public health workers trying to contain an outbreak, and people actively not wanting to help them. What this outbreak shows is we still have a problem. All those infected were otherwise healthy boys or men who ranged in age from 4 to 33. No one died or experienced serious complications. All but one had not been vaccinated. Though small, the outbreak triggered a massive public health investigation that spanned two states and 10 counties. Hundreds of people exposed to the virus were contacted. Those who hadnt been immunized were asked to get the vaccine or quarantine themselves. The report, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes as several states are managing large measles outbreaks that have infected at least 160 people so far this year. California hasnt had a major outbreak since 2015, when more than 100 people were sickened. That incident led to Pans legislation, which did away with personal exemptions that had allowed families to choose not to vaccinate their children for any reason. The vaccination rate for the state climbed from about 90 percent to 93 percent after the law was implemented. Infectious disease experts believe that a rate of 93 percent creates so-called herd immunity, in which an entire community is protected. Santa Clara Countys immunization rate is higher than the state average about 97 percent but as elsewhere in the state, there are still clusters of unvaccinated people. Some parents are finding ways to get medical exemptions for their children; statewide, such exemptions have tripled since 2016. Children who already had personal exemptions before the law took effect arent required to get vaccinated unless they change schools. Measles and vaccinations Measles information from the CDC: www.cdc.gov/measles Vaccination rates by community in California: www.shotsforschool.org/k-12/how-doing California vaccination requirements: https://bit.ly/2NBbYOT See More Collapse Last years Bay Area outbreak seems to have been fueled by both groups of families, public health experts said. It demonstrates that theres more work to be done to persuade parents that vaccines are necessary and safe, said Dr. George Rutherford, head of the division of infectious disease and epidemiology at UCSF. Were down to the kernel of the problem. These are the remaining people who arent immunized, Rutherford said. California is way out in front of this, and there arent many places to look to for hints to close down these problems. The outbreak began with a Santa Clara County family that traveled to England in February 2018, according to the CDC report. At the time, England was in the middle of a large measles outbreak, and among the family members on the trip was a young man who was an organ transplant recipient, which made him particularly vulnerable to measles. The parents had chosen not to vaccinate their children, but before that trip, they had agreed to give the son with an organ transplant a preventive therapy called immunoglobin: measles antibodies that are delivered intravenously. The therapy is safe for people with a compromised immune system, but provides only short-term protection against measles. The couples other son, who was 15 at the time, was not vaccinated, and contracted measles. He was diagnosed on March 4, after hed come home, and quarantined. But hed been socially active in the four days before he was diagnosed, a period when people are known to be able to spread the infection. Public health authorities in Santa Clara County launched an investigation. At the boys school, public health officials found one contact, another 15-year-old boy, who was not vaccinated and was quarantined. He developed measles three weeks later. Also three weeks later, a 16-year-old boy in Santa Clara County was diagnosed with measles. Public health officials learned that he had been at a Boy Scouts event with the first patient. He hadnt been identified earlier because the first patient had forgotten to report attending that event. The infected 16-year-old, who had not been vaccinated, passed the virus to a 21-year-old man at a different scouting event. That man had been vaccinated, but because the vaccine is only up to 97 percent effective, a small group of people will remain vulnerable, public health officials said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The last three cases were in a family that largely refused to cooperate with public health authorities. Among the patients was a 7-year-old boy who had gone to the same tutoring center as the first patient, and his 4-year-old brother. Both boys were unvaccinated, but when public health authorities spoke with their parents during the initial investigation, the mother lied about their immunization status. Their cases were found only after the boys uncle, a 33-year-old man in Alameda County, was diagnosed with measles. The uncle, also not vaccinated, told public health investigators he thought his 7-year-old nephew was the source of his infection, but refused to reveal his identity. We did some detective work and traced the nephew to the tutoring center, said Dr. George Han, deputy health officer with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and author of the CDC report. Contacted again by public health officials, the mother said the boys had never been vaccinated. Both had medical exemptions from a doctor located hundreds of miles from their home, Han said. He reported the doctor to state public health authorities. There are widely accepted reasons that you shouldnt get vaccinated, such as youre undergoing chemotherapy or you have received an organ transplant, Han said. When we looked at their medical exemptions, we didnt see anything like that. Pan said the state should consider ways to prevent people from obtaining questionable medical exemptions. Some other states require exemptions be issued by the state public health department. But Pan is more interested in getting at the source of the problem: the spread of misinformation, largely on social media, about vaccine safety and the health consequences of diseases like measles. Im a big believer in the First Amendment. People can stand on a street corner and say what they want, Pan said. But were not obligated to help spread that misinformation. We have to start thinking about why people make the decisions they do, and how you get to the root of that. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday When the actor Jussie Smollett charged that two men shouting this is MAGA country had attacked him, also yelling racist and homophobic taunts, my fellow liberals were quick to blame the rise in such incidents on President Trump and his supporters who want to Make American Great Again. Smollett was indicted by an Illinois grand jury on Feb. 20 for apparently faking the whole episode, but the larger trend is real: Hate crimes have spiked during the Trump era. And surely the presidents own bigoted rhetoric Mexicans are rapists, Africans live in shole countries and so on has something to do with that. So why arent we also denouncing the culture of intolerance on Americas university campuses, where dissenting voices have faced physical attacks? And doesnt our silence on that score make us partially responsible for the violence, just as Trump is complicit in hate crimes? Consider the assault on a conservative activist last month at UC Berkeley, where he was displaying posters declaring This is MAGA country which is what Smollett said his attackers shouted and Hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims. Two men accosted the conservative activist with expletives. One denounced him for encouraging violence. As if on cue, the second man then punched the activist in the face. Noting that the incident took place on Berkeleys Sproul Plaza, epicenter of the universitys Free Speech Movement in 1964, school officials were quick to denounce it. We strongly condemn violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason, they said in a statement. Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering. Friday, they announced an arrest. But the plain fact is that respect for free speech is eroding on our campuses, precisely because so many people view it as violence. So we shouldnt be surprised when they respond with the physical kind. Thats what happened at Middlebury College in March 2017, where a mob attacked author Charles Murray and injured the political science professor who had invited him. Two months after that, students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., forced biology Professor Bret Weinstein to leave campus; administrators urged him not to return, warning that they could no longer guarantee his safety. Unlike Murray, a noted conservative, Weinstein is a staunch liberal who supported Bernie Sanders in the last presidential election. His sin was to oppose a Day of Absence at Evergreen, in which all white people were asked to leave the campus. And later that fall, protesters interrupted a talk I was giving at Western Washington University in favor of free speech, ironically on the grounds that I was promoting violence. Advocating for the right to racist, sexist, and transphobic speech is violent, one of their signs read. No actual violence erupted that day, and lucky for me. Surely, though, the pernicious idea that speech is violence provides a convenient pretext for the real kind. If my talk was the equivalent of punching others in the nose, then wouldnt they be within their rights to punch me first? Or, at least, to raise their fists in self-defense? That argument was on toxic display during the last big free-speech controversy at UC Berkeley, over a scheduled speech in 2017 by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Because Yiannopolous inflammatory comments were expressions of violence, protesters argued, it was legitimate or even necessary to counter them with physical violence. Indeed, some demonstrators claimed, any riposte to that argument was itself violent. Asking people to maintain peaceful dialogue with those who legitimately do not think their lives matter is a violent act, wrote one Berkeley graduate, in the student newspaper. So I guess she would read this column, too, as a form of violence. And she wouldnt be alone. According to a 2017 survey of 800 undergraduates around the country, 81 percent think that words can be violent. And 30 percent that is, almost 1 out of 3 think that physical violence can be justified to prevent someone from using hateful words. You cant have a free university or a free society on those terms. Words will always offend someone. And if you construe them as violent, you clear the way for physical assault upon anyone who gives offense. That seems to be what happened last month at Berkeley, where one attacker said that conservative speech encouraged violence. But the rest of us encourage it, too, if we dont step up to denounce the whole idea of speech as violence. Its too easy to criticize Trump for stoking hate and intolerance. Its a lot harder to look in the mirror. Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania and is the author Campus Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2016). To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters. The states nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office has a message for Gov. Gavin Newsom: Figure out what youre doing with high-speed rail, and fast. In his February State of the State address, Newsom shocked observers with statements that suggested he was throwing in the towel on the $77 billion dollar high-speed rail project thats been in the works for more than a decade. There simply isnt a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to L.A., Newsom said. I wish there were. Newsom tried to walk his comments back just hours later, but the damage was done. The governors conflicting messages opened a new feud with President Trump, whos threatened to claw back federal funds for the project. Now the LAO, which normally sticks to studious fiscal and policy analysis, is sending up a flare. (T)he specifics of the Governors plan are uncertain, the analysts wrote in a new report about transportation in the 2019-2020 budget. (T)he longer the state waits to make this decision, the more likely the state will incur unnecessary costs, such as from acquiring properties that are not needed. Loosely translated, thats bureaucratic language for, Make a decision, or pay the price. The analysts have a point. It was never going to be easy to build high-speed rail in California, where construction is expensive and any local communitys NIMBY can delay an ambitious project with a lawsuit. In addition to those challenging conditions, the Legislative Analysts Office also noted in a November 2018 report that the project has suffered from the California High-Speed Rail Authoritys poor contract management and flawed decision-making. High-speed rails critics have grown louder and more numerous as costs and delays have piled up. Still, Newsom would be abandoning a transformative project thats already cost California tremendously in terms of fiscal resources and political capital. Sticking to the plan will cost California but abandoning it will, too. The Legislature needs guidance, and Newsom cant have it both ways. Newsoms office said the High-Speed Rail Authority will submit a new update to the Legislature that will offer more details in the coming months. Thats not soon enough. The project is already mired in complications, and the governor needs to understand that his indecision will only create more financial and political uncertainty. The sooner Newsom clarifies his plans, the sooner California can move forward. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. The Michael Cohen testimony before the House Oversight Committee differed dramatically from several recent testimonies before congressional committees, especially from that of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Whereas Kavanaugh and other Republican appointees generally refused to answer yes or no questions posed by Democrats, preferring to evade and rob the questioner of time by long-winded speeches, Cohen was direct and responded to Republican questions without evasion. He gave equal attention to questions from both sides, and clearly distinguished between answers for which he had evidence from those which he considered speculation. Republicans posed few actual questions, preferring to discredit and demean Cohen for lies and crimes to which he has admitted, as though that was evidence to further condemn anything he had to say. They barely touched upon his testimony, did practically nothing that could be considered investigation, but generally gave impassioned speeches tailored to please their Republican constituents back home and to protect President Trump. When asked by Democrats to provide sources to corroborate Cohens assertions, he willingly complied, naming names and producing actual documentation. In spite of Republican attempts to destroy him, he remained the most credible witness in recent investigations, Republican or Democrat. Charles Herndon, Albany True emergency Regarding Water ebbs slowly in stoic Guerneville (Page 1, Mar. 1): Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued an emergency proclamation for flood-ravaged Sonoma and four other Northern California counties damaged by this weeks storms, understands the actual meaning of the word emergency. President Trump, who declared a national emergency at our southern border to get billions of dollars to build a wall to keep out a nonexistent caravan of criminal-minded migrants, does not. Sasha Englander, San Rafael Presidents actions Regarding Dont get cozy with dictators (Letters, Mar. 1): While sympathetic to her position, I wish to take exception to the authors letter on two counts. First, the author is accepting President Trumps version of the breakdown in negotiations with North Korea. The North Koreans have a different take. We learn in the same days Chronicle 2 accounts on breakdown of summit talks (Mar. 1) that they asked for only partial sanctions relief in exchange for the closure. Why should we choose to believe Trump after having been informed for years, with example after example, by the mainstream press of how incredibly dishonest he is? Second, and more important, can the author point to a post-World War II American president who hasnt cozied up to at least one dictator? Or a president who didnt have responsibility for installing one? On the latter count, Trumps the only one who comes to mind though Im quite confident that given a chance, hell do so too. Edward Clapp, Corte Madera Put more bikes on board Im very excited about the future of Caltrain. The Bay Area is sorely lacking in updated public transportation, and with the continued influx of people and impending climate change, it is desperately needed. For these reasons, I want to discuss Caltrain and its relationship to bikes on board. It is imperative that seven-car electric trains provide space for at least 84 bikes in order to future-proof for bike capacity and comply with the board mandated 8-to-1 ratio of seats to bike spaces. Even at current levels, bikes at Caltrain are often turned away due to lack of capacity a reduction in bike capacity on trains will do nothing to address this and will push more riders to other forms of transportation. These other forms of transportation are most likely the use of personal cars, which will be a detriment not only to current traffic levels, but also to the world as a whole as the effects of climate change continue to loom large. Shane Burkle, South San Francisco Reject the idea To those companies that want to ban cash payments: Take a close look at the money issued by the United States of America. It states clearly: This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private. Is this too difficult for you to grasp? I hope the general public rejects your idea in a way you will understand. Joseph Gold, Piedmont Calling out liars Regarding President Trump calling Michael Cohen a liar, I guess the adage takes one to know one should be invoked. Michael Burris, Aptos Sanctions policy In Summits accidental achievement (Editorial, Mar.1), the writer argued that the recent summit with North Korea was an achievement simply because President Trump did not further provoke North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There werent any suggestions as to what they thought Trump should have done, other than not attend, since doing so gave Kim and his country some greater credibility on the world stage. I would note that this tactic of isolationism has only led to a record of growing hostility toward the U.S., as well as increased nuclear capability. North Korea gets the vast majority of all its imports from China, and that country is in gross violation of sanctions policy. China is clearly at the heart of this problem. This president appears to be trying something novel by attempting to deal with the leaders of both countries. Daniel Mauthe, Livermore LOS ANGELES Edward Nixon, the youngest brother of former President Richard Nixon who staunchly defended his siblings White House legacy, died Wednesday. He was 88. The Richard Nixon Foundation announced that Nixon died at a nursing facility in Bothell, Wash., a Seattle suburb. A geologist and Navy veteran, Nixon worked on his brothers 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns and served as co-chairman of the Nixon re-election committee in 1972. In a statement released by the foundation, Richard Nixons daughters, Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, called their uncle our familys rock since the former president died in 1994. They also called him a source of strength. Richard Nixon was 17 years old and getting ready to start college when his youngest brother was born on May 3, 1930, in Whittier (Los Angeles County). Edward Calvert Nixon was the fifth son of Frank and Hannah Nixon and had been the last surviving brother of the former president. Because of their age difference, Edward Nixon described his older brother as a mentor and assistant father, the foundation said. In 1994, Edward Nixon told reporters the former president was frequently misrepresented, with the focus on the Watergate scandal that drove him from office. He said in his extensive travels around the globe he was always asked by residents in other countries, Whats the matter with the people in the United States? Why did they put him out of office? What really irks ... his friends are the repeated references to the things that didnt go well in his life and to the enigma of the man, Nixon said at the time. Hes just a brother to me. Edward Nixon was an original board member of the private Richard Nixon Foundation, which founded and operated the presidential library until the National Archives took control in 2007. A $500,000 makeover followed, which scholars said provided a more balanced and accurate account of the Watergate story. But the new exhibit caused friction with the foundation, which filed extensive objections. Then-library Director Tim Naftali, who described the original display as inaccurate, told the Los Angeles Times in 2011 that he had a tense encounter with Edward Nixon and other foundation members in 2010, who berated him about the revised exhibit and considered it unfair. Edward Nixon is survived by his daughters Amelie Amy Peiffer and Elizabeth Beth Matheny. His wife died in 2014. Michael R. Blood is an Associated Press writer. A database of every pigs face. Voice scans that detect hogs with a cough. Robots that dispense just the right amount of feed. This could be Chinas pig farm of the future. Chinese companies are pushing facial and voice recognition and other advanced technologies as ways to protect the countrys pigs. In this Year of the Pig, many Chinese hogs are dying from a deadly swine disease, threatening the countrys supply of pork, a staple of Chinese dinner tables. So Chinas ebullient technology sector is applying the same techniques it has used to transform Chinese life and, more darkly, that the Chinese government increasingly uses to spy on its own people to make sure its pigs are in the pink of health. If they are not happy, and not eating well, in some cases you can predict whether the pig is sick, said CEO Jackson He of Yingzi Technology, a small firm in the southern city of Guangzhou that has introduced its vision of a future pig farm with facial- and voice-recognition technologies. Chinas biggest tech firms want to pamper pigs, too. E-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com are using cameras to track pigs faces. Alibaba also uses voice-recognition software to monitor their coughs. Many in China are quick to embrace high-tech solutions to just about any problem. A digital revolution has transformed China into a place where nearly anything financial services, spicy takeout, manicures and dog grooming, to name a few can be summoned with a smartphone. Facial recognition has been deployed in public bathrooms to dispense toilet paper, in train stations to apprehend criminals and in housing complexes to open doors. This pig push, however, may be a step too soon. I like the idea, I like the concept, but I need to be shown that it works, said Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary epidemiology at the City University of Hong Kong. Because if it doesnt work, its counterproductive. Facial recognition wont help unless China has a comprehensive database of pig faces to track their movement, he pointed out. Also, facial recognition doesnt help once the animal is in the slaughterhouse and they chop it into bits. How then can you connect the head to the rest of the carcass? Pfeiffer asked. Many of Chinas pig farmers are also skeptical. China is in the midst of closing and consolidating many of its small pig farms, blaming them for polluting the environment. But there are still 26 million small pig farms in the country, representing about half the number of farms, according to the agriculture ministry and experts. We will not choose to invest in these things, said Wang Wenjun, a 27-year-old farmer who won a modest amount of fame after he uploaded videos of himself singing to his hogs. Unless its a large-scale pig farm, farms that have just over a couple hundred pigs will not find a use for it. Broadly, the Chinese government in recent years has endorsed technology on the farm. Its most recent five-year plan, a major economic planning document, calls for increased use of robotics and network technology. In October, the State Council, or Chinas Cabinet, said it wanted to promote intelligent farming and the application of information technology in agriculture. In August, Beijing city agricultural officials praised raising pigs in a smart way using the A-B-C-Ds: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data technology. So when African swine fever swept through Chinas farms, the countrys technology companies saw an opportunity. The disease has no known vaccine or cure. It can spread through contact between animals or through infected pig products, meaning it can lurk for months in sausages or ham. It doesnt affect humans, but they can carry it. China has culled nearly 1 million pigs, set up roadblocks and built fences, to no avail. There is a lot at stake. China is the worlds largest pig breeder, with a current population of about 400 million, and its largest pork consumer. The meat is so important that the country has its own strategic pork reserve in the event of a shortage. The disease could also ripple across borders. It has been found in sausages transported by Chinese tourists in Australia, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand, stoking fears that it could end up in the United States. A prolonged outbreak could cause prices to rise globally. Government rules to fight the swine fever prevent outsiders from visiting pig farms to see the technology in action, so claims by the companies couldnt be independently verified. Local media and the companies said several big farms use the systems. The companies backing the technology say they can help farmers isolate disease carriers, reduce the cost of feed, increase the fertility of sows and reduce unnatural deaths. JD.coms system uses robots to feed pigs the correct amount of food depending on the animals stage of growth. SmartAHC, a company that uses AI to monitor pigs vital statistics and offers commercially available services, hooks up sows with wearable monitors that can predict the pigs ovulation time. They pitch their technologies as an alternative to the tagging of pigs ears, a practice that many farmers find cruel. The tags which are far cheaper can be manipulated by humans or fall off if pigs get into fights, they point out. JD.coms facial technology can detect if a pig is sick and try to find out why, said a spokeswoman, Lu Yishan. Its system would then notify the breeder, who can then prescribe treatment. The company said that it has put the system into use at a farm in Chinas northern Hebei province that it created with China Agricultural University in Beijing, and that it is for sale to willing farmers. Alibabas system monitors hog activity and allows farmers to track the swine in real time, the company said. It would then prescribe an exercise plan to improve their health. Its marketing video shows pigs running in the woods and playing with a ball. Alibaba said Tequ Group, a large pig-farming company based in the southwestern province of Sichuan, uses the technology. Tequ did not respond to a request for comment. Pig facial recognition works the same way as human facial recognition, the companies say. Scanners and software take in the bristles, the snout, the eyes and ears. The features are mapped. Pigs do not all look alike when you know what to look for, they said. Its just like how a human face is different from others, said He, of Yingzi. The pigs dont always cooperate. Yingzi, which introduced its products commercially last year, uses video to capture them in motion. You cant take a single picture of a pig, said He, who is trying to add to his database of more than 200,000 pig images. He said his technology, which is being used in a pig farm in the southern region of Guangxi, will not eliminate swine fever but could help farmers detect it sooner. Not everybody in the pig technology field agrees on approach. Chen Haokai, a founder of SmartAHC, said farmers do not really need facial recognition. According to Chen, the cost of trying to map a pigs face is about $7 versus 30 cents for tagging a pigs ear. He said his products are used by four pig breeding companies. We found that in trying to capture the faces of pigs, the labor cost far exceeds that of tagging, he said. Wang Lixian, a research fellow of animal and veterinary science at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is optimistic that the cost of the technologies will drop. Right now, these applications may not have reached their desired levels, he said, but in future they will become more and more extensive. Sui-Lee Wee and Elsie Chen are New York Times writers. The latest parental panic on social media over a purported challenge for kids to complete harmful tasks elevates the importance of establishing an open dialogue with children and taking advantage of online parental controls. Warnings about the Momo challenge swept Facebook and other social media in recent days, as parents worried about purported videos that encourage children to hurt themselves or do other harmful tasks such as turning on stoves without telling their parents. The parental warnings were accompanied by a disturbing image of a grinning creature with matted hair and bulging eyes. But the challenge is believed to be a hoax. Its unclear how many videos exist or to what extent they have circulated, among children or elsewhere. Some of the videos might have been made in response to media attention surrounding the challenge. Meanwhile, the image of the grinning creature is reportedly from a Japanese sculpture. Fact-checking site Snopes said the challenge first appeared in mid-2018 linked to suicide reports without actual evidence. YouTube said it hasnt received any recent evidence of videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on its service. So why the panic? Experts say internet hoaxes focused on children tap into fears that parents have about protecting their children online and elsewhere. In addition to anxiety about screen time in general, there are certainly plenty of problematic videos that children shouldnt watch. Its hard for parents to police everything children do online. Fears were compounded when some school systems, local media and even police sent out their own warnings, accompanied by fuzzy facts. All moral panics feed on some degree of reality, but then they get blown out of proportion, said Steve Jones, a professor of communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago. These hoaxes echo panics from decades past, like the false belief in the 1980s that teenagers were hearing Satanic messages in rock song lyrics, he said. Once the internet is involved in the mix, things get speeded up and they get more widespread, Jones said. The most important thing parents can do is to establish an open dialogue with their children about what theyre seeing online and hearing from other children, said Jill Murphy, editor in chief at Common Sense Media, a San Francisco nonprofit focused on kids use of media and technology. Parents are increasingly frustrated with feeling surprised or caught off guard by what is being put in front of their kids, she said. Whether the challenges are real or not, she said, they elevate the idea that they may or may not know exactly what their kids are absorbing through these platforms. Thats why talking to children is important, she said. Take the right time to have an age-appropriate conversation, and help your kids understand not everything on the internet is real. She said parents should also take advantage of parental settings built into many products and services. Most web browsers can block certain websites, limit what children can see and provide a report about what sites a child visited. Smartphones and tablets can limit screen time and access to apps. YouTube Kids lets parents disable search and turn off autoplay. Murphy said these free tools are good enough; no need to pay for third-party parental apps. Another option is to download apps from shows or channels directly rather than going through streaming services such as YouTube. PBS, Peppa Pig, Nick Jr. and other popular services for kids have their own apps, with pre-screened videos deemed appropriate for kids. And though it may seem contradictory, going online to research the hoaxes could also help. The Momo hoax was debunked fairly quickly after people questioned it, Jones said. Give weight to trusted news sources and fact-checking sites like Snopes.com. Take a deep breath and go online, as strange as that may seem in some sense, he said. Do some research and try to figure it out for yourself. Mae Anderson is an Associated Press writer. Wells Fargo & Co. will receive $240 million from insurers to settle several lawsuits by shareholders in connection with the unauthorized-accounts scandal that rocked the San Francisco financial institution. The payments will be made on behalf of 20 bank officials, including Timothy Sloan, the current chief executive; John Stumpf, the former CEO who resigned because of the controversy; and Carrie Toldstedt, the former head of Wells Fargos community banking division, according to a filing Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Also among the officials named as defendants in the suit were current and former members of the banks board of directors, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who served on the board from 2011 to 2017. In the wake of the accounts scandal, shareholders sued the executives on behalf of Wells Fargo. The shareholder derivative suits, some of which were consolidated by the court, alleged the bank officials knew or consciously disregarded that company employees were creating accounts without customer authorization, the settlement said. The suits sought to hold the bank officials accountable for a scandal that has significantly damaged one of Americas largest financial institutions. Lawyers for the shareholders said the settlement was the largest insurance-funded cash settlement of any derivative lawsuit. A Wells Fargo spokesman declined to comment. The bank acknowledged the settlement in a securities filing Wednesday. The filing also said Wells Fargo could be required to pay as much as $2.7 billion more than it had set aside as of the end of December to resolve legal cases. Additionally, the bank said in the filing that it was in early talks with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve investigations into its sales practices. Thursdays settlement is one of several related to the controversy that the Los Angeles Times first reported in 2013. The bank acknowledged in 2016 that it had created perhaps millions of accounts without customers authorization. Other consumer abuses have come to light since then. Stumpf and Tolstedt left the bank in the wake of the controversy, and Wells Fargo has overhauled its practices. Still, the Federal Reserve imposed growth restrictions on the bank last year, including a cap on its assets. Fed officials said they would not lift the restrictions until it judges the banks consumer practices have improved. The restrictions are expected to remain in place through the end of this year. The controversies have made Wells Fargo the poster child for bad behavior by giant banks. Sloan is expected to testify at a March 12 hearing by the House Financial Services Committee titled Holding Megabanks Accountable: An Examination of Wells Fargos Pattern of Consumer Abuses. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a 2020 presidential candidate, has called for Sloan to be fired because he was at the company at the time of the scandals. Jim Puzzanghera is a Los Angeles Times writer. NEW YORK Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday miles from the rent-controlled apartment where he grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully made the case that he is nothing like fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat the incumbent in 2020. My experience as a child, living in a family that struggled economically, powerfully influenced my life and my values. I know where I came from, Sanders boomed in his unmistakable Brooklyn accent. And that is something I will never forget. The Democrats in the 2020 race have taken varied approaches to Trump, with some avoiding saying his name entirely, while others make implicit critiques of his presidency. Sanders has never shied from jabbing Trump in stark terms, and during his speech at Brooklyn College, he called Trump the most dangerous president in modern American history and said the president wants to divide us. The Vermont senator positioned himself in opposition to Trump administration policies from immigration to climate change. Beyond the issues themselves, Sanders, who grew up in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Flatbush in a middle-class family, drew a stark contrast between himself and the billionaire in the White House who hails from Queens. I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs, said Sanders, who has lived in Vermont for decades. He pegged his allowance as a kid at 25 cents a week. Sanders also said he did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers, Youre fired. Sanders enters the race at a moment that bears little resemblance to when he waged his long-shot bid in 2016. Democrats have been mobilized by the election of Trump and are seeking a standard-bearer who can oust him from office. Many of Sanders populist ideas have been embraced by the mainstream of the Democratic Party. The field of Democrats that he joins includes liberal candidates, most notably Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who share similar sensibilities. Sanders rally was his first campaign event since saying a week ago that he would run again for the White House. Hours before his speech in Brooklyn Colleges East Quad, a line of supporters snaked down the snowy streets. As he began his speech, Sanders himself hinted at how he sees the race, a campaign that runs beyond traditional battleground states. This is a 50-state campaign, he said. We will not concede a single state to Donald Trump. Juana Summers is an Associated Press writer. San Francisco Police Department SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) The second suspect to be charged with murder in a case involving a 23-year-old man whose body was found in a suitcase floating in the Bay last week, insisted she's guilty of the crime she said Friday during her arraignment. Angel Anderson, 36, has been charged with murder, torture, kidnapping, conspiracy, battery and false imprisonment for the death of George Saldivar. During the arraignment, Anderson said to Judge Vedica Puri she wished to represent herself and plead guilty to the charges. "I just want to plead guilty and move on with my life," she said. "I don't want to enter a plea of not guilty because I'm not." However at the behest of her attorneys, Michael Gaines and George Borges, Anderson ultimately pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Anderson could face life in prison without parole, court documents said. Her arraignment was continued to Monday morning. Prosecutors say both Anderson and her codefendant Gerald Rowe killed Saldivar inside a residential hotel room after Saldivar was bound, strangled with a rope and then drugged inside a room at the Donnelly Hotel at 1272 Market St. sometime between Feb. 3 and Feb. 5. On Wednesday Rowe, 47, pleaded not guilty to his charges, which include murder, conspiracy, torture, kidnapping, battery, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm by a felon, as well as drug-related offenses, according to court documents. According to court documents, Rowe and Anderson engaged in consensual sex with Saldivar the day of his murder. Afterward, Anderson allegedly tied Saldivar's hands to a chair. Rowe then helped Anderson tie a rope around Saldivar's neck, which was suspended to a stationary object, and Anderson also placed a bag over Saldivar's head, court documents allege. Rowe left the room but returned with drugs, which he handed to Anderson. Anderson next injected the substance, believed to be fentanyl, into Saldivar's arm, according to court documents. Afterward, both Rowe and Anderson allegedly used the rope to lift the victim and suspend him, while also pulling and tugging on the rope numerous times. The pair then lowered Saldivar and placed him on the room's bed and removed the bag from his head, slapping Saldivar's face, court documents said. Anderson grabbed a suitcase and both he and Rowe allegedly placed Saldivar inside. The pair then wrapped the suitcase in plastic to seal it, according to court documents. The suitcase was left in the room for nearly a day. At some point, prosecutors allege, Rowe ate food and played a guitar over the suitcase. Much of the ordeal, including Saldivar's murder, was captured on video, which investigators recovered from the room. On Feb. 5, around 2:30 a.m., Rowe and Anderson rolled the suitcase out of the room and walked down Market Street, court documents said. Once near the intersection of The Embarcadero and Howard Street, the pair allegedly hurled the suitcase containing Saldivar's body into the Bay. They also took off some items of clothing and threw them into the water as well, according to court documents. Saldivar's body was found on Feb. 18 inside the suitcase in the water near 1600 The Embarcadero. Two days after Saldivar's body was found, police in Sacramento detained Anderson and conducted an interview in which Anderson confessed to the murder and tried to exculpate Rowe, court documents said. After that interview, investigators in San Francisco went to the Market Street hotel room where Rowe was a registered tenant and arrested him. Rowe and Anderson are being held without bail and both are set to return to court on Monday. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A Richmond man suspected of sexually assaulting a child near Redwood City was arrested Thursday, San Mateo County sheriff's deputies reported. Victor Alfonso Paredes-Castro, 34, allegedly attacked the victim, who was his girlfriend's family member, inside his vehicle at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in an area of unincorporated San Mateo County. The victim reported the sexual assault to law enforcement immediately after it happened, but Paredes-Castro had left the scene by the time they arrived. Deputies contacted him at his Richmond home on Thursday and arrested him on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old. He was likely trying to flee to Mexico before he was apprehended, deputies said. There may be additional victims and people with information or those who may have allowed their children to spend time with Paredes-Castro are asked to contact Detective Jerri Cosens at (650) 363-4347. Copyright 2019 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) San Francisco History Days begins Saturday for the fourth time in the past four years, organizers said. The now annual event will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Old U.S. Mint at 88 Fifth St. at Mission Street in San Francisco. Dozens of exhibitors will turn the mint into a pop-up museum where visitors can see the past as community historians, archivists, genealogists, archeologists, researchers, educators, actors and other history buffs see it. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Santa Clara County officially completed its purchase of two hospitals Friday, bringing nearly 2,000 medical personnel onboard the county's medical system. "This acquisition is truly a win-win for the community," Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian said in a statement. "It prevents the closure of two critically important hospitals and ensures continued access to medical services for those who need it, regardless of ability to pay." The county's $235 million bid for San Jose's O'Connor Hospital and Gilroy's St. Louise Regional Hospital was approved by a bankruptcy court in Los Angeles on Dec. 27. The hospitals previously belonged to Verity Health System, which declared bankruptcy in August 2018. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a stay order on the sale in early January, arguing that the county was not agreeing to the requirements to operate the hospitals at the highest standard. The county, along with nurses, doctors and patients, fought the order and the county stressed its commitment to public health. It also pointed out that while it agreed to maintain critical facilities like acute care and 24-hour emergency services, it could not operate the hospitals like Verity -- a private entity. A U.S. district court ultimately ruled that Becerra did not have authority over the sale, and the county's purchase was finalized at 12 a.m. Friday. The purchase also includes De Paul Health Center, an urgent care facility in Morgan Hill. The move will bring 451 beds to the county's health system, in addition to 1,700 doctors and staff. The transfer and application process for these jobs has already begun. "While even positive change can be challenging, we are fully invested in supporting this integration to make sure it is as smooth as possible for patients and staff," Paul Lorenz, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center CEO, said in a statement. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The Oakland Unified School District and the union that represents 3,000 teachers, nurses, counselors and other staff have reached a tentative agreement that would end their seven-day strike, both sides said on Friday afternoon. The Oakland Education Association, which represents teachers and other employees, said in a tweet, "After seven days on strike - with 95 percent of our members on the line, 97 percent of students out of school and tens of thousands on our picket lines and rallies - we have reached a tentative agreement." The school district said in a statement that it "is proud to announce that it has reached an agreement on a new contract that provides a total compensation increase of 14 percent - an 11 percent ongoing salary increase with a one-time 3 percent bonus for educators." The district said, "It also reduces class sizes and maintains the fiscal solvency of the school district. This is a big win for our teachers, students and community." The union agreed that the tentative pact will result in lower class sizes, with phased-in class size reductions at all schools. The San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi during a violent confrontation in October will not face criminal charges, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Friday. But John Burris, an attorney for Okobi's family, said the incident appeared to be in violation of the sheriff's office's use of force policy and questioned whether the force used was appropriate. He vowed to pursue a civil case on behalf of the family. An initial statement by the sheriff's office distributed after Okobi's death had said that Okobi was stopped when he was found running in and out of traffic in the 1400 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae on Oct. 3 and then "immediately assaulted the deputy." However, a 13-page letter from Wagstaffe to Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, along with a collection of videos of the incident released Friday, shows that Okobi only punched Deputy Joshua Wang after he had been taken to the ground, Tased multiple times, and gotten back up. On Friday, Burris criticized the initial statement by the sheriff's office, saying that in in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings, "the initial statement is often to cast the person in the most negative light possible in order to justify their conduct." Residents and non-residents are now allowed into flood areas along the Russian River, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said early Friday afternoon. The sheriff's office, however is asking people who do not have legitimate business in the area to stay away. Equipment is still removing debris from roads and residents and business owners are busy cleaning their homes and properties, the sheriff's office said. Sonoma County staff this weekend are assessing damage to an estimated 2,600 properties that were flooded when the Russian River crested at 45.4 feet Wednesday and rendered Guerneville an island. Residences face yellow, red or green tags and residents should not enter their property until it has been assessed, the sheriff's office said. The American Red Cross is distributing a re-entry kit that includes a bucket, rags, mop, broom and cleaning solution, and a limited number of leather gloves are also available. The kits are available 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Guerneville Park and Ride on state Highway 116, Mirabel Park and Ride on Mirabel and River roads in Forestville and the Monte Rio Community Center at 20488 Highway 116 in Monte Rio. In an apparently unprecedented case in California, a judge on Friday denied a defense motion to dismiss the case against a man accused of sexually assaulting three underage girls in Berkeley in 2008 when he was 16. Instead, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rhonda Burgess ruled that Johnny Dunbar, who's now 27, should stand trial as an adult on four felony counts, including two counts of forcible rape and one count each of forcible oral copulation and attempted forcible copulation, for incidents in Berkeley on June 21, July 8 and July 21 in 2008. Dunbar is accused of using knives in two of the incidents and a gun in the other incident. Dunbar also is accused of committing two of the alleged sexual assaults during the course of first-degree burglaries. Prosecutors allege that two of the victims were under 14 at the time they were assaulted and the third was under 16. Berkeley police weren't able to solve the case until 2016, when they arrested Dunbar, who was 24 by then, for a traffic warrant. Police said they have arrested a man suspected of punching and injuring a University of California at Berkeley student on Sproul Plaza last month Zachary Greenberg was arrested Friday and booked into jail by the University of California Police Department around 1 p.m. Police did not say how they identified Greenberg as the suspect. It was unclear Friday if he had an attorney. Video of the assault went viral in conservative media circles. On Feb. 19, the day of the assault, the victim told police he was at a table for the student group Turning Point USA when two men came up and started arguing. The suspect knocked over the table and punched the victim several times, injuring the man's nose and eye, police said. The suspect left before officers arrived. The second suspect to be charged with murder in a case involving a 23-year-old man whose body was found in a suitcase floating in the Bay last week, insisted she's guilty of the crime she said Friday during her arraignment. Angel Anderson, 36, has been charged with murder, torture, kidnapping, conspiracy, battery and false imprisonment for the death of George Saldivar. During the arraignment, Anderson said to Judge Vedica Puri she wished to represent herself and plead guilty to the charges. "I just want to plead guilty and move on with my life," she said. "I don't want to enter a plea of not guilty because I'm not." However at the behest of her attorneys, Michael Gaines and George Borges, Anderson ultimately pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Anderson could face life in prison without parole, court documents said. Her arraignment was continued to Monday morning. A man who shot at a family and several others in Santa Cruz in December 2013 was found guilty of attempted murder Friday, Santa Cruz County prosecutors said. John Jason Thomas, 44, was charged with attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, attempted robbery, assault with a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon after the Dec. 18, 2013 shooting. A family of four with a 3-month-old baby were driving door-to-door on Bixby Street selling tamales to make extra money for the holidays when Thomas walked up to them with a loaded revolver and attempted to open the locked door of their car, prosecutors said. He banged on the glass of the car and broke the window, then pointed the gun at a man who got out of the car and fired twice at his chest. Thomas had the wrong ammunition and the gun misfired, prosecutors said, and he proceeded to point his gun at several other people in the area. His targets included a 15-year-old boy and a mother and daughter who were driving by, according to prosecutors. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. OAKLAND (BCN) In an apparently unprecedented case in California, a judge on Friday denied a defense motion to dismiss the case against a man accused of sexually assaulting three underage girls in Berkeley in 2008 when he was 16. Instead, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Rhonda Burgess ruled that Johnny Dunbar, who's now 27, should stand trial as an adult on four felony counts, including two counts of forcible rape and one count each of forcible oral copulation and attempted forcible copulation, for incidents in Berkeley on June 21, July 8 and July 21 in 2008. Dunbar is accused of using knives in two of the incidents and a gun in the other incident. Dunbar also is accused of committing two of the alleged sexual assaults during the course of first-degree burglaries. Prosecutors allege that two of the victims were under 14 at the time they were assaulted and the third was under 16. Berkeley police weren't able to solve the case until 2016, when they arrested Dunbar, who was 24 by then, for a traffic warrant. The fingerprints they obtained from Dunbar during that jail booking process matched the fingerprints that police obtained at one of the crime scenes in 2008. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Dunbar as an adult on July 7, 2016, but in November 2016 California voters passed Proposition 57, which took away prosecutors' discretion to charge minors accused of serious crimes such as murder and rape directly in adult court. Instead, judges must now hold hearings to determine whether adult or juvenile court is the most appropriate for youths accused of serious crimes. Dunbar's lawyer Ernie Castillo argued that Burgess should dismiss Dunbar's case without even ruling on which court is most appropriate for him. Castillo noted that juveniles who are convicted in the juvenile court system can only be held at a California Division of Juvenile Justice facility until the age of 25, even for serious crimes such as murder and rape, and pointed out that Dunbar is now 27. "Because of his age there's nothing this court can do," Castillo said. But Burgess denied Castillo's motion to dismiss the case, saying that she believes she still has jurisdiction over the matter. After she moved on to the issue of whether Dunbar should stand trial as an juvenile or as an adult, Burgess said adult court is the most appropriate because of the degree of sophistication of his alleged crimes, the gravity of the alleged offenses and the unlikelihood that he could be rehabilitated in the juvenile system. Burgess said that in his alleged crimes in 2008 Dunbar cased the victims' houses before he entered them, wore a mask and a dark hood and entered through windows or unlocked doors in the early morning hours when the victims were sleeping and vulnerable. Burgess said it appears that Dunbar "wanted to control and intimidate the women" and his methods "gave him a great sense of control." The judge said the circumstances of the alleged crimes "are terrifying and deplorable and likely changed the lives of the victims forever." Castillo said there's no case law in California on the issue of whether defendants charged with crimes as teenagers can be prosecuted when they're over the age of 25. He said he now will take the issue to the appellate courts because there's no legal precedent on that issue and he still hopes the case will be dismissed. Castillo said he's disappointed that Burgess denied his motion to throw out the case "because at some point the juvenile court must have limits." Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. BERKELEY (BCN) Police said they have arrested a man suspected of punching and injuring a University of California at Berkeley student on Sproul Plaza last month Zachary Greenberg was arrested Friday and booked into jail by the University of California Police Department around 1 p.m. Police did not say how they identified Greenberg as the suspect. It was unclear Friday if he had an attorney. Video of the assault went viral in conservative media circles. On Feb. 19, the day of the assault, the victim told police he was at a table for the student group Turning Point USA when two men came up and started arguing. The suspect knocked over the table and punched the victim several times, injuring the man's nose and eye, police said. The suspect left before officers arrived. Chancellor Carol Christ issued a statement after the incident. "That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here," Christ said. Police said the Alameda County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to pursue charges. Copyright 2019 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) Officers arrested an 18-year-old woman suspected of stabbing a teenage boy after and his friends allegedly cat called her friend in San Francisco South of Market neighborhood Wednesday evening. Around 5:40 p.m., the 17-year-old victim was with his friends near Market and Seventh streets, when one of his friends allegedly cat called a person in a different group, according to police. One the victim's friends then allegedly threw a plastic bottle at a member of the other group. A suspect from that group, described as an 18-year-old, then engaged in a fight with the teen victim, stabbing him in the torso with a knife, police said. The teen victim was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police. The name of the woman who stabbed the teen has not been released. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Emergency officials have asked the public Friday night to avoid the area of Mansell Street and Visitacion Avenue in John McLaren Park in San Francisco because of police and fire activity. The warning was given on social media at 8:17 p.m. Emergency officials did not provide any more details. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. A local assistance center will open Sunday in Guerneville to provide services to Sonoma County residents affected by recent storms and flooding. Government agencies and nonprofits will be represented at the center, and all county residents can access services regardless of immigration status, according to a Sonoma County spokeswoman. County departments at the center will include Permit Sonoma, to provide over-the-counter permits for some repairs and to begin the permit process for structural work and building safety, according to a release from Sonoma County spokeswoman Briana Khan. In addition, the county's human services department will take applications for CalFresh food benefits and Medi-Cal. The county's health services department will have representatives from animal services, environmental health, and behavioral Health to provide mental health support and referral. The Sonoma County Community Development Commission will support other housing needs. California state agencies on hand will include the Department of Motor Vehicles (Monday-Saturday) for those needing identification or driver licenses. The state department of insurance will be available (Monday-Saturday) to provide insurance support and the Contractors State Licensing Board will provide contracting support and resources. Nonprofits, including United Policyholders (Wednesday-Thursday), American Red Cross, and The Salvation Army will provide additional resources and support to local residents. The assistance center will also have information on topics related to the flood including debris drop-off locations for non-hazardous waste, and dates and times for hazardous waste drop offs as well as important health and safety information. The center will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the former Bank of America Building, 16390 Main St. in Guerneville. From Monday through Saturday, the center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Current emergency information is available at www.socoemergency.org. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi during a violent confrontation in October will not face criminal charges, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Friday. But John Burris, an attorney for Okobi's family, said the incident appeared to be in violation of the sheriff's office's use of force policy and questioned whether the force used was appropriate. He vowed to pursue a civil case on behalf of the family. An initial statement by the sheriff's office distributed after Okobi's death had said that Okobi was stopped when he was found running in and out of traffic in the 1400 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae on Oct. 3 and then "immediately assaulted the deputy." However, a 13-page letter from Wagstaffe to Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, along with a collection of video of the incident released Friday, shows that Okobi only punched Deputy Joshua Wang after he had been taken to the ground, Tased multiple times, and gotten back up. The sheriff's office did not respond to questions about why the initial report was false. On Friday, Burris criticized the initial statement by the sheriff's office, saying that in in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings, "the initial statement is often to cast the person in the most negative light possible in order to justify their conduct." Wagstaffe posted the letter to Bolanos on Friday morning, stating that neither Wang, the only deputy to use a Taser, nor the other deputies involved, identified as John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Bryan Watt and Sgt. David Weidner, will face any prosecution by Wagstaffe's office. Wang had initially attempted to stop Okobi for jaywalking. But Okobi refused to stop and talk to Wang, crossing the street again in an apparent effort to avoid him. Wang called for backup, and as more deputies arrived they tried to put Okobi in a control hold. Okobi had his hands up as the other deputies arrived, pushed him, and said, "stop resisting." As Okobi tried to pull away from the deputies, Wang deployed his Taser for the first time and then twice more in quick succession. "What did I do?" Okobi cried out as he writhed in pain on the ground. Eventually he pulled the Taser prongs off him and stood up again. As the deputies tried to take him to the ground again, he punched Wang. Wagstaffe said that Wang needed seven sutures on his face. The deputies got Okobi to the ground again, and in addition to the Taser, used batons and pepper spray. In a news conference on Friday, Wagstaffe stressed that his evaluation of the deputies' conduct was only to determine whether it was legal under California law, not whether the deputies were in sheriff's office policy or whether the deputies could have handled it better. "This is not a case where I'm trying to put any blame on Mr. Okobi," Wagstaffe said. "I don't want to do anything to demonize the deputies or Mr. Okobi in any manner." An autopsy found that Okobi died from cardiac arrest. He had an enlarged heart, which put him at greater risk of cardiac arrest following a Taser deployment. At a hearing on Tasers called by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors last month, Dr. Zian Tseng, who researches sudden cardiac death at UCSF, said that multiple Taser deployments, like those inflicted on Okobi, also increases chances of cardiac arrest. Regarding the presence of heart disease, Wagstaffe said, "Obviously law enforcement didn't know that, I don't even know that he knew that." The incident drew widespread attention after Okobi's sister, Ebele Okobi, Facebook's public policy director for Africa, publicly accused the sheriff's office of lying after she viewed the video. "We're devastated as a family but not surprised," Ebele Okobi said, speaking by phone from London during a news conference in her attorney's office on Friday. She said that she understood criminal charges would not bring her brother back, "but it would have shown that someone we love mattered to this county." Okobi's death also drew concern as the third Taser-related death in San Mateo County last year -- an unprecedented number of deaths during arrests in the county of fewer than 800,000 people. Wagstaffe also cleared deputies in the previous two deaths, Warren Ragudo in Daly City and Ramzi Saad in Redwood City. A fourth person was killed by law enforcement in the county in December, Kyle Hart in Redwood City. Officers also used a Taser on Hart before shooting him. Burris, the Okobi family's attorney, reiterated his call for a moratorium on Taser use in San Mateo County. "Tasers were a substantial factor in causing (Okobi's) death," Burris said. Burris questioned why the deputies used a Taser quickly in the confrontation with Okobi, as the sheriff's office policy calls for deputies to only use Tasers as the last step before resorting to deadly force. Furthermore, he said the deputies treated Okobi as if he were on drugs, even though toxicology testing revealed that he had no drugs, medication or alcohol in his body when he died. Burris also questioned the justification for the initial stop. "The cops created a confrontation and fought their way out of it," Burris said. "The DA has to support the police. That's his job, he always does." In response to the heightened scrutiny into Okobi's death, Wagstaffe posted video of the encounter on his website on Friday. San Mateo County sheriff's deputies do not yet have body-worn cameras, so the video is a collection of dash camera footage, surveillance video and cellphone video by bystanders. Wagstaffe also released portions of the autopsy report and said he would release hundreds of pages more on Friday afternoon, including interview transcripts and a 57-page report by his lead investigator. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi during a violent confrontation in October will not face criminal charges, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Friday. But John Burris, an attorney for Okobi's family, said the incident appeared to be in violation of the sheriff's office's use of force policy and questioned whether the force used was appropriate. He vowed to pursue a civil case on behalf of the family. An initial statement by the sheriff's office distributed after Okobi's death had said that Okobi was stopped when he was found running in and out of traffic in the 1400 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae on Oct. 3 and then "immediately assaulted the deputy." However, a 13-page letter from Wagstaffe to Sheriff Carlos Bolanos, along with a collection of videos of the incident released Friday, shows that Okobi only punched Deputy Joshua Wang after he had been taken to the ground, Tased multiple times, and gotten back up. On Friday, Burris criticized the initial statement by the sheriff's office, saying that in in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings, "the initial statement is often to cast the person in the most negative light possible in order to justify their conduct." The sheriff's office acknowledged in a statement on Friday that the initial release contained incorrect information. "After reviewing the District Attorney's investigation and the video of the incident, we now know that Mr. Okobi initially resisted the deputies' attempts to detain him and Deputy Wang was struck in the face later in the encounter," the sheriff's office said. Sheriff's spokeswoman Detective Rosemerry Blankswade said that sheriff's office investigators did not take statements from the deputies involved after Okobi's death. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office conducts its own internal review only after the district attorney's criminal investigation is over, Blankswade said. She said that most agencies in the county follow this protocol. Other agencies in the region, like the San Francisco Police Department, conduct investigations concurrently. Because the investigations are not conducted concurrently, investigators in the sheriff's office did not even see video of the encounter before Friday, Blankswade said. Wagstaffe posted the letter to Bolanos on Friday morning, stating that neither Wang, the only deputy to use a Taser, nor the other deputies involved, identified as John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Bryan Watt and Sgt. David Weidner, will face any prosecution by Wagstaffe's office. Wang had initially attempted to stop Okobi for jaywalking. But Okobi refused to stop and talk to Wang, crossing the street again in an apparent effort to avoid him. Wang called for backup, and as more deputies arrived they tried to put Okobi in a control hold. Okobi had his hands up as the other deputies arrived, pushed him, and said, "stop resisting." As Okobi tried to pull away from the deputies, Wang deployed his Taser for the first time and then twice more in quick succession. "What did I do?" Okobi cried out as he writhed in pain on the ground. Eventually he pulled the Taser prongs off him and stood up again. As the deputies tried to take him to the ground again, he punched Wang. Wagstaffe said that Wang needed seven sutures on his face. The deputies got Okobi to the ground again, and in addition to the Taser, used batons and pepper spray. In a news conference on Friday, Wagstaffe stressed that his evaluation of the deputies' conduct was only to determine whether it was legal under California law, not whether the deputies were in violation of sheriff's office policy or whether the deputies could have handled it better. "This is not a case where I'm trying to put any blame on Mr. Okobi," Wagstaffe said. "I don't want to do anything to demonize the deputies or Mr. Okobi in any manner." An autopsy found that Okobi died from cardiac arrest. He had an enlarged heart, which put him at greater risk of cardiac arrest following a Taser deployment. At a hearing on Tasers called by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors last month, Dr. Zian Tseng, who researches sudden cardiac death at the University of California at San Francisco, said that multiple Taser deployments, like those inflicted on Okobi, also increases the chances of cardiac arrest. Regarding the presence of heart disease, Wagstaffe said, "Obviously law enforcement didn't know that, I don't even know that he knew that." The incident drew widespread attention after Okobi's sister, Ebele Okobi, Facebook's public policy director for Africa, publicly accused the sheriff's office of lying after she viewed the video. "We're devastated as a family but not surprised," Ebele Okobi said, speaking by phone from London during a news conference in her attorney's office on Friday. She said that she understood criminal charges would not bring her brother back, "but it would have shown that someone we love mattered to this county." Okobi's death also drew concern as the third Taser-related death in San Mateo County last year -- an unprecedented number of deaths during arrests in the county of fewer than 800,000 people. Wagstaffe also cleared deputies in the previous two deaths, Warren Ragudo in Daly City and Ramzi Saad in Redwood City. A fourth person was killed by law enforcement in the county in December, Kyle Hart in Redwood City. Officers also used a Taser on Hart before shooting him. Burris, the Okobi family's attorney, reiterated his call for a moratorium on Taser use in San Mateo County. "Tasers were a substantial factor in causing [Okobi's] death," Burris said. The sheriff's office said Friday that it had no plans for a moratorium on Taser use. Burris questioned why the deputies used a Taser quickly in the confrontation with Okobi, as the sheriff's office policy calls for deputies to only use Tasers as the last step before resorting to deadly force. Furthermore, he said the deputies treated Okobi as if he were on drugs, even though toxicology testing revealed that he had no drugs, medication or alcohol in his body when he died. Burris also questioned the justification for the initial stop. "The cops created a confrontation and fought their way out of it," Burris said. "The DA has to support the police. That's his job, he always does." In response to the heightened scrutiny into Okobi's death, Wagstaffe posted video of the encounter on his website on Friday. San Mateo County sheriff's deputies do not yet have body-worn cameras, so the video is a collection of dash camera footage, surveillance video and cellphone video by bystanders. Wagstaffe also released portions of the autopsy report and said he would release hundreds of pages more on Friday afternoon, including interview transcripts and a 57-page report by his lead investigator. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. RICHMOND (BCN) Two ospreys that raised three chicks last year on live video have reunited in their nest perched high atop a crane along the Richmond waterfront. For the next several months, webcam watchers will be able to view the pair of ospreys, named Rosie and Richmond, as they bond, court, incubate eggs and take care of their chicks, according to the Golden Gate Audubon Society. Last year, the pair's three chicks were named Roemer, Victory and Brisa after the society put out a call for submissions and put names to a vote on Facebook. Ospreys are large raptors with wingspans of 5 to 6 feet, and hunt and eat fish, according to the Audubon Society. The birds often return to the same nest, like the one atop the historic Whirley Crane next to the WWII-era SS Red Oak Victory at Point Potrero. Rosie migrated south for the winter, presumably in Mexico or elsewhere in Central America, while Richmond over wintered in the Bay Area, the Audubon chapter said. The nest cam launched in 2017 and live video can be found at SFBayOspreys.org. Last year was the best season documented for Osprey nesting successfully on the edge of San Francisco Bay, with at least 54 nesting pairs and 84 fledglings documented, according to Golden Gate Audubon. Ospreys normally breed along freshwater lakes and rivers in Northern California and the species had never been documented nesting on San Francisco Bay until the 1990s. The birds of prey live as long as 15 to 20 years. In addition to the webcam, there is also a set of free, downloadable lesson plans for secondary school teachers, leveraging the website and high- definition cameras to generate enthusiasm for wildlife, ecology, and interest in STEAM (science/technology/engineering/art/math) education. Copyright 2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. The conservative man punched at UC Berkeley on Feb. 19 made an appearance during President Donald Trump's speech at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, where Trump recommended that he sue the university and the state of California, stating, "He took a hard punch in the face for all of us." Hayden Williams has become a symbol for political free speech as conservatives argue that college campuses have become hostile toward conservative values. Williams gained some notoriety amongst Trump's base when he was punched at UC Berkeley on Feb. 19 while helping to advertise conservative group Turning Point USA, on the main plaza of the campus. A video of the assault quickly went viral. MORE FROM CPAC: Gavin Newsom 'loves me,' thinks I'm 'great president' says Trump Williams garnered enough attention to be brought onstage by Trump during CPAC, where Trump praised Williams' attorney and encouraged him to not only sue his aggressor in the attack, but also UC Berkeley and the state of California. "You've got yourself a great lawyer, I know your lawyer," Trump told Williams. "She is a great lawyer, just tell her to do me a favor. Sue him, he's probably got nothing, but sue him forever. But sue the college, the university. "And maybe sue the state," Trump added. "Ladies and gentleman, he took a hard punch in the face for all of us, remember that," Trump continued. "He took a hard punch for all of us and we can never allow that to happen. And in closing with Hayden, here's the good news: he is going to be a very wealthy young man." During Williams' time onstage, he spoke on the harassment students face, as well as "liberal abuses." "There's so many conservative students across the country who are facing discrimination, harassment and worse, if they dare to speak up on campus, so I'm glad that we could bring this to the forefront," Williams told the crowd. READ ALSO: Trump rouses right at CPAC with prediction of big 2020 win "If these socialist progressives had their way, they would put our constitution through the paper shredder in a heartbeat," he continued. "So it's as important now than ever to work in Leadership Institute and Campus Reform, exposing these liberal abuses to the public. "These students do it because they have a love of our nation and freedom, and frankly, a love for you, Mr. President," Williams added. "So, if you keep defending us, we'll keep defending you." A suspect in Williams' assault was arrested Friday: Zachary Greenberg, 28, was held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily injury. Both Williams and Greenberg are not students of the university, according to campus officials. Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at ddeguzman@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news. RIO DE JANEIRO Rio de Janeiros world-famous Carnival officially began with streets parties and revelry amid expectations the first such celebration since Jair Bolsonaro took office would target the far-right president known for offending the LGBT community and minorities. At Carmelitas, one of Rios most traditional street parties, revelers sang along to a samba song titled: Blue or pink, its all the same, a reference to Bolsonaros human rights minister, Damares Alves, who declared: Its a new era in Brazil, boys wear blue and girls wear pink, soon after she took up her post. This parade is an act of resistance to the oppressive new government, said Monica Machado, a percussion player in the band. The songs lyrics went, On the train of history, we cant go in reverse, a reference to the Brazilian presidents open admiration of Brazils 1964-85 military dictatorship. Bolsonaro has said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son and that police who kill criminals should be given medals not prison sentences. Several partygoers costumes targeted an early corruption scandal in the Bolsonaro government. Vinicius Alves, a university student, wore all orange with a headband adorned with fake money and orange slices, a nod to the Brazilian expression orange employee, which refers to politicians use of ghost employees to launder money. Just three weeks into Bolsonaros government, questions were raised about suspicious payments to his sons and wifes bank accounts from his sons driver, who many suspect was an orange employee. Carnival is a moment to protest and express your opinion without limits, said Joao Marcos Marinho, 57, whose Carnival garb also made an orange employee reference. He said residents of the bohemian neighborhood where the party was being held arent satisfied with the government and theyre saying it this carnival. Rios evangelical bishop-turned-mayor, Marcelo Crivella, came under fire on the partys first day for skirting his duty to kick off the celebrations by handing over the key of the city to the king of Carnival for the third consecutive year. Up until Carnivals start on Friday, the carnival king and a cultural institution that guards the ceremonial key were left with no word from the city government if the ceremony would even happen. One hour before the event, the head of the citys tourism board said he would participate in the ceremony. He told reporters that he would be turning in the keys to Carnival, not the keys to the city as is tradition. Its very disrespectful. Im trying to understand why they wouldnt want to participate in this ceremony, said Mauricio de Jesus, the president of the cultural center where the key is held. Anna Jean Kaiser is an Associated Press writer. SRINAGAR, India Indian and Pakistani soldiers have again targeted each others posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said Saturday. But in a sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals could soon ease, a Pakistani Cabinet minister said a key train service between Pakistan and neighboring India would resume on Monday. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan this past Tuesday, carrying out what India called a preemptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. Fighting resumed overnight Friday. Pakistans military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed countries over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Indian police, meanwhile, said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The childrens father was critically wounded. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons indiscriminately targeted border villagers along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling. Following a lull lasting a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line. Since tensions escalated following last months suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday that Russia had offered to serve as a mediator to ease tensions. He said Pakistan was ready to accept the offer, but he did not know whether India would agree as well. Qureshi also said a top Saudi diplomat would soon visit Pakistan and India. Pakistani officials said China is expected to send an envoy to Pakistan and India this coming week. The latest wave of tensions began after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a Kashmiri militant on Indian paramilitary forces. India has long accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the suicide attack. Roshan Mughal and Aijaz Hussain are Associated Press writers. OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria The ground assault into the last area held by the Islamic State group intensified Saturday as U.S.-backed fighters made remarkable progress amid heavy clashes, including the capture of a hill overlooking a tent encampment for the extremists, officials with the Kurdish-led forces said. The capture of the last pocket still held by Islamic State in Baghouz village would mark the end of a devastating four-year global campaign to end the extremist groups hold on territory in Syria and Iraq their self-proclaimed caliphate that at the height of the groups power in 2014 controlled nearly a third of both Iraq and Syria. Since the last push by the Syrian Democratic Forces began Friday night, the Kurdish-led force has been advancing slowly on two fronts as the extremists used snipers and booby traps to slow the push on the last area they control, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said. He added that Islamic State tried to detonate a suicide car bomb against advancing fighters but the attempt failed. Bali tweeted that heavy clashes were taking place in the area on the east bank of the Euphrates River. Later in the day, he tweeted that heavy fighting continued at the outskirts of Baghouz, adding that SDF made a remarkable progress since yesterday evening (and) recaptured many positions from the militants. The SDF on Friday evening resumed military operations to liberate the last piece of territory held by IS in the province of Deir el-Zour after evacuating thousands of civilians and hostages who had been besieged inside. The military campaign to uproot the militants from the eastern banks of the Euphrates began in September, pushing them down toward a last corner in the village of Baghouz, near the Iraqi border. The military operation was halted on Feb. 12 as the SDF said a large number of civilians and hostages were holed up in the territory, which sits atop caves and tunnels where they had been hiding. By Friday, more than 10,000 civilians had left the area and the extremists released some SDF fighters they had taken prisoner in earlier battles. We expect it to be over soon, Bali said. Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer. Fascinating footage from a remote village in northern Thailand shows how locals produce beautiful handmade sun umbrellas. Residents in Bo Sang, Chiang Mai, have been making the umbrellas for almost two centuries. It's a tradition which began when a Buddhist monk from the village made a pilgrimage to neighbouring Burma, or Myanmar, where he discovered the art of making sun umbrellas. He passed on the skill to his fellow locals, and an industry sprung up in the small village. They became world-renowned for their intricate and beautiful umbrellas - shipping them across Thailand and the rest of the world. Each one features a hand-painted design on the silk material. Footage taken from one workshop in the village shows how the bamboo frame is produced by craftsmen and women. The woven cotton and silk shade is then hand wound, before being stretched across the bamboo frame and left to dry in the sun. They're then sprayed with a base colour before master painters put on the finishing touches with beautiful scenes from Thailand. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! "It's a big, flat oval-shaped fish ... with a constantly surprised look," said Turner, an associate professor in UC Santa Barbara's department of ecology, evolution and marine biology. "It's the weirdest-looking thing you've ever seen." The fish was first spotted in shallow water by Jessica Nielsen, a conservation specialist at the university's Coal Oil Point Reserve, who was doing research on the beach. Later, an intern found the fish dead on the shore. The reserve posted photographs of the animal on Facebook, and, because it appeared to be a Mola mola - an ocean sunfish common in the Santa Barbara Channel - researchers left it on the beach, to be recycled naturally. The Mola mola species is an open-water fish that swims in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. It floats up to the surface to bask in the sun - hence its "sunfish" name. Despite its flat shape, the Molidae are not like flounder, which wiggle along the ocean floor. Instead, the Mola mola - the heaviest fish in the ocean, with some weighing more than 2300 kilograms - swims slowly in the deep ocean. The Mola tecta is genetically different from the Mola mola, but the physical differences are subtle. The hoodwinker is more slender and has a flap instead of a tail with bony structures along the end of it. The scales are also more like sandpaper, unlike the smooth scales of the Mola mola. The Mola mola has been found south of the equator, but it's rarer there than in its common swimming grounds in the Santa Barbara Channel. Turner saw the fish's photo on the reserve's Facebook post and wanted to see the odd-looking animal for himself. So after work, he drove his wife and four-year-old son, Wren, to the beach to check out the sea creature. The boy was impressed with the animal's scales, which have small pointy spikes all over them, and its toothless, beak-like mouth. Turner then posted photographs on iNaturalist, a social media site for amateurs and professionals interested in learning about different animal species. The fish had previously been seen more than 100 years ago - in Holland in 1889, far from its normal warm climes. But it was misidentified as a Mola mola until Nyegaard, the Australian researcher, officially described it in an academic journal in 2017. It was the first species added to the Mola genus in 125 years. When a fellow scientist alerted Nyegaard that the California researchers might have a hoodwinker on their hands, she said she couldn't believe it. "I was super sceptical," she said. "I thought, 'It would be so cool if it was one.' " She suspected the Santa Barbara fish was the new Mola tecta species but was reluctant to make a final determination because the animal was found so far away from its natural habitat. She advised Turner and the other researchers to examine the fish further and gave them specific instructions on what photographs she would need in order to determine its species. Nyegaard said she cautioned herself not to get too excited, but when the additional images were sent, she said there was no doubt about the type of fish. "I yelled out, 'It's a hoodwinker!' I just fell off my chair." Turner said so little was known about the Mola tecta that researchers don't really know how rare it is. Either the sunfish is actually common in more northern Pacific waters and simply hasn't been seen until now, or the hoodwinker made a long trek to the West Coast, he said. Regardless, it's odd the fish ended up stranded on the beach, scientists said, adding that Nyegaard's research would help determine what went wrong. Researchers said the fish had no signs of injury and wasn't obviously in distress. It's possible, Turner said, that ocean warming caused the animal to veer off-course. The ocean has been unusually warm for years now, causing species to move further north from their normal habitats, said Elliott Hazen, an ecologist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who specialises in water temperature's impact on wildlife. Just this week, a dead humpback whale ended up in Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon River. Researchers suspected the mammal was lost at sea and died of an unknown cause. And this isn't the first time out-of-place sea creatures have washed up on Southern California beaches. In January 2018, a rare venomous sea snake more common to the coasts of Africa, Asia and Central America, was discovered on the shore in Newport Beach. And a giant oarfish, normally found at ocean depths of 900 metres, washed ashore on Catalina Island in August 2015. Hazen suspects these rare occurrences have to do with fluctuations in ocean temperatures. Changes in weather patterns - such as an El Nino or La Nina event - can either warm or cool the waters around the equator, allowing species to cross that normal barrier. Extreme changes in water temperatures can also lead to sickness in sea creatures. "The equator acts as a barrier to migration for fish species," Hazen said. "[Species] like marlin, they will swim right up to the equator and just kind of bounce back. But when there's warming or changes in ocean currents that are not normally seen, you can get these species that cross that barrier when they normally wouldn't. Back-to-back summer heatwaves in the Tasman Sea that have affected marine life and seafood industries in Australia and New Zealand could be another sign of the warming climate, scientists say. Australia has just had its warmest summer by far, with the role of so-called blocking highs in the Tasman seen by meteorologists as key to the build-up of record-breaking heat over the country's south-east. The Tasman Sea has endured back-to-back summer marine heatwaves - with consequences that could take time to play out. Credit:John Veage The still conditions brought by those highs have the effect of limiting ocean mixing, while the relatively cloudless skies allowed solar radiation to warm the waters of the Tasman to a greater-than-usual depth. Making homes more affordable for first-home buyers is extremely difficult and many of the initiatives taken in the past have been self-defeating, as they have pushed up the price of housing by creating more buyers. According to Labor's website: This policy will see a boost in new housing and will provide young families with the chance to find a home, and will take pressure off inner-city housing markets that are predominantly made up of existing dwellings. Buyer behaviour Whether or not this is true will depend on buyer behaviour. It may well be that millennials prefer to rent in the inner city, rather than take on a large mortgage for a new home that is a long way from the action. Its wrong to compare Labors proposed changes to negative gearing with what Paul Keating introduced in July, 1985 and later repealed in September, 1987. Loading Keating increased the depreciation allowance to 4 per cent for new construction and stipulated that losses on investment properties could not be written off against current taxable income, but would be quarantined to be offset against future income from the property when it became positively geared. Under the current Labor proposals, as I understand them, any losses cannot be offset against future taxable income, but will be added to the base cost to reduce capital gains tax on the property when it is eventually sold. Labors proposals also apply only to new properties Keatings applied to all properties. Labour is using a 2016 report from the Grattan Institute to support its case. It concluded: Ultimately, people who invest in property take into account a host of factors, including rental returns, risk perception, familiarity with the asset class, and ability to obtain bank finance. Modest changes in tax treatment will not affect their decisions much. In contrast, a report commissioned by Master Builders Australia, prepared by Cadence Economics, has forecast a decline in new home building of between 10,000 and 40,000 dwellings and a loss of 7500 to 32,000 full-time construction jobs. Reduced demand Master Builders tell me it is not the abolition of negative gearing per se that will cause a slump, but the combination of the new negative gearing and capital gains tax rules. Keep in mind that restricting negative gearing to new properties makes established properties less attractive to some investors because the moment a new house is occupied it becomes an established house. Just this week, the Property Council released the results of a survey of 1000 current and potential investors that showed Labors initiatives would reduce demand for new housing. Which forecast turns out to be correct will depend on buyer behaviour. In 1985, when the Keating changes were all the news, I did several roadshows with a leading chartered accountant we had conflicting views. My modelling demonstrated that the Keating proposals were not really too tough and should not put anybody off acquiring an investment property. The accountants view was that perception, rather than facts, would resonate with the public and they would desert investment property in droves. His view proved to be correct. The distinction between new and established properties could have some serious consequences. Think about an investor couple who decide to buy a $500,000 new investment property. They sign the contract and apply for finance. Fundamental truths The banks valuer will do the valuation based on a forced sale of what would then become an established property. Valuers tell me this could reduce the valuation to $450,000 and the application for finance may be rejected. If the buyer cannot get finance, the contract will be cancelled, and there may be one less property available to be rented. If the negative gearing rules are to be changed it would make more sense to include all properties, as Keating did. After all, the majority of tax deductions that relate to investment property come from new properties. If the government wants to increase revenue, it seems self-defeating to encourage investors towards new properties, where tax deductions are maximised. Double win for Australia Political parties of all persuasion should understand some fundamental truths about the property market. There are many investors who are terrified of shares and wary of superannuation because of the continual rule changes. They use borrowing for residential property as their means of saving for retirement. This is a double win for Australia it provides an ongoing supply of rental properties, reducing pressure on rents, while enabling hundreds of thousands of people to become self-funded retirees, with no expectation of help from the government. Given these facts about the housing market, what does the future hold? Its anybodys guess but we do know the election will be in May and the result may be a narrow win for Labor. If this happens, expect months of negotiating with the minority parties to get these changes passed. This will create uncertainty, which may well mean that potential homebuyers sit on their hands, waiting to see what laws will be changed and how. Labor has promised that their capital gains tax increases will affect only assets acquired after a specific date in the future. Once that date is announced, expect a flurry of buying in both property and shares, as everybody who can jumps in before the tax rules change. If this happens, it is highly likely to be followed by a significant slump in buying activity after the change date because everybody who could buy would have already bought. But its a paradox. An asset bought before the change will be worth more than one bought after the change, for tax purposes. However, if you buy or own a house new or established before the change it may well be worth less than it would be after the change because there will be less people who want to buy it. The big question now is whether such radical property changes should be contemplated at a time when the market is in a slump, with strong indications that it may get worse. The CoreLogic monthly property report, released last Friday, showed that Australian housing values continued to trend lower in February, with their national index down .07%. Head of research Tim Lawless said the housing market downturn is now more widespread geographically and we arent seeing any indicators pointing to the market bottoming out just yet Furthermore, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the construction sector has moved sharply into reverse. The price of milk, beer and eggs has increased faster in Canberra than any other Australian capital city since June 2011, while beef is more expensive here than elsewhere. On the flipside, pork is cheapest in Canberra and the price is falling at a more rapid rate than in other capital cities. The price of bread also decreased faster here than elsewhere during a 7-year period. The Sunday Canberra Times analysed the Australian Bureau of Statistics' last average retail prices data, from June 2011, and used the bureau's consumer price index figures from the December 2018 quarter to determine how the price of some products changed over time. Only goods that were in both datasets were used in the analysis. Between 6pm and 6am, they are shut behind high perimeter fences in their compounds and forbidden to leave. Manus Island, say the 550 men still there, is an open-air island prison they cannot escape. But almost three years after a landmark court case declared their detention illegal, the men will this week launch a fresh bid for freedom. Asylum seekers at the now-closed Oscar compound in the Manus Island detention centre, Papua New Guinea. Credit:AAP The Papua New Guinea constitution forbids indefinite detention without charge, and in April 2016 that country's Supreme Court ruled the "forceful bringing into and detention of the asylum seekers" on Manus was unconstitutional and illegal. An Exmouth man has been charged over drunkenly threatening to fight aircraft crew and open exit doors on a domestic flight in Western Australia. Police allege the 42-year-old man was intoxicated and abusive aboard a fully-booked Skywest flight to Exmouth, in the state's north, that had left Perth airport about noon (WST) on Friday. He shouted at the other passengers midway through the two-hour flight, challenged cabin staff to a fight and threatened to open the exit doors, police allege. Exmouth police arrested him after the plane landed in the northern town and charged him with offensive and disorderly behaviour on an aircraft. He is due to appear in the Exmouth Magistrates Court on June 14. Australia's youth suicide rate is alarmingly high. In the Emerald City of the Lucky Country, the northern beaches still stands out for fortune and beauty. Thirty kilometres of glistening coast links Manly to Palm Beach. On this picturesque peninsula, 260,000 people enjoy breathing space unmatched in most of Sydney. Sea breezes temper even the hottest days. If the water is more than a few minutes away, bushland is probably at the doorstep. But there is another side to paradise. Thirty people killed themselves on the northern beaches last year, according to statistics made available to The Sun-Herald, and young people are over-represented in the figures. But as Julie Power reports today, a grassroots initiative is tackling the alarming incidence of young people taking their own lives on the northern beaches. Measures include makeshift barriers such as fences at cliff tops and pipes blocking off access at night. These measures are designed to take a ''moment of despair'' as Northern Beaches Local Area Commander Superintendent Dave Darcy put it, to a moment of ambivalence. Whats your favourite ferry trip? a foreign visitor asked me recently. I counselled her to take the Manly ferry, the gold standard journey for visitors to our city. As you glide out of Circular Quay, past Fort Denison, Bradleys Head then the Sydney Heads, it is easy to see why the early ferry boat operators advertised it as seven miles from Sydney but a thousand miles from care. You feel the stress falling off you the moment you see the Norfolk Island palms, and step off at the Manly Wharf. Even if you take the fast option: the Manly Fast ferries, with a promised travel time of 18-20 minutes. Although not as fast as the old hydrofoils 15 minutes, they are still a fun way to get to one of our citys signature day trips. The green and gold vessels are our trademark form of transport. Credit:Nick Moir Melbourne may have its trams, San Francisco its cable cars, but for Sydney our green and gold wooden vessels and catamarans are our trademark form of transport. News this week of 400 or so extra weekly ferry services can only be greeted gladly by commuters and travellers to our waterways. A Gold Coast man will return to Queensland after being extradited from New South Wales over drug trafficking charges. Police will allege the 45-year-old man was involved in the commercial trafficking of ice on the Gold Coast between 2014 and 2015. A man is expected to be charged over drug trafficking allegations. Credit:Unknown He had been in custody in NSW on unrelated charges and was due for release into the community until Gold Coast Major and Organised Crime Squad detectives successfully applied to extradite him. The 45-year-old Gold Coast man is expected to arrive in Queensland where he will be taken to Southport Watch House on Saturday afternoon. A Queensland teacher has had his registration revoked after giving framed photos of himself to students, chatting with 12-year-olds on social media and speaking inappropriately to young girls about menstruation. Wayne Dominic Lobo was found to have fallen below the standards expected of a teacher while he was employed at a Queensland school on a short-term contract during 2016. Wayne Lobo will be able to reapply for his teacher's registration in December. Documents filed in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal state while at the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons, Mr Lobo failed to maintain appropriate teacher/student boundaries, including: Level crossing replacement in south-east Queensland has been beset with "paralysis", with no crossings replaced since 2014. That paralysis has led to calls from public transport advocacy group Rail: Back on Track to follow Victoria's lead and make the replacement of level crossings a state priority. A funding dispute means there have been no rail level crossings replaced in south east Queensland since 2014. Credit:Martin Hunter At least eight people have died at south-east Queensland rail level crossings since 2009, including a 70-year-old woman on Tuesday night Wynnum West's Lindum station. Level crossings at Robinson Road, Geebung and Telegraph Road, Bracken Ridge were identified, modelled and replaced by May 2014. Conservative Liberal powerbroker Alex Hawke says his party should consider quotas to improve the Liberals' low levels of female representation in Parliament. In comments that will reopen a polarising debate within the party, the Special Minister of State says he does not oppose quotas if they are "intelligently applied". Special Minister for State Alex Hawke, pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said his party should consider quotas for women. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Hawke said the low number of women within the Liberals' federal ranks was a "huge problem" for the party. "We will suffer as a political movement if we don't get serious about [electing] women," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised to retain a record number of women in his cabinet if he wins the looming federal election, as his newest senior frontbencher says the Liberal Party from its branches to its leadership is changing its attitude to women. On Saturday, West Australian senator Linda Reynolds was sworn into the Defence Industry portfolio, a move required after the sudden resignation of ministerial incumbents Steve Ciobo and leading moderate Christopher Pyne. The Prime Minister rejected suggestions the departure of Mr Ciobo and Mr Pyne, who take to five the number of ministerial resignations this year ahead of the expected May election, was a sign they had given up on the government's chances. WA senator Linda Reynolds, being sworn in as Defence Industry Minister, says the Liberal Party is improving its approach to women. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen He said bringing in Senator Reynolds, an Army brigadier who will be defence minister if the Coalition is re-elected, took to a record seven women in the Cabinet and that was the number he would seek to retain. Srinagar, India: Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each other's posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said on Saturday. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet on Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. Kashmiri children walk past an Indian paramilitary soldier in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir. Credit:AP Fighting resumed overnight on Friday. Pakistan's military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbours over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Indian police said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The children's father was critically wounded. Hanoi: As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continued with official engagements in Hanoi, despite the collapse of his summit with Donald Trump, Vietnam's President and Prime Minister weren't the only ones on his schedule. Children at a kindergarten dressed in Korean costume, their cheeks painted with North Korean flags, in anticipation for his visit. Children in traditional Korean dress perform for visitors under the photos of Kim Il-song and Ho Chi Minh at a kindergarten in Hanoi. Credit:Sanghee Liu The Vietnam-Korea Friendship Kindergarten is a relic of the once-close ties between Vietnam and North Korea in the aftermath of the war with the United States. It opened in 1978 with funding from North Korean founder Kim Il-sung. Its classrooms are named after North Korean leaders. Portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il gaze down from the walls. Abu Dhabi: The Russian company that gave the world the iconic AK-47 assault rifle has unveiled a kamikaze drone that may similarly revolutionise combat by making sophisticated drone warfare technology widely and cheaply available. The Kalashnikov Group put a model of its miniature exploding drone on display this week at a major defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where the world's arms companies gather every two years to show off and market their latest wares. The tiny item was dwarfed by the tanks, armoured vehicles and fighter jets that were also on display. But it has as much potential to change the face of war as its older cousin, the AK-47, widely referred to simply as the Kalashnikov. With its low price, high efficiency and ease of use, the Kalashnikov rifle became the weapon of choice for revolutionaries and insurgents around the world, empowering disgruntled citizens against their governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It remains a potent tool to this day: The Pentagon purchases second-hand Kalashnikov rifles for its allies in Syria and Afghanistan, rather than give them more expensive US-made guns. Toronto: Canada says it will allow the US extradition case against Chinese Huawei heiress Meng Wanzhou to proceed. Canadian Department of Justice officials issued a statement saying they diligently reviewed the evidence and the case can go ahead. Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is out on bail. Credit:Canadian Press/AP Meng, the company's chief financial officer, is due in court on March 6, at which time a date for her extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the US request. The only silver lining for Iakimo was that she got to marry the love of her life in "paradise". While she wanted her money back, Iakimo's chief motivation for speaking out was: "I don't want them to be able to do this to other people". 'It was kind of disbelief' Stuff understands the men allegedly collected more than $20,000 from cancelled weddings. One of the affected Kiwi couples, who will tie the knot in the Cook Islands next weekend, was informed in January that Paradise Wedding Desires cancelled their booking due to "unforeseen circumstances". The bride-to-be, who wished to remain anonymous, said the ordeal had been stressful: "We didn't really know what to do. It was kind of disbelief I guess". The woman said she considered calling off their wedding but decided to arrange everything herself at the last minute given that her guests had already paid for flights. In an email seen by Stuff, Ingaua told the woman he was closing the business and would refund her $2000 deposit. Tegan said a bridesmaid had to do her makeup. Ingaua said the cancellation was due to a pending legal investigation held late last year. But the woman said despite all of this; she was yet to receive her refund. The Cook Islands News reported on at least four other cases where New Zealand and Australian couples as well as local wedding vendors were allegedly left out of pocket by Paradise Wedding Desires. The couples said Ingaua and Wearing had apologised and told them they'd refund their money. The men had emailed them screenshots of what appeared to be bank transfers, but the money never showed up in their bank accounts. The bride who was getting married next weekend said she had no idea what Ingaua and Wearing had done with her $2000 deposit. "It sounds like they've just spent it and it's a scam, they've had no intention of carrying out these weddings," she said. Cook Islands police confirmed to the Cook Islands News this week that they were investigating two complaints against Wearing and Ingaua. Cook Islands police spokesman Trevor Pitt said a local detective was collecting information about the allegations, but because the men lived in New Zealand, there were "jurisdiction considerations". The Cook Islands police would work with the New Zealand police once complaints had been lodged here, Pitt said. New Zealand police could not confirm whether Ingaua and Wearing were under investigation due to privacy concerns. Paradise Wedding Desires used a BNZ bank account to receive the funds, according to the couples. Paradise Wedding Desires was not registered as a New Zealand company. Ingaua told Stuff the reason it took months for them to organise the refunds was because they had to "save up" the money. However, he said: "I have organised for this to be refunded into the account within the next 14 days". Caracas: Juan Guaido's first stop after he skipped out of Venezuela last week was Colombia. But after he failed to push food and medicine across the borders to hasten the end of autocratic President Nicolas Maduro's rule, he headed to Brazil. On Friday he was in Argentina following meetings in Paraguay, and was expected to head to Ecuador on Saturday to be received by President Lenin Moreno. Accompanied by his wife Fabiana Rosales, Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido waves to supporters outside the Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday. Credit:AP The opposition leader, who declared himself interim president last month, insists he'll be home soon, but his lengthening regional tour raises questions about just how and when he intends to get back to Caracas. Guaido, head of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, risks not only being blocked from re-entering Venezuela, but being tossed into jail after violating a foreign-travel ban. Meanwhile, the amnesty he promised military officers who join him languishes in his own legislature and resurgent street protests have lost their focal point. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Launch of the second Kuaizhou-1A from Jiuquan in September 2018. HELSINKI Chinese defense contractor CASIC is preparing to launch a new solid propellant launch vehicle in the first half of the year as part of a multiplatform commercial space strategy. The Kuaizhou-11 (KZ-11) debut launch will carry six satellites, according to Chinese language news portal 3SNews, though it provided no information on the payloads or clients, nor more precise information on timing. The new rocket will have a liftoff mass of 78 metric tons and be capable of lifting 1,000 kilograms to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) or 1,500 kilograms into a 400-kilometer low Earth orbit using either 2.2 or 2.6-meter payload fairings, making it the largest Chinese solid propellant launch vehicle so far. The Kuaizhou-11 has been developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a huge state-owned enterprise. The commercial Kuaizhou launch vehicles, or 'fast vessel', have been derived from CASIC's missile technology in order to provide fast-response and low-cost access to space. The KZ-11 had previously been stated by Chinese media to be ready for test flight in the first half of 2018, then the second half of last year, before the slip to the first half of 2019. No reason for the delays has so far been released. When the Kuaizhou-11 does take off, it will, like existing and planned future Kuaizhou rockets, be launched from a transporter erector launcher (TEL). It will likely launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, run by the People's Liberation Army. Earlier public statements from CASIC and subsidiary Expace, a commercial launch provider, claim launch costs of between $10,000 to $20,000 per kilogram for the Kuaizhou series, and expect this to fall to $5,000 per kilogram. CASIC currently only launches commercial payloads. With two launches of its smaller Kuaizhou-1A launcher, capable of carrying 200 kilograms to a 700-kilometer SSO, in January 2017 and September 2018, CASIC put Jilin-1 remote sensing satellites for Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., and small satellites for universities and private companies into orbit. Kuaizhou-1A and 11 launch vehicle models on display at IAC 2018 in Germany. (Image credit: Andrew Jones) Design work on the Kuaizhou-21 launch vehicle began in 2017, according to Chinese state media. It will have a diameter of 4.5 meters and be capable of sending 20-metric tons into a low Earth orbit. CASIC in December saw the launch of the first satellite for its 156-satellite Hongyun ('rainbow cloud') low Earth orbit wideband communications constellation and is planning an 80-satellite narrowband constellation for Internet of Things connectivity named Xingyun as well as a Tengyun project to develop a reusable space plane. While CASC is restricted to commercial payloads, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), a sister company to CASIC and the main contractor for the Chinese space program, carries out China's government and military missions using its family of Long March launch vehicles. Smart Dragon debut, Long March sea launches CASC is meanwhile preparing for the debut flight of a new commercial launcher, named Jielong-1 ('Smart Dragon-1'), with the company stating the flight will take place in the first half of 2019. Jielong-1 is designed to be "fast, agile and flexible" and capable of putting 150 kilograms into a 700-kilometer SSO, but appears to be the first step in development of new, more innovative and competitive launchers from CASC. "Preliminarily, we plan to develop two series, the Jielong series and Tenglong series," Tang Yagang, president of CASC subsidiary Chinarocket Co., Ltd., told China Central Television in December, adding that the Tenglong launch vehicles would be liquid propellant rockets with a large payload capacity. "We are exploring different technical methods that include retrieval of rockets by vertical take off and landing, and horizontal take off and landing. Now we have expedited the development of the technology to reuse rockets. Hopefully, in the coming two to three years, China's rockets will adopt the technology," Tang said. Chinarocket was founded in 2016 and will provide competition to private launch vehicle companies such as Landspace, OneSpace and iSpace that have emerged in China since the opening of the sector to private capital in 2014 as part of a national strategy to foster innovation. CASC's Long March 11 light-lift solid launcher will also have its first sea launch around mid-2019. The mission will take place in the Yellow Sea, situated between China and the Korean Peninsula, but the flight is expected to pave the way for possible future low inclination launches. The new launchers and existing Long March rockets are marketed by China Great Wall Industry Corp., a CASC subsidiary. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. It's not often that Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX, gets emotional, but the seemingly flawless launch of Crew Dragon his company's first spaceship built to fly astronauts apparently ranks up there. SpaceX launched its first Crew Dragon on a Falcon 9 rocket in a brilliant predawn liftoff today (March 2), sending the spacecraft to the International Space Station with a dummy astronaut named Ripley, a stuffed Earth toy and a few supplies for the station's three-person crew. The mission, called Demo-1, is SpaceX's big chance to show it can build a crewed spaceship, something Musk has dreamed about since he founded the company in 2002. "I'm a little emotionally exhausted," Musk said in a post-launch press conference here at the mission's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch site. "It's super-stressful, but it worked, so far." Related: SpaceX Dragon Crew Demo-1 Test Flight: Full Coverage In fact, Crew Dragon's launch debut appears to be a stunning success. A smooth late-night countdown led to a dazzling liftoff as the Falcon 9 booster lit up the sky over KSC's Launch Complex 39A. Today's launch is just the start of a SpaceX flight test to show NASA its new Crew Dragon spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts. Musk watched the launch from Firing Room 4 here with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will fly on the first crewed Crew Dragon mission as early as July. "It's been 17 years. We still haven't launched anyone yet, but hopefully we will later this year," Musk said of SpaceX. "So, that will definitely be the culmination of a long dream for a lot of people, me and other people at SpaceX, for sure. Can't wait." Related: SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 Test Flight in Pictures SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (right) and NASA chief Jim Bridenstine celebrate the successful first launch of a Crew Dragon spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 2, 2019. (Image credit: Kim Shiflett/NASa) SpaceX is one of two companies with a NASA contract to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The other company, Boeing, is developing its own CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to launch astronauts using Atlas V rockets. SpaceX and Boeing both plan uncrewed test flights and in-flight abort system tests before flying human crews. There was a time, Musk said, when he though SpaceX had maybe just a 10 percent chance of ever getting anything into orbit. The company's first three Falcon 1 rockets, a smaller predecessor of its workhorse Falcon 9 fleet, all failed. The fourth, Musk added, was pieced together from remaining parts, but succeeded. "The whole goal of SpaceX was crewed spaceflight. Improved space exploration technologies," he said. "That's actually the full name of the company, Space Exploration Technologies." Image 1 of 4 SpaceX's first Crew Dragon launches atop a Falcon 9 rocket on the Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, March 2, 2019. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com Image 2 of 4 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space carrying the first Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on an uncrewed test flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 2, 2019. (Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA) Image 3 of 4 Spectators observe SpaceX's first Crew Dragon launch from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 2, 2019. (Image credit: SpaceX/NASA) Image 4 of 4 The Falcon 9 first stage booster of SpaceX's Crew Dragon test flight stands on its drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" after a successful landing on March 2, 2019. (Image credit: SpaceX/NASA) SpaceX has evolved beyond its small Falcon 1 rockets to pioneer reusable rockets and spacecraft for orbital flights. The company has built robotic Dragon cargo ships for NASA, upgraded its Falcon 9 boosters for maximum reusability, launched a Falcon Heavy heavy-lift rocket and is developing a massive spacecraft (its Starship and Super Heavy) for passenger flights to the moon and beyond. "I really believe in the future of space, and I think it's important that we become a space-faring civilization and get out there among the stars," Musk said. "And I think that's one of the things that, you know, makes people excited about the future. We want the things that are in science fiction novels and movies not to be science fiction forever. We want them to be real one day." Musk said he was honored SpaceX was able to launch Crew Dragon from Pad 39A, the very same site that NASA's Apollo moon missions lifted off from in the 1960s and 1970s, and where the agency's final space shuttle mission took flight in 2011. "Thank you for letting us do that," he told NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "Thank you for refurbishing it," Bridenstine replied. SpaceX upgraded the launch site to handle its missions as part of a lease agreement with NASA. Still, Musk appeared moved by SpaceX's launch from the historic site. "I would never have believed that this would ever happen," he said. "I just think, you know, humanity landing on the moon, maybe that was the greatest thing ever. So I can't believe we're launching from that pad." A long-time advocate of human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit, Musk seized the opportunity to repeat his vision of humanity's expansion across the solar system. "We should have a base on the moon," he said. "Like a permanently occupied human base on the moon, and send people to Mars." But perhaps the most poignant moment came when a reporter asked Musk if he'd feel comfortable flying on Crew Dragon after witnessing its launch success. "I'd be happy to go on the vehicle. I think it's a good design," Musk said, with what seemed like pride in his voice. "It was a lot of, a crazy amount of, hard work by a lot of smart people at SpaceX, and a lot of help from NASA." "I think it's a good vehicle," Musk repeated. Editor's note: SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 spacecraft is currently chasing the International Space Station and will arrive at the orbiting lab early Sunday (March 3) for docking trials. You can watch the event live on Space.com. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. We may all have just lived through a spaceflight inflection point. SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the predawn darkness this morning (March 2), kicking off its maiden flight to the International Space Station. "Tonight was a big night for the United States of America, a great night for NASA," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said this morning during a post-launch press briefing here. "What today really represents is a new era in spaceflight." The private spaceship isn't carrying any passengers on its 6-day mission, which is known as Demo-1. But a successful flight fingers crossed will help pave the way for crewed journeys to and from the orbiting lab aboard Crew Dragon, returning human spaceflight to American soil for the first time since the 2011 retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet . Related: SpaceX Dragon Crew Demo-1 Test Flight: Full Coverage A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks into space carrying the first Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on an uncrewed test flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 2, 2019. (Image credit: Ben Smegelsky/NASA) "This is a critically important event in American history," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters here at KSC yesterday (March 1). Bigger things should eventually flow from this milestone, he stressed namely, the creation of a robust marketplace in low-Earth orbit with multiple American spaceflight providers and multiple customers. "We're going to have more access to space at better cost than at any point in human history," Bridenstine said yesterday. That capability, he added, will help NASA achieve its bold ambitions in deep space. The agency is working to return humans to the moon, but in a sustainable and cooperative fashion, rather than the go-it-alone, flags-and-footprints strategy of the Apollo era. NASA aims to have a small moon-orbiting space station called the Gateway up and running by the middle of the next decade. This outpost will serve as a jumping-off point to the lunar surface for both uncrewed and crewed landers, the latter of which could start putting humans down by the end of the 2020s. And the agency envisions the moon serving as a stepping-stone to Mars : NASA and its commercial and international partners will take what they learn from their work on and around Earth's nearest neighbor and apply it to the much tougher task of putting boots on the Red Planet, which NASA aims to do in the 2030s. "We really have one exploration campaign, but we have three theaters: We have low-Earth orbit, we have the moon, and we have Mars," Bridenstine said. "The goal here is to fund the entire package." Lowering costs in any and hopefully all of those theaters will help get that bigger job done, he added. If everything goes according to plan, Crew Dragon will arrive at the orbiting lab early tomorrow morning (March 3), then stay docked for five days. Its shakeout cruise will end on Friday morning (March 8) with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Florida coast. The capsule will then be prepped for a "high-altitude abort test," which will prove out its ability to get astronauts out of harm's way in the event of a launch emergency. (Crew Dragon has eight SuperDraco thrusters built into its body for this purpose.) That second uncrewed test could happen as early as next month, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has said (though it's officially planned for June ). SpaceX and NASA are targeting July for Demo-2, which will send two astronauts to the space station aboard Crew Dragon (but not the same individual capsule that's performing the first two tests). Fully operational missions, each of which will ferry four people to the orbiting lab, will start sometime thereafter. NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.6 billion contract in 2014 to do this work. The space agency also signed a similar, $4.2 billion deal with Boeing, which is developing a capsule called the CST-100 Starliner . Starliner could fly its first uncrewed demonstration mission to the station as early as next month, NASA officials have said, and tote astronauts for the first time in August. Update for 3:50 am EST: SpaceX has successfully launched its first Crew Dragon spacecraft. Read our full story. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX is counting down toward a historic test flight early Saturday of its first spaceship designed to carry astronauts, and you can watch the action live online. The spacecraft, called Crew Dragon, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center here in the wee hours of Saturday, March 2, to help show the space agency that it's ready to launch astronauts. Liftoff is set for 2:49 a.m. EST (0749 GMT) from Pad 39A the exact same site used by NASA's Apollo moon shots and where, nearly eight years ago, the agency launched its final space shuttle mission. "We are on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a Twitter statement. Tonight's test, he added is a "critical piece" in the path to that goal. You can watch SpaceX's Crew Dragon launch on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 2 a.m. EST (0700 GMT). The preparations running up to launch day have gone smoothly for SpaceX. There's an 80 percent chance of good weather for the test flight. Related: SpaceX Dragon Crew Demo-1 Flight: Full Coverage SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft and its Falcon 9 rocket will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on March 2, 2019, at 2:49 a.m. EST. (Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA) For SpaceX, which was founded in 2002 by billionaire Elon Musk in the pursuit of private space travel and trips to Mars, Crew Dragon's Demo-1 mission (as it's called) is a big milestone. "It's a culmination of what we were founded for, to some extent," Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president for build and reusability, told reporters Thursday (Feb. 28). "This is what we wanted to do." In 2014, NASA tapped SpaceX (and rival Boeing as well) to fly astronauts to the station under the agency's Commercial Crew program, which aims to restore the ability to fly American astronauts into orbit from U.S. soil. Since NASA's shuttle fleet retired in 2011, the agency has been dependent on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to fly astronauts into orbit. SpaceX has been flying uncrewed versions of the Dragon spacecraft to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station since 2012. The Hawthorne, California-based company evolved that Dragon cargo ship into a 21st-century space capsule equipped with a life-support system, emergency escape rockets and sleek touchscreen controls. Boeing, meanwhile, is building a spacecraft called the CST-100 Starliner, which launches on Atlas V rockets and aims to make its debut uncrewed test in April. If all goes well with Crew Dragon's launch, the spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station early Sunday (March 3) and spend five days docked at the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth on March 8. SpaceX then aims to launch an in-flight abort test flight, also uncrewed, in the next few months. The first Crew Dragon to carry people is due to launch in July, and the astronauts who will fly that Demo-2 mission Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be watching the Demo-1 flight from its launch control center. Two other astronauts, Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, are also watching closely. They'll be on the first Crew Dragon to fly an operational mission to the space station. "It's a pretty big deal," Hurley told reporters here at KSC today. "When we first started, this program was just PowerPoint charts, and now we've got a vehicle out on the pad." Visit Space.com tonight for complete coverage of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission. STAMFORD School officials Thursday night asked the Board of Finance for $702,600 theyve already spent. It was used to clean up mold that has infested multiple school buildings since the heavy rainfall and high humidity of last summer. Theyre asking us to reimburse them, board Vice Chair Mary Lou Rinaldi said. Members refused the request for the supplemental appropriation, at least for now. They want school administrators to provide invoices that detail where the money went. The sum was spent before the Oct. 29 formation of the Mold Task Force, headed by Director of Administration Michael Handler and funded by the city, not the school district. The district needs the appropriation because it is struggling to keep within its budget for the 2018-19 school year, as state law requires. But finance board Chair Richard Freedman wanted to know who approved the invoices for the mold work. He pointed to a bill for $39,000 from a contractor who was paid by the square foot to remediate mold in five classrooms. Did someone confirm the square footage? Freedman asked. I dont know, but most of the remediation is being done by that firm, said Clarence Zachery, the districts chief financial and operations officer. Who calculated the number on the bill? Freedman asked. How do we know its right? I would like to see the methodology, because the person doing the calculation doesnt have an incentive to keep the number down. Board member Dudley Williams acknowledged that mold had to be removed with urgency to ensure student safety. That doesnt justify lax oversight, Williams added. After questioning other bills, Freedman proposed that the board deduct 10 percent of the $702,600 as a signal to the Board of Education and the administration to use more careful practices in the future. That was followed by a proposal that school administrators provide more complete information when the board meets March 14. All six members supported that motion instead of Freedmans original proposal. They also want administrators to explain how the mold was allowed to grow into the problem it has become. I would like people to be accountable, Rinaldi said. If nobody did anything wrong, we wouldnt be dealing with this. Superintendent Earl Kim said many are to blame. Weve all had a hand in it boards of education, superintendents, boards of finance and representatives over time, Kim said. Its a system issue. The system is that superintendents draw up a budget proposal and send it to the mayor, who may cut it before sending it to the Planning Board, which may cut it again to ensure the city remains below its safe debt limit. The Board of Finance gets it after that, and the Board of Representatives last. Kim said that in the two and a half years hes been superintendent hes requested $20 to $40 million for school capital projects each budget season, but received only $5 or $6 million. I dont see that any board or individual was remiss in trying to meet our capital needs, Kim said. The No. 1 issue has been health and safety, which chews up $3 million in the capital budget each year. If you get only $5 million or $6 million, youre not going to be able to tackle long-term issues. Member Sal Gabriele objected. You never made it clear to us, Gabriele said. You should have come in screaming bloody murder we have mold issues. The issues are extensive. Handler updated the board on cleanup and repairs. At Stark Elementary School, water is coming through the windows, he said. They must be removed, the surrounding brick replaced, and the windows reset and caulked. Thats a big project for the summer, Handler said. Theres an even bigger one at Westhill High School, where air ducts must be reworked at a cost in the tens of millions of dollars, Handler said. It will take two summers, he said. Rinaldi questioned how things were allowed to deteriorate. Isnt that something they should have been doing as a matter of general maintenance? she said. To me, this is negligence on a grand scale. The biggest expense involves Westover, the Stillwater Road elementary school where water permeates the foundation, walls and windows. It was closed in November and students were moved to a renovated office building on Elmcroft Road. Westover will remain closed through the 2019-20 school year, and in that time will likely be rebuilt on site at a cost yet to be determined, Handler said. It will be a heavy renovation, he said. Rent and utilities for the Elmcroft building will cost $4.35 million for the September-June 2020 term, he said. The cost for this school year is $1.87 million. To date, $5.58 million has been spent district wide on work related to mold $3.9 million on Westover and the Elmcroft building, Handler said. School administrators have said that if spending continues as it has, the forecast is that the district will be $3.15 million over budget come the end of June. The deficit will shrink to $2.25 million once the $702,600 is appropriated and $201,000 is removed from an energy reserve account, and with offsets from other accounts, they said. The district has frozen hiring, overtime and discretionary spending. Thursdays meeting began with a private discussion listed on the agenda as progress on negotiations of alternate school sites. Mayor David Martin said in August he was considering closing two elementary schools or an elementary and a middle school and consolidating them in a former office park. At the time Martin was taking elected officials on tours of 800 Long Ridge Road, once a headquarters for Xerox Corp. The building is owned by developer Building and Land Technology and under lease to a division of GE Capital, but unoccupied, Martin said at the time. Under the state Freedom of Information Act, public officials are allowed to discuss possible real estate deals in private. Afterward, Freedman said no decisions were made and no votes were taken. acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296. DOWNTOWN St. Andrews Church is hosting a family-friendly Mardi Gras celebration. The event will be held in the church hall at 1231 Washington Blvd. on March 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be all-you-can-eat pancakes plus a dessert table. For the kids, there will be arts and crafts, Mardi Gras masks, beads and a parade (indoors). Suggested donation is $10, and children under 10 eat free when accompanied by an adult. WATERSIDE Building One Community The Center for Immigrant Opportunity (B1C) is hosting a panel discussion about the path to citizenship on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the New Canaan Library. The event is part of the librarys programming in March focused on immigration. During the panel, immigration attorney Aleksandr Troyb will discuss topics including the naturalization process and citizenship exam. Attendees will also hear from one of B1Cs volunteer teachers who prepares immigrants for the citizenship exam and interview. Staff members will be present to speak about the organizations legal services, share client experiences, and participate in the Q&A that will follow the panel presentation. Citizenship classes are one of the many support services available to immigrants at B1C. The classes take place on Mondays from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information, visit building1community.org. DOWNTOWN The Stamford Art Association is hosting its 46th annual student art show. The multimedia juried art exhibit features more than 100 high school artists selected by art teachers from 13 Fairfield County high schools. The teachers choose the work of junior and senior art students from their schools. The work displayed is in six categories: painting, drawing, prints, 3-D, portfolios and merit. The SAA Townhouse Gallery, 39 Franklin St., is open every Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. The exhibit runs until March 14. For information, visit stamfordartassociation.org. STRAWBERRY HILL The Archangels Greek Orthodox Church will host Dr. George Demacopoulos, professor of theology at Fordham University, at its annual Lenten Spiritual Retreat on Saturday, March 16. Demacopoulos is the Fr. John Meyendorff and Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies. He is also the co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center. He has written four books and specializes in Christian History. The retreat will begin at 9 a.m. Father Harry Pappas, pastor of the Church of The Archangels, will celebrate the Saturday of Souls Liturgy, which is celebrated the Saturday before the beginning of Lent to commemorate the dead within that liturgical year. Afterwards, Demacopoulos morning presentation will explore the Akathist Hymn for Our Life Today followed by a breakout of small groups for discussion. The afternoon lecture, after lunch, will interpret St. Mary of Egypts life. The retreat is open to the public. There will be refreshments and lunch will be served. Donations are welcome but optional. The event will be held at The Archangels Greek Orthodox Church at 1527 Bedford St. For further information, please call Father Harry Pappas at 203-348-4216. DOWNTOWN Domus Kids, Inc., a community-based, multi-service nonprofit serving more than 1,700 young people, formally opened its new community re-entry program, Invictus, at an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 17 Forest Street. City and state officials were on hand to celebrate the start of the program for men ages 17-25 who are returning from incarceration. Invictus works with program participants six months prior to their release from prison and up to 18 months after their release. Services include job-readiness training/job placement, and help working through potentially stressful situations including living with families and developing fatherhood skills. The agency also helps participants to meet their legal obligations such as parole or probation requirements or outpatient drug rehabilitation. Human trafficking is called Americas invisible crime. Its not invisible; its just a crime we dont want to see. Claudia Connor has been telling me about her work for about 45 minutes. Connor, a Norwalk resident, is president and CEO of Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI). She offered to meet me in their Stamford branch on Woodland Avenue, but I preferred doing it at the agencys headquarters, a nondescript house on Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport. Sometimes its better to ponder the local view from a distance. That Connor narrates CIRIs work without political animus is admirable, given that President Donald Trump is a presence in any room where refugees and immigrants are discussed in 2019. She, along with colleagues Jessica Suarez and Gary Holmes, remain steadfastly poised and apolitical. The conversation tilts when Connor tries to characterize human trafficking. Its such a ... For the first time, she has to pause. ... profoundly inhumane crime, she continues. Its just unbelievable that in this day and age people are really treating one another like commodities. I just dont think people can understand that because it seems so hard to believe. Its like, I can believe people are selling guns or drugs, but are people really being sold? Yes, they are. Human trafficking is among the top three crime enterprises in the world, along with drugs and arms. Maybe you still cant see it. Or call it what it is: slavery in the 21st century. Connor helps me see it more clearly. Its hard to focus during those first 45 minutes of our chat due to the gravity of the agencys other responsibilities. Permit me to distract you for a few moments. CIRI was launched in 1918 in Bridgeport. Note the timing. World War I was ending and all those new immigrants needed guidance finding work and learning another tongue. The waves of immigrants over the next 101 years offer a Tweet-length history lesson on how Connecticut neighborhoods took shape. Portuguese immigration peaks in the 1920s; Eastern Europeans resettle after World War II; Southeast Asians arrive on the heels of the Vietnam War; the splintering of Yugoslavia sends refugees from Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo to the agencys doorsteps in the 1990s. Most of the refugees they assisted in recent years have been from Africa. Consider a new client: A woman flees the Congo 25 years ago. A man does the same shortly after. They meet in a refugee camp and now have six children. Theyve been raising a family in a refugee camp and their home No. 2 is in Bridgeport, Connor says. Thats a closeup. The wide-angle lens reveals that the quota set by the executive branch will be capped at 30,000 refugees, compared with 110,000 set during President Barack Obamas last year. We remind people its not a political activity, its a humanitarian endeavor, Connor says, offering exhibit A that President George H.W. Bush was in office when the figure peaked at 142,000. Still, you know what she means when she says it used to be easier to reassure anxious clients. Now we pause before we say, That will never happen because we never know. Thats Trump in the room again, admiring the virtual wall hes already built. Many of their clients share a capacity to have hope in unimaginable circumstances, Connor says. Holmes, a member of the agencys board, is more glib: You can rage on Facebook or you can get involved with something like CIRI. Connor apologizes for finding it difficult to shorthand the agencys mission. When she says, the work is hard, it comes out in italics. Weve traveled the globe during this exploration. Then Connor brings it back home when I probe for more insight on human trafficking. Its not just in nail salons, which appallingly remain unlicensed only in Connecticut. Its not just in spas like the one linked to international human trafficking that hosted the recent arrest of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. She forces me to see. Many diplomats working in New York City settle in lower Fairfield County. They bring someone from home to serve as nanny or maid. Then they take away their documentation and isolate them so they dont learn English. We have clients who say they never got fed, Connor continues. When the family finished eating they would be given that food. Another pause. In Greenwich. In New Canaan. In Darien. See it now? Its right in front of you. John Breunig is editorial page editor of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. jbreunig@scni.com; twitter.com/johnbreunig Just five months have passed since the controversial fashion designer Hedi Slimane unveiled his debut vision for Celine. A fact that in retail terms, means its too soon to tell whether his vision - an obliteration of the austere aesthetic created by Phoebe Philo - will sell like the proverbial hotcakes critics of the collection suspected it would. Love him or loathe him, Slimane understands how to get cash in the till - it's this aptitude that peaked interest from Celine owners LVMH who coaxed the French designer back from LA to make a luxury juggernaut out of one of its most beloved brands. Certainly his sophomore women's collection, unveiled in Paris last night, suggested that generating mass sales is what figures highest on Slimanes agenda with a commercial offering laden with wearable catnip his objective for autumn 2019. Eradicating the waifish party girls that defined his first showcase - and his tenure as artistic director at Saint Laurent - and unveiling a Left Bank lady with a rebellious side in her place, Slimane presented pussy bow blouses, tweed kilts and beautifully cut blazers. Celine AW19 (Celine ) / Celine Skin was kept almost entirely off the agenda with Slimane appearing to to have listened to the critics who found his debut to be out of step with the wants of contemporary woman with wearable knee-high boots and oversized faux fur coats a mainstay last night. Celine AW19 (Celine ) / Celine Its most sellable pieces included straight cut blue jeans which, while unremarkable to the untrained eye, will be a major hit with diehard luxury consumers and saddle bags which will ensure Celines accessory sales continue to soar. The result was a vision that bore no semblance or spiritual connection to his debut. But why the change of heart? Is Slimane toying with us? Celine AW19 (Celine ) / Celine Undoubtedly, from a designer who marches to his own beat this U-turn was among the shocking revelations delivered fashion month thus far. That the show began with a model floating above the catwalk in a mirrored glass box only added to the melodrama. B eirut is a charming, restless city on the Mediterranean coastline with temperate climate, universally-loved cuisine and a growing art culture on a par with London, Berlin and New York. Whatever your style, Beirut has a gallery for it. Hidden in different pockets of the city are art hubs that tackle subjects like war, sexuality and slavery head-on. Spend the afternoon gallery hopping in the bohemian quarter of Gemmayze or marvel at the collection at Sursock museum - you really are spoilt for choice here. Not all of its artistic gems are confined to four walls though. Venture out and youll see shrapnel-holed buildings (traces from decades of civil war) covered in street art displaying socio-political messages and traditional calligraphy. Among the numerous museums and contemporary art spaces, below are six must-see galleries in this creative city. ARTLAB The gallery with a devil-may-care attitude ARTLAB is a small space located in Gemmayze (one of Beiruts primary cultural and artistic hubs) that seeks to engage the heart and soul. While some galleries may be wary not to ruffle any feathers, ARTLAB often unsettles and disrupts by allowing artists to address controversial issues in their practice. ARTLAB invites up-and-coming artists from the Middle East and beyond to showcase their works. While youre in the neighbourhood, its worth popping by neighbouring Art on 56th a contemporary gallery situated in a gorgeous old building only minutes away by foot. Saleh Barakat Gallery A must-visit for contemporary art lovers Saleh Barakat Gallery Situated in the Hamra district, Saleh Barakat is one of the most important galleries in the country, which played a pivotal role in putting Beirut back on the map of the Arab art scene. What once was the historic theater Masrah al-Madina was repurposed into this mostly underground gallery space that exhibits the works of up-and-coming and established Lebanese and Arab artists. The space opened on the 25th anniversary of Agial Art Gallery another heavyweight in the regional art scene. This sister gallery is at a reasonable 10-minute walk away from Barakat. National Museum of Beirut A national treasure that survived the civil war and rose from its ashes To transition from contemporary art toward something more antiquated, visit the National Museum of Beirut (known to locals as mat-haf). Its permanent collection highlights the richness of Lebanese history through relics dating as far back as the Paleolithic era. During Lebanons bloody Civil War, snipers and militiamen occupied the place, making it unsafe for visitors. Some have even called it one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Forty years later, the museum re-opened its complete exhibition to the public. Amazingly, the majority of the artefacts survived the carnage. Look out for the worlds largest collection of anthropoid sarcophagi and the oldest known inscriptions in Phoenician letters. Beit Beirut Former battle zone turned museum and cultural center Like the National Museum, the Barakat Building (alternatively known as the Yellow House) was seized during the 15-year civil war and transformed into a sniper post. The house gave a surround view of the infamous Green Line which made it a strategic vantage point for warring factions. Traces of this violent past have been preserved in the buildings pockmarked structure. Inside this iconic building is Beit Beirut (House of Beirut) - a cultural centre showcasing the history of Beirut, as well as a well-curated rotation of artistic and cultural exhibitions. Be sure to contact before visiting as Beit Beirut currently does not have regular opening hours. Sursock Museum A sizable art collection in a picturesque mansion Sursock Museum / Joe Kesrouani In 1952, Lebanese aristocrat Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock had one dying wish: to transform his private mansion into a public museum. At 8500 square meters, Sursock Museum is a behemoth of modern and contemporary art in Lebanon. Built in 19th Century Levantine style, the villa is a sight to beheld. An expansive exhibition hall and twin gallery spaces host local contemporary artists. The permanent collection, which includes Islamic and late Ottoman artwork and Japanese woodcut prints, resides on the second story. A specialized research library, auditorium and restoration workshop can be found in the basement. Venture out onto the esplanade to dine at The Resto, admire the sculptures or browse through the gift shop. CUB Gallery An unpretentious gallery which supports fresh talent and welcomes young collectors Due to lack of resources, many up-and-coming local talents fall short from getting the recognition they deserve. A haven for young artists, CUB Gallery gives fine art students and recent graduates a platform to expose their work to the public while at the early stages of their career. If you are a thrifty collector looking for affordable contemporary art, this gallerys pocket-friendly prices will appeal to you. Although students have produced the art, CUB Gallery attracts art aficionados and collectors of all ages. Grab a bite to eat at one of the nearby eateries on hip Badaro street before making your way over. Where to stay as an art lover Le Gray Sitting pretty in the heart of downtown is Beiruts first design hotel, Le Gray. Designed by Australian architect Kevin Dash, this 103-room property offers breath-taking, 360-degree views of the city. Visitors are welcomed with an impressive floor-to-celling glass topped atrium and charmed by 500 privately owned pieces of contemporary art collected from the Middle East, Addis Ababa, Cuba, Paris and London by its owner and hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray. Most prominent is the white spray painted metal wall with flowers and a colourful baby elephant by Lebanese artist Nadim Karam. There are also paintings by Cuban artist Diago, David Reimondo and French artist Fred Bred. Phoenicia Phoenicia is a landmark in Beirut, not only because it survived the war, but also because this is where the rich and famous descended back in the day. Richard Long / Phoenicia Today, its 446 rooms and suites attract travellers from all over the world looking to combine culture and luxury. Art lovers can make themselves at home around works by British artists Therese Oulton, Jason Martin and Ian McKeever. In keeping with its ancient and modern theme is a specially commissioned mud installation by artist Richard Long and Marina a life size bronze sculpture by Ronald Cameron. If youre lucky, you could be starting at Paul Morrison, Sandro Santioli or Sam Francis from the comfort of your bed. Le Vendome T hree kind-hearted London residents have embarked on a mammoth 150-kilometre charity run to help their friend afford life-saving cancer treatment. Nathan Haisley, Lee Parker and Adam Little will run over three consecutive days to raise vital funds for Sean OBrien as he battles against liver cancer. Mr OBrien, from Acton, was first diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his bowel and liver in May 2016, when doctors at Hammersmith Hospital told the 35-year-old he had around six months left to live. Despite patients with his diagnoses being given around a 5 per cent chance of surviving past three years, Mr OBrien has since beaten the bowel cancer after more than 50 sessions of chemotherapy. However, after nearly three gruelling years, he is now desperately raising funds to help him afford Avastin, a costly treatment not available to him on the NHS, to help him beat the liver metastases. Sean O'Brien was first diagnosed with cancer in May 2016 (Sean O'Brien ) / Sean O'Brien In response, three of his friends have now embarked on a 150-kilometer charity run from Friday to Sunday along the Kent coastline, starting in Camber and ending in Whitstable. More than 5,000 has been raised online to help Mr OBrien pay for the treatment. Speaking to the Standard about his friends mammoth run, Mr OBrien said: I am absolutely gobsmacked about what they are doing, its just unbelievable and Im so grateful. Im in total awe of them, Im almost embarrassed that theyre doing such a big thing for me. Its a testament to how much they want me to succeed and its a huge driving force. Its inspired me to keep fighting. Its so hard when youre going through treatment, its gruelling and its knocking you down and its hard to get inspiration, but this has really given me that push. Sean O'Brien with Nathan Haisley (left) and Lee Parker (right) (Sean O'Brien ) / Sean O'Brien Mr OBrien, who says he has already spent all of his savings on his treatment, added: My one aim is to get this cancer under control. Its a job that needs to get done and Im still chipping away at it. Ahead of the 150-kilometre challenge, Mr Haisley said they are under no illusion about how difficult it will be but added: Its for such an important cause and that will keep us going." He said: Sean is just such a genuine, sincere person one of the nicest people you will ever meet. It has been unbelievably gruelling what hes gone through, its the liver that is now proving really stubborn to clear out of cancer and thats why he needs our help and this treatment. The 150km run will take the group three days / RunningForOB Despite undergoing a round of chemotherapy just days ago, Mr OBrien is also planning to cycle the final seven miles of the route along the Kent coastline if he is feeling well enough. Mr Haisley said: Sean is such a positive person, you never really know where his mind is at because he cares more about not making people worry than actually showing what hes going through. "Hes just trying to save his own life the best he can, instead of giving up hes fighting and hes so determined. As much as you try to stay positive youve always got it in the back of your mind the worst scenario, but hes got so many people who have rallied around him and thats a testament to how lovely he is. Its amazing that so many people have backed the fundraiser, people who dont even know Sean, people who cant really afford to donate but are still giving everything they can. E U chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has hinted at a two-month extension of Article 50 as he does not believe there is enough time to approve Theresa Mays deal by the scheduled exit date of March 29. Mr Barnier suggested a "technical extension" of up to two months may be needed. The Prime Minister has told MPs they will have a "meaningful vote" on her withdrawal plans by March 12. Asked if he thought it was possible to reach an agreement by March 29, even if Westminster gave the green light this month, Mr Barnier told Spain's El Mundo newspaper: "No." Referencing a technical extension, Mr Barnier added: "But you'll have to ask the United Kingdom. If there is a vote on the 12th and it takes two months to carry out the procedure, it would be justified." Theresa May's deal will be put to MPs for a vote again before March 12 / House of Commons/PA Mrs May has said that if her deal is rejected by Parliament, MPs will be able to vote on whether the UK can leave the EU in a no-deal scenario, and if that is rejected, the Commons can decide on whether to extend Article 50 and delay Brexit for a limited period. Mr Barnier has also stated that Brussels is ready to give the UK further "guarantees, assurances and clarifications" that the Irish backstop should only be temporary. He insisted that the controversial measure, intended to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, will not be removed from the Withdrawal Agreement. While acknowledging Brexiteer concerns that the backstop is a trap that would keep the UK tied to the EU indefinitely, Mr Barnier insisted it is only "insurance" intended for the "worst-case scenario". TODO: define component type apester Speaking to German newspaper Die Welt, Mr Barnier said: "We know that there are misgivings in Britain that the backstop could keep Britain forever connected to the EU. "This is not the case. And we are ready to give further guarantees, assurances and clarifications that the backstop should only be temporary." The guarantees in question could come as an adjunct to the Withdrawal Agreement in the form of an "interpretive document", he said. However the EU will not allow for a time limit to be placed on the backstop or give Britain the right to unilaterally pull out of it, Mr Barnier added. The development came as the president of Slovenia suggested the country and many other EU states would be willing to accept a short delay to Brexit.] Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January 1 /25 Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January Pro-EU and pro-Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A man holds a 'Stop Brexit' sign aboard a campaign bus travelling down Whitehall in Westminster, London PA Pro-Brexit demonstrators chant slogans outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Anti-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter vapes electronic cigarette in front of a group of remain supporters AP Pro-Brexit protestors dressed as suffragettes demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Images An anti-brexit supporter holds banners in London AP Pro and anti Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP A campaigner dressed as Charlie Chaplin walks by the Houses of Parliament PA A leave supporter holds banners at the parliament gates AP Pro-Brexit, left and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP Pro-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter holds banners in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London AP Police officers stand near Pro-Brexit and Anti-Brexit posters outside the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster, London Reuters Leave supporters hold placards in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London, AP A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Leave supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in Londo AP Leave and remain supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in London AP Pro-Brexit activists hold placards and wave flags as they demonstrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London AFP/Getty Images A remain supporter, left and a leave supporter, center, discuss during demonstrations in London AP Pro-Brexit protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images v Reuters Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrate on a double decker bus outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images Borut Pahor, who sat on the European Council of leaders when he was prime minister, told Sky News: "I think Slovenia and a lot of other countries would say yes. "I think that nobody wants to see a hard Brexit in a chaotic way, which would damage London and Brussels and Ljubljana and every country." However Mr Pahor said the extension should not be used simply to postpone the making of a compromise decision. Mrs May has insisted she does not want a delay Brexit and believes the UK can leave the EU as scheduled on March 29. Countdown to Brexit: 27 days until Britain leaves the EU Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn confirmed Labour would now back a referendum if faced with a "damaging Tory Brexit" or a no-deal departure from the European Union after Labour's vision was rejected in the Commons. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss warned on Friday that a new Brexit referendum would provoke a "massive crisis". She also indicated that a no-deal exit could be better than a delay. Ms Truss told the BBC: "I think it would be an absolute disaster if we had a second referendum after people voted so clearly to leave the European Union. A significant fire has damaged half of Telsas car service site in Crawley. The blaze broke out at the County Oak Way premises at about 10.30am, after first starting in a workshop area. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire is now under control. No-one has been injured. The fire is not thought to have started in a vehicle. An eyewitness described hearing "many small explosions" coming from the premises. About 50 firefighters and eight fire engines, as well as an aerial ladder platform and an incident command unit, were initially scrambled to the scene in County Oak Way. The fire service posted on Twitter: "The Tesla car dealership building in Crawley is currently well alight. We were called at 10.29am, crews at scene. Please avoid this busy area." It added: "We are currently in attendance of a significant fire in Crawley, on County Oak Way. Six engines and an Aerial Ladder Platform at scene." Eyewitness Thomas Ferryman told GetSurrey that he had heard "many small explosions", which he believed could be batteries for the electric vehicles. A spokeswoman for the fire service said that the fire was now under control, and the firefighters were searching the building for any remaining hotspots. She said that approximately 50% of the single storey building, 50 metres by 30 metres in size, had been damaged by fire and heat - and about 50 firefighters had attended the incident. She added: "Four appliance are still at the scene with an aerial platform and an incident command unit. "The incident is now being scaled down as we have put a stop message on it, meaning it won't get any bigger. "They are now just locating any hotspots in the property to make sure it is extinguished and we will return later to ensure the fire is out." The spokeswoman added: "The fire is believed to have started in a store room for parts and spread to the main building. It was an accidental ignition." A Tesla spokeswoman said: "The fire at Tesla's Gatwick Service Centre has stopped and we are working with the fire department to learn more about what caused this incident. We can confirm that no Tesla staff or customers were injured or hurt." The fire comes as the electric car manufacturer has announced plans to close its dealerships and to sell its vehicle online only, raising doubts about the future of its sites in the UK and Ireland. The Silicon Valley firm has not confirmed the number of store closures or job losses, but Tesla has 378 stores and locations worldwide - including 18 stores in the UK and Ireland. A move to ban Hezbollah and make membership of it illegal in the UK has been deemed "irresponsible" by Iran's foreign ministry. On Monday it was announced the group will become a proscribed institution in the UK, making being a member of or inviting support for it a criminal offence. Until now only the military wing of the Lebanon-based group had been outlawed in Britain and not its political arm. A report by the official IRNA news agency said Bahram Ghasemi, the ministry's spokesman, called the plan a "wrong move". He said it will not serve stability and security in Lebanon and ignores the will of a "large portion" of the Lebanese people. Sajid Javid announced the move in February / AFP/Getty Images Iran is a key supporter of Hezbollah and Mr Ghasemi said the Lebanese people support Hezbollah which "defends the territorial integrity of Lebanon and fights terrorism". The plans from the Government will see affiliation to the group punishable by up to ten years in prison. The British ban came as the United States increased pressure on Hezbollah, placing several sets of sanctions on the group and its regional backer Iran. Lebanon's Hezbollah group rejected the British government's move to ban it as a terrorist organisation and called it an "insult" to the Lebanese people, while saying it evidenced subservience to the United States. Sajid Javid said the move came as it became difficult to differentiate between the military wing and the political party of the group, Hezbollah is Arabic for Party of God and is a Shiite Muslim movement that emerged during the early 1980s to fight Israeli occupation of Lebanon. S amantha Markle has revealed that she started her feud with her estranged sister after Prince Harry said the Royals were the family Meghan has never had in a radio interview. The Duke of Sussex was asked about Meghans first Christmas with the Royal family in 2017 during an interview with BBC Radio 4. He said: Shes done an amazing job, you know its the family I suppose shes never had. Harry added that his family had loved having the former actress, 37, around at Christmas and that the festivities were "fantastic". In a new documentary that aired on Channel 5 last night, Meghans estranged sister said that was the moment the Markle family feud began. Meghan Markle's half-sister has mounted another verbal attack on the Duchess / Channel 5 She told the documentary titled Meghan and the Markles: A Family at War: The first thing I thought was I dont think Harry has been given the full story. Something was not right. Though we werent the classic family together on schedule for every holiday, we were family. Ms Markle went on: Then we questioned why. Why would she be embarrassed about her family, why would you need to set the stage differently. It was starting to feel like she wasnt reaching out to the family. Meghan Markle's New York baby shower 1 /12 Meghan Markle's New York baby shower Reuters Francesco T AP SplashNews.com SplashNews.com SplashNews.com SplashNews.com 247PAPS.TV / SplashNews.com SplashNews.com SplashNews.com SplashNews.com SplashNews.com Ms Markle took great umbrage with the Duchess of Sussex when she was not invited to the Royal wedding despite not having spoken to her for many years. Meghan is also estranged from her father after he repeatedly gave interviews to the media about his daughter and their relationship. Thomas Markle speaking on Good Morning Britain / Good Morning Britain F orecasters have issued a danger to life warning as Storm Freya looks set to bring gale-force winds to Britain. The storm will hit on Sunday afternoon and be severe enough to risk injuries and danger to life from flying debris and large waves. Damage to buildings and trees is also expected with travel disruption and power cuts possible. The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning, which runs from 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday. The weather warnings covers much of northern England, the Midlands and Wales. It is warning people to be aware of possible hazards including tiles being blown from roofs, fallen branches, and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts and coastal roads. Warm Weather: February 2019 - In pictures 1 /33 Warm Weather: February 2019 - In pictures Tourist and office workers continue to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather in Hyde Park, London PA Workers cross London Bridge, with Tower Bridge seen behind during the morning rush hour in the city of London Reuters People pass colourful flowers in full bloom near the Royal Crescent, Bath PA Families were seen soaking up the sun on Boscombe beach near Bournemouth PA A squirrel forages for nuts among daffodils in full bloom in Royal Victoria Park, Bath PA People cross the Millennium Bridge in central London, as many parts of the UK enjoyed unusually warm temperatures PA PA Tourist and office workers continue to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather in Hyde Park, London PA Tourist and office workers continue to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather in Hyde Park, London PA A worker looks at his phone as he crosses London Bridge, with Tower Bridge seen behind during the morning rush hour in the city of London Reuters Tourist and office workers continue to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather in Hyde Park, London PA Tourist and office workers continue to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather in Hyde Park, London PA People on a bench enjoy the sunshine at Woolacombe PA A beautiful Valentine's Day sunrise over the London skyline James Burns/London from the Rooftops Regent's Canal at Camden Lock on February 25 Getty Images A woman relaxes in the daffodils during sunny spring weather in St James's Park EPA A couple relax in the sun in St James's Park in London, Reuters The UK has been experiencing unseasonably mild weather conditions Getty Images The sun rises over the North Sea near Whitley Bay, North Tyneside PA Londoners were seen relaxing in the sun in Hyde Park AFP/Getty Images People sit in the sun in St James Park, London, as many parts of the UK enjoyed unusually warm temperatures PA People enjoy the sunshine in Regent's Park on Monday Getty Images People enjoying unseasonably mild weather conditions in Brighton Getty Images People enjoyed boat rides in the Serpentine in Hyde Park as the capital basked in sunshine on Sunday AFP/Getty Images Two people pose for a photo in front of daffodils in St James Park, London PA A man uses a newspaper as a sun hat as people enjoy the afternoon sunshine in Regent's Park Getty Images A woman practices yoga in the sun in St James's Park Reuters A bee takes pollen from a spring bloom in St James's Park Reuters Two women take a selfie photograph in the daffodils during sunny spring weather in St James's Park EPA People enjoy the afternoon sunshine on the Palace Pier in Brighton Getty Images People enjoy the afternoon sunshine on Primrose Hill Getty Images A couple eat ice-creams in the sunshine at South Beach, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales Reuters Children play in the sea at South Beach, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales Reuters Gusts between 55mph and 65mph can be expected, with wind speeds reaching up to 80mph in coastal areas. The warning, issued on Friday, came on the same day the forecaster provisionally announced that last month set a new temperature record, with average maximum daily peaks of 10C. This beat the previous record of 9.8C, set in 1998. Despite the start of the month seeing snow and freezing temperatures, the Met Office also said that the average mean temperature for February was 6.0C - the second warmest on record. Clear skies and colder nights prevented the total average from being beaten, but the mean minimum daily temperature was still "well above average", according to the forecaster. Travel disruption is expected / REUTERS With the high temperatures came plenty of sunshine, and last month has provisionally been named the second sunniest February on record for the whole of the UK. Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, a climate researcher at Royal Netherlands Meteorolgical Institute, told the Guardian that temperatures jumping above 20C in February were a one-in 200-year event. But storm Freya's arrival will bring a much less spring-like start to March. Saturday will be "unsettled", with wet and windy conditions will hit Northern Ireland by the afternoon and everywhere except the south east by the evening. Sunday will see rain and gales, with the western parts of England and Wales most affected. The Met Office warning covers large parts of the country, including Wales, south-west England, the Midlands, northern England and parts of southern Scotland. Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible, and some roads and bridges may have to close. Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: "What we have got is a storm developing quite rapidly to the south and west of the UK. "It will be developing as it goes across the UK and it will be bringing very strong winds." He added that gusts of 55mph to 65mph are "likely quite widely within the warning area and there is the potential for isolated gusts to reach 70 and 80mph". Wind speeds will be highest in coastal areas in Devon, Cornwall, Wales and north-west England, Mr Madge said. S ix civilians have died amid continued conflict between India and Pakistan in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Fighting resumed on Saturday with two siblings and a mother in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed in the fighting. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region while their father was left fighting for his life in hospital, police said. Another fatality came in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, where a boy was killed and three other people wounded. Later on Saturday, a Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. Conflict has continued over Kashmir between the two countries / EPA An official said Indian troops with heavy weapons "indiscriminately targeted border villagers". Both incidents happened along the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between the countries. People rally during an anti-India protest in Karachi, Pakistan / EPA Each country blamed the other for "unprovoked" violation of the 2003-ceasefire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier and said their soldiers reacted "befittingly". Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday. Indian soldiers stand guard before the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan / REUTERS They carried out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants involved in the group blamed for a suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops on February 14. Pakistan retaliated and shot down a MiG-21 fighter jet on Wednesday then detained its pilot, who has since been returned as a gesture of goodwill. The fighting has led thousands of residents to flee to safer areas to escape shelling along the frontier. The violence this week marked the most serious escalation of the conflict since 1999, a year that saw Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil, while Indian fighter jet also shot down a Pakistani naval aircraft killing all 16 on board. Pakistan to tackle militant groups Pakistan plans to take action against militant groups operating on its soil, a minister said on Monday, amid global pressure to act after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir last month. But Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry denied Indian accusations that Pakistan was involved in the February 14 attack, which led to a sharp rise in hostilities, saying it "had nothing to do with us." Chaudhry said the decision to act was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee before the suicide bombing, claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), in Kashmir. He said: "A full-fledged strategy is now in place. A loyal husky saved his owners lives by alerting them to a fire before being killed by the flames. The dog woke the sleeping couple to warn them of flames in their New York apartment on the early hours of Friday, the New York Post reports. Engaged Quinn Demarest and Monica Molina managed to escape the blaze and alert their neighbours thanks to their pet, named Rikku. [Rikku] let us knock on the doors and set off the alarm that saved everyone, Mr Demarest said. Then, when Ms Molina was safely out of the building, he went back for Rikku but was unable to save the dog. He said: I came back, but the fire was too big. I couldnt get him out. Photos seen by the New York Post showed Rikku enjoying the snow and playing in a park. The blaze left seven civilians and a firefighter in hospital after some 106 firefighters fought to try and put it out. S paceX has successfully launched its all new Crew Dragon spacecraft for the first time with a dummy astronaut on board. Bound for the International Space Station, Elon Musk's newest space craft blasted off on top of a Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday morning. The only passenger was a life-size test dummy, named Ripley after the lead character in the "Alien" movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year. The space craft launched at 2.49am local time (7.49am UK time). SpaceX Crew Dragon launch 1 /12 SpaceX Crew Dragon launch Plumes of smoke as Falcon 9 blasts off with Crew Dragon AFP/Getty Images SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon on board blasts off AFP/Getty Images A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule on board lifts off into the sky AP This video grab taken from the Space X webcast transmission on March 2, 2019, shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard lifting off during the Demo-1 mission, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida AFP/Getty Images Falcon 9 soars into the sky with Crew Dragon AFP/Getty Images SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard takes off during the Demo-1 mission, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 2, 2019 AFP/Getty Images This video grab taken from the Space X webcast transmission on March 2, 2019, shows a dummy named Ripley onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft AFP/Getty Images The Falcon 9 rocket blasts off into the sky with the Crew Dragon spacecraft AFP/Getty Images Spectators watch as the Falcon 9 rocket blasts off into the sky with the Crew Dragon spacecraft REUTERS Plumes of smoke as Falcon 9 blasts off with Crew Dragon REUTERS A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifts off on an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida REUTERS Plumes of smoke as Falcon 9 blasts off with Crew Dragon AFP/Getty Images This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. The Crew Dragon spacecraft blasted off on a Falcon 9 rocket It will spend five days docked to the orbiting outpost, before making a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Friday - all vital training for the next space demo, possibly this summer, when two astronauts strap in. "This is critically important ... We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. He got a special tour of the pad on the eve of launch, by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk. Plumes of smokes as the Falcon 9 rocket blasts off / AFP/Getty Images An estimated 5,000 NASA and contractor employees, tourists and journalists gathered in the wee hours at Kennedy Space Center with the SpaceX launch team, as the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the same spot where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles once soared. Looking on were the two NASA astronauts who will strap in as early as July for the second space demo, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. It's been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased. Since ending its previous shuttle programme in 2011, the space agency has had to buy seats on board Russia's Soyuz spacecraft instead - an expensive arrangement, costing 81 million dollars a seat. Alongside the dummy is equipment weighing about 400 pounds, to make it similar to future launches when people would be on board. A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft / REUTERS If the rest of the journey is successful, Crew Dragon is expected to reach the ISS at 6.05am (11.05am UK time) on Sunday. A SpaceX Falcon 9 prior to the uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station / REUTERS Nasa will be scrutinising data from the test, in hopes of awarding SpaceX with certification to carry a crew. D onald Trump has confidently pledged he will win the 2020 presidential election by a bigger margin than 2016, as Bernie Sanders kicks off his presidential bid. Speaking to a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the US President also took swipes at the Democrat Party. Mr Trump delivered a wide-ranging speech at the party and mocked the Democrats for their framework to combat climate change. When he made his prediction of a second term, the Maryland crowd responded with chants of "USA, USA, USA." Mr Trump praised the conservative movement, saying "Our movement and our future in our country is unlimited." Mr Trump hugged the American flag while he was speaking at the conference / AP He took aim at the Democrats' Green New Deal, a policy proposal floated by some liberal Democrats in Congress and backed to varying degrees by several of the party's 2020 presidential candidates. "I think the New Green Deal, or whatever the hell they call it - the Green New Deal - I encourage it," Mr Trump said mockingly. "I think it's really something that they should promote. They should work hard on it... No planes, no energy. When the wind stops blowing that's the end of your electric. Let's hurry up, darling, is the wind blowing today? I'd like to watch television, darling." The Democrat plan calls for a drastic drop in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, but in no way grounds planes or pivots the country to renewable energy only. Mr Trumps comments came as Mr Sanders began his presidential campaign, starting off in New York. The campaign began in Brooklyn / Getty Images Mr Sanders returned to Brooklyn, the borough where he was born, to launch his campaign and called on Americans from all walks of life to join in his fight for a political revolution. He called Mr Trump the most dangerous president in US history and said his campaign is built to defeat the current president. Bernie Sanders launches second presidential campaign Mr Sanders also said his Democratic campaign will create an economy and government that works for all people, and said the government will be based on economic, social, racial and environmental justice. While in Brooklyn, Mr Sanders took swipes at Mr Trump saying: I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs. Mr Sanders speaking to supporters at Brooklyn College / Getty Images "I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over every day workers. In Mr Trumps speech, he did not mention Mr Sanders, but railed against the policies of "socialism. He said: Socialism is not about the environment, it is not about justice, it is not about virtue. It is only about one thing - it is called power for the ruling class C laims that a post-Brexit trade deal with the US would lead to chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-pumped beef arriving on supermarket shelves are "inflammatory and misleading" smears, the US ambassador to Britain has said. In a strongly worded rebuke to critics of a proposed deal, Woody Johnson dismissed negative claims over agriculture as "myths" concocted by "people with their own protectionist agenda". The billionaire diplomat, whose fortune derives from the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, said a transatlantic trade deal would provide a "great opportunity" for both countries. "But the British public has been led to believe otherwise," he wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph. "You have been presented with a false choice: either stick to EU directives, or find yourselves flooded with American food of the lowest quality. Inflammatory and misleading terms like 'chlorinated chicken' and 'hormone beef' are deployed to cast American farming in the worst possible light. "It is time the myths are called out for what they really are: a smear campaign from people with their own protectionist agenda." US ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson / Getty Images As Donald Trump's man in London, Mr Johnson has made several interventions in the Brexit debate, as well as commenting on issues such as military spending and foreign police involving Iran. His missive in defence of American farmers was reminiscent of his boss's plain-speaking approach to diplomacy and echoed Mr Trump's own criticism of EU protectionism. Warning Brussels' "Museum of Agriculture" approach is not sustainable, Mr Johnson said: "American farmers are making a vital contribution to the rest of the world. Their efforts deserve to be recognised. Instead, they are being dismissed with misleading scare-stories which only tell you half the story. The reality is, as ever, a lot more nuanced." TODO: define component type apester On chlorine-washed chicken, he said the process was the same as that used by EU farmers to treat their fruit and vegetables. Describing it as a "public safety no-brainer", he insisted it was the most effective and economical way of dealing with "potentially lethal" bacteria such as salmonella and campylobacter. Mr Johnson said American cattle farmers been had been "unfairly attacked for decades", explaining that US ranchers want to produce meat using fewer resources at a lower cost to both the environment and the consumer. While the EU "claims the moral high ground" for its choice not to use growth hormones in cattle production, scientific consensus has been "very clear" that it remains completely safe to eat the meat, he said. Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January 1 /25 Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January Pro-EU and pro-Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A man holds a 'Stop Brexit' sign aboard a campaign bus travelling down Whitehall in Westminster, London PA Pro-Brexit demonstrators chant slogans outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Anti-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter vapes electronic cigarette in front of a group of remain supporters AP Pro-Brexit protestors dressed as suffragettes demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Images An anti-brexit supporter holds banners in London AP Pro and anti Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP A campaigner dressed as Charlie Chaplin walks by the Houses of Parliament PA A leave supporter holds banners at the parliament gates AP Pro-Brexit, left and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP Pro-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter holds banners in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London AP Police officers stand near Pro-Brexit and Anti-Brexit posters outside the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster, London Reuters Leave supporters hold placards in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London, AP A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Leave supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in Londo AP Leave and remain supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in London AP Pro-Brexit activists hold placards and wave flags as they demonstrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London AFP/Getty Images A remain supporter, left and a leave supporter, center, discuss during demonstrations in London AP Pro-Brexit protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images v Reuters Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrate on a double decker bus outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images "The picture you are being painted of American agriculture bears no resemblance to the reality on the ground," he said. "The fact is that farmers in America have the same priorities as farmers in Britain. They pass on their farms from one generation to the next. They care deeply about their land and livestock and they take tremendous pride in the food they produce." Y ellow vest protesters have taken to the streets of France for the sixteenth week running to put more pressure on President Emmanuel Macron. The groups, gathering in Paris and other cities, began protesting against a now reversed fuel tax and continue to rally against economic policies seen as favouring the rich. In the capital protesters met at the Arc de Triomphe monument as a march was planned through the well-off western neighbourhoods. On Friday, President Macron reiterated a call for calm pointing at "unacceptable" outbreaks of violence since the movement began in November. Yellow vest protests on February 9 - In pictures 1 /10 Yellow vest protests on February 9 - In pictures Protesters march during a demonstration near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris AFP/Getty Images Protesters face riot police forces during a demonstration near the Arc de Triomphe AFP/Getty Images Protesters wearing a yellow vest throw back tear gas canisters AFP/Getty Images Protesters wearing a yellow vest stand in tear gas smoke near the Eiffel Towe AFP/Getty Images Protesters march during a demonstration in Paris on February 9, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Yellow vest protesters take part in a demonstration to keep pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron's government AP A police officer points a 40-millimetre rubber defensive bullet launcher AFP/Getty Images Protesters wearing a yellow vest (gilet jaune) demonstrate in front of the French Senate on February 9, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vest (Gilets Jaunes) protesters march in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on February 9, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) protesters march in Paris on February 9 AFP/Getty Images Sophie Tissier, a co-ordinator of the Paris protest, said: "We keep protesting every Saturday because Macron doesn't respond at all to the yellow vests' demands. We want to rebuild our democracy and change today's political system. "Macron is contemptuous and ... does not even try to understand that there are people that are living in great poverty and precariousness, and that there are so many inequalities," French President Emmanuel Macron / REUTERS Multiple deaths and scores of injuries have been linked to the protests, while one yellow vest demonstrator lost four of their fingers in an incident at a rally last month. There have also been spates of vandalism with monuments damaged and cars set alight, while police have dispersed water cannons and tear gas to split up crowds. Yellow vest organisers want to maintain pressure on the government as a two-month "grand debate" initiated by Mr Macron, set up to allow ordinary French people to express their views on the country's economic and democratic issues is ending this month. Mr Macron has announced a package of measures worth about 8.6 billion, after the protests began in November, to boost workers' and retirees' purchasing power. He also set up the debate and a website, though many yellow vests reject the discussions which they consider as politically driven to serve the government's interests. 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The members of the CSM's Prosecutors' Section convened on Friday in a meeting in order to take a stand regarding the statements released on Thursday by chief prosecutor of the SIIJ Gheorghe Stan. Within the meeting, Prosecutor Cristian Ban complained about the fact that the pieces of information from the cases investigated by the SIIJ have leaked to certain publications."Taking into account that this morning, I have seen all kind of information emerging in the press, even the copy of the denouncement of a criminal case, the fact that over the past weeks there are information leaks repeatedly, the statements of some witnesses appear in the press, I believe that it's necessary for verifications to be conducted by the Judicial Inspection to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the public communication manner of the Special Section, as well as the manner in which these information leaks are managed," Cristian Ban mentioned.Cristian Ban stated that certain pieces of information of Gheorghe Stan's statement on Thursday night doesn't correspond with the truth and "they should be set back on the correct path." President Klaus Iohannis points out that the gesture of Liviu Cornel Babes, who, over 30 years ago, set himself on fire on the 'Bradul' (Pine) slope in Brasov is one of the pages "full of heroism and drama" in the recent history of the country and urges the Romanians to never allow an abusive regime to trample their rights and the law. Read also: CSM's Savonea: I received the text amending OUG 7; it brings substantial clarifications in areas of concern Iohannis conveyed a message on Saturday, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the sacrifice of the martyr hero Liviu Cornel Babes. "Exactly 30 years ago, Liviu Cornel Babes set himself on fire on the 'Bradul' slope in Brasov in protest against the abuses and crimes of the communist regime. His bold gesture represents one of the pages full of heroism and, at the same drama in our recent history. To the chagrin of the communist regime, through his sacrifice, word got out in the international press, Liviu Babes told the whole world that the Romanian people were oppressed and Romania was living, three decades ago, one of the the darkest periods in its history. Liviu Babes gave up on his life for a truth. He nonetheless continued his existence in our memory, thus becoming a winner. There are many ways to remember his sacrifice. One of them is to replace words with deeds. Let us not be lied to, manipulated! Let us never allow an abusive regime to trample the law and our rights! Let us never live a lie, in fear!," the president's message reads. AGERPRES . Gallup issued on February 28th its 2019 Rating World Leaders report, subtitled The US vs. Germany, China and Russia, and said that The world still frowned on US leadership more than the leadership of any other country asked about in 2018. All four of the countries leaderships received approval-ratings from people worldwide in only the 30-39% range, and this low score for the US leadership (which was approved by merely 31% of people sampled worldwide during 2018) represented an enormous decline for the United States, which during the Obama years had received scores ranging from 41% to 49% approval. However, a Gallup report which had been issued only three days earlier, on February 25th, indicated that the American people are blissfully ignorant of any of this reality, and instead believe that the global approval-rating of the United States itself is high and is rising, not, as it actually is, low and declining. In fact, on January 18th of just a year back, 2018, Gallup had headlined World's Approval of US Leadership Drops to New Low, and this plunge in the global rating of Americas leadership could reasonably cause a person to expect a decline in the American publics view of Americas national image in foreign countries, but its not showing up, at all. The exact contrary is being displayed in the recent data. On February 25th of 2019, Gallup bannered, Americans' Perceptions of US World Image Best Since 2003, and reported that 58% say US rates very or somewhat favorably in world's eyes. This disparity between reality and the publics view of reality, is clear in the data despite all of these polls having altogether ignored almost all of the Islamic-majority nations, where there has long been a very negative view prevailing both of the United States and of US leadership. (The US regime prefers its pollsters to sample mainly favorable countries regarding its public image around the world, and so that is what is done.) The last time that Gallup surveyed Americas global public image (and this isnt the worlds approval of US leadership, but approval of the US itself, such as was measured and reported by Gallups report issued on 25 February 2019) was in "1991 Feb 28-Mar 2, and the global public image of the United States was overwhelmingly favorable at that time 95% favorable versus only 3% unfavorable by far the highest of any country rated at that time, though today a few countries are nearly as high as that: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, UK (Great Britain), Japan, and Norway, all show nearly as high in Gallups global polling now, as America did then. Gallup's surveys never mentioned any other of the Scandinavian countries than Norway, nor mentioned Switzerland nor Netherlands, so those countries (which might even lead the ratings if they had been included) might likewise have been close to what Americas sky-high global approval-rating had been, at the time of the Cold Wars supposed end, in 1991. (Secretly, the US Government actually continued the Cold War even though Russia was unaware of the fact, and this one-sided and secret, purely aggressive, continuation was and is kept secret from both the American and global publics.) However, Pew has been polling this matter the global image of the US itself ever since, in 2008, Pew started taking it over from the Office of Research of the US Department of State. When Pew introduced their 2018 report concerning this matter, of America's global image, on 2 October 2018 at the CSIS or Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the first question raised after the presentation was about Americas overall public image, and the presenter, with apparent reluctance, summed it up by acknowledging, at 29:05, The US is definitely seen in a much more negative light than it was a few years ago. People [worldwide] are much less likely to express a favorable opinion of the US By and large on the questions we asked at least, we see much more negative views around the globe. One would reasonably expect this fact to be showing up in the American publics view of how foreigners see America, but its not showing up, at all; and, in fact, the exact opposite is being displayed in the data. Obviously, then, the major news-media that over 95% of the US public receive their news from have been hiding from the public the realities which are causing this steep plunge in Americas (the American nations) global approval-ratings. Whereas the approval-rating of the US went down, the American public thinks it has instead gone up, and only the countrys major news-media can be to blame for that extreme US fantasy-world, which is being displayed in the data. Its the very same fantasy-world and for the very same reasons which overwhelming majorities of the American people believed in 2002 and 2003, when the US regime imposed the fraud that Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that he supported Al Qaeda. All of the US mainstream, and virtually all of its minor, news-media were stenographically pumping these (even the most blatant) lies to the public, and therefore theyre co-responsible along with the US dictators for Americas having destroyed Iraq. That couldnt have happened without the propaganda-operations compliance. And America has the same national press now as it did then, though some of the corporate names have changed since 2002. The ownership and control of Americas major news-media are obviously being very wrongly determined, and America cannot even possibly become again a functioning even partial democracy unless and until that situation the system for determining the control of the corporations that constitute the US news-reporting oligopoly is fundamentally and permanently (perhaps even Constitutionally) amended. Americas stenographic press merely uncritically reports the Governments bipartisan lies (not the Democratic or the Republican Partys lies, which can and do become exposed, but instead the lies that both Parties spout the bipartisan lies which reflect the US regime. These are lies such as that WMD existed in Iraq in 2002, and that Russia and not the US is the worlds aggressor-nation seeking global conquest, and that America protects peace around the world, instead of its being the worlds top perpetrator of coups and of military invasions, by far the worlds biggest aggressor). America cannot become a functioning, actual, democracy, at all, unless and until the ownership and control of its major news-media has become ripped away from the present controllers and also becomes legally fully accountable in honest courts for any propaganda (regime-pumped lies) that it issues. Neither domestic policy nor international policy can be democratic in such a nation. Americas major news-media are obviously not trustworthy. Consequently, America isnt a democracy. (Consequently, this news-report, which is exposing Americas major news-media as being instead national propaganda-media, is going to be rejected not published by all of them, though its being submitted to all of them, as well as to most other US international-news reporting sites.) The full written 2018 report from Pew is online as Americas International Image Continues to Suffer. It opens by saying: A year after global opinion of the United States dropped precipitously, favorable views of the US remain at historic lows in many countries polled. In addition, more say bilateral relations with the US have worsened, rather than improved, over the past year. The following highlights are taken from Pews verbal presentation to the CSIS: [19:56] 70% say no to US takes into account the interests of other countries. 28% say yes to that. [21:53] Fewer Now Say US Takes into Account Their Interests. The change (which is since the end of Obamas Presidency) is -31% in Germany, -23 South Africa, -22 Brazil, -19 Mexico, -17 France, -16 Kenya, -16 Italy, -13 Indonesia, -13 UK, -13 Canada, -12 South Korea, -11 Philippines, -10 Japan, and -8 Spain. In Russia, 15% said yes to that question at the end of Obamas Presidency, and that figure then soared to 41% in 2017, but it declined to only 26% in 2018. Perhaps now its again around 15%, as more and more Russians come to recognize that the US regime is set upon conquering Russia recognize that anti-communism (prior to 1991, when the Soviet Union ended) was only an excuse for building Americas global control, an empire controlling the entire world, and that America, after the death of FDR and increasingly since then, is fascist, no authentic democracy at all. This fascism certainly explains Iraq 2003, Libya 2011, Syria 2011-2018, Yemen 2015-now, Ukraine 2014 (a US coup in February 2014 that the regime instead calls a Russian invasion, which occurred thereafter in response and was no invasion at all, but defensive for Russia, against a fascist regime on its doorstep), and Venezuela 2017-now. [22:51] US Perceived to Be Less Involved in Tackling Global Issues. Percentages saying less involved, as opposed to more involved, were found in every EU country that was surveyed, except that its equal (= percentages), 22% saying US is both less and more involved, in Poland but nowhere else that Pew was polling in Europe. Basically, Trumps rejections of the Paris Climate Agreement and of the nuclear agreement with Iran, and his outlawing refugees from Syria and some other nations the US bombed, and his determination to wall-off the US from Mexico, have cemented the global publics view of America as being a hostile country. But nonetheless, Gallup was able to headline on February 25th, Americans' Perceptions of US World Image Best Since 2003. Gallups findings regarding not the worlds favorability toward the US but the American publics estimation of how favorably the world views the US, were reported there, and opened: Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe the US rates "very" or "somewhat favorably" in the world's eyes. Though the current figure is up just slightly from the 55% recorded last year, it represents the highest figure Gallup has found since 2003. The increase in the overall figure is the result of an increase in the percentage of political independents saying the US is rated favorably abroad, up eight percentage points, from 50% to 58%. Meanwhile, the views of Americans identifying as Republican or Democratic haven't changed. So: Americas non-aligned or independent voters are even more deceived about this matter especially about the stark decline in the publics approval of America than Americas partisan voters are. This Gallup report furthermore says: At the same time, Americans are fairly upbeat about the country's global image, the percentage satisfied with the position of the US in the world today is also at a relatively high ebb. Whereas in 2019 Gallup finds that 58% of Americans think the world views America favorably, versus 41% unfavorably, and in 2018 these figures were almost as high, 55% favorably and 45% unfavorably, the figures in the very first month of Trumps being in the White House were the reverse, 42% favorably versus 57% unfavorably; and, back in 2016 they were 54% favorably versus 45% unfavorably almost but not quite as high as today. In fact, the current 58% favorably versus only 41% unfavorably is the rosiest view that Americans have displayed in these Gallup polls regarding how they think foreigners view the US, extending all the way back to Gallups polling on 14-16 April of 2003 61% at that time thinking the world viewed the US favorably, versus 37% unfavorably, and this was just a month after the US had invaded and destroyed Iraq. So: Ever since Americas Government destroyed Iraq on 20 March 2003, Americans havent had a rosier view of foreigners opinions of the United States. Such a deceived nations public is, obviously, a reflection of that nations ruling regime, both its Government and its stenographic mainstream news-media, which wont publish reports such as the present one, because such reports, as this one, would be exposing the deceived public that results from Americas fraudulent and highly controlled (by Americas 585 billionaires) mainstream press. This reality of the press-problem in America is not what they call fake news media, but its instead the mainstream media themselves that present to their public actually false news, real lies (that are the official government lies, bipartisan lies), to such a huge extent as to achieve this enormous disparity between the reality and the publics warped view of that reality, regarding Americas international image. Whats important here is not this particular news-item itself, nearly so much as it is what that news-item means what it indicates. What it indicates is enormous. This news-report is therefore being offered free of charge to all US media to publish, so as to help rectify the rabidly false impression that exists. Obviously, any news-media that arent publishing this report are trying to hide this reality they evidently, and quite clearly, want to continue this particular deception of the public. But the sites that publish this are honest as any reader here can easily verify by clicking onto this articles links. News recently that President Trump has once again done a U turn on his Syria policy and will keep US forces in the north with their SDF (mainly Kurdish) allies couldnt have been more felt than in Turkey. Trumps decision to listen to his military advisors and even titans in Congress like Lindsey Graham to keep a contingent of US troops in the north with the SDF and in the south east at Al Tanf is hugely important in that it keeps other allies there namely France and the UK on board and retains Americas barrier to Iran taking the east of the country as a key corridor all the way to Lebanon. It also keeps Saudi Arabia and Israel happy who were particularly vexed by the hasty decision which would have dramatically changed the Syria War chequers board. But the decision, which is believed to involve 400 troops staying and not 200 as reported comes with a high price: it looks as though it will alienate Turkey once and for all. Just recently, the tumultuous relations between Trump and Erdogan took a turn for the better and, since the release of a US pastor, improved quickly, which helped the Turkish economy and signaled better cooperation in the future over arms procurement and possibly even the extradition of clergy Gulen, which Ankara believes is the brainchild behind the attempted coup in the summer of 2016. The decision initially announced by Trump to pull out altogether from Northern Syria played well for Ankara which was able to plan on how to go about hitting the YPG element of the SDF, build a security corridor and generally throw its weight around in Syria with little worry of troubling Washington. There was though always a question hanging over the decision of what to do if Assad would strike a deal with the Kurds and Trumps repeated statements resonating the same message over and over again that the Kurds would always be the ally of the US and that Washington would not abandon them rang hollow. Pulling out US soldiers from the SDF belt would have created a lot of confusion as enemies would have become friends and a new Syria war would have emerged between Turkey and the Kurds who, to complicate things further at one point, looked as though they were poised to get the support of both the Assad regime and its enemies Israel and Saudi Arabia at the same time. In fact, the rush to give the SDF (which Turkey considers to be the terror organization PKK), a boost is still there, which, in turn, was part of the decision by Trump to keep a good number of soldiers on the ground. In recent weeks, according to leaked documents, reports have emerged of a new impetuous of anti Turkey hatred, which has eclipsed even the paranoia over Iran and Hezbollah and focused the minds of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Washington. With Turkeys expansion in the region and its military base in the Red Sea with Qatar, there is a new focal point now from the West which sees it and its ambitions as the biggest threat in the region, not helped by Ankara insisting on its right to purchase Russian S-400 missile systems while Trump holds back on F-35 sales to the Turkish air force. Washington may well have rolled out the red carpet just recently for Turkeys defense minster to keep up a pretence that Ankara-Washington relations are luke warm, at best. But the reality is that the Trump decision on troops to stay in Syria, which on the face of it masquerades as a strategy against Russia and Iran in fact, is part of a bigger plan for Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to support the Kurds in a new battle with Turkey. A secret meeting held in December agreed to let Assad back into the Arab League and move forward with a new anti-Turkey plan, via the Kurds. With Mossad taking this initiative, we have to assume that Trumps blessing would come with it and that his own people were a little slow in understanding the importance of the decision. If this plan is to gain some momentum soon, without interference from Iran or Russia, then it is entirely logical that Trump would want US troops to be with the SDF, rather than stand on the touchlines and let others bask in the glory, not to mention warming up relations with Riyadh which cooled in recent weeks over the Khashoggi affair thrusting the MBS entourage into the arms of the East. The war against Islamic terrorists continues to wear down the few remaining Islamic terrorist cells and keep them from doing much damage because all their time is consumed by efforts to avoid detection and arrest or death. A more important struggle is with the economy, which has been successful at coping with the collapse of oil prices after 2013. This struggle actually helped the cause of reforming the economy to make it less dependent on oil revenue. So there has been some progress there, but more out of necessity than government enthusiasm. Unemployment is stuck at 12 percent for the last few years and is much higher (nearly 30 percent) with younger Algerians. This is especially true with university trained professionals who have a low unemployment rate but see little opportunity for professional and financial growth because so many professionals are employed by the government. Since most of these doctors, engineers and so on speak French and/or English it is easier for them to get jobs in the West and a growing number are doing just that. Little Miracles Four several years now China has been the largest supplier of imports, providing $7.9 billion worth (17 percent, by value of the total) in 2018. On the plus side, those goods were generally cheaper than alternatives and helped Algeria cut its trade deficit in half during 2018 (down to $5 billion). The main reason the economy is looking good is the 15 percent rise in oil prices. Yet, despite all that GDP growth for 2018 was only 2.3 percent, not the four percent the government had predicted. In response, the government predicts 2.6 percent GDP growth in 2019. This is progress because in 2017 GDP growth was only 1.4 percent. The increasing dependence on Chinese imports and departure of Algerian computer specialists is made worse by Algeria ranking as the least cyber-secure nation on the planet (Japan was the most secure). This is not a major problem because there is not as much to steal (via the Internet) in Algeria because of the stagnant economy. But it makes Algeria a less attractive place for foreign investment. Crippled Leadership With president Bouteflika incapacitated, but running for reelection his much less popular 60 year brother Said and Army chief-of-staff Ahmed Gaid Salah now appear to be in charge and that does not make the government any more acceptable. The younger brother has been a key aide, especially in supervising (and fixing as needed) his older brothers election campaigns since the 1990s. Because of that, it is not considered unusual that Said Bouteflika is the one who communicates with his older brother and passes on his instructions, or at least what Said believes are his brothers intentions. Efforts of the older brother to appear in public and speak, no matter how briefly, have not worked because the older brother, who turns 82 in March, is not recovering from his strokes. One of Saids intentions is apparently to succeed his brother as president, although that seems unlikely as he apparently has pancreatic cancer and has been out of the country more often to get it treated in France. Meanwhile Said has continued to supervise the effort to ensure that all the senior military and police commanders who might oppose the stealthy government takeover by someone in the Bouteflika inner circle are arrested and accused of corruption. For the last six years this slow-motion purge has apparently been supervised by Army chief-of-staff Ahmed Gaid Salah. Said Bouteflika knows who is corrupt because one of his jobs was to see to it that there were no unseemly feuds among senior officials over who got what in corrupt deals. Said Bouteflika never managed to gain enough key supporters, or popular support, to run for high office. Until now he has been content to be the kingmaker. That has changed and it appears Said now sees himself as a prime candidate to succeed his brother. Many believe Said Bouteflika has too many enemies for that, which adds to the unease about how the Bouteflika era will end. Most Algerians would prefer honest government and a lot less corruption but the Bouteflikas would prefer to keep things as they are. That attitude, shared by most, but not all, of those running the country, is the major obstacle to meaningful change in Algeria. Corruption prevents rewarding the most capable people and generating enough economic activity to make Algeria a place most young Algerians would want to live and work. Even if the two Bouteflika brothers die in the next few years, they have many like-minded associates willing to carry on. It should be no surprise why for a long time too many young Algerians either rebelled (at great cost to themselves and Algeria) or emigrate. Anti-Corruption Crawl Algeria has been making some earnest efforts to reform its economy and government to cope with the long-term loss of oil income but actually changing the culture of corruption is proving difficult. One of the major problems is the government inability to clean up its own massive internal corruption. Despite positive press releases from the government, outside observers cannot see any real progress. In 2018 Algeria ranked 105 out of 180 nations in a worldwide survey of corruption. Thats up from 112 in 2017. Progress, or lack thereof, can be seen in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index where countries are measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The most corrupt nations (usually North Korea/14, Yemen/14, Syria/13, South Sudan/13 and Somalia/10) have a rating of under 15 while of the least corrupt (New Zealand and Denmark) are over 85. The current Algeria score is 35 (up from 33 in 2017) compared to 17 (17) for Libya, 32 (31) for Mali, 43 (40) for Morocco, 43 (42) for Tunisia, 19 (20) for Chad, 34 (33) for Niger, 35 (32) for Egypt, 70 (71) for the UAE (United Arab Emirates), 62 (64) for Israel, 19 (19) for Angola, 26 (23) for CAR, 26 (26) for Uganda, 56 (55) for Rwanda, 17 (22) for Burundi, 36 (36) for Tanzania and 35 (37) for Zambia, 34 (35) for Ethiopia, 27 (28) for Kenya, 24 (20) for Eritrea, 14 (16) for Yemen, 13 (12) for South Sudan, 16 (16) for Sudan, 61 (61) for Botswana, 72 (75) for the United States, 25 (25) for Cameroon, 40 (39) for Benin, 41 (40) for Ghana, 43 (43) for South Africa, 45 (45) for Senegal, 41 (40) for India, 72 (73) for Japan, 38 (37) for Indonesia, 57 (54) for South Korea, 18 (18) for Iraq, 41 (40) for Turkey, 49 (49) for Saudi Arabia, 28 (28) for Lebanon, 28 (30) for Iran, 16 (15) for Afghanistan, 33 (32) for Pakistan, 28 (29) for Russia and 39 (41) for China. A lower corruption score is common with nations in economic trouble and problems dealing with Islamic terrorism and crime in general. Algerias corruption score has not made much progress lately as it was 34 back in 2012. The Fading Echoes Of Islamic Terrorism Islamic terror groups are admitting they are losing the culture wars in North Africa all they can do is issue press releases condemning the unbelievers. The latest AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) Internet announcement decried the decline of Islamic education (learning to read Arabic, memorize scripture and not much else) in favor of what the unbelievers learn (a Western education). Meanwhile, Algeria, France and Mali used a secret 2017 amnesty agreement to persuade key AQIM and JNIM (Jamaah Nusrah al Islam wal Muslimin, or Group for the support of Islam and Moslems) personnel to surrender. In Mali and neighboring states, most of the Islamic terrorists are not ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and are largely united. While Algeria has few active Islamic terrorists to the south, there are a lot more of them and most of the Islamic terrorist activity is in Mali and the work of JNIM, which was formed in early 2017. In part, this was a reaction to the growing threat from ISIL which is hostile to everyone who is not ISIL and will attack or recruit from the JNIM members AQIM Ansar Dine, FLM and al Mourabitoun (an al Qaeda splinter group). Another reason for the merger was to make it easier to pool resources (including information and advice) and coordinate with other Islamic terror groups in the area. This reduces friction and destructive feuding. Making a coalition like this work is always difficult, especially considering the importance of ethnic differences. The 2017 amnesty program was based on the one Algeria has been using successfully against AQIM, ISIL and other Islamic terrorists in Algeria. One interesting side effect of this is that many Mali Islamic terrorists seeking amnesty crossed the border to do so in Algeria. February 13, 2019: President Bouteflika (or his handlers) fired the chief of the national police. Since 2013 there have been frequent firings like this. The security forces have a lot of competent commanders and the forced retirements of so many senior commanders provide promotion opportunities for those who appear most loyal (to the ruling families). The security services continue to be effective, making Algeria one of the safest (according to international security firms that monitor that sort of thing) in North Africa and the Middle East. Yet, the persistence of pro-reform officers in the security forces is a mixed blessing for the ruling families and a ray of hope for Algerians in general. The need for reform is also necessary to get the most out of being one of the safest nations in North Africa. That designation does not mean being safe from the many corrupt practices that Algerian criminals (and local officials) impose on tourists and commercial visitors. One of the more visible examples of this is how many public beaches have been illegally taken over by criminal gangs that coerce tourists to pay illegal fees to park and be on the beach. Complaining to the police or local government often does not work because bribes are paid to ensure the gangsters are not interfered with. This sort of thing costs Algeria a lot of tourism income and efforts to clean up the corruption that makes it possible is still difficult. February 10, 2019: President Bouteflika (or his handlers) have finally decided that the ailing (by strokes) 81 year old will run for a fifth term as president. The elections are on April 18th. The handlers said this would not be Bouteflikas last term and the opposition interpreted that as Bouteflika seeking to be president for life. February 8, 2019: Neighbor Morocco is withdrawing its forces (six warplanes and ground support personnel) from the Arab coalition force in Yemen because a Saudi TV network recently broadcast a documentary that cast doubt on Morocco claims to the Western Sahara territory that Morocco and Algeria have been feuding about for decades. Algeria tends to ally itself with Iran but tries to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia as well. Morocco refused to get involved with the feud between Saudi Arabia and Qatar (an Iranian ally). A church in Taurangas CBD is losing its bell tower, and the prominent site may even be sold altogether. Saint Mary Immaculate Church, on the corner of Cameron Road and Elizabeth Street, will be a construction site over the next month as contractors work to pull down the bell tower. Father Mark Field says the bell tower only meets 20 per cent of the modern earthquake code, so it needs to be removed. It is one of several Catholic churches in the area that have earthquake issues. The church in Te Puke only meets 15 per cent of the code and has been closed, while the towers at Te Puna and Matakana churches probably have problems, mainly because of the weight of the bells. Father Mark says the diocese requires all of its churches across New Zealand, built before 1970, to be checked for structural integrity. The newer part of St Marys is continuing to operate as usual, but the old section with the bell tower has been fenced off since the report came in. Work on removing the structure will take place over the next month. Father Mark says they are considering selling the prime site and moving the church to Pyes Pa Road. There is limited parking at present, and there are other benefits to moving location. We have purchased a property next to Aquinas College (Catholic co-ed college), which would be ideal, he says. But no decision has been made yet. He says if they did move the church, they can incorporate the old bell into the new building. Bell towers were not common on new church buildings as they often did not get past the resource consent stage because of complaints from neighbours, says Father Mark. So they are a thing of the past. It was also expensive to repair old towers that were not structurally sound. In the case of the Te Puna and Matakana churches, it might be a case of removing the heavy bells from the towers, he says. At St Marys Immaculate, the tower had been constructed with a brick interior covered with concrete in the centre of the building, making it a complicated demolition job and not a simple case of toppling it. Bay of Plenty We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz What just happened? Canadas Department of Justice has agreed to move forward with the extradition process against Huaweis Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou. The United States means to charge her with violating trade sanctions against Iran and stealing intellectual property. Following a review by Canadian courts later this month, she could be handed over to the US and await trial as Huawei and the Chinese government seethe. In early December we reported that Meng had been arrested while traveling in Canada at Americas request. She was charged with selling HP equipment to Iran on behalf of Hong Kong company Skycom from 2009 to 2014 when such trade was strictly prohibited by US sanctions. Since then, shes also been accused of copying T-Mobiles phone testing technology for Huawei. She was granted bail but has remained in Canada for the last three months, despite an official request by the Chinese embassy to free her. Following the decision to proceed with the extradition process, Mengs lawyers told The Verge that Meng maintains that she is innocent of any wrongdoing, and that the US prosecution and extradition constitutes an abuse of the process of law. The Department of Justice predicted such arguments in their announcement of the transfer, which emphasized that Canada is a country governed by the rule of law, which relied on constitutional principles of fairness and due process to make this decision. Even without directly stating it, the Department made it clear that they were focusing on the evidence, rather than buckling under pressure from the US. The Department of Justice evaluates situations like this very carefully, requiring there to be a good chance that a court would find the defendant guilty in both Canada and America and that the sentences in both countries would exceed at least one-year imprisonment. Thus, its likely that Mengs seemingly inevitable trial in the US will result in a guilty sentence, further ruining Huaweis relationship with the Western world. On March 6 the British Columbia Supreme Court will set a hearing date to give Meng one last chance to escape Americas clutches. The Department of Justice will act as the prosecution. Intriguingly, during the court case, all the charges and the evidence supporting them will become available to the public. Perhaps some light will finally be shed on why America has been targeting Huawei so relentlessly when theres been no public evidence of spying. Correction: A previous revision of this article suggested Meng Wanzhou was being handed over to the US government, which is not correct. Canada has agreed to move forward, formally commencing an extradition process, but the final decision has yet to be made by the Canadian's court. What just happened? NASA has made clear their plans to return humans to the Moon in the coming decade and one of their first steps to doing so involves the creation of the Gateway space station. This week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that Canada have now become NASAs first international partner for the endeavor. At a press conference at the Canadian Space Agencys headquarters in Montreal this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that Canada will contribute US$1.5 billion to NASAs Lunar Space Station, known as Gateway. NASA wants to get humans back to the lunar surface in the 2020s, and a crucial part of that plan is building the new Gateway station in lunar orbit. Gateway will act as a staging post for lunar landings, with a habitable environment for astronauts to occupy for between 30 to 60 days. And just as they did when formulating the International Space Station, NASA have been seeking international partners for their latest mini-space station, and they have welcomed Canada as their first partner. Speaking of the move, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said NASA is thrilled that Canada is the first international partner for the Gateway lunar outpost. He continued, ournew collaboration on Gateway will enable our broader international partnership to get to the Moon and eventually to Mars. Canada have promised the US$1.5 billion as part of a 24-year commitment, and will build a new iteration in their series of Canadarm robotic arms. Canadarm 1 and 2 played crucial roles in the building and maintenance of the ISS and more recently carried out important repairs to the Hubble telescope. Now, Trudeau has confirmed that a Canadarm3 will be developed to help build Gateway. Canada has always been an important, if not slightly low-key, player in space-faring missions. They were the third country to launch a satellite into orbit in 1962 and have supported the ISS since its inception. Speaking of this latest partnership, Trudeau said, our participation in the lunar gateway ushers in a new era of Canadian excellence in space. Kevin Victorian, a Lake Charles rapper known as Bundy, will say goodbye to his best friend Saturday. His voice breaks in agony as he talks about Eric Dwayne Johnson, a Houma rapper known as Vicious, who died Feb. 18 of cancer in a Cottonport prison while serving time for an unusual conviction. "It's up to me to tell the story, and I'm going to tell it forever," Victorian said. "What happened to him was wrong. The doctors said he's dying, and they knew he was dying. They don't have the love to let him go?" The story Victorian wants to share is how Johnson died at the age of 51 in the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center instead of with his friends and family at home. Johnson had stage four pancreatic cancer, according to Victorian, and wished to be released from prison to live out his final days with loved ones. That never happened. "When he finally called me to tell me, it was the night after the Super Bowl," Victorian said. "He said he had been knowing and just didn't know how to tell me. I said, 'We can fight this,' and he said, 'Man, I'm not going to make it home. Man, I love you.' And that was the last time we spoke." Johnson was serving a 16-year prison sentence in the 2012 shooting death of a 43-year-old man, even though Johnson wasn't the one who pulled the trigger. Johnson was found guilty in 2015 of inciting a riot with death for provoking retaliatory violence that led to Ray Ryans killing at the crime-plagued Pontalba Place apartment complex at Marigny Circle in Duson. It was the first time the charge was prosecuted in Lafayette Parish and the second time in the state. The Louisiana statute dates back to the 1800s, to a time of lynch mobs and riots. Ryan's shooter has never been officially identified or charged. +2 Lafayette rapper Vicious gets 16-year sentence on unusual charge of inciting a riot with death Local rapper Eric Vicious Johnson received a 16-year prison sentence Tuesday on an unusual conviction holding him responsible for the 2012 s "That prison sentence changed him so bad because he knew he was sitting in prison for nothing," Victorian said. "I know the hurt. Anybody who been to prison know it, but they usually understand why they're there." Victorian and Johnson had served time years earlier for drug-related convictions. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Johnson was, by all accounts, a model prisoner. "He was a good inmate," said W.S. "Sandy" McCain, warden of the Cottonport prison. "He was living in the honor dorm and had no write-ups during his time here." About 400 of the prison's 1,808 inmates qualify to stay in the honor dorm. Dr. John Morrison, medical director for the Louisiana Department of Corrections, said inmates with terminal illnesses often qualify for compassionate release so they can die at home instead of in prison. The process begins with the facility's doctor and warden and is evaluated by the state's medical and corrections staff. "Once they have what we consider an irreversible or terminal illness, we start discussion about what their wishes are for end-of-life care, what further treatment, if any, they wish to have, and we explain to them the pros and cons of what they've chosen," Morrison said. "There is compassionate release where, if they meet the criteria needed, we have the capability to release them. Some are transported to a nursing home facility or occasionally to their homes to have hospice care there." The warden said the paperwork for compassionate release had been filed for Johnson, but he died before it made it through the approval process. "He passed away without pain. Let me put it that way," McCain said. "We let his family come into the infirmary nursing unit we have here where we have trained doctors and nurse practitioners and even offenders who are trained to be with inmates and family in this kind of situation." Victorian said Johnson's family doesn't see it the same way as the warden. "His sister told me the day before he passed, he was just laying there hollering in so much pain," Victorian said. "She said he said, 'Just take me. Take me.' I dont know if he was talking to her or talking to God; he just kept saying 'Take me. Take me.'" Johnson had a record deal with UGK Records in Port Arthur, Texas, and was known for radio singles such as "I Ball like Kobe," "Bottom of the Boot" and "Meet Me at the Circle K." Family and friends will gather at 11 a.m. Saturday at Dularge Community Baptist Church in Houma to celebrate Johnson's life and mourn his death. "Vicious left us his music," Victorian said. "He left us something very beautiful, and I'd encourage people to just show him love and support through his music because his family will need it now more than ever. He worked so hard to provide for his daughters, and the money made from his music will go to support them." Matt Sias Jr. is owner of MSJ Insurance Agency in Lafayette and recently founded an organization called the Millennial Networking Group. He serves as its executive director. Growing up as a twin, life was always interesting for me. Although my brother and I always challenged each other in friendly competitions, there was never a dull moment in our household. Both of our parents always kept my siblings and I grounded and instilled family values. My father owned a private-practice substance abuse clinic, and he showed us that we too could own a business if we desired. After working for State Farm as a cold caller/assistant and at Kinchen Funeral Home as a life insurance agent and a claims manager, I combined that with my customer service experience managing multiple restaurants to start my own agency. I partnered with a few general agencies to gain contracts like Progressive, Liberty Mutual and Travelers and started servicing our community. Since high school, I have always had ambitions of owning my own business. I originally wanted to own a restaurant, but the insurance industry found me while waiting tables in college. A State Farm agency owner by the name of Brad Markerson offered me a job based on my customer service skills. He thought I would be a perfect fit. Once discovering about the insurance industry and how it protects people from the unexpected and being able to be there for people during a time of need while making a living, it just made so much sense. In Louisiana, only cases with claims in excess of $50,000 receive a jury trial. You see lots of settlements at $49,000, I think changing that law could reshape auto insurance in the state. Second, Louisiana traditionally has higher bodily injury rates and more lawsuits per capita than most states. I believe that's due to our aging roads. Fixing our infrastructure can help bring down insurance rates. Just getting the opportunity to do business with mid- to large-sized companies is a problem now. Getting a fair chance and to be judged based on my skill set and not on the perception of what a minority business is capable of I find is a problem. The Millennial Networking Group is an organization that provides a developmental success of millennials with professional, business and personal tools through various endeavors. Millennials want to see opportunities for young entrepreneurs and business owners to be looked at as valuable to the city of Lafayette along with incubation systems to start business in various industries. Chinese officials announced Thursday that 32 U.S. rice facilities, including five in Louisiana, have been approved to potentially export milled rice to China. The move comes after USA Rice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture pushed for China to approve the facilities after demonstrating their ability to adhere to the U.S.-China phytosanitary protocol. The 2016 protocol put various rules and restrictions into place that required multiple inspections of U.S. rice facilities by both federal and Chinese inspectors before they could ship to China. China approved seven facilities initially two months ago ahead of trade talks with the United States, but now has approved the remaining 25 that applied and passed inspection by Chinese inspectors. "All U.S. facilities that wish to export milled rice to China have been approved by the Chinese government," USA Rice Chief Operating Officer Bob Cummings said. "The next hurdle to overcome is for China's importers to receive the go-ahead from their government to actually make purchases." The five facilities approved in Louisiana are as follows: Prairie Ronde Rice in Ville Platte. Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC, in Mer Rouge. Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District in Lake Charles. Supreme Rice, LLC, in Crowley Supreme Rice, LLC, in Mermentau Inside info on doing business in Acadiana We'll keep you posted on the Acadiana economy. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up China imports an estimated 5 million tons of rice every year, mostly from within the Asian continent, so opening up such a large market could be a major boon for local rice farms and mills. However, this approval is just the first step in the process. It allows the U.S. facilities to open negotiations with buyers in China, who then must get approval from the Chinese government to be able to do business with them. According to Bobby Hanks, CEO of Supreme Rice, meeting the restrictions of the new protocol has been a long process. And while it hasn't fully opened up a new market for Louisiana's rice producers, it is one less hurdle they have to overcome. Hanks credits the Trump administration's negotiations with China as a major contributing factor in getting approval from the Chinese government. "It's a big step in the right direction. We still have a few more hurdles to overcome, but we're getting there. Now it allows us to open negotiations with buyers in China," Hanks said. "This protocol has been a delay tactic, but getting this done finally gives us the opportunity to access that market in the future." Students at T.M. Landry College Prep School could be attending class at a Lafayette location on Moss Street when they return from the Mardi Gras break Thursday, board chairman Greg Davis said Friday. Officials with the State Fire Marshal's Office are waiting on blueprints from the school's architect showing safety improvements planned for the building, a former skating rink, in the 3400 block of Moss Street. They had not received the plans by 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to Ashley Rodrigue, spokeswoman with the State Fire Marshal's Office. "In order to occupy, a building plan has to be submitted, reviewed and released by OSFM plan reviewers," she said, "then deputies have to make a final site inspection to confirm the actual building matches the plans that were approved." The average plan review takes five working days, Rodrigue said, unless issues are encountered or supplemental reviews are needed. Davis said he hopes the school's architect provides the fire marshal's office with plans by end of day Monday. "The OSFM does not grant conditional occupancy approvals," Rodrigue said. "Full approval from plan review is required before a deputy conducts a final inspection." Davis said he believes the fire marshal's office will approve the plans and the school will receive a temporary occupancy permit allowing classes to be held in the front part of the Lafayette building starting Thursday. The plans, Davis said, include installing a fire wall in the back half of the building, as well as a fire alarm system and two additional exits in the rear of the building. Inside info on doing business in Acadiana We'll keep you posted on the Acadiana economy. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The work, he estimated, could take 60-90 days and cost about $40,000. The building's owners may pay $20,000 worth of the improvements. The prep school operated from a building at 1800 Rees St. in Breaux Bridge since 2017. Davis said school officials began moving into the Lafayette location Tuesday. The fire marshal's office put a halt on school plans to occupy the building March 1 because they had not been notified of the move. Rodrigue said the fire safety improvements are needed to the Lafayette building because it had been used for storage space for several years. The Breaux Bridge building, Davis said, is larger than the Lafayette one and also needed fire safety improvements that could have cost $50,000 to $100,000, money the school doesn't have in the wake of a scathing November 2018 New York Times story accusing school officials of forging admissions reports and grades to get students into elite universities and of abusing students. After publication of the article, enrollment dropped from from 110 to 75, Davis said. "Some people are saying that the fire marshal's office kicked us out of Breaux Bridge," he said. "That is not true." The fire marshal's office was working with the school to find a solution, he said. Derrick Sellers gets Botox injections in his scalp and wears specially tinted glasses to dull the insufferable glare of a normal day. He calls it noise. Light, being a type of noise. Chaos. Kids screaming. People talking. Its all things I have trouble filtering, he said. To find the words and to focus, I have to have silence, or its maddening. Sometimes I'll have a panic attack. Or just vacate. The pain in Sellers' head never goes away. Sometimes it's bearable; sometimes it shuts him down. Its been like that for more than five years, he said, since the attack that left his face busted and his brain stuck in low gear. When his attackers broke his left cheekbone up to his eye socket, Sellers said, the eyeball shifted outward. To train his focus forward, his darkened frames are cupped around the sides, like blinkers on a racehorse. Can't see video below? Click here. Sellers has accidentally flooded hotel rooms, left stove burners on and stood oblivious to his young childrens cries for food. His short-term memory is shot, said his wife, DeeDra. A few weeks ago, she found her husband sleepwalking, dead-eyed and wandering the neighborhood in his underwear, she said. At 33, the former U.S. Marine from Abbeville exhibits a slew of symptoms often associated with troops returning home from combat. But the violent attack that derailed Sellers' military career, leaving him unable to tie his own shoes, didnt happen during his two deployments overseas. It came later, stateside, in the Iberia Parish jail, where late on a September night in 2013, four sheriffs deputies escorted Sellers down a hallway alone. He was shoved up against a wall. Then they beat the daylights out of him. They smashed his face with fists, knees and a black metal object that unleashed a gush of blood. A deputy stomped on his already-broken face, Sellers alleged. He was pepper-sprayed twice, once while he was in the fetal position. The heaviest licks came in the first few minutes, captured on video from a camera down the hall. When the pummeling stops, a scrum of deputies peels off him. The cost of bad policing: Review of Iberia Parish cases leads to 18 tossed convictions A campaign of violence meted out by a squad of Iberia Parish drug deputies landed many of them in the federal pen and left the fate of Sheriff Episodes of violence The beatdown received little public notice, overshadowed as it was by other episodes of violence that led a dozen Iberia Parish deputies to admit to civil-rights crimes while Sheriff Louis Ackal, accused of overseeing the whole operation, walked free after being acquitted in a 2016 trial. The federal probe largely focused on the racial animus behind many of the beatings of black residents and inmates. Sellers is white. But his treatment at the hands of Ackals deputies may prove the costliest episode of them all. Ackals office recently agreed to a $2.5 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit that Sellers filed over the beating. It is by far the largest documented payout among several settlements of civil rights lawsuits filed in the wake of a scandal that made national headlines. The payout to Sellers was among a handful to emerge from three days of negotiations late last year involving 16 cases that were pending against Ackals office. Another $275,000 went to settle a lawsuit filed by Marcus Robicheaux, who was beaten by a deputy and attacked by a police dog during a jail shakedown in 2012. The payout to Robicheaux ended the suit over an incident that drew a national spotlight on policing in Iberia Parish and helped spark the federal prosecution against Ackal and his deputies. A video, uncovered in 2015, shows a prone Robicheaux under assault by a deputy and a police dog as he lay face-down in a jail recreation yard. David Prejean, the canine sergeant seen in the video, pleaded guilty and is now serving a 30-month sentence in a low-security federal prison in Florida. A few other cases against Ackals office were settled at the same time for smaller amounts. Still unknown is how much Ackal's office agreed to pay the minor child of Victor White III, who died of a gunshot wound while handcuffed in the back seat of an Iberia Parish patrol car in 2014. That settlement remains under court seal, though The Advocate is asking a federal appeals court to reverse a judge's order sealing the amount. The newspaper obtained the other settlement figures through a public-records request with the Louisiana Sheriffs Law Enforcement Program, which made the payouts on behalf of Ackals office. The insurance pool covers more than three-fourths of the sheriffs' offices in the state, though Ackal's office is no longer among them. He was booted from the program in 2016 for costing it too much. The pool remains on the hook for earlier claims against Ackals office, however, and has now paid about $6 million on Iberia Parish claims over Ackal's decade in office. Nearly half of it went to Sellers. 'Egregious conduct' Im not saying the sheriffs egregious conduct in this case is any worse than he did with other people who suffered major injuries, said Blake David, Sellers' attorney. "It settled for that much because the losses were that great." Ackal wasnt implicated directly in Sellers beating. But David argued that the culture that infested the jail under Ackals watch gave license to the deputies. If its a different parish, theres no opportunity to attack someone for no reason or little reason or whatever else it may be, he said. The culture allowed for exactly these types of attacks. One deputy, Eric Blanchard, kneed Sellers repeatedly, pepper-sprayed him and may have hit him in the head with a spray can. Sellers claims he never fought back, fearing he'd be killed if he did. Blanchard recalled the incident differently in a sworn deposition in 2015. Blanchard said Sellers had been resisting and began to veer off in the hallway as Deputy Warren Alpha tried to corral him. Blanchard, a night-shift lieutenant, said Sellers walked into the wall and then rushed at him, holding Blanchard's leg and being "actively aggressive." "I remember (Alpha) trying to get like in control of (Sellers), and they started curving toward the wall," he said. A spokesman for Ackal's office declined to comment on the settlement, saying sheriff's officials "cannot discuss the case as ordered by the federal magistrate." Even now, after the settlement, Blanchard remains employed as an Iberia Parish deputy, still working in the jail. Thats gross, Sellers said. Speaking in fragments Sitting in a Denham Springs coffee shop last week, Sellers spoke in fragments about his military career, the attack and the state of his brain. A device hung from a lanyard around his neck, pulsing electricity to his cranium through a pair of white wires clipped to his earlobes. Another machine, a neurostimulator, sat nearby, ready to attach to his forehead. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Sellers wears a back brace for three ruptured discs, injuries he says he received during the beating. Unstable, he falls often. Small tasks confound him. He keeps his pills in a padlocked tackle box. Driving a car is out. I cant ride a bike, he said. I have a tricycle. Sellers often stops talking in the middle of a thought. He closes his mouth and stares ahead behind his darkened lenses, waiting for the words. Several seconds pass. Half a minute sometimes. He is buffering. I have difficulty processing now. Processing speed is slow, he said. Sellers is working, slowly, on a piece of autobiographical fiction. He calls it Non-Conscious. His protagonist, Sebastian, is a man on top of his game. Everything was perfect, until it wasnt. He thought, I used to run for miles and miles 15 miles a week,' Sellers writes. Hell, now I cant even pick up trash in my kitchen without falling, or wonder if all of the memories that I do have actually happened. His long-term memory is stronger. Sellers recalled the moment he decided to join the Marines. He was in math class at Abbeville High, a week before his 16th birthday and more interested in sports, welding and chorus than academics, when planes struck the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Sellers decided to join the Air Force after graduation in 2004 but pivoted to the Marine Corps and headed off to Parris Island. No one out-competed me, he said. I knew I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be a pilot. A flyboy. Top Gun. Sellers was deployed to Japan and later to the Mediterranean and Africa, where we blew up a couple Somali pirate ships, he said. Federal judge denies bid by The Advocate, KATC to unseal settlement amount in Iberia Parish in-custody death case A federal magistrate judge in Lafayette on Friday denied a request by The Advocate and television partner KATC to unseal the amount that Iberi 'A stellar Marine' In 2010, he was accepted into a highly competitive Marine training program that promised an officer commission. Once he was accepted, it was a glidepath to a full military career. Sellers was stationed in the ROTC program in Baton Rouge as an active-duty Marine while attending classes at LSU. You cant get into the program without being a stellar Marine, said Beau Bergeron, who was in the program with Sellers. Derrick was no different as far as his approach to leadership, his day-to-day performance. Nothing but exemplary. Sellers talks proudly about it. I spent years getting prepared for it, and I was a single father, he said, referring to his son from his first wife, who left. When all of my peers in the military were bar-hopping, I was taking classes. World history, anything. Thats what I did. That was my fun. He was rolling through the officer program, earning As and Bs at LSU, when problems outside work began to mount. Sellers and his second wife, with whom hed also had a son, were in the midst of a contentious split. She was a nurse who had worked in the Iberia Parish jail and had accused him of kicking her out of a car an allegation Sellers denied. He began to struggle mentally. He had a history of depression and, at one point, admitted himself into a hospital. Soon afterward, he was booked on a domestic criminal charge that would later be dropped. The night of his beating, another inmate had provoked a female deputy over a jail intercom. Angry, she forced several inmates, including Sellers, into a visiting room to place their hands behind their backs and stand with their noses against a wall. Sellers said he had back pain from a recent car accident and slid to the floor after about 90 minutes. A deputy barked and he got back up. The rest, Sellers thinks, was selective. His then-estranged wife had been trading racy texts with a sheriffs deputy she was dating, and Sellers thinks the walk down the hallway, on a trip to a lockdown tier, was a setup. Deputies left his hands free of cuffs. He thinks they wanted him to fight back. All I really was trying to do was convince them to stop, he said. If Id have hit back, that was open season. Sellers cheekbone was broken and his left eye socket was cracked. At a hospital, doctors stapled a gash in his head and prescribed him antibiotics and painkillers. Sellers claimed jail officials refused to give him the drugs and left him crawling across the floor of his cell. Going downhill His life went downhill from there. He began failing classes and struggling to meet physical and other benchmarks in the Marines. When he first met DeeDra several months after the jail attack, he was still on active duty but living out of his 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis. Sellers legal troubles led to a military trial in 2015 and later a review by a military separation board. In neither case was he found guilty, according to records from Sellers. A neuropsychologist in 2016 found that Sellers history of depression and attention deficit disorder didn't explain a worsening condition. It does appear that motor dexterity, memory, processing speed and bowel continence have deteriorated, she wrote. Work tasks take him a long time, and he forgets what he is doing in the middle of a task. He has to take a lot of notes. By June of that year psychiatrists had been deemed him non-deployable and barred him from handling weapons. Sellers had been prescribed medications for depression and seizures before the incident. Until the settlement, it appeared the sheriff's office would argue that Sellers' military decline predated the jail fight, and that his unceremonious exit from the Marines wasn't its fault. To Sellers, it's a different ballgame now. His attorneys have noted that only after the beating was he prescribed medications like Prozac, Zyprexa for psychotic symptoms and Clonazepam for panic attacks. When the headaches and anxiety overwhelm him, Sellers is apt to lash out, DeeDra said. Scratches on a window of her SUV are from Sellers jumping on her car and trying to break into it during one blowup, she said. The Marines reassigned Sellers to South Carolina in 2016. He was anything but ready, toggling from one doctor to the next. He was slow to complete tasks and occasionally late for duty. He began to rack up infractions. He had gone from a water walker, a term for Marines who earn top marks, to just a problem, he said. He was being seen at Walter Reed Medical Center when a federal jury in Shreveport acquitted Ackal in late 2016. Sellers' military career ended in August 2017 with an administrative discharge attributed to unsatisfactory performance, documents he provided show. He and his wife are fighting to change that designation to a medical discharge based on post-traumatic stress, which would make him eligible for benefits. Bergeron, his fellow Marine, said he visited Sellers in jail a day after the beating and found him barely recognizable. The difference now is stark, said Bergeron, a retired gunnery sergeant. He was a Marine at the top of his game. He is now much more slow, much more methodical in answering the simplest of questions. You can kind of see the gears working, said Bergeron, 35. Its just being tortured while incarcerated. Its not what you would expect on U.S. soil. His whole path in life took a much darker turn because of what was done to him. An expert hired by his attorneys estimated that Sellers injuries would eventually cost him $3.7 million in lost military earnings and benefits. Sellers paused when asked his hopes for the future. He closed his lips and stared ahead. To heal, he finally said. A state district judge in Baton Rouge sided with The Advocate on Wednesday and ordered State Police to hand over body-camera footage recording Behind every great restaurant theres a great chef and someone taking a financial gamble. It could be the entrepreneur staking their life savings or betting their house to secure a bank loan. Some young chefs turn to crowd funding or use pop-up restaurants to keep costs down and stay independent. But many of the up and comers in Sydneys hospitality scene are increasingly backed by investors. Sarah Doyle, restaurateur and investor, upstairs at Continental Deli in Newtown. Credit:Nic Walker There are a few large hospitality groups that are well-known think the Hemmes familys Merivale Group, which owns more than 70 pubs and restaurants including Ivy and the Coogee Pavilion, or Solotel, the company behind nearly 30 venues from high-end restaurant Aria to grungy Newtown pub The Courthouse. Graduate nurse Jack Barr says his last night shift at the the hospital was just one of those nights. Patients were declining medical treatment and there were lots of medical emergencies. But he was pleased with the way he gelled with the medical team. As his graduate nursing year draws to a close, he recognises how much more confident he is becoming. Jack Barr at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne At the start, you tend to freak out in those emergency medical situations, so being confident in one of those situations a year down the track felt like a big milestone, Barr says. Young activists who were behind the school climate strike have endorsed independent candidate Zali Steggall in a new EMILYs List-style initiative to elect politicians committed to strong action on climate change. Ms Steggall, who is running in the federal election against former prime minister Tony Abbott in Warringah, is the first political candidate in NSW to be named as a Climate Leader. Independent candidate for Warringah, Zali Steggall, with young climate activists (L-R) Vivienne Paduch (15), Alexia Giannesini (16) and Manjot Kaur (17) at Freshwater Beach. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In a video interview with two teenagers from the northern beaches electorate, Ms Steggall calls for an orderly retirement of coal and says she does not support opening new mines including the controversial Adani project. The Climate Leaders initiative grew out of the school climate strike, which started in Australia last November and is running again on March 15. Alternatives are not always suitable. Some people have biting issues that can make alternatives such as metal and bamboo dangerous. And while wax paper straws have retro charm, they dont cope well with hot liquids. The issues are summarised on the People with Disabilities Australia website, while a woman called Sarah Packford has created a table comparing the alternatives. We could argue the toss but I reckon we need to listen to people about the way their own bodies work and interact with the world. To insist that something is viable when the person with direct lived experience says its not is pretty gross. You might ask what people with disabilities did before plastic straws were invented and became so ubiquitous. The truth is they often died, or lived in institutions with 24-hour care. We cant go backwards. Recycler Marina DeBris collects plastic straws that have been littered and creates art. Credit:Mimi Haddon Forcing people who need a straw to bring their own - whether its reusable or single-use - is unequal, since the rest of us can simply drink from a glass. Whats the answer? The world needs to move away from plastics if we want a habitable planet, but its not fair if people with disabilities pay a greater price. Even requiring people with disabilities to ask for a straw and potentially justify their need if they have a hidden disability creates a barrier. But the old way of simply putting a straw in everyones glass unless they remember to ask to not have it is untenable. The straws should be on the counter or offered when staff take the order. Alice Wong, a woman with disabilities, suggests venues provide a choice of plastic straw and a biodegradable alternative, clearly labelled. It might seem like a burden until you remember most cafes provide at least four types of milk. Loading I also agree with Wong that venues need to reduce waste across the board. All of us do theres a disposable coffee cup sitting on my desk as I write this, because I cant find the lid to my KeepCup. But long-term theres an economic question to answer. Just say we shift the culture and we all stop using straws unless we truly need them. What then? The problem is manufacturing relies on economics of scale. If most of the end users disappear, it wont be economic to produce plastic straws at a cheap enough price that venues can simply give them away. This might seem a long way off, but if dramatic reduction in straw usage is our goal and it should be we need to think it through. We urgently need to develop materials that are as flexible, strong, temperature-resistant and as cheap as plastic, but are non-toxic and break down quickly in the environment. This would solve more than just the problem with straws. Loading Theres a role for government because markets are efficient at solving purely economic problems, but intervention is needed when theres market failure or to solve social and environmental problems. In economics, its a form of market failure where something is cheap because the external cost is borne by a third party. Plastic straws are cheap because the external costs are borne by the environment. One type of intervention could be a government ban on straws but then there would be a social cost. Stephanie Seymour on the catwalk for Versace during Milan Fashion Week. Credit:AP The sight of supermodel Stephanie Seymour, 50, sashaying down the runway in a glamorous, bondage-inspired dress to close the Versace show during Milan Fashion Week was first, one to behold and second, a further sign that the famously youth-obsessed fashion industry is open to the idea of ageing. Seymour, who told Vogue Who wouldnt want to do the Versace show again after 20 years?, wasnt the only older model cast this season. Model Stella Tennant, 48, walking for Burberry, Christie Brinkley, 65, at Michael Kors and actress Chloe Sevigny, 44, at Simone Rocha (whose participation was both fashion and nostalgia catnip for Gen X), were particular highlights. Meanwhile much mileage has been made of how singer Celine Dion, 50, has become the internets favourite style icon. A true fashion fan, Dion was photographed crying in the front row at the Valentino couture show in January (the image subsequently went viral). Much of Dion's wardrobe is couture, and her daily outfit changes are faithfully documented on her Instagram account where she now has 2.9 million followers. Alan Edwards can still remember the day he heard clearly for the first time. It was an overwhelming sense of calm, Edwards says, remembering sitting on a park bench and laughing as he enjoyed the sounds hed never heard before. Alan Edwards found himself feeling isolated when his hearing deteriorated. It was really fascinating and amazing. Having struggled with genetic, degenerative hearing loss since he was born, Edwards, 58, says slowly losing his hearing was crippling. In her novel Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver depicts a young science teacher in the 1870s. Thatcher Greenwood is ensnared in controversy about Darwin's new theory of evolution. He is set up to fail as he tries to elaborate the tenets of scientific observation in a public debate with the local Creationists. Kingsolver narrates the scene before Greenwood at the Vineland Town Hall in New Jersey: "The view from his perch was harrowing: a crowd of human faces and no other species. How could anyone get a sensible bearing on life from the stage of an auditorium, or make any useful statements from that position?" How indeed could anyone "get a sensible bearing on life" from a hall full of humans? It is a good question that sharpens the awareness in current climate debates. There is an age difference of several decades between them, but the bond between the participants of this Canberra playgroup couldn't be stronger. Run by Playgroups ACT every Monday out of the Mirinjani aged care facility in Weston, the intergenerational initiative aims to bring some of Canberra's youngest and oldest residents together for play time, singing, stories and even visits from animals. Participants of Intergenerational Playgroup, a scheme where residents of the Miranjani retirement village interact with kids from a local playgroup on a weekly basis to boost mental health and physical health. Ex-pilot Ken Huttan (left) and Ron Dean (right) regularly play aeroplanes with three year old Archie Tunningley. Credit:Karleen Minney The program has been running since 2016, with dozens of children and elderly residents attending every week. Playgroups ACT development and support worker Chandani Ramasundara said there was a real connection between the participants. Canberra's school crossing guards are being threatened and sworn at by passing drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians while they try and help children cross the road safely. David Hine, who had worked as a school crossing supervisor since the initiative started at the beginning of 2018, resigned from the job recently because of what he described as non-stop abuse. David Hine, who says he had to resign as a school crossing supervisor after repeated instances of abuse. Credit:Jamila Toderas He criticised the lack of training and support he and other crossing guards received to deal with difficult situations. Two other school crossing guards, who spoke to the Sunday Canberra Times on the condition of anonymity, said they had also been subjected to verbal abuse on the job. It wasn't just the crowds packing into Reconciliation Place on Saturday. So, too, were the aromas of food from around the world. Thousands converged on the centre of Canberra to get their tastebuds around a range of flavours on the first weekend of the Night Noodle Markets. Aya, 4, and Misaki, 1, enjoy a Mi Goreng with mum Atsuko Beutel at the Night Noodle Markets. Credit:Elesa Kurtz It is the fifth year the markets have come to the capital as part of the Enlighten Festival, with the 2019 event featuring 26 stalls. There were long lines snaking around the markets from food ranging from pork belly skewers, bao, burgers inspired by the Year of the Pig and Filipino-based desserts from Gelato Messina. The mother of a worker killed on a Kingston Foreshore construction site has welcomed the recommendations of a recent review of national workplace safety laws, but doubts they will ever be implemented. Kay Catanzariti, whose son Ben was killed in 2012 when a concrete pouring boom fell on him, said the independent review for Safe Work Australia was a welcome step forward for workplace safety, but she questioned whether governments would act on its recommendations. Kay Catanzariti, whose son Ben died on Canberra construction site, believes it is unlikely the recommendations around uniform workplace safety laws will be adopted. Credit:Jamila Toderas Among the 34 recommendations laid out by former Safe Work South Australia executive director Marie Boland earlier this week were calls for an industrial manslaughter offence to be implemented nationwide. Currently, industrial manslaughter laws are in effect in the ACT and Queensland, with Labor pledging to introduce a similar charge in NSW and Victoria. On a bench in a forge in a corrugated iron shed in the Canberra bush sits a pile of rusty old nails which, if they could talk, would tell an amazing tale of bravery. They are part of the history of Australia. These small bits of steel are relics of the motor vessel Krait, from which a special forces squad was landed near Singapore Harbour on the night of September 24, 1943. War veteran Matt McVicar forges nails from the MV Krait into a dagger. Credit:Elesa Kurtz The vessel was an old Japanese fishing boat and the (successful) idea was to get right under the noses of the Japanese before attacking their vessels as they sheltered in apparent safety. In what was called Operation Jaywick, the soldiers and sailors hid for two nights in a cave and then paddled into the harbour and attached limpet mines to the Japanese ships, sinking at least six of them. This was not good enough for the print Perry Masons who said it simply couldnt have happened because it was in the sacristy after Mass and would have been too risky; that his robe wouldnt have allowed him to expose himself, etc. Please! Do they really contend they have spotted something that escaped Pells counsel, Robert Richter QC? Of course the most highly regarded criminal barrister in the country raised all these points and more. He probed, he prodded, he jumped on every word of the key witness the once 13-year-old who was orally raped by Pell - seeking to raise reasonable doubt about his testimony. And he failed. How do you think that brave witness would have felt, to have a former prime minister basically saying he may well have been lying? What would the effect be on other sexual assault victims of all kinds, across all institutions? Cardinal George Pell with then federal health minister Tony Abbott at the 2004 Catholic Administrator Conference. Credit:Wade Laube And as for John Howard, writing a character reference, for once I agree with Ray Hadley - it was a bad error of judgment. I contend the former prime ministers are setting a dangerous precedent in not putting victims first and note that at least the incumbent Prime Minister expressed empathy for the victims, not Pell, in his own remarks. Our justice system, a pillar of our democracy, turns on respecting the decisions reached by a jury of peers. They have reached that decision in the case of Pell, and I respect that decision, just as I respect the work of the Victorian Police and DPP who pursued this case, despite knowing the colossal forces that would be arrayed against them. Robert Richter QC leaves the County Court in Melbourne on Wednesday. Credit:AAP They went after justice, come what may, they got it, and they were not just supported by the jury, but also Judge Kidd who presided over the case and was strong in his support of the jury decision: He did it. He engaged in some shocking conduct against two boys. Im not making guesses about what else he might have done as King of the Castle. As to the contention that it was just a vanilla variety of sexual assault? I want to make it plain I see this as a serious example of this level of offending, Kidd told the court. I see this as callous, brazen offending. Blatant. I think it did involve breach of trust, he did have in his mind some sense of impunity, how else did he think he was going to get away with this exploiting of two vulnerable boys. And there was an element of force here. Pell has gone to prison for his unspeakable crimes. Justice has prevailed. Kelly seeks wisdom from poetry Me? I love the words of Dorothea Mackellars famous poem, My Country, and recite them often: I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. But the idea of quoting them as evidence against the reality of climate change, sheer takes my breath away. Enter the Prime Ministers Captains Pick as the member for Hughes, Craig Kelly, who this week the very week the Coalition tried to present credentials that they really do have a plan of action on climate rallied against a textbook asserting that climate change is real. I am not making that up! We need to understand, he thundered, that we live in that same country that Dorothea Mackellar wrote about over a hundred years ago. That is why we need to prepare and help people recover from their resources instead of wasting money pretending that we can change the weather. Seriously, Prime Minister. Kelly was your pick as one who had to be saved, because he was so valuable to the government? If I was a LNP member defending a marginal seat, I would tell Kelly that there is a bus leaving in five minutes, and he should throw himself under it. Craig Kelly turns to Dorothea Mackellar for climate change advice. Credit:AAP Tweet of the Week I Dont Think There Is Enough Evidence To Convict Pell Says Man Who Invaded Iraq On A Hunch" - The Betoota Advocate. Joke of the Week Q: Whats the difference between a folk-guitar player and a large pizza? A: A large pizza can feed a family of four. Quote of the Week Take him away, please. - Judge Peter Kidd at 3.10pm on Wednesday, to the court guards, referring to Cardinal George Pell, who was subsequently taken to prison, having been found guilty of orally raping a 13-year-old boy 22 years ago. No more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where the child is not actively participating ... No force greater than was required to achieve penetration. - Cardinal Pells defence lawyer, Robert Richter QC, in a plea for leniency for his client. He later profusely apologised for careless language, which could be construed as downplaying the horror of child sexual abuse. That two former prime ministers, John Howard and Tony Abbott, defend George Pell, a convicted predatory paedophile, and trash his victims, is a national disgrace. Do not forgive them. - Senator Derryn Hinch For the first time since they shared the St Alipius presbytery at Ballarat in the 1970s, George Pell will be back under the same roof as the worst of the worst. He and Gerald Ridsdale will have so much to catch up on. - The brilliant David Marr after Pell was taken to prison. It's my opinion that Mr Howard and Mr Abbott have made gross errors of judgment. Mr Howard and Mr Abbott in my opinion have shown a complete lack of understanding of victims of paedophiles. Not just in the case we're talking about now, but generally. - Ray Hadley on 2GB, attacking two of his long-time political heroes for their ongoing support for George Arthur Pell, convicted paedophile. John Howard noted in his reference EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. The Catholic Church must elevate women to leadership positions if it is to restore trust following sexual abuse scandals, says the Sydney woman spearheading a global campaign to give women and lay men a greater voice inside the church. The Overcoming Silence campaign calls for positive reform of the male church hierarchy to bring women into decision-making roles - at local parish level right through to the Roman Curia - at a time when the Vatican is under fire for its failure to tackle the scourge of child sex abuse. Ahead of International Women's Day, Catholics are urged to upload a photo and message of why they think it is important for women to be part of the leadership structures of the Church. The Catholic Church needs more women voices, says Stephanie Lorenzo, if it is to restore its moral authority in the wake of sexual abuse scandals. Credit:Steven Siewert The campaign is being run by Voices of Faith - an organisation which celebrates Catholic women leading social justice, education and leadership projects around the world. Australia appears to be recklessly mishandling a fire risk to the lives of many thousands of apartment dwellers, despite the risk having been discovered several years ago. A catastrophe was averted recently in central Melbourne, when as many as 80 firefighters extinguished a blaze spreading rapidly up the exterior of an apartment tower clad in the same combustible product that fuelled a 2017 London high-rise inferno in which 72 people perished. Fire raced up Dockland's Lacrosse tower in 2014 in just 15 minutes, as flammable aluminium cladding caught alight. Credit:MFB But despite the London disaster and high-profile Melbourne fires, there is scant sign cladding is being removed with any urgency. Meanwhile, the blame game plays out between owners, builders, designers, insurers, inspectors and so on. As an interim measure, some owners are being forced to move smoke alarms closer to danger zones. The latest fire was the second in as many years at the site. It was spread by the same material that stoked the UK tragedy and caused a blaze in Melbournes Docklands in 2014 that leapt 13 floors in 10 minutes. Last week, the builder of the Docklands tower was ordered by a court to pay several million dollars to the apartment owners but will end up parting with a tiny fraction of that, with the court ultimately splitting the costs between the building surveyor, his employer, the architects and the fire engineer. Perhaps this ruling might help pave a rapid route to removing the hazardous cladding, which taints about 400 buildings in Melbourne and up to 10,000 nationally. There is an evident risk innocent people will die. The issue is an added drag on the property market, as it creates uncertainty about the ultimate value of affected apartments. Loading The Victorian government has issued only 100 orders to replace the cladding. It is offering special loans that can be paid off slowly through council rates, a key recommendation of its Victorian Cladding Taskforce, set up last year and chaired by former Liberal premier Ted Baillieu and former ALP deputy premier John Thwaites. Another of the taskforces recommendations is to replace the cladding on 13 schools, none of which the government will publicly identify. The building industry and its regulators have long known this type of relatively cheap cladding is a fire hazard and at odds with construction regulations. It is also clear regulations were not adequately enforced; almost a decade has passed since the Australian Building Codes Board was warned by a fire safety consultant that Australian buildings are cloaked in millions of square metres of combustible cladding. The federal government and the RACV have thrown their weight behind road safety technology that blocks Wi-Fi and phone calls while a person is driving a vehicle. Drivers can technically activate airplane mode or the Do Not Disturb While Driving function on their smartphones to avoid getting calls or texts while they are driving. But these are not commonly used, with police and road safety experts warning that despite the hefty fines too many drivers are illegally using their phones behind the wheel. The aim is to create technology that blocks Wi-Fi and phone calls while a person is driving a vehicle. Credit:Bloomberg The federal government is now calling on major technology companies, including Google and Apple, to find new ways to stop motorists dangerously using their phones. Lisa Kewley pictured at Mount Stromlo. Credit:Jamila Toderas "I wrote the proposal, this is my baby," she says. "It's basically all the science and astronomy that I think Australia has really got a fantastic opportunity to lead into the future over the next decade, or two decades. "We're really great at building 3D technology, we're doing it for telescopes overseas and in Australia, and we're contracted to build it for the next generation of telescopes." Professor Kewley says as a female in what is a male-dominated field, there are challenges. But she believes her passion and her people skills got her to where she is today. "I think in some ways, you need to have a lot of people skills and I think that sometimes it comes very naturally to the women that I know that are in Australia in the field at the moment. We're good at engaging people." When she speaks to school children about galaxies colliding, she reminds them women can be scientists. She also tells them she doesn't wear a lab coat or glasses, and she has hobbies outside of work. "One of the main challenges that I've experienced was when I had children, and coming to find the right amount of time working and with my family that I'm comfortable with." "I'm really happy with how we do it now. I usually take the holidays off to spend with them, and I do school pick-up three days a week. I really enjoy having a good family life as well as my research." Professor Kewley says she tries to model behaviour she hopes to foster in the organisation. "I think it's really important for young people to see you can have a family and a successful career as well." The pioneers Incoming chief defence scientist Tanya Monro says a lack of role models was a huge challenge for her, particularly when trying to juggle children and her career. But the recent surge in women being appointed to leadership positions in science and engineering is fantastic to see. "I think that whats happened is that the notion of merit is starting to become less gendered, which is fabulous," Professor Monro says. "In the role Im taking on as Australias Chief Defence Scientist, we have an organisation [the Defence Science Technology group] that has had male leadership for over 100 years." She says she never pictured herself in the position she's in today. "At age 15 I decided I wanted to be a physicist, and once a physicist always a physicist. "Im still an active researcher, however Ive discovered along the way that I have a real affinity for leadership. The greatest privilege of all is being able to shape culture and create teams that tackle significant challenges, and if we can do this in a way that supports talent from a diverse range of people we get better outcomes." Recruiting women According to the 2016 Chief Scientist's report on the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce, about 16 per cent of the STEM-qualified workforce was female. Of those, representation in higher-paid roles was low. Just 12 per cent of women fell into the top income bracket - above $104,000 - while 32 per cent of men were employed in that bracket. Maybe it's timing, maybe it is pure luck that at this point in time, weve all converged and we have this great representation of women in our centre and around Australia, Milica Symul says. Shes the executive director of ANU's InSpace, which is led by director Anna Moore. ANU Institute for Space director Anna Moore and executive director Milica Symul. Credit:Jamila Toderas It wasnt planned that way, but since it launched in October three-quarters of its workforce has been female. I think having a female head of agency is probably quite prominent because it's so unusual," Dr Symul says. I think we are setting a pretty good example." Theres no legacy for us in our centre because we founded the centre, but in the space industry there is a big legacy of dominant male leadership. Its not natural actually, and I wont say it is not accepted but it's rare to see female leaders in the space industry internationally. Dr Symul says while there is an increasing number of women in leadership positions across the sector, they still have problems attracting women to join. We are certainly feeling it in an engineering space that if you just do a blanket advertisement for a job you will not get many females, sometimes you might not get any females applying. But specific job advertisements pitched to women have a better reply rate, and colleagues at another university have gone even further and asked for female-only applicants. Institute director Professor Moore says she initially thought this was a bad idea, and not something she'd want to be part of a view that completely changed when she saw how the process worked. "An Australian university did this and they realised that the calibre of applications they got was so good, objectively so amazing, they actually gave two appointments. That opened the eyes of many people like myself, that the way we do hiring is just not really geared to a fully diverse population," she says. Professor Moore says the top people in their field are very busy, and it takes time and effort to complete a job application. She says if you add a family to that, it becomes an even greater task. You need to think that you have a chance, she says. Smashing the ceiling Anntonette Dailey never dreamed she'd be where she is today. When she was in high school, she was bullied heavily for being a space enthusiast. Now, she's an executive director of the Australian Space Agency. Australian Space Agency executive director of operations and communications Anntonette Dailey. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong "That just spurred me on," she says of the bullying. "Space and science has turned from being a nerdy, weird subject to being actually a real opportunity for the world, and if you're not in it you're probably being left behind." Ms Dailey is proud to be executive director of operations and communications for the Australian Space Agency. "One of the great things about being part of [a] new government body is there are no glass ceilings," she says. "The agency doesn't have a legacy. It's not an old organisation where you have to try and change the culture. "We're developing it now in the 21st century of what should be an absolutely normal way of establishing an organisation. "We can demonstrate from the start what 'normal' looks like. And normal means that there are no glass ceilings installed." Ms Dailey says she hopes when her three-year-old daughter Skye grows up there won't be a term like "glass ceiling". "I hope that female leadership is just normal, that businesses mimic what's in society. I'm hoping for her that it's just a reality rather than a discussion point." In the Australian Space Agency alone, three of the five executive director positions are held by women. Alexandra Seneta is executive director of regulation and international obligations. She's been involved in space for 16 years and it's a career that has taken her all over the world. "It is so important to be part of something bigger than ourselves, making a positive contribution, and working in the national interest," she says. "For me personally, it shows that if you work hard, and are passionate about what you do, you can find your niche. I'm lucky to have found mine." We can demonstrate from the start what 'normal' looks like. And normal means that there are no glass ceilings installed. Anntonette Dailey, Australian Space Agency executive director Aude Vignelles is executive director of program and capability for the agency. She left the European Space Agency to move to Australia 18 years ago. She says she spent 17 of those years frustrated about Australia not having such an agency. "I grew up with the creation of the European Space Agency and the Ariane project. I was lucky enough to witness Ariane's first launch in French Guyana in 1979 and anyone who has attended a launch will tell you that you tend to catch the space bug forever." Industry Minister Karen Andrews is on the phone from Townsville. She has spent the morning talking to marine scientists and announcing support for flood victims. But now her thoughts have turned to the question of the Liberal Party's "woman problem". "It's interesting that I'm actually the first female cabinet minister Queensland has ever had. It took until 2018 for Queensland to have a federal cabinet minister. That's not a good statistic." She wonders out loud: "How did that happen?" The Liberal Party has struggled when it come to statistics and women. While Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just appointed a record seventh female member of cabinet with Linda Reynolds, only 23 per cent of its federal representatives are women. In the lower house, it is entirely possible the party will be left with just a handful of female MPs (including Andrews) after the federal election. Of the existing group of eleven, three are unlikely to hold their seats, while Ann Sudmalis quit politics and was replaced by Warren Mundine and Jane Prentice was dumped in favour of a male candidate. Industry Minister Karen Andrews is the first federal cabinet minister from Queensland. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen On the other side of the chamber, about 46 per cent of the Labor caucus is female - a statistic that is attributed to the introduction of quotas in the 1990s. This disparity between the two major parties is not lost on Labor strategists. An attack ad pointing out the Liberals' numbers in the lower house was released online on Saturday. Everybody likes 1984, or Animal Farm, but for my money, the best George Orwell book is his memoir Down and Out in Paris and London, in which our hero plays the original poverty tourist in Paris, where he works as a dishwasher (the French word, plongeur, is far more noble) and in the UK, where he lives as a tramp. Illustration: Reg Lynch Credit: Orwells book was rejected by several publishers. When it was finally published, in 1933, it was well reviewed, but upset some people. Orwells humanisation of the poor was subversive, as were his observations about social attitudes towards them. We know that poverty is unpleasant; in fact, since it is so remote, we rather enjoy harrowing ourselves with the thought of its unpleasantness, he wrote. But don't expect us to do anything about it. Minor parties and independents are issuing their ultimatums ahead of the NSW election as they prepare to play kingmaker roles should the Coalition lose its grip on majority government. The Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers Party says it will insist on a written agreement to its demands before offering support to either side. The Greens have identified a piece of legislation they want overhauled, and the three independents have announced their first joint policy. Among the Shooters' key demands is a "complete review of NSW's role in the Murray Darling Plan" and support for a bill to better protect farmers against animal rights activists. "We would want a review done and settled within 100 days. That will have to be delivered to us before they can expect our support," Shooters MLC Robert Borsak said. "We've had handshake agreements with [former premiers] O'Farrell and Baird. That's not going to cut it this time." Courtesy Attorney Jennifer Hansen(ST. LOUIS) -- Two former daycare workers were arrested and charged this week after they were caught on video injuring children one of whom needed stitches after she was thrown headfirst into furniture. Ariana Silver and Wilma Brown were charged with abuse of a child after video showed each of them in two separate incidents harming students at the Brighter Daycare and Preschool in Pine Lawn, just north of St. Louis. Surveillance video allegedly shows Silver grabbing a 4-year-old girls arm so hard that her nails punctured the childs skin and left bruising, authorities said. The police discovered the video while investigating the incident involving Brown, said Sgt. Kevin Smith of the North County Police Cooperative on Wednesday. In that incident, authorities say Brown can be seen on camera throwing a 3-year-old girl across the room so hard that she hits her head on a cabinet, splitting it open. The girl required seven stitches and ultimately remained hospitalized for three days after her wound became infected, the familys attorney, Jennifer Hansen, previously told ABC News. The incident involving Brown happened on Feb. 1 and the one involving Silver happened on Feb. 4. Brown initially told the parents of the girl that she had fallen. However, her parents became suspicious after the girls second hospital visit, when they realized that something more serious appeared to have happened, Hansen told ABC News. Hansen said that five days after the incident, family members of the girl went to the daycare center and asked to see surveillance video, which they subsequently recorded on their phones. She added that the daycare director had taken Brown at her word, and didnt see the video until the family of the girl asked to see the video. After seeing this horrific video and videos from multiple cases in recent weeks, I am committed to doing everything I can to protect our children and grandchildren, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement to ABC News. Both employees have been terminated from the daycare center, Smith and Hansen said. Police arrested Silver on Thursday and took her into custody at the St. Louis County Intake Center, where she was being held on $50,000 cash-only bond. Brown was arrested on Friday after an overnight search. She was found hiding in the basement closet of an associate, police said, adding that she was being transferred to the St. Louis County Intake Center. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. 8 Things Your Nose Says About Your HealthWhat That Smell of Ammonia in the Back of Your Nose Means The content is not available due to expiration. Air Force Veteran Had No Family to Bury Him, But Scores of Strangers Paid Respect Scores of people gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, on a Friday morning, March 1, to pay respects to a man they didnt even knowa U.S. Air Force veteran, who would have otherwise been buried alone. Sergeant Robert Kenneth Wunderlich was scheduled to be buried with full military honorsincluding the folding of the flag and playing of the tapsat Missouris Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery at 10 a.m. on March 1. Please join us in standing a flag line of honor and respect for Robert Kenneth Wunderlich, a notice for his burial posted Feb. 28 read. There is very little information available for Mr. Wunderlich as he is an unclaimed veteran. He honorably served our country in the United States Air Force. Wunderlich is believed to be in his 50s when he died. No picture was provided of the veteran, and not much else is known about his service record, according to reports. He was part of the Missouri Veterans Endeavor (MOVE), a local community that provides services to homeless veterans. MOVEs executive director William Wallace told The Daily Caller that Wunderlich did have a few surviving family members. However, they could not come due to the late notice, having been notified only 24 hours prior to the funeral. The public also only had notice of 24 hours. Big Family Here Today Even with such short notice, a sizable crowd had gathered to pay their respects, which according to The Daily Caller numbered as many as 150 people. One attendee, Larry Nations, reflected on the significance of attending the veterans burial service. I always think its important for kids to understand that there is someone sacrificing a lot of things for our freedom, he told Fox 2 Now. The Patriot Guard Riders, a non-profit whose members attend the funerals of fallen U.S. military and first responders, were present. Several of its members told The Daily Caller that although the temperature was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, the turnout was one of the best they had seen at an unaccompanied service. He had a big family here today, one attendee said, according to the news outlet. Air Force veteran Randy Pierpont told KMOV that he had heard about the burial service on that very morning, but still felt compelled to attend. Felt sad [that] he didnt have any family here. At home, I jumped in the shower and I told my wife I was running over here, he said. My eyes were watering, still kind of are. I was in disbelief this many people would show up. As the ceremony ended and people were leaving the event, one man called out: Show of hands: how many of you just learned about this service this morning on the local news? According to the Daily Caller, more than two-thirds raised their hands. Everyone Deserves a Respectful Burial John Robinson, the owner of Gateway Cremation Services, had stepped in after receiving a call from John Cochran Hospital regarding a veteran without a family. They call us when they need help and we will make sure that [the veterans] are buried respectfully, Robinson told Fox 2 Now on Feb. 28. Everyone deserves a respectful burial. Thats just our human nature, to take care of people that we know even a little bit. We know theyre a part of this community and thats enough by itself, he added. Karl Lund, an executive board member of USO, told Fox 2 Now that people should pay tribute to veterans. The blanket of security and the freedoms we enjoy were provided by our veterans, so if you dont feel like you should be there, then I say youre wrong because you are a benefactor of their service, of their sacrifice, he said. We have to pay tribute to those who served whether theyre with us or not. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a demo Crew Dragon spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 2, 2019. (John Raoux/AP) Americas Newest Crew Capsule Rockets Toward Space Station CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaAmericas newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday, March 2, toward the International Space Station (ISS) on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. The only passenger was a life-size test dummy, named Ripley after the lead character in the Alien movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year. This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. It will spend five days docked to the orbiting outpost, before making a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Fridayall vital training for the next space demo, possibly this summer, when two astronauts strap in. SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said the launch was super stressful to watch, but hes hopeful the capsule will be ready to carry people later this year. To be frank, Im a little emotionally exhausted, Musk told reporters barely an hour after liftoff. We have to dock to the station. We have to come back, but so far its worked weve passed the riskiest items. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called it a big night for the United States of America. Were on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011, said Bridenstine, who got a special tour of the launch pad on the eve of launch, by Musk. An estimated 5,000 NASA and contractor employees, tourists and journalists gathered in the wee hours at Kennedy Space Center with the SpaceX launch team, as the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off before dawn from the same spot where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles once soared. Across the country at SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, company employees went wild, cheering every step of the way until the capsule successfully reached orbit. Looking on from Kennedys Launch Control were the two NASA astronauts who will strap in as early as July for the second space demo, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Shortly after liftoff, Musk asked them, How do you feel about flying on it? Its been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased. NASA turned to private companies, SpaceX and Boeing, and has provided them $8 billion to build and operate crew capsules to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Now Russian rockets are the only way to get astronauts to the 250-mile-high outpost. Soyuz tickets have skyrocketed over the years; NASA currently pays $82 million per seat. Boeing aims to conduct the first test flight of its Starliner capsule in April, with astronauts on board possibly in August. Bridenstine said hes confident that astronauts will soar on a Dragon or Starlineror bothby years end. But he stressed theres no rush. We are not in a space race, he said. That race is over. We went to the moon and we won. Its done. Now were in a position where we can take our time and make sure we get it right. SpaceX already has made 16 trips to the space station using cargo Dragons. The white crew Dragon is slightly bigger27 feet tip to tipand considerably fancier and safer. Musk said the redesigned capsule has hardly a part in common with its predecessor. It features four seats, three windows, touch-screen computer displays and life-support equipment, as well as eight abort engines to pull the capsule to safety in the event of a launch emergency. Solar cells are mounted on the spacecraft for electrical power, as opposed to the protruding solar wings on cargo Dragons. Its an incredibly sleek looking vehicle from the inside and its very easy to operate, Hurley told reporters just hours before liftoff. He marvels at how the Dragon has just 30 buttons and touch screens, compared with the space shuttle cockpits 2,000 switches and circuit breakers. For the test, the Ripley dummy was strapped into the far left seat, wearing the companys snappy white spacesuit. The other seats were empty, save for a small plush toy resembling Earth that was free to float upon reaching zero-gravity. Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch! Musk tweeted. True to his word, the toy rose weightlessly above the seat once the capsule was in orbit. Super high tech zero-g indicator added just before launch! pic.twitter.com/CRO26plaXq Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2019 As many as seven astronauts could squeeze in, although four will be the norm once flights get going, allowing for a little cargo room. About 450 pounds of supplies are going up on this flight. The capsule is designed to dock and undock automatically with the space station. Cargo Dragon must be maneuvered with the stations robot arm. Like Ripley, the capsule is rigged with sensors. Engineers will be carefully watching sound, vibration and other stresses on the spacecraft, while monitoring the life-support, communication and propulsion systems. Some of the equipment needs more workpossibly even redesignbefore serving human passengers. Were going to learn a ton from this mission, said NASAs commercial crew program manager, Kathy Lueders. Flight operations team memberssome of them new to thisalso need the six-day trial run, according to Kennedy Space Centers director, Robert Cabana. The objective is to make the next demo flight, with Hurley and Behnken, as safe as possible. The more immediate goal is to avoid harming the space station and its three occupants: an American, Canadian and Russian. Seeing a success like this definitely gives us a lot of confidence in the future, Behnken said. At Saturdays post-launch news conference, Musk said hed be happy to fly on the revamped Dragon. You guys think its a good vehicle, right? he asked Behnken and Hurley, seated alongside him. Musk jokingly said they better wait a week, until the Dragon returns, before responding. Despite SpaceXs success at recovering and reusing its rockets, NASA is insisting on brand new boosters from SpaceX for the crew capsule flights. The first-stage booster used Saturday landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic, following liftoff. SpaceX plans to recycle the newly flying capsule for a high-altitude abort test this spring, along with a booster launched and retrieved a week ago. Musk anticipates eventually selling Dragon rides to private citizens, much as the Russians have done, first to the space station and then perhaps beyond. That would be pretty cool, he said. By Marcia Dunn A picture shows a demonstrator holding a banner calling penalty for zoophilia, as a dog stands next to her during a demonstration in Ankara on June 10, 2018. (Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images) Arizona Man Accused of Killing His Service Dog, Dumping It SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.Police in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale say a man is accused of killing his 4-year-old golden retriever service dog at his home and dumping the dogs body in a garbage can where it was found by family members. Police say in a statement that 29-year-old Jacob Bushkin was arrested Thursday night, Feb. 28, on suspicion of killing a service animal and animal cruelty. Jacob Bushkin, stabbed the dog over 100 times before dumping it into a trash can, police officials told Fox 10. Family members found the 4-year-old Golden Retriever and took the dog from Scottsdale to a veterinarian in Phoenix. The vet alerted the police on Feb. 25. The Arizona Humane Society performed a necropsy on the dog and found that it was alive during the vicious attack. Arizona man Jacob Bushkin accused of killing his service dog Cub by stabbing it 100 times, then dumping body in bin. /via SCMP https://t.co/z6kMf3fS92 Manila Standard (@MlaStandard) March 2, 2019 The statement says Bushkin declined to speak with investigators and that detectives arrested him at the office of his lawyer, Ryan Tait. Tait declined to comment on the allegations. According to police, a necropsy found that the dog was stabbed more than 100 times and a veterinarian said the dogs throat had been cut. Animal Cruelty Animal cruelty effects reach beyond the animal victims, noted researchers for the Animal Welfare Institute in a 2012 report (pdf). Accumulating empirical evidence is demonstrating a strong association between animal cruelty and other crimes, including interpersonal violence, illegal possession of drugs and guns, and property destruction, researchers stated. Moreover, participation in animal cruelty in childhood is a significant marker for the development of aggressive and anti-social behavior, as well as a predictor of individuals who might engage in domestic violence. Nearly every state has passed laws making animal cruelty a felony in some or all cases, the researchers said, a dramatic change in how the crimes are viewed and prosecuted. According to the Humane Society of the United States, hoarding behavior can hurt animals, with women as the main culprits; animal abusers, meanwhile, are most often men. Hoarding behavior often victimizes animals. Sufferers of a hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they are able to adequately take care of. Serious animal neglect (such as hoarding) is often an indicator of people in need of social or mental health services, the group stated. Surveys suggest that those who intentionally abuse animals are predominantly men under 30, while those involved in animal hoarding are more likely to be women over 60. New bill under review says providing improper shelter for dogs is animal cruelty https://t.co/bsQO5p1d88 pic.twitter.com/mygcOYTGjv News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) March 2, 2019 NTD News reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Chinese National Arrested in Japan for Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets A Chinese man was recently arrested in Aichi Prefecture, Japan for allegedly acquiring trade secrets illegally from his employer, Fuji Seiko, a leading cutting tools manufacturer. Police suspect that the confidential information may have been transferred out of Japan. Shen Yonghui, 31, is suspected of accessing the companys server and downloading confidential information onto his USB drive around Jan. 29. It included design drawings and operation manuals of drilling machines for auto parts production, according to Japanese media Nikkei. Fuji Seiko, established in 1958, mainly produces and sells customized tools used for producing automobile parts. The companys chief clients include Toyota, other automakers, as well as auto parts manufacturers. In the fiscal year of 2017, its total sales was 20.7 billion yen ($185 million), according to public data. After graduating from a university in Japan, Shen joined a technical department at Fuji Seiko in 2014. He was responsible for making cutting-tool related materials and was given access to the companys confidential information, according to the Nikkei report. During an internal security check on Jan. 30, the company discovered that he copied product design data onto his personal USB. The company then reported him to police. According to a Fuji Seiko manager, the company will be enforcing regulations to handle the matter. The prefectural police arrested Shen on Feb. 27 for violating the countrys Unfair Competition Prevention Law. Citing police, Nikkei reported that Shen admitted he copied data, but claimed that his motive was to learn, not to make a profit. According to Japanese media, Fuji Seiko said Shen should have known the companys confidentiality regulations, which are clearly written in the employee manual. In addition, at training sessions, all employees are informed that taking trade secrets out of the company or copying trade secrets onto other devices constitute a violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention Law. In addition, when accessing company information, there is reminder on the computer screen indicating that it is confidential. The police thus concluded that Shen was aware his conduct was unlawful, according to Japanese media reports. The company has since issued an official statement saying that it is deeply reflecting on this occurrence. We will fully cooperate with the investigation and strive to prevent information leakage. DETROITGene Biondo, deputy chief of the Detroit Fire Department attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife Glen on March 1. It was very uplifting performance, very colorful, very informative. The synchronization was fantastic, Mr. Biondo said after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts Global Companys performance at the Detroit Opera House. It was great to see the culture, it was nice that they [the emcees] explained before and then you can kind of follow it as the dancers perform, you could see what they were saying. Mr. Biondo said. New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company, formed by artists who wanted to revive the lost traditional Chinese culture and share it with the world. A Shen Yun performance is hosted by two bilingual (English/Chinese) emcees who introduce each of the 20 or vignettes. The program features story-based dances that depict scenes form Chinese history, mythology, and folklore spanning Chinas 5,000-year history from ancient times to the present day. It was very informative on many parts as far as the culture, but I really found the performance to be lovely and the colors and thee music and of course the dancing was just phenomenal. Very talented, we really enjoyed it. Mrs. Biondo said. Mr. Biondo pointed out the unique digital backdrop that accompanied the storytelling, describing how dancers went from stage to screen, even going to the moon in one vignette. Its all so transcendental, it was cool how they did that, Mr. Biondo said. He described how it was more than just a technical effect, it really added to the storytelling. That really sent a message, he said. It was good to see how evil lost, thats always a plus! I was happy for that, it gives you hope it gives people hope. The couple noticed this theme was present in more than just that one story. Traditional Chinese culture is built on beliefs stemming from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, as the Shen Yun program explains, and thus the stories from Chinese culture and history are replete with lessons and virtues such as wisdom, propriety, benevolence, and justice. The Chinese believed that good is rewarded with good and evil punished, in harmony between Heaven and Earth, and in divine retribution. I certainly understand the battle between good and evil so its nice to see a different cultures take on it and their opinions on it, and faith is something that runs very deep with me and Im sure it runs very deep with them, Mrs. Biondo said. Mr. Biondo felt these were some aspects that made Shen Yun an uplifting experience. Id say its very inspiring, its very entertaining and its very beautiful and its nice to see other cultures so its something we dont see that often so that was a nice message, Mr. Biondo said. With reporting by Valerie Avore and Andrew Darin. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. Policemen stand guard in front of a damaged train inside Ramsis train station in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 27, 2019. (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Egypt Says Fight Between Conductors Led to Crash Killing 25 CAIROA fight between two train conductors unleashed a speeding, unmanned locomotive that slammed into a barrier and exploded in the Egyptian capitals main train station Feb. 27, killing at least 25 people, authorities said. Railway officials said the single railcar collided head-on with the buffer stop, causing a huge explosion and fire. At least 47 people were also injured, many of them critically, and officials said the death toll could rise. The deadly blaze blasted through people on the platform in the busy Ramses Station in downtown Cairo. A surveillance video showed the moment of impact when the car barreled past men and women walking by and engulfed them in flames and smoke. Charred bodies lay on the platform, and a man in flames ran down a staircase in panic, according to other photos and videos posted on social media. Egypts Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek said investigators determined the locomotives conductor had left his car to fight with another conductor whose railcar was blocking his. But the conductor left without putting on the brakes and the other car began moving backward, freeing the locomotive, which then gathered speed and hit the concrete-and-metal barrier, exploding. The driver left the railcar without taking any measures to brake it, Sadek said in a statement. Sadek put the death toll at 20 while health officials said at least 25 people were killed and dozens more were injured in the crash and ensuing fire. Some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition and DNA tests were carried out to determine identities. The driver of the railcar has been under interrogation and Sadek said the investigation was continuing. The deadly accident prompted Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat to resign his post, according to a statement released by the Cabinet office. The Ramses district is among the busiest and most crowded areas of Cairo. The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station. The accident triggered an online debate among many Egyptians, with many blaming the government for not improving railway services in Egypt, even after a series of deadly accidents. Several noted previous statements by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi arguing about spending billions of pounds on improving trains. Video from surveillance cameras showed flames ravaging the stations interior. One video that surfaced on social media showed men and women carrying bags and personal belongings and walking on the rail platforms as the train car crashes and explodes. Another showed men and women running and searching for exits after the explosion. A man is seen running back and forth, his shirt on fire, until another man rushes to pour water on him. Mohammed Said, head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, said at least 25 were killed but that the death toll could rise. Many of the wounded were in critical condition, mostly suffering severe burns, said Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli vowed harsh punishment for those behind the accident. Egypts railway system has a history of badly maintained equipment and poor management. Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country. In July 2018, a passenger train derailed near the southern city of Aswan, injuring at least six people and prompting authorities to fire the chief of the countrys railways. In March last year, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the government lacks about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $14.1 billion, to overhaul the run-down rail system. El-Sissi spoke a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people, including a child. In August 2017, two passenger trains collided just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 43 people. In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo. The deadliest train crash took place in 2002 when over 300 people were killed when fire erupted in speeding train traveling from Cairo to southern Egypt. By Maggie Michael Ex-Prosecutor Quits Investigation of Care Facility Rape PHOENIXA former top Phoenix prosecutor said on March 1 he resigned from an internal investigation of a health care facility, where an incapacitated woman was raped and later gave birth, out of concern for the organizations leadership. Nearly two months after being hired by Hacienda HealthCare to investigate how a patient was sexually assaulted, former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley terminated his contract. Several senior Hacienda staff members and a longtime board director have also resigned. When I started this assignment, I made it very clear if I was not able to conduct my work with complete objectivity and, if any issue came up that caused me any concerns, I would terminate my contract, Romley said. BREAKING: Chair of Hacienda HealthCare, where patient was raped, resigns. Move comes after @azcentral investigation details history of self-dealing, nepotism. More shakeups coming https://t.co/HMQSFxZmnK Robert Anglen (@robertanglen) February 28, 2019 Nearly two months after he was hired by Hacienda HealthCare to look into how a patient was sexually assaulted, former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley terminated his contract. https://t.co/kbic0oeTFE news10nbc (@news10nbc) March 1, 2019 Romley said his issues were with Haciendas board of directors but declined to elaborate. He also could not share details from the partially completed review because it involved records that belonged to Hacienda. It was unclear whether anyone will resume the investigation he started. Romley said he believes several employees who quit would return if an entirely new board was appointed. If they really cared about the patients and the organization, they would consider resigning, he said. Hacienda spokesman David Leibowitz did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The facilitys embattled operators agreed in February to be regulated by the state. They initially planned to close down the unit altogether after an agreement with new third-party managers fell apart. Patient rape case: Investigator quits, says Hacienda board stymied him https://t.co/FWuQND0PWV via @azcentral Kelsey Mo (@kelseymo_news) March 1, 2019 Patrick Ptak, Gov. Doug Duceys spokesman, said Arizona Department of Health Services employees have been monitoring the facility on-site. Multiple resignations this week should not affect patient care, he said. Hacienda has undergone massive upheaval since a 29-year-old patient gave birth on Dec. 29, 2018 to the shock of employees. The facilitys CEO has stepped down, a doctor dismissed and another suspended from providing medical services there. JUST IN: 10 members of Hacienda HealthCare management team resigning, leaving questions over patient care https://t.co/Eqxtn3GLLp #abc15 pic.twitter.com/2ku1GknpzH ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) March 1, 2019 Phoenix police launched a criminal investigation that led to the arrest of Nurse Nathan Sutherland. Investigators said DNA from Sutherland, 36, matched a sample taken from the newborn. He has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and vulnerable adult abuse. The facility has since bolstered security measures. This includes installing dozens of cameras and monitors, enhancing security and retraining every staff member on identifying and reporting abuse and neglect. The situation started on Dec. 29, 2018. Nurses at the Hacienda facility called 911, saying they were shocked to see a patient they did not even know was pregnant and giving birth, with a dispatcher and paramedics helping them through the stressful process. The 29-year-old Native American mother was living in the facility for decades after a near-drowning incident at the age of 4 left her unable to move freely or speak. Initial reports described her as being in a vegetative state but the familys lawyer later corrected that description. NTD Reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. ISIS Supporters and Victims Flee the Ruins of Its Caliphate Hundreds of people of various nationalities streamed out of the ISIS terrorist groups last enclave in Syria under escort from U.S.-backed forces on Feb. 27, part of an exodus of both its supporters and victims from its final shred of land. Part of Baghouz, a tiny cluster of hamlets and farmland on the banks of the Euphrates at the Iraqi border, is all that remains in ISIS possession of the caliphate straddling the two countries which its leader proclaimed in 2014. Women from Iraq, Syria, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Poland; an Indonesian boy; and enslaved, traumatized Yazidi girls were among those to emerge over the past 48 hours from the caravans of trucks that trundled to an assembly point outside the enclave. Around 40,000 people have come out over three months, including 15,000 since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a final assault to capture it on Feb. 9, said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali. The number surpassed initial estimates and has delayed SDF plans to storm the enclave or force the remaining hardened foreign fighters holed up inside to surrender. Some 78 people have died reaching the camp or soon afterwards over three months, the World Health Organization said, two-thirds of them babies. The International Rescue Committee, an aid agency working in northeast Syria, said it was aware of two more babies dying on Feb. 27. Many of those emerging from Baghouz still supported the organisation which had enslaved those children, pointing to its lingering threat. Marwa, a 19-year-old Iraqi woman, said she had come to Syria after her father had been arrested and her brother killed in an air strike in Iraq. I feel like Im in a dream. I left Islamic State and came here, I came out of a dream, she said. Umm Hisham, a young woman from Aleppo in Syria, said the situation in Baghouz was miserable. Her husband, an ISIS member, was injured by sniper fire and insisted that she leave the enclave with their two small children so he could seek treatment. Reporting by Ellen Francis Jobs for All? Commentary Democrats have proposed that the federal government guarantee a job at a living wage for anyone who wants one. Given widespread economic anxiety, its easy to understand why such a proposal appeals to many voters. But how feasible is it? Government-guaranteed jobs is a simple, easy-to-understand concept. However, the implementation of such a program would be exceedingly problematical. The easy part is to put people on the government payroll. The hard part is figuring out what to actually do with them. To begin with, can government bureaucrats provide jobs that match the skill sets of the individuals getting those jobs? Would the government create an additional teaching job in, say, Detroit, for an unemployed teacher living there, or would it pay for the teacher to move to where there is a teaching opening (and what if the teacher doesnt want to relocate?), or would the worker have to accept whatever job the government wants to fill, such as manufacturing solar panels? Further, how would the government know which jobs are needed in which locations? No group of individuals can possible have enough specific information about the operations and markets of all the firms in an area to rationally match individuals with jobs. Would the government require businesses that already have enough workers with the right skillsets to take on additional workers who may lack those skills? Or would the government employ the new people directly by creating new projects and train people in the skills needed to do the type of work that the new projects would perform? If so, which communities would be the sites for these new projects? It wouldnt be fair and certainly wouldnt live up to the promise of jobs for all if Uncle Sam only created new projects in some communities (likely in congressional districts with the strongest political connections). For the government to guarantee everyone a job means that government officials would have to know what goods to produce and what services to provide, both in the present and going forward. If the government is in charge of deciding what is to be produced in the United States, then what were talking about is essentially socialism. And the difficulty of an elite in Washington having the specific knowledge to intelligently coordinate economic activity is the inherent flaw in central economic planning. Such planning always and necessarily makes people poorer, whether those administering it are saints or fiends, geniuses or dunces, for one simple reason: The planners dont know what we, the people, want better than we do, and they arent disciplined by the profit-and-loss calculus facing private businesses in free markets to produce what we want. In central economic planning, its the rulers who decide whats produced (e.g., wind energy, electric cars, etc.) while disregarding consumer preferences and economic costs. As explained definitively in Ludwig von Misess 1922 classic Socialism, economic central planners are like pilots wearing blindfolds. They have no meaningful economic signals to guide them, and so they inevitably steer an economy into a downward spiral into lower standards of living. Value Guaranteed jobs may sound appealing, but wherever its been practiced, its proven disastrous. In the 1930s, some Americans were beguiled by the rhetoric of socialism. They spoke approvingly of the Soviet Union, because there, the government guaranteed everyone a job. Lets set aside the harsher aspects of guaranteed jobsi.e., the Soviet slave-labor campsand assess how guaranteed employment worked for the millions of citizens who werent condemned as enemies of the state. The government did guarantee Soviet citizens a job, although in many cases, citizens were compelled to do work that they neither were trained for nor had any desire to do. That same problem would plague any American guaranteed jobs program, too. In order to preserve jobs, the Soviet government had to keep employing everyone, whether their labor was adding value to the economy or not. That policy stands in stark contrast to a market-based system based on private property, prices formed by supply and demand, and the consequent capacity to measure profit and loss. In a market-based economy, profitable firmsthose that create additional value, and therefore enrich societyflourish. Correspondingly, firms that use scarce resources uneconomicallyi.e., make society poorersustain losses and eventually go out of business. The path to economic progress for a society lies in having those firms that add wealth (profits) to society continue to do so, while those firms that subtract wealth from society not continue to do so. In the Soviet Union, by contrast, because there was no way to calculate whether production was profitable (adding wealth) or unprofitable (subtracting wealth), the state inevitably propped up wealth-destroying businesses, often for many years or decades. Only occasionally, and long after a change was due, would the central planners reconfigure what and how various enterprises produced, but since they still lacked market-based prices to determine whether value was being created or destroyed, there was no way to calculate whether or not the new production was economically rational, either. The bottom line, then, was that central economic planning guaranteed two things: 1) every citizen had a job and 2) society as a whole was impoverished. I doubt that most Americans would embrace such a costly tradeoffa guaranteed job in an economy caught in a death spiral. No Guarantee Free-market capitalism offers an alternative to socialist central planning. The good news is that, as both theory and history demonstrate, capitalism produces more wealth and raises standards of living far beyond what socialism can accomplish. That is because the private property order places businesses at the service of consumers and because, under private property, supply and demand yield economically meaningful prices that coordinate economic activity and subject businesses to the discipline of the profit-and-loss calculus. The bad news (such as it is) is that free-market capitalism cant guarantee everyone a job. Unprofitable firms downsize or go out of business and their employees lose their jobs. While a vibrant market economy always generates new employment opportunities, the demand for and supply of labor dont mesh perfectly in terms of time, place, or compensation. There is an old cliche about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Socialism promises a perfect solution to unemployment by having the government guarantee everyone a job (although those who dangle this catnip in front of gullible citizens omit the caveat that the cost for such security will be a poorer society). Capitalism, on the other hand, isnt utopian. It cant guarantee that everyone always has a job. But it constantly creates new jobs as entrepreneurs discover more and more ways to provide valued goods and services for people. (It should be added that capitalism does this best when government refrains from distorting, impeding, and undermining capitalism through burdensome taxes, stifling regulations, subsidies, and favors to special interests, etc.) And capitalism has the added benefit of lifting standards of living higher than any other economic system. So there is the choice: government-controlled markets with guaranteed jobs and impoverishment, or free markets with unguaranteed jobs and widespread prosperity. As the old knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, choose wisely. Mark Hendrickson is an adjunct professor of economics and sociology at Grove City College. He is the author of several books, including The Big Picture: The Science, Politics, and Economics of Climate Change. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Mountain View Residents Urge City Council to Reconsider Marijuana Stores MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.Community members and local organization leaders held a press conference on Feb. 28, ahead of an upcoming public meeting regarding cannabis (marijuana) regulations in the city. Mountain View City Council members will on March 5 in City Hall at 6:30 p.m. discuss potential amendments to cannabis regulations and re-vote on the regulations that were adopted in the fall of 2018. The press conference provided people who are against opening recreational cannabis stores an opportunity to speak their views and advise city leaders to amend the 2018 cannabis regulations. Participants held signs that read slogans such as No pot shop near schools, Dont legalize drugs, No Marijuana in Mountain View, Spare our children from drugs. We strongly urge all council members to reject commercial marijuana completely, said Frank Lee, Bay Area Director of California Coalition Against Drugs. Speakers addressed the effects of cannabis, ranging from health to public safety issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prolonged use of cannabis has been found to cause unpleasant thoughts or feelings of anxiety and paranoia, reduce attention and memory, and impede learning functions. Adolescents have a developing brain, and when they start using [marijuana] young, which they are using younger and younger because of all this misinformation they are losing up to eight IQ points by using marijuana at a young age, said Dr. Lynn Fox, Ph.D., retired professor from San Francisco State University and speaker for schools, parents, and communities. Dr. Fox explained that this loss of IQ points is equivalent to what is recognized as a loss in intellectual functioning, which may lead young people who use marijuana to perform worse academically than their peers or drop out of school. I am genuinely concerned of our citys decision on cannabis, which will affect the environment that my kids grow up [in], said Tootoo Thomson, a mother of three and an afterschool art teacher in the city. Thomson added that some of the store locations approved by the Mountain View City Council last year are near schools. Chad Norris, training coordinator at the California Narcotic Officers Association (CNOA), also addressed some safety concerns with marijuana stores and delivery services. Norris said that with a quick three-minute online search, he was able to find multiple violent criminal cases associated with marijuana dispensary deliveries. He brought and shared a few of the news articles he found, all of which involved physical assault, guns, and robberies. When you look at dispensary deliveries, they have the product. They either have a large amount of marijuana or, on their return, they have a large amount of cash currency. So, its very easy for some of these criminal organizations to go to these dispensaries, watch as people leave the dispensaries with the product, and stop and rob them, explained Norris in an interview after the press conference. In the fall of 2018, the City Council adopted regulations permitting a total of four cannabis businesses, consisting of two retail storefronts and two delivery services in Mountain View. Four members of Mountain View City Council are seeking to roll back the citys new ordinance allowing four marijuana businesses in commercial areas: https://t.co/ArIysi3dCF Allison Levitsky (@Levitskyyy) February 18, 2019 Lee explained through a follow-up phone call that there is a misconception regarding marijuana delivery services. He explained that each city oversees its own regulations and is not obliged to open marijuana delivery services. Delivery services must comply with city regulations. This is seen in 5414(c) of California Code of Regulations Title 16 Division 42, Bureau of Cannabis Control. The speakers at the press conference urged local residents to attend the upcoming hearing and make their voices heard. Ocasio-Cortez Warns Millennials: No Children Because of Climate Change Like all her ideas, this one is not original with her Commentary Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has done it again. After claiming that the world as we know it will end in 12 years, she is now advising millennials not to have children. Our planet is going to face disaster if we dont turn this ship around, Ocasio-Cortez said on Feb. 24, 2019, touting her Green New Deal in an Instagram live video. No matter that there is zero evidence the world is facing an imminent climate-driven catastrophe. And that whatever gradual rise in global temperatures does occur over the next century can surely be dealt with in a measured, rational way without wrecking the U.S. economy. I grant you that Ocasio-Cortez seems to experience real angst about global warming. Why else would she go around saying things like, Hurricanes, storms, wildfires, we are dying now. Might it be because she knows that saying the end is near, and implying that only I know how to save you is a great way to scare millennials into voting for her? Now that shes in Washington, however, shes taking matters one step further. She seems to want to scare millennials into not having children. Theres scientific consensus that the lives of children are going to be very difficult, she warns in the same video. And it does lead young people to have a legitimate question: Is it okay to still have children? Of course, no one would want to bring a child into the world that Ocasio-Cortez describes, namely, one teetering on the brink of climate chaos and societal anarchy. And its certainly true that parts of the planet already resemble such a Mad Max dystopia. In such places, conditions really are so bad that thoughtful people might well want to remain childless. Those who live in socialist paradises like Venezuela, North Korea, and Zimbabwe, for example, might reasonably take a pause from procreation. Who wants to watch their child eat out of garbage cans, or even starve to death, because of socialist mismanagement of the economy? Or consider the plight of children in China, where the lack of environmental controls means that the air in major cities is often barely breathable. Who wants to watch their child choke on smog? But in the United States? We live in the most stable, prosperous, andyesenvironmentally conscious democracy the world has ever seen. For Ocasio-Cortez to advise young American women that global warming means going childless makes no sense. Yet such will be the corrosive effect of her climate change propaganda on the minds of millennials that some will probably do just that. Its happened before. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Paul Ehrlichs The Population Bomb (1968) traumatized an entire generation of college students. The battle to feed humanity is over, Ehrlich breathlessly informed his readers on the very first page. Hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in the 1970s. It only got scarier from there. Reading Ehrlich, many of the 1960s generation decided that the only responsible thing to do was not to have children. The Mills University valedictorian of 1969, for example, was so shocked by Ehrlichs apocalyptic message that she devoted her entire address to the dangers of overpopulation. Our days as a race on this planet are numbered, she declared. I am terribly saddened by the fact that the most humane things for me to do is to have no children at all. She entitled her address, The Future is a Cruel Hoax. But the only hoax in question was Ehrlichs, which robbed her of her future children. It was not until 2000, by which time our one-time valedictorianalong with the rest of her generationwould have been long past menopause, that the media finally acknowledged the truth: Overpopulation was a 20th-century myth. Will Ocasio-Cortezs climate change alarmism now morph into the kind of anti-people, anti-baby attitudes found in the radical environmental movement? Will another generation of young people be robbed of their progeny? Environmental radicals in the United States, Europe, and at the U.N. certainly hope so. In order to discourage childbearing, some have even been known to refer to babies as little carbon emitters. This is surely the least charming way to refer to newborns. But now Ocasio-Cortez, too, thinks that maybe its not OK to have children. In her view, the planetnot peoplemust come first. Steven W. Mosher is the president of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia: Why Chinas Dream is the New Threat to World Order. Mosher, who is fluent in Chinese, was the first U.S. social scientist allowed to do research in China in 197980. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. An EHEC bacteria is visible in Berlin, Germany on May 30, 2011. (Courtesay Manfred Rohde, Helmholtz-Zentrum fuer Infektionsforschung (HZI)/Getty Images) Ontario Researchers Discover How Bacteria Become Resistant to Antibiotics Ontario researchers say they have discovered how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, a finding they say could help combat the growing problem. Maikel Rheinstadter, a physics professor with McMaster University in Hamilton, and Andree Khondker, an undergraduate biochemistry student, said they found bacteria fight off antibiotics by stiffening their cell membranes and changing the barriers electrical charge, becoming a less attractive target to the drugs. Currently at European Spallation Source ERIC in Lund, Sweden, one of Europe's biggest science projects and the upcoming neutron flagship source. Amazing to see it become reality! Posted by Maikel Rheinstadter on Tuesday, 25 September 2018 Weve developed a technique that we could see how the antibiotics are trying to stab the bacterial cells, Rheinstadter said of the research, which was recently published in Nature Communications Biology. The team focused on polymyxin B, an antibiotic used when all other antibiotics have failed. A few years ago Chinese researchers discovered a gene that allows some bacteria to become resistant to the powerful drug. The big challenge that we are facing is that the drugs we used to treat diseases with are in the process of not working anymore because bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to these drugs, said Rheinstadter, the lead author of the study. Rheinstadter said the team used X-ray imaging in parallel with computer simulations to get molecular-level resolution to see how the polymyxin B interacts with the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their technique allowed them to view bacteria at a resolution one-millionth the size of a human hair. Mughda Khondker 's new paper on antibiotic resistance is out in Nature Communications Biology https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0297-6 ! Great collaboration with the Cecile Fradin and Jose Moran-Mirabal group. Video credit to McMaster University Communications! #BrighterWorld Posted by Maikel Rheinstadter on Monday, 18 February 2019 They came at the problem with a physics perspective, using techniques often found in materials research, he said. The idea we had is every disease and bacteria is treated differently so we tried the oppositeto see if there are common properties of all bacteria, if there is a general mechanism for this bacteria resistance that one could tackle, Rheinstadter said. Bacterial cells have a membrane around them, which is often negatively charged, Rheinstadter explained. Many antibiotics have a slight positive charge, which makes them attracted to the soft membrane. If you want to listen to a nice podcast by BBC The Naked Scientists. Posted by Maikel Rheinstadter on Tuesday, 26 February 2019 The antibiotics kind of poke into that membrane and stab the cell to death, Rheinstadter said. But the bacteria found a mechanism to reduce the charge they have, which makes them less attractive to antibiotics, and they made their membranes tougher. For the drug, its like going from cutting Jello to cutting through rock, Khondker added. Mughda Khondker all miced up and being interviewed. Stay tuned for the big announcement! Posted by Maikel Rheinstadter on Saturday, 2 February 2019 Knowing how bacteria fend off antibiotics will allow researchers to design drugs to better circumvent such defences, Rheinstadter said. We also think we can use it to screen through potential antibiotic drug candidates, he said. If researchers come up with new ideas, we can quickly test them if they work. The World Health Organization says antibiotic resistance is currently one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development, with the problem increasing around the world. About 700,000 people die each year around the world from drug resistance in illnesses with that number expected to grow in the coming years, the organization said. You could really be in danger if you get your tooth pulled and you get one of these infections, you could die from it, Rheinstadter said. This is what happened 100 years ago. These times could come back if we dont find a solution. Police: Girl, 11, Charged in Death of Toddler in Her Care SUITLAND, MarylandAn 11-year-old girl has been charged in the death of a toddler who was left alone with while her own mother, who was babysitting the boy, ran an errand, police in Maryland announced on March 1. The childrens families were friends and the mother of 1-year-old Paxton Davis of Washington left him with the girls family on Saturday night, Prince Georges County police said. The next morning, the girls mother ran an errand, leaving the children alone at the Suitland home. This is Paxton Davis. Police say he was killed by an 11-year-old girl who was left alone with him last week. https://t.co/UVHuiFSL9O pic.twitter.com/jva1MHsiJJ Cory Smith (@CoryNBC) March 1, 2019 When family members returned, they found Paxton injured and called 911, police said. He was taken to a hospital with severe injuries to his upper body and hospital staff alerted police. The boy died on Thursday. The girl admitted to detectives that she assaulted the boy, causing injuries that led to his death, according to Prince Georges County Police Maj. Brian Reilly, commander of the departments Criminal Investigation Division. Paxton had been at the home before, but the girl had never cared for him before, Reilly said. Captain Bryan Reilly with Prince Georges County police says 11 year old babysitter in custody in connection with the beating death of a 1 year old boy. Motive unclear. Mother of 11 year old came home to find the toddler injured and called 911. pic.twitter.com/hAdKceU2k6 Paul Wagner (@Fox5Wagner) March 1, 2019 It was an innocent, friendly agreement that obviously turned absolutely tragic, he said. The girl, whose name was not released, has been charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in death and committed to a juvenile facility, police said. Detectives spoke to the girl at length, but its not clear why it happened, Reilly said. This is 1-year-old Paxton Davis. He was taken off life support yesterday. Police say he was assaulted by an 11-year-old girl who was left alone with him Sunday. She now faces 1st degree child abuse charges. https://t.co/UVHuiFSL9O @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/dYY3EGofJX Cory Smith (@CoryNBC) March 2, 2019 I dont have a motive for this. There are no words, he said. Theres no reason for this to take place. Under Maryland law, a child cannot be left unattended without proper supervision by a reliable person at least 13 years of age. Police said in a statement that any further charges would be determined in consultation with the States Attorneys Office. Two Missouri Day Care Workers Charged Charges have been filed against two Missouri day care center workers after surveillance video showing a 3-year-old girl being thrown against a cabinet went viral. The woman accused of throwing the girl, 27-year-old Wilma Brown, was charged with felony child abuse on Thursday, Feb. 28, in St. Louis County. Relatives said the girl sustained a head gash that required seven stitches during the incident on Feb. 1 at Brighter Day Care and Preschool. The girls family said they were initially told the girl fell, but five days later watched surveillance video with the centers director that showed a worker throwing the child into a cabinet. A warrant has been issued for Browns arrest. Brown doesnt have a publicly listed telephone number and couldnt be reached for comment by The Associated Press. Prosecutors also charged 22-year-old Ariana Silver for a separate incident on Feb. 27 that was also allegedly captured by surveillance video. Charging documents allege Silver squeezed a 4-year-old girls arm and punctured her skin, and then carried the girl by her foot. Silver is jailed on $50,000 bond. Jail records dont show whether she has an attorney, and she doesnt have a publicly listed home phone number. Both women have been fired, according to Timothy Smith, an attorney for the daycare center. Smith said the center is cooperating with investigators and has provided exemplary, high quality educational and childcare services to thousands of children and their families for more than a decade. The attorney said teachers and staff are properly trained, and the center works to provide a safe environment. Child Abuse Child abuse is one of the nations most serious concerns. Children in their first year of life have the highest rate of victimization at 24.8 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency so officials can investigate and assess the situation. Most states have a number to call to report abuse or neglect. To find out where to call, consult the State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers website. The Childhelp organization can also provide crisis assistance and other counseling and referral services. Contact them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). The man, later identified as Zachary Greenberg, who attacked conservative activist Hayden Williams at the University of California at Berkeley on Feb. 20, 2019. (Courtesy of Brad Devlin, @bradleydevlin/Twitter) Police Seeks Felony Warrant Against Man Who Sucker Punched Conservative Activist at UC Berkeley Campus police are seeking a felony warrant against a man who was caught on camera punching a conservative activist at the University of California, Berkeley, on Feb. 19. The police have finished their investigation, said campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof in a Feb. 26 statement reported by campus student newspaper The Daily Californian that day. Based on the results of that investigation, the department is seeking a felony warrant from the Alameda County district attorney for the identified suspect, Mogulof said. The university announced on Feb. 22 that the police identified a potential suspect, responding quickly to information provided by members of the UC Berkeley campus community. Based on current information available to the department, the suspect is not a student at, or affiliate of, the University, the university stated. What Happened The activist, Hayden Williams, was manning a table, recruiting for Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative student organization operating on 1,400 campuses. The display had signs reading, Hate crime hoaxes hurt real victims and This is MAGA Countrya reference to the case of Jussie Smollett, a TV actor charged with staging a racially motivated attack on himself and framing supporters of President Donald Trump by claiming the attackers referenced Trumps campaign slogan Make America Great Again, The Daily Wire reported. At some point, Williams was approached by two men who verbally accosted him. He started to record the men with his phone. One of the men knocked the phone from his hand. Williams picked up the phone and continued recording. The man started to shove and drag him. You want to hit me? Im going to shoot your [expletive], he said at one point. Finally, after hurling several more curses and insults, he punched Williams in the face and promptly left. LEFTIST VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS While recruiting for our @TPUSA group at UC Berkeley a leftist thug comes & assaults our activists punching him in the face & hitting him repeatedly Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! This is the violent left! RT! pic.twitter.com/7RjbCPUcDf Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 21, 2019 My friend, Hayden, wants to thank all of you for the love and support. Hes giving you a wink, and wanted to let you know youll be hearing from him soon! pic.twitter.com/6kPmFZgQgz Brad Devlin (@bradleydevlin) February 21, 2019 University Response The University confirmed that Williams is not a student or affiliated with the University. He had joined members of a student group as a member of an advocacy training program, the university stated. The fact that the victim was not a campus affiliate has no bearing on this case. He had every right to be on campus, and every right to express his point of view, said campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof. Here is the altercation from my friends perspective. Conservative activists, take note. This is exactly the right thing to do, and I am so proud of him for recognizing the situation and not retaliating with violence. pic.twitter.com/QEuJWEQtz8 Brad Devlin (@bradleydevlin) February 21, 2019 In response to the incident, the university expressed unwavering commitment to freedom of expression and perspective. Let there be no mistake, we strongly condemn violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason, Chancellor Carol Christ said in a message to the campus community. That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here. A video of the incident was posted on Twitter by Charlie Kirk, president of TPUSA, and garnered some 2 million views by March 1. Imagine if the attacker was wearing MAGA hat, would be national news! Kirk said in the tweet. This is the violent left! Williams is a field representative for the conservative Leadership Institute, a training organization for conservative activists. The Supreme Court Building is seen on in Washington on Dec. 24, 2018. (Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images) Review Finds Ex-death Row Inmate Innocent Of Officers Death HOUSTONA review of a former Texas death row inmates case has determined he is innocent of fatally shooting a Houston police officer nearly 16 years ago, blaming his wrongful conviction on prosecutorial misconduct, a district attorney announced on March 1. A nine-month review by a special prosecutor has found that Alfred Dewayne Brown was not responsible for the April 2003 slaying of Officer Charles Clark during a robbery of a check-cashing store, said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. It does no justice to Officer Clark to convict the wrong person, John Raley, the special prosecutor in the case, said at a news conference. Review finds ex-death row inmate innocent of officers deathhttps://t.co/F8EisMK4Ha pic.twitter.com/7tPGcB7AfX NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) March 2, 2019 Raley has previously worked in helping free wrongfully convicted individuals, including Michael Morton, a Central Texas man who spent nearly 25 years in prison for his wifes beating death. A store clerk, Alfredia Jones, 27, also was killed during the botched robbery and another man, Elijah Joubert, was sent to death row for her slaying. In 2014, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out Browns conviction and death sentence after it determined prosecutors failed to disclose phone records that supported his alibi. Brown had maintained his innocence, saying he was home at the time of the robbery. The phone records were discovered in 2013 after a homicide investigator found them in his garage. In 2015, Brown was set free after then Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson dismissed the capital murder charge against him, determining her office couldnt prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. But Anderson did not pursue Browns actual innocence claim, which prevented him from being eligible for nearly $2 million in state compensation. The determination of actual innocence by Oggs office means Brown will now be eligible for that compensation. In his 179-page report, Raley blamed Browns wrongful conviction in part on the work of retired Harris County prosecutor Dan Rizzo. It is impossible to examine the conviction of Alfred Dewayne Brown without confronting prosecutorial misconduct, Raley wrote in his report. ADA Daniel Rizzo presided over a Grand Jury that abusively manipulated witnesses to supply evidence for a chosen narrative. He was provided notice of the existence and meaning of exculpatory evidence, failed to produce it to the defense, and avoided it during trial. Further investigation of his conduct is warranted. Last year, Oggs office had filed a complaint with the State Bar of Texas alleging misconduct against Rizzo after an email from 2003 was discovered that showed a police investigator had told Rizzo about the phone records before Brown was tried and convicted. The State Bar last month closed its probe after finding no just cause to proceed with disciplinary action. Ogg said Raley will file an additional complaint against Rizzo with the State Bar. Ogg said because she has known Rizzo for 32 years, someone else will have to be appointed to look at whether Rizzo might face any criminal charges for his conduct. Dan Rizzo served the citizens of the state of Texas and Harris County with distinction and pride for over 25 years. The Harris County District Attorneys Office is climbing over Dan Rizzos back to free a cop killer because of a campaign promise. The people of Harris County lost today, Rizzos attorney, Chris Tritico, said in a statement. Neal Manne, Browns attorney, said Brown just wants to live his life peacefully and happily. Since being released, Brown moved to Louisiana, where he is raising his daughter and working as a truck driver. I think he will feel so appreciative the district attorney today has essentially acknowledged for all purposes and for all time, You were innocent. You didnt do this. We were wrong. I think thats whats going to make him feel good, Manne said. At a separate news conference, Ray Hunt, the past president of the Houston Police Officers Union, criticized Raleys report, saying that not one retired or active detective from the Houston Police homicide division believes that this person is actually innocent. Ogg hired Raley for one reason and one reason only, and that was to find Alfred Brown actually innocent, Hunt said. Hilde Clark, Officer Charles Clarks widow, told reporters she still believes Brown killed her husband and wants him to be tried again. I feel like I am fighting the system. I should not have to fight the system to get my husband justice, she said. A prosecutor says a review of a former Texas death row inmates case has determined he is innocent of fatally shooting a Houston police officer nearly 16 years ago. https://t.co/GRif1EioU0 KZTV Action 10 News (@Action10News) March 1, 2019 Ogg said she understands the anger and frustration that the victims families may now be feeling but she believes she is telling them the truth about what happened in this case. I think its important in looking back that as the elected DA, we hold everybody accountable in this case for the injustices that have occurred to the victims and to the accused, Ogg said. By Juan A. Lozano An image of a ancient northern ocean on Mars released by the European Space Agency in 2012. A new research study details the first direct geological evidence for a 'planet-wide groundwater system' explaining Mars's watery history. (C. Carreau/ESA) Scientists See Evidence of Underground Lakes System on Mars BERLINScientists say images of craters taken by European and American space probes show there likely once was a planet-wide system of underground lakes on Mars. Data collected by NASA and ESA probes orbiting the red planet provide the first geological evidence for an ancient Martian groundwater system, according to a study by researchers in Italy and the Netherlands published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Francesco Salese, one of the scientists involved, said in an email on March 1, that the findings confirm earlier models and smaller-scale studies, and that the underground lakes may have been connected to each other. Using images from ESAs Mars Express and @NASAs MRO, scientists have found evidence of an ancient planet-wide groundwater system on #Mars. Read more: https://t.co/06dCzWxTQk pic.twitter.com/TiXhLq92DN ESA (@esa) February 28, 2019 The notion of water on Mars has long fascinated scientists because of the possibility that the planet may have once harbored similar conditions to those that allowed life to develop on Earth. Patches of ice previously spotted on Mars provide tantalizing hints of a watery past for the arid world. Researchers said flow channels, pool-shaped valleys and fan-shaped sediment deposits seen in dozens of miles-deep craters in Mars northern hemisphere would have needed water to form. Co-author Gian Gabriele Ori said some scientists speculate, between three and four billion years ago, Mars could even have been connected to the underground lakes. Water On Mars: First Geological Evidence Of A System Of Ancient Interconnected Lakes Is Discovered https://t.co/ukybQrL6IT pic.twitter.com/qlyzc5UBr2 advocator (@advocatorca) March 1, 2019 The researchers also saw signs of minerals such as clay on Mars that would have required long periods of exposure to water to form. Ralf Jaumann, a planetary scientist at the German Aerospace Center who wasnt directly involved in the study, said such sites are a good starting point for future Mars landers to search for signs of ancient life. However Jack Mustard, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University who also wasnt part of the study, questioned the papers claims, saying he didnt see evidence of underground lakes in the data. But I am probably just a skeptical Martian, he added. Chuck Lewis, executive vice president at Thomas Jefferson University, and Jefferson Health, and his wife Anne Lewis, Associate Professor, enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts in Philadelphia on March 1, 2019. (Lily Sun/The Epoch Times) PHILADELPHIAChuck Lewis and his wife Anne Lewis were touched by Shen Yun Performing Artss mission to bring back traditional culture to the world. The couple thinks its important to celebrate our traditions no matter what. I hope it never dies. I hope it only grows, said Chuck, who is an executive vice president at the Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. The couple was among the audience at the Merriam Theater on March 1, where Shen Yun performed to an enthusiastic full house. The New York-based company is in the midst of its 2019 tour and has already performed to dozens of sold-out performances across the globe. Chuck said Shen Yun was able to give audience members a glimpse of how China was before the current communist regime seized power, adding that its something Chinese people are most likely yearning to see again. It takes you back to a China that once was. And I really feel like, in many cases, that its sorely missed. I got the feeling that its sorely missed by the Chinese people. And Im so glad that we can enjoy it here in America, he said. Like Chuck, many of Shen Yuns audience members are sad when they hear from the emcees that Shen Yun cant perform in China today. Little does the audience know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sees traditional Chinese culture, which is deeply rooted in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, as its greatest rival. The aim of the Cultural Revolution, which occurred between 1966 and 1976, was an unprecedented move to systematically eradicate traditional culture and replace it with Mao Zedongs way of thinking and style of discourse, as Shen Yun also explains on its website. Therefore, Maos campaign has been catastrophic for Chinas traditional culture. With Shen Yun performing in over 100 cities around the world a year, the performance is like a window into a cultural treasure that is nearly lost. In addition, Chuck praised the tenors vocal ability, adding that he was touched by the lyrics, which were translated on the backdrop. He was singing about something that was very, very core to his being, and how the divine within needs to come out, right? I think that was an expression of what they express for the Chinese people, he said. Along with dance, Shen Yun also features a number of solo vocalists who perform using the bel canto techniquewhich is challenging to perform due to the difficulty of retaining proper Chinese pronunciation and diction. The lyrics of these original songs often inspire audience members as they are filled with philosophical reflection about human life and contain deep layers of meaning, going beyond the boundaries of nation, race, and culture, according to the companys website. Meanwhile, his wife Anne, who is an associate professor at DeSales University, said she was impressed by the precision and artistry of the performers. The precision of marrying the dancing to the projection in the back is really, really excellent! And the precision of the movement, and the uniformity of the movement, really quite something. Its really a pleasure to watch, she said. Anne, who is also an actor and director, continued, And the balance that they use with, you know, the numbers of people on stage and the costuming. Its just spectacular. I know, looking at their bodies, Im like oh my gosh! Theyre really, really well trained. The associate professor said she would recommend the performance to friends, describing it as a cultural experience. Its a celebration of life. Its a celebration of culture and tradition. And it speaks to the discipline of the individual, and the discipline of their spirituality, she said. Important to Keep History Alive Also in the audience was Michael Debevec, the managing director for investment company BlackRock. Debevec also thought Shen Yuns mission is important. I think its always important to keep history alive. So for the extent they can do that and show that and have a place to express that, I think its very good, he said. Moreover, Debevec said he liked the dancing, adding that the piece Mongolian Spirit resonated with him. I think it resonated with me, I thought the movements and how they pressed the horse movements, I thought it was very good, he said. With reporting by Lily Sun and Frank Liang. The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006. President Donald Trump and Hayden Williams at the CPAC convention in Oxon Hill, Md., on March 2, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Trump Announces He Will Sign Executive Order Protecting Campus Free Speech In a speech that went past two hours at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC 2019), President Trump invited Hayden Williamsthe conservative activist who was assaulted last month at the University of California in Berkeleyon stage and said he will soon sign an executive order protecting free speech on college campuses. Today, I am proud to announce that I will be very soon signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research funds, he announced to enthusiastic applause. If they want our dollars and we give it to them by the billions, theyve got to allow people like Hayden and many other great young people and old people to speak. Free speech, said Trump. And if they dont it will be very costly. Trump encouraged Williamss attorney to sue UC Berkeley. He will be a wealthy man, Trump said while sending Williams off the stage. According to the Conservative Political Action, 19,252 people attended the conference with 2,604 students among them. Trump speaks on Hayden Williams "Ladies and gentlemen, he took a hard punch in the face for all of us." Donald J. Trump said about conservative activist, Hayden Williams, who got attacked on Berkeley campus Posted by The Epoch Times on Saturday, 2 March 2019 Trump hugged the American flag as he arrived to speak at CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., on Saturday, March 2. He went through a wide range of topics, from Robert Muellers investigation, economic success, border wall, trade negotiation with China, and freedom of speech. Trump Hugs the Flag President Donald Trump walks onto the stage and hugs the American flag at CPAC as Matt Schlapp introduces him Posted by The Epoch Times on Saturday, 2 March 2019 Trump also took a humorous jab at the Democrats Green New Deal, a policy proposal floated by some of the more liberal Democrats in Congress and backed to varying degrees by several of the partys 2020 presidential candidates. President Trump discusses the #GreenNewDeal at #CPAC2019. (Thread ) Perhaps nothing is more extreme than the Democrat plan to takeover over American energy. Their plan would remove every gas-powered car from American roads. They want you to have one car instead of two pic.twitter.com/HKU6oMm7Q3 The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) March 2, 2019 I think the New Green Deal or whatever the hell they call it the Green New Deal I encourage it, Trump said with a smirk. I think its really something that they should promote. They should work hard on it. No planes, no energy. When the wind stops blowing thats the end of your electric. Lets hurry up. Darling, is the wind blowing today? Id like to watch television, darling. With special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation seemingly approaching its end, Trump spoke of the collusion delusion and lashed out at newly empowered House Democrats who plan to open new inquires involving him. This phony thing, Trump said of the Russia probe, looks like its dying so they dont have anything with Russia there, no collusion. So now they go in and morph into Lets inspect every deal hes ever done. Were going to go into his finances. Were going to check his deals. Were going to check these people are sick. Now you have a president who is standing up for America. After decades of building up foreign nations, we are finally building up our nation and we are doing it with American hands, American grit, and with beautiful beautiful American steel @realDonaldTrump at @CPAC pic.twitter.com/j6qHVlwd6f The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) March 2, 2019 In a move echoing other recent talks, Trump again denounced the socialist agenda of Democratic party members during his speech. America will never be a socialist country, he said. The Associated Press and the Reuters contributed to this report. Trump Chosen by God to Run for White House: MyPillow Inventor Mike Lindell The content is not available due to expiration. At CPAC, Trump Defends Americas Values, Condemns Green New Deal Perhaps nothing is more extreme than the Democrat plan to take over American energy' WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump spoke for more than two hours on the last day of a packed Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 2. He hit on all the major topics of his America First agenda, while mixing in some off-script riffing that resonated with the appreciative crowd. At one point, he said: Im totally off script right now. And this is how I got elected, by being off script. Our movement and our future in our country is unlimited, Trump said. I think were going to do even better in 2020. He touched on the booming economy, low unemployment numbers, the resurgence in manufacturing, stronger military, and a strengthening of traditional values. Were reclaiming our nations priceless heritage, he said. Trump explained his use of the tariff system as leverage to secure better trade deals, and to protect U.S. interestswith an overall goal of having reciprocity and dropping tariffs altogether. With your help, were reversing decades of blunders and betrayals Its been done by the failed ruling class that enriched foreign countries at our expense, he said. America is winning again, America is respected again, and the world knows it. Trump ridiculed the Green New Deal that was recently introduced by Democrats. No planes. No energy. When the wind stops blowing, thats the end of your electric. It would force the destruction or renovation of virtually every structure in the United States, he said. Perhaps nothing is more extreme than the Democrat plan to take over American energy. Trump said he encourages the Democrats to embrace the new plan, insinuating itll make it easier for him to win in 2020. This is a killer I want them to embrace this plan. I just want to be the Republican that runs against them. As with Vice President Mike Pences speech the day prior, Trump criticized the Democrats push for socialism. Democratic lawmakers are now embracing socialism. They want to replace individual rights with total government domination, he said. Socialism is not about the environment. Its not about justice. Its not about virtue. Socialism is about only one thingits called power for the ruling class. Trumps actions as president have pushed back from a drift to socialism, and toward a reduction in government oversight and regulation. The future does not belong to those who believe in socialism, he said. The future belongs to those who believe in freedom. I have said it before, and I will say it again: America will never be a socialist country. Trump praised young conservatives, singling out Turning Point USAs Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens. He invited onto stage Hayden Williams, who was punched in the face while recruiting conservative students at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley on Feb. 20. If these socialist progressives had their way, theyd put the Constitution through a paper shredder, Williams said. Trump suggested that Williams should sue the offender and the university. He also said he will soon sign an executive order that will require colleges to support free speech if they want federal funding. Every day, were restoring common sense and the timeless values that unite us all, we believe in the Constitution and the rule of law, Trump said. Were hopefully going to be here for six more years, so youre in good shape. Trump brought up the crisis at the southern border, defending the national emergency he declared to redirect money to build around 234 miles of border fencing. The lawless chaos on our southern border provides a lucrative cash flow to some of the most dangerous criminal organizations on the planet. Deadly cartels constantly violate our borders, he said. We are being invaded. Were being invaded by drugs, by people, by criminals, and we have to stop it. He talked about switching to a merit-based immigration system, while putting an end to chain migration, the diversity visa lottery, the anchor baby phenomenon, and sanctuary cities. We need an immigration policy where people coming in will love our country and love our fellow citizens. And this includes shutting down sanctuary cities, he said. The president criticized Senate Democrats for supporting late-term abortions, and even infanticide. On Feb. 26, 44 Democrats voted against a bill that would protect the life of a child who was born alive after a botched abortion. Trump also defended his position with the North Korea denuclearization negotiations. I just returned from Vietnam, where I had very productive meetings with Kim Jong Un, he said. I had to walk. Because every once in a while you have to walk. The deal wasnt a deal that was acceptable to me. His tone remained lighthearted when turning to topics such as the special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller; first criticizing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation, before launching into an attack on Mueller and his team. Robert Mueller put 13 of the angriest Democrats in the history of our country on the commission, he said, adding that one was involved with the Clinton Foundation. Trump said he had a nasty business transaction with Robert Mueller years ago, which is not often mentioned as a conflict of interest. Trump moved on to slam former FBI Director James Comey, calling him a dirty cop. Feeding off the responsive crowd, Trump spent much of his speech entertaining the audience with stories about generals, his trip to Iraq over Christmas, and several Democratsat one point, saying: Im going to regret this speech. As with his Make America Great Again rallies, Trump elicited familiar chants from the audience, including U-S-A, Lock her up, and Build the wall. The 32 big, fat rallies that he held before the 2018 midterm elections were instrumental in bolstering the Senate, and consequently, nominations to the judiciary, Trump said. The audience for CPAC was a record size, according to American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp. Aside from more than 9,000 people in attendance at the main site in Maryland, another almost 20,000 attended at three satellite campuses around the country. Hareth Najem, an Iraqi orphan lies under a blanket in a truck, near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria, on March 1, 2019. (Rodi Said/Reuters) Wounded and Alone, Children Emerge From Last Enclave of ISIS DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, SyriaHareth Najem fled the last enclave of ISIS in eastern Syria wounded and alone. The Iraqi orphans family had died two years earlier in air strikes across the border in al-Qaim region. I had two brothers and a sister. They all died, and then I was by myself, Hareth told Reuters, tears filling his eyes. My little sister, I loved her a lot. I used to take her with me to the market. Lying in a cattle truck beside another injured boy at a desert transit point for U.S.-backed forces, he huddled under a blanket. His face was covered in dirt and the side of his head wrapped with bandages covering wounds incurred days earlier. Hareth was 11 years old when ISIS carved out its caliphate in Iraq and Syria, killing thousands of civilians and attracting an array of enemies that have fought from the air and on the ground to uproot the jihadists. Now 16, he was among the children swept up this week in the civilian evacuation of Baghouz, the last shred of land under the jihadists control where they are on the brink of defeat at the hands of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Wounded and alone, children emerge from last Islamic State enclave https://t.co/m3f9cxbJAN pic.twitter.com/SBMChTB5kg Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) March 2, 2019 Some of the children are foreigners whose parents brought them to be raised under ISIS rule, or child fighters conscripted into what the group dubbed cubs of the caliphate. Others, including members of the Yazidi minority, were enslaved by the jihadists. Many have seen their parents die in the fighting or be detained by rival forces. As IS faces territorial defeat, their fate remains uncertain. The SDF investigates all men and teenage boys arriving from Baghouz to determine possible ISIS links. These Kids Have Nobody Around 20 children crossed the frontline on their own this week, including Iraqis, Syrians, Turks, and Indonesians, said SDF commander Adnan Afrin. The fathers of some were identified as IS fighters and arrested immediately. These kids have nobody. They need somebody to take care of them, to provide mental health support, said Afrin, adding that some had gone hungry for a long time. The SDF plans to hand over the children to aid groups, he said. Hareth said his family had been running a market stall when ISIS overran their town and they had no links to the group. After his family was killed in an aerial bombardment, he crossed into Syria with other Iraqis who feared Shiite Muslim militias advancing against IS would take revenge on Sunnisa fear that other Iraqis have cited as their reason for entering ISIS-held Syria. Hareth said he tried to avoid the jihadists and denies attending their schools or receiving military training. Their morality police would sometimes arrest and whip him. They gave speeches at the mosques, jihad, and whatnot, he said. I was scared of them. My whole family died because of them. When he reached Baghouz, he worked in a field in return for a room to sleep in. He tried saving enough money to go home, but said the militants stopped him. Hareth was wounded last week when a shell fell near where he was standing along the Euphrates River, injuring his ear, hand and stomach. He wants to get medical care and return to relatives still in Iraq. I want to go look for them When I get better and my body recovers, when I can walk, he said. I want to go back, to become a young man again, to build a future again. By Ellen Francis NORWALK Amid calls to scale back the Walk Bridge Project, Mayor Harry Rilling is doubling down on the state-proposed, 240-foot vertical lift bridge design. It might be politically advantageous for me to jump on the bandwagon of the vocal minority and call for a stop to this plan, Rilling wrote an opinion piece in The Norwalk Hour. However, I have spent a lot of time learning about this project, its impact on Norwalk, and have concluded that a moveable bridge is the most effective and least disruptive option. Since it was unveiled in 2016, the plan to replace the 122-year-old railroad bridge over Norwalk Harbor has been under attack from residents and business owners who argue a fixed, unmovable bridge would be more cost-efficient and practical. Rillings public statements came as opponents launched a new offensive against the project their target: Norwalk Harbors navigable waterway designation. The designation, they argue, lies at the heart of the Walk Bridge controversy. The federal designation is one of the core reasons cited in the states justification of a vertical lift design, according to a September 2016 environmental assessment report. The report found that low- and mid-level fixed bridge options would meet nine of the projects 10 stated needs, while also costing less to build when compared to a lift bridge. The fixed designs wouldnt work, the report claims, because they would inhibit the harbors navigability. But, as detractors point out, the definition of navigable is broad. Under federal law, the U.S. Coast Guard is tasked with determining whether a proposed structure would affect a waterways navigability. Yet there is no set standard for reaching such a determination, and each project is determined on a case-by-case basis. To get around this process, some suggest the federal designation be removed all together. The waterway designation can easily be removed, said Robin Penna, a member of Norwalk Harbor Keeper, a local conservation group that has sued state and federal transportation officials in attempt to get them to consider less expensive, less disruptive alternatives to the lift bridge. The label can only by removed at the federal level, but there is a precedent for such measures. In 2018, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., sponsored a bill that declassified Bridgeports Pequonnock River as a navigable waterway. Himes said he would be responsive to advancing such legislation for Norwalk, but would first need to be asked by the city. But Rilling seems unlikely to do that. The latest focus on a navigable waterway designation, which is not as simple as some describe, is just the latest attempt to distract from the real issue we should be discussing: how can this project be completed quickly with the least amount of disruption which is the current design, Rilling said. Rilling called the navigable waterway designation essential to the city and its harbor. Having a fixed bridge, and removing that designation would be shortsighted and restrict a prime area of Norwalk from future opportunities. Knowingly putting a plan in place that would hinder potential growth is wrong, Rilling said. Opponents, however, contend that Rilling is trying to meet a need that no longer exists. The opening/closing bridge was built for the commercial traffic 100 or 200 years ago, and that traffic is just not there anymore, said Bob Kunkel, another member of Norwalk Harbor Keeper. Since 2013, the number of bridge openings has declined each year (with the exception of 2015), according to DOT data obtained by Norwalk Harbor Keeper. Excluding test openings, the bridge was only opened 68 times in 2017 32 times for commercial vessels and 36 times for recreational ships. John Pinto, the chairman of the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission, acknowledged that commercial use is declining in the upper harbor, but ultimately sided with Rilling. Why would you want to do that? Pinto asked. It is just a term, as far as Im concerned, that allows us to be on a federal project and makes federal funds available to us, if necessary, for dredging in that area. In recent months, Norwalk Harbor Keeper has called upon the state put the project on hold for 90 days to allow an independent consultant to come in and assess the bridges needs. This proposal, Rilling claims, could exponentially prolong the project and possibly jeopardize $144 million in federal funding related to Hurricane Sandy. Changing the design to a fixed bridge or hitting the pause button as some suggest, will increase the duration of the project. Any delay to the Walk Bridge portion itself will not stop other components moving forward. Instead of five years, think about 10 years of disruption in Norwalk because these projects wont be completed concurrently, Rilling said. DERBY There seems to be some friendly ghosts haunting the Twisted Vine Restaurant downtown. Thats the word from Nick Grossman, a clairvoyant, head ghost hunter and founder of the Norwalk-based team of paranormal investigators, Ghost Storm. The team spent the night Saturday at the 127-year-old building at 285 Main St., which once housed the Olde Birmingham Bank. Grossman said the spirit of a 19th century banker was spotted, among some other unexplained phenomena inside the historical city landmark. This place is definitely haunted, said Grossman. I believe the spirits are pretty friendly and like it there. The spirits are a nice bonus to the restaurant, along with the penne alla vodka that will blow your mind. Grossman and his team, along with Twisted Vine owner Michael Picone and some restaurant employees, began their ghost hunting adventure after the restaurant closed for the night. The crew came equipped with digital and night vision cameras, and stayed awake from 10:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. in hopes of capturing some of the weird things customers and employees have reported happening there. According to Grossman, those reports are true. It was a huge success, Grossman said. We got the bartender communicating with the spirit using the light bulb on the bar on video. The light bulb responded to her questions and conversation by fading out and going on and off in unison to her voice. The team dubbed the spirit who was doing the communicating Sam the Spirit. I got my flashlight and challenged Sam to a drinking contest, even though I dont drink, and I asked him to respond by turning my flash light, said Grossman. I put my camera on the flashlight for 15 minutes and left it recording by itself. Sam the Spirit spun the flashlight around 360 degrees twice. Grossman said at one point during the night he felt a poke and saw what appeared to be a little girl. Several customers have reported seeing the image of a child inside the restaurant. The overnight adventure was wild, Grossman said, and he hopes to host a ghost hunter tour at Twisted Vine so others can experience the eerie happenings there. Grossman said photos and videos of the findings are on the teams website at https://vagaparanormal.com and also on YouTube. Ghost Storm has big plans and we wont stop until we prove that paranormal is real and right next door, Grossman added. Ghost Storm was established in 2004 and has investigated many supposedly haunted places around the East Coast, including the famed Dudleytown. Picone was a believer, even before Ghost Storm came to call. He has experienced previous activity at the restaurant, including furniture moving, sightings of a ghost-like image of an old man and unusual plumes of smoke appearing out of nowhere. Picone stayed at the restaurant with Ghost Storm until about 2 a.m., and said some ghosts from the past paid a visit. There was a photo showing an image on the dance floor, and in my opinion, it strongly resembles Edward N. Shelton, the (banks) first president, said Picone. Picone isnt worried that Twisted Vine is haunted. It has been good for business, said Pincone. It has brought new people and people we havent seen in a while to the restaurant. A lot of people often refer to us as The Valleys Hidden Secret. EDWARDSVILLE By a unanimous vote Wednesday, the Edwardsville Township Board appointed Edwardsville resident Kathie Duame as its newest trustee. Duame replaces long-time board member Kenny Krumeich, who resigned in January. She will complete the rest of the term, which ends in May 2021. I am delighted to have Mrs. Duame join the board, said Edwardsville Township Supervisor Fred Schulte. She has strong ties to the community through her volunteer work and has been an Edwardsville resident for 11 years. Duame joins the board with a record of community service and a background in accounting. Schulte said he is confident the new trustee will complement the board and serve the residents of Edwardsville Township. I am honored that Supervisor Schulte and the Township Board of Trustees have given me the opportunity to serve, said Duame. I look forward to supporting all of the people who call Edwardsville Township home. As president of the Main Street Community Centers Board of Directors, Duame has been an advocate for area seniors. She has volunteered with the Glen Ed Pantry and the Ed-Glen Junior Service Club, and currently serves as a member-at-large on the Ebbets Field Homeowners Association. In other action, the township approved: A special event permit for a Metro East Great Strides Walk, sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the townships community park on May 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A special event permit for a Kids Bible Kamp, sponsored by Metro Community Church in the townships community park from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 15-18 A resolution to authorize a $13,000 service contract with Main Street Community Center from April 1 to March 31, 2020, for recreational and nutritional programming for elderly township residents (new trustee Duame abstained from voting on this item) A resolution to approve $1,500 to maintain Kelans Wheelchair-accessible Swing in the townships community park A resolution to authorize Supervisor Fred Schulte to apply for community development block grant funds to retrofit the townships hall on West Park Street to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act A resolution authorizing the township to join the Gateway Commerce Center Enterprise Zone Reach Charles Bolinger at (618) 656-4700, ext. 31 EDWARDSVILLE The Madison County States Attorneys Office issued an arrest warrant for Monica M. Williams, a 28-year-old black female from Edwardsville, on Friday following an alleged Walgreens robbery earlier this month. This warrant charged Williams with armed robbery, a Class X felony. The charges resulted from an investigation that began on Feb. 19, 2019, when a cashier at Walgreens, located at 102 W. Vandalia St., Edwardsville, notified Edwardsville police she had been robbed at gunpoint, according to an Edwardsville Police Department news release. Williams is currently in custody in St. Louis, Missouri regarding an unrelated incident. The public is reminded that criminal defendants are presumed innocent until the government is able to prove its charges beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. EDWARDSVILLE The implementation of a new state-wide standardized court fee structure will gear up over the next few months, according to Madison County Circuit Clerk Mark Von Nida. He said they expect to have training, the passage of a resolution by the County Board, and implementation of the system in time for the start of the new fee system in July. The changes are the result of the passage and signing of HB 4594. It standardized court fees throughout the state. The 300-page act also shifts a number of set court fees to county general funds. Von Nida said there will probably be staff training on the new system in April, and the County Board will have to pass a resolution on the new fee structure in May so they can be ready to implement it July 1. The fee change is expected to mean a large increase in funding to the county, but with strings. As an example, he said the filing fee for a simple civil case will go to $316 from $270. But a major change is that many fees supporting specific programs or issues are eliminated and will have to be provided and budgeted by the County Board. There will be more money, however, its absolutely explicit that it isnt going to be a windfall for the county, he said. The agency most talked about is the Madison County Child Advocacy Center. The change affects approximately $200,000 of the centers funding. The CAC is located at Madison Countys Wood River facility and is used as a safe space for children needing to be interviewed because of allegations of sexual or severe physical abuse in a child-friendly environment. The interviews are conducted at the request of law enforcement or the Department of Child and Family Services. The CAC recently added staff and renovated its space to accommodate increases in the number of interviews. County officials have pledged to continue funding the CAC, with Judiciary Committee members echoing that Friday. As part of the committees new business, Board Member Phil Chapman made a statement regarding post-birth abortion, which has become a hot topic. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act recently fell short of the 60 votes needed to move forward in the U.S. Senate. While supporters claimed it would protect newborn babies, opponents said it was based on a false narrative and part of a larger fight over late-term abortions. According to fact-checking organization Snopes.com, in January the issue of late-term abortion came up in the Virginia Assembly after a bill lessening legal restrictions on second- and third-trimester abortions was introduced. The bill was voted down but video of some of the debate went viral. Two days later in a radio interview, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam gave what many saw as a convoluted response to a question on the debate, including the statement, The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if thats what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. That sparked outrage among pro-life groups who said it sounded like Northam was expressing support of infanticide. Chapman noted that abortion outside the womb is murder and unethical societies allow such murders. He added that once born the children are both persons and U.S. citizens with rights. After his statement there was no action called for, and the meeting was adjourned. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 07:55 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8029fa8 1 Editorial #music,music,#Editorial,Bruno-Mars,Censorship,broadcasting-commission,West-Java,radio Free There is a long history of an irrational fear of music. Blues, created as an expression of freedom by African-Americans, was initially deemed satanic. A much-touted myth surrounding blues was that Robert Johnson, one of the genres pioneers, traded his soul for out-of-this world guitar-playing prowess. When the blues were appropriated by white performers in the 1950s and became rock and roll, Elvis pelvis was condemned as a symbol of asocial behavior and sexual promiscuity. The same moral outrage was again recycled in the 1980s, when Tipper Gore, wife of then-senator and eventual US vice president Al Gore, led a campaign by a group called the Parents Music Resource Center to limit the distribution of music they believed could corrupt the souls of the American youth for its promotion of sex, drugs and occultism. The campaign resulted in the decision by the recording industry to slap parental advisory stickers on some records. (These days, cutting-edge musicians consider the warning to be a badge of honor and proudly wear the sticker as a marketing tool to boost sales). The West Java branch of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission became the latest party to jump on the melophobia bandwagon. The commission issued on Feb. 18 a directive limiting the airtime of 17 songs on radio and television. Most of the songs are hits from some of the biggest names in music, including Bruno Mars Versace on the Floor and Ed Sheerans Shape of You. The argument was that the songs violated the 2002 Broadcasting Law, which prohibits the broadcast of songs and music videos with titles or lyrics with sexually charged themes. This ill-advised move might have had a shot at being effective had it been done in the 1980s. What people at the commission probably do not understand is that, since the turn of the new millennium, the music industry has undergone a sea of change, making it more difficult for anyone to be an arbiter of taste, let alone act as the moral police by deciding which songs listeners can enjoy. Unless the broadcasting commissioners live under a rock, they should be well aware that, these days, radio and television have become a less and less appealing medium for listening to music. Streaming services, music download sites and online video platforms like YouTube are now the go-to channels that people turn to in order to satisfy their musical needs. So unless there is a complete shutdown of all these platforms, no policy to limit the broadcast of problematic songs will succeed. Furthermore, why should the commission stop with English-language songs? What about the hundreds of obscene local songs that are played on local radio stations or performed at dangdut koplo concerts at traditional weddings throughout West Java? Without being too condescending to the Sundanese-speaking population in West Java, do we really think that people pay attention to Bruno Mars lyrics and not the catchy hooks? Music, from Bruno Mars or others, is one of the greatest sources of joy for humanity. No authority should prevent us from enjoying such art to the fullest. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hendarsyah Tarmizi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 09:02 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee802b850 1 Opinion #commentary,fruit,export-competitiveness,exports,agriculture,logistics-costs Free An executive of one of the countrys major pineapple producers recently complained to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati about the difficulties his company encountered in exporting the companys pineapples to China, one of the worlds largest buyers of tropical fruits. The businessman, who owns a large pineapple plantation in Lampung, said his company had tried in vain to enter the Chinese market over at least the last 10 years. The popular fruit cannot enter the Chinese market because it has not been included in the quarantine protocol agreement between Indonesia and the economic giant. Had the agreement been in place, Indonesia could have generated at least US$50 million a year from pineapple exports alone, the businessman told a meeting between the finance minister and exporters recently. The businessmans complaint only illustrates the myriad problems Indonesian farmers are facing in exporting their fruit, which is an irony because it is not in line with the governments agenda to boost exports of non-oil and gas products, including fruits. It turns out the promotion of fruit farming has yet to resolve the core problems. Known for its rich biodiversity, Indonesia is blessed with lots of tropical fruit varieties. Indonesian pineapples, mangosteens, bananas, mangos and other fruits have filled not only Asian markets, but also those in Europe and the United States. However, Indonesia is still lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, which are billed as the worlds major exporters of tropical fruits. Compared with Vietnamese and Thai fruits, Indonesian products are less competitive not only because of their low quality but also expensive transportation costs. Unlike Thailand and Vietnam, which use land transportation to export their fruits to China, Indonesia still relies on air transportation. To reduce logistics costs, Indonesia needs special ships equipped with a cold storage system to reach its fruit buyers overseas, simply because fruits are highly perishable. Transportation is a long-standing issue Indonesia has failed to address. This problem is the reason why oranges imported from China are sold in Jakarta supermarkets at a lower price than oranges brought in from North Sumatra. Unsurprisingly, Indonesia is becoming a large fruit market of other Asian countries, rather than an important export player. According to Statistics Indonesia data, Indonesias fruit imports totaled US$1.03 billion, while exports only reached $674.05 million from January to October last year. In addition to the costly transportation, Indonesian fruits face difficulties in entering overseas markets because their quality cannot meet world standards. The quality problem has something to do with the fact that the fruits are produced by smallholder farmers, who mostly lack the capital to buy enough fertilizer, pesticides and machinery, as well as modern farming equipment. Thailand is a model that Indonesia can learn from in developing its fruit farming. Through an intensive program which began in the early 1980s, Thailand has managed to develop more than 1,000 varieties of tasty tropical fruit. In Asia, Thailand is the main exporter of various tropical fruits such as durians, guavas, mangoes, mangosteens, bananas, oranges, rambutans, coconuts and lychees all of them are found in abundance in Indonesia. The Philippines and Vietnam have also emerged as important players in the tropical fruits supply chain in the global market, thanks to their success in improving the quality and promoting efficient distribution costs of their products. Only if Indonesia follows in the footsteps of its ASEAN neighbors can it take advantage of the rising demand for tropical fruits worldwide. The government should encourage investment in modern farming technology and transportation infrastructure while eliminating non-tariff barriers to help fruit farmers win competition in the international market. As in the case of the horticulture sector, huge investment in research and development to produce quality seeds is needed in the fruit industry. Efforts to boost non-oil and gas exports have dominated discussions among policymakers and economic pundits lately amid an increase in the trade deficit during the last four months. The countrys full-year trade balance hit a deep deficit of $8.57 billion in 2018. It was the largest deficit ever recorded since 1975 and a stark contrast to the 2017 and 2016 records, in which the country recorded surpluses of $11.84 billion and $9.48 billion respectively. There have been programs to boost revenues from exports to plug the trade deficit. Among the agendas is to promote the downstream industry to produce semi-finished and finished products with higher added value and resistance to market fluctuation. Focusing on downstream industry, however, bears risks. It can, for example, limit the opportunities of other promising business sectors from growing. The agricultural sector, or particularly fruit farming, deserves an equal level of government treatment considering its huge potential. The industry offers a low hanging fruit of opportunity Indonesia cannot afford to miss. As happens in our neighboring countries, the fruit industry not only generates huge revenues but also sweetens the lives of farmers and their families. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) - Sat, March 2, 2019 09:16 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8030ec2 1 Lifestyle Waze,Jonatan-Christie,bank-mandiri,narrator Free Google's user-based, real-time navigation app Waze has collaborated with Bank Mandiri to feature badminton athlete Jonatan "Jojo" Christie as its latest celebrity narrator. "We're very enthusiastic about our partnership with Bank Mandiri, as this is our first collaboration with a banking institution in Indonesia," Waze Indonesia country manager Marlin R. Siahaan said in a statement on Thursday. Read also: Waze features Dian Sastrowardoyo as narrator during Asian Games Bank Mandiri senior vice president Yoesman Sugianto said the collaboration was part of the company's strategy to provide continuous digital innovation and to connect with the millennial generation. "This campaign helps Bank Mandiri be a part of their daily lives and increase awareness of our brand," he said. According to Waze, more than 74,020 users have used the "Jojo narrator" feature, clocking accumulated figures of 763,009 on-road usage, 491,838 hours in travel time and 8,577,078 kilometers in total distance traveled. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Shanghai, China Sat, March 2, 2019 12:06 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee803578b 2 Science & Tech tencent,gaming,video-game,gaming-addiction,PUBG-mobile Free Chinese gaming giant Tencent on Friday announced new curbs on underage video-game playing as part of a government crackdown on youth gaming addiction that has cast a cloud over the company's biggest revenue source. Tencent said it had imposed a digital lock on some games that requires players under 13 years to ask their guardians to open. The new restriction will be piloted for the Chinese versions of the two hit games "Honor of Kings" and "PUBG Mobile". The government last year announced new controls on the number of games that can be played online, limited new releases, and imposed rules on underage players to reduce their screen time. Read also: China approves 80 new game titles after lifting 9-month freeze The government justified the new curbs as a way to counter worsening near-sightedness among minors, shortly after President Xi Jinping called for greater national attention on optical health. Tencent already has launched a real-name identification system for "Honour of Kings" to enforce playtime restrictions on youths. China is the world's biggest video game market and Tencent the planet's biggest game company. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Muthi Achadiat Kautsar (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 15:03 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8038c6b 1 Lifestyle Breitling-Premier,breitling,Breitling-Navitimer,luxury-watch,#SquadOnAMission Free Breitling, a Swiss luxury watch brand associated with aviation, is making efforts to reach out to a wider audience through the Premier and Navitimer collections. Daphne Foo, the senior regional marketing manager of Breitling Southeast Asia, said the Premier collection marked a return of a collection the company used to have. According to Breitlings official website, the original Premiers were launched in the 1940s and dedicated to everyday elegance. So these are a very elegant look, you might find it a bit different from the rest [of the collection], which is bigger and more sporty. But the whole idea is that we definitely want to be able to reach out to different consumers, [] because not everybody likes [big watches]. If they like elegant [models], Premier is a very good choice, Daphne told The Jakarta Post during a media gathering. Read also: Luxury watch can be sound investment, financial adviser says When the new Premier collection was launched in mid-2018, Breitling also introduced the "cinema squad" with film stars Adam Driver, Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron. The three actors were part of a campaign that used the hashtag #SquadOnAMission. Driver, Pitt and Theron are seen wearing watches from the Navitimer collection in the campaign. Broadway and film actor Adam Driver wears the Navitimer 1 B01 Chronograph 43. The watch is said to have been popular among pilots and aeronautical enthusiasts since 1952. It has a steel case, black dial with a red seconds hand, silver chronograph counters and applied hour markers. The famous circular aviation slide rule, highly useful for pilots in the pre-digital era, can be handled smoothly and easily thanks to its bidirectional ratcheted rotating bezel. Theron, meanwhile, wears the Navitimer 1 Automatic 38. The watch has more compact dimensions than standard Breitling watches. It still retains the signature slide rule but it is non-chronograph. The bidirectional bezel is finely beaded, combined with a clean dial and date window at 6 oclock. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Kyodo News) Geneve Sat, March 2, 2019 20:16 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee803ba9e 2 Health measles,children-health,unicef Free An alarming global surge in measles cases poses a serious threat to children and more efforts are needed to improve vaccine coverage, the U.N. Children's Fund said Friday. Ten countries, including Ukraine, the Philippines and Brazil, account for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in measles cases in 2018, UNICEF said. In Ukraine, there were 35,120 cases of measles during the year and another 24,042 people were infected in the first two months of this year, it said. The Philippines has already seen 12,736 cases and 203 deaths this year, compared to 15,599 cases in the whole of 2018, it said. Read also: Widening anti-vaccine movement paves way for measles Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air. There is no specific treatment for the disease, which has the potential to kill malnourished children and babies that are too young to be vaccinated. Japan has been declared measles free by the World Health Organization but over 200 cases of infection have been reported this year. Medical experts say infection increased in line with a surge in foreign tourists. "Poor health infrastructure, civil strife, low community awareness, complacency and vaccine hesitancy in some cases have led to these outbreaks in both developed and developing countries," UNICEF said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nedi Putra AW (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java Sat, March 2, 2019 22:05 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee803d024 1 Art & Culture Museum-Musik-Indonesia,Indonesian-Music-Museum,MMI,Malang,music,musician,Indonesia Free In conjunction with National Music Day, which falls on March 9, the Indonesian Music Museum (MMI) in Malang, East Java, plans to ask the government to honor local musicians. We will propose 350 names to 34 governors across Indonesia so they can select traditional and modern musicians from their respective regions, MMI chairman Hengki Herwanto said recently. The 350 musicians listed came from the data and recordings collected by the MMI, Hengki said. He added that the list could still be expanded as the museum has yet to acquire records by musicians from Bengkulu, North Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and West Papua. Still, we will propose the list to the governors, he said. Founded in 2015, the MMI currently has a total of 26,109 items in its collection. Among them are physical recordings comprising 15,000 cassettes and 2,600 vinyl records. Read also: Gesang and Michael Jackson at Batu's World Music Gallery Other collection items include books, magazines, memorabilia, brochures and 70 traditional musical instruments from across Indonesia, Hengki said. Most of the artifacts, he said, were donations from communities. Others were obtained through online purchases or flea markets. Among the collection items considered precious are a duplicate vinyl record of the Indonesia Raya national anthem produced in the country's first recording studio, Lokananta in Surakarta, Central Java. Another is a vinyl record of legendary vocalist Lilis Suryanis singing the controversial song, Genjer-Genjer. The Javanese folk song was linked to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965. The records should be seen from their historical sides, as a cultural heritage collection, Hengki said. (swa/wng) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) - Sun, March 3, 2019 06:02 1010 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8041e77 1 Environment marine-conservation,study-program,Padjadjaran-University,university,Education,Susi-Pudjiastuti Free A new masters program in marine conservation, was officially inaugurated in Padjadjaran University (Unpad) in Bandung, West Java, by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti on Tuesday. The study program, which is part of the Fisheries and Marine Science Faculty Program (FPIK), aims to nurture competent human resources in the marine conservation sector. As reported by tempo.co Unpad FPIK dean Yudi Nurul Ihsan said that Indonesia desperately needed competent human resources in marine conservation, especially as the government has set a target of developing 20 million hectares of a marine conservation area (KKL). "Of course we will need reliable human resources to realize and manage this conservation area," he said. Read also: Susi to establish sunken boat museum The commitment to developing the KKL is based on a response to specific maritime issues, such as ocean pollution caused by plastic waste and oil spills as the biggest threat to the marine ecosystem. Climate change also plays a role in the damage to the ecosystem. Globally, Yudi said there had been a decrease in fish populations in the sea as a result of increased exploitation and illegal fishing, which us why conservation areas are needed to preserve the marine ecosystem. The study program, set to welcome students starting later this year, is also part of the university's response to the pledges made at the Our Ocean Conference (OCC) in Bali in October 2018, which include a commitment by world leaders to marine conservation. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Junko Horiuchi (Kyodo News) Tokyo Sun, March 3, 2019 05:03 1010 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee80416e3 2 Science & Tech Panasonic,robot,science-and-technology Free A wearable "third arm" for construction workers is among the latest innovations under development in Panasonic Corp.'s burgeoning collaboration with academia as it seeks to make robots an increasing part of people's lives in aging Japan. Panasonic already has knowhow in the use of robots in manufacturing, but has reached out to academia on robots that can safely assist with everyday human tasks given the wide range of technologies involved, such as image analysis, voice recognition and artificial intelligence. "Robots previously had the purpose of facilitating automation in the manufacturing sector but are now expected to expand their role to enlarging human capabilities...amid the rapid aging of society and the labor shortage," Executive Officer Tatsuo Ogawa said at the opening of the Robotics Hub, a new site in Tokyo for the company's collaboration with academia. "We lack a lot of knowledge when it comes to robots used in interaction with humans," said Ogawa, who leads Panasonic's manufacturing innovation division. "We want to work with academia to speed up the development of robots that humans can cohabitate with and to lower the barrier for their implementation." The "third arm" is an initiative the company is working on with Waseda University Professor Hiroyasu Iwata. It launched the project after learning from group firm Panasonic Homes Co. that construction workers face particular difficulties attaching ceiling boards. The robotic arm, which attaches to the user's shoulder, is controlled via eye movements and grasps objects in response to voice instructions. "Through the robotic arm, I want to explore opportunities for humans to feel that they can do more and be more productive," Iwata said. "It could free us from a preset image we have of our bodies. Through a collaboration of our ideas with the techniques of companies like Panasonic, which has expertise in product manufacturing, I hope we can make a product that is attractive to consumers." Panasonic said it will first collaborate at the Robotics Hub with six universities with strengths in robotics, including Waseda, the University of Tokyo, the Chiba Institute of Technology and Ritsumeikan University, with the number of partners expected to grow. With the Chiba Institute of Technology, Panasonic aims to put on sale later this year an AI-powered robot vacuum cleaner that can recognize objects and cope with uneven surfaces by, for instance, lifting itself onto rugs. It can detect the shape of rooms as well as the movements of people within them. Users can remotely control the robot by smartphone or tablet, for instance to make it clean a certain spot or have it travel back to its recharging station. In collaboration with Nagoya University, Panasonic has developed a robot to help the elderly take walks. The device is expected to be particularly useful at nursing homes and hospitals, where there is currently a fear of letting the elderly walk outside since they might fall or be forced to ask for assistance. The robot, which is in the shape of a handcart, plays light music while moving and encourages the elderly user by saying, "Let's walk more." Read also: Toyota wants to put a robot in every home and make it your pal The robot has sensors attached to the handles to measure and collect data on the user's walking speed and distance covered, from which it can recommend the most suitable usage time. After conducting trials at a nursing facility in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Panasonic hopes to start leasing the robots this summer. "With more elderly expected to live by themselves in the future, this robot can perhaps become like another family member by always being at their side and helping them walk," said Kazunori Yamada, lead engineer at Panasonic's Robotics Solutions Division. "I hope to develop the robot so that it will be something fun to train with," he said. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization estimates that the domestic market for robots used in the services sectors will be worth about 5 trillion yen ($45 billion) in 2035, up from 373 billion yen in 2015. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Turkell (Bloomberg) Sat, March 2, 2019 16:02 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee80397ba 2 Food unagi,freshwater-eel,Japanese-food Free New York has drastically increased its number of unagi-ya, or Japanese-style freshwater eel restaurants, of latefrom zero to two. Hachibei in Midtown East and Unagi in SoHo both specialize in traditional preparations of the slippery ray-finned fish. In Japan, eel is as prized as Kobe beef (and more endangered), but in New Yorkwhich is more accustomed to consuming the far less expensive anago (sea eel) in sushiits relatively unknown, at least for now. Japan is devouring the delicacy at an alarming rate. Nearly 75 percent of the worlds unagi is consumed in the country; 99 percent of that is industrially farmed from baby glass eels (anguilla Japonica). Conservationists warn that the species is overfished and could face a fate similar to that of bluefin tuna. Under 10 tons of the baby eels were farmed in Japan in 2018, down nearly 50 percent from 2017 and close to a record low. The scarcity has driven prices to obscene levels. A single pound of the young eels can sell for more than $14,000, well above the price of bluefin tuna, which sold for a record-breaking $5,000 per pound last month at the New Tokyo Fish Market. It can cost more than $25 to raise a single eel from a juvenile, says James Prosek, author of Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the Worlds Most Mysterious Fish. (Harper Perennial, $16) Unagis soaring price and scarcity has not stopped those eager to bring the delicacy to New York. At the 44-seat Hachibei, owner Rutsuko Koga is elevating the perception of eel in America from a sauce-slathered sushi staple to a premium cut. Prepared correctly, eel has the texture of well-cooked white fish crossed with a juicy medium-rare tenderloin beef. In fact, servers at Hachibei present the filleted unagi as if it were a prized cote-de-bouef. Its cooked in a traditional kabayaki-style, slow-grilled until tender with a sweet, teriyaki-like soy-based sauce and served in a lacquered box atop sushi rice, with seasonal pickles. The price tag: around $60. The restaurant gets a fresh shipment every two days from a butcher in the Aichi prefecture, where most Japanese unagi is raised. Diners can choose between two preparations, one from each side of the island nation. The East Coast version is steamed before it is grilled, resulting in a more tender fish. The West Coast option is simply grilled, which yields a firmer texture and crispier skin. Koga says her restaurant sells an average of 300 to 400 eels each week. Read also: Chibo brings authentic okonomiyaki to Jakarta Unagi in SoHo is a far more intimate restaurant. The dining room has space for 16 customers and up to 300 live eels. Brothers and co-owners Samuel and Barrett Pierce have their fish shipped in live from Japan every Tuesday and store their main ingredient in plain sight. Chefs work in an open kitchen, preparing 120 eels per week, marinating the seafood in soy sauce and sugar, then grilling them over blazing binchotan. Persuading an American audience to eat eel may take some time, even if its delicious (and rich in omega 3 fatty acids). Japan itself needed prodding to begin eating unagi. As legend has it, a local unagi restaurant advertisement for the Day of the Ox in the mid-1700s transmogrified the word ox into eel. Now, its the most popular day for such consumption. Perhaps Madison Avenue will come up with an American equivalent. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Richard Vines (Bloomberg) Sun, March 3, 2019 03:05 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8040828 2 Food Atul-Kochhar,indian-food,London Free London has so many fine Indian restaurants, its tempting to wonder if there is room for anything new. Chef Atul Kochhar, who won Michelin stars at Tamarind and Benares, reckons he has the answer: Hes serving the cuisine of the so-called Seven Sister States. This mountainous region of North East India is geographically and culturally distinct from the rest of the country, with a cuisine that reflects the harsh climate and the difficulty in growing crops. The cuisine in that part of the world is quite unique in a lot of ways and it doesnt gel immediately with what we know as Indian food in this country, or even in India, Kochhar says, sitting in the new Mayfair restaurant, Kanishka. The use of soya, the use of techniques like fermentation, air drying of meat, all those things are almost unknown to Indians as such. But that part of the world, because they have so littlehunting, foraging, fermenting, preserving food for rough seasonsthey have to rely on those techniques. Salting, smoking, air drying, pickling, fermenting, these are the things they are really king at. The seven states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, plus Sikkim. They are far off the tourist trail and quite distinct. Nagaland has 16 different tribes, each with one or more dialects, and Tripura about 20 tribes, according to the website of the Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation. At Kanishka, which formally opens on March 18, Kochhar will serve dishes such as Kachela Maas, a Sikkim inspired venison tartare with mustard oil mayonnaise, naan crouton and onions. (The restaurant is currently open on a trial basis, with 50 percent off the food bill for online bookings quoting HOTDINNERS50 in the special request box.) That part of the world, where Burma, China, Tibet, Nepal are the bordering countries, they have things like dumplings and noodles and the tradition of eating raw meat, which we dont have in India, he says. They will use garlic, they will use ginger, they will use turmeric, they will use salt, they will use vinegar, they will use tamarind, rather than rely on a blend of spices like garam masala which we very happily use in different parts of the country. (The cuisine isnt completely unknown in London: Madame D restaurant in Shoreditch served Himlayan cuisine, including dishes from Nepal, Tibet and China.) At Kanishka, there are two ingredients you wont find on the menu, no matter how much he says he is striving for authenticity. One is yak. The other is bhut jolokia, or ghost chili, the worlds hottest chili, which is grown in the region. Chili suppresses your taste buds, so you dont want it in excess, he says. Theres no need for me to blow peoples heads off. Kanishka marks Kochhars reappearance in London after a catastrophic Tweet last June in which he referred to Hindus who have been terrorized by Islam over 2000 years. A Twitter storm ensued and, even though he quickly deleted the Tweet, he was ousted from his restaurant at the Rang Mahal restaurant in the JW Marriott Marquis hotel, Dubai. He later was also dismissed from Benares. All my life, I have always been inclusive, I have always been about all the cultures. I am the last person to talk about anybody or any religion per se. And especially a great religion like Islam, he says. I apologized three times because people kept getting angry with me and I said, I am really sorry, I am really sorry, what can I do? I regret every day of my life that it happened through my hands. I am not that kind of person. Read also: The 16 best new restaurants opening in 2019: Red dot London In other London restaurant news: Wild Honey has closed after 12 years. Chef Anthony Demetre will focus on his Vermuteria all-day cafe at Coal Drops Yard, though he hasnt ruled out reopening Wild Honey after a break. Demetre and his then-business partner Will Smith are best known for their much-missed Arbutus, which led a trend in inexpensive fine dining when it opened in Soho in 2006. Asia de Cuba closed its doors on Feb. 28 after 20 years. The Chino-Latino restaurant at the St Martins Lane hotel was a sensation when it opened in 1999. It will be replaced by St Martins Lane Kitchen, a restaurant pop-up serving an Asian-inspired menu. The hotel has plans for a second restaurant later in the year. Londrino also closed on Feb. 28, Eater London reported. The Portuguese restaurant of chef Leandro Carreira opened in Bermondsey to mixed reviews in 2017. Hes a talented chef with an impressive resume and is likely to bounce back. Orasay restaurant will officially open in Notting Hill on March 5, serving a fish-led menu menu celebrating chef Jackson Boxers love of the Outer Hebrides. The new establishment is currently soft-open, with 50 percent off the food bill. Boxer last year opened St Leonards restaurant in Shoreditch with fellow chef Andrew Clarke, who also joins him at Orasay. Cutting Room restaurant has opened in Fitzrovia, with dishes such as meatballs of zebra, ostrich and kangaroo, as well as goat curry, Hot Dinners reports. Cutting Room serves sharing plates, with a focus on organic, sustainable and ethical principles, the restaurants website says. For the less adventurous, options include artichoke, spinach and Parmesan dip. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 07:08 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8028c99 1 Business energy,Gas,energy-and-mineral-resources-ministry,Masela,Masela-block,SKKMigas,gas-discovery,power-plant,renewable-energy Free Gas industry players believe the countrys transition toward clean energy is dependent on gas' contribution to the energy mix. The intermittent nature and high cost of renewable energy are considered two major hurdles to phasing out fossil fuels. Hazli Sham Kassim, the International Gas Union (IGU) regional coordinator for South and Southeast Asia, said gas was the best option for this transition because of its abundant reserves globally. They [renewable energy advocates] need us [gas industry] though they think otherwise. For example, some forms of renewable power can only transmit electricity during daylight, so you need gas to cover the rest, he said. He made the statement during his speech at the ninth IndoGas conference in Central Jakarta recently. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) data, proven global gas reserves in 2016 totaled 215 trillion cubic meters (tcm), enough for 60 years with a production rate of 3 billion m3 (bcm). This was similar to the supply of oil, according to UK-based energy giant BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2016. The review states that globally there is a roughly 50-year supply of both oil and natural gas remaining. Hazli of IGU, who is also general manager of Malaysian energy firm Petronas Indonesia, said natural gas was also better for the environment than dirty energy sources, such as coal and crude oil. Gas-fueled power plants emit about half the carbon dioxide [CO2] of coal-fired power plants, he said, adding that renewable energy technology was still being developed. The growing movement against dirty energy will see an increase in the use of natural gas globally, with the annual gas demand predicted to grow by 1.6 percent until 2040, becoming the second largest source of energy globally, according to the IGU. By 2040, Southeast Asias energy demand will grow by almost 60 percent, equal to 10 percent of the global increase in demand. The supply of gas-fueled electricity is predicted to grow by 60 percent, but the share of gas in the power mix is predicted to shrink from 43 percent to 28 percent in the same period. Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) chairman Dwi Soetjipto said the energy industry should gradually switch its focus from oil to gas. [We] need to switch from oil to gas, we need to look at the cheaper energy and potential that natural gas can provide, he said. BPs Statistical Review of World Energy 2018 shows that Indonesias proven gas reserves total 102.9 trillion cubic feet (tcf). This is 1.5 percent of total global gas reserves and the sixth highest in the Asia Pacific region. However, Dwi said Indonesias gas reserves would not be sufficient to meet the increasing demand, meaning it was crucial to develop mega gas projects, such as the Masela Block in Maluku and the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) in Makassar Strait, which if combined, could have a peak production of 994 million standard cubic feet per day. Those are efforts to maintain the current production [of oil and gas], but at the same time we need to find alternative [energy sources], such as renewable energy, he said. In two of the three scenarios reviewed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the country is predicted to have a shortage of gas by 2025. According to the National Energy Plan (RUEN), gas and renewable energy are predicted to form the backbone of the countrys energy mix by 2050, contributing 24 and 31 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the contribution of oil is expected to drop from 46.6 percent to only 20 percent by 2050. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Sydney Sat, March 2, 2019 11:19 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8033cf9 2 World Australia,politics,defense-ministry,resignation,Scott-Morrison Free Australian Defense Minister Christopher Pyne said on Saturday he will not stand in elections due in May, becoming the latest high-profile resignation as opinion polls suggest Prime Minister Scott Morrison's center-right government faces heavy defeat. Morrison will need to retain all the parliamentary seats held by his coalition government, but his chances are weakened by a wave of incumbent lawmakers in marginal seats set to retire. Pyne said he was bowing out after more than 25 years in Parliament and was confident he would leave his seat of Sturt, in the state of South Australia, in good shape. "I'm sure the Liberal Party will retain Sturt at the coming election," Pyne said in a statement on his website. The move follows Friday night's news that Australian Defense Industry Minister Steven Ciobo would also retire at the May election. Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion announced his retirement last week after Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said he was stepping down. Minister for Jobs Kelly ODwyer also resigned, and former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last month she would not stand for re-election. The offices of the ministers and Morrison did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Newspoll for The Australian newspaper showed the opposition Labor party retained a lead of 53 percent to 47 percent over the Liberal-National government last month, unchanged from the poll in December. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung Sat, March 2, 2019 18:15 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee803abf9 1 City obesity,patient,HasanSadikinHospital,bandung,surgery Free Obesity patient Sunarti, 40, who weighed 148 kilograms, died in her home on Saturday morning, just a day after being discharged from Hasan Sadikit Hospital in Bandung, West Java. She had undergone gastric bypass surgery at the hospital on Feb. 18 and remained in intensive care for two weeks. Ervita, one of the internists who helped treat Sunarti, said the team of doctors had allowed her to return home on Friday. Her condition was good when she was discharged, she said in a text message. Ervita explained that after the surgery and during inpatient treatment at the hospital, Sunarti had been able to sit down without complaining about shortness of breath. Prior to the surgery, Sunarti was only able to lie down. Ervita denied that Sunarti had been discharged because her insurance under the Healthcare and Social Security (BPJS) Agency had run out. We decided to let her go home because she was getting better, she said, adding that Sunartis would release a full statement on Monday. Previously, a gastrointestinal surgeon who treated Sunarti, Reno Sudirman, said the gastric bypass surgery had reduced her stomach to a third of its original size. The surgery went smoothly, and she was stable after the surgery. We reduced the size of her stomach so that she would eat less food, Reno said last month. The procedure was expected to reduce Sunartis weight to 65 kg, which was ideal for her 1.55-meter height. The operation involved a team of doctors from various disciplines to check on Sunartis overall condition. Bariatric surgery is a common medical procure to induce weight loss, Reno added. A similar treatment, he said, was done at Omni Alam Sutra Hospital in 2017 to then-11-year-old Arya Permana, who weighed 192 kg. He now weighs 83 kg. Citing the 2018 Basic Health Survey, the Health Ministry has revealed that 21.8 percent of Indonesian adults are obese, up from 14.8 percent in 2013 and 10.5 percent in 2007. The 2018 survey also revealed that North Sumatra had the highest obesity rate in the country, with 30.2 percent of adults considered obese, followed by Jakarta (29.8 percent), East Kalimantan (28.7), West Papua (26.4) and Riau Islands (26.2). East Nusa Tenggara has the lowest obesity rate with 10.3 percent. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Badung, Bali Sat, March 2, 2019 12:33 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8036408 1 National Kerobokan-Penitentiary,Kerobokan-prison,narcotics Free Police and military conducted a massive raid at the Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali on Friday night to look for drugs at the largest correctional facility on the island. The operation involved more than 900 personnel from the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry as well as prison guards, who searched the 15 prison blocks and all buildings inside the compound for two hours. The team failed to find any narcotics, but they did discover five bongs, 14 mobile phones, a power bank, six scissors, a DVD player and a television, two rice cookers, a hammer and a screwdriver. The corrections division head of the ministrys Bali office, Slamet Prihantara, said a further investigation would be conducted to follow up on the findings. "We found bongs, but we did not find the [drugs], so it will be investigated. We will also ask for assistance from the police," Slamet said. Kerobokan prison warden Tonny Nainggolan said the raid had been conducted to prepare the prison for Nyepi, the Day of Silence, next week, as well as in view of the legislative and presidential elections in April. "We hope the elections will be held in a conducive manner," Tonny emphasized. Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Ruddi Setiawan, who led the raid, appreciated the prisons initiative to conduct the raid. "This is very good to prevent drug trafficking inside the prison," he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 15:06 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8038f27 4 City beer,jakarta,share-ownership,anies-baswedan,Jakarta-administration Free Beer firm PT Delta Djakarta has denied a report that the Jakarta administration has acquired additional shares in the company. "Since the beginning, the Jakarta administrations share in PT Delta Djakarta has been unchanged at 26.25 percent. There has been no increase, Delta Djakarta president commissioner Sarman Simanjorang said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday. The Indonesia Stock Exchange said on Feb. 25 in a report that the administration's shares in the company had risen by nearly 3 percent, from 23.33 percent to 26.25 percent. Read also: Invest more in clean water, not liquor: Anies Delta Djakarta produces various brands of beer, such as Anker, Carlsberg and San Miguel. According to Sarman, the IDX report, which highlighted the apparent increase in the administration's shares, was the result of a merger between the administration and another shareholding unit owned by the administration, Equity Investment and Management Board (BP-IPM Jaya). The administration controls 23.34 percent shares, while BP-IPM Jaya 2.91 percent. Following BP-IPM Jayas dissolution, the shares automatically went to the administration. During the 2017 gubernatorial election campaign period, Jakarta Governor Anies promised to sell the citys stake in the beer company, citing that its ownership in the company did not contribute to the livelihood of Jakartans. Anies also said the company's profits were insignificant. (ggq/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, March 2, 2019 19:18 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee803b9d7 4 Politics fake-news,Jokowi,Joko-Widodo-Maruf-Amin,Joko-Widodo,2019-presidential-election,#2019PresidentialElection Free Incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo has claimed that rampant fake news and slander has negatively affected his electability and that of his running mate, Maruf Amin, in West Java, Indonesias most populous province. We were ahead by 4 percent a month and a half ago in West Java, unlike in the [2014 presidential election], when we completely lost. But since then, our electability has dropped 8 percent, he said on Saturday during a meeting with his regional campaign team in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, as reported by kompas.com. The team in West Java, he went on, investigated the cause of the decrease and reportedly discovered efforts to discredit Jokowi and Maruf through hoaxes and fake news. Please look out for disruptive messages in the grassroots, he added. Jokowi is no stranger to smear campaigns and fake news. A video that recently went viral on social media showed three women claiming that should Jokowi be reelected as president, he would ban adzan (call to prayer) and legalize same-sex marriages. West Java Police have identified and arrested the women, naming them suspects for inciting hate speech under Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law. Jokowi pointed out the absurdity behind their claim. Where is the logic in the government banning adzan? Our vice-presidential candidate is chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council [MUI], he said, referring to running mate Maruf. Home to more than 47 million people, West Java is Indonesias most populous province. It is also widely regarded as one of the countrys most religiously conservative regions, with Muslims making up 97 percent of the population. (gis) Environmentalists from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) stage a rally in front of the Bank of China office in Jakarta on Friday in protest against a dam construction project in Batang Toru district, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Experts have warned that the project, which is funded by a consortium of Chinese banks and other financiers, threatens the habitat of orangutans.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)(Walhi) stage a rally in front of the Bank of China office in Jakarta on Friday in protest against a dam construction project in Batang Toru district, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Experts have warned that the project, which is funded by a consortium of Chinese banks and other financiers, threatens the habitat of orangutans.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) - Sat, March 2, 2019 16:23 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8039bc4 1 News Halim-Perdanakusuma-Airport,Tasikmalaya,Wiriadinata-Airport,Halim-Perdanakusuma-Tasikmalaya-route,Garuda-Indonesia Free National flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia officially launched a new route from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta to Tasikmalaya, West Java, on Saturday. The flight will land in Tasikmalayas Wiriadinata airport. According to a statement received by The Jakarta Post, the carrier will serve the route three times a week, namely on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, using an ATR 72-600, which seats up to 70 passengers. Garuda Indonesia president director Ari Askhara said the move was a response to the Presidents wish to support air connectivity to and from Tasikmalaya. This new route also connects flights from Palembang, South Sumatra, to Tasikmalaya via Halim Perdanakusuma, which would be provided by Garuda three times a week. Furthermore, Garuda offers services to other cities from Halim Perdanakusuma. Read also: New railway route opened from Jakarta to southern West Java Askhara said Garuda hoped to contribute to the economic growth in a new business hub such as Tasikmalaya. The opening of this route is part of our commitment to supporting tourism and the economy of Tasikmalaya, which is known as a prominent city for santri [Islamic boarding school students], he said. The new route will depart from Halim Perdanakusuma at 11:50 a.m. and arrive in Tasikmalaya at 12:50 p.m. Meanwhile, the flight from Tasikmalaya departs at 2 p.m. and arrives in Halim at 3 p.m. (mut) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) - Sat, March 2, 2019 13:12 1011 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8036e71 1 News Pelindo-III,cruise-ships,Benoa-harbor,Indonesia,tourist-arrivals,Tourist,bali Free State-owned port operator PT Pelindo III expects to facilitate 153 cruise ship landings in 2019. The number is based on our records, though it may change along the way, operations and commercial director Putut Sri Mulianto of Pelindo III said on Monday in Surabaya, East Java, reported kompas.com. He said that Benoa Port in Bali topped the list with 75 arrivals, followed by 17 arrivals at Lembar Port in West Nusa Tenggara, and 16 arrivals at Tanjung Emas Port, Central Java. Read also: New to cruising? How to book the right cruise for you in 2019 Putut said security was the main issue among cruise ship operators, and that out of the 149 planned arrivals last year, 138 cruise ships called at its ports across the country. He attributed the decline to the bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo as well as the natural disasters that struck West Nusa Tenggara. Pelindo III planned to share new features at its port facilities with cruise ship operators, including improvements at Benoa Port and the Gilimas Terminal at Lembar Port. For example, it had deepened the waterways at Benoa Port from a previous low water spring (LWS) of 11 meters to 13 meters. It was also making improvements to passenger terminal facilities and capacities. Before, large vessels of more than 250 meters could only dock outside the port, but with the revitalization, they can now dock at the berths. This will certainly add interest in cruise ship [tourism], as safety and comfort is guaranteed, said Putut. Pelindo III corporate secretary Faruq Hidayat said that improving port facilities was the companys contribution to achieving the national target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2019. At least 88,778 foreign passengers arrived on international cruise ships that called at ports operated by Pelindo III in 2017, and 125,218 arrived in 2018, he said. (wng) HAVERFORD Magisterial District Judge Robert Burke cleared the courtroom Thursday for a case he labeled as sensitive, denying media members access to the public proceeding. Burke said he would note a reporters verbal objection on the record, though following the hearing for defendant Yang Lee, the judge would not confirm if he had done so. Burke did provide the affidavit of probable cause for Lees arrest before closing the courtroom. Lee, 74, of Jacalyn Drive in Havertown, was charged in an incident that occurred at the YMCA on North Eagle Road back on Dec. 15, 2018. According to the affidavit, Officer Colin Patrick was dispatched at 5:20 p.m. to the YMCA for a report of an indecent act that just occurred. Delaware County Emergency Services reported that an Asian male was masturbating in the coed sauna. Patrick made contact with an employee, identified in the affidavit as Paul Hackett. Hackett told the officer he was working the 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. supervisory shift and was on the computer when a Haverford Area YMCA member approached him and said another member, later identified as Lee, was behaving inappropriately in the sauna. Hackett said he immediately went into the sauna and caught Mr. Yang Lee masturbating while he was sitting on the top sauna bench, states the affidavit, authored by Patrick. Hackett said he approached Lee and explained to him that what he was doing was not appropriate. Lee was charged with disorderly conduct, indecent exposure and open lewdness. His bail was set at a preliminary arraignment at $20,000 unsecured. After the hearing, which required the use of an interpreter, Burke said Lee was held on all charges. When specifically asked, Burke said both Delaware County Assistant District Attorney Cassandra Taylor and defense attorney Edward J. Schwabenland had requested that the court be closed for the hearing. Later, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said, The commonwealth did not ask for the courtroom to be closed or for the press to be removed. An attempt to reach Schwabenland after business hours Thursday was unsuccessful. ROSE QUINN 8 hours ago 3 Reasons Why a Robust Retirement Plan Matters Even More in 2022 (and What it Means for You) This year, 401(k) plans held an estimated $7.3 trillion in assets and represented nearly one-fifth of the $37.2 trillion U.S. retirement market, according to the Investment Company Institute. This refers to employer-sponsored retirement plans (both defined benefit and defined contribution plans), individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and annuities. That's a lot of money. Read Article RADNOR Six months ago, local filmographers Jill Frechie and John Ricciutti were asked to shoot some footage for a business associate who was volunteering to feed children in need at Rock Ministries in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Frechie, a resident of Gladwyne, and Ricciutti of Radnor had collaborated on projects in the past, so the friends looked at this, at first, as just another job doing something about which they are both passionate shooting film. On the day she was going to Kensington, Frechie happened to mention her destination to one of the students in her class at Montgomery County Community College. The student responded with a shocking warning. You better wear thick-soled shoes so you dont get stuck by a needle, Frechie said the student warned her. Youre going to get robbed, see people shooting up in the street and lying on the ground, near death. You are taking your life in your hands! The unexpected admonishment scared Frechie, she said, but she went ahead with the assignment anyway. When they arrived there, they saw everything that the student had described and more. What happened next was unexpected she and Ricciutti became so taken with the area and what was happening there as a result of the areas serious drug plague that they decided to join forces and create a documentary. The Kensington in Crisis film project was born. The filmmakers wanted others to see the badlands of Kensington to make them aware of what was happening not many miles from most Philadelphia-area residents front doors. When we left Kensington after our initial project, we just couldnt get it out of our heads, Frechie explained. The epidemic there, grabbed us and really took hold. Yes, I did have fear, but I also had compassion. When you come face to face with this situation, you look at it differently. We knew that we needed to tell this story. We had to do something. John and I decided to make a documentary about the heroin epidemic in Kensington to inspire change and get critical help. We want to show how ordinary people, our neighbors, our friends, our family members, end up on the streets here and how its affecting the people who live in the Kensington neighborhood. We hope it will inspire people to take ownership of this crisis and how it affects every single one of us. Although the filmmakers have released a brief trailer of the film to garner interest, the project is months from completion. Frechie and Ricciutti hope to depict the situation through all four seasons. They began the project in October, and have shot the grueling real-life scenes through fall and winter. They hope to wrap up filming at the end of this summer and have the film ready for viewing by early fall. The film focuses on the strip of Kensington Avenue from SEPTAs Frankford bus terminal to Lehigh Avenue, showing clips of two encampments there, as well as Needle Park, the colloquial name for a small park there. Frechie and Ricciutti, co-producers, have seen it all in the few seasons that theyve talked to those addicted and those trying to help the addicted. So far, theyve had conversations on film with about a dozen people, from all walks of life and backgrounds, a few of them prostitutes, all of them struggling with addiction. They are all a part of the misery there and of the reality of the addiction that has led them to make a home for themselves, under a bridge, in an alley, an abandoned building or out on a street. White, black, Hispanic, Asian, young, old, doctors, lawyers, mothers, fathers, some clearly new to the avenue, others seasoned veterans of it they all are there for the same reason, to get high, to find their next fix. The filmmakers also interviewed residents, a medical doctor, a detox expert at the citys Kirkbride Center, a social worker and a shop owner, as well as Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan, police inspector of the neighborhood Ray Convery and Ana Jacobs, a mother whose son was once a street addict but is now recovered, helping her deliver necessities and hope to those living on the streets. Its really important that we tell this story, Ricciutti said. The topic couldnt be more timely. In a New York Times article entitled Trapped by the Walmart of Heroin by Jennifer Percy Oct. 10, 2018, the writer describes Kensington as the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast. Addicts come from all over; many never leave. In some strange way, they become like a family and take care of one another. Kensington has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, yet is one of the most expensive cities for renters. A city count in July found 703 people living on the streets, with more than half in Kensington. Philadelphia has the highest overdose rate of the 10 most populous counties in America and the citys Department of Health estimates that 75,000 residents are addicted to heroin and other opioids. Its a plague that we have there, added Frechie. Kids from all over, including Delaware, Montgomery, Chester and Bucks counties, take the El there. Some get their fix and leave. Others stay and live on the street there. The statistics, supplied by the officials to whom we spoke, are staggering. When I saw so many young people, ones that not that long ago, had promising futures ahead of them, literally lying in the street, thats when I knew that I wanted to get involved, Ricciutti stated. And being a veteran myself, I hated seeing so many veterans there. Most were given opioids for injuries they got in combat and then were cut off while still in pain, so where do they go? Thats how they end up in Kensington. When you see someone strung out, you just say, Oh, hes on drugs. But when you see someone you know on drugs, thats when you start to be affected by this epidemic. Well, now we all have a family member or a neighbor or someone we know who has been touched by addiction. Now, this problem, this plague, is reality to all of us. Frechie nodded her head, asking rhetorically, Its frustrating for everyone involved. We carry around Narcan, but wheres the help for the addicted once they are revived? I think everyone is starting to realize that people need long term recovery and 15-30 days in rehab is not going to cut it. We want our film to spark conversations about all of this. Frechie is no newcomer to the film making scene. Although she and Ricciutti are creating this film independently, Frechie works as a part-time employee in TV/content management at Radnor Studio 21. Last year, Frechie earned a Telly award for the three-minute film Seated Tap Dance, a film about her mom, Ruth Pillet, teaching senior citizens who suffer from ambulatory problems how to tap dance while seated at the PALM Center for seniors in Ardmore. Frechie and Riccuitti also received a Telly for Rescue at Cau Song Be, a candid interview with a Vietnam veteran. Ricciutti is a Radnor Studio 21 board member and made a name for himself there as a producer, doing many on-air interviews and producing content. In addition to earning the Telly Award with Frechie on the documentary that they co-produced about a decorated Jewish-American Vietnam war helicopter pilot, he also won an Emmy and two Telly Awards for a documentary that he co-produced titled SEPTA in Motion. A longtime employee of SEPTA, Ricciutti, owner of Thistle Dew Productions, recently partnered as a producer with Shawn Swords and others at Irish American Films to make Remembering the 27 Crusaders, the acclaimed documentary focusing on the 27 graduates of Father Judge High School in Northeast Philadelphia who lost their lives in the Vietnam war. The tragic number marked more than any other still-in-existence private or parochial school in the country. The film is getting rave reviews and is currently having screenings throughout the Philadelphia area. Hoping to attract sponsors for Kensington in Crisis, once the release date is set and the independent film is ready for promotion and distribution, Frechie and Ricciutti have been working on the project, thus far, with little support, coupled with a strong desire to bring about change through sharing the story. We wish that we could rewrite the story to give our film a happy ending, but unfortunately the film is based on pure reality, Frechie stated. The filmmakers credit Allan Schear, the dean of the film department at Montgomery County Community College, as their mentor during the project, giving then advice and tips on how to film, edit and more. Both Frechie and Ricciutti seem to be pouring their hearts into the Kensington in Crisis project, walking the thin line between professionalism and becoming emotionally involved, their hearts touched by the wretched scenes there. Friends often wonder why the filmmakers continue to return to the area, week after week, its streets riddled with used needles, lost souls and rampant crime. Ricciutti has hired a bodyguard at times to accompany them when filming at night. There is an allure about the Kensington area, Frechie explained. Theres something about the place that strikes you and we were definitely struck. Kensington, was once a blue-collar factory neighborhood where people came to shop before the concept of the mall, where my grandfather once owned a cigar store. It changed in the 1950s when industries closed and residents moved to the suburbs because jobs grew scarce. Now people are literally trapped in their homes with drug addicts shooting up on their steps. Children often have to walk around needles and addicts lying on the ground on their way to school. It is heartbreaking. Ricciutti nodded his head in agreement. We want our film to show the horror of whats going on there, he said. Jill and I want people to pay attention. We hope Kensington in Crisis will change peoples attitudes toward addiction and mental illness. Theres no urgency for us to rush to get this film done and release it. We are taking our time because we want to get this important story right. By Colin Ainsworth Special to the Times CHESTER >> City Council honored the parties involved in giving new life to a longtime piece of public art with a proclamation at its regular meeting Wednesday. The proclamation commends sculptor David Flaharty and contractors C.R. Meyer, Heritage Concrete, Re-Steel Supply Co. Inc. and QCI, Inc. for their work in moving Flahartys Loredana statue from its longtime spot at the Robert Stinson Towers to its new home on East Seventh Street between Welsh Street and the Avenue of the States. These gentlemen worked hard to relocate it to the downtown area, where it is a talking piece, said Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland during the presentation. Flaharty, a Montgomery County resident, submitted the sculpture to the Chester Redevelopment Authority in 1978 as part of the Stinson Towers projects percent for art provision. The provision was modeled on Philadelphia Redevelopment Authoritys policy, first implemented in 1959, that requires 1 percent of construction costs be allocated to public art installation. It was one of the nicest ones Ive ever made, and pretty close to the largest, Flaherty said, addressing council chambers after the presentation. A dear friend of mine helped (with the casting process). The name Loredana I didnt know what to call it, but this friend of mine who helped put it together had a cousin by that name in Italy here we are. The sculpture, described in the proclamation as a circular bronze sculpture that has the likeness of a mans face inside of the ring (that) stands seventy-eight and three-fourths inches high, stood at the Stinson Towers from 1979 until 2018, when new ownership chose to remove it. Someone called David and said he had to take it back, said Flahartys wife Dulcie by phone Wednesday. It was like pick up your child at daycare.' Chester Economic Development Authority Deputy Executive Director Lisa R. Gaffney then coordinated an effort between building ownership and the city to move the statue to a visible spot on public land. We didnt want lose a piece of art, said city Engineer Michael Galante by phone. That was our fear there were people interested in it outside of the city. A chance remark by Galante brought the Chester branch of Wisconsin-headquartered C.R. Meyer who has previously worked with city agencies into the process. I mentioned in passing we need to remove this statue. (General Manager) Joe Debes from C.R. Meyer said well do it; well build you a new stand,' said Galante. The volunteer work from the contractor amounted to about $15,000, according to Galante. They did a lot with their expertise and their skills. If I hired a contractor they probably would have charged more money and it wouldnt have looked as good. The Flahartys and city officials both reported positive feedback from residents on the installation. David and I are so thrilled that people appreciate it and are engaging with it, said Dulcie Flaharty. Whether you like it or dont like it, the purpose of art is to engage with something. Galante said he heard from a resident that Phillys got love park, weve got the eye. Its better than Love Park. Plans are underway for a plaque telling the history of the statue, to be made by Flaharty. B5.5bn Beach Plaza multi-hotel project underway PHUKET: Six hotels to be built at the 15-rai Beach Plaza site in Kata have had their Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs) approved, and work on driving the first piles at the site are set to begin this month. tourismconstructioneconomics By The Phuket News Saturday 2 March 2019, 11:00AM The master plan for the project includes 11 hotels located within the development.Image: The Beach Plaza The master plan for the project includes 11 hotels located within the development.Image: The Beach Plaza The master plan for the project includes 11 hotels located within the development.Image: The Beach Plaza The master plan for the project includes 11 hotels located within the development. Image: The Beach Plaza The first piles for the B5.5 billion project are on site with construction already underway for the first three hotels. Photo: The Beach Plaza The first piles for the B5.5 billion project are on site with construction already underway for the first three hotels. Photo: The Beach Plaza The first piles for the B5.5 billion project are on site with construction already underway for the first three hotels. Photo: The Beach Plaza The first piles for the B5.5 billion project are on site with construction already underway for the first three hotels. Photo: The Beach Plaza The first piles for the B5.5 billion project are on site with construction already underway for the first three hotels. Photo: The Beach Plaza The news was announced by Watchara Jaru-ariyanon, Chief Executive Officer of Phuket property developer KW Plaza Co Ltd, and fellow KW Plaza Director Karn Prachumpan at the official launch of the project held at the Beach Heights Resort last Saturday (Feb 23). KW Plaza directors Mr Watchara and Mr Karn are already well known for their role in Phuket City Development Co Ltd (PKCD), which launched the Phuket Smart Bus initiative. Mr Karn is PKCD chairman and Mr Watchara is PKCD Executive Director. At the Beach Plaza launch last Saturday, the pair invited investors to take advantage of the Beach Plaza project. The master plan for the project includes 11 hotels located within the development. We invite both Thai and foreign investors, explained Mr Watchara. The hotels are to be three to four stars, with each comprising from 76 rooms up to 204 rooms, each with full facilities. Our plan supports investors who have different budgets. The total project value is about B5.5 billion, he said. The project is situated in a prized location in the heart of the Kata area, which can be accessed by the three main routes through the popular tourist haven. It is beautiful land in a prime area and the project will become a new landmark of Kata Beach, which is suitable for a hotel development area, Mr Watchara said. The investment is divided into two phases, he explained, with the first six hotels already approved their EIAs. Three of the six hotels approved can be used to develop three small hotels of about three stars, each with 76 rooms, a rooftop pool, parking, restaurant, lobby and a recreation area, he said. We are ready to provide opportunities to three types of customers to join the investment group: 1. Groups with no previous experience in hotel business; 2. Groups that have had some business experience, such as guesthouse and apartment operators that want to upgrade to a standardised hotel business; and 3. Experienced customers who want to expand their locations to do business in the Kata area, Mr Watchara explained. We have two Thai investors and one foreign investor interested in the project with terms already under negotiation, he added. The project is to see about 1,500 new rooms added to the areas inventory, he noted. The project has been designed under the concept of smart hotels with modern innovation to extend the customer base to create a cost-effective business with the slogan Smart Hotel Smart Rewards, he said. Phase-by-phase construction continues using leading contractor companies with modern construction technology and quality materials. People can keep up to date and monitor the project development progress via the website, he added. Mr Watchara said that KW Plaza expects all investment opportunities in the project to close before the high season starts in December 2020. Officials will be charged for not performing duty over Phoenix disaster, national police deputy commander confirms HUKET: Officials will be charged for not performing their duty over the Phoenix tour boat disaster in July last year that killed 47 tourists, Royal Thai Police Deputy Commander Gen Rungroj Saengkram has confirmed to The Phuket News. accidentsChinesecorruptiondeathdisastersmarinepoliceSafetyweathertransporttourism By The Phuket News Saturday 2 March 2019, 04:43PM The Phoenix is pictured at the Rattanachai Shipyard, east of Phuket Town. Photo: Supplied The police investigation into the Phoenix has been completed, Gen Rungroj told The Phuket News yesterday (Mar 1). All reports have been handed to local police and the Public Prosecutors Office already, added Gen Rungroj, who has been tasked with overseeing the investigation into Thailands worst maritime disaster in modern history. Gen Rungroj declined to reveal the main conclusions of the investigation but did confirm that two officials will be charged for their part in the disaster. The officials will be charged for not performing their duty, Gen Rungroj said, adding that the officials to face legal action were both based in Bangkok. Gen Rungroj also declined to confirm whether the officials were from the Marine Department, and also said that he was unable to recall the names when called by The Phuket News. Gen Rungroj in November confirmed his suspicions of the registration documents for the boat, which Gen Surachate Hakparn who was Deputy Chief of the national Tourist Police at the time (and who is now the Immigration Bureau Chief) revealed within days after the disaster, contained only four to five pages of structural diagrams, instead of the usual 60 to 70 pages. I agree with Gen Surachate that this is important to the case, and Gen Surachate will be working together with us in the investigation, Gen Runroj said. I know there are only four to five pages of plans (for the boat), which is suspicious because a boat like this is supposed to have more than that, about 70 pages. I have openly shared my thoughts about this and that it looks strange, he added. (See story here.) Wiwat Chitchertwong, currently serving as the Acting Director of the Phuket Marine Office (installed as the Phuket Marine Chief immediately after the disaster), also explained in November, All designs for the Phoenix and for every boat are required by regulation by the Ship Standard Registration Bureau of the Marine Department. The Phoenix was not registered or approved by the Phuket Marine Office. This boat was approved by the Ship Standard Registration Bureau in Bangkok, Mr Wiwat pointed out, though without explaining whether or not the Phuket Marine Office physically inspected the boat. Asked specifically who signed the approval to register the boat, Mr Wiwat in November said, I dont know. Meanwhile, lawyer Nalin Intarasombat confirmed to The Phuket News yesterday that 26-year-old Phuket resident Woralak Yui Rerkchaikarn the main shareholder in TC Blue Dream Co Ltd, the Thai company that owns the Phoenix remains in custody at Phuket Prison while awaiting the charge of recklessness causing death to be formally presented in court. Woralak has been detained behind bars since August last year after the court denied her bail. The court trial starts at the end of April with the examination of witnesses, and the full trial will be in May this year. Ms Nalin said yesterday. Ms Nalin and her father Nipit Intarasombat, who is co-legal counsel for Woralak, have already explained to the press that Woralak intends to fight the charge against her. We are confident that this boat is legal. On that day, it was a severe storm that was a critical factor in the accident. We will fight all charges in court, and please let the court decide who is guilty, Mr Nipit said. (See story here.) However, Gen Rungroj and Gen Surachate have both already confirmed that Woralak, as well as the Phoenix captain and the boats engineer, are to be charged with recklessness causes death and injury to others and that shareholders in TC Blue Co Ltd also face charges of ang-yee (operating an illegal secret organisation). From our investigation, we found that TC Blue Co Ltd is the owner of the Phoenix tour boat and that 26-year-old Phuket resident Woralak Yui Rerkchaikarn is a shareholder in that company, Gen Surachate said in November. However, we have also found that Woralaks husband, Chinese national Lei Hou, is the real owner of TC Blue Co Ltd and that Jakkapan Rerkchaikarn and Yindee Rerkchaikarn are also shareholders, but Woralak is a major shareholder, Gen Surachate explained. Investigating officers have discovered from financial records that TC Blue Co Ltd is a nominee company set up for Lei Hou. All those involved with TC Blue Co Ltd are now also facing charges of ang-yee as it is clear that they are running the company illegally for a foreigner, he added. The Phoenixs captain Somjing Boontham, boat engineer Onchan Kanhayotee and Woralak are to be charged with recklessness causing injury and death to others, Gen Surachate confirmed. (See story here.) Smoke and fire at The Nai Harns Prime restaurant I thought I would begin by waxing lyrical about the view from Prime, the latest restaurant from The Nai Harn stable. However, Prime is open for dinner only, so if its a breathtaking sunset you are after, you may equally visit Cosmo or Hansha, the hotels other restaurants, where the view is arguably more impressive due to the added elevation. Dining By Chris Watson Saturday 2 March 2019, 11:00AM For me, spectacular ocean views are best experienced during the day. Visit Cosmo for the newly launched Sunday brunch, or Rock Salt, where one can enjoy fresh seafood and Thai specials whilst savouring the beachside location. Without taking anything away from the high quality of food or incredible creativity to be discovered at these other restaurants, Prime is where you go for truly exceptional ingredients and, in my opinion, a culinary experience. Prime is open-air, rustic and, with only 14 seats, intimate. Stretching along one edge is the kitchen, the centrepiece of which is a custom-built wood-fired oven, majestically dominating the compact but well-equipped space. Mark Jones, the Executive Chef at The Nai Harn, is at the helm of his new baby. With a background in celebrated Michelin-star restaurants, he looks particularly at home within this dramatic setting. The restaurant is described as the home of smoke and fire the menu outlines this philosophy as well as the provenance of each and every premium product with a narrative helpfully explaining Wagyu and marble scoring. I am suitably impressed! The menu itself, whilst not extensive, has more than enough choice to tempt. I begin with Spanish octopus, cooked sous-vide to ensure it is cooked evenly and both flavours and moisture remain. It is then chargrilled and served with skordalia and gremolata. The former a rich garlic and potato puree, the latter a herb and citrus dressing. The octopus, with a perfect light char, is both tender and flavourful and the accompaniments both compliment and accentuate the taste. This is followed by a further appetiser of cold-smoked Hebridean salmon. Grown in the cold and stormy waters of the Scottish North Sea, the salmon has a firm and succulent texture and distinctive taste. The menu also features an impressive high-end pairing along with an encyclopedic list from around the globe recommended by James Suckling, the internationally-renowned critic, with helpful tasting notes. Moving on to main courses, the star of this restaurant is the calibre of premium beef. There are a number of options, several to share, such as 48-hour slow-cooked short ribs or a 270-day grain-fed, dry-aged black onyx Angus cote de boeuf. Cooking the perfect steak, even when provided with a prime (no pun intended) cut of beef, is not that easy. It requires talent, patience and love, all of which Mark possesses in abundance. I go for a Rangers Valley Wagyu rib eye with a marble score of six. This Australian cut is raised in the cool climate of the New England Tablelands and then finished on grain for 360 days. It is served up with truffle mashed potatoes, charred romanesco cauliflower and a red jus. The meat arrives charred on the outside, offering a perfect crust whilst perfectly pink within. Its almost butter-like in texture with a slight bite and explodes with flavour. The puree creamy, buttery and earthy all at the same time; the cauliflower adding a welcome crunch, the jus concentrated and made to marry the meat. With Marks gentle persuasion, I sample a further main course: the Red Label young yellow chicken. A marinated poussin arrives at table surrounded by a tasty pancetta and white bean fricassee, wild mushrooms and charred broccoli. It truly looks like a picture! The chicken is imported from Rungis Market in Paris. The birds are corn fed, hence the yellow colour and the truly mouth-watering flavour of the meat. To complete my evening, I choose a triple chocolate brownie sundae composed of dulce de leche layers coating a crumbly chocolate biscuit with raisin ice cream infused with a Chalong Bay liquid. Prime, as one has come to expect from The Nai Harn, is staffed with efficient and engaging waitresses. The food is fantastic and, whilst the prices are not your everyday, is nevertheless affordable for this quality. My advice: book soon; forego lunch; and arrive early, not for the view, but to allow time to peruse the menu and its stories. And the day after dining, ask yourself where else in Phuket can you truly experience this quality of imported fish and meat? I had a prime time! Prime is open for dinner only. www.thenaiharn.com/dining/prime-rock-salt +66 7638 0200 Chris is a former Michelin Guide Inspector who, following an international career in hospitality spanning 30 years in both the Middle East and Asia, has now settled in Thailand and contributes a monthly restaurant column. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 38F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low 38F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Season Preview: Watertown basketball teams hope lack of size won't stop them from being competitive sports The term liquid biopsy in the context of oncology refers to the real-time monitoring of the dynamic alterations of a tumor through detection of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), or exosomes in blood or other fluid samples. As a complementary, noninvasive option to traditional biopsies, liquid biopsies enable the discovery of highly specific and sensitive biomarkers and can be used for dynamic and timely monitoring of tumor progression. At Thermo Fisher Scientific we are committed to developing robust sample preparation solutions for cell-free nucleic acids and highly sensitive liquid biopsy assays utilizing both digital PCR (dPCR) and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to enable cancer driver identification, serial monitoring, and recurrence detection. Through the powerful combination of customizable or pre-designed targeted NGS panels, which provide comprehensive detection of cancer-related mutations, and dPCR assays, which offer rapid monitoring of a targeted set of mutations, liquid biopsies may soon become the future standard in cancer management. Introduction The development of ultra-high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies coupled with the initiation of large-scale population sequencing projects such as Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project and the Genome Canada initiative has led to a dramatic reduction in the cost of genomic sequencing. Very high profile projects like Genomics England give the impression that whole-genome sequencing (WGS) or whole-exome sequencing (WES) are the most appropriate strategy for human genomics in a clinical or research environment. These approaches bring many benefits as the amount of information delivered aids discovery and increases our understanding of the interactions between genetics and human health. However, there are many considerations to take into account before deciding whether WGS, WES, or a more targeted approach using gene panels is the right solution, such as experimental aim, cost, time to results, and data analysis and management. Data analysis and management is an area that is often overlooked in the decision-making process. The software used to analyze sequencing genomic data has matured greatly over recent years and most platforms provide a solution that allows mapping and variant calling of the data. WGS identifies millions of variants, creating challenges that need to be overcome to properly handle so much data: Provision of the computing power to undertake the analysis Interpretation of the results Development of a truth dataset to determine specificity and sensitivity using an alternative method such as Sanger sequencing. High-throughput WGS requires a large investment in infrastructure and with projects such as Genomic England there is a trend to centralize these resources. Setting up such a facility independently is cost prohibitive for most institutes outside of the main genome institutes. WES seems to offer a more viable approach. A few groups, such as the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, have managed to set up high-throughput clinical exome sequencing. Using cloud technology to reduce the cost burden of the computing infrastructure is one option, but users need to understand the data governance regulations and whether the data can be transferred to a cloud provider located in another country. Even in this digital age transferring files of many tens or hundreds of gigabytes may put a major strain on the local network. WGS and WES generate vast amounts of information that are invaluable for a research project. In a clinical setting, though, this raises the problems of increases in the false positive rate and detection of incidental findings. Often it is not clear what the functional implication of an incidental finding is. The software may predict that the variant is likely to cause a serious impact on the protein, but the consequences are not truly known until functional studies are undertaken. One approach to circumvent this issue is to provide the results for a subset of genes (in effect, a virtual gene panel). The advantage of this is that with increased knowledge of a disease, the virtual gene set can be easily expanded to include extra genes without having to redo the sequencing. There is ongoing debate in the community regarding the most cost-effective strategy, not just for the actual sequencing but also for the effects on the health care system. Mulin Khoury at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argued in a blog that due to the consequences of incidental findings, a targeted approach should be used in a clinical setting. A small panel allows for the development of assays that more adequately test the full sequence of the specific genes. The Saudi Mendeliome project shows that this approach generates favorable results compared to WES, at a much reduced cost per sample (article). It is important to note that the extent of knowledge of the genes implicated in a disease needs to be understood. If only a small percentage of the genetics is accounted for then a WES approach is likely to prove more successful. German powerhouse Shoepassion has been dominating the German market for a while now. With welted shoes out of Spain at a very good price (220/250), there is no surprise why. And a great website at that ships worldwide. For those of you in the US looking for an alternative to your Allen Edmonds or Meermin shoes, here is one option that you should certainly entertain. They have a focus on classic models but with some Italian style twists to them in color, elongated lasts and coloring. For the first timeever they make their showcase in London at our Super Trunk Show, this March 23rd, along with their sister brand Heinrich Dinkelacker. A couple of years ago Shoepassion bought one of the older shoe brands of Germany, Heinrich Dinkelacker, to continue developing it into the new century. Dinkelacker is know for their hand welted shoes, made in Hungary, which makes them also known for their traditional Austro-Hungarian style with thick soles and sturdy lasts. However, as of late, they have developed more modern models and last shapes as well, in order to diversify the brand and customer base. Prices start at 440/500. On top of that they also offer a new bespoke service, scanning the foot with an iPad and a personal last designed from the scan, and then the selected model will be manufactured on these. Its always exciting to see new brands hit the London scene so if you have been interested to see one them but never had the chance, now is your time to make your way down to the London town and get a look at what they are both all about! The London Super Trunk Show 2019 will be held atShowcase.coon Saturday, March 23th, 2019 To read more about the London Super Trunk Show 2019, please clickHERE The Canadian units of British American Tobacco Plc, Philip Morris International Inc. and Japan Tobacco Inc. were ordered to pay damages of about $17 billion (Canadian) after losing an appeal of class-action lawsuits filed by smokers in the Canadian province of Quebec. The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision with minor changes, according to a ruling released Friday. The lawsuits were in favour of smokers seeking damages for addiction and smoking-related diseases, who argued they were never warned of the risks. The risks associated with smoking have been known in Canada for decades. Consumers were aware and thats why we think we shouldnt be held responsible said Eric Gagnon, the head of corporate and regulatory affairs for Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., BATs Canadian unit. Todays judgment is disappointing. Gagnon told reporters outside the court in Montreal that an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was an option. Rothmans, Benson and Hedges Inc., the Canadian unit of Philip Morris, said it plans to appeal to Canadas highest court, according to a statement. The other defendant in the cases is JTI-MacDonald Corp. The case stems from lawsuits originally filed in 1998 and involved the first damages against the industry in Canada. The decision comes four years after the ruling against the companies by a trial court in Quebec. The original damages were set at about $15.5 billion, though that has risen to about $17 billion with interest charges, according to estimates from the Canadian Cancer Society. This is a complete and resounding defeat for the tobacco industry, said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst for the Ottawa-based cancer group. The industry has engaged in decades of wrongful behaviour resulting in vast suffering, disease and death. Read more about: WASHINGTON - A British Columbia cabinet minister monitoring negotiations with the United States over the future of the expiring Columbia River Treaty says talks have been frank around operations and benefits. The treaty covers the three dams that were placed on the Columbia River in B.C. for flood control down river in Washington and Oregon. In return for the dams, Canada received half of the electricity generated from the project. When treaty negotiations began last year, the Americans said the electricity entitlement for Canada is too large and they want to add environmental measures to the agreement, allowing them to increase water flow to protect salmon habitat. Katrine Conroy, the B.C. cabinet minister responsible for the treaty, says everything is on the table, including reducing Canadas electricity entitlement and cutting downstream benefits to the United States. She says the talks have now advanced on the topics of flood-risk management and hydropower co-ordination. Conroy says there has been some frank conversations about operations and benefits that are on both sides of the border. I know from our perspective, the operations on this side are incredibly important, especially the lake levels in both east and west Kootenay. Its always an issue for people on this side of the basin, she says. The fifth round of negotiations took place in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and Thursday, for the treaty that was ratified in 1964. Conroy says the current requests from the United States for increased water flow means fluctuating lake levels in British Columbia and has also prompted complaints from Okanagan apple growers that their American counterparts are being favoured. Extreme weather in recent years has also made flood-risk mitigation top of mind, she says. Because of climate change and the fluctuating levels of our rivers in the last few years and some of the floods that have come about, we do need the flood control and we do need that flood control downstream. The earliest the treaty can be concluded is 2024, however termination requires notice of ten years. The next round of negotiations will take place in Victoria on April 10 and 11. No one from the U.S. State Department was available for comment but it says in a statement that American negotiators continue to take into account the views of people who live and work in the Columbia River basin. Building on information shared during previous rounds, the U.S. and Canadian negotiators discussed U.S. priorities, including continued careful flood risk management, maintaining a reliable and economical power supply, and ecosystem benefit improvement, the statement says. Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope wraps up with an anecdote that would most likely be an audiences first point of interest many of the young leaders behind the Never Again movement, who have been loudly advocating for gun control since the shooting at their high school in Parkland, Florida last February, were members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama club. To playwright Andrew Kushnir and University of Toronto professor and researcher Kathleen Gallagher and probably anyone who worked on a high school production this isnt a coincidence. And the play that Kushnir and Gallagher created together, Towards Youth, is a full-length, continent-spanning, multilingual epic of research and theatrics to explain why. Towards Youth was born out of Gallaghers research into the distinct chemistry that occurs between students within a high school drama class, one that she describes, with actor Liisa Repo-Martell acting as her theatrical stand-in, allows students to go through the educational process with the least traumatization possible (A low bar, she admits). To take her research and findings in her project, titled Youth, Theatre, Radical Hope and the Ethical Imaginary, to their natural next level of analysis and dissemination, Gallagher wanted to create a play; and she met her collaborator when she saw Project: Humanitys 2009 verbatim play about youth shelter residents The Middle Place, written by Andrew Kushnir. Actor Emilio Vieira, Kushnirs alter-ego in Towards Youth, retells this journey into documentary theatre as one that began out of artistic guilt and continued out of what he discovered to be a low-grade fear of young people. This moment is heightened by Deanna H. Chois sound design and an ensemble of snarling, beastlike actors swarming around Vieira in this production, co-directed by Kushnir and Crows Theatre artistic director Chris Abraham. Of course, Towards Youth pulls back Kushnirs misplaced fear toward teens and reveals the humour, anxiety, thought, and, most importantly to Gallagher, hope, that affects their world views and attitudes toward their future. As Kushnir and Gallagher travel around the world to observe drama classes in Toronto, England, Greece, Taiwan, and India, actors Aldrin Bundoc, Tim Dowler-Coltman, Jessica Greenberg, Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, Zorana Sadiq, Amaka Umeh and Loretta Yu portray over 35 different students and teachers (Eric Armstrongs dialect design is impressive in transporting us across the globe with few costume or scene changes). Repo-Martell as Gallagher, quoting another leading educator, describes teaching as receiving, and the play also adopts this mind frame; the audience is meant to receive the students perspectives, instead of judge how they perform. This isnt an exploration of how a young person is trained in the art of acting a misunderstanding around this with a Greek instructor played hilariously by Sadiq forms one of the funniest moments in Towards Youth but instead looks at how a drama class helps a young person develop an appetite to hear ones voice in the world as a Toronto teacher played by Greenberg articulates. The script finds depth in a question from Toronto student Bella, a boisterous comedian-in-the-making played by Umeh (whos a revelation in this production, following a breakout role in the Howland Companys acclaimed production of The Wolves), How are you going to hear me? Kushnirs writing repeats this question at key moments. As a result, Towards Youth tracks what its like for a Canadian teenager to explore their homosexuality or Blackness in front of their school, a British foster child to work with an intercultural group of peers the week of the Brexit vote, Greek children to assess the refugee crisis in their country, Taiwanese young adults to face Chinese oppression, and for Indian boys and girls to have their gendered expectations of public engagement challenged. Its clear that Kushnir and Gallagher amassed an incredible amount of interviews, video, photographs, questions and learnings from which to generate this play at one point, the plan was to do a one-hour play for each country, and its easy to believe theres enough material so there is evidence that Kushnirs closeness to the experience means there are a few darlings still left in the play that should have been killed in the editing process. Breaking out of the classroom and into a cab in England is an unnecessary hammer on the Brexit nail, and as comical as Dowler-Coltmans performance is as a pro-Brexit octogenarian, feels like a callous caricature in such a production built on empathy. Lingering on several comedic bits like this one, as well as the Greek teacher misunderstanding mentioned above, also means theres much less time to spend in Taiwan and India, the final two countries with political and social contexts that the play quickly skims over. Alternatively, another moment powerfully fills in the gaps left behind when words fall short. As Repo-Martell and Vieira describe the silencing effect that the Canadian school systems rigid examples of leadership behaviour has on Black male students, Jackman-Torkoff, a skilled mover seen previously in productions like Black Boys at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and Botticelli in the Fire/Sunday in Sodom at Canadian Stage, physically and literally expresses this silencing in sharp, explosive movements. Its a stunning reinterpretation of what verbatim and documentary theatre can mean, since the experiences of the Black male students in Gallaghers research meet the experiences of the Black, male performer Jackman-Torkoff his movements become a non-verbal expression of this collision. Despite its meanderings and reliance on cinematically sentimental sections of text built up by sound and video, the ensemble succeeds in delivering what Gallagher describes as a faithful betrayal of the projects young research subjects. Theyre charming and innocent, almost too much so for this world. Fellow former drama nerds (and there will obviously be many in the audience of Towards Youth) will ache for the comforting warmth of their drama room (lovingly replicated by set designer Ken Mackenzie, complete with blue carpet and half-painted walls). And, with any luck, it will inspire others to get in touch with the drama kid inside all of us. Apollo; Night; The Sea Above, The Sky Below; Paquita National Ballet of Canada. Choreography by George Balanchine. Julia Adam, Robert Binet, Christopher Stowell after Marius Petipa. Repeats March 3, 20 and 21 at the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. national.ballet.ca or 416-345-9595 or 1-866-345-9595 The problem with artistic genius is that it tends to overshadow lesser mortals. Take the National Ballet of Canadas current mixed program for instance. Top billing is duly given to Apollo, an early masterwork from 1928 by the then 24-year-old George Balanchine. It opens a four-item program and leaves its companion works with the unenviable task of even approaching the same ballpark. More than 90 years after it was made, Apollo looks fresher, more urgent, coherent and compelling than almost anything you can set beside it unless, of course, its another Balanchine ballet. The marvel of Apollo owes as much to Stravinsky as to Balanchine. It was the composers Apollon musagete for string orchestra that guided the choreographer. Stravinsky also devised the scenario, drawn from ancient mythology. In his streamlined version we follow Apollo, the Greek god of music, from his birth to his ascent of Mount Parnassus. Apollos interactions with Calliope, Polyhymnia and Terpsichore, respectively the muses of poetry, mime and dance, constitute the action of the ballet. What makes the ballet extraordinary is its apparent simplicity yet richly evocative nature. In its self-conscious modernism it is certainly very much of its period yet yielded musical and choreographic devices that still astonish. The National Ballet came relatively late to Apollo in 1999 in a staging by Danish-born Ib Andersen. As a member of Balanchines New York City Ballet, Andersen worked with the master during his final years. Andersen reinstated the prologue/birth scene, first solo and apotheosis that Balanchine had inexplicably cut from a 1979 revival but oddly chose not to bring back Leto, Apollos mother, and her handmaidens to witness the young gods final ascent. The current staging, which essentially follows Andersens road map, is credited to National Ballet associate artistic director Christopher Stowell and principal ballet master Lindsay Fischer. Returning to the title role at Fridays opening, first soloist Brendan Saye struck all the right chords. He not only has the height, noble looks and long, supple limbs so well suited to Apollo but also the co-ordination and fluent musicality needed to make sense of the angularities of Balanchines choreography. Principal dancer Heather Ogden as Terpsichore took the prize for best muse, not just because she is thus regarded by Apollo but because of her well-seasoned understanding of how to dance Balanchine with a hint of daring. At the other end of the program is Paquita, a healthy slice of red meat tossed in the direction of diehard traditionalists. What he have are the flashy late 19th-century remnants of what started off in Paris in 1846 with different music and choreography as a two-act story ballet, set in Spain and featuring a supposed gypsy girl who it turns out is of noble birth. Versions of the full version still exist, but generally ballet companies present what is often titled Paquita: Grand pas classique comprising most of the additions Marius Petipa made, to Ludwig Minkus music, in his 1881 St. Petersburg production. The de-storied Paquita is designed to be an eye-popping showcase for ballerinas. A couple of men do appear sporadically to offer dashes of bravura dancing and to porter the ladies, but theyre essentially ancillaries. Its the ballerinas show and a demanding one. This version is staged by Stowell, replacing a version staged in 1991 by former ballerina Natalia Makarova. Its a solid enough production, brightly designed with nods to the ballets Iberian story roots by Jose Varona. What was lacking at Fridays underpowered opening performance was Iberian heat. Too much of the dancing seemed restrained, at times almost tentative when really it ought to blaze. There were bright spots, mostly in the lead solos Emma Hawes a standout but generally Paquita looked a tad under-rehearsed. It didnt help that some of the tempi were unduly sluggish; odd, coming from an orchestra that had handled Stravinsky with such admirable aplomb. Between these two substantial but contrasting works are two ballets in a contemporary vein. You know something is up when a choreographer resorts to the adagietto from Mahlers 5th Symphony and in the case of Robert Binets maudlin The Sea Above, The Sky Below, made for a fundraiser in 2017, its not a great deal. A woman, a muse of sorts, interacts with two men in diaphanous negligees but to what end is never clear despite the earnest efforts of Heather Ogden, Harrison James and Felix Paquet. Canadian-born choreographer Julia Adams Night, a company premiere, has more going for it in terms of ambition and imagination. Allegedly inspired by the dreamscape paintings of Marc Chagall, it was made in 2000 for San Francisco Ballet where Adam was a star performer then transitioning into a choreographer. Fuelled by a serviceable but unremarkable score by American violinist/composer Matthew Pierce his former-dancer brother Benjamin did the costumes the ballet, which if memory serves originally had a woman in the lead, now features Skylar Campbell slumbering on a bed of bent-down men. He is awakened, lifted and upended in images of flight. There is much charming whimsy in all this. Men slither on the floor. A trio of women contained within a gauzy mesh band are evocative of a sea anemone. The ballets imagery is often phantasmagoric, even nightmarish but, not atypically for an early work, Night, for all its originality, never quite adds up, either choreographically or thematically. HALIFAXA very Canadian rescue scene drew a small crowd on Friday as Mounties aided an injured beaver in the Halifax area. Around 12:45 p.m., Halifax RCMP responded to a call about a beaver wandering in a shopping area on Sackville Dr. in Lower Sackville. Sgt. Lynden Morrison said the beaver was reported as a traffic hazard originally, and the RCMP wanted to ensure the beaver wasnt run over by a car. He said they found the beaver near a Sobeys. Officers were able to usher the animal into a plastic bin using a shovel. The beaver did not cause any damage. Morrison said he had no idea where the beaver could have come from. It would be quite a walk from any ponds or streams, he said. Maybe it just got lost. Read more: Is the beaver truly natures architect or just a dentally defective rat? Canadian Myths Buck-a-beer? Deer barges into Oshawa bar Are Canadians really that polite? We put the myth to the rush-hour test Morrison said they kept the beaver safe in the bin until the rehabilitation organization Hope for Wildlife arrived to take the animal. The beaver had a minor tail injury and will get a checkup at Hope for Wildlife. When asked how often the RCMP is called upon to take care of a beaver, Morrison said its not a common occurrence. Read more about: VANCOUVERBritish Columbias tourism industry is outpacing provincial economic growth, contributing $9 billion to the economy. Destination B.C., the Crown corporation that co-ordinates tourism marketing, released the latest figure from 2017, saying its a 6.7 per cent increase over the year before. The Tourism Ministry says in a news release that the industry generated $18.4 billion in revenue the same year, an 8.4 per cent leap in one year and over 41 per cent since 2007. It says statistics show tourism added the largest value to the provincial economy between 2007 and 2017, relative to industries, such as oil and gas, mining, forestry, logging and fishing. The figures were released at the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. conference in Vancouver at the same time as the ministry announced a new strategic framework that it says will guide year-round tourism growth while protecting the provinces natural environment. Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., says the framework will allow the industry to reach its full potential as one of the provinces leading business sectors. The provinces new strategic framework for tourism provides a blueprint for both the growth and sustainability of B.C.s visitor economy for the foreseeable future, he says in the release. B.C. greeted nearly 6.1 million international visitors in 2018, which the ministry says is a record and an increase of 6.4 per cent in just twelve months. Marsha Walden, the CEO of Destination B.C., says the trend for the coming year appears just as promising. By all accounts, 2019 is going to be another strong year for tourism across the province, bringing jobs and opportunities to communities across British Columbia. Budget 2019 included a funding increase of $1 million for Destination B.C. over the next three years. Read more about: A week after having part of a cancerous lung removed, Grant Lewis grew concerned that the incision wound on his chest had become infected. The 54-year-old Beamsville construction worker dug out a phone number he had been given when he was discharged from hospital. Call it any time, day or night, if you run into trouble, he was told. Lewis dialed the number and was connected to his nurse, Anna Tran, at St. Josephs Healthcare in Hamilton. On her advice, he used his mobile phone to snap a photo of the inflamed and seeping lesion, and then emailed it to her. Almost 40 kilometres away, Tran looked closely at the image on her cellphone. She then forwarded it to the home-care arm of St. Joes, along with an email requesting that Lewis be seen that same day for wound care. Within hours of placing the call, Lewis answered a knock at his front door. It was a visiting nurse. She cleaned his wound, changed the dressing, and then updated his medical record on her tablet computer. Tran and the rest of Lewis care team at St. Joes all had access to his electronic medical record. The home-care nurses update assured them all he did not have an infection and was recovering well. This little scenario, which took place in January, provides a glimpse into the future of health care in Ontario, as Health Minister Christine Elliott envisions it. Earlier this week, she announced a massive reform of the health system. Described by observers as the biggest change since medicare was created 50 years ago, the overhaul will see the creation of a super agency known as Ontario Health. Twenty smaller agencies will be dissolved and their functions absorbed into Ontario Health. Up to 50 teams will be formed of health workers from various sectors, including hospitals, home care, long-term care, primary care and mental health care. The sectors have a reputation for being siloed. The weakest parts of the health system are the transfer points between them. Hand-offs can be bumpy and patients can fall between the cracks. Requisitions for ongoing services dont always get passed along in a timely fashion. Sometimes it seems like they dont get passed along at all. Patients, still feeling unwell, can be left to navigate their own way through the Byzantine health system, which is a world unto itself with a seemingly foreign language full of acronyms and jargon. Because Ontario is not as far along as it could be when it comes to electronic medical records, it can take days for updates to get transmitted between providers. When care is delayed, patients health can deteriorate, families can panic and unnecessary trips can be made to the emergency department. Elliott told a news conference that the overall intent of her plan is to make the system easier for patients to navigate by seamlessly connecting sectors and making greater use of digital tools. Critics of the governments plans say they are overkill and are worried that the health system could be destabilized while radical changes are made. That has been the experience of other provinces that have gone this route, they note. They argue that this much change is not necessary for the Conservative government to make good on election campaign commitments to end hallway medicine, open more long-term care beds and create more mental health and addiction services. Following Elliotts Tuesday announcement, the Star followed up with her office to get a better idea of what her reform plans would look like on the ground. It was suggested we take a look at St. Josephs Healthcare in Hamilton, specifically at its Integrated Comprehensive Care (ICC) program in which Lewis was a patient. The program started as a pilot back in 2012. Known then as the bundled care program, it was designed to connect surgical patients with a single team of clinicians who could care for them before, during and after their operations. To date, more than 17,000 patients have gone through St. Joes ICC program. In addition to thoracic surgery patients such as Lewis, they include patients who have had hip and knee replacements, suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure, undergone cardiovascular surgery and been on peritoneal dialysis. It has resulted in a savings of up to $4,000 per patient, a 30 per cent reduction in emergency department visits and 30 per cent reduction in hospital readmissions, a savings of more than 30,000 bed days and an increase in patient satisfaction, according to the hospital. St. Joes is in the process of expanding it to all surgeries and some ER patients. There are plans to further expand it to mental health and long-term care patients, and to frail seniors in their homes. Elliott would like to see this type of program emulated across the province. Patients should be fully supported when returning home from the hospital and be connected to home-care services right away. A connected and co-ordinated system is our vision for a patient-centred health-care system, she said in a written statement provided to the Star. The integrated-care model at St. Josephs Healthcare in Hamilton is a prime example of the important work that can be achieved when health care is centred around the patient, her statement continued. Lewis said he was very pleased with the care he received. Any concerns he had were immediately addressed and he felt confident he was in good hands, he said in a phone interview. Best of all, he only had to stay in hospital for three nights, he noted. Assurances of good, ongoing care at home allow for quicker discharges. I wanted out. I am much more comfortable and relaxed in my own place, Lewis explained He had virtual followup appointments with Tran, an ICC co-ordinator and Lewis main point of contact in the program. Through Skype and a specially designed app, they could have face-to-face conversations, using cellphones, tablets or laptop computers. The program has been a success with caregivers such as Lewis wife Nancy who said she appreciated the immediacy of it: When you are in a hospital bed and you need help, you press a call button. Thats what this app is like. Anna Tran, someone with so much knowledge, is right there. The virtual appointments spared Lewis from making the half-hour drives into Hamilton and forking out money for hospital parking, which is notoriously expensive. Tran said she derives much gratification from working in the ICC program: I am providing care that I feel is ideal. Patients are well cared for and dont get lost in the system. Lewis physician, thoracic surgeon Dr. John Agzarian, said the program makes it easier to do a better job. From my perspective, it is very comforting and reassuring to know that our teams scope and reach extends past the hospital stay, he said. Its good for me to know that my patients have the ability to reach out to me at any point in time and that I can reach out to them at any point in time. The ICC program is Kevin Smiths baby. The president of the University Health Network in Toronto, Smith was the top boss at St. Joes when the program was created. I love it. In my career, it is the one thing I have seen that has been simple and transformative, he exclaimed. What has helped make it so successful is that St. Josephs Healthcare is part of the larger St. Josephs Health System, a multi-sector corporation, Smith explained. In addition to hospital and home-care services, it also provides primary care, long-term care and other services. That made it somewhat easier to build bridges between sectors, Smith noted. What has also helped make the ICC program successful was that the government left the organization alone to make decisions on patient care, Smith said. We are more than willing to be held accountable, but we dont want to have our hands tied by them telling us how to do our work, he said. If the new transformations are to work, the government needs to do the same, he argued. They dont know how to deliver health care and we dont know how to receive royal assent for legislation. They should stick to their knitting and allow us to stick to ours. If we build on this model, I have every confidence that there will be great success ahead. Amid concerns about the Momo Challenge hoax, the Toronto District School Board sent out a letter to parents warning about the importance of online safety. The letter, dated March 1, reads: While we would never want to perpetuate a hoax, given the significant amount of media coverage and the number of questions we are receiving from staff, parents and students, we felt this was an opportunity to remind parents and children about online safety in todays digital world. The Momo Challenge began circulating last week online, depicting viral videos of creepy creatures that instruct children to isolate and harm themselves and family members. The videos feature a monster resembling the mother from Coraline, with an unusually wide grin, matted black hair and sunken eyes bulging out of its skin. The creature encourages kids to engage in dangerous actions, like turning on stoves or stabbing themselves in the neck. For all the hysteria, there appears to be no answer to how many of these videos actually exist or whos behind them but it has police and parents attention. The creature, whose origins can be traced back to Japanese special-effects company Link Factory, was created by artist Keisuke Aisawa and was previously displayed in Tokyos Vanilla Gallery. The sculpture, called Mother Bird, was first pictured as early as 2016, revealing birdlike claw legs where the sculptures body should be. Fear of the challenge has been growing in Ontario, and on Thursday the OPP took to social media to educate kids on being safe online. But for the time being, the challenge is believed to be a hoax, and none of the Toronto, Peel, York or Durham regional police forces have received any reports of anybody causing harm as a result of these videos. On Wednesday, YouTube released a statement addressing the Momo Challenge sightings, and said the media platform has seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. The company praised Twitter users for debunking the challenge in a separate tweet. In its letter, the TDSB asks parents to talk to their kids about the implications of sending out inappropriate information, photos or videos, keep the computer in an open space, and reminds them not to give out their personal information to strangers. Richard Lachman, assistant professor at Ryerson Universitys RTA School of Media, says that the Momo Challenge and the fear revolving around it is a modern version of media panic. Parents dont really understand the influence that technology has on their kids or how their kids are spending their time with technology, said Lachman. He said that information, especially on social media, spreads fast but not all of it is accurate. He said parents and their children might not have the resources or time to fact-check or monitor what is real and what is considered a hoax in this case the Momo Challenge. For parents who want to be involved in what their children are consuming, Lachman says they can provide access to technology in public areas, either in the living room or the kitchen, so their activity is visible and monitored. With older children and teenagers, Lachman says it can become more difficult to monitor what they consume online because they have a phone and it travels with them everywhere. In this case, Lachman says conversations about what their kids are consuming is necessary. Parents cant keep their kids safe from everything because theyre not with them everywhere so we have to have conversations, says Lachman. When we talk, it has to be about building trust and making it clear that not everything kids read or see online is real. Emerald Bensadoun is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @twerk_vonnegut BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINAThe 11-year-old made her wishes clear: She wanted to end the pregnancy that resulted from a rape at the hands of her grandmothers boyfriend. I want you to remove what the old man put inside me, the girl told doctors, according to her lawyers. The law was on her side; rape is among the few instances in which women in Argentina may legally have an abortion. But authorities in her northern province stalled for weeks, forcing the girl to have a C-section on Wednesday, delivering a baby who experts say is unlikely to survive. The case has reignited a fierce debate over reproductive rights in Argentina, which last year came close to legalizing abortion for pregnancies up to 14 weeks. Coming weeks after a similar case in another northern province, in which a 12-year-old girl was forced to undergo a C-section to deliver a baby who survived four days, the latest birth underscored the challenges girls and women in Argentina face when they seek to have abortions. As outrage over the latest case spread across the nation, Argentine women flooded social media with photos of themselves as 11-year-olds, posted with the hashtag #NinasNoMadres, which means girls, not mothers. Among them was Thelma Fardin, a prominent actress who set off a national conversation about sexual harassment and abuse last year when she accused a co-star of raping her when she was 16 and he was 45. The 11-year-old girl, whose lawyers refer to as Lucia, a pseudonym, went to a clinic in a rural area of Tucuman province on Jan. 29 after experiencing a severe stomach ache for several days. Doctors discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant and sent her to a public hospital in Banda del Rio Sali, just outside the provincial capital, two days later. Authorities say the girl became pregnant after being raped by her grandmothers boyfriend, who has been arrested. At the hospital, Lucia and her mother made clear that they wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Over the following days, the girl and her relatives were caught up the nations abortion wars as local officials and activists took steps to stop her from having an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Argentina. But for nearly a century, it has been allowed in cases of rape and in instances in which the pregnancy poses a life-threatening risk to the mother. Yet, instead of arranging for her to terminate the pregnancy, officials at the hospital gave Lucia drugs that accelerated the development of the fetus, according to her lawyers. These were all delaying tactics to pass the time and force the girl to give birth, said Celia Debono, the Argentina co-ordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Womens Rights. They said they were giving her vitamins when they were giving her medication to mature the fetus. Meanwhile, the hospital allowed anti-abortion activists to visit Lucias hospital room, where they urged her to have the baby, warning that she otherwise would never get to be a mother, said Fernanda Marchese, the executive director of Human Rights and Social Studies Lawyers of Northeastern Argentina, which is representing Lucia and her family. While Lucia remained hospitalized, provincial authorities released little information about the case. As they grew restless, relatives of the girl sent an email to Ni Una Menos, a group that fights violence against women and has become a leading voice in an effort to legalize abortion. When lawyers from the group arrived at Lucias bedside Monday, we were faced with a situation that was desperate and anguishing, Marchese said. The family was not given the proper information to be able to exercise its rights. Reproductive rights groups filed emergency lawsuits that led to a court order instructing the hospital to carry out an abortion at once. Yet, doctors there refused, declaring themselves conscientious objectors. A pair of private-sector doctors agreed to terminate the pregnancy at the request of the hospital. Because the pregnancy was so far along and the girl had a slight frame, the doctors saw no choice but to perform a C-section, said Cecilia Ousset, who performed the procedure with her husband, Jose Gigena. When we were faced with this girl, I almost became sick, my knees turned weak, Ousset said. She wasnt developed and was playing with toys and her mom. In the operating room, Ousset put on music to try to make Lucia more comfortable, but the girls blood pressure rose to a perilous level. The girls life was at risk, Ousset said during a phone interview. Genetic material from the umbilical cord will now be analyzed and could serve as proof to prosecute the man charged with raping Lucia. Lucia is healthy and should be discharged from the hospital soon, Debono said. Abortion-rights activists have long said that there is so much pressure from anti-abortion sectors that some doctors refuse to carry out the procedure, afraid of legal and professional reprisal. After the procedure was finished, a group of anti-abortion activists protested outside the hospital, as they had done for weeks. Many of these activists appear to have become involved by heeding the call of the archbishop of Tucuman, Carlos Sanchez, who sent out a mass audio message using a cellphone text messaging app in which he used Lucias real name and called on the faithful to guard the life of the fetus. Catholic and evangelical leaders have aggressively fought efforts to legalize abortion. Provincial authorities have denied any wrongdoing. But since the case began making headlines this week, Gov. Juan Manzurs administration and judicial officials have traded blame for the way in which the case was handled. A news release issued by the local health ministry about the case said the C-section was intended to save the two lives, echoing a slogan used by activists who oppose legalizing abortion. Although the case has gained notoriety, many say it reflects a reality in parts of Argentina. In the north of Argentina, Ousset said, there are lots of Lucias and there are lots of professionals who turn their back on them. Read more about: LOS ANGELESA sunfish that lives south of the equator recently washed up on a Santa Barbara County beach, and scientists are at a loss as to how the giant creature got so off-course. The massive seven-foot-long and seven-foot-wide fish a hoodwinker was discovered Feb. 19 at Sands Beach in Goleta at the University of California, Santa Barbaras Coal Oil Point Reserve. Researchers say its the first time the fish has been seen in the U.S. There are rare finds, and then there are those out-of-nowhere, first-ever discoveries that send scientists heart aflutter, said Shelly Leachman, a spokeswoman for the university. Local researchers worked with experts across the Pacific to determine the fish was an elusive Mola tecta, a species discovered only two years ago. The fishs name comes from the Latin word tectus, meaning hidden, according to a National Geographic article about the discovery of the species. The Santa Barbara discovery is remarkable, researchers said, given the fishs furtive nature and because it was found so far from its normal habitat the waters of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Part of the Molidae family, the hoodwinker has a wide body that comes to an end just behind its dorsal and anal fins, giving it an almost flat appearance or that of half a fish. Its funny-looking pointy fins plopped on it like a bird make the fish nearly as wide as it is long, said Thomas Turner, who helped confirm the fish is a hoodwinker. Its a big, flat oval-shaped fish ... with a constantly surprised look, said Turner, an associate professor in UC Santa Barbaras department of ecology, evolution and marine biology. Its the weirdest-looking thing youve ever seen. The fish was first spotted in shallow water by Jessica Nielsen, a conservation specialist at the universitys Coal Oil Point Reserve who was doing research on the beach. Later, an intern found the fish dead on the shore. The reserve posted photographs of the animal on Facebook, and because it appeared to be a Mola mola an ocean sunfish common in the Santa Barbara Channel researchers left the giant fish on the beach, to be recycled naturally. The Mola mola species is an open-water fish that swims in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. It floats up to the waters surface to bask in the sun hence its sunfish name. Despite its flat shape, the Molidae are not like flounder, which wiggle along the ocean floor. Instead, the Mola mola the heaviest fish in the ocean, with some weighing more than 5,000 pounds swims slowly in the deep ocean. The Mola tecta is genetically different from the Mola mola, but the physical differences are subtle. The hoodwinker is more slender and has a flap instead of a tail with bony structures along the end of it. The scales are also more like sandpaper, unlike the smooth scales of the Mola mola. The Mola mola has been found south of the equator, but its more rare there than in its common swimming grounds in the Santa Barbara Channel. Turner saw the fishs photo on the reserves Facebook post and wanted to see the odd-looking animal for himself. So after work, he drove his wife and four-year-old son, Wren, to the beach to check out the sea creature. The boy was impressed with the animals scales, which have small pointy spikes all over them, and its toothless, beaklike mouth. Turner then posted photographs on iNaturalist, a social media site for amateurs and professionals interested in learning about different animal species, which caught the eye of Marianne Nyegaard, a researcher in Australias Murdoch University. She saw the species for the first time in 2015 in New Zealand and called it the hoodwinker because of its tendency to blend in with other sunfish species and hide in plain sight. The fish had previously been spotted more than 100 years ago in Holland in 1889, far from its normal warm climes. But it was misidentified as a Mola mola until Nyegaard officially described it in 2017 in an academic journal. It was the first species added to the Mola genus in 125 years. When a fellow scientist alerted Nyegaard that the California researchers might have a hoodwinker on their hands, she said she couldnt believe it. I was super skeptical, she said. I thought, It would be so cool if it was one. Nyegaard suspected the Santa Barbara fish was the new Mola tecta species but was reluctant to make a final determination because the animal was found so far away from its natural habitat. She advised Turner and the other researchers to examine the fish further and gave them specific instructions on what photographs she would need in order to determine its species. Nyegaard said she cautioned herself not to get too excited, but when the additional images were sent, she said there was no doubt about the type of fish. I yelled out, Its a hoodwinker! I just fell off my chair. Turner said so little is known about the Mola tecta that researchers dont really know how rare it is. Either the sunfish is actually common in more northern Pacific waters and simply hasnt been seen until now, or the hoodwinker made a long trek to the West Coast, he said. Regardless, its odd the fish ended up stranded on the beach, scientists said, adding that Nyegaards research will help determine what went wrong. Researchers said the fish had no signs of injury and wasnt obviously in distress. Its possible, Turner said, that ocean warming caused the animal to veer off-course. The ocean has been unusually warm for years now, causing species to move farther north from their normal habitats, said Elliott Hazen, an ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who specializes in water temperatures impact on wildlife. Just this week, a dead humpback whale ended up in Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon River. Researchers suspected the mammal was lost at sea and died of an unknown cause. And this isnt the first time out-of-place sea creatures have washed up on Southern California beaches. In January 2018, a rare venomous sea snake more common to the coasts of Africa, Asia and Central America, was discovered on the shore in Newport Beach. And a giant oarfish, normally found at ocean depths around 3,000 feet, washed ashore on Catalina Island in August 2015. Hazen suspects these rare occurrences have to do with fluctuations in ocean temperatures. Changes in weather patterns such as an El Nino or La Nina event can either warm or cool the waters around the equator, allowing species to cross that normal barrier. Extreme changes in water temperatures can also lead to sickness in sea creatures. The equator acts as a barrier to migration for fish species, Hazen said. (Species) like marlin, they will swim right up to the equator and just kind of bounce back. But when theres warming or changes in ocean currents that are not normally seen, you can get these species that cross that barrier when they normally wouldnt. Large species, such as the humpback whale found in the Amazon, have very good navigational skills, he said. But when they get sick, they can lose that sense of direction. RIO DE JANEIRO - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left prison Saturday to attend his 7-year-old grandsons funeral, taking advantage of his temporary release to reiterate his innocence before political leaders and relatives who had gathered to mourn. Da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, was released at 7 a.m. local time from a prison in the Parana state capital of Curitiba. He then flew to Sao Paulo by plane before taking a helicopter to Sao Bernardo do Campo, where the funeral took place. He will return to his cell later in the afternoon. A note on da Silvas website said he spoke at the funeral. Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at his grandsons funeral that when they meet in heaven, he will bring proof of his innocence for all the bullying that Arthur suffered in school for having a grandfather in prison, the note said, adding that da Silva said he would prove that the prosecutor and judge who jailed him had lied. Lula was very sad, in a lot of pain, destroyed inside, like any human being who has to bury their child who dies in a tragic way, Joao Pedro Stedile, co-ordinator of the far-left Landless Workers Movement, told The Associated Press. But politically, its impressive...he said to us, Stay strong, Im going to get out, I am innocent. Da Silvas grandson, Arthur Lula da Silva, died of meningitis Friday. Arthur is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva, one of the sons of the ex-president. The funeral marked the first time da Silva has left prison since being jailed in April 2018. Leaders from the Workers Party, including ex-President Dilma Rousseff, came to pay their respects, while around 200 supporters gathered outside the cemetery chanting, Free Lula! Others said that the man popularly known as Lula should not have been allowed to attend. Lula is just an inmate and he should be at a common prison. When the relatives of other inmates die will they also be escorted by the federal police for the funeral? President Jair Bolsonaros son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, wrote on Twitter on Friday. It is absurd to even contemplate that. It only lets him pose as a poor thing. He later deleted the tweet. In January, da Silva wasnt allowed to go to his brothers funeral despite Brazilian laws which grant inmates permission to leave for the funerals of close family members. Da Silvas arrest has divided the country: Some believe justice is being served to a corrupt politician, while others say hes been unfairly persecuted by Brazils elite and a partisan judiciary. Da Silva served as president between 2003 and 2010. He was poised to run for president again in Octobers election but was barred due to his criminal conviction. His Workers Party says he is a political prisoner. ___ Video journalist Victor Caivano contributed to this report from Sao Bernardo do Campo. NEW DELHIHe parachuted out over enemy territory. Fired in the air to keep back angry locals. Jumped into a pond and then destroyed documents by eating them. Ever since Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, an Indian fighter pilot, crashed in Pakistani territory on Wednesday, the story of his survival has transfixed a nation. Now his safe return to India is helping defuse one of the worst crises to erupt in decades between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Late Friday, Varthaman crossed into India on foot at the Wagah border crossing with Pakistan. Under bright floodlights, he stepped through the towering metal gate that separates the two countries and shook hands with security officials on the Indian side. It was a heros welcome: Hundreds of Indians awaited Varthamans arrival all day, waving the national flag and holding garlands of flowers they hoped to drape around his neck. Television anchors choked with emotion as they described the scene. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the pilot home on Twitter, saluting his exemplary courage. Varthamans plane was hit Wednesday morning in the first aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan in nearly 50 years. He was subsequently captured by the Pakistani military, a particularly dramatic development in an already volatile conflict between the two nations. Countries around the world, including the United States, worked to ease the tensions. Read More: Pakistan frees captured Indian pilot in gesture of peace The Latest: Pakistan hands over captured pilot to India In a scene that could have come from a movie, Varthaman parachuted out of his flaming plane, according to several media outlets, including the BBC and Dawn, Pakistans leading English newspaper. Upon discovering he was in Pakistan, Varthaman ran backward, the reports said, firing his pistol in the air to ward off angry locals. When they got too close, he jumped into a pond and destroyed sensitive documents and maps by swallowing some and soaking others before he was captured. On Thursday afternoon, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that his country would return Varthaman to India as a peace gesture. The move immediately lowered tensions between India and Pakistan after two days of hostilities that began when India launched an airstrike on Tuesday on what it said was a terrorist training camp within Pakistan. The atmosphere of anxiety eased further on Friday. Pakistan partially reopened its airspace after two days of closures to allow travel to four major cities. Indian authorities affirmed that national elections due in April and May would be held on schedule. Experts said Varthaman, a 38-year-old from the South Indian city of Chennai, will undergo a detailed debrief and medical checkup. Indians have closely followed every twist and turn in Varthamans saga this week. An alleged video of his initial capture shows him being dragged from the crash site as enraged locals attempt to hit him. A Pakistani soldier is heard asking people to stop. A second, more controversial video that may run afoul of Geneva Conventions was tweeted by Pakistans Information Ministry. The clip showed the blindfolded pilot with a bloodied face, answering questions calmly while in Pakistani custody. After the Foreign Ministry in India strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel, the Pakistan military posted a fresh video saying the pilot was being treated as per norms of military ethics. Seen sipping a cup of tea, Varthaman declines to answer any question on his operation or aircraft details, while praising his treatment by the Pakistani army. Spoken like a true soldier, his father, Simhakutty Varthaman, said in a statement. In a final video purportedly shot before Varthamans release shared by Pakistans Information Ministry, he praises the Pakistani army for being very professional. He also criticizes Indian media outlets for unnecessarily stoking emotions with their coverage. Flying runs in the family: Varthamans father, now retired, was a decorated senior officer in the Indian Air Force who reached the rank of air marshal. In an ironic twist, Simhakutty Varthaman once advised a filmmaker who made a movie about a pilot jailed in Pakistan after being captured in war. In the movie, the hero is ultimately reunited with his family. After the capture, his father had expressed hope for his sons safe return and said the family was praying that he does not get tortured. On Thursday night, the pilots parents flew to Delhi ahead of their sons release. As passengers on the flight realized who the couple was, they burst out in applause and cheers. Varthaman, the son, appeared on a popular Indian television show eight years ago with several other fighter pilots. The hosts asked the guests what the main prerequisite was to be a fighter pilot. Attitude, said one. Bad attitude, added Varthaman with a smile. Even as India and Pakistan traded charges over the last two days, Varthamans behaviour in captivity united people from both sides of the border, mostly in praise. Videos of his capture and questioning were shared by thousands on social media. Pakistani citizens joined the chorus asking their government to return Varthaman as a gesture of peace. This is not the first time that an Indian pilot has been captured by Pakistan. In 1999, the rivals fought a brief but intense conflict high in the Himalayas. In that clash, known as the Kargil conflict, India deployed fighter jets but Pakistan did not. During the fighting, an Indian fighter pilot named Kambampati Nachiketa was captured by Pakistani forces. Nachiketa said he was tortured during his eight days of captivity, after which he was released. Read more about: SRINAGAR, India - The Latest on tensions between India and Pakistan (all times local): 9:20 p.m. Pakistans foreign ministry says the worlds largest body of Muslim-majority nations has adopted a resolution urging India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and resolve their issues through peaceful means. The ministry said in a statement Saturday that at the end of a meeting in Abu Dhabi, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Kashmiri people in their just cause. It said the OIC expressed concern over this past weeks Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistans right to self-defence; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force. The resolution came a day after Pakistans foreign minister skipped the meeting to protest the hosts decision to invite India, a non-member. Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. ___ 8 p.m. Indias defence minister has met with the air force pilot who was released from Pakistani custody. The Press Trust of India news agency reported that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at the Indian air force medical facility in New Delhi on Saturday, with Varthaman debriefing the minister about his detainment in Pakistan. The news agency said the pilot was undergoing medical tests at the facility. Varthaman was captured on Wednesday after his plane was shot down by the Pakistani military amid high tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals over the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan handed Varthaman back to India at a border crossing on Friday. ___ 7:15 p.m. India has handed over the body of a Pakistani prisoner who was beaten to death by inmates at an Indian jail last month apparently in retaliation for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 soldiers. It was unclear on what charges Shakir Ullah had been held at the jail. Pakistani government officials say border guards received Ullahs body Saturday at the same Wagah border crossing in the eastern city of Lahore from where an Indian pilot was handed over to Indian officials a day before. The pilot was captured this past week after his plane was shot down by the Pakistani military amid high tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals over the disputed Kashmir region. ___ 6:45 p.m. Pakistans foreign minister says Russia has offered to serve as a mediator to ease tensions between Pakistan and India. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday that Pakistan was ready to accept the Russian offer, but he did not know whether India would agree as well. Qureshi said at a news conference that Pakistan wants peace, we dont war and we have said that war is not solution to problems. Qureshi also said a top Saudi diplomat would soon visit Pakistan and India in a bid to ease tensions. Pakistani officials said China is also expected to send an envoy to Pakistan and India next week. Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. ___ 6:15 p.m. A Pakistani Cabinet minister says a key train service between Pakistan and neighbouring India will resume on Monday, a sign on easing tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. The train service, known as Samjhauta Express, was suspended by Pakistani authorities this past week, stranding people on both sides. On Saturday, the minister for railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told reporters that the train link would be restored on Monday. The train links Lahore with the Indian border town of Atari. Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. Officials said Saturday that soldiers from both sides again targeted each others posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops. ___ 4:15 p.m. Pakistans military says two of its soldiers have been killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbours over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Pakistans army said in a statement Saturday that the soldiers were killed in the Nakiyal region of Kashmir in the past 24 hours. It said there were reports of troop casualties on the Indian side. Since overnight Friday, a total of at least six civilians have been killed on both sides of Kashmir. Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. ___ 4:15 p.m. Indian police say two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials have been killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests. Police said Saturday that the fighting began Thursday night in a forested area in the northwestern Handwara area after Indian troops surrounded the area on a tip that militants were hiding there. Since then, fighting has been on and off. In addition to the fatalities, at least eight soldiers and police have been wounded. Police said a young man was killed Friday when government forces fired at anti-India protesters who threw stones while trying to reach the site of the fighting. Several people were also injured in the clashes. The fighting comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan that have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. ___ 2:05 p.m. Pakistans military says Indian troops have fired across the Line of Control into the Pakistan-controlled portion of the disputed region of Kashmir, killing two civilians and wounding two others. The casualties Saturday bring to six the number of people killed on both sides of Kashmir since overnight Friday. Pakistans military said in a statement that its troops gave a befitting response by targeting Indian posts. The Indian army said Pakistani soldiers attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line later Saturday. The latest exchange of fire between the nuclear-armed rivals came a day after Pakistan released an Indian pilot to defuse tensions. Pakistan arrested the pilot this past week after shooting down two Indian planes in Kashmir, which is split between the countries but claimed in its entirety by both. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft launched a strike in Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops. ___ 11:30 a.m. Hundreds of people who were forced to flee border villagers this week amid a dramatic escalation of hostilities between Pakistan and India have urged the international community to play its role in resolving the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully. Mohammad Latif, a labourer who is taking refuge at a government building vacated for sheltering displaced families, says, Whenever India fire mortars, its we who suffer. Parveez Kazmi, a woman whose married daughter lives in Indian Kashmir, was weeping on a road in Muzafarabad city. She cannot travel to Indian-controlled Kashmir because of recent suspension of a key bus service by New Delhi. She says people living on both sides of Kashmir often miss funerals and weddings of their dear ones because of tension between Pakistan and India. On Saturday, people in Pakistans part of Kashmir continued fleeing border villages for safety amid a resumption of deadly shelling. ___ 10 a.m. A Pakistani government official says Indian troops with heavy weapons have indiscriminately targeted border villagers along the two countries Line of Control in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing a boy and wounding three others. The official, Umar Azam, said Saturday that Pakistani troops are befittingly responding to the Indian fire. He says several homes were destroyed in Pakistans part of Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety. India said earlier that Pakistani fire killed two siblings and their mother on its side. Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. Saturdays exchange of fire came a day after Pakistan handed over a captured Indian air force pilot to India as a gesture of peace to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the disputed Kashmir region. ___ 9:45 a.m. Officials say two siblings and their mother have been killed in cross-border shelling between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir. Indian police say the three died overnight after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in Poonch region near the so-called Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory of Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Indian army says its soldiers responded. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a MiG-21 fighter jet Wednesday and its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. BELGRADE, Serbia - A Serbian man reported to be a contract killer sought by authorities in three countries has been arrested in the Czech Republic, police said Saturday. The man is suspected of murder using guns and is sought by authorities in the Netherlands, Hungary and Serbia, Czech police said. A Serbian police statement said authorities are seeking to extradite the man, identified only by his initials D.C., born in 1980, from the Czech Republic. It says he was arrested on Friday evening in a Prague hotel as part of co-operation between several countries. The suspect was arrested with false documents, two guns and ammunition, as well as a wig and glasses, police said. Serbias Blic daily reported that the man is well-known contract killer Caba Der. Serbian media published footage in January allegedly showing the suspect coming out of a car and shooting down his victim in a Belgrade suburb in broad daylight after ordering him to kneel down. He also reportedly shot a Croatian man in an Italian restaurant in Amsterdam in June, and was said to have killed a Hungarian businessman in Budapest in September. Serbian media reported that he was sentenced to 14 years in jail in 2004 in Serbia for killing a man and that after release he became a contract killer with no specific ties with mafia gangs. LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The World Bridge Federation says the worlds No. 1 bridge player has been suspended after failing a drug test. The federation said on its website Friday that Geir Helgemo, who is Norwegian but represents Monaco in bridge events, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and female fertility drug clomifene at a World Bridge Series event in Orlando, Florida last September. After accepting he had breached anti-doping rules, Helgemo was suspended by the WBF until Nov. 20. He also had all titles, medals and points from the 2018 World Bridge Series revoked. Kari-Anne Opsal, president of the Norwegian Bridge Federation, said the drugs were not performance enhancing. In a statement on the federations website, she said: Geir Helgemo...has previously played for the Norwegian national team and is our biggest star. Many within the bridge community know Geir and respect him. It is his responsibility not to take substances that are on the doping list, even though in this instance they are not performance enhancing in bridge. I feel for Geir in this situation and hope he will come back stronger ... when his ban ends. The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and abides by World Anti-Doping Agency rules. ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports LOS ANGELES - The California Department of Justice paid more than $1 million to employees who alleged they faced sexual harassment or workplace retaliation while presidential candidate Kamala Harris was state attorney general, it was reported Friday. The settlements involved allegations of inappropriate touching or comments as well as other allegations made from 2011 to 2017. They were disclosed this week in response to a state Public Records Act request from the Los Angeles Times. Harris didnt know about the cases until the Times brought them to her attention. They were handled by administrators who were expected to follow strict policies against harassment, said Harris spokesman, Chris Harris. However, the Democratic U.S. senator told the Times that she takes responsibility. As the chief executive of a department of nearly 5,000 employees, the buck stopped with me, Harris said in a statement. No one should face harassment or intimidation in the workplace, and victims of sexual misconduct should be listened to, believed and protected. Harris has been a prominent supporter of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment in the workplace. She was elected to the Senate in 2016 and said any complaints of harassment in her Senate office are forwarded to her immediately. No office is immune to misconduct, and there is much more work to do to ensure all are protected, she told the Times. In large government agencies, it wouldnt be unusual for managers to handle harassment claims instead of the agency head except when high-level administrators are involved, said Mike Genest, who was finance director under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. If a director wasnt told about it, I would not be suspicious that that was an issue, said Genest, who spent 24 years as a manager in state agencies. The largest of the reported settlements was $649,500, paid in 2013 to James Rodriguez, who was a justice department special agent, over allegations that he was denied sought-after jobs and faced other retaliation for reporting alleged harassment against him. In the settlement, the justice department denied all the allegations. The cases also include a $400,000 payout in 2017 to a woman that alleged Larry Wallace, who was an administrator under Harris, harassed and demeaned her based on her gender. Among other things, the woman alleged that Wallace frequently asked her to crawl under his desk to change the paper in his printer. The justice department denied the claims in the settlement, which has been previously disclosed. In December, Wallace resigned his post as a senior adviser in Harriss Sacramento office. RICHMOND, Va. - The Oscar-winning film Green Book has spurred interest in the original Negro Motorist Guide that many African-Americans consulted when travelling in the South during the Jim Crow era. Virginia, and especially Richmond, played a key role in the books development. The movie depicts the African-American pianist Don Shirleys concert tour in 1962 in the Deep South and the friendship that developed between Shirley and his cab driver, Tony Lip. The movie ends with Shirley giving Lip a copy of the Negro Motorist Guide: Green Book. The guidebook was first published in 1936 by Victor Hugo Green, a postal carrier in the Harlem section of New York. Greens wife, Alma Duke, was from Richmond. Green was inspired to write the book in part by the discrimination he and his wife faced on trips to her racially segregated hometown. With Greens wife being from Virginia, he decided to make trips less humiliating and reached out to fellow mailmen all over the country, Calvin Alexander Ramsey, an author and playwright who has done extensive research on the subject, told The New York Times in 2015. Green knew the risks African-American travellers faced when entering a whites only establishment. So with information gathered from fellow postal workers and other sources, Green put together his guidebook. The idea of the Green Book is to give the Negro traveller information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable, Green wrote. For Virginia, the 1938 issue of the Green Book listed more than 50 hotels, tourist homes, restaurants, beauty parlours and other businesses that welcomed African-Americans. Ten of those establishments were in Richmond. One was the YWCA, built in 1914. The organization has worked to help families in Richmond during a time when racism and segregation prevailed. The YWCA is still on Fifth Street in Richmond, but many of the local establishments listed in the Green Book are gone. Only a third of the travel guides sites still exist, according to the Smithsonian Channel, which has produced a documentary about the book. In the documentary, Dr. Henrie Monteith Treadwell, a civil rights activist, said Greens travel guide reflected a significant and troubling time in U.S. history when many businesses openly discriminated against African-Americans. Its important to have everyone in this nation examine the significance of the Green Book, Treadwell said. If you dont see the history, if you dont see where it was, how can you say it happened? The Smithsonian Channel produced the documentary because of popular interest in the Green Book movie and the controversy it has raised. Although the film won an Oscar and Golden Globe for best picture, many critics say it contains factual inaccuracies and unjustly tells the story from a white persons point of view. The documentary can provide historical perspective on the actual Green Book, said David Royle, the Smithsonian Channels chief programming officer. We are proud to tell the true story behind this remarkable guide and to shine new light on this disturbing yet important period in American history. He noted that before Green published his guidebook, it was hard for African-Americans to know where they could travel. African-American travellers faced widespread discrimination and not just in the South. During the first half of the 20th century, throughout Jim Crow and continuing into the era of the civil rights movement, segregation was a legal reality in the American South, the Smithsonian Channel reported. When African-Americans journeyed north and west, however, they encountered racism that spanned the entire country. The final edition of the Green Book was published in 1966 shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations. In earlier issues of his publication, Victor Green said he looked forward to the day when the Green Book would no longer be needed. There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published, Green wrote. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication. For then we can go as we please without embarrassment. ___ This story was produced by the Virginia Commonwealth Universitys Capital News Service. LAS VEGAS - Casino magnate and major GOP donor Sheldon Adelson is battling cancer, but industry analysts and his Las Vegas Sands Corp. on Friday said the gambling empire he founded and helms has the personnel to guide it through the health crisis. Their comments came a day after the company revealed Adelson is receiving treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He has not been at the companys offices in Las Vegas since around Christmas Day. Las Vegas Sands has one of, if not the, deepest benches amongst the destination regional operators, in our view, analysts with Stifel said in a research note Friday. They added that they believe the company remains in incredibly good hands. Thursdays announcement about Adelsons condition followed comments by a Sands attorney in a court hearing earlier in the week describing the billionaires health as dire. The company said side effects from medication have restricted him from travelling or keeping regular office hours, but not from fulfilling his duties as chairman and CEO. It is unclear what treatment Adelson, 85, is receiving. Treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma can include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and bone marrow transplant. The Securities and Exchange Commission does not require companies to disclose the health issues of executives. The company on Friday told The Associated Press it is doing everything required of a publicly traded company. Mr. Adelson himself has said for many years he does not run the day-to-day operations, Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said, adding that those responsibilities fall to the companys president and chief operating officer, Robert Goldstein, and Patrick Dumont, its executive vice-president and chief financial officer. Adelson is seen as the companys chief visionary and strategist, Reese said. Goldstein and Dumont, who is also Adelsons son-in-law, met with the casino mogul as recently as Friday, Reese said. Sands stock dipped about 1.7 per cent in moderate trading Friday. Most corporate governance experts believe CEOs have a right to privacy, particularly with respects to their health. But some say that coming forward would help end the stigma on workplace illness for other executives and workers. Top executives also must consider their roles as corporate officers when evaluating what personal information they disclose first to their boards, then to their workers and the wider investing community. Adelson is Las Vegas Sands largest shareholder and regularly participates in the companys earnings calls, but was absent when it reported results on Jan. 23. Goldstein said at the time that Adelson was a little bit under the weather. Adelson is one the nations most influential GOP donors, hosting the partys most ambitious candidates at his office on the Las Vegas Strip. The billionaire and his wife, Miriam, gave President Donald Trumps campaign $30 million in 2016. They followed that by contributing $100 million to the Republican Party for the 2018 midterm elections. He was photographed in mid-November at the White House, when Trump recognized Miriam Adelson and other Americans with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honour the nation reserves for a civilian. He was expected to testify later this year in a civil case in Las Vegas brought by Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen and his company, Round Square Co. He testified in 2013 and 2008 in the cases two previous trials. The judge in the case ruled Friday that Adelson does not have to testify in court or sit for a deposition. Suen has been seeking compensation because he said he helped Sands secure business in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Sands has argued Suen didnt help get crucial approval to build casinos in Macau and deserves nothing. Macau now powers the profits of three of the four largest American casino operators, including Sands. Adelsons company and others will soon be vying for licenses to operate casinos in Japan. ___ Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO MIAMI - A federal safety agency is sending a three-member team to investigate a fatal crash involving a Tesla electric car and a semitrailer that is strikingly similar to a 2016 crash involving another vehicle made by the company. The National Transportation Safety Board said late Friday on Twitter that the team would work in co-operation with the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, which is probing the Friday morning crash in Delray Beach. A sheriffs report says the tractor-trailer was making a left turn onto a divided highway to head north when the southbound 2018 Tesla Model 3 hit the semis driver side, tearing off the Teslas roof as it passed under the trailer. The Teslas driver, 50-year-old Jeremy Beren Banner, died at the scene. The report didnt say whether the Teslas Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system or its automatic emergency braking system were working at the time of the crash. Tesla released a statement Friday expressing sadness and saying the company is working to learn more and are reaching out to the authorities to offer our co-operation. The circumstances of the crash are much like one that occurred in May 2016 on the opposite side of Florida, near Gainesville. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, was travelling in a Tesla Model S on a divided highway and using the Autopilot system when he was killed. The NTSB, in a 2017 report, wrote that design limitations of the Autopilot system played a major role in the fatal crash, the first known one in which a vehicle operated on a highway under semi-autonomous control systems. The agency, which makes safety recommendations to the National Highway Safety Administration and other agencies, said that Tesla told Model S owners that Autopilot should be used only on limited-access highways, which are primarily interstates. The report said that despite upgrades to the system, Tesla did not incorporate such protections. Tesla has said that Autopilot and automatic emergency braking are driver-assist systems, and that drivers are told in the owners manual that they must continuously monitor the road and be ready to take control if necessary. In January of 2017, NHTSA ended an investigation into the Gainesville-area crash, finding that Teslas Autopilot system had no safety defects at the time. But the agency warned automakers and drivers not to treat the semi-autonomous driving systems as if they could drive themselves. Semi-autonomous systems vary in capabilities, and Teslas system can keep a car centred in its lane and away from other vehicles. It can also change lanes when activated by the driver. The NTSB likely will incorporate the Delray Beach crash into other investigations from last year involving Tesla vehicles. Investigators are probing a fatal March 2018 crash involving a Tesla SUV near Mountain View, California. That vehicle was operating on Autopilot when it struck a freeway barrier, killing its driver, the agency determined. In addition, the NTSB is investigating the crash of a Tesla Model S sedan that may have been using Autopilot when it hit a parked firetruck on Interstate 405 near Los Angeles. The driver told authorities the Autopilot was working at the time. NHTSA also is looking into a May 11 crash involving a Tesla Model S near Salt Lake City. Autopilot was in use when the car hit a stopped fire department truck. ____ Krisher reported from Detroit. MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Latest on lawmakers civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama (all times local): 6:25 p.m. Dozens of members of Congress toured a memorial to lynching victims during a weekend-long civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama. The group on Friday afternoon visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a Montgomery memorial dedicated to lynching victims and the legacy of enslaved people. Rep. John Lewis, who was once beaten by Alabama troopers while trying to march for voting rights, somberly walked with other lawmakers through the memorial where coffin-sized brown monuments are inscribed with the names of lynching victims. Earlier in the day the group stopped at Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church, where four black girls died in a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1963. ___ 12:10 p.m. Dozens of members of Congress are making a weekend-long civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama. The mostly Democratic group made its first stop Friday at Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church, where four black girls died in a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1963. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who was once beaten by Alabama troopers while trying to march for voting rights, walked slowly up the churchs stone steps. Delegation members watched a play depicting the lives of the bombing victims and applauded a handful of civil rights veterans as they stood. The group will also visit a new memorial to thousands of racial lynching victims in Montgomery and participate in weekend civil rights commemorations in Selma. The annual civil rights trip is sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute. MEXICO CITYMexican officials are carrying out the Trump administrations immigration agenda across broad stretches of the border, undercutting the Mexican governments promises to defend migrants and support their search for a better life. Mexican authorities are blocking groups of migrants at border towns, refusing to allow them onto international bridges to apply for asylum in the United States, intercepting unaccompanied minors before they can reach U.S. soil, and helping to manage lists of asylum-seekers on behalf of U.S. authorities to limit the number of people crossing the border. Breaking with decades of asylum practice, the Mexican government has also allowed the Trump administration to send more than 120 men, women and children to Tijuana while they await decisions on their asylum applications in the United States. The program could be expanded to other border crossings as soon as next week. Officials inside the administration of Mexicos new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, have called his stance on migrants a strategic decision not to anger President Donald Trump. He doesnt believe he can change Trumps mind, they contend. Furthermore, the officials say, Lopez Obrador has not wanted to jeopardize other aspects of the deeply interconnected relationship between the two countries, ranging from elaborate regional trading arrangements to information sharing on border security, transnational crime and terrorism. So he has avoided a bruising and potentially costly public fight over the issue. Read More: Some in migrant caravan seek jobs on Mexican side of border Opponents of Trump border emergency close to votes needed A lifelong defender of the poor, Lopez Obrador often refers to his plans for Mexico as a grand transformation, placing his ambitions for the nation on par with those of its great leaders. He has burnished his everyman credentials by cutting government salaries, flying coach around the country and opening the opulent presidential palace to the public. He has also vastly reduced the number of Central American migrants Mexico deports from its soil. But not everything has transformed. Exhibit A is the Migrant Protection Protocols, the Trump administrations policy to require asylum-seekers to remain on the Mexican side of the border while they await decisions on their fate. Rights groups contend that it dumps migrants in an increasingly violent Mexico and impairs their access to legal counsel and family support in the United States. Lopez Obradors administration, which came into office saying it would not co-operate with Trumps anti-immigration agenda, has gone along with it on several fronts, including accepting women and children despite earlier promises to take only adult male asylum-seekers. The Mexican government argued the policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico was imposed on them by the United States and they consented for humanitarian reasons. It is also true that for Lopez Obrador, giving in to some of Trumps border demands and rarely saying a word against the American president in his daily press briefings carries little political cost at home. To many Mexicans, the fate of migrants is secondary to domestic concerns about jobs, security and corruption. Lopez Obrador retains an 80 per cent approval rating, despite his governments willingness to take back migrants applying for asylum in the United States. If we have to accept a handful of people back into Mexico, thats not really a problem for us, not even politically, said one official who was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations. What we really want to avoid is a public fight with Trump. But in its effort to avoid a cross-border fight, the Mexican government has chosen politics over its humanitarian ideals, critics contend. Mexico is continuing to play the role that the U.S. thinks it should, which is to contain the migrant influx, period, said Melissa Vertiz Hernandez, who co-ordinates the Working Group on Immigration Policy, a network of civil society and rights groups in Mexico. The delicate balance with the United States has left the Mexican government without a clear, consistent immigration policy, so Mexican states and municipalities along the border are often in the position of fending for themselves under pressure from their U.S. counterparts. The Mexican government is resisting Trump in some ways, the official in Lopez Obradors government insisted. Even acquiescing to the Trump administration on the Migrant Protection Protocols was done strategically, according to the official and two others briefed on the plan. By allowing the program to start in San Diego and Tijuana, the Mexican officials argued, legal challenges to it in the United States go to the federal courts in the Northern District of California, which are generally seen as liberal. This matters at a time when many Americans are focused on how to beat Trump in the 2020 elections, in particular by leveraging the Mexican-American vote. But many activists are far from confident that a legal challenge will put an end to the program. I think its an incredibly risky move, said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin. I dont think you should put your countrys foreign and migratory policy in the hands of a civil society organization in another country. On Feb. 14, that civil society organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, and several other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administrations policy. A decision on a temporary restraining order is expected in the coming days. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 11 asylum-seekers who were returned to Mexico in recent weeks, accuses the Trump administration of violating federal and international migration and human rights laws. Advocates contend that by forcibly sending asylum-seekers to Tijuana, the Trump administration has plunged them into an unfamiliar and dangerous environment where their lives may be in jeopardy. Killings in Tijuana have skyrocketed in recent years because of a turf war in the local drug market. In 2018, the city suffered its deadliest year on record, with more than 2,500 killings. The Trump administration first announced the new policy in December, and Jan. 28 the head of Mexicos migration agency said the Mexican government had imposed restrictions on its enactment. But Mexican officials have backed down from many of those initial restrictions, including its refusal to accept women with children. Trump administration officials have said they plan to expand the program to other ports of entry along the border. The Lopez Obrador administration has said little publicly about the changes. Mexican officials have said they cannot provide shelter and care for the returnees, essentially leaving them to a network of community groups in Tijuana and elsewhere in the state of Baja California. But the shelter network has been under extraordinary pressure from the almost-continual arrival of migrants travelling in caravans, who have pushed the centres beyond capacity. Sister Salome Limas, a social worker at the Instituto Madre Asunta migrant shelter in Tijuana, said it is housing about 120 women and children in a space designed for 44. Among the migrants are several families who are seeking asylum in the United States and were returned in recent weeks under the Trump policy. Limas said the shelter can house the families until their first court date in the United States, in late March. After that, she is not sure. Whats going to happen to them? she said. We dont know. Read more about: WASHINGTONThe Trump administration issued a new round of visa restrictions and economic sanctions Friday against the government of President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, who has given little indication that he will cede control despite a prediction by a top U.S. envoy that his dictatorship would come to an end, quickly and peacefully. The envoy, Elliott Abrams, also noted the possibility of U.S. military intervention, as requested by Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader. But he described it as a distant line of action behind other moves meant to ratchet up diplomatic and economic pressure against Maduro. We continue to say, and we always will, that all options are on the table, Abrams told reporters at the State Department. But I think that anyone who actually looks at American policy in Venezuela could not reach that conclusion. Vice President Mike Pence, who has visited the region five times, largely to put pressure on Maduro, said this week that he personally reassured Guaido that military intervention was on the table. But, he said, that decision was ultimately up to President Donald Trump. The Trump administration this week escalated its campaign to pressure Maduro to step down, even as adversarial governments, including Russia, have become involved in the conflict. In January, with White House support, Guaido declared himself Venezuelas interim president after accusations of electoral fraud and corruption by the Maduro government that have sent the countrys economy into hyperinflation and poverty. Read More: Talk of socialism menace dominates Republican conference Venezuelas Juan Guaido says he will return to Caracas U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rejects suggestion of Trump-Maduro meeting Abrams swatted away a suggestion made by Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, that the United States was pondering immediate military intervention. Instead, Abrams said, the Trump administration is focused on relatively modest sanctions that were announced Friday and earlier in the week, including those against at least 10 Venezuelan government officials and members of Maduros inner circle, accusing them of abuse of power and of blocking aid to the country. Abrams also announced visa restrictions for dozens of Maduros associates, some of whom he said may be in the United States. He said he was prohibited from naming the Venezuelan officials and their family members whose visas were revoked but cited a mix of people both inside and outside the United States. In recent days, White House officials have tried to maintain pressure on Maduro, who emerged relatively unfazed after a largely failed U.S.-backed effort to send convoys of humanitarian aid into Venezuela last weekend. Efforts to persuade its soldiers to defect degenerated into clashes and mayhem between anti-Maduro protesters and Venezuelan security forces along the borders with Colombia and Brazil. Only a smattering of aid got through, and it did little if anything to loosen Maduros control. Pence met on Monday with Guaido in Colombia. On Friday, he declared that Nicolas Maduro must go in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no claim to power, Pence said. Since violating a travel ban and slipping across the Venezuelan border into Colombia last week, Guaido has travelled through Latin America in an effort to build an international coalition against Maduro. He has vowed to return to Venezuela in the coming days, though he has said he cannot be sure of what will happen once he arrives. Of course, it is a risk, Guaido said in a news conference in Brazil on Thursday, even life threatening. For his part, Maduro has called Guaido a coup plotter and a Trump administration lackey, and has described the humanitarian aid effort as a pretext for a U.S. invasion directed from Colombia. He broke diplomatic relations with Colombia on Saturday in retaliation. Abrams warned that any action taken against Guaido would be met with an outcry on behalf of the Venezuelan people and the international community. As Trump and his advisers mull options, the Russian government has aligned with Maduro, sending aid and expressing support for the Venezuelan presidents government. Russia will continue to assist the Venezuelan authorities in resolving social and economic problems, including through the provision of legitimate humanitarian aid, Lavrov said at a news conference Friday with Delcy Rodriguez, the Venezuelan vice president. Russia has pledged to provide food and medicine to the Maduro government, a move that Abrams questioned as a possible political weapon one that he said could be intended to help Maduros supporters and not Venezuelans who oppose his government. Lavrov also said military intervention on behalf of the United States would be in defiance of all international norms. His comments were quickly brushed aside by John Bolton, Trumps national security adviser, who has in recent days taken to Twitter to lash out at Maduros government. Talks between Russia and Maduros cronies are only useful if they are discussing retirement beaches for Maduro, Bolton said. Change is the only way forward in Venezuela. Read more about: FORT KENT, Maine - A Canadian musher on Saturday set his aim on a 10th win in Maines biggest dog sled race. Martin Massicotte, who has won the 250-mile Irving Woodlands Can-Am Crown nine times, was part of a field that set off Saturday in a cacophony of barking dogs. The grueling wilderness course takes mushers to Portage Lake and then to the town of Allagash before looping back to Fort Kent by Monday morning. Massicotte, of St. Tite, Quebec, said heavy snowfall more than 100 inches of snow has fallen this winter in northern Maine will make for difficult going. The forecast calls for the possibility of more snow over the course of the race. The warm weather and the snow approaching Sunday makes me say that the race will be long and arduous, he said in French, which his wife translated for him. Each race is different. The temperature plummeted to minus-38 during the first Can-Am Crown and then soared to 61 degrees a year later. He said that a 10th win would be a symbolic figure that will remain marked in time. But hes taking nothing for granted. Win or lose, he wont be returning next year for the Can-Am Crown. Instead, he has set his sights on the 1,000-mile Iditarod across Alaska. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Two Sacramento police officers wont face criminal charges for the fatal shooting of a black man following a chase that ended in his grandparents yard and started a series of angry protests that roiled Californias capital city, the countys top prosecutor announced Saturday following a nearly yearlong investigation. Officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared Robinet acted within the law when they shot 22-year-old Stephon Clark seven times, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert concluded, noting that the evidence supported their account that Clark was moving toward them when they opened fire. Schubert said the evidence, including their reactions captured on body cameras, supported the officers statements that they thought Clark was pointing a gun. It turned out Clark was holding only a cellphone. His family and their supporters expressed anger and disappointment, and accused Schubert of unnecessarily revealing grim details of Clarks personal life. Whatever his character is or his actions prior to those officers gunning him down, is no ones business, said Clarks mother, SeQuette, who had a brief and contentious meeting with Schubert before the DA made her announcement. Its not justification. Thats not a permit to kill him. Schubert said the decision not to file charges against the officers does not diminish in any way the tragedy, adding that We cannot ignore that there is rage within our community. Before Schubert had finished speaking, Black Lives Matter began a demonstration where about 100 people eventually protested peacefully in chilly rain outside Sacramentos police headquarters. The shooting last March prompted larger demonstrations. Protesters twice disrupted games for the NBAs Sacramento Kings, including one where they blocked thousands of fans from entering. That game was played in a nearly empty arena. Schubert repeatedly apologized for raising the personal details during her hour-long presentation. She revealed Clark was facing possible jail time after a domestic violence complaint two days earlier from Salena Manni, the mother of his two children. He also had researched suicide websites including those that suggested using a tranquilizer, which was among several drugs found in his system after his death. I cant tell ultimately what was going on in his mind, Schubert said. He was in a state of despair and he was impaired, and that may have affected his judgment. The disclosures brought additional outcries from protest leaders and Clarks relatives, including Manni, who said they werent relevant to whether the officers acted properly. The decision continues the shameful legacy of officers killing black men without consequences, Manni said. Black Lives Matter leader Tanya Faison criticized Schubert for providing details including text messages between Clark and Manni. Those officers didnt know any of that when they had him in the backyard and they killed him, Faison said. SeQuette Clark held out the hope that her sons death would result in systemic change, which was echoed by statements from Gov. Gavin Newsom, legislative leaders, Sacramentos mayor and black religious leaders who urged protesters to channel their anger into positive steps. This is just the beginning. The fight for justice has just begun, Clarks mother said outside the home where her son was killed. Later, Clarks grandmother, Sequita Thompson, was taken by ambulance to a hospital after falling ill. No details on her condition were available. Several officials supported pending state legislation that would allow police to use deadly force only if there is no reasonable alternative, including non-lethal force or efforts to calm the situation. Newsom did not address the bill, but called for systemic reforms that reduce inequities, increase community confidence in our criminal justice system, and that reinforce the sanctity of human life. Clarks family, including his two sons, his parents and his grandparents, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January seeking more than $20 million from the city and officers, alleging that they used excessive force and that he was a victim of racial profiling. Attorneys for Clarks family disputed Schuberts conclusion by citing a competing autopsy for the family by Dr. Bennet Omalu, who said police shot Clark seven times from behind. Omalu is the pathologist whose study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in football players prompted the NFL to adopt new safety rules designed to prevent concussions. Schubert said the official autopsy showing Clark was most likely shot as he approached police was reviewed by four pathologists and two independent experts. One of them acted on behalf of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is conducting his own investigation at the request of local officials. She also said for the first time that physical evidence showed that Clark was indeed the man who broke three vehicle windows and an elderly mans sliding glass patio door. Previously police had not said definitively that he was the vandal they were chasing. Enhanced video from a police helicopter showed Clark was empty handed as he jumped a fence and moved alongside his grandparents home before he was chased by officers. Another enhanced photo from an officers body camera showed a flash of light from Clarks position near his grandparents back door, which Schubert said supported an officers statement that he thought he saw a muzzle flash from a gun. She said enhanced audio revealed Clark cursed at officers as he moved toward their position. The Sacramento Police Officers Association and the police department did not respond to requests for comment on behalf of the two officers. But police union president Timothy Davis said in a statement that the case illustrates how complicated and dynamic a request for police service can be. Sacramento police noted that they have not yet decided if the officers broke any department policies. They and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the department has since increased training, limited foot pursuits like those in the Clark case, and committed to quickly releasing videos of officer-involved shootings. Regardless of whether officers acted legally, Steinberg said, the outcome was wrong he should not have died. ___ Associated Press writers Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report. MONTPELIER, Vt. - About 18 months after the Trump administration threatened to withhold law enforcement grants from nearly 30 places around the country it felt werent doing enough to work with federal immigration agents, all but one have received or been cleared to get the money, the Justice Department said. In most cases, courts chipped away at the crackdown that escalated in November 2017 with letters from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to 29 cities, metro areas, counties or states it considered as having adopted sanctuary policies saying those policies may violate federal law. Of those 29 jurisdictions which include cities as large as Los Angeles and as small as Burlington, Vermont only Oregon has yet to be cleared to receive the grants from 2017, a Justice Department spokesman told The Associated Press this week. Vermont officials announced Monday that they had been told the state Department of Public Safety would be getting $2.3 million in law enforcement grants that had been blocked. Vermont had not joined any of the legal cases, instead corresponding directly with the Justice Department. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, declared victory, saying the money would be used primarily on anti-drug efforts. State and local law enforcement agencies already are stretched thin, and withholding these federal grants only makes their work more difficult, Leahy said in an email to the AP. Its unthinkable that the Trump Justice Department would hold these funds hostage over an unrelated dispute on immigration policy. Last summer, the U.S. Conference of Mayors sued in Illinois on behalf of its member cities focusing on the issue. In September, a federal court temporarily blocked the Justice Department from withholding the funds for the jurisdictions represented by the conference. The conferences litigation is now focused on making the order affecting the 2017 grants permanent and apply to 2018 grants, as well, said Kate OBrien, a Chicago attorney who represented the mayors. Other federal courts have ruled against the Justice Department. Similar cases are being litigated across the country, and the Justice Department is considering appealing some unfavourable rulings. The Trump administration has long argued that places that dont co-operate with federal immigration authorities, often called sanctuary cities, pose a threat to public safety. I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk, Sessions said in a statement in January 2018. Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. The details differ by jurisdiction, but the Justice Department felt law enforcement agencies in those communities werent sufficiently committing themselves to co-operating with federal immigration agents when officers came in contact with people who might not be in the country legally. Aside from confirming the clearance of grants to the 28 jurisdictions , Justice Department spokesman Steven Stafford declined to comment. Some, but not all, of the 28 jurisdictions were cleared for the grants without changing the policies that triggered the original concern from the Justice Department, now led by Attorney General William Barr. And not all of the places actually have the money in hand yet, or have been told theyve been cleared to get it. Ken Martinez, the county attorney for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, said officials there had yet to hear about 2017 grant funding and are eager to get it. It will be incredibly helpful, Martinez said. I can tell you theres been a high level of frustration from people on both sides of the issue. In West Palm Beach, Florida, the Justice Department was concerned about the wording of a city resolution dealing with police investigations involving citizenship or immigration status. A year ago, a memo was sent to city employees saying they may share information with federal authorities. So no funds (were) lost on our end, said police Sgt. David Lefont, noting the total was less than $100,000. That some of the threatened cities ended up changing their policies amounts to at least a partial victory for the Trump administration, said Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies for the Center For Immigration Studies, which advocates for tight restrictions on immigration. What it looks like to me, the Trump Administration is not able to fully enforce co-operation with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to the extent they would like to, but it is able to fully enforce compliance with existing federal law that some sanctuary jurisdictions have had to change their policies in order to get their money, Vaughan said. But other jurisdictions were cleared to get the money without having to change anything. The court in our cases, and in similar cases throughout the country, has found the attorney general is not authorized to impose these conditions, said OBrien, the attorney for the mayors group. The Vermont settlement of the 2017 grants is among the last. Even before the 2017 letters were sent, federal courts across the country had begun to rule against the Trump administrations efforts. And they continue. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Feb. 15 that the Justice Department exceeded its authority and ordered a permanent, nationwide injunction against requiring police departments to co-operate with immigration authorities in order to receive the grants. Oregon, the only one of the 29 jurisdictions not yet cleared for the 2017 grants, last fall filed its own lawsuit against the Justice Department. The lawsuit, which also covers grants for 2018, accused Trump and Matthew Whitaker, acting attorney general at the time, of trying to impermissibly commandeer the resources of Oregon and its largest city, Portland. For years, these grants have provided millions of dollars to law enforcement in Oregon, Rosenblum said in November. But, suddenly these public safety funds have been withdrawn because Oregon will not submit to U.S. DOJs demand that Oregon participate in its immigration enforcement efforts. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Eliot Spagat in San Diego; Paul Elias in San Francisco; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon; and AP News Researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A Harvard University choir group that rejected author W.E.B. Du Bois when he was a student because he was black will celebrate his work through a musical tribute. The Harvard Glee Club will perform a concert inspired by Du Bois 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk on Saturday at the Ivy League schools Cambridge campus. The book begins its chapters with musical notations from black spirituals alongside European poems. The concert will feature some of the same spirituals alongside European choral pieces. Last year marked the 150th anniversary of Du Bois birth in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1895, He became the first black student to earn a doctorate from Harvard. While at Harvard, Du Bois auditioned for the Glee Club but was turned away by the all-white group. CLEVELAND - Federal authorities say a man has been indicted for threatening to shoot Ohio school students on Snapchat. Authorities say the April 2018 threat targeted Parma High School in suburban Cleveland and led to hundreds of students missing classes over several days. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Cleveland says Russell Miley-Cruz was indicted on one count of transmission of an interstate threat and one count of obstruction of justice. The 21-year-old man from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday. Online federal court records dont list an attorney for him. Parma Police Chief Joseph Bobak said the threat panicked the community and affected students and staff for several days as parents pulled hundreds of children out of school. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Latest on the decision by a prosecutor not to charge the police officers who shot an unarmed black man last year (all times local): 7:30 p.m. The fiancee of a man killed by police says prosecutors decision not to file charges continues a shameful legacy of officers killing black men without consequences. Salena Manni tearfully criticized a California prosecutor Saturday for bringing up the domestic violence complaint she filed against Stephon Clark two days before he was killed nearly a year ago. District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert says that may have contributed to his actions the night the 22-year-old unarmed black vandalism suspect was fatally shot in his grandparents backyard. Manni and the Rev. Shane Harris, president of the Peoples Alliance for Justice, say they will push for tougher laws. Harris says hell promote having the state attorney general investigate officer-involved shootings. Harris says Schuberts decision shows county prosecutors are too close to police. ___ 4:45 p.m. Several dozen people demonstrated outside a Sacramento Police Department station after prosecutors declined to file charges against two officers who shot and killed an unarmed black man. The peaceful protest Saturday afternoon was organized by Black Live Matters Sacramento chapter. The groups leader, Tanya Faison, says she was disappointed and disgusted by the Sacramento County district attorneys press conference announcing the decision. Faison criticized Anne Marie Schubert for sharing cellphone evidence of a domestic dispute between Stephon Clark and the mother of his children and for telling reporters that Clark had contemplated suicide. Faison says the information isnt relevant to the investigation into whether the officers actions were justified. ___ 3:20 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and civil rights advocates are calling for reforms in the criminal justice system after prosecutors declined to file charges against two Sacramento officers who fatally shot an unarmed black man. The American Civil Liberties Union urged for a change in state law that currently lets officers use deadly force when they have a reasonable fear of being harmed a standard that makes it rare for officers to be charged after a shooting and rarer still for them to be convicted. The ACLU supports a bill that would allow police to kill only when it is necessary to prevent imminent and serious injury or death and require officers to use de-escalation tactics whenever possible. Newsom said society must acknowledge what he called the hard truth. He said our criminal justice system treats young black and Latino men and women differently than their white counterparts. That must change. ___ 2:10 p.m. The mother of Stephon Clark said she refuses to accept prosecutors decision not to file criminal charges against the two Sacramento police officers who fatally shot an unarmed black man last year. Sequette (suh-KWET) Clark said Saturday that the officers should have been charged with homicide. They shot her 22-year-old son on March 18, 2018 after he ran from them into his grandparents backyard. She says: They executed my son. Its not right. Her comments came shortly after Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced the officers did lawfully used lethal force. The officers said they thought Clark, a vandalism suspect, had a gun and was advancing at them. Investigators found only a cellphone. ___ 1:10 p.m. Two Sacramento police officers will not face criminal charges in last years fatal shooting of an unarmed black man that brought nationwide protests. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced Saturday that officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared Robinet did not break any laws when they shot Stephon Clark after the 22-year-old ran from them into his grandparents backyard. The officers say they thought Clark, a vandalism suspect, had a gun but investigators found only a cellphone. Sacramento has been bracing for protests ahead of the decision, with business owners warned by a business association and state government workers told by legislative officials in recent days to stay away from downtown at least through the weekend. ___ 11 a.m. Prosecutors are expected to announce Saturday whether two police officers will face charges in last years fatal shooting in Sacramento of an unarmed black man that generated nationwide protests. Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert will hold a news conference to announce whether the officers broke any laws when they shot Stephon Clark after the 22-year-old ran from them into his grandparents backyard. Officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared Robinet have said they thought Clark, a vandalism suspect, had a gun but investigators found only a cellphone. The city has been bracing for protests ahead of the decision, with business owners warned by a business association and state government workers told by legislative officials in recent days to stay away from downtown at least through the weekend. Protests after the shooting were largely peaceful but disrupted downtown professional basketball games and freeway traffic. CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Latest on the 2020 presidential candidates campaigning throughout the country this weekend: (all times EST): 3:45 p.m. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is emphasizing the need for Democrats to focus on policies over personal attacks, and to remain united in order to win the 2020 presidential race. Campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday, Warren criticized Vice-President Mike Pence when asked by a reporter about former Vice-President Joe Bidens remarks earlier this week calling Pence a decent man. The U.S. senator from Massachusetts said she had followed Pences history on LGBTQ rights and that she didnt think it was a decent position. On other subjects, Warren focused heavily on policy but refused to draw any contrasts between her own proposals and those offered by other Democrats running for president. Warren said she supported Medicare for All but that there were many ways to achieve universal coverage. ___ 2:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is telling supporters that he will win re-election in 2020 and by a bigger margin than his 2016 victory. During a wide-ranging speech before an appreciative audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, Trump on Saturday mocked Democrats for their framework to combat climate change and said House lawmakers pushing to expand their investigations of him are sick. Trump also rehashed his outsider campaign that overcame long odds and a crowded field of established politicians to claim the White House over Democrat Hillary Clinton. When he made his prediction of a second term, the crowd responded with chants of USA, USA, USA. Trump praised the conservative movement, saying Our movement and our future in our country is unlimited. ___ 2:15 p.m. In the final swing of a listening tour as he decides whether to enter the 2020 presidential primary race, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio is spending time in South Carolina, sharing his message of advocacy for higher wages and more robust health care. At a Darlington County Democratic womens event on Saturday, Brown told attendees he values the important role black women play in the Democratic primary process. South Carolina holds the first southern voting, and its Democratic primary electorate is largely African-American. On Friday, Brown stopped at a Columbia job training facility. He later went to Florence, where Mayor Stephen Wukela (woo-KEY-lah) said he would support Brown if he jumps into the race. Later Saturday, Brown was expected to speak at Dorchester County Democrats oyster roast, an event New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was also scheduled to attend following a town hall discussion in Charleston. ___ 2 p.m. Bernie Sanders has launched his second presidential campaign with a call for Americans from all walks of life to join his fight for a political revolution, one hes been waging for four decades. Sanders is calling Donald Trump the most dangerous president in modern U.S. history, with the Vermont senator saying his campaign is built to defeat Trump. Sanders also says his Democratic campaign will create an economy and government that works for all people, and says the government will be based on economic, social, racial and environmental justice. ___ 10:15 a.m. Democratic presidential hopefuls are introducing themselves to voters in some of the earliest states that will weigh in on their campaigns to take on President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Candidates are fanning out in South Carolina and Iowa on Saturday, spending time with voters in two of the states that hold the earliest balloting next year. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sherrod Brown of Ohio are in South Carolina, site of the Souths first primary. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts plans to court voters in Iowa. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is scheduled to attend the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an event where politicians traditionally poke fun at the press and other politicians. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is making Brooklyn the official launch site of his second run for the White House. Trump plans to speak to a gathering of conservatives in suburban Maryland, where he is expected to emphasize the White Houses political message that Democrats are rallying behind what his team is calling the policies of socialism. It can look a little tattered around the edges, but Canadians routinely and fiercely defend their universal, publicly funded health care system. Just look at the outrage generated over the mere possibility that the restructuring of Ontarios health care system by Doug Fords Progressive Conservatives will open the door to more private delivery of medical services. And yet theres a glaring gap in our medicare system that gets far too little attention: the lack of universal access to prescription drugs, an ever-growing component of health care. The Royal Commission on Health Services that created Canadas public system saw the need for a national pharmacare program all the way back in the 1960s. But politics got in the way of doing the right thing then and Canadians have paid a high price ever since. That price is paid with too many people sicker than they need to be because they cant afford to pay for their prescriptions, and actual dollars billions of them annually through unnecessarily high drug prices. Canada is the only country with universal health care that doesnt include universal drug coverage. Its little wonder, since the lack of one undermines the other. Now, years after two royal commissions, a national forum and too many reports to count have called for national pharmacare, the federal government has indicated that its finally ready to move on this in its March 19 budget. Thats welcome and long overdue. But its worrisome that Finance Minister Bill Morneau has also suggested that the government is planning to fill the gaps rather than deliver the universal medicare-style plan that the Commons committee on health recommended just last year. If thats the case, it will be a real missed opportunity. Certainly its easy to see the political appeal of a plan that simply seeks to patch up the holes between workplace private insurance plans, federal programs and provincial/territorial benefits, largely targeted to children, seniors and the poor. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not face pushback from the private insurance industry. Liberal MPs would not be inundated with calls from voters worried that they might get less under a universal program than they do with their existing plan, especially if theyre lucky enough to have a good one. And the government would not have to embark on negotiations with the provinces, many of which are led by Conservative premiers spoiling for a fight. Thats all pretty daunting. And in an election year no less. Still, its worth the effort to finally get this right. The benefits of a robust national pharmacare plan are substantial, both in improving health outcomes for millions of Canadians and reducing overall costs. The farther off that ideal the government goes, the fewer of those benefits well see. Canada spent an astounding $34 billion on prescribed drugs last year, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Of that, about 40 per cent was publicly financed and the rest covered by private insurance or individuals paying out of pocket. Its not only an enormous sum, its a far bigger one than it should be. Canadians pay the highest drug prices in the world, but for the United States and Switzerland. There is no good reason for that. The average OECD country spends a third less per capita on drugs than Canada does. Nationally, we pay more for drugs than doctors. And that bill is going up. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, billions could be saved annually through a national pharmacare program with its bulk buying of drugs and stricter regulations on prices. Much of those savings, though, would go to individuals and employers, while increased costs would be transferred to the public purse. The challenge of figuring out a fair and feasible way to address that is what has kept all those reports calling for pharmacare sitting on shelves, collecting dust. But its imperative that the government finds a way forward, and soon. The price of medication isnt just a problem for the millions of Canadians who cant afford their drugs now. Its a rising problem for the quality of coverage in workplace plans and the sustainability of government drug benefits for seniors and the poor. These days, many cancer patients dont receive chemotheraphy drugs in a hospital where the cost is picked up by the public health-care system but are sent home with a prescription for pills to pick up at the drug store. That innovation means that even people with insurance struggle to afford their co-payments and can quickly hit their plans lifetime caps. Whats next? Workers already see employers responding to the rapidly rising costs of benefits by diminishing their coverage with increasing co-pays, fees and caps, and reducing drug options. And those are the people who have workplace benefits. Thats increasingly not the case for workers, especially in low-wage fields, who face a never-ending cycle of part-time, contract and temp agency jobs that provide few benefits. Maintaining this inadequate patchwork costs everyone governments, individuals and businesses far more than it should. Thats not good for anyone, including those who enjoy good coverage now. We know Canadas medicare system is less costly and delivers better health than the U.S. public-private mix. Its time the federal government saw pharmacare in that same light. As the Commons health committee put it: In short, it will save money and lives. Wilson-Raybould speaks her truth, Feb 27 What a refreshing moment in Canadian political history. An Indigenous woman speaks truth to power and to the country about how much back-door political influence is used to protect giant corporations. All wealthy corporations hire full-time lobbyists to weasel their way into the power structures of Western countries, using threats of job loss and relocation to bend our politicians to their will. The Deferred Prosecution Agreement was initiated to get corporations out of legal quagmires that they themselves created. You can tell which governments are most hijacked by corporate power by seeing who has these DPAs in place. Unfortunately, we are one of those countries. We will never get the power of choice back to the people in democracies if we continue to allow corporations to have such tyrannical influence. Times are ripe for change, and brave souls like Jody Wilson-Raybould are initiating change through opening the doors to back-room sleazy dealings that have taken over institutions of power. June Mewhort, Woodville, Ont. Lets hear the whole story, Feb 28 In the first minute of Jody Wilson-Rayboulds revelation of her so-called truth, she informed Canada that questions and discussions of the SNC-Lavalin affair were inappropriate. She explained that her decision had been made. She said so several times. If only she had understood what every civics course teaches about how Cabinet is the team. She was on the Prime Ministers team. The government has to look at the big picture, the whole country. Justin Trudeau needed Wilson-Raybould to understand, and consider that there was an option deferred prosecution where SNC-Lavalin is punished for crimes associated with the Libya contract. She said no to that option. Her decision had already been made. It was final. Theres the rub. Did she think she was chief justice of the Supreme Court? Holding the prestigious portfolio of justice, she was a key member of the prime ministers team, the team that has to survive if they wish to leave any kind of legacy after they are gone. Her performance was a shock. Her decision on SNC-Lavalin threatened thousands of jobs, and she refused to discuss, or consider, any other position. We do not yet know the extent of the damage to the country that will eventuate. Wednesdays hearing of her truth revealed her lack of understanding of governmental procedure. We do not yet know the consequences of her very public accusations, impugning Trudeaus morals and ethics. This tempest has tentacles across the country, and in the world of international commerce. Her elevation to attorney general and minister of justice was a terrible mistake. Hugh McKechnie, Newmarket Paying off officials is illegal in the Western world but is everyday practice in Africa and elsewhere. Any company doing business in Libya has paid the entrance fee or pay to play. Is stopping a Canadian company from bidding on contracts for 10 years and putting 10,000 Canadians out of work appropriate punishment? Or, could Wilson-Rayboulds reasons for throwing the Liberal Party under the bus have more to do with her rage at feeling unheard in cabinet over the bill creating a framework to enshrine Indigenous rights in the Constitution or the progress of the TransCanada pipeline? Wilson-Raybould was at nasty loggerheads with Carolyn Bennett, minister for Indigenous affairs and other ministers over the framework. And it now looks like the TransCanada pipeline is closer to going through, against the wishes of many environmentalists and Indigenous people. Is this Wilson-Rayboulds payback for feeling ignored? Is the pressure she felt more from her own constituency, where Indigenous voters turned out in record numbers, or from her job as attorney general? Gail Rutherford, Toronto Really? I thought the prime ministers job was to govern the country truthfully, by following the rules of law, not breaking them. I lost confidence in this government there is no transparency. We need full disclosure. Colette Rayakovich, Wasaga Beach Lauretta Snejdar, St. Catharines Trudeau completely disagrees with former AG, Feb. 28 The question in my mind is whether the new attorney general of Canada, David Lametti, will overrule the prosecutors decision to pursue criminal charges against SNC-Lavalin. It may be his decision alone, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might say, but damned if he does or damned if he doesnt. Alan Pellettier, Scarborough In many ways, the SNC-Lavalin story is just more of the same. Weve known, thanks the Panama and Paradise papers, that successive Liberal and Conservative governments have gone out of their way to write tax laws to allow their rich donors to avoid paying taxes. Weve known from multiple exposes that our tax agencies have been pressured to go easy on the rich. Weve seen our governments openly negotiate trade deals that favour multinational corporations over citizens. What makes the SNC-Lavalin affair unique, however, is that, for once, weve had a government minister who was unwilling to bend the rule of law to cater to the rich and powerful. Justin Trudeau is reported to be deciding whether Jody Wilson-Raybould should continue to be in the Liberal caucus. I suggest this is an easy decision. Its clear that a person of integrity who stands up to bullies is a poor fit in the Liberal party. Gary Dale, West Hill Leader of this saga isnt Trudeau, Delacourt, Feb. 28 There seems to be much more at stake than image and job losses. The PMs personal image suggests he is in way over his head. Also the threat SNC made regarding moving its headquarters out of Canada would have been discussed long ago, given its latest poor financial performance. SNC would have discussed reducing its workforce in any event. The bigger picture for the PM would be the loss of huge financial donations to the Liberal Party. Government contracts will always be there. Its just who they are awarded to. If not SNC, then other contractors will get their chance and they will pick up ex-SNC employees. Brian Mellor, Picton Read more about: OTTAWAThe Trudeau government has refused an opposition demand to recall Parliament to deal with the SNC-Lavalin affair, and is setting the stage to counter Jody Wilson-Rayboulds allegations of improper political meddling in the companys criminal trial. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh wrote Trudeau jointly Friday to ask him to recall MPs next week so the Commons could hold the government to account for its actions in the ongoing SNC-Lavalin Affair. The House of Commons has risen for a two-week break, but the opposition parties say Trudeau owes the country a detailed explanation of his actions. Cameron Ahmad, a spokesman for the prime minister, said Friday the government has no intention of recalling the Commons, but will continue to cooperate and watch the work of the Commons justice committee as it probes the affair. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, however, will be far from Ottawa as the MPs look into the allegations. He is expected to attend a climate-change rally in Toronto Monday evening, the start of a number of events planned across the country next week in which his office says he will talk to Canadians about his climate action incentive plan which the Conservatives call a carbon tax. Read more: SNC-Lavalin scandal will intensify tensions between Alberta and Quebec, profs say Opinion | Chantal Hebert: Four important questions in the SNC-Lavalin scandal Jody Wilson-Rayboulds political interference allegations have plunged government into crisis, MPs say in emergency debate Wilson-Rayboulds testimony has captivated the interest of Canadians unlike many inside-Ottawa stories. Its shifted the conversation even in Quebec in newspaper editorial pages and beyond, where initially there had been sympathy for the companys arguments. If what is alleged is true, it is, indeed, worrisome that someone pressured her and that worries me a lot, said Quebec provincial justice minister Sonia Lebel, who was the chief prosecutor for the Charbonneau commission into corruption in that province. The federal opposition parties intend to keep the focus on Wilson-Rayboulds stunning allegations. In their letter to Trudeau, they slammed his failure to address the questions she raised. So far, your only defence is to disagree with Ms. Wilson-Rayboulds justice committee testimony, but you have thus far failed to provide Canadians with your account of these events. This is absolutely unacceptable, wrote Scheer and Singh. You also continue to hide behind the Ethics Commmisioner, who, as you are aware, has no mandate whatsoever to investigate political interference into criminal proceedings. As the leaders of Canadas two main opposition parties, we stand united in our belief that you owe Canadians nothing less than full transparency in this matter. Despite the break in parliamentary sittings, the Commons justice committee will reconvene Wednesday to hear testimony by Trudeaus former principal secretary Gerald Butts, who resigned and denied wrongdoing in the SNC-Lavalin case. Butts is expected to offer the first account by a key political actor on Trudeaus side, of the governments dealings with the former attorney-general. The committee has previously heard a partial account from Michael Wernick, clerk of the privy council and a supposedly non-partisan public servant, but has yet to hear from anyone on the political staff in the Prime Ministers Office. Wernick and deputy justice minister Nathalie Drouin will also reappear to answer questions raised by Wilson-Raybould. Butts is almost as high as it gets. So far, the Liberal-dominated justice committee has refused opposition requests to call Trudeaus chief of staff Katie Telford, among others, who were fingered by Wilson-Raybould in a list of 11 people she suggested were acting to pressure her. In an exhaustive account Wednesday, Wilson-Raybould laid out the sustained efforts, including what she said were veiled threats by the prime minister through his representatives to persuade her to overrule the public prosecutions director and offer to mediate criminal charges against the Quebec engineering and construction company. The Vancouver MP, who remains in Trudeaus Liberal caucus for now, says she resisted what she called their inappropriate political and partisan pressure, and said she believes she was moved out of her job as justice minister and attorney general as a result all of which the prime minister denies. The prime minister, meanwhile, has now familiarized himself with all of her testimony, and has not yet made a decision on her future in the caucus, his office said. On Friday, one of Trudeaus ministers from Quebec, where SNC-Lavalin is headquartered, promoted the kind of deal SNC-Lavalin is seeking to settle criminal charges that Wilson-Raybould had expressly refused. Marie-Claude Bibeau emerged from Rideau Hall as the new and first female minister of agriculture and said deferred prosecution agreements are a tool, not a way to escape blame. A deferred prosecution agreement is not a free ride, said Bibeau. Its a way to provide for justice, but to punish people differently in terms of any individuals who are responsible and the corporation, while, at the same time, protecting innocent parties, such as employees, retirees, partners and suppliers. Bibeau repeated the prime ministers claim that his government is obliged to consider 9,000 jobs he says are in play. She upped the ante, saying that when you include suppliers in the equation, were talking about as many as 100,000 people across Canada who are affected. So I do think we have to look at all the options within the proper legal framework and the budget. The Quebec company is charged with bribery and fraud in a Libyan payment scheme to win contracts from Moammar Gadhafis regime. It wants to negotiate an agreement that would allow the company to avoid a potential criminal conviction and federal contracting ban in exchange for an admission of wrongdoing, a steep fine and corporate reforms and independent oversight. It has gone to court to seek judicial review of the decision by the director of public prosecutions Wilson-Raybould upheld this to deny it a remediation or deferred prosecution agreement. A Federal Court judge has reserved her decision on the companys challenge. In the meantime the preliminary inquiry into the criminal charges resumes April 1. Read more about: School boards are warning of larger class sizes and even layoffs in light of an edict from the provincial government that they put a freeze on hiring. New Democrat Marit Stiles, her partys education critic, said Friday she was really shocked to see this order come out given boards are expecting an influx of special needs students in April because of changes to Ontarios autism program, and will need to hire classroom assistants. To me, this indicates that not only are they not planning for what to do when it comes to students with autism, added Stiles, it also means that they are going to leave our children with less. On Thursday, the Star obtained a memo from Deputy Education Minister Nancy Naylor to Ontario school boards, advising them to exercise prudence and hold off on hiring for the 2019-20 school year. School boards are advised to defer the annual processes of filling vacancies for retirements and other leaves related to teachers and other staff until the minister of education provides an update to the sector on or before March 15, she wrote, noting the Ontario government itself implemented a hiring freeze last June. Boards were surprised by the timing, saying they are already in the midst of plans for the next school year. Read more: Ford government advises school boards to freeze hiring Autism therapists warned of looming layoffs under Ford government overhaul Budget watchdog criticizes Ford government over spending estimates I think its misguided, the wrong direction for education, said Maria Rizzo, chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. It means larger classes, fewer teachers and less resources for our kids. Rizzo said the board had recently completed working on staffing models for next September and it means all that work went for naught because we dont know what theyre going to give us in grants. She said shes willing to look for ways to save money but doesnt want to do anything that will impact learning in the classroom. Robin Pilkey, chair of the Toronto District School board, said meetings were planned for next week to talk about staffing for next year, when the board determines how many teachers are needed for students based on class caps and averages. She believes the memo is the governments way of letting boards know there will be changes to class sizes. Thats what this (memo) says to me, that were going to have a new formula before March 15, and thats going to say how many teachers we need, said Pilkey. This to me was a letter that said, Dont have your meeting yet. She believes class caps and averages will increase, which will impact how many teachers the board will need. Something is changing, she also said. Since its not the number of students, so it must be how the class sizes are calculated So if the government changes that then we probably need a different number of teachers. Were going to need less teachers than we probably have right now. Pilkey said if they end up with too many teachers, that could result in teachers layoffs and surpluses. At this point, the board doesnt know how many teachers will be retiring at the end of this school year. The province may also make changes to a controversial hiring rule, known as Regulation 274, where principals must hire from among the most senior supply teachers for long-term and full-time jobs. In a statement released Friday, Education Minster Lisa Thompson said I want parents to know it is my number one priority to ensure each and every student will have access to a meaningful education. She said the province needs to take a hard look at how school boards spend their money and make sure every single dollar invested in our education system, is a dollar invested in a students future. School boards have been unofficially warned to expect tighter budgets, and typically learn of grants for the upcoming school year at the end of March or early April. Harvey Bischof of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation said hes waiting for more details from the government, however, theres a great deal of concern with the implications of the memo. Patrick Daly, of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association, said while he appreciates communication from the ministry, we are hoping the government will consult with school boards and other partners so as not to negatively impact the quality of education in our schools. The Canadian Union of Public Employees said boards are already understaffed in areas like caretaking and clerical. We cant even get replacement staff in, said Laura Walton, an educational assistant and president of CUPE Ontarios School Board Council of Unions. We need more supports not freezing the supports that already exist. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "fully supports" the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to walk away from talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, a move that resulted in the summit meeting ending abruptly Thursday without a deal. Abe and Trump spoke for about 10 minutes by telephone Thursday evening while the U.S. president was returning to the United States. Trump briefed Abe on the developments of the second U.S.-North Korea summit. Later that evening, Abe said to reporters at his official residence, "I fully support President Trump's decision not to make concessions easily and, at the same time, to continue constructive talks to urge North Korea to take concrete steps [toward denucle-arization]." Abe and Trump reaffirmed they would continue cooperating closely. During Trump's one-on-one talks with Kim on Wednesday, Trump raised the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, and conveyed Abe's views on the issue to Kim. Trump and Kim reportedly "seriously discussed" the abduction issue during a formal dinner that evening. Abe also expressed determination to resolve the abduction issue through direct dialogue with Kim. "I am determined that I must be the next to deal with Chairman Kim," Abe said. During their talks over the telephone on Feb. 20, Abe had asked Trump to raise the abduction issue during his meeting with Kim. The Japanese government has applauded Trump for not making easy concessions in the drive to denuclearize North Korea. The government plans to continue working closely with the United States as it works toward resolving the abduction issue. According to a senior government official who was present during Abe's phone call with Trump while the president was flying back to the United States, Trump did not provide a detailed explanation of what was discussed during the summit meeting with Kim, although this was partly due to the brevity of the call. Foreign Minister Taro Kono plans to soon hold telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to receive a more comprehensive explanation of the Trump-Kim meeting. "It was unfortunate that both sides were unable to reach an agreement on denuclearization, but I completely support President Trump's decision," Kono said to reporters at the Foreign Ministry after the Trump-Kim meeting had ended. Kono added that the international community is calling for the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. Before the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting, Abe and Kono had held phone talks with their U.S. counterparts and the government also had conducted various working-level discussions with U.S. officials. By closely comparing and calibrating policies in advance, "Japan and the United States were in complete agreement that no easy concessions would be offered," a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. However, apprehension that Trump might make concessions such as the incomplete denuclearization of North Korea as he seeks quick results in the diplomatic arena could not be fully dismissed. Given this, the prevailing view within the Japanese government is that Trump "negotiated strongly" during this summit meeting, according to a senior government official. The government also welcomed the fact that Trump raised the abduction issue at Abe's request, just as Trump did during his first meeting with Kim in June 2018. Even so, resolving the abduction issue will require direct Japan-North Korea negotiations. The government plans to seek out channels for talks with North Korea while keeping a close eye on developments in future U.S.-North Korea negotiations. "Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears. - - - MIDDLETOWN, N.C. - The salty patches were small, at first - scattered spots where soybeans wouldn't grow, where grass withered and died, exposing expanses of bare, brown earth. But lately those barren patches have grown. On dry days, the salt precipitates out of the mud and the crystals make the soil sparkle in the sunlight. And on a damp and chilly afternoon in January, the salt makes Dawson Pugh furrow his brow in dismay. "It's been getting worse," the farmer tells East Carolina University hydrologist Alex Manda, who drove out to this corner of coastal North Carolina with a group of graduate students to figure out what's poisoning Pugh's land - and whether anything can be done to stop it. Of climate change's many plagues - drought, insects, fires, floods - saltwater intrusion in particular sounds almost like a biblical curse. Rising seas, sinking earth and extreme weather are conspiring to cause salt from the ocean to contaminate aquifers and turnformerly fertile fields barren. A 2016 study in the journal Science predicted that 9 percent of the U.S. coastline is vulnerable to saltwater intrusion - a percentage likely to grow as the world continues to warm. Scientists are just beginning to assess the potential effect on agriculture, Manda said, and it's not yet clear how much can be mitigated. "We spend a lot of time and money to try to prevent salt," Pugh says. "I worry what the future is. If it keeps getting worse, will it be worth farming?" If farmers in coastal areas have any hope of protecting their land - and their livelihoods - the first step is to disentangle the complex web of causes that can send ocean water seeping into the ground beneath their feet. -- With that goal in mind, Pugh, Manda and Andrea Gibbs, the local agriculture agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension, convened at the edge of Pugh's saltiest field on a recent blustery afternoon. Pugh, 41, has spent his adult life growing soybeans, corn and cotton in North Carolina's "blacklands," where the dark and fertile soil is a legacy of nutrient-rich swamps that were drained to make the region arable. His father farmed here in Hyde County before him, and his grandfather before that. Pugh felt he was prepared for the challenges he would face with the brackish Pamlico Sound within spitting distance and just the thin sandy barrier of the Outer Banks between his farmland and the open ocean. But lately, the problems have become relentless. Hyde County has been part of a declared disaster zone during four of the past five years, Gibbs says. Heavy rainfall and strong winds have caused millions of dollars in damage. Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 brought several feet of storm surge that inundated the area with seawater. Though Pugh and Gibbs demur when asked what they think is behind the recent disasters, science suggests that climate change plays a major role. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that sea levels near Pamlico Sound are rising at a rate of 4.4 millimeters per year - equivalent to nearly 1.5 feet over the next century. Other research has shown that warmer oceans make Atlantic hurricanes wetter, slower and more intense, resulting in more catastrophic storms like Florence. Whatever the cause, both Pugh and Gibbs are anxious to find a solution. Pugh estimates that recent flooding - and the associated salinization - cost him $2 million in lost crops over the past five years. Last year, the field where Manda is now working became so pockmarked with barren patches Pugh stopped planting it altogether. "No point in spending the money," he says, "or the seed." "What percentage is like this?" Gibbs asks. Pugh shrugs. "It's hard to say. Five percent? Maybe more." And the barren patches may be growing. Most of the 4,000 acres that Pugh farms were inundated during Florence. "Just about everything was underwater for as far as you can see both ways," he says. Gibbs, who tested salinity levels in this field after the storm, says the results scared her. "The numbers that were on that sheet -" she trails off. "You shouldn't be able to grow anything in that." In the months after the storm, Manda and his students placed an array of scientific instruments in Pugh's abandoned field: wells to monitor groundwater, probes that take salinity measurements at 10-minute intervals. On this winter day, they install a weather station, which will keep track of rain and wind. "Right now, we're just collecting as much data as possible," Manda tells Pugh. -- Though it's known that saltwater intrusion is linked to sea level rise caused by climate change, scientists aren't certain exactly how salt winds up in farmers' fields. One hypothesis is that strong winds may blow saltwater from the sound into the canals and ditches that crisscross the county, which then leak into the soil. Another possibility is that the salt was left behind by storm-surge events and simply takes a long time to wash away. Or maybe the problem goes even deeper. Scientists are increasingly concerned that rising sea levels are shifting the "zone of transition," the underground gradient where fresh groundwater meets salty seawater. This issue may be compounded by the slow sinking of North Carolina's coastal plain since the end of the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. It's only through continued monitoring that Manda and his colleagues will figure out which of their theories is right. A group of students returns from testing the water in a nearby ditch. "Two point seven," they report - the liquid contains 2.7 grams of salt per thousand grams. "That's concerning," Manda replies. Typical salinity levels for fresh water are below 0.5 parts per thousand. The salinity of the groundwater - the fluid found in the cracks and spaces in the soil beneath their feet - is even higher. The researchers' readings turn up numbers of five parts per thousand, six parts per thousand, nine parts per thousand - far above the recommended level for farming. "The results are peculiar," says Manda, who had expected to find that the salty water was coming from the ditch. If the groundwater is more saline than the canals, that suggests the salt is seeping up from below. "From a science perspective, it's fascinating," Manda says - the unexpected results suggest the possibility of learning something new. "But from a farmer's perspective, what can you do about it?" Dykes and pumps can be used to hold back floodwaters from an encroaching ocean - Pugh has built some on his land. But little can be done to stop the slow mixing of fresh and salty water underground. Looking on as Manda and his students collect their samples, Pugh thinks about the floodwaters that sat on his fields for days after Florence. He still doesn't know how badly the storm surge damaged his soil, or how the lingering salt might affect the crops he plants this spring. "Hopefully this next round of samples will tell us," he says. But no one can tell him what this summer holds, let alone what kind of devastation the next hurricane season will bring. "If we have another year or two like the past five," Pugh tells Gibbs, "not only will I not be farming. A lot of us won't." "I know," she says sympathetically. "But you're a good farmer." Pugh gives her a nod. "Thank you." "Just had some bad weather," she says. Then, in a tone of pure hope, she adds: "But not this year. It's gonna be good this year." Pugh claps her on the shoulder. "That's the optimism of a farmer." Touched by the compassion of the nurses who tended to her... One of the saddest developments in recent Indian government policy has been the expulsion to Myanmar of two batches of Rohingya refugees in the face of a grave risk of persecution in the country they had fled. By conducting this act of refoulementa violation of international law, of which India claims to be a custodianthe government has betrayed Indias millennial traditions of hospitality to strangers. Jews came to India as refugees, facing persecution after the demolition of the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and in a second wave after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. They were accepted without cavil by the people of Kerala. The famous copper plates of King Bhaskara Ravi Varma specify the rights of the Jewish community. India was the only place in the world where the Jewish diaspora did not suffer a single incident of anti-Semitism. Oral legend has it that when St Thomas the Apostle landed in Kerala around 52 CE, he was welcomed on shore by a flute-playing Jewish girl. Illustration: Jairaj T.G. Indeed, so famed was our reputation as a land of asylum, that a defeated Cleopatra sent her son to the safety of Indias west coast, before killing herself. Alas, her son made the fatal mistake of turning back midway to stake his claim to the throne, and met with a gory end. The Zoroastrians, who faced religious persecution in Persia at the hands of Muslim rulers in the eight century, fled to India and became part of our land as the Parsi community. There is a lovely story of a Gujarati king sending an envoy to the captain of the Parsi flotilla, to tell him that there was no room for them. It is said that since the two sides had no language in common, the envoy called for a tumbler of water and dropped a stone in it; the water promptly overflowed, showing what would happen if the refugees were admitted. The Parsi captain understood the message and replied eloquently: he called for a glass of milk and carefully stirred a spoonful of sugar into it, to show that the refugees would integrate and only sweeten Gujarat. Impressed, the king offered them sanctuary and land. Ever since, Gujarati has been the mother-tongue of the Zoroastrian community in India. In fact, sympathy for refugees is deeply embedded in the Indian psyche. Our great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, both dwell upon the injustice of the protagonists being forced into exile, and extol the nobility of extending support and succour to those seeking refuge. One of our most popular festivals, Diwali, celebrates a homecoming of refugees after fourteen years of exile. In 1959, India embraced a lakh Tibetan refugees who fled their homeland with the Dalai Lama. In 1971, we saw the single largest refugee crisis in human history, when 10 million refugees from East Pakistan fled to India, to escape genocide at the hands of Pakistani Army. We provided them refuge, till Bangladesh was born and most returned home. The civil wars in Sri Lanka and Nepal created similar refugee influxes, as more than a lakh Sri Lankan Tamils, and an estimated one-third of the Nepali population fled to India. The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in 1979, saw a stream of Afghan refugees entering our country. We did not stop them, and many still remain in India because of the crisis in their homeland. Given this history, India ought to be a natural world leader on the question of refugee rights. However, our present actions and our lack of a legal framework do our heritage no credit, shame us in the eyes of the world, and fail to match up to our actual past track record. We can, and must, do better. India must enact a national asylum law, such as the one I have been demanding for years in Parliament. We should be among the most admired nations in the world, not one that, on refugee issues, is increasingly in the global doghouse. editor@theweek.in After Victoria and Abdul, Ali Fazal is starring in another Hollywood project, which is expected to go on floors next year. Fazal started out in Hollywood with a cameo in the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious franchise before bagging the lead opposite Judi Dench in Victoria and Abdul." "It's a biopic, a war drama. But it's going to take time. I'm very new in the market there, barely one film old so they have to attach big names to it in the other cast. That's happening right now," Ali said. The actor says there's also one indie project but he has to wrap up his commitments here first. "We were supposed to start the biopic by the end of this year but I think now it will be January 2020. I've to finish my commitments here first." The actor will also be shooting for Amazon Prime Video's India original Mirzapur season two. The first season of the show, created Puneet Krishna and directed by Gurmmeet Singh, featured an ensemble cast of Pankaj Tripathi, Ali, Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, Divyendu Sharma and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. "The series is going further because the writing is not one dimensional, there are so many layers. In part two, the audience thinks it will be all about revenge but there's so much more that will happen. "My best wishes to Sacred Games too because I'm excited about that as an audience," he said. On the film front, the actor will be next seen in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Milan Talkies, scheduled to release on March 15. After Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman safely crossed over to India on Friday, public and celebrities have been cheering for him and the Indian Air Force. Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, too, took to Twitter to express her joy and lauded India's warriors. In a tweet, she wrote: People in America r shocked dat a 65year old Russian #MIG21 shot down an American made & sold #F16 at the India Pak border.This tells a lot about pilot training.The best plane is the one with the best pilot inside (sic). The tweet, however, didn't seem to have gone down well Pakistan's Minister for Broadcasting and Information Fawad Hussain Chaudhry. Taking a dig at Preity Zinta and Bollywood actors in general, Hussain said 'Bollywood walas' should stop poking their nose in issues beyond their understanding. He criticised educational qualification of the celebs, saying majority of them 'haven't even finished schooling and lack understanding of very basic issues'. Wars are too serious a business to be discussed by jokers who became celebrities by stroke of luck, he tweeted. Best thing #Bollywood walas can do is stop poking nose in issues beyond their understanding,majority of them havent even finished their School, they lack ken of very basic issues. Wars are too serious a business to be discussed by jokers who became celebrities by stroke of luck https://t.co/ReRKLdLIC7 Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 1, 2019 What Fawad Hussain probably does not know is that Preity Zinta, herself an army kid, holds an English (Honours) degree and a post graduate degree in criminal psychology. Massod Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, Indian security officials in New Delhi said on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Azhar is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said on Thursday, "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell." The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old overweight terrorist mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and a student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits, another official said. In1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the Soviet-Afghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania, the second official said. Azhar also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate in Somalia in 1993. In August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fundraising and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader, to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. The Jaish was responsible for the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of the Jaish attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The Jaish also carried out the attack on the Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the Jaish carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 40 jawans. Three members of a family were killed and two others injured as Pakistani forces heavily shelled areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said. Shelling continued into the night, according to media reports, even as tension was expected to reduce with the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan. Pakistani forces targeted civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy guns, including howitzers of 105mm calibre, they said, adding that Indian forces retaliated effectively. In the heavy shelling, three members of a family were killed and another was injured in Salotri in Poonch district, where shells hit several houses, they said. Twenty-four-year-old Rubana Kosar and her son Fazan (5) and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam were killed in the shelling. Rubana's husband Mohd Yunis was injured, they said. Earlier in the day, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in the firing by Pakistani forces in the Mankote area of Poonch, officials said. Besides Salotri and Mankote, shelling also took place in Krishnagati and Balakote areas in Poonch district. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with India, Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days. On Thursday, a woman was killed and a jawan was injured when the Pakistan Army heavily shelled civilian areas and forward posts in six sectors along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, in which one woman was killed and nine persons were injured. In view of the prevailing situation, authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5km radius along the the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. They have asked all border dwellers to remain inside their homes. Amid high tension along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, accompanied by the White Knight Corps Commander, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. A 10-year-old girl was allegedly repeatedly raped by a boy at a village in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said on Saturday. The boy, 12, was booked following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents, police said. "Both the minors are neighbours. As per the complaint, the boy had been raping the girl since the last four months," an official of Mokhada police station said. A few days back, the girl complained of stomach pain. When her parents took her for a medical checkup, doctors told them that she was pregnant. When her parents asked her, she told them what had happened. Thereafter, they filed a complaint against the boy, the official said. The boy was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), he added. According to police, the boy has not been detained yet and investigation into the case is on. Polls should be held to make India and its economy strong, to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desire of a 'prince' to become the prime minister, BJP chief Amit Shah said here on Saturday in a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Shah, addressing BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' bike rally here, slammed the opposition for raising doubts over the recent air strike on the terrorist camps in Pakistan. "Polls should be held to make the country and its economy strong and to give Pakistan a befitting reply and not to fulfil the desires of ageing leaders and a family's prince to become the prime minister," he said. On the Indian Air Force's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp early Tuesday, Shah said, "The opposition is doing politics by raising doubts over the recent air strike on Pakistan-based terrorist camps." He criticised Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the issue. "During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule, maximum number of terrorists were eliminated in the country," he said. Shah also blamed the Congress for the delay in the implementation of the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) for the ex-servicemen and creation of the National War Memorial. Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial, adjoining the iconic India Gate complex in New Delhi, on Monday, nearly 60 years after it was mooted to honour the fallen soldiers after Independence. Just a few hours after the Indian Air Force struck terrorist bases across the Line of Control on February 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at his aggressive best as he addressed an election rally in Churu, Rajasthan. Amid loud cheers from the audience, Modi harked back to the pledge that he had taken in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, and declared, Saugandh mujhe hai is mitti ki, main desh nahi mitne dunga (I swear by the soil of this country that I will not allow this nation to perish). He insisted that the nation was in safe hands. A major challenge before the anti-Modi grouping is how to bring the focus back on issues such as unemployment, the agrarian crisis and Rafale. While Modi did not make any direct reference to the retaliatory action to the Pulwama terrorist attack, the message was clearthat he has lived up to the reputation of being a strong and decisive leader who has the gumption to take bold measures, and that he is the only leader who can deal effectively with the challenges to the countrys security. This was underlined by BJP president Amit Shah at a party event in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, when he said that India could prove its might through air strikes only because of Modi. The government, he said, had shown zero tolerance to terrorists. The political appropriation of the air strikes by Modi and the BJP is in no doubt, and the party realises that the scenario emerging from the terror attack in Pulwama has tremendous potential to alter the electoral narrative ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. With less than two months to the elections, the ruling party is expected to project Modi as a leader capable of taking bold actions to deal with challenges to national security, and a corollary of this would be that the opposition lacks a leader or a party with as strong a commitment towards national security. The emerging scenario is also in sync with the BJPs claims of being a party committed to nationalistic ethos. Modi and the BJP had appeared to be on the back foot after the losses in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the November-December Assembly elections. It was felt that they were not in control of the political narrative and were on the defensive on issues such as unemployment, farmers crisis and corruption, especially the allegations of irregularities in the Rafale deal and letting loan defaulters like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi leave the country. Brand Modi seemed to be fading, as the prime minister was being reminded by the opposition of the promises that he had made in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The terror strikes in Pulwama changed the scenario. Sensing the public sentiment, Modi engaged in tough talk in his public meetings, noting how he felt the same anger as his countrymen over the terrorist attack. He told the people that he had given a free hand to the armed forces and that the perpetrators of the Pulwama incident would have to pay a heavy price. The opposition, aware that the political discourse post Pulwama has changed, finds itself in a tricky situation. A major challenge before the anti-Modi grouping is how to bring the focus back on issues such as unemployment, the agrarian crisis and Rafale. These issues were the mainstay of the narrative that was carefully constructed by these parties to take on Modi and the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. However, the opposition leaders agree that these issues will have to wait for some time, and that they will have to focus on the emerging security scenario and how the ruling dispensation deals with it. This was evident when Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a last-minute decision to postpone the meeting of the Congress Working Committee scheduled on February 28 in Ahmedabad. A rally in Adalaj, which was to follow the CWC meet, was also dropped. The two events were to mark the launch of the Congresss campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, and the choice of venue was to provide it with the symbolism of taking on Modi on his home turf. The concern over the changing political scenario was voiced by leaders in a meeting of opposition parties, which was held against the backdrop of the air strikes by India, the ensuing action by Pakistan and the capture of an IAF pilot by Pakistan. The meet, which was originally called to discuss a common minimum programme and a pre-poll alliance for the anti-Modi bloc, instead devoted three and a half hours to discuss the situation arising out of the Pulwama attack and the action taken by the government. Other than national security, the meeting discussed nothing else, unlike Rajnath Singh, the man responsible for national security, who was holding parleys in Chhattisgarh, said Congress leader Randeep Surjewala. He was referring to Rajnaths meeting with BJP workers in Chhattisgarh on February 27, a day on which tensions between India and Pakistan soared and the pilot was taken captive. Congress leaders also pointed out that while the CWC meeting was postponed, the prime minister was keen on creating a record for the worlds largest videoconference. Most of the opposition leaders agreed that the government had to be held accountable for the lapses that led to the Pulwama attack, and that Modi and the ruling party should be called out for politicisation of the action taken by the armed forces. After prolonged discussion, they decided on a carefully worded joint statement which lauded the action taken by the IAF and praised the armed forces for their valour and bravery, but expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by the armed forces by leaders of the ruling party. The statement said national security must transcend narrow political considerations. The leaders observed that the prime minister had not convened an all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy. The parties agree that if Modi indulges in taking credit for the actions taken by the armed forces, then they will hold him responsible for the lapses that led to the terror attack in Pulwama. While it is premature to say that the Pulwama incident and its aftermath will have an impact on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections, they have certainly changed the political atmosphere in the run up to the polls. It was a coincidence, but a propitious one. Two days after a suicide bomber had driven his explosive-laden Maruti Eeco into a trooper convoy at Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF constables and escorts, the Indian Air Force had its scheduled annual firepower demonstration, Vayu Shakti, on February 16. There, in the Pokhran range where the exercise takes place every spring, several Mirages, MiG-27s and Jaguars emptied their precision bombs and ground-strike munitions in front of hundreds of news cameras, secret recoding devices and even satellite eyes of the big powers. Not more than five men on the grandstand of the VIPs knew that a few of the aircraft were actually rehearsing the strikes that they would deliver in real enemy territory exactly a week later. A day before the exercise, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa had driven up the Raisina Hill from his Vayu Bhawan office and given a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and some of their closest security aides. There he had reiterated what several other chiefs before him had told their prime ministersthat the IAF had the capability to deliver precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan as also occupied Kashmir. But there was a difference this time. On earlier occasions when air strikes had been thought of, the targets had been close to the Line of Control, mostly in occupied Kashmir. This time, however, an overcautious Pakistan had emptied out all the terror training camps and launchpads near the LoC, and moved them into the sovereign territory of Pakistan. Hitting those could provoke the enemy into retaliating in kind, Dhanoa is said to have warned. Would the political leadership be willing to risk an escalation? Plan of action: Prime Minister Modi addresses a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting on February 26 | AP It was that risk that had held back several governments earlier from hitting the truant neighbour with military forceafter the attack on Parliament, after the attack in Mumbai, after the attacks in Pathankot, Uri and several other places. But this time, the mood had changed. All the same, as the chief was about to leave, the prime minister is said to have added a clause of cautionstrike at the terror camp, but ensure that there will be no collateral damage on any military installation or civilian life and property. As the senior air staff at Vayu Bhawan scrambled to assess the situation, they found that it would be no easy task. For Pakistan is a country dotted with military installations, and most terror training camps were close to, or even attached to military stations. The strikes would have to be pin-precise. Meanwhile, the chiefs and their staff officers had received inputs from the R&AW and IB, whose heads Anil Dhasmana and Rajiv Jain were also present at the meeting. One target that would yield politico-military dividend was the Bahawalpur headquarters of Masood Azhar, the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad that had perpetrated the Pulwama and several other attacks on India. High alert: Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses a meeting of Pakistans national security committee | AFP But Bahawalpur was soon ruled out for several reasons, the foremost being that it was well-guarded by the Pakistani army and air defence. Moreover, the clutter of talk from India about Bahawalpur had made Pakistan virtually over-guard their precious asset. Meanwhile, the National Technical Research Organisation had supplied satellite pictures and data about 30 terror-training locations, including the ones at Jalalabad, Balakot, Khalid bin Wahid, Jungal Mangal, Abbottabad and Tarbela, all of which were reporting heightened activity, perhaps due to the arrival of the trainers and recruits from the camps in PoK. Such missions are the result of great coordination among all the agencies, pointed out Alok Joshi, former NTRO chief who was part of the planning for the 2016 surgical strikes. The choice was soon madethe strike would be on the Syed Ahmed Shaheed training camp in Balakot, not the Balakot in Poonch near the line of control, but the little town of Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the sovereign territory of Pakistan. The outskirts of the town had hosted one of the oldest terror training camps of Pakistan which, some say, dated back to the days when President Zia-ul-Haq arranged training for the Afghan mujahideen to wage war against the Soviet military in the 1980s. The facility had since been given over to Hizbul Mujahideen and in recent years to Jaish-e-Mohammad. There are several such terror camps inside Pakistan and these details have been shared with the Pakistan government time and again, former home secretary G.K. Pillai told THE WEEK. However, no action has been taken to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil. Balakot is one such facility that has been used by multiple terror organisations. The hilltop facility by the Kunhar river offered a sprawling campus, where recruits were imparted the advanced Daura-e-Khaas training in weapons, explosives and field tactics, tactics for attacking security convoys, planting and making improvised explosive devices, preparations for suicide bombing, rigging vehicles for suicide attacks and survival tactics in high altitude and under extreme stress. Masood had been known to visit the place to give inspirational lectures, and he had entrusted the administration of the camp to his brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghauri, who is suspected to have masterminded the Pulwama attack. Balakot was used for battle inoculation, said the intelligence dossiers presented to the prime minister. The snoops also had copies of dossiers kept by the Pakistan Punjab government on 42 Jaish-e-Mohammad instructors, all of who had trained, and some of whom were training fresh recruits at Balakot, complete with their phone numbers, names of parents, and home addresses in Bahawalpur, Multan, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Attock, Sahiwal, Muzaffarabad, Rajanpur and Mianwali. They also told the prime minister that Masood Azhar himself had been at the Balakot facility on February 5, which was Kashmir Solidarity Day. His earlier visit had been in October when he had offered a prayer for acceptance of the martyrdom of his 18-year-old nephew Usman (son of his elder brother Ibrahim Azhar), who had been gunned down by security forces in Tral in Kashmir. Azhar had urged Kashmiris to follow in the footsteps of Usman. Adil Ahmad Dar, the Pulwama fidayeen bomber, is said to have been inspired by that speech, which was circulated on social media. And Yusuf Azhar, who had been trained at Balakot, was training more youngsters there. All this made Balakot the perfect target. Lethal weapons: a train loaded with army trucks and artillery guns parked at a railway station on the outskirts of jammu | Reuters Balakot was finally zeroed in on, but the prime minister still had a word of cautionno collateral damage to civilian or military lives or assets, please. Thus, it was with the weight of the Balakot mission in mind that Dhanoa flew to Pohkran the next day. When media men quizzed him there, he would only say that the IAF was ever prepared to deliver appropriate response as assigned by Indias political leadership. Two days later, on February 18, Dhanoa was again summoned to the prime ministers office, where he received the final go-ahead. The same evening, Dhanoas office called the No 7 squadron in Gwalior, and assigned it the task. By then, the IAF had done the complete operational planning with Air Marshal Hari Kumar, chief of the Delhi-based Western Command, and Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, head of the Allahabad-based Central Command. Central Command because the Gwalior squadron came under it, and western command because it would have to provide all the support, such as escorts, air defence cover, early warning and even mid-air refuelling from the huge Ilyushin-78 tankers. But why Mirages, and that too all the way from Gwalior? Why not the equally advanced MiG-29 from Adampur, dedicated ground attack MiG-27 from Bathinda, deep-strike Jaguars from Ambala or the workhorse MiG-Biz from Pathankot or elsewhere? Several factors went into the selection of the strike aircraft, the route of ingress and even the logistics. For carrying out such operations, first of all is the target selection, which is vital. You must have something to strike because we do not risk so many aircraft, crew and prestige on something which is just a hilltop, explained retired Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur. Once you decide on the target, then comes types of aircraft and weapons. Planning like routing, assets, have to go along like AWACS, flight refueller and others. Hitting the targets in pakistan could provoke the enemy into retaliating in kind, air marshal B.S. Dhanoa is said to have warned. The reasons for choosing the Mirages were several. For one, Mirages were equipped with laser-guiding pods and more modern electronic warfare suits that could jam Pakistani air defences. They have fly-by-wire flight control system which freed the pilot to focus on releasing the weapon; have Sextant VE-130 HUD, which displays data related to flight control, navigation, target engagement, and weapon firing. They also have Thales RDY 2 radar, aiding the pilot to engage any enemy plane from long distance. The pilots are also equipped with display inside their helmet, enabling them to see radar data without looking at the cockpit display. This means a pilot can direct weapons by merely pointing their head instead of manoeuvering the entire jet in the direction of the target. Their SPICE (Smart Precise Impact Cost Effective guidance kit)-2000 kits, mounted on a standard 2000-pound Mk 84 unguided bomb, were the smartest munition to hit soft targets on the ground without inflicting collateral damage. The other available aircraft were MiG-Biz, MiG-29 and Jaguars. Though recently upgraded, MiG-Biz is essentially a short-range jet, more suited to dogfights with enemy planes than for ground attack. MiG-29s are longer-range and immensely powerful, but more suited in an interceptor role for establishing air superiority. Jaguars are deep-strike jets, but with limited capability for dogfight in case the enemy scrambles. The Mirages, recently upgraded and armed with MICA air-to-air missiles, can engage targets at beyond visual ranges and also at close rangesone missile for two jobs. The choice of Gwalior as the launch base was also ideal. For one, Gwalior indeed is the home base of the Mirage squadrons. Secondly, from there they could take off and climb high while in Indian airspace, and then swoop down to treetop level to evade enemy radars as they approached Pakistani airspace. They could strike at the target from stand-off positions, before climbing to higher altitudes to scoot. This is called hi-lo-lo-hi mode of strike, said an air officer. You take off high so as to save fuel and gain speed, ingress into enemy territory low so as to evade enemy radars, strike from low altitude, and then climb up to egress fast. Any squadron from closer to the border would have been picked up by the enemy as soon as they took off. Therefore, the strike had to take off from deep inside India. The squadron, No 7, was also battle-hardened. Known as Battle Axes, they had seen action in Operation Cactus in November 1988 in the Maldives, and then in Kargil where Wing Commander Sandeep Chhabra earned a Yudh Seva Medal and Wing Commander (now marshal and commanding-in-chief of eastern command) R. Nambiar the Vayu Sena Medal. Squadron 7 had a week to practise. And that whole week the MiGs from the border bases, and even heavy Sukhois from deeper-inland bases, flew up on hundreds of combat air patrol missions near the border and LoC, creating clutters on Pakistani radars. They did the same in the early hours of February 26, too. Sukhois from Halwara and even deep-inland bases like Bareilly roared around in the western commands airspace, executing forward sweeps. Behind that air cover, two Ilyushin-78 tanker planes flew up from Agra to air-fuel the Mirages, in case any jet got thirsty mid-air. And two early warning planes from Bathinda roamed around looking deep into Pakistani airspace and giving realtime information to the Mirages about enemy fighter activity. At 2am on February 26, when the enemy skies were clear during the graveyard shift, 12 of the Mirages, armed with laser-pods, SPICE-2000 and Crystal Maze Mark2 air-to-ground missiles, and fire-and-forget medium-range (90km) Popeye missiles flew up high into the central Indian skies and then swooped down as they approached the Pakistani airspace. There they split into three groups heading north, west and south. This is done with two purposes, said an Air Force officer. One is to avoid presenting a cluster of targets to the enemy, the other is to strike at the enemy from several directions. We call it multi-directional saturation strike. By using the technique of masking by hills, our fighters were able to beat the Pakistan air defence radars. Two decoys were also used to distract Pakistan air force. A Heron unmanned aerial vehicle was also up in the air for monitoring and assessment of the target. Intelligence reports earlier had said that the camps at Jabba Top in Balakot, Chakothi and on the suburbs of Muzaffarabad housed 200 to 300 JeM cadre, trainers and leaders. From 3.42am the Mirages pounded the three targetsall within a radius of 10kmfor nearly eight minutes. The jets fired 12 Spice 2000 precision-guided bombs and two Popeye air-to-ground missiles with the explosive weight over 1,000kg. The Pakistan air force, taken by surprise, did scramble their F-16s, but by then the Mirages had climbed, disregarding the radars, and raced back. Pakistans lack of strategic depth helped us, said an officer. The targets were just about 65km from Indian airspace. The ingress by our strike [fighters] took longer because they took circuitous routs and also flew low to evade enemy radars. But the egress was quick. They flew back straight, and also at high altitude. By 4.30am all the fighters were back in Gwalior after carrying IAFs first cross-border strike since 1971. The next morning, as Indian air defence radars, linked to Spyder missile batteries and Akash air defence missiles, scanned the horizons and the border base MiGs patrolled the skies, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced to the media: In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of Tuesday, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, [who is] the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar. Pakistan, however, denied any casualties, and said that its jets had fought off the Indian ones, which had dropped the payload in haste. Bashir Wali, the former head of Pakistan Intelligence Bureau, even denied the presence of any terror camps in Balakot. It is war hysteria created by India for its elections. I have been to those areas. It has been snowing there. There would be a maximum of five or six houses in the entire area. Indian jets only offloaded the bomb while quickly returning to their Indian base, he said. India has started the wrong game and Pakistan will react two times to any provocation. And, it did. Soon, the tactical picture began to change. Protesting violently, Pakistan scrambled their air force, which conducted several menacing combat patrols close to the international border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. In what is now suspected a clever trap to lure Indian fighters, a pack of F-16, JF-17 and Mirage-5 streamed across the Line of Control around 10am into the Noushera, Bimbargali and Krishna Ghat sectors of Rajouri and Poonch districts. The Mirage-5 tried to bomb the Indian Armys 25 Division headquarters, and an ammunition and logistics depot close to the brigade headquarters in Poonch. The IAF immediately scrambled a combat air patrol from Awantipora base close to Srinagar. Five MiG-Biz chased the four F-16s that turned back, with two MiGs in hot pursuit, but one, flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was hit and downed. Much like the capture of Wing Commander Nachiketa during the Kargil war, he was immediately mobbed, but quickly captured by the Pakistani ground forces. As the Pakistan military posted videos of Varthaman being quizzed, India was pressing upon Pakistan to treat him by the Geneva Conventions, which demanded that a prisoner of war be not tortured or coerced into revealing more than bare details about himself, his unit and his mission. The external affairs ministry summoned the Pakistan acting high commissioner in Delhi, and strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law. India also ruled out Pakistans call for a dialogue, and said there would be no deal on the pilots release. The following day, on February 28, hours after the US reportedly called for immediate steps towards de-escalation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in Parliament that they would release Varthaman as a gesture of peace. He said he wanted de-escalation. The question is: Will he get it? New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over declining growth in the third quarter of this fiscal, saying the "chowkidaar" has once again failed in the numbers of the quarter. Gandhi's comment came a day after his party alleged that despite "fudging" of data by the Modi government, India's economy continues to slide. "False promises, false games. The chowkidaar has failed again in this quarter's numbers," the Congress chief said on Twitter, citing a news report that India's growth declined to 6.6 per cent in the quarter ending December 2018. On Friday the Congress had tweeted that "as PM Modi's disastrous tenure comes to an end, despite all the fudging, the economy continues to slow." "Less than two months to go before India sees a new dawn," the party said on its official Twitter handle. Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has said the latest quarterly growth rates "puncture" the government's claims on the economy. "Quarterly growth rates of 2018-19 puncture the claims of government. Q1 was 8 %, Q2 was 7 % and Q3 was 6.6 %. This is the swan song of the BJP government. If Q4 growth rate declines further, as is expected, that will expose the government completely," Chidambaram tweeted. In signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general elections, GDP growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand, government data showed on Thursday. PTI SKC SKC ANB ANB (Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.) HR-One continues to elevate Data Security, Privacy & Quality Standards Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India Business Wire India HR-One, a subsidiary of Uneecops a CMMI Level 5 company, and a leading HRMS provider today announced that it has successfully completed the Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 Type II Audit. 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In 2018, HR-One was also recognized by Software Suggest for rendering excellence in customer support. Trusted by some of the biggest brands in logistics, healthcare, electronics, aerospace, hospitality and others, HR-One aims to make payroll, recruitment, time office, leave management and end-to-end employee lifecycle little simpler, faster and better for everyone. About HR-One HR-One is a subsidiary of Uneecops Group. a 450 Cr. Conglomerate which is enabling SMEs and large scale organizations to simplify HR functions. Trusted by 300+ companies and 2,00,000+ users, HR-One manages the entire employee lifecycle with complete attendance, leave and payroll. The company offers 10+ power-packed modules which helps business owners and HR professionals to simplify HR functions and do foster happier workplaces. Visit https://hrone.cloud/ to see how HR-One can simplify HR and other vital business functions with power-packed modules. PWR PWR Washington, Mar 2 (AFP) The United States and Russia clashed Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekend's US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduro's forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. "We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena," Lavrov said. "This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs," he said. Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on the crisis, charged that Maduro's forces would turn Russian aid into a "political weapon" by providing it only to supporters. "Obviously we are in favor of giving humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; we are not in favor of giving it to this corrupt regime," Abrams told reporters in Washington. Lavrov voiced hope that international pressure would "cool hotheads in Washington" who he said are seeking military intervention in Venezuela. He alleged that the United States was planning to buy small arms, mortar launchers and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from an "Eastern European country" and station them "close to Venezuela." President Donald Trump has not ruled out military intervention in Venezuela, although even close US allies have said they would not support the use of force. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has worked closely with Trump to seek Maduro's ouster, appeared this week to suggest a violent climax as he posted on Twitter two pictures of Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- one relaxed and smiling while in power, the other bloodied as he was lynched in an uprising. Defying a travel ban by Maduro, Guaido went first to Colombia to try to bring in the aid and to meet with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. The 35-year-old political newcomer continued on to Brazil, where he met the new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, and on Friday traveled to Paraguay and Argentina. Guaido has said he will return home "at the latest on Monday" despite threats to arrest him. AFP NSA Islamabad, Mar 2 (PTI) Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. "India submitted its dossier..., if India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it," Qureshi said. He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in Pakistan and its policies are very clear. "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC. Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said that there was "still confusion" over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. "The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no," he said. "They have denied that, that's the confusion." When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said, "people over here, and the people who are known to them." In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "very unwell", but said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi said. His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the "so-called nerve centre" of the JeM in Bahawalpur. He was referring to the provincial government's move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month. "India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds," he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case. "We had stated that India should give us actionable evidence so we could act, we had assured India that we would cooperate," he asserted. Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said Pakistan's new government has brought a new approach, conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He said that the "situation is critical still, both countries armed forces are still on high alert. "We are nuclear-armed neighbours, can we afford a war? This is suicide," he said. He said that at this point of time, Islamabad want to bring the situation under control, adding that, "a section of the Indian media is behaving in very irresponsible manner by engaging in warmongering." Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a "peace gesture". Varthaman, who in Pakistans custody since Wednesday, was released at the Wagah border on Friday. PTI ZH AKJ ZH ZH Islamabad, Mar 2 (PTI) Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday, a day after the IAF Wing Commander returned home. India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. Pakistan was under intense pressure from the US, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and release the Indian pilot. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a hero's welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. Qureshi dismissed the notion that the captured IAF pilot was released owing to pressure or as a compulsion. "Pakistan will not allow anti-state elements to risk the peace of the country or the region. We plan on taking action against extremist groups," Geo news quoted him as saying. India has repeatedly told Pakistan to act against terror groups operating from its soil and recently handed over dossier containing "specific details" of the involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in Pakistan. "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion," Qureshi told BBC Urdu. He said that Pakistan does not want the peace of the region to be risked over politics. "Pakistan does not want to go in the past, but if it goes in the past, then we will have to see how the attack on Parliament, Pathankot and Uri took place and that is a long story," the foreign minister said. Qureshi reiterated that if evidence is shared against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), then action will be taken. On Friday he admitted that JeM's chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. The IAF pilot's release was seen as a major step towards defusing a tense situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invading Pakistan Air Force jets and shot down an F-16, according to Indian officials. PTI CPS AKJ CPS Maha CM reviews airport works, including ones at Shirdi, Pune Mumbai, Mar 2 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has sanctioned several works in connection with development of airports in the state, said a statement from the chief minister's office. These include allotting land to Hindustan Petroleum for an aviation fuel station at the Shirdi Airport, and appointing a consultant for Pune's greenfield Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje International Airport, the CMO statement said. Additional land was also allotted at Shirdi Airport to the Indian Oil Corporation, it said. The decisions were taken at the 66th board meeting of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited which was chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the statement informed. Shirdi International Airport, spread over 400 hectares in Kakadi village in Ahmednagar district, was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 2, 2017. Work at airports in Shirdi, Amravati, Purandar, Chandrapur, Karad, Solapur, Dhule and Phaltan were reviewed as well as the progress of the Centre's regional air connectivity scheme 'UDAN'. Fadnavis also approved various road and infrastructure works in Nagpur's MIHAN and allotted funds for them, the statement added. PTI MR BNM BNM Amethi (UP), Mar 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting and lay the foundation stone of an ordnance factory unit in Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The constituency is being given a saffron hue ahead of the visit, during which the prime minister will launch several projects in the constituency which has remained loyal to the Gandhi family for long. This would be Modi's first visit to Amethi after coming to power in 2014. He visited the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, represented in Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in December. According to official sources, Modi will address a public meeting in Kauhar area of Gauriganj and will launch some projects besides laying the foundation stone of a new unit of the Munshiganj Ordnance Factory, where assault rifles will be made in collaboration with Russia, on Sunday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Amethi earlier this week to review preparations for the prime minister's visit. Modi previously visited Amethi on May 5, 2014 and the BJP, which had fielded party leader Smriti Irani against Gandhi in 2014 general election, had managed three lakh votes. Irani has been nurturing the constituency since and is expected to contest again in the coming poll, expected to be held in April-May. State BJP general secretary Govind Narain Shukla, who is the convenor of the prime minister's public meeting, said, "It will be a historic meeting in Kauhar with over 1.25 lakh people likely to attend it." In 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP had won four of the five assembly constituencies under Amethi Lok Sabha seat, with SP winning one. Congress had failed to open account in the Gandhi bastion. Meanwhile, Congress workers have objected to the white-washing of the wall paintings of their leader, Rahul Gandhi, near the meeting venue. Gandhi's representative, Chandrakant Dubey, said white-washing the paintings of the local MP was "very sad and unfortunate" and only shows the intolerance of BJP leaders and workers. PTI COR SAB ABH ABH Jammu, Mar 2 (PTI) Pakistani troops Saturday again violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said. The shelling from across the border started in Nowshera sector around 12.30 pm, ending over 12-hour-long lull in the border skirmishes which intensified after India's pre-emptive strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Tuesday. A young woman and her two children were killed and several others, including two Army personnel, were injured in heavy shelling along the LoC in lower Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district Friday night, raising the death toll in the exchange of firing on the Indian side to four. "Pakistan continues with nefarious designs and at about 1230 hours, again initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector," the spokesman said. "The Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively," he said, adding that there was no report of any casualty on Indian side in the latest round of firing. Meanwhile, all educational institutions within five kilometer radius of the LoC remained closed for the fifth day Saturday as a precautionary measure, officials said. They said the Indian forces are on high alert and keeping a close vigil along the LoC and the International Border (IB). A police official said the shelling from across the border stopped around 11 pm Friday after intense firing which left 24-year-old Rubana Kosar, her five-year-old son Fazan and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam dead and her husband Mohammad Younis injured in Salotri village of Poonch district. "The panic-stricken border residents in some worst-hit villages fled to safer places. There was no report of mass migration and people are staying back at their homes although the district administration had made necessary arrangements in case people are forced to flee their homes," the official said. Poonch Deputy Commissioner Rahul Yadav said the health institutions are open and working round-the-clock to meet any eventuality. "All ambulances have been mobilised and moved to the areas close to the LoC with special teams to help people in need," he said. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, also leaving nine persons, including some army personnel, injured. Amid high tensions along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. PTI TAS SNE SNE New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday handed over a 'chadar' to be offered at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in the coming days. "Handed over a 'Chadar' that would be presented at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah on the 807th Urs in the coming days," the prime minister tweeted. A delegation comprising heads of both 'anjumans' of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah Committee on Saturday met Modi, who handed them over the 'chadar'. The delegation welcomed the prime minister with 'dastarbandi' and prayed for the country's peace, safety, harmony, a statement from the delegation said. Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was also present. PTI ASK NAB KJ KJ KJ Shimla, Mar 2 (PTI) The body of one of the five Army jawans missing for the last 10 days in an avalanche in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district was recovered Saturday, district officials said. Twenty-five-year-old Rajesh Rishi was one of the six jawans of the Army's 7 JAK Rifles who were buried under the avalanche that occurred near the Shipki La border outpost in the state's tribal Kinnaur district on February 20. He was a resident of Himachal's Solan district, Kinnaur district public relations officer Mamta Negi said. She said the body was being taken to Pooh and from there it will be sent to his native place in Jagatpur village. About 500 personnel have been deployed to search the other four trapped Army jawans in the avalanche, she added. The body of one of the jawans, Havaldar Rakesh Kumar of Ghumarpur village in Bilaspur district, was recovered the same day when the avalanche occurred. The search and rescue operations are being closely monitored by the Headquarters Western Command, a defence spokesperson said. Lt Gen PM Bali, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Western Command, visited the site a few days ago and assured that all efforts were underway for search of the missing Army persons. PTI DJI DPB Rae Bareli, Mar 2 (PTI) A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Amethi, a hoarding stating that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will "fizzle out" in Uttar Pradesh has come up in neighbouring Rae Bareli, evoking sharp response from the party. Congress leaders and workers have demand that the poster be immediately removed and action be initiated against those behind it. While Rae Bareli is the parliamentary constituency of Priyanka's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and brother Rahul Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. "Toot jaega danka, fuss (fizzle out) ho jaengi Priyanka," stated the hoarding at Canal Road in Rae Bareli. It was allegedly put up by Arun Singh, who claims to be a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Singh has also mentioned his mobile number on the hoarding. Priyanka Gandhi, Congress's general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) and Sonia Gandhi's daughter,entered active politics recently. "This clearly spells the anti-women mindset of the BJP which is out to defame the Gandhi family at every given opportunity," Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said. "The sacrifices and contributions of the Gandhi family are well known... They have never deviated from their path of service towards the nation even in the most trying of times... "BJP leaders know that till the Gandhi family is active the main issues will remain communal amity, peace and development,' he said. People will give a befitting reply to "liars" in 2019, Awasthi said. Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting in the Congress stronghold on Sunday.He had visited Rae Bareli in December. Priyanka Gandhi recently took part in a grand roadshow in Lucknow along with Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia and party chief Rahul Gandhi in February.PTI SAB ANB ANB Ruling MDA wins tribal council elections in Meghalaya Shillong, Mar 2 (PTI) The ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) led by the National Peoples Party (NPP) Saturday won both the tribal council elections in the state. It is a good sign for the MDA since it won the tribal council elections just ahead of the general elections this year, sources said. The opposition Congress won only 14 seats - 10 out of a total of 29 seats in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and 4 out of 29 seats in the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council. As many as 131 candidates contested the February 27 tribal autonomous council elections vying for a total of 58 seats - 29 seats in each of the two councils. The National People's Party (NPP) won 12 seats in Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and 7 seats in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. It emerged as the single largest party by bagging 19 seats out of the total 58 seats. The other members of the ruling alliance in the state such as the United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 16 seats, the Hill State People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 2 seats and the People's Democratic Front (PDF) won only 1 seat. UDP president Donkupar Roy congratulated the MDA alliance for its win. "I congratulate the people for bestowing their faith in the leaderships of the regional parties," Roy said. "We will do what is best for the people," Roy told PTI. PTI JOP SBN SBN Boundless joy in Abhinandan's alma matter as he returns safely Bengaluru, Mar 2 (PTI) As Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman became the toast of the nation overnight, KV-NAL in Bengaluru basked in the glory of having the most valorous student, for whose safety the entire country prayed in unison. While everyone in the school heaved a sigh of relief with the news about Abhinandan's safe return, his alma mater Kendriya Vidyalaya (NAL) proudly displayed Abhinandan's picture just at the entrance of the school. "BRAVO! Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman IAF (KV NAL Alumni 1998-1999) We, the family of KV-NAL, Bangalore sincerely salute you and pray for your safe return to the motherland. JaiHind," read the poster with his picture. As the news poured in about the Indian pilot Abhinandan being captured in Pakistan, M S Anand Shankar rang up his mother Durga Shivakumar from the USA to tell her that the pilot was none other than his junior in the school. A teacher herself in the school, Durga Shivakumar started recollecting who the boy was and then her son told her that Abhinandan's wife Tanvi was KV-NAL's alumni. "This description made it easy for me to recall both Abhinandan and Tanvi. I did not teach him, but I know him as a stout chubby boy, who very actively participated in sports andextra-curricular activities. He was the leader of one of the five 'houses'," Durga Shivakumar told PTI. The Kendriya Vidyalayas have a tradition of dividing the entire school, including teachers, into four or five houses where competitions take place amongst them. Abhinandan had joined KV-NAL in the 11th standard. Prior to it, he was in KV-DRDO. Within a year of his joining, he left such a deep imprint on his teachers that they made him the leader of the house. "At that time only he became the leader of the house. He had such capabilities," recalled Manoharan Pillai, the principal of the school. Pillai said he was not a staff in the KV NAL then, but whatever account people narrated about Abhinandan gave him goosebumps and he turned emotional. "I could not stop my tears from flowing as I learnt that the school which I am heading today had groomed the brave IAF pilot," said Pillai. Suddenly, the entire school got into scrambling through the records to dig out old photographs of their brave alumni and chanced upon quite a few of them. The school conducted a special prayer Friday morning for the safety and well being of Abhinandan. "Our joy knew no bounds when Abhinandan returned to India safely. Once he overcomes the trauma he underwent, we will invite him to 'his school'," said Pillai. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a "peace gesture". Abhinandan Varthaman returned home to a hero's welcome Friday night from his nearly three-day captivity in Pakistan, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Abhinandan was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. PTI GMS RA APR APR APR Lok Sabha polls; AIADMK allots one seat to Puthiya Thamilagam Chennai, Mar 2 (PTI): The ruling AIADMK Saturday signed a poll pact with Puthiya Thamilagam by alloting one parliamentary constituency to it, party Coordinator O Panneerselvam said. Puthiya Thamilagam President K Krishnaswamy along with his supporters held discussions with the AIADMK seat sharing committee at its party office here. Emerging after signing an alliance with Krishnaswamy, Panneerselvam, also the Deputy Chief Minister, said a parliamentary constituency has been allotted to Puthiya Thamilagam for the coming Lok Sabha polls. "For the 21 seats that are lying vacant in Tamil Nadu, Puthiya Thamiliagam would extend its support for the AIADMK candidates", he told reporters. While 18 assembly seats are lying vacant following the disqualification of the dissident MLAs (who owe allegiance to rebel leader MLA TTV Dhinakaran) by the Speaker, three other seats fell vacant following the demise of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2018, AIADMK MLA A K Bose (Thiruparankundram) and Hosur constitutency following disqualification of the MLA. In the 2016 assembly polls, Puthiya Thamilagam unsuccessfully contested four seats by forging an alliance with the DMK under the leadership of M Karunanidhi. Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu unit President Tamilisai Soundararajan said she was happy that Puthiya Tamilagam has come into the AIADMK-BJP alliance. AIADMK concluded its poll deal with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) by allotting five and seven seats to them respectively. Soundararajan expressed hope that the DMDK, led by Vijayakanth, would also join the alliance soon. PTI VIJ VGN APR APR APR By JPost , Feb . 25, 2019 Fake ads bearing the Star of David were reported around Szczecin in north-west Poland on Monday, claiming that the buildings will soon be confiscated and handed over to Jewish owners. In France, Jewish residents were singled out and their homes spray-painted with Stars of David and Neo-Nazi slurs. One resident, Oliver Feldman, said that I fear for my wife, for my children, for my own safetyevery day I ask if itll happen again, Ynet reported. In addition, 100 gravestones were desecrated and spray-painted with Swastikas close to Strasbourg. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. Ms D.C. writes: I appear to have exhausted all avenues to help a friend get a refund for a trip on the Waverley paddle steamer, cancelled for a second time. The company argues that it was paid with vouchers so can only refund in vouchers, when in reality my friend paid with his credit card. Refund trouble: Ms D.C. writes, 'I appear to have exhausted all avenues to help a friend get a refund for a trip on the Waverley paddle steamer, cancelled for a second time' They advised him to buy a book of vouchers and immediately convert the vouchers into tickets as this was better value. No vouchers actually changed hands and my friend paid 210 and received boarding passes for a group. Tony Hetherington replies: The Waverley is a beautiful old preserved vessel and the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world. Run by a preservation charity, she is normally based on the Clyde, but often travels around the coast, offering trips from the Mersey, Bristol Channel and River Thames, among other locations. Your friend Mr S made a booking in 2017 for himself and a small group of mainly elderly friends. Unfortunately, the Waverley was damaged in an accident and needed repairs, so the sailing was cancelled. Passengers were offered free membership of a support group, the Friends of Waverley, and since they intended to book again, the group went along with this. Last year, they tried again. Mr S rang the Waverley booking office and asked for seven tickets on a sailing from Liverpool to Llandudno. He was told that as a member of the Friends of Waverley he was entitled to a book of vouchers at a discount and could make a saving by immediately converting the vouchers into tickets. He gave his credit card details, paid 210 and while still on the phone he converted his vouchers into sailing tickets. Were you a victim of this 32m investment scam The Financial Conduct Authority is searching for almost 500 victims of land investment scams to share in 2.5million it has snatched back out of 32million they lost. At least 870 investors were tricked by James Maynard, who operated Regional Land and Countrywide Land Holdings, and Stephen Watkins, who headed Consolidated Land UK, but regulator officials say they are in touch with only 392 possible claimants. The companies bought cheap land in the South East of England, and in Stockport and Solihull, and then sold expensive house-sized plots to investors. But the land had no planning permission for development, and some had been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where building of any kind was banned. The Mail on Sunday sounded the alarm over Maynards scams in 2010. The City watchdog refused for some years to take action against any land investment scam, but in 2012 it changed its mind and began legal proceedings against Maynard. He was ordered to repay investors, but fled abroad. He returned last year and was jailed for seven and a half years. Now the regulator has recovered 2.5million from Panama-based Paradigm Consultancy, which held funds for both Maynard and Watkins. Anyone who invested in their land scams, or believes a family member may have invested, is asked to contact paradigm.investors@fca.org.uk. Sadly, the trip was cancelled again. But there was no refund. Waverley boss Kathleen ONeill told me it was common practice not to send the vouchers to members. She explained: If at the time of buying vouchers they know what sailing they want to take, they just ask for the voucher exchange to take place in our office and for sailing tickets to be sent. So, Mr S never saw the vouchers and did not realise that there were strings attached which meant that if a voyage was cancelled, the only option was to try to book for a trip in the future. There would be no cash refunds. A pensioner himself, he felt he had let down the rest of his group and would have to find the cash from his own pocket to repay them. Advancing years and health problems mean that at least a couple of the group are unlikely to be able to travel now. At first, Waverley resisted. Kathleen ONeill insisted: If any of our sailings are cancelled, the customer is always refunded in the same manner as they paid. As far as she was concerned, you paid with the vouchers you had bought but never seen, so all you would get were fresh vouchers. But a few weeks ago, she left and a new manager was appointed. Paul Semple went over the discussions I had with his predecessor and took the initiative in contacting me even before he had officially started work. Whatever the rules about vouchers and sailing tickets might be, he took a common sense view that your friend Mr S had originally paid with real money. He told me: I have authorised that he will receive a full refund for the vouchers purchased. I will now write to him, offering my sincere apologies on behalf of all at Waverley for the delay in refunding. You have just confirmed to me that Mr S has indeed received his refund. It may not have been plain sailing, but we got there in the end. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. The global population is expected to increase from 7.6 billion to almost 9.5 billion in the next 30 years and the United Nations estimates that food production will need to rise by around 70 per cent over that time. Fertiliser can help to bridge the gap and demand is expected to increase steadily in the coming decades. Fertiliser production is already a major industry, with around 200 million tons consumed annually. Growth: Emmerson , a small, Aim-listed firm, is developing a mine in Morocco, less than 40 miles from the coast Virtually all is made from three basic ingredients, nitrogen, phosphate and potash, a potassium compound. Most potash mines are in remote locations, in the wilds of Russia or the Canadian planes, but Emmerson, a small, Aim-listed firm, is developing a mine in Morocco, less than 40 miles from the coast. The shares are just 3.1p but should increase significantly as chief executive Hayden Locke moves the company into production. Potash is known as a bulk commodity, which means it is heavy, takes up a lot of room and is costly to transport. That presents huge challenges for companies miles from the nearest port but it provides Emmerson with a significant competitive advantage. Located in Northern Morocco, the groups potash can be transported cost-effectively to some of the largest markets in the world, particularly Brazil, the southern states of America, South Africa and much of Europe. Big business: Fertiliser production is already a major industry, with around 200 million tons consumed annually There is enormous potential in Africa too. The continent has 60 per cent of the worlds uncultivated arable land and fertiliser usage has historically been extremely low. Now, times are changing and demand in Africa is increasing by 30 per cent a year. Morocco itself presents substantial opportunities for Emmerson, as the country is home to one of the worlds largest fertiliser companies, OCP Group. In the past, OCP focused on phosphate but it has moved into full fertiliser production in recent years, importing nitrogen and potash. Sourcing potash from Emmerson would be a logical move, driving down costs and improving security of supply, particularly as the groups Khemisset mine is less than four hours drive from OCPs main fertiliser production facility. Emmerson has a long way to go before it starts to make money but progress to date is encouraging. The company already knows it can produce around 800,000 tons of potash a year and that it will be one of the lowest-cost producers in the world, thanks to the mines geology and its location. Production is also likely to increase substantially. The groups total mine area covers a hugeexpanse of land, more than 450 square miles, but Locke is focusing on a third of that to keep costs down. Over time, mining activity is likely to expand, increasing production and extending the mine life to several decades. Locke expects to begin a formal feasibility study in the next few months, in essence working out whether the project makes commercial sense but early signs are encouraging. It will cost about 300million to take the Emmerson mine into production, which sounds like a lot of money but is relatively cheap compared with most potash projects. Locke is already in talks with potential funders and interest is growing from deep-pocketed financiers. OCP would be an obvious source of cash too, as the group would be such a beneficiary from home-produced potash. Emmerson hopes to start commercial production in 2022 and, once the mine is up and running, it should be immensely profitable, generating at least 100million of cash after tax annually. Potash prices have been rising in recent years but, even if they fall by 20 per cent or more, Emmerson will still be able to make money, while most of its peers would be struggling. Locke is also an experienced operator, having brought two mining companies through the development and financing phase in the past decade, one of which was sold for $570million (430million) in 2014. Seriously, do it. Its one of the more unusual demands Ive received from a chief executive during an interview. Ali Parsa has told me to call my doctor and ask for an appointment. And hes not joking. Just try to make an appointment with your GP and see what happens, says the founder of mobile doctor app Babylon Health. When is the first appointment they can give you? Screen saver: Babylon's Ali Parsa tells Jamie Nimmo to try and get a GP appointment Somewhat reluctantly, I call my surgery. Waiting on hold, a voice says Im fourth in line just to speak to a receptionist. As we wait, the hum of 100,000 people from the mobile phone industry wandering around us at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona is interrupted only by regular updates from Parsa. So far its taken you four minutes, the eccentric Iranian-born entrepreneur tells me in his distinctive high-pitched voice. After five minutes, I give up. Parsa has proved his point. He shows me that in ten seconds, he can arrange a video appointment with a doctor using Babylons controversial GP at hand smartphone app for two hours time. Babylon offers virtual consultations with GPs over a smartphone, as well as an artificial intelligence system which diagnoses problems. It has a tie-up with the NHS so people in and around London, where it currently has five clinics, can use it for free, as long as they switch from their current GP practice. It will soon launch this service in Birmingham. Patients can also pay from 9.99 a month if they dont live near one of Babylons clinics to get unlimited consultations with doctors over video. They dont have to switch from their GP for that additional service because sometimes the GPs over video will refer them for a physical exam. All digital: Babylon offers virtual consultations with GPs over a smartphone, as well as an artificial intelligence system which diagnoses problems This is what the Government gets, he says. We can deliver healthcare immediately to anyone in Britain for the same price. Most of us dont have GPs who can see you immediately, are open all the time or a family GP that you know. So now there is a solution. Were open 24/7. Hes responding to fierce criticism levelled at the company by supporters of the NHS who claim public services should not be operated by private companies. Parsa has become something of a poster boy for NHS privatisation. He is here in Barcelona to speak at a talk on artificial intelligence. The companys small army of online opponents have been contacting the other speakers, demanding they ask him certain probing questions, he says. They actually do us a massive service. They keep you on your toes. You know you can do nothing that we cant publicly defend because someone will find it. Parsa says one critic trials the service hundreds of times so he can find a fault with the artificial intelligence system (which has come in for criticism for misdiagnosing problems), but adds: You cant pay for that type of quality control. There are still questions about how elderly people will use the service if they dont have smartphones. It takes them a little bit more to trust something, but once they do because they need it the most, they use it, Parsa responds. When they discover it, they become our most frequent users. Even Health Secretary Matt Hancock, an advocate of digitising the NHS, uses the app. Why all the attacks on the Minister when they turn around and say, This is good for the country? It just doesnt make any sense to me, he says in Hancocks defence. Price: Patients can also pay from 9.99 a month if they dont live near one of Babylons clinics to get unlimited consultations with doctors over video I promise you, a peasant in Rwanda [where Babylon also operates] today has faster access to a GP a qualified Rwandan doctor than you, a middle-class professional in Britain. You just saw it yourself, he adds. The annual trade conference, where mobile executives meet clients and potential clients, is heavily focused on 5G, which will revolutionise automation and artificial intelligence, including Babylons own technology, Parsa says. You build something for where the world is going to be, not for where the world is now. In our heads, we were always going to have 5G, edge computing and quantum computing. People judge you by, Oh my god, the AIs getting something wrong today. In healthcare, you cant say Ill get something wrong and itll be fine. But still, a human doctor makes a mistake one in every five times. Born in Iran, Parsa came to the UK to seek refuge three years after the 1979 revolution. I was a very well-to-do middle-class kid and just for a short period of time, I became a refugee. Actually my journey was not as heroic as I sometimes read, he laughs. He learned English, completed his A-levels and managed to win a scholarship to University College London to study engineering. He worked in investment banking including at Goldman Sachs but decided it wasnt for him. In 2004, he established Circle Health, which went on to become the first private firm to run an NHS hospital when it took on the Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire. He stepped down in 2012, three years before the hospital ran into problems and was handed back to the NHS after the Care Quality Commission branded it inadequate. He defends his time at Circle, pointing out that he turned Hinchingbrooke from a loss-making hospital into one that turned a profit and also one that won awards. He went on to set up Babylon, which is now the biggest employer of GPs in the UK. But Parsa has set his sights further afield. His plan now is to launch the service in a raft of countries including the US, Canada and South East Asia, the latter through a partnership with Chinese internet giant Tencent. The UK will make up just 10 per cent of revenues this year, he forecasts. He wants Babylon to become the Amazon or Facebook of Britain and claims it can be just as big. Its not being arrogant. Healthcare is the largest industry in the world by far, he explains. Earlier this month, it was reported Babylon was looking for investment of $400million (300million) to fund its expansion, which would be among the biggest funding rounds ever for a UK technology company. Parsa says the number is much smaller and says it is for strategic partners, not for venture capital firms. Facebook was a ten-year job, Amazon was a 20-year job. For that you need very important partners, he says. Parsa wont disclose the identities of the partners, but says: When we say who these investors are, people will see what we mean. On the future of healthcare, he says: The NHS will make its own decisions. But if you ask me, is this the future of global delivery of healthcare, I would tell you, absolutely. Despite being the trailblazers though, Parsa admits Babylon may not be the ones to crack it. We may fail in achieving our goal. But if we fail, somebody else will pick it up and do it, he says. After we part ways, I call up my GP to check when the next available appointment is. Theyve just had a cancellation for the following afternoon. Failing that, the first appointment is in 11 days time. By The Smoking Gun , March . 01, 2019 MARCH 1--An Indiana man who yesterday accidentally shot himself in the penis and scrotum does not have a handgun license and could face criminal prosecution, police say. According to cops, Mark Anthony Jones, 46, suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot injury while walking early Thursday morning in Marion, Indiana (where Jones resides). Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. engages in global investment banking, securities, and investment management, which provides financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Investment Banking, Global Markets, Asset Management, and Consumer & Wealth Management. The Investment Banking segment serves public and private sector clients around the world and provides financial advisory services, help companies raise capital to strengthen and grow their businesses and provide financing to corporate clients. The Global Markets segment serves its clients who buy and sell financial products, funding and manage risk. The Asset Management segment provides investment services to help clients preserve and grow their financial assets. The Consumer & Wealth Management segment helps clients to achieve their individual financial goals by providing a wealth advisory and banking services. The company was founded by Marcus Goldman in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, NY. Read More Stantec Inc. provides professional consulting services in the area of infrastructure and facilities in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company provides consulting services in engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics. It also offers water, transportation, and public works; transportation planning and traffic engineering; and resource assessment, mine development, reclamation, hydrology, and geotechnical and infrastructure engineering services, as well as urban planning, traffic assessments and optimization, environmental impact assessments, and public consultation services. In addition, the company provides structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and hydraulics engineering services. It serves urban regeneration, infrastructure, education, public and private sector, tourism and leisure, and waste and water sectors, as well as office and commercial, residential, and retail and town centers. The company was formerly known as Stanley Technology Group Inc. and changed its name to Stantec Inc. in October 1998. Stantec Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. Read More By Town Hall , Feb . 27, 2019 A previously deported illegal alien from Honduras, Juan Ramon-Vasquez, has been sentenced in Philadelphia after being convicted of repeatedly raping a child. Philadelphia is a sanctuary city and he will serve just 21 months in jail. "In March 2014, he was found back in the United States by U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. At that time, Ramon-Vasquez was in the custody of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons," the Department of Justice explained in a release late Tuesday. "The City of Philadelphia thereafter chose not to comply with a detainer lodged by ICE for Ramon-Vasquez, who was instead released from custody by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. After his release, Ramon-Vasquez proceeded to repeatedly rape a young child. The defendant is currently serving a sentence of 8 to 20 years in state prison for the rapes." Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook NORRISTOWN A Norristown man conceded that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to prove he assaulted a 2-year-old boy in his care and now hes headed to state prison. Katorre Darby, 24, of the 400 block of Barbadoes Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 4-to-8-years in a state correctional facility on a felony charge of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury to a child less than 6 years of age, in connection with a Sept. 15, 2017, incident at his home. Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Darby to have no contact with the victim. Darby, who was represented by defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III, will receive credit for the time he spent in jail between September 2017 and April 2018 while he was awaiting trial on the charges. The defendant was responsible for this child on that day and rather than protecting him and caring for him he very seriously injured him. The child was in critical condition and only a state prison sentence would accurately reflect and account for the impact of his crimes and the severity of the injuries this child suffered, said Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood, who sought the state prison sentence. The victim, according to court papers and prosecutors, sustained multiple injuries to his internal organs, fractured ribs, a fractured clavicle and bruises. The injuries were intentionally inflicted, Ringwood alleged. The child was very, very significantly injured and is now recovering and doing well. An investigation of Darby began on Sept. 15 when Norristown police were contacted by a nursing supervisor at Suburban Community Hospital regarding a suspected case of child abuse. Hospital officials reported the childs mother brought the child to the hospital emergency room when the child experienced breathing problems, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Detective David Crawford. The mother took the child to the hospital when she noticed that the child was not acting right, Ringwood said. During the emergency room visit, doctors observed marks around the childs neck and further tests revealed a fractured left clavicle. The child subsequently was transferred to the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia where doctors determined the child had bruises all over his body with lacerations to his spleen, liver and kidneys, Crawford wrote in the arrest affidavit. Detectives determined the child was in Darbys care on Sept. 15. When he was interviewed by detectives, Darby claimed the child fell multiple times while under his supervision. Darby claimed that during a walk the child tripped over a curb and fell near Main and Barbadoes streets and landed on his ribs and shoulder. Detectives subsequently obtained video surveillance footage from a business in the area and identified a witness to the incident. That witness, who was in the area at the time, told detectives he observed an adult male yelling at a child when the child was lagging behind during the walk. The adult male then punched the child several times, then lifted the child off of the ground by his arm and lifted the child above his head and put him back on the ground forcefully, Crawford alleged. The child was screaming during this time. Doctors later told detectives that in addition to suffering multi-organ abdominal injuries, the child had bruising in areas of the body that is not common with accidental trauma, including the ear area, abdomen and neck. The childs mother reported the child did fall from a chair on Sept. 14 but that afterward the child was asymptomatic, according to court documents. There is no known medical condition to explain the multiple injuries involving multiple organ systems including bone, skin, liver, spleen, adrenal gland and kidney. These injuries are consistent with significant, repetitive blunt force trauma, Crawford alleged, adding the medical opinion was that the childs injuries resulted from non-accidental trauma. You had to admire the skill with which Michael Cohen attacked the character of his former boss. He had learned at the knee of a master. There, before the House Oversight Committee and a national television audience, Cohen showed himself to be adept at insult, avaricious and boastful even in disgrace and capable of lying as easily as he breathes. Here was the monster President Trump created, very much in his own image. Though off to prison in three months, Cohen openly said he plans to write a book, indicated he would consider movie or TV deals and wouldnt commit to give away the profit. Though ostensibly contrite for his crimes in service to Trump and to himself, he couldnt help minimize his transgressions (no banks ever lost a dollar with me) and regale the committee with his triumphs in Trump World: Im the one who started the campaign. I am responsible. It was my idea. What he lacked in wisdom, Cohen, like his old boss, compensated for with bluster. But now the Fixer is trying to break Trump. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts, he told the committee, because Trump is a racist, he is a con man, and he is a cheat. In Trump, he said, the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. Trump, he said, is unkind, ungenerous and fundamentally disloyal, covering up affairs, trying to hide his grades, inflating his worth, giving no sign that he loved our nation, cheating his way out of serving in Vietnam, becoming an autocrat and, yes, lying about his dealings with Russia and leaning on Cohen to do the same. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great, Cohen testified. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation, only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Cohens testimony put the committees Republicans in an unusual position: After two years of defending or ignoring Trumps lies, they professed newfound fondness for truth. Cohen, said Rep. Mark Green (Tenn.), is a narcissist, a bully who cannot tell the truth. Sound familiar? Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) pointed to a poster with prosecutors descriptions of Cohen: Consciousness of wrongdoing is fleeting. His remorse is minimal. His instinct to blame others is strong. Yes, weve heard this somewhere before. On they went, displaying no apparent self-awareness. Youre a pathological liar, said Rep. Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.) displaying a sign that read Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Gosar added: You dont know truth from falsehood. For hours, they disparaged Cohen for doing what they excuse from his old boss: threatening people, caring only about himself and vaingloriously portraying himself as a sexy, handsome and honest guy. Republicans glowered, sputtered and huddled. Rep. Mark Meadows (N.C.) forced a vote to try to postpone the hearing, and Jordan blurted out elements of conspiracy theories John Dean! Tom Steyer! The dossier! James Comey! Peter Strzok! Rod Rosenstein! as if talking in his sleep. But Cohen, wearing hair product and French cuffs, also got to enjoy some adulation before his confinement. God bless you! one man called out when the witness entered. Youre a hero! said another. Sixty journalists jammed in, and many more, including a frantic Japanese TV crew, chased down lawmakers in the hallway. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Tex., blocked from entering, protested: I am a 24-year member of Congress! Cohens claim that hes seeking redemption is suspect, and his mendacity means the threat he poses to Trump is not in anything he tells a committee but in what evidence he gave prosecutors of illegality by Trump. (He testified that he provided such information.) Theres little doubt that Cohen has been the con man he accuses Trump of being; the difference may be that Trump is better at it, because he is in the White House and Cohen is going to the big house. But one thing rang true in his testimony, because so many have been ruined similarly by service to Trump. Im responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you are doing now for 10 years: I protected Mr. Trump, Cohen told Republicans. I can only warn people: The more people who follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. If there is justice, Cohens prophecy will be fulfilled. Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group SCHENECTADY The fierce battle between Mayor Gary McCarthy and City Council President Ed Kosiur over how many City Court judges the city needs appears headed to court at taxpayer expense. On Friday, Kosiur said he had secured the five votes needed to override the mayor's veto late last month of a resolution to encourage the state Legislature not to eliminate funding for the four judges the city now has. The resolution passed 4-2 on Feb. 11. Kosiur said Councilman John Mootooveren, who was absent during that vote, pledged his support for the resolution. Besides Kosiur, the others on the governing body who continue to stand behind the resolution are Leesa Perazzo, Vince Riggi and Marion Porterfield. Council members John Polimeni and Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas have cited the need to be fiscally prudent in their opposition to the resolution. McCarthy has steadfastly maintained that three judges are enough and has asked Assemblyman Phil Steck to draft legislation to abolish funding for the fourth jurist. City Court Judge Vito Loyola turns 70 in December and will age out. Both sides have presented data to bolster their positions. The Democrats have endorsed Carl Falotico, the city's top attorney, for that judgeship. He declined comment Friday. The Office of Court Administration (OCA) has maintained that a fourth judge is needed and that Schenectady needs to provide an adequate facility. The city could either spend millions building a new courtroom or spend less by leasing space or converting a room on the second floor of City Hall into courtroom space. The issue is expected to be discussed at Monday's City Council Committee meeting. If the override veto is voted out of the 3-member government operations committee (Riggi, Porterfield and Perazzo) the full council would then vote on the matter at the regular City Council meeting on March 11. Kosiur said he planned to reach out to Polimeni and Zalewski-Wildzunas over to the weekend to talk about the judgeship. He acknowledged speaking with McCarthy but said that the local law states that if any changes are made to the existing resolution, then the new one would have to go back to the committee which would give the mayor another chance to veto it. The two Democrats had Friday discussed adding a line to the existing resolution encouraging the state Comptroller's Office work closely with the city and the Office of Court Administration to work with the city toward a possible compromise. Time is of the essence, said Kosiur. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "I need this done before the April 1 budget deadline for New York State," he said, adding that they plan on sending copies of the veto override to top state leaders, including the governor and lieutenant governor. McCarthy also argued that the clock has run out and that city leaders do not have the authority to override his veto. He said that by city charter laws the panel should have taken action on the vetoed resolution at the last City Council meeting on Feb. 25. The charter seems to indicate the city clerk must provide the veto to City Council members but stops short of saying that they have to take action on it. "If they're still going to entertain a vote, it creates a much more conflicted position and I have to look to maintain the integrity of the office so that it's probably going to set up additional litigation that I consider a waste of time and effort," he said. "When they've gone down a flawed path, there's not much else I can do." He acknowledged that legal action would be at taxpayer's expense. The mayor also said that Kosiur, his friend and ally, can be "difficult to work with." Not so, says Kosiur, noting that McCarthy is wrong, and the state law is on his side , which gives him 30 days to override the veto. "When I'm determined to fight for an issue, I will stand my ground solidly especially if I have the support of the majority of my colleagues on the council," he said. "I spoke with to the other four council members and we're all adamant about 'no compromise," we want this to move forward with the original resolution as worded." FINANCIAL GLENS FALLS NATIONAL BANK AND TRUST CO. Harry Kabalian joined as vice president, financial reporting and analysis. Kabalian previously served as chief financial officer at the National Union Bank of Kinderhook. NATIONAL BANK OF COXSACKIE Imelda Lane joined the Business Development team. Lane has 20 years of banking experience. HEALTH CARE GLENS FALLS HOSPITAL Howard P. Fritz was named chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs. Fritz, who retired as a partner at Gastroenterology Associates of Northern New York last year, will oversee all clinical operations. THE FOUNDATION OF ST. MARY'S HEALTHCARE Brigitta Giulianelli was named executive director. Giulianelli joined in 2015 as director of community benefits and outreach. THE BONE & JOINT CENTER Ernest Chisena joined as a trauma surgeon. Chisena is fellowship-trained and specializes in treating fractures, total hip reconstruction, revision and general bone, joint and muscle care. Abigail Mantica joined as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon. Mantica is fellowship-trained and provides treatment for a variety of general orthopaedic and pediatric orthopaedic injuries and conditions. Patrick Marinello joined as a hand and upper extremity surgeon. Marinello specializes in surgical and nonsurgical treatments of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand, including nerve repair and nerve transfer surgery. MEDIA TIMES UNION Shelly Chartrand was named circulation customer service manager. Chartrand has been with the newspaper for nearly 25 years, spending much of that time in advertising customer service. NONPROFITS CAPITAL REGION CHAMBER Adam Migirditch joined as a membership executive. Migirditch previously served as an account executive at the Tri-City ValleyCats. PROFESSIONS MEYER, FULLER & STOCKWELL PLLC Mary-Ellen E. Stockwell was named partner. Stockwell joined in 2013 and focuses her practice on commercial and residential real estate, municipal and estate planning. CHA CONSULTING INC. Nabil Ayad joined the High Voltage Electrical Group as senior engineer and section manager. Ayad is a licensed professional engineer with more than 30 years of experience. FITZGERALD MORRIS BAKER FIRTH PC Bradley C. Murray joined as an associate attorney in the Trusts & Estates practice group. Murray works in the Glens Falls office. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. HARRIS BEACH PLLC L.J. D'Arrigo joined as partner. D'Arrigo, who previously worked at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, will support the growing immigration practice. Mary Asala and Ercilia Gonzalez Acevedo joined as paralegals. Asala and Acevedo previously worked at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP. SERVICES ALPIN HAUS Jordan Spritzer was promoted to head trainer at the Alpin Haus Fitness Center in Amsterdam. Spritzer joined in 2017 as a personal trainer and small group class instructor. HRP ASSOCIATES INC. Elyse Abel joined as a project manager. Abel has spent the majority of her career building and managing teams of storm water inspectors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Massachusetts. TECHNOLOGY AUTO/MATE Alan Heaton was promoted to vice president, sales. Heaton previously served as a national sales manager. Michael Siomacco was promoted to East Coast district sales manager. Siomacco previously served as a regional sales manager. John Everhart was promoted to West Coast district sales manager. Everhart previously served as a regional sales manager. Jennifer Patterson Puzzle constructors clued in to RPI The clue was "Union College rival." The answer: RPI. The Troy engineering school appears to be a favorite with Crossword puzzle constructors whose work appears in The New York Times, most recently this past week. One of those constructors turned to the clue database assembled by Matt Ginsburg to find out just how popular an answer RPI has been. So far, it's appeared at least 58 times. Still, RPI is nowhere near the crossword leader. That honor goes to Nabisco's Oreo cookie, which has appeared 317 times. Guns N' Roses tune gets a hold on you When one of our colleagues needed to reach the Washington County Sheriff's Office last Thursday for a story he was working on, he was put on hold. Typically, he gets some bland elevator music. Not in Washington County. "It sounded a lot like 'Welcome to the Jungle,'" a Guns N' Roses hit, he said. Perhaps it should have been "I Fought the Law and the Law Won," another colleague observed. Walmart rethinks dismissing greeters Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The late Walmart founder Sam Walton described in his biography how perplexed he was when he entered one of his stores, only to be greeted by an employee who seemed to have no other obligations. What a waste of money, he thought. The store manager, however, knew better. He'd put the employee there to curb the store's shoplifting problem. People who were greeted by someone on the way in were less likely to try to sneak stolen goods past the employee on the way out. The move was so successful that greeters, many with disabilities, became standard in most Walmart stores. Walmart said it wanted to add other tasks that likely would disqualify many greeters. But after enduring more than a week's worth of bad publicity, the retail giant said it will make "every effort" to find a role for the workers. Los Angeles Actress Katherine Helmond, 89, an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress who played two very different matriarchs on the ABC sitcoms "Who's the Boss?" and "Soap," has died, her talent agency said Friday. Helmond died of complications from Alzheimer's disease last Saturday at her home in Los Angeles, talent agency APA said in a statement. A native of Galveston, Texas, Helmond's credits date back to the 1950s. But her real fame, and all seven of her Emmy nominations, didn't start arriving until she was nearly 50. She was probably best known for playing Mona Robinson, Judith Light's mother on "Who's the Boss?," which also starred Tony Danza and a young Alyssa Milano. She won a best supporting Golden Globe for her work in 1989. "My beautiful, kind, funny, gracious, compassionate, rock," Milano mourned on Twitter. "You were an instrumental part of my life. You taught me to hold my head above the marsh! You taught me to do anything for a laugh! What an example you were!" On the show, Light was an uptight single mother who hired the 1980s heartthrob Danza to be her live-in housekeeper, and Helmond was her foil, a lover of nightlife, pursuer of men and flaunter of sexuality. "Katherine Helmond was a remarkable human being and an extraordinary artist; generous, gracious, charming and profoundly funny," Light said in a statement. "She taught me so much about life and inspired me indelibly by watching her work. Katherine was a gift to our business and to the world." Danza tweeted, "We all lost a national treasure today. No words can measure my love." An only child, raised by her mother and grandmother, who began acting while in Catholic school, Helmond started her professional career in theater and returned to it often, earning a Tony Award nomination in 1973 for her Broadway role in Eugene O'Neill's "The Great God Brown." She was a favorite of director Terry Gilliam, who put her in his films "Brazil," "Time Bandits," and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Her major break came with "Soap," a parody of soap operas that aired from 1977 to 1981. She played wealthy matriarch Jessica Tate, one of two main characters on the show. She was nominated for Emmys for all four seasons of the show and won a best actress in a comedy Golden Globe in 1981. Helmond kept working into her 80s doing mostly voice work, most notably as the Model T Lizzie in the Pixar "Cars" films. She had a recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond" from 1996 to 2004 as the title character's mother-in-law. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, David Christian, her half-sister, Alice Parry, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial is being planned. Many would say that at the center of Seattle's grunge explosion in the early 1990s was a band called Nirvana, fronted by an enigmatic young man name Kurt Cobain. Cobain was, by most accounts, the force that brought the band together starting in the late '80s in Aberdeen, Washington. And Cobain would ultimately be the force that brought the band down after his self-inflicted death not so many years later. Bass guitarist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl would go on after Cobain's death -- Grohl has found immense success with his band The Foo Fighters and Novoselic continues to be a staple of the Northwest music scene as well as an outspoken activist -- but Nirvana ended abruptly. There was no replacing Cobain's angst-ridden, emotional songwriting, or his wrenching vocals. RELATED: Nirvana at 30: MoPOP celebrates Seattle grunge icons' first gig And it was 25 years ago Friday that audiences heard their last from Nirvana, at least publicly, on March 1, 1994. The band played a 3,050-capacity venue in Munich, Germany called Terminal 1 (Einz in German). The venue was name aptly: it had been the international terminal of the Munich Airport until the new terminal opened in 1992. For a band that was at the height of its career, the venue was perhaps a bit small, but Novoselic reportedly joked from the stage: "We're not playing the Munich Enormodome tonight because our careers are on the wane. We're on the way out. Grunge is dead. Nirvana's over. ... Our next record's going to be a hip-hop record!" according to UltimateClassicRock.com. The show began with a version of the Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl" before going into the band's usual opener on that tour, "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter." Watch video of the beginning of the band's last show here: Cobain was suffering from bronchitis and exhausted from the rigors of the European tour, and his voice cracked painfully throughout the set. RELATED: Newly discovered Nirvana demo tapes surfaced by Cobain friend A few songs into the set, as the band began "Come As You Are," the power went out in the venue. It was restored shortly after and Nirvana began the song over. The 80-minute show was the shortest of the tour, and ultimately didn't include "Smells Like Teen Spirit," despite it being printed on set lists reportedly from that night. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. RELATED STORIES The band closed the show with an encore performance of "Heart-Shaped Box," and then Cobain thanks the obviously enthusiastic crowd. Listen here: After that night, the band would cancel the rest of the European tour and two days later Cobain would overdose on Rohypnol in Rome, an episode that was reported as an accidental overdose at the time but has since been espoused as an early suicide attempt. Little more than a month later, he was found dead in his Seattle home, killed by a self-inflicted shotgun blast and perhaps helped along by a large dose of heroin. He was just 27 years old. Cobain would have celebrated his 52nd birthday on Feb. 20. Think of it as India's happy place: The state of Goa, which occupies a sliver on the country's western coast, is where residents of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and other cities converge for long weekends and lazy holidays filled with sun, sand and revelry. A commingling of cultures makes this one of the most fascinating pockets of India, defined by a leisurely pace and laid-back attitude. Perhaps there's no better way to describe the vibe in Goa than "susegaad," a Konkani language term derived from Portuguese that alludes to a sybaritic, contented way of life or, as the travel show host and Goa resident Mayur Sharma told me, the feeling that you can "sink into life here." Friday Church crawl Hire a car and driver and get your historical bearings in Goa Velha (Old Goa), the original walled Portuguese city once hailed as the Rome of the East. Goan Catholics make up about a third of the state's population today, and their influence is palpable in every corner. You can see where it all began in Old Goa, at places like the 17th-century Basilica of Bom Jesus; the Se Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic church built by the Portuguese in Asia, with its distinctive single belfry (the other one was struck down by lightning in 1776 and never rebuilt); and the Church of the Lady of the Mount, which has expansive views over the Mandovi River. Fashion finds Sacha Mendes was a fashion editor at the Indian editions of Elleand GQ in Mumbai before she returned home to Goa, where she opened Sacha's Shop in Panaji. "When you come from a place like Goa that's so pure, you wonder what's outside; then you go out and you feel nostalgic," she said of what inspired her homecoming. Now, in the elegant 1938 mansion in the heart of Panjim where she grew up the rooms were lovingly decorated by her grandfather with tiles and antiques imported from Macao and other Portuguese colonies she brings the "outside" to Goa. Browse resortwear from Indian labels like Savio Jon, Naushad Ali, and 11.11; mirror-work bags and accessories; and apricot kernel oils and scrubs from the skin care brand Pahadi Local. Local eats Kokni Kanteen might not look like much from the outside, but this restaurant, modeled after Portuguese-era khanavats, or taverns, is warm and inviting inside: Old photos, spice racks and clusters of chiles, garlic and onions are hung on the walls. Order the fish thali, a seemingly never-ending platter of seafood favorites like kingfish, mackerel curry, tisryo (clams), prawns and more. If that's not enough, add a coriander-heavy chicken cafreal or mutton xacuti to the mix. Don't miss the cumin-dusted fries, either. Dinner for two is around 1,500 rupees (about $21). Saturday Bohemian breakfast Before heading to the beaches of North Goa, stop for breakfast at Baba Au Rhum in Anjuna, a bohemian cafe you'll find en route. Grab a seat on the leafy patio and order the shakshouka (250 rupees), Leo Special (fried eggs, chicken, cheese and a chile plum sauce on a flaky croissant or fresh baguette, 300 rupees) and a Vietnamese coffee (130 rupees). Beach-hopping Goa is incredibly spread out, so if you're short for time, you'll need to choose between spending your time in North or South Goa. Generally speaking, South Goa is more secluded, serene and not as developed, making it good for a relaxed long weekend. If you want buzzing beaches, night life and restaurants aplenty, head north. You'll find options here: Arambol beach has a hippie vibe, complete with the occasional drum circle; Ashwem and Morjem are trendy; Vagator is known for its cliffs and rocky coves; and beautiful Mandrem is entered by a rickety walkway over a creek. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Burmese bites Bawmra Jap arrived in Goa about 15 years ago, and his modern Burmese restaurant, Bomra's, in Candolim has since become an institution you'll often come across its name on lists of India's top restaurants. The food merits every accolade it's earned: The lah-pet toke (pickled tea leaf salad), raw beef salad with basil, mint and coriander, steamed chile crab, and lemongrass ginger creme brulee are outstanding. Expect to spend around 2,500 rupees for two; Bomra's is closed during the monsoon season (from May to September), so plan accordingly. Sunday Bistro brunch More Information Lodging Right in the middle of Panjim's historic quarter, Mateus (432 Rua 31 de Janeiro, Fontainhas, Panaji; doubles from $42) is a nine-room boutique hotel set in a 140-year-old Portuguese home. The villa has lots of lovely, colorful touches - from wrought-iron balconies to cane chairs to patterned Bharat Tiles to the cozy seating nooks with fuchsia and turquoise pillows - and it's a great base for exploring Panjim's most important sites. If you want to stay closer to the beaches of the north, go to Casa Vagator (House No. 594/4, Ozran, Vagator, Bardez; doubles from $77). The 30 simple, comfortable rooms cascade down a cliffside toward Little Vagator Beach. Most rooms have terraces and outdoor seating areas, some overlooking one of the property's two pools. If you go the Airbnb route, Assagao has a hip village vibe, and lots of great restaurants nearby. You'll find rooms and apartments for about $30 to $40 per night. For a bit more - from about $40 to $80 - you can stay near beaches like Ashwem, Morjim or Mandrem. See More Collapse The once-sleepy, suddenly trendy village of Assagao is home to Villa Blanche Bistro, which serves all-day breakfasts waffles, Greek scrambled eggs, scrambled tofu with sweet potato chips and chiles as well as German fare like imported Black Forest ham (a nod to the German owner), and lots of vegan and gluten-free options. But the main weekend draw is the decadent Sunday brunch buffet, with sausages, salads and so much more. Enjoy it in a cheery patio with tiled tables and mismatched throw pillows. South Indian lunch Also in Assagao, Gunpowder is the restaurant credited with putting the quiet hamlet on the map. This perennially packed spot draws crowds to an outdoor dining platform draped in colorful, petal-like cloth panels for its South Indian fare you'll probably need to wait if you don't have a reservation. The Toddy Shop Meen Curry, a sour Kerala-style curry with coconut sauce (350 rupees), is the dish to get, but other contenders are the royyalu pulusu (Andhra style prawn curry, 450 rupees); mango-pineapple pachadi (fruits in a coconut-yogurt sauce, 250 rupees); and Kerala mutton curry (400 rupees). SCHENECTADY Rayed Algohim missed his daughter Noor's eighth birthday this year. With a work-leathered finger on a cracked phone screen, he scrolled through photos of her in a blue princess dress and a sparkly "Happy Birthday" tiara, her arms around her younger brother and sister. He'd spent that morning on the phone with Noor, two of her brothers and sister, and her mother, who all live in Egypt. Rayed and his five children are U.S. citizens. So was his father and his grandfather, who served in the U.S. military. But Rayed's wife is not. That's why she was barred from the U.S. under President Donald Trump's travel ban that blocked immigration from seven countries the government says lack sufficient vetting processes to ensure national security. While Algohim stays with their oldest son in Schenectady, his wife lives with the four youngest, including a toddler with a medical condition, in Egypt. They, like hundreds of other Yemeni-American families in the Capital Region, have been trapped between a 4-year-long conflict and humanitarian crisis in their home country and an indefinite ban. On a recent afternoon, Algohim sat in the office of Marhaba Services, a Schenectady business which assists immigrants. The lines around his soft eyes made him seem older than 34. Every so often "ma'am" a remnant from nearly a decade working in the South slipped into his words as he explained in a low voice the toll the travel ban has taken on his wife. "It's been hard but she doesn't show it. She tells me when she's by herself, she doesn't tell me with the kids. Sometimes they just cry because they want to be with their daddy," Aloghim said. Their journey to be reunited, which began two years ago in the midst of Yemen's devastating war, is only now just coming to an end. The war: before and after Yemen, a country on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has long been one of the poorest Arab nations. Before the war broke out, many men came to work in the U.S. as far back as a century ago. Some brought their families over while others, like Aloghim, lived a trans-Atlantic existence, sometimes visiting family back in Yemen only once a year. Around 60,000 Yemenis live in the U.S., according to Census Bureau data from 2017. More than 15,000 live in New York state about 200 in Albany County, 35 in Rensselaer County and 25 in Schenectady County. Algohim got his U.S. citizenship, through his father, in 1990. He has lived and worked here for more than 20 years first in San Francisco, then Nashville, now Schenectady. He moved to the Capital Region in 2010 because a friend told him about a job: like many other Yemeni men, Algohim works long hours behind the counter of a bodega. Algohim said his plan was always to bring his family over, but it is expensive to provide for all of them. He wanted to make sure he was settled first so that the family wouldn't have to live off public assistance. Since the family moved to Egypt a year and a half ago, where it's more expensive than Yemen, Algohim has struggled to support them. He said he is now more than $30,000 in debt. Other Yemenis, like U.S. citizen 66-year-old Jalal Abdulla, came to the U.S. to work only to go back to Yemen when he grew older. Abdulla moved to the U.S. in 1973 and worked as a crew member for private shipping companies in New Jersey, Michigan and Seattle. He returned to Yemen in 1986 and applied for his wife's visa in the early 2000s, but didn't finish the process because his only son was thriving as a hotel owner and taking care of them in Yemen. But four years ago, the war turned a desire to immigrate into a desperate need for survival. In early 2015, rebels from an Iranian-backed sect called the Houthis overthrew a government formed in the wake of a 2011 revolution that ousted the previous dictator. When an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia began a pro-government bombing campaign in March 2015, the conflict turned devastating. In the past four years, tens of thousands have died. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded more than 60,000 people and nearly 10,000 civilians killed a number echoed by the United Nations. The U.S. and other international powers have armed and trained Saudi Arabia's military. American-made bombs have been found at the site of explosions that killed scores at weddings, funerals, hospitals and schools. Despite a movement against the war in February, the House of Representatives voted to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen, which still needs a Senate vote for passage the ban remains. A sea, land and air blockade has inflated food prices and created a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations estimates that 14 million people half the country's population -- are at risk of starving to death. Aid organization Save the Children estimates 85,000 children have died since the war began. Yemeni citizens are trapped. Fighting ravaged Jalal Abdulla's hometown outside of Sana'a, the capital city. One missile fell only 10 feet from his front door. In the summer of 2016, he escaped with one of his U.S.-citizen daughters, who was pregnant, to join a friend in Schenectady. She gave birth to a baby girl a few months later. Abdulla and his daughter prepared to apply for both of their spouses' visas so they could join them in the U.S. "They can't even get whatever they need to cook, like gas," Abdulla said. "It's hell. It's as worse as it could get." Banned indefinitely Then in January 2017, Trump signed an executive order that banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The travel ban ignited chaos at airports across the country and was immediately challenged in court. Over the course of the year, Trump introduced different versions of the ban that added Venezuela and North Korea to the list. In the midst of the tumult, both Algohim and Abdulla filed petitions for their spouses to get visas in summer 2017. Even though the ban had already been introduced, they said they wanted to apply just in case it got worse - which it did. Algohim moved his family from the home village in Yemen to Egypt just before his wife had an interview for her visa at the consulate in Cairo in September 2017. Three months after the interview with still no response, Rayed Algohim sent an email to the consulate seeking urgent help to expedite his wife's case. He shared a medical report from Cairo University Hospital that said his youngest son had a congenital defect of the colon and showed a photo of the 18-month-old lying with his bloated belly exposed. The consulate responded the same day that "your case is currently undergoing mandatory administrative processing. The time needed to review an individual's case is difficult to predict." Extra security vetting has become common for applicants from the banned countries whose visas haven't been refused yet. The family was holding out to come to the U.S. to get their youngest son the operation he needed, but when an American doctor in Cairo told them he might die without it, they had no choice. The boy had surgery in Egypt last fall. He has improved, Algohim said, but still cries when he needs to go to the bathroom and visits the hospital at least once a week. Doctors say he needs more treatment, but it will have to wait for now. One reason Algohim said he would be scared to take his family back to Yemen is because the war has ravaged the country's health care. In the summer of 2017, Abdulla applied for his wife's visa and his daughter applied for her husband's. Abdulla's son-in-law's application was denied. His wife's is still pending. "The intention was always to live our final days together," Abdulla said. "I leave it in God's hands. I'm helpless." Their last hope was a challenge to the travel ban in the U.S. Supreme Court. Last June, the country's highest court upheld the ban, ruling it was within the president's powers. "I was not believing it's going to happen," said Algohim, who was in Cairo when the Supreme Court ruled last summer. "I see people in Egypt, they drop to the ground, I swear to God, I see some grown men crying." During a recent interview in Schenectady, Algohim showed an email he had sent to the consulate in Cairo on Feb. 10. "We have suffered so much since my wife's interview in September of 2017. The last seventeen months has been a wait of a smile to be put on us. I hope you help us and put a smile on our face," he wrote. After no change in the status of his case for a year and a half, the consulate responded later that day that Algohim's wife was being considered for a waiver - their only hope under the travel ban. Waiting for waivers Waivers are offered if the U.S. government decides that the denial of a visa would cause undue hardship, its issuance is in the interest of the U.S., and the applicant doesn't pose a national security risk. Virgil Carstens, press officer at the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, said that a consular officer carefully reviews each case to determine if the applicant qualifies for a waiver. As of Jan. 31, 2,673 applicants had been cleared for waivers after a consular officer determined the applicants satisfied all criteria and completed all required processing. Carstens said many of those applicants already have received their visas. In January 2019, the Department of State issued 174 visas for the unmarried children of U.S. citizens under the age of 21 and 62 visas for the spouses of U.S. citizens. There are no numbers publicly available for how many people applied. But attorneys leading lawsuits challenging the travel ban say the waiver process is unpredictable and opaque. For example, in some cases children, but not their mothers, are getting visas. "It's still completely sporadic," said Diala Shamas, an attorney with New York City-based legal advocacy organization Center for Constitutional Rights. "There are weeks where suddenly they're actually granting a handful of waivers and then a trickle to one or two. We haven't been able to discern any pattern or any rhyme or reason." A class action lawsuit filed by legal advocacy organization Muslim Advocates on behalf of 36 plaintiffs, including a Schenectady resident, is pushing for a systematic and timely case-by-case review of applicants eligible for waivers. Lead attorney Sirine Shebaya said cases are either outright denied or relegated to indefinite waiting in administrative processing. "By every indication the process has been a sham," Shebaya said. "Anecdotally the only cases that are getting waivers are those that are getting enormous media attention." Those who received waivers included the family of a girl with cerebral palsy, the family of a man who committed suicide, and a mother whose toddler was dying. The Department of State said applicants can contact consulates to expedite their cases if they clearly state the reason for urgency and provide supporting documents like medical reports. "Consular officers worldwide frequently handle visa cases involving medical emergencies, humanitarian concerns, or other urgent issues. Our officers can and do expedite serious cases on a regular basis. We are sensitive to the fact that in some cases, delays may cause particularly severe consequences, and we make every effort to expedite those cases," Carstens said in an emailed statement. Shebaya said the hardest-hit groups are people trying to bring over family members. "It's having a significant effect on these communities," Sheyaba said. "It's also kind of making them feel they're targeted and discriminated against and not equal to others. Some people are saying 'I'm a U.S. citizen too, why am I being treated like this?' " Abdulla said he's not opposed to the idea of the travel ban for national security, but doesn't understand why it would apply to the family of a U.S. citizen like him. "The travel ban is fine but because of the life of the Yemeni people due to the war, they should go easy on us and give us some mercy," Abdulla said. "At least those who have established ourselves here, allow them to reunite with their families. The ones here are already vetted, they're not going to be terrorists." Abdulla, who receives Social Security, and his daughter, who takes care of her child at home, struggle to support themselves. His granddaughter, who is now two and a half years old, calls him "Baba" the Arabic word for daddy. She has never met her father. Algohim is still waiting to see his wife and four youngest children. After meeting him, the Times Union contacted the consulate in Cairo for an update on his case, but received no response. Then two weeks later, on Monday, his wife received a call: she was cleared for a waiver and had been granted a visa. By next week, she can travel to the U.S. Aloghim, voice awash with relief, said he's now searching for a new house for him, his wife and five kids to all live together. For one Capital Region family, the long wait is nearly over. Digital presentation, including timeline, by Mallory Moench. Albany An Albany County jury convicted a former top Erie County official of third-degree rape Friday, county prosecutors said. Albert Dirschberger, 53, of Lancaster, was also found guilty of felony criminal sexual act before Roger D. McDonough in Supreme Court of Albany County. District Attorney David Soares' office said that after hearing testimony and reviewing evidence over a week-long trial, the jury determined that on the evening of Dec. 5 and early morning of Dec. 6, 2017, while in a hotel at 144 State St., Albany, Dirschberger had sexual intercourse with a 27-year-old woman he knew without her consent. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Dirschberger at the time was the Erie County social services commissioner. He faces up to four years in state prison on each count when sentenced on April 12. "This victim was forced in to sexual contact by a person with power over her, despite repeatedly telling him 'no' and being too intoxicated to legally consent," Soares said in a statement. ALBANY - Gun owners in New York with children in their homes could soon face a misdemeanor charge if they don't comply with the state's safe storage requirements. The proposal from Democratic lawmakers, which was initially considered for a package of gun safety reforms adopted in January, expands the existing safe storage law to residences where a child under the age of 16 lives. In order to comply with the requirement, gun owners would need to have a gun locking device for their firearm or store it in a locked container. New York already requires secure storage of a weapon in homes where there is a resident that is prohibited from owning a gun, such as a convicted felon or someone subject to a protective order. Gun owners in certain municipalities across the state, including Albany, are already subject to general storage requirements. Initially, the proposal imposed the requirement on all gun owners, but that language was struck from the bill on Thursday due to concerns from legislators, according to Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Westchester County Democrat who has sponsored the legislation for more than a decade. The amended language adds a violation with a maximum fine of $250 if a child, who doesn't live at a residence, is "likely to gain access" to a gun. In light of the changes, Paulin anticipates the legislation is ready to pass both houses of the Legislature. "It could be any day," she said. The new requirement is likely to face stiff opposition from Second Amendment activists and Republicans in the Capitol. New York State Rifle and Pistol Association President Tom King is doubtful the legislation would pass constitutional muster, claiming the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that storage laws keeping gun owners from accessing their firearm in a timely manner are invalid. Paulin dismissed King's concern, noting that other states have laws that impose storage requirements on gun owners living with children. The requirement wouldn't be proactively enforced, but Paulin hopes the measure would encourage gun owners to safely store their guns. She said that non-compliance with the proposed law would likely only be discovered if "something bad happens." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. A 2010 tragedy in Saratoga County, when 12-year-old Nicholas Naumkin was shot and killed by a friend playing with his father's gun, inspired the legislation, according to the accompanying memorandum. When gun control legislation was adopted in January, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins stressed that the Legislature wasn't done with the issue and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pledged an "ongoing crusade." Stewart-Cousins also expressed her support in January for revisiting an agreement previously struck by the Senate Republicans and the governor that effectively put an ammunition database proposed in the SAFE Act on hold indefinitely. Cuomo's top counsel, Alphonso David, said the State Police are working with the office of Information Technology Services to find a "construct that works." David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87 ALBANY Is a language and cultural institute at the University at Albany a platform for Chinese propaganda thats come under FBI surveillance? The Confucius Institute at UAlbany since 2013 has been offering Mandarin language courses, lectures on Chinese society and cultural events such as traditional New Years celebrations. Its one of more than 100 such Confucius Institute programs that operate on U.S. campuses, with hundreds more worldwide. As well as UAlbany, there are Confucius Institute programs at SUNYs Binghamton and Buffalo campuses as well as Pace, Baruch, Alfred and Columbia universities. But now, a U.S. Senate report on the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute has sparked renewed worry about these operations. The report, issued last week by the Senates Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations concluded that U.S. campuses need to give far more scrutiny to these programs and make sure their agreements are transparent and allow for full academic freedom. Also last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that his agency was watching warily and that his field offices nationwide are monitoring campus-based Confucius Institute programs. Its every field office, not just major cities. Its small ones as well, Wray said. The worry about the Confucius Institute, which has been rumbling beneath the surface in academic and intelligence circles for several years, is that the Chinese government is using the programs to insert political operatives in the U.S. who are conducting a form of soft propaganda in the schools. The Confucius Institute is also running numerous K-12 language training programs, which is another source of concern. U.S. schools and state and local boards of education should not outsource Chinese language teaching to Hanban, concluded the Senate Investigations report. Hanban is the Chinese entity, under the Ministry of Education, that operates the Confucius Institute. Critics charge that the programs put on by the institute are aimed at painting an overly rosy picture of Chinese society and its role in global politics and economics. There also are concerns about the Chinese instructors who travel to the U.S. to work in the institute programs. That was reflected in the Senate Investigations report, which raised questions about the vetting and hiring of Chinese instructors. The American Association of University Professors, which works to advance academic freedom, spoke to those worries in a 2014 paper that stated, Confucius Institutes function as an arm of the Chinese state and are allowed to ignore academic freedom. Their academic activities are under the supervision of Hanban, a Chinese state agency which is chaired by a member of the Politburo and the vice-premier of the Peoples Republic of China, read the paper, which advised participating campuses to renegotiate contracts in order to get unilateral control over what is taught and to have total academic freedom for the Chinese instructors. When contacted recently about the issue, the AAUP said their stance hasnt changed. UAlbany officials say they havent seen any problems with their Confucius Institute. UAlbany is not aware of any efforts by the Chinese government to censor or intrude on the operations of the Confucius Institute housed on our campus, campus spokesman Jordan Carleo-Evangelist said. More for you Students to make journey to China UAlbanys Confucius Institute contract was renewed in 2018 specifically with an eye toward accountability and transparency, he said. We believe the cultural and educational exchanges promoted by the Confucius Institute provide value to our community and are consistent with our mission as a research university with global reach. We also believe the public is entitled to know the terms of our relationship with the Institute, which is why UAlbany has made transparency a priority, Carleo-Evangelist added. Still, the Chinese governments view of the initiative isnt a secret, with officials there occasionally speaking openly about their intent. According to a 2018 story in the Politico news site, a Chinese Politburo member, Li Chanchun, extolled the advantages that the institutes offered. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The Confucius Institute is an appealing brand for expanding our culture abroad, said Li. It has made an important contribution toward improving our soft power. The Confucius brand has a natural attractiveness. Using the excuse of teaching Chinese language, everything looks reasonable and logical. Confucious Institute Report by rkarlin on Scribd The ongoing scrutiny does appear to have made some changes at UAlbany. A 2018 contract between UAlbany and Confucius Institute, updated from the 2014 document, appears to add a statement to ensure that academic freedom is asserted and protected in all activities of the Confucius Institute. Unlike, UAlbany and SUNY, though, many of the schools across the U.S. have kept contracts with the Confucius Institute under wraps. The federal General Accounting Office, which recently surveyed 90 of these programs nationwide, found that 42 of the contracts had confidentiality clauses. They convinced participating schools to release the documents though. Of the 90 they examined, GAO auditors found that 60 did not address how U.S. policies or laws apply to operations at the institutes. UAlbanys contract does acknowledge that the institute operates under New York state law. In recent months, some schools have dropped their affiliations with the Confucius Institute altogether. Those include Texas A&M, and the universities of Rhode Island, Massachusetts at Boston, North Florida and South Florida Prior to that, Pennsylvania State, the universities of Chicago and Illinois-Urbana Champaign also closed their Confucius Institute programs. The issue has also caught the attention of state lawmakers. Sen. Toby Stavisky, the Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, said they would likely examine the Confucius Institute, possibly through hearings or roundtable discussions, once the state budget negotiations were completed at the end of March. Some of the problems with that are with academic freedom, she said. Well take a look at it. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518-454-5758 @RickKarlinTU Sixteen years after a man was found stabbed to death in his Orange County home, State Police investigators believe they have caught his killer. Forty-year-old Felipe Campos of Middletown was arrested Wednesday, and is charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 death of James Keating. Police say DNA connects Campos to the crime scene. Keating was 55-years-old when he was killed. He lived in Warwick, a sizable town located along New York's border with New Jersey. He was a "model employee" at a FedEx station in Mahwah, N.J., for 15 years, police said. But when Keating didn't show up to work on Feb. 3, 2003, a coworker called police and asked if an officer could check on him. Police found his front door open and his body inside. Police released a bare bones news release Wednesday announcing Campos' arrest, including that he was arraigned in Warwick Town Court and taken to Orange County jail. State Police Troop F spokesman Trooper Steven Nevel said Friday that the agency is purposefully keeping public information brief at this point because the investigation is still very active. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "There is so much ongoing with this right now," Nevel said. "We don't know if other people are involved in this or not." He added that investigators are re-interviewing old witnesses, among other tasks. Anyone with information is asked to call the State Police in Monroe at 845-782-8311. ALBANY - The New York Power Authority is reviewing comments collected at "listening sessions" it held last year on a proposed microgrid fueled by natural gas turbines to power Empire State Plaza. Since the power authority and the state Office of General Services announced they'd update the Sheridan Avenue site to include natural gas-fired turbines and a microgrid to heat and cool the nearby Empire State Plaza, officials and activists have been demanding the project use renewable energy. The project has been at a standstill as the power authority gathered input from the sessions following persistent calls that it issue a new request-for-proposal that considers renewable energy for the microgrid. Authority officials Friday said they're wrapping up a review of those sessions held with wind, solar, geothermal and energy storage experts, and, once complete, the recommendations will be shared. The sessions were expected to help set a new timeline for more studies needed for the project, which currently consists of two natural-gas fired turbines totaling 16 megawatts to help power and heat the 96-acre plaza complex. Poised to be built within a decommissioned state-run trash incinerator, the system is expected to save more than $2.7 million annually in energy costs and remove more than 25,600 tons of greenhouse gases each year, state officials have said. Shortly after the power authority announced the efforts, organizers of SHARE, the Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy, filed a Freedom of Information Law, asked to find out what, if any, analysis had been done to see if renewable energy sources were considered. When the power authority first announced the project, officials had said other forms werent viable for the site. The authoritys response? Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. No such records exist, nor is the power authority obligated to create such records to respond to the request, the FOIL response to SHARE member Susan DuBois stated. It doesnt seem like they seriously looked at this, DuBois said. Its been difficult to get information, and its been difficult to get responses. The group has led push to use renewables at the Sheridan Hollow facility to power the plaza rather than natural gas, considering the long history the neighborhood has with less than environmentally friendly systems being dumped into the low-income, predominantly minority community. Were really upset and shocked, SHARE co-chair Ruth Foster said. We felt like weve been misled. Were very surprised that Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo has claimed to be a climate leader, yet when hes thinking about powering the state capital, he cant seem to find a way to do it with renewables. A sergeant with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police is accused of illegally making dozens of handguns and assault rifles and selling them to criminals, the State Police said Friday. Gregg Marinelli, 38, was arrested Thursday. He allegedly assembled the guns inside his home in Plattekill, an Ulster County town located just north of Newburgh. At least one of the guns was a fully automatic assault rifle, State Police said. Marinelli is accused of selling the weapons to outlaw motorcycle groups and other people with criminal convictions barring them from owning guns, troopers said. He allegedly delivered some of the illegal guns using his marked police car. The State Police said many of the guns were so-called "ghost" guns meaning they were manufactured without serial numbers and others had their serial numbers removed. These methods make a gun more difficult to trace. When the State Police and federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided Marinelli's home, they allegedly found gun parts, tools used to make weapons and several firearms. Troopers also seized 13 handguns and assault rifles from other people, and said that they believe those weapons were made and sold by Marinelli. The State Police began investigating Marinelli after a recent drug trafficking case in Orange and Rockland Counties took down what police called a cocaine-dealing motorcycle club and another operation that sold pills containing fentanyl. Twenty-nine people were arrested in "Operation Bread, White and Blues," including a paid lieutenant of the city of Middletown Fire Department and a retired police officer. Marinelli allegedly told one of the targets about the investigation before police started making arrests. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Marinelli is charged with six felonies: criminal sale of a firearm, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, manufacture / disposition of a weapon, conspiracy and hindering prosecution. He is being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of bail, which was set at $200,000 cash or $600,000 bond by Deerpark Town Court. He is scheduled to reappear in court on March 7. Anyone who bought guns from Marinelli is asked to call the State Police at 845-344-5300 in order to surrender the weapons. "Those who voluntarily surrender the weapons in this manner will not be prosecuted for their possession of the weapons, although they could be prosecuted for any crimes committed with the weapons," the State Police said. One of the reasons we name things is because doing so gives people an idea of what to expect: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich contains peanut butter, a movie theater shows movies, and family vacations include your family. Because a vacation without your family is just a vacation. A blissful, stress-free vacation. At least that's how I'd remembered them to be. But it's hard to be sure because the last time my husband and I took a vacation without kids was before Clinton took office. And I'm talking about Bill Clinton, even though it feels like it could be Dewitt Clinton. We've had at least one child in tow on our vacations for almost 27 years, and we'd planned to have our youngest with us on our trip to Florida over the February break. That was, until he decided to travel with his crew team to South Carolina during that week on the theory that it's easier to row on water that isn't frozen. With our oldest living in Minneapolis and our 21-year old tasked with taking care of the cat and the house while theoretically looking for employment, my husband and I were free to go to Florida by ourselves. Of course, we tried our best to deal with the feelings of guilt over having a fun vacation without them. Perhaps you heard us squealing with delight as we drove to the airport. Most relationship experts will tell you that marriages can flounder when kids are no longer present to serve as a distraction, and we wasted no time putting that theory to the test on our flight. For a number of years, our standard airplane seating arrangement was me sitting in the middle seat between two of our children while my husband sat in an aisle seat in a nearby row. At first, this was to keep our kids from fighting with each other, but, as they grew older, it was mostly to keep them from fighting with each other. Without children, my husband still had his aisle seat, but this time I sat next to him in my usual middle seat. Now the only fighting was over the armrest I shared with the man sitting in 6A. Armrest wrestling with a total stranger (I won, by the way) was a small price to pay considering the fact that Johnny Carson was still hosting The Tonight Show the last time we took a vacation as a couple. A whole week awaited us where we would dine in restaurants that didn't have chicken fingers with barbecue sauce on the menu and we would have scintillating conversations on topics that didn't involve our children. Like why we never seem to be able to stay up late enough to watch The Tonight Show anymore. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Of course, in the early '90s, one had to rely on pay phones and AT&T calling cards to stay in touch with loved ones when traveling. Now cellphones give us peace of mind because we know we can always be reached in an emergency. But an emergency, it turns out, is in the eye of the texter. We may have been on vacation without our children, but they had an uncanny way of making their presence known. Our children don't normally text and call us regularly, however they decided to try something new and texted us throughout the week. It wasn't long before our son let us know he wished he'd gone on vacation with us instead of rowing in South Carolina. We did our best to send him encouraging, upbeat texts in an attempt to make him, and us, feel better. Our daughter at home texted us regularly to assure us the cat was still alive. Her texts became so frequent that we became suspicious and asked her to send a proof-of-life video of the cat. And, on our way to a wine tasting (apparently this is something people do for fun and not simply as a way to steel yourself to help with math homework), our oldest daughter called to ask for help with a problem that was happening in Minnesota. On one of our last nights we ate in a restaurant that celebrated special events with lots of clapping and drumming. It soon became clear that every table was celebrating something, whether it was a birthday or anniversary, and we began to feel left out. I was about to call them over and tell them we were celebrating 30 minutes of text-free dining when my phone buzzed. Never mind. Betsy Bitner is a Capital Region writer. bbitner1@nycap.rr.com Washington If he were alive today, Mark Twain might say the following: "There's lies, damned lies and Donald Trump." The president of the United States not only lies routinely, but he believes other people's lies without a modicum of skepticism. This past week, the liar in question was North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who claimed to have known nothing about what appears to have been the torture and, ultimately, murder of American college student Otto Warmbier. After holding a second nuclear summit for which he was grossly unprepared, this time in Vietnam, Trump said Kim "tells me that he didn't know about it and I will take him at his word." He added that Kim "felt badly about it. He felt very badly." Right. Because Kim's empathy and compassion toward his starving countrymen and those he has had killed, allegedly including his half-brother, are legendary. It is mind-numbing and breathtaking to hear such nonsense from a president, who, if normal, would vindicate the victim through punitive actions rather than side with a violent dictator in some weird, contrived, non-productive chit-chat about nuclear weapons. Warmbier's parents were appropriately outraged by the president's cavalier comments especially since he had used the Warmbiers as props during his 2018 State of the Union address and they issued a harsh rebuke. The 21-year-old Warmbier had been touring North Korea when, on Jan. 2, 2016, while going through airport security to leave the country, he was detained by North Korean authorities. He was accused of stealing a propaganda poster from the Pyongyang hotel where he was staying. No conclusive evidence was provided that he did so, but he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. After 17 months, Warmbier was sent home in a coma, having suffered severe brain damage from possible multiple beatings, and he died a few days later. His brutal death was surely no accident, as Cindy and Fred Warmbier asserted in their statement rebuking Trump, nor was it likely unknown to Kim, whose Supreme Leadership doesn't leave much wiggle room for independent action. No one familiar with North Korea believes that Kim wasn't well aware of his American captive. How could he have been after a year-and-a-half of international news coverage and outreach from the U.S. State Department? Thus, make no mistake, Warmbier's death was as much an assault on America as it was on this young American son. But Trump, who confessed to having a "warm relationship" with Kim, based presumably on whatever pheromones passed between them, said he believed the man he previously called "little rocket man." This is because the president is (a) a useful idiot; (b) a malevolent force in the universe; (c) a small-pawed, big-dog fanboy; (d) a strategic genius. I think most of us can eliminate option d. Option c is probable given Trump's strange attraction to tyrants, dictators, murderers and thieves. He has used similar terminology with other strongmen, with whom he has been equally credulous. Trump believed Russian President Vladimir Putin when he denied knowing about Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. And he believed Saudi prince Mohammad bin Salman when he denied knowing anything about the torture, murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. At the same time Trump believed their lies, he disbelieved the conclusions of American intelligence agencies, which, in each case, pointed a finger at the top guys. How could it be otherwise? Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Even if we pretend that Trump is a strategic genius who is flattering his foes by faking belief in their lies, one is left to wonder to what end? To win their approval? To soften them for the next round? To charm them into believing he's one of them, that they are essentially the same but for minor differences resolvable through the art of the deal? If only he were trying to seize a widow's home to make space for a new limo parking lot at one of his casinos. Or negotiating a new Trump tower in Moscow. But the stakes are a little higher now. And Trump, in trying to be a tough guy, has created the opposite perception. What every foreign ruler, dictator, president or potentate now knows is that every American tourist, journalist, college student or diplomat is fair game for capture, arrest, hostage-taking, torture or murder all without consequence. All they have to do is lie to the president, a proven weakling, and the bad thing that happened will just go away. The American people must not let him get away with it. kathleenparker@washpost. com [March 01, 2019] Updated Date/Time: Argo Group to Present at the Raymond James Conference Tuesday, March 5, 2019 Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO), an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance, announced today that CFO Jay S. Bullock will present at the Raymond James 2019 Conference starting at 10:25 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. The conference is being held at the J.W. Marriott Orlando, Florida. Bullock's presentation at the conference can be accessed via a live audio webcast on the company's investor relations Web page, which can be found by visiting www.argolimited.com and clicking on "Investors." Shortly after th live presentation concludes, a webcast replay will be made available and can be accessed on the same Web page noted above. ABOUT ARGO GROUP INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, LTD. Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO) is an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market. Argo Group offers a full line of products and services designed to meet the unique coverage and claims handling needs of businesses in two primary segments: U.S. Operations and International Operations. Argo Group's insurance subsidiaries are A.M. Best-rated 'A' (Excellent) (third highest rating out of 16 rating classifications) with a stable outlook, and Argo Group's U.S. insurance subsidiaries are Standard and Poor's-rated 'A-' (Strong) with a positive outlook. More information on Argo Group and its subsidiaries is available at www.argolimited.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190301005597/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2019] British American Tobacco: Quebec Tobacco Class Action Court of Appeal Judgment Issued The judgment in the two Quebec Class Action lawsuits against our subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., has been publicly issued by the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal on 1st March 2019. The Court of Appeal has upheld the Superior Court's decision of May 2015. A British American Tobacco spokesperson said: "We are extremely disappointed that the Quebec Court of Appeal did not overturn the trial court's judgment against our Canadian subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. We are still of the view that this decision is wrong - ignoring the reality that both adult consumers and government have known about the risk associated with smoking for decades. As a result, we believe it should be overturned. "Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. needs to review the court's decision in more detail and will decide on next steps over the coming days and weeks. Given the significance of the judgment, they have said that they fully intend to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada." Following the release of the judgment from the Quebec Court of Appeal, the plaintiffs requestedimmediate release of the funds on deposit, which was refused. They then filed a formal motion to release the funds. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. filed a motion to prevent the release of the funds in question. British American Tobacco was not a party to the proceeding and is not a party to the judgment, only its Canadian subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS The judgment follows an almost 20-year legal challenge against British American Tobacco's Canadian subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. as well as Philip Morris International's and Japan Tobacco International's Canadian subsidiaries. The cases were brought against the three Canadian tobacco manufacturers on behalf of two groups of Plaintiffs: smokers, who smoked a minimum of 12 pack-years and who were diagnosed with lung, throat and laryngeal cancer or emphysema prior to 12th March 2012; and smokers who were addicted to nicotine at the time the proceedings were commenced (September 1998) and remained addicted until at least 21st February 2005. About British American Tobacco British American Tobacco (BAT) is one of the world's leading, multi-category consumer goods companies, providing tobacco and nicotine products to millions of consumers around the world. It employs over 55,000 people, with market leadership in over 55 countries and factories in 48. Its Strategic Portfolio is made up of its global cigarette brands and a growing range of potentially reduced-risk products. These include vapour, tobacco heating products, modern oral products including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, as well as traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. In 2018, the Group generated revenue of 24.5 billion and profit from operations of 9.3 billion. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190301005601/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Decisions Reached for 13th GATSBY CREATIVE AWARDS Recipients Mandom Corporation (TOKYO: 4917), headquartered in Osaka City, hosted one of the largest creative artist awards ceremonies in Asia for students. The final decisions for the 13th GATSBY CREATIVE AWARDS was held on Saturday, March 2nd, in Shibuya, Tokyo. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190302005014/en/ Group photograph of the finalists and judges. (Photo: Business Wire) There were a total of 1,707 works submitted from students in twelve countries and regons throughout Asia, and this event brought together the finalists who had been selected in each division. As these creative artists come together from their respective homes to share ideas with one another and further mutual exchanges, guest judges for each of the sponsored divisions selected the top student creative artists for each of those five divisions. See the official website for more information: https://award.gatsby.jp/final/en/ What Is The 13th GATSBY CREATIVE AWARDS? The GATSBY CREATIVE AWARDS were begun in 2006 by GATSBY, a brand of men's cosmetic products that has been expanding sales in Asia, as an opportunity for young creative artists to be more active and share their work. The first year featured the GATSBY Student Commercial Prize. Now in its 13th year, there are five sponsored divisions for twelve countries and regions throughout Asia: Commercials, Art, Dance, Music, and Photography. Winners for Each Division Commercials Category: SONG SEUNGYEON(South Korea) Art Category: Hodojima Momona(Japan) Dance Category: qb(Indonesia) ANNABELLE FEODORASENJAYA/QORI EKA FITRIANDINI Music Category: LIN YI-CHIA(Taiwan) Photography Category: LAO SUNENG(Cambodia) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190302005014/en/ Just as the spirit of Antoni Gaudi pervades Barcelona, Apple is everywhere at Mobile World Congress and nowhere at all. Apple doesn't go to industry trade shows, but it's always present, as a bar for other companies to compare themselves to and differentiate themselves from. (Image credit: Huawei's foldable Mate X phone, announced at Mobile World Congress. (Credit: Huawei)) Apple won't say that it does the same (even though I suspect Apple sends employees to Mobile World Congress every year just to look around), but that's OK we can do that job on Apple's behalf. So here's a collection of observations about Apple in relation to the announcements we've seen in the last week and a half, both from Barcelona and from Samsung's Unpacked event in San Francisco. Where are biometrics headed? Samsung's Galaxy S10 prioritizes fingerprint scanning over face recognition. As noted in a somewhat scathing New York Times review, the S10's ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is a clever idea, but Apple's infrared, 3D sensor system is a more secure and reliable approach and has the advantage of being functionally invisible. Where you fall in this debate depends on if you prefer fingerprint readers to facial scans, and I know that some people do. As for me, I don't miss Apple's Touch ID at all. Face ID isn't perfect, but generally when I use my iPhone I simply use it and the biometric- authentication system sees me and lets me do what I want. There is something freeing about not having to set your finger in a certain place every so often just to get your phone to do what you want. Samsung is to be applauded for getting under-display fingerprint scanning to work on the Galaxy S10, but it feels like it has built a faster horse, rather than switch to a car. Choice is king Samsung, like Apple, has gradually realized that if someone likes one of your phone models, you should make more of them. Last fall, Apple released three different iPhone X models the iPhone XS, a larger iPhone XS Max and a lower-priced iPhone XR. Now, Samsung has announced four different Galaxy S10 models, including two core models (the S10 and S10 Plus), a lower-cost model (the S10e) and the mega-premium Galaxy S10 5G. I'd expect to see more of this approach in the future. Yes, Samsung makes a whole bunch of different phones, but the Galaxy S series is the flagship, and why force customers into a single model when you can offer variety? MORE: Galaxy S10 vs. Galaxy S10 Plus vs. Galaxy S10e The one interesting difference between the two phone makers is that Apple's lower-cost phone is still on the large side, while the Galaxy S10e is smaller than the higher-priced versions. It makes me wonder what the fate of Apple's iPhone SE might be. Is there room in the iPhone lineup for an additional phone, one that costs even less and is on the smaller side? Giving customers more choices is a good thing, and I know many iPhone SE users who would really rather not hand in their small phone for a larger model. Is the notch too much? Apple's introduction of a large notch at the top of the iPhone X stirred a lot of industry discussion and sparked more than one phone maker to create their own me-too notches to hide various sensors. But a bit more than a year on, the Samsung S10 provides a response to Apple's notch, with a small hole-punch space on the standard S10 and a larger gap on the S10 Plus, both of which are far more subtle than Apple's larger notch. What's the right approach? Apple seems committed to the notch for now and given that it has a very large bank of sensors up there to make Face ID work, the company may be stuck. In the long run, though, it's hard not to envision Apple making an attempt to reduce the number of sensors it needs, hide them under the display, or otherwise find a way to escape the notch and create a smaller cut-out space or, ideally, none at all. After using a notched iPhone for more than a year, I don't notice it and don't think it's a big deal, but I can see the arguments that Samsung's approach is less invasive. It certainly seems like a direction every phone maker should head in the future. An eye on folding phones In the past two weeks we've seen Samsung and Huawei introduce folding phones, sparking many arguments about the proper configuration of the foldable screen innie or outie, or something completely different? It'll take a long time to resolve these issues, and Samsung, Huawei and other companies will do it in public. MORE: 7 Ways the Mate X Beats the Galaxy Fold Apple won't. It's not Apple's style. But make no mistake, Apple's working on this stuff in private and has been for several years, and the moment the company feels it's hit on a design that will be good and sell in volume, it'll ship a foldable device. That won't be this year and maybe not next year, but it'll happen assuming that the entire folding-smartphone category doesn't completely fail first. Think about how Apple rolled out the iPhone X: By combining an OLED screen and its Face ID technology stack, it was able to raise the price of the iPhone by $300. What price premium could a folding iPhone bring? Samsung's flirting with $2,000 for the Galaxy Fold, and Huawei has blown right through that for its Mate X, but these are first-generation models. Still, it's not hard to imagine a folding iPhone starting at $1,500 or $1,750, or even $2,000. All of which helps Apple's stated goal of increasing overall iPhone revenue. Cameras drive interest Looking at the Nokia 9 PureView's five-camera setup and Oppo's announcement that it's come up with a 10x optical zoom for smartphones, it's not hard realize that the camera is a huge differentiating factor when it comes to selling new smartphones. Then again, Google has shown with the Pixel 3 that it's not the number of cameras that matters, it's being able to make beautiful photos with just one lens and some smart software. Where will Apple go? My guess is that it'll do both, adding new camera hardware when it can back it up with additional software. I have a hard time envisioning that anyone but Apple and Google will be the leaders in smartphone photography in the next few years, mostly because they can connect their hardware and software together seamlessly in a way that other smartphone makers can't. Does 5G matter? As I wrote here last year, Apple's sitting out the 5G party for now, and while Mobile World Congress was full of 5G announcements, it's not entirely clear whether consumers will make it such a vital part of a feature checklist that they'll turn away any phone that doesn't have it. When you see big, bulky 5G phones like the Galaxy S10 5G with high price tags rumored, it feels like Apple is not going to be penalized by being late to the 5G game due to its ongoing legal disputes with Qualcomm. Then again, a phone like the LG 5G V50 ThinQ seems to show that a 5G phone isn't doomed to be unreasonably sized. In the end, I think Apple will dodge a bullet with 5G. It doesn't seem like the 5G handsets that will be available this fall right around when Apple shows off its latest phones will make everyone wonder why Apple doesn't have one of its own. And by the fall of 2020, when 5G is more prevalent worldwide, Apple will be able to embrace 5G as if it were there all along and get away with it. Curbing Violence Is Key Topic In Forum for East Side KC Council Seat The shadow of a slain 15-year-old loomed over a Thursday evening forum for candidates seeking a 3rd District seat on the Kansas City Council. The Feb. 12 shooting death of An'Janique Wright was part of a conversation about what these candidates would do, if elected, to stem the violence in the district. Here's a patronizing and far too nice examination of candidates who probably need to face tougher questions on economic policy rather than just stereotypical crime talk softball sessions. Checkit: Kansas City Welcomes The Future of Cars at the KC Car Show - Kansas City get excited to visit the Kansas City Auto Show and Welcome to the Future Car Show to check out a multitude of high tech cars from various dealers. The cars with feature advanced technology like park assist and automatic emergency braking. Great info on a cowtown tradition along with some insight on deals worth a peek. The queen of Kansas City blogs comes through with this event that every local dude drags their wife and/or girlfriend to . . . Checkit: Living Local I'm working on being more mindful with my money...because I teach yoga and own my own business but also, being more mindful with my money is part of my path to living more mindfully. I started really considering this shift when a business I enjoy posted they needed help to stay open. Dre is a Kansas City biz lady moving up in the world and her latest online effort is already garnering a great deal of support amongstacross the metro . . . Undoubtedly, local media will pick up on her small biz crusade but right now check her explanation of a local commerce coalition: OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) - It's Friday and, for our lawmakers in Washington D.C., it's a day to come home and meet with constituents. New Congresswoman Sharice Davids was in her Overland Park office talking with small business owners. Davids said everyone on the Hill is making up for lost time after the partial government shutdown. Jungerman's daughter jailed for contempt of court A Jackson County judge has ordered that the daughter of a man accused of killing a Kansas City attorney be jailed for contempt of court. Enter your user name and password in the fields above to gain access to the subscriber content on this site. For those who aren't subscribers, there aren't many deets from this Jackson County court fight but possibly an indication that this daughter has her father's temper. Take a look: This description sounds a lot like the Renault Twizy. The new Minimo actually does look a lot like the Renault electric quadricycle, but it is filled with new technology, and Seat bosses promise that this is the solution that car-sharing companies have been waiting for. Renault announced something similar with the Twizy, but it seems that Seat handled some of the curtailing issues Renault had with its small car. Most notably, Seat designed Minimos batteries in such a way so that depleted ones can be simply replaced with charged ones in minutes. The Minimo is a two-seat mobility solution that merges the qualities of superminis with the practicality of motorcycles. The Minimo measures 8.2 feet in length - this makes it the same length as the first smart ForTwo. Unlike the smart, however, the Minimo is only 4 feet wide. And, of course, it is electric, with doors that open upwards for even more in-town practicality. Apart from reinventing the wheel with the Cupra Formentor Concept crossover, the Spanish have prepared a rather interesting mobility proposition called the Minimo. Although it will appear at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, Seat revealed the electric quadricycle Minimo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona a few days prior to its Geneva debut. The Seat Minimo Could Finally Revolutionize Carsharing Services And Further Kill The Car As We Know It LISTEN 11:34 Exterior As long as the first Smart at 2.5 meters 17-inch wheels Large glass surfaces for a 360-degree view Asymmetrical doors that open vertically I mean theres only so much you can do with the quadricycle concept. I get that due to safety concerns, various regulations, and aerodynamic efficiency; Seat couldnt actually create something that looks completely different compared to the Twizy. Yet, Id like if it did look more like a Seat and less like a fat early 2000s GSX-R. Its shape is clearly defined by the requirements of congested cities. This thing has to be able to squeeze everywhere (thats why it is only 8.3 feet long), and it has to be able to transport everyone (if it remains under 450 kilograms of weight, even 16-year-olds in Europe will be able to drive it). Now, Seat installed rather large 17-inch wheels on all four corners. The Minimo, of course, does not have standard car tires, but some special Bridgestone units measuring 115/80 up front and 145/80 in the back. I am sure you can imagine a few motorcycles with beefier tires. While skinny tires definitely reduce some of the drag, they do play a rather prominent design role with the exterior of the Minimo. Wheels are quite dominant with partial covers in the front. The rear tires, however, do somewhat sit under the Minimos body. The design as a whole is quite striking with a front, prominent triangular light, slim waist, and surprisingly large glass surfaces. Plus, unlike some Twizys, the Minimo is fully closed with completely working doors. Look at the rear end, and you'll see two tail lights shaped to reminisce of the latest Spanish car - the Formentor. Actually, Seat says that the rear lights borrow design cues from the aeronautics. Nevertheless, it is more Seat-like than the front. All in all, the exterior does look futuristic in a Star Trekish kinda way. "The design of the Minimo shows the way we understand urban mobility: efficiency, high value and cost saving - combined with vibrant design. Our Minimo demonstrates that there is space for fun and style when we are talking about electric and shared vehicles. More than ever - design matters." said Alejandro Mesonero, Design Director at SEAT. I doubt, however, that the Minimo looks presentable enough for the majority of the consumers who choose their cars by the way they look. On the other hand, it may look just right for car-sharing companies. And, it is actually designed with that idea in mind. Thats why it has that rear extension where you can fit a suitcase (I find it to be a nice throwback to really old classics), and quite chubby side skirts. The batteries are located right behind them, and you can actually open the compartment from the outside to change the batteries. A little bit more on that later. Interior Enough space for two Car-like seating position Advanced Infotainment system Cargo version will be available Miniscule dimensions largely limited the space inside the Seat Minimo concept. Its not a Tardis after all. It is, however, a two-seater. Seat is even adamant on highlighting that the front and the back passenger actually have the same amount of room. Shoulder room is apparently the same as in the Arona mini crossover, while the elevated seating position is at the same height as in the little Seat Mii. All of this points out that the Minimo has some car qualities. And the gear inside upholds that to a great degree. First of all, one can find a digital cockpit behind the steering wheel. That piece also a window into the infotainment system that pushes all kinds of modern amenities including wireless smartphone charging, keyless entry and go, Android Auto, and voice commands. A compelling set of technologies, no question. And something the Twizy simply doesnt have. Seat apparently found a bit space inside the doors for door pockets which is quite a nice touch in a vehicle this small. The back seat, while definitely capable of caring a grownup, can actually be utilized as cargo space as well. This is big, as, say, one could deliver all kinds of stuff with the Minimo - like pizzas, Play Stations, Printer ink, or puppies. All of it would fit in the back. And the driver would have a nice 360-degree view to the outside thanks to that massive glass surfaces that cover the upper part of the Minimo. The big deal with the access to the cabin are those asymmetrical doors that open vertically. Thats because it is expected that the Minimi will squeeze anywhere like a rat and if you want to get out of it, you better be able to open the doors. As for the asymmetricity, Seat somehow figured that the door on the left should be smaller than the one on the right. It apparently did this so that the designers can create bigger glass surface. It makes sense as visibility and light inside the cabin are a key with vehicles like this. No one wants to feel trapped. Drivetrain Swappable batteries 62 miles of range It will be capable of Level 4 Autonomy Built on a bespoke aluminum tubular chassis, the Seat Minimo body is made from layered plastic panels. Apparently, some of them are dyed and others painted. This concept kept the cost and weight down. The aluminum tubular chassis does have a dedicated space for the batteries. It is basically located in the floor, and that was one of the main reasons for elevated seat position. As you can see on the attached photos, trays can hold four separate batteries, each of which has a weight of 25 kilograms. The Seat Minimo, thus, has 100 kilograms of batteries in the frame under the floor. Such batteries are big enough to propel the Minimo for 62 miles. While this doesnt sound especially commendable, the batteries are easily exchangeable. Anyone can replace depleted batteries for charged ones in a matter of seconds - something that practically solves the range anxiety problem. If you have continuous access to charging stations and recharged Minimo battery packs, that is. For this fact alone, I feel that the Minimo could work perfectly as a delivery vehicle in the cities. Car sharing is yet another possibility that could utilize this technology. Yet, Seat went a bit further in the future with the Minimo. It is designed to accept the Level 4 autonomous driving technology as soon as it becomes available. If we reach that level of autonomy, the Seat Minimo could theoretically drive to your location if you summon it. It is a bit of a game changer, really. Imagine an Uber-like service with a Minimo fleet and without driver expenses. SEAT envisions the vehicle as ideal for car sharing. SEAT President Luca de Meo said, This is the solution that carsharing companies have been waiting for, a model that will be key for improved profitability of this type of companies. The concept we are presenting today responds to the needs of both cities and carsharing providers. He even hinted at the possibility of the creation of the Plug-in version. Pricing Considering its diminutive size, simple construction, small battery pack, and branding (its a Seat, so one of the cheapest from VAG), I have to assume that the Minimo will be priced similar to the Twizy. Thats around $9,300 in the U.K. If they manage to keep the price at Twizy levels and provide a commendable battery service in large cities, the Minimo could have a better reach than the Twizy ever had. Competition The Renault Twizy is the obvious competition to the Seat Minimo. It tips the scales at 475 kilograms, has a 100-kilogram battery pack, but it is slightly shorter. Plus, it already did a lot of what Seat intends to do with the Minimo - tried to deliver things, tried to reach out to youngsters, and even tried car sharing. Apparently, it did not excel in anything despite the 17 horsepower electric motor and up to 62 miles of range (in perfect conditions). The Twizy, however, lacks one major feature compared with the Minimo - exchangeable batteries. Read our full review on the Renault Twizy Ok, the Nissan New Mobility Concept is only a rebadged Renault Twizy, but I include it here because of the fact that it actually reached the States. You could rent them for a drive at Scoot Networks in San Francisco. Motor Trend had a go in one (of ten) and this is what theyve said: Their 6.1-kW-hr lithium-ion battery packs are good for about 40 miles of range, and they take about 3.5 hours to fully recharge. To use a Scoot Quad, registered participants must pick up and return the vehicle to one of Scoot Networks 14 or so Scoot Quad charging stations. Pricing is $6 per half hour or $80 per day. Read our full review on the Nissan New Mobility Concept While it looks completely different compared with the Minimo, the Citroen Ami One Concept is basically the closest competition to the Minimo after the Twizy. It measures the same in length, it is fully connected, license-free, electric, and it is built around the car sharing idea. I believe it does have a bit more space inside the cabin, but it shares 62 miles of range with the Minimo. However, it lacks the possibility for the battery replacement. Read our full review on the Citroen Ami Final Thoughts The Seat Minimo is basically an all-new try at an idea Renault explored with the Twizy. With only 17,000+ units sold in more than five years, no one can say that the Twizy actually succeeded in its car-sharing or urban electric mobility mission. Yet, the Minimo has that one crucial feature the Twizy lacked - swappable batteries. With a rich network of battery-swap services, I can see how the Minimo can succeed in big cities. Plus, the Minimo features all the modern connectivity technology and is intelligent enough to accept novel technologies such as the Level 4 autonomous system gear. It is a fully connected car too (to the Internet and other cars with the same capabilities). This set of technologies is crucial for market effort. The production version is expected in 2021, and it will look the same as the concept in Geneva, only, it will be made of different materials. Treehugger and our third-party partners use cookies and process personal data like unique identifiers based on your consent to store and/or access information on a device, display personalized ads and for content measurement, audience insight, and product development. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Treehugger.com, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, click below. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. List of Partners (vendors) pardeepdhull@gmail.com New Delhi, March 2 The Reserve Bank has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 3 crore on Union Bank, Rs 2 crore on Dena Bank, and Rs 1 crore each on IDBI and the SBI for non-compliance with various directions, regulatory filings said on Saturday. Union Bank said that the apex bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 30 million (Rs 3 crore) on it for delay in adherence to its directives on Time-bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT-related controls contained in the RBI circular of February 20, 2018. In a filing to the BSE, Dena Bank said the Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 million on it for non-compliance with the directions issued on February 20, 2018. In an another filing, IDBI Bank said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of 10 million on the Bank for contravention of its regulatory directions on time-bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT related operational controls. The Bank has put in place necessary corrective actions to strengthen its internal control mechanisms so as to ensure that such incidents do not recur, IDBI said. The SBI said the RBI has levied an aggregate penalty of Rs 10 million on the bank for delayed implementation of the daily reconciliation of Swift transaction logs with effect from February 20, 2018 at 226 low intensity branches of the bank. PTI editorial@tribune.com Chandigarh, March 1 The local police today arrested Anoop Ram, a resident of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, and seized over 4 kg of charas from his possession. The 32-year-old suspect hails from Godighat village and is a taxi driver. On Friday, as the city was on high alert, a team of the crime branch was patrolling near the Mullanpur barrier when it saw a Bolero bearing a temporary number. On being questioned by the police, the driver got nervous and tried to speed away, but could not succeed. He then got down from the vehicle and started running towards Mullanpur where he was apprehended after a chase. The suspect was found carrying a white bag. On being checked, 4.4 kg of charas was found in the bag. He had reportedly come to deliver the drug near the bus stand in Sector 17, Chandigarh. A case under Section 20 of the NDPS Act has been registered in this connection at the Sarangpur police station. According to the police, the suspect used to sell charas at Mandi in Himachal. He was earlier arrested by the Mandi police in January 2018 with 886 gm of charas and remained in a jail in Mandi for 40 days. TNS editorial@tribune.com Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 1 The Union Cabinet has approved a 250-bed Geriatric Care and Rehabilitation Centre at the PGI, which will be a boon for those aged 60 and above as they will get medical services under one roof. Expected to come up at a cost of Rs 469 crore, it is touted to be the first such centre in the country. It will have a ground floor plus six storeys. DM and MD courses in geriatrics will also be started at the centre to produce specialist doctors, giving a major push to academics in this field. According to officials, ultrasound, CT scan, blood tests and other facilities will be made available at the centre for elderly patients. They will also get dedicated OPD and emergency services at this centre. It will save them time and the hassle of visiting different departments in the premier hospital. Amitabh Avasthi, Deputy Director, Administration, PGI, told Chandigarh Tribune, We had been continuously following it up with the Centre for the past one year. The PGI has taken a lead in this field in the region and it will be the biggest asset for it. The elderly population is increasing and with this centre, we will be able to take better care of them. Once the formalities are completed, the project will be set up with a deadline of three years and three months near the Gol market at the PGI. Of the total Rs 469 crore, an amount of Rs 291 crore has been earmarked for civil works, including five-year annual maintenance, Rs 90 crore for equipment and Rs 88 crore for manpower. At present, elderly patients are managed by various departments at the PGI. There are no dedicated beds for them. The centre will provide affordable healthcare of better quality to them and will also help in carrying out research activities in geriatrics. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Panchkula, March 1 Divya Yog Mandir in Sector 7 here continues to be on the radar of thieves as a thief made off with taps worth Rs 25,000 on the intervening night of February 28 and March 1. Earlier in December 2018, a thief had decamped with sanitary items worth Rs 40,000. In both cases, the thief was captured on CCTV cameras. In the present case, the CCTV footage showed that thief struck between 12.20 am and 12.35 am and removed taps within 15 minutes. Dharminder Abrol, a yoga teacher, said the CCTV footage had been provided to the police. He said despite providing the CCTV footage of the thief, the police had failed to solve the earlier theft case and within two months, another theft had taken place at Divya Yog Mandir, situated on the border of the NAC, Mani Majra and Sector 7, Panchkula. Abrol said the second theft of a similar nature in two months had raised questions over the functioning of the police. He said thieves were roaming freely and striking at will, and the police had failed to nab them. Abrol said they had 16 CCTV cameras and the entire complex remained illuminated with LED lights, but still thieves struck at will and took away sanitary items. Investigating officer ASI Karnail Singh said it might be the handiwork of a known person. He said they were scrutinising the CCTV footage and it seemed that the thief knew about Divya Yog Mandir as he was quick in removing the taps. He said the thief appeared to be well-versed with plumbing. Second theft in over 2 months Earlier in December 2018, a thief had decamped with sanitary items worth Rs 40,000. In both cases, the thief was captured on CCTV cameras. In the present case, the CCTV footage showed that the thief struck between 12.20 am and 12.35 am and removed taps within 15 minutes. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 1 The mortal remains of Squadron Leader Siddharth Vashisht, who died in the Mi-17 helicopter crash near Srinagar on February 27, were consigned to flames with military honours here on Friday. A large number of people, including senior defence and civilian officers and political leaders, were present to bid the final adieu to the airman. Wreaths were laid on his Tricolour-draped coffin on the behalf of Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command and the Maintenance Command, Air Officers Commanding Advance Headquarters, 12 Wing and No. 3 Base Repair Depot, Station Commander High Grounds and the Commanding Officer of 154 Helicopter Unit to which the Siddharth Vashisht was posted. A ceremonial guard reversed arms as a mark of respect while a bugler sounded the Last Post. A three-shot volley was also fired in salute. His wife Squadron Leader Aarti Singh, who was also posted at Srinagar, also laid a wreath. His father Jagdish Kasal lit the pyre. The mortal remains were airlifted from Srinagar to Chandigarh last evening. The officer is survived by a two-year-old son. He was the youngest of four siblings. Before being commissioned into the Air Force in 2010, he had studied at Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, and DAV College, Sector 10. Siddharth was posted to Srinagar in July last year and prior to this, he was based in Coimbatore. He was also part of the IAF rescue operations during floods in Kerala. Members of his family said he had received a commendation for his services on January 26, besides other awards. The family belongs to Hamidpur village near Naraingarh and had shifted to Chandigarh some time ago. Siddharths father had served in the Army before becoming a bank officer. His grandfather and great-grandfather were also soldiers. A large number of relatives, well-wishers and colleagues paid their last respects to the officer. Yesterday, top functionaries of the UT Administration, including the Governor, the Adviser to the UT Administrator, the Director General of Police, the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police, had offered condolences to the bereaved family. CMDE C Uday Bhaskar (retd) CMDE C Uday Bhaskar (retd) Director of Society for Policy Studies The post-Pulwama-Balakot sequence of events has acquired a complex contour and is playing out on many tracks, including the most visible in the collective Indian consciousness the status of the IAF pilot, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman, and his return to India. It may now be inferred that the very brief and Twitter-like reference by US President Donald Trump, who indicated that there could be a decent and attractive development in relation to the tension currently prevailing between India and Pakistan was a hint about what would soon follow in relation to the captive pilot. It merits recall that the closure of the 1999 Kargil war was enabled by the then US President Bill Clinton and 2019 corresponds to this pattern but less visibly so. The one other strand this time that may sour the US-Pakistan bilateral ties is the use of F-16 aircraft by Pakistan in breach of its contractual obligations but that is an issue that will have to be addressed separately. The loss of a MiG aircraft and the manner in which Pakistan PM Imran Khan has burnished his profile as a mature leader and a man of peace have no doubt occupied media attention TV particularly but are more tactical issues that are transient in nature. The more abiding challenge to India is the Balakot punctuation in reference to the proxy war being waged against the country, wherein terrorism, as represented by the Pulwama tragedy, is the manifestation. Will Balakot and the resolve now being demonstrated by PM Modi make a tangible difference to prevent another attack? The answer is probably not. The reason for this less than optimistic outlook stems from the nature of the terrorism challenge that India is seeking to address in the Pulwama-Balakot trajectory. It may be recalled that the Pulwama attack took place after Uri (September 2016) and the question that arises is whether striking a terror camp through the use of air power can be an effective deterrent against the non-state actors in Pakistan. On the current evidence and past experience, it is unlikely and invalid to expect that one carefully carried out air strike in Balakot will prove to be that effective deterrent. The Pakistani response where it deployed its own air power and the dog-fight that ensued between the MiG and the F-16 are symbolic of the costs that will have to be incurred as the military path acquires its own dynamics. In the event that the current situation returns to the earlier default orientation of the bilateral relationship and Pakistan convinces itself that India was forced to blink first, the strategic objective of Balakot could turn detrimental. The Indian signal is that the decision to use air power to thwart a terror attack is the new median. The sub-text being Modis resoluteness. However, the dominant narrative across the LoC is that the naya Pakistan led by PM Imran Khan has stood firm against Indian aggression and the local social media had its fair share of Captain Imran bowling the Abhinandan googly and outwitting his Indian counterpart. Triumphalism clearly permeates the subcontinent in a similar manner. The deeper threat to India is the certitude in the GHQ Rawalpindi that Pakistan can continue to selectively nurture terror groups and that the impunity accorded to Islamabad by the global community will continue. Thus, the Pakistani response after the Balakot strike is a familiar denial with little or no reference (forget acknowledgement) to the JeM and its leader Masood Azhar. In case Pakistan follows the Mumbai 26/11 path, where even after a decade there has been no tangible progress on identifying and bringing to book the perpetrators, and disparages the Pulwama dossier handed over to it the prognosis is bleak. The Balakot aftermath, which appears to be a tactical closure with the safe return of Wg Cdr Abhinandan, is being referred to as de-escalation, though there is no signal from Islamabad about the JeM trigger that led to the Indian preemptive military action. The possibility that Balakot will trigger a reprisal by the JeM and/or its ideologues such as the LeT and other clones remains on the radar. This likelihood stems from the historical symbolism of Balakot and the events of 1831, when the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh put the religious ideologue Ismail Dehlvi to the sword, thereby leading to a special resonance for the Islamic jihad movement. Hence my bleak assessment that Pulwama may not be the last terror attack that would be directed against India. In retrospect whether India should have used a MiG with a pilot or a surface missile to counter the Pakistani fighter aircraft is a debate best left to the professionals. What is noteworthy is the fact that an older MiG of vintage quality got the better of the more advanced F-16 fighter. But what does need to be acknowledged is that the Indian response to the challenge of jihadi terror, as illustrated by Pulwama, cannot be episodic and driven in the main by the emotive jingoism noted in large sections of the audio-visual medium and its variants on social media. The national security debate must return to Parliament and not become the handmaiden of the electoral compulsion. Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal (retd) Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal (retd) Former Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command THE Balakot air strike by the IAFs Mirage-2000 aircraft has strategic security implications that transcend its immediate tactical significance. A formation of the IAF aircraft penetrated Pakistans air defences and successfully completed its mission despite the fact that the neighbouring country was on high alert after the Pulwama attack. Clearly, the IAFs mission planning, tactics and execution proved too good for Pakistans air defence system. This is not for the first time that Pakistans air defences have been found wanting. They were also caught by surprise when US commandos neutralised Osama bin Laden in 2011, virtually in the neighbourhood of Pakistans military establishment. The question arises: why would the Pakistan Air Force, which is professionally recognised, neglect its air defences when it considers India an enemy with a strong air force? Lets rewind to the 1962 war when the Chinese army was threatening the Assam valley. At that time, White House intelligence reports had concluded that if India were to use combat air power, this would have a significant impact on the ground war. Yet US Ambassador John Galbraith advised Indias Defence Minister and the Prime Minister against the use of offensive air power, for fear of Chinese air force retaliation on Indian cities (such as Kolkata) and economic targets. Based on this advice, India failed to commit the IAF to an offensive role. The IAF top brass, too, failed to prevail upon the political leadership, even though air combat forces were available, joint structures with the Army were in place and there were the obvious limitations of the Chinese air force operating out of high-altitude airfields in Tibet. This diffidence to use air power, anticipating retaliation, has somehow embedded itself in the psyche of the Indian security establishment. The mindset that the use of air power is escalatory manifested itself again during the Kargil conflict when the IAF was limited to operating within our own airspace and specifically forbidden from crossing the Line of Control (LoC). One keeps hearing similar sentiments expressed by security experts during debates in the electronic media. The Pakistani military establishment has been quick to exploit this defensive Indian mindset and the window of opportunity it affords them. Knowing well, especially after the 1971 war, that India will always have an edge in conventional warfare, it has chosen the proxy war route to bleed India in Jammu and Kashmir with a thousand cuts. As this approach has paid them dividends and the Indian security establishment has come to live with the inevitability of the proxy war, Pakistan has built considerable assets in the form of separatists and radical groups in J&K and other parts of the country. That it has well established training facilities like Balakot shows that this security template is there to stay. Indeed, it has used this template in Afghanistan as well. Going nuclear has added to Pakistans confidence of being able to deter India while relentlessly pursuing their objective of targeting India and keeping its security forces tied up through the proxy war. The strategic import of the Balakot mission will not be lost on the Pakistan armys GHQ in Rawalpindi as Indias willingness to use air power to further its national security interests compels the former to rethink its strategy. It also puts a burden on them to commit resources and professionalise their air defences. There are lessons for us as well. For the first time in decades, the Indian security establishment has overcome its hesitation to commit air power in the proxy war waged by Pakistan. One can only hope that having overcome this psychological barrier, the national security establishment will now be open to tapping the full potential and flexibility of air power in the interests of national security and not try to confine it to the Theatre Commands. Even as Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman has been released, there are three questions the nation must ask itself and not be satisfied with woolly answers: Why was the IAF pilot flying a dated MiG-21 when his adversary was in a contemporary F-16? Why is the IAF so hopelessly short of its combat strength with many squadrons equipped with aged and obsolete aircraft? And can we stop politicising the Rafale purchase and let the induction process move ahead so that the morale of the IAF is not dented? monicakchauhan@gmail.com Washington, March 2 It's time for Pakistan's leaders to stand up against extremists, Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi Gabbard has said, as she slammed the country for providing terrorists with a safe haven which is causing tensions with India. Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Forty CRPF soldiers were killed in the attack. India carried out air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In the operation, the government said a several JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for suicide attacks were killed. "As long as Pakistan is providing terrorists with a safe haven, there will be heightened tensions between the two countries," Gabbard said. "It's time for Pakistan's leaders to stand up against the extremists and terrorists, said Gabbard, a former co-chair of the House Caucus for India and Indian Americans. Gabbard is the four-time lawmaker from Hawaii. Congressman Ted Yoho also urged Pakistan to take meaningful steps to address terrorist groups. Congress and the Indo-Pacific region are carefully watching the latest tensions between India and Pakistan. The last thing the region and the world needs is a conflict between two countries armed with nuclear weapons, he said. "I urge Pakistan to take meaningful steps to address terrorist groups operating within their country and for both governments to resolve their differences peacefully, said Yoho, Lead Republican for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Washington, March 2 Sini Mathews, the adoptive mother of three-year-old Indian girl Sherin Mathews who was found dead in a ditch in Texas in 2017, has been released from jail after the child endangerment charges filed against her were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. The Dallas County District Attorney's office said in a news release on Friday that prosecutors could not make a case against Sini Mathews - but left open the possibility of refilling the charge, reported WFAA, an ABC-affiliated television station. "After extensive investigation it has been determined that the state cannot prove this matter beyond a reasonable doubt at this time," read a motion filed by prosecutors and signed by state District Judge Amber Givens-Davis. Sini Mathews was released from jail on Friday afternoon while her husband, Wesley Mathews, still faces a capital murder charge in the child's death. He has been indicted on charges of capital murder, injury to a child and tampering with evidence. Wesley Mathews and his wife Sini adopted the girl in June 2016 from Bihar. Sherin Mathews disappeared on October 7, 2017, and her foster father initially told the police that he had sent her out in the wee hours of the morning as punishment for not drinking her milk. On October 22, Sherin Mathews' body was found in a culvert in Richardson under a road about one kilometre from her home in suburban Dallas. Wesley Mathews then admitted to the police that the child choked while he was making her drink milk and died in their home. He also said that the family had gone out to dinner and left Sherin behind, a day before she died. The man was later indicted for capital murder by a grand jury and for tampering with evidence. His wife Sini Mathews was charged with endangering a child. Dr Suzanne Dakil, a paediatrician and child abuse expert, had testified before a court earlier that the three-year-old had a series of broken bones and injuries and that the pattern of injuries led her to believe that Sherin Mathews was abused on separate occasions. The Richardson police in a statement on Friday said they were "disappointed" with Sini Mathews' case dismissal but would continue working with the district attorney's office "to ensure justice is done". Talking to reporters after her release from the Dallas County Jail, Sini Mathews said she felt "blessed" to be released and that her time in jail was "challenging". She said she "absolutely" loved Sherin. Wesley Mathews remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. His trial is scheduled for May. IANS harinder@tribunemail.com Jaish-E-MOHAMMED (JeM) chief Masood Azhars presence in Pakistan has been an open secret for the past almost two decades. So, there is nothing startling about Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshis admission to that effect. Slyly putting the ball in Indias court, Qureshi has stated that his government can act against Azhar only if it receives solid and inalienable evidence that is admissible in a court of law. Days after the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised action on the condition that India furnished actionable intelligence. The ISI-backed JeM had promptly claimed responsibility for the Pulwama massacre, which in itself should have been enough to act against that organisation. Yet, India handed over a dossier to the neighbour with details of the terror outfits complicity and the presence of its camps and leaders in Pakistan. While offering to hold talks regarding the dossier, Pakistan now wants proof with which it can convince its people and its independent judiciary. India does not have investigative jurisdiction in Pakistan to provide justiciable evidence. If Pakistan wants such evidence, it should allow Indian probe agencies access to Masood, his madrasas and other terror facilities. The Indian government is justified in telling Pakistan to first take concrete steps against the JeM before initiating a dialogue. Imran Khan and Co have tried to take the moral high ground by releasing IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, but a Prime Minister who launches fighter aircraft targeting a neighbours military facilities cannot be termed a man of peace, however well he speaks on TV. Pakistans stand evokes a sense of deja vu. India had also submitted a dossier after the 2016 Pathankot terror attack, but no action was taken against the perpetrators. Now, Pakistan finds itself cornered after the US, the UK and France moved a fresh resolution in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. China, a close friend of Pakistan and a veto-empowered member of the 15-nation council, has repeatedly scuttled attempts by India and other countries to clip Masoods wings. If China does not want to be seen as another inimical neighbour, it should ask its friend to hand over Masood to India. This is an opportunity for China to play its rightful role in the neighbourhood, which is one of its biggest markets. editorial@tribune.com Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Faridabad, March 1 The police on Friday recovered 1,756 live cartridges from a scrap dealer here. He, along with two other scrap dealers, has been arrested. A spokesperson of the district police said the recovered ammunition included live cartridges meant for various weapons such as AK-47, Insas rifle and pistol. He said the police conducted a raid at the yard of Ram Kumar, a scrap dealer, in the Jiwan Nagar area here on a tip-off. He said besides cartridges, used shells of some defused bombs that weighed 30.5 kg had also been recovered. The accused, identified as Ram Kumar, Dinesh and Irfan, told the police they had acquired the ammunition from a wholesale distributor. Such scrap is required to be defused properly. It is a matter of probe as to why such a large number of live cartridges were sold to the scrap dealer, said a senior police officer. The matter would be brought to the notice of the Army and the Intelligence Bureau, he said. The police were yet to establish who supplied the ammunition to the scrap dealers, said the police spokesperson. Normally, such scrap is bought by contractors from defence establishments located in Delhi or Meerut. It is then distributed to small dealers, who take out the brass and bronze parts from the discarded material before selling it to retailers, he said. A case has been registered under Sections 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (criminal act with furtherance of common intention) of the IPC; 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act; and Section 4 of the Explosives Act. The accused were remanded in four-day police custody by court. editorial@tribune.com vinder Saini Tribune News Service Bhadani (Jhajjar), March 1 Thousands of people from Bhadani and nearby villages on Friday bid a tearful adieu to Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat (32), who died in a helicopter crash in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when his two-year-old son Vardaan, with the help of family members, lit the funeral pyre. The funeral procession started from the civil hospital in Jhajjar, where his mortal remains were kept since Thursday evening. Hundreds of youths carrying Tricolour on two-wheelers led the procession raising patriotic slogans. Sergeant Sehrawats father Krishan told mediapersons that the death had shattered his family, but they were proud of his martyrdom. My son has sacrificed his life for the nation. I am ready to send my younger son to the IAF if the nation needs his services. The government must take revenge from Pakistan for the martyrdom of our soldiers, he said. Sergeant Sehrawats mother Kanta said Vikrant was passionate about serving the nation since childhood. I want my grandson Vardaan to join the armed forces and follow in the footsteps of his father, she said. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other leaders attended the funeral. Khattar consoled the family, saying the nation was with them. Monetary aid of Rs 50 lakh and a government job to the next of kin of Sergeant Sehrawat would be provided as per policy, he said. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Shimla, March 1 The Cabinet today decided to provide employment to Savitri Devi, wife of Tilak Raj of Kangra district, who was martyred in Pulwama terrorist attack. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. The wife of the martyr, hailing from Jawali area of Kangra, will be given the job of a clerk in the office of Deputy Commissioner, Kangra. The Cabinet also gave nod for simplifying the policy for providing employment on compassionate ground to the dependents of government servants who die while in service. According to the policy, now the earlier condition of giving jobs to dependents of the deceased if he dies in service till the age of 50 years has been abolished. Now jobs on compassionate grounds will be given right till the retirement age and income criterion has been enhanced to Rs 2 lakh per annum per family. The Cabinet also gave its approval to make certain amendments in the State Hydro Power Policy to make it more attractive for the small power producers of less than five MW capacity. The Cabinet also gave its consent to increase the wages of panchayat chowkidar from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per month from April 1, 2019.The Cabinet gave its nod to provide 16.11 bigha land of the Industries Department at Mauza Kheri in Nahan tehsil in Sirmaur district to Director General, ESIC for setting up of 100-bed ESI Hospital for 95 years on lease at the rate of Rs 1 per acre. The Cabinet decided to enhance the authorised share capital of Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited from Rs 300 crore to Rs 350 crore. The Cabinet gave approval for upgrade and opening of new health, veterinary, polytechnic and educational institutions. It gave its approval to accord district level fair status to Siraj Deep Utsav, Thunag, in Mandi district. Other Cabinet decisions editorial@tribune.com Dipender Manta Tribune News Service Mandi, March 1 Trudging more than 20 km in snow to ensure the timely delivery of question papers for the matriculation exams starting next week remains a challenge for the staff of the Education Department in the snow-bound Lahaul-Spiti. It is the dedication to the service of its staff, including two women employees Angmo and Sarla, which helps the department in accomplishing the task on time. The two employees have earned the accolades of everyone as they walked 20 km in five or six feet snow to deliver the questions papers at the Kolang examination centre. The Himachal Pradesh State Education Board gets the question papers delivered at 12 district headquarters and then it is the duty of the Education Department to supply these further. Talking to The Tribune, Premnath Parsheera, Deputy Director, Higher Education Department, Lahaul-Spiti, said, Delivering papers during heavy snowfall is not new to us but this time, there has been frequent spells of snow. We had even planned to airdrop question papers through a helicopter but inclement weather conditions had not permitted it. We have 10 examination centres in Lahaul Spiti. Question papers have been delivered at eight centres. The board examination will start on March 6. The two centres, Sissu and Tingret, are almost not reachable these days because of heavy snow, he said. Parsheera said all preparations had been done for the board examination. Due to the heavy snowfall in the region, the traffic has been at a standstill across the district for the past one month. There is no transportation facility for the residents. Due to bad weather conditions since February 10, the regular helicopter service could not be provided to the residents of Lahaul valley. As a result, the number of applicants has increased drastically. The state government had also sought help of the Indian Air Force to airlift the stranded people, but the response is still awaited. Over 1400 stranded in Kullu, Lahaul editorial@tribune.com Our Correspondent Chamba, March 1 Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Kuldeep Singh Rathore said that the Congress would win all four Lok Sabha seats in the forthcoming elections. Addressing mediapersons here on Friday, Rathore said that the BJP government had made tall claims of development, but no development work had been done at the ground level. Rathore said that the sitting BJP MPs had not performed well and there was anti-incumbency against the state government as well as the NDA government at the Centre due to its anti-public policies. Kangra MP Shanta Kumar had remained cut off from the public, he alleged. There is a phase of change prevailing all around and people have made up their mind to vote for the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, he said. Moreover, the party office-bearers had been assigned the responsibilities of giving pragmatic results, he added. Rathore said that a mammoth rally would be organised on March 7 in Kangra district which would be addressed by AICC president Rahul Gandhi. Preparations for the rally were going on in a big way. Rathore said that there was resentment in the country over ill-effects of demonetisation and the complicated GST which had led to unemployment, price rise and upset the economy of the country. On Pulwama terror attack, Rathore said that the Congress was with the armed forces, but stated that the NDA government had failed on the issue of terrorism. Earlier, Rathore addressed Congress workers and thanked those who had come from snowbound areas of Pangi and Bharmour and other remote areas of the district. He asked the party workers to work hard for the victory of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. CLP leader and former minister Mukesh Agnihotri, TS Bharmouri, Kuldeep Pathania and DCC president Neeraj Nayyar also spoke. rchopra@tribunemail.com Jammu, March 2 Three civilians were killed in shelling by the Pakistani army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, officials said on Saturday. Police said a woman and her two children were killed at Salotri village of Jhalas area in Krishna Ghati sector of the LoC when a shell fired by Pakistan army exploded inside a house on Friday night. Besides, four others--two civilians and two army soldiers--have been injured in Pakistani shelling and firing, a police officer said. Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been trading heavy fire on the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts for the past eight days. Locals have described the hostilities on the LoC as war-like situation. Authorities have closed all educational institutes within 5 km of the LoC in these two districts and asked people to remain indoors. IANS pardeepdhull@gmail.com Jammu, March 2 The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday sanctioned additional 400 individual bunkers for the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, which witnessed intense shelling from Pakistani troops over the past five days. In view of the heightened cross-border shelling, the government has sanctioned additional 200 individual bunkers each for Poonch and Rajouri districts, an official spokesman said. The administration has directed officials to ensure speedy construction of these bunkers and it said the funds would be placed with the deputy commissioners concerned through the Rural Development Department. The bunkers will get built in the next one month as per the prescribed specifications, the spokesman said. According to locals, he said, the bunkers have been found to be an effective response to cross-border shelling, providing border residents a safe place to shelter themselves during shelling incidents. Meanwhile, a prominent Gujjar leader Shamsher Hakla Poonchi expressed grief over the killing of four civilians over the past couple of days in the Pakistani shelling in Poonch district and urged the government to set up safe colonies for the border residents. He condemned Pakistan for targeting civilian areas and said the people are facing a lot of problems due to heavy shelling from across the border. The Centre should establish safe colonies for residents of the Line of Control (LoC), so that they can live a peaceful life and save themselves from the Pakistani shelling, he said, adding that the border residents have always played a special role for the country without caring for their lives and properties. The people living near the borders are socially, educationally, economically and politically backward and lack even basic facilities like road communication, electricity, medical facilities, education and water supply, he said. Poonchi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately sanction special package for welfare and upliftment of the border residents. PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com Srinagar, March 2 National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said Saturday the Centre should reconsider its decision of banning the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir as the move would serve no purpose except to drive their activities underground. "The centre should reconsider its recent decision. The situation in J&K had improved drastically between 1996 and 2014/15 without having to resort to such bans. There is nothing to suggest that this ban will in any way contribute to any improvement on the ground," Abdullah posted on Twitter. The former chief minister said after the outbreak of turmoil in the state, the organisation was banned for more than five years in 1990, but "that ban served no purpose & achieved nothing". "In the battle of ideas & ideologies we in the @JKNC_ have always opposed the Jamaat in the political space. The recent ban & crackdown against their leadership, members, schools & properties will serve no purpose except to drive their activities underground," the NC leader said. Abdullah said his party has always had a difficult relationship with the JeI and had often been on different sides of the ideological divide. "In spite of these differences I cannot support the recent crackdown against them." In a statement issued by the NC, Abdullah said the ban on JeI would "inadvertently" affect the peace-building efforts. "We may disagree with the ideology of (the) JeI but the move will unquestionably breed more radicalization." Expressing dismay over the ban and sealing of Jamaat-run schools, Abdullah said the move would prove detrimental to the education sector as the organisation runs number of schools, where over one lakh students are said to be studying. The NC vice-president said working on the root causes of violent extremism and developing effective counter narratives could lead to long-term sustainable results. "But developing effective and counter narratives takes time and involves several steps. Banning will inadvertently shrink the space for dialogue and rapprochement. The move will yield nothing other than glamorizing dissent," he added. PTI editorial@tribune.com Ehsan Fazili Tribune News Service Srinagar, March 1 The Central Governments decision to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami for indulging in anti-national activities has come as a surprise to religious and political organisations as it had long distanced itself from politics and focused only on religious activities in the past two decades. In its notification to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday stated that the organisation was in close touch with militant outfits and is supporting extremism and militancy in J&K and elsewhere. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: Why is GoI so uncomfortable with Jamaat e Islami? Radicalised Hindu groups representing fringe elements are given carte blanche to spread misinformation & vitiate the atmosphere. But an org that has worked tirelessly for Kashmiris is banned. Is being anti-BJP anti-national now? Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference demanded revocation of the ban. Ghulam Hassan Mir, president of Democratic Party Nationalist, has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to rethink its decision to ban Jamaat in the state, saying it was against the democratic spirit of the country. Mir said JeI represents a political thought that may vary from the overwhelming majority thinking but the same did not call for its banning or arresting its members. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Srinagar/ Rajouri Mar 1 As the process to hand over Wing Commander Abhinanadan Varthaman, pilot of Mig-21, to Indian authorities at Wagah border was in progress, Pakistans army resorted to unprovoked heavy mortar shelling on forward posts and civil areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Also, a civilian was injured in a ceasefire violation in the Uri sector of Baramulla district on Thursday night. The police said Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling on forward posts and residential areas in Kamalkote along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector. A civilian, identified as Riyaz Ahmad Khan, 38, got injured in the firing. He was shifted to a hospital, a police officer in north Kashmir said. Three houses were also damaged in the shelling. In Rajouri and Poonch districts, the shelling began in the evening. Ceasefire violation by Pakistan army has been reported from Nowshera sector around 4 pm and from Mendhar, Balakot and Krishna Ghati sectors around 6 pm, said Lt Col Davender Anand, PRO, Defence. Heavy mortar/ gun shelling started around 6 pm in Balakot and adjoining areas in Mendhar sector where a woman was killed and a soldier was injured on Thursday, said Mohd Shafiq Khan of Balakot village. Meanwhile, the cross-LoC trade along the Uri-Muzaffarabad axis remained suspended for the third consecutive day on Friday due to the prevailing tension along the border. Ceasefire violations continue editorial@tribune.com Srinagar, March 1 Amid fear of a backlash over the amendments to the 1954 Presidential Order and a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, the authorities on Friday imposed restrictions in old Srinagar city. Chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was put under house arrest by the authorities. The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday evening declared the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir, an unlawful organisation. It is for the third time that the Jamaat, a politico-religious party, has been banned in the state. The Centre also extended two constitutional amendments on the recommendation of the Governor. A police officer said restrictions were imposed in the old city to prevent protests. It was a precautionary measure, the officer said. All exit routes to the old city were sealed by security personnel. A heavy deployment of police and CRPF men in riot gear was made in other areas to ensure peace. Due to the restrictions, the Friday prayers were not held at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. Not allowed to offer Friday prayers. #JamaMasjid locked down and restrictions in most city, while arrests continue and jamat e Islami declared unlawful. Dictatorship at its best, Mirwaiz tweeted. The authorities had also imposed restrictions in some areas of south Kashmirs Anantnag town. Officials said steps were taken to maintain law and order in view of possible protests and violence against the ban on the Jamaat and the Union Cabinets amendment order. The speed of the mobile internet was also reduced across Kashmir. Meanwhile, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front staged a protest in Srinagar on the call of the joint resistance leadership against the ban on the Jamaat and the recent NIA raids on separatist leaders. TNS shalender@tribune.com Sonam Kapoor recently re-posted a strong opinion shared by Humans Of Hindutva. The post put Indians and Pakistanis on the same page and weighed all thats common between the two. It was not aimed at taking sides or being anti-national but just putting forth a neutral perspective on the current situation. However, as soon as Sonam shared it on her social media, she got mercilessly trolled. Where some branded her anti-Hindu, many decided to boycott her films with tweets saying, Dont watch her films. However, Sonam gave back to all trolls like a boss! Reacting to the hate comments, Sonam Kapoor tweeted saying, Proud to be criticised... and peace to all the crazy people out there. Besides Sonam, actor Imran Khans wife Avantika Mallik Khan and Mouni Roy too shared the same post on their respective social media accounts and got equally trolled for the same. But they didnt react. shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com New Delhi, March 2 Actor Sonali Bendre on Saturday said she wanted to be in control of her life story and that is the reason why she decided to share her cancer battle with the people on social media. The 44-year-old actor was diagnosed with high-grade cancer last year and had to undergo treatment in New York. She returned home in December and has resumed work. Sonali had kept her fans in loop on social media about the various struggles she faced during her battle with the disease and she said it was important to be honest with people about what she went through, including the pain. "I wanted to be charge of my narrative from the start. When you are a public figure, there are so many narratives that it out there. And suddenly you lose hold of that narrative very quickly. It becomes a different thing all together," the actor said at the India Today Conclave 2019. "As I went through the process, I realised that there are so many others that would be going to through it. I wouldn't be honest that if I said, 'Everything was sunshine'. It was not, it was painful and you do have to go through it," she added. Sonali said like many others, she also encountered pain and had many low phases and she learned that one can do nothing but to deal with it. "Every time I kept thinking 'Why am I not being positive?' and then you start feeling 'Did I do something wrong?'. But there is pain and what can you do about it. "You have to go through that pain. And that's why I wanted it to be out that there is pain and it is hard. The point is to reduce that time to as minimum and prolong the good time for as long as you can," the actor said. Sonali, who ruled the '90s with movies such as "Diljale", "Sarfarosh", "Duplicate" and "Hum Saath Saath Hain", is married to filmmaker Goldie Behl. The couple has a 13-year-old son Ranveer. Goldie and Sonali said were honest when it came to breaking the news of her cancer to Ranveer and they never never concealed any part of that journey from their son. "Ranveer was on a school trip and I could have sent him back home but I needed to see him. I need to be able to talk to him. That's the way we have brought him up and we have always been very honest with him. "The only thing that we were hoping was that by not lying to him, one day he will not be lying to us. That he will be honest with us and that was the example we were trying to set." PTI shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com Mumbai, March 2 A news report that actor Alok Nath is playing a judge pronouncing a sentence against a child molester in a forthcoming film has left writer-director Vinta Nanda, who has accused him of rape, speechless. Titled "#MainBhi", the film has been directed by Nasir Khan, said the report. "I don't know what to say. When I heard about this ironical casting my mind, my heart and soul was with Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan. I couldn't keep my eyes off the television screen because I wanted to see him as he stepped on Indian soil today," Vinta said emotionally. Her mindspace is currently taken up with the violence at the border. "I'm praying for peace and wishing that the Almighty grants us a non-violent universe. I can't think of anything else at the moment," she said. And she isn't bothered with what Alok Nath is doing. "This piece of news about Alok Nath acting in a film is irrelevant and has no effect upon what is actually going on in my heart," she said. Vinta had accused Alok Nath of allegedly raping her nearly 19 years ago when they worked together, which made for several such claims about his behaviour on the sets. He denied all the allegations levelled by the victim. IANS harinder@tribunemail.com Parbina Rashid The ability to make my face expressionless has paid me rich dividends at times, especially when I am travelling by public transport, which I often do. Mostly, I come across people who are curious about me. Are you a foreigner? is the starting point of a conversation. My reply is a disinterested no, but that would not be a dampener. The next one would be a little more forceful, trying to draw me into the conversation. Then, where are you from? Assam, I say. A monosyllabic one again. I know what would come next. What brings you to this part of the country? My Punjabi husband. Love marriage? No, I had distributed my tewa and kundali all over the country, and it matched with his, so I took the first flight out of Assam. So many times I have been tempted to say that but every time I restrain myself. For, a lengthy narrative, even one full of sarcasm, brings on more personal questions. So, as the last resort I would dial some friend back home and plunge into a lengthy conversation in Assamese, much to the annoyance of my co-passenger. But the journey the other day didnt go the way I expected. I was just about settling down on my seat, and working on that blank look to deter any prospective persuader, a group of police personnel got in, holding a man by a handcuff. My mind immediately went to the movie, Con Air. They sat in the row in front of me, and from where I was sitting I could take a good look at the handcuffed man. He didnt look like any of those notorious characters from the movie. Rather, clad in a beige kurta-pyjama and a saffron patka, he could easily pass off as a granthi. But he didnt have the handcuff on for nothing! I kept my eyes fixed on the group. As soon as they settled down, the policeman holding the handcuff let it go, freeing the prisoners hand completely. And the plump policeman, who looked more like a maternal uncle, threw his gun carelessly on his lap. I went into panic mode. What if this man picks up the gun and makes a bid for his freedom, either by hijacking the bus or pumping bullets into us? On a cold rainy night I was in mood for any such (mis)adventure. Neither were they, it seemed. As soon as they settled down, the plump policeman and the prisoner got engrossed in talking, like two long-lost friends, their heads huddled and expression animated. As they spoke in chaste Punjabi, I could snatch only bits and pieces of their conversation. They talked about medicines, the nutritional values of cabbage and eggplants and the deplorable condition of jails. By now, getting home safely looked like a possibility. As the bus pulled at my destination, I looked at the two and smiled as their huddled heads separated just enough to make way for me. I looked back. They were still talking, enjoying the transitory bond, forged in the confines of a moving bus... till destination does them part. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Tribune News Service/ PTI New Delhi, March 2 IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was subjected to mental trauma during his nearly 60-hour captivity in Pakistan after he was caught in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. He briefly mentioned this to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who called on him today, a day after Pakistan released him in its bid to scale down heightened tension between the two countries, said official sources. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and several top officials of the IAF also met Varthaman. Sources said he told the senior IAF brass that he was subjected to severe mental trauma though he was not tortured physically in captivity. Sitharaman met the pilot at an Army hospital here and conveyed that the entire nation was proud of his courage and determination. Sources said the pilot also met his mother, father Air Marshal S Varthaman (retd) and wife Squadron Leader Tanvi Marwah (retd). The meeting lasted 30 minutes. If found medically fit, Wing Commander Varthaman will go back to flying fighter aircraft and to his own unit at present based at Awantipora near Srinagar. Beginning today, he will undergo a series of health tests, including CT scan, MRI and X-ray, for any spinal injury. He will go back to flying and to his own unit, if fit. Wait for the tests, said a senior functionary. Toxicology tests are being conducted at a top military health facility in the national capital to determine if the officer was injected with any unwanted serum by Pakistans military doctors under the garb of treating his injuries. Wing Commander Varthaman was treated at a Pakistan military facility. He was reportedly injected with painkillers and antibiotics to treat injuries he sustained after being beaten up by locals. The results of the X-ray and CT scan will be known by Sunday whereas toxicology tests will take a few days. The spine of the pilot can suffer concussion on ejection from a fighter jet. Besides the speed of the jet, the pilot seat ejects with a massive force. Samjhauta express back on track today New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Saturday announced that the services of the Samjhauta Express between Delhi and Lahore are being restored. India and Pakistan have agreed to resume operations of the train that will leave for Pakistan from Delhi on Sunday. Announcing the decision a day after Pakistan released Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a Railway Board official said the first train from India would leave on March 3. Pakistan had cancelled the service immediately after the IAF struck Balakot. TNS editorial@tribune.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 The Congress found itself grappling afresh with the question of whether to ally with dominant parties in Delhi and Bengal and if yes, how to reconcile the interests of its state units. The new thinking follows evidence that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu were engaged in a discussion on potential alliances during the meeting 21 non-BJP parties called a day before to discuss the national security situation in the wake of Pulwama attack, the IAF strikes on Pakistan and the Pakistan retaliation. Gandhi is learnt to have told the state unit chiefs in Delhi and Bengal to look at potential alliances once more. Accordingly, Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit held a meeting with senior party leaders from Delhi to get a sense once more. All Delhi Congress unit leaders unanimously said they did not want any pact with AAP. After the meeting though, some leaders said: If the party decides otherwise, we will abide by its decision. Dikshit has personally not closed the alliance chapter yet and has been saying the last word has not been said until it has been said. Meanwhile, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal recently expressed displeasure with the Congress for not considering a Lok Sabha alliance with his party and said Congress must understand we need one common candidate against BJP. Congress needs to cast away it ego. Mamata has also openly batted for state-wise alliances of non-BJP parties with the dominant state party getting the lions share in LS seats. Accordingly in Bengal, she is hoping the Congress will ally with her and in Delhi with AAP. Andhra CM Naidu played the negotiator between Rahul and Mamata a day before, asking the Congress chief to reconsider the option of allying with TMC in Bengal and AAP in Delhi to build a stronger anti-BJP coalition. monicakchauhan@gmail.com New Delhi, March 2 Masood Azhar, the founder of the dreaded terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis at an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said here on Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said on Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terror mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. The 24-year-old bomber, Asif Sadiq, was one of Azhar's earliest recruits and student from Birmingham. At this time, Azhar also began using several al-Qaeda recruits. In 1979-1989, after he suffered injuries in the SovietAfghan War, he was chosen as the head of Harkat-ul-Ansar's department of motivation. In the early 1990s, Azhar became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited international locations to recruit, raise funds and spread the message of pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania. He also went to Kenya to meet an al-Qaida affiliate of Somalia in 1993 and in August 1993, Azhar entered the UK for a speaking, fund-raising, and recruitment tour with the message of jihad. Azhar made contacts in Britain with people who helped to provide training and logistical support for terrorist plots. In January 1993, Azhar visited Bangladesh along with Sajjad Afghani, a terrorist leader to facilitate the intrusion of Afghani to India. Azhar was part of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-ul-Ansar, when he was arrested in 1994 in India for spreading hate. Azhar formed Jaish-e-Mohammad after his release in 1999 when Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked and taken to Kandahar. Since then, the JeM has been involved in terror attacks in the country. The terror group was responsible for the attack on Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which nine security personnel and officials were killed. On January 2, 2016, a heavily armed group of JeM attacked the Pathankot airbase in which seven security personnel were killed. The JeM also carried out the attack on Uri brigade headquarters on September 18, 2016, killing 17 soldiers and injuring 30 others. On February 14 this year, the JeM carried out a suicide attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir killing 40 Jawans. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, March 2 Abhinandan used to mean congratulations, but its meaning will change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday referring to the IAF pilot released by Pakistan and the air strike carried out by India in Pakistan. The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to change dictionary meanings, Modi said at a housing ministry event here. His remarks came a day after IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. Take it for a fact, the world watches carefully what India does...The country has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. Abhinandan once used to mean congratulations in English. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change. This is the strength of this country, he said amid applause by the audience. He said the country had to move ahead with valour. Soon after the pilot was released, Modi had tweeted, Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. PTI editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Lucknow, March 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a project to produce modernised AK-47 rifles in Korwa ordinance factory in Amethi Congress president Rahul Gandhis parliamentary constituency during his first visit as PM on March 3. Modi is likely to announce development projects worth Rs 12,500 crore on arch rivals turf during a public rally at Korwa Munshiganj. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP state president Mahendra Nath Pandey and minister in-charge of Amethi Mohsin Raza visited the constituency yesterday to take stock of the arrangements. BJP MLAs and workers have been asked to ensure heavy attendance at the public rally in the Congress bastion. This will be the first visit by a Prime Minister to the constituency in 29 years, when then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited it. Union Minister Smriti Irani, who unsuccessfully contested against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2014, has been a regular visitor to the constituency announcing development projects. Last week, she was here to distribute Kisan Samman Nidhi certificates to 25 farmers. She has been accusing the naamdar Nehru-Gandhi family of only selling dreams. With the PMs visit, the BJP is trying to make it difficult for the Congress president to retain his seat. But the SP-BSP decision not to contest from Amethi and Rae Bareli has provided some relief to the Congress. Rahul and AICC general secretary in charge of eastern UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to visit Amethi days after the PMs visit. uttara@tribuneindia.com Islamabad, March 2 Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. "India submitted its dossier. If India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it," Qureshi said. He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in Pakistan and its policies are very clear. "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC. Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said that there was "still confusion" over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. "The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no," he said. "They have denied that, that's the confusion." When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said: "People over here, and the people who are known to them". In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "very unwell", but said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi said. His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the "so-called nerve centre" of the JeM in Bahawalpur. He was referring to the provincial government's move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month. "India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds," he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case. "We had stated that India should give us actionable evidence so we could act, we had assured India that we would cooperate," he asserted. Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said Pakistan's new government has brought a new approach, conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He said that the "situation is critical still. Both countries' armed forces are still on high alert. "We are nuclear-armed neighbours. Can we afford a war? This is suicide," he said. He said that at this point of time, Islamabad want to bring the situation under control, adding: "A section of the Indian media is behaving in very irresponsible manner by engaging in warmongering". Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a "peace gesture". Varthaman, who in Pakistan's custody since Wednesday, was released at the Wagah border on Friday. PTI editorial@tribune.com Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 The release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan may help turn around an awkward relationship with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a powerful body of eight regional actors, including India, China, Russia and Pakistan. For India, sharing the podium with Pakistan at the SCO was turning out to be a dilemma to the chagrin of some other SCO members who had warned that admitting India and Pakistan would also lead to importing their acrimonious relationship. Two days ago after tension with Pakistan peaked, India had cancelled a meeting of SCO officials in Hyderabad that was to be held today. The question before India is whether its officials will share the stage with Pakistan at another but more crucial meeting of SCO on counterterrorism to be held soon in a third country? The release of the IAF pilot could bring down the temperatures and induce India to walk back from its threat of not turning up for the forthcoming SCO meeting. One reason may have been that India came away from a meeting with Foreign Ministers of Russia and China, the two main engines of SCO, with less than satisfactory results because the verbose 34-paragraph joint statement seemed to treat Indias concerns with Pulwama on par with the situation in Venezuela and Libya. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs appearance at the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) on Friday as guest of honour is unlikely to discomfit India because Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had, in protest, declared a boycott of the two-day event in the UAE. Efforts by Saudi Arabia to act as mediator may convince Qureshi, who could delay his arrival till the departure of Swaraj. But an even bigger headache is coming Indias way after Pakistan informed Russia and China that it wanted to nominate its official to head SCOs Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) wing. This would be anathema to India because it accuses Pakistan of being the breeding ground of terror. Both India and Pakistan have been involved with RATS counter-terror mechanisms much before they were admitted to its main body, the SCO, last year. The RATS is stated to have an enviable database of foreign fighters who move from one theatre of conflict to another. Indias tryst with these mobile non-state fighters ended around 2000, but the danger is abiding as such groups have based themselves in the region. Pakistan, though, has been quicker in leveraging SCO for its foreign policy when it had briefed its envoys in Islamabad on the tensions with India. Z-plus security for Chiefs of Air, Naval staff uttara@tribuneindia.com Ravi S. Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 Amidst simmering tension between India and Pakistan, top national functionary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Dattatreya Hosabale on Monday said there was groundswell of nationalism in the country whenever it is faced with crisis and challenges. The RSS ideologue said this while addressing a function related to launch of a book titled RSS: Building India through Sewa, authored by an RSS-activist-turned BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal. He said this in the context of Wing Commander Abhinanda Varthama reaching Wagah border to be handed over by Pakistan to India. There is a feeling of euphoria in the entire country relating to Abhinandan Varthama. Whenever the country is faced with crisis, such manifest frisson of patriotism does surface, Hosabale said. Referring to the contents of the books which, among others, dwells on RSS dedicated to nation building through the route of selfless humanitarian service, he said the outfit is all-encompassing in its love and compassion. RSS is not against anyone one. Its for the nation, and its unmistakably opposed to all those who are against it (nation), he added. He further said that there are rumours and disinformation regarding the nature of RSS as an organisation, and urged that it should be first studied closely before critically anlaysed. The function was addressed, among others, by another key RSS ideologue Dr Krishan Gopal and Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani. Mittal said he authored the book after being pained the way RSS had been continuously labeled negatively, both on account of ignorance and from political considerations. The book tries to dispel the negative feelings against it and brings forth its service-oriented nature. It also tries to disprove the general feeling that the outfit was against women and Scheduled Castes. The audience observed two-minute silence in memory of the jawans, including CRPF personnel who were martyred in the terrorist attack in Pulwama. editorial@tribune.com New Delhi, March 1 As top leaders of Punjab Congress Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu wove counter-narratives around the prevailing India-Pakistan tension, the party hoped for the narrative of the CM to prevail. A day after advocating peace and dialogue with Pakistan as the only solution to countering terrorism, Sidhu tweeted again today and took a veiled swipe at PM Narendra Modi. The Punjab minister quoted philosopher Panchari to say that a war in which the life of the king is not at risk is not a war; it is politics. He then tweeted: War is the refuge for a failed government. How many more innocent lives and jawans will you sacrifice for your hollow political motives? Sidhus attack on the PM, Congress sources said, did not go well with the partys decision to avoid politicisation of the developments. Sidhus comments are needless and avoidable, a senior Punjab Congress leader said. That explains why the Congress yesterday distanced itself from Sidhus pro-dialogue stance with in relation to Pakistan calling it his personal opinion and adding there is a time to talk and there is a time to act. Capt Amarinders latest poser to Pakistan PM Imran Khan was well received in the Congress today as he asked Pakistan to acknowledge the existence of Prisoners of War of 1971 and send them back. TNS editorial@tribune.com New Delhi, March 1 The Union Home Ministry has asked the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) chiefs to conduct a data analysis exercise and assess long-term age profile issues of combat units once the retirement age of their troops is raised from 57 years to 60 in the wake of a court order to fix an existing anomaly, officials said today. A meeting was held in the ministry on the subject on February 27 in the wake of a Delhi High Court order that called the current policy of different age of superannuation in the four forces of the CRPF, BSF, ITBP and the SSB as discriminatory and unconstitutional which created two classes in these uniformed forces. The meeting discussed various implications once these four forces have the retirement age of all its personnel at 60 years like the CISF and Assam Rifles, a senior official privy to the meeting said. The Home Ministry has asked the Directors General of these forces to conduct a data analysis and furnish information to it by the next week and has called for a fresh meeting on March 6. The directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said CAPF chiefs should assess the impact of the proposed decision on future recruitments, age profile of personnel deployed for border guarding tasks and deputation of these men and women to special forces like the NSG, Special Protection Group and the NDRF. It added the incremental increase in manpower once the retirement age is enhanced should also be analysed along with cases of those troops graded under the low medical category owing to injury in action or any disease. Whether there would be any long-term effect with regard to raising of new battalions in case of change in retirement age? the directive asked the CAPF chiefs to find. These forces are deployed to undertake a variety of security roles in the country, ranging from guarding borders to conducting anti-Naxal operations and combating terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The Delhi High Court had issued its order on January 31 and had given the Home Ministry four weeks to implement its directive. PTI Home ministry wants data in a week rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, March 2 The chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, officials said. The decision was taken after a thorough review of the threat perception of IAF chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa and chief of Naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in the wake of heightened tension with Pakistan. The chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff would be given the Z-plus security, a government official said. Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat has already been given the Z-plus security. The official, however, said close proximity security of the chiefs of Air Staff and Naval Staff would continue to be given by the commandos of the respective forces, and the peripheral security would be given by the central and state security agencies. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after 40 CRPF personnel were killed and many injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a JeM suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, March 2 Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism that threatened both the countries, British MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on Saturday. Speaking at a media conclave in New Delhi, Johnson said India and the United Kingdom would succeed in defeating terrorism, a common threat, for their values were superior to those of terrorists and their sponsors. Im sure I speak for millions of people in my own country when I say we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage at the killings in Pulwama, and in our determination to work with you to defeat the terrorist foe that threatens us both, Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London, said. And we will succeed, and we will defeat them because in the end, it is our values that are superior to those of the terrorists, and those who sponsor them, he said. Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the security forces. On the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistans custody, Johnson said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faced a very difficult situation in dealing with terrorism. Imran Khan behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation and I think all of us who worry about what is going on there have a real duty to support the civilian side of the government in Pakistan against the deep state elements, he said. We have a very important relationship with Pakistan but there is no doubt that the deep state in the country has been responsible chronically for association with sponsorship of terrorist groups. We have been trying to address it through task force, blacklisting and grey listing and we put a huge amount of pressure on Pakistan. But we can consider putting more pressure through our aid budget, he said. Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com United Nations, March 2 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from captivity in Pakistan and called on the two countries to sustain the positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue. The IAF Wing Commander returned to India from Pakistan on Friday to a heros welcome, nearly 60 hours after he was captured following a dogfight when his MiG 21 was shot down. UN chief Guterres welcomes the news of the release of the Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PTI when asked about the Secretary-Generals response to the development. The Secretary-General calls on both parties to sustain this positive momentum and engage in further constructive dialogue. His good offices remain available should both sides agree, Dujarric said. Varthamans release was being watched with bated breath across India as the IAF pilot was accorded a heros welcome as he crossed onto India through the Wagah Border. The IAF pilots release was seen as a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by Indias retaliation over Pakistans continued support for terrorism. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the IAF carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MiG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he bailed out, landing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a special joint sitting of Parliament that his government was releasing the pilot as a peace gesture. However, India has been maintaining that the Pakistani decision is in consonance with the Geneva Conventions. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com New Delhi, March 2 A Delhi court on Saturday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in a money laundering case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar extended the interim protection from arrest to Vadra and his associate Manoj Arora till March 19. The court also directed them to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, which is presently probing the case, whenever they are required. The court was hearing Vadra and Arora's anticipatory bail pleas. The case relates to the ownership of overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds by Vadra. On December 7, 2018, the ED had raided several of Vadra's properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. IANS editorial@tribune.com nav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 1 Health Minister Brahm Mohindra on Friday said three of the four demands of the protesting nurses of Patiala was agreed upon by him at a meeting on Thursday. The pending demand is the regularisation of services. He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to start the celebrations for the 125 years of Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) at Ludhiana on Friday. On Thursday evening, two contractual nurses had jumped from atop the building of Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, and had sustained serious injuries. They have been protesting for the last 23 days. He said the regularisation of the contractual staff was on the governments manifesto. The Chief Secretary has already written to all government departments and asked them to send a list of the contractual staff. The government will be regularising 27,000 employees in one go. I have told the nurses that three of their demands pending for the last 12-15 years have been accepted while the regularisation issue will also be addressed soon, he added. Meanwhile, Mohindra denied meeting any nurse named Amandeep Kaur, who alleged that the minister had said that it doesnt matter if 1-2 nurses jump from the building in protest. Welcoming IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on his safe return, the Health Minister said all civil hospitals and dispensaries were ready for any kind of emergency situation, if it arises. Addressing the function at the CMCH, Mohindra said: Instead of opting for the Centres Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Punjab opted for the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojana because nearly 43 lakh beneficiaries can be covered under it, which is just 14 lakh in case of the Central scheme. This was decided after collecting the socio-economic data of Punjab. editorial@tribune.com r Correspondent Fazilka, March 1 Residents of some of the border villages have decided to stay back and face the situation than to shift to safer areas. Lachhman Singh of Mauzam village said they were ready to fight against the enemy if need be. Harbans Singh of Mohar Jamsher village, which is surrounded by Pakistan from three sides, said not even a single villager had left the place and they were busy looking after their standing wheat crop. A BSF official said security was being provided to farmers cultivating their land along the border. Residents suffer losses in such situations, but it was necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson, said Satnam Singh, a villager. Capt fails to turn up Capt Amarinder Singh who was to visit Tahliwala village in Jalalabad subdivision of Fazilka failed to turn up. The CM who is on three-day tour to the border districts was to meet the villagers to assure support to them. editorial@tribune.com vi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Dera Baba Nanak, March 1 Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday claimed that the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan would not affect the ongoing construction work of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. The 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak will kick off in November and we hope to complete the project by then. India is going ahead with the March 14 meeting to be held with Pakistan in New Delhi where the modalities will be finalised. This itself proves that the project is very much on, said the Chief Minister. Amarinder met villagers, BSF and Army officers in Haruwal village. He was accompanied by Cabinet minister and local MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and senior officers. He said he intended to be a part of the first jatha (group of pilgrims) that would pass through the corridor. I am at variance with the Pakistan Governments proposal to let only 500 pilgrims cross the border every day. The corridor should facilitate the movement of any number of pilgrims who want to cross the border. Allowing just 500 persons per day defies logic and the very purpose of the project stands defeated if Pakistan sticks to its stand, the CM added. Randhawa said he had brought to the notice of the CM the demand of farmers who were claiming that they were not being adequately paid for the land acquired. The CM will be taking up the cause of the farmers with Union government officials as Punjab is not acquiring the land. The corridor is being constructed by the Surface Transport Ministry and hence the Union government will be paying the compensation, said Randhawa. Amarinder also raked up the issue of POWs across the border. Pakistan should admit, and hence release all the POWs it has lodged in its jails. rchopra@tribunemail.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 2 As top leaders of Punjab CongressChief Minister Amarinder Singh and Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu--wove counter-narratives around the prevailing Indo-Pakistan tensions, the party hoped for the narrative of the Chief Minister to prevail. A day after advocating peace and dialogue with Pakistan as the only solution to countering terrorism, Sidhu visited Twitter again and took a veiled swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Punjab minister quoted Chanakya to say that a war in which the life of the king is not at risk is not a war; it is politics. He then tweeted War is the refuge for a failed government. How many more innocent lives and jawans will you sacrifice for your hollow political motives? Sidhu targeting the PM, Congress sources said, did not sit well with the partys decision to avoid politicisation of the goings-on. Sidhu's comments are needless and avoidable, a senior Punjab Congress leader said. That explains why the Congress had distanced itself from Sidhus pro-dialogue stance in relation to Pakistan calling it his personal opinion and adding that there is a time to talk and there is a time to act. The Congress, meanwhile, took heart in what it called deft and wise moves Punjab CM Amarinder Singh made in the wake of the Pulwama attack by visiting the states border areas, engaging the troops, boosting their morale, meeting the families of jawans martyred in Pulwama and taking a matter-of-fact line on Pakistan. Amarinders latest poser to Pakistan PM Imran Khan was well received in the Congress as he asked Pakistan to acknowledge the existence of Prisoners of War of 1971 and send them back. Walking a tight rope post Pulwama, Congress leaders privately hailed Singhs calibrated stand after the February 14 attack saying it had been appreciated nationally cutting across party lines. We hope this sentiment prevails, a Congress leader said flashing a video of Amarinder Singh meeting border troops in Punjab and joining them in the war cry chant Bole so nihal. Meanwhile, the Chief Election Commissioner said the Lok Sabha elections would be held as per schedule. Oomen thanks Sidhu, Imran Meanwhile, Oomen Chandy tweeted praises of Sidhu. While the Congress officially distanced itself from Sidhus statement, former Kerala CM and AICC general secretary for Andhra Pradesh decided to thank Imran Khan and Sidhu for the pilots release. Chandy tweeted praises of Sidhu, saying, #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan - Thanks to genuine efforts of @sherryontopp and the goodwill gesture from @ImranKhanPTI. Yes, courage is contagious and I hope peace will ensue on both sides of the border. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 2 The Congress on Saturday questioned the intelligence failure that led to the Pulwama attack and the killing of 40 CRPF jawans and said the post-Pulwama events were too serious to be ignored. The party will also flag concerns over the Pulwama attack and the consequent politicisation of the armed forces sacrifices by the BJP, at the Moga rally in Punjab on March 7. Former Home Minister and Congress veteran P Chidambaram today cited certain media reports to say Pulwama and the subsequent events are too serious to be ignored or forgotten after a few days. He said the government is obliged to answer the charge and to explain the role of Multi Agency Centre under the National Counter Terrorism Centre. He said the media, after accessing intelligence reports, stated that the Pulwama attack was an intelligence failure. On the decision of the Congress to flag the post-Pulwama events at the Moga rally, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said: The issues arising from the Pulwama attack, IAF strikes and the politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by the BJP will be raised at the Mog rally. The BJP Government is trying to cover their five-year misrule using the post-Pulwama events. This will be raised and the intentions of the government will be questioned. editorial@tribune.com Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 1 Backing the Union Governments direction to the Punjab Government to end the arhtiya system, farmer unions said they had been demanding for long that payments should be made directly to farmers. The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution had asked the state government to do away with the arhtiya system and make direct payments to farmers on crops procured under the Minimum Support Price. The demand has been put up by the umbrella organisation of seven farmer organisations, including the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahana), Krantikari Kisan Union, Punjab, Bhartiya Kisan Union Dakaunda, BKU (Krantikari), Kirti Kisan Union, Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Azad Sangarsh Committee. Darshan Pal of Krantikari Kisan Union said arhtiyas were parasites who should be called money lenders instead of commission agents. Their system of credit should be made more transparent and if farmers borrow money from them, it should be recorded in passbooks like banks do, he said. The government should carry out annual audit of their records to control the fleecing of farmers. Instead of splurging money on them, it should be spent on the development of villages, said farmer organisations. Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union(Ugrahan), said, The government should bring a law to control money lenders. And as per the pre-poll promise, the Congress government should write off the debt, which farmers owe to the moneylenders. However, Vijay Kalra, president, Federation of Arhtiyas Association, Punjab, said it was not possible for the government to handle procurement without the involvement of arhtiyas. In August 2009, they announced to make direct payment but there was a huge strike which was supported by farmers as well. In emergency situations, it is only arhtiyas who can give them money, not banks. Darshan Singh, president, Arhtiya Association, Barnala said if the government wishes, it can start with just one district on a pilot basis. The arhtiyas dont just act as money transfer agents but also take care of crop for weeks as farmers unload the crop and leave the mandi. It is us who clean the crop and hand it over it to procurement agencies, he said. uttara@tribuneindia.com Divya Sharma & Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Amritsar/Chandigarh, March 2 A slight divergence from Central Board of Secondary Education's usual test pattern for Class 12 English Core examination has students and parents biting their nails. Experts said that the test, conducted on Saturday, was fairly simple and balanced. However, an unexpected questionone regarding a novelhas students worried if they would lose marks. The problematic questionQuestion 11 in the literature section of the paperpertained to George Eliots 'Silas Marner'. Teachers and students say that usually students could pick between two novels CBSE prescribesEliots novel and HG Wellss 'Invisible Man'to study. As Chandigarh teacher Sandhya put it: "Each school has to choose between the two novels. In many schools here, students were taught only The Invisible Man. However, the board set one question from each novel on Saturday, without the option of allowing students to choose. As a result, students now stand to lose six marks. Students from Amritsar faced similar dilemma. Amritsar student Jannat said she was forced to leave the question unanswered. The CBSE had asked us to prepare only one novel out of the two," she said. Teachers say they would now write to the CBSE asking them for grace marks for that question. Chandigarh Parents Association also wrote to the board asking for leniency. Their letter said: "As a part of the syllabus for Class 12 CBSE English Core paper, two novels are prescribed namely The Invisible Man by HG Wells and Silas Marner by George Eliot. And each school or student can choose one between the two of these books. However, in the question paper set by CBSE for the English Core paper held today, there was one question each from both books at question no 11 and 12 respectively without providing any choice, thereby causing unfair disadvantage of 6 marks to the children". In todays competitive world, even a fraction of mark causes a huge effect on the future education and career of the students; hence a loss of six marks without any fault of the students cannot be sustained. Therefore, we request you that CBSE must compensate the children with full six marks specified for the question which was out of the syllabus. However, a senior public relation officer of the board denied there was a problem, but promised there was a "mechanism" in place to deal with such issues. The official in question, Rama Sharma, said to the Tribune: There is a mechanism to take care of such issues before finalising the marking scheme so that students are not at a disadvantage...There's nothing out of syllabus. 'Grace marks' Chandigarh and Amritsar students were not the only ones worryingseveral from across the country took to Twitter to ask CBSE for lenient marking on the question. "Question no. 11 & 12 was of pattern different from sample paper. Grace Marks?" one user asked. Another said: "1st tell me one thing..in today's english paper in question no. 11 we had 4 questions in which we had to answer to any one of them..but none of them were from invisible man..and we had invisible man in our course..so will we get full marks in this question??? " "#cbseexams2019 Question no.11&12 in The English Core class 12 paper were ambiguous as all questions in question no. 11 were from one novel while no.12 had from another.We had only one of the two novels in the syllabus. Grace marks for the given questions@cbseindia29@HRDMinistry," said another worried user. As more students took to Twitter to flag their worries, CBSE said it would take the concerns into consideration before the final marking. CBSE said in a tweet: "Care will be taken before finalising the marking scheme". singhking99@yahoo.com Archana Datta Hasnt the internet driven social networking tools made a powerful entry into our everyday life? Yes, indeed! But, how gender-sensitive is this new media space? Today more than 4 billion people, about 55 per cent of the global population are Internet users. Social media users have already crossed the 3-billion mark. Social media definitely has added a new dimension to global networking, intercultural communication and socialisation, and have made people information-empowered unprecedentedly. But, has it yielded equitable access to women? According to Pew research, gender divide on the use of social media platforms tilts toward men mostly in developing economies, while women in advanced economies outnumber men. No doubt, poor infrastructural facilities in low and middle income countries often create roadblocks in the expansion of Internet, which affect both women and men, but power inequalities and socio-cultural norms have more adverse impact on women in those countries, the report commented. Gender problem Not surprisingly, in India, internet has a serious gender problem with only 29 per cent of all users being female, according to the 2017 UNICEF report. The 42 per cent digital gender gap in India is far more extreme than the global divide, it said. It also quoted how girls are being prevented from using mobile phones and social media by a village governing body in rural Rajasthan, and in another village in Uttar Pradesh, the khap panchayat imposed bans on its use by unmarried girls. News stories of such diktats by many khap panchayats in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are also not rare in Indian media. The GSMA, an international mobile industry monitor, said the gender disparity is a reality in India with 114 million more men owning mobile handsets and 25 per cent more with a SIM card as compared to women. Women are more likely to have a borrowed set and are often required to seek permission for a handset, which surely is indicative of their limited autonomy. The report further revealed that when over a billion Facebook users access it via mobile, 81 per cent of the Indian women have never accessed the internet on their phones. However, the Boston Consulting Group and Retailers Association of India are optimistic that the wide gender gap in India is likely to shrink in the coming years, and women will reach 40 per cent share in the internet usage by 2020. Undoubtedly, social media use is on the rise and is estimated to reach around 258.27 million in the current year. But gender inequality finds its reflection on social media as well. It has only 23.4 million female users as against 73.8 million males in the most active age group of 18-24 years, on the popular social media site Facebook. We Are Social, a consultancy firm in the UK, opined that Indias Facebook population with about 24 per cent women is more gender-skewed than that of the neighbouring Nepal and Bhutan. A study on womens presence on Twitter in India laid bare significant under-representation. On analysing 23,350 tweets on political trending topics over a period of eight days, it noticed that only 7.72 per cent of tweets were by women, 46.15 per cent by men, 34.83 per cent by organisations, news outlets and other groups, and 11.30 per cent by users who did not indicate their gender, and remarked about marginalisation of women in political processes. The United Nations acknowledged the usage of internet as a basic human right, and a non-binding resolution was adopted in 2016 by the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council). Unfortunately, India, along with a few other countries, chose to oppose it, while more than seventy countries supported it. In India, none of the strategies in Digital India addresses the yawning gender gap, more pronounced in rural areas with an abysmally low male-female ratio of 64:36. However, there are some initiatives on the ground like Helping women get online by Google, Intel, Hindustan Unilever, and Axis Bank and other such initiatives by Google India and Tata Trusts to focus on the digital divide in rural India and empowerment with key skills for the future. Organisations like Jaipur Rugs Foundation have also come forward in supporting women in entrepreneurship development with the help of social media. As per the findings of Google and AT Kearney consultancy, a change is in the offing with a 40 per cent rise in the number of women e-customers in the next four years from the current 20 per cent Online activism in India is also creating small ripples in public consciousness. A number of Facebook groups like Delhi for Womens Safety, Delhi Gang Rape Protest, etc., sprung up in the wake of the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case, which could make a huge impact on civil society and governmental response. Some other campaigns like the Pink Chaddi, Slutwalks, Happy to bleed or the very recent #MeToo, also raised voice against sexual exploitation and misogyny. Of course, such online feminist activism has come under criticism in India like elsewhere and has been dubbed as slacktivism, generating nothing but a feel good feeling and considered to be elitist, meant only for urban women. On the flip side, the rise of cyber crimes has exposed women to newer threats, especially in the age group of 16-35. The IT Act, enabled in 2000, doesn't have any gender-specific clauses. Well, the world of web unquestionably has opened up endless opportunities, knowledge sources and bridged the time and distance gap. But, is it fair to hold back almost half of Indias population from entering into a whole new world. Tell-tale Numbers singhking99@yahoo.com Maj Gen Raj Mehta Indias patriarchal landscape is evolving. Today, a woman is no longer solely dependent on a man or merely a baby-producing machine. She is different no doubt, but his equal too. And she is feisty as well. Whether she is a civilian, a service officer or his wife, even widow, courage is in her DNA. Gauri Mahadik, wife of Maj Prasad Mahadik After Major Prasad Mahadik was killed in the line of duty in December 2017 in Arunachal Pradesh, his widow Gauri (32) did not just mourn her husband's death, she wanted to pay him a befitting tribute by wearing his stars and uniform. She didnt want to just sit and cry but to do something for him and make him proud. She decided to follow in his footsteps and started preparing for Service Selection Board (SSB) examination in the widow category. Recently, she topped it. Gauri Mahadik will be inducted into the Army as a lieutenant by March 2020 after completion of training. Gauri had made a seminal, epochal statement that she would wear her late husbands uniform accoutrements, thereby taking on the implied challenges of wearing them. There have been other brave military widows who have followed her path before but no one has made her intent so clear. Nitika Dhaundiyal, wife of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal These modern women have the gumption to look the world in the eye and bid adieu to their departed braveheart husbands without tears, like the heroic Kashmiri woman Nitika Kaul Dhaundiyal. Her husband, Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, a resident of Dehradun, was killed in an encounter with JeM terrorists in Pulwama on February 18. A bride of just 10 months, Nikita was a picture of courage at his funeral. While paying her last respects to her husband, Nitika whispered her love and respect for him, before proudly shouting out a farewell Jai Hind to him. Her last words were a statement in resilience. I'm really proud. We all love you. The way you love everyone is entirely different because you sacrifice your life for the people who you may have never contacted, but still you decided to give your life for them. You are such a brave man. I am very honoured to have you as my husband. I'll love you till my last breath. I owe my life to you. Yes it's hurting that you're leaving but I know you will always be around. I'll request everyone not to sympathise, rather be very strong because this man holds a position larger than any of us standing here. Let's salute this man. Jai Hind. Indian women are like that; capable, gritty and resolute in their resolve. While these are examples of Army widows who are as valiant as the force they married into, there are many women who wear the Olive Green with as much courage and valour. Lt Babita In August 2004 as GOC 19 Division at Baramula, North Kashmir, I was informed that a fidayeen had rammed his explosive-laden car into a fully-occupied Uri-bound Army bus carrying officers and soldiers at Pattan on the Srinagar-Baramula-Uri highway.The SSP Baramula and I rushed to the site. There were scattered body and vehicle parts and shattered glass all around. In the crushed bus was young Babita then a lieutenant, on her first day of military service in the war zone. Still conscious, this heavily bleeding young officer murmured to me in Hindi, Sir, maa ko mat batana. Fikr karegee. Main theek hone par badla loongi. Later on, when my wife and I visited her at the Srinagar Base Hospital, she remarked with a typical Haryanvi humour. See ma'am, my face is OK; Shaadi ho jaye gi. Jatni hoon, aisi waisi nahin! Her infectious smile was strangely uplifting. This was the standard response expected from brave, motivated male officers and she was their equal. Lt Col (Dr) Deepika Pathak Lt Col (Dr) Deepika Pathak was the no-nonsense second-in-command of a field ambulance unit at Pattan in the notorious Baramula-Pattan-Sopore triangle. By the nature of her appointment, she was also responsible for the security there. On a surprise visit, I found flaws in her security setup, and took her to task about it. When I re-visited a week later, she had everything buttoned up. She then also firmly pointed out the supply-side laxity that was responsible for security stores deficiencies. She could hardly have responded like this if the Army did not encourage mature interaction that disregarded gender. Lt Himani Thapliyal In February-March 2005, when officiating as GOC 15 Corps during the unprecedented snow tsunami that claimed 240 lives, the Army, as always, reached out to help its Kashmiri brethren. With BB Cantt, Srinagar, also impacted, snow had to be removed from rooftops of soldiers quarters to prevent collapse. On finding fresh-from-young-officers-course the then Lt Himani Thapliyal, from engineers corps on a high, slippery rooftop with a shovel, I asked her to come down if she felt like it. Im a pahari and can do the job better than my men, she replied firmly. Capt Sukkriti Shukla There was another heroic officer there Capt Sukkriti Shukla, a GIS/IT expert. A captain then, she liaised with NRSA and SASE at Hyderabad and Chandigarh, respectively, post the snow tsunami for flood/earthquake zoning of the Kashmir Valley with intelligence and deep understanding of these complex issues. Capt Devika Gupta It was a cold evening in January 2004. Baramula had the reputation of being the terrorism hub in North Kashmir. As GOC, I was informed of a grenade blast casualty of 28 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion. The soldier, his intestines hanging out, was stitched up by the then duty MO, Capt Devika Gupta. We must move him in an open jeep ambulance to Base Hospital, Srinagar, Sir, if he is to survive, she told me. She disagreed with my suggestion for her and her patients safety of moving in a mine and bulletproof vehicle. Im the doctor, Sir. Let me do what is best. And should I be targeted en route, I have my husband to grieve over me, she said tersely. I did the only right thing with a hundred-odd soldiers watching their GOC being sorted out. Despite her Gurkha escort vehicles breaking down at Pattan, Devika proceeded unescorted; joined in the operation, then called back to report success. She was then in her second trimester of pregnancy and requested half a Sunday off for tests. Two days later, the Chief of Army Staff awarded her his recommendation for bravery. Spending seven tenures in J&K or with operational tasking in J&K, I came across many Army women climbing the Himalayan slopes with men, carrying 30kg packs; doing combat firing, commanding medical troops, being staff officers/doing bridging training on the Chenab, engaging in Navodya border school teaching/Army school management; running orphanages, running GIS and IT software with skill; helping build a war museum that was much praised on its inauguration in December 2004 by President APJ Abdul Kalam. Womens physiological differences as a combat disqualifier are issues that need review. But we should let the women decide whether they want to opt for combat roles or not. Most do not worldwide. However, what we need is sensitive perception management, taking women along. They seek progress, respect and acceptance as equals even if they are different. Are we listening? sanjiv@tribunemail.com Helmand/Kabul, March 1 At least 25 Afghan soldiers were killed as they repelled an attack on Friday by the Taliban on a military base in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, officials said. Afghan forces killed at least nine Taliban insurgents, including three suicide bombers, during the attack by the hardline Islamist group, the provincial governor said. The 215 Maiwand Army Corps came under attack in the early hours of Friday, said a security official in Kabul, adding the attack was the Talibans third attempt to overrun Camp Shorab, a strategic military installation, in the past 48 hours. An Afghan security forces officer in Helmand said one of the suicide bombers had blown himself up in a dining room inside the military corps compound, and clashes continued. The US advise and assist mission, which works alongside Afghan troops, operates from the base. Foreign forces present at the base were safe as the Taliban could not breach the walls of their compound. Security officials in Kabul say clashes between the Taliban and government forces backed by foreign forces have not subsided even as US and Taliban officials are holding talks in Qatar to seek a negotiated solution to end Afghanistan's long war. Reuters uttara@tribuneindia.com Tehran, March 2 Iran condemned Britain's decision to outlaw the political wing of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Saturday, describing it as "wrong and irresponsible". Britain said Monday it would seek to make membership of the Shiite movement or inviting support for it a crime. The decision followed outrage over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London. "Iran considers Hezbollah a legitimate and legal force which plays an effective and undeniable role in helping its country's political stability and safeguarding its security," the foreign ministry said on its website. "(It) considers the decision to place Hezbollah on a terrorism blacklist to be wrong and irresponsible and one which will not contribute to the stability and security of Lebanon." Hezbollah was established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war and fought a 2006 war with Israel. It is also a major force in the country's politics, holding three cabinet posts. Britain blacklisted Hezbollah's military wing in 2008 but had until now made no move against its political wing. However, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that any distinction between its military and political wings "does not exist". "This (decision) does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship," he said. Tehran is a major supporter of Hezbollah and its "resistance" against the Islamic republic's arch foe Israel. Britain's decision drew swift praise from both Israel and the United States. AFP monicakchauhan@gmail.com Brasilia, March 2 Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been granted leave from prison to attend his seven-year-old grandson's funeral, who died of meningitis. The boy died on Friday, and the jailed former head of state has been allowed to go to the burial in Sao Paulo on Saturday, the BBC reported. The 73-year-old leader had asked permission to attend his brother's funeral in January, but the Supreme Court did not allow until the funeral was already underway. However, Parana state government said Lula would be allowed to attend his grandson Arthur's funeral. Arrangements were being made to fly him to the city, which is roughly 340 kilometres away from the federal prison in Curitiba, where he is lodged. This will be Lula's first time out after his conviction in April 2018. Lula, as he is known, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption charges in 2018. He maintains that his conviction was politically motivated. An iconic figure for the Left in Latin America, the former trade unionist led Brazil between 2003 and 2010. His was the most high-profile conviction from a sprawling anti-corruption probe named 'Operation Car Wash' that has been dubbed "the largest foreign bribery case in history" by the US Department of Justice. His supporters insist he is the victim of political persecution, with his left-wing Worker's Party petitioning for his release, the BBC reported. He was convicted for work done on a beach front property. He was found guilty of taking renovation work from a company implicated in a corruption scandal. In February a court doubled Lula's sentence, which will be contested, his lawyer has said. President Jair Bolsonaro has said he hoped Lula "rots in prison". IANS sanjiv@tribunemail.com Seoul/Hanoi, March 1 South Korea will work with the United States and North Korea to ensure they reach agreement on denuclearisation, the Souths President said on Friday, a day after talks between the US and North Korean leaders collapsed over sanctions. A second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in Vietnam, was cut short after they failed to reach a deal on the extent of sanctions relief North Korea would get in exchange for steps to give up its nuclear programme. South Koreas President Moon Jae-in has been an active supporter of efforts to end confrontation on the Korean peninsula, meeting Kim three times last year and trying to facilitate his nuclear negotiations with the United States. My administration will closely communicate and cooperate with the United States and North Korea so as to help their talks reach a complete settlement by any means, Moon said in a speech in capital, Seoul. Moon also said South Korea would consult the United States on ways to resume joint projects with the North including tourism development at Mount Kumgang and the Kaesong industrial complex, both in North Korea. The Hanoi summit came eight months after Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore and agreed to establish new relations and peace in exchange for a North Korean commitment to work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Trump said two days of talks had made good progress but it was important not to rush into a bad deal. He said he had walked away because of unacceptable North Korean demands. It was all about the sanctions, Trump told a news conference after the talks were cut short. Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldnt do that. On Friday, Trump tweeted that the negotiations with Kim were very substantive and that we know what they want and they know what we must have, but he gave no other details about any next steps. Relationship very good, lets see what happens! he wrote. However, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told a midnight news conference after Trump left Hanoi that North Korea had sought only a partial lifting of sanctions related to peoples livelihoods and unrelated to military sanctions. He said North Korea had offered a realistic proposal involving the dismantling of all of its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, including plutonium and uranium facilities, by engineers from both countries. Reuters No deal blow for Moons vision of peace-driven Korean economy You are definitely to blame if you can stand by and watch the significant harm of other hum message in the mas: Members of an ole mas band parade along the steps of the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain yesterday as they express their displeasure with the current state of the Judiciary. Photo: Curtis Chase I have never in my life written to a newspaper, especially regarding one of its contributors - Edward Lowassa had ditched Chama Cha Mapinduzi in 2015 to join Opposition's Chama cha Demokrasia na Mapinduzi - The former prime minister quit CCM after his name was left out of the list of presidential candidates - An angry Lowassa termed CCM a dictatorial party presided over by power hungry individuals - During his return to the ruling party, the Opposition leader said he was happy to be back home - President John Magufuli warmly welcomed him back The wave of the handshake between Kenya's Opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta which reshaped the country's political sphere has spilled over to neighbouring Tanzania. This follows a move by Tanzania's Opposition leader Edward Lowassa to ditch Chama cha Demokrasia na Mapinduzi (Chadema) and returning to Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to work with President John Magufuli. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: William Ruto cautions politicians against associating him with every corruption scandal Edward Lowassa had ditched CCM to join Opposition party Chama cha Demokrasia na Mapinduzi. Photo: Edward Lowassa/Facebook. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Nandi Governor Stephen Sang petitions DPP to charge Joho with drug trafficking Lowassa, a former prime minister and CCM member who had moved to Chadema during the 2015 General Election to challenge Magufuli, buried the hatchet with his fierce opponent on Friday, March 1, in Dar es Salaam. Humphrey Polepole, the ruling party spokesperson confirmed the surprise transition saying the former renegade who had ditched the party after being left out of presidential candidates' list in the previous polls was happy to return home. "He said I have come home. This shows he is a mature politician and a gentleman. He could have rushed to join the Opposition but coming back to apologise is a great show of wisdom and humility," Polepole said. Magufuli who was at the event warmly welcomed Lowassa and promised to work together in transforming the country. The CCM spokesperson lauded the politician for his bold move to return to his longtime party, saying they had forgiven him. Tanzania's President John Magufuli welcomed his opponet Edward Lowassa saying their reunion was about uniting the country. Photo: Citizen Tanzania. Source: Depositphotos READ ALSO: The amazing rise of newly appointed Education CS George Magoha "We embrace the value of forgiveness. This move is great for our country. It will go a long way in ensuring we build a united Tanzania where issue based politics will thrive over political conflicts," added Polepole. During his departure, Lowassa had lambasted CCM as an undemocratic party run by insatiable power brokers. The return of the Opposition leader to the ruling outfit confirmed a secret meeting he held with Magufuli in January 2018 was centred on their reunion. The former Tanzanian prime minister had dismissed speculation that he had agreed to rejoin CCM after the meeting but in the fullness of time, the truth has come out. Political pundits in the country viewed the move as Magufuli's strategy to consolidate votes ahead of the 2020 General Election when he is expected to seek reelection for the second and last term. 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 Uhuru's Cabinet reshuffle | Kenya #VOXPOP | Tuko TV Source: Tuko - The 34-year-old was found dead with an empty bottle of alcohol next to him - His father acknowledged he was an alcoholic but they had plans to take him to rehab - On the fateful day, he had reached out to his friend for help but he never came through - The man was reported to have been on and off the streets of Tacoma since 2016 - But he sought help with housing from local service providers at least once A middle aged homeless Kenyan immigrant was found dead on February 10, 2019 in a snow-covered field in Washington, USA. Kelvin Ibirithis body was discovered lying face down, with an empty liquor bottle nearby but strangely, there were no footprints in the snow around it. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Embu University lecturers in trouble for soliciting sexual favours from students in exchange for good grades Homeless Kenyan immigrant mysteriously dies in Washington snow Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Jealous Narok mother-in-law kicks son's wife on the stomach, causes her to miscarry According to Tacoma Police spokeswoman Loretta Cool, being a homeless person, his death attracted little attention, Diaspora Messenger reported. In the days after, a survey of people who work in the businesses surrounding the field revealed no knowledge of his existence. Ibirithi is reported to have been on and off the streets of Tacoma since 2016 but recently, he sought help with housing from local service providers at least once. READ ALSO: Police arrest KPLC driver who killed manager's son after being fired Further reports indicated his family had repeatedly tried in vain to get him off the streets and off alcohol with his father, Eliud Githiri, acknowledging the 34-year-old had a drinking problem. I told him as soon as he improved I would send him back to school. He said that was what he wanted. All the time he would say, I will stop, I am not drinking. He lived in denial, Githiri revealed. Ibirithis mother, Sylvia Githiri, also recalled a similar battle. READ ALSO: Bishop Ndingi High school boys cause destruction as they protest separation from girls Homeless Kenyan immigrant mysteriously dies in Washington snow Source: Facebook He started to struggle and stopped working. I think he was in the wrong company, and he started drinking, she said. We were trying to get him into rehab, but we were not able to. It was too hard, the morning mother lamented. On the fateful day, before he died, he sent a text message to his friend which indicated he desperately needed help which never came through. READ ALSO: Homeless Kenyan immigrant mysteriously dies in Washington snow According to Githiri, he flew to the United States in 2001 desperate and seeking asylum after he became a government target for enlightening coffee farmers about their pay. He was finally granted asylum in 2003 and over the coming years, his wife and three of his sons, including Ibirithi, would follow. In 2015, Eliud and Ibirithi moved to Washington, leaving Sylvia behind in Delaware. 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 Uhuru's Cabinet reshuffle | Kenya #VOXPOP | Tuko TV Source: Tuko Russian occupation forces launched four attacks, using weapons banned under the Minsk agreements three times, on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day. In the zone of action of tactical force East, the invaders used 82mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk). In the zone of action of tactical force North, the enemy fired on the JFO units near Novoluhanske (53km north-east of Donetsk), Novotoshkivske (53km west of Luhansk) and Shumy (41km north of Donetsk), the press center of the JFO Headquarters reported. As a result of the shelling, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded in last day. According to the intelligence, one invader was wounded. According to updated data for the previous day, February 28, two members of the militant groups of the Russian Federation were killed, and five more were wounded. Also, an Eleron unmanned aerial vehicle of the Russian occupation troops was shot down. Today, the enemy has fired at the positions of of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk) from automatic grenade launchers. No casualties among Ukrainian troops have been reported. ish NATO must strengthen its presence in the Black Sea region to show the readiness for protection against a potential aggressor. "Our readiness for defense must be shown in the [the Black Sea] region," Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a joint press conference with the presidents of Slovakia and Romania upon the meeting of the Bucharest Nine leaders in the Slovak city of Kosice. He added that the North Atlantic Alliance should consider this problem very seriously. The President of the Republic of Poland stressed that the participants in the meeting had discussed the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Black Sea and in the Baltic Sea regions. According to him, there is no disagreement among the Bucharest Nine leaders in assessing the situation. We have agreed that, indeed, the most important problem now is the ongoing restoration of Russia's imperial ambitions. It is a fact that requires an appropriate response, Duda emphasized. The leaders of the Bucharest Nine countries (Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia) met in the Slovak city of Kosice on Thursday to discuss the security situation, the build-up of regional defense capabilities and the prevention of potential aggression. The Bucharest Nine was established on the initiative of Romania and Poland in 2015. ol The Foreign Minister proposed to EU counterparts a vision of the Monitoring Mission over the situation in the Black Sea. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that navigation off coast the occupied Crimea should be monitored from space, from the air, and from the sea. Speaking at the first international conference "Odesa Debates", the minister recalled that on February 18, he had a meeting with EU foreign ministers in the format "Friends of Ukraine in the EU + Ukraine". I shared with our friends a simple idea regarding a permanent monitoring mission, Klimkin said. He added that he proposed a name for the mission - Black Sea MOM (Black Sea Monitoring Mission). At the same time, Klimkin noted that it is not necessary for the Mission to be present in the area all the time. "This should be a reasonable combination of monitoring from space, naval monitoring, and aerial monitoring," the minister said. Read alsoUkraine, Russia agree via diplomatic channels on fishing rules in Azov Sea "This can very effectively be combined with an understanding of what's happening. It will also additionally help us identify various violations of the sanctions regime against Crimea because we know that some ships enter the Black Sea, turn off their GPS receivers, and try to reload certain cargo to other vessels, which then sail to Crimea," said Klimkin. He added that this does not require a lot of resources, but technical capabilities and political will are needed to start the relevant work. "Let's insist on this idea. It must be constant," said Klimkin. Also, the Foreign Minister added that some EU member states are considering this option. In his opinion, this mission can be really effective. "Because if we publish all the information about Russian inspections [of vessels] in real time, it will become as an additional lever on them," said the head of the Foreign Ministry. He noted that Russia continues to hold merchant ships in the area for one or two days, and once a Bulgarian vessel was held for nine days. The president also emphasized the importance of providing monetary support for the Ukrainian military seamen defending the Azov coast. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced the decision to raise monetary support for the servicemen on the frontline from April 1. Read alsoAlmost 25,000 female officers serving under contract in Ukrainian army Ukraine's Mission to NATO "I made a decision and instruct the minister to raise the level of monetary support for those fighters who are on the frontline. Starting from April 1, I order to increase the additional payment on the first line by UAH 2,000 (US$74). The minimum additional payment should be UAH 12,000 (US$415) for each soldier," Poroshenko said, according to his press service. At the same time, he stressed the additional payment on the second line must be increased by UAH 1,000 (US$37) and its level must be brought to UAH 5,500 (US$204). "We have to confirm that this is my first priority," Poroshenko added. The president also emphasized the importance of providing monetary support for the Ukrainian military seamen defending the Azov coast. "We must provide the additional payment similar to that of the soldiers on the first line for the sailors during combat operations at sea," he said. During the conversation with the military, Poroshenko emphasized the state was doing everything to modernize the Ukrainian army, from secure communication to modern drones, other means and weapons. Odesa region already hosts six million tourists a year. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law declaring the natural territories of Kuyalnik Estuary a resort of state importance. Read alsoUkraine receives over US$3.3 mln in tourist tax last year "We launch the law of Ukraine on the declaration of natural territories of Kuyalnik Estuary in Odesa region a resort of state importance," he said, while signing the document during the working trip to Odesa region, according to the presidential press service. The implementation of these legislative changes will facilitate preservation and rational use of natural medicinal resources and increase the tourist flow to Odesa region. "Thank you very much, Mr. President. We will attract investors and show the prospects. Kuyalnik can become and I'm sure it will become an international resort. But we should concentrate on the development of the whole region for this purpose," Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Maksym Stepanov said. According to him, Odesa region already hosts six million tourists a year. According to intelligence reports, two enemy troops were eliminated and another five were wounded. Russia's hybrid military forces mounted four attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action. Read alsoDonbas war update: Ukraine reports 1 WIA on Friday "One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the past day. According to intelligence reports, two invaders were killed and another five were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on March 2, 2019. What is more, Ukrainian troops successfully downed an enemy UAV. Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire from 82mm and 120mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns and small arms to attack the Ukrainian defenders of the villages of Pisky, Novoluhanske, Novotoshkivske, and Shumy. "Since Saturday midnight, Russian-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near the village of Verkhniotoretske, using automatic grenade launchers," the report said. The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops. Russia's hybrid military forces mounted five attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on March 2, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action. Read alsoDonbas war update: One Ukrainian soldier wounded in past day "One Ukrainian soldier was wounded from 00:00 to 18:00 Kyiv time. Information on the enemy's losses is being clarified," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook. The enemy opened fire from 120mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types and small arms at the Ukrainian positions near the villages of Vodiane, Verkhniotoretske, Pisky, Lebedynske, and Travneve. The situation in the area of the Joint Forces Operation remains under control of Ukrainian troops. The campaign was intended to draw public attention to the discrimination, reprisals and human rights violations targeting the Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in occupied Crimea. The Latvian Center of PEN International together with the Ukrainian Center of PEN International staged an Empty Chairs protest in front of the Russian Embassy on Friday to remind of 64 political prisoners that are being held in Russia, LETA was told at the Latvian organization. Read alsoUkraine Ombudsperson at UN: Ukrainian political prisoners Bekirov and Hryb in critical condition The campaign was intended to draw public attention to the discrimination, reprisals and human rights violations targeting the Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in occupied Crimea, representatives of the Latvian Center of PEN International informed, according to The Baltic Times. The organization's representatives said that Russia is illegally holding over 70 Ukrainian citizens, including 24 prisoners of war illegally detained by Russian forces after a military attack on Ukrainian warships in the Kerch Straits in the Black Sea. Since the late 1980s, initiated by PEN International, empty chair symbolizes an author who cannot be present on a particular event due to imprisonment, detention, disappearance, threat of life or murder. In recent years, Ukraine has borrowed the idea and dedicates its empty chair campaigns to the political prisoners and POWs that are being held in Russian prisons. On November 15, 2018, the Ukrainian Center of PEN International held an Empty Chair event in Kyiv and on February 17 rights activists staged another such protest during the Munich Security Conference. Thousands of IS fighters and followers, who had retreated to Baghouz as the group was gradually driven out of those lands, have poured out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmlands in Deir al-Zor province over the last few weeks. Islamic State faced final territorial defeat on Saturday as the U.S.-backed Syrian force battling the jihadists said it was closing in on their last bastion near the Iraqi border, capping four years of efforts to roll back the group. While the fall of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village on the bank of the Euphrates River, would mark a milestone in the campaign against Islamic State (IS), they remain a threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate land further west, as reported by Reuters. Read alsoSDF take control of last IS enclave in east Syria media An array of enemies, both local and international, confronted IS after it declared a modern-day "caliphate" in 2014 across large swathes of territory it had seized in lightning offensives in Syria and neighboring Iraq. Thousands of IS fighters and followers, who had retreated to Baghouz as the group was gradually driven out of those lands, have poured out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmlands in Deir al-Zor province over the last few weeks. Their evacuation held up the final assault until Friday evening when the SDF said it had advanced and would not stop until the jihadists were defeated. "We expect it to be over soon," Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told Reuters. He said the SDF were advancing on two fronts using medium and heavy weaponry, and three of its fighters had been wounded so far. The SDF has previously said that many of the jihadists left in Baghouz were foreigners. The SDF commander-in-chief said on Thursday that his force would declare victory within a week. He was later contradicted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the SDF had retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by IS. Washington has about 2,000 troops in Syria, mainly to support the SDF in fighting IS. Trump announced in December he would withdraw all of them, but the White House partially reversed itself last month, saying some 400 troops would stay. Some 40,000 people bearing various nationalities have left the jihadists' diminishing territory in the last three months as the SDF sought to oust the militants from remaining pockets. The number of evacuees streaming out of Baghouz surpassed initial estimates of how many were inside. An SDF commander told Reuters on Thursday that many of the people leaving the enclave had been sheltering underground in caves and tunnels. BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd March, 2019) Damascus denounces London's intention to list Lebanese movement Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and sees it as another piece of evidence of UK "historical hostility" toward the Arab world, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. On Monday, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that he was submitting to parliament a government bill completely banning Hezbollah's political and military wings and criminalizing the membership of the movement with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. "Syria strongly condemns the decision of the UK government to include Hezbollah in the list of 'terrorist organizations' ... This decision confirms the UK historical hostility against the Arab world," the ministry said, as quoted by the Syrian state television. The ministry noted that London itself, meanwhile, harbored a number of groups with radical views. "The legality of Hezbollah is ensured by international law and the UN Charter, rather than a biased decision of the government with a dark past related to the enslavement of peoples and violations of their rights," the statement said. The Iran-backed Hezbollah, established in the 1980s, is a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shiite population. The group initially aimed to end Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's military wing is also currently active in Syria, where it is fighting on behalf of the government of President Bashar Assad. The movement's political wing, meanwhile, is actively involved in the political process in Lebanon, with its representatives having secured a few seats in the newly-established cabinet, which was formed in January. When Bernadette Dugasse visited Diego Garcia in 2011, she could not stop tears from running down her cheeks when she saw the church where she was baptized as a child MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2019) When Bernadette Dugasse visited Diego Garcia in 2011, she could not stop tears from running down her cheeks when she saw the church where she was baptized as a child. It was the first and only time Dugasse visited the island where she was born, after her family was forced to move away to make way for a US military base over half a century ago. "I've only visited Diego Garcia once with one of my sons in 2011. When I first arrived, I cried a lot when I saw the church that I was baptized in. But the roof of the church was already missing. Everything else was already in ruins. I couldn't find the house my family lived in anymore. Only the cemeteries were still there," the 63-year-old woman who lives in Croydon, the United Kingdom, told Sputnik. Diego Garcia is the largest of about 60 islands known as the Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean. Before the US military established a key strategic naval base on the island in the early 1970s, the Chagos islands were occupied by about 1,000 residents known as the Chagossians, who were mostly laborers brought onto the islands to work in the coconut processing plantation owned by French colonizers in the late 18th century. In the late 1960s, the British government bought the Chagos islands, including Diego Garcia, from the self-governing colony of Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, as part of the mutual defense strategy with the United States to establish a key naval based in the Indian Ocean following the end of the World War II. To prepare for the construction of the US military base on Diego Garcia, the British government forcibly removed the Chagossians, including Dugasse's family, without offering any compensation or a resettlement plan. According to Dugasse, the removal of Chagossians from the islands started as early as the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. When locals traveled off the islands to seek basic medical treatment in neighbor countries such as the Mauritius and Seychelles, they were not given the permission to return to the Chagos islands. Dugasse's father was expelled from the Chagos islands in 1958, when she was only a two-year-old baby, for offering carpentry services to other residents on the islands without proper permission. Her family was forced to relocate to the Seychelles. Dugasse's grandparents were among the last group of Chagossians who were forced to leave the islands in 1972, when the British government killed the pet dogs of the local residents as a way to intimidate the Chagossians to agree to move away. "For Chagossians, women are our leaders. When the British government had meetings with them in 1972, they initially were not willing to move away, because that's where they have built a life. Then the British government just gassed and killed all the pet dogs in front of everybody. They could hear the screaming. That's when our women leaders felt that if they didn't leave, the same could happen to their children," she recalled. About 250 Chagossians were moved to the Seychelles, while the rest were relocated to the Mauritius. "My grandparents were already in their late 60s when they arrived in the Seychelles. They worked in the coconut companies on the Chagos islands their whole life. They couldn't find new jobs. They were just dumped in the harbor without any help. They were forced to rely on handouts from others," Dugasse said. While some of the Chagossians relocated to the Mauritius received financial compensation of about $6,000 per person from the British government, Dugasse and others who moved to the Seychelles never received the money. In 1982, Dugasse received her British passport after obtaining a birth certificate proving that she was born on the Chagos islands. She moved with her husband to the United Kingdom in July 2007. Despite establishing a new life in the United Kingdom, Dugasse never stopped thinking about and longing to return to her birth place. "England is not my home. Seychelles is not my home. I was born in Diego Garcia. When I visited there, I felt right at home. I would like to settle on the island and die there. I'm used to the hot climate and the seafood that's available on the island. I'm not used to the cold weather in England," she said. This week, a new ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) looks to be a chance to offer Chagossians like Dugasse some hope to return home one day. According to the ICJ ruling, the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring an end to its administration of the Chagos islands as rapidly as possible and the decolonization process of Mauritius in 1968 was not lawfully completed, following the separation of the Chagos islands. The return of the Chagos island, including Diego Garcia, under the jurisdiction of the Mauritius government could be an important step for the Chagossians to have an opportunity to return home. But Dugasse warned against being overly optimistic about such prospects. "I'm strongly against returning the Chagos islands to Mauritius, because they're the ones who sold us to the British government to gain their independence. We cannot return the islands to the butchers who sold us. And the British government never follows international court rulings anyways," she said. Nevertheless, Olivier Bancoult, a Chagossian activist who left the island at the age of four and has become the leader of the Chagos Refugee Group, expressed hopes that the Mauritius government could at least allow Chagossians to travel to the Chagos islands without restrictions. "I think we need all the help we can get, like we did in the United Nations where 94 countries supported the Mauritius and the Chagossians. We need to raise awareness and put pressure on the UK government to respect the fundamental rights and the dignity of our people. The Mauritius government is not against us returning to the islands. It's the UK government that's preventing us from returning," he said. The Mauritius-based activist stressed that the Chagossians are only demanding free access and equal employment opportunities on the Chagos islands. "We cannot accept that other people can live and work on the islands. But we as native Chagossians don't have the same rights. There're people from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mauritius, the United Kingdom and the United States who are allowed to live on the islands. But we are forbidden. We're not against the US military base. How can other people be cooperative and work on the base, but we've been prohibited? How could others can live and work on those islands for two years or six months, but we can Chagossians are only allowed to visit these islands for three hours? Is it fair?" he said. Bancoult described the importance of access to the Chagos islands for himself and his family. "Even I'm living in Mauritius, my birth place is the Chagos islands. My children will ask me: 'Dad, where were you born? One day you need to bring us there.' No place can replace the place of birth. Most of us are Catholics. Every November, we need to pay tributes to deceased parents. How is it not possible for us to put flowers on the graves of our parents?" he said. Bancoult pointed out that the UK government conducted a feasibility study in 2016 on the resettlement policy of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which is the official name for the Chagos islands in the United Kingdom. However, the British government eventually decided against the resettlement of Chagossians to the Chagos islands. Alan Duncan, the minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs at the time, explained the British government's decision in a statement. "In coming to this decision the Government has considered carefully the practicalities of setting up a small remote community on low-lying islands and the challenges that any community would face. These are significant, and include the challenge of effectively establishing modern public services, the limited healthcare and education that it would be possible to provide, and the lack of economic opportunities, particularly job prospects. The Government has also considered the interaction of any potential community with the US Naval Support Facility - a vital part of our defense relationship," he said. Duncan said the British government would instead seek to support improvements to the livelihoods of Chagossians in the communities where they lived at the time and agreed to fund a package of approximately 40 million British Pounds (about $53 million) over the next 10 years. At the same time, the British government announced that it planned to continue to welcome US military presences in the British Indian Ocean Territory and would extend the defense agreement until December 30, 2036. For Dugasse, the Chagossian who currently lives in the United Kingdom, she still hopes one day the British government would change its mind during her lifetime and allow her to return to her birth place. (@FahadShabbir) Turkmenistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov will take part in the March 3-5 meeting in Bucharest with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania to discuss the creation of an international transport corridor Caspian Sea - Black Sea, the government-run newspaper Neytralny Turkmenistan reported. ASHGABAT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd March, 2019) Turkmenistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov will take part in the March 3-5 meeting in Bucharest with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania to discuss the creation of an international transport corridor Caspian Sea - Black Sea, the government-run newspaper Neytralny Turkmenistan reported. During the meeting in Bucharest, a number of issues will be discussed, including increasing freight traffic through the ports of Turkmenbashi, Baku, Poti, Batumi and Constanta, as well as creation of the quadrilateral working commission for the implementation of this project, the publication said. The parties will also discuss development of cooperation in this area with all interested parties, including the European Union, it added. The participants of the meeting plan to adopt a final document on its results, called the Bucharest Declaration, the publication said. Miami, FL (UroToday.com) The tined lead for use with the InterStim sacral neuromodulation (SNM) device was first introduced in 2002, to electrically stimulate the sacral nerve and potentially result in improved bowel and bladder symptoms. In 2010, the manufacturer of the device (Medtronic, MN) has estimated the risk of lead breakage at the time of removal to be about 1%. In cases where the lead is to be removed, the manufacturer has recommended removal from an incision over the sacrum.However, there have been no large published studies to date to estimate the rate of lead breakage during explantation, although previous reports from the Cleveland Clinic has estimated an 18% rate of lead breakage based on 5-year data.Jessica Rueb, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic reported her institutions experience with lead breakage based on a retrospective review of lead explants from 2006 to 2018. Exclusion criteria included patients with non-tined leads, missing information, explants due to infection, or a history of a failed stage 1 procedure.283 patients met study eligibility requirements during the study timeframe. Patients were predominantly female (93%) with a median age of 52 years (range 42-65 years), median BMI of 28, and median time since implantation of 2.4 years. 15% of explanations at their institution had been implanted at an outside hospital.23/283 (8.1%) had lead breakage during lead removal. Various factors were assessed comparing those with a lead removed intact and those that had lead breakage during removal. On univariate analysis, clinical factors that were predictive of lead breakage included male gender, history of diabetes, time since implantation, and loss of efficacy prior to lead explant. However, on multivariate analysis, only gender (OR 8.2 95% CI 2.6-25.5) and time since implantation (OR 0.675 95% CI 0.555-0.821) remained significant. There was a 67% increased risk of lead breakage if time since implant was 4.5 vs 2.2 years and an 8.2 times higher risk of lead breakage in males.Various surgical techniques for lead removal at their institution include lead removal from the incision over the sacral foramen, lead removal from the IPG incision, and lead removal from incision over the sacral foramen with the use of a straight stylet. All of the incidents of lead breakage occurred when the lead was removed from an incision over the sacral foramen, but this did not result in any statistical significance.The authors concluded that the rate of lead breakage is higher than estimated by the manufacturer of the Interstim device (8.1% versus 1%), and that the strongest predictor of lead breakage was the time interval since lead implant. Furthermore, removing the lead from an incision over the sacral foramen, as suggested by the manufacturer, did not seem to be protective.Presented by: B Jessica Rueb, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OhioWritten by: Judy Choi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine @judymchoi at the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction Winter Meeting, SUFU 2019, February 26 - March 2, 2019, Miami, Florida Miami, FL (UroToday.com) The Value of Urodynamic Evaluation (VALUE) study, a multi-institutional, randomized controlled trial published in 2012, suggested that routine urodynamic evaluation (URD) was not beneficial for pre-operative evaluation of uncomplicated, stress-predominant urinary incontinence (SUI). Consequently, many organizations have advocated against the routine use of pre-operative URD in index SUI patients. However, it has been unclear whether the results from the VALUE study made a clinical impact on physicians treating SUI.Jacqueline M. Zillioux, MD, and her peers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine assessed the usage of URD in patients undergoing urethral slings through analysis of patient claims data following the 2012 VALUE study.Data from the Virginia All Payers Claims Database was examined from May 2011-December 2016, using female patients with the diagnosis of SUI (ICD codes N39.3 or 625.6). CPT codes were then used to select the subset undergoing URD and/or slings. Pre-operative URD was defined as URD performed within six months of sling placement. Non-index patients, defined as those with concurrent diagnosis of overactive bladder, urge incontinence, mixed incontinence, or neurogenic bladder, were excluded from the study. Longitudinal analyses were performed to assess the impact of the VALUE study on the rate of URD usage prior to sling placement.44,347 patients with a SUI diagnosis were identified over the study period, of whom 18,900 underwent URD evaluation and 7,204 had a urethral sling procedure. After exclusion of non-index patients, it was determined 4112 (62.9%) patients undergoing a sling procedure had preoperative URD.A decrease in the annual number of slings, both with and without pre-operative UDS, was seen beginning in mid-2012 (Figure 1). The proportion of slings with pre-operative URD demonstrated a small decrease over the study years (68%, 2011; 58%, 2016). In addition, the time-series model (ARIMA 0,1,5 with drift) demonstrated a significant decrease in the number of slings with pre-operative URD starting in May 2012 (p=0.037, Figure 2). From the time of publication, there was a decrease of 0.93% per month of slings with pre-operative UDS (p<0.001, based on a beta regression model).Based on the findings, the authors at the University of determined that the majority of index SUI patients undergoing sling placement in Virginia have preoperative UDS, but there has been a modest decline in the usage of URD prior to surgery following the publication of the VALUE study in May 2012. Miami, FL (UroToday.com) Asymptomatic microscopic hematuria (AMH) has been defined as 3 RBC/HPF on red blood cells per high-power field (RBC/HPF) on urinalysis (UA) in the absence of an obvious benign cause (e.g., infection, menstruation, vigorous exercise, medical renal disease, viral illness, trauma, or recent urological procedures). Current American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines recommend workup with a cystoscopy on patients aged 35 years and older or who have risk factors of urinary tract malignancies (e.g., irritative voiding symptoms, current or past tobacco use, chemical exposures), along with a radiologic evaluation of the upper tracts.More recently, the American Urogynecological Society (AUGS) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published a committee opinion recommending the avoidance of a hematuria workup in women who are less than 50 years old, have <25 RBC/HPF, and who have no prior smoking history.Daniel Elliot Rabinowitz, MD, and his group at the Maimonides Medical Center applied AUGS/ACOG recommendations to a large cohort of AMH patients and assessed the diagnostic accuracy as compared to the AUA guidelines. A retrospective institutional review of female patients who underwent AMH evaluation from 2012-2015 was performed, and a total of 620 women with AMH with either partial or complete AMH workups were included.99.7% of patients had CT imaging that was negative for cancer, and 99.2% had CT imaging that was negative for all causes of AMH. 99.6% of patients had cystoscopies that were negative for cancer, and 91.6% had cystoscopies that were negative for all causes of AMH. In 91.5% of patients, no cause for AMH was identified. Based on AUGS/ACOG recommendations, 20.3% (126/620) of AMH workups would have been avoided.Two malignancies (one low-grade papillary noninvasive upper tract urothelial carcinoma on CT and one low-grade Ta bladder urothelial carcinoma on cystoscopy) were found, both of whom would have undergone a hematuria workup based on AUGS/ACOG recommendations.With regards to non-malignant findings, the AUGS/ACOG workup had a sensitivity of 84.1%, a specificity of 95.1%, a negative predictive value of 92.1%, a positive predictive value of 89.8%, and an accuracy of 91.35, compared to that based on AUA guidelines.Dr. Rabinowitz concluded that application of the AUGS/ACOG recommendations to this group of patients would not have resulted in missed diagnoses of malignancies and that it appears urologists should consider the development of gender-specific guidelines.Presented By: Daniel Elliot Rabinowitz, MD, Urologic Surgery Resident, Maimonides Medical Center, New York, New YorkWritten by: Judy Choi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine @judymchoi at the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction Winter Meeting, SUFU 2019, February 26 - March 2, 2019, Miami, Florida Miami, FL (UroToday.com) Storage lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in patients with Parkinsons Disease, and urinary complaints in this group have been challenging to manage. Prior studies have shown limited efficacy in conservative management of LUTS in Parkinsons Disease patients. To date, there has been no series examining the outcomes of sacral neuromodulation (SNM) in Parkinsons Disease.In a multi-institutional and multi-national study at NYU and 5 French academic departments of urology, the use of SNM in Parkinsons Disease patients was described by Benoit Peyronnet, MD, of the University of Rennes, France. Included in the retrospective study were all Parkinsons Disease patients who underwent Stage 1 SNM or percutaneous nerve evaluation (PNE) between 2008 and 2018. Patients with Parkinsonism were excluded from the analysis. Full implantation of the InterStim device was performed if patients reported an improvement of storage LUTS > 50% during Stage 1 SNM or PNE.After exclusion of 5 patients with Parkinsonism, there were a total of 20 patients included in the study. The median age of patients was 74 years, with 8/12 (60%) male and 4/12 (40%) female. All had been refractory to antimuscarinics, and 88% had exhibited detrusor overactivity on preoperative urodynamic testing. No patients had bowel dysfunction at baseline. 6/20 (30%) of patients underwent PNE, and 14/20 (70%) had undergone Stage 1 SNM.Thirteen patients (65%) had a >50% improvement after a median duration of 8.7 days during the testing phase. They consequently went on with full implantation of the InterStim device. No postoperative complication was noted after any of the procedures.After a median follow-up of 20 months following Stage 2 InterStim implantation, only seven patients reported their storage LUTS were improved > 50% compared to baseline (intent to treat efficacy=35%) with a statistically significant difference between those who had undergone PN vs. Stage 1 SNM (0% vs. 50%; p=0.05). Four explanations of the InterStim device were performed (three for loss of efficacy, and one for discomfort with the device).In the first series to assess the outcomes of SNM in Parkinsons Disease patients, the authors concluded that the outcomes observed in Parkinsons Disease patients following implantation of the InterStim device were inferior compared to what is typically reported in non-neurogenic patients. However, they concluded that further studies should be undertaken to better define the role of SNM in this population.Presented by: Benoit Peyronnet, MD, The University of Rennes, FranceWritten by: Judy Choi, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine @judymchoi In a videomessage, Pope Francis expresses his joy for the inauguration on Saturday of a new paediatric healthcare unit in Bangui, Central African Republic. The facility was renovated and expanded thanks to the support of the Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital. In a video-message, Pope Francis has sent greetings to participants in the inauguration of a new paediatric healthcare facility in Bangui, which was renovated and expanded through a financial contribution of the Holy See. The new facility has been entrusted to the organization and care of the Bambino Gesu Children's hospital. In his message, the Holy Father says the new hospital is "a concrete sign of mercy" that has its origins in the Year of Mercy. Pope Francis himself anticipated the formal opening of the Holy Year when, during his Apostolic Visit to the Central African Republic, he passed through the Holy Door of Bangui Cathedral on 29 November 2015. On that occasion, the Holy Father said, "Bangui now becomes the spiritual capital of prayer for the Fathers mercy. Let us all implore peace, mercy, reconciliation, forgiveness and love In his message, Pope Francis says, "I like to think that that Holy Door is still open and that the river of mercy gives life to this Childrens Hospital and to all those who will work there." All rainbows lead to Therapy! Located in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, Therapy restaurant will celebrate St. Patricks Day with festive new cocktails and drink specials, available on Sunday, March 17. The American gastro-style pub will offer St. Paddys Day-themed libations, including the McHoney Mule, meant for sharing, made with six shots of Jameson Irish whiskey, lime juice, ginger beer and honey, served in a fishbowl glass, priced at $25; and the Patricks Pick-Me-Up, mixed with vanilla vodka, dark chocolate liqueur, Baileys Espresso, Kahlua and a shot of espresso, topped with cocoa powder and served in a martini glass lined with chocolate syrup, priced at $13. Therapy will also offer pints of Guinness Blonde or Stout, paired with a shot of Jameson, priced at $12. Vaibhav Saxena, legal consultant at Vietnam International Law Firm Under current World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, Vietnam has intentionally excluded the distribution services of pharmaceutical products and drugs. It appears that the country, at its own discretion, can regulate matters regarding this area, and therefore such distribution by foreign investors would be subject to Vietnamese laws. The Law on Pharmacy is silent on the distribution rights of international companies. However, pursuant to domestic laws and regulations, foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) are not allowed to distribute pharmaceutical products which are not manufactured by themselves, which is defined to include finished dosage form, raw materials for drug manufacturing, vaccines, and biological medical products other than functional foods for the purposes of prophylaxis, therapy, diagnosis of disease or modification of physiological functions of human bodies. Prior to Decree No.54/2017/ND/CP guiding the Law on Pharmacy coming into effect, FIEs could focus on storage and transportation activities. Under Decree 54, FIEs are allowed to import pharmaceuticals, sell those imported by them to distributors or wholesalers, and build their own warehouses to preserve products. So as to get over the statutory restriction on foreign ownership limit in the pharmaceutical distribution business, companies can follow the double-holding or multi-layer structure to invest in the drug distribution field in Vietnam. Changes under the EVFTA and the CPTPP Under both the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with regards to cross-border trade in services and investment regarding pharmaceutical products, similar to WTO commitments. Through these agreements, pharmaceutical imports and exports from the EU and CPTPP countries will be duty free. Consequently, overseas companies will be able to import pharmaceutical products with lower taxation, resulting in cost reductions. FIEs will enjoy many opportunities via the CPTPP and EVFTA. Even though the substance restriction on the aforementioned matter is undeniable, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market still offers many opportunities for potential suppliers. Along with the constant increase in population and per capita GDP, the growth of the industry is significant. The gross revenue in the sector in 2017 reached almost $5.2 billion, 10.6 per cent more than in the previous year. It is expected to continue with an average growth rate of 10 per cent over the next five years. According to statistics from the Drug Administration Department, domestically manufactured medicines only accounted for 48 per cent of the total market, which means that the majority still depends on imported sources. Moreover, domestic manufacturing companies are still struggling to produce most of the high-quality and newly-developed drugs due to a lack of technology and finance, only being able to manufacture generic or herbal medicines. Research and development activity has been carried out, but in a very limited manner. Along with the entry of the major trade deals, taxes on pharmaceutical products will be reduced. This will encourage competition from foreign businesses, where patent drugs have more advantages than generic ones. Furthermore, the reduction of tax would lower costs when contributing products, which will boost the purchasing power of consumers. Besides taxation, under the CPTPP, administrative procedures shall be transparent, objective, and efficient. Consequently, FIEs might boost the productivity of its business as the amount of time and money spent on administrative procedures is reduced. Evidently, the importing rates of pharmaceutical products have been rapidly growing in recent years. Demand is mostly for proprietary, patented, and high-quality medicines. Hence FIEs in the nation, while waiting for the rights for direct distribution, are still profitable from importing activities. Foreign investors in the local market can only sell imported medicine to wholesalers Overcoming hurdles The most visible obstacles that foreign pharmaceutical companies in the country face are regulatory requirements. As explained, FIEs are granted import rights without distribution rights, and can only sell imported products to wholesalers. Before doing so, they have to register their wholesalers with the Ministry of Health. The list of wholesalers that are eligible to purchase imported products from the relevant FIEs will be published on the ministrys website. Taking trade deals into consideration, one of the most significant aspects in the CPTPP is the stricter compliance requirements in terms of intellectual property (IP). Such provisions may impact some industries which benefit from certain grey IP areas, especially in pharmaceuticals. Strict requirements on IP mean the right to patent, and other IP of the pharmaceutical product would be better protected. However, this also makes it possible that FIEs could infringe on IP rights. The present legal framework on the pharmaceutical distribution of FIEs, though quite extreme, appears to be appropriate and reasonable for the socioeconomic conditions of Vietnam. The country remains a developing nation with financial challenges for buying patents to self-manufacture essential pharmaceuticals. Even with patents, the level and ability in technology and infrastructure do not allow locally-owned companies to manufacture such products. Thus, the need for imported pharmaceuticals in the country is still huge. On the other hand, FIEs are normally strong companies with developed technology and infrastructure. The prohibition on the pharmaceutical distribution of FIEs, therefore, assures that FIEs cannot manipulate the price of imported products but negotiate with domestic distributors. To some extent, the permission of the government for domestic enterprises on pharmaceutical distribution makes it easier for consumers to access pharmaceuticals and protects the domestic industry. In the near future, changes in policy to better manage the Vietnamese market of pharmaceutical distribution are unlikely to take place until the country has made significant transformations to its current socioeconomic conditions. What do you think about the health and beauty service in Vietnam? It has been growing at a fast rate recently. There are many new hospitals and clinics built with the best hardware that is updated almost every month, and some existing centres are already very well equipped in line with global standards and getting bigger every day. However, the service does not always please more well-off customers due to current software procedures. With fast economic growth and a convenient transport system, many richer families who feel unsatisfied with the current medical service in Vietnam can more easily head overseas for better medical service. There is an issue for the Vietnamese government and the Ministry of Health if people spend too much on medical treatment overseas. To help solve this, I think the government should invest in material infrastructure and human resources for the health sector. Some advanced equipment and general skills are still lacking in Vietnam. How do you evaluate the types of service in Vietnam in comparison to your home country? Vietnamese people are becoming more and more concerned with their personal beauty. Along with that, Vietnamese services and technologies have been being improving. But health service qualifications in some of Vietnams neighbouring countries are simply better. Although many doctors here have gained masters or even doctoral degrees, most doctors and nurses are still not trained enough. Some clinics operate without proper licenses and without fully-qualified doctors and nurses. We should be aware that education is the key to everything, particularly in health which relates to peoples lives. The hospital environment here needs to be upgraded by introducing international standards. In terms of policies for overseas investors in health, have you faced obstacles in investing and operating activities here? South Koreans have been the leading investors of hardware in Vietnams health sector. Healthcare and plastic surgery in particular relate to software built by good human resources. Although the process for hospital and clinic investment seems to be clearly written in Vietnamese law, it is in fact very hard for us to understand and follow some guidelines. It is sometimes impossible for us to get licences and even after receiving one it is still hard to adapt to the legal system here. South Korean doctors are not protected enough legally in Vietnam as it stands. Is health and beauty in Vietnam attractive enough to become an emerging destination for medical tourism in Asia? Vietnamese people have really good hand-skills, are very smart, and have great potential to be a hub for plastic surgery and skincare in the Indochina area. However, what can be done if a potential customer believes they can spend the same or slightly more for a better service in a neighbouring country like Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, or Japan? We often say that cheap things are not good. In healthcare, the most important things are qualifications and the safety of patients. Therefore, I think to be a destination for medical tourism, Vietnams human resources in the health sector must improve foreign languages and general skills. What can local authorities here do to promote the health and beauty sector beyond its borders? In the context of tough competition just a few hours away on plane to countries already mentioned, Vietnam needs overseas inflow including not only capital but also software systems like human resources. The first thing that Vietnam should develop is an education and training system including customer service, to ensure effective treatment and to satisfy foreign customers. The environment inside beauty centres should be improved to guarantee customer satisfaction. Finally, advertising and marketing should also be enhanced to attract foreigners. More people are looking into plastic surgery to tweak their appearance or boost their self-esteem but for others it is a vital operation to improve their lives The story of the so-called frog prince Nguyen Manh Hung in the northern province of Nam Dinh has moved many people. For 28 of his 29 years, he had to move in a way that some compared to a frog because of his twisted tree root-like legs. He had to use his two hands as paddles to push his body forward. . Last December, after eight months of treatment and three operations at 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi, he was discharged with two straight and equally-long legs. This is really magical. Its a dream to me. I cant believe that my legs are now normal like this, Hung said. As the doctor directly involved in Hungs case, Nguyen The Hoang, deputy director of the hospital, happily said, The feeling of the two legs is very good. Thanks to this, and the balance of the motor function of muscles in folding, stretching, and turning, the patient will be able to walk as normally as others. According to the professor, in just four to six months, Hung will be able to walk and even run easily. Before going to 108 Military Central Hospital after an accident, Hungs parents had taken him to many hospitals across the country, only to be met with the head shakes of doctors who believed their sons situation was too complicated to be treated. Their hopes were raised when a team of American orthopedic surgeons came to Nam Dinh, but even these experts said that Hungs illness was incurable. Hoang said: X-ray images of both lower extremities showed that the entire bone and joint system was deformed and complicated. The length of the legs was totally different. The important elements covering and ensuring functions for both legs like skin, weight, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves were also abnormal. Due to the lack of movement, he had heavy osteoporosis. When Hungs dream of walking on normal legs like other people was realised, happiness not only spread to Hungs family but to all doctors and nurses at the hospital. This is an outstanding success in new technical professional development, and in the high-technology of the hospital, shared Nguyen Hong Bang, director of the hospital. Elsewhere, Vietnam Germany Hospital has successfully performed orbital floor fracture regeneration with a complete endoscopic technique through the mouth for a 31-year-old patient. Six months after the operation, the patient can now see with normal eyeball movements. Regenerations like this must be carried out by experienced doctors. This technique helps to reach the surgical area accurately while leaving no external scars, said Vu Trung Truc, deputy head of the Department of Maxillo Facial Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at the hospital. These two cases were difficult, and their successful completion shows the improvement and impressive development of Vietnamese plastic surgery. Remarkable progress Vu Ngoc Lam, now director of the Department of Maxillio Facial Plastic Surgery at 108 Military Central Hospital, said, We often travel to South Korea to update on new technologies and refresh our knowledge. However, we learn more from the failures we witness. Therefore, we dont step into mistakes that were made elsewhere. When asked about the quality of Vietnamese plastic surgery, Lam expressed his belief that it is not far behind other countries, particularly South Korea. We can do whatever doctors in South Korea do. However, there is still a gap which hasnt been eradicated yet. It is related to many factors, including peoples perception of beauty, he said. Making a comparison with Thailand, Lam said, Thai people have a similar perception of beauty to us. However, they overpass us in the field of transgender surgery. No other techniques are out of reach for us. According to Lam, cosmetic and plastic surgery is highly profitable. Investors will buy new machines and fund new techniques so that they can best serve customers and patients. Meanwhile, to professionals, the field is an interesting one, so doctors do not hesitate to invest time and energy in approaching the newest technologies from across the world. Talking about the development of the countrys plastic surgery, Le Hanh, chairman of the Vietnam Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery (VSAPS), said that the industry has made remarkable progress comparable to other countries in the region. Over the years, Vietnamese doctors and nurses have been sent to developed countries for training. They have ample chances to be updated on new techniques and work with new technologies, Hanh said. However, Hanh also pointed out some shortages of plastic surgery in Vietnam. One of the worrisome issues is a significant increase of clinics without a licence or operating beyond the scope of licensing. This will cause many incidents and consequences for patients, he said. Furthermore, according to Hanh, most customers lack knowledge, too easily believing in advice and advertisements with no scientific basis. It is time for us to create mechanisms and policies to help the plastic surgery industry move in the right direction. We need more talented doctors for sustainable development and for the safety of the industry, Hanh added. With these concerns, last year Hanh and other professors made great efforts to establish the VSAPS, which currently boasts more than 200 members. The societys main duties are training, updating medical knowledge, and sharing experience and knowledge among members. We also connect prestigious doctors, specialists, hospitals, and cosmetic plastic surgery units all over the world, Hanh said. Demand increases Over the past few years, the demand for plastic surgery in Vietnam has been rapidly increasing. Both patients and those looking to improve their body in some way are contributing to the rise. As a result, Vietnam is witnessing a rise in plastic surgery centres at major hospitals, as well as a boom in clinics in the field. According to Vu Ngoc Lam of 108 Military Central Hospital, some people have a legitimate aspiration to become more beautiful. There is a trend that not only young people but also middle-aged and elderly people expect to have a better look so that they can be more confident at work and gain more success in life, Lam told VIR. Both men and women in their fifties or sixties are showing more interest in, or using, more beauty services over recent years. These are good signals. Hanh of the VSAPS added that with the trend of global integration, people have a more open view on plastic surgery and are willing to spend money on these services. Previously, people may have avoided mentioning the word aesthetics, but with the desire to live longer and feel beautiful, there is a rise in demand in this area, he said. According to Hanh, other factors such as better living conditions, increasing population, and the influence of the worlds aesthetic trends have increased peoples demand for plastic surgery. Many people tell me that it is hard to tell how much money someone has, but if you are beautiful they can recognise immediately and in fact, they believe that beauty can help you a lot in life, Hanh added. Dr. Cuong has been an inspiration to all those who have interacted with him, from hospital staff to patients Having learned minimally-invasive surgery in the United States and South Korea, Cuong was determined to become Vietnams first doctor to ever successfully perform a liver transplant. He went on to collaborate with Asian Medical Center, South Koreas largest hospital, and was awarded the Vietnam Gold Star by the government of Vietnam. After being trained overseas, he returned to Vietnam with his vast knowledge with the mission of saving and improving the quality of national healthcare. Currently, he serves as the medical director of City International Hospital, thanks to his strong knowledge after years of experience and conducting research in Vietnam and abroad. Cuong always devotes himself to his patients and often says, the doctor must be as gentle as a parent, and each patient is a part of your family. On a daily basis, he works alongside other major clinical specialists and has created a wide-ranging team which includes endoscopy, cardiology, vascular intervention, and neurosurgery. By the end of last year, City International Hospital proudly launched new initiatives such as a new EMS-based satellite station and international services medical centre. Cuong is wellknown for his non-stop devotion to modern healthcare, and his innovative medical techniques. One such example includes an incident last year when he took part in a surgical removal of a patients liver without a blood transfusion. He is responsible for countless life-saving surgeries, specialising in Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgery and advanced gastrointestinal surgery. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts and offer unconditional support. Thats when a doctor will learn how to be there and fight until the end for the people who need them most, he once said. In modern times, doctors use endoscopy as a powerful diagnostic tool. According to Cuong, for the last 20 years, laparoscopic surgery has done all that open surgery has done for 2,000 years. There has never been any medical invention that has had such a great influence and provided such a profound alternative to the entire surgical industry as endoscopy has contributed. Endoscopic surgery is much more of a minimally-invasive surgical procedure and much safer when compared to conventional open surgery. In addition, it has the advantage of being able to access and deal with in-depth injuries with one operation leaving smaller scars and lower operative pain, allowing for a faster recovery and a shorter hospital stay, as well as contributing to reducing hospital overload. City International Hospitals surgeon has achieved many firsts in national medical achievements and has helped many patients who were apparently in unsolvable situations. Cuong is widely respected as a heroic character to many of his colleagues. To his patients, he is a life-saver who brings brightness to all, no matter how dark a place they are in. He has earned the respect of his patients and colleagues and has created many beautiful friendships through his inspiring life. His happiness comes from seeing his patients smiles and people being able to live a happy and healthy life. Aside from examinations and treating patients, Cuong has also published valuable medical books and lectures for the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, in which he has contributed a number of research projects which are valued at home and abroad. With his vast knowledge in the field, Cuong has successfully played a pioneering role in a number of treatments for a range of ailments such as liver stones, gallstones, nerve chest pains, and abdominal trauma, to name just a few. Peter Ryder, CEO of Indochina Capital It is passe now to say that the US-North Korea summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un in Hanoi has elevated Vietnams international profile. Raise it, it has, to the point now that possibly more media attention has been paid to Vietnam in the context of (1) why Vietnam was chosen to host this world critical tete-a-tete, (2) what impact the summit will have on Vietnams economy and geo-political standing going forward and (3) will Vietnam become the model of successful economic reform for North Korea, than for the rendezvous itself between President Trump and Chairman Kim. Many observers have commented that previously even major geo-political events that involved Vietnam were held elsewhere, pointing to the 1954 Geneva peace conference and the Paris peace talks of the late 60s and early 70s. And yet look where we are today, with Vietnam hosting arguably the most significant global event of 2019. To paraphrase a well-aged American brand campaign, Vietnam, you have come a long way! So now we are left to contemplate what impact this high-profile Hanoi peace summit between recently sworn enemies will have on Vietnams economy what opportunities it presents particularly as it relates to foreign investment, and, specifically as it is near and dear to me, as Indochina Capitals CEO, Vietnams real estate market. I would start by pointing out that Vietnams profile in the emerging market world has already been meaningfully elevated by recent geo-political events, most significantly the closely followed US-China trade debate, which has seen US companies and companies from other countries begin to shift means of production from China to Vietnam, and Vietnam becoming a signature to the CTTPP trade pact. These have been largely responsible for the big pick up of foreign direct investment (FDI) over the first two months of 2019 (this I might add over the record highs experienced in 2018). Although there is a reasonable chance that the American-Sino dispute will soft land, the shifting of manufacturing resources will continue as Vietnam offers lower labour costs and becomes an even more attractive trade partner via the CTTPP. Certainly, the profile-raising Trump-Kim negotiations in Hanoi will add to this momentum and further stimulate global interest in Vietnam as a key global manufacturing hub and trading partner. The value to Vietnam of being seen around the clock at the pinnacle of international diplomacy is immeasurable in a marketing context, in particular to American concerns. This is as true for tourism as it is for the manufacturing sector. Turning to tourism and Vietnams booming hospitality industry, there is no doubt that the US-North Korea summit will bring about more interest in Vietnam as an attractive, intriguing, must discover destination. Everyone I know involved in this arena has mentioned to me that everyone they know with any interest in travel is now planning a trip to Vietnam. Those that have been here before are planning their next visit. Hanoi hotels, restaurants, bars, and clubs benefited big time. That benefit will spread country-wide as more and more tourist and business visitors arrive. Again: 24-hour global media coverage, focused on the summit, but much of which was devoted to telling the world about modern Vietnams amazing growth story, thick cultural history, fabulous cuisine, diverse natural beauty, and wonderful people, bought more for Vietnamese tourism and hospitality than a perfectly-designed media campaign. Ironically, this is all happening when serious initial discussions are underway between Vietnamese aviation authorities and airlines and their American counterparts to launch the first direct, non-stop service between the United States and Vietnam, a milestone that will further open the gates of tourism. As real estate developers with a focus on creating one-of-a-kind, world-renowned resorts, hotels, and related residences, I could not be more exhilarated by Vietnam taking the stage as a lead actor in global diplomacy. The US-North Korea summit will undoubtedly cause a surge in business interest and tourism, which will help fill the countrys resorts and hotels, and which will lead to more demand and investment interest in commercial and residential property as well. ICC-Kajima, our property development arm has taken notice! On a personal note, as a long-time friend of Vietnam, I take deep emotional pride in Vietnam becoming a major player on the global geo-political stage. Im sure it will not be the only time. The American teams lack of experience in negotiating with North Koreans, as well as a lack of preparation, may have contributed to the collapse of this weeks Hanoi summit between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, who favors top-down diplomacy, according to experts. The two-day summit that began Wednesday ended when Trump walked out on Thursday without a denuclearization deal or a declaration of peace to end the Korean War, a move met with approval in Washington, even though the summit began with hope of concrete agreements on denuclearization. Sometimes, you have to walk, and this was just one of those times, Trump said at a press conference Thursday. The talks broke down because, according to Trump, North Korea demanded all sanctions imposed on the country be lifted in exchange for its offer to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facility. Later, at a separate press briefing in Hanoi, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said North Korea had asked for partial sanctions relief in exchange for continuing to halt its nuclear and missile testing. The Hanoi summit was the leaders second, taking place eight months after their first summit in Singapore last June, which produced a widely criticized vague agreement. Correct decision Experts agree that Trump did the right thing. I think sometimes the best deals are the ones you walk away from, said Christopher Hill, a chief negotiator with North Korea during the George W. Bush administration. Joseph DeTrani, a former special envoy for nuclear talks with North Korea, said, The president made the correct decision. Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council said, Trump deserves credit for that moment of realism. But according to experts, the summit collapsed in part because Trumps top-down style left little room for U.S. negotiators to reach agreements during working-level meetings with their North Korean counterparts who have much more experience in denuclearization talks. Sung-yoon Lee, a professor of Korean studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University, emphasized that North Koreas chief full-time America-handlers average three decades of on-the-job experience, while the current U.S. negotiators have logged about 2 years of dealing with North Korea. Who has the advantage? Lee asked. Many of the State Departments most experienced North Korea experts have retired recently from government. The final agreement on denuclearization was left for the two leaders, who failed because both Trump and Kim overestimated their respective ability to take the other side into a deal they wanted, Manning said. Top-down approach to negotiating This was the risk you take when you do a top-down approach to negotiating, said Dennis Wilder, the National Security Councils senior director for East Asia affairs during the George W. Bush administration. In other words, clearly, an agreement hadnt been made before the men got to Hanoi. Wilder said Kim misjudged Trump and overplayed his hand and overreached in the negotiations, thinking that he could get something big for putting very little on the table, which was based on his previous experience in dealing with Trump, who was quite easy on the North Korean leader and did not demand a great deal of him at the first summit. The failure of the Hanoi summit shows the downside of top-down diplomacy, Manning said. I would have insisted on having the basic framework and some minimal nuclear-for-benefit trade-off agreed to before I agreed to a summit. Hill said, I think it kind of speaks to some of the preparation, which I thought was inadequate. He added, There needs to be a clearer understanding about [reaching agreements prior to talks] before they ask the president, before the president gets involved. WATCH: Failed Hanoi Summit Could Reset Productive Nuclear Talks Wilder said U.S. negotiators probably knew perfectly well what North Koreas position was, but think Trump felt his chemistry with Kim would enable him to strike a deal that perhaps he thought Special Representative for North Korea Steve Biegun and lower-level North Korean negotiators wouldnt have [had] the latitude to strike. I think [the Trump administration] decided to somewhat gamble, to roll the dice to see what they could get, Wilder said. Manning, of the Atlantic Council, thinks Biegun tried to make an agreement before the summit, but that the North Korean side probably refused because Kim wanted to deal directly with Trump at the summit. Steve Biegun did make a major effort to learn from past Korea diplomacy, meeting with dozens of those previously involved in the diplomacy, and tried to build on the lessons, Manning said. But North Korea would not negotiate a minimal nuclear deal at that level because they thought Trump was a soft target. Hill said, To have it just fall apart signifies that the diplomacy was not quite ready to be brought out of the diplomatic oven, if you will. Experience matters In dealing with North Korea, Manning said, Experience matters. Wilder said, On the North Korean side, you have people very, very, very expert in negotiating with the United States. He continued, Theyve spent their entire career doing this, whereas on the American side, theyre relatively less steeped in all of this. According to Korean studies professor Lee, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has two years of dealing with North Korea, and Biegun, has half a year and National Security Adviser John Bolton had five years of dealing with North Korea, including time in the George W. Bush administration. Former South Carolina Congressman Mick Mulvaney, Trumps current acting White House chief of staff and director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, has little foreign experience. On the North Korean side, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri has 35 years of dealing with the U.S., while Kim Yong Chol, head negotiator on nuclear talks, has dealt with the U.S. for 30 years. Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui has 25 years of experience with the U.S. And Kim Kye Gwan, a leading negotiator during the Six-Party talks who is also believed to be working behind the scenes advising current negotiators, has 30 years of experience with the U.S. Going forward, Wilder thinks Trump is going to be a little more wary of having another summit with Kim without some understanding beforehand. He added, So I would guess that he is now going to give Mr. Pompeo and Steve Biegun more authority to negotiate. As for North Korea, Lee thinks Kim was taken aback and is likely to regroup and dangle another sweet carrot to Trump. Lee said Trump will most likely take the bait and settle for only a partial freeze of Kims vast nuclear and missile programs while bomb-making goes on in other undisclosed locations. For Kim, two steps forward and one step back is still progress, Lee said. The assault on the last patch of land claimed by the Islamic State terror group's caliphate in Syria slowed as it entered its third full day, with U.S.-backed forces announcing a delay due to the presence of additional civilians, many of whom were being used as human shields. "We're slowing down the offensive in #Baghouz due to a small number of civilians held as human shields by Daesh," Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, announced on Twitter later Sunday. Bali did not say what was being done to get the civilians out of Baghuz and out of harm's way, though he warned the reprieve from the fighting would not last long. "We assert that the battle to retake the last ISIS holdout is going to be over soon," he wrote, using an acronym for the terror group. Coalition officials first raised concerns about the presence of civilians earlier in the day, noting the vicious nature of the fighting. "The coalition believes ISIS is still using innocent civilians as human shields, and clearly violating the laws of war," coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan said. The IS tactic of using human shields is not a new one. But it contradicts assertions by some SDF officials, who had said the final assault would not begin until all civilians had been evacuated from the IS-held enclave. More than an estimated 13,000 civilians evacuated Baghuz in the week preceding Friday's attack by the SDF. According to the United Nations, as many as 90 percent of them were women and children under the age of 5, many of them malnourished. Sources close to SDF leadership told VOA that as late as Thursday some of those fleeing Baghuz had claimed hundreds of additional civilians were still in hiding. But SDF officials suspected almost all of those left in Baghuz were fighters waiting to make their last stand. "There aren't any civilians left in Baghuz, so it's a matter of time before we take a full control of it," SDF spokeswoman Lilwa Abdullah told VOA late Friday, describing the initial fighting as intense. Video shared on social media Sunday by groups with ties to the SDF showed multiple fires burning across the sliver of IS-held land in northeast Syria, while black smoke billowed into the sky. SDF officials said IS fighters were trying to fend off their advance with car bombs and counterattacks. "Several car bombs were destroyed by coalition airstrikes during the last two days of battle here in #Baghouz," Bali wrote during an update on Twitter earlier Sunday. "3 VBIEDS [vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices] that were trying to hit our positions were destroyed by #SDF fighters." Some 15,000 U.S.-backed forces in Syria launched their final assault on IS late Friday, supported by U.S. and coalition warplanes and artillery. On Saturday, SDF officials expressed hope the battle would be over quickly, despite intense firefights coupled with waves of IS suicide bombers. But progress has been slow, with IS fighters making extensive use of caves and tunnels extending far beneath the village, both for counterattacks and as deathtraps for advancing coalition forces. "The depth of the tunnels is unknown, other than they are extensive and being filled with IEDs as the SDF closes in," the coalition's Ryan told VOA. Prior to the start of the battle, sources close to SDF officials on the ground said there was grave concern that an unknown number of IS fighters were hiding below ground, far more than the initial estimates of 300 of the terror group's most hardened and capable fighters. Some warned the tunnel system could extend for more than 2 kilometers. Monitors with the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged Saturday that the SDF and coalition may have tried to flush out some of the IS fighters by using munitions loaded with white phosphorous when the assault began late Friday. White phosphorous, which can be used as a smokescreen to cover troop movements or to help trace the trajectory of enemy fire, burns when exposed to air and can be used as an incendiary weapon. Its use is banned in the presence of civilians. The U.S. is alleged to have used white phosphorous to support forces battling IS in eastern Raqqa in 2017 a charge the U.S. officials at the time neither confirmed nor denied. But the U.S.-led coalition rejected the accusation white phosphorous is being used in Baghuz. "Any suggestion of the use of white phosphorus is false," a coalition spokesman told VOA. Sirwan Kajjo in Washington contributed to this report. On the political spectrum, Hawaii is among the bluest of states. Democrats control all the levers of power at the state and federal levels, and voters back Democratic presidential candidates over Republicans by some of the widest margins in the U.S. The state has committed to the Paris climate agreement that President Donald Trump rejected and was the first state to require people to be 21 to buy cigarettes. The tourist haven even banned certain types of sunscreen because they can harm coral reefs. But when it comes to legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use, the islands are out of step with liberal stalwarts such as California and Vermont that have already done so, and other left-leaning states such as New York and New Jersey that are racing toward joining them. On Friday, a legalization bill that made it farther in the legislative process than previous efforts died when lawmakers failed to consider it in time for a deadline. Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English has introduced marijuana legalization bills for the past 15 years but Hawaii has a track record of moving slowly on social issues. For example, other states moved far more quickly to sanction gay marriage and medically assisted suicide. Half the Democrats in the state Senate co-sponsored English's measure, helping spur speculation this would be the year legalization became a reality. Consideration of federal law But the effort fizzled as other leaders worried about contradicting federal law, which continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug, and jeopardizing Hawaii's existing medical marijuana program. To move forward, the bill had to pass the Senate Health Committee and Senate Ways and Means Committee by a Friday deadline so it could be considered by the full Senate. But the Health Committee did not schedule a meeting on Friday to consider any bills, effectively killing the marijuana legalization measure. Rep. Della Au Belatti, the House majority leader, said before the bill died that she believes Hawaii will legalize adult use marijuana at some point. But she said lawmakers will vet the issue carefully. "I also think that we have enough folks who are sitting around the table who are saying 'Let's do it right. Let's not just rush into things and let's do it right,' " she said. Belatti said lawmakers must closely study the experiences of states that have legalized marijuana. She also wants to have abuse prevention, treatment and education programs set up before legalization. Hawaii also will have to make sure legalized marijuana doesn't lead to more impaired driving, she said. For now, Belatti said she's just inclined toward decriminalizing marijuana, or reducing fines and criminal penalties for possession. Twelve states and the District of Columbia have recreational marijuana laws. All except Vermont did it by ballot initiative, an option not available in Hawaii. Sen. Karl Rhoads, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Hawaii residents are becoming more accepting of legalization now because it has happened elsewhere and "the world hasn't come to an end." There's also recognition that the status quo isn't working, he said, noting that juniors at a high school near his district tell him they can get pot whenever they want. "It's like Prohibition," he said. "We've been trying to squish it out, squeeze it out, by making it illegal. And it's just failed miserably." Hurdle cleared Rhoads' committee passed an amended version of English's bill last month, the first time a legalization measure has made it out of any committee. Health Committee Chairwoman Roz Baker said she did not want to do anything that would threaten Hawaii's nascent medical cannabis dispensary system. Dispensary sales began just two years ago. Baker believes the federal government will leave medical marijuana alone but might take a more active approach to enforcing federal drug laws if Hawaii takes the next step. Democratic Gov. David Ige expressed similar concerns. Rep. Joy San Buenaventura said it did not make sense to push the measure through without Ige's support. San Buenaventura represents Puna, a mostly rural area on the Big Island long known for pot growing. Brian Goldstein, the founder and CEO of the medical marijuana dispensary Noa Botanicals, said it is inevitable Hawaii will eventually allow adult use. He acknowledged it may take a while. Hawaii's Legislature approved medical marijuana in 2000 four years after California became the first state with such a law but it took island lawmakers another 15 years to set up a dispensary system. Carl Bergquist, the executive director of the pro-legalization Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, said progress is being made even though the idea failed again this year. "It's a huge step ... just to have that conversation started," he said. It barely registered with lawmakers during disgraced lawyer Michael Cohen's dramatic congressional testimony Wednesday about President Donald Trump's alleged misdeeds throughout the 2016 presidential campaign and his first year in office. But in what could spell a major legal headache for Trump, House Democrats are investigating whether the president hid from government ethics officials hundreds of thousands of dollars he paid Cohen as part of a scheme to silence porn star Stormy Daniels about her allegations that she and Trump had an affair years before. The investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is part of a wide-ranging probe by newly empowered House Democrats that is gaining momentum two months after Democrats regained control of the chamber. At least three other House panels, the Intelligence, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees, are mounting related investigations of Trump and his associates. Scott Amey, general counsel of the Project on Government Oversight in Washington, said Trump could potentially face civil or criminal charges of submitting false or fraudulent government financial disclosure forms to hide his involvement in paying hush money during the campaign. 'Low-hanging fruit' "That could be a major problem and it could be some low-hanging fruit for the Committee on Oversight and Reform to take up in going after Trump if they so choose," Amey said. While the potential ethics violation has received little attention until now, some experts say it may rank in seriousness along with higher profile problems, such as allegations Trump violated campaign finance laws. The president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has acknowledged the hush money payment but has said it did not violate campaign finance laws because it came from Trump's personal funds rather than his campaign. Cohen, the star witness for House and Senate investigative committees this week, pleaded guilty last year to violating federal election law by arranging hush money payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal that far exceeded legal limits to campaign contributions. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for a payment of $150,000 to McDougal after both women threatened to go public with their stories of sexual relations with Trump just as the Republican candidate was close to locking down his party's nomination. Trump has denied their allegations. Reimbursement for payments Cohen detailed how he received $420,000 from Trump for his efforts to buy the silence of Daniels. The reimbursement included $130,000 for the hush money payment; $50,000 for "tech services" both of which were doubled for tax purposes, as well as a $60,000 bonus. The payment was spread out over 11 months to make it appear Cohen was receiving monthly payments for ongoing legal services. Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison for financial crimes as well as for lying to Congress and violating campaign laws in connection with the hush money payments to the two Trump accusers. After Cohen's testimony Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers said the former Trump lawyer may have implicated the president in committing a crime while in office. In a report released this week, the ethics watchdog Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said Trump could potentially face eight criminal charges in connection with the hush money payments. In a flurry of tweets Friday, Trump blasted his former attorney as "totally discredited" and wrote that Cohen had made "fraudulent and dishonest statements" during his testimony. In recent weeks, House Oversight Committee investigators have zeroed in on Trump's failure to fully disclose the Cohen payments in his annual financial disclosure forms. Investigators are demanding documents from the White House and the Trump Organization, and asking the president's lawyers to answer their questions. Financial disclosure requirements All senior government officials including the president are required to file with the Office of Government Ethics annual financial disclosure forms, listing their assets and liabilities. OGE regulations require that each disclosure form describe liabilities in excess of $10,000 and identify the creditor. In his 2017 financial disclosure form, Trump left out all that information. In his 2018 form, he noted cryptically that he'd "fully reimbursed" Cohen for unspecified expenses in the amount of $100,000 to $250,000, far less than what Cohen had actually received. The June 2018 filing came as the hush money scandal broke and government ethics officials contacted Trump's lawyers for an explanation, demanding the president revise his report if he owed Cohen any money in 2016. Notes of conversations between OGE officials and Trump lawyers in April and May 2018, and obtained by the House Oversight Committee, show the president's attorneys struggling to offer a consistent answer. The president's tax lawyer, Sheri Dillon, initially maintained that she did not believe that Trump owed Cohen any money in 2016. Later, White House ethics lawyer Stefan Passantino offered a different explanation: Cohen was allowed to charge additional expenses for providing "legal services" under a "retainer agreement." But Cohen has told prosecutors that there was no retainer agreement in place and that he arranged for his own reimbursement through "fraudulent invoices for nonexistent legal services under a nonexistent retainer agreement." Other committee action Now, House investigators want to talk to Passantino and Dillon. In letters sent to Dillon and Passantino just hours before Cohen's testimony, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings expressed concern that the two lawyers may have provided "false information" to government ethics officials reviewing Trump's financial disclosure records. Passantino and Dillon did not respond to requests for comment. Filing a false financial disclosure could result in a civil penalty, such as a fine or prosecution by the Department of Justice, although the Justice Department, as a rule, would not prosecute a sitting president. But illegally withholding information from ethics officers regarding illegal campaign finance transactions could become grounds for impeachment, if House Democratic leaders eventually decide to pursue that course of action. "There is a likelihood President Trump violated that law when he submitted these financial disclosure forms that were either missing liabilities or misrepresenting them," said Amey, of the Project on Government Oversight. "All of that taken as a whole could put the president in some hot water for filing a fraudulent or misleading financial disclosure statement." The parents of U.S. student Otto Warmbier, who died after abuse in North Korean detention, have strongly rebuked comments by President Donald Trump. After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Trump said he took Kim at his word that he did not know what happened to Warmbier. Human rights organizations say they are "flabbergasted" by Trump's comments, but also see a pattern. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department. Pakistan confirmed Saturday that two of its soldiers have been killed in ongoing military skirmishes with India across the disputed Kashmir border, known as the Line of Control (LoC). This comes a day after Pakistan, in a gesture of peace, returned an Indian pilot who was captured alive when his plane was shot down. The overture does not seem to have affected the situation in Kashmir, which continues to be the scene of relentless heavy mortar and artillery shelling between Pakistani and Indian militaries. The armys media wing said the fatalities occurred in the Nakiyal sector on the LoC, which separates the Pakistani and Indian portions of the divided Himalayan region. Sources in the area say the soldiers were killed in the early hours of Saturday morning. Also Saturday, India repatriated the body of a Pakistani prisoner who was killed by angry inmates in an Indian jail following a February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama. A Pakistan foreign ministry statement issued after receiving the body of Shakir Ullah said he was killed in the Indian jail in Jaipur. It reiterated Islamabads demand that New Delhi urgently share findings of the inquiry and post-mortem report and that the culprits be taken to task. Within the past two days at least six Pakistani civilians have died in shelling from India, the statement noted. It went on to claim there were reports of troop casualties and damage to outposts on the Indian side due to an effective response by the Pakistan Army. It was not possible to independently verify the assertions, nor was there any reaction from Indian military officials. Indian authorities said heavy mortar and artillery shelling from Pakistani forces Friday night killed a woman and two children, raising the overall civilian death toll to four. They also confirmed two Indian soldiers were injured. Indian media reported that all education institutions within a five-kilometer radius of the LoC remain closed Saturday for a fifth consecutive day. Tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have escalated since Tuesday when Indian aircraft launched a cross-border airstrike at what New Delhi alleges are terrorist camps run by a militant outfit blamed for the suicide car bombing in Kashmir. On Wednesday, Pakistani forces retaliated and said they shot down two Indian jet planes for violating the Kashmir LoC, pushing the two countries to the brink of another war. The tensions were only escalated after Pakistan captured the Indian pilot. The Pakistani government condemned the Indian cross-border airstrike as a violation of international laws. It strongly rejected as baseless the claims the so-called strikes hit terrorist camps and caused casualties or material damage. But the threat level remains dangerous, with Pakistani ground and air forces on high alert, said Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday. Authorities have partially opened Pakistani airspace for commercial flights after several days of closure. The February 14 blast in India's Kashmirs Pulwama district targeted a military convoy and killed 40 security personnel in the deadliest-ever attack in the region. Islamabad denied involvement and demanded India share actionable evidence to allow authorities to bring to justice any Pakistani who was linked to the violence. Pakistan confirmed on Thursday it received a dossier from India containing evidence about the Pulwama bombing. Officials said they are examining the dossier and promised to take action if it contained enough evidence. Islamabad maintains that the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the militant group New Delhi has blamed for plotting the Kashmir attack, is a proscribed organization in Pakistan. The founding leader of the group, Maulana Masood Azhar, lives freely in Pakistan and authorities say they would need solid evidence acceptable to Pakistani courts to prosecute Azhar if he has played any role in the violence. Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two over Kashmir. They have both armed their militaries with nuclear weapons since their last war 50 years ago, raising fears another conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange. U.S. tech giant Apple Inc. appears to have started blocking Iranian iPhone users from using Iranian-developed apps as part of a global crackdown by the company on developers who misuse its technology. Iranian state media, tech executives and rights activists all have reported via social media that Apple began revoking enterprise certificates from Iranian app developers on Tuesday, resulting in Iranian iPhone users being unable to use apps for daily activities such as ride-sharing and online transactions. Apple did not respond to a VOA Persian request for comment on the Iranian reports. But last month, an Apple spokesperson told Reuters the company is "continuously evaluating cases of misuse [of enterprise certificates] and [is] prepared to take immediate action." The spokesperson was responding to a Reuters study that found software pirates have been using the digital certificates to gain access to an Apple program that allows developers to create, under certain conditions, apps that can be downloaded outside Apple's App Store. Streaming, game apps Reuters said pirate developers have used the program to provide consumers with hacked versions of popular streaming music and game apps. Under Apple rules, the program is meant to be used only to create business apps for distribution within an organization and among its employees. In January, Apple responded publicly to what it said was another misuse of its Enterprise Developer Program rules. In a statement to U.S. network CNBC, it said Facebook was distributing a data-collecting app to consumers in breach of a corporate agreement. "Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data," Apple said. In a report published Friday, Iran's state-controlled English-language Financial Tribune newspaper linked the Apple crackdown on misuse of enterprise developer certificates to this week's reports of Iranian-developed apps being blocked. The newspaper said the "crackdown has taken a toll on Iranian startups offering services through iOS apps." iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. The newspaper said Apple has suspended enterprise certificates of "numerous" Iranian app developers, leading to the blocking of more than 20 locally developed apps for ride-sharing, mobile banking and shopping. Iranian ride-sharing service Snapp posted a Thursday tweet urging Iranians to click on a link to a web page with details of how to download a new version of the app to bypass Apple restrictions. In another tweet posted on the same day, Snapp's chief operating officer, Amirali Mohajer, accused Apple of "digital apartheid" and complying with what he called "coercive" policies of the Trump administration, which has tightened sanctions on Iran in recent years in response to perceived malign Iranian activities. A New York Times report in August 2017 cited Apple as telling Iranian app developers that it was banning their apps from its App Store because of U.S. sanctions. It quoted an Apple message to the developers as saying: "Under U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S.-embargoed countries." Harm to tech sector The U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran criticized Apple's apparent escalation of its crackdown on Iranian app developers. In a Friday report, CHRI said Apple's revocation of enterprise certificates "will not only deny Iranians access to apps providing information, services and games, it will also harm the country's tech sector, which was already struggling to operate under state-enforced anti-internet-freedom policies and sanctions." CHRI also said it expected Iranian companies whose apps are based on iOS, such as Snapp, to lose all their iPhone customers, a development that it said would lead to people losing their jobs as well. This article originated in VOA's Persian service. Lawyers for President Donald Trumps former campaign chief Paul Manafort urged a judge Friday to impose a sentence substantially below the potential 19 to 24 years in prison he is facing for tax crimes and bank fraud. Manafort, 69, is to be sentenced March 7 by Judge T.S. Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia after being convicted of five counts of filing false income tax returns, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. Manaforts attorneys, in a filing with the judge, said the sentencing guidelines, which call for a prison term of 235 to 293 months, are clearly disproportionate to the offense conduct for which Mr. Manafort was convicted. Mr. Manafort acknowledges that he received a fair trial before this Court, he accepts the jurys verdict, and is truly remorseful for his conduct, they said. A 'bold criminal' His attorneys suggested a sentence substantially below the range, arguing that Manafort is a first-time offender and is in poor health after spending the past nine months in prison. Manafort is one of seven former Trump associates and senior aides who have been charged by Special Counsel Robert Muellers team, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Muellers office said in their own sentencing memo that Manafort was a bold criminal who repeatedly and brazenly broke the law but did not recommend a specific sentence. Muellers office said that Manafort violated the law for years and his sentence must take into account the gravity of this conduct, to deter both Manafort and anyone else who would commit similar crimes. His criminal actions were bold, Muellers office said, and included attempting to tamper with witnesses and lying to the FBI, government agencies and even his own lawyers. Ukraine campaign work Manaforts attorneys took issue with that characterization. The Special Counsels attempt to vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court, they said. The cases that Special Counsel have brought against Mr. Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally and financially, they said. The charges against Manafort were not connected to his role in the Trump campaign but were for work he did for Russian-backed political parties in Ukraine between 2004 and 2014. Manafort was also charged in Washington with money laundering, witness tampering and other offenses and faces separate sentencing in that case. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the probe by Mueller, a former FBI director, as a political witch hunt. Heavy fighting continued throughout the first full day of the final assault on the Islamic State militant group's last bit of land, according to Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali. Victory may be near, with the militants surrounded and all civilian "human shields" believed to be safe in camps beyond the fighting in Baghuz, soldiers say. But some local leaders warn that with this victory will come a new set of problems. "The battle will end temporarily," said Sheikh Humaydi Daham al-Hadi, a prominent tribal and provincial leader within Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. "But the negative impact will continue for years." The Internationally backed SDF pushed forward slowly Saturday, reclaiming parts of what is a tent city on the banks of the Euphrates River next to Baghuz. While not illustrious in nature, the camp has ended up being the scene of IS's last attempt to hold land in Syria or Iraq. Locals caution, though, that IS attacks in the region continue almost daily. About an hour's drive away, in a small town called Tel Hamees, Suliman, 17, a junior military volunteer, recently returned from the front lines in Baghuz. Almost all the locals in his town fled ahead of the first militant group that overran Tel Hamees years ago, and returned only when the third group, IS, was forced out in 2017. Suliman also serves at one of the many checkpoints that dot the roads between cities and towns across the country. These checkpoints in parts of Syria's northeast have become a constant target, where the archenemies of IS are out in the open, exposed in small numbers. "Sometimes they attack briefly and then disappear," explained Suliman, as his young cousins played on the remnants of a bombed-out house, "just so we know they are there." Historical problem In a camp a few hours away, about 400 families of foreign IS fighters are trying to make homes for themselves, with no knowledge of whether or when their countries or families will take them back. Children run with kites on the muddy roads lined with tents covered in blue tarps to keep out the winter rain. Sabina, a 30-year-old Bosnian woman, says she has nothing to hide. Her husband joined IS because he was a witness to the ethnic cleansing campaign and genocide against Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s. She followed him to what was then becoming an Islamic "State" because it seemed like a good idea to ensure their safety and the safety of their future children. "I was young and crazy and said, 'OK,' " she said Friday in the camp manager's office. At the time, however, it seemed anything but crazy to her husband, who went on to become an IS fighter. Even today, she sees the Islamic State as collapsing and never to return, but because of its constant state of war not its reputation as a brutal group that terrorized people in Iraq, Syria and around the world. "You know, the women who I know didn't know anything about this," she said. "I never saw this. And I was there a long time." Beyond IS A peaceful future, according to al-Hadi, means breaking this cycle of violence with negotiations, education and reconstruction. Mothers of slain militants need to be persuaded not to teach their children to follow in their fathers' footsteps. Destroyed cities and towns need to be rebuilt. Bodies of victims in former IS territories need to be found, buried and mourned. "It's good that they are winning the battles now," Sheikh al-Hadi said, as the group grew ahead of lunchtime. "But if it all ends this way, the problem will continue." And as the civil war's eighth year nears an end, the future of the region is increasingly insecure. International conflicts are on the verge of playing out in northeastern Syria, and its semi-autonomous government does not have the size or the resources to secure every road and town. "Individual attacks are more dangerous than comprehensive attacks," the sheikh warned. "At least when you are attacked by a group, you know who the enemy is." A U.S. government decision this month to deny an American-born Islamic State bride's request to return home has renewed debate over the fate of American citizens who have traveled to join IS in Iraq and Syria, with some experts saying the case could set a precedent for preventing U.S. citizens who joined jihadists from returning home. Hoda Muthana, 24, was born in New Jersey and raised in Alabama. In 2014, while attending business school in Tuscaloosa, Ala., she left the U.S. and traveled to Syria to join IS's self-proclaimed caliphate. Stranded now with her 18-month-old son in a refugee camp under the control of U.S.-backed forces, and as IS struggles to defend a small area of land in eastern Syria, Muthana now says she regrets her past actions and wants to return to the U.S. to face justice. The U.S. government, which has maintained it will take home its citizens who fought for IS in Iraq and Syria and has encouraged its European partners to follow suit, says Muthana's case is an exception because she is not a citizen. "We take all claims of U.S. citizenship by individuals in conflict zones seriously, and work to verify those claims on a case-by-case basis," a U.S official who requested anonymity told VOA. "The United States will continue to repatriate and prosecute its citizens when possible, as we have done in the past," the official added. Implications Some experts say Muthana's lawsuit could bring about far-reaching implications on how the U.S. government will handle the cases of other Americans who have joined IS in Iraq and Syria. "It is certainly possible that the administration could use this case as a precedent to bar other U.S. citizens who became foreign fighters from returning, but I cannot speculate further until the legal case plays out," said Josh Lipowsky, a senior research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project. The U.S. government's position on Muthana's citizenship centers on the argument that her father, Ahmed Ali Muthana, was serving as a high-ranking Yemeni diplomat in the U.S. in the early 1990s, when Hoda Muthana was born, making her ineligible for birthright citizenship. Hoda Muthana has disputed the claim, however, saying her father's diplomatic position ended on Sept. 1, 1994, more than a month before she was born. Muthana's family sued last week, arguing the U.S. government's decision was unconstitutional. Lipowsky argued that while the details of Muthana's case are unlikely to apply to the cases of foreign fighters who were naturalized citizens, he claimed it shows Western countries are inclined to revoke the citizenship of foreign fighters when legally permissible. "It seems likely that we will see European countries and the U.S. take legal steps to revoke the citizenship of foreign fighters when possible. We have already seen this happening," he added. The U.S. made a similar decision in 2018 when it tried to send a man with dual U.S.-Saudi citizenship, who had been captured on the battlefield while allegedly fighting with IS, from detention in Iraq to Saudi Arabia rather than prosecute him in a U.S. criminal court. The U.S. government released the unnamed man last October after having detained him for more than a year without charges and after months of legal wrangling with the American Civil Liberties Union. U.S. fighters Dozens of Americans have traveled to Iraq and Syria since 2014 to join IS, and many of them have been captured by the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. George Washington University's Program on Extremism has identified 64 Americans in Iraq and Syria with IS membership. America's European allies, however, are facing a more serious issue because of the large numbers of their citizens who have been captured in Iraq and Syria. The European countries have been even more reluctant to take them back. Officials from France, Germany and the United Kingdom have said their resistance to take the captives home stems from the difficulty of prosecuting suspected IS fighters because of the problems involved in gathering battlefield evidence. The United Kingdom's Home Office sparked a legal debate last week when it said it had revoked the British nationality of Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old woman of Bangladeshi heritage who joined IS in Syria in 2015. Her fate in a refugee camp in eastern Syria remains uncertain, as officials in Bangladesh have also refused to take her back. 1,000 foreign fighters U.S.-backed forces in Syria say about 1,000 foreign jihadists from more than 40 countries, and thousands of their wives and children, are currently in Kurdish detention centers in northeast Syria. The Kurdish self-administration has complained that its detention facilities are overwhelmed and has criticized the relevant countries for not repatriating their nationals. Some experts suggest Western countries may make decisions on a case-by-case basis, taking back those foreign fighters they could prosecute, while leaving behind those with an absence of "judicial information." "While the decision in the Muthana case may partially affect the United States' ability to convince U.S. partners to take back their citizens, ultimately I would expect European countries to continue making decisions about foreign fighter repatriation on their own terms, based on the resources, threat picture and legal infrastructure within their own countries," said Bennett Clifford, an expert on violent extremist movements at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. While Western countries have an obligation to fulfill their responsibility toward their citizens who joined IS, an ultimate solution should also account for those countries' security concerns, Clifford added. "I believe Western governments have an ethical and moral obligation to the victims of ISIS's crimes in Syria and Iraq to bring back their citizens who were ISIS members and try them in court," Clifford said, using an acronym for the militant group. "From a legal perspective, however, a comprehensive, internationally accepted solution will be difficult. Repatriation and prosecution works in the United States, where the government has successfully returned and prosecuted ISIS travelers, sentencing them to prison for as many as 25 years," he said. "In contrast, in a country like the United Kingdom where some estimates suggest there are over 400 returnees and only 1 in 10 has been prosecuted, repatriation may entail additional security concerns." Americas newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday toward the International Space Station on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. The only passenger was a life-size test dummy, named Ripley after the lead character in the Alien movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year. This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. Five day round trip It will spend five days docked to the orbiting outpost, before making a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Friday all vital training for the next space demo, possibly this summer, when two astronauts strap in. This is critically important ... Were on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. He got a special tour of the pad on the eve of launch, by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk. An estimated 5,000 NASA and contractor employees, tourists and journalists gathered in the wee hours at Kennedy Space Center with the SpaceX launch team, as the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off before dawn from the same spot where Apollo moon rockets and space shuttles once soared. Across the country at SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, company employees went wild, cheering every step of the way until the capsule successfully reached orbit. Looking on from Kennedys Launch Control were the two NASA astronauts who will strap in as early as July for the second space demo, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Its been eight years since Hurley and three other astronauts flew the last space shuttle mission, and human launches from Florida ceased. Private companies NASA turned to private companies, SpaceX and Boeing, and has provided them $8 billion to build and operate crew capsules to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. Now Russian rockets are the only way to get astronauts to the 250-mile-high outpost. Soyuz tickets have skyrocketed over the years; NASA currently pays $82 million per seat. Boeing aims to conduct the first test flight of its Starliner capsule in April, with astronauts on board possibly in August. Bridenstine said hes confident that astronauts will soar on a Dragon or Starliner, or both, by years end. But he stressed theres no rush. We are not in a space race, he said. That race is over. We went to the moon and we won. Its done. Now were in a position where we can take our time and make sure we get it right. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has stepped down from his position as chairman of the ruling party. The National Congress Party made the announcement late Thursday, following weeks of protests against Bashir's rule. The president transferred his party leadership role to NCP deputy chairman Ahmed Harun, until the party's next general convention. A NCP party statement said a new president would be chosen at the next general convention. A date for the convention, however, has not been set. The NCP enjoys a sweeping majority in parliament. The party's chief becomes its candidate for the presidential elections, according to the party's charter. Harun's deputy chairmanship appointment happened in recent days. Like Bashir, Harun is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region. Bashir recently declared a state of emergency for Sudan, following the wave of protests. The president also recently established emergency courts to deal with any violations during the state of emergency. On Thursday, the emergency courts in Khartoum sentenced eight protesters to prison, with sentences ranging from five years to six months. The protests initially erupted over rising prices and shortages, but quickly transformed into a call for Bashir to step down from the presidency. The United Nations reports 11.7 million people or nearly two-thirds of Syrias population is dependent on international humanitarian assistance for survival. The U.N. has drawn up a so-called humanitarian response plan detailing the staggering needs in advance of an international pledging conference for Syria in Brussels March 12 to 14. The U.N. has not yet come up with a dollar amount for its humanitarian plan for Syria. But based on last years $3.36 billion-dollar appeal, the cost of caring for millions of destitute civilians in 2019 will not be cheap. The Syrian government, with the aid of its Russian allies, has made large military and territorial gains. Despite this, the U.N. says neither the war nor the humanitarian crisis affecting the civilian population is over. The U.N. reports an estimated 6.2 million Syrians are internally displaced. It says more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, suffering from chronic levels of deprivation. Spokesman for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, says eight years of warfare has turned Syria into one of the biggest protection crises in the world. Despite an overall reduction of violence in some areas, people continue to be exposed to brutality every day. Women, children, adolescent girls, older people, widows and female-headed households, and people with disabilities, face distinct protection risks and have specific needs, he said. In addition, Laerke said people face the threat of explosive hazards as the country is littered with landmines and a variety of explosive ordnance. He said more than 10 million people are estimated to be living in contaminated areas. The U.N. response plan details the key survival needs including food, shelter, health care, water and sanitation. It stresses the importance of education in a country where more than two million boys and girls are out of school. The Taliban is hoping ongoing negotiations with the United States will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, allowing Afghans themselves to peacefully negotiate an end to years of hostilities, a senior member of the group says. Suhail Shaheen, however, has clarified in an interview to VOA that neither cease-fire nor issues related to intra-Afghan peace dialogue are on the agenda of the talks with American interlocutors at this stage. Shaheen speaks for the Talibans informal political office in Qatar. There is a steady progress. ... But the talks are not completed. The talks will continue until we reach a conclusion, Shaheen told VOA when asked whether he expected a deal soon. He said Taliban and American envoys will resume discussions in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday after a two-day break to try to flesh out details of a draft agreement that both sides are hoping could set the stage for promoting a settlement to the conflict through an intra-Afghan peace process. Shaheen said the two sides paused the dialogue to conduct internal deliberations and seek advice from their respective leaderships. US pullout, Taliban guarantee The spokesman explained discussions between Taliban and U.S. working groups on Tuesday and Wednesday exclusively revolved around withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces and the nature of this pullout, as well as Taliban guarantees to prevent terrorists from using Afghan soil to harm other nations in the future. When the (American) occupation is ended, I think we will have a countrywide consultation with scholars and influential Afghans about the shape of a future government, Shaheen said. The Taliban, he said, remains committed to the dialogue process with the U.S. because neither side has been able to achieve its objectives militarily in the past two decades. So, the only solution is through peaceful means, through diplomatic means, because if we achieve an agreement through peaceful means, that would be better for both sides because that would end hostilities and replace hostilities with cooperation and good relations, Shaheen said. U.S. President Donald Trump has said that if the talks with the Taliban make progress, he would consider a reduction in American troops in Afghanistan. The Trump administrations reconciliation envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, is leading the American team in the talks with the Taliban. In a series of tweets Thursday, the Afghan-born diplomat described as productive his two-day meetings with the Taliban in Doha. We continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and, eventually, peace, Khalilzad said, adding all four key issues remain on the table but did not elaborate. Khalilzad has repeatedly stated he wants the Taliban to engage in direct talks with the Afghan government to find a political solution to the problems facing the country. But the Taliban staunchly opposes any talks with Kabul, dismissing it an American puppet. Shaheen dismissed concerns that a complete foreign troop withdrawal without a solid political reconciliation process in place would worsen the security crisis in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban has already opened talks with Afghan opposition politicians during a recent meeting in Moscow because we dont want anarchy in the country, we dont want repetition of the chaotic situation of the 1990s. We hope we resolve all the issues (with U.S.) and there are no foreign troops on the Afghan soil and we hope we have an Afghan inclusive government in place in the country. So, only in that case there will a sustainable peace and stability in the country, Shaheen said when asked whether talks with the U.S. would deter the Taliban from unleashing its upcoming spring offensive in Afghanistan. Spring offensive The Taliban usually announces its so-called spring offensive around late April that leads to intensification in the war, now in its 18th year, and inflicts heavy battlefield as well Afghan civilian casualties. The Taliban, meanwhile, has maintained battlefield pressure and launched fresh attacks against Afghan security forces. On Friday, a large group of insurgents in military uniforms, including suicide bombers, stormed a major army base in southern Helmand province, which also housed U.S. forces. The predawn attack lasted until late afternoon, killing dozens of Afghan forces. The United Nations, while issuing its annual report on civilian casualties last week, called on warring sides to seize the opportunity for peace to end the Afghan human tragedy and misery. The report documented almost 4,000 civilian deaths in conflict-related incidents in 2018, representing the highest number of Afghan civilian fatalities in a decade. Shaheen noted that the presence in Doha of the newly appointed Taliban deputy political leader, Abdul Ghani Akhund, popularly known as Mullah Baradar, is playing a pivotal role in furthering the dialogue process with the U.S. Baradar was given the new responsibility in January, months after he was freed from a prison in Pakistan on Khalilzads request to meet a key Taliban demand to boost the dialogue process. The negotiation team every day has consultation with him and they receive his instruction and guidance how to proceed with the talks. So, thats very important that we have access to him otherwise it would have taken days if not weeks to have the same instruction from the (Taliban) leadership, Shaheen said. Co-founder of group Baradar is known as a co-founder of the Taliban and was arrested in a joint Pakistani-U.S. raid in Karachi in 2010 while he was traveling through the neighboring country, where Taliban leaders have long sheltered. Mullah Baradar is also credited for regrouping the Taliban after it was removed from power by the U.S.-led military invasion in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. The charity Doctors Without Borders has suspended its Ebola virus-fighting operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo after attacks on two of its treatment centers this week, raising the risk that Ebola infections in the area will increase. The World Health Organization has called the Feb. 24 attack in Katwa and the Feb. 27 attack in Butembo deplorable. In Butembo, where the center housed 12 confirmed Ebola patients and 38 with suspected Ebola, four patients with the highly contagious virus fled for their lives. One is still missing. The attackers set fire to the treatment centers and engaged in gunfire with security forces. MSF halts treatment Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medicins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, announced Friday it had halted treatment in Butembo, in the eastern RDC province of North Kivu. It had done the same earlier in the week in Katwa, the latest hot spot in the outbreak first reported last August. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters that experts must now track possible paths of infection. It is highly important to find those people, that last patient, and then, of course, immediately start the contact tracing and monitor the contacts these patients might have been in touch with, Lindmeier said. DRC health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga told VOA French to Africa that the problem with the Ebola situation lies in Katwa and Butembo, where communities are not fully engaged. He also said armed groups and unidentified gunmen are common in the area. A spokeswoman for DRCs health ministry, Jessica Ilunga, said the government will examine options over the next few days to protect health agents and stop any spread of the disease resulting from the attacks. Michel Yao, incident manager for the WHO, said of the attackers: It looks like an organized group that wants to target treatment centers. He said the loss is great because the centers that were damaged had been testing experimental treatments with some success. Whitney Elmer of the group Mercy Corps told The New York Times that the loss of two treatment centers at the midst of the outbreak is crippling. Hundreds with disease The Health Ministry reported that at least 885 have contracted the disease, and 550 have died of it, since the outbreak began. The Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, declared in August, is the second largest in history, after the 2014 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people. The WHO says the risk remains very high for the outbreak to spread across the borders into Rwanda, Uganda or South Sudan or to spread nationally across the DRC. Contributors include VOA staffers Ekia Badou, Eddy Isanga, Paul Alexander and Carol Guensburg in Washington, along with stringer Ericas Mwisi in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo. Information in this article is confirmed with other sources and may be used without attribution to the Associated Press in broadcasts -- websites still must use the attribution. The News Center has no plans at this time to match it. Tribes battling the Dakota Access oil pipeline in court are accusing the Army Corps of Engineers of withholding dozens of documents that could bolster their case that the pipeline could unfairly impact them AP Photo NDBIS501 Eds: Rewrites and updates with details and quotes. With AP Photos. By BLAKE NICHOLSON= Associated Press= BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Tribes battling the Dakota Access oil pipeline in court are accusing the Army Corps of Engineers of withholding dozens of documents that could bolster their case that the pipeline could unfairly impact them. Many of the records that attorneys for the four Sioux tribes allege are missing relate to the pipeline's crossing beneath the Lake Oahe reservoir on the Missouri River in the Dakotas, which the tribes rely on for drinking water, fishing and religious practices. Fears of a spill into the river sparked prolonged protests in 2016 and early 2017 that drew thousands of pipeline opponents from around the world to southern North Dakota. The Corps, which permitted the $3.8 billion pipeline that began moving North Dakota oil to Illinois in June 2017, "produced a fragmented and incomplete record designed to defend a flawed agency action, one that omits key documents important to the tribes' legal challenge," attorneys for the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Yankton and Oglala Sioux tribes wrote in a Wednesday court filing. They implored U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to order the Corps to turn over the requested documents. The Justice Department, which represents the Corps, declined comment. Boasberg in June 2017 ruled that the Corps "largely complied" with environmental law when permitting the pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, but he ordered more study on tribal impacts. The Corps in August 2018 said it had finished more than a year of additional study and that the work substantiated its earlier determination that the pipeline does not pose a higher risk of adverse impacts to minorities. The tribes are challenging the assertion, hoping to persuade Boasberg to shut down the pipeline. The Corps in early February turned over to the tribes documents it used in making the determination. The tribes allege records are missing that impact not only their case but also "masks" information that could influence Boasberg's eventual decision on whether the Corps study is adequate. U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a friendly audience Saturday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, capping a tumultuous week highlighted by failed talks at a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and damning testimony before Congress by former personal attorney Michael Cohen. As expected, the conference was a welcome diversion for Trump. He called special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump 2016 campaign's possible collusion with Russia "this phony thing that now looks like it's dying," and he accused Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and other unnamed "senators and a few congressman" of shifting their focus from that probe to his finances. "So they don't have anything with Russia," he said. "There's no collusion. So now they go and morph into 'Let's inspect every deal he's ever done. We're gonna go into his finances. We're gonna check his deals.' These people are sick." Trump has been praised at the conference, primarily for fighting illegal immigration, nominating conservative judges and limiting the influence of the federal government. Trump returned the favor, applauding conference organizers and attendees for being "on the front lines of protecting America's interests, defending America's value[s] and reclaiming our nation's priceless heritage." The president discussed the trade war with China and a variety of other topics during a long speech. He did not elaborate on this week's summit breakdown in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim, other than to say Pyongyang has a bright economic future without nuclear weapons and that he would get other countries to provide aid to the country if "it all works out." Opposition to socialism It was the Republican president's third consecutive appearance at the three-day annual conference at National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, where anti-socialism was the overriding theme. Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the conference Friday, accusing Democrats of making a "hard left turn" before the 2020 elections and saying voters must choose "between freedom and socialism." While the crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls includes progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, there is no shortage of moderate establishment hopefuls such as former Vice President Joe Biden, who is widely expected to join the race. Some Democrats have openly embraced objectives such as expanding health care coverage, combating climate change and providing debt-free college. Republicans have frequently labeled these Democrats as radical leftists and their agenda as costly socialist, business-unfriendly programs. The facts, however, don't support the Republican narrative that the Democratic Party has turned to the left. In the November 2018 midterm elections, 33 of the 40 Republican seats captured by Democrats were taken by candidates endorsed by the moderate NewDem PAC. Additionally, a Gallup poll conducted last November found that nearly 55 percent of Democrats and independents who tended to vote Democratic wanted the party to be "more moderate," compared with 41 percent who desired a more liberal party. The United States increased its pressure on Venezuela Friday, imposing sanctions on six high-ranking security officials as well as revoking the visas of dozens of other high officials. The Trump administration said the sanctions were a response to Venezuelan military officials, who last weekend blocked an opposition-backed effort to bring food into the country. At one border point, aid trucks caught fire and several people died. "We are sanctioning members of (President Nicolas) Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Those being sanctioned include National Guard Commander Richard Lopez along with police and military officials based near the Colombian or Brazilian borders. The sanctions block any assets the officials have in the United States and bar Americans from doing business with them. The U.S. State Department also revoked the travel visas of 49 Venezuelans that it said were "individuals responsible for undermining Venezuela's democracy." The measures are part of an effort to pressure Maduro to step down. The United States sees his re-election last year as illegitimate and has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. Guaido, who also has the backing of about 50 other countries, has said that 300,000 people could die unless humanitarian aid reaches Venezuela. The U.S.-recognized president joined the aid convoy in Colombia, despite being ordered by Venezuela's Supreme Court not to leave the country. There, he met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and other regional leaders, and later traveled to Brazil and Paraguay. Guaido is next due to visit Argentina in his effort to gain support for his leadership and discuss strategies to hasten the departure of Maduro. He has said he will return home to Venezuela by Monday despite threats to arrest him. White House officials are worried that unless more American students study math and science the United States won't be able to compete with China, India and other nations. The U.S. administration has just published a five-year plan to boost the number of kids who go into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM subjects. VOA's Sahar Majid has more in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. military officer jailed for a massive leak of U.S. secrets to WikiLeaks, has been ordered to appear before a grand jury, her attorney said Friday. Moira Meltzer-Cohen said she had not been told what the grand jury was investigating, but U.S. media have speculated that it might involve the criminal case against WikiLeaks being developed by federal prosecutors in Virginia. Meltzer-Cohen said Manning had filed a motion to challenge the subpoena, which was immediately put under seal in the case. "I object strenuously to this subpoena, and to the grand jury process in general," Manning, 31, said in a statement. Grand juries, used only in the U.S. and Liberia, are groups of citizens operating separately from courts who investigate whether to bring criminal charges. They can compel witnesses and suspects to testify. "We've seen this power abused countless times to target political speech," added Manning. "I have nothing to contribute to this case and I resent being forced to endanger myself by participating in this predatory practice." Manning, a former army intelligence analyst, was jailed for 35 years in 2013 for giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Misdeeds exposed The revelations by Manning, who is transgender and was then known as Bradley Manning, exposed covered-up misdeeds and possible crimes by U.S. troops and allies. Her actions made her a hero to anti-war and anti-secrecy activists, but U.S. establishment figures branded her a traitor. They also made WikiLeaks a force in the global anti-secrecy movement. Then-President Barack Obama commuted her sentence, leading to her release in May 2017. Manning is scheduled to appear in front of the grand jury on Tuesday. The New York Times and Politico both speculated it was related to the U.S. investigation of WikiLeaks in relation to its publication of Democratic campaign secrets in 2016 that the U.S. government says were hacked by Russian intelligence. The Justice Department has not confirmed it is developing a case against WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. But a mistaken assertion in filings for a separate case in the Virginia court made distinct reference to the WikiLeaks probe. Africa-born particle physicist Ketevi Assamagan is a man on a mission. His goal is to bring science education to a new generation of young Africans through a traveling program known as the African School of Fundamental Physics and Applications, or ASP. "Sometimes, people just need some help to be able to find the right resources," said Assamagan, an ASP founder who works at the U.S. Energy Department's Brookhaven National Laboratory here on Long Island. "So, together with some colleagues, we decided to create this school." Born in Guinea, Assamagan grew up in Togo and earned a doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1995. Gratitude to past mentors fueled his desire to start the ASP, he said. LISTEN: Physicist talks about science training for young Africans Positive elements The ASP program runs for three weeks every two years in a different African country. The first was in 2010 in South Africa, with subsequent gatherings in Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda and Namibia. The next is planned for July 2020 in Marrakesh, Morocco. Each workshop brings together up to 80 students, who are treated to intensive lectures and training by top-flight physicists. "We get students from all over Africa [who] have at least three years of university education," Assamagan said. "The majority of them are usually at the master's level and they come from different fields: nuclear and high energy physics, medical applications, computing, mathematics and theoretical physics." The students' expenses are covered by roughly 20 international sponsors, including the Brookhaven lab; the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy; the South African Department of Science and Technology; and Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics. Another sponsor has been the European Center for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, in Geneva. Assamagan worked on CERN's particle accelerator for several years while conducting research on the elusive Higgs boson subatomic particle. He left in 2001 to join Brookhaven. Sustained support After the program, participants are paired with senior mentors who offer advice on additional education, teaching and research opportunities, both in Africa and abroad. For Zimbabwe native Last Feremenga, participation in the 2010 ASP workshop served as a springboard to a doctorate in physics from the University of Texas. Now he's a data scientist with Digital Reasoning, an artificial intelligence firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. "I sift through large datasets of written text in search of rare forms of conversations/language. These rare conversations are useful for our clients from health care to finance," the 32-year-old told VOA in an email. He added that he's using "similar tactics" to those he learned at ASP. Julia MacKenzie, senior director of international affairs for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, says training programs such as ASP are especially important in developing countries. "Science is increasingly recognized as an important engine of economic growth and societal advancement," she wrote in an email. She noted "increasing numbers of such programs on the African continent, where there is a surging young population entering the workforce." "A potential impact of graduate training is exposure to new ideas and people," MacKenzie added. "Any time graduate students can come together, it's likely that new friendships will form, and those relationships can provide support through inevitable challenges and spawn new collaborations." Hands-on learning Assamagan says that when he was in high school in Togo, science was taught from second-hand textbooks from abroad. There was no experimentation. "Direct involvement in terms of playing with things and getting mental challenge to try to figure it out was not really there," he said. "We want to resolve that" through ASP. The 70 or so science teachers at the workshop last year in Namibia learned hands-on experiments that could be replicated with scant equipment and resources. For example, using only a small plastic box with an aluminum plate, tin foil, Styrofoam, pure alcohol and dry ice, high school students could build a tabletop "cloud chamber" to simulate the detection of cosmic particles from outer space. Another experiment taught physics to elementary school children by way of art. The children could drip paint on a canvas tilted at various angles, then observe the patterns the paint made as it descended. "You can then start introducing the idea of gravity," Assamagan said. "And then relating things falling down to the Earth going around the sun as being driven by the same force." Assamagan predicts a bright future for physics research in Africa. He says he sees talent and commitment, but that more digital libraries, along with continent-wide access to high-speed internet connections and the political will to provide them, are needed. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Harare West lawmaker, Joanna Mamombe, has been abducted by suspected state security agents in Zimbabwe, a few days after unknown people visited her mothers house in Harare. According to the MDC, the Law and Order Section of the police has distanced itself from the abduction of Mamombe, who was attending parliamentary business in Nyanga, Manicaland province on Saturday. In a statement, the MDC claims that a team of about eight henchmen who snatched Hon. Mamombe Boko Haram style claimed to be from police Law and Order Section were driving a Toyota Fortuner registration number ACI 4582. Honorable Joanna Mamombe had been in Nyanga for parliamentary business since the 24th of February. This is a result of Zanu PF military political settlement which has seen them create vigilante groups and vested powers of the state to these killer units resulting in deaths of at least 17 people in January and 7 others on 1 August 2018. An Honorable Member has privileges they must enjoy whilst on parliamentary business. While in Nyanga, suspected security officers visited Hon. Mamombes parents home in Glenorah at midnight in search of her, harassing everyone and intruding into personal privacy of innocent people. Yesterday, another arrest was effected on Hon. Godfrey Sithole who surrendered himself to the police. He appears in court today. The MDC said it is worried about President Emmerson Mnangagwas use of some arms of the government to allegedly terrorize some members of the opposition party led by Nelson Chamisa. "The regime's disdain towards upholding fundamental human rights is reflected in these barbaric acts. The manner the operation was done sends shivers down the spine of the ordinary civilians. It is a sad incident reflecting retrogression in our Constitutional Democracy against reform pretence by Mr. Mnangagwa. The MDC caucus strongly condemns the abduction and arrest of Hon Mamombe and Hon Sithole. When members of Parliament are harrassed and their rights violated in that manner it means the ordinary citizens are worse off. In general acts of torture, arbitrary arrests on trumped up charges, mass trials and conviction are of concern to the MDC caucus. Police were unreachable for comment. More than 12 people were killed recently following public protests in January over the high cost of living. Over 1,000 were arrested during and after the protests called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and other organizations. Mnangagwas government claimed that the protests had a regime change agenda. On Friday, Governor Kay Ivey released the Rebuild Alabama bill. Ivey's office says the bill will be filed in the Alabama Legislature by Representative Bill Poole, ahead of the 2019 Regular Session, which begins on Tuesday. I look forward to working with members of the Alabama Legislature to address our critical infrastructure needs across Alabama. We have waited far too long to tackle this issue and Alabama lags far behind our neighboring states. This is a hard issue, and we certainly have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but now is the time to Rebuild Alabama, said Ivey, in a statement released by her office on Friday. Museum and research center directors decided which of five categories of special events they would host in their spaces and what types of events they would permit. If a museum accepted a category such as corporate and nonprofit receptions or personal social events for adults it will have to accept any group covered by it, said Karen Keller, director of Smithsonian special events and protocol. That means that an anti-climate-change group could hold a fundraiser in the Natural History Museum or that a white-nationalist group could seek space in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Sgt. Eduardo Delgado, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said investigators do not know from where the shots were fired. Delgado said it appeared the vehicle was moving when the shooting occurred. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Marie Davis said she is proud that her son has kept the show going despite his own health challenges. She is also glad that he is bringing attention to Relisha and other missing people in the area, including his own cousin, Unique Harris. The 24-year-old mother of two put her children, ages 3 and 5, to bed one night in October 2010 and when they woke up, she was gone. On Jan. 16, Stone announced via Instagram that he would be publishing a book titled The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Trump Really Won. He included an image of the book cover. At the time, a source familiar with the publication plans told The Washington Post that the book consisted of a new introduction attached to a previous book that Stone had written about the 2016 presidential campaign. On Feb. 15, he announced via Instagram that the book would be published March 1, and he accompanied the post with hashtags such as #noconspiracy and #norussiancollusion. Prince Georges was the biggest slave-owning county in Maryland, which did not free slaves until more than a year after President Abraham Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. According to census records, there were more enslaved black people living in Prince Georges in 1860 than there were whites. That census listed 12,479 slaves, 1,205 free blacks and 9,650 whites living in Prince Georges. Five of at least 40 black people who were lynched in Maryland were killed in Prince Georges, according to the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project. It was like trying to ride a bicycle for the first time, Olson said. I had tried for hours and then I looked at it and it just looked so jagged. I knew in concept what I wanted to do, but it still looked like a very badly frosted cake. Hudson, of True Chesapeake, said he thinks some of that burden is on the oyster farmer. When he first moved to expand on St. Jerome Creek, his neighbors raised concerns about water access, so he agreed to give up one part of his lease. And when he proposed a new lease nearby, opposition prompted him to give up on that expansion for now. The six state-funded Amtrak trains travel daily from Roanoke, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News to Washington and beyond, then back. Passengers can travel as far north as Boston. Ridership on those lines was 839,466 last year, according to state figures. Virginia covers the costs within the state and to the District. Other Amtrak trains also travel through Virginia, including those originating in Miami and New Orleans, but those are not funded by Virginia. The governor declined to intervene. I want to stay the course at this time and continue with the process and protections we have for core sage grouse areas, he announced in a statement Friday. Gordon noted that he and his wife were among the first Wyoming ranchers to sign conservation agreements restricting the disturbance of grouse habitat. The herbal supplement kratom, made from the leaves of a Southeast Asian plant and used by some to manage the pain of opioid withdrawal, has been the source of a growing number of calls to poison control centers in the United States. The centers reported 1,807 calls in a seven-year span, rising from 13 in 2011 to 682 in 2017, according to research published in the journal Clinical Toxicology. Sixty-five percent of those calls were made in 2016 and 2017. Kratom is legal in most states but not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration because it is a supplement, not a drug. Besides being used to relieve pain or ease the effects of opioid withdrawal, it also is taken as a mood booster to help with anxiety or depression. It is usually taken as a pill or capsule, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, but some people chew kratom leaves or brew them into a tea. A member of the Secessionist Party came up to the 7-year-old and the 8-year-old, gave them a small Confederate flag and told them to hold it low and against their body so their mother couldnt see it, then took their pictures, the lawsuit said. The pictures were posted on the groups Facebook page later. Of climate changes many plagues drought, insects, fires, floods saltwater intrusion in particular sounds almost like a biblical curse. Rising seas, sinking earth and extreme weather are conspiring to cause salt from the ocean to contaminate aquifers and turn formerly fertile fields barren. A 2016 study in the journal Science predicted that 9 percent of the U.S. coastline is vulnerable to saltwater intrusion a percentage likely to grow as the world continues to warm. Scientists are just beginning to assess the potential effect on agriculture, Manda said, and its not yet clear how much can be mitigated. Toll in Mexico pipeline fire rises to 134: Mexican officials said the death toll from a Jan. 18 explosion at an illegally tapped gasoline pipeline has risen to 134. The government of Hidalgo state said 66 of the 81 people who were injured in the fire have died at hospitals. Sixty-eight others died at the scene, but only 16 bodies have been identified, officials said. Nine people remain hospitalized, at least three of whom are in serious condition. The explosion occurred in the town of Tlahuelilpan as residents collected gasoline leaking from the illegal tap. It was the right note for Francis to end on, especially since he has shown signs of temptation toward more exonerating narratives for the church before. In September, for example, Francis claimed in a homily that In these times, it seems like the Great Accuser has been unchained and is attacking bishops. . . . True, we are all sinners, we bishops . . . [Satan] tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people. In other words, Francis seemed to argue that the exposure of the wide-ranging and deeply corrupt nature of the sexual abuse crisis is the work of evil rather than the work of justice. Were all sinners, after all, and the revelation of any of our sins would likely cause upset and anger for those around us. This week, Newsham, in a letter to the editor, accused Nadeau of spreading misinformation about the police departments use of stop-and-frisk tactics. Nadeau said during a telephone interview that she rejects Newshams characterization. Her Feb. 15 opinion piece in The Post did call for the police to end stop-and-frisk tactics until the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (Near) Act, which the council unanimously passed in 2016, is fully implemented. The Near Act mandates an approach to violent crime that focuses on diversion, counseling and violence interruption. The act also requires data collection on stop-and-frisk tactics, which Nadeau said she will use to evaluate the practice. Nadeau was within her rights as a lawmaker to question the use of stop and frisk and to criticize Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the chief for, as she wrote, not complying with the Near Act and all of its requirements. As we launch this campaign for president, you deserve to know where I came from because family history, obviously, heavily influences the values that we develop as adults, Sanders told the thousands gathered on the snow-covered campus of Brooklyn College. Coming from a lower-middle-class family I will never forget about how money or really lack of money was always a point of stress in our family. The centrists do not necessarily argue that the ideologues are wrong but that purity comes at the price of progress. That lesson, said Matt Bennett, a spokesman for the moderate think tank Third Way, is now on display in the House which just this week held a blockbuster hearing featuring Trumps former personal lawyer and passed the first significant gun-control bill in a generation. The family wanted a more assertive public posture. Our view was that was not the best way to get him out. There was no real consensus, said a former Obama administration official who worked on Warmbiers case and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. It was something that was widely debated how public should we be, how in-your-face? There are informed views on both sides. I have to deal with Christians and Jews, I have to deal with Muslims and Buddhists, and we have to deal with people from all walks and backgrounds, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) explained Thursday. And therefore the cultural differences that exist in our caucus are a little bit different than the other side. So its going to be a little bit more difficult for us. North Korean state media has already proclaimed his summit meeting with President Trump in Vietnam a success, but in reality the North Korean leader embarks on the long journey home largely empty-handed. He is likely to spend part of the time pondering his next move, especially because he has set great store in a campaign to revive the countrys economy. In May, Saudi authorities began arresting activists who had campaigned to lift a female driving ban and accused them of undermining national security by colluding with unnamed foreign entities. Human rights groups dismissed the accusations as baseless and said the arrests which came just weeks before the driving ban was lifted were aimed at preventing Mohammed from being overshadowed in the public consciousness as a champion of womens rights. More than 2,700 children were separated from their families along the border last year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. About 430 of the parents were deported without their children, and at least 200 of them remain separated today. Some waited in the hope that U.S. courts would allow them to return to the United States. Others paid smugglers to get them back to the border. Then came Saturdays confrontation. People in Waterford are being reminded that applications are now open from men and women aged 17 to 27 years of age for this year's Miss & Mr Ireland competitions. The events will take place later this year, following on from last years hugely successful red-carpet event which was held in Dublins Helix Theatre. 23-year-old Aoife O Sullivan from Cork was crowned Miss Ireland 2018 while the Mr Ireland title went to Galway hurler, 27-year-old Wayne Walsh. Both later represented Ireland at the finals of Miss World and Mr World respectively. Brendan Marc Scully, Miss Ireland Boss and Creative Director, says: Every year we are more excited than the last as the event becomes bigger and bigger, This year is the 72nd year for Miss Ireland and following on from last years successful event adding in our Mr Ireland selection we have a huge production planned for 2019 in the Helix Theatre in Dublin." To register for one of the upcoming selections simply apply via the website www.miss-ireland.ie for both titles. Workers at Chemist Warehouse have voted to endorse strike action as part of a bid to win a huge pay rise and greater job security. If they decide at further meetings to go on strike, supplies of non-prescription goods at the company's extensive chain of shops could begin running short within days. The discount retailer has become famous for its ultra-cheap prices and its assault on the traditional pharmacy business model in Australia. Workers at Chemist Warehouse distribution centres are paid much less than at its competitors Credit:Kate Geraghty But its workers this week voted to back industrial action at three key warehouses on the east coast of Australia, over a claim for a 25 to 30 per cent pay rise and an increase in the proportion of the workforce that is permanent labour. The strikes could start as early as next week. Doctors charging patients thousands of dollars out-of-pocket have been put on notice, with the federal government promising to publish their fees for procedures to expose exorbitant billing. The Morrison government has pledged to build a searchable website that will list individual specialists' fees for specific services to help patients avoid bill shock and crackdown on doctors charging egregious out-of-pocket sums. Specialists will disclose their fees on the federal government's searchable website to crack down on price-gouging. Credit:Nic Walker The first specialists under the microscope will be gynaecologists, obstetricians and doctors working in cancer services - including urological surgeons and breast cancer specialists - following multiple reports of price-gouging within these professions. The Ministerial Advisory Committees report into out-of-pockets costs released on Saturday confirmed some specialists are charging patients massive and unexpected fees that were not covered by Medicare or private health insurance policies. At 18, Aretha Brown is certainly not an underachiever. Two years ago she became the youngest person, and only woman, to be elected prime minister of the National Indigenous Youth Parliament, her artwork has just been selected for the Top Arts exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, and she recently started a podcast showcasing the stories of marginalised Australians. Teenage activist Aretha Brown has been heralded as the voice of Indigenous youth. Credit:Justin McManus But Brown doesn't think her own story is too interesting. "I'm a young person," she says. "I haven't lived much of a life just yet." Loading Some, including a former church employee, have openly questioned whether the protocol Pell introduced in Melbourne for handling abuse cases was created in part to protect himself and other offenders from prosecution. The Melbourne Response Pells Melbourne Response protocol, developed by him for his archdiocese at the same time as the church devised a national response called Towards Healing, saw victims and their families treated appallingly, often by Pell himself, after reporting abuse. Between 1996 and mid-2018, close to 500 victims have taken the opportunity to report abuse by around 130 Catholic perpetrators through the Melbourne Response. The church says the process involves an investigation of complaints by an independent commissioner. If a complaint is found to be legitimate, a panel then assesses the amount of compensation the complainant is entitled to - payments are capped at $150,000. A care plan which may include psychologist's services is then established via the churchs CareLink arm. Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli, who was made a bishop Australias youngest by Pell in 2011, still considers him a friend and intends to visit him in jail. In a wide-ranging interview with The Age this week, Comensoli acknowledged it was up to him to rebuild the profound breach of trust caused by the abuse of children by Catholic clergy in his archdiocese, which had traumatised victims and their families and in some cases alienated entire church communities. The Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli. Credit:AAP Comensoli conceded the churchs attitude had at times been nearly protectionist in the way it fought abuse cases, by way of covering up and not believing, being defensive. News of the guilty verdict against Pell had prompted people to contact the church in recent days saying they too were victims of abuse, he said. Comensoli did not specify how many had come forward this week, and said he was not aware of any having made accusations against Pell. He was not aware of other historic accusations from Pells time in Melbourne, apart from those that had already been before the court: Theres nothing in his files, and our files stop with when he finished up here. (There was also an investigation into allegations against Pell in 2002 that he had abused a 12-year-old boy at a youth camp on Phillip Island in 1961. The church appointed retired Supreme Court judge Alec Southwell to investigate, who said that while the complainant gave the impression he was "speaking honestly from actual recollection", he was not satisfied that the complaint had been established.) Asked whether he would reconsider the Melbourne Response in light of Pells conviction and the establishment of a national redress scheme following the royal commission, Comensoli said there were elements of it, particularly CareLink, that he would like to retain. Loading But things have changed again in the last few months, when we came on to the national scheme, he said. The Melbourne Response is still going. But my sense is that Melbourne Response will die a kind of a natural death, in the sense that more people will take up the process of the national redress scheme. Comensoli said he had made a point of regularly meeting and speaking to victims of abuse since his appointment as archbishop in August. I think theres a place for a ministry in the life of the church where people can walk with victims Because victims often feel theyre at fault - 'Why did this happen to me? What did I do wrong, in terms of my relationship with God?' Its letting them know that they can come back into the life of the church in a safe way. And he has offered, publicly, for the first time, to meet with Pells accuser. I havent had the chance to say this anywhere, so Ill say it now: the man himself who brought forth his story, I dont know who he is. He didnt come via Melbourne Response, only through the courts. And as you know his name is appropriately suppressed. So I dont know him personally. But if he wants to talk, certainly I would be open and willing and happy to sit down with him or his family. Comensoli said it was up to him to minister to his entire archdiocese. What does an archbishop do? He cares for his people. I want to care for the man who has brought his story forward. I want to care for [everyone] one of my flock at the moment happens to be George Pell. He said he felt it was too soon, given any appeal had some way to go, to make a judgement on Pells legacy. Im not making any judgements about anything at the moment. Lets see where things go. Obviously you know that hes a friend of mine, and appropriately if youre a friend, you do the walk through the dark and the light. "It casts a shadow across the whole system": Helen Last, a former employee of the Catholic Church. Credit:Paul Jeffers Helen Last, the founder of advocacy group In Good Faith and a former employee of the Catholic Church, believes Pell's conviction casts doubt on the entire protocol. Asked about the fact that the Melbourne Response was started by a convicted paedophile, possibly with an interest in protecting himself, she says: It changes it immensely, because it casts a shadow across the whole system and its history. Last has fought for years, using government, police and media, to have the Melbourne Response recognised as a harmful system. I believe Pell set up the Melbourne Response partly to protect himself ... It was set up to be a steely legal process by a commission who had no background in victims needs or care. It was designed to deflect victims and diminish their experience and protect the priest. Judy Courtin, an advocate and lawyer for survivors of abuse, did her PhD on the Melbourne Response, which she describes as an abusive and traumatic process for victims. The 500-odd people who have been through the Melbourne Response have all signed deeds of release, which gave up legal rights in the future All of the deeds should be set aside. Because Pell has been convicted is that a stronger argument? Legally no, morally yes. Everything he did wasnt credible. For victims, its the final nail in the coffin, the greatest of all insults, the greatest of all betrayals. Paul Tatchell, now the mayor of Moorabool Shire, was raped as a boy by Brother Edward Dowlan at St Patricks College in Ballarat. He fought back and belted Dowlan, and continued to warn others about abusers. Tatchell says hes sick of the focus on Pell and would rather see more done to address the problem and protect children from predatory priests and brothers. In terms of George Pell, whats his legacy? Its the last thing you do. The rest is irrelevant. Is he relevant? Not to me. To me hes guilty and if he doesnt win the appeal, if thats the case, hes just another paedophile. George isnt the story here. Ive got three grandkids, and every time I see these kids I melt. I hope that theyre protected and I hope that the system protects them. And I hope someone protects other kids. Tatchell refers to himself as a bloody ratbag who is not afraid of anyone, but even he was intimidated by Pell. Hes the most intimidating person, and one of the most intelligent, Ive ever met, and hes calculating, he said. Power and influence George Pell was a formidable culture warrior and extremely astute political operator who was in the right place at the right time, say those who served with him supporters and critics. The Australian Catholic Church had been strongly influenced by the liberalising Second Vatican Council of the 1960s but the tide was turning back, especially with the election of Pope John Paul II. George Pell during mass at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, where he was archbishop for more than a decade. Credit:Wolter Peeters The new pope was eager to reverse what he saw as the ill effects of the council, and the young Pell was just emerging on the Vatican's radar. Appointed an assistant bishop in Melbourne in 1987, Pell was made a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith the Vaticans doctrinal watchdog in 1990, where he came to the attention of Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. Later he was appointed to the Congregation for Bishops, ensuring, in the words of retired Melbourne priest Eric Hodgens, the appointment of tested orthodox candidates for the episcopacy. In Australia, Hodgens says, no bishop in the past two and more decades has been appointed without Pells active promotion or passive permission: Pell became a recognised figure in Vatican corridors. Pell was ordained as a priest in Ballarat in 1966. He was sent to Oxford, returning, Hodgens says, as a conservative warrior and a protege of Bob Santamaria. In 1996 Frank Little was pushed out as archbishop of Melbourne and replaced by Pell, though Pell denied to the royal commission that Littles retirement was negotiated with him. As archbishop, Pell brought the arch-conservative Opus Dei to the city and remade Melbournes Catholic seminaries into more theologically conservative entities. Then archbishop of Melbourne George Pell officiates at the funeral of B.A. Santamaria at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1998. Credit:John Donegan Five years later he became Archbishop of Sydney, and got his red hat as cardinal in 2003. In 2014 he moved to Rome as prefect for the newly created Secretariat for the Economy, where his dogged determination and ability to break through opposition made him ideal for investigating Vatican financial misdealings. According to Hodgens, Pells influence was on the wane before last years trial. Conservatives like Pell still make a lot of noise in the church in Australia, but the opposing wing is larger and more pastoral. They believe that ideology is the antithesis of genuine faith. The present Pope abhors ideology of right or left. His model of priesthood is Shepherd-Pastor rather than Defender-Warrior. Tellingly, Pell was never elected by his fellow bishops to head the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, nominally the most senior post in Australia, though his close friend and supporter Denis Hart, his successor as Archbishop of Melbourne, was president for many years. Pell was a figurehead for conservatives on social issues, a man who fearlessly and forcefully stood against what he saw as moral relativism. One politician, who did not want to be named, said: Pell basically ran an authoritarian hard-line operation. From the 1960s to the 80s there was a flowering of many schools of thought, which he managed to shut down. People were forced to shut up or were driven out. He had a baleful effect on clergy. Heather Ryan tied ribbons to the gates of St Patrick's Catherdral in support of victims of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church after the Pell verdict was announced. Credit:Justin McManus That, he said, is part of Pells legacy: his is the hand behind the appointment of many bishops who share his authoritarian mindset. From that flows a caste of younger priests who are far less representative of people in the pews than clergy used to be, and who adhere to Pells view of Catholicism. Age has removed most of the progressive priests shaped by the Second Vatican Council, through death or retirement. Pells conviction on child sex abuse charges surely means his time as a culture warrior is over, this politician believes, though it is entirely possible that Appeal Court judges will take a different view from the Melbourne jury of what beyond reasonable doubt means. Either way, the cardinal's legacy remains strongly in place. The bishops of Australia may owe their appointments to Pell, but it will be up to them to determine how the church reconstructs its relationship with its flock. The "exorbitant salaries" were those paid to laymen on Pells staff who received much more than curial officials for comparable work. Their explanation for this that their salaries were comparable to what they could earn outside the church was met with the response: But were in the Vatican, not Australia. Even so, Pell won the sympathy of many members of the Vatican bureaucracy, conservatives and progressives. These people wanted reform of offices that had been founded in different eras with different procedures, and which enjoyed considerable financial autonomy. Italian communications expert Francesca Chaouqui at the Vatican in 2016. Credit:AP Innovation and a turf war The Vatican control tower was the Secretariat of State. It co-ordinated all the other offices, ran the diplomatic corps and had daily access to the Pope. The creation of a separate Secretariat for the Economy, which seemed to have the same status and access to the Pope, was a startling innovation. It led quickly to a turf war. The Secretary of State, Cardinal Paolo Parolin is no crusty old reactionary. He has a reputation as the brightest and the best of Vatican diplomats. But in 2015, diplomacy was notably absent when Pell brought in an international accountancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to check all Vatican finances. Four months later, the Secretariat of State ordered Vatican departments not to collaborate with it. Its view carried the day. Then, when Pell announced in the London Catholic Herald that he had discovered millions of undeclared euros stashed away in the Secretariat of State, the secretariat responded that every pope upon his election was informed of the existence of these emergency funds. Roman curialists wont accept that a group of Australian police, who get exorbitant salaries, come into their homes and call them thieves. Francesca Chaouqui, a one-time member of the Vatican reform commission The Secretariat of State suspected that Pell was grandstanding. Pell was probably showing that he could play hard ball just as well as his enemies, whom he suspected had a hand in the anti-Pell articles also being placed in the Italian press. Loading Some of these stories were harmless enough (though wrong), such as mention of his rugby talent when he was actually an Australian rules ruckman. Other details were more hostile: he was called an "ambitious mastiff" and a "spendthrift moralist" for allegedly spending 500,000 ($800,000) in his first six months in office. His secretariat responded that the figure was 290,000 euro which went not only on his Vatican apartment but for establishing a secretariat office with a chapel. Pooling resources for the poor Pell also met resistance from some Vatican ministries and the Governorate of the Vatican city-state. He clashed dramatically with the head of the Vaticans central Bank (Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See). APSA controls Vatican stocks and its properties. Its head, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, is nicknamed Rambo because of his firearms collection. Pell was in the habit of emailing orders to Calcagno. This was considered a serious breach of protocol, as cardinals communicate verbally or by letter. But this was not just a procedural battle. Under his original provisional brief, Pell presumed he controlled all Vatican property. Calcagno had a different view. He was called an 'ambitious mastiff' and a 'spendthrift moralist' for allegedly spending 500,000 in his first six months in office. Ultimately, Francis revised the provisional statutes of Pells office, confining him to "vigilance" and the budget. He could not be buying and selling property, Francis ruled. Pell was also disappointed over his key project. He wanted to pool all the Vatican's assets and invest them shrewdly, perhaps in a Luxembourg fund. The profits he wanted to use for the poor. The project never got off the ground. It was too capitalistic for Francis and he, with others, was wary of putting all the Vatican's financial eggs in one basket. Loading Here people resent us even when our projects will obviously benefit the church one of Pells staff told me. We might as well clear out. This staff member did so shortly afterwards. But Pell stayed on. He introduced slightly more transparency to Vatican finances and modern, centralised accounting methods. He also ensured that Vatican finances were sufficient to pay the future pensions of its nearly 3000 employees. Holding a hard line Pell also maintained his hard line on doctrinal issues. It did not always help him. At the 2015 international Synod of Bishops on Family Issues, he was one of 13 cardinals who wrote to the Pope arguing against the proposed permission for divorced Catholics to remarry in certain circumstances. Jesus was tough about marriage, is a Pell line, and so am I. The cardinals' letter to Francis was leaked. He was angry because, he claimed, it implied a conspiracy in the Synod. Cardinal Reinhard Marx said the Synods German-language group was dismayed by Cardinal Pells divisive approach. Marx is the head of the lay-clerical council that sets guidelines for Pell's organisation, the Secretariat of the Economy. To have drawn criticism from both the Pope and Marx was no mean feat. Also damaging was Pell's evidence to the Australian royal commission into sex abuse, in which he testified from a Roman hotel because he said he was not fit enough to fly home. Australian protesters holding placards such as "Pell go to Hell" got a good run on Italian television. Is the Vatican embarrassed? I asked one curialist. Pell arrives at the Quirinale hotel in Rome to testify via videolink to the sex abuse royal commission sitting in Sydney in 2016. Credit:AP EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. No one could accuse John Howard, Tony Abbott and George Pells defenders in the Murdoch press of courting popularity. Theyre brave in the craziest sense. Abbott called Pell after his conviction became public on Tuesday. The cardinal remains his friend. Calling a convicted paedophile a friend might haunt Abbott come campaign season when hell be clinging to his seat. Especially when that convicted paedophile had in Australia presided, controversially and incuriously, over a mighty institution once so infested with paedophiles it was a quasi paedophile ring. The pro-Pell camp attack the judiciary only when it delivers results they dont like. Illustration: Matt Davidson. Credit: Howard provided a character reference for Pell, as is his right. He wrote that none of these matters Pells conviction and lodging of an appeal alter my opinion of the cardinal. An odd line; redundant, if nothing else. Islamabad: Pakistan's army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, has spoken with top military officials from Australia, Britain and the United States, a military spokesman said, amid a volatile stand-off with neighbour India in Kashmir. The Pakistani spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said in a tweet that Bajwa had discussed the stand-off and "its impact on peace & stability in the region" in a call with US CENTCOM Commander General Joseph Votel as well as with top British and Australian military figures on Friday. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, left, walks to cross the border into India, in Wagah, Pakistan, on Friday. Credit:PTV/AP Bajwa told them Pakistan would "surely respond to any aggression in self-defence", according to the Twitter post. From that day: The patient who changed everything Onstage in front of her fellow regional health care innovators, Shankaran remembered the patient who changed the course of her career. He always dressed up in a tie to come to his appointments at the Chicago clinic where Shankaran worked, she remembered. And his cancer was growing, despite his chemotherapy pills. He was only taking half the prescribed dose of his medication. His doctors were trying to figure out how they could help him. Was he having memory problems? Did he need a pill box, an alarm reminder? Did he have appropriate support from a caregiver? Then one day, the man confessed to Shankaran the root of the problem. It wasnt his memory or the lack of a system to keep track of his pills. He was spacing out his pills because each prescription cost nearly as much as his Social Security check each month, she remembered. That was, somehow, a possibility that had never occurred to her or the rest of his medical team. And from that day, I knew I wanted to learn more about how and why drugs cost so much. How many other patients are facing the same troubles. How the costs of our medicines affect peoples lives, their childrens, their family members as well, she said. Shankarans impact, leadership and hope for the future Shankaran and her fellow honorees in 11 categories were chosen by a panel of current and former Washington state health care executives, based on their work to improve health care in the state. Several of her studies have been critical in illustrating the severity of financial toxicity in cancer care. Notably, Shankaran has demonstrated that nearly four out of 10 people in the Puget Sound region with early-stage colon cancers experienced serious financial hardship as a result of their disease. Through a national research network, she is now leading the largest-ever study of its kind to measure how cancer care affects patients financially. Our work is leading us, hopefully, to design interventions to help mitigate financial risk in cancer patients, she said. Shankarans leadership extends throughout and beyond the oncology community. For example, she recently partnered with a Seattle-based nonprofit to develop a financial counseling program for newly diagnosed cancer patients. In accepting her award, Shankaran said that she is in a constant state of awe of the major discoveries in oncology her colleagues have made. But then it strikes me that there is something about the research that Im doing on financial burden and cost of care that resonates with this community and our larger society, she continued. Maybe we are reaching the point where the financial concerns of our patients actually matter maybe just as much as the effectiveness of the drugs that my colleagues are developing. And that is really thrilling to me and really gives me hope for the future, she said. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban refutes the accusation of antisemitism. He will continue his controversial campaign against the EU Commission - and announces the next step in it's escalation: He will put up billboards against more politicians. Anzeige WELT AM SONNTAG: Prime Minister, we Germans are immensely indebted to Hungary for its opening of the iron curtain in 1989. But today the path your country is following scares many Germans. How could it happen that we have become so estranged? Viktor Orban: The gratitude for 1989 is reciprocal. The reunification of Germany was in a geopolitical sense the premise for Hungarys freedom. This is why, in 1990, Hungarians supported German reunification more than even the Germans themselves. And this is why there is veneration for German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Hungary to this day. Hungarians have a fine sense for geopolitical realities. Anzeige WELT AM SONNTAG: Germans misunderstand Hungary? Orban: The current alienation is due only to politics. In all other areas of life Hungarian-German relations are excellent. Economic cooperation, culture, tourism. And there is great sympathy for each other. WELT AM SONNTAG: If politicians are to be blamed, does that also mean you? Anzeige Orban: Part of the blame for the tense mood in our relations indeed lies with me. WELT AM SONNTAG: Did you ever break agreements that you had with the German government? Or was it the other way round? Anzeige Orban: We Hungarians feel that we made an agreement with Germany in 1989. It included that the Federal Republic supported Hungarian membership in EU and Nato. It also included that Hungary gladly welcomes German investments and technology but will never be a parasite in the EU. Unlike other Europeans we never did and never will ask for German money without giving something in return. We have always paid our debts on time. We have always supported the European vision of Chancellor Kohl, that the difference in size between individual countries should never mean a difference in rank. All German governments have kept themselves to that, until the problem of migration appeared. The fracture was caused only by the migration crisis. We insist on the right of nations to defend themselves. Germans have another philosophy. WELT AM SONNTAG: Almost four years have passed since the peak of the migration crisis in 2015. Orban: Everything that we experienced in 2015 will happen again, and it will be bigger. Soon the Arab countries will surpass the European countries in population. And I havent mentioned Africa yet, where soon there will be more people than can be fed. In that respect Hungary is a frontier country. We live our lives in complete readyness. We have many thousands of soldiers and policemen at our southern border. Today it depends only on decisions of the Turkish government whether the many millions of refugees that are there will set out for Europe. But we are determined: If they set out we will defend Hungarys borders! Germany is not a frontier country, it lies at a more protected spot in Europe and so it feels more secure. Because of this, and because of our differing historical experiences different ways of thinking result. Anzeige WELT AM SONNTAG: On our way to this interview we passed many billboards that show EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and claim he wants to encourage migration. Juncker belongs to the EPP, your party belongs to the EPP and is just starting the European electoral campaign. You put up billboards against the EPP, but at the same time ask people to vote for it. Is that not contradictory? Orban: I dont see a contradiction. The problem of the EPP is that it has become too big. The EVP members from the Nordic countries are much closer to Macron than to the Germans. We Hungarians feel we are something like the CSU of the EPP. Unfortunately, here too, the subject of migration has sharpened the differences. WELT AM SONNTAG: Does that justify presenting the President of the EU commission as an enemy of the Hungarian people? Orban: The reputation of Mr. Juncker is completely different in the West than in the East. In Western Europe the EPP campaigns with the selling point that her new Spitzenkandidat Manfred Weber will continue the work of Mr. Juncker. That would be political suicide in Central Europe, because here Mr Juncker doesnt enjoy much respect anymore. If the EPP wants to win in Central Europe, it must say: Mr. Juncker is the past. Mr. Weber is the future. WELT AM SONNTAG: Already last November Juncker demanded that Fidesz be expulsed from EPP. Are the billboards a payback for that? Orban: I dont like the politics of vengeance. Vengeance is always backwards-looking, and pulls one back with it. Juncker is a kind man. So kind that one forgives him even the silliest gestures. Although I am a streetfighter, there is no personal antipathy between us. I dont like his views, especially his proximity to socialist economic policies and his support for migration. I do perceive his attempt to have us thrown out of the EPP as a personal disloyalty. No-one can expect from us to not react to disloyalty, even if it is the disloyalty of such a kind man. Such are the rules of politics. Anzeige WELT AM SONNTAG: The poster that shows Juncker next to US investor Geore Soros reminds me of pictures that I know from history books. The presentation and context carry antisemitic features. Orban: You say that because you are German. Every nation carries its history around with it like a rucksack, but whats in the rucksack differs from nation to nation. These pictures dont remind anyone of antisemitism in Hungary. And we dont view our Jewish compatriots primarily as Jews but as Hungarians. A campaign focused in on specific persons is not unusual in the Anglosaxon world, and here neither. It seems to me this is a German problem. WELT AM SONNTAG: But the campaign against Soros has long become international. We in Germany also experience it. Our newspaper DIE WELT and individual reporters get personally accused of being directed by Soros. In Germany these accusations come from the radical right, who partly justify those allegations with your campaign. Orban: The international aspect doesnt interest me all that much. Hungarian Jews enjoy the protection of the government. Also we conduct a consistently pro-Israeli foreign policy. Because we are convinced that the existence of a Jewish state is not only important for European Jews, but that the security of Israel is a key question for the stability of Europe. Anzeige In the past there was an antisemitism of the christian right, also in Hungary. But we have done away with that. Today antisemitism has assumed a new character: The enmity against Jews and against Israel is carried into our societies by migration. Thats why antisemitism increases in Western Europe, while it continues to decrease in Central Europe. Until now Europe has no concept against this. But we urgently need one! WELT AM SONNTAG: Your campaign against Soros doesnt fit here. Orban: Its not my doing that the Hungarian citizen Soros is of Jewish origin! That lies with God. But it happens to be that in Hungary Soros incarnates the ugly face of globalism. On the one side stands Hungary, represented by its elected political representatives. On the other side the international NGOs financed by Soros and elected by no-one, who want us to follow a different migration policy. This is, from our side, not a campaign but normal behaviour. WELT AM SONNTAG: On your poster for the European elections we see Soros, a man who lives in the USA, and Juncker, a man who in a few months will be a political pensioner. Thats not a normal electoral campaign, it is a campaign to generate a certain mood in the Hungarian public. Orban: Politics is not a beauty contest and we make clear whats at stake. There are elections where democracy is at stake. There are elections where the economy is at stake. At these elections migration policy is at stake. And both of them represent the policy that is friendly towards migration. WELT AM SONNTAG: But Soros and Juncker arent even candidates... Orban: yet we must inform for what they stand. In the next phase our party campaign will begin and then you will find someone else on the posters: Mr. Timmermanns. We will send Mr. Juncker into retirement and Mr. Timmermanns will replace him on our posters. WELT AM SONNTAG: The Dutch social democrat EU commissioner responsible for the rule of law. Will you akso show him next to Soros? Orban: The role of Soros in european politics cannot be disregarded, and everyone hast he right to know that Timmermanns professedly is his ally. WELT AM SONNTAG: You say: Christian democracy is not liberal, christian democracy is illiberal. What do you mean by that? Orban: When I started in politics 30 years ago, there where still christian democrats, social democrats and liberals. Since then, liberals have fought and won a battle for words. First the left accepted that democracy must always be a liberal one. Whenever liberal parties happen to not win an election, they immediately proclaim the end of democracy. That forces christian democracy and social democracy to give up their arms. Then social democracy dies, we are currently are witnessing its last gasps in Europe. If christian democracy doesnt defend itself against the adoption of liberal terms and concepts, it will also perish. WELT AM SONNTAG: CDU chair woman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer calls your accusations against Juncker incomprehensible and untenable. You would weaken and harm the EPP. Orban: How our campaign works in Germany, Mrs. Kramp-Karrenbauer maybe knows better than me. But here in Central Europe two problems can not be swept under the carpet: Brexit and migration, that are both connected to the name of Juncker. Webers name should on the contrary stand for changes that Europe urgently needs. WELT AM SONNTAG: Did Weber tell you that he does strive for such changes in European migration policy that you deem right? Orban: We have spoken about this a lot. Our candidate is a great person. And I believe it would be good for Europe to have a Bavarian at the helm. Webers candidacy is one of he most courageous political undertakings that I have ever seen. Until now only such politicians have led the EU commission that earlier were president, prime minister of minister in their own country. Weber would be the first where that is not the case. But in Europe its not enough to win an election. WELT AM SONNTAG: What are you hinting at? Orban: After the election the haggling and dealmaking starts. There will be other candidates for the job of leading the commission. There will be attempts to push Weber aside. I have made clear that we will support Weber until the end. But he will face a difficult time. WELT AM SONNTAG: Your view of Weber surprises. After all he did vote for a rule of law procedure against Hungary. You have said that he got hoodwinked into doing that. Do you doubt his intellectual capabilities? Orban: No, because Berlin is a bigger city than Munich. WELT AM SONNTAG: I didnt understand that. Weber voted for a report that states that in Hungary the freedom of religion, press freedom and the freedom of assembly are in a bad shape. On that basis the EU has started a procedure. And you say, he is your man? Orban: Weber has said that this procedure is a good chance for a constructive dialogue with Hungary. Thats why he voted for it. WELT AM SONNTAG: Many people, also Investors, say they worry about the independence of Hungarys justice system. With such a strong majority as you enjoy, doesnt one need effective checks and balances? Orban: We are talking about the modification of a law in order to introduce administrative courts, and the rules have been taken word by word from the corresponding law in Austria. Therefore I believe the Hungarian justice system conforms to European standards. WELT AM SONNTAG: Your closest ally in Germany has always been the CSU. But now its new chairman Markus Soder has commented on your campaign even more harshly than CDU-chief Kramp-Kar-enbauer. Have you now lost even the CSU to liberalism? Orban: No, we like to listen to the views of our Bavarian friends, but we need to decide according to our own interests. Our historical friendship remains unimpaired. WELT AM SONNTAG: EPP members from other countries want to expulse Fidesz from the EPP. The votes oft he German CDU/CSU delegates would probably be decisive. Just now your chief of staff Gergely Gulyas secretly met the CDU chairwoman in Berlin. Did Mrs. Kramp-Karrenbauer tell him wether she wants to expel you or not? Orban: Between the CDU and Fidesz we have a structured dialogue where leading representatives of both sides meet on a regular basis to clarify on which questions we are in agreement, and where we differ. At this visit the decision was taken to continue this dialogue. I look forward to soon be meeting Mrs. Kramp-Karrenbauer in person - we will meet in March in Brussels. WELT AM SONNTAG: Will you get along better with Mrs. Kramp-Karrenbauer than with Mrs. Merkel? Orban: For the moment the what dominates in me is a feeling of loss regarding the departure of Mrs. Merkel. Obviously we didnt agree in every area, especially when it came to the subject of migration. But this chancellor decisively contributed to keeping Europe united. That is a great task, and it will not get smaller in the future. WELT AM SONNTAG: Do you even want to stay in the EPP? Some in Berlin believe that you are provoking your own expulsion, in order to then thankfully adopt the role of victim. Orban: It was Helmut Kohl who invited us into the EPP. We regarded our membership then as a great honor, and still regard it as a great honor. Our goal was and is to strengthen the party. Here in Central Europe we are experts on power techniques of the Left. The Left doesnt attack Hungary for its own sake, but to weaken the EPP. If we are gone they will attack the Italians, and then the Austrians. There will always be someone whom they attack, it is the essence of their power technique. Thats what is called salami tactics and its aim is to weaken the EPP on the European level, so that the Socialists, the Left can take over the leadership of Europe. So this is not a struggle about ideas, it is about power. One would need to understand that. Not everyone understands this, but in the political scientific literature they are characterized, following Lenin, as useful idiots. While they believe they are fighting an intellectual battle, they serve the power interests of others, of our opponents. WELT AM SONNTAG: Critical Christian Democrats are useful idiots? Orban: Those who prefer a division of the EPP to its unity yes. I have no sympathy for our scandinavian EPP members, but I would never propose to expel them. I know that this would only be grist to the mill of the Left, and that by doing so I would be preparing the ground for a takeover of power by the Left in Europe. It may be that Mr. Juncker proposes to expel us, but I would never propose the expulsion of the Luxemburgians. I said it clearly at the summit in Helsinki: Criticism is important, diversity is important, but unity is the most important. Politics is not a debate club, it is also a struggle for power, and if we dont want the Left to lead Europe, then we need to defend the position of the EVP. We stand a good chance to succeed. But right now we ourselves damage our chances. WELT AM SONNTAG: If Fidesz gets expelled from the EPP will you enter into any kind of alliance or cooperation with the Italian Lega? Orban: I dont like people who wear suspenders and a belt at the same time. One needs to have one strategy. We are in the EPP and we remain there. There is no plan B. WELT AM SONNTAG: But you dont exclude that Fidesz will look for new partners in the case of an exclusion from the EPP? Orban: Such an exclusion is not a rational alternative. Therefore today this lies beyond the limit of our imagination. WELT AM SONNTAG: To conclude I would like to ask wether there are unbridgeable differences in the German and Hungarian views about the future of Europe. Orban: What we have in common is more than what divides us. I believe the Germans understand exactly that if we create a socialist Europe, this will also ruin Germany. If we eliminate the idea of competition from the economic thinking in Europe, or limit the room for competition, then we harm everybody, but also Germany. The Vision that is the opposite of the Vision of the EPP means a socialist Europe with enormous state budgets, high budget deficits, growing public debt and the distrubution of money without demanding performance. Neither the Germans nor the Hungarians want this. That is a strong agreement of interests. We also are in agreement that we want to saveguard the democratic character of Europe, which means that every people must decide for itself in which direction their countries and thus also Europe should progress. The differences are about the subject of migration. These differences are not unbridgeable, but they can be managed. WELT AM SONNTAG: What do you mean? Orban: We need a method how we can live together despite differing viewpoints. The questions that arise from migration should therefore be taken away from the commission and handed to a dedicated, seperate council of the interior ministers concerned. A seperate body needs to be created for this, where only the interior ministers of the Schengen zone would sit. Just like there is a separate council of the finance ministers of the Euro zone. The interiour ministers of the Schengen zone would need to turn this into a very strong council, where questions that concern the whole Schengen zone would be decided in the manner of experts and not of politicians. The retail center, owned by Regency Centers, includes a long-vacant Mimi's Restaurant building and a grocery store Whole Foods left empty when that chain moved to a much larger location at 2ND & PCH. STAMFORD Six of the states 10 largest cities, and hundreds of others across the country, have sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. So has Connecticuts attorney general and more than 30 of his counterparts. The companys hometown stands apart. While Purdue grapples with more than 1,000 lawsuits tied to allegations that it fueled the national opioid crisis through deceptive marketing of its pain drugs, Stamford Mayor David Martin has so far kept his city on the legal sidelines. He said the strategy neither reflects an indifference to the accusations nor a fear of standing up to the firm. But the lack of action has fomented suspicions that his administration is unable or unwilling to take a leading role in tackling the countrys largest public health crisis. There are numerous lawsuits that will ensure the public-policy issues are addressed, Martin said in an interview this week. I dont think us joining of any of those lawsuits now is going to change the outcome. I want to make a difference not just put our name on a lawsuit. Purdue declined to comment on the citys legal position. It has denied the lawsuits allegations. Watching, but not litigating Democrat Martin was elected to his first term in November 2013. Compared with today, few states and cities had active lawsuits against Purdue. The number of complaints would rocket in the next five years. An explosion in opioid fatalities prompted local and state governments to turn to the courts to find redress for the human and financial toll of the crisis. In 2018, 1,017 people died of drug overdoses in Connecticut, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. About 75 percent of those deaths involved the synthetic opioid fentanyl, while heroin contributed to about 40 percent of the fatalities. Users of heroin and illicit types of fentanyl often first become addicted to prescribed pain drugs before moving on to cheaper and more accessible street alternatives. Statistics on the OCMEs website do not show which, if any, prescription-opioid brands, such as OxyContin, that are involved in fatal overdoses. Waterbury led the Connecticut-based legal challenges against Purdue, filing a lawsuit in August 2017. New Haven and New Britain followed in November 2017. In January 2018, a group of 18 towns and cities including Bridgeport, Fairfield and Bristol submitted a complaint. Norwalk and Danbury, joined by Ansonia and Derby, followed five months later. In total, about three-dozen cities and towns in the state have taken legal action against the company. A number of those complaints have also named as defendants other major opioid makers such as Endo, Janssen and Teva. Opioid addiction has had a profound impact on our community in terms of medical-care costs, hospital costs and, of course, the tragedies that you see, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said in a recent interview. We want to be reimbursed, and we want dollars there for education and dollars for enforcement of people who are abusing the system. As a state, Connecticut sued last December one of the final acts of then-Attorney General George Jepsens administration. The case continues under successor William Tong. Connecticut and Massachusetts comprise the first two states to not only sue Purdue as a company, but also its owners, who are members of the Sackler family. More than 30 other states attorneys general have also filed complaints. Martin said that he is deeply troubled by the allegations against Purdue outlined in the Connecticut and Massachusetts cases. But he does not want his city to enter the legal fray at least not yet. If nobody was taking up a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, given what has been discovered, I would take a far more aggressive approach, Martin said. But lots of people are taking up lawsuits. It might make a difference for us (to sue) later. But right now, Ill rely on the attorney general of Connecticut to lead the states effort. Fourteen people died from overdoses of drugs taken in Stamford in 2018, according to the Chief Medical Examiner. All but two of those deaths involved opioids. Pushback So far, Martin has not faced much public pushback from other local political leaders for not suing. Messages left this week for Democrat Matthew Quinones, deputy mayor and president of the citys Board of Representatives; Democrat Rodney Pratt, the BORs majority leader; and Republican Mary Fedeli, the BORs minority leader, were not returned. Similarly, Martins opponents in the 2017 municipal election, in which he won a second term, did not publicly challenge him about the lack of litigation. But others, outside the local government, argue that Martin is kowtowing to Purdue. The company is headquartered in the downtown, at 201 Tresser Blvd. its home since 2000, following a relocation from Norwalk. Purdue employs about 250 in Stamford, according to the most recent count provided by the company. It laid off several hundred last year, as it disbanded its controversial sale force. The mayors position assumes that Stamford will receive compensation whether or not it sues; that is by no means certain, said Paul Hanly, co-lead counsel for local governments that are plaintiffs in a consolidated group of about 1,500 lawsuits against Purdue and several other pharmaceutical companies in federal court in Cleveland. It appears the mayor is trying to appease Purdue, which is not in the best interests of the Stamford residents. Meanwhile, Martins decision to not sue has angered activists such as Fernando Luis Alvarez. The Stamford art gallery owner was arrested last June for his role in a protest involving the installation of an 800-pound spoon outside Purdues headquarters. How can Stamford compete for innovation, jobs, grants ... when we fail to lead in these fundamental events rooted in our city? Alvarez asked. What message does this send to the country? That were beholden to a few billionaires, instead of leading the country. The Connecticut Democratic Party recently disavowed tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in recent years from Sackler family members, whose combined net worth has been estimated at $13 billion. No Sacklers gave to Martins 2017 re-election campaign, according to records on file in the Stamford city and town clerks office. I can understand how people would speculate that were not taking action because Purdue Pharma is located in our city, Martin said. Im mindful theyre here, and it makes me more deliberate about our decisions. But theyre not going to get a free pass because theyre headquartered here. Time to reconsider The clock has not run out on a potential Stamford lawsuit. Pending litigation against Purdue could drag on for many more months, even years before a major settlement is hammered out, if such an agreement is ever reached. In January, a state Superior Court judge dismissed a group of lawsuits that included Bridgeport, New Britain, New Haven and Waterbury. The plaintiffs had not shown the defendants culpability, said Judge Thomas Moukwasher. A credible suggestion on measuring causation might have given this court some pause, Moukawsher wrote in his decision. But during the long hours, spread over two days spaced amply apart, during which this motion was argued in court, it became apparent that the plaintiffs filed these lawsuits without first thinking of a way to sort out the causation conundrum. Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury subsequently filed challenges to Moukawshers decision in the states Appellate Court. His ruling did not cover the Danbury-Norwalk complaint, which is also on his docket. The Stamford mayor is undoubtedly aware that these lawsuits were dismissed and are now being appealed, said Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut. Even with the appeals, the dismissal places those lawsuits in question because at least one judge thinks theyre not meritorious. Martin cited the dismissal as an example of the challenges that could await a Stamford lawsuit. But he has not ruled out filing a complaint. Absolutely, we are reserving that right for the future, Martin said. But we would want to make certain that we were going to pursue a legal strategy that would give us the maximum benefit for the least cost. That explanation does not sit well with Alvarez. Following his protest last year, he is leading a Spoon Movement to raise awareness about the opioid crisis. Not ruling it out, to me, is just as bad as inaction, Alvarez said. This is not a time to be so non-committal. Peoples lives are at stake. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott Contributed Photo / Waterford Fire Department / Contributed Photo WATERFORD Although some mayday alerts end up being false alarms, a mayday button activation on a firefighter battling a blaze Thursday afternoon ended up being the real deal. At 11:55 p.m., the Waterford firefighters union said there was a working fire on Vivian Street in a 2.5-story house. The first line had been stretched immediately by the first arriving units on scene. BRIDGEPORT A Hamden teenager is accused of making false sex assault allegations to police department all over the state. Tatyana Gable, 18, of Whitney Avenue, was arrested by Trumbull police and charged Friday with making a false statement, interfering with police and second-degree making a false statement. The allegations are unsettling, said Senior Assistant States Attorney Tatiana Messina during Gables arraignment hearing Friday afternoon. Messina said Gable is accused of making false sex assault allegations in New Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Southington, Middletown and Meriden. This alleged conduct is serious, to say the least, Superior Court Judge Eugene Calistro agreed, ordering Gable held in lieu of $7,500 bond. Police said that in August they were called to the Trumbull Mall for a complaint of a sexual assault. When officers got there, police said, they were met by Gable, who told them that her 18-year-old friend had been sexually assaulted in a car in the mall parking lot. Gable said she and her friend, who police said they expect to arrest, told officers they had contacted a man on the Meet Me app who had agreed to meet them in the mall parking lot. He had then sexually assaulted the girl, police said Gable told them. Police said when they later contacted the man accused of the assault he denied sexually assaulting the teen. Police said they took the two teens to St. Vincents Medical Center where the alleged victim was examined for a sexual assault. Later, while the alleged victim was alone with officers, police said, she admitted that she had not been sexually assaulted. She claimed Gable had convinced her to make the false claim. Police said they were later contacted by Meriden police, who said they were investigating Gable for allegedly making three false sex assault claims to that department. Later, police said, they contacted Gables mother, who told them her daughter has been making up allegations of abuse ever since she was in foster care. She tried to get people in trouble, police said the mother told them. GREENWICH Two days before a large crowd gathered at YWCA Greenwich to hear experts speak about preventing teen dating violence, a painful reminder of the importance of the issue shook the state. A young womans boyfriend became angry at something she said while they were driving together in Bridgeport early Tuesday, she told police. Reinaldo Ayala, 18, then allegedly beat the woman, ripped her clothes off, choked her, sexually assaulted her and set her hair on fire, police said. He then ordered the woman out of the car and beat her with a stick, police said. What a horrific tragedy, said Meredith Gold, director of domestic abuse services at YWCA Greenwich. It sticks to the pattern that we know about, with the escalation of violence when an abuser exerts their power over another person. It can often get to that point. Anytime someone tries to control or overpower another whether it be physically or emotionally they are perpetrating a form of abuse, Gold said. Its important to reach out for help and safety planning for anyone in that situation, she added. The panel made up of Gold, journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis and Title IX Coordinator for the University of Connecticut Elizabeth Conklin explained the changing landscape on campuses for victims, prevention and education efforts at the event Thursday evening. Grigoriadis, author of Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power, and Consent on Campus, said the 2014 story about a Columbia student carrying the mattress she was allegedly assaulted on around campus as performance art inspired her to investigate students changing views on victim rights. What we saw in fall 2014 was so striking, in terms of the number of students coming to rallies and the way they were articulating some of the harms they experienced, she said. The author suggests measures in her book to make campuses more equitable and safer from the dangers the culture of sexual violence. Making Greek organizations coed has proven to disrupt old patterns of violence, Grigoriadis said. And lowering the drinking age and allowing drinking on campuses could take away the power dynamic of younger students going off-campus to drink with older students, she added. Changing the strategy of teaching self-defense to include more information about how to spot the early signs and characteristics of an abuser or assailant would also be beneficial, said Grigoriadis. The physical moves taught in self-defense classes are designed to combat attacks from strangers, she said, which are statistically more rare than assaults by someone known to the victim. A focus on yelling no or physical cues like pushing away unwanted contact are tactics more likely to be useful, she said. Both Grigoriadis and Conklin said the most common pattern they see in campus sexual assaults involve a female student meeting up with a friend of a friend they dont know well along with alcohol consumption. In her work, Gold said she has seen many victims who are assaulted by people with whom theyve previously had consensual sexual experiences. Having open conversations with young people about consent and sex will better prepare them for the situations they may face in college, Conklin said. Theses conversations need to start a lot sooner than when students come college or university, she said. We have had students come up to us after orientation say, This was the first time Ive been in an honest conversation about sex that wasnt an abstinence-only conversation. Parents can start talking with their kids as early as kindergarten-age about consent and respect, Conklin said. As children get older, those conversations can become about sexual consent. Prevention education, said Gold, includes empowering young women and girls and teaching them self-esteem and to support each other. The K-12 education around consent and healthy relationships offered by the YWCA offers aims to change our cultures values around sexual violence, she added. Gold said she has encountered some boys who werent aware that their actions constituted sexual assault. One of the (high school) boys in a group talked about a recent experience with his girlfriend, said Gold. They had been intimate several times in the past, and they were fooling around one day and his girlfriend didnt feel like being fully intimate that day. The boy said in that moment, with no hesitation, So were fooling around and (he penetrated her anyway). Gold said she and the other adult running the group talk with teens about how sex can be confusing looked at each other in disbelief. He was admitting he sexually assaulted his girlfriend, said Gold. He had no intention raping or assaulting her and was very upset to learn he had done something that was actually a crime. Listening and believing those who come forward is the most important step to take to empower survivors, Gold said, as well as taking care to not minimize their experiences. Every survivors experience is different, she said. Dont see it as your job to tell them what they should do. Help them understand what they could do. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or has been sexually assaulted, call the statewide crisis hotline at 888-774-2900. In Greenwich, the YWCA hotline is 203-622-0003. BRIDGEPORT Thirteen years in prison doesnt seem to have taught Durante Best any remorse for killing a young woman and seriously wounding two others. So on Friday, a judge sentenced the city man to 40 more. I wasnt trying to shoot them in the heart, I was trying to shoot them in the arm, it was a tiny gun and I didnt think it would cause the damage it did, Best told Superior Court Judge Earl Richards, as one of his victims sobbed in the back of the courtroom. I didnt expect to wake up that morning and shoot three females because I was mad. Richards retorted that the tragic nature of this case is only overshadowed by its senseless nature, there was no reasonable or justifiable reason for Mr. Bests actions. For the conviction of murder, attempted murder and first-degree assault, the judge sentenced Best to 40 years, to run consecutive to the 40 he is currently serving for the same case. In January, a jury deliberated four hours before convicting Best of fatally shooting 19-year-old Rogerlina Jones and wounding 21-year-old Octavia Anderson for the second time. In 2007, a 12-person jury convicted Best of the same charges for shooting Jones, Octavia Anderson and Andersons mother, Erica Anderson. He was sentenced at that time to 80 years in prison. However, the state Appellate Court overturned the convictions regarding the shooting of Jones and Octavia Anderson and ordered a new trial contending that, based on the evidence at trial, the judge should have instructed the jury they could consider whether Best acted in self-defense. This time the defendant received a trial where the jury was instructed on the theory of self-defense which this jury ultimately rejected, Senior Assistant States Attorney Joseph Corradino to the judge on Friday. The court would be justified in imposing a lengthy sentence to protect the public from people like Mr. Best. On May 4, 2006, Best, who was on probation for drug and assault charges, was arguing with his girlfriend, Erica Anderson, in their Jefferson Street home, according to trial testimony. In the meantime, Andersons daughter, Octavia, her 3-year-old son and a friend, Jones, came to the house to pick up Erica Anderson, with plans to go to a carnival at Newfield Park. When Jones returned to the car to report she heard arguing coming from the apartment, both she and Octavia Anderson went inside. Octavia began banging on the bedroom door, demanding to see her mother, police said. When the door was flung open, three or four shots were fired, police said. Octavia Anderson and Jones were both hit in the chest. Both women stumbled from the house, leaving a trail of blood to Octavia Andersons car. Anderson drove to Bridgeport Hospital, where Jones later died. No one saw it coming, Octavia Anderson told the judge, her voice cracking with emotion. My stomach is still in a knot. All I heard was four shots. The bullet hit my chest like a ball of fire. The University of Connecticut is consider expansion of majors students can start and finish at its growing Stamford Campus. Officials on Wednesday presented the Board of Trustees with a number of proposed enhancements including additional majors in communications, allied health, journalism focused on digital media and human biology. UConn Stamford, this semester, has 1,977 undergraduates, a sharp increase from the 1,377 in the 2012-13 academic year. In addition, there are nearly 650 graduate students, about 116 faculty and staff, and about 88 adjunct instructors. The downtown campus now has dorms. About 425 students live in university-sponsored housing. That figure is expected to reach about 450 this fall, with the addition of a third site. There are 15 undergraduate degrees that can be completed at that campus, plus three masters degree programs and three certificate programs. . Sally Reis, a professor and former vice provost for academic affairs, told trustees to maintain the momentum, UConn Stamford needs more majors that will allow students to complete on site, rather trek up to Storrs. Officials have yet to decide when the changes will occur, how much it will cost and how many additional faculty it will require. With this expansion, we will truly establish UConn Stamford as a pillar of the community - not just in Fairfield County, but in all of Connecticut, UConn Stamford director Terrence Cheng told trustees on Wednesday. UConn Stamford students at the board meeting told trustees that they supported the idea. I think the strength of UConn Stamford is its sense of community, said senior Corey Frate of Darien, who is secretary of the on-campus student government. Trustee Kevin OConnor noted that no other colleges or universities are nearby in the city, giving UConn a unique chance to help its students there get internship and job chances with employers in Fairfield County and greater New York. I think there are tremendous opportunities from a career standpoint in financial industries by having this beachhead in Stamford, he said. I think its a great investment in the future of UConn and fully support it. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck Visit to New York : Laschet emphasizes Bonn's importance as a UN city BONN/NEW YORK NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) promoted Bonns strong UN presence during his visit to the United Nations in New York. Around 20 UN organizations are located in Bonn, with nearly 1,000 employees. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken "Bonn is the German center of competence for international politics and global sustainability strategies," said NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet on Friday morning (local time) during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "The many United Nations institutions based in Bonn demonstrate Bonn's internationally important role as a place of study and learning for issues of international cooperation, development and sustainability. At the moment, some 20 United Nations organizations with nearly 1,000 employees have their headquarters in Bonn, including the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC). According to Laschet, the state government will continue to support the development of Bonn as a UN city. This year, for example, the state will cooperate with various partners in Bonn on new initiatives: These include, for example, the "Global Media Forum" in May, which is expected to attract around 2,000 media experts as well as representatives from politics, civil society, science, business and culture from 140 nations. In order to strengthen Bonn as an international center, Laschet said he wanted to establish a North Rhine-Westphalian Academy for International Politics in Bonn. Another topic in discussion with Guterres, who will receive the International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen this year, was the 11th "World Urban Forum" planned by the UN for 2022. The NRW state government had strongly advocated for Dortmund as an event location to the German federal government. The NRW Prime Minister also attended a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. For the months of March and April, France and Germany will share the chairmanship of the committee, a historically unique step. "The joint chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council by Germany and France is a great symbol of Franco-German cooperation and friendship. New York is thus sending out a strong signal for more European unity, for multilateralism," Laschet stressed. News Premium On the 20th anniversary of Wexford container tragedy in which eight migrants died how the life of one of the survivors has turned out Flixbus gets competition : New long-distance bus provider launches in Germany BERLIN Flixbus currently controls around 95 percent of the long-distance bus market. But now consumers in Germany can hope for more of a choice. The subsidiary of a car-sharing agency has announced its own offer. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Long-distance bus customers in Germany will soon have more of a choice. The company Blablabus plans to start in the first German cities this spring, according to a spokeswoman. A German business newspaper, the "Handelsblatt", had previously reported on it. The branch of the car-sharing agency Blablacar wants to launch an assault on the German industry leader Flixbus with red buses. Currently, Flixbus, known for its green buses, serves 95 percent of the market after several takeovers. Starting in the second quarter, the new long-distance bus service will initially operate in 60 cities in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Most of the cities served are in Germany, as the Blablacar spokeswoman reported. In France, Blablabus will take over the French Flixbus rival Ouibus from SNCF sometime before June. SNCF's French Railways will also be investing in Blablacar. Parade cancellation possible : Storm could upset plans for Bonn's Rose Monday Parade Bonn A low-pressure system is on its way into the region and will bring stormy winds on Rose Monday. The parade festival committee will decide at the last moment whether the Bonn Rose Monday procession will take place or not. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken It was three years ago the last time storm warnings threatened to put a damper on Rose Monday parades. Carnival cities such as Dusseldorf and Mainz cancelled their parades in 2016 while Bonn parade director Axel Wolf gave the go ahead for the procession only at 12 noon. Once again this year, he will be meeting with meteorologists shortly before that time to make a decision as to whether the parade will take place or not. So far the forecast for Monday is still very uncertain. "From the North Sea a storm low is approaching the Rhineland. We expect gusts of wind of about 70 to 80 kilometers per hour", Michael Klein from donnerwetter.de reports. The Bonn carnival committee cooperates with the weather service in making the decision. It looks like late morning, midday and early afternoon could be affected by the storm. However, Klein points out that the forecast continues to evolve. "A decision should only be made shortly before the last possible chance to cancel it," he advises. Until Friday morning, the expert was still optimistic, especially as the forecast fluctuated. However, this changed in the late afternoon. "I am pessimistic, but hopeful," said Klein. The reason: the forecasting models had changed for the worse. Basically, however, the situation in Bonn was less dramatic than in Cologne or Dusseldorf. In Bonn, there is a more favorable set-up location and not such tall floats. "It is possible that the gusts of wind will sweep through the Rhineland early in the morning and fade away with the Rose Monday procession. The weather is not unusual for the beginning of March. Axel Wolf was cautious about making any predictions right now, saying that on Sunday they would expect to have a better idea of what the weather would hold for Monday. The spokesman of the festival committee, Ralf Birkner, sees it the same way and adds that in case of doubt, safety always comes first. In the history of Bonn carnival parades, there have been few cancellations. A huge storm surge in Hamburg in 1962 caused Bonn to cancel, and a storm in 1990. The third cancellation came in 1991 because of the Gulf War, when many other dates in the carnival calendar were cancelled as well. On Rose Monday of 2016 it rained five liters per square meter in the morning, which was the record in February. In the afternoon the sun came out and lasted 2.8 hours. The wind increased to 63 kilometers per hour by 2 p.m. Representatives of the festival committee, the police, the fire department and the city's security service belong to a coordination group that will meet on Monday morning in the situation headquarters of the fire department. All security measures related to the parade will be closely coordinated there, the city announced, including a look at the forecasts of the German weather service. It could also happen, however, that the parade will start as planned, but the horses of several guards will not be allowed to start the parade. Thomas Janicke, commander of the Bonn Guard of Honor, thinks this case is rather unlikely. If the parade is cancelled in the end, the question arises as to what will happen with all the goodies purchased. Janicke says that his corps would give them to children's homes. The Bonn Rose Monday procession starts at 12 noon on Rabinstrae and then moves from Thomas-Mann-Strae via Munsterplatz and Markt through the city center and old town. The parade will be broadcast live on kamelle.de from 12:15 pm. Written in the aftermath of the civil war in Mozambique, Rain and Other Stories is author Mia Coutos magnificent response to how the barbarity of war is overcome by, as he puts it, the rain of hope, tenuous as that may be, and the dream of renewal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Written in the aftermath of the civil war in Mozambique, Rain and Other Stories is author Mia Coutos magnificent response to how the barbarity of war is overcome by, as he puts it, "the rain of hope," tenuous as that may be, and the dream of renewal. A Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Portuguese-Mozambiquean descent, Couto has fashioned 26 very short stories in the form of prose poems encompassing fable, allegory, legend and a cross between magic realism and Kafkaesque mystery. The wonder of the collection, indeed its grip on the reader, is that such seemingly disparate tales come together to ultimately present how the land is remade with the "water of benedreamtion," a lovely word and indicative of the way Couto renews language as well throughout the stories. Many are tales of transformation. In Beyond the River Bend, a hippopotamus crashes through a town and is eventually shot. It is revealed that, in fact, the creature was an old man who had died in the neighbourhood, and had returned to proclaim key prophesies concerning drought and plague. The creature is so large it really should be called "a hyper-potamus." No matter. The official sent to kill it comes to realize he has killed a man, not a beast; retribution awaits. But a baby hippo offers a kind of salvation. The aching beauty of the story, entwined with its dark humour, gives the reader the same kind of peace that the tormented official finds. In Serpents Embrace, another transformation has a snake killing a jealous husband from the inside for his suspicion over his wifes affair with a UN peacekeeper (an outsider much resented by the local population). In lesser hands, the snake would be near cliche in its symbolism. Couto, a true master, makes the symbol universal: the biting snake is within us, and the answer is the realization that our life can only be cured with death. The best of the transformation tales, Lamentations of a Coconut Tree, has a coconut producing not sweet water but blood; the fruit also cries out in a human voice. Skepticism greets the story when it is widely told, until the narrator understands that green coconut was sacred and left until ripe until the war and the outsiders who invaded the area had their way. The further topsy-turvyness of this world leads the reader to believe that chicks given the coconut to eat were transformed into plants. Yet, from the fruit a voice is still heard, a cry needing to be acknowledged. Coutos prose in this fable is measured throughout as if his realization the sacred must be observed, the human need to communicate must be answered requires a slow reckoning from the reader. Many of the stories offer a link, nearly broken, making it clear that the countrys history from colonial past to recovering modern present is a saga of a people creating a myth to live by as all people must. Couto spares no one, nor is anyone condemned with the exception, in the Kafkaesque story Two Clowns, of the menace of unyielding hate itself. While this hate seems to present a battle of two wills, it leads not to the destruction of the clowns who jocularly fight, but rather of the towns they visit. Nearly each sentence is astonishing in this riveting, challenging collection. Rory Runnells is a Winnipeg writer. While Sarah Jessica Parkers character of Carrie Bradshaw may have preferred cosmopolitans, the Sex and the City actor has a soft spot in her heart for vino so much that shes paired with a New Zealand winery to produce her own wines. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion While Sarah Jessica Parkers character of Carrie Bradshaw may have preferred cosmopolitans, the Sex and the City actor has a soft spot in her heart for vino so much that shes paired with a New Zealand winery to produce her own wines. The Drinks Business website reports Parker has partnered with New Zealand producer Invivo to launch her own brand of wine, which will debut with a rose and a Sauvignon Blanc. Parker, who stars in and is executive producer of the HBO show Divorce, is slated to be involved in the wines in more than name only; shell have a hand in the name and labels of the products and, most importantly, in creating the blend of base wines that will end up in the bottle. Parkers most recent drinks-related shenanigans saw her appear with Jeff Bridges (as his The Big Lebowski character "The Dude") in a Super Bowl ad for Belgian brewer Stella Artois. She wont be the first star of stage and screen to make wine in New Zealand. Actor Sam Neill, best-known for his Dr. Alan Grant character in the first and third Jurassic Park films, spends more of his time these days on the day-to-day operations of his Two Paddocks winery than he does making films. Its not yet known when Parkers wines will hit the market or whether theyll eventually make their way to Manitoba. If supporting a local theatre while sipping killer wines and nibbling on tasty treats from some of the citys best eateries sounds like a good way to spend an evening and how could it not? mark Wednesday, March 20, on your calendar. The eighth annual PTE Pairings fundraising event takes place Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. at the downtown theatre, located on the third floor of Portage Place. Among eateries who will be set up throughout the space offering finger foods will be Clementine, the Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant, Kyu Grill, Promenade Cafe and Wine and Brazen Hall, who will also be pouring some of their brews for those who prefer beer. Also on hand, local producers Dead Horse Cidery, the Winkler-based producer that released its first cider in December 2018, as well as High Tea Bakery, Prairie Oils and Vinegars and more. But if its wine that youre after, PTE Pairings offers reds, whites, roses and bubblies aplenty from a solid cross-section of producers. Wines being poured include many from Canadian producers such as Cave Spring (Ontario), Benjamin Bridge (Nova Scotia) and Calliope Vineyards (B.C.), while international producers being sampled include Ogio (Italy), La Posta (Argentina), Wente (California), Yalumba (Australia), Domain du Theron (France), Pino Doncel (Spain) and many more. Tickets for PTE Pairings are $100; a partial tax receipt will be issued post-purchase. To buy tickets visit pte.mb.ca. Dogs have long played a key role in sniffing out suspicious materials at airports, and now a Chilean cooperage has trained a team of pooches to sniff out skunky barrels. Food & Wine reports that TN Coopers has trained five Labrador retrievers to sniff out compounds such as trichloroanisole (TCA) that can crop up in barrel production and cause a wine to taste off. Even a minute amount of TCA can severely effect the smell and taste of a wine, and the pups have proven more reliable than technology employed by the cooperage to detect the compound. The appearance of TCA in a wine is commonly called "cork taint" because its most commonly caused by cork stoppers being tainted with the compound. Wines suffering from cork taint typically bring a musty smell of wet cardboard or paper. If you suspect a wine you have purchased might be suffering from cork taint, return it to the store (or your server, if youre dining out) and exchange it for a fresh bottle. uncorked@mts.net Twitter: @bensigurdson Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Wines of the week Le Grand Noir 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Pays DOc, France $15.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) This French Cabernet Sauvignon well, 85 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 per cent Syrah, to be accurate is bright ruby in colour and aromatically brings cassis, herbal, iron, black cherry and mocha/menthol aromas. On the medium-bodied palate the fruit flavours fall off a touch, with the cherry and blackberry flavours just keeping up with the light tannin and black tea/mocha notes on the finish. Some modest acidity keeps things pleasantly lively. Simple but tasty. Casas del Bosque 2016 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Rapel Valley, Chile $15.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) Theres a distinct (and pleasant) herbal/eucalyptus component on the nose of this Cabernet thats often found in examples from Chile; it works well with the cassis, blueberry and blackberry aromas. On the medium-plus bodied palate the dark berry notes work well with the herbal and underlying anise/black licorice notes, with a hint of spice from barrel aging doing a decent job at fleshing things out. Tannins are light, making this Cabernet quite approachable (and a solid value). Marques de Riscal 2014 Reserva (Rioja, Spain $25.96, Liquor Marts and beyond) Made from Tempranillo grapes and aged 26 months in American oak, this Spanish red brings blueberry, raspberry, mocha, cocoa and spice aromas, with underlying vanilla and lacquer notes coming from the wood. Its dry, medium-plus bodied and fairly tightly wound, with moderate tannin from the distinct woody notes framing solid raspberry and blueberry flavours and a slightly peppery, spicy note that adds length and complexity. Try this rustic red with food a steak, perhaps. Walmart endured more than a week's worth of bad publicity before announcing publicly that it was making "every effort" to find a role for disabled workers who had been threatened with job loss as the retailer gets rid of greeters at 1,000 stores. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Walmart endured more than a week's worth of bad publicity before announcing publicly that it was making "every effort" to find a role for disabled workers who had been threatened with job loss as the retailer gets rid of greeters at 1,000 stores. Amid a fierce backlash, Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart's U.S. stores, said in a memo to store managers Thursday night that "we are taking some specific steps to support" greeters with disabilities. The chain noted that several greeters were offered new jobs at their respective stores and accepted. In this Feb. 21, 2019 photo provided by Tamara Ambrose, Ashley Powell poses for a photo at a Walmart store in Galena, Ill. Powell and other greeters with disabilities are threatened with job loss as Walmart transforms the greeter position into one thatAos more physically demanding. (Tamara Ambrose via AP) Advocates for the disabled said Walmart is making the right move. "By rethinking their action, Walmart is now opening the door to actually help individuals realize their full employment potential," said Cheryl Bates-Harris, senior disability advocacy specialist at the National Disability Rights Network. Walmart told greeters around the country last week that their positions were being eliminated in late April in favour of an expanded "customer host" role that involves not only welcoming customers, but also helping with returns, checking receipts to help prevent shoplifting and keeping the front of the store clean. The position requires hosts to be able to lift heavy weights, climb ladders and do other tasks. People with disabilities who have traditionally filled the greeter job at many stores accused Walmart of acting heartlessly. Outraged customers and others started online petitions, formed Facebook support groups, and called and emailed Walmart corporate offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, to register their displeasure. "This was a major-league botch," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy, adding that Walmart should have foreseen the public's reaction. "Someone finally woke up," Johnson said. "Hopefully they're now woke and they'll fix this thing the right way. ... The good news is it's reversible." For its part, Walmart said Foran's memo did not signal a change in direction for the company but was meant to reinforce what it was already doing for workers displaced from the greeter job and clear up misinformation. Foran acknowledged the change from greeter to host, and its impact on disabled workers, had "created some conversation." He wrote that Walmart was committed to doing right by these employees, noting that greeters with disabilities would be given longer than the customary 60 days to find other jobs in the company. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Let me be clear: If any associate in this unique situation wants to continue working at Walmart, we should make every effort to make that happen," said his memo, which Walmart released publicly. Walmart has already started making job offers to the greeters. At least three longtime greeters Adam Catlin in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, Jay Melton in Marion, North Carolina, and Mitchell Hartzell in Hazel Green, Florida, all of whom have cerebral palsy have accepted jobs in self-checkout. Catlin's mother, Holly Catlin, helped call public attention to her son's plight with an impassioned Facebook post and has since advocated for greeters around the country. After emailing Walmart CEO Doug McMillon every day, Catlin got a call from the corporate office on Thursday, and on Friday morning she and her son met with store management in Selinsgrove. "I decided I was going to be the squeaky wheel and squeak every day," Catlin said, adding she's encouraged by Walmart's recent moves. "I believe the path forward is going to be good for these people. I think they're really going to make an effort and try to keep these people." In North Carolina, Melton is "happier than a pig in a mud puddle," said his father, Jim Melton. Foran, who heads Walmart's U.S. stores, wrote that greeters with disabilities "face a unique situation ... and each case requires a thoughtful solution." He said that Walmart's goal is to offer "appropriate accommodations that will enable these associates to continue in other roles with their store." This years spring and summer colours are fuschia, lime green and even yellow but will turn to bottle green by the fall, a darker shade you see in antique bottle collections. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. This years spring and summer colours are fuschia, lime green and even yellow but will turn to "bottle green" by the fall, a darker shade you see in antique bottle collections. "Its the new black," said Rita Master, Masters of London co-owner, of the greens flooding the fashion world this year. But Masters of London, the high-end womans fashion store on Roblin Boulevard, will only be here for the spring and summer lines. It has announced its exiting the retail scene. Rita, 86, has co-owned high-end fashion stores in Winnipeg with her son, Ivan, 55, for 33 years. "Its time for me to retire and for her to continue," Ivan quipped. "I think the key to our success here is weve never told somebody they looked good in something just to make a sale," said Ivan. "Weve always felt that if they go out and in our eyes look fabulous, theyre our advertisement." So it means telling people the truth: yes, no, wrong colour, wrong design, just right, its you. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ivan and Rita Master of Masters of London. I think the key to our success here is weve never told somebody they looked good in something just to make a sale, Ivan says. "I dont think anyone sees themselves like someone else sees them," said Rita. "Theyll look in the mirror and see the bad points of their bodies." Its what has endeared customers like Arlene Jones-Chambers to the fashion retailers for over three decades. "Its a personal service and it will never be duplicated by anyone else," Jones-Chambers said. "Youll never get that kind of service from a department store. Youre lucky if you can find someone to help you." It helps that Rita "has a wonderful fashion sense, even at 86 years of age," she said. Online purchasing is also eliminating the kind of personal touch that mom-and-pop stores, or in this case, mom-and-son, provide. "People are going to miss out on having a retailer that knows them, that understands them, that knows their history, their family, the interaction you really dont get by pressing a button" to make purchases over the internet, said Ivan. Rita and her two children emigrated from London, England, in 1984. The early 1980s were grim days in London with Irish Republican Army bombs going off in mailboxes, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs. Rita was determined to move to Winnipeg, where she had family. They ran a retail shoe shop in London in fact, Ritas husband died of a heart attack in the store while she was attending a family wedding in Winnipeg so she cast about for a retail niche here. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Masters of London will be closing for good in about five months, at which time the building is expected to be renovated for medical offices. Rita noticed there wasnt a quality fashion store for "plus size" women, just chain store clothes. So she launched La Grande Femme on Academy Road in 1986, which moved down the street into the former Touch of Class building in 1993. In 2001, it moved into the Grant Park Shopping Mall under the name Boutique la Femme and was now catering to women of all sizes. It spent three years in Tuxedo Junction on Corydon Avenue, then moved onto Roblin Boulevard in the former Charleswood Department Store five years ago and changed its name again, this time to Masters of London, the name the family operated under in England. To find their lines of couture, the family has travelled to places like London, Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal. Theyve retailed such labels as Joseph Ribkoff, Simon Chang, Bylyse, Picadilly, and many more from European designers. But fashion isnt what it used to be. In fact, you could say fashion is going out of fashion. "Were a disposable society, a lot of throwaway," said Ivan. That is, high fashion is not just about design but the fabric. "We were probably the No. 1 seller of Linda Lundstrom fashion in the city and to this day, 25 years later, people still wear those coats and get complimented and come in here and say, Ivan, its the best thing I ever bought from you." While clothes go out of fashion, clothes made from good fabric keep resurfacing. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Masters of London has been in business for 30 years but will be closing its doors soon. "You can take a piece thats come out today and put it together with another piece from five years ago," said Rita. As for being in business with his mother, Ivan says hes been part of a family retail business since he was old enough to walk. "My whole life has been surrounded in fashion and retail and family," he said. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We all get along well," said Rita. "Weve never had a falling out. I guess were not normal." The stores closure was prompted when someone made an offer on the building, said Rita. The sale is still pending but the prospective owners plan to renovate the building for medical offices, she said. With an offer in hand, the family just thought it was time to close. Closing out sales have already begun but it will be a long goodbye extending for about five months. "Because of our longstanding commitment to our manufacturers and agents, we didnt feel it was right to cancel the spring and summer collections," Ivan said. bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca NEW YORK - Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that his efforts to get Amazon back on board with a New York headquarters have not worked and that he doesn't want the failed Amazon deal to drive other companies away. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Kathryn Wilde, Partnership for New York City president and CEO, pose outside City Hall holding a letter to Amazon published in the New York Times, Friday March 1, 2019, in New York. Wilde joined a coalition of business, government, community and labor interests calling on Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos to reconsider building a campus in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) NEW YORK - Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that his efforts to get Amazon back on board with a New York headquarters have not worked and that he doesn't want the failed Amazon deal to drive other companies away. The Democratic governor said in a radio interview that he has spoken to Amazon executives in the two weeks since they pulled the plug on a planned secondary headquarters in New York. "They have given no indication that they would reconsider," Cuomo said. "So, I think the point was more, not that Amazon is going to change its mind, I don't think that they do." But he added, "We don't want anyone to think that New York doesn't understand that we are the home of entrepreneurial business, and we want young people coming here and new talent. And New York is open for business. That is what we are. We're the commerce capital of the country." Cuomo was interviewed on WNYC radio the day an open letter from business leaders appeared in The New York Times urging Amazon not to abandon the New York plans. Amazon has not commented on the appeal. Separately, the Times reported that Cuomo was working behind the scenes to lure Amazon back and had spoken with CEO Jeff Bezos, who played no public role in the announcement of a New York headquarters. Cuomo confirmed that he'd spoken with Amazon executives but that he'd "rather not get into" whom he spoke with. Amazon announced in November that it would split its new secondary headquarters between the Long Island City neighbourhood of Queens and northern Virginia. Cuomo said New York would reap $27 billion in tax revenues and 25,000 jobs from the deal. But opponents, including members of the state legislature and the New York City Council, opposed the nearly $3 billion in subsidies and tax credits the city and state were offering to Amazon. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The deal first appeared to be in serious jeopardy last month when Democratic state Sen. Michael Gianaris, an Amazon opponent, was nominated for a seat on a little-known board that could have killed the deal. Cuomo singled out fellow Democrats who control the state Senate for blame after Amazon pulled out of the deal Feb. 14. But the governor said Friday that the elected officials who opposed the deal were "irrelevant" and suggested that he could have pushed the deal through over their objections. "At this point they are irrelevant, because there are other ways that the state can get it done," Cuomo said, "and I told Amazon that, that the state approval process I will personally guarantee and I will manage that. I think for Amazon, it's just they've made a decision and they've moved on. " Gianaris, who represents the district where Amazon was to have built its new headquarters, said he does not regret his opposition to the deal, citing issues such as rising housing prices that could have forced existing residents out. "The neighbourhood would have been devastated without adequate protections, and there was no consideration for them," Gianaris said. He added, "Either I'm responsible or I'm irrelevant. I can't be both." BOISE, Idaho - Idaho State Police may get the funding to purchase equipment that would allow investigators to distinguish hemp from marijuana after a high-profile case in the state grabbed headlines and prompted a federal lawsuit. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. BOISE, Idaho - Idaho State Police may get the funding to purchase equipment that would allow investigators to distinguish hemp from marijuana after a high-profile case in the state grabbed headlines and prompted a federal lawsuit. The state legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday approved about $240,000 for three testing devices for crime labs in the cities of Meridian, Pocatello and Coeur d'Alene, the Idaho Statesman reported. The funding must be approved by the House and Senate. "This is in response to what we can see coming," said state Sen. Abby Lee, a Republican. "They need these tools, and they need them this year. If they have an arrest, they can't wait to send those results out to Kentucky." In late January, state police seized a semitrailer filled with 6,700 pounds (3,039 kilograms) of a green, leafy substance that a trooper believed was marijuana. The driver of the truck, and the owner of the cargo, insisted that it was industrial hemp. Hemp, a cousin of marijuana, has a very low concentration of the psychoactive substance called THC that gives marijuana its high-inducing properties Police sent samples out of state for testing to determine what it was, but have declined to release the results to the Statesman newspaper due to the ongoing investigation. Big Sky Scientific, the owner of the cargo, sought a preliminary injunction for the release of the truck but a federal judge denied it. The company has said the plants are legal under the new federal farm bill and they are currently deteriorating and losing value. Lee said it was lawmakers, after conferring with prosecutors, who sought the funding for the equipment, and not the Idaho State Police. The 2018 federal farm bill, approved in December, legalized commercial hemp production and that's already raising interstate commerce questions. "The landscape has changed. I really do think Idaho, whether we allow people to have it, grow it and possess it, the federal government is going to promulgate rules about how that transport happens," said Lee. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Col. Kedrick Wills, director of the Idaho State Police, said at the hearing that transporting any substance that contains THC is illegal in Idaho, even hemp. But a magistrate judge said in his ruling that he is not convinced the plants were produced in accordance with the federal law because Oregon does not yet have a federally approved hemp production plan. He says that means he cannot order it returned at this point in the lawsuit. Idaho law considers hemp to be equivalent to marijuana, with both being controlled substances. Big Sky Scientific argued in its lawsuit against Idaho State Police and Ada County that the farm bill has legalized hemp and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to transport it across state lines. ___ Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com TappCar became Winnipegs first ride-hailing service a year ago with a fleet of 20 drivers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TappCar became Winnipegs first ride-hailing service a year ago with a fleet of 20 drivers. Today, it boasts more than 700 full- and part-time drivers. "Its incredible. Its been growing on a month by month basis," TappCar spokesman John Morris said. "Its now become an actual, full-scale transportation service." TappCar can get up to 4,000 to 5,000 rides on a Friday night, Morris said. Conditions such as cold temperatures can factor in, resulting in more rides. TappCar was the first ride-hailing service out of the gate in Winnipeg on Mar. 2, 2018, and is the dominant player in Winnipeg today by leaps and bounds. Some other personal transportation providers (PTPs) include Cowboy Taxi, Hire PTP, InstaRyde, MY CAB app and ReRyde. Morris wouldnt give ride volume figures since it began, saying that is proprietary information. However, he said TappCars growing fleet has allowed for improved service. "When you amass the number of drivers that we have, that creates shorter turnaround times for picking up passengers. People who download these applications on their telephones can see what the turnaround time is," he said. Downtown, the wait time could be just a couple minutes; suburban areas can be five to 15 minutes, Morris said. The number of full-time drivers who obtain their primary income with TappCar is in the hundreds, but the majority of drivers are part-time, Morris said. Taxicabs still dominate the sector. PTPs accounted for just five per cent of passenger transport while cabs accounted for the rest, except for a small amount of limousine business. Ride-hailing was used 213,660 times in 2018, versus 4.06 million times people hailed cabs. But ride-hailing is growing. Up to June of last year, it made up 3.5 per cent of all rides, versus five per cent by the end of 2018. Managers for Unicity and Duffys taxis did not return telephone messages. The city, which took up oversight of the industry in 2018 from the provincially-appointed taxicab board, says ride-hailing has been positive. "Overall, the new bylaw streamlined and modernized the vehicle-for-hire industry," said Ajaleigh Williams, program manager at the Winnipeg Parking Authority. The year saw increased accessibility for people with mobility issues, and greater safety for drivers and passengers, Williams said. The city did more than 13,000 inspections of vehicles for hire, more than double the number of the previous year under the taxicab board. One of the big safety improvements since the city took over the bylaw was to require the inclusion of audio with video cameras. As well, there are now an additional 60 taxicabs licensed for people with mobility issues. That means 22 per cent of the taxi fleet can now transport people with wheelchairs or other mobility devices, Williams said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Some of the other large ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft have stayed out of the Manitoba market because they have a model for private insurers that they say is incompatible with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI). MPI insurance rates for ride-hailing companies depends on what time of day the driver operates and whether its on a weekday or weekend. "It is a flexibility a Canadian company was willing to make that an international company is not," Morris said. TappCar offers about a 20 per cent discount on conventional taxi fares, he said, although there can be extra fees for peak times. TappCar is based in Edmonton and operates there as well as in Grand Prairie, Alta., and Steinbach. Its very small in Steinbach, where it started in July, with only a handful of drivers. It is looking to expand into other markets, including Brandon, Morris said. bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca The Liberal government has formally introduced legislation meant to help Canadians with criminal records for marijuana possession get easier access to criminal record suspensions, commonly called pardons. This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Liberal government has formally introduced legislation meant to help Canadians with criminal records for marijuana possession get easier access to criminal record suspensions, commonly called pardons. If passed into law, Bill C-93 would ease the pardons process for cannabis possession by waiving the usual $631 application fee. It would also eliminate the multi-year waiting period to apply for a pardon after a criminal sentence is served. "This would help to reduce barriers to reintegration for these individuals, which would mean greater access to job opportunities, education, housing, and even the ability to simply volunteer for a charity in their community," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in Ottawa Friday. Goodale said his government hopes the law will take effect by summer, assuming it's passed by the House of Commons and the Senate. ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale The expedited process will be available only to people charged with cannabis possession before Oct. 17, 2018, when the government legalized the drug for adult use. People convicted of possession under the the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the old Narcotics Control Act and the National Defence Act will all be eligible. If a pardon applicant can prove to the Parole Board of Canada that their conviction was for cannabis possession only, that they have no other criminal convictions and that they've completed their criminal sentence and paid all relevant fines, a pardon would be issued. However, those pardons could be revoked if the recipient is convicted of a new criminal offence. Convictions for cannabis trafficking, production, possession for the purpose of trafficking or other cannabis-related offences will not be eligible for expedited pardons. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre "In my community, this is going to make a huge difference, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the Prairies, for a large number of Indigenous men and women," said Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Liberal MP for Winnipeg Centre. Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said there could be as many as 400,000 such convictions in Canada. The government estimates that between 70,000 and 80,000 people will apply for expedited pardons, he said. A pardon won't necessarily guarantee Canadian travellers entry to countries such as the United States, where border officials have been known to ban travellers with past drug convictions, senior government officials told reporters during a briefing Friday. If U.S. border authorities are already aware that a Canadian traveller has an old cannabis possession conviction, the officials said, proof of a criminal record suspension might help that traveller enter the U.S. Debate over the government's pardon plan for cannabis possession has focused largely on whether it goes far enough. A private member's bill from Murray Rankin, NDP MP for Victoria, would see the government erase criminal records for cannabis possession entirely, rather than requiring people to apply for a pardon that sets the record aside. Goodale said the government uses that approach known as record expungement only when old laws "violated human rights and should never have existed," as the Liberals did with a 2018 record expungement law for Canadians previously convicted of engaging in consensual homosexual sex between adults. Goodale suggested the old marijuana prohibition didn't rise to that level of injustice. "With respect to cannabis, the law itself was completely valid and constitutional," he said. 'What we've seen over time is that these cannabis laws, this legislation, had an oppressive impact on certain communities that was devastating, and that was extremely unfair.' Annamaria Enenajor, criminal lawyer and director of the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty Goodale is not wrong, said Annamaria Enenajor, a Toronto criminal lawyer and director of the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty. "He's right in saying that the old cannabis laws, as they existed on the books, aren't, on their face, discriminatory," Enenajor said. "But you have to look the impact that laws have on peoples' lives in the aggregate and over time. And what we've seen over time is that these cannabis laws, this legislation, had an oppressive impact on certain communities that was devastating, and that was extremely unfair." Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Although the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty favours the expungement approach proposed in Rankin's bill, Enenajor said the group would work to improve the Liberals' new bill as it progresses through parliamentary committees. "They haven't gone far enough in the remedy, but I have to acknowledge that they're taking a step in the right direction," she said. Simon Fraser University criminology professor Neil Boyd also thinks record expungement is the better option for Canadians convicted of cannabis possession. "If you're a vulnerable person, or if you're a person who doesn't have a lot of education, you don't have a lot of resources, you don't have a lot of social skills, you're much less likely than a person who does have those kinds of assets to make an application for a pardon," he said. solomon.israel@theleafnews.com @sol_israel THE teen from Beausejour gets to meet the former president of the United States after all. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. THE teen from Beausejour gets to meet the former president of the United States after all. Aaron Dyck, 17, had been denied access to a meet-and-greet with former president Barack Obama before his speech at Bell MTS Place because of unspecified security concerns. His mother, Lisa Dyck, said she took the case up the events organizers after she found out there was a problem. Organizers got back to her on Friday and said the family wont have to worry about it. Her son is cleared and will meet the former president, as she had planned. The family had purchased four tickets to the event, including two that also included chance to meet personally with Obama. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Weve been updated," Dyck said by phone. "It was apparently a case of mistaken identity. Aaron is cleared to meet the president," she said. The family had been devastated when the teen was flagged as a security risk and figured it had to be a case of mistaken identity on a watch list somewhere. There nothing in Aarons background or on social media to be a cause for concern; just the opposite, in fact. Obama has been a hero and role model for the teen. Now that things are back on track, the family is looking forward to the event. "Were elated. Im really relieved. Its definitely a good start to the weekend," Dyck said. Obama takes the stage Monday at 6 p.m. Elective cardiac surgeries are being cancelled at St. Boniface Hospital as the wait list for operations toppled over the 100-person mark this week, the Free Press has learned. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Elective cardiac surgeries are being cancelled at St. Boniface Hospital as the wait list for operations toppled over the 100-person mark this week, the Free Press has learned. Real Cloutier, president and chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, confirmed Friday there were 102 people waiting for elective cardiac surgeries, which is up at least 70 per cent from October. The WRHA couldnt provide the average number of people usually on its elective cardiac surgery wait list Friday, though the Manitoba Nurses Union said it believed 40 to 50 people was close to the norm. The median wait times for cardiac procedures currently vary from six days for emergent and urgent surgeries, to 19 days for semi-urgent operations and 68 days for elective procedures. St. Boniface is the only Winnipeg hospital where the cardiac surgeries occur, Cloutier said. He blamed a shortage of critical care nurses as the main reason for the backlog, although he couldnt say exactly how many surgery cancellations have occurred recently. "The beds are there. Its having the nursing staff to look after the patients," Cloutier said, noting cardiac patients require longer after-care from nurses post-surgery. "So part of the issue in the health-care system (is) theres always a bit of ebb and flow in terms of vacancies in critical care. Ive seen it over the years," he said. "Its really about making sure that were getting nurses interested in... the critical care education program, and making sure were anticipating vacancies in the area." The nurse vacancy rate in the WRHAs two cardiac critical care units (St. Boniface and Health Sciences Centre) is currently 22 per cent, which works out to 17 empty positions among the baseline cohort of 79 nurses. The most recent class of the Winnipeg Critical Care Nursing Education Program graduated 33 nurses last week. According to the WRHA, all 33 accepted positions in the field, 12 of them at the St. Boniface cardiac program. Class sizes vary for the six-month course, which is offered twice a year to nurses who have at least one year of acute nursing experience. Cloutier acknowledged there is difficulty trying to fill the nurse vacancies in critical care, since "you just dont necessarily recruit a nurse in this area overnight." In an emailed statement, Manitoba Health Minister Cameron Friesen noted the new critical care grads will join six nurses hired in the same area this year. While the elective cardiac surgery wait list numbers are "higher than wed like to see," Friesen said, he pointed out the average number of people waiting has been lower over the past 12 months than it was during the NDPs final year in government. (The Tories were elected in 2016.) WRHA president and chief executive officer Real Cloutier said 102 people are waiting for elective cardiac surgeries, up 70 per cent from October. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press) He also attempted to highlight the virtues of reorganizing the health-care system to quell staff shortages. "While the current vacancy rate within the WRHAs two critical care units are within normal ranges, the situation validates the need to reorganize and simplify what experts have called an overly complex health system," he said. "Consolidating services and developing a provincewide clinical and preventive services plan will allow the system to better manage normal fluctuations in demand and capacity, improving the care patients receive." Cloutier said the WRHAs clinical executive team is working with staff at St. Boniface to identify "the root causes" of the cardiac programs problems, beyond a nursing shortage. MNU president Darlene Jackson said members have been pointing to a lack of ICU beds in the health-care system as a contributing factor causing elective surgery cancellations, something Cloutier disagreed with. 'The beds are there. Its having the nursing staff to look after the patients.' Real Cloutier "Thats certainly not what were hearing from nurses. Thats who I get my information from," Jackson countered. She also pointed to issues with acuity, where cardiac patients are staying sick and requiring longer stays in ICUs, as a problem. The union leader said nurses are working increasing amounts of overtime both elective and mandated by their bosses to cope with increased patient volumes and a "chronic shortage" of staff. The WRHA is planning to close the emergency departments at Concordia Hospital in June, and at Seven Oaks General Hospital in September, converting the latter facility into an urgent care centre. Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew has echoed a common sentiment about wanting to see the emergency rooms stay open. He said the cardiac programs surgery backlog is a symptom of a system-wide problem. "This is not happening by accident. This is a direct result of (Premier Brian) Pallisters rushed changes to the health-care system," Kinew said. jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @_jessbu OK, maybe its true you cant teach an old dog new tricks, but what about a 71-year-old bakery? Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OK, maybe its true you cant teach an old dog new tricks, but what about a 71-year-old bakery? Recently, City Bread, a North End institution located at 238 Dufferin Ave., toasted the beginning of its eighth decade in business by establishing a new website, updating its Facebook page and launching a spiffy new Instagram feed. The social media splash is largely the handiwork of sales managers Kyle Watson and Derek Kostynuik, both of whom have been with the company a little over two years. City Bread sales managers Kyle Watson (left) and Derek Kostynuik. (Photos by Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) A few months after assuming their titles, the pair of 30-somethings realized none of the long-established, iconic Winnipeg bakeries, City Bread included, were doing much of anything in the way of social media, says Watson, pulling up a chair next to his sales partner in their 10-seat boardroom. "Except its not like 18- and 20-year-olds, people whove grown up with Instagram and Snapchat, dont eat bread, too," Kostynuik pipes in, noting they were inspired in part by Winnipegger Carew Duffy, the brains and jaws behind Sandwiches & Selfies, an Instagram account devoted to Duffys dogged pursuit of the perfect sammie. "We thought why not tap into that market by making bread cool, per se, and posting pictures of different items made with our product, kind of the way (Duffy) does with sandwiches?" Their plan seems to be working: responses to mouthwatering images of burgers and sandwiches heck, even a Franken-dish dubbed reuben sandwich poutine prepared with City Bread have ranged from "delish," to "Need this," to "Can I come work there? Ill do it for free." "The way you do business in 2019 is vastly different than it was 20 or 30 years ago," Watson says. "If youre a retirees age, youre either still eating our bread because its your favourite or weve lost you. But when it comes to the younger generation, its not like bread still isnt a grocery staple. Its just we had to figure out a way to connect with them, too." City Bread, the only certified pareve kosher bakery in Winnipeg, is owned by Harvey Goldman. Goldmans father, the late Max Goldman, purchased the business, established in 1948, in the 1970s from brothers Hymie, Morris and Jack Perlmutter. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A portrait of original owner Max Goldman hangs on the wall at City Bread. Harvey Goldman told his sales team a fair bit about his father and how the business evolved after he took over some 45 years ago, but most of what they know is thanks to a type-written memoir Max Goldman wrote a few years before he died in 1997, Watson says, handing over a 14-page, single-spaced document. The elder Goldman was born in 1918 in Drohiczyn, a town bordering the Bug River in present-day Belarus. After serving as a training officer with the Russian and Polish armies during the Second World War, he married Regine Galpern, a concentration camp survivor, in June 1945, nine days after they met. (Max lost his parents, grandparents and two sisters during the war.) After he was officially discharged from the army, Max and his new bride moved to Bavaria, where, according to his bio, he "eked out a living buying and selling different items." Frustrated with his financial prospects, or lack thereof, he briefly considered joining the newly-formed Israeli military. Fearing for her husbands life, Regine nixed that plan fairly quickly. The two agreed to move to North America instead. Unable to choose between Milwaukee and Winnipeg, the two places where they had connections, they wrote both cities names on scraps of paper, and let their one-year-old son Irving decide their fate by reaching into a hat and pulling out the winner. In 1949, Max landed a job as a delivery driver, dropping off freshly baked doughnuts to vendors across Winnipeg. In time, he taught himself how to make doughnuts as well, at which point he quit his delivery job and went into the doughnut trade for himself. A few years later he bought an existing business, Northwest Bakery, which he later dissolved when he took over City Bread. "Its a little cleaned up now but our traditional logo, the one with the red and blue star, actually has an arrow through it, pointing northwest, kind of a hallmark to the heritage of Mr. Goldmans moving from Northwest (Bakery) to City Bread," Watson says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Outside the City Bread bakery in Winnipeg. A former account manager for Coca-Cola, Watson chuckles and says, "Zero, zilch," when asked how much he knew about Winnipeggers devotion to City Bread, before stepping into his current role in January 2017. Sure, he did the bulk of the grocery shopping for his household, he admits, but to him, "bread was bread." Given that, imagine his surprise a week or so into his tenure when he fielded a message from a person on his way to Arizona for a couple months who wanted to make sure there were enough fresh loaves on the shelves at the Dufferin Avenue site to fill up a few coolers. "I was like, Dont they sell bread down there? and his answer was along the lines of yeah, but its not City Bread," he says. "Just the other day I got a call from a woman from Ontario," Kostynuik adds. "She told me her sister lives in Kansas City and wants a few loaves shipped to her home I told her theres no way I could do that quickly and still make it affordable. She said her sister doesnt care what it costs, that she has loads of money and Just get her the bread." Just the other day I got a call from a woman from Ontario. She told me her sister lives in Kansas City and wants a few loaves shipped to her home I told her theres no way I could do that quickly and still make it affordable. She said her sister doesnt care what it costs, that she has loads of money and Just get her the bread. Derek Kostynuik Some of the crumbs of information Watson and Kostynuik hope to share through their various social media platforms are that City Bread, despite its local-sounding tag, is available in retail outlets from Thunder Bay to Vancouver Island. Also, that the company employs close to 80 people, bakes in the neighbourhood of 20,000 loaves per week for one retail distributor alone, and, despite the "our breads" section of their website listing 20 available products including rye, multi-grain, Irish, and pumpernickel breads, that number is actually closer to 300. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS When speciality products for local restaurants are taken into account, City Bread makes about 300 products. "We produce a lot of things that are unique to a particular deli or restaurant. For instance, the folks at Rae and Jerrys liked our buns, but wanted ones that were a little longer and a little crustier, so we custom-make one for them," he says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bagels at the City Bread bakery shop. "Or take a loaf of rye bread; a place like Oscars Deli might want a bit of a thicker cut while another commercial client prefers it a bit thinner. So now one loaf of rye bread becomes eight or 10 different products, depending upon where its headed." Mike Del Bueno is the owner of King & Bannatyne, a gourmet sandwich shop at 100 King St. Although he didnt use City Bread when he initially opened his establishment in November 2014, he made the switch after his original supplier changed hands. "A staple with our old bakery was a classic Portuguese bun," Del Bueno says when reached at work. "The crew over at City put in the effort to come up with something we were super proud to serve. We also use their classic deli rye, which we hand-slice ourselves daily. Our River City Brisket sandwich wouldnt be the same without that bread." Dale Danis serves customers at City Bread on Dufferin Avenue. Finally, wed be remiss if we didnt take this opportunity to ask two bread experts how they take their toast, first thing in the morning. "Im pretty flexible," Kostynuik says. "I like mine toasted very crispy with butter, or toasted gently with peanut butter. Or with honey or jam." "I dont like to admit this but I had a big slathering of Cheez Whiz on mine, just this morning," Watson says with a chuckle. "In reality though Im more of a sandwich guy; I have a sandwich usually with corned beef from our neighbours down the street at European Meats almost every day, either on rye or supreme seed." david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. OTTAWA Manitobas Metis leader is doubling down on his support for embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, discounting the SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. scandal, as well as the federal Conservatives. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1012 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitobas Metis leader is doubling down on his support for embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, discounting the SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. scandal, as well as the federal Conservatives. "This is about personalities and egos, and having hurt feelings thats what this is about," David Chartrand, head of the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF), told the Free Press. He was reacting to comments by Indigenous leaders that Trudeau has hurt reconciliation in his treatment of former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. Wilson-Raybould resigned last month from federal cabinet, alleging Trudeau politically interfered in a corruption prosecution. "Theres never anyone whos spent so much political capital in trying to make a difference in Indigenous lives in this country," Chartrand said Friday of Trudeau. "The sad part about it is an Indigenous person (Wilson-Raybould) trying to bring that same government down and that prime minister down. Its an irony." Chartrand said the MMF is staying loyal to the federal Liberals following a historic acknowledgment of Metis people in multiple Indigenous programs, including funding allocations. That loyalty was visible Thursday, when the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs lashed out at the Liberals long-awaited reform of child welfare, accusing Ottawa of "stealing" its research in crafting a bill that had "no teeth" to assert First Nations authority. Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould testified Wednesday about political interference from the prime minister and his staff in her department's handling of the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files) Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, a First Nations advocacy group, showed timid support for the bill. But the MMF hailed the legislation as "another historic accomplishment by Trudeau." Christopher Adams, a University of Manitoba political scientist, said Metis and First Nations within the province have diverged at different points in how they interact with the federal government, largely because Ottawa has obligations for services on reserves, while Metis people largely fall under provincial systems. "The MMF have a history of, when they see something politically of advantage, they jump at it," said Adams, who co-edited the anthology Metis in Canada: History, Identity, Law and Politics. Adams said Metis leaders have generally resisted outright endorsements, instead highlighting federal and provincial candidates of various parties who are Metis. He expects Chartrand would drop his support for Trudeau if ongoing discussions over a major Metis land claim would fall through. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Chartrand said hes supporting the Liberals because they have created Metis-specific budget lines and policies, something he claims has been lacking since Manitoba joined Canada in 1870. "Theyre doing a great job in advancing reconciliation; the Metis nation have never seen in their entire history any government go as far as Trudeau has gone," he said. "Weve made historical changes beyond our wildest dreams that weve been championing for a hundred years." Chartrand also slagged the federal Tories, saying they havent outlined specific promises for Metis people, should they take government this fall.. He said the Tories focus on equal rights could undermine Metis-specific rights. He also accused Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer of associating with racists in the so-called yellow vest movement: "Im a big supporter of the Trans-Canada pipeline, but Im definitely not a supporter of racists and discriminatory, outspoken individuals, whom Scheer jumped in front of." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Through hard work, determination and a deep commitment to the service of others, Theresa Ilagan changed the lives of the people who crossed her path prior to her tragic death at 36. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Through hard work, determination and a deep commitment to the service of others, Theresa Ilagan changed the lives of the people who crossed her path prior to her tragic death at 36. Those who knew Ilagan remember her as a tireless nurse, entrepreneur, wife and mother, who had big plans for her future but always placed the needs of others before her own. SUPPLIED Theresa Ilagan, a native of the Philippines, immigrated to Manitoba in 2009 to work as a nurse. Six years later she started her own nursing agency, Elite Intellicare Staffing. "She was a very kind person, not only to her immediate family, but to her friends here in Manitoba and also in the Philippines. She was a very thoughtful person," said her husband, Leandro Ilagan. "I think of her sincerity and how she was helping others. Not only her family and friends and relatives, but also everyone she meets. That will be something Ill always remember about her." Ilagan (maiden name Galauran) was born Sept. 28, 1982, in Metro Manila, Philippines. She was one of six children. In early 2009, she met Leandro in a bookstore in the Philippines while perusing the business section. He said he was immediately attracted to her, and struck up a conversation, thinking the two might have similar interests. "Of course, I was attracted to her physical beauty and also because I found her very smart. And later on I found out shes very affectionate and loving to her family and her loved ones; that was something that I really liked and loved about her," he said. "I courted her, and a few months later we became girlfriend and boyfriend. But then after a few more weeks I learned she was moving to Canada to become a nurse in Manitoba." Despite the short length of their relationship and the prospect of living in different countries, the two decided they were meant to be together. Ilagan settled in Virden in May 2009, and began working as a nurse at the Virden Health Centre. SUPPLIED Theresa and Leandro Ilagan on their wedding day in the Philippines in 2013. During these early years, Leandro (still in the Philippines) and Ilagan would talk daily over Skype and make plans for their future, which included dreams of raising a family in Canada and starting their own businesses. Ilagan travelled home in 2013 so they could be married. In 2015, she gave birth to their only child, a son named Lance, and the following year Leandro moved to Canada. Between 2009 and 2017, Ilagan helped relocate nine family members (including four siblings) and three friends to Canada. Upon their arrival, she helped them establish their lives by finding work and places to live. "All four of her siblings became registered nurses in Canada because of her help. She was very passionate about health care and helping other people. She helped a lot of people, the patients and their families," Leandro said. In 2015, Ilagan started her own business, Elite Intellicare Staffing, a nursing agency that connects clients and families with health-care professionals and certified health-care workers. SUPPLIED Theresa Ilagan, a native of the Philippines, helped relocate dozens of people from her home country to Canada in search of better lives. She died in a highway motor vehicle collision on Dec. 27, 2018 at the age of 36. - for Passages feature by Ryan Thorpe / Winnipeg Free Press She turned her company into a family business that in addition to her siblings employed roughly 300 contractors throughout the Prairie Mountain Health Region (which includes Brandon) and across the province. The couple settled in Winnipeg and opened up a second business in the food distribution industry. After a lot of saving, they were able to build a home for their burgeoning family in 2018. Given their success in Canada, Leandro said they felt a desire to give back in their home country. "She was very driven and after we got married, we really planned a lot of things in our lives. We really planned to have our own businesses, but to also be able to help other people," Leandro said. "We also had a goal of helping unfortunate kids in the Philippines. Thats one of the purposes that Im going to continue of ours." SUPPLIED Theresa and Leandro Ilagan with their son Lance. Despite her position as owner of the company, Ilagan still filled shifts as a nurse from time to time when there were staff cancellations. On Dec. 27, 2018, a staff member dropped out of a shift at the last minute, so Ilagan decided to fill in. That morning, she kissed her husband and son goodbye, and began the multi-hour drive to work in the Prairie Mountain Health Region. Along the way, however, she was involved in a fatal head-on collision with an ambulance between Gladstone and Neepawa. The RCMP believe poor road conditions were a factor in the crash. "Its really painful when she left us. We still had a lot of dreams in life. We wanted to help more people. I will really miss how she (took) care of our son... Wed just built our house three months ago. She loved this house, but unfortunately it was time for her to go," Leandro said. "That morning, my son... woke up and he didnt want his mom to go out and work. He was trying to force his mom to stay at home in bed." Ilagan is survived by her husband and son, as well as family members she helped relocate to Canada and family in the Philippines. Elite Intellicare Staffing remains in operation. ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe Winnipeg police have charged three suspects with second-degree murder in the Christmas Day killing of Tyler Smoke. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg police have charged three suspects with second-degree murder in the Christmas Day killing of Tyler Smoke. Smoke, 26, was found critically injured in a back lane on the 400 block of Victor Street, just after 7 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2018. He was taken to hospital and later died from upper body injuries. Authorities said he was attacked, robbed and beaten by several people. On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service arrested David Joseph Merasty, 25, and Keenan Alexander Tom, 25. On Thursday, police arrested Michael Anthony Caribou, 28. The three men have been charged with second-degree murder and detained in custody. WPS spokeswoman Const. Tammy Skrabek said Friday the accused were not known to the victim. She said there is no indication his death was gang related. Smoke was from Black River First Nation, about 150 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Two days after his death, nearly 25 of his friends and family gathered to mourn in the Victor Street lane. A drum circle, two votive candles, a bright bouquet of flowers, and one of Smokes left-behind shoes were at the scene with the mourners. His uncle, Orville Smoke, described him as an ambitious boy, who was a talented painter. He helped raise Smoke from the ages of three through 17. "He was happy, he was helpful," his uncle told the Free Press at the time. "Whenever somebody wanted or needed something, he would be right there with them to help out a friend." After getting in trouble with the law and spending time incarcerated during his youth, Smoke wasnt the same, his uncle said. He lost touch with some family members. Area residents, who asked not to be named, told the Free Press on Dec. 25 they heard a man shouting in the back lane at 7 a.m. "We heard yelling and screaming. He was screaming and then the last thing we heard was him praying. He prayed before he died. You could hear it," said one woman. "I heard what I heard, and then the next thing I know, I see (police) lights." In her bombshell testimony before a House of Commons committee, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canadas former minister of justice and attorney general, described repeated attempts at political interference by top government officials. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files Jody Wilson-Raybould, testifying before the House of Commons justice committee in Ottawa, says she faced veiled threats over the SNC-Lavalin situation. In her bombshell testimony before a House of Commons committee, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Canadas former minister of justice and attorney general, described repeated attempts at "political interference" by top government officials. She told of "veiled threats" about her job and dark warnings about being headed for "a collision" with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the issue of helping Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin avoid a bribery trial. Less dramatically but with the potential to spark a major restructuring of her former ministry Wilson-Raybould stated that she has long believed Canada should re-examine the conjoined federal department headed by the minister of justice and attorney general and consider "whether or not those two roles should be bifurcated." She added that a new structure could see an attorney general who would "not sit around the cabinet table," referencing the British model that separates the justice minister and attorney general roles. In the U.K., the office of the Attorney General, a non-cabinet post, is separate from the cabinet position of Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Splitting the two jobs in Canada is an idea that was raised recently by University of Ottawa law professor Adam Dodek, who advanced a timely and important argument about what he calls an "intolerable conflict" within the combined role of minister of justice and attorney general in Canada. The conjoined cabinet post, he insists, is at the heart of the Wilson-Raybould controversy. He argued its time to sever the political, partisan role of the minister of justice from that of the ideally "independent" attorney general the governments chief legal adviser and litigator, someone expected to "put aside partisan concerns" in upholding the Constitution. It seems Wilson-Raybould agrees. Dont ignore the history This is all good fodder for serious debate. But we shouldnt embark on potential reforms by ignoring the history that led to the 1868 creation of this countrys Department of Justice and the yoking of the minister of justice and attorney general jobs in a single cabinet position. Neither should we necessarily graft British appendages onto our body politic. As early as the 1840s, leading political reformers such as Robert Baldwin believed a policy-engaged, made-in-Canada version of attorney general "clothed with its present political character" was required "in a community like ours." Furthermore, we shouldnt naively imagine that splitting these positions will somehow magically insulate government legal thinking from the sullying effects or pragmatic influences of politics. There are, in fact, deep-rooted historical reasons why Canada has a combined minister of justice and attorney general. And as with many other contentious issues in modern Canada, to better understand this ministry we must reflect on the mixed legacy of Canadas founding prime minister who was also the first minister of justice and attorney general. Yes, it could be argued that Sir John A. Macdonald, so often a target for contemporary critics, is ultimately to blame for the Wilson-Raybould affair, too. Filled the job himself Or should we credit Macdonalds peculiar genius for statecraft including the imperfect but practical compromise he struck between the political and legal imperatives of government when he created the unified ministerial position in 1868 and promptly filled the job himself? Its worth noting that the ministry was formed after Washington spy George W. Brega provided Macdonald with a blueprint of planned changes to the U.S. Attorney Generals office. These matched the kind of dual-role ministry Macdonald was already planning for Ottawa. The legislation that created Canadas justice ministry was crafted by Macdonald and his brother-in-law, Hewitt Bernard, deputy attorney general at the time. The project reflected Macdonalds understanding of 19th-century realpolitik and as head of a fragile, complicated new country his perceived need for the law of the land to be informed by, and sometimes governed by, political considerations. You can hear echoes of Macdonald when Trudeau in response to accusations of political interference in the SNC-Lavalin case refers to his governments commitment "to defend jobs and to make sure that our economy is growing" while simultaneously "upholding the rule of law." Unspoken (but also discernible in the governments handling of the case) are concerns about Liberal election fortunes in Quebec concerns referenced by Wilson-Raybould in her testimony. While Macdonald often spoke about the sanctity of the law, he was a pragmatist. He excelled at working in the small spaces and along the edges of the law in the service of the national interest, as he saw it, but also in his partys interests. In the case of the Pacific Scandal, Macdonald wandered well past the edge of the law. He was consequently exiled from the prime ministership for five years following allegations his government accepted election funds from a shipping magnate in exchange for the contract to build the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway. The realities of governing Macdonald probably spoke of the attorney general being responsible for astute legal counsel. Its not hard to imagine he likely nodded and winked at the realities of how the business of government actually worked in his day. Thus the two offices were fused then and remain so today because of Macdonalds sense of how government ought to function. Canada didnt get a joint minister of justice and attorney general "just because;" its the result of Macdonalds very conscious decisions, and his acceptance of the idea that, of course, legal decisions are political. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The dual position has endured under 22 subsequent prime ministers, both Conservative and Liberal. But times have changed. As Prof. Dodek rightly points out, conflict-of-interest rules and other guiding principles of good governance have evolved. We may well be able to fashion a better ministerial structure in the 21st century than was envisioned 150 years ago. But even if we think Macdonald rather cynical, we may find that keeping the justice and attorney general jobs together under one minister is still the best arrangement for this country. In any case, we shouldnt approach this worthwhile debate blind to the peculiarities of Canadian history nor swayed too much by the fiction of an apolitical attorney general whether wearing one hat or two. Randy Boswell is an associate professor in the school of journalism and communication at Carleton University. Jonathan Swainger is a professor of history at the University of Northern British Columbia. This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca. At the end of his historic summit on preventing clergy sex abuse, Pope Francis vowed predator priests will be confronted with the wrath of God. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. At the end of his historic summit on preventing clergy sex abuse, Pope Francis vowed predator priests will be confronted with "the wrath of God." The pontiff might have done better to promise the abusers "ravenous wolves," he called them and the hierarchy that has protected them for decades will face earthly justice. Groups representing abuse survivors were expecting more than lawandorder rhetoric; they were expecting concrete action, and they were sorely disappointed The Popes angry rhetoric suggested the Vatican is finally prepared to take a no-holds-barred approach to ongoing abuse scandals that have caused a crisis of credibility and diminished the Catholic Churchs moral authority. "If in the church, there should emerge even a single case of abuse which already in itself represents an atrocity that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness," he promised at the end of his summit of bishops from around the world. "Indeed, in peoples justified anger, the church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful, consecrated persons." Strong words, but groups representing abuse survivors were expecting more than law-and-order rhetoric; they were expecting concrete action, and they were sorely disappointed. "I have been waiting for seven years for all of this to change," Italian survivor Alessandro Battaglia said. "There are people who have been waiting for 30 years that all this will change. Why dont they start with something concrete like removing the bishops who cover up?" Vincenzo Pinto / Pool FILES Pope Francis attends a penitential liturgy at the Vatican on Feb. 23. U.S. survivor Peter Isely, of the victim advocacy group Ending Clergy Abuse, didnt hide his anger. "There is nothing in (the Popes) remarks about releasing documents that demonstrate the truth of how they are and have been covering up child sex crimes," he said. "So what that is, is secrecy. So, if he is against secrecy about coverups, on Monday morning, we would be seeing those archives and criminal evidence released." The Pope is to be commended for tackling a decades-long crisis head-on, but what is most clear is that the time for words, regardless of how harsh, regardless of how inspiring, is long gone. Those who have suffered at the hands of predator priests and seen those crimes covered up by church bureaucrats deserve concrete action that results in real change here on Earth. That could mean defrocking clerics as recently happened with former U.S. cardinal Theodore McCarrick, found guilty of soliciting sex while hearing confession or criminal prosecutions of abusers and those who cover up their crimes, as well as compensation for abuse victims. But punishing offenders is one thing, and preventing abuse from occurring is quite another. The need to educate priests and parishioners about the prevalence of abuse is self-evident. And the Vatican would be wise to create a code of conduct for bishops, some of whom have been instrumental in coverups. Those who have suffered at the hands of predator priests and seen those crimes covered up by church bureaucrats deserve concrete action that results in real change here on Earth Canadian bishops have proposed a possible road map for reformation, suggesting guidelines that include tougher background checks, compassion for victims and abandoning confidentiality clauses in settlements with victims. Sadly, Canada has a painful history with such crimes the worlds first widely known cases of sexual abuse of children by clergy took place at the Mount Cashel Boys Home in Newfoundland during the 1980s. And the Pope has been urged to visit this country to apologize for the abuse of Indigenous children at residential schools. Whatever is done, the changes must be transparent. The famous mysteries of Mother Church can no longer include what steps are being taken to eradicate sexual abuse. Elizabeth Lawal is a recognizable face on Sargent Avenue. She owns three businesses an international grocery store, employment agency and now a restaurant along a one-kilometre stretch of the West End thoroughfare. Her most recent venture is proving more popular than she expected. Since we opened the doors its like crazy busy, I didnt prepare for this one, Lawal said of Akins African Restaurant and Bar at 570-a Sargent Ave. Where we are right now is what we projected for another year. The restaurant opened in December 2018 and joins the grocery store and employment agency under the Akins name. The impetus to open a restaraunt came about because Lawal noticed there was unmet demand for west and central African cuisine in Winnipeg. Lots of people that come to visit Winnipeg, they come to the food store and say, Where can we eat? she said. I took a couple of them home to cook for them because they really wanted to eat (African) food and after that I was talking to my husband and we said maybe we should open a restaurant. The menu features a variety of traditional west African rice dishes, stews and soups including a habanero pepper soup served with either goat or fish thats so spicy, Lawal claims it can cure the common cold. If your husband has a cold you want to prepare pepper soup by the time he drinks that pepper he sweats and the cold will fly away, Lawal said, laughing. Striking a balance between spice and flavour has been an important part of making the restaurant accessible for all kinds of customers. If you want to cook in the restaurant you cant cook the way you cook at home, because West Africans, we like pepper, she said. I just put in the right amount of spice so they can still enjoy it. Lawal is the main cook at Akins and while she doesnt have any formal chef training, she was confident her home cooking would hit the spot. I can cook Nigerian food very good, so sometimes when theres a holiday people just show up at my door to come and eat, she said. People like my food and I know if I opened a restaurant Id do good. Lawal came to Winnipeg from Nigeria in 1986. She took a job as a cab driver with the goal of owning her own business one day. I drove around town and realized what is missing, I know the food store is missing, I talked to people in my cab and they would say, Oh we want to buy this, but nobodys selling it. She opened Akins International Foods (550 Sargent) in 2000 and Akins Employment Agency (819 Sargent) two years later. Lawal travels back to Africa once or twice a year to buy stock for the store, which now also supplies the restaurant. Its even going faster than what I thought because 80 per cent of what we cook here comes from (the store), she said. When asked how she balances three businesses at once, Lawal said she is currently looking for someone to taking over the kitchen at Akins restaurant so she can get back to focusing on all of her other businesses. Right now Im doing all the cooking, she said. It ties me down too much, I dont want to be tied down to anything. Visit akinsrestaurant.com for operating hours and a full menu. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1012 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Elizabeth Lawal is a recognizable face on Sargent Avenue. She owns three businesses an international grocery store, employment agency and now a restaurant along a one-kilometre stretch of the West End thoroughfare. Her most recent venture is proving more popular than she expected. "Since we opened the doors its like crazy busy, I didnt prepare for this one," Lawal said of Akins African Restaurant and Bar at 570-a Sargent Ave. "Where we are right now is what we projected for another year." The restaurant opened in December 2018 and joins the grocery store and employment agency under the Akins name. The impetus to open a restaraunt came about because Lawal noticed there was unmet demand for west and central African cuisine in Winnipeg. "Lots of people that come to visit Winnipeg, they come to the food store and say, Where can we eat?" she said. "I took a couple of them home to cook for them because they really wanted to eat (African) food and after that I was talking to my husband and we said maybe we should open a restaurant." The menu features a variety of traditional west African rice dishes, stews and soups including a habanero pepper soup served with either goat or fish thats so spicy, Lawal claims it can cure the common cold. "If your husband has a cold you want to prepare pepper soup by the time he drinks that pepper he sweats and the cold will fly away," Lawal said, laughing. Striking a balance between spice and flavour has been an important part of making the restaurant accessible for all kinds of customers. "If you want to cook in the restaurant you cant cook the way you cook at home, because West Africans, we like pepper," she said. "I just put in the right amount of spice so they can still enjoy it." Lawal is the main cook at Akins and while she doesnt have any formal chef training, she was confident her home cooking would hit the spot. "I can cook Nigerian food very good, so sometimes when theres a holiday people just show up at my door to come and eat," she said. "People like my food and I know if I opened a restaurant Id do good." Lawal came to Winnipeg from Nigeria in 1986. She took a job as a cab driver with the goal of owning her own business one day. "I drove around town and realized what is missing, I know the food store is missing, I talked to people in my cab and they would say, Oh we want to buy this, but nobodys selling it." She opened Akins International Foods (550 Sargent) in 2000 and Akins Employment Agency (819 Sargent) two years later. Lawal travels back to Africa once or twice a year to buy stock for the store, which now also supplies the restaurant. "Its even going faster than what I thought because 80 per cent of what we cook here comes from (the store)," she said. When asked how she balances three businesses at once, Lawal said she is currently looking for someone to taking over the kitchen at Akins restaurant so she can get back to focusing on all of her other businesses. "Right now Im doing all the cooking," she said. "It ties me down too much, I dont want to be tied down to anything." Visit akinsrestaurant.com for operating hours and a full menu. Elizabeth Lawal is a recognizable face on Sargent Avenue. EVA WASNEY Elizabeth Lawal owns three businesses on Sargent Avenue, her most recent is a West African eatery. She owns three businesses an international grocery store, employment agency and now a restaurant along a one-kilometre stretch of the West End thoroughfare. Her most recent venture is proving more popular than she expected. "Since we opened the doors its like crazy busy, I didnt prepare for this one," Lawal said of Akins African Restaurant and Bar at 570-a Sargent Ave. "Where we are right now is what we projected for another year." The restaurant opened in December 2018 and joins the grocery store and employment agency under the Akins name. EVA WASNEY Elizabeth Lawal prepares okra in the kitchen of Akins African Restaurant and Bar at 570-a Sargent Ave. The impetus to open a restaraunt came about because Lawal noticed there was unmet demand for west and central African cuisine in Winnipeg. "Lots of people that come to visit Winnipeg, they come to the food store and say, Where can we eat?" she said. "I took a couple of them home to cook for them because they really wanted to eat (African) food and after that I was talking to my husband and we said maybe we should open a restaurant." The menu features a variety of traditional west African rice dishes, stews and soups including a habanero pepper soup served with either goat or fish thats so spicy, Lawal claims it can cure the common cold. "If your husband has a cold you want to prepare pepper soup by the time he drinks that pepper he sweats and the cold will fly away," Lawal said, laughing. Striking a balance between spice and flavour has been an important part of making the restaurant accessible for all kinds of customers. "If you want to cook in the restaurant you cant cook the way you cook at home, because West Africans, we like pepper," she said. "I just put in the right amount of spice so they can still enjoy it." Lawal is the main cook at Akins and while she doesnt have any formal chef training, she was confident her home cooking would hit the spot. "I can cook Nigerian food very good, so sometimes when theres a holiday people just show up at my door to come and eat," she said. "People like my food and I know if I opened a restaurant Id do good." Lawal came to Winnipeg from Nigeria in 1986. She took a job as a cab driver with the goal of owning her own business one day. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I drove around town and realized what is missing, I know the food store is missing, I talked to people in my cab and they would say, Oh we want to buy this, but nobodys selling it." She opened Akins International Foods (550 Sargent) in 2000 and Akins Employment Agency (819 Sargent) two years later. Lawal travels back to Africa once or twice a year to buy stock for the store, which now also supplies the restaurant. "Its even going faster than what I thought because 80 per cent of what we cook here comes from (the store)," she said. When asked how she balances three businesses at once, Lawal said she is currently looking for someone to taking over the kitchen at Akins restaurant so she can get back to focusing on all of her other businesses. "Right now Im doing all the cooking," she said. "It ties me down too much, I dont want to be tied down to anything." Visit akinsrestaurant.com for operating hours and a full menu. A group of soldiers from the prairies recently got the opportunity to test their winter survival skills in the Canadian arctic. Seventy-five army reservists from 38 Canadian Brigade Group which is headquartered in Winnipeg and includes members from Minto Armouries spent eight days in the Yukon Territory last month for a training exercise dubbed Arctic Bison. The soldiers are part of the Armys Arctic Response Company Group and the annual training exercise is designed to make sure they are prepared to assist during natural disasters and domestic emergencies in the north. Rather than focusing on a war fighting scenario, were focusing on domestic operations, said Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hayden, Regimental Sergeant Major with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Hayden attended the exercise for the first time this year as a member of the command group. The best thing that I got out of it was greeting the soldiers as they came back from the different missions, he said. To see the looks on their faces and the great stories they had and to watch their skills improve over the course of the exercise. The soldiers were stationed in Haines Junction, about 150 kilometres west of Whitehorse, and were given two missions and 36 hours to complete each one. The first was to locate a downed aircraft site on the side of a mountain and the second was to build a landing strip for a resupply plane at a nearby research station. During the trek to find the aircraft which was an actual plane that crashed in the 1950s soldiers had to travel over a mountain range and set up camp in the bush. The environment provided challenges hard to mimic in Manitoba. Its one thing for us to go drive the snowmobiles out here on the prairies, its fairly easy, but once you get into the mountainous terrain its something were not used to, Hayden said. This takes us out of our comfort zone and into different places to learn what its like to survive in Canadas North. Prior to deploying to the Yukon, the soldiers had to complete a basic winter training course to learn how to live in austere environments in the wilderness and how to operate winter equipment, such as snowmobiles. Its not something you can just show up and get done, Hayden said. Arctic Bison takes place in a new northern location each year and requires a significant amount of planning and logistical considerations. Exercises of this magnitude, especially ones that are going to take place in the north, it takes almost a year to plan them, Hayden said. Now that were finished this one, were actually beginning to plan the one that we have for next year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 1/3/2019 (1012 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A group of soldiers from the prairies recently got the opportunity to test their winter survival skills in the Canadian arctic. Seventy-five army reservists from 38 Canadian Brigade Group which is headquartered in Winnipeg and includes members from Minto Armouries spent eight days in the Yukon Territory last month for a training exercise dubbed Arctic Bison. The soldiers are part of the Armys Arctic Response Company Group and the annual training exercise is designed to make sure they are prepared to assist during natural disasters and domestic emergencies in the north. "Rather than focusing on a war fighting scenario, were focusing on domestic operations," said Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hayden, Regimental Sergeant Major with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Hayden attended the exercise for the first time this year as a member of the command group. "The best thing that I got out of it was greeting the soldiers as they came back from the different missions," he said. "To see the looks on their faces and the great stories they had and to watch their skills improve over the course of the exercise." The soldiers were stationed in Haines Junction, about 150 kilometres west of Whitehorse, and were given two missions and 36 hours to complete each one. The first was to locate a downed aircraft site on the side of a mountain and the second was to build a landing strip for a resupply plane at a nearby research station. During the trek to find the aircraft which was an actual plane that crashed in the 1950s soldiers had to travel over a mountain range and set up camp in the bush. The environment provided challenges hard to mimic in Manitoba. "Its one thing for us to go drive the snowmobiles out here on the prairies, its fairly easy, but once you get into the mountainous terrain its something were not used to," Hayden said. "This takes us out of our comfort zone and into different places to learn what its like to survive in Canadas North." Prior to deploying to the Yukon, the soldiers had to complete a basic winter training course to learn how to live in "austere environments" in the wilderness and how to operate winter equipment, such as snowmobiles. "Its not something you can just show up and get done," Hayden said. Arctic Bison takes place in a new northern location each year and requires a significant amount of planning and logistical considerations. "Exercises of this magnitude, especially ones that are going to take place in the north, it takes almost a year to plan them," Hayden said. "Now that were finished this one, were actually beginning to plan the one that we have for next year." A group of soldiers from the prairies recently got the opportunity to test their winter survival skills in the Canadian arctic. Seventy-five army reservists from 38 Canadian Brigade Group which is headquartered in Winnipeg and includes members from Minto Armouries spent eight days in the Yukon Territory last month for a training exercise dubbed Arctic Bison. The soldiers are part of the Armys Arctic Response Company Group and the annual training exercise is designed to make sure they are prepared to assist during natural disasters and domestic emergencies in the north. "Rather than focusing on a war fighting scenario, were focusing on domestic operations," said Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hayden, Regimental Sergeant Major with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Hayden attended the exercise for the first time this year as a member of the command group. SUPPLIED PHOTO BY CORPORAL MIGUEL MOLDEZ, 38 CANADIAN BRIGADE GROUP PUBLIC AFFAIRS Members of 38 Canadian Brigade Groups Arctic Response Company Group review a map after orders during Exercise Arctic Bison 2019 avalanche training at Haines Junction, Yukon Territories on Feb. 17 "The best thing that I got out of it was greeting the soldiers as they came back from the different missions," he said. "To see the looks on their faces and the great stories they had and to watch their skills improve over the course of the exercise." The soldiers were stationed in Haines Junction, about 150 kilometres west of Whitehorse, and were given two missions and 36 hours to complete each one. The first was to locate a downed aircraft site on the side of a mountain and the second was to build a landing strip for a resupply plane at a nearby research station. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. During the trek to find the aircraft which was an actual plane that crashed in the 1950s soldiers had to travel over a mountain range and set up camp in the bush. The environment provided challenges hard to mimic in Manitoba. "Its one thing for us to go drive the snowmobiles out here on the prairies, its fairly easy, but once you get into the mountainous terrain its something were not used to," Hayden said. "This takes us out of our comfort zone and into different places to learn what its like to survive in Canadas North." Prior to deploying to the Yukon, the soldiers had to complete a basic winter training course to learn how to live in "austere environments" in the wilderness and how to operate winter equipment, such as snowmobiles. "Its not something you can just show up and get done," Hayden said. Arctic Bison takes place in a new northern location each year and requires a significant amount of planning and logistical considerations. "Exercises of this magnitude, especially ones that are going to take place in the north, it takes almost a year to plan them," Hayden said. "Now that were finished this one, were actually beginning to plan the one that we have for next year." NEW YORK - Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday miles from the rent-controlled apartment where he grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully made the case that he is nothing like fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat the incumbent in 2020. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/3/2019 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2018, file photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance', at a George Washington University/Politics and Prose event in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) NEW YORK - Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday miles from the rent-controlled apartment where he grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully made the case that he is nothing like fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat the incumbent in 2020. "My experience as a child, living in a family that struggled economically, powerfully influenced my life and my values. I know where I came from," Sanders boomed in his unmistakable Brooklyn accent. "And that is something I will never forget." The Democrats in the 2020 race have taken varied approaches to Trump, with some avoiding saying his name entirely, while others make implicit critiques of his presidency. Sanders has never shied from jabbing Trump in stark terms, and during his speech at Brooklyn College, he called Trump "the most dangerous president in modern American history" and said the president wants to "divide us up." The Vermont senator positioned himself in opposition to Trump administration policies from immigration to climate change. Beyond the issues themselves, Sanders, who grew up in the heavily Jewish neighbourhood of Flatbush in a middle-class family, drew a stark contrast between himself and the billionaire in the White House who hails from Queens. "I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs," said Sanders, who has lived in Vermont for decades. He pegged his allowance as a kid at 25 cents a week. Sanders also said he "did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers, 'You're fired.'" FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2019, file photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sanders will return to Brooklyn, the borough where he was born, to launch a presidential campaign thatAos expected to connect his working-class childhood to his populist political views that have reshaped the Democratic Party. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) "I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over every day workers," he added. More than 200 miles away in suburban Washington, Trump reveled in his 2016 victory and said Republicans "need to verify it in 2020 with an even bigger victory." While Trump didn't mention Sanders explicitly in a two-hour speech, he railed against the policies of "socialism" in a continued attempt to portray Democrats as out of touch with ordinary Americans. Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist. "Socialism is not about the environment, it is not about justice, it is not about virtue. It is only about one thing - it is called power for the ruling class," Trump said. "We know the future does not belong to those who believe in socialism" Speaking at the same conference Friday, Vice-President Mike Pence called Sanders an "avowed socialist." Sanders enters the race at a moment that bears little resemblance to when he waged his long-shot bid in 2016. Democrats have been mobilized by the election of Trump and are seeking a standard-bearer who can oust him from office. Many of Sanders' populist ideas have been embraced by the mainstream of the Democratic party. The field of Democrats that he joins includes a number of liberal candidates, most notably Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who share similar sensibilities. As Sanders launched his campaign in Brooklyn, Warren was campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa and was questioned repeatedly about Sanders. Though the two have been friends since before they came to the Senate, Warren did not endorse Sanders in 2016, a decision that angered his supporters. People arrive for a rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., before Sanders kicks off his political campaign Saturday, March 2, 2019, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sanders will launch a 2020 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) "I'm going to be blunt - we can't go back and relitigate 2016," she told a voter who asked why she declined to back Sanders. "We've gotta keep our focus on how we're going to win in 2020." Later asked by reporters how she'll distinguish herself from Sanders, she said she would focus on issues, and emphasized the need for the Democratic field to stick together. "The way I see it, I got plenty to talk about as it is about the structural change we need in this country and laying out how we can do this. This is hopeful. People come and they hear what's broken, that we can fix it and that we do it together." Sanders' rally was his first campaign event since announcing a week ago that he would run against Trump for the White House. Sanders will make his first trip to the leadoff caucus state of Iowa next week, with plans to campaign in Council Bluffs, Iowa City and Des Moines. He is headed to the early state of Iowa Hours before his speech in Brooklyn College's East Quad, a line of supporters snaked down the snowy streets. A reggae band played before Sanders spoke, and he was introduced by a number of supporters including Nina Turner, the former Ohio state senator who is a co-chair of Sanders' campaign this year, and Shaun King, the writer and civil rights activist. King cited Sanders' participation in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when he was a student at the University of Chicago. "This is the origin story of an American revolutionary," King said of Sanders, who will return to Chicago on Sunday evening for a second campaign rally, where he's expected to further highlight his own activism. Paul Crewdson, 37, of Brooklyn, came to the rally carrying a hand-drawn cardboard sign that read, "Win Michigan, Win Ohio, Win Wisconsin." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I think this was the reason that Democrats lost in 2016," he said. As he began his speech, Sanders himself hinted at how he sees the race, a campaign that runs beyond the battlegrounds. "This is a 50-state campaign," he said. "We will not concede a single state to Donald Trump." ___ This version of the story is corrected to say that Pence spoke Friday at the conservative conference, not Thursday. ___ Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe in Waterloo, Iowa, and Kevin Freking and Zeke Miller in Oxon Hill, Maryland, contributed to this report. Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund operates as closed-end management investment company. Its investment strategy is to seek high total return. The firm will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in high yield debt securities of U.S. and foreign issuers, which include securities that are rated below investment grade by a rating agency or are unrated debt securities determined to be of comparable quality by the fund's investment manager. The company was founded on July 28, 2003 and is headquartered in New York, NY. Read More Zalando SE operates as an online fashion and lifestyle retailer. It offers a range of products, including shoes, apparel, accessories, and beauty products for women, men, and children, as well as free delivery and returns services. The company also sells its products through its Zalando Lounge; and brick-and-mortar stores in Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Leipzig, Hamburg, Hanover, MAnster, Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Ulm. It serves in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company has a strategic partnership with Sephora SAS to create the online prestige beauty destination. Zalando SE was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Read More Utica, N.Y. - For those who either ran or walked to help the cause in the 45th annual America's Greatest Heart Run and Walk on Saturday, people were loving the weather. Temperatures were in the 20's and there really wasn't a wind to talk about when about 25 runners took off from Van's Tavern in Barneveld at 7:30 A.M. to run the 30K race down to the finish line at Utica College. Lisa Murphy of Newport was one of those 25. She says this is one picturesque run from Barneveld to Utica through traveling through Stittville, Marcy, Whitesboro, Yorkville and New York Mills along the way. She says this run has become a tradition for her, Its beautiful, I mean this first hill is pretty tough but then the rest of the way its just so peaceful and nice rolling hills. Murphy got her good friend Leonora Foster, also of Newport, to run with her this year. Murphy says it's a thrill to take part in this historic 30K race, "Just being out in nature is awesome and being up this early. It's wonderful." Van's Tavern is where a group of five runners ran $200 in pledges down to the WIBX Radio studios in 1975, and that is what led to what we have now, America's Greatest Heart Run and Walk. Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol made it a point to be at the start of each event. Maciol says this event shows what the Mohawk Valley is all about, Its really neat, especially in the rural parts up here with a long stretch that starts in Barneveld and you go through Stittville. People come out of their houses and offer them juice and oranges to the runners. Its a great event, great community spirit, and couldnt be more proud to be living in this community. About 50 runners took off from Route 291 in Stittville to take part in the 10 mile run. Stittville Volunteer Firefighter James Madera was one of many volunteer firefighters who helped block intersections along the lengthy course to make sure everyone stayed safe on Saturday. Madera was positioned along Route 291 in Stittville about 2 miles into the 10 mile run. He too was happy with Saturday's weather, "Compared to the last couple years this is good. They've got good weather, it's not too bad for us either." Down in the middle of it all, along Elm Street in New York Mills leading up to Heartbreak Hill, the music was blasting, people were fired up to get to that finish line at Utica College. The Catalyst Group was handing out noise sticks and coffee and donuts to people along Elm Street. Catalyst Group spokesperson Steven Turnbull says it's an honor to be a part of this event, "Everybody's out here for the same cause, raising money for the American Heart Association and everybody's having a fun time doing it. It's not two below like it was last year so that makes a little more enjoyable and we're just handing out coffee and donuts to everybody to keep them motivated to head up this big stretch of the race." Elm Street was also the site of a man I call the non-stop clapper, Brett Leach. As the hundreds upon hundreds of walkers came his Elm Street home by around 11:00 A.M., Leach never stopped clapping, "The arms are sore but it's worth it for these people. Definitely worth it, they do a great job." SCHUYLER, N.Y. -- Its delivery day for Girl Scout cookies. More than 30,000 boxes of cookies have arrived to the delivery warehouse on State Route 5 in Schuyler. The United States Materials Handling Corporation donated their warehouse for the Girl Scouts to use. Volunteers were going through and divvying up the cases order by order earlier Friday morning, and they say that there's nothing like today for the Girl Scouts. "Girl Scout cookie time is the best time of the year. We're excited, we have booth sales starting in the community tomorrow if havent already ordered you can still get out and buy some girl scout cookies, said Communications Director Jamie Alvarez. Anyone still looking for places to pick up a box or three, can head to cookiewow.org and enter your zip code to find out where to buy the cookies locally. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, State School Superintendent Jennifer McCormick and State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell are encouraging high school students to apply for the 2019 Governor's STEM Team. The program honors four outstanding high school students for their exemplary performance in one of the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. Nominees also are judged on extracurricular activities, work or research projects, leadership and community service. Winning students each receive a $1,000 college scholarship from Indiana's College Choice 529 Direct Savings plan and letter jackets identifying them as members of the STEM Team. The nominations may be submitted online. The deadline is March 31. Nominations will be reviewed by teachers, college and university instructors and state education staff. The STEM Team complements Indiana's Mr. and Ms. Math and Science awards. LAFAYETTE, Ind (WLFI) Lafayette Jefferson High School is hosting the Xtreme Choir Showdown. Choirs from all over Indiana and some from Illinois have traveled to the Greater Lafayette area. The competition is held in the Rhorman Performing Arts Center. Nearly 16 schools are participating in today's competition ranging from middle school to high school. Lafayette Jefferson High School had one of the first show choirs during the '80s. This tradition is one that will continue to ring through the halls for generations to come. "By hosting a competition the kids learn about what it means to be a good host, good citizens and the responsibilities that go with that," said Head Choir Director of Lafayette Jefferson High School Michael Benett. The event lasted until midnight on Saturday. Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Algeria against President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas bid for a fifth term in April 18 elections. It comes following protests by students and journalists against Bouteflika after the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) announced his candidacy on February 9, and a wave of strikes across the Maghreb. Since suffering a major stroke in 2013, Bouteflika has been incapacitated. He is receiving treatment at the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG) in Switzerland, with his brother Said the unofficial head of state. The FLNs decision to run Bouteflika testifies to the bankrupt and sclerotic character of the Algerian capitalist regime, which after winning independence from French imperialism in a bloody 1954-1962 war emerged in recent decades as a mainstay of imperialist war strategy. Mass protests took place in Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Annaba, Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes and other cities. Though the regime banned TV coverage of the marches and restricted Internet access, closing 3G and 4G networks, what predominated in the marches was anger against unemployment, low wages and austerity and calls for bringing down the regime. The Algerian protests are part of an ongoing, international upsurge of class struggle: bread riots in Sudan, strikes in Tunisia, the yellow vest protests in France, and teachers strikes erupting independently of the trade unions across the United States. Having suppressed political opposition for decades, the Algerian regime now faces a challenge from below. Protesters are harking back to slogans of the 2011 uprisings in which workers brought down the pro-imperialist dictatorships of Zine El Abedine Bin Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. In Oran, tens of thousands cried Down with Bouteflika and Down with the system. One told Le Monde he opposed a government that unfortunately is rotten, while another said, You cannot imagine the misery we live in. A third attacked the European Union (EU) for leaving thousands of immigrants to drown in the Mediterranean: What do we do next? Take a ship and leave for France? No, I dont want to drown at sea. And I am also marching to say I am thinking about the thousands of youth who died at sea. Protests also shook the ethnically-Berber region of Kabylie. Tens of thousands marched in Bejaia, while an estimated 10,000 marched in Tizi Ouzou shouting the slogan of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, The people want the fall of the regime. In Algiers, the capitals main avenues were filled with protesters numbering 800,000 according to police estimates, or in the millions according to press reports. After Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia denounced the protests, warning that protests in Syria led to a decade of war, protesters chanted Algeria is not Syria, as well as The people want the fall of the regime. Chourouk, a young hydraulic technician, told El Watan: With President Bouteflika in power for 20 years now, with each passing year weve seen a growing separating between the social classes. The middle class is disappearing, leaving a vast gulf between the class of the rich and the class of the poor. Since the new budget, it is ever harder to maintain our living standards. The education system is in decline, educational achievement at all levels is drifting. Dozens were wounded in Algiers, including 53 police, after marchers tried to reach the presidential palace and ran into a large police detachment firing volleys of tear gas and stun grenades. Videos online also show Algerian infantry traveling on trucks towards the capital to secure key government buildings during the protests. At this stage in the struggle against the regime, the forces that are mobilized are socially and politically heterogeneous. Called on social media, the protests involve sections of workers and youth, as well as managers and business owners, and factions of the political establishment. Several leaders of official opposition partiesall closely tied to the regime, and some of which are simply FLN split-offscalled on their supporters to join the marches. They aim to block a revolutionary challenge to the regime from the working class, and to increase the share of the power and privileges accruing to them inside the existing regime. The Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), a Berber-nationalist party affiliated to the so-called Socialist International of European imperialist social-democratic parties like Frances unpopular Socialist Party (PS), wrote that the end of the regime is approaching. It pledged to work for a convergence of the forces of peaceful change to mobilize the Algerian women and men capable of creating the conditions for an organized, pluralist political dynamic. Workers Party (PT) leader Louisa Hanoune attended the march but reportedly was booed and did not deploy her partys banners. The PT advised the regime not to repress the protests, which could provoke an uncontrollable eruption of working class anger and bring down the FLN. The national authorities, Hanoune said, cannot ignore or seek to limit the profound desire for change of the overwhelming majority of society expressed by the youth and broad masses, without taking the risk of provoking something irreparable. The PT is linked to Frances Independent Democratic Workers Party (POID), an offshoot of Pierre Lamberts Organisation communiste internationaliste (OCI), which broke with Trotskyism and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) in 1971 to ally with the PS. The PT is a longstanding supporter of the FLN. Hanoune attracted ridicule last week by saying, amid the initial protests against Bouteflikas fifth term bid, that The slogans are not against Bouteflika. This only echoes calls from imperialist foreign policy circles in the European Union (EU) for regime change in Algeria, backed by the army, to strangle the protests. Professor Jonathan Hill of Kings College London predicted: The EU will take its lead from France, which in turn will support the regime to stage-manage the transfer of power. With his polls at record lows amid yellow vest protests, President Emmanuel Macron ordered French Ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt to make an extraordinary covert, one-day trip to Paris on Tuesday for talks. Elysee presidential palace sources also indicated they are desperate to prop up the FLNbecause of intelligence and logistical aid it offers to French wars in Mali and the broader Sahel, and to limit opposition in Frances three million-strong Algerian community. They intend to make no concessions to popular opposition to Bouteflika. One source told Nouvel Obs: France and the president cannot be indifferent to anything occurring in Algeria. The stakes for us are considerable. With Algeria, our historical, economic, and security ties are very deep. France has interests there, it also has a large Algerian and Franco-Algerian population. So for us the stability of Algeria is a major issue, especially given the geographic proximity and human ties between the two states. And then there is the security issue, including on the regional level. We need cooperation with Algeria to struggle against terror groups in the Sahel. The way forward for workers entering into struggle with the FLN regime is to orient to the upsurge of the international working class. The social and democratic demands of workers across the Maghreb cannot be met without an expropriation of the ruling class, including the Algerian regimes vast oil and gas wealth, on an international scale. This requires a conscious struggle for socialism against capitalism, imperialism and war, and a ruthless break with all the forces that have worked for decades to tie workers and youth in Algeria to the FLN. The best allies of Algerian workers in struggle against the FLN regime are the workers in Europe and around the world entering into struggle. The key element in this struggle is the fight to draw a balance sheet of past revolutionary upsurges and the fresh experiences of struggle today. The events in Algeria raise directly the response of the ICFI to the initial upsurge of the working class in Tunisia in 2011. In its 17 January 2011 statement, The mass uprising in Tunisia and the perspective of permanent revolution, it warned: The Tunisian masses, however, are at only the initial stages of their struggle. As is already clear from the continuation of military violence under the new interim president, the working class faces immense dangers. The crucial question of revolutionary program and leadership remains unresolved. Without the development of a revolutionary leadership, another authoritarian regime will inevitably be installed to replace that of Ben Ali. The turn now is to building sections of the ICFI in Algeria and across the Mediterranean and the world to offer political leadership to the growing international movement of the working class. On Monday, Ford Motor Company confirmed that it plans to close its last remaining assembly plant in France, rejecting a final offer by Belgian manufacturer Punch Powerglide to purchase the factory at Blanquefort, just north of Bordeaux. The plant employs more than 800 workers, with thousands more jobs dependent upon it throughout the region. The decision is part of an international restructuring announced last month by Ford, involving the destruction of up to 25,000 jobs across Europe, to funnel billions of dollars more into the pockets of its shareholders and investors. Large job cuts are expected at the Saarlouis Assembly Plant in Germany and the Bridgend Assembly plant in South Wales, and closures threatened in Veszolozhsk (2,700 workers) and Naberezhyne Chelny (1,000 workers) in Russia. The US-based automaker is responding to an increasingly bitter struggle among the automotive transnational corporations for profits and markets, under the impact of economic slump, declining global sales and a shift toward electric-motor vehicle production. In December, General Motors announced its plans to close five plants in North America, destroying 15,000 jobs, and another two internationally. In each country where these attacks are taking place, the automakers rely on the trade unions to suppress opposition among workers and prevent them from organizing a common struggle against the destruction of their livelihoods. In France this role played by the unions is backed by leading New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) member Phillippe Poutou, who is a Ford employee at Blanquefort and is also the local delegate of the Stalinist CGT (General Confederation of Labor) union. Poutou was the NPAs candidate in the 2012 and 2017 presidential elections. He specializes in issuing radical-sounding demagogic statements and is routinely trotted out at union demonstrations to provide a left cover as they prepare rotten sellouts. Since Ford announced the closure last year, Poutou has received prominent coverage by the corporate media to denounce the companys greed. The French ruling class knows it has nothing to fear from Poutou and the NPA, and that the unions, discredited by decades of betrayals, badly need such a left facade. In deeds, however, Poutou has acted as does every other union bureaucrat when a closure is announced. His statements absolutely preclude the possibility that workers could organize a struggle against the closure, including strikes and occupations, and appeal to their allies among Ford and other autoworkers across Europe, who face the exact same assault, for a united counteroffensive. Poutou has insisted that workers must instead place their faith in sordid backroom deals between himself, the other union federations, Ford, and the Macron government, centered on the negotiation of terms for Punch Powerglide or another competitor to repurchase the plant. These negotiations, which accept the right of Ford to close the plant and destroy the livelihoods of thousands of workers, are presented as a struggle to save jobs. In reality, they are discussions in which every party supports the corporations against the workers and are focused on how to attack workers conditions without provoking a rebellion. In December, the unions and the Macron government negotiated major cuts to conditions as part of any purchase by Punch, saying this was necessary to save jobs. Macrons economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire boasted that these included more difficult conditions of work, suppression of the RTT [35-hour work week limit], longer working hours, and frozen wages over a number of years. The fact that workers felt they had no choice but to accept these changes is a damning vote of no confidence in the unions and the NPA, which workers knew would not organize any fight. Poutou defended the cuts on the grounds that it was the only choice available. The NPA has functioned as little more than a propaganda outlet for the Macron government. While holding continuous backroom discussions with corporate executives and government ministers, Poutou promotes illusions that this viciously anti-working-class government, led by a 41-year-old ex-banker known as the president of the rich, is on their side. In a January 9 statement on the CGTs Ford website, Poutou reported on the outcome of recent discussions: The state has reaffirmed its willingness and even its determination to save the factory. This statement was published the same day that Macrons police were assaulting workers and youth taking part in yellow vest protests against social inequality and shooting protesters eyes out with rubber bullets. The NPAs main demand has been that Macron intercede to temporarily keep Ford from closing the plant, by delaying the formal ratification of a required financial document to give more time to find a buyer. Poutou also called for the government to purchase the plant temporarily. Now that these appeals have been rejected, the NPA is trying to demoralize the workers, declaring that the plant will close and nothing can be done to stop it. In an interview with Marianne published Wednesday, following Fords latest decision, Poutou declared: Ford will obtain what it wanted: the closure of the factory. Nonetheless, we maintain our battle. Now, he said, we only hope that work will begin on a plan to save the jobs of the employees and avoid too large job losses in the region, and that other companies will carve up the factory site. An industrial project must be put in place to put companies in this sector in contact to take possession of the 12 hectares of the Blanquefort site, he said. Poutou added that the government promises possibilities of employment, through relocations to one or another enterprise. Leaving a large factory, and taking account of our [public] exposure, it is possible we will receive job offers. But there is nothing concrete on the table for the moment. Poutous statements directly follow those of the Macron government. Le Maire announced on Tuesday that we have created a group of local elected officials, the government, [and] trade union representatives, to work on the future of the site. The same empty promises have been heard by hundreds of thousands of workers countless times over the past 30 years in the lead-up to factory closures. They invariably amount to nothing, while working-class communities that depend on the plants for the livelihoods of not only the present generation, but those of their children, are torn apart and driven into destitution. Poutous role at Blanquefort is the product of the program and class basis of the NPA itself. While occasionally using left rhetoric, it is a faction of the union bureaucracy and the political establishment, particularly oriented toward the big-business Socialist Party. It articulates the social interests of a privileged stratum of the middle class hostile to any struggle of the working class. The Socialist Equality Party advances a fundamentally opposed perspective for Ford workers to fight the closure of the plant. In a statement published with our sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International in Britain and Germany on January 15, we stated: The way forward for workers is to break free of the organizational stranglehold of the unions and wage an independent, international struggle. Workers need new organizationsrank-and-file workplace committees, democratically controlled by the workersto unify and mobilize the workers internationally in defense of the social right to a job. Such a fight by autoworkers would win immense support in the working class amid growing opposition among workers to social inequality, militarism and austerity and the big business policies of capitalist governments internationally The critical task confronting workers is to develop an independent political struggle, in opposition to all the parties and organizations that defend capitalism. The ruling classes in every country today offer the populations a future of austerity, trade wars and great power military conflicts, growing social inequality, and a turn towards police-state repression and dictatorship to suppress popular opposition. The answer is the taking of power by the working class as part of the fight for the United Socialist States of Europe, and the reorganization of economic life by the working class to meet social need, not private profit. This will include turning the giant automotive corporations into public utilities under the democratic control of the workers. The European sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International are intervening in the European elections to fight for this perspective. Chicago completed the first round of municipal elections on Tuesday, with former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Democratic Party boss Toni Preckwinkle emerging from a 14-candidate field that attracted less than 541,000 voters, just a third of registered voters in the city. The two front-runners, both of whom are black women, ran campaigns based on identity politics in order to obscure their right-wing policies. The near-record low turnout reflects widespread disgust with Democratic Party rule in the city, especially among youth, who largely abstained from voting. Among those who did vote, there were signs of a shift to the left, particularly in the defeats suffered by candidates for mayor and alderman who were regarded as stalwarts of the political establishment and the success of candidates tied to or endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) or the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). According to unofficial results from the Chicago Board of Elections, 540,784 people voted in the municipal primary, out of a total of 1,581,755 registered votersa turnout of only 34.19 percent. The election only narrowly avoided the lowest turnout on record33 percent, set in 2007, when Richard M. Daley faced two relatively weak challengers. Breaking down the election results, it is clear that neither Lightfoot nor Preckwinkle was able to garner any genuine mass support. Lightfoot, who came in first, received only 93,580 votes, or 17.43 percent of the total. Preckwinkle won just 86,181, or 16.05 percent. Coming in third and failing to make the runoff was Bill Daley, who got 78,955 votes, or 14.7 percent. The political establishment expected Daley, the son and younger brother of two former Chicago mayors, to advance. A section of the pseudo-left and trade union bureaucracy advocated a vote for Preckwinkle above other candidates in order to prevent Daley from reaching the second round, where his support among Chicagos wealthy, including the citys richest resident, right-wing billionaire Ken Griffin, would allow him to outspend his opponent and bank on his name recognition among older residents. Young people largely declined to support any of the candidates, with the vote total for those aged 25-34 amounting to only 77,000, down from the 163,000 who voted in the fall midterm elections, a 53 percent drop. Those who voted comprise only a small fraction of the 352,000 registered voters in that age group, which is actually the single biggest age group of registered voters in the city. Even smaller than that total is the number of voters 18-24, which was under 10,000. Throughout the day on Tuesday, the Chicago Board of Elections openly worried about the low turnout, and there was a massive push on regular and social media to shame non-voters into turning out. This effort only narrowly succeeded in bringing out a late surge of voters, who prevented the turnout from being the worst on record. Lightfoot came in first largely due to her undeserved reputation as being a clean candidate, unsullied by the municipal corruption revealed by the indictment of long-time alderman Ed Burke, to whom Preckwinkle and many other Democrats have ties. In fact, this is precisely the role Lightfoot has been groomed to play by the Democratic Party, which brought her in under the Daley administration to deflect concerns over corruption in hiring practices. She was later utilized by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to defuse widespread anger at police violence in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting. Her support came largely from wards on the wealthier North Side of the city. Preckwinkle, for her part, received most of her political support from the unions, particularly the CTU, which endorsed her in early December and gave her a platform and photo opportunities during the charter teachers strikes at Acero and Chicago International Charter Schools. A large portion of her votes came from the South Side, and she came in first in the wards around Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, where her political base is centered. Aside from the mayoral election, there were a number of candidates associated with the DSA and CTU who won alderman seats or are headed into runoffs on April 2. While much of their support came from genuine anger over the stunning growth of inequality as well as constant attacks on the working class by the city government, when the new City Council is seated they will constitute a bloc dedicated to providing a left cover for reactionary policies that will be pursued by whoever ends up as mayor. DSA member Carlos Ramirez-Rosa was reelected after being endorsed by the Democratic Party ward organization, the DSA and the CTU, and he will be joined on the council by Daniel La Spata, another DSA member who won an alderman seat outright. Despite not being endorsed by the DSA, La Spata beat incumbent Proco Joe Moreno largely due to Morenos association with gentrification in his Near North Side ward. Maria Hadden, board member of Black Youth Project 100 and a candidate endorsed by the CTU, also won her election outright, unseating long-time alderman Joe Moore in the 49th ward on the Far North Side. Once considered an independent alderman for votes he took against the Daley administration, Moores support had largely eroded as a result of his backing for Emanuel on the City Council. Other DSA members who made it to the runoff are Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Andre Vasquez. Rodriguez-Sanchez won more votes in the first round than incumbent alderman Deb Mell, the daughter of long-time alderman Dick Mell, whom she replaced in 2013. Sigcho-Lopez also won a plurality in his race, which was for an open seat in the 25th ward. Vasquez came in second to Patrick OConnor, Emanuels floor leader on the City Council. He was not endorsed by the DSA, which endorsed another DSA member in the race, Ugo Okere. While those who did end up voting were largely divided over which mayoral or even alderman candidates to support, several non-binding referenda received overwhelming support. In 18 precincts where the referendum question appeared on the ballot, voters supported lifting the Illinois state ban on rent control. In 14 of the precincts where the referendum appeared on the ballot, voters supported using money from legalized marijuana for reinvestment in neighborhoods badly affected by the so-called war on drugs. For each of two major projectsthe Obama presidential library and El Paseo, a bike trailthe precincts to whom the question was put overwhelmingly approved the creation of community benefits agreements. Both projects are on the South Side and, as it is with other city projects, the benefits accrue to connected individuals and agencies rather than the ward or city at large. Both the Lightfoot and Preckwinkle campaigns have begun to position themselves for the runoff election, with each trying to argue why it is the progressive alternative. Regardless of who wins, she can be expected to receive the support of the CTU and the pseudo-left, which will continue to stoke illusions in the Democratic Party. CTU President Jesse Sharkey, a member of the International Socialist Organization (ISO), issued a statement following the election in which he said, An African-American woman on the cusp of the mayors seat is a monumental achievement. He added that struggles for equal access to health care, an end to charter school expansion, an elected school board and police accountability, among other things, were no longer just dreams or grassroots conversations, but realities of a new day in Chicago and the hallmark of our fight going forward. The election of either Preckwinkle or Lightfoot will be nothing of the sort. Both are creatures of the Democratic Party and will faithfully carry out the agenda of the financial aristocracy, though they are more likely to offer positions and lucrative opportunities to union and pseudo-left operatives like Sharkey. The Socialist Equality Party opposes the suspension of Derby North MP Chris Williamson from the Labour Party. His suspension is the product of a reactionary campaign by the Blairite right wing of the Labour Party and media to slander the left as anti-Semitic, and must be opposed by all workers and youth. The capitulation of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his key supporters before this McCarthyite witch-hunt is a betrayal of monstrous proportionssignifying a political and moral collapse from which the Labour left will never recover. On February 27, Corbyn accepted without comment the National Executive Committees decision to suspend Williamson, whose sole crime was to reject the accusation that the Labour Party is awash with anti-Semitism. Speaking to a meeting in Sheffield of the pro-Corbyn Momentum group that was published by the Yorkshire Post and released February 26, Williamson told his audience, to applause, that Labour was being demonised as a racist, bigoted party I have got to say I think our partys response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion we have backed off too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic. Williamson was immediately accused of condoning anti-Semitism. Wednesday saw 38 MPs from the centre-left Tribune group write an open letter to Labours General Secretary demanding that Williamson be suspended. Threats of frontbench resignations and a totally unprecedented decision by the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) to ask Williamson to stop attending its meetings followed. Finally, Theresa May demanded action against Williamson at Prime Ministers Questions. Williamson was gone within a few hours. The Kafkaesque character of the accusations against Williamson were underscored by this weeks attacks on him by leading Blairites for allowing Jewish Voice for Labour to screen in parliament The WitchHunt. Produced by Jon Pullman, the documentary is an expose of the 2016 suspension for anti-Semitism of black Jewish Labour member Jackie Walker. Jewish Voice for Labour, which has hundreds of members, defends Corbyn and has been denounced for doing so by Zionist groups and the Labour right. Corbyn has not defended any of the left-wing Labour members falsely accused of anti-Semitism, including Walker, Ken Livingstone, Marc Wadsworth and now Williamson. The contrast between his silence and the vicious campaign mounted by the right wing is stark. Over the past week every news bulletin featured one Blairite or another railing against Williamson, Corbyn and the left for their supposed anti-Semitism. The aim here is not simply to delegitimise opposition to the brutal suppression of the Palestinians by Israel, but to criminalise socialism by associating it with a fascistic hatred of the Jews. Labours right wing want nothing less than to purge Labour of the influx of left-leaning members attracted to the party by Corbyns 2015 leadership victory. As far as the Blairites are concerned, Labour must be restored to its function as a ruthless defender of big business, insulated from even the semblance of pressure from workers and young people who are opposed to austerity, militarism and war. Labours Deputy Leader and resident Torquemada, Tom Watson, last month demanded that the Liverpool Wavertree Constituency Labour Party be suspended for moving a motion of no-confidence in Luciana Berger for her attacks on the party. This was only days before Berger quit Labour, joining a small coterie of Blairites and Conservatives in The Independent Group whose declared mission is ensuring that Labour under Corbyn is never allowed to form a government. Watson called Bergers critics racist thugs and her leaving the worst day of shame in the partys 120-year history. The most striking development in this sordid political affair is the rout triggered among many of the most prominent Corbynites, who have lined-up to support Williamsons suspension. Guardian columnist Owen Jones called Williamsons suspension the right decision that should be part of a healing process with Britains Jewish community He then retrospectively edited an article Delegitimising the British left, he wrote last April, excising Williamsons name from a list of left-wing politicians subjected to relentless online pile-ons from both Tory and Labour MPs and hostile commentators. His fellow columnist Ellie Mae OHagan tweeted arrogantly, Good afternoon. Suspend the whip from Chris Williamson. That is all. Skwawkbox, run by Corbynite Steve Walker, was too cowardly to mention Williamson by name. Instead, it ran an opinion piece titled, Its time for Labour supporters to wise up, step up and think strategically. Labour was a government in waiting, Skwawkbox explained, but there was a problem with its memberstheir commitment to solidarity. Such beliefs allowed the right wing to press the buttons that will generate a reaction they can exploit Not every wrong can be immediately righted. Sometimes we have to understand when less is more. Sometimes we have to play the long game. On Monday, Momentums founder Jon Lansman told BBC Radio Four that Labour had a large number of members with hardcore anti-Semitic opinions due to it having trebled in size. Momentum also supported a letter organised by a Twitter group, #Socialists4Change, signed by 1,000 pro-Corbyn Labour Party members who recognised Labour was too tolerant of the existence of antisemitic views within our ranks, too defensive and too eager to downplay it. The SEP holds no brief for the British Labour Party, which has been the chief political prop for British imperialism for more than a century. But the claim that its membership is rife with anti-Semitism is a political libel. The appeasement by Corbyn et al. in the face of this unprecedented campaign has the most serious consequences. It is enabling a right-wing offensive whose ultimate target is the working class. This witch-hunt will not stop at Williamson and a few high-profile figures. A lynch-mob has been unleashed that will inevitably target thousands of Labour members. There is massive opposition to the Blairites and their filthy witch-hunt. Sheffield Hallam, Hackney North, Stoke Newington, Park & Arbourthorn ward, Sheffield Heeley Constituency Labour Parties and other groups have already passed motions in Williamsons defence. Jewish Voice for Labour warned against the danger of exaggerating anti-Semitism in the Labour Party: Crying wolf is dangerous when there are real wolves around the corner. However, as the SEP has consistently warned, any genuine struggle against Labours right wing inevitably brings party members into conflict with Corbyn and his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, whose sole concern is to preserve the unity of the party and to offer their services as defenders of the national interest. Corbynism has ceded the initiative to the right wing on every fundamental issue, from support for Trident, NATO, the war in Syria and insisting that local councils enforce legal budgets. He has opposed all attempts to drive the right wing out of the party, joining with the unions at last years party conference to veto mandatory reselection of Labour MPs. Today, instead of the right wing being booted out it is they who dictate which heads must roll. Corbyns role has been to stem rising social anger and demands for change by holding out the possibility of reforms under a Labour government. But that claim now lies in ruins. The deepest global crisis of capitalism since the 1930s means there is no basis for the type of reformist Labour Party promised by Corbyn and his cheerleaders in pseudo-left groups such as the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party. Workers and young people must break with the bankrupt Labour party and build the Socialist Equality Party to advance a revolutionary struggle against capitalism and its political defenders. This years Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual gathering of far-right warmongers, political cretins and Republican sycophants sponsored by the American Conservative Union, has assumed an openly fascistic character. The three-day event, being held in National Harbor, Maryland, has adopted as its dominant theme the call for a crusade against socialism first proclaimed by President Donald Trump last month in his State of the Union Address and expanded upon before an audience of far-right supporters in Miami. Among the speakers who have thus far given the White House stamp of approval at this years gathering are Vice President Mike Pence, aide Kellyanne Conway, Trumps chief trade adviser Peter Navarro, chief White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Trump is scheduled to address the conference today for the third consecutive year as president. The event opened Thursday with a five-and-a-half-minute video collage presenting the Democratic Party as a looming socialist threat from which only Trump and his supporters can save America. Prominent Democrats, including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gilibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Beto ORourke, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, are depicted as racist and anti-Semitic socialists who are seeking to open the southern border so they can provide free health care to illegal immigrant gang members. The video concludes with footage of President Trump at a political rally declaring that America will never be a socialist country. The video set the tone for the entire affair, which reflects both the ruling financial-corporate oligarchys fear of the growth of the class struggle and popular support for socialism, and its determination to mobilize the most reactionary and backward social forces behind the establishment of authoritarian rule in defense of capitalism. It is highly significant that Trump is now openly raising what has always been the central focus of fascismthe war on socialismand that the socialist threat is being defined primarily as domestic, rather than foreign. According to those addressing the CPAC conference, socialism is any social program or regulation that might impinge on the profits of the rich, ranging from the progressive social reforms won by the working class in the course of the 20th century, including Social Security and Medicare, to the hollow promises of a Green New Deal and Medicare for All coming from the Democratic Party today. The aim of this anti-socialist hysteria is to complete the social counterrevolution that has been underway for the past four decades and crush the resistance of the working class. In his speech, Pence made clear that this fascistic attack on socialism will be the centerpiece of Trumps 2020 reelection campaign. This line of attack is aimed at putting the Democrats on the defensive, compelling them to deny any attachment to socialism, while mobilizing far-right and fascistic elements in support of Trumps reelection. But what is involved is more than an electoral tactic. Trump and his advisers, and the financial oligarchs for whom they speak, are seeking to create the basis for a fascist movement, whether through the Republican Party or outside of it. Running throughout the event is an undertone of violence and incitement against the real or perceived enemies of God and Country. One panel discussion being held today bears the title, Left for Dead: Are There No Limits to the Progressive War on Humanity? Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump advisor who once declared his support for a neo-fascist paramilitary outfit in Hungary, led the way on Thursday, using his speech, ostensibly dealing with the threat of Russia, to declare that the biggest threat to the United States is socialism here in America. He cited a recent poll by the right-wing Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which found that a majority of young people in the US would prefer to live under socialism or communism than under capitalism. Gorka declared that those Democrats promoting the Green New Deal want to take away your pickup truck, they want to rebuild your home, they want to take away your hamburgers. He added, This is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved. He said his audience was on the front lines of the war against communism coming back to America under the guise of democratic socialism. Right-wing radio host Glenn Beck launched a full-throated defense of the staggering levels of social inequality created by capitalism against the prospect of equality under socialism. Socialism aims to make mankind what we are not and can never be, Beck warned. It works to create a state of being that does not exist in the natural world and it does it the only way it can, the only way it does, equally poor, equally enslaved and all equally dead. He went on to attack democracy, saying, Slavery by majority vote is still slavery. Taking up these themes, Vice President Pence extolled the virtues of freedom versus socialism, warning that the Democrats would bring the dire social and economic conditions that prevail in Venezuela to the United States. Amid chants of USA! USA! from the audience, he proclaimed, The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment that America ceases to be America. And as the president said 24 days ago, so we must say with one voice, America will never be a socialist country. Kudlow, a multi-millionaire former banker who took in $4 million a year as a media pundit on CNBC, urged his listeners to use the upcoming election to put socialism on trial and convict it. Trump and his far-right base have been emboldened by the Democratic Party and the media, which have made no criticisms or warnings about his declaration of war against socialism. When asked at a CNN town hall this week about Trumps remark that the US would never be a socialist country, Bernie Sanders dodged the question, declaring that he believed in human rights. Questioned about Trumps attack on socialism following his State of the Union speech, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it a personal attack and evasion of political issues. Campaigning for president in New Hampshire last month, Kamala Harris announced, I am not a democratic socialist. Directed by Mimi Leder, written by Daniel Stiepleman The second feature-length film about US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in less than a year came to theaters on Christmas day, titled On the Basis of Sex, a reference to gender-based discrimination. Mimi Leders two-hour biopica tedious cinematic effortseeks to rally a core constituency of the Democratic Party: upper-middle-class women. Felicity Jones in On the Basis of Sex Last April, Ginsburg featured in the documentary RBG her initials and a reference to her nickname in liberal circles, Notorious RBGitself a reference to the prominent 1990s rapper Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G.). The moniker Notorious RBG comes from a liberal blogger who commented on Ginsburgs defense of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. Offered in the spirit of respect and enthusiasm for the aging spokesperson for the high courts ostensibly liberal bloc, the name found its way to a Saturday Night Live sketch. In the latter, a glib and defiant Ginsburg (played by Kate McKinnon) insists that, in the face of impending right-wing appointments to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump, she will never retire. On the Basis of Sex follows this adulating path. It is a thoroughly artificial undertaking, whose screenplayedited by Ginsburg herself no less than three timeswas written by her own nephew, Daniel Stiepleman. It depicts Ginsburgs legal education, early career as a professor and civil rights attorney, and her family life. As a legal drama, On the Basis of Sex has some limited merit. One can sympathize with then (1972) civil rights attorney Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) eagerly representing Charles Moritz (Chris Mulkey), who was not allowed to claim a tax deduction for nursing expenses for his elderly mother. Under the tax code at the time, the deduction was available for women or for men whose wives were deceased or incapacitated, but not for men who simply had never been married. Even though the tax exemption ostensibly favored womenmaking it easier for them to join the workforce by hiring in-home care for an aging parentGinsburg and her colleagues took the case to the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and earned a noteworthy victory. Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer in On the Basis of Sex Dramatization of the Moritz appeal, from preparing the legal brief to hosting a moot court at the Ginsburgs home, to the oral arguments, forms the strongest part of the film. The viewer can enjoy the fast-paced, back-and-forth of the courtroom, close collaboration with like-minded colleaguesincluding a spouse (Armie Hammer)the intersection of personal ambition and belief in a just cause, the sweetness of victory, and so on. Outside of this, however, On the Basis of Sex falls flat. Early scenes of Ginsburg at Harvard suffering gender discrimination from her professors and the deanlegitimate material for dramado not stir much sympathy, or further the plot. Interaction between Ginsburg the law professor and her students at Rutgers feels corny and false, with female students almost universally getting it and the male students appearing oafish and insensitive. Ginsburgs relationship with her daughter, Jane (Cailee Spaeny)who is pitched as the main reason for Ginsburgs pursuit of gender equalityfeels like something out of a moralizing lecture. In one scene, when the pair have left the office of a veteran civil rights attorney, a construction worker catcalls at them. The daughter shames him, quipping, Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Then she turns to Ginsburg and says, Mom, you cant let guys talk to you like that, a lesson which leaves the worried mother speechless with pride, so much so that the pair almost miss their cab. On the Basis of Sex The fact that none of thisthe meeting with her daughter and the older attorney, the rebuke of a flirtatious workeractually happened comes as no surprise, nor does its inclusion in what amounts to a propaganda film. In a similar scene, Ginsburg scolds the daughter for skipping school to see a Gloria Steinem lecture. Later, the daughter berates Ginsburg for dressing up to attend her husbands office party, for being his display object. While not expressly a political film, On the Basis of Sex panders to a definite audience in scenes like this. It is so much dramatic fish bait for the deeply reactionary #MeToo crowd. On the Basis of Sex is also notable for what it papers over or leaves out altogether. A protest against the imperialist slaughter in Vietnama defining feature of life in the late 1960s and early 1970sappears as the literal background in one scene. The film ends early, is it were, with the Moritz victory. Ginsburgs subsequent founding of the American Civil Liberties Unions Womens Rights Project in 1971, her appointment to the US Supreme Court in 1993 and the advancement of her daughter to a professorship at Columbia University are all left to the text preceding the credits. While an extended review of Ginsburgs political role and jurisprudence lies outside the scope of this film review, suffice it to say her career dovetails with the decline of liberal reformism and its virtual liquidation into the politics of personal identity. While her legal efforts commendably shifted American law toward equality for women, Ginsburg never ventured to the left of this type of formal egalitarian viewpoint. Millions of Ginsburgs generation challenged the legitimacy of capitalism as the end of the postwar economic boom ushered in a period of steadily increasing political instability worldwide; not the Notorious RBG, though. A more honest and historically informed film about her life would have included Ginsburgs uncritical support for the reactionary #MeToo movement last year, placing a semi-official imprimatur on this destructive campaign whose methodsinnuendo, trial by media blitz, inversion of the presumption of innocence to name a fewdirectly undermine constitutional guarantees, including the right to trial by jury, to face ones accuser and to have an attorney assist in ones defense. It is precisely because this supposed paragon of liberal values has turned her back on constitutional norms that she has become a living legend for upper-middle-class layers around the Democratic Party. This layer approves Ginsburgs rulings in favor of legal immunities for murderous police, Plumhoff v. Rickard. They view her cordial relationship with the late Antonin Scalia without concern, if not more favorably, perhaps as an example of civility. This writer suggests that the film should have ended with a scene of one of Ginsburg and Scalias many visits to the opera. But then, showing this icon as one who could comfortably cavort with an authoritarian bigot would make for a different film. This author also recommends: The glorification of Antonin Scalia [16 February 2016] Canadian authorities have given the go ahead for the extradition of Huaweis chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou to face charges brought by US authorities that the Chinese firm breached unilateral American-imposed sanctions against Iran and that it stole trade secrets from the telecom firm T-Mobile. The charges have been filed by the US departments of Justice, Commerce and Homeland Security and are set down for hearing in New York and Washington state. The Huawei executive was seized by Canadian authorities at the request of the US at the beginning of December at the same time as US President Trump was meeting with Chinas President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires in trade talks. The US filed a formal request for the extradition in late January and the Canadian Justice Department complied with the request yesterday evening. A statement from Mengs defence lawyers expressed its disappointment with the Canadian decision in the face of what it called the political nature of the US charges. Our client maintains that she is innocent of any wrongdoing and that the US prosecution and extradition constitute an abuse of the processes of law. Mengs next court appearance in Vancouver will take place on March 6 at which the Justice Department is expected to proceed with the extradition hearing which could involve lengthy legal processes. The decision by Canada to give the go ahead for the extradition comes as the US is waging a global campaign to have the Chinese telecommunications giant excluded from the establishment of 5G mobile phone networks and other forms of communications on security grounds. The US campaign centres on the assertion that China could use Huawei to conduct cyber spying operations. In an email this week, Democrat Senator Mark Warner, who serves on the US Select Committee on Intelligence, said that the United States and its allies need to maintain a common front against the supply chain risk of equipment from countries that do not respect the rule of law and routinely place extrajudicial demands on domestic firms. But in fact the country that most closely fits this description is the US. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times this week, Huawei top executive Guo Ping outlined the motivations for the US campaign. Huawei, he noted, had long been the subject of aspersions cast by US intelligence agencies but until recently these attacks had been relatively muted. Now it was bringing out the heavy artillery and portraying Huawei as a threat to Western civilisation. He said the reasons were to be found in the documents released by whistle blower Edward Snowden in 2013 which showed the US National Security Agency had a policy of collect it all, that is, to gather data on all phone calls and electronic communications made by anyone in the world. The Snowden documents showed that the NSA maintained corporate partnerships with major US technology and telecommunications companies that allowed it to gain access to high-capacity international fibre-optic cables, switches and/or routers throughout the world. In 2010, the NSA conducted a hacking operation into Huawei servers on the grounds that many of its targets communicate over Huawei-produced products and we want to make sure that we know how to exploit those products. In the period since the hacking operation was carried out, almost nine years ago, the situation has changed markedly with Huawei providing a growing proportion of the worlds networks. Clearly, the more Huawei gear is installed in the worlds telecommunications networks, the harder it is for the NSA to collect it all. Huawei, in other words, hampers US efforts to spy on whomever it wants, Guo wrote. This was the first reason for the US campaign. The second, he maintained, had to do with 5G mobile phone technology which will not only increase data transmission speeds but will play a vital role in providing communications for factories and vital infrastructure. Huawei had invested heavily in 5G technology over the past decade and was, according to Guo, roughly a year ahead of our competitors. If the US can keep Huawei out of the worlds 5G networks by portraying us as a security threat, it can retain its ability to spy on whomever it wants and America benefits if it can quash a company that curtails its digital dominance. One of the main assertions made by the US in its campaign is that Chinese law requires that technology companies collaborate with the government upon request. But the same law applies in the US so long as any order is made on the basis of an investigation involving counter-intelligence or counter-terrorism. Guo concluded that the US global campaign had little to do with national security and everything to do with Americas desire to suppress a rising technological competitor. And that campaign has suffered some significant blows in the recent period. The UK has not swung directly behind the US with significant sections of the intelligence apparatus maintaining that any security risks can be mitigated while others insist that it would be naive to ignore the danger. Germany has not ruled out using Huawei technology and regards its cheaper and high quality equipment as a means of overcoming its relative backwardness in the development of internet communications. India is also considering Huawei and this week, the United Arab Emirates, a major US ally in the Middle East, announced that it would use a 5G network developed by Huawei. The decision was particularly galling because it was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, to which the US had sent a delegation to lobby against the use of Huawei technology. But these blows will not see any cessation of the US campaign. Rather, the more the tides move against it, the more it will double down with increased threats not only against China and Chinese firms but against those who use their technology. The seizure of Meng Wanzhou and the attempts to extradite her to face criminal charges are only a foretaste of the methods to be employed in the future. India and Pakistan, South Asias rival nuclear-armed states, are teetering on the brink of a full-scale military conflict. Early Tuesday morning, Indian warplanes attacked Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Striking deep inside Pakistan, they destroyed what New Delhi claims was the principal terror base of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist group involved in the separatist insurgency in Indian-held Kashmir. After a brief period of confusion, as it assessed the damage and strategic implications of the Indian attack, Islamabad vowed a strong military response. Pakistan, it declared, would not allow India to normalize illegal US or Israeli-style attacks inside Pakistan, whether mounted in the name of retaliation for, or preemptive strikes against, Kashmiri insurgent attacks. The next day, Indian and Pakistani war planes engaged in a dogfight over the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, after Islamabad launched what New Delhi claims was an unsuccessful strike on Indian military installations. Both sides are claiming to have shot down at least one enemy plane in Wednesdays encounter, with Islamabad presenting a captured Indian pilot as proof of its claim. The US, China, Russia and other world powers are now publicly scrambling to avert the eruption of all-out wara war they concede could quickly spiral into a catastrophic nuclear exchange, even were it to be confined to the subcontinent. Yet even as they counsel restraint and make offers of mediation, the great powersthemselves locked in, to use the Pentagons term, a new era of strategic competitionare trying to use the South Asian war crisis to advance their own geostrategic interests. Washington, in particular, has used the standoff to further its efforts to diplomatically and militarily encircle China. It publicly greenlighted Indias attack on Pakistan as self-defense, and is using the current crisis to underscore the strength of the Indo-US global strategic partnership. Adding to the explosiveness of the situation are the interconnected socio-economic and political crises buffeting the two states, headed respectively by Narendra Modi and his Hindu supremacist BJP and the Islamic populist Imran Khan. Elected Pakistans Prime Minister just seven months ago on promises of jobs, development, and increased social spending, Khan has seen his popularity plummet as his government implements IMF-demanded austerity. Modi and his BJP are shamelessly using the war crisis to muster votes for Indias multi-stage April-May general election. The BJP is accusing the opposition of imperiling national unity, for not ceasing all criticism of the government and for not trumpeting its claims that the strongman Modi has thrown off the shackles of strategic restraint in Indias relations with Pakistan. With the full support of the military, the corporate media, and virtually the entire opposition, the Modi government has rejected Khans offer of talks. New Delhi is insisting, as it has for years, that there will be no high-level interactions, let alone peace negotiations, between India and Pakistan until Islamabad demonstratively capitulates to New Delhis demands by cutting off all logistical support from Pakistan for the Kashmir insurgency. A nuclear catastrophe in the making? No one should underestimate the danger of what would be the first-ever war between nuclear-armed states. Since the 2001-2002 war crisis, which saw a million Indian troops deployed on the Pakistan border for nine months, both countries have developed hair-trigger strategies, with a dynamic impelling rapid escalation. In response to Indias Cold Start strategy, which calls for the rapid mobilization of Indian forces for a multi-front invasion of Pakistan, Islamabad has deployed tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons. India has, in return, signaled that any use by Pakistan of tactical nuclear weapons will break the strategic threshold, freeing India from its no first use nuclear-weapon pledge, and be met with strategic nuclear retaliation. All this would play out in a relatively small, densely populated area. The center of Lahore, Pakistans second largest city with a population in excess of 11 million, lies little more than 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the Indian border. The distance from New Delhi to Islamabad is significantly less than that between Berlin and Paris or New York and Detroit and would be travelled by a nuclear-armed missile in a matter of minutes. A nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would not only kill tens of millions in South Asia. A 2008 simulation conducted by scientists who in the 1980s alerted the world to the threat of nuclear winter determined that the detonation of a hundred Hiroshima-scale nuclear weapons in an Indo-Pakistani war would, due to the destruction of large cities, inject so much smoke and ash into the upper atmosphere as to trigger a global agricultural collapse. This, they predicted, would lead to a billion deaths in the months that followed South Asias limited nuclear war. Whatever the immediate outcome of the latest war crisisand events could easily spin out of control in the next days or weeksit exemplifies how the breakdown of the postwar geopolitical order and the resulting surge in imperialist antagonisms and inter-state rivalry are inflaming all the unresolved conflicts and problems of the twentieth century: a century in which capitalism survived the challenge of socialist revolution, but only by dragging humanity through two world wars, fascism, and countless other horrors. Partition and the historic failure of the national bourgeoisie The Indo-Pakistan conflict is rooted in the 1947 communal partition of the subcontinent into an expressly Muslim Pakistan and a predominantly Hindu Indiaa crime perpetrated by South Asias departing British overlords and the political representatives of the rival factions of the native bourgeoisie, the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. Partition defied historical, cultural and economic logic and unleashed a firestorm of communal violence in which two million people were killed and another 18 million fled India to Pakistan or vice versa. But it served the cynical interests of the rival ruling elites of India and Pakistan, by bringing a bloody end to the mass anti-imperialist upsurge that had convulsed South Asia during the preceding three decades; and by giving them, as part of the independence-partition deal with London, control of the British-colonial capitalist state machine with which to meet the threat from an increasingly combative working class. Unable to find any progressive solution to the problems of the masses, the Indian and Pakistani bourgeois have for the past seven decades used their strategic rivalry and communally-laced nationalist appeals as a mechanism for diverting social anger in reactionary directions. The open wound that is Kashmir is testimony to their common bankruptcy. The Indian bourgeoisie has subjected the population of Jammu and Kashmir, Indians only Muslim majority state, to three decades of military occupation and expresses consternation at the continued mass popular disaffection with Indian rule there, even as it celebrates a party and prime minister implicated in anti-Muslim pogroms. As for Pakistans venal ruling elite, it has run roughshod over the rights of the Kashmiris over whom it rules, and has manipulated the opposition in Jammu and Kashmir to bring forward the most reactionary Islamist elements. For a working-class led movement against war and imperialism Over the past two decades, the nature of the Indo-Pakistani conflict has been transformed. It has become enmeshed ever more inextricably with the US-China confrontation, giving it a massive new explosive charge, and raising the threat that an Indo-Pakistani conflict could draw in the worlds great powers. Since the beginning of the current century, Washington, under Democratic and Republican administrations alike, has aggressively courted India, showering it with strategic favours, including access to advanced civilian nuclear fuel and technology and advanced US weaponry, with the aim of harnessing New Delhi to its strategic agenda. The importance that US war-planners attach to South Asia and the Indian Oceanthe waterway that is the conduit for the oil and other resources that fuel Chinas economy, as well as its exports to Europe, Africa, and the Middle Eastis underscored by the recent renaming of the US Pacific Command as the Indo-Pacific Command. Under Modi, as attested by Indias opening of its bases to US warplanes and ships and its increasing bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral strategic cooperation with the US, and its principal regional allies (Japan and Australia), India has been transformed into a veritable frontline state in the US military-strategic offensive against China. Islamabad, during the Cold War Washingtons principal South Asian ally, has warned in increasingly shrill tones that US actions have shattered the balance of power in the region and emboldened India, but to no avail. Consequently, Pakistan has dramatically strengthened its longstanding military-strategic partnership with China, which similarly fears the burgeoning Indo-US alliance. Even as the US seeks to cool the current Indo-Pakistani tensions, on the calculation that an all-out South Asian war would at this point cut across its global objectives, it does so within the framework of its drive for world hegemony including ultimately subjugating China. As part of this drive, Washington has made clear that it is determined to thwart Chinas efforts to make Pakistan an anchor of its Belt and Road Initiative, and in particular to use the China Pakistan Economic Corridor to counteract US plans to economically blockade China by seizing Indian Ocean and South China Sea chokepoints. The workers and toilers of India and Pakistan must join forces in opposition to the criminal war preparations of the ruling elite. In South Asia, as around the world, the struggle against war is inseparable from the struggle against capitalismagainst the rival nationally-based capitalist cliques whose rapacious struggle for markets, profits and strategic advantage finds ultimate expression in the drive for the repartition of the world; and against the outmoded, and in the case of South Asia, communally-infused nation-state system, in which capitalism is historically rooted. In opposition to the bourgeoisies program of war, austerity, and communal reaction, workers and socialist-minded youth in South Asia should fight for the building of a working-class led movement against war and imperialism, as part of a global antiwar movement. Such a movement will only be built in political struggle against the Stalinist parliamentary parties in India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM and the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the myriad Maoist groupings. The CPM and CPI, as demonstrated yet again by their participation in the BJPs all party war-crisis meetings, are chauvinist, pro-military parties that are helping blind the masses to the danger of a catastrophic war. For decades they have functioned as an integral part of the Indian political establishment, helping prop up governments, many of them Congress Party led, that have implemented neo-liberal restructuring, pursued the Indo-US alliance, and rapidly expanded Indias military prowess in pursuit of the bourgeoisies great-power ambitions. The Maoists are steeped in nationalism and hostile to the struggle for the political independence of the working class. It is in the international socialism of Lenin and Trotsky, represented today by the International Committee of the Fourth International, and the fight to undo partition from below through the struggle for workers power and the establishment of the Socialist United States of South Asia that the workers of India and Pakistan will find the alternative to capitalist war and reaction. Joe Lauria Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of the left-wing, anti-war publication Consortium News, has sent the following statement endorsing and urging participation in the demonstrations called by the Socialist Equality Party in Sydney on March 3 and Melbourne on March 10, as well as the March 10 rally outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is being arbitrarily detained. Lauria is a distinguished journalist and author, and an outspoken defender of freedom of speech and democratic rights. He is currently the co-host, along with Elizabeth Vos of Disobedient Media, of the Unity4J online forums, which are dedicated to advocating for the freedom of Julian Assange and supporting all independent and critical media. **** Julian Assange is a wanted man because he has published classified information given to him by whistleblowers that has revealed the crimes and corruption of government officials around the world, not just in the United States. But it is the US, the supposed beacon of freedom and democracy (and press freedom) around globe, that wants him extradited to the United States for the crime of publishing. He has interfered with the interests of some of the most powerful people in the world by revealing their machinations to the public. And they want him to pay. In the Pentagon Papers case, US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote: In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfil its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Governments power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. And that is what WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have done on behalf of the governedcensured the government, using governments own words unmasked from secrecy. Supporting Assange and WikiLeaks is supporting the people against the state. It is now up to the people being served to get out to rallies like those called by the Socialist Equality Party in Sydney on March 3 and in Melbourne on March 10, and the rally in London on March 10. Stay in the streets until Assange is freed. March 1, 2019 The escalating mass protests against the Bouteflika government in Algeria over the past week have erupted in the context of a growing wave of workers strikes and demonstrations spanning Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco since the beginning of the year. The upsurge in the Maghreb is part of a rise of workers struggles around the world. For several weeks, there have been strikes by educators in all three countries, as well as walkouts by workers in transport and the civil service. In Algeria, the education unions (Unpef-Cnapeste-SNTE-Snapeset-Cela-Satef) announced a strike on February 26-27, followed by regional sit-ins in Relizane, Blida, Batna and Laghouat, according to a union source. The unions called the two-day strike after holding negotiations with the Ministry of Education several times after a strike on January 21. After four days of bilateral meetings ending February 23, the unions accused the Ministry of Education of sabotaging the negotiations by dragging them out and by having a negotiating position that is still so vague. The unions demands concern the special status, the maintenance of proportional retirement and retirement without age conditions, the definitive repeal of Article 87a of the 2015 Finance Act and the creation of a specific bonus for common bodies and skilled workers. The unions calling of the strikes was aimed at diffusing immense anger among teachers. The unions concerns are that the government recognize their role, provide them with more benefits, integrate them further into the state and use them to stop workers mobilizing against the Bouteflika regime. Meziane Meriane, leader of the Union of Secondary and Technical Education Teachers (Snapeste), said: Every time we go back to square one, and it is not the fault of the social partners who are willing to participate and propose solutions to the crisis If they (the authorities) have the will to definitively resolve the problems, what prevents them from including in the negotiations, a representative of the Department of Finance and a representative of the Public Service, as we have proposed; and then we will emerge with solutions that will put an end to these conflicts. The strike occurred against the backdrop of a strike movement of educators across the United States, protests by red pens in France, and strikes by teachers in Mexico and Argentina. In every case, teachers are coming into conflict with the unions. In Algeria, workers have also struck in the airline and port sectors, where the unions are also working to suppress opposition. On February 25, Air Algerie had to cancel several international flights following a surprise strike by flight crews calling for a revision of the salary scale. Two weeks earlier, workers at the port of Algiers had unexpectedly gone on strike, causing loading and unloading operations to stop. In Morocco, thousands of teachers demonstrated on February 20 after the unions announced a one-day strike. Police intervened against the teachers demonstration and injured several strikers. Since the beginning of the year, teachers have been holding demonstrations to demand a review of the precarious status of contract teachers, including their integration into the civil service. They also denounced the deductions from strikers wages and demanded wage and other compensation increases that have been frozen since 2011. In January, several thousand municipal employees participated in a 24-hour strike to protest against catastrophic working conditions. There is enormous social anger against the Moroccan monarchy, as it announced new spending to impose military service despite the dilapidated state of public services. In Tunisia, secondary school teachers have been on strike since October 2018 to demand their integration into the civil service, as well as that of their primary school colleagues, and to denounce their working conditions. The education union of secondary teachers has ended the strike following an agreement with the government. The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), a long-standing ally of the government, is working to block a workers mobilization against the regime. They cancelled a general public service strike scheduled for the end of February and a transportation strike scheduled for February 5. In the public sector, the government is committed to imposing drastic austerity measures and cutting wages following an agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund in 2016. The role of the trade union apparatuses and their pseudo-left political allies is similar in every country: they cut off the workers from their struggling class brothers and sisters in other countries, and isolate them by industry, in order to subordinate them to corrupt and hated regimes. The French unions also denounce yellow vests protests as right-wing and even anti-Semitic, in order to legitimize the Macron governments right-wing policies. The new wave of struggles in the Maghreb comes eight years after the Arab spring in 2011 when a revolutionary movement of the working class overthrew imperialist-backed dictatorships of Zine El Abedine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. As workers move into struggle once again, it is essential to learn the lessons from this experience. Even the most heroic struggles will not defeat capitalism without a political struggle against the trade union apparatuses and their political allies and the creation of a revolutionary and internationalist leadership in the working class. With the help of trade unions such as the UGTT, the main ally of Ben Ali's overthrown regime, the bourgeoisie was able to suppress the mass movement. From a national perspective, UGTT supported the Constituent Assembly to maintain illusions about a possible reform of Tunisian capitalism from 2011 until Nidaa Tounes return to power in 2014, covering for the former Ben Ali regime. The reactionary evolution of the Tunisian regime since then has confirmed the analysis of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). The ICFI was alone in insisting that 2011 marked the opening of an era of international revolutionary struggles, whose only progressive resolution lies in the taking of power by the working class and a struggle for socialism. The same tasks confront the working class today. On Thursday whistleblower Chelsea Manning disclosed to the New York Times that she has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 5. The subpoena provides no information as to what prosecutors intend to ask her, but all indications are that it is part of an effort by the US Department of Justice to escalate its pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The Eastern District of Virginia is the same federal court which in error revealed to the public in November 2018 that it secretly possesses sealed criminal charges against Assange. The courageous publisher is currently trapped in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, after having sought political asylum in 2012 for publishing explosive leaks that exposed US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, imperialist intrigues around the world, and later the sordid backroom political corruption of the Democratic Party. While not denying the existence of such criminal charges, attorneys with the Justice Department were able to subsequently block the court from having to reveal their specific nature, which is likely to consist of either espionage or conspiracy under the Espionage Act, which would provide the basis to extradite Assange to the United States. The charges could carry the death penalty or life imprisonment. Gordon D. Kromberg, the Justice Department lawyer who successfully blocked the unsealing of the criminal charges against Assange, requested the current secret subpoena of Manning. Chelsea Manning Manning, for her part, bravely leaked many of the internal military documents and secret diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks in 2010, while still in the US Army. The leaks included, among other items, footage of state war crimes in the 2007 Collateral Murder videos, in which US Apache helicopters gunned down over a dozen civilians and reporters. For these courageous actions, Manning was arrested and imprisoned under horrific conditions for seven years, including a year-and-a-half in solitary confinement. In January 2017, her 35-year prison sentence was commuted by President Obama, but she was not pardoned, and therefore her conviction still stands. It is likely that one of the main reasons why Manning is currently being subpoenaed is to try to undermine her original 2010 court-martial testimony, in preparation to pursue Assange. A key component of her 2010 testimony was that she refuted attempts by the Justice Department to imply that Assange had directed her to pursue the leaks. No one associated with W.L.O. [WikiLeaks Organization] pressured me into sending any more information. I take full responsibility, she stated at her court-martial. Manning told the Times that the Justice Department has indicated in vague terms that they want to talk about her past statements. She believes the subpoena is likely an attempt to get her to back away from her 2010 court-martial defense, or to intimidate her in other ways if she does not collaborate with the Justice Department. Manning released a statement in conjunction with her Times interview that condemned the sinister nature of the entire affair. She stated: The grand jury process, mired in secrecy, is troubling. The proceedings take place behind closed doors, without a judge or defense attorney, which makes them susceptible to abuse. I have nothing to contribute to this case, and I will not endanger myself or the activist communities Ive organized with since leaving prison. I stand in solidarity with all grand jury resisters, who have refused to participate in this predatory and deceitful practice. She was also adamant that she intends to fight the procedure from taking place. Her lawyers indicated they would file motions to quash the subpoena but are also reviewing what the consequences are if she refuses to testify, which could result in a contempt finding. For its part, the New York Times, while publishing Mannings interview, still managed to attack Assange and WikiLeaks, who it claimed have become notorious for their role in disseminating Democratic emails stolen by Russian hackers as part of the Russian governments covert efforts to damage the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help Donald J. Trump win. The assertion that Assange published documents as part of the Russian governments support of Trumpstated as fact without one shred of credible evidenceis a cornerstone of the attack, not just on Assange but on democratic rights and critical journalism around the world. The World Socialist Web Site pointed this out in light of the November 2018 revelations about the criminal charges facing Assange: The relentless persecution of Assange has not only been aimed at preventing WikiLeaks from publishing the truth. It is part of an attempt by the ruling class to intimidate and silence all critical and independent journalists and media organizations, as well as would-be whistleblowers around the world. The attempt to paint Assange as a criminal has been at the forefront of sweeping censorship and an assault on fundamental democratic rights under way around the world. The struggle to defend Julian Assange embodies all of the critical democratic issues facing workers, students and young people around the world, and is being used as a mechanism to silence those who expose the rampant war crimes, mass spying, diplomatic intrigues, and corporate and government corruption taking place around the world on a vast scale. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP), the Australian section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), is calling on workers, students and all those who defend the democratic right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, to endorse, promote and participate in demonstrations in Sydney on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m., and in Melbourne on March 10 at 1 p.m., in defense of Julian Assange. Mexican auto parts and other maquiladora corporations are firing workers in retaliation for launching a wave of wildcat strikes that brought the Mexican border town of Matamoros to a standstill. The firings are a desperate attempt to block the growth of the strike movement, which has now spread to other cities along the border and in the countrys interior. The president for the state of Tamaulipas branch of the Employer Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex), told Expreso on Thursday that 4,000 workers have already been fired or laid off since the strikes began. Police crack down against picket line at Bright Finishing [Credit: La Frontera Dice] If these firings are not reversed, the corporations will be throwing thousands of workers and their families into desperate poverty. Matamoros workers want to notify their US and Canadian counterparts about the jobs onslaught. Speaking to the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, Juan, an Autoliv worker, said, About 100 people were fired at the beginning, but so far thats it. Another Autoliv worker said that no information is being made available of the overall scale of firings. However, reprisals continue. For example, they want to fire you for everything now. This is aimed at those who led the strikes last month. There is more pressure on our work, and they accelerated production. The corporations are targeting those workers identified with leading the strikes. Rosalinda, a Kearfott worker who was fired alongside roughly 30 other militant workers, told the WSWS, Currently, I have some mental ease. The environment at work was hostile and heavy. I feel liberated but with many questions about the future of industry and, more than anything else, about our future. She said that at Kearfott, which had threatened to close its plant but continues operating, there will be more firings tomorrow, and they will be the coworkers who were demonstrating during the strike. She added, We know this because their access to internet accounts and offices at the plant have already been denied. They did the same to us, and the supervisors where hostile toward us, while the union was supporting the company. The union abandoned us and allowed for management to blacklist us, so that we dont find a new job. Blacklisting, or boletinando, has been reported by many fired workers in Matamoros who say the companies have made secret databases to prevent strikers from being re-hired. At Inteva, a worker told the WSWS, They are going to fire personnel at these companies, but that wont make us back down There are cards on the table, and we have to see who plays them better. Last week, workers at Polytech wrote on social media, Many are being hired to fire those who struck, and the company plans to change its name to cut salaries in the future. This week many have been fired. On February 16 at Industrias Tricon, several workers denounced guards for entering bathrooms and demanding ID numbers in an effort to intimidate workers. One worker was written up by management for giving a bone to a dog during a break in violation of an invented policy against throwing away food. They are looking for anything to fire people and not pay the bonus of 32,000 pesos, which will be given in four parts, taking away 2,000 pesos for taxes from each deposit of 8,000 pesos, one Industrias Tricon worker wrote. At Parker, immediately after signing the bonus and raise, the company fired over 100 workers. Workers responded by denouncing the company: We are being paid 60 percent or less of the severance pay without the bonus. About 250 autoworkers who participated in the initial wildcat strikes at Tridonex were fired at the end of January and not given the bonus the company agreed to. The corporations are also threatening to punish the entire city by moving production and cutting 50,000 jobs. Eduardo Solis, president of the Mexican Association of the Auto Industry (AMIA), said Monday that with those new agreements, [companies] dont see a continuation for their plants in the medium and long term; that is why they are already thinking about taking them to other parts of Mexico and the world. There were 800 layoffs at Joyson Safety Systems, the largest steering wheel plant in the world, shortly after the strike began there in mid-February. The Coca-Cola bottling plant on strike also announced that it would close down the plant and lay off its 700 workers. Strikers are occupying the facilities and militantly holding trucks there and blocking Coca-Cola trucks that enter the city. The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter campaigned at auto plants in Michigan to demand that all fired workers in Mexico be re-hired. Many US and Canadian workers gave statements of support to workers in Matamoros facing victimization. A young Ford worker in the Detroit area said, It is good to hear that strikes are spreading in Mexico. They have been exploited way too long, and it is good they are fighting back. I say, keep on going and stay strong. What you are going through happened in the 1920s and 1930s. It didnt stop them then, and it wont now. All over the world workers working for these transnational companies are saying they are not going to take it anymore. You have seen strikes in Europe and the yellow vest protests in France. I support everyone who wants a better life. Workers are saying we are making all this money for the corporations, we want some of it. An Oshawa worker at one of the GM plants slated for closure called for a joint strike of all auto and auto parts workers across North America. We need to hit GM where it hurts and show them we have livelihoods to fulfill and families to feed. The worker reported the afternoon shift at his plant was sent home early because the strikes in Mexico have led to a shortage of steering wheels. A worker from Fiat-Chrysler in Windsor, Ontario, said, Every day I wake up and say I wish workers all across North America were as brave as in Mexico. I am Italian. For anyone to say one thing about one race or nationality bothers me. I would tell the workers in Mexico, do you want a better quality of life? You have to stand up and start somewhere. The worker was outraged by the attempt by the unions to target Mexican workers by calling for a boycott of GM vehicles built in Mexico. What Unifor is doing is a hate crime. Are they above the law? How could they allow what happened at the rally in Windsor with the woman wearing the sombrero, mocking Mexican workers. I think Unifor knew about the plant closings four years ago. The commercials [calling for a boycott of Mexican vehicles] are disgusting. Unifor isnt going to save anything. What divides us is class. Look at the corporations. Look at the billions of dollars they are making. They are blaming the closure of the Oshawa plant on Mexico. No! The money is going to the shareholders. The worker said the Windsor Fiat-Chrysler plant had also been down intermittently due to parts shortages. We were off all last week. This week they told us our production was being cut. I am sure it is due to parts. They dont want to tell us about the Matamoros strikes because they dont want to start a revolution here. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is planning to impose fare increases averaging 6.3 percent on its bus, subway and commuter rail riders effective July 1. Riders and advocates who packed a public meeting in Boston on Wednesday night expressed unanimous opposition to the plan in remarks directed to the systems general manager and the vice chair of its unelected Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB). Typical were the remarks of Reginald Clark, a rider who is legally blind, who said in his testimony, If youre going to raise the fares on poor people who cant afford it then thats not going to do any good, thats going to make it worse. You need to think of the people that cant afford it. And ask us what ideas we have. The MBTAknown as the Testimates that the hikes will bring in $32 million in new revenues next year, less than one-tenth of the debt service paid out annually to predatory lenders that invest in the bonds issued to fund necessary maintenance and expansion programs. These debt payments, which at nearly $500 million per year are the second largest cost category in the operating budget, will grow even larger as short-term federal funding for MBTA capital projects runs out. Republican Governor Charlie Baker is defending the fare hike with the argument that Massachusetts taxpayers, many of whom dont use the MBTA, already contribute $1 billion to it annually. What he doesnt say is that all of this money comes from a regressive sales tax which is hardest on workers and the poor. The $8 billion needed to fix the rundown public transportation system could easily be found in the wealth of the states millionaires and billionaires. Their hoards, however, are considered off limits by the Democratic Party-controlled state legislature and the press. Fidelity Investments President Abigail Johnson, who has made much of her fortune from 401(k) plans that the working class is forced to invest in in lieu of receiving pensions, is worth more than $16 billion. New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft has seen his wealth grow to $6.6 billion. The fourth annual report of the FMCB, released in December, put its priorities bluntly: in fiscal year 2018, wages were cut by $100 million while debt service payments came in only $33 million below budget. While hiking fares, the FMCB is also preparing an attack on the defined-benefit pensions of MBTA workers. The pension fund receives some contributions from the state, along with the workers mandated contributions. The Boston Globe, the areas putatively liberal newspaper, has been leading the support for this attack on a vital benefit, including an editorial that compared the pension plan to a Ponzi scheme. Yet the Globe reported last week that Carmens Union Local 589 has been secretly negotiating with management since last August about restructuring the plan. Local President James OBrien told the Globe that everything is on the table. Two years ago Local 589 agreed to reopen a contract and give up a scheduled raise in exchange for a promise that management would curtail privatization. While the 6.3 percent fare hike will not improve the operation or safety of the MBTAs overcrowded subways and buses, riders would encounter worsening congestion if they switched to driving as a commuting method. A business group called A Better City issued a report earlier this month documenting that the Massachusetts workforce has grown by 121,000 people in the past year and that already the third densest state in the nation, Massachusetts is expected to add 500,000 more people over the next 20 years. Egan Millard, who works in Cambridge but cant afford to live closer than Weymouth, takes the commuter rail to the Red Line. In his testimony at Wednesdays hearing he said, Were already paying too much for such abysmal service. The $217.75 I now pay every month for my subway and commuter rail pass is a real hardship for me. And what does it get me? Commuter rail service so infrequent I have to plan my entire day or sometimes week around it, some kind of delay almost every day, severe overcrowding every single day, and truly appalling conditions in many stations. If anything, we should be getting refunds, Egan said. For the time spent standing on subway platforms when multiple, completely full trains pass by that we couldnt get on, for the cab and Uber fares we paid because we needed to get to work on time and you let us down for the hours of work and school, job interviews, the family events, the expensive flights we missed because you didnt live up to your promise. Ive lost at this point days of my life that I cant get back, and I am concerned for my safety when the train I am riding sounds and feels as if it is literally about to fall apart. Addressing the MBTA general manager and FMCB vice chair, Darlene Lombas, the Executive Director of Community Labor United, said, We are mothers and fathers trying to go to work to support our families. We are students trying to get to school; we are elders trying to make our doctors appointments. We think your equity analysis must be flawed if it says the fare increase wont disproportionally affect or harm low income riders, she said. In fact, for most working class families transportation is the second largest expense, just behind housing costs and even more than healthcare. Other speakers called for free public transportation, and to Free the T! There was applause when a member of Veterans for Peace said money should be invested in public transportation rather than wars in the Middle East, putting forward the slogan, End the war, and fix the T! The World Socialist Web Site interviewed C.C. Williams before the meeting. This is definitely affecting working class people, people of low socioeconomic class, she said. Because if youve read recent statistics, a lot people in the city are making under $40,000 and this recent fare increase could possibly throw their budget out of whack. And you have to keep in mind the transportation costs along with housing costs, food costs, healthcare costs. So, it all adds up to deeper holes in the pockets of the consumers. As of 2016, the Boston metropolitan area had the tenth worst income inequality level in the United States, according to the Brookings Institution. In former working-class cities like Somerville, apartments converted to condominiums are selling for more than $1 million, while the 2016 household income for those in the 20th percentile was only $30,328. Landon Lemoine told the meeting, The crisis thats happening in this city is the widening wage gap. It is becoming so hard to survive and live in this city with a normal job. Increasing the cost to get to that job is the complete opposite of what we need as a solution. Its the server, teacher, volunteer, mom, dad, who I speak to everyday on these wonderful morning and afternoon commutes, he said, that are already today questioning the viability of staying in Boston to build a life and a family. Its this type of small increase that will make such a difference for these folks and, in fact, put Boston out of reach. The number of deportations from Germany to the Maghreb states (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) rose sharply last year. This was reported by the Rheinische Post in its online edition of February 22, based on figures obtained from the federal Interior Ministry. Almost 1,900 people were sent back to the North African states during 2018. Last year, 369 people were deported to Tunisia compared to just 251 in 2017; 687 were returned to Algeria, compared to 504 in 2017; and 826 were sent back to Morocco, compared to 634 in 2017. This amounts to a 35 percent increase in the deportation rate in one year. If the figures are compared with 2015, the deportation rate has increased 14-fold. Although only 135 people were deported to the three countries in 2015, the total last year was 1,873. These countries are yet to be declared safe countries of origin. The BundesratGermanys second parliamentary chamber at the federal level, with representation from the countrys 16 statespostponed a vote on this issue on February 15 after state governments where the Green Party participates announced they would abstain. By contrast, the federal parliament declared the three Maghreb states and Georgia to be safe countries of origin on January 18, with the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) voting in favour. The description safe countries of origin has nothing to do with the political and economic realities in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Social tensions are at the breaking point across the Maghreb, with youth unemployment extremely high. As the refugee aid organisation ProAsyl reported, there have been several reports from the region of undesirable journalists and oppositional youth being tortured, as well as homosexuals being persecuted. Five years ago, the classification of the Balkan states as safe countries of origin laid the basis for the mass deportation of tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. They travelled to Germany after the Western states incited ethnic nationalism in the former Yugoslavia and promoted war and civil war. Ever since, the authorities have brutally deported people to these war-torn countries, even though they cant live a life there. The classification of the Balkan countries as safe countries of origin was made possible by Baden-Wurttemberg, which is led by the Greens and Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, voting for the measure in the Bundesrat. The attempt to classify a growing number of countries as safe countries of origin violates the basic constitutional principle that the reasons for a persons flight and persecution must be carefully and individually reviewed in each case. The expansion of the safe country concept would make it easier for German authorities to reject asylum applications and deport people more quickly who seek refuge in Germany. This amounts to a further hollowing out of the basic right to asylum, which has been all but abolished. There have already been a number of arbitrary and erroneous asylum decisions. The Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) makes so many errors and dubious asylum decisions that in 2017, 40 percent of the cases appealed by asylum applicants were found to have been decided wrongly. The court found in favour of the complainant in each case, and many asylum applications had to be corrected because the BAMF used out-of-date facts and text passages from a template to reach its decisions. According to Interior Ministry statistics, deportations to other countries have also increased. Between 2017 and 2018, deportations to Russia rose from 184 to 422, from 184 to 346 for Armenia, from 121 to 284 for Afghanistan, from 32 to 212 for India, from 32 to 144 for Gambia, and from 84 to 210 for Ghana. The rapid rise in deportations is a component of the brutal anti-refugee policies of the grand coalition, which has fully embraced the far-right Alternative for Germanys (AfD) policies. The deportations do not even go far enough for Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU). In mid-February, Seehofer presented a 60-page draft law on deporting refugees which bears the imprimatur of the AfD from beginning to end. The draft laws purpose is to remove rejected asylum seekers from the country as quickly as possible if they cannot be deported to their home country due to war or persecution, or if the deportation cant be carried out due to the absence of personal papers. The draft law bears the cynical name law for orderly returns, but it could more accurately be described as the foreigners out law, as the World Socialist Web Site previously commented. The draft law, which ignores all democratic principles, proposes to step up the practice of taking refugees who are due for deportation into detention in order to speed up the process. Additionally, it intends to criminalise the activities of those who assist and support refugees. Anyone who publicises deportation appointments or planned deportation flights can be punished with a prison sentence of up to three years. The SPD is also endorsing this plan. The expansion of the safe countries of origin category to include Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia was already contained within the grand coalition agreement, which the SPD signed and is working to implement. This was underscored once again when Justice Minister Katarina Barley (SPD) criticised the Interior Ministry from the right for allegedly not carrying out deportations efficiently enough. According to the SPD minister, the biggest problem with deportations is that the countries of origin continue to refuse to take back rejected asylum seekers. The Interior Ministry has been obligated to negotiate agreements for some time, but isnt managing to do so. The Greens are also fundamentally in agreement with the basis of the governments stance. Their opposition to the confirmation of further safe countries of origin is entirely unprincipled. Green party co-leader Annalena Baerbock declared on January 18, The point that repatriations must take place more quickly is fully shared by the Greens. But there are other means of achieving this. For example, she described deportations to Georgia as entirely appropriate, but added that the Interior Ministry has not done its homework. In December, Baerbock called for sped-up deportations for asylum seekers convicted of a crime. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei vehemently opposes the attacks on refugees and their supporters. In our statement No to nationalism and war! For the United Socialist States of Europe! which calls for support for the SGPs campaign in the European elections, we state: To justify and test the ground for the construction of a police state, the ruling elites are intentionally picking on the most vulnerable members of society. Refugees are being herded into camps under inhumane conditions, robbed of elementary democratic rights, and deported to war zones following Gestapo-like raids. This is setting a precedent that will be used to eradicate the democratic rights of all workers. We defend the right to asylum, as well as the right of all workers to live and work in the country of their choice. The working class cannot allow itself to be divided. To defend their rights, workers must declare their solidarity with refugees and wage a common struggle against exploitation and war. We demand equal rights for everyone who lives here, an end to deportations, and the closure of detention centres. On Monday night, Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders appeared on an episode of CNNs Town Hall, a series of interviews of 2020 presidential contenders. The hour-long segment was moderated by Wolf Blitzer and consisted of questions for Sanders from live audience members, pre-selected by the network. Sanders performance was more or less what one would expect. He denounced the fossil fuel, oil and gas industries, big Pharma and the billionaire class, and appealed to workers and youth with calls for healthcare, free university education and vows to make an economy that works for everyone. It is the type of rhetoric that has attracted a base of support for Sanders among young people and workers, who are driven by concern over social inequality. In the first 24 hours his campaign, Sanders raised $6 million from 250,000 individual donors, far more than other announced Democratic Party candidates. Far more significant than such comments, however, is what Sanders had to say about his relationship with the Democratic Party. He was asked by one individual participating in the forum, Why have you decided to pursue the Democratic Party nomination despite the fact that you have consistently run as an independent or other party for the last 50 years? And do you believe you can get a fair shake in the democratic process in light of your electoral history? Sanders replied, Lets set the record straight. I am a member of the Democratic leadership of the United States Senate. Ive been a member of the Democratic caucus in the Senate for the last 13 years and in the House for 16 years before that and won the Democratic nomination in my state. But in Vermont I have chosen to run as an independent, which goes way, way back. After burnishing his Democratic Party credentials, Sanders went to explain why he has run as an independent: You know, the truth is that more and more people are disenchanted with both the Republican and Democratic plank. And especially young people. They are registering as Independents, or not affiliated folks. And I think as somebody who was an Independent, we can bring them into the Democratic Party. Sanders role could not be stated more plainly. The Democratic Party, as a result of its right-wing policies, has lost significant support among workers, and particularly among young people. Sanders aim, utilizing his reputation as an independent, is to convince them not to seek an alternative. What, however, is the character of the party he is trying to promote? Over the past two years, the Democrats have focused their opposition to the Trump administration on the most right-wing basis possible. They have facilitated the passage of a historic tax cut that will provide trillions of dollars to the wealthiest layers of society. They also ensured the passage of a $717 billion war budget. At the center of the Democrats maneuvers against Trump has been the anti-Russia campaign, aimed at enforcing a more aggressive line against Russia and an intensified war drive in the Middle East. They have campaigned for aggressive moves to censor the internet, under the pretext of combating fake news and Russian interference. In the 2018 elections, Democrats ran an unprecedented number of former CIA and military candidates, part of their overall promotion of the military and intelligence agencies in their campaign against Trump. Sanders, it should be noted, doubled down on his support for the anti-Russia campaign during the interview, declaring that the word will go out to Putin that the attempt to destroy American democracy is a very, very serious offense that will not be taken lightly. As if the threat to American democracy came from Russia, and not from the American ruling class! Sanders understands perhaps more than any other candidate the depths of disenchantment of the broad masses of workers and youth who remember the two terms of the Obama presidency in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. They remember the Obama administration for its role in deporting more immigrants than any president in history, laying the groundwork for Trumps anti-immigrant policies. They recall how the candidate of hope and change oversaw the largest transfer of wealth to the top one percent in history as he bailed out the banks. The product of eight years of the Obama administration was a social catastrophe for the entire working class. It was in this political context that Sanders became one of the most popular politicians in 2016, by posturing as a socialist who calls for a political revolution. After his defeat in the Democratic Party primariesaided by the machinations of the Democratic National Committee against himSanders responded by throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton, the candidate of Wall Street and the military. As he proclaimed indignantly in the Town Hall event: I knocked my brains out campaigning for Clinton. I went from state to state, I think we had 35-40 rallies in every battleground state. So I do not accept for one moment that I did not do everything that I could [to campaign for Hillary Clinton]. He added a vow that he will support whichever candidate the Democratic Party ends up nominating in 2020. It is in this political framework that one must understand Sanders occasional talk of socialism and his rhetoric about social inequality. His presentation of socialism as a mild set of reforms that can be achieved through the Democratic Party and without any challenge to capitalist property relations is part and parcel of his entire political strategy: to lure in disenchanted youth and workers who are increasingly becoming interested in socialism, but do not have a clear idea of what it is and how it can be achieved. President Trump has recently launched a global campaign against socialism because he understands that the mobilization of broad masses of people behind a socialist program represents the greatest danger to the interests of the ruling class. Amidst the growth of the class struggle that has characterized the past year, the ruling class is terrified that this movement will acquire a socialist orientation and program. Nothing can be achieved, however, except through a frontal assault on the source of the power of the corporate and financial elite: its control of economic life, and with that, the entire capitalist system. This requires a political mobilization of the working class against both the Republicans and the Democrats, on the basis of a revolutionary and socialist program. All those organizations that promote Sandersand through him, the Democratic Partydo so in order to prevent such a development, and thereby perform an essential service for the ruling class. The following statement was sent to the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) by the Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka, an independent organisation formed by brutally exploited tea plantation workers to lead their fight for decent wages and conditions. Striking Abbotsleigh Estate workers Their solidarity with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks is a model for workers around the world. In the fight for its social rights, the working class internationally will also uphold and fight for the democratic right to freedom of speech and defend the publishers and journalists who resist the ruling class and provide truthful and accurate information. **** Abbotsleigh Workers Action Committee president P. Sundaralingam We, the Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka, would like to express our full support for, and send our greetings to, the demonstrations organised by the Socialist Equality Party (Australia) in Sydney on March 3, and in Melbourne on March 10, to demand the freedom of Julian Assange, who played a main role in exposing the crimes of US imperialism and other imperialist and capitalist oppressors. We consider this courageous journalist and publisher to be a champion of the fight against the suppression of freedom of speech by the corporate media. We have noted the important support gathering for these rallies, from individuals and organisations which are keen to defend democratic rights. We raised the demand for the freedom of Julian Assange at the picket line we organised on February 17 in Hatton, which is the central town of the tea plantations in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a country where the government waged a communal war for close to 30 years, suppressing the basic democratic rights of the people. Though the war ended in 2009, the attacks on the democratic rights of workers, youth and poor people are continuing and increasing. In our struggle we have experienced how the government works hand-in-glove with the plantation managements and trade unions to suppress information and right to know the truth. The government serves the huge profits of the corporate plantation owners, while suppressing our demand for a living wage. Freeing Julian Assange is our struggle. We call for it to become the struggle of workers all over the world. P. Suntharalingam President Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee March 1, 2019 OXFORD, Miss. (AP) A student government group at the University of Mississippi is calling for the relocation of a Confederate monument to the Confederate cemetery on campus. The Associated Student Body Senate resolution passed the ASB Rules Committee on Thursday. The full Senate will hold a final vote at its meeting Tuesday. The Daily Mississippian reports the resolution states that the Confederate ideology "violates the tenets of the University Creed" and the monument's current placement on The Circle undermines the school's mission "to maintain an inclusive and safe environment." ASB Sen. Katie Dames, one of the resolution's authors, says she's "excited to introduce potential for a positive transformation on this campus." The school administration did not respond to a request for comment. MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - Emergency responders in Monroe County were called to a train-truck crash west of Greenwood Springs Friday night. They found the train. They found the truck. However, they couldn't find the driver of the truck. Truck smashed by train in Monroe County (Craig Ford) Train stopped after hitting truck (Craig Ford) Train stopped after hitting truck (Craig Ford) Truck smashed by train in Monroe County (Craig Ford) The accident happened sometime before 10:30 p.m. on Jonesboro Road a little more than a half mile from Highway 278. It appears the pickup, which had an Alabama license plate, had been abandoned on the tracks. Sheriff's deputies searched the area around the smashed truck but found no sign of anyone who may have been driving it. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A former Mississippi prison guard was sentenced Friday to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty in November to beating an inmate. U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan sentenced 27-year-old Reginald Laterry Brown on one count of civil rights violation in the May 2016 beating of inmate Leon Hayes at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl. Another guard, Shelley Griffith, pleaded guilty in federal court in December 2017, but has never been sentenced. The Department of Justice refused Friday to say why. In a February statement to an FBI agent, Hayes said a third guard also beat him. That guard hasn't been charged in federal court. The 43-year-old Hayes, who's serving a 30-year state sentence on assault and drug charges, remains imprisoned at South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville. He's also a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the guards. It's pending in federal court, with Hayes representing himself. In the statement to the FBI, Hayes said Brown, Griffith and the third guard entered his cell, with Brown slamming him headfirst. Brown has admitted to kicking, punching and stomping Hayes. Hayes told the FBI agent that his neck, back and right side ribs still hurt from the beating and that he wanted the guards punished for their actions, saying "they are supposed to be security not beat on me." "A correctional officer who inflicts cruel and unusual punishment on an inmate in his custody betrays the trust placed in those who hold positions of power and authority," Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement. Brown was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine. He's free on bail and supposed to report to prison on April 15. NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is the new speaker of the House, but the name of the San Francisco liberal was rarely uttered at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering held south of Washington, D.C. Demonized for much of the 2018 political season in Republican ads and presidential tweets, she had been, it seemed, entirely forgotten. Former archrival Hillary Clinton came in for a couple of predictable jabs, as when Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, the conservative activist group, promised more accountability from the former secretary of state. But such calls werent followed up by the lock-her-up chants of yore. Instead, by far the greatest animosity and anxiety was reserved for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the 29-year-old House newcomer who has single-handedly pushed the agenda of the Democratic Party to the left. As much as Republicans oppose her agenda the Green New Deal, a 70 percent tax rate on the wealthy they thrill at the prospect of using her to broadly paint the Democrats challenging President Trump in 2020 as like-minded socialists. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., listens as Michael Cohen testifies before the House Oversight Committee Feb. 27, 2019. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) The moment America becomes a socialist country is the moment America ceases to be America, Vice President Mike Pence said on the conventions second day. Pence did not mention Ocasio-Cortez by name, but he didnt have to: She was everywhere at CPAC, so much so that the entirety of the five-day affair could have been dedicated to her. The event officially opened on Thursday with a panel title Marketing Marxism: Theres Nothing New About the Green New Deal. But there was little serious debate of the proposal, which was recently introduced by Ocasio-Cortez, and which would transition the nation to a carbon-free economy under government control. Theyre trying to get rid of all the cows, said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., referencing a comment by Ocasio-Cortez about bovine flatulence, which does in fact contribute to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thus exacerbating the warming of the planet. The cow comment proved popular at CPAC. Story continues Former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Feb. 28, 2019. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Speaking shortly thereafter, former White House official Sebastian Gorka warned that progressives are seeking to take away your hamburgers, and that this represented Stalinism in its purest form. You just try to have AOC show up at my house and try to take my cows away, said Jerry Falwell Jr., using the acronym by which Ocasio-Cortez is almost universally known. This came right after Falwell said that his sons had grown up with guns in their hands. I think its good, though, that thats the direction the Democrats are going, Falwell added. Thats gonna make it pretty easy in 2020, he added. Indeed, the goal of many attendees and speakers was to paint Ocasio-Cortez as dangerously uninformed. You have a 29-year-old socialist and the only thing shes done on policy issues in her life is bartending, yet shes driving an entire national agenda, said one conservative activist, according to a McClatchy report. Ocasio-Cortez tended bar in New York before turning to politics. The number of allusions to Ocasio-Cortez at CPAC suggests that conservatives believe that she has become the rights new bugbear. Her office did not respond to multiple Yahoo News requests for comment. But on Thursday afternoon, she tweeted in response to a report that an image of her dancing outside her Washington office ominously edited appeared during a video montage by the National Rifle Association. The GOP *is* scared of dancing women, because they fear the liberation of all identities taught to feel shame, Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response. For all that, Ocasio-Cortez will not be old enough to run president for six years, as she is only 29 years old. The prospect clearly thrills some, just as it terrifies others. The sites aoc2028.com and aocforpresident.com have both been registered, though it is unclear to whom. Both sites are blank, with a placeholder from the domain hosting company. Coming soon, it says. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Sweet dreams, new parents if you can. A new study claims that first-time moms and dads sleep schedules will take up to six years to return to normal following the birth of their child. The study was published Monday and comes from researchers at the University of Warwick, who tracked the sleep patterns of 4,659 parents who had a child between 2008 and 2015. Research found that in the first three months after giving birth, mothers slept an average of one hour less than they did before they welcomed their newborn, while fathers lost 15 minutes of sleep on average. Want all the latest pregnancy and birth announcements, plus celebrity mom blogs? Click here to get those and more in the PEOPLE Parents newsletter. Mom with sleeping baby RELATED GALLERY: 6 Products to Ensure a Good Nights Sleep for Baby, from PEOPLEs Health Squad Pediatrician But even four to six years later, mothers were still averaging 20 minutes less sleep than their pre-parent days. Fathers sleep duration, meanwhile, stayed the same at just 15 minutes less, according to the study. Women tend to experience more sleep disruption than men after the birth of a child reflecting that mothers are still more often in the role of the primary caregiver than fathers, Dr. Sakari Lemola of the University of Warwicks Department of Psychology said, according to Science Daily. The study also reported that a new babys effects on sleep were stronger for mothers who breastfed as opposed to bottle-fed their babies. RELATED VIDEO: Andy Cohen Says Being a New Dad to Son Benjamin Is a Dream but Jokes Sleep Is Another Story Factors such as household income and whether the mother or father was a single parent did not appear to have an impact on the results, according to the study. Its normal and necessary for a newborn to be up every two to three hours that doesnt make for a good nights rest for adults, PEOPLEs Health Squad pediatrician Dr. Elizabeth Murray told PEOPLE in August. Its tempting to catch up on all the other household chores while baby is napping but everything seems worse when you are exhausted, she added. Nap when your baby naps as much as you can. CPAC has revoked the press credential of Laura Loomer, a day after the right-wing activist heckled CNN reporter Oliver Darcy in a media area for the annual conservative gathering.On Friday, Loomer, who received media credentials for the event as a representative of Illoominate Media, followed Darcy into CPACs media center heckled him with questions about internet censorship and social media bans, according to several witnesses. Loomer believes Darcy is at least partly responsible for her being banned by Twitter.Loomer did not return to CPAC Saturday, and CPAC representative Ian Walters told TheWrap her press pass to cover the event had been revoked.Also Read: Welcome to the New WrapPRO - We Love Our Members!Loomer confirmed it, criticizing CPAC and Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which puts on the event.Its egregious that CPAC and Matt Schlapp have decided to bow to the leftist outrage mob and ban one of President Trumps most prominent supporters, Loomer told TheWrap. I am extremely offended an appalled that Ive been banned by my own people. I came to support president Trump today and celebrate the great accomplishments that hes made as president of the United States of America. I am extremely saddened as somebody who came here to raise awareness of social media biases that I am being censored by CPAC.Walters did not immediately respond to request for additional comment.Below is video of Loomer being turned away and her credential taken.President Trump spoke Saturday at CPAC, which stands for Conservative Political Action Conference.Also Read: Donald Trump Calls Out Washington Post Reporter, Defends Inauguration Crowd SizeAfter Loomer left the media area Friday, TheWrap saw Loomer tell student activists that Darcy is a py and beta b-.The reason why I confronted Oliver Darcy is because Oliver Darcy led a lobbying initiative as an employee of CNN to have Alex Jones de-platformed from Twitter, she told TheWrap. Oliver Darcy is a perpetual victim. He is constantly advocating for people to be banned and silenced. As a member of the media, Oliver Darcy should respect our First Amendment right.Darcy and CNN declined to comment.Loomers gripe with Darcy stems from a September 2018 incident on Capitol Hill when both he and InfoWars chief Alex Jones were on hand for the sworn testimony of Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. Jones confronted Darcy, insulted his appearance, and accusing him of trying to shut down his Twitter channel. Jones was permanently banned from the platform that same day.Also Read: My Pillow Chief Stands Behind Laura Ingraham and Other Fox News Ads: 'I Don't Boycott Any Station'Loomer was also banned from Twitter after she criticized Rep. Inhan Omar on Twitter, and attacked Islam as a religion in which homosexuals are oppressed and women are abused.Asked why she received a media credential, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which puts on CPAC, replied: I dont know what youre talking about.Jones later said in a video that Darcy is the secret police captain, who admits he goes around and gets people like InfoWars taken off other platforms. He added that because we confronted that monster that has abused us and lied about us, attacked our speech, because of that they took us down.In the weeks before Jones removal from Twitter, the CNN media reporting team produced several articles documenting what they said were clear examples of Jones multiple violations of Twitters terms of service.Loomer has a long history of attention-getting moves such as crashing the 2019 Womens March in New York City and handcuffing herself to Twitters New York City headquarters to protest her ban. She first came to wide public attention after disrupting a Shakespeare in the Park performance in New York which depicted a Trump-inspired Julius Caesar being stabbed to death.Read original story Right-Wing Activist Laura Loomer Loses CPAC Press Credential After Heckling CNN Reporter (Exclusive) At TheWrap CPAC has revoked the press credential of Laura Loomer, a day after the right-wing activist heckled CNN reporter Oliver Darcy in a media area for the annual conservative gathering. On Friday, Loomer, who received media credentials for the event as a representative of Illoominate Media, followed Darcy into CPACs media center heckled him with questions about internet censorship and social media bans, according to several witnesses. Loomer believes Darcy is at least partly responsible for her being banned by Twitter. Loomer did not return to CPAC Saturday, and CPAC representative Ian Walters told TheWrap her press pass to cover the event had been revoked. Also Read: Welcome to the New WrapPRO - We Love Our Members! Loomer confirmed it, criticizing CPAC and Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which puts on the event. Its egregious that CPAC and Matt Schlapp have decided to bow to the leftist outrage mob and ban one of President Trumps most prominent supporters, Loomer told TheWrap. I am extremely offended an appalled that Ive been banned by my own people. I came to support president Trump today and celebrate the great accomplishments that hes made as president of the United States of America. I am extremely saddened as somebody who came here to raise awareness of social media biases that I am being censored by CPAC. Walters did not immediately respond to request for additional comment. Below is video of Loomer being turned away and her credential taken. President Trump spoke Saturday at CPAC, which stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. Also Read: Donald Trump Calls Out Washington Post Reporter, Defends Inauguration Crowd Size After Loomer left the media area Friday, TheWrap saw Loomer tell student activists that Darcy is a py and beta b-. The reason why I confronted Oliver Darcy is because Oliver Darcy led a lobbying initiative as an employee of CNN to have Alex Jones de-platformed from Twitter, she told TheWrap. Oliver Darcy is a perpetual victim. He is constantly advocating for people to be banned and silenced. As a member of the media, Oliver Darcy should respect our First Amendment right. Story continues Darcy and CNN declined to comment. Loomers gripe with Darcy stems from a September 2018 incident on Capitol Hill when both he and InfoWars chief Alex Jones were on hand for the sworn testimony of Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. Jones confronted Darcy, insulted his appearance, and accusing him of trying to shut down his Twitter channel. Jones was permanently banned from the platform that same day. Also Read: My Pillow Chief Stands Behind Laura Ingraham and Other Fox News Ads: 'I Don't Boycott Any Station' Loomer was also banned from Twitter after she criticized Rep. Inhan Omar on Twitter, and attacked Islam as a religion in which homosexuals are oppressed and women are abused. Asked why she received a media credential, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which puts on CPAC, replied: I dont know what youre talking about. Jones later said in a video that Darcy is the secret police captain, who admits he goes around and gets people like InfoWars taken off other platforms. He added that because we confronted that monster that has abused us and lied about us, attacked our speech, because of that they took us down. In the weeks before Jones removal from Twitter, the CNN media reporting team produced several articles documenting what they said were clear examples of Jones multiple violations of Twitters terms of service. Loomer has a long history of attention-getting moves such as crashing the 2019 Womens March in New York City and handcuffing herself to Twitters New York City headquarters to protest her ban. She first came to wide public attention after disrupting a Shakespeare in the Park performance in New York which depicted a Trump-inspired Julius Caesar being stabbed to death. Read original story Right-Wing Activist Laura Loomer Loses CPAC Press Credential After Heckling CNN Reporter (Exclusive) At TheWrap Photo credit: Instagram From Delish If you've ever dreamed of planning a vacation based solely around cheese, I have some excellent news for you: The Finger Lakes Cheese Alliance wants you to do just that. Based in upstate New York, the alliance includes nine destination farms that welcome visitors year round. (There are a few more production farms in the alliance, too, some of which hosts events, though not as regularly.) The farms are all within driving distance, and are located near many of the region's famous wineries, so spend a few days leisurely making your way around from farm to winery to farm...or pick a few favorites and make a day of it. Whatever your cheese-loving hearts prefers! Engelbert Farms This certified-organic farm has been in Nichols, NY, since 1911 (!). They make cheddars, feta, goudas, beer-brine "Moochego" and "MooVache," a spreadable cow milk cheese. Hours: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Address: 182 Sunnyside Rd. Nichols, NY 13812 Parulski Farms This Bath, NY, farm is the newest member of the alliance. They have five types of cheese curds-plain, garlic, horseradish, buffalo and cajun-plus six types of jack and six types of cheddar cheese. Don't skip out on the garlic sriracha or smoked bacon cheddars! Story continues Hours: Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Address: 7438 County Route 113 Bath, NY 14810 Shtayburne Farm The Rockstream, NY, family farm has three generations of experience in dairy farming. They've got four kinds of cheddar cheese curds, including Blazin' Buffalo Wing, which sounds amazing, plus several cheddars and Monterey Jack-style cheeses. Hours: Spring to Fall: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Winter: Saturdays only, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Address: 2909 Chase Road Rock Stream NY 14878 Side Hill Acres Goat Farm Located not far from Ithaca, Side Hill Acres produces goat's milk, cheeses, and spreads. You can hang out with the goats and learn how to milk one by hand, if you are so inclined. Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Address: 79 Spencer Road Candor, NY 13743 Scheffler Farm This small, organic dairy farm specializes in grass-fed beef cuts, eggs, and has five varieties of raw milk cheddar cheese, including bacon cheddar. Check out their Facebook for updates on what's in stock and what times they're open! Address: 643 Cobb Street Groton, NY 13073 Stewart's Family Farm The twenty-year-old family farm makes soft, Chevre-style cheeses and goat milk ice creams, as well as baked goods and maple syrups. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Address: 6681 County Route 27 Hornell, NY 14843 Sunset View Creamery Sunset View hosts the alliance's annual cheese festival, which takes place each July. They also make cheese curds, cheddar cheese, havarti, and mozzarella. In their farm store, you can purchase locally sourced beef, free-range eggs, fudge, maple syrup, honey, jams and jellies, and homemade gifts. Hours: Friday, 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Address: 4970 County Route 14 Odessa, NY 14869 East Hill Creamery Take a tour of the creamery with owner Gary Burley to learn about the history of the farm, enjoy a cheese tasting, and get $5 off anything in the store. Right outside the store there is a "cheese vending machine" where you can pick out all the cheese you'd like-they've got unique names like Underpass, Silver Lake, and Happy Accident. Hours: Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Address: 346 South Main Perry, NY 14530 ('You Might Also Like',) Photo credit: Charles McQuillan - Getty Images From Women's Health Kate Middleton joked about having her fourth child with Prince William today in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. She said she's feeling "broody" but her husband would be "worried" to have another kid. William and Kate currently have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who was born last April. Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their first child this spring. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are already proud parents of three royal kids-Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 10 months-but are they about to expand the family once again? Kate Middleton lightheartedly weighed in on the possibility of another baby during her trip to Northern Ireland with Prince William today. Photo credit: Samir Hussein - Getty Images People reports that during a walkabout in Ballymena, the duchess stopped to talk to a well-wisher named Alan Barr and his five-year-old son, James. "Hes gorgeous. It makes me feel broody," Kate said of the infant, according to Barr. ("Broody" means ready to have children, or contemplative and moody.) When Barr asked if that means "baby number four" is a possibility, Kate responded with a laugh, "I think William would be a little worried," according to People. Photo credit: DOMINIC LIPINSKI - Getty Images This time last year, Kate was pregnant with her third child, Prince Louis. The fifth in line to the throne was born on April 23. Although she isn't expecting this year, the duchess (and the rest of the royals) do have a new family member to look forward to: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's first child, who is due this spring. The Duchess of Cambridge previously expressed her excitement for her in-laws to welcome a baby. "It's such a special time to have little kiddies," she told a fan in November. "And now a cousin for George, Charlotte and Louis as well! It'll be really special." ('You Might Also Like',) The last time Michelle Obama wore an electric color on stage during her book tour was her now-famous Balenciaga boot moment, when she nearly shut down the Internet after chatting with Sarah Jessica Parker in a yellow dress and a pair of sparkly neon yellow thigh-high boots designed by Demna Gvasalia for the French house. Mrs. Obamas stylist Meredith Koop has been orchestrating these kinds of monumental and daring designer fashion moments for the former first lady ever since she was in the White House. But Koop has also dressed Obama in younger emerging designers, all of whom were virtually unheard of in the world of politics but whom she believed in and Mrs. O was more than happy to support. Last night during a book tour stop in Texas, Obama shed light on another up-and-comer in the industry named Felicia Noel. Noels New York-based label Fe Noel is all about empowering women, specifically women of color. Her last collection featured a print designed in collaboration with the artist Harmonia Rosales depicting the African goddess Oshun as Venus. The idea was to shift the traditional Eurocentric narrative of Renaissance art and put black women in a place of power and prominence. Noels point-of-view as a woman and as a designer falls directly in line with Obamas expressed beliefs and indeed, what she represents herself. Naturally, Noel was thrilled when Koop reached out to her. According to the designer, the stylist started following Fe Noel on Instagram after Noels cousin wrote Koop an email suggesting that she check out the brand. She contacted us after a few weeks and requested a custom look for Mrs. Os book tour, one based off of our Liz top and rust colored sheer pants, Noel recalls. We collaborated with Mrs. Os personal tailor, who has the former first ladys exact body replicated in mannequin form. The resulting ensemble was a bright orange pair of non-sheer trousers and a matching wrap top with ties on the sleeves and a long train cascading down the back. This meant so much to my team and my family, Noel says of the moment Obama walked on stage last night in her design. In fact, the news traveled so quickly to the small island of Grenada and specifically to my grandmother, the matriarch of our family. Story continues Ive long admired Meredith [Koop] and her ability to push the envelope with Mrs. Os style. It was a personal goal to see her wear Fe Noel, she added. Im now woven into history at a time when I am and my brand are Becoming too! Ever since my first job at MTV working as a music programmer, I can't stop trying to match people with music they might like. So, I wrote a book calledRecord Collecting for Girls and started interviewing musicians. The Music Concierge is a column where I share music I'm listening to that you might enjoy, with a little context. Get everything I've recommended this year on Spotify, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and leave a comment below telling me what you're listening to this week. Stella Donnelly "Tricks" Stella Donnelly's music is arresting on first listen. She might play the same sort of strummy guitar-driven tracks as fellow Australian Courtney Barnett, but the tenor of her voice is something else entirely. She takes it to a place reminiscent of the twee (and beloved) K Records style. Is woke twee a genre? It is now. Don't let the sweetness of her distinctly feminine voice distract you from hearing her message, however. These songs are about the male/female dynamic and how it's not skewed in favor of women. Destiny Rogers "Tomboy" What would music by an 18-year-old from Lodi, CA (best known as the "Zinfandel Capital of the World") sound like? Nothing like you expect. Destiny Rogers caught my attention as much for the message of her song as for her skateboarding skills. "My mother said marry a rich man / And I was like mama, I am that rich man," Rogers sings and hell yes is the only way to respond. She messes with gender norms, and rap/sings over a low-key production that's all the more surprising once you realize it's by The Stereotypes the same production team who worked with Cardi B and Bruno Mars, who are not exactly known for their stripped down...anything. OMA "Dance" There are few artists out there who I'd say defy classification if anything, most of them just fit into multiple genres. But with OMA, a married duo from Reunion Island, there are truly so many styles and influences happening in this track that it is like a history of music lesson to pick them all apart; African instrumentation, French pop arrangements, indie pop vocals mixed with African chanting, and a touch of Bollywood performative style merge into one gorgeous track. It will be like nothing else you listen to. Story continues Della Mae "Bourbon Hound" Bourbon in the winter and clear booze in the summer is the rule, so Della Mae dropped this track at exactly the right time as winter abates into spring. This barn stomper of a single is soaked in Kentucky bluegrass vibes and the old school country aesthetic with some of the best harmonizing you can imagine. I love a woman with a deep voice, and it's only better when it's paired with an amazing fiddle in the band. Vok "Erase You" Iceland knows how to do dark songs, and Vok (a band, not a person) makes the darkest of laments out of reminiscing over a relationship gone bad scored by bedroom indie pop sounds. Everything about the song is captivating, from the brutal way the singer wishes to erase that bad partner to the static over the beats that makes everything muddy implying she might not be the most reliable of narrators. There are two sides to every story, but the singer of Vok draws all the eyes in the room to her. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? These Girl Power Songs Are All You Need Today & Every Day Solange Pulled A Beyonce & Dropped A Surprise Album Last Night Did Ed Sheeran Secretly Get Married? Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN From ELLE During Michael Cohen's high-profile testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Democrats asked questions about his misdeeds in service to Donald Trump, while Republicans spent their time trying to discredit the president's former attorney, who called his ex-boss a "racist," a "con man," and "a cheat" during opening statements. Anticipating Cohen's accusation, Republican Mark Meadows, Trump's ally in Congress, arranged to have longtime Trump Organization employee and current Department of Housing and Urban Development staffer Lynne Patton, who is black, present as a rebuttal to the charge. Meadows asked Patton to stand before the committee and have her "entire statement be put in the record," but ended up speaking on her behalf to argue that her loyalty to Trump proved the president is not racist. Patton, rather awkwardly, stood directly behind Meadows, silent. I asked Lynne to come today in her personal capacity to actually shed some light, Meadows said. She says that as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way that she would work for an individual who was racist. Photo credit: Drew Angerer - Getty Images Patton's brief cameo ignited a heated exchange about race later in the hearing from Meadows' colleagues. Would you agree that someone could deny rental units to African-Americans, lead the birther movement, refer to to the diaspora as shithole countries, and refer to white supremacists as fine people, have a black friend, and still be racist? Rep. Ayanna Pressley asked Cohen, in reference to Meadows recruiting Patton to appear alongside him. Yes, he said. A few minutes later, Rep. Rashida Tlaib lashed out at Meadows calling it insensitive and possibly racist to use a black woman as a prop. As a person of color in this committee, that is how I felt at that moment and I wanted to express that, she added. Im saying that in itself it is a racist act. Story continues [twitter align='center' id='1100882330862809088' username='YahooNews']https://twitter.com/YahooNews/status/1100882330862809088[/twitter] Meadows demanded Tlaib's comment be stricken from the record. Im sure she didn't intend to do this, but if anyone knows my record as it relates it should be you, Mr. Chairman, he said, adding that his nieces and nephews are people of color. House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, who is black, soothed things over, telling Meadows that, "Ms. Tlaib [didn't intend] to cause you that kind of pain and that kind of frustration. Tlaib apologized for the confusion, saying As everybody knows in this chamber, I'm pretty direct... If I wanted to say that I would have, but that's not what I said... I was not referring to you, at all, as a racist. [twitter align='center' id='1100859033974648832' username='_WilliamsonBen']https://twitter.com/_WilliamsonBen/status/1100859033974648832[/twitter] Ben Williamson, the communications director for Meadows, said in a statement posted to Twitter that Patton was invited to offer her experiences as someone who has known both Mr. Cohen and the Trump family for many years. We felt it was important for the committee to hear an account from someone not going to prison for lying to Congress, among other crimes," he added. [twitter align='center' id='1100881913756176386' username='stevemorris__']https://twitter.com/stevemorris__/status/1100881913756176386[/twitter] Despite the insistence that he is not racist, a video recently surfaced on Twitter that shows Meadows speaking on the campaign trail in 2012. In the clip he says, "2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is." ('You Might Also Like',) For fans who have waited a lifetime to board the Millennium Falcon or be ushered through a Star Destroyer by an army of Stormtroopers, let me tell you first-hand: its real, its happening, and its unlike anything youve ever experienced. Travel + Leisure was given a first look into Star Wars: Galaxys Edge, the forthcoming Star Wars-themed land opening at Disneyland Resort in summer 2019 and Walt Disney World Resort in fall 2019. As one of the first to walk the grounds, I can tell you how jaw-droppingly revolutionary its going to be once guests can finally step into a real Star Wars planet on the edge of the deep space. %image1 Every bit of Black Spire Outpost, from an Ithorian shop owner to full-sized speeder ships to walkways covered in droid wheel footprints, lives up to the quality level of the films. When the Star Wars-themed land opens this summer in California and fall in Florida, youll not only feel what its like to wield a lightsaber and bring home a customized droid, but come face-to-face with the First Order, drink a blue milk, sip space-age cocktails in a cantina, see BB-8 in his full glory, and even pilot the Millennium Falcon and thats all without even leaving Disneyland or Disneys Hollywood Studios. From R-series droids to Dagobah-inspired cocktails, heres every crazy and exciting situation, souvenir, and Sith artifact youll encounter once Star Wars: Galaxys Edge opens at Disneyland Resort this summer and Disneys Hollywood Studios at Disney World Resort this fall: You can live like youre a Star Wars character. You wont see Luke or Leia wandering around, as Galaxys Edge is set within current time, but you can explore Galaxy's Edge as if you are them, building a real working droid from salvaged parts, attaching toy-sized creatures like Tauntauns to your shoulder, and hand-selecting a kyber crystal as you personalize a lightsaber. (I held one and theyre the real deal, complete with a hefty hilt base, spot-on sound effects, and glowing light from within a non-breakable plastic blade.) Pop your R-series droid into a backpack and watch as it reacts to things happening around you, or for a deeper level of interactivity, download the Play Disney Parks app which can translate languages, accomplish tasks, and interact with ships and screens throughout Galaxys Edge. Story continues The Millennium Falcon is unbelievable in person. Prepare to be blown away, because Han Solos beloved ship is built to size and jaw-droppingly accurate. Disneys Imagineers knew seeing the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy for the first time would be a pivotal moment for anyone visiting Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and each detail of the 100-foot-long ship comes through at multiple vantage points. Like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty Castle, you wont see the Millennium Falcon from the entrance, but when it does reveal itself its bound to give you chills. Though breathtaking at a distance theres even an outlook perched above thatll guarantee picture-perfect Instagrams gazing at it from up close through windows of the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run queue will tug at your heartstrings most. And yes, youll get to pilot the ship. Nothing compares to that first time the door slides open and you enter the Falcons cockpit, but its not the only part worth looking forward to. Disney developed a non-traditional queue for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run to provide an opportunity for budding Jedis to explore and take photos within the ships main guest quarters, saying Chewie: were home a dozen too many times and possibly taking in a quick game of Dejarik Holochess as well. (Were told theyre still perfecting the hologram technology.) Once its your turn to ride, youll enter the cockpit in groups of six where a time before you could pull a lever and launch into Hyperspace will be far in the past as you fly really, truly fly the Millennium Falcon as a pilot, gunner, or flight engineer. From bucket seats to paneled hallways, it all feels unfathomably real and identical to the somewhat reliable starship seen in so many Star Wars films. The Play Disney Parks app will even keep track of your performance on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run for outcomes that will have an effect on your reputation later on Batuu, so doing well is more important than usual. (Good thing a single rider line makes repeat attempts a breeze.) This theme park planet is so much bigger than youd expect. Think of Star Wars: Galaxys Edge less like a new Disney theme park land and more like a park of its own. With winding pathways, unexpected turns, and sprawling greenery, it makes good use of its 14 acres; we walked for 90 minutes and I barely felt like I had a grasp on my surroundings, partly because the land is so chock full of experiences. Galaxys Edge is split into two sections the woodsy Resistance Forest, where the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction is located, and Black Spire Outpost, the main trading port on planet Batuu with worthy sights scattered throughout. Instead of a main souvenir shop, there are a half-dozen individually themed locations, including a bustling souk modeled after markets in Marrakech and Istanbul with stalls selling creatures, toys, and otherworldly items. Same goes for food options, which will consist of a unique meat sandwich at the Rontos Roasters kiosk, quick-service meals at Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, space snacks at Kat Sakas Kettle, and Blue Milk stand and libations with atypical bar bites at Ogas Cantina the first public location to sell alcohol inside Disneyland. Every Star Wars item youve ever wanted to buy will be for sale. (Seriously.) Consider yourself warned, because, well, were all about to go broke. Not only will an array of incredibly impressive merchandise be exclusive to Star Wars: Galaxys Edge, but things youve never seen before and never thought you would will soon be sold at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. A C-3PO toy that complains if you pop his head off and reattach it the wrong way? Theyve got it. Squealing puffer pigs, Rathtars angrily coming to life, and mix-and-match Resistance costumes for kids and adults? Yes, yes, and yes. There will even be something for all budgets, from collectible legacy lightsabers of Shaak Ti, Ahsoka Tano, or Kylo Ren to Sith and Jedi holocrons and restraining bolt fridge magnets. From apparel indistinguishable from props used in the films to a toy droid of Star Tours captain-turned-cantina DJ R-3X that glides around and plays your music via smartphone, the merchandise we saw is revolutionary yet only a fifth of what will be offered, so dream big and start saving. Even though Galaxys Edge is brand new, its inherently Star Wars. The planet Batuu and its Black Spire Outpost may seem unfamiliar now, but details of this edge-of-the-Outer-Rim trading post that fell by the wayside will make sense once you step foot inside Galaxys Edge, which is rooted in the deepest level of Star Wars storytelling. Set amidst towering 130-foot trunks inspired by Arizonas Petrified Forest National Park, it nods to different civilizations who have occupied this rustic land over time, whose combination of foreign etchings, carved symbols, and colorful minerals bursting from aged rock immediately resonate as Star Wars. The alien voices youll hear overhead are actual conversations, droids will communicate to each other as well as between ones youll make yourself and a stirring new soundtrack from John Williams will be used throughout the attractions and land. Since everything is in theme, Dok-Ondars Den of Antiquities will be helmed by an audio-animatronic Ithorian and diners can eat Kaadu ribs within cargo crates as even small spaces are packed with galactic surprises, like a row of interactive droids or a Dianoga beast popping out from within a water fountain cistern. Black Spire Outpost will also be littered with recognizable ships, like a land speeder similar to Lukes in "A New Hope" or one from Reys home planet of Jakuu. Not only that, but youll be plopped right in the midst of conflict with the First Orders recent arrival, so you wont just see a brand new assault-style TIE Fighter youll hear Stormtroopers accost townsfolk who come too close to it. Actions like these will actually happen throughout the day, bringing various factions of the land and its real-world ethos to life. Youll see familiar faces ... and then some. Given that Star Wars: Galaxys Edge pulls from all ends of the Star Wars universe, characters and creatures from animation, film, and publishing will all appear throughout the theme park land. Rides will feature life-like Audio-Animatronics of BB-8, Nien Nunb, and Hondo Ohnaka, who will be rendered outside of animation for the very first time, and appearances from Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren throughout the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction. Stormtroopers will appear en mass within one attraction, but youll see space beings wherever you go, like a 12-foot taxidermied Wampa inside Dok-Ondars Den of Antiquities, a droid cooking meat at Ronto Roasters, or a Loth-Cat lounging inside the marketplaces Creature Stall. There wont be any traditional meet-and-greets, but plans to let visitors mingle with local smugglers within Ogas Cantina or interact with characters on the fly are more than likely. (Though expected to be an integral part of the land, droids and outer rim visitors are likely to roam the land for interactions later on, once opening crowds settle down.) My hair is the first thing people see. At least I think it is, since it's usually the firstand often onlyfeature they comment on. I get it. It's thick, long, and, well, there's a lot of it. In fact, most people assume I'm wearing hair extensions. A woman even approached me at the grocery store once and said she liked my wig. Yep. I didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted that it looked so 'fake' it must not be real. Gotta love people. These days I'm pretty happy with what I've got, even if my shower drain wishes otherwise. After years of awkward cuts and wrong-for-me styles, I eventually learned what I preferred best with my face shape (round/heart-shaped) and my texture (thick, thick, thick): blown-out with curled ends and curtain bangs. Now there's no blow-dryer or iron that I can't master. I like to play around with my style, but I'm not one to go too far out of my comfort zone. (You'll never see me without bangs.) And with the long hours I pull at my job, I'd rather sleep than get up 90 minutes early to do my hair. If I don't have to be on camera, I'll often wash my hair at night, let it air-dry, and then apply product to it the next morning. That, along with a flatiron to smooth my bangs, is all that I need if I want to look presentable in a short amount of time. But do I feel super polished? Not really. True beachy waves take time. My natural waves look more like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket. As my mom says, "It's pretty, but a bit out of control." It's been a known thorn for me, so on the heels of a trip to Costa Rica to learn about Herbal Essences' new line of sulfate- and paraben-free shampoos and conditioners, our beauty editor suggested I challenge myself to go without any form of hot tools or styling tools. To be honest, it sounded kind of great to me. I'm always so "on" with my hair; the chance to just let it do its thing in the rain forest seemed freeing. Plus, the absence of hair tools meant more room in my suitcase to bring home souvenirs. Basically, it was going to be a win-win situation. Or so I thought. Story continues As I started packing, it suddenly dawned that I wouldn't be able to bring my straightening iron "just to smooth out my bangs." And forget about a curling iron to polish up my ends during my work meetings (yes, even if they were on the beach). No, this was going to be full-on Monica Geller in Barbados. I should have come with a warning label. Day One: The Arrival Jessica Radloff I washed my hair last night and blew it out, knowing full well it wouldn't last when I arrived in the humid climate that is Costa Rica. Sure enough, any bounce that I had fell flat as soon as I stepped off the airplane. By the time I arrived at the resort, I had sweat running down my neck and my hair was already begging for a ponytail. Remind me again why I decided to blow out my hair last night? Day Two: Helmet Head jessica-radloff-zipling.JPG Diamonte Eco-Adventure Park It's activity day here in the Peninsula Papagayo, and I've signed up to go zip-lining for the first time ever. This isn't any typical zip-lining either. I'm doing the Superman option, whereby I fly head first over a mile's worth of rain forest. You know what they say, don't you? If you're going to do something for the first time, go big. (My hair got the memo too. The damn helmet barely fit over my head.) As soon as I took my helmet off, I looked like I was shot out of a cannon. It wasn't as bad as it could have looked, but then again I also have low expectations. Most important, I survived zip-lining across the rain forest and didn't manage to get eaten by an alligator. I'm winning. Jessica Radloff I get back to the resort and realize I need to wash my hair before dinner with the Herbal Essences team. The only problem is that I can't dry my hair once I shower (darn rules). It's also too wet for me to put it in a hair tie. So I'm going to have to go to dinner looking like a wet dog and dripping like a faucet. I didn't think this part through. This is where things start getting uncomfortable. Our dinner is outside on a veranda, and between the humidity in the air and my now soaking-wet clothes, I feel the opposite of presentable. Everyone thinks it's kind of cute because they all know I'm doing a "challenge," but I feel like a fish out a water. Then, as my hair starts to dry, I want nothing more than to douse it with oil. Even with all the moisture in the air, it still feels dry. In fact, it feels so uncomfortable that I'm having trouble enjoying dinner because I can't stop fidgeting with it. Jessica Radloff A few hours later it's almost entirely dry, which wouldn't be the case if I were back in Los Angeles. It would probably still be wet the next morning, but in this climate, it's like I've gone through a car wash. Surprisingly, it doesn't look badespecially my bangs, which I for sure thought would curl under like Kerri Strug's in the 96 Olympics. If anything, the look is working for me, and I'm wondering what magic is in that new Herbal Essences Replenish White Charcoal Conditioner (besides, of course, the deep-cleaning charcoal). Day 3: A Downpour of Epic Proportions Jessica Radlof For weeks I had been scared to death about going to Costa Rica because of the mosquitoes so bad "you'll want to rip your skin off" (yes, a friend actually told me that). What she didn't tell me was that if you go during the rainy season, they're almost nonexistent. So the good news is that I spent almost a week in the most biodiverse place on earth and never once got bitten. The "bad" news was that when it rained, it rained. Like monsoon-style. But let's get to the important part: my hair. It's the morning after I washed it and did nothing else. It's got a ton of body and definition, and I'm kind of digging it. The temps are also in the low 80s with modest humidity, so it's pretty much resort weather at the resort. After breakfast (during which we learned that the brand's new Bio:Renew formulas are eco-friendly), I sought out the help of hairstylist Bridget Brager to teach me all her heat-free hair secrets. Apparently braids are the answer, and I'm immediately out of comfort zone. But she says the style will keep my hair off my face (my problem from the night before), and then when I take the braids out the next day, it'll give me the most incredible waves ever. So braids it is. Jessica Radloff I won't lie, they took some getting used to. But Bridget loosened them up some and pulled out a few wisps, so it didn't look so severe. I can't say I'd ever do this back in L.A., but you know what? If you're not going to try something fun and different on a tropical island, then when else will you? Day 4: Waves for Days Jessica Radloff Bridget was rightonce I wake up and take out my braids, I have the most incredible waves ever. (Actually, I didn't really have to take out the braids. My hair is so thick and strong that it broke the hair ties while I was sleeping.) As I get ready for the day, it starts pouring again, so I opt for my Gilligan hat with SPF and pigtails. I'm starting to feel a little more in my element without my flatiron. Day 5: Last Day in Paradise Jessica Radloff I normally wash my hair every three days, but I'm so obsessed with Herbal's new shampoos and conditioners that I wash it again with the new line. And this time, because it's sunny, I decide to let my hair air-dry as I walk to breakfast. If only I could do this every day. What I Learned Costa Rica is incredible and I've definitely embraced the pura vida life. While I think I did pretty well without hot tools on my trip, I think it'd be near impossible for me to be completely au naturel after I touch down back home. I missed being able to use my flatiron to at least smooth out the trickier parts of my hair (namely, my bangs), but on the plus side, I think I'm more likely to let it air-dry on days I don't have to be "on" for work. And in my book, that's an improvement. Jessica Radloff is the West Coast editor at Glamour. Follow her at @jessicaradloff14. By Hamid Ould Ahmed and Stephanie Nebehay ALGIERS/GENEVA (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has changed his campaign manager for an April election in which he is expected to seek a fifth term, state news agency APS said on Saturday. News of Abdelghani Zaalane's appointment came a day after tens of thousands of Algerians protested against a further presidential term for the 82-year-old, who is in Switzerland for medical checks. Zaalane is a minister. APS did give any reason for Bouteflika's decision to replace his previous campaign manager Abdelmalek Sellal, who had said on Tuesday that the president would submit official election papers on Sunday, the deadline for candidates. Opponents say Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke in 2013 and has been seen in public only a few times since, is no longer fit to lead the North African country, a major oil and gas producer. But in a sign of weakness to mount a challenge against the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), an umbrella group of opposition parties again called on Bouteflika to quit but did not nominate a single candidate. Friday saw the largest turnout to date in Algeria's biggest anti-government demonstrations since the Arab Spring eight years ago. Bouteflika has not directly addressed the protests. Like most of the country's elite made up of FLN leaders, military officers and business tycoons, Bouteflika is a veteran of Algeria's 1954-1962 independence war against France. He has been in power since 1999. The authorities said last week he would travel to Geneva for unspecified "routine" medical checks. Algerian media did not report on his trip but Swiss public television said late on Saturday that Bouteflika remained at Geneva University Hospital. A total of 183 people were injured during Friday's protests across Algeria and one person died of a heart attack, APS said. The capital Algiers was quiet on Saturday with shops open. Large-scale demonstrations -- rarely seen in Algeria with its ubiquitous security services -- against Bouteflika's re-election move began a week ago and have grown in size. Many Algerians avoided public political activity for years, fearing trouble from the security services or disillusioned with the war veterans who have run the country since independence. After a decade-long Islamist insurgency that Bouteflika stamped out early in his rule, Algerians have often tolerated a political system with little space for dissent as a price to pay for peace and stability. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi, Hesham Hajali, Tom Miles, Stephanie Nebehay, Tarek Amara, Hamid Ould Ahmed, Zohra Bensemra and Ulf Laessing; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Catherine Evans and Daniel Wallis) Senator Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.) dismissed Friday the notion that the recently introduced Green New Deal plan is extreme and unrealistic, arguing instead that there is no action too drastic for the government to take to address climate change. Does the Green New Deal go too far? Sunny Hostin asked Sanders Friday on ABCs The View. No. You cannot go too far on the issue of climate change. The future of the planet is at stake, ok? . . . According to the best scientists in the world, we have twelve years to begin substantially cutting carbon emissions, Sanders responded. Hostin also pressed Sanders on Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs recent suggestion that couples are rightfully hesitant to have children because of the threat of climate change. [Ocasio-Cortez] claimed that the looming threat of climate change that continues to exacerbate global conflicts has gotten so dire that it is a legitimate question to ask whether it is moral for people to have children now. Does she have a point there or is that too radical? Hostin asked. Obviously thats an enormously personal choice that every couple is going to have to make, Sanders said before redirecting the conversation to President Trumps past skepticism of the threat posed by climate change. In terms of a couples decision that they make, that is their decision. Couples make a lot of decisions in terms of whether theyre going to have kids. Often its economic and there are other factors as well, he later added. Asked if climate change proposals like the multi-trillion dollar Green New Deal that Dems such as socialist @AOC are proposing are too radical to support, Bernie Sanders pushes back by saying you cannot go too far on the issue. pic.twitter.com/1lvd6JtoST Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 1, 2019 Story continues Ocasio-Cortez joined Senator Ed Markey (D., Mass.) in introducing the Green New Deal resolution to much fanfare in early February. The proposal promises to transition all sectors of the economy to renewable (but non-nuclear) energy within ten years while providing millions of jobs building the clean energy infrastructure necessary to replace our existing system. The proposal, which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced the Senate will vote on, does not suggest any revenue-raising measures, but rather relies on credit, extended by public banks, to finance its reforms. Sanders is joined in endorsing the Green New Deal by a substantial majority of the 2020 Democratic primary field. More from National Review By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is likely to announce on Friday that an extradition hearing against a Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive can proceed, legal experts said, worsening already icy relations with Beijing. Police arrested Meng Wanzhou, the telecommunication giant's chief financial officer, in Vancouver in December at Washington's request. In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Huawei and Meng with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. Ottawa has until midnight on Friday (0500 GMT Saturday) to announce whether it will issue an authority to proceed, which would allow a court in the Pacific province of British Columbia to start a formal extradition hearing. Joanna Harrington, a law professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said officials were most likely to give the green light. "I have no reason to see why they wouldn't. We have an ongoing long-standing extradition relationship between the United States and Canada," she said by phone. "The United States is a country with which we share a legal culture" and which Canada trusts, said Harrington, an international human rights law specialist. After Meng's arrest Canadian officials said that the vast majority of U.S. requests for extradition were approved. It could be years though before she is ever sent to the United States, since Canada's slow-moving justice system allows many decisions to be appealed. Meng, under house arrest, is due to appear in a Vancouver court on March 6 to show authorities she is sticking to the terms of the December deal that allowed her to stay out of prison. U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in December he would intervene if it served national security interests or helped close a trade deal with China, prompting Ottawa to stress the extradition process should not be politicized. Last week Trump played down the idea of dropping the charges. Beijing is demanding Meng be released. After her detention, China arrested two Canadians on national security grounds, and a Chinese court later sentenced to death a Canadian man who previously had only been jailed for drug smuggling. Vancouver criminal defense lawyer Gary Botting, an expert in extradition law, also predicted officials would issue the authority to proceed. "I have little doubt that they probably will but it would be very foolish," he said by phone, saying that an approval would "invite a whole pile of grief" and possible economic retaliation from China. A spokesman for the Canadian justice ministry declined to comment. David Martin, a lawyer for Meng, did not reply to a request for comment. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown) A famous Italian painting that was rediscovered in an attic could be set to fetch at least $171 million at an auction, according to CNN. In 2014, a friend of French auctioneer Marc Labarbe called him to tell him about a painting they had found in their attic. After Labarbe carefully cleaned the work and contacted art appraiser Eric Turquin to verify the finding, the painting was identified as Judith and Holofernes by the Italian master Caravaggio. The painting is believed to have been made in 1607. At a press conference on Thursday, it was announced that Labarbe will auction the painting on June 27. The work will be auctioned in Toulouse, France the same city where it was discovered and is expected to sell for up to 150 million ($171 million), reported CNN. RELATED: David Hockney Painting Breaks Record, Selling for $90.3 Million at Auction The Italian painter Caravaggio lived a short, albeit dramatic, life. He spent many years in exile and on the run after being charged with murder in Naples, Italy, before dying in 1610 at age 38. There are only 65 of his paintings in the world, and I found the 66th painting in an attic, Labarbe told CNN. Its incredible, but its true. According to the Evening Standard, the painting will be on view at Londons Colnaghi Gallery from March 1 through 9 before traveling to New York and Paris ahead of the June auction. This is the greatest painting Ive ever found, said Turquin. Its very violent. Its almost unbearable. But hes an artist who embodies the text he makes the text living. The painting has faced some controversy, as some dont agree it was made by Caravaggio. According to Artnet, when the painting was displayed at a museum in Milan, Italy, one board member resigned in protest and the museum added an asterisk next to Caravaggios name, showing that they were unsure of the attribution. However, Turquin says he believes the painting is a real Caravaggio because there is evidence of alterations under the paint. Story continues A copier just reproduces exactly whats in front of him, Turquin said, according to CNN, but a painter changes his mind as hes painting. RELATED: Pierce Brosnan Is an Artist and This Painting of His Just Sold for $1.4 Million! Both Turquin and Labarbe agree that they would prefer the painting ends up in a place where the public is able to see it. I would prefer it to go to a museum. I would like it to be known, Turquin said, CNN reported, while Labarbe added, If you have a Caravaggio in your museum, you have the best. The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to produce a deal on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, with the two sides at an impasse over the sanctions imposed on the North. The cash-strapped regime has been under multiple UN sanctions for decades over its weapons programmes and has blamed them for its economic woes. At first many of the restrictions were on technology that could be used for weapons development, but more recent measures have targeted some of its key economic sectors. AFP takes a look at some of the sanctions. - Oil imports - In December 2017 the UN Security Council capped crude oil shipments to four million barrels per year, put a ceiling on refined petroleum products including diesel and kerosene to 500,000 barrels and banned natural gas shipments. North Korea has little oil of its own, relying on imports to keep its citizens and soldiers moving. China and Russia -- Pyongyang's main oil providers and both of them permanent members of the UN Security Council -- voted for the limits in November 2017 after the North's sixth nuclear test and a series of missile launches. Some have called the measure a jab at Pyongyang's "economic lifeline" but the cap was around the level of existing supplies and critics note there are no means to check how much crude oil is delivered through the pipeline running from China to the North. Crucially, the resolution includes an exemption for "livelihood purposes" -- similar to clauses in past resolutions that have been used as loopholes. Chinese Customs have not reported crude oil exports to the North for several years, but pipeline operator China National Petroleum Corporation has said in the past that it supplies 520,000 tonnes of crude each year. According to figures on the UN sanctions committee's website, between them China and Russia reported supplies of around 340,000 barrels of refined products to the North last year. Story continues - Coal and other commodity exports - The UN Security Council banned the North from exporting commodities such as coal, iron and lead in 2017. Before the measure was imposed, North Korea reportedly earned around $200 million a year from the products -- around 30 percent of its exports by value. The impact has been significant, and AFP reporters in the North have seen mountains of coal piled up on docksides, unable to be exported. The South's central bank said trade with China -- which accounts for 95 percent of North Korea's external business -- fell sharply in the first half of 2018. But there have been successful attempts to evade the measures. A UN report last year said deliveries of coal, iron and steel to China, India and other countries generated nearly $14 million for the North in just six months. - Textiles - Imports and exports of textiles -- both fabric and clothing -- by the North are banned under the UN measures. Textiles are one of North Korea's major businesses, with total exports estimated at around $750 million in 2016, when they ranked as its second-biggest sales item, according to Seoul's Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Chinese firms supply material to the North, where they are made into clothing in factories using cheap labour, and re-exported, mostly to China or Russia. - Overseas labourers - The resolution imposed in December 2017 ordered countries to repatriate tens of thousands of North Korean labourers working abroad when their contracts expire. Their toil, mainly at construction sites in Middle Eastern countries as well as Russia and China, is considered a vital source of hard currency for Pyongyang. Even before the UN measures, Pyongyang's use of overseas workers -- known to work up to 12 hours a day but given only a fraction of their wages -- was under scrutiny by the international community for human rights violations. By Marion Giraldo EASTER ISLAND, Chile (Reuters) - In just 100 years, the emblematic stone sculptures that guard the coastline of Easter Island could be little more than simple rectangular blocks, conservation experts are warning. The giant heads, carved centuries ago by the island's inhabitants, represent the living ancestors of Easter Island's Polynesian people - the Rapa Nui - and have brought it UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Dozens of giant "Moai" statues dominate the hillsides surrounding the island's Rano Raraku wetland, but they are facing the threat of what locals describe as a kind of leprosy, white spots that are appearing on their iconic facades. Caused by lichens, a marriage of fungi and algae, the patches eat away at the sculptures, softening them to a clay-like consistency and deforming their features. The statues must also contend with coastal erosion, rising sea levels, high winds and damage from freely roaming livestock. "I imagine that in a century more these Moai will basically be rectangular figures," Tahira Edmunds, adviser to Chile's National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) who has worked on cleaning the sculptures to remove the lichen, told Reuters during a visit to the island last month. Sonia Haoa, an archaeologist and Easter Island native, is compiling an inventory of its heritage, including the Moai. She estimates that about 70 percent of the more than 1,000 statues are affected by lichens. While the deterioration can appear shocking to visitors who flock to the remote volcanic island, located some 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) from mainland Chile, Haoa said it was still possible to save them, through laborious cleaning and coating with sealant chemicals to curb moisture and prevent the porous volcanic rock from collapsing. The most famous Moai groupings, such as the Ahu Tongariki, 15 statues arranged along a platform by the sea, and those scattered around the Ranu Raraku quarry, the source of the stone, are already being cared for by heritage experts and the indigenous community's administrators of the Rapa Nui National Park. But the island has at least 30,000 archaeological sites spread across its 166 square kilometers (64.1 square miles), most of which are exposed to the environment. To protect all the statues could cost as much as $500 million, and international help will be needed, according to local authorities and experts. "You will never be able to entirely prevent the impact of time or the weather, but you can hold it back, so that more people can see them first," Haoa told Reuters. A BRITISH SOLUTION? With no government fund specifically dedicated to preserving the island's heritage, the community allocates a large part of its income from tourism to repair and protection measures. Nonetheless, they say, resources are scarce. The mayor of Easter Island has come up with an innovative solution: seeking royalty payments from nations whose explorers took some of Easter Island's statues into their possession centuries ago. Among them is the Hoa Hakananai'a, a seven-foot (2.13 m) tall basalt statue that has become one of the British Museum's most popular exhibits since it was removed from the island by British sailors more than 150 years ago. The Easter Island authorities and the Chilean government sent a delegation to London in November to request the return of the four-ton statue. The museum responded that it was happy to consider a long-term loan of the Moai. Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa instead suggested the Hoa Hakananai'a could act as an "ambassador" for Easter Island, and Britain could keep it in return for regular payments to ensure the upkeep of its Easter Island counterparts. "We would win much more," he said. Sonia Paoa agreed, saying that while Easter Island's heritage was more than just statues, their celebrity could be the key to sustaining it all. "What do you leave to a 10-year-old boy, what will there be in Easter Island for the European or Chilean tourist to come see if we don't save them?" He asks. "It's the only oil well we have." The British Museum said it was looking forward to continuing the "warm, friendly and open" conversation begun in London with a potential visit to Easter Island. "The museum is keen to work collaboratively with partners and communities across the globe and welcomes these proposed discussions around future joint projects with Rapa Nui," it said in a statement sent to Reuters. (This story corrects gender of archaeologist in paragraph 7.) (Reporting by Marion Giraldo; writing by Aislinn Laing, editing by Steve Orlofsky and G Crosse) Australia's defence minister and his deputy both announced they were quitting politics on Saturday, bringing to five the number of cabinet members retiring as Prime Minister Scott Morrison heads into a fraught election. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, the most moderate remaining member of Morrison's conservative coalition government, said he was stepping down at the next election, due by mid-May, to begin a business career. The junior defence minister, Steven Ciobo, announced separately that he would also not contest the May election and would give up his portfolio immediately so Morrison could name a replacement. Pyne, who was also responsible for managing government business in parliament, batted aside suggestions the string of recent ministerial retirements was motivated by the prospect of their Liberal party losing the upcoming election to the opposition Labor, as widely predicted by opinion polls. "Being in politics is not a life sentence, and I've been there for 26 years and I didn't want to run again," Pyne told reporters in announcing his decision, adding, "I believe we will win the election in May... I think the Morrison government will replace itself." Morrison moved quickly to fill the new cabinet gap, announcing that Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds, a former army brigadier, would replace Ciobo immediately as minister for defence industries, and would replace Pyne as defence minister if the Liberals win re-election. Pyne and Ciobo were the fourth and fifth cabinet members in Morrison's six-month-old government to announce they would quit politics at the May election. Several backbench Liberal MPs, including the most senior women in the party, have also announced they won't contest the next election, or will do so as independents. A senior Labor Party official, Penny Wong, said the latest departures illustrated a "stampede for the exits" from the embattled Morrison coalition. Story continues "What will the Morrison government be remembered for? A stampede for the exit and jobs for their mates," she said following the announcements by Pyne and Ciobo. Morrison came to power after hardline conservatives in the Liberal party ousted centrist prime minister Malcolm Turnbull last August. Morrison has since led the party hard to the right. It now faces a tough battle to win re-election and the prospect of spending time on the opposition benches appears to have hastened the departure of several MPs. Those included former foreign minister Julie Bishop, the most prominent woman in the Liberals and the party's deputy leader under Turnbull. Current polls show the Liberals, who have been in power since 2013, heading for their worst electoral defeat since 1983 and Australia getting a seventh change of prime minister in 10 years. Paris (AFP) - The European Union is prepared to give Britain further Brexit guarantees to help a divorce deal through the British parliament, the bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in an interview published Saturday. "We can find guarantees to confirm, clarify, guarantee the goodwill and good faith of the Europeans with commitments which would have real legal force," Barnier said in comments published in several European newspapers including Die Welt in Germany and Les Echos in France. Barnier also suggested European leaders would be amenable to a short "technical" delay in Britain's departure from the EU, scheduled for March 29, to give the British parliament time to formally ratify a final divorce deal. The British parliament rejected the original Brexit deal hammered out by Prime Minister Theresa May and EU leaders. The major sticking point was the so-called "backstop" plan for the Irish border. Some MPs fear the arrangement, which would keep Britain tied to EU trade rules until another way is found to keep the frontier open, is a "trap" that could bind it to European commerce rules indefinitely. Barnier said there was "misunderstanding" over the proposed backstop deal. "Limiting it in time or introducing a unilateral exit clause would call into question its credibility," the EU's top Brexit negotiator insisted. The backstop "will end either when we have a global agreement on the future relationship, or a specific agreement with Ireland," he said, assuring it "was never the wish" to bind Britain to European trade rules indefinitely. - Meetings next week - Barnier said he would Britain's Brexit minister Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox next week to discuss options. A Brussels source said those talks could take place in the Belgian capital on Tuesday. "There is a way that the British (parliament) could vote, between now and March 12, with these guarantees of our good faith, It will be up to them to fulfil their responsibilities," Barnier said. Story continues In 2017, Britain invoked Article 50 of EU law, triggering a two-year countdown to Brexit that ends at 11pm (2300 GMT) on March 29. The country is on course to leave without an agreement after British MPs in January overwhelmingly rejected the divorce deal May struck with the EU late last year. The embattled leader is now seeking changes to the pact which she hopes will be enough to get it through parliament by March 12. In a revised strategy unveiled this week, May vowed that if her deal is rejected, lawmakers will vote in the following days on whether to leave without a deal or delay Brexit. But European leaders have warned any postponement would come with conditions. Barnier suggested a short delay could be acceptable. "The European institutions will do whatever is necessary on their side but the British have told us in the past that they will need two months to ratify" the deal. "It would then require a simple technical extension." While Britain is yet to request a delay, "I don't think there would be any objections in principle" from the other 27 EU nations, Barnier said. However, any delay "must serve to solve a problem, not merely to postpone it and remain at an impasse." Near Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - Kurdish-led forces on Friday launched a final assault against diehard jihadist fighters clinging to the last sliver of their "caliphate" in eastern Syria. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they resumed their advance after plucking a last batch of civilians from the tiny riverside hamlet of Baghouz where jihadists are holed up. The offensive on a redoubt barely half a square kilometre in size will cap a nearly six-month operation against the Islamic State group's last bastions in the Euphrates Valley. The "operation to clear the last remaining pocket of ISIS has just started" at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT), SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali announced on social media, using another acronym for the jihadists. An unknown number of holdout IS fighters are hunkered down in a small area on the edge of Baghouz for a desperate final stand against the SDF. Bali said the decision to resume the push came after the evacuation of the last civilians willing to leave the enclave and following the release of captured SDF fighters. "The people we evacuated today told us that no civilians were inside and that those still inside did not want to leave," he told AFP in the nearby base of Al-Omar. - Last evacuations - "If during the advance we discover that there are still civilians we will isolate them from the fighting but we are forced to push ahead," he said. He declined to comment on how long the last phase of the offensive might take but the SDF's general commander Mazloum Kobani said Thursday he expected final victory to be achieved within a week. An SDF commander told AFP that his force is advancing slowly and with caution because of the threat of underground tunnels and improvised explosive devices. A few dozen people -- mostly women, children and elderly men -- were evacuated from Baghouz on Friday and trucked to a screening centre. Their number was in sharp decline from the thousands who had been pouring out of the IS-held pocket in recent days. Story continues At an SDF screening point 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Baghouz, an Egyptian woman told AFP that IS was preventing men under 40 from quitting the redoubt, including her 27-year-old husband, ahead of a final battle. Nearby, the SDF patted men down and searched their belongings. With aerial backing from the US-led coalition, IS fighters who have been besieged for weeks are unlikely to resist very long. - Death of the caliphate - The offensive will deal a final death blow to the "caliphate" which IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed in mid-2014 and once covered territory the size of Britain. At its peak, the proto-state covered large parts of Iraq and Syria, minted its own currency, levied taxes and produced its own textbooks. It effectively collapsed in 2017 when IS lost major cities such as Mosul and Raqa following massive offensives from government armies and their respective international allies in both countries. US President Donald Trump, who announced late last year he was pulling troops out of Syria, jumped the gun on declaring victory over the jihadists. "We just took over," he said Thursday in remarks to US service members in Alaska on his way back from Vietnam. While the last remains of IS's statehood experiment are about to disappear, the group remains a potent force in both Syria and Iraq. - Yazidis - Its brutal legacy is still raw and the scope of the atrocities committed under its rule continues to emerge, months and sometimes years after its fighters were defeated. The SDF this week announced that yet another mass grave was discovered, this time near Baghouz and holding the severed heads of women. While the victims were not immediately identified, local fighters believe the executed women are likely to be members of the Yazidi community enslaved by IS. The mostly Iraq-based religious minority are considered heretics by IS, which tried to exterminate them in 2014 with massacres that were among the reasons the United States intervened militarily. Many of the thousands of women abducted by IS then are still missing today and it is feared some may still be held hostage in Baghouz. Nobel laureate Nadia Murad, herself an Iraqi Yazidi who was abducted and raped, urged the coalition backing the SDF to help secure their safe return. "The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS must have a plan to help rescue Yazidis that are still missing," she said in a statement Friday. Some of them managed to slip out with the thousands of civilians who were evacuated over the past 10 days. The Kurdish-run camp of Al-Hol, which has received most new arrivals, is completely overwhelmed. Its population has soared past 50,000 and aid organisations fear dysentery and other diseases could break out, prompting the United Nations to call for urgent funding. By Richard Cowan (Reuters) - In addition to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and other federal prosecutors, several U.S. congressional committees are pursuing investigations focusing on President Donald Trump, looking at questions regarding Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election as well as the Republican president's finances. Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January, giving them new investigatory powers including the ability to issue subpoenas. Republicans control the Senate. Mueller is due to submit to U.S. Attorney General William Barr a report on his investigation into whether Trump's campaign conspired with Russia and whether the president unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Mueller's findings and those of the congressional committees may influence whether Congress seeks to impeach Trump and remove him from office. Here is a look at some of the work of congressional committees. HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE This committee, under Democratic Chairman Elijah Cummings, possesses wide-ranging oversight authority. The committee on Wednesday became the first congressional panel this year to hold a public hearing involving a key player in the issues surrounding Trump, his former longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen. The hearing produced new allegations of wrongdoing by Trump including after he took office in January 2017. Cohen himself has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and other charges and is due to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6. His allegations included that Trump knew in advance that the WikiLeaks website would release Democratic emails that U.S. officials have said were stolen by Russia to harm Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Cohen also said Trump directed the plan to pay "hush money" ahead of the election to an adult movie actress who has said she had a sexual encounter with him. Cohen provided the committee with documents including a check to him signed by Trump that the former lawyer said was to reimburse him for the payment to Daniels to buy her silence. Cummings said the committee may try to get the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former accountant, Allen Weisselberg, to testify in light to Cohen's statements. The committee also has demanded that the White House comply with requests for documents and witnesses for an investigation it launched in January into security clearance issues involving Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others. HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE This committee, whose chairman is Democrat Adam Schiff, oversees U.S. intelligence agencies. It aims to examine the scope of Russian influence in U.S. politics, potential collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow and whether any "foreign actors" hold leverage over Trump, his family, his business or his associates. Schiff has said he will subpoena Mueller's complete final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress. Schiff also has said he will call Mueller to testify if necessary. There was partisan bickering on this committee when Republican Trump ally Devin Nunes was its chairman before Democrats took control in the House in January. Trump has often criticized Schiff including in a Twitter post misspelling the congressman's name to sound like an expletive. The committee will hold a public hearing on March 14 to hear testimony from Felix Sater, a Russian-born property developer and former Trump business associate, about efforts to build a Trump tower in Moscow. Sater worked with Cohen on the project while Trump was running for president. Sater has said he and Cohen talked about giving a $50 million penthouse to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a way to justify raising the prices of other units in the tower, which was never built. Cohen is scheduled to return for another closed-door appearance before the panel on March 6. SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE Like its House counterpart, this committee also oversees U.S. intelligence agencies. In a rare bit of bipartisanship in a Congress with deep partisan divisions, Republican Chairman Richard Burr and senior committee Democrat Mark Warner have been conducting an in-depth look into Russia's role in influencing U.S. elections. While they have worked in a collaborative way, Burr has said he has not yet seen "anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia." Warner publicly disagreed with Burr and cautioned against any conclusions until the investigation was finished. HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE This committee, which oversees taxes and the Internal Revenue Service, is studying ways to obtain Trump's tax filings. Trump previously has refused to divulge the tax documents, citing an IRS audit. U.S. presidents and presidential candidates for decades have routinely made their tax filings public in order to be transparent about their personal finances. Committee members have raised questions about whether the tax returns could reveal whether Trump had any income related to investments or other business dealings with Russia or other countries. The committee's chairman is Democrat Richard Neal. HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE Democratic Chairwoman Maxine Waters wants to investigate Trump's ties with Deutsche Bank AG, one of the world's largest financial institutions, as well as information about potential Russian money laundering through the bank. This committee oversees the financial services industry including banks. When Republicans controlled the panel, they refused Waters' requests to subpoena records held by the bank, which maintained that privacy laws prevented it from providing information without subpoenas. The Senate Intelligence Committee also has expressed interest in looking into Deutsche Bank documents. HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE The committee, whose chairman is Democrat Jerrold Nadler, oversees the U.S. Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies. It has investigators combing through court documents related to Mueller's filings to determine potential topics for committee hearings. The panel is focusing on the numerous contacts Trump's campaign had with Russia during the 2016 presidential race. The panel also intends to look into whether previous testimony given to Congress and federal investigators by figures associated with Trump has been false or misleading. Nadler also is expected to subpoena the Mueller report if it is not released. (Compiled by Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 28, 2019) - FALCON GOLD CORP. (TSXV: FG) ("Falcon" or the "Company") announces results of its Annual General ("AGM") held Thursday February 28, 2019. Shareholders voted in favour of all management resolutions proposed in the Company's Information Circular. Resolutions proposed and approved include: The number of Directors for the Company was set at four. The four members elected to the Board of Directors include: Stephen J. Wilkinson, David G. Tafel, James D. Farley, and Brian L. Crawford. Manning Elliott LLP, Chartered Accountants, was appointed as auditor of the Company for the ensuing year. The Company's Stock Option Plan was ratified. Subsequent to the AGM, the Board of Directors re-appointed the following officers: Mr. Stephen Wilkinson - CEO, Mr. Brian Crawford - CFO, Mr. Kenneth Cawkell - Secretary Mr. David Tafel - Chairman, Audit Committee About Falcon Gold Corp. Falcon is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Its Ontario, Canada projects include: The Central Canada cobalt, copper, gold project; the Coomer Lake vanadium and titanium project; the Wabunk Bay cobalt, copper and nickel project, and the Burton gold property. Falcon also has an agreement to acquire 20,461 hectares within the Sierra de Las Minas District, Argentina which has hosted several past producing gold, copper and silver mines. The Company has 38,020,184 common shares outstanding and is listed on the TSX Venture exchange with the trading symbol: "FG". For information on the Company, please visit our website: www.falcongold.ca. CONTACT INFORMATION: Falcon Gold Corp. David Tafel Chairman Stephen Wilkinson CEO & Director Telephone: +1 604-683-1991 Email: info@falcongold.ca Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, etc. Forward looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Story continues 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. Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43142 NEW YORK (AP) With prison looming, Michael Cohen now says he's in "constant contact" with federal prosecutors in New York, providing them with information in an attempt to get his sentence reduced. That would be a big turnaround from three months ago, when prosecutors told a judge that President Donald Trump's estranged ex-lawyer deserved hardly any credit for the information he'd given law enforcement. Back then, prosecutors said Cohen was exaggerating his helpfulness while keeping his mouth shut about some subjects. Cohen told members of a House committee during hours of testimony Wednesday that he couldn't discuss details of the work he was doing with prosecutors, but he dropped several tantalizing hints. When U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, asked Cohen if he was aware of "any other wrongdoing or illegal act regarding Donald Trump" that hadn't been discussed at the hearing, Cohen said "yes," but he couldn't talk about it. "Those are part of the investigation that's currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York," he said. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined to comment, but it has already revealed in court filings that it has an ongoing investigation into potential campaign finance violations. It has also subpoenaed the committee that raised $107 million to stage Trump's inaugural events. Cohen hinted there were other probes that hadn't yet been disclosed. At one point, Krishnamoorthi asked Cohen to describe the last communication he had with Trump or "someone acting on his behalf." Cohen said that last communication happened within two months of the FBI raiding his home and office in April 2018, but he couldn't talk about what was said. "Unfortunately, this topic is actually something that's being investigated right now by the Southern District of New York," Cohen responded, "and I've been asked by them not to discuss it." Story continues Cohen was one of Trump's closest advisers before he pleaded guilty to tax crimes, fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. Cohen's lawyers had touted his cooperation with investigators before he was sentenced to three years in prison in December. But at that time prosecutors pushed back. Cohen, they said in a scathing court filing, did not deserve to be called a "cooperating witness," even after he admitted to a host of financial crimes and implicated the president in coordinating payments to two women who were threatening to talk publicly about their affairs with Trump. He had refused to discuss certain subjects of interest to investigators, they said, or to give them a full debriefing on any criminal acts he may have committed in the past. But on Wednesday, Cohen said he's hoping through his continued cooperation to persuade prosecutors to file a so-called Rule 35 motion, an unusual court filing in which prosecutors ask a judge to reduce someone's sentence for providing "substantial assistance" in a criminal investigation. "If those investigations become fruitful, then there is a possibility for a Rule 35 motion," Cohen told the committee. Under Southern District of New York guidelines, Cohen's chances of having his sentence reduced depend on his willingness to submit to debriefings he eschewed before sentencing, said Jennifer Rodgers, a former prosecutor in the district who now lectures at Columbia Law School. "The question for the Southern District now is whether they'll stick to their normal procedures of requiring cooperators to do that," Rodgers said. "It's not a hard and fast rule from the Justice Department but rather a practice of the Southern District." Cohen's testimony was also followed closely by state prosecutors in New York. Delaney Kempner, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Letitia James, said the office was "reviewing Michael Cohen's testimony carefully to determine if it will impact any ongoing proceeding or investigation that the office is undertaking." Cohen has met with the New York attorney general's office regarding its investigation into Trump's charitable foundation, provided the office with documents "concerning a separate open inquiry," and cooperated with requests from the state's tax department, his attorneys said in court filing before his December sentencing. A few more clues about what prosecutors might have on their radar could come when a court, sometime in the coming weeks, releases documents related to the searchers on Cohen's home and office in April. Federal prosecutors filed court papers Thursday identifying portions of search warrants they say should be blacked out when they are made public. ___ Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report By Stephen Farrell and Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Protesters waved black flags outside Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on Friday, sensing vulnerability in the Israeli prime minister weeks before an election where he will face looming corruption charges as well as a surging new rival. Netanyahu's aim of a fifth term on April 9 that would make him Israel's longest-serving premier were dealt a blow by the announcement on Thursday of his planned indictment on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. A poll by the public broadcaster Kan gave his right-wing Likud party 29 of parliament's 120 seats, behind the 37 predicted for Blue and White, a centrist alliance led by charismatic ex-general Benny Gantz. The survey further indicated that center-left parties taken together would win 61 seats, potentially enough to form a government. Yuval Steinitz, a Likud cabinet minister, told Tel Aviv 102 FM radio he was "confident that Netanyahu will continue being able to contend with pressure of whatever kind". Former party leader Ariel Sharon won a 2003 election and went on to form a coalition government despite a graft scandal, Steinitz noted. But one of the opposition Labour party flag-wavers, Alon Visser, said: "It is a black day for the citizens of Israel. We are all ashamed of our prime minister and we are calling him with one big voice: Please resign from your office." Netanyahu is suspected of wrongfully accepting $264,000-worth of gifts from tycoons and dispensing favors in an attempt to secure positive coverage in a newspaper and on a website. He denies any wrongdoing, but could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery. However, charges cannot be filed until Netanyahu has been given a chance to address a review hearing - which is unlikely to happen before the election. In the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, social worker Coral Kala, 24, said she had not been surprised by the indictment announcement: "I think everyone was expecting this to happen." But others echoed the position of Netanyahu, widely known as Bibi, that the political and media elites are against him. "I think that Bibi did a wonderful job," said Tzipi Amit, 44, from Petah Tikva. "All the news and reporters want to hurt him and they are not fair to him ... All of us are people, all of us make mistakes." (Writing by Dan Williams and Stephen Farrell; Additional reporting by Rahaf Ruby in Ramat Gan and Rami Amichay in Jerusalem; Editing by Kevin Liffey) (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said he spoke to Switzerland's president on Wednesday to try to freeze banks accounts belonging to the tumultuous South American nation after "irregular movements" were discovered. Guaido invoked a constitutional provision to claim the presidency three weeks ago, arguing that Nicolas Maduro's reelection last year was a sham. Since then, Guaido has been trying to control Venezuelan assets overseas. In an interview with Mexican network Televisa, Guaido said he had spoken with the Swiss president earlier on Wednesday. He did not mention President Ueli Maurer by name and a Swiss foreign ministry spokesman denied the two men had spoken. Guaido said the Venezuelan government held bank accounts in Switzerland and that irregular efforts to migrate part of those accounts to "another site" had been detected. "We are doing everything possible to protect these assets that belong to the republic," he said. He did not say who had detected the movements in the accounts, whether any money had been transferred, or give further details. Most Western countries, including the United States, have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions including the military. Switzerland has urged protection for Guaido and calls the situation in Venezuela under Maduro "extremely problematic," but says it formally recognizes states, not governments. The Swiss Finance Ministry, which Maurer also heads, declined to comment on the Venezuelan accounts, referring further requests for information to the foreign ministry's asset recovery department. Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice said no one in Venezuela so far had sought Swiss legal assistance in tracking down assets. (Reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City and Michael Shields in Zurich; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Bill Trott and Richard Chang) By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali government troops shot dead three Islamist militants holed up in a building in central Mogadishu on Friday, police said, ending a day-long bomb and gun attack that killed at least 29 civilians. Islamist al Shabaab fighters launched the assault with a suicide car bomb outside the Maka Al-Mukarama hotel on Thursday evening, destroying other structures, igniting a huge fire and leaving people wounded in the rubble. (Graphic: Map showing location of attack in Somali capital - https://tmsnrt.rs/2UazBR6) The militants - who are fighting to overthrow the Western-backed government - fled to a neighboring building and opened fire on special forces and other soldiers sent to flush through out throughout Friday. "The operation is over and the building is now controlled by the security forces. The three militants were shot dead, their bodies are inside the building," police officer Captain Osman Mohamed told Reuters late on Friday afternoon. It was the longest that the militants had held a position in Mogadishu since Somali troops backed by African Union peacekeepers forced them out of the city in 2011. "Our special operation in Mogadishu successfully concluded after almost 24 hours. It targeted a hotel frequented by the members of the apostate government. Dozens of them eliminated, more injured," Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operation spokesman, told Reuters on Friday. He gave a different figure to police, saying: "Four of our Mujahideen were martyred, others managed to come back after the operation." The attack on the hotel came the same day that U.S. forces said they carried out an air strike that killed 26 militants in the Hiran area, north of the capital - part of an escalation of Washington's fight against the al Qaeda-linked group. Somalia's government had earlier said the gunmen took hostages, but there were no immediate details on their fate. "There are no civilian casualties in this building. But there may be dead civilians under the collapsed Hilco UK restaurant which is also nearby," Captain Mohamed said. DEATH TOLL MAY RISE Health officials said it was too early to estimate the full impact of the attack. "The death toll may rise and rise," said Abdikadir Admen, the director of the privately-run Amain ambulance service. Al Shabaab said it had repulsed three government raids on the building. [nL5N20N90U] Soldiers manned roadblocks around the site during the fighting and fired into the air to keep back relatives who shouted out the names of missing loved ones. "I have been running to and fro from the blast scene to hospitals since yesterday (Thursday) evening in search of my husband and brother ... I have just seen them in hospital. They are in a critical condition," mother-of-three Hallam Omar told Reuters. Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991, and a further layer of chaos was added in 2015 with the formation in the north of a splinter group of former al Shabaab insurgents who pledged allegiance to Islamic State. At least 25 people have been killed this week in clashes between the two militant groups, a military official from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland told Reuters. Al Shabaab has also carried out attacks in neighboring countries contributing to the African Union gatekeeper force inside Somalia, including one on a hotel and office complex in Kenya in January that killed 21 people. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, Washington has stepped up attacks against the group, and U.S. Africa Command has announced six air strikes in recent days that it said killed a total of 83 militants since Feb. 23. (writing by Katharine Houreld and Omar Mohammed; Editing by John Stonestreet, Andrew Heavens and Andrew Cawthorne) (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and two affiliates will be arraigned on March 14 in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, on accusations the company committed bank and wire fraud and violated sanctions against Iran, according to a court filing on Friday. In a 13-count indictment unsealed in January, the Justice Department said Huawei misled a global bank and U.S. authorities about its relationship with subsidiaries Skycom Tech and Huawei Device USA Inc, in order to conduct business in Iran. On Thursday, Huawei Device and Huawei Device USA pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Seattle in a separate court case. The companies are charged with fraud, trade secrets conspiracy and other charges alleging that they conspired to steal T-Mobile US Inc trade secrets between 2012 and 2014. A trial date was set for March 2020. The charges have added to pressure from the U.S. government on Huawei, the worlds biggest telecommunications equipment maker. Washington is trying to prevent American companies from buying Huawei routers and switches and is pressing allies to do the same. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Photo: Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News Abu DhabiAs weapons sales to Gulf countries soar, defense companies flocked to last months bi-annual International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. But amid the usual displays of machine guns, helicopters, and tanks, in the quieter corners of the showroom floor, purveyors of intelligence and surveillance products also hawked their wares to governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide. At one display, multiple companies banded together and debuted a one-stop shop for intelligence solutions branded Intellexa. Their booth displayed a massive long range mission intelligence vehicle sold by WiSpear, a company founded by former Israeli military intelligence official Tal Dilian registered in Southern Cyprus. Cyprus, according to documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, is a hub for British and American internet monitoring in the Middle East. One click and we can take control of your phone, said a representative at the booth working for Advanced Systems, an intelligence company based in Dubai which advertises a full range of intelligence solutions to help governments to effectively fight against terrorism, malicious acts, or civil unrest. The Middle East has long been home to autocratic governments seeking for ways to assure domestic stability. But what has changed, particularly after the wave of Arab Spring protests in 2011, is how they are seeking to prevent what they perceive to be threatening dissent. Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and others are buying up increasingly sophisticated computer equipment and expertise to help monitor and control the flow of information in their societies. Photo: Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News Theres a reason were all out here, one U.S. industry source told Yahoo News. In the Gulf, the source said, companies can sell surveillance technology that might not be acceptable in other regions because of concerns over civil liberties. Yet in the case of Intellexa, it was not even clear which countries were behind the company. The official press release did not list Advanced Systems as a member company, but materials at the booth noted their involvement with Intellexa. The representative asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak with the press. Story continues Theres very good interest among the intelligence agencies in the Middle East, the representative said, adding that Europe and even the U.S. had also inquired about the technology. While Western governments oftenthough not alwaysuse surveillance technology to monitor threats abroad, in the Middle East, the focus is typically internal. These are societies that have embedded terror threatsand governments, especially in the Gulf, have a very low threshold for opposition before they feel it has to be stamped out, said Jon Alterman, the director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former State Department official during an interview. One of the serious questions is, he said, whats a legitimate threat to track? The companies typically dont talk about the targetsjust just the capabilities. And Intellexa, according to materials available at the show, offers a wide range of capabilities from intercepting communications and target profiling services, to long-range WiFi hacking solutions and geotracking, and open source intelligence. The surveillance vehicle on display revealed displays of phones and the WiFi each was connected to, and whether or not the network was locked with a password. Within 200-300 meters, the user can infect the target phone, the representative told Yahoo News. The consortium was offering monitoring products that can be attached to drones, or carried in a backpack. Advanced Systems unified intelligence systemwhich creates a dossier on each target mapping out their location, phone calls, social media, and moreis called Cerebro, reminiscent of a fictional device in X-Men where powerful telepaths can use their abilities to find anyone, anywhere in the world. Photo: Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News A pamphlet from Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a state owned defense company with a large display at IDEX, advertised a desire to purchase and develop more tools of cyber warfare. The idea of Gulf countries buying drones that can hack your cell phone may sound shocking, but to Chris Rock, a security researcher currently acting CEO of SIEMonster, a monitoring software company, says none of this is surprising. I always refer to the Middle East as the Wild West, Rock, who has worked for many years in the Middle East for various foreign governments, including the Kuwaitis, told Yahoo News during a phone interview. No one thinks twice about hiring a hacker to do something. Those jobs, he says, range from investigating a possible business deal to surveilling their own people. Gulf leaders have been known at times to send text messages to their entire population at once, he told Yahoo News. What they wanted over there, we wouldnt consider legal, he said. What government in the region often want is to have the means to monitor all internal communication. In one case for example, Kuwaiti officials in the fall of 2014 met with multiple U.S. companies and consultants in the Washington, DC area to discuss ways they could monitor social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, for negative comments about the monarchy, according to an independent consultant present at the meeting. One of the participants in the meeting was A10 Networks, an American company that provides products that monitor, steer, and analyze Internet traffic. The company didnt ultimately sign on to help the Kuwaitis, according to the person present at the meeting. I didnt have any desire to be a part of that, the person told Yahoo News. These behaviors continue to make people see them as authoritarian. Karin Gilles, a spokesperson for A10 Networks, did not respond to questions about the meeting, but said that the companys product doesnt touch user data. The Kuwaitis request was unsurprising to one former social media executive who spoke with Yahoo News. A lot of these requests come in through anti-terrorism government organizations. Photo: Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News At IDEX this year, companies and government agencies displayed a number of surveillance technologies are already in use. The bright green and black booth hosted by the Dubai Police, crowded with large military vehicles, included an active facial recognition display, showing example photos of Emirati men in robesas well as a live stream of photos of faces passing by the booth. The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority also had a booth where it was showing off its spectrum monitoring solutions, used to ensure reliability of mobile communication but can also be used for intelligence gathering. While the Gulf counties have long turned to Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, for intelligence services and technology, influence from China and others is beginning to creep in. A lot of the current surveillance technology is being pioneered in Israel and China; and its targeted at counterterrorism; and it may be applied to a bigger definition of counterterrorism than Americans are comfortable with, said Alterman of CSIS. Kara Frederick, an associate fellow at the Center for a New American Security who is currently studying the export of Chinese surveillance tools abroad, argues for controlling the spread of what she calls digitally-enabled authoritarianism to the Gulf. Its no secret Beijing is exporting its authoritarian toolkit to like-minded countries, Frederick told Yahoo News. This relationship could begin to look like the enduring exchange of best practices for illiberal regimes. Yet the UAE is also focused on developing its own indigenous capabilities. For example, DarkMatter, a government-owned UAE cybersecurity company, has engaged in offensive hacking and surveillance both domestically and overseas. The company, which has recruited Westerners, including former National Security Agency employees, is currently under investigation by the FBI. Facing increasing legal and press scrutiny in the United States, DarkMatter may soon shut down in its current form, according to two sources directly familiar with matter working in security and industry. The security services it provides to the Emirati government will likely transition into new companies or entities under separate names. That decision demonstrates a growing understanding of the need to be covert. The offensive side is being shut down or hollowed out, said one security expert familiar with the matter. They burned the namethey are learning. Photo: Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News Intelligence gathering and targeting in the Middle East may also be growing harder to keep track of, says Bill Marczak, a senior research fellow at Citizen Lab who has tracked spyware and surveillance in the region for many years. More Middle Eastern governments are essentially doing whatever they can to monitor everything going on in their countries, Marczak said. A lot of the new types of surveillance tools and techniques he worries are not as visible to researchers because theyre collecting things passively behind the scenes, for instance social media surveillance. Bruce Riedel, the director of the Brookings Institutes Intelligence Project and a former long-serving CIA official, in an email to Yahoo News, says the Gulf countries focus on social media is not surprising. The Saudis and Emiratis are emulating the Chinese path to create police states that control all social media via high tech surveillance, he wrote in an email. Of course, he added, the Trump administration is not discouraging them. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said Wednesday evening that Democrats called Michael Cohen to testify before the panel in order to set the stage for President Trumps impeachment. I do not think you could believe much of what this guy says. What I do think was going on today is that this was the first step in the Democrats crazy impeachment plans, Jordan said during an appearance on Fox Newss Special Report. Jordans comments came hours after Cohen publicly disparaged his former boss as a racist, a conman, and a cheat during his public testimony before Congress. Though Cohen accused Trump of engaging in illicit acts while in office, including the reimbursement of hush-money payments made during the campaign to his former mistresses, the former attorney admitted he did not have knowledge of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Jordan and fellow Republicans on the Oversight Committee spent the hearing impugning Cohens credibility, frequently raising the fact that he previously lied to Congress under oath about the timing of plans to build a Moscow Trump Tower when he testified in August. Democrats, meanwhile, said their Republican colleagues were angry that Cohen had stopped lying to protect the president, and argued he had nothing to gain by continuing to lie. Despite Cohens Wednesday testimony, Democratic leaders remain hesitant to openly broach the prospect of impeachment. Isnt it interesting that not one person on our side even mentioned the word impeachment? Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) said after the hearing. Not one. Speaker Pelosi told reporters Wednesday that she did not watch Cohens testimony. More from National Review The Daily Beast REUTERSAfter Jussie Smollett spilled all the tea he could on Monday, Special Prosecutor Dan Webb put the focus back on the attack on the Empire star that the actor allegedly staged in a brutal cross examination on Tuesday.Webb, a lawyers lawyer who nailed corrupt judges and cops when he served as the U.S. attorney for the district including Chicago and who prosecuted Ronald Reagans national security adviser and deposed the president as special counsel in the Iran-Contra affair, shifted the foc On Wednesday, during Michael Cohens hearing in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Republicans attempted a number of stunts to distract from the testimony of Donald Trumps former personal lawyer on a great many questionable, possibly illicit, deeds. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, who is 60 years old, lobbed the familiar schoolyard taunt Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire in front of a sign emblazoned with the same words. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio sputtered on about some bizarre conspiracy theory involving former Clinton associates and some town halls organized by billionaire donor Tom Steyer. But it was North Carolinas Mark Meadows, Jordans associate on the ultra conservative Freedom Caucus, who drew the most coverage, albeit not in the way hed hoped. Meadows has become the latest example of Racist Denialism in Americas public eye. But it doesnt look like hell be the last by a long stretch: Theres no way to fix a problem if you cant admit you have one in the first place. And right now America is drunk on racism. In an effort to defend Trump from charges of racism, Meadows offered that Trump had never uttered a racist thing to him, a white man, as evidence to the contrary, while aggressively questioning a man who had, Cohen, on his own accounts of bearing witness to Trump saying racist things. But it was his choice to innovate on the long cliched black friend defense that drew the most attention. Instead of merely citing Trumps associations with black people, Meadows brought an actual black person: Lynne Patton, a former Trump Organization employee now working in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She stood silently behind Meadows while he made the preposterous assertion that employing a black person somehow absolved a white man from racist actsas if American history wasnt built on examples to the contrary. Story continues Two months ago, we wouldnt have had a Cohen hearing, never mind a response to this kind of ridiculous racist denialism. But with last years election, the makeup of the committee has changed. And Meadows's antics prompted a quick response from Democratic representatives Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both women of color. "Would you agree that someone could deny rental units to African-Americans, lead the birther movement, refer to the diaspora as 'sh*t-hole countries,' refer to white supremacists as 'fine people,' have a black friend, and still be racist?," Pressley, who is black, asked Cohen in what was more of a statement than a question. Tlaib went further, pointing out that Meadows was not merely wrong in his defense but was also committing a racist act himself: "Just because someone has a person of color, a black person working for them, does not mean they aren't racist...that someone would actually use a prop, a black woman in this chamber, in this committee, is alone racist in itself." Meadows had a meltdown. He started interrupting Tlaib, as well as committee chairman Elijah Cummings, who is also black, to request that her statement be stricken from the record. In a sputtering defense and on the verge of tears, he went on to cite his relatives who are people of color and his friendship with Cummingsyet again, launching proximity to black people as defense against racism. He even called Tlaib racist for pointing out that his stunt was racist. In one light, Meadows got his way, derailing the Cohen hearing, so that his hurt feelings could be soothed by members of color. Following his outburst, Internet sleuths dug up two videos of Meadows hyping the old racist birther conspiracy theory on his own campaign trail. 2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it, he says in one. Sherrilyn Ifill, President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, called his performance the full playbook of most insulting racism defenses. Other commentators cited prominent examples in American history of white men with close proximity to black people acting in overtly racist ways. Thomas Jefferson had black children. He held them in slavery. Strom Thurmond had a child with his familys black maid. He opposed every civil rights bill that came up during the 60s and 70s and was openly segregationist. So trotting put a black employee aint, excuse me, ish, wrote New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones. But, of course, a man devoted to exonerating Donald Trumpwhose own racist history is well documentedisnt as concerned with racism so much, if at all, as being called a racist. When asked about his comments about sending Obama back to Kenyaa by-the-book racist statementMeadows claimed "anyone who knows me knows that there is not a racial bone in my body." In Meadows world, the word racism cant be utteredit is somehow worse than any number of plainly racist statements Trump has made about living, breathing people, from slurs about Native Americans to demonizing Mexicans. No mountain of historical and present evidence to the contrary will convince a man in racist denialism, just like no mountain of empty bottles and cans will convince an alcoholic they drink too much. Meadows needs to enter into some kind of racism equivalent to AA. The man is in denial, and the first step is admitting you have a problem. Hes not alone either. In just the past month, Black History Month, no less, the American public has been treated to a steady stream of stories of undeniably racist acts. Almost every single one has been followed up with statements by their perpetrators that they hold no racism in their hearts, bones, or other constituent parts, and some teary-eyed pleading to be released from charges of racism. There has been little accountability on what these racist acts perpetuate and the real victims at the center of their ongoing perpetuation. In January, Maryland Democratic Party chairwoman Mary Ann Lisanti reportedly called Prince George county a n***** district. In her apology statement, Lisanti said, I am sickened that a word that is not in my vocabulary came out of my mouth. It does not represent my belief system, my lifes work or what is my heart. It is unclear how a word that is not in ones vocabulary could possibly come out of ones mouth. But these are the kinds of mental gymnastics one must perform when they are in racist denialism. This morning, at CPAC, Turning Point USA communications director Candace Owens, who has built a career on racist denialism for Republicans, claimed that racism is over: I've never been a slave in this country. Then there is the case of Pam Northam, wife of Virginia governor Ralph Northam, who just a few months ago was revealed to have worn blackface in medical-school yearbook photos. Virginias first lady reportedly handed cotton to black high-school pages at the governors mansion and asked them to imagine what it was like to pick it as enslaved. Northam released a statement, admitting neither wrongdoing nor racism: "I have provided the same educational tour to Executive Mansion visitors over the last few months and used a variety of artifacts and agricultural crops with the intention of illustrating a painful period of Virginia history. I regret that I have upset anyone." It certainly doesn't help that members of the media continue to push absurd mythology about racism. Townhall editor Katie Pavlich made the head-scratching statement: "Last time I checked calling a black woman a token is racism." She seemed to be confusing doing a racist act with identifying a racist act. Huffington Post reporter Matt Fuller likewise took to Twitter to defend Meadows, "Whatever you think of Mark Meadows, I promise you he wasnt faking it. He was truly hurt and barely holding it together. Trust me on this." Here again, a white reporter prioritized the tender feelings of a white man committing a racist act, which was in turn to defend another white man committing even more racist acts, over those actually affected by all of that. It's enough to make one's head spin. These kinds of abstract apologies and silly defenses, of course, put the focus on absolving the people perpetuating racist ideas. They avoid any kind of real responsibility or of contending with their own engaging in various forms of racism, which include not just the most extreme forms, such as lynching or gunning down a church prayer group, but also the kind of head-patting tokenism called racist love. The act of reducing people, whether they are high-school students at a governor's mansion or attendees at a congressional hearing, to mere stand-ins for their race is racist on its own. And nothing gets better until we drop the excuses, sober up, and survey the damage. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they are sending teams to investigate a fatal crash in Florida on Friday involving a Tesla Inc car and a semi-trailer. The two agencies are investigating several crashes involving the use of Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot including a fatal crash in California in March 2018. NHTSA, the auto safety regulator, can demand a recall if it believes a defect poses an unreasonable risk, while the NTSB makes safety recommendations. A spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Department that oversees NHTSA said late on Friday that "NHTSAs Crash Investigation Division assigned a Special Crash Investigation team to investigate the crash", while the NTSB said it is sending a team of three "to conduct a safety investigation". A report on Friday's crash released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department did not indicate if Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash that killed the 50-year-old Tesla Model 3 owner. The report said the Tesla struck a tractor trailer and the roof was sheared off as it passed underneath the trailer and came to a rest three-tenths of a mile south of the collision. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Tesla declined to comment on Friday. Some Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid putting their hands on the wheel for extended periods when using Autopilot, while Tesla advises drivers that they must keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention at all times while using Autopilot. NHTSA is also probing the January 2018 crash of a Tesla vehicle apparently traveling in Autopilot that struck a fire truck in Culver City, California, a May 2018 crash in Utah of a Tesla in Autopilot mode and a May 2018 Tesla accident in Florida that killed two teenagers and injured another but was not in Autopilot mode. The NTSB is investigating three earlier Tesla incidents being reviewed by NHTSA, as well as an August 2017 Tesla battery fire in California, in which an owner ran the vehicle into his garage. Friday's crash is similar to the first fatal Tesla crash linked to Autopilot use. In May 2016, a Tesla Model S driver was killed near Williston, Florida, using Autopilot when he slammed into a tractor trailer that also sheared off the vehicle roof. The incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches of time with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers. The NTSB said in September 2017 Tesla lacked proper safeguards that allowed the driver to use the system outside of the environment for which it was designed and the system gave far too much leeway to the driver to divert his attention. In January 2017, NHTSA said its review found no evidence of defects in the 2016 fatal Autopilot crash that would require a recall. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler and Muralikumar Anantharaman) The parents of a University of Virginia student who died after apparently being brutalized in North Korean custody for more than a year said Friday they were compelled to speak out about President Donald Trumps defense of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out, Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement sent to multiple news outlets, including NBC News and the Washington Post. They continued: Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. The Warmbiers stinging criticism comes soon after President Trump said he believed the North Korean leader had no foreknowledge of the treatment of Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years of prison and hard labor for allegedly stealing a political propaganda poster from his Pyongyang hotel. Otto was in North Korea with a tour group and was arrested on Jan. 2, 2016, while trying to board a plane back to the U.S. After being detained for more than 17 months, Otto was released to the U.S. on June 13, 2017, in a coma. He died days and had suffered severe brain damage. He was 22. The exact details of time in North Korean custody have never been made public. In a statement at the time, Ottos family said he had been brutalized and terrorized by what they called a pariah regime referring to North Koreas longstanding ostracization from the international community. Dad Fred told Fox News in 2017: Theyre brutal. Theres no sense to anything here. Theyve crossed a line with my son, Otto. It would be very difficult to look for a lesson here amongst this insanity. Otto Warmbier (center) in 2016 Trump made his defense of the Kim on Thursday while in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a summit about North Koreas possible denuclearization. (Those talks soon collapsed.) I really dont think it was in [Kims] interest at all, Trump said in a news conference, adding that he did speak to the dictator about Otto. What happened is horrible. I really believe something very bad happened to him and I dont think that the top leadership knew about it. Story continues I dont believe that [Kim] would have allowed that to happen, Trump continued. It just wasnt to his advantage to allow that to happen. Those prisons are rough. Theyre rough places. And bad things happened. But I really dont believe that he was I dont believe he knew about it. He felt badly about it, the president added. He knew the case very well, but he knew it later. Youve got a lot of people. Big country, a lot of people. And in those prisons and those camps, you have a lot of people. And some really bad things happened to Otto, some really, really bad things. But [Kim] tells me he didnt know about it and I will take him at his word, Trump finished. This is not the first time the president has taken the side of a totalitarian leader on the global stage. At a meeting in Finland last year, Trump sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he has long praised on the issue of Russias cyber-interference in the 2016 presidential election. According to the American intelligence community, Russia was working to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Beirut (AFP) - Jihadists controlling Syria's northwestern Idlib region said 10 alleged Islamic State group members were executed Saturday, a day after a deadly bomb attack. A suicide bomber killed eight people, including five foreign jihadists, at a restaurant in the city of Idlib on Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Idlib region borders Turkey and is dominated by an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The faction's propaganda arm Ebaa put out a statement online saying 10 suspected IS members had been executed. "This comes a day after a member of the gang blew themselves up in a restaurant," Ebaa said. The Observatory confirmed the executions by HTS and said they had been carried out "in front of the restaurant". HTS took administrative control of the whole of Idlib region last month, after overpowering smaller factions that are backed by Turkey. The region has seen jihadist groups and rebels target each other with bloody attacks, and IS sleeper cells are known to be present. Idlib has been protected from a massive offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's regime since September, thanks to a buffer zone deal agreed by Damascus' ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. But it has been hit by sporadic government shelling. Eight years into a multi-faceted conflict that has killed more than 360,000 people, Syria's government has wrested back large swathes of territory to control around two-thirds of the country. In the east of Syria diehard IS fighters are currently battling to defend the last scrap of the group's self-declared "caliphate" from a US-backed force. LONDON (Reuters) - Slovenia's president said his country and many other European Union states would be open to extending the date Britain is due to leave the bloc, a possibility British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised amid deadlock in parliament. Under pressure from pro-EU ministers, May this week promised lawmakers they would get a vote over whether to seek an extension to Britain's March 29 exit date to allow further talks if they reject a revised Brexit deal this month. Asked if Slovenia would be open to delay Brexit for a couple of months, a decision which must be agreed by all the other 27 EU states, President Borut Pahor said: "I think Slovenia and a lot of other countries would say yes. Nobody wants to see a hard Brexit in any kind of chaotic way. "I think that extension of time would be an option," Pahor, who is visiting Britain, told Sky News in an interview aired on Saturday. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said on Friday that any extension must be intended specifically to solve the deadlock over the Irish backstop, an insurance policy to prevent the return of border controls between EU member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland. Fears that the backstop could keep Britain tied to EU regulations for years after Brexit is the main point of contention for many British lawmakers, leading to May's deal being overwhelmingly rejected by parliament in January. "The question that the EU27 will ask is: What (is it) for? The answer cannot be that Britain wants to postpone a problem. One would want to solve it," Barnier said in an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper to be published on Saturday. Pahor echoed the view that a delay would not make a compromise easier to find and there needed to be clarity and consensus among British lawmakers. "It is not clear at the moment if the United Kingdom has a clear position on some sort of compromise solution," he said. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alexander Smith) Mogadishu (AFP) - At least 20 people died in an attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which saw Al-Shabaab insurgents battling security forces for nearly 24 hours before the siege ended, officials said Saturday. As the standoff ended, the government vowed to step up efforts to fight the jihadists, with the deadly siege the latest in a long line of bombing and assaults claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked group. "The Somali government will never stop its war on Al-Shabaab, our aim is to be done with them, whatever the cost," Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire told reporters late on Friday. The premier also praised the courage of the elite soldiers who he said had rescued 35 civilians used as "human shields" by the assailants. The attack began on Thursday evening at around 1800 GMT, when a Shabaab militant in a car blew himself up, causing a huge blast that ripped the front off a major hotel and left several cars in flames on the busy street. Other fighters then stormed inside a building housing a restaurant, where they were quickly surrounded by police. Medics pulled five bodies from the wreckage immediately after the explosion, but the recovery of more bodies was blocked for hours by the ensuing fighting. Sporadic shooting continued until officials finally declared an end to the siege late Friday afternoon. "Our teams have recovered one more dead body after the operation was over and this makes the overall number of the confirmed dead 20," Aamin Ambulance director Abdikadir Abdirahman told AFP on Saturday. At least 112 people were admitted to the city's three main hospitals, medical sources said. - 'Martyrdom-seeking' attack - At a press conference, Somali security forces held up photos showing the alleged bodies of four of the attackers. In a statement posted on a pro-Shabaab website, the militants confirmed that four of their number had been killed, adding that others had managed to escape. It said the fighters waged a "martyrdom-seeking" operation against a "luxury hotel inhabited by government officials and security service officers". Story continues Witnesses said the initial car bomb attack occurred as the street was filled with people relaxing after a day at work. The explosion was so powerful that it tossed several vehicles into the air that then burst into flames. "The whole area was in flames," said Abdisamed Mohamed, a witness. The Shabaab emerged out of the Islamic courts system that once controlled central and southern Somalia. The group is believed to have between 5,000 and 9,000 men. In 2010, the Shabaab declared its allegiance to Al-Qaeda. The following year, its fighters were chased out of Mogadishu by the 22,000-strong African Union peace-enforcement mission, AMISOM. They have since lost many of their strongholds but retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to wage a guerrilla war, frequently hitting Mogadishu. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his administration would continue to help the United States and North Korea reach an agreement on denuclearization, despite talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dissolving unsuccessfully just a day prior. In an optimistic speech Friday, Moon said the failed talks only made South Koreas role more important to help Trump and Kim reach a complete settlement by any means, the Washington Post reports. Moon has built his reputation on amending ties with North Korea, meeting with Kim three times last year and championing projects like a united railway system. According to Reuters, the South Korean leader said hed work with the U.S. to resume projects like tourism development at Mount Kumgang and the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea. Trump intended to reach a denuclearization agreement with Kim during a two-day summit in Vietnam, but negotiations collapsed over disagreements regarding sanctions. Kim has promised to meet with Trump again, however, and resume talks. New York (AFP) - Donald Trump accused his former lawyer of perjury on Friday, saying Michael Cohen's scathing testimony to Congress this week contradicted a manuscript he wrote last year that complimented the US president. "Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a 'love letter to Trump' manuscript for a new book that he was pushing," Trump tweeted Friday. "Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!" The president called on Congress to demand the transcript, given to publishers a short time ago and yet to go on sale. "Michael Cohen's book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before," Trump added. Cohen, who worked for the president for a decade as his top "fixer" at the Trump Organization, assailed his ex-boss as "a racist... a conman... a cheat" in testimony Wednesday to the House Oversight Committee. In a book proposal Cohen sent to publishers in early 2018 -- before he was sentenced to three years in prison, partly for crimes related to his work for Trump -- the attorney promised a glowing picture of the real estate billionaire. The manuscript was entitled "Trump Revolution: From the Tower to the White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump" -- and according to the Daily Beast, it was aimed at offsetting books deeply critical of the president. The proposal was pulled back after FBI agents raided Cohen's home and offices in April 2018 in an investigation probing the attorney's taxes and hush payments he arranged for women who claimed affairs with the president. "Some time in early 2018, Mr. Cohen was offered a substantial advance for a proposal regarding a book on understanding Donald Trump," Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis said. "Mr. Cohen ultimately elected not to proceed." In the months after the raids, Cohen went from being a close ally of Trump to a foe, providing testimony in a plea deal with prosecutors ethat the president ordered him to make one hush payment and reimbursed him. Story continues Trump scorned him as "a rat." Cohen eventually pleaded guilty to felony charges of misuse of campaign funds in the hush payment, tax evasion and lying to Congress. In five hours of testimony Wednesday, he compared employment with Trump to working for a "mobster." Republican lawmakers however attacked Cohen as an unreliable witness, citing his earlier false testimony, and accused him of trying to cash in on his work for Trump with book and film deals. Cohen said there were no deals in the works, but confirmed he had been approached and was open to the idea. The good news is that the Trump/Kim summit in Hanoi did not result in a deal because any deal would be nothing but a scam perpetrated by Kim Jong Un. Selling this rug repeatedly is a North Korean specialty. The Kim dynasty inked agreements to denuclearize in 1985, 1992, 1994, 2005, 2007, and 2012. Youve seen the results. Pyongyang violated every one and marched inexorably toward nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile technology. Its bad enough to confront the prospect of a nuclear-armed North Korea. It would be worse to, in effect, subsidize it, which is all that was on offer. Why would Kim give up his nukes? To get American aid to improve his economy? Fantasy. He runs a prison state that actually exports slaves to countries like China, Kuwait, and Qatar. His goal is not to develop the economy but to remain firmly in power and to conquer South Korea. He saw what happened to Moammar Qaddafi when he gave up his nuclear program and to Saddam Hussein who only pretended to be working on one. That much must be obvious to Trumps advisers, if not to Mr. Trump himself, who seemed so eager for a deal that he announced before the Hanoi summit that the U.S. was dropping the demand for a full accounting of North Koreas nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile programs. If that sounds precisely like what President Obama did vis-a-vis Iran, it should. For now, Trump has sidestepped the trap Kim prepared. While he may have avoided one bad outcome, his behavior was so bizarre and sycophantic toward Kim personally that he still departs Hanoi trailing a stench of shame. There is just no mistaking it; our president gets excited in the presence of dictators. Appearing with Kim at a press conference, the president warned reporters as he never has regarding the leaders of democracies to show respect to Kim. Dont raise your voice, please. This isnt like dealing with Trump. Trump himself went way beyond diplomatic niceties, contrasting Kim favorably with other rich kids who didnt turn out so well. Story continues Even if Mr. Trump could overlook the millions who have been persecuted (its a crime to visit a South Korean website), starved, tortured, and worked to death in the Hermit Kingdom, its beyond appalling that he would offer a pass about the torture and murder of a young American, Otto Warmbier. Recall that in 2017, Trump had said, Ottos fate deepens my administrations determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency. But off teleprompter, Trump demonstrated his characteristic sympathy for dictators caught behaving badly. He [Kim] tells me that he didnt know about it, and I will take him at his word. . . . I dont believe he knew about it. Nor did he believe Mohammad bin Salman knew about Jamal Khashoggis murder. And he took Vladimir Putins word over the judgment of the U.S. intelligence agencies about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has launched a vicious program of state-sanctioned murders of suspected drug addicts and dealers. According to the Philippine National Police, the state has killed more than 5,000 people since Dutertes election in 2016. Others estimate that the true number is closer to 20,000. Amazingly, Duterte does not dispute this. What is my sin? Did I steal even one peso? . . . My sin is extra-judicial killings. On another occasion he said, Hitler killed 3 million Jews. Now there are 3 million drug addicts. Id be happy to slaughter them all. The world is full of misery, and American leaders sometimes have to deal with unsavory characters. But nothing required President Trump to pick up the phone in 2017 and say to Duterte, You are a good man . . . . You are doing an unbelievable job on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have the problem, but what a great job you are doing, and I just wanted to call and tell you that. Explaining the need for a wall on the southern border, Trump offered this odd report from a conversation with Chinas Xi Jinping, who apparently told the president that China has no drug problem because they employ the death penalty. He found this exhilarating. If we want to get smart, we can get smart, Trump said. You can end the drug problem, can end it a lot faster than you think. It would be less disturbing if Mr. Trumps chief weakness were for porn stars and money. Alas, his attraction to thugs seems even stronger. 2018 creators.com More from National Review JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told American troops on Thursday that U.S.-backed forces in Syria have retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by Islamic State militants, contradicting the commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, who said it would take another week. "We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it's 100 percent we just took over, 100 percent caliphate," Trump told troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during a refueling stop in Alaska. Earlier on Thursday, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, said in a video released to the news media that the SDF would be able to announce "the complete victory over Daesh (Islamic State) in a week." Trump made his comments while talking to U.S. troops in Alaska about the progress his administration has made in Afghanistan and the Middle East over the past two years. He stopped in Alaska on his way back from talks in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The U.S. president has been anxious to declare that Islamic State has been driven out of all its territory since announcing in December that he would withdraw American forces from Syria, claiming they had succeeded in their mission to defeat the militant group. While the United States has withdrawn some troops, Trump responded to criticism of his move by deciding to leave some 400 U.S. troops in the country over the longer run: 200 to remain in the northeast as part of a multinational force and 200 to remain at an outpost in the southeast to counter Iranian influence. The U.S. president said on Feb. 6 he expected a formal announcement the following week that coalition forces had recaptured all territory previously held by Islamic State in Syria. That announcement has yet to be made. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Tim Ahmann and James Dalgleish) By Ellen Francis and Rodi Said DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed forces launched an attack on Friday to evict Islamic State from its last territorial bastion and seal four years of international efforts to roll back a "caliphate" that redrew the map of the Middle East. (graphic: https://graphics.reuters.com/MIDEAST-CRISIS-SYRIA/010090H90R2/SYRIA-CONTROL-2015-2019.jpg) While the fall of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village on the bank of the Euphrates River, would mark a milestone in the campaign against the jihadists, they are still a threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate land further west. Islamic State (IS) followers and fighters fell back to Baghouz as the group was gradually pushed out of its territory, including its twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa, in 2017. Thousands of them have poured out of the enclave over the last few weeks, an evacuation that held up the final assault. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) removed the last batch of non-combatants and then moved in at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office. "Nothing remains in Baghouz except for terrorists. The battle ... will not end until the elimination of Daesh and the liberation of the village," he told Reuters, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "We expect a fierce and heavy battle," he said, adding that initial fighting involved heavy weapons. The SDF has previously said many of the jihadists left in Baghouz are foreign fighters who traveled from around the world to join IS after its leader declared a modern-day caliphate in 2014 over large swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq. The village was the last populated territory held by the jihadists, who have been steadily driven by an array of enemies from land they once held which at its height was about the size of Britain, by one estimate. The SDF commander-in-chief said on Thursday that his force would declare victory within a week. He was later contradicted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the SDF had retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by IS. FINAL CIVILIANS LEAVE Bali said the final batch of civilians had been evacuated from Baghouz on Friday ahead of renewed military activity. Several hundred people trickled out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmland. The majority were women and children, who were searched in the open and separated from the men, who were taken for interrogation. They bore various nationalities including Russian, Indonesian and Azerbaijani. One woman told Reuters that IS militants still inside Baghouz had dug in and were ready to fight to the death. Some 40,000 people have crossed out of the jihadists' diminishing territory in the last three months as the SDF sought to drive the militants from remaining pockets. The number of evacuees pouring out of Baghouz has surpassed initial estimates of how many were inside. An SDF commander told Reuters on Thursday that many of the people leaving the enclave had been sheltering underground in caves and tunnels. The United Nations said at least 84 people, two-thirds of them children, had died since December on their way to a camp in northeastern Syria where thousands of people have been taken after leaving the shrinking Islamic State area. A spokesman for the U.S.-led international coalition that supports the SDF said the Kurdish-led Syrian group had adopted a "slow and deliberate" approach to Baghouz. The coalition said late on Thursday it had killed veteran French jihadist Fabien Clain, who voiced a recording claiming responsibility for the November 2015 attacks on Paris, in a strike in Baghouz. It did not say when he had been killed. The United States has about 2,000 troops in Syria mainly to support the SDF in fighting against Islamic State. Trump announced in December he would withdraw all of them because Islamic State had already been defeated, a decision that shocked allies and top aides and prompted Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to quit. Earlier this month, the White House partially reversed itself and said around 400 U.S. troops would stay. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Writing by Tom Perry/Stephen Kalin in Beirut; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, makes a statement during the opening ceremony of a training program of young and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Friday said training and selecting outstanding young officials is vital to the fate of the Party, state and Chinese nation, and to the people's wellbeing, calling it an important task for generations to come. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement during the opening ceremony of a training program of young and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). Xi told the officials to stay loyal to the Party, remain grateful to the people, be motivated at work and hold law and Party discipline in high regard. Party officials should be faithful, loyal, competent and disciplined, he said. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the ceremony. Xi said it is necessary to arm officials and cadres with Marxist theory in their development. He also called for efforts in learning the thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, saying that it is necessary to fully grasp its significance for the time, the theory, the practices and the world. He noted that whether an official is loyal to the Party is a key gauge of whether they have ideals and convictions. "Loyalty always comes first," he said. He also called on officials and cadres to place the people at the top in their hearts, saying that to weather through with the people, keep bonds and share the same future with them is the fundamental guarantee for the Party to overcome all difficulties and risks. He asked the officials to maintain a strong sense of love, care and willingness to work for benefits of the people. He told the officials to enhance self-cultivation, self-discipline and self-reform. Officials should be determined to make great achievements, rather than to seek personal promotion, in serving the Party and the people, Xi said. Xi instructed officials to maintain integrity in their personal lives and cultivate a good taste for life, and asked them not to indulge in empty talk but be a man of action. Officials who take responsibility for their actions demonstrate their commitment to Party principles and their integrity, he stressed. 2 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed new sanctions on six Venezuelan security officials and revoked the visas of dozens of associates and their families with ties to President Nicolas Maduro, in the latest move to pile pressure on him to step down. The U.S. Treasury said the six current or former security officials controlled groups that blocked humanitarian aid from reaching people in Venezuela last weekend from neighboring countries Colombia and Brazil. "We are sanctioning members of Maduro's security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. The United States "will continue to target Maduro loyalists prolonging the suffering of the victims of this man-made humanitarian crisis," Mnuchin added. Separately, the U.S. envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said the United States had revoked visas of "dozens more" Venezuelans, although declined to elaborate, saying U.S. laws prevented him from discussing details about visas. "We continue to look at close associates of Maduro, who with their families have visas to the United States," Abrams said at a news conference. Friday's action is the second set of sanctions by the United States this week. On Monday, Washington targeted four Venezuelan state governors allied with Maduro and called on allies to freeze the assets of state-owned oil company PDVSA. U.S. sanctions block any assets the individuals control in the United States and bars U.S. entities from doing any business or financial transactions with them. The Trump administration and dozens of other countries have recognized opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. Guaido, head of Venezuela's National Assembly, has invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent. Guaido has since been recognized by most Western nations as the rightful leader of Venezuela. Maduro still controls the military, state institutions and oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, which provides 90 percent of the country's export revenue. Russia has accused the United States of preparing to intervene militarily in Venezuela and this week, along with China, blocked a U.S. bid to get the U.N. Security Council to take action on Venezuela. Abrams said he was in talks with Russia on Venezuela. Both Moscow and Beijing were unlikely to provide additional financial support to Maduro's government although they continued to give him diplomatic and political cover, he said. "We have made the argument, unsuccessfully to date, to both Russia and China that they are not helping themselves," Abrams said. "If they are concerned ... about the recovery of money they have lent or invested, a bankrupt Venezuelan economy will never be able to repay those amounts, only a Venezuela in recovery will be able to do so." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Additional reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Grant McCool) (Adds Guaido's planned trip to Argentina) By Daniela Desantis ASUNCION, March 1 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, visiting Paraguay on Friday to raise support for a change of government in his country, said that 600 members of the military had abandoned the government of President Nicolas Maduro in recent days. Guaido, head of Venezuela's National Assembly, has invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent. Guaido has since been recognized by most Western nations as the rightful leader of Venezuela. However, Maduro still retains the loyalty of the bulk of Venezuela's armed forces and controls state institutions. "In the next few hours we will announce new protest marches," Guaido said in Asuncion at a news conference, after meeting with Paraguayan leader Mario Abdo, who received the opposition figure as a head of state. "We have spoken clearly to the Armed Forces of Venezuela. They have seen more than 600 officers in recent days switch to side with the constitution," he added. "There is a very clear process of transition to democracy." His press team said he was scheduled to go to Argentina later on Friday to meet with President Mauricio Macri, a strong critic of Maduro. Argentina's foreign ministry confirmed the two would meet in Buenos Aires and hold a news conference. Guaido has been traveling around the region, seeking to drum up support. He has visited Brazil and Colombia this week, but said he would return to Caracas by Monday, where he faces possible arrest for disobeying a Supreme Court order that he should not leave the country pending an investigation. The United States, which backs Guaido, will continue to take "appropriate actions" against the government of Maduro, including restricting travel visas for dozens of his associates, U.S. special envoy Elliott Abrams said on Friday. (Reporting by Daniela Desantis, writing by Hugh Bronstein, editing by Matthew Lewis and Rosalba O'Brien) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The parents of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died after 17 months a North Korean prison, blamed Kim Jong Un's "evil regime" on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed the leader's claim not to have known how their son was treated. Warmbier's parents said they held off commenting during the second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi, which was cut short on Thursday after the two sides failed to reach a deal for the reclusive communist nation to give up its nuclear weapons. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto," Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that." Trump drew criticism after he praised Kim's leadership and said he accepted Kim's assertion that he had not been aware of how Warmbier was treated while in detention. "He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word," Trump told a news conference. It wasn't the first time Trump has faced criticism for appearing to side with autocratic leaders. He gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the benefit of the doubt after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year. In July, Trump refused to blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in U.S. election. Prominent Republicans on Thursday did not share Trump's acceptance of Kim's word, including close Trump ally U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who said he didn't "buy it for a minute." After the family's sharp statement, the White House tried to explain what Trump meant. "The president agrees with the Warmbier family and holds North Korea responsible for Otto Warmbier's death," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News. "What he said was that Chairman Kim says, what he believes Chairman Kim to have said, was that he was not aware of what had happened to Otto Warmbier when it happened." Warmbier, 22, died on June 19, 2017, shortly after he was flown home to Ohio in a coma after being held by North Korea for 17 months. "Otto should have never been arrested in the first place and Kim is responsible for that decision and everything that subsequently happened," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Patricia Zengerle, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and James Dalgleish) Some New York business owners, union leaders, and lawmakers are asking Amazon to reconsider pulling its new HQ2 out of Long Island City via an open letter published Friday in the New York Times. The letter was published as a full-page ad in the Times and argued that despite the public debate following Amazons decision to build its new headquarters in Long Island City, a clear majority of New Yorkers are in support of the project. Amazon announced it was canceling its plans to build the new headquarters in the Queens neighborhood after facing backlash from local residents and elected officials. Local activists who organized against the move, pointed to cases of growing inequality and gentrification in the city, as well as Amazons history of working with ICE to track immigrants. (New York is a sanctuary city.) Some of the citys labor unions also joined the fight, encouraging New Yorkers to stand up for our values there. Fridays open letter stated that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo would work to get the project approved at the state level, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio would work with the governor to manage the community development process to ensure Amazons presence in the city would be a benefit to residents. It remains unclear whether the lawmakers are working with the communities who have expressed concerns over HQ2. Amazon has not indicated that it would reconsider its decision to pull out of Long Island City. The tech giant said in a statement at the time that due to the number of state and local politicians [who] have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project, the company would not be able to move forward with the HQ2 in New York. In October 2000, at the start of the Second Intifada, Sergeant Madhat Yusuf, a Border Police officer and member of Israels Druze community, bled to death over a period of three and a half hours during an attack by a mob of Palestinians at the complex containing Josephs Tomb on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Israel Resilience Party head Benny Gantz, then a brigadier general, was the IDF regional commander during the incident and his handling of the events leading up to Madhats death the IDF asked Palestinian security officials to evacuate the wounded soldier instead of sending in a rescue force have been heavily criticized by the family and by his political adversaries. Madhat Yusuf (Photo: Reproduction by Alex K) In mid-January of this year, a delegation from the Druze community visited Gantz at his home in Rosh Haayin. Gantz greeted them warmly, declaring that there is a bond of blood between them, before proclaiming that he intended to insert changes in the recently passed Nation-State Law so as to be more inclusive toward the Druze, many of whom felt hurt by the laws wording. Gantz told the delegation that the current version of the law essentially stabbed the Druze in the back. That expression angered Mahdi Yusuf, 49, Madhats brother, who accused Gantz of stabbing his brother in the back. Palestinians seize control of Joseph's Tomb, October 1, 2000 Mahdi stressed that he did not wish for his brothers death to be used for political purposes, but that the family wanted to make clear that they have not forgotten nor forgiven those they deem responsible. Not just Gantz. The family considers the entire chain of command prime minister and defense minister at the time Ehud Barak, then-chief of staff Shaul Mofaz, the Shin Bet top brass and the local military commanders responsible for abandoning their son and brother. In 2007, when Barak ran for the leadership of the Labor Party, friends and family of Madhat implored voters not to choose him; and in 2011, when Gantz was appointed chief of staff, the family came out publicly against the decision, in vain, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless confirmed Gantz for the position. Shaul Mofaz Josephs Tomb enclave Madhat Yousef was one of 12 Border Policemen stationed at the Josephs Tomb complex when he was killed on October 1, 2000, at the onset of the Second Intifada. Five years prior, as part of the Oslo Accords, Josephs Tomb complex was designated an Israeli enclave within Area A, administered by the Palestinian Authority. The agreement stated that the Israeli security force stationed at the tomb would be a civilian one, not military, and wear no uniform. A year later, on the eve of the Sukkot festival 1996, the complex was attacked by a Palestinian mob. The rescue force entered the area in open armored personal carriers and was attacked with live fire, losing six of its men. Following the event, the IDF drew up alternative contingency plans in the case of a similar event. One option was to evacuate the complexs occupants if major disturbances were expected. The second option, titled Striped Shirt (named for the garment gifted by Jacob to his favorite son Joseph in the biblical Book of Genesis), called for the efficient and rapid rescue of the security force during a violent confrontation. The two plans gathered dust on the shelves and were never implemented. In May 2000, the complex was again attacked and an officer who was injured was evacuated, after a wait of four hours, by Palestinian policemen led by then-Preventive Security Force chief Jibril Rajoub. Jibril Rajoub (Photo: Amit Shabi) The October 1 attack The event in which Madhat was killed happened three days after the Second Intifada broke out and 15 Palestinians were killed by IDF forces and dozens injured. When things began to heat up, the IDF commander in charge of the immediate region Col. Yossi Adiri ordered that the settlers from Yitzhar who were staying at the complex for the Rosh Hashanah holiday be evacuated. Adiri sought to also remove the Border Police stationed there as it was clear that the violence would soon reach the tomb complex and the 12 men would be unable to defend themselves. But Barak vetoed that request, perhaps acceding to appeals by local settlement leaders. At noon on Sunday, October 1, after the funeral of the Palestinians killed in the previous days clashes, the attack on the complex commenced. The commander of the small force inside, Ismail Suwad, said that he initially believed that it was just another clash that would soon blow over. But by 1pm the force found itself facing hundreds of rioters throwing stones, sharp metal objects and Molotov cocktails, as well as firing from multiple directions into the complex. Gantz at Joseph's Tomb after being appointed chief of staff (Photo: Samaria Development Council) 2:30pm : Senior officers including Commander of the Central Region Maj. Gen. Itzik Eitan and Brig. Gen. Gantz join Col. Adiri at Tel a-Ras hill, overlooking the besieged complex. 3pm : Deputy Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin arrives at the hill after communicating with Rajoub and Fatah National Security Director Haj Ismail, asking them to come to the scene of the riot. Rajoub says that he is on the way but it was later revealed that he procrastinated for some time before heading out. 3:10pm : Sgt. Madhat Yusuf is struck by a bullet fired through a gap in the wall. The bullet enters his body below the left side of his clavicle and exits from the right side of his waist. At first I didnt understand what had happened, said Arkady Shenderovich who was standing to his right. Five minutes prior, there was a lull in the fighting and Madhat smoked a cigarette with me and suddenly he was lying on the ground panting for breath. 3:12pm : A Black Hawk helicopter is dispatched to evacuate the stranded force. Inside the compound, medics connect Yousef to a respirator. Palestinians set fire to Joseph's Tomb multiple times over the years 3:15pm: Suwad, the commander at the scene, reports to Col. Adiri that one of their men is severely wounded and needs to be evacuated. He continues to radio for an immediate evacuation every half hour. At this point, the mob has uprooted the concrete barriers surrounding the complex and bypassed the exterior fence, as some of them continue firing into the tomb complex. 4:07pm: Rajoub responds positively to the Israeli request to evacuate the wounded soldier. According to the investigation report, the Palestinians gave the impression that they were on their way to the site while they had in fact not yet budged. 4:10pm: Maj. Gen. Eitan orders an armored tank unit to approach the scene. 4:30pm: Col. Adiri instructs a Border Police unit to approach the scene in armored jeeps. But about a kilometer from the site, Brig. Gen. Gantz orders them to halt and not progress any further. 5:10pm: Chief of Staff Mofaz arrives at the Tel a-Ras hill after PM Barak briefs him on the talks with Rajoub. Bird's eye view of the complex 5:20pm: The unit inside the complex reports that Madhats condition is deteriorating and that he has stopped talking to his comrades. 5:30pm: Mofaz orders the helicopters to fire at armed members of the mob. Some officers recommend delaying the order out of concern that the Palestinian police will use the fire as an excuse to leave the scene. Diskin recommends opening fire as it appears that the Palestinian police have joined the mob in firing at the complex. 6:23pm: The helicopters finally open fire and the mob flees. 6:40pm: Sgt. Madhat Yousef succumbs to his wounds. The news shocks the senior officers as they were unaware of the full extent of his injuries, according to the investigation. The evacuation force is almost there, the colonel radios the unit. Too late, responds Suwad. 7:30pm: Four hours and twenty minutes after he was shot, Yusuf's body is evacuated from the complex by Palestinian ambulance. Yuval Diskin (Photo: Zvika Tishler) They didnt fail; they didnt even try The subsequent investigation determined that at no time was there any doubt about the need to evacuate the wounded officer. The only dilemma was regarding the best method in which to do so. Gantz expressed sorrow at Madhats death, but asserted that dispatching a rapid rescue force would have led to many casualties on both sides and that only the commanders at the scene could fully grasp all the considerations. The committee completed their report two weeks after the incident and found that, based on the circumstances and what the officers knew at the time, the event was handled properly. Mahdi Yusuf at his brother's grave (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Gantz traveled to the Yusuf home to personally deliver the report to the family. When he arrived, the house was filled with journalists and he told them that he couldnt answer their questions in such a manner. Family members told him that they deserved answers and he must respond to their questions. At any rate, they didnt accept the reports conclusions highlighting that it was unreasonable to depend on the Palestinians, the ones shooting, to be the ones charged with the rescue. The family was upset that the Striped Shirt contingency plan was not implemented and that the IDF did not take all measures possible to save their son. As far as we are concerned, said Mahdi, this story is not over. We dont accept that the military failed in evacuating the wounded. They did not even try. Gantz and Ehud Barak a decade on (Photo: Tzafrir Aviyov) The family has maintained their narrative since prior to Gantzs entry into politics. They lay most of the blame at Baraks feet. Barak himself said that he assumes all responsibility for what happened but that he left the handling of the situation to the commanders in the field who were best equipped to analyze the situation. The criticism stems from the tragic outcome, not because there was any evidence of negligence in the decision making, Barak said. In July 2003, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court to order a state inquiry into the incident. It was rejected as the court was convinced that the commanders faced an operational dilemma and not a moral one and that the IDF inquiry was sufficient. Benny Gantz, as well as Rajoub, Mofaz, Diskin and Galant, declined to be interviewed for this story. Etti Abramov and Elior Levy participated in this report. In a small apartment in central Tel Aviv, equipped with a massage table, a little kitchenette and not much more, Dr. George Feldman operates on clients who dream of cosmetic surgery. He wears no hair covering or face mask, but takes pride in the sign on his door that says "Cosmetic Surgery" despite the fact this term doesn't exist in the Israeli Health Ministry, and that Feldman himself wasn't trained as a plastic surgeon. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Feldman's license has already been previously revoked for three months, for advertising his work under false pretences. He introduces himself as a professor which he isn't and boasts about a title that doesnt exist in Israel. He's already hurt several patients, who sued him. At 82, Feldman doesn't seem to be slowing down. Dr. George Feldman A., a 44-year-old woman, is now suing Feldman for malpractice. A friend told her about Feldman, and she had a breast enlargement operation in the small Tel Aviv apartment in which Feldman lives, receives patients and performs surgeries. She saved money for years in order to be able to afford the procedure, but never imagined the real price she was about to pay. "Instead of this surgery making me happy, I'm all messed up," A. says. "The results are horrible; I cant even wear a low-cut top. I had to undergo two other operations and was hospitalized for a while. And if that's not enough, when people hear I had it done by a doctor who isn't trained in plastic surgery and under the conditions in which it took place, I end up getting blamed for being stupid." How did you agree to have an operation in a doctor's home rather than in a hospital? "That's what people ask me, but what do I know about surgery? Especially when the doctor sounds mature, experienced and reassuring?" A. spent the days after surgery recuperating at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. She says Feldman had promised she could be back at work after three days of rest, but she stayed home for five days, and then things turned sour: "I started feeling bad. I had severe pain in the area, my temperature was up and I was bleeding from the stitches in my right breast." So what did you do? "I ran to the hospital and was rushed into surgery. They drained the blood and released me after four days. After that I thought the trouble was over, but then two weeks later the stitches in my left breast started bleeding." After being hospitalized for further surgery, and again for four more days, A. was finally released. Now, she's suing Dr. Feldman for millions for malpractice. She struggles to recover and can't stop thinking about the difficult experience she underwent. "I cried a lot afterwards," says A. "I didn't understand what I'd been through My breasts are asymmetrical, I was better off with the small breasts I had before. At least I wasn't ashamed of my body then His (Feldman's) wall was full of certificates." What did Feldman's clinic look like? Was it sterile? "It was a small room with a spa-like bed, with a kitchenette and a toilet on one side and a sofa and table on the other. It looked like an improvised clinic A nurse came in and administered local anesthesia to both my breasts, and I was awake the whole time and got no other medicine, nothing to calm me down." Was it painful? When he inserted the first implant I felt pressure and pain. I told him that and I physically stopped his hand (from continuing). Then the nurse enlarged the anesthesia dose, until at some point she just said 'listen, I've given you the maximum, you'll have to suffer (and push through)." Dr. George Feldman's patient, A. The pain continued, and when Feldman started putting in the second implant, A. stopped him again, using her arm to push him away. "He was really angry at me by then, he was eager to get the surgery over with," she says in tears. "At that moment it dawned on me that he's operating on me without face or head covering." The surgery took more than two hours. Then the doctor told A. that "the nurse is tired, she came here from her hospital shift and she's in a rush to get home." He then told her to get up and get dressed. "I was right out of surgery, after fasting, with no help at all. I got dressed on my own and left without anyone checking my blood pressure or pulse or even asking me how I felt. I had to go outside to call a taxi to take me home." "All Health Ministry procedures were ignored during this operation," says Dr. Moris Topaz, former manager of the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center's Plastic Surgery Department, and the prosecution's expert witness in A.'s case against Feldman. "The plaintiff was treated with disdain and was operated on while on a bed that isn't a surgical bed, with limited lighting, with only one nurse present, without an anesthesiologist at all There were no life support measures that are crucial in any surgical facility The operation took place under local anesthesia and thus caused the plaintiff severe pain and distress. And even worse there is no documentation of the procedure." Feldman's attorney Lior Levit said in response that the painful after-effects of the surgery experienced by A. were due to a fall she had a week and a half after the procedure, and were unconnected to any malpractice. "Some 10 days after the surgery, the plaintiff arrived at the clinic to have her stitches removed, and my client saw bloody discharge around the wound," Levit said. "She told him that she had fallen down, and he advised her to go to hospital. My client rejects any attempt to accuse him of conducting inappropriate procedures, and isn't responsible for any kind of damage she suffered. If she did suffer damage, it is due to her fall and has nothing to do with my client." Levit also said that A. had advance notice of the conditions in which the operation would be performed, and that they had been clearly laid out in the paperwork she had signed. "The plaintiff signed a consent form 10 days before the procedure that details everything. It was made clear that due to the fact that she couldn't or wouldn't undergo the procedure in a hospital, it would take place in a clinic and under local anesthesia, with the assistance of a trained nurse and in a sterile environment with appropriate tools," Levit said. "My client informed the plaintiff of his expertise, and his door sign reads 'Cosmetic Surgery'." The lawyer also suggested that the plaintiff was unnecessarily targeting an elderly man in poor health and with failing eyesight. "My client is 82, and an elderly man who trained as a surgeon in Israel and as a plastic surgeon abroad. He's been through two strokes and is now disabled, and suffers severely impaired vision," Levit said. But Feldman has been sued multiple times in the past for malpractice. One recent case is of a young woman who says Feldman didn't explain the procedure to her. The breast enlargement operation she has gone through failed, leaving her with necrosis and major scars on her breasts. Rishon LeZion Magistrates Court determined that Feldman had been negligent. Another recent case involved a male patient who came in for a face-lift that left him with a scar. Only after he asked to see the forms he had signed did he see that Feldman added a few handwritten words as a disclaimer: "Possible complications include scarring, damage to facial nerves, etc." The court determined that Feldman was negligent and the case ended in a settlement agreement. Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv Then there was a woman who complained about pain after she had a liposuction procedure performed by Dr. Feldman. He told her everything was okay, but two days later her drain became dislodged, and her stitches started leaking. She had to call in a doctor. Several of Feldman's patients had to receive mental health assistance in order to cope with the damage they had suffered. An investigation revealed that in 2009, Dr. Feldman received a permit from the Health Ministry to perform plastic surgery. However, the permit was limited to operations Feldman said took place in a certain private hospital. Furthermore, Feldman could only operate at this hospital on the condition he disclosed to his patients that he was not an expert in plastic surgery and they signed an agreement saying they were aware of this fact. Feldman nonetheless touted his plastic surgery expertise online. Dr. Meir Cohen, chair of the Israeli Society of Plastic & Aesthetic Surgery, said: "Turning to doctors who aren't experts in plastics is a potential threat to public health. These doctors, who gained no qualifications and are not under the society's supervision, perform irresponsible procedures such as home operations." According to the Health Ministry, five complaints have been made received against Dr. Feldman over the years, and his license was revoked twice, once for one month and a second time for three months, for false publicity and using the title "professor." "Feldman has a permit to continue performing plastic surgery under some restrictions, He has a duty to inform his patients that he isn't an expert in plastic surgery," said the ministry. Observers of Egypts 2011 Arab Spring often point to social media as the glue that bound together opponents of former president Hosni Mubarak. Young demonstrators took to the internet to whip up a level of dissent that ultimately toppled his decade-long reign. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter They utilized Facebook and other platforms to organize demonstrations and spread the revolutions momentum outwardfrom Cairos Tahrir Square to other Egyptian cities, sparking similar chants of unrest throughout the region. While the social media tools of that time afforded many a newfound voice, a forum for debate and an organizing mechanism, governments have since made strides to suppress that potentially disruptive power. Hisham Fageeh, a comedian and actor from Saudi Arabia, is best known for a viral YouTube video he produced several years ago. Playing a conservative Saudi man, he made a parody of Bob Marleys No Woman, No Cry, calling it No Woman, No Drive. This was before the government last year changed its decades-long ban on women drivers, a reversal implemented by the young Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Pop culture has been heavily centralizedcontrolled by specific cultural figureheadsespecially in the Gulf, Fageeh says. What new media did was decentralize it. People became very optimistic with technology. They thought this will be the saving grace but this view was certainly naive or pre-mature because what ended up happening was that very powerful institutions took control of social media and mimicked the old dynamics. A protester uses his cell phone during a demonstration against former Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi in Cairo in 2012. Still others believe the capability of governments to curb lightning speed technological change and control digital trends is slipping away. Joe F. Khalil, Associate Professor of Communication at Northwestern Universitys Qatar campus and an expert on Arab media, referenced the recent case of Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi teenager who made global headlines after taking desperate measures to escape her family. Fearing that relatives would eventually kill her for renouncing Islam, al-Qunun ran away while on vacation with them in Kuwait and boarded a flight to Thailand. Upon arrival in Bangkok, she was reportedly greeted by an unidentified man who was in fact a Saudi embassy official. He informed her that he needed her passport to help her obtain a Thai visa. She handed it over but the man never returned. When Thai immigration officials stepped in and tried to deport her back to the Middle East, she barricaded herself inside a hotel room at the airport and began pleading for help on Twitter. That is precisely how these technologies have taken debates that used to happen behind closed doors and that used to be dealt with in ways that involved much suffering and violence and have given them a different life, says Khalil. The reaction of Saudi diplomats involved in al-Qununs case was telling, Khalil says. They were cited as saying, I wish we had taken away her phone, not her passport. The implications of such cases are now huge. Eventually, the teenager fled to Canada which granted her refugee status. BREAKING: Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi teen who was granted asylum in Canada after fleeing from her allegedly abusive family, has arrived in Toronto. https://t.co/o7KgEDfq0t pic.twitter.com/V0DUVf3UkN CBC News (@CBCNews) January 12, 2019 While social media can be used toward humanitarian ends, Khalil cautioned not to underestimate the economic motives behind their rise. YouTube was one of those platforms that helped generate income for many prominent individuals. So, it is not just a matter of speech per se and activism, it is also a platform for money making. The popularity of Twitter as a textual medium is evident in many areasmanifest in religious and political debates to more mundane issues like celebrity gossipbut there is also growth when it comes to Instagram, Khalil concluded. Dr. Pamela Chrabieh, a Beirut-based writer and activist, told The Media Line that young people in the Arab world are using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and Snapchat at an increasingly faster rate despite government controls and restrictions. Several studies conducted in the last decade have shown that pop culture and social media have helped Arab youth express and promote alternative political and social discourses and practices to the official, normative, and institutional ones, she said. Although social media offers opportunities for creative expression and interaction, Chrabieh explained, there are many young people who must use these mediums while constantly negotiating complex and layered pressures to maintain online identities that meet the expectations of their societies, especially in the Gulf region. Fageehs work (generating online videos, for example) is one of many initiatives in the Arab world that addresses social and political issues. In fact, there has been an explosion of artistic and cultural productions since the 2000s in the forms of music, poetry, theater, graffiti, movies, etc., Dr. Chrabieh noted. There are of course cultural icons or figureheads but we are witnessing the rise and proliferation of cultural democratization and transnational cultures (global cultures), especially when it comes to street art, videos and digital expression. Popular culture in the Arab world should not be viewed as byproduct of the Arab Spring, she explained. Even before the uprisings, it played a significant role in creating social and political transformations in response to what she termed Ottoman and European colonialization. Lastly, it is hard to characterize Arab pop culture as one category given the diverse political institutions, regional history and the many different discourses about identity. Nevertheless, popular culture can help make sense of this complexity. IRONWOOD Aspirus Hospital in Ironwood is using remote technology to offer patients expanded access to physicians. David Sim, manager of marketing and public relations for Aspirus, said its not always easy for the hospital to find enough doctors to work in the area. Its hard for rural communities to compete with such high demand, he said. Everybody wants more providers. Telehealth addresses this problem by allowing doctors to live anywhere in the world, but work where they are most needed. During a demonstration, a doorbell sounding chime indicated the doctor was arriving. Dr. Steve Ward, donning a white coat with a stethoscope draped around his neck, appeared over a high resolution screen. Ward is an internal medicine board-licensed physician practicing in Michigan. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he works from his home office using a high speed internet connection. Aspirus hospital upgraded its high speed wireless network to ensure communication is clear with no lag time during the digital conversations. The doctor said the systems cameras have the capability to zoom in and see nearly anything in the room. Family members might have notes, or something they want to hold up to the screen for us to read. We can read it Ward said. When a patient comes into the emergency room, the hospital staff calls a telehealth provider. The remote provider then accesses the patients medical records using an electronic medical record system and consults with the onsite medical team to come up with a plan for taking care of the patient. Once a determination is made that the patient needs to be hospitalized, the patient is then transferred from the E.R. to a medical floor. Medical staff help the patient get situated in the room while the remote doctor visits the room via a wheeled telehealth cart. Im available to see the patient over the video to conduct an interview and talk to the patient and family members, Ward said. He admits patients at first may be a little hesitant to having a remote health care provider and question how the process works. He said patients sometimes think a remote doctor will not be able to make a proper diagnoses, but the teleheatlh cart has plug-ins to monitor the patients vitals. We have a USB plug stethoscope that is actually quite good, Ward said. I can hear heart and lung sounds through the audio capability of the computer. One of the reasons virtual doctors uses the telehealth cart, instead of a screen attached to a wall, is to better simulate an onsite physician bedside visit, he said. The main goal of telehealth is to keep patients local and still provide around the clock access to a doctor, he added. He said overall, the response from his patients has been positive, especially with some of his older patients who are amazed with the technology. Some of my elderly patients have commented by saying, I finally get to see a virtual doctor, or Its finally becoming like Star Trek, Ward said. Veterans and their families have been invited to upcoming veterans town halls in Gogebic and Iron (Wis.) counties March 12-13. The meetings will be hosted by officials from the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center and the local county veterans service offices. These town halls are not limited to those who use our services. We welcome any veterans and their families who may not be enrolled in VA health care to come and learn about its services and benefits, said Brad Nelson, public affairs officer at the Iron Mountain-based VA Medical Center. There will be two town hall meetings on March 12. First at 2 p.m. in Watersmeet at the Lac Vieux Desert Tribal Health Clinic on U.S. 45. The second meeting will be held in Bessemer at the American Legion Post on Moore Street. On March, there will be a town hall meeting in Mercer, Wis., at 10 a.m. at the Mercer Town Hall on Railroad Street. Leaders from the VA Medical Center, Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and area county veterans service officers will be on hand to provide a presentation on VAs new initiatives and programs, such as VAs new Whole Health program, and hear comments and concerns as well as answer any questions regarding VA health care, according to Nelson. For those already enrolled and using VA health care, it will provide them the opportunity to learn about services they were not aware of and to provide us feedback on the care we provide, said Nelson. For more information, contact Nelson in Iron Mountain at 800-215-8262, ext. 32001; John Frello at the Gogebic County Veterans Service Office in Bessemer at 906-667-1100; or Erick Nasi at the Iron County Veterans Service Office in Hurley at 715-561-2190. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. There is a popular saying that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This is very true because the topic of beauty is very subjective as an observer gets to decide what is beautiful. But there are some things which are just too beautiful for one person to behold. And such beauty tends not to bring arguments but acceptance from all. This is the case of a female Ghanaian police officer who has melted hearts on social media with her beauty in the latest trending photos READ ALSO: Meet MC Too Cute, the number one wedding MC in Ghana right now (videos) In one of the photos sighted by YEN.com.gh, the fair-looking lady could be seen in a black police uniform with a black beret as she smiled for the camera. READ ALSO: Van Vicker's first daughter is already a big girl and he can't believe (photo) In another photo, the beautiful policewoman wore a white shirt version of her uniform neatly tucked in her trousers as she held her phone with both hands as if to make a call. While the real identity of the lady is not known and it cannot be confirmed if she is a real police officer or not, the photos which were originally shared by the photographer have gone viral. READ ALSO: Michy shows off lakeside house she has bought just 2 months after dumping Shatta Wale (photo, video) Many people on social media who believe that she is a policewoman have been dazzled by her sheer beauty. @lordrain111 begged the lady officer to arrest him: "Who's this officer self? Please I'm a suspect come and arrest me and take me to your house." @fannykwafoaddy saluted her: "I salute you beautiful and brave young officer." @p.scollections had love for women in the force: "I have so much LOVE for women in force." @nanagyasi77 was impressed with the lay's beauty: "Wow beautiful lady in uniform nnnwah." @fauzy167 urged the lady to keep smiling: "Beautiful policewoman. I'm proud of you. Keep smiling beautiful." READ ALSO: Rare photo of Selassie Ibrahim and her handsome big son pops up and fans are surprised These photos come just a few weeks after another lady police officer, Yvonne Yaa Obrebea Appiah, went viral after her impressive and presentable photos surfaced online. Yvonne got tongues wagging after she shared loads of photos of herself in her different police uniforms to show her curvy frame and pretty face Ghana News Today: Residents of East Legon complain of narrow road | #Yencomgh: Have national and human-interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen The story of Ghana's independence is often told without the name Hannah Kudjoe (or Cudjoe) even though she literally contributed to organising rallies and protests aimed at disturbing colonial rule. With a little bit of research, one will find out that political historians in Ghana have lamented the virtual non-existence of Kudjoe's contributions in the history books. But Kudjoe, while a propaganda secretary for the independence-winning Convention People's Party (CPP), was responsible for the dissemination of the talking points party heads such as Kwame Nkrumah fashioned. Prior to being the propaganda secretary of the CPP, Kudjoe was an organiser bent on causing good troubles with the colonial authorities. It is known that in 1948, she was key in organising a mammoth rally that was used as political capital in demanding the release of the so-called Big Six. READ ALSO: Kwame Bonsu thanks Kotoko for his chance at redemption Born in Busua in the Western region of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in December 1918, Kudjoe (Dadson, before marriage) was the youngest of 10 children. After finishing school, she became a popular dressmaker in Tarkwa, where she married J. C. Kudjoe. She was inspired to enter into politics when Kwame Nkrumah stayed at their house in June 1947 and convinced her of the importance of women in politics. Kudjoe became heavily involved with Positive Action, a campaign of mass civil disobedience that Nkrumah had advocated. Kudjoe inspired massive support for the CPP through this campaign which eventually led to the end of colonial rule. READ ALSO: Plush video of Bola Ray celebrating his 42nd birthday proves 'money is good' Adults and children alike will be forgiven if they confess to not knowing who Hannah Kudjoe was. Ours is after all, a very male-dominated society. After over 60 years of independence, Ghana has to come to terms with the fact that if our story is not told well to include women such as Kudjoe, we are not being fair to gender that forms majority of our population. I don't do secular music. I do good music with good themes: Kuami Eugene - Star Gist| #Yencomgh: Click here to get the latest exciting English Premier League news. Get match highlights, reports, photos & videos all in one place. Source: Yen Another victim of the financial sector crisis that has hit Ghana in recent months, Madam Akua Yeboah, a trader at the Kumasi Central Market, has shared her sad story about how her loss nearly led her to commit suicide. Madam Yeboah was a customer of First Allied Savings and Loans. According to the hapless woman, her frustration stems from the fact that she has about GHC 120,000 locked up at First Allied. Thepressradio reported that Madam Yeboah's money happens to be an accumulated contribution of market women belonging to a group called "Onuado Ladies Association". As the leader for the group, it was agreed among members that the money should be kept in her care. The savings and loans company is so far finding it difficult to recoup the amount. READ ALSO: Babies getting cancer after drinking contaminated milk from nursing mothers at Agbogbloshie "The money was hidden in my house for some few days after which I considered the risk involved and decided to open an account and deposit it at First Allied Savings and Loans Limited," Madam Yeboah said. Madam Akua Yeboah reportedly broke into tears amid her narration. She said she has been contemplating suicide if it turns out she never gets the money back. She received report that first Allied Savings and Loans limited was collapsing in late 2018, Management of the financial institution refused withdrawals of funds for customers, obviously to conserve liquidity. Madam Yeboah said since the news of the supposed collapse of First Allied broke out, she has tried everything possible to withdraw the money "...so that I will hand it over to respective members of the association and vindicate myself off the false embezzlement allegation peddled against me" READ ALSO: Joe Mettle reveals he is getting married She is under pressure from the members of her ladies' association to recoup the money. As a result of this, Madam Yeboah says she has been diagnosed with an extreme increment in her blood pressure. There is no hope in sight although First Allied has issued numerous press statements saying they are working on giving back monies to customers. Madam Akua Yeboah's story is one of many that have in the wake of banking crisis that have so far seen five banks go under government control. Tens of thousands more have lost their jobs. I don't do secular music. I do good music with good themes: Kuami Eugene - Star Gist| #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 Politics they say is dirty game, no matter the partied involved.There are things people to just to gain political power to rule over the masses. Residents of the SRC Hall of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) last Thursday, February 28, woke up to a scary spectacle of a calabash containing two eggs and kola nuts, with a piece of paper with the inscription: Warning!!! For your Good, Step Aside. Danger!!!. According to Daily Graphic reports, the calabash was positioned at the entrance of the door to the room of one of the aspirants to the position of president of the UCC branch of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS). Source: Graphic.com.gh Source: UGC READ ALSO: Ghanaians chide Owusu Bempah over contradictory prophecies Some students believed that the items were packaged as 'juju' by one of the students contesting the position of NUGS representative of the hall to brighten his chances of winning. Many students could not fathom why a student should employ spiritualism in an internal contest. A section of the students said the incident should be treated with the contempt it deserved while others believed that it was a serious development that must be investigated. READ ALSO: Top government official figured in Anas galamsey expose steps aside Confirming the reports, the Chairman of the SRC Hall, Dr Michael Boakye-Yiadom, said an emergency meeting was scheduled for yesterday evening to deliberate on the matter. One aspirant, who did not want his name to be published because of possible reaction from his parents, told the Daily Graphic that he intended to step down for fear of his life. A student who described himself as a traditionalist, watered down the incident and said: No true traditionalist will ever use eggs from the poultry farm as the ones in the calabash appeared to be. Local eggs are always used. READ ALSO: Ghanaians express confusion with Akufo-Addo reshuffling Catherine Afeku Ghana News Today: Residents of East Legon complain of narrow road | #Yencomgh: Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen.com.gh National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo has reacted to a leaked tape making headlines in the media purporting that he has called for an attack on the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission Jean Mensa. The National Chairman says, the purported tape was a strategy used by the New Patriotic Party to distract the NDC from focusing on regaining political power in the 2020 general election. Speaking at a mini-rally held at Elwak after the party's vivtory walk, he said he has been in politics for almost 30 years and not once had it been said of him, to have verbally assaulted somebody or called for attack on anyone. National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo Source: UGC Source: UGC READ ALSO: Ghanaians chide Owusu Bempah over contradictory prophecies I have been in politics for almost 30 years there is no evidence that I have involved myself in any violence or spoken against anybody he said. He assured party members of the partys focus, saying, the leadership of the party was in control and would ensure that they worked together to bring the party back to power come 2020. Reacting to a call made by the NPP for his resignation, the Ofosu Ampofo assured those present that he was a man of peace and thatat hi hands were clean. READ ALSO: Foul play: 'Juju' in student leadership elections Following the leaked audio tape from the camp of the NDC, the NPP says it has exposed the opposition party's plot to unleash assassination, kidnappings and violence in an elaborate plan to disturb the peace in Ghana. A voice purported to be that of the national chairman of the NDC Samuel Ofosu Ampofo was heard raging war on the EC chairperson and threatening to kidnap family members of NPP militia groups. We will go after them. But not face to face. We will let them know that their lives are in danger. Our people have identified a number of them, the voice said at a meeting with some NDC communicators. READ ALSO: Anas reveals how much he paid presidential staffer Ghana News Today: Residents of East Legon complain of narrow road | #Yencomgh Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: Yen Islamabad: A motion has been submitted in Pakistans National Assembly Secretariat, seeking the Nobel Peace prize for Prime Minister Imran Khan for his role in de-escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, reports Pakistan Radio.` The motion, which was submitted by Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary on Saturday, has lauded Prime Minister Khans efforts for reducing the tension between two "nuclear-armed countries" which were on the brink of a war after the terror attack in Pulwama in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, and the subsequent strike by Indian Air Force (IAF) on JeM terror camp at Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The motion comes a day after Pakistan handed over IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman back to India on Friday night. The IAF pilot was captured on Thursday after his MiG-21 Bison was shot down in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), while he was chasing the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) intruders. An online petition has also been filed, urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee for the nomination of Khan for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 in recognition of his peace efforts. Tensions have been high between India and Pakistan after as many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in Pulwama terror attack on February 14, the responsibility of which was claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). After 12 days of the terror attack, IAF carried out anti-terror strikes at the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot on February 26, in which a large number of terrorists are believed to have been killed. Maha Shivaratri is just around the corner and if you are wondering where to experience the divinity of Lord Shiva this year, we have compiled a list of places where the festival is celebrated with much grandeur and pomp. The festival is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of Maagha. There are various legends associated with Shivaratri celebrations. One of the belief has it that after the Earth was devastation, Goddess Parvati pleaded to Lord Shiva to save the planet from all evils. Delighted with her prayers, Lord Shiva decided to save the world on a condition that the people of the Earth would have to remember and serve him with commitment and passion. This is why it is known as Maha Shivaratri. According to another popular belief, it is the night when Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati got married. Many young girls pray to the god seeking a husband like Bholenath. This year the festival is on March 4, 2019. So here's our list of the cities where you can experience Shivaratri at its best:- 1) Haridwar, Uttarakhand Haridwar is apparently one of the holy cities in India. It has many ghats where most religious activities are carried out. Other than the ghats, the city also has a Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, which is quite popular among pilgrims. It is one of the finest places to feel the Shivaratri vibe. 2) Guwahati, Assam One of the leading Maha Shivaratri celebrations takes place in Assam's Umananda Temple. The temple is situated on the peacock island in the Brahmaputra River. Many devotees across the nation throng to Guwahati to celebrate the festival in the lap of mountains. 3) Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh It is hugely celebrated in Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple. The temple also houses one out of the twelve jyotirlingas in the world. 4) Mandi, Himachal Pradesh Although Himachal Pradesh has a lot of Lord Shiva temples, the place where it is best celebrated happens to be at Bhootnath temple, Mandi. The royal family of Mandi started the tradition of celebrating Shivaratri at Bhootnath temple many years ago. 5) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Another holy Indian city, Varanasi, is one of the cities where Lord Shiva is considered the supreme god. The festival is celebrated in Tilbhandeshwar Temple situated in south Varanasi. This is among the few places in India where dancing in processions after consuming bhaang is a part of a ritual. 6) Jammu and Kashmir The festival of Maha Shivaratri holds great significance and reverence among the Kashmiri Pandits in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Celebrated as one of their main festivals, Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati mantras can be heard chanting in almost every temple in the city. In Kashmir, Shankaracharya Temple is a must visit, and if in Jammu, you can experience a blissful Shivaratri at Raghunath Mandir, Shivkhori or Aap Shambu Mandir. Also, every Kashmiri Pandit family performs a yagna at their homes on Maha Shivaratri and it's a two day ritual for them. NEW DELHI: The four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case may file a curative petition, challenging their capital punishment. The convicts' counsel informed the Delhi's Patiala House Court of the likely development on Saturday. Tihar jail authorities also communicated the same to the court, reported news agency ANI. The authorities will file a status report in the case on the next date of scheduled hearing, April 6. Twenty-three-year-old paramedic, Nirbhaya, was gang-raped by five men and a juvenile in a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. She passed away 13 days later. The incident sparked a massive outrage across the nation. The five convicts were awarded death penalty by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. On July 9, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice R. Bhanumathi, upheld the death sentence awarded to four of the accused in May 2017 after three of them, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, and Pawan Gupta filed a petition in the court to review the judgment. Akshay Singh, the fourth convict, did not file a review petition against his death sentence. The leader and the fifth member of the gang, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in jail nearly three months after the crime, while the juvenile was convicted by the Juvenile Justice Board and was let off in December 2015 after serving three years in a reformation home. A curative petition is the final judicial resort which can be pleaded for a review in any judgment or decision passed by the Supreme Court. Srinagar: A civilian was on Saturday injured in a fresh blast in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The IED explosion took place at around 3 am in Amlar area of Tral. Reports suggest that the explosive device was allegedly laid targeting security patrol vehicles. The IED, however, exploded prematurely, injuring the civilian. A team of Jammu and Kashmir Police have already reached the spot and have initiated an investigation into the matter. one civilian has been injured . IED was laid to target security forces patrol vehicles but seems to have exploded prematurely. The explosion comes amid prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pulwama attack on February 14. Tensions between the two countries escalated further after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camps near Pakistan's Balakot. This came 11 days after Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack on a CRPF convoy Pulwama, killing 40 soldiers. Defence Research and Development Organisation chairman G. Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics award for his contribution to the field of missile technology development. Dr Reddy also serves as the Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development, Director General of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). He was also appointed as Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister in May 2015. Dr Reddy has been spearheading the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex Laboratories - ASL, DRDL and RCI, ITR, TBRL & other technical facilities. The Aerospace scientist graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from JNTU, Anantapur and received his masters and Ph.D from JNTU Hyderabad. He joined Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad in 1986. He led the design and development of a wide range of tactical and strategic missile systems to attain complete self-sufficiency in Missiles and initiated many new projects to equip Armed forces with state-of-the-art weapons and technologies. He invigorated the BMD programme and developed the mission critical technologies for Long Range Agni-5 missile. As Director, RCI, he led many Programmes, Projects and steered the development of indigenous RF and IIR Seekers. As Programme Director, successfully developed the Medium Range SAMs and achieved a streak of successes in the maiden missions. As Project Director, developed the countrys first 1000kg class Guided Bomb and laid foundation for Long Range Smart Guided Weapons, writes DRDO on its official website. Dr Reddy is the first Indian to be inducted as Fellow of Royal Institute of Navigation (FRIN), London. He's also a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, UK (FRAeS) and Foreign Member of the Academy of Navigation & Motion Control, Russia. He is an Honorary Fellow of CSI and Project Management Association of India, Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, IET (UK), and Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, USA. He's also the recipent of several international and national awards including the Indian Science Congress Association Homi J. Bhabha Memorial Gold Medal, National Aeronautical Prize, National Design Award, National Systems Gold Medal, the first IEI-IEEE (USA) joint award for Engineering Excellence, the Silver Medal of Royal Aeronautical Society, London, and Dr Biren Roy Space Science Design Award, Astronautical Society of India Rocketry. New Delhi: "It is good to be back in my country," was the first reaction of IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he set his foot back on Indian soil. This was stated by an official quoting Varthaman after he received the pilot at the Attari-Wagah border soon after his release by Pakistan. In its reaction, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Twitter, "We have Wg Cdr Abhinandan back with us. Indian Air Force is proud of our Airwarrior #Abhinandan." Varthaman was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries, a day after New Delhi had conducted counter-terror operations in Pakistan's Balakot. "We are happy to have him back," said a top IAF officer shortly after Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities. Reading out a brief statement, Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, assistant chief of Air Staff, told a posse of reporters that the pilot will be taken for a detailed medical examination as he was subjected to lot of stress during his nearly three-day captivity. "He will be taken for a detailed medical checkup. The officer has had to eject from a plane which would have put his body under immense strain," said Kapoor. The Air Vice Marshal did not take any question from the media. NEW DELHI: India has reiterated its stand that any dialogue with Pakistan will take place only after the neighbouring country takes credible and visible action against terrorists, sources said on Saturday. Government sources said that there is no possibility of talks at any level till Pakistan acts against those harbouring terror on its soil. Sources also added that de-escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan will depend on whether there is an action taken by the latter. India has given a dossier and several proofs nailing the culpability of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in the terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred. Soon after the dastardly attack, terror outfit JeM even claimed responsibility for the same. However, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yet again on Friday defended the JeM claiming that there was some 'confusion' and that the terror group had not claimed responsibility of the attack. He brazenly avoided the evidence shared with Pakistan and claimed that they will act upon terrorism if India can provide proof to them. India on Friday also prepared a comprehensive data, listing JeM and its terror activities as evidence, which will be handed over to Pakistan. The dossier presents documents collected from several open source magazines and write-ups. "Enclosed are a set of activities that Jaish e Mohammed and Azhar Masood undertake in Pakistan, under the nose of the Pakistan establishment. These are available on open source, on blogs, websites, Facebook accounts and Twitter accounts. Many of them openly declare association of Jaish with terror attacks," India wrote. New Delhi: The first trilateral meeting between Afghanistan, India, and China took place in Kabul on Saturday. The meet was headed by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Idrees Zaman and with the participation of Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar & China's ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jinsong. Calling China and India as "old friends and good neighbours" of Afghanistan, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister said his country counts on both. He said, "that the three countries should further focus on training civil and military personnel, mining, increased energy production, agriculture and transportation development, regional connectivity, establishing a joint chamber of commerce between the three countries, and areas of mutual economic interest." According to a statement from Afghan foreign ministry, Indian and Chinese Ambassadors appreciated Afghan Foreign Ministry's contribution in holding the meeting and added both New Delhi and Bejing "are ready for necessary cooperation in the mentioned areas." The meet is significant since India and China are increasing there cooperation for Afghanistan's development. After the informal Wuhan Summit in April of 2018 between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both New Delhi & Beijing jointly agreed to train Afghan diplomats. Lockheed Martin on Friday rubbished Pakistan's claims that the company was planning to sue India for claiming that Indian Air Force's Mig-21 Bison had shot down an F-16 in a dogfight in Kashmir. Lockheed Martin is the manufacturer of the F-16 fighter jet. Responding to Danyal Gilani, Director in the Information Minister's office and chairman of Pakistan's Central Film Board, the Indian subsidiary of the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin said it had not made any such comments. "Lockheed Martin has made no such comments," it tweeted in reply to Gilani. Lockheed Martin has made no such comments. Lockheed Martin India (@LMIndiaNews) March 1, 2019 Embarrassed with the faux pas, Gilani deleted his tweet soon after and said instead claimed that India has failed to provide proof of the use of f-16 in the air strikes. "Thank you @LMIndiaNews. I acknowledge the statement is wrongly attributed to you. I picked it from a website. I take it back. However, I stand by Govt of #India's failure to prove it downed a #Pakistani F-16. Indian media & journalists have caught #Indian govt disinformation," (sic) he tweeted. The Indian Air Force has already shown parts of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile that was used by Pakistan as evidence to "conclusively" prove that US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets were deployed during an aerial raid to target the Indian military installations in Kashmir. The US, on the other hand, has also sought information from Pakistan over the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter jets against India in violation of the end-user agreement. "We are aware of these reports and are seeking more information," a State Department spokesperson said. Despite India's proofs, Pakistan has maintained that no F-16 fighter jets were used in the airstrike and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the Indian Air Force. The United States, which is the largest seller of high-tech defence equipment globally, and has a strong end-user monitoring agreement, as a matter of practice takes all allegations of misuse of defense articles very seriously. But before making any judgement or arriving at any conclusion, it needs to establish some facts on the ground, if there has been any violation by Pakistan to the F-16 end-user agreement it signed by the United States. According to Pentagon's Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) F-16 jets were meant to be used to "enhance Pakistan's ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations". Publicly available documents reveal that US has imposed nearly a dozen restriction on Pakistan related to its use of F-16. NEW DELHI: "Abhinandan" used to mean congratulations till now but its meaning will change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday lauding the Indian Air Force braveheart Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman who returned from Pakistan's captivity on Friday. The world takes note of what India does and the nation has the power to "change dictionary meanings", Modi said at an event in Delhi. "Take it for a fact, the world watches carefully what India does... The country has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary. Abhinandan once used to mean congratulations in English. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change. This is the strength of this country," he said amid applause by the audience. He added that the country has to move ahead with "valour". On Friday after Wing Commander crossed over to the Attari border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted: "Welcome home Wing Commander Abhinandan. The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram." Wearing blue blazer and grey khaki trouser, Abhinandan stepped on the India soil at 9.20 pm on Friday from Attari-Wagah border in Punjab's Amritsar where thousands had been waiting for hours to have a glimpse of the brave IAF officer. He was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to the BSF following paperwork. He was accompanied by an officer of the Pakistan Foreign Office and Indian Defence Attache Group Captain Joy Thomas Kurien. He was held captive by Pakistan after his jet was shot down in an air strike carried out by India. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. He was flying the MiG 21 Bison and was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace. In the process, his plane crossed over to Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16. NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the government has approved a proposal of the National Investigation Agency to open a research cell on terror-group Islamic State (ISIS). The Minister said that 100 new posts have been created in the NIA for effective investigation and supervision. "Terror funding is a big factor in promoting terrorism. The way NIA performed its role, the result is that there has been a decline in terror funding compared to earlier," Singh said. Appreciating NIA for its effective functioning, the Union Minister said the conviction rate of NIA is 92 per cent. "It means, the conviction rate (of NIA) is 92 per cent. It's a matter of pride for all us," he said. He also said that the circulation of fake Indian currency notes has also declined due to the combined efforts of the NIA and other Central and State agencies. NIA, he said, has achieved good success in establishing coordination with other agencies like State police and anti-terror squads of different states. He added that the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided with a pertinacity that the time has come to wage a decisive battle against terrorism in the wake of the Pulwama attack, he said. "I am very happy to tell you that we are getting abundant support from the Islamic countries of the world," he said. His statement comes on a day when Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj gave her address at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has, a first for India. "It is a pleasing thing that all nations of the world are coming onto one platform on the question of terrorism. All feel that a decisive battle should be fought against terrorism," he said. The Home Minister was speaking after inaugurating two new office-cum-housing complexes of the NIA here and Guwahati, built by NBCC India at a cost of about Rs 77 crore. Your digital subscription allows you to view any content, comment on any issue and submit your own news to our newsroom. Digital subscriptions do not include home delivery of the Tracy Press. To receive the paper at home, sign up for Premium Membership. New Delhi: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the participation of India as the Guest of Honour at the Abu Dhabi Foreign Ministers meet and hopes to embrace India one day. Speaking at a press conference at the end of the meet, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Foreign Affairs Minister of UAE said, "OIC has sent a very clear and positive sign to India, to the people of India, that the OIC, appreciates the relationship with India." Adding, that the organisation "Looks forward to strengthening such a relationship with India to the point where we can embrace India one day in the OIC." It was for the first time India was invited at the OIC meet. India was invited by UAE as a "Guest of Honour" and this was backed by Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. Calling India's presence historic, the UAE Foreign Minister said, "I know we are not there yet for obvious reasons but what I can say is that having India as a guest of honour was a historic moment for the OIC yes, and it was a historic moment for India definitely." Replying to a question on OIC's strong statement on Kashmir which it has been doing since many years, Al Nahyan said, "The language you are referring to has been in our previous statements but I think the most important change is at the OIC is having India as the guest of honour." Calling the speech made by External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj as "positive, strong, dedicated" the UAE Foreign Minister said, it was "very well received" by all. EAM's speech focused on India's diversity as an example and its linkages with the members of the grouping. She also slammed Pakistan without taking name, saying, "If we want to save the humanity then we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to the terrorists, to dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist camps" India's presence at the meet is being considered at big diplomatic coup since the grouping once was considered a supporter of Islamabad. Pakistan boycotted the plenary session of OIC at the Foreign Minister level due to Indian presence. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Qureshi had written to OIC Secretary-General Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al Othaimeen asking him that UAE should rescind invite to India but the plea did not receive any response. Meanwhile, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Ahmad bin Khalifa Al Thani on Saturday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both leaders noted the "historic significance" of participation of Indias as Guest of Honour in the OIC FMs meets in UAE. During the conversation, Prime Minister underscored that "terrorism continues to pose a serious risk to peace and security in the region" and stressed the importance of "demonstrable and immediate" action by the "concerned" for putting an end to all forms of terrorism, according to a statement by the government. New Delhi: Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, yet again, defended for Jaish-e-Mohammed, claiming that the terror outfit is not responsible for the ghastly Pulwama terror attack. Notably, JeM had claimed responsibility soon after the attack took place on February 14. In an interview to BBC, Qureshi said that the crisis between the two neighbouring countries would not have taken place, had India listened to what Pakistan was saying. He said that Pakistan will act upon terrorism only if India provides evidence to them. He added, "We said we're willing to co-operate, let's sit and talk. That's the only sensible way forward." Calling the decision to go for war 'suicidal', Qureshi said, "Two neighbours, two atomic powers, can they afford going to war." When asked about JeM claiming responsibility of the recent Pulwama attack that shook India, the Pakistan foreign minister clearly mentioned that the terrorist organisation has not claimed responsibility of the attack. Qureshi dismissed India's claims of pounding JeM terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot and killing 350 terrorists. He said that the Imran Khan-led new government in Pakistan has a new mindset, a new approach. He added, "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or organisation for terrorist activity against anyone including India." Replying to the question on JeM chief Masood Azhar's arrest, Qureshi repeated himself saying that Pakistan wants evidence against any suspected individuals or organisations so that it can stand in a court of law and take actions following a legal process. The Pakistani minister's interview was conducted on a day when the entire nation was awaiting the arrival of IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after an air combat between the air forces of the two countries. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early on Tuesday. It came 11 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. NEW DELHI: Pakistan Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agents may be planning to poison the ration of security forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, Intelligence sources have claimed. As per an Intel note issued by the criminal investigation department of the Jammu and Kashmir government, security agencies in the Valley have been alerted of chatter regarding a possible plan of the Pakistan Military Intelligence and ISI agents. In the letter accessed by Zee Media, the J&K government has said that in view of the threat, necessary security measures must be taken to ensure the security of the ration deposits of the camps, especially in the state. It also states that ration procured for the use of security forces across India be subjected to frequent checks to rule out any untoward incident or attempt. The intelligence input comes just days after 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were martyred on February 14 after a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into their 78-bus convoy. Intelligence agencies had earlier issued a warning that Pakistan-backed terrorist outfit JeM is planning to carry out more Pulwama-like attacks in the near future. Intelligence agencies have already alerted security forces about fresh intercepts on JeM planning similar attacks in the days to come. According to the inputs gathered by intelligence agencies, JeM and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen are planning to carry out an IED attack targeting security forces and military vehicles plying on the Chowkibal and Tangdhar routes in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, an IED blast took place in Tral on Saturday in which one civilian has been injured. As per reports, the blast took place around 3 am in Amlar area of Tral creating panic in the nneighbourhood While investigation in the matter is underway, it is being said that the IED was planted to target the patrol vehicles of the security forces. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that India has changed under the NDA government and can no longer be cowed down by anyone in the world. ''New India is a leader, fearless and decisive. Unlike in the past, now no one can dare threaten India,'' PM Narendra Modi said. PM Modi made these remarks while speaking at an event organised by a leading private TV news channel. Slamming his political rivals who have raised doubts over the NDA government's foreign policy and called it ''week'', PM Modi said, ''events in last few days would have displayed what is the influence of India's foreign policy.'' Accusing the Opposition of playing into Pakistan`s hands by making statements lowering the morale of the Indian armed forces, the PM said that ''some anti-national elements both within and outside India have created a fear psychosis.'' PM continued to attack the Opposition leaders for their "anti-Modi" attitude, which, he alleged, has made them ''anti-India". ''Some people while opposing Modi, have turned against the country,'' the PM said. Giving a piece of advice to his detractors, the Prime Minister said, 'You are free to criticise the government but don't compromise national interests.'' ''Criticise me, but make sure your anti-Modi tirade does not benefit people like Hafiz Saeed and terrorism,'' PM Modi said. "It is the misfortune of the country that at a time when the whole world is seeking answers from Pakistan, they (opposition parties) are making statements that undermine the morale of the security forces of the country,'' the PM said. While asking his political detractors ''not to weaken the country and strengthen its enemies'', PM Modi said, ''When the world is standing behind India's fight against terror, some parties are questioning it.'' "The Pakistan Parliament is quoting these irresponsible statements to counter us. This is unfortunate. Their penchant to oppose Modi has turned them (opposition) into anti-India," PM Modi said. The remarks from the Prime Minister came in the wake of 21 opposition parties unanimously accusing PM Modi and the NDA government's "blatant politicisation" of armed forces` sacrifices. Without taking names, PM Modi also attacked the main opposition party for promoting dynasty politics in the country. Coming down hard on the previous Congress-led governments, the PM said, ''those who ruled the nation for so many years have many defence scams in their era.'' The PM sought to know from the audience, ''who is every middle-man close to?'' Our 55 months vs 55 years of others were contrasting in governance. Previous governments had a ''token approach'', we have a ''total approach,'' the PM said. The PM also said that time had come for a "total transformation" where fruits of development must reach "each and every citizen". PM Modi had on Friday welcomed captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman soon after he returned via Wagha Border to India. The IAF pilot was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. After a suspenseful wait lasting hours, Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman finally returned home from captivity in Pakistan on Friday night, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. Hoping to give a hero's welcome to Wing Commander Varthaman, thousands of Indians gathered on the border carrying the tricolour and garlands since morning. After much delay, he finally emerged around 9.15 PM at the Wagah check-post on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani Rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing civilian clothes - a dark jacket and khaki trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors' country from his homeland. "Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This check-up is mandatory as he had to eject from a jet which would have put his entire body under stress," Vice Chief Marshal R G K Kapoor told reporters in a brief statement in Attari, near Amritsar, on the other side of Wagah. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14 by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad. Amid mounting outrage, Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including F-16s. Varthaman was in one of the eight MIG-21s that took on the invader and shot down an F-16, according to officials. During the dogfight, his plane was hit and he ejected and landed in PoK, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistani army. Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday participate in a function to consecrate the idol of Goddess Annapurna at a newly-built temple at Adalaj in Gandhinagar, functionaries of the Sri Annapurnadham Trust said. Organisers said PM Modi would also lay the foundation stone of a Rs 15 crore training centre-cum-hostel for economically weak students to be housed in the temple complex, they said. The temple itself has been built at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore, trustees said. The Trust comprises Leuva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community. Giving details of Modi's participation in the "pran pratishtha" ceremony at the temple, former deputy chief minister and Trust head Narhari Amin said state Governor O P Kohli, Madhya Pradesh Governor and former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel would attend the event. Amin said the hostel-cum-training centre, which will help economically weak students, especially from rural areas, for competitive exams, will have accommodation facility for up to 600 students and is expected to be ready by June next year. "While priority will be given to students from the Patidar community, students from other communities can also apply. Training for competitive examination will be provided at a nominal fee and the process of shortlisting candidates will be determined by the trust in the coming months," he said. On March 4, PM Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for Vishv Umiya Dham, a mega-temple complex coming up on the city's outskirts at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. The temple will be dedicated to Maa Umiya, the reigning deity of Kadva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community. The temple complex will also have a skill university, students' hostels, counselling facilities and community dispute-resolution centres, organisers said. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India on Friday after he was handed over by Pakistan where he had been in captivity for nearly 60 hours. He had been in the enemy territory after he shot down a Pakistani F-16 with a short-range R-73 missile during a fierce dogfight on Wednesday morning. He was flying a MiG-21 Bison which crossed the Line of Control (LoC) while trying to prevent the Pakistani jets from entering the Indian airspace. During the dogfight, his MiG-21 got shot down either by a surface-to-air missile or another Pakistani jet after which he was held captive by Pakistani forces. Here's a look at what is an R-73 missile that brought down the Pakistani F-16 The R-73E air-to-air missile is designed to engage air targets in dogfight from any direction, day or night, against the earth background and in a heavy ECM environment. It is used on fighters, bombers and attack aircraft. The high agility of the missile is achieved through the use of a unique combined gas/aerodynamic control system enabling thrust vectoring. The missile attacks a target within the off-boresight angles of 45 at line-of-sight rates of up to 60 degrees. It is capable of intercepting targets flying at speeds up to 2,500 km per hour and altitudes of 0.02 to 20 km. It has an operational flying range of a maximum of 30 kilometres. Pakistan had on Wednesday made an unsuccessful attempt to raid military establishments in India when its F-16 fighter jets violated Indian airspace but they were forced to retreat by Indian Air Force's MiG-21. The MiG 21 also managed to shoot down one F16 jet of PAF. MiG-21 vs F16 MiG-21 is one of the most widely used fighter aircraft of the IAF. This single engine, single seater multirole fighter aircraft of Russian origin forms the backbone of the IAF. MiG-21 BISON is a multi-role, all-weather air defence aircraft which can hit a maximum speed of 2,230 kilometers per hour (Mach 2.1). It carries one 23mm twin-barrel cannon with four R-60 close combat missiles. On the other hand, the F-16 which is also called Fighting Falcon or Viper is famous for its agility and these fighter jets were first inducted in Pakistan Air Force in early 80s. Pakistan Air Force uses the F-16C/D variants of F 16, which is a multirole combat aircraft. The MiG 21aircraft comes equipped with modern Radar and Avionics systems and carries a mix of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. In 1962, an agreement was signed by the Indian government with the Soviet Union to buy the MiG-21 and deliveries began the next year. Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) started making the first MiG-21 in 1967 after receiving the licence from the Soviet Union. Available in both single-seat and double seat configuration, the F-16 Falcon is a single-engine aircraft. The fighter jet can pull 9-g manoeuvres, reaching a maximum speed over Mach 2. It has maximum high speed of 2120 kmph, a length of 15.06 metre and a wingspan of 9.96 metre. Weighing 8570 kg (dry), the F 16 jet has a maximum takeoff weight of 19200 kg. Powered by a General Electric F110-GE-129 engine, this fighter jet has a dry thrust of 17,155 lbf (76.3 kN) and Thrust with afterburner of 28,600 lbf (127 kN). Though the MiG-21 is not a very large aircraft but it can fly at a very high speed which allows it to sneak up to enemy planes from low altitude. The presence of a delta wing, just like Mirage 2000, makes the MiG 21 highly manoeuvrable in dogfights. MiG 21 is a single seater plane with a length of 14.7 m (48 ft 2 in) and wingspan of 7.154 m (23 ft 6 in). The empty weight of MiG 21 is 5,846 kg (12,880 lb) and its loaded weight is 8,725 kg (19,230 lb) with 2 K-13A missiles. The maximum takeoff weight of this fighter jet is 9,800 kg (21,600 lb). Powered by a 1 Tumansky R-25-300 afterburning turbojet, the dry thrust of MiG 21 is 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) and the thrust with afterburner is 69.62 kN; 97.1 kN WEP (15,650 lbf; 21,825 lbf WEP). The MiG 21 is loaded with one internal 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L autocannon with 200 rounds. It can carry air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, KAB-500KR TV-guided bombs and 4 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs. The F-16 can carry rockets, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles and air-to-ship missiles along with a wide variety of bombs. Like Mirage 2000, ti also comes equipped with a radar on-board. A red alert was issued for all airports and airlines in the country by civil aviation security agency following intelligence inputs over security threat in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments this week. The alert was issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and marked to senior police officials of all states, in-charges of security at all airlines and airports, and officers of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). "In view of the intelligence input in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments, it is imperative to enhance the existing security measures being taken at all the civil aviation installations like airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads, flying schools, aviation training institutes etc. So that no untoward incident takes place," the alert notification read. Earlier in the day, a part of Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai international was evacuated after authorities received a bomb threat call at around 11 am. "Mumbai airport authorities received a call around 11:00 am which threatened that a bomb explosion would take place at the international terminal in the next 12 hours. Following this, offices of various airlines, and pre-departure and arrival areas were evacuated," an official said. Following the call, security teams carried out extensive searches in the premises. The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was convened to assess the "threat call". As a mitigation measure, the committee decided to evacuate departure, pre-security hold area and 'meeters and greeters' area of Terminal 2. Visitors entry at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International (CCSI) Airport and Hyderabad`s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was also stopped with immediate effect on Saturday. The BCAS has asked airlines and airports to take 20 specific enhanced security measures which will be "in operation till further orders". Law enforcement agencies have beefed up security around the airports. Police set up additional barricades to check vehicles entering the airport area while the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) also put additional measures in place. Passengers were also advised to report early. The BCAS also directed "enhanced screening of passengers, including 100 per cent full pat down search at pre-embarkation security checkpoint", and enhanced random screening of "staff and visitors" at the main gate to the terminal building. No vehicle should be parked in front of the terminal building and there should be "intensive checking of vehicles entering car parking area", according to the alert notification. Strict on-ground monitoring of non-conventional aerial subjects like microlight aircraft, aero models, paragliders, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drones, power hang gliders and hot air balloons has been advised. The BCAS has suggested enhanced screening of passengers, staff, and hand baggage and "strengthening of anti-terrorism/anti-sabotage measures and placement of quick response teams" at all airports. With PTI Inputs NEW DELHI: After an unending wait, Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman landed in Delhi late on Friday night. Those waiting for him with waited breath gave the air warrier a rousing welcome at the Palam airport. He was reportedly taken to a medical facility for examination thereafter. He will also undergo a debriefing on Saturday which will include his physiological as well as a physical check-up in the presence of officials from the military and Intelligence agencies. Wing Commander Abhinandan was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly 60 hours. After consecutively changing the time for him to be handed over, he was able to cross to the Indian side ofthe border after 9 pm on Friday night. He was taken away from the Attari border by the Indian authortities in a convoy of cars. His car was covered with shields giving no cameras any possibility of getting a picture of the returning warrier. He emerged at 9.10 pm at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad. He was wearing civilian clothes -- a dark jacket and khakhi trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors' country from his homeland. The Wing Commander was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. His homecoming after being in captivity for nearly three days is being seen as a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism. As per a PTI report, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was present in Lahore to oversee the 'smooth' handing over of the captured Indian Air Force pilot to India. Khan reportedly arrived in Lahore on Friday afternoon, a couple of hours before IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was brought to the Wagah border from Islamabad, amid high security. "PM Khan's main purpose of being in the town was to oversee the 'smooth' handing over of the captured Indian pilot to the Border Security Force," an official source said. NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was subjected to severe 'mental harassment' during captivity in Pakistan, reported news agency ANI quoting sources. The Wing Commander informed that "though he was not physically tortured by the Pakistanis, he went through a lot of mental harassment," says the source. After spending 59-hours in Pakistan captivity, Varthaman was handed over to Indian authorities on Friday night. Pakistan Army took him hostage on Wednesday when his parachute drifted and fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met the 35-year-old IAF pilot Saturday at a military hospital where he's currently recovering and undergoing a medical examination. Sitharaman is said to have inquired about his health and the sequence of events that led to his landing and subsequent capture in Pakistan. On Wednesday, Abhinandan, flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to the Pakistani side and was shot down. Abhinandan ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat Saturday visited the headquarters of White Knight Corps in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota to review the operational preparedness of the forces amid simmering tension between India and Pakistan. He was accompanied by the Northern Command Army Commander, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh. #COAS along with #ArmyCdrNC visited WhiteKnightCorps HQs; reviewed the operational preparedness & was briefed on own calibrated and effective responses to CFVs; complimented all ranks for their high morale and valour. @adgpi @PIB_India @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/8jmkjbKvB1 NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) March 2, 2019 This is the first visit of the Army Chief to the region after India's air strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror facility in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday in response to the February 14 strike in Pulwama, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. There's been an increase in the cross firing along the Line of Control and International Border over the last few days, following IAF's airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan. Rawat was briefed about the current operational situation, prevailing security scenario by Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, GOC, White Knight Corps. The COAS was also briefed on the actions taken to meet the challenges of increased ceasefire violations and measures reinforced in hinterland in the Area of Responsibility towards ensuring peace and stability. Rawat commended all soldiers for their unwavering dedication to duty, selfless devotion and high standard of professionalism. He exhorted all soldiers on the need to remain vigilant to counter the nefarious designs of the enemy and anti - national elements. (TNS) The city of Carthage, Mo., will be a launching a new website soon, making a leap into the 21st century to modernize and streamline operations and services for residents.The Carthage City Council approved the contract for a new website last month, and it will cost the city a fee of $3,765 for each of the next three years. The upgrade will bring a new design and enhanced functionality.City Administrator Tom Short said this is the first upgrade to the city's website since its inception in about 2004."With the emphasis on mobile device access to the site and the technology available to handle the change, from a timing standpoint, it was beneficial for the city to make the upgrade as technology is available to handle the specifics," Short said. "Another consideration was staff training and the ability to add features in the future."Residents will be able to access virtually every city form, including applications for building permits, liquor licenses, food vendor licenses and taxi cab permits. The contract stipulates that most forms be ready by May 17, 2019, with others required to be posted by May 2020 at the latest."The installation of city forms (to the website) is prioritized on ones that are or were on the website and those that are evaluated on a usefulness basis for both the users and the staff," Short said. "Users will be able to experience the convenience of actively filling out forms that will be routed to the proper department online instead of printing out a PDF form to fill in by hand and submit (in some cases manually) to the appropriate department."The new website will also have the capability of being translated to Spanish. Carthage's Hispanic population continues to grow and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Hispanics now make up 35 percent of the city's population.Short said the upgraded website should launch sometime in the next 90 days. The city's contract is with GovOffice, a company that specializes in web services for government entities. The contract is for three years and can be terminated at any time by either the city or GovOffice. SRINAGAR: Even as India is lobbying hard with the international community to get Maulana Masood Azhar designated as a 'global terrorist' by the United Nations, the intelligence agencies have warned that another terror outfit, Al-Badr, linked to his outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has begun a recruitment drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), the Pakistani province where the Indian Air Force (IAF) had bombed its biggest training camp. Al-Badr, which is active in Kashmir since 1998, shares a close relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI), which was banned by the Centre for alleged anti-India activities on Thursday. One of the sister organisations of JeM, Al-Badr has gone in a frantic mode to accommodate Masood Azhars old cadres and is recruiting new ones in Dir district of KPK, 400 km from Jaishs Balakot training facility which was destroyed in the IAF airstrikes on Tuesday. The recruitment drive, which began on Thursday, was announced by Al-Badr even as Pakistan premier Imran Khan announced in a joint session of Parliament that the captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman would be released on Friday as a gesture of peace towards India. According to a media report, a video which has surfaced online showed three armed terrorists of Al-Badr inviting people to Dir Chowk to join the outfit in support of the Pakistan Army. The video was shot and released on Wednesday and a local source in KPK confirmed that the recruitment drive was conducted on Thursday in Dir district. In the video, an Al-Badr spokesperson, flanked by two others, can be speaking in Pashto, the native language of KPK. Indian intelligence officials, who translated the speech, said the spokesperson praised the Pakistani Army for giving a befitting reply to Indian airstrikes in Balakot by capturing an Indian pilot. Pakistan Army and Mujahideen are one, the Al-Badr spokesperson can be heard saying in the video. The Al Badr spokesperson further claimed that its mujahideen were hanging out in the mountains of Kashmir and ready to launch terror strikes in India. In a big blow to Al Badr, the security forces had killed its top commander Muzaffar Naikoo in January 2017. Naikoo was one of the longest surviving terrorists in the Kashmir Valley. The revival of Al Badr then started in a big way after top terror commander Zeenat-ul-Islam switched from Lashkar-e-Toiba to Al Badr in 2018 and began recruiting cadres for the outfit. He had announced joining Al Badr in a video message. However, Zeenat was killed in a brief gunfight in south Kashmirs Kulgam district on January 12 this year. The current commander of Al Badr in Valley is Hamza Burhan - a local resident of Ratnipora village in Pulwama district of Kashmir. Burhan after taking charge had called for a big revival of the outfit in a video message. Al-Badr Mujahideen had no trace in Kashmir for a decade and signals of its revival were first witnessed in 2018. The group has been trying to lure youth from other terrorist groups to revive the Al-Badr in the Valley. In 1998, the outfit made its presence felt in Kashmir. Before that, the outfit was engaged in fighting alongside anti-Soviet Mujahideen forces as a part of Gulbuddin Hikmatyars Hizb-I-Islami. Sources in J&K Police say that the outfit is regrouping itself because there is a leadership crisis in other terror groups in the Valley. At least a dozen terrorists from the group are presently active in the Valley, claim sources. Some of them include Aijaz Ahmed Paul, Sameer Ahmad Seh alias Waqas Bhai, Nawaz Ahmad Wagay and Tauseef Ahmad Wani. Intelligence officials believe that the Al-Badr recruitment drive points to an old tactic of the Pakistani Army and ISI of changing the nomenclature of terror groups ahead of any crackdown on the Jaish by the international community. JAMMU: A security forces personnel on Saturday fired gunshots after noticing some suspicious movement near an Army camp in Dachoo in J&K's Shopian district. According to ANI, the sentry at the Dachoo Camp of 44 Rashtriya Rifles noticed some suspicious movement after which he fired gunshots in the air and alerted other security personnel present on duty. Shopian: Sentry at Dachoo camp of 44 RR (Rashtriya Rifles) noticed suspicious movement and fired shots in the air. Area being searched. More details awaited. #JammuAndKashmir ANI (@ANI) 2 March 2019 A massive search is currently underway and additional troops have been rushed in the area to assist in the operation, according to media reports. An alert has been sounded in the area and patrolling has been intensified. The incident comes a day after five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, were killed in an encounter with terrorists while a civilian died in clashes near the site in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts were heavily shelled by Pakistan for the eighth consecutive day. The encounter broke out on Friday morning after the terrorists opened fire on the security forces during a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about the presence of ultras there, officials said. There was a lull in firing several times during the day but terrorists resumed firing as soon as the security forces advanced towards the house where the ultras were hiding, the officials said. After a brief interval, the terrorists opened indiscriminate firing on the advancing team of security personnel, the officials said. Nine security force personnel were injured in the firing, they said adding five of them succumbed to injuries. The slain personnel included a CRPF inspector and a jawan, two army men and a policeman, they said. Amid high tension along the LoC, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh accompanied by the White Knight Corps Commander, Lt Gen Paramjit Singh visited forward posts in Rajouri Sector to review the operational preparedness on Thursday. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti along with party workers protested in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on Saturday against the Centre's ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir. In a major crackdown earlier in the day, more than 60 accounts and properties worth in crores, linked to Jamaat-e-Islami activists, were seized. J&K: Mehbooba Mufti and PDP workers protest in Srinagar against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu & Kashmir) by the Central Government. pic.twitter.com/zvCceAKQOa ANI (@ANI) 2 March 2019 So far, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested over 350 activists belonging to the separatist group. The ban on the group has led to a crackdown on JeI's functionaries operating 400 schools, 350 mosques and 1000 seminaries across the state. On Friday, six Jamaat-e-Islami activists were detained during raids in various villages of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. The arrests were made from Laribal, Pinglish, Dardsara, Panner, Mandoora and Lurgam villages of Tral subdivision. during fresh raids in various villages. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Thursday imposed a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir and declared it as an 'unlawful association' under Section 3 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Separatist group Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir was banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged anti-national and subversive activities, PTI quoted government officials as saying. Srinagar: Pakistan on Saturday resorted to unprovoked firing towards Indian posts and villages in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. The violation of ceasefire was reported at 12:30 pm. The Pakistani troops have been repeatedly violating the ceasefire by resorting to firing and mortar shelling. The Indian Army has been retaliating with equal intensity. The ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops comes amid prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan which escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan. India's non-military, pre-emptive airstrikes came 11 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Notably, the year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations - 2,936 - by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border. (With inputs from PTI) JAMMU: Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar will visit Srinagar on Saturday to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. Air Marshal R Nambiar will also review the recent aerial engagement between the Indian and Pakistani combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning. Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar to visit Srinagar today to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations. He will also review the recent aerial engagement b/w the Indian & Pakistani combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/O3t4WmYdsC ANI (@ANI) 2 March 2019 Kargil War hero Raghunath Nambiar had taken charge of the Western Air Command (WAC) on Thursday. The Air Marshal is credited for shooting five of the eight Laser Guided Bombs on the Pakistani positions during the Kargil War from his plane. The WAC is headquartered in the national capital and controls the area from north of Bikaner in Rajasthan up to Siachen Glacier and controls almost 40 per cent of the air bases of the Indian Air Force. Air Marshal Nambiar has the distinction of having the highest number of flying hours on the Mirage-2000 in the IAF, with over 2300 flying hours on the aircraft to his credit, and a total of 5100 hours of flying experience. He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was the Project Test Pilot for the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar has been a Flight commander of a Mirage-2000 Squadron, the Senior Test Pilot and Commanding Officer of the Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft System Testing Establishment (ASTE). He has commanded the oldest Squadron of the IAF, the prestigious No. 1 Squadron. He flew the Mirage-2000 in combat during the Kargil conflict and has flown 25 operational missions. Air Marshal Nambiar was also awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry by the President of India for the Kargil Operations. He was awarded a Bar to the Vayu Sena Medal for flight testing the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in 2002, during its first phase of flight testing. Bhopal: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah will on Sunday hold bike rally in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol, with his party taking out nearly 4000 bike rallies all across the country. In an official statement, the party on Friday said that more than one crore of its workers will reach out to people across the country and share the 'achievements' of the Narendra Modi government with them. The BJP chief will launch the exercise from Umaria in Madhya Pradesh during his one-day tour of the state on Saturday. The rally will be carried out in more than 3,500 locations in states, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala, the statement added. (With inputs from PTI) HYDERABAD: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that the security of the country is of top most importance while taking a jibe at Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'mera booth sabse mazboot' campaign. "You may have doubts on whether I am national or anti-national. But while BJP says 'mera booth sabse mazboot', I will say that if my borders are protected, my country is safe," he said in a public address in Hyderabad. #WATCH Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM: Pak PM talked of Tipu Sultan & Bahadur Shah Zafar in his assembly,Tipu Sultan wasn't enemy of Hindus but adversary of the enemies of his sultanate.He talks about atom bomb, it's weird..we've it too.Handle your Lashkar-e-Shaitaan & Jaish-e-Shaitaan. pic.twitter.com/qv5mun908e ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 He also took potshots at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for harping on Pakistan being a nuclear state. "He talks about having atom bomb. It is weird because India has it as well. Handle your Lashkar-e-Shaitaan and Jaish-e-Shaitaan," he said in a terse advise to Khan. Owaisi had earlier hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, saying that India has the right to self-defence. "We welcome this. It's a right step. We stand by the government," the Hyderabad MP said. "If a country is not able to stop non-state actors, then another country which is the target of terrorist violence has the right to act in self-defence," he added. Owaisi said India should now go after Pakistani terrorist leaders Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. "They are satans and their outfits are also evil." Earlier, opposition parties had criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for holding a video address for the BJP workers at a time when IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was in Pakistani custody. Blaming the BJP for holding poll events amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan, opposition parties had termed the mega video conference "ridiculous and betrayal of national sentiments". Twenty-one opposition parties had also expressed "deep anguish" over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces and urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's determination and courage in face of adversity has become a symbol bravery across the country. As Pakistani captivators demand information, the Wing Commander is seen repeating one line in a now viral video. "I am not supposed to tell you this." It comes as no surprise as law enforcement agencies use his infamous words to drive home important message and patriotism. Which is why, Nagpur City Police's tweet on cyber security on Saturday evening, has now gone viral. When someone asks for your OTP : 'I am not supposed to tell you this' #WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #NagpurPolice" tweeted the agency. When someone asks for your OTP : "I am not supposed to tell you this"#WelcomeHomeAbhinandan #NagpurPolice NagpurCityPolice (@NagpurPolice) March 1, 2019 On Wednesday, Abhinandan, flying the MiG 21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to the Pakistani side and was shot down. Abhinandan ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. After spending 59-hours in Pakistan captivity, the IAF personnel was handed over to Indian authorities on Friday night. RAE BARELI: A hoarding put up by a BJP supporter in Congress bastion Rae Bareli claims that newly-appointed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will "fizzle out" in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The hoarding has been put up in Rae Bareli a day ahead of PM Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Amethi, which is represented by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha. The hoarding put up at Canal Road in Rae Bareli says, "Toot jaega danka, fuss (fizzle out) ho jaengi Priyanka." It was allegedly put up by Arun Singh, who claims to be a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Singh has also mentioned his mobile number on the hoarding. The hoarding has evoked a sharp response from the Congress party, which has demanded that the hoarding be immediately removed. Ever since Priyanka Gandhi was appointed Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East), several posters and hoardings have come up from both parties targeting top leaders of the two sides. "This clearly spells the anti-women mindset of the BJP which is out to defame the Gandhi family at every given opportunity," Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said. "The sacrifices and contributions of the Gandhi family are well known... They have never deviated from their path of service towards the nation even in the most trying of times... BJP leaders know that till the Gandhi family is active the main issues will remain communal amity, peace and development,'' he said. People will give a befitting reply to "liars" in 2019, Awasthi said. PM Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting in the Congress stronghold on Sunday. He had visited Rae Bareli in December. Priyanka Gandhi recently held a mega roadshow in Lucknow along with Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia and party chief Rahul Gandhi in February. (With PTI inputs) (TNS) As Internet speeds continue to lag in rural parts of the state, Oregon lawmakers are contemplating a new fee on cellphone service to help pay for expanded broadband in remote and underserved communities. House Bill 2184 would raise about $10 million a year to fund broadband projects through grants and loans. Advocates say it would cost cellphone subscribers between $4 and $12 a year.We cant all be part of the modern life and the modern world if we dont have access to some of the needs, said Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland.The bill will face fierce opposition from the wireless industry, though, which says it will fight to keep Oregon cellphone fees low. The industry says it doesnt make sense to tax one kind of service wireless phones to subsidize a completely different kind of wired Internet service.HB 2184 is tens of millions of dollars in taxes that will hurt all Oregonians including those with low and moderate incomes, said Jamie Hastings, vice president of state and external affairs for the wireless industry trade group CTIA.This regressive bill will have a negative impact on working families and burden those who rely most on wireless as a vital lifeline, Hastings said in a written statement.The bills supporters say broadband service is a lifeline unavailable to many in the states rural communities. Marsh said fast Internet access has become indispensable for businesses, schools and families.And she said that while the state has long recognized the gap between rural and urban areas, Marsh said it hasnt been deliberate about addressing it.Weve just got this ginormous urban-rural technology divide, and that cant be good for any of us, she said.Oregon cellphone owners have long enjoyed some of the nations lowest cellphone taxes. The Tax Foundation ranks Oregon as the cheapest in the nation for cellular at 2.1 percent just one-sixth of the national average.In prior years Oregonians have zealously guarded their low-tax status. In 2004, for example, Portland contemplated a 5 percent cellphone tax to pay for drug treatment programs and more jail cells. The proposal died before even coming to a city council vote amid a consumer outcry.With a Democratic supermajority in Salem, though, and persistent broadband disparities in the Republican-leaning rural areas of the state, there may be more appetite to collect more from cellular customers.Currently before the House Committee on Economic Development, chaired by Rep. John Lively (D-Springfield) Marsh said she anticipates the bill would need to clear the Revenue and Ways and Means committees before getting a floor vote. Census data released last fall shows that 87 percent of Oregon households were broadband subscribers in 2017, up from 78 percent five years earlier. In some Portland neighborhoods up to 98 percent have broadband access, defined as 25 megabits per second.In rural parts of the state, though, such as Lake and Jefferson county, broadband penetration is as low as 50 percent. Its expensive for telecom companies to run high-capacity fiber optics into remote areas and there are relatively few potential subscribers to help the companies offset the cost.The bill before the Legislature would have the states business development agency distribute up to $10 million in broadband funds through grants and loans, with priority given to school districts seeking faster access.The bill has a host of supporters including Oregon counties, cities, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Oregon Farm Bureau, the Citizens Utility Board and the AARP, which hopes faster Internet access could improve telehealth services for seniors in remote areas.And while Oregon Republicans generally oppose higher taxes and fees, there has been no consensus from the Republican caucus in Salem opposing the bill. That could be because Republicans rural constituents would be most likely to benefit.The fee would apply only to a portion on cellular bills, the portion covered by intrastate phone calls. Estimates vary on just how much it would add to monthly bills, with estimates ranging from 33 cents up to $1 per phone. If lawmakers approve the fee as currently drafted, the bill would take effect January 1, 2020, so subscribers would start paying the tax early next year.If collections were to vary considerably from the $10 million lawmakers seek, the Oregon Public Utility Commission would be responsible for adjusting the fee upward or downward in future years.The bill would also reduce Universal Service Fund fees collected by landline phone companies and currently used to ensure phone service is available in remote parts of the state. Those fees have gone up in recent years as the number of landline phone customers in Oregon has declined requiring larger collections from the remaining landline subscribers.Spreading that burden more widely, to include cellular subscribers, would reduce the burden on landline customers. For that reason, the Oregon Telecommunications Association, which represents phone and Internet companies in smaller communities around the state, supports the bill.Currently, the state is exempting the wireless guys from helping pay for this, which we think is just wrong, said Brant Wolf, the telecom associations vice president. The subscriber gap between PewDiePie and T-Series narrowed to down to 3700 on Saturday night, with the Indian record label once again poised to take over the Swedish gamer's channel. Looks like this is it, tweeted PewDiePie, almost conceding defeat. Looks like this is it. https://t.co/D6Lebz9NF6 (@pewdiepie) March 2, 2019 He also shared a final salute image from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. T-Series had overtaken PewDiePie on February 22, with about 2,000 subscribers for about five minutes. However, PewDiePie, owned by Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg, soon regained his followers. The battle for most subscribed YouTube channel between PewDiePie and T-Series has been going on for months now. Led by Bhushan Kumar, T-Series is a household name in India since the 1980s. Bhushan is the son of T Series founder Gulshan Kumar who was assassinated by the underworld mafia D Company in 1997. T-Series has 29 TV channels in several Indian languages. It hosts some of the biggest Indian artists, drawing millions of views. At the beginning of 2018, T-Series had about 30 million subscribers on its YouTube channel. The introduction of new changes in Indian mobile and data service, the subscriber list sky-rocketed to over 70 million in just six months. PewDiePie, known for his video-game commentary, held the mantle for more six years only to be threatened by T-Series fast ascent to the top in mere months. Several Pewds (PewDiePie fans) and top YouTube content creators came out in PewDiePie's support, some to the extent of hacking worldwide printers, Google Chromecasts and defacing the Wall Street Journal website. Latest to support PewDiePie in his the battle against T-Series is SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who meme review with Justin Roiland, creator of popular adult animated science fiction sitcom Rick and Morty. AMSTERDAM: Inspectors have concluded that a "toxic chemical" containing chlorine was used in an attack last April in the Syrian town of Douma, at the time held by rebels but besieged by pro-government forces, the global chemical weapons agency said on Friday. The attack on April 7, 2018, killed dozens of civilians and prompted air strikes against the Syrian government by Britain, France and the United States. Washington blamed the Syrian government and said it had used chemical weapons. Damascus denies having ever used chemical weapons. During an investigation in mid-April, inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited two sites in Douma to interview witnesses and take samples, which have been analysed in OPCW-affiliated national laboratories. The investigation did not assign blame, but the information gathered provided "reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018". "This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine," the OPCW said in a statement. Weaponising chlorine is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified by Syria in 2013, and is prohibited under customary international humanitarian law. The OPCW has documented systematic use of the banned nerve agent sarin and chlorine in Syria`s civil war, now nearing its eighth year. From 2015 to 2017 a joint U.N.-OPCW team had been appointed to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria. It found that Syrian government troops had used the nerve agent sarin and chorine barrel bombs on several occasions, while Islamic State militants were found to have used sulphur mustard. In June, the OPCW`s member states granted the organisation new powers to assign blame for chemical weapons attacks, but that was not the mandate of the team that carried out the Douma inquiry. The latest OPCW report "adds one more case to the scores of illegal chemical weapons attacks confirmed since 2013," said Lou Charbonneau of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Its clear that the organizations new unit for attributing blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria has its work cut out. Those responsible for the use of these banned weapons should be unmasked and held to account. The OPCW is also looking into an alleged gas attack last November in Aleppo that reportedly made up to 100 people ill. The Syrian government and its ally, Russia, blamed that attack on insurgents. Lahore: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was present in Lahore to oversee the 'smooth' handing over captured Indian Air Force pilot to India at the Wagah border on Friday, official sources said. Khan arrived in Lahore on Friday afternoon, a couple of hours before IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was brought to the Wagah border from Islamabad, amid high security. "PM Khan's main purpose of being in the town was to oversee the 'smooth' handing over of the captured Indian pilot to the Border Security Force," an official source said. He said during his stay Khan held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, who praised the premier for ordering the release of the Indian pilot. They said this gesture would establish that Pakistan was a peace loving country and wanted peace with its neighbouring countries especially India. Buzdar said: "This move will help de-escalte tensions between India and Pakistan." "The prime minister stayed in the city till the time the Indian pilot was handed over to his country. Later, he left for Islamabad," the source added. Pakistan Foreign Office, in a statement issued after handing over of the Indian pilot to India said: "Prime Minister Imran Khan who announced his (Varthaman's) return as a 'goodwill gesture' aimed at de-escalating rising tensions with India." Wing Commander Varthaman was arrested when his MIG-21 crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after being shot down by Pakistan Air Force for what Islamabad said "violating Pakistani airspace" on February 27. By Dan Knutson Ferrari clearly had the fastest car in the final days of preseason testing the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Halfway through the final day of testing Lewis Hamilton was asked what sort of advantage Ferrari had over the rest of the teams. "I think it's potentially half a second," he said. "Something like that, potentially. We will be analysing a lot from this test and there will be some modes that we try to implement. There's not a lot of time hopefully we'll gain a tenth at least just on our understanding of the car." But later that same day Hamilton posted a lap time a mere 0.003 of a second slower than Sebastian Vettel's fastest lap in his Ferrari. "Overall, I am pleased with the work we have carried out," Ferrari team principal and managing director Mattia Binotto said. "I am pleased with how the car behaves and it was well balanced at this track. However, we cannot be completely satisfied at the moment as we would like to be faster and more reliable. So there's still a lot to do. These past days have been very intensive and interesting. We are still focusing on our car to understand its limits in terms of performance and reliability." Hamilton said the last couple of days had been very positive. "It felt like the changes we were making helped us progress and gave us clear feedback of when we were moving in the right or the wrong direction," he said. "Today, it was nice to feel the car on lighter fuel and to discover it a little better; I really enjoyed the day and got a good feel for the tyres as well. I'm not the biggest fan of testing, as everybody knows, but it has been a positive week overall. Even so, there is still a lot to do and we are not there yet; there are lots of areas that we are working on and we are heading in the right direction." Valtteri Bottas ended up third, and a third of a second slower than Vettel. "That's the final day of testing done, next time we'll drive the W10 it will be in Melbourne," the Mercedes driver said. "We've used our time on track here in Barcelona efficiently, learning a lot and improving our performance over the past two weeks. We've also learned that the competition is going to be very, very tough this year, but we're looking forward to the challenge. We need to keep pushing and find more performance if we want to be competitive in Melbourne, but we have a strong team and have made good progress in the last days. We have a few days left to work on the car, so we will give it everything." Nico Hulkenberg was best of the rest in his Renault. "I leave Barcelona feeling encouraged after a busy eight days in the car," he said. "We've made good progress as a team from last year in particular on the power unit. Our reliability has been decent, we had a few small issues here and there, but the team dealt with anything like that quite well and still managed a high lap count. We know the competition is extremely tight, but we only want to focus on ourselves." Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top five in the Toro Rosso, "We were able to complete many laps, so I think we can be satisfied with the work put into these past two weeks," he said. "We did our homework between the two tests which is important, and that resulted in the car being comfortable to drive by the end of the second week. We tried some new bits and different setup approaches to see how the car would react as it's testing, because trying this during a race weekend would be too risky and time consuming." A gearbox problem caused Max Verstappen's final day on the track to end early. He only completed 29 laps. But, overall, the Red Bull driver is confident about the upcoming season. "If we look to the longer runs, it looks all pretty promising," he said. "I'm looking forward to start racing now. I think we have a pretty good package. And also the engine seems to work really well. It can always be better in winter testing but in general, we had a very strong winter test. We did a lot of laps, even though today was maybe not the best. But in general, I've always been doing over 100 laps, so I can be happy with that." Preseason Test 2 Day 4 lap times Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1m16.221s - C5 compound 110 laps Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m16.224s - C5 compound 61 laps Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1m16.561s - C5 compound 71 laps Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 1m16.843s - C5 compound 51 laps Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m16.898s - C5 compound 131 laps Carlos Sainz (McLaren) 1m16.913s - C5 compound 134 laps Romain Grosjean (Haas) 1m17.076s - C5 compound - 73 laps Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) 1m17.114s - C5 compound - 52 laps Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) - 1m17.239s - C5 compound 132 laps Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 1m17.565s - C5compound 94 laps Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m17.709s - (C3) compound - 29 laps Sergio Perez (Racing Point) 1m17.791s - C5 compound - 104 laps Robert Kubica (Williams) 1m18.993s - C5 compound 90 laps (Pirelli has five different compounds of slick tires which range from the hardest C1 to the softest C5.) The statement was made by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development Yim Chhayly at a conference held in Phnom Penh on February 28 to review the results of rubber projects run by VRG and several Vietnamese companies in Cambodia. Speaking at the event, Yim Chhayly expressed his sincere thanks to VRG and Vietnamese enterprises running their rubber projects in the host country, saying that they have helped boost the countrys economic development to achieve stable and sustainable growth of 7% per year. In addition to that, VRG also provides professional training for local workers and strictly implements Cambodia's Labour Law, he said, asking Cambodia's concerned agencies to promptly remove obstacles for Vietnamese rubber companies operating in Cambodia. Reports at the conference showed that in the past 12 years the member units of VRG have effectively implemented their projects in Cambodia. Since 2007, the group has invested 19 projects in Cambodia in the field of planting, caring, exploiting and processing rubber latex, with total value by the end of 2018 at about US$750 million. Currently, they have planted nearly 90,000 ha of rubber, equivalent to 90% of the set plan of 100,000 ha in an agreement with the Government of Cambodia. Individuals from the Vietnam Rubber Group honoured with noble medals from the Royal Government of Cambodia for their great contribution to local socio-economic development. (Photo: NDO) VRG's projects in seven provinces of Cambodia, namely Kampong Thom, Kratie, Rattanakiri, Odor Meanchey, Preah Vihea, Siem Reap and Mondolkiri, have created jobs for over 15,000 local workers and families, with average incomes of about US$230/person/month. During the project implementation, VRG is also helping to develop local infrastructure, including building and upgrading 1,000 km of inter-village and inter-commune roads, as well as investing in electricity, schools, medical stations, religious work and housing projects worth tens of millions of dollars for local workers. According to Chairman of the Board of Directors of VRG Tran Ngoc Thuan, along with economic efficiency, rubber projects in Cambodia also reflect a special traditional relation and sentiment between Vietnam and Cambodia. Through the projects, Vietnamese workers have left good impressions on Cambodian people, helping each other to increase income and tie relations, there are even many marriages between Vietnamese and Cambodian local residents. The projects also receive great support from local governments, confirming the efficiency of Vietnamese enterprises rubber projects. On the occasion, representatives from VRG with significant achievements and positive contributions to the local socio-economic development were honoured with noble medals from the Royal Government of Cambodia. ABC News(TUSCON) -- A Tucson man was convicted of raping seven women over a 12-year period after police received a grant to test rape kits and changed a "mindset" over which kits get tested. "The old view was if you have a situation where the victim reported it was without consent but the defendant or suspect reported that it was with consent and there was nothing to corroborate either way, there was the idea that maybe it wasn't worth testing the sexual assault kit because it doesn't show consent versus lack of consent," Nicol Green, deputy attorney for Pima County, told ABC News. Green, along with deputy attorney Tracy Miller, prosecuted the case against Nathan Loebe, who was found guilty on 12 counts of sexual assault, five counts of kidnapping, three counts of stalking and one count of attempted sexual assault, according to the Associated Press, for cases that occurred between 2003 and 2015. "Victims reported that they met a man in a bar or through an online dating site. He provided false names and lied about who he was," Pima County Attorney's Office wrote on Facebook. "Most of the victims reported that they had drinks with the man, and then they either lost consciousness or became incapacitated. The man then sexually assaulted them." Loebe had previously been a suspect in sexual assault cases, according to the Arizona Daily Star, but claimed sexual activity had occurred with consent. It wasn't until law enforcement started following the "forklift approach" of testing every rape kit regardless of investigation details that they were able to build a case against Loebe. "Quite frankly it was a mindset in law enforcement and prosecution in terms of the decision to test a particular sexual assault case looking at that case specifically rather than the big picture," Green said. "As is often the case in law enforcement, as time goes on, ideas and priorities shift, and the recognition that this is a way to identify serial rapists kind of took hold." Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall began prioritizing the testing of rape kits in 2014, Green said, and the attorney's office worked with Tucson Police to get ahead of a growing backlog. In 2015, the Tucson Police Department received a $1 million grant from the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York, which funded a project to support the testing of rape kit backlogs from settlements with international banks that violated U.S. sanctions. That grant funded the testing of about 1,450 cases, according to Green, as well as a dedicated detective at Tucson Police and a victim advocate who worked out of the attorney's office. Additional state funding is accounting for remaining kits' testing -- approximately 500 -- so essentially all kits from the backlog are either already tested or in the process of being tested. Rape kits collect evidence from a victim's body and clothing after an assault, including potential DNA evidence. When DNA evidence is found, it is entered into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, to see if there is a match to a person with a past offense and to identify serial offenders. Of those 1,450 kits funded by the grant, 839 DNA profiles have been entered into CODIS, Green said, and there have been 364 hits to people who have been convicted or arrested for certain felonies. "It's grueling," Dallas Wilson, the detective who has been working on these cases at Tucson Police, told ABC News. "We have approximately 400 cases that need to be re-investigated that go back from 1988 to 2016." There is no statute of limitations for sexual assault in Arizona, and Wilson says these cases are "completely different than any other investigation" as law enforcement is reopening investigations from the start, which is "like opening up a wound all over again" for many victims. Loebe's DNA was in the system from prior convictions, and "his DNA profile came up within the first month of [grant] testing on more than one kit," Green said. Tuscon police started searching for him in January 2017, and Loebe was arrested in Kentucky in connection with an alleged sexual assault a month later. As part of his assaults, Loebe allegedly impersonated former child star Brian Bonsall from the '80s sitcom "Family Ties," Bardstown Police said at the time. Loebe, who was also wanted in Colorado, Massachusetts and Ohio, was extradited to Tucson, Tucson News Now reported in August 2017, adding that the Kentucky charges were dropped. Nine women testified against Loebe in trial, said Green, who praised "their strength and bravery" and added that "they got justice that was long, long overdue, and as a prosecutor, that feels really, really good." Five years after starting work on Pima County's rape kit backlog, Green said it's "fabulous" to see a result like this. "It's a good feeling," Wilson said. "We still have a lot more work to do, though." Loebe is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on April 22. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. HANOI PERFORMANCE Piano Duet with Duo May 8pm on March 9 Institut Francais de Hanoi LEspace 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi Known as one of the most talented chamber music groups in Vietnam, the piano duets by Duo May are always anticipated and warmly welcomed by classical music lovers. The two performers of the group Pham Quynh Trang and Tran Thi Tam Ngoc will grace the stage of LEspace with a repertoire of music pieces for four hands or two pianos, a type of classical music performance that was very popular in Europe from the second half of the 18th century. Ticket price: VND 210 000 Ticket price for members: VND 130 000 Ticket price for students: VND 100 000 EXHIBITION Exhibition Em chao cac bac by Doan Xuan Tung and Nguyen Nghia Cuong VICAS Art Studio 32 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi Two dimensions (City and Countryside) will be featured in this exhibition by two contemporary artists Doan Xuan Tung and Nguyen Nghia Cuong. Two artists, two different artistic styles, will make viewers face questions about modern life in big cities. Exhibition Daily Conversation Institut Francais de Hanoi LEspace 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi You are invited to the exhibition Daily Conversation by Le Kim My & Vu Kim Thu. Daily Conversation is a mix between silk paintings by Le Kim My and original installations by Vu Kim Thu. Two artists with distinct art practices holding an exhibition together for the first time at LEspace. Free entry HO CHI MINH CITY PERFORMANCE Teh Dar: Vietnamese Tribal Culture 6:00 pm on March 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 Ho Chi Minh City Opera House 7 Cong Truong Lam Son, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1 Teh Dar: Vietnamese Tribal Culture features a vibrant display of circus arts, aerial acrobatics, and tribal music within an hour-long performance. The show highlights the lives of tribal families from the southwest highlands of Vietnam, using UNESCO-listed percussion instruments, such as Vietnamese gongs and buffalo horns, as well as vibrant costumes, and a stunning bamboo cirque depicting various landscapes and creatures from tribal folklores. Price range: VND700,000 - VND1,600,000 EXHIBITION Exhibition Visions of Nature by Karine Guillermin & Elena Osuna The Hummingbird Cafe 5H Ton Duc Thang, Ben Nghe, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Come to enjoy the visions of nature in the works of artists Karine Guillermin and Elena Osuna. Often dedicated and colourful, Guillermins meticulous paintings and Osunas playful collages suggest the human vision of nature to be one of romanticism. Exhibition Chapter 4: Days and Nights of Revolving Joy by Sandrine Llouquet Galerie Quynh 118 Nguyen Van Thu, Dakao, Dist 1, HCMC You are invited to an exhibition of new work by Sandrine Llouquet titled Chapter 4: Days and Nights of Revolving Joy. This will be the artists fifth solo show at the gallery. Exhibition Machine is Nature The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre 15 Nguyen U Di, Thao Dien, District 2, HCMC The Factory is pleased to present Machine is Nature, an exhibition featuring 15 artists from Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, China and the UK; curated by The Factory and Inlen Photo Gallery. This exhibition seeks to engage the behavior and consequence of thinking that machines have become the Nature we study and prioritise. It examines the current times in which we live, sharing the work of artists who are both in awe, and critical, of the patterns, substance, psychological relations and historical fictions between assumptions of Nature and the Machine. In response to the oppression of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and the resulting hunger and violence the population has endured, Jentezen Franklin issues the following statement: "Right now the people of Venezuela desperately need help and desperately need change. The oppressive socialist dictatorship they have endured is a reminder to the rest of the world how critical it is to live in a land that promises liberty and justice for all. I am praying for their survival and a solution to their physical needs. Yet I am also praying for a spiritual revival to spring up from the ashes of the crisis that has unfolded. Where man has failed them, I pray the Venezuelan people will lift their eyes toward heaven and lean on the all-powerful and all-loving God that sees every tear that falls. May they find hope and restoration in the Gospel of Christ. I pray right now that God would hear their cries and bring them leaders that are honorable and seek to do right in God's eyes. I hope every single American will join me in prayer on behalf of Venezuela in this moment of crisis. Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the Senior Pastor of Free Chapel, a multi-campus church. Each week his television program "Kingdom Connection" is broadcast on major networks all over the world. A New York Times best-selling author, Jentezen has written eight books including his latest, Love Like You've Never Been Hurt. Facebook | www.facebook.com/JentezenFranklin Twitter | @jentezen Tags : Jentezen Franklin Jentezen Franklin news Maduro regime in Venezuela with successful entrants being awarded an all-expenses-paid trip around the country, accompanied by a happy Finn who will show them the secret to the Finnish way of life. VISIT FINLANDS LATEST PR INITIATIVE grabbed headlines around the world this week, one which promises happiness-starved travellers a chance to rent a Finn to show them around the country. The scheme is open to applicants from anywhere in the world, The idea was inspired by Finlands continued domination of the Global Happiness Rankings, which Visit Finland believes can be capitalized on to boost overseas tourism. In other news, boat-watchers and eco-activists have been following the launch of Polaris, a gas-powered icebreaker ship which promises to be one of the most eco-friendly vessels in the world. The 128 million euro ship will be watched by the European Environment Agency and WWF over its 50-year lifespan as a potential route to environmentally-friendly shipping. Meanwhile, the worlds largest Yiddish-language magazine ran a long-read on the revival of Judaism and Yiddish in Finland, whilst Bloomberg ran a piece making the case for Helsinki to become the next culinary capital of Europe. Finally, research from the University of Helsinki exploring the links between migration and fertility made the splash in a number of newspapers and scientific magazines. You can rent a Finn to be your happiness tour guide around Finland Forbes Finland is at it again. The country is hoping to attract more visitors this year by launching another unique tourism campaign: Rent a Finn. The European destination already launched the FinRelax program in 2016 where they encouraged travelers to de-stress through a five-step, natured-focused process. And in 2018 they lured visitors by offering up dream jobs that included watching the Northern Lights. Now, they want to save the world from stress by pairing travelers with Finnish happiness guides and providing a free trip to Finland. The goal? Learn about true happiness and get immersed in Finnish traditions and culture. We want to ensure travelers can have an authentic Finnish experience, by showcasing our connection with nature with our dedicated happiness guides, said Senior Director, International Marketing at Business Finland Heli Jimenez in a statement. Rent a Finn will enable travelers to live the life of a Finn, from a blissful summer day foraging for food, to hiking through the forest or staying at a remote holiday cottage overlooking a secluded lake. Why did Visit Finland choose to focus on happiness guide? According to a UN study, Finland is the worlds happiest country due in part to its unique connection to nature. Many travelers choose Finland as a destination because of our serene nature and silence, added Jimenez. Everymans rightsthe right of everyone in Finland to enjoy outdoor pursuits regardless of who owns or occupies an areaare fundamental to our culture and the outdoors is a natural part of our life. Children play outside regardless of the weather, and much of our free time is spent in the woods. This might be one key to our happiness, and Rent a Finn is an attempt to share this experience with the world. Original article appeared in Forbes on 27/02/19 and can be found here. Going greener: Finlands new gas-fuelled icebreaker The Borneo Bulletin Aboard the icebreaker Polaris, Finland (AFP) The steel behemoth pushes ahead, crunching the ice as it navigates the northernmost tip of the Baltic, considered one of the most polluted seas in the world. But unlike other icebreakers spewing diesel, this state-of-the-art ship boasts cleaner fuel. In the freezing darkness of a February morning, the immense Polaris, which at 10,000 tonnes weighs more than the Eiffel Tower, ploughs effortlessly through the half-metre thick ice. I used to fly planes but I dont miss it at all. In here its like driving a spaceship! said second officer Valtteri Salokannel on the ships bridge, surrounded by satellite images of the ice and rows of coloured lights. The bridge shakes gently but the thick windows cut out the noise of the howling winds on deck and metallic clanging of ice against the reinforced steel hull. The 128 million-euro (USD145-million) vessel is tasked with keeping shipping lanes open for up to six months of the year, allowing a constant stream of cargo ships carrying steel, paper products and chemicals in and out of the ports serving northern Finland and neighbouring Sweden. The ships captain, Pasi Jarvelin, boasts that Polaris is the most eco-friendly icebreaker in the world. Polaris eco-friendlier credentials will be of increasing importance during the ships 50-year lifespan, as the regions pristine white ice hides waters that have been singled out by the European Commission and WWF, among other international bodies, as in urgent need of action to reduce high levels of pollution. Original article appeared in The Borneo Bulletin on 27/02/19 and can be found here. In Finland, a Yiddish resurgence Forward I had been invited to this years Limud Conference Helsinki to give three talks about Yiddish. (In Finnish Limud is spelled with one m instead of the double m spelling used for Limmud in English.) Co-organizer Ariel Nadbornik told me that although most Finnish Jews dont speak Yiddish they feel a definite connection to the language. Every time we offer a talk about Yiddish, the room is packed, he said. The Jewish community of Finland numbers about 1,500, of whom 1,200 live in Helsinki. The history of the Jews in Finland is fascinating. It begins with the sad story of the Cantonists, Jewish boys who were snatched off the streets of Czarist Russia between the 17th and 19th centuries and conscripted to military institutions for 25 years, with the intention that they adopt Christianity. After being discharged, the Russian authorities permitted them to settle in Finland, where a number of them eventually re-embraced their Jewish roots and built a community. In the 1920s and 30s, the National Library of Finland became a repository for Yiddish books published in the last decades of the Russian Empire and in the Soviet Union. The Jewish community also had an active Yiddish theater. Although the number of worshippers was modest, the singing of kaboles shabes, the welcoming of the Sabbath, was spirited, and accompanied by skillful harmonizing. Many sang with an Israeli accent, either because they were Israeli-born or because they had studied Jewish subjects from Israelis. Finland is geographically close to Israel theyre even in the same time zone so Israelis and Finnish Jews travel back and forth frequently. Original article appeared in Forward on 28/02/19 and can be found here. The eateries so chill, they hang Michelin stars in the bathroom Bloomberg On Feb. 19, Michelin released the 2019 edition of its Nordic Cities Guide. Predictably, the headlines focused on Noma regaining two stars after a yearlong reinvention. Stockholm added a two-star restaurant, Gastrologik, cementing its culinary destination cred. Helsinki, meanwhile, added a new starred restaurant to bump its total up to six, but still hasnt registered on the general food-snob radar. Which makes now the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the citys burgeoning dining scene, but without the price hikes and reservation rushes that typically follow Michelin notoriety. It hasnt always been this way. From 2003 until it closed in 2013, the Finnish capitals legendary Chez Dominique, a high-end, modern, French-inspired restaurant of the white-tablecloth variety, held two Michelin stars, longer than any other place in the region. Not until 2016 did Copenhagens Geranium and Oslos Maaemo join the three-star club. Nomas Nordic-cuisine hype and Michelins focus on the region with a dedicated guide happened after Helsinki exited the stage. The result: Helsinkis best restaurants have tables available pretty much any time you want them, a notable contrast to, say, Swedens Faviken Magasinet, whose reservations book up within seconds of becoming available. Helsinkis new generation of chef-owners is also cooking with a chip on the shoulder, aware that Finnish spots dont get the recognition their neighbors do. But theyre also wary of repeating the mistakes that torpedoed Chez Dominique, particularly relying on tourist traffic to fill tables. Original article appeared in Bloomberg on 23/02//19 and can be found here. Migrants face a trade-off between status and fertility Phys.org Researchers from the Universities of Helsinki, Turku, and Missouri as well as the Family Federation of Finland present the first results of a new, extraordinarily comprehensive population-wide dataset that details the lives of over 160,000 World War II evacuees in terms of integration. The results demonstrate that migrants' integration into a host community involves a trade-off between gaining increased social status and having fewer children. Evacuees from Karelia, a region ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union during World War II, had the unfortunate fate of having to evacuate from their homes twice in the space of a few years. Evacuees fled to western Finland at the beginning of the war, but then many of them returned to their homes for two to three years when the territory was recaptured by Finland, only to have to evacuate again at the end of the war. "This exceptional historical event provides a natural experiment that allowed us to analyse the likelihood of various social groups returning to their natal communities when offered the opportunity," explains Robert Lynch, the first author of the article from the University of Turku, Finland. Original article appeared in Phys.org on 26/02/19 and can be found here. Adam Oliver Smith - HT (@adamoliversmith) Image Credit: Lehtikuva Job hunters seek positions and information at a career fair in Huaibei, Anhui province. [Photo by Wan Shanchao/For China Daily] Education and employment are the issues that most concern young people for the upcoming annual two sessions of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies, a new survey showed. More than 49,000 people nationwide born after 1980 participated in the survey, which was conducted by the Center for Social Research of China Youth Daily from Feb 11 to 16. Education received the most attention from respondents. It was chosen by 79.8 percent, followed by employment (77.1 percent), housing (56.1 percent) and medical care (53.8 percent). Only 6.9 percent said they pay little attention to the two sessions and 66.4 percent said they pay close attention to the annual gathering. People are most satisfied with the rule of law, which got 7.29 points out of a total 10 points, followed by childbearing, education and elder care. Yu Fengyi, who works in Changsha, Hunan province, made great effort to get his daughter enrolled in a public kindergarten. It is, however, a bit far from his home, which means Yu's parents have to spend lots of time to transport his daughter to and from the kindergarten every day. Private kindergartens cost several thousand yuan a month, but there are not enough public ones, said Yu, who is in his early 30s. "I hope the government will build more public kindergartens and offer more subsidies to private ones so that they would be cheaper and more preschool children would have access to affordable education," he said. A record 8.34 million college students are expected to graduate in 2019 and will face greater challenges in landing a job, according to the Ministry of Education. Yu Ting, a third-year university student at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei province, said, "I am trying hard to find a good job, but it has become increasingly difficult as there are more people with advanced degrees." Employers have higher requirements for graduates than before, and the country should introduce more favorable measures for graduates to find stable jobs, she said. The Ministry of Education introduced a package of preferential policies in December to help college students who will graduate in 2019 find jobs or start businesses. The package includes 19 measures designed to offer better support to graduates or companies that employ them. They include more incentives for those willing to work in grassroots units or remote rural areas and training allowances and tax concessions to micro, small or medium-sized companies that hire new graduates. Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said here Thursday it plans to expand and accelerate a refinery divestment program aimed at shoring up its balance sheet. It said, however, that it will change that programs model to avoid creating regional monopolies and guarantee competitiveness in the sector. The refinery sale process is not suspended. Were just stating that the model that was initially announced is not competitive and that well be announcing a new model, Petrobras CEO Roberto Castello Branco said at a press conference. The chief executive officer said the oil giants previous divestment plan, whose goal for 2017-2018 was to raise $21 billion through sales of non-core assets, will be expanded and accelerated. Well be more aggressive, and that means not only being faster with the sales but also including new assets. For now, we cant give a figure for our divestment target since it will be the market that determines the value of the assets, Castello Branco said. We want to include new assets in the divestment process, such as ... oil production blocks in shallow water, onshore fields and mature fields. Well also include some of the thermoelectric plants, but well analyze them beforehand asset by asset, the CEO said. Petrobras, which currently has a monopoly on oil refining in Brazil, is looking to sell some refineries in a bid to boost competitiveness in that sector. Last year, the companys management announced a plan to sell up to 25 percent of its refinery assets in two different areas of the country. Initially, the process was to involve creating two new subsidiaries to hold refinery, pipeline and storage terminal assets in Brazils northeastern region and the countrys south and selling stakes in those units to other companies. Under the plan, Petrobras was to keep full ownership of refineries in the countrys southeast that are the biggest and most productive. Were looking at a new model that addresses our interests, which are to raise money to pare debt and finance production without giving rise to regional monopolies controlled by partner companies. We want a competitive market and when weve defined that model well announce it, Castello Branco said at the press conference, estimating that that process could take around three months. The CEO also hailed Petrobras strong results in 2018, when the Rio de Janeiro-based company posted a profit for the first time in five years. On Wednesday, Petrobras reported net income of 25.8 billion reais (around $6.9 billion) and record adjusted earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) of 114.9 billion reais in 2018. Castello Branco also touted Petrobras success in reducing its gross debt in recent years, saying it had fallen from $126.2 billion in 2016 to $84.4 billion last year. The president of the United States on Friday said that he and the leader of North Korea had held substantive negotiations this week in Vietnam even though their second summit ended abruptly without a joint agreement. Donald Trump made the remarks on Twitter after talks in Hanoi with Kim Jong-un aimed at finding a solution to Pyongyangs nuclear threat. Great to be back from Vietnam, an amazing place. We had very substantive negotiations with Kim Jong Un - we know what they want and they know what we must have. Relationship very good, lets see what happens! Trump tweeted. The president returned home after the US delegation left Hanoi on Thursday hours ahead of schedule and without a joint declaration being signed on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Before his departure, Trump attributed the lack of an agreement to North Koreas insistence that the US lift all sanctions on the isolated Asian nation, although he said that he and Kim had bid farewell on good terms. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, however, contradicted Trumps remarks shortly afterward, saying that Pyongyang had only sought partial sanctions relief. Ri told reporters on Thursday night that the North Koreans offered to permanently and completely disable all nuclear material production facilities at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center and do so in the presence of US experts. That plant is home to the countrys main nuclear reactor. For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who is currently on an official visit to the Philippines, insisted that North Korea had called for a full removal of sanctions and also lamented a lack of clarity on the scope of that countrys plans to dismantle the Yongbyon plant. They were pretty expansive with respect to what they are prepared to do at Yongbyon but there still was not complete clarity with respect to the full scope of what it is they were prepared to offer, Pompeo, who flew to the Philippines from Hanoi, told reporters in Manila. Despite the competing versions of the talks, Pompeo said Washington is eager to return to the negotiating table in hopes of achieving peace and stability in the region and for the North Korean people. Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced Friday before Congress an end to impunity in his country and that, if the judiciary so requires, all citizens including the head of state and his family must give an accounting of their finances. Impunity is over and in that sense were doing better than in 2015, the president said in his speech at the opening of the Legislative Assemblys ordinary sessions. In the final address to Congress of his presidency, which began in late 2015, Macri said that a profound change in the exercise of power has been effected by his administration. Amid the applause of ruling-party lawmakers and jeers from some members of the opposition, the head of state said that today Argentina has a government that combats the mafias and prevents corruption. Macri underscored the Law of Repentance, promoted and passed by his partys lawmakers, which, he said has become key to the progress of lawsuits in the courts, especially those that have the previous governments of Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015) in their sights. He noted, for example, that in 2013, Fernandez decorated Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro with the Order of the Liberator General San Martin. How could we have decorated Maduro when for so long he has not respected (his peoples) democracy, human rights or freedoms? Macri asked. He also stood up for the Necessity and Urgency Decree that he signed in January so that assets acquired by means of serious crimes like corruption and drug trafficking are confiscated by the government, a measure that some opposition lawmakers question because of its legal consequences. At a time when the current Sen. Cristina Fernandez, absent from Congress while being tried on several counts, claims to be the object of political and judicial persecution, Macri said that his government respects the independence of the judiciary. And if the law asks for an accounting, we all must provide it - politicians, business owners, union leaders, the judges themselves, journalists, even the family of the president and the president as well, he said. In his speech, Macri also asked Congress to pass a new Penal Code with a juvenile delinquency clause that lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 15. He also said that when he came to power, the poverty level trended downward for two years, but is now on the rise again due to the economic crisis, but added that making important changes in the country can bring some hard times with it. But because its difficult and takes time doesnt mean its impossible, he said. Macri, who took office in December 2015, delivered to Congress the fourth and final speech of his presidency, largely based on the legislative proposals of his party and a state of the nation evaluation at a time marked by economic crisis - thanks to the drought and devaluation of the Argentine peso - and months before next Octobers presidential election. A Brazilian judge authorized former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to leave the prison where he is serving a sentence for corruption to attend the funeral of his 7-year-old grandson, who died Friday of a meningitis infection. Judge Carolina Lebbos said in a brief statement that the details of Lulas travel arrangements would be kept confidential to preserve the familys privacy and to guarantee not only the physical integrity of the prisoner, but public safety as well. The former president is being held in Curitiba, capital of the southern state of Parana. State Gov. Ratinho Junior confirmed that at the request of federal authorities, his administration would provide an aircraft to transport Lula to Sao Paulo for the funeral. The body of Arthur Araujo Lula da Silva, one of six grandchildren of the former president, is to be cremated at mid-day Saturday. The ceremony will take place in Sao Bernardo do Campo, an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo, at the same cemetery where Lulas late wife, Marisa Leticia Rocco, was laid to rest after her death in February 2017. Lulas center-left Workers Party said earlier Friday that the former head of states attorneys would seek permission for him to attend Arthurs funeral. The youngsters death comes a little more than month after that of Lulas older brother, Genival Inacio da Silva, known as Vava, at the age of 79 after a long battle with a rare form of cancer. Lula, 73, asked to be allowed to attend Vavas funeral, but was turned down after the Federal Police argued that transporting him to the funeral site in Sao Bernardo do Campo and ensuring his security there would cause logistical problems. Following Vavas funeral, Lula was offered a furlough to meet with his family at a military base in Sao Paulo state. But the ex-president, who governed from 2003 to 2011, opted to remain at his cell at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba and receive a visit from his family there. Lula said he believed the decision to keep him from Vavas funeral was made by Justice and Public Security Minister Sergio Moro, who as a federal judge convicted him in 2017 of charges of accepting bribes from a construction company in the form of renovations to a seaside condo that the former president never owned or occupied. The conviction was upheld on appeal and the prison sentence was lengthened from nine years and six months to more than 12 years. Lula has been behind bars since last April, which led to his being barred from the 2018 presidential election amid polls showing that he would have won by a wide margin. With Lula excluded from the contest, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro won the presidency and went on to offer Moro a Cabinet post. The case against Lula, who denies any wrongdoing, was based largely on plea-bargained testimony from people already convicted of corruption offenses. BEIJING, March 2 -- China's top securities regulator on Friday night released regulations on the science and technology innovation board, which pilots registration-based initial public offerings (IPO) system, a major reform step for China's capital market. The regulations, to be implemented on a trial basis, took effect on March 1, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The new sci-tech board in the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) focuses on companies in high-tech and strategically emerging sectors such as new generation information technology, advanced equipment, new materials and energy, and biomedicine, according to the CSRC. Under the pilot registration system, eligible companies can become listed by filing required documents. Currently, new shares of the A-share market are subject to approval from the securities watchdog. The new board is crucial to optimizing the multi-tiered capital market system and enhancing the capital market's capability to serve the real economy and facilitate the cause of building Shanghai into an international financial center and science and technology innovation hub, the SSE said on its website. New Delhi, Mar 2 (UNI/IBNS) Railways on Saturday announced resumption of service of Samjhauta Express from Indian and Pakistani side on March 3-4, respectively. An official order from Railways said, train no 14608 Samjhauta Express is rearranged by Pakistan Railways from March 4. Also, train no 14001/14002 Attari Spl Express is approved to be restored from March 3. The first train from India will leave on March 3 and on the Pakistan side, the train will leave Lahore on Monday on its return journey. Earlier on Thursday, the Railways in its order had stated that bi-weekly train no 14001/14002 Attari Special Express between Delhi-Attari-Delhi stands cancelled till further advise with effect from March 3. Services of Samjhauta Express were cancelled following less occupancy after the February 14 Pulwama attack which left over 40 CRPF jawans dead. Also there have been reports that Pakistan had cancelled Samjhauta Express on its side after India-Pakistan conflict escalated after Tuesday's aerial strike on JeM camps in Pakistan. Samjhauta Express runs from Attari to Lahore, although the passengers are checked at Wagah, the first station on the Pakistani side. The train service was set up with an agreement between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways. Image: UNI Washington, Mar 2 (Sputnik/UNI) The US government has decided to continue its designation of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization after reviewing its status, the State Department said in a media note on Friday. The Department of State has reviewed and maintained the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of the PKK, the note said. Todays actions notify the US public and the international community that the PKK remains a terrorist organization. In addition to its continued status as an FTO, the PKK has also been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 since 2001, the State Department recalled. The PKK was originally designated as an FTO in 1997, it said. Since designating the PKK over two decades ago, the United States has worked with Turkey and other Allies to counter the terrorist threat from the PKK. The United States maintains a strong commitment to our partnership with our NATO ally Turkey, the note said. That commitment included the US government working with Turkey in fighting PKK fundraising operations in Europe and elsewhere, the State Department added. Washington has been supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that controls Syrian territories to the east of the Euphrates. Turkey sees the militia as linked to the Turkey-based PKK which Ankara has listed as a terrorist organization. Image: Wikimedia Commons Moscow, Mar 2 (Sputnik/UNI): North Koreas official news agency KCNA said in its report about the recent summit between the countrys leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump that Kim had expressed readiness for the next meeting with the US president. The agency noted that Kim had also expressed his gratitude to Trump for the presidents efforts during their successful talks and for the long journey he had made to Vietnam's capital Hanoi, where the summit had been held. The outlet noted that the two leaders appreciation of their talks, both in the one-on-one and extended formats, and emphasized that significant progress had been made in the implementation of their commitment to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, expressed at their first summit in Singapore last June. Moreover, the material noted the constructive discussions held by the two leaders and the opening of a new era in US-North Korean relations. Notably, the article made a mention of the existing confrontation between the United States and North Korea due to their decades-long hostility. However, it noted that Kim and Trump had appreciated the summit in Hanoi as an opportunity to deepen their mutual trust and had agreed to maintain dialogue on denuclearization. The summit between Trump and Kim was held in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting finished abruptly several hours before schedule without any agreement or declaration. After the talks, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country had asked for partial US sanctions relief, which he called a "realistic" offer. Trump, in his turn, told reporters he had to walk away after Kim asked for a full sanctions removal upfront. Image: The White House Twitter page Overview: The Future of Mining Australia returns for its second edition and has been created to connect Csuite, Heads and Managers of Mine Operations and Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) providers from top enterprises around the globe to debate and define the future mining landscape across the Australia. The agenda provides attendees strategic level content on the Exploration, Development, Sustainability, Optimisation, Innovation, Technology, Strategy, Planning, People, Leadership, Connectivity, Digitisation issues driving the industry. Key topics include: DISRUPTION IN MINING: Gain insight into the social, geo-political and economic forces and market trends that have and will continue to reshape the mining industry as we know it today. Gain insight into the social, geo-political and economic forces and market trends that have and will continue to reshape the mining industry as we know it today. INFLUENCING CHANGE: Explore how companies are re-focussing their efforts on creating a united workforce in order to encourage innovation, collaboration and transparency. Explore how companies are re-focussing their efforts on creating a united workforce in order to encourage innovation, collaboration and transparency. VALUE CHAIN OPTIMISATION - A HOLISTIC APPROACH: Learn how the industry is striving towards a sustainable future with the application of new processes, systems and methods of communication. Learn how the industry is striving towards a sustainable future with the application of new processes, systems and methods of communication. GAME CHANGING EQUIPMENT: Discover how the latest technology is being applied across the mining lifecycle to improve the economics of existing mines and new projects including; remote cameras and sensors, haulage and hybrid loaders and drones. Discover how the latest technology is being applied across the mining lifecycle to improve the economics of existing mines and new projects including; remote cameras and sensors, haulage and hybrid loaders and drones. INNOVATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: Understand what Innovation really means and how companies are taking the industry to new heights with advanced extraction, processing and exploration methods. Confirmed speakers Include: Jake Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Evolution Mining Ricus Grimbeek, Chief Operating Officer, North Atlantic Operations and Asian Refineries, Vale Base Metals The Honourable Bill Johnston MLA, Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Commerce and Industrial Relations, Government of Western Australia Friska Wirya, Change Lead Digital, Newcrest Mining Jonathan Bell, Managing Director, Greenfields Exploration Allan Trench, Professor of Practice & MBA Director, University of Western Australia Sponsors include: Komatsu, Caterpillar, Huawei, Motion Metrics, Minnovare, MMD, Uptake, Commit Works and Petra Data Sciences InfoMine website visitors can take advantage of 15% discount on their ticket to attend. Please apply promo code INFOMINE15 when registering. US Urges Calm While Stoking India-Pakistan Conflict Editorial March 01, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - International powers this week anxiously urged India and Pakistan to avoid further escalation of military confrontation. Given the two nations have gone to war on three occasions during the past seven decades and are both nuclear armed, the international concern is palpable. The US has lately joined calls by Russia, China and Europe appealing for restraint, and for the Indian and Pakistani leaderships to negotiate a resolution to avert a catastrophic slide towards conflict. American President Donald Trump, while in Vietnamese capital Hanoi for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, claimed that the US was mediating to defuse the crisis between India and Pakistan. Weve been in the middle trying to help them both out, said Trump. Incongruously, however, the Trump administration has in fact acted in an opposite fashion, to inflame the recent tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. Trumps national security advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both issued statements which support Indias right to self-defense against terrorism. The US officials have also laid the blame on Pakistan for sponsoring acts of terrorism by militant groups in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The northern territory of Kashmir has been the cause of bitter dispute between India and Pakistan ever since they gained independence from Britain in 1947. The massacre of over 40 Indian troops earlier this month on February 14 in the Indian-side of Kashmir has sparked outrage among the wider Indian population demanding revenge. The suicide bomb attack was claimed by Kashmiri militant group Jaish e-Mohammed (JeM). India claimed that Pakistan had a hand in the atrocity through its support for JeM, which the Pakistani authorities denied. The mounting of air strikes by India this week deep inside Pakistani territory on a militant training camp purportedly in retaliation for the Kashmir massacre of its troops represented a dramatic escalation. If India had limited its strikes to Pakistani-controlled Kashmir the retaliation could perhaps have been argued as being proportionate. But the violation of Pakistani territory some 50 kms west of the historical Line of Control was arguably an act of war. The last time Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan was in 1971 during the two countries third and last war. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Not surprisingly, Pakistani fighter jets have subsequently launched strikes on Indian-controlled Kashmir. There were also further alleged incursions by Indian warplanes, two of which were reportedly shot down by the Pakistani side. Pakistan also lost one of its jets in a shoot-down but the aircraft apparently crashed inside its territory. Tensions have boiled over further with the capture of an Indian pilot by the Pakistanis who released video footage of him apparently injured with a bloodied face. That led to outcry in New Delhi that Islamabad was in breach of the Geneva Convention concerning treatment of prisoners of war. Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to return the Indian pilot as a gesture towards de-escalation. Nevertheless, the tensions and danger of an all-out war continue to mount. There have been several reports of heavy artillery cross-border exchanges between Indian and Pakistani forces. While both governments say they dont want a war, the dynamic could explode beyond their control. The Kashmir dispute is certainly fraught with enormous historical difficulties bestowed by baleful British imperialist legacy of partitioning land and people with such contempt for indigenous rights and traditions, as well as from cynically playing partisan politics for imperial advantage. Washingtons contemporary meddling in Indian-Pakistan affairs has echoes of past British subterfuge. Pakistans relations with Kashmiri militant groups whom India denounces as terrorist is only part of a complex equation. Another part of the equation is Indias intensive militarization of the province and its alleged abusive occupation of territory and people who aspire to be part of Pakistan. The region is predominantly Muslim. If a peaceful resolution is to ever succeed there must be an earnest process of demilitarizing the entire Kashmir area. That onus is primarily on India. One thing that is certainly not constructive is the simplistic and clumsy way that the United States has intervened recently by pointedly taking the Indian side of the narrative. For senior Trump administration officials to proclaim Indias right to self-defense against implied Pakistani-sponsored terrorism is in effect a green light for New Delhi to launch air strikes against its neighbor. That reckless advocacy by Washington is predictably leading to a spiral of violence which ultimately could result in an all-out war between two nuclear states. President Trumps self-congratulatory tone about supposed mediation between India and Pakistan is far off the mark from reality. The Trump administrations belated words appealing for restraint and calm are belied by the earlier words from Bolton and Pompeo giving India a license to commit acts of war. Of course, what would one expect from the American side? The Trump administration is currently in the throes of violating the sovereignty of Venezuela with threats of military invasion against that South American nation. Washington has completely lost its compass on international law and norms of conduct. There are indeed deeper reasons for why Washington would like to see a conflict between India and Pakistan blow up. Such a confrontation would cause major geopolitical problems for China, which is historically an ally of Pakistan but which has also recently endeavored to build a rapprochement with India. Stoking a confrontation in South Asia would serve Washingtons interest in destabilizing China and Russias strategic plans for economic integration of Eurasia. India and Pakistans political leaderships must keep cool heads and think of the bigger global picture. Only recently, Indias Narendra Modi and Pakistans Imran Khan were expressing an aspiration for improving ties between the two South Asian states. They must resist playing politics for internal political gains, and they must resist being manipulated by external powers which seek to gain advantage at the expense of Asian divisions. The historical thorn of Kashmir can be resolved if India and Pakistan entered into a genuine and mutual compromise. This article was originally published by " Strategic Culture Foundation " - Kushner Dream A Nightmare For Palestine? Is Trump's 'Deal of the Century' Just the Biggest Bribe in History? By David Rosenberg March 01, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - After two years of waiting for Trumps Deal of the Century, it now appears that what the U.S. president and Jared Kushner have in mind is more like the Bribe of the Century. As The New York Times reported on Wednesday, the heart of the plan is showering tens of billions on economic aid on the Palestinians, as well as on Egypt, Jordan and possibly even Lebanon. How many billions well only know after Israels elections, when the plan is unveiled, but the Times quotes sources as saying the Palestinians alone will get $25 billion and the others as much as $40 billion. On the rise of a future Palestinian state, Kushner remained vague. In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, he declined to relate to that issue directly but implied that things like national borders were a frippery. This is a little odd considering that his father-in-law and boss is a big fan of borders and walls. Anyway, this is what Kushner said: The political plan, which is very detailed, is really about establishing borders and resolving final status issues. The goal of resolving these borders is really to eliminate the borders. If you can eliminate borders and have peace and less fear of terror, you could have freer flow of goods, freer flow of people and that would create a lot more opportunities. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter You might dismiss the deal as nothing more than a cynical quid pro quo: The Palestinians will give up their demand for a full-fledged state in exchange for spectacular amounts of aid. But, as Bibi may soon be telling a judge, accepting gifts from a rich friend doesnt have to be a bribe. And, to Kushners credit, the bare outlines of his plan revealed so far seem to be based in idealism about peace and prosperity walking hand in hand toward a glorious future, with prosperity leading the way. He seems to envision a New Middle East with goods, people and information moving easily from country to country, along gleaming new highways and state-of-the-art telecommunications networks. A class of bold entrepreneurs will quickly emerge to provide jobs and services. In this consumer paradise, why would anyone in his right mind sign up to be an Islamic State, Hamas or Hezbollah fighter? Theres a lot to be said for the endpoint. The problem is how to get there. Let's make a deal Lets assume for the moment that the Gulf states are ready to fund the Deal of the Century and that Congress is ready to kick in an American contribution, which is reportedly how Kushner plans to pay for it all. And, lets assume Hamas signs its death certificate by joining the effort and that Israel is truly cooperative. Lets also assume the Palestinians are actually talking to the Trump administration. Even if all that happens, the bitter reality is that massive aid schemes dont work. The Oslo aid plan was based on the same assumption as Kushners, namely that economic development would spur the peace process. In the four years after the agreement was signed in 1993, when everyone thought peace was possible, governmental and private donors spent $4.4 billion on aid. They upped the amounts after the Second Intifada erupted, to more than $1 billion in 2002 alone. At its peak, the money was equal to $315 per Palestinian per annum.. Needless to say, it didnt bring peace or prosperity. Terror attacks continued thanks to Hamas; Israel voted the anti-Oslo Netanyahu into power; and the Second Intifada followed a few years later. But even without those setbacks, the fundamental problem was that the Palestinian Authority and economy couldnt effectively absorb all that money. Much of it went down the drain through mismanagement and corruption. As the situation deteriorated, instead of investing in infrastructure and education to encourage economic development, as originally planned, the aid money went into keeping the PA up and running on a day-to-day basis and creating jobs by swelling by the bureaucracy, which grew six-fold from 1994 to 2002. The basic mistake then and now was to think that the first thing you need for a capitalist economy to get started is capital. But, as the long and troubled history of foreign aid shows, the first thing you need is an entrepreneurial class, reasonable rules and regulations, a supportive government and the right kind of workforce. The temptation for policy makers is try to build these things from the top down because they imagine they can control all the variables and make them work. No capital? The government will provide it. No workers or entrepreneurs? Offer training classes and high-tech incubators. Corrupt government? Goad the locals into enacting best-practice rules and regulations. Real economic development, like the kind China encouraged, happens from the bottom up. In the Palestinian context, that would mean Israel and the PA cooperating to create a friendly business environment with seamless access for Palestinians to the Israeli economy. Alas, that deal isnt fated to happen in this century. This article was originally published by " Haaretz " - The Age of Tyrannical Surveillance: Were Being Branded, Bought and Sold for Our Data By John W. Whitehead We know where you are. We know where youve been. We can more or less know what youre thinking about Your digital identity will live forever... because theres no delete button. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt March 01, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Uncle Sam wants you. Correction: Big Brother wants you. To be technically accurate, Big Brotheraided and abetted by his corporate partners in crimewants your data. Thats what we have been reduced to in the eyes of the government and Corporate America: data bits and economic units to be bought, bartered and sold to the highest bidder. Those highest bidders include Americas political class and the politicians aspiring to get elected or re-elected. As the Los Angeles Times reports, If you have been to a political rally, a town hall, or just fit a demographic a campaign is after, chances are good your movements are being tracked with unnerving accuracy by data vendors on the payroll of campaigns . Your phones, televisions and digital devices are selling you out to politicians who want your vote. Have you shopped at Whole Foods? Tested out target practice at a gun range? Sipped coffee at Starbucks while surfing the web? Visited an abortion clinic? Watched FOX News or MSNBC? Played Candy Crush on your phone? Walked through a mall? Walked past a government building? Thats all it takes for your data to be hoovered up , sold and used to target you. This is the age of surveillance capitalism. Incredibly, once youve been identified and tracked, data brokers can travel back in time, digitally speaking, to discover where youve been, who youve been with, what youve been doing, and what youve been reading, viewing, buying, etc. Once youve been identified in this way, you can be tracked endlessly. Welcome to the new frontier of campaign tech a loosely regulated world in which simply downloading a weather app or game, connecting to Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or powering up a home router can allow a data broker to monitor your movements with ease, then compile the location information and sell it to a political candidate who can use it to surround you with messages , writes journalist Evan Halper. No one is spared. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter In this regard, we are all equals: equally suffering the indignity of having every shred of privacy stripped away and the most intimate details of ones life turned into fodder for marketers and data profiteers. This creepy new era of government/corporate spyingin which were being listened to, watched, tracked, followed, mapped, bought, sold and targetedmakes the NSAs surveillance appear almost antiquated in comparison. Whats worse, this for-profit surveillance capitalism scheme is made possible with our cooperation. All those disclaimers you scroll though without reading them, the ones written in minute font, only to quickly click on the Agree button at the end so you can get to the next stepdownloading software, opening up a social media account, adding a new app to your phone or computerthose signify your written consent to having your activities monitored, recorded and shared. Think about it. Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to influence and/or control you. On any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways by both government and corporate eyes and ears. A byproduct of this new age in which we live, whether youre walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency is listening in and tracking your behavior. With every smartphone we buy, every GPS device we install, every Twitter, Facebook, and Google account we open, every frequent buyer card we use for purchaseswhether at the grocers, the yogurt shop, the airlines or the department storeand every credit and debit card we use to pay for our transactions, were helping Corporate America build a dossier for its government counterparts on who we know, what we think, how we spend our money, and how we spend our time. The technology has advanced so far that marketers (political campaigns are among the worst offenders) can actually build digital fences around your homes, workplaces, friends and familys homes and other places you visit in order to bombard you with specially crafted messages aimed at achieving a particular outcome. If anyone else stalked us in this waytailing us wherever we go, tapping into our calls, reading our correspondence, ferreting out our secrets, profiling and targeting us based on our interests and activitieswed call the cops. Unfortunately, the cops (equipped with Stingray devices and other Peeping Tom technologies) are also in on this particular scam. Its not just the surveillance and the buying and selling of your data that is worrisome. The ramifications of a governmentany governmenthaving this much unregulated, unaccountable power to target, track, round up and detain its citizens is beyond chilling. Imagine what a totalitarian regime such as Nazi Germany could have done with this kind of unadulterated power. Imagine what the next police state to follow in Germanys footsteps will do with this kind of power. Society is definitely rapidly moving in that direction. Weve made it so easy for the government to watch us. Government eyes see your every move: what you read, how much you spend, where you go, with whom you interact, when you wake up in the morning, what youre watching on television and reading on the internet. Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to bring you in line. If youre an activist and you simply like or share this article on Facebook or retweet it on Twitter , youre most likely flagging yourself as a potential renegade, revolutionary or anti-government extremista.k.a. terrorist. Yet whether or not you like or share this particular article, simply by reading it or any other articles related to government wrongdoing, surveillance, police misconduct or civil liberties is enough to get you categorized as a particular kind of person with particular kinds of interests that reflect a particular kind of mindset that might just lead you to engage in a particular kinds of activities. The corporate state must watch and keep tabs on you if it is to keep you in line. Chances are, as the Washington Post has reported, you have already been assigned a color-coded threat assessment score green, yellow or redso police are forewarned about your potential inclination to be a troublemaker depending on whether youve had a career in the military, posted a comment perceived as threatening on Facebook, suffer from a particular medical condition, or know someone who knows someone who might have committed a crime. In other words, you might already be flagged as potentially anti-government in a government database somewhere Main Core , for examplethat identifies and tracks individuals (so they can be rounded up and detained in times of distress) who arent inclined to march in lockstep to the police states dictates. The government has the know-how. As The Intercept reported , the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government agencies are increasingly investing in and relying on corporate surveillance technologies that can mine constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to identify potential extremists and predict who might engage in future acts of anti-government behavior. Its happening already in China. Millions of Chinese individuals and businesses, blacklisted as unworthy based on social media credit scores that grade them based on whether they are good citizens, have now been banned from accessing financial markets, buying real estate or travelling by air or train . Among the activities that can get you labeled unworthy are taking reserved seats on trains or causing trouble in hospitals. Get ready, because all signs point to China serving as the role model for our dystopian future. When the government sees all and knows all and has an abundance of laws to render even the most seemingly upstanding citizen a criminal and lawbreaker, then the old adage that youve got nothing to worry about if youve got nothing to hide no longer applies. Apart from the overt dangers posed by a government that feels justified and empowered to spy on its people and use its ever-expanding arsenal of weapons and technology to monitor and control them, theres also the covert dangers associated with a government empowered to use these same technologies to influence behaviors en masse and control the populace. In fact, it was President Obama who issued an executive order directing federal agencies to use behavioral science methods to minimize bureaucracy and influence the way people respond to government programs. Its a short hop, skip and a jump from a behavioral program that tries to influence how people respond to paperwork to a government program that tries to shape the publics views about other, more consequential matters. Add pre-crime programs into the mix with government agencies and corporations working in tandem to determine who is a potential danger and spin a sticky spider-web of threat assessments , behavioral sensing warnings, flagged words, and suspicious activity reports using automated eyes and ears, social media, behavior sensing software , and citizen spies, and you having the makings for a perfect dystopian nightmare. This is the kind of oppressive pre-crime and pre-thought crime package foreshadowed by George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Phillip K. Dick. Remember, even the most well-intentioned government law or program can beand has beenperverted, corrupted and used to advance illegitimate purposes once profit and power are added to the equation. The war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on illegal immigration, asset forfeiture schemes, road safety schemes, school safety schemes, eminent domain: all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the police states hands. In the right (or wrong) hands, benevolent plans can easily be put to malevolent purposes. Surveillance, digital stalking and the data mining of the American peopleweapons of compliance and control in the governments hands, especially when the government can listen in on your phone calls, monitor your driving habits, track your movements, scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your homeadd up to a society in which theres little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence. This is the creepy, calculating yet diabolical genius of the American police state: the very technology we hailed as revolutionary and liberating has become our prison, jailer, probation officer, Big Brother and Father Knows Best all rolled into one. It turns out that we are Soylent Green. The 1973 film of the same name, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, is set in 2022 in an overpopulated, polluted, starving New York City whose inhabitants depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation for survival. Heston plays a policeman investigating a murder, who discovers the grisly truth about the primary ingredient in the wafer, soylent green, which is the principal source of nourishment for a starved population. Its people. Soylent Green is made out of people, declares Hestons character. Theyre making our food out of people. Next thing theyll be breeding us like cattle for food. Oh, how right he was. Soylent Green is indeed people or, in our case, Soylent Green is our own personal data, repossessed, repackaged and used by corporations and the government to entrap us. We, too, are being bred like cattle but not for food. Rather, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People , were being bred, branded, bought and sold for our data. As the insidious partnership between the U.S. government and Corporate America grows more invasive and more subtle with every passing day, theres virtually no way to opt out of these assaults on your digital privacy short of being a modern-day Luddite, completely disconnected from all technology. Indeed, George Orwells description of the world of 1984 is as apt a description of todays world as Ive ever seen: You had to livedid live, from habit that became instinctin the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized. What we desperately lack and urgently need is an Electronic Bill of Rights that protects we the people from predatory surveillance and data-mining business practices. Without constitutional protections in place to guard against encroachments on our rights in the electronic realm, it wont be long before we find ourselves, much like Edward G. Robinsons character in Soylent Green, looking back on the past with longing, back to an age where we could speak to whom we wanted, buy what we wanted, think what we wanted without those thoughts, words and activities being tracked, processed and stored by corporate giants such as Google, sold to government agencies such as the NSA and CIA, and used against us by militarized police with their army of futuristic technologies. Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute . His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org . Maduro wins the first round By The Saker March 01, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The standoff between Venezuela and the AngloZionist Empire last week-end has clearly ended in what can only be called a total defeat for Elliott Abrams. While we will never know what was initially planned by the demented minds of the Neocons, what we do know is that nothing critical happened: no invasion, not even any major false flag operation. The most remarkable facet of the standoff is how little effect all the AngloZionist propaganda has had inside Venezuela. There were clashes, including some rather violent ones, across the border, but nothing much happened in the rest of the country. Furthermore, while a few senior officers and a few soldiers did commit treason and joined forces with the enemy, the overwhelming majority of the Venezuelan military remained faithful to the Constitution. Finally, it appears that Maduro and his ministers were successful in devising a strategy combining roadblocks, a concert on the Venezuelan side, and the minimal but effective use of riot police to keep the border closed. Most remarkably, unidentified snipers did not appear to shoot at both sides (a favorite tactic of the Empire to justify its interventions). I give the credit for this to whatever Venezuelan (or allied) units were in charge of counter-sniper operations along the border. Outside Venezuela this first confrontation has also been a defeat for the Empire. Not only did most countries worldwide not recognize the AngloZionist puppet, but the level of protest and opposition to what appeared to be the preparations for a possible invasion (or, at least, a military operation of some kind) was remarkably high, while the legacy corporate Ziomedia did what it always does (that is whatever the Empire wants it to do), the Internet and the blogosphere were overwhelmingly opposed to a direct US intervention. This situation also created a great deal of internal political tensions in various Latin American countries whose public opinion remains strongly opposed to any form of US imperial control over Latin America. In this respect, the situation with Brazil is particularly interesting. While the Brazilian government fully backed the US coup attempt, the Brazilian military was most uncomfortable with this. My contacts in Brazil had correctly predicted that the Brazilian military would refuse to attack Venezuela and, eventually, the Brazilians even issued a statement to that effect . Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Alas, there are still plenty of US puppet regimes in Latin America to mindlessly do whatever Uncle Shmuel wants them to (Colombia would be the worst offender, of course, but there are others). But that is not the main problem here. The main problem is that the Neocons cannot accept defeat and that they are likely to do what they always do, double down and make a bad situation even worse. The head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has warned that the US has deployed special forces in Colombia and Puerto Rico in preparation for a possible invasion. Uncharacteristically, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made intelligence information public, which described in some detail what kind of plans the Empire and its allies had, even before this past week-ends confrontation. See for yourself: In fact, the leaders of the Empire and their puppets are not making any secrets about their determination to overthrow the constitutional government and replace it with the kind of comprador regime the US already imposed in Colombia. Pompeo, Abrams and Pence have been particularly hysterical in their threats, but the entire Lima Group is still at it: As for the Russian UN Ambassador, he was very clear on what Russia expects to happen next: The Neocons are not even content to threaten Venezuela, and John Bolton could not help himself and publicly threatened Nicaragua as being next in line for a US-sponsored regime change. He even spoke of a Troika of Tyranny reminiscent of the famous Axis of Evil . This is all hardly surprising: US politicians always resort to infantile comic-book kind of language when they want to give their threats a special gravitas. Next we will be told that Maduro is a New Hitler and that he is genociding his own people, possibly with chemical weapons (highly likely, no doubt!). If not that, then Maduro will be distributing Viagra to his forces to help them rape more women . To those puzzled by the fact that presumably adult politicians use the kind of language one could find in grade school, I can only say that this just reflects the state of the political discourse in the USA, which has been dumbed-down to an incredibly low level. Be careful, however, because while US politicians are rather comical in their infantile, ignorant, illiteracy, and while they have an almost perfect record of embarrassing failures, the past decades have also shown that they are quite capable of murderous rampages (in Iraq alone the US invasion resulted in over one million dead Iraqi civilians) or of wrecking even a very prosperous country (which Libya under Muammar Gaddafi definitely was). Next, the Empire will probably strike-back There is a small chance that Abrams & Co. will conclude that the situation in Venezuela is a total mess and that the Empire cannot capitalize on it in the short to middle term. This is possible, yes, but also highly unlikely. The truth is that Mr MAGA and his Neocon puppet-masters have failed, at least so far, at absolutely everything they tried. And if taking on China, Russia, Iran or even Syria is no easy task, Venezuela is by far the most fragile country in what could be called the Resistance countries: Venezuela is far away from its allies (except Cuba), it is surrounded by more or less hostile countries (especially Colombia), its economy is crippled by US sanctions and sabotage and its armed forces are dwarfed by the immense firepower the Empire has available in the region. Add to this the truly demonic mindset of Neocons like Abrams and the future for Venezuela looks bleak. The good news is that the Colombians and the rest of the Lima Group friends of Venezuela probably dont have the military power to take on Venezuela by themselves. The preferred option for the USA would be to use the Colombians like the KLA was used in Kosovo or how al-Qaeda (and derivatives) were used against Syria: as boots on the ground while the US provides airpower, electronic warfare capabilities, intelligence, bomb and missile strikes, etc. The US also has immense naval capabilities which could be used to assist (and, of course, direct) any military operations against Venezuela (I highly recommend this analysis by my friend Nat South who describes in some detail the US naval capabilities and operations in the region). My gut feeling is that this approach will not work. As is often the case, the US has all sorts of impressive capabilities except for the main one: a military force capable of providing the boots on the ground (as opposed to a non-US proxy). The problem for the US military would not be so much getting in, as staying inside and getting something done before leaving what the US called an exit strategy. And here, there are really no good options for the US. It is therefore far more likely that the US will use the weapon which it truly masters better than anybody else on earth: corruption. There is big money, really big money, all around the Venezuelan crisis: not only oil money, but also drug money. And there are a lot of truly evil and corrupt people involved in this struggle who will use that corruption-weapon with devastating effect against the constitutionally elected government. And, just to make things worse, Venezuela is already devastated by corruption. Still, there are quite a few factors which might well save Venezuela from being reconquered by the Empire. First, while US Neocons are too arrogant to bother with anybodys opinion except their own, and while the various US agencies primarily talk with the immensely wealthy rulers of Colombia and the rest of Latin America, it does appear that a strong majority of Venezuelans support their elected government. Furthermore, US leaders simply dont understand how hated the Yankees are in Latin America (at least among the masses, not the comprador elites) and how fantastically offensive the appointment of a felon like Elliott Abrams as Envoy to Venezuela is to the vast majority of the people of this continent. Second, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro did empower, for the very first time, the masses of the Venezuelan people, especially those who lived in abject poverty when Venezuela was still a US colony. These people are under no illusion about what a Guaido regime would mean to them. And while most of the supporters of Chavez and Maduro are not influential or wealthy, there are a lot of them and they will probably fight to prevent a complete reversal of all the achievements of the Bolivarian revolution. Third, Latin America might well be changing, just like the Middle-East did. Remember how, for years, the Israelis could attack their neighbors with quasi-total impunity and how poorly the Arab armies performed? That suddenly changed when Hezbollah proved to the entire region and even the world, that the Axis of Kindness (USA, Israel, KSA) could be successfully defeated, even by a comparatively tiny resistance with no air force, no navy and very little armor. As I never cease to repeat wars are not won by firepower, but by willpower. Oh sure, firepower helps, especially when you can fire from far away with no risk to yourself and your victim cannot fire back, but as soon as big firepower is met by big willpower the former rapidly fails. There is a very real possibility that Venezuela might do for Latin America what the Ukraine did for Russia: act as a surprisingly effective vaccine against the AngloZionist propaganda. An indigenous leader like Evo Morales, who has declared his full and total support for the elected government of Maduro, is an inspiration to the people of Latin America far beyond the borders of Bolivia. The Russian ambassador to the UN got it right: there are already other leaders after Maduro which the AngloZionists want to eliminate and replace by a pliable puppet a la Guaido or Duque Marquez. At the end of the day, this is a typical dialectical problem: the more brutal and overt the US aggression against Latin America is, the more successful coups or even invasions the US organizes, the stronger the anti-Yankee feelings generated among the people of the continent. Think of it this way: the US has already terminally alienated the people of China, Russia and Iran, along with most of the Arab and Muslim world, and thanks to that alienation, the leaders of China, Russia and Iran have enjoyed the support of their people in their struggle against the AngloZionist Empire. Could something very similar not already be happening in Latin America? Conclusion: focus on the right question To defeat the Empires plans for Venezuela, it is crucial that we all keep hammering over and over again: the choice is not between Maduro or Guiado, the choice is not between poverty under the Chavistas and prosperity under the AngloZionists. This is how the agents of the Empire (whether paid or simply stupid) want to frame the discussions. The real issue at stake here is the rule of law. The rule of law inside Venezuela, of course, and the rule of law internationally. First year law students are often taught that the purpose of the law is not justice per se, but to provide a mechanism to solve disputes. That mechanism is, admittedly, a highly imperfect one, but it is understood by civilized people as being preferable to the alternative. The alternative, by the way, is what happens in every time a so-called humanitarian intervention is launched: a humanitarian disaster. Yet, this is the typical modus operandi of the Neocons (and of all imperialists, really). First, chose a country for destabilization, then use your control of the international financial markets and trade to trigger an economic crisis; then, send your democracy promoting spooks and agents of influence to foment protests or, even better, violent disorders; then send some unidentified snipers if the legitimate government does not use enough violence to quell the protests, then denounce the leader you want replaced as monster animal or even new Hitler and threaten to overthrow him. After that, declare urbi et orbi that it is highly likely that the new Hitler will massacre his own people, add a false flag op if needed, and then declare a coalition of the willing composed of friends of the country you want to occupy who will take action due to the ineffectiveness of the UN, ditch any thoughts about international law and only speak of rules-based order. Check out how Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov explains the meaning of this substitution: When you listen to the supporters of Guaido you will always hear them talking about how terrible Maduro is, how horrible the economic situation of Venezuela really is, how corrupt the members of the regime are, etc. etc. etc. This is all a smokescreen. Even the accusation that the last elections were stolen by Maduro is just another smokescreen. Why? Because even if Maduro did steal the election, Guaido did not have the right to declare himself President, Trump had no right to recognize him as such, and the Empire had no business threatening a military intervention or even a violation of the sovereign border of Venezuela under the ridiculous pretext of bringing in humanitarian aid while, at the same time, keeping the country under draconian (and fully illegal) sanctions. The solution to a crisis brought about by a violation of law cannot be a wholesale abandonment of the very core principles of law, but such a solution can only be a restoration of law and order by legal means. Kinda obvious, but so many seem to forget this, that it is worth repeating. And here, I will again post a graphic which really says it all: The most powerful tools in the arsenal of the Empire are not its nuclear forces or its bloated, if generally ineffective, armed forces. The most powerful tool in the Empires arsenal is its ability to frame the discussion, to set what is focused upon and what is obfuscated. The Empires legacy corporate Ziomedia even dictates what words should or should not be used in a discussion (example: never speak of illegal aggression but speak of humanitarian intervention). This is why we must speak of true sovereignty, of international law, of constitutional procedures and of aggression and threat of aggression as war crimes. We need to continue to demand that basic fundamental principles of civilized societies (such as the principle of innocent until proven guilty) be upheld by governments and by the media. We need to deny the rulers of the Empire the right to declare that they have the right to completely ignore the most sacred principles of the post-WWII international order. We need to continue to insist that a just international order can only be a multi-polar one; that a single World Hegemon can never deliver justice and that there shall be no peace if there is no justice. Finally, we need to ceaselessly demand that each country and each nation live according to its own traditions and beliefs and reject the notion that a single political model must, or even can, be applied universally. These are all principles which the Neocons hate and which they would love to bundle together under a single all encompassing concept, like George Orwells crimethink . Mostly, the Neocons like to use the anti-Semite and anti-Semitic to dismiss these principles, and when that fails, then terrorist is always available for use. Dont let them do that: every time they try that trick, immediately denounce it for what it is and continue focusing on what really matters. If we can force the Neocons to deal with these issues we win. It is really that simple. It is impossible for me to guess how this conflict will play itself out. Will the brazen arrogance of the Yankees be enough to seriously red-pill the people of Venezuela and the rest of Latin America? Maybe. My hope and my gut feeling is that it might. This article was originally published by " The Saker " - The Essential Saker II: Civilizational Choices and Geopolitics / The Russian challenge to the hegemony of the AngloZionist Empire Order Now The Governorship aspirant of the Action Democratic Party, Adebayo Alao-Akala has stepped down from contesting the forthcoming March 9, 2019, gubernatorial election and has decided to pitch camp with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bayo Adelabu. This announcement is coming days after Akala with APC chieftain, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This decision was revealed by the director general of Akalas campaign, Wale Ohu. In the statement, Akala urged other candidates on the platform of ADP across the state to remain resolute and committed to the course will ensure victory, come March 9. Akala left APC last year October after losing the primary election. Reno Omokri has lambasted a critic, who said he is touring the world with Atiku Abubakars dollars. Omokri had a shared a photo of himself, looking dapper in Stockholm, saying he has moved on, from the outcome of the 2019 presidential election, which didnt favour his candidate. He wrote: In Stockholm. Elections are over. I have moved on. A wise man once said, Even if you fall on your face, youre still moving forward. I am moving upward and forward in every area of my life towards a better tomorrow for me, my family, my followers and my country. However, a follower had commented that the Omokri is travelling the world money be made as supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP presidential candidate before elections. In his response, Omokri blasts the follower, telling that he(Reno) started touring the world since he was 9. He added that, there are ways to making money without stealing and thats something President Buhari and his supporters must learn. He wrote: I started traveling the world at age 9. Whose dollars was I spending then? The problem with Buhari and his followers is that you think everyone spending money is corrupt. Your mentality is conducive to poverty. Shift your paradigm. There are ways to make money without stealing. ROME, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The people of Trieste on Friday were treated to a splendid ceremony for the christening of the Costa Venezia, the first Italian cruise ship dedicated to Chinese tourists, which took place in the harbor of the northeastern port city on the Adriatic Sea. People massed on the quay in view of the anchored 323-meter-long, 135,500 tonne vessel as the Italian Air Force's Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows) acrobatics team of military jets flew in formation over the city, the ship and the harbor, leaving smoke trails in the colors of the Italian flag: green, white and red. The christening, which according to maritime tradition includes a singing of Italy's national anthem, took place on board the ship and was broadcast on a giant screen set up in Piazza Unita, the city's main square facing the harbor. It was followed by a 15-minute firework display visible throughout the city, according to Trieste Cafe online newspaper. With capacity of 5,200 guests, the Costa Venezia is designed specifically for the Chinese clientele, taking them on a voyage of discovery, shipbuilder Fincantieri, which constructed the vessel for Italian cruise ship company Costa Crociere in the nearby town of Monfalcone, said in a statement. The Costa Venezia will depart from Trieste on March 8 for its inaugural cruise. In the following 53 days, it will cross the Mediterranean, the Middle East, southeast Asia and east Asia, ending up in Tokyo, Fincantieri said. Beginning on May 8, the Costa Venezia will offer cruises in Asia departing from Shanghai. Uriel Oputa, former big brother Nigeria, housemate has just landed a major endorsement with Master. One of the interesting part of the deal is that she gets to right to freely create. This comes just days after a social media troll, mocked her for not having a car, whereas Alex, a BBNaija last season housemate, already has one and several endorsements. She wrote: Someone hated on me because I dont have a car. When your enemies bring you down, God pushes you 10 steps forward. Finally!!! exactly Seventy-eight days after he was controversially arrested by the police, Deji Adeyanju has regained his freedom from the Kano Central Prison where he has been held since December last year. His release has got Nigerians taking their turns to react on social media. Reactions: Truly a heroWelcome back Deji pic.twitter.com/H6SCCEkUPv Kesiena Agbaire (@kessagbaire) March 1, 2019 https://twitter.com/ak_cute115/status/1101624376485650432 Deji Adeyanju has been released barely one week after the presidential elections. They simply locked up the young man for months cos of presidential elections. Deji is a fearless young man. We need to get Deji into House of Reps in 2023. IKECHUKWU (@iykimo) March 1, 2019 A Former Governor of Oyo state, Abebayo Alao Akala, has made known of his intention to withdraw from the Gubernatorial race of his state, Oyo state. He made this announcement few days after meeting with the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He was seeking election under the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) before ditching his ambition to support the APC candidate in the state, Adebayo Adelabu. His decision has already sparked reactions from Nigerians. Reactions: https://twitter.com/munir_saa/status/1101797903444643840 Akala swore he was going to work against Apc, now hes supporting the Apc candidate. These politicians are not to be taken serious, they only care about their selfish interest. Omolola (@lawlaholuwa) March 2, 2019 https://twitter.com/Iam_abdurrahman/status/1101799338819362816 Nigerian human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to the now trending news that Political activist, Deji Adeyanju, has been released after spending nothing less than 78 days in police custody. Speaking through his Twitter handle, Sowore, alleged that the Muhammadu Buharis led administration sent the activist to jail because of his uncompromising political view. He, however, said he is happy to have him back safely. He Said: OSWEGO, NY ISMAs presence at area Motorsports Expos continues to grow for next weekend as the Morton Motorsports No. 70 is now set to be displayed in the Jukasa Motor Speedway booth at the Toronto Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo in Ontario. Driven the past two seasons by former series champion Dave McKnight, the yellow No. 70 will be on hand at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario from Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10. The Morton machine is now the third Supermodified set to be showcased next weekend joining the Lane Racing No. 97 at Marks Northeast Motorsports Expo in Massachusetts along with the Jason Simmons Racing No. 98T at the Syracuse Motorsports Expo in New York. McKnight has competed with ISMA on a semi-regular basis for the past several years. Despite not yet earning a feature win with the No. 70 team, the 20-time series victor has a handful of podium efforts to his credit including a runner-up finish at Lancaster Speedway in 2017. The Toronto Motorama, held at 6900 Airport Road in Mississauga, Ontario is the biggest automotive and auto racing show of its kind in Canada at over 330,000 square feet of space. Held March 8-10, the Motorama will operate from 10am to 9pm on Friday, 10am to 8pm on Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. Admission prices are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $17 for ages 7 to 15 and FREE for children 6 years of age and under. Free onsite parking is also available. More information on the Toronto Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo can be found at www.MotoramaShow.com. To keep up with the latest news and information regarding the ISMA Supermodifieds, you can visit ISMA online at ISMASupers.com. Fans can also FOLLOW on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @ISMASupers or LIKE on Facebook at Facebook.com/ISMASupers. ISMAs first event of the 2019 season will be the Harvey Lennox Memorial at the Delaware Speedway in Ontario on Saturday, June 15. A full schedule is posted on the ISMA website. About the International Supermodified Association: ISMA was founded in 1974 by multi-time Oswego Speedway champions Jim Shampine and Nolan Swift to ensure the future and longevity of Supermodified racing. Powered by their earth shaking 900 horsepower engines, the winged Supermodified is one of the fastest short track race cars in the world capable of reaching speeds up to 160mph. Through 45 seasons of operation, ISMA continues to be one of the most popular, well recognized touring series in short track racing. The organization has eleven events scheduled at nine different facilities this season that include stops in New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Connecticut, and Ontario. Danielle Staub will be getting married again! A week after her divorce from Marty Caffrey was finalized, thestar is now engaged to her new fiance Oliver Maier..The couple got engaged early Thursday morning while on a tropical getaway to the Cheval Blanc maison in St. Barth. Theyre planning on flying back to the states to pick up her ring at Van Cleef, and saying their I dos on Monday at a ceremony at the Justice of the Peace in New York City, surrounded by friends including Staubs pal and RHONJ costar Teresa Giudice, according toIm madly in love, Staub told. Im feeling elated and excited for the next stage of my life. Im going to marry the man of my possible dreams and hopefully Ill spend the rest of my life in bliss.The publication reports that Maier is German and French and he works as the managing director of Speyside Equity, a private equity firm based out of New York City.Oliver reveals that hes also the Duke of Provence, something Staub says she didnt know about until recently. Maier says his family owns 15 vineyards in the South of France as well as two castles. Their marriage would mean that Staub would become a duchess, reportsStaub confirmed her relationship with Maier on Monday, when she shared a photo of them kissing on Nikki Beach in front of a rainbow.The two had met in October through a mutual friend whom Maier was dating at the time, though didnt start their romance until sharing a passionate kiss.I quite frankly couldnt stand him when I first met him, Staub jokes, explaining that she took some time to get used to the blunt characteristics of Maiers personality. Hes so strong-willed, and at first, I read that as rude, and arrogant and entitled. It wasnt until I got to know him that I saw the other side.She says she wasnt looking for love, either, after her tumultuous, 10-month-long marriage to Caffrey. I wasnt open to it, she confesses. I was ready to just go out with my girlfriends in Manhattan. I didnt want this.Maier, though. He was determined and pursued Staub, attending dinners with her and her friends until he swept her off to St. Barths, where their romance blossomed.People dont like to take a risk, but I took a risk, he stresses. Danielles one of the smartest people Ive met. People have preconceived notions about her from reality TV, but shes a smart women. And I was instantly attracted to that.Oliver revealed that he pursued Staub for weeks. Her friends encouraged her to go for it, she says. Eventually, Maier went in for the kiss.In that moment I said, Wow, Staub recalls. I still tried to push it off, but as the weeks went on, he did not let off the throttle, and he pursued me adamantly. And he got what he wanted. We fell madly in love.As for his ex, Maier takes the blame for how their relationship ended. I didnt intend for it to happen that way, its my mistake. If you have to blame it on someone, blame it on me, not Danielle, he says. I care about Danielle. Shes phenomenal, comes from a good family and is beautiful beyond belief. Im happy were together.The couple plan on living in New York City, though Staub wants to purchase her home in New Jersey for her daughters. Most likely well be spending a lot of time in France, she gushes. Well be going to castles and all that, and living in Paris for a certain amount of months out of the year.Its going to be far different than Jersey, thats for sure, she says.Source/Photo Credit: PEOPLE , Instagram, Bravo More sad news for Teresa Giudice and her family. Apparently, ICE officials plan on detaining Joe Giudice immediately after he has completed his three-year prison sentence on March 14.ICE expects the Bureau of Prisons Allenwood Low Federal Correctional Institution to honor our detainer, and Mr. Guidice will be taken into ICE custody, an official toldAs we previously reported, Joe was ordered on Wednesday, October 10, to be deported from the United States to his native country Italy, according to. Based upon the law, I find you deportable and ineligible for any kind of relief, Judge John Ellington said during a hearing, the website reported. Mr. Giudice, no matter how this turns out, I wish you the best. I decided this case as a matter of law.Joe appeared at the hearing via teleconference from his Allenwood, Penn. prison reacted to the judge's ruling. I dont understand how I can be deported on this case. If you will, Ill tell you my side. I shouldnt even be here right now. I have to go back and tell my kids this, and theyve been waiting to hear from me.Giudice's lawyer filed an appeal the following month, which is currently pending.Apparently, Joe will promptly be handed over to immigration officials, and placed in a detention center. If he doesn't win his appeal, hell be sent away to Italy.Photo Credit: Google Images FPSC Islamabad Jobs 2019 for Officer IT & Technical Expert Latest Federal Public Service Commission FPSC Management Posts Islamabad 2021 Federal Public Service Commission FPSC Islamabad, Pakistan Army, Government of Pakistan are seeks candidates for the posts of Chief, Inspector, Assistant Private Secretary, Radiologist, Computer Operator, Assistant Chief, Director General, Research Associate, Research Officer, Monitoring Officer, IT Expert, IT Officer, General Staff Officer, Technical Expert, Electrical Expert, Mechanical Expert, Electronics Expert, Computer Science Expert, Information Technology Expert, Medical Officer. How to Apply on Federal Public Service Commission FPSC Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. 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. UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution to proclaim 2021-2030 the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The aim is to support and scale up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide and raise awareness of the importance of successful ecosystem restoration, within existing structures and available resources, says the resolution. It stresses that ecosystem restoration and conservation contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as other related UN endeavors, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change. The non-binding resolution encourages member states to foster political will, the mobilization of resources, capacity-building, scientific research and cooperation and momentum for ecosystem restoration at the global, regional, national and local levels. Member states are also asked to mainstream ecosystem restoration in policies and plans to address current national developmental priorities and challenges due to the degradation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity loss and climate change vulnerability. They are asked to develop and implement policies and plans to prevent ecosystem degradation, build on and reinforce existing restoration initiatives, facilitate synergies and a holistic view of how to achieve international commitments and national priorities through the restoration of ecosystems. Member states are encouraged to promote the sharing of experiences and good practices in ecosystem conservation and restoration. A majority of Iowa's 317,000 unpaid family caregivers are at least 50 years old and maintain regular working hours while also providing unpaid care to a family member or other patient. (AARP) UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Friday raised awareness about the "crucial importance" of marine species to sustainable development on the occasion of World Wildlife Day. Under the theme of "Life below water: for people and planet" this year, the world day, which falls on March 3, was celebrated at an event co-organized by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), UN Development Programme and UN Environment Programme. "Marine species provide indispensable ecosystem services. Plankton enrich the atmosphere with oxygen, and more than three billion people depend on marine coastal biodiversity for sustenance and livelihoods," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his message to the day, which was read at the event by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero. The UN chief noted that marine and coastal resources and the industries they support are estimated to be worth at least three trillion U.S. dollars a year, some 5 percent of global GDP. He called for sustainable managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, which are the objectives of goal 15 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. The Financial Supervisory Service headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap By Jhoo Dong-chan Financial authorities will tighten monitoring on foreigners' unfair trading practices this year, an official said Tuesday. Unveiling its regulatory directions for 2019, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will crack down on activities that violate market principles. The move comes after a dramatic growth in the number of unfair trades by foreign investors. "The agency exposed 27 unfair trading practices last year, up 17 from the previous year's 10 cases," an FSS official said. "Of them, some foreign investors were found to have engaged in high-frequency trading by utilizing computer algorithms to gain excessive profits in the short term." High-frequency trading refers to an automated trading platform used often by large investment banks, institutional investors and hedge funds to utilize computerized algorithms to transact a large number of orders at extremely high speeds. In August, the Korea Exchange (KRX) investigated the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Seoul office for allegedly disturbing the stock market through its high-frequency trading practices. The issue came after a group of individual local investors filed petitions to the presidential office, saying they suffered huge losses due to large, high-frequency trades and short selling against Korean stocks through the brokerage since last year, the London-based Financial Times reported. Separate from its move to crack down on such high-frequency trading, the FSS said it will also look more closely into possible false disclosure practices this year. The measure follows the year's outlandish fairy tale-like disclosure about a sunken Russian "treasure ship," which a Korean firm claimed to have found in the East Sea. Shinil Group said in mid-July it had found a shipwreck, which it believed to be the 6,200-ton Dmitrii Donskoi that went down near Ulleung Island during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. It claimed the shipwreck held 200 tons of gold worth 150 trillion won ($134 billion), but the claim was later revealed as a web of fraudulent and deceitful practices to rake in money through false information and stock price manipulation. Shinil Group was also accused of making unfair gains by manipulating the share price of Jeil Steel, a tech-heavy Kosdaq-listed firm. The share price of Jeil Steel, which Shinil Group allegedly agreed to acquire shares of, also skyrocketed on the day immediately after the announcement, but then plunged for three consecutive days due to mounting suspicions about the authenticity of the find. "In order to protect investors, the FSS will look more closely into authenticity of such disclosures," the official said. The FSS added it will also strengthen its crackdown on "naked short selling" this year. Short selling refers to the sale of borrowed shares in the hopes of making a profit from the price fall by buying the shares back at a lower price. And naked shorting refers to the practice of conducting short selling without actually borrowing the stocks first, which is prohibited in Korea. Last year from May 30 to 31, global financial giant Goldman Sachs International and its Seoul branch were fined 7.5 billion won ($6.6 million) for short selling stocks without borrowing them first. It was the biggest penalty imposed on a financial company over such a trading irregularity. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong, and Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un, inspect the guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. Kim paid an official visit to Vietnam on Friday and Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Shen) HANOI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The top leaders of Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed on Friday to facilitate high-level visits, and expand the exchange of all-level delegations via the party, state and mass organization channels, Vietnam News Agency reported. The consensus was reached during talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong Un, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam on Friday and Saturday. They will effectively maintain regular dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, including the deputy ministerial-level political consultation and the Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Scientific-Technological Cooperation; explore the possibility of mutually-beneficial collaboration in fields suitable to each side; and expand cultural, arts, sports, and people-to-people exchanges. Vietnam always treasures the traditional friendship with the DPRK and want to further intensify ties between the two parties and two countries, Trong said. Kim, for his part, hoped to share experience in national construction and socio-economic development with Vietnam. Also on Friday, Kim met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, respectively. A week after a break-in at the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spanish authorities were on Friday still trying to shed light on the mysterious theft of computers and office equipment. Ten men burst into the embassy on February 22 brandishing fake handguns, according to sources close to the enquiry cited by Spanish media. The intruders then tied up and gagged several embassy employees before making off with documents, computers and telephones. They escaped in two embassy vehicles with diplomatic plates which were later abandoned. According to the El Pais newspaper, investigators have not ruled out "political espionage". The Spanish government has said little about the mysterious incident. "An enquiry is underway into what happened," said a foreign ministry spokesman, without elaborating. The interior ministry said the North Korean embassy had not filed any official complaint. North Korea's ambassador to Spain was expelled in 2017 as a "persona non grata" after nuclear tests and missile firings by Pyongyang. Since then, North Korea has had diplomatic representation in Madrid but no ambassador. AFP was unable to contact the North Korean embassy by phone for comment. The only element that the government and police have officially confirmed was that on February 22 a North Korean woman who was slightly injured was picked up on a street near the embassy. According to the media, she is believed to have been the one who gave the alert. Alejandro Cao de Benos, a Spaniard who has worked since 2002 for the Pyongyang regime as a delegate for cultural relations, told AFP what he learned from "administrative technicians". "The only thing that I know directly is that there was the theft of computer equipment and mobile phones and that the personnel are fine after having suffered some minor injuries," said Cao de Benos, who is also president of the Korean Friendship Association. The former ambassador to Madrid, Kim Hyok Chol, is today the North Korean envoy to the United States and was involved in preparations for the recent summit in Hanoi between Kim Jung Un and Donald Trump. The talks failed to reach a nuclear accord, though both sides say they are keeping the door of diplomacy open. (AFP) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Monument to War Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday. During his last day in Hanoi, laid large red-and-yellow wreaths at the war memorial and at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, dedicated to the modern nation's founder, as he continued a "friendly" state visit meant to cement his image as a confident world leader after his summit with President Donald Trump failed to produce a breakthrough in denuclearization talks. AP North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday. Reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Monument to War Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday. EPA By Park Si-soo North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wrapped up his five-day visit to Vietnam, Saturday, after failing to reach a much-anticipated denuclearization deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. At the last event on his schedule, Kim paid tribute at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum at 9 a.m. before heading to the Dong Dang Railway Station on the Vietnamese border, where he boarded his special train and embarked on the 3,800-kimoleter trip to North Korea's capital of Pyongyang. If the train follows the same route and at the same speed as it did traveling to Vietnam, Kim's trip could take more than 60 hours. It is not clear yet whether the North Korean leader will stop over in Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the outcome of his summit with Trump. The second Kim-Trump summit, held in Hanoi Feb. 27 and 28, ended abruptly without an agreement, to the dismay of people who had expected it would produce a binding diplomatic resolution ending the North's nuclear and missile programs. The failure is also considered to have dealt a blow to Kim's political leadership. For now, both sides appear to be passing the buck for the failure Trump claims Kim demanded too much, while Kim says vice versa. A train which will transport North Korean leader Kim Jong-un back to North Korea is seen at Dong Dang Railway Station in Vietnam, Saturday. Reuters A North Korean bodyguard stands in front of a train at Dong Dang Railway Station on the border between Vietnam and China, Saturday. The train will take North Korean leader Kim Jong-un back to Pyongyang following his abortive summit with U.S. President Donald Trump held in Hanoi. Reuters One of a few achievements Kim made during the visit was reaffirming close ties between the North and Vietnam. In meetings with top officials there, including Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Kim expressed the hope for stepped-up cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in all areas and for the upgrading of bilateral ties, according to Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency, Saturday. Kim was the first North Korean leader in 55 years to visit Vietnam following his late grandfather and nation founder, Kim Il-sung, who traveled there in 1958 and 1964. Local residents wave North Korean and Vietnamese flags as they wait for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's arrival at Dong Dang Railway Station on the border with China. Reuters Members of the media wait for the arrival of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Dong Dang Railway Station on Vietnam's border with China, Saturday, from where his train will depart for Pyongyang. Reuters In this Aug. 14, 2018 file photo, Kwak Ye-nam, right, talks with President Moon Jae-in at her residence in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Yonhap A South Korean woman forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II died Saturday, her family announced the same day. Kwak Ye-nam died at the age of 94 after suffering from chronic pneumonia since 2015, according to the family. Kwak was forced into sexual slavery in 1944 at age 19, during Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula (1910-45). Following the end of World War II, she lived in China for 60 years before coming to South Korea in 2004. The US military and South Korea are planning to "discontinue" annual large-scale military exercises as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to improve ties with North Korea, a US official told AFP Friday. The comment from the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came shortly after the conclusion of Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, which ended without a formal agreement but with both sides suggesting they will keep talking. NBC News first reported that the Foal Eagle drill which usually take place in the spring would be scrapped, citing two unnamed US defense officials. Foal Eagle is the biggest of the regular joint exercises held by the allies, and has always infuriated Pyongyang, which condemned it as preparations for invasion. In the past, it has involved 200,000 South Korean troops and 30,000 US soldiers. It overlaps with the Key Resolve exercise. Since Trump's first summit with Kim last year in Singapore, the US and Seoul have scaled back or scrapped several joint military drills, and US bombers are no longer flying over South Korea. Trump has repeatedly complained that the annual exercises were too costly. NBC reported that they would be replaced with "smaller, mission-specific training." The Republican president however has ruled out withdrawing any of the 28,500 US forces based in South Korea to defend it from its nuclear-armed neighbor, which invaded in 1950. Any such drawdown would face strong pushback from the US Congress and Japan, whose conservative government is deeply wary of North Korea's intentions. (AFP) By Park Si-soo Police requested an arrest warrant Saturday for the Russian captain of a cargo ship that collided with a bridge in Busan. The 5,998-ton vessel Seagrand crashed into the side of the Gwangan Bridge, Thursday afternoon, damaging the lower part of the structure. Before the incident, it also hit several other ships, injuring three sailors on board. The Russian captain was drunk when the incident took place, according to the Korean Coast Guard. The captain reportedly claimed he drank after the collision and was not at the helm when the vessel ran into the bridge. Police are analyzing footage from nearby surveillance cameras By Younghoon David Kim When U.S. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, he will find himself up against the issue that has always been the stumbling block preventing the North from coming in from the cold. That is the question of trust. Why, the North Koreans ask, should we trust the Americans and their South Korean allies and lay down our best weapons? Instead, why don't they accept us as a nuclear power and agree to sign a Korean War peace treaty? Why, the Americans ask in turn, should we trust you to honor any agreement we make when you have never done so in the past? If the solution to the Korea question is for North Korea to make a strategic refocus, from security to economic development, then this trust question becomes the central issue that needs to be addressed for the desired change to happen. This is easier said than done and we must accept that the solution is long-term. Unfortunately, this means whatever happens at the summit, those who want immediate clarity are going to be very critical of Trump for failing to achieve it. But the likely way forward toward a Korean War peace treaty and a possible freeze of North Korea's nuclear program would include some measure of sanctions-lifting that allows Kim to pursue the economic development he desires. The more this development takes shape, the stronger the incentive for North Koreans not to sabotage the progress. Among the plans under consideration, the proposed pipeline bringing Russian gas through North Korea to South Korea serves the economic and political interests of the United States and North Korea, as well as other regional players. It is not directly beneficial to North Korea from an energy viewpoint, as North Korea uses coal and not natural gas. But the North Koreans will receive useful rental payments to allow the pipeline to cross its territory. More importantly, it is a way for North Korea to demonstrate its new reliability and to build the trust needed for expanded trade and investment. The pipeline idea has been around since the mid-1990s, but politics has always prevented progress. North Korea's previous leader, Kim Jong-il, refused to allow feasibility studies along the 750-kilometer North Korean portion of the proposed route. Amid the current thaw, however, the chances are that his son and the new leader, Kim Jong-un, will see this project as a chance to demonstrate good faith. Ironically, it is the United States that is lukewarm to the idea of Russians selling gas to South Korea. The stumbling block here is the sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. However, looked at more broadly, and more long-term, the pipeline project fits with strategic U.S. interests. For example, closer ties are going to bring North Korea under greater scrutiny and pressure to improve its human rights. Faced with such pressure, the North Koreans may be tempted to misbehave. But the gas pipeline would be a major incentive for them not to overreact to criticism. At the same time, the pipeline is significant in terms of Russian relations with the United States and the Northeast Asian region. The Russians are looking to reduce their dependence on gas sales to Europe and diversify to Asia. While the timing may not be right now, eventual U.S. approval of the pipeline project would go some way toward improving U.S.-Russia relations. In addition, the pipeline would signal a return of a measure of Russian influence with North Korea, which would go some way toward balancing the major power influence on the Korean Peninsula. Given this, rather than be motivated by a desire to disadvantage the Russians, the United States should support the pipeline in line with its strategic interests in the region. The longer-term vision for the United States should be of a Northeast Asia that operates on free-market and democratic values. Such a region would be an economic powerhouse and the United States would naturally be a key member. As a preliminary step toward bringing North Korea in from the cold and as part of a broader gas grid delivering energy to the region, the pipeline moves the region in the direction of future economic integration. The United States should be on the right side of such a positive initiative from the outset. Younghoon David Kim is chairman of the London-based World Energy Council and chairman and CEO of the Daesung Group. By Andrew Hammond The abrupt end to President Donald Trump's summit meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un may strike some as a huge embarrassment for a president who portrays himself as the ultimate dealmaker. It wasn't. Instead, Trump deserves credit for leaving Vietnam when he concluded that Kim was insisting on unreasonable terms _ the lifting of all U.S. economic sanctions if the North dismantled its nuclear complex in Yongbyon. Before the summit, it was thought North Korea might decommission that site in exchange for the U.S. agreeing to a formal statement ending the Korean War and perhaps relief from some sanctions. But Trump said Kim demanded much more: the lifting of sanctions "in their entirety." Added Trump, "We couldn't do that." (North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho disputed Trump's account, saying that the North asked for the lifting of only those sanctions that "hamper the civilian economy and the livelihood of our people.") Trump and his advisers had indicated they were willing to make concessions and accept incremental steps from North Korea rather than immediate denuclearization. Reportedly the administration was even willing to defer its demand that the North provide an inventory of its nuclear stockpile and ballistic missiles. But in the end, Kim apparently wasn't content with such concessions. The president's decision to leave without even a vague agreement is especially notable in light of his boasting about his personal relationship with Kim. (He had said, only half-jokingly, that "we fell in love.") But it was still the right decision, and it doesn't necessarily mean the engagement is over or that the U.S. and North Korea won't reach an agreement in the future. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan walked away from a summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland, after failing to reach a sweeping agreement on reducing nuclear arsenals. But the U.S. and the Soviets continued to communicate, and in 1987 Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF) treaty, which grew out of discussions in Reykjavik. (Irony alert: The Trump administration has announced that the U.S. is withdrawing from that agreement.) Trump has been widely criticized for being too eager to "make a deal" and overconfidence in his ability to bond with foreign leaders. His decision to reject an unacceptable offer from Kim may reflect the counsel of harder-headed advisers, but the final decision was his. He has acted against type, and his critics should thank him for that. The above editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. North Korean leader should be inspired by 'Doi Moi' reforms North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam, Tuesday morning, for his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, after almost 66 hours on his train. Kim traveled through various Chinese cities, starting with Dandong, spending more than 50 hours passing through Chinese territory to reach Vietnam. This shows Beijing is extending special consideration to Kim's second summit with the U.S. leader. By traveling across China, Kim is sending out a message to the U.S. that China is on his side as he engages in the denuclearization negotiations with the world's greatest superpower. Even before Kim arrived in Vietnam, his choice to take the train captured global media attention. The odd choice to take the train, rather than fly, is reminiscent of Kim's late grandfather, North Korea's founding leader Kim Il-sung, who also traveled to Vietnam in 1958 and 1964 by train. His father and predecessor Kim Jong-il also chose to take the train for overseas trips. So far, Kim has shown a more open leadership style than his father, who rarely gave public speeches or traveled abroad. The young North Korean leader has shown an enthusiasm for overseas trips. Kim visited China multiple times last year for summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, including before and right after the June 12 summit with Trump. Most recently, he was in Beijing Jan. 7 to 10 for a fourth summit with Xi as negotiations were underway to arrange another U.S-North Korea summit. He flew to Singapore last year for his first summit with Trump and surprised the world by taking in the sights. Kim's arrival in Vietnam was met with a huge welcome from the Vietnamese government as well as the people as it is the first time in 54 years for a North Korean leader to visit the country. Aside from the denuclearization negotiations, all eyes are on Kim's schedule in Vietnam. There is high anticipation over the kind of sites he may visit. It remains to be seen what kind of impression he will take from the country that was once a foe of the U.S., but now has become a friend and has grabbed the international spotlight with its swiftly growing economy. Vietnam, which has initiated the "Doi Moi" reforms since the 1980s, is a country that can serve as a model for North Korea as it seeks a much-needed economic leap. Now U.S.-Vietnam relations are marked by burgeoning trade and people-to-people exchanges. There is hope for the U.S. and North Korea to end the years of hostilities and start a new relationship if the second Trump-Kim summit goes well and produces tangible results for peace. We hope the openness that was not found in his predecessors signals Kim's new-found determination to join the global community and embark on a path of peace, prosperity and economic development. KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Colorful and unique kites from all around the world filled the skies over Pasir Gudang in Malaysia's southern state of Johor late on Friday as the 24th edition of the World Kite Festival kicks off. The five-day festival will see the participation of hundreds of kite enthusiasts. Among the highlights at the opening ceremony was a demonstration by a Chinese kite flying team who demonstrated an LED equipped stunt kite. Participants from around the world will participate in kite exhibitions and workshops, a traditional kite making competition, Malay kite-fighting competition as well as cultural shows and performances by local artists. Tan Xinbo, who led the Chinese team, said China had sent some of its best kite flyers to Malaysia, and will compete in various events during the festival. Korean boatmen circa 1900s. By Robert Neff In the 1890s, the seas surrounding Jeju Island were rich with fish and natural resources from which the islanders made their living. Many Japanese fishermen, dismayed at the increasing barrenness of their own waters, began to appear in increasing numbers off Jeju. In the summer of 1890, the Jeju islanders petitioned the Korean government for help in obtaining justice for a murder. Reportedly, a Japanese fishing boat had docked at a small fishing village and a sailor had wandered into the village without permission. When confronted, he drew his sword and murdered Yang Chong-sin. The islanders claimed the Japanese often came ashore, stole livestock and terrified the people. A Japanese paper disputed the claim that it was murder instead referring to it as manslaughter. The paper claimed that some crew members from a Japanese whaling ship were sent ashore seeking fresh water, but the villagers refused and then attacked the sailors. The Japanese, defending themselves, killed a local high official. The following year the conflicts increased in severity. A California newspaper reported that a Japanese fishing vessel from Nagasaki sought shelter from an approaching storm and landed its crew on the island. As soon as they landed, they were attacked by the islanders and the Japanese responded with guns and swords. The short battle resulted in the death of a Korean and several wounded and one severely wounded Japanese sailor. Jeju City circa 1900s. The governor of Jeolla had a different version of the events in June. He claimed that 20-30 Japanese fishing vessels suddenly appeared to "steal the fish" and that they had tied up some Korean fishermen and thrown them into the water. When other Korean fishermen tried to board the Japanese vessels, the Koreans were shot. Violent incidents with Japanese fishermen were increasing and the people were afraid. A petition to the government claimed that "tens of thousands of people on the island depend on fishing but have lost their livelihoods because of the Japanese." It ended by declaring, "The people's plight is pitiful." In September, an English-language newspaper in Nagasaki, reported that disputes between the Jeju islanders and the "Japanese fishermen who make a practice of poaching on Corean [sic] fishing grounds" were common occurrences and that the latest conflict had resulted "in no less than 40y Japanese [being] killed or wounded." Another English-language newspaper, this one in Yokohama, published an article translated from a Japanese-language newspaper with a different and much more inflammatory view. It claimed that "persons employed by the corrupt officials in [Jeju] continually shoot at the Japanese fishing boats, which in defense return the shots." It estimated that 50 to 60 people had been killed or wounded. Eight Koreans were said to be among the dead. "The [Jeju] folks are greatly excited by the deaths among their fishermen, while the Japanese, on their side, are determined not to be illegally deprived of their fishing rights," the paper said. A Japanese port filled with ships circa 1900s. In the same Yokohama paper, however, another article adjusted the death toll, claiming that the Japanese fishermen had "suffered little if at all, at the hands of the Koreans, for instead of 40 Japanese having lost their lives as was originally reported, the figure was now adjusted to 15 Koreans injured and one killed." It also noted that Korean authorities blamed the Japanese for the violence. "[Unlicensed] Japanese boats are in the habit of coming to [Jeju] to fish, and that their inmates, not content with catching fish by legitimate methods, resort to robbery and treat the Koreans with great violence when the latter resist." Mr. Hayashi, the Japanese consul at Jemulpo, aboard the gunboat Chokai, was sent to the island to try to alleviate the tension. He was marginally successful. In October 1891, the American Minister to Korea, Augustine Heard, explained to the Secretary of State that the problem was caused by a clause in a treaty between Japan and Korea concerning fishing rights. The Japanese gunboat Chokai, circa 1889. (Picture from Wikipedia) By Kwok Waifung Kwok Waifung A national movement to mandate stable hourly schedules for low-wage workers expanded to Los Angeles on Friday, as City Council members introduced a Fair Workweek measure that could affect some 70,000 retail employees in the city. Under a proposed ordinance, large retailers would have to give workers two weeks advance notice of what days and hours they are expected to work. Employees would have the right to request schedule changes and the ability to decline hours without retaliation. And retailers would have to allow them at least 10 free hours between shifts, a measure targeting a practice known as clopening, in which workers are scheduled to help close a store late at night and must return early the next morning for its opening. It is a minor inconvenience for employers to provide a stable workweek, said Councilman Paul Koretz, a co-sponsor of the proposal along with City Council President Herb Wesson and Councilman Curren Price. But it makes a life-and-death difference for workers who have an unreliable schedule that changes from week to week. Advertisement The measure asserts: Retail workers have unpredictable, last-minute and fluctuating workweeks over which they have no control making it difficult to predict their income, make time for school or care for children. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce signaled that businesses will probably oppose any regulations. Predictive scheduling is often actually restrictive scheduling, imposing a one-size-fits-all system that threatens the flexibility of employees and employers, Jessica Duboff, vice president of the Chambers Center for Business Advocacy, wrote in an email. As public attention has focused on the role of erratic shift work in poverty and economic inequality, cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose and Emeryville, Calif., have passed workweek ordinances. New Hampshire and Oregon have statewide statutes, but scheduling bills died in recent years in the California Legislature after the state Chamber of Commerce labeled them job-killers. Business Heres what holiday retail workers wish you knew Long hours, time away from family, and bad tempered customers make Black Friday the most challenging day for retail workers. The Los Angeles ordinance would apply to retailers with at least 300 employees worldwide. The top affected chains, with city workforces ranging from about 3,200 employees to about 1,900, include Target, Smart & Final, Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Home Depot, True Value, Vons, Trader Joes and Goodwill. Los Angeles labor activists, community groups and nonprofits serving low-wage workers began organizing a campaign to address scheduling more than a year ago. A UCLA Labor Center study last March reported that 77% of retail workers surveyed got less than a weeks notice of their schedule, and 44% experienced clopening. The initiative, led by the labor-aligned group Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, follows the decade-long successful drive to raise the minimum wage in the city, now at $13.25 an hour for large employers and $12 for small businesses. By 2021, all city employers will be required to pay $15 an hour, and by 2023 the $15 floor will apply to all employers statewide. Despite the hourly raise, however, many low-wage workers report they are unable to get a predictable 40-hour week, even as their employers hire part-timers to fill on-call shifts. Under the ordinance, employers would have to offer a good faith estimate of weekly work hours at time of hire, including potential opportunities for full-time work and predictability pay, or compensation for canceled shifts. What good is a minimum wage if employees are unable to work enough hours to make ends meet? said Price. With the Fair Workweek, were going to finally address this issue for retail workers. Alissa Harrison, a cashier at Whole Foods, says fluctuating hours leave her little time with friends and family. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Other city ordinances cover fast food outlets too, but Los Angeles organizers began with retail as a strategic first step. Many retail employees are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which is throwing its weight behind the scheduling measure, while restaurant workers are largely unorganized. This is just the beginning, said Nelson Motto, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economys Fair Workweek Campaign director. This problem is in other industries, among janitors, as well as restaurant and warehouse workers. We can expand this to other sectors. However, despite the clout of organized labor in the city, scheduling reform is not assured. Opponents could mobilize once the wording of the ordinance is drafted by the city attorney. The measure orders up studies on other cities policies, and on enforcement costs and procedures. Public hearings will be held and the process will probably take until the end of the year. If it passes, the ordinance would not take effect until mid-2020. The instability in low-wage sectors has been fueled by a trend toward lean staffing, enabled by just-in-time scheduling software that matches employee hours to predicted customer demand. Justin Orkin, 33, checks his schedule at a downtown Los Angeles Target store on an app run by Kronos, a Massachusetts company. For the last two months, his weekly hours working in the grocery section for $13.75 an hour have been cut from 40 to 26. Some part-timers get cut to just a day a week, he said. They usually cut back from early January to early May, Orkin said, adding that he has had to use vacation, holiday and sick days to be able to pay the rent at his studio apartment. Target, a non-union chain, does not offer the compensation for reduced hours that many union contracts require, he said. The proposed ordinance, he added, would make retailers more humane. It is all about stability. Not having stress. And knowing your job is there for you. A Target spokeswoman said schedules are posted at least 10 days in advance, adding Targets scheduling practices balance the needs of our guests, the unique demands of retail and our team members needs. Alissa Harrison, 32, used to work close to 40 hours a week as a Whole Foods Market cashier in downtown Los Angeles. But when Amazon bought the chain and raised hourly wages to $15, they cut our hours and hired a bunch of part time people, she said. Now she gets as little as 32 hours weekly. Your hours fluctuate, but what doesnt fluctuate is your rent, your phone bill, your college loans, she said. Her car died in January, and she cant afford to replace it, so she takes two buses to work from her studio apartment in Torrance often a two-hour commute. In a single week, Harrison said she might start at 11 a.m. one day and at 6:45 a.m. the day after. The next day she might start at 1 p.m. and get off at 9:30 p.m. and have to be back at 7 a.m. When your schedule is all over the place, you miss out on sleep. You miss out on time with family and friends. You cant get to church. A second job working weekends for Instacart as a grocery shopper at a Ralphs in Manhattan Beach is jeopardized when Whole Foods schedules her for a Sunday, she said. If she declines a Sunday shift, Whole Foods will penalize her with points. Points lead to warnings and an eventual dismissal, she added. You feel helpless. A Whole Foods spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. margot.roosevelt@latimes.com Twitter: @margotroosevelt It was 1 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, just an hour after SpaceX launched its Crew Dragon capsule for the first time, and Elon Musk was drained. Calling the NASA test launch super stressful, the chief executive later recalled how SpaceXs first three attempts at launching its early Falcon 1 rocket ended in failure. If Falcon 1s fourth launch had not worked, that would have been it for us, Musk said. But that launch was a success, and this time around Musk had good fortune on his first attempt to launch a space capsule. Advertisement The unmanned Crew Dragon, which is designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:49 a.m. local time Saturday from the same Florida pad where Apollo and space shuttle missions once launched. The capsule, with some 400 pounds of cargo and a mannequin passenger named Ripley, deployed from the rockets second stage about 11 minutes after liftoff, sending it on a trajectory to the space station, where it is scheduled to dock early Sunday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket landed on a floating sea platform in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 minutes after liftoff. With Friday nights launch, Musks Hawthorne company is now one step closer to ferrying NASA astronauts to the station and accomplishing SpaceXs longtime goal of flying humans to space. Its been 17 years to get to this point, he said during a post-launch news conference Saturday. We have to dock with [the] station, we have to come back, but so far its worked. Weve passed some of the riskiest items. The launch came as Musk juggled challenges at his other company, Tesla Inc. A few days earlier, he announced that the Palo Alto electric-car maker would start taking orders for its Model 3, a long-promised $35,000 vehicle, but would also be closing many of the companys retail outlets. The companys shares fell sharply on the news. Musk was tweeting with Tesla owners about the companys plans shortly before Fridays SpaceX launch. About 20 minutes before liftoff, he signed off for a bit, saying, Need to get back to SpaceX launch control. Fridays launch was the first test flight for NASAs commercial crew program, a public-private partnership involving SpaceX and Boeing Co., which have contracts worth a combined $6.8 billion to build separate craft to transport astronauts to the space station. Since the space shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia to carry its astronauts to the station. SpaceX and NASA employees joined forces Friday night to monitor the launch, which allowed the two groups to work together ahead of the next test mission, which will have two NASA astronauts aboard. That launch is set for no earlier than July. From our standpoint, this is what you want to see, said Doug Hurley, one of the two NASA astronauts who will be on that crewed test flight. You want to see the team hitting its stride as we get ready to put people on these things. Boeings first flight test of its CST-100 Starliner capsule without crew aboard is set for April, with a crewed test expected no earlier than August. Already, NASA relies on SpaceX and Northrop Grumman Corp. to ferry supplies to the space station in uncrewed capsules. SpaceX has launched 16 resupply missions so far with its Dragon cargo capsule. The Dragon cargo capsules design has a few significant differences from its crew compatriot. For one, the crew capsule will dock autonomously at the space station, while the cargo capsule is grappled by a robotic arm. Musk said Saturday that the Crew Dragons nose cone opened as expected, which will allow the capsule to dock. The crew capsule will also have the necessary life-support systems on board, but before SpaceX flies humans, it will have to comb through the data with NASA from Fridays flight to make sure all of the capsules systems performed as expected. This video image shows the dummy Ripley inside the Crew Dragon capsule during liftoff. (SpaceX) They will also be using the sensors on Ripley named after the fictional character in the Alien film series, a classic Musk touch to test the forces, acceleration and environment that astronauts would experience aboard the Crew Dragon, SpaceX executive Hans Koenigsmann said Thursday. Ripley also has a microphone behind her ear, allowing ground crews to hear what she hears. The systems on this uncrewed Crew Dragon capsule are very similar to the ones that will be on the next crewed flight, Koenigsmann said, but there is still some work to be done. The company is building another capsule for the launch that will carry astronauts. The capsule that launched Friday will be reused for an in-flight abort test currently set for June. The company will have to work through several outstanding issues noted prior to Fridays flight, such as understanding the full behavior of the pressure vessels in the Falcon 9 rockets second stage. Deformities in one of the vessels, which help maintain pressure in the rockets liquid oxygen tank, were implicated in a 2016 launch pad explosion that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and satellite. SpaceX and NASA will also continue testing the capsules parachute system and try to rectify a problem with the capsules thrusters, which did not operate optimally at certain temperatures during testing, NASA said Thursday. The space agencys new commercial partnerships represent a major shift in how NASA does business. For decades, the agency owned the vehicles that carried its astronauts to space, and contractors built the craft with heavy agency input. In the commercial crew program, NASA released a broad set of requirements for astronaut safety, but companies were free to design their craft to meet those standards. NASA then worked closely with SpaceX and Boeing to offer expertise and resources during the development process. This was kind of like co-designed by SpaceX and NASA in the sense that there was so much interaction and feedback, Musk said Saturday. This was a joint effort, really. Still, Musk said he was not celebrating yet. The Crew Dragon capsule must still dock with the space station early Sunday following the autonomous procedure SpaceX has never before done and then it is due to leave the space station and splash down Friday in the Atlantic Ocean, where a recovery ship will pick it up. Musk said Saturday that the capsules hypersonic reentry to Earth is probably my biggest concern. Crew Dragon has escape thruster pods integrated into the capsules side, making it less smooth than its cargo counterpart, he said. Even so, Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut who flew on three shuttle missions and served as former director of space operations at SpaceX, said seeing the capsule lift off was very emotional. There was an enormous amount of preparation and consultations with NASA, and of course all the engineering effort, said Reisman, now a USC astronautical engineering professor with an advisory role at SpaceX. Then to see it fly, Id be lying if I didnt say I had a huge lump in my throat when it took off. Just really wonderful to see. Congratulations on a very impressive launch @spacex & @nasa! Huge accomplishment! (we still have to wait for the successful docking with @space_station on Sunday) Bobak Ferdowsi (@tweetsoutloud) March 2, 2019 samantha.masunaga@latimes.com Twitter: @smasunaga Capsule reviews are by Charles McNulty (C.M.), Philip Brandes (P.B.), F. Kathleen Foley (F.K.F.), Margaret Gray (M.G.) and Daryl H. Miller (D.H.M.). Openings Cemetery of Tortured Souls Deceased Hollywood stars relive their final moments in this all-new horror spectacular. Zombie Joes Underground Theatre Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Sun, next Sun., Fri.-Sat., 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.; ends March 10. $15. (818) 202-4120. Diana World-premiere musical from Joe DiPietro and David Bryan explores the life and times of the late Princess of Wales. La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. Sun., 5 p.m.; Tue.-Wed., 7:30 p.m.; Thu.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; ends April 7. $76 and up. (858) 550-1010. The Living Room Series Staged reading of Boom (A Musical). The Blanks 2nd Stage Theatre, 6500 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Mon., 8 p.m. $15 suggested donation. (323) 661-9827. Advertisement Disneys Aladdin The national tour of the hit stage adaptation of the 1992 animated musical returns. Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Wed.-Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 7:30 p.m.; next Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m.; ends March 23. $26.50 and up. (714) 556-2787. Brian Justin Crum The Americas Got Talent star and Broadway veteran performs. Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Thu., 8:30 p.m. $25-$35; food and drink minimums apply. (866) 468-3399. Past Tense Carrie Mae Weems explores violence, gender politics and personal identity in this theater piece inspired by the Sophocles ancient Greek tragedy Antigone. CAP UCLA at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, DTLA, 929 S Broadway, L.A. Fri., 8 p.m. $29-$69. (310) 825-2101. My Big Gay Italian Wedding A same-sex couple deals with family, faith and other issues in Anthony Wilkinsons comedy. Hudson Theatre Main Stage, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 3 p.m.; ends March 31. $55. (323) 481-6890. Neil Bergs 50 Years of Rock & Roll The composer-lyricist uses songs and stories to explore rock musics influence on culture. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos. Fri., 8 p.m. $35-$65. (562) 916-8500. Paradise Laura Maria Censabellas drama about an unlikely scientific partnership between a Yemeni American teen and her high-school biology teacher. Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., L.A. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends March 31. $35. (323) 960-7724. Pure Native A Native American man tries to persuade the tribal council to sell his reservations water rights to a food conglomerate in this new comedy by Vickie Ramirez; presented by Native Voices at the Autry. Autry Museum of the American West, Wells Fargo Theater, 4700 Western Heritage Way, L.A. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat.-next Sun., 2 p.m.; ends March 24. $15, $25. (323) 495-4354. Rule My World Futuristic retelling of Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra. Long Beach Playhouse, Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2 p.m. $25. (562) 494-1014. Dont Tell My Mother! Nikki Levys storytelling series returns; with Transparents Alexandra Billings and others. Cafe Fais Do Do, 5257 W. Adams Blvd., L.A. Sat., 8 p.m. $20. www.dtmm-show.com. For the Love of (or, the roller derby play) Center Theatre Groups third Block Party series kicks off with a remount of Theatre of NOTEs staging of Gina Femias comedy-drama about a young lesbian and others involved in the sport of roller derby. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 6:30 p.m.; ends March 17. $25-$72; series passes available. (213) 628-2772. Its a Life Jewish Womens Theatre presents stories about death, grief and healing. The Braid, 2912 Colorado Ave., No.102, Santa Monica; other locations.Sat., 8 p.m.; ends March 28. $45, $50. (310) 315-1400. Light Years Away Three fifth-graders vie for the chance to visit a newly discovered planet in Laura Schellhardts kid-friendly tale. La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. Sat.-next Sun., 1 and 3 p.m. $9-$12. (858) 550-1010. Mean Gays Drag artist Peaches Christ stars in this new musical sendup of the 2004 comedy Mean Girls. The Montalban, 1615 N. Vine St., Hollywood. Sat., 4 and 8 p.m. $35 and up. (323) 461-6999. Photograph 51 The contributions of British scientist Rosalind Franklin to the field of DNA research are celebrated in Anna Zieglers new drama. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Sat., next Sun., 2 and 7:45 p.m.; ends March 24. $23 and up. (714) 708-5555. Sunjata Kamalenya Kid-friendly interactive show celebrates a legendary West African hero. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Sat.-next Sun., 1 p.m. $20. (714) 556-2787. Story Pirates Musical sketch comedy show for ages 5 and up. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Promenade Terrace, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. Sat., 2 p.m. $25. (310) 746-4000. Its Magic! Magic and variety acts from around the world. Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. Next Sun., 3 p.m. $55-$75. (562) 916-8500. One More Time: A Tribute Show Lynn Roberts remembers Red Skelton and Jan Sandwich salutes Debbie Reynolds. Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga. Next Sun., 2 p.m. $18-$25. (909) 477-2752. Critics Choices Hir Taylor Macs family drama doubles as a depiction of America in the midst of reassessing itself. Director Bart DeLorenzo and his four actors fearlessly propel this humorous/horrific tale of a young soldier who returns home to find it changed: His domineering, abusive father is debilitated; his mother is in charge; and his sibling is transitioning genders. Patriarchy is in decline, but Mac isnt delivering liberal claptrap, instead pushing back against beliefs of all kinds in this age of antagonism. (D.H.M.) Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A. Sun., next Sun., 2 p.m.; Wed., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends March 17. $32-$37. (310) 477-2055. Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider After spending 10 years in Chicago raising her daughter, Julia Sweeney returns to the local scene with this intensely personal, riotously funny solo show. Unguarded, uncensored, never holding back on her opinions about politics and religion, Sweeney mines comic gold from the ordinary once again proving she is one of the most talented monologists of her generation. (F.K.F) The Groundlings Theatre, 7307 Melrose Ave., L.A. Tue., 8 p.m. $20. (323) 934-4747. Ragtime: The Musical Based on E.L. Doctorows sweeping historical novel, this stage adaptation, with book by Terrence McNally and score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, swings for the narrative fences. Dramatic subtlety cant help getting lost in the swirl. But when Ragtime works, its glorious. A hugely ambitious undertaking for Pasadena Playhouse, the production I feared might overwhelm the company. But trust me, musical theater lovers: The show, pulled off with polish and panache, is one you wont want to miss. (C.M.) The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; Tue.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; ends March 9. $25 and up. (626) 356-7529. Smart Love Fine performances and a strikingly original premise elevate a witty but at times convoluted comedy about romantic possibilities afforded by the brave new world of ever-accelerating technology. (P.B.) Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd., Venice. Sun., next Sun., 3 p.m.; Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends March 17. $25-$34; discounts available. (310) 822-8392. Tiny Beautiful Things Advice columns and theaters have more in common than you might think, as the lovely, heartfelt stage adaptation by Nia Vardalos of Cheryl Strayeds collection of Dear Sugar columns reveals. The production, directed by James Vasquez, trusts in the drama of ordinary human struggle. Prepare for a cathartic release. Youll not only weep, but youll feel more emotionally intact for having done so. (C.M.) The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. Sun., next Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; Tue.-Wed., 7 p.m.; Thu.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; ends March 17. $30 and up. (619) 234-5623. Two Trains Running The seventh in August Wilsons deathless Century Cycle, a decade by decade dramatization of the 20th century African American experience, this play is set in 1969, as a catastrophic urban renewal project is blighting Pittsburghs once vibrant Hill District. In a faultless staging, director Michele Shay charts the fortunes of the hangers-on and survivors left in the aftermath, while the uniformly superb actors give such towering performances that to single out any one for praise would be a fools errand. They form an ensemble in the truest sense of the word a family of equals who support one another generously and magnificently in this not-to-be-missed production. (F.K.F.) Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., L.A. Ends Sun., 2 p.m. $35. (855) 326-9945. Witness Uganda: A Documentary Musical Dont let the oxymoronic subtitle or even the subject matter a young mans struggle to found an educational nonprofit in Africa scare you away from this new production in the Wallis studio space. The unlikely pairing of brutal disillusionment and musical theater results in unusually vivid and unexpectedly uplifting show, with a dazzling cast. (M.G.) Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Lovelace Studio Theater, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. Ends Sun., 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. $50. (310) 746-4000. My conversation with Sybrina Fulton started off with laughter. She had just participated in a panel discussion during the Obama Foundations My Brothers Keeper Alliance symposium in Oakland on Feb. 19 and her spirits seemed high. Its been seven years since her son, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Before February 2012 its safe to say not many of us had heard of her, Trayvon, or the stand your ground law that made Zimmermans killing of the unarmed 17-year-old justifiable to a large portion of the population. Since his death, Fulton, along with Trayvons father, Tracy Martin, and her son Jahvaris established the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Together they work to help end gun violence and help other families who have lost loved ones in similar fashion. Sadly it is a club no one wants to join but nevertheless continues to grow. Question: Is this something that you want to continue to be a part of for the rest of your life? Advertisement Answer: I dont think I have a choice. I think what Im doing now, Im compelled to do it. I think I have to do it because I have to speak up. I have to do my part its the reality and whats going on. So many issues of racial profiling, discrimination, inequality. Theres so many things going on I think for me I cant stop. :: I heard what she said yet I still dont understand how Fulton finds the strength to continue to put herself out there, as she had just done that afternoon in Oakland after all these years. After all these panel discussions. All these questions from journalists like me. She and I have spoken numerous times in the past at an airport, at the White House, fundraisers but this was our first formal interview. I was always more concerned about her well being than any story I could write. Even now I can sense myself not wanting to pry too much. Seven years is a long time for me, but Ive covered enough tragedies of this nature to know for parents it still feels like yesterday. A reality I was reminded of as the smile I was initially greeted with slowly disappeared and she turned her head slightly away from me. There was a deep breath and then silence. I saw her searching for her next words as I immediately regretted asking the question that triggered her pain. As I directed my gaze downward trying to provide some semblance of privacy, I was reminded of a line from Hamilton she is working through the unimaginable. :: Q: What does it mean to hear President Obama talk about Trayvon? A: Its an honor for a former president to even mention my sons name. Originally, he said that Trayvon could have been his son and then he said that he could have been Trayvon. And that right there means a lot because people look at President Obama as a role model. To think he could identify with what happened with Trayvon, and that it could have happened to any kid. It could have happened to any person of color. For him to even mention that, it says a lot about his character. It also says a lot about him being aware about whats going on in this country because so many people are so disconnected from whats actually happening. He actually understands the fight, the struggle. Even though hes on another level, he understands the struggle of people of color. Former President Barack Obama hugs Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry at the My Brothers Keeper Alliance event in Oakland on Feb. 19, 2019. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) Q: What do you think about Colin Kaepernick and his journey? A: I stand with Colin. Colin spoke out about something that was a reality for so many. And he put his career on the line, and he probably had a lot of people that were supporting him until he actually spoke out, until he actually took the knee. And then he probably turned around, and those people were no longer standing with him or kneeling with him. I think Kaepernick and Eric Reid should be commended for standing up for people who can not even repay them. It wasnt about the flag. It wasnt about the Star Spangled Banner and all those things that people want to make it about. It was the fact that so many African Americans were being shot and killed, and nobody was being held accountable. :: To mark the seven-year remembrance, Fulton posted Instagram pictures of celebrities such as Chadwick Bozeman and Issa Rae wearing a gray hoodie with the name of her fallen son printed on the front. Three weeks earlier, on what should have been his 24th birthday, she posted a picture of Trayvon sporting a big smile, bright eyes and a red Hollister T-shirt. My dearest son, on the day you were born, earth receive an amazing gift. And as painful as his death was for so many, that too has given us a gift the return of the black athletes voice. They are no longer content with keeping their collective heads down and collecting checks, and Trayvons death was the beginning of a reawakening that has only gained in strength. It doesnt make his early departure easy, but it made it matter. :: Q: Did Trayvon have a favorite athlete? A: He had a favorite team. Q: Which team? A: Well, its a college team in Miami. :: She took a deep breath followed once again by silence. The beauty of Fultons strength isnt the absence of pain, its her ability to proceed with it. :: Q: Is there an athlete that you would like to see get personally involved with the message and the work that youre trying to do? A: To see Steph Curry here means a lot to young people. [Curry spoke at the My Brothers Keeper event alongside Obama]. A lot of people look at these athletes and musicians as role models. And so to see them taking a step out, taking a stand on something, it may encourage them to take a stand. And a lot of times, professional people are so busy in their schedule that they dont want to spend their time or their talent to help pull somebody else in. I dont know. It means a lot to young people. :: I could tell from the look in her eyes and slight quiver in her voice, it meant a lot to her as well. How could it not? Seven years ago she set out on a journey to help others after her Trayvon was taken from her. Seven years later shes still on that journey and, for better and for worse, she does not walk it alone. Police have arrested a man on suspicion of attacking a conservative activist on UC Berkeleys campus in an incident that was recorded and widely shared online. Zachary Greenberg, who is not a UC Berkeley student, was arrested Friday and booked into jail, according to UC police. He is accused of punching Hayden Williams, also not a Cal student, on Feb. 19. Many conservatives were angered that it took 10 days for police to make the arrest. President Trumps son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted earlier this week about the apparent delay: Wonder if it would be the same if a conservative beat up a leftist on the Berkeley campus? Berkeley College Republicans posted a video of the incident on their Facebook page last week that has been viewed nearly half a million times. The video shows a man cursing and punching Williams in the face in Sproul Plaza, the main gathering place on campus. Advertisement Another conservative was brutally assaulted on our campus while recruiting for Turning Point USA by a tolerant, inclusive liberal, the Republican club posted on Facebook. This marks yet another incident where right-leaning individuals on the Berkeley campus have been put in danger for simply exercising their God-given rights to free expression. Williams is a field representative for the Leadership Institute, a nonprofit organization that trains conservative activists, he told Fox News. He had been invited to UC Berkeley to help Turning Point USA recruit members, he said. A sign on the table he manned on Sproul Plaza said Hate Crime Hoaxes Hurt Real Victims, referring to the recent incident involving Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of staging an attack against himself in Chicago last month. Williams said he thinks his attacker was angered by the sign. Every time Ive gone to help students at Berkeley for various clubs, theres always a student or a member of the campus community who will rip up our signs or flip over our table, but this is the first time its really escalated to this level of violence, Williams said on Fox News. UC Berkeley, the liberal enclave and birthplace of the free speech movement, has become a frequent setting for debates over the 1st Amendment and conservative beliefs in recent years. An event featuring right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was shut down by angry protests in February 2017, which was followed by a controversial rescheduling of a visit by conservative commentator Ann Coulter. Let there be no mistake, we strongly condemn violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason. That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol T. Christ said in a statement. Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering. Greenberg, 28, had been released on bail as of Friday night, according to jail records. soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com Twitter: @skarlamangla They came on bikes, on foot and in vehicles for the nightly dinner at Doheny State Beach. Some of them work, some have homes but most dont, and all of them were grateful for the ham, chicken and sandwiches dished out by volunteers from local churches. It helps because it means I save on groceries, said Mandy Pittock, a jewelry designer who arrived in a small motor home that she has slept and worked in since bailing out of an $1,800-monthly apartment she could no longer afford. Many people work hard to avoid the homeless. These volunteers embrace them But this act of charity, a ritual for roughly two decades in the affluent Orange County beach community of Dana Point, has been under attack by city officials and some residents. And theres sharp disagreement on whether a free meal is a help or a hindrance. Advertisement A sandwich enables people to stay exactly where they are on the streets, one resident wrote on the Facebook page of Capo Cares, a nonprofit community advocacy group. Wouldnt it be great to get them into shelters or housing where they can make their own sandwich? Volunteers Glenn Wood, left, and Jeanne Karcher help serve the daily meals. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Feeding the hungry always helps, another person responded, and then there was this take: Enables. Most dont want to work. Make panhandling illegal and stop feeding them and they will leave our city. And go where? On Wednesday, the same day I visited the nightly beach dinner, a lawsuit was filed against Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo and Irvine, alleging that those communities and Orange County have criminalized homelessness without providing alternatives. The only emergency shelter in the area is in Laguna Beach. The lawsuit follows one last year that led to the opening of shelters in Anaheim and Santa Ana. The volunteers I met at the beach dinner were not swayed by critics who say their contribution creates an unhealthy reliance in those who wait in line for the 4:30 p.m. feasts. They have no illusions about what they can and cant accomplish. Our mission is to feed the hungry, said Don Lemly of Welcome INN, the nonprofit that organizes the dinner, with different church and community groups taking turns providing the food. And were not going to stop, said Dons wife, Kathy, who recruits and organizes the volunteers. As the dinner buffet was being prepared, county outreach workers showed up to check on clients they knew were likely to turn out, and a representative of IHope, an interfaith homeless outreach agency, told me her group offers links to housing and other services. So theres more for the taking than just a hot meal. Jan Rainbird, a retired attorney, said he helped prepare the 55 meals distributed the night I was there. He didnt put much stock in the notion that those who come to dinner would be housed and working if not for the motivation-sapping availability of a free meal. Last summer, Dana Point Councilman Paul Wyatt sent a letter to Lemly imploring him to stop the feed. Wyatt said the city had some supportive and addiction-recovery services in place, had contracted with nonprofits for outreach services, and had a plan to end homelessness. Wyatt suggested Lemlys good intentions were counterproductive, and he argued that the focus should be on trying to move people out of desperate circumstances, not let them wallow in those circumstances. He said sheriffs deputies had observed the dinner crowd and concluded that 67% of the recipients were known criminals. In his letter, Wyatt recommended the do-gooders read a book called Toxic Charity, and he provided an excerpt that included the admonition: Mercy without justice degenerates into dependency and entitlement, preserving the power of the giver over the recipient. Pardon me, but thats a narrow and cynical take on both givers and recipients. Isnt it possible that people do acts of kindness simply to help others especially those ravaged by poverty, mental illness, addiction and combat fatigue rather than because they expect any radical transformation? Denying hungry people food does not cure homelessness or poverty, Lemly wrote on a list of talking points he distributed to volunteers in response to the letter from City Hall. Despite the opposing views, I got the sense that theres some common ground and shared objectives. Wyatt told me that about two-thirds of Dana Points homeless people have ties to the community, and he wants to address them not as a group but as individuals with names and different needs. The housing-first model is the way to go, he said, and he thinks the city has an obligation to build more units and fold in services that can help transform lives. The homeless come on bikes, on foot and in vehicles for the nightly dinner. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) If youre looking for a NIMBY story, thats not what this is, said Toni Nelson, cofounder of Capo Cares. She called the dinners in the park a Band-Aid on a gaping wound and said, I think homes are the answer to homelessness. A retired CPA, Nelson said she did the math and determined that if every adult in Dana Point donated roughly $60 to a housing fund annually, the areas several dozen homeless people could all be housed. She also said she had recommended that Capo Cares members donate to the nonprofits trying to address homelessness in the area. At the dinner in the beach-side park, Steve Larson told me he lives in a nearby field, and if not for the meal, hed get more of his food out of garbage cans. A man named Fred told me he pulled two tours of duty in Vietnam and said it was an honor to serve. Denis Winsby said a nightly meal helps because its almost impossible to find the kind of carpentry and electrical work hes done in the past, and hes been living in a hut constructed of cardboard, pallets and a discarded door. Its been cold, he said, but hes surviving. Joe Perez, 61, told me he has cerebral palsy. He lives in subsidized housing nearby, and said he had a horrible accident as a boy and suffered brain damage. I was hit by a train, he said, so I come here because its hard for me to make food. Perez is the guy who says the prayer for dinner each night, then holds out a tray of mints at the end of the food line. Our father who art in heaven, he began as the sun fell behind the trees. ...Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us... Mandy Pittock, who lives with her guinea pig in a motor home, shows off jewelry she makes before she lines up for a meal at the beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez A Los Angeles judge has ordered a graphic novelist from a wealthy Canadian family to pay $41.6 million to the family of his slain fiancee, whom he brutally tortured and killed in 2016 just weeks after their daughter was born. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Bobbi Tillmon delivered the verdict after a bench trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Iana Kasians family against Blake Leibel, who carried out the gruesome slaying using a book he worked on years earlier as a blueprint. This murder didnt just kill one person, it really did kill the family, it shattered the family. And the family has had a hard time crawling back from this, said Jake Finkel, an attorney representing Kasians family. Leibel, who is imprisoned in Tehachapi, did not attend the trial, Finkel added, nor did an attorney or family member on his behalf. Advertisement Leibel, a scion of a powerful Canadian family who once had a fledgling Hollywood career, was convicted last year of first-degree murder, aggravated mayhem and torture, and is now serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Before sheriffs deputies arrested Leibel at the West Hollywood apartment he shared with Kasian, he had blocked doorways with mattresses and locked himself in a bedroom with Kasians mangled body. Prosecutors told jurors during Leibels trial that he had used a sharp object perhaps the green paring knife or bloodied razor found in the couples bathroom as well as his bare hands to cut and rip pieces of Kasians scalp. Most of the blood had been drained from her body. She died of severe blood loss. Kasian was alive during much of the torture and died a very slow, excruciating, painful death, Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman said, adding that the killing was patterned after Syndrome, a graphic novel that Leibel helped create years earlier. Its cover shows a baby doll with a partially removed scalp. Leibel moved to California in 2004, after which he married, had a son and lived primarily off an allowance from his parents installments that totaled $1.8 million over about seven years, according to legal documents filed after his mothers death in 2011. He also worked on the animated series Spaceballs, based on the 1987 film by Mel Brooks, and collaborated with a team of writers and an illustrator to develop Syndrome. In July 2015, court records show, he filed for divorce from his wife and soon after, Kasian was pregnant. She called her mother, Olga, saying her longtime dream of becoming a parent was finally coming true, according to a declaration filed in the familys lawsuit. Prosecutors argued at the trial that Leibel was jealous of the attention Kasian gave to their newborn, Diana, when he killed her. Iana Kasian was killed in 2016. (Inform Inc.) Kasian grew up in Ukraine, where she worked for several years as an attorney prosecuting tax crimes. She immigrated to the U.S. in 2014. Finkel said the payout would help Olga Kasian raise her granddaughter, who turns 3 in May, the way Iana Kasian would have wanted. The pair live in Ukraine. The most precious thing to take away from a little girl, from a woman, is her mother. [Dianas] mother was taken away from her before she even got a real chance to learn about her, get to know her, Finkel said. At one point, shes going to learn about the reality of her mother, and what happened to her, and her biological father and what he did to her mother. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Twitter: @AleneTchek ADDIS ABABA, March 1 -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday visited Ethiopia's flagship Hawassa Industrial Park. The trip to the Chinese-built industrial park, 275 km south of the capital Addis Ababa, came as part of Kenyatta's state visit to Ethiopia. The two leaders visited some of the 22 textile and apparel manufacturers operating in the industry zone, according to the Office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office. The industry park, currently employing more than 25,000 locals, is considered as Ethiopia's flagship industry zone featuring sector specialization, export-orientation, vertical integration, sustainability and skills development. The Ethiopian government considers the industrial park as a model for the construction of other industrial zones across the country. Inaugurated in July 2016, Hawassa Industrial Park has hosted many African leaders during their visit to Ethiopia. Recently visitors included Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. According to the Ethiopian government, African leaders' visit to the Hawassa industrial park and other infrastructure sites across the country is mainly aimed at sharing Ethiopia's positive experience. Built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the Hawassa industrial park was completed in only nine months. Two Chinese nationals have been indicted on federal kidnapping and extortion charges in the disappearance of a Costa Mesa luxury car dealer, another Chinese national who is believed to have died during the course of his abduction and whose body has never been found. Guangyao Yang, 25, and Peicheng Shen, 33, who were living in West Covina, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 22, the U.S. attorneys office announced this week. Both men were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion and threat by foreign communication. Yang and Shen were arrested in China and remain in custody there for their role in the crime, authorities said. We are working with our law enforcement counterparts to seek justice in this case, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. Advertisement Authorities said Shen, who was using an alias at the time, had met with Ruochen Tony Liao, 28, several times under the pretense that he would help him collect a debt. During their third meeting, officials said, Shen kidnapped Liao from a San Gabriel shopping mall on July 16, 2018, then, along with Yang, held him hostage at a house in Corona and attempted to collect a $2-million ransom from his family. The day after his abduction, Liaos parents received two pictures of their son from his WeChat messaging app profile showing him with his legs bound, his hands restrained behind his back and his eyes taped, according to court documents. Liaos father told federal investigators he got a phone call a short time later and he heard his son say in Mandarin: Father save me, help me, I have been kidnapped. The victims father said that the kidnappers demanded that the ransom money be deposited in three Chinese bank accounts within three hours, according to court records. He said a man told him on the phone: Your son has made me very poor. I have lost everything and suffered a divorce because of him. Liao is believed to have died during his kidnapping, and investigators are seeking the publics help in finding his body. Investigators believe Shen and Yang drove to Mojave, Calif., on July 18 to bury or otherwise dispose of the victims body or other physical evidence involved in the crime. On the same day, Shen had the closet of the Corona house re-carpeted, according to prosecutors. Yang also performed an internet search on the time frame for a corpse to decompose in soil, according to court records citing the contents of Yangs phone that Chinese authorities gave to investigators. Peicheng Shen, left, and Guangyao Yang, right, are charged with conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, attempted extortion and threat by foreign communication. (John Smith/AP The FBI is seeking information regarding the two suspects charged in this case. While search efforts are focused in the Mojave Desert, the FBI would like to hear from anyone who may have information about this alleged crime or about associated suspicious activity, the U.S. attorneys office said in a statement. Anyone with information may call the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565. javier.panzar@latimes.com Twitter: @jpanzar A San Diego nonprofit organization that serves disadvantaged people recently fired its security company after the San Diego Union-Tribune inquired about a videotape that shows guards confronting and detaining some homeless men loitering near a creek bed. The 24-minute recording was captured in September by a body camera worn by a guard employed by Chula Vista Private Security, the company the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovations has used for years to patrol the area around its Euclid Avenue headquarters. In the video, a guard is seen pulling a homeless mans arm behind his back and forcing him to the ground because he tried to walk way from the guards. A police investigation was recently completed and the case has been forwarded to the San Diego City Attorneys Office. I wasnt even resisting, the homeless man moaned during the incident, his face held in the dirt as a guard handcuffed him. Its too tight You guys tackled me, man ... Its not right ... I dont understand ... Im completely harmless. Advertisement The man, who later in the video identifies himself as Deangelo Mitchell, was one of three men who had wandered into Chollas Creek, near the Jacobs Center, before they were approached by four Chula Vista Private Security guards. As Mitchell whimpered in pain, a guard pointed a stun gun at the other two men and ordered them to stay put. They also were handcuffed. You tried to walk away from us, one guard said. You should never have done that. By the end of the video, all three men were released and warned not to trespass again. The guards are seen on the video confiscating drug paraphernalia, including needles and a pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana. Tell all your friends: If somebody tells you Stop, youre being detained, you never try to walk away, one of the guards advised before letting the men go. It could get very violent. Under state law, private security guards may only use reasonable force if they feel threatened. Guards are not permitted to seize property even contraband. They also are required to contact police once they make a citizens arrest. Sworn police officers are the only people who may legally decide whether to cite, release or arrest a suspect after a citizens arrest, by state law. After the Union-Tribune shared the video with the Jacobs Center, a public relations firm issued a statement saying the charity had severed its relationship with the security firm. JCNI believed CVPS would remove trespassers by asking them to leave or by calling the police, the statement said. It appears CVPS personnels actions were inconsistent with our expectation and agreement. Bertrand Gines, a Chula Vista Private Security licensee, said the incident was an isolated case and an unfortunate mistake made by under-trained employees. Thats the only time that happened, he said by phone. I took immediate action on that real quick. I got after everybody. Gines said two guards were fired and two suspended, although one of the guards disputed to the Union-Tribune that he was fired. Gines also said he stepped up his background checks for new hires and ordered additional training so guards know their legal and professional boundaries. San Diego police received the video in December and interviewed the guards. None of the men who were handcuffed filed complaints. Police Lt. Brent Williams said the department has completed its investigation and sent the information to the City Attorneys Office. Mitchell did not respond to messages left on his wifes mobile phone. He accepted $500 from Chula Vista Private Security as compensation for the incident and agreed not to sue the company or discuss what happened, according to an agreement obtained by the Union-Tribune. Gines said he paid Mitchell $1,500 for his trouble and a pledge not to sue him or his company. According to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the state agency that licenses private security companies and guards, security officers have no greater legal authority than any civilian. The agency training manual emphasizes that private guards should prevent confrontations and generally limit their involvement with people to observations and respectful questioning. Spokesman Ben Deci said private guards are not allowed to seize property. The bureau is unaware of any laws that authorize a security guard to confiscate personal belongings, Deci wrote in an email. Neither the Private Security Act nor the Power to Arrest training manual provide that authority. Sergio Avila, a former employee who said he was one of the guards in the September video, said he was not involved in subduing Mitchell. There was no need to brandish any kind of weapon because these guys were not a threat, Avila said. Gines said Avila was primarily responsible for the misconduct captured by the body-worn camera and that Avila was one of the two guards he fired as a result of the recording. But Avila, who had been on the job for less than two weeks at the time of the encounter, rejected that claim. He said he was injured in November and decided then that he could no longer work for the company. He provided text messages from January showing that Gines wanted him back on the job once he healed. Please update me when youre ready to return to work with CVPS, Gines wrote to Avila early last month. We have locations for you. The Union-Tribune could not positively identify the other guards in the video but obtained email addresses from a report of the incident that appeared to belong to the other guards. They did not respond to an email seeking comment. McDonald writes for the San Diego Union Tribune jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com Patrick McCarthy, former editor of Womens Wear Daily and chairman of Fairchild Fashion Group, a fiercely competitive writer and editor and one of the most influential figures in fashion journalism, has died in New York. He was 67. His sister, Anne Marie Gustin, confirmed McCarthy died Feb. 24 at Lenox Hill Hospital but gave no cause. A protege of the fearsome John Fairchild, and later his successor, McCarthy served as the Paris bureau chief of WWD, often referred to as the bible of the fashion industry, from 1980 to 1985. Twenty-nine, handsome and witty, he quickly made a splash in the French capital. The famed nightclub hostess known as Regine threw him a welcome party, and he became a fixture on the social scene and developed close friendships with designers such as Giorgio Armani and the late Karl Lagerfeld. Advertisement In 1985, McCarthy moved to New York and was named editor in chief of WWD, and then, in 1997, he moved up to succeed the retiring Fairchild as chairman. McCarthy, who at various points in his career also oversaw W and Los Angeles magazines, retired from the company in 2010. (In 2014, Los Angeles-based Penske Media Corp. acquired Fairchild for about $100 million.) Designers, friends and colleagues honor the memory of Patrick McCarthy who brought intelligence and wit to his former role as chairman and editorial director of Fairchild Fashion Group. https://t.co/JzPAJQ1D0K pic.twitter.com/8p4wt9WBRV WWD (@wwd) February 27, 2019 Over the course of his career, McCarthy found that there was nothing more thrilling than getting a great scoop or more devastating than losing that scoop to another publication, a lesson he absorbed during his long apprenticeship to Fairchild. No one else could get the story, and if anyone else got the story, someone had to pay, he told New York magazine in 1997. Mr. Fairchild instilled it in me. Im like the abused child that is now abusing. I will kill for the story, and if I dont have it, I will get angry. Fashion designer Michael Kors, a longtime friend of McCarthy, recalled to WWD that the editor never seemed to be off duty. If I ran into him on St. Barths on vacation, the next day there would be a dispatch from St. Barths in WWD, Kors told the publication. His eyes and ears were always open, and his mind was always clicking. Born in Dedham, Mass., on June 6, 1951, Patrick Joseph McCarthy III graduated from Boston University in 1973. He earned a masters degree in journalism from Stanford University and then moved to Washington to take a job as a reporter for Fairchild Energy News Service. He later moved to London to be bureau chief for all of Fairchilds publications, including WWD. It was there he caught Fairchilds eye and started his ascent up the corporate ranks. The catalyst was a profile of the legendary British socialite Lady Diana Cooper, an interview McCarthy pursued for months and apparently finally landed because of his gender. According to the 1997 New York magazine profile of McCarthy, Cooper had turned down all previous interview requests because they had all had been made by female journalists. She hated girls, McCarthy said. When it was published, he got a note from Fairchild: What a magnificent first effort. We must meet. Soon afterward, Fairchild took him to his first couture show Yves Saint Laurent and over the years, the two were frequent front-row seatmates at fashion shows in Paris and New York, forming a bond that, at times, seemed almost physical. It was highly amusing to watch Patrick echo his every gesture and movement; the crossing of the legs, the exasperated pursing of the lips as yet another show took forever to start, Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue and artistic director of Conde Nast, told WWD. Yet Patrick was far, far more than a doppelganger of his beloved mentor, she added. If John took a gleeful delight in shaking things up, inciting a reaction [if not a riot], then Patrick, a handsome, smart, shrewd man, always maintained a cool, detached demeanor while navigating the temperamentally choppy waters of our industry. Besides his sister, McCarthy is survived by three nieces. The white former Tulsa police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man will not face federal civil rights charges, the Justice Department said Friday, citing insufficient evidence. U.S. Atty. Trent Shores announced the closure of the investigation into whether Betty Shelby willfully used unreasonable force against Terence Crutcher when she shot and killed him in September 2016. The Department of Justice devoted significant resources to this investigation to ensure that a thorough review was undertaken. Attorneys from both the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office worked closely with the FBI to examine the evidence and review applicable law, Shores said in a statement. A Tulsa County jury acquitted Shelby in May 2017 in the shooting death of Crutcher, who was standing outside his SUV and holding his hands above his head when he was shot. Shelby testified she fired her weapon out of fear because Crutcher didnt obey her commands and appeared to reach inside his SUV for what she thought was a gun. Crutcher was unarmed. Advertisement A man holds a program at the funeral of Terence Crutcher in September 2016. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press) Were disappointed, but unfortunately were not surprised, said Demario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for Crutchers family. The No. 1 reason is that the system is set up to protect officers like Betty Shelby. The standard [of proof] is so high, its the highest standard in the legal system, to prove that someone willfully and intentionally violated someone elses civil rights. Shelby resigned from the Tulsa Police Department following her acquittal. A federal lawsuit filed by Crutchers family against the city of Tulsa and Shelby is pending. Shores said a team that included some of the departments most experienced prosecutors and FBI agents examined the evidence in the case, including enhanced video footage of the shooting. The investigation aimed to determine whether Shelby willfully violated federal law, which Shores said required prosecutors to determine that Shelby acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something illegal. Any allegation of law enforcement misconduct and willful deprivation of civil rights is taken seriously, Shores said. However, the evidence in this case did not support pursuing criminal prosecution. Crutchers killing was among a spate of officer-involved shootings in recent years that helped galvanize the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted calls for more police accountability. A lot of time has passed since the 1990s, when politicians, pundits and even academics began whipping up public frenzy over a supposed generation of juvenile super-predators, bereft of normal human values, running in packs and preying on law-abiding citizens. Back then, California lawmakers passed a series of punitive bills that ensured young offenders were treated, if not quite like wild animals, at least like irredeemable adult career criminals. A bill signed into law in 1994 allowed minors as young as 14 and 15 to be tried in adult court for the most serious crimes and to be penalized with adult sentences, including life in prison. Voters followed up in 2000 with Proposition 21, which allowed prosecutors on their own, without sign-off from juvenile court judges, to file criminal charges against many teenagers directly in adult criminal court. District attorneys drove much of the tough-on-juveniles movement, largely because of their penchant for measuring their success by the severity of the sentences they obtained in court. It took a while, but the frenzy died down. There had indeed been a crime increase, but Californians saw that it had been exaggerated, that it had already begun falling before laws were toughened and that the hyper-punitive reaction had been reserved mostly for African American and Latino suspects. Public safety depends on more than merely seeking the most punitive possible sentences. Advertisement Voters scrapped Proposition 21 two years ago by adopting Proposition 57 and returning the state to its previous, more just and more sober system in which judges, not prosecutors, decide whether teenagers should be tried as juveniles or as adults. Even most district attorneys acknowledged that they ought to give that discretion back to judges. And last year, lawmakers passed, and the governor signed, SB 1391, which rolled back the 1994 law and once again set the low-end age limit for possible adult prosecution at 16, rather than 14. It would seem that most Californians had collectively recovered their senses. But not all of them. Elected district attorneys around the state still want to send some 14- and 15-year-olds to adult court on adult charges to face adult sentences despite the fact that science tells us young teenagers brains are still developing and that they arent yet capable of adult-level judgment and moral reckoning. Furthermore, they are more likely than adults to change their ways when offered constructive rehabilitation programs. Having lost their argument during the legislative process last year, prosecutors are challenging SB 1391 in court on the claim that it somehow violates the will of voters. They assert that because voters passed Proposition 57, that measure covers the gamut of juvenile charging laws and cannot be supplemented by legislation. That makes little sense. Voters adopted direct filing in adult court by prosecutors and then threw it out with Proposition 57. Lawmakers lowered the age limit and then raised it again. The two issues the one addressed by voters and the other by the Legislature are completely different. A majority of the California trial courts that have been asked to consider prosecutors arguments to the contrary have rejected them. But a handful of courts have upheld prosecutors, so the issue appears to be headed to the state Supreme Court. In the meantime, though, in this era in which Californians have clearly expressed their will to return to a more level-headed set of criminal justice policies, its interesting to note that their elected prosecutors keep pushing the other way. Why is that? Why does the same electorate that rolls back excessively punitive laws at the ballot box and through their Assembly and state Senate representatives also elect district attorneys who work so hard to undermine those reforms? Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute It may be that voters have not, until recently, paid a lot of attention to their district attorneys and the role they play in the justice system. District attorneys often say their job is to keep people safe, and they are correct but public safety depends on more than merely seeking the most punitive possible sentences. One guiding principle adopted by a number of recently elected reform-oriented prosecutors is to treat kids like kids even those accused of serious crimes, because the chances of their rehabilitation increase substantially if they are kept within the juvenile justice system. District attorneys once won election to office in California by promising to treat young offenders like subhuman super-predators, to be locked away forever. In ballot measures and legislative elections, voters have signaled that they want something different. Maybe its time prosecutors start listening. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The Trump administration recently dropped its threat to jack up the sweeping tariffs it previously imposed on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods, which should come as a relief to the many U.S. businesses and consumers that are paying them. On the other hand, President Trump may be moving closer to slapping tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, despite widespread opposition to the move including from the Big Three U.S. automakers. Simply put, Trump likes tariffs. They give him a bigger stick in trade talks with countries whose economies are sustained by exports, such as China, much of Europe and South Korea. And he has wide latitude to levy them, thanks to the power Congress has entrusted to the president since 1934. But 20th century lawmakers probably did not envision a chief executive using tariffs the way Trump has. And now that Trump is wielding import duties like a club on U.S. allies and adversaries alike, current members of Congress are trying to take some of that power back. Trumps contorting of the law on national-security-based tariffs is just one of several ways he has stretched the limits of presidential power. Advertisement In particular, they are seeking to pull back some of the authority Congress granted the White House in 1962, at the height of the Cold War. The main purpose of the law was to let the president strike trade deals that cut tariffs and other trade barriers, but it also gave the president authority to raise trade barriers if he deemed it necessary to protect national security. Prior to Trump, this power was invoked only twice, in both cases to block crude oil imports: first from Iran, after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized in 1979, and then from Libya in 1982, in response to that countrys support for terrorism. Trump, however, has used the national-defense rationale as a flag of convenience, imposing tariffs with only a fanciful connection to U.S. security interests. Last year, he slapped national security tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from around the globe, even though these metals have been coming into the U.S. in large part from such reliable allies as Canada, Mexico and Australia. Worse, the tariffs have helped a relatively small number of U.S. steel and aluminum manufacturers at the expense of a far larger number of companies that need those metals for their products. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for every one job producing metals, there are 45 in industries that use them. And now Trump is considering an as yet unreleased report from the Commerce Department on whether to impose national-security tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts. The three options reportedly laid out by the Commerce Department are a 25% tariff on all imports, a 10% tariff on all imports, or tariffs just on selected types of vehicles and parts. The maximalist option would increase the cost of imported cars by thousands of dollars; light trucks are already covered by a 25% tariff imposed in the 1960s. As weve noted before, slapping tariffs on imported vehicles and parts would inflict widespread collateral damage on U.S. companies, workers and consumers. Supply chains are global now, so even cars and trucks made in the United States may rely on imported components. And like a sales tax, tariffs ultimately raise costs for consumers, depressing demand. Thats why U.S. automakers, whose interests are supposedly being protected here, hate the idea. So do farmers and other U.S. exporters, because Trumps tariffs have invariably prompted our trading partners to retaliate with levies on U.S. products. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute And so, evidently, does a sizable and bipartisan group of senators. They have introduced two competing bills S. 365, by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and eight other senators, and S. 287, by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and 11 others that would make it significantly harder for presidents to use national security as a pretext to impose tariffs or other trade barriers. Toomeys proposal would require Congress to approve national-security-based tariffs in advance, which may be too draconian even with the current president in mind; Portmans proposal would simply give Congress the power to quickly revoke such actions. Similar measures have been introduced by bipartisan groups in the House. Trumps contorting of the law on national-security-based tariffs is just one of several ways he has stretched the limits of presidential power (see, for example, his declaration of a bogus emergency at the border in order to spend more money on his wall project than Congress provided). Its good to see Republicans start standing up to Trumps excesses on trade. It would be a shame, however, if they stopped there. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook Almost the moment he took his seat before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Michael Cohen, President Trumps former fixer, dumped out a trove of glittering doubloons. Then, for good measure, he emptied two massive lawn bags of breadcrumbs. The coins were damning facts about the president. The breadcrumbs were names of other witnesses who could bring the committee more gold. In short order, we got the inside line on how the gray-green Trump sausage is made. You pretend to be rich when you want a loan, you pretend to be poor when you ask the tax department for a deduction. You pretend to be a ladies man when you think the mic is off; you pretend to be faithful wife by having your lawyer lie to your wife. You tweet that youre a paragon of health; you pretend to be frail to sit out Vietnam. Whats to become of all the Trump supporters who are still in thrall to the man Cohen called a racist, a cheat and a con man? Advertisement All that pretending takes some virtuoso fixing, where fixing is breaking the truth and hot-gluing it into the weird garbage art that Trumpworld uses to justify itself. But Cohen gave the American public something much more valuable than doubloons and breadcrumbs. He gave us a way out. Cohens performance supplied a sterling template for those still loyal to the president, a way to relocate their moral compasses, regain their dignity, and break free of the spell Trump seems to cast over certain vulnerable minds. First Cohen detailed without flinching his own 10-year descent into corruption and lies for Trump. It was almost a 12-step drunkalogue. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating, he said. I ignored my conscience. I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong. When told by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) that one of Trumps employees, presumably because of her race, would not work for Trump if he were a racist, Cohen shot back, As neither should I, as the son of a Holocaust survivor. Cohens message was clear. Under the influence of ambition, desperation and a cult of personality, people do things they know are wrong. A person can lose his bearing and learn to cheat, tell lies and advance con games. Sound familiar? An array of formerly self-respecting adults inexplicably have forfeited their principles and dignity for the president, as Cohen did. A small sample might include Vice President Mike Pence, musician Kanye West, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), First Lady Melania Trump, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and reformed Trump troll David Weissman. The redhats and MAGA acolytes across the country who regularly embarrass themselves in Trumps name also seem to be intoxicated, mesmerized and often caught up in wrongdoing. Perhaps, Cohen suggested time and time again, Trumps lackeys will one day be lucky enough or smart enough to get what he got along with felony convictions, disbarment and a stint in federal prison out from under. Maybe one day they will be willing to tell the truth, spite the devil, and free themselves. Cohen wasnt quite willing to promise rapture to anyone who broke with Trump. But he did present himself as a cautionary example of the misery awaiting those who dont see the light. I can only warn people, he said. The more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did, blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. As Cohen spoke, Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, who was watching the hearing, tweeted about Teshuvah, a process in Judaism that is something like repentance. Teshuvah, Bronstein wrote, is defined as: 1) stop sinning 2) regret 3) confession 4) future commitment. So hes well on his way? Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Bronsteins question mark was on point. Because who really knows whether Cohen the cooperating witness has undertaken Teshuvah in earnest? But the man does seem to have at least a shot at a better life now that hes not bullhorning someone elses lies for a living. The bigger question, though, is whats to become of all the Trump supporters who are still in thrall to the man Cohen called a racist, a cheat and a con man? And especially what will become of the loyalists who are still bullhorning whether theyre yapping about no collusion on Facebook or manically smokescreening about LannyDavisTomSteyerPeterStrzokHillaryClinton in the Oversight Committee hearings that would be you, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), on Wednesday. Whoever steps out of Trumps dark shadow has to accept their role in the disfiguring and brutal Trump reign in America. That reckoning, as the Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) put it to Cohen in his closing statement, is part of the destiny of anyone who has smoothed Trumps way. Hopefully, Cummings told Cohen, this portion of your destiny will lead to a better, a better, a better Michael Cohen, a better Donald Trump, a better United States of America, and a better world. Twitter: @page88 Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook To the editor: I want to set the record straight: I support criminal justice reform that does not jeopardize our safety. Thats why I have led the way in diverting people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system. (Criminal justice reform is sweeping the country. But not L.A. County, Opinion, Feb. 27) I always have supported bail reform, but I opposed some provisions of the original bill to do away with cash bail in California. Ive worked with lawmakers for more than a year to draft legislation that addressed my concerns while ending cash bail. As a career prosecutor, I opposed Proposition 57 because it contained loopholes that allowed some rapists the same benefits of early release from prison as drug dealers. Finally, California voters have repeatedly upheld the death penalty. My office uses it sparingly for extraordinary cases like the man who tortured and killed 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. Advertisement My decisions are drawn from my 30 years of experience as a prosecutor as well as my experience growing up as an African American in this country. Jackie Lacey, Los Angeles The writer is district attorney of Los Angeles County. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: In writing that liberals may be disappointed by the results of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation, Jonah Goldberg seems to be conflating evidence with proof. Theres a ton of evidence. Whether the Mueller investigation ends with a bang or a whimper remains to be seen. Its true that Mueller is under no obligation to file any public report at all, since his report will be submitted to Atty. Gen. William Barr, who will decide what will be released. At any rate, the Houses many investigative committees will pick up the baton from Mueller and use their subpoena power to obtain the materials (and witness testimonies) they need to move forward. No, Mr. Goldberg, the end of the Mueller probe will not be the end of this tragicomedy, and that is by design it is the way our system works. Advertisement Nate Tucker, Costa Mesa .. To the editor: Goldberg suggests that Muellers disclosures may end up like the play Waiting for Godot. Im as close to Goldbergs opinion this time as I ever have been. However, I suggest the British film Gosford Park to be a better comparison. In that movie, a wealthy host is murdered while entertaining a houseful of guests. The chief detective spends the entire movie interviewing and releasing all the guests and household help from culpability. Nothing really happens, and the case is closed. I have found over the past two-plus years that there is a lot of smoke emanating from the White House. To use another analogy, I ask Goldberg to withhold his judgment until the smoke from the White House chimney turns white. John R. Shiban, Westlake Village Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng (C), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presides over a meeting on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday urged efforts to promote the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a meeting in Beijing. All regions and government departments should conscientiously implement the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said. The plan, an important outline document guiding the current and future cooperation and development of the Greater Bay Area, covers the period from now to 2022 in the immediate term and extends to 2035 in the long term. The plan was issued on Feb. 18. Efforts should be made to promote cooperation in technology and innovation between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, said Han, adding that a series of measures would be adopted to facilitate customs clearance of personnel and goods in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the exit and entry of samples for scientific research, laboratory reagents and genetic resources. National laboratories, scientific centers, and key scientific infrastructures should be further opened to universities and research institutes in Hong Kong and Macao, Han said. He also pledged support to scientists and research institutes in the two special administrative regions to participate in international science programs and projects. Han said more favorable tax policies would be given to Hong Kong and Macao residents. Young people in Hong Kong and Macao should be encouraged to work and start businesses in the Greater Bay Area, he said, adding that a batch of innovative and venture bases should be established for them. The government will provide grants and subsidies for young people from Hong Kong and Macao who start businesses in Guangdong, and will also select and fund a batch of promising startup projects, he added. The bay area consists of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, as well as nine cities in Guangdong Province -- Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing. Covering 56,000 square kilometers, the bay area had a combined population of about 70 million at the end of 2017 and its GDP reached around 10 trillion yuan in 2017. To the editor: George Skeltons question of why the state and federal governments dont store more stormwater before it escapes to the sea is not a new one. In the late 1990s, the federal and state governments did in fact forge a cooperative compact called Cal Fed to achieve what I said would be water of sufficient quantity and quality to provide Californias needs for fish, farm and factory. Both state and federal agencies were to budget and coordinate spending and permitting for agreed-upon projects to achieve that goal. For some years there was such cooperation, particularly in the funding of conservation and environmental projects. But when year after year I included money in the state budget for surface collection and storage projects to bank against droughts, the money was removed by the Democratic majorities in the Legislature. When agricultural interests rightly complained that they were being cheated out of their fair share of projects, support for Cal Fed evaporated. The bargain had been broken. Quietly, powerful no growth advocates in Washington and Sacramento had given the signal that surface collection was not politically in season. So California continues to dilute the Pacific except of course during the punishing droughts that take an entirely predictable and avoidable harsh toll. Advertisement As Skelton writes, the impacts have been many. Builders in communities that are denied adequate water cannot, by law, respond to Californias crying need for affordable housing. He quotes Jeffrey Mount, a former UC Davis earth sciences professor: Were not running out of water in California. Were running out of cheap water. Thats what happens when we dont save water even in times of heavy precipitation. Pete Wilson, Los Angeles The writer was governor of California from 1991-99. .. To the editor: Skelton presents a number of reasons why Northern Californias abundant supply of water flows out to sea rather than being sent to Southern California. I have another reason. In 1982, an initiative to build a peripheral canal that would shunt water around the SacramentoSan Joaquin River was on the ballot. The project would have resulted in much of the water that was flowing out to sea coming to Southern California instead. During the campaign, I spoke to a group of engineers at a hotel near LAX. At the end of my presentation, I spoke in support of the canal. Afterward, someone in the audience said this: Several of us here are engineers from the San Francisco area, and I want you to know that everything you said about the proposed canal is accurate. But we want to emphasize one important point: Dont take our water. In other words, many in Northern California would rather let the water be wasted than send it to us. Martin A. Brower, Corona del Mar .. To the editor: On Feb. 15, the L.A. Daily News published an op-ed article by former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in which she expressed support for something the Israelis have been doing for decades desalination. She wrote: Now post-Senate, as a private citizen of California, I am doing everything I can to encourage state government to provide Californians with a climate-resilient water supply. The time is now. California has a permanent, climate-resident water supply. Yes, desalination is expensive, but so is drought. William Lovelace, Los Angeles Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook You could see this coming the moment it was announced that President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns second summit would be in Hanoi: The commander in chief, who as a new college graduate in 1968 was diagnosed with bone spurs and was therefore exempt from the military draft, would be traveling to Vietnam 44 years after the end of the war there. Letter writers pounced. Most of the letters that mentioned Trumps draft exemption in light of the aborted summit Wednesday and Thursday were one-line jokes made at the presidents expense. A small portion of the letters, however, were from readers genuinely upset by the spectacle of a president being celebrated in a place he successfully avoided during a war decades ago. Martin Wauson of Westminster is one of those readers: Advertisement How nice Trump finally made it to Vietnam more than 40 years after our involvement there ended, and he could be protected by others rather than taking up arms himself. If he had moral qualms about the Vietnam War, that would have been one thing, but he doesnt seem to be bothered by that type of thinking, so Im guessing patriotism and duty to country are only for others, not him. More than 58,000 Americans lost their lives in the Vietnam War while Trump stayed home, and this week he showed up there to meet with the repressive dictator of North Korea. The man has no clue, and as a Vietnam veteran I have no clue why any veteran thinks any of this is OK. Phillip Gold of Westlake Village asks if Trump now qualifies for an award: Well, well, well, Trump finally made the trip to Vietnam. I guess his bone spurs are cured. Does this qualify him for the Nobel Peace Prize? A Silver Star? Or, maybe, just a white feather? Stephen C. Lee of La Habra similarly joked about Trumps bone spurs: I didnt see it being mentioned in his latest medical report, but apparently the presidents doctor has signed off on his bone spurs so he can, at last, serve his country by going to Vietnam. Valley Glen resident Rhys Thomas faults Trump for committing a diplomatic faux pas: Forget the farcical summit between Kim and Trump. The headline reporting the end of the meetings between North Korea and the United States should have been Trump walks out on Vietnamese hosts. Once again, our president showed his complete ignorance of history and utter lack of class by not attending the final meal arranged by his gracious Hanoi hosts. And we call this diplomacy? Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The number of criminals and mentally ill people who improperly own firearms in California has increased in the last year to more than 23,200, as a record number of people have been added to the list by the courts amid a surge of gun buying, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Friday. The first program of its kind in the nation, the Armed and Prohibited Persons System in the California Department of Justice matches the names of people who have bought firearms with those later prohibited from possessing guns because they have been convicted of crimes or found to be severely mentally ill. The number of people on the list is up from 22,574 prohibited gun owners at the start of 2018 a figure that was revised drastically upward from last years initial report and 10,266 a decade ago. This weeks report revised the number of armed and prohibited people in the database from January 2018, including cases in which gun owners have not been located by investigators after three visits to their known address. The swelling of the backlog occurred even though agents with the state Department of Justice seized firearms from a record 4,142 people last year, Becerra said at a Sacramento news conference surrounded by confiscated rifles and pistols. Advertisement We have tons of cases coming in, Becerra said. More cases are coming in than our 50 agents can process. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently proposed adding $5.6 million to next years budget for the program, a 50% increase over this year. That could expand the gun seizure unit by 20 agents, but Becerra said he is having a hard time hiring more people because their salaries are not competitive with the pay offered by other law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol. The expanded list caused alarm among some legislators, including Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron of Escondido, who have said Becerra has failed to confiscate guns from dangerous people. Waldron suggested Becerra has been too busy suing the Trump administration he has filed 46 lawsuits thus far to make the gun program work. Republicans have demanded oversight and accountability in the APPS program, but Democrats have rejected our requests at every opportunity, Waldron said. This failure is the result. Maybe Atty. Gen. Becerra should focus a little less on fights with the federal government and a lot more on his job as Californias top law enforcement officer. The issue was also raised in last years election for attorney general, with Republican challengers criticizing Becerra for not doing enough to make the program work. Becerra said that in just over the last decade, the number of known firearm owners in California has more than doubled from 927,686 in 2008 to 2,516,836 as of Jan. 1. The legislature tried once before to get rid of the APPS backlog after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., resulted in the death of 20 children and six adults. Within months, the Legislature approved $24 million over three years to the office of then-Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris with the understanding that it would allow the Justice Department to whittle away at the backlog of prohibited persons that had topped 20,000 people. Becerra said that original backlog is down to 538 cases, and those remaining will be resolved by March 31. However, the number of people being added to the list has increased over the last six years by 56,557, and the DOJ has not been able to remove guns in all of those new cases. In thousands of cases 6,539 last year people are removed from the list because they have died or the prohibition has expired. Becerra recommended changes to be considered by the Legislature, including pay increases for the special agents who face dangerous circumstances in knocking on doors and asking felons to give up their guns. My office remains committed to our mission: taking firearms away from dangerous and violent individuals, he said. We look forward to working with our governor and Legislature and our local partners to fulfill this mission. patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com Twitter: @mcgreevy99 Costa Mesa City Council members will get their first official look next week at a proposed mixed-use community that would bring 1,057 residential units and thousands of square feet of retail and office space to a commercial and industrial area north of the 405 Freeway. One Metro West would be the first project of its kind in this particular section of the city. A brainchild of Beverly Hills-based Rose Equities, One Metro West would include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in three residential structures with integrated parking garages, 6,000 square feet of retail, a 25,000-square-foot office building and 1.7 acres of open and park space on 15.23 acres. The site at 1683 Sunflower Ave., which is just west of the South Coast Collection, currently contains a two-story, 345,400-square-foot industrial building, according to a staff report included in Tuesdays council agenda. The upcoming hearing is meant for council members to screen the project and determine whether it can move forward. A decision on whether to actually approve the community would come at a later date. Passing muster with the council is only part of the equation. Ultimately, the projects fate would be decided at the ballot box. In our opinion, the facts are on our side, Brent Stoll, a partner at Rose Equities, said. South Coast Metro, which defines Costa Mesas worldwide brand and economic strength, represents an opportunity for the city to continue to ensure its future. This general area of Costa Mesa is dotted with significant commercial and employment centers including SOCO, IKEA, the Automobile Club of Southern California, Vans corporate headquarters and, soon, an office, retail and dining campus called the Press. Thousands of jobs are there. Thousands more are coming, said Stoll, who also serves as the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce liaison to the citys Bikeway & Walkability Committee. One Metro West is the connective tissue [that] allows for these jobs to thrive while minimizing the traffic impacts ... on our morning and evening commutes south of the 405. The project also would present a financial benefit, he said, by adding annual tax revenue to city coffers. As envisioned, One Metro West would feature an array of on-site amenities, such as a fitness center, swimming pools, a gaming center, coffee bar and bowling alley. Also proposed are pedestrian and bikeway upgrades on Sunflower and Hyland Avenue, as well as installation of a bike parking/active transportation hub. Rose Equities has committed to designating 15% of the total units for those with very low, low or moderate incomes. However, the question of whether the site will welcome residents in the future would have to be answered by current Costa Mesans. Measure Y, a ballot initiative approved in 2016, requires public approval of projects that entail a general plan amendment or zoning change and would add 40 or more dwelling units or 10,000 or more square feet of commercial space on top of what already exists. Since it checks those boxes, One Metro West could become the first project to be put to a public vote under the measure assuming a favorable outcome in City Hall. The idea of adding housing in this area north of the 405 has been a matter of philosophical dispute in recent years, with some saying that doing so could erode an important part of the citys commercial core. Tuesdays council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St. Two men were indicted on federal charges in the disappearance of a Costa Mesa luxury car dealer. Ruochen Tony Liao, 28, a Santa Ana resident, was kidnapped from a San Gabriel shopping mall on July 16 and held for ransom, according to the U.S. attorneys office. A federal grand jury indictment Feb. 22 charged Guangyao Yang, 25, and Peicheng Shen, 33, both Chinese nationals whose last known U.S. residences were in West Covina, with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion and threat by foreign communication. Yang is thought to have left the United States for China on July 26. Three days later he was arrested by Chinese authorities on suspicion of Liaos kidnapping, according to the indictment. Shen also is thought to be in China. Liao, also a Chinese national, met several times with a debt collector named David who said he would help Liao collect a debt from someone for a fee of $20,000 to $30,000, the indictment said. Prosecutors allege that David was Shen, based on sketches, cellphone records and recovered messages. Two days before his disappearance, Liao took a friend to his second encounter with the debt collector because Liao didnt trust David, the friend told FBI agents. Liao was instructed to go alone to the third and final meeting July 16, the friend told investigators. The friend said he observed Liaos third meeting from afar and saw Liao get into a dark-colored minivan that proceeded to exit the mall parking lot. He didnt hear from Liao again and the next day reported him missing, according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors allege that Shen and Yang who authorities believe introduced Liao to Shen kidnapped Liao and took him to a house in Corona, where he was held in a bedroom closet with his arms and legs bound and his eyes taped shut. Guangyao Yang, left, and Peicheng Shen are charged with kidnapping and attempted extortion in the disappearance of Ruochen Tony Liao. (Courtesy of FBI) The day after his disappearance, Liaos father received photos of his son bound with his eyes taped, the FBI said. Five minutes later, his phone rang. Father, save me, help me, I have been kidnapped, he heard his son say in Mandarin. Then he received a message instructing him to deposit $2 million into three Chinese bank accounts in exchange for Liaos life, according to court documents. The last message said three hours in Mandarin. Liaos family hasnt heard from their son or his kidnappers since, the indictment says. Investigators believe Liao died during the kidnapping, the U.S. attorneys office said. An FBI officer wrote in the criminal complaint that investigators recovered messages between Shen and Yang in the days before and after the disappearance in which they discussed taping a persons eyes and mouth and questions about account numbers. The day after the ransom call, the indictment alleges, Shen and Yang drove to the Mojave Desert and dumped evidence and possibly Liaos body. They also replaced the carpet in the closet where Liao was held, according to the indictment, and Yang performed an internet search on how fast a corpse decomposes in soil. The two kidnapping-related charges carry a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, the U.S. attorneys office said. The extortion and threat charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The FBI is offering a reward for information on Liaos whereabouts. Anyone with information about the case can call the FBIs Los Angeles field office at (310) 477-6565. When Ani Hovanesian raises her three fingers and recites the Scouts oath, sometimes she gets the words mixed up. But its not because the 13-year-old is new to the Scouting world she started as a Brownie with Girl Scouts in kindergarten and participated in activities with a Boy Scouts Cub pack before that. Nowadays, she just has to remember whether to pledge to be a sister to every Girl Scout or to be physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight for the Boy Scouts. Ani is a founding member of Laguna Beach Boy Scouts first girls troop, which was chartered last month with 10 members. Ani joins 106 other girls in 13 troops across Orange County in blazing the trail. I feel really important and like my name will be on a plaque one day, said Ani, an eighth-grader at Thurston Middle School. It has this historical feeling to it, going to each meeting. The national Boy Scouts of America organization opened its program to youths of all genders Feb. 1 and renamed it Scouts BSA. Now girls can go on monthly camping trips and participate in all outdoor activities. BSA began accepting transgender youths recognizing the gender on a Scouts application in 2017. Ani said she loves hanging out with her friends in Girl Scouts and has already posted good sales from this years cookie drive. But as a member of Scouts BSA, shes excited to learn how to make a campfire and set up a tent by herself. I think Im getting a lot more experience in Boy Scouts than I would have had in Girl Scouts like camping-wise and outdoor ethics and stuff like that, she said. As well as getting other knowledge that I wouldnt have gotten if I just stuck with Girl Scouts. The BSA website says the major reason for opening the program to girls was to accommodate families busy schedules. Jane Heath, Laguna Beachs BSA girls troop Scoutmaster, said she thinks the reason involves both logistics and programming. Families are a lot busier than they used to be, she said. This gives them an opportunity for their sons and daughters to participate in ongoing activities with the family, where they dont have to deliver kids to different locations on different nights. Also because girls also like things like rifle shooting and rock climbing and a lot of the activities the Boy Scouts do that arent readily available for girls. The Hovanesian family can attest to that. In addition to being in Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts, Ani does drama and dance. Her older brother Joe, a sophomore at Laguna Beach High School who recently achieved the Boy Scouts highest ranking, Eagle Scout, participates in musical theater. Joe wasnt too happy when he learned his sister would be joining Lagunas BSA Troop 35. After 10 years with the Boy Scouts, he saw the organization as a place where boys will be boys. When other people or girls are introduced to Boy Scouts, guys really feel uncomfortable and feel the need to censor themselves, he said. We all want to be ourselves, and introducing girls to that is going to change that. He said doesnt mind the shift as much anymore though. After all, the boys and girls troops in Laguna are only semi-linked meaning girls gather in the upstairs hall of Laguna Presbyterian Church while the boys continue to meet in the basement. On BSAs almost monthly camping trips, the groups will travel to the same campgrounds, but boys and girls sleep in different facilities and do most activities separately. The girls will be kind of a parallel troop, Heath said. Sometimes the two groups come together for announcements or ceremonies, such as last months court of honor, when Ani earned her first Scouts BSA ranking. She already holds the Girl Scouts Silver Award, the organizations second-highest achievement. Now shes shooting for both the Girl Scouts Gold Award and the Eagle Scout rank. Theyre both equally important, but its just different organizations, she said. Her father, John, who serves as assistant Scoutmaster for her BSA troop, said theres another reason his daughter is working toward Eagle Scout. The public doesnt know much about the Gold Award and they dont acknowledge it in the way the Eagle name is acknowledged, he said. Vikki Shepp, chief executive of Girl Scouts of Orange County, said the Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls and the most difficult to earn. We believe that Girl Scouts offers the best leadership development experience for girls in the world one developed with, by and for girls, Shepp said in a statement. The inclusive, all-female environment of a Girl Scout troop creates a safe space where girls can try new things, develop skills, take on leadership roles and be themselves. In November, Girl Scouts of the United States of America sued Boy Scouts of America, alleging trademark infringement. The Girl Scouts claimed the Boy Scouts didnt have the right to use the terms Scouts and Scouting by themselves or to rebrand itself as the Scouts. The case is continuing in U.S. District Court in New York. Ani said shes happy to be part of both groups and is proud to be one of the first members of Lagunas BSA girls troop. And she doesnt mind that the national organization is named for boys. You dont want to forget what Boys Scouts is originally, she said. I think its good keeping the name because its original and thats the history of it. Glendale Gallerias JCPenney will be staying put, even as its parent company plans to close 18 full-line stores and nine home-and-furniture locations this year. Less clear is the fate of two of the malls other prominent tenants Gap and Victorias Secret whose parent companies also announced upcoming closures but wouldnt comment on individual locations. We are not making the full list of store closures publicly available, but I can confirm that the Glendale Galleria store will not be closing, JCPenney spokeswoman Dana Harrington said of the location that opened in 1976. A lackluster financial report released Feb. 28 spurred the department stores closure decisions. According to the report, JCPenneys sales decreased 3.1% over the past fiscal year, which ended Feb. 2. Fourth-quarter sales decreased more than 4% compared to the same quarter the previous year. Comparable sales performance for the closing stores was significantly below the remaining store base and these stores operate at a much higher expense rate given the lack of productivity, according to a company statement. Another JCPenney spokeswoman, Sarah Holland, said she could not comment on the financial performance of the Galleria location, or any individual store, citing company policy. JCPenney will continue to operate 846 stores nationwide, she said. L Brands, the parent company of Victorias Secret, announced it will be closing 53 stores this year, also as a result of disappointing year-over-year sales. A sales associate who picked up the phone at the Glendale Galleria location said the store will remain open. However, another associate said they could not discuss that information and that the first associate was unauthorized to comment. Victorias Secret also has a store in the Burbank Town Center. A corporate spokesperson confirmed in an email that the company will not be releasing a list of the stores closing. The same email stated the locations closing this year represent fewer than 5% of the companys total store count. We close stores every year, said Stuart Burgdoerfer, L Brands chief financial officer, during an earnings call. So thats an ongoing part of running the business. How we go about it is we look at current and projected performance, sales, profit, cash flow. Last year, L Brands closed 30 stores. Gap Inc., which owns Old Navy and Banana Republic, is similarly staying mum about its Gap store in the Glendale Galleria, amid its recent announcement that it will be closing 230 stores over the next two years. Gap has an outlet location on San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank. We are continuing to finalize the list of specific stores that will be closed, Gap spokeswoman Trina Somera said. lila.seidman@latimes.com Twitter: @lila_seidman Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left prison Saturday to attend his 7-year-old grandsons funeral, taking advantage of his temporary release to reiterate his innocence before political leaders and relatives who had gathered to mourn. Da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, was released at 7 a.m. local time from a prison in the Parana state capital of Curitiba. He then flew to Sao Paulo by plane before taking a helicopter to Sao Bernardo do Campo, where the funeral took place. He will return to his cell later in the afternoon. A note on da Silvas website said he spoke at the funeral. Advertisement Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at his grandsons funeral that when they meet in heaven, he will bring proof of his innocence for all the bullying that Arthur suffered in school for having a grandfather in prison, the note said, adding that da Silva said he would prove that the prosecutor and judge who jailed him had lied. Lula was very sad, in a lot of pain, destroyed inside, like any human being who has to bury their child who dies in a tragic way, Joao Pedro Stedile, coordinator of the far-left Landless Workers Movement, told the Associated Press. But politically, its impressive...he said to us, Stay strong, Im going to get out, I am innocent. Da Silvas grandson, Arthur Lula da Silva, died of meningitis Friday. Arthur is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva, one of the sons of the ex-president. The funeral marked the first time da Silva has left prison since being jailed in April 2018. Leaders from the Workers Party, including ex-President Dilma Rousseff, came to pay their respects, while around 200 supporters gathered outside the cemetery chanting, Free Lula! Others said that the man popularly known as Lula should not have been allowed to attend. Lula is just an inmate, and he should be at a common prison. When the relatives of other inmates die, will they also be escorted by the federal police for the funeral? President Jair Bolsonaros son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, wrote on Twitter on Friday. It is absurd to even contemplate that. It only lets him pose as a poor thing. He later deleted the tweet. In January, da Silva wasnt allowed to go to his brothers funeral despite Brazilian laws which grant inmates permission to leave for the funerals of close family members. Da Silvas arrest has divided the country: Some believe justice is being served to a corrupt politician, while others say hes been unfairly persecuted by Brazils elite and a partisan judiciary. Da Silva served as president between 2003 and 2010. He was poised to run for president again in Octobers election but was barred due to his criminal conviction. His Workers Party says he is a political prisoner. Indian and Pakistani soldiers again targeted each others posts and villages along their volatile frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing at least six civilians and two Pakistani troops, officials said Saturday. But in a sign that tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals could soon ease, a Pakistani Cabinet minister said a key train service between Pakistan and neighboring India would resume on Monday. Tensions have been running high since Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a preemptive strike against militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan retaliated, shooting down a fighter jet Wednesday and detaining its pilot, who was returned to India on Friday in a peace gesture. Fighting resumed overnight Friday. Pakistans military said two of its soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian forces near the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals. It marked the first fatalities for Pakistani troops since Wednesday, when tensions dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed neighbors over Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Advertisement Indian police said two siblings and their mother were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The three died after a shell fired by Pakistani soldiers hit their home in the Poonch region near the Line of Control. The childrens father was critically wounded. In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, government official Umar Azam said Indian troops with heavy weapons indiscriminately targeted border villagers along the Line of Control, killing a boy and wounding three other people. He said several homes were destroyed by Indian shelling. Following a lull of a few hours, shelling and firing of small arms resumed Saturday. A Pakistani military statement said two civilians were killed and two others wounded in the fresh fighting. The Indian army said Pakistani troops attacked Indian posts at several places along the militarized line. Officials from both countries blamed each other for unprovoked violations of the 2003 cease-fire accord at several sectors along the Kashmir frontier, targeting army posts as well as villages. Since tensions escalated following last months suicide attack, world leaders have scrambled to head off an all-out war between India and Pakistan. The rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since their independence from British rule in 1947. The current violence marks the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistans military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. The latest wave of tensions began after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a Kashmiri militant on Indian paramilitary forces. India has long accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has said it was not involved in that attack and that it was ready to help New Delhi in the investigation. On both sides of Kashmir, thousands of people have fled to government-run temporary shelters or relatives homes in safer areas to escape deadly and relentless shelling along the frontier. Many of these villages dot the rugged and mountainous frontier, which is marked by razor wire, watchtowers and bunkers amid tangled bushes, forests and fields of rice and corn. These battles are fought on our bodies, in our homes and fields, and we still dont have anything in our hands. We are at the mercy of these soldiers, said Mohammed Akram, a resident in the Mendhar area in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Sakina, a young woman who fled to a shelter with her two children, said the frequent shelling had made them homeless in our own land. In Pakistani-administered Kashmir, many displaced families urged the international community to help resolve the issue of Kashmir so that they can live peacefully. Whenever India fires mortars, its we who suffer, said Mohammad Latif, a laborer who took refuge at a government building that was vacated for sheltering displaced families. I dont care whether the Indian pilot is gone or not; I dont care who released him and why, but I want to know whether peace will return to us after his return to India, said Mohammad Sadiq, a shopkeeper who also was among the displaced. He said the latest tensions between Pakistan and India rose so suddenly that some people sold their sheep, cows and buffaloes at throwaway prices in his native Chikothi town. We did not know whether we will get any shelter and how could we take our animals with us, he said. People living along the Line of Control keep bunkers near their homes, but residents say they cannot spend day and night in them. Meanwhile, Indian police said two paramilitary soldiers and two counterinsurgency police officials were killed in a gunbattle with militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, while troops fatally shot a civilian during anti-India protests. Rebel groups have been fighting Indian rule since 1989 and demand that Kashmir be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. Even as likely indictments hang over Benjamin Netanyahu and imperil his political career, the embattled Israeli prime minister is receiving the enthusiastic endorsement of his good buddy and leader of the free world, Donald J. Trump. He has been a great prime minister, President Trump said in Hanoi on Thursday after a nuclear summit with North Korea as plans to charge Netanyahu in three felony corruption cases were about to be announced in Jerusalem. Hes done a great job as prime minister. Hes tough, hes smart, hes strong. Since becoming president more than two years ago, Trump has been a loyal, unquestioning ally of Netanyahu and his right-wing Israeli government. He has taken numerous steps in favor of Israel and promised to look out for Netanyahus interests as his son-in-law and other administration officials seek a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Trump has called that long-elusive goal the ultimate deal. But Netanyahus political and legal predicament has added even more complexity to what was already a tortured, long-shot process. Advertisement Netanyahu, who has dominated Israeli politics for more than a decade, also faces a tough reelection bid. He is running for a fourth consecutive term as head of the government in voting that takes place in 40 days, on April 9. The fate of Netanyahu and the still-secret U.S.-crafted peace plan are in many ways intertwined. How he fares in the final weeks of the election campaign, whether his party continues to hold on to its lead or slips substantially, is likely to influence whether he welcomes a peace plan or turns his back on any such effort to appeal to his hard-line, ultra-hawkish base, Israeli and American political analysts say. Trump handed the project of writing a peace plan to son-in-law Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, a former Trump Organization attorney named special envoy for the Middle East. The two this week ended a second tour through Persian Gulf states attempting to find support for their ideas, which some leaders in the region have rejected for appearing overly pro-Israeli, disregarding Palestinian demands. Kushner said he would not make the plan public before the Israeli election. It could, however, be published in the postelection period, a frenzied time when, in Israels parliamentary system, political parties who have won seats make alliances in an attempt to form a government that selects the prime minister. At that point, analysts said, Netanyahu could appeal to a broader group of politicians, insisting he was the best leader to make peace while not sacrificing Israels security or other interests. There is a devils theory that Kushner and company will try to do a rollout to help Bibi form a coalition, said Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who teaches Middle East policy at Princeton University, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Or, if it would help Netanyahu more, Kushner is likely to tiptoe back to Washington so he does not hurt Bibi, Kurtzer said. If Netanyahu loses in the election, there may be pressure for the Trump administration to delay releasing the peace plan to another date, if ever, because of the uncertainty and especially if a center-left government takes over, said Ilan Goldenberg, a Middle East expert at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. Yet if Netanyahu thinks his career depends on it, he could probably go harder right, Goldenberg and others said, which might render any peace plan dead on arrival because few governments and especially those in the Arab world would be willing to work with such a coalition. Already, Netanyahu stunned many people in the U.S. and in Israel when he brought three extreme right-wing fringe parties into his coalition last week. One of the parties, Jewish Power, believes in Jewish supremacy and is led by disciples of Meir Kahane, the ultra-right-wing American-born rabbi who won a seat in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, before he was banned from politics in 1988 for advancing a racist agenda. He was assassinated two years later. No criticism was forthcoming, however, from the Trump administration. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said that were not about to get involved in a democratic countrys election. Those statements came four days before Trumps endorsement of the tough, smart, strong Netanyahu. Prior to being formally indicted, Netanyahu is allowed to challenge the charges against him, which involve bribery and other corruption aimed at promoting his image and helping him hold on to power. If indicted, Netanyahu could continue to campaign, but whether he could serve effectively as prime minister remains unclear. Initial polling after Atty. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit announced his intention to indict Thursday was grim for Netanyahu and his Likud Party. A front-page poll in Israel Hayom, a daily established by Netanyahu ally and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, showed the centrist Blue and White party leading with 38 to 29 projected seats out of a total of 120 in the Knesset. Netanyahu is a man of paradoxes, said Ben-Dror Yemini, a political analyst for Israels largest daily, Yediot Aharonot. Netanyahu the statesman, Yemini said, has done well by Israel, championing the country economically and diplomatically. But Netanyahu the politician, he said, is a very dangerous man, who places his political standing above the state to great harm. He listed as examples both Netanyahus legal imbroglios and the growing schism between Israel and American Jewry over the Likud-led governments turn further to the right. So far, Netanyahu borrowing another page from the Trump manual has declared his innocence by blaming efforts to prosecute him on a left-wing witch hunt that is determined to remove him from power. In an attempt to shore up his rattled party, Netanyahu spent three hours with Likud ministers and legislators on Friday, planning election strategy in the new political and legal panorama. It looks bad for the Likud, Kan news analyst Moav Vardi acknowledged, but its also excellent for Netanyahu, who is now perfectly placed to embark on a campaign of woe is me, arguing that he needs all right-wingers to rally to his side so as to stop the left. Goldenberg added that all politicking and coalition-building in the weeks to come for Netanyahu will be about what will protect me legally as much as possible. That also has echoes of Trumpian strategic spiel. Throughout the campaign, Netanyahu used his embrace of Trump, and Trumps of him, as electoral advertising. That is not about to stop, indictment or no. He comes to Washington at the end of March, just days ahead of the election, to speak at the annual convention of the pro-Israeli lobbying organization the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Israeli officials say Netanyahu is also expected to call on Trump at the White House, a photo op that in Israel is worth a thousand election-time words. Times staff writer Wilkinson reported from Washington and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem. For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged Australia to abandon ideological bias and provide an environment of fair competition for Chinese companies. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a routine press briefing when asked to comment on media reports that Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne had reiterated keeping Chinese telecoms giant Huawei out of Australia's 5G network infrastructure even if the United States softens its stance on Huawei. China expressed grave concern over this statement, Lu said. He said the Chinese government has consistently encouraged Chinese companies to carry out economic cooperation overseas in accordance with international rules and local laws, and had never supported any enterprises to engage in activities that harm national security of other countries. Instead of setting obstacles under various pretexts and taking discriminatory practices, the Australian side should facilitate cooperation between enterprises from both countries, he said. When asked whether a test on imported coal taken by China was related with recent tension between China and Australia due to issues including 5G infrastructure, Lu said it was "completely normal" for China to take such a test. "Chinese customs have carried out inspection and analysis on risks of the imported coal and taken appropriate operations according to laws and regulations," said Lu, adding that it was the Chinese government's duty to maintain the safety and interests of the Chinese people. President Trump traveled more than 8,000 miles to Vietnam and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un trekked more than 2,000, arguably for little more than a photo and a handshake. In announcing the anticlimactic no-deal end to a whirlwind three weeks after Trump had told the world about his planned second summit with Kim during his State of the Union address, the president said North Korea had promised to continue its freeze on nuclear testing. For now at least, there would be no return to the fraught first year of Trumps presidency in 2017, when North Korea test-fired a series of increasingly far-reaching missiles, raising the specter of striking the U.S. mainland, and detonated a hydrogen bomb underground, sending literal shock waves throughout northeast Asia. I trust him and I take him at his word, Trump told reporters this week. But in the meantime, well be talking. Advertisement All the while, North Koreas nuclear arsenal apparently continues to grow. U.S. intelligence last summer estimated North Korea may have anywhere from 20 to 60 nuclear weapons. In 2018, North Korea probably produced enough plutonium and uranium for an additional five to seven nuclear weapons, researchers at Stanford have estimated, steadily adding to its stockpile. Many of the countrys nuclear facilities are camouflaged, tucked away in mountains or hidden underground. Analysts scouring satellite imagery spotted signs of continued buildup at a network of at least 16 secret missile operating bases never acknowledged by North Korea. Intelligence officials have said there is evidence North Korea has continued constructing new missiles, even after its leader last June signed onto an agreement with Trump to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The heart of the disagreement in this weeks talks in Hanoi lies in justhow much of its nuclear arsenal North Korea is willing to give up at this juncture, and at what cost. That negotiation is complicated by the fact that the full scope and extent of North Koreas nuclear capabilities is difficult to know. The nation, which long ago booted out any international inspectors, has balked at the idea of providing an inventory of its weapons and facilities, saying that would be tantamount to handing over a target list. In Hanoi, North Korea offered to shutter the only nuclear facility it has ever acknowledged having, a 300-building, three-square-mile complex in Yongbyon at the center of its nuclear program. Trump said that wasnt good enough to cover North Koreas asking price relief from the vast majority of sanctions imposed on the country after a series of missile tests in 2016 and 2017 because of other covert nuclear sites. As you know, theres plenty left after that, and I just felt it wasnt good, he told reporters. That facility, while very big, it wasnt enough. We had to have more than that. Allowing what amounted to billions of dollars in sanctions relief for only a part of North Koreas nuclear program would in effect put us in a position of subsidizing the ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, a senior State Department official told reporters after the talks fell apart, speaking on condition of anonymity. That is effectively the choice that we were presented with. The shutdown of Yongbyon, which includes North Koreas only plutonium reactor as well as a uranium plant, would at least have limited the growth of North Koreas arsenal, said Vipin Narang, a nuclear proliferation expert and political science professor the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The nuclear program continues to grow; the talks have fallen apart, he said. Now weve got nothing. This is the risk of trying to get it all in one bite. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told reporters this week that Kim had made the best offer he could at this stage and said she worried he may lose the will to continue with the talks. Whether the U.S. will have another opportunity like this in the future, I cannot say for sure, she said. Trump has touted as a sign that his approach is working the fact that North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since November 2017. But even without outwardly apparent testing, North Korea is no doubt continuing to enhance and expand its ballistic missiles, said Evans Revere, a former State Department official specializing in Asia. Revere said Trump has essentially signaled to Kim: As long as theyre not testing, the U.S. is willing to live with a nuclear North Korea. He said that in insisting on offering up only Yongbyon in the negotiations, Kim appeared determined to keep the negotiations away from the rest of the nuclear weapons program. Noting that North Korea had agreed to give up Yongbyon twice in past nuclear talks, Revere said Trump had dodged a bullet by walking away from Kims offer in Hanoi. Melissa Hanham, a nuclear weapons expert and North Korea specialist at One Earth Future, an anti-proliferation organization in Colorado, said Kims offer appeared to have been to permanently dismantle the entirety of the nuclear complex, unlike in past talks. In my mind going into the summit, I was worried they were going to shut down one reactor and when North Korea got mad they would start up the reactor again, she said. Hanham said the U.S. may have passed on an opportunity to rein in, if not eliminate, North Koreas nuclear weapons program. Obviously you want a magic wand to make the entire nuclear program disappear, but limiting fissile material production and capping the number of nuclear weapons North Korea could have is a good deal, she said. The Trump administration is making perfect the enemy of good. Twenty-nine parents from across Central America who were separated from their children by U.S. immigration agents last year returned to the U.S. border on Saturday, demanding asylum hearings that might allow them to reunite with their children. The group of parents quietly traveled north over the last month, assisted by a team of immigration attorneys who hatched a high-stakes plan to reunite families divided by the Trump administrations family separation policy last year. The 29 parents were among those deported without their children, who remain in the United States in shelters, in foster homes or with relatives. Although the Trump administrations family separation policy has prompted congressional hearings, lawsuits and national protests, the parents have for nearly a year suffered out of the spotlight from their homes in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. They celebrated birthdays and Christmas on video calls, trying to determine whether their children were safe. Now, they will pose a significant test to Americas embattled asylum system, arguing that they deserve another chance at refuge in the United States, something rarely offered to deportees. Advertisement Before the Trump administration, families had never been systematically separated at the border. And before Saturday, those families had never returned to the border en masse. As of early afternoon in Mexicali, none of the 29 parents had been allowed into the United States by border officials, who cited capacity issues at holding centers. More than 2,700 children were separated from their families along the border last year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. About 430 parents were deported without their children, and at least 200 of those parents remain separated today. Some waited in the hope that U.S. courts would allow them to return to the United States. Others paid smugglers. Then came Saturdays confrontation. The group of parents walked toward the border here, flanked by local religious officials, and waited at the entrance to the United States as the attorneys negotiated with U.S. officials. The parents sat on wooden benches, surrounded by their luggage, while officials decided how many, if any, of the parents to allow into the country. Over the last three weeks, the parents stayed in a Tijuana hotel, sharing rooms and preparing for their asylum hearings. They showed one another items that their children had sent them: photos of foster families and report cards from Southwest Key, a company that runs shelters for migrant children. A woman said through tears that her daughter had tried to kill herself while in government custody. A man spoke about trying to communicate with his daughter, who is deaf, over a shelters telephone. Others carried bags full of belated Christmas gifts. Jose Ottoniel, 28, from Guatemala, waits at a Tijuana lodging. He was separated from his 10-year-old son, Ervin. (Carolyn Van Houten / The Washington Post) Many of the parents, like Jose Ottoniel, from the tiny town of San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala, said they had been pressured into signing deportation papers, after being separated from their children, before they could begin their asylum claims. When he returned home after being deported in June, Ottoniel was told that his 10-year-old son, Ervin, was still in the United States, at a shelter. The family chose to keep Ervin in the United States with an uncle rather than have him return to the violence and poverty of the familys village. It was a wrenching decision that Ottoniels wife, Elvia, who had remained in Guatemala when Ottoniel tried to cross the border, eventually decided she couldnt live with. In January, she paid a smuggler $8,000 to travel to the United States to reunite with Ervin in Arkansas, applying for asylum in south Texas. A few days later, Ottoniel received a call from an American immigration attorney with the Los Angeles-based legal advocacy group Al Otro Lado. The attorney asked him if he was willing to travel the 2,500 miles from his village to the U.S.-Mexico border to deliver himself once again to immigration agents. Al Otro Lado had received over a million dollars in financial assistance from organizations such as Families Belong Together and Together Rising, which mounted fundraising campaigns in the midst of the governments separation policy. The lawyer told Ottoniel that the organization would pay for his buses, flights and hotels. At that point, we were already seeing some of these parents paying smugglers to bring them back to the U.S., said Erika Pinheiro, litigation and policy director for Al Otro Lado. The group had interviewed deported parents from across Central America who were separated from their children and feared for their lives after being deported. We needed to provide them with another option. For Ottoniel, who referred to his family as disintegrated, it seemed his best shot at a reunion. It was a chance to see my son again, he said. How could I say no? Ottoniel and other parents converged at a three-story hotel in Tijuana, where lawyers told them to remain quiet about their plans. They rehearsed how they would address U.S. immigration officials. They watched telenovelas. At night, they called their children across the border. There was Luisa Hidalgo, 31, from El Salvador, whose daughter, Katherinne, 14, is in the Bronx with a foster family. The girl texted her mother the same words over and over: Fight for me. There was Antolina Marcos, 28, who said she fled Guatemala after gangs began killing members of her family. She was separated from her 14-year-old daughter, Geidy, in May. How can I live when shes so far away? Marcos said. Santos Canelas, 45, from Honduras, was separated from his daughter Merin, 16. Back home, he said, gang members had threatened to rape her. (Carolyn Van Houten / The Washington Post) There was Santos Canelas, 44, who said he fled Honduras with his 16-year-old daughter, Merin, in May after gang members threatened to sexually assault her. She is living in New Orleans with a cousin. Without my daughter, Im dead inside, he said. In most of the 2,700 cases from when the Trump administration separated families at the border last year, both the parents and children remained in the United States, sometimes held in shelters and detention centers thousands of miles apart. Almost all of those families have now been reunited and are in the process of pursuing their asylum claims. But the cases of about 430 parents deported without their children were particularly difficult. Often, the government lost track of which child belonged to which parent, and it did not link their immigration cases, sending parents back to Central America without telling them where their children were. In some of those cases, parents later made the painful decision to leave their children in the United States, typically with relatives, rather than bring them back to the destitution and brutality the families had fled. In other cases, the U.S. government determined the parents were unfit to receive their children, often based on their criminal records. After Trump signed an executive order officially ending the family separation policy on June 20, lawyers launched a legal battle to reunite many of the deported parents and their children in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit demanding the government allow 52 parents back into the United States to pursue their asylum claims, which the lawyers argued had been stymied after the parents were separated from their children at the border. Luisa Hidalgo bought a jewelry box to give her daughter when they reunite. (Carolyn Van Houten / The Washington Post) But the government has not responded to that appeal, and later said more information about the parents was needed from the ACLU. It remains unclear when, or if, the U.S. government will invite those parents back to the United States to launch new asylum claims. The government has resisted bringing anyone back who was separated and deported without their kids, said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project. We hope the government will take a fresh look at these cases. But as the government refused to articulate any plan to reunite the families, Pinheiro decided waiting much longer would put the parents at risk. Some had relocated to a safe house in Guatemala City to escape threats in El Salvador and Honduras. Some had already been without their children for more than a year, and those separations were taking a psychological toll. We gave them the option you can wait for the court process, or you can do it this way, Pinheiro said. Al Otro Lado worked with the ACLU to identify the separated parents in Central America, but the ACLU was not involved in bringing the 29 parents back to the border. With few other options, Pinheiro said, almost every parent she approached accepted her offer. The parents first gathered in the Guatemalan city of Tecun Uman before crossing into Mexico with humanitarian visas that Al Otro Lado helped arrange. They flew to Mexico City and then to Tijuana, eventually taking a bus to Mexicali. Were traveling back to the border where we lost our children in the first place, said Pablo Mejia Mancia, 53, from Honduras, who was separated from his grade-school-age daughter when they crossed the border into Texas in May. Its likely that some of the parents could be detained for months if the government decides to process their asylum claims. But even if they are refused entry to the United States in the coming days, U.S. courts could eventually allow some of the parents back into the country to petition for asylum. For now, though, the parents say they hope their long trip back to the border will be the fastest way to see their children again. The U.S. policy of forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico has not yet been implemented in Mexicali. Theyre standing right at the border, preparing to reenter a system that traumatized their families months earlier, said Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who counseled the parents in Tijuana. It says a lot about what theyre fleeing, and what they lost. Sieff and Kinosian write for the Washington Post. Entertainment Trinidad Carnival parades live stream, TV & radio coverage Trinidad carnival live 02.03.2019 14:06:47 - Find all the best live streaming, television and radio coverage for the 2019 Trinidad Carnival. T&T carnival parades live stream. (live-PR.com) - Carnival returns to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago once more this year, with a festival of parties and live music leading up the big Parades of the Bands in Port of Spain. You can find all the best live stream and online coverage here: www.myworldevents.com/parade/trinidad-tobago-carnival.html Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago These islands have been celebrating carnival or mardi gras for many years - Carnival returns to the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago once more this year, with a festival of parties and live music leading up the big Parades of the Bands in Port of Spain.You can find all the best live stream and online coverage here:Carnival in Trinidad and TobagoThese islands have been celebrating carnival or mardi gras for many years now, with events and festivities for several weeks leading up to the highlight of carnival, namely the Parades of the Bands on Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday, also commonly known as Fat Tuesday. Although there are parades all over the islands and indeed the whole Caribben region, the main parades, and the ones that draw by far the biggest crowds, are in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad. Today musical competitions make up a large part of formal Carnival; groups and win large amount of money. To be named Calypso Monarch is one of the country's greatest honours, the competition which is called Dimanche Gras is aired on television. Along with the honour comes an enormous trophy, a car, TT $1,000,000 (approx.) and possible endorsements and other contracts. Other prestigious titles are the King and Queen of the Bands ; the International Soca Monarch (both Groovy and Power); the Carnival Road March; and Panorama (for steelpan). For the latter, the 2011 prize was TT$2 million. There are also other competitions that are involved in the Calypso Monarch. Traditionally, musicians use drums, claves, and the steelpan, created in Trinidad and reported to be the only non-electrical instrument invented in the 20th century, that has been hammered down in different areas to create a wide range of different notes. A group of performers practice weeks in advance on these pans to compete. Trinidad and Tobago is multicultural (Amerindian, European, African, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern), and all of its groups have contributed musical influences to the sounds of Carnival. These cultures have combined to create a music vastly different from that of Carnival in Spain, Venice, or New Orleans. As with other Carnivals, many participants wear elaborate costumes, often decorated with feathers and sequins. Carnival bands are organized groups made up of participants who pay for costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of a steel band, a soca band or a d.j. this is called "playing mas'". A unique feature of this parade is that locals and tourists alike participate in the parade of bands. Each band is led by a King and Queen, who wear extremely large costumes, often requiring extensions and wheels to assist the masquerader to carry it through the streets. Each year on Dimanche Gras (Carnival Sunday), a competition is held to award the King and Queen of Carnival title to two of these masqueraders. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the bands are in competition to win the Band of the Year title. Small monetary prizes are associated with these titles, though they do not cover the full amount of producing the band's music or the King's or Queen's costumes. Participation occurs at all levels of society; three-time calypso monarch David Rudder described it as "from bourgeois to grassroots." Children participate from as early as parents can get them into costume; sometime even strollers are decorated. Children can extend their fun by participating in smaller "Kiddies' Carnival" shows, competitions and parades as early as 4 weeks before the culmination of the festival. For weeks ahead, several preliminary rounds of competitions and parties (or fetes) take place. As Carnival is part of the national curriculum, several programmes take place at schools across the country. Regional authorities handle smaller Carnival celebrations in smaller towns and villages. Some of the most innovative carnival costumes came from kiddies carnival. Rosalind Gabriel, a 30 year veteran and the most decorated children's bandleader in the country's history, has sent her costumes to carnivals in North America and other Caribbean islands. Proving that Carnival not only has worldwide appeal to adults, but children too. now, with events and festivities for several weeks leading up to the highlight of carnival, namely the Parades of the Bands on Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday, also commonly known as Fat Tuesday. Although there are parades all over the islands and indeed the whole Caribben region, the main parades, and the ones that draw by far the biggest crowds, are in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad.Today musical competitions make up a large part of formal Carnival; groups and win large amount of money. To be named Calypso Monarch is one of the country's greatest honours, the competition which is called Dimanche Gras is aired on television. Along with the honour comes an enormous trophy, a car, TT $1,000,000 (approx.) and possible endorsements and other contracts. Other prestigious titles are the King and Queen of the Bands ; the International Soca Monarch (both Groovy and Power); the Carnival Road March; and Panorama (for steelpan). For the latter, the 2011 prize was TT$2 million. There are also other competitions that are involved in the Calypso Monarch.Traditionally, musicians use drums, claves, and the steelpan, created in Trinidad and reported to be the only non-electrical instrument invented in the 20th century, that has been hammered down in different areas to create a wide range of different notes. A group of performers practice weeks in advance on these pans to compete.Trinidad and Tobago is multicultural (Amerindian, European, African, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern), and all of its groups have contributed musical influences to the sounds of Carnival. These cultures have combined to create a music vastly different from that of Carnival in Spain, Venice, or New Orleans.As with other Carnivals, many participants wear elaborate costumes, often decorated with feathers and sequins. Carnival bands are organized groups made up of participants who pay for costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of a steel band, a soca band or a d.j. this is called "playing mas'". A unique feature of this parade is that locals and tourists alike participate in the parade of bands. Each band is led by a King and Queen, who wear extremely large costumes, often requiring extensions and wheels to assist the masquerader to carry it through the streets. Each year on Dimanche Gras (Carnival Sunday), a competition is held to award the King and Queen of Carnival title to two of these masqueraders.On Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the bands are in competition to win the Band of the Year title. Small monetary prizes are associated with these titles, though they do not cover the full amount of producing the band's music or the King's or Queen's costumes. Participation occurs at all levels of society; three-time calypso monarch David Rudder described it as "from bourgeois to grassroots." Children participate from as early as parents can get them into costume; sometime even strollers are decorated.Children can extend their fun by participating in smaller "Kiddies' Carnival" shows, competitions and parades as early as 4 weeks before the culmination of the festival. For weeks ahead, several preliminary rounds of competitions and parties (or fetes) take place. As Carnival is part of the national curriculum, several programmes take place at schools across the country. Regional authorities handle smaller Carnival celebrations in smaller towns and villages. Some of the most innovative carnival costumes came from kiddies carnival. Rosalind Gabriel, a 30 year veteran and the most decorated children's bandleader in the country's history, has sent her costumes to carnivals in North America and other Caribbean islands. Proving that Carnival not only has worldwide appeal to adults, but children too. Author: Martin Kerrigan e-mail Web: http://www.myworldevents.com Phone: 0035799813173 02.03.2019 14:06:47 - Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party. RIYADH, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's plans to introduce Chinese into curriculum at all stages of its national education would promote diversity and competitiveness in various sectors and broaden openness to the world, Saudi scholars and experts said during a seminar in Riyadh. The Center for Research and Intercommunication Knowledge (CRIK), a Saudi think tank, held a panel discussion on the introduction of Chinese into the Saudi curriculum and its importance to achieving the Vision 2030 on Wednesday. China and Saudi agreed to include the Chinese language learning as a curriculum at all stages of education in schools and universities across the kingdom, during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's official visit to China last week. At the workshop, Yahya bin Junaid, president of the CRIK, noted the importance of learning language in enhancing national relationship and people-to-people contacts. He stressed that the move is historic and also an important part of the kingdom's Vision 2030, which reflects Saudi Arabia's openness to the world. Ali bin Mayouf Al-Mayouf, head of the Southeast Asian Unit at the CRIK and professor of Arabic Language at King Saud University, noticed that the news was welcomed and appreciated by most Saudi educational institutions and citizens. People's reactions demonstrated how important the decision was, and the diversity of the languages of learning will play a positive role in the development of Saudi educational system, he added. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel, former minister of Communications and Information Technology and President of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), highlighted his own experience in learning Chinese. "I learned the language to express my respect to the Chinese people and the pioneering development of China," he said, adding that the beautiful characteristics of the language attract the learners for its rich civilization. Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Li Huaxin, spoke of the fast development of Chinese-Saudi relations where the development of economic exchange, political understanding and mutual respect have reached a very advanced stage. China sees Saudi as the a significant partner in the Middle East and Africa, and China is proud to have its language included in the Saudi educational curriculum, Li said. Arabic is taught in more than 60 universities in China through specialized Arabic language departments, he added. "The decision will increase understanding between the two peoples and contribute to the deepening of cultural and trade ties between the two countries," Li said. Three members of a family were killed and two others injured as Pakistani forces heavily shelled areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Friday, officials said. Pakistani forces targeted civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy guns, including Howitzer 105 mm, they said, adding that Indian forces retaliated effectively. In the heavy shelling, three members of a family were killed and another was injured in Salotri in Poonch district, where shells hit several houses, they said. Twenty-four-year-old Rubana Kosar and her son Fazan (5) and nine-month-old daughter Shabnam were killed in the shelling. Rubana's husband Mohd Yunis was injured, they said. Earlier in the day, a woman, identified as Naseem Akhtar, was injured in the firing by Pakistani forces in the Mankote area of Poonch, officials said. Besides Salotri and Mankote, shelling also took place in Krishnagati and Balakote areas in Poonch district. In violation of the ceasefire agreement with India, Pakistani forces have been shelling areas along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts for eight consecutive days. On Thursday, a woman was killed and a jawan was injured when Pakistani Army heavily shelled civilian areas and forward posts in six sectors along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. The Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire for over 60 times during the last one week by targeting over 70 civilian and forward areas along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir, in which one woman was killed and 9 persons were injured. PTI Natural Gas Bottom Rotation Sets Up New Opportunities Our recent UGAZ trade returned over 30% in profits in just a few days for our members. We believe this continued price rotation below $3 will also setup new trading opportunities for skilled traders. Traders just need to be patient and understand when the opportunity exists in NG for an upside price swing. The $2.50~2.60 price level has continued to drive historical support in price for over two years now. Until that level is substantially broken, we believe the opportunities for upside price rotation from near these levels is substantial. The immediate upside targets for NG are $2.90 and $3.15. These targets are enough for skilled traders to capture 25~30% returns in the 3x ETFs which is what we did this week in UGAZ. Larger upside opportunities exist with seasonal price pattern, but we are likely 7+ months away from another seasonal rally in NG at this point. Still, our researchers believe any price level below $2.60 is an excellent buying opportunity with upside targets of $2.90 or higher in NG. Trading the UGAZ ETF can provide incredible opportunities for skilled traders. If you are bullish on gold, silver, or miners be sure to take a look at our previous gold prediction because its playing our as expected based on the US Dollar. Read all of our published research posts by visiting www.TheTechnicalTraders.com/FreeResearch/ We believe 2019 will be an incredible year of opportunities for skilled traders and have already helped our members find some incredible trades. Isnt it time you invested a bit into your future success? 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. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. GAZA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Palestinians joined on Friday the weekly anti-Israel rallies, better known as the Marches of Return, and clashed with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel, eyewitnesses said. The Palestinian protesters gathered from all over the Gaza Strip and marches towards the border with Israel. They waved Palestinian flags, chanted slogans against Israel, burned tires and threw stones at the soldiers stationed on the border. The soldiers fired tear gas canisters, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the protesters, said the eyewitnesses. Paramedics in the area said that dozens were injured and most of them were treated in the field. The 49th week's protest in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on since March 30 last year, was organized upon the calls of the Highest Commission of the Marches of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege. The protests on Friday were organized one day after a United Nations investigation report accused Israel of committing "war crimes" in the Gaza Strip during the weekly marches of return. The Israeli army shot and killed 260 Palestinians since last March, including 48 children and six women, and wounded more than 26,000 others, most of them were injured by live gunshots and tear gas, according to Gaza Health Ministry. Hazem Qassem, the Islamic Hamas movement's spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that the Palestinians' insistence to carry on the protests and rallies show that "the people won't give up their demand of ending the siege." The Hamas movement is part of the highest commission of the marches of return. Its activists on Friday called on the populations through loudspeakers in the mosques to join the weekly rallies in eastern Gaza Strip. In 2007, when Hamas movement violently seized control of the coastal enclave and routed the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip. "On the coming March 30, the Palestinians will mark one year for the Marches of Return," said Qassem. He went on saying that "the Palestinian people are creative and smart enough to create new methods and means that boost their determination to achieve their goals of freedom and independence." This domain name expired on 2021-12-05 00:29:42 Click here to renew it. The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference holds a news conference on March 2, 2019. (Photo by Zou Hong/chinadaily.com.cn) Cooperation is best choice for China, US: CPPCC National Committee spokesman China and the United States reaching a mutually beneficial agreement on trade in a timely manner will be conducive to both sides and the world economy, Guo Weimin, spokesman of the Second Session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, said on Saturday. In accordance with the instructions of the two countries' top leaders, China and the US have achieved substantial progress on such specific issues as technology transfer, protection of intellectual property rights, non-tariff barriers, service industry, agriculture and exchange rates, Guo said. China and the US, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the worlds two biggest economies, play a tremendous role in promoting global prosperity, Guo said at the news conference of the Second Session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. It is a solid fact that cooperation is the best choice for both sides instead of standing against each other, Guo added. WASHINGTON, March 2 -- An American spacecraft designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States was launched Saturday morning for its debut unmanned flight. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifted off at 2:49 a.m. Eastern Time (0749 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 11 minutes after blastoff, the Crew Dragon separated from the second stage of the rocket, and headed for an autonomous docking with the space station on Sunday. The test flight is intended to show the transport capabilities of SpaceX, a private company and contractor of the U.S. space agency NASA for ISS flights. The move came eight years after NASA's space shuttle retired, leaving it dependent on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to fly crews to the station. NASA called the flight on its official Twitter account "a new chapter of U.S. human spaceflight systems." "Today's successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us r to once again flying American Astronauts on American rockets from American soil," said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine after the launch. This is the first test mission of a commercially-built and operated American spacecraft and rocket designed for humans, according to NASA. "Demo-1 is a demonstration of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft, ground systems and overall operations, basically just everything that needs to be operating and operating well before we want to put our astronauts on board," said Mike Lee, NASA mission manager for SpaceX's Demo-1 flight test. The 7-seat spacecraft used in this Demo-1 mission a dummy astronaut with a sensor-equipped spacesuit to collect the capsule's environmental data. The crew capsule has eight 3D-printed SuperDraco escape engines, which could fly the vehicle out of harm's way during a launch emergency. If the Demo-1 is successful, there will be a high-altitude abort test for the escape system before the Demo-2 mission brings two astronauts into space, now targeted for July. The spacecraft is expected to take about 180 kg of crew supplies and equipment into the station and will remain docked there for five days. It will autonomously undock with the station on Friday and make a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean on March 8, according to NASA. "We need to make sure that it can safely go rendezvous and dock with the space station, and undock safely, and not pose a hazard to the International Space Station," said Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program during a briefing before the launch. NASA is also working with Boeing to make an unmanned flight test for its CST-100 Starliner crew spacecraft no earlier than April, with a target flight no earlier than August with astronauts on board. The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference holds a news conference on March 2, 2019. (Photo/Xinhua) The Chinese mainland will deepen democratic consultation with parties and individuals from Taiwan to push forward peaceful national reunification, a spokesman said on Saturday. On the political basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus with the one-China principle and opposing "Taiwan independence", forms of democratic consultation can be flexible and diverse, Guo Weimin, spokesman for the second session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said at a press conference. President Xi Jinping said in a speech at a gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of issuing Message to Compatriots in Taiwan on Jan 2 that the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" are the best approach to realizing national reunification. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, proposed that the mainland and Taiwan conduct democratic consultation on cross-Straits relations and establish institutional arrangement for peaceful development. The proposal of democratic consultation across the Taiwan Straits has won wide applause , Guo said, adding that democratic consultation is a more extensive and full democracy. It will play an important role in promoting exchanges between peoples, resolving differences and building consensus of the two sides, he said. It will also help Taiwan residents participate in the development of cross-Straits relations and the peaceful reunification of the motherland, he added. "By advocating democratic consultation, we are placing our hope on the people of Taiwan and respecting the mainstream public opinion of the island," Guo said. "However, the Democratic Progressive Party, the island's ruling party, rejected the 1992 Consensus and refused to conduct political negotiations with the mainland, ignoring the people's demands for reunification," he added. Therefore, the democratic consultation can provide a more open channel for Taiwan residents to express their opinions, he said. "It will not affect or replace the cross-Straits negotiation, but provide solid public support." Guo said that the CPPCC provides an important channel for cross-Straits democratic consultation to reach the institutional arrangement for peaceful reunification. "We will continue to deepen exchanges with various parties, organizations and individuals of the island, and work with our compatriots in Taiwan to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the peaceful reunification of the motherland," he said. WALLINGFORD A pedestrian suffered life threatening injuries after being struck by a car on Old Colony Road Friday night. The incident occurred about 6 p.m. in the area of 1219 Old Colony Road. Police said Kamil Wolanowski, 31, of Wallingford was transported to Hartford Hospital with life threatening injuries. Wolanowski is listed in critical condition with severe head trauma and is unresponsive, Lt. Anthony DeMaio said. Police investigating determined Stephen Fellegy, 69, of Wallingford was driving a 2015 Nissan Frontier pickup truck south on Old Colony Road and struck Wolanowski while he was crossing the road, DeMaio said. Police noted the road was well lit, flat and straight and weather conditions did not factor into the incident. Old Colony Road was closed for several hours while police worked to reconstruct the collision. Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact Officer Christian Evans at 203-294-2819 or DeMaio at 203-294-2838. International US slaps new sanctions on Venezuela regime FILE- A demonstrator throws stones at Venezuelan National Guard troops on the border with Brazil at Pacaraima, Roraima state, on February 24, 2019 WASHINGTON, MAR 2 (AFP) | Publish Date: 3/2/2019 12:08:59 PM IST The United States and Russia clashed Friday over how to assist crisis-wracked Venezuela, with Moscow pledging new relief channeled through President Nicolas Maduro and Washington slapping sanctions over the blocking of US aid it tried to push through the border. A day after Russia and China vetoed a US and European resolution at the UN Security Council that called for unimpeded aid deliveries, Washington said it was targeting six Venezuelan military officers for stopping last weekends US-led convoy. Four people were killed in the melee as Maduros forces prevented the 178 metric tonnes of rice, beans and other food from crossing into the country from Colombia. The leftist strongman says the aid is a pretext for a US-led invasion. We are sanctioning members of Maduros security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The six include Major General Richard Jesus Lopez Vargas, the commander of the Venezuelan National Guard. The sanctions freeze any assets in the United States and penalize US financial dealings with the officials. The United States also revoked the visas of 49 Venezuelan officials and their family members, the State Department said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as interim president, had hoped to triumph in bringing in the stockpiles of food, which the United States coordinated with Colombia and Brazil. Guaido has said 300,000 people could die without an influx of aid into Venezuela. The United Nations says 2.7 million Venezuelans have fled since 2015 as the socialist economy crumbles, with basic supplies out of reach to the masses. More than 50 countries recognize Guaido as Venezuelas rightful president -- but Maduro enjoys strong support from Russia, which is eager to challenge US interventionism, as well as China, which is concerned over the fate of billions of dollars Beijing has lent to Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, receiving Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow, said Russia was stepping up shipments of wheat and was considering sending more medical supplies after shipping 7.5 tonnes. We are very closely cooperating and coordinating all our steps in the international arena, Lavrov said. This has acquired special significance now that Venezuela is facing a frontal attack and unabashed interference in its domestic affairs, he said. The Egyptian government has launched the third phase of the 100 Million Lives campaign, a nationwide hepatitis C drive that has so far screened 30 million people for the disease. In a Friday statement, Egypts Health Minister Hala Zayed said the third phase would include the governorates of Giza, Gharbiya, Sharqiya, Daqahliya, New Valley, Qena, and Minya and is expected to cover 23 million people. The largest populations for screening are in Giza and Sharqiya, with 5.4 million and 4.2 million citizens respectively. The third phase will conclude at the end of April. The first two phases screened 30.3 million people, making the campaign the country's largest ever anti-hepatitis C drive. As of 2015, some 22 percent of Egypt's population had hepatitis C. Over the past three years, Egypt has been using a variety of new medications to combat the virus, which affects the liver. In 2016, the health ministry announced it had achieved a 96 percent cure rate of the disease nationwide. The health ministry has vowed to completely eliminate the disease from Egypt by 2022. Search Keywords: Short link: By PTI TORONTO: Canada said it will allow a US extradition request for an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei to face charges over possible dealings with Iran to proceed. The Department of Justice said Friday officials made the decision after a diligent review of the case against Meng Wangzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd., the biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies. A department statement stressed that Canada was following its laws. Meng's Dec 1 arrest at the Vancouver airport set off a diplomatic furor and strained Canadian relations with China. Beijing has accused Washington of a politically motivated attempt to hurt a potential competitor to US technology vendors. ALSO READ | Huawei says US has 'no evidence' of 5G spying allegations Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, is accused of lying to banks about the company's dealings with Iran in violation of U.S.trade sanctions. She is free on bail in Vancouver and is due in court Wednesday, when a date for an extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the U.S. request. A decision to extradite ultimately must be approved by Canada's justice minister. "There is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision," the statement said. The Chinese government on Saturday criticized the decision as a "serious violation" of Meng's rights and called on Washington to withdraw its extradition request. "The U.S. and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition agreement," said a Foreign Ministry statement. China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. ALSO READ | US charges Huawei with stealing secrets, violating Iran sanctions A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor haven't had access to a lawyer since being arrested. Meng is living in one of two Vancouver mansions she owns. "We are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng's case if he thought it would assist the US negotiations with China over a trade deal," said her lawyer, David Martin, in a statement. Martin said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa criticized the case in a statement as "a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise." Huawei is a focus of US security concerns. Washington has pressured other countries to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information. By Express News Service BENGALURU: After Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) called for tenders last year, work orders for replacing 4.7 lakh street lights will be issued next week. The project includes replacing sodium vapour street lights with light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Civic experts, however, point out that execution must focus first on areas which are dimly lit or not lit at all. The government has approved the project recently and we will issue work order to the finalised bidder in one week. Thirty months is the timeline given to the executing agency. It will be done in a phased manner. In the first ten months, 1,00,000 lights will be replaced with LED. For every five months thereafter, 1,00,000 lights each will be replaced. We expect to save around `17 crore per month once all the lights are installed, said Manoj Kumar Meena, Special Commissioner (Projects), BBMP. In 2015, NGO Janaagraha released a report on Street Quality Score that included the condition of street lighting in the city. As no major lighting projects have been taken up since then, the Palike can still refer to our report and focus on areas that are in more need of lights. For instance, MG Road is well-lit, so switching the lights to LED immediately is of no use, said Sapna Karim, head, civic participation, Janaagraha. She added that last-mile connectivity is not up to the mark in the city and safety becomes a concern when a person walks from the bus stop to their neighbourhood, without light. BBMP must rely on data to execute this project. Moreover, posting the progress in the public domain along with contractor details will ensure transparency, she said. Civic expert V Ravichander said, BBMP must also focus on more crime prone areas such as those areas where chain and phone snatching incidents are high. The corporation can also geo-tag street lights, codify them and put up the data on their website. This way, residents can mark those lights that are not functional and alert them immediately. He added that citizens could also complain if the lights are unecessarily switched on in the mornings. According to the BBMP, the sequence in which the upgradation of street lights would take place was left to the discretion of the BBMP Commissioner. He will take a call on which areas to begin the LED project with. With usage of LED bulbs, we will be spending only `3 crore. After 10 years, the complete maintenance and operation of these streetlights will be with BBMP, Meena added. Avinash Bhat By Express News Service BENGALURU: Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who returned to India late on Friday night after crossing the Wagah-Attari, will have to undergo a check-up at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) in Bengaluru before he can resume flying duties again. "All fighter pilots have to maintain a certain fitness level, designated as A1G1, which means they are fully fit for airborne and ground operations. Once a pilot has been in a crash or any other incident which might affect their fitness levels, they will have to undergo a check-up at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM). If he manages to get back the A1G1 grade and injuries to his spine do not prevent him from flying fighter jets, he can return to active fighter pilot duty," a senior Air Force official explained. After his release from Pakistan, Abhinandan had a brief meeting with his family before he was taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), New Delhi, for medical examination. The fighter pilot was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 when the MiG-21 Bison he was piloting, went down during an engagement with PAF jets. ALSO READ: Wing Commander Abhinandan subjected to mental harassment during his captivity in Pakistan: IAF According to senior IAF officials, the pilot was sent to AFCME for a preliminary medical examination to ascertain his medical condition after having ejected from the aircraft and landed in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). These tests will look at his state of mind as well as his physical injuries before he is discharged. Officials, however, expressed hope that he would return to flying eventually. At the IAM, Wing Commander Abhinandan, as well as Wing Commander Vijay Shelke and Squadron Leader Tejeshwar Singh, the two Surya Kiran pilots who were injured in the mid-air collision ahead of Aero India, will undergo tests to determine their response to G force or gravitational force as well as a decompression chamber test which will test their reaction to sudden changes in altitude. All fighter pilots are required to regularly visit the facility for routine check-ups. "There have been pilots who have returned to flying fighter jets in the past and it is quite possible that these pilots will be able to return as well. However, the only cause for worry is the possible damage to their spinal column, which needs to be examined in detail," the Air Force official said. However, it might take some time for Wing Commander Abhinandan to visit the city for these tests as initially, the IAF will focus on assessing his immediate medical condition. In the past, fighter pilots who have ejected from their aircraft, have also been assigned flying duties with transport aircraft or helicopters, keeping in mind the physical stress that flying fighter jets can have on the human body. However, only full medical tests will be able to determine the next move for Wing Commander Abhinandan. Spinal fractures common: Study By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The mood near Jal Vayu Vihar, the residence of parents of Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman, who was freed by Pakistan after two days in captivity, was sunny as neighbours celebrated the release of the pilot by distributing sweets to children and passers-by. Two days after the capture of Abhinandan, women and children gathered in front of his parents house as the news broke about his release. A beauty parlour owner, whose husband retired from the Indian Air Force and had worked with Abhinandan in Uttar Pradesh, recalls him as a nice pilot and human being as well. The woman, who called in neighbours to celebrate his release, gave away ladoos as children danced. Even watchman Janardhan at Jal Vayu Vihar, who has been restricting the movement of journalists, joined in the celebration by offering five-star chocolates to the children. I met Abhinandan a year ago. I was upset after hearing the news and now I am happy, he said. The wife of a retired Air Force personnel urged the government to replace the older aircraft so that the pilots can be safer while vanquishing the enemies. The local ward councillor also joined the celebration. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Bollarum's Army Public School was brimming with excitement over the release of captured Indian wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman by the Pakistan army on Friday. The senior students, four of whom are set to joining the National Defence Academy (NDA) by end of the year, are inspired and ready to emulate the fighter pilots calm demeanour while in captivity behind the enemy lines. Some of these students come from what is called an army background, like the class 12 student Chaitanya Gupta, who have grown up listening to stories of army operations. I could understand what the captured soldiers family underwent in the last three days, he said while adding that his personal worries were subdued looking at the confidence displayed by Abhinandan while speaking to the interrogators in the video circulated by Pakistan army. Children of defence personnel are a different breed. They grow up watching their parents sacrifice for the nation, said Smitha Govind principal of APS, Bollarum, who is proud of having sent 13 of her students to the defence forces in the last four years. As future members of the Indias defence troops, they also opined their views on what path should India tread with the ongoing border tensions. Another student, M Aravind of the same class is of the opinion that war brings no solution as it leads to destruction and losses on both sides. (If there is a war) it is not against Pakistan but against the terrorists who are sheltered in that country run by its Army. Pakistans political leadership should come out clean, said M Aravind of the same class. India has the advantage of support from world powers. The pressure on Pakistan to release our fighter pilot was immense, he said. All of them vouched for peace in the region through diplomatic talks. The problem is their government may come forward for talks but the real power to take decisions is with their army, they said. By ANI NEW DELHI: Actor Swara Bhasker who is known to speak her mind has slammed comedian Trevor Noah over his insensitive comments on Indo-Pak tensions. South African comedian Trevor Noah, host of 'The Daily Show', during an episode, tried to find humour in the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. In the video, being shared widely on social media, Noah said that while he hopes India and Pakistan do not go to war, it would be the "most entertaining" war if they did. Swara Bhasker has now taken to Twitter to call out the comedian and tell him that neither is war 'funny', nor Hindi 'gibberish.' Calling his statement both 'ignorant & racist', the actor wrote, "@Trevornoah 1. War isnt funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Ur stereotype of indo- pak is ignorant & racist. 3. Ur set smacks of essentialism & a patronising generalisation & is v #FirstWorld 4. Human lives were lost & at stake. SO disappointing! @ComedyCentral." @Trevornoah 1. War isnt funny or entertaining. 2. Hindi is not gibberish. Ur stereotype of indo- pak is ignorant & racist. 3. Ur set smacks of essentialism & a patronising generalisation & is v #FirstWorld 4. Human lives were lost & at stake. SO disappointing! @ComedyCentral pic.twitter.com/c46TqB9btd Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019 Following recent developments, Bhaskar, in a separate tweet, spoke about India and Pakistan walking back from brink of war and further wrote, "@Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri." Comedian Mallika Dua too slammed Noah over his remarks and took to Twitter to write, Shockingly unintelligent & tone-deaf What makes it sadder is that @Trevornoah cracked such a below average, shit joke. Something Russel Peters probably threw in the bin before his first open mic in life. If youre going to be a racist comic than at least get the comic bit right. @Trevornoah @ComedyCentral a not racist & cruel version of this joke (IF Ur Writers was diverse)- India & Pak thankfully walking back from brink of war. Meanwhile, Bollywood looking to see how many dance numbers they can fit in2 movie version of this episode! Thanks @vedashastri pic.twitter.com/cjG3CBAVrd Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 1, 2019 Trevor Noah recently introduced the best picture nominee 'Black Panther' at the Oscars and had some fun with the idea that people think the fictional setting of the country of Wakanda is real. During the segment, Noah joked that growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, he would see T'Challa flying over their village, and he would remind them of a great Xhosa phrase, abelungu abazi uba ndiyaxoka -- which according to Noah meant, In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart. However, those who know the language realised Noah actually said, "White people don't know I'm lying." By Express News Service After a minor injury, Radhika Kumaraswamy has recovered and will resume shoot for Damayanti from March 5. The actor had sprained her leg during the song shoot of Bhairadevi, which was set in a graveyard. After a few days of rest, she has decided to juggle between the shooting for two films. I am doing well now, and will go back for a weeks schedule for Damayanti. I have just two songs and three days of work left for Bhairadevi. I will shoot from March 17, she says. Bhairadevi, directed by Shri Jai and made under Radhikas home banner, Shamika Enterrpises, is touted to be a thriller. It features Ramesh Aravind in the role of cop. In Navarasans directorial, Damayanti, a period drama in the 80s, which he is also producing, Radhika plays a titular role. A Sharadhaa By Express News Service CHENNAI: An intelligible story with its roots in a rustic background; a film that questions the expansion of big brands; and an attempt to safeguard identity. This forms the crux of Darshans Yajamana, which looks at the struggles of holding on to values, beyond the high-powered and unavoidable globalisation. In this directorial debut of popular music director V Harikrishna, the film reflects a deep and genuine sincerity, a sense of expergefaction, highlighting a characteristic that can be well identified in rural India. Devi Shetty (Thakur Anoop Singh), a business magnate in Mumbai owns an oil company which has its presence across India, except in one village, Hulidurga. Reason? This place manufactures its own oil. ALSO READ: Darshan Mania back with 'Yajamana' On the other hand, Krishna (Darshan), who grows up in the village and is an oil extractor, owns a brand called Nandi. His life and that of the village is disrupted with Devi, who tries to woo the local oil extractors to associate with his brand. Will Devi succeed or will Krishna fight back and build his own brand, and become a saviour to his village forms the crux of Yajamana. Harikrishna blends the insolence of power with the power behind the free-willed, and consciously sends across a strong message in a simple story. The glorification of the subject is brought through the dialogues written by Chethan Kumar. Special mention needs to be made about the sets created by Shashidhar Adapa and the rich production qualities. The director also manages to put the Challenging star into heroic action, transforming the protagonist to a commoner and a conscious rebel. The flaw is that the story does not keep a good pace, slowing down the momentum on occasions. While cinematographer Shreesha Kuduvalli has followed the director, a better job by the editing department could have made a lot of difference. ALSO READ: Kurukshetra will be my 50th and Yajamana 51st film, says Darshan For his super stardom status, Darshan delivers a class act. With Yajamana, he clearly displays that as an actor and as a films character, his strength is not just about the power that is exhibited on screen, but maintaining a thoughtful balance between reputation, diversity of roles, and delivering an act that lingers in the minds of the audience. Rashmika Mandanna is allicient as the love interest and justifies the village girls character. Tanya Hope, in her debut, as a journalist, makes her presence felt. Dhananjays character is interesting and could have been given more screen space. Anoop Thakur Singh as villain mirrors the typical life of a corporate. Ravi Shankars role is cliched while Devaraj and Dattanna play vital roles. Sadhu Kokila, Shivaraj KR Pete, Mandya Ramesh, Sanju Bassaiah and Hitesh fill the screen with laughable sequences. Harikrishna, who has also scored the music, has come up with the right tracks, especially the two songs Shivanandi and Nintha Nodo Yajamana. Ondu Munjane is a soothing romantic track while peppy song, Bassani Ba is mainly placed for the masses. Yajamana does put in a serious thought on globalisation and monopoly, and comes out with both mass and class elements, holding good for all kinds of audience. Murali Krishna CH By Express News Service 118 has been described as an action-thriller thats built around an interesting premise - an investigative journalist who is on a trail to find the truth behind his mystic dream. But despite its novel concept and some impressive performances from its lead cast, the film is bloated from packing in too many things at one go. Director KV Guhan has taken too many cinematic liberties to get out of tricky screenplay situations. The film sets up the drama interestingly, opening with a scene where Gautham (Kalyan Ram) unearths a major scam involving a corrupted minister, right before the elections. It happens to be a major breakthrough for his channel and the entire office gets into the celebratory mood at a resort in the outskirts. As the story progresses, Gautham was haunted by a mysterious nightmare of a girl stabbed to death and her car rolled into a river. Initially, he tries to forget it as a bad dream, but he starts to interpret it as it recurs months later in the same room, around the same time (1:18 am) at the resort. He realises that the story is connected to a river and he sets out to find crime references with the help of his colleague and his girlfriend Megha (Shalini Pandey). The story mostly focuses on this point and things get murkier when Gautham has a close shave of multiple murder attempts and the line between reality and imagination begins to blur. He succeeds in discovering a key piece of evidence, but that sequence doesnt ring true because the writings so affected. ALSO READ | Im learning to be composed: Nivetha Thomas 118 has all the ingredients for an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but the script, unfortunately, isnt adequately developed and the crisp narrative loosens its grip at regular intervals. This inconsistent storytelling, especially during the flabby first hour, where nothing much really happens is difficult to endure. We never really get a sense of why Gautham doesnt seek the help of cops, why he empathizes with that mysterious girls character and put his life on risk to find out the actual story behind her death. Although the plot is thick its fairly predictable. The second hour begins on a promising note with some exciting twists and turns, but the flashback portion seems far-fetched, convoluted without an emotional wallop. Nivetha Thomas plays a mysterious woman who pops up now and then in a dream, seemingly to help Gautham cobble together the clues behind the strange turn of events in his life. She played her part well and doesnt miss a beat. Shalini Pandey appears in an underwhelmingly written part. The director hardly makes any effort to inspire any chemistry between the lead pair. The film has a host of barely-etched characters like Shravan, Gagan Vihari, Nasser and Bharat Reddy whom we meet fleetingly at best.Kalyan Ram hogs the footage and dutifully goes through the paces. He gets some wonderful action elements and he executes them well. Prabhas Sreenu, who played Kalyan Rams colleague, is saddled with cheesy one-liners that seldom work. To say the least, 118 could have been so much more but settles for a little. Film: 118 Cast: Kalyan Ram, Nivetha Thomas, Shalini Pandey Direction: KV Guhan Rating: 2.5 stars muralikrishna.db@newindianexpress @onlymurali A North Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of six railway workers who were detained for four days on Thursday for investigation into their involvement in a deadly train crash last week. The court rejected a request to release the defendants, who include the drivers and drivers assistants of the two trains involved in the crash, as well as a worker tasked with switching junctions and a manoeuvring operator on one of the trains, and renewed their detention for 15 days. At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured when a train crashed into the barriers at Cairos busiest station Ramses on Wednesday morning, sparking a huge fire. Prior to the crash the driver of the train had dismounted, without turning off its engine, to speak with the driver of a second train that had blocked his. When the two trains disengaged, the now-unmanned train moved at maximum speed towards the station until it collided with a concrete barrier at the end of the line and burst into flames. Transport Minister Hisham Arafat resigned hours after the accident. Search Keywords: Short link: Sajin Shrijith By Express News Service At one point in An International Local Story, a senior police officer (played by Baiju) tells a character not to interrupt him because he is busy trying to make head and tail of a confusing development which he likens to the climax of an old Priyadarshan film. By that point, we are as confused as Baiju is, and he simply seems to be echoing our thoughts. Though I wont reveal the name of that Priyadarshan film, I would say that Harisree Asokans directorial debut has too many things going on in it that one cant help but think of the old Priyadarshan and Siddique-Lal comedies, which featured plenty of amusing characters intertwined in amusing sub-plots waiting to be neatly resolved in the climax. And one didnt care much for the logic because the lines written for the characters were refreshingly hilarious and replay-worthy. This film, however, cannot be included in the same league as films like Mazha Peyyunnu Madhalam Kottunnu or Ramji Rao Speaking because the laughs are few and far between and you are bombarded with new developments before you have even finished pondering the significance of the ones that came before. It opens with an intriguing sequence in Malaysia involving shady businessmen and menacing gangsters. One of them seems to be after the diamonds which are in the possession of a Malayali businessman (Nandu) who, just days after landing in Kerala, loses his memory due to a brain injury. Only he knows where he hid the diamonds, and there is no guarantee of him ever going back to normal. Flash forward to several decades, and he still hasnt regained his memory. His three grown-up sons (played by Manoj K Jayan, Tini Tom, and John Kaippallil) are now big shot businessmen themselves, and they wait with bated breath to see their dad tell them about the whereabouts of the diamonds. Will the old man get back his memory or not? This is happening on one side. On the other side, there is Rahul (Rahul Madhav) as a newly graduated doctor whose friends (played by Deepak Parambol, Dharmajan, and Bijukuttan) work as light and sound technicians. Rahuls love life gets complicated when an astrologer (Innocent in a cameo) starts babbling about planetary alignments and auspicious timings. For once, it is nice to see Rahul let his hair down in a role thats different from the brooding, mentally troubled or negative characters he usually plays. This mamas boy is a goody-two-shoes who is thrown into circumstances he is not used to. The film is too caught up with Rahuls plot strand in addition to a minor conflict involving the senior cop and Nandus sons to pay much heed to the diamonds story. And there are two plot strands which end so abruptly that you ask yourself why they had to be included in the first place. When the dreaded gangster from Malaysia who terrified Nandu in the opening scenes finally lands in Kerala, you wonder why it took him so many decades to get here. Did he lose his memory too? Also, how does a girl suddenly decide to get married to the guy whose proposal she had rejected earlier? There is no reasonable explanation given for this unexpected development which sticks out like a sore thumb. But having said that, Asokan somehow manages to keep things moving, and, if anything, he proves that he is a fairly skilled director. He has only begun, and one expects hell get better with his next directorial. Im grateful to him for having the good sense to keep the films runtime at two hours unlike some of the mediocre comedies made recently which were needlessly stretched beyond an endurable level. Though its not the sort of film that sticks with you, an ample amount of fun can be had if youve got the patience for it. Avinash Ramachandran By Express News Service It used to be the case that it would take a cop film or an action-packed entertainer to make an actor, a star. However, with the success of Ayushmann Khurrana, especially his Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), actors seem to be using small-town films to inch closer to that elusive stardom. Kartik Aaryan, the present heartthrob of Bollywood, and the proud bearer of the quintessential Delhi launda tag (thanks to his films with Luv Ranjan), now moves to central India in Luka Chuppi in an attempt to cater to a wider audience. Giving him company is Kriti Sanon, who continues from where she left off in 2017s Bareilly Ki Barfi. The talent pool in this film is quite impressive, with actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurrana, and Atul Srivastava, livening the proceedings to a considerable extent. Unfortunately, Rohan Shankars script doesnt do justice to this talented bunch of actors. ALSO READ: 'Luka Chuppi', 'Arjun Patiala' won't release in Pakistan Laxman Utekars directorial debut begins with a radical Hindu outfit taking offense against a Superstars comments on live-in relationships. The outfits leader in Mathura, Vishnu Trivedi (Vinay Pathak), and his cohorts lead by Srikanth Trivedi (an impressive Ajeet Singh) create havoc in different places across the state and do what these outfits specialise in doing: unleash unrelenting violence in the name of moral policing. And the age-old trope of the hero falling in love with the leaders daughter is repeated here. However, since its fashioned as a romcom, things in Luka Chuppi never get too serious, and even the proverbial twists and turns become convenient detours, nothing more. Guddu Shukla (Kartik) and Rashmi Trivedi (Kriti) fall in love, but when the former proposes marriage, Rashmi feels they need to live together before deciding their marriage compatibility. However, what follows is probably the weakest portion of the film, with the couple facing hardly any real problems during this phase of their lives. The biggest conflicts during this live-in equation are Guddus inability to prepare a decent cup of noodles, and Rashmis disinterest in cleaning the toilet. Hence, you are never quite invested in this relationship, and you dont feel Guddu and Rashmi are either. ALSO READ: 'Luka Chuppi' has a different take on live-in relationships, says Kartik Aaryan The film comes into its own only towards the end of the 126-minute runtime when it becomes a comedy of errors. But, even there, the unnecessary message forced into the proceedings doesnt fit in with the tone of the film at all. Why do you need to add a message in a film that has Pankaj, in a thankless role, leching at any woman that moves around him? Why do you need to talk about freedom of choice and power of youth when a love marriage is approved only because both families belong to the same caste? That said, whenever Luka Chuppi does score, it is uproarious fun. For instance, the Bidaai song when Guddu leaves his home to start a live-in relationship, or the usage of yesteryear classics like Mera Naam Karega Roshan and Jaan pehchaan Ho, are some of the brightest moments in the film. Even the running gags like Guddus unmarried brother, the throwaway lines by his sister-in-law, the garish outfits of the over-smart kid, and the nosy neighbour, hit their mark. The lack of a strong central conflict in the film, however, does prove to be quite the dampener. Luka Chuppi is a half-baked attempt at a fun-filled take on how politicians use religion and culture as election propaganda. But, the makers play hide and seek for too long with this theme, and just merely mentioning it in passing doesnt quite cut it. And thats why, despite a hilarious final act, and top-notch performances by the ensemble cast, all that Luka Chuppi leaves you with, is a sense of incompleteness. By IANS SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is facing 10 probes for violating the European Union's (EU) new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) over data breaches and users' privacy across its platforms. In its first annual report after GDPR came into practice on May 25, 2018, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) opened 15 statutory inquiries (investigations) in relation to multinational technology companies' compliance with the GDPR. Facebook faces seven inquiries while its WhatsApp platform two and Instagram one. Other US tech giants like Apple and Twitter face two statutory inquiries each and Microsoft-owned LinkedIn faces one. "All these inquiries should reach the decision and adjudication stage later this year. "It's our intention that the analysis and conclusions in the context of those inquiries will provide precedents for better implementation of the principles of the GDPR across key aspects of internet and ad tech services," said the DPC report. "There are undoubtedly areas of risk to be examined in sectors beyond the free internet services but initial complaints and breaches have focused the DPC in this area and warrant attention in light of the hundreds of millions of users implicated," it added. Ireland's DPC is the lead regulator for the EU. ALSO READ | Russians will be voting in Indian elections, warns US author; says Facebook needs to be made accountable Since the application of the GDPR, the DPC has seen a significant increase in the number of complaints received. Between May 25 and December 31, 2018, 2,864 complaints were received by the DPC. While Facebook is being probed over breach of user data, WhatsApp is under the lens for how it handles user privacy and shares information with Facebook. While one of the probes against Twitter comes after it self-reported a "large number of breaches", the micro-blogging platform is also being probed for how much access users have to their own data, reported ABC News. Apple is being investigated for transparency issues while LinkedIn is being probed for profiling its users and targeted ads. The Irish DPC last month warned Facebook over its planned integration of its chat services --WhatsApp, Messenger and photo-sharing app Instagram -- asking the social media giant to provide it with an "urgent briefing" on the proposals. READ HERE | Now track your wife's movement: Apple, Google slammed for hosting Saudi woman-tracking app In a statement, the Dublin-headquartered watchdog said it understood the plan was at a "very early conceptual stage". "While we understand that Facebook's proposal to integrate the Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram platforms is at a very early conceptual stage of development, the Irish DPC has asked Facebook Ireland for an urgent briefing on what is being proposed," the watchdog said. "The Irish DPC will be very closely scrutinising Facebook's plans as they develop, particularly insofar as they involve the sharing and merging of personal data between different Facebook companies." By PTI RAE BARELI: A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Amethi, a hoarding stating that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will "fizzle out" in Uttar Pradesh has come up in neighbouring Rae Bareli, evoking a sharp response from the party. Congress leaders and workers have demanded that the poster be immediately removed and action be initiated against those behind it. While Rae Bareli is the parliamentary constituency of Priyanka's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and brother Rahul Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. "Toot jaega danka, fuss (fizzle out) ho jaengi Priyanka," stated the hoarding at Canal Road in Rae Bareli. It was allegedly put up by Arun Singh, who claims to be a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. ALSO READ: Galvanised by Priyanka's entry, Congress revamps party apparatus in UP Singh has also mentioned his mobile number on the hoarding. Priyanka Gandhi, Congress's general secretary for Uttar Pradesh (East) and Sonia Gandhi's daughter,entered active politics recently. "This clearly spells the anti-women mindset of the BJP which is out to defame the Gandhi family at every given opportunity," Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said. "The sacrifices and contributions of the Gandhi family are well known. They have never deviated from their path of service towards the nation even in the most trying of times." "BJP leaders know that till the Gandhi family is active the main issues will remain communal amity, peace and development,' he said. People will give a befitting reply to "liars" in 2019," Awasthi said. Modi is scheduled to address a public meeting in the Congress stronghold on Sunday. He had visited Rae Bareli in December. Priyanka Gandhi recently took part in a grand roadshow in Lucknow along with Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia and party chief Rahul Gandhi in February. By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the opposition for doubting the armed forces on the anti-terror air strike in Pakistan and said the country is feeling the absence of Rafale fighter jets as the results could have been different if India had these aircraft. He said the country has seen the influence of India's foreign policy after the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan within three days of his capture. Modi took on the opposition over the issue of air strike, saying while the entire world stood behind India in its fight against terror, some parties in the country were questioning and raising doubts. He also hit out at his detractors, saying they are free to criticise him but their anti-Modi tirade should not harm the country's security interests and help terrorists such as Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. "India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, if we had Rafale probably the result would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said at the India Today Conclave. ALSO READ: Trinamool Congress accuses BJP ministers of 'leaking exaggerated numbers' of Balakot air strike He hit out at his detractors and said in their obsession to attack him, such people were harming the country and its security interests. "One of the challenges before the country is some people opposing their own country. When the entire nation today is standing with the armed forces, some parties are casting doubts on them." "These are the parties whose statements and articles are being used by Pakistan against India. In their fixation with criticising Modi, they are opposing the country and compromising its interests," the PM said. "I want to ask these people whether they trust the capability of our armed forces or doubt it. A person like Modi will come and go, but India will remain. I want to tell such people that they are free to oppose Modi and point out shortcomings in the government's working, but do not help those harbouring terrorism." ALSO READ: Government 'obliged' to answer charge of intelligence failure in Pulwama attack: Chidambaram "If you want to oppose Modi, do so, but do not oppose national interests. They should take care that their anti-Modi obsession and not help terrorists like Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed," he said at the gathering. He said that India's unity has scared many within the country and outside. He said there was fear in the neighbouring country of the bravery and valour of Indian armed forces and it was good to learn that. Modi said, "I can say with full confidence that the 21st century belongs to India." On pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's release, he said, "Going by the events in the last few days, you would have seen the influence of India's foreign policy. Have you seen or not." Modi said people had raised doubts over his experience in foreign policy issues when he took over as prime minister. Tearing into the Congress, Modi alleged its rule saw many defence scams. "They began with jeeps and later graduated to weapons, submarines, helicopters. The defence sector suffered in the process," he said. "Those who ruled the nation for many many years had interests in two things - doles and deals. The culture of doles and deals harmed our nation's development journey greatly." "Why is it that those who ruled the nation for so many years have so many defence scams in their era? They began with Jeeps and later graduated to weapons, submarines, helicopters. In the process, the defence sector suffered." "If a deal could not happen, defence modernisation could not happen. Who is every dealmaker close to? Who is every middle-man close to? The entire nation knows. And Lutyens' Delhi, surely knows," he told the gathering. Modi said during his tenure, 2.3 lakh bulletproof jackets were bought while previous Congress-led government ignored the proposal since 2009. The jackets he said were most important for the life of a soldier. "You would be ashamed to know that not one, I repeat not one bulletproof jacket was obtained from 2009 to 2014," he said. "In our tenure, the corridors of power are also free from middlemen because they know, this government will not tolerate any corruption," he said. "While they (Congress) worked for 10 per cent commission, our governments work for 100 per cent mission," he noted. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been attacking Modi over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and favouritism. The government has denied the charges. The prime minister also criticised the previous Congress governments for not doing anything to implement the OROP (One rank, one pension) scheme for armed forces and asked why was there no war memorial for the martyred soldiers. Modi noted that unlike in the past, now no one can dare to threaten India and said, "the new India is a leader, fearless and decisive", adding that his government was decisive due to the unity of the people of the country. Modi said his government's 55 months in power and 55 years of others' rule had given two contrasting approaches to governance. "Previous governments had a "token approach", "we have a 'total approach'," he said. Modi said Congress government gave away doles that were not aimed at empowering the poor, who remained at the mercy of the political class. "The best example of this is the farm loan waivers. No economist or policy expert will ever say farm loan waivers can solve our agrarian issues. It is a temporary balm at best," he said. By PTI NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, officials said. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his nearly 60 hour stay in Pakistan. ALSO READ: Meaning of Abhinandan will change now, says PM Modi Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight around 11:45 PM Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. Currently, he is undergoing medical tests at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. He was captured by Pakistani authorities on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force When he crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. ALSO READ: Rajasthan family names newborn after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and others. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated the strike by carrying attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Ramananda Sengupta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday cited verses from the Koran and the Rig Veda while urging members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to act together to fight terror. Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes, she said addressing the foreign ministers meeting of the 57-member grouping in Abu Dhabi, where she is invited as a guest of honour. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. A peevish Pakistan said it would not send its foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, to the meeting after its attempts to block Swarajs invitation were rejected. In an obvious reference to Pakistan, Swaraj said, If we want to save humanity, we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to terrorists, to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorist camps and stop providing shelter and funding to the terror organisations based in that country. ALSO READ | Terrorism caused by 'distortion of religion,' 'misguided belief': Sushma Swaraj at OIC meet At the same time, I would like to say that this menace could not be fought, only through military, intelligence or diplomatic means, she argued in her 17-minute address. It is also a battle, that must be won through the strengths of our values, and the real message of religions. This is a task that states, societies, sages, scholars, spiritual leaders, and families must pursue, through contacts and on social media. Pledging to work with the grouping, she said that At 50, the OIC is making a new beginning. The choices you make, the direction you set, will have a profound impact on humanity. The OIC has a huge responsibility and a great opportunity to lift humanity to a higher level of peace... Despite having the world s second largest population of Muslims, Indias membership of the grouping has been blocked by Pakistans opposition on the ground that it is not an official Islamic State and because it was involved in a dispute over Kashmir. By Express News Service BHOPAL: The November 2016 by-election win of former MP Minister and BJP candidate Gyan Singh from Shahdol (ST) Lok Sabha seat was declared null and void by Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday. The single judge bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur, headed by Justice Atul Sreedharan, while hearing the petition of independent candidate Mahavir Prasad Manjhi (whose nomination papers were rejected during the November 2016 by-election process by Returning Officer following objection by Gyan Singh), passed the order declaring the entire by-election of November 19, 2016 as null and void. As a consequence, Gyan Singhs bypoll victory from the seat stood automatically nullified in the wake of the HC order, the petitioner Mahavir Prasad Manjhis counsel Ankit Saxena told this newspaper on Friday. The by-election to Shahdol Lok Sabha seat was necessitated after the death of sitting BJP MP Dalpat Singh Paraste. Mahavir Prasad Manjhi filed nomination as an independent nominee from the seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. But Gyan Singh objected to Mahavirs nomination, submitting that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste category. Manjhi moved the high court challenging the rejection/cancellation of his nomination papers. The court eventually upheld the submissions made by the Independent candidate saying the rejection of his papers was flawed. By UNI HONG KONG: Tensions on the border between India and Pakistan have pushed the two nuclear-powered South Asian adversaries closer to conflict than at any point in the past two decades. While the situation has calmed -- Pakistan on Friday released an Indian air force pilot it captured after shooting his pane down -- drastic swings in relations are the norm. ALSO READ: Jaish has not claimed responsibility for Pulwama attack: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Both countries know the risks when tensions spike. Following their separation in 1947, relations between India and Pakistan have been in a near constant state of agitation. The two sides have fought several major wars -- the last being in 1999 -- involving thousands of casualties and numerous skirmishes across the Line of Control in the contested Kashmir region. Since that last clash, both countries have quietly sought to enlarge and upgrade their military capabilities, a CNN News report has said. With its military buildup over those decades, India now exceeds Pakistan on most numerical measurements -- fighter jets, troops, tanks and helicopters. India far surpasses Pakistan in other measures, too, especially in military budget, $64 billion to $11 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). ALSO READ: India should reciprocate Pakistans call to resolve crisis: Prince of Arcot India has about 3 million military personnel compared to fewer than 1 million for Pakistan, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, but New Delhi can't focus them all on its neighbor to the west. A chunk is focused on India's northeast and its border with China. "India's strategic problem is bringing its heft to bear. It has traditionally had to split its forces and leave some in the east to deter Chinese adventurism," said Peter Layton, a former Australian Air Force officer and now fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. In 1962, India and China engaged in a bloody border war and skirmishes have continued to break out sporadically throughout the subsequent years, most recently in the Doklam area in 2017. And China is able to keep Indian attentions divided by keeping a close military relationship with Pakistan. "There is a convergence with Chinese and Pakistan strategic thinking that has continued for five decades now," said Nishank Motwani, a visiting fellow at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy with expertise on India and Pakistan. ALSO READ: Russia offered to mediate, provide venue to India, Pakistan to hold talks China plays another role as Pakistan's biggest arms supplier -- with a whopping 40pc of Beijing's military exports going to Islamabad, according to data from a December discussion of Pakistan at the Brookings Institution in Washington. While Pakistan has formed a close relationship with China, India -- with a defense budget six times the size of Pakistan's -- has been on a rapid military modernisation program of its own. "India has more spending power and has been investing in platforms that Pakistan can't afford," Motwani said. Among recent acquisitions are airborne early warning and control aircraft with Israeli technology and US airframes and US-made artillery it is deploying along the Kashmir line of control to replace 1980s' Swedish guns, said Motwani. India wants even more new military technology, but it is often hamstrung by tight export controls from key suppliers like the US and Britain. Other experts say India is also hurt by a poor domestic military industrial base. ALSO READ: Pakistan returns IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to India; describes him as 'POW' "India does not have an industry ecosystem. So you don't have the experience of design. You may have smart engineers, but that does not mean that they can design a combat jet," said Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. Pakistan, meanwhile, is making its own fighter jets, Chinese-designed JF-17s. According to some reports, It may have been one of those jets that on Wednesday downed an Indian Air Force fighter plane, leading to the capture by Pakistan of an Indian pilot. That Indian jet was a MiG-21. A Soviet-designed aircraft, it has been in service since the 1960s, and the Indian Air Force still says it "forms the backbone" of its fleet with about 200 in inventory. But Motwani says Indian pilots call the old jet "the flying coffin" for the accidents it has been involved in. And that illustrates a problem for India. While it has a massive military budget, a significant chunk of that goes toward maintenance of existing equipment, and salaries. "Modernisation gets a mere 14pc (of allocated funds), which is grossly inadequate," according to an Indian Parliament committee inquiry on military readiness last year. ASLO READ: Good to be back in my country: Wing Commander Abhinandan after release from Pakistan custody India, with a landmass nearly four times that of Pakistan, can put military assets well back from tense border regions, where any Pakistani strikes against them would encounter multiple layers of air defenses. In the smaller and more narrow Pakistan, military bases and assets are harder to shield. "Pakistan lacks strategic depth," Motwani said. "A lot of Pakistan bases are close to India which makes them easy targets for Indian forces." To carry out any attacks, India has the variety and number of aircraft -- fighters, ground-attack, tankers and AWACs -- that Pakistan just can't match. "Large raids would be hard to stop although some losses would be expected," Layton said. While the air advantage seems to lean India's way, large-scale ground actions across the border would be tougher for India. ALSO READ: UN chief Antonio Guterres following with 'deep concern' escalating tensions between India, Pakistan "Pakistan has a network of canals along the international border to make it harder for Indian formations to move into Pakistan," said Motwani. It's old school warfare, not far removed from the trenches of World War-One. At sea, the advantage is clearly on the Indian side. Pakistan, with a much smaller coastline to defend, has put the lion's share of resources into its army and air force, Motwani said. New Delhi has an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarines in its fleet, he said, assets Pakistan can't come close to matching. One area where Indian and Pakistan are evenly matched is the area that raises the most worry whenever hostilities spike between the two -- nuclear weapons. Figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last year show Pakistan with 140 to 150 nuclear warheads and India with 130 to 140. Layton worries that if the situation gets dire for Pakistan -- something that's far from what we're seeing at the moment -- they could be used before commanders in Islamabad could stop them. "Pakistan has a strategic policy of delegating nuclear release approval down to lower level tactical units," he said. "There is a real danger of 'loose nukes,' that is lower-level bellicose commanders using tactical nuclear weapons if they see fit. " Motwani said Pakistan wants India to know that nuclear threat is always there. That leads back to how the current spike in hostilities began, when a Pakistan-based terror group struck an Indian military convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir on February 14, killing 40. "Pakistan can use terrorist groups. That's a military strategy it has used for decades as a way to bridge the military gap with India," Motwani said. And every time India contemplates retaliation, the nuclear threat is there. "It uses its nuclear weapon capability as a firewall that it uses to carry out terrorist strikes in India with impunity," he said. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: India should reciprocate Pakistans desire for de-escalation over the border crisis with the release of captured IAF pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan but at the same time step up efforts to internationally pressurise Pakistan into banning terrorist outfits operating from its soil, said Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali. The Nawab, who has expressed his profound happiness and relief over the release of the pilot, paid tributes to Abhinandan and said that the great son of India should be feted for showing real courage and braveness during captivity the hallmark of a true soldier. Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan stated that his decision was aimed at triggering a fresh push towards conciliation between the neighbours, so that the unsettling threat of war could be replaced by a genuine hope for mutual collaboration for the joint-struggle against poverty, malnutrition, diseases, illiteracy and economic downslide. And against terror. This is laudable expression of good intent if he really means it, he said. The Nawab also said that wars cant resolve any issue and bring death, destruction and horror. We have seen in the past how lives and property were ruined and destroyed by wars, which would be much greater in this nuclear weapon era, he pointed out in a statement. Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was briefed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on the latest developments in investigations of a deadly Cairo train crash which left at least 22 dead last Wednesday. In an official statement, El-Sisis spokesman Bassam Rady said the president was informed of updates related to the probe, as well as the condition of those injured. At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured when a train crashed into the barriers at Cairos busiest station Ramses on Wednesday morning, sparking a huge fire. Six workers were detained by the prosecution on Thursday for investigation into their involvement of the fatal accident which saw the resignation of the transport minister. Search Keywords: Short link: By IANS NEW DELHI: Islamic State sympathisers were planning lone wolf attacks to target government employees, security forces, investigating agencies and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members, National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a chargesheet filed recently in a Delhi court. The NIA's revelations are mentioned in its supplementary chargesheet filed against Abdullah Basith and Abdul Qhadeer, both from Hyderabad who were involved in identifying, motivating, radicalizing the gullible Muslim youths to join hands with them in their attempt to carry out subversive activities in India. The NIA arrested both of them on August 12, 2018. They are currently in judicial custody in Delhi's Tihar Jail. The NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet on July 20, 2016 against three accused -- Sheikh Azhar-Ul-Islam alias Abdul Sattar Sheikh, Mohammed Farhan alias Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh and Adnan Hassan alias Mohammad Hussain. Sheikh Azhar-Ul-Islam and Mohammed Farhan had pleaded guilty and were sentenced to seven years in jail while the trial against Hassan is still going on. In the supplementary chargesheet filed in February, it was revealed that Basith was in touch with Matin Azizi The US-based Matin Azizi Yarand was arrested by the FBI on May 2, 2018 for having links with IS and for planning to carry out a mass shooting at Suburban Dallas Mall. Azizi posted articles related to the "persecution" of Muslims in Kashmir, Assam and other parts of India. According to the NIA chargesheet, during November and December 2017, Azizi provided Basith the contact of one Huzaifa who is believed to be a Pakistani national and has migrated to Afghanistan. The NIA said in March and April 2018, Huzaifa asked Basith to procure weapons from Punjab, Delhi and Bihar. Huzaifa also advised Basith to plan for lone wolf attacks. Huzaifa assured Basith of arranging funds for buying vehicles to carry out the lone wolf attacks. Basith expressed his intention of targeting politicians, government employees, security agencies, RSS members and the Hindus, the agency said. Huzaifa instructed Basith to collect and keep ready some amount to fund the IS cadres in India and abroad. Basith was told that he would soon be assigned tasks. In June-July 2018 Basith deposited Rs 49,000 in a bank account provided by Huzaifa. Thereafter, Huzaifa directed two boys to collect weapons from a man to be handed to Kashmiri boys, the agency said. However, when the the two went to collect the weapons, they were intercepted by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. However, Delhi Police set them free after counselling them for a couple of days. After their brief detention, Basith feared of his arrest and contacted Huzaifa to give him some Kashmiri contacts to join Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), NIA said in the chargesheet. On July 28 2018, Basith reached Delhi in his second attempt and changed his looks. However, the Kashmiri boy who was supposed to provide him the weapons was arrested by Delhi Police. Basith went missing, but on August 12 2018, NIA arrested him in Hyderabad. By Online Desk NEW DELHI: Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar is suspected to be afflicted with renal failure and is under regular dialysis in an army hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, officials said here Saturday. This suggestion of security officials came after Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the JeM chief is "unwell". "Recent reports indicate that Masood Azhar is now afflicted with renal failure and is under treatment and regular dialysis at the army hospital in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistan Army," a senior security official said. Qureshi said Thursday: "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell". The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief was a close associate of Osama bin Laden, terror motivator in several African countries and also known by many as the Pakistani cleric who brought jihad into the religious discourse at mosques in the UK, the official said. The influence of the 50-year-old terror mastermind was so huge that, when he was released by India in exchange for freeing the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft IC-814 on December 31, 1999 in Kandahar, Laden hosted a banquet for him the same night. In the banquet, Laden recalled how he and Azhar had first worked together in 1993, the official said. Azhar was arrested for preaching jihad in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994. One of his British recruits, Omar Shaikh, as a member of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), kidnapped four western tourists in India in 1994 in order to secure the release of Azhar. However, security agencies succeeded in releasing the hostages and arresting Shaikh. Again in 1995, five western tourists were kidnapped by HuA and eventually killed in order to gain the release of Azhar. Almost immediately after Azhar's release, Jaish-e-Mohammad was formed and it carried out its first suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2000 by striking the Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. (With PTI inputs) By Online Desk Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Fridays said that terror outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) has not claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack and there is a farrago behind the attack. This statement comes a day after Qureshi claimed that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and unwell. The confusion is that the leadership when contacted, they said no. (The leadership has been contacted) by people over here. They deny that they claimed no responsibility... theres confusion. There are conflicting reports on it," Qureshi told BBC. Earlier on February 14, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy killing over 40 CRPF men in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. READ| Pakistani F-16 pilot was mistaken to be an Indian, lynched by his own: Report However, contrary to Qureshi's claims, in an unverified video, JeM claimed responsibility and identified the suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar as one of their own. Qureshi had earlier said that Pakistan will take action against Azhar if India provides solid, inalienable evidence against him. "We are studying the dossier (given by India on Pulwama attack). If India wants to initiate a dialogue based on this dossier, we are willing to engage with them," he added. Questioning India's February 26 air strike, he said, India claimed they hit 3 terror camps. Where are they? They claimed that they killed 350 terrorists. Where are the bodies?" Ramananda Sengupta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted on Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi. As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India, Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said. On Saturday, a day after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke as a guest of honour at the OIC foreign ministers plenary session, the 57-member grouping of Islamic states on Saturday reaffirmed its unwavering support to the Kashmiri people. ALSO READ: OIC calls for 'restraint and de-escalation' in South Asia: Pakistan Foreign Office But in a resolution adopted by the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the OIC member states reiterated that J&K remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable... The Pakistan-sponsored resolution also condemned... recent wave of Indian terrorism in Occupied J&K and expressed deep concern over the atrocities and human rights violations in IoK. However, ABP news quoted Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, UAEs Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as saying: I think the OIC has sent a very clear and positive sign to India, to the people of India that the OIC appreciates the relationship with India and looks forward to strengthening such a relationship to a point where we can embrace India one day in the OIC. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The word Abhinandan used to mean welcome, but its meaning will change now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while referring to the IAF pilot released by Pakistan. The world takes note of what India does... India has the strength to change the meaning of words in the dictionary... Abhinandan once used to mean welcome. And now the meaning of Abhinandan will change, said Modi in an apparent reference to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. ALSO READ: PAF pilot who fell with Abhinandan lynched by Pakistani mob The PM, on Saturday, was addressing the inauguration of the Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum-conference in Delhi where he said his government has given a major thrust on affordable housing, brought changes in laws governing the real estate sector while developing skills and improving technology for it. He reiterated his dream that every Indian should have a proper house by 2022 and 1.3 crore houses have been made during his tenure. ALSO READ: War veterans in Hyderabad divided over Indias options after Pakistan releases Abhinandan We are also ensuring that the houses have water, power and Ujjwala connections (LPG) along with other facilities. The quality of houses and spaces has also improved in the last four-and-half years but more is to be done. For that, I seek the support of the private sector... Let us work together... and do something that helps the poor, he said. Modi declared April 2019-March 2020 as Construction-Technology year and stressed on use of technology to meet the increasing demand for housing in the country caused by rapid urbanisation. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The dogfight on the morning of February 27 took down two fighter jets one an IAF plane and another PAF jet. While the pilots of both aircraft ejected and landed in Pakistan territory, their fates were drastically different. According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, the pilot of the crashed PAF F-16 was Wing Commander Shahzaz-ud-Din of the No 19 Squadron (sherdils). Russian TV channel RT news also quoted another journalist Ajay Jandyal confirming that the pilot was Shahzaz. Ironically, both pilots, Indias Abhinandan Varthaman and Pakistans Shahzaz-Ud-Din were apprehended by a mob of locals. While Abhinandan was rescued by the Pakistan army and taken into custody, Shahzaz was not so lucky. ALSO READ | Pakistan returns IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to India; describes him as 'POW' According to a report, Shahzaz was already injured when he ejected and his uniform was partially torn thereby not showing his rank insignia. The report also adds that Shazaz is the son of former Air Marshal Waseem ud din. Though, Shahzaz was picked up by the Pakistan armed forces and admitted to CMS hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. During a media briefing on February 27, Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that the Pakistan armed forces had picked up two Indian pilots. Later, Ghafoor retracted his statement and claimed that only one Indian pilot was in custody. The similarities in the case of Abhinandan and Shazaz are astounding. Both pilots belong to decorated families that have multiple members serving in the armed forces of their respective countries. Abhinandans father Retd Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman was also a MIG pilot and helped upgrade the firepower of the IAF. ALSO READ: Those baying for war should fight it themselves, says widow of Squadron Leader Shazazs father, also an Air Marshal headed the DCAS (Operations), and was an accomplished fighter pilot. Simhakutty, who was commissioned into the IAF in 1974, retired as Commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Air Command in 2012. Air Marshal Waseem, who was commissioned in 1977 in the Pakistan Air Force ended his career as Officer Commanding Air Defence Command. By PTI NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over declining growth in the third quarter of this fiscal, saying the "chowkidaar" has once again failed in the numbers of the quarter. Gandhi's comment came a day after his party alleged that despite "fudging" of data by the Modi government, India's economy continues to slide. "False promises, false games. The chowkidaar has failed again in this quarter's numbers," the Congress chief said on Twitter, citing a news report that India's growth declined to 6.6 per cent in the quarter ending December 2018. On Friday the Congress had tweeted that "as PM Modi's disastrous tenure comes to an end, despite all the fudging, the economy continues to slow." "Less than two months to go before India sees a new dawn," the party said on its official Twitter handle. Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has said the latest quarterly growth rates "puncture" the government's claims on the economy. "Quarterly growth rates of 2018-19 puncture the claims of government. Q1 was 8 %, Q2 was 7 % and Q3 was 6. 6 %. This is the swan song of the BJP government. If Q4 growth rate declines further, as is expected, that will expose the government completely," Chidambaram tweeted. In signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general elections, GDP growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in October-December on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand, government data showed on Thursday. Mukesh Ranjan By Express News Service RANCHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who will visit Jharkhand on Saturday, for the first time since being elected party chief, is likely to stress on opposition unity in the state in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections. He is scheduled to address the Ulgulaan Parivartan Rally in Ranchi on Saturday. Speculations are rife that lingering differences over seat sharing with prospective allies in the state would be resolved soon.All disputes (over seat sharing) would be resolved during Rahul Gandhis visit. It would be great for our grassroots workers to hear from the party president, Ajoy Roy, state Congress president, said. As per the tentative seat sharing formula, the Congress will contest 7 seats, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will contest 4, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) will contest 2 and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will be allotted a solitary seat. By PTI JAIPUR: A baby born on Friday evening, when IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was about to be released by Pakistan, was named after him by a family in Rajasthan's Alwar district. "My daughter-in-law delivered baby boy last evening and we named him Abhinandan in honour of the IAF pilot. We are proud of the pilot and therefore we named him (the baby) Abhinandan," Janesh Bhutani, grandfather of the chid, told reporters. ALSO READ: Abhinandan sir's calm demeanour while in captivity was inspiring, say Army school students He said all family members, including his daughter-in-law, were watching the news channel to keep up with the developments happening related with the wing commander and it was when the daughter-in-law went into labour. "By naming my son as Abhinandan, we will keep him reminding about the valour of the pilot and I would like him to become a brave soldier like him when he grows up," Sapna Devi, mother of the newborn, said. ALSO READ: Meaning of Abhinandan will change now, says PM Modi The family lives in Kishangarh bas in Alwar. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan after his MiG-21 Bison fighter plane crashed on the other side of LoC while on a mission on Wednesday. He returned India late on Friday evening. He has been hailed as a hero for his grit and courage in Pakistani custody. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress Saturday accused BJP ministers of "leaking exaggerated numbers" to the media about the casualties in the air strike in Pakistan. The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC also claimed that no statistics given by the central government can be taken "seriously". Security forces have not officially attributed any number to those eliminated in the strike, Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Derek O'Brien posted on Twitter. "IAF has been very consistent: "No number". So why did a BJP mantri or two leak exaggerated numbers? And Delhi media fell for the numbers. Can one take any statistics this govt gives out seriously? Journos? Or slaves to propaganda aka sources?," he tweeted along with screenshots of TV news reports quoting sources as saying 200-300 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were eliminated in the strike. Later in a statement, O'Brien accused BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing "divisive politics" over the issue. "Look who has the gall to talk about 'vote bank politics'! Amit Shah and the BJP are the nastiest proponents of divisive and hatred politics. "We will not listen to his lectures on patriotism. Our armed forces belong to India, not to Modi-Shah-BJP," he said. The comments from the TMC leader came a day after party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee demanded proof from the government of the impact of the strike on a JeM camp across the border. The strike came after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. U.S.-backed Syrian fighters launched an operation on Friday to clear the last remaining pocket of Islamic State fighters from the besieged eastern Syrian village of Baghouz after weeks of delays caused by the evacuation of thousands of civilians. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) moved on the enclave, a tiny area on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) after the last batch of civilians were removed, said Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office. "Nothing remains in Baghouz except for terrorists. The battle ... will not end until the elimination of Daesh and the liberation of the village," he told Reuters, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Bali said the initial fighting involved heavy weapons. Asked how long the battle would last, he said: "We expect a fierce and heavy battle." The Islamic State enclave at Baghouz, a tiny pocket on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, is the last populated territory held by the jihadists, who have been steadily driven by an array of enemies from swathes of land they once held. Though the fall of Baghouz will mark a milestone in the campaign against Islamic State, the group continues to be seen as a security threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate territory in a remote area west of the Euphrates River. The SDF commander-in-chief said on Thursday that his force would declare victory over the jihadists in one week. Search Keywords: Short link: By PTI NEW DELHI: Britain stands shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage over the Pulwama terror attack, and in determination to work towards defeating terrorism that threatens both the countries, British MP and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said Saturday. Speaking at a conclave in New Delhi, Johnson said India and the United Kingdom would succeed in defeating terrorism, a common threat, for their values were superior to those of terrorists and their sponsors. "I'm sure I speak for millions of people in my own country when I say we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with India in outrage at the killings in Pulwama, and in our determination to work with you to defeat the terrorist foe that threatens us both," Boris Johnson, a former mayor of London, said. "And we will succeed, and we will defeat them because in the end, it is our values that are superior to those of the terrorists, and those who sponsor them," he said. Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the security forces. On the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan's custody, Johnson said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation in dealing with terrorism. "Imran Khan behaved sensibly in deciding to release the pilot but he clearly faces a very difficult situation and I think all of us who worry about what is going on there has a real duty to support the civilian side of the government in Pakistan against the deep state elements," he said. "We have a very important relationship with Pakistan but there is no doubt that the deep state in the country has been responsible chronically for association with the sponsorship of terrorist groups. We have been trying to address it through task force, blacklisting and greylisting and we put a huge amount of pressure on Pakistan. But we can consider putting more pressure through our aid budget," he said. Varthaman was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. He was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down. By PTI NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Saturday directed Rajeev Saxena, who had moved a plea to become an approver in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, to record his statement before a magistrate on March 5. The court had earlier marked Saxena's plea before the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) on March 2 for recording of his disclosure statement (disclose intentions for becoming an approver), but Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal put up the matter for March 5 after the alleged middleman told the court on Saturday that he was not feeling well. "The present application has been marked for recording of statement of Rajeev Saxena, who has filed an application under section 306 (tender of pardon to accomplice) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Saxena has requested his statement be recorded on March 5 as he was not feeling well. Request is allowed," the court said. Saxena had earlier told the court that he had no intention not to cooperate and that it was logical at this stage to complete his testimony in a fair way. The judge had asked him, "Are you aware that you may not be absolved of punishment by becoming an approver?" To this, Saxena replied in the affirmative. "I have thought long and hard and I am confident that my exposure to the case is minimal. I have no intention not to cooperate. At this stage it is logical to complete my testimony in a fair way," he had told the court. He had further asserted that he decided to be an approver on his own free will and with a complete understanding of the case and he was neither given any assurances nor has he taken any. Saxena had moved an application to be an approver in the case, saying it was "out of free will" and "without any coercion" and prayed that he "will make a full disclosure subject to the grant of pardon". "The applicant humbly prays, without prejudice to his defence, that he may be granted pardon approver under Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 subject to the condition that he will make a full disclosure, to the extent, the facts are within his knowledge of which he will make a true and proper disclosure subject to the grant of pardon," his application had said. Saxena had said that he cooperated with the investigation throughout and made known entire facts regarding the case. "The applicant cooperated with the investigation during the entire period of remand before the Directorate of Enforcement." "The applicant has made a clean breast of the entire facts as known to the applicant with regard to the complaint pertaining to the AgustaWestland helicopters filed by the Directorate of Enforcement to the extent known to him," the application had said. Saxena was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusing reports submitted by AIIMS. The court had said that it was clear from the medical record submitted by AIIMS that Saxena was suffering from a number of serious ailments, including blood cancer and needs constant medical checkups. Saxena, a director of two Dubai-based firms -- UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings, is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED in the AgustaWestland case. Christian Michel, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former Air Force chief S P Tyagi and Saxena's wife Shivani have also been named by the agency in the charge sheet. The ED, through Special Public Prosecutors D P Singh and N K Matta, had alleged that in connivance with Khaitan, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons, bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland. Saxena was residing in Palm Jumeriah, Dubai and has been living in the UAE for the past 26 years. Maintaining that AgustaWestland had paid Euro 58 million as kickbacks through two Tunisia-based firms, the ED has alleged that "these companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius and others which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others". It was alleged by the probe agency that the two Dubai-based firms were the entities "through which the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/ shares, among others" in this case. On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal. By PTI NEW DELHI: A fresh plea was filed in a Delhi court on Saturday seeking a judicial inquiry into shifting of Christian Michel, arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, to a high-security cell, claiming it was done without recording any reasons. The plea, filed by advocate Aljo K Joseph, said Michel was shifted to the high-security cell suddenly without recording any reasons and was kept in isolation. The plea said that the British national, who was deported from Dubai, was inflicted with the punishment illegally. "Such act of jail authorities without the due process of law is illegal, arbitrary and highly condemnable. The accused (Michel) has not been provided with newspapers nor library access in the jail. In a true sense he is spending his days just by watching the cells and the walls which itself is sufficient to destabilise his mental balance," it said. Earlier, the Delhi court had lashed out at the Tihar Jail authorities for failing to justify shifting of Michel and said that it will start an inquiry if it does not get a proper response. It had said Michel has been lodged in jail for last 70 days and asked what happened suddenly due to which he has now been shifted to the high-security ward. ALSO READ: VVIP chopper case: Court directs Rajeev Saxena to record statement for being an approver on March 5 Deputy Superintendent of Tihar Jail had told the court that Michel was shifted to cell number 2 (high-security ward) keeping in mind his safety as it was a high-profile case. However, he failed to justify the sudden shifting before the court. "Why was there no threat to his security till now. He was kept with other prisoners for 70 days. This was always a high- profile case. If that was the case he should have been kept in a high-security ward since the beginning. Tell me why all of a sudden he was shifted to a ward where hardened criminals were kept," the judge had asked. The court had directed the Director General (DG) of Tihar to file a comprehensive reply by March 5 on the reasons of Michel's sudden shifting to the high-security cell and why he was kept with hard-core criminals. The Deputy Superintendent had also told the court that hard-core criminals, including Chhota Rajan and Shahabuddin, have been kept in the same ward. The fresh plea said that cell number two was kept lodging offenders who were convicted above 10 years and charged for offences punishable under the National Security Act and the Public Safety Act. "Michel was is not coming under any of these categories rather the jail authorities at the behest of 'External Pressure' shifted the applicant to the high-security cell of Jail No 2 in the name of security which ultimately amounts to punishment and mental torture," it said. The plea further said that the jail authorities, without recording any reasons, has shifted Michel and kept him in solitary confinement (isolation) which otherwise was not permissible under law. "He is not allowed to neither interact nor walk around in the prison. The liberty of the applicant is completely curtailed by the jail authority without any reason. The only reason which has been explained to him and also to the court is that due to the security concern he is being kept in an isolated cell." "It is submitted that if any security threat is there for the applicant then it is the duty of jail authority to give sufficient protection to the life and liberty of the applicant. They ought not have curtailed his liberty and could not have lodged him in a isolated cell in the form of a solitary confinement. The entire contact of jail authority in keeping the applicant in the high security is itself a punishment," it said. The court had on February 27 sought a detailed report from the jail authorities on a similar plea of Michel which had claimed that he has been kept in solitary confinement in the prison and had asked the superintendent or a competent authority to appear before it to respond to the allegation that he was not allowed to interact with co-prisoners. The jail authority had denied the allegations that he was denied common facilities in the new cell like permission to meet visitors, make phone calls, newspapers and said that though he has been kept in isolation all facilities were provided to him. The similar plea has claimed that on February 18, the jail authorities conducted a search of Michel's cell to look for a laptop computer allegedly being used by him. It said no computer was found in the cell. However, the authorities shifted him to a high-security cell immediately after, it has said. It said when Michel asked for reasons for his "solitary confinement", the jail authorities told him it was the "decision from the top" and there was "serious threat" to his life. The plea has sought direction to the authorities to return his personal belongings, including a diary containing contact details of officers of the British High Commission and documents of the case, which were taken away after the search. Michel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 after his extradition from Dubai. On January 5, he was sent to judicial custody in connection with a money-laundering case being probed by ED. Later, he was arrested by CBI and is lodged in judicial custody in a CBI case related to the chopper deal scam. Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the scam by ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. By PTI NEW DELHI: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Saturday briefly apprised Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his nearly 60-hour captivity in Pakistan after he was caught following an aerial combat with Pakistani fighters on Wednesday, official sources said. Sitharaman met Varthaman at the Army's Research and Referral hospital here, a day after Pakistan released him in its bid to scale down heightened tensions between the two countries. In a tweet, the defence minister said she met Varthaman and his family to "commend him on his valour, express the nation's gratitude for his selfless service, and wish him a speedy recovery". Varthaman's wife Sqn Ldr Tanvi Marwah (retd), seven-year-old son, sister Aditi and a few senior military officials were present in the meeting, the sources said. The IAF pilot, who shot down an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force shortly before his jet was hit during a fierce dogfight on Wednesday, is undergoing a series of medical tests the hospital as part of a "cooling down" process. ALSO READ: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets Wing Commander Abhinandan A defence ministry spokesperson said Sitharaman conveyed to the pilot the sentiment of the nation and appreciated his "impeccable combat skills as well as calmness in adversity". Official sources said Varthaman briefly mentioned to Sitharaman about the mental trauma he was subjected to during his captivity in Pakistan after he was caught in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He is mentally strong and remains in high spirits despite the harassment he suffered in Pakistan, they said. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa and several top officials of the IAF also met Varthaman separately. The sources said he told senior IAF brass that he was subjected to severe mental harassment though he was not tortured physically during the captivity. Varthaman arrived in the national capital by an IAF flight at around 11:45 PM Friday, nearly two-and-half hours after he crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah border. The IAF pilot was first taken to the Air Force Central Medical Establishment (AFCME), a compact and specialised medical evaluation centre for aircrew of all the three services. Later he was brought to the Army's Research and Referral hospital. After he was captured, Varthaman showed courage and grace in handling the most difficult circumstances for which he was praised by politicians, strategic affairs experts, ex-servicemen, celebrities and people in general. When Varthaman, son of an IAF veteran, crossed over to India Friday night, his right eye above his handlebar moustache appeared swollen. A video on social media showed that he was badly beaten up by a mob before being rescued by Pakistani security personnel. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans. The Indian strike on the JeM camp 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 soldiers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the return of Varthaman, saying the nation is proud of his exemplary courage. "Welcome Home Wing Commander Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians," tweeted Modi on Friday night. Minhaz Merchant By Two steps forward, one step backwards. This has been the story of the Indian economy. The governments new strictures on Angel Tax and e-commerce guidelines belong to the 1960s. Those were the days when PM Indira Gandhi imposed a maximum tax rate of 97 per cent. The Licence Raj forced CEOs of leading business houses to make monthly trips to Delhi. Foreign exchange was tightly controlled, imports restricted and factory production output capped. All that changed in one fell swoop in 1991. The Narasimha Rao government was no more intellectually liberal than its predecessors. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, a commercial pilot, had earlier attempted to open up the economy and introduce computer technology, but the steel frame of the bureaucracy remained unyielding. Rao and his handpicked Finance Minister Manmohan Singh faced a bankrupt treasury in June 1991 when the Congress government took office after 19 months of the ruinous prime ministerships of V P Singh and Chandra Shekhar. But Rao and Singh were hardly natural reformers. Rao as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh was known chiefly as a steadfast loyalist of Prime Minister Indira. Manmohan Singh was a lifelong civil servant. Both were bred on socialist economics which had devastated economies around the world. While the free market economies of East Asia grew at 7-8 per cent a year through the 1960s-1980s, socialist India grew at the stately Nehruvian rate of 3 per cent a year. A bankrupt treasury in 1991 transformed Rao and Singh into economic liberalisers with more than a gentle nudge from the IMF. Indias gold reserves had to be mortgaged to the Bank of England and the Bank of Switzerland before an IMF loan came through with strict reformist conditions. Forced to liberalise, Rao and Singh did a fine job, dismantling the Licence Raj and opening up the economy to foreign investment. But the old civil servant habit of doublespeak got the better of Singh during his landmark Union Budget of February 1992. He announced that the Indian rupee would now be partially convertible and allowed to float in a free currency market. For a currency whose rate had been tightly controlled for decades, this move sent the markets into a frenzy. The Sensex nearly doubled over the next few months till the Harshad Mehta scandal hit the market in April 1992 and the realisation dawned that Singh had been economical with the truth on floating the rupee. What Singh had actually done was a two-step devaluation of the rupee. It was a slickly managed operation in the guise of currency liberalisation. The rupee hasnt recovered since. Old habits die hard even when governments change. Much the same bureaucratic sleight of hand has marked the recent changes in e-commerce regulations and the Angel Tax. Despite recent modifications, the twin shocks could end up hurting Indias bustling start-up ecosystem, a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Digital India and Startup India initiatives. According to a recent report in a newspaper, Indias top entrepreneurs and investors fear that the issue of Angel Tax along with some unfriendly e-commerce policy changes may push new start-ups to register overseas, especially in the US and Singapore. The relaxations in Angel Tax are largely palliative. The new e-commerce regulations are equally short-sighted. Designed to protect the BJPs trader vote bank from ferocious discounting by Walmart-Flipkart and Amazon, the rules could kill the goose that lays the golden egg. In a free market, governments should not interfere by micro-managing business. Walmart and Amazon need India more than India needs them, but capricious regulations with political intent dont serve Indias interests. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said recently: We were disappointed in a recent change in law and the lack of consultation, but the team has worked to ensure we are in compliance with the new rules. We hope to have an effective productive dialogue related to future changes that happen. In the 1960s, the financial bureaucracy was known to be atavistic. Not much has changed in its mindset today. For example, despite tweaking the Angel Tax regulations last month, nearly 300 start-ups that were already served tax payment orders will need to go through the laborious appeal process to gain tax relief. The report demonstrates the Orwellian predicament of young start-up entrepreneurs faced with endless litigation instead of focusing on innovation in their businesses: Founders of multiple companies that have got such orders said appeals can take a year or even more in many cases. As ever, India moves glacially, two steps forward one step backward. Minhaz Merchant The author is an editor and publisher Tweets @MinhazMerchant When was the last time an entire nation prayed in unison for the safety of one individual and the Maker responded in double quick time? And who would have imagined the name of the flier, who comes from an illustrious family with roots in Tamil Nadu, would be on everybodys lips overnight? Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman captured the nations imagination like never before as his was a story of bravery and honour while under enemy custody. Flying a MiG-21 Bison, he put himself in harms way when he engaged intruding Pakistani jets along the Line of Control on Wednesday. Displaying exemplary skill, he shot down an F-16 that is way too advanced than his ancient MiG, making it look like a mean machine instead of the Flying Coffin it is derisively called because of its unacceptably high crash rate. Unfortunately, Abhinandan had to bail out after his plane took a hit, found himself in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, followed standard procedures to escape but became a Prisoner of War (POW). Videos of his bloodied face that Pakistan uploaded on social mediaparading him as some kind of trophyhorrified the world as they indicated abuse of a POW, which is against the Geneva Conventions. But his dignified response to interrogators on enemy soil, again caught on tape, made the nation proud. When Pakistan tried to use Abhis freedom as leverage, India refused to let him be a bargaining chip. Finally succumbing to global pressure, Pakistani PM Imran Khan did some grandstanding, telling his Parliament he will free the pilot while lecturing India on peace. Though there was an avoidable delay, Abhinandan returned to a heros welcome at Wagah after two days in captivity. In the process, he also united a fractured polity that is heading for general elections, with the entire political class in raptures over his freedom despite different shades of opinion over how to handle the Indo-Pak standoff. Contrast his story with that of the downed F-16 pilot who died unsung in hospital after being lynched in PoK, and you know on whose side the Maker is. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: A day after the former Congress corporator B Vijaya Reddy was found murdered in her flat at NGGOs Colony in Akkayyapalem, it is learnt that the police have nabbed Hemanth, the prime suspect in the murder. According to the IV Town Police Station, Vijaya and her husband B Vishnu Reddy, a bank employee, were planning to sell their flat. In this connection, Hemanth and Radhika alias Radha from Bheemili wanted to be agents for selling the flat and had visited Vijayas flat recently. The police, who had suspected Hemanth as prime accused, conducted search operation with special teams and nabbed him. He is being questioned by the police. By Express News Service KADAPA: Jana Sena party president K Pawan Kalyan has stressed the need for a change in leadership. He also made it clear that he would not align with the TDP or the YSRCP in the ensuing elections. Addressing a road show here on Wednesday, he said that Rayalaseema has been neglected by the successive governments. We will align only with the Left parties, he added. The Jana Sena chief said that Rayalasema is drought-hit, but the leaders here are rich. When the people are hit by drought, the leaders are looting thousands of crores and buying thousands of acres of land. I have not come to this place to ask for votes, but only to instill confidence among people, he said. Pawan said that even though several Chief Ministers of united AP hail from Rayalaseema, the region remained backward. He lamented that the fields of farmers do not get water, but the fields of leaders are getting sufficient water. I have entered politics to usher in change, he said. He promised to provide insurance cover of `10 lakh to each person, fee reimbursement, free education and drinking water. He made it clear that he differed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he did not grant special status to AP. Pawan found fault with the YSRCP for boycotting Assembly sessions. The YSRCP leaders have forgotten their responsibility, he alleged. Earlier, the Jana Sena chief was accorded a grand welcome when he entered Kadapa district at Duvvuru. The party activists took out a huge rally to Annamayya Circle. Party leaders Nadendla Manohar, Sunkara Srinivas and Gurrappa were present. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: Dharna Chowk near the GVMC office here on Friday reverberated with slogans against Prime Minister Narender Modi as a large number of people gathered at the dharna organised in protest against his visit to the city. Ministers Ganta Srinivsa Rao, Ayyanna Patrudu and Kidari Sravan and a host of MLAs, including Giddi Eswari, Palla Srinivas, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and Peela Govind joined the dharna organised by MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar. Tension prevailed near the DRM office when police arrested CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna and his CPM counterpart P Madhu and Left party leaders and workers when they were proceeding in a rally to the DRM office to protest against the Prime Ministers visit. Earlier, they staged a demonstration with empty vessels at the Dharna Chowk and took out a rally to the DRM office. The Left party leaders said that Modi had no right to visit the State without fulfilling the promises. They said that even the zone announced just a couple of days ago was far short of the expectations of people. The leaders and workers were bundled into waiting vans and they were taken to a kalyana mandapam near barracks. Ashwini M Sripad By Express News Service BENGALURU: There was a time when Parichaya would hang out around Vidhana Soudha and take selfies with the states symbol of power as the backdrop. I had never thought that one day I would be working there, said the 28-year-old transgender who made a new beginning on Friday as an employee of the Department of Women and Child Development. Hailing from Mysuru, Parichaya was born to Alamelamma, a vegetable vendor, and Mahadev, who works as a security guard. When I was a 13-year-old boy, I realised something was not right, but could not do much. When I was 17, while doing my PU II course, I ran away from home with a few rupees in my pocket. The passenger train ticket cost `21 those days and I landed in Bengaluru. I did not know what to do and I called random phone numbers mentioned on bills near Majestic, but failed to get a job. Finally, there was a job at an orphanage where I had to collect funds. They would give me food and accommodation at their orphanage in Malleswaram. I stayed there for two years, she recalls. Parichaya came in contact with Samara, an NGO that works for transgenders. It was then that I decided to join Samara. Until I came to Samara, I was hesitating to reveal my feelings and finally, when I was 19, I underwent sex change operation. After this, I was into sex work and also begging, she said. Parichaya was staying with her fellow-mates at Kengeri. I used to earn close to Rs 30,000 per month, but I was not happy within. People would look down on us and I used to feel very hurt, she said. She then started looking for a mainstream job. But on knowing that she was transgender, people would refuse to give her a job. I even went to Karnataka State Women Development Corporation office in Jayanagar where I met the chairperson Vasundhara. She was the one who took me to Women and Child Welfare Department Minister Jayamala. She offered me a Group D job at her office and I was so happy, she said. From Friday, Parichaya started working as a contract employee and her salary is about Rs 10,000 per month. Parichaya, whose working hours are between 10 am and 6 pm, travels from Hebbal where she stays with her friend Rakshitha, another transgender who works at a petrol bunk. She was asked to learn typing and she has started learning using the computer. After I left home, I have never returned, although I am in touch with my parents. My mother is now happy. She had heard about my new identity, but now I have made her proud by getting a job at Vidhana Soudha, she said. I was earning thrice what I am earning now, but I was was not happy. Now, I. I can live with dignity. On the first day at work on Friday, colleagues spoke to me and treated me like one among them. Today is the day I shall never forget in my life, she added. ABC News(NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland) -- Once a home for conservatives whose beliefs occupied the fringes of the Republican Party, the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference has been transformed into something of a pep rally for President Trump's presidency -- driven in large part by a Republican establishment that has embraced the president's base and redefining what could be considered the party's mainstream. Organizers estimated a crowd of 10,000 at what Vice President Mike Pence called "the largest gathering of conservatives anywhere in America." Many reserved their loudest cheers and longest ovations for the president's closest aides and allies, in a scene that would have been unimaginable in past years, when the convention was home turf for the same Tea Partiers battling party establishment up the river in Washington. A speech by Trump will be the main event Saturday morning, but in the two days preceding, CPAC was visited by Pence, five different cabinet secretaries, several top White House advisers, and a number of Trump's closest Capitol Hill allies, including Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., David Perdue, R-Ga., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The establishment-CPAC divide has been bridged, in part, by a president who himself emerged from those same party fringes and pitched voters as the outsider candidate. Attendee Harold Hauber, 60, a retired Naval officer from Jacksonville, Florida, said that he thought Trump's everyman style smoothed the waters between the White House and those in the CPAC crowd. "He says the words the way common folk would say them. He doesn't sugarcoat things. He says it like it is. You know where he's coming from," Hauber said, adding that it helped to put politics "back in perspective." Part of that perspective, as described by speakers throughout the conference's first two days, included the dire straits they argued the U.S. would find itself in should a Democrat -- and worse, a Democratic-socialist -- defeat Trump in the 2020 election. The message was hardly a surprise, given one notable first for the 2019 event: the Republican National Committee's formal sponsorship. Late last year it was revealed that the RNC and Trump's team would join together in an unprecedented marriage between a party and presidential campaign in a joint fundraising committee known as Trump Victory, a move characterized by critics as one intended to shield the controversial president from a primary challenge. The party further passed a pledge of support for Trump at its winter meeting in January, and some state party leaders have openly mused about cancelling their primaries and caucuses. When taken together, the actions appear to be the sort of gatekeeping to cut against the grain of CPAC's outsider history, but in the service of Trump, it has been welcomed. When the prospect of a primary challenge spearheaded by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan -- who has been openly critical of the RNC's Trump-related maneuvering -- or former Ohio Gov. John Kasich was raised to RNC chair Ronna McDaniel during her appearance Thursday, the crowd hissed their disapproval. At CPAC's exhibit hall, the Trump Victory booth, selling Trump T-shirts and "Make America Great Again" hats, was the most popular in the middle of the day Friday, complete with conference attendees posing for pictures behind a lectern styled in the fashion of that in the White House briefing room. The display is a stark contrast from the signs that sit at the threshold of the area hosting the convention, claiming that "CPAC is an educational event" and "electioneering is strictly prohibited." For her part, McDaniel did not rule out the prospect of Trump having to defend his place on the 2020 ticket, but was far from neutral in her stance. "They have the right to jump in and lose," she said. She further questioned why the governors or any other Republican would be interested in running against a president whose success, she says, so many in the GOP, including at CPAC, were celebrating. "That's fine, they'll lose horribly." McDaniel continued. "So have at it." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The Trump administration is comfortable that there is enough oil in the global market months into its program of unilaterally re-imposing sanctions on OPEC-member Iran, the State Department's energy envoy said on Friday. U.S. law requires that the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the Energy Department, studies whether oil market supplies are ample enough to carry out the sanctions. The Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Iran's crude oil exports in November over its nuclear program and influence in Syria and other countries in the Middle East. The sanctions have roughly halved Iran's oil exports from last April to about 1.25 million barrels per day. "We're quite comfortable ... given that EIA continues to on a monthly basis to adjust their forecasts ... upward," Frank Fannon, the energy envoy, said at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "I think that's a pretty powerful signal." Fannon and other U.S. officials have said the Trump administration's goal is to push Iran's oil exports to zero. But actually doing so could prove difficult amid strong oil demand, especially in China and India. Oil output is rising quickly in the United States, the world's top petroleum consumer, helping to keep global oil markets balanced. U.S. crude oil production has risen by more than 2 million barrels per day over the past year to a record 12 million barrels per day. In November, the United States granted waivers to China and seven other importers, allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil as long as they cut the purchases significantly. The administration is set to decide whether it will renew waivers to oil-consuming countries on May 4. Search Keywords: Short link: Anuja Susan Varghese By Express News Service KOCHI: The Church Act is unlikely to see the light of the day, at least till the elections are over. With the staunch resistance mounting from all the different denominations in the state against the recent Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill- 2019 by the Kerala Law Reforms Commission (KLRC), the ruling dispensation is not to go ahead with the bill for the moment, playing it safe ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. A clear indication to this effect was given by CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan when he told media persons on Friday in Kochi the Left Government was not going forward with the Act. Kodiyeris statement comes a day after the Inter-Church Council, which met in Changanassery, decided to oppose the proposed move. Representatives from various factions, including the Orthodox Syrian Church, Jacobite Syrian Church, Marthoma Church, Syro-Malabar Church and CSI, took part in the council meeting. The new bill, prepared by a committee chaired by Justice K T Thomas, was published on the KLRC website, seeking opinions and suggestions from the public. There are no controversial matters highlighted in the bill. The reasons for criticising the bill are unclear. According to Article 26 of the Constitution, properties movable or immovable belonging to any religion can be administered by law. This law has been passed by the Parliament, Justice Thomas told Express. Syro-Malabar Church Media Commission chairman Mar Joseph Pamplany, however, said the Church suspects the state government has several agendas behind enforcing the Act. The Law Commission has not taken any initiative to hold talks with Churches on the Bill. Through e-mails and messages, we will raise our opinions and will oppose the proposed Church Act. Sunday will be observed as Black Day, and we will continue our protests till the Church Act is withdrawn, said Pamplany. According to sources, when the new Bill was being formulated, it also took into consideration the financial irregularities within the Jacobite Syrian Church, the controversial land scam of the Ernakulam-Angamali Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church and spats on financial matters in various churches. It was in 2009 former Justice Krishna Iyer-led Law Commission prepared the Church Properties Bill to bring in transparency in the handling of Church assets. Earlier, when the Church Properties Bill was prepared by former Justice Krishna lyer, we did not notice anyone opposing it. Our aim is to bring transparency in the Church matters. Even the recommended formation of a Church Tribunal is to ease proceedings of legal matters. Otherwise, court proceedings will take a longer time and will result in loss of money, said Justice Thomas.He also added he was very happy all the Churches, including Orthodox-Jacobite Churches, have united, at least for opposing the Bill. By Express News Service ROURKELA: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said he will ensure that not a single eligible farmers is left out of KALIA scheme.Addressing a mega KALIA convention here, Naveen said, Mine is the Government for poor, farmers and farm hands. Your development is my aim. He said that KALIA has shown the way to the entire country as far as farmers welfare is concerned and will benefit small farmers, farm hands, share croppers and landless farmers. Naveen claimed that 30 lakh farmers have benefitted and about 10 lakh more are to be included in the scheme. He said that not a single eligible farmer would be deprived of KALIA benefit and he is keeping a watch on it. Speaking about KALIA scholarship, he urged the beneficiary farmers to educate their children. Naveen said he has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet the legitimate rights of the farmers. Addressing the gathering of farmers and women members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) of Sundargarh district, the Chief Minister said Odisha Government is providing interest free loans to both farmers and women SHGs under the Mission Shakti scheme and exhorted them to obtain its benefit. With efforts of farmers and women, Odisha will get a new identity, he said. On the occasion, Naveen inaugurated 23 projects worth `336.61 crore including a mega lift irrigation project in Bargaon block, a road over bridge over STI level-crossing and multi-activity centre of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology, both at Rourkela. He also laid foundation stones of 19 projects for the district worth `309.78 crore.BOX STORY BJD-BJP fight over RoB inauguration, Congmen held Rourkela: Members of BJDs youth and student wings were infuriated after a group of BJP activists forcefully inaugurated the road over bridge (RoB) over STI-level crossing in Civil Township before the scheduled inauguration by Chief Minister. A group of BJP activists led by BJPs State Executive member Nihar Ray reached the RoBs end point at Civil Township, inaugurated it by cutting a ribbon and left the spot. They also put up BJP flags on the street light posts. When the activists of Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) came to know about it, they rushed to the spot and raised slogans against the BJP. Later, senior BJD leader and Rourkela Development Authority Chairman Sarada Prasad Nayak reached the spot and urged the irate workers to lodge protest in a democratic way. They then marched in a procession to the RN Pali police station and demanded action against those who violated the protocol by forcefully inaugurating the RoB before the official inauguration by the Chief Minister. On the other hand, Congress workers including former Rourkela District Congress Committee president Biren Senapati were taken into preventive custody by Chhend police. They had gathered at Chhend Square wearing black headbands and holding black flags to oppose Naveens visit. BJP accuses CM of spending`50 cr for publicity BJP activists including Odisha unit secretary Dhiren Senapati were taken into preventive custody while they were proceeding to the public meeting venue of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. They were taken to Bondamunda police station and later released. Senapati claimed that about ` 50 crore was spent by the Sundargarh administration for the mega KALIA convention at Rourkela aerodrome field which was a clandestine attempt to garner votes for BJD. He said a dozen of projects announced by Naveen for Rourkela city and Sundargarh district are all hanging fire for five to 15 years. By Express News Service PARADIP: Amid the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, security has been beefed up at vital installations in Paradip port with the Indian Navy and Coast Guard put on high alert along Odisha coast. Odisha has 480-km coastline which is vulnerable to possible terrorist attacks. On the basis of Central Intelligence inputs, a three-layer security ring has been thrown around Paradip coast, which houses the port and the single point mooring system along with the IOCL oil refinery and various other industries. Chairman of Paradip Port Trust Rinkesh Roy said adequate security arrangements have been put in place in the port and other important places. Coastal security is overseen by Odisha police, Coast Guard and the Navy. Meanwhile, immigration officials are keeping a strict vigil on the movement of crew members of vessels berthing in the port. Crew members wanting to go outside the port area are being thoroughly checked to avert any untoward incident. Sources said leaves of CISF and police personnel have been cancelled. The three marine police stations in the district have also been asked to remain in a state of high alert. Patrolling has been intensified on sea and precautionary measures taken at all vulnerable points. Sreemathi M By Express News Service NAGERCOIL: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami made an on-stage request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his government to take steps to establish a naval station at Kanniyakumari to ensure the safety and security of Tamil Nadu fishermen at sea. Addressing the gathering, Palaniswami said, The State government has introduced many projects for the development of the district. For the benefit of fishermen, fishing harbours were established in Colachel and Chinnamuttom at a budget of Rs 96.72 crore and Rs 81.22 crore, respectively. Similarly, a fishing harbour is being constructed at Thengaipattinam at a budget of Rs 97.4 crore. A scheme for fishermen to avail of 50 per cent subsidy to buy deep-sea fishing vessels had been introduced. To ensure safety of fishermen, 50 fishermen groups were provided with two satellite phones and three NAVIK equipment each. In addition to this, reconstruction works are being carried out at five dams in Vilavancode and Kanniyakumari with an outlay of Rs 76.16 crore, he continued. Speaking about Indias air strike in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Palaniswami said, We are grateful to Prime Minister for his bold action and decisiveness in rooting out the terrorism, which is a threat to the world. As the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, I also express gratitude to Modi for his effective efforts in safely bringing back IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan to homeland. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said, Modis participation in this event is a trial to our victory in the upcoming elections. The country, under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fighting against the external threats in a bold manner. By Express News Service NAGERCOIL/VISAKHAPATNAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to showcase a new India that will return the damage it suffered at the hands of terrorists with interest, saying the country will no longer be helpless in the face of terror. Speaking in an event at Kanniyakumari district on Friday, after inaugurating various welfare schemes, Modi faulted the UPA governments handling of terror. When 26/11 happened, nothing was done effectively. But when Uri happened, you saw what our army soldiers did (surgical strike). And when Pulwama happened, you saw what our brave air force warriors did. Today we are in an era where armed forces have full freedom to do what they want. So, the influence of terrorists and terrorism has been curtailed. This is the new India. This India will return the damages by the terrorists with interest, Modi said. Criticising the opposition, he said: a few political parties guided by Modi hatred, have started hating India... The world is supporting India in the fight against terror but a few parties fails to respect our fight against terror. In Vizag, he was more specific, attacking the maha milavat (his epithet for the grand alliance of Congress-led anti-BJP parties), asking why they were busy weakening India and playing politics that could only be of help to Pakistan. I would like to ask such maha milavat leaders why are they playing this kind of politics... Pakistan is taking advantage of it. Why in their blind hatred for Modi, they have started hating the country?, he wondered. Sinduja Jane By Express News Service CHENNAI: The Medical Council of Indias Board of Governors sanctioned conversion of 384 postgraduate diploma medical seats into degree seats which will be filled in the 2019-2020 academic year. The Board of Governors has also given approval for a total of 124 additional PG degree seats. With this, the number of PG degree seats in Tamil Nadu State has increased from 1,250 in 2018-2019 to 1,758 in 2019-2020, the highest number of PG medical degree seats in the government medical colleges in the country. The State had surrendered the diploma seats to the MCI and was waiting for the conversion order. Speaking to Express, Dr A Edwin Joe, Director of Medical Education, said, We received the conversion sanction order on Thursday. The 384 PG diploma seats in six government medical colleges, Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College, Madurai Medical College, Thanjavur Medical College and Coimbatore Medical College have been converted into PG degree seats. Apart from this, the Board of Governors also sanctioned a total additional 124 PG degree seats for 2019-2020, he added. According to officials, the State had 1,250 PG degree seats in 2018-2019. It had applied for 124 additional seats and the seats were sanctioned in two phases with 56 in the first phase. With these, the seats were increased to 1,362. Now with conversion of 384 PG diploma seats to PG degree, the total number has increased to 1,758. After the sanction, the number of MD and MS seats in Madras Medical College has increased to 433, in Stanley Medical College to 204, in Kilpauk Medical College to 121, in Madurai Medical College to 184, in Thanjavur Medical College to 102 and in Coimbatore Medical College to 33. Only these six medical colleges had diploma seats. Now, the State has only three diploma seats in diabetology. There is no MD for diploma in diabetology and so the State has retained those three seats as diploma, an official said. Dr Edwin Joe said that now the Madras Medical College, Chennai has the highest number of PG degree seats, double the number of its UG seats. The college has 250 MBBS seats, but now after the increase its PG seats increased to 433. He further said that the State has also applied for 350 MBBS seats for 2019-2020 academic year and it is expecting the sanction. There are no 2,900 MBBS seats in the State. By Express News Service CHENNAI: If the 1967 elections dethroned the Congress in Tamil Nadu, the 1971 elections nearly demolished the party. The main reason was a vertical split in the grand old party at the national level, thanks to the conflict between Indira Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders such as K Kamaraj. Kamaraj and other senior leaders had formed a splinter party - Indian National Congress (Organisation). The 1971 elections were held under extraordinary circumstances. Indira Gandhi had dissolved Parliament and sought a fresh mandate in view of the legal hurdles to her move to abolish privy purse to rulers of erstwhile princely states. In Tamil Nadu too, M Karunanidhi, who took charge as Chief Minister after the demise of CN Annadurai in 1969, wanted to seek a fresh mandate with the party under his leadership. With his clever manoeuvring, he struck an alliance deal with the Indira Gandhi-led Congress, but on condition that the national party would not contest any of the Assembly seats. In the parliamentary elections, the Congress was allocated just 10 seats. This had hardly irked Indira Gandhi for she was apparently keen only on winning the national elections. The Kamaraj-led INC (O) was the main opponent. Beside the Congress (I), Karunanidhi, who was just two years into Chief Ministership, had formed a rainbow alliance with the CPI, Praja Socialist Party, Thamizharasu Kazhagam, Muslim League and Forward Bloc. To counter this, Kamaraj had to enter into an alliance with his arch-rival C Rajagopalacharis Swatantra party, Republic Party and other smaller parties. The DMK, led by its young leader Karunanidhi, smashed the combined might Kamaraj and Rajagopalachari. The DMK won 23 of 39 MP seats. Congress won 9 and CPI 4. Kamarajs INC (O) just got one MP. In the Assembly, the DMK clinched a massive haul of 184. Through the INC (O)s tally dwindled, the party had secured a vote-share of nearly 35 per cent. This meant that still a substantial section of the electorate preferred Kamaraj. But the lack of a strong second-rung leadership in Kamarajs party and the emergence of MGR, ushered in an era where the Congress would play just a second fiddle. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Congress party senior leader and MLC Mohammed Shabbir Ali on Friday said that the twist and turn of dastardly Pulwama incident in the last fortnight had exposed the hidden agenda of Narendra Modi government and BJP to exploit a national crisis and turn it into a political and poll gimmick. It is unfortunate that BJP is playing politics on the supreme sacrifice of our soldiers, he alleged. Reiterating the undeterred commitment of Congress party for protection of national integrity and unity of all political parties at such critical hours, Shabbir Ali, the former leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, said that the BJP and Modi were attempting to twist the issue into a campaign for Lok Sabha polls in the the garb of patriotism and nationalism. He said that it was a well-known fact that the BJP had always fished in troubled waters. He said that while AICC president Rahul Gandhi and Congress leadership has been very responsible in their remarks and condemned the terrorist acts, the BJP has been taking full credit for the daring feats of Indian forces in countering the Pakistan-supported terrorist acts and even held victory rallies.The Congress never attempted to earn political gains in national crisis like the BJP, he said. By Associated Press KABUL: Taliban insurgents targeted an Afghan army corps at their camp in the southern Helmand province, killing at least 23, officials said Saturday. Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said 20 other troops were wounded in the attack that began Friday and ended Saturday evening after a 40-hour battle in the Wahser district. The death toll could rise after a final assessment, added Zwak. As many as 40 security forces may have been killed, according to a provincial official who spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to brief the media. Zwak added that military vehicles and offices were damaged by blasts and shooting in the attack. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement that the insurgent group was responsible for the attack, which came even as Taliban negotiators met for talks with a US peace envoy in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar. He said Taliban fighters engaged both Afghan and foreign forces inside the camp and killed "scores." Zwak said U.S. advisers were present in the base, but in a separate area. "The foreign forces present at the base were all safe as the Taliban could not reach that part of the compound," he said. Zwak said the attack began when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at Shorab camp. He said three other suicide bombers also blew themselves up as gunmen followed behind them. Zwak said 22 Taliban gunmen were killed in the fighting. In recent years, the Taliban and the Islamic State group have carried out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan, mainly targeting the government and its security forces. The Taliban control several district centers in Helmand, which is a major source of the world's illegal opium supply. Camp Shorab was previously a British air base known as Camp Bastion. In northern Sari Pul province, Taliban ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces, killing nine, said Zabihullah Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor. Amani said 12 other forces were wounded during the battle with insurgents that lasted seven hours Friday in Sangcharak district. "Four security forces are missing and believe to be taken alive by the insurgents," he said. The forces were just returning from an operation in the district when they came under heavy fire, Amani said. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Islamic State faced final territorial defeat on Saturday as the U.S.-backed Syrian force battling the jihadists said it was closing in on their last bastion near the Iraqi border, capping four years of efforts to roll back the group. While the fall of Baghouz, an eastern Syrian village on the bank of the Euphrates River, would mark a milestone in the campaign against Islamic State (IS), they remain a threat, using guerrilla tactics and holding some desolate land further west. An array of enemies, both local and international, confronted IS after it declared a modern-day "caliphate" in 2014 across large swathes of territory it had seized in lightning offensives in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. Thousands of IS fighters and followers, who had retreated to Baghouz as the group was gradually driven out of those lands, have poured out of the tiny cluster of hamlets and farmlands in Deir al-Zor province over the last few weeks. Their evacuation held up the final assault until Friday evening when the SDF said it had advanced and would not stop until the jihadists were defeated. "We expect it to be over soon," Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told Reuters. He said the SDF were advancing on two fronts using medium and heavy weaponry, and three of its fighters had been wounded so far. The SDF has previously said that many of the jihadists left in Baghouz were foreigners. The SDF commander-in-chief said on Thursday that his force would declare victory within a week. He was later contradicted by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the SDF had retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by IS. Washington has about 2,000 troops in Syria, mainly to support the SDF in fighting IS. Trump announced in December he would withdraw all of them, but the White House partially reversed itself last month, saying some 400 troops would stay. Some 40,000 people bearing various nationalities have left the jihadists' diminishing territory in the last three months as the SDF sought to oust the militants from remaining pockets. The number of evacuees streaming out of Baghouz surpassed initial estimates of how many were inside. An SDF commander told Reuters on Thursday that many of the people leaving the enclave had been sheltering underground in caves and tunnels. An 27-year-old Indonesian widow who emerged on Friday said she would have liked to stay in IS territory but conceded that conditions had become untenable. "I have no money, I have no food for my baby, no medicine, nothing for my baby, so I must go out," she told Reuters. Search Keywords: Short link: By PTI PARIS: The European Union is prepared to give Britain further guarantees to help a divorce deal through the British parliament, the bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in an interview published Saturday. "We can find guarantees to confirm, clarify, guarantee the goodwill and good faith of the Europeans with commitments which would have real legal force," Barnier said in comments published in several European newspapers including Die Welt in Germany and Les Echos in France. Barnier also suggested European leaders would be amenable to a short "technical" delay in Britain's departure from the EU, scheduled for March 29, to give the British parliament time to formally ratify a final divorce deal. The British parliament rejected the original Brexit deal hammered out by Prime Minister Theresa May and EU leaders. The major sticking point was the so-called "backstop" plan for the Irish border. Some MPs fear the arrangement, which would keep Britain tied to EU trade rules until another way is found to keep the frontier open, is a "trap" that could bind it to European commerce rules indefinitely. Barnier said there was "misunderstanding" over the proposed backstop deal. "Limiting it in time or introducing a unilateral exit clause would call into question its credibility," the EU's top Brexit negotiator insisted. The backstop "will end either when we have a global agreement on the future relationship or a specific agreement with Ireland," he said, assuring it "was never the wish" to bind Britain to European trade rules indefinitely. Barnier said he would Britain's Brexit minister Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox next week to discuss options. A Brussels source said those talks could take place in the Belgian capital on Tuesday. "There is a way that the British (parliament) could vote, between now and March 12, with these guarantees of our good faith, It will be up to them to fulfil their responsibilities," Barnier said. In 2017, Britain invoked Article 50 of EU law, triggering a two-year countdown to Brexit that ends at 11pm (2300 GMT) on March 29. The country is on course to leave without an agreement after British MPs in January overwhelmingly rejected the divorce deal May struck with the EU late last year. The embattled leader is now seeking changes to the pact which she hopes will be enough to get it through parliament by March 12. In a revised strategy unveiled this week, May vowed that if her deal is rejected, lawmakers will vote in the following days on whether to leave without a deal or delay Brexit. But European leaders have warned any postponement would come with conditions. Barnier suggested a short delay could be acceptable. "The European institutions will do whatever is necessary on their side but the British have told us in the past that they will need two months to ratify" the deal. "It would then require a simple technical extension." While Britain is yet to request a delay, "I don't think there would be any objections in principle" from the other 27 EU nations, Barnier said. However, any delay "must serve to solve a problem, not merely to postpone it and remain at an impasse." By PTI ISLAMABAD: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday called for "restraint and de-escalation" in South Asia as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, Pakistan's Foreign Office said. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC meeting on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. On Saturday, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session CFM concluded in Abu Dhabi with a resolution that "supported" Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. "In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remain the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia," it claimed. The resolution also "expressed deep concern" over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the FO claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute. The FO said that in the context of current volatile situation in the region, the OIC member states adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, "which expressed grave concern over the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistan's right to self-defence; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force." This OIC resolution on regional peace and security in South Asia also welcomed Pakistan Prime Minister mran Khan's renewed offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian pilot, the FO said. The resolution called for "restraint and de-escalation" as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, it added. The OIC adopted two other resolutions sponsored by Pakistan on international disarmament and non-proliferation issues and reform of the UN Security Council. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. "India submitted its dossier, if India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it," Qureshi said. He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in Pakistan and its policies are very clear. ALSO READ | Jaish has not claimed responsibility for Pulwama attack: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi "We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC. Qureshi's remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said that there was "still confusion" over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. "The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no," he said. "They have denied that, that's the confusion." When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said, "people over here, and the people who are known to them." In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is "very unwell", but said the government can act against him only if India presents "solid" and "inalienable" evidence that can stand in a court of law. "He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can't leave his house, because he's really unwell," Qureshi said. His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan's key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the "strongest terms" the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such "reprehensible acts" accountable and bring them to justice. ALSO READ | Indian pilot Abhinandan not released under 'any pressure': Shah Mahmood Qureshi In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the "so-called nerve centre" of the JeM in Bahawalpur. He was referring to the provincial government's move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month. "India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds," he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case. "We had stated that India should give us actionable evidence so we could act, we had assured India that we would cooperate," he asserted. Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said Pakistan's new government has brought a new approach, conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He said that the "situation is critical still, both countries' armed forces are still on high alert". "We are nuclear-armed neighbours, can we afford a war? This is suicide," he said. He said that at this point of time, Islamabad want to bring the situation under control, adding that, "a section of the Indian media is behaving in very irresponsible manner by engaging in warmongering." Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a "peace gesture". Varthaman, who in Pakistan's custody since Wednesday, was released at the Wagah border on Friday. By PTI HOUSTON: Sini Mathews, the Indian-American foster mother of 3-year-old special needs girl Sherin Mathews who was found dead in a culvert in suburban Dallas in 2017, was freed from jail after 15 months as the child endangerment charges against her have been dropped in the US due to lack of evidence. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said Friday that there was not enough evidence to proceed, NBCDFW news reported. Sherin, who was adopted by Wesley Mathews and Sini in 2016, was found dead in a culvert near the family's home in Richardson, Texas, on October 22, 2017, two weeks after her family reported her missing. Sini, who was 35 at the time of her arrest, was charged after prosecutors said she left her adopted daughter home alone while she and her husband Wesley went to dinner with their 4-year-old biological daughter on the night before the child was reported missing, the report said. Had she been convicted, she would have faced between two and 20 years behind bars, it said. The Indian-American couple from Kerala had adopted the girl from an orphanage in Bihar. ALSO READ | Sherin Mathews death case: HC sets aside notice of cancellation of OCI status of Indian-origin couple in US The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it is possible the same or different charges could be leveled against her at any time, according to the report. Sini, while coming out of the jail Friday, told NBC5 that she felt "blessed" the charges were dismissed and that she's looking forward to being reunited with her biological daughter, who has been living with family members in Houston. She said that the past 15 months she spent in jail awaiting trial were "challenging". Asked if she loved Sherin, Sini responded: "Yes, absolutely. No doubt". Her husband Wesley, who was 38 at the time of his arrest, still faces a capital murder charge in connection with his daughter's death and he is being held on a USD 1 million bond. His trial is set for May. Sherin Mathews (Facebook Photo | Where is Sherin Mathews) In a letter to the 282nd Criminal District Court, the Dallas County District Attorney wrote that "after extensive investigation, it has been determined that the state cannot prove this matter beyond a reasonable doubt at this time the state respectfully requests that this case be dismissed without prejudice." Richardson police, which probed Sherin's death and charged Sini with child endangerment, said in a statement that they were disappointed. "While we are disappointed with this turn of events, we will continue to work with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office to ensure justice is done," Richardson police said. Wesley, who still faces a capital murder charge in connection with the case, initially told the police that his daughter had gone missing from outside the house. ALSO READ | India to cancel Overseas Citizenship of India cards of Sherin Mathews' foster parents, relatives in US He had made her stand outside the house at 3 am as punishment for not finishing her milk. Sherin was missing when he went back for her, Wesley had contended. He is being held on a USD 1 million bond and his trial is scheduled for May. Wesley changed his story later and told investigators that Sherin died after choking on milk. He admitted to putting her body in the culvert near their home in Richardson in suburban Dallas. Accused of killing the Indian girl, he faces a sentence of up to life in prison. The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office which released Sherin' autopsy report listed the cause of death as homicide and the manner as homicidal violence. The story of Sherin's whereabouts and her tragic death in 2017 made headlines worldwide. By ANI WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday accused India of being a high tariff nation and threatened to impose a reciprocal tax to match the heavy duties that New Delhi imposes on goods imported from the United States. Addressing the last day of a four-day annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, the US President said, "India is a very high tariff nation. When we send a motorcycle to India, they charge 100 per cent tariff. When India sends a motorcycle to us, we charge nothing. I want a reciprocal tax, at least I want to charge a tax." A reciprocal tax is a form of tariff applied to imports from other countries that charge a similar duty on goods exported by the US. President Trump has repeatedly called out India for its high tariffs. We cannot allow a country to charge 100 per cent and we get nothing for the same exact product. For one thing, they dont respect us. They think we are stupid, Trump said. But let me tell you something. The world respects our country. They respect us, the President added. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many times, has advocated foreign investments in the country as a part of his 'Make in India' campaign to transform India into a manufacturing hub and generate employment to the youth. However, President Trump has pressed US manufacturing companies to return home as part of his 'Make America Great Again' campaign. In a major disciplinary action against Indias trade and investment policies, Washington on February 6, considered to withdraw the policy of zero tariffs on Indian exports to the US. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), under which India enjoys tariff concession costing to USD 5.6 billion of exports to the US, has been the world's largest beneficiary of a scheme that has been in force since the 1970s. The move to withdraw the GSP program marks a draconian action taken by Trump-led US government to reduce the US deficit with large economies. Our County Editor Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com. 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). Algeria's president Abdelaziz Bouteflika named Abdelghani Zaalane as the new director of his campaign for a fifth term, state press agency APS said on Saturday. The decision comes a day after tens of thousands of Algerians protested against another term in office for Bouteflika, 81, who is in Switzerland for "periodic medical checks". Opponents say the president, who suffered a stroke in 2013 and has been seen in public only a few times since, is no longer fit for the job. Arabic language media reported on Saturday that Bouteflika's health had deteriorated to critical condition, causing doctors at the Swiss medical facility to cancel a planned operation and move him to intensive care. Lebanese Al-Mayadeen outlet quoted a medical source in Geneva as saying the Algerian leader is in a "critical state," though Bouteflika's current health condition has yet to be confirmed. Search Keywords: Short link: One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Financial Secretary Paul Chan attended a televised forum on the 2019-20 Budget this evening, highlighting his initiatives on diversifying the economy, boosting healthcare services and building a liveable city. He said he gave an analysis in his Budget the global political and economic landscape, and the direction of Hong Kongs economic development amid the uncertain external environment. He also outlined the Governments plan on diversifying the economy by investing in the financial services industry as well as innovation and technology. On healthcare services, Mr Chan noted he will deploy $16 billion to set up a public healthcare stabilisation fund, upgrade medical equipment in public hospitals, increase the salary and allowance of the medical and ward supporting staff, and expand drug subsidy for patients. To make Hong Kong a more liveable city, Mr Chan said he will allocate $600 million to refurbish over 200 public toilets by phases. Another $6 billion will be earmarked for developing new harbourfront promenades, in addition to his proposal of setting up a $200-million Urban Forestry Support Fund, he added. Secretary for Security John Lee Should somebody get away with murder? Or rape? I believe everyone would agree that people who commit such serious crime should face justice. That is the question many people in Hong Kong have been asking since a homicide case involving a Hong Kong resident suspected of murdering another Hong Kong resident in Taiwan and then returning to Hong Kong. Not surprisingly, the Taiwan side has already asked Hong Kong to surrender the alleged killer so this person can face justice. But, Hong Kong does not have any agreement with Taiwan that would allow us to provide such legal assistance or to surrender the suspect. This case has highlighted a serious legal loophole that can allow offenders of serious crimes to escape justice. This is why the Security Bureau submitted a proposal to the Legislative Council on 15 February 2019 to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance. The Security Bureau's proposal would allow Hong Kong to handle requests for assistance and surrender of offenders on a case-by-case basis with any place with which Hong Kong has not signed a long-term agreement. The proposal will apply the same standard to any place under the principle of mutual respect. Such case-based surrenders are transitional and special arrangements to plug the present loophole. Long-term agreements remain our principal arrangement for the surrender of fugitive offenders. At present, existing laws do not allow them to be applied to other parts of China outside of Hong Kong. Thus, we should remove this restriction to enable Hong Kong to handle requests on a case-by-case basis with any place in the world. The Government's proposal makes reference to the laws and practices adopted by other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and Canada. The proposal would allow the Chief Executive to issue a certificate to trigger the legal procedures for a suspect to be sent to court for a hearing and decision. Such a certificate is issued by the Secretary of State in the UK or the Foreign Minister in Canada. Human rights safeguarded Our proposed case-by-case arrangement will retain and apply all human rights safeguards under the present Fugitive Offenders Ordinance which has operated smoothly and without incident for over 21 years. These safeguards draw on the model template of the United Nations and international practices and include the following: the act, if committed in Hong Kong, must also constitute a criminal offence in Hong Kong; the offence must be among the 46 serious offences descriptions specified in the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance; no surrender shall be made if death penalty imposed on the person concerned will be carried out; no surrender shall be made for any political offences (irrespective of how the offences are described in the request) no surrender shall be made if the request, though purporting to be made on account of any offences, is in fact made on account of political opinions, race, religion or nationality; no surrender shall be made if the person concerned might be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his political opinions, race, religion or nationality. The executive authorities and the court will stringently perform their gate-keeping roles respectively. First, the executive authorities will immediately refuse a request if it is considered the requesting party fails to fulfill the safeguards or requirements prescribed in the ordinance. Second, when the executive authorities consider the request should be accepted, the suspect will then be sent to court for a hearing in open court. If the court finds that any human rights safeguards under the ordinance have been violated or the evidence available is insufficient to justify the issuance of an order of committal, it will release the suspect at once and the executive authorities cannot make the surrender. Practically, when receiving a request Hong Kong will, if all legal provisions and human rights safeguards are complied with, ask the requesting party to sign a surrender arrangement for that case under which various undertakings and requirements will be made. These include: prosecution will be made only on the charges mentioned in the arrangement and no more, and sufficient evidence will be provided to the court for its consideration on whether the issuance of an order of committal is justified; the person concerned will not be transferred to a third place; death penalty will not be imposed or carried out; and any extra requirements made by Hong Kong in addition to those set out in the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, such as the right to legal representation as prescribed by the law, visits by lawyers and family members according to the law, etc. The Chief Executive may then consider issuing a certificate to trigger the procedures and send the case to the court for hearing. During the hearing, the suspect has the right to challenge the surrender on any grounds including political persecution, that the alleged offences are camouflaged by the requesting party, etc. He may also apply for habeas corpus. He has his right to appeal all the way to the Court of Final Appeal. Our courts have abundant experience handling surrender cases over the past 21 years. They have always been fair and just. We trust their professionalism. Bringing fugitives to justice The proposed amendments aim at not only handling the Taiwan homicide case but also plugging the legal loophole, so that offenders of serious crimes can no longer escape the long arm of the law, which is now possible because of a lack of long-term agreements. With the amendments, Hong Kong will be able to co-operate with any place in the world, based on the same standard and principle of mutual respect, to ensure that offenders of serious crimes are brought to justice. The whole process will be pragmatic and consider only the merits of that particular case. This will help ensure that Hong Kong will not become a haven for fugitive offenders (murderers, rapists etc.) who can live among us and, by extension, pose a threat to personal and public safety. Some people in Hong Kong have fomenting negative sentiment about our proposals for political reasons which, if successful, will mean we cannot surrender the accused person to face justice in Taiwan. I am saddened and disappointed by these political motives, which only serve to undermine the rule of law and the quest for justice. For the sake of justice, we must act now and quickly so that the Taiwan homicide case can be handled according to the law and we can plug this legal loophole. The Security Bureau is now collecting views to refine the amendment provisions, after which we will submit the bill to LegCo for scrutiny as soon as possible. This op-ed piece from Secretary for Security John Lee was published in local newspapers on February 28. Financial Secretary Paul Chan today said he has no hesitation in allocating more resources into projects to benefit Hong Kong people, as soon as the Governments current investments bear fruit. During a radio phone-in programme to discuss his 2019-20 Budget, Mr Chan was asked to inject more money into enhancing Hong Kongs iconic harbourfront. He noted that in 2017, $500 million was set aside for harbourfront development, while in this Budget $6 billion was earmarked for developing new promenades and open space as well as improving facilities along the harbour. When the projects are being realised and the people appreciate and enjoy, I would have no hesitation in allocating additional resources to support work on this front. I would be happy to support projects that are good for the people of Hong Kong, not just for Victoria Harbour, because we do need to have other districts to look after. The Government will allocate $20 billion to purchase 60 properties for accommodating more than 130 welfare facilities, including day child care centres, neighbourhood elderly centres and on-site pre-school rehabilitation services. Responding to a callers concerns that the property purchases would benefit the private sector, Mr Chan emphasised that existing procurement procedures are very strict and comply with the ICACs requirements. He added that if there were enough vacant government sites, he would inject more funds into developing those into welfare facilities. The objective of that $20 billion is try to get premises to provide the social services facilities so that the much-needed social services for children, for young people, for the youth can be delivered as soon as possible. "For providing social services this is location-specific because you want to be close to your recipients of services, you do not want to have those needy recipients to travel afar to receive this service. We do not have that many vacant sites. If we had those vacant sites, I would have no reservation in developing it into housing plus Government, Institution & Community facilities. In response to calls to spend more from the Governments coffers during an economic slowdown to provide more sweeteners and stimulate the economy, Mr Chan noted the Government has to strike a balance to maintain a healthy financial position. If we exclude the housing reserve to be written back to the account, the coming year will be a deficit to the order of about $5 billion. To return the whole surplus to the people, the next years deficit would be in the order of close to $20 billion. "We do think that by returning about 73% of the current year surplus back to the citizens via different means is the appropriate way to do it, he said. The Government will set aside funding for the Hospital Authority in case of emergencies, Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said today. Speaking at a press conference on initiatives in the 2019-20 Budget, Prof Chan said the Government will earmark $10 billion to set up a public healthcare stabilisation fund to prepare for any additional expenditure which may be incurred by the authority due to unexpected circumstances. She said: We have been increasing our funding for the Hospital Authority throughout the past few years, especially with this new funding model, the three-year cycle funding model, that would allow the Hospital Authority to better plan their services in terms of the change in demographics and also the ageing population, and also, if there are any changes in the population numbers. So really, this is to set aside just in case for emergency. The Government will provide a total of $69.9 billion in funding for the authority in the 2019-20 financial year, an increase of 8.5% compared to the 2018-19 figure, Prof Chan said. Additionally, the authority was asked to prepare a medium to long-term manpower plan outlining the resources they need, for example, the number of doctors and nurses required for the next 10 to 20 years. Prof Chan also said the number of applications for limited registration contracts has increased following the commencement of the Medical Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, which extends the validity of such contracts from one year to three years. With more promotion and publicity in Hong Kong and overseas, the Government hopes this number will further increase, she added. Secretary for Security John Lee said the Police will step up publicity against scams after deception cases rose 18% year-on-year to 8,372 in 2018. Speaking to the press after todays Fight Crime Committee meeting, Mr Lee said there was an uptick in social media, e-mail and investment scams. Social media deception cases rose 94% to 2,064, involving a loss of $500 million. There were 212 cases of investment scam for the year, involving $1.77 billion, he said. Reviewing the crime situation in 2018, Hong Kongs overall crime was down 3.2% from 2017, with 54,225 cases recorded. Falls were recorded in the categories of shop theft, arson, burglary, serious drugs offences and robbery, while the year saw a rise in homicide cases. The report to be submitted to the Central People's Government on the prohibition order against the Hong Kong National Party will outline the legal procedures and facts involved in the matter. Speaking to the media today, Secretary for Security John Lee said the report will contain details on the whole process regarding how the order was issued and dealt with. When the Chief Executive met the press to inform the public about the request of the Central People's Government for her to submit a report on the matter relating to the prohibition order regarding the Hong Kong National Party, she has indicated that the report would likely contain the whole process regarding how the prohibition order was issued and dealt with in accordance with the Societies Ordinance, the legal procedures and also the facts involved in the matter. She has also indicated that she would prefer to make her report public subject to legal advice." On the proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, Mr Lee said the amendments seek to plug a loophole. The proposal is aiming at one single standard applicable to all places around the world, based on the case merits, without considering all other factors except the safeguards that have long been laid down in the present Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. Get the news faster. Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster. Click here to install our app on your desktop. X Bedecked in lion mane collars, warriors' headdresses and military fatigues, thousands of Ethiopians descended on Addis Ababa's main squares to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Adwa - one of Ethiopia's finest hours in the battlefield. It was in the northern town of Adwa 123 years ago that poorly-armed Ethiopians - clad in such attire - routed an Italian force that sought to expand Rome's fledgling 19th century colonial empire. The victory that preserved Ethiopia's independence in 1896 resounded elsewhere in Africa, becoming a rallying point for Africans a generation later as they bid to end colonial rule. "I call myself independent because my fearless fathers fought the battle from all corners of the country," said 27-year old Bonsa Kuma, who arrived in the capital on horseback. "I rode for two days to get here to remember my heroes," he told Reuters. The event was also used by some Ethiopians to call for unity at a time of persistent ethnic strife that has left over 2 million people displaced due to violence in the last two years. "Adwa for me is a sign of freedom and a sign of unity of the country. Today's generation should learn the importance of unity and abstain from clashing on the basis of ethnicity," said Tiki Gebreab, a 36-year old Addis Ababa resident who attended the celebrations. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also joined a chorus of calls to end violence. "The young generation of today should repeat the victory of Adwa by defeating current challenges and barriers," Abiy said in remarks published by state-owned media. Search Keywords: Short link: (Newser) A big sea creature that washed ashore in Southern California has been identified as a hoodwinker sunfish, a recently identified rare species thought to live only in the Southern Hemisphere. The University of California, Santa Barbara, says the fish was spotted last week at Sands Beach in the university's Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve. An intern alerted a reserve staffer, who initially thought it was a type of local sunfish, per the AP. story continues below She posted photos to the reserve's Facebook page, which drew the attention of a university professor who examined the fish and posted photos to the iNaturalist online community. That caught the eye of Marianne Nyegaard of Murdoch University in Australia, who identified the species in 2017, and the confirmation was made. So is the fish a stray wanderer or the sign of a local population? That remains unclear, reports CNN, which has a lengthy story on the discovery. (Read more fish stories.) (Newser) "My grandmother almost got lost at sea in Iceland today lmaoooo" isn't a tweet you typically see on Twitter, but one young lady felt compelled to share the photos of her grandma drifting away into the ocean while perched on a throne-shaped iceberg. The Washington Post reports on Judith Streng's recent trip with her son to Iceland, where the two made a stop at Diamond Beach in Jokulsarlon on Tuesday. There she spotted a hunk of ice shaped like a throne of sorts and decided it would serve as a perfect photo opand so the 77-year-old climbed onto the ice, leaned back, and smiled for the picture. Then: "It started to totter," Streng tells ABC News. story continues below "A very large wave came in and ... made the throne kind of rock, and I could tell that I was slipping off," she recalls. The iceberg dislodged and started drifting, Streng still on it. Streng's son texted to his daughter Christine the series of photos (one was captioned "iceberg queen) showing Streng floating further and further away from shore; Christine posted them on Twitter and they quickly went viral, amassing nearly 70,000 shares by Saturday morning. Florida boat captain Randy Lacount happened to be on the water that day and scooped Streng up when he spotted her. Streng, who's now back home in Texas, doesn't seem traumatized from her ordeal on the icy throne. "You know I always wanted to be queen," she says. "I mean, come on, that was my chance." (Read more strange stuff stories.) (Newser) A baby is dead, and an 11-year-old girl is being tied to his death. CNN reports that 1-year-old Paxton Davis died Thursday, four days after he was admitted to a Maryland hospital with "severe injuries to his upper body," per a Prince George's County Police Department release. Although Paxton had been left in the charge of an adult, that woman ran out to take care of an errand on Sunday morning and left him alone with her 11-year-old daughter in their Suitland home, police say; the girl admits that's when she assaulted the baby, who isn't related to her, causing his injuries. Per NBC Washington, an adult called 911 upon returning to the home. story continues below Shortly after 3pm that day, police were called to the hospital where Paxton was brought. "It was clear from the beginning that the injuries Paxton suffered were not consistent with the normal play of a 1-year-old," Prince George's County Police Maj. Brian Reilly said at a Friday presser. CNN notes that in Maryland, those who watch another child have to be at least 13. "I can't say yes, I can't say no," Reilly said regarding whether the girl's mother would face charges. He added that he can't fathom why the 11-year-old may have done this. The girl, who was charged with first-degree child abuse, has been sent to a juvenile facility. An investigation is ongoing. (Read more child abuse stories.) (Newser) America's newest capsule for astronauts rocketed Saturday toward the International Space Station on a high-stakes test flight by SpaceX. The only passenger was a life-size test dummy named Ripley, after the lead character in the Alien movies. SpaceX needs to nail the debut of its Crew Dragon capsule before putting people on board later this year, per the AP. This latest, flashiest Dragon is on a fast track to reach the space station Sunday morning, just 27 hours after liftoff. It will spend five days docked to the orbiting outpost before making a retro-style splashdown in the Atlantic next Fridayall vital training for the next space demo, possibly this summer, when two astronauts strap in. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the launch was "super stressful" to watch, but he's hopeful the capsule will be ready to carry people later this year. story continues below "To be frank, I'm a little emotionally exhausted," Musk told reporters barely an hour after liftoff. "We have to dock to the station. We have to come back, but so far it's worked ... we've passed the riskiest items." NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, meanwhile, called it "a big night for the United States of America," adding, "We're on the precipice of launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil again for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011." Looking on from Kennedy's Launch Control were the two NASA astronauts who will strap in as early as July for the second space demo, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. As many as seven astronauts could eventually squeeze in, although four will be the norm once flights get going, allowing for a little cargo room. About 450 pounds of supplies are going up on this flight. Musk anticipates eventually selling Dragon rides to private citizens. (Read more SpaceX stories.) (Newser) Four women who left food and water for migrants in a deadly border area have been sentenced by a federal judge, the Arizona Republic reports. US Magistrate Judge Bernando Velasco sentenced them Friday to 15 months of unsupervised probation and a $250 fine, on charges of abandonment of property and going inside the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona without a permit. In January, Velasco found Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse, and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick guilty for their work leaving gallon-jugs of water and bean cans for migrants. The women were caught in 2017 as part of their volunteer work for the aid group No More Deaths. story continues below "The humanitarian work that has ultimately brought us here today will continue to address the border crisis until there are no more deaths," the women said after their sentencing. No More Deaths lent their support by holding a vigil and a march Friday outside the Tucson federal courthouse, and said, per CNN: "I think it goes without saying: You need water in the desert, and without water you will die." But Elizabeth Strange, a first assistant US attorney, applauded wildlife officers who spotted the women and warned that other aid workers could get in equally hot water, saying "our office will continue to review potential violations on federal lands on a case-by-case basis and bring charges, as appropriate." (Aid workers say border agents are deliberately undermining their work.) Taliban insurgents targeted an Afghan army corps at their camp in southern Helmand province, killing at least 23, officials said Saturday. Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said 16 other troops were wounded in the attack that began Friday and continued into Saturday in Wahser district. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement the insurgent group was responsible for the attack, which came even as Taliban negotiators met for talks with a U.S. peace envoy in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar. He said Taliban fighters engaged both Afghan and foreign forces inside the camp and killed ``scores.'' Zwak said U.S. advisers were present in the base, but in a separate area. ``The foreign forces present at the base were all safe as the Taliban could not reach that part of the compound,'' he said. Zwak said the attack began when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at Shorab camp. He said three other suicide bombers also blew themselves up as gunmen followed behind them. Zwak said 16 Taliban gunmen were killed in the fighting. In recent years, the Taliban and the Islamic State group have carried out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan, mainly targeting the government and its security forces. The Taliban control several district centers in Helmand, which is a major source of the world's illegal opium supply. Camp Shorab was previously a British air base known as Camp Bastion. In northern Sari Pul province, Taliban ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces, killing nine, said Zabihullah Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor. Amani said 12 other forces were wounded during the battle with insurgents that lasted seven hours Friday in Sangcharak district. ``Four security forces are missing and believe to be taken alive by the insurgents,'' he said. The forces were just returning from an operation in the district when they came under heavy fire, Amani said. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Search Keywords: Short link: (Newser) John Wayne's son is crying foul over a call to have his father's name removed from a California airport, CNN reports. Ethan Wayne appeared on Smerconish Saturday after an old Playboy interview re-emerged with the iconic actorwho put down blacks, gays, and Native Americans in the same conversation. "It would be an injustice to judge someone based on an interview that's being used out of context," says Ethan Wayne. "They're trying to contradict how he lived his life, and how he lived his life was who he was." This after LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote a piece calling for John Wayne Airport in Orange Country to be renamed. "The views that he expressed in 1971, I think, were extremist even for 1971," says Hiltzik. "That was not a prehistoric period." story continues below Among Wayne's remarks: "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility"; Midnight Cowboy was "a story about two fags"; Native Americans "were selfishly trying to keep (the US) for themselves"; and "We'll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like [Native Americans] with our tax money." Die-hard Republican at the time, Orange County has become so "economically and ethnically diverse" that "it's hard to justify asking any member of that community to board planes at an airport named after an outspoken racist and homophobe," writes Hiltzik in the LA Times. But Ethan sees his father differently: "He didn't care what race, gender, sexual orientation you were," he says. "He cared how well you did your job." (Read more prejudice stories.) Chelsea Manning, the former US soldier jailed for a massive leak of US secrets to Wikileaks, has been ordered to appear before a grand jury, her lawyer said Friday. Moira Meltzer-Cohen said she had not been told what the grand jury was investigating, but US media have speculated that it might involve the criminal case against WikiLeaks being developed by federal prosecutors in Virginia. Meltzer-Cohen said Manning had filed a motion to challenge the subpoena, which was immediately put under seal in the mysterious case. "I object strenuously to this subpoena, and to the grand jury process in general," Manning, 31, said in a statement. Grand juries, only used in the US and Liberia, are groups of citizens operating separately from courts who investigate whether to bring criminal charges. They can compel witnesses and suspects to testify. "We've seen this power abused countless times to target political speech," added Manning. "I have nothing to contribute to this case and I resent being forced to endanger myself by participating in this predatory practice." Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the Army, was jailed for 35 years in 2013 for giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The revelations by Manning, who is transgender and was then known as Bradley Manning, exposed covered-up misdeeds and possible crimes by US troops and allies. Her actions made her a hero to anti-war and anti-secrecy activists, but US establishment figures branded her a traitor. They also made WikiLeaks a force in the global anti-secrecy movement. Then-president Barack Obama commuted her sentence, leading to her release in May 2017. Manning is scheduled to appear in front of the grand jury on Tuesday. The New York Times and Politico both speculated it was related to the US investigation of WikiLeaks in relation to its publication of Democratic campaign secrets in 2016 that the US government says were hacked by Russian intelligence. The Justice Department has not confirmed it is developing a case against WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange. But a mistaken assertion in filings for a separate case in the Virginia court made distinct reference to the WikiLeaks probe. Search Keywords: Short link: The controversial Nigerian media personality, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, has shared a video of KICC Pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo... The controversial Nigerian media personality, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, has shared a video of KICC Pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo publicly endorsing the shamed resurrection pastor Alph Lukau during a visit to his ministry in South Africa in October 2018. Lukau has been in the news this week, accused of faking a miracle which involved a young Zimbabwean man being allegedly resurrected from the dead in his church. The video of the supposed resurrection went viral, resulting in widespread condemnation of Lukau and his antics, even from South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who decried the rise of bogus religious leaders in his nation. Social media mocked the event with various users seeing its comedic value by recreating pictures and videos of the alleged miracle with the slogan #ResurrectionChallenge. In the video shared in Freezes Instagram and Twitter accounts, Ashimolowo can be heard praising Lukau to rapturous applause from congregants. I am here because God told me to come, he told the congregation at Alleluia Ministries International in Johannesburg, South Africa. God told me the man in the house (Lukau) is truly a man after His heart and I want you to know you are in the right house, he proceeded, adding that God told him the Congolese pastors ministry would experience breakthrough. Followers of Freeze were abrupt in their criticism of both Ashimolowo and Lukau. Shame has left these pulpit bandits, wrote one incensed reader. Their empires are collapsing and it will be so quick and mighty in falling. They simply dont know God and are merely using Christs name to swindle the people. Sad! He added. Nigerian women on Friday had a two-million-woman rally in Abuja to appeal to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democ... Nigerian women on Friday had a two-million-woman rally in Abuja to appeal to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last election to congratulate his opponent, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress to concede defeat. The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Buhari of the APC winner of the keenly contested election having scored the highest votes. However, Atiku has vowed to go to court, alleging that he was rigged out. The women, under the aegis of Two Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria, Peace and Stability, kick-started their match at the Unity Fountain down to Hilton Area before proceeding to the Force headquarters, Eagle Square and back to Unity Fountain. They called on Atiku to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan and congratulate Atiku on his victory. Speaking during the rally, the convener, Mary Onuche, called on Atiku to save Nigeria from anarchy and embrace his brother. Onuche also called on Buhari not to disappoint Nigerians who have overwhelmingly voted him for another term. Her speech below. With this configuration in mind, the foremost opposition candidate in the election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to shy away from playing this role. This requires that he is seen, ab initio, as putting the interest of Nigeria first, a requirement that has been made even more important by unscrupulous persons waiting in the wings to exploit any contentions over the polls to their own dark advantage. Fortunately for Nigeria, our democracy, though still young, has continued to evolve in ways that reassure us that things can only get better. One such leap is the development in 2015 when the then President Goodluck Jonathan called to congratulate the then winner of the presidential election, incumbent President Buhari, even before the votes tally was completed. That singular act of patriotism is today hailed as the benchmark of the level of statesmanship befitting of candidates in our elections. May God bless President Goodluck Jonathan, the hero of our modern democracy. This has become a modern democratic culture in Nigeria for which former President Jonathan will continue to receive accolades. Had he acted contrary at that time, perhaps democratic growth in Nigeria might have been stunted or even truncated. But thankfully he set the benchmark, a standard that we today expect from anyone that takes part in the presidential election. We therefore call on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to emulate the statesmanship of President Jonathan and quit his on-going disruptive stance on the election. There has been series of calls on him to call and congratulate President Buhari as the winner of the election, which would infer that he would by consequence give up any legal challenge of the election result. We are tempted to align with the first half of this demand that Atiku calls President Buhari to offer his congratulations but we will not suggest that he forfeits his right to seeking judicial redress. He is very free to approach the courts to ventilate his grievances. What is unacceptable, however, is the adoption of positions and making of utterances that are being interpreted by his supporters and party members as a call to violence. We have become aware that his supporters are strategizing for violent protests that they are targeting to cause chaos nationwide and bring down the government. Some of Atikus lieutenants and political associates are subtly encouraging such protests through comments they have been making in the mainstream media and their social media accounts. The hostile environment being created by Atikus stance has been made even tenser by his reported demands on President Buhari, made through the National Peace Committee. Such behaviour suggests an opposition that has transmuted into a dictatorship, one that is hell-bent on blackmailing the country to impose itself on the people when it has been clearly rejected at the polls. This is not acceptable at a time when Nigerians expect that anyone that aspired to govern the country would at the very least imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship championed by former President Jonathan. Our democracy comes first before the personal fixations of any politician. We insist that the peace accord signed by political parties and their candidates, including Atiku must be respected . Nigeria truly deserves peace and stability at this point in time, which is why we are holding this Two Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria to demand for national stability and peace in Nigeria. An Azeri opposition blogger was released on Saturday after serving two years in prison in a case condemned by human rights activists. Mehman Huseynov, who posted critical articles about corruption in the ex-Soviet country, was jailed in January 2017 and sentenced to two years in prison for alleged libel. The West has criticized Azerbaijan for what it calls intimidation and repression aimed at the opposition and urged Baku to comply with its pledges on human rights. Azeri officials deny the accusations. "I will continue to serve the free media," Huseynov told reporters after being released from prison. Huseynov faced new criminal charges of allegedly attacking a prison officer in December and could face up to seven more years in prison if convicted. Azeri officials dropped those charges in January after Huseynov went on a hunger strike and wrote to President Ilham Aliyev with a request for him to intervene. Aliyev has ordered another investigation, while human rights activists and the opposition held protests in Baku. Search Keywords: Short link: Bernie Sanders is prepping for another White House run, one that promises to be different from his 2016 presidential bid Barely 24 hours after veteran Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders announced last week he would run again for president in 2020, campaign officials announced he managed to raise nearly $6 million. In less than a week, the total reached $10 million. This was nearly 20 times what Senator Elizabeth Warren achieved on her first day after a similar announcement, and nearly four times more than Senator Kamala Harriss $1.5 million. Despite his age, at 77, and amid a crowded field of progressive/Democratic candidates, the donations clearly established Sanders as a frontrunner in the bid to prevent Republican US President Donald Trump from winning a second term. When Sanders competed against Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic Partys nomination in 2016, many pundits excluded him, claiming he was too radical for the US political establishment. However, Sanders defied all odds and posed the most serious challenge to Clinton. While many of his supporters continued to stick with him, some are waiting to see how the Democratic field challenging Trump shapes up. Sanders enters the race with clear strengths: broad name recognition, an ability to raise money and passionate supporters who flocked to his insurgent 2016 campaign against Clinton. Sanders, an independent democratic socialist who aligns with Democrats in the Senate, pushed Clinton and the party to the left in 2016 and drew fervent support from young and liberal voters with an agenda supporting universal healthcare, raising the hourly minimum wage and free college tuition. These are mainstream positions for the party now, with Democratic presidential contenders, including Warren, Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker, promoting similar views. But Sanders will face lingering resentment in some Democratic quarters over the 2016 campaign. His challenge to Clinton split the party and generated tension between its establishment and liberal wings. Sanders has already moved to correct some 2016 missteps. In January, he apologised to women campaign workers who said they had been harassed or mistreated by male campaign staffers, and he acknowledged the campaigns standards and safeguards were inadequate. He has been trying to reach out to black and Hispanic leaders after having trouble winning over minority voters in 2016. That could prove challenging again as a white man competing against female, black and Hispanic candidates. Ray Buckley, chairman of the Democratic Party in New Hampshire, an influential state with an early nominating contest where Sanders won 60 per cent of the vote in 2016, said Sanders inner circle of top supporters there is largely with him. But most prominent party activists are shopping the field, Buckley said. Some Sanders allies expect the crowded field to help him, fracturing the vote enough to give Sanders and his dedicated following more clout. Its going to be real hard for some of the other candidates to stand out, whereas Senator Sanders already has the name recognition and support, said Tim Smith, a state legislator in New Hampshire and a member of the states steering committee for Sanders. Sanders also will benefit from grassroots groups such as Organising for Bernie, Draft Bernie and People for Bernie Sanders, which have been building support and organising for him ahead of his announcement. His supporters said his decades-long commitment to progressive issues will resonate with voters choosing among candidates with similar views. These arent platitudes to him, said Katherine Brezler, co-founder of People for Bernie Sanders. However, for Abramson, a 2016 Sanders delegate, we need somebody who can tap a broader segment of the electorate. In all events, Sanders entry into the 2020 presidential race has complicated fellow liberal Warrens bid for the Democratic nomination, a path that runs straight through New Hampshire. Sanders, a US senator from neighbouring Vermont, retains a strong following in the state where he trounced Clinton by more than 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential contest. An Emerson College opinion poll of New Hampshire voters released Saturday showed Sanders to be the top choice of respondents with 27 per cent of the vote. Warren, a senator from neighbouring Massachusetts, was far behind at nine per cent a worrisome number given many New Hampshire voters are familiar with her. But over the weekend there were signs Warren could be chipping away at Sanders support a year before the New Hampshire primary. Some New Hampshire residents who voted for Sanders last time said they were now leaning towards Warren. For some Sanders political window has closed. For others, they want a female nominee. Bernie lost his shine, said Candace Moulton, 36, who attended Warrens campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire. I think were really ready to have a woman president, to be frank. New Hampshire often has been where presidential aspirations are solidified. While the Iowa caucuses serve as the first test of a candidates strength, New Hampshire holds the first party primary, and has been a state where a contender can build momentum, salvage a campaign or reach the end of the road. Ten Democrats have already declared their candidacy for the partys nomination, and more are expected to join. New Hampshires primary traditionally has favoured candidates with ties to the region, making it important for Sanders and Warren. Dante Scala, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, said he expects the presidential field to narrow significantly by the time the primary comes. Theres a good likelihood that New Hampshire will be framed as a Sanders-Warren competition with one ticket out, he said. Should Warren fail to win Iowa, New Hampshire becomes a must-win, Scala said. Its hard to see her lasting if she cant win here. Former vice president Joe Biden could muddy things further if he mounts a bid. Biden placed second in the Emerson poll, and his high name recognition with voters could give him a boost. Liz Alcauskas, 74, of Manchester, said many of Sanders ideas were important, but she planned to vote for a different Democrat in next years election. I would like to not have an old white man be president, she said. Its someone elses turn now. Even some of Sanders most loyal supporters are unsure of him. Andru Volinsky, a member of Sanders 2016 steering committee in the state, said my first inclination is towards Bernie, but I havent ruled out a handful of others. * A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Senator Bernie Sanders back in the race Search Keywords: Short link: Ibrahim became famous for her roles as a villain, including her turn as one of the Alexandrian serial killer sisters in the film Raya and Sakina Egyptian cinemas famous male villains are many, but only one actress achieved great fame in similar roles. Negma Ibrahim will forever be remembered for her role as the serial killer Raya in the 1953 film Raya and Sakina, directed by Salah Abu-Seif. She became known for her ability to portray evil female characters thanks to this role. Ibrahims birth name was Pauline Edmond according to her certificate of conversion to Islam and she was most likely born on 25 February 1914, although some sources say that she was born on 19 January 1915. The little girl was attracted to acting through her elder sister Serena, who was an actress who achieved some fame, before immigrating to Israel after 1948. Pauline was taught in both French and Arabic schools and was fluent in the two languages. She learned many surahs from the Quran by heart, converting from the Judaism of her birth family to Islam in 1932 when she wasnt yet 18. She married the multi-talented writer and director Abbas Younis in 1944. During the 1920s, Ibrahim moved from one famous theatrical company to another, from that of Youssef Wahbis to Naguib Al-Rihanis to Mounira El-Mahdeyas, as an actress and songstress. She was endowed with a sweet voice to the extent that she thought seriously about singing solo through imitating Oum Kalthoums songs, which were famous at the time. But her real beginning on stage was in 1930 when she joined the Fatma Rushdy Company in its tour to Iraq where she sang in Shahrazad and The Ten of Diamonds, two musical plays composed by the renowned musician Sayed Darwish. In the end, her ingenious talents as a tragedian and a comedian overcame her musical gifts. On her return to Cairo, she left that company and formed her own; then she joined the National Company on its formation in 1935. She performed in prominent plays under the direction of the pioneer Zaki Tuleimat, such as George Bernard Shaws The Devils Disciple, Oscar Wildes Lady Windermeres Fan, Ahmed Shawqis comedy Madam Huda and in his musical play The Madman of Layla, where she played a singing role. However, her love for drama was stronger than for musicals. Her cinema debut was in The Marriage (1933, directed by Fatma Rushdy), starring Rushdy along with Mahmoud El-Meligy. She participated in a number of films, the most prominent of which were Tita Wong (1937, directed by Amina Mohammed), Rabha (1945, directed by Niazi Mostafa) and Angel of Mercy (1946, directed by Youssef Wahbi). Ibrahims first major role was when Hassan Al-Imam cast her as the villain in The Orphans (1948) along with Faten Hamama and Thoraya Helmy, putting her on the path to specialising in roles as a baddie, or a domineering woman. Despite being gentle and good-natured in her private life, her stern visage, unflinching hawkish expression, and cold-as-ice voice became her trademarks as a big-screen villain. Her noteworthy films in this phase are A Passionate Night (1951, directed by Ahmed Badrkhan) adapted from Mohammed Abdel-Halim Abdullahs novel Foundling, Sacrificed My Love (1951, directed by Ibrahim Emara), Deprivation (1953, directed by Atef Salem) and Ill Never Cry (1957, directed by Hassan Al-Imam). None of these roles would have brought her such wide fame, however; that came with her unforgettable role in Raya and Sakina. The film was based on a gruesome true story of two sisters who committed murder in Alexandria in the 1920s. She reprised this role in the comedy film Ismail Yassin meets Raya and Sakina (1955, directed by Hamada Abdel-Wahab). Later that year she reprised the same role on stage in The Secret of Raya and Sakina with the theatrical company she formed with her husband Younis. Simultaneously, she was playing other memorable roles on screen, such as in Four Girls and an Officer (1954, directed by Anwar Wagdi), They Made Me a Criminal (1954, directed by Atef Salem) and Crime and Punishment (1957, directed by Ibrahim Emara), adapted from Fyodor Dostoevskys novel of the same name. Although Ibrahims theatrical company didnt last long, its heroine didnt stop performing until she went blind in 1963. She was sent to Spain to be treated at the states expense, and she immediately returned to act, albeit on a limited scale during the 1960s. She was obliged to retire due to a number of illnesses that befell her after her final role in Three Thieves (1966, directed by Fateen Abdel-Wahab), and she died ten years later in 1976. Ibrahim was distinguished for her patriotic sentiments. During the climax of the Arab-Israeli conflict, she devoted the returns from her plays to the Egyptian army. She also totally disowned her sister. As a result, the state awarded her the Medal of Science and Arts, as well as an exceptional pension that enabled her to lead a dignified life until her death. 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 Search Keywords: Short link: